Cheese fries with corn by Kay

Yesterday, I asked my mom, after school, what we were having for dinner. She said that we were having leftovers. I don't like leftovers unless there is something in the refrigerator that I like. I asked her if I could make something because she had a headache. I said that I wouldn't make anything complex like Pinto Gallo or pizza. I wanted to have something like mini Potato Enchiladas that you would cook in the microwave.

Then I thought of Cheese Fries. I love Cheese Fries. I went in our refrigerator and found some corn. I then knew that my dad and I would have Cheese Fries with Corn. Here's the recipe:

Cheese Fries With Corn

2 potatoes
1/2 can of corn
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (original rice milk)
3/4 cup cheese (Queso and Cheddar)
salt and pepper to taste
salsa (optional)

First, peel the potatoes if you want. Then, cut into cubes. You can either roast or boil the potatoes. I boiled the potatoes because I wanted it to go quickly.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk to combine. Then stir after it is combined. After all milk have been added continue cooking and stirring until it thickens.(about 5 minutes) Then stir in the cheese. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Cook the corn in a saucepan or the microwave.

Drain the potatoes.

To serve, put the potatoes on a plate. Then add the corn on top or as a side. Add as much cheese sauce as you want. If desired, top with salsa.

Kay: I really liked this and so did my dad so he says. You could also use the cheese sauce to dip with chips. You can put whatever flavorings you like. You could put in tomatoes, cumin, chili pepper, or any kind of seasoning.

Dana (Mom): I didn't have any of this because I had a headache and because it has cheese in it but I was quite impressed that she came up with this and then managed to make a successful bechamel sauce!

Creamy Hot Chocolate

I just noticed I haven't posted a non-sweet recipe since November! Oh well, why stop now!

Today it was -17.5 degrees F when we woke up. I've lived here all my life but this weather is insane! We got out from under our blankets long enough tonight to make this hot chocolate though. This is my and Kay's favorite. I know butternut squash seems like a weird ingredient for hot chocolate but it is absolutely essential for the creaminess. We promise, you don't taste it at all. This recipe makes exactly 2 mugs. Perfect! (Bill won't even try it - he is very stubborn like that!)

Creamy Hot Chocolate

1 1/4 cups milk (we prefer almond milk)

1/2 cup pureed butternut squash (sweet potato also works)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Big spoonful of marshmallow fluff

Blend the milk, squash, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and espresso powder in a blender until smooth and well blended. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. Add the chocolate chips and heat over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Pour into mugs and top with marshmallow fluff.

Kay: It is AWESOME and you don't even taste the butternut squash. I could drink this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mom (Dana): Most of the sweetness comes from the fluff so if you decide not to use it, you'll need to add some other form of sweetener. Out of desperation, we've used caramel ice cream topping and that actually worked fine but it thickened it.

To make the puree, steam the butternut squash (or sweet potatoes) until very soft and then puree in a food processor or blender. Extra can be used in these honey puff pancakes!

Elephant Ears

Our weather is crazy this year. Yesterday we got tons and tons of snow. It took me over an hour to get to work when it usually only takes 20 minutes. I was only there a couple hours before I received a call from Kay saying they were getting dismissed early. Today we didn't get anymore snow but school was cancelled for the cold. It is -10 F without the wind! She didn't seem very upset about staying home today and I wasn't very sad either!

We've been wanting to post but everything we've fixed lately either wasn't very good or it was something that is already posted! This is kind of a recipe but not really.

After dinner tonight we were both craving something crispy. We had fajitas for dinner and the tortillas weren't very fresh so we fried them up and dipped them in a mixture of cinnamon sugar. They hit the spot!

Kay: These were really good. They didn't look like elephant ears but they tasted like them. I think these are healthier than the elephant ears at the fair.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

I noticed a very different feeling this year on Christmas morning. First of all, Kay slept in. Then when she did get up, we sat around for a little bit, made cinnamon rolls and then she opened her gifts in a very relaxed manner. That was when I realized the excitement-filled Christmas mornings were over. Then I thought of my parents and realized that even after Kay has kids, we probably won't be any closer to the excitement than they are. It was a little depressing but then Kay opened her MP3 player and got just as excited as she was with her puppet theater at 4 years old!

Also, we haven't reached the point yet where she insists on taking a shower and doing her hair and make-up before opening gifts (a phase that I remember going through)!

These cinnamon rolls are very easy. Bill and I used to have them way too often when we were first married. For some reason I quit making them and just thought of them again about a month ago. Kay really liked them (who wouldn't) so we decided to make them for Christmas breakfast.

