Creamy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

• 8 ounces cooked ham, cubed

• 8 ounces Swiss cheese, cubed

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup (such as Campbell's® Healthy Request)

• ½ cup 2% milk 

• ½ cup light sour cream

• 2 tablespoons butter

• ⅓ cup seasoned bread crumbs

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer noodles to the prepared casserole dish; top with chicken, ham, and Swiss cheese.

3. Mix cream of chicken soup, milk, and sour cream together in a bowl; spoon soup mixture over noodle mixture.

4. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in the melted butter until crumbs are coated with butter and cheese, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over casserole.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is bubbling and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Allow casserole to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

   
   

   Notes:

   A little salty so perhaps I’d try a low sodium can of soup next time. (I wonder if that’s even a thing?)

   I added a diced red pepper for color.

   Tasty and nice looking. Definitely worth making again.

   Source: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/231154/creamy-chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/?print

Sangria!

 ½ cup brandy

¼ cup lemon juice

⅓ cup frozen lemonade concentrate

⅓ cup orange juice

1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine

½ cup triple sec

1 lemon, sliced into rounds

1 orange, sliced into rounds

1 lime, sliced into rounds

¼ cup white sugar (Optional)

8 maraschino cherries

2 cups carbonated water (Optional)

In a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the brandy, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, red wine, triple sec, and sugar. Float slices of lemon, orange and lime, and maraschino cherries in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. For a fizzy sangria, add club soda just before serving.

NOTE: I got this recipe from Caroline Langfeld who had made it for Daniel's grad party.  We also served it for Felix's baptism without the cherries.  A bottle of Winking Owl red it just right!

Chai Latte

This version is excellent - toasting the spices might be what makes the difference!

• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 10 whole cloves
• 6 green cardamom pods, cracked
• 4 cups water
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons loose-leaf black tea, or 6 black tea bags
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 cups cold whole (or 2 %) milk  
• NB: I used a 2:1 tea:milk ratio and I stored the finished spiced tea mixture in a jar and just added milk as single servings. It's still good a few weeks later.

Toast the spices. 

• Place the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom in a small saucepan over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.

Brew the tea. 

• Add the water and ginger and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Steep the tea. Remove from the heat and add the loose-leaf tea or tea bags. Cover and steep for 10 minutes.

Sweeten the tea. 

• While the tea is still warm, add the sweetener and stir until combined or dissolved.

Strain the tea. 

• Strain the tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher or teapot. Discard the spices and tea leaves. Store in the refrigerator for future use, or keep it warm while you froth the milk.

Froth the milk. (One of these days I'll try this. I'm sure it's delicious!)

• For whole milk, froth the milk by shaking it in a jar or by whisking it vigorously over medium-high heat. For non-dairy milks, use an immersion blender to froth before heating.

The original recipe has sweetener and milk options

Chai

1. • 2-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into thin rounds
   • 4 cinnamon sticks
   • 4 teaspoons black peppercorns
   • 10 whole cloves
   • 12 cardamom pods
   • 6 cups cold water
   • 6 bags of black tea (preferably Darjeeling)
   • 2 cups whole milk
   • 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

PREPARATION

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan. Using mallet or back of large spoon, lightly crush or bruise spices. Add 6 cups water; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover pan, and simmer gently 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add tea bags and steep 5 minutes. Discard tea bags. Add milk and sugar. Bring tea just to simmer over high heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Strain chai into teapot and serve hot.
2. NOTES:
3. I adjusted the amount of the spices.
4. Don't decrease the brown sugar.  I did the first time, and it was weirdly bland.

Source: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/homemade-chai-201226

MORE NOTES:

Lightly toast the crushed spices first for a more intense flavor.

If making ahead, keep the tea separate in the refrigerator and mix 1 part milk with 2 parts tea mixture when rewarming.

Sangria

1 bottle red wine (Winking Owl Merlot was perfect for this)
4 oz brandy
3 oz triple sec
2 oranges
2 limes
1 apple
4-6 oz simple syrup, to taste
12 oz or more club soda

Juice one orange and one lime; combine with first three ingredients. Add simple syrup to taste. Slice the remaining fruit thinly and add to pitcher. Chill thoroughly and serve over ice mixed about 2:1 with club soda.

Caramel Coffee Syrup

Makes 1 cup(source)

• 1 cup sugar 
• ¾ cup water, divided 
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• Pinch of salt 

In a small pot, combine the sugar, ¼ cup of the water, and the corn syrup. Stir over low heat until dissolved, then turn the heat to medium high, cover the pot, and let boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the cover and stir vigorously as the caramel continues to cook. Stir over heat until mixture is a light amber color. Remove the caramel from heat. Carefully pour in the remaining ½ cup of water. Be very careful when stirring the water into the caramel as it can splatter. Stir in the vanilla and a small pinch of salt.

