"Strange-Boiled" Eggs

We discovered these quite by accident one day--see story here--but since they are a major hit with most kids who try them (including many who won't eat eggs any other way), I share them here.

You must follow the times listed exactly. [Trust me on this!]

Place eggs in a saucepan of enough cold water to cover them entirely.

Add 1 tsp. baking soda if you want them to be easy to peel in the end.

Bring to a rolling boil. Watch for it! (Not just the little bubbles of "I'm thinking about boiling soon," or the small blups of "I'm just starting to boil now," but the first good boil of, "Okay, now that's boiling." No sooner. No later.)

Boil exactly four minutes.

Remove from heat. Cover pot immediately with lid and let sit--covered--for exactly 30 sec.

Drain and place immediately in cool water.

Peel and enjoy!

*The yolk will be semi-solid but very soft, and the white will be solid, but not as hard as a hard-boiled egg.

A word of warning: these are delicious fresh and hot, but they are absolutely disgusting as leftovers in the fridge. If you need to make them ahead to eat on a hurried morning, stick with hard-boiled!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 pkg. pie crusts (2 crusts)
2 C. cooked cubed chicken

Boil together until tender (10 mins.):

1/4 C. carrots
1/2 C. green peas
1 tsp. salt
1/2 C. cubed potatoes
1 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/8 tsp. pepper

Sauce:

4 Tbsp. butter
5 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 C. milk

Make white sauce. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Mix filling and sauce, reserving some for serving on the side. Pour into crust. Cover with top crust and slit. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Cover for last ten minutes or so.

Chicken Marsala

Dredge scallopini through parmesan cheese.

Put in skillet with 2 Tbsp. butter and 5+ cloves garlic, sliced.

Saute chicken at 300 degrees (medium heat) until done.

Remove chicken to oven safe dish and put in warm oven.

Using same skillet with drippings, add:
2 more Tbsp. butter
1 1/3 C. marsala wine
fresh mushrooms (sliced)

Cook approximately 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender.

Mix 1 1/3 C. beef broth with 2 Tbsp. cornstarch. Add to skillet.

Cook until sauce is thick and bubbly.

Pour sauce over chicken and return to oven for at least 5 minutes for flavor to seep into chicken.

Serve over angel hair pasta.

Nuts & Bolts

1 stick butter
1 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
4 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 C. each Corn, Wheat, and Rice Chex cereal
1 large can mixed nuts
2 C. pretzels, mini melba rounds, or more Chex

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Heat butter until melted in roasting pan.

Remove and stir in sauce and salt.

Add remaining ingredients.

Cook 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spread on paper towels until cool.

Pico de Gallo

1-2 bunches green onion (6)
2 yellow peppers, chopped
4-6 tomatoes, chopped
4 fresh jalapenos, 2 w/seeds
6 oz. jar pickled jalapenos
3 15 oz. cans flavored tomato sauce (Italian herb)
4 cloves garlic, minced
15-20 stems cilantro (1/2 C.)
1 15 oz. can Bush's black beans, drained

Combine and refrigerate overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

MuMama's Banana Pudding

My grandmother, known to us as MuMama, always made this banana pudding during our yearly Beach Week family trip to the NC shore.  We were a crowd of 15, so she did a double recipe.

1 egg
1 large box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding
3 C. milk, scalded
2 blobs butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas
1 box Nilla wafers

1. Line bottom and sides of pan with Nilla wafers and sliced bananas.

2. Scald milk.

3. Mix egg and small amount of milk (not scalded) in measuring cup used for scalded milk.

4. Put pudding mix in with milk/egg mixture and combine.

5. Pour into scalded milk and combine.

6. Drop in butter. Bring to a full, popping boil that can't be stirred down.

7. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

8. Pour mixture over wafers and bananas.

9. Cool to room temperature before serving.

NOTE: All the pictures of banana pudding you'll find online or in recipe books are garnished with whipped cream or meringue or banana slices or Nilla wafers. Not MuMama's. The Nilla wafers got soft in the bottom of the dish (her old Corningware deep square), there was only one layer, and there was nothing but pudding showing on top. I've tried making other kinds, and my family goes into all-out revolt.

In fact, one February, my daughter OG asked for banana pudding for her birthday treat. Trying to make it special, I opted for an online recipe with whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk in it, and a fancy garnish on top. Two weeks later, in March my son asked for banana pudding for his birthday treat, too. The caveat? "This time I want MuMama's banana pudding. The real kind," he insisted. No other banana pudding will do for us!

Boursin

This is a lovely cream cheese spread that is absolutely delicious on crackers.

2 sticks butter, softened
2 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Combine the above with:

1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. dill

If serving at a gathering, shape into balls (makes 2) and roll in fresh cracked pepper. If not, we store it in a covered bowl in the fridge.

Overnight French Toast

French bread (I’ve used all kinds of bread, including gluten-free)
8-12 eggs, depending on quantity of bread
3 C. milk
6 T. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
6 T. butter
cinnamon

1) Grease a 9x13 pan. Cover the bottom (and mostly fill) with torn up bread.

2)  Mix together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour over bread.

3)  Chill 4-36 hours. (I usually do it overnight.)

4) Dot little pats of the butter, and sprinkle cinnamon (or cinnamon sugar for a fun treat!) all over the top before baking.

5) Do not preheat oven. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until it is set up and the top has desired level of crispness, usually 45 min-1 hour.

6) Serve with maple syrup or butter and powdered sugar.

Cheri's Italian Meatloaf

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 lb. pork sausage
2 eggs
1 15 oz. can tomato (stewed, sauce, etc.)
garlic
dried minced onion
salt
pepper
Italian seasoned bread crumbs or crumbled crackers
oatmeal

Mix meats, eggs, tomato, and spices. Add just enough bread crumbs and oatmeal to keep it from being too soupy to shape. (Maybe 1/4-1/2 C. of each?) Shape into one huge—or two small—loaves. Top with a little bit of the Classico-style marina you will serve on the pasta before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. (I use a cookie sheet or pampered chef bar pan or something without super tall sides. If it's sitting down in a 9x13 pan, it will cook, but it will be a little mushier.)

Serve with pasta and marinara and a side salad.

P.S. When I make this, I make six! I use 6 pounds of hamburger and 3 pounds of sausage and a dozen eggs and a couple of huge cans of crushed tomatoes and what feels like a lot of oatmeal and bread crumbs. It freezes beautifully, uncooked, and the leftovers are really delicious. It also makes delicious meatloaf sandwiches with bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, and salt and pepper. Yum!

Beach Week

Pasta Salad

My friend Cheri called this morning asking for this recipe. I told her that there isn't really a recipe, and she said, "Well, there is now." So, here it is, the thrown-together stuff we eat as pasta salad around here:

1 lb. cooked pasta (any severely-shaped variety - campanelle is my favorite)
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing mix, made with cider vinegar and olive oil

Pour dressing over pasta. Add liberal sprinklings of:

Organic No-Salt Seasoning (Kirkland brand from Costco)
rice vinegar (it needs more vinegar kick than the dressing alone provides, but a mild one)
Alnatura Krauter Salz (German seasoning from my friend Regina. If anyone finds a source here in the US, let me know! It is also delicious in homemade salad dressings.)

Stir in:
chopped colored peppers (red, orange, yellow)
chopped cucumber
chopped broccoli
chopped carrots
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 can kidney beans
finely chopped salad greens

Optional:
chopped green onion
chunked cheese (cheddar and pepper jack are especially good)
chunked chicken