Archives of past recipes

Easy-to-Make Turkey Pot Pie
Tailgate Chili
Four-Step Picnic Salad
Sauerkraut Chowder

Easy-to-Make Turkey Pot Pie

Got Thanksgiving leftovers? Here is an easy and tasty way to turn leftovers from your Thanksgiving feast into a warm meal on a cold autumn day!

Crust:
2 prepared/refrigerated pie crusts, softened. (Let them sit out in their wrappers while you prepare the filling.)
Pre-shape 2-inch or so strips of aluminum foil to cover edge of crust for last 20 minutes of baking. It is easier to do this in advance instead of trying to maneuver the foil over a hot pie while in the oven!

Filling:
1/3 cup butter/margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion (or a scant tsp of dehydrated onion).
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 ¾ cups canned low-fat chicken broth
½ cup milk
2 ½ cups shredded cooked turkey
2 cups frozen mixed veggies of your choice, thawed

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Place one pie crust over pie pan and bring up edge of the crust to the top edge of the pan.
  • In 2 qt saucepan, melt butter over low/medium heat. Add onion, cook until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper and blend well. Stir in milk and broth while stirring. Cook until it bubbles and is thickened. Add the turkey and mixed veggies and stir well. Remove pan from heat.
  • Spoon filling into crust-lined pie pan. Top with second crust. Tuck edge of top crust between bottom crust and sides of pie pan and seal crusts together by fluting the edge. (This makes your pie come of the oven looking like you are a pro!) Cut several slits in the crust top to allow for the filling to bubble up while in the oven and for steam to release while baking.
  • Bake for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden. The filling will boil and bubble up through the slits you made in the top crust.
  • Remember to set the timer for 30 minutes so you can place some pre-cut and shaped foil on edges of crust to prevent it from getting too browned. Then reset the timer for 10-20 minutes more as needed.
  • Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
  • Left-over cranberry relish and applesauce are nice accompaniments to this stick-to-your-ribs pot pie.

Please let us know if you enjoyed this recipe or if you have other ideas for using Thanksgiving leftovers. E-mail us at: mehartwick@nothnagle.com.

Tailgate Chili

Great for the fall or winter!

Ingredients:
2 quarts of any type of Spaghetti sauce
2 cans of red kidney beans
1 large sweet onion cut into small pieces
1 large green or red pepper cut into small pieces
1 pound of cooked Hamburg meat
1 large can of tomato paste
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of parsley flakes
2 pinches of rosemary
1 teaspoon of oregano

DIRECTIONS:

  • Stir together in a large soup pot or a crock pot.
  • After you stir together, put 3 bay leaves in.
  • If you are using a crock pot, let it cook for 6-8 hours.
  • If you are using a soup pot on the stove let it cook on very low heat (simmer) for about 2 hours.
  • Remove the 3 bay leaves.

You can eat it that day or put in the fridge and eat it the next day. All the flavors combine overnight and tastes better the second day. This can serve a lot of people or have it for a meal or two and freeze the rest for a later date.

If you want, serve it with any of the following:

Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Oyster crackers
Chopped raw onions
Hard Crusty Italian Bread

Four-Step Picnic Salad

Cooking in stages works for our busy lifestyle and we hope it will work for you, too. When planning the week's menu, we need to keep in mind that we will not have hours in the kitchen to be creative. That is where some good planning can assure that you are serving interesting, tasty and balanced meals. It also helps when you are entertaining so you can spend time with your family and guests and not be exhausted from meal preparation! If you have time in the morning, you can do some of these steps before you start the rest of your day!

Step One (Day One):

  • COOK macaroni elbows el denti -- about a half pound to a pound, depending on how much you will need...
  • DRAIN in colander.
  • RINSE with cold water, let sit for 5 min or so to allow water to drain out.
  • PLACE IN BOWL and cover tightly.
  • REFRIGERATE for up to two days.

