Chicken Salad a la Maw

Dice or shred some cooked chicken. Add some chopped hard-boiled egg if you want to and you have any handy. Add some mayo and a bit of sugar or sweetener, and maybe some lemon juice. (That’s because I grew up using Miracle Whip and sweet pickle relish, and I don’t use either one any more. If you use Miracle whip instead of mayo, skip the sugar. If you use sweet pickle relish, skip the sugar. You might still want a bit of lemon juice. Or not.) Mix it all up. That’s the basic chicken part. Now add some veggies if you want. Some shredded lettuce and/or some thinly sliced celery. Maybe some chopped tomato or halved cherry tomatoes. Or small amounts of a bunch of whatever you have on hand that sounds good. Thinly sliced green onions are good in it, too. Mix the chicken and the veggies together, unless you’re just using lettuce, in which case you can either mix it all together or just put the chicken mixture on top of the lettuce. Chopped walnuts or pecans or slivered or sliced almonds or toasted sunflower seeds are good either mixed into the salad or sprinkled on top.

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts

(adapted from a recipe at food.com)

3 c diced cooked chicken

1 c finely chopped celery

1 c seedless grapes, halved

1 c chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces or 1/4 lb) (optional)

1 small minced onion

1/2 t salt

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c mayo

1 t lemon juice

Combine chicken, celery, grapes, walnuts and onion in a large bowl. Mix well. Combine salt, Worcestershire sauce, mayo and lemon juice in a small bowl and mix well. Add mayo mixture to chicken mixture and mix well. Chill for about an hour. (If the chicken was cold to begin with, you don’t need to chill the salad.) Divide lettuce among four plates or bowls and top with chicken mixture. Or add the lettuce to the chicken, celery, grapes, walnuts and onion, and then add the dressing to the chicken and lettuce mixture and mix well. 

Poached Chicken for Salads

(based on a recipe from Jane Brody’s Good Food Gourmet, by Jane Brody, 1990)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets

1-1/2 c water

1 T vinegar

½ t salt

¼ t red pepper flakes

Put everything in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool.

Baked Crispy Won Ton Strips

(based on a recipe at finecooking.com)

Cut 8 small (about 4"x4") won ton wrappers into 1/2" strips. Spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Separate the strips and lay them on the baking sheet, scrunching them a bit so they don't end up straight and flat. Spray them lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 375 until golden, about 7 to 9 minutes.

Chicken and Sesame Salad

(based on a recipe from mysaladrecipes.com)

You can use either whole (or more likely split) chicken breasts with the skin and bones, or boneless skinless chicken breasts. Figure you'll need twice as much if you get it with the skin and bones, or half as much if you get it without. See my earlier post comparing the two. 

2 cucumbers

2 carrots

1/2 head lettuce, shredded

2 whole cooked chicken breasts* (about 2 pounds total)

2 T sugar

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T canola oil

2 T sesame oil

1/4 c white vinegar

1/4 c sesame seeds

Shred the cooked chicken breasts. You want it to end up in very thin shreds, almost like short strands of spaghetti. Peel and seed the cucumber and cut it into long, thin pieces. Peel the carrots and cut them the same way. Ideally, the chicken, cucumber, and carrots should all be about the same size. Put the cucumbers, carrots, lettuce and chicken in a large bowl. Combine the sugar, soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, vinegar and sesame seeds in a small jar with a tightly fitting lid. Shake well, then pour the dressing over the chicken and vegetables and toss well. 

*about 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 cup chopped rhubarb

½ cup sugar (or less) or try another sweetener, such as honey or agave

1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Combine and cook over medium-low heat, in a small saucepan until everything is soft and sauce-like, about 15 minutes. For a thicker sauce, you can cook it longer, just be sure to keep stirring and checking often so that it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.

Let cool and serve over ice cream, waffles or pancakes, in your oatmeal or with yogurt.

