Potato -Salmon Chowder

It was cold here yesterday! All day long, we had chilly weather and I planned to make homemade bread and soup. It was so busy moving around our bedroom remodel project and tending to an under the weather grandbaby that I didn't get to the bread. I did manage a dutch oven full of potato/salmon chowder and served it with turkey sandwiches.

I started this post weeks ago and never finished it! The potato/salmon chowder was similar to the ones I've made (and maybe posted?) in the past.

You can make this kind of thing your own as easy as just about anything. I just peel, quarter and boil some potatoes and boil them until tender. For an added boost of nutrition, I usually throw a peeled clove or few of garlic in the potato water. Speaking of the water potatoes are boiled in --- it works for a great liquid for bread making, to stir into your soup or chowder and more. I drain my potatoes and keep the potato "broth" in a liquid measuring cup so I can easily grab it and pour for the rest of my cooking.


Just saute some chopped onions in olive oil and maybe a pat of butter and towards the end, add some chopped garlic. When the onions and garlic look the way you want them (sometimes we like them with more of a bite and other times, caramelized so it is up to your personal tastes) ... add some sea salt and freshly ground pepper and any seasonings you like. I add whatever strikes me at the moment and for this one, I used garlic salt, and parsley.
Add more olive oil and/or butter if needed to make a good roux (white sauce) and sprinkle some white or whole grain flour over the pan of onions, garlic, oils and seasonings. Whisk it until it is smooth and blended and then add some potato broth, some chicken broth (I use broth I've made and frozen/thawed) and stir well. Add milk or cream, potatoes and any extra seasonings to taste. When the chowder tastes and looks like you want it, add a can of salmon with or without the juice. I usually take the bones out of mine and add to the dog food but my husband's beloved grandmother used a spoon to smash hers all in the meat because she said it was more nutritious and less wasteful.

Many recipes call for a lot of cheese to be stirred into things like this but I don't like the mess or the loss of cheese flavor. I opt to serve it with a generous amount of shredded Parmesan, aged white cheddar, or any other cheese we might have on hand. Sometimes we have a small bowl of sour cream to add a spoon or two of and it looks beautiful with a small sprinkling of parsley, freshly ground pepper or something like that to the top.

We have eaten our chowder with whole grain crackers, homemade bread, or crispy toast from the oven rubbed with garlic cloves.

Toppings are according to preference. Crumbled, cooked bacon and chives are delicious!
Have a blessed day/evening, dear reader.

Honey Cough Syrup

 Shared with my cleanandcozyhome email discussion list this morning:

Good day, beautiful homemakers!

I have been fighting off something for over a week now and a part of it the past few days has been coughing. It has gotten worse by the hour, I think and reached a point where my ribs and back are aching from it! I have been taking my vitamins, making sure to get enough zinc, drinking my organic apple cider vinegar “tonics” and getting fresh garlic and ginger in as much as I can. I have consumed hot, herbal teas, very spicy foods and sipped on chicken broth, chicken soup and spicy tomato soup. The head congestion and cough have persisted relentlessly.

Last night, in exhaustion and with a heart of mercy for my husband --- who has been working almost without stopping and I am sure hasn’t missed the few hours of sleep he does get --- I tried to think of anything that could help.

I remembered that years ago, I stopped using as many non natural medicines as I could unless they were definitely needed [still go by that after and during prayer over whatever it is] and found a recipe for cough syrup. It had worked so well for our son that we used little else for cough and cold.

I had forgotten all about it but I knew it had honey as a base. I googled honey cough syrup or something along those lines and found a few. I settled with the one that looked as close to what I remembered as possible and that I could make quickly.

Here is what I found at ehow.com: * Shared the way I made it in my kitchenJ*

1 cup of honey

3 T. lemon juice (I used the juice of one lemon and an additional T. of lemon juice)

¼ cup warm water

Warm the honey in a sauce pan and then add the lemon juice and stir until blended. Add warm water and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Mine had seeds and little pieces of lemon so I strained it through a little tea cup insert when pouring in a pint Mason jar and put a lid on it. I let it cool for a bit and then took 2 or 3 teaspoons (was so tired , I do not remember which!) and guess what?! It was immediate… literally immediate relief AND I slept from around 11:00 pm to 5:00 am and then went BACK to sleep until after 9! So, praising GOD this morning. . .

smiles.

