King Ranch Casserole, the original recipe! A Texas Legend

This casserole is as famous as the Alamo, Davy Crockett, Texas Longhorn Steers, and Cowboys! However, It was not created at the famous King Ranch as legend would have it. King Ranch founder captain Richard King’s descendants are proud of their beef and game, but chicken doesn’t really come into that equation. The family has never taken credit for the recipe, so perhaps a ranch cook created it, or could it have been a South Texas hostess throwing together a filling meal for the cowboys? King Ranch chicken is believed to date back to the 1940s or maybe the 1950s. The original recipe used cream soups while some modern versions use a flour-and-butter roux instead.But who cares? It's a legend on it's own, no matter who created it or where it came from.
I haven't met a Texan yet that doesn't love it!  Even people that aren't Texans and live here, love it! This recipe can very easily be made in a vegetarian version..... all of us vegetarians can do the conversion! My family has this casserole for Christmas, Easter, and family supper! I really hope y'all come to Texas some day, but if you can't, then cook ya up some King Ranch Casserole and imagine you're here!

Another Best of the Best Recipes!

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1 - 9" X 13" Casserole dish heavily buttered.

8 TBS C unsalted Butter
1 yellow Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
8 oz. Button Mushrooms, sliced
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced.
1/2 tsp Chili Powder (not Chile), there's a difference.
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper 
1 C Flour

3 1/2 C Chicken Broth (Vegetarian: Vegetarian Chicken Broth) Either Vegetarian Chicken Powder or Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base.
1/2 C Heavy Cream
1 Small Can of Green Chiles
1 (10oz.) can Ro-Tel
18 Corn Tortillas
1 cooked Chicken (poached or roasted), meat shredded.                                                                                 ( VegetarianVersion: Quorn Chik'n Cutlets or Chik'n Tenders cut into shredded pieces.  Equal to about 4 Cups. Pre browned in 2 TBS of Olive Oil)

1 C shredded Jack Cheese
1 C shredded Cheddar Cheese
(mix the two cheeses together in a bowl)

Prepare the Sauce:

In a large skillet on medium heat:
Melt  the 8 TBS of Butter
Reduce heat to low.
Add: Mushrooms, Garlic, Onion, Bell Pepper. Sauté for 7 - 10  minutes.

Add:
Chili Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Stir for 1 minute to combine well.

Add:
Flour, sprinkle in 1/2 C at a time until it's incorporated.

Add:
3 Cups of Broth, whisked in 1 Cup at a time.
Cream, whisk until incorporated.
Chiles
Tomatoes.
Stir to mix well.

Place remaining 1/2 C of Broth in a shallow soup bowl.
Stack the Tortillas, 6 at a time, in the bowl of Broth to moisten them.
Line the pan with 6 Tortillas, overlapping them to fill the bottom of the pan.

Begin layering the Casserole:
1/2 of the Sauce
1/2 of the Chicken
Sprinkle with 1/3 of the Cheese
Add another layer of soaked Tortillas.
Remaining Sauce
Remaining Chicken
Another 1/3 Cheese
Top with remaining soaked Tortillas and finish with the remaining Cheese.

Bake for 60 minutes. It should be lightly browned and bubbling.
Remove and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Terry's Cream of Tomato Pesto Soup / 2004 / reposted

It seems that everyone knows a restaurant that serves the best Tomato Basil Soup. We have our favorite and every time we have it we comment on how amazing the soup is and then we talk about how no one else has Tomato Basil Soup that tastes that good. I decided that I needed to create a Best of the Best Recipe for my own Tomato Basil Soup.

Here it is!

4 TBS Olive Oil

2 TBS Butter

1 C fresh Pesto ( recipe to follow)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of Garlic , minced

1/4 C Flour

2 C Vegetarian Chicken Stock / regular for non vegetarians

1 - 6lb. 6.5 oz. can of Peeled & Diced Tomatoes with the juice

1 quart of Half & Half

Fresh chopped Basil Leaves and Croutons for Garnish

Heat oil in a saucepan and saute onion and garlic

Add pesto

Reduce heat

Puree mixture with a stick blender

Remove to a bowl and clean the saucepan

In the saucepan, melt butter, add flour to create a Roux

When flour is cooked and golden brown, gradually whisk in the  Chicken Stock

Transfer the Pesto Mixture to a large stock pot or Dutch Oven on low heat

Add Roux to Pesto mixture and stir to incorporate

Add tomatoes and puree this mixture in the stock pot with a stick blender

Gradually whisk in Half & Half until well incorporated

Continue to heat on low

Add Salt to taste

Garnish each bowl with chopped basil leaves and croutons

Homemade Pesto:

2 C loosely packed Basil leaves

2 cloves of Garlic

1/3 C Pine Nuts

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 C grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese ( hold the salt if using Romano, it's a salty cheese)

In a Food Processor:

Add Basil and Garlic

Puree until incorporated

Add Cheese and Pine Nuts and process to a thick paste

Gradually drizzle in Olive Oil until desired consistency

Season with Salt and Pepper

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Hatch Chile Queso / reposted

Texans eat a lot of Queso and there are many variations.

Some variations include hamburger , onion, cilantro, salsa, butter, garlic, oil, chives

and the list goes on.

We all have our preferences and mine is to keep it simple and cheesy and Hatch Chile spicy!

I'm not a fan of Velveeta Cheese and a can of Ro-Tel Tomatoes in a Crock Pot.

Here's my Best of the Best Queso!

2 C grated Queso Quesadilla Cheese

1 C grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 C Sour Cream

2 Roma Tomatos, seeded and diced

4 Hatch Chiles, roasted, peeled and diced ( or 3 cans of Diced Green Chiles, drained)

1 TBS Adobo Seasoning

Place the two cheeses and the sour cream in a saucepan on low heat until melted and well incorporated.

Add remaining ingredients and continue stirring.

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl

Serve with Tortilla Chips

Yields about 4 cups.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Bread Pudding / reposted

As I was researching my Best of the Best Recipes to repost, I realized that I couldn't forget this favorite!

Another Best of the Best Recipes.

I've had this recipe since the early 70's.

It's the only Bread Pudding I make.

1 Baguette, sliced

1 Quart of Milk (4C)

3 eggs, beaten

2 C Sugar

2 TBS Vanilla

3 TBS Butter

1 C Raisins

Mix Bread and Milk by hand

Add all other ingredients except the Butter

Melt the Butter in a 9X13 pan in a 350 degree pre heated oven, coating the bottom and sides well

Pour the mixture in the pan and Bake for 45 minutes

Another option is to bake the Pudding in Muffin Tins lined with paper cups.

If you bake the Pudding in Muffin Tins, make sure to break up the bread into small pieces, not slices.

Spray the paper cups with a vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with The Queens Sauce:

1 Pint Heavy Cream

3 Eggs

1/2C Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 C Brandy or Whiskey

In the top of a doubler boiler,  place the Cream and Eggs and whisk well

Add Sugar and Vanilla

Stir constantly for 10 minutes

Slowly add the Brandy or Whiskey and whisk until incorporated

Here's another Whiskey Sauce :

In a sauce pan, over medium low heat:

1/2 stick of butter

THe juice of 1 lemon

1 C apple cider

1/2 C brown sugar

a pinch of salt

1 C Bourbon Whiskey

Cook to reduce to 1/2

Serve on the side with Bread Pudding.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Potato Salad / reposted

I had to include my recipe for Potato Salad in my Best of the Best reposts.

Summer in Michigan meant picnics at my Grandparent's house, at Aunt Faye's , in the back yard and during our summer vacations with relatives at Higgins Lake.

I want to do a segment here on traditional American Picnic recipes.

Summer is coming and so are the picnics.

We have a portable picnic table that we keep in the trunk of our car in the summer so we can enjoy picnics on the side of the road as we travel. We took this idea from our friends in the South of France.

The most popular Picnic dish would have to be Potato Salad.

I believe that my Grandmother made the best!

She never had a recipe for it, nor do I.

We knew it had to have Potatoes, Hard Boiled Eggs, Onion, Celery, Pickle Relish, Mustard Mayonnaise, Paprika, Salt and Pepper.

She would boil peeled potatoes, cool them completely, hold one in her hand and begin randomly cutting them with a paring knife over a large crock bowl.

One rule was that for as many boiled potatoes she made, she made an equal number of hard boiled eggs She always mixed the "dressing" separately and added it at the end. The amount of ingredients depended on how many people there were for lunch and that determined how many potatoes and eggs.

