The First Fruit & Vegetable Box Delivery

Series: Produce Box, March 31, 2010 Delivery; Published Blog 1




The above picture shows the selection of produce delivered to my house. It's a new program for downtown neighborhood that by pure chance was recently introduced to me. An actual door-to-door salesperson was walking around the neighborhood to collect more deliveries to the area. (Don't worry I didn't have to actually provide my personal information at the door to a complete stranger. I took their information and went to the website.) Farm Fresh to You is the name of company that is offering this service to bring the produce boxes to your home (or work.) It's very flexible in box types and delivery times while also supporting organic local farmers.


I love the idea of having, on hand, fresh produce more regularly and to have it delivered to my door is even cooler. It means that instead of stopping at the grocery store or driving to the local farmer's market is no longer the main two ways to have fresh produce on hand.


The rest of my blog is to provide a little information on how I went about planning meals around this produce box.



My first task was to remove all the items from the box and place it on the table. I had a very good selection:


3 types of citrus: 4-navel oranges, 2-murcot tangerines, 2-minneola tangelos


basket of strawberries


2 fuji apples


1 eureka lemon


asparagus bunch


cabbage head


small cauliflower head


a bunch of small to medium carrots


a bag of baby mixed lettuce


a head green leaf lettuce


onion


a bunch of red and white chard




I also had on hand some red grapefruit (a coworker provided to me) and 3 small granny smith apples leftover from the store.





I grabbed a notebook and started jotting down ideas. My first thoughts were to decide what is the freshest to hold off using and what needs to be used up now.



Homemade Apple Sauce


I used up all the apples to make a easy microwave cooked apple sauce. This took about 5 minutes for prep and 15 minutes cooking. I used a glass lidded casserole dish to cook in.


Rinse your apples
Next dice up the apples and place into a microwave bowl
Splash with a lemon juice (using the lemon in the box)
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Place the lid on top
Place into the microwave and cook for 10 minutes
Remove and stir
Place back in for another 5 minutes
Stir and smoosh apples
Let it sit to cool and thicken
Store in the fridge



Later uses...

I will use this applesauce for a apple turnover filling.
I use a pie dough cut into squares.
I place some apple filling in the middle.
Then fold the dough over to make a pocket
This reminds me of a apple home run pie. Simple & fulfilling for a snack or breakfast item.




Lemon Zest Sugar Crumbles


This is a sugar crumble mixture made from lemon zest and simple syrup. My attempt was to make sure to waste as little produce as possible. So the lemon rind can also be used. Since this was experiment the results may vary. This recipe requires a lot of patience in boiling the syrup mixture.


Heat up on medium heat a saute pan and add a little butter. Maybe about 1 teaspoon.
Next shave the rind off the lemon. I sliced into thin shreds.
I add equal parts of sugar and water- 1 cup of each.
Next add the lemon rind shreds.
I brought it to a boil. Let it simmer/boil for about 20 minutes. Tested it as how it clinged to the spoon.
Once it was less watery then I prepared the sheet to pour it out on.
Grab a sheet of greased aluminum foil.
Pour and spread the mixture out on it.
Let it cool completely.
Then crumble it with kitchen shears.
Place it in a tupper ware dish.


I haven't figured how to use it but I have a few ideas. Possibly - a topping for a simple sugar cookie, crumbles for the top of muffins, add-in to my applesauce for the apple turnover, or add-in to the baking mixture for welsh cookies.




The produce box had a lot of chard. I prepped it all at once. I removed the leaves from the stems and placed in a bowl to soak. This would make it easier for storage and save time for upcoming meals. I decided with the assistance of my mother-in-law that simmering chard is one of the better techniques. She tried it in a vegetable and meat pot stew. I decided to use it in a chicken soup.


Vegetable Chicken Soup

This is such a versatile soup. It uses basic ingredients of chicken stock, shredded chicken, and vegetables. I decided to add barley since I had it on hand. One may choose to use potatoes, rice, or noodles.

I used the following vegetables: chard, carrots, cabbage, onion, garlic

Grab a soup pot
Heat it up on medium heat
Add some olive oil
Chop up an onion and add it to the pot once it heats up
Let it brown on the edges
Add garlic to your preference as to how much you like (I added about a tablespoon of chopped garlic)
Add in the chard- I used about 5-6 chard ripped into shreds
Add in about 1/2 the carrots cut in fourths
Add in your 1/2 the cabbage shredded
Then add about 4-5 cups of stock to cover the vegetables.
Optional: Add in about 1/2 cup of barley
Season with pepper and salt
Let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes, partially covered.
Check to see if the barley is done.
Then grab a bowl to enjoy!





