Becky’s Baked Potato Soup

I am looking out the window at the beautiful Pine trees laden with snow—our first for this year in Delaware. This is, of course, the perfect weather for soup.

Last year when my daughter Becky came to visit in the winter she made a scrumptious soup called Baked Potato Soup. I have made potato soup many times, but never as good as hers.

Trying to think of something different for dinner I remembered that soup. I looked online and found a similar soup but it wasn’t quite the same. Then I found it in one of my favorite recipe files on a card under ‘soups’—just where it should be. Now copy this down and don’t loose it!

    Ingredients:

    6 medium potatoes baked or boiled

    8-10 slices fried crumbled bacon

    5 cups milk

    1 stick butter

    3 sticks chopped celery with leaves

     1 medium onion peeled and chopped

     1 cup chicken broth

     ½ cup flour

     1 cup sour cream

     1½ cups grated cheddar cheese

      salt and pepper to taste

    Directions:

1.      Bake potatoes or boil in water, drain, peel, and cool. Then cut into cubes and set aside.

2.      Fry bacon, drain on paper towel and crumble. Set aside.

3.      Saute' chopped onion and celery in melted butter until tender.

4.      Add flour to butter and veggies. Stir until light brown.

5.      Add broth and milk and stir until thickened.

6.      Add chopped potatoes and combine with sauce.

7.      Add sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

8.      Add cheese and stir until the perfect thickness. Check seasoning.

9.      Serve topped with more shredded cheddar, chopped green onions, bacon bits, and chopped parsley if desired.

Check this out! Hope you will like this as much as we do. Thanks Becky. You are a fabulous cook.  

Chicken Enchilada Caserole

This recipe has to be credited to my friends and teachers from North lake Elementary School. I spent most of my teaching career there in Garland, Texas.

The North lake staff had a lovely tradition of celebrating birthdays monthly in the teachers’ lounge. During lunch time, we brought in homemade treasures from salads and casseroles to cakes covered with candles. Many of the cooks shared their recipes many of them are among our family favorites.

Try this sumptuous Chicken Enchilada Casserole with your family and friends. If you are lucky enough to have a group like the teachers at North lake, you might share your recipes with them too.

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas

½ cup cooking oil

2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

¾ cup chopped onion

¼ cup butter

3 tablespoon flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

2 cups diced chicken

1 cup (4 oz.) chopped green chilies

Directions:

Cook tortillas in oil—5 seconds per side to soften.

Place 2 tablespoons of cheese and 1 tablespoon of onion on each tortilla and role up. Place seam side down in 9x13 baking dish.

In a large skillet, melt butter and blend with flour. Add broth and cook until thick. Stir in sour cream, chicken, and green chilies.  Cook until heated—(do not boil!). Pour sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and light brown. This makes 6 servings with two enchiladas each. You’re going to love this! 

Another Russian Dish--Belyashi (Pronounced Belashe)

Natasha, my daughter-in-law’s mother, prepared an unforgettable dish called Belyashi just before she left for Mother Russia. The recipe for Belyashi, a fried meat pie, originally came from Belarus, an area northwest of Moscow.  My husband said it reminded him of food he had eaten at his maternal grandmother’s home when he was a boy—in fact Natasha herself reminded him of his Russian grandmother.

This little meat pie is made with a crust that’s pretty much like pizza dough. So I’m sharing my pizza dough recipe. If you want to use your own pastry dough or buy it at your friendly grocery, that’s fine.

1. Pastry:  First, in a small mixing bowl combine ¼ cup tepid water, 2 teaspoons yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Stir and set aside. Go on to next step

2. In medium mixing bowl combine 4 cups of unbleached flour with 1 teaspoon salt. Spread the dry flour mixture up the sides of the bowl to form a hollow in the center.                                                 

3. Pour 1 cup warm water, yeast mixture, and ¼ cup olive oil into center of flour mixture. Use fork to pull flour into liquid to form stiff dough.  Remove dough from bowl to floured bread board and knead for about 10 minutes or until dough is no longer sticky. Oil the surface of dough and place in clean large bowl. Allow to rise in warm place until double in bulk, about an hour.

