Vintage Recipes: Custard Rhubarb Pie, Roast Turkey in a Paper Sack, Mexican Squash and Sunday Night Waffles

This cookbook from my pantry isn't especially old, I couldn't find the publication date inside the cover pages like usual but looking it up online, it is listed as published in 1971.  

Old enough, to be called vintage?  I consider my collected books from the early 1900's to about 1940's to be vintage.  But 1971 is old enough I suppose.

This one is called Americana Cookery; An illustrated cookbook of regional America's traditional recipes. 

I'll grab a couple recipes at random to share while I sip my coffee and wait for a delivery this afternoon....

 

 

Custard Rhubarb Pie

4 c diced rhubarb
2 c sugar
1/3 c flour
3 eggs, separated
1 unbaked pie shell
1 T butter
1/4 t cream of tartar
6 T brown sugar

Combine rhubarb, sugar, flour and egg yolks in a bowl.  Stir.  Let stand for several minutes until the juice begins to form; pour mixture into pie shell.  Dot top with butter.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 250 degrees; bake for 30 minutes longer.  Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl; beat until soft peaks form.  Add brown sugar gradually; beat until stiff glossy peaks form.  Add meringue to top of pie.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  

Mrs. Doris Patterson, Shelbyville Jr. High, Shelbyville, IN
Notation:  I did find a Doris Patterson who lived in Shelbyville and was a retired teacher.  If this is her, she passed away in June of 2016.

Sunday Night Waffles

2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 c oil
2 1/2 c milk
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 T sugar
3/4 t salt
4 t baking powder

Combine eggs, oil and milk in mixer bowl.  Blend flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together.  Add to egg mixture, stirring to mix.  Beat with electric mixer for about 2 minutes.  Bake in hot waffle iron until golden brown and done.  

Marthanne Limehouse, St. Paul's HS, Yonges Island, SC

Mexican Squash

1 1/2 lb. yellow squash
1 med onion, chopped
2 T fat
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c tomatoes
1 or 2 t cumin seed
salt to taste
2 or 3 hot peppers (optional)

Wash and remove seed from squash; do not peel.  Cut into 1 inch cubes.  Saute onion in fat until  crystal clear; add squash, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings with 1 cup water.  Simmer until done, adding water, if necessary.  Add the hot peppers the last 15 minutes of cooking. 

Mrs. Nan Dryer, Mission HS, Mission, TX

Roast Turkey in a Brown Paper Sack

1 16-20 lb. turkey
salt to taste
1 recipe poultry stuffing
fat or shortening

Rub inside of turkey with salt.  Fill neck cavity with stuffing; fasten neck skin with skewer or pin.  Fasten opening with skewers; lace shut.  Tie leg ends to tail.  Brush entire bird with fat.  Place in brown paper sack; seal.  Place in shallow baking pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 5 hours and 30 minutes.  Remove paper sack.

Frances Schneider, Menomonie HS, Menomonie, WI
I found what is possibly a match for Ms. Frances, if it is her, she passed away in April of 2023.

Stir Fry - (using a Sun Bird seasoning package)

   

I use the recipe on the back of the Sun Bird package of stir-fry mix.  

I used oil, amino acids in place of soy sauce, rice, egg powder with water, pre-cooked chicken, and used broccoli instead of peas. 

Egg powder - (I whisked with water to reconstitute).

 

Rice I made 2 days ago and refrigerated

 

The recipe - right from the back of the package.

 

Scrambling the eggs

 

With chicken and broccoli... because the only peas I have are freeze dried but I don't have any open cans right now and I'd have to dig through our storage closet to find one.  Not that important.  I used broccoli I had in the freezer.

 

My really old family favorite stand-by: Chicken and ham with mushroom sour cream sauce (lots of versions)

On days when I really don't want to cook but I want something hot, and I have chicken in mind for the main meat to use in some way, I often default to some version of this really old 'stand by'.

Chicken
Bacon
Ham
Mushroom Soup

Sour Cream

Salt and Pepper

That's it.  And I've been making this for so many years that I make it in almost any way possible using whatever versions of chicken, bacon and ham I have.  I also leave the ham out completely when I'm in a hurry and my ham options were frozen.

Here it is THIS TIME AROUND....  really fast and easy

Layered Chicken with Mushroom Sour Cream Sauce

3 boneless chicken breasts
3 slices ham
1 can mushroom soup mixed with about 3/4 cup sour cream I needed to use up
Real bacon crumbles
Salt and Pepper

Baked about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Originally I started making this one in a 9X13 pan (sometimes two (2) of them depending on how many people I was feeding).  That version was:

Rolled Stuffed Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

Boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat and even
Ham slice rolled up in each breast
Raw bacon slice wrapped around each chicken rolled ham slice

Place in a greased pan

Cover with a can of mushroom soup mixed with 1 cup sour cream
Season with salt and pepper, bake in the oven until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is done (about an hour 15 minutes).

