Category: New Traditions

Family Favorites · New Favorite · New Traditions

Green Chile Pie…any day, any time

cathysmaha3 Comments

My brother and his wife told me about this dish 20+ years ago and I collected the recipe but never made it…until…this summer.  I had the great fortune of attending a yoga retreat in Copper Mountain Colorado this summer with wonderful gal pals.  Our friend, Sue, made this dish for dinner one evening served with a salad and fruit and VOILA…it was a hit.

This dish is so easy and so tasty….my mouth is watering.  My grown daughters and significant others are also in love with this dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Only three ingredients.  Can you believe it?  You won’t be disappointed!

IMG_4856
GREEN CHILE PIE

7 ounce can of green chiles
3/4 pound shredded, Monterey Jack Cheese
4 eggs

  • Grease a pie plate.  Spread chiles in bottom of pie plate.  Shred cheese and spread over the chiles.  Beat 4 eggs and pour evenly over the cheese.
Green Chile Pie ready for the oven
  • Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour.  Cut into wedges or squares and serve with any of the following:  salsa, sour cream, fresh cilantro, guacamole.
Family Favorites · New Favorite · New Traditions

Refrigerator Crock Salad…a slaw with many faces

cathysmaha1 Comment

My Mother occasionally made this salad, often with fresh ingredients from her garden.  The last time I made this recipe was 15+ years ago for a Christmas party.  This week I resurrected the recipe and tried it out in several ways.  Each combination was wonderful.

Refrigerator Crock Salad

1)  Side dish to barbecue ANYTHING

2)  Pairs very well with fish and would be GREAT on fish tacos

3)  On a sandwich (daughter Sarah’s fiancé, Kyle, put it on a turkey, cheese, and ham salad combo sandwich).  Sounds incredibly weird, but delicious!

Besides being delicious, this salad keeps in the refrigerator for several days.  In fact it just keeps getting better and better.

REFRIGERATOR CROCK SALAD

1 head green cabbage
2 green sweet bell peppers
2 red or orange sweet bell peppers
4 carrots
2 onions
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 cups white cider vinegar
2.5 cups sugar

  • Shred cabbage, peppers, carrots, onions in a large bowl.  Soak in salt water for 2 hours.  Drain well.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar and the sugar.  Pour over shredded ingredients and refrigerate.  Let sit for a minimum of 3-4 hours before serving.
Family · My Roots · New Traditions

Stuffed Green Peppers with Quinoa…a new twist on an old favorite!

cathysmaha1 Comment

Memories of stuffed peppers in my Mother’s kitchen are sketchy, probably because I wasn’t fond of vegetables as a kid.  My taste buds have matured with age, and I love almost all vegetables.

I decided I would experiment with stuffed peppers and loved this recipe, substituting quinoa for the rice.  The result was a protein rich, yummy AND healthy dish.   When I made this recipe I only had three green peppers on hand, so I made a small meatloaf with the remaining meat mixture.  Fabulous!  This will also be a new meatloaf recipe to add to my collection.

Mini Meatloaf

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS WITH QUINOA

6 medium green peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 can (1 lb. 3 oz.) crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 pounds lean ground chuck
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Precook quinoa according to package directions.
  • Slice off tops of green peppers and remove seeds and ribs. Rinse peppers. Chop the edible portion of the tops and set aside. Place peppers in a large pot of boiling salt water and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from water, drain, and cool slightly.

  • Heat olive oil in medium size skillet; add chopped onion, celery, and pepper and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

  • In a large bowl, beat the egg together with the Worcestershire sauce. Add ground chuck, quinoa, and 1 cup of tomato mixture and mix well.
    5. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in greased casserole. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the top.

  • Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Family · Family Favorites · New Traditions

Fancy Schmancy Asparagus…simple crowd pleaser!

cathysmaha1 Comment

A dear friend introduced me to this dish a few years ago.  The asparagus is elegant enough for a nice dinner party yet casual enough for an appetizer or family side dish. People will ‘ooh and aah’ at the presentation and keep coming back for more.

