Chewin'

the News

January 2001

By Tara Wohlenhaus

Edited by Nanci Slagle

New Year resolution time!  Those of us who set these lofty yearly goals usually choose things like saving more money, eating more healthfully, getting organized, and spending more time with family.  Do you realize how many of these goals can be reached with freezer cooking?  If you have not yet begun full-fledged freezer cooking, this is a great time to get started!  If you are already a 30 Day Gourmet and you hear a friend or acquaintance state their desires to reach some of these goals, share your knowledge of freezer cooking with them.  This might be a better gift than they could find under a tree in December.  Share this newsletter with your friends and help them launch the New Year right!

In This edition of Chewin' The News:

Bonus Recipes:

Ravi-rolli

8 sub or hoagie sandwich buns or 16 smaller Italian rolls

1 pound ground beef

1 cup tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut a very thin slice from the top of each bun so that it is flat on top.  Hollow out the centers leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell all the way around.  Do not make the shell any thinner.  The removed bread portions can be saved for bread crumbs or discarded.  In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.  Drain off any liquid and fat and discard it.  Add the tomato sauce, garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the drained beef.   Simmer the meat mixture about 5 minutes.  In a bowl, combine the ricotta, and Parmesan cheese.  Add half of the cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese to the ricotta mixture and stir until well mixed.  Spoon half of the meat sauce into the bread shell and spread with a spoon to cover the bottom.   Divide all of the cheese mixture evenly among the buns and spread it to cover the meat.   Spread the remaining meat mixture evenly in the buns.  Place the filled buns on a baking sheet and cover them loosely with foil.  Bake 18-20 minutes for the small buns and 20 -25 minutes for the larger buns.  Combine the remaining shredded cheeses.  Remove the foil and sprinkle the shredded cheeses over the tops and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes until the cheese is melted.   

The smaller rolls make nice serving sizes for children or for buffet sandwiches.  The larger sandwiches would be especially good for Super Bowl parties and other such large appetite gatherings.  Using spaghetti sauce will result in a spicier product and the "chunkiness" of the sauce will be up to you.  The tomato sauce results in a milder flavor without all the dreaded vegetables that children sometimes shy away from. 

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

A wonderful lady I met in The Wisconsin Dells donated this recipe.  I think the flavor is superb, but I would never tell my kiddos the real name of this one.  I think I would call it "Pizza Soup" or something that they won't be afraid of!  Also, for my family, these peppers needed to be very finely diced to get them past a couple of the kids.   

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, browned and drained

1 onion, chopped fine

48 ounces beef broth

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1 cup catsup

1 can tomato soup

4 green peppers, chopped 

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 cups cooked rice

Combine all of the above ingredients except the rice and simmer for two hours.  Add the rice and heat through to serve.  To freeze, cool the liquid mixture without the cooked rice.  Freeze the soup mixture in one container and the cooked rice in another.  To serve, thaw and combine the two, reheat and serve.   Serves 4-6.

Treats 4 Kids

I thought that this time I would include a couple of my fondly remembered childhood treats.  The Graham Cracker Dream Bars were, and still are one of my favorite holiday recipes today.  It is different than other "dream bar" recipes that I have tried.  I couldn't wait for my mom to make these every year.  They are great straight from the freezer or chilled.  The Apple Strudel recipe is from a dear neighbor Mary Ann Foertsch.  She and her family moved to the farm across the road from ours shortly before we moved in.  I remember many feasts that were served in her home.  I had thought of this recipe many times since I grew up and moved away, and now I finally got a copy of it!  I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.  

Graham Cracker Dream Bars

Crust:

15 graham cracker squares 

Filling:

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk  

Line a 9x13 baking pan with graham crackers.  You can break them to fit, but they should overlap as little as possible.  To make the filling, melt the butter in a large sauce pan.  Add the sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and egg.  Cook over medium heat until boiling.  Remove from heat and add the graham cracker crumbs, coconut and chopped nuts.  Spread this on the graham cracker base and cool.  For the frosting, combine the softened butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add the vanilla and beat until smooth.  Add just enough milk to give it a nice thick consistency that you can spread with a knife.   Spread the frosting over the cooled filling.  This is very rich, so I cut it in one inch squares and serve like candy instead of a bar cookie.  Store tightly covered and chilled or frozen. 