Homemade Ice Cream with Fresh Strawberries


I just bought a really cool, easy to use soft served ice cream machine. I have learned to make a tasty vanilla ice cream. I topped this cool dessert with fresh strawberries and a little hot fudge.

In case you are curious about it- here's the information:

Cuisinart Ice-45 Mix-It-In Soft-Serve 1 1/2 Quart Ice Cream Maker

Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

This machine is easy to use. Remember to freeze your bowl ahead of time. I made vanilla ice cream from scratch.

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk

2 cups of cream

1-2 teaspoons of vanilla

Put together the machine. Remove the bowl from the freezer and pour in the mixture.

Turn on the machine. Check on it in about 15 minutes for ice cream consistency.

Place bowl or cone under the spout.

Fresh Squeezed Juice

I used my selection of citrus to make a tart, tangy grapefruit and orange juice.


Lettuce Wraps


The produce provided two different types of lettuce. I decided to use the head of green leaf lettuce for this meal since it can hold the ingredients.



For this meal I will use the following vegetables: green leaf lettuce, carrots, cabbage



First clean your lettuce very well. Remove with a knife the stem for easy rolling.

For the filling:
Grate the carrots.

Shred the cabbage.


I will use shredded chicken mixed with a peanut sauce for the filling.

I will prepare sushi rice to go inside it. The sushi rice combined with rice wine and simple sugar syrup will keep its shape once made. (See recipe below)

Then place the ingredients inside the lettuce kinda like building a taco.

This is a little messy to eat and really tasty!

Sushi Rice Recipe

2 Cups of sushi rice - well rinsed until water runs clear

2 cups of water

Cook according to directions on package.

Separately prepared in a microwaveable bowl:

2 tablespoons of rice vinegar

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

Microwave on high for about 30 to 45 seconds

Then in a glass bowl combine your (somewhat) cooled rice rice and fold in your sugar and vinegar mixture. Allow it to cool to room temperature before using it.

If you have been keeping track of the produced used you'll notice that I have created some really tasty recipes all from the produce provided. I also have some more to use. The asparagus, cauliflower, and leftover carrots will be used as vegetable side dishes for Easter meal.

I have one more meal to make with the chard. So this one comes with the expectation that I will be baking a ham within the next couple of days. For many years, I have not cooked ham partly because of my husband's digestive preference. We remove foods from our diet that cause discomfort from eating it. This concept makes total sense. The hardest part is removing that food completely from your diet like red meat, certain tomato products, or sausages. Then to bring it slowly back in with minor changes to prepping it or cooking it. So it was recently discovered baked ham is OK to a certain extent and totally depends on how it is cooked.

On the menu:

The following meal will have 3 parts to it-- Baked Ham, Chard, and Cornbread

I will bake the ham accordingly to the directions.

I will bake the cornbread with an add-in of frozen corn, cheese, and topped with a jalapeno ring.

I will simmer the chard with garlic.

This ends my meal planning surrounding the produce box. I hope to inspire others to take on a challenge of buying fresh produce and plan meals around it.

Welsh Cookie Shortcakes

My love of cookies has the ever roaming eye for a new recipe to try. I am passing on this recipe to you to enjoy!


Welsh Cookie Shortcakes


This recipe is fairly easy to make ahead of time and will be great for fresh fruit season.The texture of the welsh cookie is a cross between a biscuit, scone, and a pancake. Its not dry or crumbly. I think some modifications can be made for the dried fruit and spices.


My first time making it I used the following recipe and techniques.


Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter- cold and diced


Mix the above ingredients together. The butter should be cut into the dry mixture with either two knives or a pastry blender.


Next add the dried fruit. (I used craisins but you can try other types like raisins, cherries, apricots, or dates.)


3/4 cup of craisins


In a separate small bowl beat the following ingredients:


2 large eggs
2 to 3 tablespoons of buttermilk
1 teaspoon of vanilla


Then add the wet bowl ingredients to the dry mixture. Stir together into a shaggy dough. If the dough is too dry add a little more buttermilk.


Then gather the dough into a disk. Wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.


Walk away for a little "me" time like reading a good book with a cup of coffee.


Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough on a floured workplace and cut into 2-3 inch rounds.


Heat up a frying pan over medium heat. Add some oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cook the cookies until slightly brown and cooked through.

