Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Photo credit: Me
 Polonez Restaurant And Banquet Hall
 St. Francis WI .

I love this Mac and Cheese.

To begin, make a white sauce:

While you are working the sauce, don't forget to cook your elbow macaroni as directed on the box. I  suggest about 2 cups of cooked macaroni, maybe 3 cups, depends on how saucy you like it.

          (I work the macaroni first and let it drain while cooking the cheese sauce)

You need a saucepan,

4 Tablespoons butter (use the real stuff)
4 Tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups milk
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes

Instructions:
Melt butter in saucepan, using low heat, add flour and heat until combined, (you are making a rue) when rue is warm add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir until well combined. (No chunks of flour in the pan, if there is, add more butter)

Slowly add milk to rue mixture and stir constantly until mixture begins to thicken. (might need to adjust the heat here, but only until it begins to thicken)

When mixture begins to thicken add Velveeta cubes and mix well until all cheese is melted and blended into the white sauce.

NOTE: this cheese sauce is pretty flexible, if it's to thick add more milk, not cheesy enough add more cheese.
Also, if you want it baked, pour it in a pan and bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until it starts to brown on top. (This added step will dry our the mac and cheese, it will not be as saucy)

I'll add a picture next time I make it.

Merry Christmas 2017

Intresting Observation

Hello there,
     It's been a while.
We were shopping today, we shop Kroger and picked up some of the .99 cent deals, who wouldn't?
While filling the sugar jar, looked at the bag and thought to myself, the bag reminded me of times Great Grandma would pick up commodities, those unfamiliar with commodities, they were food staples the government gave to less fortunate.
Here is a link to the history of this program. http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/fdd-history-and-background

Anyway, the bag took me back to this time, when we would all load up and take Grandma to get her commodities. Didn't think much about it then.

Made comment to the hubby it reminds me of A&P grocery stores, back in the day.
Really like the, what I would call a RETRO look. Clean, simple, no this, no that, it's just sugar.
Oh, the back has recipes, about 5, some look very tasty.

No, not an endorsement for Kroger, only that I can reminisce about Grandma and the time we would spend together over 50 years ago.

til next time,

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Oatmeal sour dough cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs - (add one at a time)
3 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour dough starter - (link toward the bottom of the page)
2 - 2 1/4 cups flour - (all-purpose)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups oatmeal - (I use quick)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup cranberries, dried
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1 cup flake coconut

 

*note: you can omit any of the last 4 ingredients and still have a very tasty cookie.

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

I use a counter-top mixer, like kitchen aid.

In a large mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer to cream the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

Add in the ingredients, one at a time, in the medium mixing bowl and mix well, adding sour dough starter last.

Combine the flour, salt, oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon and add to the cookie batter. Mix thoroughly.

Add the remaining ingredients, one at a time to the batter and mix until just combined.

Drop generous tablespoons of the cookie dough onto a lined cookie sheet. Press the tops of the dough to flatten slightly.

Bake 10-13 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Here is a link, it will help with the starter you need to make these cookies
~Sour dough starter~

I use any milk I have on hand at the time and haven't had a bad batch,
I've used coconut milk or heavy cream, to make starter. Both very tasty.

til next time

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Honey Wine (Mead)

I wanted to try something I never thought I would. Every now and then I enjoy an adult beverage. Thinking to myself, I cannot have processed foods or drink, I would make some.
I used fruit juice, I froze making a fruit salad at Christmas.
Thought I would make a fruit cake, (the old fashion way, fermented) but there is still time to get the starter for that. At least a month. lol

I don't want to use purchased yeast, if it sits from now until Valentine Day, it should catch it's own wild yeast and can go from there.

Just a small batch, about 1/2 gallon.

 

 

I hope to balloon it on Valentine Day and it be ready in November for our anniversary.

 

That's all for now, hope you've had a tolerable winter.

 

 

til next time,

 

connie

 

 

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Merry Christmas

 

Wishing All the very best at this Special time of year.

till next time
connie

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Homemade Western Salad Dressing

Late summer here in central Illinois, still hot, really hot. Time for fresh greens, tomatoes and vegetables from the garden. There are so many things people should not eat in foods they buy on the store shelves.

Like salad dressings.

Did you know you should not consume soy bean oil?

