Corn and Potato Soup with Bacon

A perfect meal-in-a-bowl for busy weeknights or special weekends.

Makes 4 servings

This recipe is adapted from the 1978 community cookbook of the Eagles Auxiliary #3748 in Ava, Missouri

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups diced potatoes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 can cream-style corn
• 4 cups milk or half & half
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cover potatoes with water and cook until tender.
2. Dice bacon and fry until crisp and remove to paper towel to drain.
3. Add chopped onion to bacon pan and fry until golden.
4. Combine fried onions, potatoes, corn and milk.
5. Heat mixture until boiling.
6. Sprinkle bacon bits for garnish.

Easy Fruit Cobbler (Buckle)

Easy Fruit Cobbler (Buckle)

Easiest fruit cobbler ever.  Golden cake-like topping rises to the top during baking; fruit and juice go to the bottom.  The struesel topping forms a crisp sugar coating as the cobbler bakes.  Serve hot with a big pitcher of cream.

Actually, the correct name for this dish is a Buckle, defined as being made with yellow batter (like cake batter) with the filling mixed in with the batter.  A Cobbler, on the other hand, consists of a fruit filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit or pie crust before being baked.

HEAT oven to 375°F.

Ingredients:

Batter:

• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk

Fruit Filling:

• FRUIT  (2½ cups fresh or 20 oz. can, drained) such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, sliced peaches or a combination of one or more.   NOTE:  Avoid using frozen fruit if you can, it just doesn't come out the same.

Struesel Topping:

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on fruit)
• 1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and/or nutmeg and cardamon, if desired. 

Directions:

1. CREAM butter, sugar until light and fluffy. 
2. SIFT together flour, baking powder, salt.
3. ADD flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk.
4. BEAT until smooth. 
5. POUR in buttered 1-1/2 quart oven-proof baking or casserole dish.
6. SPOON drained fruit over batter. 
7. SPRINKLE with sugar and juice and cinnamon 
8. BAKE 45 to 50 minutes. 
9. SERVE with cream, whipped cream or ice cream.

Mediterranean Tapenade

Mediterranean Tapenade

Tapenade is French for capers, and is made of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. Tapenade is a popular food in the south of France, where it is generally eaten as an hors d'oeuvre spread on bread. Sometimes it is also used to stuff fillets for a main course.

Also very popular in Italian cuisine, olive-based tapenades with anchovies and/or vinegar  have been found in ancient Roman cookbooks dating back thousands of years. 

Ingredients:

2 medium red onions
1-1/2 cups roasted red tomatoes with juice
8 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
2 ounces anchovies, drained
1 cup feta-stuffed green olives, drained
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Peel red onion, rub with olive oil and roast in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until softened and onions begin to caramelize (about 1-1/2 to 2 hours).
2. Finely dice the roasted red onions in food processor, add roasted tomatoes, garlic, oregano, anchovies, green olives and pepper.  Pulse to combine.
3. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and fold in the olive oil.

Use immediately.  May be refrigerated.

Iowa Corn Casserole

Iowa Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. bacon, diced

2 Cups soft bread crumbs

1/4 Cup minced onion

1/2 Cup chopped green pepper

2 Cans cream-style corn (14-3/4 oz. can)

Instructions:

1. In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp.  Remove and set aside.
2. Pour 1/8 to 1/4 cup bacon drippings over bread crumbs and set aside.
3. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings in pan and saute onion and green pepper until tender.
4. Stir in corn and bacon.
5. Spoon into a 1 Qt. baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly and heated through.

Serves 6-8.  

New Orleans Beignets

New Orleans Style Beignets

In honor of Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, here's my best recipe for beignets, those rectangular doughnuts cooked round the clock at French Market coffee houses.  It's hard not to eat just one!  These are best served hot.  

Makes 4 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lukewarm water (105-115 degrees F)
• 1 packet (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioners (powered) sugar

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and let stand for 10 minutes or until foamy.
2. Stir in the remaining sugar, milk, egg, salt and butter until blended, and beat in the flour 1 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
3. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8th inch thick and cut into 2 x 3 inch rectangles.
5. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat to 350 degrees.  (I use an electric skillet set to maintain an even temperature of 350 degrees).  
6. Gently place the pieces of dough into the hot oil and cook for 30 seconds on each side, turning them over after they puff up.
7. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain.
8. Dust each beignet lightly with confectioners sugar sifted from a strainer.
9. Serve immediately!

