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This dish was my son’s favorite when he was a little boy. Based upon his reaction last night while eating our leftovers, it may still be his favorite. Start with a one-cup measure, or other small mixing bowl. In it, mix 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup prepared mustard (I use yellow, but I suppose Dijon or brown would be good), and 1 tsp. curry powder. Pour into a greased 9×13″ pan.
Add pieces of chicken to the dish and turn so that they are fully coated. I remove the skin and fat from the chicken as much as possible. You see here I could have added many more pieces of chicken if I were serving more people. No problem.
Bake at 375 degrees F, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, turning chicken pieces occasionally. Make sure chicken is cooked through (when poked with a fork near the bone, juices should run clear).
That’s it. Yummy!
Let me just say right at the beginning . . . this recipe uses processed foods. It is a family favorite, the quintessential comfort food. Cheesy Potatoes is a nice accompaniment to ribs or meatloaf or fried chicken. You will need an extremely large bowl (mine is 32 cups) to mix it in. Do not thaw the potatoes, use them straight from the bag.
Southern Style frozen hash brown potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
½ cup onion
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup butter, melted
Pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together
Place into a greased 9X13” pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours (or at 375 degrees for an hour).
Alert: This recipe requires special equipment. There is a device called a spaetzle maker, which makes this recipe quite simple. The batter is dolloped into the bowl-shape you see here, then the bowl slides across the holes and the batter drips through. Alternatively you could use a flat cheese grater, although it takes more time. I’ve used a spoon a few times and it’s quite tedious. There may be other kinds of spaetzle makers, too.
Spaetzle is like pasta, but the batter-like dough is pressed through small holes into salted boiling water. Note, do not let whatever device you are using rest upon the edges of the pot for very long or the device will heat up and the batter will cook as soon as it touches the device. My friend Jo learned this from experience. She had to stop, clean her cheese grater, and begin again. Avoid this type of kitchen crisis by working quickly and don’t allow the spaetzle maker to rest on the rim of the kettle.
We like to eat spaetzle with Hungarian Pork Stew, Baby Back Ribs with Sauerkraut, and Chicken Paprika. All those recipes can be found here by using the Search box. Oftentimes people like to sauté spaetzle in butter and serve that way. I’ve never tried that, but it sounds good.
Mix together 2 eggs, 2 Tbsp. oil, ½ cup water, ½ cup milk.
Mix together 2-1/2 cups flour, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir well.
Let rest while waiting for a large pot of salted water to boil.
Working in batches, press a batch of batter through the device (spaetzle maker or flat cheese grater or dripping it off a spoon) into the boiling salted water. The batter is supposed to drip into the pot and cook in the water.
The spaetzle is done once it floats to the surface.
Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the spaetzle and place into a bowl or a colander in a bowl. Complete all the batches in a like manner. The longest part of this process is waiting for the water to boil. Seriously.
It’s been a very long time since I served whole chicken pieces without first deboning. When my kids were young I learned that it was much easier to debone while I was still cooking, than to do it after serving. And I was more likely to eat while the food was still warm. Thus, most of my chicken dish recipes use only the meat of a chicken, not the whole pieces.
For the chicken paprika dish, I cut up a 6 lb. chicken into a large pot, covered with water and cooked the chicken until it was done. 6 lbs turned out to be way more than I needed, so I only used half of the breast and one thigh, deboned, along with broth created by the cooked chicken.
In a large skillet heat 3-4 Tbsp. oil and then saute 1 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika in it for a minute. Add a cup of chopped onions and saute for a few minutes. Stir in 2 Anaheim chile peppers, seeded & coarsely chopped; 1 medium tomato, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 3 cups chicken broth; salt and pepper to taste; enough chicken meat to suit you.
Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes.
Mix 4 Tbsp. flour into 1/2 cup sour cream until well blended. Scoop out a cup of paprika gravy and stir into sour cream mixture until smooth.
Scoop out another cup of gravy and stir into sour cream until smooth.
Stir sour cream mixture into gravy skillet and stir until smooth.
Return skillet to heat and simmer until gravy has thickened a bit.
