Pepperoni Calzones

My husband is a HUGE pizza fan. I believe that he would eat pizza for every meal, if he could. So any time that I can make something that is pizza-like it is sure to be a big hit with him. Tonight I made Pepperoni Calzones (BCC - 319). I was a little intimidated with the idea of making my own pizza crust. It has been over 20 years since I have made any type of yeast bread or dough, but I decided it was time to give it a try. The crust turned out a little tough and tasted a little floury to me. I'm not sure if I kneaded it too much, put too much flour in, or if it was due to the fact that I used a naturally white flour instead of all-purpose flour. I will be trying the dough again as there is another recipe for calzones that I will be trying. I think I will try all-purpose flour next time to see if that makes a difference. It's times like these that I really wish I had more knowledge of the chemistry of cooking. It sure would help me to understand how different flours etc. affect a recipe. The sauce (which included mushrooms), pepperoni, green pepper and mozzarella cheese inside the calzones was delicious! If I can get the issues with the crust figured out, I think this could become a Cox family favorite!

Chocolate Drop Cookies

This week's treat for the youth group was Chocolate Drop Cookies (BCC - 99). These cookies were really not difficult to make and my baking assistant, my daughter, was able to join me just in time to make the icing and ice them. I was happy for the help because the icing ingredients include two squares of baking chocolate, two tablespoons of butter, and two cups of powdered sugar. For a chocolate lover like me that spells TROUBLE when your trying to watch the sweets. My daughter has a lot more self control than I do in this area and I'm proud of her for resisting the temptation. I did try just one before they left the house and they were delicious! The feedback was that the youth group enjoyed them. We even have a request for the recipe!

Hearty Tomato Soup

Anyone who knows me well knows that I DON'T LIKE TOMATOES! But in the spirit of this challenge I made Hearty Tomato Soup (BCC - 311) and my daughter assisted with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for dinner last night. I made a few modifications of my own to the recipe. I felt that 6 oz. of cram cheese would make the soup to rich not to mention all the fat and calories it would add. So, instead at the end of cooking the onion in margarine I added enough all-purpose flour to make a roué. Instead of 1 1/4 cups of milk I used 1 cup and instead of 2 cans (16 oz. each) whole tomatoes I used 1 can
(16 oz.) of diced tomatoes. The result was really quiet delicious! Served with warm grilled cheese sandwiches it was the perfect meal for a cold and rainy evening!

Dinner Casserole

Now we're caught up to last night's dinner. Dinner Casserole (BCC - 254) is easy to prepare. However, I don't think the creators of this recipe were counting on the home cook using Healthy Request soup (which is reduced salt) or Baked Potato Chips. My family found this casserole to be lacking in flavor. However, I think that adding a little salt (if using a soup that is low salt) would help the flavor a bit. This was served with a tossed salad for a quick and easy Monday night meal.

I actually did the family grocery shopping yesterday (a rare occasion) and found a sugar free graham cracker crust. So, I also picked up a box of sugar free pudding and made a pudding pie for dessert. Pudding pie is always good served with Cool Whip, but I chose to serve it without. My family protested that decision. So, next time I'll get to Cool Whip!

Candy (M&M) Cookies

My daughter made the Candy (M&M) Cookies (BCC - 97) for her youth group. There was very little talking and a lot of eating going on. They ate the whole thing! I don't think you can go wrong with a cookie that involves some chocolate when you're dealing with a group of teenagers.

Salmon Loaf

Salmon Loaf (BCC - 185) is a meat loaf made with Salmon. However, I believe that there are some typos or something with this recipe. The loaf is to be baked in a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. There is no way the ingredients will fit into this size loaf pan. Also, the loaf mixed as the recipe instructs is very dry. I would like to try making this recipe again, but using less Salmon (recipe calls for 2 15 1/2 oz. cans), and cracker crumbs (recipe calls for 3 cups) and adjusting the porportions of the other ingredients. My goal would be to achieve a smaller, moister loaf.

Taco Dinner. . . YUM!

Taco Dinner (BCC - 211) is easy to prepare and delicious! The main ingredients are a pound of ground beef, chopped onion, an envelope of taco seasoning mix, and a bag of tortilla chips. The recipe includes a list of suggested toppings. I suggest anything the family enjoys. For example we left off the olives and included re-fried beans and guacamole. This recipe could really be considered a nacho like dish or perhaps a taco salad depending on the toppings used. This will be a Cox family favorite. In fact, we've already had it twice!!

