One of the best cookbooks ever

Thought I should mention that I rely heavily on my own first-hand experience in the kitchen and on a small collection of very well used cookbooks.

One of my favoritecookbooks is Mennonite Country-Style Recipes and Kitchen Secrets by Esther H. Shank. My copy was published in 1987, but newer editions are available. I can vouch that the recipes are pretty easy to make --from easy to find ingredients. My family has enjoyed some of the recipes so much that they become family favorites.

This cookbook would make a great present for young people cooking on their own for the first time.

Chili spaghetti

Chili spaghetti is a hearty entree for a hungry crowd. It is also a great way to use up leftover chili from the previous day.

Chili may be made with or without meat. When I use meat, I use 1 pound lowfat ground meat for every 4 servings.

In a large stove-top pot, brown the ground meat with onion and sweet peppers, both red and green if you like. (If you are making vegetarian chili, simply omit the meat.)

When the ingredients are sufficiently sauteed, add your favorite canned chili beans to the browned, ground meat (or the sauteed onion and sweet peppers, for vegetarian chili). Add canned diced tomatoes or tomato sauce. Canned sweet corn or hominy is good to add, too.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chili powder.

Before serving, cook pasta per package directions. Drain pasta and mix with the heated chili.

Serve onto shallow bowl plates with Parmesan or cheddar cheese topping.
chili spaghetti makes a great entree for meals with diners arriving throughout the evening.

Serving suggestion:

Great with hot corn bread!

Custom sliced pickle salad

Nothing beats this easy salad for refreshment on a hot summer day!

For each diner, slice one chilled large whole dill pickle. Sprinkle the sliced pickles on a couple cool leaves of fresh, crisp lettuce. Serve immediately.

Toasted turkey bagel sandwich

I am posting a lot of recipes today -- accumulated over the last week or so as we cleaned out our storage unit. There was a ton of physical labor -- lifting, hauling. Lots of mental/emotional investment, too, in the give away, throw away, put away sense.



This recipe was a mega popular meal after one such arduous day:

For each diner --

• toast a plain or onion bagel

• 1/2 bagel open-face with cheddar cheese (until the cheese is melted and the bagel slightly browned)

• 1/2 bagel open-face with sliced, seasoned precooked turkey breast

Serving suggestion:

I served these simple sandwiches with custom sliced pickle salad.

Seasoned tortilla crisps

A quick easy snack
or accompaniment to a light meal!

• Preheat broiler.

• Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

• Pour some vegetable oil on the lined cookie sheet. (I prefer sunflower seed oil.)

• Place one corn tortilla per diner on the oiled sheet.

• Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning.

• Broil on each side of the tortillas until warmed through.

• Serve in a bread basket on the table.

Recommendations:

The best lemon pepper seasonings I have found are:

Tones green label salt-free lemon pepper seasoning

Basically has citric acid (lemon) and pepper. No onions.

Mrs. Dash's salt free lemon pepper seasoning

A mixture of onion, citric acid, pepper and other seasonings. A more complex flavor.

Fresh squash and tomato rice medley

Summer squash and zucchini squash are abundant this time of year.

So I made a simple meal (serves 3) of:

White rice (simmer, covered, 1 cup rice + 2 cups water until water is absorbed)

In a separate saucepan I cooked a couple small, sliced summer squashes and a small sliced zucchini squash in a little bit of water.

Also washed, sliced, and added a fresh tomato (from Canada, on the vine, hydroponically grown, to follow the CDC's recommendations on tomatoes this summer) to the cooking vegetables.

When all was cooked, I served the rice in small shallow bowls and put the cooked vegetables on top. As a decoration and a touch of dairy, I put small chunks of cheddar cheese on the hot rice and vegetables. Served with fresh plums and spicy tortilla crisps.

Ramen bok choy

Okay, a success! After yesterday's abject failure, I tried bok choy (three servings) again. This time, I stir fried chopped fresh bok choy in canola oil with:

6 largish fresh white mushrooms
6 chopped strips of turkey bacon
1 handful of roasted sunflower seeds
a quick dusting of garlic powder
an even quicker dusting of powdered ginger

Meanwhile I cooked three individual serving size packages of ramen noodles in boiling water for about three minutes. I drained the ramen noodles, and divided them among three shallow bowls.

I reheated the stir-fried mixture, added three eggs, and stirred the eggs (plus cooked ingredients) until the eggs were totally cooked. Then spooned the hot stir-fry mixture over the ramen noodles.

For color and complementary flavor, I accompanied the stir-fry with fresh plums.

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Review:

My diners had the option of further seasoning their stir-fry with soy sauce, fresh ground black pepper, or with the powdered seasoning pre-packaged with the ramen noodles.

• The soy-sauce-seasoning diner said the dish was excellent! He figured out the "crunchy things" were sunflower seeds and commented favorably on them.

• The other diners opted for some of the ramen noodle pre-packaged seasoning as an additional flavoring, as well as a bit of fresh ground pepper. They agreed that the ramen noodles were too dry -- perhaps too well-drained before the stir fry was added.