Pineapple Chicken

This delicious and easy recipe was passed on to me by my friend, Judi.

Pineapple Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (20 oz. ) can unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained

2 Tbls. dijon-style mustard

pepper

paprika

Arrange chicken breasts in a crockpot. Sprinkle with paprika and pepper. Mix drained pineapple and dijon mustard together; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 hours, or high 3-4.

Butterscotch Pudding

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

4 c. half and half

5 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/4 c. butter, sliced

2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk in half and half. Whisk over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Be patient! Cook and stir two minutes more.

Remove from heat, and gradually whisk 1 cup of hot mixture into your egg yolks. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, and reduce heat, whisking slowly. Cook and whisk 2 minutes longer.

Remove from heat again, and whisk in butter and vanilla extract until well blended. Pour pudding into a large glass bowl. Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate 4-5 hours until well chilled.

Banana- Blueberry Coffeecake

*Banana- Blueberry Coffeecake*

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. fresh or frozen blueberries


Beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds to soften. Add sugar; beat until well combined. Add 3/4 cup of the flour; stir just until mixture resembles course crumbs. Reserve 3/4 cup.

Combine remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. Stir into remaining butter mixture. Combine eggs, mashed bananas, milk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Turn into a greased, 8 x 8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake in a 375 F oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 9 servings.

Boerenkool (Farmer's Kale)

My friend Darlene recently brought this old-fashioned Dutch dish to a church fellowship meal and I immediately fell in love with it. I asked her for the recipe, and she informed me that there wasn't one. However, she did give me a run down of the ingredients, and the basic "how-to".

I recently made it, but couldn't remember the name of it for the life of me. Here it is. With the name!

Several pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced

Large bunch of kale, chopped

1 lb. bacon

1 lb. kielbasa or Polish sausage

1 large onion, peeled and diced

Peel potatoes and cover them with water. Bring to a boil. Cook until tender. Alongside the potatoes, cover a huge bunch of chopped kale with water in a separate pot. Bring to a boil, drain; cover with water again, and cook until tender. (This prevents the kale from being bitter.)

In the meantime:

Saute 1 lb. bacon, save the drippings.

Saute the onion in the bacon drippings.

Slice 1 lb. kielbasa or Polish sausage into 1/4 inch slices. Fry in bacon grease along with onion.

When potatoes and kale are tender, drain them both and combine them. Drizzle bacon grease in and mash well. Crumble bacon and kielbasa into potato/kale mixture and stir well.

Serve very hot with a drizzle of vinegar, if desired.(It's very good this way!) Some also like gravy poured over their portion.

Meringue Mushrooms

*Meringues*

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

3/4 cup. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Place egg whites in a grease-free bowl. Add cream of tartar, and mix on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar in, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition until all sugar in incorporated, and stiff peaks form. Add in vanilla, beat 30 seconds longer. Fill a pastry bag fitted with large round tip. Pipe meringues onto a parchment covered cookie sheet, and bake for 90 minutes at 200 F. Remove cookie sheets to wire rack, and cool completely. Store meringues in an airtight container.

For mushrooms, hold pastry bag perpendicular to the cookie sheet, and pipe round circle, about 1- 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Release pressure, and drag tip off the side of the circle rather than straight up so as not to leave a peak. For the stems, hold the pastry bag perpendicular to the baking sheet, and pipe straight up, about 1 inch. Release pressure, and lift.

After the meringues were baked and cooled, I melted 1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips. On the bottom of each mushroom cap, make an indentation with the end of an artist's brush where you'd like to attach the stem.

Place a small amount of melted chocolate onto the bottom of the mushroom cap. Attach the stem.

While holding the stem in place, feather the chocolate around the stem to the outside edge of the mushroom cap, creating "spores".

Place mushrooms on a baking sheet, and allow to dry.

Dust the mushrooms with cocoa powder, and enjoy.

Pumpkin Pancakes

We love breakfast for supper, and these really hit the spot last night when it was cold and rainy.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 c. all-purpose flour ( I used freshly ground soft winter wheat flour)
3 Tbls. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree ( I used fresh, cooked pumpkin )
1 egg
2 Tbls. vegetable oil
1 Tbls. vinegar

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar. Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture until just combined.

Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium heat. Pour a 1/4 c. measuring cup full of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. When pancake is full of bubbles, and you think it needs flipped, wait another minute before doing so. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. These do take slightly longer to cook than traditional pancakes. Serve with real maple syrup.

Potato Salad

2 1/2 pounds potatoes- red or white

1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 c. red onion, diced

1 cup mayonnaise

3 Tbls. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. ground mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Scrub potatoes, leaving skins on. Place whole potatoes in a large pot, cover with cool water, and cover. Bring to a boil. Remove lid and reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Drain well. Cut and quarter potatoes.

While potatoes are cooking, mix mayonnaise, vinegar, ground mustard and salt and pepper.

Add hard-boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, and onion to the potatoes. Pour dressing over all, and stir well. Serve warm.

Refrigerate leftovers and serve cold.