Turkey Noodle Soup

Ingredients

32 ounces broth or 4 cups (made from boiling the turkey carcass or using canned broth)

2-3 cups water or whatever is needed to almost completely fill pot

1/2 a large onion, chopped

2 celery stocks, chopped

2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 to 4 cups chopped cooked turkey or chicken

1or 2 teaspoons salt

2 or 3 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 cube butter

6 - 8 ounces extra wide egg noodles (or entire homemade egg noodle recipe)

Directions

In a large stockpot melt half a cube of butter. Sauté the onion and celery until onion is just translucent. Add the garlic and all of the spices and stir to coat. Add the broth and bring to boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Add cooked turkey or chicken and cook for five minutes more. Add noodles and cook according to package directions. After noodles have cooked, remove pan from heat and add the other 1/2 stick of butter and stir until melted.

 

*The measurements on the spices is intentionally vague and should be added to your taste.

Egg Noodles

Ingredients

2 1/3 Cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 beaten eggs

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon canola oil

Directions

In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups flour and the salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, water and oil. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. If using a stand mixer, add ingredients as stated above and let mixer run until dough is combined and mostly smooth.

Sprinkle your kneading surface with the remaining flour and knead dough until smooth (about 10 minutes). This is where an electric stand mixer works well as it cuts the hand kneading down by about 8 minutes. Divide dough in quarters and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut as desired (I usually make mine like fettuccine noodles because I don't have a cool pasta machine to make other shapes.)

Hang noodles on a noodle hanger or place on drying racks and let sit overnight covered lightly with a clean dry cloth.

Cook pasta until done (about 10 minutes). To test doneness, press a spoon into noodle on side of pan. Noodles should be soft, but not mushy. 

Pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for future use. 

Breakfast Pie

Ingredients

One pie crust (make your own or buy one from the store)

5-6 large eggs *

1/4 cup half-n-half *

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano flakes

3 tablespoons Onion, chopped

3-4 tablespoons Orange bell pepper, chopped

3-4 tablespoons yellow bell pepper, chopped

3-5 strips bacon

1/2 Mozzarella Cheese, grated

Salsa (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare crust for one pie bottom and mold into pie pan. Cook bacon and crumble into bite size pieces, drain and set aside. Sauté bell peppers and onion until union is just translucent (do not over cook or cook until mushy). Whip together the eggs, half-n-half, pepper, salt, and oregano until slightly frothy.

In the pie crust, spread bacon on bottom. Spread onion mixture over bacon. Pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle the cheese so it is evenly spread on top of the eggs. Place a strip of foil around the edges of the pie pan to cover the pie crust. This will keep the edges of the pie crust from over browning.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes (check after 35 minutes for doneness) or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove foil and cook for 7 minutes more. Let stand to set-up for 15 minutes. Cut and serve with salsa.

*Egg substitute can be used instead of the eggs. Follow the package directions to find the substitute amount for each egg. 

Mac'n Cheese

This recipe is a modified version from Paula Dean.

Ingredients

2 boxes macaroni shells (12 oz boxes)

4-5 strips of bacon, cut in small bits

1 cube butter

3 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese, grated

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup sour cream

2 cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Boil the macaroni according to package directions but only for about 7 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain and set aside. Cook bacon bits in a small pan until bacon is browned. Pour bacon and the bacon grease into the crock pot.

In a medium saucepan on medium low heat, melt butter. Add cheese and stir until cheese melts. In the crock pot, combine cheese/butter mixture with the bacon, add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir until well combined. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Your mixture may be a little clumpy with cheese, but the clumps of cheese will melt as it cooks. Set the crock pot on low and cook for approximately 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Low Fat Hummus

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (buy the more expensive brand as it will contain less husks)

1/2 cup plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

This is where you add your own seasoning or not. I like just plain old garlic flavor in which case you don't need to add any additional seasonings.

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin & 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or;
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning or;
• Greek seasoning or;
• Italian seasoning or;
• Etc.

Directions

In a food processor or blender, puree all the ingredients. If texture isn't quite hummus like, add a tablespoon at a time more yogurt until you get the right consistency. Serve with corn chips or pita bread.

Chicken Paprika

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless whole  chicken breasts

1/4 cup Paprika

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion, chopped

3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 or 2 cans chicken broth

16-ounce sour cream

1/4 flour

Pepper

Cooked noodles

Directions

Dredge chicken breasts in paprika until completely covered (use tongs as paprika will stain your hands.) Brown chicken breasts in butter until chicken is very browned; about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken breasts and set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion and garlic until the onion is just translucent (you may want to add a bit more butter if pan is too dry.) Add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape to loosen brown bits. Add the chicken breasts, cover and simmer until chicken is completely cooked; about 10 minutes.

Once chicken is cooked, remove breasts from pan and set aside - keep warm. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, flour, and pepper. This is where you can add more broth to the pan if you feel there isn't enough for a good amount of gravy. Wisk the sour cream mixture into the  pan and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Serve the chicken breast over pasta with liberal amounts of gravy.

Almond Joy Pie

Makes one 8 or 9 inch pie.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

1 Oreo cookie crust (I buy mine from the store instead of making my own.)

3 eggs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup almonds

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together until smooth the eggs, flour, sugar, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in shredded coconut. Pour mixture into pie shell. Lightly press the almonds into the top of the pie so there is a pretty almost asterisk type design. Bake 1 hour or until center is set.

Topping

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

4 tablespoons half-and-half

In a small saucepan on medium heat, bring half-and-half to almost boiling. Add the chocolate squares and stir until completely melted. Spread topping on the pie after pie has cooled about 45 minutes.

This is a modified recipe from an unknown source (meaning, I have had it so long I don't remember where I got it.)