Salad Un-Recipes

You really don't need a recipe for most salads. You just need a general idea of what to put in and a vague notion of proportions. Does it matter if a recipe calls for half a cup of shredded carrots and you got three-fourths of a cup from yours? Or if it calls for six hard-boiled eggs and you only have five? Of it calls for diced chicken and you have leftover shredded chicken, or even pork? Usually not. You mostly just put in what you have and what your family will eat. Does the recipe call for pickled beets and you know no one in your family will touch them with a ten foot pole? Then leave them out. It seldom matters.

So, with that philosophy in mind, here are some un-recipes for salads. They're good as written, but they're flexible enough that you can play with them without hurting them. Who knows - they may even turn out better!

Turn coleslaw or cabbage salad into a whole meal salad by adding some chopped hard boiled eggs and some bacon and/or cheese. Or some sausage cut into small bits. Some sunflower seeds are good, too. I usually shred the cabbage for a whole meal salad instead of chopping it. It somehow makes it seem more substantial. I have this a lot in the summer when I don’t want to cook, but it’s good any time of year.

Combine raw cauliflower, a bit of celery (optional), chopped hard boiled eggs, ranch dressing and sunflower seeds (optional) for another main dish salad. Use lots of eggs, since this will be the protein for the meal.

Add a chopped hard-boiled egg to a can of tuna when you make tuna salad. It stretches the tuna. It works with chicken, too. Or ham.

Make a Cobb salad, with lettuce, tomato, bacon, avocado, egg, and blue cheese. Or any combination of these. I seldom use all of them at once, though they’re all part of an official Cobb salad.

Make a chef salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, egg, cheese, and leftover meat. Add some olives if you like them.

Make a spinach salad with spinach, bacon, egg, onion, mushrooms, and hot bacon dressing or a sweet dressing.

Peel hard-boiled eggs and throw them whole into a jar of pickle juice for pickled eggs. Or into the juice from canned pickled beets. Or add the juice from a can of beets to some pickle juice and add the eggs to that.

Make a “layered” salad. In a big bowl (glass if you have it, so you can show off the layers), put some chopped or torn lettuce. Then a layer of frozen peas, a layer of hard boiled eggs, another layer of lettuce, a thin layer of sliced green onions, a layer of halved cherry tomatoes (sliced regular tomatoes get too juicy), a layer of crumbled cooked bacon and a layer of grated cheddar. Mix some mayo with some salt and pepper and a couple of teaspoons of sugar and spread it over the top, sealing it all the way to the edges. Refrigerate overnight. You’re supposed to serve it from the glass bowl, but I find it works best to show it off, then mix it all up myself. Otherwise some folks get just lettuce and others get the good stuff. It’s a really flexible recipe. Sometimes it calls for broccoli or cauliflower, sometimes for sliced water chestnuts. I like to put some sunflower seeds in it, and some people use chopped or whole peanuts. Basically, just use whatever you have. You could mix some ranch dressing with the mayo for the topping, too, if you wanted to.

There are lots of simple tomato salads. I cut them into bite-sized pieces and add a bit of mayo. Or some ranch dressing. Or a bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. A medium tomato with any of these would make a good sized serving. They’ll dress up the plate more if you serve them on a lettuce leaf.

Sliced cucumber in ranch dressing is good. Or in sour cream, with or without dill. Or sliced cucumbers and onion in a dressing of equal parts vinegar and oil, plus some salt and pepper.

Seattle Dogs

Grill your wieners as usual, and toast the buns, too. Grill an onion or two, depending on how many you’re serving. Soften some cream cheese so it will spread easily, but be careful it doesn’t burn. Spread the cream cheese over the toasted bun, add the hot wiener, grilled onion, and some mustard, and enjoy! 

