Pad Thi (faux, I'm sure)

Ramen noodles
2 T garlic
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tblspn vinegar
1 Tblspn soy sauce
2 tsp crushed red pepper
chopped peanuts
chopped scallions

Cook noodles.  Mix garlic, oil, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and crushed red pepper and pour mixture over noodles.  Toss to coat.  Stir in peanuts, scallions, and sesame seeds.

Note:  This recipe was hand scribbled on a piece of paper in my mother's handwriting.  I found it recently.  I've opted to record it here.  I've never tried it, and frankly, I'm not sure how good it would be.  

Chex Muddy Buddies

9 cups Chex cereal (any variety)
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter on high uncovered.  Stir and put back in microwave for 10 second intervals until the mixture is melted. Stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture over cereal and stir until evenly coated.

Put powdered sugar and mixture in a large food storage bag and shake until the sugar has evenly coated the cereal.  spread on waxed paper to cool.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Serving: 1/2 cup
Servings made: 18

210 calories
9 g fat
5 mg Cholesterol
200 mg sodium
30 g Carbs
1 g fiber
3 g protien

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

5 teaspoons brown sugar
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoon minced garlic
15 chicken wings

Pre-cook your chicken wings - single layer in a covered dish in the oven at 350 F for 45 minutes or so.

Pre-heat frying pan to medium heat.

Mix brown sugar, water, soy sauce, honey and minced garlic in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. 

Put the chicken wings in the frying pan (one layer) and pour the sauce over them.  Cook uncovered for 15 minutes on medium heat.  Turn the chicken and cook another 15 minutes.  The wings will turn dark and the sauce will thicken.  The sauce will darken a lot, but don't let it burn.

Notes:  This recipe is not particularly diet friendly, but you can tweak it a little to make it healthier.  Try using boneless skinless chicken breast tenders instead of wings.  You can also use low sodium soy sauce.  I've made this recipe with 2 Tablespoons of honey and no brown sugar and they turned out tasty.  You can also add a little heat by splashing some chili sauce into the sauce mix.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup rasins

1. Heat milk until it foams.  Add the butter and stir until it melts.  Set aside and let the mixture cool to lukewarm.

2. Mix sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla with a mixer until blended. Mix in the milk mixture slowly.

3. Put the bread in a lightly greased casserole dish (1 1/2 quart).

4. Sprinkle raisins on the bread.  Pour the batter over the bread.

5. Bake in 350 F oven for 45 or 50 minutes. Serve warm.

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There's nothing diet about this comfort food.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it's over 500 calories a serving but hey, nothing beats how good your kitchen is going to smell while it's cooking.  I've read here there and yonder on the internet that some people put caramel sauce on their bread pudding.  I see no need.  Delish!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1 can black beans
1 can yellow corn
1 can rotel
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 teaspoons cillantro
1 dash lime juice

Rinse the beans and put them in the bowl.  Strain the corn, and put it in the bowl with the beans. Stir in the onion, cilantro, rotel and lime juice. Let it marinate in the refrigerator and serve.

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Of course, you know I've modified this recipe just a little bit.  I used two cups of black beans I cooked from dry this weekend.  I used a pound of frozen corn thawed in the microwave.  The cilantro was dried and the rotel was generic store brand. 

It still turned out pretty darn good.  I've been eating it on Wasa crackers.  Yum Yum.

Italian Sausage and White Beans

Italian Sausage and White Beans
found at www.sparkpeople.com

12 ounces Italian sausage
cooking spray
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
19 ounces canned cannellini beans
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced Italian style tomatoes

Remove sausage from casings.  Heat a large skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic and saute for three (3) minutes.  Add sausage and cook until brown and crumbled.  Stir in oregano, beans, and tomatoes.  Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for five (5) minutes until heated through.

Approx. 8 servings

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I tried this tonight and it was some kind of awesome.  I'd never taken the sausage out of the casings before.  I'm still trying to find uses for the beans I cooked Saturday, so I used about 20 ounces of them instead of the canned.  This came out to be something like a thick stew. It was pretty filling, and I have plenty of leftovers.

The white beans and Italian tomatoes combination is good.  I think I'm going to make this for my father one day.  It's yummy and quick, and I will make it again.  It's a winner!

White Beans and Tomatoes With Pasta

White Beans and Tomatoes With Pasta


2 (14.5 ounce) cans of Italian Style tomatoes, diced or sliced
1 (19 ounce) can of cannellini beans (white beans), rinsed
10 ounces fresh spinach
8 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook the pasta el dente.

In a large skillet, bring tomatoes and beans to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce and simmer for ten minutes.  Add the spinach and cook until it wilts, stirring constantly.  Serve the sauce over pasta and sprinkled with feta cheese.


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This recipe is very tasty with the added convenience of pre-seasoned tomatoes. Last night I cooked dry white beans, so I used 20 ounces of them in this recipe instead of the canned.  I also used spaghetti instead of penne pasta. This is very easy to make and comes together quickly.  Adding the spinach can be a little tricky.  It's more manageable if you add two or three handfuls at a time.  This could easily feed four if you add a salad and a hard crusted bread.  Yum.

When I was struggling with anemia, I read an article that these beans are a good source of iron.  I don't remember where I found this recipe, only that I found it online while trying to figure out how to use them.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

*Recipe copied from the September 2009 issue of Rural Arkansas published by Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas

You will need:

A very large pot

A whisk or mixer

A paper mask

A cheese grater

One bar of Fels-Naptha soap-grated

1 ½ cups 20 Mule Team Borax

11/2 cups Arm and Hammer washing soda

Put on the mask and grate the bar soap into a bowl.

Pour grated soap into the pot and add 12 cups of water.

Cook and stir until boiling and soap completely dissolves.

Add Borax and washing soda and stir until completely dissolved, remove from heat.

Put 8 cups of hot water into a 5 gallon bucket, add soap mixture and stir well.

Add 2 gallons and 12 cups of water and stir well again.

Let the mixture set for 24 hours, it will kind of gel – like egg drop soup.

Use a whisk or mixer (a paint mixer and drill works well) to make it smooth again.

Makes about 4 gallon of liquid laundry soap.

Use the soap full strength as a stain remover.

If the load is extra dirty, let soak for ½ hour before completing the wash cycle.

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My father introduced me to this recipe.  I thought he was a little bit loony for doing this, but I tried this detergent and love it.  It doesn't make me itch and it doesn't make my clothes smell like tropical passion tuti-fruity sunshine. (smile) I bottle it up in used detergent bottles and use the lid to measure out for the loads.  If the load is large or heavily soiled, I'll put another half lid full in for good measure.  It does a fine job, and it's a lot cheaper than the store-bought stuff.

Dad and I do a few things to make the process easier, though.  If you have a food processor with a cheese grater wheel, you can make short work of grating the Fels-Naptha.  Just drop it in like you would a block of cheese and let 'er rip.  You won't need the mask if you go this route.  Also, you can use a paint-stirring attachment on the end of a power drill to mix it.  This makes a really smooth concoction. Don't fill your bottles to the top. The finished product will separate in time, so leave a little room in the bottle so you can shake the mixture before using it.

You might have to hunt for the ingredients.  Fels-Naptha soap is sold at Ace Hardware.  The 20 Mule Team Borax can be found at Wal-mart and Kroger.  So far I've only found the Arm-and-Hammer Washing Soda at Kroger.  I should note that the washing soda is NOT the same thing as baking soda.  Look for it in the laundry aisle. Of course you can always buy the ingredients online. Shipping costs could cancel out the savings, though, so do your homework and crunch the numbers before going that route.  

By the way, don't eat it.  :)