Butter Pound Cake

Folks-

I saw both strawberries and pound cake in Costco today, and thought the combination sounded good, but I wasn't willing to pay $7 for strawberries and $8 for a pound cake when I was pretty sure I had the ingredients at home. I looked up a recipe on Allrecipes, and tried the suggestion in the comments to make it moister. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

1 cup white sugar

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 

1 tbsp milk

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. 

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. 

Scrape down and mix in flour and baking powder. 

Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down between each, adding the milk with the second egg. 

Scrape batter into the loaf pan, roughly level it, and bake for 1 HR to 1 HR 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan for five minutes, then lift it out using the parchment paper and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Good topped with strawberries.

Notes: I may reduce the sugar and vanilla next time, or replace vanilla with rose water.

Refrigerator pickles

It's been a few months since I've made these, but This loves them. These are an easy dill pickle suitable for the modern age. Instead of canning them, you store them in the refrigerator, which means you're not making them in large batches. I have successfully made these with large cucumbers sliced into wedges and with whole cocktail cucumbers, and it works equally well either way.

You can use a pickling spice mix instead of the listed herbs and spices, but you'll end up with something just like what you would buy in the store. I recommend the listed herbs and spices as the best option.

Recipe source: Once Upon a Chef.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar 

3 tbsp kosher salt 

2 tbsp white sugar 

2 cups cold water

1 3/4 to 2 lbs cucumbers prepped (stems cut off, cut into wedges if wanted)

2 tbsp coriander seeds

6 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 

16 sprigs fresh dill weed

Combine the vinegar, salt, and sugar in a small, nonreactive saucepan, and heat while whisking until salt and sugar are both dissolved. Take off heat and add cold water, the refrigerate until needed. Divide the remaining ingredients between two clean quart jars (or one two quart jar) and cover with the brine. Fill to the top with cold water if needed, then close the jars and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours to one month.

Super Quick and Easy Tomato Based Pasta Sauce

 Folks-

This is a very versatile base recipe. I've been using it for maybe 18 months now, and I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice. I don't remember exactly where I learned it, but I think it was a YouTube video. I'll include things I've tried that worked well in notes at the end, but believe me, it's super easy and versatile, and it's quick enough that you can start it when you set the water for the pasta on the stovetop to boil!

Here it is!

Base ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

About 1/3 of a medium onion, diced finely 

2-5 cloves of garlic, minced

A dash of a good salt

10-18 oz small fresh tomatoes, like grape, cherry, or constellation 

A ladle or two of your pasta water

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a pan and sautee the diced onion with the salt just until it starts to turn glassy, then stir in the minced garlic and tomatoes. Cover and allow the tomatoes to steam until the skins just start to wrinkle a bit in spots, then mash them thoroughly with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Allow to simmer uncovered and stirring frequently until a rubber spatula pushed through it leaves a trail to the bottom of the pan, then add pasta water and continue to simmer until you again get a trail from your spatula. Turn off the heat and serve!

Additions that have worked: Tonight it was 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley. I added everything except the Parsley right after mashing the tomatoes, and I added half of the parsley right about the same time I added the pasta water, then the rest I put on top of the sauce in the serving bowl. In the past I've used zucchini slices, best added after the tomatoes have been mashed, carrot slivers added with the onions, diced celery, diced yellow squash, and other fresh veggies. I've also successfully used Creole Seasoning, crushed red peppers, Herbs de Province, and other seasonings. I suspect a good barbecue seasoning might work in certain cases.

6-14-2025: Tonight I added fresh diced asparagus after mashing the tomatoes, and only added french herbs de province and balsamic vinegar, covered the sauce and used it to steam the asparagus. After the asparagus was al-dente, I uncovered it and allowed to thicken as usual. This worked better than the zucchini or yellow squash.

Things that didn't: I don't recommend adding meat directly to this recipe. It just doesn't work for some reason. Meats tend to soak up the liquid and dominate the flavor in a negative way. I've tried crumbled hamburger, crumbled sausage, shredded chicken, and meatballs. If you want meat on your pasta, keep it separate until serving, then place it on top of the pasta and sauce on the plate. Same for cheeses.