Grilled Onions

Grilled onions are great in a hamburger or on a hotdog or just to eat, and grilled Vidalia onions are among the best. The sugar in them caramelizes making them even sweeter. Cut the onions into slices 1/4” to 1/2” thick, brush them with olive oil, and cook them for about 3 minutes per side. You’ll need a spatula to turn them so they don’t fall apart.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Some people say to soak the ears, but I never did. Just pull off the outer few husks, leaving several layers. Peel the top couple of inches back and pull out whatever silk comes out easily. Don’t worry about getting it all. In fact, you don’t even need to pull of any if you don’t want to. Place the corn, in the husks, over medium heat and grill it for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning it a few times with tongs as it cooks. Remove from the grill and allow to cool just a minute or two before stripping off the husks and the silk. Use a towel or potholder to hold the ears as you do so – they will be hot! Butter the corn, or brush it with olive oil, or sprinkle it with chili powder or, best of all, if you happen to be having steak or pork chops, rub the corn with a piece of the cooked fat. 

Coffee Can Ice Cream

You’ll need a one-pound coffee can with lid, a three-pound coffee can with lid, crushed ice, and rock salt. The simplest ice cream is just a pint (two cups) of half and half (or whipping cream), half a cup of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Put them all in the smaller coffee can, and put the lid on. Use duct tape to be sure it stays on. Put the smaller coffee can in the larger one, and fill the gap between the two with crushed ice and rock salt. The rock salt makes the ice freeze at a lower temperature so it doesn’t melt as fast and it freezes the ice cream faster. Put the lid on the bigger can and secure it with duct tape, too. Grab a couple of kids and sit them on the ground (or at either end of a picnic table) and give them the coffee cans. They’ll need to roll it back and forth between them for about 10 minutes. When it’s done, remove the duct tape from the big can and carefully pour out the ice and salt water. Don’t pour it on the grass or on other plants; the salt can kill it. Wipe or rinse off the smaller can, remove the duct tape, and take off the lid. Your ice cream is ready to eat! 

You can use a couple of tablespoons of chocolate syrup instead of the vanilla, or you can mash up some strawberries and add them to the mixture before you start rolling it.

Grilled Fruit

Did you know that you can grill fresh fruit? It's mostly just to heat it up and caramelize the sugars in the fruit. According to Rick Browne in 1,001 Best Grilling Recipes  (available in paperback or for the kindle), bananas, halved lengthwise, need 6 to 8 minutes over direct, medium heat. Cantaloupes, cut in wedges, also need 6 to 8 minutes over direct, medium heat. Pineapples, peeled and cored and cut into 1/2” slices, need 5 to 10 minutes over direct, medium heat. And whole strawberries need 4 to 5 minutes over direct, medium heat. He also gives grilling times for apples, apricots, nectarines, peaches, and pears, if you’re interested. I’m guessing that you could do some fancy fruit kabobs and grill them. Watermelon can be grilled, too. Grill thick wedges over high heat for about two minutes per side. Some say to salt it first and drain it to get rid of some of the juice, others say to brush it with honey or balsamic vinegar, and others to just leave it plain. 

Balsamic Glazed Chickpeas with Mustard Greens

·       10 ounces mustard greens

·       1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced

·       4 to 6 tablespoons vegetable broth, divided

·       4 cloves garlic, chopped

·       1 pinch red pepper flakes

·       1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

·       2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

·       1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

·       1/4 teaspoon agave nectar or sugar

·       1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1. Remove any large stems from the greens and discard. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

2. In a deep pot or wok, sauté the onion in a tablespoon or two of vegetable broth until mostly faded to pink, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper and another tablespoon of broth and cook, stirring, for another minute.

3. Add the mustard greens, 2 tablespoons of broth, and cook, stirring, until greens are wilted but still bright green, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the salt, if using. Remove greens and onions from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish, leaving any liquid in pan.

4. Add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and agave or sugar to the liquid in the pan (if there is no liquid, add 2 tablespoons of broth). Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half. Spoon the chickpeas over the greens and drizzle the sauce over all.

Serve warm, with additional balsamic vinegar at the table.

Recipe from Susan Voisin, author award-winning blog, FatFree Vegan Kitchen. 

