The Cookbook Experiment: Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Pasta

Tonight's dinner is courtesy of a recipe by Doris Baynes. I don't recognize the name (this book was published during a period that I lived out of state and unable to attend church here) but she is one smart cookie!

Let me say outright, this recipe is quite a bit of work. Preparing it for someone you love makes it easier but I have to admit I have never, ever made stuffed shells before but this recipe was worth waiting for.

Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Pasta by Doris Baynes
(1) 6 ounce giant shell pasta (I honestly never looked at the size in the store and bought a 12 ounce!)
(2) quarts boiling water
(2) Tablespoons of salt
(1) 10 ounce package frozen cut broccoli
(1) Tablespoon of butter or margarine (I used butter, because...duh, butter!)
(2) green onions, chopped
(2) cups chopped fresh mushrooms (okay....I did not use this. The majority of my family does not eat mushrooms, in fact I may be the only one who does so I omitted this. I'm sorry Doris!)
(1) teaspoon dried basil
(1) teaspoon dried oregano
(1/2) teaspoon salt
(1) Tablespoon All purpose flour
(3/4) cup milk (I only have whole milk in the house so that is what I used)
(1) cup shredded Swiss or Mozzarella cheese (I used the Mozzarella)
(1/2) cup grated Parmesan cheese (don't scrimp, get the real stuff)
(1/2) cup whipping cream

Cook pasta in boiling salted water for the length of time the package says for "al dente". (Doris says 15 minutes but that was too long for the shells I had) Rinse with cold water and drain. Cook broccoli as directed on package. Chop fine and set aside. (Doris, I feel dumb here. As I type your recipe it seems I missed that sentence and was mushing my broccoli while it cooked in the pan with a potato masher!)

Heat butter in skillet. Add onion, mushrooms (or not), basil, oregano, salt and broccoli.  Stir to blend. Sprinkle with flour and stir well.  Add milk. Stir and heat to boiling. Cook until mixture thickens (and it does so pretty quick so pay attention). Stir in shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.

Fill cooked pasta shells with a rounded tablespoonful of broccoli mixture and place into a buttered shallow baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and drizzle with cream. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Good served with crusty bread.

OKAY, a few tips here from me:

• make sure you use butter to grease the dish. Cooking spray will not cut it here, you need real butter (or if you must, margarine)
• when your shells are done cooking, spread them out on some parchment paper so they don't stick to each other while they are waiting to be filled (I thought they looked like albino turtles, but maybe I am just crazy!)
• Don't forget to chop up your broccoli small like I did. It makes a difference.
• I prefer my milk and cream to be room temperature when I use them so I measure and set aside while I am doing everything else. I have never like putting cold anything to make a sauce thicken.

This was a delightful recipe that my whole family (except my vegetarian because she does not like broccoli!!!) enjoyed. I had never stuffed pasta before and this was a good starter recipe. Imagine, a last name of Maurizi and I had never stuffed shells before! 

I hope you try it! And Ms. Doris I cant wait to try your other recipes in this book! You are a keeper!

The Cookbook Experiment: Black Forest Dump Cake

Today I am trying a recipe by a fine man named Dick John. He is very special to me. This is the third recipe in my series of trying every recipe in this cookbook:

I was very intrigued by this recipe, who does not enjoy a good dump cake? I have never heard of a dump cake using a chocolate cake. I had to try it!

Black Forest Dump Cake by Mr. Dick John
(1) 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained (save the juice)
(1) 21 ounce can of cherry pie mix
(1) 18 ounce box Devils Food cake mix
(1) cup chopped pecans
(1/2) cup melted butter
Whipped topping

Lightly grease a 13" x 9" pan. Layer with drained pineapple. Second layer - add the pie filling. Third layer - sprinkle dry cake mix over filling. Fourth layer - sprinkle with pecans. Combine the melted butter and pineapple juice and pour over top. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with whipped topping.

I cannot wait for this to finish.  It is looking and smelling so very good! Thanks Mr. John for the recipe!

The Cookbook Experiment: Dinner - Hamburger Rice Skillet

My daughter and I are cooking every recipe from this cookbook over time:

This is the cookbook from 2006 that our church, Princess Anne Plaza Baptist put together.

