Make Your Own Mix (the easy way)

Lately, oat-sesame crackers and whole-wheat biscuits have become staples of my diet, so that I'm making crackers once a week and biscuits twice a week. Best snack foods ever.

I wanted to speed up the time it took for me to make them. I thought about doing the measuring to make a large mix, except that's a lot of math calculations, especially to know how much to measure out for each batch (so that I know how much of the wet ingredients to use). (Yes, I know I can do it, but it was really complex.)

Finally I decided to do it the easy way. I got out a large ziploc bag, and all the dry ingredients I put into the biscuit-bowl also went into the plastic bag. (1 cup of flour in the bowl, 1 cup in the bag. 1 tablespoon of baking powder in the bowl, 1 tablespoon in the bag, and so forth.) Now the plastic bag has all the dry ingredients measured into it, and it's easy to mix. Close the bag (but leave some air in it) and shake vigorously. I made up the biscuit mix in the bowl and put the bag in the pantry.

Today I want more biscuits. All I have to do is take my plastic bag, put contents into a bowl, add margarine and milk/lemon juice, and I have biscuit dough.

And once I get the electric skillet (in which kamut is cooking) off my counter-space, I can actually roll out the biscuits. Then I can put away the rolling pin and get out the oven...

Some things don't change.

Crockpot Mac & Cheese (with real cheese)

I don't have a picture for this one. I assembled it yesterday morning, let it cook during church, and by the time the potluck was over, the mac and cheese was gone. Which is why I'm posting the recipe.

It's from a healthy cookbook, but they made this recipe healthy by using fat-free cheese. I refuse to use fat-free cheese. What on earth is it made out of, anyway? My guess is that it tastes like cardboard. However, I was able to lighten this recipe in other ways. I lessened the amount of cheese and doubled the amount of pasta (the original wanted 4 cups of cheese for 1/2 pound pasta, which is insane).

My mom tells me that macaroni and cheese has to have at least some Velveeta in it to make it creamy. I think Velveeta is really gross (and she does too, even if she does use a tiny bit). I was glad this recipe didn't call for any, because I didn't want to pay way too much money for just a tiny amount of it. (Yes, I know they sell slices of it. I also know that one package of slices costs the same as a 2-pound block, and even if it does keep for eight weeks--ick!--how on earth would I use the rest of it?)

Here's a helpful hint. When testing to see if pasta is done, use a slotted spoon. Dip out a couple pieces of pasta, bring the spoon to the sink, and run cold water on the pasta before you taste them. I am so glad I can do this now that I have a slotted spoon! I've been looking at thrift stores for a slotted spoon with no luck (nothing that looked decent enough to buy), but I saw a good one in the $1 bin at Walgreens the other day, and I was delighted to have it. On Saturday night, after I cooked the pasta, I accidentally dropped a fork on my toe, tines down (ouch!), and I remember thinking, "Well, at least I have a slotted spoon."

By the way, why on earth do manufacturers keep making plastic cooking utensils with metal on the handle? They're always in the really-cheap bin, because the metal will burn your hand if you use it near the stove. I learned my lesson five years ago, but apparently the manufacturers haven't learned theirs yet. You would think they'd have figured it out by now...


Crockpot Mac & Cheese (with real cheese)
adapted from the Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly cookbook

1 pound of elbow macaroni (or other small shapes), cooked al dente
1 can fat-free evaporated milk
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray (do not omit this step).
2. In the slow cooker, mix together everything except the parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.
3. Top with parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
4. Cook on low 3 hours.

Pasta à la Rose

As I was heading out to Wal-Mart on Monday, I suddenly remembered a flavor of a certain dish, sort of like you remember a phrase from a song and suddenly you have to find out what song it comes from. So I was trying to remember what recipe this flavor came from, and it turns out it's from one of the first recipes I ever created, about ten years ago.

When I was growing up, sometimes my mom would make a chicken recipe that she got from a friend named Marge. We called it "Chicken à la Marge." I called this dish Pasta à la Rose. I'd forgotten all about it, but I made it again on Monday night and it tasted just as good as I remembered.

