8oz. smoked link sausage
2T maple syrup
2 lb. frozen hash browns
2c milk
6 eggs
2oz grated Cheddar cheese
¼ c grated Parmesan
½ t dry mustard
¼ t pepper
2T green onion, snipped with scissors

Preheat oven to 350 and grease casserole with oil. Sauté sausages until brown, add syrup, cook one minute and arrange in single layer in casserole. Top with hash browns.

In medium bowl, whisk remaining ingredients and pour over hash browns.

Bake one hour or until center is set. Sprinkle with green onion. Cool 10 min. Cut into squares.

The other day those of us working in the kitchen were confronted with a tragedy – a nice pudding made of coffee cake and sweet bread crumbs which just did not get baked thoroughly.

There it was. Nicely brown outside, and raw inside – sort of heavy. A big pudding for there was many of us. We just could not throw it out. That would be sheer waste. And waste is sinful with millions of people going hungry in the world. And for us who take promises of poverty, it would be a sin even if all men had had their daily fill of food.

Pudding to Pancakes

So we put our heads together, and thought up ways and means of using this pudding. And the idea struck us, why not make pancakes of it. For after all what was “a pudding”? It was originally flour, eggs (bread crumbs are flour too) – so we treated it as if it were just that. Try it some time when you have pudding leftovers – raw or well cooked.

Take said leftovers and adding warm milk and a few more eggs (if you have them) – or dispensing with them if you don’t (water can be used instead of milk too) – reduce the mass to that state of liquidity that any of your pancake recipes call for. Then leisurely proceed to fry them. Make small fat pancakes. Serve with jam or powdered sugar. Truly it is delicious, cheap and an ingenious way of disposing of the hardest thing to dispose of that we know: pudding leftovers.

Have a Heart

So much for leftovers. Let us share a nice cheap recipe with you that will go a long way in stretching that budget of yours. Buy some beef hearts. They are still relatively cheap at our butchers. One, or two, or more, according to your family size. Remembering too that hearts are rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Boil said hearts, in water, well seasoned. I suggest that you add onions and paprika to the seasoning (don’t throw the water away – it makes lovely soup).

Boil hearts until tender. Then grind through your mince meat grinder and grind fine.

In meantime boil peeled potatoes – enough to make double the amount of your minced hearts. Mash them fine, well, and dry. Now take one onion raw, and grate it fine into the potatoes. Mix meat and potatoes most thoroughly. Add well beaten eggs – one to a cup of mixture. Put the mixture which has been well seasoned (according to your taste) to bake in a nicely shaped and well-oiled baking pan. We like the oblong type ones. Bake until browned well on all sides at 300 degrees.

Just before dinner take out. Put on platter. Serve with green peas and mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Yum! Yum! Your family will think you bought them pate-de-foie-gras right from Paris! Whilst you will smile a contented smile knowing that this meal for 4 or 6 people was somehwat inexpensive!

If you really want “brown gravy” be sure to “brown” your dry flour before you put it into action!

1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk all wet ingredients together, then add the dry just until mixed. The batter should be a little bit lumpy. Cook in a well buttered cast iron fry pan. Turn when large bubbles appear on the surface and don’t press down on the pancake after turning. Remember to butter the pan between pancakes.

Packing school lunches several times a week got me thinking about how much the kids love yogurt, but bemoaning how expensive it is. One solution was to use my strawberry jam mixed with plain yogurt scooped from the large containers into individual serving reusable plastic containers. A quick look online however gave me an even easier and cheaper solution though… make my own yogurt!

And so I found these easy and detailed instructions from a professor at a university in Ohio. They are step-by-step… with pictures even! He doesn’t use any special equipment, but items you probably already have at home. Best of all, the recipe makes 4 quarts at once and he says they will keep up to two months in the refrigerator. That’s a win-win situation to me!

I’ve only waited this long to try it because I didn’t have the proper size of an ice chest (maybe you call it a cooler?) in which to ferment the yogurt once it’s in the jars. He suggests a medium size one, but the most necessary requirement is that it fit 4 quart jars side by side. I’m using canning quart jars, and for months I was unable to find something with a wide enough base on the inside to accomodate them. Summer weather demands new products though and I finally found the Igloo Ice Cube 14. It is just perfect! And the price was – here in Canada – only $19.99.

His directions were easy to understand and follow. He recommends using Dannon brand yogurt for the starter, but I used Astro 3.2% that is readily available here in Canada. One minor detail that sent me off to the store for another tub of starter was to NOT open the tub at all until you are making the yogurt. Someone had wanted a snack for the first tub I bought, and I didn’t want to take chances on my first go at this.

Other minor notes… I used whole milk and added the 4T of powdered milk he recommends if desired for extra firmness and am pleased. On step 7 and 8, when the pot of scalded milk is cooling in a pan, I opened the cold water tap just a bit, so that there was a small stream of cold water entering the pan. See, the pot was so hot that the water in the pan got warmer and the milk didn’t seem to be cooling off. But adding in cold water slowly from the faucet continuously displaced the hot water, and everything was good.

