One New Thing ....

 

 I alluded to this One New Thing in last week's Hodgepodge post.   When Market Basket  came to our town in 2020,  it was a good thing we'd been hoping for, for a long time.  Great prices.  I also knew, having shopped in other Market Basket locations, that they offered reduced prices on ground beef.  They freeze it when it gets close to the expiration date and one buys it frozen.

What I didn't know is that they also offer reduced prices on bakery items, deli meat ends, and even produce!   Only recently have I found the areas where these items are located.

I've found some good buys on reduced price bread and rolls.  In the deli meat ends, I've found turkey and ham that can then be sliced to use in sandwiches or cubed to use in casseroles,  egg dishes, etc.

But the produce section is where I've found the very best deals, like a bag of 4 avocados for 99¢, a bag of vine ripened tomatoes for $1.  And my very best deal so far has been a bag of 6 or 7 Minneolas for $1.45! 

 To be honest, when I picked them up, I thought they were oranges.  I knew navel oranges were running 99¢ apiece, so this seemed like a really great deal.  Was it ever! 😊

These were the absolute best oranges I have ever tasted!   Easy to peel, no seeds, and so flavorful!   So I set out to learn a little more about Minneolas.  Here's what I found; info from Tricia Christensen.

"The Minneola tangelo is a specific hybrid citrus fruit that is made by crossing the Duncan or Bowen grapefruit and the “Darcy” variety of tangerine, also called a mandarin orange. The cross was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, in Florida, and was first released for sale in 1931. The fruit combines the sweetness of the mandarin with the tart flavors of the grapefruit, and it is highly prized for its juiciness and combination of sweet/sour flavors."

I found the information from Tricia Christensen here:  What is a Minneola Tangelo?

 And here's more:  "As tangelos go, the Minneola tends to be pretty large and is usually bell or pear-shaped. Diameter of the fruit averages about 3 inches (7.62 cm), though some can grow a bit larger. The peel is somewhat thin, but like most tangelos and mandarin oranges, it is pretty easy to peel. Many people like the fact that the fruit doesn’t have very many seeds, usually about ten on average, so they’re easy to avoid.". 

The ones I sampled had no seeds at all!

So there is my most recent one new thing!  Have you ever tasted a Minneola?  Does your supermarket offer reduced produce?

This 'n' that in the kitchen

I had a few kitchen experiments that turned out well in the past week or so, and just wanted to share them.  I love it when an idea to use up a leftover (or solve some other similar problem) works out well!

I'd mentioned that last Sunday was our corn roast at church.  We ended up bringing some of the leftover corn home, and I reheated it to serve alongside a couple of different meals -- wrap sandwiches and turkey burgers, if I remember right.  I had a couple ears left over after that,  and decided to cut the corn off the cob and put it in this Hearty Butternut Squash Soup. 

In that same soup, I also used up a few more leftovers: a quart of chicken broth, frozen from the last time I cooked chicken breasts in the crockpot; and instead of using fresh sliced peppers and chopped onions, I used dibs and dabs of frozen ones I had on hand.  I changed the recipe up a lot; used frozen pureed squash, left out the beans, and cut the quantities down a good bit.  The soup turned out fantastic and fed us for several meals. 

And then there was the leftover blueberry sauce.  I mentioned in my Friday five that our dear friends Sam and Jenn and their boys had joined us for supper last Sunday. Mr. T had made waffles, and I made this

BERRY SAUCE FOR PANCAKES OR WAFFLES

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tblsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 cups blueberries, raspberries, OR cut-up strawberries

Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in the water. Add the fruit and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Serve warm. Makes about 2 cups.

I had made a batch of blueberry sauce and one of strawberry.  Nearly a pint of the blueberry one was left.   Not wanting it to mold,  I cast about for a way to use it.  We also had in the fridge a cup or two of fresh blueberries that a landowner on a logging job had given to my hubby.  I mixed them with the sauce, put it in the bottom of a pie pan, and made this

DOWN EAST BLUEBERRY COBBLER
3 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional but yummy)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tblsp. butter
-----------------
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. sugar
2 Tblsp. cold butter
1/3 cup cream or evaporated milk

Heat oven to 425º. In a bowl, toss the berries with the next four ingredients (sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla). Place the mixture into a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Cut the butter into pieces and scatter over the berries.