More versions I've made over the years include.........

Roll the chicken with cream cheese and mushrooms inside, continue with bacon, sauce.
Roll the chicken with no ham or filling, just wrap with bacon and bake.
Roll the stuffed chicken and wrap with bacon but do not use a sauce.  Bake until crispy and done.
Stuff, roll, cover with sauce and sprinkle cooked bacon crumbles over all.
Use Spam for the filling instead of sliced ham
Lay the chicken breasts down, layer with the ham and bacon slice - bake.
Lay the chicken breast down and layer the bacon, skip the ham or use ham, cover with sauce and sprinkle bacon crumbles.
Use canned chicken, already cooked, layer with diced ham, the sauce and bacon crumbles.

When all the kids were still home and we had to feed and fill a lot of mouths, I'd double the sauce, and make potatoes on the side and use the sauce as a gravy of sorts.  

Not too Spicy Chicken and Spinach

 

I've posted one of our family favorite 'go to' recipes more than a few times on An American Housewife - the Spicy Chicken and Spinach one.  But it's not actually spicy unless you want it to be by adjusting how much of a couple ingredients you use.

Basically it's really just a chicken and spinach dish - and not really a casserole either unless you choose to bake it.  AND sometimes I make it 'creamy' by adding some cream cheese or sour cream and other times I don't. 

Sounds confusing, but basically it's such a simple, quick and easy recipe, you can play with the ingredients and whether or not you feel like baking it. 

Food Storage Options:
Chicken - Freeze-dried (reconstituted), vegetarian chicken flavor, canned, home canned, or fresh
Spinach - dehydrated, fresh or freeze dried
Onions - freeze dried, dehydrated or fresh
Peppers - freeze dried, dehydrated or fresh
Butter - you can leave it out and not saute the peppers/onions if using dried or use canned butter or fresh
Cream Cheese - leave it out if you don't have it, or use some powdered if you wish
Tomatoes - canned, fresh or freeze-dried
Jalapenos - leave out if you wish, or use canned, fresh, dehydrated or freeze dried
Mushrooms - optional - fresh, frozen, freeze dried or dehydrated
Cheese is optional - fresh, freeze dried or frozen, thawed

 

 

 

 

Spicy Chicken and Spinach Casserole

3 cups cooked, diced chicken  (I used pre-cooked turkey I had froze)
10 oz. spinach (frozen, thawed or use fresh and cook just enough to wilt it)  (I used dried, from #10 can)
Peppers - green and yellow (I had fresh, frozen and dehydrated pieces)
Onions - about half a medium yellow onion or about 5-6 green onions, diced/chopped (I used dried, minced)
Butter to saute' the peppers and onions ( I used home canned butter with water to reconstitute, cook onions & peppers)
8 oz. cream cheese  (I still had a block in the fridge as, unopened, lasts for months  in your fridge)
14 oz. diced tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups prepared salsa  (I used canned diced tomatoes)
1/3 cup jalapeno slices or mild yellow peppers depending on your spice level of choice (I used from a jar)
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (left out)
Mushrooms (I used a pack I had in the freezer I had food sealed last Fall)

In a sprayed/greased casserole dish layer the spinach.  Top with the chicken.
Saute' the peppers and onion in butter in a pan until tender and add the cream cheese. When melted, layer over the chicken.
Top with the salsa or the diced tomatoes, add the jalapenos or yellow peppers and spices.
Top with the cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is all melted.  Can serve with sour cream if you wish or you can add the sour cream to the dish with the cream cheese.  

Reconstituted the onion and spinach along with cooking the frozen peppers in a pan with some avocado oil and butter and a little water.  Added the chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms.  When it was all softened and simmering, added the rest of the ingredients.  Warmed and served.

Didn't get a 'final' photo... I was hungry, it smelled great and I was ready to eat.  Here is me heating it through.

 

Food Storage: A 'vintage' style chicken stuffing casserole, topped with my favorite pot pie filling

 

 

Again, I almost didn't take ANY photo of dinner, but at the last second, grabbed my phone and got one picture right before I finished dishing some up to eat.  :)

This is a mixture of two different recipes I've made for years.  I knew I wanted to use up a bunch of bread I had in the freezer (more on that in a second).  I also had some packages of cooked chicken mixed with the vegetarian chicken from the #10 cans I posted about previously.  The first thing that comes to mind when I want to use up our leftover bread is a simple 'comfort' casserole that is a stuffing/chicken casserole.