Simple Vinaigrette

6 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar of your choice
1 teaspoon dried herbs or finely chopped fresh herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme or rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic or shallots (optional)
1 teaspoon prepared mustard (dijon, hot mustard or regular) (optional)
1/2 teaspoon honey(optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a jar, secure lid and shake well. Serve immediately or allow the flavors to mingle for an hour or more. Always shake well before drizzling over salad. Store dressing in the fridge indefinitely.

Grilled Pineapple

Brush sliced pineapple (I always used slices canned in juice, though fresh pineapple would probably be even better) with some Heinz 57 Original Steak Sauce and grill it long enough to heat it up and get grill marks on it, but not to burn it. Remember, it’s already been cooked (at least the canned pineapple has). You could use other steak sauces, too, but Heinz is the one I’ve used. Actually, it’s good just grilled with no sauce, too.

Coleslaw for Company

(closely based on a recipe in 500 Low-Carb Recipes, by Dana Carpender, 2002)

1 head red cabbage, finely shredded (about 3 pounds)

1/4 sweet red onion, finely minced (about 1/2 cup or 2 ounces)

1 carrot, finely shredded

Coleslaw Dressing:

  1/2 c mayo

  1/2 c sour cream

  1 to 1-1/2 T apple cider vinegar

  1 to 1-1/2 t prepared mustard

  1/2 to 1 t salt

  1 to 2 t sugar (or 1/2 to 1 packet artificial sweetener)

Mix the dressing in a small bowl. Combine the cabbage and onion in a big bowl, pour on some of the dressing, and toss well. You may want to use all of the dressing, or you may not. Or you may want to use more, in which case you’ll need to make another batch of the dressing. In any case, it’s a lot easier to add more dressing than to take some back if there’s too much.

Better BBQ Chicken Sauce

(bbq.about.com)

1 c ketchup

1/4 c white vinegar

1/4 c brown sugar

2 T paprika

1 T olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Allow to simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely before using.

Italian Grilled Chicken

Just marinate the chicken in Italian dressing for an hour or so, then bring the marinade to a boil and brush it on the chicken as it cooks.

Greek Grilled Chicken

Just add Greek  seasoning to oil and lemon juice and marinate the chicken in it for about an hour. Bring the marinade to a boil after you take the chicken out, then brush it on the chicken as it cooks.

Caribbean Jerk Seasoning Rub

(parade.condenast.com)

2 T brown sugar

2-1/2 t salt

2 t allspice

1 t cayenne

1 t pepper

1 t onion powder

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t dried thyme

Mix all ingredients. Store in a cool, dark place and use on chicken within three months.

Cajun Turkey Seasoning

(bbq.about.com)

4 T salt

4 T onion powder

2 T garlic powder

2 T red pepper flakes

2 T paprika

1 T ground oregano

Mix ingredients together. Rub over the surface of the turkey (or, in our case, chicken), inside and out. Try to work the rub in under the skin. Let sit for about two hours before cooking. Can be used on all poultry (like chicken leg quarters) no matter how it’s prepared, but the recipe comes from the bbq page of the site. Store in a cool dark place.

Moroccan Rub

(parade.condenast.com)

1 T ground cumin

1 T paprika

1 t onion powder

2 t turmeric

Pinch of cayenne

Pinch of garlic powder

1 T dried parsley

2 t dried coriander

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Mix all ingredients. Store in a cool, dark place. Use within three months. Use on chicken, beef and fish.

Easy No-Recipe Main Dish Salads

Main dish salads are great, especially in the summer when you don't want to cook. There's something cooling about eating a cold, crisp salad. While there are lots of formal recipes for salads, you mostly just toss in whatever you happen to have on hand. Here are few ideas.

Turn coleslaw or cabbage salad into a whole meal salad by adding some chopped hard boiled eggs and some bacon and/or cheese. Or some sausage cut into small bits. Some sunflower seeds are good, too.

