Chicken Georgia

I've been making Paul Deen's Chicken Georgia recipe for several years now, and change it up with different cheeses depending on what's on hand which is usually Cheddar or Provalone.  A few times I've made it with goat cheese.

I've tweaked it a bit, as I use half oil and half butter when cooking, and never have shallots, so use onions.  I also add garlic because I simply love the flavor!

Watch for sales on boneless frozen bagged chicken breasts, and sometimes they can be huge, so cut in half for 4 or 5 oz. serving sizes. They defrost quickly in the microwave, if needed, but I usually take them out in the morning.

This recipe can be made in 40 minutes or less.  Add potatoes, or a veggie and salad for a delightful meal anytime or for guests.  The onions and mushrooms sweat, making a nice sauce for drizzling over chicken or potatoes.


Chicken Georgia

• 2 Tabs. butter
• 2 Tabs. of olive oil
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 4 to 5 oz. serving size
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, or use a 4 oz. can of sliced, drained
• 2 Tabs. minced shallots, or thinly sliced onions
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 4 oz. grated mozzarella cheese, or cheese of choice

Melt butter and oil over medium heat in a skillet.  Add mushrooms, garlic and shallots/onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes, then set to side in the pan.  Add chicken and cook 10 minutes on each side, or until tender. 

Transfer chicken to platter and sprinkle with grated cheese. Top with mushroom mixture. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts.  Drizzle sauce over all. Extra gravy can be made with the pan drippings if desired and drizzled over all, or used with potatoes if they are served. Serves 4.

Estimated Cost: $3.00 or less; .75 cents a serving or less.

German Potato Salad

At every family picnic, pot luck or sandwich table, grandma or another relative supplied the German Potato Salad.  The warm, sweet and sour bacon taste always reminds me of those meals. 

I continue to make it, mostly serving as a side dish with sandwiches or burgers, but it's good with just about any meat dish and great for buffet tables.

It's still tasty served cold, but served warm or at room temperature is the traditional way of enjoying it.


German Potato Salad
8 medium potatoes
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 onions, chopped
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1/2 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Boil unpeeled potatoes until tender.  Cool under cold running water, while peeling off skins. When cool, slice about an 1/4 inch thin and place in a large bowl.

Chop bacon into small pieces and saute slowly in a skillet, adding celery and  onions.  Cook until onions are tender and transparent.

Add vinegar, sugar and parsley, mixing well. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. Pour bacon dressing over potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and toss lightly.  Serve warm.  Serves 10-12

Estimated cost, $3.25 or less; .32 cents a serving or less.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, 2-ways

I've posted my recipe for Baked Mac and Cheese but these two recipes using a slow cooker or crock pot are just as tasty, and couldn't be simpler. One uses dry pasta, the other cooked pasta; and one uses an egg, while the other doesn't.

Both are good and a great side dish with ham, fried chicken, pork, hamburgers or hot dogs.

If not having evaporated milk on hand, make your own by mixing 2/3 non-fat dry with 3/4 cup of water. 

  

This recipe doesn't have a "crunch" on top, but if wanting that, you can spread finished mac and cheese in a serving dish or ramekins, top with buttered crumbs and put under a broiler for a few minutes until the topping crisps up.

I like making mac and cheese then having leftovers around for lunches for a few days.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese #1
8 oz. (2 cups) elbow macaroni, cooked
2 tsps. olive oil

1 cup evaporated milk, or substitute
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
dash of Tabasco
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 cups of Cheddar cheese or a cheese blend
4 Tabs. butter, melted
optional: sour cream for a dollop of garnish

Partially cook macaroni,  about 4-5 minutes; drain in a colander and rinse with hot water. Butter sides and bottom of a 3-1/2- to 4-quart crock pot with about 2 Tabs. of butter.
Combine macaroni with remaining ingredients, including the rest of butter in crock pot and blend well. Cover and cook on low for 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours, stirring a few times. 

