Cold Weather Calls For Chowder!

Chowder makes a great winter warm up. I have selected a few recipes that I think are delicious. These are great by the cup with a sandwich for lunch. Or can be served as a starter for any meal. Enjoy!

New England Clam Chowder

1/4 cup cut-up bacon or lean salt pork
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans minced or whole clams, drained (reserve liquid)*
1 cup finely chopped potato
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 cups milk

cook and stir bacon and onion in saucepan until bacon is crisp and onion is tender. Add enough water, if necessary, to reserved clam liquid to measure 1 cup. Stir clams, liquid, potato, salt and pepper into onion mixture. Heat to boiling. Cover and cook until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat, stirring occasionally, just until hot (do not boil).

* 1 pint shucked fresh clams with liquid can be substituted. Chop clams and add with the potatoes.



Broccoli-Cheddar Cheese Chowder

1/2 cups milk
1 (11 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 cup frozen loose-pack chopped broccoli
1/2 cup frozen loose-pack hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn

In a medium saucepan stir together milk and soup. Cook and stir over medium heat till bubbly. Remove from the heat. Stir in broccoli, hash browns, corn, and pimiento; cool. Pour mixture into a 1-quart freezer container. Seal, label, and freeze.
To serve, transfer frozen mixture to a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium low heat for 40-45 minutes or till heated through. stirring occasionally.
Makes 6 servings.



Corn Chowder

6 slices bacon
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1(17 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Cut bacon in 1-inch pieces. Cook in a large saucepan until crisp. Remove bacon. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in pan. Add onion and celery. Sauté until onion is tender. Add potatoes, corn and liquid, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Combine flour and 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in remaining milk. Pour into corn mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil. Stir and boil 1 minute. Stir in bacon. Heat 5 minutes.
Makes about 6 cups.


Seafood Chowder

1 1/2 pounds unpeeled, medium-size shrimp
Vegetable cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced sweet red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups peeled, diced red potatoes
1 cup diced carrot
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk
1 (16 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 pound fresh crabmeat, drained and flaked

Peel and de-vein shrimp; set aside. Coat a Dutch oven with cooking spray; add oil, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; cook until tender. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in chicken broth, water and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Stir in milk, corn and hot sauce; return to a boil. Add reserved shrimp and crabmeat; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, stirring constantly. Remove and discard bay leaves.
Makes 10 servings.

Today many people live the a low carbohydrate lifestyle. I am one of them. I started by using Dr Atkins low carbohydrate diet. I have several of Dr Atkins books and love the recipes. I find the food to be very good. Who knew dieting could be so tasty? The following are recipes I use from Dr Atkins that I really love.


Chicken Breasts with Tarragon Cream Sauce

Servings: 4
Prep time: 0:05:00
Bake/Cook time: 0:20:00
Calories: 485
Fat: 30 grams
Protein: 49 grams
Carbohydrates: 1 grams
Fiber: 0 grams
Net Carbs: 1 grams

Tarragon is a favorite herb in French cooking. It has a delicate, licorice-like flavor that goes well with poultry. Roasted green beans or asparagus make a fine accompaniment.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 3/4 teaspoon dried
Salt
Pepper

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter with oil. Brown chicken breasts on both sides. Reduce heat and cook, covered, 15 minutes, just until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a serving platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Add cream to skillet; scraping up brown bits. Stir in mustard and tarragon. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken.




Italian Sausage and Peppers

Servings: 4
Prep time: 0:00:00
Bake/Cook time: 1:10:00
Calories: 640
Fat: 49 grams
Protein: 36 grams
Carbohydrates: 14 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Net Carbs: 12 grams

This classic Italian comfort food is simple to make, addictively delicious and a great crowd-pleaser.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
4 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife and peeled
1 red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into ½-inch strips
1 (14 ½-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan or high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add sweet sausage and hot sausage and brown on all side, 5 to 7 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add onion and garlic. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add red pepper, green pepper and tomatoes, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover partially and simmer for 10 minutes.
Uncover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

These are just 2 of the recipes from Dr Atkins that I really enjoy. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Thanksgiving Pies And Other Holiday Goodies

The following are recipes I found in My Mothers "holiday recipe box"

To my Mother the annual apple harvest meant the start of holiday cooking. She would cook all these wonderful goodies and put them in the freezer for the holidays. These are just a few of her favorite recipes. I treasure her recipes and will hand them down to my daughter. I must confess I did not inherit my mothers talent for baking pies. I tried over and over but was never succesful. after many tries to make a decent pies I gave up. I usually purchase pies from the bakery.

