Home made Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese is a classic American favorite. From the elbow macaroni to the cheese sauce, it's like a big ole hug from your Mom or Grandma. I'm going to show you my recipe on this classic dish that will leave you licking your spoon and wanting seconds! I never had homemade macaroni and cheese until I was an adult and then I was hooked! That's what happens when you have a mother who is German (as in came from Germany) and a Grandmother who hates dairy products (no joke my Grammy hated dairy products). Me on the other hand loved all things dairy even though I've very lactose intolerant. Obviously I've got a handle on my lactose intolerance now and cheese is my BFF!

You're going to see my break this down and what once seemed like it would take hours to make is truly a simple come home and fix it kind of dish.

Now for your shopping list...

*1lb box of elbow macaroni (I use Barilla)

*1 pkg of pre cooked bacon (I like the precooked kind makes for a mess free process in cooking- trust me on this).

*3 shallots chopped fine

*1 teaspoon dry mustard 

*1 teaspoon thyme

*1 teaspoon black pepper

Now for the cheese and there's quite a bit of it!

*1-8 ounce pkg of shredded cheese such as cheddar or even mexi-blend (I've used both in the past and as long as the base cheese in cheddar it makes little difference). Now you can buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself but why? I like to save myself time in the kitchen and just buy the packaged shredded cheese.

*2 ounces of Fontina Cheese. Just dice this up no shredding needed

*1 cup of roughly grated Parmesan cheese

*3½ cups of milk (I use 2%)

*¼ cup of flour

*4 Tablespoons butter (I use salt free butter in all of my recipes) 

My brands of choice- Barilla pasta is my go to pasta brand! Coleman's Mustard and Spice Island Thyme. Cook pasta in a pot of simmering water for 7  to 8 minutes- the "Al Dente" time on the box, mushy pasta is yucky firm pasta is GOOD.

I use 2% milk  lactose free milk because it's what "I" drink at home but you can use regular milk and even whole milk it that's what you have at home. I can't guarantee how this will taste with anything below 2%. Now here's a trick...take that refrigerator cold milk and heat it up in the mircowave for a couple of minutes. It'll make the thickening process go so much faster and there's the added benefit of NO LUMPS! Adding cold milk into your pot will only prolong the stirring process. So heat up your milk!

Shallots- I chop mine up fine and saute them in a little butter until golden. I also take that package of ore-cooked bacon and cut it all up small with a pair of cooking shears. Don't ahve that tool? Use a pair of scissors and cut up your bacon. Toss it in the pan with the shallots to warm it through and set aside in a bowl.

Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter and the ¼ cup of flour. Stir and stir and stir some more not letting it burn. Once kind of golden looking and bubbling like the picture (takes about 3 to 4 minutes) slowly add in your warm milk.

Here's what it looks like after you add the warm milk. Now stir! For as long as it takes!

See, this is me stirring. Okay so I had to grab the camera and snap a picture but I was stirring! Stir until it thickens! Trust me it will go quicker if you heated up your milk! You will be able to notice the difference in the consistency. Do you see the plastic bowl in the previous picture? That's all of my cheese! Now slowly add that in...

Stir in that cheese until it melts!

Here I've added the sauteed shallots and the chopped up bacon.

Here I've added in the spices. I know that I did this a little backwards. You can certainly add in the spices before you add the cheese but there's a method to my madness. Spices are heavier and they tend to sink to the bottom of any liquid. Having the sauce now seriously thickened by the cheese tends to let the other ingredients like the shallots and bacon along with the spices to  be suspended in the sauce, so one bite tastes lile all the others.

Add in those al dente cooked elbow macaronis (you should have used the entire box because that's what the recipe calls for) and serve this in lovely little bowls! Of course there's always MORE you can do to this recipe.  Say you're having a dinner party and what to fancy this up a bit- put it in a 9x13 baking dish, put some bread crumbs on top (I use panko bread crumbs because of the flakiness factor not to mention it's pretty and yummy). Bake at 375º until golden brown- maybe 15 to 20 minutes.

Panzanella

There are so many things I love about summer time! Recipes that include fresh tomatoes and basil are one of my favorites. It's got to be the unique flavors of the two items that sent my taste buds doing the happy dance.  This is a great salad for summer entertaining! You can bake the croutons a day or two ahead of time and store them in a ziplock baggie.


