Spaghetti Seasoning Mix

From TiffanyH:

Spaghetti Seasoning mix

Things You'll Need:

1/2 cup garlic power

1/2 cup onion powder (we use fried dried onions and grind them to powder)

1/2 cup oregano

3 tablespoons dried basil

3 tablespoons dried thyme

3 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

Mix all the spices and herbs in a small bowl. Store spaghetti seasoning in a covered container or sandwich baggie. This makes more than one batch. I would add 2 tablespoons to start and then add more to taste depending on how much tomato puree you use.

Frosty Recipe: From a New Cook!

TiffanyH has graciously submitted her Frosty recipe! I can't wait to try this, I love Frosty's and managed to spend four months in America without having one...

Put in your blender
4 cups vanilla ice cream (1 liter)
1/4 cup Nes-Quik
3/4 cup of milk
Blend until creamy. Makes about 4 cups of Frosty. Enjoy!

Rachel's No Knead Yeast Rolls

RachelR says:

If you want to impress your family or dinner guests with homemade bread but don't have a lot of time, make these rolls. They are super easy and don't require any kneading. You have to cook these in a muffin tin because the mixture is very wet and the rolls won't hold their shape very well in a regular pan. But they will pull apart and melt in your mouth. Yum!

No Knead Yeast Dinner Rolls

2 Tbsp. shortening OR butter
3 Tbsp. white sugar
1 c. hot water (it has to be hot enough to melt the shortening or butter)

Mix these three together. When the mixture cools to 110 degrees, add

1 pkg (.25 oz, 1 1/4 t.) yeast

Let this set about 5 minutes to get your yeast active. Then blend in

1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 c. flour (I did half whole wheat flour and they were great!)

After you've mixed all this together, set aside. The mixture will be very wet. Just cover it and keep in a draft free area and let it double in size. Then spoon into a greased muffin tin. (This recipe just makes 8 rolls, so be sure to fill your empty cups with water to ensure even baking.) Again, set aside and allow the rolls to double in size again.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

After mine rose the second time, I brushed with butter, then sprinkled a little rosemary on top, then brushed with more butter, then sprinkled just a little sea salt on top. Just an adaptation from the Pioneer Woman!

I'm back... and Rachel's Chicken Pot Pie

Our family has made it back to South Asia! We spent this summer in the states catching up with family and friends and taking it easy. It was a great break and time to refresh our family, marriage, and spiritual health. We are thankful for it, and ready to get back into the swing of life here. I apologize that I did not post a single help or recipe while we were away. I barely did any cooking in the states, people hosted us so often or our families took us out to eat! I'm so ready to get back in the kitchen and share with you what's happening there!

We'll start with a couple of recipes submitted by others while I was away...

From RachelR:

So I pulled out my mother-in-law's recipe for chicken pot pie the other day. Hers calls for a Bisquick topping. I've made the recipe before with a pie crust topping, but I was feeling adventurous. I searched the internet and found an easy recipe for Bisquick. I also made cream of chicken soup from scratch. If you do these two things ahead of time, this recipe is really pretty easy and fast to make.

Bisquick Recipe:
5 c. flour
1/4 c. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. butter

Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in butter til mixture is crumbly.

Store in airtight container up to 6 weeks or in freezer for longer storage.

Cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c. water
1 chicken buillon cube
few tsp. chopped onion
clove of garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
a little lemon pepper
1 1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. flour
Boil water, buillon, 1/2 c. milk and onions and garlic for a minute. Add spices and boil another minute.
Whisk together 1 c. milk and flour. Add to liquid mixture and boil, whisking continually til mixture thickens.
(This makes 3 cups, and you'll just need 1 1/2 cups for this recipe, so freeze the remainder.)

