Calabacitas or Summer Squash and Corn

 A lovely Mexican and Mexican American summer dish, made with summer squash and zucchini, cooked with green chiles, bacon and corn.   

4 cups diced yellow squash and zucchini squash, mixed together

about 2 cups fresh or frozen corn cut off the cob 

4 slices of bacon cooked until crisp, then set aside

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

3-? cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped (use as much as you like)

about 1/4 cup, seeded and chopped green chiles of whatever heat level you prefer, I like to use roasted Hatch green chiles when available.    you can use more chiles if you wish, I often use ½ to 1 cup if the chiles are milder in flavor

1 cup heavy cream 

3-4 tbsp. bacon fat left from cooking the bacon

 Cook the bacon until crisp and set aside.   Remove all but 3-4 tbsp of the bacon fat from the pan.   Cook the onion,  and squash until lightly browned, stirring often.  Add the garlic and green chiles, cooking until the garlic is fragrant.    Add the corn and cook until the squash and corn are both tender.   Add the heavy cream and reduce the heat, cooking until the mixture is nearly dry.   Salt and pepper to taste.   Serve as a side dish or even as a main dish for a Mexican/Southwest themed meal.   It is addictive. 

 If you wish to add a protein to it, add cooked diced or shredded chicken, whatever amount you have or wish.   Some people will top this with cheese, but I find that with the cream it is gilding the lily.    

Creamed peas and new potatoes

 Growing up, creamed peas or creamed new potatoes were a springtime treat.  We rarely grew green peas in the garden, but when we did they were well received.    We more often grew potatoes and new potatoes were considered quite special.    If we happened to have both at the same time, they were often fixed together as one dish and are so very good when done this way.   You can also add other vegetables, such as carrots or pearl onions.   In times past, creamed vegetables were a popular way to serve vegetables and old cookbooks have numerous recipes for making them, the main way was to cook the vegetables in water until tender, drain and add to a plain cream sauce.    I sometimes will use more than one vegetable when doing this dish, for example, green peas mixed with carrots and the potatoes.  If you want to switch things up a bit, you can add cheese to the cream sauce.   You can even make the creamed vegetables, put into a baking dish, top with cheese and bake until browned.    

4 tbsp. Butter

3 tbsp. Flour

2 cups milk or half and half

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 cups cooked peas

Heat the butter in a largish sauce pan and then add flour. Cook a minute or two, then whisk in the milk and simmer until it thickens. Add the cooked peas and simmer a couple more minutes over very low heat. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

If you wish to add the potatoes. Wash and peel, or leave unpeeled if you prefer. Simmer in water until tender. Drain very well, cover the pan and allow to sit for a few minutes while you prepare the white sauce and peas. Stir the potatoes into the finished creamed peas, taste for seasoning and serve.  Or just add the cooked potatoes to a cream sauce with out the peas.   

To make this a cheese sauce, add a cup to cup and a half of grated cheddar and a tablespoon or two of Parmesan to the hot cooked cheese sauce, stirring until the cheese has melted and fully incorporated into the sauce.   Use as above.    

Scalloped Corn

 The south has a variety of corn casseroles that are all quite similar, but still different in how they taste and look.   There is spoon bread, like a cross between corn bread and corn custard.  Their is corn pudding, which is a type of corn corn custard.   And then scalloped corn, my favorite.  Not quite as delicate as well made corn pudding, but not as heavy as spoon bread.  It is also set apart from the other two by having a crunchy buttered cracker topping.   

2 cans of creamed corn, or about 4 cups homemade creamed corn (the cans are handy and, honestly, taste just as good)

1 pkg thawed frozen sweet corn or about 3 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob and the cobs scraped

3 eggs, beaten lightly

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup melted butter, divided

1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs or other butter type cracker, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a large casserole dish and set aside.   In a large bowl add the creamed corn, thawed or fresh corn, sugar salt and pepper, and mix well.  Then stir in half of the cracker crumbs and half the melted butter.   Mix well, then pour into the casserole dish.  Mix the remaining cracker crumbs and melted butter, mixing well.  Sprinkle them evenly over the top of the corn mixture.   Bake about 30-45 minutes, until well browned and bubbly.  Cool slightly before serving.

