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This recipe is for those cold days where you are craving a good soup to warm you up. This goes great with a salad or sandwhich and is perfect for lunch or light dinner. The great thing about this creamy soup is there is no cream in it! This is one of many on the list of favorites in our house.
The Recipe:
1 - 2 Butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into big cubes**
4-8 Cups chicken broth
1 onion chopped
4 Tbsp butter
1-2 tsp. dill (optional)
pinch of nutmeg, garlic powder & pepper
Croutons (garlic flavor)
** If you need to save time on the peeling and cutting, grocery stores now carry pre-cut squash in the produce section.
Boil squash in chicken broth until mushy. Remove squash from broth with slotted spoon and put in blender or food processor. RESERVE ALL BROTH. Meanwhile, saute onion in butter until tender. Pour cooked onions and butter into blender or FP with cooked squash and add 1 cup of reserved broth. Puree until smooth. Slowly add puree to rest of broth. Add a pinch of dill (opt), nutmeg, pepper & garlic powder. Stir and heat through. Serve with garlic croutons.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Buffalo Chicken Dip
I originally got this recipe from my sister-in-law and I made this for a neighborhood party about 4 years ago. Believe it or not, it has been on every party table since. It is easy, quick and so good! There are many versions of this out there, but this is how I put it together.
The recipe:
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, sliced into thin cutlets.
1 (8oz.) pkg cream cheese softened.
1 bottle Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pour about 1 Tbsp olive oil into frying pan. Place thin sliced chicken into pan and salt and pepper each piece. Cook until golden brown. Turn and repeat with salt and pepper and until chicken is golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat until all chicken is cooked. Cut into bite sized pieces ( or shred with two forks) and place into a dish or zip-lock bag. Cover with 1/2 bottle of Franks Wing sauce. Marinate at least 1 hour or over night. Spread softened cream cheese in bottom of 9x11" pan. Top with marinated chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake in 350' oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve with Tostitos Multigrain Tortilla Chips.
The recipe:
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, sliced into thin cutlets.
1 (8oz.) pkg cream cheese softened.
1 bottle Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pour about 1 Tbsp olive oil into frying pan. Place thin sliced chicken into pan and salt and pepper each piece. Cook until golden brown. Turn and repeat with salt and pepper and until chicken is golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat until all chicken is cooked. Cut into bite sized pieces ( or shred with two forks) and place into a dish or zip-lock bag. Cover with 1/2 bottle of Franks Wing sauce. Marinate at least 1 hour or over night. Spread softened cream cheese in bottom of 9x11" pan. Top with marinated chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake in 350' oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve with Tostitos Multigrain Tortilla Chips.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Mexican Pork Roast
This recipe is from a friend I met in Northeast PA many years ago. Back then, computers were getting fancy, so blogs were not as popular. Having family recipes put into book form was. My friend Lisa compiled recipes from brothers, sister, mom and grandma and created The LaFrance Collection. Many good recipes in this book, but one that I make the most often is this pork roast. It is perfect for a special family meal or to serve at a dinner party. Very, very good.
The recipe:
4-5 lb. boneless center cut pork roast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. chili powder (divided)
1/2 C. apple jelly
1/2 C. ketchup
1 Tbsp. vinegar
Preheat oven to 325'. Place pork, fat side up on roasting rack in large pan. Combine salt, garlic salt and 1/2 tsp. chili powder and rub into roast. Cook in oven for 2-2 1/2 hours, or until done. In small saucepan, combine jelly, ketchup (I use only Heinz brand), vinegar ( I use apple cider vinegar) and remaining 1/2 tsp. chili powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Pour mixture over the top of the cooked roast and cook additional 5 minutes.
