What's Cookin' 4 Miles North of Nowhere?

Turkey Pot Pie

2011-11-28T20:17:00.001-06:00

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen sliced carrots

1 cup frozen brocolli florettes

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen petite peas

2 medium sized potatoes, diced fairly small

1 1/2 cups leftover turkey

1 1/2 cups leftover turkey gravy

1 can cream of mushroom soup

my favorite pie crust, doubled recipe (this pie crust is assembled, mixed by hand, and patted out all in one dish)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place diced potatoes in a small pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat and simmer until just tenter.

Place all frozen vegetables in a large saucepan with a small amount of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer just until barely tender.

Drain vegetables and potatoes, and combine in the larger of the two pans. In the smaller pan, place the turkey, gravy, and the soup over medium heat, stirring to combine. When warm, fold gently into the vegetables in the larger pan.

Place all pie crust ingredients in a casserole dish, and mix together by hand. Set aside about one third of the dough. Press the other two-thirds to cover the bottom and sides of the casserole. Pour the vegetable mixture into the crust. Place the reserved pie crust dough between plastic wrap layers and roll out to roughly the size of the casserole top. Place over the casserole and pinch the crust top and bottom together. Cut slits in the top.

Place in a 350 degree oven for one hour.

Liver and Onions...

2011-09-30T23:26:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
4 slices maple-smoked bacon
2 large onions, sliced in rings
1 pound of beef liver
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp course ground pepper

Directions:
Season the flour with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the liver in flour and set aside.

Heat a non-stick skillet. Fry bacon at medium high temperature till lightly crisped and grease is rendered. Remove from pan, cut each slice into three or four pieces, and set aside.

Keeping the skillet's temperature at medium high, place the floured liver pieces in the hot bacon grease, careful not to crowd the pan. Cook only till outside is brown, not till completely cooked through...this goes very quickly. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add all of the onions to the skillet. Add one to two tablespoons of water and stir a couple of times till onions just start to turn translucent and start picking up the brown bits from bottom of pan. Lay the liver in a single layer over the onions, and place the bacon pieces on top of all. Reduce heat to medium to medium low, cover the pan, and let steam till the onions are tender and the meat is cooked through , about ten minutes.

My notes: My mother used to prepare liver and onions pretty often, so I know how it's done...I just don't really like it, so I don't do it often. Let me restate that. I don't like to look at or handle the raw liver...it's actually not too bad once it's cooked. Mom never included bacon in her preparation that I remember, but it definitely was a great addition.

Tortilla Soup

2010-08-16T18:38:00.008-05:00

Ingredients to stew chicken:

3 split chicken breasts (with skin and bone)

2 to 3 carrots

2 to 3 celery ribs

1 onion, quartered

6 to 8 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in a pot with carrots, celery, and onion. Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Cover with water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for one to two hours, or until chicken is very tender.

Remove chicken pieces to a platter, and let it cool a bit, then shred (discarding skin and bones). Set a strainer over a large bowl, and pour stock with vegetables into strainer. Discard the vegetables. Pour the stock back into the pot. Add the shredded chicken to stock.

Additional soup ingredients:

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (with its liquid)

1 15.5 ounce can black beans (rinsed well)

1 15.5 ounce can white hominy (drained)

1 cup frozen corn

2 Tablespoons chicken soup base

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

4 corn tortillas (tear into strips or small pieces)

Directions:

Add all of above additional ingredients to stock and chicken. Stir gently to combine, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes to an hour.

Ladle into bowls, and top with:
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

sliced avocado

sour cream

My note: The flavor of this is like my favorite restaurant tortilla soup. Though I haven't had a restaurant version around here that included the beans, corn, or hominy, I wanted to add some fiber/texture and stretch the servings. Usually the restaurant versions use fried strips of tortillas added while plating, but I didn't want the extra step or oil, so I just added the torn tortillas to the soup while cooking to incorporate the tortilla flavor.

If you are really organized and/or watching your fat intake, you can cook the chicken one day, refrigerate the stock overnight, and skim the congealed fat from the top of the stock before reheating and continuing to make soup.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Freezer Pie

2010-07-12T22:49:00.002-05:00

Ingredients:
1 Keebler chocolate cookie pie crust
1 large box of instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 milk
1 small tub of Cool Whip
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the pudding with the milk. Whisk in the Cool Whip. Unwrap the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (about 10 of the large ones, or about 20 of the minis, or however many you want to put in) and chop them roughly. Fold the chopped candy into the pudding mix. Pour all into the chocolate pie crust. Top with a few more chopped peanut butter cups. Store in the freezer till about 15 minutes before serving.

