Scooter

This is my two year old dog, Scooter. He is a labradoodle - but a mini - so smaller than most people expect. Scooter has two favorite toys. Both are stuffed animals from my 16 year old daughter that Scooter has "stolen" and adopted for his own. One is a black cat and the other is this dog. One or both join Scooter in bed along with our other dog, Abby. When Scooter is in bed he lays his head on the dog or cat. Last night he was laying on the ottoman (that he has called his own also) and gently chewed/played with his dog/puppy friend. I couldn't resist getting photos. So, indulge me and take a look at my sweet Scooter.

Mushroom Barley Soup

I love soup. I can - and often do - eat soup every day. I love creamy, brothy, about the only kind I don't love is cold soup - to me the whole point of eating soup is it warms me up. Next to my love of soup - is mushrooms - sorry JD :) Today I tried a new recipe - it turned out yummy - give it a try - did you love it?

8 cups (2 quarts) beef broth

1/2 cup raw pearl barley

2 large carrots, sliced or diced

1/4 tsp dried sage

1 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

10 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the broth, barley, carrot and sage in a pot. Bring to a quick boil; reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 40 minutes.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until wilted. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 5 minutes more.

Stir the mushroom mixture into the broth. Simmer partially covered 10 minutes longer.

Taste for seasoning and add the pepper and salt. Serves 4.

Beef Jerky

Just a note regarding the Beef Jerky recipes. I would suggest not adding the salt in the New Recipe. Mine was a tad salty. I also noticed that because the jerky cooked quickly - maybe more salt was absorbed in the meat?

Classic Meat Loaf, Rice Dressing, Asian Salad & Apple Crisp

Tuesday afternoon I got a call from Julie (one of my best friends), she had gotten word that one of the ladies in our small group at church was in hospital - we decided to go visit that evening. God was in the moment. She had been alone all day due to them having 6 children, her husband trying to keep it all together and his Dad also being in the hospital. It was a good visit with lots of laughter. Something our small group does it try to help each other during these times, so I am coordinating meals for the family. My day was today and I am posting about the meal that I took them. My family??? they ate leftovers - lol -but they know that reaching out to others is more important than having a home cooked meal. Here are the recipes of the meal I took:

Classic Meat Loaf:

1 large egg

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup minced onion (or 1 tbsp dried minced onion)

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/4 cup ketchup

Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Add ground beef. Mix well. Press into greased loaf pan. I put the mix into two smaller pans. Spread ketchup on top of loaf. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. Serves 6 (I adjusted the recipe a small amount to serve 8)

Rice Dressing:

4 cups chicken broth, divided

1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice

2 cups chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup butter

2 cups chopped mushrooms [sorry JD :0) ]

3 tsp parsley

1 1/2 - 2 tsp poultry seasoning

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp thyme

In saucepan, bring 3 1/2 cups broth and rice to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or til tender.

In a saucepan, saute onion and celery in butter until tender.

Stir in mushrooms and continue to saute til softened.

Stir in rice, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, sage, thyme and the remaining broth. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 350 degree for 30 minutes. Serves 10

Asian Salad:

2 pkg oriental Ramen noodles, crushed (or whatever flavor you prefer)

2 seasoning pkgs from Ramen noodles

1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil (olive oil will work - but the sesame adds good flavor)

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds (pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pecans also work)

Put everything in a saucepan and toast over medium heat. Stir often til browned. Set aside to cool.

I use a spring mix of greens and Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing. Put them in a bowl and mix well. Add enough of the above mixture to coat greens. Soooo yummy. I make several recipes at once and store in either a Ziploc bag or container so I always have it on hand. It is a nice quick tasty salad to add to a meal.

Apple Crisp:

5 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup softened butter

In 11 x 17 baking dish arrange apple slices in an even layer.

In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using pastry blender or with fingertips, rub in til mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over apples.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 - 40 minutes til topping is lightly browned and apples are tender and bubbly. Serve warm.

