Well, we got to Cousin Micki's earlier this week and she was so pleased. She had made peppers and eggs for our lunch sandwiches. Sorry to say that is one of my least favorite "family" foods there is. And poor Mick, she really thought she was giving us something wonderful.
The first time I ate peppers and eggs (P&E) was at Aunt Annie's. Aunt Annie loved the stuff, as did my mom. But I couldn't gag it down no matter how hard I tried. Given the ingredients separately, I'd have had no problem, but together, and on bread as a sandwich? Not so much.
If any of you want to try this very common Abruzzi mock-off, here's the recipe:
Needed
4 or five eggs
1 pepper (green or red)
1 onion
salt and ground pepper
EVOO or butter
Finely chop the pepper and onion. In large pan (heated) melt two pats of butter (or heat one tablespoon of EVOO), cook the peppers and onions until the they are slightly browned, but not soft. Add the eggs. Just dump them in and stir them in with the peppers and onions as if you were making scrambled eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. That's all there is to it.
This mess was served at lunch and was mostly eaten when we went to the shore. The adults loved it on bread. I guess it was a cheap lunch, since the pepper and onion came from the garden, and the eggs came from our neighbor. Unfortunately, we children, as far as I know never grew to enjoy the dish.
ttfn
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel has some new dishes -- one-pot dishes called Fireside Country Skillets -- and I had the opportunity to get one today. This is not my recipe, and I don't even have the recipe for this dish, but boy was it yummy. It's their new Chicken/Broccoli/cheese dish. The bottom layer is their cheese potatoes, you know those delicious potatoes they serve in lieu of hash browns? Then it's topped with lots of chicken, not so much broccoli (I wish they had put more of the green stuff in the dish) and then the whole thing is topped with this gooey, cheddar cheese concoction that was really, really good.
And, oh yes, it has a gazillion calories. I didn't care. After driving for 9 hours I was ready for anything food.
ttfn
And, oh yes, it has a gazillion calories. I didn't care. After driving for 9 hours I was ready for anything food.
ttfn
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Spam and Rice
This is not a recipe I learned from my Mom, but I did learn it while I was living in Runnemede, and I started making it before I was married. It's a recipe handed down to me by my mother-in-law, Ruth Hahn. I have to say she made this A LOT. It was cheap, easy, and if you kept Spam in your pantry you could whip it up in about 15 minutes, especially if you used Minute Rice.
My husband loves this stuff. I can't stand it. So, as you might guess, I don't make it often. Only by special request from him.
I get to thinking sometimes, it must be rough to be fed whatever the cook wants you (or herself) to eat, and you get to share that. It's not like having a personal chef where you can dictate what you want to eat for dinner or lunch, etc., you just have to eat what's put in front of you. Children and husbands are in this category. Personally, I don't think I'd like to be in that category, but I've never been in a situation where I would be, except when I had my three children and had to eat what the hospital provided, and we all know about hospital food, right?
Back to SPAM AND RICE.
Ingredients:
1 can of Spam (feeds up to 4). I used to use two cans when the children were at home. Doubled everything in this recipe because it was enjoyed by them in their early years.
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tspn vinegar (white preferred)
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1 small onion cut up into small pieces
1/2 green or red pepper, cut into small pieces (Alan prefers this dish without the peppers)
1 Cup of Rice (uncooked)
First, unless you are using Minute Rice, start your rice. 1 cup of rice, two cups of water. Put rice into boiling water and cover. Add salt. Reduce to low, cover the pan and cook until water is absorbed by the rice, about 20 minutes.
For the S&R: To a skillet add a little bit of EVOO or a pat of butter and then brown the onions and pepper, but don't burn them. While these are browning, cut up the Spam into small pieces. When the onions and peppers are just brown and not burnt, add the Spam, ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes, so that the Spam and ketchup can heat up. If it is too thick, add a little water. You may want to experiment to get it to the consistency you like to put over the cooked rice.
That's all there is to this dish. Basically kids love it because it's so ketchupy. And it's a good way to disguise Spam. Personally? I prefer Spam right from the can.
ttfn
My husband loves this stuff. I can't stand it. So, as you might guess, I don't make it often. Only by special request from him.
