Monday, January 17, 2022

Betty White's Chicken Wings Pacifica (Remembering Betty White on her Birthday Jan 17, 2022)

 

  • 3 lbs chicken wings, separated into drumsticks and flats
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup water or chicken broth
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard
  • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1-2 teaspoons honey (optional)
  1. 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)Arrange wings in a single layer on a shallow baking dish lined with aluminum foil.
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, water or broth, dry mustard, garlic powder, and optional ingredients until consistent. Set aside to cool.
  3. Once cooled, pour the sauce over the tray of wings. Cover with aluminum foil and move to the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, but up to 24 hours. Rotate wings 4 times as they marinate.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Uncover the tray and bake for 1-¼ hours or 1-½ hours. Flip wings half way through baking. Remove from the pan immediately and serve.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Maria's Fish cakes

 1 can salmon (drain well and flake) 14.75 can

2 cans tuna (drain and flake 5 ounces)

3/4 cup flavored bread crumbs

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 egg

4 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon sweet relish(optional)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

cooking spray

  • Mix salmon, tuna, bread crumbs, yogurt, egg, ketchup, sweet relish, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning together in a bowl. Form mixture into 6 patties.  Spray pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Cook fish cakes on hot skillet, turning once only, cook through until golden on each side 8 to 10 minutes.

  • You can add 

Friday, January 7, 2022

Fish and Chips

 4 large potatoes peeled and cut into strips

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon  pepper

1 cup milk

1 egg

Vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds of Cod

Place potatoes in a medium-size bowl of cold water. 

In a separate medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the milk and egg. Make sure the mixture is smooth. Let mixture stand for 20 minutes which helps active the baking powder.

Preheat the oil in a large pot or electric skillet to 350 

Fry the potatoes in the hot oil until tender

Coat the fish well  in the batter, one piece at a time, and place them in the hot oil. Fry until the fish is golden brown. Drain well on paper towels.

Serves 4





Chicken Pot Pie

1 pound cubed skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 cup of sliced carrots

1 cup of peas canned or frozen

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup onion

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1 3/4 cups chicken soup

2/3 cup whole milk

2-9 inch pie crusts

  • Preheat oven to 425 

  • Combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery in a saucepan,  add water, cover and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain then set aside.

  • Over medium heat in a saucepan, cook onions in butter until soft then stir  flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Stir in chicken broth then milk.  Let this simmer on low until thick. Remove from stove and set aside.

  • Place chicken mixture in bottom pie crust and pour our hot liquid mixture over it then cover with top crust, seal edges. Make some small slits in the top crust which will allow the steam to escape.   Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and you will notice that the pie filling is bubbly.   Stand and let cool 15 minutes.




Thursday, January 6, 2022

Grilled Cheese Comfort food

 4 slices your favorite white bread (I like butter bread)

3 tablespoons butter

6 slices cheddar cheese


Preheat pan on low heat. 

Generously butter one side of a slice of bread. 

Place the  bread butter-side-down onto the pan bottom then add 3 slice of cheese. 

Butter second slice of bread on one side then place butter-side-up on top of sandwich.

Grill until lightly browned  evenly and flip over and do the same continue grilling until cheese is melted. 

Repeat with second  sandwich slices of bread, butter and slice of cheese.

Serve with your favorite soup, mine is tomato soup!


You can also add a slice of tomato in the middle of the cheese or a slice of ham.

Winter Beef Stew

2 pounds beef stew meat  (cubed)

4 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled

4 cups water

3 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 tablespoon parsley

1/2 black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 carrots cut

4 Celery stalks

1 medium chopped onion

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

2 tablespoons warm water

  • In a large pot or crockpot, cook beef in oil medium heat until brown, add bouillon  in 2 tablespoons in water and dissolve in pot.  Stir in parsley and pepper, Italian seasoning. Bring to slow boil,  reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.

  • Stir potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion into the pot. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons cold water and stir into stew. Cover and simmer 1 hour more.



Family Lasagna

1 pound sweet sausage

3/4 ground lean beef

1/2 minced onion

2 crushed cloves of garlic

1 can of crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)

2 cans tomato paste (2 ounces)

2 cans tomato sauce (6.5 ounces)

1/2 Water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dry basil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 1/2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley 

1 tablespoon red wine

Ricotta (16 ounces)

1 large egg

3/4 pound of mozzarella cheese

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese


  • In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

  • To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.






Big Cookie delights

1 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup butter soften
1 1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup of M&M's
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup of salted peanuts (optional)
2 cups of flour


  1. In a large bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugars. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add baking soda and vanilla. Add oats, M&M's, butterscotch chips and peanuts; let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in flour (the dough will be crumbly.   
  2. Shape by 1/4 cupfuls into balls. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  Place 9 cookies on each sheet. Gently flatten cookies. Bake at 325° for 15-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks for cooling.
These can be made as regular size cookies.