St. Patrick's Day ~ Deli Style

What do you do with leftover corned beef after your

St. Patrick's day boiled dinner?

Truthfully, I wouldn't know...

I don't think we've ever had leftover corned beef.

My family LOVES corned beef!

St Patrick's Day has some things in common 

with Thanksgiving, we want leftovers!  

This corned beef sandwich fills the bill. 

It's not a Reuben, because I don't like sauerkraut.

This is a sandwich I enjoyed 

when I was growing up.

I don't think we lived near an Irish community ~ 

at least I wasn't aware of it.

But we did live near a Jewish community.

And they had the best corned beef sandwiches around!

This sandwich is my version 

of the sandwiches I ate as a kid ~

in fact my sister still brings me 

sandwiches like this when she visits.

Here's how I put it together:

 I buy good deli corned beef (you could use leftover corned beef if you're lucky enough to have some), good rye bread, Swiss cheese, cole slaw, mustard and Thousand Island dressing. And it doesn't hurt to have a good quality deli dill pickle to round things out.

I start by putting mustard on both slices of bread.

I pile one side with corned beef and one side with Swiss cheese. Now if you were at a real Jewish deli the corned beef would be piled at least twice this high (no wonder those sandwiches cost so much ~ they have about a half a pound of meat on them!), but I put enough on to be decadent without spoiling my enjoyment with guilt.

I like my sandwich a little warm so I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. You may want to toast your bread and just warm the meat. It's really just a matter of taste ~ I would recommend the meat warmed.

I spread a thin layer of cole slaw on top of the cheese. This is my wimpy version of sauerkraut...but it is sweet and tastes good! On top of the cole slaw I put a thin layer of thousand island dressing ~ I didn't get a picture of that because I am a dork and I forgot!

I served it up with a thick and salty deli dill spear. Now this is the way to use up corned beef leftovers...or celebrate St. Patrick's Day ~ Deli Style!!

How do you use up your leftover corned beef? Sandwiches? Hash?

New Dining Room Chairs

I've been waiting 23 years.

And I am not a particularly patient person.

I was thinking about that the other day when GoodMan and I finally ordered eight dining room chairs to go with the oak double-pedestal claw-foot table we purchased when we bought our house in 1989. When we bought that table we never considered we'd wait 23 years to purchase the chairs to go with it.

 Ours is a "Yours, Mine, and Ours" family, and in those days we were in the midst of the hectic, challenging, and expensive years of raising 5 teenage boys and one preschooler. We'd just been through an arduous move that required us to put our belongings into storage and first camping, and later staying at a run down hotel for all of the summer and into the early fall. The only thing that kept me going during those crazy days was knowing the home we were moving into was perfect for our big and busy family.

 The furniture from our old house was hand-me-downs and garage sale finds. Knowing we would have to pay to move the furniture three hours north, and then pay to store the furniture until we would take possession of our new house, we decided to give away almost everything. It didn't hurt that our old furniture was very worn and ugly and we felt flush with the cash from the sale of our old house. At the time it seemed we'd be able to furnish the new house easily with auction finds and of course watch for nice items at garage sales.

 Those long hot summer days at the campground, as we waited for our house to become available to us, provided ample opportunity for us to drive around and explore our new community. One day GoodMan and I took a more extended drive and happened upon an oak furniture "showroom" out in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. We both fell in love with the beautiful oak table taking up most of the outbuilding on a farm back in the woods. It was expensive, and we knew we couldn't afford to buy all of our furniture new, but we decided to splurge on one beautiful big showpiece.