Bread from the freezer

Ever since my husband and I were very first married, I've taken the ends of the bread, or bread that is starting to get hard or stale, and popped it into a Ziploc in the freezer to use later in recipes. You should never throw our or waste any food - because you can always make something else from it.

 

This time we have all kinds of bread to use. And I decided to make a triple batch.  I tripled the batch and then put 2 of them back into gallon sized Ziploc baggies in the freezer for future meals.

 

This is a spice/herb mixture for the stuffing.
We've never, ever been one to buy the 'Stovetop Stuffing' brand mixes from the store - but that's basically what this is, as the original recipe most people use starts with a box or two of Stove Top.

 

Choices for chicken

Fresh, frozen, freeze-dried and reconstituted, canned, home canned... whatever you have to work with.

 

The original grandma recipe is simple:

Stove Top Stuffing Mix(es)
Chicken breasts - boneless
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 empty soup can of water per box of stuffing used

Mix the stuffing mix, spices and the water and soup.  Place in a greased casserole dish.
Lay the chicken breasts on and salt and pepper or even add cheese to top.
Bake until the chicken is done.

Serve.

 

SUBSTITUTIONS I USED TO MAKE IT FROM MY FOOD STORAGE

For the 'stove top' stuffing spice mixture, I threw together a mixture from 3 different 'recipes' of sorts.  It's really just parsley, thyme, poultry seasoning, chicken bouillon, etc.  You can do a quick internet search to find one you like.  I used all dry spices from the cupboard along with some 'chicken base' instead of dry, crushed bouillon cubes or powder.

My bread was of course, from the freezer.  You can also just cut up or tear up your daily homemade bread.  I don't bother drying mine out in the oven, I always use it fresh.

The chicken was reconstituted 'vegetarian' Auguson Farms fake chicken, mixed with some precooked chicken.

I used a lot of bread this time around, but only one can of soup so I decided to make my favorite pot pie filling and top it with that.  That is the creamy filling with some carrots and peas you see in the photo above. 

The filling is from a recipe I've posted many times over the years - my favorite pot pie.   This time I used 1/3 of a can of peas from food storage, along with 1/2 a jar of home canned baby carrots.

 

 

Old Fashioned Turkey Pot Pie

1 10 oz. package mixed carrots and pea's or all veggies
1/4 c butter
5 T flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t poultry seasoning or sage
1/8 t pepper
2 c chicken or turkey stock (or use 2 cups water and 2-3 boullion cubes)
1 c milk
3 c chicken or turkey
1/3 c chopped onion or 4 green onions, chopped completely and cooked until tender in a bit of water
1 c cooked and diced potatoes (or use canned or dice and cook them with the onions)


Prepare the pea's and carrots (or mixed veggies). I like to cook them in the microwave while I prepare the rest. Melt butter in saucepan. Blend in flour, salt, poultry seasoning or sage, and pepper. Gradually add stock and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and smooth. Add vegetables, turkey and cooked onions and potatoes. Pour into a greased shallow baking dish. Make a biscuit topping and top the vegetable mixture. Bake at 425 degree's for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown. About 6 servings.

Biscuit Topping;

Mix

1 1/3 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Cut in
2 T butter
3 T shortening

Add 1/2 c milk (scant) and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. If it's too wet and sticky add one or two more tablespoons of flour. Pat down on a lightly floured surface and roll out to the shape of your baking dish. If you prefer you can cut into wedges or squares and simply top the vegetable mixture that way too. (Up to you!).

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Lemon Chicken and Long Grain Wild Rice

 

 

Tonight's dinner... a yummy lemon chicken that I planned to grill but it's really cold outside and sheet pan dinners are just so, so easy that I put it into the oven and roasted it instead. 

Along side it was a box of Long Grain Wild Rice from the pantry which uses just butter and water to prepare.  (I used home canned butter - which you can see in the photo below in the background.)

The lemon you see is the one and only tiny lemon from our dwarf lemon tree we bought a few years ago on clearance at a hardware store at the end of season. We move the bucket outside on warm spring days and then it stays outside during the summer, and lives in the garage during the winter months.  Some years it's given us 6-7 lemons but last summer just the one.  (It seemed to be an 'off' year for most everyone with the dwarf version trees that I know.)   This lemon has been living in the refrigerator for a couple months waiting on me to decide which was the one and only dish I would make with our single lemon.  This chicken dish was it.  :)

 

Preparing it - the chicken has been marinating a couple hours.  The rice is next to it, ready for the microwave.
The butter (home canned 2021) in the background

Lemon Chicken

Chicken (whole chicken, butterfly or spatchcock it) I used breasts and thighs (boneless)
Lemon

Lemon Juice - about 3 T
Olive Oil - about 3 T
Salt and Pepper
Smoked Salt (hickory flavor) or use Smoked Paprika or whatever you have
Garlic cloves - about 5-6 minced or chopped


Mix the oil, lemon juice and seasonings with the garlic.  I used a stick blender since I was using
whole garlic cloves and this made it easy to blend it all and chop the garlic at the same time.
Pour over the chicken, slice the fresh lemon and lay the slices over all,
and let it marinate for at least a couple hours, up to 24.
Grill the chicken, basting with the marinade, or bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes
or until done.

