Herbed Focaccia

From AMA Family Health Cookbook

2 to 2 1/4 cups white bread flour, plus additional for kneading
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 pkg yeast
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, plus 1 teaspoon
3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 cup very warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the white and whole-wheat flours, yeast, 1 tsp of the rosemary, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Make a well in the center and pour in the water and 1 1/2 tbs of the oil. Mix with a wooden spoon or the paddle of an electric mixer until a dough forms, about 5 mins. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 10 mins., or knead in the mixer bowl with a dough hook for 5 mins until smooth and elastic.
2. Lightly coat a mixing bowl and a 9X13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Place the dough in the bowl, cover lightly with a towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk. Punch the dough down. Sprinkle the baking pan with the cornmeal. Place the dough in the prepared pan, patting and stretching to fill the bottom of the pan. Cover lightly and let the dough rise again until doubled.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use your fingers to make light indentations in the risen dough. Brush with the remaining 1 1/2 tbs of oil, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp of rosemary, 1/4 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Bake until the focaccia is a rich golden brown and well risen, 25 to 35 mins.

Nutrition info per square: 157 calories, 4g fat, 0mg chol., 179mg sodium, 26g carbs, 2g fiber, 5g protein

Creamy Cooker Chicken

From "Fix-It and Forget-It" (The Crock Pot Bible)

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cups sour cream
10 3/4 can. cream of mushroom or chicken soup
6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves

1. Combine soup mix, sour cream, and cream of mushroom/chicken soup in slow cooker. Add chicken, pushing it down so it is submerged in the sauce.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.
3. Serve over rice or noodles.

Note: I like to shred the chicken before serving.

Sammie always says he married me for my crock-pot chicken. I think he could have bought himself a slow cooker and a recipe book and saved himself a lot of trouble. But, my luck that he didn't. :)

Oatmeal Pancakes

These are from The South Beach Diet Cookbook

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
2 cups fat-free milk
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar (substitute, if you want to be truly South Beach)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, combine the oats and milk and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the egg, flour, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar, oil, and salt, mixing until evenly blended and only small lumps remain. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 pancakes
Nutrition Information per pancake: 90 calories, 2 g fat, 1/2 g protein, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 20 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium

These are my new favorite comfort food. Sammie's out of town tonight and I have a terrible horrible no good very bad cough that's going around PA so I cooked some of these up for dinner. The batter keeps well in the fridge. yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Spanish Soup by Lindsay Kaelberer

2 tbsp. butter 1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. flour ¼ tsp. tarragon
4 cups chopped onion (or less) ¼ tsp. pepper
1 can (1 lb) tomato puree or ¼ tsp. oregano
crushed tomatoes ¼ tsp. cumin
4 cans (14 oz.) beef brother 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Saute onion in butter and olive oil until onions are clear. Blend in flour. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Put broth in crock pot or tureen to keep warm. Choose items from the following list and put each in a separate small bowl. Guests ladle a bowl of the broth and add the condiments they want. (Like a salad bar.)

Condiment suggestions:
meatballs green onion, chopped
shrimp, sautéed tomatoes, diced
ham cubes, sautéed cucumbers, diced
sausages, cooked green peppers, chopped
carrot wheels, cooked hard boiled eggs, chopped
mushrooms, sliced and sautéed raisins
red onions, chopped cheese cubes
olives kidney beans
sour cream garbanzo beans
Parmesan cheese jicama

Melba's Note: This soup sounds crazy but it's awesome! It's great for company. About 10 years ago, we had a "date night" with the siblings. Lindsay and Dan were married, Carrie and Luke were engaged, I was dating a mistake, and the rest found dates. We met at Lindsay's and had this soup and it was good! I'm glad to have the recipe. I'll have to try it again. Thanks, Linz!

Hot Pepper Vinegar and Garden Salsa by Lindsay Kaelberer

Can use white or apple cider vinegar but recommended is 2/3 white vinegar to 1/3 cider vinegar.

Hot Vinegar—Fill jar with clean, dry hot peppers (use a variety of kinds…try to use different colors and sizes.) Pour in enough vinegar to cover the peppers. Cap and seal tightly. Store for 2-3 weeks before using. Can also add olives, peppercorns, garlic, and anything else that sounds good.

Mild Vinegar—Use milder peppers (of course!) and smaller amounts of them or substitute pieces of red, green, or yellow sweet peppers. They will add flavor but not heat.

Peppers keep in vinegar. Pull one out, cut off a little, put in cooking, and back in bottle.


Garden Salsa

2 30 oz. cans stewed tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 chopped green pepper
½ tsp. dried cilantro
½ tsp. dried cumin
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
3 green onions, chopped
3 tsp. salt
2 tsp. brown sugar
8 Tbsp. hot pepper vinegar

Mix everything together by hand. Put in blender and blend until the consistency you like. We like it pretty smooth, but you choose! The salsa is best on the second day, so make it a day in advance. If you like a spicier salsa, add more vinegar.

Melba's Note: This is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!

Lasagne—Lindsay Kaelberer

Boil 9 lasagne for 10 minutes.
Lightly spray oil or Pam on counter top or foil and spread rinsed noodles out flat.
Sauce:
1 lb. ground beef, brown and drain fat.
Add: 1 clove minced garlic
1 jar spaghetti sauce (27 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
1 tbsp. basil
Simmer.
In a bowl mix:
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups cottage cheese
2 tbsp. parley flakes
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Cheese Layer:
1 lb. mozzarella cheese

In a 9x13 pan, layer noodles, cottage cheese mixture, meat sauce, and cheese. Repeat 2 more times. (Each time use 3 noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, 1 cup cottage cheese mixture, and 1/3 lb. cheese.)
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. If chilled, bake 1 hour. Let sit 20 minutes before serving.
This is my mother-in-law’s recipe. I always thought lasagne was a total pain to make, but this is fairly easy and really good!

Melba's Note: This lasagne IS very good! Still, some people don't appreciate homemade food. Lindsay served this once to two well-meaning-but-slightly-clueless-LDS missionaries. One of them commented, "This is really good! It's almost as good as Stauffers!"

Chicken Enchiladas—Kaelberer-Style! by Lindsay Kaelberer

Saute ½ a chopped onion and 1 small can of diced green chilies in some olive oil. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together 2 cans of canned chicken (shredded), 1 ½ cans of cream of chicken soup, ½ can of water (from the soup can), ½ cup sour cream, and sauted onions and green chilies.

Spoon these into tortillas and roll them into a greased 9x13 pan.

Mix together the other ½ can of cream of chicken soup, ½ cup sour cream, and enough water to make the mixture pour easily. Spread this on top of the tortillas, covering each tortilla. Sprinkle a generous amount of shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Bake at 350 for ½ hour with foil on top. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Melba's Note: Haven't tried these myself, but I'm definitely excited to! Lindsay has 5 kids ages 1-10, including 2 "cage fighters" - Sam and Josh, just over 2 years apart and both very cute and very, well, active. It's a wonder she has time to pour a bowl of cereal, much less cook!