Fat Frog Diary

New England Clam Chowder and Fish Chowder Intro: Everyone knows New England Clam Chowder. But let me introduce you to its lesser-known twin, Fish Chowder. I'm allergic to shellfish <insert mild curses here> and I miss them horribly, but Fish Chowder keeps me from doing something stupid that requires Benadryl at the very least.    RECIPE INGREDIENTS 1 lb fresh or frozen fish steaks, cut in 3/4-inch cubes while still partially frozen. 1 cup water 2 slices bacon, halved. (See Notes) 2-1/2 cups finely chopped potatoes (or use frozen cottage-style hashbrowns) 1 cup chopped onion  1/2 cup sliced carrot 1 tsp instant chicken  bouillon 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce 1/4 tsp dried thyme 1/8 tsp black pepper (or white pepper, if you don't want the black grains to show) 2 cups milk 1 cup light cream (or half-n-half) 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour Method:  Mix the water, bacon fat, potatoes, onions, carrots, bouillon, Worcestershire, thyme, and pepper in a larg...

  Broccoli Chicken a la King Am I a fan of Campell's soups? Yes, I am! I'm from the era of "Casseroles will Set You Free" from the drudgery of the kitchen, and that view has only strengthened over the years. Note that you can also switch out and use ham instead of chicken. I cheat and use Spam. This is a microwave recipe as well. Can you get any easier?    Notes: 1. Serve over split baked potatoes, cooked noodles, or biscuits. I personally have served it over cooked farro as well.  2. Cheap casserole dishes can be found at thrift stores. I have a whole collection that cost me less than $20 in total, and that includes Corning Ware with lids. Stock up! That way, if you're ever asked to bring a casserole to the potluck, you won't be annoyed if the dish disappears. Never take your *good* casserole dishes out of the house. Be prepared to be that cook who whips up a casserole, brings it in a dish, and is totally stress free.  Disclaimer: I am not a chef, n...

I don't need to add anything to this recipe, but I did. I added some cooked cubed pork I had left over from another meal and needed to use up. I started this recipe in the morning.  This was another one I made in the Instant Pot. I cooked the dried chickpeas on high pressure for 25 minutes, with about 4 cups of water. Most of the water had been absorbed when I did an NPR (natural pressure release.) I drained the rest and set the chickpeas aside.  I sauteed the onion, garlic and celery in the olive oil in the Instant Pot, then added back the chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes, water, pork, and spices. I then set the Instant Pot to slow cook, covered without locking pressure, and walked away for a few hours. One hour before I planned to serve, I stirred in the pasta. The aroma was glorious! 

  Beef and Bean Burritos Did I use steak for this? Nope! I used plain old ground beef. I'm cheap that way. Keep the napkins handy. This is a messy but fun recipe, and no one will know it's for diabetics.    Notes: 1. Instead of canned beans, I used dried beans and made them in the Instant Pot: 1 cup of beans to 2 cups of water, Pressure Cook 25 minutes and NPR (Natural Pressure Release.) This has never failed me, except for chickpeas. After cooking chickpeas this way, I slow cook them for another 8 hours. I like my chickpeas soft enough to make hummus.  Sources: Diabetic Cooking Magazine Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient cooking. Anything I post has been checked out by me, but in no way do I guarantee that my suggestions will work for you. YMMV (Your mileage may vary.) Some links may give the original poster a small commission on products sol...

  Milk Sherbet Yes, you can make sherbet with Jell-o. It works! And because you can get sugar free Jell-o, it won't hurt your weight as much as ice cream.    Notes: 1. Put the large bowl in the freezer before starting. The first "chill until syrupy" takes between 30-60 minutes, and you should check often. It happens faster than you think.  2. It will look curdled when you add the milk. Keep going. Trust the process on this one. Start this one in the morning, or do up to the 4-5 hours of freezing, then go to bed. It'll be done in the morning. Whichever works better for your lifestyle.  Sources:  Joys of Jell-o, 6th Edition Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor a licensed food service professional of any kind. I'm a grandmother who loves to cook and loves efficient cooking. Anything I post has been checked out by me, but in no way do I guarantee that my suggestions will work for you. YMMV (Your mileage may vary.) Some links may give the original pos...

