Deviled Egg Pasta Salad

I like deviled eggs, and I like pasta salad.  The other day I was thinking about making a pasta salad to eat for lunch the rest of the week.  I also was thinking about deviled eggs.  I decided to see if I could make a pasta salad with the flavor of deviled eggs.  So Deviled Egg Pasta Salad was born.

I finally got brave and turned my camera so it would take a more vertical picture.  These are better for Pinterest so they say.  I also tried putting text on my  photos for the first time.  There is hope that this old grandma can get in the groove yet.  Now if I can just get brave enough to actually use my DSLR.

When I am making a salad just for me, I always use ingredients that I like.  Change or sub ingredients to fit your tastes.  I had green onions that needed to be used up, other wise I would have used another variety of finely chopped onion.

Since pasta seems to absorb dressing, it may be necessary to add a little more mayonnaise or some sour cream after the salad has set for awhile.

Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
2 c. small shell pasta or other small pasta
6 eggs, hard cooked
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onion or 1/3 c. finely diced yellow, white or red onion
1/3 c. finely diced red pepper
2 ribs celery, cut in half vertically and thinly sliced on the diagonal
10 black olives, cut into eighths
1 medium dill pickle, finely chopped
2/3 c. mayonnaise
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. white wine vinegar
1/4 t. coarse ground pepper

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions.  Drain.  Cool with cold water and thoroughly drain again.  Pour into large mixing bowl.  Peel eggs and cut in half.  Remove yolks and put in a small mixing bowl.  Chop the egg whites and add to the pasta.  Add onion, red pepper, celery, black olives and dill pickle.  Stir to combine ingredients.  Using a fork, mash the yolks until very smooth.  Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, vinegar and pepper to the egg yolks.  Beat until well combined.  Spoon dressing over the pasta and mix until pasta and vegetables are thoroughly coated.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  Makes 4 generous servings.

Linking to these great parties:
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Pork Stew with Dill Dumplings

Happy Monday.  Welcome to my new followers.  Thank you all for stopping by my blog and reading my posts.  It is so nice to have you here.  Hope that you find the information I post useful.

Although it is still warm here, I recently was hungry for stew.  Pork is more tender than beef so it cooks more quickly.  This makes it a good choice for making stew in the summer.  Pork Stew with Dill Dumplings fits the bill.

Either pork shoulder or loin may be used, but the shoulder will be slightly more flavorful.  As with all stews, the vegetables can be changed to suit personal preferences.  Although I usually use frozen peas for this dish, the stew in the photos has drained, canned peas in it.  I had some of those left over in the fridge that needed to be used up.

Pork Stew with Dill Dumplings
1 to 1 1 /2 lbs. boneless pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 c. flour
1 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper, coarse ground if possible
2 T. or more vegetable oil
3 medium/large potatoes (about 1  1/2 lb.) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 c. coarsely chopped onion
2-3 medium carrots (1 c.) cut into 1x1/4-inch matchstick pieces
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch bias slices
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz.) low-sodium chicken broth
1 c. frozen peas
Dumplings
1 c. flour
2 t. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. dried dill weed
1/3 c. milk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 egg

Place flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a plastic bag and shake to combine.  Add pork cubes and shake until the cubes are coated.  Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven.  Add pork cubes, but do not let them touch.  (You may need to do this in two batches.)  Brown cubes on all sides.  Remove and set aside.  Continue until all cubes are brown, adding more oil if necessary.  Return pork to Dutch oven and add potatoes,  onion, carrots, red pepper, celery, bay leaf and garlic.  Stir in remaining flour.  Pour in chicken broth and stir well.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes.  While stew is cooking, prepare dumplings.  In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and dill weed.  Stir to mix well.  Combine milk, vegetable oil and egg in a small bowl.  Add to flour mixture and stir just to  moisten dry ingredients.  Add peas to stew and bring back to a low boil.  Drop dumpling mixture by tablespoonsful into hot stew.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve.  Makes 6 servings.  Store dumplings and stew separately if there are leftovers.

Linking to these great parties:
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Busy Monday

Oriental Cherry Chicken Salad

Happy Monday to everyone.  Welcome to my new followers.  It is so nice to have you aboard.  I want to extend my weekly thanks to all who take time from their busy lives to read this blog.  It is greatly appreciated, and I hope that what you find here is useful to you.
 
