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.
Many years ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Cape Cod and we spent the night in Provincetown, Massachusetts where we were introduced to this wonderful soup. We learned that Portuguese sailors and families settled in Provincetown in the 19th century: http://www.provincetowntourismoffice.org/index.aspx?NID=77
When we returned home, I tried to duplicate it and discovered my recipe was very close to the original.
PORTUGUESE KALE SOUP
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion
1 pound chorizo
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
8 cups chicken broth
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 package frozen or 1-2 lbs fresh kale
1 can Cannellini beans
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 teaspoon paprika
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Slice or crumble chorizo and saute in 1/4 cup of olive oil, onion, and chopped garlic. Do not allow garlic to brown, so add last. Sausage does not need to cook through.
Add liquid and simmer for 10 minutes. Prepare the kale by rinsing thoroughly and tearing the leafy portions from the stems. Tear into bite-size pieces. Discard stems.
Add potatoes, kale, beans, seasonings and simmer additional 30 minutes.
This was my Mother’s favorite sugar cookie recipe. She made them every Christmas and frequently during the year. They are melt-in-your mouth yummy!
I decided this would be a wonderful Valentine’s treat to share with friends and family. The traditional chocolates would have been nice, but nothing beats homemade cookies!
Wishing you a Valentine’s Day full of love and friendships!
Mix sugars, margarine, eggs, oil, and extracts together until well blended.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and nutmeg and add to sugar mixture. Blend well and mix with hands when it gets too stiff to continue with mixer.
Roll dough into balls the size of a walnut. Put on cookie sheet and press with a glass dipped in sugar or press with glass and sprinkle with colored sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees until very light brown, about 8-9 minutes. Do not leave until brown or overbake. Cool.
Fresh baked sugar cookies
These cookies freeze wonderfully. I have often made for the holidays and freeze.
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.
Chicken and Noodles has to be our all-time family favorite. This is the ultimate comfort food to share with those you love. The carbs are high but your family will be feeling the love! My mother would serve this for a hearty supper (evening meal in the Midwest) or for Sunday dinner (noon meal). It is best made with homemade noodles, although we have found several commercial noodles (such as Kluski style noodles) that work well.
This time, I made my noodles from scratch, like my Mother did. She could whip up a batch so fast. I admit I’m slower and not as precise. After I moved away from Iowa, my Mother would visit and make several batches of noodles for me, always ready in the freezer when I was craving Mom’s chicken and noodles.
This is not your ordinary chicken and noodle soup…Instead, the chicken and noodles are served over mashed potatoes. Crazy, right? You won’t think so once you try it. It is a fabulous medley of flavors that is perfect for a cold, wintry night. However, daughter Megan has been known to request this for her August birthday dinner. We served this to her friends when she was a teenager and they thought we were crazy UNTIL they tasted it. Now her friends ask her when she is making chicken and noodles. The tradition continues.
EGG NOODLES
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 4 egg yolks 7 to 8 tablespoons cold water
Sift flour with salt into medium bowl.
Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add egg yolks and 4 tablespoons cold water. Beat vigorously with wooden spoon until well combined.
Gradually add 3 more tablespoons water, mixing well with your hands. Dough will be stiff. If it is too stiff to knead, gradually add more water.
On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with bowl and let the dough rest for 5 minutes
Divide the dough into four parts. Work with one part at a time. Keep remainder covered with bowl until ready to roll out.
Rolling out noodle doughRolling noodle dough to prepare to cut noodlesCut noodles prepared to dry overnight
Roll each part, on a floured surface, to about 14″x16″. Dough will be about 1/8″ thick. The shape does not need to be perfect. Work quickly before dough dries out.
Make sure each side of the dough is lightly coated with flour. Starting with the long side, roll the dough loosely, like you would for a jelly roll. With a thin sharp knife, cut roll into 1/8″ strips for noodles. Arrange on ungreased cookie sheet to dry. Let dry overnight before cooking.
Dried noodles can be stored in a cool place. They also freeze beautifully for use at a later time.
CHICKEN AND NOODLES
Chicken and Noodles simmering in homemade chicken and broth
1 whole chicken Salt and pepper Water Egg Noodles, Uncooked (or make your own) Parsley to taste Mashed potatoes
Cover whole chicken, in deep pot, with water and boil until chicken is falling off the bone. Remove chicken from broth and cool. Once chicken is cool, pick chicken pieces off the bone and return to broth. Discard bones and skin.
Refrigerate broth over night. Before proceeding, remove any congealed fat from top of broth.
Heat broth and chicken and add more water to assure enough liquid to cook one package of egg noodles. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 30+ minutes or until noodles are done.
Hearty Beef Stew is the perfect winter dish and is wonderful served with Cornbread (see my posting of 1/30/2011). This recipe was shared by my neighbor and friend, Maribeth. It’s now a favorite and terrific to serve to a crowd. Let the stew simmer in the oven while you enjoy your family or guests.
FIVE HOUR BEEF STEW
2 pounds stew meat or round steak
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 large potatoes, cut up
6 carrots, cut up
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 slice white bread with crusts, chopped
Trim excess fat from meat and cube.
Combine all ingredients in Dutch oven. Mix thoroughly.
Bake, tightly covered, in preheated oven at 250 degrees for 5 hours. Stir once or twice during cooking.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Fork Lore 