Chicken Bake

My sister Rose gave me this recipe. In our many years of recipe exchanges, this is my favorite. Rose lived in Syracuse, New York, for a few years and she brought this dish back with her from Syracuse. I’ve carried it to many friends when they lost a loved one and served it as a special meal for special guests (we call it a company meal in West Texas). While the ingredients list is not long, it has a complexity of flavors that I love. Of course, anything that contains the words “chicken” and “bake” that uses a stick of butter is going to be good.

1 chicken, cut up (do yourself a favor and buy a kosher chicken)
1 cup long grain rice
4 chicken bouillion cubes
1 can mushroom pieces (or splurge and have mushroom caps!)
1/4 cup pimientos
1 1/2 cups water
1 stick butter
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt

Salt & pepper chicken pieces. Brown in butter in a dutch oven. Remove chicken and saute pepper and onion until tender. Add pimientos, mushrooms, salt, mashed bouillion cubes, rice, and water. Mix well. Place chicken pieces on top, and bake in 325 oven for 1 1/2 hour.

Old Fashioned Potato Soup

Aunt Teenie’s version of potato soup, this is one of those comfort food dishes great when the winter wind is howling outside and you need to warm yourself from the inside out.

8 slices bacon, cooked and diced
4 medium potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 Tablespoons minced parsley
1 1/4 cup water
3 cups milk
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine diced vegetables and water. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until done. Rice vegetables or put through a coarse sieve, and return to the water in which they were cooked. Add milk, salt and pepper, and reheat. Cook bacon until crisp. Just before serving, float parsley and crisp bacon on soup. Serves 6.

Lord Charley’s Corn Chowder

This recipe is a Barron family favorite. Cousin David Corey brought it to the family and his Aunt Marguerite (our Mema) would serve it to us often. While it’s not a diet food, it definitely is a comfort food!

Brown in pan with 2 Tablespoons oil:

1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped bacon

Add:
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Peel, Dice, and Add

1 pound potatoes (4 cups)
15 ounces Frozen Cut corn

Simmer 1/2 hour.

In a separate pan, melt butter and mix:

4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour,

add

1 quart half and half

Whip smooth.

Add to soup, cook 10 minutes to blend. Do not boil.

Grandmother Mitchell’s Tamale Pie

My Grandmother Mitchell is a legendary cook in my family. She made blackberry cobblers I still dream about, and her turkey and dressing set the standard for holiday fare for us. Grandmother taught my Mom most of what she knew about cooking, and most of the things that Mom did really well were a product of this training. Tamale pies came on the scene during the depression. Using only 3/4 pounds of hamburger, this dish will feed a lot of people! I must confess I usually splurge and use a whole pound of hamburger. We love tamale pie for Christmas Eve dinners, and serve it with beans and rice and salsa. It’s a good way to prepare for the holiday season and a nice change from the usual holiday fare. The cornmeal mush that is the base for this recipe is a “polenta” and we love it! Thanks, Grandmother, now if you had only left us the recipe for your cobbler.

1 cup cornmeal
3 cups water (or chicken broth for extra flavor)
1 teaspoon salt

Place three ingredients in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until you have a stiff cornmeal mush. Line a greased large baking dish with the mush, reserving enough to drop by teaspoons on top of casserole before baking the pie.

Filling:
1 large onion
3/4 pounds hamburger
1 cup tomatoes
3 teaspoons chili powder
2 chopped green peppers
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and meat in skillet; add remaining ingredients and pour over the mush. Drop remaining mush over the casserole, top with grated cheese if desired, and bake at 400 degrees until browned. Slice into squares, and serve with fresh salsa and beans. Serves 5 or 6 people.

Hint: I like to add crushed red pepper flakes to this filling . I also like to use chicken broth for the mush instead of water, and moisten it with some butter stirred into the mush to make a richer taste. I think Grandmother would approve.