I get to thinking sometimes, it must be rough to be fed whatever the cook wants you (or herself) to eat, and you get to share that. It's not like having a personal chef where you can dictate what you want to eat for dinner or lunch, etc., you just have to eat what's put in front of you. Children and husbands are in this category. Personally, I don't think I'd like to be in that category, but I've never been in a situation where I would be, except when I had my three children and had to eat what the hospital provided, and we all know about hospital food, right?
Back to SPAM AND RICE.
Ingredients:
1 can of Spam (feeds up to 4). I used to use two cans when the children were at home. Doubled everything in this recipe because it was enjoyed by them in their early years.
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tspn vinegar (white preferred)
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1 small onion cut up into small pieces
1/2 green or red pepper, cut into small pieces (Alan prefers this dish without the peppers)
1 Cup of Rice (uncooked)
First, unless you are using Minute Rice, start your rice. 1 cup of rice, two cups of water. Put rice into boiling water and cover. Add salt. Reduce to low, cover the pan and cook until water is absorbed by the rice, about 20 minutes.
For the S&R: To a skillet add a little bit of EVOO or a pat of butter and then brown the onions and pepper, but don't burn them. While these are browning, cut up the Spam into small pieces. When the onions and peppers are just brown and not burnt, add the Spam, ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes, so that the Spam and ketchup can heat up. If it is too thick, add a little water. You may want to experiment to get it to the consistency you like to put over the cooked rice.
That's all there is to this dish. Basically kids love it because it's so ketchupy. And it's a good way to disguise Spam. Personally? I prefer Spam right from the can.
ttfn
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Chicken salad
My mom's chicken salad was very, very simple. Cut up chicken, celery, and mayonnaise. The recipe I use now is updated for Alan's and my taste. I loved my mom's chicken salad, and still do. I don't know where she got her recipe, but it tasted a lot like the chicken salad that was served at Wanamaker's tearoom.
I don't think I've ever written about the first time my father took me to the Tea Room. What a treat that was! Of course I had to go through the requisite blindness at 12th and Market Streets in downtown Philly before we arrived at Wanamaker's. He didn't tell me in advance that we were going there. We went to visit Dr. Feldman first, and I can't recall whether it was because he thought I need to get some sort of treatment (chiropractic) or whether the treatment was for him. But we went to the Tea Room and got there around 1:30 p.m., a little late for lunch, but we hadn't eaten yet, so that's where we went.
I ordered, at my father's suggestion, a chicken salad sandwich plate. Wow! The sandwich was delish! And that chicken salad was just like mom's, or vice versa. Anyway, there was no pickle relish in it, nothing to make it "sweet", just plain chicken, celery, and mayo.
But enough reminiscing, here's my updated recipe.
Items needed:
chicken breasts either bone in or no bone
salt
pepper
mayonnaise -- I use Hellmann's. If you use the other stuff, it will not be the same.
celery
grapes
walnuts
Cook the breasts in water -- do not completely cover the breasts unless you want to save the stock that results from boiling the meat. Cook in covered pan for 1/2 hour. Make sure the water in the pot has been boiling with the meat for at least 20 minutes. Add salt to the water.
After the breasts cool, cut them into small pieces.
Cut up the celery into small pieces (1 cup)
smash the walnuts into small pieces (1/2 cup)
cut the grapes (I use seedless purple grapes) into four pieces (tedious work, but it makes the salad less lumpy). (1 cup)
Combine all the above with enough mayonnaise to coat the ingredients. This will vary depending on how big the breasts are.
Chill for about one hour and eat. It tastes good left over as well. I often add a spritz of lemon into the salad, but then I put a spritz of lemon in almost everything.
ttfn
I don't think I've ever written about the first time my father took me to the Tea Room. What a treat that was! Of course I had to go through the requisite blindness at 12th and Market Streets in downtown Philly before we arrived at Wanamaker's. He didn't tell me in advance that we were going there. We went to visit Dr. Feldman first, and I can't recall whether it was because he thought I need to get some sort of treatment (chiropractic) or whether the treatment was for him. But we went to the Tea Room and got there around 1:30 p.m., a little late for lunch, but we hadn't eaten yet, so that's where we went.
