Delicious Russian cookies with Dulce de leche

Формы для приготовления этого печенья бывают разные. Стандартная форма ОРЕШКИ. У нас форма,из которой получаются грибочки, белочки, и шишечки.
Наша форма используется на газовой плите или электрических комфорках, но бывают и электрические формы.





Ингредиенты:

1. 2 яйца
2. 1/2 ст. сахара
3. 250 гр. маргарина или сливочного масла
4. цепотка соли
5. 1/2 ч.л. соды
6. 1 ст.л. уксуса
7. 3 ст. муки
8. грецкие орехи или пиканс
9. 1 банка Dulce de Leche (сваренное сгущенное молоко - продается в то же отделе, что и обычное сгущенное молоко)



Приготовление:

1. Масло растопить на огне, добавить сахар, соль, перемешать, остудить.
2. Добавить соду, погашенную уксусом, яйца и муку.
3. Тесто перемешать до однородной консистенции.
4. Из теста сформировать небольшие шарики, положить в нижнюю часть формы, прижать верхней частью и выпекать на низком огне до золотисто-коричневого цвета. Проверяйте часто, чтобы не подгорели. (После нескольких попыток можно лучше знать, сколько теста нужно ложить для каждого печенья, чтобы оно не вытекало по краям и не было слишком толстым. Я форму ничем не смазываю, так как в тесте много масла и оно не прилипает.)
5. Печенье вынять из формы и дать остыть. Обломать излишки теста для крошки.
6. Для начинки: измельчить остатки печенья для крошки и перемешать с измельченными орехами и Dulce de Leche.
7. Заполнить половинки печений начинкой и склеить.

Пальчики оближешь!

Our favorite Crockpot chili

I have never tried chili until I came to the United States. At first I wasn't too keen on chili, but a few years ago I made my own chili inspired by Robin Miller from Food Network. Everyone in my family loves it. We make it anywhere between twice a week to once in two weeks. Sometimes I make it vegetarian, and sometimes I add lean ground beef. It required minimal preparation and tastes yummy.

FOR VEGETARIAN VERSION, DO NOT ADD MEAT (and replace chicken broth with water)

Phelps Chili
Phelps favorite chili recipe – it is yummy and healthy!

Ingredients:
Each can is 15 ounces
1 lb ground beef, browned
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ jalapeno pepper, minced (can use more if you like)
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Can add some chicken broth if not enough liquid from tomatoes

------------------------------------------------
Monterey jack cheese (or you can use Cheddar cheese)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients until the line.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, top each serving with shredded cheese and cilantro.



Bon Appetite!

Homemade baby food (vegetables)

I make homemade baby food all the time.

This doesn't mean that I don't buy any commercial baby food. Sometimes commercial baby food is a great option. For example, my baby loves mango smoothies. Mango's are pricey and not always ripe enough. Also, when you are on-the-go, commercial foods are great, because they are sealed and won't spoil.

For most days, it is easy and cheap to make and serve baby food at home. I usually make pureed sweet potatoes, yams, squash, green beans, and carrots. I make a lot and then freeze them for easy meals. I don't freeze fruits, because I prefer them not cooked so they retain more nutrients. I just keep fresh fruit on hand.

Here is how I prepare carrots (this method works for other veggies).

First of all, you need a steamer. I believe everyone need to have one (not just for making baby food). It is very inexpensive.

So put it in your pot and fill the pot with water until it reaches the steamer.

Peel your carrots. (I buy a huge bag of organic carrots from Costco for $5.49. And make sure you use a vegetable peeler, because it saves a lot of time)

Cut up carrots into more or less equal pieces. I didn't do a very good job this time, so it took a little longer for thick pieced to become soft. Steam the carrots covered on medium heat until they are soft. Make sure you check if you have sufficient water in the pot, because it can burn. I burned my pots plenty of times, especially when the pot was small and I was destructed by something.

Put steamed carrots in the blender and fill the blender halfway with liquid from the steamer. It is better then water, because it has some of the nutrients from carrots. Blend until smooth. While blending, you might need to add more liquid.

When it is nice and smooth, fill clean ice trays (I bought them specifically for freezing baby food) with puree and stack them in the freezer.

When it is frozen, get them out (I slide a knife on one side of the cube to easy it out) and put them into freezer bags. It is wise to write what it is and prep day on the bag. Squash and yams, for example, are almost the same color. On the picture, I have a bag with pureed sweet potatoes.

When it is time to eat, take as many cubes as you need and thaw. I place mine into a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for about 1 minute.

