Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

The rhubarb harvest in our area is just beginning.  The first crop from my garden went into jam this week...and we enjoyed it on fresh biscuits before it had a chance to cool off. 

• 6 cups chopped rhubarb
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup orange or apple juice
• 1 small package (4 serving size) strawberry flavored gelatin

1. Combine chopped rhubarb, sugar and juice. 
2. Stir well and allow to sit for several hours.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes while stirring.
5. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin.
6. Pour into sterile jars and refrigerate.  (Can also be frozen).

Yield: 4 250 ml / 1 cup jars.

Enjoy...

Chicken Danielle

Chicken is one of our favorite meals. This recipe below is an all-time favorite. So if you want to try something different with a flair, give yourself some time and enjoy trying a new dish with chicken. This takes a bit of time, but no last minute rushing around when company comes.

• 4 ounces bacon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 large skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves
• 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 package uncooked linguine pasta

1. Fry the bacon gently in a large flameproof casserole dish stirring for about 5 minutes until the fat runs.
2. Take the bacon out and saute' chicken in the bacon drippings for about 5 minutes until golden.
3. Preheat oven to 375 °
4. Set aside chicken into a casserole dish, reserving bacon drippings.
5. In a separate skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms.
6. Add 1/2 cup white wine and stir at a low heat for 5 minutes.
7. Set mushrooms and drippings aside, keeping warm.
8. Add cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup to the bacon/chicken drippings, making sure no lumps remain.
9. Slowly add cream stirring constantly, then add remaining 1/2 cup wine, adjusting as needed to make a nice thick gravy consistency.
10. Season with fresh rosemary and thyme.
11. Toss the bacon that you saved on top of this sauce.
12. Let mixture simmer over medium heat until bubbly and then add reserved mushroom mixture and stir together.
13. Pour soup/mushroom mixture over chicken in casserole dish, cover and bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees.
14. Serve with your favorite pasta or on a platter of rice.

Add a few fresh vegetables, zwieback and you'll feel like you are eating a traditional meal.

Cheese Stuffed Breadsticks

If you have tried the French Bread or Pizza Buns with the same recipe, today's bread sticks should come by quite easily, as it's the same recipe recycled once again. It's the bread recipe with endless options and so easy to mix.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups hot water
• 4 - 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 3 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella or mix )
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 clove garlic crushed

Method:

1. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put first four ingredients in mixing bowl or Kitchen Aid mixing bowl. Stir in 2 cups flour and yeast.
3. Mix until well combined and then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough can easily be shaped into a ball with all the flour well mixed in. No need to rise.
4. Divide in half. Roll first half out on floured surface, to approx size of cookie sheet. Roll up on to rolling pin and unroll unto cookie sheet. Stretch into shape where needed. Sprinkle with cheese.
5. Roll out second half, a bit larger. Roll onto pin and unroll on top of cheese. Fold under the bottom layer, along edges. Cut through the dough with a pizza cutter to create 20 - 24 pieces. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 20 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 425° F.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, Parmesan, oregano and garlic. Brush evenly over dough.
8. Bake for about 15 minutes, until bread sticks are light golden in color. If a large bubble pops up while baking, simply break with a knife to keep the sticks even.
9. Cut along the seams of the bread sticks and serve warm with soup. Can also be used for kids' lunch boxes.

Rhubarb Cake

Fresh rhubarb season is almost here. I've been checking the rhubarb plants, they are growing but not quite ready to pick. So I checked my freezer and was happy to find a package of rhubarb from last season. This is a quick and easy dessert to put together. Serve warm and if you like you can top it with a scoop of frozen yogurt or ice cream and you have a wonderful dessert.

• 4 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 small package strawberry flavored gelatin powder
• 1  517 g (18.25 oz) package of yellow or white cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup water

1. Place chopped rhubarb evenly in an ungreased 9" x 13" baking pan.
2. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over rhubarb.
3. Next sprinkle strawberry gelatin powder on top of the sugar mixture.
4. Sprinkle cake mix on top of the gelatin powder.
5. Drizzle melted butter on top of cake mix.
6. Slowly pour water over all.
7. Bake in a 350º oven for 1 hour.
8. Yield: 12 generous pieces

Tip: I used slightly frozen rhubarb, if you use fresh rhubarb increase water to 1 cup.

Bread for the Journey

Good Sunday morning to all of you who join us here today. Sometime today or this week in a quiet place I'd like to encourage you to write your own Psalm to God. To inspire you here is Psalm 121 and then my own Psalm (Sacred Song) to God.

Psalm 121 (ESV)

My Help Comes from the LORD

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Ellen's Psalm

You oh Lord are my God and my redeemer.
Your hand has been on me all my life.
You continue to lead and guide me with gentleness and love.
You have opened my eyes to your majesty.

When I see the cloud covered hills beyond the carpet of flowers
I marvel at the power and beauty of your creation.
I look, I see, and I stand in awe of you because of your beauty.

You are above me and you shield me and you care for me.
You allow me to lay my head down in peace and rise up again to praise you.
I praise you Lord for your beauty and your majesty!

~

Have a day filled with seeing God's beauty and being in awe of Him!

Devilled Eggs

Devilled eggs are a wonderful addition to a buffet table, appetizer selection,

or served along with salads, cold cuts, buns and cheese.

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, hard boiled
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp prepared mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white or black pepper
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives or green onions

Method:

1. Hard boil eggs and peel.
2. When completely cooled, cut each egg in half.
3. Scoop yolk of eggs into a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mash together well with a fork.
4. Fill a pastry bag with filling and pipe into hollowed out egg white shells. Or, using a small spoon place little mounds into each shell. 
5. To add a nice touch, sprinkle with paprika, very finely chopped parsley, or more finely chopped chives or green onions. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served the day it is made. If you want to make them the day ahead, get everything ready, seal shells and yolk mixture in separate containers and fill the next day. 

