If you are looking for a light lunch or dinner idea, Chef’s Salad does the trick.

It contains all the main ingredients of any meal, without the guilt of eating starches, like potatoes, rice, or bread.

I grow many of my own vegetables, and this year I included a Green Leaf Lettuce, which is great on a hot summer day for making a quick Chef’s Salad for dinner.

I usually serve this salad with croutons, or a piece of garlic bread (I love bread…..no guilty feeling here…), and my favorite salad dressing for Chef’s Salad, is homemade Italian Dressing.

This is my home grown Green Leaf Lettuce, as organic as can be, since I use only organic fertilizer, and no pesticides.

Doesn’t it look fresh and appetizing?  It tastes wonderful as well!  It gives me a very good start for making a fresh salad.

This recipe is for 2 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fresh lettuce
• 2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and cut into wedges
• 3 slices of ham, or turkey (smoked ham, is my favorite), cut into strips or cubes
• 1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 large tomato, cut into wedges
• 2 slices of red onion, sliced horizontally
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced, or diced
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 packet of Good Season’s Italian All Natural Salad Dressing mix
• 1/4 cup vinegar, white or balsamic
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup oil, Canola or Olive

Assembling the Salad:

1. Rinse and pat dry the lettuce leaves.
2. Arrange the lettuce leaves on 2 serving plates.
3. Top with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and ham.
4. Arrange the egg wedges on top of that.
5. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.
6. Sprinkle chopped Chives on top of cheese.
7. Pour 1/4 cup of Italian Salad Dressing over top.
8. Sprinkle croutons, and serve, or prepare garlic bread.

Prepare Salad Dressing:

1. In  tight fitting container pour water, oil and vinegar.
2. Shake well.
3. Add the one packet of Good Season’s salad dressing mix.
4. Close the container and shake well, so the flavors dissolve and mix.
5. Pour dressing over salad.

Enjoy!!

TIP: You can also make a quick salad dressing with vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and your favorite dry herbs, in case you do not have the Good Season’s salad dressing mix.

Mini Quiches are a perfect addition to your family’s breakfast menu, or a group brunch.

You can make them vegetarian, or add your favorite meat, such as bacon chips, cooked ground turkey, ham, Italian Sausage, etc.

I made mine with leftover ham, and all the remaining egg whites I had from making a double batch of Khrusty (Angel Wings).

You can also use your favorite veggie.   I used red and green peppers, and onions.  I would have loved some mushrooms, but did not have any on hand at this time.

Don’t they look yummy???  They were excellent.  Great to prepare ahead and freeze, to use for a quick breakfast on the go.

I froze mine for over a month, thaw them in the fridge overnight, heated one in the microwave, and one in the toaster oven.  They both tasted like  freshly made.  The one from toaster oven had a crispier texture.

This recipe was shared with me by a young lady who loves to cook healthy meals, and enjoys trying new recipes.

It makes 6 muffin size quiches.

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk (whole or low fat)
• 4 slices bacon, fried and chipped (or 1/3 cup of your favorite cooked meat)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms, sauteed (I used green and red peppers)
• 1/2 cup chopped onions, sauteed
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (regular or low fat)
• 1Tbs. canola oil
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Fry the bacon until crisp, remove from a pan, and chop to chips.
2. Saute onions until transparent, add mushrooms, or other veggies, and saute until wilted.
3. Whip egg whites until frothy.
4. Fold in all remaining ingredients.
5. Spray 6 muffin cups with cooking spray, or grease with butter or vegetable shortening.
6. Spoon egg mixture evenly into the cups.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Bake 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the quiche, comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven, cool for couple minutes, remove from pan, and serve.

For freezing, cool them completely, wrap each in foil, or arrange in a freezer bag, or container, and freeze for later use.

Thaw in the refrigerator, and warm up before serving.

This is how they look like just baked. Nice and puffy.

Don’t be disappointed when they drop down, after cooling off.  That is perfectly normal.

You will invert them for serving,  as shown in my first picture, and garnish with additional chopped fresh veggies, for an appetizing look.

Enjoy.

I love the traditions associated with Ukrainian Easter, and especially the Blessing of the Easter Basket, which contains all the food items used at Easter Brunch.

The Easter Basket of special foods (described below) is arranged on Holy Saturday, and taken to church, where a special blessing ceremony with prayers and sprinkling with Holy Water, is performed by the parish priest.  Some churches perform their basket blessing on Easter Sunday, after the Morning Liturgy.

