Search Me

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Homemade Flour Tortillas




I started making tortillas by accident. I ran out of flour tortillas one evening just as I was struck by a giant craving for quesadillas. So I pulled up some recipes for homemade tortillas of the flour variety. Using simple tools like my iron skillet, mixer with dough hook, rolling pin and a spatula, I went to work and produced a tasty tortilla. I've fooled around with the recipe and this one is the best yet.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (You can substitute a cup of whole wheat flour for one of the cups of white flour if you want a little fiber in your tortillas - I like them better that way)
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
  1. Toss all the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl and with the dough hook mix up the dry ingredients thoroughly on medium speed. 
  2. Keep the mixer running and add oil and water. Mix for about a minute, keeping the dry flour scraped from the sides of the bowl. When mixture starts to form a ball, reduce speed to low and mix with the dough hook until the dough is nice and smooth.
  3. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured cutting board. Divide the dough in half, then in half again. Keep halving each new ball of dough until you have 16 equal dough pieces. 
  4. Roll each piece into a ball.
  5. Flatten the little balls with your hand as much as possible.
  6. The dough may be a little sticky. If it is roll it in a little more flour, then lay a cloth over the dour balls for about 15 minutes.
  7. Heat your griddle or a nice cast iron skillet which I prefer. Lightly oil the skillet and wipe off excess. 
  8. With your rolling pin, roll each dough ball flat into a rough disk about six or seven inches across.
    You'll have to lightly flour the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to it. 
  9. Don't stack the uncooked tortillas or they'll stick. I roll them out one at a time getting the next one flattened while the first is cooking.
  10. Make sure the pan is very hot - I work at just above medium heat. Put your tortilla into the pan and cook about 1 minute. The bottom should have a few pale brown spots. The topside will show a few thin bubbles. You'll have to fiddle with the heat to make sure the tortilla doesn't brown too fast or too slow. One way you get too crisp tortillas and the other too tough. It should look right after about a minute. Then flip the tortilla and cook for another 30 seconds. The tortilla should be soft and flexible with a few brown spots on it.
  11. Use a pair of tongs to remove the tortilla and stack it in a covered container. A ziplock bag works too. This will lock in the moisture and ensure the tortillas remain soft and flexible.
  12. Before you start another tortilla, wipe out any flour that may have accumulated in the pan.
  13. You can serve them while they are still warm or after they cool or you can warm them up again. They keep nicely. 
Serving Suggestions:
Flour tortillas will keep pretty well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag. You can keep them at room temperature for 24 hours or longer in the fridge. You can freeze them indefinitely by separating the tortillas with parchment or waxed paper and stack them in a zippered bag before you shove them in the freezer.
When you are ready to use the tortillas, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. I use a microwave tortilla warmer. But then I'm from Texas and we all have one of those. Microwave them covered for 30 seconds or uncovered for 15-25 seconds until warm. Leave the cover on and set them on the table for everyone to dig in.

Great for quesadillas or flour tacos or burritos or..............dang, now I'm hungry for Mexican food. Make up about 4 batches of these, throw out some hot refried beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato with a big bowl of salsa and they'll be a hit for burritos at your next potluck.

© 2016 by Tom King* All photos are © in the public domain

Monday, November 28, 2016

Crock Pot Cake



Here's how to get a nice and very moist cake out of a box cake mix and you don't have to tie up your oven if you've got a couple of casseroles going in there. It takes a little longer, but the cake I made in our crockpot came out really well. You just have to be patient because you can only cook the layers one at a time and they take one to two hours for each layer.  Makes a nice sturdy little cake and you don't have to worry so much about burning it. This is a very forgiving way to bake a cake.

