Homemade Hot Pockets

The idea goes to Mom2Rose - my teammate for the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. She is from Michigan. Her original recipe I believe uses these as an appetizer. She uses 3 inch circles which I found to be hard to work with. So....I made my circles bigger - but I have an even better idea. Read on....

Homemade Hot Pockets
pie crusts - either homemade or store bought
your favorite fillings such as but not limited to.....
black forest ham, honey ham, pepperoni, chopped chicken, broccoli, etc
your favorite cheeses such as but not limited to...
sharp cheddar, cheddar, pepper jack, monterey jack, muenster, mozzarella, etc.
If you go the pepperoni route you may want pizza sauce as well.
1 large egg, beaten

Roll out your pie crust or lay out the store bought one. Put your fillings and cheese on half of the crust. Pull the other gently over. Brush inside edges of pie crust with beaten egg. Carefully seal edge. Brush top with beaten egg. Bake at 425 until light golden brown. I don't remember how long it took. Maybe 20 minutes? Let cool and cut into 3 wedges.

Granola

I am always on the lookout for good granola recipes. This would be one of many I've come to really like. This recipe was part of the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap and my teammate is gailanng from the Deep South.

Granola
3 cups regular oats, uncooked
1 (2 1/8 oz) sesame seeds
1 (3 3/4 oz) salted sunflower seeds (I believe I only had unsalted.)
1 (2 1/4 oz) sliced almonds
1/2 cup coconut (I left this out.)
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped dates (I omitted these and used 1 cup craisins instead.)

Preheat oven to 325. Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Combine maple syrup with next 5 ingredients. Pour over oat mixture and mix very well. Spread evenly on a 15x10 baking sheet. Bake 3o minutes or until golden stirring every 10 minutes.
Turn oven off and leave for an additional 5 minutes. Remove. Stir in fruit. Let cool and store in airtight container.

Egg Drop Soup

I absolutely love egg drop soup. I found this recipe back in 2008 on recipezaar, printed it, made it once and lost it. I recently found it and made it again. This post is for you Michelle! :) The chef who gets the credit is Joy Boss on recipezaar.

Egg Drop Soup
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 dash white pepper
1 medium green onion, chopped with top
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat broth, salt and pepper to boiling. Stir green onions into eggs. Pour egg mixture slowly into broth, stirring constantly with fork until egg forms shreds. Makes about 3 cups.

Corn Chowder

This chowder is one of my go-to comfort foods. Especially when it's cold like it's been. This recipe I got from my sister-in-law Carrie. She got it from my mother-in-law. Russell doesn't particularly care for it - but I LOVE it! So it gets to come to my recipe blog. As a side note...I like to do my bacon in the oven. It's less messy that way. I keep a canning jar in the fridge for bacon drippings. Actually there are about 5 or so in my freezer as well. Who knows....they just might come in handy. When I need a bit of bacon drippings here or there - I just scoop it out and return the jar to the fridge.

Corn Chowder
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, save 3 TBSP of drippings
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 TBSP flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups corn, cream style or not - it's up to you (canned or fresh or frozen is also your option)
3 cups diced potatoes, cooked and drained
parsley - to make it look pretty (you decide)
paprika - to make it look pretty (again - you decide)

Cook onion and celery in bacon fat about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly. This step doesn't take very long at all. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. This step takes awhile. You want to end up with a nice thick creamy base for your chowder. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in pepper, corn, potatoes, parsley and paprika. Stir in bacon.
Serves: 6

Lemon Berry Freezer Jam

Oh my goodness gracious! This recipe was so easy to make. The waiting for the berries to thaw was almost too much! I found it a great way to use berries that were still in my freezer from last summer. (gasp!) This recipe is part of the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Mom2Rose from Michigan. The lemon zest adds a wonderful dimension to this yummy jam. What a great idea for teachers at the end of the school year with a loaf of bread! That's what I am going to do for 2 teachers tomorrow.

Lemon Berry Freezer Jam
1 (1 5/8 oz) package freezer jam pectin - it comes in a pouch not a box
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups measured crushed berries (I used strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry. Any combination would work just fine.)
Zest of 1 large lemon (I finally got to use my zester I bought from Pampered Chef!)

In a medium bowl, combine 4 cups measured crushed berries with pectin, sugar and lemon zest. Stir for 3 minutes. I like to let it sit for about 30 minutes and come back to stir every 5 minutes or so just to make sure the pectin and sugar are well distributed. Serve at once if desired. For longer storage, ladle into clean freezer jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Let stand until thickened - about 30 minutes. Put jars in freezer. Yields 5 8-oz jars.

Scrambled Eggs with a Twist

The true name would be Brunch Eggs. The teammate is JustJanS from Warrnambool Victoria Australia. She found the recipe on the internet. I think it's just a fancy way to make scrambled eggs. The kids really liked it and it reheated just fine in the pan (NOT the microwave) for Russell when he got home from work late. The original recipe called for corn kernels - but that just doesn't sit well with me. Eggs and corn? Not at this house. At least together. For a meal. Oh - and I learned the bell peppers are called capsicum in Australia!

Scrambled Eggs with a Twist
4 oz cream cheese, softened for about 1 minute in the microwave
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
4 TBSP butter or margarine, divided
9 eggs
1/4 tsp red chili powder (You can't taste it. I promise.)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to your tastes
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
hot buttered toast for serving
extra chopped green onions for garnish

Saute bell peppers and onion in 2 TBSP butter or margarine over medium heat just until softened. Add sauted veggies to the cream cheese and mix well. Combine eggs and spices. (I prefer to do it in a blender until the eggs are nice and frothy. That's just me though.) Melt remaining 2 TBSP butter or margarine in pan. Add in cream cheese/veggie mixture and egg/spice mixture. Cook over medium heat until eggs are done to your specifications. Not everyone likes them the same. I prefer to have them not soft. Serve over hot buttered toast. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon (I figure one bacon slice per person) and garnish with extra chopped green onion.
We had this for dinner and used my homemade bread for the toast to make a very satisfying meal.

Savory Pita Chips

You will have to excuse the plate in the second picture. Michael and I were eating these gems just as dinner was over and I thought I should get a picture before I forgot. This recipe is part of the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is gailnng from the Deep South. She suggests hummus as a great side for these chips. Michael suggests salsa so that's what we did! If you find your are sensitive to spicy foods - don't use all the spice mixture.

Savory Pita Chips

1 1/2 tsp powdered garlic or granules

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp salt

olive oil or vegetable oil

6 pita breads (or more if you want to make these for a party or other gathering)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the spices together in a smallish bowl. Brush the pita breads with the oil. Cut the pita bread into 6 or 8 wedges - just like you would cut a pie. Arrange wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with spice mix. I had to use 2 baking sheets just so they weren't all crowded onto one. Bake for 7 - 10 minutes. Check after 5. Depending on how hot your oven is....they may be done. You want them crispy and light brown and definitely not burnt.