Charmed Childhood Favorites

Ok, ok I’ll admit it I had a charmed childhood. I grew up in an upper middle class suburban town, with a nice house, swimming pool, great friends, and a stable family life. The part that, to this day, is most important to me is how close our neighborhood is; I consider these people my family. There was an open door policy to all of us kids, everyone was always welcome at anytime. I don’t know anyone else who has this kind of closeness with his or her neighbors; and I still consider Chester Road to be my home, even though I own my own house in another town.

Now I am not going to sit here and tell you that my mother and my friend’s mothers are culinary inspirations to me, far from it! (My mom’s Chop Suey and Mrs. C.’s Green Bean Surprise Casserole, not so good.) But I will say that these women can bake like there is no tomorrow; and have a few recipes that I remember fondly and have recreated over the years. So this is for my mom and my second mom, Mrs. C., I amped up your recipes and I hope that you don’t ground me for it.

Growing up we ate a lot of chicken done a million different ways, roasted, baked, grilled and fried. We knew it was fried chicken night when my mom would take out the avocado green electric frying pan. Party in the kitchen! These days I avoid fried chicken like the plague; I love it but it is so bad for you. That is the beauty thing about Shake and Bake, all the flavor of fried chicken without the fat. But we can do better than plain old store bought Shake and Bake. I have come up with Zingy Ranch Baked Chicken. Begin by taking your bone-in skin-on chicken pieces and marinating them in a quarter cup of lemon juice for about fifteen minutes. This step will make your chicken juicier and give it a bright flavor. Make sure to turn the pieces frequently so that all of the parts are coated. While this is going on combine one cup of breadcrumbs and one package of dry ranch salad dressing mix in a large resealable bag. Remove the chicken from the juice and place them in the bag one at a time and shake it like a saltshaker! Bake the chicken at 350 degrees for about forty minutes; make sure the juices run clear to tell if it is done. I like to eat this chicken with a little honey drizzled over it to add a layer of sweetness to it’s tang.

Serve the chicken, or anything for that matter, with my mom’s Rice Stuffing. Start this by melting one stick of butter in a pot. My mom has cut down the amount of butter lately and believe me you notice the difference. Anyway, sauté one medium chopped onion in the butter until soft and then add one cup of brown rice. (I counteract the high fat content with a high fiber ingredient. And no matter what you tell me I will continue to believe this!) Sauté this rice and onion until slightly browned then add two and a half cups of water, two chicken bouillon cubes and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and let it go for about a half hour or until all the liquid is absorbed. This is by far the best rice I have ever eaten and I only pull it out occasionally because I can eat the crap out of it!

My mom had a recipe that was super simple to make and packed quiet the flavor punch, Sweet and Sour Kielbasa. Start by dicing a small onion and green pepper and sauté them until soft, add one diced reduced fat kielbasa and cook until browned. Add one fourteen-ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. In a separate bowl combine half a teaspoon of ground dried ginger, one-tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, one tablespoon cornstarch, one teaspoon hot sauce and half a cup of apricot preserves. Add this sauce to the kielbasa and bring to a boil to thicken. You can serve this over either brown rice or pasta. I prefer pasta and just so you know I only eat whole-wheat pasta these days. Trust me you will not notice a difference in taste, but it is so much healthier because of the added fiber.

Now my family might have been in the restaurant business when I was a kid, but my mom did not run her kitchen like one; if we didn’t like what she was serving we could make ourselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Recently I found a recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken, which may sound gross but is really quite fantastic. Begin by combining one ten ounce jar of seedless raspberry jelly with ½ cup peanut butter, quarter cup raspberry vinegar, a few dashes of hot sauce and a dash of salt. Place four pieces of chicken in the bowl and toss around to coat completely, marinate the chicken between one hour and overnight. Bake this concoction in a baking dish for about forty-five minutes or until the juices run clear. The combination of sweet, sour and nutty is so intoxicating that you will find yourself making this often.

