Articles
Comfort Food for Cold
Weather (or just because you feel like it)
Chicken Dijon with Wine Sauce
Easy Breakfast Casseroles - Part 2
Pyrex: The Reliable Bakeware
More on Pyrex
Grilling Season
Easy Comfort Food
Easy Summer Entertaining
Managing the Holiday Meal
Living with a time crunch and trying to manage the Holiday Meal? Don't want to buy a pre-cooked Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner from the local grocer? How about a shared holiday meal?
Each family can share their favorite holiday dishes. Since space could quickly become a problem whether it is serving space or storage space limiting the number of favorites might be a good idea. When three or more families gather for a holiday meal, perhaps a limit of two favorites would be prudent. You will get a variety of cookware, but you can bring it all together with your finest dinnerware and cutlery.
Ease in preparation is high on the list of many families today, even when planning their holiday feast. Here are two recipes that are both traditional and easy. One is a lighter version of the classic Green Bean Casserole and the other is a rich and easy Pumpkin Dessert.
Light Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups green beans, cooked
- 1 can low sodium cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup low-fat milk
- 1 can sliced mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp. dried minced onion
- 1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
Mix all ingredients and place in baking dish.
You may top it with a half cup of low-fat Cheddar Cheese. If you choose to top with cheese, omit the soy sauce and add the cheese for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes
Pumpkin Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
- 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or blend 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger,1/2 tsp. cloves, dash of nutmeg
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 yellow cake mix
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup melted butter
Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt and spices in a mixing bowl.
Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the top. Sprinkle nuts over cake mix.
Drizzle butter evenly over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Serve with whipped topping or whipped cream.
Sharing the holiday meal preparation with all the guests spreads the satisfaction of a serving a great meal, spreads the work so that the frenzy in the kitchen is minimized, and the recipes above would provide quick and delicious additions to your holiday spread!
Want to add to or enhance your cookware, tableware, or cutlery? Visit our website at http:www.mycookwareshop.com. You can also view some more of our favorite recipes.
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Easy Breakfast Casseroles
Entertaining for breakfast or for brunch? Do you need something ready for your family on the week end or during the holidays? These three make - ahead Breakfast Casseroles are crowd and family pleasers and are very easy to prepare. The first is a variation of a casserole from a Bed and Breakfast, the second one is a variation of a recipe from Allrecipes.com and the third is an old family favorite. All have been enjoyed by many folks and the recipes have been requested countless times.
Green Chile Strata
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cans chopped green chili
- 4 cups grated Colby-Jack cheese
- 5 eggs, beaten
- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. Oregano
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3-6 flour tortillas
Spray the bottom of 9x13" baking dish. Cover bottom of dish with tortillas. You may have to cut them to fit. Sprinkle with half of the chili and cheese. Repeat the layer. Combine the eggs, milk salt and seasonings. Pour over layered ingredients. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Potato & Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 baking potatoes
- 1 pound ground pork sausage
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tsp. seasoned salt
- ½ tsp. dry mustard
- ½ tsp. salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
- 12 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup milk
Bake potatoes for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven, cool, peel and cut into cubes.
Cook sausage in medium saucepan over medium heat until browned, drain fat. Remove to a plate. Melt butter in saucepan and add onion and potatoes. Cook until lightly browned and onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with seasoned salt.
Place potato mixture in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with sausage. Sprinkle cheese over top.
Beat eggs with mustard and milk. Add salt and pepper and pour over the mixture in baking dish.
It can be baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or refrigerated overnight and baked for 40 minutes or until eggs are set.
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 slices bread, buttered and cubed
- 1 ½ pound ground sausage
- 9 eggs
- 3 cups milk
- 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ tsp.dry mustard
Cook sausage until browned and crumbly. Drain and set aside. Beat eggs with milk, salt and mustard. Layer bread cubes, sausage, and grated cheese in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour egg mixture over all. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until eggs are set.
Want to add to or enhance your cookware, tableware, or cutlery? Visit our website at http://www.mycookwareshop.com. You can also view some more of our favorite recipes.
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Valentine's Day is not just about steak!!
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, I mistakenly thought that Valentine's Day was all about a steak dinner with all of the trimmings. A dozen roses and a nice bottle of bubbly just added to the romance running through my mind. Now I am definitely not opposed to all of those lovely things, but.... there are a lot of other ways to celebrate the day.
