Welcome to my Kitchen

2014 will have arrived by the time you are reading this column. As promised, I have some recipes to help you use up the last of the Christmas cooking ingredients. Either you didn’t get to that recipe or you had to buy more than the recipe called for and now you have leftovers. Our goal for January is to work those items into the weekly menu plan.

Emma Cloud brought a delicious Enchilada Casserole to the Community Christmas dinner. Many requests came in for the recipe that is Emma’s own, devised from ingredients on hand. It is a great recipe to have stocked the pantry for, as it makes a quick meal for family or entertaining.

Enchilada’s

1 can (28 ounces) enchilada sauce (Emma uses Mild LaVictoria Brand)

1 1/2 packages frozen beef and bean chimichangas or burritos

2 cups cooked chicken meat or other choice of meat

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can olives, sliced

Heat over to 350 degrees. Place one half the can of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Place burritos in pan and add chicken. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the chicken. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and olives and return to oven to heat until cheese melts. Yield: 8 to 10 servings. Emma says “serve with tender love and God’s blessing to all”.

Speaking of pantries and menu planning, keeping an orderly, well stocked pantry and practicing menu planning can stretch food budget dollars and make meal preparation much easier for the cook.

Most of you will get your paper on Thursday. Try this little exercise. Select 3 main dish recipes you know your family likes and plan for them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check your pantry for needed ingredients then make one shopping trip to purchase any items you need for all 3 days. When it is meal preparation time, you won’t have to waste time running to the store.

While you are checking your pantry, take note of any specialty items you purchased for holiday treats. You probably won’t make those recipes after the season is past. Now is a good time to decide if you can incorporate these into everyday cooking, or donate them to the food bank so someone can enjoy them before they are past-dated.

Noel Brownies is a good recipe to use up candied cherries. If you like chocolate covered cherries, you will like these brownies.

Noel Brownies

1/2 cup butter

4 ounces unsweetened choco- late

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp rum extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 tub (7 1/2 ounces) Glace’ Cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x13 inch baking pan and set aside.Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan. Let cool.

In a separate bowl, mix together, sugar, eggs, extract, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour and beat until smooth. Mix in chocolate mixture. Add nuts and cherries. Spread mixture in prepared pan. Bake for 35 min. Cool before cutting into squares or bars. Yield: about 2 dozen.

Had your fill of green bean casserole but there is still a can of French fried onions on the shelf? How about Onion Baked Chicken? Easy and savory, this might become one of your families favorites. I adapted this recipe from the one on the can. It calls for chicken breasts but it is just as good with a cut up fryer or 8-18 thigh parts.

Crunchy Onion Chicken

1 can French’s Original French Fried Onions

4 Tbsp all-purpose flour

8-10 chicken thighs, a cut up chicken or 6 chicken breasts

1 large egg, beaten

Crush French fried onions along with flour in a zip closure bag. Dip chicken in egg. Coat in onion crumbs. Press firmly to adhere. Place in greased baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Yield: about 6 servings.

Note: if you don’t have a full can of French Fried onions, you can make up the difference with cornflakes or other corn or rice based flake style cereal.

Several weeks ago, I made a cookie recipe called Santa Snickers Surprises. A peanut butter cookie dough is wrapped around a bite-size Snickers bar to make the cookie. I didn’t have a full bag of the mini candy bars so had extra dough that I baked as regular peanut butter cookies. It makes a soft but slightly chewy cookie, good with or without the Snickers.

Santa Snickers

Brand Surprises

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 package (13 ounces) Snick- ers Brand Miniatures

Combine the butter, peanut butter and sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla, mixing until thoroughly combined. Then mix in flour, salt and baking soda. Cover and chill dough for 2 to 3 hours.

Unwrap Snickers. Remove dough from refrigerator. Divide dough into tablespoon size balls and flatten. Place a Snickers in the center and wrap dough around to completely cover. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake in preheated 300 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Don’t over bake. Let stand in pan a few seconds, then remove to wire racks and cool completely. Yield: 4 dozen large cookies.

Note, leave out the miniatures for plain peanut butter cookies. Do Not flatten the dough balls in this recipe, but you can dip the dough balls in sugar if you like.

What do you have sitting in the pantry that you would like to find a recipe for? Let me know what the ingredient is and if I don’t have a recipe for it , one of our readers will. If you have tips and recipes for meal planning to share, send them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Happy New Year.