Corn Chowder

I had some leftover canned corn from the last recipe I tried, so I looked for a recipe in my files that would use it up. Being unemployed, I really understand the need for thriftiness. This is a recipe that was originally from the Watkins company, I think they did spices back in the 1940s.

I halved the recipe, which was good because this was the exact amount that fit in my retro chrome blender. I blended this only for a little bit on low so it didn't overflow the blender container, this also enabled the potatoes and corn to still be a but chunky. I also used some heavy cream plus the leftover chicken broth from my last recipe instead of milk. This old recipe called for the milk to be scalded, which was done to kill bacteria and change the nature of the milk. Now we pasteurize milk, so I just heated it through. Be careful not to let it boil over or burn while heating. Two potatoes ended up being 2 cups diced. Because I like the onion flavor, but don't like to eat the actual onions, I think the next time I make this I will grate the onion and mix with the butter before I melt it. Half of the recipe made 3 servings. Since the soup bowl looked naked, I garnished the soup with a sprig of rosemary for the picture!!

P.S. How funny, I just re-read this recipe and it never says to use a blender!! I wonder if the word "blend" was meant to mean stir all ingredients together ...

Update: I made this recipe again and it wasn't as good. I don't know if it was due to the fact that I substituted some canned "new potatoes" instead of using regular potatoes. Or, if it was due to the fact that I quartered the onions and added more butter while I cooked them, straining them out when I added the butter to the soup. The seasoning was off, I had to add more salt and pepper.

Corn Chowder

2 c. canned corn
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 pint diced raw peeled potatoes
2 T butter
1/4 t. salt
2 pints milk, scald
1 cup boiling water
pepper
celery salt

1. Cook onion in one half of butter to light brown and drain.
2. Boil potatoes until tender and drain.
3. Blend all ingredients, add seasoning to taste.
4. If a thicker soup is desired, blend 2 tablespoons of flour with a little bit of cold milk and stir into soup 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Mock Heath Bars

I know I said I wouldn't try any more "kiddie" recipes, but I couldn't pass this one up!! This is a toffee bar that is made with Saltine crackers, and it tastes pretty good. I must say, though, that I would rather have the real thing, and will make real toffee next time. This recipe is a good short-cut and is pretty quick and easy.

I quartered the recipe and used butter instead of oleo, or margarine. I also toasted the chopped almonds before I sprinkled them on the chocolate. I ruined the first batch of toffee by overcooking it. The second batch was still light in color and still foamy when I removed it from the stove at about 2 minutes.

Mock Heath Bars

1 c. oleo
1 c. brown sugar
saltine crackers
12 oz. chocolate chips
chopped nuts, if desired

1. Line jelly roll pan with crackers
2. Boil oleo and brown sugar hard for about 2 1/2 minutes. Pour over crackers, spreading out to cover all crackers.
3. Put in 350ºF oven for 5 minutes. Remove and set on the oven door.
4. Pour chocolate chips over the mixture and place back into the oven with the door open for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and spread the chocolate chips out evenly. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.
5. Refrigerate, can be frozen. Once set, bars can be broken apart by hand.

Spaghetti with Chicken Breast

This dish was flavorful, but a bit difficult to eat. I felt that there were too many onions, and I wished that I could have eaten the corn along with the spaghetti and chicken. I used green onions instead of chives, and cut the recipe down by thirds which yielded one serving. I might keep this recipe but try it with less onions and more pasta next time.

Spaghetti with Chicken Breast

1 T corn oil
2 onions, diced
1 1/4 lb. boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into small pieces.
3/4 c. canned sweet corn, drained
1 c. chicken broth
salt to taste
pinch of paprika
12 oz. spaghetti
3 T chopped fresh chives

1. Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion and saute until golden. Add chicken and saute until golden. Stir in corn and chicken broth, salt, and paprika. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
2. Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water until just tender. Drain pasta and place in heated serving dish.
3. Spoon chicken mixture on top and toss well. Sprinkle with chives and serve. Serves 4.

Crunchy Buttery Chocolate Bars

These bars are good, but after I have made them I realized that I no longer need recipes for "kids" dishes. If I was going to spend time making a dessert bar, I would rather make something a bit more sophisticated. I will pass this recipe on to someone who will have fun with their kids making a wacky dessert bar!! About the picture below, I got a bit hungry and tested out the bars before the chocolate had set. I should have taken the picture before I taste-tested them!!

