Boredom plus Bread equal Bread Pudding.

Another boring evening of reruns, so I decided it was a good time to clean out the fridge once again. There were so many different bread products - hot dog, hamburger and sub rolls, pita pockets, English muffins and what did my wandering eye see, a forgotten loaf of Texas toast bread. Only slightly stale, therefore, still usable for some recipes: French toast, garlic toast, stuffing or something that I have wanted to make from scratch for a long while, but never got to it - Bread Pudding.

I had a few recipes, looked them all over to see what was similar and what was different, and then like Dr. Frankenstein in his lab, began to experiment. Making a vanilla sauce, so I don't want the bread pudding to be overly sweet; cut the brown sugar and granulated sugar down. Love the scent of baked items that have cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, so lets up that a little more. Milk is just too thin while heavy cream is too thick; I'm going with half n' half. Eureka!!! It's alive, it's alive!!! I mean, "it tastes good!, it tastes good!", and it did. The bread pudding by itself is not overly sweet, but once the vanilla sauce is poured on...perfect, not to the extent of being sickeningly sweet either.

The moral of this story is, " to conquer boredom, become creative".

Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Ingredients:

6 slices thick white bread*, cut into cubes (16 per slice)
½ cup raisins
2 cups half n’ half
¼ cup salted butter
½ cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease bottom and sides of a 1 ½ qt baking dish. Put bread cubes into dish and sprinkle raisins over top.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter in the half n’ half over medium-high heat; do not let it boil. While butter is melting, whish together brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Slowly add in milk mixture to bowl, constantly whisking to keep eggs from scrambling. Pour this mixture over the bread and make sure to work the mixture between the bread cubes; press bread down to help it soak up liquid.

Sprinkle sugar over top; bake for 45-50 minutes; top will be browned and all liquid would have been absorbed. Serve with vanilla sauce**.

*Note: bread, usually called Texas toast style, should be slightly stale;

**Option: Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.

Makes 6 servings.

Vanilla Sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup each of granulated and brown sugar
½ cup half n’ half
½ cup salted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil; stir occasionally while letting mixture continue to cook for 5-8 minutes to desired thickness. Pour over bread pudding.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

K & A Chuckwagon looking to hit the trail.

K & A Chuckwagon

496 N. Main Street
Monticello, UT, 84535

(435) 587-3468

Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/K-A-Chuckwagon/189141481120130

Another local establishment is looking to sell which gives someone new the option of being a restaurant entrepreneur in Monticello, Utah.  The Chuckwagon has been a staple of Monticello for many years and seeing it close down for good would be a shame; especially in a town which has so few businesses as it is.

Currently the business is only open during the warm seasons as it is an outdoor establishment; barbequed foods and sides of beans, salads, warm bread with honey butter being the primary faire. The potential is there to build and make it an indoor/outdoor facility open all year round that is available to locals, tourists and the thousands of travelers who come through the area. So all you would be restaurateurs and entrepreneurs, this could be another notch on your belt, or your first big step.

The owners are looking to sell to the person who would agree to buy for "the right price", so anyone interested should call them at: (435) 459-4961.

Mary Cokenour

Homemade Hamburger Helper is a big hit.

A couple of weeks ago I was feeling under the weather and the last thing I wanted to do was make dinner. Roy tries his best to help me out when I need it, especially if I'm not feeling well. I had nothing defrosted, so Roy went to the store and purchased one of those new "Cheesy Skillet Dinners" from Velveeta. It was one that required chicken, so he picked up a small package of Tyson Grilled Chicken Strips. He figured it would save time, since they were already cooked and he just needed to cut them into bite sized pieces.

Roy prepared the meal while I read the directions to him. One of the ingredients was barbeque sauce and the box contained a small package of about 4 Tbsp; not much in my opinion. Anyway, he completed the meal and we tried it out. After my first bite, I divided what was left on my plate between the three dogs. Roy was more diligent and finished off his own portion.