Ingredients:
  • Cake mix or your own homemade cake batter
  • Crock pot
  • Spatula
  • Spray oil or butter
  • Frosting
Directions:
  1. Plug in your crock pot and turn it on high.
  2. Spray the inside with PAM or spray on margarine or rub the inside and bottom with butter or oil
  3. Make up your cake batter just like you normally do.
  4. Pour half of the cake batter into the crock pot. Cover and save the rest.
  5. Cover and cook until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean
  6. Gently run around the edges of the cake with a spatula or narrow pancake flipper till the cake releases from the bottom
  7. Turn the cake out onto a cake plate. Flip it back over and allow to cool.
  8. Meanwhile, respray the inside of the crock  and scoop the rest of the batter into it.
  9. Cover and cook again for one or two hours until a knife in the center comes out clean.
  10. Again, gently loosen the edges of the cake from the pot and turn out on a plate.
  11. Allow to cool, the frost the first layer, place the second layer on top of the first and frost that. The layers may be very moist and so you have to handle them gently so they don't break. They are studier once they've cooled.
  12. Cover and take to potluck with you. Makes nice tall delicious looking pieces. This is the one I made for my chocolate loving sweetie. She was much impressed.

Notes:
 
If you're cooking for a potluck, Thanksgiving, Christmas or other holiday, this method gives you more baking space. It doesn't have to be watched as closely as it doesn't burn as easily as batter in a thin cake pan does.  Just plug in the old crok and get her cooking. I'm going to try a fruitcake in the crock pot this year. I like the look of the bundt pan fruitcakes, but I'm curious to see how my grandmother's fruitcake turns out in the crock pot. I will keep one and all informed. Be sure and follow this blog for updates and new recipes.  If you have some recipes you want to contribute, I'll try them out and post them here giving you full credit, of course.

Happy potlucking!

© 2016 by Tom King

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Crock Pot Cornbread




Thanksgiving is coming up and the oven is going to be a crowded place. Here's a trick to free up some space in the oven and get your cornbread done for stuffing. Not only that, but it makes great cornbread and minimizes the potential for burning it.  It also makes a nice compact and attractive cornbread for potluck. The process is simple.

Ingredients:


  • Cornbread mix (Martha White is the best - no lard)
  • Eggs and milk as called for by the mix 
  • Optional: 1/4 cup grated Velveeta or cheddar cheese
  • Alternate:  Cornbread batter from scratch
  • Butter or Margarine
  • Crock pot
Directions:
  1. Turn the crock pot on high
  2. Melt butter or margarine in the bottom of the crock pot and brush it around on the sides and evenly over the bottom of the pot so the cornbread won't stick
  3. Mix up the batter while the butter is melting.
  4. Optional: Grate the quarter cup cheese and blend in with the batter
  5. Pour the batter into the crock pot and cover with the lid.
  6. Bake for one to two hours depending on how hot the crock pot runs
  7. Bake till a knife inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.
  8. Turn off pot. If the crock is removable, lift it out and use a spatula to loosen the sides and bottom.  Turn out onto a plate and voila!  Cornbread!
Note:
Adding a little honey to the mix makes a nice sweeter cornbread if you like that sort of thing. To make Mexican cornbread add cheese and jalapeno or diced poblano peppers and onions. This is the easiest way I've found to make cornbread. Because it cooks slow, it's forgiving to cooks that don't multi-task well - giving you a 20 minute or so window to take it off the heat. The crock pot gives you that nice even heat like an iron skillet and makes a crisp crust with the melted butter on the bottom. And it gives you a nice cute cornbread to take to potluck. You could make two or three on Friday while you are working on your Friday housekeeping. And it'll only cost you three 50 cent boxes of cornbread mix a little milk and a few eggs. Three cornbreads this size will give you plenty to go around at the potluck and people will be amazed at how good it is warmed in the microwave just before serving.

© 2016 by Tom King

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Mammaw's Tea Cakes



It's funny how words get misheard and preserved, especially among close-knit cultural groups. I was looking for this recipe in the box of recipes my wife inherited from her Mammaw Jenny. This recipe for old-fashioned Tea Cakes (the kind you have at tea time if you're British, was in an old newspaper clipping along with a recipe for cornmeal pie. It was listed as a recipe for old-fashioned "T" cakes. Not sure what the local newspaper thought the "T" stood for. There was another recipe by someone named Miranda for a "Sheith" cake - or a sheet cake as it is known throughout the rest of the world.  So T-cakes or Tea Cakes, whatever you want to call them, these are a great party cookie that's not very sweet, but just right for a little snack or a light dessert after a big old potluck.

