Mimi's Chicken Corn Chowder

Mimi's Chicken Corn Chowder

My Mother-in-law, Sharon, is an excellent cook.  She makes so many easy and delicious recipes.  Recently, I had to have a little dental surgery, which required stitches.  I couldn't eat anything hard, chewy, crunchy, or with seeds.  A couple of nights before the surgery, I bought a roasted chicken from the grocery store.  We only used half of it to make my chicken pot pie, so Sharon said she would use the rest to make the Chicken Corn Chowder.  However, when she looked in the refrigerator for the chicken, it was all gone.  Someone, who will remain nameless, but bares a striking resemblance to my husband, had eaten the rest of the chicken.  Instead of throwing the bones into the trash, he, whomever it was,  put them back into the refrigerator.  Sound familiar to anyone out there?  Anyway, the ever resourceful Mimi, er, Sharon made me her Chicken Corn Chowder anyway.  She just cooked up some chicken breasts and cut them into small, bite sized pieces.  Absolutely, out-of-this-world, delicious.

Mimi's Chicken Corn Chowder:


Chicken
1 can Chicken Stock
1 can of Rotel
1 can of corn, drained
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium Finely chopped onion
2 stalks Finely chopped celery
1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste.


Saute the onions and celery in the butter
Add the flour, stir until lightly browned
Slowly Add chicken stock, stirring constantly to make sure the flour doesn't clump
Then add the milk, chicken, corn and Rotel
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat thoroughly, stirring often to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot
If the chowder is not thick enough, you can add a bit more flour to thicken it up.

Serve with Tortillas crunched up on top, or those tortilla strips sprinkled on top.  I, of course, could not eat the tortillas at that time, but was assured they were yummy in the chowder.

A new spin on Black Eyed Peas: Spicy Black Eyed Peas Salsa

Black Eyed Peas for Luck in the New Year 2012

We've always had black eyed peas for our New Years dinner, that and Cherries Jubilee.  I always thought it was for luck and money.  Well, I was right about the luck part anyway.  Turns out, that:

"The Tradition dates back tot he Civil War.  Black-eyed peas were considered animal food.  The peas were not worthy of General Sherman's Union troops. When Union soldiers raided the Confederates food supplies, legend says they took everything except the peas and salted pork.  The Confederates considered themselves lucky to be left with those meager supplies, and survived the winter.  Peas became symbolic of good luck and prosperity."

There are several more reasons people eat Black eyed peas on New Years, look for the link below if you want to find out more information.

One year, I waited too long and was unable to find a single can of black eyed peas.  I was not a happy girl, so I got a bag of them and proceeded to fix them like any other dried bean. Nice idea, except they tasted like cardboard.  Maybe that's even an insult to cardboard.  This year, I have found a recipe my sister sent to my Mom and me an unknown-amount-of-time-ago.  Guess what we are having for New Years this year?  Black eyed Peas made like this!


12/30/2011: Update.  I made this tonight and did not have canned tomatoes, I forgot we had used them for Christmas dinner.  I did have a jar of tomato/basil spaghetti sauce so I poured the whole jar in.  This recipe is really good, I got a lot of rave reviews at the New Year dinner tonight.  

Spicy Black Eyed Peas Salsa:

1 cup chopped green bell peppers

1 1/4 cup chopped celery

1 1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cans Garlic, basil tomatoes

6 Chopped Jalapenos (can omit if spicy is not for you)

1 tsp salt (optional)

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of allspice

1 TB Tabasco (give or take, or leave out)

3 chicken low sodium bullion cubes 

2 16oz cans black eyed peas drained and rinsed (rinse to get the excess salt & preservatives off)

1 tsp garlic powder or 3 minced cloves

2 TB flour (if Salsa is too runny)

1/2 cup water (if it's not runny enough. grin)

Saute the first 3 ingredients with a little oil until onions are transparent.

Combine tomatoes, and the next 8 ingredients and bring to a simmer

Add the onion mixture, stir simmer until mixture thickens (about 20-30 minutes)

Mixture should have a "sauce"

Add some water if it doesn't

Add the black eyed peas and garlic 

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until peas are softened

Serve with Chips, corn chips or tortilla scoops

Credits:
Picture taken from:
http://www.gardeningblog.net/how-to-grow/black-eyed-peas/
Black eyed peas history:
Household tips Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/household-tips-in-national/why-eat-black-eyed-peas-on-new-year-s-day

Do you know what a Turnip is? Want to know how to cook one and be glad you did?

