tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52321532008-07-24T14:31:14.126-07:00Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comBlogger539125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-62372495721941859502008-06-25T22:22:00.000-07:002008-06-26T07:27:34.440-07:00

This was a bit of a combo from a Rachel Ray and a Jacques Pepin, so what do you call that?! My earlier chicken curry recipes have all been great, but I always like to experiment. I wasn't sure I'd like the tomatoes but I think this was one of the best curry recipes I've made. Rachel Ray contributed the curry powder and the mango chutney. Jacques Pepin contributed the coconut milk and curry

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-87708257100132635632008-06-08T08:18:00.000-07:002008-06-08T08:31:12.920-07:00

I have made this salmon from Fast Food My Way several times and it never fails. It is incredibly moist and good--and totally easy. It's great for entertaining because you can get it all ready, then pop it in the oven about an hour before you want to eat. The only disadvantage is because the oven is on so low you can't really cook anything else in it. I served this with roasted red potatoes that I

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-14562971702073114322008-06-08T07:53:00.000-07:002008-06-24T21:43:03.319-07:00

I always like to try at least one new recipe when I'm having people over. Since I always have plenty of food, if something flops we'll still eat well. I need not have worried last night. This salad from Pam Anderson's Perfect Recipes for Having People Over was delicious! I put a bit less corn in it just because I only bought 4 ears. She said to use about 6 cups but that seemed like a lot. Now

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-6685582725769253582008-05-21T21:27:00.000-07:002008-05-21T21:35:56.568-07:00

I often make chicken quesadillas for dinner when I have some leftover cooked chicken. The other night I had cut up a whole chicken into 10 pieces (2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and then cut each half breast in half as none of us eat a whole breast piece). Tonight, I pulled the meat off the leftover pieces. (I would normally save the bones and wings for making broth but I am overloaded on broth in

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-68572250208581152662008-05-11T16:32:00.000-07:002008-05-11T16:46:39.552-07:00

This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Complete Meat Cookbook. I use less less and pepper than they call for. It seems plenty salty due to the soy sauce. Sometimes I use fresh ginger and sometimes ground. Mostly I use fresh garlic but if I'm in a rush I sometimes use the granulated. I often leave out the onion, or add some onion powder. 3 Tbs olive oil 2 Tbs Dijon mustard 1/4 cup

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-16298735785389960882008-05-09T08:02:00.000-07:002008-05-09T08:03:12.247-07:00

2 tsp oil 1/2 an onion, diced 1 pound ground beef 1-2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbs ketchup 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce 1 cup frozen peas, partially thawed 1 tsp beef bouillon 1/2 cup hot water 1 Tbs cornstarch 1/2 cup sour cream 3-4 cups mashed potatoes 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese I'm not giving a recipe for the mashed potatoes because I never really measure. I do LOVE my potato ricer though and

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-87186226756862582992008-05-03T21:42:00.001-07:002008-05-03T21:45:23.633-07:00

The Food Stamp Nutrition Connection has a recipe database which tells you the AVERAGE cost per serving of a whole lot of recipes. You can search for ingredients or browse by category. The costs are based on a national average, adjusted for inflation (but perhaps a bit behind right now). It doesn't show you what it costs you in your area so your actual costs may be more or less but it's a nice

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-39941008323459612292008-04-21T20:23:00.000-07:002008-04-21T20:28:35.033-07:00

I mentioned before that I grew red cabbage in my winter garden this year. Tonight I cooked one up, using Simply Recipes' version of sweet and sour red cabbage. Very very good! I probably had less than her 12 cups red cabbage. My red cabbages are smallish. But it came out delicious and made a great side dish. The rest of the menu was kielbasawhite beansfried apples Yum, yum, yum. Perfect

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-66588106633192767092008-04-14T19:55:00.001-07:002008-04-14T20:03:20.090-07:00

We often make burritos as a way of repurposing leftover meat and/or beans. And they're good. But I saw this recipe for Barbecued Chicken and Black Bean Burritos in Cheap. Fast. Good! and thought they'd be a nice change from our usual burritos. I had cooked black beans in the freezer so thawed them enough to scoop out the cup I needed and put the rest back in the freezer for later. I used the

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-55987344965060614122008-04-14T19:43:00.000-07:002008-04-14T19:54:38.321-07:00

A few days I roasted two chickens. We had part of one for one dinner, then a day later I pulled all the meat off the two carcasses, and made LOTS of chicken broth with them. I cubed the meat and then divided in half. I roughly followed an idea from Cheap. Fast. Good!. Their idea of batch cooking follows my mindset. I don't really do freezer cooking in the sense of cooking whole dishes for the

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-71087221075711201202008-04-10T15:47:00.000-07:002008-04-10T15:51:48.658-07:00

Wow. Somehow it slipped past me but this blog has been going for 5 years now! Back when I started it in 2003, there were probably a few hundred food blogs online. Now there are tens (hundreds?) of thousands, I'm sure. The format and style has certainly evolved over time. In the beginning, I rarely posted exact recipes. Now that's my normal post. I rarely remember to take photographs or remember

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-22730376628408555182008-04-07T12:58:00.000-07:002008-04-07T13:23:11.219-07:00

I'd about given up on Cooking Light recipes but they may have won me back with this one. Both my girls loved it and it went together quickly and easily. I used frozen bay scallops rather than the larger sea scallops and just cooked them a bit less. I think it would be better with the larger scallops but the cost was nearly double. Notes: I used apple juice rather than cider and didn't have a

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-44852736454759086492008-04-04T18:32:00.000-07:002008-04-04T18:34:06.250-07:00

Side Dishes This $7 e-book has over 50 side dish recipes from the blog and web site that will quickly become your favorites, including breads, beans, potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. I've gathered up my favorites so you can have your own side dish cookbook to spark your imagination at dinnertime.

