Microwave Caramel Corn

This is a fabulous treat and so easy to make. Be careful because the caramel corn is extremely hot when it comes out of the microwave.  You'll be tempted to taste it right away, but DON'T...wait till it has cooled.  It's worth the wait.
The original recipe calls for 12 cups of popcorn and the caramel ingredients are doubled.  If you're doing this in a large paper grocery sack, go ahead and double the recipe.  If you're going to do it in a microwavable bowl with a lid, such as the Tupperware microwave cookery stuff, then use just 6 cups of corn and the recipe as it appears here.

Microwave Caramel Corn

Put in 1 qt. measuring cup, or in a large microwavable bowl with a microwavable lid (this is what I do):

½ c. brown sugar

¼ c. butter

2 Tablespoons white corn syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

(All microwaves are slightly different and you may need to adjust your times appropriately) Microwave on HIGH and boil for 2-4 minutes.  ( I do 1 minute, stir, 1 minute stir, 30 seconds remove) Pop 6 cups of corn.  Spray non-stick cooking spray, such as PAM, in a large paper grocery sack.  (I just use my Tupperware microwave bowl with lid that I cook the caramel in.) Put popped corn in bag (in bowl) and pour (stir) caramel mixture over it.  Put in microwave on HIGH for 1 minute; shake; microwave 45 seconds; shake; microwave 30 seconds; shake; microwave 30 seconds; shake.  Pour caramel corn onto a cookie sheet to cool.  (I use a silicone liner in my cookie sheet, so there is no sticking)  Stir while cooling so the pieces separate.

 I'm going to a craft fair tonight to sell my handmade cards and scrapbook and paper craft items.  These treat bag toppers are so adorable and fun to make. I'll be selling a topper kit.  You'll be able to add your own treats to the cellophane bags, assemble your treat toppers as shown here and give away treats to delighted friends! More info on the treat bags here.

Garden Fresh Hash Browns with Herbs, Ham, and Eggs

My husband and I take such delight in gathering our meals in the garden.  This breakfast turned out to be so delicious I couldn't wait to write it down and share it.  The sweetness of the ham and tomatoes combined with the freshness of the herbs and the tang of Gruyere and fresh garlic create a taste bud explosion! If you garden, and I hope you do, then you're going to love this skillet breakfast.  If you don't garden, get these ingredients at a local farmers market.  Enjoy!

Country Garden Hash Browns

This is a great way to incorporate a nice variety of your garden produce and fresh herbs into a scrumptious country breakfast. This recipe serves 2 abundantly, 3 nicely, and 4 rather meagerly; so it should depend on your appetite whether you invite your friends or not. 

Ingredients:
3 medium sized red potatoes, about 1 lb, scrubbed and diced
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 sweet banana pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
Fresh Herbs: Chives & Parsley are what I used
¾ cup diced ham (approximately)
2 Tbsp. shredded Gruyere cheese (parmesan or Swiss will also work well)
Salt
Pepper
Fried eggs (one for each person) or scrambled depending on your preference
1 large tomato diced

Turn stove top heat to medium high. Add olive oil to a 10” iron skillet (or some other type of heavy skillet) to cover the bottom with about 1/16th of an inch deep with oil. Heat oil until it is barely smoking. Carefully add diced potatoes spreading out flat in pan, sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil and allow the potatoes to cook undisturbed for about 5-8 minutes. Start checking after 5 minutes. Do not stir or turn until the edges of the potatoes are starting to brown. Turn browned potatoes and remove foil. Continue to fry for at least 2 more minutes before adding onion and pepper. Stir to combine. Allow onion to become soft and slightly caramelized. Add ham and minced garlic and stir. Add 2-3 tablespoons of chopped fresh chives and parsley (combined) and stir. When ham is heated through, remove hash browns from the pan to a warm serving plate and sprinkle with cheese. Top with hot fried or scrambled eggs and sprinkle with diced tomatoes.

©Kelly Rose, 2010

Refried Bean Recipe

Last year, the first year of our gardening adventure, we planted pinto beans.  The conversation before planting went something like this...

Me:  I wonder if we planted pinto beans if we would get a pinto bean plant that would grow more pinto beans?
Shawn:  I don't know.
Me:  Do you think we should try it?
Shawn: O.K. Do you have any pinto beans?
Me:  Yep, in the cupboard.
Shawn: Go get 'em.

