That menu idea

I know it's been something like four weeks since I posted a recipe. I've been busy. I'll resume it soon.

If anyone has any input, or has tried any of them, let me know what you thought.

Whose idea was this?

I'm going to link or copy this to the original post, but I wanted this to be on top for a bit.

SIX sweet potatoes?!? SIX?! And the same number of apples?! Maybe if you're feeding your entire family reunion! What in Heaven was I thinking?!

I made it with two apples and a yam and a half, and it completely filled up my 8x11 baking dish. The butter was barely enough for that! The brown sugar, on the other hand, was probably a good amount.

On the lighter side, the kids liked it. We called it dessert that night.

Taco soup--yum!

I just made this one for the first time. Since he bought the groceries this week, I ended up with more meat, but that's rarely a bad thing. Especially when you drain off the fat. And I'm really liking my Fix It And Forget It, where this came from.

Taco Soup
1.5 pounds ground beef (the wrapper said 1.63, but you might want less)
3/4 c chopped onion (it might have been more--I eyeballed it)
28 oz. whole tomatoes
14 oz. kidney beans
1 pound frozen corn
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 envelope dry taco seasoning
1-2 c water
Shredded Mexican cheese
taco, corn, or nacho chips

1. Brown beef and onions in skillet. Drain.
2. Combine all ingredients except cheese and chips in slow cooker.
3. Cover; low for 4-6 hours.
4. Serve in bows topped with cheese, with chips on the side.

This is one of those recipes that you don't need to have going right after breakfast in order to have it for dinner. It was really good, really filling.

I promised you Apple Crunch.

It's kind of like a crustless apple pie. The kids haven't liked it when I've made it in the past, but maybe they'll grow into it.

Apple Crunch
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix apples with brown sugar in greased baking dish; set aside. Mix flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in bowl. Add egg; spread over apples. (It gets a little crumbly when you stir in the egg--you may want to use two, which is much easier to mix in.) Pour melted butter on top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

This is the dish you really want to peel the apples. And I think I'm going to make this soon; someone purchased canned yams instead of fresh sweet potatoes. We'll have enough left over to make last week's potentially yummy stuff.

UPDATE 4/3/08--They've come around. Made last night, it might last long enough for Daddy to have some after work today. If I watch closely.

She even does side dishes!

I admit I haven't tried this one, but I will be this week. My mouth is watering...

Sweet Potato and Apple Bake
6 large sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced, boiled
6 tart apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 c margarine
1/2 c brown sugar

Grease casserole with part of margarine. Layer potatoes, dot with margarine and sprinkle with brown sugar, layer apple slices. Repeat, ending with potatoes, margarine and brown sugar. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 or until potatoes are tender and browned. Serves 8-10.
From Coffee and Cale's Four Ingredient Cookbook.

Doesn't that just sound scrumptious? I'll admit, though, I probably won't peel the sweet potatoes. The only thing I peel for my kids is bananas, but when baking I'll peel apples. I tried to make apple crunch once without peeling and it made it difficult to portion out.
And yes, before you ask, I'll try to remember the apple crunch recipe next week.

UPDATE 4/11/08: Read this first. Six sweet potatoes and six apples is enough to feed a small army. A more reasonable amount is probably two of each. That should fill an 8x11 pan. You may want more butter as well, but the brown sugar should still be enough.

What shall I feed you today?

I was asked about something Irish for Menu Monday last night. Two problems with that: 1) My husband has had an awful week beginning last Wednesday, which is why this is late; and 2) British cooking is awful. Absolutely terrible. There's a reason Brits are a skinny, pale people. And when was the last time you heard of a British restaurant? They boil EVERYTHING. Directions for a British meal: Take your food. Boil to the point of not recognizing it. Simmer five more minutes. Serve and try to eat. Have salt on hand.
Except breakfast; they do well for breakfast.

Since Easter is coming and so many folks have ham, I thought this might timely. It's from Coffee and Cale, Four Ingredients.

Hawaiian Baked Pork
4 pork chops
2 c crushed pineapple
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 Tb brown sugar

Layer pineapple with juice in greased baking dish, with sweet potatoes sprinkled with the brown sugar on top. Then place the chops on top. Bake covered at 350 for an hour, uncovered 450 for ten minutes.
It's been a while since I made this one. I remember putting the chops in first but I think it took longer.

