Daily Cooking Recipes Let Me Make Cooking Easy

April 11, 2014

Mouthwatering Plum Pie

 

Mouthwatering Plum Pie

Mouthwatering Plum Pie

Florence
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 4 C purple plums sliced
  • 1 C sugar
  • 2 T quick cooking tapioca
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t nutmeg
  • Freezer pie crust for 2 crusts
  • 2 T butter or margarine
  • Heavy duty aluminum foil

Instructions
 

  • Put the plums into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.
  • In a second bowl, mix the sugar, tapioca, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
  • Place plums into the bowl with the sugar mixture and toss to cover them.
  • Let stand for 15 minutes.
  • Cover a 9 in pie plate with aluminum foil. Be sure to extend the foil at least 6 inches past the edge of the pie plate.
  • Fill the pie plate with the plum filling mixture.
  • Fold the edges of the foil over the top.
  • Freeze for at least three hours ( overnight works well ).
  • Add another layer of foil over the top and secure it tightly over the filling.
  • Store in freezer for up to six months.
  • When it is time to bake, remove the crust and filling from the freezer.
  • Wait until the crust comes to room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Roll out an eleven inch circle from one of the crusts and place it in the pie plate.
  • Fill pie plate with the filling you made previously.
  • Roll out a ten inch circle out of the second pie crust.
  • Place dots of butter on the filling.
  • Lay the second pie crust on top of the pie, crimp the edges, and be sure to cut off any extra.
  • Cut four slits into the upper crusts to release steam.
  • Bake your plum pie for 45 minutes at 425 degrees or until golden brown.

 

April 10, 2014

Frozen Rosette Dessert Decorations

 

Frozen Rosette Dessert Decorations

Frozen Rosette Dessert Decorations

Florence

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pt heavy cream
  • 1/4 C confectioners' sugar
  • Food coloring
  • Aluminum foil
  • Cardboard
  • Freezer bags

Instructions
 

  • Put the heavy cream and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  • Whip until mixture becomes stiff.
  • Split into individual bowls for each color and add the food coloring. ( Use as much or as little as your creative design leads you to. )
  • Wrap the cardboard with aluminum foil.
  • Use a rosette tip on a pastry bag to pipe the mixture onto the aluminum foil.
  • Freeze for at least 2 hours, or until Rosettes are firm.
  • Remove from freezer and quickly transfer to freezer bags.
  • These can be stored frozen for as long as two months.
  • Have fun decorating cakes, deserts, and anything else that comes to mind with these Rosettes.

 

April 9, 2014

Frozen Ice Ring Decoration

 

Frozen Ice Ring Decoration photo

Frozen Ice Ring Decoration

Florence

Ingredients
  

  • 2 qt ring mold
  • 4 maraschino cherries quartered to make 16 pieces
  • 16 orange sections
  • 16 lemon peel strips
  • 16 lime peel strips

Instructions
 

  • Pre-Chill the mold in the freezer for about an hour.
  • Remove mold from the freezer, rinse in cold water to prepare.
  • Do not dry the mold.
  • Put the mold back in the freezer for a few minutes, until there is a thin coat of frost on the inside.
  • Arrange the fruit pieces in each section of the mold.
  • Cover the bottom of the mold with a little bit of water.
  • If you add too much water, the fruit will float.
  • Put the mold back in the freezer until the water freezes into ice.
  • Remove from the freezer and add enough water to cover the fruit completely.
  • Put the mold back in the freezer until the ice sets again.
  • Remove from the freezer and fill the mold to the top with water.
  • Put the mold back in the freezer, one last time, and wait until it freezes completely.
  • To release the Ice Ring from the mold, run cold water over the mold.
  • This ice ring looks great in a punch bowl.

