Tuna Casserole from Scratch

3 Tb butter
3 Tb flour
2 C milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp season salt (i.e. Lawry's)
3 C. cooked elbow noodles
2 5-oz cans tuna in water, drained
1 C frozen peas
bread crumbs

-Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Sprinkle flour over and whisk together until well blended.
-Slowly pour in milk and add salts.
-Continue to cook on medium, stirring often at first and continually at end until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat.
-Taste...if it seems too bland, add in some more salt to taste. I like to start low on salt and then add to taste, so I don't end up with a salt lick by accident!:)
-Mix with noodles, peas and tuna in a greased, ovenproof bowl (2.5-3qt) or pan (8x10).
-Top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for ~25 minutes.

Y: 4 lg servings

I used to be very intimidated by making the idea of making white sauces by scratch. After being in Guinea, coming back and trying it a few times I look back and feel silly! It's very easy and very cheap! Do try it if you never have. No need to have cream of mush/chx soup on hand if you have a lil' bit of flour, butter, salt and milk!:) Spice it up as you like!

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 C oil
1/2 C brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 C quick oats
3 C milk (may substitute with milk powder/water or water if unable to have dairy)
cinnamon/sugar

-Mix oil and br sugar.
-Mix eggs in until well blended.
-Sprinkle over bk powder and mix with fork or whisk until no lumps remain.
-Stir in oats, then milk until blended.
-Pour into buttered 9x13 pan.
-Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar.
-Bake at 350 for ~30-35 minutes, til golden, lightly browned.
-Serve warm and top with fruit (canned peaches are sooo yummy) and yogurt (homemade plain is the way we roll) or milk, and sprinkle with a little bit more cinnamon/sugar, honey or maple syrup as desired.

Y: This would depend on your family appetite:)...it usually lasts our family of 3 three breakfasts. Cover and refrigerate between servings.

After much trial and error using three different starter baked oatmeal recipes, I'm sticking with this one. We love it. The base is from my friend Auntie J in Guinea. Interestingly, Africa is where we first had baked oatmeal. It is such a filling, fiber and protein-rich breakfast. I've seen many variations now of sugar/oil content. I appreciate leaving the sugar low. I prefer it less sweet and enjoy just sprinkling a little sugar on top if needed. Hope you enjoy!!

Monster Pancake

I struggled to get a decent picture of this! The recipe is one we brought back from Guinea, from Auntie J. So simple, so yummy! A new family favorite...Abraham loves getting to shake on the powdered sugar:)

1/2 stick butter (4 Tb)
1 C flour (can use all whole wheat)
1 C milk
4 eggs
Cinnamon (couple dashes)
Powdered Sugar

-Turn oven on to 375. Place butter in 2 small or 1 large pan (I use a 10x14 pan) in the oven to melt. Check on butter in a few minutes!
-Whisk together flour, cinnamon and milk til smooth.
-Whisk in eggs til well blended.
-Remove pan from oven once butter is melted (try not to let it brown).
-Pour batter over butter in pan. It will mix in with the butter a bit...that's fine!
-Bake at 375 or 170C for 20 min.
-Serve with powdered sugar to top or drizzle with honey and splash with lemon juice!

Homemade Tortillas & Pia-Mato Sauce

I learned to make these tortillas in Guinea, West Africa. They are sooo good, and remarkably easy - even I could do it! Ha! (I am not so great with bread:)). They do take a bit of time though, but once made you can freeze the extras if desired.

Flour Tortillas ( from Wycliffe Int. Cookbook)
Combine:
-4 C flour
-2 tsp salt
Cut in:
-6 Tb oil ( or shortening)
Add
-1 C water
-Form a ball. Add more water if necessary, until bowl is clear of all dough. Knead well on floured board 20-25 times, then make balls the size of eggs. Let stand 15 min. Roll very thin with rolling pin on lightly floured surface to size of salad plate. Place on hot, ungreased skillet and cook for about 1-2 minutes on one side (until starts to bubble). Turn and cook approx 1 min longer. Watch closely, as second side will cook fast!
-Keep warm on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees in the oven, stacked, covered with a light towel if desired.
-Serve with fried ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, and Pia-Mato Sauce, and Cheese!
Y: 2 doz.
Variations:
Cornmeal: Replace 1 C flour with cornmeal
Whole Wheat: Use 2 C whole wheat, 2 C white flour

Pia-Mato Sauce:
2-4 Tomatoes, diced
1 Avacado, diced
Onions, diced (optional)
Green Pepper, diced (optional)
1 pkg Italian dressing dry mix, mixed per instructions or Italian Salad Dressing to cover

-Combine shortly before serving!

This is an impromptu recipe:) nostalgic of the wonderful food we had in Guinea. Our missionary friends there called it their own special Guacamole, and it was made with fresh local veggies and imported Italian dressing!:) For those with sensitive tummies, just leave out the peppers and onions. I made up the name for fun and for memories...the Pular (a Guinean dialect) word for Avacado is Pia!

