Quick Clam Chowder

This was another one of my spur-of-the-moment innovations, because I had a hankering for clam chowder, and there wasn't any in the pantry. So I made some...

Quick Clam Chowder

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of mushroom soup
1 can (6 oz.) crab meat
1 soup can of milk
1 small potato
dash of black pepper

1. Whisk mushroom soup and milk together in a small sauce pan. Add dash of pepper.
   
2. Add crab meat; stir. (drain the crab if you prefer, or add liquid for more seafood flavor. Your choice.)
   
3. Pierce potato several times with a fork; put in mircowave for 5 minutes on high, or until fork-tender.
   
4. Cut up and peel potato—careful, don't burn yourself—and add to soup. (you could also use a leftover baked potato, if you have one handy, of course)
   
5. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
   

Chicken Enchiladas

There was a slight mishap with regards to this recipe, but I'll tell you the story later...first, the recipe:

Chicken Enchiladas

6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 packet taco seasoning mix (I use Old El Passo Mild)
1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes
water

flour tortillas
cheddar cheese
enchilada sauce

Cut up the chicken thighs into small pieces, but remember, it will pretty much end up shredded after cooking, so you don't have to be too meticulous.

Slice up the onion and put it into the pressure cooker with the chicken; you can brown it a little first, if you choose.

Add the tomatoes and the seasoning packet and give it a good stir. Add enough water to cover the meat, then put on burner over medium heat until it begins to boil. Put lid on pressure cooker and set your timer for 30 minutes.

When the chicken is done, drain and reserve the water. (you can make some instant rice with the liquid from the chicken.) Fill individual flour tortillas with your preferred amount of meat and cheese. Roll up and place, seam-side down, in a baking dish. Repeat until you've used up your tortillas—the number will depend on what size tortilla you chose, and how full you've made them.

Pour the enchilada sauce (and some more cheese, if you'd like) over the top and bake at 350° for about 25-35 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly.


Serve with sour cream and guacamole, or whatever your favorite accompaniments are.





BAD REACTION:
I mistakenly put *medium* sauce on the enchiladas, because that’s what Casey had bought, and neither one of us had looked closely at the label. For those of you who don't know me, I have a few food allergies, and any type of pepper can cause a reaction, sometimes severe. Sauces usually don't bother me too much, but I stay away from anything that is spicy-hot.

So, dinner was ready and Casey started eating first, and he says to me, “this enchilada sauce is HOT!” So I nibbled a little bit, and it was kinda warm, so I took another tiny bite...and my top lip started to BURN!

At the time I was drinking some Diet Cherry Coke, so I just kept my lip in the glass where the ice cubes were, but it still hurt. I looked like I had Hollywood Starlet Lips! 



While keeping the glass of cold pop to my mouth, I also decided it might be a good idea to take a Benadryl…just in case.

Not sure if it was the ice or the medicine, but it quit hurting and the swelling went away. Casey did some ‘food surgery’ on the enchiladas and took out the 'uncontaminated' chicken so we could put it on a new tortilla for me. So I didn’t miss dinner after all. But what an adventure! Yikes!

POLL: Who is your favorite TV chef?

Well, so far Guy Fieri and Paula Deen are in the lead. But Bobby, Giada, and Gordon are hot on their heels!

There are still 2 weeks left to vote, you guys. And changing your vote is possible in this poll, so make sure you have included everyone you consider to be a favorite.

I'll give the final results in another post at the end. But feel free right now to comment on who you voted for, and especially those of you who selected "other." Tell me who and why! (who did I neglect to include in the poll?!)

Salmon Meatloaf

Sorry I don't have a photo of the finished product, but this was another dinner we shared with our friends nextdoor, and I neglected to take my digital camera along. Oops.

Salmon Meatloaf

2 cans pink salmon, drained and cleaned
2 eggs
1/4 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1 c. croutons, smashed
1 c. shredded cheese (I use cheddar; but you can also use 1/4 c. Parmesan instead)
salt, pepper, tarragon, dill, lemon peel

You can use bread crumbs in place of the croutons...

...but I prefer the smashed croutons....

...perhaps it is just my violent nature. [humor]

This isn't even all the ingredients, but, hey....

Mix everything together really well, and plop it into a loaf pan; top with extra cheese, if you'd like. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until it's all bubbly-hot along the sides.

If you really wanted to, you could serve this with tartar sauce...on a bun...with more cheese...darn, that sounds good...now I'm Hungarian...


LINKS:
BBQ Salmon Meatloaf

Sweetcream Biscuits

I consider this a masterpiece. And I'm not sure which photo has more visual impact...

I think this one has nice primary color effect, but the impression of size is lost here, whereas sitting in my hand, it just looks so cute and tasty you wanna pop it in your mouth....which I did, by the way. Okay, maybe it was two bites.

Sweetcream Biscuits

NOTE: this is a re-post, with a few minor changes, and a boatload of photos this time.

2 c. flour, sifted
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 stick cold butter
1 c. whipping cream

Sift dry ingredients into bowl; whisk to combine:

Add butter; use pastry blender to cut it into the flour mixture...

Keep working...

Keep working...