Crunchy Buttery Chocolate Bars

1 8.5-oz. can of chow mein noodles
1 12-oz. can of peanuts
6 2.1-oz. Butterfinger candy bars
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 12-oz. packages of semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
2. combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 6 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Stir in peanut butter.
3. Pour peanut butter mixture over the noodle mixture and stir well.
4. Spread mixture in a greased 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan.
5. Spread chocolate over noodle mixture.
6. Let stand 4 hours or until chocolate is firm. Cut into bars. Makes 40 small bars.

PB and C Sandwiches

With the heat wave I was looking for a recipe that would not require heating up the oven or stovetop!! This hit the bill. It is nice and cool. Of course I had to use old-fashioned white bread, in fact I purchased a loaf of it just for this recipe!! I misread the recipe and made these open-faced, which explains why I had to eat them like tacos!!

PB and C Sandwiches

1/2 c. peanut butter
1 T honey
1/4 c. strawberry-flavored cream cheese
1 c. thinly sliced strawberries
8 slices of bread

1. In a small bowl stir together peanut butter and honey.
2. Add cream cheese and partially stir to create a marbled effect.
3. Spread the mixture on 4 slices of bread.
4. Top with strawberries and remaining slice of bread. Make 4 sandwiches.

Alsatian Potato Tart

These were good, and pretty easy to make. I altered the recipe a bit because I don't have any frying pans that can go into the oven. I know I should have a cast-iron pan, but I always tend to rust them out!! Anyway, I used a glass casserole dish, warmed up in the oven while it was preheating so that the glass wouldn't shatter when I poured the bacon grease into it. I halved the recipe and used russet potatoes, heavy whipping cream, a cold egg, and ground allspice. This dish makes a great potato side dish for dinner, but would also work with a breakfast or brunch.

Alsatian Potato Tart

3 strips of bacon
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 eggs, at room temperature
3 T finely grated onion
2 T flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 allspice berries, or a pinch ground
6 medium potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Cook bacon in 9- or 10-inch oven-safe skillet until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Leave the bacon drippings in the pan.
3. In a medium-sized bowl beat the cream with the eggs until light. Stir in the onion, flour, salt, pepper and allspice.
4. Peel the potatoes and grate them directly into the bowl. Mix well. Stir in bacon.
5. Place bacon skillet with its drippings into the oven for 5 minutes. Swirl the drippings over the bottom and sides of the skillet, then pour the potato mixture into the hot skillet.
6. Bake until puffed and lightly browned, about 30-35 mintues.
7. Cut into wedges to serve.

Lemon Chicken

The title of this recipe is a bit misleading, as it really is more of a winey-mustardy tasting chicken dish. And, because of this I am not going to be keeping this recipe. People who like mustard- and wine-flavored chicken will like it, though. I halved the recipe and there was a bit of bacon grease left in the pan when I sauteed the green onions.

Lemon Chicken

2 T butter
2 chicken breasts, halved, boned, and skinned
1/2 c. scallions (white part only)
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
4 T French mustard
1/3 c. dry white wine

1. Melt butter in a large saute pan.
2. Add the scallions and saute until tender.
3. Add the chicken, lower the heat, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Combine lemon juice, salt, pepper, mustard, and wine.
6. Add this mixture to the chicken and simmer, with cover ajar, for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I had a ton of blueberry coffee cake recipes, but I narrowed them down to two. The ones that didn't have a crumb topping did not make the cut!! Here is the first one. It is good, I like the crispy outer edge better, so I am happy I baked it it two smaller pans. Definitely serve warm with butter!! Oh, I used half and half instead of milk, and butter instead of shortening.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Cake:
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
2 c. sifted flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 pint blueberries

Topping:
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. margarine, softened
1/3 c. flour

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix sugar and shortening, add egg and milk. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
3. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until flour is incorprated.
4. Gently fold in the blueberries and pour into a greased 8" or 9" square baking dish.
5. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Press down slightly to distribute the topping evenly.
6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Serve warm with butter.

Crunchy Almond Chicken Cutlets

This is definitely a keeper!! It was even good as a left-over, heated up in microwave and then in the oven for a crispy coating. I didn't have creamy Italian dressing, so I used Caesar dressing. I probably should have chopped the nuts more, but it was OK this way. Also, I didn't have any parsley, so I added a small amount of dried cilantro leaves. I cut the recipe down by 1/4 for two HUGE breast halves.

