1999-2000
Recipes of the Month for November, 1999
Well, here it is. More recipes. I just can't resist reading and passing around recipes.
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Got this recipe from my friend Jodee Linta in Arizona who got it from another gal, Armene Waggoner, in the Red Cross office where Jodee works. Yes, I have made it; and yes, it is very good!
22- SECOND COLE SLAW
Mix together:
1 package pre-cut cabbage
1 box frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup sunflower seed nuts
Dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil (I used 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1/4 cup water. Worked fine)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 T poppy seeds
1 rounded tsp dry mustard
1 tsp grated onion (I didn't use)
salt and pepper to taste
Toss cabbage mix with dressing. Eat. Keeps well for a couple of days. In fact, is better if it sits overnight before eating.
Bon Appétit
Recipes of the Month for December, 1999
This time, I have a little gift box of several recipes. They're quick and easy favorites from our family to yours. Happy Holidays!!
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For these first three recipes, there are no measurements. That's because we all make them "to taste," and vary the amounts with the number of people we're feeding.
1 big jar of your favorite commercially canned spaghetti sauce
a box of sliced fresh mushrooms
a cupful or so of pitted green olives
a cupful or so of pitted black olives
hot pepper rings to taste (optional)
chopped fresh basil (or dried) to taste - we like lots
chopped fresh rosemary (or dried) to taste
1. Sauté the mushrooms lightly in olive oil.
2. Cut the olives in half, dice the pepper rings
3. Mix them all together with the spaghetti sauce and heat.
4. Serve over the pasta of your choice. I like spinach fettucini.
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This one I got the idea for from my son-in-law, Bob B. He makes his version of it, I make mine.
BROCCOLI SALAD
a couple of stalks of fresh broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
a carton of fresh sliced mushrooms
half a medium onion - or to taste, sliced
a bit of fresh or dried rosemary
a quarter to a half cup of unsalted sunflower nuts
1. In a large skillet, sauté the onion in olive oil until transparent, separating rings.
2. Add mushrooms, broccoli, rosemary, and nuts. Cook until broccoli is tender-crisp.
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This recipe is wholly son-in-law Bob's. It's a nice quick, nutritious lunch.
TORTELLINI SALAD
1. Cook fresh tortellini (cheese or portabello mushroom type) (found in your dairy case) as directed on the package.
2. Drain and toss with:
olive oil, chopped basil to taste, fresh, if you can get it. If not, dried will do. Be generous with the basil.
3. Chill. This will be good for several days. Add a tiny bit of water if it seems dry after a while.
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My mother was Irish-German. This is the recipe for pfefferneuse (peppernut) cookies her mother used to bake at Christmas time, and then my mother baked them for us. It's not those wimpy, powdered-sugar coated things you see in markets at this time of year. These pfefferneuse have personality.
FLORENCE BRUSKE'S PFEFFERNEUSE
1 pound flour (4 cups)
1 pound sugar (2 cups)
3 ounces chopped candied citron
4 eggs
1 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking powder
1. Beat eggs and sugar together.
2. Add baking powder and spices, and beat thoroughly.
3. Add flour and knead dough on a board for a bit.
4. Shape into balls and bake in a slow oven.
Do not roll in powdered sugar! I never saw that until the commercial ones came out. The cookies will gradually harden after they cool. Put them in a crock or similar container, and cover them with towels. They will "season" and soften into a spicy cookie in a week or more. (If you don't want them to harden, cook them a little faster, and eat them sooner.) While they are hard, they are wonderful with coffee or tea, like a biscotti. They seldom reached the soft stage in our house. We kids would stuff them in our mouths and suck on them, and my mother dipped them in her tea.
Happy Holidays to all!
