Dairy Free Microwaved Scalloped Potatoes

I love Scalloped and or Au gratin Potatoes and love to make them home made and not from a box. This is my experimented making Scalloped Potatoes that do not use cow's milk, fake Potatoes (those from a box, bag or processed down into flake or buds of any kind) I love the smooth texture of the sauce in these potatoes using something other than cow's milk. I did have to use butter though, but not very much. You can also add bacon bits (freshly fried that is) or if you want to add some shredded cheese. Some of the reasons why I had to experiment in the kitchen were: .

1. I am Allergic to Cow's Milk

2. I was trying to use less heat in my kitchen then using an oven or stove top method

3. I am not too fond of the boxed potatoes.

Microwave Dairy-Free Scalloped Potatoes

11/2 Quart Baking Dish about 6 potatoes sliced thin

3 cups water

1/2 cup Non Dairy Creamer

1/2 stick Butter -slice this up so that it melts faster

1/2 cup White Flour, Salt and Pepper

Heat Butter, Water, Creamer and Salt and Pepper in Microwave until butter is melted.

Use a wire wisk and mix the ingredients together.

Layer the bottom of the dish with the sliced potatoes and then pour some of the Non-Dairy liquid on top.  Do this with additional layers of the sliced potatoes.

When you run out of potatoes pour the remaining liquid over top of the potatoes.  You can add some shredded cheese or crushed potato chips or bread crumbs or croutons to the top if you wish to give it a crunchy top.

Cover and microwave on high for 20 minutes. Let stand uncovered for about 5 minutes.

This recipe comes out creamier than when baked in the oven.  It is easy to make and you can have it as a side dish or add meat to it and have it as a main dish.  There are many possibilities.

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

Summer Sandwiches

Banana Sandwich

There are two variations that our family eat. There are more ways to make a banana into a sandwich then the ways that we eat them in our home. Here are the two that we eat.

On one side of the bread spread a liberal amount of peanut butter. On the other half spread a small bit of butter on it. Peal the banana and then break it into halves. Slice in lengthwise and place the slices across the bread and then put the other slice buttered side inside. There you have it. Simple but delicious.

The other variation is just use butter on both sides.

Other variations could include sprinke cinnamon sugar on the peanut butter and then put the two side together wtih the banana in the middle.

Vidalia Onion Sandwich

 My mom used to love these vidalia onion sandwiches.  She would eat them many times during the summer.

She would just spread two slices of bread with mayonaise and put a large thick slice of raw vidalia onion in between and eat it just like that!

I can eat cooked onion but raw seems to give me an upset stomach.  I don't know how she could eat them like that.

Raw Ground Beef Sandwich

Most people will tell you that this is dangerous and can give one worms and all kinds of things. can tell you that my father ate these many, many times during his life and he never got anything from them.  He started eating them when he was a teen and now he is over 60 and still eats them!

All he did was take two slices of bread and put a handful of raw ground beef between them and add salt and pepper.

I wouldn't ry this but he says they were delicious and he has never gotten sick from eating them..

Tomato Sandwich

This is a very good sandwich to make from fresh tomatoes from your garden.  The best kinds of tomatoes are Beefsteak Tomatoes for this sandwich.

I take two slices of bread, spread them with Miracle Whip, put a thickly sliced tomato on it, add a bit of sugar and salt and pepper.  They are so good that I often have two of them.  You can add a slice of onion from your garden and some lettuce too, but I prefer it with just the tomato.

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

Orange and Cranberry Bar Cookies

How Cranberries Grow

The cranberry is a Native American wetland fruit which grows on trailing vines like a strawberry. The vines thrive on the special combination of soils and water properties found in wetlands. Wetlands are nature's sponges; they store and purify water and help to maintain the water table. Cranberries grow in beds layered with sand, peat and gravel. These beds are commonly known as bogs or marshes and were originally formed as a result of glacial deposits.

In Massachusetts we call the place where cranberries grow a BOG. Natural bogs evolved from deposits left by the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago. These deposits were left in impermeable kettle holes lined with clay. The clay prevents materials from leaching into the groundwater. Rocks and other organic materials were collected by the glaciers. When the ice finally melted deposits of heavy materials were layered on top of the clay.

