Becka's blog

In a recent post I mentioned using a Silpat to line a pan for easy clean-up. Rhonda wrote and asked about the Silpat, so I thought I'd post a picture to show what it looks like.

The Silpat is a silicone/fiberglass mat that can withstand high temperature. You have probably seen all kinds of bakeware made from this type of material in recent years. I have had my Silpat for a number of years as you can tell from it's stained condition. It is very handy for baking items such as cheesy sandwiches, etc. when you are trying to avoid a lot of clean-up

Another item I have been using a great deal lately to avoid clean-up are these foil sheets. I saw them a few months ago at Dollar Tree and decided to try a box. I have really enjoyed using them and have found all kinds of uses for them in my kitchen. I even gave each of the kids a box of them for Christmas! DH bought me a large box of them at Costco for even less than I paid for them at Dollar Tree.

The next tip is for lining a casserole dish or baking pan with foil. I think I read this tip in a magazine. Turn your pan or dish upside down and shape the foil on the outside of the pan. Remove the foil and then flip the pan over and place the shaped foil inside the pan. I have found this makes it fit much better than if you try to stuff the foil down inside the pan or dish and then try to smooth it out.

Do you ever need to cut a pie into an odd number of pieces? Here is a helpful tip: If you need to cut the pie into seven pieces (or five or nine) first cut a "Y" shaped cut into the pie. Then cut the large sections into three pieces each (or two or four). I have found this to work much better than just trying to eyeball the cuts.

Do you have a favorite kitchen tip you would like to share?

Becka

I saw a neat idea for decorating Easter eggs recently and was able to experiment with the technique last weekend. The idea was for dying the eggs with printed silk. Who knew you could even do such a thing? Here are my two "Egg-speriments":

You can use any printed silk fabric, but the sources I found suggested using old silk neckties. Here's how you do it:

Deconstruct an old necktie (it must be silk):

Cut a piece large enough to cover the egg. Wrap around the egg with the outside of the silk facing the egg and secure with string or a twistie.

Cut a piece of white fabric large enough to cover the egg and wrap this around the silk-wrapped egg and secure with string or a twistie.

Place the eggs you have prepared as described above in a large saucepan of water and then add 1/4 cup white vinegar. Bring to a boil and boil for 20-25 mins. Remove the eggs from the saucepan (I used a slotted spoon) and place in a colander to cool.

When the eggs are cool enough to handle unwrap them, shine them with a paper towel dipped in a bit of vegetable oil and then step back and admire your finished work!

The sources I found suggested that you use these eggs for decoration rather than eating since the dyes used for the silk are not necessarily food safe. Some said you could reuse the silk several times if desired, but I haven't tried reusing it. You can also stitch together small pieces to make them usable.

I'm hoping to make some more eggs closer to Easter to use along with another experiment I began last weekend. I soaked some wheat kernals overnight and then planted them in hopes of growing some wheat grass in time for Easter. The kernals have grown tremendously fast. Here is a picture of the wheat grass after just five days:

One of our cats, Adelaide enjoys eating greens, so I planted her some wheat grass too:

Do you do any creative egg dyeing at your house?

Becka

This is a busy week for us, so I tried to think of some quick meals. One quick meal idea is these Double Cheeseburger Pizza Rounds. I have adapted the recipe from one of those Pillsbury magazines that you can get at the checkout counter.

Double Cheeseburger Pizza Rounds
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 can of Grands biscuits or something similar (you need the large biscuits for this)
about 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce
2 Tbsps. sliced ripe olives
pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Brown ground beef and onions. Drain and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil or a silpat. Open the biscuits and press each one to form about a 3 1/2 inch round. Combine the ground beef with the spaghetti sauce, olives, seasonings, feta cheese and half the mozzarella cheese.
Divide this mixture onto the biscuits and then spread it evenly. Top each biscuit with the additional cheese and then bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 mins. or until the cheese is melted and browned to your liking.

Here's the dough pressed out and ready for the filling:

Here they are ready to pop into the oven:

Another thing that I tried recently from the canned biscuits was making flatbread. I got the idea from this blog. For those who can't get to Blogspot, here's how you can make the flatbreads:

Using large biscuits, such as Grands, roll each biscuit to approximately a 6" circle.

Cook in a dry skillet or on a dry griddle until browned on each side.

We used these for fajitas and they were very tasty.

What is your favorite quick and easy meal?