Crock-Pot Bean Soup

2 C. dry navy beans, washed (can soak overnight if desired - not necessary though)
4 med. potatoes, peeled and diced
1 sweet potato or a few carrots, peeled and diced
1 tsp Dried onions or 1 diced onion
1-2 Tb Parsley, dried
Salt (to taste - can use plain, Lawry's, or Zender's chicken seasoning (my fave))
Pepper to taste (I'm generous with this:))
Water

-Mix all together in crock-pot ( I use a 3 Qt crock-pot). Cover with water to one inch below lid.
-Cook on high until softened (~4 hours), then low until soft enough to mash a bit. Continue on low until mushy soft!
-Mash with potato masher. Add more water if needed. Also may cook on low for ~8 hours.

Yumm-o on a rainy day with some fresh warm bread! This is a variation of my Mom's Bean Soup, which is great! Her recipe calls for celery and carrots rather than sweet potato. I've also tried half navy/half red beans and liked that.

Pretty Beef Stew

1 lb beef stew cubes, slightly thawed or thawed
1 Tb butter
1 onion, diced
1/4 C gr pepper, diced
1 C hot water

4 med potatoes, peeled & chunked
1 sweet potato, peeled & diced
1 C tomato, diced (canned or fresh)
2 carrots, diced
salt
pepper
Lawry's seasoning salt
1 pinch of Parsley
2 C hot water

1/2 C cold water
2 Tb flour

-Melt butter in pressure cooker over med/high heat and brown beef, onions and gr pepper.
-Add 1 C water and close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe (I use a Presto 8Qt Cooker), and cook 8 (thawed) or 13 (partially thawed) minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly.
-Cool cooker at once by running cold water over it (it will make strange noises that are a little scary, but really, this is what the company recommends and my mother-in-law has done for years and years - don't be frightened:)).
-Add hot water, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, pepper and salts (to taste - go easy...can always add more later). Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 5 minutes once regulator rocks.
-Cool cooker at once.
-Mix flour in cold water well. Stir into stew, and stir until thickens.

Recipe adapted from Presto's Instruction manual.

Y: 4-6 servings

I really like the sweet potato in this and the color the stew turns out...so pretty! Add any veggies you have sitting around...as a friend in Africa called it...anything that must go you can turn into "Mustgo" Soup. :)

Auntie J's Breakfast Cake

I love this versatile recipe from a dear friend and mom in Guinea. It offers a wonderful way to use up leftovers, add interesting nutrition to breakfast, and gives plenty of options based on what ingreds you have available!!

1/2 C oil or butter
1 C sugar (or less if using a sweet **fruit/veggie below)
4 eggs
2 C mashed **banana, pumpkin, leftover oatmeal, applesauce, carrots, sw potatoes, potatoes...can also include graded stale leftover muffins, cake, etc.
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C quick oats or oat flour
1/2 ground flax seed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg, if no topping used
1 C milk with 1 Tb bk powder
or
1 C yogurt with 1 tsp bk soda
1 handful dried fruit - craisins & golden raisins (our fave) or dr blueberries, raisins, etc

Topping (we halve this):
4 Tb butter, softened
2/3-3/4 C oats
1/2 C br sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves (we omit)
1/2 tsp ginger (we omit)

-Mix oil & sugar well
-Mix in eggs
-Add **ingred. and vanilla
-Mix dry ingreds in separate bowl, including bk powder or soda
-Add to wet ingreds along with milk
-Stir in dried fruit
-Pour into greased 9x13 pan
-Mix topping ingreds, if desired, and sprinkle with topping
-Bake at 350 for 30-45min, until golden brown


We generally use the first ingred listed in any of the items above with an "or," such as milk instead of yogurt. I've also used stale, grated coconut bread and just added extra milk one time, when I didn't have extra produce to use up. My rating, mmm 10/10 !!

Homemade Cottage Cheese

Upon returning home from Guinea this spring I was inspired to use milk for more than just baking. The mother I cooked with in Guinea made yogurt from milk powder...surely we should be doing that - and more with the resources we've been blessed with! So I went looking for a simple cottage cheese recipe. This is what I found, and we love it!! So easy, so squeaky good! The original recipe can be found at The Cooking Inn. I adapted it just a little as follows:

1 Gallon Whole Milk (may skim cream off if desired if using raw)
1/2 C Vinegar
Salt to taste

-Heat milk on medium heat in large covered pot, stirring occasionally (more toward end), until it reaches an almost boil (180-190 degrees).
-Take off heat and stir in vinegar.
-Stir until curds separate, approx. 20 seconds!
-Allow to cool a bit, then pour contents into a strainer to drain the whey.
-Add salt to taste to the curds.
Yummy!!

-We actually like this warm (and squeaky!) or cold (with fruit...mmmmm:)). It is also good in pasta dishes. Add a little milk or cream if desired.