This is an old Pampered Chef recipe. We use the same frosting (I mean vanilla syrup) as we used for the chocolate waffles but make it a little thicker.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

2 tubes of refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 cup margarine

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Separate the dough into 8 rectangle pieces and roll the seams together. Mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread the mixture on the dough. Roll each rectangle of dough going the long way. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and place into a deep dish baking pan so that the swirl design is facing up. Place the pieces close together. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with frosting of your choice.

Kay: These remind me of Cinnabons but you can make these at home and you don't have to eat a big roll. Mine looked like a Christmas tree when I put it on my plate.

Mom (Dana): It doesn't get any easier than this. Bill and I used to eat the whole pan ourselves so we were a little bothered to now have to share with Kay!

Chocolate Truffles

We were able to enjoy our holiday get-togethers with family in spite of the weather's attempts to ruin it! We've had terribly cold temperatures, severe wind storms, and inches of ice covering everything. Our neighbors across the street lost power last weekend and again yesterday (they still don't have power) but we have been lucky to keep ours. On Christmas Eve, my family walked on about 2 inches of solid ice to get to our door.

Yesterday, the temperatures rose into the 60's which melted all the ice but the warm weather came with terrible winds. Today it is back to being cold again but at least the roads are clear.

We celebrate Christmas Eve with my family and always have various dips and salads instead of a formal sit-down meal.

Kay and I went through all our recipes for the day but decided that our favorite was the chocolate truffles so that is the one we are sharing! The picture at the beginning of this post shows two kinds of truffles. The chocolate covered ones had a clementine filling and were also good but Kay prefers the others, so that is the one we are posting.

Chocolate Truffles

200 grams dark chocolate (we used half 70% and half 85%)

100 grams coconut milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

toppings of choice such as cocoa powder, ground nuts, coconut, crushed graham crackers, sprinkles, etc.

Chop the chocolate. Heat the coconut milk until just beginning to bubble. Pour the coconut milk over the chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in the vanilla.

Allow to cool several hours in the refrigerator.

Roll the chocolate into balls and then in the topping of your choice.

Kay: These are so good. I really liked the sprinkle ones we made. I couldn't even tell there was coconut milk in them. I didn't like the clementine truffles.

Mom (Dana): Instead of the vanilla extract, you could change the flavor by adding any other extract that appeals to you. I think mint would be really good although I haven't tried it.

Chex Mix

We made chex mix last night for Kay to take to school today for their holiday party. But we woke up to everything covered in ice like this:

School was cancelled, we started vacation a day early, and we now have enough snacks to last us at least a week! We took advantage of this extra day and started to bring up some of our holiday decorations. Luckily we still have power. The neighbors across the street aren't as lucky and we are still nervous because our power lines look like this:

So if you are having weather like us, kick back and eat snacks! What else can you do?

Chex Mix

2 cups rice chex-like cereal

2 cups corn chex-like cereal

1 cup small pretzels

3 tablespoons canola oil

6 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (we used a combination of both)

In a small bowl, mix together the oil and honey until mixed.

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the cereal and pretzels. Pour the honey mixture over the cereal and stir to coat.

Place the bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every 1 minute and then one additional minute stirring every 30 seconds. (Watch closely so it doesn't burn.)

Pour the mixture onto wax paper to cool.

Kay: This is really good. Right now I'm chasing my dog around the house so I think it makes me hyper!

Mom (Dana): I always mean to make this more often and keep small bags of it around for snacks. We would have loved to have told you what Kay's friends thought of it but oh well!

Ginger Cookies

At 3:30 on Saturday, I was fine. At 3:31 I came down with a horrendous cold. It really did happen that fast. Bill and Kay have been battling colds since September but I've somehow managed to avoid catching them - until now. I knew it was too good to last!

Kay is at school right now but I really wanted to record what she did last night. As I was dieing on the couch, she asked me if ginger was good for colds. I think I said yes.

An hour later, she had made these cookies AND cleaned up the kitchen! These cookies are the delicious result of teaching her to follow a recipe!!!

She used the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance (have I mentioned how fantastic every single dessert is in this book?) but she rolled them in cinnamon sugar instead of demerrara sugar. I can tell they are very good even with my cold-ravaged taste buds.

Ginger Cookies

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup soy milk

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

cinnamon sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and spices. In a separate large bowl, mix together the oil, molasses, soy milk, sugar and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine well. Roll into 1 inch balls, flatten into a 1 1/2 inch diameter disk, press the cookie tops into the cinnamon sugar and place 1 inch apart, sugar side up, on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 10 -12 minutes. Let cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack.

The recipe says it makes 24 cookies but Kay got 55 out of this recipe.