French Toast

1 loaf French bread, sliced

4 eggs

~ 2 cups milk

1 T. sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. I never really measure the milk so 2 cups is mostly a guess. Dip bread slices in egg mixture and fry until golden brown. Serve with applesauce and cinnamon, or pancake syrup.

Party Marshmallows

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup margarine or butter

5 toffee bars (Mackintosh, 280 g total)

large marshmallows

Rice Krispies cereal

 

Melt the milk, margarine and toffee on low heat until smooth. Poke toothpicks into the marshmallows. Dip marshmallows in melted toffee, roll in Rice Krispies, and place on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper. Freeze and store in an airtight container.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

The ones that are always in Grandma's freezer.

 

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375.

Cooking for One

* A few tips and ideas for boys who are moving out *

1. Pretty much any recipe can be divided in half and made like usual. That way, you have leftovers for another day or a lunch.

2. Keep some instant or frozen food on hand when you are too tired to cook. Things like: 

- pizza pops

- frozen taquitos or burritos

- frozen pizza

- box of macaroni & cheese

- cans of soup, chili or beans

- instant ramen noodles, like Mr. Noodles

 

3. Easy meal ideas that aren't totally instant:

 

- scrambled eggs and toast

- nachos

- BLT sandwiches: keep a loaf of bread in the freezer and a package of bacon, then all you need is the tomato and lettuce

- chicken sandwiches: keep chicken fingers in the freezer 

- pancakes, waffles or French toast (bread in the freezer comes in handy again)

- giant apple pancake

- chicken fingers and fries, baked or deep-fried

- potatoes (parmesan, savoury, or baked)

- skillet can be made any size: keep hashbrowns in the freezer 

- throwing a chicken breast or a piece of sausage in the oven with a potato or two is pretty easy, other than it having to bake for an hour. Bake it in a casserole dish with salt & pepper at 350. (Add a little water in the bottom if you do sausage.)

- pizza buns or pizza quesadilla

- any kind of wraps: quesadillas, crispy chicken wraps, etc.

- hot dogs or hamburgers: keep hamburger patties and buns in the freezer to use as needed.

- mini taco dips

- frozen potato products (fries, wedges, etc.) bake in about 30 minutes, so do smokies

Tomato Sauce

3-4 lbs. ripe tomatoes, about 10-12 large ones

diced onions

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. basil

1 T. sugar

1 T. parsley

1 tsp. salt

pepper

 

Peel and chop the tomatoes, add everything else. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened. Makes just over 2 cups of sauce. Freezes well.

 

I use frozen tomatoes to make this because they peel very easily. I thaw them about halfway, peel them, then chop them and cook the sauce. 

This sauce is very good served hot over pasta. It can also be used as pizza sauce, or in any recipe that calls for a can of diced tomatoes. I have also used it half and half with bought tomato sauce in lasagna.

Garlic Butter Chicken

2-3 chicken breasts

7-8 potatoes

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

salt & pepper

 

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces, 2-3 per breast. Peel and chop the potatoes. Place chicken and potatoes in a 9x13 pan and season with salt and pepper. Melt butter, add garlic powder and Italian seasoning and pour over top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for an hour or until potatoes are done.

Cornmeal Pancakes

1 1/3 cups flour

2/3 cup cornmeal

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups milk

1/4 cup oil

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately, add wet to dry and whisk thoroughly. After the batter sits a few minutes, I usually add a wee bit more milk so it's not too thick.

Skillet

oil

frozen hashbrowns

diced onions

seasoning salt or Cajun seasoning

eggs

breakfast sausage or bacon, optional

Brown the hashbrowns in the oil until they are beginning to get brown. Sprinkle with seasoning and add the onions. Continue browning until hashbrowns are browner and onions are done. Crack eggs over top and scramble them into the hashbrowns (I do 4-5 eggs per frying pan). When the eggs are done on the bottom, flip the skillet in sections to cook the other side of the eggs.

 

Potato Corn Chowder

2 strips bacon

chopped onion

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. thyme

pepper

4 potatoes, diced

3 cups corn

3/4 cup milk

2 T. cornstarch

Saute bacon and onion. Add spices, broth, potatoes and corn. Simmer 20 minutes until potatoes are done. Mix milk and cornstarch, add to soup. It should thicken up right away.

Creamy Pea Salad

4 cups frozen peas, thawed and drained

1/2 cup diced cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced mozzarella cheese

1 medium onion, chopped very fine

1 cup mayo

salt & pepper

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled (or substitute bacon bits)

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Keep refrigerated.

Saskatoon Pie

4 cups saskatoons or blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 T. lemon juice

2 T. butter

1 recipe pie crust

Mix all except butter. Put into pie crust. Dot with butter, top with another crust. Bake 15 minutes at 450, then 30 minutes at 350.

Oma's Peppermint Cookies

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup cream (or 1/2 milk and 1/2 whipping cream)

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

2 tsp peppermint extract

2 cups sugar

5 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Mix wet ingredients, then add dry. Refrigerate dough 4 hours so it handles better. Roll out or roll into balls and flatten. (I find it easiest to drop them by spoonful.) Bake 8-10 minutes at 350.

This is a half recipe of the original!

Creamy Garlic Pasta

3 T. butter

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 and 2/3 cups chicken broth

1 and 1/3 cup milk

350 g pasta

salt & pepper

Melt the butter, add the garlic and everything else. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes until pasta is cooked and liquid is absorbed. If it gets too dry, add a little additional milk or put the lid on for a few minutes. 

 

This recipe works best with a pasta that cooks a little quicker, like rotini or penne.

Original recipe that's a little smaller:

2 T. butter

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

250 g pasta

salt & pepper

Chewy Granola Bars

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
3 cups oatmeal
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup coconut
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chocolate chips

Blend the sugar, peanut butter, syrup and margarine. Add vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and mix until blended. Press into a 10x15 cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes at 350. Cool and cut into bars.

Often I don't have all the ingredients listed but this recipe is very flexible and you can just about put in anything you want.

Pizza Sauce

 Kind of homemade, kind of not.

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato soup (I like no name the best in this recipe)

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp. basil

sprinkle of black pepper

Mix well and store in the fridge. Use whatever spices you like (oregano, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, etc.). It thickens quite a bit sitting in the fridge so if I want to use it when it's thick, I add a wee bit of water.

Stewed Tomatoes

8 tomatoes

1 medium onion

1/2 cup green pepper

1 small bay leaf

2 T. margarine

1/2 cup celery (optional - I usually leave this out)

3 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Chop the veggies and put everything in a slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours, then remove the bay leaf. I put this in pint jars and freeze them, then I use them in chili and other recipes that call for stewed tomatoes.