Category Archives: vegetables

Cucumber Salad


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Ingredients:

1 large cucumber
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 Tbsp light sour cream
1 tsp finely chopped onion
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Directions:

Peel your cucumber – or you can leave the peel on if you want – slice cucumber into fairly thin slices. Place into a colander and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Set on something to catch the water that drains off, and set aside.

Mix together sour cream, onion, dill, vinegar, and sugar. Cover and place in fridge.Let cucumbers drain and dressing chill for at least an hour, up to 2 hours.

Before serving, rinse cucumbers under running water briefly. Pat dry with paper towel.Toss dressing with cucumbers and serve.

Turkey Pot Pie


1 recipe pastry for a (10 inch) double crust pie

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 small onion, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, diced

3 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 cubes chicken bouillon

2 cups water

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll out bottom pie crust, press into a 10 inch pie pan, and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion, celery, carrots, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the bouillon and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm.

In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the turkey and flour. Add the milk, and heat through. Stir the turkey mixture into the vegetable mixture, and cook until thickened. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Roll out the top crust, and place on top of filling. Flute edges, and make 4 slits in the top crust to let out steam.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown

Corn Casserole


2 -12 Oz bags frozen sweet corn
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 – 8 Oz pkg onion and chive cream cheese spread, softened
1 can cream of celery
1/4 cup milk
Butter for sauteing onion and peppers

(if you want to add a bit of kick, add some finely chopped jalapenos and a sprinkle or two of cayenne)

Spray your casserole pan with nonstick spray.  Rinse frozen corn in colander to thaw slightly. Saute the onion and peppers in butter for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Mix remainder ingredients until smooth, add sauteed veggies and corn.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about  45 minutes. 

Southern Green Beans


2 sm. smoked ham
hocks
1 lg. onion, sliced
4 cans green beans
3 to 4 dashes season
salt
3 to 4 dashes black
pepper

Boil ham hocks
separate in water for
about 2 hours. Wash
green beans repeatedly
in cold water, after ham
hocks are done, add
green beans, seasoning,
and onion (sliced); cook
again, about 20 to 30
minutes. Watch the pot
so this doesn’t scorch!

Serve with cornbread
and lemonade and
enjoy!

Layered Potato-Yams


4 baking potatoes
4 yams
1 onion
1 pkg cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Pot #1 boil cubed potato and onion
Pot #2 boil cubed yams

Drain and mash each pot, mix 1/2 cream cheese and 1/4 cup sour cream in each pot. Stir until well blended, add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
In a 2liter glass casserole dish, layer potatoes and yams. Cover and freeze or bake covered at 350 for 1 hour (longer if from frozen)

Kim’s Cowboy Beans


2.5 lbs ground beef, browned with 2 chopped onions, and drained
1 TBsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can pork n beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 c ketchup
1 – 16 to 18 oz hickory smoke BBQ sauce
I usually add a drop or two of liquid smoke too!

Mix all and place in bean pot in moderate oven for 45 minutes or so.  If using a crockpot, 3 to 4 hours on low.  I use a rice cooker and add some V8 juice to the mixture so that it can cook and reduce down to the perfect consistency.  Any of the above methods produce a great result!

Serve with my Jiffy Cornbread recipe and enjoy!

What’s For Dinner?!?


Cowboy Beans and Cornbread

Well, last night’s meal was quite fun.

For one, I was able to make most of the meal out on the back porch instead of heating up my kitchen.  I used a rice cooker/multipurpose cooker for the beans and then made the cornbread in a regular crockpot.

I browned the meat and onions in my beautiful stainless steel chicken fryer.   {I love this pan!}  I then assembled the rest of the ingredients in the cooker and cooked on high until it reduced down and turned itself on to the keep warm function.  This fool=proof mechanism is wonderful for cooks that get distracted with kids, the UPS man, the Schwan man, the dog getting loose, etc……. :)

The cornbread was just two Jiffy boxes of the cornbread mix, made according to package directions.  Although it turned out good and the family really liked it, I think next time I will try something different with the ingredients to make it even more moist because my crockpot is old and the heating element is around the perimeter leaving the center to take longer to cook.  I’ve made cakes in the crockpot and will try the same recipe but use the cornbread mix and let you know how it turns out.

Kim’s Cowboy Beans Recipe

Crockpot Cornbread Recipe

Three Bean Casserole


1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 (15 ounces) can pork and beans
1 (15 ounces) can lima beans
1 (15 ounces) can kidney beans

Brown hamburger, bacon and onion and drain the fat off. Add the rest of the ingredients and bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole


2 cups broccoli flowerets, cooked and drained
2 cups cauliflower flowerets cooked and drained
1 can condensed cream of broccoli soup
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

Place vegetables in a 6-cup baking dish. In a small dish, combine soup, milk and half of the parmesan. Pour over vegetables. Combine margarine, bread crumbs, and remaining parmesan. Sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Eggplant Swiss Cheese Casserole


1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 3/4 cups water
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup parsley leaves, freshly chopped or 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large eggplant or zucchini
1 pound swiss cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cup dry bread cubes
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Sauté the onion in the oil in a saucepan until the onion is tender. Add the tomato paste, water, oregano, parsley and salt. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Cut the eggplant (or zucchini) into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange one layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of a lightly oiled 13x9x2 baking pan. Pour on about 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce. Top with the swiss cheese slices. Add another layer of eggplant slices and pour on about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Combine the rest of the sauce with the bread cubes and spoon over the eggplant. Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.