Oven-Fried Chicken

Oven-Fried Chicken (BCC - 242) calls for 1/4 cup margarine or butter melted in the pan the chicken is cooked in. Well, I decided to save on calories and to lightly grease the pan with a little oil. I don't recommend that approach. With this approach the breading stuck to the pan. The chicken was good, but I would have liked to have the breading on my chicken not stuck in the pan. A Tossed Salad and Whole Kernel Corn finished out this delicious meal.

Lentil-Spinach Soup

Lentil-Spinach Soup (BCC - 313) received mixed reviews. My husband loved it! My daughter took one nibble and said "yuck"! I was OK with it, but not eager for more. I must confess that I have eaten Spinach in salads, but never cooked and have never eaten Lentils. My expectations were pretty low for this soup. It was better than I expected, but is not one of my favorites. I will probably make it again as a special treat for my husband (he says this is his favorite soup so far), but I will cut the recipe in half and he can have it all to himself. I recommend serving this soup over cornbread.

Zucchini Bread . . . YUMMY!!!!

Zucchini Bread (BCC - 36) is WONDERFUL!! Given a choice between Zucchini Bread and Pumpkin Bread, I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. They are both good eating. One word of caution use a mixer when mixing this bread. I didn't and thought I mixed everything well. However, I was treated to a mouth full of cloves a couple of times while eating this bread. Mixing with a mixer to ensure that the ingredients are mixed well will solve this problem. No one else complained while chowing down. So, maybe I managed to eat all the pieces with the unmixed cloves. :)

Ham Loaf

Ham Loaf (BCC - 231) is like a meat loaf made with ground ham. I used ground pork. Ham Loaf is easy to make for a week night dinner, but I prefer meat loaf. I would make it again if I had ground pork in the freezer. I served it with Sweet Potatoes and it was a delicious week night meal!

Creamy Tuna Casserole

I made the Creamy Tuna Casserole (BCC - 184) on an evening that my daughter was out for dinner. The recipe is easy to prepare, but rich due to the 1 1/2 cups of sour cream. I found the Tuna flavor to be stronger than what I like. I realize that Tuna is a strongly flavored fish, but this was little overpowering. My daughter, who usually eats anything with fish in it, refused to try the leftovers because of my husbands comment that it was "OK, but not great." So, this recipe does not qualify as a Cox family favorite.

Applesauce Cookies. . . YUM!

I made a batch of Applesauce Cookies (BCC - 100) for my daughter's youth group. These cookies were in competition with a batch of Chocolate Chip that someone else brought that night. I must admit the Chocolate Chip won the attention of the teenagers. However, these cookies are delicious! They are soft and they have the perfect combination of apple and spice flavor that makes a great cookie for a cool fall day!

Tortilla Casserole

Tortilla Casserole (BCC - 212) is easy to make for a week night dinner. It is rich due to the 1/2 cup sour cream and the can of cream of chicken soup. However, it is lacking in the Tex-Mex flavors that my family enjoys. So, while it is easy to make and is good, it is not a Cox family favorite.

Still Cooking!

It's about time to catch up! I knew I was behind, but I didn't realize that it had been almost a month since I've written. I've been cooking, but not writing. So, today I'll write a series of short blogs to catch up.

First Corn Chowder (BCC - 311) and Baking Powder Biscuits (BCC - 29). The resulting Corn Chowder was a little disappointing. I think I know why. First, I used Turkey Bacon instead of real Bacon. I really think that this recipe needs the drippings created by real Bacon. Also, the recipe calls for one can of cream-style corn. I really think the Chowder would be better if one can of cream-style and one can of whole kernal corn were used.

This time when I made the Biscuits I followed the recipe and used all-purpose flour. I discovered that I can make good biscuits! I was very pleased with the results and good biscuits really aren't that hard to make! I think I've just gotten lazy and used to taking the easy way out (opening a can). My next expreiment with biscuits will be to use a naturally white flour that is actually healthier than all-purpose flour.

Pork Pie!!

This recipe is actually called Pork Pies (BCC - 225). It is supposed to be cooked and served in individual casseroles. However, I don't own any individual casseroles so I just made one big Pork Pie. This is a recipe that I'm glad I tired because it was really very good. Usually when I see a recipe that combines fruit, in this case apples, and meat I pass it right on by. However, the combination of flavors in this recipe is different than anything I've eaten before and really quiet pleasing.

