Soup #6 - Blue Cheese-Onion Soup

 The Year of Soup

Soup #6 - Onion Soup

    The original recipe (Blue Cheese-Onion Soup) comes from The Blender Way to Better Cooking For Every Day.. Every Meal...Everybody, published  in 1965. I will say that I liked the soup, but I would choose parmesan cheese rather than blue cheese the next time I make this. I have modified the recipe and will show my modifications in italics. Serve with hot, crusty French bread. 

Ingredients:

2 large onions, chopped

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/8 tsp black pepper

32 oz beef broth

1/2 tsp beef bouillon powder

1-2 cups water

crumbled blue cheese or grated parmesan for topping

red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Blend chopped onion with a tiny bit of water in a food processor until finely chopped. Drain any excess liquid. Brown onion in butter. Add pepper, bouillon powder, water and bouillon. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes.  Serve in bowls topped with blue cheese or parmesan and a sprinkle of red chili flakes if desired. 

Onion Soup with Blue Cheese

Charley The Muffin Man (It's kind of a tradition now that I put him in pictures with what I've made. 

Onion Soup with Homemade Bread Croutons and Melted Mozzarella

Gochujang Chickpeas

 Gochujang Chickpeas

    This recipe is in Eric Kim's Korean American: food that tastes like home. I borrowed this book from my local library and really liked it. What I liked about this recipe is that it is pretty easy. The flavors were delicious. Although I didn't have the scallions (I forgot to buy this ingredient) or sesame seeds (I thought I already had some at home), it was still good without it. The scallions are a garnish, so optional in my humble opinion. It would be super pretty though. You can serve this as a snack or like I did, served over rice as a main dish. I would definitely make this again. 

Ingredients: 

1 15oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried

2 tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt (I used pink Himalayan sea salt to taste)

ground pepper to taste 

3 tbsps ketchup

1 tbsp gochujang paste

1 tbsp strawberry jam

1 tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)

2 lg scallions, julienned into long strips and soaked in ice water (this will curl the strips) (optional garnish)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss chickpeas with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until crispy. In a small saucepan, combine ketchup, gochujang, strawberry jam, soy sauce and garlic. Over medium-high heat, bring to a gentle simmer. Stir constantly! The author calls this yangnyeom sauce. Simmer for one minute. 

Stir in crispy chickpeas and continue to stir, reducing the sauce slightly. The chickpeas will absorb some of the sauce and will get sticky. Move the chickpeas to one side of the pan. Add honey to the empty side; stir constantly, letting the honey bubble up and cook for about a minute. The honey will reduce and caramelize. Mix the honey into the chickpeas. 

To serve as a side dish, remove the chickpeas to a plate or bowl and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds if desired. To serve as a main dish, spoon chickpeas over cooked white rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. 

Poor Charley The MuffinMan (I always take pictures of him looking at the food I've made for the blog). 

Gochujang Chickpeas

Pickled Corn

 Pickled Corn

    I saw this recipe recently as I was looking through a new to me cookbook. I had to try this dish that I'd never seen before and,  I'm so glad I did. I halved the recipe and that worked well.  I did have to make a minor adjustment, since I didn't have celery salt. Using celery salt, I did also use only about 1/4 tsp salt. The recipe is in my Grandma's Country Cooking cookbook published by ideals in 1984. The original recipe (below) makes 8 - 10 servings (that said it all depends on serving size), so mine probably would serve about 5. I really liked this dish. Admittedly, the pickled corn is still cooling in my refrigerator, but I couldn't help myself and tried one of the smallest pieces. Yum!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cups honey

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp celery seed 

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 ears fresh sweet corn, husked and cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey, vinegar, water, salt, celery seed, mustard seed and onion. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes. Add the corn pieces; cover and simmer for five minutes or until corn is tender. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until well chilled.   