Dad's Garlic Bread Seasoning

Folks-

This is an easy one, but I don't want to lose it, and I especially want to save it for the kids. Just mix these together and sprinkle on buttered French or sourdough bread and heat it up to make a good garlic bread. You can also make top notch croutons by cutting slightly stale bread into chunks, brushing them with olive oil or melted butter and then toasting them.

Just go to town with it!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon parsley flakes 

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper.

Hush Puppies

Folks-

My southern food kick is continuing today with hush puppies. I have no family links to these, we just all agreed that they're good with fried chicken or southern fried fish. This recipe is a variation of one I found at Small Town Woman, but of course, I modified it.

Enjoy!

ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons cooking oil

3 tablespoons chopped green onions or onion flowers

Whisk together dry ingredients. Beat together buttermilk, egg, and oil, then add the onions. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Heat 1 1/2 inches (3-4 cm) cooking oil in a cast iron Dutch oven or pan to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit and fry tablespoons of the dough in the oil just until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Place on a cooling rack over paper towels or parchment paper to drain. Eat while hot.

Freezer Jams and Jellies

 My family has been making freezer jams at least since I was a child. It is distinctly different than cooked jams in that it tastes more like the fresh fruit. Freezer jams also have the advantage over cooked jams of being very quick to make.

The disadvantage is that you need freezer space to store them, since they are not sterilized in preparation the way cooked jams are.

My family has always used boxes of dry pectin from Sure -Jell or Ball. These can usually be found near boxes of flavored gelatin in the supermarket, even though they are not at all the same thing. Gelatin is a hydrated colagen that comes from boiling animal skin and hooves, and pectin comes from boiling fruit. Don't get them confused. One is not a replacement for the other in this recipe.

In the past my family always used the "Quick and Easy Freezer Jam" recipe that came in the box of pectin. Sure-Jell recently stopped including it, and instead is directing you to their website. Considering how ephemeral corporate websites can be, and how they've changed their recipes in the past, I tend not to trust them. Hence this blog in the first place.

So, today I am including their recipes, as well as some variations of my own, just to make sure I don't lose my recipes if the last enclosed instruction packet I have of theirs disappears or gets damaged.

Please note that these recipes are for the full-sugar version of Sure-Jell and similar pectins, not the Reduced Sugar or Sugar-Free variants.

Ingredients for All Jams and Jellies

3/4 Cup Water

1 Box Pectin (full-sugar variety)

Specific Ingredients

Apricot Jam:

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 Cups Finely Chopped Apricots, pitted but unpeeled (start at 2 1/2 and stir-in a bit at a time if sugar doesn't dissolve and you've already added all of the lemon juice)

2-4 Tbsp Lemon Juice

5 1/2 Cups Sugar

Blackberry Jam:

3 Cups Crushed or Pureed Blackberries

5 1/4 Cups Sugar

Blueberry Jam:

3 Cups Chopped Blueberries

5 1/4 Cups Sugar

Sour Cherry Jam:

2 Cups Finely Chopped or Pureed Cherries

4 Cups Sugar

Peach Jam:

3 Cups Finely Chopped or Pureed Peaches

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

4 1/2 Cups Sugar

Peach Vanilla Bean Jam:

Same as peach, but add1 tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Homestyle Peach Jam:

Same as peach, but add:

2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice

Mango Jam:

3 Cups Mashed Mangoes

1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

5 Cups Sugar

Raspberry Jam:

3 Cups mashed or pureed Raspberries

5 1/4 Cups sugar

Raspberry-Peach Jam:

2 Cups mashed or pureed Raspberries

1 1/2 Cups finely chopped or pureed Peaches

7 Cups sugar (yes, 7 cups!)

Strawberry Jam:

2 Cups crushed or pureed Strawberries

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 Cups sugar

Spiced or Christmas Strawberry Jam:

Same as Strawberry, but add:

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp Ground Ginger

2 Tsp Ground Allspice

Strawberry-Blueberry Jam:

1 1/2 Cups crushed or pureed Strawberries

1 Cup chopped or crushed blueberries

4 1/2 Cups sugar

Apple Jelly:

3 Cups bottled or refrigerated apple juice

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

5 Cups sugar

Apple Pie Jam:

2 Cups bottles or refrigerated apple juice

1 Cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 Tsp ground cinnamon

5 Cups sugar

Grape Jelly (may take 1 week to set):

3 Cups bottled or refrigerated Grape Juice

5 1/4 Cups sugar

Grapefruit (WHY?!?) Jelly:

2 Cups of that horrid bottled or refrigerated Grapefruit Juice (Evil Fruit!)

4 1/2 Cups poor, innocent sugar for the sacrifice

Hot Pepper Jelly (may take 1 week to set):

NOTE: Protect hands with rubber gloves while preparing!

2/3 Cup pickled jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (from 1 10-1/4 oz jar)

2 1/2 cups bottled or refrigerated apple juice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1-2 drops green food color (optional)

5 1/2 Cups Sugar

Instructions:

Prepare the fruit as called for in the list of ingredients. Stir in lemon juice, if called for. Measure out exact amount of sugar and mix in spices, if called for, then slowly stir into prepared fruit. Allow to sit for up to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down sugar crystals.

While fruit is sitting, measure out water and place in a small saucepan. Add pectin to water. After fruit has sat for 10 minutes, turna stovetop burner to high and place the saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add to fruit and sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes constantly until sugar crystals are mostly dissolved (some may remain.)

Immediately ladle into clean jars or plastic containers with lids leaving at least 1/4 inch (5mm) space at the top of the container for expansion in the freezer. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or 1 year in the freezer.

NOTES:

Apricot Jam is especially hard to get to jell correctly. You can't puree the fruit, or you end up with syrup, not jam. Either chop it by hand or use a food processor to get a fine chop on it. If the fruit is too dry, you need to add a bit of water or lemon juice. If you don't, then the sugar won't dissolve. If you want a harder set, you have to add lemon juice. I have messed up apricot jam more times than I've made is successfully. It's very finicky.

I strongly recommend mixing any dry spices into the sugar if the recipe calls for it, as Homestyle Peach, Christmas Strawberry, and Apple Pie do. It keeps the spices from clumping.

Apple Pie Jam has a shorter shelf-life than the other jams. It lasts about 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. After that it tends to turn into a syrup, but it's still good on pancakes or waffles.

All of the jams listed above are good in plain yogurt to give it a fruit flavor. Just mix in a roughly 3:1 ratio of yogurt to jam if making yogurt pops in the freezer, or 4:1 if you plan to just eat fruit-flavored yogurt. Adjust to taste.

I have not tested Hot Pepper, Grape, or Grapefruit jellies, mostly because I hate grapefruit, and really don't see the point of making a grape jelly that is likely to taste exactly like a jar I can buy in the store. And my stepmom makes a good pepper jelly, so I'm never in need of one. Let me know if they come out for you.

Spiced Strawberry or Christmas Jam adapted from a recipe from Spices and Flavors. It has been said it tastes like Guava.

6/29/2025: You can use granulated pectins besides Sure-Jell, Certo, or Ball, but may have to increase the amount of pectin. Tonight I made Strawberry, Homestyle Peach, and Apricot, but increased the amount of bulk pectin used for the first two to 55g, and 60g for the Apricot. All three jelled, but the Apricot is still a bit soft-set (I'll take it!!!)

From Scratch Pancakes

 Folks-

You know recipes come in clusters by now!

So, I’d been watching my YouTube feed, and saw a recipe for scratch made pancakes from Epicurious. Since I had today off, and I already had the ingredients, I decided to make this.

My wife said I had to save the recipe, so after writing it down, here it is!

Ingredients:

3c flour

1/4c sugar

1 1/2tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 1/2tsp baking soda

2 1/4c milk

1/4c vegetable oil

1tbsp vanilla

1/4c apple cider vinegar

3 eggs

Butter

Chocolate chips (optional)

Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and just barely fold together. Batter will be thick and lumpy. Grease skillet or griddle with a fair amount of butter (tablespoons). When griddle is hot and butter is melted, spoon batter onto it, and sprinkle chocolate chips on them. Flip when bubbles pop.