I ordered, at my father's suggestion, a chicken salad sandwich plate. Wow! The sandwich was delish! And that chicken salad was just like mom's, or vice versa. Anyway, there was no pickle relish in it, nothing to make it "sweet", just plain chicken, celery, and mayo.
But enough reminiscing, here's my updated recipe.
Items needed:
chicken breasts either bone in or no bone
salt
pepper
mayonnaise -- I use Hellmann's. If you use the other stuff, it will not be the same.
celery
grapes
walnuts
Cook the breasts in water -- do not completely cover the breasts unless you want to save the stock that results from boiling the meat. Cook in covered pan for 1/2 hour. Make sure the water in the pot has been boiling with the meat for at least 20 minutes. Add salt to the water.
After the breasts cool, cut them into small pieces.
Cut up the celery into small pieces (1 cup)
smash the walnuts into small pieces (1/2 cup)
cut the grapes (I use seedless purple grapes) into four pieces (tedious work, but it makes the salad less lumpy). (1 cup)
Combine all the above with enough mayonnaise to coat the ingredients. This will vary depending on how big the breasts are.
Chill for about one hour and eat. It tastes good left over as well. I often add a spritz of lemon into the salad, but then I put a spritz of lemon in almost everything.
ttfn
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Easy Beef Stroganoff
I can't believe I haven't updated this BLOG for five days. You all must be starving if you're depending on me for recipes for dinner.
My mom never made beef stroganoff. It was a dish I learned to make early in my marriage and one time my mom came to New Brunswick (well, Piscataway) to visit Alan and me and I made beef stroganoff. She loved it. It's really very, very easy to make.
I found out after I made it the right way, with wine, mushrooms, etc., that the ingredients in Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup are the same as what I was putting in the stroganoff, sans beef and sour cream.
What you need:
round steak, about two pounds (feeds 6-8)
2 cans golden mushroom soup (don't try a store brand, it's not the same)
1/2 package Lipton's onion soup mix
1 cup (or more if you like) sour cream (you can use lite or no fat sour cream, but it may separate)
salt and pepper
garlic salt
Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with salt, pepper and about 10 shakes of garlic salt. In skillet put two pats of butter. Turn on to high heat. When the butter melts, put in the pieces of meat. Brown them, but not too much, leave a little pink. At this time, while the meat is browning, add the onion soup mix. After the meat is browned, add the cans of soup and only one can of water, and the sour cream. The sour cream will make the sauce more liquidy, but as it cools a little it will thicken. Lower heat and let simmer about 10 minutes. This will cook the pink meat and the meat will be more tender.
Serve over noodles or rice, your choice. I like it both ways, but prefer the noodles.
ttfn
My mom never made beef stroganoff. It was a dish I learned to make early in my marriage and one time my mom came to New Brunswick (well, Piscataway) to visit Alan and me and I made beef stroganoff. She loved it. It's really very, very easy to make.
I found out after I made it the right way, with wine, mushrooms, etc., that the ingredients in Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup are the same as what I was putting in the stroganoff, sans beef and sour cream.
What you need:
round steak, about two pounds (feeds 6-8)
2 cans golden mushroom soup (don't try a store brand, it's not the same)
1/2 package Lipton's onion soup mix
1 cup (or more if you like) sour cream (you can use lite or no fat sour cream, but it may separate)
salt and pepper
garlic salt
Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with salt, pepper and about 10 shakes of garlic salt. In skillet put two pats of butter. Turn on to high heat. When the butter melts, put in the pieces of meat. Brown them, but not too much, leave a little pink. At this time, while the meat is browning, add the onion soup mix. After the meat is browned, add the cans of soup and only one can of water, and the sour cream. The sour cream will make the sauce more liquidy, but as it cools a little it will thicken. Lower heat and let simmer about 10 minutes. This will cook the pink meat and the meat will be more tender.
Serve over noodles or rice, your choice. I like it both ways, but prefer the noodles.
ttfn
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