Combine raw cauliflower, a bit of celery (optional), chopped hard boiled eggs, ranch dressing and sunflower seeds (optional) for another main dish salad. Use lots of eggs, since this will be the protein for the meal.

Add a chopped hard-boiled egg to a can of tuna when you make tuna salad. It stretches the tuna. It works with chicken, too. Or ham.

Make a Cobb salad, with lettuce, tomato, bacon, avocado, egg, and blue cheese. Or any combination of these. You don't need all of them, although they're all part of an official Cobb salad.

Make a chef salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, egg, cheese, and leftover meat. Add some olives if you like them.

Make a spinach salad with spinach, bacon, egg, onion, mushrooms, and hot bacon dressing or a sweet dressing.

White Sauce Mix

Just as you can usually substitute canned cream-of-anything soup for white sauce in most recipes, you can substitute white sauce for the canned soup. You might want to add a bit of chicken bouillon cube, or some chopped celery or chopped mushrooms. Or not. As far as I’m concerned, all the cream-of soups do in most recipes (unless you’re eating it as soup, of course) is to add something to hold it all together, and they don’t add much flavor anyway.

White Sauce Mix

2 c instant dry milk (powdered milk)

1 c flour

2 t salt

1 c butter

Measure all ingredients into a bowl and blend very well. (A pastry blender works great for this, or you can use your food processor.) Put in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate and store up to one year.

To use: Combine mix (see below for amounts) and 1 cup cold water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Thin sauce – 1/3 cup mix. Medium sauce – 1/2 cup mix. Thick sauce – 3/4 cup mix.

White Sauce

By the way, just as you can usually substitute canned cream-of-anything soup for white sauce in most recipes, you can substitute white sauce for the canned soup. You might want to add a bit of chicken bouillon cube, or some chopped celery or chopped mushrooms. Or not. As far as I’m concerned, all the cream-of soups do in most recipes (unless you’re eating it as soup, of course) is to add something to hold it all together, and they don’t add much flavor anyway.

White Sauce

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 c milk

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook gently, stirring constantly, until the butter and flour are combined. Slowly add the milk, again stirring constantly. (Stirring constantly keeps it from being lumpy. Or at least it helps. To be perfectly honest, it’s going to be lumpy sometimes anyway. That’s just the way life goes sometimes.) Heat gently, still stirring, until it thickens. This will make a thick white sauce. If you want it thinner, just add more milk. 

Kittencal's Best Deviled Eggs

KITTENCAL’S BEST DEVILED EGGS

(from a recipe at food.com)

I wasn’t going to include a recipe for deviled eggs because everyone makes them, but this recipe had 129 reviews and an almost perfect five-star rating. A few hints from me – First, cook more eggs than you’re going to need. Some of them won’t peel nicely or the white will tear. You can always add the extra yolks to the filling. Second, for fancy eggs, pipe the filling into the whites. Put the filling in a small plastic bag and cut a small bit off one corner. Being careful not to let it squeeze out the top, gently squeeze the bag to fill the whites.

12 hard-boiled eggs

1/2 c mayo (or half salad dressing and half mayo)

2 T milk (or half-and-half)

1 t dried parsley flakes

1/2 t dried chives (or 1 large very finely chopped green onion)

1/2 t ground mustard powder

1/8 – 1/4 t dried dill weed (that’s the leaves, not dill seed)

1/4 t salt, or to taste

1/4 t paprika, plus a bit more to sprinkle on the eggs

1/8 t pepper

1/8 t garlic powder

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and set the whites aside. Mush the yolks well in a small bowl, using a fork and leaving no small lumps. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine. Spoon or pipe the egg yolk mixture evenly into the whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to serve. If possible, refrigerate the eggs for at least 5 hours to give the flavors a chance to blend and intensify. Actually, it would be better to make the filling ahead of time so the flavors can blend, but not fill the whites until you’re ready to serve them. If you cover the filled eggs tightly, the filling will stick to the plastic wrap.