Tonight's recipe is from the most incredible Sharon Giambrone.  It is called Hamburger Rice Skillet.  My favorite part about this recipe is that I have all the ingredients in my fridge/cupboard.  Talk about making it easy on me as I don't like to leave the house very much anymore!! Thanks Sharon!! I love you!

Hamburger Rice Skillet
(1) pound ground beef
(1) med. onion in rings
(1) med. green pepper, chopped
(1) clove garlic, minced
(1) cup of medium grain rice
(1)16 ounce tomatoes, diced
(1) 8 ounce tomato sauce
(1) tsp. Worcestershire sauce
(1/2) teaspoon of basil

In skillet, cook beef, onion, pepper and garlic until brown, drain.
Add rice, cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, basil, 1 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer 25-30 minutes until rice is tender. Stir occasionally.

I have to tell you, this is on the stove bubbling away right now and it smells like a little piece of heaven! Always trust an Italian cook!

I can't wait to put this plate in front of my Breezy!

The Cookbook Experiment

My amazing baker/food maker daughter Paulina and I have decided to make every single recipe in this cookbook over the course of time. It won't be wasting food because my husband and son will EAT ANYTHING!!!

The first recipe on the menu today is from Mr. Joe Littles. He is an amazing MARINE and a blessing in our church. He can still wear his uniform and when he does, ooo la la!! Who doesn't love a man in uniform?  The recipe is called "Snicker Salad"

Snicker Salad:
(3) medium apples peeled and chopped
(1) can of Mandarin oranges, drained (okay, I did not drain them until I was done chopping the apples and banana so that the juice would keep them from turning brown. I drained after I was done with the chopping)
(1) banana, sliced
(3) Snickers candy bars, chopped (put them into the fridge to chill a little bit, per Joe (and he was correct!) it makes them easier to chop
(1) large container of Cool Whip
Chopped pecans (optional)

Chop up all fruits and mix together in bowl. Add chopped up candy bars. Stir in Cool Whip and top with chopped pecans if desired.

As you can see, it looks delish! I have put it in the fridge to chill and will have an official taste test after it is completely chilled.  Thanks Joe!

Waldorf Salad the Crystal Chef way

I had a pretty severe craving yesterday for Waldorf salad. I am not even sure how that happened! It is not something I have ever made, its just a dish that I always hope someone makes at a pot-luck dinner at church. I decided it was time to figure out one of my own.

I started with the following:

1 cup of celery chopped very small (if you like celery bigger, go for it but I like it small in this case)

2 cups of large red seedless grapes, cut in halves to quarters (if you are lucky enough to find the really big ones you will need to quarter them)

4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2/3 cup of dried cranberries

1/2 cup of Duke's Mayonnaise (okay, I don't usually list a brand name but seriously, I don't believe there is any other brand better than Duke's! I am a total Duke's devotee. You can use whatever mayo you want...but I would not recommend it!)

3 tablespoons of Daisy sour cream (yep, did it again, Daisy is the only sour cream I use...)

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

In a large bowl whisk the mayo and sour cream together with the lemon juice and the sugar until nice and smooth. Next add your apples, grapes, celery and cranberries and toss well to make sure everything gets coated. DO NOT EAT IT AT THIS POINT. Put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The flavors need a chance to marry.

Something to remember when you are making this, when chopping your apples, add a squirt of lemon juice to them while you chop so that they do not turn brown while you are making the rest of the salad. It helps.

I will tell you....the dressing does not taste the best right after you first make it. It takes 24 hours of sitting in the refrigerator and marinating with all of the fruits and celery to develop it's flavor. And it is so worth it! I know that I am the one that made it, but this is the best Waldorf salad I have ever had. Of course, tradition states one is supposed to put this salad on top of lettuce to serve, but I do not follow tradition. I just put it in the bowl and eat it. Serve it anyway you like. Just enjoy it.

PS...I added some chopped walnuts to the top right before serving. I liked the added texture. I would not add them until you are ready to serve. I like the crunch.