BCC suggests that Pork Pie be served with Caesar Salad. So, I made Easy Caesar salad (BCC - 279) anchovy fillets included. I was very unsure about this recipe as I'm not a fish person and have never eaten anchovies. However, the Salad was really very good and I'm not sure that I even tasted the anchovies. My husband has eaten them before and says that he didn't taste them very much at all.

These two dishes will most likely be served again in our home!

Meat-And-Potato Pie!!!!!

Meat-And-Potato Pie (BCC - 208) is probably my favorite so far! Begin by stirring together all of the ingredients for Meatloaf. The directions say to spread the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. I spread the mixture into a 10-inch pie plate and determined that there would be no room for the potatoes on top. So, instead I cooked it in a 8 X 8 casserole dish. Skip the ketchup on top and cook the meat for 40 to 50 minutes. Afterwards, drain the meat, make 4 servings of instant potatoes, spread them on top, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

I served a tossed salad on the side. I started with a bag of Romaine greens and added a stalk of celery, a cucumber, and a tomato. Everyone had their choice of crutons or sunflower seeds as a topper and their choice of dressing.

A delicious way to end the week on a chilly Friday night!!

Split Pea Soup . . . Yummy!

Last night I made Split Pea Soup (BCC - 313). It really is not difficult to make, it just takes a little time. I think the recipe should require 10 cups of water instead of 8 and less cooking time. The soup turned out thicker than what I really like. I do appreciate a thick soup, but this was really a little too thick for my taste. Also, because of the lack of moisture the soup burned a little in the bottom of the pan. As for cooking time, it really did not take the vegetables added at the end 45 minutes to become tender.

We all agreed that it was good! It really was just the perfect dinner for a rainy night.

Back in the Kitchen Again!

Tonight I am cooking my first meal in a week! It's hard to believe that I've been out of the kitchen for so long!

A week ago tonight I made Swiss Steak (BCC - 201) and Baked Potato (BCC - 359). Salad was on the menu as well, but the weather was damp and rainy and I just wasn't in the mood for salad. I just wanted warm comfort food. I don't know what it is about Swiss Steak, but it always seems bland to me and this was as well. However, the Baked Potato was delicious! It has been many years since I actually baked potatoes in the oven. I usually do them in the microwave. This time I noticed that potatoes baked in the oven have more flavor and the texture is less gummy. Overall the meal was good!

My husband got home from his business trip Friday afternoon. We were all very happy to be reunited! Also, we were all tired! He was tired from travel and my daughter and I were tired from not sleeping well while he was gone. We decided to celebrate his return with Pizza. So, no cooking on Friday night!

On, Saturday my husband got in the kitchen and made Spaghetti for dinner. So, again no cooking for me! As a rule I never cook on Sunday.

I had planned to make Turkey Pot Pie on Monday night. However, when my husband went shopping there were no turkey legs. What to do? I thought about looking for a recipe to use a can of Salmon that I have in the pantry. The plan was to take some time out in the afternoon and find a recipe. However, I got caught up in writing a couple of History exams for my daughter and before I knew it the afternoon had passed and still I had no dinner plan. When my husband suggested we ordered Chinese, I said let's.

I planned to make Split Pea Soup on Tuesday. However, my allergies attacked in a big way on Tuesday morning. I had it all sneezing, drippy nose, and eyes watering. I was hoping it would pass quickly (sometimes it does), but it didn't. I finally took some meds in the afternoon and was thankful for the leftover Chinese in the fridge that would feed us that night.

Yesterday allergies were better, but still kind of a mess. There were activities at church and no one was home to eat anyway. Today allergies are much improved and I'm back in the kitchen. Tonight I'm finally making the Split Pea Soup. It smells wonderful!!

Still Here and Cooking!

I just realized this afternoon that it's been almost a week since my last entry. Life around here gets busy and the days go flying by! I cooked on Friday night and then took a break over the weekend. My daughter and I were blessed to participate in Clothe-A-Child at the Frisco Kohl's Saturday morning. We were both pretty much exhausted, but feeling happy and blessed when we were done. As a result, grocery shopping was postponed until Sunday evening and weekend cooking plans were scrapped.

