Food... Family... & Hopscotch?

Pam was crowned our "Queen" for her Chicken Pot Pie recipe at our "SPICE OF LIFE" meeting in June.  It was very yummy  -  a definate keeper... especially for those colder months (coming a lot faster than I care to think about) when you are looking for good old comfort food!

Pam's winning recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie 

2 cups diced chicken

1 green or red pepper – diced

1 onion – diced

Cook these ingredients with a little water, garlic, Mrs Dash or seasoning of choice.

Add chicken mixture to:

2 cans of cream of potato soup

1 can Veg-All

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup shredded mozzarella

½ cup milk

½  tsp pepper

½ tsp thyme (important) 

Place a crust on bottom of pie pan -  pour in pie mixture.  Top with crust, slit for vent holes.

Cook 40 – 45 minutes @ 375  degrees. 

I often bake for 30 minutes, cook and freeze solid.  When I’m going to use it, I let thaw slowly at room temperature and bake 30 – 40 minutes @ 350 degrees.  Check to make sure crust is not getting too dark – cover edges if necessary. 

Let cool at least  10 minutes before serving.

July was our "Family & Friends" event where our invited guests were treated to our "PICNIC PICKINS" recipes. It was fun to stray from our normal meeting format and just visit and enjoy each others company, along with our families.

Cristie tweaking her recipe

Pam & Hailee voting for their favorite recipe

The highlight of the night was Pam drawing a hopscotch on the black top and showing us her mad hopscotch skills.  She even brought her own
 "Hoppy Taw"
in it's own tin!  She reminded us all of the rules and we all eventually tried our hand (or foot) at "kickouts".  I found that the older you get, balance is definately an issue... not to  mention the extra weight bearing down on that one foot!  I'm sure it was quite the site seeing us playing hopscotch. Hailee had never played  (I don't think she had ever heard of hopscotch) But she was a good sport and joined in the fun!

Pam drawing out the hopscotch- it was a lot bigger than I remember them being :-)



I believe Diana was the winner - she's still got it!



Not only was Pam our "Queen for a Day" she was the "Queen of Hopscotch" - check out the sweet hoppy taw!

March/April/May - "QUEENS" for a Day

I have not been very diligent on keeping up with the "Queens" and all the fun we've had. This post should get you all up to speed and hopefully trying out some of our delicious recipes. 

LORI is "Queen" for a day in  March - "LUCK O' THE IRISH"

Diana hosted the QUEENS in March and we had a fabulous time... what a beautiful home she has... and of course, was a fantastic HOSTESS!  We welcomed new member - SHELLY - she is a GREAT addition to our group and is perfect "QUEEN" material!

I was lucky enough to be crowned Queen for my POTATOE & LEEK bake in March for our IRISH cuisine.  While looking for recipes I discovered that the IRISH love their POTATOES... so I went with their version of "CHURCH" potatoes. It was very yummy and I had never used leeks before... it's basically like a HUGE green onion.

WINNING recipe for MARCH:

"Potato & Leek Bake"

5 tbsp. butter, divided

2 lg. leeks, sliced

2 tbsp. minced garlic

2 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled (about 4 medium)

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. milk

3 eggs

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 slices day-old dense white bread

2 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese

 - Preheat oven to 375F. Generously grease shllow 10 cup baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic. Cook and stir 8 to 10 minutes or until leeks are softened. Remove from heat; set aside.

 - Cut potatoes crosswise into 1/16 inch slices. Layer half the potato slices and top with half the leek mixture. Repeat layers. Whisk cream, milk, eggs, salt and pepper in medium bowl until well blended; pour over vegetables in the baking dish.

- To prepare bread crumbs, cut bread slices into 1 inch pieces and place in food processor; process until fine crumbs form. Measure 3/4 cup crumbs; place in a small bowl and mix with Parmesan cheese. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and add to crumb mixture; stir. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over vegetables.

- Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until top is golden and potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

CRISTIE wins the title in April   - "SENSATIONAL SALADS"

April's theme was "SENSATIONAL SALADS"  and that's exactly what we had. So many yummy salad recipes - but Cristie was definately the winner with her recipe for:

 "Oriental Chicken Salad"

Dressing INGREDIENTS:

6 TBS honey

3 TBS rice wine vinegar

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/16 tsp sesame oil 

SALAD:

Vegetable oil – for frying

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1 cup corn flake crumbs

2 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 boneless chicken breasts

6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce

2 cups chopped red cabbage

2 cups chopped Nappa cabbage

1 cup carrots - julienned or shredded

1 chopped red onion

1 pkg wontons

2 TBS sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS: 
- Preheat oil in fry pan at 350 degrees.   Blend together all ingredients for dressing in a bowl with electric mixer. Chill while you prepare salad.
- In a small shallow bowl beat  egg, add milk and mix well.

- In another bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt and pepper
- Cut chicken breast into strips,  Dip each strip first into egg mixture and then into flour mixture - coat completely.  Fry for 5 minutes or until coating has darkened to brown.
- Prepare salad by tossing lettuce, cabbages, onion, and carrots
- Fry wontons until medium brown – crumble, top salad with wontons and almonds.
- Toss prepared salad with dressing.

SHELLY was our hostess with the mostess for "MEXICAN FIESTA" in May - she made margaritas for all - what whould a fiesta be without MARGARITAS?  We had such a good time... she is a wonderful hostess - and of course the food was fabuloso!!!

DIANA was crowned for her winning recipe in May- "MEXICAN FIESTA"

Diana was crowned as our REIGNING Queen - and as you can see, she takes that TITLE very seriously! She won hands down with her recipe for:

"SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE"

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.
- Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.
- Bake in preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

ANNE hosted our "SPICE OF LIFE" this month at her home in Salt Lake. We decided to car pool - so we met at Pam's and piled in Diana's car and off we went. I can't tell you how much I ENJOY these ladies company... what a great group of QUEENS we have! Anne has just REMODELED her home and gave us all a tour... she has an older home in the "AVENUES" - she has done a beautiful job of remodeling... LOVE IT!

As always we enjoyed the three "F's":

FOOD

FUN

FABULOUS FRIENDS

Next month's theme is " PICNIC PICKINS " 
We have decided to make it a FAMILY & FRIENDS affair... should be tons of fun!

UPDATES to follow with a few more of our favorite recipes... so be sure and check back and see  what's been cookin' !

February CHOCOHOLICS/QUEEN FOR A DAY

February's theme was "CHOCOHOLICS"..and we had so many FANTASTIC recipes it was hard to choose. But HAILEE won hands down with her recipe for "CHOCOLATE COOKIE CHEESECAKE". HAILEE is our YOUNGEST member and a newlywed; she has made some AMAZING dishes (I bet her husband loves it too).

Way to go Hailee!

Hailee was crowned our February "Queen for a Day"!

HAILEE'S winning recipe for

Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine 2 cups cookie crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; firmly press mixture evenly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 10-inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 5 minutes; set aside.


2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/3 cup whipping cream, flour, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Pour 1/3 of batter into prepared pan. Top with 1 1/2 cups cookie pieces; pour in remaining batter.


3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove cake from oven. Combine sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; spread evenly on cheesecake. Continue baking for 7 minutes. Turn oven off and leave in oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake, and let cool completely on a wire rack.


4. Combine 1 cup whipping cream and chocolate chips in a saucepan; stir over low heat until chocolate melts, and then stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour mixture over cheesecake while still warm. Refrigerate until serving time. Should be at least 8 hours for refrigerator time, remove about 1/2 hour to 1 hour before serving, remove ring from spring form pan, decorate to choice and get out your fork!

We had RECIPES for, cream PUFFS, flour less chocolate CAKE, triple CHOCOLATE bundt cake, chocolate TURTLE pie, chocolate HERSHEY cool whip balls , and even a MEAT dish...Calzone Pie!

