Potato-Corn Chowder

We had a delicious meal tonight that was simple and hearty. All I served with it was a basket of rolls. Yum.

To feed a family of 10 (We were at my in-laws tonight):

8 potatoes, scrubbed and cubed small
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 package bacon (optional, I suppose, but we sure enjoyed it!)
1/4 cup bacon drippings (grease) or olive or vegetable oil.
3 T. flour
2 t. salt (seems like a lot but it really needed it)
1 t. pepper
5 cups water
3 cups frozen corn
2 cans evaporated milk
1 cup half and half or cream

1. Fry the bacon until crispy, drain on paper towels, reserving the drippings.
2. Put potatoes and onions in a large, heavy stockpot, adding the bacon drippings (grease) or olive oil, if you opt out of the bacon.
3. Toss potatoes and onions with the oil/drippings and cook on med-high, stirring bottom of pan often.
4. Toss with flour, salt and pepper.
5. Add water and cover, letting simmer until potatoes and onions are tender.
6. Add crumbled bacon, corn, milk, and cream, and simmer (don't boil) until heated through.

For a thicker soup, remove 1 cup of the potato mixture and puree in blender and add back into the soup and mix well.

Fresco e bello: top this soup with chopped green onions (scallions) and a grating of fresh ground pepper. And don't forget the bread or rolls to dunk into the delicious broth!

Faux Cinnamon Rolls in a Snap

Kei created these this morning, and I think she's brilliant. It's a once-in-a-while treat, of course, but for a great cinnamon roll taste, it really does the trick!

• Mini-bagels
• Cream cheese, softened
• Milk
• Powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• Cinnamon

Halve and toast the bagels lightly.

Mix together the softened cream cheese with a dash of milk to thin it a bit, and a good touch of powdered sugar. (She used one cube of cream cheese - 8 ounces - and 1 cup powdered sugar.) Add enough cinnamon to taste and mix until well combined.

Spread cream cheese mixture over warm bagels, and ENJOY!

(Cavity alert tip: after spreading the cream cheese on top, tuck them under a broiler for a moment to cause the topping to ooze in a lovely, wonderful way, then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar!)

Fresco e bello - For an extra special treat, use cinnamon-raisin bagels - they're sure to take care of that super-sweet tooth!

Bruschetta Fresca

Try this easy to prepare bruschetta for your next event. It's beautiful, fresh, and very tasty.

Ingredients

10 Roma tomatoes, chopped small
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, torn up small
3 cloves garlic, minced tiny
3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (we like the Mediterranean-spiced ones)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 T. olive oil

Mix all together and let sit for 1 hour or overnight

Serving options:
Cool - serve on the side with French bread rounds
Warm - top toasted bread rounds with bruschetta, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on each top, and an individual drizzle of olive oil and set under broiler for 1 minute, or until cheese is melted and golden.

Fresco e bello: This entire appetizer is simply fresh and beautiful...a great choice for unexpected company or a planned get-together or just to bless the family that you love.

(Roo just climbed up in my lap to tell me he loves me...my heart is full.)

Mama K's Kitchen Quandrary and Meatball Tortellini Soup

Mama K's Pet Peeve: People who are listed as speakers on a given subject or at a given time who stand at the microphone and say with a nervous chuckle, "I really don't know what I'm going to say!" and then hope that everyone in attendance will show them respect and an eager ear!

Grrrr.

What does this have to do with Mama K's Kitchen site? Only that I have a very good excuse for not posting, and that I'm not going to fill up precious reading time on your part with twaddle.

I'm pregnant, things taste odd, I don't have the energy to cook much, and the girls have taken over most of the kitchen. It has mainly become Sisters Kei and Bep's Kitchen. If, however, they come up with a recipe that is delicious, I will definitely post it!

Just one note, however, with a culinary bent: If you take Grocery Day Souper Soup and follow these alterations, you'll have another version of soup that is different and yummy!

In oven, heat up enough pre-cooked meatballs to add to a soup (make your own or use pre-made or frozen from the store, but make sure you're comfortable with the ingredients). Take your beef or chicken broth, add chopped onion, minced zucchini (or the veggie of the night that you want to sneak in!), and finely chopped garlic (I use at least a clove or two). Bring to a boil, add 1 package of ready-to-cook fresh tortellini. When it returns to a good boil, add meatballs to the soup, continue to heat until pasta is done, and you've got an easy to serve soup for the fam.

Fresco e bello: We served this recently at our friends' home with whole wheat rolls and Caesar salad. It was a hit, and so easy to do. This is easy to multiply or reduce, depending on your crowd!

Yummy Turkey Chili

Oh, we are just loving that crisp feeling in the air with autumn on it's way. Our entire family rejoices in the cooler weather that is heading our way. We are all about fall. We love warming by the woodstove, playing in rain puddles, candlelight, and wearing sweaters. It is truly our favorite season.

