Disaster Chef: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

When I found this recipe on Recipe Girl a few months ago, I knew I wanted to make it even though it is soooo not healthy. But sometimes, you just gotta indulge. In this instance, my son asked me to make them, and I told him I'd make them for his birthday. Of course I then forgot all about it. But he didn't. On his birthday morning, he reminded me, so I put them together. They do take a loooong time, since they have 3 different components. I wouldn't just whip these up any day, since they took hours to make. But for special occasions, yes. My son already asked me to make them again for his next birthday. Knowing him, he'll remember, too.

Without the frosting.

For these, you have to make the cinnamon swirl, the pancakes, and the frosting.

First, I made the cinnamon swirl.
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter,  melted
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Mix ingredients and pour into a ziplock sandwich bag. Set aside.

Next, I made the frosting. I'm not sure why mine turned out so dark, maybe the vanilla I used was too dark? I used pretty much exactly what the recipe specified, but mine was sort of caramel colored instead of a nice pearly white like the original recipe:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt the butter, then stir other ingredients into pan, mixing well after each addition.

On with the pancakes. Mix together
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Mix together flour and baking powder, then other ingredients, mixing until moistened but still a bit lumpy.

Pour about 1/4 c. batter for each pancake into a skillet and let cook a couple minutes before cutting corner out of sandwich bag and drawing the circle on the pancake.You might have to squish the baggie a bit if the cinnamon mixture has separated. It should be toothpaste consistency as it squeezes out of bag.

Once turned, the cinnamon swirl melts into the pan, leaving a crispy, sugary, hollowed out swirl pattern in the pancake.

Turn it out onto a plate with the swirl side up. Drizzle with frosting to finish. They don't need anything extra--no butter or syrup.

As I said, these were sinfully delicious. I never use white flour exclusively, but I really wanted these to taste like cinnamon rolls, so I did this time. They were very decadent and delicious, very sweet and rich. I would make them again for special occasions, but not for an ordinary day. They are an indulgence for sure.

Disaster Chef: Cheesy Beer Bread

I found this recipe quite a while ago, but like most pins on pinterest, I pinned it and forgot it. But then I saw the stray can of beer that's been hanging out in my refrigerator for a couple months, and I went to pinterest to see if I could find something to do with it.

This bread is based on a recipe I found at Gotta Get Baked blog. It's definitely worth checking out her blog, if only for the gorgeous pictures. My bread was gorgeous, but my pictures don't do it justice. Her pictures are awesome. Plus, she's kind of hilarious.

Anyhow, this is how I adapted her recipe.

You will need:
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 12 oz. can or bottle of beer
1 tbsp honey


If you will notice, there is no butter or oil in this bread. I thought that was weird, because every time I've made quick bread, it has a lot. And eggs--this one has no eggs, either. I was confused until I mixed up the batter and realized that the yeast activates and makes bread dough (duh--but I really hadn't thought of that until I mixed it up and it was all sticky like yeasted bread dough).

Now, let's put it all together. 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. Add 3/4 c. of the shredded cheese and onion; toss together so that everything is well combined. At this point, everything will be so coated with flour it will be white.
Add the beer and honey. Mix until all dry bits of flour are absorbed/moistened. Your dough will be lumpy and sort of sticky, but it shouldn't be as moist as cake batter. This should be more like dough.
Dump the dough into the loaf pans and smooth the top of the dough.

It will look about so at this junction.

Bake for about 25 minutes, then add the last 1/4 c. cheese to the top of the loaf.

Half baked and covered in cheese.

 Return to oven and bake for 15-25 more minutes.

Hot and fresh out the oven.

 I had to bake for all 50 minutes before a knife in the center came out clean. It looked done at 40 minutes, but the knife came out all gooey. At 50 minutes, it was completely clean. I let the bread sit about 10-15 minutes, then turned it out and set it on a rack for a few minutes.

Textured, yeasty goodness within.

My son absolutely LOVED this bread. He kept picking at it while it cooled. We ate it warm with pork chops and braised red cabbage with apples. It was delicious warm. He ate 2 pieces, and my husband had 3. It was a big hit, and delicious the next day, too.

Cheesy, crispy goodness without.