Pickled Corn (still hot)

Pickled Corn Ready For The Fridge

Soup #5 - Chicken Corn Soup

 The Year of Soup

Soup #5 - Chicken Corn Soup

    This recipe comes from the Beta Sigma Phi International Cookbook - Meats - Including Seafood and Poultry - 2000 Favorite Recipes of Beta Sigma Phi Members. The recipe was submitted to the cookbook by Jody Cash, Past President, Omicron Rho, Groves, Texas. This recipe made a large batch of soup.  I've modified it just a bit. See italics. I used chicken thighs instead of a stewing chicken, and I ended up cutting up the onion to keep in the soup, after cooking. I also didn't want to add the hard boiled eggs. I am making them optional to you. I think the little rivels (mini dumplings) were maybe supposed to be a little more tender, but I liked them. I really didn't do many pea sized bits, because my dough wasn't crumbly, so I was pinching off bits to make the rivels. The soup is delicious and I would definitely make this again. Try this soup!

Soup Ingredients:

4 lbs stewing chicken cut up or bone-in chicken breast or thighs with skin on

1 whole onion

4 quarts water

1 tbsp salt

2 cups fresh, frozen or canned corn

1/2 cup chopped celery

parsley flakes

Rivels Ingredients:

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

milk

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Place chicken pieces into a large soup kettle with onion, water and 1 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer covered, for 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth; remove skin and bones, and cut into small pieces. Discard the skin and bones. Return the meat to the broth. Add corn and celery and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Make the rivels: Combine flour, salt, egg and enough milk to make a crumbly mixture with lumps the size of small peas (Don't worry, you can always pinch off tiny bits if your dough mixture doesn't look like small peas). Drop the rivels and hard-cooked eggs if using, into the soup. Cook for 15 minutes.  To serve, ladel into bowls. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste. 

Chicken Corn Soup

Soup #4 - Split Pea

 The Year of Soup

Soup #4 - Split Pea

    This soup comes to us from the Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook - Fine Old Recipes - Made Famous By The Early Dutch Settlers In Pennsylvania. I've found multiple years which this cookbook was published in, but I have not yet been able to discern which year mine was published. I can tell you though that the original price sticker is on it. It was purchased for $1.39 at The Amish Farm And House at 2395 Lincoln Hwy East, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17602. My substitution for this soup was using about 1/4 pound of bacon, diced, in lieu of the ham bone.  I wanted to use a home bone, but that didn't happen.  I liked it with the bacon. It was a good substitute for that meat flavor.  

Ingreidents:

2 cups split peas

3 quarts water

1/4 pound of uncooked bacon, diced (or like the original recipe calls for, a ham bone, cracked)

3 tbsps butter

3 tbsps flour

2 tsps salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups milk

fresh or dried parsley for decoration (optional)

Directions:

Wash and soak peas overnight in hot water to cover. Drain, soaked peas in into a large sauce pot and cover with water. Add bacon/ham bone and onion, then cook until peas are soft. Remove the ham bone if using, or if using bacon, remove to a bowl. Use an immersion blender to smooth to blend the peas, Melt butter in saucepan. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Heat until mixture bubbles and add milk gradually. Stirring constantly. Bring to boiling and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes. Blend into the pea mixture and add the bacon back to the pot. Heat thoroughly and serve hot. Serves 12 to 14. 

Split Pea Soup

Soup #3 - Zesty Vegetable Soup

 The Year of Soup

Soup #3 - Zesty Vegetable Soup

    This recipe is based on the Quick and Zesty Vegetable Soup recipe in America's Favorite Brand Name Holiday Recipes from 1997. To start I liked this recipe.  The cook time given in the recipe says "15 minutes". However, it took closer to 30, but still pretty quick. The original recipe calls for ground beef. It also originally calls for 2 13 3/4 oz cans broth. I used ground lamb, because I had some I had gotten on sale and needed to use it. Even though I liked the soup, I would rather use ground beef or turkey next time, as lamb has a distinct flavor that I don't care for. I'll show my modification(s) in italics.

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef, ground turkey or ground lamb

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

28oz Italian stewed tomatoes

8 cups vegetable broth

1 17oz can mixed vegetables

1/2 cup medium egg noodles or elbow macaroni

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

parsley flakes 

Directions:

In a large pot, add onion and ground meat. Cook until the meat is browned and the onion and green pepper are tender. Add salt, pepper and oregano/Italian seasoning. Stir in tomatoes, mixed vegetables, noodles/macaroni and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until noodles are tender. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley flakes. Serves at least 8. 