Did one wish to attempt to improve on perfection, you could add some grated sharp cheddar to the corn mixture and then more on top with the cracker crumbs... I would suggest about a cup to the corn mixture and half that amount to the topping.   One could use some crisp bacon or diced ham in the pudding as well.    

Savory Roasted Mushrooms and Onions

 1 lb button mushrooms,  Portobello if possible, washed and cut into halves

1 bag frozen pearl onions

4-5 peeled garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp. soy or tamari sauce

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp, dained

3 tbsp of bacon grease, from the cooked bacon, trying to save as much of the browned stuff in the bottom of the pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degree, using the roast setting on your oven if you have that, if not just usual bake setting.  Toss all of the ingredients except the crisp bacon crumbles, place in a large baking dish and roast about 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the mushrooms are browned and any liquid has reduced to a thick glaze.      Place in a serving dish and stir in the bacon crumbles.   These are addictive!  

If you don't care for onions, omit and add another 8 oz package of mushrooms. 

Brussels Sprouts with Country Ham

I love Brussels sprouts and always looking for new ways to cook them.  Usually I will just roast them with salt and pepper, but sometimes I like to do something a. bit different.   This is one I tried and it turned out to be one that I liked, a lot!   If you can't find or don't care for country ham, you can used regular ham or even some cubed bacon and you fry until crispy.

Brussels Sprouts and Country Ham

1/4 cup bacon fat
4 ounces country ham, finely diced
1 shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
1 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and sprouts shaved 1/4-thick crosswise on a mandoline
1/2 cup apple cider or juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the bacon fat in  a large skillet over medium heat. Add the country ham and cook, stirring frequently, until the ham just starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the shallot, apples and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook, stirring, until wilted and almost shiny, 4 to 6 minutes. 
Add the apple cider and vinegar, bring to a simmer, and cook until the liquid has reduced to about 1/4 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, season to taste with salt and black pepper, and remove from the heat. Continue to stir until the butter has completely melted and formed a creamy sauce. Serve.

Frijole Rancheros or Rancher's Beans

1 pound of dried beans, pinto or black
1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and set aside
about 1/4 cup rendered bacon fat, with the crunchies in the bottom of the pan if possible
1 medium sized onion, peeled and partially quartered so the onion holds together
1 whole green chile pepper, whole
3-4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1-3 green chiles, seeded and chopped
3-4 large cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3-4 ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped or a small can of diced tomatoes

Cover beans in cold water and then bring to a boil, boil about 15 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and allow to sit an. hour.    After the hour, add the whole onion, whole chile and who garlic cloves and bring the beans to a boil again, then reduce heat so the beans just barely simmer.   Simmer until very tender, another 45 minutes to an hour, until they are very tender.   When tender remove from the heat and set aside.   Take the whole vegetables from the pot and mash or chop finely, then add back to the beans.  

Next, take the reserved bacon fat and heat in another pan.   Add the chopped onions and green chiles, saute until they are are starting to brown, then add the garlic.   Fry just a few minutes and then add tomatoes.   Simmer this until the mixture is almost dry, stirring often.    When mixture is cooked, add it and the bacon into the beans, bring them back to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes or so. 

Is good with any kind of Mexican food or by itself.     If you have leftover roast pork, you can add that to the beans as well.   Makes a good meal by itself.  

A Simple Salad

Here is a very simple salad is is a perfect side dish or light lunch.   The ingredients are variable and you add what you have or like and in whatever amounts you like.   Feel free to experiment.   Very simple, equal amounts of any or all of these, diced in the roughly the same sized pieces.

cucumber, peeled or not as you wish
radishes
sweet peppers
carrots
tomatoes
green onions

I then dress it with a good olive oil and a couple grindings of salt and black pepper.   Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving. 