Transfer to a rack or plate covered with a paper towel.


Cut up some fresh fruit like strawberries, pineapple, or mango.

Grab a plate and start the layering process: 1 welsh cookie, a little cool whip, and a little fruit, 1 more cookie, a little cool whip, and top off with more fresh fruit.

Grab a fork and enjoy!

Perfect Cup of Coffee

Depending on what type of coffee making device you use, the measurements to obtain a perfect cup while vary. My recipe has been tested several times to provide a consistent taste. I use the Melitta Cone Drip that holds a #4 Melitta coffee filter.


My Perfect Cup of Hot Coffee
This is for 1 serving


Bring cold water to an almost boiling temperature.

Grind your beans.

Place the filter in the cone.

Scoop 4 level tablespoons of fresh ground coffee beans.

Grab a glass measuring cup to fill with the hot water. Careful not to burn yourself. It will be hot.

Pour 1 1/3 cups of water over the grounds.

Very important to let it drip until all the water is gone. This helps bring an overall balance to the cup of coffee. The concept to keep in mind is that coffee should have the proper dilution of water and coffee.

I like to enjoy my coffee with homemade chocolate chip cookies!





For ice cubes of coffee:


12 scoops of coffee

4 cups of hot water


Let the coffee finish brewing. As it still warm, you can add sugar or flavored syrup. (See recipes below for ideas.)

Then pour the coffee into a clean ice tray.

Let it cool to room temperature.

Then place it in the freezer.

Let it sit for at least a day.


Here's what it looks like. One thing to note is there is a high probability that this might discolor
the ice tray and add a flavor to it.

Add these ice cubes to cooled coffee in the summer for an ice coffee drink.

Simple Sugar Syrup

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan.

Simmer over low heat until sugar has dissolved.

Cool and store in the refrigerator for later use.

I found this recipe in the back of a mystery novel that has to deal with coffee and totally want to try it.

Homemade Caramel-Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients Needed:

1 cup of heavy cream

1 cup of light Karo syrup

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon of salt

8 oz of chocolate milk or 1 cup of milk chocolate chips

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of salted butter

Combine the cream, syrup, sugars, and salt.

Stir over medium heat until smooth.

Bring to a rolling boil and maintain for 8-10 minutes.

Remember to keep stirring to prevent burning the bottom of the sugar mixture.

If you stop here then you will have a caramel sauce.

If you continue then grab another pot.

Melt the butter and chocolate to stir until smooth.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the saucepan with the caramel syrup to blend.

This sauce can be served warm or placed into a plastic squeeze bottle for future use.

You can use this sauce blended with coffee ice cubes and vanilla ice cream for a frozen coffee drink.

Ready for Italian

Spaghetti, lasagna, risotto, bruschetta, raviolis, pasta salad... are just a few of the delightful dishes from the Italian cuisine I love to make and eat.I hope to share some of my recipes that I have created for my family.

Spaghetti is a versatile pasta that can be the foundation for a multiple recipes.

For the pasta- follow the directions on the package. If the pasta will be tossed with sauce in a pan make sure to under cook it.

Various Sauces for Pasta:

Tomato Sauce

Grab a large sauce pan.
Turn on the burner to medium heat and add a little olive oil.
Dice up an onion and toss into the heated pan.
Let it cook until the onions turn clear and starts to brown on the edges.
Add about 3-4 chopped garlic cloves.
Let it cook together until the garlic has brown (do not let it burn.)
Next add in your favorite can of tomato sauce or use about 7-9 fresh Roma tomatoes chopped up.

For the seasonings, here's what I add:
1 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons of dried basil and oregano (I love using whole leaf fresh basil, too.)
Salt and Pepper to Preference

For the vegetables:

For me it depends what I have on hand or whatever is in season- there is so many choices. Sometimes I like to keep it simple with zucchini,spinach, or olives can be added. Don't be hesitant to experiment with vegetables you like.

For the meat:

This is all about your preference of meats. I have listed some ideas that I like to prepare. One thing to keep in mind is I use the same pan for cooking the meat and the sauce. By using the same pan adds to the overall flavor of the sauce but also to remove some of the extra fat. (This technique is also used in making soup have flavor layers. Keep a look out for soups and stews in upcoming fall posts.)


Meatballs are an ideal companion with spaghetti. They should be prepared and semi-cooked prior to creating the sauce. Then add back to the tomato sauce pan after seasoning.