  I don't remember talking about chairs that day, but we probably did. I know we didn't have the finances to even consider buying 8 matching chairs as well as all the other furniture and appliances we needed to purchase for the new house. A popular decorating style back then was a mix-or-match style. We determined we would buy oak chairs at auctions and garage sales one at a time and end up with a unique eclectic dining set. Well...it didn't work out as well as we hoped. It was hard to find oak chairs in good condition. The only time people wanted to get rid of a piece of oak furniture was when it was in need of major repair. When we did find one it was about as expensive as new. At the same time we had 8 people in need of chairs to sit at the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 About this time my parents were downsizing their home for a move of their own. They offered us four ladder-back pine chairs with rush seats. The chairs had seen a lot of wear and tear, and they were not at all what we were hoping for, but they would work as we searched for the "perfect" chairs for our eclectic dining set. We bought other chairs in various stages of disrepair and tried to keep our family seated around the beautiful table. Over the years a combination of hand-me-downs, garage sales and even a foray into Craigslist kept chairs around the table, but we never achieved the eclectic oak dining set we were hoping for.  

 We considered buying new chairs every once in a while, but something else always seemed more important. In the early years it was growing boys in need of jeans and tennis shoes, then it was varsity jackets, graduation pictures, and class rings. As the years passed it became vacations, mission trips, weddings, and grandchildren.

 As I looked back on the 23 years we've waited for dining chairs, at first I wondered why we waited so long for something so basic. But in reality we had the basics covered all the time. Don't get me wrong. We plan to enjoy the new chairs. GoodMan and I will enjoy them as we eat dinner together and share the highlights of our days, and we'll enjoy them when our sons and their wives play card games late into the night during holiday sleepovers, and we'll enjoy them as our grandchildren gather around the table to color Easter eggs, carve pumpkins, or decorate Christmas cookies.

 And I will remember the chairs are not what really matters to me 

~ I've proven that for 23 years!

 

(I do have to admit though,

I am looking forward to 

matching chairs!)

6 weeks until chair delivery day... 

Fresh Strawberry Pie ~ No Sugar Added

I remember when I was a little girl

my dad would take me to Blazo's Pie Shoppe.

 They had a fresh strawberry pie that looked like this.

And Big Boy serves a pie that looks a lot like this.

But this pie has one feature neither of 
the other pies had...

This pie has no sugar added.

And an added feature is how easy it is to make...

And I don't have to drive to another town
 to get a piece.

But the very best thing about this pie...

It tastes so good!

Let me show you how I made it:

 I made two pies. This recipe is very easy to double, triple, quadruple, hey ~ you could make a 100 of these and go into the fresh strawberry pie business!
Anyway, I bought frozen Marie Callender's pie shells because they are every bit as good as any I've ever made and they are so much easier. I baked them according to the package directions. The original recipe called for a graham cracker crust. Without hesitation my family will tell you a regular crust is much better!

I washed 3 quarts of strawberries and then cut off the tops and sliced them into large chunks. The original recipe calls for one quart of strawberries per pie, but I upped that amount to 1 1/2 quarts for each pie because I like the way the pie tastes with more berries, and I like the look of the pie mounded high with berries.

For the glaze that holds the berries together I used one box of sugar free strawberry jello, one box of sugar free cook & serve vanilla pudding mix and 2 cups of water for each pie. Instead of adding all the ingredients in one pan I used two saucepans to make sure I wouldn't have a problem with cooking times.

I stirred one box of jello and one box of pudding along with 2 cups of water in each saucepan on medium heat and continued to stir and cook until it came to a boil. At that point I turned the timer on for 5 minutes and continued to stir and cook until the timer went off. This was pretty tricky with two pans going at the same time, but it was do-able.

 When the time was up I poured the hot glaze mixture over the chopped strawberries and then spooned the glazed berries into the cooked pie shells. It is better to spoon the berries into the pie shells because if you just dump them in or try to pour them in it tends to make a mess. Afterward I use a small spoon to try to arrange the berries attractively and make a mound. Then I spooned in as much of the glaze that remained in the bowl as would look nice ~ without making it overflow.
 At this point I refrigerated it for about 4 hours and the gelatin firms up tight and makes it easy to slice the pie. I don't have a picture of a slice because I took the pies to a dinner I was attending and I didn't have good light for my camera (boo~hiss).

