Archives
|
Back to Blog
Butternut Squash Soup10/29/2014 Soups on!
As our fall is winding down and the evenings grow cooler, I’m thinking of warming up with soup! I recently made the cabbage soup that I shared with you last year from Carolyn Seidel. Carolyn shared another soup recipe with me: butternut squash. She said that it’s the best squash soup she has ever made and after making it, I agree with her! Carolyn says squash and rutabaga are easy to peel if you first slice them in one inch slices, peel and then dice for cooking. After the vegetables are tender, let them cool for about 15 minutes before putting them in the blender for easier handling. Stay cozy and enjoy a bowl of soup! Butternut Squash Soup: 1 stick butter (1/4 pound) 3 cups butternut squash, peeled, cored and diced 1 cup onion, roughly chopped 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced 1 cup rutabaga, peeled and diced 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced 1 quart good chicken broth 2 cups fat free half and half or cream 1/4 cup real maple syrup 1/2 to 1 tsp salt Dash of cayenne pepper to taste 1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter, add squash, onion, apple, rutabaga, carrots and sweet potato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. 2. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until all of the vegetables are cooked through and tender. Cool 15 min. 3. Puree’ the vegetables in a blender or food processor. Return to the same pot you used to cook the vegetables. Add the Half and Half, maple syrup, salt and cayenne pepper. 4. Return the pot to the stove, bring soup to a simmer, do not boil. Serves 6-8 Make sure you use all the ingredients listed to get the wonderful blend of flavors, enjoy and have a great week!
0 Comments
Read More
Back to Blog
Lemon-Sage Chicken10/22/2014 New chicken recipe!
I browsed through my old Taste of Home books last night for an inspiration for Sunday dinner. I found a chicken dish that I made and we both really liked it. It’s good enough for company. Since it was just the two of us, I used two half chicken breasts, but used the same amount of sauce. My portion was too much for me to eat at one sitting so I warmed up the remaining portion and ate it tonight for supper. I hope you like it, too! Lemon-Sage Chicken: 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 oz each) 3 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp fresh or dried parley, minced 1 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/2 cup flour 2 Tbsp olive oil Sauce: 2 Tbsp chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, minced fresh mushrooms (I used an 8 oz pkg ‘cause I love mushrooms) 1/3 cup white wine (I used the cheap cooking wine you buy at the grocery store, ‘cause that’s what I had) 4 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp grated lemon peel 1 Tbsp dried or fresh parsley 1 tsp dried sage leaves 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 3 Tbsp cold butter, cubed Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. In shallow bowl, combine beaten eggs, cheese and seasonings. Place flour in another shallow bowl. Coat chicken with flour and then dip in egg mixture. In large skillet heat oil and brown chicken in oil in batches; transfer chicken to greased cookie sheet, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done. In the drippings from the chicken in the frying pan, saute’ onions and mushrooms until tender. Add garlic; cook one minute longer. Add wine, lemon juice, rind and herbs, cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream; cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in butter until melted. Spoon sauce over chicken. I served this with Uncle Ben’s white and wild rice mix. If I would have had company I would have added a salad or veggie. Have a great week!
Back to Blog
Cranberry Jello Salad10/15/2014 The Holidays are just around the corner!
Our church recently held its annual chicken and biscuit dinner. I was involved in fixing one of the salads. Shirley Unke offered a recipe for a cranberry jello salad, which turned out to be pretty much the cranberry relish recipe I use added to jello. The difference was that Shirley added chopped celery and nuts while I added a can of crushed pineapple. We combined our recipes and now it’s “our” salad recipe. Shirley thought the pineapple added flavor and said from now on she will add it. We had compliments and requests for the recipe and I know it will be on my holiday menu so I am sharing it with you today! Cranberry Jello Salad: 1 pkg fresh cranberries, ground 1 cup sugar 1 medium orange 1 medium apple 1 medium can pineapple, undrained chopped celery chopped nuts (optional) 1 large pkg cherry Jello 2 cups boiling water 1 1/2 cups cold water (can use ice cubes if you want to hurry the gel process) Grind the cranberries, orange and apple (I use the food processor, peel the orange first), add the sugar, set aside. Dissolve jello in the boiling water, stir until dissolved, add cold water, then stir in the remainder of the ingredients. Pour into a bowl or 9x13 pan and let chill until set. Makes 12-14 servings. The relish part freezes well so you could freeze that, thaw and add to the jello anytime you want to make the salad. Have a great week!
Back to Blog
Kentucky Pecan Pie10/8/2014 Doesn’t get much better than homemade pie!
I am pretty much the only one in my family who likes pecan pie so I had never made one until a few years ago. I enjoy it on occasion when I go out, but it’s such a rich pie there is no way I could eat a whole pie myself and I doubt if it would freeze well. I do a fair amount of baking for our church and for the Lakeview bake sales, so I decided I could bake pecan pie for those functions. When I was looking for a recipe I wanted to try, they were all pretty much the same except some called for dark karo syrup and some light. I decided I would use half of each. The first time I made this pecan pie for a Lakeview bake sale I was asked for the recipe. They usually sell before the sale even officially starts! I made pecan pies a couple of years before I actually tasted one after baking it for a church supper. To me all pecan pies taste pretty much the same. At least I never have tasted one that I didn’t like!! Here is my recipe for pecan pie! Kentucky Pecan Pie: 1/2 cup white corn syrup 1/2 cup dark corn syrup 1 cup brown sugar 1/3 tsp salt 1/3 cup melted butter 1 tsp vanilla 3 whole large eggs, slightly beaten 1 heaping cup whole pecan halves 9 inch unbaked pie shell Combine syrup, sugar, salt, melted butter and vanilla; mix well. Add slightly beaten eggs. Pour into a 9-inch pie shell. Sprinkle pecans over all. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 45 min. Cool completely. Top with ice cream or whipped cream. I once thought the pie shell didn’t seem very full so when making two pies I made three recipes of the filling. It bubbled all over in the oven, so that isn’t a good idea! The filling sort of puffs up when it bakes. Have a great week!
Back to Blog
Autumn Apple Salad10/1/2014 Autumn = football and apples
How about that Vikings game Sunday?! My husband was so sure they would lose that he went fishing. But I, in my purple pride jersey, watched the game! I could hardly wait until he got home so I could tell him the good news. He could hardly believe me! He is not the most optimistic person in the world! I am not a huge fan of jello, but I do make a couple of jello salads that I like. Today I am going to share one of them with you. It uses our fall apples that are so beautiful right now. This recipe came from the Taste of Home magazine some years ago. I either put the salad in a bowl or a 9x13 pan and cut it in squares. I hope that you enjoy it, too. Autumn Apple Salad: 1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz size) 2/3 cup sugar 1 pkg lemon jello (3 oz) 1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz) softened and cubed 1 cup diced unpeeled apples 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 1 cup chopped celery (or a little less) 2 cups whipped topping In a saucepan, combine pineapple (undrained) and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, remove pan from heat and add jello; stir until dissolved then add small pieces of cream cheese, stirring until completely dissolved. Cool until partially jellied and syrupy-looking, then fold in apples, nuts, celery and whipped topping. Pour into either a bowl or pan, chill until set. Have a great week! |