Substitutions or Additions

Homemade topping from a can?
And I'm not talking about an aerosol can. It's vegan, as well! I found this recipe and site when I was taking a quick look at a no-bake, pumpkin and CHOCOLATE pie? The directions for the pie are a bit sketchy (like she says to melt the chocolate chips, but never says when to use them?), but the homemade cool whip intrigued me. To add to that tantalizing thought, there's ALSO a chocolate mousse version?!? As I happened to have a couple cans of coconut milk, and hadn't had my chocolate fix for the day...
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Make sure you use 'full-fat' coconut milk, or it won't whip up as firmly as you might like (which I found out). To quote the site (for the “plain topping”), “Calories per tablespoon: 24. This whipped cream is also sugar-free, if you use stevia. And unlike Cool Whip, which lists “hydrogenated oil” as its second ingredient, my recipe has no trans fats nor high fructose corn syrup. “ The cocoa adds about 100 calories for the entire batch (I yielded about 2 cups)... For comparison, a HALF Tablespoon of heavy cream (which yields about a Tablespoon whipped)– before adding any sweetener – has 26 calories and almost 3 grams of saturated fat. Not only is it healthier, I like the idea of being able to have a couple cans on the shelf for those times when you want “that something special”. OH – did I tell you that it tastes absolutely decadent?!? It most certainly does wink

Posted by Linda :
Wednesday 28 November 2012 - 01:17:35
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You've GOT to know me better than this by now...
But apparently, my own family doesn't?!??! I was asked to bring GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE to our 'first' Thanksgiving Dinner (tomorrow – there's another on the actual day). And sorry, I just CAN'T do that classic. There's not a single thing wrong with it (other than most of it is pre-processed stuff) – in fact, I quite enjoy it, yet... Personally, I was thinking of a baked Cranberry Brie? You'll just have to wait – OH heck – maybe the second half of the family will welcome it?!? You can always email me at cookingskewl@gmail.com if you want it NOW. If not, I WILL make that for Christmas!!! smile In my opinion, the thing that is lacking in the traditional/classic/commercial(?) 'green bean casserole' is the flavor of mushrooms. Search, search search... not much going on using the original name. Many versions of the original, still a ton of pre-made stuff... So I searched 'mushroom casseroles'. Truly LIKED this idea - ok, skip the crust, add beans - uses sour cream and Swiss cheese in lieu of a bechamel sauce? AWESOME!! And the garnishing tip really could work! A friend suggested a bacon version – I liked THIS one the best, but maybe for another time... Just too many flavors to introduce on our traditional T-Day, but I definitely will make another time... Yeah, I'm being picky – but that's what you pay me the big bucks for, right? LOL!!! I'm just plain ole' finicky... SO – the verdict is (well, sort of) in. I AM MAKING THIS recipe, with the following changes: I will be using more, larger pieces of mushrooms, and reserving caps for garnish
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I will be using Swiss cheese, unless I hear in the next couple of hours that it's an Italian Turkey (I've actually MADE one of those before – by happenstance...) I'm still confused as to whether to top it with potato chips, crackers, corn flakes, panko... something to add that crunch? All my culinary experience says to TASTE the finished sauce, and then decide.
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Ended it up using panko, toasted in butter... Honestly, this has been a fun challenge – making something 'old' new again! And the flavors were unique, but subtle enough to go with the rest of our outstanding meal.

Posted by Linda :
Saturday 17 November 2012 - 20:27:26
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I LOVE this idea!
When was the last time you had a Sloppy Joe? Unless you have kids, I'm guessing it's been a while... Yes, they can be messy (how they got their name, silly), and as a grown up you might end up using a knife and fork – but if you remember, they also tasted pretty great! Here's a way to make them new again – make ”Sloppy Potatoes”! I’d definitely go for the sweet potato option - one of the single most nutritious, readily available foods we have. When smothered with all that “goodness”, it's a good way to sneak in a veggie. Still not convinced? Have you ever had 'loaded' potato skins? Or that chili baked potato that one of the fast-food franchises sells? It's pretty much the same thing, just a different flavor.
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If you don't feel like fussing with Rachael's recipe (tho it's pretty straight forward), you can always go with your favorite recipe, prepared “Joe” product, or for me, I used Brovelli Joes to add another veg and make it even simpler. 'Brovelli Joes' only has 3 or 4 ingredients, and using a lo-cal BBQ sauce actually makes this a very healthy meal. And don't we all want something new once in a while?

