Simply Marinated Mushrooms

These are oh so GOOD! They are also highly addictive. It's really easy to eat half of them before they even make it to the fridge to marinate. The kids can't stand mushrooms so they don't eat them, but that's okay. It just means all the more for me! And of course my husband.

Simply Marinated Mushrooms
by Sal (Allrecipes.com)

1 Cup water
1 1/2 Pounds fresh mushrooms, stems removed (I don't remove the stems)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, thyme, salt, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, parsley and onion powder. Add mushrooms and toss until coated. Chill in marinade overnight, and reheat to serve.

(These are also good cold from the fridge, but I prefer them warmed. So, I usually saute them in a pan to warm them up before we eat them.)

Easy Roasted New Potatoes

This is a potato recipe I don't get any complaints about at our house. The two oldest children LOVE them and the youngest one just doesn't eat. I'm sure if he'd actually TRY them he'd love them, too. Not exactly the healthiest potatoes considering the amount of olive oil, but they're still better than being deep fried, right? I usually double this recipe for our family of five. They're not that great reheated, still thoroughly edible, just not great. We rarely have leftovers, though, so reheating is generally not an issue at our house with this recipe.

Easy Roasted New Potatoes
Better Homes and Gardens website

1 lb red or white potatoes, cut in 1/8ths (or smaller)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (black)
1/8 teaspoon paprika (you can use even less if you want, it adds a little quick, though)
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)

Preheat oven to 325 - 350 degrees. Place potatoes in a greased 9x9 baking pan (I use an 8x11 pan when I double it or you can also use a 9x13 pan). In a small bowl combine the other ingredients. Drizzle this mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat. Roast, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir the potatoes; bake for another 10-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and brown on the edges. Makes 4 servings.

Whole Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from a friend. She gave me a loaf of the BEST wheat bread one day and I begged her for the recipe. I've never been that great at bread baking, or doing anything with yeast really, but this recipe works for me every time. The kids love it, too!


Whole Wheat Bread
By Rebecca


2 ¾ cup of hot water
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1 Tablespoon salt
½ Tablespoon vinegar
2 cup whole wheat flour

Combine ingredients and mix for one minute.

Add:
1 ½ Tablespoons dry yeast

Mix for one minute.

Add:
1/8 cup gluten flour w/ vitamin C
Mix for one minute.

Gradually add 4 or more cups of whole wheat flour.
Knead for 10 minutes.
Let rise until doubled, in oiled bowl.
Punch down and form into 2 loaves. Loosely cover with plastic.
Rise for 30 or more minutes.
Bake at 350º for 35 minutes (or less).


From Rebecca:
"When I make it I often do about half of the flour white. Also I only add gluten flour not the vitamin C. I have been told the gluten is added because it helps hold the bread together."

** I learned a trick to help bread raise faster. Our house does not get hot, especially in the winter and with the AC in the summer, and we don't have one place where I can put the bread to make it raise. So, I learned a trick that works for me. Turn your oven on to bake and set it at the lowest setting. That's "warm" for my oven. Let the oven heat up to that point and then turn it off. I put my metal mixing bowl in there with a damp dish towel over it and let it raise that way. Then I do the same when it's time to let the bread raise in the bread pans, except take the towel off before the bread gets to the top of the pan or else the towel will stick to the dough. It raises much faster using this method. I do the same when I make rolls, too.

Chocolate Crinkles II

The kids love these cookies and they always get good reviews from wherever we take them. Enjoy!


Chocolate Crinkles II
by Ingrid (allrecipes.com)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours. (In the winter I cover these well and stick them outside for a while. I don't always let these sit for four hours or more since they warm up quickly anyway and still get sticky.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. (If you grease the pan, the cookies will still work but they get more crunchy on the bottom.) Roll dough into one inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Sour Cream Lasagna

This is a recipe that my grandma used to make. When she passed away my aunt gathered a bunch of her regular recipes and put together a cookbook for all the children and grandchildren. I use it fairly often, but mostly for two or three of our favorites. This one doesn't really appeal to the kids too much because it has hamburger in it. Hamburger to my kids is akin to liver and onions for most everyone else. I have yet to figure out why.