The recipe:
4-5 lb. boneless center cut pork roast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. chili powder (divided)
1/2 C. apple jelly
1/2 C. ketchup
1 Tbsp. vinegar
Preheat oven to 325'. Place pork, fat side up on roasting rack in large pan. Combine salt, garlic salt and 1/2 tsp. chili powder and rub into roast. Cook in oven for 2-2 1/2 hours, or until done. In small saucepan, combine jelly, ketchup (I use only Heinz brand), vinegar ( I use apple cider vinegar) and remaining 1/2 tsp. chili powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Pour mixture over the top of the cooked roast and cook additional 5 minutes.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Cracker Chicken
This recipe originated from a Pittsburgh Steeler's cookbook that my husband had when we met. The cookbook is full of favorite recipes from the "Steel Curtain" days. I do not have it readily available at the moment, but when I do find it, I will let you know which player's spouse had shared the original recipe of "Poppy Seed Chicken".
I started making this recipe when the kids were young and soon found that poppy seeds are expensive! So, I tweeked the recipe a little. It is the most requested special birthday dinner from daughter and now son. When they see me putting this together, they always exclaim "YES! It's Cracker Chicken night!".
The Recipe
2 Boneless Chicken Breast halves, cooked and cut in bite-sized pieces
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, Crushed (in sleeve)
Cook Chicken Breast. If you have left over chicken, this works well too. Place cut chicken in bottom of 9x13' pan.
In separate bowl, combine soup and sour cream. Crush crackers in their sleeve (makes easy for clean up!). Pinch off about a 1/4 of the sleeve(will use this as topping) and pour the remainder in the soup mixture. Melt butter and pour about 2 Tbsp. in the soup/cracker mixture (keep last Tbsp for top). Mix all together. Spoon mixture over the chicken and spread out to cover chicken. Top with remaining crushed crackers and melted butter.
Bake in preheated 350' oven for 30 minutes. Serve over rice.
** I have used many combinations with this versitle recipe! If I do not have Crm. of Chicken soup, I have substituted Cream of Mushroom. No Ritz? I've used Town House or Club Crackers. No butter? I've used margarine. We like to eat this over rice, but you can also serve over egg noodles if you prefer that. We also like to have with peas, but again, any vegetable will do.
I started making this recipe when the kids were young and soon found that poppy seeds are expensive! So, I tweeked the recipe a little. It is the most requested special birthday dinner from daughter and now son. When they see me putting this together, they always exclaim "YES! It's Cracker Chicken night!".
The Recipe
2 Boneless Chicken Breast halves, cooked and cut in bite-sized pieces
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, Crushed (in sleeve)
Cook Chicken Breast. If you have left over chicken, this works well too. Place cut chicken in bottom of 9x13' pan.
In separate bowl, combine soup and sour cream. Crush crackers in their sleeve (makes easy for clean up!). Pinch off about a 1/4 of the sleeve(will use this as topping) and pour the remainder in the soup mixture. Melt butter and pour about 2 Tbsp. in the soup/cracker mixture (keep last Tbsp for top). Mix all together. Spoon mixture over the chicken and spread out to cover chicken. Top with remaining crushed crackers and melted butter.
Bake in preheated 350' oven for 30 minutes. Serve over rice.
** I have used many combinations with this versitle recipe! If I do not have Crm. of Chicken soup, I have substituted Cream of Mushroom. No Ritz? I've used Town House or Club Crackers. No butter? I've used margarine. We like to eat this over rice, but you can also serve over egg noodles if you prefer that. We also like to have with peas, but again, any vegetable will do.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Cujidatta Cookie
Cujidatta (coo-ji-da-ta) Italian cookies are what is cooking in the kitchen today. I have promised my dad to make his most beloved Christmas cookie again this year, but they are a pain in the you-know-what!
My great grandparents were both from Palermo, Sicily and this is a cookie that they brought with them from the "old country". As the story goes (as told by my dad), my great grandmother and her sister would start making these cookies around Thanksgiving. My father and his cousin would plant themselves in the kitchen when they heard all the swearing. They knew what that meant. Cookies! The sisters would make batches and batches and store them in old potato chip tins. When my great grandfather would try to sneak one, his wife would slap his hand away and yell in Italian. The two boys would giggle and she would hand them each a cookie. This would make my great grandfather throw up his hands in defeat.