Chicken Pot Pie
Put a whole chicken and cut up carrots and potatoes into pressure cooker and cook about 15 minutes. Debone chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Save broth.
Place pulled chicken in bottom of 9 x 13 pan
Mix following and pour over chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup (1/2 of the mixture from above)
1 ½ c. broth
¼ c. butter, melted
Carrots, potatoes, and other veggies (I used frozen peas and corn)
Salt and pepper
Mix following and pour over top.
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups bisquick
Bake at 350 for 1 hour or til top is done.
Great with cornbread and fried okra

Shanee's Homemade Chili

We have a new recipe author! ShaneeS has graciously submitted her yummy Homemade Chili recipe! Keep them coming, folks! :)

Homemade Chili

1/3-1/2 kg dry kidney beans (rajma)

2 onions

2 green peppers

1-2 t. garlic paste

1 1/2 T. cumin seeds (jeera)

2-3 chili peppers

1/2 kg ground meat

6-7 medium tomatoes

850 g. tomato puree

3 t. salt

2 t. oregano

1/8 t. allspice

1 t. creole seasoning (or chili powder)

1/2 t. cayenne pepper (laal mirch)

5-6 c. drained, cooked rajma beans

Evening before: Soak 1/3 -1/2 kg dry kidney beans (rajma). (If you forget or don't plan enough ahead like me, you can do a "quick soak" by bringing water to boil, removing from gas, and placing beans inside and covering for 1 hour, says Megan).

Next day: Rinse beans; cover with water in pressure cooker and cook until done. Drain and set aside.

Sautee onions, peppers, garlic paste and cumin seeds in oil.

Add ½ kg (1 lb.) ground meat (I used chicken). Cook until done (but not too soft, b/c they will continue to cook in the chili).

Add remaining seasonings and beans. Simmer and add more spices to taste.

Serve with cornbread. Serves 6-8

Banana Nutella Crepes

From RachelR:

Nutella and Banana Crepes

Making a crepe is not as intimidating as one would think. Remember not to overmix the batter and letting the batter rest and you will be assured of a tender crepe.

I made these for my family yesterday, and Luke came and hugged me and said, “Mommy, those crepes were so good, I’ll never forget them.” I’m making them again next week! (I used the pan that we make our roti on…it’s not nonstick, not sure what kind of material it is.)

Ingredients
4 small or 3 large eggs
1 ½ cup milk
2 tablespoons rum (ok, I didn’t use rum, just substituted more milk for this)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
5 ripe bananas
½ cup Nutella (can be found at most stores that have imported items)
3 tablespoons butter
Powdered sugar

Directions
1. Preparing the batter: In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the milk and oil. Set aside. Into a blender/food processer, pulse once or twice flour, sugar and salt together to mix. Pour in the egg mixture and process about 8 seconds to make a smooth mixture. Stop when there are no more lumps. Never overmix. Let batter sit for 20 mins (preferably an hour) to let the gluten rest.

2. Preparing the filling: Slice bananas into ¼ inch disks. Transfer Nutella into small stainless steel or glass bowl and warm over a double boiler.

3. Preparing the melted butter: Melt the butter in a small pot over moderate heat until hot.

4. Cooking the crepes: Brush a 10-inch crepe pan with the melted butter on medium heat. When the butter begins to sizzle, pour ¼ cup batter into pan, and tilt the pan immediately to fully spread the batter around as quickly as you can. The crepe should not be too thin, about the thickness of a quarter coin. Cook until the batter is bubbly and edge is golden, about 1 minute.

5. Flip the crepe with a rubber spatula (or with your fingers) and cook the other side for 20 seconds. Fold the crepe into half, place some banana slices in the middle third of the half and drizzle on some warmed Nutella across the half circle. Fold the two sides over the bananas to make a triangle. The crepe should be well browned with a crunchy edge.
6. Transfer crepe to a waiting plate (or paper) and sprinkle with powdered sugar (using a sift). Serve immediately.

South Asian (Chicken) Pot Roast

When my husband is out of town, or I need a quick and easy dinner, this is a recipe I go to. It's not much of a recipe, it's so simple!

South Asian (Chicken) Pot Roast

1 T. oil

1 whole chicken (even frozen!)

4-5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch

1 onion, quartered

Salt and pepper to taste

1 c. chicken broth

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Place whole chicken in the oil and brown all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as you turn. Add chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, and stir a little to combine. Close the cooker and let it cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the girth of your chicken.

Seriously, that's it. But you can get really creative with this. Change the vegetables. Substitute pasta for the potatoes. Use oregano and cumin with the salt and pepper. Or put an onion soup packet in there. I don't know. Get creative. :)

Enjoy!