Ground Turkey Meatballs

Place the following items in a bowl to blend:
1 pound of ground turkey
1 slice of bread torn into pieces
1 egg
Salt and Pepper
1 teaspoon of dried basil or 12 fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoon of chopped garlic

Smoosh it together and pick-up small scoops to roll in your hands to form a ball. (The bigger they are the more it takes to cook them.) Then, roll the formed meatballs in a mixture of breadcrumbs and a little Parmesan cheese.

Cook in a pan on medium heat to brown the outsides of the meatballs. Once cooked, remove and place on a paper towel.
Soak up some of the oil in the pan with a paper towel and then add the onions and garlic mixture.


***Meatballs can be pre-made and used for various recipes. A basic meatball minus the basil can be massed produced. Meatballs can cooled down and placed in a freezer bag. Just plan ahead for future meal servings. A frozen meatball added to a sauce can be cooked and heated together for a quick dinner meal. A sauce such as barbecue-tomato sauce for meatball sandwich. ***


If ground turkey is used, I suggest cooking the meat first and then remove it to a paper towel to drain the fat and liquid.

For sausage, I like to brown it and then add it sauce.

For chicken, I cook it separately and place it on the side. For a quick cook tip: Slice up two chicken breasts, sprinkle it with pepper, season salt, and a little flour. Then place in a heated pan with olive oil to brown up. They are kid friendly.

For salmon, I will cook it in the oven and place it on the side.

Eggplant Sauce

I discovered this sauce by experimenting and since I totally love eggplant I tried it on my family. Surprise they ate it!

There are various types of eggplant. I like the taste of the Japanese or Chinese eggplant. It has a different taste than the bigger eggplant.

Heat-up a pan on medium heat with a liberal amount of olive oil. Eggplant soaks up the oil.
Cube up the eggplant with the skin attached and toss it into the heated pan.
As it starts to cook, add chopped garlic to preference.
Next add a container of cherry tomatoes chopped up.
Season with pepper and salt.
Let it simmer together for about 20 minutes. Stirring every once in a while.


Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 lb of ground meat: beef, turkey, chicken, pork
26 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1 cup of water
2 ½ cups of mozzarella cheese- divided
1 container of ricotta cheese 15 oz container
½ cup of Parmesan cheese – divided
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
Tools needed:
13x9 inch glass pan, large skillet, aluminum foil
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the meat in a large skillet on medium-high heat. (Suggestion: season your meat: salt, pepper, garlic.)
Step2:
Meanwhile, mix 1 ¼ cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese, parsley (optional) and egg until well blended. Set aside.
Step 3:
Drain the meat; return to skillet and add the spaghetti sauce. Pour 1 cup of water into the empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Add to the skillet; stir until well blended. Adding water to the sauce helps cook traditional noodles during the baking so you don’t have to cook the noodles beforehand. This saves you 15 to 20 minutes of prep time.
Step 4:
Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce onto the bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish; top with a layer of 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Noodles will expand to fit the dish during baking.
Step 5:
Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce over the noodles. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce.
Step 6:
Sprinkle remaining 1 ¼ mozzarella cheese and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with a greased foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking 15 minutes or until heated through.
Step 7:
Let stand 15 minutes before cutting to serve otherwise you will have soupy lasagna.

Makes about 12 servings.

Pasta Primavera

Yields: 4 main-dish servings
Total Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:

1 pound corkscrew pasta (rotini)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed with press
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
1 1⁄4 cups packaged shredded carrots
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1⁄2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1⁄2 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat large covered sauce pot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add pasta and cook as label directs.
2. Meanwhile, in nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and asparagus and cook 2 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add carrots; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir in tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Add Parmesan, cream, and salt; heat to boiling. Remove from heat.
4. Drain pasta, reserving 1⁄2 cup cooking water. Toss vegetables with pasta and reserved cooking water. Serve with Parmesan if you like.



Spinach Pesto and Pasta

Serves 6 Hands-On Time: 15m Total Time: 20m
Ingredients

· 1 pound fettuccine

· 1/4 cup walnuts

· 2 cloves garlic

· 1/2 pound baby spinach (about 10 cups)

· 1/3 cup olive oil

· 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

· kosher salt and black pepper

· 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return it to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the walnuts and garlic until chopped. Add the spinach, oil, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor bowl as necessary.

3. Add the pesto to the pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan before serving.


Don't forget to add a lovely green salad and a loaf of garlic bread. Enjoy!

