The Charmed Kitchen

Mom’s Macaroni Salad

For summer cookouts we always had this salad. Back in the days when it was called macaroni, not pasta. I loved it then and I love it now. I won’t say I don’t make other pasta salads. I do. I make all sorts of combinations, but this is the salad that brings me home. Mom used mostly mayo, with a little salad dressing like Spin Blend. She felt it gave the salad just a little more zing. She added quite a few hard cooked eggs and I think they add a richness to the salad. My dad would cut up the celery and green onions for her. Mom liked the veggies cut into a fairly small dice in this dish and Dad had wicked knife skills.  I love the image of them cooking together. So here it is- a family recipe wrapped up nicely with some memories, too.

Mom’s Macaroni Salad

1 lb. uncooked pasta, shells are preferred
Salt and pepper
Mayonnaise, about 1 cup
Salad dressing, like Spin Blend or Miracle Whip, about ½ cup
3-4 ribs celery, sliced thin
4-5 green onions, trimmed and sliced thin
8-12 hard-cooked eggs, cooled and peeled

Cook pasta according to package directions, but do not overcook. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Place drained pasta in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add dressings and vegetables and stir until well mixed. You may want to add more dressing to suit your taste. Chop eggs and stir into salad. Adjust seasonings if needed and chill before serving. Serves 8-10.

Thai Chicken Salad

When it is just too hot to cook, a nice main dish salad can be the answer. This Asian inspired chicken and pasta salad it light and satisfying at the same time. I used some mint from my garden, which gave it such nice fresh flavor. I think with the amount of mint in my yard, any recipe to use some of it is a good thing. Sometimes I also add some fish sauce to the dressing. This recipe can use a chicken you cooked yourself – or a precooked chicken from the store.

Thai Chicken Salad

1 (3 lb.) chicken, cooked, skinned, meat shredded
8 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
2 T. coarsely shredded fresh mint leaves
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1 tomato
1/2 c. olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 t. red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 T. plus 1 t. soy sauce
1 T. plus 1 t. fresh lemon juice – lime juice works, too
1 1/2 t. brown sugar
Lettuce leaves for lining the platter

Place chicken meat and pasta in bowl and combine. Mix remaining ingredients, except lettuce, in blender until smooth and toss with chicken mixture. Salad can be served immediately or chilled. Line serving platter with lettuce leaves and spoon over chicken mixture. Serves 4.

Creamed Spinach

Some foods are just about more than food. Creamed spinach always makes me think of my mother. I can remember watching her make creamed spinach, thickening the sauce and watching her stir the spinach mixture as it became thickened and bubbly. She would let me stir it, to keep it from sticking. It was always one of my favorite dishes- as a kid and today. Mom really liked spinach. She also made pork chops Florentine, occasionally rolled spinach inside a boneless turkey breast and made a wonderful spinach salad with a sweet and sour dressing, hard cooked eggs and croutons. Here is her recipe.

Creamed Spinach

2 (10 oz.) packages frozen spinach or 2 lbs. fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
1 T. butter
1 c. milk – or half and half
2-3 T. flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t. dill weed
Cook spinach in a small amount of water and drain when heated through or wilted. Return spinach to pot and add butter. Place milk and flour in jar with tight fitting lid and shake until well mixed. Add to spinach and cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Season to taste and serve.

Mom’s Breaded Chicken

I miss the big family picnics we had when I was a kid. My Dad and I would go early in the morning to pick out our favorite location and get tables arranged. Then he would start a fire in the grill and make us bacon and eggs in the cast iron skillet. Everyone started arriving soon after that. Well, not everyone. My Mom and one of my aunts would always come a little later. That is because they were finishing up the breaded chicken that was always a part of these picnics. She wanted it to be served nice and warm. It would have been breaded the day before. My mom felt that when you breaded the chicken ahead of time it seemed to help the breading to stick better. I do it the same way today. This isn’t fried chicken. The breaded chicken is lightly browned in a skillet then finished off in the oven. It is crispy on the outside and nice and juicy inside. It is also a lovely memory for me of time spent with family. Here are the directions for how she made it.

