Food Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Yearning to Create

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

In our house we call this fruit salad Ambrosia. According to Webster, ambrosia means: 1) the food of the Gods, and 2) anything that tastes or smells delicious. This fruit salad qualifies!

It’s an especially pretty salad for spring because of the pastel marshmallows. This one has some white marshmallows too – I was using up opened marshmallow packages! The truth is, I actually prefer using opened packages in this salad – the marshmallows are a little harder and last better, especially if you’re not eating it right away.

It’s super easy, delicious and has coconut in it! And I usually always have these ingredients in my food storage, so it’s easy to whip one up.

Here’s how you do it:

– 1 can pineapple tidbits (drained)

– 1 can mandarin orange pieces (drained)

– mini marshmallows (as many as you want)

– coconut (I like the long shredded stuff)

– sour cream (a couple of large spoonfuls)

And just mix it all together. If it’s too dry, add more sour cream. If it’s too wet, add some more marshmallows or coconut.

(Now, be sure to enjoy a pre-dinner drink of your pineapple/orange juice that you drained out of the cans! Or add it to your punch.)

If you want, you can easily add more fruit to this, like grapes or bananas, peaches or apple chunks. Strawberries might be okay, but I wouldn’t use kiwi or any other soft fruit that might break apart. Another option is all white marshmallows with coloured coconut. The sour cream seems to balance out the sweetness of the marshmallows and makes whatever you put in it taste great.

It tastes best if you eat it pretty soon after you’ve mixed it, although it can wait in the fridge for an hour or two if necessary. Just stir it first because the juices settle.

Broiled Ham Buns

Broiled Ham Buns are one of our family favourites – just so tasty and easy and usually all the ingredients are on hand.

(Please just ignore my stained cookie sheet – it was a wedding gift so it’s almost 23 years old and still going strong!)

Just look at this instead!

So tasty, crisp yet soft, and warm!!!

All you need is:

1 can flaked ham

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp relish (I use less – my kids don’t like the green stuff!)

2 Tbsp mayonnaise (I use a little more – I like it creamy!)

1 tsp. mustard

Mix it all together and spread on your open buns.

I usually pop it in the oven for a few minutes at 350 to get it all warm, and then I turn on the broil. The broil only takes a minute or two – I just watch it until the cheese starts bubbling a little. This way the only crisp part is the edges – the rest of the buns are soft and chewy.

Oh, and I doubled the recipe to make this many buns.

These would be perfect for any meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Coconut Nests

I went to a stage production of “My Fair Lady” last night (fabulous by the way). Now if I could just get ‘I could have danced all night . . .’ out of my head!

Anyway, it was late when we got home, but of course I went to the fridge because I knew there was this dessert left over from Sunday dinner, and it was calling to me! When you get to the picture, you’ll see it there in the top left. I had pinned this dessert to one of my Pinterest boards, and actually made it. And yes, it was very delicious, although I found out that my guy doesn’t really like pistachio pudding (that would explain why there were leftovers!) Next time I’ll make it with lemon pudding instead. You can check it out here at Brown Paper Packages if you want to make it yourself.

Wow! My fridge looks pretty stocked right now – I must have gone grocery shopping recently! By the way, I love the layout of this fridge. It even has a drawer below those two crisper bins at the bottom – it’s a really shallow drawer but wide and fits a ton of things – like the cheese and cold cuts, butter waiting to be used, apples, pies (if I had them) etc. And it’s the perfect height for perusing things because the freezer is on the bottom. Oh, and it has double doors – I like to think that’s more energy efficient as I don’t have to open the whole fridge to grab the milk out of the door!

Anyway . . .

. . . when I opened the fridge (remember, I heard my name being called) I saw these little nests that definitely weren’t there earlier in the evening. I thought it was pretty cute (which is why I snapped a picture).

Lee had made them in Home Ec. that day and went about making some that evening. This morning I asked her for the recipe and she tapped her head and said, “It’s all in here.”

– Butter (she couldn’t remember how much, which would explain the plate of extra melted butter sitting on my counter when I got home!)

– 2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

– 1 cup long coconut

– 1 cup Rice Krispies

So basically you’re just making Rice Krispy Squares and shaping them into nests. These seemed extra gooey though, which is why they’re so tasty – that and the coconut!!!

Then she spread a little chocolate sauce on top and the eggs. This recipe will make about 15 nests.

So then I had the dilemma of eating the leftover dessert, or eating a nest. What would you do? Have both? I decided to go with the leftover dessert that I had made. I thought Lee might want to be around to see us enjoy her nests (she was sound asleep).

So . . . I haven’t actually tasted them, but they look good and anything with coconut in it will be delicious!!!