Serve over spaetzle or noodles or rice. Serves 4.
Chicken Paprika Ingredients
Chicken or pieces cooked in water. Debone the chicken and save 3 cups broth.
3-4 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika
1 cup chopped onion
2 Anaheim peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup sour cream
This is a hearty soup, especially good served with a crusty bread. It’s easy to make while camping or at the cabin.
Fry 1 lb Italian sausage, 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 chopped carrots, 1 Tbsp. lemon peel in a large pan until the sausage is cooked through.
Stir in 1 quart (or liter) of chicken broth, 2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 45 minutes. Serve.
Alert: sourdough pancakes require planning. You can’t wake up in the morning and decide to make them. You must have a starter, or create a starter from scratch, and activate it at least the day before. The older your starter, the more sourdough flavor in your recipes. I’ve heard of people keeping their starter active for years and years, sharing and handing down to the next generation.
As a child I remember waking up one morning to the smell of pancakes frying. Oh, yum. Don Bruckner was staying at my house for a few days and treated my family to sourdough pancakes for breakfast. That morning he told me about the time he made sourdough pancakes for a huge group out in one of the villages and he mixed up the batter in the bathtub because it was the only container big enough. That’s a mental image I cannot shake.
What I don’t know about sourdough could fill several volumes. There is science involved in the whole process. I’m all about easy, so I don’t care to know why it works. I do not have an ages old starter, nor have I ever kept a starter for more than a few months. Here is how I do it, right or wrong.
The starter recipe I use to get going is based on the recipe Quick, Overnight Sourdough Starter in Rita Davenport’s cookbook, Sourdough Cookery (1977). I have tried many recipes in it.
In a medium bowl mix 1-1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups flour. Cover, and let mixture stand in a warm place overnight. It bubbles and then separates. I stir mine down occasionally.
If you want to save your starter, keep it active by feeding it equal amounts of warm water and flour at least once per week. If you want to stop feeding it, place the starter in the refrigerator or freezer.When you’re ready to use the starter again, add equal amounts of warm water and flour and let it sit in a warm place overnight.
The night before you want to make pancakes, either add 2 cups warm water and 2 cups flour to ½ cup starter or make the starter recipe above. [Remember that using the Quick, Overnight Sourdough Starter recipe doesn’t yield much sourdough flavor if used the next day.] The next morning remove ½ cup starter to save and feed for other uses.
To the remaining mixture, stir in 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. baking powder, and 3 Tbsp. oil.
Beat in 2 eggs.
Dissolve ½ tsp. baking soda in 1 Tbsp. water
Gently fold the soda & water mixture into the batter. Do not stir it any more.
Pour the batter onto a moderately hot, greased griddle in the sizes that you wish. Once the edges are dry and bubbles have formed across the entire pancake, turn over.
Makes 4 servings. Tastes great served with jam or jelly, syrup or honey.
Another favorite, this is based upon the recipe in Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (1969). It goes really great with bratwurst. The dinner you see pictured here includes bratwurst and sauerkraut, but neither of those are in this potato salad recipe. Just sayin’.
3 pounds cooked potatoes, peeled
I peel and then boil the potatoes, but as long as they’re cooked it shouldn’t matter how it’s accomplished. The potatoes work best if they’re then cooled.
In a large skillet, fry 6 slices of bacon until crisp.
Remove bacon and place on absorbent towel to drain.
Cook and stir 3/4 cup chopped onion in bacon drippings until tender and golden brown.
Stir in 2 Tbsp. flour, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. celery seed, and dash of pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until bubbly.
Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 cup water and 1/3 cup vinegar (I use cider vinegar). Heat to boiling; stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Chop bacon, thinly slice potatoes. Carefully stir into hot mixture. Heat through, stirring lightly to coat potato slices.
Serves 5 or 6. And tastes pretty great the next day, too!
Hot German Potato Salad ingredients
3 pounds cooked potatoes, peeled
6 slices bacon
¾ cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. celery seed
Dash pepper
¾ cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
This is a recipe based upon one given to me by my friend Bella. I like it because the orange and the dried cranberries really cut the tartness of the lingons. Today I put the sauce into three half-pint jars and a small bowl. I would guess if you wanted to put all of it into jars, you’d get about eight half-pints.