Besides the special foods, the Easter Basket is also decorated with greenery and flowers, as well as colored eggs, and beautiful Pysanky.

Each basket is covered with a hand embroidered cloth cover, with Easter motif of pussy willows and Easter Eggs.

This blessed food may not be consumed until after the morning Resurrection Liturgy on Easter Sunday.

The food in the basket is the only food being consumed at the Easter Brunch, which breaks The Great Lent fasting.

After Easter Brunch, the Easter celebration continues for the rest of the day, with family and friends visiting, and enjoying many other foods and desserts.

Today I will describe all the different foods used to fill the basket, and their Christian symbolism.

Paska - Special Easter Bread (sweet yeast bread, rich in eggs, butter, etc), takes the center stage in the basket.

Symbolic of Christ, who is the True Bread to Christians. Paska bread is always round in shape, and decorated with a dough braid around the perimeter, and a ornamental cross in the middle.  The Cross reminds Christians that Christ died on the Cross for their salvation.

Baked Ham – very popular meat for the Slavs as the main dish, because of its richness.  It is symbolic of the great joy, and abundance of Easter.  Some prefer Lamb or Veal.

Kobasa - a spicy, garlicky, smoked pork sausage.  Indicative of God’s favor and generosity.

Red Beet Vinaigrette (with Horseradish), or plain Horseradish, is symbolic of the Passion of Christ still in the minds of Christians, but sweetened with some sugar, because of the Resurrection.  The bitter-sweet red colored mixture is a reminder of the sufferings of Christ.

Salt is also included in the basket, necessary for flavor, and as a reminder to Christians of their duty to others.

Butter - A favorite dairy product, is usually nicely displayed and decorated with a cross made out of cloves, or allspice grains.  Some prefer to mold it into a shape of a Lamb.  Butter is symbolic of  the goodness of Christ, that we should have toward all things.

Cheese - Creamed cheese, or “Hrudka”, a sweetened cheese ball, decorated with same herbs as butter, indicative of the moderation that Christians should have in all things.

Eggs - are another very important food item in the Easter Basket.  All eggs are hard boiled, and kept in their shell. There should be at least one or two hard boiled eggs per person, for the Easter Brunch.  One of the hard boiled eggs is peeled, as it will be cut to as many pieces as there are attendees to the Easter Brunch, and shared with everyone, accompanied by salt and horseradish.

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Easter!!

Eastern Europeans love their Easter Ham, along with the Kobasa (smoked pork sausage), eggs, Paska, and all the other goodies, they arrange in their Easter Basket for blessing,  and then feast on it, during Easter Sunday brunch.

I call it Easter Sunday brunch, because by the time all the Easter Sunday morning church services are over (at least 3 hours), and by the time  everyone greets each other with the special Easter Greeting, “Khrystos Voskres – Voistynu Voskres” ( Christ Is Risen, Indeed He Is Risen – in Ukrainian), or “Chrystus Zmartwychwstal – Prawdziwie Zmartwychwstal” – in Polish, you do not get home until about 10-11 AM, if you are lucky to live fairly close to your church.

Also, the fast has not been broken yet, so no one had breakfast yet, until you get home from church, and dig into that Easter Basket (that is why all the food tastes so great on Easter).

Today I will share with you my experience with selecting and preparing my ham for Easter.

My family and I love smoked meats, so of course I shop for smoked ham, rather than honey ham, or glazed ham.

I look for the “butt” section of a ham, rather than the “shank” section, since the butt section has more ham meat, and less bone (remember ham is priced per pound…bone or meat…).

Also, I try to look for ham that does not have too much fat on it, but you do need some, at least on one side, to flavor the ham during baking.  I do not trim the fat before baking, but do it afterward.

All the hams you find in the store, are basically precooked already, and all you have to do is to spice them up to your own taste, glaze them if that is your choice, and bake them long enough to warm them up all the way through.

According to the package directions, if you allow about 20 minutes of baking time per pound, your ham will be totally baked all the way through.

Since most hams are too salty for my taste, I precook it before baking, by placing the ham in a large pot of water, adding a couple of bay leaves,  few garlic cloves, NO SALT, bringing it to boil, and cooking for about 20 minutes.

This process not only draws out some of the salt from the ham, it also provides me with ready stock for my sauerkraut soup, which I always prepare for Easter Sunday early dinner (it tastes great, after eating all “dry” meats and breads for brunch), and of course some more of the same for dinner, plus few additional dishes.