Zesty Vegetable Soup

Zesty Vegetable Soup

Soup #2 - Stracciatella

 The Year of Soup

Soup #2 - Stracciatella

    Straciatella can be three different food items - a creamy cheese, Roman egg drop soup and, chocolate studded gelato. In this case, it's a soup! I stirred the egg mixture too swiftly, so mine didn't turn out as shredded looking as it supposed to be.  I also can't find the picture I took, so I'm using a photo from the Hip Hip Gourmet recipe for the soup. My recipe was in my The Family Circle Encyclopedia of Cooking, published in 1990.  It was super easy to make.  Try it and see if you like it!

Ingredients:

1lb spinach (trimmed and washed) or a 10oz box of frozen spinach 

3 eggs

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

1/4 cup grated parmesan

8 cups chicken broth (I used low sodium broth)

1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

Cook fresh spinach in a large covered saucepan until wilted, or cook frozen spinach following the directions on the box. Either way, you are going to squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can after cooking. Chop spinach. In a bowl, beat eggs with salt and nutmeg. Stir in one cup of the chicken broth. Pour the rest of the broth into a large saucepan. Heat to boiling and slowly pour in the egg mixture, stirring gently. Stir in spinach and lower heat. Add lemon juice and cook for three more minutes, whisking constantly. Serves about 8. 

Stracciatella

Soup #1 - Easy Potato-Corn Chowder

 The Year of Soup

Soup #1 - Easy Potato Corn Chowder

    So, this was a fun recipe. The recipe "Speedy Potato Chowder" is in the Favorite Recipes, Campbell's Creative Cooking With Soup (Over 8,000 Delicious Mix and Match Recipes. The recipe gives you four ingredients and then you select a liquid, canned vegetable and a meat from a chart. For the liquid, I chose milk. For the vegetable, I chose corn. And, for the meat, I chose to use diced potato in lieu of meat. I did also add salt, pepper and paprika to mine. 

   By the way, liquid options were beer & water, milk, milk & light cream and evaporated milk & water. Vegetable options were mixed vegetables, corn, Lima beans and diced carrots. The meat options were hotdogs, chicken, ham and tuna. 

      I'll write out the recipe how I made it. I really enjoyed this chowder. I hope you try it!

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced (feel free to use more)

1/2 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/2 of a medium onion)

2 1/2 cups milk (I used more liquid than the recipe suggests)

1 10 3/4 oz can condensed cream of potato soup

1 15oz can whole kernel corn (The original recipe suggests using an 8oz can; I used low salt)

1 medium russet potato, diced

2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley, plus more for decoration if you wish

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:

In a 3qt saucepan over medium heat, heat a tiny bit of oil and add bacon. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. You can drain the bacon drippings, reserving 1 tbsp. I did not, because I only had a little more than a tbsp. Add the chopped onion and diced potato to the drippings and cook until the potato is somewhat tender; you don't want it super tender, because you're going to keep cooking and that will make it tender. Add milk, corn with it's liquid, the bacon, parsley, salt, pepper and paprika. Cook on low-medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Makes 4 to 6 servings. 

Easy Potato-Corn Chowder

Easy Potato-Corn Chowder

The Year of Casseroles "Review" and 2026 Announcement

 The Year of Casseroles

    Well, 2025 seriously sucked. I want to say "for lack of a better word", but it sucked. I took an early retirement (I left with just over 34 years, and I had wanted 40 years) from the federal government, because of the current administration. And that although I have strong feelings about the current administration, will be all I say about that. 

    Because of my early retirement, I was "out of sorts" for much of the year. Job hunting after 34+ years is tough, and I could not find an office job. I landed with a senior caregiving company, which I am enjoying, although I am not making near enough money right now. There is potential to progress and I like to help people, so I'd like to stick with this. 

So, lets now get to my favorite casserole recipe of the year.  Nothing really stands out, but my top three favorites would be: Casserole #17 - Broccoli Rice Casserole, Casserole #13 - Lemonchick's Scalloped Potato Casserole and Casserole #12 - Ham and Noodle Casserole. 

I do plan to finish the Year of Casseroles this year (Six more to go!), but the big announcement is that 2026 will be the Year of Soup. Stay tuned for yummy (hopefully, lol) soups. 