My father loves to tell stories; and he is a great at it. He would reminisce about this every holiday, hoping that one day he would be able to once again taste his childhood treat. See, when my great grandmother passed away, so did the making of this cookie. My father could never find the recipe. Then, one year, his cousin told him that he had the family recipe. He sent it to my father and he in turn gave it to me. We held onto it for a few years because we could not find the one ingredient needed for the cookie- sour cherry jelly.
When apple picking one fall, I was looking through the gift shop and could not believe that on the shelf among the pretty packaged jars of jams and jellies sat sour cherry! I immediately bought 2 and surprised my father with his cookie. The first year I made them they were ok...the flavor was there but the size and shape of the cookie was not quite right. The following year, I hit the jackpot and my dad has requested them ever since. When sharing a tin with his cousin, they are both brought back to the days of being young boys and the magic that happened in that Italian kitchen.
When I have pictures, I will post.
The Recipe:
3 lb. (9 cups) Flour
1-1/4 lb. (2-1/2 cups) melted Crisco
1-1/2 Cups sugar
1 Tbsp Baking powder (heaping)
1-1/2 Cups milk
On stove, melt sugar and milk together. Add to flour, crisco and baking powder. Dough should be pliable and easy to handle.
Filling:
1/2 lb. each (or 1-3/4 Cups), chopped
*Filberts
*Walnuts
*Almonds (toasted)
1lb. (2-3/4 Cups) Dark raisins
1/2 lb. Light raisins
1 small jar of Sour Cherry Jelly
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Mix all filling ingredients together and set aside.
From dough ball, pull a ping-pong ball sized piece. Shape and roll about an 1" thick disc between plastic wrap. Fill carefully with about Tablespoon of filling mixture. Fold over to one side to cover filling and seal. This should take on a crescent moon shape.
Bake in a preheated 350' oven on ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes.
Cool on rack.
Icing:
1/2 Cup powdered sugar, melted in 3/4 Cup water. Add enough water to mix to hold together, not too watery. Dip top of cookie into icing and let set.
When I saw the ingredient list, I knew why my great grandmother and her sister would swear while making these. It's like it never ends!
So when I call my dad in a few hours to let him know how much I hate making these &*@$ cookies, I'll make sure the pot of coffee is on and get a plate ready to share while waiting for him to arrive.
My great grandparents were both from Palermo, Sicily and this is a cookie that they brought with them from the "old country". As the story goes (as told by my dad), my great grandmother and her sister would start making these cookies around Thanksgiving. My father and his cousin would plant themselves in the kitchen when they heard all the swearing. They knew what that meant. Cookies! The sisters would make batches and batches and store them in old potato chip tins. When my great grandfather would try to sneak one, his wife would slap his hand away and yell in Italian. The two boys would giggle and she would hand them each a cookie. This would make my great grandfather throw up his hands in defeat.
My father loves to tell stories; and he is a great at it. He would reminisce about this every holiday, hoping that one day he would be able to once again taste his childhood treat. See, when my great grandmother passed away, so did the making of this cookie. My father could never find the recipe. Then, one year, his cousin told him that he had the family recipe. He sent it to my father and he in turn gave it to me. We held onto it for a few years because we could not find the one ingredient needed for the cookie- sour cherry jelly.
When apple picking one fall, I was looking through the gift shop and could not believe that on the shelf among the pretty packaged jars of jams and jellies sat sour cherry! I immediately bought 2 and surprised my father with his cookie. The first year I made them they were ok...the flavor was there but the size and shape of the cookie was not quite right. The following year, I hit the jackpot and my dad has requested them ever since. When sharing a tin with his cousin, they are both brought back to the days of being young boys and the magic that happened in that Italian kitchen.
When I have pictures, I will post.
The Recipe:
3 lb. (9 cups) Flour
1-1/4 lb. (2-1/2 cups) melted Crisco
1-1/2 Cups sugar
1 Tbsp Baking powder (heaping)
1-1/2 Cups milk
On stove, melt sugar and milk together. Add to flour, crisco and baking powder. Dough should be pliable and easy to handle.
