#DIY Cookbooks: Recipe Binders for Favorite Recipes

Pasta, dessert, soups, seafood. Did I say dessert? I really enjoy cooking – the more ingredients and chopping and mixing the better.  And what goes along with this love of cooking? Cookbooks, magazines, and torn out from anywhere recipes. Over the years of collecting such things, I looked up one day to realize that recipes have taken over a kitchen cabinet, the counter, the desk.

The situation: I have years (okay, over a decade; I’m sharing, don’t judge) of Cooking Light magazines, travel souvenir cookbooks, specific food cookbooks, organizational fundraising cookbooks, those promotional pamphlet-ish cookbooks.

The problem: With too many recipes, I never get around to all of them, or even a majority of them, because there’s no easy way to catalog them.

De-cluttering:

• I’ve tossed the promotional pamphlet-ish cookbooks from food brands and specialty kitchen stores.  Just because.
• I’ve tossed or put in the donation pile the fundraising cookbooks.  I guess there was a fad at some point in which organizations had all of their members and supporters write their favorite recipe and compiled them all into a book to raise money for their programs.  Nice idea, nice fundraising option, but I really don’t need more recipes for tuna casseroles and doctored up box cake recipes.
• I’ve kept the cookbooks that I’ve purchase when traveling because, in addition to yarn, those are my kind of travel souvenirs.  Commander's Kitchen and Emeril's from New Orleans, a waffle cookbook in Dutch from Belgium, Korean cookbooks from a bookstore and coffee shop in Seoul.
• I’ve also kept my other “real” cookbooks, i.e. published and bound cookbooks.  This includes Maya Angelou's cookbook, one all about shrimp & grits, and few from various Junior League chapters (a southern one has the best Kahlua recipe in it.)  The ones I just didn’t like anymore for whatever reason I put in the donation pile.

What about that decade’s worth of Cooking Light? Its online, they have a website, I can search for any recipe I want. I probably threw out the whole lot, right? Nope.  I went through the magazines and pulled out the recipes I’ve either tried at some point or really anticipate making in the near future.  And I realized something while going through about 100 magazines: there are a lot of repeats and variations of the repeats. I guess that’s not too surprising – how many ways can you really make baked chicken, baked tilapia, or pasta, shrimp, and lemon?  So I didn’t keep every version of chicken alfredo or baked broccoli casserole.  Or the annual update on making the perfect tomato sauce (hint, starting with canned tomatoes are acceptable.)

I slipped all those torn out recipes into plastic sleeves and ordered them in a couple 3-ring binders.  The plastic sleeves are important so that the pages don’t get torn as I flip through or messed up when I cook.  The cover is simple - printout of a fun food reminder and scrapbook paper.

Use plastic sheet protectors and a 3-ring binder to collect favorite recipes.

One binder is divided like a regular cookbook – meats, side dishes, breads, breakfast, etc.  One binder is all desserts which I'll divide into cookies, cakes, pies, frozen sweets, and other stuff.

Collect reminders, lists, and recipes in one binder for the holidays.

I also have a holiday book which includes recipes that I only make during the holidays (cranberry sauce, sweet potato pies, etc.), as well as other holiday to-do reminders, and Christmas card lists.  The cover art? A pre-school art project made by one of my kids (another great way to preserve and use those art projects.) 

How’s it working? I’ve already used a newly re-discovered recipe to make biscotti for my recent cookie exchange.

Now, if I could only find a simpler way to wash and put away all those dishes.

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Fall Cooking: Collards & Butternut Squash

They looked so orange-y and fall-ish, so I bought a 2-lb container of diced butternut squash.  Disregard the fact that I wasn't sure what it tasted like or how to cook it.

I also bought a big bag of cut collard greens because I forgot that I already had a bag at home and I decided I had a taste for greens.  So I found myself with butternut squash and collards and no plans for either.  I don’t like to let food go to waste, so I figured I could somehow cook them together in one pot.  It felt like my own, personal episode of Chopped!

I checked my pantry and found a bag of lentils and figured, since there were no definite plans for that either, I’d throw that in the mix, too.  And let me tell you – it all came together deliciously. It took about an hour and a half, but only about 20 minutes of active, standing at the stove time. The rest of the time you can wash dishes, fold clothes, or go catch up on The Voice.  And since it’s all pre-cut, there’s very little prep. (You can of course, use a whole squash or cut your collards, if you’d like.)

Here you go.  I wish I was better at coming up with names for stuff, but I’m not, so it's just...

Collards & Butternut Squash

Ingredients

Butter

½ onion, diced

½ bag lentils

1 lb diced butternut squash

1 lb chopped collard greens

Vegetable bouillon cube

Water

Seasoning: black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, coriander

Note: Add seasonings through-out to taste.  Feel free to leave out the red pepper if you don’t like pepper-y food.

