Author: QuiltLady

BLANCO ROSA PASTA

BLANCO ROSA PASTA
 ¾ pounds Penne pasta (I used linguini tonight)
1 pound chicken, cubed
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil 
1 small Vidalia Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced  
½ cup White Zinfandel Wine*
1 8 ounce can Contadina tomato sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream  
Fresh parsley, chopped
Fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Asiago Parmesan cheese, grated

  • Cook the Penne pasta until al dente per package instructions.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a skillet. 
  • Add the chicken and saute until just done. Do not overcook them. 
  • Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
  • In a large skillet heat the remaining butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and onion sauteing until translucent and fragrant, stirring occasionally. 
  • Add the wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the can of tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. 
  • Add heavy cream. Continue stirring until well blended. 
  • Lower heat to a simmer.
  • Add chicken pieces back in and heat through.
  • Toss with prepared pasta.
  • Top with basil, parsley and grate Parmesan cheese.

*Can substitute chicken broth if you prefer.

WEEK NIGHT CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

I’ve been making these for years on weeknights and they are a family favorite for a quick meal.

WEEK NIGHT CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
2 cups chopped chicken*
1 can green chiles, chopped and drained well
1 can roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup
tortillas,
grated Mexican blend cheese
PURE
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix the soup and green chiles together.
  • Fold in chicken pieces.
  • Spray baking dish with PURE.
  • Stuff and roll tortillas.
  • Place in baking dish.
  • Top with cheese.
  • Bake 30 minutes.

These can also be prepared the day before so thay are ready for the oven the minute you walk in the door.

TACO MEAT SEASONING

You can quit buying those expensive seasoning packs full of preservatives and make your own taco seasoning fresh.

TACO MEAT SEASONING
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced dried onions
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar

  • Combine all together and grind fine in a mortar and pestle.
  • Brown hamburger.
  • Drain off grease.
  • Add seasoning mix and 3/4 cup water to the browned meat.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

RED AND GREEN SHREDDED BEEF ENCHILADAS – These are the greatest enchiladas for leftover pot roast.

I take the leftover pot roast and shred it adding red enchilada sauce. Then I throw it in the freezer until we want enchiladas. Then I spread some sour cream on the tortillas, plop some red meat inside and add a bit of cheese.

Roll them up, top them with green enchilada sauce and a bit more cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes and serve with homemade refried beans.

TALL & CREAMY CHEESECAKE

Anne of Anne Strawberry chose Tall and Creamy Cheesecake on pages 235-237 and I am so glad she did. Make sure to visit her for the original recipe. Hubby requested cheesecake for Christmas so this was the perfect opportunity to try this recipe. I just had to wait to share my results with you. I have to admit I did use a bit of creative license though! I’m calling this a red velvet cheesecake. It looks so pretty cut, just like red velvet!

My creative changes are somewhat obvious from the picture, but I really don’t think they changed the overall flavor and since they ate it all, I’ll consider that proof that it was good! I added 2 teaspoons of red food coloring to the actual cheese cake. I also don’t ever use graham crackers – hubby says they’re just too plain, so I always use a combination of gingersnaps and vanilla wafers instead. I also use my square springform (love that pan!!) to make it easier to cut into more pieces evenly. I had some cream cheese frosting from cookies left over also so filled in the top for decorating. It made a very nice contrast.

CREAMY SWEET & SOUR BACON DRESSING

BOILED SALAD DRESSING
now known as Creamy Sweet and Sour Bacon Dressing


2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon butter
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
4 slices bacon, crumbled small

  • Beat egg yolk thoroughly.
  • Sift dry ingredients together and add to the egg yolk mixture, mixing well.
  • Gradually and alternately add the vinegar and water.
  • Cook in double boiler until thick and creamy. Can be cooked directly over flame, but must be watched carefully and stirred constantly.
  • Add butter, beating smooth.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Add bacon pieces.
  • Store in refrigerator.

adapted from original recipe (page 106) ‘A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband’ by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron

MACHO CHICKEN ROJO

MACHO CHICKEN ROJO
4 skinless, boneless breasts, browned and shredded
2 cups red enchilada sauce
juice of 1 lime,
1 small can green chiles
1 large bunch green onions, sliced
1 can rotel tomatoes
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup cheese

  • Mix all together
  • Bake 1 hour at 360 degrees

APRICOT PORK CHOPS & SCALLOPED POTATOES

As I bring my old recipes over to the new blog I’m evaluating each one on their merits and taking new pictures as necessary.  There are a few (very few) recipes though that I’m re-evaluating as to whether I would ever even make them again.  I’m trying to only post things here that would be served at my table again in the future.
The following recipe was originally tried and posted as a Pork Chops and Scalloped potatoes done in the crock pot with cherries.  While it was okay, but not something we would make again, the recipe itself still had merit so I adjusted the recipe yesterday and tried it again and VOILA we have a recipe I will serve again and again!  This recipe will also work with thinner pork chops as well.