Mom’s Breaded Chicken

Chicken pieces, skinned and boned if desired
salt and pepper to taste
Parsley
Paprika
Garlic powder
eggs
Milk
Bread crumbs
oil

Wash chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper. In bowl combine milk and eggs with seasonings. I use 1 egg with enough milk to make a thin batter for every 4-5 pieces of chicken. Keep in mind that the size of the pieces matters. Wings will need less batter than legs. Place bread crumbs in a shallow dish or in a plastic bag. Dip chicken pieces (1-2 at a time) in egg mixture, turning to moisten completely. Then place in crumbs and turn or shake to coat evenly. Repeat with remaining chicken until all of it is breaded, adding to your egg and bread crumb mixtures if needed.
At this time you can cover and refrigerate the chicken for several hours or overnight if desired. You can also go ahead and cook it right away. Mom suggests you bread the chicken the night before so it will stick better, but hey, you’re an adult, do what you want.
To cook the chicken, heat 1/2 inch of oil in a heavy skillet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Foil a roasting pan and then place a rack inside. Once the oil is hot, brown the chicken pieces several at a time, turning to brown evenly. Place the browned chicken on the rack in the baking dish and continue to brown remaining chicken. Place chicken in oven and bake until chicken is cooked and juices run clear when chicken is poked. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pieces, how much you browned them and how many you are cramming in one pan. Baking time will be from 45 minutes to an hour usually, but check a large piece of chicken near the middle of the pan to be sure.
This is a real summer favorite and the baking on the rack helps fat to drip off, giving you fried chicken flavor with fewer calories. This chicken can be served hot, warm or cold.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

I love blueberries in pretty much anything. I cook with them all the time. This is one of my favorite blueberry recipes- and that is saying a lot. It is a classic and always a favorite when I make it for friends and family. The cake is moist, tender and delicate but the magic is that crumb topping. Because it isn’t frosted, this cake is a also great dessert choice for cookouts and picnics. No melting frosting to worry about.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

For cake batter:
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ stick (¼ cup) butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
1 egg
½ c. milk
1 pint blueberries
For topping:
½ c. sugar
¼ c. flour
½ t. cinnamon
½ stick (¼ c. butter, chilled and cut into bits)
Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and milk. Add flour mixture gradually until just mixed in. Fold in blueberries. Grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan and add prepared batter. Combine topping ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter in pan and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Use toothpick to test.
Note: I have used a 9-inch round pan and it worked fine.

Bacon Tomato Mini Quiches- Gluten Free

I love these little quiches for picnics and summer parties. They are great to take along anywhere. They can be served warm or cold. The crust is a combination of zucchini, rice, egg and cheese. The filling for these is made from bacon and tomato- but I have vegetarian filling options listed at the bottom of this post. So simple and cute, too. While the recipe makes 12, I find I can usually get a few extra out of a recipe. They freeze well.

Bacon Tomato Mini Quiches – Gluten Free

Crust:
1¾ c. shredded zucchini
1¼ c. cooked rice- white or brown
1 egg
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together.

Filling:
8 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
1 c. shredded cheese – I like Swiss, but use what you like
1 tomato, seeded and diced
½ c. chopped sweet onion

Combine ingredients in small bowl. Set aside until ready to use.

Custard:
1 1/3 c. half and half
4 eggs
½ t. each basil, garlic powder, paprika and salt
1/8 t. pepper

Place in medium bowl and whisk together until smooth.
Grease 12 muffin cups. The mixture will fill 12 cups very full- but you can make your quiches a little smaller, if you like and make a few more. Pat 2 tablespoons of the crust mixture into each muffin cup. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool before filling. While baking and cooling crusts prepare filling of your choice and custard. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling over each cooled crust. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of the custard over the filling. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Can be served warm or cold.

Other fillings:

Tomato, broccoli, mushroom:
In 1 T. butter, sauté 1¼ c. sliced mushrooms, ¾ c. chopped fresh broccoli and 1/3 c. diced onion. Cook until tender, cool. Stir in 1 C. shredded cheddar cheese and 1 tomato, seeded and diced.

Spinach and onion:
Combine 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, cooked and drained well, with ½ c. diced onion and 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese and ½ c. diced sweet red pepper.

