Horiatiki Salata (Greek Country Salad)

Jeff found this recipe in Another Trip Around the World. I appreciated Jeff's assistance in preparing this recipe for Jeanette and Judy's birthday meal.

Ingredients:
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 green pepper, sliced in thin rings
1 yellow or red pepper, sliced in thin rings
1 mild onion, chopped
salt and pepper
4 T. olive oil
5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
15 or more black olives
1 small bunch of parsley, coarsely chopped
1 t. dried oregano

Directions:
Place vegetables in a bowl, then sprinkle
them with salt, pepper, and olive oil. toss well.
Arrange the feta cheese, olives, and herbs on top.

Pan de Jamon--Venezuelan Ham Bread

Jeffrey found this recipe in one of his schoolbooks, Another Trip Around the World. He helped me prepare this recipe for Jeanette's and Judy's birthday meal.

Pan de Jamon-Venezuelan Ham Bread

Ingredients:
canned pizza crust, or prepared from scratch
butter
1 package of ham slices
1/2 c. chopped green olives
1/2 c. raisins
egg white, optional

Directions:
Spread the pizza crust onto a clean, flat surface.
Spread the crust evenly with butter or margarine.
Place ham slices over the butter or margarine.
Sprinkle with olives and raisins. Roll up the crust
and flatten the ends. Brush rolled crust with the
egg white. Place in a bread pan, or on a flat sheet,
seam side down. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Jewish Cheese Blintzes

We were blessed to be a part of a missions conference during the last week. On Sunday evening, we partook of a feast of goodies at the missions banquet. I helped with the Israeli table.

Here is one of the recipes I made. I didn't bring any of these home with me; the family was a bit sad. I told them I would make some more of this recipe soon.

Blintzes:

Ingredients:
4 large beaten eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 pound farmers cheese
1 T. melted butter
1 large egg yolk
2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar or more to taste

Preparation:
1. To make the blintzes, beat together all the blintz ingredients and let the batter rest for at least a half hour. Heat a small skillet (about 7 inches) and add a pat of butter. Pour about 1/4 c. batter into the pan and swirl it around, pouring off excess. Don't let it brown. Flip and cook the other side for a few seconds. Then turn blintz out onto a towel. Repeat with remaining batter and pats of butter.

2. To make the filling, mix together all the filling ingredients in a large bowl.

3. To assemble, place 1 blintz on a work surface and place 1 T. on top. Fold envelope style and roll up. continue with remaining blintzes and filling.

4. Fry filled blintzes in butter until golden brown. Serve with sour cream and/ or fruit toppings.

Makes 2 dozen.

Blueberry Orange Muffins

I made these muffins a while back and they were delicious. A really yummy twist on traditional blueberry muffins.

Combine and soak for about 10 minutes:
1 cup uncooked quick oatmeal
1 cup orange juice

Meanwhile, combine the following:
3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar

In a separate bowl, combine:
1 cup oil
3 eggs

Add oil and eggs to oatmeal and orange juice mixture and mix well.

Add flour mixture and mix until combined, but do not over-mix.

Stir in the following:
1 ½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon orange zest
½ cup chopped walnuts

Spoon into prepared muffin tins (I used jumbo, but you could use regular or even mini, if you prefer).

Combine the following and sprinkle on top of the muffins:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Bake @375 for 25-30 minutes if using jumbo muffin tins or 400 for 15 minutes if using regular muffin tins.

Homemade (Gluten-Free) Chicken Nuggets

For some reason, my kids have not been too fond of chicken lately (unless it is a plain old roaster). But after the miracle of getting them to eat fish because it was breaded, I figured it was high time to try some breaded chicken: more specifically, chicken nuggets. I tried once and was fairly satisfied, but my second attempt made me quite happy. Obviously my version is gluten-free, but I imagine the recipe would work about the same if wheat flour was used in place of the rice flour.

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts (enough chicken to make 15-20 nuggets)

1/4 c. milk (or water)

1 tbs. lemon juice

1 egg

1/4 c. cornmeal

1/4 c. brown rice flour

1 tsp. cajun seasoning*

1/2 tsp. salt

vegetable or canola oil for frying

Directions:

1. Mix milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Chop chicken into standard nugget-size pieces.

3. In another small bowl, mix cornmeal, rice flour, seasoning, and salt.

4. Beat egg into milk mixture until well blended. With each chicken piece, dip into milk mixture, shaking off excess, then coat with flour mixture.

5. In a large frying pan, pour enough oil to coat bottom of pan with about 1/8 in. oil. Heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken nuggets and fry for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Set on paper towels to drain. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Note: if you are making more than one batches, you will not necessarily need to multiply the milk/egg mixture ingredients. I made 3 batches, there was just enough milk mixture to cover all three. If you are making only 1-2 recipes, you could probably use less milk... it just might make the breading a little more egg-y.

* I make my own mix with the recipe found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creole-Seasoning-Blend/Detail.aspx. (I use black pepper instead of white, and I leave out the cayenne pepper because it is too spicy for my kids, but it is a nice kick for a more grown-up palate.)

Oh, and by the way, the girls loved the chicken nuggets... almost as much as I did. ;-)

Tofu Stir Fry

In the interest of keeping my participation on this blog alive... or perhaps just because I'm excited about this recipe... here is a new post from me. :-)

I have don't know that I'd ever even tasted tofu before I was married. My family's main courses, and my own thereafter, usually included a healthy portion of meat (usually beef or chicken). I have recently been exploring the idea of eating for your blood type, and I thought we were doing pretty good, since I knew I and at least 2 of the girls were Type O, which are good with eating a lot of meat. A few months ago, however, we discovered that Jeremy is Type A. And (of course!) Type A's don't digest meat very well, and do well with a low meat or even vegetarian diet. Lovely.