Recipes of the Month for January, 2000
Picked up several recipes this month, what with the holiday season, and all—
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Our friends from Michigan, Art and Judy McCracken, spend their winters near us here in Florida. Art's brother, Bob, drops in once a week for a coffee break during his courier run. Last week he brought cabbage soup from his wife, Shirley. Shirley not only sent the great soup, she sent the recipe. So here it is:
SHREDDED CABBAGE SOUP
2 med onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp. bacon fat or margarine
2 cans (l0 1/2 oz)condensed beef broth
2 soup cans of water
1 small head green cabbage, coarsely shredded (5 cups)
2 carrots sliced
2 med. potatoes, cubed
1 stalk celery (with leaves)sliced
2 tomatoes cut up
1 tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper
dairy sour cream
dillweed or parsley
1. Cook and stir onions in bacon fat or oil in Dutch oven until tender.
2. Add beef broth, water, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and celery.
3. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer until vegtables are tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Stir in tomatoes, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered about 10 mins.
Top each serving with sour cream, garnish with dill (if wanted).
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I went to a Newcomers Club picnic last month. In Florida, you can have picnics in December. They served sub sandwiches, German potato salad, and this terrific cole slaw made by our president, Mary Ann Mudd.
GREEK COLE SLAW
1 small head of cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 small can ripe olives
1 small jar green olives
1 small jar pepperocini
4 oz feta cheese, or to taste
1. Mix all of the above together except the feta cheese.
2. Mix together:
3 T Cavenders Greek Seasoning
1/3 tsp garlic salt
1/3 tsp ground pepper
3/4 cups olive oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
3. Pour dressing over vegetables. Stir in the feta cheese, reserving some to sprinkle on top for a garnish. Keeps well in the frig for several days.
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We had a gang of friends in for Christmas Day dinner. Phyllis Bollinger brought this for a salad. It also works well as a dessert. It's attractive, and a quickie to make. The best thing is that it keeps well in the freezer, and can be used over a period of days.
FROZEN SALAD This recipe now has its own page.
1 package of instant pistachio pudding
1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple, with juice
1 8 oz Cool Whip
3/4 cup halved maraschino cherries
chopped nuts to taste
Mix, spread in a 9x9 pan, and freeze. If desired, decorate top with cherry halves and nut sprinkles. Remove from freezer and let stand a few minutes before cutting into squares.
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Had this at a restaurant as a side a couple of days ago, not for the first time. 'Twas delicious and a good change from ordinary mashed potatoes.
Peel potatoes, but leave patches of skin on. Cook. Mash. Stir in chopped al dente green and red pepper chunks, and shredded cheese to taste.
Happy Winter!
Recipes of the Month for February, 2000
When my neighbor, Ann Tannenbaum, saw last month's Frozen Salad/Dessert which is made with pistachio pudding, she said, "I've got a good and quick pistachio recipe." And she does, and here it is. I've already made it twice.
QUICK PISTACHIO PUDDING
Instant Jell-O Pistachio Pudding
Lg. tub Lite Cool Whip
Small non fat plain yogurt
Small can crushed pineapple, drained
Mix all together & refrigerate.
Can be put into graham cracker crust.
Enjoy!
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During WWII, when eggs were hard to get, they made a cake which used mayonnaise instead of eggs. My mother made it quite often when I was growing up, as she and my brother were allergic to egg yolk, and there's very little egg in commercial mayonnaise.
Some one wrote a newspaper columnist asking if anyone had the old mayonnaise cake recipe. The columnist contacted Kraft Foods, and Voila! Kraft had the recipe, which the newspaper printed last week, and is below.
KRAFT MAYONNAISE CAKE
1. Combine:
2 cups flour
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
3 T cocoa
2 t soda
1 t salt (remember, this is an old recipe)
2. Add:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cold water
1 t vanilla
3. Beat by hand or with mixer.
4. Bake in 9x13 pan (greased) at 350° for 30 minutes or until done.
5. Frost with your favorite frosting.
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This last recipe is a rerun from several years back. But so many new people are on my recipe list, it bears repeating. I make this a lot when I have guests coming, as it keeps well for several days. The trick of using maple syrup to thin the mayo was passed on to me by Bobbie Momberger from New York.
I make a pasta salad, and a marinated cole slaw as well, and then can just whip them out for fast meals.
