Chocolate Coconut Bars

These little numbers are perfectly rich and chocolaty.

1 bag of chocolate cookies (like Oreo's, or to make it GF use something like Pamela's chocolate cookies)
1/2 C butter, melted
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 C chocolate chips, plus additional for top
1 C coconut flakes
1 C chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Food process the cookies and add melted butter. Press mixture in a 9x13. Pour sweetened condensed milk on top. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts. Top with additional chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes. Cut into bars after they have cooled.

Chicken in Cream Sauce over Happy Rice

This is a recipe from my Susan Branch Autumn cookbook. I love this cookbook! If you love the fall this is a great cookbook to have.

Chicken in Cream Sauce

Serves 4-6

2 lbs. chicken breasts

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. cayenne

s&p to taste

4 T butter

3 C sliced mushrooms (don't even think about using canned!)

1/3 C minced shallots

1 1/4 C chicken broth

1 C dry white wine

1 C heavy cream

1/3 C chopped parsley

Happy Rice (below)

3 red pears, diced (opt)

1.) Chop chicken into 1 inch pieces, sprinkle with thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper.

2.) Melt 2 T butter in a large skillet; cook chicken over med-high for 3 minutes(or until chicken is just about done).

3.) Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Remove chicken and mushrooms from skillet and set aside.

4.) Melt remaining 2 T butter and cook shallots for 2 min.

5.) Add broth and wine to pan, bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan. Simmer 5 minutes.

6.)Add cream, simmer 5 minutes more.

7.)Put chicken and mushrooms back in skillet, add parsley and heat through. Spoon chicken over happy rice, top with red pears.

Happy Rice

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 C uncooked rice

1/2 C sliced almonds

1/3 C golden raisins

seeds from a pomegranate (opt.)

1.) Cook rice according to pkg. instructions

2.) When done, stir in all additional ingredients

Cream of Tomato Soup

This is a great soup to make this summer if you grow a lot of tomatoes.

Makes about 6 servings

4 C chopped tomatoes (I usually just use canned)

1 onion, chopped

3 whole cloves garlic

Ground pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

3 sprigs parsley or fresh basil

3 T butter

3 T flour (to make GF substitute with GF flour or cornstarch)

1 1/2 C chicken broth

1 C half-and-half

Simmer tomatoes, onion, garlic, pepper, sugar, salt, and parsley together for 10 minutes. Remove from heat (add fresh basil if you desire) and blend to desired consistency. In a large skillet, melt butter and whisk in flour; stir until golden. Slowly pour chicken broth into flour mixture, whisking to incorporate. Stir until thickened. Add to tomato mixture, add half-and-half and simmer 5 minutes (do not boil).

Delicious served with grilled cheese.

Backwood Beans and corn bread

I hate to push down the fudgiest brownie recipe for another bean recipe. Sorry to be the "Debbie downer" of sorts. I made this this week and it turned out to be another cheap, healthy (high fiber!), and easy meal that turns into many meals. The first meal's main gist is pinto bean soup with corn bread. Then I used the left over beans in burritos and then also on nachos.

Backwood Beans (gluten free)

(I named it this because as I ate I couldn't help but imagine a log cabin in the Smoky Mountains, where everyone  is wearing brown tones, barefoot , the brother plays the harmonica, and the sister's hair is in braids.)

Night before:

Rinse and sort 2-3 lbs. dried pinto beans. In a large pot, cover beans with water (enough to let them double in size and still be submerged)

3 hours before dinner:

Dump out water and get fresh. Add a chopped onion to beans and simmer an hour. 

In a skillet, cook:

6 slices of bacon, cut up.

Add bacon and grease to beans (Caution: the hot grease will splatter when it hits the water, so you may want to let it cool a bit first.)

Continue to simmer 1-2 hours. Add water if necessary.

About a half hour before dinner bake:

Corn bread (not gluten free)

Oven: 400

1 C milk

1/4 C butter

1 egg

1 1/4 C cornmeal

1 C flour

1/2 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Grease an 8x8 or muffin tin. Beat milk, butter, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients until moistened. Bake 20-25 min until toothpick comes out clean. (15-20 for muffin tin.)

The next day for dinner I reheated some beans on the stove and mashed them. Then I put them and some spinach, cheese, sour cream, and sliced avocados in a tortilla and it made a tasty burrito. And the day after that I spread chips on a cookies sheet, put heated beans on top, sprinkled with cheese and sliced avocado and broiled to heat the cheese and chips. Delicious!