Pasta à la Rose

8 oz. (1/2 lb.) tiny pasta
1/2 large onion, minced or grated
2 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg

1. Saute onion in a bit of oil on medium to medium-high heat until onion is lightly browned and smells sweet.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. When pasta is done, drain pasta but do not rinse.
3. Immediately put steaming-hot pasta into a large bowl. Break egg into pasta and add cheese. Stir a lot. The heat from the pasta should cook the egg and melt the cheese. Add onion and stir some more. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Option: If you want more onion flavor, serve it topped with dried minced onion (found in the spice section).


As a sidenote, many cheese-sauce dishes are really unhealthy, but there's an easy way to make them healthier. Most of these dishes have you make way too much sauce for the amount of pasta/potatoes/vegetables they call for. Double the amount of pasta/potatoes/vegetables, but keep the amount of cheese sauce the same. It'll still give you the flavor without all the extra calories. Also, always use extra-sharp cheese to give you lots of flavor with a smaller amount of cheese.

On Saving Time and Conserving Dishes

Here are some tips I've discovered to make things easier in a small kitchen without much counter space (or a dishwasher).

• If the plate isn't dirty, use it again. On days I don't cook, I often use just one bowl and one plate in a day (plus about 5 pieces of silverware).
  
  
• When I'm alone, I use plastic water bottles rather than drinking glasses. I keep four water bottles in the fridge and refill them after I drink them (replacing them every few weeks). Then I don't have to make ice and can use my shoebox freezer for other things. I also don't need to wash drinking glasses unless I have company.
  
  
• When chopping vegetables, it's really nice to have a trash bowl (so you don't have to keep opening the trash can), but I don't like to use that much counter space or wash a bowl for that. Instead, I put wax paper on the counter next to my cutting board, and I collect the scraps there. When I'm done cutting, I gather up the wax paper and put it in the trash, and the counter is clean for whatever comes next.
  
  
• I also have saved a couple of jar lids (about 5" diameter, 1" deep) from jars that I threw out. These only serve as trash bowls and don't have to be washed well.
  
  
• Use the microwave rather than the stove. Some examples:
  
  
  • Corn on the cob: Shuck corn. Wet a paper towel, squeeze out most of the water, and wrap the paper towel around the corn. Microwave on high 3 minutes for one ear. I usually microwave one ear as I'm shucking the next one.
    
    
  • Mashed potatoes: Cube potatoes and place in microwave-safe bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and cover. Microwave on high 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Mash.
  
  I don't think I'll ever do either of those on the stove again--the microwave is so easy!
  
  
• Use parchment paper on your cookie sheet when baking. Parchment paper is usually sold near the wax paper and aluminum foil, and you put it on the cookie sheet before you put on the cookies/biscuits/whatever. Each piece can be reused a few times. (Warning to bakers: It won't work for spritz cookies, since they need to adhere to the cookie sheet when they come out of the spritz press.)
  
  
• Cookie sheets or baking pans can also be lined with aluminum foil. This is especially good for savory things, so that the grease doesn't get baked onto your pan.
  

Today I Learned...

...that it's not a good idea to mix up Bisquick biscuits and then leave the dough alone for half an hour because the Internet service repairman is about to leave without giving you some critical information, which you then have to use to set up the network and get the computers back on the internet. I'm not sure how applicable that will be to future cooking situations, but at least I know now that the biscuits just don't taste as good that way.

I scored a real cookbook bonanza yesterday at a fabulous used bookstore:



That includes four of the five cookbooks I've really been wanting, plus another very useful one, and none of them cost more than $3. (Some of the cookbooks there were priced well over $10, so that's a big deal.) Each one had just enough wear and tear to lower the price, but none of them is in bad condition. They're all classic cookbooks and will be very helpful. The New Basics Cookbook, for instance, lists all the vegetables, how to select them, all the possible ways to cook them, and what spices go well with them. So useful!

I made tabouleh again today, because it just sounded so good, and my parsley plant needed to be cut back. After supper I looked at the dishes that needed to be done, and I suddenly decided that I really felt like scrubbing the very nasty floor and grout areas in the back corners of the bathroom. And, for good measure, I improvised a paper-clip hook and cleared out the shower drain. I'm so happy I got that over with. The dishes can wait until tomorrow.