1. Chop into bite-sized pieces a head or two of broccoli, including stems.
2. Mix broccoli with any/all of the following: raisins, crumbled bacon, peanuts or sunflower seeds.
3. Mix mayonnaise, maple flavored pancake syrup, and vinegar to taste, enough to cover the broccoli.
4. Pour dressing over salad and stir.
5.
Cover and marinate overnight.
Recipes of the Month for March, 2000
Got this recipe from our cousin Carolyn Lenington's good friend, Mary Lou Funk, who winters here in Florida.
CRUNCHY TOSSED SALAD
1 (3 oz) package Ramen soup mix
2 T butter or oleo
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb fresh broccoli, coarsely chopped
1 head of romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
3 green onions, chopped
1. Remove flavor packet from soup mix, save for another use. Break noodles into 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Melt butter in a pan in a 350 degree oven. Add noodles and walnuts. Bake, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. Whisk together olive oil and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add walnut mixture, broccoli, lettuce and green onions, tossing to coat.
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In February friends from England, Syd and Marian Rutland, visited us. During their stay here, they spent several days in Carriage Way Bed and Breakfast in northern Florida, where they became very friendly with the innkeeper, Larry Johnson. The Rutlands have a bed and breakfast in England. I managed to get in on an exchange of recipes when we picked them up from their stay at Carriage Way. The Syd and Marian said that Larry's cooking was very good. I'll have another one of his recipes next month.
LARRY JOHNSON'S MEXICAN FRITATTA
10 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 pt cottage cheese
1 lb. granted Monteray Jack cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
•••••
2 med zuccini, chopped
1/4 cup margarine
1 pt mushrooms, sliced
1 can mild diced green chilies
1. Mix all ingredients except mushrooms, squash, margarine, and green chilies.
2. Sauté squash and mushrooms in margarine, add to egg mix.
3. Add green chilies.
4. Pour in greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
5. Serve with warm salsa.
A variation that Larry also uses:
leave out the mushrooms and squash, and add 2 more cans of green chilies.
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A friend from my Acadia NP days who also winters here in Florida, Jeanette Burton, writes:
"Thanks for new recipes. Sound great. Here's good and easy one for you. Had it at a friend's in Port Orange this week."
RICE KRISPIES PIE
3 c Rice Krispies
1/3 c. dark Karo syrup
1/3 c. peanut butter
1. Warm Karo Syrup and peanut butter to mix smoothly with the Rice Krispies. Press in a pie plate to shape. Freeze.
2. When firm, soften some ice cream (she used coffee ice cream and it was great) and fill shell. Return to freezer and leave until ice cream is firm.
3. Remove from freezer abut l0 mins. prior to serving.
Top with Cool Whip and drizzle chocolate over it , if you wish.
Until next month...
Good Eating!
Recipes of the Month for April, 2000
Here's another recipe from Carriage Way Bed and Breakfast.
BLUEBERRY- STUFFED FRENCH TOAST
10 slices white bakery-type bread, cubed
2 eight ounce packages cream cheese, cubed
1 and 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (plus another 1 and 1/2 cups for topping sauce -see below)
10 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
1. Layer one half of the bread in a 9x13 dish.
2. Layer all the cheese on the bread, then layer all the blueberries, then the other half of the bread.
3. Mix all of the other ingredients and pour over layered dish.
4. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.
5. Bake covered with foil for 45 minjutes at 350 degrees, then bake uncovered for 30 minutes more. Let sit 15 minutes before serving.
Topping:
1 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 cup water
1. Bring to a boil.
2.
Add 1 and 1/2 cup blueberries and simmer 5 minutes.
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Edie Mothorpe, from here in Florida, sent this on to me. She's a Michigander like me, and grew up with rhubarb in the back yard. Won't be too long 'til "It's the season" for rhubarb. She got the recipe from her brother, and is planning to make it as soon as she can get her hands on some rhubarb.
RHUBARB DUMP CAKE
In a cake pan, layer the following
6-8 stalks (cups) rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1 sm box strawberry Jell-O mix
1 white cake mix (or other flavor)
1 cube butter, cut in
1 cup water
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 mins.
