To Heck With Diamonds

You know the saying, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend"? Rubbish. Crockpots are a girl's best friend! No homeschooling household should be without one. Or two. I have two crockpots and I use them several times a week, often both at the same time. Just now I put a pork roast in one and sweet potatoes in the other. This afternoon we are helping a new co-worker of Bill's move into her new home and I know I will not feel like making anything for supper when we are done unloading her moving van. But we will all be hungry! With supper in the crockpot, the temptation to pick up fast food or spend a fortune at a restaurant on the way home will be much less.

Since I use my crockpots all the time, I am always on the lookout for new slow-cooker recipes. Here is a new favorite, which is in my crockpot right now:

Crockpot Glazed Sweet Potatoes

• 5 medium sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 dash salt and pepper, to taste

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices; place in crockpot. Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over potatoes. Cover and cook on low 7 to 9 hours. Stir a few times, if possible, to keep them coated. Serves 4.

It's very sweet, so I am lowering the amount of sugars used this time around. Next time I might try just one of the sugars, rather than both.

I do not remember exactly where the above recipe came from. Most likely from Chet Day's Crockpot Recipes, one of the blogs on my Google Reader. There is a Lentil Soup recipe from just a few days ago that I am going to try next, maybe Monday. The weather is a bit cooler here now, so soup might be worth a try.

Two weeks ago I broke one of my crocks and that day went out to replace it. No way was I going to be without two crockpots. In fact, I am thinking of finding a replacement crock, since I still have the outside unit and the lid. I am sure I can order just the inner crock at the Rival website. Three crockpots would be handier than two, wouldn't they?

Good Eats and other Food

I recently discovered the Food Network show Good Eats with Alton Brown. What a lot of fun that show is! I have watched about five episodes and learned a lot, even though I have been cooking for a long, long time. I did not know why russet potatoes work better for baking than red potatoes. Last night's episode was all about scallops. Now to go get some scallops and see if they will taste better than the last time I cooked them! I hope to convince the boys to watch a few episodes. Maybe it will get them excited about cooking.

Speaking of cooking, I tried a new recipe last night that turned out very well, California Cod. It is a Publix Apron's Simple Meals recipes. Bill was a bit apprehensive when I mentioned it was cod, which he remembered as not liking as a child. But we both liked this. The only thing I can see that I should do differently is peeling the lemons so that they are more edible. Try it and see what you think!

California Cod

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 4 cod fillets (1 1/2 lb: thawed, if needed)
• 3 tablespoons white wine (or white cooking wine)
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning
• 3 plum tomatoes (rinsed)
• 2 lemons (rinsed)
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange fish in baking dish (wash hands); drizzle wine over fish and sprinkle with seasoning.
2. Tomatoes and lemons can be peeled, but no necessary. Slice both very thinly; layer over top of fish, alternating and overlapping slices.
3. Sprinkle with cheeses and then oregano. Bake 11-14 minutes or internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F (or flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork). Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness. Serve.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipes) 180kcal; FAT 10g; CHOL 90mg; SODIUM 360mg; CARB 5g; FIBER 1g; PROTEIN 38g; VIT A 15%; VIT C 35%; CALC 25%; IRON 4%

Tip: If cod is not available, use another firm white fish like snapper or orange roughy.

If you have not seen the Publix Simple Meals cards, look for them the next time you are in the store. Publix highlights a different 30-minute meal each week. The recipe card includes a shopping list and needed items for a complete meal. This week's card included Baked Potatoes and Fresh Asparagus along with the California Cod. The menu cards assume that the reader knows next to nothing about cooking and so explains everything. And best of all, every ingredient that you would need to prepare the complete meal is all in one section of the store. I have tried a few recipes from different menu cards and usually they are very tasty. Tasty enough that I always check out the new week's card!

A Yummy Shrimp Recipe

Or tasty, as my cousin Linda would say! I tried this recipe over the weekend and both Bill and I loved it. Charles didn't try it, as he seemed to have forgotten that he liked shrimp when he took his girl friend out for her birthday last month!

Of course, I didn't follow the recipe exactly, so please note the modifications!

New Orleans Barbequed Shrimp
Submitted to allrecipes.com by Carl v. Tibbetts
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/new-orleans-barbequed-shrimp/detail.aspx?rss=7

2 servings
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound shrimp, heads off and unpeeled

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Wash shrimp and drain well.

3. Melt margarine/butter in a one quart casserole dish. Add salad dressing, lemon juice, black pepper and garlic powder.

4. Add shrimp to the casserole dish. Stir gently to cover the shrimp with the mixture. Cover and bake, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes or until shrimp are pink.

5. Serve the shrimp hot on a large platter and place the sauce in individual bowls so that you can easily 'dunk' bread in the sauce!

My modifications:

I peeled the shrimp first. Takes longer, but much easier to do before it's cooked and much less messy while eating!

I added four filets of flounder, partially thawed and broken up into smaller pieces.

I increased the recipe by 1/2 to accommodate the additional fish pieces.

Next time I will probably add slightly less butter, as it was very buttery! But very yummy!

Lemonade

This is turning into a recipe blog rather than an unschooling blog! Anyway, I've been experimenting the last several weeks with making lemonade. So far, this recipe is the one that always gets finished off quickly, with children wanting to know when it will be cold enough to drink!

