The Iowa Housewife: 09/01/2021

The Future

A few weeks ago at morning coffeetime, Myrna and I had discussed where we wanted to go with The Iowa Housewife...and had decided that I would continue, only on Thursdays and Sundays. She was not feeling up to the cooking and the chores involved in getting posts on the blog, but she enjoyed her interaction with our friends who commented and wanted us to continue as long as we could.

Starting next week, I will start posting on Thursdays and Sundays, and we will see how it goes. I want to honor her wishes, and after so many years, I still enjoy blogging. The time we shared working together on the blog...really a retirement hobby for us, brought us even closer together as siblings.

Our family and I want to thank all of you who took the time to share your thoughts and prayers with us.

Sue

Sunday in Iowa...

This garden is always well-cared for

In Milton, Iowa

Myrna

Sue, Myrna...always sisters.

Regrettably, I have to share that Myrna, my beloved sister; a mom, grandmother, aunt and great-grandmother, left us on Thursday, September 23, 2021.

The Future

Our family and I want to thank all of you who took the time to share your thoughts and prayers with us.

Sue

Cooking with Honey...Honey Sauced Chicken Breast

I would have said that I don’t fix chicken often until I look back on the blog posts and see that I do.

This is an adaptation of a recipe that I like quite well and the breasts stay nice and moist. There was more sauce than I needed so will cut that down next time I make them, but the sauce that is left in the pan can be brought to a boil, boil 3 minutes in a small sauce pan and served with the chicken. Chicken works well in cooking for one as there is always something you can do with leftover chicken.

Honey Sauced Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

3 chicken breast pieces 6 ounce each

½ cup honey

¼ cup soy sauce (I use Gluten Free)

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon olive or salad oil

1 clove of garlic minced

⅛ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F. Flatten chicken pieces with a mallet or plate between sheets of plastic wrap just until even in thickness or tuck the thin end under to even up the thickness. Place the pieces into a greased baking pan, 8 to 9 inches works well or a size that will hold chicken easily.

In a bowl mix rest of ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake in 375° oven uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or until meat thermometer reds 165° basting with the sauce a few times. Remove from pan and keep warm. If desired, pour rest of sauce into a small sauce pan and heat to boiling; (three minutes) cook stirring until sauce is reduced. Serve with chicken

Small Recipes...Chicken Diane for 2

This is one of our favorite special occasion recipes…I make it for anniversary or birthday meals for the two of us. We used to go to an Italian restaurant whose specialty was Steak Diane for special occasions, sadly they retired. My husband actually prefers chicken, so this recipe from “Cooking Light 1994” has been perfect, and it’s very quick to make. It was our 55th anniversary last week, so I had to make our sentimental favorite.

I usually split boneless chicken breasts lengthwise to get the right size portion, and pound them out before freezing them…all the mess at one time! Sometimes the breast halves are so big I get 3 portions from one. Just try and buy a small chicken nowadays!

Chicken Diane for 2

1/4 pound Fresh Mushrooms -- sliced

1/3 cup Onion -- chopped

2 4 ounce Chicken Breast Halves -- boneless, skinless

dash Salt

dash Pepper

2/3 tablespoon Fresh Chives -- chopped

2/3 tablespoon Fresh Parsley -- chopped

1 tablespoon Chicken Broth

1 tablespoon Cognac

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

olive oil

Using a small amount of olive oil, sauté mushrooms and onion in a large skillet until tender. Remove and set aside.

Sprinkle chicken breast halves, pounded to a 1/4" thickness, with salt and pepper.

In same pan, sauté chicken 4 minutes until lightly browned. Turn chicken and spoon reserved mushroom mixture over chicken.

Combine remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes until chicken is tender.

Transfer to plates or serving platter; spoon mushroom mixture over chicken.

"Cooking Light 1994"

Sunday in Iowa...

A corncrib and this tree are all that remain of a farmstead

North of What Cheer, Iowa

Saturday Thoughts...Use It Up...Dried Tortellini Alfredo

I wanted a dish that used that last of a half pint of heavy cream, so Alfredo-one of our favorite meals! I always keep good block Parmesan that I shred in my food processor and package in small packages in the freezer. I looked through my freezer Use It Up Box, and found that I had some mushrooms and ham slices that needed to be used.
I could have made this dish today with any kind of pasta, but I had tortellini…one of our favorites. While I like fresh, refrigerated tortellini, the packages are just too big for 2 servings. Dried tortellini, either Barilla or Priano (at Aldi’s) work well, taste good and you can use part of a package and use the rest later than you could the fresh pasta.
I have made versions of this dish with shrimp or chicken as well as ham, or you can leave out the protein and make it a side dish and serve it with your meat, chicken or seafood. Use a vegetable of your choice…make it your own.
                 Dried Tortellini in Alfredo Sauce for 2
4         ounces dried tortellini, cheese filled
1         tablespoon onion peeled and diced
2          teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
     1/3 cup Peas -- fresh or frozen
     1/2 cup heavy cream
2        tablespoons mushrooms -- sliced
2        tablespoons parmesan cheese
3-4      ounces Ham -- or shrimp, chicken in bite size pieces
BRING a large pot of water to boil.
COOK tortellini according to the package directions.
SAUTE onion, mushrooms and meat or shrimp with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until translucent, about 4 minutes
REMOVE a couple of tablespoons of hot pasta water and reserve for sauce.
DRAIN tortellini over the peas in a colander and add with the cream to the contents of the skillet or wok until thickened, adding reserved pasta water if needed.
STIR in cheese before serving

