Welcome to My Kitchen

Arrival of the New year has been celebrated and resolutions have been made. Kitchen wise, some resolutions I’ve heard are: waste less food, prepare more home cooked meals, and less fat, sugar, salt. Readers, this is your column, I just take what you send me and attempt to put it in an entertaining and educational form. I do kitchen test all the recipes before printing, as I want to be sure the ingredient listing is correct and it helps me expand the instructions, making the recipes doable by most levels of culinary skill.

It is really quite easy to get a recipe to me. You may email to The Odessa Record (put “recipe” in the subject line) at therecord@odessa

office.com or you can mail to: P.O. Box 458 or you can bring your recipe into The Odessa Record office. If you don’t have time to write out a copy, bring your original and have any staff member make a copy, the dime is on me. You will find it quick and easy to share your favorite, money saving, home cooked, low or no- salt and sugar, fat free recipes and all the other good things you have been cooking.

Speaking of home cooked meals, a slow-cooker is a great kitchen appliance for making hot meals a cinch on busy work days. Kathy Taylor brought Chili, made from her mother’s recipe, to a recent quilters gathering. Brown meat and onion and combine with the remainder of the ingredients in a slow-cooker crock and simmer on low 8-10 hours. This would also be a great addition to upcoming bowl game buffets.

Chili

2 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

6 Tbsp mild chili powder or 3 Tbsp regular chili powder

2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans ( 15 ounces each) beef broth (3 1/3 cups total)

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup or 2 (15 ounce cans) tomato sauce

cornstarch for thickening, if needed

salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain well and combine with remaining ingredients in slow cooker crock. Place crock in cooker and set temperature to low. Simmer 8-10 hours. Yield 6-8 servings.

Note: dissolve 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold water and stir into chili about 1/2 hour before serving to thicken if desired.

Kathy reports that originally, her mother made this stove top, simmering about 1/2 hour after combining. Prepared this way, it is a great recipe for emergency meals. Even thawing the ground beef in the microwave, you could still have a meal on the table in 45 minutes.

Ground turkey, Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, reduced or no salt beans or soup may be substituted in this recipe if you like. I recently tried two vegetable dip recipes that have been languishing in my “Recipes to Try” file for several years. Creamy Chive Dip is a combination of intense chive and mustard flavors. Lime Honey Mustard Dip is tangy with hits of lime, cilantro, honey and mustard. Each makes about one cup dip and go well with any vegetable assortment on game day buffets.

Creamy Chive Dip

4 ounces cream cheese, regular or reduced fat, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise, regular or reduced fat

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh chives or green onion tops

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

pinch ground black pepper salt to taste

1/4 cup sour cream, regular or reduced fat

In a medium bowl whisk together all ingredients until well combined. Cover and chill until ready to serve, up to 24 hours. Just before serving blend in sour cream. Yield: about 1 cup.

Lime Honey Mustard Dip

4 ounces cream cheese, regular or reduced fat, softened

1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped or about 1/3 cup green onion, finely chopped, white part only

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro or 1 tsp dried crushed cilantro leaves.

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp honey

Grated rind of 1 lime (green part only)

1 tsp fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp ground ginger or 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

salt to taste

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup mayonnaise, regular or reduced fat

1/4 cup sour cream, regular or reduced fat

Combine all ingredients except sour cream in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined. Cover and chill until ready to serve, up to 24 hours. Just before serving blend in sour cream. Yield : about 1 cup.

Note: both dip recipes may be thinned with low-fat milk or buttermilk for a creamy, refreshing dressing for green salad.

I received a vintage cookbook as a Christmas gift called, Kukbuk, Lilliwaup, Hood Canal, Washington. Put out by the Lilliwaup Community Club in 1973, many of the contributors have Scandinavian last names and a number of the recipes may have been developed over wood burning stoves. Recipes are included for cooking bear and cougar, pickling oysters and how to make a skunk cabbage poultice.

More to my liking was the Caramel-Custard Bread Pudding, contributed by Marge Furlong. This recipe is moist and not too sweet. I’ve tweaked the instructions to accommodate modern ovens.

Caramel-Custard

Bread Pudding

About 1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar, spooned into the cup, NOT packed

5 –8 slices white bread

2 eggs

3– 3 1/2 cups milk

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Generously butter a 3 quart casserole dish. Spread half the brown sugar in bottom of dish and set aside.

Using a metal baking pan with high sides, pour in about 1 inch of hot water and place in oven, then heat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, butter and cube enough bread to make 6 cups 3/4 inch cubes. Toss with remaining sugar and pour into buttered dish on top of sugar.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over bread mixture. Smooth top with the back of a spoon. Optional: sprinkle with cinnamon. Carefully place casserole in water in pan and bake 1 hour, until browned and center is set. A knife inserted near the center will come out clean. Serve warm. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Share your favorite recipes, new or old, by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA, 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com (recipe in the subject line) or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Happy cooking.