Pineapple-Coconut Loaf

This recipe is delicious and easy to double. I brought it to our family get together.


Pineapple-Coconut Loaf

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes; set aside. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Use an electric mixer on high speed to beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and alternately add flour mixture in three parts and sour cream in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not over mix).

Use a rubber spatula to fold pineapple and 1 cup coconut into batter. Spoon into prepared pan, and smooth top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes (cover pan with foil
halfway through). Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Keeps at room temp, wrapped in plastic, up to 2 days.

Healthy Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings has always been a favorite of Bob's and mine.  This is a healthy alternative to the traditional version.  This is a recipe I learned by watching my Mom cook, and have never written down, before.  It can be a one dish meal, or serve it with salad or vegetables.  Hope you enjoy it.

• One package of sliced chicken breast, about 1 1/3 pounds
• One large white onion, coarsely chopped
• One large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
• One large stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• Four cups of water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Low-Fat Bisquick, 1 1/3 cups
• Non-fat milk, 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons

Sauté the chicken pieces, in canola oil, in a Dutch oven, until outer pink is gone; add onion and continue sautéing until onion is translucent. Add carrot, celery and water bring to a boil; lower heat to a low boil and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until carrots are done.

Remove chicken, keep warm in covered dish. Use a potato mashed to break-up any large pieces of vegetable in the broth. Bring broth back to a slow boil.

In a small bowl, mix Bisquick and milk, forming a soft ball. Drop mixture into simmering broth, you should have eight dumplings. Cook, uncovered for 10 minutes; cover Dutch oven and cook for 10 more minutes.

Place reserved chicken in your serving dish, place dumplings on top of chicken, and spoon gravy from Dutch oven over all.

Corn Casserole

This is a super easy yummy side-dish. I served it at Thanksgiving to rave reviews.

CORN CASSEROLE

1 can cream corn
1 can strained sweet corn or use your empty cream corn can to measure enough fresh or frozen corn.
1 stick of melted butter
2 eggs
1 small box of Jiffy cornbread mix
1 8oz. container of sour cream

Mix all the ingredients in a casserole dish, and bake uncovered in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 10-12.

Yummy and Healthy

Honey Banana Nut Muffins
Makes 16

2 ½ c. Bisquick
1c. quick cooking oats
2t. baking powder
½ t. salt

1c. honey
1 egg, beaten
1c. applesauce

1c. mashed banana
1c. chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins, set aside.
2. Combine first four ingredients.
3. Combine next three ingredients, and add to dry mixture. Stir until moistened.
4. Add last two ingredients
5. Spoon into muffin tins.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan, 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Greek Bean Salad

Another great salad. It's easy to double or triple, for a crowd, or half if you need to. There's no dressing, so you get the full flavor of the veggies. This can also be served over a bed of greens.

Greek Bean Salad

2 c. green beans, trimmed, cut to about 3 inch lengths
4 c. coarsely chopped tomato, 4-5 medium.
1 c. thinly sliced red onion
½ c. crumbled feta cheese
1 can (15 ½ oz) garbanzo beans, rinse and drained

Cook green beans in boiling water, 3 minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water. Drain. Place in large bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, mix lightly and cover. Refrigerate until chilled.

Pasta Corn Salad

This is a great salad for a picnic or BBQ; no mayo to worry about. It's enough for a large crowd, but easy to half for home, even then you'll have some left overs. Yum, left overs.



Pasta Corn Salad


• 1 lb Mezze Penne pasta cooked
• 2 cups shredded spinach
• 3 cups white corn
• ½ cup sliced olives, (2.25 oz can, drained)
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup Blue Cheese crumbled
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes or 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• Juice from 1 lemon
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

1. Cook pasta, following package directions, drain thoroughly.
2. Put pasta in large bowl, immediately toss with shredded spinach.
3. When pasta and spinach have cooled, add corn, olives, onion, Blue Cheese, celery and tomatoes, tossing gently.
4. Sprinkle, then toss, with lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Baked French Toast

This is great for Christmas Morning, or any time you're having company for breakfast. It's assembled the night before, and popped in the oven in the morning.


Caramelized Apple French Toast

Ingredients:
1 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. light Karo syrup
6 tbsp. butter
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
18 slices day old white bread
6 eggs
2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, syrup and butter; boil in pan for 1 minute. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Place sliced raw apples on top of caramel. Place bread 3 layers deep in pan. Mix eggs, milk and vanilla together. Pour over bread.

Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes until brown and slightly puffy.


This photo was from when I was interviewed by our local newspaper, The Press-Enterprise, about this recipe. Erin was 7 at the time.

Apple Cake

This is a wonderful, easy cake. It's a hit whenever you serve it.

Jan’s Apple Cake

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup corn oil
1/2 cup water
4 cups pippin apples, unpeeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. (Double shift).

3. In a mixing bowl, blend the beaten eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, corn oil and water until the ingredients are just combined. Then stir in the flour mixture and toasted nuts. When thoroughly blended, add the apples and stir.