Note: I'd recommend keeping this over low heat for a bit after you add the last ingredients. The added water can cause a bit of crystallization that you'll want to redissolve, and this will give the alcohol in the vanilla a chance to cook off (it wasn't noticeable in coffee, but might be in other applications).

Rhubarb Vodka

Just bookmarking it here so I can find it again.  Delicious!

3 pounds rhubarb, cut up

Mixed with
1 bottle vodka
1/4 cup grand marnier
Simple syrup (6 tablespoons sugar heated to boiling with 1/4 cup water)


Cool the syrup before mixing into the rest of the ingredients. 
Let stand 1-2 weeks in covered container.

Recipe is flexible - it originally called for 1/2 cup of the Grand Marnier, but my source preferred with less.

It's a lovely pink color and, according to reports, is dangerously good when mixed with 7-Up.

A Water Upgrade

In a moment of weakness and dire thirst, I recently decided it was worth the buck and a half to get one of these delicious MetroMint products.  They really are very good, but when I got home and still had a partial bottle left over, I tried a little (very little) experiment and made my own version.  In a side-by-side taste test, I couldn't tell the difference.  Since then, I've been making this "recipe" pretty regularly, even to the point of washing out the bottle and reusing it for the rotation (one batch there and another in my beloved water bottle - one always cooling in the fridge and the other travelling with me).

Note: the only remotely "hard" thing about this process is measuring one drop.  I do have a bottle of doTERRA's Wild Orange with a convenient dropper lid, and I've tried a variety of things with the mint including covering the bottle opening with my finger, tipping it and then just sticking my finger in the water.  "Home Economist Sue" does not recommend this.  "Practical, I'm only making it for my own consumption Sue", does.

Strawberry-Peach Slush (boozy or otherwise)

2 small peaches (or one large)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 oz lemon juice (the yummy Costco stuff is preferable)
Sugar or simple syrup to taste (about 1/2 c.)
7 ice cubes
Blend all ingredients, adding a bit of water or club soda if necessary to keep things loose in the blender. Pour into tumblers or margarita glasses. Add alcohol or top off with club soda if desired.

Mom's Birthday Cocktail

As per usual, quantities are approximate and to taste (with the lemon juice especially).  Instead of ice cubes, I used frozen berries (a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry blend).

Frozen berries
1.5 oz Orange Curacao (or your orange liqueur of choice)
.5-.75 oz lemon juice
3 oz Coconut mineral water
A few mint leaves, mottled (We used chocolate mint)

Source: Kinda, sorta inspired by this drink.

Rose's Lime Substitute

Only without the high fructose corn syrup.

2 cups lime juice
¾ cup sugar
½ cup water

Heat water in the microwave or on the stove until almost boiling. Remove from heat. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. (You just made simple syrup.) Let cool. Mix with lime juice. Your sweetened lime juice will keep a couple of weeks in the fridge.

For future reference, or if you want to make a smaller amount, the ratio of sugar to water in simple syrup is 3:2. In sweetened lime juice, the ratio of lime juice to simple syrup is 2:1.

Same goes for making your own sour mix. Substitute lemon juice for lime juice and you’ve got homemade sour mix. It’s that easy.

NOTES:

• I'm drinking a gin gimlet as I type this.
• I recommend Hendrick's Gin for this purpose.  1:1 ratio.
• Couldn't be easier.
• I made a half batch and stored it in an 8 ounce lime juice bottle saved for this purpose.  (Plus I had enough left over for a couple drinks.)
• Source

Strawberry Pimm's Cup Cocktail

Trust me, you want a double.  

INGREDIENTS:

For the Strawberry Syrup:

16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and rinsed

1 cup granulated sugar

For the Drink:

Ice

2 ounces Pimm's No. 1

1 ounce lemon juice

1 ounce Strawberry Syrup

2 ounces 7UP or ginger ale

Sliced cucumber, strawberries and fresh mint to garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Strawberry Syrup: Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth. Press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and measure out 1 cup of the strawberry puree. Add it, along with the sugar, to a small saucepan and bring to a light boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. (The strawberry syrup can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.)

2. Make the Drink: In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the Pimm's No. 1, lemon juice and 1 ounce of the strawberry syrup and shake. Strain into an ice-filled glass and top with the 7UP. Garnish with sliced cucumber, strawberries and a sprig of fresh mint.

