Jalapeño Popper Mac & Cheese

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ homemade mac & cheese? It’s gooey and cheesy and delicious. It just hits the spot.

If you have been following my blog for any period of time, however, I’m sure you have realized that I am partial to a little bit of spice – jalapeños in particular!

I have jalapeño cheddar knots, jalapeño popper stuffed chicken, spicy salsa, and chunky salsa – all featuring jalapeños.

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Jalapeño popper mac & cheese has a nice bit of kick to it, but isn’t too spicy. And you can always adjust it, according to your tolerance of heat!

It is so fast and easy to make and is a great crowd pleaser when we have last-minute company.

This past Christmas, we hosted an impromptu family event and I needed something that was quick and easy to make that would feed everybody who was coming out to our acreage.

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Even people who are not fans of spicy food, loved this dish and it was completely polished off, even though I made a huge, heaping pan of this jalapeño popper mac & cheese.

What little leftovers we did have got sent home with said people who are not typically spicy food eaters!

So hopefully, now that I have sold you on trying this recipe, let’s get into the details of the step-by-step instructions. 😉

First, you need a large pot of water. Bring it to a full boil and add salt and your macaroni, then reduce the heat to a simmer and allow it to cook for about 7 to 9 minutes depending on how firm you like your pasta to be. I typically like nine minutes cook time for the ideal texture I prefer.

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While your pasta is cooking, go ahead and prep your jalapeños. I use pickled jalapeños because they do seem to be a little more mild than fresh jalapeños sometimes can be (I can handle the heat, but I don’t want to burn my guests so they never come back!)

Oh! I should also mention right now you should turn your oven on to 400° convection or 425° conventional oven heat. If you start the oven preheating now it will be good to go by the time your pasta is ready to be popped in.

If you do use pickled jalapeños, you can add some of the juice to the pasta water while the pasta cooks. I feel like it adds a little extra flavor (but this is not a necessary step, though)

Give your jalapeños, a rough chop. They do not need to be tiny because the chunks give extra colour and texture to the dish.

Next measure out your wet ingredients.

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You will need one cup of heavy whipping cream, one cup of cream cheese, and 2 cups of cheese whiz (depending on how cheesy and gooey you would like it to be… You can go with just one cup of cheese whiz if you are trying to cut down on the amount of cheese, but what’s the point of making mac & cheese if you’re not using alllll the cheese??!)

You will also need one cup of cheddar cheese. It is up to you whether you would like to shred it – or what I do is just cut it into cubes.

I find the cubes are faster and easier for prep time, but it does take a bit longer for things to melt down into a nice even consistency.

So by now, your macaroni noodles should be fully cooked. Drain them in a colander in your sink.

I rinse my noodles with cold water to ensure they don’t continue cooking beyond the texture that I tested and decided was what I wanted.

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Don’t worry, the sauce will be hot, which will warm the mac & cheese up and you are going to put it in the oven for a short period of time as well, so cold noodles are totally fine.

Use the pot you had cooked the noodles in and add your heavy cream, cream cheese, cheese whiz, and cheddar cheese, as well as your chopped jalapeños.

Next comes my secret ingredient – Worcestershire sauce!

Worcestershire sauce is one of my favourite flavour boosting ingredients. I’ll put just a splash of it in many recipes and it adds the extra wow factor.

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Optional ingredients:

I try not to overcomplicate my recipes by having a myriad of ingredients that some people don’t have in their kitchen however, if you do have some of these ingredients and feel like changing the recipe up, you could add some thing like bacon bits, or mild Italian sausage (fully cooked), or chives.

BUT! Back to that pot you have on the stove. On a low temperature slowly melt all the cheesy ingredients together, stirring occasionally.

Mix well once everything is melted. You can add your macaroni noodles back into the pot.

Now we mix again!

Once all your ingredients are fully integrated, you can scoop the mixture into a large baking pan. For this recipe, I use a 9 x 13 extra deep baking dish.

Growing up, we didn’t bake our macaroni and cheese. It was simply a stove top version (which was still incredibly delicious)!

But for this recipe, however, I do bake it -which means I have decided to add breadcrumbs to the top.

If you choose to add breadcrumbs to the top of your jalapeño popper mac & cheese, you can melt your butter in the microwave and stir your breadcrumbs directly into the melted butter.

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The other method is to melt the butter in a frying pan on low heat, then once it’s melted, you add the breadcrumbs and allow them to get a little bit golden-brown before you add them to your pan of jalapeño popper mac & cheese (be sure not to overcook it!)

Whichever method you choose for your breadcrumbs (once they are fully integrated with the butter), spread them evenly across the top of your jalapeño popper mac and cheese.

I should also caution you not to make the same mistake that I did when I first started adding breadcrumbs to the top of mac & cheese.

I thought, “more is better!”

It is not.

It makes a mess.

I feel like in this situation, the expression “a little goes a long way” is appropriate.

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So now that you have your jalapeño popper mac & cheese dish in the pan and you have the breadcrumbs spread on top, it’s time to put it in your beautifully preheated oven.

