Melt together:
1 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese
This will end up looking grainy and you'll think you did something wrong, but you didn't.
Stir in:
1 package of shredded 4 Cheese Italian blend
2 pints cream (heavy or light, depending on how your clothes are fitting)
garlic salt (to taste)
pepper
Stir until it's thick and looks like Alfredo Sauce.
Add:
Grilled Chicken Breast (oh, about 2-3 breasts worth. More or less, depending on your crowd)
1 or 1 1/2 pkgs. cooked pasta
This recipe generously feeds 10 people. I multiplied it by 8 for camp and had plenty, plus some leftovers.
Melba's Note: This is from my friend Stephanie Erickson, who mentored me through planning the menu for camp. She is as amazing a person as she is a cook. This recipe looks intimidating but is very easy and very yummy!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Key Lime Pie by Angie Hyde via Lindsay Kaelberer
1 8 oz. Cream cheese (I use the light, but not fat-free)
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
½ tsp. Vanilla
½ cup key lime juice (not plain lime)
1 Graham cracker crust
Melba's Note: This IS yummy! And not too heavy. If you use fat free cream cheese, it makes a nice key-lime soup in a graham cracker crust bread bowl. So, stick to light or regular.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Basic Sweet Crepes from "Joy of Cooking" via Carolyn Markham
1/2 c flour
1/2 c milk
1/4 c water - lukewarm
2 large eggs
2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 T sugar
pinch of salt
Let stand 30 minutes (or Carolyn uses a blender). For savory crepes, omit sugar and use 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Melba's Note: Last Sunday, Carolyn (who is 4 months pregnant and has 4 small kids at home) got up at 6 a.m. to plan her Sunday School lesson and fix two different kinds of pancakes for her kids and houseguests. (see previous recipe). After church, she made us these crepes for lunch. (See why I call her Superwoman?) We ate them with ham and cheese for lunch, then with nutella for dessert. They were yummy!!!
1/2 c milk
1/4 c water - lukewarm
2 large eggs
2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 T sugar
pinch of salt
Let stand 30 minutes (or Carolyn uses a blender). For savory crepes, omit sugar and use 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Melba's Note: Last Sunday, Carolyn (who is 4 months pregnant and has 4 small kids at home) got up at 6 a.m. to plan her Sunday School lesson and fix two different kinds of pancakes for her kids and houseguests. (see previous recipe). After church, she made us these crepes for lunch. (See why I call her Superwoman?) We ate them with ham and cheese for lunch, then with nutella for dessert. They were yummy!!!
Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix from Carolyn Markham
Yield: 10 cups dry mix, 1c = 10 pancakes
3 1/2 c oats
4 c white whole wheat flour
1 c bleached all purpose flour
3T sugar
3T baking powder
1T salt
1T baking soda
3/4 c vegetable oil
Mix: Grind oats in food processor till chopped. (I skipped this step for "chunkier" pancakes.) Mix dry ingredients. Add oil slowly. You can freeze this mix at this point.
Pancakes: 1 cup mix. (Okay, that's what the recipe says. Carolyn and I added 1 1/2 cups cuz the batter was a little runny). 1 c buttermilk, 1 T orange juice, 1 egg. Let stand 15 min.
Nutrition: 2 pancakes = 139 calories, 6 g fat, 16 carbs, 2 g fiber.
Melba's Note: I know, I know, I already posted a whole grain pancake recipe. But pancakes are my favorite food right now and my sister-in-law, Carolyn, made these for breakfast last weekend while we were in Houston. They are yummy!
While we were staying with her, I decided that Carolyn is a French chef. She makes very very yummy food, but then doesn't eat a lot of it. That's how she stays so little. Sammie commented that she and I both love to show off our skills with the culinary arts. In other words, we both love to cook and eat good food!
I also decided that Carolyn is superwoman. There's pretty much nothing she doesn't do!
3 1/2 c oats
4 c white whole wheat flour
1 c bleached all purpose flour
3T sugar
3T baking powder
1T salt
1T baking soda
3/4 c vegetable oil
Mix: Grind oats in food processor till chopped. (I skipped this step for "chunkier" pancakes.) Mix dry ingredients. Add oil slowly. You can freeze this mix at this point.
Pancakes: 1 cup mix. (Okay, that's what the recipe says. Carolyn and I added 1 1/2 cups cuz the batter was a little runny). 1 c buttermilk, 1 T orange juice, 1 egg. Let stand 15 min.
Nutrition: 2 pancakes = 139 calories, 6 g fat, 16 carbs, 2 g fiber.
Melba's Note: I know, I know, I already posted a whole grain pancake recipe. But pancakes are my favorite food right now and my sister-in-law, Carolyn, made these for breakfast last weekend while we were in Houston. They are yummy!
While we were staying with her, I decided that Carolyn is a French chef. She makes very very yummy food, but then doesn't eat a lot of it. That's how she stays so little. Sammie commented that she and I both love to show off our skills with the culinary arts. In other words, we both love to cook and eat good food!
I also decided that Carolyn is superwoman. There's pretty much nothing she doesn't do!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Egg Drop Soup
4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1. Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Stir the salt, ginger and chives into the saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. Egg should cook immediately. Once the eggs have been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.
Melba's Note: This is how I like my egg drop soup - simple. I also throw in some frozen corn, though, for a little crunch.
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1. Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Stir the salt, ginger and chives into the saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. Egg should cook immediately. Once the eggs have been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.
Melba's Note: This is how I like my egg drop soup - simple. I also throw in some frozen corn, though, for a little crunch.