Notes: [9/1/25] I tried to halve the recipe this morning, messed up some of the proportions, and it still came out good. So for future reference, you can double the oil and sugar, and two eggs are fine in a half batch (I reduced the milk to 1 cup to compensate.)

I managed to get everything else right.

I may try to make this adding dried cranberries, cutting the vinegar and milk in half, and substituting orange juice in to make up the difference in wet ingredients.

Old-Time Ice Cream

 My dad used to make really good ice cream back in the '80's and '90's using an old recipe that was not cooked, but contained raw eggs.

"Wait, did you say raw eggs? In food? You'll get sick from that!" you say.

 I ate that ice cream for roughly 30 years completely safely, so no, raw eggs do not automatically mean salmonella poisoning by a long shot.

Actually, my French Silk Pie recipe also is served using raw eggs.

Having said that, don't prepare or serve this to young children, pregnant women, or the elderly. There is a risk, however small.

I consider the ice cream safer though, because freezing helps kill pathogens.

I had to find this recipe online, and it's fairly close. I changed a few things about it here and there, but that was mostly about the method, not the ingredients.

Rant incoming. You've been warned.

You do need an ice cream freezer (sometimes called an ice cream maker) to make this recipe. I know that the industry is pushing us towards the kind that uses a bowl you stuck in your freezer for 24 hours before making the ice cream, but I freaking hate those. There is nothing terribly convenient about being forced to either plan your frozen dessert at least a full day before making it, or being forced to sacrifice freezer space to hold your ice cream freezer bowl all of the time.

Just let me use ice cubes and salt fercrissake!

Luckily Nostalgia has a countertop model that uses ice cubes and salt (table salt is fine.)

So, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

3 eggs (cold)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 cups whipping cream (cold)

1 cup milk (cold)

1/8 Tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract*

Beat eggs and sugar for 5 minutes until thick and pale. Mix in the whipping cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Add mixture to the bowl of your ice cream maker and follow the directions for your unit.

Note: Counter to what you'll find on the internet, there really isn't any reason to chill the custard before freezing it if it's never cooked and the ingredients are cold. It's a total waste of time. I've tested both ways and got the same results. The few degrees of warmth you add by beating the eggs makes no material difference. Now, if you intend to just let this sit on the counter for a couple of hours before sticking it in your ice cream freezer while you catch a game on TV, that's something else. Chill it.

*You can make this with other flavors, such as a nice maple pecan by adding 1 tsp Mapline and toasted pecan chips. I'll post a chocolate version later.

Crumpets

 I’ve been experimenting with a new electric griddle my wife had me buy recently, and I was inspired to try to make traditional English Crumpets. I found a recipe at The Spruce Eats that works well, and then (here it comes!) modified it. I’m going to post the less modified version, and then my modifications to make it a shelf-stable mix for the pantry!

You will want a set of at least 4 stainless steel crumpet or English muffin rings to make this. Don’t get cheap aluminum ones. Stainless isn’t that much more, and won’t deform in your cabinets or drawers.

Crumpets

3-½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1-1/2 cups warm milk

1-¼ tsp active dry yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix together flour, sugar, powdered milk, and yeast. Mix in warm (not boiling) water and milk until batter is thick and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles-1 to 2 hours. Wisk the baking powder and salt into the batter. Heat a griddle to 350-400 degrees, or a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Brush oil onto the griddle or pan bottom, and the inside of your crumpet rings. Fill crumpet rings about half to three-quarters full of the batter and cook for 5 minutes until there are many tiny holes on the surface. Flip crumpet and ring over and continue to cook 2-3 minutes.

To make as a mix, replace the milk with 6 tablespoons of powdered milk and add it to the flour, sugar, and yeast, and increase the water to 2-1/2 cups. I store the baking powder and salt together in a small ziploc bag, and the other ingredients in a large ziploc bag (throwing the small one inside it.)