Creamy Grape Salad

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pounds seedless green grapes
2 pounds seedless red grapes
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until blended. Add grapes and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans just before serving. Yield: 21-24 servings

Traditional Mexican Salsa

I like this salsa because it is made in the blender, making it super easy and a fun texture.

This one's for you, Meg!

4 fresh tomatoes

1 yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

2 cups canned tomatoes, drained

1 c fresh cilantro

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (red pepper)

1 tsp salt

4 Tb lime juice

Process all ingredients in your blender on low until your desired consistency. Makes about 1 quart.

A few tips:
1. This recipe tends to turn out really juicy, almost runny, if you don't make sure to get as much liquid out of the diced tomatoes as you can.
2. I also suggest de-seeding the tomatoes to reduce the liquid content even further. (I slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the really wet stuff before chopping them up.)
3. If you want your onions chopped smaller than the rest of it, I throw about half the tomatoes in with the onions and cilantro and pulse a few times, and then add the rest of the ingredients. That way you can avoid large onion chunks without completely pureeing the rest of the tomatoes!

4. This also makes an excellent sauce for mexican dishes (the word 'salsa' actually means 'sauce' in Spanish!) Heat and pour over rice, beans, chicken, or whatever you want!

Black Beans and Rice

Jen and I were talking about serving beans for dinner and she gave me this great idea of how to serve black beans. What I like about it is that there is no meat involved, which is what makes up the cost of most of my bean dinners. 

The night before: Rinse and sort black beans (however much you want...1-2 lbs or so) Put them in a large dutch oven or stock pot. Cover with 3 inches of water. Let soak overnight.

In the afternoon: Drain the water. (This helps cut down on the gaseousness of the beans.) Fill with fresh water and cover beans with a few inches of water. 

Add: 1-2 T bacon grease

1 chopped onion

2-4 minced garlic cloves

salt to taste

Cook on med-low for about 1 1/2-2 hours. Keep an eye on it, don't let your beans boil, this makes them crack. Also, stir them every now and then.

Next: Steam rice (for our fam of 5 I cook 1 1/2 C uncooked rice in 3 C water)

If you have grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, or chips, bring them out. If not, don't worry, it still tastes really good. 

To serve, I put a scoop of rice in the bottom of each bowl and top with the beans, add a sprinkle of cheese, and we all enjoy it. 

Then the next day I usually spice it up a little more, since leftovers are never as good as the first serving (unless they are chocolate cake or chili). This is when I add salsa, sour cream and chips. Or it is also good rolled up in a tortilla. 

I figured this meal, without the extras, costs somewhere around $1-$3 depending on the price you get on beans. And that serves 5, with leftovers!

Gramma-Tamara Mac-N-Cheese

This is my grandmother's recipe with a serious Tamara twist. (I have this strange inability to follow a recipe exactly.) My dad always said mac-n-cheese was kind of bland, so I worked and worked until I came up with this tasty concoction. Enjoy!

Gather up...

1 pkg. elbow macaroni (or any shape that suits your fancy!)

6 Tb. butter

6 Tb. all purpose flour (or GF all purpose flour!!)

2 cloves garlic

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp onion salt

3 c. milk

handful of fresh-grated romano or parmesan cheese (the saltier the cheese, the better. If you want to use only cheddar, I'd suggest adding 1/2 tsp. salt to your sauce.)

2 generous handfuls of grated cheddar cheese (I use sharp for extra flavor)

handful of potato chips (yes, that's right. Potato chips in your macaroni.)

(In case you're bad at math, the ratio for the sauce is 

2 Tb butter : 2 Tb flour : 1 c. milk. 

Now you can make however much you want!)

Cook up your pasta. Drain and let it sit there while you make the sauce. Don't worry, it will be ok.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over med-high heat. Add the flour, the seasonings and the garlic. (smoosh the garlic through your garlic press so it's not chunky. If you don't have one, try to chop it as tiny as you can.) Stir until it starts to bubble. This takes about 5 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the milk gradually, whisking until it is smooth. Return to the heat and bring to a boil stirring often. Once it boils and thickens, remove from the heat and add the fistful of romano/parmesan and one handful of cheddar. Stir until the cheese melts and is smooth. Now comes the assembly.

In a baking dish, layer 1/3 of the pasta, cheddar, and sauce. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, ending with the cheddar on the top. (If you like yours extra-saucey, you can use all the sauce, but I always have a little too much sauce and discard the extra.) Hang on to those potato chips just a little while longer.