It is almost the end of cherry season here, but hubby bought some free ones home a week or so ago.  I was when it was so hot here so I enjoyed some of the cherries in this Oriental Cherry Chicken Salad.

As with all salads, change the ingredients to suit your personal preference.  I like to put the mandarin orange can in the refrigerator to chill.  Although the components  and the dressing can be made ahead, this salad is best assembled shortly before serving.  The cherries will turn everything purple if the salad sits too long.  The salad is still very good, just not so pretty.

I have a wonderful cherry pitter made by Progressive that pits four cherries at a time so the cherry pitting goes really quickly.

The original recipe came from a recipe card that a local grocery store gave out many years ago.

Oriental Cherry Chicken Salad
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 t. soy sauce
1 T. lemon juice
1/8 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. pepper, coarse ground if possible
2 c. fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1 (11 oz.) can mandarin orange segments, well drained
1 to 1 1/2 c. diced cooked chicken
3/4  c. diced celery
1/2 c. sliced sugar snap peas
3 green onions, chopped
1/3 c. toasted, slivered almonds

Combine mayonnaise, soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger and pepper until well blended.  Chill several hours or overnight to blend flavors.  Combine cherries, orange segments, chicken, celery, pea, green onions and almonds in a medium bowl.  Spoon dressing over salad ingredients and mix well.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 servings.

Linking to these great parties:
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Totally Tasteful Tuesday
Show Me What You Got
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Show Me What Ya Got
Tasty Tuesday

Cumin Corn Salad

This is one of the salads that I made to take with us on our vacation.  I am a big fan of the smoky sweet flavor of cumin so wanted to play it up here.

This is similar to the corn and corn chip salad that has been around.  I just put ingredients that I like together.  I prefer to eat this with crushed corn chips added, but I do not like to add them to the entire salad in case there is some leftover.  The corn chips become soft when the salad is stored in the fridge. I serve the corn chips on the side, and let each person add as many or as few as they like.

The salad will keep two or three days well chilled in the fridge.

Cumin Corn Salad

2 (16 oz.) cans whole kernel corn, well drained or 4 cups fresh or frozen corn, cooked and drained
1/2 c. red onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1/3 c. red pepper, chopped
1/4 c. black olives, chopped
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. picante sauce
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. garlic pepper
corn chips

Place well-drained corn in a medium mixing bowl.  Add onion, celery, red pepper, black olives and mix well.  In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, picante sauce, cumin and garlic pepper.  Stir mayonnaise mixture into corn mixture until vegetables are thoroughly coated with dressing.  Chill at least a few hours to allow flavors to blend.  Serve with corn chips to crush over the top.  Makes 4 servings.

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Create and Share

Barbecued Pork Salad

 A few weeks ago, I needed to fix something for my lunch at work.  When I checked out my fridge, I found I had some roast pork, celery, onion, red pepper, radishes, some cooked asparagus and some black olives.  The roast pork had been glazed with a barbecue sauce so I decided to play that up by using some barbecue sauce in the salad.  It turned out to be a very tasty lunch that I will make again, probably this week since I made another pork roast today.  Since asparagus season is over here, I will  add some frozen, thawed peas.  The recipe is for just one serving, but it could be easily multiplied to serve more.

Barbecued Pork Salad
1/2 c. chopped cooked roast pork, chicken, ham or beef
1 to 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 thin slices onion, finely chopped
1/3 c. red pepper, chopped
3 to 4 radishes, quartered and sliced
6 spears asparagus, chopped
3 to 4 black olives, halved and sliced
2 T. mayonnaise
1 T. barbecue sauce
barbecue spice
croutons

Combine pork, celery, onion, red pepper, radishes, asparagus,and olives in a small bowl.  In another small bowl combine mayonnaise and barbecue sauce until well blended.  Combine with pork and vegetables until well blended.  Sprinkle with a dash of barbecue spice.  Chill and serve topped with croutons.  Makes 1 serving

Linking to these great parties:
Make the Scene Monday
Monday Funday
Manic Monday
Sweet Sharing Monday
Inspiration Monday
Busy Monday
Made by You Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Mix It Up Monday
Marvelous Monday

Peach Chicken Salad with Peach Basil Dressing-Improv Challenge

One of the main things I like about the Improv Challenge which Kristen from Frugal Antic of a Harried Homemaker  hosts is that it makes me think about ingredient combinations that I might not have thought of myself.

