Make Your Own Syrup

There is nothing on a cold morning like a hot breakfast. Take pancakes or waffles-so good. You can feed a whole crowd on not a lot of money and they are filling, too.


Over the Christmas holidays while our youngest daughter was home from college I made whole wheat pancakes and on Christmas morning we had french toast made from banana bread-delish!


I remember a couple of years ago my daughter asked if we could make some pancakes or waffles for breakfast and I realized we were out of syrup. I then remembered that I had recently found a recipe for making my own syrup. I got my recipe binder out for sauces, found the recipe and got to work. It was just a matter of throwing some ingredients into a saucepan, heating them up, and you're set. We found out that we like this new recipe for syrup than what we used to buy.


Make Your Own Syrup


3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons butter flavoring (optional)
1 teaspoon maple flavoring


Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the burner but leave the saucepan on it until the bubbling stops (you don't want to get burned!)

It is then ready to use if you like your syrup warmed, which I do. It will thicken a little as it cools. I keep mine in glass jars in the refrigerator.

Chile-Cilantro Grilled Chicken

I wish I had a picture of this dish for you. Better yet, I wish you could taste it and see how very delicious it is. I've made this once using skinless, boneless chicken thighs because that's what I had. It was also in the middle of January, so I used my cast iron grill pan to cook them on inside. The important thing is the rub you put on the chicken that just bursts with flavor. So good!

Chile-Cilantro Grilled Chicken

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno chile
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 bone-in skin-on chicken breast halves

Heat grill. Combine all ingredients except chicken in small bowl. Generously rub over chicken and under skin. Grill, covered, over medium heat or coals 14 to 18 minutes or until no longer pink in center, turning once.

4 servings
For those of you interested, this dish contains per serving: 235 calories, 11.5 g total fat (2.5 g saturated fat), 28 g protein, 4.5 g carbohydrate, 75 mg cholesterol, 525 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

This is a recipe I got from the Cooking Pleasures magazine many years ago when I belonged to the Cooking Club of America.

I'm linking up with Tasty Tuesday.

Foolproof Roast Beef

Most cooks are familiar with the Joy of Cooking cookbook, but I wasn't until a few years ago. I had seen the title at the library, in bookstores, and in other people's kitchens, but I had never looked inside. I knew it was very popular and that cooks have been using it to cook for decades. When I joined a cookbook club about a year ago I decided to give it the Joy of Cooking a try, and I'm really glad I did. It is my new favorite because it has just about any answer to any question you might have about how to cook a particular kind of food and how a certain food is used in cooking. This edition was published in celebration of its 75th Anniversary when a widow by the name of Irma Rombauer self-published the cookbook, using her own savings to do it. Her daughter joined in and helped her with illustrations and recipe testing. Irma's grandson now heads up the publishing of JOC. I love it when families work hard to share in a project like this. It would take me a lifetime to try all the recipes in this book (not that I'm going to try!) but I know if I have doubts about how to cook a particular food, I can usually find the answer in this one.

My most successful result of a recipe is for Roast Beef. It comes out perfectly every single time. A meat thermometer is essential for this recipe, so I recommend you get one before even trying it. The other important thing is to set your oven on the high temperature it calls for. My oven only goes up to 500 degrees but it's enough. It really does make a difference. I have used a sirloin tip roast and an eye of round roast for this recipe.

Roast Beef

These directions are for the large, tender cuts we think of as Sunday dinner roast beef. Count on 2 servings per pound for bone-in roasts, 3 servings per pound for boneless roasts. The most tender are the standing rib roast and the rolled rib roast. The sirloin tip roast, eye of round, or rolled rump may be cooked the same way.

Preheat the oven to 550 degrees. Having removed the roast from the refrigerator 2 hours before, place the meat fat side up on a rack in a greased shallow roasting pan. Do not cover, and don't add liquid. Put the roast in the oven, immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast 18 to 20 minutes to the pound for medium-rare. A rolled roast will require 5 to 10 minutes longer to the pound. A thermometer should read between 125 degrees and 130 degrees for rare and 135 degrees and 140 degrees for medium. Let rest. Carve.

Salmon Burgers with Caesar Slaw

Canned salmon is one of my pantry staples and I usually stock up on it when it is on sale. It is wild salmon, which is full of the Omega-3 that we need and this is one way I can get nutrition into my family's meals without breaking the bank. I found this recipe for Salmon Burgers with Caesar Slaw from Rachael Ray and we love all the bold flavors in this dish. You can go here for the original recipe from Food Network.
I also have it written out with some variations of my own below. My added notes are in italics.