And that's how we got started.  Our yield was about 3 cups of dried pinto beans. This year, we used the pinto beans that we grew last year as well as some more from the store, so we could compare and planted at least 10 times as much.  Our yield this year is about 70 lbs of dried beans.
We let the bean pods dry out on the plant and then when most of the pods were dry we cut all the plants off at the ground and left they lying (or is it laying?) on the ground to continue drying in the sun.  When we had a threat of rain, we took them into the Quonset hut and layed (or should it be laid...never really learned that one in school) them out on the floor to continue drying.  Once they were completely dry and the pods very brittle, we removed them from the pods by hand.  2 people worked on that project for about 8 hours.  A ridiculous amount of time.  If we continue to grow the beans, we must come up with a better way to get the beans out of the pods.  By the way, I was not one of those 2 people.  But the beans are delicious and it's really fun to eat things that you grew yourself.  Here's my recipe for refried beans...

Refried Beans

1 lb pinto beans
Water
Salt
2 Tbs bacon grease
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
2 onions, 1 inch dice
Heaping tablespoon of lard or Crisco

Rinse thoroughly and pick through the beans. Remove any that are flat, remove any rocks or debris. Put the beans in a pot and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Heat the beans and water to boiling. Boil for 10 minutes over medium heat. Turn off the heat and let the beans soak for 1 hour in the hot water. After 1 hour, drain and rinse the beans a second time. Return the rinsed beans to the pot, cover with 2 inches of water add 3 large pinches of salt, bacon grease, onions and jalapeño. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 2-3 hours. Add more water if needed. After about 2 hours, start checking the beans for tenderness every half hour. They should be extremely soft before refrying. To refry, add lard to a frying pan, and turn heat to medium. When the fat is sizzling hot, add beans with a slotted spoon and mash with a potato masher. If the beans start to dry out too much add more cooking liquid. Add salt to taste and serve immediately. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for several days.


Hope you enjoy, and I'd love hearing from you...
Kelly

Cucumbers?! Make garden fresh Tzatziki sauce!

Our cucumber plant it going crazy right now and we don’t have any more lettuce! Ah! Yesterday, I thankfully remembered how much I love Tzatziki sauce! It’s a great way to use your cucumbers AND herbs!


Garden Fresh Tzatziki Sauce

1 medium cucumber, grated

16 oz container of plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill leaves chopped (oregano is also good to use)

6 fresh mint leaves chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced
Grate the cucumber then wrap it up in a clean towel, and squeeze to remove the excess liquid. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Cover and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Sorry about the bad photo, I'm having camera issues right now...

My favorite way to eat Tzatziki sauce is with the Persian ground beef kabobs, buttery white rice and grilled fresh tomatoes. I make my own “kabobs” by adding egg, bread crumbs, fresh minced garlic, grated onion, salt, pepper, oregano and a tiny bit of tumeric. I’ve never written the amounts for a recipe for this, but it’s approximately one pound of lean ground beef, 1 egg, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, 2 garlic cloves, 1 small onion grated, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp oregano. Sometimes I will wrap this around skewers and grill, but most the time I just make patties out of the mixture and fry them in an iron skillet. My husband LOVES garlic and onions so he’s especially fond of these little patties. He tolerates the Tzatziki sauce because it has our homegrown cucumbers in it.

I also love to dip warm pita bread in the sauce…try making your own some time or just use a frozen pizza or bread dough to make some flat bread. So delicious!
If you try it, let me know what you think!
Happy harvesting!
Kelly

Community Chickens

I'm so curious to know if anyone out there has ever been involved with community chickens?  You know, like a community garden?  We have space, but no money to invest...and a huge desire to be raising our own chickens to eat and our own organic eggs to use.  I would love to hear from you if you've ever tried it or know someone who has.  I have no idea how it should be organized....any suggestions?

Snow Pea Stir Fry Recipe

Snow Pea Stir Fry (side dish)
Add chicken and rice for complete meal
We have TONS of snow peas right now, so we eat them raw with Ranch Dressing, and sauted with garlic and basil, and in our salads, but our favorite way is this snow pea stir fry. Yummy!