Friday night I made Hot Dog Roll-ups (BCC - 318) and French Fries of the frozen variety. The idea was to do something quick and easy for a Friday night. Hot dogs are not my favorite thing to eat. However, from time to time we do have them because my husband and daughter both enjoy Chili Dogs. We switched from the traditional hot dog to Turkey Dogs several years ago in an attempt to eat a more healthy hot dog (if there is really such a thing). These hot dogs were OK. I'm glad I tried them just for something different, but my family will probably be sticking to their usual Chili Dogs.

Monday nights menu called for Braised Fresh Pork (BCC 223), Lemon Rice (BCC - 55), and Tossed Salad (BCC - 277). However only the Braised Pork and Lemon Rice made it to the plates. The lesson learned was: don't confuse your shopper. For a number of years now I have made the meal plans and grocery list and my husband has done the shopping. Shopping is not my thing and he enjoys it. While making the grocery list I was consulting the cookbook and wrote Salad Greens on the list. What I meant to buy were the bagged Salad Greens that we normally buy. However, my husband, through no fault of his own, interpreted what I wrote differently (I normally write Salad). He bought a bunch of Turnip Greens and a bunch of something from the endive family. With the pork and rice cooking I decided it was time to get the salad ingredients ready, and started washing and tearing the leaves of the greens. At some point in the process I decided to taste the greens (I had never eaten either). One taste of each told me that there was no way I was going to feed this combination to my family. It was awful!!! I threw the greens out and called my husband, who was on his way home, and had him stop by the store to pick up the Salad we usually buy for later in the week. The Braised Pork did not have much flavor to it, but when eaten with the Lemon Rice which was very flavorful it was really quiet good!

Last night's menu called for Zucchini Soup (BCC - 310) and Baking Powder Biscuits (BCC - 29). The Zucchini Soup got mixed reviews. My husband and I both liked it and as our daughter says she was "not a fan". In an attempt to make the biscuits a little more healthy for my diabetic husband I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. My husband and I both enjoyed them, while our daughter was "not a fan". I think this is a meal I will keep in mind for times when she's not home to eat with us. It was really quiet easy to make.

Today my husband left on his first business trip in 8 1/2 years. We are going to miss him terribly while he's gone, but we're going to enjoy some good food. As I'm writing this the Pumpkin Bread (BCC - 36) that we made for youth group tonight is baking and smelling quiet wonderful! Since no one except me will be here for dinner, I'm thinking about calling the pizza guy. However, tomorrow night's menu includes Swiss Steak (BCC - 201), Baked Potato (BCC - 359), and Tossed Salad (BCC - 277).

Thursday Night Dinner!

Menu: Meat Loaf (BCC - 208), Mashed Sweet Potatoes (BCC - 364), Skillet Corn (BCC - 348)

I have tried several meat loaf recipes over the years, and my daughter has never liked any of them. I have finally found one that meets with her approval! The BCC recipe has more ingredients than I am used to when making Meat Loaf, but the combination of spices is perfect! It smelled so good while cooking, I could hardly wait to taste it! I must admit that the other recipes I've tried are boring and bland compared to this one.

I followed the BCC directions for boiling sweet potatoes. I'm one of those people that just follows along and does things the way my mother or grandmother did them without really every questioning or stopping to wonder if there is a better way. Well last night I found a better way to cook sweet potatoes. I boiled them, without peeling, until tender and then slipped off the skins! I was amazed at how easy it was!!! After slipping the skins off, I mashed them and then seasoned them with a little margerine, cinnamon, and splenda. They were delicious!!!!

Skillet corn is easy to make and very good! However, a word of caution with this recipe. It needs to be watched, It scortches very easily. I was working with the sweet potatoes while the corn was cooking, and called my daughter in to check the corn for me. The corn had started to scorch, not to the point that it wasn't good to eat, but enough to let me know that this needs to be watched closely.

So, far I'm really enjoying this journey! I know it's only been a few days, but it's been fun this week to introduce some new recipes to my family and to learn some new things about cooking. Tonights dinner plan calls for Hot Dog Roll-Ups (BCC - 318) and French Fries (of the frozen variety). Then it's time to make a plan for week two in this journey!

Chocolate Chip Cookies/Scones & Cornbread

Yesterday was a day for making memories! I spent the afternoon in the kitchen with my daughter baking cookies. We made two batches of Chocolate Chip Cookies (BCC - 97) and then a third converting the recipe to use Splenda instead of sugar. The first batch became a snack for my daughters youth group last night. They were a big hit! She left home with 4 dozen cookies and came home empty handed. The second batch was made into Chocolate Chip Bars that my husband took to the office this morning. I sampled one of the bars last night at dinner. It was good, but I think I prefer the Toll House recipe that comes on the back of the chocolate chip bag. The third batch was the most interesting.

