Recipes by Mackenaw

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Margarine or Butter
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cups Chicken broth
8 cups broccoli florets
3 Tablespoons Margarine or Butter (yes, more than listed above)
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Cups whole milk (believe me it's worth using whole milk as opposed to skim or 2% milk)
Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt 2 Tablespoons butter (or margarine) in medium sized stock pot, and sauté onion and celery until tender.

2. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Puree soup and return to heat. Note: (If you puree in a blender, be careful as hot and steaming things in blender can cause the lid of the blender to blow off and spew contents all over the place.)

3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 Tablespoons butter (or margarine), stir in flour and add whole milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. Season with pepper and serve.

This is one of my favorite soups. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

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Chicken And Dumplings

I was sharing with a few in Chat about the awesome meal my Hubby prepared today, and a few asked for the recipe, so here it is. It comes from a recipe site called Cooks Illustrated, and the following is a link to the specific recipe my Hubby used:

(Sorry, that link has expired since the time of this posting.)

I suggest you go to the actual recipe link and print it out, for easier use, and it actually has pictures to better describe certain techniques. (Again, sorry.) Below is a list of ingredients and any substitutions my Hubby used.

Ingredients:

Stew:

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 ½ pounds), trimmed of excess fat (*see note)
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 small onions , chopped fine (about 1½ cups)
2 medium carrots , peeled and cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 celery rib, medium, chopped fine (about ½ cup)
¼ cup dry sherry ... Hubby used cooking sherry.

Note: if you prefer you can substitute ¼ cup sherry with ⅛ cup vinegar mixed with 2 teaspoons sugar
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth ... Hubby used 6 cups turkey broth he had prepared at another time and had frozen.
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves ... Hubby used approx ½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 pound chicken wings (*see note) ... Hubby left these out completely
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves ... Hubby used approx. 1½ Tablespoons dried parsley leaves

Dumplings:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
¾ cup buttermilk , cold (see note)
4 Tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled about 5 minutes
1 large egg white

Reminder: For more details and a few pictures, go to the recipe link above. (And a third sorry for good measure.)

This was very yummy. 😁

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Easy Burrito Meat Recipe

2-3 pound chuck roast
30-32 oz. of canned tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
1 small can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chilis
1 clove garlic, minced
Water, if needed

Cut the beef in 2 inch chunks.
Brown beef in a heavy Dutch oven pan, in a little bit of oil -- Searing the all sides of the beef cubes/chunks.
Add the remaining ingredients to the meat.
add enough water to cover meat (May not need to add water if canned tomatoes have lots of juice/liquid and cover meat in the pot.)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the pot.

Cook on medium low heat (on top of stove) for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. If water/juices cook off too quickly, just add a little more water.

As the beef breaks down, mush it a little with a potato masher or wooden spoon, or whatever type spoon you have. (No real biggy -- It's just to help the meat to break down.)

About ½ hour before serving, take the lid/cover off pot to allow excess juices to evaporate and thicken.

Serve in heated tortilla/burrito shells with shredded cheese, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, scallions, sour cream -- Or whatever fixins you like.

It smells sooooooooooooo yummy, and tastes yummy too.

Note: If you prefer more heat, you may want to add a jalapeno pepper or hotter type pepper to the recipe too.

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Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe

I was asked to post a recipe for Snickerdoodle Cookies, so here it is. Yummmmmmm! Enjoy!

2¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1¾ cups sugar, divided
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Mix flour, cream of tartar and baking soda in medium bowl, then set aside. Beat 1½ cups of the sugar, butter and shortening in another large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Mix remaining ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in another bowl/dish. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake in preheated 400° (Fahrenheit) oven 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely before storing in air-tight container.