Corn Chowder

This chowder is one of my go-to comfort foods. Especially when it's cold like it's been. This recipe I got from my sister-in-law Carrie. She got it from my mother-in-law. Russell doesn't particularly care for it - but I LOVE it! So it gets to come to my recipe blog. As a side note...I like to do my bacon in the oven. It's less messy that way. I keep a canning jar in the fridge for bacon drippings. Actually there are about 5 or so in my freezer as well. Who knows....they just might come in handy. When I need a bit of bacon drippings here or there - I just scoop it out and return the jar to the fridge.

Corn Chowder
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, save 3 TBSP of drippings
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 TBSP flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups corn, cream style or not - it's up to you (canned or fresh or frozen is also your option)
3 cups diced potatoes, cooked and drained
parsley - to make it look pretty (you decide)
paprika - to make it look pretty (again - you decide)

Cook onion and celery in bacon fat about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly. This step doesn't take very long at all. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. This step takes awhile. You want to end up with a nice thick creamy base for your chowder. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in pepper, corn, potatoes, parsley and paprika. Stir in bacon.
Serves: 6

Cat Head Biscuits with Sawmill Gravy

When I first saw this recipe I did a double take. Cat Head biscuits! No actual cats were used in the making of this recipe. :) This is actually one I chose as part of the May 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Crafty Lady 13 from Dalton, Ohio. She found the recipe in Deen Brother's Y'all Come Eat cookbook. The biscuits have this name because they are the size of a cat's head. I can tell you it was an attention getter at the dinner table though!

Cat Head Biscuits

3 cups self-rising flour**

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 TBSP butter or margarine, cut into pieces and softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, buttermilk and butter just until the dough comes together. On a floured surface pat the dough into a 1 1/2 inch thick round. Cut the dough into 6 4-inch circles. (I only had a 3 inch cookie cutter - so mine were a bit smaller.) Transfer biscuits to baking sheet. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

**If you are like me and don't buy self-rising flour - it can be made at home. You will need:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix well and use for every 1 cup of self rising flour.

Sawmill Gravy

1 lb bulk sausage

4 1/2 TBSP flour

2 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet brown sausage. Sprinkle flour over sausage and coat well. Gradually add milk and stir. Bring to a boil and stir until gravy is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break open biscuits and spoon gravy generously over the top. Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese

Classic Macaroni and Cheese is the correct name of this so yummy, creamy mac-n-cheese. There was an actual macaroni and cheese cookoff in Portland either this week or last week with chefs from everywhere making their own creations. The requirement - using Tillamook cheese products! You can go to www.tillamookcheese.com then click on the recipes link. From there are many choices to choose from. If you click on the recipe link for Macaroni and Cheese there will be many choices to peruse at your leisure. After having done this myself....I opted to make the below recipe for my family. It was a winner!

Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I will tell you what I did to the recipe to make it work for my family. If you want the original - go to the website.

16 oz small elbow macaroni - cook per package directions and drain

3/4 cup breadcrumbs - either homemade or panko
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBSP softened butter
Combine these ingredients in a medium size bowl and set aside.

4 cups Colby Jack cheese shredded and set aside

In a large dutch oven melt 3 TBSP butter.
Add:
4 TBSP flour and whisk well. Gradually add 3 cups **whole milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in:
2 pinches of nutmeg
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (If your family doesn't like spicy - leave out. It adds a nice "kick.")
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Cook, stirring continuously until sauce begins to thicken. About 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add 4 cups shredded cheese. Stir until smooth. Stir in pasta. Pour into 9x13 baking pan that has been sprayed with vegetable spray. Top with breadcrumb mixture. Bake uncovered until cheese is bubbling and the top is golden. Approximately 25-30 minutes.


**On the whole milk...
I don't buy whole milk. I like the powdered milk from the LDS cannery and found out I can make my own - which I did for this recipe. 1 cup powdered milk and 3 cups water in a blender makes the amount of milk needed for this recipe. Just thought you should know that. :) Maybe this helps lessen the fat content - not that you should be worrying about that if you are eating macaroni and cheese in the first place. Enjoy! This makes excellent leftovers as well. Hence the 9x13 pan. This recipe can always be halved.

Avocado and Chicken Melts

This recipe was chosen as part of my selections for the September Aussie/NZ recipe swap. The cook is Jen T from New Zealand. This was a very tasty lunch today. A real treat!

Her recipe calls to do the chicken differently than what I did. The post beneath is about chicken breasts. I did an extra couple with just breading and used half a chicken breast for this sandwich. So I am changing this portion of the recipe since I liked it so much.

Avocado and Chicken Melts
1 hoagie type roll per person
1/2 breaded chicken breast leftovers from next post, warmed
avocado slices
tomato slices
cheese

Cut roll in half lengthwise. Place under broiler just until toasted. Remove and layer desired avocado slices, chicken breast, tomato slices and cheese. Return to oven/broiler for a few minutes longer - just until the cheese melts.
Serve warm.

Chicken Wraps

I had some leftover tortillas and leftover chicken that needed to be used. This is what I came up with for lunch a few days ago.

Chicken Wraps
1 tortilla per person
Chicken or tuna
mayonnaise
grapes
apples
walnuts
lettuce

Line the tortilla with lettuce. Mix up the chicken or tuna to suit your taste with some mayo. Cut up desired amount of grapes and apples. Toss in a handful of walnuts. Place some chicken salad on the lettuce/tortilla and roll up and enjoy!