Filling:
1/2 lb. each (or 1-3/4 Cups), chopped
*Filberts
*Walnuts
*Almonds (toasted)
1lb. (2-3/4 Cups) Dark raisins
1/2 lb. Light raisins
1 small jar of Sour Cherry Jelly
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Mix all filling ingredients together and set aside.
From dough ball, pull a ping-pong ball sized piece. Shape and roll about an 1" thick disc between plastic wrap. Fill carefully with about Tablespoon of filling mixture. Fold over to one side to cover filling and seal. This should take on a crescent moon shape.
Bake in a preheated 350' oven on ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes.
Cool on rack.
Icing:
1/2 Cup powdered sugar, melted in 3/4 Cup water. Add enough water to mix to hold together, not too watery. Dip top of cookie into icing and let set.
When I saw the ingredient list, I knew why my great grandmother and her sister would swear while making these. It's like it never ends!
So when I call my dad in a few hours to let him know how much I hate making these &*@$ cookies, I'll make sure the pot of coffee is on and get a plate ready to share while waiting for him to arrive.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monster Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is the very same cookie that gets top honors as the picture you see in the header of this blog. It is a cookie that is both huge in size as in flavor. I first made this recipe a couple of summers ago. We had some neighbors over for a cookout and I wanted something different to serve for dessert. I decided to make these into ice cream sandwiches. We had to split them in half, because this cookie could truly be a meal in and of itself!
The original recipe is from Paula Deen (Three Chocolate Cookies), but I have used different variations of chips and such that it does differ from her recipe.
Now this cookie is NOT low fat! But when you are craving that ultimate chocolate chip cookie, this big, bad boy is it!
The Recipe:
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 Cup shortening
3/4 Cup sugar
1-3/4 Cups firmly packed brown sugar (light)
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 bag Nestle` Toll House Semi-Sweet Chunks
1 bag Nestle` Toll House Milk Chocolate & Caramel morsels (This is very hard to find**see note below)
Preheat oven to 350'.
With electric mixer, beat butter and shortening until creamy; gradually add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to butter mixture until well blended. Stir in chips. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls about 3" apart (or 6 drops per sheet). Bake 12-15 minutes, (depending on your pan) or until lightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes and transfer to cooling rack (or dinner plate to keep extra soft).
Friday, January 1, 2010
Pork & Sauerkraut
Happy New Year! I got a call from my father last night around 7:30pm requesting us to not call at midnight to say Happy New Year, for he would be in bed. We both laughed and wished eachother a good night. But before we hung up, he asked the question "so, what are you having for dinner tomorrow?" My answer was "Pork & sauerkraut of course!"
Tradition has it in Pennsylvania Dutch country that eating this dish on New Years Day will bring one good luck for the year. How could you pass that up?
Something you will notice with PA Dutch dishes: most are very basic and boiled! This recipe is no exception.
I wish you a year of good fortune!
The Recipe:
2-3 lb. Center cut boneless pork roast
1 (32 oz) Silver Floss Shredded Sauerkraut (in the glass jar)
Salt & Pepper
Place pork roast in pot with about 2 cups water. Cover with entire jar of sauerkraut. Salt & pepper. Place lid on pot and simmer for 4 hours.
A must on your dish? Mashed potatoes!
Tradition has it in Pennsylvania Dutch country that eating this dish on New Years Day will bring one good luck for the year. How could you pass that up?
Something you will notice with PA Dutch dishes: most are very basic and boiled! This recipe is no exception.
I wish you a year of good fortune!
The Recipe:
2-3 lb. Center cut boneless pork roast
1 (32 oz) Silver Floss Shredded Sauerkraut (in the glass jar)
Salt & Pepper
Place pork roast in pot with about 2 cups water. Cover with entire jar of sauerkraut. Salt & pepper. Place lid on pot and simmer for 4 hours.
A must on your dish? Mashed potatoes!
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