I served with long grain wild rice.

 

 

 

 

 

Food Storage: Creamy Chicken with Spinach and Bacon

 

 

The only reason I got to make this one is because a family member mentioned she had a bunch of spinach over grown in her winter garden/greenhouse since they aren't eating it very often (they usually only have it in salads in the summer, and she doesn't cook with it).  I of course am OUT of spinach in the freezer, and haven't had time to go through long term storage to look for my cans of it.

She dropped off a ziplock of really, really big spinach.  I told her it didn't even look like spinach anymore.  Ha ha.  But we were so thankful for it because it was the perfect thing we wanted to make this dish.

FIRST FOOD STORAGE SUBSTITUTE:  Fake chicken

Regular readers know the first cans I brought out were the oldest (so I can rotate them out).  They were bought back in the early spring of 2012.  At the time, being brand new to buying long term foods and being on a super tight, non-existent budget, my first purchase was a 'kit' of fake meats.  

Vegetarian beef, chicken, taco meat and ham (or was it bacon bits?) was my first kit purchase, and had no idea at the time what it even really was, I was just feeling like I really, really wanted to start somewhere and it was the cheapest kit I saw. 

Thankfully that was the only kit of imitation meats I bought... after that I had to buy very very slowly, often one can at a time, but I started to only buy the real meat and chicken for long term storage.  

Here are the 'faux' freeze dried chicken pieces in chicken broth, starting to simmer and re-hydrate.

 

 

 

A few minutes later they are plumping up.  They don't really taste like chicken.  They taste good, and are pleasant tasting, but in order to give them more of a chicken flavor I would always rehydrate in broth and not water if and when possible.

 

And here is the leftover broth from the fake chicken, cooking some onion, garlic and bacon crumbles. 

 

Powered heavy cream....  I used this to make my "half and half" for the recipe, but also used a little bit of my dwindling stash of heavy cream from the refrigerator and some 'milk' made from my whole milk powder.  

The sauce... starting to simmer and thicken.  Normally when doing low carb or keto we would eat it this way with some cauliflower.  That's not important right now as we do our 100% food storage version so I grabbed the open box of pasta from the pantry and we served it with rotini.

The Original Recipe (not food storage)

Creamy Chicken with Spinach and Bacon

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (6-8)
olive oil
butter
6 t minced garlic
1 small onion
1/3 c crumbled, cooked bacon
1 1/2 c half and half or heavy cream
2 handfuls fresh spinach or a handful sized helping of frozen, chopped
1/2 - 3/4 c parmesan cheese
dried red chili pepper flakes
Italian seasoning

salt and pepper
pasta of choice to serve over if you wish (or cauliflower, etc.)

In an instant pot cooker, heat to 'saute' setting, add the oil.  Salt and pepper the the chicken and sear it in the oil.  Add about 3/4 c water to the cooker, seal and cook about 8 minutes until done.  Release steam.  If you opt to cook them in a pan on the stove, heat the oil, season them and sear them in the pan.  Once they are seared, add about 1/2 cup water and continue to cook until done.  Remove them and the broth from the pan and set aside.

In the skillet place the butter, cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.  Pour in the broth from the instant pot or the pan you cooked the chicken in.  Let this simmer to reduce a bit while you crisp the bacon pieces.  I use 'real bacon pieces' from the store and microwave them to crisp them but you can also dice or cook bacon slices and crumble them.  Add the bacon to the broth/onion/garlic mixture.

Add the half and half or cream and the seasonings to taste.  Add the spinach leaves, stirring gently to wilt them and mix in.  Add the parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes; let it simmer to reduce and thicken.

 

 

Food Storage Substitutes:  

Freeze Dried Vegetarian Chicken Pieces
Garlic from the fridge container
Onion from my dwindling fresh - only used 1/2 of what was called to make them go further.
Bacon crumbles:  I have imitation bacon bits in storage but also have real crumbled bacon pieces stocked in the freezer
Half and Half or Heavy Cream - powdered milk and powered heavy cream
Spinach - from the garden
Parmesan - the kind that comes from the 'green can' which I have on hand
Seasonings and pasta from the kitchen pantry

Tonight's dinner was chicken and black bean soft tacos

No photos, because I was in the kitchen, my cell phone was in the office and I just didn't feel it was important to get it just to take a picture of some cooked chicken with black beans.  