Tommy True's Cream Dreams

Another night, another chance to make a recipe from the stack of Helen's treasures. I wanted something quick and easy as it's Saturday night and I need to get to bed on time because I have church tomorrow. As I culled through the whole box, I found this interesting one. It is labeled (2nd grade) Tommy True's Cream Dreams.

I have to say, I wonder who Tommy True is to Helen? Is he real or is it just a cute name for the recipe? I guess I will never know.

Here is what you need to do:

(6) ounces of cream cheese (okay, Helen says you need two packages of three ounce cream cheese but I don't think they sell it that way anymore, at least I have never seen it. But you are in luck! The very smart people at Philadelphia Cream Cheese have their eight ounce packages of cream cheese marked in ounces on the package)

(4) cups of powdered sugar, sifted
(3) 1 ounce square of unsweetened chocolate
(1/2) teaspoon of vanilla
dash of salt
(1/2) c. chopped walnuts

Let the cream cheese soften and then beat well in your mixer (I used my Kitchen Aid and beat it until it was smooth)

Sift your powdered sugar. This is an important step. It gets all the lumps out of the sugar and makes it light as snow.

Add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese two cups at a time and beat well. DO NOT forget to scrape the bowl so that all the sugar and cream cheese gets mixed together. It will develop into a rather stiff dough.

Don't worry, keep on mixing and keep on making sure you scrape down to get all the sugar and cream cheese well blended.

Next melt the chocolate. I have a confession. I did not use the unsweetened chocolate squares Helen called for. It is not an ingredient I keep readily at home. I used three ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead. (1/2 cup of chocolate chips is equal to 3 ounces). I melted it in my microwave (I bet Helen did not!)

Add the chocolate and the vanilla to the cream cheese mixture and blend well. Scrape down again to make sure you combine all the ingredients together. It was at this point I tossed in the pinch of salt. I have no idea when the right time to add the salt was, but this was when I added it.

Additionally I did not add the walnuts. My family is pretty weird about added nuts in their desserts, so no nuts for us! (At least no nuts in the dessert! Trust me, there are plenty of nuts in the house!)

Butter a dish and spread the finished mixture in it and then place in the refrigerator to chill. Do not use cooking spray, use BUTTER.

This dessert is very, very sweet. I have not decided what it really should be used for. I think it would make an excellent filling for something, not sure what yet? It is pretty close to a cannoli filling if it were not so thick.

Tommy, wherever you are, this 2nd grade dessert of yours is quite the sweet little bit of joy. I am glad I found it in Helen's recipes.  I wonder what you are doing now?

Helen's Little Gems aka Thumbprint Cookies

Tonight I got the urge to try another one of Helen's recipes. As I poured over the many I have, this one stood out mostly because I have all the ingredients on hand. I love recipes that use staple ingredients that the average person keeps in their kitchen/pantry.

The title of this recipe is "Little Gems". I recognized it as one I have made in the past called "Thumbprint Cookies" but Helen's recipe calls for a lot more butter and I can tell you, I am totally okay with using MORE butter!!

Here is what you need to do:

3 cups of unsifted flour
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon of vanilla
strawberry preserves
pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment (Helen's note: I just spray them with Pam, forget the parchment! Isn't she adorable? It works too, I did not use parchment either)

Combine the first three ingredients using a mixer or food processor (I used my Kitchen-Aid). Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. (This worked great in my Kitchen-Aid). Beat yolk with vanilla and add to flour mixture.  Beat or process until completely blended.

Pinch of pieces of dough (about 3/4 teaspoon each) and roll into balls. Place on baking sheets. Using your finger (I used my thumb) make an indention in the center of each ball. Place about 1/8 teaspoon of jam in each and top with a pecan half. (I did not use the pecans.) Bake until light brown, about 20 minutes. Helen says to watch this carefully. Makes approximately 6 - 9 dozen if you make small cookies...Mine only made about 2 dozen because I made BIG cookies.

Feel free to substitute anything else for the strawberry jam. My favorite is raspberry preserves. I have even been known to drop chocolate chips in the thumbprint. The cookie is so wonderfully buttery that just about anything can go in that spot.

I hope you enjoy!