Author: QuiltLady

GRANNY’S HAM & TATER SOUP

GRANNY’S TATER HAM & TATER SOUP
6 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped small
1 stalk celery, chopped small
1 ham steak, fat trimmed and diced
5 cups HOMEMADE chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped FRESH Italian leaf parsley
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1/3 cup butter
12 ounce can evaporated milk

  • Melt butter in large saute or stock pot.
  • Add carrots, shallots, leeks, potatoes and celery, sauteing 3-4 minutes.
  • Add chicken stock and parsley.
  • Season with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Add stock and simmer until potatoes are tender.
  • Add ham pieces and evaporated milk.
  • Season to taste and simmer 10-15 minutes more.

NOTE: This recipe is also delicious and gives you a smoother texture if you mash or slightly puree the vegetables before adding the ham pieces.

BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE

Mac & Cheese is ALWAYS a favorite in MOST households! This one is a simple version that is quick to make and in the right dish looks elegant enough for company.

BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE

PASTA
2 teaspoons kosher salt 
1 pound elbow macaroni with ridges 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
  • Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan.
  • Add the salt and macaroni.
  • Bring the water back to a boil and cook the macaroni until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain WELL.

CHEESE SAUCE
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 shallot, diced
4 tablespoons WONDRA flour 
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 
2 cups WHOLE milk 
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar (or mix with some Jack cheese if you prefer, but we like the strong sharp)

  • Melt the butter in a 1-quart saucepan.
  • Add shallot, sautéing until soft and translucent.
    Using a wire whisk, stir in the flour and salt, stirring and cooking over medium heat until the roux bubbles and the flour turns pale brown, about 3 minutes.
  • Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the milk and then whisk in the remaining 1 cup milk followed by the vinegar.
  • Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens.
  • Add the cheese and stir until it melts.
  • Add the drained macaroni to the cheese sauce and mix thoroughly.

TOPPING
heaping 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

  • In a small bowl, stir the breadcrumbs with the butter until the crumbs are moistened.
  • Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the prepared baking dish and top with the buttered breadcrumbs.
  • Bake until the dish bubbles around the edges, about 15 minutes.

CRANBERRY BLISS BARS ~ COPY CAT RECIPE

CRANBERRY BLISS BARS ~ STARBUCKS COPY CAT RECIPE

I LOVE these bars, but you can only get them once a year at the holidays so a copy cat recipe was a necessity! Not to mention Starbucks charges almost as much for one bar as I can make a WHOLE batch. These taste just like Starbucks in my opinion!

BLONDIE COOKIE BAR LAYER
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups PACKED brown sugar
2 LARGE eggs
1 teaspoon PURE orange extract
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch QUALITY cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup white chocolate chips, chopped
3/4 cup Craisins, chopped

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper (which makes it easy to lift out of the pan) or spray generously with non-stick baking spray.
  • Add melted butter and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed.
  • Add in eggs, orange extract, vanilla extract beating until mixed well.
  • Add in ground ginger, baking powder, salt and flour, beating JUST until blended. DO NOT OVER MIX!
  • Fold in white chocolate chips and Craisins by hand.
  • Spread evenly into the bottom of prepared pan.
  • Bake 18-22 minutes until set and golden brown at the edges. DO NOT OVER BAKE or your bars will be hard as rocks.
  • Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
  • Allow bars to cool COMPLETELY before frosting.

FROSTING/TOPPING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2-1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon PURE orange extract
1/2 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1/3 cup Craisins, chopped SMALL
6 ounces white chocolate, melted

  • Beat cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
  • Add orange extract and vanilla extract mixing well. If too thin, add remaining powdered sugar.
  • Top cooled bars with frosting.
  • Sprinkle with chopped Craisins and drizzle the white chocolate almond bark over the top.
  • Cut into triangles or squares.  I recommend chilling them for at least an hour before serving and keeping them in an airtight container chilled to store.
  • Enjoy!

NOTES:

  • This recipe works as a gluten free bar really well. Swap out the all purpose flour for Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour.
  • They freeze REALLY well! Be sure to thaw overnight before serving.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 1 of 2022

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Do you do new year’s resolutions? I quit years ago because I felt they were always too short lived. Instead I try to make lifestyle habit changes that are longer term and I try to adjust regularly.

