Mary-Helen’s Kitchen

I had a leftover ham bone from a spiral ham we had at harvest last weekend and decided to put it to good use in these black eyed peas. They were so yummy! I served them tonight for dinner with rice, cornbread muffins and a salad. The Blanc du Bois wine we had with it was the perfect treat!

• 1 ham bone or leftover ham
• 1 bag of dried black eyed peas
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 stalks celery, diced
• 1 bunch of green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large box of low sodium chicken broth
• Water
• Tony Chachere’s seasoning to taste
• Tabasco sauce to taste

1. Soak the dried beans in water overnight and rinse them in the morning.
2. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and add enough water to cover the beans.
3. Cook on high for 12 hours or until the liquid around the beans is creamy and the black eyed peas are cooked.
4. Serve over cooked rice.

Yesterday, Alden and I made a special trip to Sur la Table to look for fun things to do in the kitchen together. We found an entire set of alphabet cookie cutters and Alden couldn’t wait to get started!! By the time we got home last night it was too late for cookies so I promised him we would make them today. At 7:00 am, he decided that now would be the PERFECT time to try them out.

So we did. My first thought was to get the hand written recipe notebook my Mom sent me when I went away to school. I pulled out this recipe my mother baked with me as a child and we were off! I’m not sure where this recipe originally came from, but I have been eating these cookies my entire life. (I think it was from my Great Grandmother.) Talk about comfort food… roll them thin and they will be nice and crisp. Great with a cup of hot tea in the afternoon. (Or with a cup of coffee for breakfast!) This makes a lot of cookies, so be prepared to give some away to your friends and neighbors.

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cup shortening (I use the trans fat free kind)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour and baking powder with a whisk. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and the shortening.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla to the shortening and mix well.
5. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture.
6. Roll thin and cut into desired shapes. *See Tip.
7. Place shapes on the cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8 minutes.
8. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 30 seconds to one minute before removing them to a wire rack to cool. If you don’t have a wire rack, place them on the cool counter or a plate. (If you leave the cookies on the sheet for more than one minute they will stick and break as you try to remove them.)

*Tip: I roll the dough out in small batches in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. I remove the top sheet, cut the shapes out then return the top sheet of plastic over the dough. Place this in the freezer for a few minutes until it gets cold. The cookies will be easy to get off of the plastic and you won’t stretch the shapes out when you move them to the cookie sheet.

Since the entire top of our stove was taken up with pear preserves and canning equipment tonight (and I was completely exhausted from standing there stirring the pot all afternoon), I decided to throw something together that could go in the oven. I also had some leftover marinara sauce in the fridge that I wanted to use up. I came up with this super easy version of chicken parmesan based on what we had in the house. It actually turned out to be really yummy so I thought I would share this with everyone. The prep took a total of 5 minutes.

• 4 chicken breasts (I used small, organic ones)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I used panko)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 jar marinara sauce (mine was leftover from a previous meal - I am always looking for something to do with the rest of the sauce)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozarella cheese
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray.
3. Season the chicken breasts with salt & pepper and place in the baking pan.
4. Sprinkle the bread crumbs, oregano and basil on top of the chicken.
5. Pour the marinara sauce on top of the chicken.
6. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the marinara sauce.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes  or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve it with some noodles and a green vegetable or salad and you have a great, easy meal. We actually skipped the noodles and just had broccoli with ours. Nobody missed the noodles and it helped keep the calories in check. I also used part skim mozarella to keep the fat content down.

I finally got around to doing something with the hard pears off of the tree in the yard! I think they are Kiefer Pears, but I am not 100% sure. They are very common in the south and are so hard you can’t do anything with them but cook them for hours and hours.

I decided to attempt making preserves and they turned out delicious! Not having a clue as to how to make pear preserves I tried to do some research on the net to find a recipe. They were all so different I ended up more confused than when I started. So, I called my Mom for advice. I remembered her making pear preserves with similar pears from the tree in my grandfather’s yard as a child. I followed my mom’s directions below. Believe me, this is all she said.

