Don's Recipes

Here’s one that has an old time feel.  As it’s cooking, it just fills the house with a great fried chicken smell!  It’s from my mother-in-law and the chicken comes out moist and with a great flavor.  It’s a Schwenneker household classic.

Ingredients

3 lb Fryer cut up                             2 cups minute rice

¼ lb. butter                                     2 cups water

2 ½ TBLSP grated onion                1 can Cream of Chicken

1 TBLSP chopped parsley             1 tsp salt & dash pepper

1/8 tsp thyme                                  ½ tsp celery flakes

1/3 C. seasoned flour to include salt, pepper, paprika

garlic powder,  onion powder

Preparation:

1.        Rinse the chicken and place in bag with seasoned flour and shake it up.

2.        Heat butter in large pan over medium heat until melted.  Brown chicken in frying pan, remove and set aside.

3.        In the same pan, stir in soup, seasonings, celery, onions and water .

4.        Bring to a boil and stir.

5.        Spread 2 cups of Minute Rice (from box) into a 1 ½ qt. casserole dish or pan

6.        Pour 2/3 mixture over Minute Rice and stir to moisten.

7.        Top with chicken and remaining soup mixture.

BAKE:  350° for 1 hour

It tastes great and goes well with some steamed veggies.  Good luck and good eating!

This one I made on the fly with some leftover shrimp from New Year’s Eve I had in my fridge.   It’s super easy and you could even substitute a chicken breast chopped up if shrimp ain’t your thing.  I’ll have more on that at the end.  Here we go…

Ingredients

Pre-cooked Shrimp (1/2 a pound to a pound)

3 T Butter or Margarine

3 Heaping T Cajun Seasoning

1/2 Box Cooked Spaghetti or Linguini

1 Green Pepper (chopped)

Preparation

1.       Cook Pasta according to directions on the box.

2.       While Pasta is boiling, heat a big pan over medium heat and melt butter.

3.       As soon as butter is melted, sauté’ the green peppers for 2 minutes.

4.       Throw in Shrimp and Cajun Seasoning and heat over medium high heat stirring occasionally.

5.       When Pasta is done, drain, and add to pan with shrimp.

6.       Toss all ingredients to coat the pasta and serve immediately.

You can jazz this up however you would like.  Throw in a half red pepper along with the half green pepper and get a little more color. You could also dice a sweet onion and sauté it along with the peppers, I just didn’t have one.  Also, you could chop one chicken breast and cook it in 2 T of Olive Oil until done.  Then you would add the butter and continue with the recipe.  Finally, there are all kinds of Cajun Seasonings available.  I used Emeril’s Essence this weekend because it was what I had in my spice cabinet. If you like it hot, you're welcome to up the amount Cajun spices.  Good luck and good eating!

I still hear "More Crockpot Recipes" more than anything else when it comes to viewer email. Here's one I've made a bunch of times that was given to me by my friend, Meg Miles.  It’s yummy to have sitting out for folks on New Year’s Eve too, just Crock-potting away.  Not sure if Crock-potting is a word, but here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 can (4-ounces) chopped green chilies
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (16 ounces Great Northern Beans
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 ½ cups finely chopped cooked chicken breast
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Preparation
1. In large skillet, cook onion in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent.
2. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth, stir, and add to Crockpot.
4. Add chicken cook on low for 4-6 hours .
5. Garnish with cheese and/or sour cream.


I'll also add some tortilla chips (instead of crackers). It's great. You can also double it depending on the size of your group eating it and the size of your Crockpot. Good luck and good eating!

I have to admit, growing up a corn-fed Iowa boy, I didn't know a lot of Jewish people. There just weren't that many in my town, until high school. After an ankle injury sidelined my sports dreams I got involved in the theater department and meant my friend, Dana.

She had just moved to Iowa from Detroit, and was a heck of an actress. We were paired together in a one-act play and became life long friends. Dana's family was Jewish and they taught me a lot, not just about being Jews, but about life. So in honor of Dana, and of Hanukkah, I thought we'd post a traditional Hanukkah recipe, Latkes. I love 'em! A little sour cream on top and they are awesome!