In a large pan, cook 6 cups fresh or frozen lingonberries with 2 cups of water until the lingons are tender. I started in a pan that was too small and had to pour into a larger one to finish. Just sayin’.
Add the grated rind and chopped pulp of 3 medium oranges along with 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins). Cook for 10 minutes.
Add 4-1/2 cups sugar and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick (about 30 minutes).
Pour into sterile jars and seal with hot lids. Like jam, this has enough sugar to preserve it.
Tip the jars upside down for about thirty minutes until the lids do not pop back up when pressed.
Here ’tis. Very tasty and ready to serve with our Christmas turkey or Swedish meatballs or sandwiches or ham or . . . whatever!
This is an appetizer based upon a recipe found at EatingWell. It’s the first time I’ve made it. I make smoked salmon every year and then can some of it. Our favorite way to eat these pint jars of smoked salmon is to mix one jar with a half-pound of warmed cream cheese and serve it with crackers. Leftovers? Never. It’s delish.
When a recipe calls for smoked salmon it’s hard to know what they mean. Usually, I think they mean a style of smoked salmon like lox. Our smoked salmon is more what you would call kippered. It’s very sweet and dry. For this recipe where it calls for 8-oz smoked salmon, I opened a pint jar of my smoked salmon. I flaked it with my fingers to make it very fine so it would mix well with the other ingredients. Making the little patties was quite difficult because I just wanted to get a spoon and start eating the mixture. It smelled SO good! The cakes turned out delicious, but I think the sauce leaves a little to be desired. A cream cheese sauce with a little dill might be just the ticket.
Quinoa Cakes with Smoked Salmon Recipe
Prepare the quinoa by bringing 1-1/4 cup water and ¾ cup quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and spread out to cool, about 15 minutes. I set my pan outside, it’s -10 degrees F today, so it didn’t take that long to cool. Ha!
To prepare the sauce combine 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream with 1-1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest and ½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice.
To prepare the cakes: Mix together 8-oz. salmon, 2 large eggs plus 1 egg white, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (green onions), 1 tsp. dried dill weed, 1 tsp. lemon zest and pepper (to taste) with the quinoa. The wonderful smell will drive you crazy at this time.
Using your hands, thoroughly combine and squeeze the mixture to bring it together. Using 2 rounded tablespoons of the mixture for each and keeping your hands damp (wet hands is important to keep mixture from sticking to them!), form 32 small cakes, about ¾ inch thick and 2 inches wide, pressing firmly to help them hold together. Place the cakes on a large baking sheet and/or a large plate. I ended up with 24 cakes, so a little too large, but still yummy.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 6 hours).
Use a couple tablespoons of olive oil to coat your skillet and fry the cakes in three batches until golden brown.
Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with sauce.
These are the fluffiest, most delicious dinner rolls. The recipe is based upon one found in Taste of Home’s Oct/Nov 2000 issue. The original recipe calls for using a 15-oz. can of cut sweet potatoes, drained and mashed. I use a fresh sweet potato, cook it, and then let it cool a bit before adding to the recipe. I just eyeball the sweet potato to decide what would fit into a can.
Cook a sweet potato (steam, boil, bake, whatever) and let cool a little bit.
2 packages yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. salt
5 to 5-1/2 cups flour
Dissolve yeast, let stand 5 minutes. Beat in sweet potatoes, sugar, shortening, egg, salt, and 3 cups flour. Add enough flour to make stiff dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl. Let rise until double. Punch down.
Divide into thirds.
Onto a floured board, roll each out into 12” circle.
Melt 3 Tbsp. butter and brush each round of dough with butter.
Cut each circle into 12 wedges. I use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
Roll up from wide end and place, pointed end down, 2” apart on greased baking sheets (or parchment covered, as seen here).
Cover and let rise until double.
Bake at 375° for 13-15 minutes or until golden.
Makes 36 rolls.
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