I was gifted several planners this year so I have the unique opportunity to try them all out and see what really “fits”. One of the planners is a menu planner and habit tracker. I’m just not sure quite yet what is going to work best with my organizational style.

I did spend most of the snow week working on cleaning up my digital files and updating my computer so I could start the new year a little “cleaner”.

I was also gifted The Illustrated Compendium of UGLY English words which I’m finding quite amusing. We all have those words that just make us cringe and this calendar appears to be going to touch on all of them 😀

A Compendium is a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject, in this case UGLY English words.

I thought it would be fun to keep track of these each week as a source of amusement. They did cheat a bit and only give us one word for the whole weekend. 😀

  • January 1/2 – ACRID (adjective) – Deeply bitter; corrosive; so unpleasant in taste or odor that it causes people to retch instantaneously and shriek the word into the air like a pained battle cry: “ACKKKKK-RID.”
  • January 3 – BACKWASH (noun) – A backward current; the moving of waterin a reverse direction; the liquid that flows from a person’s mouth back into the bottle when they remove it from their lips. Or, rather, the spit water that a younger sibling uses to prevent you from stealing swigs of their drink.

I decided to join in with many others and choose a word for the year and make a list of things to accomplish also. If you’re interested that post is here.

The cold and snow lasted through yesterday so I really got my wish for Christmas snow! A new storm, a bit warmer HA HA 40’s instead of 30’s, started pushing in just after lunch. We’re supposed to get close to 5 inches of rain in 5 days with this storm front. Oh, and now it’s windy – REALLY windy!! They said the wind advisory was from 4pm yesterday through 4pm today, but it showed up early with a vengeance. Before it began we did at least get the outside Christmas decorations put into the garage to dry out a bit before being packed away for the year.

I actually wish it was snow since we are already so wet and now have huge puddles of run off water EVERYWHERE and 5 inches more will just turn that all into mud puddles and slick roadways. Plus with the wind it will still feel just as cold 😀 But, at least we’ll be worrying less about frozen pipes.

I’m feeling extremely anxious and concerned. My prayers go out to everyone suffering, in whatever way, from anything, but especially from this pandemic. Seems like no matter how hard we try to stay safe, life happens around us leaving so many susceptible.

We found out just before new years that our vaccinated step son and his wife have COVID and are really quite ill with breakthrough infections. We have several other friends who while also vaccinated have just healed from bad breakthrough infections.

Thank god they were vaccinated if the severity of their breakthrough infections is any indication of how much worse it would have been had they not been. But, they are not out of the woods yet and prayers would be deeply appreciated.

Hot water and peach yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Hubby is having some surgery tomorrow and will be home and “out of commission” this week so I’ll be staying close. I’ll use that time to take down the tree, finish sorting the ornaments and put away ALL the Christmas decorations. Truth be told I’m loving having the tree still lit up and glowing during the dreary weather.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I did the grocery shopping and errands last Wednesday before the craziness of the holiday set in. We were isolating and preparing for hubby’s surgery tomorrow so avoided everyone and every situation out of precautiion.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS End of the year paperwork sort and clean up and preparing the files for 2022.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve planned as many of my January recipes around cleaning out the pantry and freezer as possible. I’m also concentrating reworking any new recipes I make into meals for two so we don’t have any leftovers and adjusting recipes as necessary.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX
  • CABLE The Rose parade while shorter at least happened this year. We missed the first season of Yellowstone when it began because we were in the middle of the BIG move back here and just never were able to catch up. And then Paramount ran a marathon this past New Years and since we were home isolating waiting for hubby’s surgery, we’ve been binge watching to catch up to last night’s season finale. Several new cooking shows started last night and this week that I want to try. And regular TV programming began again too so now I find myself right back in catch up mode 😀 And Mike Rowe’s Dirty jobs began again – I’ve always loved this show and learning about all these horribly dirty jobs.

I just finished State of Grace from Marie Force and am looking forward to the next installment in September, but in the meantime she’s branching off again into a 3rd series that will expound on the characters even more, but that book doesn’t come out until February.

