d's delights- cooking and crafts

November 27, 2014 On this Thanksgiving Day, I would like to recount the story of Tom the Turkey. I wish I had pictures of Tom, but alas, this was well before camera phone days and Pinterest. My mom was rather crafty.   Growing up, I remember doing a lot of fun crafty and creative things.   She got some ideas from school where she worked, or library books.   I wonder how crazy she wound have gone had we had Pinterest way back then… One year, my mom decided that we would make a paper maché turkey.   We mixed up the flour and water, got our hands good and sloppy, and cut up newspaper strips to lay on the balloon.   We used toilet paper rolls for the neck and legs.   My mom reminded me that we cut his feet and his gobbler out of a yellow sponge.   (It was probably even a used sponge!)   We painted it (after it dried) with some left over dark brown house paint, and of course, used construction paper to make the feathers. What made this one of the most creative ventures mom an

Just in time for you to go to the grocery store… Cheesy Potato Casserole   Ingredients: 1 Package frozen hashed browns (thawed) 1 (10 oz) Can Cream of Chicken Soup 8 Oz. Sour Cream 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Or more…more cheese=Always better) ½ Stick Butter 1 Onion, diced   Directions: Mix sour cream, cream of chicken, onions and cheese (save some cheese for top!) In a large bowl   Spread hash browns in a 9x13 ungreased casserole dish Pour melted butter over potatoes. Pour mixture over potatoes, and mix in evenly. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.   Add crunched up potato chips or corn flakes on top for extra crunchiness, if desired. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.   This is also a great make-ahead casserole.   Make it up on Wednesday, and bake it on Thursday!   Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!    

Family Holiday Favorites- Part One: Stuffing and Chicken Casserole Around this time of year, many people ask what some of your family’s favorite go-to holiday dishes are.   Well, here’s the first of two that it seems my family can’t do without this time of year. Stuffing and Chicken Casserole 2 Boxes of Stove Stop Stuffing- Chicken Flavor 2 Sticks of Butter/Margarine 6-8 Boneless Chicken Breasts 2 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup 16 oz. Sour Cream 2 Cups of Chicken Broth 1 Medium Chopped Onion Boil chicken in water.   Shred the chicken and add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and chopped onion. Melt one stuck of butter/margarine and mix with one box of the stuffing and seasonings.   Put on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Put the chicken mixture on top of bottom layer. Melt the other stick of butter/margarine and mix with second stuffing box.   Put on top of the chicken mixture layer.   Pour the chicken broth over casserole.   Let sit overnight. Bake at

Irvington Halloween Festival Two Bean Minestrone  This minestrone doesn’t have anything to do with the festival, except that I decided to make it on this great Fall day in which we are going to go to the festival in Irvington!   Will is ready to dress up as Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc, and I have my camera ready for lots of fun shots!   I put on this soup in the slow cooker so that it will be nice and ready when we come home.   (Even though I’ll be the only one who cares!)   I chopped up the vegetables last night while chopping other vegetables for dinner, so that I all had to do today was dump them in. (Store the onion/garlic separate from the carrots/celery!)    Ingredients: 1 Medium Onion (Recipe suggests to halve crosswise and cut in big chunks.   I used three small ones.) 1 Garlic clove, chopped   (Oh, I think I used 3…)  1 Stalk Celery, chopped (I used two) 2 Medium Carrots, sliced ¼ inch-ish 2 (14 oz) Cans Chicken Broth (I

Smoked Sausage, Potatoes and Green Beans This is not a new, innovative combination by any means, but I thought for my blog’s sake… and for posterity, I guess, that I should write down how I make my version of it. First, I used to make this in the crock pot.   That’s how I originally got the recipe.   That method basically consisted of layering potatoes, sliced smoked sausage, and green beans in the crock pot with some garlic powder for seasoning each layer.   I started making this skillet version when I wasn’t very good at thinking far enough ahead to put everything in the pot in the morning!   I found I liked it better this way because of the flavors that the skillet brought out, and the time it took to make it.   I also made some additions: Paprika and (real) Garlic.   Ingredients: Cooking Oil (once or twice around the pan) 1-2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped or minced. 4-5 Small- Medium Potatoes, skinned and sliced. 1 package of smoked sausage, sliced 1 package of frozen