Basic Pie Crust
Makes 2 8 or 9 inch pie crusts
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
¾ cup of shortening
In a medium bowl with a fork stir the flour and salt
With a pastry blender cut the shortening into the flour until it is coarse crumbs
Sprinkle 5-8 tbsp of cold water one at a time mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until pastry is moist enough to hold together. Shape pastry into a ball. For a 2 crust pie divide pastry into 2 pieces one slightly larger than the other. Take the larger piece and roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pinto about 1/8” thick and about 2” larger than the pie plate all around. Carefully transfer to the pie plate. Roll out the ball for the top of the pie the same way. Bake as directed in pie recipe.
The above is my Mothers basic pie crust. As far as I know she used it for most of her pies. Following are her favorite recipes for Apple Pie and Pumpkin Pie


Addie's Apple Pie

Pie crust as above.

2/3 to ¾ cup of sugar, ½ of this can be brown sugar if desired

2 tbsp of all purpose flour

½ tsp of cinnamon

¼ tsp of nutmeg

½ tsp of grated lemon peel

1 to 2 tsp of lemon juice

6 to 7 cups of peeled and cored apples

6 pats of butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 425F

Place bottom pie crust in pie plate. Put ½ the apples in the piecrust, sprinkle with sugar mixture. Place in the rest of the apples and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Dot the top with butter or margarine pats. Put on top of pie crust and bake 40 to 50 minutes.

Mom’s Pumpkin or Squash Pie

Unbaked 9” pie shell

1 cup of sugar

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp ground clove

1 ½ cups of pumpkin. This can be canned or fresh made from pumpkin

Or use fresh or frozen, thawed squash

1 2/3 cup of evaporated milk, undiluted

2 eggs well beaten

Refrigerate the pie shell for at least 1 hour before use. Heat oven to 425F. Combine sugar, salt and spices. Add pumpkin, milk and eggs and beat until smooth. Pour into pie shell and bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and continue baking for 35 minutes or until custard is set. Cool

After she had an ample supply of apple and pumpkin and squash pies safely in the freezer she would work on her breads. Following are her favorites. The recipes for Date Nut Bread and Cranberry Walnut Bread are my favorite ones. These recipes represent my Mothers unique ideas to me. Both of these recipes are from her favorite cookbook. She changed the amounts of every ingredient to suit her own taste. That was my Mother always trying to make a good thing better.

According to Addie no holiday menu is complete without at least one bread. Here are a few of her favorites.

Date Nut Bread

1 ½ cup of chopped walnuts

2 cups of cut up pitted dates

3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

6 tablespoons of shortening

1 ½ cups of boiling water

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups sugar

3 cups of sifted all purpose flour

With a fork mix walnuts, dates, soda and salt. Add shortening and water and let stand for 20 minutes. Start heating oven to 350F Grease 2 9”x 5”x 3” loaf pans. With a fork beat eggs then beat in vanilla, sugar and flour. Mix in date mixture until just blended. Turn into pans. Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans to wire rack to finish cooling. Wrap and store. This bread freezes well.

Cranberry Walnut Bread

4 cups of sifted all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

1 ½ cups of sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup of orange juice

2 tsp of grated orange rind

6 tablespoons of white vinegar plus enough water to make 1 1/3 cups

½ cup of melted shortening

2 cups halved of coarsely chopped cranberries

2 cups of chopped walnuts

Start heating oven to 350F. Grease a 9”x 5”x 3” loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, sift flour, soda, salt and sugar. With a fork beat egg and stir in orange juice and rind, vinegar-water mixture and melted shortening. Add all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until flour is moistened. Add cranberries and walnuts and turn into a baking pan. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to racks to finish cooling.

This next recipe, Suet Pudding is an old family favorite handed down from my Grandmother. It is actually a steamed bread. My mother would make up several batches of this and add it to the goodies in the freezer.

Grammie Berry’s Suet Pudding

2 ½ cups of flour

1 tsp soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cinnamon

1 cup raisins

1 cup of milk

1 cup of suet, chopped small

1 cup of molasses

Sift flour, soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon together. Add raisins and suet. Mix milk and molasses add the flour mixture add raisins and suet and mix well. Divide into 2-1 pound coffee cans cover with plastic. Steam on top of stove for 3 hours in a covered pan over low heat. Check water level often keeping about 2 inches of water in the pan at al times. Cool, remove from cans wrap well and freeze.

When you thaw the Suet Pudding for serving mix the following sauce for a topping.

Suet Pudding Egg Sauce

Cream ½ cup of butter or margarine with 1 ½ cups of sugar. Add 1 egg and beat well. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of boiling water and ½ tsp of vanilla. Heat before serving.

Christmas in our home was always a fun time filled with family and friends. Of course there was a never ending stream of food for the holidays. The following recipes will be some of those goodies that we snacked on endlessly from Thanksgiving until New Years.

I think my Mother stole the following recipe from the jar of Marshmallow Fluff.