Disaster Chef: Blueberry Peach Cheesecake Bars

I'm deep into my Fanny & Me blogging, but sometimes, I just have to make something that's not from Fannie Farmer. She doesn't have a whole lot of newer recipes, since the cookbook is over a hundred years old. So, no cheesecake bars. 

I found this recipe I'd pinned on Pinterest a long time ago, and since I happen to have both blueberries AND peaches right now, I had to try it. Plus, it's got a nut crust, which I really like. So, for anyone doing the gluten free thing, this recipe is worth a shot. In fact, check out this blog where it originates--she has a lot of great recipes like this.

Peaches and blueberries, oh my!

Here's my adapted version.

Putting it in the oven.

 Ingredients

All puffed up and ready to eat.

• 1 c almond butter
• 2-4 tbsp finely shredded coconut
• 6 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
• ½ c plain yogurt
• 4 tbsp. xylitol (or sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• ½ c blueberries
• ½ c diced peaches

Instructions

Yuuuuummmmm.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the almond butter and coconut and mix well. I may use more coconut next time, or use almond flour like the original recipe does, because mine were a bit too almond buttery.
2. Spread crust mixture into an 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes then remove from the oven to cool.
3. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and yogurt and mix well with a hand mixer (or stand) for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, continuing with mixer.
4. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust (crust doesn’t have to be completely cooled). Top the cheesecake mixture with the blueberries and peaches. The blueberries sank into mine, so if you want them on top, I'd wait until the cheesecake has cooked 10-20 mins before adding them.
5. Bake the bars at 350 for 40-50 minutes (until the cheesecake is set).
6. Cool completely then cut into bars and serve.

 These turned out pretty well. The 'crust' I used was just almond butter and coconut, and it was just a little too...almond buttery. Next time, I'll probably use almond meal how the original recipe does. Or at least some kind of nut flour. This was just too wet somehow. Also, I don't think I added quite enough sugar in the cheesecake part. I only used 2 tbsp. but next time, I will definitely use 4. And yes, there will be a next time. This recipe is easy, good, and healthy. Can't wait to make it again.

Disaster Chef: Buckwheat Noodles with Honey Lime Sauce

Finished product.

I was looking for a good recipe to make with buckwheat noodles, which I LOOOOVE, so I grabbed one off pinterest. I like more veggies in my meals so I used a whole carrot. I then discovered I didn't have any green onions, so I used about 1/4 of a regular onion and fried it (along with the grated carrots, since I don't really like raw carrots much).

I followed the dressing recipe from Joylicious blog  closely, though!

Ingredients

• Handful of buckwheat soba noodles (the ones I get come in handy serving-sized portions)
• 1/2 lime, squeezed (I didn't have a fresh lime, so I used about 2tbs. lime juice from a bottle)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 carrot, shredded (I grated one whole carrot and sauteed it...the next time I made it, I also added a couple sliced mushrooms and some shredded cabbage and sauteed everything...it was delicious!)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (I didn't have these so I left them out)
• small handful of cilantro, cleaned and chopped
• 1 tip of a green onion, cleaned and chopped (I used 1/4 of regular onion, sauteed)
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 eggs

The sauce mix.

Instructions

1. In a medium pot fill with water and bring to boil. Drop noodles in and cook for 4 minutes at medium heat at a gentle boil.
2. Rinse carrots and herbs and pat dry. Shred carrot and set aside. Finely chop cilantro and green onion and mix with shredded carrots (and if you're me, saute them now).
3. Test to see if noodles are semi firm, if so turn heat off immediately. Allow pasta to further cook in the hot water for an additional 2 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the dressing.
4. In a bowl combine lime juice, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Whisk well and set aside.
5. Test noodles for preferred firmness/softness and strain. Return noodles to pot and mix in carrots, herbs and dressing.
6. In a medium pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Crack egg(s) carefully into pan and fry until edges are browned and whites are set (sunny side up). Flip over and cook for about 1 minute for over easy, ~ 2 minutes for over medium, ~3 minutes for over hard. (I did all this in the same pan, just pushing the veggies to the sides and frying the eggs in the middle, then tossing it all on top of the noodles and sauce, and mixing it as I ate to get some sauce on the veggies).
7. To serve: Place noodles in a bowl and top with fried eggs. Feel free to add a dash of chile powder or chile sauce for an extra punch!

