Homemade Kahlua

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Audrey

I started getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas today by making one of Ma’am’s best, most asked for recipes – Kahlua. It is a simple thing to make but you need to make it early and let it sit at least one month before serving. It is even better if you wait longer, as in YEARS! I am going for 6 months. But, since I doubled the recipe I may keep half of it longer. As it “ages” the water evaporates and it consequently thickens and becomes sweeter.

If coffee flavored liqueuer isn’t your thing, we also have recipes for Apricot Liqueuer, Amaretto (almond flavored) and Galliano (anise flavored).

 Kahlua

  • 4 cups granulated sugarhomemade kahlua - coffee flavored liqueur
  • 2 ounces instant coffee powder (not crystals)
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 750 ml bottle of vodka
  • 1 vanilla bean

Mix sugar and coffee well.  Add boiling water and stir until dissolved.  Add vodka.  Pour into bottles.  Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise.  Put half bean in each bottle and cork.  Let stand in a dark place for 30 days or longer.

Dark beer bottles work well.  For 12 ounce bottles use ¼ vanilla bean. I put them back into the vodka bottle and a 2 liter soda bottle. I will put them in nicer bottles for gift giving.

—-

Homemade Kahlua - Coffee flavored liqueur - That RecipeA toast to the servicemen and women and their families that paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the United States. From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!

Until next time, happy eating

~Audrey

 

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Barilla 4 Layer No Boil Lasagna

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Audrey

First things first, Barilla is NOT sponsoring this post. I just happen to like the recipe that used to be on the back of the box of their No Boil Lasagne. Now it is a new 5 layer recipe. I prefer this one, mostly because it fits better in my pan. Also, the new one says it bakes in only 30 minutes. I don’t want to bash a recipe that I have never tried before, but I am not sure how the noodles will cook and cheese will melt in only 30 minutes.

For the meat, I use ground beef or pork or turkey (whatever is in the house) and spice it up like my husband’s grandfather’s Italian Sausage before browning. I usually use about 1/4 of the spices omitting the salt for a pound of meat because I like the extra flavor. If you want to go meatless, omit the meat and add a box of chopped spinach, well drained! Or any other green or vegetable you want. Feel free to use both meat and spinach – my husband would snub it so I don’t add it.

I follow the recipe pretty closely, except for more cheese and sauce. I always seem to run out of both by the time it comes to the final layer.

Barilla Four Layer No-Boil Lasagna

  • 1 pound beef, turkey, pork or Italian sausageFour Layer Lasagna - That Recipe
  • 2 eggs
  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (1 pound)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 24-ounce jars of pasta sauce (flavor of your choice)
  • 1 box No Boil Lasagna (9 ounce)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, oil or spray a 13 x 9 x 3 inch pan. If your pan is only 2″ high it may boil over, either make one less layer or place on pan on a baking sheet.

Brown meat, drain and crumble into small bits. In a small bowl beat eggs briefly then combine with ricotta and 2 cups mozzarella cheese.

Layer as follows

  • 1 cup pasta sauce
  • 4 sheets of pasta, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, half of meat, 1 cup of mozzarella, 1 cup pasta sauce
  • 4 sheets of pasta, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, 1 1/2 cup of pasta sauce
  • 4 sheets of pasta, remaining ricotta mixture and meat, 1 cup sauce
  • 4 sheets of pasta, remaining sauce and mozzarella

Bake covered with foil until bubbly, about 50-60 minutes. Uncover and cook until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

—

I slice all of the lasagna into pieces, then freeze any leftovers on a baking sheet and transfer to a zippered freezer bag. This way we can reheat a serving or two at a time at a later date.

Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey

Posted in Beef, Main Courses - meat, Main Courses - meatless, Pasta | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Monkey Bread

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Audrey

I have no idea why it is called Monkey Bread. It doesn’t look like a monkey, it doesn’t have bananas in it. Wikipedia, doesn’t know either but conjectures that it looks like a Monkey Puzzle Tree. Okay, if you say so.