Lemonade - For 1 Quart

4 cups water

1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix water, sugar and salt in large saucepan. Boil 2 minutes. Chill.

When cooled, add:

1/3 cup lemon juice

sliced strawberries as desired.

Chill

I've discovered if I add the strawberries to the sugar water as it comes off the stove and begins to cool, that the lemonade has a much stronger strawberry flavor. I also add a lemon when I add the lemon juice, slicing it and squeezing some of the juice into the lemonade as I add the slices.

I made some Granola Bars yesterday that the boys loved. Unfortunately, they didn't hold together at all. They were great to eat and would be wonderful with yogurt or ice cream or even with milk and eat it like cereal, but as a bar they were a flop. I used spelt flour instead of wheat flour, so maybe that had something to do with the consistency. Or maybe I need to use more honey to hold them together. The pan will be empty by the end of today, so I'll be able to try again! At least it is one way to get Charles to eat more oats!

The day after the day after …

So, what did we do to celebrate our anniversary? About the same as usual, went out to dinner. Neither Bill nor I felt very energetic yesterday. I'm not sure if it was the weather or just Saturday or jet lag from the short week following the July 4th holiday. In any case, I didn't feel like a movie and neither of us really even had any clear idea of where we wanted to eat. We did agree that neither of us wanted seafood. All I could think about on Friday was seafood, but by Saturday it was about the last thing I wanted to eat. David was no help. I asked him where we should go and his only comment was, "where there's take-out," presumably to bring food home to him! So we went to the local steakhouse, had a nice rib-eye and stuffed mushrooms, and came home and watched a Disney movie on TV until it was time to go pick up Charles from karate. Do we know how to live it up or what?!

I did make some nice muffins yesterday. Honey Peach Muffins. Almost as tasty as peach pie and probably a lot better for us. Of course, I modified it just a wee bit. Here's the original recipe from Pillsbury's Fast and Healthy Magazine, "good-for-you muffins!" article:

Honey Peach Muffins

• 3/4 cup Pillsbury BEST All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup reduced-calorie margarine, softened
• 1 (8-oz.) container low-fat peach yogurt
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped drained canned peaches in light syrup.

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray bottoms only of 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
3. In medium bowl, combine margarine, honey and yogurt; beat at low speed until well blended. Add egg white; beat well. Add to flour mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently stir in peaches. Spoon batter evenly into sprayed muffin cups.
4. Bake at 375 for 17 to 23 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm. 12 muffins. Okay, now for my recipe. It's for double the amount, 24 muffins (if I'm going to heat my oven up this time of year, it's going to be for more than 12 muffins!):

• 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 (8 oz.) container organic peach yogurt
• 8 oz. organic plain yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup fresh peaches, peeled, and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• other fruits as desired, such as dried cherries, fresh cherries, raisins, etc.

I use coconut oil for the muffin cups, coating the whole cup, not just the bottom. I don't use a blender to mix, using a wire whisk and wooden spoon instead (uses more calories on my part!). Otherwise, follow above directions.

I made twenty-four muffins yesterday afternoon and there were only ten left this morning when Bill and I got up. We each had two yesterday, so Charles and David ate five each yesterday. I've got some fresh cherries that need using up today, so I think I'll pit them and add them to the next batch of muffins. And I also have a lot of zucchini that needs using. I tried a zucchini muffin recipe last week that I found online, but wasn't extremely happy with it. If anyone has a favorite zucchini muffin recipe, I'd sure appreciate receiving a copy of it!

Banana Snack Muffins

Last week I finally got my oven fixed! I've been without a workable oven for over two years. The very first item I baked last week was chocolate chip cookies, much to my children's delight.

I've been trying to find ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diets, especially for my boys. Muffins are a good way of doing this, so I have been looking for some good muffin recipes. Yesterday I found a little booklet in my cookbook shelf. I'd forgotten about this recipe, which I used to make way back when!

Banana Snack Muffins From Pillsbury Fast And Healthy Magazine, Volume 7, No. 2.

Prep Time: 15 minutes (Ready in 40 minutes)

• 3/4 cup Pillsbury BEST All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Pillsbury BEST Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened
• 3/4 cup mashed banana (about 1 large)
• 1 (8-ox.) container low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 2 egg whites
• Topping
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray bottoms only of 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.
3. In medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and margarine; beat at low speed until well blended. Add banana, yogurt and egg whites; beat well. Add to flour mixture. With spoon, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter evenly into sprayed muffin cups.
4. In small bowl, combine all topping ingredients; mix well. Sprinkle evenly over batter in pan.
5. Bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan. Cool slightly. Serve warm.

12 muffins Nutritional information for 1 muffin 150 calories 35 calories from fat

Okay, now for my notes about the recipe:

1. I use applesauce rather than butter
2. I use whole eggs rather than just the whites, so only 1 egg
3. Instead of 1/2 cup sugar, I generally use less, like 1/2 that amount
4. They work well in foil cups, but will stick terribly to the paper muffin cups.
5. The topping is good, but I leave it off and instead ...
6. Add pecans, walnuts, frozen blueberries, raisin, etc.
7. Flavored yogurt works fine, as does sour creme or a mixture of the two.

And it's even not too bad without the bananas! I totally forgot to add the bananas to yesterday's batch. They still were eaten up by today, so got the chance to try again!