Favorite Recipes
COLESLAW
Why include a recipe that doesn’t have
any measurements? It’s just the way this one works and
it’s great with the red beans and rice. I prefer a sweet,
tangy coleslaw. This is it.
No-sauce package of coleslaw mix, either with cabbage
or my preference of Broccoli Coleslaw,Light Mayo
Good squirt of Salad Vinegar (not balsamic)
Packages of Splenda (sucralose)
Put the coleslaw in one bowl, mix the sauce in another. Start with ½+ C
mayo, T of vinegar, 2 pkgs of Splenda. Taste. What’s wrong with it? Adjust.
When you get the sauce right, mix with the cabbage or broccoli mix. If it’s
not the right amount, make a bit more or save what’s left for another salad.
LENTIL STEW
Add 1 ½ pkg lentils. 4 chopped garlic cloves. 2 C onions. To 10C chicken or vegetable broth, heated. Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes. Add 1 big can crushed tomatoes with purree, 1 smaller can diced tomatoes, undrained, 1 t. cayenne, and 1 t. paprika Cover and simmer another 20 or 30 minutes. Add about 48 oz frozen, chopped broccoli and cauliflower Cover and simmer another 15 minutes or so. The last time I made this, we had trouble finishing it. We’re getting older, there are less of us around. I haven’t tried freezing it, yet. It might be simpler to make 1/3 less, using 1 16 oz pkg of lentils. Just multiply all the #s by .67 to figure out how much less you’ll need.
CHICKEN SALAD from COURTYARD CAFÉ
We bought Courtyard Café in 2000 and shut it down in 2005. Long story which includes a stroke and a nasty car wreck. This recipe came with the purchase. It’s a lot of bother and expense, but worth it. Serve it as a special treat. At the café, we served it on homemade croissants, much like the ones you can buy at WalMart or Sam’s, around here. But, I like it on thicker, grainier breads. The proportions were adjusted from a recipe for 5 times as much. The proportions in parentheses are for 1/3 extra. The 3 lb of meat make about 14 scoops. One scoop is a good-sized portion for one person, one meal.
CHICKEN: Cooking and cooling takes a while. This took me most of 3 hours, yesterday, but I wasn’t in there working all the time. However, it DOES make a pretty big mess, so you can use some of that time cleaning up after yourself. 3 lb (4lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into big chunks 2-4/breast half ¾ T (1 T) salt ¾ T (1T) dried parsley flakes 1 t (1.3 t) garlic powder ½ t (2/3 t) pepper Get a big pot of water boiling. Stir in everything but the chicken, then add the chicken. After returning to a boil, cook for about 30 minutes. Drain. Cover and refrigerate until it’s thoroughly cooled (it’ll cool faster on a cookie sheet.)
SAUCE: ½ C (.65 C) canned crushed pineapple One small can is ½ C. If you decide to do the bigger amount, I urge you to increase the amount, even when you have to get a bigger can in order to do so. 1/3 C (.47 C) pecans chopped, but not turned to powder .9 C (1.2 C) celery, finely chopped 1 t (1 1/3 t) salt 1/3 t (.44 t) garlic salt .45 t (.6 t) pepper ¼ C (1/3 C) Honey French OR Catalina Dressing 4 (5) chopped hardboiled eggs 2.4 C (3.19 C) mayonnaise Stir all ingredients together. This tastes better when it has a half day or more to “rest” in the refrigerator.
COURTYARD PUFFINS
(Cheese Biscuits) 4 C Biscuit Mix (I use Morrison’s, from a local mill, but heartily endorse all products from Shawnee’s Best, based in my hometown of Shawnee OK) ¼ C sugar 1 egg 1 ¼ C + 1 T milk 1 ¾ C shredded cheddar Stir all ingredients together, drop into muffin pan, bake at 375 ° 18 min, turn and bake 5 more minutes or however long it takes.
