Rhubarb Recipes

So, what do you do with all the rhubarb that is growing like a weed in your yard?  If you ask my kids, they would say, "dip it in sugar and take a bite!"  I however, would prefer to make some pie and jam!  These two recipes are my favorites (thus far) for using rhubarb.  They also include strawberries which are in season at the same time.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
(This came from my mom who got it from who-knows-where)


Pie Crust: (makes 1 double crust pie)      

1 ½  cup flour

2/3 cup shortening

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup ice water

 Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening with fingers.  Stir in water with fork until all of mixture is moistened and dough holds together in a ball.  Roll out and place in dish. 

Filling:

Mix and place in pie crust:

1 cup sliced strawberries

3 cups rhubarb

Mix together and pour over strawberries and rhubarb:

1 ¼ cups sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup flour

3 oz. sugar free strawberry Jello

Put a few slices of butter on top

Cover with top pie crust (I put a couple of little chicken scratch slits in the top).

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.


Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam
(From the "Ball Blue Book: Guide to Home Canning, Freezing, and Dehydration") 

4 cups crushed strawberries
2 cups chopped rhubarb (about 4 stalks)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
5 1/2 cups sugar

Combine strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice and pectin in a large saucepot.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.  Return to a rolling boil.  Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim foam if necessary.  Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.  Yield: about 6 half-pints. 

*My sister, who knows alot about canning, says that if you are bottling something with enough acidity in it, you can skip the water bath and just turn the jars upside down.  I don't know how to test for the level of acidity but she did say that jam has enough.  So, instead of doing the boiling-water canner for this, instead, I turn the jars upside down for 10 minutes.  Then flip back to right side up.  As they cool they will seal on their own.   

Just in time for Valentine's, I thought I would post this one. It's really quite easy, cute, and delicious. This is from kraftrecipes.com.

Strawberry Heart Pillows

time prep:

1 hr 10 min

total:

1 hr 10 min

servings total: 16 servings, one heart each

what you need

1 frozen puff pastry sheet (1/2 of 17.3-oz. pkg.), thawed

1/3 cup strawberry jam or preserves

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided

4 large strawberries, each cut into 4 slices

1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Make It

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Unfold pastry. Cut into 16 hearts with 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE 20 min. or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

CUT each heart horizontally in half. Spread 1 tsp. of the jam onto bottom half of each heart; top with 1 Tbsp. of the whipped topping and a strawberry slice. Cover with tops of hearts. Drizzle with chocolate. Serve immediately. Or, cover and refrigerate up to 1 hour.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

How to Melt and Drizzle Chocolate

Place 1 unwrapped square chocolate in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min., stirring after 30 sec. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into small resealable bag; seal bag. Snip off one bottom corner of bag; twist top of bag to drizzle chocolate over dessert as desired.

How to Thaw COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Place unopened 8-oz. tub of whipped topping in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Do not thaw in the microwave.

servings

total:
16 servings, one heart each

Smart Cooking The Costco Way

I received a free "Smart Cooking The Costco Way" cook book a couple of years ago from a holiday promotion they were having. Every recipe I have tried in it thus far, has been MORE than satisfactory. You can view the entire cookbook by clicking HERE.

Below is listed a couple of the recipes I have made and LOVED. Also, I included one full recipe that we made tonight because I made some alterations with what I had and it turned out great.

Rafael's Honey Ginger Salmon
Grapefruit Alaska (minus the rum)
Penne with Walnut Pesto

Beef Stir-Fry with Vegetables
This recipe is one delicious way to use vegetables from an Eat Smart vegetable tray.

1/3 cup peanut butter or hoisin sauce (I used chunky peanut butter)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (I only had regular vinegar)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (I didn't have this and therefore did not include it in the recipe)
8 oz. linguine (I used 1 cup of Quinoa instead)
5 cups vegetables of your own choice from an Eat Smart vegetable tray (I used broccoli, peppers, onions, and carrots = whatever we had in our fridge)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
8 oz. top sirloin, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Set aside.

*(See below for what I did instead, with the Quinoa) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add linguine and cook according to package directions. add carrots, snap peas and broccoli during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and rinse under hot water.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. add garlic and sirloin; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, or until almost cooked. Add grape tomatos and continue to stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the meat is cooked. Pour the sauce mixture over the top to warm.

