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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Taste-bud Journey: Norwegian Casserole with an Asian Twist

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for Norwegian Casserole with or without giving it an Asian Twist. The Norwegian Casserole recipe itself was inspired by the Norwegian family I stayed with for three weeks during my college abroad to Norway. As always, I have given this recipe a few creative touches.





 

































RECIPE FOR NORWEGIAN CASSEROLE

  • 1 pound coleslaw (shredded)
  • 10 oz. grated carrots (shredded)
















  • 1 cut up leek or small onion or 2 to 4 tbsp onion flakes
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • Large packet of bologna or hotdogs or sausage or vegetarian hotdogs to slice up into fat coin-size pieces or shredded



















  • 10.5 oz. can of Cream of Onion Soup
  • About 2 cups of water


















  • Minute Rice (one serving per person)


RECIPE TO GIVE MIXTURE AN ASIAN TWIST (optional)
  • 1 to 2 tbsp flax cooking oil
  • 1 tsp Rice Vinegar
  • 1 to 2 tbsp soy sauce



PROCEDURE TO MAKE NORWEGIAN CASSEROLE

  • Step 1: In a microwave steamer, pour in the condensed Cream of Onion Soup plus 2 cups of water.

  • Step 2: Toss in all other ingredients except the meat. Stir. Steam this about 10 minutes or until fully tender and shrunk down.


















  • Step 3: In a frying pan, use either butter of cooking oil to fry up the meat.


















  • Step 4: Add the meat to the vegetable mixture. Steam for 2 more minutes.




















  • Step 5: Either serve this, as is, over Minute Rice.








OR

  • Alternate Step 5: You can take this recipe to the next level by giving it an Asian Twist.

  • Alternate Step 5A: Either in an electric grill or in a frying pan, pour in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flax seed oil.

  • Alternate Step 5B: Transfer the vegetable and meat mixture into the electric grill or frying pan.

  • Alternate Step 5C: Stir in 1 teaspoon of Rice Vinegar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.





  • Alternate Step 5D: Grill or fry this for about 5 to 10 minutes until caramelized.

  • Alternate Step 5E: You can either serve this mixture over Minute Rice. OR, you can give the rice some extra flavor by adding the rice to the electric grill or frying pan and allow it to caramelize for another minute or two of cooking.








Cooking Sites that have inspired me:


Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Taste-bud Journey: Sloppy Joe Mini Pizzas

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for Sloppy Joe Mini Pizzas. It was inspired by a recipe for a fifteen-minute pizza recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking. A link to that recipe will be included toward the end of this blog. As for the Sloppy Joe topping, I utilized a recipe found many years ago plus a few creative touches of my own.



 




 











Recipe for Pizza dough

  • 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup + 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • Flour for rolling dough


Recipe for Sloppy Joes

  • 6 oz. ground beef
  • 1/8 cup chopped peppers
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire
  • 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Please note: Since I live alone, I decided to make my pizza as miniature pizzas rather than one large one. That way, I would have an easier time storing leftovers in the limited space in my refrigerator.

 


   

Procedure to make Pizza dough

  • Step 1: Preheat oven to 400° F.

  • Step 2: Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in large bowl.

  • Step 3: In measuring cup with pouring spout, mix water and olive oil. Stir.

  • Step 4: Gradually, add water mixture to dry ingredients until dough is formed while only using as much of water mixture as required.

  • Step 5: Roll out dough and fit into pizza pan. In my case, I made the base for four small miniature pizzas.


















Procedure to make Sloppy Joe topping for pizza

  • Step 6: In skillet, cook crumbled-up beef 7 minutes over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. 

  • Step 7: In measuring cup, stir together ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, onion powder, salt, cornstarch, and chia seeds. Set aside.

  • Step 8: Stir in chopped green bell peppers to wet. 

  • Step 9: Stir in wet ingredients into drained ground beef. Bring to a boil. Then, take off heat. 

  • Step 10: Sprinkle liberal amount of cheese on pizza dough. 
  • Step 11: Spoon meat mixture on next. Top with additional cheese.





















































































  • Step 12: Bake 17-22 minutes at 400° F until golden brown.




















Please note:

Recipe Source

15-Minute Pizza Dough Recipe (No Yeast) from Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking Site

I mostly followed Gemma's recipe for the pizza dough but used a recipe found long ago for the Sloppy Joe mixture. 




Cooking Sites that have inspired me:


Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.

Friday, February 26, 2021

Taste-bud Journey: Caramelized Apples


During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for Caramelized Apples. It was mostly inspired by a Food Network recipe found on the web. The link to that recipe is listed near the end of this blog.

FYI - This recipe is super sweet. Thank goodness I had very tart apples to kind of neutralize the over-the-top sweetness!



   


 



Recipe

  • 1 cup of tightly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • Sliced and peeled apples



















Procedure

  • Step 1: In a large saucepan, add brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, salt, and unsalted butter.

  • Step 2: Whisk this together on medium heat until all the butter is melted. This will take about three minutes.

















