Spinach Salad (a re-post)

This is a wonderful salad that tastes exactly like a recipe that a family-style restaurant (PIONEER'S CABIN) once made here in southern Illinois. I was thrilled when I found the recipe.


The recipe came from this book:

It's in pretty bad shape because it's one of those books that everything I've made from its contents is delicious so it just keeps on getting used, and used, and used again. And check out the price... $0.97 ! I've always been a bargain hunter- and this find was one of the best bucks I've ever spent! I've been making this recipe for about 15  years and it always receives lots of compliments. A great year-round salad to serve.


YOU WILL NEED:
2- 3 pkgs. fresh, washed spinach (tear into bite-size pieces if you prefer)
1 lb. cook bacon, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 can bean sprouts
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped

DRESSING:

1 cup oil
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 sugar

Mix together and stir dressing into salad right before serving.

*This is one of those recipes that gets soggy quickly, but normally the salad is devoured in no time flat so leftovers are not a problem.

Enjoy~ Everything in Moderation

For the love of QUINOA (a re-post)

*This was originally posted in 2013


I am rather new to the world of Quinoa. I didn't even know for the longest time that it is pronounced "Keen-wah", and I was calling it "Quin-noah"...just like it's spelled. Go figure.

I LOVE this stuff!  First of all, it's  a SUPER FOOD! Meaning, it could almost stand alone as far as nutrition goes...Well, almost.

I don't  eat diet food, but I love healthy food, believe it or not. And this is so much better for our bodies than white rice, which Quinoa can replace in most recipes.

For those of you who haven't tried it, it is similar to rice, but with a nutty flavor. It is bland on its own (like rice) so seasoning is required.  You can fix this sooooooo many delicious ways (just google QUINOA RECIPES and see for yourself.

One of my favorite ways, is to prepare it with savory seasonings to go alongside a chicken or turkey dish. Which is what I did here.

For this recipe, you will need:

1-2 T. butter (I used REAL organic butter--no margarine, PLEASE!)
1 cup UNCOOKED Quinoa (I used the organic, and it needs to be rinsed first.)
2 T. fresh chopped garlic
2 cups broth (I used organic chicken broth, but you can also use vegetable broth)
2 T. FRESH parsley
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
onion ( about a half of a white one- or more)

Melt butter in skillet and add quinoa. Toast it (takes about 5 minutes in the skillet, while stirring around so it doesn't burn). Add garlic and Stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce to simmer and cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of seasonings and cover again and cook for at least 5 minutes more.
Serve warm.

For the chicken, I just placed some butter in my skillet, and sprinkled with Italian seasoning ( a little bit from my spice jar) and cooked till done.  I steamed the broccoli.

To make it even healthier, you could replace the butter in both recipes with olive oil, which I sometimes do...but not tonight. ;)

ENJOY~Everything in Moderation

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Since chicken soup is touted for curing what ails ya, I believe people will be faking illness just to get a bowl. This is THE  best creamy chicken noodle soup recipe I've tasted anywhere! I found this one at Chef in Training and it has become my all-time favorite soup!

This one takes a bit of time in the kitchen (about an hour-- chopping, boiling, stirring, adding, making the white cream sauce, etc.) but it's well worth the effort. It's also NOT a "diet food", but I never eat diet food anyway. I did use organic half and half (instead of heavy cream) this time because that's what I had on hand. Often I will exchange chicken soup base ( a pasty replacement for bouillon) but the rest was prepared as written-- not the healthiest soup on the block, but definitely the tastiest!

The pics really don't it justice. The base is WONDERFUL! This is so smooth and creamy. I like the hint of garlic flavor too. If you are a noodle lover as I am, add more. If not, add less. But don't change much else. This is soup perfection, right here.

Here's the recipe:

BASE RECIPE
2 qt water
3 chicken breasts (buy the organic ones--not the huge ones pumped full of steroids/antibiotics, etc.)
½ medium sweet onion, finely diced almost minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. onion powder
2 chicken bullion cubes, ground up into powder (or 2 tsp. soup base)
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 bay leaf
2-3 cups thick homestyle egg noodles

CREAM SAUCE RECIPE
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream (this time I used half and half)
1 tsp. garlic salt (I used one crushed fresh garlic clove)
½ tsp. salt

1.Fill a large pot with 2 water. Place raw chicken breasts in water. Add finely chopped onion. Add salt, celery salt, onion powder, powdered chicken bullion cubes, sliced carrots, celery and bay leaf. Stir a little bit just to combine flavors evenly. Cover with lid.

2.Cook over medium-high heat and let boil for about an hour.

3.Uncover. Remove bay leaf and discard. Remove Chicken breasts and chop them into bite-size pieces or shred them (I like mine shredded) and set aside.

4.Add noodles and bring back to a boil for 20 minutes. If your water is low, you can add more water if needed (I had to, but if you add much more water, add another bouillon cube.)

5.While noodles are boiling in base, make cream recipe.