Kathy

Casserole #18 - Barley Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #18 - Barley Casserole

    This recipe is in my 1990 edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook was first published in 1896, titled The Boston Cooking School Cook Book, by Fannie Merritt Farmer. I wanted to try something different and this fit the bill. I liked this casserole; it felt pretty healthy with the use of barley. Serve it as a side dish, or add chunks of chicken to make it a main dish. I did make some modifications, which I will show in italics. Try it and let me know what you think. 

Ingredients:

3 tbs butter

1 cup barley

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper (I used a whole, small green pepper)

1/2 cup cashews, chopped (I used cashews, but leave them out if you like)

3 cups chicken broth, boiling

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

paprika seasoning to taste

3 slices thick cut bacon, diced (optional)

1/2 cup Kerrygold blarney cheese, shredded (this is a creamy Gouda style cheese) (optional)

toasted breadcrumbs (optional)

cornstarch to thicken the sauce, because my dish was very, soup-y when I placed it in a casserole (if desired)

 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a large skillet. Stir in barley and onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly cooked. Add the green pepper and cook for two minutes more. Add cashews, followed by the broth and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Thicken sauce with cornstarch by mixing together a little water with cornstarch and pouring, while stirring, into the sauce. At this point, you can simply serve from the skillet. Pour into a lightly greased 2-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese, followed by toasted breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve. 

Barley Casserole

Barley Casserole

Casserole #17 - Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #17 - Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

    I made up this recipe myself, and I hope you like it. It is simple and I thought pretty tasty. I used a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. You may want to use a 2 quart dish, as the 1 1/2 quart dish was really, full. I give a 30-45 minute window for cooking time; you'll want to keep an eye on the casserole. You want it golden brown on top, not burned!

Ingredients:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth

1 cup Stove Top stuffing mix, crushed or bread crumbs

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

2 cups cooked white rice

12 oz frozen broccoli, cooked

chili pepper flakes, optional

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook broccoli. Combine rice, broccoli, chicken broth and soups in a large mixing bowl. Stir in seasoning, followed by 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Spray your casserole dish with cooking spray and pour the broccoli and rice mixture into dish. Top casserole with remaining half cup of cheese. Sprinkle with bread crumbs/crushed stuffing mix. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Serve with baked chicken or pork. 

Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

Lemonchick's Broccoli Rice Casserole

Casserole #16 - Hominy Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #16 - Hominy Casserole

    This recipe is based on a recipe in the Garvin County Extension Homemakers "Recipe Book 1980". The Garvin County Extension Homemakers is a group associated with Oklahoma State University's extension in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma.  The original recipe was submitted by Oleda Flud of Erin Springs. I will give you the original recipe and normally I show my modifications in italics, however I'll write out my whole recipe for you, because I changed it just enough to warrant it being a new recipe. I really liked this dish, even though I did not have fresh or canned jalapeno, and put too much pickled jalapeno (which I did have) for my taste. I had had to use jarred pickled jalapeno, because I thought I had canned chilis and didn't. I suggest adding jalapeno or green chilis to taste. 

Hominy Casserole (my version):

16 oz can white hominy, drained

1/2 cup green chiles or diced jalapeno (canned or fresh), optional

1/3 cup onion, chopped, optional

8 oz sour cream

1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (use cheddar or Monterrey Jack)

1 tsp taco seasoning

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine hominy, jalapeno, onion, sour cream, seasonings, and most of the cheese, reserving about 1/2 cups. Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Pour hominy mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (the cheese should be bubbly). Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving as a main dish or with baked chicken. When serving, sprinkle with extra seasoning if you like.

Hominy Casserole

Hominy Casserole

Hominy Casserole 

Hominy Casserole

Hominy Casserole - Oleda Flud's Version:

3 cans yellow hominy

2 small cans chopped green chiles or jalapeno 

1 large carton sour cream

2 lbs shredded cheddar cheese

cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in casserole dish at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. 

Casserole #15 - Lemonchick's Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #15 - Lemonchick's Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

    So, I've had a lot going on, and I finally just this morning, made casserole number 15. Overall, it has just not been a good year and not a good year for the blog either. Part of the reason is that I feel as if I am writing this only for myself. If you see this and try this or any of my other recipes, please let me know. It would make me happy and feel like someone out there is paying attention. 

