Cooking with Kelly and a Bosch

During a visit to see family in UT this past June, my sister Kelly and I decided to make the most delicious cookies.  We had full reign of Brooke's awesome kitchen ... which included her high tech Bosch mixer.

Sam was patient while we tried to figure out this most interesting contraption of a mixer.

We finally figured it out - but a little to late for Sam.

These cookies are so yummy.  You should try to make them.  We made these cookies with dried cherries - no chocolate.   Sweet and tangy.

Mrs. Fields Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies


Description:
A recipe of Kelly's ... from Mom

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups oats
2 1/4 cups flour
one bag of chocolate chips (or a 2 cups dried cherries chopped up from Costco)

Directions:
Mix butter, sugars and egg. Add vanilla, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour and oats.

Bake 400 for 7 min or freeze in tubes (roll in wax paper in the shape of a tube).

Dec 19 - Christmas Advent

Make homemade eggnog.

Yum!

I discovered tonight that the eggnog is finished cooking when it hits 75 degrees C (or nearly 175 degrees F) with a candy thermometer.  That helps with the guess work of when it is done so that you don't over cook it.  Please see above link to the recipe and the directions to understand.

I also made some for me ... with some alterations

3 cups water
1 cup half and half
4 eggs
3/4 cup Stevia

For less carbs ... I am going to try 3 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream.

Dec 9 - Christmas Advent

Make homemade donuts (aka - Spud Nuts from John's childhood) and address Christmas Cards.

Spud Nuts - aka Donuts

Description:
John's family tradition for Halloween was making and eating chili and donuts. When he was younger, they would make fresh homemade donuts and would hand them out to the trick-or-treaters. They stopped handing them out the year after they discovered donuts all over their front yard (that was during the scare of razor blades and tainted candy first became a reported problem in the news).  Jaley requests these frequently.

Ingredients:
1 pkg dry yeast (1 TBSP)
1 c warm water

3/4 cup boiling water
2/3 c instant potato flakes

2/3 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 c hot water
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
7-8 cups flour
3-6 TBSP powdered milk

Oil for frying (1" in the pan 350-375 degrees)

Glaze or Powdered Sugar

Directions:
Dissove yeast in 1 c warm water in separate bowl. (~ Note - sugar helps feed the yeast, I'd add the sugar too).

Pour 3/4 c boiling water into mixer bowl. Add potato flakes and blend with spoon. Add shortening; stir. Add sugar and hot water. In this order add eggs, salt, yeast mixture, 3 c flour, and powdered milk. Stir thoroughly. Add 4-5 more cups of flour to make a smooth dough.  (~ Note ~ I just make sure I have all of the ingredients in the mixer ... I don't worry about adding certain items in a certain order.  I just make sure I don't "kill the yeast" by having the water be too warm).

Knead 10 minutes.

Cover and raise about 2 hours or until doubled. Or you can refrigerate dough and cut out when ready.

Roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Do not roll too thin. Roll on an oiled surface. Cut with donut cutter (I don't have one so I use a large round cup for the large donut circle and a pill bottle to cut the center). Let raise for about 1/2 hour or double in size. You want it fluffy so allow to approx double in size.

Fry in deep fat - 1" deep - at about 350-375. Use a candy thermometer to help gauge temperature.

Glaze or frost as desired. Glaze - milk, powdered sugar and vanilla.

Dec 5 - Advent Activity

Watch Grease ... to celebrate ;o) 

AND

Make Chocolate Mint Cookies to eat while watching the First Presidency Christmas Message.

Dec 1 - Advent Activity

Make your own snowman pizza (thanks for the idea Brooke!)

Jenna was at swim team practice and Julia was at work when we did this.  We were nice and made one for them too ... Ollie was watching so we had to be extra good ;o)

Pizza Crust Recipe (from my sister C.K.)

(Pizza Hut Dough)


Ingredients:
1 1/3 c warm water
1/2 tsp salt
4 c flour
1/3 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pkg yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1/3 tsp garlic salt
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Mix 1 c flour and rest of ingredients. Beat 1 min. Add flour gradually. Place in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Raise in refrigerator overnight. Spread onto pan and cook 350 for 5 minutes. Freeze. Bake on oven rack w/out pan.
Editor's Note:  I mixed ingredients, let it raise and then rolled and cooked it.  I wasn't that well prepared in advance!