So here goes with a quick and easy recipe that will leave your family and friends wanting more!

Ingredients list:
1½ lbs of vine ripened tomatoes-seeded and chopped (see pictures)
1 cucumber- seeded and sliced thinly
1 shallot- sliced thinly
3 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar (get the good stuff, you'll thank me for this later) 
 6Tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)  
½ teaspoon salt (I use Kosher salt in just about all of my recipes)
pepper to taste but I'd say no more than a ½ teaspoon
1 loaf rustic Italian bread (I use Ciabatta) 
basil- get the freshest that you can!

Here you see my 2 key ingredients the red wine vinegar and the olive oil.Yup my 2 favorite brands!

 

Slice tomato in half and remove the seeds. Here's a trick I learned when taking all of those private classes with various chefs- use a Grapefruit spoon when removing the core from tomatoes, cucumbers, melons basically anything that's soft and fleshy with seeds.

 The inside of that tomato look nice and seed free! Another trick when slicing tomatoes- use a serrated edge knife such as a steak or a bread knife. Makes a clean cut every time!

Here's my chopped tomato with the salt. I mix the salt into the tomatoes and let it sit for about 20 minutes letting it work it's magic. The juice from the tomatoes is part of the salad dressing.

After the tomatoes have had a chance to release their juices, add the red wine vinegar and mix, then add the olive oil and really mix with your little whisk. Add black pepper (no more than a ½ teaspoon, remember this is to your own personal tastes so add more or less as you like it). What you'll have is this. Now pour this over the tomatoes, cucumbers and sliced shallots. Let the flavors blend/marinate. This is also a good time to add the basil. Slice the basil thinly (sorry I didn't get a picture of this process). Add as much or as little ask you like. Me, I like a lot so I add a lot but go with a couple of chopped tablespoons at first and see how you like it and then go from there.

See how easy it is to seed a cucumber with a grapefruit spoon- it makes it so pretty!

Cut cucumber in half, cut out the seeds using a grapefruit spoon-then slice thinly.

Thinly sliced shallots, make sure to poke out all of the slices as no one likes to get a big ole bite of onion flavored anything.

My ciabatta bread cut into rustic cubes, I drizzle olive oil (about 1 teaspoon- separate from the 6 T used in the dressing). Spread out on a baking tray or two. Bake in a 400º oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Here's my baked croutons, nice and golden and dry! You need them to be dry so they won't get soggy in your salad.

I toss the tomato mixture on top of the home made croutons and mix thoroughly.

Here's the finished product- it's  seriously yummy!

Spicy Salsa Meatballs

I saw a recipe for "spicy meatballs" and then decided to kick it up a couple of notches. I wanted something different to serve at our house warming party but still keeping within the "Tex Mex" theme that my husband requested.

Ingredients you will need;
 for the Meat Balls...

1 1/2 to 2 lbs Ground Turkey
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt and course ground Black Pepper
2 Eggs
1 cup Bread Crumbs
1 TBS Freeze Dried Jalapenos

for the Sauce...
1 Jar of Thick and Chunky Salsa
1 jar of Cocktail Sauce
1/4 cup Jalapeno peppers I used the kind from a jar), I measured them w/o the liquid and then I chopped them and added them to the sauce- use less if you like it less spicy).
water

So here goes...
Mix the meat and all ingredients in a mixer, it should go rather quickly. I used Litehouse brand freeze dried Jalapenos. You can find them in your local grocers your produce section. Make meatballs no bigger than 1 inch in diameter only because if you make them any larger there's the very real issues of them not cooking thoroughly (I had experienced this while making these). Here's a tip; roll meatballs while your hands are damp- it helps to keep the met from sticking to your hands.
I fried my meatballs in 1 inch of canola oil, I rolled them around in the pot until they were golden brown. Drain them on paper towels. Put into oven to keep warm (oven temp 200).


Making the sauce- just dump everything into a pot, mix well with a wooden spoon. let it bubble and then turn it down to a simmer for 5 minutes.


Place meatballs in a covered casserole dish, pour sauce over meatballs just prior to serving.

Two Tex Mex recipes!

