Christmas Eve preparations

I was up early and in the kitchen this morning, trying to finish up some dishes that can be made ahead for Christmas. By 8:30 a.m., I had cooked bacon for Pea Salad, and made some extra bacon for Brussels sprouts tomorrow. I made a batch of peanut butter balls and put them in the fridge to harden.

I ran other errands mid-morning and have spent most of this afternoon cleaning. Once I mop, I am calling it done.

Yesterday afternoon I made sweet potato crumble (it's in the fridge covered and waiting to be baked) and a double batch of Chex Mix. I aim to enjoy time with my husband, children and in-laws tomorrow, so do-ahead dishes are a must. Tomorrow I just need to bake the ham, prepare the potato casserole (in the slow cooker, of course!) and assemble the dishes. I hope you are having a restful, happy Christmas season. And please try some of my favorites soon!

Beef with mushroom gravy

My husband and youngest sons are meat lovers, so I fashioned this dish especially for them. The dish is a cross between beef stew and beef stroganoff, with homemade cream of mushroom soup. It is easy and delicious.

Beef with mushroom gravy

2 pounds beef stew meat
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1-2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 cups cream of mushroom soup (or one 14.5 ounce can)
Chopped parsley to garnish

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Season the meat with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour. Brown the meat in the skillet.

Move the meat to a 6-quart slow cooker. To the skillet add the red wine and worchestershire sauce. Blend completely, then pour over the meat.

Add the cream of mushroom soup. I defrosted a container of homemade cream of mushroom soup. Please try my Magnificent Mushroom Soup recipe, if you want a great homemade version!

Blend all the ingredients and cook on low for about 8 hours.

The meat is so tender and flavorful! I served this with pasta and green peas. Enjoy!

Suzanne's Secret Six-Minute Sauce

This is one of my daughter's favorite recipes and a foolproof way to transform leftovers into something special. We'll all have leftover turkey this week, so consider putting some of it in this easy sauce. This recipe produces a velvety sauce in the microwave in 6 minutes. Seriously. I started tinkering with this method as a teenager, once I learned the magic thickening power of cornstarch. You can add items to the recipe that you enjoy, but here is the basic method.

You'll need:
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 white wine (optional, but I love it)
2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

You can use any glass container, but I prefer a 4-cup glass Pyrex measuring cup with a spout and handle. This lets you stir and pour easily. Add all the ingredients to the container and stir to combine. Blend the cornstarch completely; the cheese will not incorporate until the sauce is hot.

Here's what it looks like to start:

Place the container in the microwave and heat on high for two minutes. The butter will start to melt and the sauce will look like this:

Stir the sauce and heat for two more minutes. The sauce will tighten up more and look like this:

Again, stir thoroughly and give the sauce 1-2 minutes more (based on the power of your microwave). I find that three rounds of 2 minutes each is perfect at my house.

You sauce will now look like this:

I added about a cup of cooked chicken, a half cup of sauteed mushrooms and some steamed spinach to produce this:

Yummy, huh? This is a great way to use roasted chicken, like I suggested on Sunday. This is one of my daughter's all-time favorites, plus it is easy and quick to prepare. And you don't have to whisk or try to avoid lumps. This is a lump-free method that yields about 3 cups of sauce.

Perfect roast chicken

I realize most people have turkey on the brain, since Thanksgiving, the whopper of all turkey holidays, is just days away. Consider this my urging to learn the basics of roasting chicken. I roasted a pan of chicken thighs last week and made two delicious meals from it. For about $5, you can feed a family at least twice.

For simplicity, and easy cleanup, consider the method I use to roast chicken. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the chicken pieces on the foil. Sprinkle with lemon juice, then follow with a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast the chicken at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, until the skin is crackly crisp and the meat is tender. Let cool, skin and debone for any recipe that calls for roast chicken. Or serve with whatever accompaniments you enjoy.

I think roasting chicken parts -- bone-in breasts or thighs, especially -- is a cost-saving and time-saving method for great meals. So if you love chicken salad, chicken casseroles or pretty much any dish with chicken, roast a batch on Sundays and enjoy it throughout the week. Some favorite offerings to come later this week.

A chicken in every pot

Several weeks ago, my husband asked me whether I could make chicken stew. Everyone makes beef stew, it seems, but what about changing the recipe and using chicken? It was a great idea, so I jumped on it and came up with this dish. Readers of this blog know I am a big fan of beef stew, so I used the basic technique to come up with this.