So, I have been endeavoring to expand my horizons and create a few meatless dishes, and as I result, I have been exploring the world of tofu. And to my surprise, it is actually not that bad. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a satisfactory recipe that is both gluten-free and dairy-free but is NOT a stir-fry. So... I've been doing a lot of stir-fry. :-)

I have tried a few stir-fry recipes, but I usually have to modify them to some degree to suit my tastes (usually by adding more veggies and often more sauce). Stir-fry is kind of free-form by nature, but I like to have an actual recipe on hand to help me plan and keep me from getting too confused... and that doesn't work so well when you're modifying everything. So since I seem to be so picky, I decided to try my hand at making up my own recipe last night. And I have to say, I liked it better than any of the other recipes I've tried so far. So here you are... (Please note I did not keep exact track of frying time, but I think you are all good enough cooks to figure this out.)

Jessica's Tofu Stir Fry

Ingredients:

* 1 lb. pack firm tofu, chopped into bite-size pieces*

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* 1 head fresh broccoli (about 1.5 c.), chopped into bite-size pieces

* 2 medium carrots, sliced

* 1 large onion, sliced

* 1 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced

* 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

* 1/4 c. wine (I used white, but will probably use red next time for more flavor)

* 2 tbs. soy sauce

* 1/2 tsp. ginger

* 2-3 tbs. olive and/or sesame oil (I used about half and half)

* 1/2 c. water

* 1 cube chicken bouillon or 1 tsp. granules

* 2 tbs. cornstarch

* 2 tbs. water

Directions:

1. Heat 1-2 tbs. oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes, till tender. Add broccoli and carrots. Fry for 4-5 minutes, until beginning to get slightly tender. Add onions and fry for about 3 more minutes. Add mushrooms and zucchini and fry a few more minutes.

2. Mix together wine, soy sauce, and ginger. Add to veggies and simmer until veggies are all fairly tender.

3. Meanwhile, heat another 1/2 to 1 tbs. oil in a medium saucepan. Fry tofu for a few minutes, until lightly browned. Dissolve chicken bouillon or granules in 1/2 c. water. Add to tofu and simmer for about 3 minutes.

4. Add tofu mixture to veggie mixture. Combine 2 tsp. cornstarch with equal part water, and whisk with a fork till smooth. Add to tofu and veggies, stir well. Cook for 1-2 more minutes until sauce begins to thicken slightly. Serve over brown rice.

Makes about 6 servings.

*Tofu works a little better if it is set out to dry on a stack of paper towels for a while. I did this while I was chopping my veggies, and it worked fine.

Note: I thought it could use maybe just a tad more soy sauce, but it depends on your preference. You can always splash it on at the end, anyway.

If any of you try this, let me know how you liked it and if you come up with any improvements!

Southern Cheese Grits Casserole

In our geography studies this year, Jeff will be preparing recipes from a variety of countries around the world. His first entry is below, a favorite of the southern states of the USA.

Southern Cheese Grits Casserole

Ingredients:
6 cups water
2 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. quick-cooking grits
1/2 c. butter
1 cup cheddar cheese
3 eggs, separated
paprika

Directions:
Combine the water and salt in a 4-qt. Dutch oven. Boil water and stir the grits in slowly. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and cheese until melted. Stir in the eggs yolks; beat egg whites until stiff; fold into the cheese mixture and pout into a greased, 3 qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Serves about 12.

Grandma's Recipes

I've been spending some time recently going through a recipe box of my mother's that contains both her recipes and my grandmother's recipes. Here are a few of them along with images of the actual hand-written recipes.

Aunt Alline's Broccoli
This recipe originated with my great aunt Alline, my grandmother's sister. I don't actually remember eating this one, but I was struck by the large amounts of butter/mayonaise/cheese. Truly a southern recipe. Paula Deen herself couldn't do much better.

1 box chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
1 small onion, sautéed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¼ c. mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar or American cheese
1 stick melted butter
1 c. Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

1. Combine broccoli, onion, mushroom soup and mayonnaise. Pour in greased casserole dish.
2. Sprinkle cheese on top of broccoli mixture.
3. Combine melted butter and stuffing mix and pour on top of cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Grandma's Squash Casserole
This recipe brings back a million childhood memories. This was one of my very favorite things Grandma used to make when we went to visit. I loved it.

4 large squash (Zucchini or yellow)
2 large onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 slices American cheese
1 c. ritz cracker crumbs

1. Cook onion and squash until tender.
2. Place ½ of squash mixture into baking dish.
3. Add cheese slices and then mushroom soup.
4. Add remaining squash mixture.
5. Top with cracker crumbs.
6. Bake at 350 until golden and bubbly.


Grandma's Banana Pudding
This recipe is my grandmother's recipe, but written down by my mother, so it is doubly special. One time when we went to Grandma's house, I remember sneaking to the fridge to see if she'd made banana pudding for us, and to my delight, she had!

1 5 ½ oz vanilla instant pudding mix
3 c. cold skim milk
2 c. whipped topping
50 Nilla wafers
4 large bananas

1. Prepare pudding as directed using 3 c. skim milk; fold in half of whipped topping.
2. Reserve 6 wafers and 1 banana. Slice remaining bananas.
3. Arrange a layer of wafers on the bottom of 2-qt round baking dish or bowl. Spread ¼ pudding over wafers; top with banana slices. Place wafers around sides of dish; continue layering wafers, pudding and bananas, ending with pudding.
4. Cover and chill 3 hours or until serving time. Slice remaining bananas. Garnish with banana slices, remaining 6 wafers and whipped topping.

8-10 servings.