Sift the 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together into a mixing bowl. Cut in the 2 Tblsp. butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and stir with a fork until the dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead 30 seconds or so. Roll the dough into a round slightly smaller than your pie plate and about 1/4 inch thick. Place the dough over the berries in the pie plate and cut several deep slashes in the top.

Bake the cobbler at 425º for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with powdered sugar sifted over the top.

Serves 4.

This experiment turned out to be absolutely delicious.  I had made this cobbler in the past but I would have had no idea it could turn out so well using the blueberry sauce.

(I left out the sugar in the blueberry part, and also omitted the lemon component because I had put lime juice in the sauce.  I also didn't put the vanilla in with the blueberries, but put it in the topping instead.  I did dot the filling with the butter, though.)

So last week I bought some strawberries at the supermarket.  I had no real idea how I was going to use them, but the price was great,  so I bought 2 boxes.  Of course you know that I didn't get to use them right away.  So I ended up tossing maybe a cup of them, and then decided I would try that cobbler recipe again using diced strawberries instead of blueberries.

This time I did use the sugar, and I think a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch would have been a good idea as well.  I also mixed in about a half cup of strawberry sauce that was left from the waffle buffet.  Again, I left out the lemon zest and juice, since I had put lemon juice in the sauce -- and again, I put the vanilla in the topping rather than the filling.

This also came out very good, though not as good as the blueberry one.  It tastes like warm strawberry shortcake in a pie plate, which is not a bad thing.

And then lastly for my kitchen escapades, a recipe I've blogged about before:   I made one of these S’mores Pizzas to take to a get-together on Saturday.  As you read the post (if you click over), you will see that the recipe actually makes two, but I decided to make just one because I didn't want any leftovers.  What was I thinking?

Photo from  Five Heart Home

These are so good and always a hit, but the reception of this dessert on this occasion had to set some kind of a record.  (To simplify serving at the picnic, I had cut the pizza at home, using a sharp knife dipped frequently in hot water to preserve the look of the marshmallows.  It worked really well.)

The serving table was pretty crowded with food, so I waited until everyone had been through the food line at least once before bringing out this pizza.  Well.  I am not in any way exaggerating when I say that within 3 minutes of placing this on the table, there was nothing left but crumbs.

Lesson learned.  Next time I'll bring two.

Those are my recent kitchen adventures.  What have you been cooking and/or baking lately?

Recipe reviews!

Blank printable recipe card from Graphic Garden

Last weekend I made two new recipes and combined them into one dessert.  It turned out fantastic!  I had seen Sandi's recipe for Banana Split Cake and wanted to try it for our church potluck.

 I did adapt the recipe just a tiny bit to make it a little lighter, but didn't change much.  The crust part called for 3/4 cup butter, and I tried cutting it to 1/2 cup, but that was not quite enough.  So I melted 2 more tablespoons and added them in.

And I did cut the amount of butter in half for the filling, and used 2 eggs (it called for 1 or 2) to make up for any difference.  It worked out just fine to use 1/2 cup butter; still tasted plenty rich.  (Some people have questioned the use of uncooked eggs in this dessert.  Sandi has had no problems with their use, so I went ahead and used them.  I do use good-quality eggs and felt it would probably be fine.   And it was.)

I only used 2 bananas because I only had two, and I tossed the slices with lemon juice rather than simply sprinkling it over.  My cake was going to be chilled overnight and I didn't want to take any chances with the bananas getting brown.

Photo by Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage

The only other change I made was with the topping. The recipe calls for cherry pie filling, and Sandi also suggested sliced strawberries as an alternative.  But I had bags of frozen strawberries in the freezer from our strawberry-picking this summer and wanted to use them.  So I went looking for a  homemade strawberry pie filling recipe.  This Homemade Strawberry Pie Filling from Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life worked admirably.

Photo by Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life

Jocelyn's recipe calls for fresh strawberries, but mine were frozen.  So I thawed them enough so that they were sliceable.  Then I sliced up five cups' worth and used them in the recipe as directed.  When the filling was cooked, I cooled it completely at room temperature.  I then scraped the filling into a container and chilled it overnight to add to the dessert the next morning.

I assembled the dessert all the way through adding the banana layer and then the pineapple layer and then refrigerated it overnight. In the morning, I added cool whip and then the strawberry filling layer.

