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My Grandma passed away at the age of 94. She was a wonderful cook and I was lucky enough to inherit her recipes. Many date back to the 1940s and 50s. Grandma prepared them in a charming country kitchen with no running water and most of her produce came from her garden, not from the grocery store. These are made-from-scratch recipes. I wish I had spent more time with her in the kitchen and . . . I wish I had spent more time with her for so many other reasons.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Honey-Rosemary Chicken with Yukon Gold Potatoes

12 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (about 5 lbs)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes
2 medium onions (cut into thin wedges)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Rinse chicken and pat dry.  (I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs.)   Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat.  Add chicken and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.  

Place the potatoes, onion and garlic in slow cooker; top with chicken.

Stir together honey, juice, cornstarch, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Pour over chicken.  cover and cook 6 -8 hours on low or 3 - 4 hours on high.  Serve garnished with rosemary sprigs, if desired.  

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Leftover Turkey Soup

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, so I think it's time to share a recipe for Leftover Turkey Soup.  This is very good, and it doesn't require that much effort Thanksgiving night after dinner has been served.  Get your biggest soup pot ready!

To make the stock for your soup, combine the following:
   Bones and meat from leftover turkey
   1 Bay leaf
   1 tsp thyme
   6 whole cloves
   2 Tbsp dried parsley
   1 medium onion (diced)
   3 ribs celery (diced)
   1 carrot (diced)

Bring all ingredients to a boil in 16 cups of cold water.  I pour in any leftover juices from my turkey roasting pan and any leftover gravy too.   Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours.  Strain and cool.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  If you don't plan to use it within 3 days, freeze it until ready to use.

For soup, add:
   1 large onion (diced)
   3 ribs celery (diced)
   6 carrots (peeled and sliced)
   2 sticks of butter
   1 1/2 cups flour
   3 quarts turkey stock
   1 pint Half 'N Half
   1 cup cooked turkey (diced)
   1/2 lb egg noodles
   Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Cook onions, celery and carrots until tender-crisp.  Add the flour and stir well to coat all veggies.  Slowly add turkey stock and Half 'N Half while stirring constantly.  Add turkey and noodles.  Bring to a boil and cook for at least 30 minutes.  Serve in large bowls.
 

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Roasted Potatoes

2 sweet potatoes
4 gold potatoes
4 red potatoes
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Scrub your potatoes, but do not peel.  Cut into 2" chunks.
Place potatoes in a large saucepan.  Add enough salted water to cover the potatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain well.

Spread potatoes in a single layer on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with tarragon, salt and pepper.  Roast potatoes until crisp (about 30 minutes).

Friday, October 28, 2011

Lemon Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1/4 tsp thyme (dried)
1/4 tsp marjoram (dried)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

I use my Pampered Chef zester/scorer to create strips of zest from 1/2 of the lemon and set them aside in damp paper towel and refrigerate.  Grate the other half of the lemon to make 1 Tbsp of zest.  Slice the lemon in half and juice it into a bowl.

Combine the grated lemon zest and juice, oil, crushed garlic clove, chopped parsley, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper.  Add the chicken breasts  and spoon the marinade over the chicken.  Cover and chill for 2 hours or as long as overnight.

Preheat your grill or grill pan. Place the chicken breasts on the hot grill and cook until cooked through - about six - eight minutes per side.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley and reserved lemon strips.  Serve immediately.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Broccoli with Garlic

Grandma had lots of simple, but really delicious recipes.  She even made broccoli taste good when we were kids.  That's almost unheard of . . .

1 lb broccoli
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

Wash and cut the broccoli into florets.  Steam for five minutes in a saucepan over high heat.  (I use my Pampered Chef steamer for this - it fits perfectly into the bottom of my 4-quart saucepan.)  Do not overcook - broccoli should be tender crisp.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Slice the garlic into thin slices.  Cook the garlic in the oil for about 3 minutes - it should start to brown.  Remove the garlic from the oil.

Drain the steamed broccoli well.  Add the broccoli to the skillet and saute over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Transfer to a serving  bowl.  Sprinkle with the garlic and season to taste with salt.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Grandma's Fettuccine Alfredo

Who knew Fettuccine Alfredo could be so easy?  Need dinner in a hurry?  Whip this up with a tossed salad and grilled chicken breasts.  A good dinner in no time!

1 cup of salted butter - don't substitute
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup of grated Romano cheese
1 lb of fettuccine
Fresh basil leaves

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add the whipping cream and cheeses.  Whip with a whisk and heat until mixture is just bubbly.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Slice the basil leaves into very small bits.

Prepare fettuccine as directed on package.  Drain well.  Pour Alfredo sauce into large serving bowl and add hot pasta.  Toss the noodles and the sauce.  Sprinkle the basil bits over the hot pasta and serve immediately.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Bacon-Onion Biscuits

This recipe makes 1 dozen biscuits - they are absolutely delicious, so you may want to double this if you have more than four people for dinner.

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup butter
1 cup milk

In a skillet cook bacon and onion until bacon is slightly crisp and onion is tender.  Drain off and discard fat.

In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Make a well  in center of flour mixture.  Combine milk and bacon mixture; add all at once to flour mixture.  Using a fork, stir just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for flour to six strokes or just until dough holds together.  Pat or lightly roll dough to 3/4" thickness.  Cut dough with a floured 2 1/2" biscuit cutter, re-rolling dough scraps as necessary.  Place unbaked biscuits on baking sheet; freeze 1 hour.  Transfer to a plastic freezer bag.  Seal, label, and freeze up to 1 month.

To serve: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place frozen biscuits 1" apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Grandma's Cabbage Slaw

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp celery seed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 head red cabbage, cut into roughly 1 1/2" chunks
1/2 head green cabbage, cut into roughly 1 1/2" chunks
2 small carrots, grated
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup golden raisins or Craisins

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fancy Gelatin Salad

This is a pretty gelatin mold that Grandma used to make.  I think I'll use this for Thanksgiving this year.

3 cups boiling water
2 - 3oz packages of strawberry gelatin
16 oz whipped topping

Pour boiling water into gelatin in a large bowl.  Stir until dissolved.  Whisk in the whipped topping until well blended.  Mixture will not thicken.

Pour into 6-cup gelatin mold (I spray mine with Pam).  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.  Unmold onto serving platter.

This is pretty because the gelatin and whipped topping sort of split.  One layer is lighter than the other.  It really looks more difficult to make than it is.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Bacon Dip

Bacon - who doesn't like bacon?  I think it's universally loved.  Serve this bread dip at your next get-together and you'll have everyone asking for the recipe.

8 oz cream cheese (softened)
6 green onions (sliced into 1/4" pieces)
4 oz sour cream
1 (1 lb) round loaf of sour dough, rye, pumpernickel or Hawaiian bread
1 lb hickory smoked bacon (fried, drained, and crumbled)
4 oz can of chopped green chiles

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Fry bacon until crisp.  Drain, and then crumble - set aside.
Cut top off bread to form a cover.  Remove bread inside load, leaving a 1/2" shell of bread.  Cut removed bread into 1" cubes.
Beat together cream cheese, sour cream, chiles and onions.  Stir in bacon.  Spoon mixture into bread and replace bread top.  Wrap bread in heavy foil and bake 1 1/4 hours.  Serve the bread with bread cubes for dipping.

There will be enough dip for two loaves of bread.  Cut one whole loaf into cubes to dip.