Vacay Dining at the Gorge

As promised, here are the recipes from our family vacation last week at Red River Gorge in Frenchburg, KY....

Monday supper - Chili cheese dogs, BBQ potato chips, and hot cocoa 

Tuesday breakfast - Breakfast bagels with ham and cheese 

Tuesday lunch - Chicken satay skewers and southwest salad (from a Walmart salad mix)

Tuesday supper - Hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and double chocolate s’mores 

Wednesday breakfast - Breakfast burritos with ham, cheese, tomatoes, and red & green bell peppers 

Wednesday lunch - Baked potatoes, southwest salad, and sweet potato fries 

Wednesday supper - Campfire pizza log, southwest salad, sweet potato fries, and cinnamon-rolls-in-oranges

Thursday breakfast - Breakfast burrito leftovers and cinnamon roll leftovers 

CAMPFIRE PIZZA LOG

BAKED POTATOES

BREAKFAST BAGELS

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP S'MORES

BREAKFAST BURRITOS

CHICKEN SATAY SKEWERS

I'll post the hamburger recipe later, by itself. 

Cause the burgers my husband grills are hands-down the best-tasting hamburgers ever! 😋

A Hamburger-Helper AHA! Moment

On busy nights  . . .

Hamburger Helper is nice and easy to throw together. The recipe just requires beef, water, and milk - that is, if all you want is a pasta that tastes almost the same as any other flavor!

 

But have you ever paid much attention to the “Add Your Own Twist” section on the back of the box?? 

I never thought much about that section before, sometimes because we didn’t happen to have those ingredients and sometimes because I didn’t feel like the extra bother. But the other day, we DID have the  ingredients and I DID have the time. So I “added that twist” and then....

And the finished bowl of pasta tasted just like we were eating bacon cheeseburgers for dinner! Which got me to thinking ... what if those suggestions on the back are actually the way the pasta’s SUPPOSED to be made?!

Mexico! Lime Salmon, Tacos, & Churros

 

Mexican Salmon recipe:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/38025/mexican-salmon/

On Monday night Christopher & I had lime salmon with mashed potatoes, Tuesday night was busy so we just had frozen pizza and kale-cranberry salad, Wednesday we did tacos with a pound of ground beef and a taco dinner kit from Walmart, and we’ll do churros sometime soon since we decided to watch Frozen 2 with Little Bit right after dinner yesterday. 😉 

Mexican flag for today's art project!

Sweet: HEALTHY Apple Pie for Breakfast =)

1 cup water
3/4 cup quick oats
2 dashes cinnamon
1 apple, sliced

Slightly mix water, oats, & cinnamon.
Add apple slices.

Microwave for 2 minutes.
Add oats till satisfied with consistency.

Enjoy! :)

Sweet: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Moist and flavorful spiced-pumpkin bars 

loaded with chocolate chips 

and topped with a thick smear 

of creamy, dreamy cream cheese frosting.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Dry Ingredients

·        1 cup all-purpose flour

·        2 teaspoons cinnamon

·        ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

·        1 teaspoon baking powder

·        ½ teaspoon baking soda

·        ½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

·        2 whole eggs

·        ⅔ cup brown sugar

·        1 cup canned pumpkin

·        ¼ cup milk

·        ¼ cup oil

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·        ¾ cup mini chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Frosting:

·        4 oz cream cheese, softened

·        2 Tablespoons butter, softened

·        1 cup powdered sugar

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13-inch pan with non-stick spray.

To make bars:

Combine dry ingredients a large bowl, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chooclate chips until evenly distributed. The batter will be very thick. Transfer into prepared baking dish and bake for 14-15 minutes. If you have trouble spreading the bars to cover the pan, spray a spatula and the top of the batter with non-stick spray.

Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 12 bars.

To make cream cheese dipping sauce:

In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Stir in powdered sugar and mix until creamy. Add vanilla and stir until evenly distributed. Spread on pumpkin bars and serve immediately.

