Summer Squash Rice

I have decided that each week after our Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party I am going to pick a recipe to make and feature that recipe that was linked to the party. Last week, we received 134 links and everyone of them seemed to be better then the last.  There were many that I wanted to feature but I decided to only pick one ... So here is my pick~~~ Cheesy Summer Squash Rice Recipe from Hot Eats and Cool Reads.  Sheena has some marvelous recipes on her blog and this one jumped right out at me as I love squash and we eat alot of rice and I am always looking for rice recipes. So, I instantly went to this one and as I had most of the ingredients decided to make it.  The biggest change I made was that I didn't add the cheese.  My husband thinks that we eat too much cheese or that at least I do... and as the meat that I made with it had cheese I decided against it.  This recipe has lots of flavor and I will be making it again.  Thanks, Sheena of Hot Eats and Cool Reads for this recipe, we loved it.   Now for the recipe with my changes...

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                                                     Summer Squash Rice

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup jasmine rice

1/2 cup thin noodles - I used rice vermicelli

1 1/2 cup grated summer squash or zucchini - I used both

1/2 cup grated red onion

1 tbsp fresh parsley

2 cups chicken broth - I used 2 cups water and 1 maggi cube dissolved in the water

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp salt.

In large pan melt butter and add rice and noodles, saute on medium high until they start turning brown, about 5 minutes. Add broth milk, grated summer squash, zucchini, onions, parsley, and salt.  Bring to boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium low and simmer until rice is cooked and liquid is reduced, about 20 minutes.  I cook mine longer as we like the rice brown and crunchy.  Remove from heat and serve.  

sauteing rice and noodles

grated summer squash, zucchini and onions

I served mine with a basil chicken and tomatoes! YUM!

This is one of the recipes from last week and this week we are again going to have a Linky Party and there is going to be some great recipes.  If you link up your recipe, maybe next week I will be making your recipe and featuring it on my blog...   So please come join us again this weekend.   This is one party you don't want to miss.

 

                                      

                                                   Til next time <3 <3 <3  Marlys

                       
                                          

Who wants to be a Millionaire?

I do, I do.... wouldn't that be great ~~ no worries about money, but then again we will just have worries about other things wouldn't we

... So instead of being a millionare, why not try these scrumptious  Millionaire Squares.  This is one recipe that I have used many times.... it is easy and it tastes great... just like you spent a millionaire dollars preparing it.

                                                                      Millionaire Squares

Millionaire Squares

This recipe is from Company's Coming by Jean Pare

Bottom Layer

Butter or hard margarine                        1/2 cup

Finely crushed oatmeal cookies               2 cups

Filling

Semissweet chocolate baking squares,   3 X 1oz

      cut up (or 1/2 cup chips)

Butter or hard margarine                        1/2 cup

Large egg                                                1

Icing sugar (confectioner's)                     2 cups

chopped walnuts                                     1/2 cup  -- I don't use

Reserved crumbs for topping

Bottom Layer:   Melt butter in saucepan on med-low.  Stir in crushed cookies. Measure 1/4 cup crumbs and set aside for topping.  Press remaining crumbs in ungreased 8 X 8  pan.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.   This baking step can be omitted if you make crust ahead and allow it to stand a few hours to harden and dry.  When crust is baked fist the filling is much easier to spread without the crumbs lifting.

Dad's Oatmeal cookies make these squares taste the best

my cooling place...

Filling:  Melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring often, until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Add egg and beat.  Add icing sugar beating until smooth.  If too soft to hold shape add 1/4 cup more icing sugar ( usually the 2 cups is enough).  This will set up a bit when chilled but not much more than when you spread it in the pan  

stir chocolate mixture until smooth

Filling layer over bottom layer

Top Layer: 

sprinkle the reserve crumbs over the chocolate layer..

After filling is smoothed over crust, sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Refrigerate. Cut into 36 small squares or 25 large squares..... ( I cut mine bigger about 20 squares.)

         The final product    Rich... just like a millionaire     

                              til next time <3 <3 <3  Marlys










Links:
   

                              

Healthy Banana, Blueberry, Bran Muffins

I had some bananas that were getting really soft and needed to use them up and I wanted to make something different with them.  I usually just make Banana bran muffins but this time I wanted to use some blueberries too.  So, once again google comes to the rescue.  In google search I typed in Banana, Blueberries and Oat Bran and I came up with a recipe from Epicurious.com called Healthy blueberry and banana muffins.  They looked good but not quite what I wanted... so I did some changes and this is what I came up with.

