Ramen Noodle Salad with Feta Cheese

This cold noodle salad is healthy and filling. I'd never made Ramen noodles until using them for this recipe, not even in college. By the way, you won't need the seasoning packets that come with the noodles for this recipe. You can add your own spices, herbs, veggies, nuts, seeds, and more.

Ingredients:
5 packages of Ramen noodles

3/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 of a red cabbage, chopped small
2-3 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Boil Ramen noodles for 3-4 minutes and then drain. 

Run cold water over the noodles to stop the cooking process and let them drain for a few more minutes. 

Mix noodles with remaining ingredients in a large bowl until everything is well blended. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend. Serve cold.

Effie's Congo Squares / Happy 100th Birthday Effie!

Effie, the best cook in North Carolina, turns 100 today.  In tribute to Effie, I'm posting her congo squares recipe from the cookbook that was decicated to her. Happy birthday, Effie!

1 1/8 stick margarine

1 box light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 pkg. (6 oz.) chocolate chips

2 3/4 c. flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. nuts

Melt margarine.  Add sugar and cool.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour, baking powder and salt.  Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes in a 10x15 inch pan. After it's done, wait 10 minutes before cutting.

Asian Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

This soup is full of the same feel good magical healing qualities of homemade chicken soup--it'll cure what ails you. I've ordered this soup in restaurants by the name of tom kha gai and discovered it's easy to make at home and just as yummy. It's a little spicy and you can adjust the heat to your liking. Here's my take on the soup:

1 can coconut milk

32 oz carton coconut milk 

2 cans fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

12 1" slices fresh ginger

1 cup sliced white onion

2 tablespoons lemongrass stir-in-paste (in a tube)

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts pulled into bite-sized      pieces

Juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon sambal oelek (Thai chili paste), to taste

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, chicken broth, ginger, onion, and lemongrass. Bring to boil over high heat. Add the chicken, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste. Reduce heat, stir, and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Remove ginger with a slotted spoon. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot. Jasmine rice goes well on the side or add some to the soup if you'd like.

-revised January, 2022

Mom's Traditional Simple Sage Dressing

This is the sage/celery/onion dressing my mom made when I was a kid and to me, it screams Thanksgiving. It's easy to make and oh-so delicious. I use homegrown sage from my garden which is always a nice touch in a recipe.

1 loaf sliced white bread
3/4 cup butter 
1 medium onion, chopped 

4 stalks celery, chopped 
3 tablespoons fresh sage, dried & minced
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth

Let bread slices air dry for 1-2 hours on the counter, then cut into cubes. 

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add and cook the onion and celery until soft. Add sage, salt, and pepper.  

Stir in the bread cubes until evenly coated. Add the cubes slowly to make sure the liquid gets absorbed. Add chicken broth; mix well. 

Chill for a couple of hours and then bake in a buttered casserole dish at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Classic Meatloaf

I've had this classic, basic, meatloaf recipe in my file for years. I can't remember where I got it or if I made it up myself. Either way, it's delicious comfort food and it makes your house smell wonderful when it's cooking. It makes two 9x5" loaves that are topped with ketchup during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. I freeze meatloaf in pieces wrapped in foil so it's easy to grab a day before and have it thawed by the next. Let it cool before you freeze it. 

2 1/2 lbs ground beef (85/15)

2 cups bread crumbs

2 eggs

2 tablespoons worchestershire

2 1/2 cups fat-free milk

1 cup onion, chopped fine

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Ketchup 

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and divide mixture between 2 ungreased 9x5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for an hour and 15 minutes. After 45 minutes of cooking, add a layer of ketchup to the top of each meatloaf. Bake 30 more minutes. 

For a real comfort food fix, serve with homemade garlic mashed potatoes.  

Frank Lloyd Wright Quote

I found this great quote about dining in my favorite quotes file: 

Dining is and always was a great artistic opportunity. 

-Frank Lloyd Wright

I feel this way about dining.  I feel this way about food and cooking.  

Enjoy your food!

Lower-Fat Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These blueberry muffins have a luscious taste, are moist & dense, and the buttermilk does wonders for the flavor. The blueberries just pop in your mouth. Got milk?!

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt 

2 cups fat-free buttermilk, shaken
¼ lb. margarine or butter substitute
1 ½ teaspoons ground lemon peel
3 large eggs

2 cups fresh blueberries, washed

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the buttermilk, margarine, lemon peel, and eggs, one at a time, sitrring after each addition. Fold in the blueberries using care not to smash them. 

Pour the batter into a lined muffin pan. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Put muffin pan on a wire rack to cool. 

Easy Buttermilk Substitute

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by mixing 1/3 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Mix well, and let the milk stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes until the buttermilk flavor develops. Who knew?!

Fresh Blueberry-Almond Smoothie

I picked ten pounds of these blueberries yesterday and now have big bags of them in my freezer. 

This is an easy to make and healthy blueberry smoothie, and a great start to your day. You could use other berries too. The blueberries are frozen when added to the blender so they double as ice cubes. The almond extract adds a nice undercurrent. 

Blend these ingredients in your favorite blender until smooth:

2/3 cup fresh frozen blueberries
1 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2-4 drops almond extract

Spanikopita: Spinach Pie

I absolutely love Greek food and was influenced early on by working for a Greek restaurant in Chicagoland when I was a teenager. Also during this time, my girlfriends and I drove downtown on special occasions and had dinner at Diana's and other Greek restaurants. We danced in Greektown and tasted flaming cheese and ouzo! Opa!

Side note--following one of these great Greek dinners we decided to make saganaki (flaming cheese), but later realized we were not old enough to buy the liquor to flame this delicious appetizer. 

Spanikopita = soft little spinach & cheese pies.

Ingredients:

18 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
16 oz. feta cheese
16 oz. fat-free cottage cheese
8 oz. low-fat cream cheese
10 green onions, chopped
4 eggs
1 tbsp dried dill weed
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsps Kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 oz. butter, melted
Phyllo dough

Squeeze all of the liquid out of the spinach, then combine all ingredients, except the phyllo and butter, in a large bowl and mix well. Grease two 12" x 17" cookie sheets with melted butter. Preheat oven to 350. Lay a sheet of phyllo down on a flat surface and brush it lightly with the melted butter. Place two tablespoons of the spinach mixture in the center of the filo sheet near the bottom.

Fold the two sides inward over the mound and brush the seam with butter. Roll forward to form a rectangle, roughly 2”x5” in size. Butter the bottom where the seam is and place it on the baking sheet, seam side down, then lightly butter the top. The cookie sheets should hold about 10 spanikopita at one time. Once the sheets are full, place them in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the top of the phyllo dough is golden brown.  

Serve these warm, but they fabulous cold, too. I plan to serve these with tzatziki (see recipe on my blog) next time. Spanikopita freezes well.