Category: Cooking

All the ingredients for chicken pot pie — the chunky chicken and vegetables and the savory broth — are in this stew . A crisp crouton stands in for the pie crust. I made this last night and it was fabulous!
Ingredients:
Serves:
Makes 8 (1-cup) servings.

1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Rosemary Leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Thyme Leaves
1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
4 teaspoons butter, divided
1 package (8 ounces) mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup flour
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
8 thin bread slices
1 teaspoon oil

Directions

• Mix rosemary, thyme and garlic powder in small bowl.
• Reserve 1/2 teaspoon.
• Heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in large saucepan on medium heat.
• Add mushrooms, carrots and remaining seasoning mixture; cook and stir 3 minutes.
• Remove from saucepan. Set aside.
• Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in saucepan on medium heat, stirring to release browned bits from bottom of skillet.
• Sprinkle with flour; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until flour is lightly browned.

• Gradually stir in broth until well blended.
• Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Add vegetable mixture, chicken, pearl onions and peas; simmer 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Cut bread into rounds with 3-inch cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet. Brush bread with oil and sprinkle with reserved seasoning mixture. Bake 10 minutes or until toasted. To serve soup, ladle into soup bowls and top each with 1 crouton.

Bread & Butter Pickles

1 gallon sliced cucumbers (16 cups of cucumbers sliced with a #4 food processor blade)
4 regular onion sliced thinly (I used a #1 blade)
½ cup coarse canning salt
crushed ice

Layer onions, cucumbers and salt with crushed ice. set plate on top with a full gallon jug of vinegar. Set aside in fridge for 3 or more hours. When ice has melted drain liquid from pot.

5 cups vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 ½ tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Mustard Seed
1 tsp Celery Seed

Make a syrup of the vinegar, sugar, mustard and celery seeds. Cook to dissolve sugar and mix spices.

When done, pour over cucumber and onion mixture. Cook carefully just to the scalding point, when the cucumbers begin to turn a nice yellow.

Pour into hot sterilized jars, fill to ¼ inch of top, run sterile knife around to get rid of any bubbles, and seal. Tighten bands.

Return to hot water and sterilize for 10 minutes. Set jars on dish cloth to cool and listen for lids to thunk down and seal. Do not try to tighten bands.

Makes 8 pints.

Today was “Moon Glow Pickle Day”!

Yesterday Hubby and I:

Ingredients:

Put in large pot cover with water and soak overnight.

6 quarts cubed cucumbers (ripe and yellow)
(cut into quarters lengthwise, peel and scoop out seeds and cube)
3 large onions cubed
1/2 cup canning salt
2 green pappers chopped
2 red peppers chopped

This morning I:

drained and rinsed everything.
then added:
12 whole cloves
2 TBSP mustard seed
6 cups sugar
1 quart cider vinegar
1 tsp. Tumeric
Cook until medium soft and kind of transparent.

Pack in hot sterilized jars. Yield 10 pints.

Lowfat Bacon Quiche

• 1 already pie crust

• 3 large egg(s)

• 1/4 cup(s) regular egg substitute

• 1 cup(s) fat free evaporated milk

• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

• 1/4 tsp table salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/2 cup(s) (shredded) low-fat hard cheese, Swiss, grated

• 4 oz cooked crisp turkey bacon, diced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Lay pie crust in pie plate, dough should cover bottom and sides of dish. Fold in any overhanging corners.

Whisk together eggs, egg substitute, milk, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Sprinkle cheese and bacon over pie crust. Pour in egg mixture and place quiche on a baking sheet. Bake until firm, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes before cutting into 8 wedges.

New England Pot Roast

Six generous servings:

1 bone – in piece of chuck roast, (or a brisket) 4- 5 pounds, trimmed of excess fat

Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Vegetable oil, such as canola

4-5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 large carrot, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 teaspoons dried thyme or 6 sprigs fresh

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons flour

3 ½ cups water or half chicken stock, half water. Do not use beef stock.

2 tablespoons tomato paste (I now use imported Italian paste in tubes which have a long shelf life and are of excellent quality)

8 – 10 small pearl onions

5 carrots in 1 -2 inch pieces

1 pound red potatoes or larger white potatoes in chunks or the fingerling potatoes

1 pound large mushrooms, quartered

Over high heat, pour sufficient oil to cover the bottom of a large Dutch oven or other large heavy pot (we use a large French enameled iron pot), generously salt and pepper both sides of the roast and sear meat until well browned on both sides. Remove meat and pour off oil. Return pot to medium heat and add chopped carrot, celery, onion and the garlic. Cook stirring, adding a small amount of oil if necessary, until softened but not browned. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir for 2-3 minutes. Return meat, adding water, tomato paste and herbs.

Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, cover (use aluminum foil under cover if it does not fit tightly). Place into preheated 325 degree oven and cook for 2 hours. Check at 1 hour and turn meat if it is not covered by liquid; add additional water if liquid is too thick – it should be the consistency of thin gravy.

At 2 – 2 ¼ hours, add remaining vegetables; the time varies according to size. Cook for a total of 3 hours. If the vegetables are not quite cooked, cover and let sit – cooking will continue using retained heat. Check for seasoning, adding salt or pepper to taste.

Skim excess fat from the liquid, cut meat into serving size pieces, arrange on a heated platter and surround with vegetables. Moisten with some of the liquid, pass the remainder at the table and enjoy a true New England tradition.

I found this recipe and tried it last night. It is the best way I have found to desalinate the corned beef a little, and the meal comes out perfectly!

Ingredients
1 (3 pound) slab of corned beef, preferably home made (I had a store bought brisket)
2 tablespoons pickling spices, preferably home made (I used a tea ball)
8 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1″ segments
2 onions halved
2 pounds of potatoes, peeled, cleaned and cut in half
1 small head of cabbage, outer leaves removed, cut in quarters
Do this:
Open the package the meat came in and dump out all the liquid. Rinse thoroughly. Trim off all the fat cap. The place in cold water and soak for half an hour.

Corned beef is essentially pickled in salt, and straight out of the pack it is way too salty. Before we can eat this cured meat, we need to cook it and desalinate it a bit. Place the beef in a large pot along with enough hot water to cover it by at least 1″ and put the lid on.

Turn the heat to medium and bring to a low simmer for 30 minutes. Do not let it boil. If you boil it, it will get tough and shrink. Beware that the meat is cold, so when it warms the water will slowly move from simmer to boil. Keep an eye on it and do not let it boil.

After 30 minutes, dump out the water and cover the meat with fresh hot water. This time add the pickling spices. (I used the tea ball to hold the spices)

Bring to a low simmer again, this time for 1 hour.

Again dump the water and pickling spices and replace it with fresh hot water. Bring to a low simmer and let it simmer for 1 hour. Add the carrots and onions. After 30 minutes add the potatoes. After 30 minutes add the cabbage. After 20 minutes the cabbage will be done and so should everything else. But remember to check.

Remove the meat and place it on a carving board. There are often two horizontal muscles separated by a thick layer of fat. Separate them by sliding a knife through the fat. Carve and/or scrape off the fat layer. Carve the meat by cutting across the grain about the thickness of a pencil. Any thinner and it will fall apart, any thicker and it will be chewy.

Lift out the cabbage, potatoes and carrots and onions and divide them into serving bowls. Place the meat in the bowl. Spoon some of the cooking liquid over them and serve. Happy Holiday!

A wonderful recipe:

Blueberry Muffins

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 cups flour
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. fresh grated lemon peel
1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 cup blueberries

Beat the eggs, oil, sugar and yogurt. Add the lemon peel and mix well.
Mix all the dry ingredients in separate bowl. Slowly add to yogurt mixture. With a wooden spoon gently fold in berries..
Bake at 375 degrees (Fahrenheit) for 25-30 minutes, or until done.

NOTE: If the blueberries are really big snip them in half. Makes about 1 dozen muffins.

Ingredients:

1 spray(s) cooking spray
2 large uncooked carrot(s), Diced
1 large uncooked onion(s), Diced
4 tsp garlic clove(s), Diced
4 cup(s) (chopped) uncooked cabbage (all varieties), or spinach or escarole
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup(s) uncooked celery, 2 stalks chopped
1/2 large sweet red pepper(s), Chopped
1 large uncooked zucchini, Diced
6 cup Swanson Beef Broth, Reduced Sodium
14 oz Hunts Tomatoes, Diced, No Salt Added
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup Birds Eye Fresh Frozen Select Vegetables Cut Green Beans
Instructions:
Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat on medium high. Add the carrots, onion , celery, red pepper, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients except the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until tender. The following were not in the original recipe: Celery, diced tomatoes, and red peppers.

This is such a yummy and filling soup!

Peel Eggplant

Cut eggplant into 1 inch slices.

Then cut into bite size chunks.

Put this in a Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs. Shake vigorously and let sit for a moment.

Take eggplant out with a slotted spoon and place on cookie sheet. Spray eggplant with PAM olive oil.
Bake at 450 degrees (F) for about 1/2 an hour stirring and flipping the eggplant often until nicely browned and roasted.