Diaz Thanksgiving Feast

Click here for most of our Thanksgiving recipes.

The Easiest and Best Caramel Corn!!

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter

Melt together for 2 minutes. Stir until all blended together.

Add 2 cups mini marshmellows

Melt together for 2 more minutes.

Pop 2 bags of popcorn (Jolley Time Extra Butter is the best!!)
Add 1 more cup of mini marshmellows with the popcorn.

Combine popcorn/marshmellows with the caramel sauce and enjoy. This is sooo good and too easy!

Citrus Roasted Chicken with Citrus Glaze

No picture...sorry...although it is very pretty when it's done ;0)

1 Whole Chicken, gizzards removed
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
salt/pepper to taste
Emeril's Essence (see Cajun Pork Chops Recipe below)
1 yellow onion, quartered
3 tangerines or small oranges quartered
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 cup fresh tangerine or orange juice
1 Tbsp honey

Preheat over to 400 degrees.
Rub entire chicken with the butter. Season with salt, pepper and Essence including cavity and area between skin and breast meat. Stuff cavity tangerines/oranges, onion and fresh rosemary.

Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Place in oven. Roast for 45-60 minutes or until juices run clear. After it has roasted for 20 minutes, baste with pan drippings. Baste every 10-15 minutes.

Remove chicken and allow to rest, reserve pan drippings. In a hot saute pan, add pan drippings, tangerin/orange juice and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce to 1/2 cup, about 8-10 minutes.

Put chicken on platter and drizzle glaze.

Cajun Pork Chops

3-4 tsp cajun spice, depending on your taste (look for it in the spice section, Old Bay is a good one)

or Emeril's Essence is what I use:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika


• 2 tablespoons salt


• 2 tablespoons garlic powder


• 1 tablespoon black pepper


• 1 tablespoon onion powder


• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper


• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano


• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

4 boneless pork chops

1Tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 can 19 oz. black beans, drained (don't rinse)

1 can 80z. corn niblets (no salt added), drained

2 Tbsp your favorite BBQ sauce, more if you want

Sprinkle cajun spice on both sides of chops. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chops, cook 3 mins. Turn over. Add onion and peppers around meat; cover and cook 7 minutes or until pork is almost cooked in center.

Stir in remaining cajun spice; cook 1 min. Add black beans, corn and BBQ sauce. Simmer 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Serve with rice.

RATATOUILLE

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp dried parsley

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, skin on

salt to taste

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 zucchini, sliced

1 large onion sliced into rings

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 green bell pepper sliced

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 Tbsp italian seasoning

Preheat to 350 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of 9 x 13 or 1 1/2 qt casserole dish with 1 Tbsp olive oil.

Heat remaining olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 mins. Season with salt.

Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tbsp of Parmesan. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top of eggplant. Lightly salt, sprinkle more cheese and a little italian seasoning. Continue that pattern layering onion, mushroom, bell pepper and tomatoes, remembering to sprinkle with salt, cheese and italian seasoning.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Tastier than you might think! I served with a simple marinara sauce (you can use store bought spaghetti/marinara sauce. I used tomato sauce, italian seasoning, chopped garlic, a tiny bit of sugar and a bay leaf and let it simmer while ratatouille was baking. Even Brad ate it!

Shephards Pie

2 cans green beans
1 lb hamburger (or chicken)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken if doing chicken)
Mashed potatoes
------Potatoes
------Sour cream
------Butter
------Milk
------Salt

Cook hamburger and then add the cream of mushroom soup. Let simmer. Spread the green beans in the bottom of a pan. Cover the green beans with the hamburger/soup mixture. Spread the potatoes on top of the hamburger/soup mixture.

*You can also substitute the cream of mushroom soup in the hamburger version with 1 can of tomato soup and 1 small can tomato paste and then cover the potatoes with cheese. Yummy!

Linguine with Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes or beefsteak tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (preferably vine ripened)
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, cut into peaces or olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or ½ cup chopped fresh basil
1 package (16 ounces) linguine or penne

In nonstick 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon, until sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in butter and sage.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan, cook pasta as label directs. Drain.

In a serving bowl toss pasta with sauce. Makes about 6 main-dish servings.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is one of Pete's favorite meals

1 chicken cooked, boned, and cut into small pieces (use the pre-cooked chicken at the store)

½ lb grated mild cheese

1-4 oz can green chilies chopped (i like to buy the hot can)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 dozen corn tortillas

Chicken broth

2 Tbs onion

Mix chilies, soups, and onion in a sauce pan and heat slowly

Heat chicken broth and dip tortillas one at a time until soft

In a buttered pan layer tortillas, chicken pieces, soup sauce, and cheese.

Repeat 3 times

Bake covered at 300 for ½ hour

Chicken Salad

I just made this this week and it was easy and yummy!

Chicken Salad

2 Cooked chicken breasts dices
½ Cup chopped celery
½ Cup chopped red onion
½ Cup craisins
½ Cup chopped walnuts
Lemon juice
Celery salt
Salt & Pepper to taste
Large scoop of Mayo

Mix all ingredients together and serve with a baguette or on croissants

Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac

This is a recipe from Rachael Ray - it is SO good! We love blue chese so much and that's what did it for us! We loved it...