Dinner:  Chicken and Black Bean Soft Shell Tacos

• Chicken - precooked breasts and thighs, and food sealed for the freezer a couple months ago
• Black Beans - canned
• Seasonings - from the pantry.
• Salsa - homemade canned (recipe posted on the site numerous times over the years, see right side bar)
• Lettuce
• Sour Cream
• Tortillas - from the freezer.

I did not put any cheddar cheese out tonight and it apparently wasn't missed.  Nothing was said anyway.

Homemade Chicken Soup with Noodles - (after cooking and de-boning leftover turkey and freezing it and the broth)

Tonight we had homemade Chicken Soup for dinner but the afternoon was spent doing this... simmering a smoked turkey to get food sealed bags of cooked turkey to use for future meals and broth for the same.

This was a great deal at the store after last Thanksgiving - a whole smoked turkey that went down to about $5.  It went into the deep freezer at the time.  I brought it out at some point and roasted it to heat it through (because they are already precooked by the smoking process) and we had it for a meal but it was wrapped tightly and put back into the deep freezer until I had time to do exactly what I did today.

I filled a pot with water and put the whole turkey in.  Brought it to a boil and then reduced heat to let it simmer a few hours until it was completely heated through again and falling apart.  Removing the turkey to a large pan, I strained the broth, saved about 4 cups for our soup and bagged up 12 cups into food sealed bags for the deep freezer. 

I de-boned the meat, used some for the soup and food sealed the rest and froze them for future meals. 

I've posted the soup recipe before but it's quick and simple so here it is again...

Homemade Chicken Soup with Noodles

2 chicken breasts, or equivalent (dice, cube, shred, etc. uncooked is fine if you have time to cook the soup longer)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cans water
1/2 a stick of butter (4 oz)
pepper to taste
Pasta (noodles) of choice, uncooked

In a crockpot or soup pot place the chicken and water along with the can of soup, butter and pepper.  Cook for about 5-6 hours on low in a crock pot slow cooker or about 2-3 hours on high; or cover and cook on the stove until your chicken is done and you can shred/cut it.  Add the noodles about an hour before serving time in the slow cooker or about 15-20 minutes prior to serving if cooking on the stove.  If you had the pasta too early it will get huge and mushy.  

 

 

 

I've tried 'doctoring' this up and honestly it's really good just as it is.  If you must add 'something' a little parsley for color or some tiny diced bits of carrot but I don't like any of the typical herbs or spices added to this one.  It seems perfect just how it is.

 

 

 

 

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken with Diced Potatoes

Ugly photo but it was taken super quick with my cellphone.  It is what it is.

 

So nice we did it twice!  Last night I raved about the pork chops I threw together at the last second that were incredible.  And so easy.  We easily could have had them again tonight but instead, I took some boneless chicken thighs out of the deep freezer to thaw, and then ended up using the same seasonings on them - so, similar but not exact.

Finished them off with some home canned diced potatoes.


Oven Baked Crispy Chicken with Diced Potatoes

Boneless Chicken Thighs (or thin boneless chicken breasts, or pork chops)
Mayonnaise
Parmesan Cheese
Crushed parmesan crisps (like a chip/cracker but are just cheese crisps sold in the snack aisles for low-carb/keto)
   OR use panko or breadcrumbs or even crushed corn flakes or heck, even rice krispies
Spices like Garlic and Woodfired Garlic, onion powder, etc.
Salt and Pepper
Oil

Preheat your oven to 400 and place a cast iron pan or other dish in it while it preheats.  Add enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.  I used avocado oil.  

While the oven pre-heats, sprinkle the chicken thighs or breasts with your favorite spices.  I used Kinders Woodfired Garlic and a Garlic Jalapeno mix.  Spread about a tablespoon of mayonnaise on each pork chop. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as you like.  Top each with crushed crumbs of choice. 

When the oven is ready and the pan is hot, remove the chops/chicken to the hot pan.  The pan should be 400 just like the oven and it should sizzle.  Cook about 35-40 minutes or until done (thin sliced pork chops cook a little quicker so about 25-35 for those). 

You can add potatoes to the pan to cook with it.  If using fresh, dice them, toss in a bit of oil and add to the pan with salt and pepper.  If you using home canned potatoes (as I did) they are already cooked so if you like them crispy and golden brown add them at the start of cooking.  If you want them to to be heated through but not crisp or golden, add them the last 15-20 minutes or so. 

Chicken Tetrazzini (with photos and thoughts on the vegetarian 'fake' chicken bits from long term storage)

 

 

I mentioned last weekend I brought out the very first cans of long term food storage I had ever bought, when I had no idea of what to do, how to do it, or what we needed.  I just knew I wanted to start to seriously dive into food storage as we had just moved into our new home 1000 miles away and had to start from scratch.