In the meantime I will be reading Ava Miles Beside Golden Irish Fields of another series for this author with characters that I also love.

I’m anxious to begin the Hidden Child by Louisa Fein and When the Nightingale Sings by Suzanne Kelman. I’m hoping they both write in similar style to Gill Paul who writes stories about today that began during WWI or WWII and leave their footprints along the way tying the present to the past.


We had a wonderful, but quiet Christmas and New Years with just over a foot of of snow which was quite beautiful making it a true Winter Wonderland. A few friends are “blaming” me for all the snow because I kept wishing for a Christmas snow. LOL I did wish for it, but I just didn’t plan on it being quite so much or lasting through the end of the year!

The neighbor boys made a “toppled” snowman and tried their hand at “pool sledding” 😀 Fortunately I was able to take all these pictures without even stepping outside!

While I do most of this twice a year or even some it quarterly, I “start” my year with the following list. Doing this makes it easy to remember when it was done last 😀

  • Change the smoke detector batteries
  • Change the refrigerator filter
  • Change the kitchen water filter
  • Wash the cold air return filter
  • Clean behind the refrigerator
  • Clean behind the stove
  • Do a vinegar clean in the coffee pot
  • Do a vinegar clean in the washing machine
  • Do a baking soda/vinegar clean on sink basins
  • Turn the hangers around! I do make an exception for things that are obvious exceptions like special dresses to wear to formal events. weddings or funerals etc…

I’m trying a new menu planner and habit tracker for 2022 that will hopefully streamline my menus. I’m also still including the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon. I’m really hoping to get caught up on indexing recipes for the blog which is a monumental feat! After last week’s recipes all revolving around either prime rib or turkey I’m ready for a little more adventure.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
*STUFFED MEATBALL PIES
*ULTIMATE CHICKEN CASSEROLE
*INSTA POT POT ROAST & VEGGIES
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
CLAM CHOWDER & CRUSTY SOURDOUGH BREAD
CHICKEN BLT CASSEROLE a remake from the blog to get a better picture
*BACON CHEESE BURGER BALLS & ONION RINGS
DESSERT *new recipe I’m trying this week
*something chocolate

WORDS & LISTS for 2022

Jean over at Chit Chat with Jean is doing a word for the year and also a list of “22” things to accomplish in 2022. I like the way she thinks and realize that 2022 items would be unreasonable and using the last 2 numbers to do 22 items is completely acceptable, reasonable and even doable. Since this is my first time I don’t have any ‘leftovers” from last year and that makes me smile and approach this as even more possible.

After giving this serious thought I decided to join in. Will I be as successful? I’m not sure, but I’m seriously willing to give it a try. I’ll do quarterly updates until the end of the year and then decide about 2023 😀

I took a DaySpring quiz to help me determine my word for the year. A couple of words I considered were Renewal and Restoration before finally deciding.
My word for the year is – DEVOTION – love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause. I intend to find devotion in ALL people and ALL things in my life. If I can’t find devotion for someone or something, then it shouldn’t be in my life to begin with.

My list for 2022 is:

  • Do a Happy Homemaker Monday post each and every week. This keeps me more on track and organized about my home life. Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.
  • Do 1-2 devotionals every day.
  • Follow a nightly skincare regime – I borrowed this from Jean, but because it lined up with the new Clinique regime hubby bought me for Christmas. I have used this in the past, but have been choosing not to spend the money on myself. Fortunately for me hubby didn’t agree. 😀
  • Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my food blog, Savory Kitchen Table.
  • Finish indexing the recipes on my Life blog, Chasing MY Life. When I merged my old blogspot blogs into this single blog it duplicated many things and added an “ALL” category that I am having to eliminate one by one so it’s taking a LONG time.
  • Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly.
  • Learn YOGA or Pilates or both!
  • Take at least a 2 mile walk daily.
  • Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING.
  • Clean out photo files that date back 13 years!
  • Create shutterfly photo albums for 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.
  • Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving.
  • Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month.
  • Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 with no leftovers.
  • Volunteer at least once a month for a community project.
  • Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before.
  • Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers.
  • Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed.
  • Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily.
  • Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house.
  • Read 36 books. Hopefully it will be more, but I think this is a realistic goal.

