You are going to just love this recipe I am showing you today!
No doubt this is a recipe which has been served again and again to countless people through the years at covered dish suppers, potlucks, church socials and the like!
The original recipe comes from a very old paperback cookbook that I have had since 1976, called The Sunset Cook Book of Favorite Recipes.
It originally cost me $2.45 which was probably a considerable amount at that time, but which seems like peanuts now!
It is worth every penny I paid however as I have been cooking from it and enjoying the recipes in it for some41 years now! My goodness this book is almost as old as my oldest son now!
My goodness but the years have just flown by. We've gone from Disco Balls and bell bottom flares to anything goes!
This book is filled with a lot of gems and a lot of tried and trues and a lot of happy family memories.
My enchilada recipe is adapted from one I found in this book. Those are the kinds of recipes in it . . . good steady recipes that you can adapt and make your own!
Dependable and unsually appealing like this dish called Spaghetti Francisco which has been a real favourite of my family since the beginning!
It is a great storecupboard casserole, using things that most people have to the ready most of the time.
Creamed corn, tomato soup, onions, mushrooms, peppers, streaky bacon and tomato passata (tomato sauce) . . . cheese and spaghetti!
The original recipe called for canned mushrooms, but I use fresh these days. I don't think I have touched a tinned mushroom in years.
Fresh are so readily available now and taste so much better! In 1976 they were probably a lot harder to come by.
I also use whole wheat spaghetti when I make mine. Much healthier and with more fibre than the regular spaghetti.
To be honest I never notice much of a flavour different myself. I like whole wheat pasta most of all.
It uses streaky bacon, but truth be told, I have also used leftover bits of ham in this as well. Proscuitto works also, and pancetta.
Anything smoky, except for maybe smoked oysters. (Blecch!!) Did your family get in tins of smoked oysters at Christmas when you were growing up? Mine did. Shudder . . . I am so not a fan of oysters.
The original recipe has instructions for making this to feed up to 40 people, so apparently it was a very popular pot luck type of dish.
We have always loved it. Its simple, easy and quick to make and quite delicious!
*Spaghetti Francisco*
Serves 6 to 8
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch
baking dish. Sprinkle 1/3 of the grated cheese on the bottom. Set
aside.
Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the package direction. Drain well and rinse, drain again. Cook the bacon in a pan until amost crisp. Add the chopped onion, pepper and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until all vegetables have softened. Add the creamed corn, tomato passata and the tomato soup. Stir well and bring to the boil.
Stir in the spaghetti to combine well, season to taste and
then pour into the prepared baking dish. Scatter the remaining cheese
over top. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, uncover and bake for 10
to 15 minutes longer, until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before
serving.
I made this last week when we had company, and it went down a real treat. I served it with a Caesar salad and some crusty bread on the side. The recipe went home with my company! I think this is one that will go down really well with your family also! Some of these older recipes are real treasures! Bon Appetit!
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I picked up a couple of corn fed free range chicken breasts the other day for a quick supper and wanted to do something a bit out of the ordinary and a little bit special with them.
The thing I love about chicken breasts is that they are almost a blank canvas that you can use to paint with a multitude of flavours and seasonsings.
I used a mix of grainy mustard, maple, cider vinegar, brown sugar and herbs on this occasion. It tastes and looks special, but is really a very simple bake. You just season the chicken and pop it into a baking dish . . .
The remaining ingredients are whisked together, poured over top. It bakes in the oven for fifteen minutes at a high temperature, and then fifteen minutes at a lower temperture. The end result is perfectly cooked, moist chicken breasts with a delicious sweet and tangy sauce!
This looks like you have slaved for hours over it, but in reality its a real doddle. I would even feed this to company. It truly is finger licking good!
*Sweet Mustard Chicken*
Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 TBS soft light brown sugar
2 TBS apple cider vinegarsalt and black pepper to taste
Preheat
the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tin large enough to
hold the chicken breasts in one layer with aluminium foil.
Don't skip this as you will regret it.
Lay the chicken in the pan. Season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle all of the herbs over top.
Whisk together the mustard, maple syrup and vinegar. Pour this over top of the thighs, lifting them to allow the sauce to also pour underneath.
Roast for 15 minutes. Baste with the pan juices. Reduce the oven temperature to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Return the chicken to the oven and roast a further 15 minutes, until the juices are bubbly and golden brown, and the chicken is glazed and its juices run clear.
Serve hot with some of the pan juices spooned over top. There won't be a lot at that point, but what there is, is quite, quite delicious!
You could also cook thighs or legs with this easy glaze, however they will take a bit longer. I would also cover then for the first part of the cooking process. I would do 20 minutes covered and then 20 - 25 minutes, uncovered, basting every 10 minutes or so at the lower temperature. I served this delicious chicken with steamed basmati rice and peas. Bon Appetit!
I had some guests for a meal one day last week and I wanted to make them something a tiny bit different than what I usually make and I also wanted to use up some bits and pieces.
