Chex Party Mix

I don't know when Chex cereals came on the market but I know that my Mom made this yummy snack every year.  She would fill a big paper grocery bag with the stuff and we ate on it for days.  We loved the stuff!  Now, I still make it but I change the ingredients around to suit our tastes.  It seems like everyone likes something different.  I like the Wheat Chex, my husband likes the Rice and Corn Chex. My Mom doesn't like cheese crackers so I throw in extra Chex or some Oyster (Soup) crackers.  Everyone will sit and pick out their favorite nuts.  So, you can substitute whatever crunchy snack you like.  I started making the BBQ flavored Mix when I was trying to come up with a totally meatless variety (you know that anchovies are in Worcestershire sauce, don't you?)  These Chex Party Mixes are a favorite of mine to take as hostess gifts too.  Check out the dollar store or craft store in your area for nice gift bags and tie on a pretty ribbon.  Endless possibilities!

                                     CHEX PARTY MIX

NOTE:  You can use any combination of crunchy cereals, crackers etc. that you like in these mixes.  You just need 11 cups total.

TRADITIONAL CHEX MIX:

1/2 cup (1 cube) Margarine

1 1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

3 cups Corn Chex                                                                                                                                                                                             3 cups Rice Chex  

3 cups Wheat Chex                                              

1 cup Pretzel Sticks

1 cup Cheese Crackers

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large 2 - 3 inch deep baking pan (15” x 10 “ size), melt the margarine.  Mix in the Seasoned Salt, Garlic Powder and Worcestershire Sauce.  Add the remaining Crunchy Ingredients and mix well to coat all the pieces.  Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Allow to cool and then store in airtight container.  This mix will keep for at least 1 week.

BBQ PARTY MIX:

1/2 cup (1 cube) Margarine

1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce (your favorite kind)

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

6 cups Chex Cereals (corn, rice or wheat mixed)    

2 cups Corn Chips                                                   

1 cup Cheese Crackers                                                                                                                                           

1 cup Pretzels 

1 cup Mixed Nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large 2 - 3 inch deep baking pan (15” x 10” size), melt the margarine.  Mix in the Barbecue Sauce and Seasonings.  Add the crunchy ingredients and mix well to coat all pieces.  Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Allow to cool and then store in airtight container. This mix will keep for at least a week! 

Grammy's Meat Loaf

Sometimes we have just had enough food!  During November and December we ate every imaginable thing.  We ate out a lot, we had turkey, ham, prime rib, lobster and who knows what else.  Well, what are we going to have for dinner tonight?  Yes, everyday we have to make that decision.  I am so full I can't even think of a thing that sounds good.  However, we still feel the need to eat.  I guess it's time to pull out the good old comfort foods and feel the love!  My mom never made meat loaf so I don't have her secret recipe.  Over the years I have seen recipes with just about everything put into meat loaves.  Finally, I came up with this easy recipe that my husband and I like.  It's very simple and basic, sometimes that is the best thing.  Of course, you can add whatever you like.  Don't forget the leftovers on this one and it makes great sandwiches.  

                   Grammy’s Meat Loaf

1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil

1 cup Yellow or White Onion, fine chopped

1 or 2 cloves Garlic, fine chopped

1 teaspoon Thyme, fresh or dried

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

2 lbs. Ground Beef (I use 80 to 90% Fat Free)

2 slices Whole Wheat Bread, cut in small cubes and crumbled (use your favorite bread)

1/2 cup Beef Stock (I use Better Than Bouillon brand, lower sodium) 

2  Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 large Egg

1/2 cup Ketchup (for the topping plus extra for serving on the side)

In a shallow fry pan, bring Cooking Oil to medium heat and saute the Onion, Garlic, Thyme, Salt and Pepper until the onion is translucent, but not brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and allow to cool just a bit.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Ground Beef with the Bread crumbles.  Do this lightly and just enough to break up the Ground Beef.  Make a hole in the center of your meat mixture. 

