Work Home and Family - Summer Recipes!
One of my goals this summer was to make 12 new recipes and I made it! Whoot!
I didn't take pictures of everything - especially the lone flop (it was gross - trust me). But here's what I tried and what I learned.
First Recipe: Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (Definite Keeper!)
This recipe was from a magazine and sounded good because it rose in the fridge overnight. It tasted like pull-apart cinnamon rolls, and we served it the morning my folks headed back home after a month visiting. It didn't rise evenly because I was at the end of my bulk yeast and it wasn't rising well, but the bread itself turned out yummy and rather light. The inside was sticky and the edges were crispy - just like a good cinnamon roll should be!
Second Recipe: Lemon-Raspberry Coffee Cake (Definite Keeper!)
Don't have a photo of this one, but it was super good and will almost certainly be made again next spring when lemons are on sale and raspberries are in season. It also contains cream cheese. We had it for lunch one day with baked eggs and bacon and it was more than ample for that lunch (for the four of us) and for breakfast for me and John for another couple of days. The recipe is out of a magazine.
Third Recipe: French Bread (Definite Keeper!)
I used Brandy's recipe and it really was easy and very good. We don't eat enough bread for 4 loaves to be eaten before they go bad (I ended up giving 2 away that first time), so I made a half batch the second time. Just as good! This one is tied for favorite new recipe with the Eggplant Parmesan!
Fourth Recipe: Kale Chips (Keeper!)
Our CSA has been giving us a large bunch of Kale each week. There are only so many green smoothies I can drink so I decided to try this recipe from the cookbook that comes with our CSA. Super simple and definitely yummy - though I probably wouldn't hunt down Kale just to make it.
Fifth Recipe: Pizza in a Dutch Oven (Keeper - need to watch more closely though)
We like to make homemade pizza once a week. We decided to try it on a camping trip after I read online that you can cook pizza in a dutch oven on top of balls of foil. We did and it worked. We let it sit on too hot a coals for too long though and the bottom got a little too brown without the cheese all melting. We did the smaller kids pizzas on cooler coals and they worked much better. We'll try this one again next summer!
Sixth Recipe: No-Bake Energy Bites (Keeper!)
I kept reading on Money Saving Mom how everyone liked the No Bake Energy Bites, so I thought I'd try them as a snack to take along camping. I edited the recipe since our family doesn't eat coconut. I found the amount of honey a little too much but it might have been the type of honey I had. I won't be making these often, but they were good and proved to be a good snack for camping.
Seventh Recipe: Blueberry Cream Cheese Squares (Definite Keeper!)
This recipe came from my Grandmother and was shared to me by cousin. I remembered my cousin (who is 19 years older than I am) making this when I was a kid and we'd have a fish fry at my Uncle's late cabin. I had an excess of blueberries and cream cheese was on sale, so I had her send me the recipe and I tried it. Instead of bars, I made it in a pie pan and cut the sugar in half. It was just a good as I remember! I will definitely be making this one again.
Eighth Recipe: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (Definite Keeper!)
My folks brought up our old hand-crank ice cream maker when they came up this spring. They spent time as Missionaries over in Ethiopia and my dad had discovered that you couldn't buy ice cream there at that time. Since he has to have a cup of ice cream every evening, they bought this maker and took it with them. I remember my dad using it when I was a kid. The recipe I used came from the original cookbook that came with the maker - the terminology was pretty funny and I had to Google a couple of things to find out what they were (have you heard of rennet before?). I'm not sure making ice cream is cheaper - especially since we usually don't keep the ingredients on hand - but it was so darn good and a little went a long way! Will make this again sometime soon! Side note: The ice cream maker is older than I am by quite a bit and still works like a charm!
Ninth Recipe: Candied Caramel Corn (Just Okay).
I made this to take to a 4th of July Desert Pot-Luck from a recipe out of the children's cookbook my daughter got for her birthday. The candy didn't work out the way it was supposed to but I used different candy than what they recommended. I'll try it again sometime with the candy recommended and see how it is. Right now, I'm not planning on making it again after that unless it turns out particularly yummy.
Tenth Recipe: Eggplant Parmesan (Definite Keeper!)
We got several little eggplants in our CSA this year and decided to try Eggplant Parmesan as a way to use them up after my husband mentioned he'd had some at a work meeting and liked it. I've never had much luck with eggplant before but I took time to sweat the eggplant before making this and it worked great. The recipe was straight out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
Eleventh Recipe: Chapatis (Total Flop!)
This recipe I found in several places - all identical - and I ended up using Brandy's recipe for reference while I made these. My guess is that my pan was too hot and that I used the wrong kind of flour. They ended up tacky and brunt (even with being in the pan less than 5 seconds) and were just awful even though I rolled them super thin. I am planning to try them again on a day when I'm not frantic to get dinner on the table and with a different pan. If they turn out good, I'll post pictures for you!
Twelfth Recipe: Fresh Corn Salad (Keeper!)
This is another magazine recipe and was quite good - I made this to use up some of our CSA produce (corn, cucumbers, jalapenos, and kale) and our overabundance of yellow pear tomatoes. I more than halved the dressing part of the recipe and found the whole thing to be a nice combination of flavors.
I'll be posting the Definite Keeper and Keeper recipes over the next few weeks. That way you can enjoy them too!