It really isn't good for you, but it is in most of your processed foods. Even when the label reads vegetable oil, the vegetable oil is; soybean oil.
I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the Western Dressing I made, the label read canola and sunflower oil, it wasn't pure olive oil. Note: read the label.
Still better for you than soy bean oil.
The best oil to use would be coconut but it firms up when stored in a cool place.

I worked this recipe up for Western Dressing and thought I would share.

 

 

Western Dressing

 

Ingredients;

 

1 cup brown sugar (you can use granulated, same amount)

 

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

 

1/2 cup water

 

2/3 cup ketchup (catsup)

 

1/4 tsp paprika

 

1/2 tsp salt

 

1/2 tsp dry ground mustard

 

1/2 tsp celery seed

 

1/2 tsp chili powder

 

1 Tbls onion flakes, dehydrated

 

Directions:

 

In a blender, add oil, ketchup, vinegar, sugar and all spices, blend, adding water to thin mixture, only add as much water as needed to make the constancy you want for dressing your salad.

 

Store in a quart jar in the fridge. Should keep a long time as long as you keep it cold.

 

Note: I'm going to try a food processor next time, due to the fact my blender is 40 plus years old.

         Could be time to find another good blender.

 

 

til next time

 

Connie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spaghetti Sauce, well yes, spaghetti sauce

Who has a well stocked pantry? I think, my husband thinks I'm crazy sometimes with the things I buy. I was able to get a HUGE can of tomato sauce for a couple buck about a year ago, I checked the date, and he asked what I would do with it. At a loss for words, I explained it away with, it's going on the shelf.
Today it becomes Spaghetti Sauce. I'll need to put the leftover into jars but that's a small task. Since its a gloomy day.
The day, oh yea, It's Good Friday.

Good day for inside things, here's how I cooked it up.

Spaghetti Sauce

 

2 pounds of ground beef

 

1 large chopped onion

 

1 cup chopped celery

 

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

 

1 large can tomato sauce (6 lb 9 oz)

 

1 Tbls Basil (adjust to taste)

 

1 Tbls Oregano (adjust to taste)

 

1 Tbls Garlic (adjust to taste)

 

Brown ground beef, add chopped onion, celery & green pepper, cook until veggies are clear.

Drain fat if you like.

Cook about half an hour add tomato sauce bring to a slow simmer and add spices.

Simmer about 3 hours.

* Note

 

Get the canner, jars, and lids ready for canning.

Put hot spaghetti sauce into jars adjust the lids and rings, place in canner that has been brought to temperature. Process about 20 minutes.

 

Wala` you have spaghetti sauce anytime you want.

 

*Note: add a bit of pure sugar if it's to acidic.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sunshine on an Ugly day ~ Pineapple Cake

Winter just won't stop in Illinois, we were good through December and January but come February it just dumped and dumped more, then freezing rain.
Whoops that's right, the East Coast won't see the ground until the 4th of July.
This cake will help them feel better and work for the 4th of July block parties they have.

A few years ago the supervisor at a job I was working, at that time, brought a Pineapple Sheet Cake for the potluck. It was scrumptious. Asked for the recipe, she wrote a sketchy version of it on a recipe card. I made a few adjustments to it and yum.

This is made with staples from the pantry.

Pineapple Sheet Cake

 

Ingredients:

 



2 cups granulated sugar

 

2 cups flour

 

2 tsp baking soda

 

1 tsp salt

 

2 eggs

 

1/2 cup oil

 

1 - 20oz can crushed pineapple w juice

 

1 tsp vanilla

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350*

 

Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl , stir dry ingredients to combine well. Stir in the wet ingredients as follows, eggs, oil, pineapple w juice, and vanilla, gently stirring after each addition.

 

Grease 11 x 9 baking pan, pour batter into pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, top will be brown.

 

While cake is baking, make a caramel type icing:

 

Icing

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, cut into chunks
• ⅔ cup evaporated milk
• pinch of salt
• ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

 

Make icing while the cake bakes. Combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower heat. Simmer and stir for 10 minutes.

 

Be sure you cook it long enough or it will soak into the cake, instead of setting up as icing.

 

Pour icing over hot cake. Sprinkle with pecans & coconut. Let cake cool before cutting.

A Cream Cheese Icing is also very good.

til next time

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Cranberries

 

Left over cranberries in the freezer, you know the holidays? Work them into juice for a fraction of the price of store bought and 100% real no additives.

Cranberry Tea

1- 12 oz bag of cranberries frozen or fresh

2 quarts water

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Rinse berries with cold water, place berries and water in 4 qt saucepan.