What you think? Do you want to join in also?

LEFTOVER PRIME RIB BEEF STROGANOFF

At the price of meat these days I am trying to use every single little piece and let nothing go to waste! So far our Christmas dinner Prime Rib has also become Prime Rib quesadillas, prime rib barley soup, prime rib beef stroganoff, Prime Rib dip sandwiches and prime rib hash. And the Christmas eve turkey breast also became hot turkey sandwiches, cold turkey sandwiches and turkey tetrazinni.

LEFTOVER PRIME RIB BEEF STROGANOFF serves 4
Prep 5 minutes Cooking 15 minutes Total Time 20 minutes

1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 SMALL shallot, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon WONDRA flour
½ teaspoon FRESH chopped tarragon
½ teaspoon dried ground sage
½ teaspoon FRESH chopped thyme
FRESH ground salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup Beech Mushrooms stemmed, sliced small
3/4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon QUALITY Worcestershire sauce
½ tablespoon Dijon Mustard (OPTIONAL)
1/2 cup leftover prime rib roast, sliced into 2 inch strips
1/8 cup sour cream
4 ounces egg noodles, prepared per package
1 tablespoon FRESH chopped parsley or chives (OPTIONAL)

  • Heat the over medium high heat deep skillet.
  • Add minced shallot and garlic and cooking for 1 minute to start sweating the shallot.
  • Add butter and melt with the shallot and garlic.

  • Sprinkle flour over the shallot and garlic until all of the flour is absorbed.
  • Add seasoning tarragon, ground sage, thyme mushrooms and salt & pepper to taste stirring to combine.
  • Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard if using, blending the flavors.
Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer (reducing heat as necessary to maintain a low simmer) for about 10 minutes. Gravy should thicken while simmering.

  • Once gravy has simmered and reduced, slightly thickening, add the sliced prime rib pieces, stirring to coat.
  • Cook an additional 2-3 minutes to heat the meat through completely.
  • Remove from heat and fold in sour cream.
  • Serve immediately over cooked pasta, rice, or potatoes.
  • Top with chopped parsley or chives for garnish.

CHARCUTERIE BOARDS

The greatest meal on a busy holiday eve is a charcuterie board to graze on while you work. 😃

This time of year can be stressful and super busy (normally pre-pandemic) so to make things easier we have gone to making charcuterie boards on the “eve” nights of holidays. The word charcuterie sounds a bit intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

Charcuterie Boards are suddenly all the rage, but the culinary art of preparing charcuterie boards dates back to the 15th century. The person who prepares the charcuterie board is a charcutier which literally means “Pork Butcher” in French. The original process/meaning was intended as a way to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration, especially pork products.

The revived comeback of the charcuterie board brings it front and center to our tables and has been born out of the necessity of our busy lives as well as our love for farm to table and deli style meals that are also quick and easy.

Since the original meaning dealt with preserved meats, adding fermented, farm to table, home canned and prepared foods just falls into place along side the meats.

One of the best things about serving a charcuterie board at your own party is that there are NO RULES! It’s yours for the making – make it as simple or as sophisticated as YOU like. One of the greatest aspects of a charcuterie board is that you can mix it all up to fit EVERYONE’S taste.

You can make these as simple or as sophisticated as YOU like. For us it is ALL about favorites and yummy satisfying and filling “bites” of food. Below is a list of some suggestions for building your own charcuterie board for your next party.

Next year I’m going to do a “DESSERT” charcuterie board for a girlfriends party instead of a cookie exchange.

  • Breads & Crackers – Crostini with toppings, Artisan Breads, Crackers, Fruitcake
  • Spreads – Jams, Chutneys, Dips, Flavored Mustards, Sauces, Dressings, Flavored Honeys, Flavored Horseradishes
  • Fermented/Pickled – Stuffed Olives, Pickles, Green Olives, Giardiniera, Peperoncinis, Pickled Carrots, Baby Corn
  • Cheeses – Cheddar, Havarti, Brie, Baby Swiss, Gouda, Pimiento Cheese, Manchego, Bleu Cheese
  • Meats – Salami, Roast Beef, Pancetta, Prosciutto, Pepperoni, Ham
  • Nuts & Seeds – Pistachios, Walnuts, Pecans, Macadamias, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, Chocolate covered raisins
  • Dried fruits – Dates, Prunes, Apricots, Golden Raisins
  • Fresh fruits – Grapes, Oranges, Berries, Apple slices, Pears, Grape tomatoes, Kiwi, Starfruit
  • Decorations – sprigs of Rosemary, Thyme or Basil