For one thing table decorations don't have to be elaborate or expensive. How about using some red candy, red hots, maybe? Add a plain white candle and a simple clear glass vase. Fill the vase about halfway with the candy and place the candle firmly in the vase. There is a very simple centerpiece. You could add a few votive candles and sprinkle some message hearts or other inexpensive Valentine candy around all of it on the table. Add some plain white napkins tied up with a bit of red ribbon and you have a very festive looking table. This is an inexpensive décor, it is lots of fun reading those message candies and you even have an edible centerpiece.
The next item is planning the menu. I always want to cook and serve in the same dish whenever it is possible. A CorningWare baking dish is always a good serving dish, clean up is easy and it cooks things evenly. I like serving stuffed Cornish Game Hens for a very simple and elegant menu. Chicken breasts could always be used as a good substitution.
Stuffed Cornish Game Hens
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 2 medium zucchini, shredded
- 3 slices bread, cubed
- 1 egg
- ½ cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 2 Cornish game hens, thawed
- Salt and pepper to taste
1. To prepare stuffing; melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add zucchini and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add bread, egg, cheese and seasonings. Blend completely.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the game hens. Stuff the cavities of the hens. Place in 9x13 CorningWare baking dish and bake for 45 minutes until fork tender.
This is a very tasty dish and only needs a crusty French bread and a salad to complete the meal.
Slice the French bread, wrap it in foil and put it in the oven for the last 5 or 10 minutes of the baking time for the hens.
A complimentary green salad might be baby greens and spinach tossed with some roasted pecans and dried cranberries. Toss with your favorite dressing.
Of course my favorite dessert with this meal would be chocolate dipped strawberries.
Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day.
Want to add to or enhance your cookware, tableware, or cutlery? Visit our website at mycookwareshop.com. You can also view some more of our favorite recipes.
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Comfort Food for Cold Weather (or just because you feel like it)
When temperatures hover below freezing and snow and ice cover the ground
in some parts of the country many folks are home bound and cooking or gathering
in the kitchen often feels comforting. Kitchens are traditionally warm,
inviting places for folks to gather. In many cases the kitchen is the
warmest and the coziest room in the home. In that setting comfort foods
are often the first things that cross our minds. For some folks the
simple potato sends comfortable signals. The recent cold and wet weather caused
me to think of one of my favorite comfort foods, the potato. Potatoes are
a staple in most pantries, they are versatile, fairly quick to prepare and are
comforting. Potatoes can be a side dish or the main dish. Some of
my family's favorite ways of preparing potatoes are potato pancakes, potato
soup and a simple potato casserole. The potato casserole was shared by my
son-in-law and the potato pancakes were often served by my mother as a way of
using up leftover mashed potatoes. All three recipes are simple and rely
on ingredients that are very readily available.
Potato Casserole
- 4 potatoes, sliced (peel them if desired)
- 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- 1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Toss to
coat with oil and seasonings. Pour coated potatoes into a 9 inch square Pyrex
baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until
potatoes are tender. Enjoy!
This can also be baked at 325 degrees for an hour.
Cream of Potato Soup
- 4 medium potatoes, pared
- 2 bacon slices, diced
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 2 Tbsp. parsley
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- dash cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp. dry mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups milk
- ½ cup grated Swiss or Cheddar Cheese
Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender; drain.
Sauté bacon and onion over low heat until bacon is crispy and the
onion is translucent and tender. Mash potatoes; add bacon, onion, butter,
parsley, salt, nutmeg, mustard, cayenne and Worcestershire. Stir in milk.
Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup reaches the
desired serving temperature. Sprinkle with cheese and serve at once.
Serves four.
Potato Pancakes
- 1 ½ cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1 to 2 Tbsp. flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Stir the potatoes and egg together until well
blended. Add the flour one tablespoon at a time until the mixture resembles a
stiff pancake batter. Stir in salt and pepper and one or more of the add ins as
desired. Drop mixture on to a greased skillet or griddle that has been
pre-heated to a medium high temperature. I use a ¼ cup measure to insure
uniform size of the pancakes.
Add ins: finely chopped parsley; grated parmesan or
cheddar to taste.
I hope you and your family enjoy these comforting
and warming foods when the weather is cold and dreary.
