Week 21 - Green Rice Casserole

 Green Rice Casserole

Recipe 21 of 52

Vegetarian Entree #3

This recipe is based on a recipe for a side dish called Green Rice in The Cookbook LIbrary's Casserole Cookbook published in 1962. I used riced cauliflower in lieu of rice. You could try it with brown rice or maybe even couscous. To make this more substantial, add one cup cubed, cooked tofu or paneer cheese. If you add the tofu/paneer cheese, you'll definitely want to use the larger 2-quart casserole dish, as the recipe below fits perfectly in the 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. I was rather surprised how much I liked this made with the cauliflower and would make this again. It would be easy to make this vegan, by using plant based cheese and vegan milk replacement. If you are a meat eater, add 1 cup cubed, cooked chicken and use that larger dish. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (I used a 12oz bag frozen, riced cauliflower; cooked )

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar (I used shredded colby-jack)

1 cup milk (I would use 1/2 cup if making this with riced cauliflower)

3/4 cup mixture of minced parsley/spinach/chives (I used a 12oz bag frozen, spinach; cooked and 1/4 cup chives)

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 onion chopped

salt to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon salt-free seasoning)

red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except 1/2 cup of cheese, in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the casserole. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes. Cool and serve with additional parsley as garnish if desired. Sprinkle with red chili flakes if desired. 

Green Rice Casserole

Week 20 - Cottage Cheese Lemon Cookies

 Cottage Cheese Lemon Cookies

Recipe 20 - 52 in 2022

Dessert #3

I was looking for a unique cookie and it is safe to say that I succeeded. This cookie was good. My taste-testers at work enjoyed them. The recipe is from the Southern Living Cookies Cookbook. Published originally in 1974, my copy of this cookbook, is the 3rd printing in 1981. I mistakenly did not zest my lemons before cutting two in half, so I ended up having to thinly slice and dice, lemon peel to make the two teaspoons called for. It still worked! The cookies were soft, with a little crispy edge. They were yummy. I really enjoyed these, I think they would make a good sandwich cookie. You should try them. Modifications in italics. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 cup cottage cheese, sieved  

2 1/2 cups cake flour (If you don't have cake flour, you can create a substitute by mixing 1 cup flour with 2 tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot; each 1 cup + 2 tablespoons equals one cup cake flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix well. Add cottage cheese, beating until smooth. I would try smoothing the cottage cheese curds before adding to to the ingredients in the bowl, because it was chunky and I never did get mine really smooth). Try using a spoon to push the cottage cheese curds through the sieve. I guess that's maybe what you're supposed to do anyhow; I've just never seen that direction, so I thought it just meant to drain the cottage cheese. Lol.) Combine your cake flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to your wet ingredients, a little at a time and stir until thoroughly combined. Drop by teaspoonful (I used my cookie scoop) onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees from 10 to 15 minutes or until browned. Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen. 

Lemon Cottage Cheese Cookies

Week 19 - Chicken Blanquette

Chicken Blanquette 

Recipe 19 - 52 in 2022

Entree Meat/Fish #3

I went really old-school for this recipe. Chicken Blanquette comes from the 1940 Hamilton Ross Modern Cook Book. This is basically chicken in white sauce. It was not fancy at all, but you  should doctor it up with your favorite seasonings, because it is a very, plain sauce. Serve it over rice, buttered noodles or even toast or an English muffin. Modifications in Italics. *Lol. Looks like I'm having technical issues. It looks like my fonts are different and I can't get it to look right.*

Ingredients:

1 cup white sauce

2 cups leftover rotisserie chicken or chicken breast, cut into bits; whatever size           you like

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup milk

White sauce 

    1/4 Cup butter (melted) 

    2 cups milk

    1/4 cup flour 

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/8 teaspoon pepper 

• Make a medium white sauce by melting butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and once it is bubbling, slowly pour in milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened. Season with salt and pepper. 
• One trick I've used for white sauce, is to heat the milk in the microwave for a one to two minutes before adding. It has helped it to thicken quicker in the past. 

Directions:

Make white sauce and stir in cut up chicken to heat. Cook on low-medium heat. While the chicken is heating, beat the egg yolks and milk together for two minutes. *I don't know that it really needs to be two minutes, but you do want it to be well blended. When the chicken is hot, add the egg yolk mixture and stir thoroughly. The sauce will thicken. Spoon this Chicken Blanquette sauce over your rice/noodles/toast and enjoy! I sprinkled some spicy seasoning and dried parsley on mine.

Chicken Blanquette 

Week 18 - Hot Pineapple

Hot Pineapple   

Recipe 18 - 52 in 2022

Side Dish #3

    I sat down to write Week 20's post and realized to my dismay, that I hadn't written Weeks 18 & 19. Egads!!! I'll write all three tonight, so off we go. Side Dish #3 is the star of Week 18. I chose a recipe called "Hot Pineapple. This recipe is in Southern Country Cooking from The Loveless Cafe cookbook, published in 2005. It's in the "Breakfasts & Breads" section. Although it is in a breakfast section and would be great as a brunch offering, it really was good anytime of day. It was easy to make and you could easily have this on the table in an hour. I will say that I didn't realize when I drained juice from the pineapple, that I should save it, but in the long run, it worked out. I used a bit of sugar syrup in place of a little of the juice which ends up being part of the topping. That worked fine. I rather enjoyed this dish. I've never made anything like it. I would definitely consider it for a brunch offering.  Modification(s) in italics.

Ingredients:

1 20oz can pineapple chunks, drained (retain juice in a bowl)

1 16oz can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used my favorite Monterey-Jack blend)

1/2 cup sugar (If you buy fruit in heavy syrup or just want lower sugar, leave this out)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons pineapple juice

1/2 cup (one stick) butter

1 sleeve Ritz or similar-type crackers, crushed

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet on low heat, melt the 1/2 cup butter. In a 1 quart casserole (I think I used a 2 or 3 quart casserole, because I didn't have a 1 quart casserole and honestly, it would not have all fit in that size; use whichever size you like) stir together your pineapple. In a bowl, mix the sugar, flour and the reserved pineapple juice. It should be pretty smooth when you're done. Pour the sugar, flour, pineapple juice mixture over the pineapple. Add the crushed crackers and stir until the butter is absorbed and the crumbs are coated. Pour this crushed cracker mix on top of the pineapple. Bake for 30 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Hot Pineapple

Yummy!