17

Julia proudly informed us that in one more year she can order something from the "as seen on TV" commercials (must be 18 to call). I laughed. I bet she will call next year on her birthday just to let them know she is old enough to call.

She went out to lunch with her friends. She treated them - she had a gift card to Red Robin. She loves their burgers.

She wanted to watch her new favorite movie: The Terminal (and I'd have to put that at one of my top movies list too). I searched. No luck.


Kyle left this cute message on our driveway with a goodie. It reminded me of another message ...

I'm glad I grabbed the camera. It started to rain about an hour later and then we ended up with almost a foot of snow 5 hours after that (I'm SO glad we missed the snow to and from UT)!

I tried my hand at making a more creative cake. I admit, I'm not a cake decorator. Even my cupcake creation attempts would be considered flops. Jaley helped me with this creation. A piano for our piano player. Jaley made the metronome. I used this fondant recipe.

We had Spaghetti for dinner. Yum!

On to the celebration ...

Kendall is in to correcting us lately. If we slip and say the "S word" (aka - stupid), he quickly says "We don't say that word." He can pick that word out in any conversation be it on the radio, a book on tape that we were listening to on the way to UT, etc. He will also correct us on how to say Julia's name. If we call her Julia he tells us, "No it's Daeia."

Here is Kendall stating throughout the entire Bday song "I want to blow it." When we reach Julia's name, he switches gears and tells us "No, it's Daeia."

I made her a snuggie ...

And then the highly anticipated Birthday Phone Call ... and notice my Dad took some pointers from the All State Singer during HIS Birthday Phone Call.

Kitchen Favorites

Silly. I know. I can't believe my two favorite kitchen small appliances/gadgets are ASOTV items (as seen on TV). Tessa, this would be something to think about asking for your Birthday or even Santa! I've included a couple of favorite quick recipes too for you!

#1 - My Magic Bullet

I use my "Magic Bullet" daily. Several times a day. Two months ago Costco had a coupon for the Magic Bullet for $35 after coupon. I bought a spare. You can blend anything. Sauces, dressings, drinks/smoothies, protein shakes, etc ...

*Note: There are 3 plastic tabs on the cups that push down the "on" button that is built into the base of the unit. If the tabs start to break off, don't worry! As long as you have one of the three tabs, you can still operate the machine. You have to make sure you place one of the remaining tabs over notch that is above the "Magic Bullet" label on the base. My favorite cup has one tab left. Make sure you hold it down the cup while blending. If you are missing a tab, the stress on the other tabs will become greater. I thought that once one tab broke off, the cup was a gonner ... Nope! I have had my first magic bullet for almost 2 years and have popped a couple of tabs. I do wish they sold replacement cups, but figuring my way around the problem of missing tabs, it is not such a big deal.

Here are a couple of favorite recipes I use with my Magic Bullet

Grandma's Eggs

6 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 TBSP flour (1 1/2 tsp)

Melt 2 TBSP of butter/margarine in pan. Cook eggs. Delicious! These eggs do well as left overs.

Skier Pancakes

(a favorite of John's ... his Mom would make this when the family would go skiing). Depending on the size of blender cup you use, you might need to half the recipe.

1 cup cottage cheese
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 (plus a little more) pancake mix

Smoothies and Orange Julius.

Dressings

Our powdered milk

#2 - Slap Chop

It says on the box that you can chop using one finger. I guess you can if you are Hercules. I slap it with the palm of my hand. And I love how it opens for easy cleaning. I had a chopper that was distributed by a well known home show company, but it only lasted a couple of months and it seemed impossible to get a replacement (or at least my complaints were pushed aside).

My slap chopper has outlasted my previous one ... no complaints! I even saw JoAnn's (fabric and craft store) carrying the slap chopper. If you get their 40% off coupon mailer/flier, I recommend using the coupon on this! It brings the cost down to right around $12! If you don't receive their store flier, you can go in their store and sign up at the register. When you sign up, they usually give you 40% off at the register with the application (if not, ask).