The Best Brioche French Toast

This is an easy recipe for a cold morning! It is our family's traditional Christmas Morning breakfast. And the absolute best thing about it is that you can fix a lot at once and freeze slices in individual sandwich baggies and heat them in the microwave for breakfast all week (you can warm it in a toaster or oven after it thaws if you want it crispier.) Best served warm, fresh, and with butter or cream cheese and syrup.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 or more loaves sliced Brioche bread (Trader Joe's has a good one)

In a small casserole dish or flat-bottomed bowl, whisk together eggs and cinnamon with a wire whisk or hand blender until thoroughly mixed. Whisk in milk. Heat a nonstick pan or griddle (or cast-iron with nonstick spray) over medium-low heat. Briefly (as in "oops! I dropped my brioche in egg and milk mixture!") coat both sides of enough slices of the bread to cover the bottom of the pan or griddle without touching, placing each slice on the hot surface as you pull it from the egg mixture. Cook each side for about 3 minutes or until just golden, flipping once.

Note: Cinnamon incorporates best with just the eggs. If you add it after adding the milk, the cinnamon tends to clump. You can substitute pumpkin pie spices for the cinnamon, or powdered cardamom, or allspice. Experiment and have fun!

Perfect Homemade Biscuits

You know how I usually go out and find a recipe and then modify it? Well, this morning I went looking for a new biscuit recipe for breakfast, and found a recipe that already had so many variations that I had trouble finding one of my own to try.
I did, but it was work.
I found This recipe at https://www.momontimeout.com/perfect-biscuits-every-time-recipe/ and it has distinct advantages over either my buttermilk biscuit recipe from the now-defunct Meemo's Kitchen, or even baking mix biscuits. It doesn't take anything I don't usually have in my pantry or refrigerator, it's as fast to make as baking mix biscuits (nearly) and it is easily modified. The stock recipe comes out very soft, and rather flaky. I'll include some suggested changes at the end of the instructions.
Here's the recipe for Perfect Homemade Biscuits!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
• 3/4 cup COLD butter
• 1 egg (optional)
• 1 cup whole milk (skim works too)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• The secret to excellent biscuits is COLD BUTTER. Really cold. Many times the biscuit dough gets worked so much that the butter softens before the biscuits even go in the oven. Try cutting the butter into small pieces and stick back in the fridge pulling out only when ready to incorporate into the dough.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
• Use a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into flour mixture. Don't go too crazy here - you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough. 
• Add in the milk and egg and mix just until the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky but don't keep working it. You should be able to see the butter pieces in the dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on to the top of dough so it won't stick to your fingers and knead 10-15 times. If the dough is super sticky just sprinkle on some additional flour.
• Pat the dough out to 3/4 - 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass. I ended up with nine this time but depending on who is snacking on biscuit dough, I can get up to 12 biscuits. [I got 12 on my first batch, 14 on my second, and who snacks on raw biscuit dough?-Edly]
• Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
• For extra yumminess, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter... [Your arteries will slam shut in delight!-Edly]

Modifications and notes:

Some of the ingredients are considered optional by the source.  They claim it is safe to leave out the cream of tartar, and that the egg is optional. They also say you can use buttermilk instead of whole milk, but you will have to use more because of how thick it is. UPDATE 12/20/2020: They're right about it taking more buttermilk. Today I made this recipe with the following modifications: 1 cup buttermilk instead of milk (I could have used a bit more.) 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda instead of 4 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, and buttermilk is slightly acidic, which activates the baking soda.) No cream of tartar (I couldn't find any.)

The first time I fixed them today (I made them for breakfast and dinner both) I made them exactly as outlined in the recipe above, only choosing not to brush the biscuits with additional butter after baking (there's so much butter in them already!) The second time I added about 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt to the one cup of skim milk I almost always use in my cooking. They came out a bit moister that way.

Either way, these are best eaten hot and straight from the oven. They are not nearly as good if allowed to cool.
After testing: You can make these biscuits ahead of time and freeze them before baking them, just like Pillsbury frozen biscuits. Place the already formed biscuits into a baking sheet and place it into the freezer for an hour or two, then put the frozen biscuits into a freezer bag and store them for up to several weeks and make them as you want them!