Ingredients
2 pounds russet (baking) or Yukon Gold potatoes
1 medium onion
1/2 cup chopped scallions, including the green part
1 large egg beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

Prep
1. Peel the potatoes and put in cold water.
2. Using a grater or a food processor coarsely grate the potatoes and onions. Place together in a fine-mesh strainer or tea towel and squeeze all the water over a bowl. The potato starch will settle to the bottom; reserve that after you have carefully poured off the water.
3. Mix the potato and onion with the potato starch.
4. Add the scallions, egg, and salt and pepper.
5. Heat a griddle or non-stick pan and coat with a thin film of vegetable oil.
6. Take about 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture in the palm of your hand and flatten as best you can.
7. Place the potato mixture on the griddle, flatten with a spatula, and fry for a few minutes until golden. Flip the pancake over and brown the other side. Remove to paper towels to drain.
8. Serve immediately with Sour Cream and/or Applesauce.

Or you can just buy the mix and save time. I got the above recipe from the Food Network site. You can get a cool history of Hanukkah foods by clicking here.

BTW... My buddy Dana went on to do big things at ESPN. You can check our her bio here.

Have a Happy Hanukkah and good eating!

I find baking very therapeutic. Maybe it's working the dough or maybe it's like shop class, except you get to eat your project when you're done. I really like desserts. So when I tried some biscotti from my daughter's preschool open house, I had to get the recipe. A special thanks to Mrs. Kokales at the Monroeville United Methodist Preschool a couple of years ago. Here it is:

Ingredients
4 Cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temp
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 cup almonds, chopped

Preparation
1. Stir together flour and baking powder, set aside
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy
3. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until combined
4. Add flour, then almonds
5. Divide dough into four pieces
6. Shape each piece into a 9x2x1 log
7. Place logs 2 inches apart on two cookie sheets
8. Brush with egg (1 beaten yolk & 1 T of milk)
9. Bake 25 min at 375°
10. Cool 30 minutes
11. Cut and lay slice on cookie sheet and bake @335° for 8 minutes
12. Turn it over and bake another 8-10 minutes until dry and crisp.

I dip it in my coffee. It's great to eat, plus it makes my kids say "Eeewwww!". Good luck and good eating!

 

It’s the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table, my turkey.  For years, I made the turkey in the bag.  It’s a great way to start, always moist, always delicious.  It just didn’t look like a Norman Rockwell painting.  So a few years back, I bought a roasting pan and took on the picture perfect turkey.  A note: It takes 8+ hours to make because you soak the turkey in brine.

Ingredients
1 (11 to 14 pound) frozen turkey (thawed)

Brine ingredients
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 heaping tablespoon black peppercorns
1 gallon iced water
1 clean 5 gallon bucket

Other ingredients
1/2 apple, sliced
1/2 onion
1 whole stalk celery (including the leaves)
Canola oil (or other neutral oil)

Preparation:
1. A day or two before, combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil.
2. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
3. Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before {we like to eat around Noon}) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket.
4. Remove the neck and organs. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for at least 6 hours.
5. A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, celery, and 1/2 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
6. Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
7. Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels.
8. Add apple and veggies from microwave to cavity along.
9. Tuck wings back and underneath the bird and coat whole bird liberally with oil.
10. Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. This will brown it up quickly. A warning, it smokes a lot in my oven so I turn the vent fan above the oven to help pump it outside.
11. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F.
12. Set your thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees.  It should require a total of 2 1/2 - 3 hours of roasting.
13. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15-30 minutes before carving.

I got the original recipe from Alton Brown of food network. He uses more aromatics and other ingredients in the brine, plus a few more steps. I like to keep it a little simpler though. Also, buy the vegetable Bouillon cubes and make it with water in the same pot you make the brine in. It's a lot cheaper than buying ready -made bouillon.

I know this recipe is a lot of work. If you are not up to it, try the Reynolds turkey bags.  They always turned out great! Above all, don’t stress and enjoy the family time. Good luck and good eating and Happy Thanksgiving.