   Mary Anne's Apple Strudel    

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 envelope of yeast (about 1 teaspoon)

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

10 large cooking apples (Granny Smith, Rome, Jonathan)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup milk  

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Add the shortening and use a pastry blender or two knives to cut the mixture together until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the 1/2 cup milk and egg and mix with a fork until the mixture becomes a dough that holds together.   Divide the dough in halves and use a rolling pin to roll them into the size and shape that will cover the bottom of a jelly roll pan.  Let them sit for 20 minutes.   While the dough is resting, prepare the apple filling.  Peel and core the apples.  Slice them into 1/4 inch slices.  Mix the apple slices with 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour and the cinnamon. 

After the crust has rested for 20 minutes, place one crust in the bottom of a jelly roll pan.  It will not hurt if the crust comes up the sides, but it should at least cover the entire bottom of the pan.  Spread the apple slices evenly over the crust.  Gently set the second crust over the apples.  Turn under any edges of the dough that reach over the edge of the pan.  Use a knife or fork to gently prick the crust all over to allow steam to escape.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.   Remove the Strudel from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool.  While the Strudel is cooling, prepare the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with just enough milk to give it a pourable consistency.  While the strudel is still warm, drizzle the glaze over the strudel.   Cut in squares to serve.  Makes 8-12 servings.   

Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This cookie recipe has become a favorite of mine in recent years.  It is an elegant or "gourmet" version of the old fashioned chocolate chip cookies we all know.  You can use packaged chocolate chips, or for a more elegant look, buy bars of chocolate and chop it with a knife.  The chocolate malt powder is usually found with hot chocolate mixes.  You can use plain malted milk powder if you cannot find the chocolate flavored variety.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

2 cups butter flavored shortening

2-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup chocolate flavored malted milk powder

1/4 cup chocolate syrup

2 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips

1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chunks or chips

1-1/2 cups white chocolate chunks or chips

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Use an electric mixer to combine the first 5 ingredients until just mixed.  Add eggs and mix well.  Combine the dry ingredients together and add the mixture gradually to the creamed mixture until it is all incorporated.  Still all the chocolate chunks and nuts into the dough by hand.  Place heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown on the edges.  Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for two or three minutes before moving them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Current Contest Winners

The Cook Of The Month Winner for January is Heidi D. from Gainesville, Florida who gave us a great tip for keeping cakes from sticking in their pans.  Click the link below to see the page where you will find her great idea:

http://www.30daygourmet.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000076.html

Our Recipe Of The Month winner is Marilyn C. from Conway, SC.  Her chicken recipe is wonderful and easy.  In fact, I am serving it for dinner tonight (12/22) with Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes, green beans, and fruit salad.  The original recipe was engineered to serve 12, so I took the liberty of cutting the recipe in half to make it serve 6.  With all of the butter and sour cream in this recipe, it is not a low-cal entree, but you can use non-fat sour cream and half of the recommended butter quantity to drastically reduce fat calories.  I tested this version full fat and it was fully wonderful!!!  I'm not so sure about the title of this recipe - not sure I could say it with a straight face at the dinner table.  You might want to call it something else!  Just to keep you curious, I'm glad my name is not Bonnie.

To view Bonnie's Recipe Click here!

New Contest Reminder

Okay, we haven't seen any photos entered yet for the contest!  At this rate, if you send yours in you might be an instant winner!  We want to see those filled freezers, cooking sessions, shopping trips, cooking partners, family dinners etc.  Send them on in!  Don't forget, we can receive them digitally at office@30daygourmet.com, or by snail mail at PO Box 272; Brownsburg, IN 46112. 

Cookin’ Quote

According to Cristin Marandino, Managing Editor of Vegetarian Times magazine, "only 5 percent of the world’s oat crop is used for human consumption (the rest goes for animal feed)".  She also states, "Oats contain about twice as much protein as brown rice and are a rich source of vitamin E and the elusive, yet essential mineral, copper."  I don't know about you, but I am taking this to mean I can eat a whole plate full of oatmeal cookies and feel good about my actions. 

