Aunt Ilene's Specialties

At a ladies' luncheon yesterday, my aunt made her famous chicken squares and a savory soup. Her friends asked repeatedly for the recipes. They make for a perfect winter lunch! We all enjoyed assorted hot teas, fruit salad, and scrumptious desserts as well.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

3 oz softened cream cheese
3 T melted butter
2 c. cubed cooked chicken
salt
pepper
2 T milk
1 T chopped onions
1 T chopped celery
2 T slivered almonds
8 oz refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 c seasoned stuffing (can be crushed into finer crumbs if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, blend cream cheese, 2 T butter (reserve 1 T) until smooth. Add chicken, salt, pepper, milk, onions, celery and almonds. Mix well.

Separate crescent rolls into four rectangles. Press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 c. chicken mixture onto center of rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to top center and seal edges. Brush with 1 T melted butter. Dip in crumbs.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

1 1/2 c. cauliflower
1 c. carrots
1/4 c. celery
1 /4 c. onion
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. milk (2% or whole)
2 T. butter
1/4 c. flour
4 slices American cheese

Cut vegetables into small pieces. Boil in broth approximately 10 minutes. Blend (with broth) in a food processor until coarse pieces are achieved.

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour. Stir in milk. When thickened, add cheese and vegetables. Stir until cheese is melted.

Homemade Cranberry Applesauce

I created this recipe to use up half a bag of fresh cranberries in the fridge as well as some old apples. Delish!

1/2 bag fresh cranberries
4 large apples peeled, cored and sliced (I used granny smith)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium or large saucepan. Cover and heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Stir often. Boil for 10-15 minutes until apples and cranberries are soft. Stir well to break up the apples and distribute the bright red cranberry color throughout the sauce. Cool and enjoy!