Click here to see the nests we made last year – and when I say “we” I mean my girls!

Bev’s Chicken Casserole

Well, I’m not sure who Bev is, but we sure love her Chicken Casserole!

First step is to find a little cutie who is working on a YW Personal Progress goal who is willing to help you in the kitchen!

She’s chopping the tomatoes, onions and green onions. (I was going to do the onion but she insisted she wanted to – because she wanted to cry! She claimed she’s never cried cutting an onion before and wanted another chance to experience it. Well, she experienced it!!! I think I’ll be cutting the onion next time!)

Here’s what to do:

– put your chicken pieces in a casserole dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

– Mix together one can of Tomato soup and one can of Cream of Mushroom soup

– then you add in your chopped veggies (tomato, onion and green onion)

– stir that all together and spoon over your chicken.

– Cover and bake at 350 degrees for two hours or until tender.Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

You will be amazed at how easy and delicious it is!

Beef and Corn Bake

This is probably our very favourite casserole – think I’ve made this one more in our 22+ years of marriage than anything else. I love it because

1) it’s really delicious and

2) it’s really simple to assemble (which means more time for crafting!).

I’ll share the exact recipe, but I never measure anymore!

Beef Corn Bake

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 medium chopped Onion

1/4 cup cooking oil (I’ve never used the oil)

– Cook all together in fry pan until meat is brown. Put in large casserole dish. Add:

12 ounce can Kernel Corn (drained)

2 – 10 ounce cans Tomato Soup

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1 Tbsp Ketchup (I use more – like 1/4 cup!)

2 cups cooked Noodles (I’ve used Egg Noodles and Chow Mein Noodles)

Mix it all up together and then sprinkle grated Cheddar Cheese on top.

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and cook some more until the cheese is done the way you like it.

We like our cheese crusty!

This is a wonderful casserole for transporting too – it’s solid and won’t spill in your car, unless you’re a really crazy driver!!!

My two-year old even loves it! I kept trying to snap a picture of her eating it, but every time I missed the actual food-entering-mouth moment. And she just kept glaring at me for flashing lights in her face over and over and over!

Finally, I got excited because I got a picture of food entering her mouth. But alas, when I did an actual preview of the shot,

it was . . .

. . . a large slice of cucumber that was going in, and not the casserole!

But you can see that her plate is getting emptier.

Here’s a good tip I’ve learned over the years: when your young’un decides they’re too old for bibs and keeps ripping them off, dress them in clothes that co-ordinate with the colour of your meals. Camouflage those spills – it makes laundry so much easier!!!

So . . . back to the Beef Corn Bake – I know your meals are already planned for this week, but make it next week! Your family will thank you!!!

Taco Soup – Food Storage Version

This is the easiest Taco Soup ever – and it can be made completely from items you have in your food storage.

You just throw it all in the pot and let it simmer for a few hours – until those dehydrated vegetables are soft!

These are the basic ingredients – and of course you can use the real thing, but throwing in the dried and canned stuff is so much easier than actually chopping an onion!!!

My picture of ingredients doesn’t show meat. I usually throw in ground beef (sometimes even stretching my ground beef by adding whole cooked wheat kernels), or wieners, or chicken, or no meat at all.

The basic ingredients are onions, carrots, tomatoes, beans, corn and whatever else you need to clean out of your fridge. I’ve even thrown in dried zucchini from time to time just to bug my family (did you know a large zucchini will shrink down small enough to fit in a small ziploc baggie when it’s dehydrated?). Whenever they see an unidentified green thing in anything, someone will always ask, “Is there zucchini in this?”

The only seasoning I add is Taco seasoning – as much or as little as you choose. Add water to get your desired consistency and there you have it. Quick, easy and delicious!

I prefer my tacos on the side rather than getting soggy under the soup! Sour cream, cheese and cilantro or green onions or chives top it off perfectly (I know I don’t have any green stuff on it – just imagine it!).

And even if you don’t have the garnishes, the soup is great on it’s own. We call it Chili!

Christmas Jello

This is a pretty jello to have on the table at Christmas time. And it would be even prettier in something other than a casserole dish!!!

The recipe:

1 small box green jello

1 can crushed pineapple

White marshmallows (you decide how much!)

1 small box red jello

1 can cherry pie filling

Whipped cream for top (optional)

Prepare green jello, but only use 1 cup of water. Stir in the whole can of crushed pineapple (that means that you don’t drain it!). Chill.

When it was still a bit soft, I added the marshmallows. Spread them evenly on top of the green layer. You can make this layer as thick or thin as you want – might depend on the size of your dish!

