Savory Bread Cases

I doubled the recipe on this one. I am so glad I did! It was a huge hit with the family! The leftover filling also makes a very tasty sauce for macaroni and cheese! This recipe comes from my teammate mummamills from Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. I made this for the July 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap.

Savory Bread Cases

24 slices bread - store bought works best

margarine

8 oz bacon (this equals 1/2 lb), diced

1 lg onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheese - I used cheddar and mozzarella

3 tsp minced garlic

8 TBSP flour - you may not need it all

5 cups milk

1 pinch dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Cut crusts from bread slices. Spread very lightly with butter or margarine. Press, butter side down into muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes - until bread cases are dry. (These can also be frozen for use at a later time.)

Spray frying pan with vegetable oil. Add diced bacon and onion. Saute over a high heat until bacon is cooked. Add garlic and saute a minute longer.

In same skillet- add in flour - 1 TBSP at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is completely absorbed. Keep stirring and gradually whisk in milk. Stir until thickened and there are no lumps. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add cheese and mustard. Stir until cheese is melted.

Refrigerate mixture until serving time.

Put bread cases on a large cookie sheet. Fill with cheese mixture. You may want to sprinkle additional cheese on top. I sprinkled parsley for color. Bake ato 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Egg Drop Soup

I absolutely love egg drop soup. I found this recipe back in 2008 on recipezaar, printed it, made it once and lost it. I recently found it and made it again. This post is for you Michelle! :) The chef who gets the credit is Joy Boss on recipezaar.

Egg Drop Soup
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 dash white pepper
1 medium green onion, chopped with top
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat broth, salt and pepper to boiling. Stir green onions into eggs. Pour egg mixture slowly into broth, stirring constantly with fork until egg forms shreds. Makes about 3 cups.

Savory Pita Chips

You will have to excuse the plate in the second picture. Michael and I were eating these gems just as dinner was over and I thought I should get a picture before I forgot. This recipe is part of the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is gailnng from the Deep South. She suggests hummus as a great side for these chips. Michael suggests salsa so that's what we did! If you find your are sensitive to spicy foods - don't use all the spice mixture.

Savory Pita Chips

1 1/2 tsp powdered garlic or granules

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp salt

olive oil or vegetable oil

6 pita breads (or more if you want to make these for a party or other gathering)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the spices together in a smallish bowl. Brush the pita breads with the oil. Cut the pita bread into 6 or 8 wedges - just like you would cut a pie. Arrange wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with spice mix. I had to use 2 baking sheets just so they weren't all crowded onto one. Bake for 7 - 10 minutes. Check after 5. Depending on how hot your oven is....they may be done. You want them crispy and light brown and definitely not burnt.

Breaded Fish with Rice Pilaf

We don't eat a lot of fish at our house - but when we do - this is one of the ways we like it. I like to use cod but when it is too expensive - any white fish should work. As for the Rice Pilaf - this recipe comes from Mom and Dad Dysart. Not sure where they got it from - but Russell really likes it. That's all that matters at my house.

Breaded Fish
desired amount of fish to feed your family
1-2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs - either homemade or storebought
parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning

Cut fish into serving pieces. Coat in beaten egg. If you have a lot of people in your family - 2 eggs are the better option.
Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning in a food processor and mix well. I just eyeball the cheese and seasonings.
Coat the fish pieces in breadcrumb mixture and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes or until fish is flaky when you go to separate it with a fork.
Serve with tartar sauce if desired.

Rice Pilaf
2 cups long grain white rice
2 1/2 TBSP oil
4 cups boiling water
4 tsp boullion
3/4 cup thin pasta (such as angel hair or spaghetti)

Combine rice, oil and pasta in a skillet. Over high heat brown the rice. Pour into a 2 qt casserole dish. Add boullion and boiling water. Mix. Cover casserole and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Picnic Party Potato Salad

This is by far the best potato salad I have ever had. I think the secret is the Italian Dressing. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law Sheri Zaugg. I don't know where she got the recipe from. It's pretty much a staple at any Zaugg family gathering. I only get to have it when we visit their house or if I make it to take somewhere like a potluck or funeral, etc. Russell and the boys are not fans of potato salad period and I can't eat the whole batch myself.

Picnic Party Potato Salad
5 lbs potatoes - red OR russett, diced, skins can be left on
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
3 tsp salt
2 cups sliced celery
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced for the salad
5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced for the top
1/2 cup dill pickle relish
paprika for garnish

Cook potatoes until tender. Drain. Put into large bowl. Add onions and Italian dessing. Toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Combine mayo, mustard and salt in small bowl; pour over potatoes; toss to coat. Add celery, the 4 diced eggs and relish. Gently mix. Place the 5 sliced hard boiled eggs on top of the salad. Sprinkle with paprika.
Serves: 10-12

Sauteed Mushrooms

This is an Australian recipe from my team mate UmmBinat for April. Russell and I loved these! Well - we like mushrooms just about any way we can get them. These were no exception!

Sauteed Mushrooms
1/2 cube butter or margarine
3/4 tsp olive or vegetable oil
3/4 tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/16 tsp dried oregano
8 oz crimini button mushrooms, sliced or white mushrooms, sliced

Melt butter with oil in a frying pan over medium - low heat. Add remaining ingredients. Saute for 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Rice with Onion

UmmBinat was my team mate with this tasty recipe for the April 2010 recipe swap. She is from Canada. She modified this recipe from The Complete Middle East Cookbook by Tess Mallos. I modified it even more as we don't have basmati rice. This recipe is also called Mashkoul. Russell really enjoyed this rice as it is not sticky. A big plus for him!

Rice with Onion

2 cups long grain white rice

cold water

1 TBSP salt

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Add rice and salt and return water to a boil. Stir occasionally to keep grains separate. Boil for 8 minutes. Strain in a large sieve. (I used my ricer that I use to make applesauce since the holes are super tiny. Didn't want to lose the rice!)

Heat butter in a heavy pan. Add onion. Fry gently until transparent. Increase heat and fry until crisp and light colored. Careful though - they will cook quickly!

Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Add 1/2 the onion and the strained rice. With a fork mix well. Sprinke remaining onion over rice mixture. Sprinkle rice with water if necessary. I did as the rice wasn't quite finished cooking. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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.

Zucchini Parmesan

This recipe was a kitchen fluke. I was bent on having "fried zucchini" baked in the oven. I don't know where I went wrong - but it sure didn't taste the same. :(
So.....
I didn't want to throw away a perfectly big dish of battered zucchini I came up with a side dish save....

Zucchini Parmesan
I had a very large zucchini from my neighbor. I sliced it in 1 inch slices
2 eggs beaten
lots of breadcrumbs
spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese

Dip zucchini in egg then coat very well with breadcrumbs. Place in 9x13 baking dish sprayed with vegetable oil. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and top each zucchini round with a little of your favorite spaghetti sauce and mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Put back in the oven until cheese starts to melt.
You could technically eat this as a meal in itself. I had it as a side to a steak I was craving. Sometimes I just have to have a good burnt steak. This hit the spot!