1/3 cup margarine

1/3 cup flour (GF flour works great!)

2 ¼ milk (warmed in the microwave)

1/8 tsp. pepper

½ tsp. dry mustard

8 oz. shredded cheddar

3 Tbs. dried breadcrumbs (flavored are fine, or omit)

Additional cheese for sprinkling

8 oz. small pasta cooked (GF works well)

Start the pasta cooking before you make the cheese sauce.  In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt margarine.  With a wire
whisk or slotted spoon, stir in flour until well blended and smooth, cook for a couple of minutes.  Gradually add milk stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbling.  Add salt, pepper, mustard, and shreddedcheese.  Remove from heat and gradually stir in cooked pasta.  Pour mixture into a greased 13x9x2 or similar pan.   Sprinkle breadcrumbs and remaining cheese on the top.  Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes or until
bubbly.  This can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.  Then bake for approximately one hour or until bubbly.

So much better than the blue box!

For a nice variation, add chopped ham to the cheese sauce.

For Gluten Free mac and cheese, substitute GF pasta for the small pasta and use GF flour in place of the all purpose flour.  I usually omit the bread crumbs when I make this and we don’t miss it!

1/3 cup margarine

1/3 cup flour (GF flour works well)

2 ¼ milk (heated)

1/8 tsp. pepper

8 oz. shredded cheddar (double the original)

3 Tbs. dried breadcrumbs or crushed cereal (flavored are fine)

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt margarine.  With a wire whist or slotted spoon, stir in flour until well blended and smooth, cook for a couple of minutes.  Gradually add milk stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbling.  Add salt and pepper and shredded cheese.  Remove from heat and gradually stir in diced potatoes.  Pour mixture into a greased 13x9x2.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top.  Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes or until bubbly.  This can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.  Then bake for approximately one hour or until bubbly.

Tzatziki 

Variations

Turkish Cacık is the more diluted cousin of tzatziki, usually served as an accompaniment to meat, though it is suggested as a soup or a salad also. Usual ingredients are yogurt (from goat’s milk), cucumber, salt, garlic, and dried and crushed wild mint. When served as a meze (appetizer), it is of a thicker consistency, indistinguishable from tzatziki.

In Cyprus, the dish is known as talattouri (cf. tarator), and recipes often include less garlic and includes the herb mint, unlike the Greek counterpart.

In Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia, the same dish is served as an appetizer. During preparation, the yogurt is hung for several hours in a kerchief and loses about half of its water . The cucumbers, garlic, minced walnuts, salt and vegetable oil are then added.

Similar dishes in Iraq are known as jajeek, normally served as meze alongside alcoholic drinks, especially Arak, an Ouzo-like drink made from dates.

A variation in the Caucasus mountains, called ovdukh, uses kefir instead of the yogurt, thus creating a refreshing summer drink. This can be poured over a mixture of vegetables, eggs and ham to create a variation of okroshka, sometimes referred to as a ‘Caucasus okroshka’.

A similar dish is made in Iran, called mast-o-khiar literally meaning yogurt with cucumber. It is made using a thicker yogurt, which is mixed with sliced cucumber, garlic, and dill (sometimes chopped nuts are also added as a garnish). Iranians take the dish a step further, substituting shallots, called mast-o-moussir.

Cacık may also be compared with raita and pachadi in India, all are served as a refreshing appetizer along with other dishes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzatziki

Recipe

Tzatziki is usually made with yogurt, but if you prefer not to use yogurt you may substitute it for sour cream. Keep in mind that the yogurt needs to strain for about 8 to 10 hours, so it is best to start the preparation the day before you want to serve it. Some tzatziki recipes call for a bit of chopped dill or mint.

Ingredients

1 tub of plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic crushed
Half a cucumber
1 tablespoon of olive oil
a pinch of salt (or to your taste)
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Preparation

To begin you need to strain the yogurt. Place a cheese cloth or a few sturdy paper towels on a strainer and place the strainer in a bowl. Scope out the yogurt into the strainer and allow the water to strain for at least 8 to 10 hours in the fridge. Once the yogurt has been strained, discard the excess water and place the yogurt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the crushed garlic to the yogurt. Peel the cucumber, slice it in half, remove the seeds, and shred the cucumber using a cheese grater. Squeeze out any excess water from the cucumber and add it the yogurt mixture. Add the olive oil, salt, and fresh lemon juice. Stir the mixture well. Garnish with an olive or a slice of lemon.

Source: thursdayfordinner.com

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

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Vampire Ascending

by Lorelei Bell

Sabrina Strong is a Touch Clairvoyant who knows a secret. She knows her mother was turned into a vampire when Sabrina was ten. Now that she is grown up, a powerful magnate in the Chicago business world hires her to reveal the identity of who relentlessly murders vampires in his ultra-modern stronghold of a hotel. [Read More...] – Including an excerpt of the first chapter.