After the ham has been boiled for 20 minutes, I stud it strategically with chunks of fresh garlic, sprinkle some black pepper over it, drip some canola oil over the top,  place it in an open roasting pan, add a cup of water, and bake it per the above instructions per pound, usually at 350  degrees F.

The aroma of the baking ham is very trying, since I usually bake it on Good Friday, a very strict fast day of the 40 day Great Lent,when not even dairy products are permitted,  so you know how enticing this must be to smell something this good, and not being able to taste it.

Once the ham is baked, I cover it with aluminum foil, to keep it from drying out, while it is cooling, to be ready to cut a portion for the Easter Basket arrangement.

I add the juices from the baked ham to the broth I saved from precooking the ham before baking, which adds a lot of flavor to the stock for the sauerkraut soup.

Now you know my method for selecting and preparing my Easter Ham.

Please share your comments, and experiences, with your ham preparations, since I am always willing and ready to learn something new.

Happy Easter!

It’s that time of the year again…yes you guessed it… Super Bowl Sunday. Time to watch LOTS of Football, Half- Time entertainment, great commercials, and most of all, LOTS of delicious party food.

It does not matter if you like football or not, or if you care about the Pittsburgh Steelers , or the Green Bay Packers, the important thing is that you will be surrounded by your family and friends to have a good time together.

If you are still searching for recipes for your party, search no more, because I am about to give you a list of my favorite recipes.

Ham Canapes (very easy, presentable and delicious)

Jalapeno Corn Dip ( for the vegetarian on your list)

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip (everyone’s favorite)

7 Layer Guacamole Dip (yummy..)

Swedish Meatballs (quick, delectable, filling)

Texas Caviar (another meatless dish)

Mrs. Z’ s Deviled Eggs (can’t beat these!!)

Pesto Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Spread (sooooo good…)

Caramel Apple Dip (great for the underage crowd…)

Turkey Taco Ring (presentable and really tasty)

Rye Bread Dip (oldie but goodie..)

Tzatziki Dip (for the vegetarian in your crowd)

Lemon Basil Hummus (very healthful dip)

City Chicken (a party must…easy to snack on)

Calico Beans (better than chilly)

Veggie Platter (healthful and crunchy)

Non-alcoholic Punch (for the party animal having fun without alcohol)

Your list is ready.

All you have to do now is to prepare a shopping list, and coordinate some kitchen help to put it all together, for that special day.

MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!!!!

Do you still have some of that Easter Ham hanging around in your fridge, and you’re getting tired of eating ham sandwiches, or omelets?   I have a great recipe for you to create a delish casserole, and use up your ham.

Simple, tasty, and different, describes this dish very well.

Easy family dinner, in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked ham, sliced  (see tip below)
• 3 medium potatoes, cooked and sliced  (see tip below)
• 2 medium dill pickles, sliced to medalions
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 2 Tbs. all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cup consommé (I made mine out of a bouillon and warm water)
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce (I use Reduced Sodium)
• 4 drops Tabasco Pepper Sauce
• ½ tsp Black Pepper
• 1 ½ cups Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Arrange the ham on the bottom of a casserole dish.
2. Layer the sliced potatoes on top of the ham.
3. Scatter sliced pickles over the potatoes.
4. Sprinkle the onions on top of the pickles.
5. Sprinkle the chopped garlic over the top.
6. Melt butter in the sauce pan, add flour, and sauté for 1 minute, stirring often to prevent browning.
7. Add consommé to the flour mixture, and incorporate to a smooth paste.
8. Mix in Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco Pepper Sauce, and Black Pepper.
9. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
10. Temper the sour cream, by adding a little bit of the hot mixture into it and mixing it well.
11. Add sour cream to the sauce and incorporate it well into it, so it is smooth. Do not boil.
12. Pour sauce over the top of the casserole.
13. Sprinkle with Cheddar Cheese.
14. Bake uncovered, in a preheated oven, at 350° for 30 minutes.

Tip: My aunt sometimes would add 2 tsp of  horseradish instead of the Worcestershire Sauce, and sometimes use

1 cup of her leftover kobasie in addition to the 2 cups of leftover ham, plus leftover

mashed potatoes, instead of cooking and slicing new ones.  I personally do not care for the mashed potatoes,

since it makes the casserole kind of mushy.

Here we are again, planning another Super Bowl party, and searching for party food ideas.