Want to add to or enhance your cookware, tableware,
or cutlery? Visit our website at mycookwareshop.com. You can also
view some more of our favorite recipes
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Chicken Dijon with Wine Sauce
Do you enjoy
experimenting with recipes? Do you ever wonder what something would taste like
if you added something extra to the dish? Do you ever take “family favorite’
recipes and tweak them to accommodate a child, yourself or even a friend? I for one enjoy doing just that and more
frequently imagine what I could do to change a recipe as I read through it. It
might mean that I leave out an ingredient, add an ingredient or even change the
way something is cooked. That could mean switching from stove-top to oven or
the reverse or even grilling instead of either one of those methods. All of
those things make a recipe uniquely your own and you have the satisfaction of
creating a brand new dish.
I have
learned that chicken is one of the most adaptable meats to cook. It combines
with so many elements, vegetables, pasta and rice. It seems to show up in
magazines most frequently and can be used in ever so many ways. It can be
comfort food and used in a dish as familiar as Chicken and Dumplings or it can
be elegantly stuffed and sautéed in wine.
In the
following recipe I changed the portions and added several ingredients. I found
the basic recipe for a Honey-Mustard Chicken in a magazine supplement to our
local newspaper and decided to personalize it to our taste. We were very
pleasantly surprised at the result and it will be a family favorite in our
file.
Honey-Mustard Chicken
- 3
skinless chicken thighs
- ½
teaspoon salt, divided
- Coarsely
ground black pepper
- 3
tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
- 1
tablespoon honey
- ¼
cup finely chopped sweet onion
- 1
large clove garlic, diced
- ½
teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2
tablespoons olive oil
- ½
cup white wine
- 4
small red potatoes
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Sprinkle the chicken thighs with ¼
teaspoon salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste. I like a peppery taste
so I use more than most folks, probably about ½ teaspoon.
- Combine the mustard, honey, onion,
garlic, thyme and ¼ cup white wine in a small Pyrex bowl and blend together.
Pour over thighs that you have placed in a 9x9 baking dish or an oven safe
skillet.
- Cut the red potatoes in half and
place them in the baking dish with the chicken thighs. Drizzle the olive oil
over the potatoes and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and coarsely
ground black pepper.
- Bake for 50 minutes until potatoes and
chicken are tender. Stir the potatoes once to ensure even baking.
- Plate the chicken and potatoes, and
add remaining 1/4 cup wine to the baking dish and stir over a low heat until
you have a thin drizzle to pour over the chicken. Serves 3 generously.
If cooking for fewer people, the
leftovers will make a delicious chicken sandwich lunch with potatoes for a side.
Want to add
to or enhance your cookware, tableware, or cutlery? Visit our website at http://www.mycookwareshop.com.
You can also view more of our favorite recipes.
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Easy Breakfast Casseroles - Part 2
Recently we
were called on to serve breakfast to several different groups in one week. One
group wanted to begin serving members at 6:15 a.m.!!! Now I am not really too
eager to fry bacon and eggs or make breakfast tacos that early for a group. So with
that thought in mind we decided to go the breakfast casserole route. Most
casseroles are easy and can be made ahead and baked in the morning and they are
as varied as you want them to be. They can be combinations of bread, sausage,
eggs and cheese or potatoes, eggs and sausage or even bread stuffing mix with
eggs and cheese. Spinach is another wonderful addition. Since we were feeding
so many groups of people we decided to experiment with different casseroles and
see which one got the best reviews. No great surprise when we didn’t have a
clear winner. One of the favorites, Sausage Breakfast Casserole, has already
been featured in our previous article, Easy Breakfast Casseroles. It is truly
the easiest breakfast dish we have ever made.
Another
favorite in this taste test is one made with Herbed Bread Stuffing Mix. This
ingredient is often listed as croutons on recipes. It also calls for bacon
instead of sausage which is a nice change. We cook our bacon in the microwave
for less mess in the kitchen. We used two colors of bell pepper to make it a
little more interesting. This is a colorful and very tasty breakfast dish.
We hope this
easy breakfast dish will become a favorite in your kitchen and with your early
morning guests as well as those who join you for brunch.
Bacon and Herb Breakfast Casserole
- 12
slices bacon
- 1/4
cup butter, melted
- 3
cups herbed stuffing mix
- 2
1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 7
eggs
- 1
3/4 cups milk
- 1
bell pepper (any color), diced
- 1
Tbsp. dry mustard
- 2
tsp. Dried parsley
- Salt
and pepper to taste
- Cook
the bacon, drain and crumble. Set aside
- Preheat
oven to 325 degrees.