Jaley's celebration

We had a really nice day with Jaley. I hope she did!

Breakfast. We tried to bring it to her in bed. That didn't work!

Oven Pancakes - her favorite

1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups milk
6 eggs
½ stick margarine melted

Prepare 9X13 pan (grease it up). Cook 350 for 30-40 minutes.

(John does 2 cups flour, 2 cups milk, 8 eggs, ½ stick margarine and “zaps” it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. This helps shorten the cooking time).

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Serve with syrup, peanut butter, etc…

I found a special plate for the special person ... thought this would be a fun tradition. Kendall insisted on eating on the boy birthday plate.

Dinner: A request from Jaley

Homemade Costa Vida (Sweet Pulled Pork burrito)

Sweet Pork Roast

Description:
Sweet pork similar to Costa Vida or Cafe Rio style. Can be used in burritos or salads. Brooke made this for our family at our reunion this past summer. YUM!

Ingredients:
4 lbs pork roast
12 oz tomato sauce
3 tsp minced garlic
4 c brown sugar
4 tsp cumin
12 oz coke or Dr. Pepper (I use Root Beer)
4 TBSP molasses
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Combine in crock pot and cook 10 hours on low (I find that to be a bit long. Try 5 hours and see how it shreds).
Remove and shred.

*NOTE - I buy the 8 lb pork loin at Sam's Club (Costco probably carries it too) and use the same amount of ingredients above)

Add:
1/2 juices from roast (when I cook 8 lbs, I don't toss 1/2 of the juices, I keep the entire amount)
1 jar green salsa Verde (Herdez brand)

For salad serve in tortilla with lettuce, black beans, lime rice
and cilantro buttermilk dressing


Lime Rice

Description:
Yummy rice used in sweet pork salad

Ingredients:
2 T butter
1 1/4 cups rice
2 1/4 cups chicken broth or water and bullion
3/4 t. salt
pepper to taste
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/8 t. cumin

Directions:
In pot melt butter, fry rice for 2 minutes.
Add liquid and other ingredients
Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and cook
until rice is tender.
approx 20 minutes

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Description:
To go with sweet pork salad

Ingredients:
1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing (dry)
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh cilantro (CHOP AFTER MEASURING)
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t garlic (not sure about this, maybe garlic salt?)
2 T fresh lime juice
1/8 t cumin
1 T sugar

Optional
1/4 t cayenne pepper
A few drops Tabasco Sauce

Directions:
Blend in blender until smooth.

The cake ... I am not the best cake decorator. I do want to learn ... someday. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I ever tried, it would end up on the website, cake wrecks. I have had fun doing cupcake "cakes" for Kendall and Kerst.

For those who know Jaley, she is obsessed with Walmart Donuts. That is what she asked Santa for Christmas. So I decided that would be a fun cake ...

Jaley is our girl who likes to dress classy and sleep classy ... The Bath and Body Works lambie sleep mask, robe and slippers.

And purses ... she owns more than I ever thought I'd own in a life time; she is definitely related to her Aunt Kelly. I think I've owned 2 - for church purposes to carry my supplies in and out.

I also made her a snuggie with fleece to match her room. You can see it on the chair behind Jaley.

And a lap desk for her computer. It was a fun day!

And to top it off, the traditional birthday call and singing from her grandparents. It wouldn't be the same without them calling and singing !!

Easy Alfredo

Another quick easy recipe for my young friend Tessa ...

This yummy recipe is from my friend Emily. This was made during a Young Women's activity (church youth group). The girls all worked on preparing and serving the meal. It is so yummy! I love that this sauce does not separate like other alfredo sauces I have made. John likes to add red spaghetti sauce on top as well.

Easy Alfredo

Ingredients:
2 cups half and half (I actually saw half and half low fat at the store...I can't figure that one out)
1 cup milk
8 oz cream cheese (I use the 1/3 fat)
1/4 c butter (I use margarine)
1 tsp ground pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I use the skim)

Directions:
Melt butter, pour in half and half. Cook over medium heat until lmost bubble, add cream cheese. Stir constantly until melted. Add pepper and other cheese. Stir until melted. Serve immediately over pasta, vegies, etc.

