New Orleans Gumbo

Here's a yummy gumbo recipe.  I'm not sure what magazine this was cut from, but the author says she's been making this for 30 years.  If you do not like cayenne pepper, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of black pepper to substitute.

New Orleans Gumbo

Dolores Bridges, Danville, Kentucky

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup uncooked converted rice

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 lb. smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2 in. slices

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. pepper

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cold water

1 lb. uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 large green pepper, chopped

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in the rice, celery, onion and garlic. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
 Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the tomatoes, chicken, kielbasa, thyme, pepper, bay leaves and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and water until smooth; gradually stir into chicken mixture. Stir in shrimp and green pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until shrimp turns pink and gumbo is thickened. Discard bay leaves.

Remove rice from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes; stir in parsley. Serve with gumbo.  Yield: 8 servings

1 cup gumbo with 1/2 cup rice has 841 mg. sodium, 29 g. carb and 2 g. fiber.

Honey Cashew Chicken

This is a recipe that I adapted from an online source. The problem with the original was that the chicken just didn't have any flavor - the rest was great.  So, cook the chicken first, remove from pan or not, but don't add the onion until after the chicken is cooked.  The chicken needs to brown some or it just tastes bland.

Photo is from original site.

I used 2 boxes of frozen sugar snap peas and added about 1 teaspoon more of cornstarch. The addition wasn't necessary.  For variation, consider adding raisins, sliced grapes or chunk pineapple.



Honey Cashew Chicken

1 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoons grated fresh or jarred ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/4 boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
6 oz (about 2 cups) snow peas, trimmed
1 large red bell pepper, seeded, cut into strips
1/2 cup cashews, unsalted

In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon water with cornstarch until smooth. Whisk in honey, soy sauce and chicken broth.

Warm oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper.

Add chicken and stir fry until opaque, 5 to 6 minutes. Add onions and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add snow peas, bell pepper and cashews and heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in reserved sauce and pour into skillet. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring until sauce is bubbling and has thickened. Serves 4

There are 19 grams of carb in each serving, so great for low carbs.  Serve rice if  you want more.

recipe originally from : http://dailysavings.allyou.com/2012/09/28/honey-recipes/

Maple Pecan Cookies

Mom has been making these cookies for a couple of years now. They are extremely yummy - right on par with Chocolate Chip.  Even better - make the cookie dough in advance and stick in the fridge so that you can make a dozen whenever you have a mind to eat them.  The fresh baked is so much better than freezing prebaked and thawing.

Vanilla Chip Maple Cookies

Debra Hogenson, Brewster, MN (published in Taste of Home Annual 2002)

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups vanilla or white chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
4 to 6 tablespoons milk
3 1/2 cup pecan halves

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening, butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, once at a time, beating well after each.  Beat in vanilla and maple flavoring. Combine the flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in vanilla chips and pecans.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake in 350 F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Beat in maple flavoring and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies. Top each with a pecan half.  Yield: about 7 dozen.

Free Holiday Recipes and Party Planning App

Was at Starbucks and picked up what I thought was a single freebee card for an App.  I had 5 stuck together.  So, I'm offering 4 of these.  Just leave me your email in the comment section and I'll send you the code.  These apps only work on Iphone, Ipad or Ipod and are redeemed through the Itunes store.

Watch the Package Sizes

It's been awhile since any of us have tried some new recipes, but I will be posting a couple of them this week.  It's not that what we've been making has been bad.  They just haven't been spectacular enough to share.

I do want to bring to your attention the continuing downsizing of product packaging and how it is going to affect your old recipes. Most of you know already that the old recipes (pre 1980) all expected 7 - 7.5 oz cans of tuna.  This size has been shrinking since the 1980s.  Now, you need to use 2 cans of tuna to have adequate protein in all your classic casserole recipes (the Cream of Mushroom has remained the same!).    Coffee packaging has also shrunk to hide the fact that the cost has gone up.

It has now happened in the baking arena - both Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines have shrunk the amount of cake mix in their boxes, making it impossible to get the same results when using standard pans. Cookbook author Anne Byrnes, quoted on Taste of Home website, has advised that bakers add 1/3 cup of flour to any of her cake recipes to make up for it.  Currently, Pillsbury hasn't shrunk their packaging.  In the meantime, vote with your money. I won't buy the reduced packages of cake mix - I'll buy Pillsbury or simply make my cakes from scratch, once again.  Sure, I like cake flour, but I can do without it.  Cake mix isn't the only victim in the slashing packaging sizes.  Evaporated milk is now a smaller can which makes your pumpkin pie recipes a problem.  Fortunately, Sam's Club still sells the original size cans, but I noticed at both grocery stores that the smaller cans are the only ones available.  There is a fix here as well - you can either add half and half or milk to make up for the lost 2.5 oz OR you can use another can and then freeze the remainder.  It might help to freeze that remainder in an ice cube tray and estimating that 2.5 oz.  You'll have enough for 4 pies then.