Posted by Linda :
Wednesday 07 November 2012 - 19:47:06
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You might have heard...
There was this storm? While my area was at the edges and suffered merely minor damage and only brief power outages, thousands of other locales and families were not so lucky. My thoughts, prayers, and best wishes are with you. We STILL were hammered with all the warnings of precautions to take. While I have a gas grill, the idea of standing outside in 40-50mph winds and pelting rain did not appeal to me given the possible worst case scenario. Rather than stocking up on canned goods and breakfast cereal (even in a storm, I have my standards!), so took a quick look through my pantry to see what I could make that would keep reasonably well and taste adequate warm or cold. Mac and cheese seemed to fit that bill - well, if you call spiral veggie pasta 'mac'? Only a handful of ziti in the cabinet... Opting to use the spicy cheese sauce included with the soft pretzel recipe as a starting point, I had everything except the cream cheese. Actually, that was perfect, as I wanted to have it be a bit thinner so as to coat the pasta better, and subbing milk would solve TWO problems (less milk to possibly go bad). Hmmm... not a well-balanced choice all by itself. How about if I add a can of diced tomatoes? And that lonely chorizo that's been hiding in the freezer? And onions, definitely some onions. Realizing that I was heading into a Mexican or at least Southwest palate, some cumin and chili powder couldn't hurt... maybe a touch of coriander? Diced the sausage, sauteed, then added the onion, garlic and jalapeno until tender. Drained tomatoes went in just to cook off the extra moisture. Cooked the pasta, then drained, reserving a bit of the pasta water. Made the sauce in the pasta pot (it's super quick!), and then tossed everything in, stirred and transferred to a buttered baking dish. Topped with a little reserved cheddar, then popped into the oven...
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Ladies and Gents - a new favorite has been born! The only thing that might have made it better would be if I had had some some crumbled tortilla chips to add to the reserved cheddar for the topping - just a bit of crunch? Sorry, I didn't measure anything, just played as I went... BUT THAT'S the FUN of the kitchen!!!!

Posted by Linda :
Tuesday 30 October 2012 - 22:02:17
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A perfect Autumn treat
I've spent most of my life in Upstate New York, and this season means cool days & crisp nights, vibrant colors, high school football games – and apples! When I found this recipe I gazed in awe – three of my favorite things rolled into one. I mean, what could make an apple crisp even more perfect? Bake it on top of a layer of cheesecake, and drizzle it with caramel, that's what! It's my Mom's birthday, and I asked her if I were to bake a pie, would she prefer apple or pumpkin (I've got another great one coming, folks!) - she said she liked them both but would prefer apple. Then I promptly informed her that I was NOT baking a pie, which left her totally perplexed...
ApplechCAKE
Not anymore! Needing to tweak (just part of my nature), I added a touch of both lemon juice and peel to the cheesecake layer, a pinch each of ginger, ground cloves, and allspice to the apple spices, and HAD to add pecans (Mom's favorite) to the streusel topping... While the recipe says to drizzle the caramel sauce over the entire tray, and then add some more(?) I opted to serve it strictly on the side... Oh, and I used this recipe from Ree Drummond to make my own caramel sauce... Ignore the instruction there that says “until it starts to thicken” and just go by the time – 5 to 7 minutes once it starts to boil. It will thicken as it cools, and if you keep on boiling, you'll end up with a jar of hard candy! I nuked for a minute before I served to make it pourable.
Applechslice
I think it went over pretty well cheesey.

Posted by Linda :
Wednesday 17 October 2012 - 17:11:09
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Thirty minutes (or so) to WOW!
My favorite Chinese take out (or better yet, delivered!) dinner is either Kung Pao Chicken, or General Tso. Both are sweet and spicy, robust in flavor... and both are fried frown. I found a great recipe for Kung Pao a few years back at America's Test Kitchen (I use their recipe for Kung Pao Shrimp, just subbing chicken and cooking a little longer) – it is quite good, and while I keep a well stocked Asian pantry, I don't always have all of the ingredients at my dispoasal, so some pre-planning is required. But THIS version of General Tso has very few 'asian specific' ingredients, and I DO have those at all times! The other stuff – like flour, sugar, cayenne, garlic... I'm hoping you have most of those as well. Do all your measuring and prep work first - this really goes fast once you get started... Really simple technique used here – you dredge your boneless chicken in a flour that you've seasoned, and BAKE it (note: don't forget to flip halfway through)! While that's going, you mix your sauce ingredients (if you didn't take my prep advice), make a caramel syrup by boiling water and sugar together, and then combine. Exercise caution when combining the hot and cold stuff – hot sugar is nothing to mess with!!! But YUM – this really works cheesey
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Toss your baked chicken with the sauce and serve over rice. Best part?!!? It can be done in 30 - 40 MINUTES! Home delivery can take that long – and this is just as good, healthier, fresher, cheaper... So try some “take-out” at home wink

