Basil's Kitchen and Things

  So I wanted to share the recipe names and a small description of each meal. I do want to note that some of the recipes are special to my family and therefore are un-shareable.    -        Fire Chicken – Family recipe made by my daughter. Chicken with a chili laced sweet sauce, bell peppers and onions served with rice. -        **Kitsune udon – homemade udon noodles served with fried tofu and broth and vegetables -        **Black bean chili – one style of chili made with black beans and roasted corn -        Chicken and wild rice soup – chicken soup made with wild rice packaged rice mix served with bread. -        **Pot au Feu – beef soup with vegetables. Served with bread. -        **Vegetable lentil soup – a rustic soup laden with vegetables. Served with bread. -   ...

  So I thought that I would share my shopping list for June. I also will share the dinners that I plan to make. Know that some ingredients on the list I am buying to replace staple ingredients that have been used and that some ingredients that are called for in the recipes are not included in the list because I already have them on hand. This is list is part of my already established cycle of cooking and food rotation. I also will share my estimate cost and my actual recipes. Please note that   Some food on my menu are treasured passed down recipes or have a special significance which makes them un-shareable. I average the cost of the meals based on what I have spent, since I feel the ingredients balance one another out. For me this is how I make meal planning on a budget work while maintaining food stores to a par level for insurance against emergency and attempting to have a variety of meals so the same type of food isn’t being eaten all the time. I also want to note that I ...

  Pot au Feu - made in a crock pot 1 to 1 ½ pounds beef short ribs 3 carrots 2 small onions (one cut up and one peeled whole studded with cloves) Cloves 3 celery stalks Black pepper Beef bouillon cubes 10 ½ cups water Arrange bones on bottom of crockpot. Add ingredients to pot. Cover slow cooker. Cook on high start liquid at 8 cups. When hot pour in cold water and skim. Do this at least twice. Continue to cook. Cook about 8 to 10 hours total. Remove bones.

  As a wife and mom who lives on a tight budget, I know how hard it can be to get overstock of food items and that at times food stores must be used. With that in mind, I have found it good practice to buy certain items that we use more in bulk. For some items this means picking up an extra can or two for others like rice it means buying the 20-pound bag even though it cost 26 dollars because I know it will last 2 months. I have been home cooking for a long time and have a rotation going with my bulk items, so I rotate the bulk expense around the rotation of bulk items. Things that I try and keep on hand at all times (to the best of my ability) are:   -        Fats: vegetable oil, olive oils, margarine, shortening and lard (yes, I do use lard occasionally) -        Baking: nuts, dry fruit, cocoa powder, sugars, ground flax seed (as an emergency egg replacement), dry milk powder, leavening like soda, baking powde...

  Pizza made with your favorite toppings. Uses 2 oval slow cookers 6 to 7 quart.     Pizza dough of your choice (for two pizzas) Pizza sauce of your choice Pizza toppings of your choice Spray oil   Prepare dough if needed. Spray the inside of two crockpots. Press dough into crocks. Add sauce and toppings. Cover. Bake one hour on high. Makes two pizzas.  

  Rich and gooey cinnamon rolls. Home cooked fresh in the slow cooker. Use 6-to-7-quart oval slow cooker.   Dough: 1 package yeast 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup margarine 2 eggs 1 teaspoon salt About 5 cups white flour Topping: 2/3 cup brown sugar ¼ cup margarine 2 tablespoons corn syrup ½ cup nuts cut up, walnuts or pecans or hazelnuts Filling: ½ cup margarine ½ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ cup white flour Mix dough. Melt butter and mix with warm milk and vanilla. Mix yeast, sugar, and salt. Add warmed milk mixture to yeast. Add eggs and mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough is formed. Knead lightly. Spray with spray oil and let rise 1 to 1 ½ hours until doubled. Punch down. Spray slow cooker with spray oil and add all topping ingredients. Put to warm or low if warm option is not available. While warming topping, roll out dough and mix filling. Spread filling on dough and roll up into a ...