Mississippi Mudder Pie

This recipe has a luscious chocolate crust, creamy two chocolate filling, with a whipped cream top garnished with chocolate curls. If you are a chocolate lover this is your dish.

Pie crust:
1 5/8 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (dark preferably)
5 1/2 ounces butter (11 Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons superfine bakers sugar
1-2 Tablespoons cold water

Sift the flour and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into little chunks, then put in bowl with the flour mixture. Rub in the butter with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. (The warmth of your fingers will aid in this). Stir in the sugar, then add enough cold water to make a soft dough. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. While this is chilling, relax and have a glass of mint iced tea.

Filling:
6 ounces butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 organic eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, preferably dark
5 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably Callebaut)
1 1/4 cups light cream
1 tsp vanilla

When the dough is chilled, roll out on a lightly floured counter and use it to line a 9 inch pie pan. Line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and take out the paper and beans. Put crust back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

To prepare the filling, beat the butter and sugar together in a deep mixing bowl then gradually beat in the eggs with the cocoa. Melt the chocolate (I like to do this in a double boiler) and beat it into the mixture with the cream and vanilla.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for 45 minutes, until the filling has set but don’t overbake.

Let the pie cool completely. Top with whipped cream and milk chocolate curls. Chill until ready to serve. Serves eight. May garnish with sprigs of mint. I believe a glass of red wine would go great with this dessert but you may just want more mint tea.

This pie is rich, so you may want to slice into more than 8 pieces.

Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding

Paula Deen says this is “Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding”.  But if you’re Mitchell (who requested that I post this recipe) or Tommy,  it IS yo mama’s banana pudding.  And so it’s thusly named by me.  It’s an amazing low calorie recipe!  NOT.  Still it’s delicious and worth trying, it is Mitchell and Tommy’s favorite banana pudding, and Mitchell’s sweet friend Amelia enjoyed it immensely!  Amelia, I’ll make it for you every time you come see us, and that’s a promise.

Ingredients:

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies OR 1 box vanilla wafers (or substitute any cookies that you think would be fabulous, here is an opportunity to get creative with this recipe)
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened (leave on counter for a couple of hours to soften)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (e.g. Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk)
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip), or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Directions:

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with about 1/2 of the cookies and layer the sliced bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies (I usually crush the cookies for the top layer but this is optional). Refrigerate until ready to serve unless you just can’t stand not having some IMMEDIATELY.  I do think this pudding is better after sitting in the fridge at least a couple of hours.

What in the world should I cook tonight?

I picked up my annual 40 lbs. of Hatch Green Chiles yesterday.  Hot, not mild,  por supuesto.  THANK GOD!  I ran out about a month ago, it was a very sad day.  Took them home and froze them with loving care, we’ll be enjoying these all year.  Por supresto I had to make something with Hatch Green Chiles last night (and today).  Last night I made Green Chile Cheeseburgers.  Today I decided to redefine the leftover burgers I had, and made Green Chile Chili (no, it’s not redundant). 

These recipes are also pantry recipes – where I go shopping in my own pantry, figure out what I have and how I can creatively use the stuff I’ve already paid for or cooked.   I am great at this, but it’s only because I’ve learned from the master, Sue.  Sue can redefine rice, or anthing else, at least 50 different ways in the flash of an eye!  In these times it’s a great skill to have.   

There are those that shun canned ingredients, but I think having them on hand is not only smart but economical.  One of my favorite ham salad recipes from Sue uses Spam!  Damn!  Really – I made  it for my boys one night.  Por supuesto I did not tell them what it was – and they loved it.  It just goes to show that deception, when it comes to cooking and children, es algo muy bueno.

Produce is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive and sometimes you just don’t feel like grocery shopping, yo.  Do yourself a favor and keep  your essential items in the pantry or the freezer.  Blue and Sue are known for browsing the grocery aisles at Big Lots for the latest marked down gourmet items (they are there, people, get in the car and GO!!).  Now, on to the recipes.

