October 1, 2010

Corn Chowder

This is a hearty chowder that is sure to keep you warm on the chilly autumn evenings! Serve with a toasted french baguette, in bread bowls, or make up a batch of Oatmeal Dinner Rolls. It makes a large batch but you can freeze some leftovers for later.

Corn Chowder
3/4 C butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 large russet potatoes, baked*, peeled and cubed
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 16-oz package frozen corn, thawed
4 1/2 cups whole milk
1 C chicken broth
1 C cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 C sour cream

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir 1 minute. Gradually add milk and chicken broth while whisking. Stir in bacon, potatoes and corn. Heat until thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cheese and sour cream just before serving.

Submitted by Gwen: Save time by "baking" potatoes in the microwave. Scrub skins and pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on High for about 8 minutes. It's okay if they aren't completely baked, the will finish cooking in the chowder.

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
2 C water
1 C quick-cooking oats
3 Tbs butter
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/3 C warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 C brown sugar
1 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 3/4 - 5 1/4 C all-purpose flour

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil; add oats and butter. Cook and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool to lukewarm. In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oatmeal mixture, sugars, salt and 4 cups flour, beat until smooth. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turn once to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Gently punch down dough and let rest 10 minutes. Grease two 9-in round baking pans. Shape dough into 18 balls and place 9 in each pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Butter tops if desired. Remove from pans and place one wire racks to cool.

September 1, 2010

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Alfredo Sauce
1/4 cup butter
2 T flour
2 cloves of garlic or 1/2 tsp minced garlic in jar
1/2 Tbsp chicken bouillon granules (not cubes)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 Tbsp parsley flakes
1 cup milk
1 cup real whipping cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 bag of fettuccine or penne pasta
2 chicken breasts cubed and cooked

Ingredients to make it Cordon bleu pasta
2 green onions
1/2 lb mushrooms
Grated Swiss cheese
Crumbled crispy bacon

Directions:
1. Cook pasta as directed
2. Brown cubed chicken. Saute about 2 green onions and 1/2 lb of mushrooms with chicken in some oil or butter.
3. Melt butter for sauce in a saucepan. Mix in flour until completely dissolved. Then add garlic, onion powder, chicken bouillon granules and parsley flakes. Mix well. Next add both milks and stir constantly until it almost comes to a boil. Do not let boil fully or it may curdle or burn. Next add Parmesan cheese. Last of all; add noodles and cooked chicken with mushroom and green onions and mix together. Heat until piping hot. If the sauce is a bit too thin let it sit hot on stove for 15-30 min. The flour from the noodles will thicken it up. It too thick add a little extra milk.
Put pasta in a baking pan, grate some Swiss cheese and crumbled crispy cooked bacon on top. Broil in the oven until Swiss cheese starts to brown a little and serve.

Submitted by Marti: This Alfredo sauce is good with just noodles and chicken I've tried different kinds of Alfredo sauce recipes and this one is still my favorite. It is especially good if you really use butter and fresh parmesan cheese and it has never turned out not tasting good.

August 1, 2010

Hellmann's Smokin' Succulent Grilled Pork Chops

1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
8 pork chops

Blend first five ingredients. Reserve 1/2 cup; set aside. Grill pork, brushing with 1/2 cup of mixture until done. Serve with reserved 1/2 cup.

Submitted by Lyndsey: We love to eat this with corn on the cob and fresh fruit. It's also good with the Fresh Salsa recipe below and some tortilla chips. It is such a good and fast summer meal.


Fresh Salsa
1 11oz can corn drained
1 cup chopped cilantro (I use half)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3-5 Roma tomatoes chopped
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped (wear latex gloves while touching)
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 11oz can black beans, drained
2 large avocados

Dressing
1 Tbsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
6 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp Cider vinegar

Serve with Tortilla chips.

July 1, 2010

BLTE and Smoked Cheddar & Chicken

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Egg
(recipe for 1 sandwich)
2 slices whole grain bread
1 oz cheddar cheese
lettuce
2 tomato slices
2-3 slices of bacon (if it is cut in half) (we use maple bacon)
1-2 tsp mayonnaise
1 egg*

Cook bacon and pat off grease. Toast 1 slice of bread; put mayon on that slice and top with tomato, lettuce and bacon. Put cheese on the other slice of bread and get ready to broil it. Start cooking egg in pan; you want to cook the egg to over easy. Right before the egg is done start broiling the cheese; broil until it is bubbly and melty. While that is broiling finish cooking egg and put the egg on top of the bacon. Immediately put the cheese slice of bread on top of the egg. Slice the sandwich in half and let it sit for a minute before you eat it. This way the egg can finish setting up as it comes down the sandwich. Enjoy!

*Yes, that is right, an egg. If you substitute turkey bacon for the bacon it is good.

Smoked Cheddar & Chicken
(recipe for 5 sandwiches)
2 large chicken breasts, sliced into 3rds, uncooked
4 oz Smoked Cheddar Cheese, sliced- it has to be smoked
5 Italian hoagie or sub sandwich bread
1/2 jar of roasted red bell peppers or roast 1 red pepper yourself
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp or less of flour
3 tbps of parmesan

To make an easy job of slicing chicken breast so thinly, take the thawed chicken breasts and put them in freezer, flat, for 5-10 minutes. It will be easier to slice and it won't be so frozen that you can't use it to cook it. Cook the chicken in a pan or on a grill. Do not salt and pepper it. While the chicken is cooking make the rest of the sandwich.