Sweet: Date Bars (Homemade Fig Newtons :D)

2 1/2 cups chopped dates

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup butter

2 cups rolled oats

In a saucepan combine chopped dates, brown sugar, and water.
Bring to a boil and cook until dates are soft enough to be mashed with a fork (about 5 minutes).
Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl combine oats and your brown sugar.

In another bowl cut in butter with flour, baking soda and salt (previously sifted together). It is best to work with cold pieces of butter as they are easier to cut into the flour.

Once butter and flour are mixed together thoroughly, combine with oats and brown sugar.

Press half of the oat mixture over bottom of a greased 8 x 8 square pan.
Pack the layer down firmly with a fork.

Next place entire date mixture for the second layer.
Cover and spread evenly.

Cover with remaining oat mixture and pat until smoooth.

Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Cool before cutting into squares and serving.

Enjoy! :)

Sweet: How to Make Moringa Powder Taste Good

I started taking moringa capsules daily this past spring. Moringa is a superfood known to have helped with many health issues, from headaches to cancer.

Since I started taking moringa, my skin is a little clearer, I sleep better, and my bathroom-related health is better. I'm sure it's done other things that I haven't known about.

But recently, I took the last of the capsules my parents got from Amazon; so I started on a bag Mom got of moringa powder. The capsules are, of course, tasteless like all my other medicines; but the powder has a taste - boy, does it have a taste! I tried it with water for a while, and let's just say that's pretty nasty. I tried adding several things (one at a time). Brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, molasses, nutmeg, . . . It was still awful.

There is a prepared mix you can get, Zija, that tastes better with just water. After taking moringa for a month and noticing some nice changes, I took Zija for a month.and was very disappointed to find that the changes had disappeared. When the month ended and I returned to straight moringa, I was greatly relieved to find them come right back!:)

(Not to totally bash Zija - I have friends who take it and who say it helps them a lot; so please don't think I'm saying it's bad for everyone! It just didn't do for me what the straight moringa did.)

Well, so I was trying different things with the moringa-water and nothing was working; and then a couple weeks ago I remembered that the bag says you can put moringa powder with any food, so I tried that - with success!

My first try was yogurt with a whole teaspoon of the powder. With the whole 1/2 teaspoon, I've had yogurt and oats, or oatmeal. But by far my favorite recipe has been microwaving a bowl containing 1/2 tsp moringa powder, 1 cup water, 3/4 cup quick oats, & 1 whole apple (sliced). I'm not saying this recipe tastes particularly awesome or that you should make it to share with your friends "because it tastes so good." But it tastes kind of good. . . .

And now I really have to try the 5 breakfast recipes this website lists: http://blog.moringasource.com/5-simple-moringa-breakfasts/

Sweet: Julie & Julia

A friend who knows my love of cooking sent this movie from across the Pacific, all the way from Cambodia. 

Like, a year ago or something! Then I put it away and immediately forgot where I put it. And I've been looking for it for, like, a year. 

Then, while going through a desk drawer a week or two ago, what do you think I found? Sure enough; there it was!

So I watched it, and wow! I didn't even realize until later that I was watching a true story about something that had actually happened! The movie chronicles Julie Powell's journey of spending a year cooking through her hero Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It also follows Julia Child during her time in France that inspired her to write the cookbook. 

But the movie's not just about cooking; it's also about writing and international travel, and it gives a poignant glimpse into the two women's marriages. I'd call it an emotional masterpiece!

Disclaimer: In addition to a little bit of cussing, the movie contains a couple of dirty scenes; so I don't recommend it for kids. Although I liked the movie in general, there were 2 or 3 things - they weren't TOO bad - that I feel should have been left out.

