Isreali Salad - this is absolutely delicious

I got this recipe from a friend, this is great with everything.  I love eating it with quesdillas.  It is great along side burgers.  This is a great way to use up those last of the season cucumbers and tomatoes.  Thanks Laura for letting me post this one.  Cheers!!

Laura's notes:

I actually do not measure my veggies, I them, put them in the container, toss & coat.  As of late, I have not put in the parsley.  You can fiddle with the ratios and see what works for you.  The key to success with this recipe is to VERY FINELY chop the veggies, with a very sharp knife. If you use something dull, it will mash the veggies & they lose taste.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 cucumbers, diced

1 plastic container cherry tomatoes, seeded and diced

5 green onions, sliced

1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced (if you substitute green pepper, decrease volume by 50%)

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Directions

1.      Toss the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, parsley together in a bowl.

2.      Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the salad and toss to coat. 

3.      Season with salt and pepper to serve.

4.      Drain before serving – the salt pulls out the water in the veggies.  

Chicken Enchilada Dip - Yes I am sharing my secret weapon

My version is a little different than the others on the internet.  Most of you know we recently moved north to Boston area from Atlanta.  I just exposed my current work mates to this dish and they were in awe.  This recipe is my "go to" for any gathering. This recipe was so popular at my former office in Atlanta I was asked for the recipe repeatedly.  Before we moved several friends ask for this recipe; the last gathering before we moved the guys present were calling dibs on the leftovers in the dish.  


WARNING:  This is not a healthy dip.  


Angie’s Chicken Enchilada Dip
1.5 lbs of boneless chicken breast (2.5 to 3 lbs for bone in) 
1 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt
Pepper 
Water

1 8-ounce package cream cheese.  
1 cup of mayonnaise (or an 8 ounce jar)
1 cup sharp cheddar shredded cheese, keep a 1/4 cup separate.
1 small can chopped green chilies, undrained 
1 small can salsa verde
1 pkg of Sazon
1/4 teaspoon or more cayenne pepper or Aleppo pepper (optional this is for heat)

Directions

Boil chicken breast over medium heat with garlic powder, onion powder, season with salt and pepper as you would normally. This takes about 40 minutes with bone in, 30 minutes with boneless. (this is the secret – some dips bake or pan fry – I think that dries the meat out).    While the chicken is cooking, remove cream cheese from refrigerator so it can soften.  You can use Neufchatel cheese or Fat Free cream cheese as a replacement.

Take chicken out of the hot broth and let it cool for about 15 minutes. 


Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese, chilies, salsa verde, sazon, cayenne pepper and mayonnaise in a small bowl until well blended. Stir in chicken. 

Cut up chicken breast (remove bones if bone in).

Mix in Chicken.  Place the mixture in a medium to large casserole dish.  

Top with remaining 1/4 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. 

Bake at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes or until dip is lightly browned and heated through. 


Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.  I have even used as a filling for enchiladas and used a green salsa verde as the enchilada sauce.

VOILA!!

As Promised Pumpkin Butter Recipe

1 can of pumpkin (not the pie filling) or 2 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin (not raw)
½ cup of applesauce
½ cup of honey
2 tablespoons of splenda
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 cup of water or apple juice
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of ginger
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of allspice


Place all the ingredients in a boiler and combine.  Cook over low heat for 1 hour, stirring often.  I like my pumpkin butter think so I let mine cook another 30 minutes.  You determine how you want yours.  This recipe makes about a quart of pumpkin butter.  I remove from heat and place in plastic container or a glass jar with a lid.  Let this cool then refrigerate.  Enjoy!!

I am ashamed that I have not posted so here is a winner winner chicken dinner

All I can say is life got really busy and well you don't want to hear it all.  What you want is another recipe.  So my grandmother used to make a Chicken pie that was unbelievable.  Her Chicken pie had not vegetables, only chicken, gravy and pastry.  I serve it with potato and carrot mash.  Enjoy!!

Grandma Welch's Chicken Pie

3 to 4 pound whole chicken
2  cups of chicken broth
1  stick of unsalted butter
1  rib of celery, chopped finely
1  can of evaporated milk
1  shallot minced
1  tablespoon dried chives
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 box of pre-made pie crust (this is my addition she made her's from scratch)
Egg Wash
Salt
Pepper


1. Place 2 cups of chicken broth and the whole chicken washed and cleaned in a dutch oven or stock pot.  Cover with water and add a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.  Cook for 1 hour over medium heat.
2. Remove chicken from the stock and let cool, about 30 minutes.  Pull chicken off the bone and hold in a bowl.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in the flour and cook until it begins to brown, about 1 minute.
5. Stir in the milk, broth (taken from the pot the chicken was cooked in),bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
6. Strain the sauce into a large bowl (discard the vegetables-or not this is your decision), stir in the chicken and chives, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool for 30 minutes.
7. Spoon the chicken mixture into the pie shell. Top with the remaining chilled circle of dough. Trim all but ½ inch of the dough overhanging the edge of the pie plate. Press the top and bottom crusts together, then tuck the edges underneath. Crimp the dough evenly around the edge of the pie, using your fingers.
8. Cut four 2-inch slits in the top of the dough, brush with the beaten egg (egg wash), and bake until the crust is deep golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve.

