Week 4 - (Chicken-Cheese) Meltaway Casserole

(Chicken-Cheese) Meltaway Casserole 

Recipe 4 of 52 in 2022

Meat/Fish Entree #1

    This week's recipe comes to us from Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Casseroles - Including Breads. Published in 1968 (I had to convert it from Roman numerals). My version is based on a recipe submitted to this cookbook by Mrs. Lillie J. Smith of Pauline, South Carolina. I'll show my modifications in italics. This recipe really seems like a baked macaroni & cheese, but with less cheese, unless you're me and then "Katie bar the door", because I like cheese. I mostly wanted to make this new to me recipe by the directions, so I only used four slices of cheese. However, I did use a little bit of cheese sprinkled on at the end. I really liked this dish. It was easy and you can very, easily modify it with seasoning, choice of protein or even make it with veggies instead. I would definitely make this again.

Ingredients:

1 cup elbow macaroni

butter or margarine (No amount given; I used about 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I used 1/3 cup)

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups milk 

1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, turkey, ham or roast beef (I used chicken)

4 slices cheese (Type not given; I used sharp cheddar slices)

1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning blend; I used a spicy red chili blend; 

shredded cheese (as much as you want)

Directions:

Cook macaroni in boiling water (I did salt the water a bit) until tender. Drain and set aside. Melt butter/margarine in a saucepan. I used the cast iron skillet I'd cooked the chicken in. By doing this, the sauce ended up picking up the flavor of the spice blend I'd chosen. Add the chopped onion and cook over low heat for up to 3 to 5 minutes. It should be translucent. Stir in your salt, pepper and flour. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. When making a white sauce, I like to heat the milk in the microwave, so it doesn't take as long to heat up and thicken the sauce. The original recipe calls for a 2-quart casserole dish, but I used a 1 1/2-quart and it was perfect. Pour half of the macaroni in the casserole dish, followed by half of the chicken. Pour the rest of the macaroni, followed by the last of the chicken. Lay sliced cheese on top and pour your onion white sauce over the layered macaroni and chicken. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit, for 25-30 minutes. I decided I wanted some cheese on top, so after I removed the casserole, I sprinkled some shredded cheese over top and put it back in the hot oven, until melted. This recipe makes 4 servings. 

Meltaway Casserole
Chicken-Cheese

Meltaway Casserole as it looks without shredded cheese on top.

Meltaway Casserole as it looks with shredded cheese on top.

Week 3 - Corn Fritters

 Corn Fritters

Recipe 3 of 52 in 2022

Side Dish #1

     So, these could be considered an appetizer, but I chose them as a side dish. This recipe is from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, published in 1963. My copy of this cookbook, which I bought at either an antique show or antique store, belonged to a lady named Leona Poteet of Fort Worth, Texas. Her name is written in two place on the inside cover and front page. I love old, used cookbooks and it doesn't look like Leona used this one much, so she either had a different cookbook which was her favorite or maybe she didn't like to cook (which is obviously okay).  

    This was the first time I have made fritters and I really liked them. My friend, a very, discriminating eater, also liked them. We almost couldn't stop eating them. I will definitely make these again. And I also plan to try other flavors, which I'm excited about. Let me know if you try these!

Ingredients:

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp double-acting baking powder (I um, didn't pay attention to this; I just used the baking powder I have in my pantry and I don't know if it is double-acting)

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp oil (the recipe calls for "salad" oil; I used canola)

2 1/2 cups cooked or canned whole-kernel corn 

Vegetable Shortening or Cooking Oil for frying

Salt-free seasoning/Creole spice/garlic powder/your favorite seasoning blend

Directions:

Heat shortening or oil to 365 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift together your flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs, add milk and the two teaspoons of oil. Stir in corn and drop by spoonfuls into your cooking oil. Cooking for 3-5 minutes, turning at least once to cook both sides. The should be a nice golden brown color. I used a cast iron dutch oven for mine, filling it about 1/3 full. I didn't really measure; I just made sure the oil was deep enough (about 4 inches deep) and it worked great. Remove your fritters with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt,  some other seasoning or leave plain. I left some plain for my friend, as he watches his salt intake.  I watch my salt also, but I did sprinkle some Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning on mine. Yum. The recipe says this makes 5 to 6 servings. I didn't count how many I made, because I forgot, but we did have a few leftover. I'm going to try re-heating them in my air fryer to see how well that works. 

Corn Fritters

Frying fritters (I loved using my cast iron dutch oven for this. 

Week 2 - Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread

 Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread

Recipe 2 of 52 in 2022

Bread #1

    This week's category was "Bread" and I chose this Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread from the Betty Crocker: The Big Book of Bread, published in 2013.  I tend to gravitate towards old and/or well used cookbooks. I've only made a couple recipes from this book (the Zesty Cheddar Bread on page 124 is a favorite), but I really like this book.  The cover, the pictures and everything. It's just a pretty book and includes more traditional recipes with gluten-free and bread machine recipes.  

  So, what did I think of this bread? I learned that the crust was a bit 'crumbly' when I cut pieces, but otherwise the texture of the bread was good and I liked the flavor.  I served myself warm bread with butter. This bread would be good as is or cut slices and use it for flavorful French Toast.  Let me know if you try it and what you think.   