Can serve with a dollop of sour cream on top or mixed in.

Serves 6-8.

Estimated cost: $2.40 or less; .40 cents a serving or less.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese #2

8 oz. (2 cups) dry elbow macaroni
12 oz. can of evaporated milk, or substitute

2 cups milk

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 egg

dash of Tabasco

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

2 -1/2cups of Cheddar cheese

optional: sour cream for a dollop of garnish

Spray crock pot with non-stick spray. In a bowl mix milk, evaporated milk, egg, and seasonings. Pour into pot, then add dry pasta and cheese and stir well.  Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Can serve with a dollop of sour cream on top or mixed in.

Serves 6-8.

Estimated cost: $3.00 or less; .50 cents a serving or less.

Oregon Apple Cake

Back in the early 70's our local Oregon newspaper published an apple cake recipe from the wife of our former Governor and then new U.S. Senator, Mark O. Hatfield. 

I clipped Mrs. Hatfield's (Antoinette Kuzmanich) recipe, baked it, and continued to make it countless times ever since for guests, family, and potlucks. 

Beyond a few cookie recipes, baking anything in those days was NOT my forte. Those early years of marriage, working, and tracking two toddlers, didn't leave lots of time for gourmet desserts, so finding a great tasting, easy, and inexpensive recipe always gained my attention.

This cake is soft, moist, with just the right amount of spices for a taste of old-fashioned goodness.

 Oregon Apple Cake

3 Tabs. butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups diced apples, peeled or not, about 3 apples
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 - 1/2 tsps. cinnamon

Cream shortening and sugar.  Blend in egg and vanilla.  Stir in apples and walnuts.  Combine remaining dry ingredients, mix in and blend with apple mixture.

Pour into greased 8 or 9-inch square baking pan or dish.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Top with whipped cream or ice cream, or eat as is!   Serves 6-8.

Estimated Cost: $3.00 or less; .50 cents or less a serving.

Chicken Cacciatore

With Mom's side of the family cooking Italian and Dad's cooking German, family gatherings offered a spread of tasty dishes.

Mom was often asked to bring Chicken Cacciatore when visiting Dad's relatives. She included Italian sausage links with the chicken in the simmering sauce, so guests could enjoy one or the other or both.  I think sausage adds great extra flavor to the sauce, but it's optional.

Cacciatore is Italian for “hunter,” referring to a sauce that covered browned chicken in Renaissance times, also rabbit pieces, when wealthy people hunted wild game, and the sauce covered the wild taste.

White wine can be used instead of red wine, but Mom kept the popular inexpensive Mogan David red wine on hand back in the 50s. When in grade school, I recall Italian gatherings where children were allowed to take "just a sip" of the wine at dinner.


Chicken Cacciatore

• 2 cups flour for coating

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp.pepper

• 6 to 8 chicken parts: thighs, legs, wings
• Optional: two or three Italian sausage links, cut into  2 or 3-inch serving sizes

• 2 Tabs. vegetable oil or bacon fat

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 tsps. garlic minced

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

• 1 tsp. mixed Italian herbs, dried oregano, rosemary, basil

• 1/2 cup red wine

• 1 cup  sliced mushrooms, fresh or canned

• salt and pepper to taste

bay leaf
1/2 cup tomato paste

1 pound of cooked spaghetti

half a cup of Parmesan cheese

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag or bowl. Shake chicken pieces in flour until coated. Heat oil in a large skillet and fry until browned, about 3 or 4 minutes each side. Remove from skillet.  If  using sausage brown a few minutes on each side and remove.


Add onion, garlic, mushrooms and bell pepper to the skillet and saute until onion is slightly browned. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, paste, herbs and wine.  Stir to combine all then return chicken (and sausage) to the skillet, spooning some sauce over meat pieces. Cover and simmer for 60 minutes over medium low heat, until chicken is "fall off the bone" tender.  Depending on size of piece, it may take longer than 60 minutes.  Remove bay leaf. 