My first-ever purchase included a kit that had vegetarian beef, vegetarian chicken, vegetarian ham and vegetarian taco meat. I had never actually HAD soy based 'fake' foods before so I thought it was a great deal as it was so, so cheap.  Well, luckily I quickly realized I wanted to invest in 'real' meats and not fake soy stuff... but for the record, I have these on hand and last week I brought them out of long term storage and am now finding ways to use them.

Because these were long term, I didn't open them to try them at that time, but a few years later I had bought freeze dried meals and pouches for one of the cross country camping/hiking trips I made with one of my daughters.  We had the imitation taco meat on that trip and it was... horrible.  Awful.  Disgusting.  So bad that neither of us could eat it no matter how hungry we were, and we ended up throwing it out.  

Because I know how terrible the fake 'taco' meat was on that trip, I was really dreading using the fake meats this month, but I took a deep breath and opened the 'vegetarian chicken'.

Oh wow, what a happy surprise upon first opening... it wasn't terrible.  

It looked nothing like chicken - freeze dried or otherwise - but when I grabbed a few crunchy fake chicken pieces and tasted them, they were... actually pretty good.  Not chicken really, but more of a crispy 'snack' with a faint chicken taste (?).  I brought some to my husband.  He tried them and said they reminded him of the corn based snack "Funyuns" with an onion flavor.  I mostly tasted a chicken flavor similar to the "Chicken and Biskit" crackers I recall my Mom buying when I was little.

 

 

The instructions say to rehydrate them 2-to-1 with water.  I decided to rehydrate them with real chicken, by cooking them all together in my instant pot - making ready to go 'cooked chicken' for other recipes.  Some people buy the rotisserie chicken from membership warehouses to keep on hand for quick "cooked chicken" recipes but when I've done that in the past, I can taste weird chemicals or strong 'odd' flavors so I don't actually buy or use those anymore and always make my own homemade. 

I just cook chicken breasts or thighs in my instant pot with some salt/pepper and sometimes other seasonings then package them in food sealed bags for the freezer. 

This time I mixed layers of my chicken breasts with the vegetarian 'chicken' pieces from my food storage.

 

 

Here is what it looked like when it was done.  I was just getting ready to shred it all and food seal it for the freezer... but was using some of it for dinner tonight as well.

 

 

 

Tonight's dinner was Chicken Tetrazzini - and improvised with food storage items.  

 

Chicken Tetrazzini

1/2 c chopped onion
1 stick butter
1 t flour
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 c chicken broth
1 c half and half or cream or milk
1 small jar diced pimento
3-4 cups chicken, cooked and chopped
1/4 c Parmesan
8 oz. spaghetti, cooked
2 c cheddar, shredded 

Saute' the onion in butter.  Add the flour, salt and pepper.  Cook 1 minute, add in the soup, broth, half and half and pimentos.  When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat.  Drain spaghetti and place in a 9X13" pan.  Cover with chicken, sprinkle with parmesan.  Pour the sauce over all and stir a bit to blend evenly.  Sprinkle top with cheddar and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until bubbly.

FOOD STORAGE OPTIONS: 

I had 1/2 of a large, fresh onion for this one that needed to be used up, and used a can of my home pressure canned butter to saute' it.  The can of soup came form my short term storage pantry and the broth was made with cubed bouillon with water.  I still have heavy cream in the refrigerator so I used that this time (although later I'll be using evaporated milk or powdered milk) and I left out the pimentos as I haven't stocked any of those and we never miss them.

The chicken was the mixture from my instant pot of fake vegetarian chicken from my long term food storage in the #10 can, cooked with a package of real chicken breasts and then shredded/chopped.  The spaghetti was from short term food storage and I decided not to use any cheddar as it's not needed, is mostly for color and I just sprinkled a little more Parmesan on instead.

*This was SO SO GOOD.  Seriously.  5 out of 5 stars made from food storage items.  No complaints at all and I'd be happy to even serve this to guests.  We had it with some of my homemade bread (making each day as I've posted before) from my no-knead, 3 ingredient refrigerator recipe.  If you have fake vegetarian soy 'chicken' to use up in your food storage, this is an excellent way to do it.  If you don't have real chicken to cook it with - it doesn't matter.  This recipe is one you could rehydrate it with water and then use in this and it would be so, so good!  No worries.

 __________________

The butter was home canned this time instead of from the freezer.  I use both right now.  This particular one was canned in 2020.  Still just as perfect and 'fresh' as ever.  When/if I don't have any butter options, I would saute onions or rehydrated dried onions in an oil or even water, and then sprinkle butter powder over the hot spaghetti or mix the butter powder into the sauce to get a butter flavor (but never try to reconstitute butter powder and use it to cook or saute' because it won't work).