Books don't have scenes, though; so now I've really gotta read the book! :)

Sweet: Amish Friendship Bread

Starter Ingredients: 
3 cups sugar, divided
3 cups milk, divided
3 cups flour, divided

Starter Directions:
 Place ONE cup each sugar, milk, and flour in large glass or plastic bowl.
 Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set on your counter at room temperature. Stir with a wooden spoon every day for 17 days
 On day 18 do nothing.
 On days 19, 20, and 21, stir.
 On day 22, add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, and 1 cup flour, and stir again.
 On days 23, 24, 25, and 26 stir.
 On day 27, add 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, and 1 cup sugar and stir.
 It's now ready to use to make the bread.
 Give away two cups of the starter to two friends, use one to make the bread, and keep one to keep the starter going. When you give away a cup of the starter, give these directions for keeping it going:
Do not refrigerate; Do not use metal spoon or metal bowl; Do not cover tightly, cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Bread Ingredients:
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (5 1/8 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup chopped nuts
1 tablespoon cinnamon, combined with
1/2 cup sugar


AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD:
  Mix oil, eggs, and vanilla with the starter mix.
 In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, vanilla pudding mix, and nuts.
 Add to liquid mixture and stir thoroughly.
 Pour into two large well-greased 9x5 inch loaf pans, or one Bundt pan, that have been sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and flour.
 Sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on the tops of the unbaked loaves (or cake). Bake at 325
F for one hour or until done.

Sweet: Almond Joy Cookies

There's the candy bar,
but then there's the cookie!

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups chocolate chips
2 cups sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped almonds

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Combine dry ingredients, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stir in the vanilla.
Stir in dry ingredients until well mixed.
Stir in chocolate chips, coconut and almonds.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy! :)

Sweet: Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

For the Crust -

• 16 oz crushed vanilla wafers, processed to a fine powder
• 2 tbsp butter melted

For the Filling -

• 16 oz cream cheese, softened (2 boxes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp.mint extract 
• 6-12 drops green food coloring

For the Ganache -

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1. For the Crust - Process wafers in a food processor or blender. Melt butter. Pour into a large bowl and add butter. Stir to mix and combine well with a fork. Pour into a greased springform pan and press on bottom and up sides to create the crust.

2. For the Filling - In a stand mixer, cream sugar and cheese. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add vanilla and then eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl after each egg addition. Add Creme de Menthe and stir to combine and until color is consistent. Pour filling into springform pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until center is set. Let sit to cool completely. Place in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. When ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan and release the cheesecake. Top with ganache and serve.

3. For the Ganache - In a heavy bottomed saucepan over low to medium heat, bring heavy cream just under boiling. DO NOT LET BOIL OVER. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips in a bowl and stir to melt chips. Let sit for 5 minutes and spread over cheesecake. Slice and serve. The cheesecake can be refrigerated with ganache if you prepare ahead of time.

Easy Hot Chocolate for One

This recipe is flexible, so tweak it till you find what you like best! 

Measure one cup of milk. 
Powdered milk works, too, if that's all you have.
Add one to two Tablespoons of sugar,
one to two Tablespoons of cocoa,
1/4 teaspoon vanilla,
and a pinch of salt. 

Stir till somewhat smooth, then microwave for about a minute and a half; stir a little more, and enjoy! =)

 

Garlic, My Friend

I love garlic! Every time I start to catch a cold, garlic is there for me to ward it off. Here's what I take: 

2 cloves of raw garlic (very small bites)
an apple
and a tall glass of water

It's hot, it's spicy, and some say it stinks; but hey - it does the job. Here's an article I just found that offers some alternative ways to take raw garlic. Praise to the Great Physician who provides us with such amazing foods!

The Chocolate Cake "Catastrophe"

Responsibility is not my favorite thing. I prefer to be the person in the background, following the instructions of someone else who knows exactly what they're talking about. But this summer, God took me out of my comfort zone and put me in leadership in a kitchen, feeding up to 300 people every day.

Now of course, God was feeding them and just using me as His human hands. And this work was for God's glory, not for the kids' stomachs or the camp's success or even its reputation.

When it was easy and everything went as planned, I enjoyed the job very much. However, other days came, days when everything didn't go as planned and it certainly wasn't easy.
Days when we ran out of Fritos for taco salad.

