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Last month I mentioned that my son had informed me that he loves Alfredo Sauce. Last semester he was enrolled in a Food and Nutrition class at his high school. Every week the class tested different recipes. One of the last recipes they made was Alfredo Sauce. I have been a little leery of serving it at home on a regular basis because of the fat content of the normal recipe. I want to thank all of you who sent me recipes for a lighter Alfredo Sauce. I am in the process of testing some of the recipes and I will let you know the results soon.

After talking about the new nylon whisk that I got for Christmas I received a great gift idea from Beth. Here is her story:

Here is a cute idea that you may have already heard. My sister gave this as a gift to all of her friends in the surgery department. She took a whisk (nylon of course:) and filled it with candy pieces and tied a pretty bow on it with a tag that said "We whisk you a merry Christmas" I tried it this year and my candy was too heavy and kept falling out. I tied the bow around the candy itself and it all stayed in! It was so pretty! I included my favorite recipes and tada! A thoughtful, inexpensive gift.

I also received a lot of feedback on the process of building a price book. Kristen pointed out one thing that I have also seen. Here is her comment:

Click here to view/print this recipe!

Click here to view/print this recipe!

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CONTEST WINNERS

"I caught this huge roast on sale last week. I normally would not buy such a large piece of meat to cook at one time, but my sister-in-law, Deb, and I have recently teamed up to do some freezer cooking. I have been freezer cooking for my son and I for about 6 years.
My sister-in-law is diabetic, and has other health issues, so we take frequent breaks, and only plan a few items at a time to prepare on my days off from work.

Anyway, I thought I would tell you about our adventures with this humongous cut of meat. The plan was to add celery, onion, potatoes, carrots and a little beef broth to the crock-pot, then cook it all day while we were doing some other things for the freezer. We planned to have it for supper, and freeze the leftovers. I brought it home from the grocery store, trimmed the layer of fat from the bottom and plopped it in the big crock-pot. Guess what? It filled the crock-pot up. No room for anything else in there except a cup of chopped celery and onions. YIKES! Oh well, change in plan....we would cook the roast in the crock-pot and steam the veggies to go with it on the top of the stove right before supper.

We proceeded with the other items on our list for the day. We started with some bakery croissants that were on sale, added these combinations for quick grab and go sandwiches: ham and cheese, beef and cheddar, and turkey and cheese....48 total. We packaged them in sandwich sized baggies and put them in gallon sized freezer bags, sealed, labeled and popped them in the freezer. Time for a break, as Deb was getting tired. One of us glanced over at the crock-pot. Oh, my! The roast had expanded and pushed the lid of the crock pot up about a half inch away from the rim. We put aluminum foil over the roast and crimped it around the edges of the crock-pot to hold the heat in then continued with our break.

After a short break, we proceeded with the planned items. Next up was breakfast burritos. We cooked and assembled 80 breakfast burritos. We used 10 dozen eggs, two pounds of sausage, three pounds of bacon and 3 1/2 pounds of grated cheese. LOL, sounds like a lot for 80 burritos, but I had picked up the 12 inch tortillas instead of the 10 inch I normally buy and it took more filling than normal. Oh well, the boys will enjoy them. By the way, "the boys" are my son, and my two brothers. I am fortunate to have my house situated between the houses of my two brothers, one married, one single.

Two o'clock, time for another break.....check crock-pot.... the roast has expanded even more. The lid is now almost two inches above the crock-pot and the foil is pulled away from the rim. Grab another piece of foil and re-secure it to the rim. By this time, Deb and I have decided the roast is not going to be done as planned, so we fix the boys something else for dinner.

That roast ended up cooking all day and all night in the crock-pot. The lid eventually went back down to where it was supposed to rest on the rim as the roast cooked. The next afternoon, when I got home from work, Deb had removed the roast to cool for slicing, and added the veggies to the crock-pot, so they were done. We had roast and veggies for supper that night. Packaged some of the leftovers with mashed potatoes and gravy in individual portions (TV dinners) for the boys and I to take to work for lunches. The rest of the veggies, juices and roast was packaged as "stew", and placed in the freezer for later use. All in all that 9 1/2 pound roast was made into one meal for the 5 of us, 15 "TV dinners" and two gallons of stew. Deb and I have decided next time, we will cut the roast in half and use 2 crock-pots. Live and learn.

 

Thanks for the sharing this great story with us!  I was unable to reach Barngranny. Barngranny, if you read this, please contact me at carol@30daygourmet.com to claim your prize!

