Frozen Puff Pastry

Written Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 by Theresa H Hall

Here is a fast and simple recipe that is not made from scratch, but it will delight your family everytime.

Raspberry Napolean

1 package (17 1/4 oz) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup cold milk
1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup 10X confectioners' sugar
1-1/4 cups raspberries (or sliced strawberries, or blueberries)
Additional 10X confectioners' sugar

1) On a lightly floured surface, roll out each pastry sheet to 1/8 inch thickness.

2) Using about a 3-1/2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 hearts (or any shape you desire).

3) Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4) Bake at 400 for 8-11 minutes or until golden brown.

5) Remove to wire racks to cool. Careful when handling them as they are fragile.

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1) Prepare filling by mixing the ilk and pudding mix for two minutes.

2) In a mixing bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken.

3) Add in 10X sugar until soft peaks form. Do Not Over Whip!

4) Gently fold a small amount into the pudding and continue until it is combined.

5) Split puff pastry shapes in half and place the bottom halves on serving plates.

6) Spoon 1/4 cup filling onto the bottom portions.

7) Top with (any type of fresh) berries and place the top portion on top of the berries.

8) Sprinkle a good dusting of 10X (confectioners) sugar.

9) Serve immediately and enjoy.

Great Recipes for Camping at Home

Written Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 by Penny Hawkins

This summer, many of us are opting to stay home and vacation rather than spend the money to go somewhere out-of-town. If your family is one of those that has decided to "stay-cation" this summer, don't be bummed out...you can still have a great time right at home! All it takes it a little imagination and some great recipes! The key to "stay-cationing" is to make it fun...stir things up a bit and do things you normally wouldn't do like setting up the camper or a tent and go camping in your own back yard....your kids will love it!  If you are camping this summer, remember that no matter where you do it, no camping trip is complete without great food. Something about being outside not only makes you hungrier, it also somehow makes the food taste better too!  

When I was young, we camped a lot, both at campgrounds and in our back yard, and when we camped, no trip was complete without Hobo Dinner Bundles. These tasty bundles are an all-in-one meal that's cooked in a foil packet and they're lots of fun to do. The bonus is that your kids won’t know they are eating something that is good for them! These tasty burger bundles are topped with vegetables and bacon then wrapped in foil packets and cooked over a grill or campfire (or even in your oven). The foil makes cleanup super easy for mom and fun for the kids because they can eat dinner right out of the packets! To really get into the hobo spirit, encourage everyone to dress for dinner in their “best” hobo clothing, spread a blanket on your deck or patio, use large colorful bandannas for napkins, and (clean) empty jelly jars for drinking. Your kids will love it! To complete your hobo-themed dinner, get some clean sticks from the yard and make S’mores for dessert!

1. In a large bowl combine ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, lemon juice or vinegar,  grated cheese, green bell pepper, garlic salt and pepper. Using your hands, gently combine meat mixture and shape into 4 patties.

2. Place each patty in the center of 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil (pieces should be large enough to cover and close).

3. On each patty, place potato slices, onion slice, and carrots.

4. Cut each piece of bacon in 1/2 and place both pieces on top of vegetables in each bundle.

5. Seal aluminum foil tightly and cook, seam-side up, on campfire, grill or in a preheated 350 degree F oven for approximately 45 minutes. Note: If using your oven, place foil packets on a baking sheet to catch any grease drips.

1. Top each of the 4 graham cracker squares with 1 chocolate piece and set aside.

2. Toast 4 marshmallows over a campfire or hot grill using a long-handles fork or long, clean stick (grownups should help kids with this). Using a 2^nd fork, carefully slide each toasted marshmallow onto each chocolate-topped graham cracker square.

3. Cover each marshmallow with a second graham cracker square to make a sandwich.

I hope each of you enjoys your summer, and remember that whether your vacationing away from home or "stay-cationing" right in your own back yard, make it fun.....be creative...and eat great food!

Cater Your Own Wedding and Save

Written Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 by Penny Hawkins

It's June and that means time for weddings! The Wedding Report.com estimates that the average wedding costs about $23,040, not including the cost of the engagement ring, honeymoon, wedding planner or bridal consultant! They also report that $11,790, or about one-half of the total wedding budget, is spent on the wedding reception. With the reception accounting for one-half of the total wedding cost, it’s easy to see why a bride on a budget may want to consider self-catering as a money-saving option!

I experienced this first-hand when my daughter got married a few years ago. Just like many other brides, she was on a budget, and just like many other parents of the bride, my husband and I were watching the costs add up as she talked to us about what she wanted. In the end, through compromise and some creative strategies like purchasing her gown at a discount bridal shop, using silk flowers, and catering the wedding ourselves (including the cake which I baked and decorated- pictured above) we were able to hold the cost of the entire wedding to less than $3,000! From our experience, I assure you that it can be done, but there are a few things you should consider first.