This is what my two pretty pies looked like. All they need is a dollop of whipped topping...it was really hard to leave the leftovers for my hosts...but I was good! I'll just have to make them again soon!!


This is my official recipe for one fresh strawberry pie ~ no sugar added


one pie crust, baked (I like Marie Callendar's)
1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped and green tops removed
1 small box sugar free strawberry jello
1 small box sugar free cook & serve vanilla pudding (not instant)
2 cups water
whipped topping 

In a medium saucepan, combine jello, pudding mix, and water. Stir and cook over medium heat. When mixture comes to a boil, stir and cook an additional 5 minutes. Pour warm mixture over strawberries and spoon into pie shell. Mound and arrange strawberries attractively. Spoon any remaining glaze over the mounded berries. Do not overfill (there may be glaze left over). 
Chill for 4 hours or more.
Serve with whipped topping.


What was the taste testers bottom line?
This is a family favorite. I've made a few changes (regular crust instead of graham cracker crust, increased the amount of berries), but my family is so happy with the flavor I've never felt the need to make this with anything other than sugar free jello and sugar free pudding.


The bottom line: Make this whenever fresh strawberries are on sale!

No Peek Chicken and Wild Rice

When I was working full time and trying to put dinner on the table every night I was always looking for meals I could put together either before work, or during my lunch hour and then cook them in the oven or in a crock pot while I was working so I could come home to dinner already done. I wish I had this recipe back then.


This is another Pinterest find. It comes from a blog called Thrifty Decorating. I was intrigued by the title, and then reading about it I found it is a recipe that is assembled and then baked without any attention for 2 1/2 hours. Back in my working days I would have prepared it with frozen chicken and put it in the oven and program my oven to bake while I was at work. These days I can put it in the oven and then run errands or work on other projects around the house.


Instead of typing out the official recipe I will direct you to the recipe on the Thrifty Decorating blog because I didn't make any additions or changes to it (although I will tweak it in the future ~ see my taste tester notes), but let me show you how I did it:

I gathered the ingredients; chicken breast tenders, one box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix ~ original style, one can of cream of chicken soup, and one can of cream of celery soup. I also added two soup cans of water.

I lightly greased a 9x13 glass pan and then mixed the rice, soups and water. I used a whisk so there were no lumps left in the soup.

I arranged the chicken tenders on top of the soup/rice mixture.

And then I tightly covered the baking pan with foil and put it in the oven set to 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours...

NO PEEKING!

But boy, oh boy...does the house ever smell good!!

When I removed the foil this is what I found. The aroma is so intoxicating...I can't wait to dig in!

This is what it looked like on my plate...at least for a few minutes! It didn't last long.


What was the taste tester's bottom line?
This was very good. The aroma was so wonderful, it was hard to wait until the timer went off. In the future I will probably serve this with cranberry sauce because I thought it could use the color. Also, I will probably put in another 1/2 cup of white rice and one more cup of water because I found it was just a little salty and we were scooping under other pieces of chicken to find more rice  ~ maybe we're just big rice eaters?


The bottom line: I'll keep this in mind for days when I don't have time to fuss with a meal. It would be a great meal to fix for company.

  

Stuffed Shells Taco-Style

Look at what I brought back from yet another trip to Pinterest-Land...

Yummy-cheesy-sweet-spicy stuffed shells taco-style.

I found this little island of awesomeness on a blog called

The Way to His Heart 

It got great reviews, so I decided to try it for myself.

I'll show you how I made it:

I gathered the ingredients; jumbo pasta shells, ground beef, taco seasoning, cream cheese, salsa, taco sauce, cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, sliced black olives, and sliced green onion tops (I didn't end up using the sour cream pictured here).

I browned the ground beef on top of the stove...it was weird not adding my usual chopped onion...I wondered if I would miss it...but I didn't.