So, with this in mind, be sure to check those package sizes when you are making recipes.

I love my ebook readers.  I have 2 kindles and a Nook.   I am spending more time reading than doing needlework, but that's because I CAN!!  I'm only lukewarm on using an ereader for cooking.  I think this would work better with a tablet than a dedicated ereader because rarely can you get an entire recipe on one page.  Anybody with thoughts on that?

Bumper Crop of Chives Equals Stir Fry

We have so much chives growing in the back yard, I don't know what to do with it all. So, on a search of recipes that use a lot of chives, I came across this stir fry recipe in Taste of Home.  I'm a big stir fry fan, so this was great.  Stir fry, of course, is very flexible as far as recipes go.  If you only have one can of mandarin oranges, great, just use one can. If you only have oranges, go ahead, peel and cut them up.  It's the sauce/coating part that is the real bare bones of the recipe.  Given that it uses soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, this recipe is not low salt, but is so much yummier than soy sauce alone!  What was interesting was that the recipe creator mentioned using either celery or bok choy.  Bok choy is a lot less expensive than celery and (I discovered) cooks more quickly.  Winner.

Changes to the recipe.  I am posting what I did because I altered the original recipe.  I used a lot more bok choy (it cooks down) and a little more chives. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup of chicken broth - no idea why.  It would have been drippy given that there is no thickener.  This recipe wouldn't hurt to have yet another 1/2 cup of chopped bok choy.

Recipe from Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2010 from Aysha Schurman, Ammon Idaho

Orange-Cashew Chicken and Rice

2 cups cooked rice (your choice)
2 (11 oz.) cans mandarin oranges (juice or lite syrup)
1/2 cup chopped cashews
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 pound chicken, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups chopped bok choy
1/2 cup minced chives

Cook the rice. Set aside.
Drain mandarin oranges, reserving 3 tablespoons juice (save the rest for something else).

In a small bowl, combine the cashews, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and reserved juice; set aside in a large wok or skillet, stir fry chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add cashew mixture, cook 1 minute longer. Add the bok choy, chives and reserved oranges, cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Fluff the rice with fork, serve with chicken mixture. Yield: 4 servings

Here is a link to the original recipe.  Serves 3.

"Fried" Ice Cream

It's Cinco de Mayo today and Mom made tacos and "Fried" Ice Cream.  I chose a taco salad.  If the calories of the Fried Ice Cream are too much, consider using those flat tortillas that you get in the Mexican section of the grocery tore (we use Ole brand) and skip the frying.  Even further, use a smaller dessert bowl and skip the tortillas on the bottom. The dessert is special enough without it.

Oh, and while eating our meal, I found Mariachi music on Pandora!  It was great!


Chi Chi's Fried Ice Cream

Recipe by Todd Wilbur

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 6 inch flour tortillas
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cornflake crumbs
2 large scoops vanilla ice cream
1 can whipped cream
2 maraschino cherries with stems

1. Prepare each tortilla by frying it in the hot oil in a frying pan over medium/high heat. Fry each side of the tortilla for about 1 minute until crispy. Drain the tortillas on paper towels.
2. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture over both sides of the fried tortillas, coating evenly. Not all of the sugar mixture will stick to the tortillas, and that's okay.
4. Combine the other half of the cinnamon mixture with the cornflake crumbs in another small bowl.  Pour the cornflake mixture into a wide, shallow bowl or onto a plate.
5. Place a large scoop of ice cream in the cornflake crumbs, and with your hands roll the ice cream around until the entire surface is evenly coated wit cornflake crumbs.  You should not be able to see the ice cream.
6. Place the ice cream scoop on the center of a cinnamon/sugar coated tortilla.
7. Spray whipped cream around the base of the ice cream. Spray an additional pile of cream on top of the ice cream.
8. Put a cherry in the top pile of whipped cream. Repeat for the remaining scoop of ice cream. Serve with a side dish of honey, chocolate syrup, or strawberry topping, if desired.

Apple Coffee Cake

My sister asked for an Apple Coffee Cake recipe and my Mom could only find one (untried) in her vast cookbook collection.   Coffee cake is denser than regular cake, but not so dense as pound cake.  I happened upon this one from Taste of Home and sure enough, they also had it online.  This is YUMMY!  It also turns out to taste very good without the apples. The second time Mom made it, she forgot to put the applies in, yet it was delicious! Just not apple flavored.  Mom also did not have butter flavored shortening, so used regular shortening with a little butter flavoring.  If you want to use butter, that should work fine, but be aware that it will be heavier than the original recipe intended.  The recipe also makes TWO coffee cakes. One for now and one to be frozen and used later.  Remember TWO coffee cakes (or perhaps a 9x 13 pan). [current photo compliments of Taste of Home]

Apple Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
2 cups chopped peeled tart apples (3 medium)

Topping:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately wiht sour cream, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in apples.  Transfer to TWO greased 8 inch square baking dishes.