This recipe is wonderful, because it is so versatile and easy! I've made it three times, changing it every time. Sometimes I add extra veggies, sometimes I use only one egg, sometimes I add chili powder or cayenne on top. It's one of my favorite Pinterest recipes, and I think it's the only one I've gotten around to more than once. I love buckwheat noodles, and I've made this three times in the last month. I think I'll just add whatever veggies I have on hand, keeping the noodles, dressing and cilantro the same every time.

Recipe:  5 spoons of easiness
Outcome: 5 spoons of deliciousnsess

Disaster Chef: Beef Stroganoff with Wine Sauce

For my very first post on my new blog, it's back to Pinterest for some recipes.

This week I had some ground beef defrosted, and I went looking on Pinterest, the old stand-by when I can't decide what to cook. I realized that I don't think I've ever had stroganoff before, although it is apparently a staple. My family was never into the whole noodly-meat thing. They all had memories of eating it in the school cafeteria, and everyone agreed it tasted like dog food.

Nevertheless, I forged onward with my search for a recipe. I found two I wanted to try, and of course I chose the easier one first (easier for me, since I had all the ingredients).

Here's the link to it on Pinterest, and on the website Manila Spoon. Here is My Take on it:

Olive Oil for frying
1 lb ground Beef
 5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium/small Onion, chopped
1 teaspoons Salt
Ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground Paprika
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup red wine (I used sweet, because that's what I had)
 8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
1 c. frozen peas
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1/2 - cup water for cooking (I didn't have beef broth)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2-3 cups brown rice

Directions: 

Put the rice on to cook first. It took me just as long to make this dish as the rice took, so it all came out at the same time. Brown rice does take about 40 minutes to cook, so if you use white, adjust accordingly. While the rice is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions for about 3-5 minutes until they are translucent, then add garlic and cook for a minute. Crumble the beef and cook until it's fully browned. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir occasionally.

Pour in the red wine. Let it boil until it has evaporated.

Add the Italian seasoning, frozen peas and chopped mushrooms and cook until the juices/liquid of the mushrooms have been released. Pour in the water or broth and stir in the sour cream. Simmer, while occasionally stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly roughly 5-7 minutes.

Remove the rice and stroganoff from heat. Top rice with stroganoff and a dollop of sour cream.

I did vary the recipe a bit, adding peas so it would have a little more vegetables, adding extra garlic and leaving out the garlic powder, etc, from the original recipe. But I stayed pretty close, and it turned out well. It isn't my favorite food, but it was certainly better than dog food! I am going to try the ole cream of mushroom soup variety next time, as I think I would have liked it a little more creamy. The source recipe was good, though, and the wine adds a bit of a twist. Even my son ate his whole plate of it, once he got past the less than lovely appearance. He promised to try it to be polite, and then ate up the whole thing. Around here, that qualifies as a success!

Recipe: 5 spoons of goodness
Product: 3.5 spoons of goodness

Disaster Chef: Taco Casserole (project pinterest) (ammended Weight Watcher's recipe)

I found a recipe for Taco Casserole on Pinterest last fall, but when I went back for it, the blog was gone. Super disappointed, since it looked awesome. I really wanted to make it anyway, so I searched and of course about a hundred recipes came up. After reading a few, I settled on this one, which sounded good.


Unfortunately, it was a Weight Watcher's recipe, which stands for everything I'm against! If it works for you, my apologies, and good job. So I'm posting the recipe below, along with my NOT low-fat recommendations.


1 lb extra lean ground beef (drained or rinsed!) (...NO NO NO! Do not use lean meat, and do not rinse. Saturated fat is not the enemy! lol...seriously, regular grass-fed beef, no draining and dear lord no rinsing...are you trying to remove all taste?!)                                     

1/2 cup onion (chopped)

1/4 cup canned jalapeno slices, chopped (I skipped these, since my son doesn't like spicy food, but I also put salsa on top once it was done)                                           

2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped or 1 (15 ounce) can diced canned tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can kernel corn (drained) (I used frozen corn since that's what I had)

1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed and drained) (Used red beans, since I had some cooked)                                    

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix (chili powder, cumin and salt did the trick).                                          

8 corn tortillas

3/4 cup nonfat sour cream (REGULAR)                                                  