Since my husbands diabetes diagnosis, I will admit that I have not made much effort to make sugar free desserts that he can enjoy. At first I tried, but the results were always diappointing and dicouraging. So, I just gave up and stopped baking. His favorite cookie is Chocolate Chip. So, armed with information on how to convert recipes I decided to convert the BCC recipe and make yet another attempt. The result was more like a Chocolate Chip Scone than a cookie, but it is good! My husbad says he likes it, but it doesn't satisfy his desire for a good Chocolate Chip Cookie. I have some ideas about what I'll do next time to perhaps get better results.

After resting my tired feet for a little while, I made Corn Bread (BCC - 36) to go with the soup leftover from last night. I have never made cornbread using buttermilk. The recipe passed down through my family uses milk. My husband and I really like it! The result was a cornbread that was less dense than what I'm used to, and it had a wonderful flavor.

Navy Bean Soup!

Tonight's dinner (Tuesday, October 13, 2009) was inspired by the cooler, damp weather that we've been experiencing over the past couple of weeks. Our weather here in Texas is very unpredictable. I was relived that while today was a little warmer, it was still cloudy and damp making it a good night for soup.

Navy Bean Soup (p. 313) gave me the opportunity to cook with a couple of ingredients that I have never used before. The recipe calls for a ham bone and a bay leaf. To be honest I'm not sure what they added. I know that they're both there for flavor, but I'm not sure how much flavor they actually added.

My mistake with this meal was not making cornbread to go with the soup. The more I think about it the more I think, "duh, you know that when you have bean soup, you've got to have cornbread." Tomorrow I will be baking some goodies for my daughter's youth group and we'll be having leftovers. While I'm baking I think I'll make some cornbread to go with the leftover soup!

The First Meal!

The first meal was actually prepared on Monday, October 12, 2009. The menu included Breaded Pork Chops (p. 222), Mashed Potatoes (p. 359), and Buttered Broccoli. The Pork Chops were flavorful, moist, and smelled wonderful cooking. The cooking adventure of the evening was the potatoes.

Yes, I've made Mashed Potatoes many times. This time though, in keeping with the spirit of the project, I decided to follow the instructions given in BCC. In the past I've always peeled the potatoes and cut them in chunks, covered them with water, and put them on to boil. However, BCC instructions are to wash the potatoes, cut away any visible bad spots and leave them whole or cut into large pieces. I decided to leave them whole. BCC instructions also say to "heat 1 inch of salted water (1/2 teaspoon salt to 1 cup water) to boiling. Add potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Boil until tender, whole 30 to 35 minutes . . . " I must confess that 1 inch of water to boil 4 or 5 large potatoes worried me, it just didn't sound right. So, I brought about 8 cups of salted water to a boil and then added the potatoes. The 30 to 35 minutes cooking time didn't worry me (pork chops had to bake for 30 minutes). At the end of 30 minutes the pork chops were perfect, but the potatoes weren't. Some of them were softening, but a couple of them were still very raw in the middle. So, I used my cooking spoon and cut them into pieces. This did the trick within 5 minutes or less the potatoes were done and ready to mash. In the end they turned out great! The 30 to 35 minute cooking time might work with smaller potatoes, but from now on I will cut my potatoes into pieces.

There is no recipe for Buttered Broccoli in BCC. I cheated on this one. We had a bag of the frozen broccoli that can be steamed in its bag in the microwave. I used this and then added some butter.

Overall this first meal was a huge success! All of us agreed that we enjoyed the meal.

Why?

First, I enjoy cooking! However, over the years I have settled into a comfortable, but boring rut cooking the same meals over and over again. Also, since my husband's diabetes diagnosis in 2000, I have done very little baking. My goals with this project are to add variety to our meals, re-discover my love of baking, and challenge myself to try to new things.

My goal is to cook my way through the Betty Crocker's Cookbook (BCC) that my aunt gave me when we got married 19 years ago. Some of the recipes will have to be altered due to my husband's diabetes and my desire to keep meals low-fat where possible.

My inspirations are first of all my grandmother, mother, and high school home economics teacher who all helped me to develop my meal planning and cooking skills. Also, I have no doubt that seeing the movie Julie & Julia and reading the book helped plant the idea of cooking through a cookbook.