Saturday, March 28, 2020

Jan's Chicken Salad

Salad
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & diced
1/2 cup Green Grapes, sliced in half
1/2 cup Red Grapes, sliced in half
Stalk Celery, sliced thin

1 Sweet Onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Tarragon
Salt & Pepper, to taste


Dressing
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (or Vinegar) to taste
1/2 and 1/2 to thin dressing to desired consistency
1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill, chopped
Mix together and toss with Salad.

To toast Almonds
Place ½-3/4c Slivered Almonds into a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Stir occassionally while allowing them to brown slightly. Watch carefully...do not let them burn.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Toss again before serving, adjust seasonings, if needed - at this point, if the dressing is too thick, add a bit of 1/2 and 1/2 to thin. Serve, – topped with Almonds on bread, toast or a croissant...or even on a bed of lettuce.  (Serves 4-6)

Options
To make a complete meal out of the Chicken Salad, add 16 oz cooked Small Pasta Shells.

Friday, March 27, 2020

Creamy Rice Pudding

3 1/2c Milk
1c uncooked White Rice (I use Arborio Rice)
1 can Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/3c Raisins
1/4t Vanilla
Whipping Cream
Cinnamon
Combine milk and rice; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, til mixture is creamy and liquid is almost absorbed, 25 minutes. Stir in condensed milk, raisins and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, til thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Garnish with Whipped Cream and Cinnamon.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Pineapple Lush Cake


PINEAPPLE LUSH CAKE

Yellow cake mix
1/2c butter, softened
8oz can crushed pineapple (1 cup), undrained
3 eggs

Frosting:
8oz whipped topping, thawed
1 3.4oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
8oz crushed pineapple (1cup), undrained
1 cup milk

Topping:
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, Whipped

Garnish:
1/4c chopped pecans, toasted
1/4c coconut, toasted

Heat oven to 350°.  Grease 13x9” pan.  Combine first four ingredients; beat at low until moistened.  Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 30-40.  Cool.

Frost in pan or remove and frost. 

Combine frosting ingredients and mix until well blended.  Spread on top, making sure to totally cover the cake.

Whip the cream and spread on top of the frosting.  Sprinkle top of cake with garnishes.


Thursday, March 19, 2020

Easy Home-Made Naan Bread - Turkey Sandwich

Naan Bread



This is the easiest kind of bread you can make. Costs pennies and can get you through these strange times, my family lived off these when the pickings were slim.

No Yeast Naan:
Makes 6

2 cups flour
1 - 1 1/4cup of lukewarm water
1 table spoon baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 table spoon oil/butter/shortening

Mix dry ingredients together and add most water, mix and add water until it has the consistency of tacky pizza dough.
Knead for a few minutes.
Let rest in greased bowl for 30- 60 minutes.
Divide into 6 pieces and roll out on floured surface thin. (Tortilla thickness)
Heat griddle to 350F.
Cook until golden brown spots and flip, cooking until done.
They can be made ahead and kept under a flour towel or frozen for later use.

SANDWICH

Yum! Turkey, Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato red onion and Mayo on home-made Naan Bread!

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Amish Salad

Amish Salad


1 head cauliflower, bite size pieces
1 head broccoli, bite size pieces
1 red onion, finely chopped

Dressing:
8oz mayonnaise
8oz sour cream
1/2t salt
1/2c sugar
3T vinegar
2-3T water, if needed to thin

Pour over the veggies, stir.  Refrigerate at least 8 hours. 

Add:
1c sharp cheddar cheese
½# bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

DUTCH BABY

GERMAN PANCAKE


Serves 2-4

3T butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/4t salt
1/4t vanilla
Lemon wedges
Confectiomer's sugar
Syrup 

Preheat oven to 425°. Place butter in a 10" skillet or heavy baking dish and place in oven while preheating. Remove the pan before butter starts to brown.

In the meantime, beat eggs until foamy; add milk, flour, salt and vanilla and blend together until just mixed.

Pour into hot skillet and return to oven for approximately 25 minutes until golden brown and puffed.

Remove the pancake from oven and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and extra pats of butter. When the lemon juice mixes with the confectioner's sugar it makes a creamy lemony sauce that is perfect.

************ TIP ************

For making a dinner Dutch Baby, I use the recipe above
without Vanilla, Lemon wedges and syrup...baked just like above and
I ADD a mixture of sauteed in butter Diced ham, sweet onion and green pepper.  Yum!

Monday, March 16, 2020

Salisbury Steak


SALISBURY STEAK
Serves 4
Meat Mixture:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons dry mustard
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 cube beef bouillon, crumbled (or powdered beef base)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Gravy:
1 whole onion, halved and thinly sliced (or diced if you prefer)
2 cups beef broth, more if needed for thinning
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon seasoning sauce, such as Kitchen Bouquet, optional
4 dashes Worcestershire
1 teaspoon cornstarch, optional 
Salt and pepper

 1.     For the meat mixture: Combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, ketchup, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon and some salt and pepper. Knead until all combined. Form into 4 to 6 oval patties, and then make lines across the patties to give them a "steak" appearance.  
2.     Fry the patties in a skillet with the butter and oil over medium-high heat on both sides until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from the skillet and pour off any excess grease.
3.     For the gravy: Reduce the heat to medium and add in the sliced onions. Stir and cook until golden brown and somewhat soft, for several minutes. Add the beef stock, ketchup, seasoning sauce, if using, and the Worcestershire. Then combine the cornstarch with a little beef broth and add to the sauce if using. Stir and cook to reduce. 
4.     Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and more broth if needed for thinning. Then return the patties to the gravy. Spoon the gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.






Sunday, March 15, 2020

Sausage and Potato Bake


Smoked Sausage and Potato Bake

Ingredients :
1 package of sliced Eckrich skinless smoked sausage
8 quartered Yukon gold potatoes
1 diced green pepper
1 diced yellow pepper
2T butter
1t oregano
1t basil
½t black pepper
2t olive oil
Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375°.
In a pan, arrange the sausage, potatoes and peppers and place the butter over the top in small cubes. Drizzle with olive oil and season on top.
Bake covered for 40 to 50 minutes.

Simple, easy and yummy! I sometimes make this with veggies, carrots, zucchini, broccoli and some cheese over the top, it goes really well with the seasonings. I make this with ham too! Give it a try, you will love it!