When I'm in the mood for Tex Mex flavor, I want it fresh and I want it now! Once you make read over these 2 recipes, make them and taste for yourself- you'll never go back to the stuff from a jar again!

This is so fresh and tasty you'll want to put it on nearly everything from your tacos, to grilled chicken, fish and even your eggs!

First and foremost wash all produce in warm soapy water or use a product such as veggie wash to get waxes and unseen ickies that can cause you or your family members to get sick. Remember- germs and bacteria are everywhere!

Use either Beef Steak or Hot House tomatoes for these recipes. Remove the seeds. I use these kind because of the juice and flavor factor. I use Roma Tomatoes in all things Italian.

And please oh please practice Pepper Safety! Be caredul handeling fresh peppers because chili peppers have oils in thier skin that can cause you some major discomfort if it comes into contact with your nose eyes or mouth! So please always wear some sort of rubber or plastic gloves when handling them! Also wash all items that come into contact with said chili peppers in HOT soapy water to remove all trace of the oils! And always wash your hands after taking off those gloves, it never hurts to be safe!

Please check out Miss Vicki.com for a guide to peppers with pictures!

Pico De Gallo

This is how I make mine...

3 large Hot House tomatoes diced
3 Fresno Peppers (seeded and diced)
1 medium Red Onion
Fresh Cilantro to taste (I like a lot of cilantro so I used a lot)
Lime juice- about half a lime depending upon how big your lime is
¼ to a ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt

Mix together, let sit for an hour or more to get the onions to lose thier bite and the tomatoes to absorb the other flavors.

Now this can be as spicy as you want it. The peppers I used are at the medium (a #5) spice level. You can use Jalapenos if you like yours with more heat, or like it nuclear hot? Use a hotter chili pepper such as a Habanero-OUCH! That hurts my tongue and my tummy just reading it!

Salsa- Sandie Style

Again, I can't stress this enough...Use the freshest ingredients available to you! 

4 Large Hot House Tomatoes

1 medium to large onion (I like to use red onions because of their sweeter flavor)

1 small to medium Bell Pepper (I use any color but green because the green ones taste like grass to me- silly but true)

1 clove minced garlic (now here is where I use my roasted garlic because it doesn't have that harsh raw garlic taste and here's an extra bit of trivia roasted garlic doesn't produce gas in your body like raw garlic does).

3 chili peppers- your choice depending upon how hot you like it! Use Miss Vickies Pepper Guide to help you make your choice. Me, I used those Fresno chilis and it came out just fine!

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Juice of 1 Lime

Cilantro- I used half a bunch- it was yummy!

You can also expand this by adding other goodies such as:
 frozen corn (about a cup)
 1 can of Black Beans (thoroughly rinsed)
Pineapple, Mango, Raspberries , Grapes, etc.



Just think about all of the different kinds of salsa out there on the grocery store and gourmet food store shelves and remember that you can make it at home without all of the preservatives, additives and you know it's fresh and good for you!

Worm Soup aka French Onion Soup

 I happen to LOVE soup! French Onion soup especially has got this "home" quality to it that just makes one feel all warm inside. I laugh at this- my children like to call French Onion Soup "Worm Soup" because of the thin pieces of carmelized onions. Call it what you will, this soup will have you smiling and wanting more!

¼ cup Butter (I use the salt free kind)

3 lbs White Onions thinly sliced you can use yellow onions but they are sweeter and it will taste a little different than using the white onions. Now for the slicing, I use a mandoline- it's so much easier than doing it with a chef's knife).

1  32 ounce box of sodium free Chicken Broth

2  10 ounce cans of Beef consommé

½ cup dry white wine (make sure it's something you would drink because putting in crappy wine in any dish just makes it all not worth the effort you're putting into making a quality meal).

4 fresh thyme springs

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
I like to use a dutch oven to make this soup but if you don't have one then a nice sturdy cook pot will do.

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat; add onions and cook stirring often until the onions are golden in color. This IS going to take a while, so be prepared to be there in your kitchen for up to 1½ hours with this process. It will be worth it in the end, I promise!

Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the s and p) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually don't add salt as the beef consommé is plenty salty for my tastes.

