Category: Cooking

Here is the recipe I made the other day for my cousin Janet. If you would like to see pictures of our Valentine’s day meal you can go HERE and see Janet’s wonderful pictures! I added in more macaroni than the recipe called for, which was a mistake, I think it would have been a tad creamier if I had just used 9-12 ounces of pasta.

Choose a medium-sized pasta with grooves, twists and/or curves that will hold a maximum of the cheese sauce. I used shells. You can skip the onion/bay leaf/peppercorn infusion for the béchamel sauce to save time; it adds a subtle layer of savory flavor to the dish.

* 2 ½ c (9 ounces) dry pasta
* 2 ½ c whole milk
* 2 slices onion
* 12 peppercorns
* 2-3 bay leaves
* 4 T unsalted butter
* ¼ c all-purpose flour
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated (about 2 ½ cups)
* 3 oz fontina cheese, freshly grated (about 1 cup)
* 3 oz Emmenthal cheese, freshly grated (about 1 cup)
* ½ c fresh bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 2-quart baking dish.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and boil until it is about half-cooked, tender on the surface with a distinct bite still in the center, about 5 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cold water and set aside, tossing from time to time as it cools to avoid sticking.

3. Put the milk in a small saucepan with the onion slices, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring just to a low boil over medium heat, then take the pan from the heat and let sit to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. (If skipping the aromatics, simply warm the milk.)

4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until it foams up and has a very slight toasty smell (do not let it brown), 1 to 2 minutes. Strain the warm milk into the pan and whisk to blend. Continue to cook the sauce, whisking often, until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and gradually whisk in the cheeses until fully melted. You may need to put it under a low heat for a moment or two to melt the cheese. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, then add the pasta and stir to fully coat all the pasta with the cheese sauce.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over. Set the dish on the oven rack and lay a piece of foil on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake until the macaroni and cheese is bubbling hot and the top is nicely browned, about 40 minutes. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

2-3 large Butternut Squash
1/4-1/2 stick butter
3-4 tbs brown sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Boil butternut squash until tender. Drain and add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mash until smooth.

Hubby peeled the Pearl Onions, and tomorrow I will steam them. Yum! Pearl Onions are so sweet!

To peel pearl onion and boiler onions, we recommend using this simple and easy method:

Immerse onions in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. (You can also use your microwave to heat the onions.)

Place onions in cold water and allow them to set for a couple of minutes.

To peel, simply cut-off the root portion of the bulb and squeeze gently. The onion will literally pop out of its skin!

Here is a recipe that Hubby just loves. It’s flavorful and easy.

4 eggs, beaten                                                   2 t. baking soda
3 cups sugar                                                      1/2 t. salt
1 cup cooking oil                                                 1 t. cinnamon
3/4 cup water                                                      1 t. nutmeg
3 1/3 cups flour                                                   1 t. ginger
No. 303 can pumpkin (1 1/2 cups)

Combine and mix all ingredients well – the mixture will be very liquidy.
Pour into 2 loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours. (slightly less for the smaller pans)
This freezes beautifully.   It is also delicious toasted.

This was very easy and tastes yummy!

I’ll also serve normal cranberry sauce.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

1 (12-oz) pkg Ocean Spray Cranberries

1 unpeeled orange, cut into 8ths and seeded

3/4 to 1 cup sugar (I use Splenda) 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Place half the cranberries and half the orange segments in food processor. Process until evenly chopped. Transfer to bowl and repeat with remaining cranberries and orange segments. Stir in sugar and cinnamon.   Store in refrigerator or freezer.

To Make Juice
Place 1 full gallon of cherries (minus stems) into large pot.
Add 1 cup of water and cook 10-15 minutes mashing the cherries as they cook.
Put cherry pulp through strainer and then place the pulp into a nylon bag and press remaining juice from pits and pulp.

To Make Jelly
3 ½ cups cherry juice
1 tsp butter
1 box dry pectin
4 & 1/2 cups sugar

Place juice in pot and add pectin.
Cook on high heat until it reaches a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down cook 1 minute.
Add the sugar, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat, and ladle into jars that have been sterilized for 5-10 minutes (along with their lids and rings).
Apply lids and rings, tighten.
Place in boiling water and process for 5 minutes.
Place on a towel to cool.
This made 5 pints of jelly.

I had remaining juice and reduced the amounts of sugar and pectin and made a second half batch.

My friend, Barbi gave me a great gift recently.  Her husband had been hunting and gotten a wonderful Deer. She brought me up some fabulous Venison Steaks. Hmmmm!

I was browsing through recipes last night and I found one for Venison Stew. It looked so good, so flavorful that I decided to give it a try.

This morning I woke and after breakfast I cut up the deer meat, and all the vegetables and started the stew in my crock-pot. As the morning went on, it smelled more and more wonderful.

I couldn’t control myself and around noon I tasted the gravy! Oh My Goodness! We are talking, ‘Nectar of the Gods’!

I’ve been smelling it all day and my appetite is high! But here is the best news! I ran the recipe through a points counter and it only has 5 points per serving!

Here is a picture of my delicious Bambi Stew!

For those of you who enjoy a good deer stew I am including the recipe here, below this post. It’s a keeper for sure!

Oh and just so you know, I’m just teasing calling it Bambi Stew. It’s Venison Stew, but I am also thinking you could make it with beef!

Venison Stew

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½-2 pounds venison stew meat
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 cups low-salt beef broth (or chicken broth)
1/2 cup Burgundy Wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 stalks celery chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
3 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tsp. marjoram leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3/4 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold water

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add venison and cook until all sides are nicely browned.
2. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onions are softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. transfer to Crock-pot. Stir in broth, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, bay leaf, oregano,paprika, marjoram, and thyme, salt and pepper. Dice carrots, celery and potatoes and add. Set at low heat, covered, and cook for 8-12 hours or until meat is tender.
3. In a small bowl or cup, combine flour and water until smooth; stir into stew. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
4. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Makes 8 servings.