Facts about lard

When I was first learning to bake, at about 12 years old, I tried a few batches of chocolate chip cookies. I hadn't yet learned the importance of using measurements, so I threw in what looked like the right amount of ingredients, Voila! flat, from too little baking soda, over-baked, or extremely puffy, from too much baking soda. My parents had many a good laugh, at my expense. My three sisters didn't seem to mind, hey it's chocolate.
Feeling defeated by my cookies, I decided to try another family favorite, Apple Pie. I remember, sitting at the kitchen table, watching my great grandmother, making pie crust. (Was that really 40 years ago?) She didn't use measurements, and nobody laughed at her baking. I can still hear her saying, " You can't make good pie crust, without lard." I had that drummed in my head, over the course of my youth.
So I took out some flour, and asked. "Mom, what goes in a pie crust?"  she said, "Flour salt, and shortening" Shortening? I mentioned grandma using lard, and she explained, that "The experts" found, lard is very unhealthy. (These are probably the same experts, that told us to stop eating eggs, and butter too.)
I poured a little flour in a bowl, threw in a pinch of salt, and found the lard. I kept adding lard, until it wasn't dry any more. (Mom forgot to mention water.) This was later referred to as, my "Lard Pie" Try as I might, I could not roll my crust, without it sticking to the table, and rolling pin. So, when no one was looking, I pressed it into the pie pan, sliced the apples, added a little cinnamon and sugar. And fought with the top crust, for what seemed like, an hour. Finally, the top crust was just pieces of crust, placed strategically, over the pie. (They wouldn't notice.)

Everyone raved, and laughed at the same time. That was the flakiest crust I have ever tasted, to this day. Even though, I did add to much lard, and rolled it too thick. Years later, my Dad still talked about it. I made an Apple pie, for Thanksgiving, every year. ( With butter) Dad said the same thing, every year. " I liked your crust better, before you learned how to make it." :)

Recently, I have been thinking about using lard again. I decided to do a little research, to see just how bad it is, and found some really surprising information about it, that I had to share.

Here's a well written article Lard is good.

This is what Wikipedia had to say Lard with some comparisons to other commonly used oils.

Another good article Put lard back in your larder

Time Saving Tips: Cutting meats and vegetables

Lord knows, I'm not one of those speedy choppers, with knives flying flying all over the place, like Zorro on crack. Considering how many family members, walk by, and steal a piece of carrot here, green pepper there...I wouldn't even attempt it. But, I have picked up quite a few tips, over the years that saves me, so much time. I make a LOT of  stir-fry, so it's an absolute necessity for me. Here are a few.

You can dice a seeded pepper in about 1 minute, with this technique. first cut it into strips, then lay them on their side, and cut across the strips. Anything I can cut into strips, (celery, peppers, carrots, half frozen steak) I do this way. I find it easier, to shred carrots, than cut them. They cook faster, that way too.

You can dice a peeled onion, in less than a minute with this technique. make several slices into the onion, but don't cut all the way through. The closer they are together, the smaller, the pieces will be.

Turn the onion, and make slices the same way, not all the way through.

Then, lay the onion on it's side and make slices, all the way through. You'll wind up with a small piece that, can either be chopped or discarded. You can also do this, with a firm tomato, using a serrated knife too.

You can cut an entire pound of bacon in about 1 minute, if it's nearly frozen. Thaw a package of bacon for only 30 minutes. Stand the mostly frozen bacon on it's side, and slice through. then allow it to thaw further before using. I keep a freezer bag of pre-cut bacon on hand, for those recipes that call for, just a few slices.

It is so much faster, to cut up meats, if they are partially frozen. For diced chicken, I lay the partially frozen breast, on it's side, and slice it through. Now I have two thinner pieces. I slice these into strips, then cut across the strips, like the photo of the pepper above. You can cut up a 3lb. bag in about 5 minutes. You could split this up, between freezer bags, for later use.

                Partially frozen round steak, can quickly be sliced very thin.

Lucy-Mans best friend- (Unless a womans baking Bacon-Peanut-butter Doggie Treats.)