• Peel and dice enough pears to fill your stock pot to the top. (I used a big enameled cast iron dutch oven.)
• Add water to cover the pears.
• Boil for a couple of hours.
• Add about 4 cups of sugar (a little less than the amount of pears you put in.)
• Thinly slice one or two lemons and add the slices to the water. Don’t forget the lemons, this is very important.
• Boil for hours and hours until they look like preserves should look. Stir regularly so the sugar doesn’t burn and boil them at a little over a med-low temperature.
• Put in the hot, sterilized jars and then put the jars in the water bath canning pot for about 10 minutes.
• Let them cool on the counter until the lids pop.

I am putting them in the jars now and the pears are absolutely delicious! Reminds me of my childhood…

The entire pot full of pears cooked down to be about 1/4 of the way full, so it will only make about 6 or 8 jars full of preserves.

Alden absolutely loves them, so I doubt they will last long around here. Looks like I will have to go back to the tree for more pears if I am going to have any for myself!

Tonight I was craving meatloaf, so I decided to make a healthier turkey version. This is a great way to hide veggies in the food if you have picky eaters around! This meatloaf will win over even the people that say that hate it…

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 cup fresh spinach or 1/2 cup of frozen spinach thawed (could leave out if you don’t have any)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (can leave out if you don’t have one)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 3/4 cup of bread crumbs (I like to use whole wheat, but any kind will work. For whole wheat you can toast two slices of whole wheat bread and then put them in the food processor.)
• 1/2 cup of Italian blend shredded cheese (or some blend of mozarella and parmesan)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of marinara sauce , divided (I use spaghetti sauce from a jar to make it easy. We like the Ragu Organic Garden Veggie one for this, but anything will work.)
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• salt & pepper (or Tony’s) to taste
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix everything together except for 1/2 cup of marinara and 1 tbsp parmesan cheese in one large bowl.
3. Form into the shape of a meatloaf and put into the baking dish
4. Pour remaining marinara sauce on top and sprinkle the top with some additional parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for an hour and a half.

Tonight we had one of my favorites. And I love it when Alden can’t get enough mushrooms! He ended up eating the mushrooms off of everyone’s plate by the time the meal was over.

• 4 pork chops (bone in or out - doesn’t matter)
• 2 cups of baby bella mushrooms, sliced(you can use regular button but they aren’t as flavorful)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning
• 4 tsp worcheshire sauce
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley (if you have it - if not, you can skip this)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup milk (I used fat free)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over med high heat.
2. Sprinkle worcheshire sauce and tony chachere’s all over pork chops.
3. Place the pork chops in the pan and cook on each side until browned (about 2-3 minutes per side)
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute lightly.
5. Add the chicken stock and parsley. Allow it to come to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
6. Cook for about 7 minutes, then turn over and cook on the other side for about 7 or 8 minutes. (I usually serve this with rice and cook the rice at the same time, so I consider them done when the rice is done.)
7. Remove pork chops  from pan and place on a plate.
8. Mix together milk and flour in a small bowl until there are no lumps.
9. Add the milk mixture to the pan and return heat to medium high. Scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan and stir constantly until the sauce is bubbling and thick. If it gets too thick, add a little more chicken stock or water.
10. Add the pork chops back to the pan on simmer to reheat them a bit.
11. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Alden woke me up at 5:00 am with a crazy request to wash his “brown blanket” (his lovey) and to make muffins, so I thought I would make the best of it and start baking! While we had a great time watching the blanket spin in the soapy water, we had an even better time wrecking the kitchen while making these banana muffins. They are delicious warm and reheat easily for a healthy snack later in the day. By 6:00 am we were sitting at the table enjoying a great start to the day. The link to the EatingWell recipe is listed below:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_bran_muffins.html_0

We left out the chocolate chips but did include walnuts. Of course, ours were a little more cinnamon filled than most because at 3 the concept of measuring something you like just doesn’t work out well…  Yum!

After my fabulous birthday weekend celebration in Galveston, it was back to reality on Sunday night. The kids were in bed early, so I was able to prep Monday’s dinner on Sunday night so that all I had to do this morning was add everything to the crockpot and turn it on. There’s nothing like a good pot of red beans to make your Monday a happy one! It is only lunch time and the kitchen already smells heavenly… I can’t wait for dinner.

