Homemade Grilled Chicken Ravioli

At a restaurant last year I ordered Grilled Chicken Ravioli which was a dish that included ravioli served with a garlic cream sauce, caramelized onions and wilted spinach. I came home and tried to replicate the dish. I surfed the internet for similar recipes and then used idea's from about 5 or 6 of them to come up with my own dish. While surfing this is one of the recipes I came across. It's not what I wanted and didn't have a sauce listed so I didn't use it, but the ravioli itself sounded so good I had to add it to my collection! YUM! Sounds perfect for dinner tonight, I just have to check if I have any wonton wrappers in the freezer or not!


Grilled Chicken and Spinach Ravioli


8 oz. diced grilled chicken

4 oz. chopped fresh spinach

3 TBL olive oil

¼ cup white wine

1 tsp chopped garlic

¼ cup roasted chopped tomatoes

2 TBL chopped fresh basil

2 tsp chopped sage

1 Pkg Wonton wrappers

½ cup Ricotta cheese

½ cup diced Mozzarella cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste


Sautee chicken, spinach, garlic, basil, sage and tomato in olive oil 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine, reduce heat for 2 to 3 minutes. In mixing bowl, add cheese with chicken/spinach mix and cool.
Make ravioli with wonton wrappers. You can freeze them at this point for future use. To cook, place in simmering hot water and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Round Sugar Cookies

About 10 years ago I was visiting one of my Grandmothers when she served the most delicious sugar cookies. They were just plain round cookies with large white sugar crystals on them and they were the exact cookie I had been looking for for years! I asked her what the secret was and she remarked that it was using oil in the recipe as well as butter and using powdered sugar. These don't work well for rolling out and cutting but are the most delicious, fast and easy 'round' sugar cookie.


Simple Sugar Cookies

1 c powdered sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1 c real butter, softened
1 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
4 c all-purpose flour
1 t cream of tartar
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda

Cream sugars with butter, vegetable oil, and eggs. Add vanilla. Blend dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture; mix well. Chill dough for 2 hours. Scoop dough into walnut sized balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use a glass dipped in sugar to flatten each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes until the edges are slightly golden.

Homemade Wallpaper Paste

Homemade wallpaper paste

1 cup cornstarch
1 scant cup sugar (more than ¾, but less then 1)
2 teaspoons powdered alum

Mix above together with just enough water to dissolve the ingredients. Then add 6 quarts of rolling boiling water, stirring constantly. This paste can be stored in an air-tight container for some time.

(This is an old, old vintage recipe from an old cookbook I have and is attributed to Mrs. Leota Gregory)

Homemade Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza Dough

1 pkg. (2 1/4 t) dry active yeast
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 c dry powdered milk
1 1/3 c warm water

Put into the bowl of a mixer or mix by hand. Wait 2 minutes.

2 T olive oil
4 c flour

Knead in a Kitchen Aid style (heavy duty) mixer 5 minutes or knead 10 minutes by hand. Let rest 10 minutes.

Depending on the thickness of the pizza you like - Use in 1, 2 or 3 greased, average 'home' sized large pizza pans Let raise about 1 1/2 hours and top with your choice. Bake at 400 approximately 16-25 minutes in a heavily greased pan depending the size of your pan and how many toppings you have on it. Bake until golden brown.

Homemade Soap with Lard and Lye (vintage)

Last week my beloved Grandmother passed away. As the family went through her belongings we had many moments of laughter and tears, smiles and stories. One of the items found was a complete (and happy) surprise. A small bag of her homemade soap was found. What a blessing as the family thought all the homemade soap she had made when she still lived "out on the farm" was long used up years ago.

Her white bars of homemade soap are instilled in all our memories, as her adult children grew up using nothing but, and even her grandchildren and great grandchildren grew up with those white squares of soap in our baths at her home.


HOMEMADE SOAP

5 pounds lard
1 can lye
3 pints water
½ cup vinegar
½ cup borax
½ cup ammonia
½ cup Clorox (optional)

Melt lard and let set till lukewarm. Add lye to water, stirring to dissolve lye. (Caution: protect hands while mixing lye and be careful not to breathe lye dust while pouring into water). Water will get hot when mixed with lye. Allow water to cool. Mix vinegar, borax, ammonia, and Clorox into lard. Then pour lye into lard, stirring to mix well while adding. Stir until thick. This homemade soap should float.

(This is an old vintage, well used recipe from an old, old cookbook - attribution: Mrs. Arno Fascher, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Back then a can of lye was 12 ounces.)