- Melt
butter in microwave or in a small pan on the stove over low heat. Spray a 9x13
Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray. Place stuffing mix in the bottom of the
dish and drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over the
top.
- Crack
the eggs into a medium Pyrex mixing bowl and whisk to break up the yolks. Add
milk, peppers, mustard, salt, pepper and parsley to the beaten eggs and whisk
until thoroughly combined. Pour over the croutons and cheese. Sprinkle the top
with the crumbled bacon.
- At
this point the casserole may be covered and refrigerated overnight or it may be
baked in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. Add approximately 5 minutes to the
baking time if it has been refrigerated. Allow the dish to stand for 10 minutes
before serving.
Want to add to or enhance your
cookware, tableware, or cutlery? Visit
our website at http://www.mycookwareshop.com
and peruse our offerings. You can also
visit our website to view more of our favorite recipes.
Jan
Duggan is a retired senior manager with over 30 years in the high tech
electronics industry. He and his wife
Mary are fulfilling a decade’s long ambition of running their own
business. Their website (http://www.mycookwareshop.com) offers
a variety of quality cookware, cutlery and dinnerware from nationally
recognized manufacturers, and features some of their favorite recipes from
around the country. They have 2 married
daughters and 6 grandkids which keep them busy and youthful. Both Jan and Mary enjoy cooking and
entertaining and love to travel in any spare time they find.
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Pyrex: The Reliable Bakeware
In the early 1900’s Corning Glass Works had developed a
lantern glass made from a low-expansion glass for the railroads that would not
shatter when it was struck by rain or snow.
As a result they saw a decline in sales as replacements were not needed
as often. The tough glass was resistant
to temperature fluctuations, corrosion and breakage. Corning was looking for a
way to expand their business when in 1913 Bessie Littleton, the wife of company’s
newest scientist, Dr. Jesse Littleton, became very frustrated with her Guernsey
brand casserole which had fractured in the oven after only two uses. She knew the strength of the glass her husband
had been working with on a daily basis and begged him to bring home a
substitute from the Corning Glass plant. The next evening he brought home the bottoms
of two sawed-off battery jars made from the low-expansion glasses. She baked a
sponge cake in one of the glasses. Her
findings were remarkable.
- The
cooking time was shorter
- The
cake did not stick to the glass
- The
cake was uniform
- She
could watch the cake bake and see that it was done by looking at the underside.
Dr. Littleton took his wife’s creation to work with him the
following day. Researchers inspected the
cake noting it was uniform in color, delicious and well baked. Thus began a two year process to perfect this
new invention. On May 18, 1915 the
Boston department store, Jordan Marsh, placed the first Pyrex order.
This glassware, sold under the Pyrex trademark, seemed to be
the perfect material. It was sturdy and
nearly unbreakable which eliminated the hassle and cost of replacing it. These attributes would become even more
important during World War II when resources were scarce.
Selling the product was not easy since most housewives would
not believe that glass would be so durable and would withstand the stresses
that Pyrex claimed to tolerate. People
were skeptical despite the fact that Pyrex was easy to clean, absorbed rather
than reflected heat waves and was not fragile. In 1915 Corning enlisted the aid of Sarah
Tyson Rorer, editor of ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping columnist and
founder of The Philadelphia Cooking School to be their spokesperson and
advertiser. She was soon promoting the
product at demonstrations across the country. By 1919 more than 4 1/2 million pieces had
been sold. That was an enormous number
for that time period as America was involved in World War I.
Pyrex attributes that were important in 1915 are still important
today.
- Dependable
- Versatile
- Durable
- Value
- Easy
to clean
- Does
not stain or retain food odors
- Bake
and serve in same dish
- Refrigerator/freezer
storage
Since Pyrex was introduced the products have seen many
changes in design, color, decoration and accessories to keep pace with changing
cooking practices and fashion. Pyrex
Portales, a part of changing times, was introduced in 1995. It is an insulated food transportation system
that allows for carrying hot or cold food sealed in the dish it was cooked in. Pyrex is now available in a wide assortment of
products for baking, storing and transporting food.
Imagining a kitchen without this durable and versatile
cookware is almost impossible. Whether
it is used for baking a cake, roasting or preparing a casserole, Pyrex is
reliable, easy to clean and can be used to refrigerate the leftovers. It is truly a workhorse in the kitchen.
