Classic Beef Stew

Serves 8


Ingredients:

2&1/2 pounds very lean beef stew meat
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup sliced celery
5 large potatoes, cut in eighths
5 large carrots, cut in 2-inch slices
salt and pepper to taste
a few cloves of garlic (optional)
1 can condensed tomato soup


Method:

- In a large pot, brown stew meat in oil, add chopped onions and sliced celery and cook until tender.

- Add vegetables and seasonings.

- Add soup and a soup can of water.

- Simmer over lowest heat for about 2&1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender.

- Add more water as needed.

Enjoy...

Sandwich speads

Chicken Chunky Spread:

Ingredients:
dark and white meat chicken, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tabelspoons honey dijon mustard
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shelled salted sunflower seeds

method:
In medium bowl, combine all ingredients and blend gently to combine. Cover tightly and refrigerate up to 3 days. Makes enough for 4-6 sandwiches


Chicken Curry Spread:

Ingredients:
dark and white meat chicken, minced
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained (cubes)
1/4 cup mango chutney
1&1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Method:
Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and blend gently to combine. Cover tightly and refrigerate up to two days. Makes enough for 4-6 sandwiches


Egg Salad Spread:

Ingredients:
6 eggs
3 tabelspoons mayonnaise
2 tabelspoons Miracle Whip
1 tabelspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:
Boil eggs. Then peel eggs and cut in half.
Remove yolks and place in medium bowl. Mash until smooth with mayonnaise, salad dressing, salt, and pepper. Chop egg whites and add to egg yolk mixture with cheese. blend gently, cover and refrigerate tightly up to 2 days. 4-5 sandwiches


Olive Spread

Ingredients:
1 packet cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped green olives or black or both
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tabelspoons olive juice
dash pepper

Method:
In a medium bowl, cream the cream cheese until smooth and softened. Add mayonnaise and stir thoroughly to combine. Add olive juice for desired spreading consistency, then fold in olives and pecans. Cover and refrigerate.


Turkey & Cucumber Spread

Ingredients:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tabelspoon dried dill weed
dash pepper
1/2 cup cooked turkey, chopped
1 cup cubed dill Havarti cheese - found in Sultan Center
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped

Method:
Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and mix gently to combine. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

getting hungry..?

Amazing Tuna Salad

lovely and refreshing...

Serves 4


Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart water
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 cup chopped red, orange, and or yellow bell peppers, seeded and de-stemmed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cans of tuna in water
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil.
2 stalks of celery, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
1/4-1/3 a head of iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped into 2 inch long strips
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Fresh ground pepper


Method:

1 In a saucepan, add 1 cup of elbow macaroni to 1 quart of boiling water with an added teaspoon of salt. Simmer either covered or uncovered for about 10 minutes until the macaroni is just a little more cooked than al dente. When ready, remove from heat, drain and rinse with cold water.

2 While the macaroni is cooking, assemble the other ingredients. In a large bowl mix the green onion, bell peppers, parsley, tuna, celery and lemon. Fold in the iceberg lettuce and mayonnaise until well mixed. Add the paprika. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.


Enjoy...

Taken from Simply Recipes

Egg Salad Sandwich

Makes 6 Sandwishes...

Ingredients:

12 turkey bacon slices
8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
12 slices white sandwich bread, toasted
12 red leaf lettuce leaves


Method:

- Sauté bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Cut bacon slices crosswise in half.

- Combine eggs, celery, and olives in bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup mayonnaise and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

- Place toast slices on work surface and spread lightly with remaining mayonnaise. Divide egg salad amoung 6 toast slices. Place 4 bacon pieces, then 2 lettuce leaves atop egg salad on each. Cover with remaining toast slices, mayonnaise side down. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half.


Yummy...

Chicken Fried Rice ~ Chinese

Serves 6


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Oil
1 Egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons Oil
1 cup chicken, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup frozen peas (opt)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (opt)
4 cups cooked rice (short grain)
Soy sauce
Salt & Pepper


Method:

1. Cut up and prepare all ingredients. Reserve.

2. Heat wok up with 1 tablespoon oil and fry egg into a thin sheet. Remove to plate and reserve.

3. Add 2 tablespoons more oil to wok. Heat until smoking. Stir fry chicken and onion together until cooked.

4. Add bean sprouts, peas, celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes with wok covered. Uncover wok, add all the rest of the vegetables. Stir fry and cook covered for 2 additional minutes.

