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. 

Cucumber 'n Onion Salad

 Cucumber 'n Onion Salad

    This is a quick little salad I decided to make on the spur of the moment. It's from the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese 100th Anniversary Cookbook. The book was published in 1981.  Although I forgot to mix the cream cheese with the cream cheese, and then add the onions and cucumber, it still turned out good. I did also add pepper and dill to the recipe (those modifications will be in Italics). This recipe makes about two servings. You could easily double this recipe. It is perfect for a hot day. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

3 oz Philadelphia cream cheese (or other brand) softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp celery seed (add more if desired)

dash of salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 to 1/2 tsp dill 

1 cup peeled cucumber slices, sliced thinly

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion rings

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, sour cream and seasonings until well combined. Stir in cucumber and onion, mixing lightly. Chill until ready to serve. Makes about two servings.

Cucumber 'n Onion Salad

Casserole #8 - Broccoli Supreme

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #8 - Broccoli Supreme

    I love community cookbooks in which individuals in a community, club or church group submit recipes. This recipe is from the 2009 Richardson Citizen Fire Academy Alumni Association cookbook. This is my favorite casserole so far in this Year of Casseroles!! This casserole could be made with cream of celery soup, not cream of chicken if you want a totally vegetarian casserole. Use vegan cream, cream soup and stuffing mix for a vegan casserole. Alternatively, this could also become a main dish, with the addition of chicken breast. The original recipe says you can substitute  zucchini or asparagus in lieu of broccoli. 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs fresh broccoli or a 10oz package of frozen chopped broccoli

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup diced onion

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/8 tsp pepper

3/4 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix (or use plain stuffing mix and add 1 tsp Italian seasoning)

2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. If using fresh broccoli, cut broccoli into 1-inch or so sized florets. Cook 5 to 8 minutes in boiling water. If using frozen broccoli, cook according to directions. In a mixing bowl, mix together soup and flour. Add sour cream, carrot, onion and pepper. Stir until combined. Drain broccoli completely and add to the soup mixture. Stir completely and pour into a greased 2-quart casserole.  In a small bowl, mix stuffing and melted butter (adding the Italian seasoning if using plain stuffing mix). Sprinkle around the edge of the casserole dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cools slightly before serving. Serve with rolls and salad alongside chicken, pork or steak. 

Broccoli Supreme

Broccoli Supreme

Appetizer 22 - Old Bay Potato Skins

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #22 - Old Bay Potato Skins

    This recipe is another creation of mine.  Add as much Old Bay seasoning , green onion, cheese and sour cream as you like.  Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, washed 

old bay seasoning

cheddar or colby-jack cheese, shredded

sour cream

green onion, chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake potatoes until softened (you can easily poke the potato with a fork). It's a fine line, but you don't want the potatoes too soft. Remove from oven. Cut potatoes lengthwise into wedges.  Gently scoop potato from skin, leaving about 1/4 inch or so of potato on the skin. Save the scooped potato in a small bowl and use as you wish in another recipe. Lay potato wedges on a baking pan and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning on top of potato skins. Top skins with cheese and sprinkle with more Old Bay if you wish. Bake skins until cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Cool slightly. Serve hot topped with sour cream, green onion and add another sprinkle of Old Bay if you like. Enjoy!

Old Bay Potato Skins

Old Bay Potato Skins

Appetizer #16 - Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #16 - Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

Published in 2009, the Hungry Girl 200 under 200  - 200 recipes under 200 calories, has lots of tasty healthier than normal recipes. While this is the first recipe I've made from this cookbook, I liked it so much, that I definitely want to try more. Full disclosure, I did not make a lower calorie version of this recipe. I used regular sour cream, mayonnaise and cream cheese, so that's what I'll show in the recipe. YOU can obviously use fat-free cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream for the lower calorie version. This dip took a while to make, but it is really good and is so worth it. Make it the day before you want to serve, as it the flavors get all happy together after a few hours. Serve with veggies, chips or crackers.  I had my first serving on cucumber slices. This is one of my favorites in the Year of Appetizers. If you like onions, make this. It's delicious. 

Ingredients:

2 large sweet onions, chopped

6 tbsps cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp softened butter, light butter or buttery spread

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Melt butter on medium-high heat, add chopped onions and seasonings. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The pile of chopped onions will cook down. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, until the onion is browned and caramelized. While you're cooking the onion, whisk together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream until smooth.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator. When the onions are caramelized, add the Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar. Cook for five more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool. When onion mixture is cool, remove the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream mixture from the refrigerator and the onions to the bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. You can serve now or return to the refrigerator for the flavors to get happy. Serve with crackers, thick potato chips or veggies. 

