Tilapia

Wow, it's been awhile. I just learned how to make tilapia - and it's really easy! You can also use this recipe for mahi-mahi, snapper, or any other white fish (although halibut, I'm told, is best with just a bit of lemon juice.)

Buy fish.
Crumble some saltines (as finely as possible) and put the crumbs on a plate.
Pour a little milk in a pan.
Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray, oil, or butter.
Dip fish in milk, then coat fish in crumbs, then place in greased pan.
Bake at 375 for about 20-30 minutes, or until flaky.

Yum!

yeah someone else is updating!

Nice site Becca, I looked around and it is very good, the basics plus more gourmet info. Anyways last night I finally made the cinnamon rolls I had been craving forever. However I didn't feel like taking a huge amount of time so I made these non-yeast ones. Here is the recipe plus my changes, I got the recipe from allrecipes.com

ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (this combination really just needs to add up to 4 cups)
1/4 cup white sugar
2 TBs and 2 teas. baking powder (hence the no yeast)
2 teas. salt
1/2 cup margarine
2 cups milk (I used part whole that we had laying around and the rest skim)
2/3 cup margarine (I wouldn't recommend butter because it tends to not mix as well with the sugar)
2 c. packed brown sugar
2 TBs ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans plus 12 halves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one 12 cup muffin pan (this really should be in two muffin pans, but we only had one so I just crammed them in there and made them really huge!, in fact it is good to have a cookie sheet underneath if you plan on them not running over into your oven)
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the 1/2 c of margarine (this is easier if the margarine is slightly softened) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs). Make a well in the middle and poor in the milk. (I don't know when the recipe instructed this but I did it anyways). Mix until blended.
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 8-10 times. (I ended up needing to add more flour because the dough was too wet). Roll dough out into a rectangle around a foot and half long. (I didn't have a rolling pin so I just smooshed it and they turned out fine).
4. To make the filling for the rolls cream together the 2/3 margarine and brown sugar. Add the cinnamon and the pecans then place small amounts directly in the muffin pan and for added effect place one pecan half in each cup. Spread the rest out over the dough.
5. Roll the dough up length wise and then cut into 12 even pieces (or 24 if you are actually trying to not mess the recipe up). Place one in each muffin pan and smoosh down slightly.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes if all in one muffin pan and 20-25 if in 2 pans. After removing from the oven, let set in the pans for 5 minutes or so and then invert to remove.
7. I through together a glaze consisting of confectioners' sugar, milk, a splash of vanilla and around 4 oz of cream cheese, and then poured over the completed rolls.

Because of the whole wheat these rolls have an interesting texture and yet because of the glaze and filling remain quite moist. Overall a great filler for that cinnamon roll craving without all the rising time.

okay so not really a recipe

This link is to a fantastic blog about cooking and baking. Apparently they organized a bunch of other blogs to form a world wide tour of cakes! I thought Becca would especially appreciate it.

Eggs, Milk, and Bread Caserole...thing....

Serves 1

2 eggs
1 slice bread (about 6" across) or two smaller ones
2/3 c. milk (about that)
grated chedar cheese (or other favorite)
parsley
chives or onions
cayanne pepper or red chili powder
any veggetables
small personal caserole dish w/ lid

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread at bottom of caserole dish. Use two pieces if it leaves a lot of space. Pour milk over bread, so it can soak (but don't fill it so it floats). In another dish, combine eggs, herbs, spices, onions, and veggetables. Check to make sure bread is soaked to its fullest. If not, add a little more milk. Pour excess milk into egg mixture. Beat and pour over bread. Cover with lid and bake for about 10-15 mins.

If you don't have a caserole dish, or are making this for more people, you can use a larger caserole dish or bread pans. Just be sure you cover the bottom and it isn't too full, as it will double in size while baking.

Alsacien Tarte Flambee (Flammenkuche)

(recipe from iSaveurs.com)
Total prep time: about 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 2 Onions
- 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) pizza dough
- 2 Tablespoons fromage blanc (soft, white cheese - low fat cream cheese can be substituted)
- 8 Tablespoons thick Crème fraîche
- 2 pinches nutmeg
- pepper, salt
- 100 g (3.5 oz) ham or bacon chopped into short, thin strips

1.) Preheat the oven to 464° F (240°C)
2.) Peel and chop the onions.
3.) Flour a pizza pan. Divide the dough into two balls and roll out one as thinly as possible. Place it in the pan.
4.) In a bowl, beat the crème fraîche and the fromage blanc. Add salt and pepper slowly, to taste. Add the nutmeg.
5.) Spread half of the cream mixture over the dough, leaving about two cm around the edge. Sprinkle with half of the meat and onions.
6.) Bake for about 10 minutes. While it it cooking, prepare the second tarte in the same way

These are delicious! You can add other ingredients (such as chopped veggies) or make dessert tartes by making them with apples or chocolate.

Easy Strawberry Trifle

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 4 hr 20 min
Makes: 18 servings, 2/3 cup each

1-1/2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 pkg. (10.75 oz.) frozen pound cake, thawed, cubed
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
2 cups sliced strawberries
Chocolate syrup

*STIR boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.
*CUT gelatin into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in 3-1/2-quart serving bowl. Cover with layers of cake cubes, 1/2 of the whipped topping and strawberries. Top with remaining whipped topping.
*REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.
*DRIZZLE as much chocolate syrup over top as desired

Sadie Warkentin's Real Chicken Noodle Soup (as made by Meryl)

1 Stewing chicken or any other medium-sized chicken
2 tsp. salt
12-14 c. water (appx.)
6-8 cups homemade noodles, cooked (appx.)
4 whole star anise*
10 (or more) whole black peppercorns
6 bay leaves
3 Tbsp. (or so) commercial chicken soup base
1/3 cup (or more) of fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. butter**

*I have no idea what "4 whole star anise" means. I just threw in somewhere around 2 teaspoons or more of anise seeds.
**Does not need butter. Very rich as is. I don't add it.

Put the chicken in a pot, and pour water to cover it, and then some. Probably between 12 and 14 c. total. Bring to a boil, then turn down to just above low (on a scale from 1-10, turn to about 3). Let cook for 2-3 hours. Take chicken from broth. Do not drain the broth! Let the chicken cool, then debone and deskin it. Add salt to the broth. Put bay leaves, peppercorns and anise into a spice bag, and put the spice bag in the broth. Boil for 15 mins. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cook noodles and drain. Add chicken, noodles, chicken soup base, and parsley (and butter if you really want to). If soup is too thick, add water. If it's not full-flavored enough, add more base. It freezes well.

Creamy Coffee

1 Mug
Soft Serve Ice Cream
Coffee

Fill 1/3 to 1/4 of mug with ice cream. Pour coffee over top. Stir until ice cream is all desolved. Enjoy.

Often brings out the hidden flavors in the coffee, sometimes tastes like cinamon, especially in the Rot.