Now to be fair, my man tried his best and that is more than some people do for their sick spouses. Unfortunately, he picked a product that was below standard, but for a good reason, it sounded very much like a recipe that I had made from scratch. I called it "Gravy Train", namely because my ex-husband, who wouldn't know good food if it stood up and danced a jig, said it looked and tasted like dog food. Just to prove him wrong, I sent the recipe into "Taste of Home" magazine and they liked it. They renamed it "Beefy Barbecue Macaroni", printed it twice in two separate issues and in two of their recipe books. Online, you can find it plagiarized all over recipe sites and forums; but it's my original recipe, so lets get that clear.

For yesterday's dinner, I finally made the recipe for him and he was in food lovers' heaven. So when it comes to boxed dinners, he won't be making that mistake again. Then again, I'm not allowed to get sick anymore either. So here is the original recipe; Enjoy!

Gravy Train (my name for this recipe) - or -
(Beefy Barbecue Macaroni – renamed by Taste of Home Magazine)


Ingredients:

3/4 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
3-1/2 cups cooked elbow macaroni
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Additional cheddar cheese, optional

Preparation:

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the macaroni, barbecue sauce, pepper.

In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Stir in cheese until melted. Pour over the macaroni mixture; gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Dreary Days are great for Cookie Baking.

Woke up this morning to a very dark sky and cool breezes coming down from the mountain; it smelled of rain. This was the perfect weather for cookie baking; nothing like a cool breeze to cool a hot kitchen, and carry the scent of baking cookies throughout the house. Nothing fancy, just two types of cookies that Roy and I enjoy; we deserved a bit of a treat.

The first is an oatmeal cookie, but I don't just use raisins, but also another dried fruit...very comforting. In the recipe I usually use dried dates, but today I decided to use dried cherries; that's how flexible this recipe is. The second is a sugar cookie with tiny pieces of mint candy dispersed throughout...sweet but refreshing. Also a flexible recipe as toffee bits can be used, or no candy at all.

Double Fruit Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter
1 large egg
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp each baking powder and soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ cup each diced dates and golden raisins
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups Old Fashioned Quaker Oats

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Use nonstick baking sheets, or spray with baking spray (contains flour).

In a large bowl, cream together butter, egg and sugars. In another bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture.

Add dates, raisins, vanilla and oats; mix thoroughly. Place tablespoons of batter 2” apart on baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes; until cookies are golden brown; remove to wire baking racks to cool.

Makes 3 dozen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sugar Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup salted butter, completely softened, but not melted
1 ½ cups sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Andes Candies mint pieces

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F (350F if using dark or nonstick baking sheets).

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and powder; set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar; gradually beat in the egg and vanilla. Add creamed mixture and candy pieces into the large bowl of dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly.

Measure out the dough by teaspoon, roll into a ball and place on ungreased (or nonstick) cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cookie wire racks for final settling (about 5 minutes).

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Mary Cokenour

Another successful attempt with Apricots.

While picking apricots the other day, I spied a very colorful bird in the tree pecking at one of the fruits. It had a yellow underbelly, dark blue top and wings and a bright red head; very tropical looking indeed. One of the outdoor cats began to climb the tree and suddenly a small flock of these unusual looking birds took off to safety. I looked up Utah bird species online and discovered it was a bird that lived in mountainous areas, mostly in evergreen trees, and rarely seen. It is called the "Western Tanager" and here I had a flock of them in the apricot trees; astounding.

But I digress from what this post is actually about...the apricots.  As I had planned, I was able to make an apricot crumble today. Now I am one of those people who doesn't really like cooked fruit. While I will cook and bake with fruit for other people, I will not eat it myself; just call it my little quirk.  I was brave and took of taste of it; sweet and tangy, but still not my cup of tea.  Roy, on the other hand, enjoyed it and praised me for an experiment in baking well done.

So here is my experiment...ummm, recipe and I hope you enjoy it too.