Mammaw's Old Fashioned Tea Cakes


Ingredients:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mix all ingredients well
  3. Roll dough thin
  4. Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter 
  5. Place cookies evenly on an ungreased cookie sheet
  6. Bake until cookies are a light golden brown. Do not overcook.
Note:

You can also spoon the batter onto a cookie sheet. The original recipe also suggests using an insulated cookie sheet. I like to bake them till they crisp and turn darker around the edges.  These are very simple and come out like a cross between a cake and a cookie. Very civilized for a simple something to go with a warm drink or iced drinks. You can even substitute Truvia for sugar and lower the calories even further.

© 2016 by Tom King

Friday, September 2, 2016

Neat Vegeburger Shepherd’s Pie



Atlantic Natural Foods has a couple of new products called “Neat” and “Neat Egg” that I tested out on my potluck version of shepherd’s pie.  It works pretty well and makes a nice sized shepherd’s pie.  I’ve already posted a shepherd’s pie recipe and my Sweet Baboo’s mashed potato recipe which is the base for any good shepherd’s pie.  I actually liked the NEAT burger crumbles because they were a little crisp from the prep process. I like my vegeburger with a little texture. If you don't like it a little crunchy, just don't cook it as long.

Neat Burger Crumbles


Ingredients:
 
  • 1 package NEAT
  • 2 TBSP water
  • 2 Eggs or NEAT Eggs prepared according to pkg.
  • Half an onion finely chopped
  • Half a bell pepper finely chopped
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce
  • 1 small can of diced tomatoes

Instructions:
  1. Mix NEAT with water and eggs or Neat Eggs (see recipe below) in a bowl.
  2. Flatten mixture and press flat into a lightly oiled skillet on medium heat.
  3. Cook until the bottom starts to crisp and flip.
  4. Once the other side starts to crisp break it up into crumbles and stir. 
  5. In a separate pan or skillet sauté onions and peppers and sage in a little olive oil
  6. When the onions and peppers are caramelized, add diced tomatoes and barbecue sauce and heat
  7. Add sauce mix to Neat crumbles mixture and you’re ready to go.

Serving Suggestion:

Fill casserole dish with mashed potatoes. Pour NEAT mixture over the mashed potatoes cover with foil and reheat once you get to potluck. Makes a really nice casserole.








NEAT Egg Prep.

  1. Mix 2 TBSP water, 1 TBSP Neat egg mix per egg required in the recipe.
  2. Mix well
  3. Add to recipe just as you would an egg. 
  4. NEAT egg isn’t a standalone substitute for eggs. It serves strictly as a binder in other recipes. It does a nice job in this one.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Sloppy Joes



This one is another potluck recipe that's good if you're feeding a bunch of kids. Throw in huge bags of chips and some fruit or something and you're all set.  Here's how you do it.

INGREDIENTS:
  • Morning Star Grillers Crumbles®, Loma Linda Vegeburger®, Worthington Vegeburger®, whatever kind of vegeburger you want
  • Chopped onions
  • Chopped Peppers
  • Oil
  • Manwich® or other barbecue or tomato-based sauce
  • Burger buns
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Sautee onions and peppers till carmelized
  2. Add vegeburger just before the onions are soft
  3. Brown the vegeburger, peppers and onions
  4. Add Manwich® sauce or barbecue sauce or whatever tomato sauce you use as a base.
  5. Heat to gentle bubble
  6. Spoon on burger buns and eat 'em up.

    SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

    Just keep adding vegeburger, veges and sauce until it looks like you have enough for everybody. A can of Manwich® and a bag of Griller Crumbles® or a can of vegeburger ought to make six to eight teenager-sized sandwiches, maybe more. Just give them buns and put a spoon in the pot and that's all there is to it.