Old Lucy, laying down eating.This has to be the laziest, sweetest, most gentle dog, that I have ever known.
She rarely leaves my husbands side. It's so sweet, seeing the bond they have. If he watches TV, so does Lucy. If he waters the garden, Lucy's right there looking for insects to snack on. If he takes a shower, she lays outside the door, waiting for him. She whines when she hears him leave for work, then goes to her dog bed, and sleeps all day, until he comes home. But as soon as she hears his car, she's re-animated, like a young puppy.
We have a daily ritual, She greets him at the door, (I've learned to stay out of the way, or else, be trampled and knocked to the floor) Then she runs to me, like she wants to give me the good news, panting loudly, and bounding, and I yell "WooHoo, He's here, He's here!" Then she plops down onto her back, for her belly rub, She loves this game, just like a darn kid.

I think, the one thing, that makes me really love this dog, is the way she is with kids. She loves them. She's the first one to greet the grandkids. (Licks and tail-wags)  If a baby starts crying, she runs to see what's wrong. She's been mauled by many a toddler. (hair pulling, eye poking, canine trampoline, don't worry, we stop them) I have always been nervous, having babies around a large dog, but Old Luc' just licks them in the face, and finds a hiding place, until they go home. But as soon as they leave, out comes the canine vacuum, happily cleaning up all the cookie crumbs and whatnot, that they have dropped on the floor.

A relative gave her to us, about 5 years ago. She'd been found, dumped on the side of the road. The most pitiful looking thing, she was so thin, you could see every rib and vertebrae, and there were signs of abuse. She was so dehydrated, that her skin was hard, like leather, and the vet didn't want to risk any vaccinations, for a few months. She could barely stand up. I really didn't think she would make it. But, she's happy as lark now. As you can see from the photo, she gets a few too many treats. ( I think everyone in the family, sneaks her a few scraps) But, we have a lot of making up to do, for the hard life, she must have led.

The only thing that entices her to leave his side, is cooking. I often find her, laying in front of the stove, while I have something, baking in the oven. She's become a bit finicky about her dog-food, so, we change brands now and then, to give her a change of pace. Occasionally, I'll drizzle it, with a little bacon grease, for a treat. Which eventually led to making dog treats. I save all my bacon grease, for these. The peanut butter and oats, add a lot of protein and iron.

Ingredients:
2eggs
1cup milk-(or use, beef or chicken broth)
2Tbl. peanut butter
6Tbl. melted, bacon drippings-more if you prefer-(or any meat drippings)
dash of garlic powder
dash of onion powder
2 cups old fashioned oats-(whole oats)
2cups flour

Preparation:
Whisk together eggs, milk, peanut butter, bacon drippings, garlic and onion powders.
Stir in the oats, and let stand 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350*
Stir in, 1cup of flour. Knead as much of the remaining cup of flour, as you can, to make a semi stiff dough.
Roll into 1inch balls, place on a greased cookie sheet, and flatten with the palm of your hand.
Bake about 45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool overnight, and store in the fridge. Makes about 40 crackers.

Flatten the dough-balls on a cookie sheet. I stamp the cookies, so they aren't mistaken for people food.

Bake about 40 minutes, or more, until lightly browned. Once they cool completely, they become crisp and almost hollow, kind of like a cracker. Store in the fridge.

Thai Basil in the Herb Garden

                                         Thai Basil (Siam Queen)

The Thai basil is still small, but I couldn't wait any longer, I had to pluck a handful of leaves to make dinner.
If you haven't tried this mild sweet basil yet, you must add this to your to do list. It has a light anise-like aroma, and not a bit spicy. You can add an entire handful to a dish, using it sort of like a green leaf vegetable. It lends great flavor to Asian dishes.

I'm trying a new tarragon this year. It was labeled "Texas Tarragon", but I did a little research and found that it's also called Spanish tarragon, Mexican mint marigold, and sweet mace. Unlike the hardy French tarragon, Texas tarragon is only hardy to zone 8. It smells and tastes like The French variety, only more pronounced, and much prettier to look at. I mix whole leaves into a salad, I also add chopped leaves to seafood dishes.

                                                 Texas Tarragon
 
I couldn't put the camera away before snapping a photo of the first lilies (my favorite flower) of the year.

                                                   Trumpet lilies

Pizza Sandwiches - Cooking with the Grandkids

                        Child sized and, they had a great time making them.

My grandmother used to make the best pizza sandwiches on sliced Italian Roma buns, in her restaurant.
I still use her recipe to this day. If it ain't broke don't fix it.They have a fresher taste than using prepared pizza sauce. True Italian restaurant flavor. The use of garlic spread really makes them fantastic.
I had a lot of fun making these as a little girl, and thought it would be a great way to introduce cooking to my grandchildren. I use all types of breads, Italian, French, fresh baked white loaves. Hot dogs buns work surprisingly well to make smaller kid size sandwiches.