My baby loves homemade food. I love it too, because with very little preparation, I have healthy vegetables for my baby's meals every day.

Try it yourself.

Phelps ENCHILADAS

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

(Yulia Phelps)

There are a lot of ways to make delicious Mexico-originated enchiladas. This is OUR way.

Try it and you might be making it as often as we do.

You will need:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded - recipe follows - chicken cooked this way is very moist and flavorful)
1 can black bean (I add black beans for extra nutrients)
1 can enchilada sauce (We like Green Chile)

1 can green chiles (if you buy whole chilies, you will need to chop them)

8 oz Monterey Jack Cheese (half goes inside and half on top of enchiladas)

8 oz half-and-half
10 tortillas (I buy my tortillas uncooked in the refrigerated section in Costco. They are All Natural tortillas and have 44 per pack. When I come home, I divide the pack into four 1-gallon freezer bags - 11 tortillas each. Then I freeze them. When it is enchiladas day, I move one bag of tortillas into the refrigerator in the morning. It will usually thaw in time for dinner prep. It takes a couple of minutes to cook all 11 of them. Be careful while cooking them on the skillet - they can burn fast.)

cilantro

sour cream

Here is how to make them:

Cook the tortillas.

Mix these ingredients together (Remember half of cheese goes inside).


Add shredded chicken.

Make enchiladas by rolling filling mixture into tortillas.

Arrange them into 9x13 greased dish. Pour half-and-half (or more Enchilada sauce) over enchiladas.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheese right away and let it melt.

Serve them hot with chopped cilantro and sour cream (my husband likes to add a little kick with some hot sauce).

ENJOY!



Shredded Chicken for Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts

3 cups of water or chicken broth (or more if necessary)

3 clothes of garlic, minced

1/4 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper

Mix together in a pot and boil for 20 minutes. Let the chicken cool and then shred it (either with two forks or hands).

Weekly menu planner

I have a goal of going grocery shopping only once a week. Most of the weeks I succeed. I am also not stressing out wondering what to cook for dinner every day. Why? Because I use a weekly menu planner.

I LOVE IT!

Here is how I do it:

1. I have a special menu planner book. Not just a piece of paper that can get lost easily.

I use it all the time. The only thing you need to do on any specific day is to look into it and know exactly what's for dinner.

Here is how mine looks like.

I downloaded a print out on Above all fabric. Then I printed as many copies as I needed. I think my book has all 54 weeks in it. I took my pages to a copy center (I used Stevenson Geneology center) and for pennies bound the sheets together into a book. EASY!

2. On Friday night I open a new page. I ask my husband what meals he would want to see on the menu. He usually says he doesn't have any specific requests. My husband likes pretty much everything I cook. Sometimes her will help me out.

When I first got married, I only had recipes from back home (from Belarus). I needed to learn how to cook here in America. I watched Food Network like crazy. I made a new recipe every day. After trying so many recipes for almost 4 years of marriage, I realized that I found favorites. So now it takes me only a couple of minutes to fill out the blanks in the planner.

3. Then I write down a shopping list. DO not go to the store without one. You will save time, money, and additional trips to the supermarket when you realize you forgot to buy something.

My lists usually consist of wholesome foods. Very rarely do I buy frozen dinners. I used to do that for a very short time, because my husband took them to work. They didn't taste as good as homemade foods and had tons of additives. Now I make and freeze lunches for my husband and we love it that way.

Sometimes I will open the book on a certain day and won't feel like the planned meal for that day. SO. I just cook a meal from a different day. You already have all the ingredients for that meal. A lot of the times I will live one day open without having any meal scheduled for that day. It covers left overs, possible eating out, and last minute dinner invites.

That's all. I hope it will be helpful to some of you.

Feel free to ask any questions or leave your tips.

The best and the easiest white rice

I have never been too good at cooking rice on the stove top. Guess what? I don't do it on the stove top anymore. I cook my rice in the oven. PERFECT every time.

My friend shared this recipe with me. Try it out and you will never go back to the stove top.

I usually make a double batch and freeze half of it.

It is really good for quick lunches or even dinner. Just warm it up before serving.

Oven-cooked rice

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 Tbsp butter (unsalted)

3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice

1/2 tsp salt

In a 1-quart casserole dish combine boiling water and butter; stir until butter is melted. Stir in rice and salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven about 35 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (I always set my timer for 35 minutes - turns out perfect every time). Fluff with a fork before serving.

Enjoy!

I am back

I am back from a long sabbatical and intend to do more homemaking blogging.

So come often and check it out.

Yulia