I also know that she would refrigerate the large bowl of prepared salad before she served it because it would soak up the dressing in the refrigerator and then she would have to add additional mayonnaise.

Here's my attempt to create my Best of the Best recipe for Potato Salad.

8 Potatoes that are peeled, boiled and then randomly cut with a paring knife over the bowl.

8 Hard Boiled Eggs cut with a paring knife, into the Potatoes.

The Sauce or Dressing consists of ( these amounts are approximate)

In a separate bowl, combine:

1 C of diced Celery

1 C of diced Onion

1/2 C of Pickle Relish

2 or more TBS of Yellow Mustard ( we always refer to this as Kid Mustard) , nothing fancy like Dijon

2 C of real Mayonnaise, additional as need at the end

Salt

Pepper

Fold the Sauce into the bowl with the Potatoes and Eggs

Refrigerate 

Add Additional Mayonnaise as desired

Sprinkle with Paprika just before serving.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Tex - Mex Corn Dip / reposted

I have 3 versions of this Best of the Best Dip!

The Original Recipe ( I entered this in the 2001 Hellman's Mayonnaise Picnic Recipe Contest)

The Creamy Version

Hatch Chile Version ( I created this one for our local, Annual Hatch Chile Competition)

Tex - Mex Corn Dip / Original Recipe:

350 degree oven

Bake in a 1.6 liter casserole, a 2 quart casserole or a 10" cast iron skillet.

Optional, add 1 - 10 oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes.

2 - 15.25 oz. cans of Mexi Corn, drained.

2 - 4 oz. cans of  Diced Green Chiles, drained.

2 C Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese.

1 C Grated Parmesan Cheese.

1 C Mayonnaise.

Mix all ingredients together .

Bake 1 hour, uncovered.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Tex - Mex Corn Dip / Creamy Version:

350 degree oven

Bake in a 1.6 liter casserole, a 2 quart casserole or a 10" cast iron skillet.

1- 15.25 oz can of creamed corn

2 - 11oz. cans of Mexi- Corn, drained.

1 - 4 oz. can of Diced Green Chiles, not drained

1 C mayonnaise.

2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 C grated Parmesan Cheese.

Mix all ingredients together.

Bake 1 hour, uncovered.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Tex - Mex Corn Dip Hatch Chile Version:

350 degree oven.

Bake in a 1.6 liter casserole , a 2 quart casserole or a 10" cast iron skillet.

1 - 15.25 oz. can of Creamed Corn.

2 - 11 oz. cans of White Shoe-peg Corn, drained.

3 Hatch Chiles, seeded, finely chopped. (about 1 1/4C)

1 C Mayonnaise.

1 C Grated Parmesan Cheese.

2 C Grated Hatch Jack Cheese.

Mix all ingredients together.

Bake 1 hour, uncovered.

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!

Banana Pudding

Just another Best of the Best Recipe from my recipe file box.

Who would think that a recipe for Banana Pudding would be on a food blog!

I've had the fortunate opportunity to travel the world extensively and I've enjoyed trying new foods in every place I've visited. I've even visited a banana plantation on the island of St. Lucia.

In 1987, I had a friend that shared a family recipe for Banana Pudding.

It was the best Banana Pudding I had ever eaten in my life!

This is a Best of the Best recipe.

I've never shared this one with anyone, until I started my blog, so I hope you try it.

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened.

1/3 C fresh lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

Custard:

3 eggs

3/4 C sugar

1 TBS flour

1 C whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 box of Vanilla Wafers

6 Bananas (sliced)

Beat cream cheese until creamy

Add condensed milk,lemon juice and vanilla, continue beating until well combined.

Refrigerate this mixture

Beat eggs, sift dry ingredients and add milk and vanilla.

Place in a double boiler and cook until thick, whisking constantly. This may take as much as 45 minutes on medium high heat.

In a plain glass bowl or a fancy trifle dish:

Begin with a layer of sliced bananas

A layer of Vanilla Wafers

A layer of Custard

All of the cream cheese mixture

A layer of sliced bananas

A layer of Vanilla Wafers

A final layer of Custard

Refrigerate and serve chilled!

Enjoy!

Peace in the Kitchen!