(A later addendum from Edie: I made it with frozen rhubarb, and it was great. If you don't have fresh rhubarb, you can still have dump cake. It takes 2 pounds of frozen rhubarb. I also recommend baking it for 50 minutes.)
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Not only is rhubarb season on the horizon, but so is fresh asparagus. Down south, we're getting it now. So here's recipe from Jodee Linta in Arizona to celebrate the season!
GINGER CHICKEN ASPARAGUS
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut in 1-inch pieces
3/4 lb. fresh asparagus (12 to 15), trimmed and cut in 1-inch pieces
4 green onion, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, diagonally sliced (about 1 cup)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 (10 oz.) can Campbell's condensed cream of asparagus soup
1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
hot cooked rice
1. In a 10-inch skillet or wok over medium-high heat, in 1 Tbsp. hot oil, stir-fry half the chicken until browned.
2.
Remove; set aside. Repeat with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil.
3.
In same skillet, in 1 Tbsp. remaining oil, stir-fry asparagus, onions, carrots and ginger 3 minutes or until tender-crisp. 4. Stir in soup, water and soy.
5.
Heat to boiling; stir in reserved chicken.
6.
Reduce heat to low. Heat through, stirring occasionally.
7.
Serve over the rice with additional soy if desired.
Until next month
Bon Appétit
Recipes of the Month for May, 2000
When my friend Jane Arndt was visiting us here in Florida from "Up North" in April, we took her to an English tea room for lunch. For dessert I had "Victorian Sponge," and was amazed that it was the essentially same cake our family had made for years. The tea room's presentation was fancier, though, than at home. They had a fresh strawberry on each serving.
YELLOW QUICK CAKE WITH JAM (Victorian Sponge)
1 and 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
3 Tbps melted butter
1. Sift dry ingredients.
2. Add other ingredients except butter, and beat well.
3.
Stir in butter.
4.
Pour into a greased 9x9 pan and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done.
When cake is cool, remove from pan and split it in half, as if for layers. Put bottom half back into the cake pan. Spread a generous layer of currant, strawberry, or raspberry jam on the bottom layer. We traditionally used currant, but that's hard to find these days, so it's usually raspberry. Replace top layer over jam.
Frost with butter fondant icing. I have no recipe for this; we never used one. This is what we did: Put a lot of powdered sugar in an oyster bowl. Add a tiny bit of milk and stir. Add some soft butter and stir. Keep adding sugar, or butter, or milk until you have what looks like enough frosting of a spreading consistency. Frost the cake. Or you can do it the easy way, just buy some butter frosting in a can and use that. That's what I do nowadays.
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Speaking of Jane, here's a quick salad dressing recipe (from the Detroit Free Press) she sent me. If you have any spare maple syrup lying around....
3 T red wine vinegar
3 T orange juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T Dijon or grainy mustard
2 T maple syrup or more to taste
Combine in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well.
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And since we're talking English foods, here's a recipe for scones from my friend Marian Rutland in Suffolk, England. If you love scones the way I love scones....
TRADITIONAL RICH SCONES This recipe is now in the Recipe Box
8 oz self-rising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 oz oleo
1 oz sugar (or less)
2 oz sultanas (raisins)
1 egg and milk to make about 1/4 pint liquid
1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl, rub in oleo.
2. Mix in the sugar and sultanas
3. Beat egg and milk together, add to flour and make a soft dough.
4. Turn onto a floured surface, roll out of half-inch thickness (certainly no less) and cut into rounds with a 2 and 1/2 inch cutter.
5. Place on a greased baking sheet, brush over the tops with a little of the beaten egg and milk mixture.
6. Bake in the oven at 220 C (425 F) for about 10 minutes until just turning brown. Remove from the oven.
Cool and eat with butter and jam.