April 4, 2014

Have Me Later Chili

 

Have Me Later Chili photo

Have Me Later Chili

Florence
Course Main
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground chuck
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 15 oz cans chili beans
  • 2 Tablespoon cornstarch optional
  • 1/4 Cups water optional

Instructions
 

  • Place the ground chuck in a large skillet over medium heat and brown with onions and garlic until onions are tender.
  • Drain well.
  • Place the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper into a large saucepan.
  • Place over high heat.
  • Bring to a rapid boil.
  • Add the meat and beans.
  • Reduce heat to low.
  • Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  • Remove lid and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
  • Place saucepan in the refrigerator for a rapid cool.
  • Pour chili into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
  • To reheat, remove chili from the freezer.
  • Place 1/4 C of water in a saucepan.
  • Add the chili and cook over medium heat until heated through.
  • To thicken chili mix the cornstarch and 1/4 C water together.
  • Add to the chili and stir well.

 

April 3, 2014

Peppermint Angel Cake

 

Peppermint Angel Cake Photo

Peppermint Angel Cake

Florence
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 15 oz Pkg Angel Food Cake Mix
  • 1/3 Cup chocolate mint cookies crushed
  • 3/4 Cup chopped pecans
  • 3 pints Peppermint ice cream slightly soft
  • Aluminum foil
  • Freezer wrap

Instructions
 

  • Mix the cake batter together as directed on the package.
  • Pour the batter into an un-greased 10 in tube pan.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Bake cake on the lowest oven shelf for 35 minutes.
  • Top should spring back when touched when cake is done.
  • Invert pan right away.
  • Allow cake to cool for about 1 hour.
  • Remove cake and cut lengthwise into three sections.
  • Place the ice cream into a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the cookies and pecans.
  • Mix together well.
  • Place the ice cream mixture back in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
  • Place one section of the cake on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the entire cake when completed.
  • Remove ice cream and spread 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the cake.
  • Add another section of cake.
  • Spread another 1/3 of the ice cream mixture.
  • Place the last section of cake on top.
  • Finish with the rest of the ice cream.
  • Cover tightly with the aluminum foil.
  • Place in freezer for 2 hours.
  • Remove from freezer and wrap in the freezer wrap if not serving immediately.
  • Cake can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.
  • To serve, remove from freezer.
  • Unwrap and allow to set for about 10 minutes.
  • Slice and serve.

 

April 2, 2014

Meatball Mayhem

 

Meatball Mayham

Meatball Mayhem

Florence
Course Entree
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 lb ground chuck
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1 1/2 Cups shredded Swiss cheese divided
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 3 Cups cooked rice divided
  • 1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
  • 3/4 Cup milk
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Aluminum foil
  • Freezer wrap

Instructions
 

  • Place the ground chuck and ground pork into a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the egg, onion, celery salt, nutmeg and allspice.
  • Sprinkle in 1/2 C of the Swiss cheese and 1 C of the cooked rice.
  • Mix together well with your hands.
  • Form into meatballs.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place the meatballs in a large baking dish.
  • Bake 25 minutes or until browned.
  • Place meatballs in the refrigerator for fast cooling.
  • In a large mixing bowl combine the remaining Swiss cheese, the soup and milk.
  • Add the garlic, Parmesan cheese and the remaining cooked rice.
  • Mix all together well.
  • Line a baking dish with aluminum foil.
  • Pour the Swiss cheese mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  • Place the cooled meatballs into the mixture.
  • Cover with freezer wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
  • To reheat place casserole in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Bake 45 minutes or until hot.

April 1, 2014

But I Don’t Have Time To Cook

Filed under: Quick and Easy - Freeze and Reheat — Tags: , , , , , — Chef @ 12:00 pm

Busy days can lead to frustration when it comes to making dinner. Who has time to fix a meal when they don’t get home until 6pm or later? Better yet, who feels like cooking a meal after a hard day’s work? So, what’s a girl to do in order to avoid frozen dinners or worse yet, fast food? Use your weekends off to prepare all your meals for the upcoming week.

