Sunday, August 30, 2009

Eclair Cake

4 large eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup flour
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups milk
3 (3-ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
16 ounces container whipped topping
Chocolate icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13 pan. Whisk eggs in a small bowl and set aside. In saucepan, melt butter in water. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and beat in eggs all at one time, continue beating until smooth. Spread in prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, then cool completely.
Combine cream cheese and milk, beating until smooth. Add pudding, one package at a time. Spoon over cooled shell. Spread with whipped topping and drizzle with chocolate icing. Chill at least one hour before serving.

Chocolate Icing

3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon butter, melted
About 2 tablespoons water

In small bowl combine cocoa and powdered sugar, mixing well. Add butter and water and beat until smooth, adding a small amount of water, if needed, until the consistency is right.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Lentils and Rice, or Rice and Lentils


olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 c rice
1 c lentils, picked over
4 c water or broth
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent; add remaining ingredients. Bring to simmer and cover, cooking 25-30 minutes or until moisture is absorbed and rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Chicken and Veggies with Dumplings

This is from allrecipes.com with a few of my own modifications

Mix
1 can cream of chicken (can be reduced fat)
1 can chicken broth (can be low fat, low sodium)
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery (I omit this because I HATE celery)
3 chicken breasts cut into strips
1 tsp celery seed
1 c corn
1 c green beans (or omit the corn and beans and use a can of mixed veggies)

Dumplings
1 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
2 tbsp oil

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, stir together the cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, and milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips, onion and celery. Sautee until chicken is cooked through, and onions are tender. Transfer the chicken mixture to the soup pot, and mix well. Add corn, green beans, or veggies of choice. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30-45 miniutes. Season with celery seed and black pepper.

3. Make dumplings: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 c of milk and 2 tbsp of oil. Pour into the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

4. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into simmering chicken stew. Cover pot tightly, and bring to a boil. Simmer for another 12 - 15 minutes without peeking. Ready to serve.

***You may want to add a little extra cream of chicken or chicken broth as I found this not quite soupy enough for my tastes. Regardless, it's a great way to sneak veggies in on the kids!

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo

This is from the Great American Recipes cookbook

Serves 4 -6 depending on serving size

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (I use the fresh kind in the cold section of the store)
1 box fettuccine
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil to taste

1. Place the butter in a large heatproof bowl. Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer set on low, beat until smooth (I always use the mixer because my hand gets way too tired!). Add the cream and Parmesan cheese. Stir until well blended. Set aside.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and immediately add the hot pasta to the butter mixture in the large bowl. Using two forks or a large noodle serving spoon, toss the fettuccine in the butter mixture to coat well. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Sometimes I'm not fast enough and the cheese will clump or not quite melt. I pop the bowl in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to heat it back up and stir some more. Because of my turtle speed, I mix my pasta and butter in a 13x9 glass baking dish, not a bowl).

3. Sliced basil can be added to the top according to taste.

***This is so yummy! We usually add seasoned cooked chicken strips and/or broccoli to this. Leftovers are great too. I won't tell you the calories because then you won't make this, but we all know 2 sticks of butter and heavy cream aren't the best if you are on a diet. :)