Bake the macaroni at 350 for 15 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is melted. Grab those chips and crunch them up. Sprinkle them on top and pop the dish under the broiler for just a minute to get them nice and crispy, and a little golden-colored. This makes for a fun and tasty crunch on top. (Before my gluten free days I liked to use crunched-up Cheez-its as well.) 

Enjoy!!!

p.s... when I make this for us I like to boost its nutritional value a little by boiling broccoli in with the noodles, and adding some flax meal to the sauce before assembly. Add some diced up ham, or hot dogs if you wish, and it makes for a yummy casserole!

Gluten-free note: the Kroger on Timberlake has the best selection of GF noodles I've seen in town. It has the best GF selection for everything, actually. The brand "Tinkyada" is my favorite, and they have lots of shaped noodles to choose from, including elbow- macaroni. But of course, any pasta in any shape will do! 

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

These are fluffy, creamy, and everything good mashed potatoes should be. And you can make them the day before if you want to!! PERFECT for Sunday dinners!

You're going to need:

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 Tb. butter, divided

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large pot cover the potatoes with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 20-25 min or until very tender. drain well.

In large mixing bowl mash potatoes. Add remaining ingredients, saving 1 Tb. of butter. Beat until fluffy. Transfer to a greased 2 qt. baking dish, and dot the top with the remaining butter. (This is where you put it in the fridge if you are saving it for later.) Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.

These are so good!!!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

These are soft, chewy, dense, and the easiest cookie you will ever make! And with only 3 ingredients, how can you go wrong?? You really should try these...

Start off by cracking 2 eggs in your mixing bowl. Blend for about a minute so the eggs are smooth. Dump in 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of peanut butter (or any other nut butter!) and blend again. Use crunchy peanut butter if you want some texture. Plop small spoonfuls onto your baking sheet, press with a fork, and bake at 350 for somewhere around 10-12 minutes. Presto! 

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

*This is a wonderful recipe for gluten-free cookies, since it requires no special ingredients! To ensure gluten-free preparation, use a new jar of peanut butter or a jar designated for gluten-free use, because crumbs from your bread almost always find their way in and contaminate it!

Butter Toffee

I got this recipe from Katie's copy of Tasha Tudor's Take Joy. It is easy to make, hard to stop eating, and a gluten free dessert!

1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C water
1/2 C butter
Melt all these in a sauce pan. Heat to 285 degrees. (I highly recommend a digital thermometer).
Add:
1/2 C chopped cashews
Pour onto a buttered cookie sheet (with sides). Cool.
Melt:
6 oz chocolate chips
Spread on cooled toffee. Sprinkle with some more chopped cashews. Cool.
Melt:
6 oz chocolate chips
Flip the toffee out of the pan. It will probably break into a few pieces. Spread with the chocolate. Sprinkle a little more chopped cashews. Let cool and break into small pieces. Store in an air tight container. Best if eaten within 2 weeks... and with a cup of tea!

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

I was making this batch of creamy goodness this week for Riley and myself, and realized that it was downright selfish of me to keep from sharing it with the rest of you! You should really try this. It's fantastic, and so simple!

Pour about a cup and a half of heavy cream into a medium saucepan. Add a little over 1/4 cup of butter, about 5 tablespoons, and stir until it starts to boil. Turn your burner down to low and simmer for a minute. Add a generous fistful of freshly grated parmesan cheese (It's gotta be fresh! Don't even try the stuff in a can!) to the sauce and whisk until smooth, stirring for another minute. Try to keep from drooling, you're almost done...

Season with pepper and a generous pinch of nutmeg (the 'secret' ingredient), but avoid adding salt, because parmesan tends to be salty enough on its own. Pour over your pasta of choice with another fistful of cheese and toss to coat. This makes enough to cover a 16 oz bag of pasta perfectly.

Go ahead and serve it with extra parmesan and even a little fresh snipped parsley on top for presentation, if you want...

Yum, yum, yum!!

p.s... this sauce is, of course, gluten free. Gluten free noodles can be found at Kroger or health food stores...

Borscht

This soup is really tasty, nutritious, and fairly inexpensive. It has become our weekly winter soup. 

I thought it would be appropriate to post this for Valentine's Day- it is a wonderful pink soup from Eastern Europe.