Baking with Honey... Grandma's Honey Muffins

I love it when I try a new recipe and my husband thinks it’s even better than my old-standby. This recipe from Taste of Home is just that…he loved the slightly sweet honey taste of these muffins…nothing needed but a little butter on your split muffin. We enjoyed them today with Crunchy Macaroni Salad.

For this half recipe I used an egg yolk instead of half an egg; I used the egg white to make a half recipe of Coconut Macaroons.

This is going in my “Keeper” file!

Grandma's Honey Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour -- 5 ounces

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk -- or half egg

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter -- melted

2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, butter and honey. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Freeze option: Freeze cooled muffins in resealable plastic freezer bags. To use, thaw at room temperature or, if desired, microwave each muffin on high for 20-30 seconds or until heated through, then toast in your toaster oven until crisp, 3-4 minutes, watching carefully.

Yield: 1/2 dozen.

Small Recipes...Maple Sausage Skillet

This is a recipe from Down Home Cooking for One or Two that was a hit at our house. Simple and delicious, I had it on the table in 15 minutes.

I did modify the recipe for a smaller amount and to use what I normally keep on hand.

I used cooked rice that I batch cook in our Instant Pot and freeze in 1 cup packages just for recipes like this, and I used Johnsonville Smoked Brats that I usually have in the freezer. (Not a paid advertisement!) The original recipe called for kielbasa. I’ve found that any cooked link sausage works just fine, I have used Lil Smokies and maple breakfast sausages too, whatever I have that was on sale.

The maple syrup is the easiest stir-fry sauce I’ve ever used, and it added just the right touch of sweetness. My husband thinks this should be added to our “Everyday” cookbook, and I agree.

Maple Sausage Skillet

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/4 pound precooked smoked bratwurst -- sliced

3/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 medium green pepper -- thinly sliced

1/2 small onion -- halved and sliced

1/2 celery rib -- sliced

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup hot cooked rice

Prepare rice or reheat frozen homemade cooked rice.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add vegetables; cook and stir 3-4 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in syrup and pepper; heat through. Serve with rice or stir the rice right into the stir fry like I do.

Makes 2 servings"

Sunday in Iowa...

A farm-style teeter-totter

In Williamsburg, Iowa

Notice the extra seat in the center for more fun

9/11...Never Forget

The 9/11 Memorial in the Oskaloosa, Iowa Downtown Square.

There is a 72 hour vigil for Mahaska County in the city square. High school students placed the 2977 flags. The County courthouse is in the background.

Oskaloosa-based Musco Lighting provided temporary lighting for recovery operations at two of the crash sites: The World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The company also provided lighting for the memorial service in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. American flags flown over the sites from the masts of the Musco Lighting trucks are still kept in Oskaloosa, and the flag that was flown over Ground Zero in New York City is being flown over the Oskaloosa Square.

Honey Facts and History

Sue and I grew eating honey. I don’t really remember that either our Mom or Grandma used it to cook with, but it was used with French Toast, Regular toast and my favorite on warm fresh baked Bread.
Grandma had a Bee Farmer that we would go to and she bought her honey there. Always at least one honeycomb which we as kids didn’t get very often, that treat was saved for the grownups.
The story of honey is older than history itself. An 8,000-year-old cave painting in Spain depicts honey harvesting, and we know it's been used for food, medicine and more by cultures all over the world since.
But honey isn't about humans. It's the natural product made from bees—one of our planet's most important animals. Honey bees visit millions of blossoms in their lifetimes, making pollination of plants possible and collecting nectar to bring back to the hive.
Lucky for us, bees make more honey than their colony needs, and beekeepers remove the excess and bottle it. Just like they've been doing since the beginning of time.
Honey is best stored in a sealed container at room temperature, between 64-75°F (18-24°C). Cooler temperatures, between 35-60°F, hasten honey's natural crystallization process. Honey stored at temperatures above 85°F for extended periods of time will darken in color and be subject to subtle flavor changes.
In most honeys, fructose predominates and tends to make honey taste slightly sweeter than sugar. On the average, honey is 1 to 1.5 times sweeter (on a dry weight basis) than sugar.
The viscosity of honey is affected by temperature, moisture content and floral source. If your Honey is crystalized put the jar in a pan of hot water and the crystals will melt back into a pourable syrup again.
There are several web sites for honey, One is the National Honey Board at https://www.honey.com/nutrition/nutrition-education. They have recipes and information and a lot of nutrition facts.
Here in the Midwest Sioux Bee Honey is a popular brand. When you are reading the label be sure you know what you are getting. Honey companies are now allowed to cut the amount of honey with corn syrup. Both of us only buy Honey packaged and harvested in the US. Some of the overseas honey can be iffy to buy or eat. Never feed honey to children under 1 year. Their system won’t handle it at that age and there might be some very severe problems. Adults however get to enjoy the sweet treat.

