Chicken Champs Elyseé

 

This was definitely a different recipe. I put my mom in charge of picking a recipe and she opted for this entree. First of all there are no measurements. You kind of have to go with it until you "feel" like you've added enough. Second, this one was found in an old book that was put together by hand. You know those church type of recipe books that everyone contributes to? It's like that, only all the recipes are handwritten and it's put together by hand. SO COOL! It's the St. Paul's Methodist Church Cook Book. Compiled by The Woman's Society of Christian Services of St. Paul's Methodist Church Monroe, Louisiana 1953. Illustrations by Ruth Henry. There was so much love and work put in this book, I wonder how many they actually made. See picture of inside cover after the recipe below. My Mom's neighbor growing up, Clara Mason, passed the cookbook down to her in 1999.

My interpretation of the recipe:

Chicken Champs Elyseé

L. Slade Brown

Place bread in bottom of dish and cover with cooked chicken and crisp bacon and cooked broccoli. Make a cream sauce & to every cup of sauce add 1 T. dry sherry or sauterne. Pour over chicken and broccoli. Grate cheese and sprinkle on top and put in moderate oven until brown.

* We used a deep 9x13 baking dish

* We used 5 slices of Mrs. Baird's large white sandwich bread.

* We boiled a pound and a half of mixed chicken (about 2 cups chopped)

* We cooked 6 slices of bacon until crispy, and chopped it up

* We used about 2 cups of chopped steamed broccoli

* We made a basic white cream gravy, about 3 cups

* We used just regular white wine

* We used about 8oz of shredded colby jack cheese

* We baked it at 350° for about 25 minutes and then turned the broiler on just for a few minutes to brown the cheese on top.

* If we make it again, we would probably tear the bread into pieces so that it's easier to spoon out and more like the other layers on top of it. 

Here's the inside cover

* Fun Fact: Lutcher (L.) Slade Brown was a Broadway Producer known for Bye Bye Birdie *

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Baked Corn

This Baked Corn makes for a good side dish that's quick and easy. I made it in a 8x8 square baking dish and it came out thin, but not bad. I'll include what I would change after the recipe below.

My interpretation of the recipe:

Baked Corn

1 Tablespoon shortening

1 Tablespoon flour

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1 cup corn

1 egg

Melt shortening & add flour. Stir in milk gradually. Continue to stir until thickens. Add corn, sugar, salt & pepper. Beat egg & add. Pour into greased cassarole. Bake 20-25 min. 375°.

* I used canned corn.

* I used a 8x8 square baking dish. 

* Either omit the salt if using regular canned corn or use unsalted corn and add the salt as listed.

* I would double the recipe to make it thicker.

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Dad's Buffalo Chicken Wings

My Dad passed away on December 16, 2020. I was trying to figure out what I could make in his honor. With the "big game" I thought his chicken wings would be a great pick. He usually only made these for Easter, but I thought I'd make them ahead of time incase anyone wants to make them for their Easter festivities in honor of my dad. 

I have never cut apart raw chicken pieces. It was definitely a learning experience trying to figure out where exactly to cut so that I would end up with the drum, then pin and then the tip that my mom said to just toss out. They might not have been cut up nice and neat but I think I did a pretty good job my first try.

The full wing

Cut into 3 pieces

Perfect cutting! haha!

I used about 6 pounds of chicken. So I had to adjust the marinade. I tripled the recipe for my big 6qt bowl and just used a single amount for the smaller bowl. Yes, that's a lot of marinade but there was a lot of chicken! 

I have also never grilled anything before. My dad was the "grill master". Anthony is a good fill in, so he's the one who usually does the grillin'. Now, my dad used a gas grill, so that's what I used as well.

I don't know about you, but when I think of buffalo wings, I think of super tangy/vinegary and spicy. To me, these have just the right amount of tang. Not too much. They also aren't spicy, so if you want them to have more of a kick, definitely add more cayenne pepper or even add some of your favorite buffalo sauce. I didn't want to make them too spicy so the kids would eat some (which they didn't anyway). I couldn't find onion salt, so I just added some onion powder and extra salt. Taste the marinade before you add the eggs to see if you need to tweak the spiciness of it. The secret is to marinate these bad boys for at least 2 days prior to grilling. Every so often make sure you take them out and give them a good stir or shake if you have them in a good bowl with a tight lid.  

I know this recipe isn't handwritten, but it was included in a big binder full of recipes from family and friends that was put together for me as a wedding present. Although I no longer speak with the person who put it all together for me, I do treasure the recipes and pictures included in it!

My interpretation of the recipe:

Dad's Buffalo Chicken Wings

Ingredients

¾ cups cider vinegar 

½ cup oil

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

1 beaten egg

                                                                            

Directions

Mix all ingredients in large container with lid. Add rinsed and cut chicken wings.

