Shrimp Salad

 I've been looking for recipes to make that require a short baking time or no baking at all since it's so hot in Texas this summer. This sounded like the perfect one to try. I personally love a cold pasta salad. Plus shrimp? Yes please! Now, I'll be honest. I've been the only one eating this. My family snubbed their picky little noses at it. It's been a good lunch for me the past few days. 

I used the big shell pasta. Not the big ones that you can stuff, but bigger than the shells and cheese kind. They were the only ones my Aldi carried so that's what I bought while I was there. I like how the little pieces of shrimp and things get caught inside the shells. I can't help but wonder if the smaller shells would work better though for more even bites. Either way, I liked this salad!

My interpretation of the recipe:

Shrimp Salad

Mary Ann

12oz noodles (shell)

1½ pounds shrimp (or 3 or 4 cans -> drained but don't rinse)

pineapple (cut up 4 little "tibbits) just a few

dash of black pepper

2 green onions (greens and all cut-up)

4 or 5 hard-boiled eggs cut up

Miracle Whip -> add milk and about 2 teaspoons sugar

Mix - let sit overnight

Next day add more mayonnaise if dry

* I used the medium sized shell pasta

* I used jumbo shrimp and then cut them up into smaller pieces

* I used 4 pineapple chunks cut up into 8 pieces each

* I used 4 hard boiled eggs

* The ingredients called for miracle whip, so that's what I used. Although the directions say mayonnaise.

* The measurements I used for the miracle whip/sugar/milk mixture were: 6Tablespoon miracle whip, 4 Tablespoons milk, 2 teaspoons sugar. You might use less if you use smaller pasta shells.

* After letting it sit overnight, the next day I did end up adding more salt and pepper along with 2 Tablespoons of miracle whip. 

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

Pumpkin Nut Bars

 

I cannot wait until Fall! You're either one who loves pumpkin everything or doesn't. I LOVE it! How about you? Let me know in the comments your thoughts on pumpkin everything :)

This recipe is called Pumpkin Nut Bars. Personally, I think it's more like a cake. It cooked quick so the oven wasn't on long (thanks TX heat). For me, I love cream cheese icing when it comes to pumpkin treats. This icing was different. Good, and sweet, but different. As I spread it on the cooled cake, I didn't think it was going to be enough. Trust me, a thin layer of this icing is all you need!

My interpretation of the recipe:

Pumpkin Nut Bars

½ cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon (baking) soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup pumpkin

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup chopped nuts

Combine all ingredients except nuts in large mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer at medium speed. Fold in nuts. Spread evenly in a 13x9x2" pan. Bake at 350º 20-25 minutes. Spread with run frosting when cool.

Frosting

¼ cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon rum

2 Tablespoons hot water

¼ cup nuts

* I used light brown sugar

* Pecans were used in the batter as well as the frosting

* I used dark rum 

* It baked in my oven for 21 minutes

* I did spray my 9x13 pan before adding the batter

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

Crispy Oat Cookie

 

If you're looking for a good crispy and crunchy cookie, this is a good one. I made the rookie mistake of not making sure I had all the ingredients before I started mixing everything together. I went to get the oatmeal and didn't have any! We use steel cut oats, but I thought I had some old fashioned ones. Luckily my mom was coming over so she brought some. The dough was a little soft, not sure if that was because it was sitting on the counter until she got to my house. With all the extra goodies in these cookies, I definitely couldn't roll them into balls. It was more of a squish them into balls. I think they still turned out good. Apparently I don't know how to measure 1" so I only ended up with just over 6 dozen, not the 10 listed. And 15 minutes, in my oven, was the perfect time for these to bake.

My interpretation of the recipe:

Crispy Oat Cookies

1 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup regular oats uncooked

1 cup crushed corn flakes

½ cup coconut

½ cup chopped nuts

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet - flatten with fork. Bake 325º for 15 minutes.          10 dozen

* I used unsalted butter

* I used light brown sugar

* For the nuts, I used pecans

* Made just over 6 dozen

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

Dream Bars

We are smack dab in the middle of summer here in Texas! Today's high is supposed to be 107°! Needless to say we are trying to limit our oven use so I was looking for something I could make that wouldn't take too long to bake. 30 minutes baking time isn't too bad and I had everything on hand for this recipe so here it is.

These bars are sweet, gooey and easy to make. I could have gone the easy route and used my pastry cutter to cut the butter for the crust, but the recipe says to mix by hand so that's what I did. My butter was room temp, so it was easy to mix together. 

My interpretation of the recipe:

Dream Bars

½ cup butter or oleo

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Mix together with hands and pat in a think layer on cookie sheet or pan (about 9"x12"). Bake 10 minutes at 350º

Then Mix Together

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 package coconut

1 cup nuts

2 Tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread this mixture over the first and bake 20 minutes at 350º. Cut in squares while hot.

* I used unsalted butter

* I used light brown sugar

* Instead of a package of coconut I measured out 2 cups. I didn't know how big the package used was.

* I used pecans for the nuts

* My pan was a 9x13

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

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!