Here is the link for the actual recipe:

http://www.ehow.com/way_5285298_honey-lemon-cough-remedies.html

Sandy :)

Blog writer note -

My kitchen has been as busy as ever but with that and the many other activities going on... posting my recipes has become almost non-existent. Can you tell?!

:)

Anyway, there are easier and easier ways of posting things on these blogs so maybe I'll get it going and keep it flowing at some point. I have four notebooks full of recipes (culinary scrapbooks ... all unfinished!) and I really need to gather all of them, the reviews, pictures, and more and organize them so I can keep a running file of what we make and eat around here!

Just a note to share one of the bits I'm working on right now.

We are making a lot of salads, sandwiches, and quickly prepared stove top dishes to keep the kitchen from getting unbearably hot. No central heat or air so we have to be creative with fans, a couple of air units and baking/cooking schedules.

Until the next recipe or food share . . .

Spinach Lasagna... on our menu!

LASAGNA

serves 8

• 2 extra-large eggs (lightly beaten)
• 15 ounces of ricotta cheese
• 10 ounces of frozen spinach - defrost and squeeze dry
• 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese - divided
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 26 ounces of spaghetti sauce
• 10 sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles
• 1 pound of shredded mozzarella cheese - divided

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Ricotta Mixture:
In a medium bowl combine eggs, ricotta cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper.
Layer the ingredients in a 9 x 13 x 1 inch pan, in the following order:
Layer one
3/4 cup of the Sauce
3 Sheets of pasta
3/4 cup of the Sauce
1/2 of Ricotta Mixture
1 and 1/3 cups of the Mozzarella
Layer two
3 sheets of Pasta
3/4 cup of the Sauce
1/2 of Ricotta Mixture
1 and 1/3 cups of the Mozzarella
Layer three
4 Sheets of pasta
3/4 cup of the Sauce
1 and 1/3 cups of the Mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
Let sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Recipe using yellow squash & zucchini

 I am sharing this just as I got it from a blog I subscribe to (links to it are "recipe" and Kayln) and it was such a hit that I have made four dishes of it so far! My husband and teenage daughter loved it and so did my D-I-Love. WONDERFUL recipe.

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

(Makes 4-6 servings; recipe adapted from a recipe by Karen Niessing in Penzeys Back to School 2011 Catalog, with suggestions from my sister Pam.)

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized zucchin, cut in slices or half-moon slices
2 medium-sized yellow squash, cut in slices or half-moon slices
2-4 T chopped fresh basil (or even less, depending on how much you like the flavor of basil)
2 T thinly sliced green onion
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup low-fat white cheese (I used Pizza Cheese, which is a low-fat blend of Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano, and Parmesan)
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan (I would use a little less if you only have the very finely grated Parmesan from a can)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Spray an 8" x 8" baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. Wash the squash and cut in slices or half-moon slices. Wash basil, spin dry or dry with paper towels and finely chop. Slice green onions.

Combine the sliced squash, chopped basil, sliced green onions, dried thyme, garlic powder, and both kinds of cheese and stir together until the veggies are coated with cheese and the herbs are well-distributed. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Put the mixture in the baking dish and bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes.

When the zucchini is nearly cooked through, take the casserole dish out of the oven and sprinkle over the remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Put the dish back in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted and nicely browned and zucchini is fully cooked. Serve hot.

This kept well in the fridge overnight, but mine was gone the next day so I don't know if it would last longer than that!


This printable recipe from KalynsKitchen.com.

Posted by Kalyn at 5:05 PM

My favorite, new, THIN pizza crust

I have honestly made this so many times now that I cannot begin to guess a number. I will tell you this: when I am baking ANYthing now that resembles dough ... my kids will say: "You aren't making pizza AGAIN, are you?!"

They loved it but after a few weeks... they started tiring. I did not. I have made these with thinly sliced yellow squash and zucchini straight from the garden, with portabello mushrooms, with sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, chicken, baby spinach leaves, red onion, Vidalia onion, and the list keeps going on and on and on and on.

Amazing!

I shared the link at the bottom of the site I got it from. No surprise ... another one from The Kitchn!

1-Ingredient Ice Cream ... Made it!

I tried this one ingredient ice cream recipe and wowed everyone in the room! At first, the kids, teens and adults looking on had skeptical glances at the food processer and joked about it possibly not working so well. Within minutes... it all changed to incredulous stares and the tapping of metal spoons flying out of the drawer and into the bowls. This cold treat has a beautiful texture and I drizzled a tiny bit of honey on mine and made a second batch with peanut butter. Very good!