 

BEEF (PRIME RIB) BARLEY SOUP

Snowy and cold this winter? It is here! Warm up with a hearty bowl of this beef barley soup using your leftover Christmas prime rib. These tender bits of prime rib with the hearty barley, pair perfectly with a traditional mirepoix of vegetables for one SUPER delicious bowl of soup. If you don’t have any left over prime rib, it’s just as good substituting steak tips, stew meat or even browned ground beef!

I made up this recipe when I got my Christmas wish and we got snow for Christmas (and then some). I was originally going to try and do some after Christmas shopping, but decided to make soup instead. We did splurge on our traditional prime rib for Christmas day and the butcher did cut it much smaller for me and yet we still had leftovers! And even more leftovers. So at the price of beef this year I am determined to find multiple ways to use every piece with no waste.

The butcher always cuts the bones off for me and then ties them back on so I save the bones for soup later in the spring, but this year I’m even adding the fat pieces to the bone bag to be boiled down for some tasty broth 😀

BEEF (PRIME RIB) BARLEY SOUP

Prep Time 15-20 minutes    Cook Time 1 hour    Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

1/2 stick salted butter
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced red onion or shallot
1 LARGE clove garlic, minced
4-6 cups homemade beef broth (depending on your desired thickness)
4 cups SMALL chopped prime rib
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 cup barley

  • Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
  • Add the celery, carrots, and onion, cooking 5-6 minutes, until softened and starting to brown.
  • Add in garlic and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  • Add in beef broth, prime rib, Worcestershire sauce, liquid aminos and barley.
  • Simmer 45 minutes or so over medium heat until the barley is tender.
  • Adjust seasoning to taste.
  • Serve with some nice sourdough or crusty bread.

BAKED BEAN DIP

One of the things I have realized lately that is I have become TOO precise in my blogging. Some days it just seems to be a struggle to get the words out so I write my recipe precisely and get it posted without the commentary. Well, that needs to end. Not only do I need to add more commentary to the recipe, I need to get back to regular blogging.

I LOVE cooking and only post those recipes that are successful so I need to use more words and tell you WHY we love the recipe and WHY it works and WHY I use certain flavor combos and cooking dishes. I promise to try and get better starting with this recipe.

It’s fall y’all and tailgating season for NFL and NASCAR on top of that was what I wanted to be able to and intended to write, but time got the best of me and now we’re having it as an appetizer for New Year’s Eve 🙂

Who couldn’t resist this warm to the touch AND the taste buds creamy, cheesy, mouth watering re-fried bean dip???? It is so easy to make AND ALWAYS a crowd favorite, even if that crowd is just the two of us,  when you add your favorite tortilla chips and garnishes for that extra crunch.

BAKED BEAN DIP

16 ounce can of FULL FAT re-fried beans
1/2 cup Mexican sour cream
4 ounce can diced mild green chiles, drained WELL
1/4 cup of your favorite salsa
1-2 tablespoons Pampered Chef Tex Mex seasoning
FRESH ground sea alt and black pepper, to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, divided

GARNISHES
1 small bunch green onions, sliced thin
chopped cilantro,
copped avocado,
sliced jalapeños
chopped grape tomatoes
chopped olives
a dollop or two of sour cream
sliced limes
Cotija cheese sprinklings
Tortilla chips, for serving

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • In a large bowl, combine the re-fried beans, sour cream, salsa, seasoning, salt and pepper.
  • Stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese.

  • Spread the bean mixture into a 2-quart baking dish (8×8). Personally I like a nice enameled cast iron to retain the heat, but also make it easy to clean.
  • Top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.
  • Bake 20-30 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven.
  • Top with garnishes of choices
  • Serve warm with tortilla chips.