Because the sauce is already warm, the main goal is to get your jalapeño popper mac & cheese just to the point of bubbling and to have the breadcrumbs golden brown.

This should only take 15 to 20 minutes.

Make sure your oven rack is in the middle of the oven. If it is too high, your breadcrumbs will crisp too quickly and perhaps even burn. If your oven rack is too low, it may take far longer than you expect to get the nice golden brown finish.

If you find that your jalapeño popper mac & cheese is bubbling, but the breadcrumbs are not yet golden brown, you can turn your oven to broil.

I caution you, though, if you do use the broil setting, don’t walk away. You need to stand there – and you watch that oven until you get the perfect golden brown you were looking for!

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Many times have I seen people use the broil setting, only to be disappointed by a charcoal dinner as a result… because they were not standing there watching the entire time.

Once you have achieved the perfect golden brown and bubbly dish, make sure you let it rest after removing it from the oven for a few minutes.

We don’t want to burn your guests mouth after all!

And that’s all I have for you so I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please drop a comment and photo below when you make it!

Ingredients:

4 cups dry macaroni noodles

3/4 cups jalapeños, diced

1 cup cream

2 cups cheese whiz

1 cup cream cheese

1 cup cheddar cheese

Topping:

1/2 butter

1 cup breadcrumbs

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Recipe:

Bring a large pot of water to boil, then add dry macaroni noodles
Reduce heat to simmer for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on desired texture
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional heat
Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water
In the same pot add jalapeños, heavy cream, cheese whiz, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and allow to melt together on a low heat stirring frequently.
Once the sauce is hot and well mixed, add the cooked macaroni noodles and stir together
Place the jalapeño popper macaroni mix and a 9 x 13 pan (no oil needed)
Melt butter in a frying pan on low heat. Then add breadcrumbs and mix together.
Evenly spread the breadcrumb mixture over the jalapeño popper macaroni & cheese in your pan
Next, place your baking pan in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the mac & cheese is bubbling.
Remove from oven and allow your meal to rest for five minutes or until cool enough to eat
Enjoy!

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Jalapeño Cheddar Knots

I love a good savoury jalapeño cheddar loaf during the cold winter months, so I decided to turn my recipe into super pretty dinner rolls!

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It looks so fancy doing these as knots, but it is actually very easy to make. Why not get the “wow factor” with just a minute or two of extra effort?

I have a bread maker and use it quite a bit; some of my recipes I will do by hand, but this one I just pop into the bread maker on the “dough” setting and it kneads and rises until the dough is ready for me to roll out and finish.

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And NO! I am not going to give you some big, long story before getting down to the nitty gritty of h0w to make this recipe (YOU’RE WELCOME! haha)

First, add all the ingredients to your bread maker. Start with the lukewarm water, then salt, butter (or oil works if you don’t have butter), powdered milk, flour, and then the yeast.

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Then, add the diced jalapeños and cayenne powder on top. I typically use pickled jalapeños because I almost always have them on hand, but fresh jalapeños work too!

Now hit that dough setting and carry on with your day! Mine runs for about an hour and a half before the dough is ready to be rolled out and cut.

If you are in the middle of something and the dough sits a bit after the bread maker beeps (signalling it is ready), that’s fine. Just make sure it doesn’t sit sooo long that it gets dried out or falls. This means you have 30-60 minutes grace period.

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When your dough is ready, roll it out on a floured surface so it is long and wide, as pictured below.

Next, drizzle some melted butter over the bottom two-thirds of the dough and spread it so you have an even coating.

Then, sprinkle your shredded cheddar cheese over that same area. You can add more or less cheese, depending on your taste, but keep in mind that if you add too much it will melt out and make a mess in the bottom of your oven!

After you’ve added the cheese, fold the dough over by one third and then one more time (as pictured below).

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Gently press the roll so it sticks together well.

Now you are ready to start on the fun part!

Find the middle of the roll and cut it in half (I typically just fold it in half to find the middle, but some people actually get out a ruler to measure). Then cut each of the sides in half again, then cut each section into three pieces.

This will give you 12 sections total, which is a perfect dozen to fit in your muffin tins!

Optional: before cutting into sections, you can trim the ends so all your sections will have even sides and filling. I hate wasting, so I don’t trim the ends.

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Once you have 12 sections, make two slices in each section, leaving just a little dough connecting it at the top (pictured below). This will give you three strands of dough to braid.

Do a simple braid, as pictured below.

Then, tuck the ends underneath the jalapeño cheddar knot into a muffin tin that has been brushed with oil (or better yet, butter!)

They should look like the examples in the photo below.

Once you have repeated this step with all 12 sections, cover the jalapeño cheddar knots with a damp tea towel and allow them to rise in a warm location for about an hour.

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Once your knots have risen, pre-heat the oven to 480°

Place the jalapeño cheddar knots in the oven and immediately turn it down to 450° – this method may sound odd, but it gives the perfect golden finish with a nicely baked (and fluffy) inside.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on how golden you would like the knots to be.