    © 2016 by Tom King

     

Friday, June 10, 2016

Spaghetti Sauce for Potlucks



When you need to make a lot of spaghetti sauce for potluck dinner, here's a trick for stretching your sauce out for a group. It may sound weird, but a great substitute for vegeburger in your sauce is carrots - grated carrots. There are two ways to prepare them for spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients:
  • Olive oil
  • Spaghetti Sauce and or Italian tomato sauce/tomatoes
  • Carrots (I like the peeled baby carrots for speed and convenience)
  • Extra vegetables like mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc.
  • Vegeburger or textured vegetable program
Directions:
  1. Either grate up a whole bunch of carrots (that's very scientific measurement, so measure carefully) or you can chop up the carrots in a food processors. This gives the carrots a texture like vegeburger if you don't chop them up too much. The sauteeing process will soften the carrots.
  2. Saute the carrots in olive oil. I do it in a Wok so I have room to add lots of sauce and other veges. 
  3. Add any other veges and saute them till they are all a nice soft kind of caramelized texture
  4. Pour in as much sauce as you want.
Note:
Once your sauce is thoroughly cooked you can either put it in a big covered bowl to take to potluck with another bowl of spaghetti and let people put the two together at the potluck dinner.  The other thing you can do is mix the spaghetti and the sauce in advance and take it in one bigger bowl. The carrots give you a nice sweet taste and a texture like burger.

© 2016 by Tom King

 

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Spaghetti and Neatballs

Since it was just me, I hogged up most of the Neatballs.

There's some new Vegan products out from a company called "Neat Foods", a subsidiary of my sponsor, Atlantic Natural Foods. The first of their products that I tried was their Italian vegeburger mix. The stuff comes in an envelope as a powder. Instructions for making it up are on the package.  The mix contains pecans, garbanzo beans, gluten free whole grain oats, garlic, onion, sea salt and spcies. It's vegan if you don't use eggs and leave out the Parmesan and use their egg substitute in the recipe and perhaps some grated tofu or something. (I used eggs and Parmesan).

The recipe for "Neatballs" is on the package.  It works like this.

Ingredients:


  • 1 egg (or substitute)
  • 1 TBSP water
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 package Neat Italian Mix®
Directions:
  1. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix it up well. It should be nice and thick.
  2. Roll the mix into balls - a package makes about 8 healthy sized Neatballs.
  3. Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet or you can do like I did and bake them on nonstick aluminum foil.
  4. Bake them at 350° for 15 to 18 minutes. Try not to over cook them.
  5. While they are baking, prepare your spaghetti according to directions on the box and heat up some spaghetti sauce in a saucepan. 
  6. Put spaghetti on your plate and top with cooked Neatballs and spaghetti sauce.
Note:
If you're taking this to potluck you can double the recipe, make smaller Neatballs (cook for a shorter period of time since they are smaller) and then mix up the sauce, cooked spaghetti and Neatballs in a big casserole dish and take it that way - kind of Chef Boyardee style. It's simpler that way. They are pretty good I thought. See what you think. Check the Atlantic Natural Foods link for info on where you can get Neat® Products. 

© 2016 by Tom King


Friday, May 20, 2016

Vegetarian Poor Boy Stew

Sorry I didn't get a picture. I was
so hungry I ate it all before
I remembered to take a picture



Vegetarian Poor-Boy Stew

I like this stew because it includes a nice tomato flavor thanks to the tomato paste. I might even add a can of diced tomatoes as well.

Ingredients :

  1. 1 lb. Morningstar Recipe Crumbles, browned and drained
  2. 1.5 lbs potatoes, diced large
  3. 3 carrots, sliced
  4. 1 onion, diced
  5. 1 garlic clove, minced (I substitute a teaspoon of garlic powder)
  6. 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
  7. 2 cups water
  8. 1 tsp. salt
  9. ¼ tsp. Pepper (if you like pepper – I don’t, I add green or red bell pepers)
  10. 1 tsp. onion powder
  11. 1 tsp. dried oregano
 
Directions:

  1. Add the cooked Recipe Crumbles, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper or peppers, onion powder and oregano. Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Stir.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
  4. Serve with homemade wheat rolls or bread.
© 2016 by Tom King

Monday, January 25, 2016

Vege-Chicken Broccoli Braid

Vege-Chicken Broccoli Braid fresh out of the oven.