Oh, yeah. That food thing.

This is what we had tonight, except for one change which I'll tell you at the end.

Hearty Alphabet Soup
2 pounds stew beef
14 1/2 oz. can stewed tomatoes
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
16 oz. frozen soup vegetables
1 cup uncooked alphabet noodles

Put it all, except the noodles, together in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. Add noodles, turn to 'high' for another half an hour.

If by chance your beloved husband gets home before you and adds the whole box of noodles, it's still good. Just heartier than you planned.

Who says it has to be dinner?

I told you I'd be posting easy recipes; I never promised they'd be dinner. This one is from Coffee and Cale's Four Ingredient Cookbook.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients. Drop by teaspoonful on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 375.

It sounds quick and easy, good for these not-quite-spring muddy snowy days. We haven't tried this one yet but I have everything for it. Hmm... Thursday?

So what's in the crock pot?

Mondays we have dance class. You may remember that from a few weeks back. Classes start at 4:45 and end at 5:30; they're roughly half an hour away. I really don't want to start preparing dinner at 6 or later, which is where one of my cookbooks comes in handy.

This is adapted from Fix-It-And-Forget-It.

Split Pea Soup
3 cups dried split peas
2 quarts water
1 pound frozen carrot coins
1.25 pound ham steak
1 cup chopped onion--frozen is fine. This week we're out so it's dried minced, about 2 Tbls.
2 chicken boullion cubes

Put it all in on low for 8-9 hours.

The original recipe called for only 2 cups of peas; it was a little thin, I thought. I've also used Canadian bacon and these ham lumps he brought home. They had the bone in.
Since I'd never even had split pea soup before I made it, I'm pretty impressed.
And the color is a request from the newly-minted five-year-old boy around here.

What's for supper? Chicken noodle soup!

This is one I made up myself.

Chicken Noodle Soup
3 half skinless boneless chicken breasts
5 chicken bouillion cubes
5 cups water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp herbes de provence
2 cups whole wheat egg noodles (uncooked)
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

I use my nonstick Fry-Daddy kettle so I don't need any oil.
1. Cut up the chicken into cubes, bite-size pieces or so. Into the kettle with the garlic to cook until you don't see any pink, stirring occasionally.
2. Add water and bouillion cubes. Wait until it's boiling, then add noodles and herbes de provence.
3. When it's boiling again, add the veggies. When it boils again, it's ready.

It's almost more of a stew than soup it gets so thick sometimes, so you might need more water. All of the amounts are tweakable, of course. I like the mixed veggies best for the color: green beans, peas, and carrots.

New feature?

You regular readers--and those who know me in real life--know I can't ever do something without an explanation or background story. I get it from my mother. Though it drives me nuts when she does it, I can't stop myself. Husband has learned to live with it and I've actually gotten better about it since college.

This new feature I'm thinking of has the working title of Menu Monday. I've never done anything like this, but Danielle Bean has her "Your Turn" weekly questions and Milehimama has Works for Me Wednesdays, Friday Fun, and Montessori Mondays, so why not?

I like to think I'm a pretty good cook; my kids all tell me so. I have a fair share of cookbooks as well, though not a whole bookshelf like SFO Mom. Mine have titles like The Four Ingredient Cookbook, Campbell Soup's Simply Delicious, and The Fix-it-and-Forget-it Cookbook. Yeah, I have one on French cooking, one on Indian cooking, and a soup one with a recipe that involves saffron strings, but those don't get used much.

Anyway. This whole idea is inspired by Shelly telling me I should put up a recipe a week from the first one up there, and as long as I credit it, it's not violating copyright laws. Like an excerpt or something. Just in case, I'll just start with a four-ingredient one inspired by Coffee and Cale.

Heather's Crock-Pot Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 pound baby carrots
1 pound brussels sprouts
2 cans Italian tomatoes--diced or stewed, your choice

Put all of it in your crock pot on low for the day, 8-9 hours. You can use frozen or fresh on the first three ingredients, and if you want it juicier use chicken thighs. Even if you don't like brussels sprouts, the tomato flavorings seep in and they're actually quite palatable.

Anyway. Tell me what you think of the recipe or the idea.