Recipes From Charlene Collins

Western Omelet

Do you like western eggs? If you do you will love the western omelet. It's very easy to prepare, and so delicious.

Here is what you need to make my western omelet recipe:

1/2 green pepper
1/4 onion
3 eggs for one omelet
Splash of milk
Splash of olive oil
2 slices American cheese
Slice of sandwich ham

Here is what you do:

Pour a splash of olive oil into an omelet pan. While the oil is getting hot cut up half a pepper and dice it. Chop up the onion. Add the veggies to the oil and saute them slightly. Now transfer the partially cooked veggies into the eggs and add the milk. Whisk it up good and frothy and pour into the pan. Let the egg cook on one side. When you see it starting to solidify on top flip it and fry it on the other side. Add the ham and cheese and fold the egg over and serve.


Recipe for Amish Friendship Bread from a Starter Mix

In order to make Amish Friendship Bread you have to have someone give you some starter. The starter mix is fade from flour, milk and sugar. In the place of flour I use Bisquick instead, and this works really well. I will write the directions using the word flour but if you prefer to use Bisquick it turns out even better. I got my starter mix from a friend who got hers from a friend and on the generations of friendship bread starter mix goes back. I'm not sure how old the original starter mix is, because I'm not sure how far back the line of friends go. There may be starter mixes several years old.

On July 12 I received a Ziploc storage bag with a portion of starter mix. The mix contained fermented starter mix that my friend Brenda had made and fermented from the starter mix she had received from her friend. Along with the starter mix I received a set of instructions. Now each person that gets the fermented starter mix records the day they received the mix. I received mine on the 12th, so it sits on my counter top in the original Ziploc bag in which I received it.

Here's what you do to make the Amish friendship bread starter recipe:

If you don't have anyone to give you a starter mix you will have to make your own. In a Ziploc bag put one cup of milk, 1 envelope of dry yeast, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of flour and it works really well. Close the bag and mash the bag until the liquid and solids are combined.

Now leave it on your counter. Make sure you mash the bag to mix the ingredients, and don't put any metal spoons in there to mix with. It works best to just mash the bag to do the mixing.

Record the date. Count this date as day 1.

Day 2 mash the bag

Day 3 mash the bag

Day 4 mash the bag-periodically you will have to unseal the bag to let air out because the bag will blow up like a balloon as the mixture ferments).

Day 5 mash the bag

Day 6 add 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour, and 1 cup of sugar. Now mash the bag until ingredients are mixed.

Day 7 mash the bag

Day 8 mash the bag

Day 10 mash the bag

Day 10 add 1.5 (one and one-half) cups of flour, 1.5 cups of sugar and 1.5 cups of milk. If you want to you can do this step in a non-metal bowl. It might make it easier when you have to divide up the batter.

Now split up the batter into equal 1 cup starter kits in 4 Ziploc 1 gallon bags. Keep one of the starter kits for yourself and give others away to your friends. Encourage them to do the same. Be sure to give them these directions so that they know how to make the Amish Friendship Starter mix.

Once you give away your starters, keep the one cup of starter and start the process over again, but leave out the yeast. You don't need to add any more yeast, because the yeast is still alive and growing as you keep feeding it with sugar and flour and milk. So every 10 days you will be making starter and giving it away. It is this chemical process that makes the bag expand with air.

If you don't want to use a Ziploc bag to make the starter in, you may use a non-metal bowl. If using a bowl to ferment the starter, use a wooden spoon to stir it with each day. Don't use a metal utensil because that will ruin your mixture.

Now here's the recipe directions for the making of the bread from the starter mix:

This is what you need to do:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Take 1 cup of starter mix and place in a bowl add 3 eggs, one-half cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, one-half teaspoon of salt, 1 large box of Instant vanilla pudding. Also add 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of Diamond Walnuts chopped, and 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Now add three-fourths cup of melted butter or margarine, add 1 cup of sugar and one-half teaspoon of vanilla. Add 2 cups of flour. Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Grease to loaf pans with butter or margarine. In a separate bowl mix up a half cup of sugar with a half teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle the inside of the greased bread pans. Now pour or spoon out the bread batter into your loaf pans. You can also use a large bundt pan if you want to instead of the bread pans.

Bake the bread for 60 minutes. Be sure to let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the bread or bundt pans. Cooling allows for the bread to shrink away from the sides of the pans.

Now with the remaining 3 bags of starter mix, keep one for yourself and give the other two away. You will make lots of friends this way. As long as you have starter mix keep it out fermenting and every 10 days separate it and start the process again. Hope you don't run out of friends to give this to! If you don't have anyone to give the starter to you can freeze it. You won't kill the yeast. When you are ready to use the frozen starter just let it thaw for 3 hours to room temperature before using it.