If you are a bride considering catering the reception yourself, you should know what you are getting yourself (and friends and family) into. Among other things, you should consider these factors:

Where do I have the reception? You will need a location that allows self-catering and has adequate facilities and equipment. Church reception halls are ideal for this, and many are available for a reasonable fee. Keep in mind that serving alcohol and playing secular music may not be an option if using a church reception hall. Ideally, you will want the wedding ceremony and reception locations to be either in the same place or reasonably close together. We held the wedding and reception at a church near our home which was convenient and affordable.

Who does the work? Make no mistake, catering a wedding is work! As the bride, it will be difficult for you to contribute much to food preparation, especially in the days leading up to the wedding when last-minute details will compete for your time and attention.  Keep in mind as well that friends and family members who are doing the food preparation will probably also want attend the ceremony, so you will need to decide who stays behind to get the food out before reception guests arrive. All our food was prepared by family members of the bride and groom, and two very generous friends volunteered to stay behind to heat up food and get things placed on the buffet tables.

What do I serve? Fortunately, this is easier than it seems, and there are lots of creative solutions that will easily fit into your budget. One of the easiest ways to control what you serve is by carefully choosing the time of day you hold your wedding. Guests attending an afternoon (and I mean after lunch!) wedding will not expect a full meal, while guests attending an evening wedding will expect and deserve to be served something more than finger foods. If your budget does not accommodate a full-meal reception, choose the afternoon for your wedding instead. My daughter’s wedding was at 2:00, so we were able to serve a buffet of finger foods without her guests feeling slighted or hungry. Tip #1: A buffet saves you money because it requires no wait staff, although people will usually take more food when serving themselves. If you plan for this, you will still come out ahead. Tip#2: Use smaller plates for your buffet as guests will not put as much food on them. The larger the plate, the more food people will put on it. I purchased 7-inch plastic dinner plates at Sam’s Club for my daughter’s wedding and they were ideal.

Now that you have the time of day determined, what about the menu? The internet and cookbooks are good resources for finding menus that accommodate 50 or 100 guests ( I do not recommend trying to cater for a group larger than this yourself)! To help you get started with menu ideas, here is the menu from my daughter’s reception as well as some of the recipes we used (we expected 75 guests so we cooked for 100):

Sliced Beef Brisket with Rolls- See recipe for brisket below. Rolls (8 dozen) were from a local bakery and sliced at home.

BBQ Meatballs- 12 lbs. frozen pre-cooked meatballs and sauce (4 bottles your favorite bbq sauce).

Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce- Approx 4 bags of 75 pieces frozen shrimp purchased from Sam’s. We purchased 4 bottles cocktail sauce.

Potato Salad- 6 lbs. potato salad purchased from Sam’s Club and “doctored” with 1 small diced onion, 2 cups sour cream and 6 chopped hard-boiled eggs.

Veggie Platter and Spinach Dip- Baby carrots (no cutting required!), celery sticks and grape tomatoes. We purchased 3 lbs. carrots, 1 ½ lbs. celery, and 3 qts. cherry tomatoes. Dip (4 qts.) was purchased from Sam’s and cost less than making from scratch.

Cheese Ball and Crackers- See recipe for cheese ball below. Two large boxes fancy crackers purchased from Sam’s.

Carved Watermelon Fruit Basket- This had to be assembled hours before the wedding due to the number of fresh ingredients. Plan for 5-6 pieces of fruit per person. We bought the following:

Robert’s Beef Brisket (Thanks to my friends Robert and Stephanie for sharing this delicious recipe) Makes a 4 lb. beef brisket-serves 12 people.

Mix all ingredients together. Place beef fat side up in an oven-safe container. Pour mixture over and refrigerate several hours to marinate. Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 4 hours. Refrigerate overnight. Remove beef and drippings from pan. Skim fat from drippings. Slice beef against the grain, put back in pan, add drippings. Heat in 200 degree oven until warmed through. Beef can also be served cold after this and leftovers can be frozen.

Note: This recipe was scaled to accommodate the required number of servings. There are computer programs such as MasterCook that will do this for you accurately. To help with portion control and save time, I paid a local deli to slice the meat for me. This is the best way I know to serve beef to a crowd without the expense of a carving station (I purchased 25 lbs. of brisket from a local meat market for less than $3.00 per pound)

Dried Beef Cheese Ball (I doubled this recipe and made one large cheese ball)

In a medium bowl or food processor, combine cream cheese, dried beef, and garlic. Mix well and then add onion salt and Worcestershire sauce. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Amazing Taste

Written Monday, May 10th, 2010 by Anne Coleman

Let me share a word or two about a product I really love - Amazing Taste Seasoning Packets. Big flavor, little package, even smaller price. In these times when stretching your food dollar is a big deal, this is a product that will help you do just that without sacrificing flavor.