Sweet Caramelized Onion Dip

Sour Cream Cocoa Cookies

 Sour Cream Cocoa Cookies

    Mmmmm.  This recipe comes from Hershey Chocolate's Hershey's Recipes recipe booklet, published in 1940. I needed something to take to my church ladies group potluck and wanted to take something for dessert. I chose these cookies and I'm glad I did, because the cookies (2) which I sampled, were yummy. The recipe booklet says this makes about 4 dozen. I used a cookie scoop and got 4 3/4 dozen. My original thought was to make these and then do a drizzle of white chocolate over the top, but I decided not to do that. The recipe booklet also says to bake for about 10 minutes and I feel they need closer to 12 minutes at 375 degrees F. The recipe calls for sifted flour and then to sift with the cocoa, spices, salt, but I didn't pre-sift the flour. These cookies have nuts, but feel free to leave out the nuts, substitute pecans in lieu of walnuts or maybe add mini chocolate chips. Whatever you decide to do, you should make these. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa powder (or your favorite brand)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

Sift flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream shortening, then add sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in vanilla and walnuts. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream (I forgot to alternate, but they turned out fine). Mix thoroughly, then use a cookie scoop or spoons to drop onto greased baking sheets (I used un-greased stoneware pans). Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. This recipe will make at least 4 dozen cookies. 

Hershey's Recipes booklet

Sour Cream Cocoa Cookies

Pie Number 21 - Beef and Onion Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 21 - Beef and Onion Pie

    I love the little cookbook that this recipe is in. It is the Tried And True Grit Recipes - 95 Years of Homestyle Recipes. The recipe originally appeared in The Grit Cookbook, on May 4, 1958. The great thing about this pie, is that you can use beef (as in the title), ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork or even ground bison, like I did. The other modification I made was that I added a top crust. The recipe in the book does not call for a top crust, so a top crust is optional. It definitely was more appetizing to look at, with a top crust. 

    I was really happy with how this pie turned out. My crust was good; the texture of the filling was good and "sturdy" and I liked the taste. This was pretty quick and easy to make. You could get up to eight servings from this. You don't need large slices, especially if you are serving the pie with a side salad or vegetable(s) on the side. Try this. I think you'll like it. 

Ingredients:

pastry for a 9-inch pie shell (double crust optional) (I made pastry for a double-crust pie)

1 lb ground beef (or your choice of ground meat; I used ground bison)

2 tbsps butter or margarine

1 large or 2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tsps salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsps flour

1 cup sour cream or butter milk (I used sour cream, but I think plain, non-fat Greek yogurt would add an interesting flavor)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I didn't realize I was out; I used low sodium soy and it was just fine)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

pimiento strips (optional)

parsley flakes (optional)

Directions:

Cook onion in butter until translucent. Add in ground meat  and cook until meat is completely cooked (browned). Pour off any grease. Stir in salt, pepper and flour. Mix sour cream, Worcestershire sauce and eggs into the meat and onion mixture. Pour into pastry lined pie pan. Cover with top crust if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. A knife inserted at the edge of filling should come out clean. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley flakes and/or pimiento strips and a vegetable or garden salad. 

Bison and Onion PIe

Bison and Onion Pie with Peas

Bison and Onion Pie with Peas

Creamy-Spicy Sauce

 Creamy-Spicy Sauce

        This is a super easy sauce.  I'll give some measurements, but you can adjust as needed or to taste. I made this sauce for chunked pork loin, which I served over rice.  You can use it on chicken or maybe fish or even on plant based substitutes.  Try it with cooked & cubed tofu or paneer cheese or potato. Try it with pasta or rice and mix in chunks of meet or the aforementioned tofu/paneer cheese. I used La Costena Ranchera Salsa. This salsa is a tomatillo and mixed chili peppers sauce.  I definitely taste chipotle in there and I love chipotle. This salsa is a dark, roasted color.  La Costena products can be found at Latino groceries and other local grocery stores. 

    First, cut your pork/chicken/tofu/paneer cheese/potato into chunks as big or small as you like. Heat a skillet, add a bit of oil (I like canola & olive oil) or cooking spray. Add whatever you decided to use, meat, tofu, paneer cheese, to the skillet and cook until meat is cooked thoroughly or the tofu/paneer cheese is completely cooked.  Sorry I don't have more info on how to tell when tofu/paneer cheese is completely cooked.  I just cook paneer cheese so it is a little browned on the edges of the cubes and some of the pieces pop a little.  Also, the tried and true method is to just spear a piece with a fork and check it by biting it. For potato, I like to cook the cubed potato in salted boiling water until softened, but not too soft, because I'm adding it to a skillet.  