Cook berries on medium heat til boiling, turn down heat and simmer until berries pop open, continue simmering about 15 minutes.

Turn off heat.

Let berries steep 15 minutes.

Strain berries through a mesh sieve or cheese cloth into another pot.

Return berry liquid to larger pot and heat, adding sugar, simmer another 15 to 20 minute and is hot.

Pot in quart jars for easy storage.

Reheat to hot in a pan for warm winter drink.


til next time

Connie

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Cinnamon Rolls

Hello Friend, I know how to cook but sometimes it has been such a long time since I've used so many of the ingredients, I'm not sure. I use to work as a pastry chef on Merchant Street. I loved making the breads. Once at Christmas time I felt compelled to make a braided bread. I wasn't sure why but I had always wanted to and this job gave me the opportunity. I was surprised when the Owner actually used it as a centerpiece. The restaurant would get orders daily for the bread.
It was hard to get the other pastries worked but I did.

The Cinnamon rolls I worked are from a recipe I found on the "net", homemade-cinnamon-rolls
I like how the yeast is combined with the flour instead of setting it with warm water. Used more flour than it calls for. I used my kitchen-aid and added flour as I needed until I got a soft ball that pulled away from the sides of the bowl.

I worked the dough so late in the day I wasn't able to get them finished in a timely manner for Hubby to share them at work. So next time, I'll work them and let the second rise work in the refrigerator and warm them before popping in the oven.

So go ahead and do something you haven't in awhile.

Here's a picture of my finished rolls.
Not sure why the centers sank, think I'll cover them with parchment paper next time so they won't brown so quickly.

til next time

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HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS

4 1/4 to 4 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 1/4 c. milk 1/4 c. granulated sugar 1/4 c. butter 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs 6 tbsp. butter, softened 1/2 c. packed brown sugar 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 recipe Maple Nut Glaze or Powdered Sugar Glaze Step 1: In a large mixer bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour and yeast. Heat the milk, granulated sugar, the 1/4 cup butter and salt just until mixture is warm (120 to 130 degrees) and the butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. Step 2: Add milk mixture to flour mixture; add eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds; scrape sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. (Dough will be soft.) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Step 3: Place dough in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). (The dough is ready for shaping when you can lightly and quickly press two fingers 1/2 inch into dough and indentation remains.) Step 4: Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half; shape each half into a smooth ball. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Step 5: On lightly floured surface roll half the dough to 12x8 inches. Spread with 3 tablespoons softened butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half over rectangle. Roll up from a short side. Seal edges. Make a second roll with remaining dough, butter and sugar mixture. Step 6: Slice each dough roll into 8 pieces. Arrange slices, cut side down, in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 minutes). Step 7: Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Invert at once onto a wire rack. Cool slightly. Drizzle rolls with Maple Nut Glaze or Powdered Sugar Glaze. Serve warm.Makes 16 rolls. MAPLE NUT GLAZE: In small bowl combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup or 1/2 teaspoon maple extract and enough water or milk (2 to 3 teaspoons) for drizzling consistency. Stir in 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans. POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE: Combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and enough milk (about 3 to 4 teaspoons) for drizzling consistency. FREEZING AND REHEATING: Bake and cool rolls as directed, do not glaze. Wrap in moisture and vapor proof wrap. Seal, label, and freeze for up to 3 months.To reheat in a conventional oven, wrap frozen rolls in foil. Place in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with your choice of glaze.To reheat in a microwave oven, wrap 2 of the frozen rolls in microwave-safe paper towels. Micro-cook on 100% power (high) for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with glaze. .

Cocoa and White Chocolate Chip Cookies



2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Baking Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks)butter or margarine

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) White Chocolate Chip Morsels

INSTRUCTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 350°

COMBINE`~ flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.


BAKE ~ for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

 

12/15/2014 Merry Christmas 2014

 

 

 

 

til next time.

 

 



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Peanut butter~Chocolate kiss cookies

 



Peanut Blossoms Cookies

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Sugar

48 Choclate Kisses~milk chocolates, unwrapped

What you do;

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, shortening, peanut butter, milk, vanilla and egg; mix with electric mixer on low speed until stiff dough forms.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake at 375°F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately top each cookie with 1 milk chocolate candy, pressing down firmly so cookie cracks around edge; remove from cookie sheets.

　

　

Merry Christmas

2014

 

 

til next time

 

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Buckeyes~the kind you eat

 

 

 



My Mom made the best Buckeyes EVER but her recipe is unavailable to me.