Crunchy Almond Chicken Cutlets

1 c. fresh bread crumbs
1 c. blanched slivered almonds, toasted and finely chopped
2 T chopped parsley
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
3 whole boneless chicken breasts, halved
1 c. creamy Italian dressing

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a pie dish, pour the dressing.
3. In another pie dish, combine bread crumbs, almonds, parsley, ginger, salt, and pepper.
4. Rinse the chicken breasts in hot water, and dry with paper towels.
5. Dip chicken in dressing, then bread crumb mixture, coating well. Place in large shallow baking pan.
6. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until done. Serves 6.

Roasted Red Potatoes

Even though the recipe calls for red potatoes, I needed to use up the last of my 5-pounds of Yukon gold potatoes. I loved this recipe, easy and simple. I don't know how they will be as left0over, but I plan on mixing them with the leftover chicken from the Herbed Chicken Strips failed recipe.

Roasted Red Potatoes

1 1/4 lb. small red potatoes (about 8)
2 T olive oil
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. paprika

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
2. Scrub potatoes, quarter, and pat very dry with paper towels.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add potatoes and toss to coat.
4. Spread potatoes on baking sheet and bake, turning every 10-15 minutes, until crisp and browned, 35-45 minutes. Serves 2.

Herbed Chicken Strips

I had some of the chicken breast tenderloins left from the last recipe, so I decided to try this one. The thing that made this different was that it used ground oats instead of flour. Don't get me wrong, I love oats. But, this recipe is not a keeper!! I didn't like the taste. I forgot to serve it with the tomato sauce (I was going to use my leftover Boboli suace), but I don't think that would make a difference. I will use the leftover chicken after I rub off the outside crust. If you do decide to try this recipe, I would turn over the strips about half way through the cooking time. As you can see from the following picture, I turned over half of them and the remaining half did not get as fried.

Herbed Chicken Strips

1 1/4 c. oats
1 t basil
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. garlic powder
2 whole chicken breasts, boned, skinned, split
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter, melted
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/4 t. basil
1/2 c. sliced green onions

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. Place oats in blender container or food processor bowl and cover. Blend about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to stir.
3. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch strips.
4. Coat chicken in combined ground oats, 1 teaspoon basil and spices. Dip into milk, then again into oat mixture.
5. Place into 15" x 10" pan and drizle with butter.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until tender.
7. Combine sauce, onions, and 1/4 teaspoon basil. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Serve with chicken. 4 servings.

Peanut Butter Squares

I have so many bar cookie recipes, but I wanted to start to winnow them down. So, I tried this recipe. I used dark brown sugar and quartered the recipe. I didn't do a great job with the marbling of the frosting, but it tasted good. These bars have a great taste, but they were a bit dry. I will keep this one around until I can test out the other peanut butter bars.

Peanut Butter Squares

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. peanut butter
1 c. flour
1 c. oatmeal
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine the sugars, egg, butter, and peanut butter, mixing well.
3. Stir in the dry ingredients.
4. Spread in a 9" x 13" pan and bake about 17-22 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Cool

Frosting:

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. peanut butter
2 T milk
3 T cocoa powder
1 T milk

1. Mix powdered sugar, peanut butter and 2 T milk together, adding 1/2 teaspoon of the milk at a time until frosting is of spreading consistency. Set aside 1/3 c.
2. Add the cocoa and 1 T milk to the remaining frosting. Add a bit more milk or powdered sugar, if needed, in order to spread.
3. Frost bars. Drop the 1/3 reserved frosting by teaspoonfuls onto chocolate frosting and swirl for marbled effect.
4. Makes about 4 dozen bars.

Potatoes Anna

These were good potatoes, really basic, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I think I used too much butter, and even though the top was finished, the bottom was not crispy like the recipe called for. I will try and fry them tomorrow to get a more crispy version. I "thirded" the recipe and used the Yukon gold potatoes that I have left from that huge bag I bought a couple of weeks ago. I also did not peel the potatoes or use softened butter. I used the hard butter so that I could cut up the pieces to easily place them within the layers of potatoes. I would be careful when you turn the potatoes, the hot butter made it a bit dangerous!!

Potatoes Anna

9 medium potatoes

salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 c. softened butter

1. Peel potatoes and slice thinly, as for scalloping.
2. Place a layer of the potatoes in a large shallow dish or dishes (pie plates are fine). Season with salt and pepper and dot with butter. Continue layering, ending with butter.
3. Bake in a 425ºF oven until potatoes are tender when pierced with a cake-tester, about 40-45 minutes.
4. Turn upside-down to serve so that there is a good brown crust on top. Serves 12.

