Happy New Year

Remember....
The people you love...
The places you're a part of...
The memories you hold on to...
And those unforgettable moments when you close your eyes and breathe in life with a smile.

A new year is a reminder to celebrate all the things that are good in your world.

Happy New Year from the Pickle Family

Egg Substitutes

In my quest for better health this coming year I have been trying different lower fat/lower cholesterol egg substitutes.

For making scrambled eggs and omelets I have found that Better-n-Eggs is pretty darned good. Around here they are cheaper than Egg Beaters and they are recommended by "The Best Life Diet", something I have been extremely interested in. One thing I have found though is NOT to mix it with water when making omelets. It does NOT work out.

For baking I have found several things to work. For cookies and pancakes I like half a banana smashed. Or 1 TBS flax meal mixed with 3 TBS H2O for each egg called for. For brownies and cakes I like 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 TBS flour and 3 TBS H2O mixed together for each egg. I have been known to use all three in any given recipe.

Of course if you don't have any of the following but do have eggs on hand try mixing 1 whole egg with 11 egg whites. Use 1/4 cup mixture for each egg called for.

Don't throw that yolk away either. You can use it for custards or you can feed them to you dogs and/or cats for a shinier, thicker coat.

Butter Bean Burgers

This recipe was also a hit! Chip, the picky pickle, ate it and asked for seconds. I will double the batch next time so we can have seconds.

Butter Bean Burgers

1 (15 ounce) can butter beans, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper (I used red and green pepper)
6 saltine crackers, crushed (I used panko bread crumbs)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (Only used 1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil (didn't use)

In a medium bowl, mash butter beans. Mix in onion, jalapeno pepper, crushed crackers, egg, cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Divide into 4 equal parts, and shape into patties.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; use more or less oil to reach 1/4 inch in depth. Fry patties until golden, about 5 minutes on each side. (Instead of frying I sprayed each patty and put on a cookie sheet and baked at 350º for about 10 minutes on each side.)

I served this with sweet potato fries, a lettuce salad and soy chocolate shake.

Pumpkin Wontons

These were pretty good. I am not sure where this recipe came from either.

Pumpkin Wontons

egg roll wrappers
1 cup pumpkin
2 TBS maple syrup
3 TBS brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
cinnamon and sugar
cooking spray

Mix pumpkin, syrup brown sugar and spices. Take wonton wrapper, cut in half using pizza cutter. Put 1 tsp pumpkin filling in wrapper. Seal with water. Place wontons on cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray (on both sides) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (on both sides). Cook in preheated 400º oven for 5-7 minutes. Watch carefully.

Turkey Egg Rolls

For supper last night we had leftover turkey soup and I decided to use some of the leftover turkey to make turkey egg rolls with homemade cranberry dipping sauce. I was begged to make more immediately.

Turkey Egg Rolls (I followed the recipe)

1 pkg egg roll wrappers
water
2 tbs veggie oil, divided
2 1/2 cup diced cooked turkey
3/4 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 large eggs
s and p to taste

Sautee the veggies in 1 tbs oil a few minutes. Add chopped turkey and sautee for a couple minutes more. Put mixture in a bowl. Add garlic powder, sand and pepper. Beat eggs and add to mixture. Slightly cool. Fill eggroll wrapper with a couple TBS filling. Fold according to instructions on package. Seel with water. Heat 1 TBS oil on medium heat and fry seam side down and turn. Serve with craberry sauce. Cranberry Sauce

1/2 lb fresh cranberries
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water

Mix together in microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave on hgih until craberries pop. (took about 8 minutes) Cool.

Turkey and Wildrice Soup with Chunky Garlic Bread

Don't know where these recipes came from. Had them printed in my "to-try" notebook and didn't make note of the origin. Rest assured they came from someone, somewhere who knows how to cook.

These two recipes are fantasitic. Oh so good!

Turkey and Wildrice Soup

1 turkey carcass
1 1/2 gallons water
1 large onion
1 carrot, peeled and halved
1 stalk celery, halved
5-6 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the ingredients to a boil. cover and reduce to simmer. Simmer for at least 2 hours. Strain, separate meat. Cool and skim fat.

To cooled broth add 3 large taters chopped, 1 large onion chopped, 2 carrots peeled and diced, 2 ribs celery sliced, 1 cup white rice, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup wild rice. Bring to a boil. cover and simmer until veggies are tender and rice is done.