This recipe is for ham and mushroom  (and) sausage and mushroom. It makes about 40 small sandwiches, so you'll have to downsize if you're not feeding a large brood. These are so simple that you really don't need a recipe.

Ingredients:
3 packages hot dog buns- separated -
1 recipe Easy garlic butter
2lbs. mild sausage- I use Bob Evans country mild
1lb. cooked ham slices  -
1tsp. garlic powder
1-29oz. can tomato sauce
2-16oz. cans of  mushrooms
2lbs shredded mozzarella

Preparation:
Fry the sausage with the garlic powder. Drain the fat, and allow to cool.
Spread the bun halves with thin layer of  garlic butter.
Then spread about 1Tbl. of tomato sauce.
Add whatever toppings you like.
Top with shredded mozzarella, and bake until the cheese just begins to brown.

3 Great Appetizers For Your Get- Togethers

 L-R Camelback poppers, Chillicheese Dip and my favorite Hot wing recipe.

You can't go wrong here. No matter how much I make of these 3 dishes , It's usually never enough. At most of our gatherings, everyone usually fills up on the appetizers, and I wind up with tons of leftovers from dinner. So I can usually count on not cooking for a few days after. Here are the links to the recipes.

      Hot Wings               Chilli Cheese Dip                   Camel Back Poppers

THE-WALL-O-SHAME!

                                                My burned tortillas

                                 Aaron's midnight snack. grilled cheese-  lol

Another attempt at creating a cherry cordial fudge, I'm not giving up

Staples I can't Live Without

You know how it is, browsing through the grocer, minding your business. All of a sudden there it is.
Angel choir begins to sing, the sun comes out from behind a cloud, and cast a beam on... Pureed Ginger.
O.K maybe it wasn't that melodramatic, but it was one of those AHA! moments. This is ingenious. Ginger is so tough and fibrous- such a pain to work with.
I love Asian food, so this is a Godsend for me.
I'm still experimenting, but I think you need only about 1/4 the ginger a recipe calls for- if you switch to pureed.
Love this stuff.  I'm going to add a new tag  -Staples I can't Live Without - and many will have recipes for that product.
Recipe for - Pureed Ginger @ Recipe 4 All


My all time favorite product is bottled minced garlic. I don't know what type of garlic is used for this, but it must be a better variety than most of the fresh garlic bulbs I've used.
I go through about 4 -5 quarts a year. So you might not want to stand too close. :) Anytime I try a new recipe, and think there's somethin' missin' ...PLOP! in goes the garlic, that usually fixes it.
It's touted as one of the "superfoods", also keeps vampires and unwanted relatives  away! good stuff.

Once I discovered Chipotles in Adobo sauce, I was so intrigued by these smoked jalapenos, I started trying them in many of my existing recipes. If you want to add a southwest flair to a dish, try puree-ing  1 or 2 of these in the sauce. The flavor is truly unique. I also use the adobo sauce in the can for cooking. It picks up the flavor of the chipotle but not the heat.
 I try to keep a container in the fridge at all times, but my husband finds them ( He eats them like candy-yuk) So I keep a can or 2 hidden behind my spice jars....shhhh.

Chipotles in Adobo sauce- You can find them in the Mexican section of your grocer.

Fried Chicken Salad, Cream of Broccoli Soup and Cream Puffs.

                  Fried Chicken Salad, Cream of Broccoli Soup and Cream Puffs.


Whenever I make fried chicken salad, I always laugh, being  reminded of my 3 boys, when they were growing up.
They would run a very effective scam on me while I was frying.
I call it the 'wolf pack'. One of them would walk in and ask me a question. Her I am, all excited because someone wanted my opinion, finally, my chance to give sage advise. Whilst I am distracted, giddy with glee, the other two wolves make their move.
They snatch a few handfuls of chicken, French fries, etc.. and stealthily make their way back into the bedroom, where they split up the booty. It took a few years, but I finally figured it out, after having spent 45 minutes making French fries, and the dish wasn't getting any fuller. Stinkers!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Fried Chicken Salad

Cream Puffs

Baking With The Grandkids-Cookie Day!

                      Kolachy, Painted sugar cookies, English toffee cookies

Baking with kids can be a lot of fun, Wide eyes getting a glimpse at the first batch of cookies being pulled from the oven.  After that it's a mixed bag of "Are they done yet", Fingers poking the perfectly uniform dough (several of them) Fighting over who gets to use the red paint. But it was worth it in the end.

