Oma comes to the rescue X3-turnip casserole, Olive/Cheddar nuggets and Easy Rapsberry Cake

Hadn't really decided what I was going to do for this week's recipes when Sunday got a bit out of control.   I had forgotten that I was supposed to host a meeting for my playgroup's executive.  Hosting typically involves serving some food.  Also, we were invited to my brother's place for one last dinner in advance of all of our March Break travels (they're off to Italy, I'm jealous! Mike and Philip are going to New Zealand to see Chris Harker (grandpa) and Eleanor, Wilhelmina and I are heading to Florida).  I told Sue (sister-in-law) that I would bring a vegetable for dinner.

So, 3 things needed in one day.  What to do, what to do?   So, I cracked the recipe boxes and looked for inspiration:


Turnip-Apple Dish (veg requirement for dinner at Rob & Sue's)
1 Large turnip
1/4 cup butter
4 apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
Peel and cube turnip.  Boil in salted water for 15 minutes.  Mash turnip with 1/4 cup butter.   Peel and core apples and slice thinly.  Toss apples with 1/4 cupbrown sugar and cinnamon.   In a well greased casserole dish, spread a layer of turnip.  Then put a layer of apple slices, followed by more turnip, more apple and finally finish with the 3rd layer of turnip.   In a small bowl, crumble flour, 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp brown sugar.  Sprinkle on top of casserole.  Bake at 350 fro 50-60 minutes.

Verdict:   This was really, really good.  Tasted like baked apples.  It was a great sidedish with the roast chicken dinner that was served.  I would totally do this again.

mashing turnips

Cheese-Olive Nuggets  (appetizer served at meeting)
1 1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp worcestershire
1/2 tsp paprika
24 stuffed olives (just the ones in the jar, not the huge ones from the deli)
Cream cheese and butter together.  Add flour, salt and paprika, worcestershire to mixture and mix into crumbly dough.   Using 1 tsp at a time, bring dough together in your hands and work it around to surround one olive.   Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until golden.  Can be served hot or cold.

Verdict:  These things rocked!   I made them in the afternoon and warmed them up for the meeting.  The meeting coincided with the Oscar broadcast so I served these with a lovely cocktail (1 oz. pineapple, 1 oz. white cranberry, 1 oz. vodka.  Serve over ice with one raspberry).  They were nice and salty and the olive made a nice contrast with the cheese.  My friend Mary sampled one earlier in the day and said that her mom used to make something very similar with pickles.

Making the nuggets

Easy Raspberry Cake

I also made a cake to serve at the meeting. As it turned out, 2 people brought sweets (thanks Lesley and Erin!) so I didnt' serve it.   The day after, February 28 happened to be Eleanor's 1/2 birthday.  So for her 5 1/2 birthday, we served half a cake.  (gave the other 1/2 to my friend, Bernice)

1 package frozen Raspberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 package white cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 package instant vanilla pudding
dream whip (optional)
Defrost Raspberries.  Reserve a few berries for serving, if desired.   Reserve a few tbsp of berry syrup for dream whip, if using.   Put cake mix, eggs, oil, pudding and berries (with any other remaining juice) in mixer.  Beat for 3 minutes.   Pour into well-greased Bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool.   If desired, prepare dream whip with reserved berry syrup and serve with cake.

Verdict: Very yummy.   Raspberries tasted nice.

lovely!

Happy 5 1/2 birthday!

Lemon Chicken Stir Fry and Cherry Cheesecake

Tuesday again.   Once again, Claire and Kate are here for dinner (a ritual every 2nd tuesday due to activity schedules).    Thought I'd try something healthy as a main course as we were away for Uncle Ron's birthday over the weekend and I basically ate for 72 hrs straight.   The stirfry seemed to fit the bill.  For dessert, a standard 70's throwback the no-bake Cherry Cheesecake.

Lemon Chicken
3 chicken breasts
5 green onions
1 red pepper
 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
Zest of 2 lemons
ginger
1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp sugar
soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Saute chicken in veg oil until nearly cooked through.  Add cut up pepper and minced onions.   Stir until soft.  Add mushrooms and lemon zest.   Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of water.  Add to meat mixture along with ginger, salt, pepper, soy sauce and sherry.  Simmer for 5 minutes until sauce thickened.  Drizzle with lemon juice.
I served this with rice and sauteed broccoli.

Prep work for stir fry makes things easier!

Stir frying!

Final product

Cherry Cheese Cake
Grease 9 inch square pan
Make a graham cracker crust.

Served Dessert - didn't hold together too well!

Combine 8 oz philadelphia Cheese, softened with 1 package pre-made Dream Whip and 1 cup icing sugar.  Spread over crust.   Top with one can of cherry pie filling.