Here's the fun part- You're going to need 6 thick slices of a French Bread and 6-. 1 one ounce slices of Swiss Cheese and oven proof bowls. Set oven at 450º, place soup bowls on a lined baking tray, ladle in soup, place bread pieces in bowls with cheese slices on top. Put into oven until cheese is all melted and starting to brown (watch close as the cheese can go brown brown to black in a blink of an eye).
 Now grab those soup spoons and dig in!

Sandie's Cottage Pie

Being that I currently reside in England, I like to try new to me dishes. I do like experiment with the local cuisine but I also like to revise how it's made and turn it into something that "I" would serve to my family and friends. I can't wrap my head around eating Lamb- to me they're just too cute and frisky to think about eating them. Besides, I prefer to wear their wool in the shape of hats, mittens, scarves and sweaters!

So first off I bet that you're wondering what's the difference between Shepherds Pie and Cottage Pie right? It's the meat! Shepherds pie is made from minced lamb or mutton (that's meat from an adult sheep). There are subtle variations on the ingredients and I came up with my own version of a Cottage Pie which is pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself. Oh I should mention that I like loads of veggies

Stuff you're going to need-
Potatoes- about 2½ pounds
1 cup milk or half and half
grated cheddar cheese 2 cups (I use white cheddar)
3 cups carrot-diced
1 large onion-diced
2 cups celery diced
1½ pounds of ground/minced beef,chicken or turkey and yes you can even used those vegetarian crumbles-although this really isn't a vegetarian kind of dish
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon grated orange peel
2 cups hot water
2 Knorr Beef Stock Pot (these are little tubs) OR you can use 2 cups of Swanson's Beef Stock
add salt and pepper to your own personal tastes. I only add pepper as the beef stock will add plenty of flavor.

What to do with those things above...

Earlier in the day grab a fork and poke holes all over in all of those spuds! Put them straight on the rack into a preheated 350º oven for 1½ hours.

Use a very large skillet and place your 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil in pan, place carrots in pan and saute for 5 minutes, next add celery and onion cook another 4 to 5 minutes. Next add in your ground/minced meat, cook until browned. Add in your hot water, your 2 Knorr BEEF Stock tubs, the 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, the 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste and the ½ teaspoon of grated orange peel. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes so the flavors incorporate. Now if the sauce is not think enough just do the cornstarch thing...read the box it will tell you 1 tablespoon cornstarch to 1 tablespoon cold water. make sure it's all dissolved BEFORE adding in to the pot or you will have cornstarch lumps.

So, you've baked those potatoes earlier, time to peel them and mash them up. Add in your salt and pepper, your milk (or half and half), mix in the grated cheddar cheese. Now set aside.

Your cottage pie is ready to be assembled you can do this a few different ways but which ever way you choose make sure that the dishes you choose are oven proof.
I've done all of the following;
♥ individual bowls
♥ a deep dish ceramic pie plate
♥ a 9x13 ceramic casserole (lasagna dish)

Put the fillings in your bake-ware of choice, do not fill all the way. Place potato cheese mixture on top (this is your crust). Bake at 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese in the potatoes is melted and the peeks of the potatoes are browned.

♥Today decided that I would make a double batch as I wanted to bring a meal to a family whose military member is Tdy. This is a great dish to make for large families, potluck events or just for you and your hubby. I have more "pie filling" in my stock pot and am going to freeze it for use at a later time.


NOTE- filling will be HOT!

Sandie's Chicken Tortilla Soup

After looking at literally dozens of tortilla soup recipes and not seeing one that jumped out at me I've decided to make up my own recipe. I knew what ingredients that I wanted in my soup and well tonight is perfect because I'm test driving this recipe on our neighborhood cooking group. Keep in mind that I'm making soup for 15 people and I'm sure that you can cut down this recipe

Sandie's Chicken Tortilla Soup-

Ingredients;

4 - 14½ ounce cans reduced sodium chicken broth

6 to 8 -cooked chicken breasts chopped (add or minus if- if you like lots of chicken use 8, like a little use less)

2 -15 ounce cans diced tomatoes

2-14 ounce cans dark red kidney beans (rinse the beans in cold water)

2- 14½ ounce cans black beans (rinse the beans in cold water)

3- medium sized yellow bell peppers -diced

3 medium sized green bell peppers-diced

3-red peppers (medium heat)-seeded and diced

4-green peppers (medium heat)- seeded and diced

2 cups yellow onion - diced

2 cups frozen yellow corn

2 to 3 teaspoons ground cumin (add or minus to your personal taste)

½ teaspoon dried jalapeno flakes (or add a fresh diced jalapeno if you wish)

Toppings...