6. In a medium bowl, combine milk and cream and stir to combine the two. Set bowl aside.

7.In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt ½ cup butter completely. Once butter is melted add flour and stir constantly to form a roux. Cook roux for about 1-2 minutes.

8.Slowly, about ½-1 cup at a time, add milk to roux stirring constantly and not adding any more until each milk addition is thoroughly mixed in.

9.Once desired thickness has been reached, stir in garlic salt and salt to the white sauce.

10.Once noodles have boiled for about 20 minutes or until done, add chicken back to the base.

11. Then pour and stir in white sauce to evenly combine. If mixture is too thin for your liking, stir over medium heat until it reaches desired consistency.

Serve with breadsticks, or a thick hearty bread and a salad on the side.

Enjoy~Everything in Moderation

EASY PEASY Creamed Peas (a repost)

Sorry for the corny title...I just couldn't resist!

Simple creamed peas jazzed up a baked potato the other night and thought I'd go ahead and share this recipe, although most of you probably have one of your own.

This would be an easy addition to a Thanksgiving menu for a new or BUSY cook!

Give it a try. You will need to double (or triple) this recipe for the holiday table.


YOU WILL NEED:

* 1 can peas
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Cook peas on stove till heated through. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Drain peas; stir into the sauce and heat through.

Enjoy~Everything in Moderation

Paula Deen's Corn Casserole (a repost)

*This is a post from many years ago. But I share it every year at this time... And the teenager mentioned in this post has gone on to be a successful echocardiographer. 

Now, I know teenagers can be a little crazy at times; I've raised three of them. And I also know they come up with some pretty strange requests, but this request caught me off-guard.

My soon to be 18-year-old neighbor Gena, called me last week to say, "Sherri, I know what you can get me for my birthday. I want you to make me the corn casserole that you made for us a while back. That's what I want. Just the corn casserole."

Isn't that hilarious?

Well, I was both flattered and thrilled because it really doesn't cost much and it is simple to put together so sounded like she was letting me off easy!

This dish screams COMFORT! Smooth and creamy, yet firm. Buttery, cheesy, with a hint of sweet from the corn.

Try it out on your bunch and see if they appreciate as much as Gena.




You will need:

* 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
* 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
* 1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
* 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Enjoy~ Everything in Moderation

Cranberry Pineapple "Muffins" (a repost)

I found this little tangy, tart and sweet dish in a magazine, which sent me to Kraftfoods.com for the recipe.

I love the presentation. It's perfect to serve on your Holiday table- SO festive! Such a tasty sidedish to any chicken, turkey or pork recipe. The Thanksgiving turkey or the Christmas Ham would love it as a sidekick!

When I served it, it was delicious and a big hit, however, I did not have luck removing them from the liners, so next time I will spray the cupcake liners with a non-stick spray as one of my readers suggested. It can also be made in a large (13x9) glass baking dish.

These qualify as a side dish or a light dessert. They really are a welcomed relief from the other heavy dishes during the holidays.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, in juice
2 pkg. (3 oz. each) JELL-O Raspberry flavor gelatin
1 can (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 Apple, chopped


Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add enough water to juice to measure 2-1/2 cups; pour into saucepan. Bring to boil. Add to gelatin mixes in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved.

Stir in pineapple, cranberry sauce, nuts and apples. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

REFRIGERATE 2-1/2 hours or until firm. Remove desserts from liners before serving.


You may also prepare these by using JELL-O Cherry Flavor Gelatin or JELL-O Raspberry Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin.

Enjoy~Everything in Modertion

NEVER-Fail Dressing Casserole (a repost)

When I was younger, I had a hard time getting the perfect texture when I made dressing. It would either be too dry, or too soggy. And the taste sometimes would be too "sage-y" or too bland. Then  I tried this recipe at a church dinner that everyone raved over, and later the cook submitted it into our church cookbook. It is simple to prepare and tastes wonderful! Nothing fancy, just a simple dish that can be enjoyed as the main dish (if using meat) or as a side dish any time of year. This will also impress guests around your Thanksgiving table. It is delicious!

And, no more stressing over the dressing at Thanksgiving. This recipe can be added to your list of things to be grateful for.

So thank you, Mary Darnell, for this wonderful recipe.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 chicken (boiled and de-boned; save broth (If using as a main dish)
*You can omit the meat if using as a side dish. If not using meat, use up to 1 can of chicken broth

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small pkg. Pepperidge Farm Dressing with herbs
2 eggs
1 medium onion
3/4 can Milnot evaporated milk
2 stalks celery, diced

DIRECTIONS:

If using meat, boil chicken; save broth and set it aside. Place shredded meat on bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Pour soup over meat.

*If not using meat, just pour soup on bottom of pan.

 Mix dressing, eggs, onion, celery and milnot together until well blended. Spoon over soup. Pour chicken broth over all to 1/2 inch of the dish top. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Enjoy ~Everything in Moderation