Tag: Recipes

A Taste of Summertime Heaven

By: Hallee

I made dinner for a family from church the other night. I was packaging up the roast beef and trimmings I’d been cooking all day when it suddenly occurred to me — I hadn’t done anything for dessert. In panic mode, I ran through a quick inventory of what was immediately available and what I could come up with, when I spied my full cookie jar. The boys and I had made Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies the day before. I’d used slivered almonds as the nut and they were beyond wonderful.

I decided to use my Smooth & Creamy French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and make ice cream sandwiches.

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Smooth & Creamy French Vanilla Bean Honey Ice Cream

By: Hallee

My grandfather had an ice cream maker that sat in a wooden tub and churned out the most amazing tasting, sweet and creamy concoction ever known to man’s mouth. We would wait and wait for summer time, then beg him constantly to make some ice cream. I have been on a search for a recipe like his ever since I got my first ice cream maker. This one comes mighty close. Just a few ingredients – I used honey instead of sugar – and you’ll have “the” ice cream that your kids and grand kids will beg you to make.

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Southern Cheese Grits

By: Hallee

Grits, for those of you who haven’t spent a good portion of your life below the Mason-Dixon line, is a cornmeal made from hominy. Hominy is hulled corn kernels that have been stripped of their bran and germ. What the American Indians gave the Pilgrims was likely hominy. “Lye hominy” is made when the kernels of corn are soaked in a light lye solution. You can get white grits (made from white corn) or yellow grits (made from yellow corn). The difference between grits and polenta, other than regions of America, is that polenta is made from corn that retains the germ of the grain.

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Fun & Easy Snow Cone Syrup

By: Hallee

Many years ago, Kaylee had an end-of-the-school-year-summer’s-coming party. Among other things, we served snow cones. I bought a snow cone maker at a kitchen store for less than $20, and bought a pack of four different flavored snow cone syrups. Three years ago, we moved from Florida to Kentucky, but the box that contained the snow cone maker stayed unpacked until this winter. I dusted it off, put it on the shelf, and waited for warmer weather. I went to the store the other day to buy new syrup for it, and reading the labels, discovered that there wasn’t a single brand whose ingredients didn’t start with “high fructose corn syrup.” This is on our “absolutely avoid” list – so I came home and started thinking. The ingredients were all basically:high fructose corn syrup, water, flavor, color, citric acid. What could I use that would have a pretty strong flavor to mix with the sugar to make a syrup for snow cones? Then I looked at a Kool-Aid packet — the ingredients are basically: flavor, color, and citric acid. So, there, you go — flavored snow cone syrup sans high fructose corn syrup. You’re free to make any flavor you want – and it will be in a variety of fun colors for kids.

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Turkey Sausage Breakfast Burritos

By: Hallee

I wanted to make something that could be made in a big batch, then put in the freezer for a quick breakfast, or eaten for breakfast while traveling. This recipe was wonderful. You can adjust it any way you like – change the meat, add different fillings. It’s extremely versatile.

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Indian Flat Bread (Chapati)

By: Hallee

Chapattis are similar to tortillas, but made with no baking powder. They are easy to make and keep well if stored in an air-tight container. Chapattis are common in Southeast Asia and throughout Africa.

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Homemade Potato Chips

By: Hallee

My son Scott loves potato chips. Since potatoes are in the “dirty dozen”, I try very hard to just get organic potato chips. But, organic potato chips are SO EXPENSIVE. It doesn’t seem worthwhile to even buy that little tiny bag. Recently, Scott brought me a potato and said, “Can you make me some potato chips?” I love the fact that he deduced that potato chips come from potatoes, and that he was confident I could produce them. Which I did. They were amazing. Kaylee came home from softball practice and ate the leftovers, then asked if I would make them for her the next morning for her lunch. I will never purchase bagged potato chips again.

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Turkey Breast in the Rotisserie

By: Hallee

I LOVE my rotisserie oven. I don’t know why food tastes so much better coming out of the rotisserie than the oven, but it does. I prefer to cook meat in it if I can. This turkey breast was amazing – I used it to make lunch meat and the flavor even in thinly sliced pieces was just wonderful.

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Homemade Dog Food

By: Hallee

My puppy, Cybil, is obsessed with our food. She snatches it out of kids’ hands, off of the counter, off of the table – it’s a constant fight to keep her down and away from food. I thought that maybe making her dog food out of our leftovers would break her obsession. It did work some, but not entirely, but there has been an improvement. Nevertheless, I’ve made the homemade dog food part of our daily routine. Both of the dogs clean their bowls every time. I had at one time thought to replace the dry dog food I buy entirely; however, I really just supplement with the homemade.

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Hearty Whole Grain Waffles

By: Hallee

This is my go-to recipe for waffles in the hotel-style waffle maker. They have an amazing flavor and pack a nutritious punch that would be hard pressed to be beaten. I love serving them with real butter and real maple syrup.

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