5. Add cooked rice, season with salt, pepper, soy sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Take your turner and break up clumps of rice as finely as possible. Make sure rice takes up soy sauce and does not remain white.

6. Keep stir-frying until all rice is broken up and heated through. Shut heat off. Cut up sheet of egg into small pieces and stir into rice, or remove rice to serving platter and garnish with egg slivers.


Enjoy...

Macaroni and Hamburger

Serves 4








Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped (or you can mix it with green onions as well)
Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 large can of diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups uncooked macaroni


Method:

Put a large pot of hot water on the stove and begin cooking the macaroni until al dente.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef in a tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Stir only infrequently so that the ground beef browns.

In a large skillet, sauté chopped onion with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the ground beef and lower the heat to medium. Add a dash of crushed red pepper, seasoned salt, celery seed, canned tomatoes. and Worcestershire sauce.

Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the drained and cooked macaroni and parsley. Simmer for another 5 minutes.


Enjoy...

Stuffed Crab Shells

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 pound crab meat
3 Tablespoons minced green onion, bulbs only
2 Tablespoons minced parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 egg beaten with 1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
Buttered bread crumbs



Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt butter in skillet over low fire.
Add onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook slowly until tender.
Add crab meat, green onions, and parsley, and simmer about 10 minutes.
Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and egg-milk mixture. Set aside to cool slightly.
Add approximately 3/4 cup bread crumbs to obtain stuffing consistency.
Stuff crab shells and top with buttered bread crumbs.
Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.


Enjoy...

Chicken Noodle Soup the old-fashioned way

What's better than soup in this cold weather....



Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. canola oil
1 chicken, quartered
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 large yellow onions, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 bunch celery, tops and bottoms trimmed, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 lb. dried fettuccine, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley

Method:

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook until well browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Add the onions, carrots, celery, chicken broth, water, bay leaf, thyme sprigs and coriander. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the meat is nearly falling off the bones, about 1 1/2 hours. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, transfer the chicken to a colander and let cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a large pot two-thirds full of boiling salted water, add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions. Drain the noodles in a colander and cool under cold running water; set aside.

Remove the chicken meat from the bones, discarding the skin and bones, and cut the chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Skim the fat from the broth and return the chicken to the pot along with the pasta, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the pasta is heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed, stir in the parsley and serve immediately.

Tip:

Browning the chicken pieces before simmering them with the vegetables produces a rich, flavorful soup broth.

Items used in this recipe:

Home-made Coleslaw ~ WS

Ingredients:

1 small head cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and shredded

For the dressing:
2 egg yolks
4 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. dry mustard
2 to 3 drops Tabasco sauce
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1&1/2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tsp. ground celery seed
4 Tbs. sour cream

Method:

To make the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light in color, then add the sugar, mustard and Tabasco and whisk vigorously.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste and cook, whisking constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the water until smooth.

Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the butter-flour mixture, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the vinegar and celery seed, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Mix in the sour cream, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and carrots and toss to mix. Add half of the dressing and toss to coat, adding more dressing as needed. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour to let the flavors develop.

Serves 6 to 8.

Enjoy.....


Items to use in this recipe:

Potato Salad ~ WS

Ingredients:

3 lb. red potatoes, unpeeled
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
8 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
3 Tbs. chopped parsley, plus parsley sprigs for garnish
3 Tbs. chopped fresh mint, plus mint sprigs for garnish
3 Tbs. chopped fresh basil, plus basil sprigs for garnish
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste


Method:

Bring a large pot three-fourths full of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and boil until tender when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and let cool completely in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch dice.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, green onions, celery, and the chopped parsley, mint and basil. Add the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently to mix.

To serve, transfer the salad to a large serving bowl and garnish with parsley, mint and basil sprigs.


Serves 6.


Quote of the day:

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
~Harriet van Horne