Food Pantry Feasts: Blessings and Cookies

Food Pantry Feasts: Blessings and Cookies: "Nick had to tell me the other day to stop obsessing about getting things 'right' for Christmas. That's what the Thanksgiving Event was abou..."

The Cookies I baked this Christmas

These cookies are rich butter and sugar cookies with mint and chocolate chips and sprinkled with green and blue sugar crystals. They are rich and buttery sweet with a surprise dose of chocolate and mint. Enjoy.

4 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 sticks of butter
Canola or Vegetable oil
2 eggs
About a teaspoon of baking powder
About a half Tsp. of baking soda
Chocolate Mint chips
Green and blue sugar crystals.

Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda in one bowl. Add a light sprinkle of salt. Mix. Preheat oven to 350. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, eggs and sugar. Mix in with bowl of flour mixture. Mixture will be dry. Add vegetable oil until mixture is moist enough to roll into little balls. Roll mint chocolate chips into each ball of dough and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Bake in oven until moist and golden brown. In order to keep them moist for Christmas morning, place on a plate, cover with slices of bread and then a cloth. The cookies will absorb the moisture from the bread slices. So in the morning, the bread will be dry and crisp, but the cookies will be chewy and moist.

Super Easy Cookies

I do not remember where my Mom got this recipe from, but I remember loving to make them as a little girl and a young woman.
I used to make them as a young woman for my younger siblings. It was comfort food for them to cheer them up in a time when nobody was happy. My parent's divorce had happened and Mom was too depressed to be a mom for her eleven kids. So once, again, I was trying to prepare to leave my family for college in another state, cope with the guilt my mother was putting on me and cheer up my poor brothers and sisters, for whom, at the time, I was a second mom. Mom was always griping about how hot the tiny kitchen was, but these cookies I could make without much complaint because they cook in nine minutes.
She also complained about mess, but because almost everything is pre-packaged, these cookies did not make as much mess.

All you need is one box of cake mix (I used Betty Crocker or Pillsbury) of your choice of flavor (my babies loved chocolate, or funfetti, or french vanilla).

Just empty into a bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet.
Now into the mixing bowl add a third of a cup of vegetable oil and two eggs. Now mix it all together with a spoon until it is sticky and oily cookie dough. Now roll batter in your hands to form little balls of dough, (the kids used to love helping me do that) place on greased pan and put in the oven and heat for nine minutes.
That is for the first batch, every subsequent batch only let it bake for eight minutes.
What will come out will look so perfect and be so perfectly moist and chewy. The kids and I could get them baked up and eaten and then clean up the mess before mom even got home and found out that we were having so much fun!

Around Christmastime my mother always taxes her poor heart and drains energy from everybody around her by trying to do too much. When I get married and have kids, baking Christmas cookies should not be more stress than can be redeemed by the taste. These cookies just might save my celebration some day.

Throwing lots of different canned soups together? Guilty!

Yes, I have been known to throw frozen or fresh vegetables in with canned chicken broth and several different kinds of canned soup and add fresh herbs or spices to make it my own. I used to blush at the thought of doing something like that. But poverty and fatigue can take one down a peg.

This one I am eating right now is made of Swanson's chicken broth,
Progresso Chickarina Soup
Progresso Pot Roast soup
Turkey Stuffing
Carrots
Kidney Beans
Fresh thyme
Meatballs

Next time I will add more rosemary.
But it does taste pretty good.

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Chicken Soup

Tonight I made some Chicken soup. I boiled some bone-less skinless chicken breasts.

I never use bones in my soup because my younger brother almost died one day choking on a tiny chicken bone in my Mom's soup. It was too scary to ever take the chance again.

Anyway, I boiled it in a tiny amount of water, chopping onions, garlic, and celery into the water. Once it was almost cooked I added chicken stock and chicken broth. Then I added Rosemary and green peppers. Then I added dry turkey stuffing. Yes, the actual bread cubes. It gave body and seasoning to it. I love huge chunks of chicken in my soup, not tiny cubes like they have in most canned soups. If you want anything done right you have got to do it yourself, as they say.

Mexican Food

A lot of things we associate we Mexican Food actually started out as "poor man's food".

Being a quater Mexican myself, and born into a not-well-to-do family of eleven children, Mexican food, or rather an American take on Mexican food has become a cuisine I associate with comfort and flavor and satisfaction.

Today my memory is drifting back to the Sundays that my beautiful but over-worked half-Mexican Madre would drive all of us kids for a two hour drive to the Tridentine Mass (for those of you who do not know, the Old Mass or "The Latin Mass" is very beautiful!) Mi Madre loved it so much that she drove all her kids in this big blue dinosaur of a van (12 seater). We loved the mass but sometimes we would have to go hungry during much of the afternoon because 1-The Mass was very long, 2-The drive was very long, 3-The drive back was very long.

Every Sunday in a while, though, we would persudae our Madre to stop through the drivethrough at Taco Bell.

(Static. Buzzing, pleasent voice) Taco Bell worker: Welcom to Taco Bell may I take your order?

