Journey to cooking from Scratch
Monday, January 30, 2012
Now I dont know what to do
So as I started to finally start getting us on track I have a new obstacle to overcome. My youngest daughter who is 4 1/2 months old was having some bowel movement issues that we got figured out today. She has a protien intolerance, which means for me(since she is breastfeeding) that I have to eliminate Dairy of all kinds, Soy, wheat and egg whites. Not a whole lot left after you take all that out. It is going to be hard, but I want the healthiest option for my daughter and to me that means breastmilk. So if anyone has any help I would love to hear it all.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Some more recipes I might try.
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/main-dishes/quinoa-crusted-chicken-fingers

I am thinking about trying this tomorrow for dinner. Maybe :-)

I am thinking about trying this tomorrow for dinner. Maybe :-)
Calzones
So I made these last night and I would not choose to use the dough recipe again. http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-calzones-378119
It was way too sticky to work with, and it turned out to be too much bread on the calzones because I couldn't get it thinner without it tearing. So dont use it. The taste itself wasnt great either.
It was way too sticky to work with, and it turned out to be too much bread on the calzones because I couldn't get it thinner without it tearing. So dont use it. The taste itself wasnt great either.
Traditional Irish Shepherd's Pie
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb lamb
- 1 large onion , finely diced
- 3 -4 large carrots , finely diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 -4 sprigs fresh thyme , finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 glass red wine
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup stock
- 1 large quantity mashed potatoes (estimating 1L or 6 cups, fresh or leftover)
- 1 egg , beaten
- grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
- 1Pre-heat oven to 200C/400°F.
- 2Saute carrots in the olive oil until starting to get tender.
- 3Add in the onions and saute for a minute or two then add the meat.
- 4Season with black pepper and thyme.
- 5Cook until browned then drain fat.
- 6Add the butter and peas.
- 7Sprinkle with flour and stir through.
- 8Add tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.
- 9Let this reduce slightly then add the chicken stock. Allow to reduce down until you have a thick meaty gravy. Season to your taste.
- 10Remove from heat. Grease an oven proof dish** (9x13 works for me, as does an oval baker) with butter and add the sauce.
- 11Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over top. Brush with egg and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if using.
- 12Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.
- 13Serve as is or with some crusty bread to mop up that yummy sauce!
Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/traditional-irish-shepherds-pie-302120#ixzz1kiOK65s8
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Savory Chicken Pocket Pie

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Ingredients
- 1 3-pound chicken (to get 1 heaping cup of shredded meat; you can freeze remainder for other recipes)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup chopped celery (1 large stalk)
- 1/3 cup chopped carrot (1 carrot)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (from the reduced poaching liquid)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Cream Cheese Pastry Dough
- 1 large egg, for egg wash
Directions
- Place the chicken in a pot and add water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 50 minutes. Skim and discard any foam as it rises on the surface. Remove the chicken to cool continue to boil the broth to reduce and concentrate to about 1 quart. Remove the meat from the chicken and shred.
- To make the filling, melt the butter in a medium-sized hot skillet and add the onion, celery, and carrot. Saute over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chicken broth and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 heaping cup shredded chicken and the Parmesan cheese. Cool in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or line a baking sheet.
- To form the pocket pies, work with half of a disk of dough at a time, rolling it out on a floured surface. Using an overturned bowl (about 5 inches across), cut out circles about 3 at a time from each piece of dough. After cutting out all your circles, gather all dough scraps, reroll, and cut out a final time. Place 1/4 cup filling on one side of a dough circle. Wet the edges of the dough with the water. Fold the dough over to form a half circle. Pinch the edge of the dough together. Crimp the edge with a fork. Repeat the process until all the filling is used. The pocket pies can be frozen at this point.
- Place the pocket pies on the prepared baking sheet and chill for a few minutes. Prick each pie on top twice with a fork. When ready to bake, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the egg wash over each pocket pie. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. The pies can be cooled and frozen to reheat in the microwave.
Here is the link : http://www.marthastewart.com/344205/savory-chicken-pocket-pies
Okay, so I tried these and doubled the ingredients. It says it is suppose to yield 10 pocket pies, but I was only able to get 8 (so 16 total). But still, these were delicious. The whole family loved them. I will definitely be making them again and highly recommend you try them for yourself.
Okay, so I tried these and doubled the ingredients. It says it is suppose to yield 10 pocket pies, but I was only able to get 8 (so 16 total). But still, these were delicious. The whole family loved them. I will definitely be making them again and highly recommend you try them for yourself.
Homemade BLT's and Fries.
So here are my super yummy BLT's made with my homemade bread which by the way was very yummy. Best recipe I have tried yet. And also my french fries which tasted great but for some reason made my mouth slightlly burned like an acidic type burn. I will try with different potatoes to see if they are any better but I am not too sure about these just yet. Heres a pic, see I am getting better.
My daughter wanter her plate in a picture also so I thought I would add it here too.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
My day.
So today was very busy. It was the first day I have had the opportunity to get out of the house since last sunday. Yes I have been stuck in the house for a whole week. So my day was filled with grocery shopping. Yay. I went to Trader Joes, I happen to be in love with that store now. But I cant do ALL my shopping there so I went to QFC also. After that I came home and started my 5 lb chicken in the boiling water to shred:
Oh and I forgot to add that I started my bread in the bread machine on dough setting and then baked in oven after my machine did all the hard work.
Once I had that going I started my butter, which by the way is not as cheap or cheaper then just buying it. It cost me $6 for just a cup and a half. I can buy 2 cups for at least $3. But lesson learned and i am excited to try it.
Once I had that going I started my chopping for my pizza sauce.
And then finished my pizza sauce which turned out super yummy.
And I let my bread rise a little too much. It turned out huge. But Hopefully it tastes good for our BLT's. We shall see maybe tomorrow.
I also chopped all my veggies so that tomorrow I can just make up my chicken hand pies tomorrow. I did a double batch of everything so I can freeze my left overs.
It was long, but satisfying day. I am so excited about all my scratch cooking this week that I am doing. I really hope someone out there is enjoying this blog. I know that I am enjoying doing it and it helps me keep track of everything.
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