Series of Planning Ahead

Here's some more ideas on planning ahead for breakfast, snacks, and dinners.

Breakfast

Sometimes planning the day or night ahead for breakfast is helpful. Here's what I have come up with in the breakfast menu department.

Muffin or Scone Mixes: So easy to prepare and pop into the oven while cooking dinner or desert. Each muffin or scone can be wrapped up for individual eating or a 'grab and go' situation. A little trick I noticed is that you can add frozen fruit like blueberries or a nut topping to the muffin or scone.

Breakfast Burritos: Very filling and also makes a good lunch item. A quick mixture of cubed potato, scrambled egg, cheese, and salsa rolled up and placed in the skillet to brown up the stuffed tortilla. (Also a good idea if you have leftover taco meat this can be used to make breakfast burritos.)

Pancakes or French Toast: Cooking up a big batch of pancakes or french toast can be used for two breakfast meals. Pancakes made from scratch or a pancake mix are easy to adjust the quantity of pancakes made. French toast requires additional batter and bread for appropriate servings. Think ahead and plan extra in one cooking period. This will help save time on other mornings. A good idea once the food has cooled- place pancakes or french toast servings in a sandwich bag with syrup.

Snack Ideas

These are great for school or work lunches. Also good ideas for camping menu. (Camping season is approaching even with the closure of some state parks. A day hike is just as pleasant with some snacks to bring along.)


Fruit and Nuts Snack Mix

Need:

Banana Chips
Mixed Nuts: Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Peanuts
Dried Fruit - Cherries, Cranberries, Raisins, Apricots, Blueberries

Grab a few tupperware containers and make one for each family member to snack on.

Place a 1/3 cup of each item in the tupperware container. Shake and eat at snack time.


Chips and Crackers Snack Mix

This mix is more fun for kids but parents find it tasty too! I also think this pairs good with string cheese.

Need:

A bag of Doritos chips (or Nacho Cheese Chips)
Pretzel Sticks
Captain Crunch
Cheese Its (or a small cheese cracker)

Pour equal amounts of each item into a bowl to toss. Then scoop in portion controlled 1/2 cup measurements into snack bags.

Dinner Meals

I decided to make two meals at once when I had time in the kitchen. Just plan ahead when purchasing the foods at the grocery store.

For my plan ahead meals I decided to make turkey burgers and turkey meatloaf. This comes in really handy when the ground turkey on sale.

Turkey Burgers

This recipe is flexible in the seasonings added to it. It can easily switch from barbecue flavor to island burger favorite. One thing to note is I love to add old-fashion oats to my turkey meat (or ground beef). I like the texture and it adds health benefits.

Place the following ingredients in a bowl:

1 lb. of Ground Turkey
1/2 cup of oats
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

Season with salt and pepper

2 teaspoons of chopped garlic



Combine all the ingredients together. Grab some wax paper or syran wrap and start forming patties.



These can be stored in the freezer until ready to use.

Planning is helpful in monitoring a food budget and for your dietary needs. If you want to maintain or lose pounds a food plan is a really great idea. This post will follow how items cooked for one meal can be used for other meals. This also saves prep and cooking time...here's how I did it to provide ideas:


Shopping List:
• A family pack of meat: pork.
• Lots of vegetables: broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, asparagus, bean sprouts, snow peas, and bok choy.

Sunday

Grab the family pack purchased of pork and grill friendly vegetables (1 bunch of asparagus, 2 zucchini)

I used about 8 pork chops for a family of three. The rest I placed in a freezer bag for future meals.

Get the barbeque ready to grill your lovely pork chops. Don’t forget to let them sit out at least a 1/2 hour prior to grilling.

Barbeque your pork to your preference. Slather on sauce at the end so the sugars in the sauce do not burn.

Also put together your barbeque vegetable packets. My favorite is to cook green beans, broccolini or zucchini.

Instruction Steps:
1) Rinse your vegetables clean.
2) Grab a sheet of aluminum foil.
3) Place the vegetable on 1/2 the foil.
4) Sprinkle a little olive oil, pepper, salt, a little bit of chopped garlic, and a splash of lemon juice.
5) Fold the foil over to match up the corners. Secure the 3 sides by folding over them over upward. I suggest making sure they fold over 3 times to secure the packet.
6) Place on the grill once it is ready and let it cook for about 7-10 minutes on each side. Depending on the vegetables used will vary the cooking time. Asparagus takes less time than zucchini.