  Basic Bavarian Another classic from the unjustly maligned Joys of Jello 6th Edition, this dessert is a versatile workhorse for the busy cook. I personally modernized it by substituting Cool Whip for the original Dream Whip.    Notes: 1. Note it can be molded or made into a pie. While Jello molds can be great fun, don't hesitate to try out any of the new flexible silicone molds. One year, I used a brain-shaped mold at Halloween and squeezed red decorative gel for a bloody look.  2. Line a 1-1/2 quart mold with ladyfingers before putting in the filling. This works especially well in a trifle bowl or any clear glass bowl. Different cookies change the look and the taste. Even graham crackers jazz this versatile recipe.  3.  You can use this recipe plain, add fruit, coconut, nuts, candy or cubed colorful Jello, or layer two different flavors for a spectacular yet easy effect. You can even change out the cold water for juice or add flavors to the cold w...

  Easy Pastel Dessert This recipe comes from the much-maligned Joys of Jello. While those who can afford expensive ingredients or buy their tasteless frozen pies can laugh, I'll have something fun to serve and easy to make with no weird ingredients. These recipes sit happily at the juxtaposition of a little effort, a few common ingredients, and fun. I make it in the morning and spoon the finished product into small jelly jars to cool in the fridge. This trick limits serving sizes to easily managed amounts for those on diets.  Notes: This recipe is so easy and versatile, you're only limited by what flavors of Jello gelatin are in the grocery store. However, you cannot change the Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding and Pie Filling in this recipe. You can, however, change out the Dream Whip for a tub of Cool Whip. I do recommend keeping a box of Dream Whip available for those emergency times when the Cool Whip you thought you had suddenly isn't there anymore.  Sources:...

https://www.hometalk.com/43747359/the-simplest-way-to-clean-silver-naturally I know! I should wait until fall when everyone pulls out grandma's silver to polish for the holidays, but I say, "Why wait? You're special too!" Seriously, what's wrong with using the "good" stuff only once or twice a year? Have a tea party in the air-conditioning with the family or have a "Christmas in July" feast. You're bored, right? It can be a chance to try out a few new recipes before you serve the guests during the holidays.  The recipe and "hack" above from Hometalk uses boiling water, aluminum foil, and baking soda. That's it. The hardest part is boiling the water, and the only concern is if you have to turn a large item, so use tongs! 

Call me a skeptic. This I had trouble believing in. I could mix my own powdered laundry detergent? Well, I had an old cannister that had once contained cat food leftover from a trip to Costco, so why not? My daughter recommended it and she's as frugal as I ever was. 1 Box of Borax 3 bars Fells Naptha soap, shredded using a box grater 1 5 lb tub OxyClean 3 c. baking soda 1 box washing soda 2 bottles of scent crystals I spent about $25 at the grocery store to get those. No biggie. If it works, that's several months of laundry for a large family, and since there's just the two of us here, it should be even longer. Shred the Fells Naptha soap first into a small bucket or bowl. It takes awhile. Sit in front of the TV or something and wear gardening gloves, just in case. My scraped hand was a hard lesson in paying attention. Box graters are cheap at the dollar store, but handy when you need to shred just a little bit. All ingredients get dumped into any la...

Have you seen the 21-Day Fix diet? I kept coming across pins on Pinterest related to it, and I was intrigued by the seeming simplicity of simply measuring by using colorful containers. No counting! Let me state right at the beginning that I didn't buy the book, nor did I buy the colored containers. While they are inexpensive enough on Amazon, I want to "try before you buy" and simply see if it would help me in my weight loss adventures while I wait for surgery. I'm a dedicated foodie. That's one reason why my BMI is a whopping 43. I love food, and I love combining my foods into interesting and tasty combinations such as mini-peppers cut in half and stuffed with half a mozzarella stick. Yumm! Who says diets have to be boring? Anyway, I checked around and found the number of colorful containers for my weight. Each color represents a different food group and each container is a specific size to match a serving of that food group. For instance, I am allowed 3 gr...

Just a quick little tip for a snacker who doesn't want to fall off the wagon. (Me!) I'm sure you've seen those mini-peppers in the store in bags, looking colorful and tempting. Were you scared of the heat? Don't be. No heat! Those things wouldn't cause a hot flash even if Leonardo DiCaprio walked by stark naked. (Sorry Leo!) Cut them in half and you can stuff them with cream cheese and ground beef, but for a simple snack with no fuss, cut a mozzarella stick in half and stuff the pepper with that. I stuffed four peppers with four halves of two mozzarella sticks and microwaved them for a minute to melt the cheese to gooey deliciousness. Yum!