Spinach Feta Casserole

I love the Greek dish, spanakopita or spinach pie.  It is a delectable dish made with lots of melted butter, filo pastry and a rich spinach and feta cheese filling.   However, it is kind of a pain in the butt to make, with all the layers of filo leaves, each leaf brushed with lots of melted butter.  Because of all the melted butter, it is also quite rich.   Wonderful for a special treat, but not something you would want to eat all that often.  However, the actual spinach filling itself, is not all that rich and for me is the best part anyway.   So I took my favorite spanikopita recipe, changed it a bit to meet my tastes and baked it without the filo pastry.   I love it and it is a lot lighter.   If you use low fat feta, it would be even lighter.   Either way, this is a tasty side or even a main course.   I hope you will like it as much as I do.

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Spinach Feta Casserole

3-4 eggs, beaten

12oz bag of frozen chopped spinach, thawed or about  2 lbs. of fresh spinach, chopped

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled or diced

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

2 tbsp. dill (fresh or dried, if using fresh use only about 1 tbsp. finely chopped)

a small bunch of green onions, cleaned and chopped (in the original recipe, but I don’t use them)

½ cup chopped parsley (optional—in the original recipe, but I don’t use them)

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.   Grease an 8x8 inch square pan and set aside (or use any other dish of approximately the same size).

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and cook the onion until it starts to brown a bit, then add the garlic.   Stir it around for a few minutes, then stir in the spinach.   Cook until the frozen spinach is heated or until the fresh spinach is very wilted.   Remove from heat and cool a bit.    Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, yogurt, pepper and dill, then stir in the feta.   Finally, add the cooled spinach and onions and mix well (if using, add the green onions and parsley now).  Spoon into the prepared pan and bake about 45-60 minutes.  I knife stuck in the center should come out clean and the edges should be starting to brown.   Cool slightly before serving. 

You could add some things to make this a bit different:  Some crumbled bacon or cubed ham (finely chopped prosciutto fried with the onion would be to die for!) added to the mixture.   Topping the casserole with some grated Parmesan before baking would be tasty.   Making a topping of buttered breadcrumbs and Parmesan would be tasty and pretty as well.  Also, there is no reason you should limit yourself to just spinach, any tender spring green would be very good in this.   Use you imagination!  

Mama's (and Grandma Casey's) Cornbread Dressing

I love good dressing.   My family never stuffed the turkey or chicken when roasting, the dressing was always either cooked in a separate pan or placed under the mostly cooked turkey.   I always preferred it in a separate pan, as I liked the crusty top, bottom and edges.   Mama's dressing was always done the same way and was very simple.   Stale cornbread, stale white bread, onions, eggs, celery, sage, black pepper, chicken/turkey broth and lots of fat, either butter or chicken/turkey fat.   It was always delicious.    I never asked my mom how she made it and it has taken me several years to figure out her secret.   The most important part is the correct balance of cornbread and white bread, which I learned (by trial and error) is 4 parts stale cornbread to 1 part stale white bread.  Here is what I came up with, this will make enough for a 9x13 inch pan of dressing.   Oh and the difference between stuffing and dressing?   It is the same stuff!   Stuffing is stuffed inside the turkey (well, duh!) and dressing is when it is baked separately. 

I bake a pan of cornbread the night before and after the oven has cooled off, just leave the pan in the oven overnight or until whenever the next day you are making the dressing.   An 8x8 inch pan of cornbread gives you just enough for this recipe.   As for the stale white bread, I often buy a bag of rolls from the discount shelf at the store.  They are usually just right for this recipe.

8 cups stale cornbread, crumbled
2 cups stale white bread, crumbled
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
about 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped (I like to use the inner core with the leafy greens)
2 eggs
1 tbsp. crumbled dried sage (finely chopped fresh sage if you happen to have some) or to taste
1/2 tsp. black pepper  or to taste
1/4 cup butter or chicken/turkey fat or mixture of the two
chicken or turkey broth, 3-6 cups, as you like

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.  

In a large dutch oven heat the butter or fat and then saute the onion and celery until lightly browned, do not allow to scorch.   While that is cooking, take a very large bowl and add the cornbread, white bread, sage and black pepper.   When the vegetables are done, add about a cup of the chicken broth to deglaze the pan, then pour it all into the breads and seasoning.   Add another 2 cups chicken broth and the eggs, then stir to mix well.   Add more broth until you get it to the correct consistency, this will depend on if you like a dryer or moister dressing.  I like mine very moist, so I add enough broth until it is very wet and slightly soupy.   Spoon or pour into your greased baking dish and smooth out the top.   Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until it is well browned and crusty.   Allow to cool slightly before serving.