  • Step 3: Lower the heat to low. At the four-minute point, add the vanilla extract. Cook on low for one more minute.

  • Step 4: Remove from heat. Stir in the sliced apples. 
























  • Step 5: Put on the lid. Cool for a bit at room temperature. Then, place that pot of caramelized applies in the refrigerator. 

  • Step 6: After it has had a chance to solidify a bit, dish out a bowl of apples and caramel sauce and enjoy!






Please note:

RECIPE SOURCE:

Easy Caramel Sauce - Recipe Courtesy of Ree Drummond

I mostly followed Ree Drummond's recipe.

 



Cooking Sites that have inspired me:


Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.



Thursday, February 25, 2021

Taste-bud Journey: Turkey Swiss Avocado Open-Faced Sandwich

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for a Turkey Swiss Avocado Open-Faced Sandwich. I happen to love that combination of flavors. I did some experimenting with the bread that I used for the base.



 

















Recipe for Sandwich toppings.

  • Slice or slices of turkey
  • Mashed-up avocado. I like Wholly Avocado Minis bought at Walmart.
  • Cheese flavor of choice. I like Swiss Cheese.
  • Condiment of choice. I like mayo made with Olive Oil.


Recipe for homemade flatbread (It's a half-recipe as I am only cooking for one.)

  • 1 cup Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend Mix
  • 2/3 cup of milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp of cooking oil














Please note: That tall container is known as a batter bullet. It is a fairly mess-free way to store and distribute pancake or cupcake batter. A link to the one I bought is listed below.




Procedure

  • Step 1: Toast or make your bread of choice. Just as an experiment, I tried to use my DASH Egg Bites Maker to create a piece of flatbread. It was NOT a successful attempt. I grilled it 10 minutes on one side and then flipped it over for another five minutes. I ended up finishing this off in the toaster. Next time, I will bake this in the oven if I use this particular recipe.
















  • Step 2: I spread this loaf with mayonnaise.

  • Step 3: While the bread was nice and toasty, I added in my slice of Swiss cheese so that it would begin to melt a bit. I also added in the sliced turkey after warming it up a bit in the microwave.














  • Step 4: Then I topped all of it with the mashed-up avocado.














  • Step 5: It was a treat to my particular taste buds.





Please note:

This is what I use to store my waffle batter:

I'm not sure it is the best out there; however, so far, it has worked for me very nicely.

Tovolo Pancake Pen

This is the link to the Dash Egg Bite Maker I bought from Target:

This grill makes wonderful Egg Bites but is not so good to grill flat bread. After about 10 minutes on one side and five minutes on the other, I had to finish it off in the toaster.

Dash Egg Bite Maker

Please note that they also sell this at other locations such as Amazon; however, they are currently $10 more expensive. The minitature silicone loaf mold did not come with the Egg Bite Maker. Here is the link to that:

Wilton 6ct Silicone Mini Tart and Pie Molds

 


Cooking Sites that have inspired me:


Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Taste-bud Journey: Cappuccino mixed with Coffee

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for a Cappuccino drink mixed with coffee. I spent a lot of time researching just the right Cappuccino maker to purchase and a bit of time experimenting to achieve the flavor of drink that suited my taste buds the best. In case you're interested, I have placed a link to that appliance near the end of my blog.

















































Recipe

  • 2 tablespoons of whole powdered milk
  • 1 tablespoon of instant coffee
  • 2 tablespoons of your favorite flavor of Cappuccino. I really like Maxwell House Original Cappuccino as it is not too sweet.
  • 8 ounces of water

Please note: You could use actual milk or almond milk in this recipe instead of powdered milk. I prefer this route as I rarely ever keep actual milk of any kind on hand. 


Please also note: In case you're interested, this is the brand of whole powdered milk that I use.























   

Procedure

  • Step 1: In your cappuccino maker, spoon in 2 tablespoons of powdered milk.













  • Step 2: Add in 1 tablespoon of instant coffee.


















  • Step 3: Spoon in 2 tablespoons of your cappuccino flavor of choice.


















  • Step 4: Add 8 ounces of cold water.











































  • Step 5: Turn on the milk frothing machine on the appropriate setting. I use level 3 that both heats and froths at the same time. See the photo for reference. This will run for 2 full minutes and then turn itself off.















































  • Step 6: Lift out the magnetized drink frother, shake off the excess froth, and rinse it off completely.

































































  • Step 7: Pour your drink into a tall mug.



























  • Step 8: To clean the frother, rinse it out completely. Then add dishwashing liquid and water. Put the magnetized frother back into the Cappuccino maker. Turn on the 4th setting which is the frother that runs at cold temperature. Run that while you are enjoying your drink.


































  • Step 9: Afterward, you can rinse everything off and place into your drain.





Please note:

My favorite Cappuccino maker

Detachable Milk Frother, 4 in 1 Miroco 16.9oz Automatic Stainless Steel Milk Steamer with Hot & Cold Foam Latte, Cappuccino, Macchiato, Warm Milk, Hot Chocolate, Dishwasher Safe, Silent Operation,120V



Cooking Sites that have inspired me:


Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.