What new recipes have you tried this summer?
I didn't take pictures of everything - especially the lone flop (it was gross - trust me). But here's what I tried and what I learned.
First Recipe: Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (Definite Keeper!)
This recipe was from a magazine and sounded good because it rose in the fridge overnight. It tasted like pull-apart cinnamon rolls, and we served it the morning my folks headed back home after a month visiting. It didn't rise evenly because I was at the end of my bulk yeast and it wasn't rising well, but the bread itself turned out yummy and rather light. The inside was sticky and the edges were crispy - just like a good cinnamon roll should be!
Second Recipe: Lemon-Raspberry Coffee Cake (Definite Keeper!)
Don't have a photo of this one, but it was super good and will almost certainly be made again next spring when lemons are on sale and raspberries are in season. It also contains cream cheese. We had it for lunch one day with baked eggs and bacon and it was more than ample for that lunch (for the four of us) and for breakfast for me and John for another couple of days. The recipe is out of a magazine.
Third Recipe: French Bread (Definite Keeper!)
I used Brandy's recipe and it really was easy and very good. We don't eat enough bread for 4 loaves to be eaten before they go bad (I ended up giving 2 away that first time), so I made a half batch the second time. Just as good! This one is tied for favorite new recipe with the Eggplant Parmesan!
Fourth Recipe: Kale Chips (Keeper!)
Our CSA has been giving us a large bunch of Kale each week. There are only so many green smoothies I can drink so I decided to try this recipe from the cookbook that comes with our CSA. Super simple and definitely yummy - though I probably wouldn't hunt down Kale just to make it.
Fifth Recipe: Pizza in a Dutch Oven (Keeper - need to watch more closely though)
We like to make homemade pizza once a week. We decided to try it on a camping trip after I read online that you can cook pizza in a dutch oven on top of balls of foil. We did and it worked. We let it sit on too hot a coals for too long though and the bottom got a little too brown without the cheese all melting. We did the smaller kids pizzas on cooler coals and they worked much better. We'll try this one again next summer!
Sixth Recipe: No-Bake Energy Bites (Keeper!)
I kept reading on Money Saving Mom how everyone liked the No Bake Energy Bites, so I thought I'd try them as a snack to take along camping. I edited the recipe since our family doesn't eat coconut. I found the amount of honey a little too much but it might have been the type of honey I had. I won't be making these often, but they were good and proved to be a good snack for camping.
Seventh Recipe: Blueberry Cream Cheese Squares (Definite Keeper!)
This recipe came from my Grandmother and was shared to me by cousin. I remembered my cousin (who is 19 years older than I am) making this when I was a kid and we'd have a fish fry at my Uncle's late cabin. I had an excess of blueberries and cream cheese was on sale, so I had her send me the recipe and I tried it. Instead of bars, I made it in a pie pan and cut the sugar in half. It was just a good as I remember! I will definitely be making this one again.
Eighth Recipe: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (Definite Keeper!)
My folks brought up our old hand-crank ice cream maker when they came up this spring. They spent time as Missionaries over in Ethiopia and my dad had discovered that you couldn't buy ice cream there at that time. Since he has to have a cup of ice cream every evening, they bought this maker and took it with them. I remember my dad using it when I was a kid. The recipe I used came from the original cookbook that came with the maker - the terminology was pretty funny and I had to Google a couple of things to find out what they were (have you heard of rennet before?). I'm not sure making ice cream is cheaper - especially since we usually don't keep the ingredients on hand - but it was so darn good and a little went a long way! Will make this again sometime soon! Side note: The ice cream maker is older than I am by quite a bit and still works like a charm!
Ninth Recipe: Candied Caramel Corn (Just Okay).
I made this to take to a 4th of July Desert Pot-Luck from a recipe out of the children's cookbook my daughter got for her birthday. The candy didn't work out the way it was supposed to but I used different candy than what they recommended. I'll try it again sometime with the candy recommended and see how it is. Right now, I'm not planning on making it again after that unless it turns out particularly yummy.
Tenth Recipe: Eggplant Parmesan (Definite Keeper!)
We got several little eggplants in our CSA this year and decided to try Eggplant Parmesan as a way to use them up after my husband mentioned he'd had some at a work meeting and liked it. I've never had much luck with eggplant before but I took time to sweat the eggplant before making this and it worked great. The recipe was straight out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
Eleventh Recipe: Chapatis (Total Flop!)
This recipe I found in several places - all identical - and I ended up using Brandy's recipe for reference while I made these. My guess is that my pan was too hot and that I used the wrong kind of flour. They ended up tacky and brunt (even with being in the pan less than 5 seconds) and were just awful even though I rolled them super thin. I am planning to try them again on a day when I'm not frantic to get dinner on the table and with a different pan. If they turn out good, I'll post pictures for you!
Twelfth Recipe: Fresh Corn Salad (Keeper!)
This is another magazine recipe and was quite good - I made this to use up some of our CSA produce (corn, cucumbers, jalapenos, and kale) and our overabundance of yellow pear tomatoes. I more than halved the dressing part of the recipe and found the whole thing to be a nice combination of flavors.
I'll be posting the Definite Keeper and Keeper recipes over the next few weeks. That way you can enjoy them too!
What new recipes have you tried this summer?
