E is for Eggplant...

   Today's letter is E. This was one of my Mother's dishes.
   I know not everyone likes eggplant, but my Mother loved it. So this recipe is for her and all you other lovers out there.


Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs  Eggplant
2   eggs
1 tsp  salt
¼ tsp  pepper
½ lb   Mozzarella cheese sliced thin
2 c   Tomato Sauce
¼ c  grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Cooking oil

Directions:

Wash the eggplant, but don't peel it. Slice thin.  Beat eggs and season with salt and pepper.  Dip the eggplant slices in the egg, and fry in ½ inch hot oil in large skillet.  Fry the eggplant until golden brown on both sides and drain on paper towels.  Arrange layers of eggplant, cheese and tomato sauce in a 2 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle top with grated cheese.  If there is any beaten egg left, pour this over the top.  Bake in a 350 degree oven, until well heated through, about ½ hour.

Serves 6.

D is for Dip .....

    Today is the letter D. D is for Dip. This is one my Mother us to make for us and serve with tortilla chips. It is really good.



Baked Cheesy Chili Dip


Ingredients:

1 lb Velveeta cheese spread, cubed
1 can (10 ½ or 15 oz)  Chili without beans
1 can (4 oz)  chopped green chilies
½ cup finely chopped onion

Directions:

   Heat oven to 350 degrees.
   Mix all ingredients and spoon into a 1 quart casserole dish.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Stir before serving.
   Serve hot with toasted bread slices or tortilla chips.


Makes 4 cups




   This would be a great server for this dip.

C is for Cheese...

Click sidebar image to join the fun.

 
  Today's letter is C.  I pulled out my mother's recipe for an appetizer that she made every holiday. It is made with 2 kinds of cheese, cream cheese and cheddar.



Balls with Handles Cheese

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package  cream cheese, softened
3 cups  grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ tsp   Worcestershire sauce
Paprika
Pretzels, small

Directions:

   In bowl place, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Mix until well blended.  Shape mixture into 1 inch balls and chill 2 to 3 hours.
   Right before serving, sprinkle cheese balls with paprika and press a pretzel into each ball for handle.

Makes about 3 dozen.

B is for Bread Pudding...

   Today's letter is B and one of my favorite deserts....

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

10 slices  day old bread, broken into pieces
1 cup       scalded milk *
1 cup       cream
4              eggs, beaten
1 cup       sugar
1 tsp        Vanilla
1 tsp        cinnamon
½ tsp       nutmeg
¼ cup      butter, melted
½ cup      raisins

Directions:

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   In a large mixing bowl, combine bread pieces, scalded milk and cream. Sit aside.
   In small mixing bowl add eggs and sugar. Mix together well and stir into bread mixture. Add vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg to bowl and mix well.  Stir in melted butter and raisins.
   Pour into well buttered baking 2 quart dish.  Set baking dish into larger dish with 1 inch warm water. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until knife inserted into pudding comes out clean.
Remove from oven set aside to cool.

to scald milk heat slowly over low heat till hot, do not boil.

Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients:

3               egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup        sugar
1 tsp         vanilla
1 ½ cups  milk
1 Tbsp      cornstarch
¼ cup       water
1 ½ oz      whiskey

Directions:

   Place beaten eggs in saucepan.  Add sugar, vanilla and milk to pan mix well.   Stir and cook over low heat to a boil.
   Add cornstarch to water and mix well. Pour slowly into pan stirring constantly until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in whiskey.
   Serve sauce over cooled bread pudding.

A is for Asparagus....

   On my There's Just Life Blog I have entered the A to Z Challenge.  So I decieded to do so here too.  Everyday in April (except Sundays) is a different letter. So for each letter I reached into my Mother's gray metal recipe box and pulled out a recipe for that letter. Here is the one I pulled out for today.

Asparagus Casserole

Ingredients:

2 sm Cans   Asparagus tips
1 ½ cups     Grated American Cheese
1 can           Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 sm Can     Evaporated milk
Bread Crumbs

Directions:

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   Drain Asparagus and place in a well greased Casserole Dish.  Cover with cheese.
   In a small bowl mix soup and milk together. Pour over cheese and asparagus. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top of casserole.
   Place casserole dish in preheated over and bake 35 – 40 minutes or until breadcrumbs are brown. Remove from oven and serve.

Quick Tortilla Soup

  I know it has been a while since I posted.  No I have NOT run out of recipes, quite the contrary.  I have found more.  We don't have heat in the office... so cold weather sends me flying to covers and a cup of hot something (coffee, tea, cocoa...I'm an equal opportunity drinker).  The cold also gets my mind thinking about soups, stews and chilli.  So here is a quick Tortilla Soup recipe.  Grab the soup pot and whip it up tonight.

Quick Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
4 TB oil (split in half)
1 medium onion, minced and chopped finely
1 garlic clove, minced or chopped finely
1 bell pepper, minced or chopped finely
1 jalapeno or other spicy pepper, diced (remove seeds and veins
  to make a milder soup)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 TB tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
2 1/2 -3 cups cooked chicken ( we used leftover Thanksgiving Turkey)
1 lime, juiced
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch thin strips
Fresh Cilantro, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped (optional)
1 avocado, chopped (optional)
Grated Monterrey Jack cheese
Sour Cream

Directions:

  In a large pot, heat 2 TB oil over medium high heat. Add tortilla strips and cook until golden and crispy about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt while hot. Set aside.
  In the same large pot, heat another 2 TB oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander, and cook until vegetables are soft and translucent. About 5 minutes.
  Add tomato paste and cook one minute longer.
  Add stock and bring to boil. Once it reaches boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and juice from the lime and cook for 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
  Ladle soup into bowls and top with fresh tomatoes, avocado, grated cheese, tortilla strips, and sour cream and cilantro.

Mexican Chicken...

   Here is a quick and easy chicken skillet meal.  If you like your chicken with a little heat to it, dice up a couple of Jalapeño peppers and add to the skillet.  You can make this dish as hot or as mild as you like it.

Image by Pamela Jo

Mexican Chicken

 Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut up into pieces
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup onion, minced
2 green peppers, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup rice
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 can chicken broth

Directions:
   Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  In large skillet, brown chicken in oil.  Remove chicken and set aside.  Add onion and green pepper to hot oil, cook until tender.  Add rice, garlic, tomatoes, chicken pieces and chicken broth.  Cover skillet and cook 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is done.

Image by Pamela Jo