Chicken stew

You'll need:
1 pound of chicken, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons cooking oil
3 potatoes, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups water
2 cups corn (frozen or canned)
2 cups diced tomatoes, with chipotle peppers
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley to garish

In a medium skillet, brown the chicken in oil.

Put the diced potatoes and carrots in a 6-quart slow cooker.

Add the browned chicken and diced tomatoes.

Deglaze the skillet with white wine, then add to the cooker. Add barbecue sauce, water and corn. Stir well to combine and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Garnish the bowls with chopped parsley. Yield is about 10 cups.

New-fangled beef vegetable soup

I have made countless pots of beef vegetable soup, but always used ground beef. Last week, I came up with a revised take on the recipe, using stew beef and a pouch of black pepper seasoning from the spice aisle. This seasoning packs a punch, so I recommend using no more than half the package. Use the remainder to season another dish. The tomatoes with chipotle peppers gives this dish a wonderful smoky heat.

For beef vegetable soup, you'll need:

1 pound stew beef
3 potatoes, diced
14.5 can corn, drained
14.5 can green beans, drained
15 ounce can diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers
4 cups water
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 package cracked black pepper seasoning (or 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper)

Season the stew beef with the black pepper seasoning, then brown the beef in a medium skillet. Add the beef and the remaining ingredients to a 6-quart slow cooker. Stir well to combine. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Yield: 10-12 cups.

Pork chops and gravy for dinner

This is an old-school, blue plate special kind of dinner. It's not healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but a great comfort food dinner for once in a while.

You'll need

5-6 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 3/4 cups water

In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil about 1/4 inch deep. Season the chops with salt and pepper, then dredge them in the flour. Add the chops to the hot oil.

Fry the chops for about 8 minutes, turning once. Remove the chops to a plate to rest.

Your pan should have plenty of carmelization from the chops. This browned coating is full of flavor and is the basis of your gravy.

Remove any excess oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Sprinkle in about 2 tablespoons of flour and blend with a fork, scraping up the browned bits from the pan.

I combine the water and milk. Add the liquid to the pan, stirring constantly. You can use the same fork, or a wire whisk.

Cook until the mixture is thickened and bubbly. You can add additional water, if necessary. Making gravy is something you have to practice and get a feel for. How do you like my new gravy boat from Pier 1?

I served the chops with rice and greeen beans -- a classic blue plate kind of dinner.

Chicken in wine in the slow cooker, 2.0

I tried my hand at coq au vin in the slow cooker recently, after seeing a recipe in a favorite cookbook. It wasn’t as fancy, or involved, as the original recipe, but the results were delicious – red wine, thyme and garlic gave a great depth of flavor.

To try it yourself, you will need:

8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, cut in wedges
1 cup carrots, in bite-sized pieces
6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup red wine
½ cup mushrooms (canned is fine; just drain first)
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Place the onion and carrots in a 6-quart slow cooker.

Cook, drain and crumble the bacon. Place the chicken pieces over the carrots and onions, then top with garlic, mushrooms and bacon. Pour red wine over all.

Top the mixture with salt, pepper and sprigs of fresh thyme. Yes, these sprigs came right out of my tiny herb garden.

Cook on low for about 7 hours. This dish is excellent with pasta or rice. I used mini fusilli.

This dish was terrific – the chicken was fall-apart tender and had a delicious flavor thanks to the wine, thyme and bacon. Try it soon!

Can't beat cornflakes and cheese

Hot chicken salad: Every family in the South (and perhaps elsewhere) has a version of this recipe. It’s a great way to use up leftovers and turn them into something special. Most all the variations I have seen use crushed potato chips or corn flakes as a crunchy topping.

I recently bought a rice cooker and despite Alton Brown’s edict to avoid one-purpose devices, I love mine and have used it many times. I measure out the rice and water, turn it on and get on to other things. (It is cooking rice right now, while I work on this post, btw.) Last week, I had all the basics for this dish on hand – chicken, rice, cheese, corn flakes, so I set to work.

In a 9x13 dish, I combined 2 cups cooked chicken, ½ cup of mayonnaise, 2 cups of cooked rice (thank you rice cooker!), 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup and a ½ cup of milk. I sprinkled it with salt and pepper…

…then added a cup of green peas, straight from the freezer.

In a medium bow, I mixed 1 cup of crushed cornflakes and ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese. I like mixing the two, then adding it as a topping -- it blends completely and the cheese helps brown the crunchy top, without adding more butter or margarine.

Bake the casserole 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Delicious!