Apricot Crumble

Ingredients:

6 cups quartered apricots (previously washed and pitted)

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Topping:

½ cup flour

¾ cup oven toasted old fashioned oats

¾ cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup plus 1 Tbsp softened salted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease a 4-qt baking dish with the one Tbsp of softened butter.

In a large bowl, mix together the apricots, vanilla, sugar and cornstarch; set aside.  In a medium bowl, use a pastry cutter, fork or hands to mix together all ingredients listed under Topping until it forms a loose crumble.

Spread the apricots into the baking dish; use a rubber spatula to get all the juices that have formed at the bottom of the bowl.  Next, spread the crumble over the apricots and spread as evenly as possible.

Place dish on center rack of oven and bake for 40 minutes; remove from oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving with a scoop of ice cream or whipped topping.

Makes 9 servings.

Mary Cokenour

It must be good if it's printed twice.

A long time ago, while still living in Pennsylvania, I submitted a recipe to "Taste of Home" magazine for one of their contests. I didn't hear anything back from them, so knew I hadn't won. Then, in 2010, I heard from them and they wanted to print the recipe in one of their issues. I was thrilled and, of course, agreed to it. Unfortunately, I forgot to tell them to change my last name, as I had gotten remarried, and to change my city and state for I had moved. Oh well, at least I was getting one of my recipes published again and that was an honor for me.

Well I just heard from "Taste of Home" again and they are going to republish the recipe again in a new cookbook they will be putting on the market. Now that is an honor...published once is one thing, but to have the same recipe chosen for a second publication...wow!

So here is a reprint of the recipe as it appeared in the magazine:

Balsamic Pork Scallopine
“I developed this delightful dish by tweaking my veal scallopine recipe- thinly sliced pork is an economical alternative and a tasty success!” —Mary Petrara, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

12 Servings Prep: 25 min. Cook: 30 min.

Ingredients
• 3 pounds pork sirloin cutlets
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted sweet red peppers
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup minced fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

NOODLES:
• 1 package (16 ounces) egg noodles
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
• Dredge pork cutlets in flour. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add pork and brown in batches. Set aside.
• Add onion and red peppers to the pan; sauté until onion is tender.
• Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the broth, basil, vinegar and pepper.
• Return pork to the pan, layering if necessary.
• Cover and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes or meat is no longer pink.
• Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; stir in the cream, cheese, butter, pepper and garlic powder. Serve with pork.

Yield: 12 servings.

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts: 3 ounces cooked pork with 3/4 cup noodles and 2 tablespoons sauce equals 533 calories, 25 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 122 mg cholesterol, 280 mg sodium, 43 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 32 g protein.

© Taste of Home Oct-Nov 2010, page 37.

Mary Cokenour

The Shake Shack - Monticello's little secret

The Shake Shack

364 N. Main
Monticello, UT, 84535

(435)587-2966

The Shake Shack is reminiscent of those old fashioned diners where you can still get a burger, fries with a drink and not leave your wallet empty.  The new owners did a lot of fixing up and while it is not one of the fanciest places, it is open every day (except Sunday).  It's the type of place where you can sit down with friends and/or family, enjoy a good meal or just dessert; not feel rushed out or unwelcome. 

The Shake Shack is small inside with a few booths along the side and back walls, and some old fashioned cast iron tables and chairs in the corners.

The menu is not huge in variety, but that is fine because it gives them the benefit of getting things done right, and tasting good.

It had been a hot day on Wednesday, so we indulged in a large soft serve cone for me, and a pineapple malt for hubby.

I guess I should have asked how large was large...it was huge, and my hubby had to help me eat it.

His medium sized pineapple malt was not just flavored with a pineapple syrup like some places do; it had actual pieces of pineapple in it.

So if you're traveling through Monticello, Utah and have the hungries, or just looking for a cold treat, stop at The Shack Shake. It's right on Main Street, so you can't miss it.

Mary Cokenour