Corn with Butter Sauce

My husband loves the frozen corn with the butter sauce, but it is expensive and the ingredients used did not make me happy.  So continuing in my quest to cook wholesome, good food for my family, I created this recipe.

Ingredients:
16 oz bag of frozen corn
1/4 c water
1/4 c butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 c milk or cream
3/4 tsp cornstarch

Directions:
Place corn and water in pan and heat corn.  Once corn is warm, add butter, salt and sugar.  Mix the cornstarch with the milk and add to pan.  Bring corn mixture to boiling until thickened.  Stir frequently because it does burn easily.  Add more butter or sugar to match your taste.

No-Knead Crusty White Bread

This is such a wonderful and easy bread recipe so now there is no reason to not make your own homemade, artisan style bread.  This recipe is from King Arthur Flour.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

Directions:

*The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup, then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 1/2 cups. If you measure flour by dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 1/2 cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you measure flour by weight, use 32 ounces.

1) Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, or a large (6-quart), food-safe plastic bucket. For first-timers, "lukewarm" means about 105°F, but don't stress over getting the temperatures exact here. Comfortably warm is fine; "OUCH, that's hot!" is not. Yeast is a living thing; treat it nicely.

2) Mix and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds. If you don't have a mixer, just stir-stir-stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is combined.

3) Next, you're going to let the dough rise. If you've made the dough in a plastic bucket, you're all set — just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. If you've made the dough in a bowl that's not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it's going to rise a lot. There's no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it's time to bake bread.

4) Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you're pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it'll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it'll rise, then fall. That's OK; that's what it's supposed to do.

5) When you're ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It'll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

6) Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don't fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.

7) Place the dough on a piece of parchment (if you're going to use a baking stone); or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

8) Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won't appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it'll seem to settle and expand. Preheat your oven (and baking stone, if you're using one) to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

9) When you're ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2" deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that's OK, it'll pick right up in the hot oven.

10) Place the bread in the oven, and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. It'll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.

11) Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it's a deep, golden brown.

12) Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

13) Yield: 3 or 4 loaves, depending on size.

Hot Fudge Sauce

This is such an easy sauce to make, and it tastes so wonderful!!  No more bottled stuff for my family.  This sauce stores easily in the refrigerator for several days (if it lasts that long).

Ingredients:
1 c sugar
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp unbleached flour
pinch of salt
1 c water
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:
In a saucepan, mix all dry ingredients.  Pour in water, stirring until well mixed.  Add butter and bring to a boil.  Cook slowly for 8 minutes, stirring often.  

Crock Pot Soup Beans

My family and I truly love soup beans plus they are so very good for you.  Most of the time I do not have the time it takes to cook and cook and cook them.  I found this wonderful recipe from Mama Dip.  It works every time, and my family loves it.  I have a large size crock pot, and this recipe can easily be divided in half to fit into a smaller size crock pot.

Ingredients:
2 pound bag of dried pinto beans
4 tsp garlic salt
1 c chopped onions
Ham hock, bacon or butter to season (if desired - we never really add this because they are so good by themselves)

Directions:
Wash the beans in warm water and drain.  Put beans in a large pot, cover with at least 2 - 3 inches of water and boil for 20 minutes.  Pour beans and water into crock pot, add garlic salt, onion and other seasonings if desired and cook on high until beans are tender (usually about 6 - 8 hours).  Add more hot water to crock pot if needed. 

Strawberry Syrup

This is a simple syrup that can be used on ice cream, as pancake syrup, shortcake or for anything you would like.  Thank you Tammy Recipes for this recipe.

Ingredients: 

2 cup Strawberries (loosely packed; fresh or frozen)
1/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch (dissolved in a little water)

 

Instructions: 

1. Cut strawberries into halves or quarters (depending on preference; if the strawberries are fairly small you may leave them whole).
2. Place strawberries in a saucepan and pour sugar on top and place on burner set between medium and medium-low.
3. The mixture will slowly become watery at which point you can set the burner to medium. Once the mixture begins to boil add dissolved cornstarch while stirring the mixture.
4. After boiling for 1-2 minutes (remember to continue stirring) you can remove from the burner.

The syrup can be used hot or can be refrigerated and used cold, depending on your preference.

 

Additional Notes: 

* Add a small amount of lemon juice to add a slight tang, especially to strawberries that are a little bland (e.g. store bought varieties).

** If you need your syrup to go farther, add some water (~1/2 cup), double the corn starch, double the sugar, and add lemon juice. This will make make more strawberry topping without compromising the flavor much.