4 Generations Cook Blog

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Stuffed bell peppers

Preheat oven to 350° This recipe come's from Simply Recipes What you need: 4 bell peppers, any color Salt 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped 1 lb of lean ground beef (or ground turkey) 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (if using can, drain of excess liquid first) 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano Fresh ground pepper 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce Dash of Tabasco sauce Directions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet ov

Beef stew

What you need: 1 lb or more of stew meat or whatever meat you would like to use, cut into bite sized chunks About 6 carrots About 7 medium sized potatoes Water 1 can beef broth or 2 beef bullion cubes (You really don't have to use any as long as you season appropriately) Salt Pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder Corn starch 1 tsp parsley flakes (optional) Couple dashes of Tabasco sauce (also optional) Sour dough bread bowls (optional for serving) Directions: Fill your pot with water about 1/2 to 3/4 full and heat until boiling (if using beef broth substitute about a cup of the water with the broth Add bullion cubes if you are using them. Peel and chop your carrots and potatoes into bite sized pieces and add to boiling water. Put your meat chunks into a heated skillet and sear until browned Add meat to boiling potato and carrot water Season with spices and salt and pepper to taste. Once your potatoes and carrots are tender, use a sifter t

Strawberry Cupcakes (the healthy version)

These are not the prettiest cupcakes but they taste amazing! Preheat oven to 350° Makes 12 cupcakes What you need: 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or margarine 1 large egg 6 ounces vanilla low fat yogurt or any other flavor you would like, I used mixed berry. 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup diced strawberries Frosting ingredients: 2 Tbs butter or margarine softened 1 cup powdered sugar 2 - 4 fresh strawberries mashed Directions Cream together the sugar and butter/margarine until light and fluffy. Add the egg, yogurt and vanilla and mix until smooth measure the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix then mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Fold in the strawberries with a spatula. bake for 20 minutes Frosting directions beat together all 3 ingredients until creamy and smooth chill frosting for 15 minutes or until thick

Chocolate, chocolate chunk cookies

Preheat oven to 375° What you need: 2 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 sticks butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 1 tablespoon vanilla 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 2 cups chocolate chips, 2 Hershey's chocolate bars (chopped) Directions: In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together butter, both sugars, eggs, vanilla and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined. Stir chocolate chips and bar chunks, and stir to distribute evenly. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased or parchment covered baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.

Potato Skins

What you need: 6 potatoes Olive, peanut or canola oil Salt (Kosher is best) Pepper 6 strips of bacon cooked and crubled 1 cup grated cheese Sour cream (optional) Green onions thinly sliced (also optional) Directions: Bake your potatoes either in the oven at 400° for around an hour or in the microwave around 5 minutes per potato or use the baked potato setting for best results. Either way is fine and the finished potato skins come out the same. Let potatoes cool to where you can handle them and slice each in half and heat your oven to 450° Scoop out the center of the potato leaving about 1/4th inch of potato around the sides. Brush your choice of oil on both sides of the potato and place on a wire rack in a roasting pan and sprinkle with kosher salt Bake for 10 minutes then turn potatoes over and bake for another 10 minutes Remove potatoes, fill with cheese top with bacon and broil until cheese is bubbling Top with sour cream and onions if you choose to

Mummy Pizza

What you need: English muffins Pizza sauce Black olives String cheese Directions: Toast your English muffins and Heat the oven to 350º F. For each mummy, spread a tablespoon (more or less) of pizza sauce onto the English muffin Set olive slices in place for eyes Lay pulled pieces of string cheese across the muffin for the mummy's wrappings. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty.

Peanut Brittle

This is a recipe created by my family. It's just not the Holidays without our families peanut brittle. What you need: 1 cups Karo syrup (white) 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 1/4th tsp salt 1Tbs butter (heaping) 2 tsp baking soda 2 cups raw Spanish peanuts Directions: Boil sugar, syrup, water and salt in a 4 quart kettle stirring constantly scraping the sides every few turns for around 45 minutes or longer, until mixture spins threads. (In case you are unaware of what spinning threads means it is when you lift the spoon from the pot and the candy drops and looks like spider webs) Add peanuts and stir until golden brown. Add butter and turn off heat Add baking soda and stir quickly Pour onto greased cookie sheet. (we line a large cookie sheet in heavy duty foil and coat it with butter) When hard (but before it's cool) turn foil with candy on it upside down and hit the back to break it up or use whatever method works best for you. Let cool and store in air tight c

Pumpkin Pie Fudge

This is some very ugly fudge but it tastes great and is easy to make What you need: 3 cups white sugar 1 cup milk 3 Tbs light corn syrup 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I don't add these) Directions: Butter or grease an 8x8 inch pan. In a 3 quart sauce pan, mix together sugar, milk, corn syrup, pumpkin and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling. DO NOT STIR. When mixture registers at 232° on a candy thermometer, or forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water, remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin spice, vanilla, butter and nuts if you are using them. Cool to lukewarm (110°) then beat mixture until it is thick and loses some of it's gloss. Quickly pour into greased pan and cut when firm.

Wilton Royal Icing

This smooth, hard-drying icing is perfect for making decorations that last. It is also useful as a "cement" to fasten decorations together. Royal icing is edible, but not recommended for icing cakes. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder Easy-Add Meringue Powder 4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners' sugar 6 tablespoons warm water Makes: About 3 cups of icing. Instructions: Step 1 Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer). Step 2 NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency. * For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water. **When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water. Thinned Royal Icing: To thin for pouring, add 1 teaspoon water per cup of royal icing. Use grease-free spoon or spatula