Green Chile Burgers

Green Chile Chili

Green Chile Burgers

2 lbs of lean ground beef (preferably raised by my Daddy)
1 package onion soup mix
1 cup Hatch Green Chiles (or less, or more, whatever)
2 tablespoons worchester sauce
1-2 tablespoons water
Fresh ground pepper

Crumble the beef into a bowl. Add soup mix and green chiles and mix lightly. Add 1 tablespoon water and mix lightly. If the water is absorbed almost immediately add another tablespoon. This might sound bizarre but this adds a lot of moisture to the burger, which is critical for lean ground beef. Heck, add three tablespoons if you need too, along with fresh ground pepper to taste. When mixed the beef should not feel compact, it should almost like it’s going to fall apart when you form the patties and you’ll feel scared that it’ll survive grilling. This is your goal. After you form the patties (I made 6), you can chill them in the fridge to firm them up a bit. When you are ready to grill, lightly oil the grate and cook the burgers over medium high heat about 4-5 minutes each side. Grab a beer while you enjoy the amazing aroma of roasted green chiles and grilled beef.

Green Chile Chili

WARNING: This recipe is named for the massive amount of green chiles in the leftover green chile burgers, and not for being traditional New Mexico Green Chili.  Proceed if you still desire deliciousness in your mouth.

Chopped onions, 1-2 cups
Leftover green chile burgers, crumbled (I had approximately 1 1/3 lbs leftover, weight prior to cooking. Precision not guaranteed)
1 can pinto beans, or substitute your bean of choice
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
2 teaspoons cumin
2 bay leaves
¼ cup chili powder, or to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups (1 quart) chicken broth
½ cup sofrito (optional, but add some garlic if you leave this out)

Saute onions in a bit of oil until softened. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat until you can no longer resist the delicious aroma wafting through your house (at least two hours).

Sugar might seem unnecessary or weird, and I swear that Paula Deen did not tell me to do it!! The acidity of the tomatoes needed to be tamed during my taste tests and the tiny bit of sugar did the trick. This trick is something that is worthy of remembering, I pull it out of my sleeve frequently.

Jack and Coke Cake

Another cake recipe with booze.  This one is jack-y and yummy *hic*

Cake Ingredients
1 package butter recipe yellow cake mix
1 3.5-ounce package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup coke
4 eggs
3/4 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
1 8 ounce package almond toffee bits (Heath toffee bits, available by the chocolate chips in the baking aisle)

Glaze Ingredients
1/2 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar

Frosting Ingredients
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-3 tablespoons Jack Daniels Whiskey
1/2 of a 8-ounce package almond toffee bits (Heath toffee bits)
1 tablespoon coke

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cake
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and instant pudding, then add butter, coke, 3/4 cup Jack Daniel’s and the eggs.  Mix until smooth, about 4 minutes. Pour into a well greased and floured bundt pan; tap the pan on solid surface several times to remove any trapped air bubbles. Pour one whole 8 ounce package of the heath toffee chips evenly over what would be the bottom of the cake.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Glaze
Make the glaze after removing the cake from the oven, while the cake is still hot.  The cake totally soaks this glaze up, making it very moist with a nice Jack flavor.  Combine butter, Jack Daniels, and sugar.  Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.  Pour over the hot cake, with the cake still in the Bundt pan.  Jiggle around a bit to make sure the glaze is distributed down the sides of the bundt pan.  Let cake cool about 30 minutes and remove from pan.  Place on a rack until completely cool.

Frosting
With a mixer, combine powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons Jack Daniel’s and 1 tablespoon coke, mix until the lumps are gone.  Adjust consistency as needed, add powdered sugar to make it thicker or Jack Daniels to make it thinner.  Mix in 4 ounces of heath toffee bits to frosting (1/2 of a package) and mix.  Spread frosting over cooled cake.