Return the linguine and vegetables to the pasta pot and stir in the meat/sauce mixture. Thin with the reserved cooking water if necessary. Garnish with sesame seeds. Makes 4 servings.

*Instead of cooking the noodles and veggies together, I cooked my Quinoa in my rice cooker while I sauteed the sirloin and garlic together. Remove the sirloin from the pan and saute vegetables until they still have a little bit of a crispness when you bite into them. Combine sirloin/garlic with veggies in the pan, remove from heat, and pour in the peanut sauce. Stir to coat. Eat over Quinoa.

Tip from Costco: leftover party trays make great salad toppers, soups and stews. Or mix with light olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste and roast in the oven (400 degrees F).

Love allrecipes.com

We have a bunch of apples from our trees and decided to make some apple crisp. Since we STILL don't have any of our household goods (which would include my recipe books), I looked up this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I have good luck with their recipes on a regular basis and this was definitely a great one!

Apple Crisp II Rated: Submitted By: Diane Kester Photo By: jrbaker Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 20 Minutes Servings: 12 "This large 9x13-inch crisp is made hearty with cooking oats mixed into its sweet crumbly topping. Underneath are all the lovely things that compliment apples -cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. Serve warm with rum raisin ice cream or a big dollop of freshly whipped cream." Ingredients: 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup water 1 cup quick-cooking oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter, melted Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C). 2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all. 3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture. 4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/16/2011

Cake-to-go with Caramel Glaze (Hallmark Magazine)

This is one of those dessert that doesn't give you a sugar high but makes everyone want to eat the entire thing. I always receive a TON of compliments with this cake. It really is super. If I am lazy, I will just make a box buttermilk cake.

Cake-to-go with Caramel Glaze (Hallmark Magazine)

Basic Buttermilk Cake

(Makes two 8-inch round layers, two dozen cupcakes, one 9x13, two 8 inch square layers, and or 10 large muffin size cakes)

3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 c bleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c buttermilk, at room temperature (I have just pulled the milk and eggs straight out of the fridge and the recipe has worked great!)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1. Arrange the rack at the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper or wax paper; butter the paper. (if you're making cupcakes, fill cups with paper liners or butter them.) *When using the caramel glaze, just butter the 9x13 pan and spread batter to the edges.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric miser for 5 minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bowl and beaters and beat well to incorporate.
3. Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the butter-egg mixture, then add vanilla and a third of the buttermilk. Repeat, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping well after each addition.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and spread to edges with a spatula. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn pans onto the rack; remove parchment or wax paper and cool completely before frosting.

Caramel Glaze

3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 1/2 tblsp. unsalted butter
A pinch of salt
1. Place glaze ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and bring to a simmer; then reduce heat slightly.
2.Simmer for 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until glaze is thickened. Cool until barely warm.
3. Pour about half the glaze over the top of the cake and spread to edges with a spatula. Drizzle remaining glaze over cut pieces of cake when serving.

Pumpkin Choc. chip Cookies

1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter or margarine
1 egg
1 c pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1 c choc. chips (once again, 2 cups might be the ticket!)

Blend all dry ingredients together, except flour and chips. Add the wet ingredients and blend together. Add flour. Stir in chips. Bake at 375 for 8-10 mins. on a greased cookie sheet.

"Wow" Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe was given to me by my friend Kim. They really are splendid and this is a recipe that makes alot. The best thing to do is scoop the dough by dropfuls on cookie sheets and let them freeze. Then put them in a ziplock in the freezer. I once heard someone say, "Cookies are better if you freeze the dough first." Whether that is true or not, I have made, froze, and ate these cookies and they were ... well, ... WOW!

One more tip before you begin, I learned from a cooking show once that you should soften your butter at room temperature (or in the microwave for about 10 seconds) before cooking with it. It softens quicker if you slice it up every tblsp. or so and just leave it on the counter. Melted butter produces flat cookies and frozen butter doesn't mix in completely until it is thawed.

Also, I say, undercooked cookies are alot better than over cooked!

Now, on to the recipe...

Cream 2 c. butter, 2 c. brown sugar, and 2 c. white sugar.

Add: 4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. white flour
2 c. wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
5 c. oats
chocolate chips (I always use 1 whole pkg.)

Bake at 375 degrees.