Egg Drop Soup

Egg Drop Soup

I found out that egg drop soup is really easy to make and fun too! It's also very yummy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups chicken broth or stock
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 -2 green onions, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• Salt to taste
• A few drops of sesame oil (optional)

PREPARATION:

In a wok or saucepan, bring the 4 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add the white pepper and salt, and the sesame oil if using. Cook for about another minute.

Very slowly pour in the eggs in a steady stream.

To make shreds, stir the egg rapidly in a clockwise direction for one minute. To make thin streams or ribbons, gently stir the eggs in a clockwise direction until they form.

Garnish with green onion and serve.

Nutritional Breakdown - 4 servings
Each serving contains: Calories 81, 2 g Carbohydrates, 8 g Protein, 4 g Total Fat, 1 g Saturated Fat, 106 mg Cholesterol, trace Fiber, 866 mg Sodium

Egg Drop Soup Variations

These would be added after the seasonings. After adding, let the soup cook for a few more minutes and then add the beaten egg.

• 1/2 cup frozen peas.
• If you are preparing the soup for someone who is ill, try adding a slice of fresh, grated ginger. Among its many benefits, ginger is believed to be helpful in treating colds and flue.
• Egg Drop Soup is frequently thickened with cornstarch in restaurants. To add a cornstarch thickener, mix 2 - 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/2 cup water. Just before adding the beaten egg, stir in the cornstarch/water mixture, remove the soup from the heat, and then add the beaten egg.

Wonton Soup

I've been wanting to try wanton soup for a while and I finally got up the courage to do it. I found a recipe on the internet and it turned out to be very tasty. It wasn't exactly like the wanton soup we had in China, but for being homemade with American ingredients we thought it was pretty close. If you've never had genuine Chinese food, you might think this has a bit of an odd flavor, but it's worth the try! They have many flavors in China that we do not have, so they like different tastes. They think some of our flavors are pretty strange just like we think some of their flavors are odd. For example, cheese to a Chinese person is one of the most disgusting things anyone could eat. How can American stand it!?

Wonton Soup

1/2 lb. ground pork
1 green onion (with tops), chopped
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
24 wonton skins
5 c. water
3 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed chicken broth
3 soup cans water
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 c. spinach, torn into sm. pieces or 1 c. watercress

Cook pork and green onions, stirring occasionally, until pork is brown; drain. Mix pork mixture, 2 teaspoons filling on center of each wonton skin. Moisten edges with water. Fold each in half to form triangle down and overlap slightly. Moisten one corner with water. Pinch to seal. (Wonton can be covered and refrigerated no longer than 24 hours.)

Heat 5 cups water to boiling in Dutch oven. Add wontons. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 2 minutes (wonton will break apart if overcooked.) Heat chicken broth, 3 cans water and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to boiling in 3 quart saucepan. Add spinach. Heat just to boiling. Place 3 wonton and 1 cup hot broth in each soup bowl. 8 servings (about 1 cup each). 175 calories per serving.

I also found a sweet and sour vegetable recipe. It's a great way to dress up vegetables and make them tasty! This quick and easy sweet and sour recipe uses frozen Oriental vegetables and a sweet and sour sauce made with pineapple juice, brown sugar, and rice vinegar. Serve with rice, although I completely forgot to cook rice the first time I made it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 cups (approximately) frozen Oriental vegetables
• Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Other:
• 1 tablespoon oil for stir-frying
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks

PREPARATION:

Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Heat the wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add the frozen vegetables. Stir-fry until tender but not overcooked. Add pineapple chunks and sauce, giving sauce a quick re-stir.

Cook until thickened and serve hot. Serves 3 - 4, as part of a multi-course meal.

Waldorf Salad Supreme

Waldorf Salad Supreme

1 T. lemon juice
2 apples, coarsely chopped
1 c. chopped celery
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 cup grapes, cut in halves
1/2 c. pecan halves
2/3 c. mayonnaise
Lettuce

In mixing bowl, pour lemon juice over apples and toss to spread lemon juice.

