Steel Cut Oatmeal....hot and ready.

I got this idea...so easy you can hardly call it a recipe....from (smart, funny & oh so well written )Ann Kroeker.

I have never been a fan of mush...gooey, slimy, ugh. I have always undercooked my oats to keep them a little more chewy. Steel cut oats are awesome because they take so long to cook that I always have plenty of chewy goodness. I tried this idea with a little hesitation because it fully cooks the oats, but I love the idea of waking up in the morning to a warm breakfast ready. I mixed it with blueberries*, almonds and honey; it was quite tasty. The texture was more creamy than slimy, and I even had two bowls.

Enough chatter, here's the info. Pull out your crock pot...yep, your crock pot...and pour a couple inches of water in the bottom. Find a glass bowl that will fit inside your crock pot with the lid on and hold 4 cups water and 1 cup steel cut oats. Add the oats and water to the glass bowl and put the glass bowl in the crock pot....think double broiler. Put the lid on your crock pot, turn it on low and go to bed. In the morning it will be hot and ready. If you don't all eat together just scoop out what you need and put the lid back on to keep it hot and moist.

*if you use frozen berries, take them out the night before, or it will be like putting ice cubes in your oatmeal, and I don't care how creamy it is, cold oatmeal is...well, for the dog.

Italian Bread

This recipe takes a long time but is easy to do as the day goes along...if you remember soon enough.

Italian Bread

1 tsp white sugar
1 T active dry yeast
3 C warm water
7 C all-purpose flour, divided
1 T salt, divided
t T cornmeal

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Sir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until soft. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Once doubled, punch down and divide into 3 pieces. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.

Once doubled again, punch down and form into 3 fat oval shaped loaves. Grease baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.

Preheat oven to 450. Once risen, mist loaves with water and bake in the preheated oven. Mist loaves again with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done in about 30 minutes (the recipe said 1 hour, but it was definitely done in half that) or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. (If you tap them and they don't sound hollow, don't be afraid to just throw 'em right back in the oven til they're done)

White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili

1 T oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (4.5oz)can chopped jalapeno peppers (or not)
1 (4.5oz) can chopped green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 (10.5 oz) can s chicken broth
3 C chopped cooked chicken breast
3 (15oz) cans white beans
1 C shredded Monterrey Jack or something similar

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno peppers, green chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken, and whit beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.

*If your going to freeze it wait until you reheat to mix in the cheese.

Chicken Manicotti

Emily, this recipe was made for the freezer. It's designed to make two...one to cook up for dinner and one to freeze for later, but it does make a lot so you might even get away with splitting it in thirds and freezing two. We have also frozen successfully sloppy Joe's, the meat mixture for taco salad, taco soup, and burrito filling (Bean Burritos in Mandy's cookbook p.41). I'm also going to post a Italian bread recipe, as most bread freezes well, and a white chili recipe that should freeze well also.

Chicken Manicotti

1 T garlic powder
1-1/2 lbs boneless chk
16 uncooked manicotti shells
2 jars 26oz each spaghetti sauce, divided
1 lb bulk Italian sausage, cooked and drained
½ lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 C water

Rub garlic powder over chicken; cut into 1 in strips. Stuff chicken into manicotti shells. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce in each of two 13-in x 9-in x 2-in baking dishes. Place eight stuffed manicotti shells in each dish. Sprinkle with sausage and mushrooms. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Drizzle water around the edge of each dish. Cover and bake one casserole at 375 for 65-70 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and pasta is tender. Cover and freeze remaining casserole for up to 1 month. Yield: 2 casseroles (4 servings each).

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature for 30 min. Bake as directed.

Cheese Cake

My latest passion, and one that needs to be restrained, is making cheese cake. My kids like it, but not enough to eat it before I do, except Soni, my partner in crime. So here it is...and of course there is no picture...just imagine my hips an inch or to wider.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 whole crackers crushed)
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted

2 1/2 pounds (five 8-ounce packages) cream cheese. at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Topping (optional)
1 cup red jelly (not jam). such as current, raspberry, or strawberry
3 half-pints fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter, mix until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. Using your hands, press crumbs into bottom of pan and 1 inch up the sides. Bake 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Increase oven temperature to 450. Place cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and blend on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, combing well after each addition. With mixer on low, add sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into crust.

Bake cake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 225 and bake an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off oven and open door wide. Cake will not be completely set in center. leave cake in oven with door open 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit at room temperature another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove cake from springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of cake. Retain bottom of pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, gently toss raspberries and jelly until well-mixed; using a spoon, arrange berries on top of cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

* I halved the recipe and put it in a large pre made crust, bought frozen strawberries heated them up with sugar and a little water for the topping.

Cake Pops

Surely this is more of just an idea than an actual recipe, but the possibilities are endless....and I warn you they are VERY addictive. This army of snowmen look a little angry here, but they pleased Austin's entire class and tonight I find myself making more. I also bought an edible marker to put smiles on them...so they're not so scary. Pretzel arms or some kind of a hat might be a nice touch too. These were the only three left standing....until Phil got home.

Soni didn't want snowmen for her class party, she is all about the cupcake. I'm not so sure if they look like cupcakes, but they were the first treat gone from the table....yes, my competitive little self was watching to see.

What's in these things anyway?

Cake mix and frosting of your choice.

Candy melts or chocolate.

Whatever decorations you need to finish the effect.

Bake the cake according to directions. Let it cool enough that your not burning your hands when you crumble it all to tiny pieces in a large bowel. Mix in about 2/3 of your container of frosting so that it is a nice gooey consistency.

Roll into balls. Put a dab of melted candy on the end of your stick and insert into your ball. If your making the snowmen repeat the process for the second ball stopping just short of going all the way through.

Freeze for an hour or two, then dip in candy melts or chocolate.

Add extras immediately as it hardens pretty fast.

Google cake balls for more ideas. They range from silly to very fancy, and made from just about any combination of cake and frosting. Limited only by your imagination.

Cajun Chicken Fettuccine

I found this in a magazine and turns out, hubby and I both really liked it...very rare. The kids tolerated it, (that is pretty good for my kids) until the heat caught up with them...except Laser Boy, ever since the Tabasco fiasco the kid can take just about anything, and he had three helpings. Sorry no picture..it was pretty, and went pretty fast.

8oz uncooked fettuccine (I used penne)
1 large sweet onion halved and sliced
1 med green pepper cut into 1/4 in. strips
2 T olive oil
2 C cubed cooked chicken
4 tsp Cajun seasoning (use your own judgement)
1 tsp minced garlic (I used about 2)
1 jar (17 oz) Alfredo sauce
1/2 C spaghetti sauce
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't have any so I left it out)

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion and peppers in oil until tender. Add chicken,Cajun and garlic; heat through. Add drained fettuccine. Stir in Alfredo and spaghetti sauces.

Transfer to a greased 13X9 baking dish. Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 min longer or until golden brown.

Note: I used the frozen pepper/onion mix so it all went together really quick. When I have more time I'd like to try it from scratch, including the spaghetti and Alfredo...I have a spaghetti recipe that I think would work great, but I've never tried Alfredo sauce.