Serves about 8

Ingredients:

8 cups vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

4 large beets, peeled and chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

2 cups chopped white cabbage

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 cup sour cream (I prefer plain yogurt)

1 T. finely chopped dill (only necessary for decorative garnish)

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Bring 4 cups of vegetable stock to boil with the garlic and onion in a large, heavy- based saucepan. Add beets, potato and carrots, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours to form a broth.

Next, cool the broth slightly. Chill in pot until cool. Then put in the fridge overnight (this is the key to the depth of flavor). Next day, add the remaining 4 cups of stock, bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Stir in chopped parsley; cook until the cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with generous amounts of salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar. At this stage, you should choose whether or not to liquidize the soup. I love to blend it to a smooth, deeply colored, thick soup! It is absolutely beautiful.

Serve topped with sour cream (and yogurt) and dill. 

Spinach Salad

Posted by: Meg
As we anticipate spinach in our gardens in the coming months (or just buy the big tub from Sam's), I thought this would peak your interest.
½ C olive oil
½ C cider vinegar
¼ C sugar
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp celery seed
½ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp Tabasco

Pour over fresh spinach, red onion, mushrooms, bacon, and eggs

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

Posted by: Meg
This is our favorite fall soup, but it is nice all winter long.

6 med baking potatoes, peeled chopped
2 TBS olive oil
½ tsp pepper
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium onion, chopped
3 C chicken broth
1 C water
1 C whole milk
Salt
4 oz Colby or cheddar sliced

Oven 425. Place potatoes in baking dish. Drizzle with 1 TBS oil and pepper. Stir to coat. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Turn potatoes with metal spatula, and add garlic. Bake 20 min.
Set a side about 1 cup potatoes.
In a sauce pan, heat 1 TBS oil and cook onion for 5 min. Add potatoes and garlic from pan. Stir in broth and water. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer covered 20 min.
Blend soup in blender ½ at a time or in pot with hand soup blender. Stir in milk. Season to taste with salt. Heat through. Garnish with a slice of cheese and the remaining 1 C potato pieces.

Whipped Mocha Frosting

This frosting is simply delish! It stays fresh in the fridge for several days, and also freezes well. Warm to room temp before using (don't microwave) and whip with your mixer until it's fluffy again.

Enjoy...

4- 1 oz squares semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 c butter

1 lb powdered sugar (3 1/2 c)

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp instant coffee

1/2 c milk

Slowly melt chocolate in double boiler on stove top or in the microwave. Don't overcook it! Set aside.

Stir the coffee into the milk and let sit to dissolve.

Stir the butter in a large mixing bowl to soften. Beat in half of the sugar. Blend in the chocolate and vanilla. Add the remaining sugar alternately with the milk/coffee mixture, beating until smooth and of a good consistency. (This takes a little while. Be patient!) It should be a little light in color, fluffy, and oh-so-delicious! 

A word to the wise: If you try to frost your cake before it's all the way cooled, you will end up with a mud-puddle on the top of your cake. Patience, my friends! (I just found this out this weekend... oops!)

Easy and Delicious Mustard-Roasted Fish

This recipe is so simple and a delicious way to cook fish. For a treat, you can get fresh fish daily at the Blue Marlin on Bedford Ave off of Rivermont. 

4 fish fillets (I have used grouper and mahi mahi)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces creme fraiche

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (I didn't have this and it was fine)

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 teaspoons drained capers

Preheat oven t0 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with foil, place fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, two mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 tea. pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. 

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. 

Serve! 

I actually halved this recipe for Philip and I and we split one fish fillet... we have found with sides one fillet b/w the two of us is more than enough! So you can take that into account for big or small amounts of people. 

Creamy Goodness Oatmeal

Posted by: Meg Cooper

Oatmeal?- Yuck! I used to gag down oatmeal because it was a cheap hot breakfast. And then I started soaking to oats over night, and my opinion of oats changed...over night! Here's how you can make oats edible:

The night before:

Place 1/2C uncooked old fashion oats, per person in pot. (Note: to ensure this is gluten free, use certified gluten free oats.)

Add a little less than 1C water per 1/2C oats. 

Squeeze (or pour from store bought jar) a little (like 1/2tsp) lemon juice. 

Give it a little stir. Put the lid on the pot. 

In the morning: 

Turn the burner on. 

Cook, stirring frequently until cooked to your liking. 

Then put the lid back on while you get out the bowls and toppings.

Topping ideas: brown sugar, honey, peanut butter, cinnamon, any dried fruit-crasins, raisens, apricot, or any fresh fruit, chopped nuts, ground flax seed, and a smidge of milk. Creamy, goodness.