Cherry Cheesecake

The verdict - The stir fry was nice.  Not sure why it's called Lemon chicken as the lemon taste got kind of lost in the Ginger and soy sauce mix.    Very light.   Everyone liked the chicken.   Nobody was 'wowed' but success nonetheless.   The dessert was a hit!   My guests each had seconds.   Rave reviews.  Takes me back to a few decades ago!   It didn't come out of the pan very easily.  Made kind of a mess.  Oh well!

Tuesday Night (again) - Cooking for 5 kids - Arg!

Well it's busy night again and we have 2 extra bodies to feed.  (neighbour kids, Kate and Claire).  It's a treat to feed kids from this family as they ACTUALLY EAT WITHOUT COAXING, BRIBING OR BEGGING!

I found a recipe in one of the boxes called Cheddar beef loaf.  Fancy way of saying meatloaf with cheese.   It calls for 2 lbs of ground beef, so I figured the extra bodies could help us get through this.  For dessert, I turned it over to Philip who promptly found the richest thing in the box, "Mars Bars Squares".   Again, might as well do this one with more mouths to feed, so I figured, why not:

Cheddar Beef Loaf
2 lbs lean ground beef (used extra lean)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (used half regular, half panko)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green pepper
2 tbsp barbecue sauce or ketchup (used bbq sauce)
1/2 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise  (used mayo and used less than 1/2 cup)
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick medium cheddar, cubed
Combine everything in a large bowl and mix lightly.   Pack in foil lined loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 90 minutes (pour off any fat).  Let stand for 30 minutes.  Serve warm or cold

Mars Bars Squares
4 Mars bars, chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 cups rice Krispies
Melt chocolate bars and butter in a double boiler, stirring constantly.  Keep on heat and add rice Krispies and stir till all cereal is incorporated.  Put in 9X9 square pan, press down immediately.  Cool and cut into squares. To quote Oma in the recipe:  "DON'T EAT TOO MUCH WHILE PREPARING".  A hard challenge, indeed.

Verdict
Either of these recipes will not be featured in any 'Heart Smart' cookbooks.   I served the loaf with roasted potatoes, corn, carrots and a tossed salad.  

SUCCESS!!!!!!

re: meatloaf - quotes below:
Eleanor:  "yummy"
Kate:  "10"
Claire: "mmmmm"
Philip "9"
Willy: "like a meatball, i put ketchup on it now"

re: mars bar squares:
A resounding 10/10 from all but michael who says he prefers regular Rice Krispie squares.  These were devoured in about 2 minutes.  To quote Kate, "I don't have words to adequately describe how good these are"

melty goodness

Delicious!

Meatloaf with roasted potatoes - doesn't exactly photograph well

I will make these squares for this weekends church bake sale.  Will report results later

Niagara Nice & Spicy Chicken and Dutch Apple Cake

Once again, I have scheduled this on a Tuesday.  Why???!!  

Tonight's main course, Niagara Nice & Spicy Chicken, comes from a 4-H unit from long ago.   For those 'city folk' out there who are reading this, 4-H is a rural organization that teaches agricultural, financial and homemaking skills to youths.  I was in 4-H from about the age of 10-16.  I don't remember the specific unit where this recipe comes from and Google doesn't seem to have it listed anywhere.  

As far as the cake goes, I must confess that I have actually made this a number of times.  It is always a quick standby recipe for me if people are coming over for coffee.  

As it turned out, this was a very easy recipe to make on a busy night full of activities.

Niagara Nice and Spicy Chicken
Cut up chicken pieces (I used thighs as my kids tend to like dark meat better)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 can drained peaches (reserve juice)
Barbecue sauce.

Heat oil in frying pan and brown chicken.   Take a 1 cup measure and add reserved peach juice.  Fill to top of measuring cup with barbecue sauce (so that you make one cup in total).  Mix juice/sauce mixture. Add to browned chicken.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add peach slices and simmer for 15 minutes more.

I served it on rice with vegetable sticks on the side.

BBQsauce/peach juice added to browned chicken

et voila

Dutch Apple Cake
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 drops lemon juice (I was out of lemons so substituted vanilla)
2 apples, peeled and sliced into thin slices
Cinnamon sugar  (mix of 1 tsp cinnamon with 2 tsp sugar)
Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add lemon juice, flour, baking powder and salt.   Spread in the bottom of a greased, spring form pan.   Add apples on top in a nice, circular pattern.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.   (as my springform was a 9 inch pan, It took only about 37 minutes to bake)

The verdict:
Success!!    The kids liked the flavour of the chicken and the peaches were a hit.  Eleanor had 3 helpings of the peaches.   Philip did think it was weird to eat warm peaches.   The cake was definitely inhaled by all.    Oma's original recipe did not call for the cinnamon sugar, but I thought it added a nice look and flavour.  

Yum!

Willy samples Willie's cake!