4. Filling: While dough rises prepare the meat. Combine ½ pound ground pork, ½ lb. ground beef, 1 teaspoon salt, a pinch of ground black pepper, ½ medium minced onion, and ½ teaspoon crushed garlic. Add a small amount of water to mixture to make filling the consistency of oatmeal.

5. Forming Belyashi: After dough is kneaded pinch into pastry balls the size of biscuits. Role each ball into circles about four inches in diameter. Place a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture on dough. Pull the dough up around the meat to form into a pie with a small circle of filling showing in center. Pinch sides together.

6. Pour about ½ inch of oil in a large skillet and heat to medium temperature. Carefully place pies, two or three at a time, meat side down in the skillet. Fry until golden brown then turn over and complete cooking on other side. Place pies on paper towels to drain fat. Serve Belyashi while hot for a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.

Natasha recommends it with a cup of tea or coffee on a snowy day.

Russian Beef Perogies (Cheburekis)

Have you ever tried Russian Perogies? I hadn’t until my daughter-in-law’s mother came to visit. It was great meeting her and finding out that we not only share a new grandson but also a love of cooking.

I don’t speak Russian and she doesn’t speak English, but that hasn’t stopped us from communicating. We use sign language, a cheat sheet of Russian basic words, and if that doesn’t work we run for Yulia, her daughter, to act as interpreter.

The morning after she arrived, I followed my nose downstairs to the aroma of ground beef, garlic, and onion simmering on the stove.

“What’s cooking?” I asked.

To which she replied, “Cheburekis,” and pointed to the skillet.

And so it began, we looked through the pantry and the refrigerator, smelling contents of jars and spice tins until we found everything she needed. I watched as she kneaded the simple dough, rolled it into circles and filled them with the meat mixture. Then she sealed the dough edges with a fork and dropped them into sizzling oil. My mouth was watering and I couldn’t wait to sample the turnovers.

Hot and juicy; the Cheburekis were delicious. This was a totally new breakfast addition to the menu. I never had ground beef for breakfast before, but it seems in the frozen north lands of Russia, they eat a lot of protein to keep warm. I made a bowl of fresh fruit and a cup of coffee—a perfect Russian breakfast or a camp out meal to never be forgotten. Thank you, Natasha, my new Russian friend.

                                                       Russian Perogies

Ingredients for dough:   

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

2 cups flour

Extra flour to form stiff dough

Filling:

2 tablespoons cooking oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ teaspoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup water

2 pound hamburger

1 egg

Cooking oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Beat eggs in a medium mixing bowl with salt and water. Add 2 cups of flour and mix with wire whip. Add more flour until stiff dough is formed. Knead dough for about 10 minutes. Cover with a dish towel and let rest until the meat is ready.

2. In a medium skillet, combine 2 tablespoons oil with onion and garlic, saute on medium heat until soft and light brown. Cool slightly and combine with  salt, pepper, water, and egg in medium mixing bowl. Mix in hamburger by hand then set aside.

Finish the dough by cutting it into16 balls about the size of biscuits. One at a time, flatten and roll each into a circle about 6 inches in diameter with a rolling pin. Spread hamburger mixture over dough leaving about ½ inch clear around edge. Fold in half and seal edges with fork tines. Turn each perogie over and seal other side then poke a few holes in it with a fork.

Pour one inch of cooking oil into large skillet on medium heat. Fry two Perogies at a time until brown and done, turning them half way through. Place on paper towels to absorb oil. Serve while warm with ample napkins—they are quite juicy.

Children can help you with this project especially when they get to knead bread. Just make sure an adult does all the work with heat.

Borsh from Yulia's Kitchen

When September is here the chilly mornings give me a yearning for warm soup. Last weekend our daughter-in-law, Yulia, cooked up a batch of Borsh, (sometimes spelled Borsht). This is the recipe her Russian mother and grandmother prepared when she was a girl. The aroma of the beet red broth, fragrant with chicken or beef, often fills our house throughout the fall and winter. Hearty root vegetables of the north are used to prepare this never to be forgotten delight with: beets, potatoes, and carrots. Onions, garlic, and herbs intensify the flavor. Try it with a dollop of sour cream and serve with hardy peasant bread or croutons. But watch out, you could become addicted!

 Thank you, Yulia, for introducing me to your Russian delight, Borsh.