In a small bowl, combine the Beef Stock, Worcestershire Sauce and Egg.  Pour this liquid and the Onion and Garlic mixture into the hole you made in the Ground Beef and using your hands, gently mix everything until it is just combined.  You don’t want to over work your Ground Beef or it will become too dense.  You want a nice light mixture!

Gently form the meat mixture into a loaf shape on a foil lined baking pan or dish.  Spread the Ketchup evenly over the top of the Meat Loaf and bake for about an hour in a 350˚ oven.  You want the internal temperature to be 160˚ so it is cooked all the way through.

Serves 6

I usually serve mashed potatoes and green beans with my meatloaf, along with extra Ketchup.  Leftovers make really good sandwiches with a little mayonnaise and Ketchup spread on your bread.  Pure Comfort Food!!!

Ready to bake!

Ready to slice and eat!

Some of my favorite Christmas things...

Christmas is over...  All that build up and it's over!  The decorating, the parties, the baking, the gifts and now it's over!  I'm not really ready for this!  I want a few more days to enjoy some of my favorite Christmas things.  It took me years to collect all these prized and cherished possessions, now I want to show some of them to you and maybe you will see why I love them so much.  Please indulge me and forgive me for being so nostalgic.

First I want to show you my front door and the entrance to our home.  This is what people see first so I like it to look warm and inviting.  This was taken on a freaky night that it happened to snow - it almost never snows in our city and for Christmas, how special is that!

Welcome to our home!

Just inside the front door is where Santas can hang their hats!

Then you are greeted by our Mr. Snowman! 

And this is our beautiful Christmas tree.  We needed a skinny one for  the space we have!

The stockings are hung by the chimney, with care!

The guest room is all cheery and ready for guests!

Our Cheery Snowman welcomes anyone who joins him on the back patio!

And now, I guess it's time to say Merry Christmas to All and thank you for sharing some of my favorite things!

Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken

This is a quick favorite of ours.  Whenever I say "what sounds good for dinner" John will often say "how about some of that lemon chicken you make".  Well, sometimes it is just what we need to fill the bill.  It's easy, it's tasty and it's not very expensive.  Years ago I did this with chicken wings.  Now I use whatever kind of chicken I have on hand.  Chicken thighs and breasts are both favorites in our house.  If you want to remove the skin, go ahead and do that before you bake it. I like to serve this with a simple salad and rice.

           

                                 Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken

2 - 4 pieces of Chicken (wings, thighs, legs, breasts or which ever pieces you like)

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

2 teaspoons Lemon Pepper

Melt Butter with Canola Oil in an ovenproof dish.  Stir the Lemon Pepper into the butter and oil mixture.  Lay the Chicken into the mixture and then flip it over so that you coat both sides of the chicken.  I bake the chicken so that it is skin side up.  Bake in a 350˚ oven for about 30 minutes.  Turn the chicken over and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over again and cook for another 5 to 15 minutes. The time will depend on which pieces you are cooking and how thick they are.  To be sure they are done I simply make a small slit on the underside of the chicken to look at the interior of the chicken, next to the bone, or check it with a meat thermometer ( 165 ˚ for chicken).  

Serves 2

Oven Roasted Yams

John and I both really like yams and they are so good for you.  This is an easy way to fix them in the oven.  They taste so great with anything.  I add the onion but if you don't like onion, just leave it out.  The little sprinkle of chili powder just adds a bit of extra flavor and contrast.  If you are lucky enough to find the small Yams leave those skins on.

