Corn Leek Chowder

I don't do many soup recipes.  I have my standby recipes since I've so often been disappointed in trying new ones in this category.  This was extremely yummy.  My sister grew a bumper crop of leeks for Mom and this is one of the recipes she is using it in.  Mom substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth. I think this recipe appeared in Taste of Home. The soup was developed by Stacey Savoyski, Southbury, CT. Prep is 10 min. Takes about 35 min. to cook so this is quick to make.

Corn Leek Chowder

2 cups chopped leeks (white portion only)

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled potatoes

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dill weed

3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup half and half cream

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, saute the leeks, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, potatoes and dill; cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.

Stir in corn and pepper; cook 2 minutes longer. combine the cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in cream. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Yield: 4 cups.

1 cup about 234 cal

Ham Hot Dish

My Mom made this and I had it the next day microwaved. It was yummy. Wish there was more!  This was in the Pork Country Cookbook by Taste of Home.

Just a note on pimientos.  Feel free, as my Mom does, to substitute finely chopped red peppers for the jarred pimientos. Pimientos is just a spanish word for red pepper.   You can save yourself a lot of money buy buying red peppers on sale and finely chopping them yourself, then bagging individually in a small ziplock and placing all the bags in a larger freezer ziplock and freezing them.  If you are cooking for only one or two, consider freezing in ice cube trays with a little water, which helps to eliminate freezer burn. Freeze, bag and you can pull out as much as you need.

Ham Hot Dish

Judy Babeck, Bismark ND

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash ground nutmet
Dash pepper
2 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 jar (4 oz), diced pimientos, drained
1 package (7 oz) macaroni, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Ina  saucepan, saute onion in butter for 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, salt, nutmet andpepper. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.  Add the green pepper, mushrooms and pimientos. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Reomove from heat; add macaronia and mix well. Spoon half into a greased 13 inch x 9 inch x 2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with ham and 1/2 cup Parmesaqn cheese. Top with the reamining macaroni mixture.  Sprnkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 375F for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.  Yield 6-8 servings.

Leftover Ham Casserole

This recipe was delicious and a great way to use up leftover ham.  Serve with a salad and it's pretty balanced. The recipe comes from Southernfood.about.com, which is a great source for recipes. I didn't have any green onions and I really like onions, so I used about 2/3 cup of chopped yellow onion. I don't normally put dried bread crumbs on top of casseroles and I liked it on this one, but the amount of bread crumbs was excessive, IMHO.  1 cup was more than enough.  Resist the temptation to add the whole 16 oz. box of penne pasta.  That extra 4 oz will need more sauce or it will be too dry. 

This recipe uses a little too much for the typical 2 quart casserole dish that most of us have. This is perfect if you have a family member who is vegetarian or likes extra-spicy food.  For the vegetarian, don't add the ham in the final process.  Heat through and place into 1 quart casserole (fill about 2/3rds). Then add ham, mix and place remainder in your 2 quart casserole.  Then proceed.  If extra spicy, follow all the steps and fill the 2 quart casserole dish first. Then add whatever spice choices to the remainder (i.e. cayenne, hot peppers). Then proceed.

Leftover Ham Casserole

12 ounces penne pasta, about 3 cups
1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen peas, cooked
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 cups diced ham
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, about 12 ounces, divided

Topping
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter

Spray a 3 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or lightly grease with butter. heat the oven to 350 F.

In a large saucepan, cook penne pasta following package directions.  During the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the frozen peas. Cook 2 more minutes. Drain the pasta and peas together and rinse in hot water.

In a saucepan or saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the green onions, parsley and garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the milk and cook, stirring, until thickened.  Add 2 cups of the shredded cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted and the sauce is hot and bubbly. (see note)

Add the drained pasta, peas and ham to the sauce, mixing well and heating through.  Spoon into the baking dish. Sprinke with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.

Combine the bread crumbs and melted butter and toss to blend thoroughly. Sprinkle over the shredded cheese layer.  Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until crumbs are browned and the casserole is hot and bubbly.  Serves 6 to 8.  