 You know what comes next...drain baby, drain...

 I put the browned ground beef back in the pan and added the taco seasoning and the water called for on the package.

Then I added 1/2 package of cream cheese and stirred until the cheese melted.

When the cheese melted I took the pan off the burner and let it cool as I cooked the jumbo shells according to the package directions.

I spread 1 1/2 cups of salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking pan.

When the shells were done cooking I drain them and rinsed them with cool water. Then I separated them on a board so they would not stick together.

I filled the shells with the cooled ground beef mixture and placed them opening side up on top of the salsa in the baking pan.

I poured the taco sauce on top of the stuffed shells. I never heard of taco sauce until I saw this recipe. I found it in my little local grocery store near the enchilada sauce. The brands I saw come in jars (I expected it to come in a can.)

I covered it with foil and baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

After it cooked for 1/2 hour I took it out, and put cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, sliced black olives and sliced green onion on top. I put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

And this is the beautiful finished dish...

And this is what it looks like served on a plate with a side salad. Mmmm...


This is the official recipe for Stuffed Taco Shells:


18 jumbo pasta shells
1 pound lean ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
4 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/3 cup sliced black olives
2 tablespoons sliced green onion tops


Cook jumbo pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain, set aside.
Brown ground beef. Drain.
Add taco seasoning packet and water according to package directions.
Add cream cheese and stir until melted.
Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Pour salsa into 9x13 glass pan and spread to cover the bottom.
Fill shells with cooled meat mixture and place on top of the salsa with the open side up.
Pour taco sauce over the top.
Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Uncover, sprinkle cheeses over the top, add olives and green onion.
Bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered.
Serve with sour cream, guacamole, or side salad


What was the taste tester's bottom line?
GoodMan and I really enjoyed this dish. It has a little spice, but that can be controlled by the type of taco seasoning and salsa used. I am not a big fan of spicy foods and I enjoyed it. I served ours with a side salad which may have reduced the spicy sensation.

The bottom line: This is a good recipe for family gatherings and pot luck dinners. I plan to make this again. I will freeze half so that I can make two meals at once.

Lemon Angel Bars with Raspberry Sauce

This pretty little dessert is the result of a Pinterest marathon.

Some days I get sucked into Pinterest, 
and it's a wonder anything else gets done around my house.

It caught my interest because it is a cake without a traditional frosting.
 Some of my taste testers are anti-frosting, 
so I always look for treats to fit their tastes.

I'll show you how I made it and then 
I'll let you know what my taste testers thought about it.

The cake itself couldn't be easier. There are only two ingredients, an angel food cake mix and a can of lemon pie filling.

 I stirred the two ingredients together in a bowl and then I transferred the mixture onto a 10x15 baking sheet that I had sprayed very lightly with PAM.

 I baked it for 20 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. It came out golden brown on top. Immediately after removing it from the oven I sprinkled it with powdered sugar and set it aside to cool.

I cut the cake into squares and put two small squares on a plate.

I warmed a can of raspberry pie filling (in a bowl in the microwave) and spooned it over the lemon bars. Then I added a dollop of whipped topping.

That's it!

Pretty and easy...

but what did the taste tester's think?

 What was the taste tester's bottom line?

 I originally planned to make just lemon angel bars. They were okay, but the lemon flavor is not super strong and the texture is sort of spongy (from the angel food cake mix). I decided they needed something to make them a little more special. I had a can of raspberry pie filling in my pantry so I warmed it up. It makes a very pretty presentation and it was a great compliment to the lemon cake. My taste testers were very impressed. The littlest ones came up to me on the sly so their parents wouldn't see and asked if I would leave the leftovers (like I don't always?)...Shhhh...with a wink, I said "sure!"

The bottom line: Such an easy recipe, and it looks so special and went over so well...it's a keeper!

 

Pineappe Upside Down Muffins

 

Oh my goodness!

Look at those lovely muffins!

Aren't they cute!