The dessert turned out perfectly and got great reviews from our potluck crowd and especially from my hubby.  The strawberry pie filling would work wonderfully in many other desserts, and if you visit Jocelyn's blog, you will be sure to find more great ideas for its use.

Happy baking!

Heavenly Filled Strawberries

Photo from Taste of Home

 Yes, I know.  Mid-to-late August is not really strawberry season.  But strawberries were on sale for $1.77 a box at our local supermarket this past week, so a strawberry dessert was indicated for Sunday's church potluck.  (Some of us joke that you can always tell what's on sale that week by what we bring to the potluck!)

Browsing a back issue of Country Woman magazine, I had come across this recipe for Heavenly Filled Strawberries.  So when I saw strawberries in the sale flyer for $1.77, I knew what I would make with them.  The berries have crosswise slits cut in the tips and are then filled with a simple cream cheese mixture -- I used 8 ounces cream cheese [the recipe calls for 11 ounces], a half cup of powdered sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.  I would have liked to pipe the mixture into the berries but didn't have an icing bag.  I did the trick of putting the filling into a zip-top plastic bag and cutting off a corner, and filling the strawberries that way.  Also, I substituted chocolate sprinkles for the grated chocolate.  It looked very bit as nice and was easier and cheaper. 

These looked very impressive arranged on a square plate and they went over very well at the potluck dessert table.  If you happen to find a good price on strawberries and need a dessert for a summer event, I highly recommend these!

Pineapple Coconut Molded Salad

Photo from Taste of Home

Although I don't make them often,  every now and then it's sort of fun to make a nice molded salad.  This one, Pineapple and Coconut Molded Salad, which I made for our potluck lunch at church a few weeks ago, was different and delicious.   I found the recipe in an older issue of Country Woman magazine, where it was a winner in a contest for gelatin recipes.  Made with unflavored gelatin so the nice flavors of pineapple and coconut are really showcased, it was a hit.


I served this as a dessert and filled the center with a mixture of pineapple tidbits and mango cubes to add more color and tropical flavor.  If you also enjoy making a nice molded salad from time to time, this is a nice summery one to try!

Strawberry Time!

This past Saturday, Mr. T and I took an hour and a half and went strawberry picking at a U-pick farm in Vermont.  We didn't really have the time, but we were out of frozen strawberries from the previous time we'd gone in 2012.  Since we had to be in the area anyway (just across the river in NH) we decided to go on over and pick some berries.  What a lovely, tranquil spot.  We enjoyed the breezy sunshine and just the time to be together and accomplish something worthwhile. 
We got over 30 pounds of strawberries

These are the flats from 2012.  This year's were filled much fuller!

 and at this point they are all washed, hulled, individually quick frozen and stashed in the freezer.  We usually make strawberry sauce on Sundays when the granddaughters are with us, to go with our breakfast waffles.  Now we are all set with strawberries for many Sundays to come!

A yummy chocolate dip for fruit

Photo by Taste of Home

With yesterday being Valentine's Day, I wanted to plan a special supper for my hubby and also needed to keep it kid-friendly since two of our granddaughters were here.  I decided to make lasagna, focaccia bread, and salad.  Our supermarket had some decent-looking strawberries on sale, so I picked up a box with the idea of serving them with a chocolate dip for a Valentine dessert.

I'd never made a chocolate dip before, though I have made other dips for fruit -- and once, a chocolate chip cheese ball to serve with chocolate graham crackers.  So I did a quick search.  Taste of Home recipes never let me down, and this is the one I found: Yummy Chocolate Dip.  It only uses three ingredients, all of which I had on hand: chocolate chips, whipped topping, and vanilla.  It also calls for cinnamon, but I left that out because I didn't think it would be all that great with strawberries.  Apples, maybe.

So my 10-year-old granddaughter and I made up the dip and we had it for dessert with the strawberries.  It was indeed yummy!  The only thing I would advise is NOT making it ahead and refrigerating it, which we did.  It made it too firm and we had to sort of spread it on the berries.  It was still delicious, just not really a dip consistency.  I would advise making it at most a half hour before serving.  We thought it would also be great with bananas, pineapple, apples, and maybe even oranges or clementines.  We had some dip left over, so we'll probably find out!

Nectarine Chicken Salad

Photo by Taste of Home

Good peaches and nectarines are available right now, and I had had this recipe: Nectarine Chicken Salad  on my "to-try" list for several weeks.  I finally got around to trying the salad this week, and we enjoyed it very much!