One thing I like to do for a main dish when I don't want to go to the trouble of roasting a chicken or cook a turkey, is to make chicken and dressing in one dish.   I will buy a deli roast chicken from the store, take the meat off the bone and reserve.   I put the bones and skin in a dutch oven and simmer with packaged chicken broth (about 2 quarts), an onion (washed and halved, but skin left on), a couple carrots and some celery.   After simmering for 45-60 minutes, strain and discard the solids.    I make up my dressing mixture, using the broth (saving back 2 cups for gravy) from the bones.   I put half of the dressing mixture in my baking dish, then top with the chicken meat, spreading it out evenly, then top with the rest of the dressing mixture.   Bake as before.   I then make some gravy with the reserved broth (3 tbsp. oil or butter heated, then adding 2 heaping tbsp. flour, make a roux, brown lightly, then whisk in the 2 cups chicken broth, cook until thick.)

Potato Pancakes

When I was a kid, any time we had leftover mashed potatoes, my mom would make potato pancakes out of them.   I was grown before I knew you could make them any other way.   Mama's potato pancakes were ok, but just not my favorite thing.   Later, I learned how to make them where they were a lot better and I didn't have to have leftover mashed potatoes to do it.

about 4 cups grated raw potatoes (I used the packaged hashbrowns in the dairy section of the store)
2 eggs
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (or a bunch of green onions, cleaned and chopped)
1/2 cup flour  (gluten free works well too)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
seasoning to taste (I use Mrs. Dash)
1/2 cup grated cheese, Parmesan is what I usually use, but a sharp cheddar works too

Mix all together well and heat a non-stick skillet with a couple tablespoons each of butter and olive oil.    Scoop up enough of the potato mixture about the size of a golf ball, flatten slightly and place in the heated butter/oil mixture.    Cook until brown on one side, turn, flatten with the spatula and brown on the other side.   Eat while hot.


To turn them into a main course, add some chopped ham to the potato mixture.     For a change of taste, add some crisp crumbled bacon to the mixture and try in a bit of the bacon fat.   Not health food, but quite tasty.

Southern Style Green Beans

As I've said before, I come from a long line of country folks.   My family has been in southeast Missouri since the early 1800's.   My Grandma Casey was an awesome cook.   She did all kinds of those good ole southern foods...fried chicken, fried peach pies, chicken and dumplings, cornbread and biscuits.   Everything she did was good.  Vegetables were generally simmered for a long time and flavored with bacon fat or lots of butter.   One thing that was especially good were her green beans and new potatoes.  She would simmer fresh green beans for an hour or so, flavoring them with some bacon and onion, then adding halved and peeled new potatoes.   When done the potatoes would be very tender and the the green beans would be very wilted, soft and melt in your mouth.   They are very delicious too.   Now I rarely cook green beans like this, usually just steaming them until barely tender, but every so often I get a craving for Grandma's green beans.    This is how I make them.


a couple pounds of green beans, either fresh or frozen.   if fresh, stem and tail them, then break into pieces and wash well

2-3 slices of bacon, chopped (optional)
or 1 tbsp. bacon fat or olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
6-8 medium sized new potatoes, peeled or well scrubbed, then halved or quartered

Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and add the chopped bacon if using.   Fry until crispy, then remove.   In the bacon fat or olive oil fry the onion until it is soft and beginning to brown.   Add the green beans and potatoes with enough water to barely come to the top of the vegetables.   Simmer over low heat about an hour or until the potatoes are tender and the green beans are limp and starting to fall apart.   Allow to nearly cook dry, but take care that they don't burn.   You may need to add small amounts of water.    Make a big pan of corn bread and enjoy!