Cook

In a large stock pot, melt a tablespoon of butter.

Add lentils. Stir and keep an eye on it, for about 5 minutes, until they get an almost nutty scent.

Add chopped onions, mix together, then continue to cook while onions soften.

Add the squash and seasoning, mix together and let cook a few minutes.

Add greens, mix into other ingredients.

Add bouillon cube and mix in with ingredients until dissolved.  Add seasoning.

Pour in 6 cups of water and stir all together.

Let cook on medium flame for about an hour or until squash is soft.

Serve as a side-dish or as a standalone meal, over rice or with naan or other flatbread. 

Enjoy!

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Crockpot Cooking Without a Recipe

I've said it before, I'll say it again - my crockpot is one of my most used and favorite kitchen appliances.  Between running around with the kids and scattering to my own community and personal activities, we barely have time to eat - even less time to cook a decent meal.  So getting dinner cooked while I'm not even home is a masterful idea.

The wonderful part about crockpot cooking is that - although there are plenty plenty recipes and cookbooks out there - you really don't need a cookbook or a recipe, if you understand some basic requirements.

• Liquid - there's got to be some liquid in the crockpot. It could be stock, juice, water, sauce, the fat cooking off the meat - but there has to be some liquid to keep the food from drying out.
• Seasoning - the food is being slow-cooked, so there's time for the seasoning to melt into the food. Season generously, but not too heavy-handed.
• Time - obviously, the whole point is cooking for the hours and hours you will be away.  There are times, too, when you will want to use it to keep food and beverages warm for serving, like for hot chocolate for a cookie party!

From there - be creative.

Meats of course are favorites for the crockpot.  Whatever you cook will become so tender and juicy. You can serve as is, straight from the pot, or continue to prepare the meat once cooked.  Chicken, whole or in pieces, is an easy meat to cook. Roast beef or pork is also easy; you can eat as is, or chop it after cooking for sandwich or taco filling.  I like to cook pork loin and then chop it up for bar-be-que.  A very convenient fact? It doesn't even have to be defrosted! Yes, you can throw frozen meat into the crockpot, turn it on low and come back hours later to a fork tender meal.

Grains, beans, and pastas can be cooked on their own or with your meat choice. These especially need enough liquid since they require a lot to cook to tender. Spaghetti is easier than you think and lasagna works well in the crockpot, too - the tomato sauce is your liquid. I've yet to cook overnight oatmeal, but have tasted it and that's really good.  I need a smaller crockpot, since my son and I are the only ones who like oatmeal.

Vegetables can also be cooked alone or thrown in with everything else. I've made some very tender collard greens in the crockpot.  You probably should reserve this for veggies that can withstand the long hours of cooking, nothing too tender.

You can cook all of these separately or throw everything in the pot together for an easy clean-up, easy serve one-pot meal.  A can or two of diced tomatoes or stock and you've got the base for a good stew. Pick up a loaf of Italian bread and a salad on your way home and voila! Dinner is served.

For the chicken meal pictured above: a pack of drumsticks (frozen!); salt, pepper, basil, paprika to season; 2 cans diced tomatoes in sauce + 6 hours in the crockpot while we were at church, a science fair, sorority meeting, and a basketball game.

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Everybody's Favorite Macaroni & Cheese

Busy days and hungry people result in the frantic question, “What’s for dinner?!”

When we were on our northeastern roadtrip, our stop in Boston landed us to Quincy Market with its rows of food stalls.  Think of any city food market – the options are endless. Sandwiches, pasta, pizza, then throw in the New England spin – fried oysters, fried clams, lobster rolls.  One of those stands was MMMac N' Cheese – a make to order macaroni and cheese shop.  They individually made servings of macaroni and cheese, with all kinds of meats and veggies added in, yes, like an omelet stand.  While the kids ordered their lunch, I watched to see how to make macaroni and cheese on the spot, to individual specifications.

Back at home, I tried it out. It’s so easy, it’s so fast, the kids loved it and declared that mine turned out just as good as the place in Boston. Now, any mom knows the “it takes just like the restaurant” is quite the compliment.  So here’s how to make what will be Everybody’s Favorite Macaroni & Cheese.

Ingredients

• Macaroni noodles (cooked)
• Shredded cheddar cheese plus a variety of your family’s other favorite (meltable) cheeses, shredded
• American cheeses, slices
• Half-and-half or milk (your preference, or whichever is in the fridge)
• Butter 
• Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning to taste

Fix-ins (all cooked)

Use whatever you’re family likes, it should be cooked and cut into small pieces.  You can cook it, buy it cooked, use last night’s leftovers, whatever works in your schedule.