So, how do you make 30 Day Gourmet work for you?  How do you use it to help you deal with a challenge in your life?  How do you use it to help others?  Do you have a funny cooking story to share? Email me at  carol@30daygourmet.com or post your story on the Cook's Corner message board to be entered in our contest. 

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Farewell to Chemistry

Our oldest daughter, Sarah, graduates from high school this spring and hopes to be accepted into a nursing program next year. As part of the prerequisites, she completed two quarters of sophomore-level chemistry at the community college. For those of you who home school like we do, you really can make it through the twelfth grade!

Her excellent performance was applauded most by her grandfather, pictured below, who taught her high school chemistry class. It really wasn't that long ago when I was the one sitting in my dad's science classes, and now he's teaching my daughters.

On the day of her last exam, I was looking for a simple, but meaningful way to celebrate her success; one that would include the entire family. My husband remembered that we had a set of laboratory flasks in the garage, left over from science experiments years ago. After removing any chemical residues inside, we mixed Italian Creme Sodas (recipe below), slipped in a decorative straw, and voila...we had ourselves a "Farewell to Chemistry" celebration that everyone will remember.

One of the greatest treasures of family life are the celebrations and traditions we share, and some of the easiest and least expensive traditions revolve around food and books. We have certain books or stories that we read over and over again, or once a year at Christmas or Easter. When my husband and I celebrate our anniversary, the girls get to share in the event by making a Butterfinger Ice Cream Pie, commemorating a certain event that helped to bring us together. It doesn't have to be fancy or impressive, just create a tradition or find something to celebrate and tie the heart-strings of your children to their family.

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 RECIPE SECTION

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Italian Crème Sodas

Although not usually served in a laboratory flask, Italian Crème Sodas are an Easter tradition in our home. While the girls and I finish the dinner preparations, my husband, Gaylen, makes the sodas. They look lovely on a table decorated with spring colors. We typically use raspberry syrup, as pictured here. Experiment with other flavors to find your favorite.

 

Click here to view/print this recipe!

 

 

Microwave Caramel Corn

Here's a fun recipe to share. Be prepared; everyone will ask for it! I was delighted to find that freezing and thawing didn't effect its crunchiness. Carmel corn in the kitchen quickly disappears, but caramel corn in the freezer actually stays there until I'm ready to serve it.

 

Click here to view/print this recipe!

 

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 SOFTWARE SUGGESTIONS

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Conversion Questions

 

A few weeks ago, I received this email from a software user who was working to make sense of packaging and conversions so that her Grocery Report would show meaningful quantities. She did an excellent job of describing the problems she was having; maybe you've had some of the same questions.

 

"Hi! I purchased the software and I am getting ready to cook tomorrow. I have been working on trying to get the software set up and am having trouble with some of the packaging and conversions.

For example, 'sweet potatoes, canned'. On the grocery list it has 'total needed 80 ounce'...BUT it has another listing for sweet potatoes, canned with '384 teaspoons' needed. Packaging is 'Can (40 oz)', no conversions.

'Potatoes, diced', has '216 teaspoons' needed. Packaging is 'Bag (5 pound)'; no conversions.

'Vegetables, cooked' has two lines: one listing is '1 each' needed, a second listing is '144 teaspoons'. Packaging is 'Bag (1/2 pound / 8 oz)'; no conversions.

Milk, has two lines: one listing is '1 1/2 quart' needed, a second listing says '1 each'. Packaging is '1 gallon' and '1 quart'; no conversions.

There are a few others like this, but these are some that hopefully, with your help, can get me going in the right direction."

For an explanation of how to diagnose conversion issues, read my article:
Cleaning Up Your Grocery Report

 

If you need to grocery shop before you can remedy all the items on the Grocery Report, I suggest that you print an Ingredients Report and take it along. When you get to a confusing item on the Grocery Report, check the Ingredients Report for the same ingredient. It will tell you the recipes that use each ingredient, and the measures that are required. You'll be able to make some quick calculations in your head and purchase the right amounts.

 

  Download a trial version of the software! It's free!

 

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 CLOSING COMMENTS FROM SHELLEY

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Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
   not a hunt, but a find;
      not a greeting, but a proclamation;
         not outward fashions, but inward grace;
            not a day, but an eternity.

 

May God bless your Easter celebration. He is risen!

 

Until next time,       

 

 

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