For the topping, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts; sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Cover and freeze for up to 6 months.

To use frozen coffee cake. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  Yield: 2 coffee cakes (6-9 servings each).

Here's a link to the original recipe online. They have some other apple coffee cakes, but this was the best one.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/apple-coffee-cake

Chili

Here's a Chili recipe

I am including this recipe 'as is' because overall, the flavor was GREAT with ground beef.  Add more spice if you like it.  Leave out the meat if you want it vegetarian.  However, I gotta tell you, I would never use turkey or chicken in chili.  In addition, there is no reason to drain the fat if you have 95% lean ground beef - talk about taking out flavor (my Mom and I differ on this opinion).

In addition, I have to say that mom had some additions to this chili.  She added about 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce plus a handful of dried tomatoes - both things she had on hand. Dried cherry tomatoes add a really strong tomato flavor punch to chili.

This recipe is from the book The Weeknight Survival Cookbook by Dena Irwin.  I like the setup of the recipes and menus and the flavor of the recipes. However, this is yet another author from the 90s who thinks that the way to deal with overweight or diabetic people is to eliminate fat and pack on the carbohydrates (which obviously, doesn't work).    So, if you are interested in this book, go for it. Just roll your eyes whenever you see the beef-chicken-no fat substitutions and use what you like.

Chili

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 green bell peppers, cored and chopped
2 pounds ground turkey breast or 95% lean ground beef
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 14 oz packages frozen kidney beans
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
2 to 4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons crushed oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste, optional
Black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

In a large pot, saute the vegetables in olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes to soften. Add ground beef and continue cooking over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until done.  Drain extra fat by draining in a colander and then return to the pot.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes until thickened.

Makes 12 servings

Corn Chowder

Suddenly, blogger has changed their format for entering things, so if things are weird, it's because I haven't figured it out yet.

Today is Corn Chowder.  This chowder recipe can be done without ham and even without chicken broth (if for a vegetarian).  I'd like to try it again with sliced, fried bacon. The recipe is from the book The Weeknight Survival Cookbook by Dena Irwin. This book has menus for 12 weeks and focuses on making stuff one day and then using part of that to make the meal the next day. 

Very yummy chowder. While high in overall carbohydrates (78 g), by using a baked potato, the actual blood sugar effect is much lower, which is an issue if you are diabetic.

Corn Chowder

2 baked potatoes, diced
16 ounce package frozen kernel corn
16 oz. can cream-style corn
1 (15 oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
4 ounces lean ham steak, diced
1/2 cup frozen diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed thyme
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup evaporated skim milk

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes until heated through.

Makes 4 servings

Homemade Applesauce!

Bunch of soft apples in the bottom of the fridge? Make some applesauce before they go bad. It is so easy - you can do it on top of the stove, in a crockpot, in an oven and even in the microwave and your results will be splendid.

Homemade Apple Sauce

My way

Peel, core and cut in half enough apples to fill a Dutch oven. It will cook down, so a little overfilled is fine. Add about 1/2 cup of water or apple juice. Turn heat to medium and cover. Check occasionally that apples are not boiling. Cook until apples are softened, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on variety and how soft they were when you started. If you have a lot of fluid, leave the cover off during the last 10 minutes to cook some of that off. Add about 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Mix well, turn down heat and leave cover off. Cook another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more sugar or cinnamon if desired.

Using a potato masher, mash up cooked apples. If you want chunky, don't mash as much. For smooth apple sauce, mash thoroughly. Eat warm or cold.

If baking in an oven, as you might do if you already are using the oven, check at least half way through cooking time that you have enough water or apples will scorch. Remove the cover about the last 10 minutes to cook out some of the moisture.

If you have extra, freeze it. Just put into a freezer ziploc or freezer safe container and freeze. Thaw and eat. I'm sure you could microwave it as well. Canning of course is an option if you have canning supplies (my sister makes great canned applesauce!).

We get our cinnamon from Penzey's - it is very strong cinnamon which is why I only use 2 teaspoons. If you buy your cinnamon from the grocery store, feel free to add an extra teaspoon. Too much cinnamon gives a bitter flavor, but applesauce is somewhat sweet, so it works fine. I love cinnamon!

Brownies!!!

My sister decided to try some brownies and they are oh so yummy. The recipe is from Taste of Home's 2004 Annual Recipes.



Maple Butterscotch Brownies

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons maple flavoring
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
confectioner's sugar, optional

1. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, butter and maple flavoring. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine flour and baking powder; add to egg mixture. Stir in walnuts.
2. Pour into a greased 9 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Dust with confectioner's sugar if desired. Yield 16 brownies

Here's a link for a photo and nutritional info. Yes, they can be done in a square pan.