This month’s challenge is to use peaches and an herb.  Every time that I thought about what herb to use, a little voice in my head kept saying, “basil, basil, basil,” much like that duck in the Aflac commercial.

I decided that basil it was and went looking for recipe ideas.  I found a salad dressing recipe at food.com that used a peach and basil that I knew I could adapt to what I had in mind.  The poster there used fresh basil, and I would highly recommend that.  I had to use dried basil and felt that it did not quite give me the flavor I was looking for.

For the salad part, I chose to use peaches, chicken, green onions, celery and red pepper.  I sprinkled the peaches with lemon juice and the salad kept well for several days.  To make the salad a little more special, I added some Easy Glazed Walnut Halves for garnish.

This was a really fun Improv Challenge to do.  If you would like to join in next month, you can find all the details on Kristen’s Improv page.

Peach Chicken Salad with Peach Basil Dressing
3 ripe peaches
2 T. lemon juice
1T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 T. chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 t. dried
2 1/2 T. vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. celery seed
2 t. sugar or to taste
1/8 t. coarse ground pepper
1/3 c. mayonnaise
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onion
1/2 c. diced red pepper
2 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
1 recipe Easy Glazed Walnut Halves (you won’t need them all for this recipe, eat the leftovers for a snack)
Iceberg lettuce leaves for serving

Peel peaches and chop two of them into a medium mixing bowl.  Pour lemon juice over peaches, mix well and set aside.  Peel and slice remaining peach into a blender or food chopper.  Add olive oil, basil, vinegar, salt, celery seed and sugar and blend until smooth.  Add mayonnaise and blend until well mixed.  Add celery, green onion, red pepper and chicken to the peaches in the medium bowl and mix well.  Add prepared dressing and mix until salad ingredients are very well coated.  Chill at least several hours to blend flavors.  Serve in iceberg lettuce leaves and garnish with Easy Glazed Walnut Halves.  Makes 4 servings.

To see what other Improv bloggers chose to do with peaches and herbs, check out the links below.

Linking to these great parties:

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Full Plate Thursday

Thursday's Treasures

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Hoisin Noodles with Veggies

Sunday I felt like doing something Oriental inspired for dinner  As usual I had round steak in the freezer so decided to use that and make some Teriyaki Beef (recipe coming).  I wanted to make a chow mein or low mein (I am not sure exactly what the difference is) type of side dish to go with the meat.  We were already planning to have deep-fried asparagus so I had the veggie covered.

I looked in my cookbooks and on the internet and couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I used bits and pieces from several recipes and came up with my own version.

Like most things of this type, lots of different ingredients could be added.  Water chestnuts come to mind.  I did not use them because hubby isn't that fond of them, and he was going to be eating leftovers from this for two nights.  This time of year, I would add some chopped asparagus if I was making it just for me to eat.  Chopped green beans and snow peas are other things I would probably add if I had them available.

I posted two DIY Hoisin Sauce recipes yesterday for those who might not have that available and wanted to make this.

I served this with the Teriyaki Beef, but any kind of chopped cooked meat or poultry would turn this into a main dish, so it is a good use for leftovers.

Hoisin Noodles with Veggies
8 oz. Chinese noodles or spaghetti
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into match-stick pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced horizontally
quarter of a small head of cabbage, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced on the bias
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced or 1/2 t. dry ginger
2-3 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth or water
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce

Heat water and cook Chinese noodles or spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.  Heat 2 T. oil in a large skillet until hot.  Add carrots,  onion, red pepper, cabbage and celery.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes until crisp-tender.  Remove vegetables and set aside.  Add another tablespoon of oil to skillet and heat.  Add spaghetti, garlic and ginger.  Cook, stirring,  for two to three minutes until spaghetti is lightly browned.  Return vegetables to skillet.  Combine chicken broth or water, hoisin sauce and soy sauce until well blended.  Pour over spaghetti and vegetables.  Heat and stir until liquid boils and is slightly thickened.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Linking to these great parties:

Full Plate Thursday

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Montreal Pot Roast

I fix pot roast quite often as it usually makes enough for several meals, and hubby can eat the leftovers on the nights that I work.  One of the things I do to vary a pot roast is to use different seasonings on it.  One of the seasonings that I use often is the Sorta Montreal Steak Seasoning that I posted recently.  It gives the meat a little bit of a kick.