                                           Jacob painting his cookie.

Ariel with one of her cookies. If you'll notice, Nick in the background having a sample of the frosting.

So I said "Nick, don't eat the frosting, or we wont have enough for the cookies" He said "I didn't"
Yep, it was worth it!  :)


I tried the recipe for vanilla almond sugar cookies from Kelly at  Eat Yourself Skinny Really good recipe. Then I found a recipe for cookie paint at Food.com
I had to use about 4 times the corn syrup it called for but it turned out perfect.
The kids had a great time painting their cookies, I think we have a new addition to Cookie Day
Here are the recipes for:

Kolacky Cookies

English Toffee Cookies

Away From The Kitchen- Bath Bomb Fizzies

                    Handmade soap, soy fragrance tarts, perfume and bath bombs

Instead of baking today I decided to make a batch of bath bombs . A bath bomb in action. Drop one in the tub and inhale.
These are so easy, and you can make them in your favorite scents.
I made this batch using "OMG Olive" from Natures Garden. A soft citrus-vanilla-musk blend.

Recipe: and  Tutorial
3cups baking soda
1cup citric acid
1/2oz. fragrance oil
a few drops of food coloring
a spray bottle of water (I don't use witch hazel)
This made 17 -half sized -bombs
I get my fragrance oils from Natures Garden  and  Daystar
the citric acid from  http://stores.ebay.com/essentialdepot

Mix together baking soda and citric acid. Blend in fragrance and color. moisten with water until it begins to stick together, like wet sand.

Press into any mold (I Make mine into only 1/2 bombs) and dry overnight. Keep them in storage bags. You can use them the next day.

Horseshoes-Welsh Rarebit On Steroids

                                        Grilled Chicken Horseshoe


Chances are you have never heard of a Horseshoe.
It is a century old dish that originated in my hometown and is relatively unheard of outside central Illinois.
The Corndog, and Chili are said to have originated here also.
Originally a horseshoe was:
Place 2 hamburgers on 2 slices of toast, cover with a pile of French fries then add cheese sauce over all.
Then there is the pint size Ponyshoe which includes 1 slice of toast, 1 hamburger topped with fries and cheese sauce.
I really don't care for the hamburger version, but I like them with ham, breaded tenderloin and corned beef.
Every restaurant has their own unique cheese sauce. A local paper has an annual "Best of Springfield"publication that includes 'Best Horseshoe' as a category.

Adam Richman  of  Man vs. Food ate his way through town and had one. Man vs Food-Sprinfield
Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives ate one Diners, Drive-ins and Dives-Springfield
Today I found a Blog dedicated to...here it comes...The Horseshoe. The Horseshoe Sandwich Blog
This heart attack on a plate makes a Big Mac look like a nancy boy.
Nowadays they are made with about every topping under the sun, but always include toast, meat, fries and cheese sauce. Here is my favorite.  Grilled Chicken Horseshoe

Habeneros, Scorpions, and Ghosts- Oh My

Oh Boy. My insane Husband is about to order from  Pepper Joe  again. My freezer is packed with who knows how many years worth of hot peppers already. Last year he decided to order "The Hottest Pepper in the World" -The Ghost Pepper. I only had to touch a tiny sliver to the tip of my tongue to know when to walk away.
Paul, on the other hand, made his Lucifer's Onions, Nuclear Chilli, and Fire In The Hole  Beans with these insanely HOT peppers.
As if that wasn't hot enough, My son David (equally insane) decided to buy a food dehydrator and proceeded to dry large containers of molten ash to sprinkle over my blander dishes.
Well the fun isn't going to end there. Now apparently there is a new "Worlds Hottest Pepper" - The Scorpion- I guess He'll buy the -Volcano in a box -in case he runs out of hot peppers this millennium.

Copycat Recipes

You know those prepared foods that are so good you try to imitate them.
I think I'll designate a new section to this blog for them. copycat.
I'm adding liqueur recipes-enough for small amounts. I make a gallon at a time.  *,}
Do you have a favorite copycat recipe?

How I Turned This Salmon Hater Into a Salmon Lover

I"ll admit, I was not a salmon lover, but it really is very healthy for you.
So a few months ago, I decided to try a few recipes that I found on the internet, to my surprise, I now love salmon
I will post the four recipes that changed my mind.