Posted by Linda :
Saturday 22 September 2012 - 15:24:18
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Two, two, two meals from one!
Ok, unless you're of a 'certain age' you won't 'get' that reference – just a silly way to title a piece on how I creatively used left-overs. Remember those stuffed italian peppers I made a while back? After the third meal, as good as they were, they were getting a little tiresome – so I turned them into calzones! Heck – they already had great flavor, sauce and cheese – all they needed was a pizza dough wrapper and a little baking...
Pepcalzopen
Always make a few slices in the dough to allow steam out, or the whole thing will either turn to mush – or worse, explode.
Pepcalzones
I'd make the peppers again if only to make more of these!!! But you really should try them fresh out of the oven all by themselves, as well wink I've made 'pockets' out of all kinds of left-overs – from stews to Chinese take out! The trick is to not allow the filling to be too wet – enough sauce for flavor and hold it all together, but again – you don't want a soggy mush. My busiest season is fast approaching – time to stock up on some items like these, as well as those breakfast pockets I've enjoyed! You will, too.

Posted by Linda :
Monday 17 September 2012 - 16:47:46
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Even MORE 'perfect' pickles?
When I went to the 'niche' store to get my curing salt for that other project, I saw incredibly beautiful cucumbers at less than half the price of my local grocer. There weren't many, and not quite enough for the full gallon of pickles I usually make (but that's kinda okay, 'cause I've been busy, and the fridge is sorta overflowing!)... so I opted for a half batch. EXCEPT – I forgot that part when I started to measure out the spices? Yep – I used the amount of turmeric for an entire batch (the first spice on the the list)... It had also occurred to me earlier that as this was simply a half batch, I might try the variation I'd been thinking of, so I added three HEAPING teaspoons of diced garlic (about six, seven eight cloves?)... All of a sudden, it hit me that this was only a HALF batch!?!?!!? Uh oh... So, for the rest of the ingredients I stayed true to the previous measurements, dividing in half... But I must say to all of you Ladies and Gents – I'm absolutely LOVING the flavor of the brine!
Picklejar
I'll be able to give you a full report later in the weekend (sadly, not before, as Papa and Anita are my best palate critics and that's when I'll be seeing them)... Even if by accident, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself right now! And my grin is pretty wide smile

Posted by Linda :
Saturday 01 September 2012 - 14:41:29
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Yeah, it was one of those days...
I quit smoking a couple months ago – I'm really proud, and glad I did – but darn it all, I WANTED ONE!!! There are only two things I've found that help fight the urge when it gets that bad, and he wasn't available wink SOOOO, I made chocolate! Even that cupboard had gotten bare with my newly heightened obsession for that delectable substance – cocoa powder was all that remained? A little googling, and brownies seemed to be the right idea! This recipe seemed to match my readily available ingredients, as well as my time frame (done and cooled enough to cut in an hour, tops!).
Browniehealth
Always, ALWAYS read the comments before you try a recipe – for example, many mentioned that these came out a little 'thin' and dry when baked in a 9”x9” pan, so I used an 8”x8”. The baking time, depending on your oven, could also be shortened to 18-22 minutes as well. And of COURSE – using melted butter instead of oil gave a more flavorful result... Since my craving was getting worse by the moment, I decided to take it a step further – I added instant espresso powder, making them 'mocha brownies'! I used a heaping teaspoon – if I were using regular instant coffee (which I keep on hand strictly for baking), I would have used a heaping Tablespoon... Now a touch calmer with the aroma of deliciousness filling the air, I opted for a final flourish – I spread homemade nutella over the whole thing!!!
Brownie
AHH – satisfaction, thy name is Chocolate! Well, at least you're a close second to my favorite option...

Posted by Linda :
Wednesday 22 August 2012 - 14:19:42
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Fun With Lobster!!
YEARS ago, my female housemate and I both were dating guys named 'Dave'. One night we decided to splurge, and bought several live lobsters to prepare for dinner. Just one problem – NO ONE wanted to be the one that ultimately sent them to their destiny. We stalled in every way possible – including staging a 'lobster race' across the kitchen floor, which delighted her two year old son. Yeah, torture for them, I'm sure – probably meaner than the final result of simply dunking them into boiling water... My first thought when I found Mario's recipe for Grilled Lobsters with Limoncello Vinaigrette was 'how delicious'! But then, I remembered the evening I just described... If you are better capable than I of eviscerating a live lobster (or several), you MUST try this! Seriously, that is the only difficulty involved. But if like me, that is not your preferred activity, I still must recommend the vinaigrette – I have no doubt that it would be incredible on any seafood, or even chicken, or many veggies. In fact, Mario served the lobster with grilled asparagus – a match made in heaven!

Posted by Linda :
Monday 13 August 2012 - 13:36:02
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