1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded (About a cup of regular shredded cheese on top was perfect)                                          

1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (or less (or more) 

(GARNISH: I USED SALSA, OLIVES, SOUR CREAM, LETTUCE, CILANTRO)                                    

Directions:

1. 1
   Brown ground beef and chopped onions in large skillet; brown 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring constantly. Drain well and rinse with warm water to remove all fat; return beef/onions to skillet. (Please don't wash your beef. It's weird).
2. 2
   Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, chilies/jalapenos and taco seasoning mix; mix well. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.
3. 3
   Meanwhile spray 12x8-inch (2-quart) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut each tortilla in half; place 8 halves in bottom of sprayed baking dish, overlapping slightly.
4. 4
   Spoon half of beef mixture evenly over tortillas. Spoon sour cream over beef mixture; spread evenly. Top with remaining 8 tortilla halves and remaining beef mixture. (Cover tightly with foil & Freeze for later OR cook as directed below…).
5. 5
   (Thaw overnight if frozen) Heat oven to 350ºF. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh chopped lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black olives, etc… /.
6. 6
   Makes 6 large Servings at 6.5 weight watcher pts/each.

It turned out pretty tasty, especially after garnishes. Without that, it was a little plain. Also, the corn I used was really sweet for some reason, and tasted a little off in the recipe. I might leave out the corn next time. But, there will definitely be a next time. It was really tasty, and pretty easy to make. It did take a bit of time, but it was worth it. Everyone liked it, picky-eater son included, though he said he'd rather have tacos next time.

Disaster Chef: Pear Pecan Steel Cut Oats (project pinterest)

I bought a bunch of steel cut oats a while back because I heard they were healthier than rolled oats. I didn't know how to cook them, so I did the overnight oatmeal with the first batch. It was okay, but my son did not like the 'chewy oatmeal.' So I ended up eating all 5 jars that I'd made for the week. The next time, I tried to cook it, but didn't leave it in nearly long enough and it was very chewy.

This time I made it the right way, cooking it for a long time with lots of water as directed in the article on two vrooms blog.
Here's their recipe:

1/4 tsp salt
1 c. steel cut oats
1 T + 1 tsp butter
1/2 c. pecans
2 tsp sugar
2 pears (peeled, cored, sliced into chunks). If you don't have or don't like pears, try this recipe with apples instead.
3 T honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Half and half

In a medium size sauce pan, boil 4 c. water and salt. Add steel cut oats and wait for it to boil again. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer (uncovered) for 25-35 minutes, stirring often.

In a frying pan, melt 1 tsp butter. Add pecans and sugar. Stir 1 minute: the sugar should melt and coat the toasty pecans. Move them to a cutting board and chop coarsely when cooled.

Right before your oatmeal is done, melt a tablespoon of butter in the frying pan again. Add the pears and stir occasionally for 3 minutes. The juice should come out of them and they should be hot all the way through. Add honey and cinnamon.

It turned out delicious. My son even ate it a couple days, though he still prefers rolled oats. For this recipe, I used pears from the tree outside our new house, which was exciting. I'm not a big fan of pears, but I wanted to find ways to use up the ones on the tree, since they were there and obviously all-natural and organic and not sprayed. So we collected a bucket of them and used some in this recipe. I made it later for my husband, and he liked it, too.

I did not prepare the pecans as directed in the recipe. I just used plain pecans. I added more honey to the pears than the recipe calls for, and more butter, and I cooked the pears for probably 15-20 minutes before they got juicy and somewhat cooked. I didn't want to cook the pecans, as I don't like the way sugar-coated things feel between my teeth. Plus, raw nuts are healthier. So I just threw a handful of raw pecans on top. This breakfast was great all week, healthy and tasty. Sure, it's still just oatmeal. But it was as exciting as oatmeal gets
.

Disaster Chef: Crockpot Molten Lava Cake (Foodie Friday)

Finished product

I was having a 'Razing the Roof' party a while back, and needed to feed a handful of hungry dudes afterwards. Since the house was a disaster zone, I had to cook on the back porch. Crockpot meals was the obvious solution, since it was not really grilling weather. So I threw some chili in the big crockpot and then went in search of a dessert recipe. I'm picky about my desserts, but this one looked delicious. So I got it together, fixing the dry ingredients first as suggested in the recipe.