Both the meat and the vegetables can be barbeque at the same time if your grill has the space.

For additional items to add to the meal can be baked potatoes, a green salad, pasta, or fruit.

Enjoy the family night meal. Make sure to leave at least 3 pork chops leftover.


Monday

An easy meal to start off the week is fish, rice, and stir-fry vegetables. (One of my husband's favorite meals.) I like the ease of this meal for a couple of reasons. It takes about 30 minutes to cook. It's a portioned controlled low fat meal. It balances the mixture of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables. Plus it can be a kid and adult friendly meal.

(The following guide is in advanced skill recipe because it depends on the chef to have a basic understanding of ingredients needed in the kitchen for a stir-fry and a basic understanding of how vegetables should be prepared by knife for a stir-fry.)

Preheat an oven according to the directions on the fish package.

Prepare a double batch of rice according to the directions on the package.

For the stir-fry:
1. Rinse and prepare to slice the vegetables for your stir-fry. I used snow peas, broccoli, zucchini, and fresh cilantro. Make sure to prepare extra vegetables for tomorrow night's dinner.
2. Heat up a pan with no oil and add three chili pods (these will be removed later on) and let them brown up.
3. Add oil and allow it to heat up. Next add about a teaspoon of garlic and let it sizzle.
4. Add all of your vegetables at once.
5. Splash about a tablespoon of soy sauce, some fish sauce (about 3/4 teaspoon), sprinkle with garlic powder, pepper, and a tiny bit of salt.
6. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes and stirring occasionally every 2 minutes. Taste tests the broccoli for flavor and check to see if it is done cooking.
7. Remove and place in a serving dish.

Make sure to save some vegetables and rice for tomorrow night's meal.

Tuesday

On the third night’s menu is the following: Fried Rice with Barbeque Pork with leftover stir-fried vegetables.

This meal will take about 15 minutes to make.

Here are the directions on how I put together the meal:

• Cut-up your pork into bite-size pieces.
• Heat up a big pan on medium heat.
• Add olive oil to heat-up.
• Next add garlic and let it sizzle again.
• Add in the meat and sprinkle a little Worcestershire sauce over the top. Let it cook to reduce the liquid.
• Pour in the rice and allow it heat-up. Breakdown any big clumps.
• Splash the rice and meat with soy sauce and allow it to cook. Then flip over parts of the rice mixture like a pancake.
• Add in the vegetables leftover. (You can add in more like frozen peas.)
• Next beat about 3 large eggs.
• Prepare your pan to pour in the eggs. The general idea is to make scrambled eggs. The trick is to make a circle in the center of your pan. Add a little oil so it doesn’t stick. Pour in the eggs and gently scrap in the edges of the cooking egg. This will create ripples and allow more egg to leak and cook.
• Once the egg is cooked- carefully blend the rice, meat, vegetables, and eggs together.
• Spoon into a serving dish and get ready to eat.

I was pleased with results of the meals. It was all very tasty and it was a good use of spreading the food budget.

Cookies

Homemade cookies takes minutes to mix, bake, and to eat. The difficult part is finding a good recipe that creates a cookie that is appealing to your taste buds. Some people like flat cookies, some people like perfect store bought looking cookies, and others want cookies just for the holidays. I've taken the time to develop a basic chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. I'll also include a basic oatmeal cookie recipe too.

First let me discuss about an ingredient that causes confusion to many people which is the decision to use margarine or butter. Margarine is a mixture of solid fats. When using it in a recipe, I found that cookies stay in a solid clump and do not spread while baking. On the flip side, cookie recipes that use only butter will have cookies that spread to a thin layer. So I figured out that I wanted my cookies to have a balance of both. For example if the recipe calls for 1 cup of margarine or butter, my rule of thumb is to split the following way: 3/4 cup margarine and 1/4 cup butter. This allows the cookie to spread just enough. The bottom line is if you want a tight cookie use less butter and more margarine.

Another question on some minds is "What type of pan should I use?" It may seem like a silly question but it does make a difference. Using the right cooking utensil or vessel is just as important as using the right ingredients. A recipe is a guide to get from starting point A to Z but in order to get the same results as another person is use the right cookie sheet. My best cookie result is to use a pan labeled an AirBake. It is designed with two-layers sandwiching a layer of air in order to provide consistent cooking results.

Incorporating general cooking principles of using certain ingredients and using the best cooking utensil or vessel will help in cooking ideal cookies.