Mediterranean Turkey Bagelwiches

This was made for the September 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap at recipezaar.com. The original recipe calls for turkey. I used ham - which in theory wouldn't make this a Turkey Bagelwich would it? Laurlie41 from Indiana posted this tasty lunchtime special.

Mediterranean Turkey Bagelwiches
hummus - your choice of flavor
bagels, cut in half horizontally - one for each person
smoked turkey, sliced (I used deli ham since that's what I had)
1 medium cucumber sliced
spinach leaves

Spread hummus on each bagel half. Layer meat, cucumber and spinach. Put the top of the bagel on. Serve right away!

Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana

Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana
1 lb sausage
6 medium red potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices
3/4 cup diced onions
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups fresh baby spinach, sliced thinly
3 TBSP chicken boullion
2 quarts water
1 cup heavy cream

Cook ground sausage until done. Cook bacon and onion over medium heat, when bacon is crisp - remove. Leave the onion. Add garlic to the onion and cook 1 minute. Add boullion, water, and potatoes. Simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Crumble bacon. Add to soup. Add heavy cream and heat thoroughly. Serve with croutons or crackers or french bread or breadsticks.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

I was at WinCo yesterday stocking up on essentials in their bulk section. I love the bulk section! I came across a wild rice mixture so bought just enough to try. I knew I had saved this recipe and today was the time to make it! This recipe comes from recipezaar and the chef is Juenessa. This is a thick hearty soup and one we will be making often!
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, chopped (this was the only item left out)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules (I ended up with 4 tsp. Personal preference)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3 cups cooked wild rice
2 cups cubed cooked chicken

In a dutch oven melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Add vegetables, bouillon and spices. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are done. Add cream soup, rice and chicken. Heat through and serve with your favorite bread. We enjoyed this with homemade biscuits. It will be awesome in school lunches on Monday!

Sandwich Wraps

We had these for dinner tonight. The idea comes from Happyfrog in Oregon. I changed some things in her recipe to make it work for us. I put everything out on the table and let everyone create their own wraps. It was a huge hit! Russell is even taking one to work tomorrow for lunch. I was impressed as I associate wraps as being "girly" lunches.

Sandwich Wraps (per person)
desired amount of leaf lettuce
shredded carrot
2 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
dash of garlic powder
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1/4 cup ranch dressing
mustard
lunch meat, your choice
2 slices favorite cheese
1 burrito size tortilla

Mix cream cheese, garlic powder and ranch dressing very well. Add enough mustard to add color. Spread mixture on tortilla peanut butter style. Next add lettuce, carrot, bacon, meat then cheese. Fold up bottom third of tortilla. Roll tortilla up starting on one side ending on the other.

*I didn't think these would be very filling - but one was enough for me! My filling choices were chicken for the meat and provolone for the cheese. :)

Easy Hash Brown Pancakes

I made these little tasty morsels today for the September 2008 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. The poster is morgainegeiser from Michigan. She in turn got it from an old "Taste of Home" magazine. Michael liked them so much he gave me a HUGE thumbs up!

Easy Hash Brown Pancakes

3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes**
2 TBSP flour
2 eggs, beaten
3 TBSP butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp water
1/2 tsp salt (OR) salt and pepper to taste - that's what I did
1 TBSP vegetable oil
Place the hashbrowns in a strainer, rinse with cold water until thawed. Drain thoroughly; transfer to a large bowl.
Add the flour, eggs, butter, water and salt; mix well. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls into oil; fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
**I didn't have frozen hashbrowns. I did have dehydrated ones though. So - I rehydrated them and proceeded making the recipe. They worked out really, really well. We had these for dinner along with french toast. It was perfect.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

One of my most favorite comfort foods is biscuits and gravy. It has to be homemade though. I am rather picky that way. I like it served with this yummy fruit salad.

Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk*
*If you want to use buttermilk - use 3/4 cup buttermilk and add 1/4 tsp baking soda to dry ingredients.
Gravy:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 lb ground sausage, precooked
Melt butter. Add flour. Mix well until no lumps are left. Gradually add milk to make a thick gravy. Add sausage, salt and pepper to taste. For biscuits - combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening and add milk. Roll out and cut into desired size. Bake at 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Serve gravy over biscuits.

Fruit Salad

1 8 oz Pina Colada yogurt

2 medium bananas, sliced

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1 cup green grapes

1 cup red grapes

1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

Combine all ingredients well in bowl. Serve right away.

** Of course other fruits can be added. This is what I had available. Any yogurt can used as well. This one happens to be my favorite. Enjoy!

Homemade Tortillas

I am a sucker for homemade tortillas. I can't even tell you when the last time was that I actually bought them from the store. It's been a long time. These are so easy to make. If you can mix, roll and put on a griddle - then you can make these.
Homemade Tortillas
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in water and oil. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until it is smooth and has no lumps. Cover dough with a towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 pieces. (You can do 12 if you really want to. I like my tortillas thicker.) Roll into balls.
Roll each tortilla into a circle about 8 inches round. You are allowed to roll these babies as thick/thin as you like. I like them thick.
Place on hot griddle. Turn over when these brown spots begin to appear.
Tacos anyone? How about enchiladas? Quesadillas? What was that you said? You wanted a cheese quesadilla with taco soup? Okay. :)