I found this on the side of a box of Jell-o Vanilla Sugar Free Pudding and tried it. I made one change and one omission. I changed the cookies to a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs and I didn't use any Cool Whip. Oh, and I used the sugar free varieties of the pudding and gelatin. However, I will type the recipe faithfully. Do what you want. It's your life. Mini Lemon Cream "Pies"  1 pkg (3.4 oz) Jell-o Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding 1 pkg. (3 oz) Jell-o Lemon Flavor Gelatin 1-1/2 cups boiling water 8 vanilla wafers (or graham cracker crumbs) 1 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping (optional) Combine dry pudding and gelatin powder in a medium bowl. Add boiling water, stir for 2 minutes, until completely dissolved. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Place 1 wafer in the bottom of each of the 8 dessert dishes. Cover with the pudding mixture. Top with the Cool Whip. Chill for at least an hour. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I don't know about you, but most Jell-o Jiggler and Knox Blox recipes want you to use 4 boxes of Jell-o, and the Knox Blox formula looks like a chemist's list of ingredients. But what if you want enough for one person? What if you only have one box of three different flavors? Now what? Break out the calculator and guess? NOPE! Here's your simple formula. You can commit this to memory. For every one box of Jell-o, use one cup of hot water. Now here's the rest of the tricks: 1. Use a spray like Pam to lubricate the inside of your mold. Wipe most of the foam away with a paper towel, leaving just a slick surface. 2. When mixing the gelatin and hot water, stir with the whisk for two minutes. Yes, set a timer. There's one on your phone, microwave, and probably your stove. Use your Echo device. Use a timer. Seriously. Stir for the whole two minutes and pay attention. Create as few bubbles as possible. Stir, don't whisk. Bubbles leave unsightly pock marks on...

This delicious sauce is awesome! I vow to keep this miracle in my pantry for those times when I need a sauce right now. Don't try to read off the picture. Show Crazy Mama some love and go to her site. http://losingweightalongtheway.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-to-make-cream-of-something-mix-and.html While it makes a great sauce, it makes an even better "cream of" soup that tops anything you can buy in the store. Now think of all those bags of frozen vegetables waiting in the freezer at the grocery store to be featured in your soup. Bacon and Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus, Broccoli, and Mushroom just to get the party started with familiar flavors. I got this chart from my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from 1989. It doesn't exist in newer versions of the cookbook that I have. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is. I added a little bit of leftover cooked bacon to my cream of Brussels sprouts soup. It should be noted that I used my food processor to chop up...

I was surprised at how tasty and easy these are! However, I was silly and used a disher scoop as opposed to putting them in ice cube trays for a smaller, more manageable bite. Keep the size as smaller than an ice cube. 

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A little something that could replace that craving for a cinnamon bun, if my cinnamon bun shakes don't work. Can't to take this to work.

Crock Pot Bread Pudding Credit: http://www.inthekidskitchen.com/holiday-fun/crockpot-bread-pudding/ Crockpot Bread Pudding Recipe Note: This recipe can be made gluten free and/or dairy free with a few simple substitutions. Simply use non-dairy milk and/or gluten free bread. Slow-cooker Bread Pudding Ingredients 2 loaves of french bread 8 eggs 2 cups milk of your choice 1 tsp. cinnamon Brown sugar topping: 3/4 cup butter softened 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon Melt butter in microwave-safe container and whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon until smooth and thick. Kitchen supplies you might find useful: Crock-pot Non-slip mixing bowls Wire whisks Directions: Chop up the french bread into bite-sized cubes. Spray the inside of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place half of the bread pieces in the bottom of the crockpot. Pour half of the brown sugar topping onto the bread, taking care to distribute as evenl...

Quick Beef Noodle Soup Simple and delicious. Yes, the top picture is my own electric skillet when I made this recipe.

Burgundy Bean Soup This is a great way to use up that bit of wine left in the bottle from the party or intimate gathering before it goes to vinegar. The next morning after the party, pour the wine(s) into ice cube trays and freeze. Remove the wine cubes and store in a labeled freezer bag until needed for a recipe. It's a handy way to have wine available for recipes without having to keep bottles around. We use a lot of bacon in our recipes, so we normally don't fry. We cut it up with kitchen shears, then bake it in the oven, drain, and store it in 1-lb increment freezer bags until needed. Pre-cooking bacon and ground meats in 1-lb increments (pre-cooked weights) saves time and trouble later. Just remember to label those freezer bags very well with a fat Sharpie!