There is NO OTHER seasoning product I know of that does what Amazing Taste accomplishes. Not only are meats, poultry and seafood perfectly seasoned, but the tenderizing effect makes it possible to use cheaper cuts of meat and still get a quality meal on the table.

But wait, there's MORE! Really. This stuff is lower in sodium than the 'other guys' and also contains absolutely NO MSG. On top of that, there's no guess work about nutrition facts or ingredients here. While all the nutrition facts are available on-site, you don't have to go there to find them, they're on the back of each and every packet of Amazing Taste. Did I mention these packets sell for a mere 99 cents each and that each packet seasons from 2 to 4 pounds of protein? Does it get any better than that?

The Amazing Taste Seasoning Packets come in nine fabulous flavors:

Beef Seasoning
Burger Seasoning
Chili Seasoning
Fajita Seasoning
Malibu Seasoning
Pork Seasoning
Poultry Seasoning
Seafood Seasoning
Steak House Seasoning

Dr. Ghazi Taki and Adam Taki are the father-son team that developed and founded Amazing Taste. I spoke with Adam Taki the other day and I was able to tell him how much I love this product. Not only am I sure of what we're eating, but I'm also able to stretch the food budget in a truly delicious way. There's no hidden fluff in these packets, just real ingredients without extra salt or MSG and it's a product I fully trust.

Where do you get Amazing Taste? Check out the store locator at the Amazing Taste website, and while you're there, have a look at the recipes, read about the company and how it all started, and even order a packet or two (or all 9 flavors!) to try out for yourself. You can even find a link to my original post about Amazing Taste at Cooking with Anne.

I'm looking forward to any and everything the Amazing Taste label can dish up!

Don't Throw That Away!

Written Monday, April 12th, 2010 by Anne Coleman

I'm sure we've all heard our own mother's at one point chiding us for throwing away something that they felt was useful. I know I did and I know that I do it myself to my own kids.

I've never lived through a depression the likes of the one the U.S. went through in the 1930s, but our family has had its share of lean times. My grandparents all lived through the depression and worse and came away well despite their losses. I think most people have an inner strength that helps pull them through those times along with a dose of common sense and tips & tricks taught to them by their parents and grandparents.

Here is my own list of what to hang on to ... you know, just in case:

1. Bread - When we get to the end of a loaf of bread or have leftover ends, I toss them in a freezer bag and keep them there for all sorts of yummy dishes: strata, bread pudding, bread crumbs and croutons are a few ideas.

2. Egg shells - Add to compost or around the base of plants you want to keep worms and slugs away from. The shells are harsh and damaging to soft, slimy critters. Use half an egg shell to plant seedlings in. You can always add them to your coffee grinds, but I've never found a real difference in the flavor of our coffee when using them. Make sidewalk chalk from them: http://www.make-stuff.com/kids/eggshell_chalk.html

3. Vegetable bits - I keep even small half and quarter cupfuls of vegetables for all manner of things: soup, fritters, stews, Shepherd's Pie and salads. A little bit goes a long way!

4. Bacon grease - I remember my mom saving up her bacon grease in a tin can on the stove. Once it was full she would discard it, but I've learned to save bacon grease and keep it fresh in the freezer. I add it to soups, stews, green beans, refried beans and cornbread to name a few things. The extra flavor without the extra cost of real bacon stretches your budget well.

5. Pieces of soap - We don't throw soap away here or mama gets real mad. I bind them all together in the end of a clean nylon stocking foot (another thing to keep!) and tie it close to the soap bundle. hang this near outside spigots to make cleaning your hands after gardening a real breeze. I also sometimes gather the soap scraps and put them in a pump-type soap dispenser. Add water and let it sit for a few days to make your own liquid hand soap.

6. Old stockings or pantyhose (see above) - Keep these around to use for netting (wrap around a wire hanger), to tie your tomato plants to the stake (they're easy on the stalk) or to make dolls with - remember the original Cabbage Patch dolls? Cut the legs into one-inch strips to make instant hair ties that won't damage your tresses.

7. Cheese and meat ends - Some of the best sandwich spreads I've had have been cheese, meat, may and relish tossed into a blender and whirred into velvety smoothness. Keep cheese bits to make homemade mac & cheese with and you'll be surprised at the flavor combinations you can come up with.

8. Gravy - Pop it into the freezer and you have instant flavoring for soups and stews or a quick meal when paired with ground beef or chunks of leftover meat or poultry and served on toast, biscuits or rice. Now is a good time to add in those little bits of veggies, too!

9. You name it! Let me know what your favorite thing to save is and let's see just how long we can make this list.