December 31, 2011

Ginger's Spagetti Pie

Ingredients:
12 ounces spagetti
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 well beaten eggs
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 8ounce cans tomatoes
2 6 ounce cans of tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons garlic salt
2 cups (16 ounces) cottage cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) mozzarella cheese

Cook spagetti and drain. Stir in butter, parmesan, and eggs. Form this mixture into a crust in 2 buttered 10 inch pie plates. Cook beef, onion and pepper until browned. Drain excess fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt. Heat through. Spread cottage cheese over bottom of spagetti crust. Fie pie with tomato mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes or longer until cheese melts.

December 28, 2011

Candace's Peanut Butter Fudge

1 & 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
1 bag Reese's peanut butter chips

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Rreduce heat and boil  5 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add vanilla, fluff, and chips. Blend until smooth and creamy. Then stir in two very large spoonfuls of peanut butter. Mix well. Pour into 8 X 8 inch pan or 8 inch round pan. Chill.

December 24, 2011

Nana's Curry Chicken Wings

Every Christmas Eve, the family would gather at Nana's house. Instead of a big sit-down meal, there was a buffet laid out on the dining room for dinner - a meal composed entirely of appetizers. a few years before Nana passed away, I called her to ask for a couple of her recipes. The Curry Chicken Wings were something I looked forward to munching on every year. Was ever surprised to hear her recipe over the phone... It wasn't exact at all. Maybe once upon a time, she had a precise recipe... but by the time I asked about them she wasn't worried about exact amounts of anything. Her instructions went like this...

Well - get some fresh chicken wings.. depending on whos coming you may want more or less.  Then for every so many (I narrowed her down to 'maybe 8' decent sized fresh wings; these are whole wings, not just the little drumettes sold in the frozen section) you'll want some butter... not margarine, that just doesn't work right but you could use it I suppose.  Put a couple of tablespoons of butter along with about a half a cup of honey on the stove and melt it down. Then put a couple of good spoonfuls of dijon mustard in it. Once thats all heated and melted down, make sure its spreadable or you'll need more butter. Add a tablespoon or two of curry to the mix. Taste it, you'll know when its enough.  Once thats mixed and spreadable you can start the chicken. The chicken will stick to the pan, so you might want to use a spray on the pan. place the wings out so they aren't touching. Baste everything with the spread. Bake a bit, then take them out and baste again. Then cook some more, then if not done, baste them again and bake until done.  Oh, and be careful they get dark if the temperature is too much.

So I tried it... Just like she said. They do stick to the pan. I cook them about 350 degrees, cause she never really said what temperature and i was so distracted with the casual instructions I forgot to ask.  They are good, and they do say Christmas Eve to me.  Then I got adventuresome and made the glaze on Chicken thoighs... which was also good.  So have some Curry Chicken Wings and enjoy!

December 17, 2011

Byron's Buttermilk Scones

Mix dry ingredients:

3 cups Flour
1/2 cup sugar
2&1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Salt

Then cut into the dry ingredients 3/4 cup cold butter until mixture is in crumbs the size of small peas.

Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest & 3/4 cup berries.

Stir briefly and then add 1 cup Buttermilk.

Stir until soft dough hold together. You may need to add liquid as necessary but don't over mix. Dough will be fairly soft. Form into 2 circles 6-8 inches wide and 2-3 inches high. cut them into wedges. Bake on ungreased  cookie sheet at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.

December 10, 2011

Homemade Tacos

Recipe 1 is a bulk recipe and recipe 2 is something much simplier for a single meal.

Recipe 1:
Taco Mix:
1/4 cup Chili Powder
1/4 cup Flour
3 Tablespoons dried Minced Onion
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
2 & 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoon dried Oregano
2 Teaspoon ground Cumin
1 & 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon ground Coriander

Combine the above ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to one year.

Tacos:
1 pound lean ground beef
3/4 cup water
tortillas or taco shells
1/4 cup taco seasoning

In Large skillet cook beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. drain meat. Add seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Heat Tortillas or taco shells. Fill shells or tortillas with taco meat. Add toppings and eat.

Toppings:

Salsa or Taco sauce
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cheese
Sour Cream
Or whatever else suits your fancy

Recipe 2:
Brown 1 pound of ground beef and drain off fat.. Add 1 medium chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic,  3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon chili powder,  1 cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water. Simmer this together for 15-25 minutes while you warm the shells in a  350 oven and ready the toppings.  Then eat.

December 7, 2011

Scallops with Citrus Glaze

1 to 1&1/2 pounds of Sea Scallops (not Bay Scallops)
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated Orange Peel

Salt & Pepper the scallops. Saute scallops in 1 tablespoon of the oil until firm and opaque. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, cook garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the juices, soy sauce, and orange peel. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 5 minutes or until thickened. Serve over the scallops.

December 3, 2011

Aunt Jean's Cole Slaw Dressing

1 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 grated onion

mix really well in blender.