I did use peaches rather than nectarines, since that's what I had.  For the lettuce component I used a bag of the "triple hearts" salad mix by Fresh Express.  I used leftover cooked chicken rather than cooking chicken breasts -- I had cooked a roasting chicken in the crockpot last Friday and so had plenty of chicken to work with.  I think the only other thing I changed was not to use thyme in the dressing.  I like thyme in moderation, but wasn't sure about using only that herb in this dressing.  So I used a teaspoon of salad seasoning instead, reasoning that thyme was probably part of the blend.  Also, salad seasoning contains salt, and it seemed to me this dressing could use a little of that.  But I would say, use whatever herb or blend of herbs that appeals to you.

We thought this salad was deliciously different, and will definitely be making this recipe again!

Gluten free strawberry rhubarb crisp ~ a Pinterest project

Photo by The Baking Beauties

Following my fabulous success with the Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls from The Baking Beauties , I was so impressed with Jeanine's recipes that I signed up to follow her blog by email.  One of the first posts I received was about this recipe:Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp , so I promptly pinned it and saved the recipe to try later.
My dad had lots of rhubarb in his patch and I had lots of frozen strawberries to use up, so I made one of these for Father's Day.  It would have been better to use the fresh strawberries as called for, but I had so many strawberries frozen from last year and the year before, that I chose to use some of those.  This crisp has wonderful fresh fruity flavor!  I doubled the recipe to make a 13x9 pan and was glad that I did.  I don't think you'll be disappointed if you try this recipe.  We really enjoyed it.

Chocolate (or cheesecake) mousse with strawberries

Photo by Taste of Home

I tried a yummy dessert recipe this weekend!  Our local supermarket had a fantastic price on fresh strawberries, and I needed a dessert for our church potluck on Sunday.  I had planned on making something like a cheesecake, but it was swelteringly hot and I didn't want to put the oven on.  So I did some searching through back issues of Taste of Home and Quick Cooking and found this: Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries. 

It looked (and was) so easy, calling for just three ingredients: instant pudding mix, milk, and whipped topping, in addition to the strawberries.  I had no chocolate instant pudding mix on hand, but I had a box of cheesecake flavored instant pudding, so used that.  French vanilla would probably be nice, as well, and maybe even lemon.  But the cheesecake mousse was outstanding.

With local strawberries coming into season soon, you may want to give this recipe a try.  It was a hit at the potluck, and I'll definitely be making this again!

Cranberry Chutney

(Photo by Taste of Home)

I enjoy chutney and have always thought I would like to try making some.  (Yankee Candle's Cranberry Chutney scent is a favorite of mine, too.) So this week I had a small amount of leftover roast chicken and was looking for ideas for some side dishes to stretch the sliced chicken into a meal.

What I ended up with was mashed potatoes, green beans with pearl onions, stuffing, and this Cranberry Chutney.

I needed to use ingredients I had on hand, as I was starting this rather late in the day.  I had no dried cherries, but plenty of dried cranberries, so I used them instead.  And I didn't want to bother grating lemon peel, so substituted a half teaspoon of pure lemon extract instead.  I did toast the walnuts the quick way, on a plate in the microwave.

The chutney was very good.  It wouldn't be for everyone; you need to appreciate somewhat unusual flavor combinations to enjoy this, but those around our table for supper the other night did.  The combination of flavors was very nice, with the toasted walnuts adding a very festive note.  I will be making this again.

Have you ever made chutney?  Might you have a favorite chutney recipe to share?

Fall Apple Dip

(Photo by Taste of Home)

 This is an old favorite recipe I had sort of forgotten about.  While our family was here visiting from out west, we planned a small gathering for extended family one Sunday afternoon, and I had asked people to bring a favorite fall snack to share.  I had a few ideas of what I would make myself, but ended up with this old standby I hadn't made in years.  Here it is:

FALL  APPLE  DIP

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature  (I use Neufchatel)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Apples 

Orange juice

Blend together cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla.  Place in a small bowl.

Wash, core and slice apples -- Honey Crisp apples are a real favorite, but for this occasion I think I used Ginger Gold and Cortland -- dip into orange juice, then drain and arrange in concentric circles on a pretty plate.  Place bowl of dip in center.  Refrigerate any leftover dip.

And that is it.  Simple!  It went over well with those at the get-together, and I won't wait so long to make this recipe again!