Menus and Peppered Bacon and Pear Scones

I was talking with my mother on Friday and we got to talking about keeping a record of what we eat especially when it comes to how we use the foods we forage. I've been struggling a little with this blog because I haven't found a good way to share how we survive the month with our food budget. I have shared recipes and grocery budgets but that doesn't touch the day to day ways we stretch our food and the mistakes we make. Starting this week, I will be sharing our daily menus as well as recipes and tips. It may need some tweaking so please be patient while I figure out how best to share this information.
Sundays are a family dinner day and consists of a sort of potluck centered around a theme or main dish. Currently, we are down to just us and my dad. Sometimes we get more family and weird combinations as people just bring something to share.
This Sunday we wanted to do something Irish in honor of St Pat's day but no corned beef. My mother had given us a roast that she found in her freezer - she wasn't quite sure what it was or what condition it was in but we're forever scavengers so we gladly took it.
We got our Bountiful Baskets on Saturday. In the basket we had - romaine lettuce, tomatoes, spring onions, some kale looking leafy green (that no one was able to identify), potatoes, granny smith apples, 2 english cucumbers, carrots, oranges, melon, and 2 cabbages. I think that was everything.
We centered our meal around the roast and his basket (since it's really just him, he likes to use it when we eat with him). We cooked the roast in the crockpot for 6 hours. We had covered it onion soup I had made weeks before (we froze the excess). It was amazing. My dad made a salad of lettuce, shredded carrots, chopped cucumbers and tomatoes. Then he grated Cougar Gold Cheese over the top. Then he chopped up a cabbage and sauteed it with garlic and soy sauce. We microwaved some potatoes while I made a gravy out of the onion soup (1/2 stick butter, 1 cup flour and all the soup). We finished the meal with some cupcakes my father made (cake mix, frosting and grated coconut).
That was dinner. I had made breakfast late in the day so we only had the two meals.
Breakfast was Peppered Bacon and Pear Scones. We have some overly ripe pears that need to be cooked so you'll be seeing a lot of pear dishes this week. I had come across a recipe for Peppered Pear Scones and thought they would be wonderful with the peppery bacon I had purchased this month. These have no added sugar and just a touch of fat making them fairly healthy and super tasty.
Peppered Bacon and Pear Scones
2 cups chopped over-ripe pears (removing core and seeds but leaving skin)
2 cups whole wheat white flour
2 teas baking powder
1/4 teas baking soda
4 slices thick cut peppered bacon
2 eggs
1 TB Molasses
1/4 cup milk
Bake bacon in the oven (lay bacon on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet) at 350 until crisp. Meanwhile make batter. Add flour to a bowl with baking powder and baking soda. Beat in eggs and molasses. Mix in pears, taking care not to break them down too much. Using scissors, cut bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and drop into bowl. Add 1 tablespoon bacon grease, try to get the meat drippings and extra pepper in the process. Mix thoroughly. Drizzle in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the batter is wet. Pour onto a baking sheet and smooth out until an even 1/2-3/4 inch. The batter will be rather wet.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Serve warm with butter.

Chicken Salad

Ocassionally we get a can of chicken and make chicken salad. Canned chicken can be pricey so we substitute with a couple boneless skinless chicken breast we bake and then chop. I don't use a "recipe" for this salad because it depends on what we have in the crisper and pantry. There's a formula I like and that's what I'm sharing with you. This weekend we ate the chicken salad on croissant with provolone cheese slices and a big slice of tomato.

Chicken Salad

Cold (or room temp-ish) chopped chicken
mayonaise
veggies - sliced olives, chopped celery, finely chopped onions, sweet relish
fruit - halved grapes, dried cranberries
nuts - walnuts, pecans

Mix chicken with mayo and choices from the remaining ingredient list.

Combinations we like - relish and olives; cranberries and pecans; celery, grapes and walnuts

Serve as a sandwich.

Sauerkraut Salad

This is such a fun recipe. I found it in a Tamar Myers book and have been making it for nearly 10 years. It's a great way for me to use up sauerkraut that's been open for awhile. I'm the only one in my family that eats the sauerkraut so it takes a long time for me to go through a jar - this recipe gets the whole family eating it up. It's a sweet and sour sort of recipe and really great cold. Because I use leftover sauerkraut, I don't make a full batch. I often use 1 bell pepper, part of an onion and 1 stalk celery. I do make a full batch of dressing and then use what's needed for the salad and have the rest on other veggies or toss into sweet and sour sauce.

Amish Sauerkraut Salad
Salad:
3 cans (16 oz each) sauerkraut, drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large red onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
Dressing:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cups white vinegar
1/3 cups water
1 teas caraway seed, optional
Combine sauerkraut and diced vegetables
Heat dressing ingredients until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is well blended. Pour over the vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate 24 hours before serving. If kept in glass container, the salad will keep in the refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Mediterranean Salad

With the summer heat, salads are a great meal that is cool and doesn't heat up the kitchen. This particular salad I created off of a deli salad I would find now and again. I loved the salad so much I would go in and buy it for lunch but it wasn't always available so one day I asked how they made it. It was so easy that it no longer made sense that I would buy it from the deli (that and it became less and less available). I often omit the onions because I don't like raw onions and I don't measure anything for this salad. It's all about what you like and the balance you want to create. It uses creamy italian dressing which really does taste different from regular Italian dressing. Experiment and see what you like.

