Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

What could be better than chicken layered with swiss cheese, ham and stove-top stuffin'?!

Don't answer that.... it's a rhetorical question.

This recipe has several wasp factors going on:

1. use of undiluted cream based soup
2. "casserole" in the name
3. includes lunch meat
4. use of stove-top stuffing!

Here are the Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole ingredients:

5 or 6 chicken breasts
sliced lunch meat ham
sliced swiss cheese
can of cream of mushroom soup
box of stove-top stuffing
pam spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray 9 x 13 pan with pam or similar cooking spray.

3. Arrange chicken breasts. They should be touching each other. I guess my picture isn't very accurate.


4. Top each chicken breast with a piece or two of ham.

5. Add a layer of swiss cheese slices.


6. Mix can of soup with a couple tablespoons of milk.

7. Pour this mixture over chicken breasts.

8. Dump a package of stove-top stuffing on top! Spray generously with Pam.


9. Bake for about 45 minutes.






Here's my review: WAY TOO SALTY! Actually, that may be an overstatement. I tend to be sensitive to salt.

Royall (well known lover of salt) says, "it's certainly quite salty, but not too salty for my taste."

Maybe you could use low-sodium soup or low-sodium stove-top stuffing (do they even make that?!). Even considering the salt factor, I liked this recipe. It was really easy and relatively quick to make. The stuffing gave a nice crunch and the flavors of swiss cheese and ham always go nicely together.

Rosemary & Garlic Pork Loin

KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid!

All you need for this recipe is pork loin (about 2 1/2 pounds), rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. SO EASY AND SIMPLE!

Check it out:


Here's the garlic and rosemary. Royall and I nabbed the rosemary from the landscaping outside his office building! The garlic is called "Elephant Garlic". It's HUGE!


That's just one clove in each hand! I like this garlic better than the regular kind because the taste is mellow and not so extreme and pungent. Clearly, Emma is interested.

To make this recipe, first put half a clove of elephant garlic (about the size of 3+ regular cloves), 3 tablespoons of fresh rosemary and a tablespoon of olive oil into a food processor. Pulse briefly.

Rub the seasonings on all sides of the pork loin. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.


Place in a foil lined pan and roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Then, flip the roast and continue cooking for about 25-30 more minutes or until the meat temperature reaches 155 degrees.


Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.



This came out really good. I have to say that I'm proud! I've never made a pork loin before. It was really juicy and I loved the rosemary flavor. The garlic was noticeable but not in a bad way. I usually can't stand garlic. Maybe I have gotten over hating garlic or maybe I just like elephant garlic. Served up with some mashed potatoes, mmm mmmmmhmmmm.

Cinnamon Rolls

Who doesn't like cinnamon rolls?! These yummy ones are made FROM SCRATCH! None of that bracing yourself for the POP of a cylinder that you know is coming but makes you jump nevertheless!

Making this recipe takes a lot of time and patience (~4 hours). But if you can handle it, you will be rewarded with cinnamon rolls that taste ten times better than any thing that comes from a refrigerated cylinder.

Here's what you're gonna need:

flour
butter/margarine
eggs (I used egg beaters and it worked)
yeast
milk
white sugar
brown sugar
salt
cinnamon
nuts/raisins

This recipe makes TWO 9x13 pans of cinnamon rolls. I bet you could cut it in half.


MAKE THE DOUGH:

First, combine 1 cup of white sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 6 and 3/4 teaspoons yeast (or 3 packets), and 2 cups flour.

On the stove top, heat 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups milk. Heat to 120 degrees.

Combine butter/milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix for a couple minutes.

Add two eggs.

Add more flour a little at a time (about 4 or 5 cups) until dough forms.

Knead for 10 minutes.

Let dough rise in greased bowl for an hour in a warm spot. Cover with towel or plastic wrap.

After dough has risen, punch down and briefly knead. Divide into two balls. Each ball will make one 9 x 13 pan of rolls.

Left dough rise again for 15 minutes.

Now here's the fun part.

MAKE THE ROLL:

Take one of the balls of dough and roll out into approximately 18 x 12 rectangle.

Brush with 1/4 cup or so of melted butter.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. You can add nuts and raisins too!
I made one with brown sugar and walnuts and another with brown sugar, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, raisins and dried cranberries (it was left over trail mix!).


Starting with the long side, roll like a jelly roll into long tube.

Cut into about 15 equally sized pieces.


Place into greased 9 x 13 pan.

Let rise AGAIN for 40 minutes.

Here's what they look like after rising:


BAKE EM:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned. I baked mine for 25 minutes and they game out a little too dark.


Drizzle with glaze if you'd like.

Glaze recipe: 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 3 tablespoons of water.

HERE'S THE FINISHED PRODUCT:

I think I like the batch with dried cranberries the best, but they were both good! I love how the butter and sugar sink to the bottom of the pan and make a gooey caramel goodness on the bottom of each roll. YUM-O!

Red Lentil Burgers

Dear followers and friends,

Congratulations! You've chosen the LEAST waspy ingredient in my pantry for me to use this weekend... red lentils! It turns out, there are no wasp recipes that contain red lentils. Maybe lentil soup, but even that's cutting it close.

I debated. Red lentil cookies, red lentil hummus, red lentil cakes, RED LENTIL BURGERS!

These are really good. A bit adventurous for your average joe wasp, but it's worth it. You can impress your vegetarian friends!

Here's what you will need:

red lentils (1 cup)
2 1/4 cups breadcrumbs (I used half regular store bought in a canister crumbs and half toasted sourdough)
can of chick peas, drained
1 egg
1/2 medium onion, chopped
olive oil
spices: salt (pinch), pepper (pinch), coriander (1 tsp), cumin (1 tsp), curry powder (1 tsp) and fresh parsley (1 tsp)
a teeny bit of flour to dust the final product


First step: Rinse lentils, boil for 8 minutes, drain.

Second step: Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to pan and cook onions for 3 minutes, when transparent, add spices (except parsley) and stir briefly.

Third step: In your food processor, add: egg, 1/2 of lentils, chickpeas, and onion mixture and blend for about 30 seconds.

Fourth step: Transfer mixture to bowl. Add rest of lentils, breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. Mix with your hands, just like making meatballs. It should be the consistency of slightly dry cookie dough.


Fifth step: Shape into burger patties.


Sixth step: Lightly dust with flour. This will help the burgers brown and crisp when you cook 'em.

Seventh step: Cook! You could put these on a grill (you may want to refrigerate first so they get really firm), or cook on the stove top. Doesn't need very long to cook, a few minutes on each side. Just don't forget that there is egg in there that needs to be cooked!


Eat however you want. These could be served bare with rice or another side. I made mine into a burger with bread, tomato, lettuce and mayo.




This is what it looks like coming toward your mouth! YUM! I just wish I had an appropriately sized bun.

Cardamom Cookies

This recipe comes from the waspiest cookbook ever. Well, maybe. The Good House Keeping Illustrated Cook Book from the 80's. This book includes recipes like: duck pate in sherry aspic, tomatoes filled with deviled ham, canned salmon mousse in a fish shaped mold, bacon and eggs spaghetti, chicken tetrazzini, and barbecued canned ham with peaches, just to name a few. It also dedicates a large section to how to cook food in the microwave!

Here's the ingredient list for cardamom cookies:

3 and 3/4 cups of flour

2 cups of butter, yeah, that's a whole package, A POUND! (you can rationalize this by saying, "at least there's no oil or eggs in this recipe")

1 and 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 and 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon ground cardamom (I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon because cardamom is my new favorite thing)

1/8 teaspoon salt



HOW TO:

1. Get on your Taste of Home apron.

*This picture is from when we made tamales, but it was just too cute not to post!

2. Preheat oven to 350 and get out butter.

3. After butter has softened, add to large mixing bowl.

4. Add all ingredients at the same time.


5. Take off your jewelry and roll up your sleeves like you are going to get into one of those "mean girls" high school fights. Take out your daily aggressions by kneading the dough until it is mixed well (and I do mean mixed WELL, some of the cookies I made ran flat because they had too much butter in them).

6. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet.


7. Bake for 20 minutes.

8. Cool on baking rack that G-Mom gave you for Christmas. If G-Mom didn't give you a baking rack, substitute "being jealous".

9. Sprinkle with extra powdered sugar if you please.

Enjoy! These cookies are neat-o. My description is that it is similar to a shortbread, like Pecan Sandies or something. Very very good. Cardamom adds a special and unique touch and makes these taste like a holiday. I think these should be added to the menu for next Christmas!

Feedback, please!

Suggestions? Comments? Thoughts? Ideas? Let me know by leaving a comment... you can do so anonymously!

Tater Tot Casserole... HEALTHIER!

Tater tot casserole is a mysterious legend. No one quite knows where it comes from. I first heard about it on the TLC show about the Duggars, the family with 19 kids. I guess when you have that many kids, you need to get creative about feeding them. One episode featured the father making "Jim Bob Barbecue", canned tuna mixed with barbecue sauce and served on a hamburger bun! They have the recipe for their version of tater tot casserole on their website; it includes 2 pounds of meat and 6 pounds of tater tots! (it also includes evaporated milk and 2 kinds of cream soup)

Let's try and make this healthier.... and sized for an everyday family. Based on my calculations, my new version of this recipe has about 138 calories and 3.8 grams of fat per serving (if the entire casserole serves 8, which is reasonable). God knows what the calorie count looked like on the original recipe!

Here's the ingredient list for my version:

1 bag Morningstar Veggie Crumbles
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 small onion, chopped
bag of frozen mixed veggies (green beans, limas, corn, peas, carrots)
2-3 potatoes, shredded OR bag of frozen tots
seasonings: garlic salt, salt, pepper, seasoned salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Saute onion with salt, pepper, garlic salt and canola oil spray.

3. Add Morningstar crumbles, stir for a few seconds. The crumbles come pre-cooked, so the idea here is just to get them combined with the onion.

4. Add crumbles/onion mixture to bottom of 9 x 13 greased pan.

5. Pour bag of frozen vegetables on top and spread evenly.

6. Add can of undiluted soup to the top and spread evenly.


7. Shred potatoes in food processor or by hand. Lay out on a towel and pat dry. Saute briefly on high heat with a small amount of oil. The goal here isn't to cook the potatoes, just get rid of some of the moisture.

8. Remove potatoes from heat. Add to top of casserole. Sprinkle with salt, fresh pepper and seasoned salt.

* If you believe that tater tot casserole just isn't tater tot casserole without, well, tater tots, you could use them instead of the shredded fresh potato. I debated it, and figured it wasn't worth the added fat.

9. Bake for one hour.

ENJOY!

Okay, okay. I know it LOOKS kind of gross, but it TASTES so good!