Madre: Yes, please. Could I please get...12 of your 99 cent bean and chesse burritos...

My brothers wailing: Mama! We are REALLY hungry right now! We need at least two each!

Madre: Quiet hombre! I'm sorry, could you please make that 20 of those 99 cent bean and cheese burritos?

(Pause)

(Buzz)

Taco Bell Worker: Ma'am, I am sorry, could you repeat that?

Madre: (very loud and clear) 20 bean and cheese burritos, please, for 99 cents each.

Taco Bell Worker: Ma'am, did you just say 20 bean and cheese burritos?

Madre: Yes, 20.

(pause)

(Buzz)

Taco Bell: Would you like a drink with that?

My brothers in unison: YES!

Madre: NO!!!!

Taco Bell: Um...I'm sorry Ma'am do you need another minute?

Madre: One second, please...(to my brothers) If I spend any more I won't have enough money for the gas!

(Everybody groans and fans themselves with latin missalettes from the 99 degree, Southern California Summer heat)

Madre: Just the burritos, please.

(order runs through)


So you see what I mean. Mexican cuisine was invented by people who were poor who needed energy to work hard. That is why so many of the ingredients are easy to come by.

Today...I have no tortillas or tostadas but I feel like something that reminds me of the happier parts of my childhood.

Rice! I have rice, fresh salsa and some guacamole and cheese! Perfect! This is actually perfect to use as a side dish if you happed to have refried beans, or just boiled pintos handy. You know the ground beef is actually an American inovation, but it is one that I do not mind when it is handy.

When I was a little girl mi Mama used to say, "You have it much easier, Maria. Now the tortillas come in bags. I used to have to make them myself when I was your age!"

So now I guess if I have a little girl I will say to her, "Love, you have it much easier, than I did. I used to have to grate my own cheese...for a household of 13!"

Tator Tot Cassarole

As I mentioned before, I love spuds in all forms! Tator Tots is no exception. Imagine my delight, when having dinner with a young mother and her seven children, she served a tator tot cassarole. Here is the recipe.

Brown some ground beef in a pan. Put browned ground beef in an oven safe pan.
Pour some frozen green beans on top.
Pour some Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup on top (unheated, out of the can).
Tear some bits of bacon and sprinkle it in.
Top it all off decoratively with tator tots.
Heat in the oven for a half an hour (Darn I forgot at one temperature!) until hot and cooked.

Lenten Soup

I know I am not even in Advent yet, but the other day I discovered by accident (as usual) a soup that I think captures the flavor of lent. It is hot, nourishing, and bitter in a comforting way.

Ingredients:

Water

Plenty of Fresh Dill

Potatoes

Turnip

Onions

Radishes

Salt to taste

Chicken buillion cubes


Not only is it mealy, but it is meat free. Enjoy!

A new way to eat Rice

I had some leftover cobb salad that had almost no lettuce in it. I also had some rice. You guessed it. Adding the white rice went perfectly with all the other colors and harmonized with all the other flavors.

Something Soup

Tonight I wanted something hot and filling. So I perused my cupboards in search of something to make into soup. I put some water on the stove with a single chicken bouilion cube.
(Yes, I do not always have everything planned in advance.)

Then I chopped up two potatoes very small so that they would cook in it. Then I took left-over rice from the fridge and hurled it in.

(Yes, I am aware that those are both starches.)

Then I chopped onions and garlic and threw that in two. Now I had a broth with onions, garlic, rice and potatoes. Now what?

Then, I remembered that I still had lots of American cheese that a friend gave me! And pre-cooked meatballs. Did I mention that I do not like American Cheese and that I love meatballs?

So, if I threw the fake cheese in the soup...I would get a nice oily base with an appetizing color, and if I added the meatballs. The broth would turn into a soup!

Now I am eating it! It tastes even better than it looked.

I have just discovered that I love...

EGGPLANTS!

I never liked them as a kid. My mother seldom made it. Now...It is the most amazing discovery since my palatte's reconciliation with mayonaisse!

Thank you to my friends Teri and Kathryn for letting me taste their awesome cooking of aforemention plant!

Now all that remains is for me to try and cook it myself. Doh Doh Doh!

Sylviateri

Last night was my friend Sylvia's birthday. So, my friend Teri created a dessert based upon some of our mutual, healthy friend's tastes. The result was miraculous.

Start with slices of mango put into small dessert bowls.

Add some mango sorbet and blackberries. Top it off with freshly whipped cream with no sugar added.

I am going to call this dessert Sylviateri. Named after its creator, and the lady who inspired it.

A new way to eat hot dogs

I have a confession to make. I do not like hot dog buns. I do not like mustard. I do not like ketchup. I do not like pickle relish. I do not like them, Sam I Am.

Joking aside, what I really love is some lovely French baguette or some fresh italian bread with a bratwurst or any sausage, with mayonaise! I know, that is very European and not very American, but that is what I love. Besides, where do you think American cuisine somes from?(And in matters of food, I generally do prefer the European tastes.)