Memories of College Days - Blams

Ok so tonight we had Mozzerella Blams for dinner.  When I was in college in South Alabama  there was this little roadhouse on the road out of town, sometimes we would go there for dinner and a beer.  The roadhouse isn't there anymore and I can't remember the old fella's name that ran it.  Ok so I guess this sub is the Bama version of loose meat. 

For some reason I was craving this sub - it has been ages.  I guess this goes back to the need for comfort food.  Hubby and I were out yesterday in New Hampshire and it was -6 degrees.  When you are that cold all you want is something warm to drink and comfort food.  So find you a glass of red wine or a good beer and make yourself a Mozzarella Bama Loose (Ass) Meat Sub.



Mozzarella Bama Loose (Ass) Meat Sub (BLAMS)
1 pound lean ground beef
½ pound lean ground pork
Pepper
Salt
Sub rolls (6 rolls)
Sliced mozzarella cheese (6 slices)
Mayonnaise
Marinara sauce
Banana peppers
Sweet pepper relish
Aluminum foil


Directions


1. Cook ground beef and ground pork in frying pan until well done.  Season with salt & pepper.


2. Open sub roll and layer on the mayonaise and place on a piece of aluminum foil.  We flatten ours.


3. Form foil around the sub roll. Add meat, layer on mozzarella cheese slices, top with marinara.


4. Place under broiler until cheese bubbles.

5. Add banana peppers, roasted red peppers or bell pepper relish.  We use the sweet peper relish and banana peppers for the contrast in sweet and sour.


6. Enjoy!

Heaven on Earth - Cheese on Toast!!!

Ok as a child raised in the South I experienced the wonderful world of cheese toast. Our Mom often made it when we had tomato soup on cold winter days, well cold for central Alabama. The cheese on toast that we experienced was yellow processed Kraft American on Sunbeam bread, and we loved it. It was all we knew so that wonderful crispy brown cheese was perfection. Well like a lot of culinary discoveries this awakening came when I married my dear husband. He is from Scotland and lived most of his years in the UK. So when he introduced us to real cheese toast, Oh My Goodness!!

Traditional British cheese on toast is a national institution. What can be simpler and tastier, hunks of crusty square bread topped with mature sharp Cheddar cheese, and Worcestershire sauce! This is such an obsession that there is even a Cheese on Toast Day celebrated in the UK – the last Thursday in April has been set aside for this comforting treat. When creating your cheese on toast you can use a British cheddar, but if you can’t find a mature farmhouse white cheddar you can use a sharp cheddar from the US, such as Cabot Vermont Sharp. For bread our family likes a loaf that we get at our local Russian bakery it is very similar to square slice bread from Scotland. There is nothing like this Cheese on Toast, yummy!! This is a very different experience when compared to the Kraft processed American slice on Sunbeam that I was served as a kid…thanks goodness for culinary discoveries.


Ingredients

• 4 slices crusty bread (thick or thin slices that is your choice)

• 4 ounces mature British Cheddar or an American Sharp Cheddar, sliced

• 2-3 dashes Worcestershire (Lea & Perrins) sauce per slice

Directions

Preheat the oven on Broil.

Toast the slices in the toaster.

Place the toast slices on a cookie sheet.

Top each slice with the cheese, laying the slices of cheese as close as possible to the edges of the toast.

Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Then pop the cheese on toast under the broiler.

Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Serve immediately with Branston pickle, chutney, relish, pickled beets and/or pickled onions.

Additional notes: You can also top with a thin slice of tomato.

Serves 2 to 4

Where to begin...comfort food!!

I love to cook as I stated in the blog introduction. We (our family) loves comfort food. The definition for Comfort Food is "Food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home or contentment". My husband is from the UK so comfort food to our family is a bit different than the normal American family. One of our family's favorite things is puff pastry. What could possibly be better on a cold winter's night in New England than a wonderful Beef and Onion pie with Potatoes and Parsley Sauce.

Beef and Onion Pie

Ingredients
1lb 8oz ground beef (mince)
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
9fl oz brown ale (I use Bellhaven) or beef stock
dash Worcestershire sauce (3 or 4 shakes)
1 frozen shortcrust deep dish pie shell
1 sheet puff pastry
1 tablespoon of milk (full fat if possible)

Directions
1. Fry the ground beef (mince) for 4-5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it browns. If mince is very lean start with a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

2. Add the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 2-3 minutes.

4. Stir in the flour and cook for a further minute.

5. Add the stout or beef stock and a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Set aside and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

7. Place the cooled ground beef mixture into the shortcrust pie shell.

8. Gently drape the puff pastry over the mince pie. Trim the puff pastry then press firmly onto the shortcrust edges.

9. Cut some leaf shapes out of the puff pastry trimmings and decorate the top of the pie, sticking them to the pastry with the milk.

10. Brush the top of the pie with the milk.

11. Make three or four slits in the pastry to allow the steam to escape, and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown.

12. To serve, slice into wedges.

Potatoes with Parsley Sauce

Potatoes - well no real mystery here. When making plain potatoes I prefer to use Russet. I peel my potatoes and boil for 20 minutes with salt.

Parsley Sauce

Ingredients
1 oz Butter (REAL)
2 Tablespoons of All Purpose (Plain) flour
1 1/4 cup of chicken stock
4 Tablespoons Chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Malt vinegar

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

2. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. Gradually add the stock. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously.

4. Add the parsley and seasoning and vinegar.

5. Serve over mash or boiled potatoes.

Enjoy <3