COURTYARD QUICHE
This is, hands down, as good a quiche as you’ll find. The reason I made it better than most of our other cooks is the vigorous, wisked whipping of the egg mixture I learned from watching Julia Child. We would cut it into 6 pieces for entrée-sized servings. This and a fresh fruit cup is SO elegant and SO easy to prepare. Basic Recipe: 4 eggs 2 C half and half 2 C shredded cheese 2 C “ingredients” Salt and pepper to taste (since Wesley doesn’t like black pepper, much, I often leave that out and add it to my own, later) Wisk eggs until fluffy and foamy. Add half and half and fluff some more. In pie shell, spread 1 C cheese, top with 2 C ingredients, salt and papper, top with second C of cheese. Fluff the egg mixture one more time and pour over all. Tap down cheese with spatula til it’s all been doused with the egg mixture. Bake at 325° in a convection oven for 50 minutes. If you’re using a conventional oven, I’d try 350° for an hour, to start. When it’s done, the bottom and sides of the crust should be brown and the filling should feel solid and the center springs back when tapped. To make it look prettier, top with some more grated cheese and little decorations of the enclosed ingredients. At home, I’ve been known to dispense with that nicety. Cut into 6 pieces.
VARIATIONS:
Chicken & Spinach 1 1/2 C minced chicken
1 C torn, fresh spinach
2 C grated
Swiss Spinach & Mushroom 3 C fresh spinach, processed medium-fine 1 layer sliced, fresh mushrooms 2 C grated Swiss
Breakfast 2 C minced ham, crumbled sausage, or crumbled bacon 2 C grated Cheddar
Broccoli-Cheddar 2 C chopped fresh broccoli 2 C grated Cheddar
Three Cheese 1 C grated Swiss 1 C grated Cheddar 2 C grated Mozzarella
Baked Potato 1 ½ C diced cooked potatoes ½ C diced green onion ½ C crumbled bacon 2 C shredded Cheddar
Ham and Asparagus 1 can asparagus, thoroughly drained and dried Layer artfully on top of bottom of cheese 1 C diced ham 2 C shredded Swiss
The sky’s the limit. Turkey & Swiss, Bacon & Cheddar, Broccoli & Ham, Mixed Vegetables, Asparagus & Tomato with a cup each of Swiss and Cheddar
WESLEY'S EGGNOG
12 egg yolks
1/2 lb. sugar (1 heaping cup)
1 quart milk
1 quart heavy cream
Beat egg yolks until light. Beat in sugar until it's thick.
Stir in milk. Chill 3 hours. Fold in cream, whipped. Chill
1 hour. Dust with nutmeg. Don't count fat grams today. Don't
plan on losing weight today.
Published in Hammered Dulcimer Christmas © 1994 Linda Lowe Thompson
AS CLASSY AS IT GETS AROUND HERE SAUCE
2 pkg Knorr Garlic Herb pasta sauce 3 C skim milk
10-16 oz. can clams, drained 10 oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, microwaved in bag
Put sauce in milk, bring to boil, stirring lots. Turn down fire
to low and cook a couple of minutes. Stir in other stuff. Turn off heat.
Serve over pasta or polenta. If you show up on my doorstep and expect dinner,
this is likely to be it. Even if you don't, it probably will be.
Published in Classical Hammered Dulcimer © 1996 Linda Lowe Thompson
MOM'S RED BEANS & RICE
1 1/2 C chopped onions
1 C chopped bell peppers
1 C chopped celery
4
minced cloves garlic
1/2 lb. ham or turkey ham (optional)
2-4T butter
(or Pam), 2 lb. red beans
1/2 T thyme, 4 bay leaves
1/2 T oregano
1 lb. sliced smoked sausage or turkey sausage (optional)
Saute onions,
peppers, celery, and garlic with the ham in the butter. Add the beans
(soaked overnight in water, then drained and washed again) and enough
water to cover. Add thyme, bay leaves, oregano, and salt, pepper, and
cayenne to taste. Cook about 2 hours. Add sausage and cook for about
another hour, until thick and creamy. Serve with Tabasco sauce (put the
bottle on the table and let each do his own) and rice you've cooked separately.
This gets better after a couple of days in the refrigerator. Have never
tried to freeze it because there's never enough leftovers.
Published in Hammered Dulcimer Notebook © 1993 Linda Lowe Thompson
I am the Mom to whom this refers. This isn’t a dish I was served during my childhood, but one I learned when I was going to college in New Orleans. I remember my mother’s saying that HER mother would cook beans on Monday, which was Wash Day. They’d simmer a long time, with very little need for more attention.