The only hard part was watching the temperature at every stage. It is crucial, but the whole process didn’t take much more than an hour. After that, the yogurt sits in the ice chest for three hours to ferment. Overall, not much effort for the results you get. The ice chest will probably pay for itself after two batches, and the health benefits are incalculable. I think I’ll keep this up from now on. Especially since the truly hardest part was not peaking at it! lol

Makes me wonder now if I can make my own frozen yogurt at home or frozen yogurt popsicles. Hmm…

***Update***
Haven’t gotten around to those popsicles, but I have made my second batch of yogurt. I’m very happy to report that it was even better than the last. Before we ate any out of the the fourth and last jar of the first batch, I scooped and saved one cup to use as starter for the next go ’round. The result was even firmer yogurt with less water. Hurray!

Stir together:

2c flour
1c sugar – ½ brown ½ white
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt

Stir into the above mixture:

½ c raisins/dates
½ c nuts
½ c coconut
2c grated carrot
1 apple, peeled and grated

Beat together separately:

3 egg
1c oil
2t vanilla

Add wet mixture to the dry and stir everything together only until moist.
Bake 350F for 20 min. Makes 1 dozen.

4 eggs
2c sugar
1 ½ c oil or with ¾ c applesauce/yogurt
2c pumpkin
3c flour
2t soda
2t baking powder
1t cinnamon
1t salt
2c chocolate chips/dates/raisins

Preheat over to 350F. Lightly grease or paper line two 12 cup muffin pans.

Beat eggs and add sugar. Then oil and pumpkin, beat thoroughly.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Add to creamed mixture. Stir in optional ingredients and mix only until combined.

Bake for 15-20 min. Makes 2 dozen.

Notes:
This is the recipe I make again and again. In our summer garden, I grow hubbard squash. They taste just like pumpkin but are larger which translates into more yummy orange goodness inside of each one. I use them anywhere pumpkin is called – pies, muffins, breads, baked, everywhere. When they are done ripening, I bring them inside, hack them apart and bake them all in one day. Then I freeze 2 cup portions in ziploc bags and we have warm gooey muffins all winter long. Do I need to mention that the chocolate chip version is my favorite?!

½ cup wheat germ
½ cup hot water
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup peanut butter, plain or crunchy
¼ cup shortening
1 large egg
½ cup milk
½ cup applesauce
Peanuts for decoration

Preheat over to 350F. Lightly grease or paper line a 12 cup muffin pan.

Place wheat germ in small bowl and pour hot water over it. Set aside.

In medium bowl, mix together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, beat together sugar, peanut butter, shortening, egg, milk and applesauce until smooth.

Add dry ingredients and wheat germ, mix until just moistened. Spoon into muffin cups, filling each about three–quarters full. Top each muffin with a few peanuts. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until risen and browned. Cool on wire rack.

Notes:
I substituted rolled oats for the wheat germ, buttermilk for the milk, and left off the peanuts on top. They still came out yummy. This one will become a favorite as the ingredients are always in my cupboard.

Anyone else end up with leftover muffin batter? No matter what recipe I use, I’m always left with extra. I don’t dare heap up the muffins for fear they will burn and not cook through. My solution has been to use a tart pan. I grease the cups and fill them just the same. They cook faster than the actual muffins, so you have to watch them. But they come out like mini-muffins, perfect little warm morsels just the right size for small hands and to take in lunches.

1 cup flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbls. sugar
2 tbls. baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
oil for frying

Mix ingredients together, whisking with a fork. It should be the consistency of cake batter.

Heat 2-3″ oil, preferably in cast iron pot, to 350 degrees.
Take small spoonfuls of batter and drop into hot oil and fry until golden brown.

Drain on papertowels and dust with powdered sugar and/or syrup. Serve immediately.

Notes:
Almost forgot! Brenda says she prefers to use buttermilk, but any cream or evaporated milk would do as well.

Beignets do not keep for the following day. Make them fresh and eat them all!

Brenda told me that this is actually half of a “batch” that her mother made for Sunday morning breakfast. She made these right in front of us in ten minutes.

4 ½ t yeast
½ c warm water

2 ½ c milk
½ c butter
2/3 c sugar
2 t salt

4 eggs
8-9 c flour

Dissolve yeast in water.

In medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar, salt and heat until butter is just melted. Remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs with fork. Add yeast mixture. Add milk mixture. Add flour gradually and mix thoroughly. Do not knead.

Let rise until double. Punch down then roll out ½ dough at a time into large rectangle. Brush with melted butter and lots of cinnamon and sugar. Make jelly roll and slice. Rise another 30 to 40 minutes in greased pans. (I use 1 – 9×13 cake pan and 4 – 9″ round cake pans.) Bake 375 for 20 minutes or until brown on top.

Note: To mix the flour completely in, I find mixing with my hands works best at the end. You just want the dough to be smooth and not sticky, like any other bread dough before rising. It’s *almost* kneading, but not quite.

Powdered Milk Frosting

From Whole Foods for the Whole Family, the cookbook compiled by LaLeche League members.

It is perfect for the cinnamon rolls from ingredients you have around the house! I usually double this recipe when I make the buns and then any time I pull out one of the baggies from the freezer.

¼ c butter, softened
¼ c honey or any sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 c instant dry milk powder

Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add dry milk powder and beat until light and fluffy. Chill and watch it melt on top of warm rolls. Yum! Can adjust amounts of milk, dry milk powder, and butter for different consistencies.

Note: I know that last sentence in the instructions is vague, but it is basically letting you know that you can fudge this one a little with no worries. Make it thinner, thicker, less butter, more butter – whatever your family enjoys.