Vampire Ascending is now available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

I am on the gluten free diet and I have subscribed to several web sites who send me recipes, some weekly and some less frequently.  One is www.glutenfreechecklist.com and the recipes come daily and some are very interesting.  A few days ago I got one for “Easy Garlic-Basil Chicken” and gave it a try tonight.  I changed things up a bit for Garlic Basil Chicken, using boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in, and marinated the chicken instead of just coating, but all in all, it was a big hit – moist, flavorful, and easy.  It will be added to the recipe favorites we cook often.  The little guy cleaned his plate…

Another issue when one is gluten free is the use of packaged foods.  Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out if a product truly is gluten free.  I am lucky - I can eat gluten and not have a reaction (usually, anyway).  But I do try to eat as gluten free as much as I can and save the cheating for something I really want.  Pudding is one of my favorite desserts and before the diet, we often had Jello instant pudding as a dessert.  Quick, easy, and ready on a whim before supper, it was the perfect quick dessert.  But Kraft won’t tell me in easy terms if it is gluten free.  As a result, I don’t make it often.  But we love pudding.  I’ve tried a couple of homemade recipes, but they are often cumbersome and take too many steps and take too long to cool. The flavor is either too intensely chocolate or anemic.  Another gluten free website that I get recipes from is www.befreeforme.com and I found a terrific gluten free Chocolate Pudding there.  It’s rich, creamy, and delicious.  Try it and I guarantee that you’ll enjoy it as much as we did!

For more information see my cooking blog at Susan M. Voss’ Cooking Blog.

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Queen of Misfortune

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Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbs. dried basil leaves

Coarse salt and fresh round pepper to taste

1 Tbs. lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Cut each chicken breast into two pieces and pound thin.  Salt and pepper each side and place in marinade of the remaining ingredients.  Allow to sit in marinade for 30 minutes to an hour.  Heat a little olive oil in a nonstick pan.  Add chicken, brown, and cook through, 10-20 minutes.  Serve.  Enjoy!

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Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

Now Available As Paperback And Kindle Edition!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

½ cup sugar

2 Tbs. corn starch

2 cups milk

1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate (mini chips work well)

1 egg, lightly beaten, in a bowl

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium sauce pan.  Add milk slowly while whisking until well blended.  Continue whisking over medium heat and add the chocolate slowly.  Bring to a boil and continue whisking for five minutes.  Add the hot mixture to the egg slowly, return to pan, and continue stirring until thick and bubbly (about 45 seconds).  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour into dishes and cover with plastic wrap touching the top of the pudding.  Refrigerate and serve.

For more information see my cooking blog at Susan M. Voss’ Cooking Blog

Last night was a totally different meal.  As I haven’t managed to check out our favorite Chinese restaurant’s gluten free offerings, I’ve missed Asian food.  With the wonderful discovery of gluten free soy sauce (Tamari), I can cook an Asian meal we all enjoy.  Last night I marinated chicken breast in a marinade I usually use for pork tenderloin. It is a combination of onion, garlic, soy sauce, and other ingredients that get combined in the food processor and poured over (this time) chicken strips.  They marinated while I made the rice (with carrots) and I pan fried them in a little olive oil.  Combined with teriyaki rice, they came out great and there were no leftovers.

Tomorrow will be a pork roast with a salt marinade, but what to have with it?  Hmmmmm…  Stay tuned!

See the beef stew recipe at Beef Stew Recipe

For more information see my cooking blog at Susan M. Voss’ Cooking Blog

1 pound stew beef

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

4 carrots

4 potatoes

flour

red wine

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft, making sure to not brown onion.  Add garlic for about a minute along with some paprika (I like Hungarian), add stew beef, cut into bite size pieces and rolled in flour.  Brown meat.  Add red wine to deglaze the pan (1-2 cups).  Cover the meat mixture with water and add Gravy master.  Put in carrots and potatoes.   Add salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook for 2-3 hours.  Serve with biscuits!

If you omit the paprika, add about a teaspoon of thyme with the carrots and potatoes.

For more information see my cooking blog at Susan M. Voss’ Cooking Blog

Monday night I needed a quick supper – my two year old had decided not to nap, and we were all tired and he needed to go to bed soon after supper.  I had taken out some chicken and wanted something quicker than making chicken  fingers (always a good seller in our house) so I marinated chicken strips in Italian dressing and then pan fried them.  I served them with steamed potatoes with dill and some frozen mixed vegetables.  We were all full, and bed was not as late as it might have been!