I used all disposable containers so that the family could just toss things when they were done and didn't have to worry about trying to return things. This is one of those "comfort meals" that I like on these cool fall days. Let me know what you think? Did you try any of these?

Beef Jerky

I purchased a new preserves book this fall. It is called "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, and other cooking projects" the author is Karen Solomon. It is an interesting book with recipes for some basics and other things like, bacon, cheese, marshmallows. There was a recipe for Beef Jerky. I have a recipe that I use regularly but decided it would be fun to do two recipes - our old stand by and this new one and let my kids decide which they prefer. Here is the beef. I found a small beef roast and it was BOGO so I asked the meat department to slice it for jerky. They did this while I shopped. It was awesome. Below is a picture of the how the meat looks before I get it ready for marinating.

New Recipe :
1 lb. lean top sirloin or flank steak
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried chile flakes (optional)
1 tsp black pepper (optional)



Mix all ingredients in a bowl and put both meat and marinate in a large Ziploc bag. Put in fridge and let sit for 24 hours. Occasionally push meat around in Ziploc bag to make sure all meat comes in contact with marinade. Below is a picture of the meat and marinade in Ziploc bag.

My Regular Beef Jerky Recipe

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place both marinade and meat in Ziploc. Close bag and massage the meat so that all meat comes in contact with the marinade. Place in fridge and occasionally move the meat around to keep meat marinated.

Below is a picture of my new dehydrator. My original machine had no thermostat control or fan. The bottom of the machine had the heater coil so could not be washed. I tried making sun dried tomatoes this summer with it and because it was not hot enough my tomatoes went moldy before they were dried out. So I decided to splurge and get a new machine. It has a fan that circulates the heat better. There are several temperature settings and on the top it shows what temperature to set for what you are drying. The fan and motor are in the lid of the machine so that the racks and base can all be washed. I have done sun dried tomatoes in the new dehydrator and love it. This is the first I made jerky and it was quick. Maybe too quick so I tried the second batch at a lower temperature.

After meat has marinaded for a minimum of 24 hours take out and place on racks of dehydrator. Here is a picture of the meat when it starts out.

When meat has dried out take off rack. Some pieces will dry faster than others depending on size and thickness. You may find that you need to rearrange the meat on less racks as meat dries. When meat is dried I store it all in a Ziploc bag. Be aware - it won't last long once the family members find it - and that is a good thing.

White Mac & Cheese and Greek Style Chicken Salad

Mac & Cheese Recipe:

1-1 lb box penne pasta
2-12 oz. cans evaporated milk
2 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
3 - 8 oz. pkg shredded italian blend cheese
2 - 5 oz. pkg. shredded parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Cook Pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

In a large mixing bowl combine evaporated milk, salt, pepper, cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Stir in cooked pasta until well combined. Spoon into prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together reserved parmesan and panko. Spread evenly over top of pasta and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Below is the finished product. It was cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness - oh so yummy. This makes 8 - 10 servings.

Salad Recipe:

1/2 red onion, diced fine

1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt (in my store this is called "Fage")

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried)

Grated peel of 1 lemon

Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs

3 romaine hearts, chopped

1 English cucumber, chopped

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved

In a bowl combine, onion, yogurt, dill, lemon peel, lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and put in fridge til ready to serve.

In a large bowl toss the romaine, cucumber and tomatoes, set aside til chicken is ready.

Preheat a grill (I have a small indoor grill that I used). Brush the chicken with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on grill - about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice.

Combine dressing with salad and mix well - this is a rather thick dressing but quite easy to mix - be patient. I decided not to combine the chicken and salad so that both would keep if there were leftovers. We served the salad and topped it with the chicken individually. Below is the salad with the dressing combined.


This was a yummy meal - we got our starch, our dairy, lots of veggies and some protein as well. The salad was a nice change. For anyone that enjoys Greek food - especially Tzaziki sauce - this dressing is a similar flavor along with a fresh splash of lemon. Hope you give it a try and enjoy.