Changes coming

I will be gone for about a month to California and then to Idaho. When I get back I hope to organize the recipes into categories so they will be easier to find. I will also add some yummy recipes that I've been excited to post. See you all then!

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

1 pound fusilli pasta (that's the curly kind)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 mince garlic clove
1 bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped (big pieces)
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (I just used the cheap Kraft)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
(I added chicken that had been cooked in Fat Free Italian dressing and cubed - I always have some in my freezer so it didn't add any time)

Brink a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite (8-10 minutes). Drain pasta but keep 1/2 cup of the liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave precooked chicken (or cook chicken). Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn down heat to medium and add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts (just a bit) - about two minutes. Add cooked pasta and chicken and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper and the pasta cooking liquid. Stir and serve. Yummy.

OK - so I'm finally making a contribution! This is a recipe that I am using all the time these days. You would be surprised just how easy and versatile this recipe is. Plain yogurt can often be substituted for sour cream in recipes. Mix it with fruit, make smoothies - there's just all kinds of stuff you can do!

Traditional Yogurt

3 1/2 cups milk (I just make powdered milk - great way to use the food storage and your taste buds won't know the difference - really!)
1/4 - 1/2 cup powdered milk (in addition to what you may have just used - this makes the yogurt thicker)

Place in a microwave safe bowl (I use my 1.5 quart pyrex casserole), place in microwave and bring to a boil. This takes 10-12 minutes. This is to get rid of any possibility of undesirable bacteria. After the milk has come to a boil let the milk cool to 115 - 120 F.

In a small bowl place a couple of heaping tablespoons of live culture yogurt - doesn't have to be fancy, just make sure that the yogurt says, "live culture yogurt," on the container. I've used the kids stuff in the tubes before to start my yogurt! Pour a little of the warm milk in with the yogurt and mix, then return to the main container. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap and incubate for 6-8 hours at 110-115 F. The longer you incubate, the more sour tasting the yogurt will be. After the yogurt has reached the desired thickness, store in the refridgerator.

Incubation: You do not need to have anything fancy to incubate your yogurt. Basically, you need a source of heat (very low heat) and insulation. I use a heating pad on the lowest setting inside my insulated carrying case for my 9 x 13 pyrex pan. I've heard of people putting the yogurt inside the oven with the oven light on (just don't forget it's in there and turn on the oven!). I've also heard of people using a cooler with a heating pad inside.

Orange Julius

1 (6 ounce) can orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk (do not use skim milk)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 T sugar
8 ice cubes


Place all ingredients except for the ice cubes into a blender.
Add the ice cubes one by one until smooth. If you have a Bosch then just throw in all the ice cubes.
Serve immediately-- enjoy!

Orange Rage

Okay so I was REALLY upset when I found out that they don't have any Jamba Juice's in the Fort. So I purchased the book Jamba Juice Power and it has a lot of amazing smoothies. Here's one of my favs.

Orange Rage
1 cup orange juice
1 small banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 container of vanilla yogurt
6-7 ice cubes

Blend together. If you would like to use fresh strawberries, then use 1 cup of nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt instead of the container of yogurt.

Chinese Pepper Steak

This is my favorite Asian dish to make, it's so good! It's been passed down from my husband's family & no one really ever wrote it down, so the instructions are just from my experience in making it. Hopefully the way I wrote it, isn't too confusing!

Ingredients:
1 ½ pds. steak, cut into thin strips
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 med. onion, diced
2 C. diced celery
6 T. soy sauce
3 t. salt
1 T. ground ginger
2 C. beef broth
2 T. sugar
3 T. corn starch
hot cooked white rice (desired amount)

Start cooking desired amount of rice. Cook steak in skillet, until browned. Cook peppers, onions & celery in separate skillet with a little veg. oil, until tender yet crisp. Make sauce in a large pot by mixing together soy sauce, salt, ginger, broth, sugar, & corn starch. Stir frequently over med-high heat on stove-top until sauce thickens. Stir vegetables & steak into sauce over low heat. Serve over hot rice. My husband's family puts fresh tomatoes cut into thin strips on top.