Here are a few more of the favorites:

Cristie's Cream Puffs

Pastry:

½ cup butter or margarine

1 cup water

¼ tsp salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Grease 2 cookie sheets. In a 2 qt pan over medium, heat butter, water and salt until butter mixture boil. Remove from heat. Add flour all at once. With a wooden spoon, vigorously stir until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan. Add eggs to flour mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition, until smooth. Cool mixture slightly. Using a large spoon and a rubber spatula, drop batter onto cookie sheet in 12 large mounds, 3 inches apart. Bake 50 minutes @ 375 F. Remove from oven, cut slit in side of each puff and return to oven for 10 minutes. Turn off oven, let puff dry out in oven for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Filling:

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cups milk

6 egg yolks

1 tsp almond extract

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

¼ cup sugar

In a 2 qt saucepan combine ¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup flour and ¼ tsp salt. Stir in 1 ½ cups milk. Over medium heat cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils, about 10 minutes; boil for 1 minute. In a small bowl, beat with fork – 6 egg yolks slightly; beat small amount of milk mixture into yolks, slowly pour egg mixture back into milk mixture, stirring. Cook over medium heat stirring until mixture thickens and coats spoon well – about 8 minutes (DO NOT BOIL). Remove from heat and add 1 tsp of almond extract. Stir. Cover with plastic wrap and shill for 2 hours. In a small bowl with mixer on medium speed, beat 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream and ¼ cup of sugar, Fold into custard.

FILL EACH PUFF WITH FILLING

GLAZE:

In a 1 qt sauce pan over low heat, melt 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate and 2 TBS butter stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup of powder sugar and 3 TBS milk until smooth. Pour over each puff.

Lauri's Chocolate Hershey Cool Whip Balls

8 oz Hershey Chocolate Bar w/ almonds

4 oz Cool Whip

Graham Cracker Crumbs

Break chocolate bar into pieces and microwave for about 40 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 15 seconds if necessary (let cool for short time)

Fold in cool whip.

(Variation: add orange zest (a little to taste) and tsp of *orange liquor) Caution: when adding liquor start with tsp to insure it does not harden (seize)

Drop spoonfuls for mixture into crumbs. Roll and freeze or refrigerate.

Variation to graham crackers – chocolate, crushed nuts, *coconut

*If using coconut for crumb mixture, substitute rum in place of orange liquor

These were very YUMMY and Lauri said you can FREEZE them! hmmm a freezer full of yummy CHOCOLATE balls...what's better than that?

Lori's Calzone Pie

*2 pounds frozen bread dough thawed

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup white wine
1 medium onion chopped - I used shallots
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate grated
1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds

3 egg whites stiffly beaten
1 yolk

1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp rosemary

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:
1. Sauté onion and garlic in a skillet.
2. Stir in the meat, then add cayenne, rosemary and parsley – salt to taste

3. Add the wine and let simmer until the liquid is evaporated.
4. Stir in the chocolate and almonds.
5. Let simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Fold in the beaten egg whites and remove from the heat.
7. Pat the bread dough into two equal circles.
8. Place one of the circles into a greased pie plate.
9. Pour in the meat mixture and top with the other circle of dough pressing to seal the edges.
10. Prick the top of the dough with a fork.
11. Brush top with beaten egg yolk and bake for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven

*I substituted the bread dough for refrigerator pizza dough and made individual servings rather than one pie. I found that using the bread dough was a little too bready (and I LOVE bread). I also added a little mozzarella cheese to mixture and brushed the tops with butter and sprinkled with McCormick's garlic bread sprinkle instead of the egg yolk.

Some useful TIPS we learned along the way:

TIP # 1: Chocolate hates the heat!

Chocolate scorches easily, so don't let it get too hot too fast...

The best way to control this is to melt the chocolate using a double boiler. If you aren't stocked with one, then fill a large pot with water and set a smaller pot inside the first. The water should be hot - NOT BOILING. Make sure to continuously stir the chocolate to keep the heat evenly distributed.

TIP #2: Water is not your friend!

When melting chocolate the water must be kept below simmering to prevent steam from curling up and hitting the chocolate. If steam gets into the melted chocolate it will immediately thicken (seize). If this happens, you can add 1 - 2 TBS vegetable shortening (NEVER use butter as it contains moisture)

Make sure your pot and your utensils are completely dry!