Want to add to or enhance your
cookware, tableware, or cutlery? Visit
our website at http://www.mycookwareshop.com
and peruse our offerings. You can also
visit our website to view more of our favorite recipes.
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More on Pyrex
Doing the
research on the history of Pyrex was really interesting and a lot of fun. I had absolutely no idea it had such an unusual
beginning. The need was very practical. But then aren’t most things invented because
of a very real and practical need? I
would guess that most homemakers of that day were very frustrated with the
cookware available to them. They had a
need for baking dishes that didn’t fracture in the oven. I really cannot imagine my life without Pyrex.
I would guess that I use a Pyrex product
every day. From measuring cups to mixing
bowls, storage containers and baking dishes, all of those items are at hand to
be used while preparing meals, baking or storing food in my kitchen.
While
writing and researching the history article, I thought of the durability of the
basic Pyrex baking dish and a favorite dessert of my grandchildren, the Jello Poke
Cake. It really shows the durability of
the glassware. That durability was the
very thing that was attractive about the glass used in the Pyrex bake ware. You bake a cake, pour boiling Jello over it
and immediately put the dish in the refrigerator and never stop to wonder if
the glass will crack or break because of the temperature extremes. Time after time it works. I know
that I take for granted that the Pyrex baking dish that I am using will be
reliable.
As I said,
the Jello Poke cake is a favorite of my grandchildren and we just recently made
one for Saint Patrick’s Day.
Jello Poke Cake
- Lime
Jello Poke Cake
- 1
Box white cake mix
- 1
large box lime Jello
- 2
cups boiling water
- 1
small container Cool Whip
- Bake
the cake in a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish according to the instructions on the box
- Mix
the Jello with 2 cups of boiling water
- Poke
holes evenly over the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon
- Pour
boiling Jello over the top and refrigerate immediately
- After
cake is completely cool cover the top with whipped topping
A creative
grandchild decorated the top of our cake with shamrocks made of green sugar.
Very
festive!!
A variation on
the Lime Jello Cake follows.
Strawberry Chocolate Jello Poke Cake
- Follow
the basic directions above and substitute the following ingredients.
- Use
a chocolate cake mix and strawberry Jello
- Cover
the top with whipped topping
- Decorate
the top of the cake with sliced fresh strawberries.
I hope you
all enjoy these desserts that are fun and easy to make. Jello Poke Cake is a
great dessert for warmer days. Let your imagination run with all of the
possible flavor combinations.
Another
family favorite recipe is an Apple Dump Cake. I found my favorite at
AllRecipes.com and changed it just a bit.
Apple Dump Cake
- 1
Box Spice cake Mix
- 1
Can Apple Pie Filling
- 1
Can cooked Apples
- 1
tsp. Cinnamon
- ½
tsp. Nutmeg
- 1tsp.
Sugar
- ¾
cup Butter
- 1
cup Chopped pecans (opt.)
-
- Preheat
oven to 350 degrees
- Pour
the cans of apple pie filling and cooked apples into a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish.
- Mix
together the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Sprinkle over the apples.
- Pour
the box of cake mix over the top. Dot
with the butter and sprinkle with the pecans.
- Bake
in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the top is golden and the
sides are bubbly. Serve warm with ice
cream or whipped topping.
Want to add to or enhance your cookware, tableware, or
cutlery? Visit our website at http://www.mycookwareshop.com and
peruse our offerings. You can also visit
our website to view more of our favorite recipes.
Jan
Duggan is a retired senior manager with over 30 years in the high tech
electronics industry. He and his wife
Mary are fulfilling a decade’s long ambition of running their own
business. Their website (http://www.mycookwareshop.com) offers
a variety of quality cookware, cutlery and dinnerware from nationally
recognized manufacturers, and features some of their favorite recipes from
around the country. They have 2 married
daughters and 6 grandkids which keep them busy and youthful. Both Jan and Mary enjoy cooking and
entertaining and love to travel in any spare time they find.
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Grilling Season
For most
folks, late spring and summer are the traditional times for grilling
outdoors. Grilling at our house,
however, goes on year round. I think hamburgers have been grilled during that
rare weather event in our part of the country, a snowfall! Since we are ardent about outdoor cooking on
a grill, we do have some favorite recipes other than the all American favorite
hamburger. One family favorite was
introduced to us when we were very young and just learning how to cook over a
charcoal fire. Another favorite,
grilled zucchini squash is a new addition to our recipe collection. Last of all
we have tried grilled fruit and determined that it is a great way to prepare
apples and peaches.