The fake chicken mixed with a little bit of real chicken, on top of the pasta in the pan

 

The sauce poured on top, blended a little and extra Parmesan on top - ready to go into the oven

Straight from the oven, hot and bubbling.  I let it sit about 10 minutes, it thickened up perfectly and was OH SO GOOD.

 

Spinach and Feta Chicken - quick and easy - minimal ingredient list too

 

 

This is basically the chicken version of one of  my favorite Greek Pizzas.  

PLAY WITH THE AMOUNTS.   I discovered I like it better when I use tons of feta cheese.  Adjust everything as you like.  Garlic or no.  More feta or less.  More mozzarella... or less.  Amounts of seasoning on the chicken?  All good.  (Kalamata olives... or not.  Want to add sun dried tomatoes and rings of red onion?  Cool.  Yes.   Or no.  Your call.)

Spinach and Feta Chicken

4 thin Chicken Breasts* 
Garlic

Italian Seasoning
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
1-2 T Avocado Oil or Olive Oil

2 - 3 handfuls of Fresh Spinach
1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c Mozzarella Cheese - shredded
1/2 - 1 c Feta Cheese, crumbled

*I buy chicken breasts at Sams and Costco - which are really thick.  I slice two (2) breasts in half lengthwise to make 4 nice sized chicken breasts. 

Either pound your regular chicken breasts to make them rather flat, or do as I do and slice them lengthwise.  Lay them in a pan with oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, oregano and Italian seasoning and some garlic.  Put them into a 400 degree oven to bake while you make the sauce.  Set the oven timer for about 17 minutes.

In a pan on the stove add more oil to the bottom and heat to a nice medium low.  Add spinach leaves and they start to wilt immediately.  Add a package of cream cheese (8 oz.).  Turn off the heat and stir until melted.  By now the chicken should be about ready to 'top'.  

Top the chicken breasts with the spinach and cream cheese mixture.  Cover everything with some shredded mozzarella and crumbled feta cheese.  Add other things if you wish (kalamata olives, red onion, sun dried tomato) but I think we like ours without all the extras best.

Return to the oven to bake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes more.  Serve hot.

This is a quadruple batch - so, lots of chicken breasts!  Seasoned.

 

 

 

Into the oven

Wilting the spinach

 

Adding cream cheese

 Chicken is out of the oven (partially cooked) and ready to be topped with the spinach and cheeses

 

Spinach and Cream Cheese

 

All the cheeses, plus some kalamata olives this time...

Out of the oven and ready to serve a crowd.

Peruvian Chicken, Cilantro Sauce and Cold Onion Cabbage Mixture

No photo for this one because it was SO GOOD I didn't care to stop to take a picture.  Not even the 2nd day.
I was hungry, it was incredible so I just ate it and didn't care.

And then I had it again in a wrap for 'brunch' with extra shredded cabbage, and it was still so good that I had 2 more for dinner that night. 

Personal Note:  THIS is the awesome, yummy one - and the one our daughter took a picture with on her phone because I raved about it.  ALSO:  this is the sauce I mixed with Green Goddess Dressing the next day and served as a dressing for the Cabbage, Black Olives, Avocado, Garlic Salt, etc. "First Communion" Salad that was incredible and there were no leftovers.

Peruvian Chicken, Cilantro Sauce and Cold Onion Cabbage Mixture

1 large package thigh thighs, or a whole chicken
3 T avocado or olive oil
2-3 t fresh lime juice
1 t lime zest, fresh or dried
2 t minced fresh garlic
1 t onion powder
1 T kosher salt
black pepper
1 t oregano
1 T paprika
1 T cumin


2-3 jalapenos
2 cloves garlic
1/3 c cilantro or 3/4 fresh
2 T olive or avocado oil
1/3 c mayo
1 T vinegar
1/2 t kosher salt
2 t fresh lime juice
1 t lime zest

1 c onions, sliced thin
1 c shredded cabbage
1 T lime juice
1 t apple cider vinegar
salt
1/2 t sweetener of choice like sugar


Combine the marinade ingredients in a small food processor or use a stick blender.  Blend until thick and spread all over the chicken.  Roast at 400 until done.  About an hour for boneless thighs, or 1 1/2 hours for a whole chicken.  Remove and let the chicken set for at least 15 minutes or longer.  Can be prepared ahead as well.

For the sauce, combine the ingredients and blend with a stick blender or small processor until smooth.  Taste test for salt and pepper.  Combine the onion/cabbage mixture, and store in the refrigerator until needed.

1)  Serve the chicken hot with the cold sauce and the cold onion mixture.
2)  Serve the chicken cold on a tortilla wrap with the sauce an onion/cabbage mixture in it and add more cabbage
3)  Can also use Green Goddess Dressing in place of the cilantro sauce if you can't eat spicy foods or mix them.