Tonight I used the leftover roast beef from Sunday night and made beef in gravy and served it over mashed potatoes with corn.  Another easy but delicious meal.  My gravy was made with gluten-free flour so the meal was gluten-free.  When I was a child, we often had a fricassee of chicken, turkey, or beef and it was served in the same way – first the mashed potatoes were put in the center of the plate, corn was dished on top of the potatoes, and the whole thing was topped with the meat and gravy.   Fot my son, I usually put each part of the meal separately on the plate.  Tonight I dished his as I dished ours – in a lovely pile!  He loved it and ate almost every bite.  Not a bad recommendation from the little guy!

Tomorrow – a pasta day!

See the recipe at Best Chicken Fingers – Even Gluten Free

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by Lorelei Bell Sabrina Strong is a Touch Clairvoyant who knows a secret. She knows her mother was turned into a vampire when Sabrina was ten. Now that she is grown up, a powerful magnate in the Chicago business world hires her to reveal the identity of who relentlessly murders vampires in his ultra-modern stronghold of a hotel. [Read More...] – Including an excerpt of the first chapter.

Vampire Ascending is now available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

2/3 cup pancake mix (Bisquick or gluten free pancake mix both work great)

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp salt or garlic salt

½ tsp paprika

2-3 boneless, skinless breasts cut into ½ inch strips

1 egg slightly beaten

3 Tbs. butter or margarine melted

Heat oven to 400°, line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with Pam.

Mix first four ingredients in a zip lock bag.  Dip chicken strips into beaten egg, shake in pancake mixture.  Place on cookie sheet and repeat with the rest of the chicken strips.  Drizzle melted margarine over the chicken.

Bake 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Serve with your favorite sauce.

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Vampire Ascending

by Lorelei Bell Sabrina Strong is a Touch Clairvoyant who knows a secret. She knows her mother was turned into a vampire when Sabrina was ten. Now that she is grown up, a powerful magnate in the Chicago business world hires her to reveal the identity of who relentlessly murders vampires in his ultra-modern stronghold of a hotel. [Read More...] – Including an excerpt of the first chapter.

Vampire Ascending is now available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Friday night was pizza night!  Wilfried’s dough recipe is simple and really good.  For the tomato sauce, I use the food processor and a can of diced tomatoes – whatever flavor you like!  We had sausage pizza and then salami pizza.  Yummy!

Tonight was one of my favorite soups – St. Patrick’s Cheddar Potato Soup.  I made it in the afternoon and then kept it in the slow cooker to keep it warm.  When we got back from church, it was warm and ready to eat.  The little boy had skipped his nap this afternoon and was visibly tired but he scarfed down a nice sized bowl of the soup before bed.  It was warm, filling, and perfect on a cold New England night!

See the recipes at St. Patrick’s Cheddar Potato Soup, Friendship Soup

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Vampire Ascending

by Lorelei Bell Sabrina Strong is a Touch Clairvoyant who knows a secret. She knows her mother was turned into a vampire when Sabrina was ten. Now that she is grown up, a powerful magnate in the Chicago business world hires her to reveal the identity of who relentlessly murders vampires in his ultra-modern stronghold of a hotel. [Read More...] – Including an excerpt of the first chapter.

Vampire Ascending is now available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Layer the following ingredients in a 1 ½ pint jar in the order listed:

½ cup dry split peas (yellow or green)

1/3 cup beef bullion granules

¼ cup pearl barley

½ cup dry lentils

¼ cup dry minced onion

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ cup uncooked long grain rice

½ cup small macaroni

Seal jar tightly.

To prepare soup:

Remove macaroni from the top of the jar and set aside.

In Dutch oven brown one pound of ground beef and drain.

Add 3 quarts of water.

Add one can (28oz.) diced tomatoes

Add soup ingredients.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat – cover and simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add macaroni – cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Yields 16 servings – about 4 quarts.

If you like it, pass it along!

To make this gluten-free, omit the barley and add extra lentils or split peas, use gluten-free broth or bullion, and add any small gluten-free pasta.  Our local grocery store carries a small pasta called “Veggie Curls” that work really well in this soup.

4 potatoes

4 carrots

4 Tbs. margarine

3 cans beef stock

1 –2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ tsp. thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup milk

5 oz. shredded cheddar

Clean, peel, and dice vegetables.  Melt margarine in a soup pot and sauté the vegetables lightly for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add stock, garlic, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil and then cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup, either in a blender and return to the pot, or use a hand blender. Add milk and cheese and reheat the soup but do not allow it to boil.  Serve hot.

2 sticks of softened margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

3 cups Quaker oats (combination of old fashioned and quick cooking)

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walmuts

Heat oven to 350°.  Beat margarine and sugars until creamy then add eggs and vanilla.  Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins, and nuts. Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown.  Cool for one minute on the cookie sheet and then move to a cooling rack.

Wicked good!

Make This Recipe Gluten-Free:

For gluten free cookies, half the recipe and substitute GF flour mix for the all purpose flour.  The texture is different, but the taste is good!