Escalloped Bacon and Eggs

(from a recipe in Paper Plates to Silver Service, Young Attorneys’ Wives of Polk County, 1982)

1/2 c onion, chopped

2 T butter

2 T flour

1-1/2 c milk

10 – 12 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 c shredded sharp processed cheese

6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1-1/2 c potato chips, crushed (or you could use crushed Ritz crackers)

Cook onions in butter until tender; blend in flour. Add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add cheese, stirring until melted. (You could use cheddar cheese, but the processed cheese melts more easily.) Place a layer of half the egg slices in a 10x6 pan. (An 8 inch square pan will work, too, or a 9” pie pan.) Cover with half the cheese sauce, half the bacon, half the chips. Repeat the layers. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Egg Balls for Soup

(from a recipe in Compendium of Cookery and Reliable Recipes – 1890)

Boil four eggs; put into cold water; mash yolks with yolk of one raw egg, and one teaspoonful of flour, pepper, salt and parsley; make into balls and boil two minutes. Use to garnish soup.

Devonshire Eggs

(from a recipe in Aunt Mary’s Cookbook)

6 hardboiled eggs, peeled and halved

1/4 lb boiled ham

3/4 can Campbell’s tomato soup

Grind ham and egg yolks together.  Mix with enough cream to make a paste and fill the whites like you would deviled eggs.  Place in buttered baking dish.  Thicken the soup with a little flour and water and pour over the eggs.  Cover with cracker crumbs and bake until light brown.

Russian Vegetable Pie

(from The Vegetarian Epicure via tastebook.com)

Crust

1-1/4 c flour

1 t sugar

1 t salt

4 oz softened cream cheese

3 T butter

Filling

3 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 lb (8 oz) fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

3 T butter

4 oz softened cream cheese

4 – 5 hard-boiled eggs

Basil, marjoram, tarragon, salt and pepper to taste

2 T dried dill weed (the leaves, not dill seed)

Make a pastry by sifting together the dry ingredients, cutting in the butter and working it together with the cream cheese. Roll out 2/3 of the pastry and line a 9” pie dish. Roll out the remaining pastry and make a circle large enough to cover the dish for the top crust. Put it away to chill. (Or you can use two purchased pie crusts. Leave the second one out for a bit to soften, then roll out flat to use as a lid for the pie.)

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cabbage and sauté for several minutes, stirring constantly. Add at least 1/8 teaspoon each of the marjoram, tarragon, and basil, and the salt and pepper. Stirring often, allow the mixture to cook until the cabbage is wilted and the onions soft. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan and sauté the mushrooms lightly for about five to six minutes, stirring constantly. Spread the softened cream cheese in the bottom of the pie shell. Arrange the egg slices in a layer over the cheese. Sprinkle them with the dill weed, then cover them with the cabbage mixture. Layer the mushrooms on top, then cover with the circle of pastry or the second crust. Press the pastry together tightly at the edges, and flute them. (Or use the tines of a fork to press them together, going all around the flat rim of the pie pan so the two crusts are pressed tightly together.) With a sharp knife, cut a few short slashes through the top crust. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 and continue baking for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is light brown.

Sausage and Mushroom Quiche

1 lb breakfast sausage (not links or patties)

8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

6 eggs

8 oz shredded cheese (Cheddar is good)

2 c half and half (whipping cream is better but costs more)

Heat a skillet. Add the sausage, break it up and brown it. Drain off some of the grease if you want to. Add the mushrooms before the sausage is completely browned and cook it until the mushrooms have given up all their juices and it has all evaporated. Be sure to cook them really dry or the quiche may be watery. Meanwhile, put the eggs in a blender and blend them for a couple of minutes. Like 120 seconds or more. Add the cream and blend another couple of minutes. Add the cheese and blend it another couple of minutes. Stop the blender between each addition or it’s likely to be thrown all over the kitchen. When the sausage and mushrooms are done, put them in the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. (You can use a pie pan, which is more traditional, but it probably won’t all fit and/or may spill all over the bottom of your oven.) Spread them out evenly. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and mushrooms, trying to keep them spread out evenly. You may need to go back and spread them out a bit if the eggs disturbed them. Bake at 350 for about 45 to 60 minutes.