Fish Turbot (Fish Casserole)

When I first moved out of the house at 18, I quickly learned that cooking for one was much different than cooking for 6 or more.  Buying fish was difficult - I bought frozen fish, the cheap stuff,  and it always came in a lump. You had to thaw all of it to use any of it.  I came across this recipe in an old Betty Crocker book and have always loved it.  It's fairly easy to make and you don't need exacting amounts of anything. You are doing layers, so select a deeper rather than wider casserole dish.

On this occasion, I left out the salt in the white sauce because I figured that the oyster crackers would provide enough.  I added about 1/8 tsp. to the sauce that would go on top.  Ok.. That almost worked.  I'm adding more next time (included in recipe).  A normal white sauce would have you adding a lot more. My fish was tilapia that came in those individual frozen packages. I used 4 of them.  You NEED citrus in this recipe, but it doesn't matter really what you use.   My recipe reflects what I have tried that worked. Feel free to use more than I have listed.

I prefer to add my onions once the white sauce is made up.  You get a stronger onion flavor in the completed dish.  You can choose to saute the onions after melting the butter. Then add the pepper and salt and flour to the onion/butter mixture and continue to make up your white sauce.

This is a great leftover dish.  After taking from fridge, add about 1/4 cup of water on top, put a cover on and microwave at 70% for about 5 minutes. 

Fish Turbot

16 ounces of cooked flakey fish
1 cup of oyster crackers
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. mace
1/2 onion, chopped medium fine
3 tablespoons lemon juice or 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
parsley - dried or fresh, chopped fine

Cook your fish.  I microwave it at 70% power with a small amount of water. Remove fish and flake it in smallish pieces.  You can add any water in the container to your white sauce.

Make white sauce.  Melt butter, and add pepper and salt.  While stirring constantly, add flour in small quantities, mixing continuously. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent burning.  Very slowly, and while stirring, add the milk, removing any lumps as you go. Stir and heat.  Beat the eggs in a small bowl. When the white sauce is hot, add about 1/2 cup of white sauce to the eggs, stirring.  Then add the egg/white sauce mixture, back to the white sauce and mix thoroughly.  Add in the lemon juice or orange juice concentrate. Mix. Heat.  The sauce will be thick, but don't hesitate to add a little milk to thin it out just a bit. Too thin and it won't hold in layers, too thick and the crackers don't absorb enough liquid, resulting in a rather dry casserole.

Using a 2 quart casserole, butter or spray (with Pam) the bottom and sides.  Put a single layer of oyster crackers on the bottom (uses a bit more than half). Add half the fish, spreading it evenly over the crackers.  Add half of the sauce. Sprinkle parsley across the layer evenly.  Add remaining oyster crackers.  You don't have to completely cover.  Add the rest of the fish. Sprinkle with parsley.  Pour the rest of the white sauce over and smooth out.  Add a few oyster crackers and parsley for decor. 

Put casserole into oven for 30 minutes at 350 F.  Remove and serve with a salad.

Peanut Clusters

No new recipes, but an old standby. Years ago, my Mom worked at the local hospital and in those days, they issued cookbooks with recipes by employees, for sale to raise money for some cause or other to benefit the hospital.  So, this recipe comes from Savory Creations, a cookbook by Mercy Employees Assn. Mercy Medical Center, Coon Rapids, MN in the 1980s.

This recipe is simple, simple, simple, but very yummy.  We found the store brand peanuts in a jar are just fine, but READ THE LABEL.  Many of the salted peanuts have other ingredients, such as garlic, that don't work so well.  I found that the unsalted and lightly salted peanuts are least likely to have other additives and the lack of salt doesn't seem to make much difference.    Try a batch without adding salt.  If you think it needs it, add no more than 1/8 teaspoon.

Peanut Clusters

Recipe submitted by Sue Fox

1 1/2 pounds almond bark
18 oz. chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 (12 oz) bags)
1 pound peanuts

Melt almond bark and chocolate chips together over low heat.   Add peanuts.  Drop on wax paper to set. Makes a lot.