Jubilee's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Recipe
Created: December 2001

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix until well blended the following ingredients in a large bowl or mixer:

1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of margarine

3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar

The above mixture should be creamed together. This is the base of the cookies. It will not hurt the texture if this is over blended.

Next add in the following to ingredients:

1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg

Mix well.

Next add in the following items:

2 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Only stir in the dry ingredients until it is no longer visible. Do not over mix this part.

Last ingredient is to fold in a 1/2 bag of miniature chocolate chips.

Grab a flat cookie sheet and line with parchment paper for an easy clean-up.

Place scoops of dough onto the sheet evenly spaced apart. They will spread a little.

(**Storing or Freezing Cookie Leftover Dough**
If you do not want to bake all the cookie dough at this time there are a few options with the leftover dough:
- Storing in the Refrigerator-
Place leftover dough to use within the week in a tupperware container or ziploc bag.

-Storing in the Freezer-
Place the leftover cookie dough on a sheet of wax paper lengthwise. Roll-up carefully like a tootsie roll. Try to have the cookie dough evenly spread across to have a cylindrical shape of dough. The reason is to create cookie circles once it is removed from the freezer just like store bought cookie dough. I like to wrap my dough in a layer of saran wrap and finish it off with aluminum foil. )

Place in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. Check the cookies to see if they brown around the edges and top of the cookie is solidifying. They might need another 2 minutes depending on your oven. Once the top and edges are brown, remove from oven and let it sit for 1 minute. Then remove from the cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack.

Let cool or eat immediately with a refreshing liquid- typically milk but why not with a cup of coffee or tea.


Basic Oatmeal Cookie Dough Recipe
This recipe can have raisins or craisins added to it. Depends how you like your oatmeal cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the following ingredients until well blended:

1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of margarine

1 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of granulated sugar

Beat in the following ingredients:

2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 eggs

Combine in a separate bowl:

1 1/4 cups of flour
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of old-fashioned oats

Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until well blended.

At this point raisins, craisins, nuts, or chocolate chips can be added to the mixture to create the ones you like.

Scoop onto the cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Appetizers on the Menu

In today's world of super size, we all need more amouse bouche on our menus. Each food tasting should be a single bite of explosion in the mouth. Sometimes that single bite of flavor will leave you craving more but also be so fulfilling like a truffle. In creating or preparing appetizer recipes, it is important to keep this thought in mind.
An appetizer can be a downgrade of a large scale item to a minature scale. Like instead of using a whole sausage dog for each guest, a little mini sausage can be implemented. At restaurant minutaure food items are also called sliders. (I havent found the mini hot dog buns at local stores but the mini hamburger buns are at Trader Joe's.)

Here's a couple recipes up for copying and pasting:

Quesadillas

Easy, simple, quick, and very tasty!

You will need on your shopping list the following items:

Tortillas: Larger the tortilla the larger the triangles provided to guests.
Cheese: A mexican mixture of preshredded cheese helps decrease time grating.
Salsa: Pick up your favorite

Optional:
Pick up a rostierre chicken to add some protein.
Avocado
Olives
Avocado
Fresh tomatoes

Technique:

Heat up a large skillet with medium heat.
Add olive oil to your pan.
As the pan heats up.
Grab a large plate and start assembling the quesadilla.
Add a tortilla and evenly spread salsa and cheese over it (and the optional chicken). Then add another tortilla on top. Carefully place this in the heated up frying pan.
Let it brown on one side and flip.
Continue to the assembling until all ingridients are used up.

Once the quesadilla has cooled a little, cut the tortilla like a pie into halves.
At this point, top the triangle with avocado slice, sour cream, and an olive.

Enjoy!


Double Cooked Baked Potato

This is one of my favorite recipes to eat. It is yummy and fulfilling.

Prepare washed brown potatoes for a 400 degree oven. Let it cooked until a fork pierces through the skin.
Once done, remove from oven and let it cool before handling. This will take about 10-15 minutes at least.
Next cut the potatoes evenly in half length wise. Remove the inside of the potato carefully to leave a shape of a potato shape and place it in a bowl. Continue with each baked potato.
Smash the potato insides with milk, butter, and cheese. Add some seasoning of pepper and salt to taste. As an optional color, cooked broccoli florets can be added for color and texture.
Return the mashed potato mixture to the potato skin shapes.
Sprinkle some more cheese over the top and place them back in the oven to melt & heat up the filling.
Once they are done remove and top with your favorite baked potato toppings.



