Elaine’s Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Posted on August 23, 2010 | Comments Off on Elaine’s Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I made this dish (among several others) for my mother and grandmother when they came over for dinner Saturday evening. They really liked it and so did I…

Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch chunks
  • About 2 cups of soup veggies (carrots, celery, and onion)
  • About 250 g frozen broccoli, chopped in small bite-sized pieces
  • 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
  • 1 c plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 c mayonnaise
  • 3/4 tsp garlic powder
  • About 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 c grated cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Sauté soup veggies (onion, celeri, and carrots) in olive oil for 3 min.  over medium heat.  Add chicken and garlic powder.  Continue to sauté until the chicken is cooked throughout but not browned.  In the meantime, place one layer of broccoli in a casserole dish.  In a mixing bowl, combine soup, yogurt, and mayonnaise well.  When the chicken is cooked, place the layer of chicken and vegetables on top of the broccoli.  Spread the soup mixture over the chicken and top with grated cheese.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or  until cheese has completely melted at 350 degrees F.

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Posted in Main Course

Nanny’s Cabbage Roll Sauce

Posted on August 9, 2010 | Comments Off on Nanny’s Cabbage Roll Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 can condensed tomato soup
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 soup can water

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together well.

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Posted in Salads, Dressings, Sauces, and Spice Mixes

Nanny’s Cabbage Rolls

Posted on August 9, 2010 | Comments Off on Nanny’s Cabbage Rolls

This is my grandmother’s recipe for her amazingly delicious cabbage rolls. I’m going to make it this week for a potluck dinner I’m hosting but will modify it slighly by putting the mixture on a layer of cabbage instead of making the separate rolls. It will save me time and will be just as good. I’ll try to post a comment after I’ve made it letting everyone know how it turns out.

Ingredients:

  • 10 cooked (limp but not mushy) cabbage leaves
  • 1 lb minced beef
  • 3/4 c cooked long grain rice
  • 1/4 c chopped onion
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2/3 c milk
  • 1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together. Arrange about 1/10 of mixture on a cabbage leaf and roll up. Place in baking pan. Repeat for remaining mixture and leaves. Pour cabbage roll sauce over the rolls. Bake 1 hour at 350 F.

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Posted in Appetizers, Main Course

Carolyn’s Fiesta Turkey Pasta

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Comments Off on Carolyn’s Fiesta Turkey Pasta

Ingredients:

  • 1 (16 ounce) package pasta (I used whole wheat rotini)
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups turkey stock
  • 1 1/2 cups salsa
  • 1 cup water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup shredded Mozzerella
  • 1/2 – 1 pound cooked turkey breast, cubed (however much you have to use up!)

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large pot or deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat; blend in flour. Slowly add turkey stock, salsa, and water. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until thickened. Sprinkle in the Mozzerella cheese and turkey. Stir until the cheese is melted and the meat is heated through. Either spoon over cooked pasta or mix together with cook pasta.

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Posted in Main Course, Sides and Sandwiches

Carolyn’s Mars Bar Fudge

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Comments Off on Carolyn’s Mars Bar Fudge

Ingredients:

  • 6 MARS bars (or snickers bars)(or whatever you like)
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 2 cups (12-oz) semisweet chips (I use milk chocolate)
  • 1 jar (7-oz) marshmallow creme
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil. Butter foil, set aside. Cut candy in 1/2-inch slices; set aside. In saucepan, bring sugar, butter & milk to boil over medium heat. Cook & stir until thermometer reads 234 degrees, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in last 3 ingredients until smooth. Pour half of fudge into the pan. Sprinkle with chocolate bar pieces. Finish with fudge on top. Cool, then lift out of pan & remove foil. Makes 4 pounds.

(Note: if you refrigerate, it gets too hard to cut. Cool completely, then cut, then refrigerate.)

(I’ve also made it before using the big, huge toblerone bars!)

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Posted in Desserts

Carolyn’s Homemade Yogurt

Posted on February 1, 2010 | Comments Off on Carolyn’s Homemade Yogurt

The less fat milk you start with, the more tart the yogurt is.

Ingredients:

  • Milk
  • Yogurt
  • Sweeteners, if desired (see last preparation direction)

Preparation:

Pour half gallon of whole milk (8 cups) into crock pot. Cover and turn crock pot on low. Cook for 2.5 hours. Turn the crock pot on high for 1/2 hour.

Turn crock pot off and let set, covered, for 3 hours.

Remove 2 cups of milk from the crock pot. Pour into bowl and mix in 1/2 cup of yogurt. This is a “starter” and contains the cultures that will allow the milk to develop into yogurt. Pour milk and yogurt mixture back into crock pot and stir.

Cover crock pot and wrap with a heavy towel.  Let set 8 hours or overnight.

Refrigerate.

If flavored yogurt is desired, you may stir in fruit, honey, jam, or other sweeteners.  Experiment to find the flavorings you enjoy.  You can also mix equal parts fruit juice and yogurt to make a drinkable yogurt.

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Posted in Desserts

Carolyn’s Baked Brie

Posted on January 6, 2010 | Comments Off on Carolyn’s Baked Brie

Courtesy of Carolyn 🙂

Ingredients:

  • Brie cheese (a 300 gram one – or if you want a big one 500 gram one)
  • A sheet of puff pastry (I used the President’s Choice all butter one)
  • Half a ripe mango, peeled & chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Thai green Chili paste
  • 2 tbsp red pepper jelly (sweet, not spicy.. but spicy if you want I guess)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened baking coconut
  • 1 egg
  • About a cup of President’s Choice Memories of Bengal Mango Curry Sauce

Preparation:

Roll out the pastry in a baking dish (pref. only about a 2″ gap between the edge and the size of brie) and put the brie in the middle. In a bowl, stir together the chopped mango, the curry paste, the red pepper jelly and the garlic. Pour it over the brie.

In a dry frying pan, toast most of the coconut over med/high heat, stirring constantly, until browned. Sprinkle over the mango &brie. Fold the pastry up and over the brie, making sure there are no gaps. Beat the egg in a bowl and brush over the pastry. Sprinkle the rest of the untoasted coconut on top.

Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes. Then pour the cup (to taste) of Mango Curry sauce around the baked brie in the dish. Serve with slices of French bread and/or apple slices to spread the baked brie on.

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Posted in Appetizers

Elaine’s Pumpkin Pie Mousse

Posted on October 4, 2009 | Comments Off on Elaine’s Pumpkin Pie Mousse

I’m calling this mousse because it has a mousse-like texture to it. There is no cream used in it and it’s weight-loss friendly.
I got some nutritional info from caloriecount.

Pumpkin’s good points:

* Low in saturated fat
* No cholesterol
* Very low in sodium
* Very high in dietary fiber, iron,  vitamin A, vitamin C
* High in manganese, magnesium, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, potassium

Bad points

* Very high in sugar

If you don’t have a problem with natural sugar and like pumpkin, I’m sure you’ll find this recipe amazing. I just threw things together that I thought would be good. This is about 175 calories for the whole thing.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 c pure pumpkin purée (I used E.D. Smith)
  • 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese
  • A splash of skim milk (about 1/3 c.)
  • 3/4 tsp. cinnamon (you could use some nutmeg in it too)
  • 3/4 Tbsp. brown sugar (I use Splenda)

Preparation:

In a food processor or Magic Bullet, combine all ingredients and mix well until light and creamy. Serve cold. It’s as easy as that!

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Posted in Desserts

Tomato and Quinoa Soup

Posted on September 26, 2009 | Comments Off on Tomato and Quinoa Soup

I got this recipe from a YouTube video Allison Pacino made. I never thought to use spaghetti sauce as a base for tomato soup and thanks to her, it’s now a favourite of mine. I modified hers a bit. Feel free to add whatever veggies you like to it, I think almost anything would work.

Ingredients:

  • 500 g jar of tomato-based spaghetti sauce (I used spinach and cheese but I think any kind would work well
  • 3 c. water
  • 1/2 c. frozen corn (it’s just easier and it’s better for you than canned)
  • 1/4 c. quinoa (you could use rice if you want but there are more benefits with quinoa)
  • a handful of sliced mushroom (how’s that for a measurement???)

Preparation:

Rinse quinoa in a sieve until the water runs clear. Mix all ingredients in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 5 minutes. Stir. Microwave for an additional 5 minutes or until quinoa is cooked (times depend per microwave).

You can cook all ingredients in a medium pot on the stove for about the same amount of time. If you want a thinner soup, add more water until the desired consistency is reached (about 1/2 c. at a time).

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Posted in Soups and Stews

Elaine’s Horseradish Sauce

Posted on August 15, 2009 | Comments Off on Elaine’s Horseradish Sauce

This is a tasty sauce that goes well with beef.

Ingredients:

  • 1 c sour cream (I used regular sour cream with a normal fat content, not fat-free since it’s too watery)
  • 1 pearl onion
  • 4 tsp prepared horseradish
  • 1 baby dill pickle

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients well in a food processor (a Magic Bullet works well) until it reaches a smooth, creamy consistency. Ensure the pickle is not in chunks and has blended in with the other ingredients completely. Serve cold, room temperature or heated with beef.

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Posted in Salads, Dressings, Sauces, and Spice Mixes