~ Creamy Italian Chicken Penne ~

Slow Cooker Saturday!

This is a lovely combination of chicken, broccoli and mushrooms covered with a light Italian cream sauce. It comes together quickly in a slow cooker. Serve with warm, crusty french or garlic bread and a glass of white wine. Marvelous.

2          10 oz cans of low sodium chicken broth

1          Stick salted sweet cream butter

2          7 oz pkgs Italian-style dry salad dressing mix

1          Can condensed golden mushroom soup

1          Can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1          15 oz Philadelphia Italian cheese & herb cooking creme tub

Combine in the slow cooker and blend until relatively smooth.

6          Chicken breast halves

Cube the chicken into bite sized pieces. It is easier to chop up if it is partially frozen. Add the chicken to the sauce mixture in the crock pot. Stir to coat. Cook on low heat for 4 hours.

1          10-16 oz pkg frozen chopped broccoli

1          16 oz fresh sliced mushrooms, washed & dried

Add to skillet with a dash of olive oil or a Tbs of butter. Heat till mushrooms are cooked and broccoli is warm. Drain liquid. Add veggies to the crock pot. Stir.

*** Chef's Note **********************************************************

To save time, you can add the mushrooms and frozen broccoli to the crock pot when you add the chicken. However, the excess water from the veggies will seriously dilute your sauce. If you are in a pinch, steam the broccoli with the mushrooms in a microwave container first by microwaving on high for about 4 mins ((do not add any excess water to steam!)), then drain and add to the crock pot with the chicken.

**************************************************************************

Serve over penne pasta. Enjoy!

~ Santa Fe Soup ~

This is a fantastic, easy recipe that is sure to please anyone that favours chili and cheese. A little bit goes a long way, and it is perfect when scooped up into corn chips!

1 lbs       Ground beef, extra lean
1 pkg      Taco Seasoning
1/2          Onion, white, chopped
Dash      Worcestershire
Dash      Cumin

Over medium-high heat, sprinkle the taco seasoning over the raw beef. As you cook the beef, add Worcestershire as needed to prevent the beef mix from becoming too dry. Drain.

1 lbs       Velveeta, reduced fat, cubed
1 can      Diced tomatoes with green chiles (14.5 oz)
1 can      Whole kernel sweet corn
1 can      Sliced black olives, drained
2 cans   Ranch-style beans (15 oz cans)

Combine everything in a soup pot. Include the juice from the tomatoes, corn and beans into the pot. Stir on low heat until the cheese has melted. Add the taco beef. Mix and taste. Add another dash of cumin if needed. Serve hot with corn chips for dipping!

See, wasn't that easy?

Enjoy!

~ Open-Faced Tuna & Stuffing Sandwiches ~

These are so delicious and so easy to make, it would be a crime not to share them! This recipe makes six servings.

Toasted Pub Buns

3         Pub buns
           Spreadable butter

Lightly butter the inside of each bun half. Lightly grill in the frying pan till golden. Place one half bun on each plate.

Tuna & Stuffing Burgers

2         Eggs
1          Egg white
1/4 c   Milk
1/3      Can of cream of mushroom soup

Combine in a large mixing bowl and blend till relatively lump free.

1/2      Box of stuffing mix ((We like Savory Herb))
2         7 oz canned tuna in water, drained

Add to bowl and mix well. Spoon a heap of the mixture into a frying pan and fry up like a scramble on low/medium heat for about 5 minutes or until browned. Top each half bun with cooked tuna & stuffing mixture.

Gravy

1 2/3      Cans of cream of mushroom soup
2/3 c      Milk

Blend in a saucepan till well heated. Scoop gravy over the open faced sandwiches. If you like thicker gravy, use slightly less milk.

Enjoy!

~ Basler Mehlsuppe ~

This is a Swiss-German soup with a toasted flour base. It is incredibly inexpensive to make and amazing for dipping warm sandwiches!

4 Tbs        All-purpose flour

Spread the flour evenly in the bottom of the soup pot. On medium-low heat and stirring constantly to avoid burn, toast the flour until it turns a soft, golden hue. Remove from pan and set aside. Rinse off pan.

1               White onion, sliced thin
2 Tbs       Butter

Making sure the pan is clean, saute until the onions are transparent. Add the flour and blend.

2             14.5 oz cans beef broth (roughly 4 cups)
1/2 c       Red wine (I use the Wise & Heimer Sweet Red)

Gradually add the broth and wine. Under medium heat, stir frequently, cook for about 30 mins.

For a more traditional fare, toast a slice of wheat bread and lay it in the bottom of a soup bowl. Sprinkle with Swiss or Gruyere cheese then pour the soup on top. Sprinkle with a little more cheese and serve.

For dipping soup, sprinkle with Swiss or Gruyere cheese and allow to melt slightly. Serve and dip away!

Enjoy!

~ Garlic Chili Beef Hoagies ~

Slow Cooker Saturday!

As I struggled to name this dish, my love repeated pushed for "Addicting" to be placed into the title. This dish is best when paired with Basler Mehlsuppe, a Swiss-German beef onion soup. It is the favorite soup and dipping sandwich combination in our house. I will post the soup recipe tomorrow!