Sour cream

Chopped Scallions (green onions)

Shredded Mexi-blend cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, asiago)

Fresh chopped Cilantro or as they call it here in the UK Coriander

Diced Avocado (squirt with lemon or lime juice to keep it from turning brown)

Sour Cream and for my British friends you can use Creme Fraiche

Lime Wedges

Tortilla Chips

Cooking Instructions (can't get by without these)...

Cook your chicken breasts, let cool dice and set aside.

Saute diced onions and diced bell peppers in 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil until bell peppers are soft and onions are transparent. Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes, canned beans and those diced medium heat peppers. don't forget to wear gloves when handling hot peppers and what ever you do DON'T touch your nose or eyes!!! Add in your ground cumin and let simmer. Taste it, if you like it spicy add more of the spicy peppers and cumin, don't like it too spicy, use less.

Add chicken and corn shortly before serving or else they will turn to mush.

Top with your favorite toppings (see above list for ideas) and the tortilla chips are a must! Don't forget to have an icy cold Corona Beer with it!

Chicken Breast wrapped in Streaky Bacon

preheat oven to 350º


I used boneless skinless chicken breasts that were all trimmed up. Season with salt and pepper then wrapped with thick cut Bacon (for my British friends this is thick slice streaky bacon). I used 2 of 3 slices of bacon, wrapped all the way around the chicken breast. I did drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the bake pan but to be honest the fat from the bacon will make it not stick to the baking sheet.
Cook for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the bacon is crispy. Believe it or not but the chicken was remarkably moist- even after cooking so long.

*side note- I'm going to experiment with temperature and time and see if I can get the same results at a higher temperature with a shorter cooking time. Might have to solicit some friends to try this one on as my family gets rather tired of me cooking the same things over and over again trying to get a recipe down pat.

Fruit Tart Flag

I'm always striving to make something "different" when having friends over for a social gathering. I've been getting recipe e-mails from Food Network for what seems to be for forever and once I saw this one for the Flag Fruit Tart Well I knew that I was going to make it for our son's graduation party.

I changed a few things from the recipe on Food Network- for one, there's no place (to my knowledge) to buy those mini tart shells so I had to make my own. I bought 2 boxes of those Pillsbury pre-made pie crust (you'll need 3 packages), rolled the crusts out and used a 2½ inch circle cookie cutter and cut 48 of those pie dough circles- which worked great in my Wilton mini tart/mini muffin pan. I baked them @ 350º for 10 minutes. Don't forget to use a folk and poke vent holes for the steam. The mini tart shells popped right out too! Let them cool on a wire rack. The shells can also be made a day or two in advance.

I added in a ½ cup of granulated sugar and a teaspoon of Vanilla, I used whipped cream from a can (use what you have on hand in my motto). The reason I added more sugar is that British version of whipped cream in a can is not sweet as it is back in the USA.

Now for putting it together...I put my mascarpone mixture into a gallon size ziplock bad, snipped of an end and used it as a pastry bag. Unless you do a lot of cake decorating, pastry bags aren't something most folks have "on hand". Squeeze into each little tart shell, smooth over with a frosting knife (a butter knife will do well too). Place your berries and berry slices as the picture shows and there it is!

Chick Food Chicken Salad

THIS is the chicken salad recipe that I made for my girlfriends on our trip to Stoke-on-Trent. I call it's My Chick Food Chicken Salad because of the grapes and cashews. I find that men don't enjoy fruit in their salads...then my husband surprised me and told m,e how much he enjoyed it. Then he really surprised me with his request that I make this for other occasions.

Side note- I like to take short cuts where I can, especially when it comes to food preparation. It's even better when they save you time and money!

Things you need:

• 2 Whole Roasted Chickens from the grocery store- meat plucked off the bone and shredded! Don't worry about the seasoning of said roasted chickens, it doesn't matter (sweet huh)
• 2 cups seedless grapes- Black or Red, I personally prefer Black grapes because of their sweetness and firm texture but either one of these are fine. BEWARE-Green grapes are too tart for this recipe.
• Cashews- chopped (this will be the topping for the salad)
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup sour cream or creme fraiche
• ¾ cup mayonnaise

Lets get cooking!
All of your cooking is done because you bought those lovely roasted chickens from the grocery store! Simply pluck the meat off of the chicken and shred! Slice grapes into halves or quarter them if they are large. Chop the celery but not too fine. Mix All 3 together in large bowl. Mix the lemon juice, sour cream and mayonnaise together, pour over chicken mixture in bowl and toss. I've not added any salt to this what so ever, if you feel that it needs some salt add only at the very end . I like to use the salted cashews as a sprinkled on topping, they add a great crunch factor and just the right amount of salt to this recipe. Serve it on croissants or on Bibb Leaf lettuce leaves (also called Boston or Butter Leaf lettuce). It's perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, church socials, coffees and luncheons.

Baked Potato Soup

One of my favorite simple meals is making stuffed baked potatoes for dinner. Potatoes can be used in so many ways and here's a great recipe to get that great baked potato meal in a soup- enjoy!

Here's the list of goodies you'll need:

• ½ pound bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 medium sized onion chopped
• 1 small shallot chopped fine
• 3 cloves garlic put through a garlic press
• 3 Tablespoons flour (the all purpose type)
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 very large baking potatoes - baked, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup half and half cream
• shredded cheddar cheese

Now to cook it up:
In a large saucepan- cook bacon until crisps, drain, reserving 1 T. of drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute the chopped onion and shallot in the bacon drippings until tender. Stir in the flour, salt (to your own liking) basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add in the broth stir so you won't have lumps in your soup. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Add potatoes and cream, heat thoroughly but no not boil. Garnish with bacon and cheese.
Serve this with a small garden salad and some crusty french bread and make an apple crisp for dessert...m'm!

Popovers

This recipe is one of my favorites from my childhood. I've been baking these since I was 11 years old. I never let my mom make them for me, this was my special treat that I would make all on my own.

Things you will need are...

popover tins- although muffin tins will work too.

• 1cup flour (the all purpose kind)
• ½teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt for all of my baking and cooking)
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon melted butter (I use unsalted butter in all of my recipes)
• 2 large eggs- beaten

Preheat oven to 425º this recipe makes between 8 to 12 popovers.
Coat the popover/muffin tins with butter, set aside. Mix flour and salt together. Add milk, honey and melted butter, mix well. Add in beaten eggs, mix well.
Fill each popover tin to just under half full. Bake 25 to 30 minutes OR until the popovers are golden brown. Do not open the oven door to peek- turn on the oven light and look through the window instead... or your popovers will fall and not rise again :-(
Serve hot with with honey and butter, YUM!

Pasta e Fagioli

This soup recipe is my Hannah's favorite soup ever! There are days when I know that my girl will come home from school simply exhausted. There's nothing like a pick me up of this Italian classic with a couple of slices of garlic bread to pick her back up!

you'll need...

• 2 large sprigs fresh Rosemary
• a good sized bunch of fresh Thyme
• 1 large red onion finely chopped
• 2 (14½) can red kidney beans
• about 3 ounces of Pancetta chopped
• 5 to 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• Black pepper to taste
• rind of Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup elbow macaroni

Let's make some soup!

I like to put my rosemary and thyme in a sachet bag (can be bought in any cooking store or in your grocers kitchen utensil section). If they don't have it then place in some cheesecloth and tie up with some cooking string.

Heat the olive oil and butter and saute the onions until translucent, add in the pancetta and cook until crisp.
Next add in the chicken broth and kidney beans, add in the sachet of fresh herbs and your cheese rind. Put lid on pot, bring to a boil then bring down to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
While soup is cooking I like to make my pasta separately- boil the elbow macaroni until al dente. Put pasta in bowls then ladle the soup over the pasta. Sprinkle with some fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano and if you like, drizzle a little olive oil on top just before serving.

Serve with a side salad of fresh greens and a couple of slices of hot crusty garlic bread. What a wonderful meal on a cold or blustery day!

Quiche-any way you like it!

This is my no fail make it for brunch, lunch or when ever I want something that is easy and will make a good impression on new friends recipe. You can do this a few different ways with the crust...

