Chicken Parmesan

The two recipes featured today make quick and tasty entrees that are good enough for special dinners. Chicken Parmesan is a favourite birthday supper and I serve it with pasta and a salad.

2 pounds chicken breasts (I usually cut them in half)
Italian bread crumbs,
(or bread crumbs mixed with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese)
1 egg, beaten
oil for frying pan
1 jar of pasta sauce
grated cheese

Dip chicken breasts in egg and then coat with seasoned bread crumbs. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken
Place the prepared chicken in a roasting pan or covered casserole dish. Pour pasta sauce over the top.
Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes, until chicken is well cooked.
Sprinkle with grated parmesan or mozzerella cheese before serving.

Mexican Fish Bake

This is a yummy way to serve fish!

1 to 1-1/2 pounds fish fillets
(I often use frozen salmon fillets, but tilapia and other white fish is good too)
Place in a single layer in a baking dish

Cover fillets with 1 cup or more of salsa, mild, medium or hot

Bake at 400F for 15 -20 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup crushed corn chips and 1 cup grated cheese.
Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Serve topped with sour cream, sliced avocado and lime slices.

I make rice and beans as a side dish for this dinner, along with a green vegetable or salad.

Animal Cookies

My husband's family call their Christmas sugar cookies "animal cookies", even though the cut out shapes are more likely to be stars, wreaths or candy canes. My sister-in-law makes this large batch every year, and ices them with plain butter icing just before serving. They are a highlight of the Christmas Eve feast.

Mix until fluffy
2 cups white sugar
1 pound shortening

Add
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together
4 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the flour and shortening mixture. Gradually add flour, a cup at at time, until the mixture works like pie pastry (this is an art form!). Total flour used is 6-8 cups.
Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes and bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are a very light brown. Do not overbake!
Makes a lot of cookies.

Cauliflower soup or sauce

The Becka and I stayed overnight at Older Daughter's place after we attended a stage performance of Beauty and the Beast in her city. She made a wonderful hot supper for us before the show featuring two of her favourite recipes from home. Cauliflower Soup 1 medium cauliflower, cut up 1 shredded carrot 1-1/2 cups water 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon 1 tablespoon butter 3 tablespoons flour salt and pepper (and hot sauce) to taste 2 cups milk 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Combine cauliflower, carrot, water and bouillon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender. In another pan (or in the microwave) melt butter, stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add the milk and heat until mixture thickens. Reduce heat and add cheese. Stir the roux into the cauliflower mixture.

May 2022- You can turn this soup into a delicious cheese sauce that is so good that even people suspicious of vegetables will not notice them. Simmer cauliflower, carrot and vegetable bouillon until the vegetables are soft.  Instead of making the roux, add grated cheese, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt to taste and milk or broth to get the sauce to the right consistency. It is delicious with pasta or on vegetables. 

Buttermilk biscuits

These are wonderful with a soup supper.

Mix together in a bowl
2 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cut in with pastry blender or two knives
1/2 cup of butter or shortening

Add
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk

Drop onto a baking sheet or baking stone (the best!) and bake for 12-15 minutes at 400F.
Makes 8 large biscuits.

Cheese Balls

Cheese balls are always popular as appetizers or at potluck gatherings. I like to spread them on a good cracker like Ryvitas,
but they go well with other crispy items and raw vegetables. They are worth making just for yourself, and are a nice lunch time treat along with a salad. The salmon cheese ball was introduced to us by my sister-in-law at a Christmas gathering, and the second recipe is for my daughter who will not eat fish!


Salmon Cheese Ball

8 oz cream cheese (light is fine)
2-213 gram (about 7 oz) cans of salmon, drained and deboned
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pepper and seasoning to taste
finely chopped onion (optional)

Mix ingredients together thoroughly. If desired, roll the cheese ball in chopped walnuts.
(I made half a recipe with 4oz cream cheese and one tin of salmon for the photo above)

Jewelled Cheese Ball

8 ounces cream cheese (light is fine)
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese, preferrably medium or old cheddar
(I am not entirely sure how much cheddar we put in with the cream cheese. Add enough to make it "look right"!)

Mix together and form into a ball. Dice some red and green pepper into 1/4 inch squares. Press the peppers in alternate colours on the outside of the cheese ball.

Molasses Crinkles

My neighbour Carol was raised by an Old Order Mennonite aunt, but as an adult she joined a more modern Mennonite fellowship. She lived on our street but never really left the farm with its busy kitchen and foods meant for hard-working folks. She showed me several Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, not in writing, but demonstrated with a handful of this and a pinch of that.
Carol had a heart attack while making muffins for a church function and passed away very suddenly. The neighbourhood was in shock, as we were all recipients of her kindness and cooking. Our dog still pulls to go up her driveway when we go for a walk as he remembers the treats he always received from her. This is her recipe, and I love to make it at Christmas time. It is good with applesauce at any time of year.