We are all having so much FUN...the "QUEENS" are such a GREAT group of ladies!

We have a NEW member and as you can see she fit right in!

This month's theme was "LUCK O' THE IRISH" and everyone came up with some FANTASTIC recipes. Tune in next month for our favorites!!!

UNTIL THEN...let's get cooking!

Jaunary "Queen for a Day"/Appeasing Appetizers

Last month our COOKING club had it's big DEBUT and we started off with "APPEASING APPETIZERS". There were so many GREAT recipes, but there can only be ONE winner.

At last nights meeting we CROWNED our cooking "Queen" who REIGNED over us for the rest of the evening...YES, I made her WEAR the CROWN all night!

CONGRATULATIONS ANNE!!!

Anne was the clear winner with her recipe for "Brie Pastry"

Brie Pastry

1 pkg puff pastry sheets (thawed to room temperature)

1 lb disk of Brie cheese

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar

Egg Wash

1 egg

1tsp water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll pastry sheet to 1/8 inch disk...cut off excess.

Slice off the top rind on the Brie disk and place in the center of the pastry sheet.

Top cheese with brown sugar and nuts. Fold up sides of dough to seal. You can use the excess dough for decorations.

Brush the sealed dough with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes. Let the cheese rest for 15-20 minutes before serving,.

Serve with crackers or fruit slices.

(This was sooooo YUMMY! I ate it with just a fork...no FRUIT!)

The following recipe was the only other one that received votes and very worthy of passing on.

ZESTY CHEEZY SAUSAGE CUPS

1 lb spicy sausage

6 green onions

1 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 - 12 oz whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup Colby jack cheese

1 cup garlic & butter bread crumbs

1 tsp paprika

1 cup chopped celery

brown sugar (optional) - Cristie puts brown sugar in everything!

1 pkg (6) Pillsbury buttermilk flaky grand refrigerator biscuits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Spray muffin cups with nonstick oil.

Pull each biscuit apart so there are 2

(1 pkg of 6 biscuits will make 12)

Press a biscuit in muffin cup and form up around sides (kind of like pie crust)

Brown sausage until done

Mix all other ingredients. Add sausage. Spoon about 1 TBS into each cup. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake for 10-13 minutes until crust is lightly brown on edge

Note: sausage may be substitued with bacon, chicken, turkey or crab.

Sorry, I didn't get any good pictures of either of these recipes last month...which I hope to remedy in the future.

We had our FEBRUARY meeting last night and had all sorts of WONDERFUL CHOCOLATE recipes. I think I will post them ALL, along with the WINNING recipe...they were so GOOD! You will have to wait until NEXT month to find out who our "QUEEN" will be, because the WINNER is a secret...sssshhhhhhh!

Next month's theme is 'LUCK O' THE IRISH"

The Birth of the "Queens"

I have never fancied myself a great cook, for that matter not even a mediocre cook. I truly never liked the whole "what to have for dinner" it totally stressed me out. I remember in Home EC in Jr High learning how to make things like "creamed peas on toast"...really who eats that stuff? As my kids were growing up, my culinary skills consisted of macaroni and cheese...(on special occasions, they would get it with cut up hot dogs), soup and bones, and grilled cheese sandwiches with jam; Ala my Grandma H. But as I've gotten older, I have discovered a love of cooking. I still do not like the whole "what to have for dinner" thing, but I really love trying out new things and looking for great recipes. Maybe it's because the kids are grown and I have more time on my hands, or maybe it's because I have a really appreciative husband who loves everything I cook for him and tells me what a great cook I am...who would've thought?

Anyway...I have been wanting to start a cooking club for awhile, mainly to just get together with some great friends, share recipes and learn from each other...and have a whole lot of fun while we're at it!

Thus - the birth of "The Cuisine Queens" Cooking Club

Our club had it's big debut on January 20, 2011 with potentially 12 members. Only 8 showed up for the first meeting and of those missing, 3 have since dropped out. Sometimes life gets in the way of having fun.

The first meeting was a big hit and we had a great time.

I will be using this forum to post the winning recipes, tips and tricks we learn along the way, and pictures (of course).