Here’s the complete recipe

HOT CHICKEN SALAD

2 cups cooked chicken
½ cup mayonnaise
2 cups cooked rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
Salt and pepper
1 cup green peas, frozen
1 cup crushed cornflakes
½ cup grated Cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients except cornflakes and cheese together and spread in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Top with the cornflakes and cheese, which have been mixed together. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until browned and bubbly.

Cheeseburger soup

I love using my slow cooker for all kinds of obvious reasons – it uses little electricity, it lets me get other things done during the day, it produces great meals for little cost. But sometimes I find recipes that are just plain fun. I got this one for cheeseburger soup from my mother and it was a profound hit with my family. With the addition of potatoes, I suppose it could be called cheeseburger and fries soup.

The recipe includes various burger toppings: Onions, ketchup, mustard and hot peppers. The original recipe called for one Serrano pepper, but I could not find one at my local grocery store. The jalapenos looked elderly, so I chose one of those small, red bird peppers. Not sure how hot it would really be, I added it whole to the pot – like you would use a habenero pepper.

This soup was delicious and quickly devoured. The addition of cheese soup gives a silky texture.

In a medium skillet, cook beef with onions and garlic. Drain excess fat.

Combine the potatoes, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper and hot pepper in a 5-6 quart slow cooker.

Can you tell where I went to the grocery store this week? Add the broth, cheese soup and hamburger meat.

Cook on low for 10 hours. Top each serving with a sprinkle of cheese and a couple of slices of dill pickle.

The cold dill pickle on the hot soup is terrific.

Cheeseburger soup

1 pound ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups diced potatoes
1 shredded carrot
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Serrano pepper, diced (I used a whole red bird pepper, uncut)
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Two 14 ounce cans beef broth
10.75 ounce can cheddar cheese soup
To garnish: ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, dill pickles

In a medium skillet, cook beef with onions and garlic. Drain excess fat. Combine the meat and all other ingredients, except garnishes, in a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 10 hours. Top each serving with a sprinkle of cheese and a couple of slices of dill pickle. Serves 8.

Salsa beef bake

Every bit of this recipe is appealing – it’s simple, inexpensive and yummy. I came up with it recently when I was at a loss for what to make for dinner. Don’t you feel that way, sometimes? I had some individual packs of Bisquick in the pantry, some leftover salsa, some cheese and some ground beef. I tried entering the ingredients in one of those recipe finder sites, but had trouble making it work. The site kept trying to take me in involved directions. So then, I came up with this:

Salsa beef bake

One 15.5 ounce package baking mix (I used Bisquick)
½ cup salsa
1 cup grated cheese (I actually used sliced Muenster)
1 pound ground beef

In a medium bowl, mix baking mix, one egg and two tablespoons water. Press the crust ingredients in a 8x8-inch pan that has been coated with non-stick spray. Top with half the cheese. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and drain off excess fat. Add the salsa to the meat and mix well. Top the crust and cheese with the ground beef mixture. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Let the dish sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. Six servings.

Here's the recipe, step by step:

Prepare a single package of baking mix (15.5 ounces) according to package directions – mix it with an egg and two tablespoons of water. Spread the mix in an 8x8-inch pan, then top with cheese.

Brown a pound of ground beef, drain excess fat and add about ½ cup salsa. Mix well and top the crust with the ground beef mixture.

Top the dish with the remaining cheese, then bake at 400 degree for 20-25 minutes.

This was an easy dinner, made with ingredients that I had on hand. Serve it with sliced fruit.

Cinnamon, apples and oats

My mother has made apple crisp countless times; it was a recipe she did by sight and feel, over any real measurements. The ease of this recipe, and the fact it is made from common ingredients most cooks have on hand, makes it a good go-to dessert. I changed it up a bit by adding pears. My youngest son doesn’t like apples (I have no idea) so I mixed in some chopped pears hoping he would eat the whole thing. The joke was on me: He ate the pears and left the apples behind. (No, I am not sure how he could tell in the finished dish, but he did.)

Apple and pear crisp

1 large baking apple, like Granny Smith
1 large Bosc pear
½ cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Chop the apples and pears and place in a medium casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. I used a beautiful glazed dish from Williams-Sonoma; it makes everything taste better! I do not peel the fruit.

In a small bowl, combine the oats, sugar and cinnamon. Blend in butter with a fork until it is combined.

Put the oatmeal mixture over the fruit…

Then bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Whip this up and put it in the oven as you sit down to eat. Dessert will be ready once dinner is over.

My husband loves his with vanilla ice cream, a classic: