Corn/Potato Chowder

The is from a little pamphlet called, "People Pleasin' Potatoes For Your Family". Here is a little bit of the information it contains.

The non-irrigated potatoes from the Red River Valley of the North hold moisture within the skin to provide a moist, mealy texture that is delicious. Red River Valley potatoes are excellent for all purposes. Next time ask for red River Valley Potatoes...you will not be disappointed.

Potato Facts
Potatoes are always a good buy! They are nutrient dense and cost only pennies per serving. Potatoes are one of the most economical sources of Vitamin C and iron, also potassium, vegetable protein, and fiber.

A medium potato can furnish 5% of the recommended daily allowance of protein, half of the Vitamin C, 5% of the iron, several of the B vitamins, essential trace minerals, such as copper and magnesium...All for 90-115 calories. POTATOES ARE VIRTUALLY FAT FREE!

Eat Red River Valley Potatoes...The world's most versatile vegetable!


If you want to contact them, I have an address and phone for them. The Red River Valley is located in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Now on to the recipe.

3 large red River Valley Potatoes
4 strips bacon
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 can whole kernel corn
3 cups milk
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces
1 green pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf

Dice bacon and fry until crisp. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Drain and set aside. Peel and dice potatoes and cook in water, lightly salted, until tender. Drain. Add milk and bay leaf and heat slowly, stirring often. When heated, add bacon and onion, corn, mushrooms, and pepper. Salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer on low heat until heated through, about 15 minutes, stirring often. Serve with a garnish of bacon bits and grated cheese.


It was okay. I thought it was strange having the green peppers and mushrooms, but that was just me. Big Chubb didn't find it strange. Little Chubb managed to eat it even with the peppers and mushrooms, both of which he doesn't like.

It came together pretty easy, but I already had frozen chopped green pepper and some precooked diced potatoes leftover from our fondue dinner the night before. I was a little confused about whether I should drain the corn, so I didn't and it wasn't quite as thick as I picture a chowder. I also took lots of time heating the milk because a couple mornings ago, I decided to use milk to cook our oatmeal. It scorched badly on the bottom of the pan, and I didn't want to relive that.

Debbie's Salad

From Mary Murray

1 c. oil
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. sugar
1 pkg. Good Seasons Zesty Italian Dressing mix
1 lb. package rotini pasta, cooked
red onion, sliced green pepper, chopped olives, cheese cubes all to taste

Combine dressing ingredients. Toss pasta with desired amount of remaining ingredients. Add dressing to taste; blend well and chill.

I had been wanting to make this for a long time, and yesterdays linger longer at church was the perfect opportunity. It was a good pasta salad. The dressing is a sweet dressing, but the sweetness was evened out by the green pepper and red onion. The Big Chubb and I both liked it. I wish I would have had more cheese to put in, but it was fine with what I had.

Big Chubb asked if I was sure I wanted to make a Cupboard Recipe for the potluck without knowing how it would turn out. I reassured him that it would be fine because any recipe from Mary was bound to be good. And, it was.

Tuna Florentine Casserole

"The true taste of Italy comes alive in this superb tuna casserole. Delightful mix of spinach, tender noodles and tune bakes with onions, mushroom soup and topped with Swiss cheese." --Chicken of the Sea

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1 dash ground pepper
4 ounces noodles or 4 ounces macaroni, cooked and drained
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, defrosted,drained and squeezed dry
1 (6 ounce) can chunk light chunk tuna in water, drained and flaked
4 ounces shredded swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:
Preheat oven 350°F. Grease a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. In medium saucepan cook onion in butter until transparent. Add soup, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, seasoned salt, thyme, dry mustard and pepper and mix well. Stir in noodles and spinach. Place half the noodle mixture into prepared baking dish.
Cover with tuna and half the cheese. Repeat with remaining noodle mixture and cheese and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

We all thought this was gross. I was going to mark it as a fail, but I had the leftovers the next day, and somehow the flavors melded for the better and the weird bite from the lemon juice was gone. I still don't recommended making it unless you really are a big fan of goopy tuna, spinach, lemon juice, dairy products, and condensed soup casserole.

Apple Crisp

I love any type of cobbler or crisp; I especially love apple crisp.  I blame Dad, he has a strong love of apples and makes apple crisp often.  I doubt he ever uses a recipe, but I do.  So I pulled out this copy from the Minnesota State Fair. 

Apple Crisp

8 cups apples, pealed and sliced (I don't know how to make apples peal, so I just peeled them), appx. 8-9 apples.  Honey Crisp is recommended.
1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon

Peel, core, and slice apples thinly.  Mix with above.  Pour into 9x13 or 8 1/2x11 greased pan.

Topping:
1 c flour
6 T butter
2 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
1 c rolled oats
1 c brown sugar
1/2 t nutmeg

Combine topping ingredients, cut in butter, blend until crumbly.  Spread over apples.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve with 1/2 & 1/2 or ice cream.

I chose ice cream, naturally

This was plenty good, but I doubt I will make it again.  I thought there was an incorrect ratio of apples to crisp topping, mainly way too much topping and I used a ton of big apples.  You can tell in the first picture.  I still really liked it, as did the kid, but it wasn't the perfect crisp recipe.

Nutty Cheese Tortellini

This is a Taste of Home recipe that I've been wanting to try. I've been putting off making it because it's more expensive than our normal dinner fare, but I finally got the stuff for it.

Ingredients

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (I used dried)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Coarsely ground pepper to taste

Directions

Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain and keep warm. In the same pan, melt butter. Stir in the tortellini, parsley and walnuts; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Yield: 3 servings.

Originally published as Nutty Cheese Tortellini in Taste of Home February/March 2008, p54

Favorite! I'm glad because I haven't had many really good main dish Cupboard Project recipes. It was fast to put together, and the flavors went really well together. I normally think tortellini isn't worth buying because most of the filling flavor is overpowered with other stuff in the recipe (especially with marinara sauce), but that wasn't the case. The mild flavor of nuts and parsley worked well. I used half the butter, and it was still plenty. Next time I will probably only use 2-3 tablespoons. And toasting the walnuts definitely was worth the effort. Not recommended for nut-haters. C (who likes some nuts) carefully picked around the walnuts and spit out any mouthfuls where a nut snuck in.

Cheese Tuna Chowder

Now that we are up and running with our stove I am back and ready to make more cupboard recipes. Big Chubb actually made this one before he headed off to YM on Wednesday night. It's a 3x5 card written in Mom's handwriting.

Cheese Tuna Chowder

Rumpelstiltskin is going to Savers on the next trip.

1/4 c. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 T. flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
3 c. milk
1 c. tuna flaked
2 c. shredded sharp cheese

Saute onion and celery in butter 'til tender. Add flour, milk and spices. + tuna + cheese (It's hard to type it out how mom wrote it).

Well. I was hesitant as tuna is not my favorite. It turned out not bad. Both the Chubbs ate it, and Big Chubb enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day. I wouldn't say it was awesome, but for a quick meal with not too many ingredients, I would make it again.


PS. With our move we upgraded from 3 to 30 megs and pictures upload way faster now! Who would have thunk?

Whole Wheat Waffles

I have a great piece of paper with a bunch of typewritten whole wheat recipes on them.  In the top corner it says the name Pat Swoveland, so thanks Pat, wherever you are.  These waffles are good.

Whole Wheat Waffles
Pat Swoveland

2 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c milk
1/4 c melted shortening (In used oil for lack of shortening)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to mix. 
Beat egg whites; set aside.
Beat egg yolks, add milk and shortening.  Add all at once to flour mixture and beat until dry ingredients are moistened.
Fold in egg whites, leaving little fluffs of them showing in batter.  Pour onto preheated waffle iron; bake until steaming stops or signal lights indicates waffle is baked.  Serve hot with butter or margarine and syrup, honey or apple butter.  Makes 6 (7 inch) waffles.

We liked these.  Jacob liked them more than me, but I think I was just disappointed they weren't sweet potato waffles.  I really enjoyed mine topped with (homemade) yogurt and a little syrup.  These would make for a hearty, filling breakfast, or a cheap, healthy dinner with a side of eggs.

She liked them, too.

Lentil-Banana Muffins

Yes, this is another muffin recipe, and yes, it has lentils in it. Don't run away! They were good. I do realize that most people probably will not puree some lentils just to make these muffins, but if you happen to have some extra cooked lentils around from a previous recipe, this would be a great way to use them. Or you could cook some extra next time you make a lentil meal and use them in this.

I did puree some lentils just for the purpose of making the lentil chocolate cake, and I froze the extra. I found both the frozen pureed lentils and the Luscious Lentils recipe collection around the same time. These muffins were meant to be made.

Lentil-Banana Muffins

Makes 12-16
1/2 c butter or margarine
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 medium bananas, mashed
4 T buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 c lentil puree
1 t vanilla
2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beat well. Add well-mashed bananas and beat. Add sour milk and lentil puree. Add vanilla and dry ingredients and mix by hand. Add nuts.

Fill well-greased muffin tins 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until tops spring back to touch.

Surprise! They were good. The banana (I only used one; also found in the freezer) covered any lentil taste very well. We both liked them. Brian said they tasted healthy, but I informed him that beside the lentils, they really were not very healthy at all. A cup of sugar and 1/2 cup butter? Too much. I made them as written for testing purposes, but I think they would be fine with substituting half the butter with applesauce and using much less sugar, like half. You could probably also use regular oil instead of butter. I did use at least half whole wheat flour, which was good. I sprinkled the tops with turbinado sugar because I'm trying to find ways to use it, and I liked that. Oh, I omitted the nuts because I never buy them, though they would be good with them.

So, the moral of the story is that if you have extra lentils, give these muffins a try, and feel free to healthify them.

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Parsley Brown Butter

Brooke just threw up all over me.  Actually, all over everything--the floor, her beloved teddy, the couch, herself, my hair, and down my shirt.  We finally got everything cleaned up and the smell of vomit lingers in my nose.  Needless to say, food does not sound very appetizing right this moment.  Good thing I had already cleaned up this tasty dinner.

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Parsley Brown Butter
from eatingwell.com

I used whole wheat gnocchi

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 1 pound zucchini, (about 3 small), very thinly sliced lengthwise (see Tip)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and parsley. Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Well, I love this meal.  Jacob doesn't like zucchini, so he wasn't a big fan, but he ate it graciously.  Brooke wouldn't touch the zucchini with a ten foot pole (side note--I'm never going to get my zucchini week with a family that doesn't like zucchini), she already dislikes tomatoes, and she thought the gnocchi had a weird texture, so she kept putting it in her mouth, then spitting it right back out.  My only issue was the nutmeg.  Maybe it's my altered taste buds, but I felt like I put too much in.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to eating leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a quick, tasty dinner. 

Honey Corn Muffins

I love when I want to make something and I find a Cupboard Project recipe of it just waiting to be made. These are from the same honey booklet as the honey chocolate cake I posted previously.


Honey Corn Muffins

3/4 c sifted flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 salt
1/3 c cornmeal
1/4 cup prepared diced apple
1 egg, well beaten
1/3 c milk
1/4 c honey
3 T shortening, melted

Sift flour  once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift again. Add cornmeal. Wash, apre, and dice apple. Combine egg, milk, honey, and shortening. Add all at once to flour-cornmeal mixture, stirring only enough to damoen all flour. Fold in apple. Bake in well-greased 2-inch muffin pan at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until done. Makes 8-12 muffins.

They tasted pretty good, but there were some issues. It made nine tiny muffins, the smallest only like an inch tall. Part of that might be my fault because I forgot the egg, but surprisingly the structure and texture was fine, and the bigger muffins rose fine. I probably wouldn't recommend these. There are better cornbread recipes out there. And the apple was kind of weird.