Sunday, January 10, 2010

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.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

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!