Oven-Fried Chicken Wings

I used chicken breast tenderloins instead of chicken wings for this recipe. I also cut the recipe in half. I have to say that this is definitely not a keeper recipe. The measurements were all wrong, so if you are going to try this recipe with chicken breast tenders, double the flour, paprika, salt & pepper portion, and halve the bread crumbs portion.

Oven-Fried Chicken Wings

12 chicken wings
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
4 heaping T all-purpose flour
1 t. paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
4 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. butter

1. Separate the chicken wings into 3 pieces each. Discard the bony tip.
2. Beat the egg with the milk in a shallow dish.
3. Combine the flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.
4. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
5. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
6. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg and coat well, then drain and dredge in flour. Remove, shaking off any excess, and roll in crumbs, pressing them in gently, then shaking off any excess.
7. Melt the butter in the oven in a shallow roasting pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer. Arrange the chicken, skin side down, in the butter and bake for 10 minutes on each side.
8. Remove chicken from the pan and arrange on a large platter. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Coconut Lemon Squares

After I weeded through my lemon bar recipes, I decided to try this one out. I had coconut to use up, and a lemon for the rind. I cut the recipe in half, but didn't have a baking pan the exact right size. This may have affected the results of this recipe. I will keep it, to compare to another similar coconut lemon bar recipe I have. I will definitely let the bars sit in the pan to cool longer than the recipe indicates, at least a half-hour.

Coconut Lemon Squares

2/3 c. butter
1 1/2 c. flour
4 eggs
2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/4 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
1 1/3 c. sifted powdered sugar
2 T grated lemon rind
3 T fresh lemon juice

1. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture evenly into an un-greased 12" x 8" x 2" baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes.
2. Beat eggs. Add brown sugar, coconut, baking powder, and vanilla, mixing well. Spread over baked crust and return to oven for another 25-30 minutes.
3. Combine powdered sugar, lemon rind, and juice in a medium mixing bowl, beating until smooth. Spread glaze over warm cookies in pan. Cut into 2-inch squares. Leave uncovered at least overnight before storing in an air-tight container. Makes 2 dozen.

Potatoes Romanissimo

These potatoes were great, with garlic, rosemary, and cayenne pepper as flavoring. I probably could have cooked them a bit longer to make them a bit crispier, but they were good enough to make this a keeper recipe. I used a VegaMatic to slice the potatoes thin, which is important because they might not cook all the way through if the slices are too thick. I cut the recipe in half, so make sure you use a large skillet that will accommodate all the potatoes. I am sure these will reheat beautifully, perhaps I will reheat them in a skillet again so that they might get a bit crispier.

Potatoes Romanissimo

4-5 medium-sized new potatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 c. olive oil
3 T butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
pinch cayenne pepper
1 spring fresh rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Do not peel the potatoes, but slice them thinly as directed and let them soak in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry in paper towels.
2. Heat the oil and butter together in a large skillet until hot. Saute the garlic in this for 2 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes, cayenne pepper, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes more. Uncover and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, turning the potatoes frequently so that they brown evenly. Cook until tender. Serves 4.

San Gabriel Sauté Chicken

This is a recipe that I had tried before, and since it was still in my recipe box I must have liked it. This recipe originally came from a card in a pack of chicken. I had all the ingredients, so I thawed out a skinless boneless double chicken breast. This is definitely a keeper. I only ate one large fillet, so I hope that they will reheat well tomorrow. I cut the recipe in half, but needed additional bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I had trouble getting the large portion of the chicken breast pounded down to 1/4", and ended up just cooking it at 1/2". It came out just fine.

San Gabriel Saute Chicken

2 pkgs. boneless skinless breast fillets
1/2 c. flour
1 egg, lightly beaten with 2 T water
1/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 T olive oil
2 T butter

1. Pound chicken breasts to a thickness of 1/4-inch.
2. Place flour, egg, and crumb-mixture in separate shallow dishes. Keep dishes in that order.
3. Preheat oven to 200ºF.
4. Heat butter and oil together in large skillet over medium heat.
5. Dredge chicken in each dish, in the order they are laid out. Place chicken in skillet.
6. Cook chicken about 5 minutes on each side, until dark golden brown and crispy.
7. Keep chicken warm in the oven while cooking the remaining chicken. Add more butter if needed.
8. Garnish with sliced avocado and oranges, if desired. Serves 5-6.