Spanish Rice

Folks-
Obligatory mea-culpa over how long it's been since I posted anything.
Now that I have that out of the way...
I've enjoyed making Spanish Rice as a side dish with my Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast (my first post here!) for several years now. I've found it especially easy to make, and a rather unexpectedly forgiving recipe. You can tell just how versatile it is from the options I give below. The key to making it is the Browning of the rice, and the rice to liquid ratio (follow the instructions for your rice. The below amounts are an average suggested amount.) Feel free to try your own variations! Anything you try here is going to be better than boxed, store-bought rice.
Here's my recipe for Spanish Rice:

2-4 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable, olive, grape seed, or sunflower)
2 cups long grain white rice
3 cups chicken stock OR beef stock OR vegetable stock OR water and bullion cubes to make a stock
1 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste OR one cup chopped stewed no-salt tomatoes, drained OR one cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano OR 1/2 tsp dried Italian spices

Optional (any or all of these):
1/4 tsp paprika or chili powder
1 tbsp chopped green pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 tsp turmeric

Heat the cooking oil in a pot over high heat. Brown the rice just until it is somewhat translucent. Add the onion, garlic, tomato paste or tomatoes, and if you're using it, the green pepper, and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. Add stock and spices and bring to a rolling boil. Cover and reduce heat to very low, and summer for 20 minutes. Do NOT lift the lid to check on it! Use a glass-top pot if you might want to do this. Turn the heat off and allow the rice to rest covered for five minutes before fluffing with a fork.
You can optionally stir-in a pound of browned and drained hamburger meat, diced and cooked chicken or turkey, shredded pork, or fish to make this a main-course, or serve it as a side-dish with my Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast, or with tacos, encheladas, or other Mexican foods.
Just try it already! It's a breeze! Honest!

Baking Mix Blueberry Muffins

I tried to make blueberry muffins the way I remembered them from my childhood, but even using those recipes, they seemed dry, and not the way I expected. Modern recipes were too much like a yellow cupcake with blueberries in them. I eventually tried a recipe off of a box of biscuit and baking mix, and it was pretty much exactly what I wanted.
Of course I lost that recipe.
I later found one on Food.com that is probably identical. Being who I am, I've modified it a bit. Here's my version:

Baking Mix Blueberry Muffins
2 Cups Bisquick, Jiffy, or other biscuit and baking mix
1/3 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup milk
1/4 Tsp vanilla (or 1 Tsp vanilla sugar added to sugar before measuring)
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Egg
3/4 to 1-1/2 Cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12 muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups, or line with parchment paper. Mix together all ingredients except blueberries until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fold in blueberries. Divide blueberries evenly into the muffin cups and bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned around edges. Cool briefly and remove from muffin tins. Serve while warm.

Notes 2/2/2025: Today I tried a baking mix alternative with mixed success. I suspect you can replace the Bisquick with 2 cups flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/3 cup shortening cut in, as long as you increase the sugar in this recipe to 1/2 cup and milk to 3/4 cup.

Ed's Modified But Still Extra Easy Meat Lasagna

I find it a bit surprising that I have not yet posted a lasagna recipe, but that might be a result of never learning how to make one from my dad. I still need to learn his recipe. Until then, I've found an "Extra Easy Lasagna" recipe from myrecipes.com, and, of course, modified it.
You expected that, I'm sure.
Here's my version:
Ed's Modified But Still Extra Easy Meat Lasagna Recipe

24 oz. Sausage
2-24oz Cans or Jars Spaghetti Sauce (see note)
9 Uncooked Lasagna Noodles (regular or whole wheat)
1-15oz Container Ricotta Cheese
3 Cups grated Mozzarella or Italian Cheese
1/3 Cup Hot Water

Crumble and brown sausage in a large skillet while pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees. Drain off the fat, and stir in both containers of spaghetti sauce. Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with about a quarter of the meat and sauce mixture, then layer three of the uncooked noodles on it. Spread about a quarter of the Ricotta cheese thinly on top of the noodles, and then layer about a half-cup of shredded cheese on it. Repeat layering with meat sauce, noodles, and cheeses, twice, retaining at least a cup of shredded cheese for later. Pour the hot water around the edge of the noodles. Tightly cover the dish with two layers of aluminum foil. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes (until hot in the center). Uncover the Lasagna, cover with the remaining shredded cheese, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note on Spaghetti Sauce selection: I recommend using two different sauces in this recipe, but be careful about which. Four cheese may clash with the Ricotta, meat may clash with the sausage. Traditional should go fine, as will tomato and basil, chunky garden style, and many others. You may even want to try this recipe with some kinds of Alfredo sauce and let me know how it comes out!

