Cabbie’s Cooking

This recipe is from my sister, Joan.

Fruit Smoothie

8 ounces skim milk (or same amount of orange juice
1/3 cup powdered milk (optional)
1 packet artificial sweetener
Handful of frozen fruit

Place in blender and blend until milkshake consistency. You can use frozen bananas, melon, peaches, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, etc.

This recipe is from my sister, Janice.  This makes a punch that is perfect for bridal showers or baby showers or holiday parties.

FROZEN FRUIT SLUSH PUNCH
Bring to boil: 6 cups water and 4 cups sugar

Add: 1-quart pineapple juice
2 C orange juice
Juice of 2 lemons
5 mashed bananas.

Freeze. 1 hour before serving take out of the freezer and place in a punch bowl. Add: 12 to 14 cups ginger ale or 7 UP. You can garnish with frozen raspberries. Serves 40. This can be kept in freezer. Place a couple tablespoons in a glass and then add 7 UP, Sprite or ginger ale for a “company” drink.

My brother-in-law, Gilbert, sent me this recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but Gilbert swears this is delicious! He tells me that one of ladies who is a good cook in his department makes this for their monthly birthday celebrations.  I wondered where the “Mexican” part of the recipe comes from, and he explained that the blending of cinnamon and chocolate - along with the pecans is a distinctly Mexican combination.  If you give the recipe a try, let me know how it turns out.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PECAN RICHES

3 squares (1oz each) unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3 c. butter or margarine
4 eggs
1½ c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1 ½ t. vanilla
Dash cinnamon
1 1/3 c. pecan halves (can add more)

In top of double boiler or in heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter; set aside to cool. In large bowl beat eggs to blend, then beat in sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture, vanilla & cinnamon. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 2 qt, 2 inch deep baking dish. Place in pan with ½ inch hot water. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until just set.  Remove from water, cool thoroughly on rack.  Spoon into dessert dishes.  Makes 8 generous servings.

This is my mother’s recipe, and it is delicious.  She makes these to take to  covered dish dinners, and they are always snapped up immediately - not even any crumbs left to take home.

Ruth’s Fried Salmon Patties

2 eggs, beaten

salt/pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes (or 1/2 small onion, chopped finely)

1 handful of cornmeal (1/4 cup)

1 handful of flour ( 1/4 cup)

1 large can of flaked salmon, drained

In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients except salmon.  Mix well.  Add the drained salmon and mix well.  In a large frying pan add 1/4 inch of vegetable oil and heat.  Use a large serving spoon to dip out a ball of batter and put it into the hot oil - flattening it into a circle.  When it browns on one side turn it over and brown on the other side.  Drain and blot on paper towerls.

My Cotillion sister, Nicki, has a fantastic cooking website, Now We’re Cookin’, and she just posted a recipe for Thai Style Chicken.  Doesn’t this sound delicious?  I intend to try this ASAP!

Thai Style Chicken

Ingredients:

1/3 cup peanut butter (shown with creamy, use chunky if desired)
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
dash cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups uncooked pasta
2 boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

Take two cups of your favorite pasta and cook according to package instructions. I made mine with thin spaghetti. While that’s cooking, chop the chicken breasts into bite size pieces and cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear.

To mix up the sauce, combine the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, garlic, chili powder, and cayenne pepper (optional) in a medium sized bowl. I found it easiest to mix with a small wire whisk to combine the peanut butter and wet ingredients first, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in dry ingredients.

When the chicken is done, toss in with peanut butter mixture until well mixed. Drain pasta, toss in olive oil (if desired).

Serve in a bowl with pasta topped by chicken and peanut butter mixture.

Go check out Now We’re Cookin’ for more delicious recipes!

It took me a long time to learn to boil an egg!  That sounds crazy, but I tended to boil them too long, and they’d end up almost sulfur-y.  Finally I discovered the best way to cook them, and now they always turn out perfectly.  I always boil a dozen eggs and make deviled eggs each month when we have our church potluck dinner - and there are never any left to take home.  I also love to use them for egg salad occasionally, too.  Once or twice a year, I crave a good egg salad sandwich. 