AFTER melting the butter and adding extra milk.

When I was ready to throw it all in the little Crock-pot, it was ready to go. But the recipe may not be exactly correct. With only 1/2 cup of milk, it was thicker than bread dough. I had to add at least another 1/4 cup, maybe more, just to make it spreadable in the bottom of the crock-pot. Then I added the chocolate chips and liquid, like it said.

I apologize for the lack of pictures of the finished product. I was busy feeding everyone and being hostess, so I didn't remember to stop and take a picture. We had one scoop left, which I sent with my husband to work, and he's not very confident in his food photography abilities. It would not look very delicious if I posted the pictures he sent me from his phone before he ate it!


I can't say it was the most delicious dessert ever. I only cooked this one 3 hours, instead of the 4, and it was still too dry and not very lava-licious. Plus, it just tasted a little...healthy. Like it needed some more butter and some eggs. I've never made a cake without eggs before, and I'm not sure I will again. If I'm going to be decadent and eat something like molten lava chocolate cake, I'm splurging. I don't want it to taste all granola. I want it to be rich and sinful, so I can indulge.

Recipe: 2 spoons out of 5--easy, but had to be changed b/c of lack of liquid. Also, it doesn't say to melt the butter, which added a bit of liquid, but still nowhere near enough. If you don't, it's just a blob sitting on top of the dough.
 
Cake itself: 2 spoons

Disaster Chef: Baked French Toast (Project Pinterest)

This was a recipe I tried out during Christmas break when my family was here. My son isn't the biggest fan of French toast because he says it's too soggy, but he loved this. The recipe can be found here, on Parade.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 (12½ oz) loaf of favorite bread (such as challah), cut into 1-inch-thick slices
• 3 cup whole milk
• 7 large eggs
• ½ cup light-brown sugar
• ¼ cup real maple syrup, plus more for serving
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Generously butter a 13 x 9–inch casserole. Arrange bread slices in dish, staggering in rows.
2. In large bowl, beat together milk, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour over bread and press down, making sure slices absorb liquid. Cover with foil.
3. Refrigerate overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove foil and bake casserole 55 minutes to 1 hour, until puffy and golden. Serve with more maple syrup, if desired. 

I used whole wheat bread and spread it out on two dishes because when I layered the bread, it wasn't under the milk. We only had 2 cups of milk, so I used that and a half cup of half & half. Our chickens definitely don't lay large eggs, so ours were small. I used only 2 tbsp. of sugar and syrup, and 1 tbsp. of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. I baked until the bread got puffy and took it out. It got nice and crisp on top, and everyone liked it, even my son, since it was not at all soggy.

Disaster Chef: Pumpkin Pancakes (Project Pinterest)

So, maybe the first or second thing I ever made off Pinterest was pumpkin pancakes. But apparently I didn't pin the recipe! So this past fall, when we had tons of pumpkins from the garden, I went looking for the recipe I made the year before. Of course I didn't remember it/couldn't find it. But there were about a million pumpkin pancake recipes, so I picked one and rolled with it. This time I made sure to pin it, since my son really likes pumpkin pancakes.

I followed the recipe from table io pretty closely.

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I skipped this)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 
  
Dry Ingredients:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder (left this out)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (left this out)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the wet ingredients and mix using the flat beater attachment. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients with a spoon or whisk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
2. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray and add about 1/4 cup pancake batter. Cook the first side until lightly brown and the edges begin to set. Flip the pancake over and cook until browned. Place a clean kitchen towel over the cooked pancakes as you prepare the rest.

I mixed all of it by hand and the batter was super thick. The kind of thick where the pancake doesn't cook in the center. And nothing is more yucky than raw pancakes batter in the center of an otherwise delicious pancake. So I added more milk to thin the batter. But then they got all weird and foamy like my snickerdoodle pancakes. At least these ones didn't taste all weird and sour! I added more flour to thicken them up, and then spread the pancakes very thin. The batter doesn't flow out nicely, so I had to spread each one in the pan, but once I did that, they cooked all the way through and were tasty enough for my son.

Pancake success.

Rating: Recipe 3.5 out of 5 spoons, after I figured out how to cook them.

Needed better instructions on spreading doughy batter. Wasted a few pancakes before I got it right.