Simple Savory Pork Loin Roast

Here it is, time for my annual update. Costco had a sale on pork tenderloin roasts recently, and after fixing a couple in the slow-cooker covered in barbecue sauce for sandwiches, I decided to look for a different recipe to mix things up.
I found one over at AllRecipes.com that we all liked, and of course I modified it. Here's my version of the Simple Savory Pork Loin Roast from AllRecipes.com:

1-1/2 Tbsp Fresh snipped Rosemary
2 Tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 Tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 Tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
1 3 lb Pork Tenderloin Roast

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all seasonings into a large zippered plastic bag, a gallon-sized freezer bag works well. Throw in the thawed roast and shake the bag thoroughly to coat. Transfer the roast to a medium baking dish, cover, and bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes to an internal temperature of 145.

If you find that the seasoning runs out without thoroughly covering the roast, don't be afraid to shake some garlic salt and pepper on the uncoated parts.

Microwave Peanut Butter Cookies

Folks-
Every now and then I'll see a recipe in my feed that I have to try. About a month ago I saw one for "Deep Dish Single Serve Microwave Chocolate Chip Cookie." While my daughter and I agreed it was ok, it didn't hit a home run in my family. I decided to try modifying it into something we all liked, and after a week of tinkering, I finally had a Microwave Peanut Butter Cookie that is just as good as regular baked cookies, except you make them in small batches, and they take much less time, preparation, and no chilling the dough for several hours! Best of all, as long as you use mayo instead of egg or egg substitute, you can eat the dough raw (but I wouldn't store it for that.)

Microwave Peanut Butter Cookies

2 tsp butter melted

1-1/2 tbsp mayonnaise (or 1 egg yolk or 1/2 of an eggs worth of egg substitute)

1 tbsp peanut butter

2-1/2 tsp white sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp sugar and 3 drops vanilla extract)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup flour

Mix together butter, mayonnaise, and sugars. Mix in flour and baking powder. Form into 3-5 small balls, 1-2 tbsp in size. Place on a microwave safe plate. Use a fork to make a checkerboard pattern on the cookies, if desired. Microwave for 45-60 seconds. Allow to cool for at least a minute before eating.

Bread-Dough Cinnamon Rolls

Folks-

I make two different kinds of cinnamon rolls on a regular basis, bread-dough and pie crust. Both are good, but rather different. I'll post instructions for the pie crust cinnamon rolls later. Now, one of my family's favorite breakfast treats!

Bread-Machine Cinnamon Rolls

1lb batch:

2/3 Cup Water

1/2 Egg

2 Cups Flour

3 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1 Tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Butter

1-1/2 Tsp Dry Yeast

1-1/2lb Batch:

1 Cup Water

1 Egg

3 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1-1/2 Tsp Salt

5 Tbsp Butter

2 Tsp Dry Yeast

Filling:

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

1 Cup Cinnamon Sugar

Put ingredients into a bread machine in the order the manual instructs (usually the order above) and set the machine to Dough Mode. When complete, roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Mix melted butter and cinnamon sugar together and spread on dough. Roll dough into a  cylinder and using a sharp knife, cut into 1 inch segments. Place segments into a greased pan giving them 1/2 to 3/4 inch space on all sides and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately frost or glaze. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes and serve hot.

Tips: These can be frozen prior to cooking. I find a full batch is too much for my family to eat before they start to go stale. I divide a 1-1/2 lb batch into thirds, put the cinnamon rolls into a pie tin sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and freeze them. To bake them, put the pie-tin into a cold oven and immediately set the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes--until they just start to turn golden brown.

You can absolutely make 2 or 3 lb batches of these by doubling either of the recipes above, if your bread machine is big enough. Combined with the freezing tip outlined above, this has allowed me to bake 5-8 large trays of these in a single day before taking them to my co-workers as Christmas gifts.

Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Folks-
By now you've realized that I use this site to keep the recipes I've tried and liked more than those that I've created myself. The reason I'm reposting all of these recipes is that I like them, and don't want to lose them either by an Internet company going under or abandonment, or simply by me forgetting that the recipe exists, or where it was located. This is one of those recipes I tried recently, and my wife loved it so much that I was afraid of losing it! I found it at food.com, a site I go to fairly frequently.
Soon I may post the fried chicken recipe I cobbled together that Zhenie loves. I hope to at least!
For today: Upside-Down Cake!

Ingredients:
1 (18 ounce) box yellow cake mix
3 eggs (or as called for by your cake mix)
1/3 cup oil (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 1/3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 (20 ounce) can sliced pineapple
1 (8 ounce) jar maraschino cherries (optional)
halved walnuts (optional)

Follow the instructions on the cake box for making an oblong single layer cake. Prepare the cake batter and set aside. Cut up the butter in small pieces and place all over the bottom of the oblong pan specified on the cake box. Sprinkle the brown sugar generously over the butter. Place pan on the stove (or in the oven) and heat slowly until butter and sugar melt to a liquid then remove from heat. Evenly space the pineapple slices around the bottom of the pan in the heated sugar and butter. Place the cherries and nuts between the pineapple slices (Though the cherries and nuts look nice and taste great, they are optional). Pour the cake batter on top of the pineapple/cherry/nut mixture. Place in the oven and bake as directed on the cake box. As soon as the cake is done place a plate over the cake and turn it upside down and carefully remove the pan. If you wait too long the sugar will harden and be difficult to remove. Note: Peaches may be used in place of pineapple.

White Bread-Bread Machine Recipe

Folks-
This is a good, simple recipe for bread machine white bread I got at cdkitchen. It makes a 1.5 lb loaf.
I'm not including instructions, because most bread machines have their own instructions. The only modification I've done is change the order of the ingredients to match my own bread machine.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon butter, softened (can be hard if you dice it)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp Bread Machine Yeast, or 1 tbsp active dry yeast)

Mrs. Knott's Buttermilk Biscuits

Folks-

A couple of summers ago my family went to Disneyland for a week-long trip, driving down Highway 101 past Santa Barbara and Solvang. One of the highlights of the trip was the one day we spent at Knott’s Berry Farm. I actually hadn’t been there since I had been a fairly small child, and had almost completely forgotten what it was like. To my adult tastes, it feels like it needs a bit of an update, but it does a good job of being friendly to smaller children while retaining a rustic charm for adults. Before we left for the day, we wanted to try some of the famous Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken. I remember that when we went there when I was a child, we skipped that part because the restaurant was so crowded. We found the same thing happened the day I went there as an adult, but they had a small to-go storefront next to the sit-down restaurant that we were able to get a bucket of chicken from, as well as biscuits and other sides. We took it back to our hotel room and found out that all of it was fantastic—better than KFC! The biscuits were light and flavorful, and the chicken was wonderful!

After that, I was disappointed that I couldn’t get the Mrs. Knott’s food in my area (they haven’t franchised, even though I think that it would work well as one.) So I started looking for a biscuit recipe to help compensate. I found this one at Meemo’s Kitchen (http://meemoskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/mrs-knotts-buttermilk-biscuits.html) and have used it several times. While I tend not to like homemade biscuits nearly as much as baking mix biscuits, these are an exception. They have a lot of flavor, and are light and fluffy. I, of course, modified the recipe a little bit (500 degrees F? That’ll cause my oven to start self-cleaning!) My next test of the recipe is going to involve using dried buttermilk instead of liquid. I’ll let you know how that works!

Enjoy!

2 Cups Flour

1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup plus 2 Teaspoons Buttermilk

1 Teaspoon Shortening

½ Cup Oil

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening. Add soda to buttermilk, then blend into the flour mixture. Roll out dough on a generously floured surface until ¼ inch thick. Cut out with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. Dip biscuits into cooking oil to cover all sides and place immediately on an oiled baking sheet with all biscuits touching. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until nicely browned.