Mrs. C. had a recipe that she shared with my mom that to this day is one of my favorite quick dinners, Hamburger Stroganoff. Now a days I use thinly sliced steak instead of the hamburger to give it a more sophisticated feel. Begin by browning one pound of the sliced steak with two cloves of minced garlic and one small-diced onion. Once everything is browned and softened add one eight-ounce can of sliced mushrooms, salt, pepper and two tablespoons of flour. Make sure to coat everything evenly with the flour and cook for about five minutes. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup and simmer for ten minutes more. Finally fold in one cup of reduced fat sour cream and heat through, serve this over egg noodles. This recipe is easy to adjust if you are feeding a crowd, as Mrs. C. would sometimes have to do when her three kids showed up with their friends at dinnertime. I will admit that I would find out which house was having the better dinner before going home.

My mother liked to entertain and I remember fondly an appetizer that has since been retired due to its unhealthiness, Spinach Squares. Begin by beating three eggs until golden and then add one cup each of flour and milk, one teaspoon each of salt and baking powder and a pinch of nutmeg, mix this until well combined. Fold in one pound of shredded cheddar cheese, two packages of frozen spinach (drained and squeezed dry), and half an onion diced. Spoon this into a nine by thirteen baking dish that is well buttered and bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes. This was actually my introduction to spinach and I still love the vegetable in all of its forms; but those cheesy squares will always hold a special place in my stomach!

The thing that I truly love about food is that it has an amazing way of connecting it’s self to your memories and instantly bring you back to those times. Every time I eat fried seafood I think about all those summers I spent vacationing at Hampton Beach, and I smile because those were some of the best summers of my life. Back when I could eat fresh fruit without having my tongue swell up I remember sitting in the blueberry patches eating handfuls of the berries that we were supposed to bring home to our mothers, oops. Everyone has at least one fond food memory and every once in a while you should bring that recipe out and enjoy being transported back to that simple happy time.




Zingy Ranch Chicken

4 Pieces bone-in chicken
¼ cup Lemon Juice
1-cup Breadcrumbs
1 pkg Ranch salad dressing seasoning


Marinate the chicken in the juice for 15 minutes. Combine the breadcrumbs and salad dressing seasoning in a resealable bag. Shake the chicken pieces one at a time in the bag until well coated and bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.



Rice Stuffing

1 stick Butter
1 medium Onion, diced
1 cup Brown rice
2 ½ cups Water
2 Chicken Bouillon cubes
2 Tlbsp. Lemon juice


Melt butter in pot, add onion and cook until softened. Add rice and sauté until browned. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer about half hour or until all liquid is absorbed.



Sweet and Sour Kielbasa

1 small Onion, diced
1 small Pepper, diced
1 pkg Reduced fat Kielbasa, cut up
1 14 oz can Fire roasted tomatoes
½ tsp. Ground dried ginger
1 Tlbsp Rice wine vinegar
1 Tlbsp Soy sauce
1 Tlbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp. Hot sauce
½ cup Apricot preserves

Sauté the onion, pepper and kielbasa until softened and browned, add tomatoes and simmer. In separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour this over the meat mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Serve over pasta or rice.


Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken

4 pieces Bone-in chicken
1 10 oz. Jar Seedless raspberry jelly
½ cup Peanut Butter
¼ cup Raspberry vinegar
2 dashes Hot sauce
dash Salt

Combine all of the ingredients except the chicken and mix until smooth. Marinate the chicken in this mixture for at least one hour. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.


Sliced Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. Steak sliced thin
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 small Onion, diced
1 8 oz.Can Sliced Mushrooms
2 Tlbsp Flour
Salt and Pepper
1 can Cream of mushroom soup
1 cup Reduced fat sour cream

Sauté the steak, garlic and onion until browned and softened, add mushrooms, flour, salt and pepper and coat evenly, cook 5 minutes. Stir in the sop and simmer for 10 minutes. Fold in the sour cream and heat through. Serve over egg noodles.


Spinach Squares

3 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking powder
Pinch Nutmeg
1 lb. Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 pkg. Frozen spinach, drained and squeezed dry
½ Onion, diced

Beat the eggs until golden and add milk, flour, salt, nutmeg and baking powder. Fold in the remaining ingredients and spoon into a buttered 9x13-baking dish and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.