Tag Archives: food

Boiled Custard Bread

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IMG_8003During this past holiday, I decided to try drinking some boiled custard. I hadn’t had any since I was a child and I forgot what it taste like. The custard was quite nice and had the taste of melted ice cream.

picgifs-cooking-166988I thought about the boiled custard. Since it tasted like melted ice cream, I figured it might be good to cook something with. The only melted ice cream recipe I recalled was for bread.
I looked up ice cream bread recipes and then adjusted the ingredients to fit my needs. I used just 2 ingredients: boiled custard and self rising flour.

The bread turned out beautifully. The texture of this bread is firm and it has a light cakey taste to it. I’m tickled how just 2 ingredients made such a nice loaf of bread.

My hubby says the bread doesn’t have much taste, but it does have a nice texture. He thought it might be good with sugar added to the mix.
I think he’s right, it’d make a dandy strawberry shortcake. but I haven’t tried making it with sugar yet.

Here’s my recipe if you want to try it.

Boiled Custard Bread
1 1/2 cup Boiled custard
2 cups self rising flour
Mix together.
Pour into prepared 8″ loaf pan. (I use olive oil baking spray to prepare the pan)
Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 45 minutes or until done.
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Let me know if you try my recipe and any changes you make to it.
Have you made anything using boiled custard?
Do you make your own boiled custard?

Wishing you all a sweet rest of the week!
chef
spgrnbgln

Mostly Corny Post

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IMG_5029We had sort of a corny weekend with gardening. We harvested a lot of produce.
My husband harvested all the potatoes and onions over a 2 day period. He had to stop the first evening because after we harvested the corn and squash, he started digging potatoes as the sun was setting.IMG_5078Some of the potatoes are huge.IMG_5196IMG_5118The onions are drying on a table on the back-porch, and the potatoes are drying on garbage bags in my craft room.
My craft room is fast becoming a food-cellar. lolIMG_5152It may not look like a lot of potatoes, but it’s more than plenty for us. After the potatoes dry a couple weeks or more we’ll put them in mesh bags and stack them somewhere…  and then I’ll have my floor back. lol
But I fear my craft table is going to be full quite awhile before I can use it again. So, for now, I’ll use the dining room table for sewing and stuff.

My BFF knew we harvested some corn, so she sent me a link to a video on how to cook and shuck corn using the microwave. She wanted me to try it and see if it would work.
How to cook and shuck corn with the microwave
I was super surprised that yes indeed it does work just like the video says. It took only 4 minutes and there was no silks on the cooked ear of corn. I like that. Here’s a photo of my using the microwave cooking & shucking method. IMG_5105
My husband harvested all the mature ears of corn. We’re not planning on harvesting the rest of the corn when it matures. We’re going leave it for the deer, racoons and other wildlife.
IMG_5005IMG_5135We used the normal method of shucking to prepare our corn for freezing. We’re happy we had about a bushel of corn. We put up 26 bags of corn-off-the-cob.
we used this method:
How to freeze corn – pickyourown.org

Here’s of photo montage of our corny process that we did.

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Click on this photo to see a bigger photo

I put up 4 bags of corn-on-the-cob for our Grandson when he comes to visit.
I used the same method for freezing except I left the corn-on-the-cob. I wrapped the ears individually in cling wrap, put a few ears in a gallon Ziploc vacuum sealer bag, sealed it and put it in the freezer. By wrapping them individually, they won’t be stuck together and I can take out the amount I need to cook.IMG_5186
And so it goes in our neck of the woods. We’ve been busy busy busy.

I hope you all had a good weekend.
Have a super week!
gardeningcouple
spgrnbgln

PineApple Upside-Down Bundt Cake

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IMG_3501PineApple Upside-Down Bundt Cake <– direct link to recipe

To celebrate Father’s Day, I made my first ever Pineapple upside-down cake. I used a recipe by Betty Crocker using a bundt pan. It was really easy to make and turned out well, even though I didn’t have enough pineapple slices. I didn’t realize that the small can only contained 4 slices. But all-in-all I’m quite happy with my 1st effort and I intend to make another someday in the future.

Thankfully, my Husband & Grandson really enjoyed it and that’s what matters most. 🙂

The one thing that I would do differently is:
I would use a large can of pineapple slices.

If you try the recipe, let me know how you like it.