My kids love this better than cake, so I always make it for their birthdays.

Not-exactly-local Salad

2010-01-22T21:25:00.004-06:00

It's winter, so none of these ingredients were locally grown. But I really wanted a salad!

Ingredients:
Italian bagged salad mix
fresh strawberries
fresh orange
pomegranate
red onion
dried cranberries
feta cheese
chicken
Honey-Dijon vinaigrette

Directions:
Place salad mix in a large bowl.

Wash and dry all fresh produce. Peel orange, and either section or cut into bite-sized pieces. Halve or quarter strawberries. Seed pomegranate. Thinly slice onion. Add all too the salad mix, and add feta, cranberries, and chicken. Toss with vinaigrette.

My note: Use any chicken you like...grilled, rotisserie, etc. All I had tonight was breaded chicken patties, so I cooked as per directions on package, and then cut them into bite-sized pieces to add to salad. Mushrooms and pecans would be great in this too.

Here is a priceless tutorial on how to 'open' a pomegranate tidily!

Lentil Soup

2010-01-21T18:25:00.009-06:00

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
1/2 cup shoestring carrots (you could peel and slice whole carrots, but I had shoestring, and it was easier to use them)
1 cup link sausage, diced
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can chicken broth
4 to 6 cups water
2 cups lentils
1/2 cup fresh spinach

Directions:
In a large pan, heat about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Add diced onion, celery, carrot, and sausage. Saute, stirring occassionally, till onion is translucent. Add canned tomatoes (do not drain), chicken broth, and 4 cups water, and heat to boiling. Add the lentils, and stir. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes until lentils are tender. Check occassionally during cooking, and add rest of water if needed/desired. At end of cooking time, stir in the fresh spinach.

My notes: This was very quick to pull together and get in the pot. And it was quite good. very hearty. I was tired, so I just served with crackers, but it would have been great with cornbread.

Turkey Slaw Burgers

2009-09-21T18:36:00.003-05:00

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

1 apple (I used a gala), finely chopped

1/4 onion, finely chopped

4 Tablespoons bottled chutney

1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese

salt & pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and form into patties. Brown in a non-stick skillet. These don't have any bread crumbs or egg to help hold together, so don't crowd the pan and risk them falling apart while turning. They browned really quickly, so after the second batch was brown, I added the first batch back to the pan with them, covered, reduced the heat, and cooked for a few minutes to make sure they were done all the way through.

I served on sourdough bread with coleslaw topping. I also served the slaw on the side.

Slaw was just bagged slaw mix with bottled coleslaw dressing, then I tossed in some dried cranberries. Sometimes I add a chopped apple to it too.

Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

2009-07-02T13:23:00.005-05:00

Ingredients: (approximate measurements in parentheses, adjust to your liking)
bowtie pasta (8 ounces)
carrots (1 large or 8 to 10 baby carrots)
celery (2 to 3 ribs)
zuchini (1...cut in half lengthwise before slicing)
mushrooms (10)
red onion (I use 1/4 to 1/3 of the onion)
cherry tomatoes (8 ounces)
black olives (8 ounces)
green olives (8 ounces)
grilled chicken breasts
mayonnaise
Italian salad dressing (I use bottled)

Directions:
Cook the pasta as per the package directions to an al dente texture. Drain and set aside to cool in a large bowl.

Wash and dry the vegetables. Slice the carrots, celery, zuchini, mushrooms and red onion. Add these to the pasta. Add the whole cherry tomatoes along with the black and green olives.

Slice the chicken breast, and add it to the bowl (or keep separate and add to individual servings of the salad)

In a smaller bowl whisk together equal amounts of mayonnaise and Italian salad dressing till smooth. I make quite a lot of this salad at a time, so I used about 1/3 cup of each, but you may need more or less depending on the size of salad you're making. Add to the salad, and toss till well incorporated.

My note: This is a favorite of Jared's. It keeps very well in the refrigerator, and it's easy and tasty to take to work for lunch.

Hot Potato Salad...

2009-06-07T17:59:00.005-05:00

this recipe is from Pamela at http://frenchknots.blogspot.com/2009/05/hot-potato-salad.html

5 to 7 medium sized red potatoes

Wash potatoes and cut into large cubes leaving skin on.

Boil till just tender and drain.

8 to 10 links of sausage or slices of bacon, cooked

Sauce:

4 green onions chopped (green and white parts)

3/4 cups real mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

2 Tablespoons grease from sausage or bacon

Directions:

In a large bowl combine green onions, ranch mix, mayonnaise, sour cream, and grease. After mixing sauce, add potatoes and sausage/bacon to the bowl. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan, and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 to 45 minutes until hot through and beginning to brown on top.