Small Recipes...Sausage Chowder for 2

My husband wants this recipe again…soon! He says “It’s a keeper for sure”. I liked it because of the taste and because I always keep the ingredients on hand for other cooking so I can make it at the last minute, and it’s ready in less than a half hour. I cut it down from 8 to 2 servings.

To make it simpler on a busy weekday, I used frozen Southern-style hash browns; potato cubes that are non-GMO, gluten-free, with no added salt, fat or sugar from Mr. Dell brand. I keep them in my freezer all the time. I can make a number of different recipes with no potato waste or spoilage. I also used my own frozen onions and corn, so the only prep work I had was slicing some carrots. It’s also a good way to use up some fresh potatoes.

The original recipe calls for evaporated milk; I used whole milk with a little ultragel or cornstarch as I didn’t want to find a use for the remaining evaporated milk from the can.

I used pork sausage I had pattied up in 1 ounce patties so I cooked them from frozen and broke them up a little, add the frozen potatoes and onion and the fresh diced carrots and simmered them in the water. After 15 minutes I added the frozen corn and thickened milk, and then the cheese and cooked another 5 minutes or so until nice and creamy.

Sausage Chowder for 2 (Gluten free)

4 ounces pork sausage

1/4 medium onion -- thinly sliced or diced

1 cup diced potatoes

1/2 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup water

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or dried parsley

1/4 tablespoon minced basil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/16 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup corn

3 ounces whole milk

2 tablespoons UltraGel or cornstarch -- blend into milk

2 ounces American or Velveeta cheese

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven over medium heat, brown the sausage and onion. Slowly add the potatoes, carrots, water, parsley, basil, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add remaining ingredients, cook 5 to 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

The cookbook is published by the "Iowa Food & Family Project" and you can download it in PDF form here: Iowa Food and Family Cookbook

Sunday in Iowa...

A gourd tree!

This is a tree growing on the grounds of the Penn Central Shopping Mall in Oskaloosa, Iowa

The long light green appendages are lagenaria gourds growing on vines planted next to the tree and trained to grow in the tree for support. The seeds came from Africa, a gift to a retired local nursery owner who now takes care of the landscaping for the mall and the mall's owners, Musco Lighting of Oskaloosa. She has been growing them there for several years, this is the best they have looked in any year yet.

Saturday Thoughts...Peeling Potatoes

I was peeling half of a 5 pound bag of potatoes yesterday to prepare Freezer Mashed Potatoes. I got to thinking about how I was taught to do the job…use a potato peeler, not a knife, peel very thinly, remove any bad spots with the rounded top of the peeler blade, and not waste any good potato. I think Myrna was the one who patiently spent time with me when we were kids until I learned to do it correctly…she’ll probably tell you it was a good way to either get out of the job or get help in future.

I asked my husband if he peeled potatoes in the military…”Oh, yes!”, and they were taught to do the job the way I was.

I still like my 50 year old Ekco stainless steel peeler…simple, sharp, basic. When I worked in food service, we trained employees to peel in both directions…I still do as it is faster once you get the hang of it. The two-way method works best on bigger russets.

To not waste even the potato peels, try our simple recipe to make an “appetizer” treat for your family. Here's a wartime rationing idea...or maybe it started during the depression. Don't waste the peelings from your mashed potatoes! I use these as an appetizer; we love them. I often bake them right away while the rest of the meal is cooking, and they never make it to the table.

My husband's comment: "Think about all the potato peelings we've wasted over the years!"

Crispy Potato Peelings

Potato Peelings

Butter or olive oil

Salt, Onion salt or Garlic salt

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450°.

Peel potatoes as usual, thinly with a potato peeler works best.

In a baking sheet, melt a pat of butter for each potato.

Toss the peelings in the melted butter, lay out flat, sprinkle with the salt or onion salt or garlic salt. Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes, or until crisp and brown, turning once and salting the other side.

Serve, but you probably can't even get them to the table.

You can use a teaspoon of olive oil for each potato if preferred.

Cooking and Baking with Honey...Honey Recipes

I like to bake and cook with honey; I buy it in 5 pound jugs! I usually decant the newly opened jug into 12 ounce canning jars to keep it from sugaring…the individual jars go fast, and have less air exposure than a large jug that takes some time for me to use, and is opened over and over again for a longer time.

Here are some honey recipes from the National Honey Board. Click on the name to download free.