Sesame Chicken
2 Tbsp sesame seeds, raw
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp dry sherry (I substitute 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 maple syrup)
1 tsp ginger root, fresh, minced (yes, wouldn't that be nice? I used ginger from the spice jar)
1/2 tsp five-spice powder (in the asian section of the grocery store)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-in pieces
2 tsp peanut oil
Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds and cook until lightly toasted, shaking the pan frequently, about 2 to 3 minutes; transfer seeds to a shallow dish and set aside.
Whisk water, soy sauce, maple syrup, sherry, ginger and five-spice power together in a small bowl; set aside.
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish; add chicken and turn to coat. Shake chicken pieces to remove excess flour.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture to chicken and cook until sauce thickens and is almost evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
Dip chicken pieces in toasted sesame seeds and serve, drizzled with any additional soy sauce mixture. Yields 4 servings, about 4 strips per serving. 4 WW points per serving.
Melba's Note: Yesterday, Sammie turned in his last final for his first year of MBA school! Hooray! To celebrate, we had some of his school friends over for dinner. I served this, the egg drop soup, and the lettuce wraps (which, by the way, are only 5 ww points if you cut down the oil to only 1 tbsp.)
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp dry sherry (I substitute 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 maple syrup)
1 tsp ginger root, fresh, minced (yes, wouldn't that be nice? I used ginger from the spice jar)
1/2 tsp five-spice powder (in the asian section of the grocery store)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-in pieces
2 tsp peanut oil
Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds and cook until lightly toasted, shaking the pan frequently, about 2 to 3 minutes; transfer seeds to a shallow dish and set aside.
Whisk water, soy sauce, maple syrup, sherry, ginger and five-spice power together in a small bowl; set aside.
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish; add chicken and turn to coat. Shake chicken pieces to remove excess flour.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture to chicken and cook until sauce thickens and is almost evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
Dip chicken pieces in toasted sesame seeds and serve, drizzled with any additional soy sauce mixture. Yields 4 servings, about 4 strips per serving. 4 WW points per serving.
Melba's Note: Yesterday, Sammie turned in his last final for his first year of MBA school! Hooray! To celebrate, we had some of his school friends over for dinner. I served this, the egg drop soup, and the lettuce wraps (which, by the way, are only 5 ww points if you cut down the oil to only 1 tbsp.)
Monday, April 21, 2008
TOMATO-CORN SALAD by Jennie Holman Blake
Bart Hosmer, Bradley Ogden’s Parcel 104 restaurant, Santa Clara, CA (Sunset Magazine)
3 ears fresh sweet corn
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ c. diced red onion, rinsed in cold water and patted dry with paper towels
1 T. rice wine vinegar
¼ c. chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Over a large bowl, cut kernels off corn cobs and stir in tomatoes and onion. Toss with vinegar and basil; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chef’s Note:
Fresh corn is often so sweet and tender that there is no need to cook it. Just cut the kernels off the cob and use. Hosmer also uses basil flowers in this dish. Just pull the flowers from the stalks and sprinkle them like confetti into the salad in place of (or in addition to) the chopped basil. They add a light, floral note.
Serves 4-6.
NOTE
From my very favorite recipe source—Sunset Magazine. Makes me proud to be a Californian. Did I really just say that? After how much I ridiculed all those freshman Cali girls in the dorms at BYU out frolicking in their swimsuits at their first sight of snow? Oh well. Older. Wiser. NORTHERN CALIFORNIAN—it’s two different countries, you know . . . no offense, Kir.
Only do this with fresh summer corn. Don’t even bother with the packaged ones from the store or Costco. Tried it, hated it. I seed the tomatoes before adding them to take some of the liquid out. I would also rinse the corn before adding to remove some of the starch and make the dressing a little less opaque (purely aesthetic). This just reminds me of summer BBQ’s in the back yard. Can you tell I’m aching for summer already?
Melba's Note: Well, when you live in a place that is already 80 degrees, no wonder you're in the mood for summer! Compare that to my sister Carrie in Spokane where it's 40 degrees and snowing today. Should I post a good hot chocolate recipe, Carrie? Oh, and Jen, no offense taken for the California Girl comment. ( I was born in Redondo Beach. :D )
3 ears fresh sweet corn
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ c. diced red onion, rinsed in cold water and patted dry with paper towels
1 T. rice wine vinegar
¼ c. chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Over a large bowl, cut kernels off corn cobs and stir in tomatoes and onion. Toss with vinegar and basil; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chef’s Note:
Fresh corn is often so sweet and tender that there is no need to cook it. Just cut the kernels off the cob and use. Hosmer also uses basil flowers in this dish. Just pull the flowers from the stalks and sprinkle them like confetti into the salad in place of (or in addition to) the chopped basil. They add a light, floral note.
Serves 4-6.
NOTE
From my very favorite recipe source—Sunset Magazine. Makes me proud to be a Californian. Did I really just say that? After how much I ridiculed all those freshman Cali girls in the dorms at BYU out frolicking in their swimsuits at their first sight of snow? Oh well. Older. Wiser. NORTHERN CALIFORNIAN—it’s two different countries, you know . . . no offense, Kir.
Only do this with fresh summer corn. Don’t even bother with the packaged ones from the store or Costco. Tried it, hated it. I seed the tomatoes before adding them to take some of the liquid out. I would also rinse the corn before adding to remove some of the starch and make the dressing a little less opaque (purely aesthetic). This just reminds me of summer BBQ’s in the back yard. Can you tell I’m aching for summer already?
Melba's Note: Well, when you live in a place that is already 80 degrees, no wonder you're in the mood for summer! Compare that to my sister Carrie in Spokane where it's 40 degrees and snowing today. Should I post a good hot chocolate recipe, Carrie? Oh, and Jen, no offense taken for the California Girl comment. ( I was born in Redondo Beach. :D )
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