Breakfast Pizza

I was eating breakfast pizza before it was even popular to do so. Dad would make up extra pizza dough and keep in the refrigerator whenever he made his homemade pizza from the recipe he kept in his head. My recipe for breakfast pizza is almost homemade. I don't go to all the trouble that my dad did.

Here is what you need to make breakfast pizza:

1 tube of Grands Biscuits
1 pound of bacon
4 eggs and a splash of milk
1 cup of your favorite cheese (I like to mix 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar and 1/2 cup of blue cheese)
1 package of frozen hashbrowns
4 ounces of drained crushed pineapple

Here is what you do:

Open the tube of biscuits. Flour your hands and press the biscuits down onto the pizza pan. Flatten them together where they form the crust. Scramble the eggs in a sauce pan until they are setting up, but not completely cooked. Then spoon out the egg mixture over the pizza crust. Crumble up the hash browns and cover the eggs. Fry the bacon in advance and let it cool. Then crumble the bacon and add on top of the hash browns. Spoon pineapple over the bacon and hash browns, and lastly, cover the breakfast pizza with cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is done to your liking. Slice and eat. Serve your breakfast pizza with your favorite juice or beverage.


Blueberry Walnut Cereal Bars

I like to have breakfast in the mornings, but sometimes I just don't have the time to sit down to a cooked meal. On the days that I don't want to take time to eat at the table, I choose to have my homemade cereal bars. I love cereal bars, but being on a shoestring budget, but I don't always have the extra money in my budget to spend on them.

I got the idea for this recipe from my dad. Without dad we might not have eaten as well as we did. Dad could bake or cook anything. He made up recipes in his head, and when he tried them out they turned out wonderful. We never had a lot of money, but we were more fortunate than a lot of people. We always had food on the table, and we always had clothes to wear. My mom's talent wasn't in the kitchen, but she could make some of the prettiest clothes that looked as good as the clothes my friends wore.

I hope you will love my blueberry walnut cereal bars as much as I do. They are easy to make, and they are ready in 15 minutes, if you are in a hurry. They are delicious cold or hot. When they get cold they have a firmer texture; when warm the cereal bars have the texture of a cake or muffin. We have a blueberry farm in the family, so we don't have to buy our blueberries. My family and I pick blueberries during the harvesting season and what I don't use right then I freeze for another time.

Here is what you need to make blueberry cereal bars:

1 cup of all purpose flour (you can substitute with whole wheat if you wish)
1 cup of plain quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sugar (or Splenda if you prefer)
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 egg
1/4 cup of oil (I use olive oil)
1 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (blended in with mix or on top as pictured)

While you are getting ready to make the blueberry walnut cereal bars, get your oven preheated to 425 degrees. Spray a baking pan (one that you would bake brownies in) with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside. In a medium to large mixing bowl add all your dry ingredients, except walnuts. Add the egg and the oil and the milk. Mix well until the egg and oil is well incorporated into the mix. Now fold in the walnuts, and the blueberries.

Pour the cereal bar mixture into your baking pan. Give the pan a little shake to even out the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. You know it is done when you insert a knife or fork and it comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into single serving bars.

I like to wrap my cereal bars up individually in plastic wrap and then keep them in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator. When I want something quick for breakfast or lunch, when I don't have time to eat, this is perfect.


Fun Vegetarian Oatmeal Breakfast Recipes

I am slowly becoming a vegetarian. I still do eat meat twice a week; however, when my body becomes accustomed to the changes I have made in my diet I will go to being a vegetarian full time. It can be
challenging to find things to eat for breakfast that don't come from an animal.

Breakfasts can get kind of bland if you don't have a plan. I've made some really neat changes in breakfasts. This morning I am having peanut butter oatmeal, cantaloupe and a strawberry and banana shake.

I have two ways I like oatmeal. One is peanut butter oatmeal and the other is oatmeal mixed with soy yogurt. For the peanut butter oatmeal I just make one serving of the quick cooking oatmeal as directed on the package. When the oatmeal and water start to cook together I add 2 tablespoons of chunky peanut butter. That's it. I don't add anything else. This is so smooth and creamy.

For soy yogurt oatmeal I take 6 ounces of plain soy yogurt, and add strawberries or a half of a banana and blend them in a blender. I make the oatmeal according to the instructions on the package and then add the blended fruit and soy yogurt. This is good with blueberries, or any kind of fruit. I like to have cut up cantaloupe on the side.

For the shake I put 8 ounces of vanilla soy milk, and 4 ounces of crushed ice in a blender, along with 1/2 of a ripe banana and 4 large strawberries. I like my shake a little on the sweet side, so I put two packets of sweetener in it and blend for about 30 seconds. I pour the shake into a glass and drink it with a straw.

(Charlene is the Budget Gourmet)