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And here's the corker, ladies!! Have you ever wondered what was in that super lettuce salad dressing that Olive Garden uses? Have you ever pigged out on the salad and couldn't eat your entrée? Admit it. Well, thanks to Jodee Linta in Arizona, I have the recipe. She bought the book, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, by Todd Wilbur, published by Plume (a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.,) 1997. There it was, along with other good recipes. This is a book you might want in your collection.
OLIVE GARDEN ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING RECIPE
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 and 1/2 T grated Romano cheese
pinch of dried oregano
2 T dry pectin
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 T beaten egg or egg substitute
1. Combine all of the ingredients with a mixer on medium speed or in a blender on low speed for 30 seconds.
2.
Chill at least 1 hour.
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Recipes during the summer will be sporadic, if at all. I will be on the road from May 18 until mid September. Have a good summer!
Recipes for September, 2000
Welcome back to fall and another series of my "Recipes of the Month." Gathered some good recipes this summer, both from friends I visited, and from tourist experiences.
While we were on Prince Edward Island, we visited the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead, an historic house preserved and used as a conference center by the Canadian Parks. It is listed as a National Historic Site. The home is at the end of a one-lane road through the woods. The long, old-fashioned windowed porch of the house is a little tea room with pink tablecloths and white linen napkins. Even the bill is presented discreetly tucked into a folded linen napkin. On their brochure they say: "Traditional and contemporary menu focuses on the Scottish Heritage." Let me tell you, everything we had there (we went twice) was wonderful, the bannock, fish cakes, fish soup, carrot soup, everything. The lady who waited on us, Maria Hager, also canned the green tomato "chow" (a chutney) that was served with our meals. She talked us into trying the restaurant’s special traditional Scottish dessert, Sudden Cake. To die. Here, then, are a recipe for a traditional bannock, and for Sudden Cake. Straight from Prince Edward Island.
McPhail Bannock
4 cups of sifted flour
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk
(optional) 1/2 c currants or raisins
1. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2.
Cut in shortening.
3.
Make a well in the centre of dough.
4. Add buttermilk all at once.
5.
Fold in sides and stir vigorously scant half minute.
6.
Turn out onto lightly floured board. Knead gently and quickly for another scant half minute.
7.
Shape dough into around about 1 and 1/2 inches thick on ungreased pan. Prick all over.
8. Bake at 450° until lightly browned.
This is good with any meal, but wonderful with a chunk of sharp Cheddar cheese and some green tomato chow!
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This is sort of an upside-down cake.
For Sauce:
2 T butter
1 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 and 1/2 cups boiling water
For Cake:
1 T shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c milk
1/2 c raisins
1. Mix the sauce and place in the bottom of an 8x8 pan.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together.
3.
Cream in the shortening, stir in the milk. Add the raisins.
4.
Layer this in the pan on top of the sauce.
5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
4. To serve, cut a piece of cake. Make sure it is well topped with sauce. Top with whipped cream.
Both of these recipes are from: The Macphail Homestead Heritage Cookbook
Bon Appétit!
Recipes for October, 2000
I make no apologies for this month's recipes. They are full of fat and sugar and absolutely delicious. It's good to sin once in a while!
Incidentally, speaking of good stuff, Sudden Pudding (September recipes) was a hit. I've had several people tell me how much they liked it!
Jodee Linta in Arizona got this recipe from her friend Judy Youngdoff in Kansas City. It's great for guest breakfasts!
Easy Coffee Cake
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
Crumb topping:
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
Milk to moisten
1. Flatten dough evenly on well-greased pizza pan or 11 x 15-inch pan
2. In a small bowl, combine cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. Pour over dough.
3. Make crumb topping by combining butter, sugar and flour. Crumble over dough
and cheese filling.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Be sure to bake long enough for the
bottom crust to be done.
5. Mix powdered sugar, milk and almond extract. Drizzle over baked coffee cake.
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For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Lemon Curd, you have a treat coming! It is rich, smooth, lemony, and addicting. Traditionally, it is eaten spread on scones and crumpets or other teacakes like a jam. Here in the US, people tend to use it more as a cake topper or filling.