Sour Cream Lasagna
by Grandma W

8-oz uncooked egg noodles
1 lb ground beef
16-oz tomato sauce (or 2 8-oz cans)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
(or season to your tastes)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup green onions, chopped (about six onions)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook noodles and drain. While noodles are cooking, brown the meat. Stir tomato sauce, salt, pepper and garlic salt into cooked meat. Simmer 5 minutes. While meat mixture is simmering, combine the noodles, sour cream, cottage cheese and green onions. In a 2-quart casserole, alternate layers of noodle mixture and meat mixture, starting with noodles. (Or you can simply mix it all together but that's not as "pretty".) Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Trout Chowder

I am generally not a big fan of fish. I tolerate salmon because my kids like it but that's usually about the only fish we have in our diet on an irregular basis. We rarely even do fish sticks here. Occasionally I'll get fish at a restaurant, but as a general rule I don't like to eat fish. HOWEVER, this chowder is really very good, with very little of a fish taste, and has recently been added to our "box" of favorite recipes.

Trout Chowder
by Fran Hopper, Wild Game Cookbook

2 - 3 lbs trout (We don't have trout readily available in our stores here, and we don't catch trout when we fish, so we use Tilapia for this recipe. Other fresh, white fish can be used, too.)
Bay leaf
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 - 3 medium russet potatoes (This is to your liking, we usually use 4 or 5.)
1 large carrot
3 stalks celery
2 medium onions (We usually only use one small onion.)
1 pint half-and-half
2 cups milk
1 Tablespoon flour, stirred into the milk
Grated cheddar cheese (Optional)
Paprika (Optional)

Boil trout in large kettle of boiling water with the bay leaf, lemon juice and salt until the fish flakes, approximately 10 minutes. (Or less if you use already cut fillets like us.) Remove from the kettle; skin and debone trout and break into bite-size pieces. Peel potatoes, carrots and onions; clean celery. Chop vegetables into bite-size pieces and boil in a small amount of water until barely tender. Drain and season to taste. Combine half-and-half and milk. Season to taste. Combine fish, vegetable and white sauce. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve in soup mugs and sprinkle with grated cheese (my family doesn't like it with the cheese) and a small amount of paprika. (My husband is the only one who likes paprika.)

** One thing to note is that when it says "season to taste" in this recipe it really means "season to taste and then add more". It doesn't seem to matter how much salt or pepper I add during the cooking process, we always seem to need more after we've put the chowder in our bowls.

** Another thing to note is that this makes a lot. The first time I made it, following the recipe exactly, we (a family of five) ate it for dinner twice and then I still had it for lunch for another two days. Unless you have a really big family, you might want to half the recipe.

Shish-Kabobs

This yummy recipe is one that I remember loving as a child. It was a special treat to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house in the summer because Grandpa would often make these kabobs and cook them on his big charcoal grill. He'd place large chunks of meat on these giant skewers that looked like swords and cook them until they were juicy and oh so good. Grandpa is long since gone, but the recipe is not, plus I have the added bonus of having received those long swords after both Grandma and Grandpa passed away. They hold good memories for me.

Shish-Kabobs

1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
(Since we don't drink alcohol, and therefore don't buy it, I usually combine these two and use about 1/2 - 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, dependent on how much of the vinegar-like taste you want.)
1/2 cup salad oil (I use vegetable or canola oil)
1 teaspoon Seasonall or savor salt
1/4 teaspoon barbecue spice
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb beef, tender cut of roast or steak

Mix all marinade ingredients. May also include chopped fresh onions if desired. (I don't usually do that.) Cut meat into 1-inch cubes. (For the interest of time, I've been known to just buy stew meat at the store since it's already cut up. It works fine on regular size skewers.) Add meat to the marinade and marinate for several hours at room temperature. Put meat onto skewers and cook over hot coals to desired doneness.

** I will often prepare this either the night before or that morning and then stick it in the fridge until the afternoon. I then let it sit on the counter for three hours or so before cooking.