Have a sweet rest of the week.

chef

 

😀
spgrnbgln

Using a Mason Jar with a blender For a Single Smoothie

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My sister has one of those handy dandy single smoothie blender thingies. Like a good little sister still following in her big sister’s footsteps, I wanted one too. I use my blender for smoothies. It’s a bit off-putting to have to wash the many parts for one little old smoothie. So, as I said, I wanted a single smoothie maker.

I went shopping around the internet and was quite dismayed by the prices of the better rated single smoothie makers. I was sad and thought that I’d just stick with my blender… ~sigh of dismay~ and then my little old gears began to turn in my mind and brought forth a memory…

Back in 2001, after a stroke, my Mom couldn’t eat solid foods anymore. My Brother was her primary caretaker and he figured out a way to puree several different foods and keep them on hand without having to clean a complete blender every time: he used mason jars instead of the blender’s pitcher container.
It’s such a clever idea, I asked him how he thought of it.
He told me that back in his younger days, he and his friends made daiquiris in mason jars.
I think it was wonderful he remembered it. I believe that God teaches us things to use later on in life, even when we’re not aware of it. I think the lesson of the mason jar and blender was meant to help during the time of his caring for our Mother.
Mom was certainly grateful for his knowledge and tender care in helping her to try and get better. I wish Mom was still with us. I think she would enjoy the smoothie craze. She loved making milkshakes for us young’uns and our Dad. Mom loved making new recipes, especially dessert type foods.

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After remembering about the mason jar and blender idea, I got a pint mason jar,  put some ingredients in it and happily made a single smoothie.
Goodness it was tasty and clean up was so much easier.

Unfortunately, not all blenders are mason jar friendly. However, if your blender is one that can be used with a mason jar and if you decide to use this idea, some of my following suggestion might be helpful:
-follow blender manufacturers recommendation about ice or frozen ingredients.
-fill the jar only about 3/4 or less of-the-way full,
-make sure the blender collar fits the neck of the jar securely
-use quick ‘pulses’ until you’ve chopped up the crushed ice or/and frozen fruit and/or large chunks of foods. After it’s fairly well chopped up, blend it normally.
-now and then you may need to take the jar off the blender base, leave the blender collar/blades on the jar, shake the food down and then put the jar back on the base to blend some more.
-you can pour your smoothie in a glass or do like I do and drink it from the jar.

I’m glad I remembered the mason jar/blender idea. I use it for more than smoothies. It’s easy to chop nuts, bread crumbs, crackers or other things, put a ring/lid on the jar and save them for later.

Do you have a favorite blender recipe or helpful hint?
Wishing you a smooth rest of the week.

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Homemade Chicken Pot Pie & chicken broth

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IMG_7486
The other day I saw a photo of  Bisquick chicken pot pit and of course that made me want to make one. I’d never made it before. Thankfully the recipe isn’t too complicated and I had all the ingredients on hand. It turned out really pretty and mighty tasty.

Here’s a link to the recipe: Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie

Here’s my adjustments and changes to the recipe:
I used Pict Sweet frozen vegetables
I used 1% milk
I used Egg Makers (liquid eggs)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp thyme
I baked my chicken pot pie in a deep baking dish (about 8-inch x 2-inch deep). I didn’t think any of the pie plates or pans I have would have worked very well.
IMG_7481

The recipe calls for cooked chicken. It didn’t specify how to cook it. I needed to make some broth anyhow so I took care of 2 food stuffs at once and boiled the chicken with some herbs, onions & sweet peppers. The chicken turned out beautiful and tasted really good. It worked great for the pot-pie. I was going to make chicken salad with part of it, but my husband and Shelibean decided that it was the perfect snack to nibble on in front of the tv. lol

Even though I used skinless boneless chicken breasts, I still strained the broth 3 times through 8 layers of cheesecloth.
(Then the next day it occurred to me that I should have used a coffee filter to strain it through. It would have been less work. I hope I can remember the coffee filter the next time I make broth.)

I let the broth cool and pour one cup portions into square plastic containers then freeze them. I take the frozen broth ice cube out of the plastic container and put them in vacuum pack bags, date them and put them in the freezer for future use.
I love the way these look.
(Does that make me odd? lol)
IMG_7516
We use alot of broth in recipes and since salt is a problem in the processed foods, salt-free homemade broth is a welcomed staple to have on hand.

The sun is shining and the temps are warming up. It’s 57°, if the wind would stay calm, it would be a lovely day to go for a walk and look for signs of green.

I’m so happy to finally dare-to-hope that maybe Spring-like weather might be here soon.

Hope you all have a lovely day!
🙂

spcr1