Frozen treats

Last summer my husband bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday. I made ice cream and sherbet several times last year; feeling much braver, I started makign sorbets this summer. I'm going to tell you that eating ice cold strawberry or blueberry sorbet in 100 degree temperatures is one the the best ways to beat the heat. It's also so easy to make that I thought I share a couple of recipes with you so you can pick and choose what you want to make.

Now I'm not using the old fashioned ice cream maker that you have to have ice and rock salt; I'm using the type of ice cream maker where you keep the bowl in the freezer so it's ready whenever you feel like a cool treat. You can get an expensive "professional" one, but their are affordable varieties that you can pick up at most stores for $30.

Orange Sherbet

Mix 1 can of sweetened condensed milk with
1 lt of any orange drink like Orange Crush.

I find it best if both are chilled first. It's important that when you are mixing the ingredients that the milk is completely dissolved.

Turn the ice cream maker on and pour the mixture through the lid. Let it mix until the the unit stops.

Sorbet

Dissolve 1 cup of sugar into
1cup of water over low heat.

Place syrup into the refrigerator until chilled.

Puree 2 cups of fruit (I've used blueberries and strawberries) or a cup of fruit juice (I used fresh squeezed lemon) and mix with the syrup.

Once again you will want to have the ice cream maker turned on as you pour the mixture through the whole in the lid. Let it mix until the unit stops.

Chicken Enchiladas

2-3 cooked and chopped chicken breast (I like to saute them in taco seasoning)
1/2-1/3 cup chicken broth
2-3 chopped jalapeno peppers
1-10oz can of Cream of Chick soup
1-8oz container of sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
6-8 8in flour tortillas

In a mixing bowl combine the first 6 ingredients (using only 1 cup of the shredded cheese) Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture in each tortilla and roll up placing each one seam side down in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour the remaining mixture over the top then cover with the remaining cup of cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes or until it bubbles on the sides and the cheese is melted.

Four Cheese Broiled Tomato Slices

The original recipe comes from Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious July/August 2009 edition page 47. Per my usual, I modified the recipe.

Ingredients:

2-4 medium to large tomatoes
1/2 cup or so of fresh Parmesan & Romano cheese
1/2 cup or so of provolone (the original recipe calls for mozzarella)
1/2 cup or so of cream cheese (the original recipe calls for ricotta)
1/2 cup of mayo (or a heaping tablespoon in my case)
1 Tbsp or so of the spice of your choice (i.e., oregano, basil etc. or a combination)
garlic and salt to taste

Slice the tomatoes and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Mix the remaining ingredients. I like to microwave the mixture for 30-45 seconds to get it good and creamy. Place about 1 Tbsp of the cheese mixture on each slice of tomato and Broil for 2-5 minutes or until the cheese mixture is golden brown.

Buttermilk Waffles

This recipe is out of The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. I've had this cookbook for years and have enjoyed many good recipes. This morning we made buttermilk waffles.









1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp double-acting baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups butter milk
2 eggs

Preheat waffle iron
In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredient to the dry mixture.
Pour batter into waffle iron (approximately ½ - ¾ a cup)
Cook according to manufacture’s directions.

Irish Beef Stew

When the weather starts to cool off I get a hankering for stew. My favorite is Irish beef stew. I have the ingredients listed below with a rough estimate of how much to use since I'm not really one to measure.

Ingredients

1/8 cup olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces coated in seasoned flour
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons flour

water
Optional:
1 cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of red wine

I like to season my my beef with salt and pepper before I dust with a little flour. Next I heat my oil in the skillet and brown my meat adding the garlic right at the end. Then I add the beef stock simmering the meat for an hour before I add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and additional seasonings. I add several cups of water bring to a boil before I turn the heat down, cover, and simmer all afternoon.

Serve with sour cream and crusty bread.

Tomato Sauce for later

I don't know about you but, our tomatoes have been prolific this year. So I decided it was time I learned to can. Now, like anyone who doesn't have a clue, I ask the wise folk around me how to go about canning and here's what I came up with after listening to many people.... Canning is a long, time consuming process, but if done right the benefits are enumerable. I agree with the time consuming part so if your ready here goes.

First you need to start will a whole bunch of tomatoes.

Something like five pounds. Don't expect to get a lot of sauce in return.

Boil a large pot of water, cut a shallow X on the bottle of the tomatoes like this.

Then dunk the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 seconds or so until you can see the skins start to split.

After we pealed and seeded the tomatoes we put them in a food processor and pureed them

Since there is a lot of water in the tomatoes we decided to not only season the sauce with fresh herbs we let the puree cook down until there was little if any water left in the pan.

Next we add a 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon juice to insure safe acidity and a touch of sugar to counter act the tartness.

Now keep in mind I've never canned before and I'm inclined to follow directions on this one people even if the directions seem a bit odd.

Then we strained the sauce as we poured it in to our ever-so-clean canning approved jars getting out any seeds that were left behind.

I maybe a smart ass about it, but you really do need to have your jars prepared by washing with hot soapy water or by putting them in the dishwasher.

Leaving a ¼-inch head-space, we wipe the jar rims and adjust lids. Then we processed the jars in a Boiling Water Bath for 40 minutes.

Here's one that my Ladybug plans to enter in the fair next month.

Fried Green Tomatoes

As you may have already figured out, we in the south fry everything.

If you haven't figured this out yet, everything we in the south cook is good and I meant really good.

Here a simple one to add to your recipe box.

All you need is is a little cooking oil, some white corn meal, salt, pepper and a nice firm green tomato.

Slice up you tomato about 1/8 inch thick salt and pepper then dip in corn meal. You will fry it in about 1/4 inch of oil until golden brown on both sides.

Trust me it's delicious!