Basically it is a yeast dough, cut into bits, rolled in cinnamon and sugar and baked in a tube or Bundt pan. You can buy refrigerator biscuits or make your own like I did in my last post. On Monday I made a full recipe of the biscuits and cooked up about 1/2 the recipe and put the rest in the fridge. On Wednesday I made the Monkey Bread with the other half.

make your own tube pan - That RecipeI wasn’t sure if J was really going to eat it so I only made a small one. Since I don’t have a small tube pan, I made my own by putting a glass cup inside a crockery baking dish to make my own tube pan.  Just make sure everything is oven proof. It came together very quickly and we had breakfast within 30 minutes.

Maybe, all of you don’t have an early riser that is up four hours before school like I do, but this is definately do-able for a weekend morning. Or maybe a brunch, or dessert, or late night snack or heck anytime you are craving it.

Monkey Bread

  • 1 recipe Refrigerator Biscuits  pre-made (or 2 cans of store bought)Monkey Bread - That Recipe
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat tube/bundt pan with baking spray. Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a medium sized bowl, roll tablespoon size scoops of biscuit dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture and layer in the tube pan.

Mix brown sugar and melted butter, pour over the dough in the pan. Bake until done, about 20 minutes when a toothpick inserted in one of the biscuits comes out clean. Place serving plate on top of pan and flip it over.

Variations: add nuts, raisins or other dried fruits while layering the balls or add some peanut butter or butterscotch pudding powdered mix into the syrup to pour on top.

——

I actually left out the brown sugar syrup on the top and it was still delicious. I should have made the entire recipe since J devoured it! AND he even ate the rest for breakfast the next day.

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Refrigerator Biscuits

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Audrey

My mom finds me the coolest cookbooks! One of her latest finds was Miriam B. Loo’s Holiday Cookbook originally published by Current, Inc. in 1979. Before I even got to the recipes, these fell out of the book.

S&H green stamps

S&H GREEN STAMPS!!!! Anyone else flashback to the Brady Bunch? A sewing machine or a boat? Oh no, Tiger knocked over the house of cards. S&H is still around though they have updated their business model to ”get points for buying from online stores through their site then redeem for gift cards”. I can still turn these in to get credit for what amounts to about a dime. PASS!

Wow, have our tastes changed in 30 plus years! Not too many cookbooks today have recipes for gelatin salads. How about this beauty?

Tomato and Avocado Aspic

Tomato and Avocado Aspic

But there are some great recipes hidden in here too. This week I decided to make Refrigerator Biscuits, mostly because I was intrigued by a recipe with not one, not two but THREE LEAVENERS! Baking powder, baking soda and yeast. It better have an “extra light texture” as proclaimed in the recipe description.

Normally, I make simple baking powder biscuits (dump ingredients, quick stir, roll, cut bake.) Quick, easy, and a bit dense. These have a few more ingredients and take a little longer, but have the added bonus of being able to be made ahead and stuck in the fridge for up to 5 days. I don’t know about freezing them, but tonight I think I will pre-cut some biscuits and individually quick freezing them. I will keep you posted.

I didn’t have buttermilk, but I did have some half and half that was in danger of expiring so I used that and some milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup.

The biscuits are not going to rise to full size in the 20-30 minute rise period like traditional yeast bread. Don’t worry, just wait until the come out of the oven!

Refrigerator Biscuits

  • 2 cups buttermilkRefrigerator Biscuits - That Recipe
  • 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup butter or margarine

Heat buttermilk until lukewarm (110 – 120 degrees) add yeast and stir until dissolved. In a large bowl sift and then combine all dry ingredients. Cut in butter/margarine until it resembles small peas. Add the buttermilk and stir until completely incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To Bake: On a floured board roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut biscuits, place on a baking sheet and let rest for 20 – 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10 minutes.

—

So did they live up to their billing? YES! They were the lightest biscuits I’ve ever made. Yes, I know I could go get some Poppin Fresh ones from the store and be done with it, but where’s the fun in that?

I only used about a third to half of the dough, because I had plans for the other half. It still made 8 large biscuits, plenty for my family of 3. Well, maybe not. J devoured two of them in the blink of an eye!

Next time I will share what I did with the other half of the dough for breakfast this morning. Here’s a preview.

