Category Archives: Recipes &Cooking

Spice-Rack: Cinnamon for Congestion, Diarrhea, & Nausea

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Cinnamon is good for so many things besides making Snickerdoodle Cookies, etc. If you have the sniffles, it can help to relieve congestion.

Make cinnamon tea to help relieve the following:

  • * Congestion
  • * Diarrhea
  • * Nausea
  • * Runny nose
  • * Metabolize fats

How to make cinnamon tea:

All you have to do is make the tea with one cinnamon stick or one teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more to taste), one cup boiling water, and let steep for 15 minutes.  Stir well.  Sweeten with Stevia (this is what I use), honey, agave nector, or your sweetener of choice.

* However, women who are pregnant should not use large amounts of cinnamon, but it’s OK in foods.

Fritos Cornbread Stuffing

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This is so different from the usual stuffing recipe that I thought I would share it with you. One neat thing about this recipe is that you can do all the prep work, combine the dry ingredients in the dish, keep it in the frig, and then bake it the next day when you need it:

  • 16 oz cornbread stuffing mix
  • 2 cups crushed Fritos (9 oz bag)
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 5 ribs chopped celery with some leaves
  • 2 tsp sage
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 3 cans chicken broth (2 cans for mixture & 1 can to use as needed on top)
  • olive oil

Saute the onions and celery in olive oil. Crush Fritos in large bag with rolling pin. Mix 2 cans of chicken broth (save 3rd can for later) with all of the other ingredients. Be sure to mix well. Put mixture in a lightly greased 3 quart dish.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Add a little more broth evenly on top right before baking. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Spice-Rack: Ginger Helps Nausea

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Do you ever feel nauseated from sinus drainage or maybe from taking medicine or a vitamin? Sometimes I will feel nauseated from taking a vitamin B or when I have sinus drainage. For some people, motion sickness is a real problem when they travel. And for the expectant mommy-to-be, morning sickness can be a regular daily experience. Well, just look in your spice rack and grab the ginger. I’ve read you can make tea with it using 1 tsp. of ginger with 1 cup boiling water, steep for 10 minutes, strain, and then drink. (I would need sweetener.) I have not tried the tea, but we do keep Ginger Snaps around most of the time. I can eat a couple of those and it really helps my nausea go away.

Ways to Use Left-Over Turkey

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If you’re looking for some different ways to use left-over turkey, I’ve seen turkey enchiladas, turkey tacos, turkey pita tacos, turkey taco salad, and turkey taco soup. Of course, there’s the traditional turkey pot pie and turkey salad which are always good. My favorite when I was growing up was my mother’s and grandmother’s turkey salad. They would put apples, celery, pecans or walnuts, mayonaise, salt, and pepper in it. It was so yummy, either in a sandwich or just by itself. My mouth is actually watering right now…I sure wish I had some. 🙂

Easy Sweet Potato Casserole

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If you’re short on time &/or energy, this sounds like a great recipe. My mother used to use canned sweet potatoes, and she would make delicious mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. I guess you could put marshmallows on top of this instead of the brown sugar mixture if you preferred. Here’s the easy recipe from Southern Living, November 2006 by Jean Ellard, Birmingham, Alabama.

  1. 3 (40-oz.) cans cut sweet potatoes, drain the syrup
  2. 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  3. 1/2 cup butter, softened
  4. 1/2 cup milk
  5. 2 large eggs
  6. 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  8. 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  9. 1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
  10. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  11. 1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine first 7 ingredients and beat at medium speed until smooth. Spoon into lightly greased 9 x 13 dish. Mix last 4 ingredients and sprinkle evenly on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Recipes for Pumpkin Cake & Bars

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I’ve bought several cans of pumpkin at a super sale price, so I’m looking for recipes that use pumpkin besides my traditional pumpkin pie recipe (which is a favorite of mine). I came across some recipes that sound delicious. The second recipe calls for a can of pumpkin pie mix with all the spices and sugar, so I’ll have to add my own since I have cans of plain pumpkin. Here are the recipes:

Pumpkin Spice Cake (with frosting) from Wanda at Apples-Zeros

and

Pumpkin Pie Cake from Lori at My Wooden Spoon

and

Pumpkin Spice Frosted Snack Bars from Elizabeth at Mom Cooks

Simple Yogurt Recipe – More Natural, Less Sugar, Any Flavor

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Have you ever noticed that when you buy yogurt it’s loaded with sugar. I compared a Dove “Rich Dark Chocolate” candy bar (one of my favorites!) to a carton of yogurt. Guess what…the candy bar has 17 grams of sugar, and the yogurt has 27 grams of sugar. Some people would say to buy the “light” yogurt with no sugar, but two of my doctors have told me to stay away from all artificial sweeteners. I know some people need the artificial sweeteners if they have a health problem such as diabetes, but artificial sweeteners are not good for hormones, fibromyalgia, and a host of other ailments. Anyway, back to the yogurt. I found a good way to get good tasting yogurt without a ton of sugar and without any artificial sweeteners is to make my own. Now I don’t start from scratch, I use plain yogurt as my base and then go from there. Here’s the simple recipe:

*1/2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt (sometimes I use Nonfat White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt which I buy at Central Market)

*1 tbsp of your favorite fruit preserves or 1/2 – 1 tbsp Hershey’s Syrup (5-10 grams of sugar)

*a little dash of Stevia for added sweetness (I use KAL Pure Stevia Extract which has no aftertaste)

You can add a little vanilla flavoring and Stevia to make vanilla yogurt.

I think you could add a little bit of frozen lemonade, lime,or orange concentrate to make those flavors, just watch out for the sugar in the lemonade.

Ratatouille…I’m Not Sure About Eggplant

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I read a good post this morning about the kid’s movie, Ratatouille, and a recipe for the actual Ratatouille dish. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten it before, but the fresh veggies and spices sound good…I’m just not sure about the eggplant. Colleen at Table for Five says that it’s sort of like eggplant stew. So, that sounds good and warm on a chilly fall day. I think I might get a small eggplant and try it. Do you note a little hesitancy there? (LOL) If I do make it, I’ll have to let you know how it is. If you make it, I’d love to hear how you like it. Anyway, click here for the recipe.

http://table4five.net/2007/11/09/ratatouille-the-movie-and-the-recipe/

Low Fat Mashed Potatoes

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This recipe is for those who like “lumpy” mashed potatoes. 🙂

I make mashed potatoes differently from the traditional way. A long time ago, I read when potatoes are boiled, nearly all the vitamins are lost in the water that is drained off the potatoes after they cook. So I started baking them instead. That way they retain most of the vitamins and they’re actually easier for me to make. I just bake the potatoes in the microwave, let cool, and then the skin comes off easily. I cut them into chunks and they’re ready to make mashed potatoes. Here’s my recipe:

Bake 4 potatoes in the microwave until soft (or oven if you prefer)
Cut in half to allow steam to escape & let cool
Peel (sometimes you can do a lot of the peeling without a knife)
Cut into cubes and place in microwavable mixing bowl (my mixer has a glass bowl so I can put it in microwave) Use a potato masher a little, if necessary.
Add the following to the bowl of potatoes:

  • 1 cup milk (you don’t have to heat it yet)
  • 1 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
  • pinch of baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp of your favorite reduced-fat spread (I use Smart Balance LIGHT Buttery Spread)

Mix all ingredients in bowl on low speed of mixer briefly until potatoes are mashed but still a little chunky. Do not overmix! If necessary, add more milk to get to the consistency you like. Right before you are ready to serve, put in microwave for a minute or until potatoes are warm. Stir & serve.


Fresh Veggie Salad

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This is such a great way to get in two or three servings of veggies. The veggies are raw which means you’re getting a gold mine of fresh enzymes which most people are lacking. Plus you’re getting vitamins straight from the food source, especially antioxidants. (Remember…cooking kills enzymes and vitamins!)

Here’s the “so very easy” recipe:

  • chop your favorite raw veggies into bite-size pieces (carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, cucumber, celery, bell pepper, cauliflower, etc.)
  • fresh avocados, chopped
  • drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top of veggies
  • top with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt

Put in frig to chill.

Today I used red bell pepper, yellow squash, and zuchinni. It made a pretty salad and would be pretty to serve during the holidays.

Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – Cookie Dough Safe to Eat! :)

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When I was helping take care of Baby J this week, our daughter wanted to make cookies. She had this new recipe she wanted us to try. The neat thing about this recipe was that while we were making the cookies, we could safely eat the cookie dough. And it was sooo good. These cookies were delicious warm out of the oven and also the next day. Not many were left after that.

Here’s the recipe:

  • 1 cup butter (I want to try 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup applesauce and see how that works)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 1/2 cups raisins (I may add more because we really like raisins)
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat the first four ingredients until fluffy. Add the flour and salt. Mix well. Add the baking soda to the boiling water and add to mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Drop by teaspoonful on to ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake! This should make around 3 1/2 dozen cookies.