• buy a box of pre-made pie crust
• buy the frozen pie crust in the pie tin
• or make your own pie crust from scratch

you will need the following items;

• 4 jumbo eggs
• 1¼ cups heavy cream
• 1 small onion diced
• ¼ to ½ cup of cooked crumbled bacon
• 5 ounce bag of shredded Swiss Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons of butter
• salt and pepper to taste

I use pre made pie crusts and will be giving directions for them...

Pierce crust with fork all over...lots and lots of times as this will let the steam out when baking. I also covers with aluminum foil and fill the pie (over the aluminum foil) with beans to keep the crust from rising up. After 10 minutes remove from oven, take out aluminum foil and bake until golden, could be as little as 6 minutes or more than 10 depending upon your oven. Set aside.

Saute onions in butter until transparent. Beat eggs and cream together, add salt and pepper. Place the cooked onion and crumbled bacon on bottom of pie crust, even spread the shred Swiss cheese over the top. Pour egg and cream mixture over the top. Bake at 375º for 30 to 40 minutes or until quiche is set and is no longer jiggly and can be cut cleanly with a knife.

There's no hard set rule as to what you can and can't put in a quiche. Omit the onions if you don't like them, try various things such as asparagus, mushrooms, ham or broccoli. Just remember to have the items precooked and drained before putting into you quiche!

I use a deep dish ceramic pie plate -mine is by Home Laughlin China Company- better know for it's #1 selling line Fiesta dinnerware...I simply love to bake in it! Now if you use the frozen pie crusts that are already in a pie tin you will need to divide the ingredients as those pie tins are quite shallow and this recipe will make 2 quiches in a shallow pie dish. The pie plate from Portmeirion will also do very nicely- although I've only used mine to make cottage pie- but that's another recipe story ;-)

Scones

This is my tried and true recipe, I've been making scones from this recipe for about 16 years now. Got it from a girlfriend when we were stationed at Dyess AFB, Texas.

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1Tablespoon sugar
• 6 Tablespoons butter (slightly softened-do not put in microwave)
• 2 eggs well beaten
• ½ heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt for all of my baking)
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla
  

Mix dry ingredients well, work in butter with a pastry knife. Add in wet ingredients making sure that eggs are well beaten before adding. Stir until well blended. Dust kneading area with flour, kneed on cold surface for one minute. Roll out to ¾ inch thick, cut into wedges or use round cookie cutter for a more neat appearance. Here I used a 2½ inch round cookie cutter.
Heat oven to 400º, Bake on baking stone for 8 to 10 minutes until golden.
Cooking times do vary in different ovens. I've moved several times over the years and every oven has it's little differences.

You can serve these fresh right out of the oven with butter (this is how my children like them) or the way they serve them here in England- cold with clotted cream and strawberry or raspberry jam. Either way they are a tasty treat!

Chili Corn Bread Salad

Chili Corn Bread Salad
From the Kitchen of Alisha C.

1 pkg. (8 and ½ ounces) corn bread muffin mix
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. oregano
Pinch sage
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup green onions, chopped
10 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare corn bread according to package directions. Add green chilies, undrained, cumin, oregano, and sage. Bake in greased 8-in. pan at 400 degrees for 20 -25 min. Let cool. In a small bowl, mix mayo, sour cream and dressing mix. Set aside. Crumble half of cornbread in a 9X13 pan. Layer with half of beans, mayo mixture, corn, tomatoes, green peppers, green onions, bacon and cheese. Repeat layers (dish will be very full). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Makes 12 servings.

Beef and Ale Pie- revised!

There's a running joke about the food here in England...it's served piping hot so you'll burn your tongue so you won't know that it's bland. That's simply NOT true! Sure they serve the food scalding hot but that's just the way they cook out here. Now as for flavor... I find that it depends upon what you go and what get. For myself, I like to have what's considered to be classic "Pub Food". You can't go wrong with this pub food classic- Beef and Ale Pie. I did some searching on the internet and with my knowledge of meats and veggies along with spices and the workings of my stove or "cooker" as it's called here in England I've come up with a rather nice Beef and Ale pie recipe of my own. Oh for my Friends back in the states, your Pyrex measuring cups should have the ml measurements.