Making a good pot of beans is easy, cheap and nutritious. The tradition in Louisiana is to eat red beans on Mondays, so the late night chopping of onions and celery at our house is a common Sunday ritual. Why, you ask? Anyone in NOLA will tell you, “Monday is laundry day.”

To make good beans, you have to start the night before so plan ahead!

• 1 bag red beans (I prefer camellia brand beans because they get really good and creamy, but if you can’t find those buy the small red kidney beans)
• 2 links of andouille sausage, sliced into thin pieces (see note)

Note: When in New Orleans, I use “pickled pork” instead of sausage, but you can’t find that outside of the New Orleans area. And no, pickled pork is not the stuff you see in jars in convenience stores. If you are in New Orleans, you can buy it in the meat isle in any grocery store next to the ham hocks. You can always use ham hocks or smoked sausage if you can’t find andouille, but andouille gives the best flavor. Skip the German sausage varieties because the spices will make your beans taste weird. My Dad makes the beans with a little Tasso in addition to the sausage or pickled pork, but that is even harder to find outside of Louisiana. Use it if you find it, but use it sparingly because it can be really spicy and will overwhelm your beans if you aren’t careful.

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 handful of fresh italian parsley, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carton of chicken stock
• water
• Salt & pepper to taste (or Tony Chachere’s - my personal choice)
• couple of dashes of Tabasco sauce

The night before you want to eat red beans, place the dried beans in a large bowl of water and cover. Soak overnight. In the morning, drain the beans and rinse them. (Rinsing the beans will remove whatever it is about beans that causes people to get gas.)

My make ahead tip is to chop everything the night before and put all the ingredients other than the chicken stock and water in a ziploc bag. Put the bag in the fridge while the beans are soaking. This makes your Monday morning task a very easy one you can do before leaving for work.

Even easier prep for the end of the day happens if you have a rice cooker with a cook timer on it. I put the rice and water in the cooker on Sunday after I finish chopping onions. Once you turn on the crock pot full of beans in the morning, you can set your rice to be ready at the same time that you arrive home from work. My tip to a stress free Monday night dinner. All you have to do after work is show up!

1. Put everything in your crock pot. Add water to the pot just until the beans and other ingredients are covered. Cook on high for about 12 hours, or all day until the beans are cooked and the sauce around them is creamy.
2. Season to taste with more tabasco sauce and Tony Chachere’s. Remove bay leaves. Serve on top of cooked rice with sliced french bread or corn bread.

I got home totally exhausted after a day spent in the hot Texas sun collecting donated school supplies for Stuff the Bus and decided what I really needed was an easy prep way to cook the chicken sitting in the fridge. I grabbed a bunch of rosemary from the garden and headed inside to create this delicious dish. I served it with roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed spinach.

Alden loved the chicken and Meredith got to try sweet potatoes for the first time! She really enjoyed them! (For the sweet potatoes, I just washed them, wrapped them in aluminum foil and put them in the oven directly on the rack next to the roasting pan for the chicken. They cooked the same amount of time.)

• 1 whole chicken, rinsed and innards removed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning
• 5 large springs of rosemary
• 1 whole lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rub chicken with olive oil and place in a roasting pan.
3. Slice lemon in half and squeeze juice on top of the chicken.
4. Stuff the lemon halves inside the chicken.
5. Rub the Tony Chachere’s on the chicken.
6. Chop up 1 sprig of rosemary and sprinkle on top of chicken.
7. Stuff the other springs of rosemary inside the chicken with the lemon.
8. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
9. Rest for 5 minutes before removing lemon and rosemary and slicing chicken.

Sounds like an odd combination, but these eggs are delicious!!!

• 1tbsp butter
• 1 apple, peeled and sliced into thin slices
• 4 eggs, beaten slightly

1. Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat.
2. Saute apple slices until they start to brown and are soft.
3. Add eggs to the frying pan with the apples.
4. Scramble eggs.
5. Serve warm.