In the grocery stores in Canada and Britain, you find it on the shelves with the jams and jellies. In the U.S., you're more likely to find it with the cake mixes.
Barb Brown (of Michigan and Florida) once heard my friend Judy McCracken and I talking about how much we liked lemon curd. Barb said, "You haven't tasted good lemon curd until you've tasted my mother's lemon curd." Well, we stood right up to that and challenged her to make us some to test. She did and we did. It's wonderful. Here's her recipe.
Mom's Lemon Curd
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh lemons)
1/4 cup butter
1. Beat eggs well, add rest of ingredients.
2.
Cook over low heat (stir often) until thick.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for November 2000
Here's dinner and a dessert. First, dinner...
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This recipe comes from Kitty Letsch here in Florida. Kitty and I walk to exercise class together 3 mornings a week. When Ann Tannenbaum gets back here in November, the three of us will walk to class. We leave at 6:15 a.m. Want to join us? <grin>
Anyway, Kitty got this recipe from her daughter Kathy Macatee who got from the November, 1999, Parenting magazine. Kitty says its become a standard dish in her daughter's family.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 red pepper, diced (about 1/4 c)
1/4 green pepper, diced (about 1/4 c)
1/2 carrot, diced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can (14 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
1 tespoon honey
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 c diced pitted prunes (about 3)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 box (5 3/4 oz) couscous: flavored or plain
Fresh parsley or chives for garnish, chopped
1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 30 seconds to soften. Add the peppers and the carrot; cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove mixture to a plate; set aside.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken, cooking about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.
3.
Add the reserved vegetables, chicken broth, honey, and salt and pepper; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low; add the prunes and pine nuts, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. [Kitty: mine didn't thicken, but when served with the couscous it was fine]
4. Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to package directions.
5. To serve, mound the couscous in the center of a large serving plate or large shallow dish. Surround with the chicken mixture and garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.
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On to dessert.....
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Have you stuffed yourself with pasta at your favorite Italian restaurant, then seen the waitress walk by with a square of creamy rich tiramisu on a plate—and suddenly you had room for just a little more? An expresso, maybe? And tiramisu!
Here's a light-weight version of this Italian favorite. The recipe is from from Jodee Linta in Arizona from Candy Little in Kansas, via Judy Youngdoff in Kansas who was her (Jodee's) Kansas State roommate.
LIGHT TIRAMISU
2 envelopes Maxwell House Cafe Cappuccino - Amaretto flavor - divided
3 cups light pound cake cubes (1/2")
1 1/2 cups milk, divided
1 (8 oz.) package light cream cheese
1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. Jell-O Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 cups Cool Whip, thawed
1/2 cup Kahlua
1. Cover the bottom of an 8" bowl or dish with cake cubes.
2. Dissolve one envelope Cappuccino in 1/2 cup milk and spoon over cake.
3. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer until smooth.
4. Gradually beat in 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup Kahlua.
5.
Add pudding mix and one envelope of Cappuccino. Beat on low speed until blended.
6. Stir in thawed Cool Whip. Spoon over cake.
7.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.
Jodee says "I used low fat milk, cream cheese, Cool Whip, etc."
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
Recipes of the Month for December 2000
This month's two entrée recipes, Mexican Chowder and Chicken Loeschner, are quick and easy ones, just what you need in busy holiday times.
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Here's a truly original recipe. I made it up myself. I named it myself.
I did not set out to make a new recipe. I set out to make supper out of what I could find in the pantry. It was one of those days when I had mulled all day about what to make for supper, but was brain dead on ideas. So I stood in front of the pantry, and then grabbed cans. I called the result "Mexican Chowder."
My husband loved it. He ate it three meals in a row, by choice! Said he liked it even better than chili. Well, I don't know about that.... You'll find the measurements vague. That's because I just dumped stuff together. When it comes to amounts, you're on your own. One thing, this is a very low calorie, high nutrition dish. Good with taco chips (low fat baked, of course).
