Julie's Everything Bars

These seem weird, but they were a hit with my bible study and go great with morning coffee. I made these with Jodi O in mind! 

1.5-2 Cups quick cooking oatmeal

.5 Cup flour

1 Cup sunflower seeds

1/2 Cup millet

1/2 C sesame seeds

1 C  golden raisins

1/8 C dates (since I wanted to use them up)

1 Cup peanut butter chips

.5 maybe .75 C Craisins

In a heat proof cup I melted 

1/3 stick butter

1/2 C peanut butter

2 Tbs oil

1/4 C honey

I microwaved the liquid until it all mixed well. I mixed it into the dry ingredients and then I added 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. I mixed and added water until it had the consistency of a heavy brownie batter. I put it in a buttered pan and baked it for about 30 minutes. I cooled it and cut it into squares. Good fiber, good taste and it was a bit addictive. Makes about 24 bars.

Provencal Chicken Stew

Another cheap eats, if you omit expensive wine and olives. But I usually have a cheap bottle of white wine in the fridge to cook with and olives last forever around my house. Serves 6-8

3/4 C plus 2 Tbs AP flour

1 tsp salt

1 chicken cut into servings and skinned

1/4 C olive oil

1 yellow onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove minced

1/2 C dry white wine

1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1/4 C chopped parsley for garnish

1/4 C fresh basil leaves cut chiffonade for garnish. 

(Chiffonade is a fancy way of cutting the leaves into little strips)

1 Cup Nyons or kalamata olives for garnish

Combine the 3/4 flour and salt in a plasticb ag. Add chicken and shake to coat completely. Heat a large saute pan over med heat and add oil. Add chicken and cook once for 8-10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and then to a slow cooker. Add onions and 2 tbs flour and saute stirring for 10 min or until lightly browned/ Add garlic cook for 2-3 minutes. Add wine and deglaze pan, scraping up all the good stuff from the bottom. Add tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes until some of the tomato ,liquid evaporates.  Pour all of it over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on low from between 3 and 8 hours, until the chicken is tender. At 3-4 hours the chicken will be firm and hold it's shape. At 6-8 hours it will fall off the bone. Divide chicken among dinner plates (or bowls) and garnish with parsely, basil and olives.

Yumm- Chicken!

 Pot Pie! Serves 4 

Works for any leftover meat- thanks to LH

Per person
3 oz turkey, cooked and diced
½ cup frozen mixed vegetables, cooked
2 T diced onion
2 T diced celery

¾ cup turkey gravy
Cook celery and onion in a little oil until translucent; add meat and vegetables to warm. Spoon into baking dish(s) evenly and add gravy and top with crust (recipe below)


Sweet tart crust—crust for four servings

2/3 cup shortening
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c white sugar

1 egg + 2 T milk

Cut shortening into dry ingredients
Add egg and milk. Dough is sticky. Divide into portions.


In one casserole or individual serving dishes add meat mixture and gravy.
Work each portion of dough into a hand flattened crust the size of the dish(s) and place on top of filled dish(s).  Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, until gravy is bubbling and crust is brown.
Another variation on this theme is Sheppard’s Pie (originally for lamb stew)
Instead of crust—top meat mixture with mashed potatoes. Brown as above.

Ham Where Am I Going?

That was a staple at our house growing up. I finally made it last night for my own family, and my daughter laughed at the name. I think it was my mother's trick for getting my brother and I to try the dish. Casseroles were all the rage in the 80's I remember. It' isn't the cheapest recipe ever, since cheese and ham are spendy. But here is the recipe!

Ham Where Am I Going?

1.5 cups Jasmine rice (or brown rice would work better)

Chicken buillon (spelled correctly?)

* Make rice according to directions, add some bullion to taste

1 Cup cubed Ham

2 peeled and diced carrots

2 peeled and diced celery

1.5 Cups cheddar cheese

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour (All purp is fine)

Black pepper

salt

1/2 Tsp each: garlic salt or powder and onion (likewise)

1 Tsp dijon mustard

1/2 Cup milk

You can boil the carrots and celery for about 2 min to soften them, but I put them in as is and it was a nice contrast. So here goes: Make a bechemel sauce; Heat butter, add flour and cook until light brown, add milk and cook until thickened. Add mustard, seasoning, salt to taste and stir in cheese.  Now, layer the cooked rice in a baking dish (that has been oiled) then put some vegetables and some ham. Pour over some of the cheese sauce and repeat until you end with the last of the cheese sauce on top. Heat in the a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Serve!

Spanish Rice/Mexican Rice

My brilliant friend Shelly J also pointed out this recipe to me for super easy spanish rice. You all know about how I LOVE rice and beans and here is the rice recipe:

Jasmine rice-1 Cup (or any white rice you like)

Diced tomatoes 1 Cup or 1.5 cups if you like more- or just dump in a whole can like I have

Water- whatever you need for the rice, minus the tomato volume (see below)

Onion Powder - 1 Tsp (or 2 Tsp of Onion flakes)

Garlic powder - 1 Tsp (or 2 of fresh)

Cumin- 1 Tsp

Olive Oil -1 Tbs (or any oil you like)

** I add 1 Tsp of Chicken bouillon too

*** I minus 3/4 cup of water for every cup of tomatoes, it seems to work

Boil the water/tomato mixture with the herbs and spices. Add the rice and stir. Then cover and cook according to the directions. About 20 minutes later you have really good rice.

Shelley gave me some tomatoes (cause she grows them like no one else) and I used the food processor to grind them up with all the spices. Then I canned it in 1 cup jars and I hope it works! I have not opened one yet, and Shelley froze hers in little ziploc bags in the freezer. Brilliant!

Another variation of this theme I've used when I was really bad off:  Make rice, but add a cup of prepared salsa in lieu of 3/4 cup of the water the rice needs. It works out pretty well!

I made Applesauce- practically free!

A friend from church made me an offer I could not refuse: Free apples. So, I packed up my kids and went over to pick apples while my kids got slimey from the fallen apples. It was great, and I came home and canned applesauce the next morning before we left for Thanksgiving. So, it was AWESOME that it was free and only cost me a little in time, stress and cinnamon, oh, and lids for the cans since I had everything else. The only problem is that my son is apparently slightly allergic to the cinnamon I put in the applesauce. It is stronger then I usually use, from Costco, but it tastes good and saves us about $2.50 a jar. Not bad, I think! What I love most about this method is that you cook the apple whole, without removing skins or seeds. A lot less work I tell you. Then you use a Foley  food mill to grind it down and all the seeds and the like come out at that point. You are just left with simple applesauce. It's SO GOOD! Here are the photos: 

For those of you new to canning, it is just as safe as stuff from the store and I like this link for basic how-to: from Pick Your Own

Any questions about canning? E-mail me and I'll try to get the answer for you! 

Taco Soup

No, this is really good. It's from Shelley J and she is the QUEEN of all things domestic. Plus she is an amazing mom and an even better teacher. I don't think there is anything she can't do!

Taco Soup:

1 lb lean ground turkey or Soy

1 chopped onion

1 Pkg ranch seasonsing

1 Pkg taco seasoning

1 can black beans

1 can white beans

1 can kernel corn

1 can diced tomatoes (mexican style)

1 can diced tomatoes

Brown the meat and then saute the onion. Put everything else in (and don't drain the cans either) and simmer for 1 hour.

Shelley reports she takes this recipe to many potlucks and everyone asks for the recipe. Plus, you can make your own seasoning packets cheaper then store bought, and you can make beans from dried ones too (I would add a tbs of flour after the onions saute, to make it a bit thicker). But sometimes the canned ones just come in handy when you are in a pinch!