Vanilla Pudding

I love pudding, very comforting food.    Pudding is one of my favorites. This particular recipe is not your "from the box" variety.  Its from Grandma's kitchen, silly.  As such, the texture is what pudding SHOULD be.  It reminds me of tapica pudding.  SLIGHLY lumpy, but lumps arent always a bad thing :)  Enjoy.

Vanilla Pudding

serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 c sugar

6 T cornstarch

1/4 t salt

4 c milk

2 large eggs
1 t vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Add 1/2 c milk, stir until smooth, add to saucepan

2.  Add the remaining milk and the vanilla.

3.  Heat over medium heat until the mixture just comes to a simmer.

4.  Remove from the heat and temper the eggs, stir this back into the mixture.

5.  Bring the pudding to a boil.  It will foam and thicken greatly.  Boil for 1 minute, remove from heat.

6.  Pour the pudding into a bowl or individual ramekins, let cool for 10 minutes on the counter top.

7.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, for up to 2 days. 

"Grown Up" Tomato Soup

I'm a sucker for tomato soup.  There's something about tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich that brings any adult back to childhood.  I've always wanted to make it from scratch.  But, yet again, it was always with canned everything, so I went on a mission to find something that used fresh ingredients.  With an adult refined taste.  This is what I came up with.  Hubby hates tomato soup, and he said this ones a keeper!

Fresh Tomato Soup

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes, or about 3 lbs fresh, quartered

2 white onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic

1/2 c olive oil, if roasting

4 c broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 c fresh basil

10 oz tortellini, if wanted

1 c heavy cream, if wanted

croutons, if wanted

salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  If wanted, roast tomatoes, onions, and garlic in 450* oven for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Place the tomatoes skin side down, pouring olive oil over the vegetables.  GENEROUSLY season them with salt and pepper.   This is not a requirement, but as in my recipe for beef stew, you'll find roasting brings out a lot of flavors you would miss if you didn't. Reserved the juices and add that yummy goodness to your pot!

2.  Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, bay leaves and broth in crock pot for 3-4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low.

See how much it cooked down!  Yum!

Add basil and cream, if wanted

3.  30 minutes before serving, remove bay leaves, add basil.  Use immersion blender if wanted to make smooth.

4.  Add tortellini and/or cream, cook on High for 30 minutes, serve with croutons over, if wanted.

Crock Pot Ham and Bean soup

Growing up, my mother would make ham and bean soup from the leftover ham from our huge family Easter dinner.  I used to hate it, but now I have I fond regard for anything from Grandmas kitchen, is frugal, and uses any leftovers to minimize waste.  This is technically what Grandma calls "US Senate Bean Soup."  There's a reason this has been on the menu of the US Senate restaurant every day since 1901.

Ingredients:

1/2 - 1 lb navy beans (depending on how "bean-y you like your soup)

Leftover ham bone, 1 lb pork neck, or smoked ham hocks

Leftover ham, or about 1 c ham, if wanted

2 potatoes, diced very small, or 1 c leftover mashed potatoes

1 onion

3 celery stalks, optional

3 carrots, optional

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1/4 c Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

7 c water

Directions:

1. Soak beans in water over night

2.  Put all ingredients in crock pot

3. Cook on low for 9-11 hours.

4.  Remove Pork from crock pot, removing meat from bones and chopping meat into bite size pieces.  Throw away bones.

Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those comforting, filling meals.  But they also take all day!  So, next time you make one, make TWO, freeze one for a lazy day. Instructions on how to freeze are here

Lasagna

Makes 2 lasagnas

6 servings each

Ingredients:

2 batches Spaghetti Sauce

2 eggs

2 (16 oz) ricotta or cottage cheese

2 lbs mozzarella cheese

1 lb lasagna noodles
1 can V8

Directions:

1.  Boil noodles as directed, preheat oven to 350*

2.  Mix 1/2 the mozzarella, cottage cheese and egg.

3.  Spray the cans with spritz, pour 1/2 can V8 into the bottom of each pan

4.  Put one noodle at the bottom of the pan, cut to fit.  Save this piece as a template to cut each noodle to fit throughout the casserole.

5.  Put about 3 T of the cheese mixture onto the noodles

6.  Put about 3 ladles of the spaghetti sauce on top the cheese mixture.

7.  Place noodle on top, repeat until noodles are gone.

8.  Spread the remaining cheese on top the last of the spaghetti sauce

9. For the casserole next time: cover the top of the lasagna with plastic wrap DIRECTLY on top the casserole.  Air is the cause of freezer burn, so having as little space as possible is key.  Cover lasagna with aluminum foil and deep freeze for up to 6 months.  To cook: Cook uncovered in 375* oven for about an hour, let sit for 15 minutes

10. For today: cook uncovered for 45 minutes, let stand for 15 minutes, serve

Variations:

1.  Try with Penne noodles, make a casserole instead of a "layer"

2.  Try adding your favorite pizza toppings.  Think pepperoni! Mushrooms!  

3.  For a low carb option: use slices of zucchini.

4.  Try Alfredo: 2 batches alfredo sauce, 2 lbs chicken, and 1 lb raw spinach

"Shortcut" Spaghetti Sauce

When Steve and I started dating, I found out he was allergic to bottled Spaghetti Sauce.  Gasp!  Make my own spaghetti sauce when a perfectly good bottle is sitting right there?!?!  Fine.  We made the powdered crap with ketchup and hamburger all through college.  Our tastes refined, our recipe became our own.  This is what we have come up with over the years.

Yes, I know there is canned tomato sauce and V8 in this recipe.  Yes, I know they're processed and have preservatives.  One day I'll be 100% preservative-free, right now in about 90%.  Im ok with that for now :)

Tobin's Spaghetti Sauce

4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 lb Italian Sausage or ground beef

1 can tomato sauce

1 can low sodium V8 (why not sneak in some extra vegetables in?!)

1 med onion

1 green pepper

3 garlic cloves

1/4 c Italian seasoning

1/2 can tomato paste, if needed

Directions:

1.Cook onion and green pepper until soft

Notice how the sausage is in the middle and the vegetables are around the edges?  It will cook the sausage without burning the vegis.

2.Add sausage, crumble and brown

3.Add remaining ingredients, turn heat to med-low

4.Simmer for 20 minutes

5. If not thick enough, or if sauce separates, add 1/2 can tomato paste

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

New Years Eve, I was trying to figure out some Comfort Foods with my sister and father.  Soup is a good comfort food.  About a week later, broccoli was on sale, score!  Broccoli Cheddar Soup.  Great sick food!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

serves 4 main dish meals

Ingredients:

4T butter

1/4 c flour

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

2 heads of broccoli, chopped

3 garlic cloves

2 c chicken broth

2 c milk

2 c cheddar

1/4 t nutmeg, optional

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter

2.  Cook onions and carrots until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes

3. Add flour, cook until raw taste is out, about 5 minutes

4.  Add broccoli, milk and broth, cook for 20-25 minutes until broccoli is bright green.

5.  Carefully pour soup into another larger bowl

6. Blend with immersion blender until smooth, or until its the texture you want.

7. Return soup to pan, melt cheese, add nutmeg

8. Serve with some crust bread!

Variations

1. Add any combination of vegetables, including cauliflower!
2.  Leftovers are great over baked potatoes!