Second, determine how 'saucy' you want your sauce.  I like saucy, myself.  You can start with 1 cup of sour cream and mix in "salsa to taste".  Add the sour cream and salsa mixture to your skillet with your meat, tofu, paneer cheese or potato and heat through, stirring to combine all.  

Third, if serving with rice or pasta, fill bowls with rice/pasta and spoon your meat/tofu/paneer cheese and sauce mixture over top.  Serve with bread and butter if you like.  

Ingredients:

La Costena Ranchera Salsa or try it with your favorite salsa

Sour Cream

Pork/Chicken/Tofu/Paneer Cheese/Potato (Use enough for the amount of servings you plan)

Creamy-Spicy Sauce with Pork

Zucchini Patties

 Zucchini Patties

    This recipe comes to us from The Jubilee "of our many blessings" Cookbook by the United Methodist Women of Highland Park United Methodist Church, printed in 1991. This church is located in Dallas, Texas. It is not my church, but I pass by quite often.  It is a beautiful building. 

    In my last poll, the contestants were carrots and zucchini.  Zucchini won with about 56% of the 16 votes.  When I do polls, I already have recipes picked out and I'm ready for whichever main ingredient is declared is the winner.  I usually will make the runner-up the following week; next week's recipe will be Sweet and Sour Carrots. The recipe for this week's winning ingredient, zucchini, was submitted by the cookbook committee, not an individual member.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (this was about 1 1/2 zucchinis)

2 tablespoons grated onion

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

    I used the smaller grate side of a cheese grater for my zucchini which I had washed, dried and removed the ends of.  I forgot to pat dry the zucchini between towels before I put the shreds in my mixing bowl, but I did pat the mound of shreds with paper towels to get as much moisture as possible.  After shredding the zucchini, I melted butter in a large skillet on medium-low, because I didn't want the butter to burn.  Into my bowl of zucchini shreds, I added the rest of the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper.  I didn't end up adding salt or pepper. I didn't have plain oregano, so I used Italian Seasoning.  I used powered Parmesan cheese, but you could used freshly grated Parmesan if you can find it. It was perfectly fine with the powdered kind. I used a brand of mayo called Duke's Mayonnaise, which I've never used, but seems to have quite a following, so I'd thought I would try it. Mix your ingredients until well mixed.

    The recipe says to shape the mixture into six patties and while I did end up with six decent sized patties, the batter is too soft to shape and lay into the skillet.  I dropped mounds of the batter in the skillet, which I then spread into patty shapes. Cook until browned on both sides and serve plain or with tomato sauce and grated cheese or with sour cream and chives.  I did sour cream this time and didn't have chives, so I sprinkled parsley flakes on top and it looked quite pretty and it tasted good.  

  The verdict? I liked this recipe.  It wasn't difficult and did not take too long to make.  As a time saver, you could prep your onion and zucchini the night before and then just combine the ingredients and cook the next night.  This recipe is vegetarian. I bet you could make it vegan, if you know of vegan substitutes for the dairy products. 

Let me know if you try this and what you think about it. 

Bacon and Onion Pie

 Bacon and Onion Pie

    I've wanted to make a quiche for a long time, but never have.  This pie is pretty much a quiche; it's just not called a "quiche". I have a set of four book set of Favorite Recipes of America cookbooks from 1968 and this recipe comes from the "Vegetables" book, which also says "including fruits" on the cover.  This amuses me that it mentions it includes fruits. I started by pre-heating my oven to 375 degrees. I made my piecrust using a recipe from a 1978 The Family Circle Pies and Cakes Cookbook. This recipe was submitted by Mrs. Jack Roberts of Augusta, Georgia. I'm not good at rolling out pie crusts or making them look pretty in the pie pan and this time I was par for the course.  The crust was pretty horrid looking (I used a 9 inch pie pan and used a nine inch single crust recipe) as it had torn a bit. I poked  holes around the crust with a fork, after I'd done as best I could getting the crust into the pan and patching a few places. You do not pre-bake this crust. 

    Next, instead of cooking my bacon and then crumbling it, I cut it up befre cooking until crispy. When crispy, I removed the bacon to a paper towel covered tray. As the bacon had cooked (I stirred it around occasionally) I chopped up my onion.  The recipe calls for four large onions and after I'd chopped one onion, I knew that two were going to be plenty and it turns out I was right on that.  Two large onions were perfect for this. I cooked the onion in the bacon grease until clear & softened, returned the bacon to the pan, combining the onion and bacon before removing the pan from the burner to cool. I mixed sour cream and eggs until well incorporated and combined the sour cream and egg mixture with the bacon and onion mixture. Here is where it was helpful to have the onion and bacon mixture cooled. When mixing hot ingredients with eggs, you need to either cool the hot ingredients  before mixing or temper the egg with a little bit of the hot mixture, before combining the two.  If you don't it will not be smooth.  It will look more like the egg bits in fried rice.