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Optional: before baking, you can brush your jalapeño cheddar knots with butter or egg wash to change the final look. I did not do this for the photos included and it is just a matter of personal preference.

You can also brush the knots with melted butter after they have finished baking for an extra soft, delicious finish. Once again, I did not do this in the example photos and it is a matter of personal preference and if you want to spend a little extra effort doing this.

Allow the jalapeño cheddar knots to cool just enough that they won’t burn you before you dig in! Haha

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One of my favourite parts of making the jalapeño cheddar knots like this versus a traditional dinner roll is #1 – they look so pretty and #2 – they pull apart in tender little pieces that are fun to eat.

For the extra couple steps it takes to braid these, I feel like it elevates the look of a simple, homemade dinner roll to a high-end, luxurious experience. So why not?? (or should I say “KNOT?” lol)

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I hope you have enjoyed my recipe! If you did, please be sure to share it with your friends and leave a comment below with a photo of how yours turned out!

Ingredients

1 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup diced jalapeños (fresh or pickled)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (OPTIONAL)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

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Instructions

Combine all ingredients in your bread maker with the paddle facing upward.
Select “dough” setting and start.
Once the dough cycle has finished, roll the dough out on a floured surface into a long, wide strip as pictured above.
Next, brush the dough with melted butter.
Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the bottom 2/3 of the long portion of the dough (refer to picture above, if needed).
Then, fold the dough over into thirds, longwise (refer to picture above, if needed).
Cut into 12 strips, then slice each piece twice, leaving a small amount at the top of each piece to connect them (refer to picture above, if needed)
Do a simple braid for each piece, then tuck the ends underneath and place in a greased or buttered muffin tin.
Allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm location, covered with a damp tea towel.
Pre-heat oven to 480º
Place muffin tin in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 450º
Bake for 13-15 minutes (depending on the desired goldenness).
Remove muffin tins from oven and place on cooling rack; cover with a tea towel and allow to cool.

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Optional Finishing Touches

Brush the Jalapeño cheddar knots with egg wash prior to baking
Brush with melted butter after removing from the oven

Serves 12

… The End… And they lived happily ever after. 😉

If you like short, to-the-point recipes, check out my other posts!

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Roasted Halibut Steaks with Lemon-Dill Cream Cheese

You don’t have to break the bank going to a fancy restaurant to get a gourmet halibut dinner – and this recipe is so quick and easy you’ll be in love!

My mom made a similar recipe when I was a kid, but (as always), I enjoy adding my own twist and trying new things… So this is an “Ellie Original” recipe!

When cooking fish, the biggest mistake you can make is overcooking it; if you undercook it, you can always put it back on the heat again.

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But once it is overcooked, there is no going back. Overcooked fish gets dried out and chewy, rather than the perfectly tender, flaky result we are going for.

The bake time will depend on the size and thickness of your halibut, so I recommend checking the “done-ness” by cutting into the centre of one of your halibut steaks at 10 minutes. The fish should be white when it is fully cooked; if it still has a translucent look, you should leave it in the oven for another minute or two.

Did I mention that this recipe is super fast? With only 10ish minutes in the oven, this meal can be ready in a flash!

While fresh halibut is ideal, you can also use frozen halibut steaks.

Growing up, we always had TONS of fish in the freezer from fishing season (though we usually had more salmon than halibut), so we ended up eating our fair share of fish throughout the year – hence getting creative with recipe ideas!

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Pro tip for storing fish without getting freezer burn:

Fold your fresh fish fillet into thirds with the smallest part of the fillet toward the inside and freeze.

Once it is fully frozen, fill the freezer bag with cold water and freeze again.

The ice jacket that forms will protect your fillet from freezer burn for long-term storage.

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If you are using frozen halibut for this recipe, allow it to thaw overnight in your fridge.

When you are ready to start dinner, pre-heat your oven to 450º F while you prep your halibut steaks.

Note: you likely want to start your other dishes at this point, as well, since the halibut steaks only take 10 minutes in the oven.

Pat your halibut dry with a paper towel and cut into strips about two inches wide, then sprinkle with a bit of salt & pepper.

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Next, mix your cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, fresh dill, chives, and garlic.

Personally, I prefer to use oven roasted garlic, but you can simply mince a couple fresh cloves of fresh garlic if you don’t want to take the time to make oven roasted garlic.

As with most of my recipes, you can adjust the amount of garlic and herbs to your personal taste.

The cream cheese adds a creamy richness that pairs well with the halibut and the lemon-dill blend has such a bright, refreshing zing to it!

Once all the ingredients are well incorporated, spread the cream cheese & herb mix evenly over the top of your halibut steaks and then sprinkle a little smoked paprika over the top.

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Transfer your halibut steaks to a lightly oiled baking sheet and place on the middle rack of the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, and enjoy!

I personally love rice with fish, so I typically will make my rosemary rice recipe and do a side of green beans or some other garden-fresh veggie to go with dinner.

