Brownie Muffins

From Jaynann

Makes 12 brownies

1 pkg brownie mix

4 fun size candy bars

Follow the instructions on the box to make brownie batter. Spray muffin tin with Pam. Pour a little batter in each cup, about ¼ inch deep. Slice each candy bar into 3 pieces. Place a piece in each muffin. Fill cups with the rest of the batter. Cook for 18 minutes at 350°. 

I was really glad Jaynann shared this recipe with me tonight. I needed something good to post. I was excited about a fresh tomato soup recipe that I had found, but I made it tonight and it wasn't that good. I was disappointed. I wanted to love it.

Jaynann said that she wanted to make brownies, but didn't have a pan, only a muffin tin. She decided to make them in the muffin pan and added the candy bar. They are good. They are cute. I wasn't disappointed with these.

Clam Chowder

Serves 10

I got this recipe from one of McKay’s co-workers about 20 years ago. I don’t remember her name so I can’t give credit.

Warning: This is a high fat recipe! It is so good it is worth it though. I usually make it when there are plenty of people over to eat.

2 small cans minced clams

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups diced potatoes

¾ cup flour

¾ cup butter

1 quart milk

1 cup cream

½ tsp sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

pepper to taste

Combine potatoes, celery and onions in saucepan. Drain clams and add juice to vegetables. Add enough water to vegetables to just barely cover them. Cook vegetables over medium heat until potatoes are tender.  (about 25 min) In the meantime, melt butter in large pan and add flour. Cook the flour 3 or 4 minutes at medium heat, stirring constantly. It is important to make sure the flour is cooked and that there are no lumps. Add the milk and cream to the butter/flour mixture. Stir well and continue to stir so the mixture will not scorch. It should suddenly get very thick after a few minutes. Do not let the white sauce boil. When the vegetables are ready and the sauce has thickened well add the vegetables to the sauce (do not drain them), add the clams and seasonings and keep warm for about a half hour to allow the flavors to blend.

IMPORTANT: Once the sauce has thickened to not allow it to boil as the cream will separate. When reheating the chowder, warm it slowly but don’t let it boil.

You can make this a day ahead and it almost tastes better the next day. I don't cook it for the last half hour if I am serving it the next day.

Better Bread

I was looking for a recipe to make jam with Clear Jel A and found a tip for adding clear jel to bread. I thought I would give it a try and really noticed a difference in how long the bread stays soft and fresh in the cupboard. I've used it for the last two batches of bread that I've made and even McKay noticed the bread stays softer.
Check out the bread recipe to see how to add it.

Butternut Squash Soup

Terri, this is for you as promised :)

Serves 4 – 6

1 medium size butternut squash

3 ½ cups water

1 Tbs butter

1 small onion (chopped)

1 cored and chopped apple (I leave peel on if apple is yellow)

½ cup water

2 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

pepper to taste

½ cup cream (or milk, but cream is best)

Slice squash in half and scoop out the seeds, put it in a baking dish flesh side up with ½ cup water and bake until soft; about 1 hour at 325°. Let cool and remove skin.

Mine ended up in 3 pieces.  I think it is hard to cut.

Cut cooked and peeled squash into small pieces. A medium squash will have about 3 ½ cups of flesh to use.  Put 2 cups of squash and 2 cups of water into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into saucepan. Blend the rest of the squash with 1 ½ cups water. Add to pan.

In fry pan sauté onion and apple in the butter. When onion is clear and apple is soft put in blender with ½ cup water. Blend until smooth. Add to pan with squash. Stir in salt, cumin and pepper. Heat until hot, then stir in cream and serve.

3 - 4 cups squash pieces

Add the cream

I like to serve with a wedge of  The Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss cheese.

Ham and Lima Beans

This is really good. We all like it.

Serves 4

2 Tbs butter

¾ C. chopped onion

½ tsp granulated garlic

½ tsp salt

Pepper to taste

¾ C chopped ham (can use a small can of ham)

1 ½ Tbs flour

1 can baby lima beans with juice (or follow instructions below to cook from dried baby lima beans)

Melt butter in frying pan. Sautee onions in butter, when they turn clear, add garlic, salt, pepper, ham and flour. Stir. Add to baby lima beans in saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Ready for the lima beans

I served this with breadsticks last night. We ate half and I froze the other half for a later meal.

To cook dry lima beans:

Pressure cooker:

Cook 1 cup dry lima beans and 3 cups water 15 minutes in pressure cooker, then quick release (cool pressure cooker with water)

Stovetop:

Put 1 cup dry beans and 3 cups water in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let soak 1 hour.

Drain and rinse beans. Put back in saucepan with 3 ½ cups water and 1 tsp salt. Simmer for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Freezing bulk meat

When there is a good sale on for family pack meat, I will get a few packages and then separate them in portions that are good for my family to use. I put the portions in freezer bags, label them with contents and date, then freeze.
This is what I did with the super extra lean hamburger that was on sale last week.
It doesn't show in the pictures, but before I seal the bag I try to remove as much air as possible. This keeps the meat more fresh. I do this with everything that I bag to freeze. Sometimes I even use a straw to suck the air out before sealing.

Meatloaf

Serves 6-8

½ cup dry cracked wheat cereal

1 cup water

Stir cracked wheat and water together in saucepan. While stirring, bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the cracked wheat is cooking, mix the following in a large mixing bowl:

1 lb. super lean hamburger (93 % lean)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

1 bell pepper (finely chopped)

2 eggs

½ cup oatmeal

1 slice bread (broken into small pieces)

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 Tbs worcestershire sauce

Stir in cooked cracked wheat. It is ok if it is hot. Spray loaf pan with Pam and put in meatloaf mixture. Cover with foil and cook 30 min at 350° then uncover and cook 10 more minutes to brown top of loaf. This is also a great make ahead meal, just put the uncooked meatloaf in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it later in the day.

Ready for baking

Serve with ketchup.

I often serve baked potatoes with meatloaf because the oven is already hot so I just put in some potatoes with the meatloaf. When I served this meatloaf last time, I was out of potatoes so I reconstituted some dried potato flakes, put them in a 9 x 9 inch baking dish and sprinkled cheese on top. I just put them in the oven for the last 5 minutes of baking time to melt the cheese.

Meatloaf makes a great filling for sandwiches the next day.

Spread mayo and ketchup on bread, then put on a slice of warmed up leftover meatloaf and some lettuce. I remember taking these to school in my lunch and it was one of my favorite sandwiches.

Salmon (Teriyaki)

1 large salmon fillet (enough to serve about 5 people)

1 tsp minced ginger

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs water

¼ tsp garlic  powder

Mix and pour on salmon to marinate about 15 minutes.

Heat grill to 275°. Cook salmon skin side down for about 10 minutes, then turn over and cook for 5 more minutes.

Thanks to Ken and Missy for our yummy Alaskan salmon.