The Funky Oven

Creamed spinach

This version of creamed spinach is packed full of garlic flavor. It is made using only 2 pans which is great for clean up. For those of you who do not enjoy nutmeg flavored creamed spinach, this is a great alternative. It is made with fresh spinach and finished in the oven with panko for a little crunchy texture.

10-16 ounces fresh spinach – remove the long stems and wash

1/2 white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon chive flavored cream cheese

1-2 cups whole milk

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup panko

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the onion for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and spinach. Continue to cook until spinach is fully wilted.

Add the cream cheese and continue to stir until fully melted.

Add the flour. Gradually add 1 cup of milk while stirring constantly. Add heavy cream. Add up to 1 more cup of milk to desired texture. I like this more firm so I stopped at 1 cup. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to a prepared baking dish. Top with sprinkled panko. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbling and panko is brown in color.

Broccoli sausage pasta

Dinner

This is a popular recipe with several variations from Emeril to Once upon a chef. I first found it at Once upon a chef. It tastes amazing and can be made in about 30 minutes. It is wonderful for a fast dinner after work and not very expensive to make.

1/2 pound orcchiette pasta

1 pound mild italian sausage

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 heads of broccoli florets

1 cup water

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4-1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 tablespoon butter

First, cook the pasta to desired texture. While it is cooking, prepare the rest.

Place the olive oil in a skillet. Add the sausage and onion. Cook while breaking up the sausage into small pieces. When the sausage is cooked, add the garlic and red pepper. Cook 1 more minute.

Add the butter, water, and broccoli. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The broccoli turns bright green when done. You can see the change in my photo below. The sauce will thicken.

Add in the drained pasta and parmesan.

Cracker barrel style chicken and dumplings

Dinner, Soup

Chicken and dumplings was a Missouri staple. Actually, in Missouri, it was common to eat some type of gravy almost every day. Unfortunately my grandma’s chicken and dumpling recipe was something she just did by heart. No one really remembers it. This recipe is pretty close to what hers tasted like. I have heard that she made the dumplings a day early and let them dry on the counter. Her dumplings were firm and not fluffy. They were thin rectangles and never had raw centers. Next time, I will try that trick and see if it changes the texture to more dense as I remember them.

3 quarts water

3-4 pounds whole chicken cut up or bone in chicken thighs

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 bay leaf

4-5 sprigs parsley

1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dumplings:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

Bring the water to a boil. Add the chicken, salt, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours. The liquid is supposed to reduce by 1/3.

When the chicken is fully cooked remove it from the pot and let it set out to cool. I did not cook the chicken a full 2 hours. I removed it after about 40 minutes and I could have removed it sooner.

After the 2 hours of simmering, strain the broth. Discard all the veggies and spices.

Add 6 cups of the stock back into the pot. Add the coarse ground pepper and lemon juice. Add more salt if desired. Heat the stock on medium heat while making the dumplings.

For the dumplings, mix all. Stir until smooth and then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. I used a pizza cutter. These do not need to be perfect in appearance at all. I let my 5 year old cut them.

Drop the dumplings into simmering stock one by one. They will first double in size, then they will slowly shrink as the sauce becomes thicker. Stir them often. Do not cover the pot. Here are some photos of the changes you will see. Simmer them 30 minutes. Shred the chicken in between stirring the dumplings.

Place the chicken back into the pot. Make sure to add just the meat and not the skin or bones. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve.

So good cookies

Dessert

I made these for the first time on Christmas eve when my mother in law brought the recipe. They are very good and a full batch really made about 40-50 cookies. I have modified it to a half batch.

The two important parts of this recipe are as follows: 1. You need to use a mixer 2. They get crispier the longer you cook them but also harder to chew.

I think they would be great with white chocolate chips and craisins. Next time I will try that.

Also, because it made so many, I froze most of the dough after rolling it into balls.

1 cup flour

1 stick of butter

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup coconut

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup corn flakes

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Then add the remaining ingredients. Make into round balls 1 tablespoon in size. Place on a baking mat or parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-11 minutes. Cool before removing.

Pecan snowballs

Dessert

These have been some of my favorite cookies since I was little. My mom and I made them every Christmas. There are 2 ways that these can go wrong. The first is not having the butter room temperature or trying to melt it. It just will not work. The second is over-cooking them. They become dry very fast.

I did not create these myself. I have no idea who to give credit for the original recipes. This is a half batch from the original recipe and makes 21-23 cookies.