Marinate for 2 days stirring or shaking ever so often.

Make enough marinade to cover chicken. We usually make 5 pounds of wings at a time. You can also make enough just for two. Just be sure to make enough marinade.

You can grill or bake in oven till cooked.

If made in the oven, turn to broil to crisp after cooking fully at 350.

Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

I love you dad and miss you so much!

 

Real Crazy Cake - Guest Featured Recipe

I'm super excited to share my first guest recipe! This recipe comes from my friend Kristy's (yes we have the same name and spelled the same!) Grandma, Barbara. I love recipe cards like this one. First, because it's handwritten and second, because you can tell it's been made quite a few times. She sent me a few recipes, so I'll be making them in the future.

The first thing I noticed about this recipe was that it doesn't call for any eggs. The fact that there also isn't any milk or butter didn't dawn on me until later. The word before cocoa stumped us all. It obviously looks like "bft" but I couldn't find anything under bft cocoa. So if you know what it could be, please let me know!! This was a simple cake, made in one bowl. While my kids thought it needed some icing on top, I thought it was good without it. Not too sweet and would probably go really well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream :)

My interpretation of the recipe:

Real Crazy Cake

From the Kitchen of Barbara

My Friend Kristy's Grandma

1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons (bft) cocoa

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 Tablespoons salad oil

1 cup water

Combine well all ingredients .

Bake in 8" square greased pan

350° - 35 minutes

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Sugar Cream Pie (Folgate's Prize Winning Pie)

 

This has got to be one of the easiest pies I have ever made! Honestly, it was assembled faster than the oven took to preheat. Yes, I used a refrigerated pie crust but that's because the kids were helping with this one and it was just easier :) If anyone has any information about Folgate's Prize Winning Pies or Pie Contest, please let me know. I couldn't find anything on it.

My interpretation of the recipe:

Sugar Cream Pie

Folgate's Prize Winning Pie

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons of flour

1 pint of whipping cream

1 tablespoon of butter

A sprinkle of nutmeg

In a bowl combine flour, sugar. Pour in cream slowly. Stir with a wire wisk untill (until) sugar is dissolved. Melt butter and spread over unbaked pie crust. Pour in cream mixture, sprinkle top with nutmeg.

Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes

*I used heavy whipping cream

This pie came out like a custard pie. Very sweet, so I would have added more nutmeg on top for added flavor. I also thought it tasted better refrigerated. It was super quick and easy!

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Pineapple Chess Pie

This was definitely a quick and easy pie. Okay, okay, I cheated and used a refrigerated pie crust, but the recipe didn't say I couldn't :)

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Pineapple Chess Pie

¾ stick butter or margarine (melted)

3 eggs beaten

1 small can crushed pineapple

2 tablespoons flour mixed with

1½ cups sugar

Mix all ingredients well and pour into unbaked pie shell. 

Bake at 325 - 1 hour

*So like I said, I used a refrigerated pie crust. I also couldn't find a small can of crushed pineapple so I used half of a big can, which was probably a bit too much. I also used butter instead of margarine. 

*This pie was quick and easy and a bit too sweet for my taste buds. I would definitely make sure I used the correct amount of crushed pineapple next time and probably cut the sugar back to 1 cup? It was sweet!

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

King Ranch Casserola

 

 

Yes, yes, I know that it's supposed to say Casserole but part of my love of looking through these recipes is to see all the different handwriting and different ways people spelled (or misspelled) words. It's fascinating to me, which is why I came up with this entire Second Chance Kitchen in the first place.

Just like many of you, I've made this casserole many times before. BUT, I've never seen it call for a hen. I've never cooked an entire chicken. Good thing my mom was here! She shook her head when I told her I was going to toss the whole thing in a pot and cook it then cut it up. She quickly grabbed my big knife, cutting board and went to town cutting up that raw chicken. While she was doing that, I asked her if we were sure it was a hen and not a rooster. The recipe specifically calls for a hen. How do you know which one you're getting? Probably a dumb question, so please enlighten me if you know the answer. 

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

King Ranch Casserola

1 Hen cooked and deboned

2 cups grated American cheese

1 doz. tortillas cut fine

1 onion cut fine

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup chicken broth

1 can rotel

Combine last 4 ingredients for sauce. Place layer of ½ chicken, ½ of sauce, ½ of tortillas, ½ of onion and cheese in casserola (casserole) and repeat for secold (second) layer with cheese on top. Bake 1 hour at 350°

* I used all the meat from the chicken for this recipe

* I used the broth the chicken was cooked in for the 1 cup of chicken broth

* I used corn tortillas (just incase someone was wondering)

* I used the mild rotel to make sure my kiddos would eat it

* I used mild cheddar cheese

* Lastly, I used a deep 9x13 glass casserole dish to make this in.

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.