I love cooking the big meal, Thanksgiving. Today, and next week, I’ll give you two must-haves at the Schwenneker dinner table.  This one is called scalloped corn. It's an old family recipe my grandma would make at big dinners.  It’s a really easy casserole. Sometimes, I just get hungry for it, and I make it when it’s not the holidays! It’s a very Iowa recipe, and one of my favorites!

Ingredients

2 cans Whole Kernel Corn, Un-drained
1 can Cream Style Corn
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 pint Sour Cream
1 Box, Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
16 oz. package shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a Casserole Dish
2. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until center is bubbling

It's super easy and I love the taste. Last time I was back visting my family my grandma started adding a third can of corn, drained. She says they've cut down on the amount of corn in each can over the years and this makes up for it.  It adds approx. 10 minutes to the baking time. 

You could probably make it low fat by switching out the sour cream and cheddar cheese. I haven't tried it, but I'm sure it would work. Hope you like it! Next week we brine a Turkey.  Once you brine, you’ll never go back to just regular old turkey.  Good luck and good eating!

I don’t usually post recipes I haven’t tried, but this one comes with big time references!  White House pastry chef Bill Yosses' pies have now tickled the tastebuds of two presidents.  His trick to making fruit pies worthy of a president is to bake the bottom crust first, then fill and top the pie and bake it again.

He likes to mix the dough by hand to avoid overworking it but for an easier home version, suggests using a food processor.  It takes a while, but it looks delicious!

   ------

   BILL YOSSES' APPLE PIE

   Start to finish: 3 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)

For the crust:

   3 cups all-purpose flour

   1/4 cup sugar

   1 1/2 teaspoons salt

   10 ounces (18 T) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small chunks

   3 ounces (6 T) lard, cold, cut into small chunks

   1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:

   2 pounds apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

   1 cup sugar

   1/2 cup honey

   1/3 cup cornstarch

   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

   1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

   Zest and juice of 1 lemon (I didn't have one, so I used 1 1/2 T of lemon juice)

For the egg wash:

   1 egg

   1 teaspoon salt

   Sugar, for sprinkling

Preparation

1.      To make the crust, in a food processor pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and lard, then pulse briefly until the mixture forms small crumbs. Add the ice water and pulse just until a dough forms.

2.      Divide the dough into 2 pieces and shape into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

3.      To prepare the pie shell, on a floured surface roll out one disc to a 14-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased, deep 9-inch pie pan, leaving a 1 inch overhang. Refrigerate the crust in the pan for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

4.      When ready to bake the bottom crust, heat the oven to 375 F. Line the cold crust with foil and fill with baking weights, rice or dry beans to hold it in place. Bake the pie shell for 30 minutes. Leave the oven on once the crust is done.

5.      Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a large saucepan, toss together the apples, sugar, honey, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon zest and juice. Let sit for 20 minutes.

6.      Bring the fruit mixture to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the fruit thickens. Let cool.

7.      When the bottom crust is baked and the filling has cooled, pour the fruit into the crust.

8.      Roll out the second disc of dough to about 12 inches.

9.      In a small bowl, beat the egg with the salt. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg on the edges of the cooked crust. Place the top crust over the filling. Gently crimp the top crust, sealing the pie around the edges.

10.   Puncture the top of the crust with a paring knife in several places to create steam vents.

11.  Brush egg wash over the crust, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the top crust is golden brown.

   Let cool for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

I love apple pie and can’t wait to try it out.  If you have different twist to this recipe, let me know!  Good luck and good eating.

Editor's Note:  A couple of things I found while making this recipe. 

1.  Use apples that have some tart-ness to them, the middle is SOOO sweet.  I used Braeburns, and it worked well.  Granny Smith's would've been good too. 

2.  When you make the bottom crust, don't let it hang over the edges, they well burn.  Just bring it up to the edge.

3.  The measurements are by weight, but if you don't have a scale, you have to use Tablespoons.  I've added the Tablespoons to the top of the recipe.  Good luck!