Custom Cole Slaw Dressing

Here's something you can make up ahead of time to create an instant Cole slaw for potluck. Kraft® makes a similar Cole slaw dressing in a bottle, but if you're making slaw in the industrial sizes, here's a recipe that's easy to double and is really really good. Also, if you're like me and can't do the sugar, you can add Stevia or Splenda to it ans since it's not cooked, you get a nice sweet taste to your dressing without shoot your blood glucose out of the park. You can chop up your own cabbage, carrots and such or you can buy a bag of Cole slaw already shredded, just add dressing. Here's how to make your own so that it tastes just like you want it to:

Ingredients:

•  1-1/4 cup mayonnaise. (I like to split it half and half between mayo and Miracle Whip Salad Dressing®, but that's just me)
• 1/3 cup sugar or 1/3 to 1/2 cup Stevia, Truvia, Splenda, etc.
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp celery seed (every well-equipped potlucker's kitchen should stock this stuff)
• 1/2 teaspoon season salt or creole seasoning (I like Tony's® but that's just me)
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice 
• Salt to taste

Directions: 

1. Mix all ingredients together into a bowl and stir with a wire whisk.

Serving Suggestions:

This dressing has a lovely sweet taste minus the whang some Cole slaw dressings seem to have. And if you sub something for the sugar, you don't have to feel guilty about the lightly sweet taste. You don't want to waste it though. Walmart up here sells fruit in jars by an outfit called Polar® (see the jar in picture to the right).  I hang on to the big ones because they are the perfect size to hold a can of olives after you open them or to put leftover BBQ beans or to store my homemade ranch dressing in.  It also works great for this stuff too. If you double the mix and make a family-sized Cole Slaw, you should have just enough left to fill up a jar and store in the fridge for later in case you need to make an emergency Cole Slaw.  If you've got a big group for potluck coming, you can get a bag of Cole slaw mix at the store and carry that, a bowl and your jar of Cole slaw dressing to church and mix it up fresh on the spot a few minutes before serving. It's best that way instead of storing the mixed up slaw overnight in the fridge so that it goes all soupy. The slaw is crispier that way.  Cole slaw mix usually includes cabbage, purple cabbage and carrots. There are some things you can add to vary your slaw, to wit...

Jazz your Cole slaw up a bit by adding some combination of these things:

• Slivered almonds and crushed Ramen noodles for an oriental version
• Chow mein noodles
• With raisins like our grandmothers used to make.
• Cashews or peanuts
• Dill weed or parsley
• Finely chopped celery
• Red onions
• Toasted sesame seeds

There are other variations that involve different dressing mixes and ingredients. The ones here are just a few things that work with this particular dressing. And it's never failed to be a hit for me. The dressing is everything for a good slaw and this one is my very favorite.

© 2017 by Tom King

Aunt Sheila's 1-Cup Easy Peach Cobbler

Blueberry/peach cobbler variant (makes the batter blueish)

Need an easy-to make potluck dessert? This one is a unique take on cobbler. You can use a cake mix, but I much prefer this rich crusty buttery take on the inimitable peach cobbler. The recipe is really easy to double or triple if you've got a large casserole dish. It's also easy to memorize the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter or margarine

  

  Blueberries go in before you pour it if you use them in combo

• 1 C. milk
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1tsp. vanilla
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 1 qt. fruit, can or jar (peaches, cherries, blackberries, blueberries or combination thereof)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

   

   Cover the bottom of the baking dish with melted butter.

2. Melt butter in baking pan or casserole dish.
3. In a bowl Mix milk, sugar, flour, baking powder, egg, salt and cinnamon (if desired). 
4. If you add blueberries to other fruit, add the blueberries directly to the batter. 
5. Pour batter into the casserole on top of the butter.
6. Add fruit to the batter, but do not stir it. Let the fruit float on the batter. When you bake the cobbler, the batter will rise up around the fruit and cover the fruit. The butter and the rising batter absorbs the flavor of the fruit.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour till a knife inserted in the doughy bits comes out clean and the top crust is brown and buttery.

Serving Suggestions:

Ready to go in the oven.

Serve nice and hot and bubbly around the edges. It's really good with whipped cream or ice cream. I like it with a little evaporated milk, but that's me. It's a really easy recipe and is expandable. Just double or triple the ingredients and use a larger baking dish. Not nearly as hard as a pie-crust cobbler and tastes really crisp and buttery. 

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

Pea Salad

Pea Salad

This is one of my favorite side dishes, especially with Barbecue Tender-bits and almost any other vegetarian main dish. Lots of good stuff in this and it is a nice flexible recipe to boot.  You can add all sorts of fun stuff to it.  Double it for

Ingredients

• 1 can of LeSeur Peas or a package of frozen peas, partially thawed
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped
• ¼ cup chopped onion (you can also use chopped green onions)
• 1 ½  cup cheddar cheese cubed (you can also use Velveeta)
• ½ cup Kraft mayonnaise
• ½ cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
• 3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish or 3 sweet gherkins choped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 avocado cubed (optional)
• ¼ cup sweet bell pepper – chopped (optional)
• 2 firm Roma Tomatoes diced (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
2. That’s pretty much it.  Transfer it to a pretty serving bowl and you’re done. I like to sprinkle a little Paprika on top to give it color.
3. Chill until served.

Note:  Works even better if you make it on Friday for Sabbath potluck. Just keep it in the fridge till you leave for church, then put it in the fridge there. It’s really good cold.

© 2017 by Tom King