Spinach Salad with Salmon

2009-04-26T16:10:00.005-05:00

Salad Ingredients:
use the following in amounts to your taste or for size of salad you need...
baby spinach
mushrooms (sliced)
orange (sectioned)
avocado (sliced)
red onion (thinly sliced)
dried cranberries
pecan halves

Mix ingredients in a large bowl.

Oven Grilled Salmon:
salmon fillet
juice of half an orange
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line broiler pan with foil. Place salmon fillet in pan, skin side down. Squeeze juice from half an orange over top of fillet. Salt and pepper to your taste. Place in top third of oven for ten minutes per inch of fillet's thickness. Remove from oven. Cut into serving-size pieces and remove skin.

Orange/Mustard Dressing:
juice of half an orange
1 Tablespoon of grainy mustard
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place orange juice, mustard, and rice vinegar in a small bowl and whisk together. While still whisking, drizzle in olive oil, mixing continuously. Use immediately or mix well again before using.

To serve salad:
Place individual salad serving on a plate, drizzle with dressing, and top with a serving portion of a grilled salmon fillet. Drizzle a little of the dressing on top of the salmon fillet.

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

2009-02-16T19:02:00.006-06:00

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 zucchini, unpeeled and roughly chopped

2 cups corn kernels

1/8 cup sliced pickled jalepeno peppers, chopped

1 1/2 cup cooked chicken breast, diced

2 14 ounce cans chicken broth

1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt butter and sauté the onion until it is tender. Stir in the zucchini, corn, jalapeno, and diced chicken. Add chicken broth, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook the soup until the zucchini is tender (5 to 10 minutes). Stir in the evaporated milk, and heat just until it is hot...do not boil. Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the cheese.

Garnish each bowl with a little more shredded cheese and/or crisp tortilla strips.

Grilled Vegetables and Chicken Pitas with Tzatziki

2009-02-03T21:40:00.005-06:00

(my apologies for the substandard photo)

Grilled Vegetables

cherry tomatoes

mushrooms

zucchini

onion

eggplant

bell pepper

Leave cherry tomatoes and mushrooms whole. Cut other vegetables into large chunks so that all are about the same size. Place all in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with your favorite seasoning blend. Mix to coat all vegetables. Pour into a foil lined broiler pan and place under broiler. Watch closely, and when vegetables begin to char, stir and place back under broiler. Continue until they are done to your taste.

Tonight I served the vegetables in pitas with left over shredded chicken and a fabulous Tzatziki (Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce) found here. YUM!

Not back in the kitchen yet...

2009-02-01T21:27:00.002-06:00

I had a little setback, but hopefully will be back in the kitchen soon.

But in the meantime, I wanted to apologize. I just noticed that there are several comments that were left on different posts quite awhile back without my noticing or replying. I'm not an unfriendly sort...really! So thank you all for your nice comments. Glad you could visit, and hope you'll come again.

Sent my hubby to the grocery yesterday...I hope to make something yummy tomorrow.

I have been cooking...really...

2009-01-13T00:02:00.002-06:00

I have some surgery scheduled at the end of this week, so I've been cooking and freezing casseroles and soups so that my non-cooking husband doesn't starve or poison me while I recuperate. :) I may be off the computer for a short while.

Buttermilk Pie

2008-12-18T17:20:00.011-06:00

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 exgra-large eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell*

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and flour. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix. Pour into pie crust. (I always use my favorite pie crust recipe.)

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Do not overbake.

My note: I love buttermilk pie, but some of them are so sweet they make your teeth ache. And some are kind of bland. It took a lot of searching to find a recipe that suited me. This one is from the Luby's Cafeteria 50th Anniversary Recipe Collection. As Goldilocks says, "This one is just right."

Split Pea Soup

2008-12-11T19:32:00.010-06:00

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups split peas
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 to 1 cup ham pieces (I used ends and bone)
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (reduced sodium)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

Directions:
In a large pot, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and ham to pot and saute for a few minutes till onions are translucent. Rinse split peas, and add to pot. Add chicken broth and water, as well as salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an hour and a half stirring occasionally.

At end of cooking time, remove ham bone (if used) and remove any meat from bone. Add meat back to pot. Stir in 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream. Taste for seasonings, and adjust as needed.

Serve with a crusty bread.

My note: This was my first time to make (or for that matter to even eat) split pea soup. I read several recipes, and none of them seemed to be exactly what I wanted, so I just decided to wing it. Turned out great!