Oh So Good Fudge

2 ½ cups of sugar
½ stick of butter or margarine
¾ cup of evaporated milk
1- 7 ½ oz jar of Marshmallow Fluff
¾ tsp of vanilla
1 12 oz package of chocolate chips
½ cup of chopped nuts
Grease a 9”square baking pan and set aside. In a large saucepan combine the first 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until blended. Stir over low heat to a full rolling boil being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Boil slowly, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and chocolate chips until chips are melted. Add nuts and turn into greased pan and cool. Makes 2 ½ lbs.
Butterscotch or peanut butter chips can be substituted for a change of pace.

Another holiday favorite was Scotcheroos. This is a sinfully delicious treat for the real chocolate and peanut butter lover.

Scotcheroos
6 cups of Rice Krispies
1 cup of light Karo syrup
1 cup of peanut butter
½ cup of sugar
12 0z pkg of chocolate chips
12 oz pkg of butterscotch chips
Melt the Karo and sugar together until sugar dissolves. Stir in the peanut butter while still over the heat. Add the Rice Krispies. Pour and press the mixture into a 13”x9” buttered pan Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a saucepan then spread over the Rice Krispies mixture. Chill and cut into squares.

Somewhere along the way my Mother came across a recipe which she put on the table one Christmas day. Everyone loved it and it is still used in my home today. One of the best things about this recipe is that you can change the flavors and fruits to suit your tastes. You can also use low fat or light ingredients. I always found it fun to use my imagination and change the flavors a lot.


Moms Favorite Fun Fruit Salad

1 16 oz container of cottage cheese
1 12 0z container of Kool Whip
1- 6 oz pkg of jello any flavor
1 16 oz can of fruit, (I usually use a can of tropical fruits)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and chill. This can also be put into a mold. I have added food color to this and placed it on a tray shaped as a Christmas tree or a heart or something to match the occasion.

Many years have passed since those wonderful simple days of my childhood. As a working woman I do things much different from my mother. I rely on my crock pot a lot to cook while I am at work. It is so easy to put a roast in the crock pot and go about my day. When I come home I just make salad or vegetables to serve with it. In my spare time I enjoy cooking and can often be found in the kitchen cooking something.

The following recipes are a few taken from a cookbook I was writing with other ladies from all over the USA It was to be a project featuring regional recipes. Each of us putting in the specialities from our regions. Only two of us ever finished our sections. Needless to say the project never was completed and our cookbook never got published. My section was titled "A Taste Of New England" Here are a couple of recipes from this.

Born and raised in Massachusetts I grew up in Melrose, a suburb north of Boston. It was the 50’s and life was simple. My collection of recipes reflect the simple family meals we ate back then. To me these are the ultimate “comfort foods”.

Saturday was “bean day” We always had baked beans for dinner on Saturday. To this day in my mind I can still smell them baking in the oven all day. My mother had a crock just for beans. Today I use a crock pot. Her recipe is as follows.

Addie's Home Baked Beans

1 lb Soldier beans ( My mother used these, I use Jacobs Cattle)

2 tsp dry mustard

Pepper

Salt

2 medium onions, quartered

½ cup of brown sugar

½ cup of molasses

¼ lb of salt pork

Pick over and wash the beans. Soak overnight in water making sure they stay under the water. Assemble all ingredients in 2 qt bean pot or crock pot early in the morning. Add water until beans are covered. Bake 6-8 hours in oven at 250F. Check to be sure the beans do not go dry, add water as necessary.

Serves 4-6 people

Mom always served cole slaw with her beans. I have not her recipe but here is my recipe

Secret Ingredient Cole Slaw

1 small head of cabbage

1 carrot

1 onion

1 16 oz can of crushed pineapple

Mayonnaise to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Shred cabbage, grate carrot and dice onion. Drain liquid from pineapple. Mix all together add mayonnaise, salt and pepper. This recipe adjusts up and down easily to accommodate more or less people.

My Mother always served home made steamed brown bread with this meal. I do not have her recipe for that. I remember the warm spicy aroma it made while it sat steaming on the stove.

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My Mother always made a wonderful macaroni and cheese and served it as a side dish with baked ham. Over the years I have changed this recipe to be a one dish complete meal. I have never used specific amounts of any ingredients and my recipe is as follows. I will put amounts to give guidelines.

Laura’s Leftover Ham and Macaroni Dinner

Leftover ham cubed approximately 1-2 cups
Macaroni or egg noodles 2 cups of elbow macaroni or the whole bag of egg noodles.
1 - 2 cups of extra sharp shredded cheese, more or less to taste
1 1/2 cup of frozen peas
Milk
2 tbsp of butter
Pepper
Salt, if desired
breadcrumbs

Cook macaroni/noodles according to package directions and drain. Assemble in large casserole pan with butter and pepper and salt. Add meat and peas and mix. Add cheese and enough milk to nearly cover the other ingredients. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and I always sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on the top. bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.