NOTE:

  • You CAN use low fat ingredients, but I truly believe the flavor suffers if you do! You can also substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt, but again I feel that the FULL fat sour cream works best.
  • You can also add a protein if you want to load it up

ALTERNATIVE SEASONING BLEND
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika

SHORTBREAD TOFFEE

SHORTBREAD TOFFEE

Buttery almond shortbread with a layer of gooey caramel and a thick layer of chocolate – who could say no to a piece?

1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped, toasted slivered almonds
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt, divided
2 Giant Hershey Bars
3/4 cup chopped honey roasted peanuts
1/3 cup chopped almonds, pecans or pistachios
2/3 cup broken stick pretzels

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang all long sides.
  • Lightly grease foil.

  • Beat powdered sugar and 3/4 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Reduce mixer speed to low and add almonds, flour, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt just until combined.
  • Press on bottom of prepared pan.
  • Bake until golden brown, 25 to 28 minutes.
  • Cool on a wire rack 30 minutes or so.
  • Melt chocolate in microwave for 1 minute, stir and melt 10 more seconds at a time until smooth.
  • Immediately spread chocolate on top of the shortbread layer and spread even with an offset spatula.
  • Immediately sprinkle with nuts and pretzels, pressing down slightly.
  • Cool in fridge 15 minutes.
  • Slice and serve.

Turkey Tetrazzini ~ Memories past

This recipe was originally posted in January of 2010. BUT, it needed a MAJOR picture overhaul!! I’ve also made a few updates over the years to make the recipe more “scratch made”.
When I was a kid and just starting to do the majority of the family cooking we had a set group of recipes that were the “weeknight” recipes. One of those recipes that was especially popular during the holidays was Turkey Tetrazzini. We also substituted ham and chicken for the turkey throughout the rest of the year.

Back then I prepared the recipes exactly as they were written and they were okay, but the Tetrazzini recipe used ALL Velveeta and canned mushrooms and stuff I wouldn’t think of putting into my body now so it was my goal to create the same recipe in a more health oriented way, but still easy for a weeknight meal.

TURKEY TETRAZZINI
2 tablespoons butter
1 LARGE bunch green onions OR 1 LARGE shallot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped small
8 ounces spaghetti or linguine, broken in half and cooked al dente
FRESH ground sea salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded turkey pieces**
1 can cream of celery soup (see soup substitutes)
1 cup WHOLE milk
1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Melt butter in a skillet.
  • Saute onions and celery just until tender.
  • Add soup and milk, stirring to blend. Cook just until thick.
  • Add cheddar cheese.
  • Add salt and pepper.
  • In the bottom of an 11×7 baking dish scatter first the pasta and then the meat pieces.
  • Pour soup mixture over top.
  • Top with Monterey Jack cheese.
  • Bake 25-30 minutes.

NOTE: ** ham and rotisserie chicken work well too

Casseroles tend to call for a can of some form of “cream of” soup.  Since those soups tend to be full additives and preservatives I came up with some quick and easy substitutes that are homemade as you needed.

CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTES

Do you hate buying canned soups for use in recipes? Do you want something healthier and less costly?  These recipes make perfect substitutes for 1 can of soup.

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk or other liquid (as specified in variations)

  • Melt the butter in heavy saucepan. 
  • Blend in flour and salt. Cook until bubbly. 
  • Remove from heat and gradually stir or whisk in liquid. 
  • Return to heat and cook, constantly stirring until smooth and thickened.

VARIATIONS

  • Cream of chicken: Use 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup chicken broth as the liquid. Add 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning or sage.
  • Cream of celery: Saute´ 1/2 cup chopped celery and 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion in the margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
  • Cream of mushroom: Saute´1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms and 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion in margarine before adding flour. Use milk for liquid.
  • Tomato: Use tomato juice as liquid. Add a dash each of garlic salt, onion salt, basil, and oregano.
  • Cheddar cheese: Use milk for liquid. Stir into the finished sauce 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard.
  • Cream of shrimp: Drain the liquid from a small can of tiny shrimp into a measuring cup. Fill cup with milk to measure 1 cup of liquid. Add a dash of pepper, onion salt, curry powder, and paprika to the finished sauce, and stir in the shrimp.