Ingredients:

Meat (chicken--skinned and deboned or beef stew-meat) 1 ½ pounds.

Place meat in medium pot and cover with water until 2/3 filled. Bring to a medium boil and reduce to a simmer. (Cook chicken for 10-15 minutes or slowly simmer beef for 60 minutes) Remove from heat and cover.

Prepare vegetables while the meat cooks:

1 large or 2 medium beets peeled and shredded  

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/3 cup shredded carrots

½ cup chopped sweet onion

1 small can tomato paste

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon Creole seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup peeled cubed potatoes

1 bay leaf

Ground black pepper to taste

Ground oregano to taste

1. In large skillet add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Heat, add beets and simmer for 3 minutes.

2. Stir then add carrots. Continue to stir for another 3 minutes.

3. Add onions and stir for a minute.

4. Add tomato paste, turn heat to low and mix in cumin and Creole seasoning. Stir well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover with a well fitting lid and remove from heat.

5. Take boiled chicken or beef from pot and cut into cubes. Skim foam from broth.

6. Add salt and cabbage to broth. Bring to a simmer and let cook for another 3-5 minutes.

7. Then add cubed potatoes and carrot-beet mixture from skillet. If water has evaporated from broth add more until pot is 2/3 full or 2 to 3 inches below top of pot. Mix well and bring soup to a boil.

     8. Finally add cubed chicken breast or beef to pot and return to boiling soup.

     9. Lower temperature to slow simmer and add 1 bay leaf, pepper, and oregano to taste.                         

     Cover partially allowing steam to escape. Cook for another 10-12 minutes.

      Remove soup from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

   10. Serve with fresh chopped parsley and top with a tablespoon of sour cream. Amazing!

This is labor intensive but well worth it. I promise it is a soup you will never forget.

Guacamole, Texas Style

I lived in the Midwest for years and never tasted an avocado until I was an adult.  I bought it at the grocery, took it home, and called a friend for advice on how to eat it. She said just cut it open, sprinkle it with salt, and add a little Italian dressing. Well, it was hard, I cut it open, and one bite convinced me I didn’t like avocados.

A few years later I moved to Texas and had my first guacamole. A new friend, Diana, invited me to her house. I watched as she made a big bowl of that tangy spicy dip. She squeezed the avocado and her thumb made a slight indentation. She explained that it was just ripe enough. She cut the avocados open, removed the seeds with a twist of the knife and scraped the soft insides out with a spoon. Then she squeezed the fresh tart lime over the soft concoction, sprinkled it with salt and used a fork to mash it—not too much. Next she chopped the sweet East Texas onion, ripe tomato, and diced the jalapeno and garlic. At last she sprinkled in some seasoning. When she was all finished she dropped one of the avocado seeds into the dip and covered it—a little secret that keeps the dip from turning brown. Since then every time I go to a Mexican restaurant or serve Mexican food at home, guacamole is on the menu, and I never forget the seed. Follow this advice and you are guaranteed great guacamole from a true Texan. Thanks Diana!

                                          Diana’s Guacamole

Ingredients:

4 avocados (ripe)

Juice from 1 lime

½ diced sweet onion

1diced medium ripe tomato

½ seeded, diced Jalapeno (or small can of green chilies if you can’t take the heat)

2 cloves minced garlic

¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro

½ teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with your favorite fresh tortilla chips. Don’t forget your seed and it will keep your dip fresh and green until you’ve devoured the last bite.

If you wash and plant the seed you can have your own avocado tree. I’m not kidding. We planted two seeds in February and now one of the trees comes almost to my neck!

Shirley's Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

Over the years I have had the honor of eating many wonderful meals at my mother-in-law’s home. Shirley makes the best Challah bread and shared the recipe with me many years ago. It is on this blog, and if you haven’t tried it you are missing out on something special.

My husband says his mom’s apple pie recipe is even better than mine—I’m jealous.

Here is another of her great recipes that I have made for years and it is one of our favorites. It’s Shirley’s chicken soup with matzo balls. It can be made using roasted chicken from your local supermarket or you can roast it yourself in the oven or crock pot.

Since today has been a rainy day, I thought it was the perfect day for chicken soup.