Add all remianing ingredients and toss. Serve on lettuce leaf. Serves 6-8

note: I cut this recipe in half, and it was perfect for the two of us.

This lovely salad recipe come from a vintage Texas cookbook, Black-Eyed Peas to Pralines, that my mother-in-law gave me. I've so enjoyed looking through the recipes...Thank you Julie!

Last week I made this recipe for a special outdoor tea-party lunch for Justin and me. We recently got a little patio set for our back porch, and have been enjoying eating outside. The weather has been so lovely lately....

Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe

For those who asked....here's the recipe for the Sopapilla Cheesecake that I made for our Easter Sunday gathering. This is such an easy recipe, and it is a hit every time I make it.

Ingredients:
2 8oz. packages of creams cheese, softened
1 t. Vanilla
1 stick real butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 cans crescent rolls
1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

Beat cream cheese with 3/4 c. sugar and vanilla till smooth.

Spray 9 by13" pan, spread 1 can of rolls in pan to completely cover bottom.

Spread cream cheese mixture over rolls.

Spread 2'nd can of rolls over mixture.

Melt butter. Stir in 3/4 c. sugar and cinnamon. Pour over top.

Bake 25-30 minutes, uncovered.

Enjoy!

6 Loaves of Wheat Bread

I used to make bread every week, 6 or 7 loaves at a time, on schedule, without fail. Those days are past, but today I made bread for the first time in probably 9 months or more. The bread came out great, so I thought I'd post pictures. After today's success, I think I should get back into the routine of making bread again! The recipe I used is below.

I'm thankful I have the Bosch mixer which allows me to make 6 loaves of bread at one time, and I don't have to do the kneading. :-) I also have a Whisper Mill wheat grinder, but believe me, it grinds much louder than a whisper!

The following 2 pictures show how I shape each loaf. Basically, I just gather the dough into an oval shape, smoothing out the top as I go. I then pinch the dough together into a "seam" (can you tell I like to sew?) and then place the shaped loaf into my pan, seam side down.

Here are six loaves of bread after they have risen for about 20 minutes, ready to go into the oven.

Fresh out of the oven!

I always brush softened butter onto each loaf. It helps make the crust soft, and I think it makes the bread look pretty, too.

The finished bread, ready to eat!

Recipe: This is the recipe that I typed out for my older girls when I first taught them to make our bread years ago. The original copy is well worn, burned in one spot, discolored with oil and flour spills, and with a few changes penciled in. I plan on printing out another copy and teaching Ellen how to make the bread. At 11 years old she'll do just fine.

Basic Bread The Smith Way

6 cups hot tap water

2/3 cup oil

2/3 cup honey

4 tablespoons quick-rise yeast

freshly ground whole wheat flour---lots of it

2 eggs (optional, but I did use them in the bread pictured)

Mix the above ingredients all together in the Bosch bowl. (Measure the oil before the honey so that the honey will come out of the measure cup easily). Let the mixture "sponge" for 10 mintues or until bubbly. (You can be grinding the rest of your wheat during this time).

Add:

2-3 tablespoons of salt

3 tablespoons of dough enhancer (I didn't have any, so I omitted it).

2 tablespoons of vital gluten (I also omitted this).

Mix briefly, then add more flour as the mixer is running. Add enough flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. The dough will feel more sticky than not sticky, but not too sticky. :-)

Note: I added about 1-1/2 cups of white flour in this batch because I like the taste and texture better than if I use 100% whole wheat.

Knead for 4 minutes on speed 2, or longer if you think it needs more.

Grease your pans (I use a non-stick spray).

Spread a little oil on your hands and on the counter, and then take the dough out of the mixer. Shape into 6 or 7 loaves and place loaves in pans. Let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and then put bread into oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. When the bread is finished, turn the loaves onto a cooling rack and brush with butter.