Mediterranean Salad
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Onions
Sliced olives
Feta cheese
Creamy Italian dressing

Slice cucumbers and onions. Cube tomatoes. Mix together vegetables in a bowl. Toss in olives and cheese. Pour dressing over salad, mix carefully and refrigerate. Serve cold.

Taco Salad

Sorry I missed yesterday, I was on jury duty. If you are interested in that story, you can find a scattered recollection here.
Today I thought I'd share my recipe for Taco Salad. Taco Salad is one of those things I just throw together without any regard for a recipe. I often forget it is a recipe since it's just something I throw together. Feel free to play with the recipe and see what you come up with.

Taco Salad
1 bag doritos
1 pound hamburger
1 packet taco seasoning
1 container sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese
1 bag american/iceburg salad
Fry hamburger with taco seasoning. I often add the seasoning to the hamburger as it is cooking instead of browning and then adding seasoning. This does mean losing some seasoning when you drain the meat and you can not use the color as an indicator of doneness. But it's quicker and doesn't require water.
Drain hamburger.
Crush doritos into bite sized pieces. Dump in large bowl. Add hamburger, lettuce and cheese. Mix with hands or two spoons until evenly mixed. Mix in sour cream until everything is covered.
Serve warm or cold.

Fourth of July Salad

My husband used to work for a deli so I kept trying to come up with fun salad ideas. I like the challenge and we would bounce ideas off of each other. For the 4th of July, a fun salad can add color to your BBQ. The idea is to mix red, white and blue food in whipped cream.

Red Foods:
strawberries
cherries
raspberries
dried cranberries

White foods:
peeled apple or green apples with peel
mini marshmallows
lychee
banana

Blue foods:
Blueberries
(we were stuck there but you can use a dried blueberry or maybe even blackberries)

I like salads that aren't all that exact because I can play with them. Feel free to suggest more items that can go in this salad. We don't use Jello, even though you could because we try to avoid artifical flavors and colors.
A jello "cake" of blue and red would be fun sandwiched/frosted with whipped cream. That would be a stunning slice of red, white and blue.

Strawberry Salad

At this time of year, strawberries and cucumbers go on sale. It's a great time to make this simple salad. Quite often I use a pound of strawberries and 2 cucumbers but any amount will do.

Strawberry Salad
Peel a cucumber and slice very thinly. Sprinkle with a little salt and place between 2 plates with a weight on top for an hour or so, pouring off liquid at intervals. Cut an equal amount of strawberries into slices. Grind some black pepper over them and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar. Mix cucumbers and strawberries just before serving.

Asian Chicken Salad

This was a salad my husband created during his days at the deli. It was a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. We now cook boneless skinless chicken breasts for this salad. Feel free to season your chicken anyway you want, this time we used citrus pepper and Mrs. Dash fiesta lime seasoning. The seasonings mentioned in the recipe are from the time we wrote down the recipe as he made the salad. There is a fair amount of oil in the dressing so you may want to experiment if you want a lower fat version. Also, my husband didn't realize we were out of rice vinegar and used rice wine by accident and the salad still turned out great. I like to eat the salad shortly after making it but my husband likes the noodles to get a little soggy. That is completely up to the person making the salad.

Rob’s Asian Chicken Salad
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped, cooked and seasoned with citrus pepper, jerk seasoning and garlic powder
½ head cabbage, sliced or shredded
3 packages oriental flavored top ramen
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
½ cup rice vinegar
Mix chicken, cabbage and almonds in large bowl. Break up dry ramen noodles and add to bowl. Mix ramen seasoning packets with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over salad and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Red Cabbage and Apples

This is the other cabbage recipe I promised. This is a nice easy recipe because it's cooked in a crockpot. Feel free to switch the cabbage to green cabbage. I am patiently waiting for the cabbage price to drop for the holiday. Some stores are already having St Patrick's day sales but starting Tuesday/Wednesday is when the best sales should start - can't delay though or there won't be anything left.
Red Cabbage and Apples
1 small head red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
3 medium apples, peeled and grated
¾ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup crisp-cooked and crumbled bacon
Fresh apple slices (optional)
Combine cabbage, apples, sugar, vinegar and cloves in slow cooker. Cover; cook on HIGH 6 hours, stirring after 3 hours. Sprinkle with bacon, if desired. Garnish with apple slices.