My old friend Leona used to make the loveliest mac and cheese and there was no sauce recipe involved. She simply threw everything into a casserole dish and away it went.
I decided to do something very similar, but I switched it a bit by changing a few things around, with the end result being gorgeously decadently delicious! We all really enjoyed it.
She used to just mix cooked macaroni with some cubed cheese and put it in a dish and pour milk over top and some buttered crumbs on top of that.
I used a generous mix of cubed strong cheddar cheese and orange processed cheese. (Yes, plastic cheese, but it works well here. It really does)
I added a touch of grated onion, just for some extra flavour . . . besides the salt and pepper. You want to use plenty of black pepper. It just enhances the cheese flavours so much.
Instead of just milk, I used a mix of milk and cream. I know . . . a tad bit decadent, but it totally was worth it in the flavour and consistency at the end. It worked fabulously!
I also added some leftover cubed ham that I had frozen a while back. Tony declared it a success and went back for seconds! I love it when that happens!
*Easy Oven Mac & Cheese*
Serve 4 to 6
2 cups chopped leftover baked ham
4 TBS coarse cracker crumbs
butter to dot
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 2 litre shallow casserole dish (2 quart).
Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain well, rinse, and drain again.
Warm the milk, cream and onion together in the same saucepan you cooked the macaroni in. Stir in the cooked macaroni and chunks of cheese, along with the bits of ham. Pour into the baking dish and spread out. Cover tightly and bake for abuot 30 minutes. Uncover and scatter the cracker crumbs over top. Dot with some butter and return to the oven for about 15 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown. Let stand for five minutes and then serve to some very lucky people.
Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain well, rinse, and drain again.
Warm the milk, cream and onion together in the same saucepan you cooked the macaroni in. Stir in the cooked macaroni and chunks of cheese, along with the bits of ham. Pour into the baking dish and spread out. Cover tightly and bake for abuot 30 minutes. Uncover and scatter the cracker crumbs over top. Dot with some butter and return to the oven for about 15 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown. Let stand for five minutes and then serve to some very lucky people.
You could leave the ham out altogether and if you used a vegetarian cheese it would work well for vegetarians. But really the ham went so well in this.
I served a nice salad and some peas and carrots on the side. Crusty rolls were also present! I hope you will try this. I think you will find that not only is it the easiest mac and cheese you have ever made, but also one of the tastiest! Bon Appetit!
Chocolate and ginger have a wonderful affinity for each other. The flavours go together just like peas and carrots! There are some lovely hard ginger biscuits you can buy in the shops over here that are dipped in dark or milk chocolate and they are G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! I like the dark chocolate ones.
Todd really struggles with them however. He loves the flavour but his older gnashers just can't cope with the hardness of them. I totally understand and don't really mind . . . more for me. 👍
Today I baked him some chocolate gingers that he could eat though, and he is in ginger biscuit heaven!
These are crisp edged with chewy middles. He has already scarfed down about half a dozen, which is so not like him. He usually doesn't indulge to that degree.
They are a lot spicier than my normal molasses crinkles that I bake, having two full teaspoons of ginger in them, along with a hefty amount of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. So lovely flavours!
You do have to chill the dough for a couple of hours before you shape and bake. Shaping and baking is really simple though . . .
You just roll into balls and then roll the balls in granulated sugar to coat and then bake. If your kitchen is somewhat warm however, chill them on the baking sheets for about ten minutes before baking.
The end result is totally moreishly addictively scrumptious! Seriously. Even without the chocolate.
But do try them with the chocolate. Its easy. I just melted semi sweet chocolate chips and generously drizzled it over top of the cooled cookies. I think it's fair to say I am not a "decorator" in any sense of the word. I am much too impatient. I just slop it on. These taste really good no matter your skill at presentation!
*Chocolate Gingers*
Makes about 30
For the chocolate glaze:
180g semi sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
Sift together the flour, soda, slt, ginger, cinnamon,
cloves and cardamom. Whisk together the butter, sugar, molasses and
egg. Combine together the dry and the wet ingredients to give you a
uniform, soft dough. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Line several baking sheets with baking paper. Put some granulated sugar into a small bowl.
Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake in the heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies have spread and are light golden brown. Any cracks should appear slightly moist. Let sit on the baking sheets for a few minutes before scooping off onto wire racks to finish cooling.
For the choclate glaze, melt the choclate chips in a bowl set over simmering water, taking care not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Drizzle the melted chocolate over top of the cookies and allow to set before storing in an airtight container.
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze in an airtight container for longer.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Line several baking sheets with baking paper. Put some granulated sugar into a small bowl.
Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake in the heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies have spread and are light golden brown. Any cracks should appear slightly moist. Let sit on the baking sheets for a few minutes before scooping off onto wire racks to finish cooling.
For the choclate glaze, melt the choclate chips in a bowl set over simmering water, taking care not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Drizzle the melted chocolate over top of the cookies and allow to set before storing in an airtight container.
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze in an airtight container for longer.