  Beef with Broccoli and Mushrooms I don’t often get to make “one-dish” meals because the hubby doesn’t always like them.   Every once in a while, I can find one that he will like.   This one wasn’t too difficult, and my “sous chef” hubby helped by chopping, mixing and making rice.   Maybe you, too,   can have the less capable cook in the house to help, or maybe you have an older child able to help…? I found this recipe in book called “One-Dish Meals” and thought it would be something my husband (and Sous Chef) would actually like! 2 Cups Uncooked Instant Rice   (Cook as directed) 1 (1 oz) Package of Beef and Broccoli-Flavored Authentic Oriental Seasoning Mix (Find it in the “Asian” aisle.) 1 Cup Beef Broth 2 Tbs Soy Sauce 1 Tbs Oil 1-2 Garlic Cloves, chopped ½-1 lb Beef Top Sirloin Steak, cut into thin strips ½ lb Fresh Broccoli (Make it easy on yourself-   get the pre-packaged kind in the produce section!) 1 C Celery, chopped diagonally (about 2 sta

Fall APPLES!! This weekend, we went to an apple orchard, and Will got to pick apples for the first time ever.   He thought that was pretty neat.   Of course, I now have a lot of apples…   Here is one of my favorite easy apple recipes.   I’m not a great baker, but this iseasier than making an apple pie.   The hardest part is peeling and cutting the apples. Here’s the original recipe, with my additions/adjustments in parenthesis. ½ C Flour ½ C Oats (I used almost a whole cup) ¾ C Brown Sugar (I used almost a whole cup) ¾ C Sugar 1 tsp Cinnamon (I always use more-  plus I add a dash of ground nutmeg and cloves and allspice, if available) 1 stick room temperature butter (when using more oats and flour, it help to use more butter.  I put another half of a stick sliced on the top to melt down in.) 4 or 5 Big Apples.  (I think I had 7 smaller ones.  It doesn’t matter what kind, and you can mix the kinds up for different flavors) Mix the flour, oats, sugars and spice

Poppy Seed Dressing   I realized after going through all my blog posts, that I had not actually posted a blog about this dressing.  It’s a simple one to make for yourself or a pitch-in.  I happened to make this one recently for a pitch-in, and it was well-received, with people asking for the recipe.  If you have a thing against poppy seeds, you could leave them out and the dressing would still be good.  (Sometimes I wonder what the big deal is about poppy seeds is… I guess it gives some texture and color to things… I am not sure if I would notice a taste difference without them.) ½ White Onion, (or a small one) ¼ C White Vinegar 2 Tbs Sugar or Artificial Sweetener (like Splenda) ½ Tsp Salt 2 Tsp Dijon Mustard ½ C Salad Oil (Canola is good) ½ Tbs Poppy Seeds Mix this all up in a food processor or blender.  Serve with greens, celery, cucumber, green onions, something sweet (mandarin oranges, strawberries, cranberries etc) and something crunchy (nuts, croutons, s

Bolivian Spiced Pork I do not actually know why this might be called “Bolivian…” and I have actually been to Bolivia.  So, if one of my real Bolivian friends reads this and can tell me why this might be called “Bolivian, ” that would be great.  Perhaps it’s the lemon peel and cumin combination…?  I got this recipe from a South Beach cookbook.  I changed it up to make it work for me.  You can use pork chops and cook as directed, or you could rub the spices and lemon peel on a pork roast and roast in the oven at about 400 degrees until done.  Fry up some potatoes or plantains, and yes,  I can see where this would be “Bolivian.” Spice Rub: 1 ½ tsp ground cumin 3 tsp ground cardamom 3 tsp ground coriander  (I did not have any coriander, so I substituted 1 ½ tsp celery seed) ½ tbs ground red pepper (I sometimes do not use this at all… but always less than called for.  It depends upon how spicy you like things.) 3 Tbs grated lemon peel  (about 1 lemon’s worth) ½ Tbs kosh