Monkey Bread - That Recipe

Until then, happy eating.
~Audrey

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Tim Boyd’s Barbecue Brisket

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Audrey

It must be Christmas time in my house. Or maybe not. My sister-in-law, Irene, gave me this recipe that she makes every year for Christmas dinner.  Her guys LOVE it to the point they will actually eat leftovers, something they normally don’t do.

I finally got around to making it because I found a small brisket on sale. It was only 2 1/2 pounds so I needed to reduce the overall cooking time, but it came out great.

This recipe was originally written to be cooked in a smoker, which I do not have. But he includes instructions for cooking it in the oven which I explain below. Despite the thought that barbecue and summer are a perfect pair, this is not a recipe I recommend for summer time. The oven on for 4 hours in the middle of winter is nice, not so much when it is 90 degrees outside. So, if it is already that hot where you are, Pin it and come back to it when it cools down. Luckily, I made it on a cold rainy 65 degree day we had on Monday… before it got over 100 degrees by the weekend. Love May in SoCal!

The only changes I made to the recipe were to increase the amount of ketchup and tomato sauce in the sauce because my husband feared my persnickety little man would think it was too spicy. I thought it was one of the best barbecue sauces I have ever made, and even if I never make the brisket again, I will make the sauce again.

Tim Boyd’s Barbecue BrisketTim Boyd's Barbecue Brisket - That Recipe

  • 1 3- to 4-pound brisket, top cut, fat trimmed
  • 2 cups beef stock (for oven cooking only – not needed for smoker cooking)

The dry rub:

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder

The sauce:

  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup apple-cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine Dry Rub ingredients then brisket with dry rub and place in a roasting pan or casserole just large enough to hold it. Bake uncovered for 1 hour.

Add beef stock. Turn oven down to 300 degrees. Cover pan tightly with foil and cook until fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. Remove and let stand, covered, for 20 minutes. Slice and serve with sauce.

———

It was pretty much a hit at our house too. Of course with my little man all I had to say was “This is Cousin Kyle’s favorite.” That will get him to try just about anything. Well, anything except a vegetable that is.

Until next time, happy eating!

~Audrey

Posted in Beef, Main Courses - meat | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Audrey

Confession time: I like to eat raw cookie dough, and my son is definitely a beater licker. I know it could be dangerous with salmonella, e-coli, blah-blah-blah. So, when I saw this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles from Love and Olive Oil I knew I had to try it! So, I pinned it, and like most people do with Pinterest, promptly forgot about.

Then we got the note from school that it is Staff Appreciation Week at school and Tuesday was “bring your teacher his/her favorite candy” day. Well, number one I don’t know Ms. Cindy’s favorite candy and number two, besides Ms. Cindy he has about seven to ten other aides and assistants and specialists that he works with throughout the day and I didn’t want to leave anyone out. So, I scrolled through my “Recipes to Try” board and found the recipe again.

I ran to the store for mini chocolate chips and candy melts and I was ready to go! I made them exactly like the recipe EXCEPT (you know I always have an except) since I only had a few hours to make them so I skipped the one hour chilling time after mixing and instead of rolling I used my small cookie scoop.

I only scooped half of the dough and threw the rest in the fridge to do after school. Ugh! Should have hand rolled at that point. The scoop did not want to go through the stiff dough. Lesson learned, choose one method or the other, scoop immediately with the cookie scoop or chill and roll by hand.

I am not a real fan of the taste of candy melts, but I needed a slam dunk quickly and didn’t want to risk my skill at tempering chocolate.  But, they came out tasting good, even better this morning than they were yesterday.  I still want to perfect tempering though.

And a quick mention of allergens, you can easily make these dairy free and/or vegan, and probably even gluten-free with just a few substitutions.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough TrufflesChocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup milk or cream (soy or almond milk works too)
  • 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 14 oz chocolate candy coating

Directions:

Beat butter and sugars and in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add cream and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt until mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Use a small cookie scoop to make approximately 1″ balls and place on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Or cover and chill dough until firm (about 1 hour) and hand-roll into 1″ balls.

Place sheets in freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate candy coating according to package directions. Coat the balls with chocolate, put back on cookie sheet. Chill until set. Devour.