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked cubed chicken

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth

4 celery ribs chopped including leaves

1 medium chopped onion

4 cloves crushed garlic

4 chopped carrots

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

2 packages Matzo Ball mix (May be purchased at your local grocery store in the kosher food section. You will need eggs and oil for this recipe.)

Directions:

Skin chicken and pick 4 cups of meat from the bones. Set aside. Clean and chop vegetables and place in crock pot or stew pot along with broth and cook until vegetables are tender. Add chicken and correct seasoning.

Follow recipe for Matzo balls on the package and place mixture in refrigerator for about fifteen minutes. Wet hands and shape batter into balls by tablespoons full and drop into simmering broth. The matzo balls will float to the top. Simmer about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with more fresh chopped parsley. Serve while hot. You’re going to love it.

Russian Potato Chicken Soup

Hardy soups are for Winter. Maybe that's why Russia is famous for their soups--they have long winters.
My daughter-in-law is Russian and makes the best borsch imaginable.

My mother-in-law, Shirley's family came from Russia around a hundred years ago and her family recipe for chicken soup with matzo balls is great. It is just what the doctor ordered when you have a case of the sniffles.Today is cold and dreary and the forcast calls for snow--soup time!

This Russian Potato Chicken Soup recipe came from Ladies Home Journal about 20 or 30 years ago. My daughter-in-law says she had never eaten it in Russia before, but she thought it was delicious all the same. I'll just put my southern twist on it and say, "Ya'll stay for supper now. Ya' hear?"

Ingredients:

1) 1 1/2 pound chicken breast meat-chopped and sauteed with 2 tablespoons butter, or leftover meat from a broasted chicken

5 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped   
4 cups chicken broth or 2 bullion cubes and 4 cups water

Prepare above ingredients and put in crock pot on high.

2) 1 medium chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery with leaves
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
Chopped green onions, fresh parsley, shredded cheddar (optional) as garnish

Saute onion, celery, parsley, and butter. Add to chicken mixture in crock pot. Let cook for three or four hours.

3) Just before time is up make rue in skillet by combining the following:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cooking oil

Allow to brown lightly. Dip one cup of broth from crock pot and add to skillet. Stir until smooth then dump the contents of the skillet in.the crock pot and stir.

4) Add 1 can of evaporated milk and correct seasoning with salt and pepper. If not thick enough you may add paste of flour and water and stir until soup is of the right consistency. Chop 2 green onions or 2 tablespoons parsley for topping. May serve with shredded cheddar.

This might turn in to one of your comfort foods. I hope you like it as much as we do. Have you got a soup recipe you would like to share? Send it to us or make a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Crock-pot Pulled Chicken Barbecue

One of my daughters has wholeheartedly embraced the internet and its conveniences. She buys diapers, soap, paper products and much more at a reduced rate saving fuel, money, and countless hours in her crazy busy schedule as a professional.

She found a website that tailors her food to her lifestyle with recipes, shopping lists, and even delivery far cheaper and faster than she could do on her own. In addition she avoids buying junk food that would tempt her at the store.

Recently she gave a birthday party for her son--my grandson. She did it at home and saved a bundle by preparing all the food with a little help from Grandma. One of the dishes was Crock-pot Pulled Chicken Barbecue. It was quite a hit and I decided that I would play around with the recipe and make it my own. I prepared it for a  CAPA (Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association) meeting and everyone loved it. Try these tender tasty fragrant little stuffed buns. I promise you won't be disappointed. Doesn't it make your mouth water just thinking about that tangy, sweet sauce?

 Pulled Chicken Barbecue

Ingredients:

3 pound frozen skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 large chopped onion
28 ounce bottle barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. honey
Small whole wheat buns (Remember you need enough for a party.)

Directions:

Place frozen chicken breasts into crock pot. Chop onion and sprinkle over chicken. In a mixing bowl combine the rest of ingredients and pour over the chicken and onions. Cover and set temperature to low for about 6-8 hours or 4-5 hours on high. (I cooked it overnight on low.)When done remove lid. Smell that aroma while you use two forks to pull the meat into small bits. (Recipe makes about 20-30 sandwiches.) There is no salt added since there is salt in several of the ingredients. Go ahead--sample it. I know you want to!

It's great served with potato salad and coleslaw. Come on Grandma you and the kids can help with this.