I use a Corning Ware casserole dish (that I have had forever) which can be used both on the top of the stove and in the oven.  A Dutch oven can also be used.  If neither of these is available, brown pot roast in a skillet and transfer the meat to a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Most of the time, I serve pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy as that is hubby's preference.  My preference is to cook the vegetables with the pot roast so I do that from time to time.  Hubby doesn't eat cooked carrots as a side dish, but he will eat them in stews, soups, casseroles, and when cooked with a pot roast   If the vegetables are cooked with the meat, pot roast is an easy-to-do, mostly hands-off, one-dish meal, and that is something I really, really like.

Montreal Pot Roast
1-2 T. olive or vegetable oil
3 lbs. boneless chuck roast, or other pot roast meat
1-2 t. Sorta Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 t. beef bouillon granules or broth base
6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
6-8 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch x 1 1/2-inch sticks
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
2 to 3 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch chucks
1 c. water, divided
1/4 c. flour

Heat oil in a range-top/oven-proof casserole, Dutch oven or a skillet.  Rub all surfaces of roast with the seasoning.  Place in hot oil and brown on all sides.  Remove from heat.  If using a baking dish, transfer meat to it.  Add tomato sauce.  Fill sauce can with water to rinse out and add to tomato sauce.  Add beef bouillon and stir a bit to blend the water, tomato sauce, and bouillon.  Cover and place in 350-degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Add potatoes, carrots, onions and celery to the casserole or Dutch oven, arranging the vegetables  all around the meat.  Cover, and continue to roast in oven another 45 minutes to 1 hour until vegetables are tender.  Remove meat and vegetables from the liquid.  If using a baking dish, pour the liquid into a medium saucepan.  Add 1/2 c. water and heat until boiling.  Mix 1/2 c. water and 1/4 c. flour together until smooth and stir into pot roast liquid.  Stir and cook until gravy is smooth and thickened.  Serve gravy with pot roast and vegetables.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Linking to these great parties:

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Homemade Celery Salt-Almost Free

Whenever I came across a recipe that called for celery salt, I never seemed to have any on hand.  I would look at the price of celery salt in the grocery and wince.  Since hubby does not like celery leaves in soups and such, I would throw the leaves away and feel guilty for wasting food.

Then one day I decided to try to dry my celery leaves and a way to make Homemade Celery Salt was born.  Now I can have celery salt whenever I need it, save money and not waste food.  It turned out to be so easy that I almost did not believe it.

See all the beautiful leaves on the celery stalk above.  Just snip them off as you use celery and place in a shallow pie pan.  If you have a pan that has holes in it, that is best.  Discard any leaves that are wilted or discolored.  Just place the pie pan in an out-of-the-way place in you kitchen and let the leaves dry.  This will take several days.

When the leaves are dry, store them in a zip-top bag.  Continue to add leaves to the pie pan as you use the celery.  When you get to the heart of the celery you will have quite a few leaves to put in your pie pan and may need to use two pans.  You always want the leaves to be in a single layer.  Continue to add the dried leaves to the zip top bag.

When there is about one-half cup of dried leaves, that will be enough to process in a spice grinder or a mini food processor.  That amount will yield about 1 1/2 T. of ground celery powder.  To make celery salt, mix the powder with an equal amount of salt.  Rather than make a large batch of celery salt, I just store the celery powder in an air-tight container and mix it with the salt as needed.  This way I can use the celery powder by itself if I want to.  Try this and enjoy “almost free”  homemade celery salt.

Linking to:  Weekend Potluck
Strut Your Stuff

Ingredient Spotlight-Stovetop Rotisserie Chicken

The Ingredient Spotlight today over at Eat at Home is cooked chicken or turkey.  If I have roasted a chicken or a turkey, I do usually have left overs to use up.  Sometimes, however, I want to make a recipe that calls for cooked chicken or turkey, and I don't have any on hand.  So, occasionally, I make cooked chicken just to store in the freezer for such a time.