Add 2 cups milk mixed with cornstarch to thicken. Might need more to thicken up.

Adjust seasons as needed.
Chunky Garlic Bread

1 pkg asiago cheese ciabata rolls
1/2 cup softened butter
4 heaping tsp minced garlic
couple tbs parsley flakes
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Mix butter, garlic, parsley, s and p. Cut bread into slices. Slather butter on bread. Head in 350º over until heated through then broil to turn golden brown. Doesn't get much better than this folks.

Tofu Wraps and Sweet Potato Fries

Yummy, yummy, yummy! The recipe I used stemmed from this recipe. I don't have a small fortune to spend on baked tofu from the health mart so I made some from another recipe. I believe it couldn't have turned out better. The recipe using the homemade baked tofu makes 6 wraps. Chip, my pickiest tofu eater, had seconds.

Baked Tofu Spinach Wrap (my changes in red)

2 whole wheat tortillas (6)
1 package hickory flavor baked tofu (see recipe below)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar (1/8-1/4 cup for 6)
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 TBS ranch
1 TBS grated parmesan

Place slices of tofu in center of each tortilla. Sprinkle cheddar and warm in microwave. (tofu was already warm because it was baked) Put spinach and ranch on. Sprinkle with parmesan. Roll and eat.

Baked Tofu (my changes in red)

1 pkg extra firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 TBS maple syrup (I used homemade)
2 TBS ketchup
1 TBS vinegar
1 dash hot sauce (a dish, a dash, who knows how much, just to taste)
1 TBS sesame seeds (I didn't use this because I was out)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tesapoon liquid smoke

Press and slice tofu. (I sliced it horizontally three times then sliced each third in two) Stir together all ingredients. (brush marinade on each side of tofu) Pour sauce over tofu. Marinate at least 5 minutes. (let sit for 15 or so minutes brushing more on as you want) Put tofu on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 375º over 15 minutes on each side. It should turn golden brown.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Fries (mainly I followed the recipe but since I don't buy Lawry's because I used my all natural stuff. If you don't have seasoned salt try making your own!) I didn't put changes in red just put the recipe the way I made it.

1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp chili powder
sweet potatos
2 tbs olive oil

Combine spices. Scrub and wedge sweet potatos. I cut in half lengthwise then cut 3-4 lengths. They don't look like wedges but more like fries. Put fries in bowl. Pour olive oil and spices on. Mix with hands and put on cookie sheet. Bake 40-50 minutes in preheated 425º turning once. The fries will no be crispy but will be wonderfully delicious!

Omelets ala Gerky!

I guess this could be considered a California omelet because of the avocado. It was a last minute addition that I have to say was perfect!

Omelets ala Gerky

1 egg per person
1/8 cup water per person
1/4 cup onion per person
1/4 cup yellow pepper per person
1/2 sliced avocado per person
3 TBS spinach flakes per person
1/8 cup Bac'Uns per person
Nature's Seasoning to taste
3 TBS shredded cheddar cheese per person
butter as needed to stop sticking

To make the omelet beat egg and water together in a small bowl. In skillet melt a 1 tsp butter. Saute onion and pepper until semi soft. Add spinach flakes and Bac'Uns. Saute until combined. Add another teaspoon of butter and stir around. Spread filling out evenly. Pour egg mixture over filling. Sprinkle with Nature's Seasoning to taste. Sprinkle with cheese and put under broiler until set and cheese is oozy goozy. Remove from oven, top 1 side with sliced avocado and flip the other side of the omelet over the avocado. Serve with whole wheat toast topped with homemade strawberry jam.

© 2008 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

Moravske zeli

or Moravian Cabbage

1 1/2 lb red cabbage
1 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup flour.
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1 tsp salt
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup vinegar

Put all ingredients except flour in large pot. Simmer for 2-3 hours. Add flour at the end by sprinkling flour, stirring, flour, stirring until all flour is stirred in. Serve with pork roast, dumplings and gravy. YUM!
copyright 2008 The Homefront Lines

May 20, 2008

Breakfast:
cold cereal
juice

Dinner:
sub sandwich
Coke

Supper:
stir fry over brown rice (it was a store bought stirfry...my dear husband couldn't believe I was actually feeding him something store bought...LOL)
eggrolls
oranges

Snack:
chocolate muffins

©2008 The Homefront Lines

Tostadas

DH and I are big fans of tostadas. The kidlets aren't. But, that didn't stop me from making them for lunch. I am just plain mean and cruel


©2008 The Homefront Lines

Vegetable Pitas

I had some pitas and left over raw veggies and decided on veggie pitas for lunch. They were a hit with seconds being asked for.

