It's soup season......

Here's a couple of recipes I tried over the weekend. The Mexican-style Cornbread was amazing - I highly recommend it.

White Lightning Chicken Chili
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
6 cloves roasted garlic
1 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 cans (15 ounces each) Great Northern beans, drained, rinsed and divided
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 can (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
2 Tablespoons Fajita seasoning mix
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, snipped

1. Chop onion and jalapeno peppers.
2. Drain 1 can of beans. Transfer to bowl. Gently squeeze garlic from papery skins into beans in bowl; mash. Drain remaining 2 cans of beans and set aside.
3. Heat oil in 6-Qt. Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeno peppers; cook 4-5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add chicken, mashed bean-garlic mixture, whole beans, chicken broth, seasoning mix and lime juice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.
4. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to chili and continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Snip cilantro wth kitchen shears or chop. Stir into chili just before serving.

Yeild: 8 servings


Mexican-style cornbread
2 eggs
1/4 cup corn oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (8 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 large onion, chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or a cast iron skillet.
2. In a small bowl, beat eggs. Mix in corn oil and buttermilk. Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese, creamed corn, onion, and jalapenos.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir in the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on top.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until center is set and top is golden brown.

Recipes from Yesteryear

We visited with Grandma Cole a few weeks ago, and attended the Hull picnic with her. Jane and Jonathan also came to be a part of the Hull celebration. (Jane took the picture with Joanna's camera:))

Enjoy the recipes that follow. The first one is from Grandma Cole.

Soft Ginger Cookies

2 c. molasses
1 c. lard
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. ginger
2 eggs
3 1/2 t. soda dissolved in sour cream
Flour to make stiff dough
(start with 2 or 3 cups)
1 t. salt

To sour cream you can add 1 t. vinegar to 1/2 c. sour cream. You may omit 1 c. molasses and add 1 c. sugar; also uses 1 c. sour cream.

(Temperature and baking time are not included in the recipe. So a guess: 350 degrees for 10 minutes).



A recipe from Mrs. Sophie Cross. She resided in Mason City, Illinois. She was Grandpa Dunker's sister.

Sugar Cookies

2 pt. sugar
1 pt. lard
1 pt. sweet milk
4 eggs
4 level t. baking powder

Flavor; flour to mix soft; roll thin, bake quick.

(Another guess: 375 degrees for 7 minutes.)

Until later.

Chicken and Tater Recipes

Here are two more recipes that I enjoyed when I visited with Julie in June.

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice (1 lemon, approx.)
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. salt
1 t. freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. olive oil
chicken, cut into 6 pieces
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 t. grated lemon zest (1 lemon, approx.)

In a 9 x 13 pan, whisk the first 6 ingredients to blend. Whisk in the oil. Add chicken pieces and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate, turning chicken occasionally, for at least 2 hours or up to a day.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast chicken uncovered until just cooked through, about 45 minutes. Using tongs transfer chicken to a platter. Pour liquid into a saucepan; spoon off excess oil. Boil until liquid reduces by about 1/2 and thickens slightly, about 8 minutes.
Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle parsley and lemon zest over the chicken and serve. If the chicken gets too dark too quickly, cover with foil taking the foil off for the last 10 minutes of roasting.



Roasted Potatoes

5 medium potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. kosher salt
2 t. chili powder
1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, opt.

Arrrange potatoes and onions in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle seasonings on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle cheese on top.

450 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Grapefruit, Watercress, and Avocado salad with Sherry Viniagrette

I made this to go with my salmon tonight, and it was surprisingly good. I would have never thought to put these particular ingredients together. Yum!


1 1/2 c. sectioned red grapefruit (one large)
2 ripe avocados
1 bunch watercress
1 T. olive oil
2 t. sherry vinegar
pinch salt

Break grapefruit into 1-inch chunks. Peel, pit and chop avocados into 1-inch cubes. Trim tough ends of the watercress and chop remainder coarsley. Toss grapefruit, avocados and watercress with salt, olive oil, and vinegar.

A visit with Grandma Marli

Recently, Joanna, Judy, Jed, Jeff and I had a wonderful visit with Grandma Marli in her home in Gibson City. She continues to live a very full life, and healthwise, is feeling better than the last time I visited with her. I asked if she would be alright with us posting a picture of her on our blog and including a recipe that she would share. She said okay to both of them.

Enjoy!


Zucchini Casserole

4 c. chopped zucchini
1 medium onion
little bit of water

Cook till tender, about 10 minutes. Put in a greased, casserole dish.

White sauce:
Combine 1/4 c. melted butter, 1/4 c. flour, and 2 c. milk. Cook, as needed. Add shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle on top of zucchini mixture, followed by a sprinkling of bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until done.