MEXICAN CHOWDER
one can of cream style corn
one can of pre-seasoned kidney beans
one can of diced tomatoes
zuccini and/or yellow summer squash, cut into small pieces
onion (one medium)chopped
celery, chopped
green pepper, chopped
sliced or shredded cheese, enough to top the casserole
cumin
chili powder
1. Steam together the squash, chopped celery, chopped green bell pepper, and the chopped onion in your microwave steamer — or cook on stovetop until soft.
2. Stir the steamed vegetables with the beans (and the bean liquid from the can), tomatoes, and corn in a casserole.
3.
Mix in cumin powder to taste (I use lots) and chili powder likewise to taste. And then—and here's the secret ingredient! So secret I didn't even list it with the ingredients on top. Shake in a couple of dashes of cinnamon.
4.
Heat it all together in the microwave or the oven until hot. Put the cheese slices or shreds on top and allow to melt a bit.
Serve and listen to the raves. It he doesn't rave, tell him he has to.
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This is a quick and easy chicken recipe from Nancy Loeschner in Michigan by way of Jodee Linta in Arizona.
CHICKEN LOESCHNER
1. Place 6 split boneless chicken breasts in a casserole or pyrex baking dish.
2.
Place a slice of Swiss cheese over each piece of chicken.
3.
Dilute 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1/2 cup milk and pour over chicken and cheese.
4. Top with 3 cups of seasoned stuffing mix (crumb type) tossed with 1/2 cup melted margarine.
5. Bake 1 and 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. Serves 6.
Note: (from Jodee) Salt and pepper chicken breasts before topping with cheese. Also it's nice to add a dash or two of Beau Monde seasoning to the soup mixture and use sage and onion stuffing. Still good if you don't use any of these extras though.
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RUTH'S SUGARLESS PUMPKIN PIE
After experimenting with a sugarless pumpkin pie recipe at Thanksgiving, I can now pass it on. If you have a diabetic in the house (my husband), it's the cat's meow. It was delicious. My son-in-law ate two slices of it by accident, and couldn't tell the difference between it and traditional pie filling made with sugar.
Your favorite recipe for a pie shell, or use a commercial one (the Pillsbury ones in the cooler case are great)
1 16-oz can pumpkin
1 12-oz can evaporated skim milk
3 eggs
5 and 1/2 tsp OR 18 packets of sweetner
dash salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1. Beat pumpkin, milk and eggs.
2.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into pastry shell.
3. Bake at 425 for 15 min, then reduce heat to 350 and bake until knife in the center comes out clean.
Until next month—
Bon Appétit!
P.S. Literally, just minutes before I was going to send this out, I got an email from Gloria Adkins in Kentucky. She wanted to know if I had any finger sandwich spreads, as she has to make 100 !!! finger sandwiches for an event in mid-December. I hadn't thought about finger sandwiches for years. But I remember my mother turning them out for parties and teas when I was growing up. I also remember being the one to cut the crusts off piles of bread slices as she made the spread.
I dug out some of the old recipes, and remembered how delicious they were. So when I sent them to Gloria, I copied them off and here they are. Reminisce! (And make finger sandwiches for a party this year.)
FINGER SANDWICHES
1. Mash hard-cooked egg yolks into canned deviled ham. Thin a little with mayo if needed. Season with curry or worchestershire sauce, if desired. (They used this one a lot back in the 50s. I don't know what deviled ham costs now.)
2. To 1/2 pound finely shredded cheese, add 3 T wine, 2 T soft butter, 1 tsp mustard. Cream together.
3. Season softened cream cheese with finely grated onion (done in blender) and/or finely chopped olives, and finely chopped parsley. (This used to be a favorite finger sandwich spread when I was young.) (Cheap, too.)
4. Mash liver sausage. Moisten with melted butter. Season with wine or brandy. (Wonderful!)
5. Chop canned tuna very fine. For one cup of tuna, mash in 4 hard-cooked egg yolks. Moisten with a little melted butter and a little sour cream. Season with salt, mustard, cayenne pepper, and a few drops of beef extract. (This is another one we used a lot when I was younger.)
Happy Holidays!
Recipe Box