Cranberries

I was looking for an easy chicken recipe to serve to a crowd and found this recipe for cranberries and chicken.  But first a little history on cranberries.

Cranberries weren't always "cranberries".  For eastern Indians, they were "sammanesh", Cape Cod Pequots and Southern Jersey Leni-Lenape tribes called them "ibimi", or bitter berry.  And the Alogonuins of Wisconsin dubbed the fruit "atqua".  But it was the early Dutch and German settlers who started calling it the "crane berry", because of the flower's resemblance to the head and bill of a crane.

Cranberries are grown in the wild on long-running vines in sandy bogs and marshes.

It was the Native American's who took advantage of the cranberry's attributes.  By mixing mashed cranberries with deer meat, they made a survival food called pemmicana.  They also believed in the medicinal value of the cranberry, using the berry in poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds. 

The following recipe comes from the book "A Taste of Young Life", put together by a church's teen group in Northwest Atlanta, that offers summer camps to Teens all over the US, with about 300 recipes contributed from the various teen's family.  Very well put together.  You too can own this for $7.99 plus $3.99 shipping & handling, by contacting me at crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com.  This is not sold on my Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks , but there are more than 1600 cookbooks that are available at my storefront, so check out my other titles.

Cranberry Chicken

1 (16oz) can whole cranberry sauce

1 (1 1/4 oz) package Lipton Onion Soup mix

1 (8 oz) bottle Russian or Catalina dressing

6 boneless skinless, chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine cranberry sauce and next 2 ingredients in a bowl.  Place chicken in a 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Bake for 1 hour.  Serves.

Easy Pizzy!

Again, note the spelling disclaimer-no spellcheck in my blogger, anymore.  Where it went anyone knows.

Happy Cooking!

Skinny Soups

It's 114 degrees here in Las Vegas and I made a Skinny Soup today.  I really like soup, any day of the year.  I prefer a cream base, vegetarian (very little vegetables and very few beans).  So today, in an effort to cut back on my eating habits, I made Easy Spinach-Pasta Soup with Basil from the cookbook "Skinny Soups".  It sells on my Amazon storefront for $9.98.  It offers over 100 hearty, low-fat, nutrition-rich, calorie-wise soups.  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks.com 

What did I think of this Skinny Soup?  Very good, but I missed the Crunch Factor.  I added some croutons at the end and made my bowl of soup go from 210 calories to whatever.  It was very good and I have bagged it to freeze for future meals while I am travelling.  Did it fill me up, mostly....not completely.  Would I try another recipe-definitely.

But first some Motivational Weight Loss Tips that made me laugh.

"I tried every diet in the book.  I tried some that weren't in the book.  I tried eating the book.  It tasted better than most of the diets in the book."  Dolly Parton

"The first thing you lose on your diet is your sense of humor."  Unknown

"I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is fourteen days."  Totie Fields

"I never worry about diets.  The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond". Mae West

"The weight will come off some day, I just know it." Valerie Brown

Easy Spinach-Pasta Soup with Basil

1 (10oz) pkg frozen and thawed leaf spinach

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

6 cups chicken broth (non-fat)

1 cup water

3/4 2-in long pieces of uncooked vermicelli or other extra-fine spaghetti

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 1/2 tbsp dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup Italian style (plum) tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans, or canned garbanzo beans, well drained

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Let spinach drain in colander.  Press down to remove as much excess water as possible.  Transfer spinach to cutting board.  Trim away coarse stems and discard.  Finely chop spinach and return it to colander to drain further.

In a very large pot over medium heat, combine oil, onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender.  Add broth and water and bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat.   Stir in vermicelli and continue cooking 2 minutes.

Stir spinach, basil, pepper, tomatoes and beans into pot.  Continue cooking 6 to 7 minutes longer or until spinach and pasta are tender.  Serve immediately, sprinkled with a little grated Parmesan if desired.

5 Servings

Lack of spell-check disclaimer.  I hope I didn't mis-spell too many words.  No spell-check in blogspot.

Happy Cooking!

Fruit Salad Surgery

Fruit Song Trivia:

1.  What song did O.C. Smith take #2 on the Billboards Charts in 1968?

2.  What plant did Trini Lopez sing about in 1965?

3.  What flavor of alarm clock performed "Incense and Peppermints"?

4.  What stage name has Francine Barker, Marlene Mack, Linda Greene, Patrice Hawthorne all used?

5.  What fruit song was a hit for Harry Belafonte?

6.  Which group has performed  "When You're Gone", "Ode to My Family" and "Linger"?

7.  Led Zeppelin, Prince and Jimmy Dorsey have all performed songs with which one word fruit title?

8.  What group from the 1960's performed "Sitting By The Window", "8:05", and "Omaha" and got its name from the punch-line of a silly joke?

9.  Prince sang about what kind of fruit hat?

10.  In Carly Simon's song, "You're So Vain", what was the color of the scraf that was mentioned?

11.  In Simon and Garfunkel's version of "Hazy Shade of Winter", what is the singer drinking?

12.  What flavor of wine was in the title of a song by Elton John?

13.  Tom Waits sang about what moon (think fruit)?

14.  What song appears twice in the movie "Dr No"? (again think fruit)

15.  What band of white boys played that funky music in 1976?

Answers:  1."Little Green Apples".  2.  "Lemon Tree".   3.  "Strawbery".  4. "Peaches".  5.  "Banana Boat Song".  6.  "The Cranberries".  7.  "Tangerine".  8. "Moby Grape".  9.  "Raspberry Beret".  10.  "Apricot".  11.  "Vodka & Lime".  12.  "Elderberry"  13.  "Grapefruit".  14.  "Underneath the Mango Tree".  15.  "Wild Cherry".

Did you have any of the answers.  I had multiple choice and only got 11.

With that said, todays contribution to hot summer days is a Layered Fruit Salad.  "Love To Cook"  by Louise Thompson-Childs has over 500 great, easy recipes, created by a woman who really does "love to cook" in 1996.  This is not sold on my Amazon store front, www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks .  But if you are interested, please contact me at crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com.  The price is $9.99 plus $3.99 shipping and handling.

LTC LAYERED FRUIT SALAD

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 cp whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups peach slices
2 cups blueberries
2 cups banana slices
2 cups strawberry slices
2 cups grapes
1 cup pecan pieces

Blend cheese, 2 tbsp of the lemon juice and lemon peel together until well- blended.  Dip sliced bananas in remaining lemon juice and set aside.  Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold in cream cheese mixture and chill.  Meanwhile, layer each fruit in a glass serving bowl.  Top with cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with pecans.  8 servings.

I am putting in a spell check disclaimer ahead of time.  I have lost my spell-check on this blogger program and I have tried to catch all errors.  Sorry if I didn't.

Happy Cooking!