We’ve all been there at least once and if you’re like me, more times than we wish to admit. We go to the grocery store and spend a ton of money so that there will be food in the house. We then make a promise to cook each and every night since the food is already there and ready to be consumed.

 

But, guess what happens? I come home from work late and I am tired. Everyone else is tired from work and school and no one wants to cook. It falls on me to cook so I suggest that we order take-out food. We spend twenty or thirty dollars on food for one meal when we have a freezer full of food. Have you been there, too? Not a very good choice when we’re trying hard to save money, right?

 

One way I’ve found to stop this endless cycle is to pick one day on the weekend and have a cooking party. Yes, you read that right – a cooking party. I make a menu for the week and thaw out the food on Friday. Then, on Saturday morning I get to work. The kids can help me if they choose and when they do, they get a say in what we will be eating.

 

For your weekend cooking party, decide on the menu early. This ensures that everything needed is present and accounted for. Start with the meats. They will take the longest to cook so get that going and try to have a variety so you’re not bored with the same meats all week long.

 

Side dishes should be prepared, too. It seems like such a small thing to cook the main part of the meal and save the rest for later. What usually happens is no one feels like cooking anything. Avoid the drama by cooking everything at the same time.

 

Cooking that much food for later requires containers to hold it all. There are two ways this can be done. One way is to use containers that are large enough for each side dish and the main meat courses. Each day, take a meat and two sides out of the fridge and heat it up for dinner.

 

The second way gives the family a little more of a choice each day of what they want to eat. When the food cools (everything needs to cool before placing it in containers), have each person scoop what they want to eat into a serving container. Have one meat and two sides per container. In the absence of the family you can do it yourself. Label each with what is inside. During the week, everyone can pick from a variety of dinner combinations.

 

Each works, but it is up to you to decide which is better for your family. Cooking on the weekend saves time and money because you’ll be less tempted to go out when you’re tired from working all day. Not to mention, for once you’re sure to use the leftovers!

 

If your food makes more meals than you could eat in a week, freeze several of them for another time. Simply thaw each meal the day you plan to serve it. Yes, you will have to make an investment in dinner size containers, but it pays off the more you use them. Once you see how much stress you relieve and healthier your family is eating it will be well worth the initial cost.

Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake Photo

Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

Florence
Course Entree
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground chuck
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 small green pepper chopped
  • 1 4 oz can mushrooms, drained
  • 1 26 oz jar pasta sauce
  • 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 t Italian seasoning
  • 1 lb spaghetti broken into small pieces
  • 3/4 Cup milk
  • 2 eggs slightly beaten
  • 1 5 oz pkg sliced pepperoni
  • 1 1/2 Cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • Freezer Wrap

Instructions
 

  • Place a large pot of water over high heat.
  • Bring to a rapid boil.
  • Boil spaghetti as directed on the package.
  • Drain and rinse.
  • Place ground chuck in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  • Add the onion, green pepper and mushrooms.
  • Cook until meat is browned being sure to crumble the meat.
  • Drain.
  • Add the pasta sauce, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.
  • Stir until well combined.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Place the eggs and milk in a large bowl and blend.
  • Place the spaghetti in the egg mixture and toss to cover.
  • Lightly spray a large baking dish with a non stick cooking spray.
  • Place half of the spaghetti mixture into the bottom of the pan.
  • Place half of the meat sauce over the top of the spaghetti.
  • Repeat for another layer.
  • Put the casserole in the refrigerator to cool.
  • Once cooled, wrap with the freezer wrap.
  • Freeze for up to 2 months.
  • To reheat thaw the casserole overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cover the casserole with aluminum foil.
  • Bake 45 minutes.
  • Uncover and top the casserole with the pepperoni and 2 cheeses.
  • Continue to bake another 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.