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Roasted Halibut Steaks with Lemon-Dill Cream Cheese

Recipe

4 halibut steaks, cut to 2″ wide

1/4 cup cream cheese

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon lemon zest

1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped

2-3 cloves oven roasted garlic, chopped

Smoked paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

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Directions

Pat halibut dry and cut into 2″ wide steaks. Sprinkle salt & pepper to taste.
Chop garlic and herbs, then zest and juice the lemon.
Mix cream cheese, garlic, herbs, lemon juice, and lemon zest until well incorporated.
Spread cream cheese mixture over the halibut steaks, then sprinkle with paprika.
Transfer halibut steaks to a lightly oiled baking sheet and place in pre-heated oven.
Bake at 450º for 10 minutes or until no longer translucent in the middle of the halibut.

Serves 4

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I also love grilling our meals and I imagine this recipe would be fabulous on a cedar blank, grilled on a hot summer day.

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How to Water Glass Eggs

How to Water Glass Eggs – the Old Fashioned Method for Long-Term Egg Storage (up to 18 months!)

We decided to add chickens to our homestead a few years back to have the freshest, healthiest eggs we could.

Before my garden is planted in the Spring and after it is harvested in the Fall, the chickens are allowed to free range (at some point I think we will fence the garden, but this works for now).

During the summer months in between, we give them the “free range” experience by using our DIY chicken tractor setup and move them to fresh grass each day.

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With all the good nutrients they are eating, we end up with an excess of farm fresh eggs with the most beautiful, bright orange yolks.

I have sold some of the extra eggs, however I also wanted to have a way to keep some fresh for the winter months for when our chickens stop laying as many eggs.

Typically, you can get away with storing unwashed eggs in the fridge for a few months – if you have the space! But I didn’t want several dozen eggs taking up shelf space in my fridge for months at a time…

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So what other options are there for long-term storage for these eggs?

I have seen ideas for easily freezing eggs, which I may still try at some point, but that takes up freezer space (instead fridge space).

The other option is powdering the eggs. I may try this option, too! That being said, powdered eggs likely limit your options to scrambled eggs and using them in baking.

My mom had sent me info on water glassing eggs, which I found intriguing.

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What is water glassing?

The concept of water glassing eggs is to take clean (but unwashed), raw eggs and preserve them in a mixture of water and pickling lime.

Apparently this method has been around since the 1800’s, which certainly makes sense; before all of our modern technology, people had to be smarter about preserving their food and making it last.

Why unwashed eggs?

Let me back up a moment and explain why it is so important that the eggs are clean, unwashed!

The egg has a protective coating on it, called the “bloom.” This essentially seals the egg.

When you wash an egg, the bloom feels almost like a thin, slimy layer (and comes off when washed).

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Egg shells are very porous, so without the bloom to protect them, they go bad much more quickly.

In order to make sure I was collecting clean eggs from the chickens, I simply was diligent in keeping their coop clean with plenty of fresh shavings in the nest boxes – and I collected eggs as soon as it got light out.

The sooner eggs are collected, the less chance they have of getting pooped on or stepped on by muddy feet.

If I had eggs that did get pooped on, I washed those and used them for our daily cooking rather than water glassing them.

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Can you water glass store bought eggs?

I know the question will be asked, “Can store bought eggs be used for water glassing?” Maybe, but not likely.

Why do I say this? Two reasons. You want to use fresh eggs so they last longer and store bought eggs aren’t always the freshest. The second reason brings us back to the importance of the eggs being unwashed; you don’t want lime water seeping through your egg shells into the eggs. If there is a chance the eggs have been washed, I wouldn’t waste my time (or the eggs).

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What if I want to test my eggs to see if they are good?

Another common question I have heard is, “Can I do a float test to see if my eggs are still good?”

The concern is this; if you are not supposed to wash them, are you allowed to do a float test to make sure your eggs are all still good enough to use?

You can definitely do this! The trick is to do your float test in the same mixture of water and pickling lime that the eggs are going to be stored in.

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The process of water glassing eggs

Water glassing eggs is so simple and fast.

Start with a clean container; I used a large glass pickle jar.
Add your clean, unwashed eggs.
Combine your water and pickling lime in a separate bowl, then pour over the eggs (you can mix it in your storage container before adding the eggs, but you’ll have to guess how much you need).
Cover and store in a cool, dark place until you are ready to use your water glassed eggs!

If you want, you can add eggs each day as you collect them; we have 10 hens and the pickle jars I used hold about 30 eggs, so I just added our extra eggs each day for about a week until the jar was full and then topped up the lime solution to completely cover the eggs.

Which brings me to another important point; you want to make sure the eggs are completely covered by the pickling lime solution.

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Pickling lime solution
1 quart water
1 ounce pickling lime

The pickling lime solution is an easy 1-to-1 ratio; one quart of water mixed with one ounce of pickling lime. If you are making a larger batch, it is easy math to figure out how much water and pickling lime you need.

Pickling lime can be irritating for your skin, so I wouldn’t soak your hands in the solution – but reaching in to grab an egg or two as needed with bare hands hasn’t bothered my skin.

I always rinse my eggs off after pulling them out of the lime solution, before cracking the egg, just to make sure I’m not getting any pickling lime in our meal.

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How long do water glassed eggs last?

Online searches will tell you 12-18 months, if stored properly.

Right now, we are using eggs that I water glassed in October, 2021 – and today is January 24th, 2023! So yes, the 12-18 month shelf life is very realistic.

Does water glassing eggs change the flavour?

So far, I haven’t noticed a difference in the flavour.

The biggest difference I have noticed is the texture of the eggs; the egg white is more watery than a same-day-fresh egg. The yolks, however, are still the same bright orange color!

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When you first mix your lime solution, it will have a murky, milky look to it. Over time, the pickling lime seems to settle to the bottom of the jar in a white layer, leaving the rest of the liquid clear.

This is quite normal and hasn’t caused any issues for me.

I also had a slight crust form at the top of the lime solution over time, which also has not caused any issues.

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I have read that water glassed eggs may not do as well for boiled eggs since the shells are slightly soft after sitting in the pickling lime solution for 12-18 months, however I have not tested this opinion myself.

I have used the water glassed eggs for fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and in baking… and you wouldn’t know they were over a year old! Crazy, right?

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In this modern day of consumerism, I think it is so grounding to try old (even “outdated”) methods of being just a little more self sufficient and cutting down on waste.

At one point before we got chickens, I couldn’t even find eggs at the grocery store because of supply chain issues.

And right now, I keep hearing about the exorbitant prices for eggs at the store!

So yes, I am very content to look after my little flock of chickens, feed them veggie scraps, let them free range, and preserve the eggs we collect from them.

Do you need egg recipe ideas?

Be sure to check out my recipes for Krupsua, egg salad sandwiches, and deviled eggs!

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Cantaloupe PUPsicles

This quick, easy recipe was a hit with my dogs!

It is a great summer treat to help beat the heat – and is healthy for them!

And the other great part? It only has 2 ingredients!

You can use this recipe with either cantaloupe or watermelon.

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I actually was making a frozen cantaloupe sorbet for my hubby and I when I realized that if I just left the sugar out, I could make some treats for the pups while I was at it.

First, remove the seeds and cut the rind off, then slice the cantaloupe into chunks.

Next, toss them into the food processor or blender with about 1 tablespoon of cold water.

Blend until it is an even consistency.

I bought these cute dog paw silicone molds a while back and I can’t believe this is the very first time I have used them!

Spoon the mixture into the silicone mold and freeze until it is solid.

PRO TIP: the molds are very flexible, so you should set them on a cutting board or baking sheet that you can place in the freezer with the molds before adding the cantaloupe mix. This will help prevent spilling.

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And viola! You just made the cutest, healthy dog treats ever!

And as I mentioned, the only difference in this recipe versus what I made for my husband and I is the sugar; if you want to sweeten this up a bit and serve it to guests, just add a tablespoon of sugar (the melon is already sweet, so a little sugar is all it takes).

Oh, and you can also use an ice cream maker to make it more of a sorbet slush consistency for the humans.

Recipe

1 cantaloupe, cubed
1 tablespoon water

Directions

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until it is an even consistency.

Fill silicone molds, then place in freezer until solid.

Enjoy spoiling your pet!

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If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to drop a comment and a photo of how it turned out for you! (Don’t forget to include your pooch in the pic!)

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Our Favourite Recipes

Zucchini Pizza Boats

Fire Roasted Salsa

Rhubarb Leather

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Jalapeño Popper Mac & Cheese

by Ellie June 22, 2024

Jalapeño Cheddar Knots

by Ellie January 30, 2024

Roasted Halibut Steaks with Lemon-Dill Cream Cheese

by Ellie February 1, 2023

Compound Butter

I have wanted to try my hand at compound butter for some time now; all the mouth-watering recipes on Pinterest are just sooo tempting!

This week I needed to prune my basil, but didn’t have enough to make a full batch of pesto so I decided compound butter would be the perfect way to use up the extra herbs.

And as long as I was softening a whole block of butter, I thought I would try a couple different recipes to see which I liked best.

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I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, but one of the combinations I had seen was honey orange compound butter – and we have our own home-raised honey, so why not?

The first savoury recipe I tried was roasted garlic & dill with chives, which I plan to use on baked potatoes, mashed potatoes or perogies.

For the second savoury combo, I used the excess basil I had pruned, oregano, and some purple thyme flowers to give it a pop of color. Oh, and roasted garlic. Gotta love garlic in almost everything!

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I plan to use the herbed garlic butter for pastas, steaks, and buttering grilled cheesers (I’ve already used it on grilled cheese sandwiches and it turned out AMAZING). Hmm… And I’ll bet it would be great on grilled corn on the cob…

I found that making compound butter was really easy and fairly quick once the butter was softened. And the beauty of so many different combinations really leaves it up to your imagination as to which ingredients to add!

And how much to add is up to you, too… If you love garlic, add lots. If you want a hint of citrus, add a smidge of lime zest.

It is supposed to last for a couple weeks in the fridge (remember, this is my first time making compound butter and haven’t tested the shelf life myself yet); if you want to store it longer than that, just pop it in the freezer.

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The first step is to allow the butter to come to room temperature so it is nice and soft. (I used salted butter, but I’m sure you could make unsalted work as well)

I put my butter in the mixing bowl directly from the fridge so I wouldn’t have to try getting soft, sticky butter out of the packaging later.

I know at least a few of you are thinking you’ll skip the wait time by throwing your butter in the microwave – don’t do it!!!

Every time I have tried softening butter in the microwave in the past, I end up with at least part of it getting melted – and you want soft butter, not melted butter!

Once the butter is nice and soft, you get to start your gourmet recipe!

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Add your ingredients of choice and then mix everything together well until it is an even consistency.

I used an electric hand mixer, but you can also mix it with a whisk or spatula (the softer the butter, the easier to mix).

Once all the ingredients are well incorporated, spoon it onto a large piece of plastic wrap, wrap it, then form it into a log.

It won’t shape perfectly at this stage since the butter is still so soft, so place your compound butter back in the fridge for a while until it hardens up a bit, but isn’t completely hard.

Now you can roll it on the counter to get a more even “roundness” to your shape.

So now that you know the process, let’s get to the recipes I tried out!

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Honey Orange

As I mentioned, we have our own home-raised honey from our bees – and I had been looking for some fun recipes to use the abundance of honey we have on hand.

I don’t usually eat much sweet stuff, so I made this batch smaller than the rest.

Recipe:

1/2 cup soft butter

1/4 cup raw honey

Zest from 1 large orange

–

In the future, I think I’ll save some of the orange zest and roll the simi-hardened compound butter in it to give it a bit of extra “wow factor”

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I tried this out on pancakes and YUM! It had such a nice balance of sweet from the honey and fresh tartness from the orange zest.

It would also go well on cornbread, biscuits or even banana bread.

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Dill & Roasted Garlic with Chives

Dill and garlic are two things I use in sooo many recipes!

They work together so well to create a complex flavour profile in recipes like mashed potatoes, creamy green beans, and creamed peas & potatoes.

This compound butter will also go great on baked potatoes for BBQ season.

Recipe:

1 cup soft butter

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

3-4 cloves roasted garlic, diced

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

–

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Herbed Garlic Butter

Basil, Oregano, and Thyme are staples in my herb garden.

I love using them in Italian dishes like lasagna, fettuccine or herbed olive bread.

I already used this compound butter on grilled cheese sandwiches with the olive bread and it was to die for!

Recipe:

1 cup soft butter

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

3-4 cloves roasted garlic, chopped

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Clearly, I need to hone my skills to get perfectly round logs – but hey! Once the butter is melted over a juicy steak, no one will care if it wasn’t perfectly shaped!

So what do you think? Which combos should I try next?

Drop a comment below!

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Egg Salad Sandwiches

Here on the prairies, seeding is in full swing.

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For those of you who don’t farm, that means many a long day (and often well into the night) spent in the field getting crops in the ground.

I have done my fair share of those long hours and am thankful to be able to get a full night of sleep, but want to do my part to help my hubby out while he is pulling the all-nighters running the seeder.

Hence sandwiches.

We live in the country, so picking up Subway or other fast food isn’t exactly convenient (or cost effective)…

I try to keep a good variety of sandwiches in the mix so Jake doesn’t get tired of just eating the same kind day after day.

(we also have chickens that have been laying like crazy, so egg salad sandwiches are a great way to use our farm-fresh eggs).

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Egg salad sandwich mix is pretty quick to whip up and stays good in the fridge for several days – and is sooo fast to spread on some bread and send out to the field!

The biggest thing is having an easy-peel method for the boiled eggs, otherwise it can be a huge pain to make. I do not have the patience to pick tiny pieces of shell off each egg, to my easy-peel method is a must!

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Once the eggs are all boiled and peeled, I either chop them into pieces or simply use a fork or potato masher to mash them up.

Then, I add about 1 cup of Miracle Whip (my hubby prefers it over Mayo, so if you are a hard-core Hellman’s person go with that!), 1 tablespoon of mustard, about 3 pickles (chopped), and sometimes even a bit of dill and stir it all together.

Obviously some salt & pepper to taste is recommended as well…

Depending on how “stiff” or “runny” you would like your mixture, you can take some extra time to really make sure the yolks are well mashed – or – you can add a splash of pickle juice for some extra zing.

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And viola! You are prepped for the next batch of sandwiches within minutes!

Ingredients

6-8 hardboiled eggs

1 cup Miracle Whip

1 Tablespoon mustard

3 pickles, finely chopped

Dill (optional)

Salt & pepper to taste

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Directions

Chop or mash the hardboiled eggs.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Add egg salad mix to bread and enjoy!

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Easy-Peel Boiled Eggs

Ever since we got laying hens a couple years ago, we have had a surplus of eggs; this pushed me to get creative with the ways we used them up without wearing out one boring, old recipe.

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I mean, 10 eggs a day for just 2 people is a lot!

Even with selling eggs, we always seem to have more than enough.

Of course you have breakfast options like scrambled, fried or poached eggs and some great lunch options by using boiled eggs on a Cobb salad, in egg salad sandwiches or potato salad.

Devilled eggs are a classic favourite, however the biggest deterrent for me is peeling the eggs.

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If the eggs are really fresh (like the home-raised eggs we get on our homestead), they can be a real chore to peel!

The quality and freshness of the eggs are unbeatable, however the shells tend to stick to the boiled eggs and I end up with ugly, marbled looking eggs. (Not to mention the waste of throwing away parts of the egg that are stuck to the shells!)

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Well, no more!

I had heard that the InstantPot makes for the quickest, easiest “boiled” eggs (although they aren’t actually boiled in water, rather steamed) and I decided to give it a shot.

Sure enough, the first batch turned out great.

And then the second batch had the same amazing results.

And then the third batch proved this method was, indeed, a consistent winner.

It still helps if the eggs are at least a few days old, but it isn’t necessary.

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Start by adding a cup of water to the bottom of the pot, then add the eggs on top of the metal rack (I make sure mine aren’t touching the water).

The egg setting automatically is set for 5 minutes, however you can adjust it to less time if you would like soft boiled eggs.

If you have never used an Instant Pot before, you need to make sure the lid is securely fastened and the vent on top is in the “shut” setting (it is marked on the lid).

The timer starts once the pot is pre-heated. Once it has finished the cycle, I do a quick decompress.

Some people say to allow it to naturally decompress for 5 minutes before releasing the steam, however I find that it cooks the eggs more than I would like that way.

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Once all the steam has all been fully released, carefully open the lid and immediately plunge the eggs into an ice water bath.

If you are only doing a few eggs at a time, you can use a bowl with ice water.

For larger batches, I find it makes less mess to just run cold water into my sink, add ice, and chill all the eggs at once without worry of overfilling a bowl.

Once the eggs are FULLY cooled, you can remove them from the ice water and start peeling them.

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The egg shell should pull away from the egg completely and easily, often in large pieces of shell.

I like to peel them into the sink so I can rinse the eggs under running water to make sure there are no small pieces of shell left on them (I hate that gross “crunch” of egg shell when I am eating).

I should also mention that I gently tap the boiled egg against the sink or counter to slightly crunch the shell before I start peeling them.

With easy-peel boiled eggs, it really should only take a few minutes to peel a dozen eggs – and you are set for whichever recipe you are making.

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Oh, right! I forgot to mention that pickling eggs is another great way to use up excess eggs.

At the moment, I am experimenting with different pickled egg recipes to see which ones come out as the approved winners by my hubby – I’ll be sure to share them with you later!

Have you tried this method? Drop a comment below!

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Krupsua (aka Dutch Baby)

Here I go again… sharing all our secret family recipes!

Okay, I did ask my mom if she was okay with me publishing our family recipes and she was more than happy that I was able to share them with the rest of the family – and all of you!

One of the biggest weekend breakfast treats for us was Krupsua.

I can’t remember whether the origin was from our Swedish or Norwegian roots, but it certainly has “heritage” written all over it.

Most people would likely call this type of food a “Dutch Baby.”

In any case, it always goes over well with our family – and we rarely have leftovers!

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That being said, the reason this is a weekend favourite is because it takes about an hour of bake time. I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in getting up an hour early on a work day just to get breakfast going!

Krupsua is one of those foods that immediately brings to mind memories for me; so often, when we visited Grandma and Grandpa Plate, this was a meal I would help Mom and Grandma make…

There was a smell of fresh coffee in the kitchen, Grandma’s tidy counters ready to cook, and the sound of their grandfather clock gently chiming every 15 minutes…

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Side note – I make no apology for being “that blogger” who has a big story with each recipe. Each of my blog posts are tied to something very important to me – and let’s be honest here, I’m doing this more for me than for you. 😉

But let’s get into the recipe!

I always start by adding the milk and flour together, then whisking well so they are a nice, smooth mixture.

This has proven to be a very important step, because the times I have skipped it and added the eggs right away, things just weren’t as good as usual.

Next, I crack all the eggs into a separate bowl (or more often, a measuring cup) and beat them until they are an even consistency.

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Then I add the eggs into the milk-and-flour mix, along with the salt, sugar, and (sometimes) a splash of vanilla extract.

All the while, my oven has been pre-heating to 400° and a baking dish with about 1/4 cup butter have been heating as well.

Ideally, the baking dish should have tall sides to give the Krupsua a nice, high rise.