Cream together
3/4 cup butter or shortening
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons molasses
1 egg

Add
2 teaspoons baking soda
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon each cinnamon and ginger

Pinch off a piece of dough the size of a walnut, roll in a ball and dip in sugar. Flatten with a fork. Put a drop of water on top of the dough
Bake for 10 minutes at 375F.

Christmas Shortbreads

I have received several requests for recipes today, all of them sweets and desserts. They must be the most memorable family foods, likely because they were the reward for eating a disliked but healthy main course.
One of our daughters will not be home for Christmas this year and we will miss her very much. So I will post a Christmas cookie recipe at her request.

This shortbread is a treasure from my husband’s family.

Cream together until light and fluffy
1 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk

Beat in until smooth
2 cups of flour

Use a tablespoon to scoop out dough. Roll in a ball and flatten slightly with a fork.
Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes. Remove just when cookies are starting to brown a little. Watch them closely! (We always double this recipe.)

The next shortbread recipe is from my family. It uses more flour than the previous recipe. The dough is rolled out and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. We used to decorate the cookies with bits of candied cherries or sugar sprinkles.

Cream together until light
1 cup brown sugar
1 pound of butter
2 egg yolks

Gradually add
4 cups of flour
Work in a 5th cup of flour with your hands
Use a 6th cup of flour for rolling out the dough

Roll out to a thickness of ¼ inch. Cut into shapes
Bake at 200F for 1 hour. (I bake these at 300F for a shorter time)

Pumpkin Pie

We love pumpkin pie! I prefer the flavour of brown sugar as a sweetener, but have made this recipe with Splenda as well. (extra cinnamon and whipped cream please). Often, I just make the filling and pour it into individual ramekins for a dessert custard. The Becka thinks the custard is also perfect for breakfast. Pumpkin is considered one of the 12 healthiest foods, so what can I say?

Beat together (I use hand beaters here)

2 eggs

1 cup of milk ( I use low fat, evaporated, soy milk, whatever is on hand)
1-1/2 cups of pumpkin ( I prefer to cook my own pumpkins, but you can use canned)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flour if you have used low fat regular milk

Mix together and stir into pumpkin mixture

1 cup brown or white sugar (use part sweetener if you want)

1 generous teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

(1/2 tsp nutmeg......not at this house)

Pour into an uncooked pie shell. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 45 -50 minutes until almost set.

If you bake individual custards, place the cups in a pan of water and bake at 350F until almost set, about 45 minutes or so.

photo courtesy of The Becka. See her step by step pumpkin pie picture story here

Mom's Carrot Cake

This recipe uses less oil than some carrot cake recipes but is still moist and delicious!
1-1/2 cups sugar (you can use part splenda)
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2-1/4 cups flour (white or part whole wheat)
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2-1/4 cups grated carrot
3/4 cup crushed canned pineapple

Beat eggs with sugar and oil. Stir together with dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in carrots and pineapple to blend. Raisins and/or chopped walnuts can also be added.

Bake in a 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees F for 40 -45 minutes.

When cooled, spread top with cream cheese icing....
4 oz. cream cheese, 1-1/2 tbsp butter, sufficient icing sugar for a good spreading consistency.

Christmas Cake

Fruit cake has a poor reputation and is the butt of many holiday jokes, from the fruit cake used as a door stop to stories told about people mailing the same stale fruit cake from friend to friend year after year. Unfortunately, I have tasted fruit cake that would fit in the category "inedible". Nuts and coconut go stale and rancid quickly and can ruin a recipe, so I leave these ingredients out completely. I find that store-bought fruit cake is too sweet and sticky, the smallest piece causing me to look quickly for something to drink.
Grandma D. made a simple, light (as opposed to dark) fruit cake that is a family favourite. We make it the first week of November, wrap it well and freeze it for at least a month. It is still delicious after six months in the freezer.
Eldest daughter came home on her days off this week to make the cake, so I pulled out Grandma's old recipe box and the stained card she had written on so I could buy the ingredients. Grandma always said you should eat twelve pieces of fruit cake during the holiday season in order to have twelve happy months the next year. I don't need any excuse to eat this cake!

Christmas Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
Cream butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, almost colourless.
Add well beaten eggs.

12-16 oz raisins
1/2 lb glazed cherries
2 cups mixed peel

Pour boiling water over the raisins, drain and pat them dry with a towel.
Place them in a second bowl with the cherries and the mixed peel.

sift over the fruit:

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Add the floured fruit mixture to the egg mixture along with

1/4 c of juice
1 tsp flavouring (vanilla or almond)

Bake for 3 hours at 275 degrees F, or until done.
Place a pan of water in the oven under the cake.

This recipe makes a standard loaf pan, plus a smaller pan.
Grandma had special fruit cake tins that she used.
It must be well wrapped and kept in a cool place for a while before slicing.
Serve in slices the size of dominoes.