Chicken on a Stick Here is a little recipe for a  kebab -style chicken.  I first made this in May of 2004- 10 years ago!  I remember making it for guests, and it being well received.  My husband liked it too. Marinade: 2 Tbs Canola Oil 2 Tbs Lemon Juice (or Juice of one lemon) 2 Tbs Soy Sauce 4 Garlic Cloves, minced 2 Teaspoons Honey 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin 1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander 1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger 1 Pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in strips or Chicken Tenderloins Marinate chicken 3-4 hours.  Put the chicken on a skewer, either with vegetables or without, and grill until done. Note-  I made this without the coriander because I  didn't  have any and it was still good.  So, if you don’t have any of that, don’t worry.  You could probably use orange juice or lime juice of you didn't have lemon juice.  Just “eyeball” the ingredients.   

For those who, like me, enjoy making their own salad dressings, here is yet another.  This was pretty easy, and I think the ingredients are pantry staples, which also makes it accessible. Zing-Easy Citrus Vinaigrette 1/4 C Orange Juice 3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar 2 Teaspoons Honey 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil This might be nice with some orange zest or some pulpy orange juice.  A dash of cracked pepper might be nice too.

  “Applebees’” Oriental Salad Dressing I have been looking for a salad dressing most similar to Applebees’ Oriental Dressing.  I found a recipe on Pinterest, which claims to be a copycat.  This is a really good dressing, but I’m not sure it’s exactly like the Applebees kind, though. (But close!) 1 Tsp Dijon mustard 3 Tbs Honey ¼ C Mayonnaise 1 ½ Tbs rice wine vinegar 1/8 Tsp Sesame oil (which I  didn't  have… but used canola) Mix all this together.  It was quite good, not to hard to make.  It’s good with a fruit , and with some slivered almonds!

Israeli Salad As summer seems to be officially here, I am once again going to try to eat better.  This week, I decided to try a meal from my “Atkins For Life” recipe book.  Not that I’m doing “Atkins” but there are still a number of healthy yummy choices in the recipe book. I am not sure why this is called “Israeli Salad, except for that it was in the “ Hanukkah ” section in the cookbook.  Today I put this over some greens and added some mozzarella cheese, but this evening I plan on pairing it with the Mediterranean Turkey recipe that is on the opposite page of the recipe. 4 Plum Tomatoes, diced 1 English Cucumber, diced 1 Yellow Bell Pepper 4 scallions, thinly sliced 3 Tbs Lemon Juice (All the juice squeezed from a fresh lemon) ¼ C Olive Oil ¾ Tsp Salt ½ Tsp Pepper Lemon Zest (Zest the lemon before juicing it) Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and scallions in a bowl. Combine juice, oil, salt, pepper and zest. Add juice and oil mixtu

  Dijon Chicken Salad A friend of mine, Amy Beach, started a Facebook status asking where she could get a good chicken salad. That made me want to dig up this recipe... Tomato and Red Pepper Soup and Dijon Chicken Salad on Toast  My recipe record keeping started in 2002, when I was a fledgling single girl trying to learn how to actually cook- and not buy and eat stuff from a box!  This recipe was marked May 30. 2003 and was in my very first recipe journal! Ingredients: 4 Cups Cubed Cooked Chicken (You can bake or boil and you can shred instead) 1 Cup Chopped Celery (3 Ribs-ish) 1 Cup Green Seedless Grapes, halved (This is a little tedious, I’ll admit) 1 Cup Red Seedless Grapes, halved ¼ C Dried Apricots, chopped (also tedious…) ¼ C Green Onions, Chopped ¾ C Mayonnaise 2 Tbs Honey 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard ½ Tsp Salt 1/8 Tsp Pepper Optional: ½ C Sliced Almonds- or another of your favorite nut. Add the chicken, celery, grapes, apricots and gree