I like the flavor of store bought rotisserie chicken but not the price or the fact that they are usually small so don't yield much meat.  I have been experimenting with trying to make rotisserie flavored cooked chicken on the stove top.

I have a recipe for Simmered Chinese Chicken in which the chicken is cooked in a flavored sauce that infuses the chicken with a slightly teriyaki flavor.  I wondered if doing somewhat the same thing using rotisserie seasoning would infuse a bit more flavor into the chicken.  So this is what I tried, and I did end up with lots of cooked chicken meat with more flavor and several cups of really flavorful broth.

This same method could be used with chicken breasts or thighs.  Just adjust the time cook for only 20 to 30 minutes.

Stovetop Rotisserie Chicken
1 whole chicken (4 to 5 lbs. is the size I like to use)
1 t. salt
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 t. garlic powder
14 to 1/2 t. coarse ground black pepper
1 –2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 peeled carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 qt. water

Combine salt, paprika, onion powder , thyme, garlic powder and pepper.  Mix well and rub on all surfaces of the chicken and also inside the cavity.  Heat olive oil (you want enough to cover the bottom) in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  When hot, add chicken and brown 3 to 4 minutes on all sides.  You may have to hold the chicken up with a meat fork to brown on the wing sides.  When chicken has browned add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and bay leaves.  Pour water over everything.  Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer.  Simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours until chicken is tender, turning chicken over several time so all sides cook in the liquid.  Remove chicken and set aside to cool.  Pour liquid through a strainer and place in a container in the refrigerator to cool.  When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones.  To freeze chicken divide into recipe amounts and put in freezer bags.  Remove fat from broth. Rewarm broth to pouring consistency, if necessary.  Pour 1 cup of broth over the chicken in the freezer bags.  I usually get about 6 cups cooked chicken and 3 cups of broth when I make this.

Linking to these Great Parties:
Ingredient Spotlight
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Wednesday Whatsits
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Look What I Made
Whole Foods Wednesday

Secret Recipe Club-Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

My assignment for November for Secret Recipe Club was the blog It's Yummy to My Tummy.  This blog was started by Heather in 2010.  She chose an apt name for her blog.  It is loaded with delicious recipes, all of them  "yummy to the tummy."

I went through every post in her blog and found many great recipes to try like Baked Doughnuts (I must finally use my new doughnut pan),  Cheese and Fruit Danish,  and Grandma’s Cinnamon Rolls.  Several that are great for this time of the year:  Tootsie Roll Fudge, S’Mores Fudge, and one that is a big weird Soda Pop Jell-O Salad.

When I finally made a choice, I chose Chicken and Gnocchi Soup because I am always looking for new soup recipes, and I had cooked up some of my Stovetop Rotisserie Chicken (post to come on Wednesday) so I could have cooked chicken on hand.  Because I wanted a greater quantity of soup, I increased the recipe by half.  My recipe amounts reflect that.

Parmesan gnocchi was the only gnocchi that I could find at my grocery store.  The gnocchi had a packet of cheese and herb seasoning with it so I did add it to the soup.

I was pretty sure that I would not be able to get the spinach by my hubby, so my solution was to use a bag of frozen spinach, put a small amount in my bowl when the soup was served, and  put it in the microwave for 1 minute or so.  This worked very well, I had my soup with spinach, and hubby had his without.  Of course, I had to add my ever-present red pepper.  I have listed it as optional.

This was a very good soup, and I will be making it often so I am going to have to start making my own gnocchi.  I also think that this would be good made with tortellini.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (adapted from It's Yummy to My Tummy blog)
4 T. butter
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c. finely diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. finely diced onion
1/2 c. finely diced red pepper (opt.)
1/3 c. flour
2 cans (14 oz.) chicken broth (4 c.)
1 c. shredded carrots
3/4 t. thyme
1 qt. half and half
1 c. whole milk
1 1/2 c. diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 c. spinach, chopped
1 1/2 lb. gnocchi, cooked according to package directions
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and olive oil together in a soup pot.  Add celery, garlic, onion and red pepper.  Cook until veggies are beginning to get tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in flour and blend well.  Slowly stir in chicken broth, carrot and thyme.  Cook gently until veggies are tender.  Stir in  half and half, milk and chicken.  Bring to a gentle simmer.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Add spinach and cook a few more minutes or until the spinach starts to wilt.  Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired.  Makes  6 to 8 servings.

Go and spend a little time at It's Yummy to My Tummy.  You will be glad you did.

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight

Vegetable Beef Soup

Shame on me, I forgot my weekly Welcome and Thank You to my new followers and readers so here it is today.  Welcome new followers and Thank You to all who take the time to read my blog.  I am truly humbled that anyone would spend some time from their busy lives here.  I always endeavor to write posts that will be useful.

The days are getting a little colder, so when I think about something to make for lunch soup comes to mine.  From time to time our local newspaper prints recipes that have been sent in by readers.  This soup recipe was submitted by Amy Olander.

I, of course, have changed the recipe some from the original.  This is somewhat like a sloppy stew and  makes a large pot which will feed hubby and me for several days.

Vegetable Beef Soup
adapted from a recipe by Amy Olander
2 c. cubed potatoes
1 c. diced carrots
3/4 c. diced celery
1 c. diced onions
6 c. water
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained of excess fat
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. diced green or red pepper
1/2 c. barley
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 t. dried parsley or 1 T. snipped fresh parsley
1 large bay leaf
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 whole allspice
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

In a large sauce pot combine potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are just tender.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least 30 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and allspice before serving.  Serves 6 to 8.

Linking to:  Trick or Treat Tuesday
Show Me What You Got Tuesday
Tuesday Talent Show
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Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tuesday at the Table 
Tasteful Tuesday
Terrific Tuesday
Take-a-Look Tuesday
Get Your Craft On
Hunk of Meat Monday

Eating the Alphabet-Curried Leak and Veggie Spread

Here it is time for another Eating the Alphabet post.  This month we are doing K or L.  I chose L and decided to make something with leeks.

I have not used leeks often, but after searching for recipes using leeks and developing a couple myself, I will use them more.  I sort of went on a “leek kick” and will be posting a couple more recipes using leeks soon.

For today’s post, I chose Curried Leak and Veggie Spread.  I saw a recipe over at allrecipes for a Leek Dip.  It sounded good, but by the time I got done, what I made did not resemble that original recipe at all.

To prepare the leek, slice it into thin slices and chop fine.  Put into a bowl of water and swish around to remove any grit or dirt.  Remove from the water and rinse in a colander.  Turn into a clean towel and squeeze to remove excess water.

If you don't like curry powder or fennel seeds, use another herb or just leave them out.  I just happen to like curry, but this is perfectly good without it.

To serve this, I like to split pita bread, cut it into triangles, brush it with olive oil, and toast them in a pan on the stove or in the oven.  This is also good with any kind of cracker or melba toast.

Note:  The veggies in this will begin to release their water so this is best eaten in a day or three.  After that, you are apt to have a dip.  Still good, but no longer spreadable.

Curried Leek and Veggie Spread
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat), softened
1 c. creamy salad dressing like Miracle Whip (low fat is OK)
1/2 c. sour cream, I use low fat
1 leek, white and light green park, finely chopped
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1/2 c. finely chopped red pepper
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 c. finely chopped carrot
! T. lemon juice
1/2 t. curry powder
1/2 t. fennel seed
salt and pepper to taste, if desired
6 strips bacon fried crisp and crumbled or 1/4 c. ready-cooked real bacon bits

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix very well.  Place in a covered container and place in refrigerator.  Chill at least 2 to 3 hours to allow the flavors to blend.  Makes about 2 cups.  Serve with pita bread triangles, crackers or melba toast.

For Eating the Alphabet each month we post a recipe starting with a specific letter of the alphabet.  Next month the letters will be M, N, and/or O.  I invite you to join in the fun.  It is hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  Just hop on over and sign up.

Check out the links below to see what the other "Eating the Alphabet" bloggers have posted this month.

Ingredient Spotlight-Thyme Enough Casserole

This casserole is a nice dish to take to a potluck or other gathering.  It comes from a Chex recipe booklet that was put out when Chex were still made by Ralston Purina.  You can use whatever combination of vegetables that you prefer in this.  It just needs to be around 3 cups.  I usually use frozen mixed vegetables.  You can also use other herbs of your choice.