Visit Tammy's Recipes for more dairy ideas!

Here's a little video...what a great science project!

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 1/2 C flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C quick oats
2 tsp salt
2 tsp bk soda

1 1/2 C br sugar
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C butter, softened
1 C shortening
4 eggs
2 tsp real vanilla
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 C mini milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 C m & ms

-Mix first set of ingreds together well.
-In separate bowl cream sugars, butter, and shortening.
-Mix eggs lightly in a separate bowl, then add to sugar mix with vanilla until creamy.
-Add in dry ingreds and start to add in chips and m&ms once dry ingreds are mostly mixed, but not totally worked in.
-Chill dough at least one hour in fridge.
-Chill baking sheets or make sure they are not hot anymore before placing dough on sheets.
-Scoop and drop big tablespoons full onto pans and bake at 400 for 7-8 min, until lightly golden brown (might look underdone).
-Let sit on pan ~ 1 min and remove.
-Do not overbake or leave on pan too long, or cookies won't be as thick.

Y: 6 dozen

Note: These are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had turn out. Often mine are thin and crispy, which I don't care for. I'm kind of a cc cookie lover and am always looking for a great recipe. This one will definitely be a keeper...lots of chunks, nice thickness and chewy...ahhh 10/10!:) Recipe adapted from here...

Whole-Grain Banana Nutmeg Coffee Cake

3Tb butter, softened
1 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 C. br sugar
1 C. Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. sugar
1 Tb. bk powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C. veg. oil
1 C. milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 mashed bananas
1/4 C. chopped pecans

-Mix butter, oats, 1/4 C. whole wheat flour and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
-Mix flours, sugar, bk powder, nutmeg, and salt.
-Mix egg, oil, bananas, vanilla and milk.
-Combine last two steps.
-Spread half of mixture in greased 9-in springform pan (or any 9 in pan). Sprinkle half of oat mixture on top.
-Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oats and nuts. Bake at 350 for approx. 40 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

Tried this out today (a rainy day - perfect for baking, of course), and mmmm - I like it! Might try a little more nutmeg next time. Good thing we had 8 brown bananas sitting around waiting to be mashed! The fruit slush recipe (6 bananas) I tweaked a little also looks like it will be yummy.
Coffee cake recipe adapted from one found at Green Mountain website.

Whole-Grain Apple Coffee Cake

3Tb butter
1 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. br sugar
1 C. Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. veg. oil
1 C. milk
1 Tb. bk powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 C. chopped apples
1/4 C. chopped pecans

-Mix butter, oats, 1/4 C. flour and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
-Mix flours, sugar, oil, milk, bk powder, cinnamon, salt, and egg in large bowl until well blended.
-Stir in apples. Spread half of mixture in 9-in springform pan (or any 9 in pan) that has been greased. Sprinkle half of oat mixture on top.
-Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oats and nuts. Bake at 350 for approx. 40 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

I have made this once, and I really liked how it looked in the springform pan! Beautiful! Tasted good, too:)! Might be even better with a little powd. sugar frosting drizzled over it. A 4/5 for me, Jonathan maybe not so high of a rating.
Recipe adapted from one found at Green Mountain website.

Basic Steamed Rice

From More-with-Less Cookbook by D.J. Longacre...

Combine in heavy saucepan:
1 1/2 C. rice
1/2 tsp salt
Just enough water to rise above rice level to a depth of one inch; Asians measure using index finger from tip to middle of first knuckle.

Over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil. Stir through with a fork, loosening grains at the bottom of pan. Reduce heat to simmer, cover with tight-fitting lid, and do not stir or peek for 20 minutes. (If burner stays too hot and causes rice to boil over, pull pan partially off burner for first 5 minutes). After 20 minutes, turn off heat and let rice stand covered until ready to serve. Flake gently while transferring to serving dish. Yields a tender but slightly chewy rice with no gluey moisture at bottom.

*If using brown rice, increase cooking time to 45 minutes.


Notes: I have found this recipe really helpful and no longer buy expensive minute rice. It's a little tricky to get the consistency right, and the rice does seem gluey if it sits too long before being served.

My Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe

Anne Jisca's Easy Pizza Dough - recipe originally found at Tammy's Recipes,
modified just a pinch...

1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour (have tried using 1/2 whole wheat...pretty good, but heavier)

Pizza toppings of your choice

Instructions:
1. Dissolve yeast in water and oil. Stir in sugar, salt, and flour.

2. Mix until a ball forms. Allow to rise for 5 minutes. Roll flat and place on a greased pizza/cookie sheet. Sprinkle with desired toppings. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden. (Sometimes I bake for 5-7 minutes first then put sauce and toppings on, as I don't care for a soggy crust and this seems to help based on our toppings/oven).

Of note: 1.5x recipe fits a 11x15 pan well. Works really well for calzones.
Very good! This pizza dough turned out better than any past attempts! Rose well (as noted next to the Dordt College mug:)).