Salsa Grandpa Miller's Way

The other day my husbands grandpa threw together some salsa for me. It isn't what I'm used to but it was still pretty darn tasty!

1 large tomato
1 med onion
1 can diced green chilies (or you can use what ever you might have in your garden.)
salt

It so simple! Just chop up the tomato and onion, throw them in a bowl with the chilies and season it with salt. I was pretty surprised at the amount of salt he added, I thought it would be WAY too salty, but it was just right!

Banana Bread

I decided to attempt Banana Bread the other day, and it actually turned out pretty good.


Banana Bread
3/4 C. butter
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. Salt


Cream butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients. pour in a greased loaf pan. bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Rice Pudding

Rice pudding reminds me of my days living in the Philippines. While I was there I ate rice nearly everyday. Usually for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Occasionally, I would splurge and buy a piece of bread and a Coke, but for the most part, my diet consisted of mainly rice.

We cooked a pot of rice and ate from it until it was gone. Sometimes, it would take a few days to empty the pot and the rice would get moldy. When that happened, we just rinsed it really well, laid it out on a towel to dry and ate it when it dried.

Often times, we would have to get creative with the rice, using it in cakes, casseroles, desserts, drinks, ect. I learned a lot of new ways to eat rice.

I attempted rice pudding many times in the Philippines, but cooking over an open fire left me with something similar to a warm milk drink with rice in the bottom. I did not have the patience to wait for the mixture to boil and them simmer. Either way, I enjoyed it and was reminded of those days when I whipped up some rice pudding the other day.



RICE PUDDING

3 cups of left over rice (cooked) white or brown works fine
about 2 cups of milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
handful of raisins
walnuts
any spices you like: cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc.

Add the milk, rice, raisins, salt and sugar to a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until desired consistency. The rice will absorb alot of the milk. Add walnuts, and spices. Serve warm or cold it is delicious either way! This is an excellent way to use leftover rice from a meal.

Betty's Spaghetti and Meatballs

All the credit for this one goes to my mom's best friend, Betty Walker. She passed this recipe onto my family and it's the only way we eat spaghetti now.

Meatballs:
1 lb. lean hamburger or turkey burger
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 slices bread
2 heaping tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Soak bread in milk. Mix meat, eggs, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Drain any excess milk from bread and add to meat mixture. Roll into balls about he size of walnuts. Drop into boiling sauce. Simmer for one hour. Extra meatballs can be frozen raw and used later.

Sauce:
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper

Blend tomatoes, add remaining ingredients and simmer for one hour.

Goulash

I am such a creative cook.(insert sarcasm)

Yesterday, it was 5:30 pm and we were still outside playing before I realized the time. I had to scramble to pull something together for dinner.

I searched my fridge and found some ground turkey, tomato sauce, fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, corn, and cooked quinoa. With some whole wheat pasta noodles in the cupboard, I was set for a fast dinner. I cooked up the noodles, chopped the veggies, dumped everything together and (I think) ended up with goulash.

My kids devoured it.

I am not sure what the exact recipe for goulash is. I could probably google it. Here is a basic idea:

noodles
tomato sauce
meat
veggies
salt and pepper to taste

combine in any quantities and warm up. It was fast and easy and balanced. Carbs, protein, and vegetables. Easy Peasy.

The best chocolate chip cookies

I have tried a lot of cookie recipes in my time and these cookies are incredible. The best. Delicious. Sooo sooo good.
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1-3.4 oz. box of instant pudding
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3- 4 cups soft white wheat flour, freshly ground
1/2 to 1 bag of chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs. Beat in pudding. Add dry ingredients and mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake for 9 min. @350 degrees. These are even better if you refrigerate overnight or freeze up to 6 months before baking

I have used chocolate pudding and vanilla pudding. Both turned out great! Dont make the cookies too big or they spread out on the pan too much and the edges get crisp. Make em small and eat more!!

original recipe from one of my heros, Kara

Feijao Preto

I got this recipe from a friend. It is soooooo easy and tasty! I cant believe how good it was! And cheap? Heavens, one of the cheapest meals I have made. Definitely get the most bang for your buck with this.

(this is not my picture, it came off a google search. I can not recall where it was from.)

Here is the "recipe" and an explanation of the dish from my friend:
This soupy bean dish was a staple lunch served to my husband when he was in Brazil. Everyone made Feijão Preto, and they used whatever they had to flavor it. The better off they were, the more meat they put in. The poorer families would have no meat. True to tradition we make this to use up left- overs and have never really written down a recipe before. We have learned that roast beef, pork, bacon, sausage, and hamburger taste good, ham and chicken do not. For flavor, use as much or little as you like of each, it really depends on whether you like onion or garlic more, or if you like more salt or pepper.

Basic recipe:
some black beans
a little meat
a few garlic cloves
an onion
salt and pepper to taste
serve over rice

rinse and soak beans overnight. In the morning add meat, garlic, and onions to beans. I cooked mine in the crock pot about 4 hours on high then turned them down for an additional 4 hours on low. Add salt and pepper before serving over rice.

**I put this all in the crock pot and let it cook for at least 24 hours. I prefer using a little pork roast. I think it lends the best flavor. Soak the beans, rinse them well and then toss everything in the crock pot. No need to precook your meat, it will cook along with the beans.