Dutch Babies

We love Dutch Babies at our house. They are so easy and quite delish. We put powdered sugar, cinnamon, and syrup on them most of the time. However, when we want something a little more dessert-y, we follow our friends' Ryan and Holly and sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with fresh lemon juice. Very tasty.

Even my very picky 3-year old will eat this

Which is good because this...

...is what he normally eats for dinner!

The rule for Dutch Babies is very simple:

For every ONE egg, you use 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup flour. We like to use no more than 4 eggs for a big 9x13 pan because we don't like it too custard-y. I will even get my small 1/2 sized bread pan out when just Riley wants these for lunch and use 1 egg only.

Directions, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put some butter in a baking dish and put in oven to melt while mixing other ingredients. Beat eggs for a good minute or so until frothy, then add flour and milk and beat until very well mixed. Take pan out of oven and pour egg mixture over melted butter--do not mix, just put directly into the oven for about 15-minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle powdered sugar and cinnamon on top, then cut and eat immediately.

Chap Chee Noodles

I found this yummy recipe that I thought I'd share. The recipe calls for cellophane noodles, but I have no idea what those are or where to get them, so I made it with Bean Threads...I wouldn't recommend it. The flavor was so delish though that I'm definitely making it again. I think it would be great over steamed rice. So, next time, I'm going to omit the noodles all together.

 

Chap Chee Noodles (or rice!)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
~Combine ingredients in a bowl for a marinade

1/3 lbs beef top sirloin thinly sliced
~Add to marinade and let sit for 15-30 minutes. I used just thinly sliced cheap steak cuts instead of top sirloin and it was fine.

Cook meat in about 2 Tbsp veg oil and add:
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1/4 lbs napa cabbage thinly sliced
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
~cook until veggies are softened then add:

3 oz cellophane noodles, soaked in warm water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
~cook until heated through

New Favorite Cooking Blog

I just found this cooking blog that one of my friends had a link to on her blog...was that confusing?!?!...anyway, I went to check it out and I love it. Try her recipes, they are terrific.

http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2008/02/pan-fried_ribeye_steak_heaven_in_a_skillet.html

Just Another Side Dish?

Okay, so we have all made baked potatoes, nothing fancy here, but these just looked so delicious that I had to take a picture. Yum!


Add some butter, slt/ppr, a drizzle of ranch dressing, shredded cheese, bacon, green onion and some sort of green veggie and you have a super delicious dinner.

Turkey Pot Pie

I had a turkey in my freezer bought after Thanksgiving and I needed to use it. So, for leftovers, I made a turkey pot pie that was really good. I thought I'd share the recipe. (there technically isn't a recipe, but these are pretty good approximations of what I did...feel free to tweak whatever you want.)



Turkey Pot Pie

1 smallish onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced

Saute these in butter until softened.

2 cans chicken broth
2 smallish red potatoes, diced

Add to veggies and bring to a boil; reduce to simmer and allow potatoes to soften.

2 cups shredded turkey
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour

In a separate pan, coat turkey in butter and flour and allow to heat through; add to veggies. Bring to a boil.

1/2 cup milk

Add to veggie/turkey mix and heat.

Add some frozen peas just before putting into your pie crust.

You will need to add some cornstarch/water mixture to get the thickness you want.

Put your pie crust in a greased pie plate and fill with filling. Top with another pie crust and crimp down sides. Cut a couple of slices through the top of the crust to let the steam vent.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15-minutes, then turn down the heat to 350 and cook another 15-20 minutes.

Mac & Cheese

This is one of our family's favorite comfort foods. This mac & cheese is so creamy and delicious that it almost melts in your mouth.

 

Mac & Cheese
-2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
-1/4 cup butter
-3 TBSP flour
-1 tsp salt
-1 1/2 cups milk
-2+ cups shredded cheese

Cook macaroni to al dente, set aside. In saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt and cook for about one minute. Add milk and cheese, stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Stir in cooked pasta and cook on low for 5-10 minutes.

Tips: -I like to use sharp cheddar for my mac & cheese, but tonight I didn't have any so we used Colby Jack instead. Any cheese would be good.
-I use closer to 3 cups of cheese because I like it super-cheesy, but the recipe itself calls for only 2 cups.
You be the judge on how much your family likes cheese.

Where's the Spatula?

This morning I was making pancakes for breakfast. I had the pancakes in the pan and they were all ready to be flipped...but there was no spatula in sight. I looked in every nook and cranny I could think of to find it, but to no avail. Finally I said, mostly to myself, "where's the darn spatula?" to which my husband replied, "Oh it's in the car. I used it to other day to scrape ice off the windshield." Uh...we have scrapers for that dear. Men?!?!

For Bacon Lovers

I am a huge fan of bacon. I always keep extra packages of bacon in my freezer just in case because I hate running out of bacon. Bacon adds just the right amount of flavor to make an ordinary meal truly scrumptious. I found this clip on You Tube and just had to post it to honor my favorite "spice". :)

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

We just finished eating some of the tastiest quesadillas we've ever made. Todd even deemed them "restaraunt quality"...of course today was fast Sunday, so that might account for some of the praise. Regardless, I had to share becasue they really are good.

I thawed out some chicken breasts, cut them into small pieces, then marinaded them in BBQ sauce for about an hour. Then I made the onions. The onions are what realy made this quesadilla delicious. I cut a sweet vidalia onion onion into rings and sauted them on low heat with some butter and about 1 TBSP of honey until they were very carmelized (It took about 20-25 minutes). I cooked the chicken with a bit of olive oil until it was done. Then I chopped up some bacon and cooked it until crispy. I cooked some thinly sliced green bell pepper along with the bacon until it was just softened.

 

I wanted a bit more flavor, so I mixed up about 2 tsps on powdered ranch with a little mayo and milk to make this ranch paste stuff. It would have been too potent to put on a salad or to dip veggies in, but a little of this spread on the tortilla was just right.

 

Put it all together and add some cheese and you're good to go! We dipped our quesadillas in a bit of sour cream and it was heaven.

 

New Years Breakfast

 

This morning I made one of my very favorite things...omelets. I guarantee that you have what you need to make one of these delicious beauties. The secret (which maybe isn't really quite so secret) is using a big Tablespoon of buttermilk waffle mix stirred with a little bit of water to your eggs before you beat them.

 

Then just cut up your favorite toppings, add a bit of cheese, and you're good to go. My favorites: green and red peppers, tomatoes, red onion, mushrooms, ham, crumbled bacon, and browned hashbrowns (yes, I put hashbrowns IN my omelet...mmmmm)

 

Make sure you don't put too much egg in your pan, or you won't be able to enjoy your filling, which in my opinion is the best part. After you pour the eggs into the pan, gently lift up the sides to allow the egg to run through so it cooks all the way through. When most of the runny egg is gone, put your topping on one side and fold in half. Cooking with a lid helps to cook the egg all the way through. Flip the omelet over once and cook a little longer, then put on a plate and enjoy.