Buckeye are a a good luck charm to many, As a child I carried a buckeye from my Great~grandparents farm, south of the city, on Mt. Zion-Elwin blacktop

Why a "Buckeye" is a good luck charm.
       A buckeye is a kind of a nut, which has markings resembling an iris in an eyeball, which gives it it's name. Such amulets invoke the eye of God to watch over you, also other amulets in the shape of an eye, natural or manmade. It is also to turn away the evil eye from others...
The buckeye is a relative of the Chestnut and Horse Chestnut.

Recipe you say, well this is about as close as I could find to the one I like.

BUCKEYES

 

2 cups smooth peanut butter

1 cup (2sticks) butter, softened

1 1/2 lb confectioners sugar

1~12 oz pkg chocolate chips

 

1. In a large bowl, combine peanut butter and butter; mix until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Form mixture into 1-inch balls, place on a waxed paper-lined rimmed baking sheet, and chill for 1 hour.
   
2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Stick a toothpick in the center of each peanut butter ball and dip each three-quarters of the way into the chocolate mixture, coating all sides except the top quarter. Place on the prepared baking sheet and remove toothpick. Using your finger, fill in the hole left by the toothpick.
   
3. After dipping all the peanut butter balls, cover, and chill, or freeze until ready to serve.
   

Makes about 5 dozen treats. If they are small, lol

There you have it.

 

til next time

 

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Found a great recipe site

 



Wow found this great new web page. Many of the recipes from the brochure above. I recommend the Chuckwagon Beef Stew,
Years ago I picked up some recipe books from Marlboro and had really good recipes.
I thought I would crawl the web to see if I could find ones that I really like and I found many of them here. Old West Recipes
Many good, go to pages, could take you all day to enjoy the volumes of Old West.

til next time,

Cowgirl up and stay warm

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Sweetened Condensed Milk from Evaporated Milk

 

 

 

I know I can buy it but If I have what I need to make it from scratch, why not.

 

I used:

1 can evaporated milk

1 1/4 cup sugar

Heat it to a boil, then cook slowly for about 30 minutes.

At the end of cooking I added

1 Tbls butter

Cool completely before use.

 

Kinda reminds me of making Marshmallow fudge from scratch.

til next time

connie

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Got a New Book

When leaving work today I happen to notice s few books laying on some shelves.
Thought I would check and make sure the price was correct. It was!

 

 

Maybe it's just me but I think some young people could get some good use from this book.

Found it at Rural King, $5.00. Sure would make a great Christmas gift.

Might want to keep the book cover because the bound front and back are plain white.

 

til next time

 

 

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Fruits of Labor

Reaping what you sow.

 Look what we pulled for Meal of the day. Fresh green beans and potatoes.

 

 

 

Pickled beets last week June 18, 2014

 

 

these will be great in the middle of winter.

 

 

til next time,

 

connie

 

 

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Tarter Sauce

I have made this tarter sauce for years, never thought anyone would want a recipe for it. So here goes.

 

Tarter Sauce

 

1 cup Salad dressing, (not mayonnaise)

 

3 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish

 

1/2 small chopped onion

 

1 Tablespoon Chesapeake Bay seasoning (I suggest you season to taste with this)

 

 

Combine in order given, keep cold until ready for use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pineapple Angel Food Cake

I have wondered, just how many of you have ever tried this?

 

I did, because I could. With the price of the cake mix alone. It is just as cheap to buy one already baked.

So here goes;

1) Angel Food Cake mix, use the one step box cake mix.

2) 1-20 oz can crushed pineapple, in it's own juice.

Directions: place cake mix in a bowl, slowly, the mix will become very airy and make you sneeze. Add can of pineapple, give it a minute before you stir the ingredients, then gently stir to combine. Over mixing will cause the cake mix to flatten and not rise to Angel food cake.

Preheat oven to 350* not sure how long to bake it so I kept an eye on it.

I used a 13" x 9" pan. Spread flake coconut in the bottom.

If you don't like coconut, I won't make you eat it.

 

 

Gently pour the cake mix into the baking pan. Try not to stir, you'll loose the fluffy of the cake.

 

Place cake in preheated oven and bake about 30 minutes but check on it.

I think I over cooked mine.

 

 

I went ahead and turned it over onto a cake sheet.

 

 

Tastes just fine!



 

 

til next time.

 

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