Once the oven is fully heated and the butter in the baking dish has melted, the batter gets added and then the wait begins!!

Mom’s recipe says to bake for 40-60 minutes (uncovered) – I find it typically takes the full 60 minutes to finish cooking properly.

Some people may choose to bake it with a lid or tin foil for the first 20-30 minutes, and then remove the cover for the remaining time.

Either way, you NEED to make sure you leave enough room for the Krupsua to rise without touching the top of the oven (or lid, if you choose to use one) so it doesn’t burn!

I usually put mine on the second-to-lowest rack to leave plenty of room, while also baking evenly.

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As the Krupsua bakes, the sides will begin to rise first, getting a golden-brown finish on the edges.

Once the center begins to rise, as well, you are almost there!

I have made the mistake of trying to rush the process and take the Krupsua out before the center had risen fully. Don’t make that mistake. Just wait!

You want the center to get a golden-brown finish before you pull the Krupsua out of the oven.

Oh! And the center will fall again as soon as you take it out of the oven!

Don’t worry; that is perfectly normal.

Some people in my family love the crispy exterior of the Krupsua, whereas others love the soft, custard-like interior.

I’m pretty sure there is an agreement between a few of them that one person gets all of the crunchy parts and the other gets all the soft, buttery middle parts.

Grandma Plate often had rhubarb sauce or strawberry sauce on hand, which we would drizzle over our individual servings.

Some in my family prefer to eat their Krupsua plain…

… And others prefer to use syrup!

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Ingredients

1/4 cup salted butter, melted

1 cup flour

2 cups whole milk

5 eggs

1 t salt

2 T sugar

1 t vanilla extract, optional

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Directions

Preheat the oven to 400º and place a large bowl with the butter inside.

Next, mix the milk and flour well so there are no lumps left.

Beat the eggs and add them to the flour mixture.

Add the salt, sugar, and vanilla extract to the mix.

Once the oven is preheated, pour the mixture into the bowl with the melted butter.

I typically find that I need to bake it for 60 minutes to ensure the centre is fully cooked, though if you would like to speed up your bake time, you can use buttered muffin tins instead of the large bowl.

Remove from the oven and allow to set for a few minutes before serving.

You can serve it plain, with syrup or with fruit.

Enjoy!

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Easy Homemade Marmalade

With everything going on in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have had a lot more time on my hands at home to try out new things that interest me.

Having extra oranges on hand that may or may not get eaten before they got hard, the idea of trying to make my own marmalade so they didn’t go to waste came to mind. Also, a bit of extra vitamin C in my diet wouldn’t hurt, right?

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I personally do not like overly sweet food, so I adjusted the recipe I found to have less sugar than called for by about half.

First, I washed my oranges and lemon, cut the ends off, then cut them into quarters and then into thin strips. Next time I would try cutting them into thin rounds first and then into quarters to see which method is easiest to get the thinnest strips.

Make sure there are no seeds before adding the orange and lemon to the pot. (I saved the cut off the ends of the oranges to make a vinegar cleaner later).

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Add the sugar and water and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.

I let the batch set overnight as this gives the orange’s natural pectin time to set. Some recipes called for pectin, which I did not have on hand, so I chose this method rather than wait until the next time I made it to the grocery store (which wouldn’t be for a while given the government’s strong recommendation to stay home unless absolutely necessary).

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The next day, I brought the batch back up to a boil, then turned it down to a simmer for 2 hours.

The next step was to bring it to a gentle boil for 20 – 30 minutes, stirring continuously to avoid burning. The recipe said to use a candy thermometer and bring the temperature to 220 Degrees F – I actually whipped out my candy thermometer, despite my temptation to “wing it!”

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That being said… My batch only made it to about 210 Degrees before it started looking gelled enough, so I took a spoonful of the marmalade out and put it in the fridge for a minute to test how it set up.

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It was the consistency I wanted, so I took my marmalade off the heat and put it into 3 clean, sanitized pint jars and sealed.

Of course my spoonful to test it was tasty, but I still HAD to try the marmalade with fresh, homemade sourdough bread for my final rating – and let me tell you, this will not be the last time I make this recipe!

It makes for a great breakfast when slathered on top of sourdough English muffins.

I had a friend joke that they call marmalade “old people jam” and it made me laugh; Pinterest already thinks I am an older lady, so why not just embrace it? Haha

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Recipe

4 Medium Oranges, sliced thinly

1 Lemon, sliced thinly

6 Cups Water

4 Cups Sugar (if you like it sweeter you can add another 4 cups of sugar)

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Directions

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large pot. Remove from heat, cover, and leave overnight.

Bring to a boil the next day, reduce heat to a simmer for 2 hours.

Bring to a gentle boil for 20 – 30 minutes. Target heat using your candy thermometer is 220 Degrees F. Test thickness by taking a spoonful and placing in the fridge for a minute; if it is watery, continue to cook. If it gels well, your batch is done.

Fill clean, sanitized jars and seal with hot water bath.

Makes about 3 pints.

Enjoy!

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