Vegetable Pitas

whole wheat pita pockets
raw spinach leaves
zucchini--sliced
cucumber--sliced
grated carrots
red onion
grape tomatos
broccoli slaw
red pepper strips
ranch dressing

Fill pita pockets with ingredients and drizzle with ranch dressing.

©2008 The Homefront Lines

Baked Zucchini

While visiting my grandma she gave us a recipe for baked zucchini. it sounded good so I made it for supper. Everyone liked it except that it was cold by the time we came around for seconds. I need to find a way to keep it warm while we eat.

Baked Zucchini


1 cup Italian cracker crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (the grated stuff)
salt and pepper
1 egg
flour


Mix the first three together. Place in a shallow pan. Beat egg in a different shallow pan. Place flour in yet another shallow pan. Wash and slice zucchini to about 1/4" thickness. Dredge in flour, egg and bread crumbs. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake in 400º oven for20 minutes or so. It will be nice and brown and crispy. I served with yellow rice and green salad.


© 2008 The Homefront Lines

Teriyaki Garlic Stirfy

Stirfry is definitely one of our favorite foods. :) It is good with just veggies or with tofu added. DH insists we could put chicken in it, but then he isn't cooking, is he?? This recipe is a combination of different recipes.

Teriyaki Garlic Stirfry

1 box cubed tofu, drained and pressed
bottled teriyaki sauce
sprinkle ginger
about a teaspoon minced garlic
Mix teriyaki, ginger and garlic together. Marinate tofu in sauce for at least 1 hour up to 3 or 4 days.

Veggies (use as much as your family will eat):
broccoli, trees broken apart
carrots sliced at an angle
onion, chunked or sliced
red and orange peppers, chunked or sliced
celery, sliced at an angle
asparagus cut in thirds
teaspoon minced garlic
any other veggie you like in stir fry

Sauce (can double if wanted):
1 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 Tbs corn starch
Mix together until needed.

Heat sesame oil in large skillet or wok (if you are lucky enough to have one). Fry tofu until kind of crispy. Remove, set aside. Heat more sesame oil, add onions, peppers, carrots, celery and stirfry about 5 minutes. Add asparagus, garlic and tofu. Stir fry until heated through. Stir in sauce mix and stirfry until thickend and veggies are covered.

Serve over brown rice and with eggrolls.
copyright 2008 The Homefront Lines

Mushroom and Spinach Quesadillas

I bought some mushrooms on clearance at the local grocery store. I got 16 oz for 70 cents. Quite the deal. I decided to make quesadillas for lunch.

Mushroom, Onion and Spinach Quesadillas

1 package of mushrooms sliced
1/2 onion sliced
spinach
cheese
flour tortillas

Saute mushroom and onion until nice and brown and yummy looking. Add a few handfuls of fresh spinach and cook until wilted.

In a skillet large enough, place one flour tortilla. Add about 1/4 cup cheese, 1/2 cup mushroom mixture and another 1/2 cup cheese. Place 2nd flour tortilla on top. When cheese is starting to melt and bottom tortilla is browned, flip. Cook until cheese is completely melted. Cut with pizza cutter. Serve with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

copyright 2008 The Homefront Lines

Dishpan Cookies

We are taking a trip this coming weekend and I want to take cookies with us for a snack. I found a recipe for Dishpan Cookies on AllRecipes (click the link to view the original recipe). I used that as a base and moved forward from there. I made changes to suit our family.

The kids made these this afternoon right before daddy got home. What a nice treat after a long day of work!

Dishpan Cookies ala The Homefront

2 cups Smart Balance
1 cup evapoated cane sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 whole eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup white flour
1 cup oat flour
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups Cascadian Farm Granola Cereal
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup organic unsweetened coconut
1 bag Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a large bowl cream together smart balance and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and egg whites one at a time mixing well after each. Add baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in flours until just blended. Add granola, oats, cocout and chips.