A few words of warning:

1) Like most dishes that require spirits, the wine really makes or breaks this dish. Our favorite for cooking this particular recipe is Wise & Heimer, a German sweet red nicely priced around $7/bottle that can usually be found at World Market (and the like). Another we have used is Joseph Handler Sweet Red, which is available at most Trader Joe's.

2) Chili paste can be difficult to find in large grocery stores. We get ours from a Desi Indian Market. It is a Pantainorasingh Brand medium hot Chili Paste with Soya Bean Oil and originates in Thailand. It's usually a couple dollars for a 1 lb bottle. The ingredients include sugar, shallots, garlic, soya bean oil, dried chili, paprika and fish sauce.


1 1/2 c      Sweet red wine
1/2 c         Water
2 Tbs       Chili paste
3-4 tsp    Garlic, minced (5-6 cloves)
1 tsp          White pepper
1 tsp          Salt

Combine in a slow cooker on high heat, stirring until the mixture is lump free. Reduce to low heat.

2 lbs        Beef bottom round roast, pre-sliced

Add beef to slow cooker and stir to coat each slice evenly. The easiest way to do this is to add the meat gradually, but you can also just toss it all in and break it up. Cook for 4 hours on low, stirring occasionally to ensure all of the meat is coated with the sauce. Note: This could probably be cooked for 1.5 - 2 hours on high as well, but I have not tried it.

               French hoagie rolls
               Spreadable butter or margarine
               Provolone or swiss cheese, sliced

Spread a generous layer of butter on the inside of each half of bread. Toast in a skillet or broil for a couple of minutes in the oven. Add the sliced beef and cheese to the hoagie. Dip it in soup or add sauteed onions and mushrooms for a stand alone dish.

Enjoy!

~ Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies ~

As most can attest to I am not a huge fan of chocolate candy, or really chocolate in general. My one exception is baking. After all, who could not appreciate a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie?

3/4 c         Salted sweet cream butter, partially melted
1 c              Dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 c          White sugar

Cream together in mixing bowl until  the mixture no longer separates.

1               Egg
1               Egg yolk
1 T            Real vanilla extract

Add and blend well, taking care not to over beat the eggs.

2 c            All purpose flour
1/2 t          Baking soda
1/2 t          Salt

Sift together and gradually add to the creamy sugar mixture. Blend.

1              11.5 oz bag milk chocolate chips

With a wooden spoon, stir chips into dough. Cover mixing bowl with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 min - 1 hour.

Once chilled, preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C)

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls and place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake cookies for about 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 mins on cookie sheet, then move to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

*** Chef's Note **************************************************************
The baking time for these cookies can vary based on how long they have chilled, the temperature of the house, etc. Start with 13 mins. The cookies are finished when the edges are just starting to golden. Pull out the cookies and let them cool completely. If they are not quite finished once cooled, it is fine to put them back in the oven for another five minutes or so. Just keep experimenting until you reach the desired consistency. The end result should be a chewy cookie, not a hard cookie.
*******************************************************************************

~ Rich, Moist Banana Bread ~

Bananas have a unique distinction from any other morsel as they are the only food item that, when I forget I have them and over a week later find them buried in the back shelf of my fridge, I am actually delighted to discover the softening, brown looking bunch. And we all know why. Time for banana bread!

It is important that your bananas are well ripened and starting to brown when you begin. If they are not ripe enough, the bread consistency and colour could be at stake. It is quite all right if the banana inside the skin is browning or bruised. Never substitute a fresh banana in this recipe. You will likely be unhappy with the results. Also, bananas can vary rather dramatically in size. It is important that no matter how many you use the end mashed results equals about one cup. Adding more banana than a cup will likely cause the bottom center of your loaf to remain mushy and under-cooked after baking. On average it takes two bananas to get one cup, mashed.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)


1/2 c     butter, softened but not melted
1/2 c     white sugar
1/2 c     brown sugar

1)   Cream together until smooth.

2           eggs
1 tsp      real vanilla extract
1 tsp      lemon juice

2)   Add to creamed mixture and blend well.

1 3/4 c   all-purpose flour
1 tsp      baking soda
1 tsp      baking powder
1/2 tsp  salt

3)   Some flours will come pre-sifted. Regardless, I always sift my dry ingredients together before making bread. Instead of dirtying another dish, I sift the mixture directly into the mixing bowl, stirring a bit as I go to disperse the powder evenly. Combine and mix until the batter is smooth and lump free.

1/2 c      sour cream
1 c          mashed, over-ripe bananas

4)   Fold into the batter and mix well. Instead of mashing my bananas by hand, I toss a couple in the food processor to ensure all of the lumps are gone. You can also add the sour cream to the bananas in the food processor, then gradually stir the mixture into the batter. If you like nuts in your bread, you would add them now. I would recommend about half a cup, chopped.

5)   Spread the batter into a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan. If your oven has a history of uneven baking or crisping the edges of your bread, you can also line the pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it. The batter can be poured directly onto the parchment. When the bread is finished baking, it can easily be moved to the cooling rack by simply lifting the parchment paper out of the pan. Another added bonus to this method is, of course, no pan to wash afterwards! Note: do not confuse parchment paper with wax paper. They are two totally different animals.

6)   Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10-15 mins, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!