Spinach Enchiladas

This recipe I based on one by Niki Lorenz in the Tyler SDA Church Cookbook. I modified it a little to suit the ingredients on hand, but it's a pretty easy recipe to play around with and it's got a lot more fiber and vitamins than most enchiladas. Anyway, her we go...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Small onion chopped fine
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup evaporated milk 
• 1 oz. Velveeta Cheese
• 1 pound cheddar cheese
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 can spinach
• 2 green onions
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes and Chilis
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can of sliced olives

DIRECTIONS:

The sauce!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain out the spinach in a collander and press out the excess water
3. Place spinach, green onions, Rotel, soup, and sour cream in the food processor and process until smooth and creamy sauce is formed.  
4. Pour enough sauce into a large casserole to cover the bottom of the dish
5. In a skillet, saute chopped onions until tender. Add Velveeta cut in small cubes.
6. When the cheese starts to melt, add 3 1/2 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese and milk and simmer till melted. Stir till smooth.
7. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 50 seconds to soften them.
8. Divide the cheese and onion mixture between the 12 tortillas roll them up, then place them side by side in the casserole dish. 
9. Cover with the rest of the green sauce, then cover with the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle the olives on top.
10. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling slightly.
11. Cover with foil and set it aside. 

Ready for the oven...

SERVING DIRECTIONS:

Store overnight in the fridge.  Heat to at least 170 degrees. If the church has warming ovens, then get your enchiladas in before Sabbath School so it will be warmed up by potluck. This is an unusually colored enchilada what with the green sauce, but it's quite good.  I intended to take a picture when it came out of the oven, but we were hungry and by the time I remembered to take the picture, we'd already eaten half of it.  The spinach really gives it a lot of really good flavor.


© 2017 by Tom King

Vege-Strip Steak Egg Noodle Stroganoff

This stroganoff recipe is loosely based on Peggy Ray's stroganoff recipe in the Tyler SDA Cookbook. Peggy's a terrific cook and the recipe was a good starting point, making it easy to modify. I don't use the onion soup because it makes it a little salty and I don't need the salt at this stage of my life. It's hard to keep any leftover stroganoff around. People can't stop getting into it.

INGREDIENTS:

• Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Steak Strips (Choplets also work great for this recipe)
  
• 1/2 Chopped onions
• Egg noodles
• 6 oz sour cream
• Sliced fresh mushrooms
• Mushroom soup
• 1 Tsp. beef seasoning in 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (optional)
• Butter, margarine, olive oil
• Small can of sliced olives 
• Cup of crushed potato chips 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Caramelize onions in a skillet while cooking the egg noodles according to directions.
   
   
2. Cook the noodles slightly al dente' and drain.
   
3. Dice onions and slice mushrooms and add to onions before they are quite caramelized.
   
4. Add water and beef seasoning when mushrooms and onions are well cooked. 
5. Add 1/2 bag of Vegetable Steak Strips and cook well.
6. Add can of mushroom soup and sour cream and stir mixture well and heat till it bubbles.
7. Add sliced olives, stir well. 
   
8. Pour noodles into large casserole dish and stir in sauce.
   
9. Sprinkle crushed potato chips over the top of the casserole and cover with foil.

SERVING DIRECTIONS:


Put in the oven at 170 degrees and heat before the potluck. Keeps well in the fridge overnight and actually tastes better the next day if you make it on Friday.  Morningstar Farms' meal starter frozen vegetarian meat alternatives are really useful, given that you can buy them at Walmart and various grocery stores - handy if there isn't a nearby health food store.

© 2017 by Tom King

Asparagus Allemande

Only had 1 can, so it's more sauce than asparagus, but you get the idea.

 

Asparagus Allemande

Got a couple of cans of asparagus you don’t know what to do with? Or maybe you picked up some fresh asparagus in the produce aisle. Here’s how to make a nice asparagus dish for potluck. This is pretty much cooked asparagus in something called an Allemande sauce. I toned it down a bit from the French version of an Allemande and made one spice substitution, but it’s close enough to call it an Allemande sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp George Washington chicken style broth powder
• salt (to taste)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 2 cans asparagus
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup water

Directions:

• Melt butter in large skillet
• Stir in flower until it thickens
• Add evaporated milk and all spices
• Add water and lemon juice till sauce is the right consistency
• Drain asparagus and add to sauce. If using fresh asparagus, boil if first till tender then add to Allemende sauce.
• Heat till bubbling slightly.

Serving Suggestion:

Pour the mixture into a serving dish. Garnish with sprigs of parsley. Can be reheated on Sabbath before potluck. It’s a different take on asparagus but if you can get a couple of cans on sale, it’s a nice and unexpected addition to your potluck repertoire and won't break your budget.

 © 2017 by Tom King

Sheila’s Texas Style Potato Salad

All the potato salad that was left after a "light" lunch

Mama’s tater salad is epic and best of all – no mustard. I suppose you could add some, but you’d ruin it in my not-so-humble opinion as a noted gastronome.  This recipe serves a platoon of Marines and likely will be scraped clean at potluck.  It’s best made on Friday and served cold on Sabbath. It only improves the longer it sits in the fridge. It won’t spoil. It will be eaten within 2 days in most cases. Just don’t let the family get at it before potluck or you could be carrying an empty bowl to church.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 well-scrubbed potatoes
• 1 - 1½ cups Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
• 1 – 1½ cups Hellman’s or Kraft Mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon pickle relish
• ¼ cup finely chopped celery
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ¼ cup finely chopped Bell peppers
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• Small jar of pimento
• Salt, onion and garlic powder to taste
• 2 small cans sliced olives
• 6 hard-boiled and chilled eggs
• Paprika

Directions:

1. Boil eggs and chill
2. Boil unpeeled potatoes till tender but slightly firm. Allow to cool.
3. Peel and dice potatoes into half-inch cubes and place in serving bowl
4. Peel boiled eggs and grate into serving bowl.
5. Add mayo, salad dressing – adjust by adding more or less to taste
6. Add relish, pimento, celery, peppers, onion, and black olives. (Reserve a few black olives to garnish finished salad).
7. Stir in garlic and onion powder to taste. Go easy. You can’t back up.
8. Sprinkle paprika and olive slices on top to garnish.
9. You can add a few sprigs of fresh parsley to give the whole thing color.

Serving Suggestions:

Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator. Take to potluck, but get toward the front of the line. Either that or make two bowls and hide one till you get to the front of the line.  Just a suggestion.

 © 2017 by Tom King