Yes, the Christmas Cookie fest has begun. I can't think of any neighbours that would not be appreciative of a container of these! Happy Holidays and Bon Appetit!
I was recently sent some really nice products from the people at Nifty Kitchen to try out. Tasty spice All Purpose Seasonings . . . mixes/rubs that are wonderful for using in a variety of ways. You can add them to dishes to add a bit of zip or use them to dust and marinade meats, fish and poultry for grilling or baking! I've been adding them to some of my chili's and stews over the past couple of weeks and sprinkled some on my fish yesterday as well. They are fabulously tasty!
To use you simply rub, sprinkle or load it onto meats, fish or poultry before cooking. The packs are quite a large size as well, at 225g, and contain no MSG, Anti-Caking Agents or Preservatives.
They are also Vegetarian and Vegan friendly.
(Smoky baked lentils . . . )
Smoke Dust
This is their best seller, and no wonderl. It smells amazing. I have used it on chicken and fish. It added a lovely smoky punchy paprika flavour, but of course you can use it on any kind of meat or even roasted vegetables. Try it on your oven chips! It's great! Smoke Dust is available to buy here on Amazon.
(contains smoked paprika, light muscovado sugar, pink himalayan salt, garlic, black pepper, mustard, cumin and ginger)
(Pan roasted tomatoes and eggs . . .)
Magic Dust
Spicy, tasty blend that can be added to almost anything and gives a lot of flavour. This was my favourite of the three as I don't always want smokey flavours in my food and I don't necessarily always want my food to bite me back. Its a great all rounder. You can buy Magic Dust here on Amazon.
( contains Chili powder, cumin, garlic, pink Himalayan salt, light muscovado sugar, mustard, black pepper, cayenne pepper)
(oven Cajun fries . . .)
Devil Dust
Now this really packs wallop!! If you a fan of hot and spicy, you will certainly like this one. Hot paprika is the main ingredient. I added it to a pot of vegetarian chili earlier this week and it was fabulously spicy! Devil Dust is available to buy here on Amazon.
( contains hot paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic, cumin, pink Himalayan salt, light muscovado sugar, black pepper and mustard)
Note - I was sent product free of charge for review, but was not required to write a positive review in exchange. Any opinions are my own.
One of the nicest gifts I ever was given for Christmas was a small notebook filled with my MIL's favourite recipes, her tried and trues and family favourites. Written by hand it represented a real labour of love to me, and it is something which I still use and cherish, some 40 years later.
As you can see it has been very much loved, its pages spattered and falling apart, the writing fading now . . . I keep saying I need to re-do it into a new notebook, but my nostalgic self never wants to part with this small treasure . . . to me it is a treasure. I love and loved my ex MIL. We got along so well and were very similar in personality and had many of the same likes and dislikes. I think the saddest thing about divorce is that you generally end up losing relationships not just with your spouse, but with all of the people who were a part of your family for so very long. You just can't stop loving people because they belong to someone who is no longer a part of you life, but people just don't want to divide their loyalities I guess . . . I still miss her.
The recipe for this really moist and delicious pumpkin loaf/bread comes from that notebook. As it is written it is very basic . . . I have added my own twists to it through the years and made it my own, but at its roots it is still very much Elizabeth's Pumpkin Bread . . .
I added the pumpkin pie spice (see my right hand column for how to make your own) and the vanilla . . . and I think they made what was already a very moist and delicious loaf, into an even tastier loaf!
Tinned pumpkin was not something that was readily available over here in the UK when I first moved over here, but it has become a bit more common nowadays, although it is still not there for the finding a lot of the time. It languishes in the North American Section of most grocery stores at a premium cost, although occasionally you can find it in other places.
A few years back I scored a huge find of it in Aldi of all places. I think I bought about 10 tins. I am sure the cashier thought me quite mad, but what can I say about that? I am a bit mad, mad for pumpkin! And what you can do with it, like pies and cookies and most especially this fabulous quick bread!
Deliciously simple to make and fabulously tasty, this goes down well about this time of year enjoyed thinly sliced with a nice hot cuppa of whatever you fancy. I enjoy it with a cup of hot redbush tea or mug of ginger and lemon . . . clearly however, it is mighty fine eating no matter what you choose to enjoy it with!
*Elizabeth's Pumpkin Bread*
makes 1 medium loaf
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see recipe in my right side column)
1 tsp vanilla extract
190g sugar (1 cup)
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Toss in the raisins and jiggle them around to coat.
Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil and tinned pumpkin to combine well.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet just to combine. Everything should be moist, but it is not necessary for them to be completely smooth. Spoon into the prepared baking tin.
Bake for 1 1/4 hours until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack and allowing to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve. Store in an airtight container.
You don't have to use any raisins, but Elizabeth always did, and so do I. This was another of the weaknesses we shared . . . our love of raisins and anything baked with raisins in it. I do hope you will try it. I think this is sure to become a favourite loaf in your life as well! Bon Appetit!
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