*If the alfredo seems a bit thin, add a mixture of 1 TBSP flour mixed with water (about 2 TBSP) to the sauce and bring to near boil...until thick.

Our own Ratatouille

Julia invented her own recipe yesterday and claims to be the next Ratatouille genius.

So, here's an easy one for you Tessa ... my beautiful young friend who loves to cook ...

Julia's Pepperoni Pasta Dish

Egg Noodles (or any other pasta that you have on hand)
Italian Dressing
Pepperoni - chopped
Cucumber - chopped
Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta. Drain. Add Italian Dressing, pepperoni, cucumber, tomatoes and cheese. Enjoy!

Tessa, I'll be posting some more easy favorites for you to try out (and anyone else who wants to as well!). I'm all for easy, fast and yummy!

Advent Activity #15 - Make Orange Julius or Dad-a-ccino

Make Dad-a-ccinos (our version of Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino) - because "Dad" found a recipe and tweaked it - or make Mom's Orange Julius.

Strawberry Dad-a-ccino -

2/3 cup frozen strawberries (plain - NOT in syrup)
5 oz vanilla soymilk (we use regular milk as well)
2 tsp French Vaniola Coffee-mate powder (or the little liquid cup version that we get at Sams)
2 TBSP Strawberry Syrup
1 TBSP powdered sugar
3 large ice cubes

whipped topping

Place all ingredients in blender except for the whipped topping. Blend on high speed. Pour in cup and top with whipped topping.

Orange Julius

(I threw this together last week when Jaley was suffering from a cold and the kids have been requesting it ever since)
No exact measurements ...

3/4 cup milk
3 large ice cubes
2 TBSP orange juice concentrate
1 - 2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 liquid packet of French Vanilla Coffee-mate (or 2 tsp of French Vanilla powder)

Blend in blender and enjoy!!!

Advent Activity #14 - Make Chicago-style Stuffed Pizza and watch a movie

Make homemade Chicago-style Stuffed Crust pizza. We used this recipe. It is just like the beloved Giordano's Pizza back in Chicago that we love and miss! Watch a movie!

Recipe by Andrea Meyers (tweaked by my John - in red)

Equipment

2 quart bowl
2 large mixing bowls
1 medium mixing bowl
deep dish pizza pan, 12″ diameter x 2″ deep
large cutting board
rolling pin

Ingredients

DOUGH - for 12 inch deep pizza pan.
1 1/2 the recipe for a 14 inch pan is in green *** We did the math for you! ***
3-1/4 cups bread flour (4 and 3/4 cup bread flour)
3 teaspoons sugar (4 and 1/2 tsp sugar)
4 teaspoons instant yeast (6 tsp yeast ... aka 3 TBSP)
2 teaspoons salt (3 tsp salt .... aka 1 TBSP)
1-1/4 cups warm water, not more than 115° F (1 and 7/8 cups water - I fill the second cup up and take out 2 TBSP of water to make the 7/8)
4 tablespoons olive oil (6 TBSP olive oil)

SAUCE (I use the same amount of sauce for the 14" deep dish pizza)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes We like petite diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 whole clove of garlic garlic powder
(1/4 c Parmesan Cheese; we leave this out or sometimes sprinkle it on top of the sauce before baking it)

STUFFING
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese (6 cups for 15 inch crust) She uses less in her recipe
Fresh Spinach (She uses frozen, well drained spinach)

(You can use other ingredients; fresh spinach is our favorite! Use less cheese if you are filling it with more ingredients)

Preparation

1. DOUGH: Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the large mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour and add the warm water and olive oil. Mix and knead thoroughly until the dough clings together and cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. Dust with additional flour if the dough is sticking to your hands. Spread some olive oil around the other large mixing bowl and lay the dough in the bottom, turning it over so that the entire surface is coated with a light layer of olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Set the bowl in a warm place to rise for about 90 minutes, until doubled.

2. SAUCE: While the dough is rising, combine all of the ingredients except for the crushed/petite diced tomatoes. Simmer on stove top - ah that garlic! Just before adding to the top of the pizza after the top crust, add the crushed/petite diced tomatoes to the sauce - do not cook!