                               Oven Roasted Yams

1 large or 3 small Yams (orange sweet potatoes)

1 Onion

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Canola Oil (any cooking oil will do)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 - 2 teaspoons Chili Powder

If your Yam is large you should probably peel it, just because the peel can be a little thick.  If your yams are small, the peel should be thin and you won’t have to peel them - just wash them well.  Chunk the Yam and the Onion into bite size pieces.  Line a cookie sheet (one with sides is best) with foil.  Put your yams and onions onto the foil.  Sprinkle them with the Oil, Salt and Pepper and the Chili Powder.  Toss them and add the Butter to the pan (you can melt it - or not).  Bake in a 400˚ oven for 20 minutes.  Stir everything up and put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.  Check to see if they are done to your liking.  They should be a little caramelized and slightly crunchy.  

Serves 2

                                               

Easy Winter Salsa

I call this Easy Winter Salsa because it is easy to make and, of course, when those tomatoes are fresh in the summer time they are best.  But, when tomatoes are just simply those 'red things' in the grocery store, there is no point in using them.  I also make this salsa when I am in a hurry and want something as a quick and easy appetizer.  I like to warm the tortilla chips to go with the salsa.  Who doesn't love Chips and Salsa?

                                                  Easy Winter Salsa

2  14 oz. cans Chopped Tomatoes (with juice)

1/3  cup Tomatillos (either canned or slightly boil fresh)

1/3  cup White Onion, chopped

1/3  cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped

4 cloves Garlic

2 or 3 Fresh Jalapenos (seeds removed)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice (or you can use red wine vinegar)

1/4  teaspoons Salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until it is the consistency you like. Taste for flavor and add more Jalapeno if you like it really spicy.

Chill and serve with Tortilla Chips.

Notes: 

1. If you use canned Tomatillos, the extra can be frozen for another time.
2. The Tomatillos are optional but I think they add flavor.
3. I start with 1 Jalapeno at a time because you never know how spicy they are.
4. I do like the freshness of the Lime Juice versus Red Wine Vinegar. 
5. You can keep Salsa in the fridge for several days, if you hide it!
6. I do prefer using a food processor but a blender works.

Cabbage Tamales - Unrolled

I remember going to my husband's parent's home for dinner and walking in to the smell of cooked cabbage and garlic.  Wow, what memories.  His mom, Cleo, made the most wonderful little morsels and called them Cabbage Tamales.  They were such a family favorite and she labored for hours to roll them and she cooked them all day.  They were devoured so quickly.  It seemed like there were never enough.  Well, I made them and first of all, they were a lot of work and second, my boys didn't like them.  So, now, after years of thinking about those little morsels, I made them again.  Well, they are still  a lot of work so I came up with this recipe that is so much easier and quicker.  It may not be those little tamales that were loved so much but it is the flavor and that wonderful aroma fills the house with memories.  Sorry, Mom Cleo, you would love this shortcut casserole, or maybe not.

Try my shortcut casserole recipe and see what you think.  Of course, you have to like cooked cabbage, garlic and tomatoes.  The leftovers are so good, maybe better than the first overs.

                  Cabbage Tamales Unwrapped

1 lb. lean Ground Beef

3/4 cup uncooked White Rice

1 clove Garlic, chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

Cooking Spray

1 small head Cabbage, chopped into 1” pieces

4 cloves Garlic, sliced thin

1 large (46 oz.) can Tomato Juice (or try V-8)

In a med. mixing bowl, combine the Ground Beef, uncooked Rice, chopped Garlic and Salt and Black Pepper.  I use my hands to do this and then I form the mixture into small meatballs, about 1” in diameter.

Spray a large casserole dish with Cooking Spray.  Put a layer of chopped Cabbage into casserole dish.  Sprinkle a layer of thin sliced Garlic over the Cabbage.  Lay the meat and rice meatballs on top and add the last of the chopped Cabbage.  Now pour the Tomato Juice over the top.

Cover the entire casserole with a lid or foil.  Bake in 350˚ oven for 1 hour.  Remove the foil and continue baking for another 1/2 hour.  You want the rice and cabbage done and not too much juice.  Serve with toasted garlic bread.  This casserole is very good as leftovers.   

Serves 6