1 pacakge frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)

12 basil leaves

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds

1-2 large clove garlic, quartered

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil or cooking oil

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until a paste forms.  Scrape the bowl of the food processor several times.  Then stream in the olive oil until the consistency of butter.

In the meantime, cook pasta (angel hair works well).  Add ½ cup of pasta water to the pesto and mix.

When pasta is cooked, toss with pesto and serve.

A few weeks ago I tried a new recipe on a Friday.  It was for Spinach Basil Pesto Pasta.  Spinach has never been one my favorite foods.  Although I did try (and love) a nice spinach salad with goat cheese and walnuts.  But cooked spinach has never been in my menu planning.

I have a two year old.  And I like to try to make a nice balanced supper for him.  I want to introduce him to a variety of foods.  So I thought that feeding him some pasta with some spinach would be a terrific idea.  He already loves pasta.  When I made the pesto, we all loved the aroma.  And we all loved the pasta.  Wow.  Who would have thought it? I used walnuts and served it on gluten free pasta for me (spaghetti) and regular for the boys (angel hair).  The pesto actually mixed better with the gluten free than the regular.   But both received rave reviews!

That was supper tonight.  You know it’s a good recipe when you make it more than once!  Give it a try – you might like it!

See the recipe at http://frogenyozurt.com/2011/04/spinach-basil-pesto-pasta/

Thursday night was a good night for the slow cooker.  I had some chicken thighs in the refrigerator and we hadn’t had Lemon Chicken in quite a while.  The meat fell off the bones and the sauce was sweet and sour and just right.  Served over arborio rice with a side of green beans, it was a quick but delicious dinner.

Saturday evenings we go to church.  We’re lucky that our church has a quiet, evening service and that most of the regulars like our little guy (who can get energetic some evenings).  We’re usually done and on the way home by 6:30 but with the little guy’s bed time at 7:30, I need to have supper ready to eat when we get home.  Eating beforehand would be better, but usually not practical.  So soup in the slow cooker is a great compromise.  This week was Goulash Soup, something we had in Germany a few years ago and I’ve tried hard to recreate.  The meat comes out so tender and the flavors meld wonderfully.  I tried this recipe in the slow cooker and was disappointed.  Even though it cooked on high for 7-8 hours, the potatoes were done, but not as done as I like them to be.  Next time I would cook the soup in the Dutch oven and then transfer it to the slow cooker to keep it warm.  Live and learn!

Sunday is the day I try to make a nice meal and we slow down and eat in the dining room.  Tonight was a pork roast with a salt marinade.  I marinate it the night before if possible and then all I have to do is wipe off some of the marinade, put it on a rack in a foil lined pan and pop it in the oven.  Quick, easy, and yummy.  The little guy cleaned his plate except for the roasted potatoes.  He finished all the broccoli, all the pork (chicken, as he calls it), and a good portion of the applesauce.  A nice end to the weekend.

What’s in store for next week? Stayed tuned!

See my recipe at Lemon Chicken

6-7 pound roasting chicken

Remove bag with neck etc. and then rinse and dry chicken.  Place on rack (sprayed with cooking spray) in a roasting pan.  Pour about 2 tsp. salt and some herb and garlic seasoning (I like McCormick’s) into the cavity and rub into the inside of the bird.  Tie the legs together.  Rub olive oil into the skin and generously sprinkle with the seasoning and poultry seasoning.  Place roasting pan in the oven with the legs toward the back of the oven.  Roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (or until meat thermometer registers 170).  Remove from oven and cover with foil for 15 minutes.  Cut and serve.  Great with mashed potatoes and gravy, and glazed carrots.

As a meat lover, I like roasts.  A few years ago I started roasting chickens and we all love it.  My two and a half year old LOVES chicken and will eat as much of it as we will give him.  Tonight he kept asking for (and getting) dark meat from my husband and devouring it.  I’m a white meat fan so they can fight over the dark meat.  I don’t mind!

For me, this is a nice way to start the week.  I may do some “easier” meals during the week, but all in all we start off with a nice meal on Sunday night.  Great family time.  And now I’ve got leftovers to transform later in the week!

Enjoy!

See my recipe at Roasted Chicken

This past week started with my very favorite chicken soup – a recipe from my Irish grandmother.

My husband swears that this helps his yearly cold, and the little one loves it.  Hope that you like it, too!

See the recipe at Chicken Soup

St. Patrick Irish Cheddar Soup

• 4 potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 4 Tbs. margarine
• 3 cans beef stock
• 1 –2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp. thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup milk
• 5 oz. shredded cheddar

Clean, peel, and dice vegetables.  Melt margarine in a soup pot and sauté the vegetables lightly for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add stock, garlic, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil and then cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup, either in a blender and return to the pot, or use a hand blender. Add milk and cheese and reheat the soup but do not allow it to boil.  Serve hot.