Well, since you are reading this post, you’re already in the right place.  There is no better place than grandma’s kitchen, Suburbangrandma, that is!

All the recipes I post are either prepared by me personally, or I have sampled them elsewhere, loved them, and posted them for you to enjoy.

This time I decided to post a very simple recipe, but quite presentable, and very well liked by my family, for years .

These are open face sandwiches, canapes, also know to my family as “kanapky”.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbs butter, softened
• 1 Tbs Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
• 2 large loves of rye bread (40 slices)
• 3 tomatoes,  sliced thin
• 4 pickles, sliced thin
• 6 eggs, boiled and sliced thin (use an egg slicer, for best results)
• 1 Lbs of ham, cooked, smoked, or your your choice – sliced on a thinner side as well
• 20 slices of American cheese, white or yellow
• Chives or scallions, chopped (to sprinkle on top for a fresh look, and to enhance the aroma)

Directions:

1. Mix the cream cheese, butter and salad dressing mix.
2. Set aside.
3. Remove the smaller end from the loaf of bread, if you are using bakery loaf.  If you are using a prepackaged bread without the ends, then you are all set.
4. Cut the cheese slices in half diagonally (forming triangles)
5. Fold each slice of ham in half, or cut in half it you plan to use only that much on each sandwich.
6. Get ready all the sliced ingredients: eggs, tomatoes, pickles.
7. Spread the cheese/butter mixture on each piece of rye bread (rather sparingly)
8. Place a piece of ham on top of the spread
9. Place a piece of cheese on top of ham
10. Arrange nicely a slice of pickle, slice of an egg, and slice of a tomato on top of the cheese slice.
11. Sprinkle lightly with chopped chives or scallions.

If you are looking for additional ideas, and recipes, you may check these out:

• Jalapeño Corn Dip
  

• Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

• 7 Layer Guacamole Dip

• Swedish Meatballs

• Texas Caviar

• Mrs. Z’s Deviled Eggs

• Caramel Apple Dip

• Honey-Apple Brie Bites

• Turkey Taco Ring
  

If you would like to put together a meal that is easy to prepare, but looks complicated, you will love this recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu.

You can use plain chicken breast, but I prefer a more flavored taste, so I marinate it for an hour, or overnight, in an Italian Salad Dressing.  For simplicity and ease, I also use Campbell’s Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom soup, for the sauce.

4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices of smoked ham(Ham of the Bone, or Smoked Virginia Ham, from the Deli)
• 4 slices of Swiss cheese
• 2 tsp of deli mustard
• Italian Salad Dressing
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder
• Flavored breadcrumbs
• Oil for frying
• 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup (or Cream of Mushrooms)
• ½ cup of heavy cream, or whole milk
• ¼ cup of white wine (optional)
• Italian seasoning
• 4 toothpicks, or string

Directions:

1. Trim off all fat from the chicken breast.
2. Spread the breasts on a cutting board, cover with clear plastic saran wrap, and pound with a meat mallet to a ¼ inch thickness. (I like to place the chicken with the clear membrane side down, to keep it intact during this process).
3. Place the chicken in a large enough container, and pour the Italian Dressing, or marinate, over it.
4. Move the chicken around, to coat all pieces evenly.
5. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for an hour, or overnight.
6. Lay each piece of marinated chicken on a work surface.
7. Place one piece of ham and one piece of cheese on top of each breast (you might fold the ham and cheese in half for a better fit).
8. Spread ¼ tsp of deli mustard over the ham/cheese slices.
9. Roll up from the widest end towards the opposite end.
10. Fasten with tooth pick, or a string.
11. Dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with garlic powder.
12. Beat one whole egg with a tablespoon of water, salt and pepper.
13. Dip the floured chicken in the egg, then coat with flavored breadcrumbs, set aside.
14. Heat the oil in a frying pan, place the chicken roll ups in the hot oil and fry to a golden color, turning gently.
15. In a casserole dish, pour 1/4 cup of water on the bottom, and arrange a single layer of the browned chicken rolls.
16. Remove the toothpicks, or cut off and remove string.
17. Mix the Cream of Chicken soup with the sweet cream (if you are using wine, add the wine, and mix well).
18. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
19. Sprinkle with pepper and Italian seasoning.
20. Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil.
21. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F, for 45 minutes.
22. Remove from the oven, let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Tip: I like to serve this chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, and cooked green vegetables.

If you love mushrooms, you can saute some mushrooms with onion and garlic, and place them on top of the chicken rolls before baking, or even just before serving.