Meanwhile cook pasta until tender and drain.  To serve use a large bowl or platter; pour and mix sauce with cooked pasta and set chicken and sausage pieces on top.  Grate Parmesan cheese all over the top and have cheese on the table for adding more to servings, if desired. Serves 6-8.

Estimated Cost with chicken only: $10.00 or less; $1.66 per serving or less.

Baked Bombers (Beans)

Baked beans were always on the table at family gatherings in the summer when I grew up.  Ladies would exchange recipes, especially for the tangy tasting ones.  My brother and his wife shared this recipe with me back in the mid-'90s.

Bakes beans go so well with ham, burgers or hot dogs.  I watch for canned bean sales and stock up on the inexpensive "pork and beans" type, then doctor them up adding more bacon and ingredients that fire them up!  

I also pressure cook dried beans, pinto or kidney, and have used them from time to time.

For a quick supper side dish for two, I use one can of beans and jazz them up with ingredients below, cutting down on measurements. 

Baked Bombers (Beans)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound chopped bacon
3, 15 oz. of beans (kidney or pinto) drained, or canned pork and beans, drained
3 Tabs. each of horseradish, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard of choice, and brown sugar.

Fry bacon, drain, saving 2 Tabs. of fat.  In a 2-quart kettle or pan combine bacon, chopped peppers and onions. Mix together with beans. Stir in horseradish, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard and brown sugar.

Mix well.  Add and stir in 2 Tabs. of bacon fat.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour.

Serve with hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, or take to picnics or potlucks.

Serves 8 to 10.
Estimated cost: $4.00 or less. .50 cents a serving or less.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

For years I "layered" lasagna like my Italian mom did, until about seven years ago when I saw a TV cook use the same familiar ingredients, but mixed and spread them on individual noodles, then rolled them up.  I thought it looked so attractive at serving time.

It takes a bit more time, but making a batch is more convenient for me, as leftovers freeze well in individual portions or for meals for two. That way I can serve it more often. 

Prior to roll-ups, I'd only make layered lasagna when having company or the family over dinner.  It's an easy recipe to double or cut in half, too, depending on the number of people you're serving.
Tip: if out of ricotta, make your own:  a quart of milk brought to a boil, with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then removed from heat and 2 tablespoons of vinegar stirred in will make the milk curd after it sets awhile.  Let it cool and strain the curds into cheese cloth or fine strainer to yield 1 cup of ricotta.  Double the ingredients for 2 cups of fresh ricotta.

Lasagna Roll-Ups
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/2 cup minced onion
8 oz. crumbled Italian sausage
2 tsp. minced garlic
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
12 cooked lasagna noodles
3 cups Italian tomato sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

To make the filling, saute onion, sausage and garlic in oil.  Let cool.  In a bowl mix and blend ricotta, drained spinach, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper.  Add sausage mixture and mix well.

Meanwhile boil lasagna noodles in salted water until soft and firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Cool in water then drain.  Spray or butter a 13x9 baking dish. Pour 1 cup of tomato sauce over the bottom of dish. 

Lay out 4 lasagna noodles and spread about 3 to 4 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly down middle of each noodle. Starting at one end, roll up each noodle and lay seam side down in dish. Repeat until all noodles are filled.

Spoon one cup of sauce over rolls then sprinkle top with mozzarella. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top melts and is slightly golden, about 15 more minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Meanwhile, heat the remaining sauce in a small saucepan and serve alongside if people want extra sauce on their serving.  Makes 12 rolls. 
Estimated cost $8.40 or less; .70 cents a roll or less.

Fried Pickle Chips

I had to try fried pickle chips after seeing them featured so many times on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.  It seemed like such a novelty!

