Sep
30
2008
I think I am going to start assigning a different day for each category. From now on Tuesday will be Tips and Tricks day!! Hope these help you out!! I know I learned a few things from these when I looked them up!!
Tips and Tricks
#1 Fresh lemon juice will remove onion odor from hands.
#2 Instant potatoes are a good stew thickener.
#3 When cooking vegetables that grow above the ground, the rule of thumb is to boil them without a cover.
#4 A lump of sugar added to water when cooking greens helps vegetables retain their fresh color.
#5 Never soak vegetables after slicing; they will lose much of their nutritional value.
#6 Vinegar can remove spots caused by tomatoes. Soak the spot with vinegar and wash as usual.
#7 Add a drop of food coloring to hard boiled eggs in your refrigerator, this will help you tell them apart from your raw eggs.
#8 Your fruit salads will look perfect when you use an egg slicer to make perfect slices of your fresh strawberries, kiwis or bananas.
#9 To cool your punch, float an ice ring made from the punch rather than using ice cubes. Not only is this more decorative, it inhibits melting and diluting.
#10 One lemon yields approximately 1/4 c. juice; one orange about 1/3 c. juice. This is helpful when making recipes that call for a certain amount of juice or when making fresh lemonade or orange juice.
Sep
29
2008
This is a crock pot recipe. Great for those cold days in the fall and winter. You get it ready in the morning, let it cook all day, and you enjoy a nice family dinner in the evening!!
Tender Pot Roast
1 beef chuck pot roast (about 2 1/2 lbs)
salt and pepper
3 med. baking potatoes
2 lg. carrots
2 lg. celery stalks
1 lg. onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. beef broth
Trim any excess fat from beef. Discard fat. Cut beef into serving-size pieces; season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrub potatoes. Cut scrubbed potatoes into quarters. Wash carrots. Cut washed carrots diagonally into 3/4 in. slices. Wash celery. Cut washed celery into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces. Place potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves in slow cooker. Sprinkle rosemary and thyme over vegetables. Arrange beef over vegetables in slow cooker. Pour broth over beef. Cover and cook pot roast on LOW about 8 1/2-9 hours or until beef is fork-tender. Remove beef to large serving platter. Arrange vegetables around beef on platter. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve pot roast with juices from slow cooker or with gravy, if desired.
Sep
28
2008
Another “pumpkin” recipe because it’s fall and all!! This one is cookies, YUMMY!! 
Pumpkin Cookies
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. raisins (optional)
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp. lemon extract
Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs, pumpkin, and seasonings. Blend well. Sift flour and baking powder together, stir in raisins and nuts, if using. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and beat. Blend in lemon extract. Drop from tsp. onto GREASED cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 400° .
**tip for the day**
you won’t need sugar with your tea if you drink jasmine tea or any of the lighter-bodied varieties, like Formosa Oolong, which have their own natural sweetness. They are fine for sugarless iced tea, too.
Sep
27
2008
This is the first of several installments of helpful hints or tips you can use in your kitchens. I will be adding more to the blog as we go along!! 
Helpful Hints
#1 Over-ripe bananas can be peeled and frozen in a qt. size freezer bag or plastic container until it’s time to bake bread or cake.
#2 When baking bread, a small dish of water in the oven will help keep the crust from getting too hard or brown.
#3 Use shortening, not margarine or oil, to grease pans, as margarine and oil absorb more readily into the dough or batter (especially bread).
#4 Use a metal ice tray divider to cute biscuits in a hurry. Press into the dough, and biscuits will separate at dividing lines when baked.
#5 To make self-rising flour, mix 4 c. flour, 2 tsp salt, and 2 TSP baking powder, and store in a tightly covered container.
#6 Hot water kills yeast. One way to tell the correct temperature of your water is to pour it over our forearm. if you cannot feel either hot or cold, the temperature is just right.
Sep
26
2008
This is your lucky day (lol) …I am posting two recipes today. One salad recipe and one soup recipe. This broccoli salad is to die for!!! So yummy!! The soup I have not actually had, but it sounds delicious. If you take this recipe and make it, please come back and comment on it (even if you don’t like it, let me know what you thought!!)
Tossed Broccoli Salad
2 lb. cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
2 lb. broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
for dressing:
1 c. miracle whip
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. vinegar
Combine cauliflower, broccoli, bacon, cheese, onion and seeds. Mix miracle whip, sugar and vinegar together in small bowl. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture and mix well.
Navy Bean Soup
1 lb. navy beans (wash and soak in cold water in fridge overnight)
2 qt. chicken broth
2 T. minced, fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 med-large onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
8 strips bacon, fried and crumbled
Wash and drain beans. Place in heavy duty pan; add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand one hour. Drain and rinse, discard water. In large pan, combine broth, beans, parsley, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for for 1 hour. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cover and simmer for additional 20-25 minutes or until veggies are tender. Stir in bacon. Discard bay leaves before serving.
Sep
25
2008
Another family recipe. This one comes just in time for fall. In the fall (and anytime for that matter), I love the smell of pumpkin and spices in the air. This recipe will do the trick for that!! Please enjoy!!
Pumpkin Delight
CRUST:
1 box yellow cake mix, reserving 1 c.
1/2 c. melted oleo
1 egg
FILLING:
3 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2/3 c. milk
TOPPING:
1 c. reserved cake mix
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. oleo
CRUST - Mix cake mix (- 1 c.), oleo, and egg. Press into 9×3 pan.
FILLING - Mix pumpkin, eggs and milk; pour over crust.
TOPPING - Crumble cake mix, sugar, cinnamon and oleo. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes . Do not over bake.
Sep
24
2008
Hi! Welcome to my new recipe blog, tummypleasers. This is a blog devoted to recipes. Recipes I get from all over!! Some healthy, some not so much. But all will be tummy pleasers!!
To start this tasty blog, I have picked a family favorite. This is a stroganoff made easy….Enjoy!!
Hamburger Stroganoff
1/2 c. onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. butter
1 (8 oz.) can mushrooms, sliced
1 (10 1/2 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 T. flour
1 c. sour cream
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T. minced parsley
Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium heat. Add meat and brown. Add flour, salt, pepper and mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes. Add soup. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Heat through. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve over hot noodles. Makes 4-6 servings.