Drop by ice cream scoop on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to paper towels and let cool.

Enjoy!

© 2008 The Homefront Lines

Eggplant Parmesan

I had an eggplant in the fridge that really needed to be used so I thought about a recent episode of Throwdown I saw on the Food Network. The competitors eggplant parmesan looked fantastic. I never thought I would have found the recipe for it on the Food Network, but I did! I actually almost followed the recipe. You will see my changes.

I hope you enjoy this as much as my crew did!

Mike's Deli Famous Eggplant Parmigiana

• Oil (I used olive oil)
• 2 large eggplants (I used 1 larger eggplant)
• All-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
• 4 eggs
• Bread crumbs (recommended: Arthur Avenue Italian Deli) (I used what I had in the cupboard but they were Italian...I also added a handful of grated parmesan cheese and some Kosher salt to the crumbs)
• 1 quart marinara sauce (recommended: Arthur Avenue Italian Deli) (OK, maybe I didn't follow the recipe perfectly...lol...I used 2 cans organic spaghetti sauce)
• 8 ounces sliced dry mozzarella (recommended: Arthur Avenue Italian Deli) (1 small bag shredded mozzarella)
• 4 ounces grated Romano (recommended: Arthur Avenue Italian Deli) (half a bag of parmesan)

Preheat oven to 350º and heat oil in a large pan, Dutch oven or deep-fryer.

Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices. Coat each side of the eggplant with the flour.
In a separate bowl beat 4 eggs and dip the eggplant into the egg to coat both sides. Then take your bread crumbs and do the same to coat each side.

Once the oil is hot, put the eggplant in the hot oil and fry until golden brown. You can also use a deep-fryer and leave in for about 2 to 3 minutes. (I used a non-stick skillet and it worked wonderfully)

Once all of the eggplant has been fried, get a rectangular baking pan and start the layering by adding the marinara sauce to the bottom of the pan, then the eggplant, more sauce, fresh mozzarella, Romano cheese, and continue to layer until you have reached the top of the pan. (I layered with sauce on bottom, eggplant, cheese, sauce, eggplant cheese...ending in sauce)

Top off with sauce, mozzarella, and grated Romano (did not top it off with cheese, just left the sauce...I felt there was enough cheese the way it was)

Place the eggplant into the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Served with garlic bread and a bowl of cucumbers, orange peppers, carrot coins and halved grape tomatos tossed with Ranch.

Enjoy!

© 2008 The Homefront Lines

Vegetarian Enchiladas

The idea/inspiration for this recipe came from one of my best friends. We have known each other since highschool and still chat each day. It is amazing we have know each other for like 20 years. Makes me feel very old.

Anyway during our "what are you having for supper" part of our conversations she told me how she mades chicken enchiladas. It sounded great! I tweaked the directions to fit our family and voila!, Vegetarian Enchiladas were born.

Thanks A!

Vegetarian Enchiladas

2 servings Tac'Os
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 box red beans and rice, prepared
2 cans broccoli cheese soup
1 jar Salpica Mango Peach Salsa
tortillas (flour or whole wheat)
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
sour cream
chopped tomato

Fix Tac'Os and red beans and rice according to package directions. Mix 1 1/2 cans broccoli cheese soup with1 1/2 cups salsa. Add Taco-O's, black beans and red beans and rice. Mix together. Place 1/2 cup bean mixture on one end of tortilla. fold that end over the mixture, fold each end in and roll tortilla over. It will made a nice burrito/enchilada shape and the filling will stay in.

Place in 9x13 pan. Each pan should hold 6. Mix 1/2 can soup with 1/2 cup salsa. Spread over top of each enchilada. Place remaining 6 in 9x13 pan. Spoon salsa over top and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover pan with tin foil and bake at 350º about 20-30 minutes.

Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream and tomatos. A homemade guacamole would be great but J didn't make it for me last night.
Enjoy!

© 2008 The Homefront Lines

No Knead Bread

Is there really such a simple way of making bread? According to the New York Times and the Sullivan Street Bakery there is. It is a slow process but the final product looks awesome! The recipe is as follows. Also check out the youtube of the process. It really does look simple.

No-Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Welcome...

to Front Line Cooking. The kitchen is the nerve center of our household. here I plan to share pictures, menus and recipes. Please stop back often and see what is new.

© 2008 Homefront Lines