Most unusual dish...

What was the most unusual dish you ate for thanksgiving?

Mine was pumpkin cheesecake instead of pie DELISH!!!

Andrea

Creative recipes

Anyone have any creative recipes that use up some of the excess candy that our kids have collected this Halloween?

Refrigerator Pickles

I love a good deli pickle. But the pickles you buy in those jars at the market just don’t cut it! They are all soggy & not at all tasty. I had always heard about these pickles you could make & keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. After doing some research I found some recipes & tried them out. Of course, I had to make a recipe my own, & this is what I came up with.

Take 6-8 pickling cucumbers & quarter them lengthwise into spears. Place them in a container that you can seal & keep in the refrigerator. Cover the spears with this combination:


2 cups cold water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 TBSP. kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
5 whole peppercorns
10 grinds of pepper
3 cloves of garlic

Keep these pickles in the fridge. I have been told that they last for 2 weeks, I really do not know because my family devours them in less than a week!
P.S. I also read that they need 2 days to “cure”. But, I love them even after 1 day!

Favorite Halloween treat

Is there a favorite Halloween treat you make for the kids?

Lentil soup with collard greens

Anybody who has read my healthy cooking articles, or who has visited my kitchen knows that I love my slow cooker. Whether I am working or driving Kylie to school & gymnastics, it is always great to come home to a hot home cooked meal. And the perfect way to achieve this is with the slow cooker.

Soups & stews are perfectly prepared this way. The “crock-pot” is great for one pot meals. Here is one of my favorites. It’s one of my mom’s favorites too!

Lentil soup with collard greens
1 TBSP. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot chopped
3 chopped red skinned potatoes
2-3 chopped garlic cloves
1 ½ cups dried lentils
7 cups vegetable stock
1 TBSP. soy sauce
Several large handfuls of collard greens cut in ribbons
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan sauté onions ,carrots & garlic cloves in olive oil. When onions are translucent add mixture to slow cooker & add all ingredients except for the collard greens. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Right before serving, cook collard greens in boiling salted water till slightly tender. Drain & add to soup. Salt & pepper to taste & enjoy!!!

Lets give it a try!

So many times I wish I could reach through the computer & talk to you guys. So, I thought of something that might help my need for connection. How about a place where I can ask a question & you let me know what you think?

Lets give it a try!!!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD?

Conversion Table for Cooking

How many times have you tried to adapt a recipe that feeds six to a recipe that feeds four? Or have you ever watched a great chef like Nigella Lawson and heard her measure her ingredients by European standards & not known how to adapt them to our own U.S. measurements? Well, here is a convenient guide that I find very helpful. Hope it helps you too!

Conversion Table for Cooking
U.S. to Metric
Metric to U.S.
Cooking Measurment Equivalents

U.S. to Metric Capacity
1/5 teaspoon = 1 milliliter
1 teaspoon = 5 ml
1 tablespoon = 15 ml
1/5 cup = 50 ml
1 cup = 240 ml
2 cups (1 pint) = 470 ml
4 cups (1 quart) = .95 liter
4 quarts (1 gal.) = 3.8 liters
Weight
1 fluid oz. = 30 milliters
1 fluid oz. = 28 grams
1 pound = 454 grams


Metric to U.S.
Capacity
1 militers = 1/5 teaspoon
5 ml = 1 teaspoon
15 ml = 1 tablespoon
34 ml = 1 fluid oz.
100 ml = 3.4 fluid oz.
240 ml = 1 cup
1 liter = 34 fluid oz.
1 liter = 4.2 cups
1 liter = 2.1 pints
1 liter = 1.06 quarts
1 liter = .26 gallon
Weight
1 gram = .035 ounce
100 grams = 3.5 ounces
500 grams = 1.10 pounds
1 kilogram = 2.205 pounds
1 kilogram = 35 oz.

Cooking Measurment Equivalents
16 tablesppns = 1 cup
12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup
10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons = 2/3 cup
8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup
6 tablespoons = 3/8 cup
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = 1/3 cup
4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons = 1/6 cup
1 tablespoon = 1/16 cup
2 cups = 1 pint
2 pints = 1 quart
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
48 teaspoons = 1 cup
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