Macaroni a la King

I don't have a whole lot of meal recipes from Mom. It's mostly breads and other baked goods. But, I pulled this little 3x5 card out and decided I would give it a try. It had no name or instructions or measurements on parts.

1 c. mac
2 T butter
3/4 c. celery
pepper
onion
soup
milk 1/3 c.
1 c. cheese
1/4 t. salt
nutmeg

I took my liberties with this recipe since that was all I was given. Here is what I did.

Cook macaroni according to directions on box. While that is cooking chop up celery, onion, and green pepper. When macaroni is done, drain and put in greased 8x8 pan. Melt butter, and saute vegetables. Add 1 can cream of chicken soup and milk, and stir until heated through. Take off heat and add cheese, salt and nutmeg. Pour on top of macaroni. Sprinkle with a little more cheese (because more cheese makes it better). Cover with foil and keep in fridge until ready to eat. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook until heated through and bubbly.

This actually turned out better than I expected! Ben said it was delicious and ate all that remained once everybody else had some. We both agreed that the celery flavor was the predominant flavor of the dish. I would leave it out, but Ben liked it. And, I realized afterwards that it probably meant black pepper instead of green pepper. It just added another vegetable and helped cancel out some of the celery taste. I used both co-jack and mozzarella cheese and used more than one cup (because it makes things better).

The only reason why it sat in the fridge overnight was because we ended up just eating dinner at Girl's Camp when I went to pick Ben up. They made pizzas by spreading coals on the gravel driveway, placing pop cans with water in the coals, rested the pizza pans on the pop cans, and covered it with a box (I think lined with foil). It worked pretty well, but the leftover pizzas we had were mostly bread with very few toppings on top.

And, finally, not a cupboard recipe, but a delicious recipe that everyone should know about, we had this plum raspberry upside down cake from Martha. It is so yummy! Ben always looks forward to it every summer when the plums and berries and in season.

I accidentally whipped the cream into almost butter (by hand!).

Chicken Divan

I have a set of recipes from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Extension Agency that is all about make ahead meals. The two main "master recipes" were for roast chicken and marinara sauce, and then there are several freezable meals that use those master recipes. I made the Chicken Divan. Instead of using 6 pounds of roast chicken, I just cooked some cubed chicken using the same seasoning (s&p, garlic, olive oil), and we ate the meal right away.

16 oz broccoli florets
8 oz cauliflower florets
1/4 c butter
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 c low-fat milk
1 c reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded
3 cups roast chicken master mix
1/2 c plain dry bread crumbs

Line a 9x13 baking pan or 2-quart casserole with foil, leaving enough overhang to cover food and seal foil. Butter foil. In a large saucepan, steam broccoli and cauliflower 4 minutes, until just tender. Arrange in bottom of baking pan. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook 2 minutes, until light brown, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and milk and cook 5 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 c of cheese. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 of sauce over vegetables. Sprinkle master mix over sauce. Top with remaining sauce, then remaining cheese and bread crumbs. Cool, seal, label, and freeze. Once divan is frozen, remove from pan and return to freezer. To prepare for sinner, peel foil from divan and place back in baking dish. Allow to thaw in refrigerator 24 hours. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, uncovered, or until heated through.

Nutritional analysis: 283 calories, 18 g protein, 17 g fat, 14 g carbohydrates, 65 mg cholesterol, 526 mg sodium.

It was okay. Since we've been married, I've avoided buying Worcestershire sauce thinking it wasn't worth it for the few times I would need it, and I've substituted other things when I needed it. I finally got some for this dish, and I forgot to add it. I found it a little bland, but the sauce probably would have fixed that. Oops. Other than that it was fine, and on the healthier end of the spectrum. I really like cruciferous vegetables. I used two small chicken breast halves, and it seemed like enough meat.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini from Taste of Home

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 30 min. Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons white wine or chicken broth, optional
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
8 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a large skillet, cook mushrooms in butter until tender. Stir in flour; gradually add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in the cream, parsley, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and wine if desired. Fold in the chicken and spaghetti.
Turn into a greased 3-qt. baking dish; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 8 servings.
Nutritional Facts
1 serving (1 cup) equals 258 calories, 13 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 71 mg cholesterol, 763 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 21 g protein.

I made this for our Fast Sunday dinner. It was pretty good. I like the nutmeg in it. It isn't all that healthy, but it has the benefit of being healthier than normal cream-based tetrazzini recipes. I really wanted to add vegetables, but I refrained in the name of sticking to the recipe. I used a can of mushrooms and I highly doubt I put 3 cups of chicken in. I might have added one. And I used Camille's whole milk instead of half and half. I'll probably make it again, but in the future I'll throw in some vegetables--maybe broccoli or spinach.

I always cringe when I see the serving sizes of these things. We ate half of this recipe. Then again, we were breaking our fast, and all we had with it was a small salad.