Garlic Lime Chicken

3 lbs. chicken
1/3 c. lime juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. minced parsley
2 tbs. chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs. grated lime peel
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a bowl, combine the last nine ingredients. Place chicken in a large, resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade into bag and shake or squeeze bag to coat chicken. Refrigerate for several hours.** Place in a baking dish and cook in the over at 350° for about 1 hour.

*It is really best with fresh thyme if you have some around, but about 1/2 tsp. of dried works too.
**Sometimes when I am pressed for time, I skip this step and put it directly into the oven. Then I just make sure to baste it with the marinade every 10-15 minutes while cooking.

Serves 4-6.

I think I can safely say that this would NOT taste so good with Worchestershire sauce on it, though I have never really tried it... ;-)

Chicken Carrot Pilaf

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or chunks*
1/2 tbs. olive oil
1 1/3 c. uncooked brown rice
5 med. carrots, sliced
1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 med. onion, chopped
1/4 c. chopped sweet red pepper
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 tbs. minced fresh parsley

In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil. Remove and keep warm. Add rice, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and red peppers to skillet. Cook and stir until rice is browned and onion is tender. Stir in broth. Place chicken over rice mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 35-45 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in parsley. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

*Also works great with leftover chicken from a roaster or other recipe.

Serves 6.

I often like to increase the vegetables and rice to as much as double. I am a big fan of rice, can you tell? ;-) And yet again, we like to add Worchestershire sauce. Jeremy has made us all addicted, hehe.

Squash and Turkey Rice

1 lb. ground turkey
1 1/2 to 2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves
2-3 large summer squash
1 c. brown rice
1 tbs. olive oil
2 c. chicken broth

In a saucepan, saute the rice, one onion, and two garlic cloves in oil until onion looks clear. Stir in 1/2 cup water until it is absorbed. Add chicken broth; cover and simmer 45 min. Place squash in a separate pan with a little water; cook until tender. Meanwhile, brown turkey, 1 clove garlic, and 1/2 to 1 onion. Combine rice, turkey and squash.

Serves 4.

This one tastes great with a little Worchestershire as well.

(Cheesy) Beef 'n' Rice

This recipe is excellent with or without the cheese. Due to allergies, I always make it without -- hence the parentheses in the title. :-)

1 c. uncooked brown rice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tbs. olive oil
3 to 3 1/2 c. water
2 med. carrots, shredded
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules (2 cubes)
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. each salt, basil, and minced onion
1 lb. beef, cooked and drained
1/2 c. shredded cheese (optional)

In a large saucepan, saute rice and garlic in oil until golden brown. Stir in water, carrots, bouillon, parsley, salt, basil, and onion. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 min. Stir in beef. Cover and bake in 9-in. pan at 350° for about 45 min, stirring twice. (May take 5-10 extra minutes for the water to be absorbed.) Optional: Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes.

Serves 6.

Tastes great with a little Worchestershire sauce mixed in. :-)

Turkey Soup Provencal

Well, I was looking over this blog today, and I realized that I have only posted a grand total of ONE TIME here. So in order to help remedy that, and because I have several recipes I wanted to share anyway, I will be attempting several posts in a row. We'll see if my girls keep themselves busy long enough for me to accomplish that. :-)

The recipes that I will be posting today (and most likely those in the future) are reflective of the fact that some of us have weird allergies. Or at least, so it seems to me. None of us have been officially tested, but I have seen evidence of sensitivity to dairy (the girls), a couple fruits (the girls), peanuts (possibly Sierra), and wheat / gluten (me and possibly Sierra). Most if not all of these run in either my family or Jeremy's, so it seems likely that these sensitivities are probably allergies. But although this means we have a lot more restrictions to our diet than most people, we still eat plenty of wholesome, delicious food (and a little bit of junk too, hehe). So now I will share some of the recipes that I use most often.

TURKEY SOUP
1 lb. ground turkey breast
1/2 tsp. dried herbs de Provence, crushed
1 (15 oz.) can navy or Great Northern beans
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/ garlic and onion, undrained
4 c. chopped fresh spinach

Cook turkey in a large saucepan over med heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add herbs, beans, broth, and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 min. Stir in spinach; simmer 5 min.

Serves 4.

Now here's the part where I give you all my alterations and substitutes. :-) This recipe is great as it is, but I've found lots of ways to make it flexible and change it up. First of all, it's sometimes hard or expensive to find the herbs and the particular type of diced tomatoes. So I usually just use an Italian seasoning, and then I use regular diced tomatoes and add dried garlic and onion (about 1/2 tsp. each). You could also add fresh garlic and chopped onion to the meat while you are cooking it.