Salmon Burgers with Caesar Slaw

1 (14-0z) can Alaskan salmon, drained and flaked
2 egg whites, lightly beaten (I've also used 1 whole egg)
Handful parsley leaves, finely chopped (I've used dried parsley)
2 lemons, zested and juiced, divided (The lemon juice and zest adds a wonderful flavor to the patties)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs, 3 generous handfuls
Salt and pepper (Easy on the salt! Anchovies have alot of salt in them)
4 anchovies, finely chopped, optional (If you like Caesar dressing, use at least 2)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Couple handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano
2 hearts romaine lettuce shredded
1 head radicchio, shredded (my family doesn't care for this, so I just use romaine or other some lettuce)

To flaked salmon, add egg whites, parsley, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, 2/3 of the total amount of chopped garlic (about 2 teaspoons), the bread crumbs and lots of black pepper and a little salt. Mix together and form 4 large patties or 8 mini patties.

To a salad bowl add the remaining zest and lemon juice, remaining garlic, chopped anchovies, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire. Whisk in about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil and cheese. Add lots of black pepper and no salt. Add shredded lettuces to the bowl and toss to coat evenly. Now, season the slaw with salt to taste, if necessary.

Preheat 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook salmon patties 2 to 3 minutes on each side for mini patties, 4 minutes on each side for large patties.

Serve salmon patties atop Caesar Slaw.

Arroz con Pollo

I'm not sure where I got this recipe but I've made it a few times and my family loves it. It's a easy one-dish recipe, which makes me wonder why I don't make it more often. As usual, I make the recipe according to what I want to change or add to it, to make it the way my family would like or what I have on hand. Since red bell peppers are so expensive during the winter, I usually buy them when they are cheap in the summer from a local farm stand, chop them up, and put them in small bags in the freezer. I have made this recipe with and without the 2 ounces of ham.

Arroz con Pollo

1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken drumsticks
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 oz. smoked ham, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 3/4 cups canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups canned chicken broth or homemade stock
1 cup rice, preferably long-grain
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

In a large, deep frying pan, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Cook the chicken, turning, until well browned, about 8 minutes in all. Remove. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.

Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the ham, onion, and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes longer.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the rice and add the chicken in an even layer. Simmer, partially covered, over moderately low heat until the chicken and rice are just done, 20 to 25 minutes, adding more broth if necessary if the rice isn't completely tender but has soaked up all the liquid. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Serves 4.

Creamy Pinto Beans

This is our favorite way to cook pinto beans. They are good on their own, over rice, with cornbread, or anywhere else I use pintos. I also mash them to make refried beans.

3 cups dry pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 chopped onion
3 tablespoons bacon fat or butter
hot water
Salt to taste

Drain soaked beans. Put beans, onion, bacon fat or butter, and hot water to cover into slow-cooker for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add salt to taste.

Rick's Huevos Rancheros

After making a large crockpot full of Creamy Pinto Beans and finding some chorizo in the freezer, my husband suggested this dish. It is loosely based on Huevos Rancheros, which has no meat or beans in it, but the chorizo gave it a wonderful flavor and an added richness to the dish. And the beans, well, they are just so good, I couldn't leave them out. Just one of these was very filling. If you can't find chorizo in your grocery store, here is a recipe for it that you may want to try.

And if you want to serve 4 people, just fry up 2 more corn tortillas and 2 more eggs, and you're good to go.

Rick's Huevos Rancheros

2 corn tortillas

Oil for frying

Creamy Pinto Beans, mashed or 1 can refried beans

Salsa, store-bought or homemade

cilantro, chopped

2 eggs

Chorizo, 1/2 pound

Chopped onion, about 1/4 cup

Shredded cheddar cheese

Start by cooking the chorizo and chopped onion in a skillet until the chorizo is completely cooked and the onion is soft. Set aside.

In a small saucepan heat the beans and mash with a potato masher (if using a can of refried beans, just heat them).

In another skillet heat the oil, just enough for frying the corn tortillas. When the oil is hot fry the corn tortillas until crisp. Drain almost all of the oil from the skillet and fry the eggs over easy or sunny side up.

To assemble:

Put the fried corn tortilla on a plate. Spread on beans, then a little chorizo, one egg, some salsa, chopped cilantro, and cheese. Enjoy!

Serves 2.

I'm linking up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesdays at the Table.