Pasta E Fagioli soup

2008-11-22T17:39:00.005-06:00

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

4 carrots, slivered

3 ribs celery, diced

1 24 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 can drained red kidney beans

6 cups beef stock

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/4 tsp. pepper

2 1/2 tsp. parsley

3/4 tsp. tobasco sauce

3 cups spaghetti sauce (any brand)

4 oz. ditalini pasta, cooked and drained

(Ditalini, or "little thimbles" is a small tubular pasta like a very short macaroni. If you can't find it in your store, macaroni can be used.)

Directions: Brown the ground beef in the oil in a soup pot. Drain if needed. Stir in carrots, onions, celery, and undrained tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain the kidney beans, then stir into the beef mixture. Stir in stock, oregano, pepper, parsley, and tabasco sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes until celery and carrots are tender. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and pasta.

My note: I found this recipe on PamperingBeki while surfing blogs the other day. Made it tonight for the guys, and it was a hit. Really easy too. Because I hate dirtying an extra pan unless absolutely necessary, near the end of the cooking time I just put the dried pasta into the soup, then when it was tender, I added the spaghetti sauce last. Oh, and I had some baby spinach, so I tossed that in at the end too. Even though I'm still full, I'm already looking forward to leftovers! :)

And check out Beki's blog. Today she had some awesome pictures of ornaments from her Etsy shop.

Egg Salad Whimsy

2008-11-10T13:12:00.008-06:00

Ingredients:

8 eggs

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes

1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 avocado

Directions:

Place eggs in a small saucepan, cover with water, and add a little salt. Cover pan and bring to a boil, then immediately turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes or more. Drain hot water from pan, then run cold water over eggs. Drain that water off, then put cover back on pan, and holding the cover on the pan, shake vigorously to thoroughly crack all egg shells. Peel eggs immediately under cold running water. This method almost always makes getting the shells off a breeze. Place peeled eggs on a paper towel to remove excess water.

Chop eggs into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients except for the avocado. Stir just until mixed well. Top with sliced avocado right before serving. Serve with toast points or crackers, or as a sandwich filling.

My note: I'm enjoying a newly completed porch and beautiful mild weather, so I decided to have a tea party. Some iced Red Zinger tea was perfect with the salad.

Monster Cookies

2008-10-22T19:37:00.014-05:00

Ingredients:
12 eggs, beaten thoroughly
2 pounds brown sugar
4 cups white sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon syrup
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 pound butter
3 pounds peanut butter
18 cups oatmeal (42 ounce box)
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pound m&m candies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a very large bowl, mix the first nine ingredients in the order they are listed.
Stir in chocolate chips and m&m candies.
Using an ice cream scoop, drop six (6) scoops of dough per cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes or until done.
Dough can be refrigerated and baked in batches at your convenience.

My note: This is a recipe I cut out of the newspaper years ago. It takes a HUGE bowl to mix together. I used to take my two biggest bowls, and kinda sorta mix part in one and part in the other...I finally bought a great big stainless steel bowl at a restaurant supply company just for this recipe. It makes LOTS of BIG cookies, and they are SO yummy!

Bread Pudding with Irish Mist Sauce

2008-10-16T20:00:00.011-05:00

The bread pudding is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (1981). One of my three most used cookbooks. The Irish Mist Sauce is my own.

Bread Pudding

Beat together 4 eggs, 2 cups milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place 2 1/2 cups dry bread cubes (3 1/2 slices) in an 8 x 1 1/2 inch round baking dish. Sprinkle 1/3 cup raisins over bread. Pour egg mixture over all. Bake in a 325 degree F. oven for 40 to 45 minutes or till a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Makes 6 servings.

Irish Mist Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

3 Tablespoons Irish Mist Liqueur

Directions:

Mix together the cornstarch and sugar. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the sugar and cornstarch into the butter. Pour in the milk, and cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat, and stir in the Irish Mist. Serve warm over bread pudding.

My note: I used Irish Mist, because it struck my fancy. You could substitute any hard liquor...bourbon, whiskey, rum.

Stuffed Bell Pepper

2008-10-14T21:07:00.006-05:00

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 box Spanish Rice-a-Roni

2 cups of water (as called for in package directions)

1 15.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

4 to 6 green bell peppers

shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Over medium high heat, brown meat in a skillet. Push meat to one side of pan, and if the meat is very lean add about 1/2 Tablespoon of butter to the empty side of the pan (if there is a little drippings in the bottom of the pan, omit the butter; if there's a lot of grease in the pan, drain it off). Pour the rice/vermicelli mix to the empty side of the pan, and leave for a few minutes stirring to even the browning. Add the seasoning packet to the pan, and stir together with rice and meat. Add the diced tomatoes, the 2 cups of water, and the raisins, stirring to mix. Cover pan and cook for about twenty minutes.

