Tiny Tidbit for Today

I'm stuck on Tuna!
Add chopped celery to your Tuna Salad for a nutty taste and a crunchy texture!  No need to add egg...it doesn't add taste or texture
...save an egg! 

Tiny Tidbit for Today

Add Pepper to your tuna fish and it will mask the 'fishy' taste!*

*Also, a lot of mayo makes it even better!

Homemade "Quick" Potato Soup Tonight

Eating in tonight!  We had a "teaser" Spring week and now we are back to cold temperatures with a chance of major storms in the next few days.  Perfect weather for Potato Soup.




We are having tuna fish sandwiches with it. Don't ask me why...for some reason, I like them with Potato Soup? 


Recipe for:

EASY POTATO SOUP

2 lb. package frozen hash browns
1 Cup chopped onion 
(see tip below for quick chopping)

Uhm-Uhm Good!

1 - 14.5 oz.  ready to serve chicken broth

That's What Campbell's Soups
Are--Uhm! Uhm! Good!

1 - 10.75 oz. can Cream of Celery soup, undiluted
1 - 10.75 oz. can Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
2 Cups milk

Combine first four ingredients in a Dutch oven;
 bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in soups and milk, heat thoroughly.

Garnish with: 

grated cheese, diced ham or bacon

Yield: 2 1/2 quarts

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!


Tip for chopping/dicing onions:
Remove outer peel  and first layer of onion.
Cut into rings. Lay each ring flat and cut in half. 
Starting on one end of the half make small cuts.
As you scoot the onion ring counter-clockwise,  
the rings will come apart leaving only small pieces
of the onion.

Company Was Coming!

From our door
Winter 2011

We're snowed in and our company is snowed out!


We were stocked and ready to serve a Frittata and grits for breakfast and Chicken Spaghetti for dinner. 


We had the Chicken Spaghetti last night and tonight is the Frittata.  We love Breakfast for Dinner.


Gladly sharing the recipes:

PEGGY'S CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

1 chicken or 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 12 oz. package Vermicelli

3Cups      Celery, chopped

1 Medium Bell pepper, chopped

1 Medium Onion, chopped

1 stick     Oleo

1Cup       Grated cheddar cheese

Cook veggies in oleo until onions are clear. 

Cook chicken,drain & cut into bite-size pieces.

Mix:

Chicken

2 Cups Chicken broth, from broth drained from cooked chicken or canned

1 can  Mushroom soup

1 can Tomato soup

1 1/2 TBS      Chili powder

2 TBS    Worcestershire sauce

dash of Tabasco

Cook spaghetti and mix with chicken mixture. Divide into portions. Place into a greased 11 x 13 baking dish/pan. Cook at 350o for 30 min. Put cheese on top. Place in oven until cheese melts.

FRITTATA


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Put skillet (preferably 12" nonstick) on stove.
Add about a tablespoon of oil and heat. 


Heat about a TBS of oil in an over-proof skillit.  
I use an iron skillt.  Add any raw vegetables or meat 
you want in your Frittata. Add any herbs, spices and
salt to tast. Saute until done.


Add any cooked ingredients and heat them through.
I am using precooked crumbled pattie sausage tonight.


Whisk eggs (12 eggs for a thick Frittata in a 12" skillet,
fewer eggs for a thinner Frittata ora smaller skillet)
with salt, pepper, and 3 TBS of water, milk, half and half, or cream.
(I use fat-free half and half.) This is important step.  The more 
air you whip into eggs the fluffier the Frittata.


Grate 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Add half to the eggs.
Add egg mixture to skillet.


On medium heat, cook until mixture can be pulled away from side of
the skillet with a spatula and the underside is set.


Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
Put in preheated oven and bake until top is set.
...about 5 or 10 minutes.


Remove skillet from oven. 
Let sit for about 5 minutes to finish cooking in center.


Cut in wedges and serve with fruit garnish, grits and toast.

SOUTHERN GRITS
---use Regular Grits* not instant.


*I found Aunt Jemima Regular Grits at my neighborhood grocery. The chain groceries only had instant.




They are best done in the microwave...believe it!


Follow measurements on package.


I actually measure using a scoop from a can of coffee.
My measurement is 1 scoop grits per 1/2 Cup water.
I measured and the scoop is 4 tsps.