Sheila and I learned this dish from the second greatest potluck hosters in the world after Adventists - the Lutherans.  We worked for several years running a Lutheran intergenerational day care center and were invited to some really nice potlucks with these lovely people. They introduced us to some very interesting Nordic and Teutonic dishes over the years and the Chicken Broccoli Braid was one of our favorites.  Here's Sheila's vegetarian version of the vege-chicken broccoli braid.

Ingredients:
  •  2 cans of Loma Linda Chik'n Chunks, Loma Linda Fried Chik'n, Worthington Diced Chik, Worthington Fri-Chik diced
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese or finely diced Velveeta
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp dried dill weed
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • 2 8 oz. tubes of refrigerated crescent roll dough
Directions:
  1. In a mixing bowl stir together diced vege-chicken, chopped broccoli, chopped peppers, garlic powder and cheese.
  2. Stir in 1/2 cup mayo, dill weed, salt and onions. Set chicken/broccoli mixture aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 350°
  4. On a baking sheet or baking stone, lay out the dough as shown in the photo below. This arrangement uses 1/2 of the chicken/broccoli mixture and one tube of crescent roll dough.  By adding the second tube laid out on a longer baking sheet and using all the mixture you can make one big broccoli braid.
  5. Spread the vege-chicken/broccoli/cheese mixture down the length of the dough as shown and fold the triangles over the mixture as shown in the series of pictures below and press the edges together.
  6. Bake until brown on top and bubbling a bit. To get a crispy brown top, brush the top with butter or olive oil just before the top turns brown (optional), then bake until golden brown.
Serving Suggestions:

Serve piping hot on a long serving tray or wooded cutting board with a sharp knife. Cut the braid into slices or let everyone slice it themselves. This thing is amazingly delicious. You will utterly impress everyone with this beautiful potluck dish. Of course, people will expect you to bring it to all the potlucks. And that's not a bad thing. You can make it on Friday, wrap it up in plastic wrap and reheat it in the morning before church. 

© 2016 by Tom King


 Lay out the dough like so.
Add the chicken/broccoli mixture down the center.
Fold the "wings" over the dough mixture
Fold to the bottom and press the edges together
Ready for the oven!







Saturday, January 23, 2016

Vege-Chicken Pot Pies

Homemade Vege-Chicken Pot Pie

I'm kind of a fan of those little pot pies, so I decided to see if I could figure out how to make a vegetarian version. Turns out I could and they are pretty tasty if I do say so myself. The ingredients are pretty simple and prep isn't bad either. You'll just need a lot of large muffin pans.  Here's how it works:

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
    1 cup                                All-purpose white flour
    1/2  tsp                             Salt
    1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp           Shortening
    2 to 3 tablespoons            Cold water
    1 can                                Canola Spray

Filling
    1/8 cup                            White flour
    2 tbsp                               Oil
    1/4 cup                             Milk
    2 tbsp                               McKay's Chicken Seasoning
    1 pkg                                Frozen Mixed Vegetables
    1 tbsp                               Cajun or New Orleans Style seasoning
    1 can (diced)                    Loma Linda Chik'n Chunks, Loma Linda
                                             Fried Chik'n, Worthington Diced Chik,
                                             Worthington FriChik


Directions: 
  1. Make up the pie crust. I use my trusty Kitchen-Aid to cut together the ingredients. Cut it all together, adding the water last till it's forms little balls somewhere between b-b's and small marbles. Then press it all together into a dough ball, then roll it our thin to make the pie crusts.I made a double batch. You might even have to triple it.
  2. In a large skillet add oil and heat on medium.  Once it's hot, sprinkle in a couple of spoons of flour and stir it in. Add a little flour at a time until it begins to thicken. Then slowly add milk and seasoning and then put in water as the mixture thickens. 
  3. Pour mixed vegetables and diced canned vege-chicken into the sauce mixture. Heat until it bubbles and everything is thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. Preheat oven to 375º.
  5.  Spray the muffin pans with canola oil. 
  6.  Find a glass about as big around as the bottom of the muffin compartments. Cut little disks from the pie dough and place them in the bottom of each muffin compartment. Then cut strips as wide as the depth of the muffin compartments and wrapped them around the inside of the compartment.  Press the dough together at the bottom edge to make a little dough cup.
  7. Fill each cup with chicken and vegetable filling. 
  8. Find a larger glass or biscuit cutter that's larger than top of the muffin compartment.  Cut pie dough into disks and lay them atop the muffin compartments.  Pinch the edges of the sides together with the top to make a mini-pie.  With a very sharp knife, cut 3 small slits in the pie covers to vent as the pies bake. 
  9. Bake on a baking sheet until crust begins to brown around the edges. 
Serving Suggestion:

Hot from the oven after I swiped two of them....
I serve them in a bowl as the insides can be a bit juicy. It's kind of difficult to get them out of the muffin tins intact, but as you can see in the picture at the top, it can be done. With the mixed veges it makes a pretty complete meal all by itself. If you plan to take pictures for your foody website, have your camera handy when you pull it out of the oven or by the time you get back from fishing your trusty digital out of your camera bag, you may have a rather incomplete picture. This time, I'm afraid it was me that raided the pot pies. I'm sorry but I was very hungry. Anyway, you get the idea of what they looked like. The spray oil keeps them relatively loose in the tins. I slipped a table knife around the edges and the lifted them out with two tablespoons. The last two (which came out intact and one of which is pictured above), I removed by placing a plate upside down over the tin, holding the tin and plate together and then flipping them over so they came out upside down onto the plate. I gingerly turned the pies over with a spatula and took a picture of one for evidence for the blog (see above).

You could easily make up a bunch of these for a potluck and take them arranged nicely on a plate. I'd probably cook them in cupcake papers, though, just to make sure they hold together.

© 2016 - Tom King
(photos by me)






Friday, January 15, 2016

Easy Vege-Chicken & Mac Casserole



Here's another vege-chicken casserole you can throw together from miscellaneous stuff you have in your cabinet. I added a box of spiral twist mac & cheese and a cup of fusilli or corkscrew pasta and onions and mushrooms. It can be made up and then baked at the church or baked ahead of time and heated in the microwave. As with most casseroles, it actually tastes a little better after it sits overnight in the fridge. There are several options you can try if you are missing an ingredient or have something extra you might want to pitch in. The recipe's flexible.



Ingredients:
  • 1 can Loma Linda Chik'n Chunks, Worthington Fri-Chik, Worthington Diced Chik, Loma Linda Fried Chik'n
  • 1 can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
  • 1 box spiral mac and cheese (or any variety mac & cheese kit)
  • 1 cup fusilli pasta
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine (to prepare mac & cheese mix)
  • 1/4 cup milk (to prepare mac & cheese mix)
  • 1 tbsp Tony's Cajun seasoning or New Orleans Style seasoning
  • 1/2 onion chopped and/or green pepper
  • 1/2 cup diced mushrooms
  • 3/4 cup dried bread crumbs, crushed tortilla chips or crackers
  • Sliced or chopped olives
Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
  2. Boil water and add macaroni from mac & cheese box and a cup of fusilli (twisted) pasta 
  3. In a small frying panSautee the onions, mushrooms and other veggies lightly, then add diced vege-chicken and cook thoroughly. Once cooked, drain off excess fluid
  4. Mixed up macaroni, butter, milk and cheese sauce mix from mac & cheese kit in a bowl.
  5. Fold in the onion/mushroom/vegechicken mix.
  6. Add can of mushroom or celery soup and stir into the mix.
  7. Spread mixture over the bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
  8. Cover the top of the mixture with bread crumbs, crushed tortilla chips or crackers
  9. Top with diced or sliced olives
  10. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Serving Suggestion:

This is another one that's easy to make on Friday and take to potluck on Sabbath. Proportions of ingredients are not critical and since you already cook all the ingredients before putting it in the casserole, you don't have to worry about it being done. It reheats really well Cover it with aluminum foil for storage and transport. For the sample dish I used seasoned bread crumbs, but you can also use unseasoned ones and adjust the seasoning to taste. It's easy to prepare and hard to mess up.

© 2016 by Tom King