NOTES:

• The garnish is not necessary for the flavor, but smelling that cucumber and mint with each sip adds a surprisingly wonderful-ness to the drink.
• We happened to have a bottle of lemon sour open, so we used that instead of sprite.  It's a solid choice.
• When I made the strawberry syrup, I strained it through my wire mesh strainer and very little was strained out.  (Some of the seeds, probably not the majority.  I'm not convinced this is a necessary step.)
• Thanks to Brown Eyed Baker (my new hero)

This drink is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

2 parts Creme de Cacao
2 parts 99 Bananas
1 part Malibu rum
1.5 parts Cream

Mix with ice.  Strain and serve.

Notes:

• I might have the proportions wrong because I already drank most of mine.  But just make it according to your tastes.  Drink mixing is an art, not a science.
• This would be great blended with ice.  Or substituting the ice and cream with ice cream.

Ramos Gin Fizz

2 ounces gin
1 ounce cream (we used heavy whipping cream)
1 fresh egg white
3 drops orange flower water (we used 2 measures from the tiny plastic insert in the cap of the bottle)
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
club soda or seltzer water (set aside for topping up the drink)

Combine all ingredients (except the seltzer) in a cocktail shaker over ice. Wrap the shaker in a tea towel and shake vigorously for five minutes (we took short breaks every minute - a two-person tag team would work well). Strain into a tall, narrow glass (such as a Collins glass or a champagne flute) and top up with a splash of seltzer. Garnish with an orange wheel, and serve with a straw - and an iced-tea spoon so you can relish every drop!

Iced Coffee

Subtitle: Liquid Love

Jen and I have been refrigerating the leftover coffee each morning for later in the day, but just drinking it cold seemed inadequate. Pouring it over ice diluted it too much, so we tried making coffee ice cubes. This works, but it's kind of messy and needed a dedicated ice cube tray and (obviously) freezer space.

Enter Pioneer Woman. Her timely post offered another option that involves making a quantity of concentrate that's ready at our command. Nice.

Iced Coffee Concentrate

1 pound Ground Coffee (good, Rich Roast)

8 quarts Cold Water

Half-and-half (healthy Splash Per Serving)

Sweetened Condensed Milk (2-3 Tablespoons Per Serving)

Note: Can Use Skim Milk, 2% Milk, Whole Milk, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, Syrups...adapt To Your Liking!

In a large container, mix ground coffee with water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature eight hours or overnight.

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a pitcher or other container. Pour coffee/water mixture through the strainer, allowing all liquid to run through. Discard grounds.

Place coffee liquid in the fridge and allow to cool. Use as needed.

To make iced coffee, pack a glass full of ice cubes. Fill glass 2/3 full with coffee liquid. Add healthy splash of half-and-half. Add 2-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (can use plain sugar instead) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust half-and-half and/or sweetened condensed milk as needed.

NOTES: I made a batch using 1/2 lb coffee and 1 gallon of water. It seems less bitter than our other method using previously heated coffee. Jen gives it two thumbs-up! I let this batch steep overnight and I'd recommend stirring it one or two times during the process. Even though I made sure all the grounds were wet initially, after a few hours I saw there were definite layers forming in my container. When I opened it, I found there were a lot of grounds floating on top. After this stirring, they sank to the bottom and, I assume, gave up more of their coffee goodness.

Go to the original post for all the nice pictures.

Strawberry Smoothies

• 8 strawberries
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons white sugar (or honey)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ice cubes

In a blender combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into glasses and serve. Makes 2 8ounce glasses.

Notes: You could also use vanilla yogurt and omit the sugar and vanilla.

Lime Rickey ala Holly

That necessity is indeed the mother of invention was confirmed today when we ran out of mineral water to mix this drink. Instead, Holly suggested we use Limonata and it was fantastic!

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups gin
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 quarts chilled soda water
Thin slices of lime
Preparation
1. In a 1-quart pan, mix sugar with 1/2 cup water and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool or chill.

2. In a 3-quart pitcher, combine gin, lime juice, and the cooled syrup. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.

3. To serve, add soda water. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish with lime.

Source

Nick's Mojito

6 ounces light rum

12 mint leaves

6 tbls. lime juice

4 tbls. sugar

club soda

Mix rum, bruised mint sprigs, lime juice and sugar. Mix until sugar dissolves. Top off with a splash of club soda. Serve over ice.

Notes: We used orange mineral water because that's what we had on hand.

Orange Julius

1 can (6 oz.) orange juice concentrate

1 can milk

1 can water

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c sugar

10 ice cubes

Mix everything in a blender. Serve immediately.

International Cafe

1 c instant coffee creamer
1 c instant hot chocolate mix
2/3 c instant coffee crystals
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix together. I don't have a note about how much to mix with water. If anyone tries this, email me your suggestion and I'll update.

Source: Michael Latawiec (2002 craft sale)