Thyme Enough Casserole
4 T. butter or margarine
2 1/2 c. Rice or Corn Chex cereal crushed to 1 1/2 c.
1/4 t. dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. diced celery
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 t. salt
dash pepper
1/2-1 t. fresh thyme (may use 1/4 to 1/2 t. dried thyme if you don't have fresh)
1 can (10 3/4 oz..) condensed cream of mushroom or chicken soup or 1/3 c. Cream Soup Mix and 1 1/4 c. water.
1/2 c. chicken broth or water
1 1/2 c. cooked sliced carrots (canned, frozen or fresh)
1 1/2 c. cooked cut green beans (canned, frozen or fresh)

Melt butter in large skillet.  Remove 2 T. and combine with Chex and 1/4 t. dried thyme.  Mix thoroughly.  Set aside.
In remaining butter sauté garlic, celery, and onion until celery is tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes.  Add salt, pepper and fresh thyme to taste, soup and water.  Blend well.  Stir in carrots and green beans.  Turn into a greased shallow 1 1/2 qt. baking dish.  Top with reserved Chex mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and top is lightly browned.  Makes 6 (3/4 cup) servings.  Can easily be doubled.

I am linking up to Eat at Home's Ingredient Spotlight-Fresh Herbs

Tomorrow:  Skipping through Blogland and Stopping at Figgs and Such

Friday Finds and Frugal Tips-Celery

Before we get to the business of the day, I must tell a little story on myself.  Yesterday I took some photos for today's post (see below) and for some posts to come.  I transferred the photos from my camera to my computer.  Then I decided to delete all of the photos that were in my camera since they were in my computer.  Well, you all know where this is going.  I then proceeded to open the new photo folder on my computer, didn't like the first photo, clicked on it to delete it and lost the whole folder.  Then I had No Photos in my camera and No Photos in my computer.  Oh well, off to shoot them all again.  Lesson learned--Do Not Delete Photos from Camera Until You Have Photos Just The Way You Want Stored In Computer!

On to the business of the day.  I am joining Friday Finds at Finding Joy in My Kitchen, and here are the "finds" I'm sharing this week.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

 Simple Bites

A great way to use many of those vegetable trimmings that most people just throw away, and an almost "free" food.

Mama's Potato Cakes

Southern Plate

My Mom made these, also, and I still do today.  Best use of leftover mashed potatoes in my opinion.

Sauteed Corn, Bacon, and Green Onions

Steak and Potatoes Kinda Girl

I make this all the time, and do the same with other vegetables.  I'm glad to know that there is an "official" recipe.  You can't go wrong if there is bacon in it.

Greek Seasoning

 Food for My Family

I love gyros and want to try this seasoning with some thinly sliced round steak to see if I can come close to what is served at a Greek restaurant in my town.

            

Homemade Whipped Topping aka Make Your Own Cool Whip

Eat at Home

Disclaimer here.  This is a recipe that I posted at Tiffany's blog, but she tried it and was pleased.  This is a great recipe if you want to avoid the chemicals in the commercial stuff, but don't want the fat in using real whipped cream.

Cream Soup Mix

From Grandma Loy's Kitchen

OK, double Disclaimer.  This is a recipe I posted Monday on my blog.  I think that it is such a great mix to have on hand that I just had to include it in this list.  Sorry.

Well, that concludes my "finds" for this week.  Now let's store and use some celery:

In the photo above I am showing that I keep my bunch of celery wrapped in aluminum foil.  I like heavy-duty foil, but regular will work.  I was very skeptical when I first heard this tip, but was amazed at how much longer the celery stayed crisp without getting limp.  Try it.

If your celery does go limp, you can revive it by soaking stalks up to their leaves in water with a little lemon juice added.

Make your own celery flakes  On the cutting board are celery leaves that I am drying and some already dried ones.  I snip the leaves from my celery and just put them in a pie tin or on a cookie sheet in a single layer and just leave them on the counter for a few days until they are dried.  I sort of stir them around a bit every day.  When they are dry just store them tightly covered.  If you get enough, whirl the dried leaves in a coffee grinder and make celery salt. 

I add chopped celery, onion, and red peppers to ground beef when I brown it to put it in the freezer.  I chop and freeze celery if I do have a bunch that needs to be used up.  It can be used in soups and stews.

Don't forget to save your celery trimmings in the freezer to make the vegetable broth linked above.

Tomorrow:  Steak Cubes with Butter Crumb Dumplings.

Cream Soup Mix