                                       Healthy Banana, Blueberry, Bran Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup banana (approx. 3 -4 mashed)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp apple sauce (or use oil)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice ( I used juice of 1/2 lemon and zest)
1 1/2 cup blueberries.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Muffin tin -either spray with PAM or place liners in tins.
Mix dry ingredients together in bowl.  In separate bowl, mix bananas, milk, egg, apple sauce, lemon juice and zest.  I used my beaters to mix the wet ingredients together.  Once mixed, slowly add dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon.  Then add blueberries.  Divide between 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 400 until tester inserted comes out clean, approx. 20 minutes.  Cool on cooling rack.

dry ingredients

wet ingredients 

adding blueberries

Enjoy

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a healthy banana, blueberry, bran muffin.  I had mine with some Tillamook cheese that I found when I was shopping yesterday and I just might have to go and get another one.  You better come before they all are gone.

                           til next time <3 <3 <3  Marlys




Links

        

Pounding fufu....

yams with mortar and pestle

Fufu is to Western Africa cooking like potatoes are to Americans.  It is a staple food and eaten frequently in an African household.  My husband tells me that where he grew up in a village of Beme near Kpalime, fufu is eaten more then in Lome the capital city of Togo.  Fufu is made with yams or at times combined with plantains and is pounded until it is the consistency of bread dough.  The yams are white yams and not to be confused with sweet potatoes.

When my husband first came here to United States he thought his favorite food was a food of the past.  We thought that we would never be able to make it here in American... well we were wrong.   We were able to buy fufu flour from a store here in the upper peninsula of Michigan ~~ who would ever guess that the small town of Houghton, MI would have fufu flour but it does and probably because the university here has many people of  many countries going to it.  So, we were able to make it... not pounded but stirred on the stove.  On one of our trips to Indianapolis, I decided to google "African Market" to see if there were any near by and low-and behold there was and we found real yams... the kind that is found in Africa... Now we can make true fufu, but we needed a motar and pestle... Luckily they had that too... It was small but my husband said that it would work.  Our first meal of fufu from pounded yams was excellent.... and my husband felt like he was back home again.  Over the last few years, we have had fufu from pounded yams and also from flour and on a trip to Milwaukee we found cassava yams, which was a treat.   My husband also brought home a bigger motar and pestle from his last trip to Togo... So now we are all set.

                               

                                                            FUFU

fufu with fish/egg plant soup

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds cut yams

water

Boil yams in water until soft.  Once soft place small amount in mortar and start to pound, adding more yams as you go.  If pounded yams start sticking on pestle, dip pestle in water and continue pounding.  Pound until yams are in dough state and soft ~ approximately 20 minutes.  Form into a round shape, place on wet plate and serve with soup, fish, chicken or goat.  To find my chicken soup go here and goat soup here.

That's it... easy right?, and you get your work out prior to eating.  What more could you ask for?  Lets see what you say after you see all the pictures...   Sorry, for so many pictures but I felt that this was the best way for you to see the progression of the fufu. 

boiling yams

place yams in mortar

start pounding

......

and pounding

and pounding

starting to get  dough like

continue to pound

and more

looking good

shaping the dough

finish product

Still think it is easy?

cassava yam

And just so that you don't think I let my husband do all the work.... I even do some of the pounding... not much as I get to tired and I have a hard time getting it to the right consistency.  But I do pound it every time we make fufu and one of these times I will be able to surprise my husband and have it ready for him when he comes home from work or school.

and one last picture..... Fufu served in Africa.  You will notice that there is a pot of water on the table.  The water is there for you to wash your hands ~ or I should say your hand as you only eat with your right hand, before eating.  To eat fufu you tear off a small piece with your fingers, roll into a ball and use it to scoop up the soup.  A spoon is also used to take a small amount of soup, this is used with your left hand.  At times if the fufu is a little hard you can spoon some of the soup on top of the fufu and eat it that way, it will soften the fufu up some.

Enjoy.....

                        til next time <3 <3 <3 Marlys