—

This morning, Ms Cindy told me they were delicious. But, I am not so sure considering she said there were some left still – ha ha! THANK YOU to all of the staff and teachers at Murrieta Elementary School. We will miss you next year when we switch to our neighborhood school.

Until next time, happy eating!
~Audrey

 

Posted in Desserts | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wow ‘em with Watermelon!

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Audrey

Not five miutes after I posted some fruit themed cover photos to Facebook, Google+ and Twitter than one of my friends posted this picture of the Birthday Fruit Cake that her daughter made her for her birthday.

cake carved from watermelon and other fruit

photo credit: Maria Neely

That does not look like “my mama’s fruit cake”! Here are Caitlyn’s directions:

It’s one big and one small watermelon, 1 mango, 1 cantaloupe, 1 pineapple, 3 kiwi and it originally asked for blueberries but I used grapes! Cool Whip (low fat) is what I used to keep the cantaloupe and watermelon together!

Fresh and beautiful! Nice job, Caitlyn. And a belated Happy Birthday, Maria! I won’t say which one, because we are the same age – ha ha!

And if you are looking for some other fun things to do with watermelon this summer how about:

a watermelon shark:

Watermelon Shark with Swedish Fish

photo credit: National Watermelon Promotion Board

or Tapping a Watermelon and filling with the beverage of your choice:

watermelontap

photo credit: Instructables

The National Watermelon Promotions Board has a plethora of creative carving ideas.

Do you have any fun ways of serving fruit aside from smashing it a la Gallagher? Please share.

Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey

 

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Stuffed Grape Leaves

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Audrey

Red Table Grape Plant

This is the year I am determined to use all three parts of my grape plant:

  • the fruit for jelly and raisins (I do this every year)
  • the vines for decorations
  • the leaves for Stuffed Grape Leaves.

Yes, if you grow grapes you can use those leaves to eat instead of buying them from the store. Cool!

Research time. I actually had to pull things together from three different sources for this dish. Lucky you can just click on the links below and save time. You are welcome.

Fresh Grape LeafPicking and preparing the leaves. Per About.com, late spring early summer is the time to pick them, while they are still tender. Their method for choosing leaves seemed a bit overmuch for me, I just picked leaves about the size of my hand that were blocking the grapes from getting full sun. Something I do at this time every year but instead of into the composter they went into the kitchen. I snipped off the stems (including the little hard part where it was attached to the leaf) washed them and then dumped them in a pot of boiling water, turned the burner off and let them sit for 5 minutes. Drained the water and voila! grape leaves ready for stuffing.

If you don’t have access to a grape plant, no problem, you can buy them jarred and ready to go in the grocery store, probably in the Middle Eastern section. I have never looked for them.

The filling. I decided to go with Emeril Lagasse’s recipe, because I like Emeril and I had the ingredients. Per one snotty reviewer it may not be “authentic” but they were delicious and not the least bit “tough and tasteless” as his/her doom and gloom predictions. Especially for those of us without easy access to (or oodles of cash in our food budgets for) fresh ground lamb. Sheesh – pan a recipe without even trying it! How RUDE! and did nothing to deter me from trying it.

I am not going to cut and paste the recipe here and try to pass it off as mine (another pet peeve of mine). Go to Food Network’s site. I followed the filling recipe and preparation exactly except for the green onions and fresh mint. I was out so I subbed some garlic chives from my garden and dried mint.

Rolling and Baking. Emeril’s directions for rolling them made no sense to me until I found another link with pictures. About.com to the rescue again. Oh, that’s what he was trying to say! After the first few it was pretty easy.

The cooking was the longest part! It took the full 1 1/2 hours in my oven. I sampled them at 1 hour and was very dissappointed, but I splashed in a little more water, tightly covered it back up with foil and let them keep going.

Stuffed Grape Leaves - Dolmadas

 They were incredible. And I am sure neither of the guys will want to try them so I get them all to myself, mwa ha ha ha!

Until next time, happy eating!

~Audrey

Posted in Appetizers, Beef, Main Courses - meat | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Enchiladas, Margaritas and Micheladas

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Audrey

I feel the same about Cinco de Mayo as I do about St Patrick’s Day. Both have become perverted by the alcohol industry in America (particularly the beer industry). What started as a celebration of ethnic pride has in many cases just turned into an excuse to go out and drink heavily. Ugh! So, am I selling out by sharing some Mexican recipes? Probably, but there is a slight irony to today’s recipe.