Becka

As some of you may remember, DH Rob usually bakes something for our breakfast on Sunday mornings. We still have a few blueberries in the freezer from the garden, so this past Sunday he made this delicious Blueberry Coffee Cake. We hadn't had it for quite a while and we both really enjoyed it. Here's the recipe that was originally from Quick Cooking magazine:

Blueberry Coffee Cake
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup plus 2 Tbsps. flour, divided
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (do not thaw if using frozen)
3-4 oz. cream cheese, cut into small cubes

Topping:
2 Tbsps. flour
2 Tbsps. sugar
1 Tbsp. margarine or butter

Combine the 2 Tbsps. flour,2 Tbsps. sugar, and the 1 Tbsp. butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips. Set aside.

Grease and flour an 8" square baking pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Combine 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 Tbsps. flour. Gently stir the blueberries and the cream cheese cubes into the batter. The batter will be thick.
Spread in the prepared 8" square pan.

Sprinkle the topping on the batter. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 mins. or until the cake tests done. (Take care not to test in a pocket of cream cheese!)

After Rob made the coffee cake we had half of an 8 oz. block of cream cheese left so I made Boursin. If you have ever purchased it in the store you know that it can be quite expensive -- nearly $5 for a small container. This is quite tasty. It can be used as a spread or in recipes. It also freezes well. I am hoping to try a new chicken recipe that calls for Boursin that DD Megan sent me recently. I'll keep you posted if it turns out well.

Boursin on a Budget

1 clove garlic, pressed, chopped, or minced
3-4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 tsp. oregano
a small pinch each basil, dillweed, marjoram, thyme, pepper
(I used a grinding of pepper and about 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning instead)

Cream together all ingredients and then store in the refrigerator until needed. This will keep for about a week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. You can easily make a larger batch if needed. Use as a spread on crackers or fresh vegetables, in pasta dishes, in mashed potatoes, stuffed chicken breasts, or anywhere else you might use the commercial Boursin.

*Note: You will need to let this warm up a bit before using, especially if you have made it with butter, or it will be too hard to spread.

Becka

I have noticed that boneless pork has been on sale here locally for several weeks. Some cuts are even less than $2 a pound. Today's pork is much leaner that the pork of yesteryear. It is one of my favorite meats.

I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer I needed to use up. I sliced half of it and cooked the medallions in a skillet with garlic powder, pepper, and a little soy sauce for supper one evening. I used the other half to make some chop suey. Here's the recipe:

Pork Chop Suey

1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 - 1 lb. cubed boneless pork (pork loin, pork steak, country style ribs, or pork chops)
1/2 onion, diced in large (about 1/2") dice
1-2 stalks celery, sliced
1/4 c. red pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsps. finely chopped or shredded carrot (I used my julienne peeler)
1 cup bean sprouts
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
pepper
garlic powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Heat a large skillet. Add the oil and let heat. Add the cubed pork in a single layer and cook until nicely browned. Add the onion, celery, and red pepper and cook until slightly browned and wilted. Add the water, cover, and simmer 5-10 mins. or until meat is thoroughly cooked and the vegetables are cooked as tender as you like them. Season with garlic powder and pepper. Dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and add to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and then let boil for about a minute. Add the bean sprouts, carrot, and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes more. Serve with rice.

Sauté the pork:

Add the vegetables:

Thicken the sauce:

If you are really in a hurry and don't have all these vegetables on hand you can just cook the pork (and onions and celery if you have them) and then add a can of drained oriental vegetables. You can also substitute other vegetables such as baby corn, bamboo shoots, more mushrooms, water chestnuts, etc. About 2 cups of vegetables would be a good amount to aim for.

Chop suey was one of the first meals I ever cooked as a teenager. I used a recipe from an old edition of Better Homes and Gardens called Speedy Chop Suey. It was a speedy recipe because you were supposed to make it in a pressure cooker. We did not have a pressure cooker, so I had to simmer it a bit longer, but it was still pretty good.

When I taught high school home economics we could borrow educational films through the county library system to show in our classes. I tried to preview them before class, but one week I ordered a film called "How to Buy Pork" to show to my class and it arrived late and I was unable to preview it. When I showed it to my class I was dismayed to find that it was a film about how to purchase hogs! It was an old black and white film showing farmers examining the pigs at a market. Fortunately I have never had to buy that kind of pork.

Becka