APRICOT PORK CHOPS & SCALLOPED POTATOES
4 bone in pork chops
8 apricots, washed, pitted and sliced thin
3 large potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thin
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
3+ tablespoons Wondra flour
1/8 cup sugar
finely grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

  •  Lay apricots in a single layer in a baking dish and sprinkle with the sugar.  Set aside for an hour or so.
  • Save you nicest looking apricot pieces to lay on top of pork chops. Puree the rest.
  • In a small sauce pan melt the butter.  Whisk in 3 tablespoons of Wondra flour until golden.
  • Gradually add the cream, stirring continuously until smooth.
  • Gradually add in half or more of the apricot puree.
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Spray an 11×7 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Start layering potatoes into the bottom of baking dish, salt and peppering with a dusting of flour and sprinkled with green onions and grated cheese between layers.
  • Once all the potatoes are layered, pour 2/3 of your sauce over the potatoes and allow it to dribble and settle  into all the cracks.
  • Lay pork chops on top of sauce in a single layer.
  • Arrange reserved apricot pieces on top of pork chops.
  • Add remaining puree to remaining sauce and whisk until smooth. 

  • Carefully pour over pork chops.
  • Cover with lid.
  • Bake 1 – 1 1/2 hours (depending on thickness and doneness of chops and potatoes.) Remove lid last 15 minutes.  Potato layer will be bubbly.

SAVORY CORN & PEPPER MUFFINS

Laurie of Quirky Cupcake formed Tuesdays With Dorie as a form of accountability for baking at least once a week using the cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. TWD celebrated it’s 1 year anniversary last week and is still going strong!


Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake chose Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins on page 6. I loved this recipe. I wanted to try out a new pan I received for Christmas, but the batter rose more than I expected so we have these cute rounded leaves. It didn’t affect the flavor at all! Head on over to Rebecca’s for the recipe.

KICKING POTATO SALAD

NOT YOUR MOTHER’S POTATO SALAD
2-3 pounds potatoes, washed well
6 eggs, hard boiled
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 +/- cup Bob’s Bleu Cheese dressing
1 1/2 teaspoon Frank’s red pepper sauce
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons orange champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish


  • Hard boil eggs. Cool and set aside.
  • Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Cool and set aside.
  • Drain pickle relish in sieve for 10 minutes to remove excess juice.
  • Mix together the bleu cheese dressing, hot sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper, onions and garlic until well blended. You may or may not need to add more dressing to reach the desired consistency.

  • Grate the hard boil eggs into the bowl and toss well.
  • Grate 1/2 of the potatoes into the bowl and toss until well blended.
  • Chop remaining potatoes into bite size pieces and fold into mixture.



  • Chill well.
  • Top with paprika garnish before serving.

INDONESIAN PORK ROAST ala TAMY

This is one of those recipes I found somewhere and set aside, but kept peeking back at it now and then.  I finally ran out of reasons not to try it and am kicking myself for not trying it sooner. The changes I made for an even better flavor in our opinion.

INDONESIAN PORK ROAST ala TAMY
2 pound pork tenderloin
4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons reduced-fat JIF creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
PAM
1/2 cup mango chutney apricot pineapple jam
6-8 slices bacon**
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Combine soy sauce, peanut butter, red pepper flakes and garlic, mixing well.
  • Using a heavy duty cookie sheet or roasting pan line it with heavy duty foil.
  • Spray with pure. Arrange bacon slices.
  • Spread 1/4 of mixture over bacon slices.
  • Top with tenderloin.
  • Spread remaining sauce on top and sides.
  • Wrap bacon slices up and over securing with toothpicks.
  • Roast, uncovered for 45 minutes.
  • Brush evenly with jam and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
  • Turn off oven and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Slice and serve.

**I bought my tenderloin at costco and instead of being a whole tenderloin it was 2 halves. So I used bacon slices to wrap it as a whole and that addition made a fantastic difference.

PORK CHOPS in ORANGE SAUCE

PORK CHOPS in ORANGE SAUCE
4 boneless pork chops
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup cold water

  • Combine paprika and pepper.
  • Rub both sides of all pork chops with mixture.
  • Melt butter in skillet and brown pork chops over medium heat.
  • Combine the orange juice and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour over pork chops.
  • Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes until chops are cooked through.
  • Remove chops and keep warm.
  • Whisk together the flour and water until smooth.
  • Whisk into orange juice mixture and bring to a boil, simmering until thickened.
  • Serve over the chops.

With just the 2 of us, I take the leftover pork chops and shred them into the sauce. We then eat the leftovers over noodles or mashed potatoes.