Talk About It Tuesday - White Sauce

White Sauce

I have learned many practical cooking skills over the years. My mom, my home economics teachers and the cooks on Food Network have provided this valuable information.

One of the valuable techniques my home economics teachers taught me was how to make a white sauce. I have found that knowing how to make white sauce gives me a base to create a variety of sauces.

There are three components to white sauce -- fat (butter, margarine, oil, drippings, etc.), flour (which is the emulsifier) and milk. The measurements are tablespoons for the fat and flour and cups for the liquid.

To make one cup of white sauce, you will need 1 Tablespoon butter, 1 Tablespoon flour and 1 cup milk.

Melt your butter in a saucepan over medium-low to medium heat. Be careful not to burn.

To the butter, add 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour.

Cook and stir about one minute so the flour will lose its "raw" taste.

Slowly add one cup of milk. Add salt to taste.

Cook and stir until sauce thickens (this took about 5 minutes). You may need to slightly increase the heat.

Voila! White sauce!

Now if I want cheese sauce to serve over something or to make mac-n-cheese or broccoli casserole, I need to add one cup of shredded cheese, any flavor, at the end, stirring until the cheese is melted.

Another variation is to add some parsley (fresh or dried) at the end and add to drained, boiled potatoes for "Parsley Potatoes."

To make a tasty pasta side dish, boil 1 pound of your favorite pasta to al dente (we like penne). Drain and set aside. Saute two cloves of garlic in the butter before adding the flour. At the end of the white sauce process, add parsley and 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese. Pour over the pasta.

This technique is the same you use for white "milk" gravy like we're going to have for dinner tonight. After frying the chicken breasts, I will add flour to the drippings in the pan, salt and pepper to taste, and then milk, stirring until it is thick.

Do you make white sauce? Do you have any variations you'd like to share? Post them here. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Daily Bible Reading Plan

Judges 10-12; Psalm 87; Mark 6:45-56; I Corinthians 11:17-34

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Talk About It Tuesday - Powdered Milk

I have always tried to maintain a pantry stocked with staple items. Since we moved to a rural setting nearly two years ago, however, I try to only grocery shop every two weeks and am sometimes challenged to keep fresh items on hand. Of course, Steve can stop and pick up what we may need on his way home from work, but I try to keep from doing that.

One thing I have recently decided to try to keep on hand is powdered milk. I have not advanced to the level of drinking it straight up or using it on cereal. I have discovered, however, that it is wonderful for cooking. I can make any amount I want, and it works equally as well as fresh milk.

When I received my bread machine years ago, many of the recipes I used called for powdered milk. The brands I bought had a flavor that I couldn’t stomach, so I quit using the recipes that called for powdered milk. An article I read suggested Wal-Mart’s store brand of powdered milk, so I decided to try some. I have discovered it has no unusual smell or flavor.

Last night for dinner I made Chunky Potato Soup (recipe below) using powdered milk. I couldn’t tell the difference between using it or fresh milk.

Hillbilly Housewife has a page devoted to powdered milk here. It is chock full of great ideas.

As far as cost savings, right now in our geographic area, the cost for powdered milk is about the same as fresh. Milk has been very reasonable lately. So I am keeping it on hand for cooking and emergencies versus the economic benefit. But the way things you are, you never know when it will be more economical to use powdered milk.

Do you use powdered milk? Have you considered using it? Let me know your thoughts.

For more kitchen tips, see Tammy's Recipes.

Chunky Potato Soup

This is a very simple and tasty potato soup recipe I have used for a long time. Over the years I have tweaked it to suit my family's tastes. If you try it, let me know what you think.

4-5 medium-size white potatoes
2 cans (14.0 oz.) chicken broth
1 small onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Crushed red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper
3 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup cubed cooked ham (leftovers, deli ham, bacon, anything with a smoky flavor)

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Cover with chicken broth and bring water to a boil in large saucepan. Cook potatoes until barely tender. Set aside potatoes and liquid. Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to saucepan; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and tender, but not brown. Add flour to saucepan; season with pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Cook 3 to 4 minutes. Gradually add potatoes and cooking liquid and milk to onion mixture in saucepan; stir well. Add cheese and ham. Simmer over low heat 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Store leftovers, covered, in refrigerator.

Bible Reading Plan
Judges 1-3; Psalm 82; Mark 5:1-20; I Corinthians 9:1-12

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