Step Two (Day Two):

  • COOK HARD-BOILED EGGS (Place 4 to 6 eggs in saucepan, cover with cold water. Bring to boil, turn to low, cover pan, set timer for 10 minutes.  When timer goes off, drain water off eggs, cover with cold water. Change water a few times while you are cleaning up in the kitchen.  Peel eggs, place in bowl with cover and place in fridge. (You can let the eggs cook and cool while you are working on Step Three.)

Step Three (Day Two):

  • Grab vegetables out of the vegetable bin. Suggestions are: cucumbers, carrots, celery, green onions, tomatoes…or whatever you may want to try!
  • Wash vegetables in large bowl in sink.
  • Set aside to air-dry on cloth or paper towel
  • Cucumber: Chop off ends of one to two cucumbers, peel, cut in half and remove seeds. Cut in half-inch chunks,
  • Carrots: Chop off ends of two to three carrots, peel, cut in slices, half-inch chunks, or skinny  strips.
  • Celery: Chop off ends,of two to four stalks, remove any strings that are loose, cut in half-inch chunks.
  • Green Onions: Chop off ends of one to two green onions; but use both white and green portions of onion, Chop into small slices (about a quarter to half-inch.)
  • Tomatoes: Cut out the stem end of two to three tomatoes. Cut in half and use a pointed teaspoon to remove seeds. Cut halves into little wedge shapes.
  • Place all the prepared vegetables in bowl and place in fridge for up to one day.

Step Four (Day Three/Serving Day):

  • In a very large mixing bowl, make the dressing for your salad by mixing together a half cup of mayonnaise, a half cup of salad dressing (Miracle Whip), a quarter cup of prepared yellow mustard, …depending on how wet or dry you want your salad, you may wish to increase the amounts of mayo, salad dressing and mustard.
  • Remove bowl of prepared vegetables from the fridge and spoon just enough of the dressing into the bowl to moisten and make them easy to stir.
  • Remove bowl of cooked macaroni and spoon into the large mixing bowl with the dressing.
  • Mix it gently so the macaroni will not tear. (It should be easy to work with since you cooked it al denti.)
  • Add  the dressing-coated prepared vegetables to the macaroni and dressing mix.
  • Stir gently  until mixed together.
  • Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve. Scoop into a serving bowl.
  • Remove cooked eggs from fridge, slice or chop and use to garnish top of salad.
  • Lightly sprinkle with black or white pepper, paprika and dried parsley, if desired.

Alternate recipe:

You can use this same step by step method to make potato salad. Just substitute cooked and cubed potatoes for the macaroni. It is easier to handle cooked potatoes for salad if they are not over cooked. Refrigerating them for a day helps keep them firm for salad preparation. If you like, sprinkle some tarragon vinegar over the potatoes before you refrigerate them.

For a pretty presentation, place the salad in a ring that you would use for baking, such as a bundt cake pan, refrigerate, and when ready to serve, place a plate over the top of the pan and invert so that the potato salad comes out onto the plate in the shape of the pan. In the center, place a glass or small dish to fit, with chilled cooked baby peas, radishes, pickles, black olives, marinated artichoke hearts, or whatever you have on hand.


Sauerkraut Chowder

We discovered this soup at The Christkrindl Market in Mifflilnburg, Pennsylvania. It is very tasty and very filling (thanks to the high fat content!!). You can reduce some of the fat by using low-fat versions of some of the ingredients. It warms you up and fills you up on a cold winter day!

Ingredients:
3-4 large baking potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can sauerkraut
1 (10 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (1 pound) package kielbasa, diced. (Optional!)
Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

  • Cut potatoes into bite size pieces, peeled if you so desire...or leave the skins on. Place in a dutch oven or soup pot, cover with water, add onions. Boil until potatoes are cooked through and fork tender.
  • When potatoes are done, add sauerkraut, evaporated milk, and cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is completely blended.
  • Add kielbasa at this time, if using it. Try other additions if you wish, such as cooked breakfast sausage, little bits of other cold cuts you may have on hand.)
  • Add salt and pepper to taste. (Don't let the sauerkraut fool you. The potatoes take away most of the tartness so you will need more salt than you think, so make sure to taste!)
  • Cover and cook at a low simmer for half an hour or so.
  • Serve with hearty crusty bread.