March 31, 2014

Manicotti

 

Manicotti Photo

Manicotti

Florence

Ingredients
  

  • Manicotti pasta shells
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves - minced
  • 1/4 Cup olive oil
  • 3 Cup cooked ham chopped
  • 1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese divided
  • 6 Tablespoons butter
  • 6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 3 Cups milk
  • 2 Cups shredded Swiss cheese
  • Freezer wrap

Instructions
 

  • Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the onion and garlic.
  • Cook until tender about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat.
  • Add the ham and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
  • Stir in 1/2 C of the Parmesan cheese.
  • Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.
  • Drain and allow to cool.
  • Place the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
  • Cook until butter becomes foamy looking.
  • Carefully stir in the flour.
  • Cook 3 minutes until it begins to bubble.
  • Be sure to stir continuously so the flour doesn't burn.
  • Carefully pour in the milk.
  • Stir continuously until the sauce begins to thicken.
  • Stir in the Swiss cheese until smooth.
  • Place 1/4 of the cheese sauce into the ham mixture and stir.
  • Fill each shell with the ham mixture.
  • Place enough cheese sauce to cover the bottom of a large glass baking dish.
  • Place the shells in the cheese sauce.
  • Pour the rest of the cheese sauce over the top of the pasta shells.
  • Place in the refrigerator to cool.
  • Once cool wrap with the freezer wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
  • When ready to cook thaw the dish overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Uncover and cover with the 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Bake casserole for 1 hour or until heated completely through.

 

March 30, 2014

In a Snap Meat Loaf

 

In a Snap Meat Loaf

In a Snap Meat Loaf

Florence

Ingredients
  

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Cup milk
  • 1/2 Cup white bread crumbs soft
  • 3 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 lb ground chuck
  • Aluminum foil

Instructions
 

  • Beat eggs and milk together in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and blend together well.
  • Sprinkle in the salt and pepper.
  • Place the ground chuck in with the milk mixture and mix well.
  • Use your hands to mix making sure all the ingredients are combined.
  • Place a piece of aluminum foil in a 9X9 inch pan.
  • Be sure the aluminum foil comes about 6 inches over the edges of the pan.
  • Form meat mixture into the pan.
  • Pull the aluminum foil over the top and seal well.
  • Remove from pan and freeze for up to 2 months.
  • To heat preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Spray a 9X9 inch baking pan slightly with a non stick cooking spray.
  • Unwrap the meatloaf and place in the pan.
  • Bake 1 hour 30 minutes or until set.

 

March 29, 2014

In a Flash Burgers

 

In a Flash Burgers Photo

In a Flash Burgers

Florence

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb ground chuck
  • Wax paper
  • Freezer paper
  • Butter or margarine

Instructions
 

  • Shape the ground chuck into four inch patties.
  • Place the wax paper on a flat surface.
  • Place a patty on the wax paper.
  • Add a piece of wax paper to the top of the patty.
  • Add another patty.
  • Continue until all the patties are stacked alternating back and forth between the patties and wax paper and being sure to end with the wax paper.
  • Wrap in the freezer paper and secure tightly.
  • Freeze for up to 2 months.
  • When ready to use place the butter in a skillet.
  • Heat on medium heat until butter is melted.
  • Add the patties.
  • Cook 7 minutes.
  • Flip and cook an addition 7 minutes or until as well as you like.

 

March 28, 2014

Arctic Pickles

 

Arctic Pickles Photos

Arctic Pickles

Florence

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cucumbers sliced thin
  • 1 large red onion sliced thin
  • 2 Tablespoon salt
  • 1 Cup white vinegar
  • 3/4 Cup sugar
  • Freezer containers

Instructions
 

  • Place the cucumbers and onions together in a large mixing bowl,
  • Add the salt.
  • Mix well.
  • Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature.
  • Rinse the cucumbers and onion in cool water.
  • Drain.
  • Place them in the freezer containers.
  • Mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Pour the mixture over the cucumbers and onions.
  • Freeze for at least 3 weeks before eating.
  • When ready to eat thaw in the refrigerator overnight or run under cold water if you want to thaw faster.

 

Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress