Mmmm... spoiled milk

So we had an entire half gallon of milk that's sell by date was a week ago. Jason said it was starting to smell pretty funky, so I figured it was time to use it up. I'm just sitting here on the couch using my new massaging thing Jason got me, waiting for the last item to finish baking, so I figured I'd get online and give you some recipes to use up milk. Just what you always wanted, isn't it? Don't mention it; it's my Christmas gift to you :)

So here are the milk recipes I whipped up in order to use up the milk rather than dumping it down the drain:

CREAMED CABBAGE, 1908 [found in an old newspaper]
"Chop cabbage medium fine and cook in salt water until tender; pour off water, add milk and butter to cabbage and thicken with flour mixed to a smooth paste with milk, using amount of thickening according to amount of cabbage. Cook until the consistency of a white sauce." [I didn't follow this to a T... I steamed the cabbage in the microwave- probably not something one would have done in 1908! I also added in some spinach that I had leftover in the fridge, and I dumped in some onion flakes for taste. Oh, and don't forget the S&P! Hubby liked it!]

CHEESE BREAD
2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in Cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Mix together eggs, butter and milk. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir only until moistened. Batter will be somewhat lumpy. Do not over mix.

Pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan. Smooth down the center with a wet spatula to flatten top. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake about 45 minutes. [Yum, this just came out of the oven, and it looks good!]

APPLE-PINEAPPLE BREAD PUDDING
8 c. bread cubes
2 c. apples, sliced thin
1 (16 oz.) can crushed unsweetened pineapple, do not drain
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk

Layer into 9 x 13 inch baking dish: bread, apples and pineapple. Cream sugar and butter by hand. Add eggs and milk. Pour over bread and fruit. Sprinkle
lavishly with cinnamon and brown sugar. Decorate with cinnamon apple rings. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Well, I didn't follow this recipe to a T either (I very rarely do). I didn't feel like getting another loaf of bread out from the freezer, so I used up the cinnamon raisin bread that was on the counter (about 4 cups). I also had a dab of crushed pineapple leftover in the fridge, so I used that, plus a whole 20 oz. can. Too much pineapple and not enough bread.... to compensate I lessened the eggs to two and the milk to one cup. I also had made fried cinnamon apples earlier, and decided to use two cups of those rather than slice up fresh apples. I tasted this already, and it's freaking sweet.

And Lastly, for the main course... Ham and Cauliflower Chowder.

First you have to make potato soup, which is always a good thing for using up milk. Plus I still had some potatoes to use up, as well as ham that I froze after Christmas, so this was a triple bonus!

So I chopped up some potatoes (I think 3 bigs ones and 3 small ones) and boiled them in chicken broth (about 6 cups). I also threw in the rest of the carrots I had in the fridge, and a packet of onion soup mix because I don't have any onions on hand. After the potatoes were soft, I semi-mashed them to get a thicker consistency for the soup, however I still wasn't satisfied so I added in some potato spuds to thicken it a bit more.

Keep simmering, and then add about 2 cups milk. I chopped up the leftover ham and threw it in. Lastly, I steamed the cauliflower in the microwave and tossed it in. Voila. Very tasty indeed! It's one of Hubby's Favorites!

So there you have it. Don't waste that milk that's past its prime!