Our tried
and true family favorite is potatoes and carrots with onion cooked in
foil. The recipe is designed to be
adjusted for different sized servings.
Grilled Potatoes and Carrots
- 2
medium white or red potatoes
- 2
medium carrots
- ½
medium sweet onion
- Butter
to taste
- Salt
and pepper to taste
- Dried
parsley to taste
- Aluminum
foil
- Scrub
the potatoes and peel the carrots.
- Slice
the potatoes and carrots French fry style.
- Slice
the onion
- Tear
2 sheets of aluminum foil approximately 18 inches long and spray with cooking
spray.
- Place
the vegetables, evenly divided on the foil.
- Dot
with butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. I also like to add a
little dried parsley.
- Fold the foil over and seal. Place on the
grill over medium heat and grill for 45 minutes turning often.
- Open
carefully and place in a Reco pasta bowl to serve.
Grilled Zucchini Squash
- 2
medium zucchini
- Olive
oil
- Dried
basil or Italian seasoning
- Salt
and pepper
- Wash
and slice zucchini lengthwise into approximately ¼ inch sized slices.
- Brush
with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings to your taste.
- Place
over medium heat on the grill and cook turning often until tender.
This goes
really well with chicken grilled seasoned with white wine and salt and pepper.
Grilled Fruit
Slice a
peach in half and remove the pit. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and place on the
grill cut side down. Remove after about five minutes.
This is a
lovely way to prepare fruit to accompany the main course or serve in a bowl
with a scoop of ice cream in one of the Reco Everything Bowls.
Jan Duggan
is a retired senior manager with over 30 years in the high tech electronics
industry. He and his wife Mary are
fulfilling a decade’s long ambition of running their own business. Their website http://www.mycookwareshop.com offers a variety of quality cookware, cutlery
and dinnerware from nationally recognized manufacturers, and features some of
their favorite recipes
from around the country. They have 2
married daughters and 6 grandkids which keep them busy and youthful. Both Jan and Mary enjoy cooking and
entertaining and love to travel in any spare time they find.
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Easy Comfort Food
January
always seems to be the month that creates the desire for food that is warm,
comforting and easy to fix. After all the more complicated and rich foods of
the holiday season it seems that simple and warming are the kinds of foods we
are all in the mood to eat. The weather also dictates that soups and stews are
appropriate additions to our menus. They are easy to prepare, warming to our
cold bodies and they invite us to stay indoors in our kitchens.
Last year
about this time I shared some of my family’s favorite potato recipes. These
recipes were simple, made us feel good because they were part of our family’s
recipe collection and just warmed us up. I have a couple of new recipes that
are not based on just the potato but they do have potato in them. One of them
is a slow cooker recipe but can easily be adapted to the stove top.
A good rule
of thumb when adapting a recipe from slow cooker to stove top is to increase
the liquid. I would not add too much more liquid in the slow cooker recipe as
it would make it too soupy. The following recipe may be cut in half.
Chicken and Corn Chowder
- 1
cup finely shredded carrots
- 2
cups 1% percent milk
- 1
cup chicken broth
- ¼
tsp. black pepper
- ½
tsp. no salt seasoning (or more to taste)
- 1
cup onion, chopped
- 2
cups potatoes, peeled and cut into ½”chunks
- 1
lb. uncooked, boneless chicken breasts cut into 1” pieces
- 4 15 ounce cans cream style corn
- 1
cup dried potato flakes
1.
Combine
all ingredients except potato flakes in a 6 quart slow cooker.
2.
Cover
and cook on low for 5-7 hours until potatoes pierce easily with a fork and
chicken is done.
3.
Add potato flakes and stir well.
4.
Uncover
and cook on high for 10 minutes or until chowder has thickened and potato
flakes have thoroughly dissolved.
Serves 8-10
Note: This may be halved for a smaller slow
cooker. To make on the stove top add
about ½ cup more liquid. The test for doneness would be the same.
The second
recipe was found in a newspaper supplement several years ago. It is truly
comfort food and most delicious.
Cheesy Chicken Chowder
- 2
14 ounce cans low sodium chicken broth
- 2
cups peeled and diced potatoes
- 1
cup diced carrots
- 1
cup diced celery
- ½
cup diced onion
- 1
tsp. no-salt seasoning
- ¼
tsp. pepper
- ¼
cup butter
- 1/3
cup flour
- 2
cups 1% milk
- 2
cups grated cheddar cheese
- 2
cups diced cooked chicken
1.