Hamburger Veggie Soup

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 c chopped celery

1 lb baby carrots, sliced

8 oz mushrooms, washed and sliced

8 oz cabbage, shredded

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can green beans

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 t oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef, onion, garlic and celery. Drain the fat off if you want to; I seldom do. Add the rest of the ingredients, plus a tomato can of water that you use to rinse out the can. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the carrots and cabbage are done.

Joe's Special

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

14 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

8 oz mushrooms, washed and sliced

½ t oregano

6 eggs, beaten (or not - I almost never beat eggs before I add them to anything)

Dash nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have exuded their liquid and it has evaporated. Add the ground beef and garlic and cook until the meat is browned. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach is done. Add the eggs, nutmeg and salt and pepper and scramble it all together, cooking it until the eggs are as done as you like them.

Coleslaw Dressing

(closely based on a recipe in 500 Low-Carb Recipes, by Dana Carpender, 2002)

  1/2 c mayo

  1/2 c sour cream

  1 to 1-1/2 T apple cider vinegar

  1 to 1-1/2 t prepared mustard

  1/2 to 1 t salt

  1 to 2 t sugar (or 1/2 to 1 packet artificial sweetener)

Mix the dressing in a small bowl and pour over salad. Toss or mix well. 

Chicken Chips or Gribenes

Cut chicken skin into pieces about 2” square and spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover with another baking sheet so the skin is squashed between the two sheets. Put something heavy like a cast iron skillet on the top sheet to hold it down. (Be sure to leave the hot pad over the handle on the skillet when you take it out so no one accidentally tries to pick it up or move it! It will be hot!) Bake for about 25 minutes with the chicken. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and pour off the grease. (I save the grease and use it for cooking.) Take the Chicken Chips off of the baking sheet; you may need to use a metal spatula to free them from the sheets. Salt, if desired, and serve. Best eaten right away. 

Salsa Chicken

Just season some chicken (taco seasoning is easy, or sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and cumin) and then cook it either on top of the stove or in the oven until the chicken is done. Pour some salsa (you pick the heat) over the top of the chicken and sprinkle some shredded cheddar over the salsa. Cook it for about 10 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Southwestern Roasted Carrots

(from a recipe in Top 30 Tex-Mex Vegetarian Recipes in Just and Only 3 Steps, by Annie R. McNeeley)

4 large carrots (8 ounces)

2 T olive oil

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

Julienne the peeled carrots. (Cut them in matchstick-shaped pieces, about twice as thick as matchsticks and about twice as long.) Toss the carrots, oil and seasonings until the carrots are evenly coated with the seasonings. Spread them out on a baking sheet and roast them at 350 for 15 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and toss the carrots again, spread them out in the pan and put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Take them out and toss them again, spread them evenly in the pan, and roast them for a final 15 minutes. Check them after the second 15 minutes. The carrots should be soft and may not need the final 15 minutes.

Spicy Mexican Coleslaw

(based on a recipe at low-cholesterol.food.com)

3 c shredded cabbage (about 8 oz)

1 carrot

1 tomato, seeded and diced (about 4 oz)

1 minced seeded jalapeno

1/4 c chopped cilantro

2 T lime juice (bottled is fine)

2 T orange juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T sugar

1/4 t ground cumin

Combine the cabbage, carrot, tomato, jalapeno, and cilantro and mix well. In a small bowl or jar, combine the lime juice, orange juice, garlic, sugar, and cumin and mix well. Toss the dressing with the vegetables. Refrigerate until ready to serve. If possible, let it sit for at least a couple of hours so the flavors can blend.