Cucumber and Onion Salad

This is the original recipe that Mama used to make.  Quick, simple and tasty. 

Cucumber and Onion salad

cucumber, sliced (I like to use about 5 or 6 of the little snack size cucumbers - or you can use 1-2 English cucumbers)

about ½ onion, sliced or chopped (I prefer vidalia or a sweet onion)

½ cup cold water

½ cup white vinegar

2 tsp. sugar (may use Splenda)

1 tsp. salt

black pepper to taste

you may mince in a clove of garlic if you like (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't) 

This salad is best assembled a bit ahead of time.  This allows the flavors to sort of marinate and deepen. A wonderful summer salad to whip up.  Goes with so many summer meals.  

Testing store bought pie crusts

I finally decided to test store bought pie crusts to see if I liked one best.  Turns out I really did find a difference between them!  

The short version is that Great Value pie crusts were the worst.  Aldi pie crusts are what I will likely go with in the future most often.  But, sadly, Pilsbury pie crusts really were the very best.  I was hoping that wouldn't be the case.  :) 

Great Value was too thick overall - not delicate in any way.  The Aldi crust was thin and actually had the best packaging.  It was also the easiest to work with.  However, the Pilsbury crust really was better in terms of texture and flavor.  However, I'll happily choose the Aldi crust as a more economical (but still very tasty and usable) store bought pie crust. 

These are the before photos - but the cooked pies continued with the same results. 

These were two apple pies and a cherry pie

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

Daddy loved this one...

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

1 pound breakfast sausage

1 can Grands biscuits

8 eggs 

white gravy - See note below

Brown the sausage in a skillet until it is cooked through and crumbly.  

Use a large can of Grands biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.  Then spread them out on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.  (prepared with Pam spray)

You may add seasoning to the top of the biscuits if you like - including sprinkling some everything bagel seasoning or just salt & pepper.  

Then spread the crumbled, cooked sausage over the biscuit layer.  

Lightly scramble the eggs with a splash of milk, salt, pepper and onion powder.  Spread over the sausage layer.  You can add some shredded cheese if you like (I never do)

Then make your gravy (see note below).  Pour half of it over the top of the eggs.  Bake in oven at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.  Then remove and pour the rest of the gravy over top.  Put back in oven for about 5 minutes more - until it looks like the biscuits have browned up and the whole thing is heated through.  

Note - You can make your own white gravy using the drippings from the browned sausage or you can use a couple packets of gravy mix.  I prefer Williams Country Gravy - it really is most like homemade, especially if you use milk instead of water to make it.  I also make it in the skillet with the sausage drippings just for good measure.  :)

https://www.hy-vee.com/aisles-online/p/13893/Williams-Original-Country-Gravy-Mix

Note, this will not reheat in a microwave very well.  Those biscuits will just turn back to dough in a microwave.  So eat it all or reheat it in the oven or an air fryer. 

Peach Tomato Caprese Salad

This was one of the recipes Jennifer and I made while she was visiting.  

Peach Tomato Caprese Salad

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced

2 peaches, cut into wedges

3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced (we used cherry tomatoes, sliced)

Basil leaves

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. pesto

1 tsp. honey

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Balsamic glaze for drizzling on top of the salad  (I really like Bertolli balsamic glaze)

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper.  Taste for seasoning and adjust or set aside. 

On a large serving platter, arrange the slices of tomato, mozzarella, peaches and basil leaves.  Drizzle the pesto vinaigrette over the salad.  Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze or aged balsamic vinegar.   (we obviously just tossed it all in a bowl and stirred together.  It was still tasty!)  :) 

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala 

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup fat free Italian salad dressing

1 Tbsp. flour

1 teas. Italian seasoning

1/2 teas. garlic powder

1/4 teas. paprika

1/4 teas. pepper 

2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine  OR   3 Tbsp. unsweetened apple juice 

        plus 5 Tbsp. additional chicken broth.  

1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness.  Place in a large re-sealable plastic bag; add salad dressing.  Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.  Drain and discard marinade.  Combine the flour, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper; sprinkle over both sides of chicken.  In a large nonstick skillet coated with non stick cooking spray, cook chicken in 1 Tbsp. oil and butter for 2 minutes on each side or until browned.  Transfer to 9 x 13 baking dish covered in nonstick spray.  