3. ASSEMBLE: Preheat the oven to 450° F. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a work surface. Knead for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into two pieces, about 1/3 and 2/3 of the dough. Roll out the larger piece in a large circle until it is about 3 inches larger than the pan and 1/8 inch thick. Oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the dough into the pan and push it into the bottom and sides. The dough should overlap the pan by about 1 inch. Trim the excess dough with a knife, and set the pan aside. Roll out the second piece until it is about the same size as the pan. Toss the cheese and spinach together in the medium mixing bowl, and then put it into the pizza pan. Sprinkle with mushrooms and olives. Lay the second piece of dough on top, then crimp the two edges of the dough together with your fingers to form a thick border. Press down on the filling with your hand, and cut several slits on the top crust to allow steam to escape. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the top crust and sprinkle with more grated Parmesan cheese.



4. Bake: Place the pizza pan on the lowest rack for 10 minutes, then move it to the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Transfer from the pan to a large wooden cutting board and let it stand for a few minutes before cutting.

Tips

Make sure the spinach has no liquid remaining before adding it to the pizza, otherwise you’ll end up with a soggy bottom crust. (This is why we used fresh spinach!) We (Andrea's recipe) put the thawed spinach in a colander and press on it with our hands, then press with paper towels to soak up every last bit of water.

Make sure you put the pizza on the lower rack first for at least 10 minutes so that the bottom crust cooks, otherwise you’ll end up with a soggy bottom crust.

Variations

Yeast: You can use 2 packages of active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. Proof the yeast by dissolving in the warm water with the sugar. If it blooms, you are ready to go.

Vegetables: Peppers, zucchini, and eggplant all make good fillings for this pizza. Chop them into bite-sized pieces and saute in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a couple minutes, just until slightly softened. Combine with the cheese before adding to the pan.

Whole wheat dough: We sometimes substitute 1-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour for part of the bread flour.

Advent Activity #13 - Make Homemade Eggnog and Cookies

Make homemade eggnog and Chocolate Cookies ... the kids were super excited!

Eggnog

Description:
This eggnog is a custard style eggnog. The ingredients (except for the cream) are slowly cooked on the stove top. This is great for those of you who are hesitant to eat raw eggs (especially for young children).

Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 qt milk (that's 4 cups)
3 tsp. vanilla
1 c. heavy whipping cream (I leave this step out many times to lower the calories)
nutmeg (this is added as desired to each glass)

Directions:
In small bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and salt until combined. In saucepan, heat milk until hot; remove. Add 1 cup milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly. This is to help warm the eggs up so that you don't have scrambled eggs with milk!

Pour egg/milk mixture back into saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. You will know the mixture is done when you dip a metal spoon into the mixture and then drag your finger across the back of it. . . you should be able to leave a "path". This takes about 5 minutes.

DO NOT BOIL or OVER COOK. If you over cook the eggnog, the milk will separate from the egg mixture. . . I have done this! Don't worry, you can blend it in a blender and it will turn out fine. . . it is much better if you don't over cook it the first time!  Editor's Note - Dec 2010 - cook the mixture until it reaches 75 degrees C (or nearly 175 degrees F) with a candy thermometer.

After you have cooked it until you can make a path with your finger on the back of a metal spoon, add the vanilla. Place saucepan in a bowl filled with ice water; stir occasionally until cool. Refrigerate until cold, 2 hours.

Before serving, beat cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into eggnog. Refrigerate. Serve with nutmeg

Makes 6 cups

Number Of Servings: 6 cups

Preparation Time:10 minutes cooking, 3 hours cooling (or overnight in fridge)


Chocolate Mint Cookies
Description:
These are SO yummy! My friend Nora C from IL brought these over to us for Christmas just before Kerst was born.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg mints, Andes (4.67 oz) chopped
1 cup vanilla baking chips

Directions:
Mix all ingredients

375 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Number Of Servings:Makes 3 dozen

Advent Activity #4 - make Holly Cookies

Make my Great Gma's Holly Cookies.
I remember making these wreath cookies as a little girl. They were yummy! Your teeth would be green after eating these cookies (and other things as well). All of us kids would bring a large wreath cookie to our teachers at school for Christmas on the last day of school before Christmas Break.