    Once the egg/sour cream and the bacon/onion mixtures were well combined, I added a 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, as well as a 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and poured everything into my crust and placed it into my oven for about 37 minutes.  The recipe says to bake for 30 to 45 minutes and I set my timer for 37, because I could always cook the pie longer if necessary. As it was, at 37 minutes, there was no need to cook it longer. The pie was gorgeous, in my humble opinion and even my wonky pie crust looked fine around the edges. After cooling for about 15 minutes or so at least (I actually lost track, because I was anxious to cut into it), I served myself a good slice with a sprinkle of finely shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese. 

    The verdict?  I really liked this and I would definitely make this again. I thought the pie was visually appealing, the pie crust turned out really good, I liked both the finished texture and flavor. The recipe calls for caraway seed, which I didn't have and I was going to substitute dill seed, but at the last minute, decided to use the Italian seasoning instead and  I'm glad I did. Other options could be cajun seasoning, chili powder, garlic powder or try something different. As always, let me know if you try this.  

Lemonchick's Cheesy Turkey Rice Casserole

 Lemonchick's Cheesy Turkey Rice Casserole

    Wow! Yes, this is the third recipe I've posted this weekend.  This one is special, because it is my own creation. I created it using ingredients I had at home. Turkey is in the title, but you could substitute chicken or tofu/paneer cheese if you're vegetarian.  I am so excited by how this turned out.  Try it and let me know how you like it.  

2 cups cooked turkey (cut into chunks)

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet dry onion soup mix

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 cup shredded cheese 

Sour cream

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook your rice according to directions and set aside in a good-sized mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes (do not drain), cream of chicken soup, onion soup mix, and the Italian seasoning, stirring after each addition. Cut 2 cups of cooked turkey into chunks and stir into the rice mixture. Stir in half of the shredded cheese. Make sure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and spread into a 9x13 pan (spray with cooking spray or lightly oil) and sprinkle the remaining half cup of shredded cheese. Bake in your oven uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove and cool slightly (or as long as you can wait). Serve with a dollop of sour cream.  You could get at least 6 - 8 servings or maybe more, depending on how big everyone's appetites are.  

    Variations: Use chicken or if you are vegetarian, use tofu or paneer cheese cubed and cooked; white rice instead of brown, cream of celery soup instead of cream of chicken; if you're watching your sodium intake, try using low sodium version of the soups; try diced tomatoes withe chilis; chipotle seasoning instead of Italian seasoning. 

Yum Yum Chicken

 Yum Yum Chicken

    I know of Hy-Vee grocery stores from visiting family in Iowa a few Summers growing up and added this Hy-Vee 75th Anniversary cookbook to my collection a few years ago.  I had a poll between Yum Yum Chicken, Chicken Delight and 5-Hour Stew.  It's pretty obvious that Yum Yum Chicken won. 5-Hour Stew came in second and Chicken Delight was nowhere close. 

    This recipe was pretty easy and the finished dish was visually appealing.  I had three large chicken breasts which I cut up in chunks (that made up the 4 cups of cubed chicken). I cut up the chicken first and then cooked it and spread the chunks in the bottom of my glass 9x13 Pyrex pan. I mixed together the soups and sour cream; pouring that mixture over the chicken. I wasn't sure if it was going to be messy spreading this over the chicken, but it was fine. Next came the stuffing. I sprinkled the dry stuffing mix over the soups and sour cream 'layer'. This was finished off by pouring the melted butter and broth mixture over the stuffing layer.  I popped the pan in the oven, which I had pre-heated at 350 degrees, for 45 minutes.  It looked good and was bubbly when I took it out. And, it smelled good.  I let it cool a bit, not very long though, because I wanted to try it.

    The verdict? It was good, but tasted pretty salty to me and I try to watch my sodium intake. I want to make this again, but I will use low salt soups & broth and unsalted butter.  If a low sodium stuffing is available, I would think about trying that also. This recipe made a lot of food and could easily feed several people. A side salad would do well with this. It did re-heat well the next day for leftovers.  I have to admit though, that I ended up taking the chicken out, washing it off (classy, but I didn't not want to waste the meat) and disposed of the rest of the dish; I just couldn't deal with the saltiness.   You might try it as is and it is fine, but like I said, the next time I make it, I will definitely reduce the sodium as much as possible.

      Next up, I'll be making the 5-Hour Stew.