The times they are a changin'

This poor little blog has sat here, all lonely and un-updated for quite some time.  I feel guilty.  Poor, sad thing.  My little family got quite busy.  We uprooted and moved.  There was some family stuff and now some health issues.

But right now, in the midst of health issues and an on-going need to lose weight and get healthier, is an opportune time to pick it back up.  So, here I am, making a commitment to write some posts and let people come along with us on our journey.

So what's been going on since that last post three years ago?  Well, first, this happened:

Prince Charming and I had a Fairy Tale Wedding at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

And then this happened:

Our kids have grown and we needed more space, the time was right to stop renting and buy a house.  We couldn't find one we liked, so we had one built for us.  We've been in it for six months now. 

So, what's up?  What's happening? Where are we going now?  Prince Charming and I are embarking on a mission to lose weight, eat better and get healthier.  We're dragging the kids along with us and the goal is to avoid deprivation and still eat well.  Recipes and adventures forthcoming!

Crab Rangoon (with homemade sweet and sour sauce)

Molten cheese in a crispy shell.  Yum!  I've had a craving for these for a few weeks but our local Chinese takeout does a version with practically no crab inside and the cream cheese is oddly sweetened.  Eh. So I've been looking up recipes and, of course, I couldn't find a standard.  So I frankensteined my filling from several recipes in my cookbook collection and from the web.  They turned out beyond my expectations. These little dumplings are really tasty but it's the sweet and sour sauce that really shines.  I could drink it, it's so good. 

Steakettes with Stuffing (Bracciole)

This recipe is a modified version of something my mom used to make all of the time while I was growing up.  I think it was even my special birthday dinner a couple of times.  It came out of an ugly cookbook from the seventies.  There were no pictures and I have no idea how my mom went about deciding to try this one but it was a hit!  The title is "Steakettes with Stuffing" which always left me to wonder what in the world is a "steakette"?  Whatever, we always just called it bracciole (brah-zhole) even though the dish isn't Italian and involves a brown gravy rather than a tomato sauce.  What it does involve is a way to make a hearty meal out of a cheaper cut of beef.

6 slices of bottom round beef (about 1/2" thick)
1 medium onion, chopped finely
6 T veg oil
3 cups of soft bread crumbs (pulse 6 slices of white bread in a processor)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (use the good stuff, it's worth it)
1/3 cup of dried parsley
1 t salt
1 t white pepper
1/4 cup hot water
4 beef bouillon cubes
1/4 cup flour
1 t dried thyme
4 cups of water

Tomato Pepper Jack Soup (like Issac's!)

I go to Issac's, a Pennsylvania sandwich chain, just for this soup.  Today it's rainy and gray and gross and I don't feel like getting dressed but I wanted this soup so I decided to try and recreate it at home.   Here's what I did and I think it's pretty close.

Ingredients:
2 cans of condensed tomato soup
1 14-oz. can of petite diced tomatoes
8 oz of pepperjack cheese (or Monterey Jack cheese plus 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes), shredded
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 tsp of dried basil
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder

Combine everything except the cream in a heavy stockpot over low heat and stir frequently with a spatula so the cheese doesn't burn to the bottom.  Allow this to heat slowly and maintain a simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste your soup.  If the cheese is still grainy, keep it over the heat for a little while longer. Stir in the cream just before serving.  Top with homemade croutons.

Homemade croutons?  I cut up two hard rolls into one inch cubes.  You can't use sandwich bread, it's too soft.  Toss the bread with one stick of melted butter in a large skillet.  Make sure all of the bread gets butter on it and then spread on a cookie sheet and stick it in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.  Easy peasy and sooo much better than the bagged ones at the grocery store.

Mom's Extra Creamy Rice Pudding

This is some gorgeous rice pudding right here, and I get to eat it!

My sister goes absolutely ape over this rice pudding.  In fact, when my mom makes it, she has to make a double batch so my sister can have her own bowl all to herself.

That said, be forewarned that this is not a light recipe by any stretch of the imagination.

What you'll need:

2 quarts of milk
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter
2 cups of water
1 heaping cup of Carolina brand rice (I don't know why Carolina rice works better, it just does)

2 small cans of sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp. real vanilla extract
2 eggs


In a good pot with a thick bottom, heat the water, milk, sugar and butter to a slow boil over medium heat.  If you let the milk mixture come to a rolling boil it will curdle.  You can still eat the pudding, it just won't be as pretty.

Add in the rice and let it all boil slowly for 45 minutes.  You don't have to hover over the pot, but give it a decent stir every once in awhile.

When the milk and rice mixture has about five minutes to go, empty the sweetened condensed milk into a second pot, nonstick if possible, and warm it up gently. You should be able to comfortably stick the tip of your pinkie into it without getting burned.  You just want to thin it out a little and use it to temper the eggs.

Speaking of the eggs, beat them with an electric mixer or with a stick blender until they're very well beaten and foamy and slowly add to the warm sweetened condensed milk.  Add the vanilla.

Once the two are combined, add them slowly to the rice mixture and stir, stir, stir.  Cook everything for another 10 minutes, stirring a lot.

Transfer the pudding to either a bowl or individual serving cups.  It will thicken considerably as it cools.  Do not put it into the refrigerator until it is completely cool.  Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and nutmeg. Store covered in the fridge.

Glazed Double Ginger Cookies

I love the aroma of ginger.  I love it in Asian foods and I love it in baked goods at Christmas.  A lot of the cookie recipes I have that contain ginger also have cinnamon and nutmeg and other stuff that takes the spotlight off the ginger.  This recipe puts the ginger front and center.  There are no other spices or flavors in there!

Here's what you need: 
1 cup (2 sticks) of softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbl. grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup candied ginger, cut into a fine dice (divided)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl. milk (add more by the drop if you need to for the glaze to flow)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The Christmas Baking begins!

Necessity is the mother of invention, right?  So I came up with this recipe- a combination of two classics- because I had an open bag of pretzels in my pantry that I wanted to use up somehow before they became completely stale.  And I didn't particularly feel like sitting around munching pretzels.