Gradually add broth and wine or apple juice mixture to skillet, stirring to loosen browned bits.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Strain sauce; set aside. (I admit I did not strain the sauce...)  In the same skillet, cook mushrooms in remaining oil for 2 minutes, drain.  Stir sauce into mushrooms; heat through.  Pour over chicken; sprinkle with parsley.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

One Ingredient Caramel

No photo - just a recipe for the record.  :)

One Ingredient Caramel

1 can sweetened condensed milk

apple for dipping, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  

Pour one can sweetened condensed milk into a casserole dish or pie plate.  Cover with foil.  Place in a larger pan and fill larger pan to ¾ inch with water.  (fill water as needed while baking - don't let it run dry)  Bake 60-90 minutes or until the condensed milk has reached a golden brown color.  Cool completely.  Ready to serve as caramel for your favorite recipe or as a topping or dip.  

If the caramel forms a thin crust on top, you can just use the caramel underneath it or use an immersion blender for a minute to mix it all back together well. 

You can also do this in the Instant Pot but I guess I am a bit leery of having the can go through all that cooking process then eating what is inside it?  Probably no difference either way, but I do like this oven method.  

Pan de Elote

Daddy really liked this. I wasn't so sure. :D

Pan de Elote

I made this in my 8x8 baking pan.  This is after it is turned out on a paper towel lined plate. 

1 (15 oz) bag frozen yellow corn kernels, defrosted (about 2 ½ cups)

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

3 large eggs, room temperature

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (I used salted)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

powdered sugar for dusting (optional)  (we didn't do this)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare baking pan with non-stick spray.  Line with parchment paper and then spray again. 

Add to a blender... the corn, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.  Blend until well combined and the corn is almost smooth.  Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Blend until just combined.  

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.  (I used my 8x8)  Bake until golden - about 40-45 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar if you like. 

Westerns BBQ Meatballs

We all love and miss the old Westerns meat store. We used their catering for many celebrations over the years! A friend brought these meatballs to our house one evening and gave me the recipe. They are sooooo good! We often serve them with mashed potatoes. You could also make them smaller and serve as an appetizer.  (this makes a large batch so you can adjust ingredient amounts if you like) 


Westerns BBQ Meatballs

3 lb. Ground Beef

1 - 12 oz. can evaporated milk or 1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs 

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup cracker crumbs

1/2 tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

Sauce:

2 cups ketchup

1.2 tsp. liquid smoke

1/4 cup onion

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder 

Directions: 

To make meatballs, combine all ingredients (mixture will be soft) and shape into walnut-size balls. 

To make sauce, combine all ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. 

Place meatballs in 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan. Pour on the sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Yields 80 meatballs.

Apple Broccoli Salad

I wanted both broccoli salad and apple salad - so I made a combination.  :D 

Apple Broccoli Salad

Broccoli florets 

about 3 apples, diced 

about 1 ½ cups grapes, halved 

some sunflower seeds I had on hand (about 2 Tbsp probably) 

some finely diced onion (a few Tbsp.) 

Also added some cheddar cheese (finely shredded was all I had - would rather grate fresh cheddar or at least have thicker shredded cheddar).  

Added salt, pepper.  

Made the sauce in another bowl - and had to make more.  Used about...

 

1 cup mayo 

about ½ cup sour cream 

about ¼ cup white wine vinegar 

about ¼ cup honey (maybe a bit less) 

...and blended together then stirred into the salad.  Very nice!  I could definitely see adding some sliced almonds and/or dried cranberries or raisins.  Definitely want thicker or even diced cheddar next time.

Kale, Turnip, Cannellini Bean Saute

This is a mix of two different recipes, really... Cannellini Beans and Kale mixed with Kale & Turnip Saute.  Because sometimes you just want it all in one dish!  :) 

Kale Turnip Cannellini Bean Saute

First melt a pat of butter and brown Panko crumbs till golden (about ½ - 1 cup).  Set aside.  Then saute onion and garlic and add diced turnips.  Allow to saute - add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, whatever else you might like.  Then add a bit of water (like ⅓ -½ cup) and a dollop of better than boillon (or your choice of seasoning).  I then laid the kale over top of it all, turned off the heat, put the lid on, and walked away to finish other dishes.  Just before serving sprinkle with the browned panko crumbs.  Can also add parmesan cheese if you would like.  Delicious!