DIY Eagle Brand Milk (Sweetened Condensed Milk) Recipe

DIY Eagle Brand Milk
(Sweetened Condensed Milk)

• 3/4 cup Powdered Milk 

• 3/4 cup Sugar 

• 1/2 cup Hot Water 

Blend until smooth. Equals one can of Eagle Brand Milk.

Eat This, Not That! 2013

Do you know what’s really in your food?   No, we’re not talking about fat and calories. It turns out that America’s supermarket aisles are full of dangerous and downright disgusting ingredients that could be harming your health. 

Eat This, Not That! 2013

This 2013 book is a must-have for anyone who cares about their health and how their body looks.  A great book that teaches you can still have a life while making healthier decisions.

Check out the dirty details:  

Pink Slime in Beef - a mixture of waste meat and fatty parts from higher-quality cuts of beef that have had the fat mechanically removed. Afterward, it's treated with ammonia gas to kill salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Then it gets added to ground beef as a filler. 

Eat This Instead: Organic ground beef is safer.  The National Organic Program standards prohibit meat containing pink slime.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - According to tests from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, may be contaminated with mercury.   Especially prevalent in processed foods.

Eat This Instead:   Buy HFCS-free versions of foods.

Moldy Berries & Rocket Fuel in Lettuce - The FDA legally allows up to 60 percent of canned or frozen blackberries and raspberries to contain mold. Canned fruit and vegetable juices are allowed to contain up to 15 percent mold, and most of California lettuce is contaminated with low levels of perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, perchlorate is found in the Colorado River which irrigates much of California's lettuce crops and can be taken up inside lettuce plants.  In a  separate study from the Environmental Working Group, perchlorate, which can harm thyroid function, is found in 50 percent of store-bought winter lettuce samples.  

Eat This Instead:   Buy Fresh!  Another reason to buy local and in season.  However, most fresh berries and fruits can be frozen at home for eating out of season.  

Coconut Oil

Many natural oils are known for helping moisturize the skin, but virgin coconut oil may be new to you. This oil, which is solid at room temperature, can be used topically as well as taken internally. Try adding a tablespoon to your morning coffee, or use it for cooking in place of other oils.

VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

Melon Salsa

MELON SALSA

1-1/2 cup Cantaloupe (finely diced)

1-1/2 cup Honeydew (finely diced)

1/2 cup Cilantro (coarsely chopped)

1/2 cup Red Onion (finely diced)

Mix all together and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to meld flavors.

Alternately use 1-1/2 cup Watermelon with 1-1/2 Honeydew or other flavorful melons from the farmers' market.

Neat tool for quick dicing and chopping

Progressive International GPC-4000 Fruit and Vegetable Chopper

Arizona Cobre Valley Casserole

Arizona Cobre Valley Casserole

"Cobre" is a Spanish word for copper,
mined in the Cobre Valley of southeastern Arizona.

Can be made ahead through Step 3. Cover casserole and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 celery rib (chopped)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1-1/4 oz seasoning mix (taco)
• 1/4 cup water
• 32 ozs refried beans
• 4 ozs green chilies (chopped)

Topping:

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 green onions (sliced)
• 1 tomato (peeled, seeded & chopped)
• 1/3 cup ripe olives (pitted & chopped)
• 1-1/2 cups tortilla chips (crushed)

1. In a large skillet, cook beef, celery and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and drain.  
2. Stir in taco seasoning, water, beans and green chilies and mix well.
3. Pour into a 2-1/2 Quart Casserole baking dish.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until heated through.
5.  Top with cheese, green onions, tomato, olives and chips.

Yield:  6-8 Servings 

Creme Anglaise

CREME ANGLAISE

 (French for "English cream") 

Classic Vanilla Custard Sauce

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

1-1/2 cups Whole Milk

1 large Egg Yolk

1/4 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1.  In a heavy saucepan, combine the cream and milk and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat.

2.  In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until mixture is pale and thickened.

3.  Slowly whisk the hot cream into the yolk mixture.

4.  Set the bowl of hot cream into the yolk mixture over a medium saucepan of simmering water and stir continuously with a whisk until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.  

5.  Strain the mixture and refrigerate until chilled.

Yields: 2 Cups

Storage: Crème anglaise will keep up to three days, well-chilled.