Strawberry and Lavender Ice Cream

If you are looking for a slightly different ice cream flavor you might think about spicing it up. I added lavender blossoms to my strawberry ice cream and ended up with a truly wonderful confection.  You can get creative and add other seasonings to make your homemade ice cream special. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, basil, lemon peel, pepper and other spices and herbs can all add interest to your frozen desserts. Open your mind up to experimenting and see what you can come up with. I made this the other day and wanted to share the recipe with you.  Can’t wait to make it again.

Strawberry and Lavender Ice Cream

2 c. chopped strawberries

1 c. sugar

1 T. lavender blossoms

1 T. vanilla

2 c. cream or  half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.

Additional sugar to taste

Place strawberries, lavender, vanilla  and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen the ice cream will not taste as sweet so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an sir- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.

Blueberry Cinnamon Teacakes

My blueberry bushes are blooming. Assuming the birds don’t get there first, I should have a decent harvest this year. Seeing the blooms put me in the mood for something with blueberries. I had some berries in the freezer from last year, so I made a batch of these teacakes. Delicate, tender and not too sweet, they can be great at breakfast, brunch or dessert. For some reason the dog is really crazy about them, too. He keeps staring at the plate and barking.

Blueberry Tea Cakes

 1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

2 c. flour

1/2 c. milk

2 1/2 c. blueberries, preferably fresh, but frozen OK

Topping:

2 T. sugar

½ t. cinnamon

Heat oven to 375. Grease 24 muffin tins or line with paper liners. Beat butter until fluffy and beat in sugar until light. Beat in eggs then beat in vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Beat in half the flour then half the milk and repeat. Fold in berries and spoon batter into prepared pans, filling half-full. Combine remaining sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over the cakes. Bake 25 minutes or until springy to the touch. Makes 24.

Brown Rice and Lentil Stuffed Peppers

A friend was in town and stopping by. I wanted to offer her dinner and since I know she doesn’t eat meat- I knew I’d be going vegetarian.  While I do eat meat- I often forgo it for meatless options. I looked around at what was on hand. Since there were a couple of sweet pepper in my fridge- these stuffed peppers seemed like a smart way to go. I precooked most of the ingredients so I wouldn’t have to watch them too carefully once in the oven. That way we were free to visit. I did top them with cheese- but you could omit it, if you prefer.

Brown Rice and Lentil Stuffed Peppers

1 onion, chopped
Oil
¾ c. uncooked brown rice- I used brown jasmine rice
Water or vegetable stock – probably around 3 cup or a bit more
¾ c. lentils, rinsed and drained
2 c. peeled and chopped fresh tomatoes- or 2 c. canned tomatoes
2 – 3 sweet peppers, cut in half and seeded
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
¼ c. marsala wine
2 T. apple cider vinegar
¼ c. chopped parsley
2 t. Tuscan Seasoning- recipe follows- or use an Italian herb blend
Salt and pepper to taste hot sauce to taste
Romano or Parmesan cheese- optional

In soup pot, heat oil and cook onion until it gets tender and a little golden. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice in the oil. Toast the rice a couple of minutes. Add 2 cups stock or water to cover the rice and then bring up to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. While rice is cooking, place the peppers in a pot of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and drain peppers. After the rice has been cooking for 20 minutes, add the lentils, garlic and tomatoes, wine, vinegar and seasonings and continue cooking, covered, until the rice and lentils are tender, about 25 more minutes Add more stock, if needed. Rice mixture should be a little runny. Place peppers, cut side up in a shallow baking dish. Spoon in the lentil mixture, dividing it among the 4 pepper halves. Cover dish with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Mixture will be heated through and peppers will be tender. Serve as is – or top with some cheese and return to the oven until cheese melts- about 5 minutes. Makes 4 pepper halves.

Tuscan Seasoning

½ c. dried basil
½ c. dried oregano
½ c. dried marjoram
3 T. dried minced onion
2 T. dried minced garlic
2 T. dried rosemary
2 T. dried parsley
1 t. crushed red pepper

Use this blend in tomato sauce or other Italian dishes. Also, you can add to vinegar and oil with a little salt, if desired, to make a quick salad dressing. Or use for the bread recipe below.