Different Life Styles

In the interest of a healthy lifestyle people tend to follow different lifestyles when it comes to food. The different ones that come to mind are low fat, organic, low carb, low cholesterol and low salt. For myself I try to live a low carb lifestyle. I will publish recipes from these different lifestyle choices. Todays recipes will be in the low fat category. Stir Fry Recipes are very popular for people following a low fat lifestyle. The following are several stir fry recipes I have found to be good.



Shrimp Stir Fry
3/4 lb salad shrimp, thawed

3 large garlic cloves, minced

3/4 c onion, sliced

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tb olive oil

1-1/2 c snow peas

1-1/2 c red pepper, chopped

1-1/2 c carrots, chopped

1-1/2 c brocolli, chopped

2 Tb vegetable broth

1 Tb lemon juice

Place drained shrimp in a bowl. Add cayenne to shrimp. Toss well.
Heat oil in a wok on high.
Sauté shrimp stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
Place sautéed shrimp back into the bowl leaving the liquids in the wok.
Combine the onions and garlic in the wok and sauté, about 3 minutes.
Add peas, vegetables and broth to the wok.
Reduce heat to medium and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
Return shrimp to wok, add lemon juice and cook for 1 more minute.

Servings 6, Fat 2.5g, Calories 153


Chicken With Rice Stir Fry

2 pounds chicken breast cut in squares
1 medium white onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 green bell pepper sliced
2 cups cooked basmati rice
1 cup uncooked pea pods
1 cup carrots (raw) cut lengthwise two inches long
1 orange bell pepper sliced
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup broccoli (raw)
1/2 cup cauliflower (raw)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

Heat cooking wok to high temperature add cooking oil. Cook chicken until almost done, Add all raw vegetables and garlic cook until crispy and chicken is done. In saucepan heat orange juice, teriyaki sauce and soy sauce, add 1/2 cup of water to the mixture. In a cup or bowl, mix the corn starch with water but do not make the mixture too thin. Slowly mix in the water and cornstarch with the orange juice mixture. Stir until thickened but not too thick. Add the salt and pepper. Put a serving of cooked rice on each plate, Spoon the vegetable mixture on top of the rice. Pour orange sauce over the rice and vegetables.


Recipe serves 6

Both of these recipes are very good and make quick and easy meals.

Enjoy!

Lessons Learned From Mom

My Mother was my biggest influence when it comes to cooking. She was a wonderful cook. She comes from the beautiful Maine coast. Her cooking was basic down home New England style cooking. I tend to follow her style. One of the first things I ever learned to cook was Hersheys Cocoa Fudge. The recipe came from the tin of Hersheys Cocoa. Following is this very basic recipe.


HERSHEY'S COCOA FUDGE

2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa
3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Thoroughly combine dry ingredients in a heavy 4 quart saucepan; stir in milk. Bring to a bubbly boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring to 234 degrees (soft ball stage). Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan. Remove from heat add butter and vanilla. Do not stir. Cool at room temperature to 110 degrees. Beat until fudge thickens and loses some of its gloss. Quickly spread in a lightly buttered 8 or 9 inch square pan. Cool. Cut into squares.

Mom and I usually made this fudge together on Friday night. I did not have to get up in the morning to go to school. I was allowed to stay up late to watch tv. I remember watching her beat the fudge to thicken it. When it reached the right consistency she would pour it in the buttered pan. Then she would give me the cooking pot to scrape out. This was my favorite part of cooking this recipe. I got to officially taste the fudge.

On one memorable occasion I decided to make pancakes for my mother. It was to be a surprise for her when she got up. I got out the cook book and found the recipe I was looking for. I set to work assembling the ingredients and began mixing the batter. Things were going just fine then mom got up. She came down the hall and startled me. I hit the canister of flour. It went to the floor with a thud. A cloud of flour filled the kitchen and flour was everywhere. To make matters worse when I picked up the canister and put it on the counter I knocked off the eggs I had put there. plop.....plop..... the eggs hit the floor. Now I had flour everywhere and a slimy gooey mess on the floor. Needless to say, mom was not very happy with my surprise. She scolded me about cooking when she was not there to help me. My punishment was to clean up the mess. Well, I sure worked hard cleaning up that mess. It seemed the more I swept and picked up the more that was still on the floor. I finally got it all up and in the trash can. I do believe that if I went back to the home of my child hood I would still find traces of that flour. It was just everywhere!!

In this blog I hope to put in recipes and cooking ideas. I think menu planning with the recipes to go along with the dishes would be fun and useful. If any of the readers have ideas for this blog be sure to email me. I am always open to suggestion. How about some readers recipes? Send in your recipes and I can post them for everyones enjoyment.