Thursday, September 23, 2010

Spaetzle (german dumpling noodles)

2 1/2 cups flour (I use half white whole wheat and half all-purpose)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter

Beat eggs lightly, add milk and water. Place flour and salt in a bowl and gradually add the egg mixture. It will be pretty gluey and sticky.

Bring 3-4 quarts of salted water to a rolling boil. Squeeze dough through spaetzle maker into the boiling water. Cook til spaetzle floats, about 1 minute, stirring to keep from sticking together. Strain and remove excess water by placing on paper towel.
Toss with melted butter.

I actually just squeeze the spaetzle dough all in there and when its all in I drain it and add butter. And it's just fine. I don't remove it after a minute or stir much or put it on paper towel, so you would need to decide how much you want to fuss.

Crockpot Hungarian Goulash

This recipe is one of my favorite since it reminds me of my favorite dish at the Brauhaus restaurant.

2 lbs round steak or venison steak, cubed
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
I add curry powder since that is my favorite. Maybe 1/2 tsp. or more
1 can tomato soup (I use 1 pint home-made tomato soup)
1/2 soup can water
1 cup sour cream

Put meat into crockpot. Mix powders and flour and stir into meat. Add all remaining ingredients except the sour cream. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Add sour cream and warm for 30 min.
Serve over Noodles or Spaetzle.

I always make Spaetzle for this recipe since it goes so well together and they are very fast to make. I do have a Spaetzle maker that I bought at http://www.lehmans.com/

Crockpot Pheasant or Duck

This is my favorite way to cook pheasant breasts or duck breasts (you could do it with chicken of course.)

About 4 breasts
2 cans of cream of Mushroom soup (or one batch homemade cream of mushroom soup made with two cups cream)
1 cup home-made chicken broth (or beef)
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce (without MSG)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Selection of your favorite herbs, such as oregano, basil and parsley.

Combine ingredients, pour over breasts in crockpot and cook on low for about 7-8 hours. Serve over Wild Rice. (Wild Rice is more digestible and nutrients more available to you if you soak it for 7-12 hours first. To soak: Rinse wild Rice, put into a bowl with warm water and add 2 Tbsp. of kefir, buttermilk, vinegar or lemon juice, set into oven with the lamp on to keep the temperature up a little. Just before cooking drain and cook in fresh water.)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This must be one of my favorite cookies. They still turned out great when I substituted healthier ingredients. Be warned: this makes a large batch.

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar (I used 2 cups rapadura plus about 2-3 Tbsp molasses to make it moister)
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar)
1 can (15 oz.) solid pack pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour (I used white whole wheat pastry flour and may have added a little more when it seemed to runny)
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in the pumkin, egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinammon and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in Chocolate chips. Drop by Tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Make sure they are done or they will fall apart. Remove to wire racks to cool.

This is originally from Taste of Home or what used to be Quick Cooking Magazine.

Sorry, I have no photos but thought I would share this.