Welcome to my Kitchen

There is just a hint of fall nip in the air, children are back in school and life begins to return to routine. Deutschesfest preparations and shuttling kids to and from after school activities fill the schedules. What to fix for dinner?

Christy Jordan of Southern Plate Magazine, has been sharing a novel idea in her e-newsletters, called “Bags to Dishes”. The premise is, put all the items you need in a 2 gallon zip closure bag and keep an assortment of the bags in a storage bin so when you are pressed for time you can just grab a bag, start cooking, and have a meal ready quick. Check out her recipes and guidelines at http://www.southernplate.com

Chicken and Wild Rice

Casserole

1 box (6-7 ounces) long grain wild rice mix.

1 can (10-12 ounces) chicken

1 can ( 15 ounces) green beans

1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup

1 tsp onion powder, optional

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Assemble all the canned goods into a 2 gallon zip closure bag along with a copy of the recipe.

To Make:

Drain chicken and beans. Cook rice according to package directions in a pot big enough to mix casserole up in (no sense in dirtying more dishes!).

Once rice is cooked, stir in all the other ingredients until well combined. Spoon into a pie plate or casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly. Serve warm. Yield: 4 servings.

Note: I used chicken and rice mix as wild rice is not a favorite, and I sprinkled the almonds over the top instead of mixing in.

Christy also gives tips for selecting family favorites to convert to “Bags to Dishes”. Pre-cook 4-5 pounds of ground beef. Drain excess fat and cool slightly before dividing into freezer containers or zip closure bags and freezing to use in your beef based recipes. Just label what they are for and place them in your freezer.

Juli Weishaar brought Sesame Noodle Salad to a recent potluck picnic. She got this requested recipe from her sister-in-law Debbie Schafer.

Sesame Noodle Salad

1 package (16 ounces) angel hair pasta

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp hot chili oil

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp sesame seeds, or more if desired

1 green onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the angel hair pasta, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, 4-5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

Whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, chili oil and sugar in a large bowl.

Toss the pasta in the dressing, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions, and bell pepper. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate for a cold salad. Yield: 8 servings.

Note: Juli added cooked snap peas to the salad she served at the picnic. It is a recipe that lends itself well to substitutions and additions.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins is another gluten free recipe shared by JoEllen Wollman. This would be a good one to include in your baking plans for the Deutschesfest, Museum Bake Sale. There are quite a few customers looking for gluten free nowadays.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 bananas, large ripe, mashed

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups oat flour ( you can make this from rolled oats in your blender)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda.

I a large bowl, mix together rolled oats, yogurt and milk. Let soak for 10 minutes.

Mix oat flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda in a separate mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar, mashed banana, egg and vegetable oil to rolled oat mixture. Mix well.

Add dry ingredients to rolled oats mixture. Mix well. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Yield: 12 large muffins.

Note: JoEllen reports that she uses whatever yogurt she has on hand, mentioning vanilla and blueberry. She also mentioned that Yokes in Airway Heights is her favorite store to shop for gluten free items. Odessa Foods carries some gluten free items, and it