• Meat suggestions: Ground beef, chopped chicken, chopped/cubed steak, chopped ham, chopped rotisseries chicken, crumbled bacon, shrimp, crabmeat, lobster
• Veggies suggestions: broccoli, spinach, chopped carrots, chopped tomatoes

To make it the quick, just ran in from work and after-school activities dinner, the key is to prep everything the night before, the morning of, or, if you work at home, on your lunch break.  On the other hand, if you’ve got time, you can prep it all just before you’re ready to cook.

You will be making single servings, so each person can choose their own cheeses and fix-ins.  Offer as many or as few options as you’d like.  Serve along with a salad and everyone can enjoy their salad while their macaroni and cheese to be cooked – no waiting.

Line all your ingredients up at the stove, ready to go, this moves fast like when making stir-fry.

1. Melt a pat of butter in a large frying pan.
2. Add 1 slice of American cheese.  Add ¼ cup cheddar cheese, plus ¼ cup of any other favorite cheese.  Add more shredded cheese, to taste.
3. Add about 1/8 c cream/milk.
4. Stir to keep cheese from burning, and add milk, if needed, until smooth and creamy.
5. Add Fix-ins (meat and veggies) to each person’s preference.  Season, to taste, if desired.  (If the meat is already seasoned, you may not need additional seasoning. But if you're doing an all veggie option, it might need a few shakes of something. Try a dash of Old Bay if going with a seafood option.)
6. Add ½ cup macaroni noodles and mix until noodles are fully covered in cheese and fix-ins.
7. Serve.
8. Start the next person’s dish.

Enjoy!

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In a (Home-Made) Pickle

I’m that friend who asks you for the pickle you have left untouched on your sandwich plate.  And my children are the ones who try to sneak the pickle off of my sandwich plate.  Perhaps its genetic, but one thing we all agree on in our family is that we really like pickles.  So, my son and I decided we’d figure out how to make our own.

And we discovered that it’s not so hard, once you’ve got the basics.

For 2 pounds of cucumbers:

1 cup vinegar

1 cup water

1 ½ TBS salt

Our first batch was with the pickling cucumbers (the short ones) from the grocery store.  When we bought more for the next batch, we realized that you have to make the pickles within days of buying the cucumbers because they mold quickly; we ended up throwing them all out.  We also bought fatter cucumbers from a farm market and they lasted for days on the counter without deteriorating at all.  For the summer months, I think we’ll continue with the fresh market cucumbers.

We experimented using plain white vinegar and apple vinegar for taste-testing.  The white vinegar was more vinegar-y, more of a “pickle” taste, whereas the apple was a slight sourness, with a bit more sweetness.  Our preference is the white vinegar.  We used sea salt, for no particular reason, over regular table salt.

After that, it’s a matter of figuring out your spices. We’ve made minced garlic a staple to our recipe and then we’re experimenting with red pepper flakes, dill seed, and fennel seed.  About a teaspoon – tablespoon of each, depending on your tastes and preferences.  Hint – check your favorite commercial pickles for ideas (although we realized the amount of preservatives and artificial flavors used in some by checking the labels.)

I keep recycled jars around – mostly used pickled jars - and a small supply of mason jars for canning. When re-using jars for anything, I like to wash pickle jars or any other strong smelling food jars in the dishwasher because that’s the best way to get the food smell out.  If using something like a jelly jar, you can wash in hot water.  For a couple pounds of cucumbers, you may need several jars, depending on their size.

Depending on the size of the cucumbers vs. the jar and your personal preference, the cucumbers can be used whole, cut lengthwise into halves of quarters, or sliced into “coins”.  They can also be chopped for relish, which is on our list to try.

Once you've decided on whole or sliced - you're ready to go.

• Put the cucumbers in the jar, packing them in as tightly as possible.
• Sprinkle in the spices of your choice.
• Pour the vinegar/water/salt mixture over to fill the jar.  As we learned, there is very little capillary action in cucumbers, so if you do not have enough to fill the jar, you will need to turn it over after a few days and store it upside down to pickle the other half of the cucumbers.
• Put the top on tightly and store in your refrigerator for about 5 days.

According to what I’ve read about pickling in the fridge, these should last you a few months.  However, I cannot verify that, as ours were gone within a week, and that was mainly because the kids paced themselves until we could get another batch going so there would be no lull in the pickle inventory.  If you have more cucumbers and want them to last longer, you may want to opt for a canning process (boiling the cucumber-filled jars) to make them last longer and to not take up all your refrigerator space.

Enjoy!

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