Prepare the red jello – again only using 1 cup of water. Stir in the whole can of cherry pie filling. When your green layer and marshmallows are completely set, add the red layer. Chill until firm.

If you have room in your dish, you can add whipped cream on top.

I find this jello to be plenty tasty and rich enough without the cream.

This is a never ending battle in my home: I love things in the jello!!!

But usually my guy and my kids prefer the jello plain. So as we’re eating our Christmas jello on Christmas day, I’m watching some of my kids not eat the green layer because of the pineapple. And I’m watching some of my kids pick all their cherries out of the red layer and leave them laying around on their plates looking squished, sad and rejected.

So I made a decision!!! Next year I’ll make the pretty Christmas jello without any fruit in the layers!

I’ll use the full water measurements, and maybe even do a few layers with marshmallows in between each layer – that would look pretty sweet. My kids and my guy will eat it all, and I’ll be about $5 richer.

Now I need to keep my eyes open for a trifle bowl – we’ll let the casserole dish hold something else next year!!!

Sure is a pretty jello though! Maybe someday I’ll get to eat it again with fruit in it!

Impossible Pie (Gluten free)

My daughter kicked me out of the kitchen the other day – do you have any idea how much I LOVE that!!! She wanted to make supper all on her own. So while she was going about making Shepherd’s Pie, I realized that it was indeed Monday night and since I didn’t need to worry about supper, I could spend time making a treat. Impossible Pie popped into my mind simply because, it’s completely easy and I LOVE it!!! I dug out the recipe and when Jo realized what I was going to make, she kicked me out of the kitchen again (literally shooing me out with her hands) because she wanted to make it! (love that kid!)

If you love coconut and custard, you’ll love this. To make it you simply throw all the ingredients in a blender and mix it up, then pour it all into your pie plate and bake it for an hour.

Let’s examine the layers: the coconut rises to the top, the heavier custard forms the crust, and the middle is kind of a mix of coconut and custard. Tastes great warm or cold – and we’ve never felt a need to serve anything with it – like ice cream or whipped cream.

Jo made this a gluten free version simply by using gluten free flour instead of regular flour. She didn’t need to add any xanthum gum.

My mother-in-law wrote this out for me. She introduced me to Impossible Pie when my third baby (Jo!) was born. She came to help us for a week and made this one day and it was love at first bite!!! I’ve made a few adjustments like the salt and sugar. We could probably even go down to half a cup of sugar.

I find that the edges always get pretty dark because you have to cook it until the center is firm. It has such a nice dome top when it comes out of the oven, but it flattens as it cools.

And there’s Jordy enjoying her Impossible Pie!!!

You can shoo me out of the kitchen anytime!!!

PS – As I write this, my ten year old daughter is making pancakes for us (from scratch). She just came and asked me what granulated sugar meant. I explained that it was the white sugar. To which she replied, “Oh good, I put my three cups in of the right sugar!”

To which I replied in alarm, “Cups? It’s supposed to be tablespoons!”

Hahaha!

And this is how they learn . . . so that one day she will shoo me out of the kitchen too!!!

Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Casserole

I made up a recipe – shocking, I know!!! My family loves it – and I can prove it: Kat, my seven-year-old picky eater, just looked over my shoulder to see what I was blogging about and said, “That stuff? Make it again!!!”

We often have leftover cooked chicken (ya know, from those barbecued chickens at the grocery store) and I was looking for a new way to use it up. I wanted some sort of rice recipe that I could toss everything in a pot and let the oven work its magic. So I started searching online for recipes, but all I could find were recipes where the rice was precooked – and I didn’t want that. So I kind of copied some ingredients from a few different recipes, and then got inventing.

Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Casserole

2 cups rice

2 cups water

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Combine all this in your casserole dish and mix it up well. You can adjust your rice/water amount as desired – just use equal portions of both.

For this version, I tossed in:

1 bundle of broccoli

1 onion

Cubed cooked chicken.

(I know I don’t need to mention that everything should be chopped up, and no precooking is required – except the chicken!)

Mix everything up together. Cook it covered at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Check the rice after about 45 minutes to see if it’s cooked. If your rice is done and the mixture is too runny, cook it for a bit longer without the lid. Sprinkle cheese on at the end if you desire and cook until it’s melted.

In my clean-out-the-fridge version, I threw in leftover cooked vegetables, raw cauliflower, and even leftover smoked pork picnic instead of chicken – that was good! Can’t wait til I have zucchini around to throw in, just to annoy my family!

I’ve made it a few times now and it’s always good. The first time I put it on the table, it got more than a few skeptical, curious, turned-up-noses looks from my youngest kids. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear Kat exclaim in a shocked voice, “This doesn’t taste bad at all!”