Bring
chicken broth to a boil in a medium stock pot. Reduce heat and add potatoes,
carrots, celery, onion , no salt seasoning and pepper. Cover and simmer until
vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
2.
Melt
butter in a saucepan. Add flour and blend well. Gradually stir in milk and cook
over low heat until thickened. Stir in cheese and cook until melted. Add cheese
mixture to the broth and vegetable mixture stirring well. Add chicken cooking
and stirring over low heat until thoroughly heated.
Makes 8
servings
Jan Duggan
is a retired senior manager with over 30 years in the high tech electronics
industry. He and his wife Mary are
fulfilling a decade’s long ambition of running their own business. Their website http://www.mycookwareshop.com offers a variety of quality cookware, cutlery
and dinnerware from nationally recognized manufacturers, and features some of
their favorite recipes
from around the country. They have 2
married daughters and 6 grandkids which keep them busy and youthful. Both Jan and Mary enjoy cooking and
entertaining and love to travel in any spare time they find.
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Easy Summer Entertaining
It is truly
summertime, so hot it may even be the “dog days” already. But that doesn’t mean
we have to give up entertaining with family and friends. The trick now is to
make our foods as easy and tasty as we possibly can all while remaining as cool
as possible. For our family that can mean a grilled hamburger or a turkey
burger accompanied by potato salad, maybe a simple pasta salad or even potatoes
roasted on the grill. Recently Southern Living magazine featured articles on
easy grilling recipes for holiday or family gatherings. One of our favorites
was a burger topped with pimento cheese and bacon. I decided we would try it.
It was a huge hit with all of our guests. We used purchased pimento cheese and
of course crispy bacon cooked in the microwave to help keep the kitchen cool.
Just top your grilled burger with these two items and add your other favorite
toppings; lettuce, tomato or onions and you have a most delicious hamburger.
Now the side
dish for the gathering. My favorite side with burgers will almost always be
some form of potatoes. To go with the pimento cheese and bacon burgers we chose
to roast potatoes on the grill. They take about 45 minutes. We used the
smallest red-skinned potatoes we could find. You could also use fingerling
potatoes or any potato of your choice. Just keep the size uniform. The recipe
we made up follows.
Grill Roasted Potatoes
- 1
½-2 lbs. of very small red skinned potatoes
- Olive
oil to coat
- Sea
salt and pepper to taste (or a garlic flavor seasoned “no salt” product)
- 1
Tbsp. dried parsley leaves
- Heavy
duty foil roasting pan
Cut the
potatoes in half. Place in pan. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and toss
until well coated. Season liberally making sure all potatoes are covered. Place
over medium heat on your grill. Stir every 10 or so minutes until tender when
pierced with a fork. It could take less time depending on grill temperatures.
Enjoy. Serves at least 6
We also enjoy grilling turkey burgers. Our
favorite seasoning for them is White Wine Worstershire sauce. We then top them
with a mild green chili and Muenster cheese. The side we most often serve with
this burger is a very simple pasta salad we created one evening when we were
searching for something a little different.
Simple Pasta Salad
- ½
box tiny pasta shells
- Mayonnaise
to taste
- Ranch
Dressing to taste
- Sea
Salt and Pepper
- 1
Tbsp. dried parsley
- ½
cup diced cheddar cheese
- 1
½ cup frozen green peas and carrots, thawed
Cook pasta
according to package directions to the al dente stage. Drain and cool slightly.
Mix mayonnaise and Ranch Dressing in half and half portions to coat the pasta
thoroughly. Season the pasta with salt, pepper and parsley. Stir in cheese and
thawed vegetables. Chill for 3 or more hours and serve.
Hope you
enjoy these simple recipes for summer gatherings.
Jan Duggan
is a retired senior manager with over 30 years in the high tech electronics
industry. He and his wife Mary are
fulfilling a decade’s long ambition of running their own business. Their website http://www.mycookwareshop.com offers a variety of quality cookware, cutlery
and dinnerware from nationally recognized manufacturers, and features some of
their favorite recipes
from around the country. They have 2
married daughters and 6 grandkids which keep them busy and youthful. Both Jan and Mary enjoy cooking and
entertaining and love to travel in any spare time they find.
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