Put water in microwave-safe bowl.
Add grits and salt. Stir.
Cook uncovered at 50% for 5 minutes.
Stir and cook another 5 minutes until thick but not stiff!
Add butter, stir and serve.  
(You can also add any leftover grated cheese
and a dash of your favorite hot sauce for a little flavor.)




Yummmm...Frittata and grits tonight.  

Potluck Time of the Year

Thanksgiving 
and Christmas...
...time to bring out the casserole dishes!  






We just got back from a Potluck with Chuck's high school friends.  It is an annual affair and I am always trying to decide what to take.  Someone always brings fried chicken so I will chose corn, potato or green bean casserole.  The potato and green bean casseroles are old standards, but the corn dish is a little different.  It is always a hit and I thank Angela for sharing it with me.

Corn Casserole

Heat and blend together on stovetop:

1/2 C Butter

6 oz. Cream cheese

1/2 C Milk

Add:

2 Cans  Shoe peg corn

1 Can   Diced Green Chilies

Pour into Casserole Dish

Sprinkle bread crumbs or croutons on top (not many bread crumbs)

Bake at 350o for 35 minutes.


My recipes for the old standards:
              

Sinful Potatoes

1-2 lb. pkg. Frozen hash brown potatoes

1 lb           Velveeta cheese

1 C            Mayonnaise

1 C           Water or Milk

4 slices crisp bacon

1/2 C        Diced onions (green onions with tops are best)

Defrost potatoes. Grate cheese or melt in microwave. Stir all ingredients together with mayo. Put in buttered casserole dish and garnish with crumbled bacon. Cook at 350 deg. for 30 minutes.

and last, but not least:

Unusual Green Beans

3-14 1/2 oz. C

ans French Style Green Beans

1 can          Sliced water chestnuts

2 cans        Cream of celery soup

1/8t           Pepper

1/2C          Milk

2 cans       French fried onion rings.

Heat beans and drain. Layer beans & sliced water chestnuts in a 2 qt. greased casserole. Mix celery soup & pepper with milk and heat. Pour over the mixture in casserole. Bake in a 350 deg. oven about 25 min. Top with french fried onions and bake until onions are golden brown, 10 min. or more. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

On Christmas afternoon we go to our friends' home for an overnight stay. I like to make a contribution by taking an artichoke spread, but Chuck says it's too rich for him so I won't be taking it this year. The recipe was given to me by my college roommate and I love her for sharing it with me.

           

Hot Artichoke Spread

1-14 oz.   Can Artichoke hearts, drained & chopped.

1C          Hellman's mayo

1C          Parmesan cheese

Garlic powder to taste

Can green chili peppers, chopped.

Mix all ingredients and put into oven dish and heat at 350 deg. for 20 min. or until mixture bubbles. Serve with Waverly crackers or Dorito Chips.

Sweet potatoes with Marshmallows ... standard fare for me to bring to our family get-together at Thanksgiving.  We all congregate at my sister-in-law's home...about 20 in all.  What a great tradition!  At Christmas we all go our separate ways so this time with our family is special








Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows


3 or 4 medium size sweet potatoes
1 stick of butter
Sugar or Splenda to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Marshmallows for top


Peel and cut potatoes into small pieces. (This is the hardest part of this recipe...I actually get the muscles of the house to cut them up for me.)  Boil until soft.  Mash until all lumps are gone. (This is actually the easiest part. I use an old fashioned masher-no electricity required.) Add other ingredients to taste.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Top with marshmallows and continue baking until they are brown.  Serve hot.

Eating In Tonight

A good country meal...Meatloaf, Squash, Green Beans, Cantaloupe and Cornbread. It's the kind of meal you could go back for more helpings.

The meatloaf recipe came from The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook that I have had since the '60's.

Onion Meat Loaf

1 Cup soft bread crumbs

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 Cup minced onions

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 TBS chopped parsley

1/2 Cup grated carrot

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

2-6oz cans tomato juice...I use one plain and one Hot 'n Spicy

2 strips bacon

We use a mix for the cornbread-Martha White's Cotton Country Buttermilk Cornbread Mix.  The squash is simmered w/onion in a saucepan with a little water until tender.  The green beans are Del Monte whole green beans boiled, then simmered, with 1 tsp. of salt for 30 minutes (they taste like home grown to us). 


Bon Appetit!