Today, I had some hotdogs, that I had saved in the freezer. And today, I wanted them. I get these weird cravings and ideas sometimes. I put flavors together that might not neccessarily occur to everybody. No, I am not pregnant. I wanted meat of some kind, because I can not often afford it.

But I had no bread left and not much mayonaise. Besides, I wanted vegetables too. I wanted rice! I wanted something...sizzling!

You guessed it. I chopped up the hot dogs, threw them in the frying pan with some butter. Sizzle sizzle sizzle. I chopped up some broccoli, celery and carrots that a friend gave me. Sizzle pop pop. Then I took about a cup of rice, leftover from the night before, from the fridge, and scooped that in too. When it was all hot, I added some fage and just the faintest smidge of seasoned salt.

I am eating it now, and let me tell you...This is delicious.

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Freshening up what you already have

Last week was macaroni week. I ate a lot of Kraft Mac and Cheese because that is what a friend gave me. Fortunately, I had butter and milk too. But not enough cheese to coat the macaroni without the aid of the fake cheese kraft powder. So, to make it better (aka more cheesy, I prepared the mac and cheese with twice the amount of milk and butter needed and topped each served bowl off with grated cheddar to conserve the amount I had. Quite good.

Now this week was Ramen week because a dear friend bought me some. While I seldom buy it myself, it does give me a base for something hot. What I like to do if I have them is throw some eggs into the pot of ramen and make it like egg drop soup. I did not have eggs this week so instead I added frozen peas and freash green beans and some very potent hot peppers. The result is flavorful and more nutritious than plain ramen.

while none of these are great feats of culinary art, they are examples of what to do with cheap pre-prepared foods to make them taste more unique, more tasty, more nutritious and more creative. Which is in my opinion the whole secret to cooking, anyway.

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Quinoa with Chives and Mayonaise

Two words: Tres Bien!

Can't afford to buy soda?

It is probably a good thing that I can't afford to buy soda because it is too high in sugar. Everybody craves something sweet every now and again though. So when I am not blending one of my famous smoothies or mixing up some of my famous strawberry lemonade, I settle for herbal iced that I brew myself. Hot beverages are marvellous for Fall and Winter, and sometimes, when I have not much time, I love to drink water with a few drops of lemon juice, with a tiny bit of sugar. So refreshing!

Everybody loves Fruit!

Everybody loves fruits! They are nature's candy! They are the perfect snack, party dish, side dish or dessert. There are so many to choose from!

I love making fruit mounds for parties! They are so easy, because fruit has so many lovely colors. Fruit salads are so perfect because it tastes like dessert when you have added no sugar and are getting your vitamins in too.

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Spuds with Greek yogurt?

I do not know a single person who does not love potatoes. They are such a marvellos little root. We fry them, roast them, bake them, boil them, mash them. We eat them for snacks we eat them as side dishes, we make soups with them, we even make pies out of them.

Probably the most loved way in the United States to eat this divinly starchy food, is in the form of french fries. Our second favorite way, is probably the baked potato. Then we pile on the chili, or the cheese and butter and sour cream and green onions and bacon bits and...wait...is this getting a little fattening?...More than likely...

A nice buttery, cheesy, sour creamy, oniony, bacon-bedecked spud is still awesome for once in a while, though. If you are just too daunted by all the fat, you could always skip the bacon and skimp on the butter.

Today I found a wonderful alternative to sour cream for my baked potato. I love fat-free fage (Greek yogurt). It is thicker, denser, and more sour than other yogurts and has just enough creaminess in texture. So it had the flavorful texture akin to sour cream, minus the fat!

Soups!

Soups are splendid! They seldom aquire much thought and need not cost much time or money! If you are like me, a single twenty-something trying away from home for most of the daylit hours, it can be challenging to make yourself cook and eat from home in the evening. If you are poor, however, there is no other option.

The other night, I could not decide what to cook. It was around six o clock already and I wanted something quick and easy. When I want something quick, easy, filling and cheap, I usually make rice. So I put some water in a pot, put it to a boil and threw in a couple cups of rice. While it cooked, I looked at a handful of herbs a friend had given me from her garden. So I threw in plenty of fresh sage and parsley.

As it cooked, I suddenly decided that soup was what I wanted, so I dug in the pantry and dug out a can of Campbell's Cream of Celery and threw that in too. Then I decided I needed more vegetables in the soup and tossed in some green frozen veggies. Finally, remembering that I had some frozen pre-cooked meatballs in the freezer too, I added them too. The result was done in very short time and was quite satisfactory.

So you see what I mean? I seldom have to think to make a stew or soup, and you can just throw practically anything that you already have so long as the flavors complement each other.

For the love of food

Hello!

Being an American, I love food. Being more than a little impoverished, I do not always have the joy of preparing, cooking and eating rare or expensive dishes. So I resort to my imagination in order to prepare tasty dishes that work with what I happen to have in my refridgerator, freezer and pantry. I also need a bit of thrift in order to keep my dishes healthy and nutritious. So I will post my occasional ideas on this blog for those of you who are like me. Enjoy!