Turkey Tetrazzini

8 oz. noodles, cooked
4-6 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream
8 ounces mushrooms, optional
½ - 1 cup green peas, optional
3-4 cups cooked turkey or chicken
½ - 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Bread Crumb Topping: ¼ cup dry bread crumbs & ½ cup grated cheese (any kind)

Cook noodles. In a skillet melt 2 Tbs. butter and sauté mushrooms. In saucepan, melt ¼ cup butter; stir in flour, garlic, and salt until smooth. Add chicken broth and cream. Cook until thickened. Add turkey, cheese, peas, and mushrooms; heat through. Add cooked noodles and combine. Transfer to a buttered baking dish. Top with bread crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 425° oven.

This recipe is my morphing about 3 different recipes into my own version.

Photo courtesy of: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/turkey_tetrazzini/

Blueberry Buckle

¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Mix sugar, butter, and egg. Stir in milk. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Gently fold in blueberries. (If frozen, don’t thaw) Spread batter into a greased, floured 8- or 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

Crumb Topping:
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup butter

Cut together until it resembles crumbs. Sprinkle over batter. Bake 35-40 minutes in a 375° oven.

Recipe courtesy of: my mom!! ♥
Photo courtesy of: http://foodiereflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Buckle.jpg

Corn Chowder

8 small to medium potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon
¾ teaspoon pepper
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ cup flour*
32 oz. fresh, frozen, or drained canned corn

Place peeled and diced potatoes in a large saucepan, add onion, bouillon, pepper, parsley, and enough water to cover it all about ½ inch. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 3 cups of the milk. Combine remaining milk and flour.* Stir milk-flour mixture into potato mixture. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add corn and cook until heated throughout. If desired garnish with crisp-cooked, crumbled bacon.

This makes a big batch. I freeze half of this and each half feeds my family of seven.

*I usually use white bean flour and it can be whisked right into the hot soup, it doesn't need to be mixed with cold milk first like regular flour would.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz. cream cheese
½ cup softened butter
2 tsp. vanilla
4 ½ to 4 ¾ cups powdered sugar
(1 cup powdered sugar = 6 oz.)

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla till light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in enough remaining powdered sugar to make frosting of spreading consistency.
Frosts the tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting: Prepare as above, except substitute ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder for ¼ cup powdered sugar.

Sour Cream Blackberry Pie

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Mix together:

1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons flour (more if the berries seem really wet)

Gently fold in 4-4 1/2 cups of fresh (or frozen) blackberries.

Put in an unbaked 9-inch pie shell and sprinkle with crushed Ritz crackers (about 15) just so the berry mixture is evenly covered.

Bake at 375° for 40 minutes. Cool, slice, and enjoy!

Condensed Cream Of "Whatever" Soup Substitute

3 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
1/2 cup any broth
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste
cooked mushrooms or celery or chicken or broccoli (optional)

Melt butter in a saucepan over Med-Low heat.

Stir in flour a little at a time until smooth, then remove from heat.

Add broth and milk a little at a time, stirring to keep mixture smooth. Then, stir in sauteed mushrooms, celery, or bits of cooked chicken.

Return to heat and bring sauce to a gentle boil; stir constantly until sauce thickens.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

NOTES:

• I would use chicken broth for lighter things like cream of chicken or celery and beef broth for richer things like cream of mushroom.


• You can use the sauce as is or you can add sauteed mushrooms or celery or whatever to it. Add as much as you'd like probably around 1/4 cup or so... Whatever works for you.


• This sauce is intended be used as a substitute for CONDENSED Cream of "Whatever" Soup. Use in casseroles in place of condensed cream soups. I'm not sure how it would be diluted down and used as a stand-alone soup....

Original recipe can be found at: http://www.recipezaar.com/278274

(8-30-11) UPDATED TO ADD: As of late I've substituted white bean flour for the the wheat flour and it works just great! You need to boil it gently for about three minutes for the sauce to thicken up as it doesn't thicken as quickly as with wheat flour.

I've made the mistake (multiple times!) of adding more bean flour because it wasn't thickening and then it was too thick.... I just wasn't waiting long enough.

Poppy Seed Pound Cake Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-2 tablespoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
¼ teaspoon almond extract

In small bowl, stir together flour, poppy seeds, salt and baking soda. In large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add yogurt and almond extract; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
Yield: 1 dozen.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/poppy-seed-pound-cake-muffins
Photo from Taste of Home's website

The only way my recipe differs from the original Taste of Home recipe is:
1. I use more poppy seeds (since I love them!!), the original calls for 1 Tablespoon, and
2. I use 1/4 tsp. of almond extract rather than 1 tsp. of vanilla.
Other than that, I just double the recipe and my kids call me the best mom ever. We love these muffins! ♥♥♥