MY BROTHER-LAW

What wonderful memories Mom, Linda & I made on our many visits to the Navajo Reservation in Kayenta, Arizona and Monument Valley, Utah.  Visiting the trading posts and even attending all-Indian rodeos!  We developed a friendship with an Indian family which continues to this day. 

Somewhere along the line, my sister Linda met and married a local from the Reservation.  Although they divorced about two years later, they met up again after thirty years and remarried in 2007 and today they live on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. 

  My brother-in-law is Native American actor-now-minister Wil Yazzie.  Like me, Wil is a football fan AND a Diabetic, and I have chosen some fun Holiday Diabetic recipes which I think he will love.

First, this fry-bread recipe came from the reservation newspaper, The Navajo Times.  We had it at every meal we ate in Arizona and New Mexico.

NATIVE AMERICAN (NAVAJO)FRY BREAD

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
milk (enough to mix)

Mix all ingredients. Divide the dough into parts and shape each into round pone about the size of your skillet and 1/8th of an inch thick. Fry the bread in about 1/4 inch hot cooking oil until golden brown on each side. Cut into wedges and serve hot. Delicious with butter, jams or other sweet spreads.

Diabetic Butter Cookies

1 c. butter
3/4 c. splenda
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together the butter & Splenda, mix well.   Add egg and vanilla, mix well.  Blend in flour until dough forms, 2-3 min. cover & chill dough for 45 min. 

Sprinkle flour onto counter & rolling pin.  Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness 

Cut out shapes with cookie cutter.  Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 5 min.  Cool cookie sheet between batches

Diabetic Cocoa Mix

2 c. nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 c. lower-fat powdered nondairy creamer
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
10 packets Splenda or 1 tablespoon Splenda Measure
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional) 

Mix together all ingredients. Transfer to a self-sealing plastic bag. 

When ready to use, place 1/3 cup of the mix in a heat-proof mug. Add 3/4 cup boiling water and stir. (Makes 2-2/3 cups, enough for eight 3/4-cup servings) 

Per serving: 104 calories, 8 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g fat 

Diabetic exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (nonfat milk)

YOU WON’T MONKEY AROUND WITH OTHER BREADS NOW

The first time I ever heard of monkey bread was when President Reagan said it was his favorite.  The first time I ever ate it was when my cousin Dianna Lykins made one for us and brought to Mom’s house.  To say it’s utterly delicious would be understating it.  This is one of the best things to enjoy one a cool evening, warm straight out of the oven. 

Monkey Bread is sweet, sticky and gooey.  The origin of the name is uncertain, but it’s believed that the bread resembles the fruit of the monkey puzzle tree. 

THE VERY BEST MONEY BREAD

Dough:

4 tablespoons butter, divided, 2 tablespoons softened and 2 tablespoons melted

1 cup milk, warm (about 110 degrees)

1/3 cup water, warm (about 110 degrees)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2-1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface

2 teaspoons salt

Brown Sugar Coating:

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Butter a Bundt pan with the 2 tablespoons softened butter. Use a pastry brush or a paper towel or anything that will really help get inside all of those nooks and crannies. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup, mix together the milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Mix the flour and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (see below for instructions to make the dough by hand). Turn the machine to low and slowly add the milk mixture. After the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. If you think the dough is too wet (i.e. having a hard time forming a cohesive mass), add 2 tablespoons flour at a time and mix until the dough comes together (it should still be on the sticky side, just not overly wet). Coat a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat lightly with the cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, 1-2 hours (alternately, you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees, turning it off once it reaches 200 degrees and place the covered bowl in the oven to speed up the rising time).

For the sugar coating, while the dough is rising, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Place the melted butter in a second bowl or shallow pie plate. Set aside.

To form the bread, gently remove the dough from the bowl and press it into a rough 8-inch square. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into 64 pieces.

Roll each dough piece into a ball (it doesn't have to be perfect, just get it into a rough ball-shape). Working one at a time, dip the balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into the bowl or pie plate. Roll the dipped dough ball in the brown sugar mixture, then layer the balls in the Bundt pan, staggering the seams where the dough balls meet as you build layers.

Cover the Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and let the monkey bread rise until puffy and they have risen 1-2 inches from the top of the pan, 1-2 hours (again, you can use the warm oven approach to speed this up).

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (remove the pan from the oven if you placed it there to rise). Unwrap the pan and bake until the top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the monkey bread in the pan for 5 minutes (any longer and the bread will be too sticky and hard to remove!), then turn out on a platter or large plate and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

For the glaze, while the bread cools, whisk the confectioners' sugar and milk together in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. Using a whisk, drizzle the glaze over the warm monkey bread, letting it run over the top and sides of the bread. Serve warm.

THE REAGAN FAMILY TABLE

The Reagan Family -- friom CBS's Blue Bloods

Food brings families together -- and for the cast of Blue Bloods, that is certainly true.  These Sunday Dinner scenes have become the show's trademark. There's nothing on Blue Bloods quite like the Reagan family dinners.  From work to love, fights and faith, no topic is off limits when this family dines together.  And these scenes are what makes Blue Bloods our favorite TV show for both me and Steve. 

Blue Bloods centers on the Reagan family, most of whom work in New York's law enforcement. There's Frank (Tom Selleck), the police commissioner; son Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), a detective; daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan), a NYC Assistant District Attorney.; son Jamie (Will Estes), a beat cop; and Frank's father, Henry (Len Cariou), the retired former police commissioner.  The cast also includes Danny wife Linda and sons Jack and Sean and Erin’s daughter Nicky.

Aside from the criminal aspect, what makes Blue Bloods so special is the family dinner that happens each week. Not only do the Reagans get together -- often butting heads as each member tries to get his or her point across -- it also gives the actors a chance to catch up with one another.

The Sunday supper after attending Mass is the heart of each show.  The Reagans are Irish-Catholic New Yorkers, and their menu reflects that. It’s usually a meat or chicken, always some version of potatoes and a vegetable, salad and rolls. Grape juice replaces the wine on the dinner table for the filming.  When having a Scotch, ice tea takes its place. 

Here are some typical dishes that allows all of us to create our own Reagan Sunday Dinner.  Who knows?  It could become a weekly tradition in your home, too!

POT ROAST          

1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 pounds)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

6 tablespoons butter, divided

3 cups water

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1 medium onion, quartered

1 celery rib, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

Sprinkle the roast with 1 tablespoon flour. In a Dutch oven, brown the roast on all sides in half of the butter. Add the water, bouillon, onion, celery, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Add carrots; cover and simmer 45-60 minutes longer or until meat is tender. Remove meat and carrots to a serving platter and keep warm.  Strain cooking juices; set aside.

In the same Dutch oven, melt remaining butter. Stir in remaining flour; cook and stir until bubbly. Add 2 cups of the cooking juices and blend until smooth. Cook and stir until thickened; add additional cooking juices until gravy has desired consistency.  Serves 6-8.

SCALLOPED POTATOES     
8 potatoes
3 T. butter
2 T. flour
1-1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
5-6 small onions, ringed
2 c. grated Cheddar cheese 

Peel potatoes and slice thin. Make a white sauce of melted butter, flour and milk. Cook until thick. Put half the potatoes in a greased casserole. Cover with half the sauce, seasonings and half the onions. Add remaining potatoes, sauce & onion. Put cheese on top to cover. Bake at 350-degrees for about 2 hours. ** I Usually double or triple the sauce ingredients so the potatoes come out very soft.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE    

There’s just something about the traditional Green Bean Casserole.   If someone is having it, I show up with a fork in my hand!  And I have to have it at all holidays, or it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter!   French-style green beans mixed with fried onion rings and cream of mushroom soup.  It’s the food of the gods! 

1 can (10-3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
3 cans Fench cut  green beans
1-1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.

Bake at 350F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir the bean mixture.  Sprinkle with the remaining onions.   Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.


SALAD     

 Serve over a mixed green salad; can add toppings of chopped tomatoes, chopped hard boiled eggs, sesame seeds, etc.  What better dressing for Blue Bloods than BLUE Cheese!

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

4 ounces blue cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until well mixed and consistency is still chunky. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator.  Makes 2 cups.

DINNER ROLLS

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot milk
1 egg - lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons melted butter - for brushing rolls

Sprinkle the yeast over very warm water in a large bowl. Stir until yeast dissolves.

Add sugar, the 1/4 cup butter and salt to hot milk and stir until the sugar dissolves and butter is melted. Cool mixture to 105 to 115 degrees.

Add milk mixture to yeast, then beat in egg. Beat in 4 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. Use some of the remaining 1/2 cup of the flour to dust a pastry cloth.

Knead the dough lightly for 5 minutes, working in the remaining flour (use it for flouring the pastry cloth and your hands).

Place dough in a warm buttered bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and knead 4 to 5 minutes on a lightly floured pastry cloth. Dough will be sticky, but use as little flour as possible for flouring your hands and the pastry cloth, otherwise the rolls will not be as feathery light as they should be.

Pinch off small chunks of dough and shape into round rolls about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Place in neat rows, not quite touching, in a well-buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Cover rolls and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.

Brush tops of rolls with melted butter, then bake in a 375 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until