Days when we barely had enough French fries.

That one day when both the four-door refrigerator AND the top convection oven stopped working, and we had to make 15 lasagnas plus several trays of rolls. =) I still enjoyed it, and experienced the added thrill of conquering a difficult task combined with the joy of watching God provide. 

And then . . . there was the cake day. We had already fixed chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Peach cobbler was for supper, and banana pudding for later in the week. We didn't have enough cocoa to make nobakes. Peanut butter cookies were out due to allergies. That left cake. Easy enough, right?

We baked four sheet pans of chocolate cake, then slid them onto the cooling rack and raided the pantry for icing. Hmm . . . one large jug with a few cups leftover at the bottom. Guess we'll have to make the rest.

So we rounded up plenty of milk and butter and vanilla and . . . 16 cups of powdered sugar.

Now, 16 cups might sound like a lot, but when you need 32 - that's woefully short.

So we called the lady on grocery run duty, and she agreed to pick some up.

Breathing came a little easier, until the groceries arrived and no powdered sugar. They searched the houses on camp grounds and rounded up 8 more cups, and while they were doing the rounding up someone began mixing up the ingredients sitting by the mixing bowl.

It was my fault.

I should have explained not to start yet, but now the bowl was full of this runny mix of 4 batches of butter, milk, and vanilla and only 2 batches of powdered sugar. And we only had 1/2 the powdered sugar we needed to make up the difference. What could we do? 200 children and nearly 100 adults would walk through the serving line in 30 minutes, and all we had was plain chocolate cake and some random gooey liquidy stuff.

I wasn't thinking about God's strength or sovereignty or glory, only my mess-up and the (hopeless) situation. Crazy thing - even when we're not thinking about God, He's still thinking about us. =)

The director's wife was very gracious and tried to cheer me up, then suggested we try it with what we had and see what happened.

Sure enough, the little bit of powdered sugar was enough to turn the mixture into a thick glaze, and with someone's suggestion of a small container of cocoa added to that, it became a beautiful chocolatey glaze that drizzled nicely over the cakes and turned that dessert into one of the week's favorites. So yummy!

Thank You, Jesus, for being in control and growing my faith once again!

Cooking with toddlers . . . and allergies

No one in my family has a food allergy, so when I eat or cook I pay no attention to the ingredients list. It tastes good, so that's all that matters, right? But now that I have toddlers in my classroom who have food allergies, it's a big deal. Did you know how much stuff has soy in it? Bread, margarine, sprinkles, EVERYTHING!!! What is it for, anyway?

So this week we're studying cooking.

Monday we mixed goop - sounds fun, right? Trust me, it was. =) 4 cups of cornstarch and two cups of water, mixed together (it's stiff at first), makes enough for 12 toddlers to touch and play around with. It also makes a very sticky white mess all over everything.

Tuesday we spread jelly on English muffins. Jam and bread both have soy.

Wednesday we rolled cookie dough - eggless, soyless cookie dough. Mom already had the recipe for cut-out cookies, and I googled egg substitutes. It turns out that applesauce and mashed bananas work great.

Here's the recipe with alterations: Cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup real butter, 1/2 cup applesauce, and 1/2 mashed banana. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. lemon extract. Stir in 4 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. soda. Shape into roll 3 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper, and chill. Do not freeze. Roll out; cut shapes.

Wednesday night after church I baked the cookies (at 350 until lightly brown), and this morning I searched the dairy crisper in the refrigerator for real butter to use in the icing. To my dismay, 8 sticks of margarine met my eye. No butter. I ran to brush my teeth, and carefully locked the door before driving around the bend to the nearest grocery, then rushed back to stir the following ingredients: 1/2 stick butter, 1 pound powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla. It was ready just in time to put everything away and head out the door to work.

The kids loved spreading the icing (and some of them enjoyed adding sprinkles . . . umm, no, I didn't even research how to make soy-free sprinkles. Really, who puts soy in sprinkles? Oh, well.) Nothing like 12 sticky, messy kids smiling up at you while stuffing frosted cookies in their mouths and signing for more.