We are coming into fresh asparagus season and a perfect time to try this recipe.

Fancy Schmancy Asparagus

This dish is best served fresh from the oven.  Enjoy this favorite dish enjoyed by family and friends.

FANCY SCHMANCY ASPARAGUS

1 pound fresh asparagus
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
Garlic salt

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease large baking sheet.
  • Wash and trim fresh asparagus and dry on paper towels.
  • Open crescent rolls and separate dough into four squares. On a cutting board, cut dough into strips of about 1/8-1/4″.
  • Wrap one strip of dough around each piece of asparagus and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is light brown.
  • Serve immediately.
Family Favorites · New Traditions

Chicken Breasts Supreme … great for dinner parties

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Chicken Breasts Supreme served with Rice and steamed broccoli

When I want my daughters to come home for a meal, THIS is the ticket.  They both love this dish and the sides have also become tradition, serving a wild rice blend, steamed broccoli, salad and rolls.

My sister-in-law, Betty, gave me this recipe early in my marriage and it is truly fabulous.  The chicken is oh, so tender, and the combination of the flavors is fabulous. In an effort to make this dish a tad healthier, I precook the bacon to remove a good part of the grease and use low-fat (or no-fat) sour cream and soup.

This recipe is a wonderful dish to serve at a dinner party.  The majority of the work is done far before the guests arrive and you will have more time to enjoy the party.

CHICKEN BREASTS SUPREME

12 half chicken breasts, boned
12 strips bacon (I cook slightly to remove some of fat)
1 large jar dried beef
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 carton low-fat sour cream
sliced almonds and paprika

  • Grease a 9×13″ baking dish.
  • Brown bacon until bacon is about 70% cooked.  Drain bacon on paper towels.
  • Cover bottom of dish generously with dried beef. Wrap chicken with bacon. Place chicken in single layer over the beef.
Layer of dried beef covered with layer of bacon-wrapped half chicken breasts
  • Cover with mixture of soup and sour cream. Sprinkle with almonds. No salt needed.
Chicken Supreme ready for the oven
  • Bake uncovered at 250 degrees for 4 hours. Cover the last hour.
Family Favorites · New Traditions

Cornbread the old fashioned way

cathysmaha2 Comments

My husband, Karl, was the official cornbread maker in our house.  His cornbread is not sweet and is typically served with a pot of pinto beans with ham, cooked greens, fresh tomatoes and onions.  I also like to serve cornbread with my 5-hour Beef Stew (to be posted another day) or chili.  I always save a piece to drown in honey from my neighbor, Gary’s, beehives.

CORNBREAD the old fashioned way

1 tablespoon bacon grease (or canola oil)
1 cup white corn meal
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup corn oil
1 cup milk

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put one tablespoon bacon grease (heaping) in an iron skillet and let skillet get up to temperature of the oven. Take paper towel and spread grease throughout skillet. Pour off excess grease. You can be doing this while you are mixing the ingredients.
  • Mix dry ingredients. Beat egg and add wet ingredients. Mix. Blend dry and wet ingredients and stir well. You might need to add milk for the mixture needs to be runny.

  • When skillet is hot pour ingredients into it. Do not burn your hands. It’s easy to reach out and grab the skillet handle without using a pad or glove. Bake for 27 minutes.
  • Let cornbread cool for a few minutes, then invert onto plate.  Serve warm with butter and honey or with the traditional pot of pinto beans, stew or chili.
Cornbread hot from the oven
Family · New Traditions

Chicken Broccoli Dish…a new favorite comfort food

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Recently I was joining my neighbors for dinner and wanted to make a main dish from items I had in my pantry and freezer.  I discovered this recipe in the Cornerstone Cookbook published by the Assistance League, Marshalltown, IA in 1976.    My Mother gave me this cookbook, on my 23rd birthday, and it has become one of my ‘go-to’ cookbooks.

This casserole was a hit and will now join my list of favorite recipes.

CHICKEN BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

2 packages frozen (or fresh) broccoli
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken or turkey
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter

  • Cook broccoli until tender. Arrange in bottom of buttered baking dish (9″x13″). Place two cups cooked, cubed chicken on top of broccoli.

  • Combine chicken soup, sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, lemon juice and curry powder. Pour over chicken and broccoli.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Combine crumbs and butter and spread over top of casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

New Traditions

Beef Brisket

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For years I have been hesitant to cook a beef brisket. A dear friend always serves a wonderful brisket and shared the recipe with me.  It is so simple, yet so moist and tender.  I’ve served this multiple times at dinner parties with great results.   The sauce is wonderful served on the brisket, especially when using coca cola.  Wish I had one cooking now!

Sliced beef brisket and sauce

BEEF BRISKET

1/2 pound beef brisket per person
Spices: kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, mesquite seasoning
Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke
Can of coca cola or beer

  • Remove excess fat from brisket (leave some for flavoring). Mix spices together and rub on both sides of brisket. Place brisket in pan or in Ziploc bag. Add Worcestershire and liquid smoke. Cover 2/3 of brisket with coca cola or beer and marinade overnight.
  • Cook in crock pot for 6-8 hours on low or in oven at 325 degrees for 6 hours. Cook with marinade. Add liquid if needed.
  • About an hour before the meat is done, remove some of the liquid and heat equal portions of cooking liquid and barbecue sauce. Simmer/reduce for 1 hour.
  • Remove brisket from crock pot or oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes, covered with foil. Slice on the cross-grain and serve with sauce.
New Traditions

Forgotten cookies…my kind of cookie recipe

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Last fall I was attending a gal pal gathering and Forgotten Cookies were served.  How in the world have I gone through life without EVER tasting one of these.  They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.  They also solve my cookie-baking dilemma of leaving them in the oven too long.

Wouldn’t this be a great recipe when your child remembers to tell you at 9 p.m. that you are supposed to bring cookies to school the next day?  Mix them up the night before, pop them in the oven, and TA-DA…they are ready for you in the morning. Hmmm…maybe breakfast that day, too, after all, it does have eggs…

Forgotten cookies, ready for you in the morning!

FORGOTTEN COOKIES

2 egg whites at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until they hold stiff peaks.
Stiff, beaten egg whites
  • Add salt and vanilla. Stir well. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
  • Cover cookie sheet with foil and grease with butter or margarine. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the foil. Put in oven then turn the oven off. Leave overnight in oven with door closed.
Forgotten cookie ready to be devoured
Family Favorites · New Traditions

Turkey ala Mumba … just in time for Super Bowl parties

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Similar to a enchilada casserole
Baked Turkey ala Mumba

My dear sweet friend and neighbor, Maribeth, made this dish for our family the summer of 1997.  We had several family members in town and they were crazy for this dish.  My step-daughter Karen, even had the leftovers for breakfast the next day.

It has since become a family favorite, any time of year.  After Thanksgiving, I freeze any leftover turkey to use specifically for this casserole.  Leftover chicken would work equally as well.   I often make the casserole the day before and let the dish rest and enhance the flavors.

This would be a great dish for Super Bowl parties!

TURKEY ALA MUMBA

1 pound cooked turkey or chicken (3 cups)
2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained
2 medium onions, chopped
7 ounce can diced mild green chiles
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped or 1 T. dried
1 pound low fat Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese, grated
12 6″ corn tortillas, cut in half
Sour Cream
Salsa

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Set aside 1/2 cup black beans. Combine turkey, remainder of black beans, onions, chiles, soup, stock, garlic and spices.
  • Layer 12 tortilla halves in 9×13″ pan. Cover with half of mixture, sprinkle on half of cheese. Repeat layers of tortillas, mixture and cheese. Sprinkle reserved black beans across top.

  • Bake 45 minutes until cheese is brown. Serve with sour cream and salsa. Freezes well if you are lucky enough to have leftovers!
Voila! Turkey ala Mumba