Ingredients:

1 cup 5-grain rolled whole-grain cereal or old-fashioned oats (I used oats)

3 cups white whole wheat flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup sweetened, dried cranberries, cherries or raisins (Although I actually have home-dried cherries, I used store-bought cranberries)

1 egg

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:

Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. I used cooking spray and a Pampered Chef stoneware pan. Save and set aside, 1 tablespoon from your cup of oatmeal/whole-grain cereal. In a large bowl, mix your cereal/oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or a fork, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in your cranberries/cherries/raisins. 

In a small bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk, using a whisk or fork, until well blended. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the buttermilk and egg mixture. Stir the rest of the buttermilk and egg mixture into your dry ingredients and stir until mixture is moistened. The dough will be soft. Remove the dough and on a floured surface, knead the dough 5 or 6 times on a floured surface. *Note: the dough was really sticky and I 'kneaded' it a few times, but didn't really concentrate on the 5 or 6 times, because of how sticky and messy it was. In my humble opinion, it wasn't 'kneadable' (I just made that up), so I just mixed it around on my floured surface a few times and shaped it.* Transfer the dough to your cookie sheet and shape into a 7-inch round loaf. Use a sharp knife to cut an "X" into the top of the loaf. Brush the reserved buttermilk and egg mixture on top of the loaf and sprinkle the oatmeal/cereal mixture you set aside at the beginning. *Note: I forgot that part, but it was fine.*

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I did 35 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes.  Use a serrated knife to cut slices.  You can get about 12 slices or wedges. 

   

Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread

Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread w/butter

Betty Crocker "The Big Book of Bread"

Week 1 - Gado-Gado

 Gado-Gado

Recipe 1 of 52 in 2022

Salad #1

    Recipe 1 of 52 in 2022 in my 52 recipes in 2022 self-challenge, is an Indonesian salad.  The recipe is included in Favorite Recipes of America - Salads. It was submitted for inclusion by "Mrs. Mort B. Brigadier, Officer's Wive's Club, Canal Zone, Rep of Panama". This 1968 cookbook is part of a set of four which were sold in a cute little 'box' sleeve/cover. I was lucky enough to find the entire set quite a number of years ago.  

    This recipe was a little bit of a pain, but would be easier if you prep the vegetables the day before or earlier in the day.  Although I said it felt like a pain, I am saying that, because I was making it after work and it felt like a lot. As I was preparing this recipe, I was skeptical of how I'd like the mixture of flavors, but I did end up really enjoying this salad dish.  I served my Gado-Gado over white rice, but this would be good by itself or brown rice.  Maybe even quinoa. All I know is that I'm going to take a dish over leftovers just by itself for lunch at work tomorrow, and I know I would definitely make this again. 

    The recipe makes about eight servings, depending on your serving size. 

Ingredients:

1 lb bean sprouts

1/2 lb cabbage, chopped

1/2 lb green beans, chopped

1 tsp salt

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp soy sauce (I used a dumpling sauce, which has soy sauce in it (I didn't have plain soy sauce) and it worked just fine as a substitute)

1 onion, sliced (I used a medium to large sized onion)

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped and fried

1 tsp ground red pepper (I used a spicy red pepper mix by Ariel's Spices)

1/4 to 1/2 lb peanut butter (I used chunky; perfect for this recipe)

1 cucumber, sliced

1 bunch radishes sliced (I used about 8 radishes from a bag I had bought; I had to go to four stores to find radishes) 

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

(optional) red chili pepper flakes 

Directions:

Remember to wash all of your vegetables before cooking. Parboil the bean sprouts, green beans and cabbage "in a small amount of water" for several minutes. I  used 3/4 to 1 cup water in the largest skillet I have.  3/4 cup water would be a good starting point if you try this recipe, and because of volume of the vegetables, using a large pot may work better for the par-boiling.  I used large kitchen tongs to carefully toss my ingredients, as they cooked down and it did work out just fine. If using a skillet, take care when you are par-boiling the vegetables. I did not measure how much time I par-boiled this mixture, but you'll want to cook them to where they are softened, but still have a bit of crunch.  When your vegetable are cooked, drain the vegetables and reserve the stock. Return the stock to your pan and stir in the salt, brown sugar, lemon juice, soy sauce, onion, garlic, red pepper and peanut butter. You need to make sure to cook the peanut butter down.  It will melt into the sauce. 

The original recipe says to layer the cabbage, beans, bean sprouts, cucumber and radishes in a salad bowl. This didn't sound right to me, so I used a large casserole dish. I spooned the cabbage, beans and bean sprouts mixture into the bottom, followed by a layer of my cucumber slices, then the radishes and finally the sliced egg.  The original recipe says to serve the peanut butter dressing with the salad. I did not. I poured it directly over top of the salad. And you know what? It was perfect.  Sprinkle with red chili pepper flakes for extra kick. 

Try this salad out and let me know what you think.  

A side view of Gado-Gado salad

Layered vegetable and sliced egg

Gado-Gado salad

Gado-Gado salad over rice