[Italiancook]

Amazing!

[Italiancook]

I made a double batch of The Neely's Asparagus Soup (Food Network) Even a double batch doesn't make much. I put 2 quarts in the freezer & have 2 cups in the refrig.

[Italiancook]

chocomouse, I'm so glad you tried those rolls! For a long time, I considered making them but decided against it. I prefer rolls that are soft inside. I thought the separations of these rolls would be crunchy or crispy. What did you discover? Broken apart, are they soft or crisp? Yours look good.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Kimbbob, what a lovely photo!

Sorry you ran into problems, Mike.

[Italiancook]

I made Grandpa's Classic Coney Sauce that I found at allrecipes.com. I cut sugar in half, and that was fine. I reduced salt by 1/4 teaspoon, but should have reduced by 1/2 teaspoon. I browned meat and onion before putting in crockpot, as recipe suggests. A reviewer mentioned 3 hours, and that's what I did. My mistake was letting it stand on warm for 45 minutes. That burned a little of one edge -- probably a hot spot in the pot. I stirred the burnt bits into the sauce & no one noticed. This is really meant for a group, because I ended up with three-fourths of a quart after we ate. It's in the freezer, because we rarely have hot dogs. I bought them special just to try this sauce.

[Italiancook]

I'm late to this party, but Will's scoring looks wonderful! If he keeps this up, he'll be ready to enter his bread at the county fair.

[Italiancook]

I've backed away from baking. I gained 7 pounds during this pandemic because I've been hibernating. I've been eating what I bake, since I'm not baking for others during the pandemic. I can't guarantee I'm not asymptomatic. But I sure miss baking. My husband brought home great-looking mushrooms. So I'm tentatively thinking of making Cuban bread or semolina bread Saturday to make mushroom bruschetta. I've never made this with semolina, and all the semolina bread I've made in the past was given away. So I don't know if it's firm enough for bruschetta. But I have more semolina on hand than I need.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I stalled on the Aerogarden after I read your son's caught aphids. I thought only outdoor plans could get those. I grew up in the country, but I'm now cityfied. I don't want critters to find their way into my home. But I'd sure love to have leaf lettuce.

[Italiancook]

I've been enjoying the effort of my past-Dose 2 vaccinated husband. A week or so ago, he went to the fresh produce store. I craved so many items that it's been a struggle to cook and eat them all before they can spoil. We've had hot artichokes with butter. I also tried a cold artichoke recipe in Better Homes & Garden 75th Anniversary cookbook. It suggests serving with a sour cream sauce that has a little Dijon mustard & a suggested herb choice. I used dried dill. I'm not ruling out the sauce, but next time I'll use more Dijon and more dill. We both like cold artichokes better than hot ones. As much as I'm grateful for the artichokes, I must say I had forgotten how much time it takes to prep them. The first time took the longest. Second time, I had developed a system, but still, prepping 4 artichokes is time-consuming.

I have been wanting to make Allrecipes slow-cooker pork loin & sauerkraut for quite some time. My mother-in-law believed Libby's sauerkraut is the best, and somewhere I read an article that agrees with her. No Libbey's around here. So I settled on an off-brand. The recipe calls for a 4-pound roast. I assumed that was bone-in. I had a 3.25 pound boneless butt in the freezer and used that. I cooked it for the shortest time in the recipe. My husband doesn't like this dinner, so I feasted on pork and mashed potatoes smothered in sauerkraut. I'll be enjoying this for several days.

Len has mushroom gravy, Joan has onion gravy, so I decided to make sauerkraut gravy when the sauerkraut is gone. I refrigerated all the liquid from the crockpot, and it has some sauerkraut in it. I'm going to use it as the liquid in gravy for mashed potatoes.

I have cooked broccoli in the refrigerator and roasted chicken and fresh spinach. Tomorrow's lunch will be those leftovers with wilted spinach.

I'll also make a double batch of The Neely's (Food Network) Asparagus Soup tomorrow. I'll still have Swiss Chard & great looking strawberries to process into meals and dessert. After that, I'll be ready to send my husband back to the market.

[Italiancook]

rottiedogs, Yes! that's the caramelized onions process I couldn't find. Thank you for looking and posting. I wasn't the one looking for the kringle recipe, so I don't know if that's it. I don't understand -- what's the wayback machine?

[Italiancook]

For the first time, I baked the Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake from jennycancook.com. I had recommended this recipe to a niece who wants to surprise her husband with a scratch cake. It's only one layer, but with frosting, it'll be special to both of them. I thought I better test drive the recipe before she does to see if there's anything that might trip her. She'll do fine. I'll frost it in the morning. When my husband worked in a bakery as a kid, they made all their cakes the night before they frosted them. I'll cover it with foil & put a dinner plate over that, and it'll be fine until morning.

[Italiancook]

I also had baked steel cut oatmeal this morning. I put apple slices on top. I didn't peel them. While the baked product was picture-worthy, the slices were clunky to eat. Like Mike, I will chop the apple next time. My husband and I both like this. We ate it alone for breakfast without anything else. I didn't end up with 9 servings, Mike. More like 3 or 4. I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and it was sweet enough for us. Mike, I agree with you on the salt. I halved it in the recipe I made. Next time, I'm going to delete the baking powder. I couldn't see where it did anything.

BakerAunt, you may want to try this with oil instead of butter. I substituted light olive oil for the butter -- 1-1/2 tablespoons + 2-1/2 teaspoons olive oil. It didn't hurt the finished flavor, and I didn't miss butter.

I agree that cinnamon wouldn't make a good pairing for blueberries, but it was wonderful with the apples. I think I'd use cardamom with blueberries, because cardamom has a citrusy flavor. But I also have the KABC lemon powder and may try a tad of that instead.

I also made this last night to bake today.

Mike, when I make slow cooker Irish oatmeal with the steel cut oats, it cooks on Low for 6 hours or High for 3 hours.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Italiancook.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

I'm glad your son has electric and water. It's such a sad crisis in Texas.

[Italiancook]

It makes me smile to hear of you picking bowls of salad lettuce in the middle of winter. I've given up on my husband researching an Aerogarden for us. All his attention is on nursing a Magnolia bush someone gave us for Christmas. He wants to plant it outside in the spring. I have tentatively decided on the Farm 12. Based on an article I read, I have a small open bookcase to house it. BUt I haven't yet measured to make sure the bookcase will fit in the spot I have in mind.

[Italiancook]

I'm used to making slow cooker Irish oatmeal. Sometimes, depending on the fruit, it sticks to the crock pot in places. I dislike that clean-up. So I decided to butter my square dish for the baked oatmeal. I decided the ingredients wouldn't mix well in a buttered dish, so I mixed the dry ingredients in a small bowl before putting into dish. I probably made one unnecessary bowl to wash. I don't stock 2% or whole milk, so I used 1% and an extra large egg. Hopefully, it will set during the baking. I mixed the wet ingredients in a 4-cup measure. I barely had the 1/4 c. maple syrup -- just made it. After it was in fridge, I wished I had used 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon cardamom. Another time.

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