Gourmet Q & A

Favorite Cookware

Last month I asked if any of you had favorite types of cookware/bakeware or brand favorites. 

Lisa M. sent these comments:

“I'm responding to the cookware question.  I personally love my Calphalon, except the muffin pans.  I have not been happy with them, they burn the muffins on the bottom and I have tried to adjust temperature, time... I also put a different pan (cheap pan) in the oven at the same time and cooked the same recipe and they were fine but the Calphalon burnt.  I have mainly Calphalon pots and I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking in them.”

Meredith V. sent along these words:

“Stay away from aluminum cookware!  The aluminum leaches out into your food, and can cause high levels of aluminum to build up in your system.  This is especially bad for growing children!  Stainless steel and cast iron are much better choices.

For more discussion on this topic, click the link below to see what others are saying.

http://www.30daygourmet.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000088.html

Muffin Madness     

Another question posed recently on the web site was in regards to freezing individually wrapped muffins.  "Sharyl" reported some bad results when she tried it.  To be successful at this, make sure that the muffins are fully baked.  Some people might be tempted to shorten the length of baking time because they know these will be reheated.  Quick breads must be fully cooked or they will be soggy and may even collapse.   In addition to fully cooking the muffins, make sure that you completely cool them on wire racks as soon as they come out of the oven.  If you allow them to cool in the pan you may have over cooked bottoms!  The muffins will continue to cook for a few minutes after they are removed from the oven because the pan retains the heat for a while.  Also, the metal pans do not allow the steam to escape uniformly from the baked product and they may end up soggy on the bottom and rubbery in the middle.  Muffins must also be completely cooled before wrapping.  Wrapping warm muffins will trap the steam that is trying to escape from them.  The warm steam rises to the top and will either collect on the lid of the container, the top of the muffins, or if you are individually wrapping them, it will cling to the plastic.  When you thaw the muffins, all the moisture will be deposited on the top of the muffin, making it soggy.  All of this lengthy explanation is just to say, completely bake them, turn them out to cool immediately, and cool thoroughly!  

The most successful way I’ve found to freeze these gems is to place the completely cooled muffins on a tray or baking sheet and open freeze them (no covering) for about a half hour or until they are firm to the touch.   Place the frozen muffins into freezer bags or rigid freezer containers, remove any excess air, seal the container and store them in the freezer. 

*Packaging Tip*

Muffins and other odd shaped foods often make it difficult to remove excess air when they are packed in rigid containers.  You can crumple up plastic wrap or waxed paper to fill in as many of the gaps as possible.  Another idea is to open freeze the muffins, then individually wrap them in plastic wrap.  This will help keep ice crystals from forming on the surface of the muffin.  This is an especially good tip for those who will only want to thaw one or two muffins at a time.  Thaw the muffins with the wrap removed. 

Where We've Been and Where We're Headed

Nanci and I enjoyed having December “off” from travelling and speaking.  We’re gearing up for 2001, though, and would love to come and speak for your group of frustrated cooks.  If you’d like more info about having 30 Day Gourmet come to your town, check out the website at

http://www.30daygourmet.com/ or give us a call at 1-800-692-6825.

Here’s what we have booked in 2001 so far:

April 25

Lincoln Christian College Ladies' Day -- Lincoln, IL
All Day Event
Contact: http://www.lccs.edu

June 1 & 2
Indiana Association of Home Educators' Convention -- Indianapolis, IN
Contact: iahe@inhomeeducators.org

Tip Of The Month

This tip posted by "Jennifer" goes along with Cook Of The Month Heidi's tip for keeping cakes from sticking.  Click on the link to ready her mixture for greasing pans:

http://www.30daygourmet.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000076.html

Okay all of you 30 Day Gourmets – thanks for all the great input in the year 2000!  I look forward to chatting and sharing more information throughout the next year.  Keep cookin’ and keep sending all of your ideas this way!

See you next month!

     Tara Wohlenhaus

30 Day Gourmet

This page was last updated on Monday, August 04, 2008.

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