Long time ago, bacon grease was the "go to" grease to cook with. Then studies showed it was bad for our hearts, and other oils became more popular. I can remember Mom had a bacon keeper on the stove, when I was little. It was a tin container, round, with an insert in the top. The bacon was put on the insert, the grease dripped down into the container to be used for cooking. Mom said that I always smelled like bacon, and she couldn't figure out why. One day, when I was about 3 years old, she came into the kitchen to find me climbing onto the counter top to eat the bacon out of the bacon keeper. I never could figure out why anyone wanted to store perfectly good bacon. It simply must be eaten immediately. I have never seen another "bacon keeper", and when I've mentioned it to people, they look at me like I've sprouted three heads. The horror!! Leaving bacon out, using it's fat to cook with. Why would anyone in their right mind use such a flavorful grease to cook with? Why, not even Paula Deen uses bacon fat! wink wink.


I finally was organizing my loose recipes into a binder with those plastic sleeves, very convenient.  I ran across this recipe from a dear family friend, Justine.  It is her mothers recipe for Boiled Turnips.  This is a very old recipe.  Please don't turn your nose up at it, try it.  You will be surprised and the flavor.  You might just find yourself wanting more turnips in your diet. 

Boiled Turnips
by Ora Wallace

6 medium turnips (cut the root and stem off, wash, then chop into bite size pieces)
2 tbs Bacon drippings  (or just fry 4-5 slices of bacon, remove bacon and crumble, add crumpled bacon to turnips at end)
1 tbs sugar or to taste
salt to taste
Corn meal
Water to about top of turnips
Cook until tender
sprinkle plain corn meal in broth to thicken
eat immediately

Picture credit: http://www.bestinseason.ie/a-z/turnips/

Beef Roll ups or Rouladen, Mashed ranch potatoes, and corn

Hey Paw! What's for supper?
Beef roll ups, also known as Rouladen, with mashed, ranch potatoes and corn with butter.

My favorite dish in the world is Beef Roll ups. It's a delicious dinner and it's fun too. I have made these twice and I think I did pretty good. They still don't taste as good as my Mom's. Maybe because I have to put forth the effort to make them, or maybe they just lack Mom's special touch, either way they're still my favorite!
I posted the recipe on my Big Oven web page, along with some other recipes I came up with. If you want to go see them, go to www.bigoven.com/~BunnysOven you'll see several recipes I've posted. Let me know what you think!
Make sure you give plenty of cooking time for the roll ups, they'll take a couple of hours to cook. If you rush, you'll end up with raw hide roll ups, and that would be so YUCK!

Beef Roll ups (Rouladen)
Ingredients
12 1/4 inch thick sirloin slices (have butcher cut for you)
3 tbl. canola oil
12 wooden kabob skewers or tooth picks
Worcestershire sauce
12 kosher dill pickle sandwich slices
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons pickle juice
4 cups hot water
3 slices of bacon
1 Heavy deep skillet with good fitting lid
1 jar plain American mustard

Assembly & cooking instructions for Beef Roll ups (Rouladen)

Cut bacon slices in 1/2 and then cut lengthwise in 1/2 (1 slice will yield 4 slices)
Cut kosher dill pickle sandwich slices into approximately 1/8" slices and cut those slices into 1/4" strips
Spread each slice of sirloin with a thin layer of mustard
On one end of the sirloin slice place 1 bacon strip and 1 pickle strip
Roll up and push the skewer through to hold the meat together, trim the skewer as needed.
Heat oil until very hot and add the roll ups with tongs to the pan
Brown on all sides
Drizzle Worcestershire sauce on each roll up (it will sizzle and smoke)
Immediately pour in enough hot water to come 1/2 way up the roll ups
Put on the lid and turn down to low and cook until the water is almost gone
Add more hot water and let that cook down so you have about 2 1/2 cups of gravy
Remove the roll ups to make the gravy, retain liquid from cooking in the skillet
Add 2 tablespoons pickle juice, 1 tablespoon mustard and the cream
Start with 1/4 cup of cream and add more if you like
Salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Ranch Potatoes:

4 large potatoes
Milk
butter
salt & pepper
ranch dressing

Boil a pot of water
Peel and cut your potatoes into thin slices (this will speed up cooking time. If you don't mind a few extra steps, you could always steam your potates with the skins on. Once they are fork tender, peel off the skins and mash. Leaving the skins on adds flavor and vitamins.)
Pour out the water, retaining a 1/2 cup
Mash the potatoes adding the retained water, milk and butter until they are light and fluffy and taste like you like. Add salt and pepper, then add a few squirts of the ranch dressing, to taste.

Corn:
No brainer
Frozen corn
water
salt and pepper
butter

Pour frozen corn into a pan, add water to cover, add 2 tbl. butter and heat on medium high until the water is gone and all that's left is butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Yummmmyyyyy1

Lemon & Rosemary baked chicken with fixins'

HEY PAW! What's for supper?