Disaster Chef: Sweet Potato Casserole (Project Pinterest)

This casserole was all over Pinterest around Thanksgiving, and we had lots of sweet potatoes, so inevitably I found it a perfect match. Apparently so did my sisters--they both made it for their own Thanksgiving dinners.

I was making this for my husband's family, and since you just never know about internet recipes, I made a test run the day before. I made the gluten-free recipe that day, using our own sweet potatoes and xylitol instead of sugar. It turned out a little weird on the top--the xylitol didn't melt and it looked kind of floury on the top instead of all gooey and melty how it looks in the picture on Frugal Freebies blog. Here is their recipe. For her gluten-free version, check out her blog.

Conventional Version
4 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes ($2.00)
3/4 cup white sugar ($.40)-->I used only 1/2
1/4 cup melted butter (I used salted) ($.25)
1/3 cup milk ($.25)
2 beaten eggs ($.30)
1 tsp vanilla ($.10)

 topping
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces ($.25)
1/2 cup flour ($.25)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar ($.40)
1 Cup Pecans ($3.00)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix with a spoon and pour into an 11 x 7 x 1.5 casserole dish (I never grease it- but I doubt to would hurt if you wanted to). Set aside.
Cut cold butter into flour and brown sugar until it has the consistency of small peas. Add in pecans and stir to combine. This has a crumble topping type consistency.
Sprinkle the topping onto the sweet potato mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool for few minutes and then serve.
Serves 8-10 depending on portion.

I made it the regular way on Thanksgiving at the in-laws. I cut the sugar some because the sweet potatoes were already so sweet. But otherwise I followed the recipe. Again, the top never melted or got gooey how it looks in the picture. It was more crumbly than gooey. It was sort of ugly, honestly, and not that many people ate it, though the people who did gave me a few compliments.

I really like sweet potato casserole, and this was my first shot at it. I will try again next year, but with a different recipe.

Recipe: 2.5 out of 5 spoons

Prep & instructions: good, though it does not look like the picture

Disaster Chef: Lazy Crockpot Lima Beans

I started this meal how I start most of my meals: I had some time to cook. I didn't know what to cook. I went to the fridge and the pantry several times. I saw a package of beans I'd had for quite some time. I don't know anything to make with lima beans except succotash, so I went to Pinterest, like always. And I found this crockpot recipe from this blog. I had most of the ingredients, so I gave it a shot.

Let me just say, that when I'm cooking in the crockpot, it's because I'm being lazy. I don't want to have to cook stuff in a pan first. So I just dumped all the ingredients into the crockpot instead of doing all the prep work she requires in her recipe. I also added some frozen kale, shredded turkey (Thanksgiving leftovers come in handy) and a can of corn, since the spices gave it a southwestern type flavor. Also, I did not use precooked lima beans, so I cooked it a bit longer than she calls for.

Here's what I used:

1 pound dried baby lima beans, rinsed and soaked
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
2 c./1 can chicken or beef broth and enough water to cover all ingredients (if uncooked beans, about 4 c. extra water will be required for cooking beans)
1 can crushed tomatoes/1 pint canned tomatoes if you do your own
1-2 c. kale, chopped (frozen or fresh)
1 can corn
1-2 c. leftover turkey or chicken (optional)
2 TBSP cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 TBSP maple syrup

Toss everything in the crockpot, make sure it's all just covered with water, and cook 6 hrs on high or until beans are soft.

*A word about beans: To properly cook beans, they should first be soaked to remove naturally occurring toxins, as per Weston Price's directions. The night before you want to cook your beans, put then in a large bowl and cover with a good amount of water. I'd recommend at least twice as much as the beans or more, as the beans swell while soaking and you want them to be covered with water. In the morning, pour off the water, rinse the beans real quick, and throw them in the crockpot with new water. If you don't know who Weston Price is, you should. He wants you to eat lots and lots of butter :)

I added some Parmesan on top, because I add it to every soup, even when it doesn't go. I don't think the original recipe would have been enough for a meal, but with all the additions, it was a meal, not just a side dish, though it could serve as either. It's not my favorite, but I'd make it again if I couldn't think of anything else to make. Everyone ate it, and it didn't get complaints.

Recipe: 3 out of 5 spoons