Homemade Playdough

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups warm water

1 cup salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

food coloring

 

Directions: Mix first five ingredients. Stir over low heat until dough thickens, pulls away from sides, and clumps in the middle. Continue stirring and cooking a little longer, until it's dry and feels playdoughish. Remove pan from heat and allow dough to cool slightly.

Turn dough out onto a clean counter and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for coloring. Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food coloring in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the playdough, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands and the counter. Store playdough in an air-tight container.

"My kids" love this! I only use it with a few of them at a time, however, so I can keep a close eye on them. Even though it's non-toxic, the salty taste I'm sure it must have is not to their liking and I'd rather them never put it in their mouths than chew and spit out or chew and like and keep eating. =) That said, it makes a great activity for the end of the day when there are only a few children left who are getting bored with their toys and starting to feel pretty homesick for "Mom-mom" and "Dad-dad." Let's see . . . what can we make today?

Chocolate Chewy Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches

I tried this recipe over the weekend and our family has been enjoying it. =)

Cookies:

3 cups brown sugar

2 cups margarine

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. vanilla

6 cups oats

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup cocoa

2 1/2 cups flour

Mix; drop by generous teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Cream Filling:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 egg whites, beaten

1 1/2 cups shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix; spread between cookies to make cookie sandwiches.

Yields two 9x13x4 tubberware containers almost full of cookies.

I Love Horse Food

Oats, I mean. They're good raw, with a little honey or peanut butter to sweeten them. Or you can cook them - oatmeal. If you want, you can eat them with bananas or on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Or my favorite -granola! :)

Pour one 42-oz. container of old-fashioned oats into a large mixing bowl, and cover that with 1 7-oz. package of coconut. Sprinkle enough flax seed over these to cover them. Add 1 cup brown sugar. Mix these together, then add 1 cup cooking oil and 2 cups syrup.

Mix and pour onto 2 greased cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto your kitchen table and let dry.

You can store half of this in the original oats container and store the rest in something else. If you want, feel free to add dried fruit, chocolate chips, or anything else to the dry granola.

Alexander Dumas’s Butter Recipe

What a funny idea!

“Whatever country I found myself in, I always had fresh butter made that very day. I give my recipe to travelers; it is quite simple and at the same time infallible. Wherever I could get milk, from cows, camels, mares, or especially sheep, I would fill three-quarters of a bottle, close it, hang it around my horse’s neck and then let my horse do the rest. In the evening, I would break the neck of the bottle and find that a clump of butter, the size of a fist, had formed of its own accord . . . . This method has never failed me.”

~ from his Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

For years my family ate chicken noodle soup out of a can. And it was okay, but not exactly the healthiest option or the tastiest. Then one day Mom was browsing through a family cookbook and found these recipes:

Grandma Hetrick's Homemade Noodles

3 egg yolks

1 whole egg

3T. cold water

1tsp. salt

2 c. flour

Beat eggs and add water and salt. Stir in flour and mix with hands. Divide dough into 2 parts and roll out each piece as thin as possible on floured surface. Roll up as for a jelly roll and cut with sharp knife into strips of desired size. Shake out noodles and place on towels to dry (can be cooked immediately).

For soup go ahead and cut long strips shorter and place in soup.

Aunt Clara’s Chicken Soup

Start with several pounds of chicken breasts with the skin on and bone in. Boil in large pot with 1 cup celery, 1 onion and carrots (per your Taste). Salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer for several hours. Remove chicken. Add 3 teaspoons chicken bouillon. Then add homemade noodles and after cleaning the skin and bones from chicken, return that to the pot also. Boil about ½ hour.

The longer you let it stand or simmer the thicker the broth will be, and the noodles will become thicker. Our family likes it better that way. You could just put it in the fridge and serve the next day.

This is one of the only two soups my dad likes and his favorite of those two - partly because it's so thick and filling.