Seven Layer Dip

Prepare in a rectangular baking dish or pie pan.
Add the following ingredients in the following order:

Refried Beans
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Olives slices
Fresh Diced Tomatoes
Green Onions

Open up a bag of tortilla chips and let your guests enjoy.


Appetizer Deserts

Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits

You will need instant pudding boxes of vanilla and chocolate.
Follow the directions on the box to prepare the pudding.

You will need a tub of cool whip.

A package of oreo cookies.

Clear champagne glasses

Assemble each cup the following way:

A scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cool whip, a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cool whip, and top with a cookie.

These glasses turn out really cool looking and an elegant desert.

Welcome!

Have you ever wanted to share your thoughts or feeling about a certain subject? My subject is food! I have found joy and passion in creating foods to share with my family and friends. This is my first step in providing a link to the outside world of why I enjoy having food in my life.

First- let's dwell on the subject of recipes. I love using the web to find new food recipes to create in my kitchen. (I intend on filling a book of recipes that I have created over the years.) Finding a recipe and adapting it to be your own is important. Each chef will create a recipe from either using items on hand or going to the store to purchase new ones. It is the transition of shifting the thoughts in one's head to end up written down. Many times the best recipes are ones that have been duplicated time after time but are rarely written. My choice is to try to write down these recipes for future generations.

My approach is to create recipes that are healthy and tasty. I love using fresh vegetables and fruits and ingredients. I think having fresh cookies or bread is an absolute delight. I would rather have someone cook something from home than purchasing it at the store. Although, it is good to have a well stocked pantry for times when you haven't a clue what to make.

For today's recipe let's start with something easy.

Homemade Pizza Dough

This is a one big bowl technique. I have found that using a big bowl to make my dough in eliminates additional clean-up.

First have a semi-warm kitchen. Doughs made with yeast like a warm and moist environment to thrive and make your bread dough double in size. I found that if I heat up the oven at 200 degrees for about 10-15 minutes that my dough will do better especially if the house is cold.

Grab a packet of active dry yeast and add to 1/3 cup of warm water (not boiling.) Add a little bit (about 1/4 teaspoon) of sugar for the yeast to munch on and let it sit for
5 minutes.

Grab a large bowl and fill it up with the hot water tap. Let it warm up while the yeast is in its 5 minute resting time. Pour out the water and add the yeast/water mixture into the bowl.

Next add a cup of flour, a cup of warm water, and about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well with a spoon.

Once it is well mixed you can at this point add any seasonings or flavoring to the dough. I have added a concentrated garlic paste and season salt. This adds a new dimension to the dough's flavoring.
Add about 3 more cups of flour- one at a time until the dough forms a ball around the spoon.
Use some flour to scrap the dough of the stirring utensil. Now it is time to use your two best tools a chef has-your hands. (One piece of advice: make sure your hands are clean and remove any jewelry on your fingers.)
Start kneading the dough in a 1/4 fold method and push. Then again fold and push within the bowl. Add flour as it sticks to the bowl or hand.
After about 10 minutes of kneading, pick up the dough and add a little olive oil to the bowl. Place the dough back into the bowl. Roll the dough within the bowl to cover it with oil and up the sides a little. This will prevent the dough sticking the bowl as it rises.
Cover the bowl with saran wrap.
Let the dough rise in a warm place near the oven. Check on the dough in a half and hour to see if the dough is rising.
It will take about 1 hour for the whole process.
Once the dough is done, remove the dough from the bowl. Separate it into two equal portions.
The choice at this time is to form the dough into a shape you want to it.

The dough should be cooked in an 425 degree oven. The time of cooking depends on the shape of the dough.

My default hoice is to use a circular pizza pan and pat the dough into a circular form. I do not like to use a rolling pin because it flattens the air out of the dough.

Other options:
Also a rectangular cookie sheet can be use to make a calzone (the pizza dough is folded back over one side and tucked.)
For making small pizza rounds for people- separate the dough into small balls and pat dough. This is great especially good for getting kids into the kitchen to help create what they would like to eat.
Garlic bites can be made by forming the dough into small circles and adding a little bit of fresh garlic topping and parmesan cheese.
The options depends on what you feel like eating and who you are serving.

Leftover pizza dough not used should be wrapped up and placed into the fridge. Then can last for about two days and be used to make a meal.

Experiment and see what you like to do. Each person can make a choice of what they want to eat.

Fresh pizza dough makes a memorable impression.