Porcupine Meatballs

Here's a ground beef recipe I got from my husband's family. It's one of our favorites. It's kind of a spin-off of meatloaf & mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 pd. ground beef
1 egg
1 t. salt
¼ t. pepper
¼ cup uncooked white rice
2 cans Campbell's condensed tomato soup
1 empty soup can filled with water
hot cooked mashed potatoes

Pre-heat oven to 400°. In medium bowl mix together beef, egg, salt, pepper, & rice. Use entire meat mixture to form meatballs, place next to each other in bottom of 9x13 casserole dish. Mix 2 cans tomato soup & 1 can water, pour over meatballs in dish. Meatballs should be immersed in liquid. Cover with foil, bake @ 400° for 1 hour. Uncover & serve over mashed potatoes. Great as leftovers.

Chimichangas

2 lb. rump roast
1 ½ cup water
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp vinegar
2 T chili powder
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
1 small can of green chilis diced
1 can red enchilada sauce

flour tortillas, cheddar cheese

1.Put roast in crock pot. Mix dry ingredients and rub on roast. Cook on low until tender. (about 6-8 hours) 2. When meat is cooked, roll up in tortillas with cheese and meat and fry in a deep pan with vegetable oil until golden brown. 3. Top with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and crock pot sauce(opt.). I've also made this without frying the tortillas and it's still really good.

Round Steak Sauerbraten

OK, in response to Susie, I will finally post a recipe. I just haven't felt a whole lot like cooking, Arby's 5 for 5 is about the extent of things....

I don't cook a lot of red meat, but this is one of my favs. It's actually super easy. My mom cooks it all the time.

1.5 lb round steak
1 env. brown gravy mix
1T dried minced onion
2T wine vinegar
1t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t ground ginger
1 or more bay leaves
1T brown sugar
Hot buttered noodles (wide egg noodles)

Cut meat into 1" cubes. Brown meat in hot oil. Remove meat from skillet and add gravy mix and 2 cups water. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Stir in remainder ingredients (except noodles) add 1/2t salt and 1/4t pepper. Add meat back in. Put into casserole dish, cover and bake at 350, for 1.5 hours. Remove Bay leaf and serve on noodles.

My additions: I usually double or triple recipe (usually a 3 lb. steak) and I stick it in a crock pot all day til the meat is super tender. Sometimes the gravy needs to be thickened, in which case you can use cornstarch or flour, or however you like to thicken things. This also freezes well, makes great leftovers and most Elders like it. Enjoy!

Ground Beef? Steaks? Red Meat?

I'm loving everyone's recipes! What a great website. I cook a lot of chicken and don't have very many recipes for red meat. I can't wait to try the ones on the site, but are there any more out there??? :)

Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

3 c. romaine lettuce- chopped
1 c. red cabbage- sliced thinly
1 c. napa cabbage- chopped
1/2 c. carrot- julienne or shredded
1 green onion- chopped
1 T. sliced almonds
1/3 c. chow mein noodles

Dressing:
3 T. honey
1 1/2 T. rice wine vinegar
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 t. Grey Poupon mustard
1/8 t. sesame oil

Chicken:
1 egg mixed with 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. flour mixed with 1/2 c. corn flake crumbs, salt & pepper

Dip chicken in milk/egg mixture. Dip/cover with flour/corn flake mixture. Deep fry each side of chicken until golden brown - or - use pre made chicken breasts (tastes good with broiled chicken breasts for lower fat content!)

Slice chicken into strips, toss with salad and top with dressing. Enjoy!

Spinach Tortellini Salad

1 bag fresh spinach
1 bag frozen tortellini, cooked
pepperoni slices, halved
olives (I like to half mine)
½ onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
mozzarella cheese (however much you like
parmesan cheese (to taste)
ranch dressing, I just coat the tortellini and then mix them all in the salad, it is usually just right.

Just mix this all together, I always get great comments on this one!!!

Pumpkin Bread

3 ½ cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
(Mix above together)
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup oil
2 cups pumpkin (1 15 oz can)
(Mix in Mixer)
Combine and pour into greased bread pan. Bake at 350 for one hour. Cupcakes 25 min. Makes 4 loaves.

Crazy Quilt Pie

Coconut Pie

2 c. milk
4 eggs
½ cup flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
½ t. salt
1t. vanilla

Place all ingredients into a blender. Turn the blender on medium speed and count to 10. Pour into 9” deep pie pan. During the baking process the flour drops to form the crust and the remaining ingredients form the filling.

Bake at 350 for 34 min.

Easy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I love this one when I want leftovers for sandwiches later. It's so easy!


Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts
1 Bottle BBQ sauce

· Pour BBQ sauce over chicken and cook on low 6-8 hours.
· Take out chicken and shred, put back in crock and mix until well coated and soaked. Serve on sandwich bread.