Cherry Squares - Gluten Free

This is an unusual square that I used to make and love. Here is my gluten-free version that you need not explain is gluten-free except to those to whom it matters. What makes this square unusual is the yeast in the pastry. The flavours blend well in this not-so-sweet dessert square.

• 2/3 cup warm milk


• 1 tsp sugar


• 1 tbsp yeast


• 1 cup pancake flour mix (recipe found here - scroll down for the mix )


• 1 cup sweet rice flour


• 1 cup butter


• 4 egg yolks


• 1 tin cherry pie filling


• 2 tbsp instant tapioca


• sweet rice for rolling


• toasted almonds


• white icing

1. Whisk sugar and yeast into the warm milk and let proof


2. Cut 1 cup butter in to the blended flours


3. Add the 4 yolks to the proofed yeast and beat together until well blended


4. Pour liquids into the flour mixture and mix into a ball


5. Turn dough out onto surface sprinkled with sweet rice flour, and knead lightly adding ONLY enough flour to allow it to be handled.


6. Divide dough in half, rolling out one piece between sweet rice sprinkled plastic wrap layers. Roll it out quite thin , to fit a 9 x12 inch pan.


7. Remove top plastic wrap and picking up dough with lower plastic wrap turn into pan... pushing up the edges of dough .. remove plastic wrap


8. Stir the 2 tbsp of tapioca into the cherry filling and spread evenly over bottom pastry layer


9. Roll out the top layer and place over the filling making sure to crimp the edges


10. Prick the top with a fork to allow steam to escape


11. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degree oven


12. Remove when golden and cool... while still warm cover with white icing and sprinkle with toasted almond flakes.

Enjoy warm or cool... freezes well.

*

Chocolate Chip Cookie Slice

This is a recipe that I got from my dear friend Marie, and have been making it for over 30 + years now. The other day my youngest was having a study night with a friend, and just as I was getting ready to leave the house she asked...."do we have a snack, cookies or something". What? We had nothing, So being the great mom that I am, I decided to time myself, see how long it would take to make these and have all the ingredients back in the pantry and dirty dishes in the dishwasher and the slice in the oven. It took 6 minutes and 37 seconds! (I am not a speedy person and just did it the way I normally do). So when you think you don't have time to whip something up, think again. I put it in the oven and left. The slice was in the oven to bake, and 25 minutes later the girls enjoyed warm and chewy cookie slice with ice cream.
However the next time I made this I goofed, Ooops I for got to set the timer and left them in the oven to long.  I just changed the name to Chocolate chip cookie slice "Biscotti".
It still works, the key is don't panic when you make something if it doesn't work. Even seasoned cooks goof, I should know I have had a lot of practice ;)

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I also cut down on the sugar by 1/2 c. sometimes even 3/4c.)
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil or canola
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (I use half because I use sea salt and you need less)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (oops, more fell in, oh well)
• 1 1/2 cups flour

1. Combine oil, sugar, egg and vanilla.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir till combined.
3. Grease a 10 x 15** pan and press dough into it using your hands that have been moistened with a little water. It may look like it will not spread will and that you have some bald spots but do not worry it covers the pan well as it bakes.
4. Bake at 300 for 20-25 minutes*, or until a very light brown. You don't want to over bake it unless you want it to be like Biscotti of course, then go right ahead.... ;)

*My oven it takes about 30 minutes, I don't always have the same results with baking time, so watch your at the 20-25 minute mark, you want a very light brown and the top looks shiny.
** Also if you really want to have a very chewy cookie slice then I do the recipe 1 1/2 times, to make them extra chewy and then bake them 7 minutes or so longer, but remember every oven is different.

Tomato Soup Cake

Not long ago one of my co workers arrived at my desk at work with several fresh warm

slices of Tomato Soup loaf....just because. I had not had it in years. I know it sounds rather odd 

to have Tomato soup in a cake, but you'll just have to take my word...it is so good.

It can be made in an 8x8 cake pan, 1 loaf pan or a muffin tin.

Thanks Deb....I enjoy sharing our love for baking together.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tin tomato soup
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Method:

1. Stir together Tomato Soup and baking soda. It will foam up. stir well until the foam settles.
2. Cream together margarine, eggs and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add alternately with soup mixture to the creamed mixture. Add raisins and nuts if using.
4. Pour into greased pans. Bake @350 º. 35 minutes for 8x8. 50 minutes for 1 loaf pan. 15-20 minutes for muffins. 

Crunchy Pea Salad

Crunchy pea salad is great on the buffet table and is quick and easy to assemble. My recipe is handwritten on a little card, copied from a magazine decades ago and has been prepared many times over the years. It is good served on a bed of lettuce and topped with grated cheese as a luncheon salad or makes a great side dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 500 gram (16-ounce) package of frozen petite peas (slightly thawed)
• 1 cup chopped fresh celery
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 6 slices of bacon...cooked, drained and crumbled (or 1/2 cup real bacon bits)
• 1/2 cup salted cashews or dry roasted peanuts
• 3/4 cup ranch dressing (or Miracle Whip, if you prefer)
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.
2. Gently fold the dressing into pea mixture.
3. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Serves 8.
   
   Notes :

• You can make this salad well in advance, but might want to add the nuts just before serving.
• Use less dressing than called for if you prefer.
• Double the recipe for a crowd.