Great Gma's Holly Wreath Cookies

Description: (journaling by my Mom) "Shiny festive wreaths. To make one large one, double the recipe. Grandma used to make small individual ones. Kind of the diameter of a donut. I opted for the large ones. We would get boards from Dad's workshop and cover them with foil. That would set them off nicely. They are nice for Home Teaching families. They look really nice and are simple to do." Add a ribbon bow

Ingredients:
1 stick of cheap vegetable margarine or real butter.( the watered down healthy stuff makes for soggy, dull, sorry looking wreaths.
3 c mini marshmallows.
1 t vanilla
1 t green food coloring
4 c corn flakes
red cinnamon drops. (Small red candy to look like berries.)

Directions:
Melt butter or margarine and marshmallows
Add vanilla and food coloring.
Toss in cornflakes
Drop on waxed paper or foil sheet. Shape with buttered fingers.
Add red candies in clusters like you would see on a wreath.
Allow about 48 hrs to dry out.

Advent Activity #2 - make gourmet hot chocolate -mix

Advent Activity #2 - Make gourmet homemade hot chocolate

(from my brother-in-law B. L. - printed in our Family Cookbook)

Gourmet Hot Chocolate
1 lb of high quality chocolate (Ghirardelli) - I picked up Andes Mints and Hershey's Cookies and Cream candy bars ... for variety
1 c brown sugar
1 c cocoa

Prepare ahead of time and store. Use a food processor and grind up chocolate. Add cocoa and brown sugar. Put into a container - it will last for months. Heat milk in microwave or stove top until nearly boiling. Add 1/4 cup of chocolate mixture to each 1 c serving of hot milk. Blend using a hand blender until frothy. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Update: We just made this. It is YUMMY! My favorite was the mixture of the cookies and cream candy bar by Hershey's combined with the Ghirardelli White Vanilla chocolate. My kids loved the mint. This is a fun mix to keep around!

Turkey (carcass) soup

For some reason we tend to love the Thanksgiving leftovers even more than the original meal. I don't know why.

Last night we had Turkey Carcass Soup. I boiled the carcass and then de-boned the turkey. I added celery, onion and carrots. Threw in some bullion cubes along with the extra turkey drippings. The homemade noodles were the kicker - a must!

I remember eating these noodles when I was a little girl. No need for a pasta press. Roll out the noodles on your counter and cut with a pizza cutter. It is fun because the sizes of the noodles can vary from very wide to thin.


Homemade Noodles

Description:
This is my Mom's recipe she used with her homemade noodle soup when I was growing up; a favorite of Jaley's.

Ingredients:
3 cups four
2 tsp salt
3 eggs (4 med eggs)
3 TBSP olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup cold water
corn starch

Directions:
Work liquids in with fingers to make a stiff dough (or be like me and throw it all in the mixer and turn it on).
Knead for 10 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and set on counter for 1 hour at room temp.

Sprinkle counter or rolling surface with corn starch. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick (thin enough to read through).

Cook or dry. You can even throw it in your freezer until ready to use in your next soup.

Becky's Bistro

I was able to hang with the Ward family this past weekend...AMAZING FAMILY!!!


Becky was so kind to open her home to some weary travelers who popped in for a couple of days to attend Staci and Kyle's wedding. She is quite the hostess. Not only beautiful with the most adorable family, but an amazing cook. She made the most incredible sandwiches for ALL of us! I vote she opens a sandwich shop. I will be a faithful customer...


She made us a Turkey Salsa sandwich. She loaded the sandwich bread with deli sliced turkey meat, cheddar cheese and salsa. She buttered the bread (like doing grilled cheese) and put the sandwiches on a cookie sheet and cooked them in the oven on both sides. If I was to guess, she put it on 350 for 6 minutes (on each side?).


Thanks Becky! You really made the trip a treat...I'll be back in 9 1/2 hours to have another sandwich ~ The food, the company, the friendship extended it is so worth the drive!