I keep of list of "things" I want to try and make and this one is now crossed off.  A reader suggested the Come Back Sauce posted earlier  in this blog, would be good for fried pickles, so that spurred me to make them.  Oh my goodness, what a treat!

My husband is up to trying anything and he was delighted with them.  I'd already made an egg mixture and coating mixture to make pork chops, so thought I'd do fried pickles for a side dish and use up the rest of the batter.

My coating mixture is Panko crumbs,  flour and sesame seeds, but regular bread crumbs would work, too.

It couldn't be easier.  I don't have a deep fryer, so use a deep 3 quart pot putting in 2-3 inches of oil and heat to 350 for frying.  A cast iron skillet with an inch of oil would work, too.  I save my oil, refrigerate and reuse.  After using, I strain it and put in ajar and reuse about 3 or 4 times. 

Tip: oil is ready when small bubbles rise around a wooden spoon handle inserted into oil. 

Fried Pickle Chips
1 to 2 cups of oil or more as needed for frying
drained dill pickle slices, about 2 cups
flour for dusting
1 beaten egg, with a shell of water
1- 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
dipping sauces: Come Back Sauce, Ranch Dressing, Blue Cheese

Heat oil over medium heat to 350.  Test by dropping a crumb into oil to see if it "sizzles."; or test with a wooden spoon handle.
Pat pickles slices dry on a paper towel, dust both sides with flour.
Dip slices into egg, then into crumb mixture.
Fry several at a time, until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes, turning once.
Drain on a paper towel, then serve with sauce/sauces.
Serves 4 - 6.

Estimated cost: $1.50 or less

Tilapia with Salsa

In recent years my local grocer began carrying Tilapia, an economical mild tasting white fish, firm enough for several kinds of seafood recipes.  Since I try to serve fish one or twice a week, I watch for sales then stock up.

I've used it in fish chowders, made it blackened like blackened salmon, or baked with a mayo Parmesan topping, but the easiest way is sauteed and topped with warm salsa.  I'm all for attractive, fast, and easy when it comes to cooking, so I probably make it this way more often than any other way.

Tilapia with Salsa

4 Tilapia fillets 3 to 4 oz. in size

flour for dusting

salt and pepper

2 Tabs. each oil & butter for frying

1 to 1-1/2 cups of salsa

parsley for garnish

Heat skillet on medium high with mixture of oil and butter.  Salt and pepper fillets and dust or lightly coat with flour.

Frying about 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked and lightly browned.  Place on serving platter. Meanwhile, warm salsa and spread over fillets before serving. Top with sprinkle of parsley or other herb.

With this dinner I served a salad and fried red potatoes.

Estimated Cost: $5.00 or less; $1.25 per serving or less.

Fried Red Potatoes

These make a great side dish with fish or chicken, but I often enjoy them for breakfast with fried or scrambled eggs.

My Italian mom made them with green peppers and onions, and my German grandmother made them with just onions, and they made them with either white or red potatoes.  They're delicious either way!  

They usually made them from leftover boiled potatoes, then cubed, fried and served for weekend breakfasts.  I like them as an alternative to hashbrowns with eggs.

When potatoes go on sale, I make up a large batch and freeze in pint size bags to have on hand anytime I need a quick side dish for breakfast or dinner.



Fried Red Potatoes
2 Tabs. butter
2 Tabs. of olive oil
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 chopped green pepper
6 medium size 1/2 inch cubed red potatoes, about 4 cups
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix chopped onions, green pepper and cubed potatoes.  Salt and pepper and mix.

Melt butter and oil on medium heat and saute all ingredients slowly, as they brown. Cover as they cook, but turn mixture over every few minutes to brown all sides, about 10 minutes.

If mixture seems to dry, add more oil or butter.
Uncover and continue frying for about another 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Continue turning mixture to evenly brown.

If you make them from leftover boiled, or already cooked potatoes, cooking time will be less for browning. Serves 6-8.

Estimated cost: $2.00 or less; .60 cents a serving or less.