1 cup crushed/ground pecans

1 stick salted butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all pourpose flour

powdered sugar for dusting – 1-2 cups

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients. Roll into tablespoon size balls. These can be placed close together because they do not imcrease in size. Bake 20 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Immediately remove them from the oven and roll them in a bowl to powdered sugar to coat. The sugar will turn wet. This is expected. Allow them to cool fully. You can roll them in sugar more than once to keep them white in appearance.

Bacon and green chili quiche

Breakfast

My husband had a Christmas brunch at this office, and this is what I made. It would be amazing for a holiday breakfast. It can easily be made ahead and then warmed the day it is needed.

5 eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sour cream

4 green onions, diced

1 7oz can green chilis

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

8 slices bacon, diced and cooked

1 prepared pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the pie crust into a pie plate. I never like the size of the prepared crusts because I never have enough dough to make fancy edges, but they are so convenient.

Cook the bacon.

Mix all of the ingredients together except the bacon. Pour into the prepared crust. Sprinkle the bacon on top.

Bake this for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted jnto the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Refrigerate.

Sopapilla cheesecake

Dessert, Uncategorized

There are many variations of this online. I chose to make one using more than just cream cheese and sugar. Why? Because I wanted it very very creamy. I also did not want enough to feed an army. I changed the recipe to a half batch and it filled a 8×6 pan and made enough for 2 nights for 4 people. I remember my grandma making cheesecake in the 80’s that had crescent roll crust. This reminds me so much of that holiday dessert.

1 large can crescent rolls

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

honey to drizzle on top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare either an 8×8 or 8×6 or something similar. Open the crescent rolls and divide the amount in half. On a floured surface, roll them thin and seal all the holes until it is the size of the pan. You can also do this by just pressing the dough in the pan using your fingers.

In the mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Mix fully. Pour this on top of the dough.

Using the last half of the dough, again press it thin to cover the top of the pan. You will not see small defects in coverage but try to cover it fully as much as possible.

To prepare the topping, melt the butter in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle this on top of the bake.

Bake the creation uncovered for 30 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate. This is best eaten cold. Drizzle honey over each piece before eating.

Habanero hot sauce

Garden creations, hot sauce

Our Texas garden produces a lot of vegetables. The peppers really do the best of anything. This is the 8th year of gardening with my husband and this is by far the best hot sauce recipe I have found. Trust me… I have tried a LOT. I cannot handle too much spice. With as hot has habaneros are, most of the time I cannot even enjoy them. This sauce is more mild and I really enjoy it.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 cup diced carrot

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups water

6-8 habanero peppers, seeded

3 tablespoons line juice

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Saute the carrot, onion, and garlic in the oil in a saucepan for 6-8 minutes. Add the water and boil covered until tender or about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the habanero, lime, vinegar, and salt. Cool. Blend until smooth in a food processor. Store refrigerated in glass jars.

Au gratin potatoes

Side dishes, Uncategorized

These are pretty simple to make although not at all healthy. They are a definite “treat” food….. and so worth it!

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and thin sliced

8 ounces heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 clove garlic

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare an 8×12 baking dish with non-stick spray. Place the cream, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup of cheese, and thyme in a sauce pan. Heat until warm but not boiling. Stop cooking when you begin to smell the garlic. Remove the clove of garlic. Place 1 layer of potatoes (not overlapping) in the pan. Drizzle some of the cream over. Add another layer of potatoes. Add more cream. Continue layering until all potatoes are used. Pour the remaining cream on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes total. Sprinkle with remaining cheese after 20-25 minutes of baking. Cook until cheese on top is slightly browned and potatoes are fork tender.

Cranberry sauce

Side dishes

I grew up eating canned cranberries. Nothing compares to the fresh sauce. It really is easy to make. I use the recipe on the bag of the Ocean Spray cranberries. The only difference is that I add the juice of one lemon at the end after straining the berries. You do not have to strain. This recipe works perfectly either way. I personally prefer a smooth sauce to a lumpy sauce.

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

3 cups fresh cranberries

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Place the sugar and water in a large pot on the stove. Cook until boiling.

Now add the cranberries. Here is the fun part for kiddos. They will pop just like popcorn. I recommend a fry screen over the pot to keep the hot sugar from splashing little faces. Here is a photo after one popped.

Boil this on low, stirring often. Add lemon juice at the end.

Here is the labor intensive part (if you do not want skins). Strain the mixture though a mesh collander or food mill. Here is a photo of my setup. Super fancy, right?

I gently mash the craberries through the strainer with a spoon and collect the at the bottom. The sauce keeps in the refrigerator for 14 days and also freezes well.

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