Cut the bread in half and lightly toast in toaster oven. (Don't over toast it because you will be toasting again soon) This light toasting will keep the bread from getting soggy when you put on the sauce.

If you jar of bell peppers have been in the fridge then warm them up in a saute pan.

In another saute pan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk. Slowly add cream and simmer. Also add the parmesan cheese. You want it to thicken a bit, but don't make a gravy.

Now, take the bottom of the toasted bread and spread some of the sauce on it. Take the cooked chicken and lay it over the sauce. Top with a bell pepper. Spread a little more sauce on top of that. Place the cheddar cheese on of the side of the bread and broil just until melted. Put sandwich together and enjoy.

Submitted by Shasta: Since it is the summer and it gets really hot and humid here, I don't really like to use the oven much. I use my toaster oven a lot. I know it sounds like these sandwiches should take a really long time to make but I can make the BLTE in about 15-20 minutes. The Smoked Cheddar & Chicken took me about 20-25 minutes to make. I hope you enjoy these sandwiches as much as we have.

June 2, 2010

Coconut Cake (America's Test Kitchen)

5 lg egg whites, at room temp
3/4 c cream of coconut*
1/4 c water
1 lg egg, at room temp
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c cake flour
1 c sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
12 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened and cut into tbsp pieces
1 recipe coconut frosting (see below)
2 c sweetened coconut

1) Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat two 9-in round pans with pam and line the bottoms (bottom only, trace the pan and cut out the paper) with parchment paper. Whisk the egg whites, cream of coconut, water, whole egg, and extracts together in a large bowl until combined and set aside.
2) Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Beat in the butter, one piece at a time,with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, 2-5 minutes.
3) Add 1 c of the egg mixture, increase the speed to med-high, and beat until light ad fluffy, about 45 seconds. Add the remaining egg mixture in a steady stream and continue to beat until the batter is combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed (the batter will be very thick).
4) Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30-35 minutes.
5) Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen, then flip out onto the racks. Remove the parchment paper and let cool completely.

Coconut Frosting
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
16 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
1/4 c cream of coconut
3 c powdered sugar

Stir the cream, extracts, and salt together until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter and cream of coconut in a large bowl with an electric mixer at med-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Reduce the speed to med-low slowly add the powdered sugar, and beat until smooth, 2-5 minutes. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to med-high and beat until the mixure is light and fluffy, about 4-8 minutes.

Layer and frost the cake. Toast coconut and gently press to outside of frosted cake.

*You can find Cream of Coconut by the drink mix isle (think margarita). Make sure you get CREAM of coconut (coconut milk is by the oriental food isle and it won't work).

Sumbitted by Anne-Marie: I like to put some toasted coconut between the layers when I frost the cake, but it isn't really necessary.

May 3, 2010

Swiss Tuna Melts

Prep/Total time: 20 minutes

Recipe says 1 but I use 2 cans of Tuna, drained and flaked
3/4 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
Pepper to taste
8 slices of bread
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, softened

In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Spread over four slices of bread, about 1/2 cup on each; top with remaining bread. Butter the outsides of the sandwiches.

On a griddle or in a large skillet over medium heat, grill sandwiches for 4-5 minutes on each side or until lightly toasted.

Submitted by Lyndsey: I like a little more celery for more crunch in my munch. My kids love this and always are good eaters when I make this. The filling stores well for a couple of days. And I think it tastes best on Whole Wheat bread. So much better than any tuna melt I have ever had.

April 1, 2010

Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

1 lb cooked chicken, shredded or diced (salt & pepper)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained*
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained*
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans*
1/2 onion, diced*
1/2 bell pepper, diced*
1 can olives, sliced*
4 oz can green chilies
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tblsp chili powder
1 1/2 c monterrey jack cheese
1-2 cans enchilada sauce
6-8 flour tortillas

In large frying pan combine meat, beans, onion, bell pepper, olives, chilies, cumin, garlic and chili powder. Cook on medium-low only long enough to saute onions, peppers and set the spices into filling mixture.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill tortillas with meat/bean mixture (approx 1/4-1/2 cup) and some cheese. Add some enchilada sauce to bottom of baking dish so tortillas don't stick and place tortillas (seam side down) in pan then top with the rest of the enchilada sauce and remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with sour cream, avocados, and fresh tomatoes.

*optional items

Submitted by Alisha
Notes: I use canned meats (chicken, turkey or beef) fom Costco so the amount isn't necessarily a full pound, but adding the beans helps make up for it. There are a lot of optional ingredients that I use, depending on my mood and who I'm serving. A lot of that depends on if I already have an open can of something in the fridge or fresh onions available (come to think of it, I think I have even added cooked rice). I also use more enchilada sauce than it calls for because I think it adds the flavor to the dish. This is a really fast and easy recipe if you use all pantry items. You can prepare the mixture without cooking the mixture, but I think it helps set the spices better. You can also make as many or few enchiladas as you want, depending on how you divide the mixture.