Fantastically Yummy Red Pepper Tomato Soup I first made this soup maybe almost 10 years ago.  I really loved it and everyone else who tried it loved it too.  I think my memories of it taking a while to make and of how expensive red peppers can be made me not make it for a while.  But it is TOTALLY WORTH the cost for red peppers and the time it takes to make.  Growing up, I was never really a fan of tomato soup, but there is something about this that transcends the “tomato soup” you grew up with!  I can just see that in Indiana in the Fall, this could be a less expensive and extremely fresh endeavor.  Start planning your tomato plants, everyone! Fresh Rosemary, Thyme, and Basil would be awesome in this as well! I got this from the internet long before Pinterest and Facebook!  It originally came from the Junior League of Annapolis.  Can you just imagine some ladies sitting down to some soup and tea sandwiches?  Also, I noticed that I printed this recipe off on 1/26/04- exactly 8

Haricots Frites... and Herbed Green Beans I originally got the inspiration for these beans from Rachael Ray, and then really just wound up doing my own thing and making them my own way- totally different from the original recipe. Here’s the original (from Rachael Ray Get Real page 41) Haricot Frites (A fancy term for Green Beans) Thin Green Beans A Light Oil (Like Sesame, Peanut, Walnut) Sesame Seeds Blanche the beans, or steam them.   ( Blanche means to cook them, then quickly cool them…or something to that effect) Pat the beans dry on a paper towel. Heat the pan, add some oil (“A couple times around the pan”, as RR would say)   Add the beans until they are charred and hot (3-4 Minutes) Sprinkle in some sesame seeds and stir around for another 30 seconds or so.   Add some Sea Salt and Pepper. Now, how I make these green beans is hardly any way close to how Rachael Ray said to make them… Pretty much it’s just the act of sautéing them that I still do. Here’s what

Sweet Potato Chili I saw this recipe floating around the internetty thingy, ( Original Recipe Here ) and thought I would give it a try.   All in all, it’s pretty good.   I am glad I only put half the amount of chili powder in it, and next time would put even less.   I might consider adding paprika.  Also, I think my turkey had some Italian flavoring in it, and that added something different.   I have another sweet potato soup recipe that I like better ( Hoppin’ John Stoup ), but this was worth a go.   Plus, it was a crock pot thing, so it was cooking all day! Ingredients: 2 Diced (peeled)Sweet Potatoes (Could just use one large one) ¾ C Diced Sweet Onion   (Used half of a huge red onion) ½ C chopped celery (Used about 3 ribs) 2 14.5 oz (Or 1 28 oz) Can Stewed Tomatoes with Chili Seasoning 1 8 oz Can Tomato Sauce ½ C Water 1 Tbs Chili Powder (only used half-   next time I would use less, but that’s just me) 1 Tsp Ground Cumin ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon 1/8 Tsp Salt 1/8

My Husband’s A Lot Like Popeye… or “How I got my husband to eat some vegetables” Rob has always said that he liked spinach-   like the kind Popeye ate, you know slopped straight from the can.   So, I figured there HAD to be a way for me to get him to eat spinach that was well, really good.   I found this recipe in my Taste of Home cookbook (which my husband DID get for me as a Christmas present one year)   I thought that this couldn’t be too bad because he does like red peppers and onions too.   I also made a new chicken recipe to pair with this.   Of course, I let him have his favorite kind of rice too. (Well, it’s actually a rice and pasta blend)   Sautéed Spinach and Peppers Ingredients:                1 Large Pepper, coarsely chopped                1 Tbs olive oil                1 Small Red Onion, coarsely chopped                3 Garlic Cloves, minced or chopped                8 C Fresh Spinach First, I took all the stems off of the spinach because I th