...when you're done, it should look like this:

Add whipping cream (make sure it's COLD); stir to combine...

Knead slightly to form dough; turn out onto cutting board and flatten...

Cut into disks using smallest biscuit cutter you own...

Place on ungreased cookie sheet; gather scraps, flatten out again, and repeat...

Heat oven to 450° and bake about 8-10 minutes until lightly browned...

Look at how much they puff up!

Ain't they CUTE?!!!

Serve with butter, honey butter, jam or whatever you like...


I made this one into a teeny little strawberry shortcake:




SPECIAL NOTE:
My sincere apologies to my friend, Amy, who has been going nuts with all my recent bread postings...she has been working out really hard and trying to cut carbs, and here I am tempting her with bread and sweets recipes! LMAO! Sorry!
And, Amy, I am going to start with the Strength in Numbers features as soon as I catch up on all the recipe posts from the photos I have saved. Gimme another week. Maybe I'll consult with you about the outline I have right now...?

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins

This was actually a box mix that I picked up at Aldi's. But they looked so beautiful, I thought it'd be nice to share the photos. Rather than following the box instructions, I added buttermilk in place of the water that it called for. I think I may have also added some sour cream for a more moist texture, too. I didn't take photos of the process because it was just a box mix, and I had no idea they'd be so freakin' awesome.



My intent was to under-bake them so that they'd be really gooey and fudgey like brownies, but this was 15 minutes in the oven, and they were fully baked. The box had said 16-18 minutes, and I thought 15 minutes would leave them sufficiently under-baked, but....no.


I do that quite often—fiddle with the instructions on box mixes—just as a way to "make it mine."

I'll add stuff that I think compliments a flavor, or adds texture. Just whatever strikes me at the time.



Being creative in the kitchen makes me happy...I don't understand why some people find it so difficult. You know what you like—just make it your way!


Mmmmmm....gooey chocolate goodness.....

Turker Meatball Soup

No, that's not a typo...I meant to spell it "turker"...and there's a story behind this one, too. But first, the recipe...

Turker Meatball Soup

meatballs:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg
2 handfuls of instant rice
1/4 c. Parmesan
dash of: garlic powder, oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper

also:
4 c. chicken broth
1 c. carrots, sliced
2 potatoes, cubed

Heat chicken broth in a large pot over medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, mix meatball ingredients:


Using a spoon, or a melon ball scooper, shape mixture into small meatballs:

and drop them into the broth:


Allow them to simmer, stirring very gently:

Add carrots and potatoes; allow to simmer until potatoes are cooked through.






The "turker" story:
Okay, it isn't MY story, but one that was told to me by our good friend, Tony.

He and his brothers were back on the East Coast, visiting with family, when someone brought home a bunch of sandwiches for dinner.

As they were being taken out of the bag and handed out, a label had been written in a manner so that the "ey" on the end of the word "turkey" was messy and it looked more like an "er".

Without missing a beat, the person handing out the sandwiches pronounced it as written, "turker" and handed it to Tony's brother.

"Turker?! What?!! This isn't what I ordered! What is this—tuna salad?!!!" exclaimed the brother, furious. He simply didn't get it. Apparently, he never does.

And I'm not sure how well this translates right now, as you are reading it, but when Tony tells a story, it's hilarious. This brother of his is notorious for not being able to tell a joke the right way, too. I guess you just have to know Tony and the stories about his family to really understand. But we use a lot of funny references in our everyday life, and our hilarious friend Tony has had a big impact with those types of incidents. So the "turker" soup is a tribute to a friend who is far away, but never far from our hearts.... Miss you, Bean Curd!!!! *smooch*

Iroquois Stew

This is a re-post, but I have a bunch of new photos, so I wanted to share them with you. Plus, I made mashed potatoes using buttermilk, and they were spectacular!

Iroquois Stew

1 lb. round steak, cubed
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
1 lb. pork loin roast, cubed
2 T. cooking oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 c. baby carrots
2 stalks celery
2 c. chicken broth
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 t. ground allspice
2 bay leaves

Heat oil in pressure cooker (no lid); add onion and cook until it turns opaque.

Next brown pork and beef in oil (with lid off)...


Add chicken...


Add carrots, celery, allspice, bouillon, and bay leaves...

Add chicken broth and enough water (if needed) to cover meat, but do not fill pressure cooker more than 2/3 full.

With heat on medium, bring contents to a low boil.

Put lid on pressure cooker and heat to bring up pressure. Allow to cook for 35 to 45 minutes at full pressure.
At end of time, turn off heat and carefully move pot to sink for a quick-cool in cold water. (i.e. set it in an empty sink and run cold water over it until pressure releases.)
Move pot to stove and carefully remove lid. Stir the stew gently to break up the meat a little.

Find and pick out those bay leaves!

I like to serve this over mashed potatoes, or over a nice big baked potato—it makes a lovely impression on the plate.


Mashed Potatoes with buttermilk and cheddar...


NOTES: Using the pressure cooker results in the best blending of flavors, in my opinion. But, you can make it in a Dutch oven, or crock pot, if you would rather. DO NOT add garlic to this recipe—it will come out bitter.