In the mean time, wash the peppers, cut their tops off, and remove the seeds and membranes. Also preheat oven to 35o degrees F.

After the rice is cooked, stir a cup of shredded cheddar cheese into the rice. Spoon the rice into the peppers, and place in a casserole dish. Place a small amount of water in the bottom of the dish. Cover, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Top with a little more cheese, and return to oven just until melted.

My note: You can leave the raisins out if you like, or rather if you don't like, but I love them included.

Dump Cake

2008-10-10T17:53:00.011-05:00

Ingredients:

1 can blueberry pie filling

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter or margarine

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

In ungreased 9 x 13 inch cake pan, spread pie filling, then spoon in pineapple (trying not to mix the two). Sprinkle cake mix over pineapple. Pour melted butter evenly over cake mix, then spread coconut over, and lastly pecans. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees F.

My note: This is such an easy recipe (with such an unfortunate name...I'm sure because you basically just dump everything in). I think the recipe has been included in every church or organization cookbook I've ever owned. You can use other fruit pie fillings as well...cherry is nice with a splash of almond extract added to it. Even better served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Drew's Kick-Ass Beans

2008-10-02T13:54:00.013-05:00

This recipe was shared with me by Drew D., aka (affectionately known as) the Crazy Cat Lady. The title refers to the awesome flavor, not digestive repercussions. :)

Ingredients:
3 cups dried pinto beans
8 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into about 1inch pieces
1 onion, cut into large chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 beer
salt to taste

Directions:
Rinse the beans and pick out any stones or bad beans. Place in large pot, and add 10 cups of water. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, and cover pot. Let sit for one hour. Add remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, or enough to maintain a slow boil. Continue cooking for several hours until beans are tender. During the cooking time, add water to the pot as needed.

Beans cooked covered, low, and slow will have a thinner broth. I like to uncover them, and let the broth reduce so it's thick and hearty.

My note: Don't be timid with substitutions. You can use sausage or ham instead of the bacon. Today I don't have a green bell pepper, so that will have to be left out. No beer in the house today, but I had a bottle of wine in the fridge, so I used about a third of it. If you don't drink, leave it out.

I serve with a fresh-baked pan of cornbread. Any cornbread that is left over, I put in a big zip lock freezer bag and throw in the freezer. I make a fresh batch of cornbread each time we have soup in the fall, by adding all the leftovers to the freezer bag, when Thanksgiving rolls around, I have plenty of cornbread for the dressing. One less thing to do for the busy holiday preparations.

Quiche

2008-09-29T19:30:00.021-05:00

Filling Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup cream (or milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
grated or sliced cheese (swiss, provolone, cheddar, whatever you like)
crumbled sausage, bacon, or finely diced ham
1 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust (see my favorite pie crust)

Directions:
-- Brown the ham, sausage, or bacon.

-- Saute the onion and green pepper.

-- Mix the eggs, cream, salt and pepper.
-- Spread the cheese over the bottom of the pie crust.
-- Sprinkle meat over cheese.
-- Spread onion and bell pepper over meat.
-- Pour egg mixture evenly over all.
-- Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
My note: This is SO simple, and really hard to mess up. Be creative and substitute ingredients you have on hand (I've even made it with salmon.) Serve with a big salad or a vegetable.

My Favorite Pie Crust

2008-09-29T17:36:00.003-05:00

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup minus 1 Tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
dash of salt

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a 9 inch glass pie plate. Mix it up with your hands just till blended, and form to fit pie plate. Crimp edges if desired.

My note: I learned how to make this pie crust from my mother. It is the only pie crust I ever use for single crust pies when recipe calls for unbaked pie crust--no cutting in, no rolling out, EASY! The secret is that it MUST be a glass pie plate.

Mexican Casserole

2008-09-25T16:59:00.006-05:00

I believe this recipe originally came from recipes.com. I don't know the author.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 (15 oz) can ranch-style beans
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 (12 oz) package corn tortillas
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350.

- Brown ground beef. Add chili powder, beans, tomatoes and soup; mix well and heat thoroughly.

- Line 13"x9" dish with tortillas. Then make a layer with the meat mixture. Layer some cheese on top of that. Repeat layers ending with cheese.

- Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.

my note: This is the lazy girls' enchiladas. Incredibly quick and easy. I've spent way more time and effort trying to make traditional enchiladas, and been unhappy with the result every time. I'll never bother again, because this is IT!