Filipino Lumpia

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground pork
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup minced carrots
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce
30 lumpia wrappers
2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Place a wok or large skillet over high heat, and pour in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Cook pork, stirring frequently, until no pink is showing. Remove pork from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan, leaving a thin coating. Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork, carrots, green onions, and cabbage. Season with pepper, salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Remove from heat, and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Place three heaping tablespoons of the filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2 inch space at both ends.

Fold the side along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the wrapper with water to seal the edge. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap to retain moisture.
Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil to 1/2 inch depth, and heat for 5 minutes. Slide 3 or 4 lumpia into the oil. Fry the rolls for 1 to 2 minutes, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.
*You can freeze the rolls before you fry them*

Potatoe Soup

Ingredients
2 potatoes
3 tablespoons margarine
2 cups chopped white onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
8 ounces bacon - cooked and crumbled
2 green onions, chopped
Directions

**My family likes baked potatoe soup except I do not bake the potatoes. :)
I use my food processor and use the thin slice attachment on it.
Wash 2 russett potatoes, cut in half and slice with processor.**


Slice potatoes, add to boiling water. Cook for 30 minutes. *set aside*




Melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender and golden brown. Stir in flour, and cook 5 minutes to make a roux. Pour in chicken stock and water. Add cornstarch and mashed potato flakes. Season with salt, pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
add potatoes that were previously bolied, and stir into soup, along with the half-and-half. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick.

Spoon into bowls, and garnish with shredded cheese, bacon and chopped green onion.

Candy Wreaths

I spool nylon white thread
3 bags of candy (1 pound each) Your choice of flavor/color
1 8" ring
riboon of your choice

This is an easy but long process. You need to tie each piece of candy to the ring with a basic knot. If you cut a longer piece, tie it off to the ring, then tie a knot at the end of the candy wrapper, you can keep doing it as long as you tie it down close to the ring. If you see it's not making a nice circle just adjust your thread and tie off at another spot and start again.

You will learn as you go that you have to sometimes tug and pull to position them just right.

I add a couple of different colors depending on the season.
I use a ribbon at the top, tie it so that it is a large loop to hang on a door or nail. I like to add a bow either at the top or the base to give it a little extra "fluff"

Not so homemade brownies

I like to make anything yummy and these brownies are super super yummy and easy!
As you can see I used a boxed brownie mix. To doctor it up and make it better I added a few things


1 box of brownie mix
2 eggs *use what your mix calls for
1/4 cup water *use what your mix calls for
2/3 cup oil *use what your mix calls for
3/4 cup chocolate chips


Combine all ingredients as per your brownie mix directions.
Preheat oven as per directed.



After mixing, add your chocolate chips



Take a spoon and drizzle carmel topping on top




use a knife to swirl
cook for 45 minutes in a 9x9 pan *check your brownies about 39-40 min. Add extra time according to your taste. If you like it not as firm pull it out sooner

Spaghetti for the busy house..and Bruschetta

Well after a long couple of weeks on the road working with the guy...we really needed a home cooked meal. While laying in bed trying to find any sense of normalacy an idea popped in...hmmmmmm Spaghetti! So that's what I did. Here is our favorite spaghetti recipe & an easy bruschetta, Lola style.
I start with:

1 pound of lean hamburger
1 medium sweet onion minced
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 small can of tomatoe paste
1 small can of tomatoe sauce
1 package of spaghetti mix
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon of black pepper
salt to taste
3 leaves of fresh basil finely chopped
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon driend italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic salt
8 oz parmigiano reggiano

**please use your dry ingrediants a small amount at a time. You may not use all of it and you may want to add more it's your sauce..your taste**

Bread ingrediants

1 baguette
8 oz parmigiano reggiano
6 ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 leaves of fresh basil finely chopped
salt & pepper *to taste

I use a small chopper to chop my onions..keeps me from crying in the kitchen.


brown your hamburger with your minced onion.


Drain the grease off of your meat before you start your sauce

I add a spaghetti packet. It yumms up the sauce and costs a fraction of what you would pay for all the spices and herbs etc.

I mix together the packet of spaghetti, the salt, pepper, garlic, italian seasoning** & Oregano** Add parmigiano reggiano, add browned meat.

Let cook in crock pot for 3 hours on high.

Open your crock pot and taste your sauce. you may at this point need to add more garlic, salt pepper etc...

I turn it to low and let it keep cooking for 3 more hours.

Towards the end of cooking, approx 40 min before we are ready to eat..I start the bread.

I use a baguette.

I cut diagnally the bread into pieces

place them flat on a cooking sheet.

in a seperate small bowl I add the EVOO, garlic, salt, pepper & basil. I heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. I added this step and removed the rubbing of the garlic on the bread. When it's warm, remove and usea basting brush to lightly coat both sides of the bread. I turn on my grill and when it's hot..I lay them on the grill for 5 min on both sides (try not to over cook them, they become too hard to eat)








After you remove the bread off the grill, place back on the cooking sheet.Chop your tomatoes, add the oil mix and stir together. Spoon out the mixture and add on top of the grilled bread.


When all are topped, sprinkle fresh parmigiano reggiano on top.

Place in heated oven @ 350* degrees. Bake until cheese is melted. Approx 15 min. Do not over cook!

Cook your noodles, drain, mix sauce....pour over noodles and serve hot!