White Chicken Chili - A creamy version

Is a really crappy, quick, low quality photo snapped on my phone really quickly better than no photo at all?

 

 

Creamy White Chicken Chili

2 T butter or oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
fresh minced garlic
2 lb. chicken (either ground or diced pieces)
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 t oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 small cans green chilies, diced
1 can, rinsed and drained black soy beans (for keto chili) or regular black beans for non-low carb
1 c chicken broth
1 c heavy cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1-2 T fresh lime juice

Cook the onions and green pepper in the butter or oil until translucent and soft.  Add the garlic (1-4 teaspoons depending on much you like).  Cook 1 minute more.  Add your chicken pieces and cook until they are done (about 8 minutes should do it).  Add in the spices.  Stir.  Add the green chilies and beans if you are using any; add the broth and heavy cream.

Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add, simmering and stirring until they are melted.  Add about 2 T fresh lime juice - I never measure, I just squeeze and sometimes it's probably closer to 3 T.  Simmer on low until you serve it.  Don't let it boil since it has cream in it.

Serve as is, or sprinkle with some shredded cheddar on top or even some cilantro.

The Best Homemade Batter for Fish, Shrimp and Chicken (repost)

I posted this on my site in 2008.  I reposted in 2017 but here it is 2023 and I'm popping it up here again because I want to move it 'to the front' so I can find it quickly later this week when I make it again; and because it's THAT good. 

Here is something 'new' I did in 2022 with this recipe though - I made a big batch of these, precooked them, cooled them and then sealed them up tight with my food sealer, 2 to a package.  I popped them into the deep freezer and every single time I grabbed a package out for a meal I smiled.  I love these; loved how easy they were to reheat and crisp up for a new meal and I didn't have to deal with frying or grease. 

My stash of food sealed, frozen fish are gone now, as of last week and I'll be making more soon.  My all-time favorite fish batter ever. 

 

 

 

Originally posted in 2008 - Reposted for 2017 and then again, now in 2023.

If you were to ask me what my favorite type of food is, it would be seafood.  It doesn't matter if it's crab, lobster, shrimp, fish, oysters, mussels or anything in between.  Seafood in some form, three times a week would be about perfect for me.  And this fried fish batter?  One of my favorites. 

This is a recipe I originally posted back in 2008 but a lot of you might not have been a reader back then.  It is not only so very good, but you can use cod fillets, which are very affordable!

Home Fried Fish

1 c self rising flour
5 t prepared mustard
2 t sugar
2 t salt
1 egg
1 c water
1/2 t onion powder
2 lbs. fresh or frozen/thawed Cod filets or chicken strips, etc.

Mix everything but the fish/chicken.  Heat a container of oil 2-3 inches deep to about 350-400 degree's.  Dip each filet into the batter and quickly place in the hot oil.  Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders (hot sandwiches)

 

 

Posted a similar version of this previously, because I make it different ways; there isn't really just one way to make it.  I found these unused photos in my files from last Fall and decided to post it because it shows another way to make these from the previous post.  In the last one, the cheese was mixed into the chicken/mayo mixture.  This time I just sprinkled it over top.  Last time I mixed everything and put the ranch dressing on top.  

This is a really good recipe if you want to use your freeze-dried chicken from food storage.  Just reconstitute the chicken in water or chicken broth and continue with the recipe as written.  Play with the recipe as you want - I just wanted to put it here as a reminder of something yummy to make when I'm browsing my site and getting ideas for dinner that week; and also for my adult kids of course.  This is a keeper!

 

 

 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders

Cooked, diced chicken breasts - 2 or 3 depending on the size of yours
1 fresh tomato
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c ranch dressing of choice
Cooked, crumbled bacon
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Hamburger Buns (regular, keto, low carb, whatever your family uses)
Butter

To the cubed chicken breasts add the 1/2 c mayonnaise, 1/2 c ranch dressing of cohice, fresh tomato diced, and about 1/3 c crumbled cooked bacon pieces.  Mix. If it's too dry add a little more mayo.  Adjust the amount of tomato and bacon to what you like.

Use some butter to heavily butter a baking pan.  Place the bottom bun in the buttered pan.  Top with scoops of the chicken mixture.  Cover the sandwiches with cheddar and bake just until the cheese is melted, remove, top with the bun, brush the tops with some of the butter and pop it back into the oven and bake about 10 minutes until heated through.

Extra chicken filling mixture is a perfect casserole, just tuck in along side the sandwiches to bake or just make more sandwiches with it.    The size of the pan you use depends on how many sliders you are making. Make more sandwiches, use the filling as a casserole or shred a bit and use as a dip for crackers.