November 5, 2010

Good Morning Yall !

I don't know who is running slower this morning, me or my computer.  I got up this morning dragging my heels and couldn't seem to get myself going, then when I turned on my computer, it is doing pretty much the same thing.  Oh well, maybe we will get it together before the day is gone.  It is a little cool outside this morning but the sun is shining and it is beautiful ! I do hope that each and everyone of you are having the same gorgeous weather we are here. 

The Salmon Croquettes I made for supper last night, were really good.  Like I told you, the recipe I use is actually for Crab Cakes but it works great for Salmon too.  For the ones that don't know me really well, the ones that DO know me well will tell you that I am notorious for changing up recipes.  Not only do I change the quanity of the recipe, but some of the ingredients and spices too.  I am the type of cook that cooks by sight, smell and taste.  So when I'm preparing a dish, I do a lot of those things and doesn't necesarrily go strictly by the recipe.  My kids say that I'm a cook that describes how to prepare a dish by saying..."a little of this and a little of that" ! I have a tendencey of not following a recipe to the "T" and creating my own.  The main recipes I try to follow exactly are my recipes for my baking, such as pies and cakes and candy.  If you don't follow those type of recipes well, you will often end up with a flop on your hands.  So I do my best to follow those type of recipes, but when it comes to other type recipes I change it up sometimes and do a lot of that tasting, smelling and looking.  Some recipes have ingredients in them that different people don't particularly care for so they can omit them in the dish, or if there is a flavor you really do like, then you can always add more of that too. 

I'm not sure how many of you use different things to thicken a dish that needs that.  But, I have found that by using Corn Starch opposed to using Flour, it really works out well.  The Corn Starch will provide a much smoother thickening and you don't have to worry so much about the lumps in your food.  When I make my Meringue Pies, I do use flour in my filling, but if for some reason the filling is not thick enough, I will blend a small amount of Corn Starch in a little water then add it to my hot filling.  It will begin to thicken almost immediately.  The same thing applies when you are making gravy etc.  There are all kinds of little tips that we can use for our cooking and trust me, there have been times, when I needed to correct something I messed up on, so I'm always looking for those types of tips.  Did you know that when you are boiling potatoes, such as the Red New Potatoes, you can add a small amount of Vinegar to the water you are boiling the potatoes, and it will help to keep the potatoes from falling apart.  A lot of the time while boiling potatoes, they will tend to come apart and by adding the small amount of vinegar, that will prevent that.  Also, if you find out that you have added too much salt to a dish, you can counter act that by adding a little sugar.  That will help lessen the salty taste. 

If you have made cookies sometimes they will tend to harden and not keep that soft chewey texture.  But if you will place your cookies in a plastic container and place a couple of pieces of sliced bread in the container with them, it will soften and keep your cookies soft until they are all gone !  When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead, and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.  When froting a cake, add a pinch of baking soda to your frosting, it will keep the frosting moist and keep it from cracking.  Place chocolate pieces in a bowl. Microwave on high for 1 min. Stir. Return to microwave if necessary. Heat and stir in 30 sec. intervals until chocolate reaches smooth, melted consistency. For a smoother melt, add a Tbls. of vegetable oil per pound of chocolate. Never introduce water into the mix; this will seize the chocolate, You cannot recover chocolate once it's been scorched.   To stop the meringue from shrinking away from the sides of the pies, be sure that when you put the meringue on top, you make sure it touches the pastry all around the edge. This way, it will bake onto the pastry and will not shrink!  Also, did you know that when making Pancakes : Add a pinch of sugar when making waffles and pancakes to help them brown more quickly when cooking.

A good tip for cooking Rice or Pasta is Butter or grease the rim of a pan in which you cook rice or pasta so it won't boil over. A small amount of baking soda added to gravy will eliminate excess grease.  Place a lettuce leaf in a pot of greasy soup or pan of greasy gravy - it'll absorb the grease - then, remove the leaf from the pot and discard. Place a raw potato in a pot of salty soup - it'll absorb some of the salt - then, remove the potato from the pot and discard.
Rinse bacon under cold water before frying. This reduces the amount the bacon shrinks by almost 50%. To keep potatoes from "budding", (growing sprouts)  place an apple in the bag with potatoes.

OK...I could go on and on forever about tips and remedies that I have either discovered on my own or have learned from others.  But it always good to have some tricks up your sleeve when you are cooking.  We all know that no matter how good of a cook we are, mistakes or accidents will happen, so having some of these tips under wraps, it sure helps out ! 

I think tonight I will be making Sour Cream Enchiladas with some Mexican Rice.  Sometimes when you start eating Mexican Food, it all begins to taste the same somewhat.  That heavy tomatoey, chili type sauces they use is good, but as I said they tend to start all tasting alike.  So when I have the opportunity to have a Mexican dish that is different than that, I jump on it.  Of course I lovef Sour Cream so that helps.  There are numerous recipes out there for Sour Cream Enchiladas, but below is the one that I really like.  Maybe you could try this recipe yourself and see what you think. 

SOUR CREAM CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1 chicken
1 white onion, chopped
6 jalapeno pepper slices, chopped (optional)

1 Small Can of Green Chilis
1 Small can mushrooms, drained and chopped
4 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup  
16 oz. sour cream

1 Medium Can of Diced or Crushed Tomataoes

1 pkg. flour tortillas
1 large package Mexican-style shredded cheese

Boil chicken in a large pot. While boiling, chop onion, jalapenos, and mushrooms. Sauté in a skillet until flavors are mixed well. Set onion mixture aside.

In a large bowl, combine 3 cans Cream of Chicken soup, crushed tomatoes and the sour cream. Mix well and remove enough of the mixture to cover the top of the 9'x13" baking pan. Set aside. (You should have a small bowl and a larger bowl set aside with the chicken soup and sour cream).
Once chicken is done, cool and debone chicken into small pieces. Put chicken pieces and onion mixture in with the large bowl mixture. Mix well.
Get your baking pan and tortillas out. Cover the bottom of the baking pan with a thin layer of the small bowl mixture. Put about 2 large spoonfuls of the large bowl mixture into each tortilla and roll it up and place it in the pan until full.
Cover enchiladas with the mixture from the small bowl. Cover with a thick layer of cheese.

Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixtures are bubbling. 

 Dadgum it !!  My font keeps changing color and I can't stop it !  Oh well, Yall get the picture.  Oh....BTW !  I am still getting requests for my Cookbooks, so if you would like for me to add you to my order list, please let me know.  I keep repeating myself I know, but I need everyone to understand these Cookbooks are just my little simple creations.  They are decorated and are cute, but far from being professional.  You won't find what I call "Gormet" type recipes in there, just plain old cooking.  But if you are interested and would like to order one, please let me know.  I hope you all have a great day today and enjoy the sunshine !  Oh...below is a video of my daughter, Missy singing with the band she and her husband Brian performs with.  I know it has nothing to do with cooking, only has to do with being a proud Mama ! LOL.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did ! 

 "Happy Eating" ! 

  Muahhhhhhhhh ♥