So here's what I've come up with...
Butter- salt free
salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce- just a dash
pre-made pie crust (I like Pillsbury but you could also make your own)
1½ pounds of lean beef (I used a lovely lean roast) cut it into cubes
2 med to large red onions- chopped
1 cup of a nice brown ale (I used Old Hooky)
1 400g can of diced tomatoes
26 ounces Swanson 33% less sodium Beef Stock
1½ to 1¾ lbs carrots- diced
½ to ¾ teaspoon of dried Grated Orange rind
3 Tbs cornstarch to thicken



Now lets get cooking!

Add some butter to a skillet and brown those beef bits! Do it in small batches or else you'll end up steaming your meas instead of browning them- salt and pepper your meats at this time. Place browned beef bits in a dish, saute the raw veggies, add the meats back in and add the canned tomatoes, ale, dash of worcestershire let reduce. Add in the beef stock and smimmer until the sauce reduces.
Use 1 Tablespoon cornstach to 2 Tablespoons COLD water, stir until there are no lumps and cornstach is well mixed,add in to meat mixture in pot stir until thickened. Place in pretty ceramic pie plate. Put a pie crust on top, cut some cute shape into the top of it (I usually make a heart) and bake in the oven until the top of the crust is golden brown. Follow directions on the pie crust to achieve desired effect. Remember your "pie filling" is already cooked.

This recipe makes enough for 4 people.

Tips from Sandie...
♥you can do a couple of different things to make a beautiful golden brown crust- brush crust with milk OR with a beaten egg, either one works well.
♥if you have oven proof bowls why not bake your beef and ale piein them! It's easy to bake individual servings that way! Just another reason why I love my Fiesta-ware!





**I've gone and revised the recipe for this dish- after having ate a few more pies in some various eating establishments and through trying various ingredients I've gone and changed up a few things. The secret ingredient in this recipe is the orange rind- it really helps to balance out the flavor (weird but true)

Curried Chicken Salad

This recipe comes from Carrie- the newest neighbor on our street. This was fresh and delightful!

Curried Chicken Salad:
3 chicken breasts
1 cup Mayo
1½ - 2 tablespoons curry powder
1 celery stalk finely chopped
4 green onions thinly sliced
¼ cup slivered almonds (can omit if nut allergy)
¾ cup seedless red grapes or cherries when available
Lettuce and pita pockets for serving

Parboil chicken. Let cool and chop or shred. In large bowl, combine the Mayo and curry powder. Add chicken, celery, green onions, and almonds. Stir until well combined. Just before serving add grapes or cherries. Serve over a bed of lettuce or in pita pockets. (I do both:)

making Potato skins and Gnocchi

Have you ever wanted to make something with leftovers from another recipe? Well here's your chance!

The other day my daughter and I made potato skins as part of a pre-super bowl party of sorts for our single military Men and Women who live in the dorms. Well there's lots of left over "meat" of the potato and what better to make with it than...gnocchi!

So here goes...

Potato Skins

I bought a small bag of white potatoes at the local grocery store

preheat oven to 350º

wash potatoes, pierce all over with a fork, bake in the oven for 1 to 1½ hours. Place directly on oven rack.

Let cool at least one hour. Then cut potato into quarters length wise scooping out potato flesh and leaving about ¼ inch or there about of flesh on said potato skin. Place potato skin on a baking try brush lightly with cooking oil and cook at 425º for 8 minutes or until crispy. Take out of oven turn over fill with what ever you like. If you want traditional cheese and bacon 'tato skins...sprinkle with shredded cheese and cooked bacon bits put back into oven for3 to minutes or until melted. Top with sour cream and chopped scallions- and watch them disappear!

Now for the Gnocchi, hey you've got all of that let over potato that's just hanging around might as well use it right???

you'll need about 1 pound of your potato flesh- you can run it through a ricer or use a potato masher, mash it up well!
Season with some and pepper, whisk 1 large egg mix into potato, add ½ cup of flour, use you hands to mix. Kneed the dough slightly not too much it will make a tough pasta. Roll into a 1 inch thick log and cut the dough into 1 inch pieces. Run the pieces over the tines of a fork (the grooves help the gnocchi to hold sauce). Drop into boiling water for about a minute (they will float when done). get them out quick or they WILL boil apart.

Top with your favorite pasta sauce- our sauce of course is Momma Sauce.