4. Pour the batter into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 50 to 60 minutes. The cake will appear moist but not wet. Cut the cake for serving and sprinkle each slice with powdered sugar.

Serves 12 to 16

Hut Vegetable Soup

When I was growing up in Long Beach, one of my favorite cafés served a wonderful Vegetable soup. They've been in business for 55 years and have added other soups, all made right there, and all delicous, but their Vegetable soup is still my favorite. This is my attempt to make their soup. It's pretty close.

Hut Vegetable Soup



10 small White Rose Potatoes, cut into large slices
4 medium carrots cut into large slices
1 large onion, cut into large cubes



28 oz chicken broth, 2 cans
28 oz diced tomatoes in juice, 2 cans
2 cups green beans, fresh or frozen
2 cups green peas fresh or frozen
1 T. olive oil
1T. butter

Heat oil and butter in Dutch oven; sauté onion until limp, and just starting to brown. Add broth and tomatoes, un-drained. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

White Bean Soup

This is one of our favorite soups. Today, my friend Tom told me he lost his copy of my recipe, and I told him to get it from this blog. Low and behold, it wasn't here, until now. Sorry about that. This is both fast and easy to prepare, and delicous and healthy.

White Bean Soup

¼ c. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1 heaping T. bottled minced garlic
1 ham slice, diced
24 oz chicken broth
4 cans white beans, drained
Salt and pepper

Heat vegetable oil in large pan or Dutch oven. Sauté onion and celery until soft. Add garlic and ham, stir and simmer until heated thru. Add chicken broth and beans, heat to simmer. Simmer soup for 5 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. 6 – 8 servings.

Bisquick Coffee Cake - The lighter version

Some one mentioned Bisquick Coffee Cake the other day. It got me to thinking that I hadn't made it for a long time. Now that I'm home convalescing, I decided to make one. But, there was no longer a recipe on the Bisquick box! What to do, what to do? Google, of course. None of the listings were exactly what I remembered, but they were a starting place. This is what I came up with:

Bisquick Coffee Cake, the Lighter Version

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cooking oil on 8 or 9 inch square pan.


2. Make Streusel Topping


3. Make batter


4. Pick your option.


5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

2/3 cup Heart Healthy Bisquick

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

4 T. butter or margarine (soft, not melted)

Mix all in small bowl until crumbly.

Batter:

2 cups Heart Healthy Bisquick

2/3 cup fat-free milk

2 T. sugar

1 egg

Stir until blended

Then:

These are your options, (options are good):

A. Spread batter in pan, top with streusel topping.

B. Take 1/3 of streusel topping, mix into batter. Spread batter in pan, top with streusel topping.

C. Spread batter in pan, top with 1/3 streusel topping, use knife to swirl topping into batter. Top with remaining streusel topping.

Great Vegetarian Dinner

I served this to my Book Group, it's easy to double or triple the recipe for a crowd. There was only one vegetarian among us, but everyone loved it and didn't give a thought to the lack of meat.

Black Bean Burrito Bake

1 Chipotle chili in adobo sauce, seeds removed
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
15 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 cup frozen white corn, thawed
5 flour tortillas, burrito size
1 cup mild salsa
1 cup shredded Jack cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking dish with cooking oil.

Chop chili, add to sour cream in medium bowl, let stand 10 minutes.Add beans and corn to sour cream mixture.

Divide bean mixture, and spoon down the center of each tortilla. Fold tortillas, and place seam side down in baking dish.

Spread salsa over burritos, sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Five servings.

Tummy Warming Chili

This is a really easy Chili. You can make it vegetarian with one easy substitution, Vegetable Broth instead of Chicken Broth.

1 can Mexican stewed Tomatoes
1 can fat free Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 chopped onion
2 chipotle chilies, seeded and chopped

Directions:

Drain beans. Sauté onion in a small amount of oil, in a Dutch oven; add broth and refried beans. Stir until refried beans are liquid. Add remaining ingredients, cook for ½ hour.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

I usually just make a gingerbread cake, but I was inspired by Carrie to try cupcakes instead. Much to my surprise, there were no directions for cupcake baking time. So I guessed, and they came out fine.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Then Just follow the mixing directions on the box. One box makes 12 cupcakes. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full, top each one with sliced almonds and dust with refined sugar. Bake for 20-22 minutes. I did the toothpick test to be sure they were ready. Cool and enjoy

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a great way to use left over chicken.

· 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
· 1 cup pearl onions, about 16, ends cut off, outer skin removed. Cut large onions in half
· 32 oz Chicken Broth, fat free
· 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
· 2 cups mix vegetables; I used corn, green beans and carrots
· 1 cup cooked chicken, diced
· 2 cups wide egg noodles

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven; add onions and sauté until slightly brown and tender.
2. Add broth to pot
3. Stir in tomatoes, veggies and chicken.
4. Simmer to blend flavors for 15 minutes
5. Increase heat to easy boil, add noodles and cook for 8-10 minutes.

I like to serve this soup with cornbread.