Tag: favorite

Family Favorites · Pastas

Pasta with Bacon Cream Sauce

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Pasta with Bacon Cream Sauce is a family favorite, one I have made for well over 30 years. When I was working and the kids were at home, this was an easy weeknight dinner that pleased everyone. Now that my daughters have families of their own, this is a favorite of the next generation. Feel free to increase the amount of bacon or cheese to your liking.

Pasta with Bacon Cream Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 lb. vermicelli or very thin spaghetti
  • 1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 6 scallions, trimmed and cut into strips
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ladle of pasta water
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; add butter and scallions; saute 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cream, pasta water and pepper. Hold over low heat.
  2. Cook and drain pasta. Add to cream mixture; toss together.
  3. Add all but 1 tablespoon bacon, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and parsley, toss.
  4. Serve at once, garnished with bacon and remaining Parmesan cheese.

Recipe from long ago and far away…but oh, so good!

Family Favorites · Holidays · New Traditions · Vegetables · Vegetarian

Roasted Brussel Sprouts Salad with Maple Butternut Squash, Pumpkin Seeds & Cranberries

cathysmaha1 Comment

This flavorful dish is like a burst of autumn in your mouth. Each bite is full of flavor. The addition of raw apple kicks it up a notch. What a wonderful dish to share at holiday gatherings.

This main dish is delicious on its own but, if you prefer more protein, add a bit of pork, chicken or beef. I had leftover pork roast and added a few slices and thought it added even more to the dish. This has become a real favorite and one I’ll be making over and over again.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts Salad with Maple Butternut Squash, Pumpkin Seeds & Cranberries

INGREDIENTS:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
  • 3 cups Brussels sprouts , ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt to taste
Roasted Butternut Squash:
  • 1 ½ lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1-inch cubes (Yields about 4 cups of uncooked cubed butternut squash)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Other Ingredients:
  • ½ cups pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup optional
Optional: Add sliced cooked pork, steak or chicken
DIRECTIONS:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
  • Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Make sure Brussels sprouts have trimmed ends and yellow leaves are removed. Then, slice all Brussels sprouts in half. In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt (to taste), and toss to combine. Place onto a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side down, and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 20-25 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, turn them over for even browning, the cut sides should be nicely and partially charred but not blackened.
Roasted butternut squash:
  • Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
  • In a medium bowl, combine cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded),1 tablespoon of olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon, and toss to mix.
  • Place butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once half-way through baking, until softened.
  • Note:  You can roast both Brussels sprouts and butternut squash on 2 separate baking sheets at the same time, on the same rack in the oven.
Assembly:
  • In a large bowl, combine roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, and cranberries, and mix to combine. (OPTIONAL): For more sweetness, add 2 or 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, if desired – do not add all maple syrup at once, start with 2 tablespoons, then add more, if desired, and toss with the salad ingredients to combine.

Recipe from Juliasalbum

Soups and Stews

Sopa de la Casa

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Sopa de la Casa is a recipe I discovered in the early 1980s. It reminded me of the scrumptious tortilla soup that I first enjoyed at Tijuana Tilly’s, in Tijuana, Mexico. Sopa de la Casa was a regular on my table before my daughters were born and it was time to revisit this easy, delicous recipe. It was just as I remembered!

Sopa de la Casa

INGREDIENTS:
  • 8 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 1/4 c. finely chopped onion
  • 1 1/4 c. finely chopped celery
  • 2 green peppers, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth
  • 1 can (31 oz.) refried beans
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 2 T. chili powder
DIRECTIONS:
  1. In a soup pot, cook bacon until crisp. Move cooked bacon to a separate bowl. Drain half of the bacon drippings. Add onion, celery, green pepper and garlic. Cook until tender.
  2. Blend in chicken broth, cooked bacon, refried beans, pepper and chili powder. Bring to boil. Remove from heat.
  3. Garnish with tortilla chips and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Gluten Free · Salads · Skinny · Vegan · Vegetarian

Cranberry and Mango Quinoa Salad

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Cranberry and Mango Quinoa Salad is a favorite salad shared by friend, Chris, at many of our Book Club and pot luck dinners. Finally, I decided to prepare it and savored every serving.  I’ve also tried adding other ingredients to add variety, including bits of turkey or slices or fresh avocado.
This salad is great for summer meals and gatherings.

CRANBERRY AND MANGO QUINOA SALAD

2 cups of water
1 cup of quinoa
1 cup fresh kale or spinach in bite size pieces
1.5 cup fresh or frozen mango chunks (one to two fresh mangos should yield just about 1.5 cups)
1.5 c cubed melon (I used Honeydew)
1/2 cup slivered almonds (toasted/optional)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
pinch of salt

  • Bring water to boil and cook quinoa per the instructions.  Cool.
  • Add kale (or spinach), mango, melon, almonds, and cranberries to quinoa.
  • Mix together Lemon poppy seed ingredients and pour over quinoa salad.
  • Serving Option:  Slice fresh avocado slices over top of salad.

Recipe adapted from Skinny Minz and Healthy Pursuit

Family Favorites · Home · Meats · My Roots

Meat Loaf…a slice of home

cathysmaha2 Comments

Meat Loaf is a favorite of mine and feel badly that it’s gotten a bad name.  Perhaps people have even too many ‘bad’ meatloaf to appreciate the good.  Meat Loaf is not a pretty dish but it is excellent paired with a good baked potato, salad and green vegetable. And, who doesn’t like a good meatloaf sandwich from the leftovers?  My Mother always had a slice of raw potato on her meat loaf sandwich and it’s good.  Who knew!

Meat Loaf is not easy to photograph…my apologies but I won’t apologize for the wonderful results!

MEAT LOAF

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I prefer ground chuck or sirloin)
3/4 cup quick oatmeal (uncooked)
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk

TOPPING:
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/3 to 1/2 cup catsup
2 tablespoons brown sugar

  • Mix all but topping together. Pack firmly into a loaf pan. Spread the topping over.

  • Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 60-90 minutes or until done. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

 

Family · Family Favorites · Holidays

Sweet, Sweet Blueberry Muffins

cathysmaha2 Comments

Warm, sweet blueberry muffins fresh from the oven with melted butter. Oh, my gosh..it’s the best.

The Sweet Blueberry Muffin recipe is one I found (who knows where!) during my college years. I was reading cookbooks like novels in those days. I first tried this recipe on my family when I cooked several items for Easter Dinner. I still remember the wonderful muffins and memories of Easter celebrations at the Farm.

SWEET BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup salad oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries (thawed & drained)

  • Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups.
  • Beat egg; stir in milk and oil.
  • Mix in remaining ingredients, just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fold in blueberries.
  • Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
  • Bake 20-25 minutes.
Family · Family Favorites

Potato Bacon Chowder…Family Fave!

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Potato Bacon Chowder is officially a family favorite, shared with me by my sister Carolyn. It’s a quick fix for a weeknight meal and GREAT as leftovers. Need I say more?

POTATO BACON CHOWDER

8 slices bacon (cut in 1 inch pieces)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups cubed potatoes
1 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
2 tablespoons parsley (chopped)

  • Fry bacon until crisp in a 3 quart saucepan; add onion and sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Pour off fat.
  • Add potatoes and water. Bring to boil; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

  • Stir in soup and sour cream; gradually add milk.
  • Add salt, pepper and parsley.
  • Heat to serving temperature. Do not boil.
Home · New Favorite

Chicken YUM YUM lives up to its name!

cathysmaha4 Comments

Great friend and neighbor, Maribeth, shared this recipe with me several months ago. She had shared with me that Chicken Yum Yum was a family favorite and I was excited to try it. For some reason, I envisioned a Chinese dish but this is true Americana comfort food. I have made it with cooked chicken breasts (a little drier) or with a whole roasted chicken.  The roasted (or rotissiere chicken from the store) wins, hands down.

This would be a great recipe to assemble the night before (sans the stuffing), adding the stuffing and butter immediately before baking.

I paired the Chicken Yum Yum with roasted broccoli and it was…YUM YUM!

CHICKEN YUM YUM

1 cooked chicken
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 box stove top stuffing
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine/butter

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Place evenly in a 9×13″ greased pan.
  • Mix together sour cream and cream of chicken soup and pour over chicken.
  • Sprinkle box of stuffing over soup/sour cream layer.
  • Drizzle chicken broth over stuffing layer.
  • Melt 1 stick margarine or butter and drizzle over the top.
  • Bake for 60 minutes.
Family · Family Favorites

Chicken Divine…a family fav!

cathysmaha2 Comments

Chicken Divine is a recipe I discovered in the ’90s.  I wish I could recall where the recipe originated but it had the elements that my young children liked: chicken, rice, broccoli and, of course, CHEESE!  I made, they liked, repeat.

To this day, it is still a favorite and the aroma of the baking chicken with rosemary is wonderful. I sincerely hope your family enjoys as much as ours does!

CHICKEN DIVINE

3 whole chicken breasts
rosemary to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 sliced onion
1 pound fresh or frozen broccoli
3/4 cup raw rice, cooked

CHEESE SAUCE:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup grated, sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Sprinkle chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake chicken at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool. Skin, bone and slice.
  • Prepare the rice.
  • Cook broccoli in water with salt and onion. Drain.
  • Layer chicken, then broccoli, then rice in buttered casserole.
  • Prepare the cheese sauce:   Melt butter, add flour and stir until smooth. Cook 2 minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add cheeses and seasonings. (I have often made 1 1/2 recipes of the sauce to put on top to make it even more moist.)
  • Pour cheese sauce over entire dish. Add more grated Parmesan on top if desired.
  • Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

 

 

 

Czech Heritage and Dishes · Family · Family Favorites · My Roots

Strawberry Shortcake…sweet summer delight!

cathysmaha1 Comment

Strawberry season is here.  Bring on the shortcake!  This recipe is from an old Czech cookbook that I’ve cherished for years.  The cake is yummy enough to eat by itself, but topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream is to die for.

My girls love the cake more than the strawberries…I’m partial to the entire package.  I have been know to drown the cake and berries in milk, something I picked up from some elderly Norwegian friends back in Iowa.

However you like it, try it.  It’s strawberry time!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together and bake in 9×9″ baking pan for 45 minutes or until baked through.
  • Cut into squares and top with fresh sliced strawberries and whipped cream.