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-22878357084227469852008-03-31T20:03:00.000-07:002008-03-31T20:18:08.497-07:00

I was making this fantastic Cuban Pork Roast for dinner tonight and wanted some Cuban Black Beans to go with it. I Googled and saw the pattern: some sugar some vinegar some alcohol (wine or rum) some sauteed onion, green pepper, and garlic added after an hour of cooking the beans in water dried herbs including oregano and a bay leaf for sure, cumin possibly hot sauce either at the table or in

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-39387546811660969982008-03-30T09:18:00.000-07:002008-03-31T08:34:00.029-07:00

I grew red cabbage in the garden this winter. It's quite pretty but then I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it! I picked the first one yesterday and turned to Vegetables Every Day: The Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce With over 350 Recipes, a great source of vegetable recipes that another food blogger recommended. (Sorry, I can't remember who to thank for the

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-45915560141691775632008-03-30T09:11:00.001-07:002008-03-30T09:17:34.567-07:00

This was a combination of two recipes that were side by side in a community cookbook I picked up somewhere. I've been playing more with lemon pepper these days somehow and really like how it perks up a dish. My lemon tree is finally delivering fresh lemons again and I enjoyed its bounty in every course yesterday, finishing the meal with some great lemon bread. 2 Tbs butter 2 Tbs olive oil 6

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-4511104986382565132008-03-29T18:17:00.000-07:002008-03-29T18:25:39.538-07:00

I will use the powdered buttermilk when I haven't planned ahead and it works fine...but it's not as good as real buttermilk. I bought some real buttermilk last week and hadn't gotten around to using it in anything. This morning, freshly returned from a nice Spring break at Disneyland, I decided buttermilk pancakes were in order for breakfast. This comes from one of my perennial favorites authors,

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-13050548712956248312008-03-29T15:22:00.001-07:002008-03-29T15:30:13.141-07:00

Kumquats are an interesting fruit. They look like a small oval orange, about as big as the first joint of your thumb. Unlike an orange, it's the peel that's sweet while the inside flesh is a bit sour. If you like candied orange peels, you'd probably love these. They have a bit of pucker power but are sweet at the same time. My parents have a kumquat tree and brought a small bag down with them

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-83716347654006884982008-02-26T09:14:00.000-08:002008-03-07T17:16:29.988-08:00

I received a review copy of 101 Easy Peasy Cookie Recipes at a time when I was a bit overwhelmed with other happenings, so it's taken me a while to post this. I made their Chocolately Raspberry Streusel Bars, except I used blackberry jam since that's what I had in the frig. The girls declared them a winner and they really were very easy to mix up. The book is nicely divided into Bar Cookies,

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-34899251579132032392008-02-16T16:36:00.000-08:002008-02-16T16:55:09.311-08:00

I stumbled upon Mark Bittman's blog the other day. He's one of my favorite cookbook authors so I instantly subscribed, of course! I have mentioned before that I rarely watch cooking shows so almost passed over his videos. I'm glad I read the comments on his post about short ribs though, as they enticed me to watch the video. And that's what I ended up cooking for dinner that night, minus the

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-41714467851693193232008-02-14T12:14:00.000-08:002008-02-14T15:02:32.471-08:00

The folks over at SealSaver sent me a set of their SealSaver vacuum canister sets to review. I like this idea! Instead of having to pull out a machine to vacuum seal stuff, the lids of these canisters have a built-in bellows that you move up and down to vacuum seal your food! No electricity used and no noise. The containers can go in the refrigerator, freezer, and dishwasher. The tops should not

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-2365157243775619322008-02-13T21:00:00.000-08:002008-02-13T21:09:35.162-08:00

My sister gets credit for this one, although the basis came from a cookbook I recommended to her a few years ago. I suppose you could use other white fish, including cod or haddock, but I've been buying the flash frozen packages of Talapia at Costco and that's what I used. This fed 3 of us for dinner plus 2 lunches so far. I think there's one more serving in the frig. 8 slices bacon 1 onion,

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-48425960919918921232008-02-05T20:12:00.000-08:002008-02-05T20:26:06.659-08:00

Tonight's recipe is from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. I served this with a non-recipe dish, vegetarian hot dogs sliced and heated up with vegetarian baked beans, topped with cheese. Sort of a bean and bean and dog meal I guess... ;) I should probably come up with some cutesy name for it. Bean Squared Dogs? Okay, I'll just stick to cooking. Someone else can name the menus. Oh, and dessert was

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-7171886983579683892008-02-03T20:19:00.000-08:002008-02-03T20:35:26.590-08:00

It's easy to throw stuff away when it's gone stale but it's amazing how much food the average household in America throws away every year. Would you believe over 450 pounds? That's about 14 percent of the food brought IN to the house. And doesn't count the food that goes down the garbage disposal or into the compost pile. Wow. I just posted a recipe for bread pudding that's a good way to use

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232153.post-38157380454944504832008-02-03T20:09:00.000-08:002008-02-03T20:18:15.192-08:00

This would be best with slightly stale substantial bread I think, but it came out great with some not stale whole grain white bread too. If you like rice pudding, you'll probably like this. It's the same basic custard cooked with bread instead of rice. Some folks remove the crusts on the bread for stuff like that. I take it as an opportunity to turn the ends of the bread, which are often not

Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467062377749049526web@sprez.com