Cabbage Wedges with Tangy Hot Dressing

One year I hosted a huge St. Patrick's Day party and made a beautiful spread for the meal. I discovered 2 new cabbage recipes that year. Cabbage is one of those things that I absolutely love. There is no such thing as a bad cabbage dish but I am still one who makes the same few recipes over and over again. When cabbage goes on sale, I buy at least 10 pounds. Cabbage stores wonderfully in the fridge (often for a couple months) and is very versatile. I often chop it up and fry it with bacon.
Anyway, this recipe is one that is simple and offers a slight alternative to the every day cabbage.
Cabbage Wedges with Tangy Hot Dressing
1 slice bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2/3 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 cup cider or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
1 green onion, thinly sliced
½ head red or green cabbage (about 1 pound), cut into 4 wedges
Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to paper towel; set aside. Meanwhile, dissolve cornstarch in apple juice in small bowl. Stir in vinegar, brown sugar and caraway seeds; set aside. Add onion to hot drippings in skillet. Cook and stir until onion is soft but not brown.
Place cabbage wedges, flat side down, in skillet. Add cornstarch mixture to skillet. Cook over medium heat 4 minutes. Carefully turn over cabbage wedges. Cook 6 minutes or until cabbage is fork-tender and dressing is thickened.
Remove cabbage to cutting board; carefully cut away core. Transfer to warm serving plates. Pour hot dressing over cabbage wedges. Sprinkle with bacon pieces. Garnish as desired. Serve immediately.

Picnic Salads

Sunday, we thought it would be fun to make corn dogs and have picnic salads. We put off the corn dogs til later in the week and opted for chili dogs. That works for me because corn dogs are work and I really want to share with you the whole technique (secret is in a corn dog maker which is wonderful but that's for next time. Picnic salads, to me, are potato salad, macaroni salad - anything you'll make for a picnic or barbeque. Sunday's weather was unseasonably warm and sunny which made us want to spend time outside. Even though it was warmer, it wasn't warm enough for a picnic.
My son requested potato salad for dinner and my husband wanted macaroni salad. Both salads are best when they sit for awhile but we couldn't wait.

Macaroni Salad
This can easily be made gluten free by subing gf pasta. To be dairy free omit the cheese.
1 pound macaroni (I actually made 2 12 oz boxes of spiral pasta because it was on sale)
onion powder (or finely chopped onion - I don't like raw onion so I sub)
3-5 hard boiled eggs (depends on the amount of pasta, for 24 ozs I used 5 eggs)
3-5 TB sweet relish (I just use a big spoonful)
1/2 cups shredded cheese
3 celery stalks, sliced thin
Miracle Whip salad dressing

Boil noodles until firm tender. Drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are all cold to the touch.
In a large bowl, mix celery, onion powder and relish. Add noodles and mix thoroughly. Add Miracle Whip by the spoonful until all the pasta is thinly coated. Stir in cheese and give the salad a good stirring to catch anything that might be sitting at the bottom. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving for a good flavor, overnight for a better flavor (can be eaten right away but may be a little bland).

Potato Salad (gf,df)
6 medium potatoes
4 eggs
mayonaise
mustard
seasoning salt
finely chopped onion, if desired (I often leave out the onion)
Boil potatoes until they are tender but not soft (too soft and they won't cube) in a large pot. In a small pot (with lid) bring eggs to a boil. Turn off burner and let sit until potatoes are ready. If you have time, let potatoes and eggs cool. Peel eggs and potatoes. Chop into bite sized peices. Add mayo until all ingredients are lightly covered (not dry but not soupy). Add 1-2 TBs mustard, to taste. Season with seasoning salt.

Super easy salads for any time of the year. Best served with hot dogs, hamburgers or fried chicken but really anything is good.
I prefer to heat my potato salad just a little before eating so it has the best flavor.

Fruit Salad

I was craving fruit but the selection at the store was so poor that I ended up in the canned fruit aisle. My family has traditionally made a fruit salad with mixed canned fruit, cool whip, cottage cheese and jello. I have always hated mixed canned fruit and no one was especially excited about this salad for dinner. However, I really like the mix of fruit with the cool whip and cottage cheese.
My son and I stood in the canned fruit aisle trying to find something that would ease my fruit craving. We opted to buy pineapple which we all love and then we found something else - locally grown, no sugar added canned cherries. It was a shocker. The can of cherries was a little spendy at $3.50 but I figured it was less than what I would spend on fresh cherries. The ingredients were cherries, water and cherry juice so I figured it was worth it. We got some fresh bananas to round it out and made the family salad.
Here's how it went
2 cans chopped pineapple, drained
1 can cherries, drained
4 bananas, sliced into coins
1 container of cool whip
1 container of cottage cheese (both the "normal" sizes)
orange jello
Mix together the fruit. Fold in the thawed cool whip and cottage cheese. Sprinkle on about 1/3 of the package of jello to add flavor (or to taste). Chill and serve.
I saved the juices, mixed them together for the dinner drink.

Apple Snickers Salad

My mother made this once after trying it at a potluck. I re-discovered it at a local deli. It's super easy and the right combination of healthy and sinful.
This is how I made it - feel free to add more or less of any ingredient.

4 granny smith apples, chopped
1 11.29 bag of fun size snickers (remove from wrappers and cut into thirds).
8 oz mini marshmallows
16 oz cool whip
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
butterscotch or caramel ice cream syrup

In a large bowl, combine apples, snicker, marshmallows and walnuts. Mix in cool whip. Drizzle syrup over the top (I used about 1/2 of a standard smuckers jar).

You can chill ahead of time but becareful because the cool whip can get gooey if not properly covered.