Tonight we're having lemon & rosemary baked chicken, corny cornbread muffins, tater tots for the tot, fried corn & little green onions, and Grandma's jello salad. YUMMMMYYYYY.

It's been a cold and snowy day. We've played in the snow, drank hot chocolate (or in the case of my son, guzzled) and ate cookies and strawberries. Now it's time for dinner, what to make? On cold snowy days, I want to make soup. I must refrain, I've made soup two Sunday's in a row. So, what's the next best and easiest thing? Baked chicken.


Now, the thing to remember is, I'm not an expert. So don't take the measurements to heart. Use as much or as little as you like. To be safe with cooking meat, cook according to the package directions. I look for easy things to fix, without a lot of time and fuss. I simply don't have the time, nor do I want to take hours to fix my supper. Fix & serve, that's how I like it.


Grandma's Jello Salad has several steps, so you will have to start this in the afternoon. It's still pretty easy, it just sounds hard. Once you make it, you'll see the steps are easy.


My husband insisted I take a picture of the plate, since he said it looked and tasted, so good.



Here's how I fix it.



Lemon & Rosemary Baked Chicken:


1 package chicken breast


2 lemons


Garlic rosemary seasoning


salt and pepper





Heat the lemon in the microwave for about 15 seconds then cut in half and squeeze juice all over both sides of chicken, and sprinkle with the rosemary seasoning. Let sit for about a half hour, in the fridge. Then bake in a 350 degree oven until cooked through, about 40 minutes give or take.









Corny Cornbread muffins:


1 package cornbread mix, I use Jiffy


1/4 cup corn

Prepare cornbread mix according to box. Stir in the corn, more or less to your taste. Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake according to box directions.

These muffins are moist and you get a little more texture with the corn.

Tater Tots for the Tot:
I would like to say these are strictly for the Tot, but I love Tater Tots, it's easier to blame this on the little boy!


Pour tater tots out of the bag and heat in the oven according to the package details. Can't get any easier. I bake these with the chicken, the last 20 minutes of the chickens baking time.







Fried Corn & Little Green Onions:


Frozen corn


3 tablespoons salted butter


enough water to cover the corn


A couple little green onions, chopped





I use frozen corn because it doesn't have any extra sodium. Canned corn has some sodium, even if you rinse it off, some of that sodium will still remain.


Put a couple cups of corn in a sauce pan and cover with water, add the butter and salt and pepper to taste.


I usually don't add salt, since I use salted butter, but whatever you like.....


Let the water boil off until all that remains is the butter and let that fry in the pan a little bit.


After it's fried a bit, turn the eye off and add the chopped onions and let that warm up.





Grandma's Jello Salad:





This recipe makes a lot of Jello Salad. I cut it in half and I have fun with the combinations of jello and fruit. I also use the flavored marshmallows to mix things up a bit. During Easter, I made this and used the Easter shaped marshmallows, that was so cute. Kids love this, and adults do too!


My Grandma makes this a lot, and she always adds different kinds of fruit with the pineapples. Her favorite type of fruit to add are bananas. I'm allergic to bananas! I go to her house and she tells me she made her jello salad. I cut myself a piece and put it right back in the pan. I go back into the living room with no jello. She was just about to ask me why, when her eyes got all big and she said BANANAS! A few weeks later she makes the jello again. This time she doesn't add banana's and is happy to tell me that. I go in, and there are some odd looking fruit pieces mixed in with the pineapple, so I ask her what they are, Mango. I'm allergic to mango too! So, I had to learn how to make it myself, or I'd never get any I could eat! Ha Ha.





1 regular package Lemon Jello
1 regular package Orange Jello
1 can crushed pineapple
1 bag mini marshmallows
Orange Juice
2 tbl. sugar
3 tbl. flour
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 pint whipping cream (or 8oz. Cool Whip)
Grated cheddar cheese

Prepare Jello according to package
Drain pineapple and reserve the juice
Add pineapple to jello
Pour into glass dish
Cover with mini marshmallows and refrigerate to gel



Add orange juice to pineapple juice to make 1 cup
Pour into sauce pan
Add sugar, flour, and beaten egg
Cook over medium heat until pudding like, stir constantly
Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally
Once room temp., refrigerate until ready to add to Jello salad





Put whipping cream in a bowl and add lemon juice
Fold in the pudding mixture, whip together (if using whipped topping, then mix into pudding mixture)
Put on top of marshmallows then grate cheese on top
Refrigerate until ready to serve





Tonight I didn't have any whipping cream or whipped topping, so I used softened vanilla ice cream, just a large scoop. It mixed in well, and was yummy. How it sets, will be a different story, I'm sure. Guess we'll see!