    This is a recipe of my own creation, and I hope you like it. Substitute diced potatoes for the tater tots if you like.  You can also use turkey sausage, hot/mild/maple sausage (I used hot sausage). It's okay if you don't do the layers exactly as I wrote below; mix it up! I'm very, happy with how this turned out, and I hope you love it. 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb sausage, browned and crumbled

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup diced tomato (canned or fresh)

1/4 cup diced pickled jalapeno (or fresh)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder (or your favorite spicy seasoning)

1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese (divided use)

7 or 8 eggs

1/8 cup to 1/4 cups milk

16 tater tots

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake tater tots until crispy. In a large skillet, begin browning sausage. Chop onion and dice the jalapeno. Add onion and jalapeno to sausage. Sprinkle salt, pepper and chili powder (if desired) to mixture in skillet. In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs with milk and add paprika. Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer half of the tater tots in casserole and spoon sausage mixture on top. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over top of this layer, and add the rest of the tater tots. Pour egg mixture over all. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup cheese on the top. Bake for about 30 minutes and cover the casserole with foil to help prevent further browning. Cook for about 15 more minutes, until egg mixture is completly cooked. Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve. 

Tater Tot Casserole

Tater Tot Casserole

Charley The Muffin Man watching me take pics of this Tater Tot Casserole. 

Uh-oh, Charley The Muffin Man is getting closer to the Tater Tot Casserole

Pistachio Gooey Butter Cake

 Pistachio Gooey Butter Cake

    I recently bought a jar of pistachio butter and was having a tough time deciding what to make with it. I came across Grilled Cheese Social's "Pistachio Cream Gooey Butter Cake" recipe and decided to try it. And, I'm so glad I did! I do love a gooey butter cake and the addition of pistachio butter swirled in was so yummy.  The changes I made were I did not use flaky salt and I added chopped pistachio. My modifications will be in italics. I suggest searching Middle Eastern/Mediterranean grocery stores when you are shopping for the pistachio butter, like I did. I shop at a store called Nimer Nuts. I recommend this recipe and will look at more of Grilled Cheese Social's recipes to see what I else I can try. 

Crust Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup salted butter, melted

1 large egg

Filling Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup salted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup pistachio butter (you may see it also called "pistachio cream", like in the original title of the recipe)

1/2 tsp flaky salt (optional)

1/2 cup chopped unsalted pistachios (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter and egg until combined (about two minutes, using an electric hand mixer). Line the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Using the same bowl, use your hand mixer to blend the cream cheese, egg, vanilla and melted butter until smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cake mixture, ensuring you completely cover the cake mixture. Drizzle or spoon pistachio butter over the cream cheese mixture. Swirl the end of a knife lightly through the pistachio butter and create a pattern (I did long lines of pistachio butter lengthwise and drew the knife through in about six places. If using the flaky salt and or chopped unsalted pistachios, sprinkle over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are set and starting to turn golden. It is okay if the center is still a bit jiggly. Cool in pan and cut into squares. I cut about 35 squares. 

Pistachio Gooey Butter Cake

Pistachio Gooey Butter Cake

Side View - Pistachio Gooey Butter Cake

Poor Charley, I make him pose in the background when I take pictures. 

Casserole #14 - Meat-Noodle Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #14 - Meat-Noodle Casserole

    This recipe was submitted to the Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Meats: Favorite Recipes From Progressive Farmer Readers cookbook by Janet Lynn Wilson of Jacksboro, Tennessee, and the cookbook was published in 1967. This recipe is in the Ground Pork section and calls for lean ground pork. I modified and used ground turkey. You could use ground beef as well.  It was good, but could use more seasoning; consider adding chili powder to taste and/or garlic (powder or minced fresh). My friend who was my taste tester liked it and had a second helping! My modifications to the recipe are in italics. Also note that I re-wrote the directions. 

Ingredients:

8 oz noodles (Use your favorite: macaroni, egg noodles, dumpling style, bow-tie, etc)

3/4 lb ground meat (lean pork, hamburger or turkey) *Ms. Wilson used lean ground pork

2 small onions, chopped

2 cups diced celery

1 small green pepper, shopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp minced garlic (optional)

1 10oz can condensed tomato soup

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup grated cheese *Ms. Wilson used American cheese and only 1/2 cup

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. In a large skillet, brown meat, drain and add onions, celery and green pepper. Add minced garlic if using. Cook until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper and additional seasoning if you are using.  Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray.  Mix together tomato soup and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Alternate layers of meat and noodles in the casserole dish, starting with meat mixture. Over the first layer of noodles sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Finish with a layer of noodles, and pour the tomato soup over top. Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes. *The original recipe gives the yield of 6 servings. 