Actually they're quite gorgeous!

I saw some cakes like these on Pinterest

and just had to try them myself.

I needed a dessert to take to a family dinner,

and 12 servings would be perfect!

I used my own "recipe" (actually one of those "eyeball-it" type recipes) 

and tried them out on some of my favorite taste testers.

Follow me as I show you how it's done...

 

I gathered the ingredients...first thing you should know is I "doctor" up box cake to make it taste homemade. I read a comment on another blog. The person commenting said she used to work for a European baker. The baker told her box cake mixes make a good base, but he taught her to always add one egg to the amount called for on the box, to substitute melted butter for the amount of oil called for, and substitute milk for the water. I have used this formula and it works wonderfully for what I would call "substantial" cakes. I would not use that if I wanted a light and fluffy cake, but it works wonderfully for cupcakes and upside down cakes and any other rich cake.

I mixed the cake with the change in ingredients (extra egg, substitute butter for oil, and substitute milk for water). The batter is thicker than normal cake-mix batter.

 I prepared jumbo** muffin pans by putting in a tablespoon of melted butter and a little less than a tablespoon of brown sugar in each muffin spot, and then I stirred the two ingredients together.

 I put one pineapple ring on top of the butter/brown sugar mixture in each muffin spot and put a Maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. I found that one can of pineapple rings has 8 or 9 rings, so I had to open a second can.

 I used an ice cream scoop to add the cake batter to each muffin space. I filled each cup about 3/4 of the way full. After filling the muffin pans I still had leftover cake batter and since I had opened a second can of pineapple I also had that left over. I decided to make a small cake with the leftover ingredients.

 I just covered the bottom of a small glass dish with melted butter and brown sugar, then arranged the pineapple and cherries on top.

  When I had an arrangement I liked I covered the fruit with the remaining cake batter. Then I put the cake and the muffins in the oven at 350 degrees.

I removed the muffins first. I checked to make sure the cake was done by pressing down on the center and watching for it to bounce back. I let them cool for 10 minutes, then I loosened them by running a knife under the edges and put them on a tray by setting the tray on top and flipping them over. There is some "sauce", but it is absorbed as the cakes cool.

 Each little individual cake was like a beautiful little flower on a plate!

I checked the small cake the same way ~ by watching for the "bounce-back" when I pressed the center. I let it cool for 10 minutes and then flipped it out onto a foil covered piece of cardboard because I planned to send it home with my daughter-in-law (but she forgot to take it home so GoodMan and I had leftover cake to last for a couple of days!)

The official "recipe" for individual pineapple upside down muffins:

Yellow cake mix
eggs (one more than the cake mix box calls for)
butter (amount to replace oil called for on the cake mix box as well as an additional 2 sticks for the "sauce"
milk (amount to replace the water called for on the cake mix box)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, divided
2 cans pineapple rings in juice
Maraschino cherries


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Mix cake using an extra egg, melted butter to replace the oil called for on the box recipe, and milk to replace the water called for on the box recipe.
Melt 2 sticks of butter.
Put 1 tablespoon butter and one tablespoon of brown sugar in each jumbo* muffin space (reserve remaining butter and sugar).
Place one pineapple ring and one Maraschino cherry in each muffin space.
Cover the fruit with cake batter. Fill each muffin space 3/4 full.
Use the remaining butter, sugar, fruit, and cake batter to make an additional small cake (6x8).
Bake at 350 degrees until cake bounces bake when pressed in the center ~ approximately 30 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes before turning cakes over onto a tray.

**You can use a regular size muffin pan, but you will need to use pineapple chunks instead of rings because the rings don't fit in the smaller pans.

What was the taste tester's bottom line? 

My grandchildren LOVED these! They like having their own individual cakes, and the jumbo size was a hit too! GoodMan and I enjoyed the unexpected leftovers!

The bottom line: Keep all ingredients on hand for a special treat for family gatherings.