To learn more visit: Cranberries.org

What You Will Need

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 Tbsp vegetable shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup cranberries, chopped fine

3/4 cup orange marmalade

2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup pecans, ground fine

1 Tbsp milk

2 Tbsp diced cranberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9" baking pan. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Beat in the cranberries and marmalade. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Spread dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm to the touch.

Make the topping. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar then add the pecans and then the milk. Spread the topping over the warm cookies and then sprinkle the diced cranberries over the top. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

NOTE: Refrigerate these bars once they have cooled. Serve them with whipped cream. Makes 1-2 dozen depending on how big you cut your bars

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

A Variation of the Chicken Salad Wrap Recipe

Bob Evans was selling delicious Chicken Salad wraps during the summer. I don't know if they still do or not now, but I did try to make it like they had theirs. I tried several times and although I came close it didn't taste the same as the one that I had in that Bob Evans. I do know they have recipes floating around on the Internet that copy the recipes from famous restaurants, but I wanted to try to make it on my own.

One of the reasons that I didn't get it to taste the same was I constantly didn't have the right ingredients or I did but not at the same time. I gave up on that after a little while.

I did finally make a recipe that I liked and would like to share it. Oh and by the way, I am not good at dressing up a plate to make the dish look good.

Chicken Salad Recipe to Stuff in a Wrap

2 - 3 Chicken Breasts

1 teaspoon of Minced Garlic (the kind that is in a Jar)

1 Chicken Bouillon Cube

Put all above ingredients into a pot and cover with enough water to cover the chicken. Boil on meduim until done--about 1/2 hour or you can simmer them for about an hour until done. It is up to you.

While this is cooking:

Chop 1/2 cup of celery and one small tart apple.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle cut it into small pieces or just pull it apart.

Add the above ingredients and about 3/4 cup of raisins.

Add about 1 cup of Ranch Style Salad Dressing. I have also used about 1/2 cup of the Bacon Ranch Dressing with the regular Ranch Dressing and it tastes very yummy.

Mix all these together and refrigerate to let the ingredients mingle.

To make the wrap:

Put about three heaping Tablespoons of the Salad onto at Large Tortilla. Fold up the bottom and hold the tortilla down on each side of the Salad. Now take the right side and fold over the salad and then the left side over the top like in the picture on the right.

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

Buttered Parmesan Lima Beans on the Grill Or In The Oven

This is an easy, yummy recipe for grilling. Perfect for something different and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

One bag of Frozen Lima Beans -you can use fresh too but allow a little more time to cook..

1/2 stick of Butter

1 cup of Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil

Preparation:

Mix all the above ingredients together. Make an envelope of Aluminum Foil - or buy the new Reynold's Aluminum Foil Pouches. Put the ingredients in the envelope and seal it tightly.  Lay the package on the highest part of the grill for about 10 minutes, Be careful when you open up the package as the steam can burn you. You can also experiment with adding other spices, such as garlic powder and what ever you like to the Lima Beans before sealing it up.

For winter you can put this in the oven on a cookie sheet or back them just in a casserole. Bake them for about 15 minutes or until the cheese has time to melt.

Enjoy!

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

Eat Your Food

To eat or not to eat, is that a question we should be pondering?  The media is so confusing.  One side of the equations imparts in us that we can drink or take a pill that will magically give us our daily nutrients.  The other side stresses that eating food is good for us and that we should all be on some kind of diet.  Then there is yet another side where food is great and it brings friends, family and others together in the great social settings that people want and need.

My take on all this is to just eat and be watchful of how your body reacts to certain foods.  Not everyone and not everytime and every food or ingredient acts the same way to each individual.  It is important for us to get back the basics and really know your own body.  I know, some people have told me that they can’t do that because it would take much more time then they really have or want to learn these things about themselves.  Some of us have forgotten what we learned in biology or chemistry in high school.  I will try to shed some light on that to reacquaint you with some of these basic concepts.

Chemicals in foods react with other chemicals in food and start a chain reaction in the human body.  Those that are synthesized or made from other non-human substances do not do a body good.  It has been proven time and time again that they have nasty little side effects, while the natural approach does not.  One simply cannot get all their nutrients from a bottle or a pill.

The articles included here will be about everything from human biology, some chemistry, gardening (where it all starts for a better you), information on specific nutrients, spices, and other food substances to recipes and even some lore and legends about food.

Don’t just pick up a bottle of pills or drink some magical potion that is said to have all the nutrients that you are missing in it. 

Go ahead and Eat Your Food