Garlic and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I love good mashed potatoes,  but Aaron is addicted to good mashed potatoes.   Needless to say, we have mashed potatoes often around here.   If I am making gravy of some kind, I make plain old mashed potatoes:   potatoes boiled until tender, lots of butter, some hot milk and mashed until smooth.   Nothing simpler.    But if I want something a bit fancier or that will be served without gravy, I often make garlic and Parmesan mashed potatoes.   They are very tasty and easy to make, but taste like they took hours.
This recipe serves 2-3 people, unless one of them is Aaron!  Feel free to double or triple the recipe with no changes in proportions.

2 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup grated good quality Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
1/3 cup heated milk or cream
1 tbsp. butter, optional
chopped parsley or chives, optional

Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil, cook until the potatoes are very tender.   Remove from heat, drain and cover the pain, allowing to sit and steam while cooking the garlic.   Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and then add the garlic.   Fry gently until the garlic is very fragrant and beginning to brown, stirring constantly.  Be careful not to scorch the garlic or it will be bitter.   Remove from heat and dump into the potatoes.   Mash the potatoes until fairly smooth, then add the grated Parmesan and continue to mash until well blended.   Add the butter and heated milk, plus the chopped parsley or chives if using.    Beat well with a spoon until smooth and creamy and with the consistency that you like, adding more hot milk if needed.    Serve hot.   Leftovers make really good potato pancakes.   As always, enjoy!

You can substitute other types of cheese if you like or if you have no Parmesan.   Quantities may vary up or down, depending on how strong a cheese flavor you like or the cheese you are using, so it might be a good idea to taste as you go.   Also, if you are using a lot of cheese, you may need a greater quantity of hot milk to achieve the consistency you want.   Feel free to substitute other types of herbs for the parsley or chives, as well.

As for potato pancakes.   My mom always made potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes and we all loved them.    They are really easy to make and I've been known to cook and mash a potato just to make the pancakes.   Here is how I do it.

about 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion
some chopped parsley, optional

Beat all together, adding salt and pepper to taste, sometimes I'll add a sprinkle of paprika for color.   Heat a couple of tbsps. butter or oil or bacon dripping in a non-stick skillet.   Form the dough into little patties and fry in the hot fat until nice and brown, then turn and brown on the other side.   Eat while hot.   Enjoy!

Onion Rice

When I make Indian food I often make this rice.   It is very tasty and easy to make.   Try it sometime!

1 onion, peeled, halved and then thinly sliced
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup basmati rice
1-3/4 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 tsp. garam masala

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion.   Fry the onion until nicely browned, then add the garam masala and fry until fragrant.    Meanwhile, rinse the rice and then drain well.    Add the broth and rice to the fried onion.   Bring to a full boil, then reduce heat until it just barely simmers.   Cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes.   Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.   Fluff with a fork and serve, garnished with a bit of chopped cilantro if you like.   Enjoy!

For a bit more flavor, you can fry a chopped green chile with the onion.

Vegetables

I haven't written too much about vegetables and that might lead you to think I don't cook them very often.   However, I always include at least one vegetable in every meal I fix.   Usually I cook them lightly steamed with just a bit of butter for flavoring.   Often I fix a bag of Birds Eye Steamfresh  frozen vegetables.  I like them as I think they are very high quality and they also provide just enough for Aaron and I to share.    Sometimes to be different I will season them like this:

Just before steaming the vegetables as directed on the bag, heat about 3 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet.   Add about 1 cup frozen pearl onions or a small onion peeled and thinly sliced.   Stir fry in the hot oil until tender and just beginning to brown.   Peel and chop 3-4 cloves of garlic and add to the skillet.   Stir and fry very briefly, until the garlic just barely begins to color and smells very fragrant.   Be careful not to scorch as it will give it a bitter taste.    Steam the vegetables as directed and then stir into the onion, garlic, oil mixture.  Stir well to combine and then serve.

Another favorite of both Aaron and I are steamed carrots.   I peel and slice however many carrots I think we'll eat or use a small bag of baby carrots.   Simmer in water to cover until tender.   Drain and add a tablespoon or so of butter and either a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar or honey or maple syrup.   Cover and allow the carrots to sit a few minutes before serving.   Enjoy!