Ingredients:1 lb snow peas
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil
½ tsp. sesame oil (optional)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp corn starch
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp fresh minced garlic
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger root (Tip:  Grate what you need and freeze the rest, it will keep for a long time in the freezer and is much easier to grate when frozen.  And a microplane grater/zester is a MUST HAVE!  Use for grating fresh nutmeg and zesting lemons and limes)

Combine the cornstarch and water, mix well. Combine brown sugar, sherry, and soy sauce, set aside.

Add Oil to frying pan or wok, large enough to contain all the peas and allow room for stirring on Medium High heat.
When oil is sizzling hot and just starting to smoke, add the peas and toss in hot oil for 1-2 minutes depending on your desire of doneness.

Add ginger and garlic to hot pan and stir until softened and aromatic. Add the brown sugar mixture and water and cornstarch. Stir quickly to combine. When the sauce has thickened and begins to coat the peas, remove and serve hot. © Kelly Rose, 2010


I like to marinate chicken thighs in Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Salad Dressing and Marinade for 1 hour. I then lay them in a Pam sprayed glass baking dish and sprinkle with Steak seasoning. Bake in a 400 oven for about 45-55 minutes. Prepare the peas after you remove the chicken from the oven and serve together with a salad or rice for a complete dinner. Your family will really thank you for this one!

Here's to the Snow Pea!!
Kelly

First Loaf Recipe - Bread Recipe

Here's the recipe for the first loaf of successful bread with photos.  The day after I made these loaves, I tried a buttermilk whole wheat recipe that also turned out terrifically...soft, not crumbly, good taste...a keeper recipe!  I'll share that recipe later.  I hope the photos help!

Ingredients:
5 to 6 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approximately
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 cups hot water (120 - 130 degrees F)(you really should use a thermometer)
3 Tbsp. shortening, room temperature
This recipe is for 2 loaves of bread baked in medium bread pan (8 x 4 inches).  The directions are for using a Kitchen Aid to mix and knead.

In your mixer bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and dry milk. 

Pour the hot water into these dry ingredients and beat with the paddle attachment to blend thoroughly.

Add the shortening and continue beating until well combined.

Add 1 cup flour and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed.

It helps to actually set your timer for these blending times. Smile.

The photo above is after the 3 minutes.  See the "stringy" effect?  The gluten strands are beginning to form.

Add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time until the dough forms a soft, elastic ball around the dough hook attachment. I have included all the progressive photos of this bread making step so you can see the dough as the flour is added.

After it gets to the stage where the dough has cleaned the sides of the bowl thoroughly and is not sticky to the touch, you can begin kneading.  Set your timer for 10 minutes.  I have to stand next to my mixer because my mixer starts to dance across the counter.

The photo directly above shows the kneaded dough.  You should be able to stretch the dough for quite a ways and it will become almost paper thin before breaking.  If your dough was soft enough, this is what it should look like. Bernard Clayton says that to test your dough to see if you've kneaded enough, put the dough on a flat surface, slap your hand onto the dough and count to 10.  You should be able to remove your hand without any dough sticking to it.

Now place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until the dough has doubled in bulk.

Now punch down the dough to remove large air bubbles.  Remove dough to a cutting surface and cut into 2 equal balls.  Let these rest for 3 minutes.

Form the loaves by flattening the balls into ovals slightly longer than the pans.

Fold the sides under and pinch together.  You'll see on my bread what happens if you don't pinch thoroughly enough. Tuck the ends of the dough under and pinch.

Place the shaped loaves into greased pans and cover with waxed paper for the 2nd rise.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F about 20 minutes before baking.  The second rise will take about 45 minutes to an hour.

Here's what it should look like!

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, then lower the oven heat to 350 and continue baking for an additional 25-30 minutes.  Halfway through the baking, turn the pans 180 degrees inside the oven so they bake uniformly.

Cool on a wire rack. Aren't they beautiful!

And there's my hole from not pinching carefully enough.

This is excellent bread...not too big on taste, but is soft and hold together really well.

I'm excited to share the whole wheat recipe with you as it tastes much better and comes out looking just as beautiful.  Till then!  Thanks for stopping by!  Kelly

Thank you Mr. Clayton!