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Traditional Green Bean Casserole

11/12/2018

Ah, it's the beginning of Thanksgiving week and I trust you are planning your menu accordingly. Don't be stuck at the last minute completing recipes while your company enjoys themselves. Today is pie day!

Get all those favorite pies, baked, wrapped, and stored so that life will be easier on the big day.

Here's a few trustworthy favorites to include:
Fresh Ground Pumpkin Pie
Quick Coconut Cream Pie
Easy Chocolate Cream Pie
Ultimate Pecan Pie

You can also find these in our Holiday Cookbook.

At our local food bank Thanksgiving always arrives with a large food basket. Packed full in a laundry basket, all kinds of goodies can be had. I did note this year contained canned green beans and French's fried onions along with a sturdy can of mushroom soup. I've made the Classic Green Bean Casserole in previous years, but no one seemed to care for a second helping. This year my youngest son has prompted me to try it once again feeling this may be something he will enjoy now that he's older. So here goes an old family recipe.

2 cans green beans
1 can mushroom soup
1 tsp. soy a sauce
dash ground pepper
1/4 cup milk
1 can (2.8 oz.) French's French Fried Onion

Drain beans and place in heat proof serving container. Put oven on 350 degrees to warm up. In a small bowl mix soup, soy a sauce, pepper, and milk. Stir in 2/3 cup of the fried onions. Cook casserole for 25 minutes. Top with remaining onions the last five minutes of baking.

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Slow Cooker Pole Beans and Ham

11/12/2018

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Oh, snap! Pole beans were on sale at my local produce stand. At only $1,49 a pound, I decided to pick up some to make my famous pole beans and ham in the slow cooker.

Simple to make, all you have to do is chop everything and place it into a crock pot and let it simmer till dinner. Yum!

1 pound ham, cut into 1-inch cubes
Freshly ground black pepper
2 medium thinly sliced yellow onions
Salt
3 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cups chicken stock or water

In a crock pot add the ham, onions, and stock. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the beans and cook on low for 4-5 hours until beans are tender. Remove from the heat and reseason if necessary.

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Pork Chops Teriyaki and Veggies

11/4/2018

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Oh, yum! What an exquisite, quick treat this week. With pork loins on sale for as low as $1.69 a pound, you can bring one home and make several wonderful meals this month.

Give this one a try for a fast busy weeknight dinner.

2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 pound fresh baby carrots, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 boneless pork loin chops (6 ounces each)
4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
Toasted sesame seeds, optional

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 15x10x1-in. pan with foil; add broccoli and carrots. Toss with olive oil, ginger, pepper and salt; spread out into a single layer.

Place pork chops on top of vegetables; drizzle with teriyaki sauce. Bake until a thermometer inserted in pork reads 145°, about 30 minutes. If desired, preheat broiler; broil chops and vegetables 2-4 in. from heat until browned, 1-2 minutes. Top with sesame seeds if desired.

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Perfect Chicken Roaster

11/4/2018

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I landed a chicken roaster in my food pantry bag the other day. All 7 lb. of it! What a huge find when I unloaded at home. This big bird will be enough to host dinner tonight and leftovers to come.

This recipe makes the perfect bird. Too easily are we swayed into buying those tinier birds with little meat on their bones. Give this one a try when chickens are on sale and make some chicken salad sandwiches the next day.

1 six-pound roasting chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
2 lemons
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp. thyme
1 cup Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.

Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.

Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

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Traditional Green Bean Casserole

Slow Cooker Pole Beans and Ham

Pork Chops Teriyaki and Veggies

Perfect Chicken Roaster

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