So it's time to break out the crock-pot, and get some of those comfort food recipes going! And here's what's percolating in the ole' pot, ready for dinner tomorrow: Engstrom Turkey Chili. (*Do you hear the happy sighs all around?*)

Fills one large crock-pot (enough to freeze some for later, if we don't eat it all)

• In a large saucepan (we use our electric skillet), brown 3 pounds ground turkey with one chopped onion and 5 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped.

Drain and place in crock-pot.

• Add 5 cans of beans (your choice...tonight we're using black beans, kidney beans, and Texas beans), 4 chopped fresh tomatoes (or 2 cans chopped tomatoes), and 1 can tomato paste.

Then add your spices:

• 3 T Chili powder (more if you like more)
• 1 t. Oregano
• 2 t. Ground cumin
• (Optional ingredient to try: 1 package hot cocoa mix...just try it!)

Mix well, and set on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Fresco e bello ~ delicious, warming chili is best served with plenty of fun toppings. Some of our favorites are grated cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, and sliced avocados. Also, for a crowd we love to serve it Cincinnati-style - on top of a happy bed of cooked spaghetti...yum.

Turkey Loaf

Okay, now that might sound a bit nasty, something like the vegetarian version, "Lentil Loaf". But darlings, you need to stick with me here.

Ground turkey is lower in fat than ground beef, and produces much less "grease" around the loaf. This recipe that I've come up with is simply yummy. I will admit (because you'll inevitably be reading the recipe!) that it does have cheddar cheese embedded in it, and we know that cheese makes everything more tasty.

If the added fat from the cheese leaves you quaking with nightmares, by all means leave it out, and add a bit of water and maybe some dried sage before you shape it into loaves.

For two loaf pans (feeds our family with a good bit for Papa Pyro's lunch tomorrow)

Turkey Meatloaf

4.5 pounds ground turkey (3 packages)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 T minced onions
1 T minced fresh garlic
1/2 t salt, pepper
4 eggs, beaten
1 Cup ketchup
Topping:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
~In a large bowl, stir together ground turkey with next 5 ingredients and mix until well combined.
~In a separate bowl, stir together eggs and ketchup until combined.
~Stir the egg mixture into the turkey mixture (you simply must use your hands for this).
~Shape into loaves and place into 2 9"x5" or 8"x5" loaf pans.
~Bake in oven for 45 minutes (check to make sure it's no longer pink)
~Mix together the remaining ketchup and honey. Spread on top of each loaf and put back into oven for 5-7 minutes to glaze.

Let rest for 10 minutes after removing from oven.

Fresco e bello: Combine with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and dilly steamed carrot coins for a family friendly meal that they'll certainly ask for again!

Auntie's Salmon Casserole

Auntie Erin (Erik's sis) enjoys life with her family in Anchorage, Alaska, and one of the obvious perks is the abundance of seafood (one of our favorites, as well). Uncle Bouncer (Erin's hubby) does a lot of fishing, and Auntie came up with a recipe that she said is just amazing, using some left-over salmon. Here's her recipe, Engstrom-style (you know...a pinch of this, a handful of that...).

In a 3-quart casserole dish mix:

~1 can stewed Italian tomatoes (chopped up)
~1 can tomato soup (the concentrate stuff)
~1-1/2 can water
~1 can mushrooms (with liquid)
~a couple handfuls of chopped up carrots and celery ("I would normally use onion also," Auntie relates, "but I'm trying to lay off them for [baby]Laura's sake!"), but Mama K's readers would be wise to toss in some chopped onions, barring any baby-gas-aversions of your own.
~garlic powder, basil, oregano, and parsley.

Fold in:

~Any amount of salmon, broken up
~Several handfuls of noodles (Auntie used small egg noodles)

Bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours at 350°F, stirring after an hour so the top noodles get fully cooked. (The salmon she used was pre-cooked, but you could probably use raw or even canned salmon if that's all you had.)

Fresco e bello: Mama K thinks that those popular accompaniments of bread and salad would go wonderfully with this salmon casserole. Now, if we can just get Uncle Bouncer to bring down some fresh salmon when they come next week, WE could try out this enticing recipe! Hint...hint!

Pregnancy confessions

Being pregnant does not an excited chef make.

My poor husband is doing his best to keep up with my whims and aversions, but there have been some tough times. For example, we were attending a conference down in Oregon last weekend, and our hotel offered breakfast in the lobby. The first morning what sounded wonderful to me was eggs, over-easy, on top of hash browns. Yum.

The next morning, my thoughtful husband got up before me, headed down to the breakfast area, and brought back what he thought was my new favorite breakfast. Poor, wonderful man. I couldn't stand the site of that meal! I ate a bagel.

He was very gracious about it all.

All this to say that if pickles and ice cream recipes begin showing up on the menu at Mama K's Kitchen, feel free to comment and bring me back to the land of Normal. I might need it.

(However, if the turning stomach at just writing "pickles and ice cream" is any sign of things, you won't need to worry!)

There is no fresco e bello tonight...I'm eating raw almonds and peanut butter sandwiches to keep the nausea at bay. (I know...so sad.)