Meat-Noodle Casserole

Casserole #13 - Lemonchick's Scalloped Potato Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #13 - Lemonchick's Scalloped Potato Casserole

    This is my recipe. Feel free to adjust seasonings as you like. This is a version of a scalloped potato casserole that my mother used to make when I was growing up. My mother didn't like much spice (I like spice though), so I mostly grew up without a lot of seasoning in food. My mother also would not have used garlic salt (she'd have used regular) and would not have added onion, like I did. The Pyrex casserole dish I used is a copy of the one my mother had and it brings back a lot of memories. This is comfort food for me. I hope you try this casserole and that you love it!

Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed

1 cup ham, chunked (You can leave this out if you are vegetarian)

1/2 cup onion, chopped (Optional)

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped (Optional)

1 1/4 cups shredded or cubed cheese; use your favorite combination of cheddar, Monterrey Jack or mozzarella, divided use

1 recipe medium white sauce (below)

White Sauce:

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk, heated (I heat mine in the microwave for two minutes)

1/2 tsp salt 

1/8 tsp pepper

White Sauce Directions:

In a medium saucepan, melt butter on low heat. Blend in flour, letting it get bubbly, before slowly adding the heated milk. Stir constantly until thickened. For this casserole, mix in 1 cup cheese and stir until melted. 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill a large pan with water and add potato chunks. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender; adding the onion to the potatoes for the last about five minutes.  Drain potatoes and onion and return to pan. Add ham. Pour cheese sauce over top and stir until all of the potato and ham mixture is covered. Lightly grease a 2 1/2 qt casserole dish. Pour potato mixture into casserole. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese over top. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cool for a few minutes, before serving. Serve with a side salad or your favorite vegetable as a side. 

Casserole #13 - Scalloped Potato Casserole

Recipe Roulette - Recipe #1: Blitz Torte

 Recipe Roullette - Recipe #1

Blitz Torte

    A fun, new idea I had this week, was to play "Recipe Roullette". Recipe Roullette will be cracking open a cookbook and picking a recipe from whatever pages the book opens to. Exceptions will include recipes with shellfish (I've got an allergy), organ meats, anything more "exotic" than bison and if the recipes are too complicated, because I generally do not like recipes which are complicated. Anyhow, Blitz Tortes consist of a dense, yellow/vanilla cake baked with a layer of merengue. It is topped with cinnamon and slivered almonds. I guess most Bliz Tortes have all of the filling in between the two layers, but I decided to put a bit on top and sprinkle with more almonds. I also used almond extract instead of vanilla extract in the filling. I thought it was pretty good. The recipe I used is in my 1964 copy of the American Woman's Cook Book. My copy was given to someone named Lucy May, by a lady named Lucia on August 4, 1965. I assume Lucy May got married and this cookbook was a bridal gift. It does not look like it was used very, often, as it is in really good condition for a book which is sixty years old. 

Although there were a few steps, I am really glad I made this. I do want to note that the recipe calls for cooking the filling over boiling water (as in a double boiler). I did not do this. I simply used a medium sauce pan, and made sure to not burn the milk. The filling turned out great. I also did not blanch the almonds as the original recipe says to do; I liked it just fine without blanching them. I never do great with merengue, and I didn't feel like mine made little peaks, but it also turned out fine. Try this recipe and let me know what you think.  My modifications are in italics. 

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsps milk

1 cup cake flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup slivered almonds, blanched

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream Filling Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbsps corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

2 egg yolks

2 tbsps butter, softened

2 cups milk, scalded

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Cake Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream shortening. Gradually add sugar and salt and cream until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well in between additions. Sift flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating with the 3 tbsps of milk, and finishing with the vanilla. Spread this thick mixture into two 9-inch greased and lightly floured cake pans (do the bottom and the sides) Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and gradually add sugar. Beat until peaks "round over gently". Spread merengue over the batter in the pans. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup slivered almonds. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks before removing gently from pans. Finish cooling cakes on wire racks. To complete the dessert, place one cake on a plate and spread cream filling on top, and gently placing the second cake on top. Optional: Reserve about 1 cup of cream filling; place the second cake on top of the first layer and spread the reserved filling on top. Sprinkle with the additional 1/4 cup slivered almonds. 