Then there are lots of ways to change up the other ingredients. Instead of turkey, I have tried Italian sausage and even ground beef one time (on accident, but I could barely tell). I have also substituted various beans for the navys, with kidney being my favorite. (I like those even better than the navy beans!) I often double the beans, partially because Lucy likes to eat them all out, and partially because I just like it better that way. :-) You can also use various greens in place of the spinach (my favorite substitute is kale), and you can use frozen rather than fresh to save yourself the trouble of chopping it all. Just don't do 4 whole cups if you use frozen... only about half that. And to make the soup a little thinner (it is rather thick in the original recipe) and stretch it to feed more people, I usually at least double the chicken broth.

This is a great recipe for me because it is SO fast and easy, not to mention cheap. It also freezes well, so it can be a time saver there too! With two little girls, I am all about saving time and money these days! :-)

More to come...

Apricot Chicken

While I was out in VA with Julie, she made this delicious chicken recipe, and I thought it was really good. I've made it since I've been back, and it's always a hit!

8 chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken, cut up, salt and black pepper.
One 12 oz. jar apricot jam
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard

Rinse chicken and season with salt and pepper. Bring jam, honey, and mustard to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer until thick and reduced by half. Spoon over chicken. Bake-Baste it every ten min., at 425 degrees, for 30 min. Enjoy!

~Mom

Getting creative with veggies........

Since finding out a little over a month ago that I am diabetic, I've been playing around with creative dishes that are low in fat, high in protein, and contain a lot of vegetables. While I like vegetables, I get easily bored with the "normal veggies" that we typically buy - salad, carrots, celery, etc. Here are a couple of things I have recently tried. Both are really good.

The turkey Spinach saute' is my own creation and I make it as a whole meal - it makes about 4 servings.

The turnip puree is a great side. It is a bit more of a strong flavor, so it goes better with something like steak, pork chop, etc.

Turkey Spinach saute'

1 lb. ground turkey
1 med. red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
3 shallots (or one medium onion), thinly sliced
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 t. minced garlic
12 oz. fresh spinach
3 T. Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a saute' pan, brown the turkey in 1 T. olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

In another pan saute the pepper, shallots, mushrooms and garlic in the remaining 2 T. of olive oil. When the vegetables are somewhat soft but not mushy add the 12 oz of spinach. Cook until the spinach is just wilted. Add cooked ground turkey. Add salt and pepper if needed.


Turnip Puree
(Adapted from Tyler Florence)

4 large turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 t. dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Place turnips, milk, thyme and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to boil then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until turnips are soft.

Drain turnips, reserving liquid. Place turnips in a food processor or blender, and puree, adding as much liquid back in as needed (about 1/2 cup). Makes about 4 servings.

Pumpkin Cake and a Pumpkin Poem

1 c. flour
1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter

Mix together till crumbly and press into bottom of 13 X 9 1/2 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

2 c. pumpkin
1 c. canned milk
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves

Mix together and pour over crust and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.


1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. butter

Mix together and sprinkle on filling. Bake 15 to 20 minutes more at 350 degrees.

This was a recipe of Grandma Lee's.


Below is a silly poem. It was in a schoolbook of Jeff's. Enjoy.


The Biggest Pumpkin That Ever Lived

by Crystal Bowman


I went down to the pumpkin patch to see what I could find,
and there I saw some pumpkins, growing on their vines.
But then I saw a pumpkin that was different from the rest.
So big and round and shiny, I knew it was the best.
I paid a dollar-fifty and took my pumpkin home.
But then in just a little while, it seemed like it had grown.
I took it off the table and then it grew some more!
Before the day was over it was bigger than the door!
But I can tell you something neat as weeks and months went by--
We always had a great supply of homemade pumpkin pie!

Layered Overnight Salad

I made this for a party recently and it was a hit. It's a classic, but I'd never actually made it before, so it was a fun one.

1 full head of iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped green pepper
½ c. chopped scallions
1 pkg. Frozen peas, thawed and drained (not cooked)
1 can sliced water chestnuts or sliced radishes
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
6-8 slices crisped bacon
3 boiled eggs, chopped


In a 9x13-inch pan, layer lettuce, celery, green pepper, scallions, peas, water chestnuts, 2 c. cheese, bacon, and eggs.

In a separate bowl mix:
2 c. hellmans mayonnaise
2 T. sugar
¼ t. garlic powder
1 tsp. Seasoned salt

Pour over salad and seal edges. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, top with remaining cup of cheddar cheese.

Corn Casserole- a recipe of Grandma Lee's

I made this the other day and it was really good!

~Judy

Corn Casserole (Grandma Lee)

2 cups whole kernel corn
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
1 cup cracker crumbs (bread works, too)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Pepper to taste

Beat eggs, add melted butter to corn, then seasonings. Add milk and mix well. Add grated cheese and eggs. Fill buttered baking dish half full and cover with 1/2 the crumbs. Add remaining corn mixture, then the rest of crumbs.

Oven temp. 350, bake till firm, about 30-40 min. Enjoy!


From Mom: Humor for the day

"The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves."
Actor W.C. Fields