Perfect Boiled Eggs (Hard-Cooked Eggs)

Place eggs (however many you want) in a saucepan.  Add enough cold water for an inch of water above the eggs.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Cover the pan and remove it from the heat.  Let it stand for 10 minutes.  Then drain and rinse under cool water.  Peel under running water.

My nephew’s family has a blog, and it includes this delicious recipe for wings.

We had some friends over for New Year’s Eve and I decided to make hot wings. I tried many, many different recipes for hot wings and I never could get them crisp like I like them. Finally, a good friend of mine gave me this recipe and so I thought I would share it with you.

Turp’s Tailgate Wings

buy a five pound bag of wings

pre-heat oven to 500 degrees

spray 3 glass casserole dishes with non-stick cooking spray (I use 3 dishes for a 5 pound bag of wings and using glass dishes is the key to crisp wings)

place the wings in the dishes (I have found it better to thaw out the wings even though they would still turn out fine if you forget - you just collect more juice in the dishes when they are not thawed out)

sprinkle the wings with black pepper and garlic salt

turn the wings over and sprinkle again with black pepper and garlic salt

place wings on the top shelf of the oven and cook for one hour

after the first 30 minutes take the wings out and turn them over with a fork and place them back in the oven for the final 30 minutes

To make the wing sauce you need to do the following:

• buy your favorite hot sauce from your local grocery store (I usually use either Franks hot sauce or Texas Pete’s wing sauce, but you can use whatever you like)
• pour the entire bottle of hot sauce in a blender
• add butter that has been softened in the microwave to the blender and mix for 5 to 10 seconds or until the butter and hot sauce is mixed well (the more butter you add the milder the sauce will be - also, if you want a thicker sauce then do not melt the butter as much. A good starting point for a medium sauce is 50/50 hot sauce to butter. All of this will be done to taste.)

There are five of us in my family and this recipe feeds us well. I usually deep fry some french fries, cut up some celery and make some good old sweet tea to go with the wings. Well, that’s it - I sure hope you enjoy them.

My mother (Ruthlace) has had this play dough recipe for as long as I can remember.  When my kids were little, we’d make it together.  It really produces some good play dough, and it’s something you can make when your kids have a last minute project to do for school or when they are just in the mood to play with play dough - and you don’t want to drive to the store to buy it.

Home Made Play Dough

1 cup salt

1/2 cup corn starch

1/2 cup boiling water

Mix ingredients well and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until dough is too stiff to stir.  Let cool and knead until pliable.  As you knead the dough, add food coloring to make the desired color.

This is a recipe I’ve had for almost forty years.  It is the quintessential, absolutely perfect combination of chocolately deliciousness.  I first got this recipe back in 1969 shortly after RT and I were married.  The recipe came from his mother, Lillian, and I asked her for the recipe after tasting the pie for the first time after that Thanksgiving dinner many many years ago.  It is my absolute top favorite pie. Give it a try.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons flour

4 Tablespoons cocoa

2 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cooked pie shell

Place dry ingredients, milk and eggs into a small saucepan.  Mix well and cook on medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Pour into a cooked pie shell.  Cool.

Meringue:  Beat the two egg whies until stiff.  Fold in 1/4 cup sugar and mix until dissolved.  Spread the meringue on top of the cooled pie.  Pop into a 350 oven for about ten minutes to brown the meringue.

Most people like mashed potatoes, and I’m no exception.  Here is my recipe for ”Heavenly Mashed Potatoes.”  They really are divine! 

Heavenly Mashed Potatoes

5-6 medium white potatoes

4 Tablespoons butter

1 can evaporated milk

salt and pepper to taste

Wash and peel the potatoes.  Quarter the potatoes and place in a saucepan.  Cover with water.  Boil gently until a fork inserted in the potatoes goes in easily.  Drain the potatoes and place in a mixing bowl.  Add the butter and salt and papper.  Add approximately 1/4 cup evaporated milk and mix using a potato masher.  I previously used an electric hand mixer, but that sometimes made them gluey.   So use a little arm strength to mash them.  Mash vigorously with the potato masher to make them as fluffy as possible.  You can add more or less evaporated milk - depending on the consistency you like best.  Enjoy!