Cream Filling Directions: In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks, beating thoroughly. Add butter and a little bit of milk, stirring to make a smooth paste. Pour the rest of the hot milk into a medium saucepan or top of a double boiler. Add the paste to the hot milk and stir constantly until the mixture thickens (If you are using a double boiler, you need to have boiling water and the bottom part). Remove from heat and cool thoroughly before adding vanilla or almond extract. Optional: 1/2 cup additional  slivered almonds or 1/2 to 3/4 cups blueberries.

Blitz Torte Layer Without Filling

Blitz Torte

Blitz Torte (Sorry for the shadow in the photo)

Treasure Bran Muffins

Charley The Muffin Man 

Muffin #2 - Treasure Bran Muffins

    I have a friend visiting from out of town and made these for breakfast. I thought they turned out pretty yummy, even though I accidentally put two eggs in the batter, and I would definitely make these again. The recipe is in the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese Cookbook, published in 1981. The original recipe calls for raisins, but you could substitute cream cheese. It also doesn't call for nuts, but a small amount of finely chopped nuts would work.  My modification is in italics. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cups bran cereal (I used bran flakes which I crushed up a bit)

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil (I used vegetable oil, but you could use canola oil

1 egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

8 oz cream cheese (Philadelphia brand or whatever brand you have)

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl place your bran flakes and pour the milk over top. Soak for two minutes. Add oil and add, mixing well.  Add flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix until just moistened. I combined all of my dry ingredients in a small bowl and mixed them in all at the same time. Fold in the raisins and spoon batter into greased and floured muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. In a medium sized bowl, blend the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and one egg, until well combined. Drop tablespoons full of the cream cheese mixture on the batter in each cup (I put more than a tablespoon and still had cream cheese mixture leftover). Bake for twenty-five minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly, remove from pan and serve. 

Treasure Bran Muffins

Chocolate Chess Pie

 Chocolate Chess Pie

    This yummy pie is in The Pink Lady Cook Book, a third printing in 1979. It is super easy to make. I would definitely make this again. Try it! I think you'll like it. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick butter or margarine (the butter would be best), melted and cooled

2 whole eggs

3 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

5 1/2 oz evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

whipped cream (optional)

ice cream (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly combine cooled butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa powder milk and vanilla. Pour mixture into pie shell. Carefully place pie into oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Serves 8. 

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie w/Powdered Sugar Decoration

Chocolate Chess Pie Slice

Chocolate Chess Pie with Chocolate Habanero Ice Cream

Casserole #12 - Ham and Noodle Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #12 - Ham and Noodle Casserole

    I really loved this casserole from Treasured Southern Family Recipes, published in 1966.  I added garlic powder, a sprinkle of parsley flakes and had to use cream of chicken soup in lieu of cream of mushroom soup. I'm happy to say that the cream of chicken soup worked really well with this.  I used macaroni noodles, but you could use rigatoni, bow-tie, or egg noodles. My modifications will be in italics. 

Ingredients:

2 tsps salt

4 oz noodles (macaroni, egg, bow-tie or try your favorite)

water

2 tbsps butter

1/4 cup chopped onion (I used closer to 1/2 cup, because I wanted to)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 1/4 cups diced, cooked ham

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken and it was good)

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp chopped pimento

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

parsley for decoration, if desired

1/2 cup grated cheese (the original recipe says American cheese; I used Monterrey Jack)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Fill a large pot about half full with water. Bring to a boil and add salt and noodles. Boil rapidly until al dente. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes while you finish with the other ingredients. While heating water to boil, melt butter in a saucepan. Add onion and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ham and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Heat soup with milk, ensuing they are well combined. Stir in pepper, pimento and garlic powder. Thoroughly drain noodles and return to saucepan. Pour soup mixture over noodles, add ham and veggie mixture and stir until well combined. Pour mixture into lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese, place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes or so. Serves 4 - 6.

Ham and Noodle Casserole

Ham and Noodle Casserole

Charley The Muffin Man is so jealous!