First, let’s clear up the misconception that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. That is September 16. It marks the anniversary of the unlikely victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

This recipe is from my grandmother. Nope, not the Texan, the one of FRENCH heritage. Yup, here’s a French woman’s recipe for Enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo. Well, I thought it was funny!

Anyway, these do take some effort but are definitely worth it. You can speed things up by using store bought tortillas, just heat them a little before trying to roll them. For chicken, substitute thickly sliced boneless chicken breasts or thighs and shred with a fork before serving. For cheese enchiladas, omit the meat filling and add shredded monterey jack (or your favorite cheese).

EnchiladasEnchiladas - Beef, Chicken or Cheese

Filling

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 (14 ½-ounces) can tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 dashes Tabasco sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder

Brown the ground meat and drain off the fat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until they are translucent. Add the other ingredients and simmer for one hour.

Gravy

  • 1 quart water
  • 3 bullion cubes
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • cornstarch as needed

Simmer the ingredients for half an hour and thicken with cornstarch.

Tortillas

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix and sift cornmeal, flour, cornstarch and salt. Beat eggs until light. Add milk and oil. Beat into dry ingredients. Pour into a pitcher.

Heat 8-inch skillet and cover bottom with oil or cooking spray. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into center of skillet. Grasp handle and twist and turn until bottom of skillet is evenly covered with batter. Flip when light brown. Store cooked tortilla between paper towels until all are cooked. Oil or spray pan between tortillas.

Assembling the Enchiladas

Dip each tortilla in gravy and fill generously with meat sauce. Roll with the ends on bottom. Place on individual serving plates. Cover enchilada with gravy and sprinkle with monterey jack cheese and chopped ripe or stuffed green olives.

—–

Some fruity salsa, like Mango or Melon Pineapple, complement these nicely. And of course, for the grown ups, you probably want to wash them down with a Margarita or Michelada.

Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey

 

Posted in Beef, Beverages, Cheese and Eggs, Main Courses - meat, Poultry, Relishes, Jams and Jellies | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Zucchini Frittata

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Audrey

Here’s a simple breakfast recipe that you can whip up on a weekend morning or maybe even for a special springtime brunch (*cough* Mother’s Day *cough*). It originally came from the little cookbook that came with a food processor years ago. Don’t have a food processor? Just chop the vegetables by hand and whip with a whisk. I have doubled it and taken to pot lucks and halved it for the family (figure 2 eggs a piece this will serve a family of 4).

It can be adapted for specific diets. It is already low carb and gluten free. Use egg substitute and reduce the amount of cheese (or use low fat) to lower the overall fat content. Omit the cheese and it is casein free.

The vegetables listed are a suggestion. This recipe is at its best when you use what is fresh and in season. Or if you have a picky eater, like I do, add whatever they will eat. I removed the asparagus from his portion and sprinkled them on top of mine.

If you want it thin use a 13 x 9 pan, for thicker consider a 9 x 9 square or pie plate.

Zucchini Frittata

  • 1 clove garlic Zucchini Frittata
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1 medium-large zucchini
  • 2 large leaves Swiss chard or a “handful” of fresh spinach
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 8 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Process garlic in food processor until chopped.  Cut onion and zucchini in chunks.  Cut Swiss chard stems in 2 in lengths; cut leaves in 1 inch wide strips.  Add onion, zucchini and chard stems to garlic and process with on-off bursts until coarsely chopped.  Set aside.  Process leaves with 3 long bursts or until coarsely chopped.

Heat oil in wide frying pan over medium heat, add chopped vegetables.  Stir occasionally.  Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly limp.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Process eggs, salt and pepper for 3 minutes.   Add cheese and vegetables and process with 2 on-off bursts to mix.  Pour unto buttered baking dish.  Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

—

Hey Dads, I just thought of something! Maybe you and the kids could make this for Mom for Mother’s Day on May 12. Add some toast or a muffin, her favorite beverage and a nice homemade card and you will have one happy Mama in your house.

Until next time, happy eating!
~Audrey

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