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 pounds (about 4 to 6, depending on size) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small bits
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 to 1/2 cup hot sauce, depending on how hot you like it
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preparation
To make cutting the chicken easier, place it into the freezer for about 15 minutes until it firms up slightly but isn’t frozen through. This will let you cut it up quickly into small pieces.
Preheat broiler and place a large pot of salted water over high heat to bring up to a boil for the whole wheat elbow macaroni.
Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken bits and brown them, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the veggies, stirring frequently, until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer the chili for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together and thicken it slightly.
While the chili is simmering, toss the pasta into the boiling salted water and cook until al dente according to package directions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and toss it into the chili, then transfer everything to a casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the top and place it under the broiler until the cheeses have melted and the top is golden brown, 2-3 minutes.

Crepes

4 eggs

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs melted butter

Measure all ingredients in to blender jar; blend for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides. Blend for 15 seconds more or until everything is mixed in well. Makes 12-14 crepes. (we have a crepe maker but you don't have to have one to make crepes)

For a Sweeter crepe:
Add 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.

For dessert crepes serve with fresh fruits (strawberries, raspberries, bananas, peaches…), whipping cream and chocolate syrup

For dinner crepes serve with tomatoes, avocados, and cheese.

OR JUST BE CREATIVE

Crab Dip

This recipe is a family favorite that doesn't last long when Sandy, my Dad and I are around.

1 pkg. of Cream Cheese
1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk
1 can Crab meat
10 – 15 dashes of Tabasco (start with 10 and see how it tastes)
1 garlic clove crushed or chopped very small

Mix it all together with an electric mixer and chill.

It’s best if made a whole day in advance and then chilled but a couple of hours works too. We serve this with Ruffles potato chips.

Banana Wontons

We started a Book Club on Saturday and this one of our apitizers. It was a big hit. The Banana Wontons were a Weight Watchers recipe that I have tweaked now that I’m not counting calories as much. I’ll post the original and my updated version.

Original
2 servings of butter-flavor cooking spray
1 large banana, diced
6 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
24 wonton wrappers
1 Tbsp powered sugar

Points Value: 4

Servings: 6

Prep time: 10 min

I like to use all the wonton wrappers so my revised recipe makes about 60 wontons. I’m not very good at using measuring devices so I just do what looks good. It’s hard to mess this one up.

Revised
Cooking spray
4 Bananas, mashed
A Handful of mini chocolate chips
A Handful of chopped walnuts
60+ wonton wrappers
Powered sugar to sprinkle on top

Then the rest of the directions are the same.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine banana and chocolate chips, (& Walnuts); mix gently.
Place wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Drop banana mixture by teaspoonfuls onto center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with wet fingers, fold over one corner to make a triangle and press sides together to seal. Transfer filled wrappers to prepared baking sheet and coat surface of wontons with cooking spray.
Bake until wontons are golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over wontons before serving.

Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Cocoa

Mix Together & Add...

2 cubes melted Butter

4 Eggs

1 3/4 cup Flour

Beat and pour into 9 x 13 greased pan

Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes

When brownies come out of the oven, spread 1/2 pkg miniature marshmallows on top.

Cover with hot frosting and swirl together across top of hot brownies

Frosting:

1/2 sack Powdered Sugar

1/3 cup Cocoa

1/2 cube Butter

1/3 cup Evaporated Milk (put in micro for 20 seconds to warm-up)

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Tarts

[DOUGH]

Beat together 5 min:
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 cubes butter

Add and beat 3 min:
1 egg
***flavoring
2 ¾ cups flour

Knead till there are no flour streaks
Shape into tart shells
Bake at 375 degrees for 12 min
***flavoring: 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla, or 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice and ½ teaspoons lemon rind grated finely

[FILLING]

Blend:
1 package of cream cheese
1 container or marshmallow cream

[GLAZE] optional

Combine in Sauce pan:
1 cup sugar
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
Add and stir:
½ cup water
Stir in:
1 ½ cups pureed fruit (add 1 Tbs lemon juice if fruit is bland or goes brown quickly)
Bring to a boil and add:
2 Tbs butter
Spoon over fresh fruit and chill until set
Mixture can be strained if you want a clearer glaze
*for peach add 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ tsp almond extract

[TOPPING]

Any kind of fruit

Strawberry Danish Dessert

[CRUST]

2 cups flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup softened butter

Mix flour, brown sugar, and butter. Pat mixture down into a 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Crumble

[FILLING]

1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Whip the heavy cream and blend in the powdered sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl beat softened cream cheese before adding it to the mixture.

Spread ½ the crust in 9X13 pan. Spread filling on top. Spread the remaining crumbs on top.

[TOPPING]

Top with 1 pkg. Strawberry danish dessert prepared as directed on pkg. Then add 4 cups strawberries.

***CRUST---FILLING---CRUST---TOPPING

Spaghetti Sauce

This is a large amount of sauce, but any left over sauce, freezes really well or you can cut the recipe down.

3 Tbs. olive oil (if you using hamburger, leave this out)
2 large onions diced
6-8 medium cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 teas. crushed red pepper flakes
3 (28-oz) cans crushed tomatoes
3 (29-oz) cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 (6-oz) cans tomato paste
1 1/2 teas. dried basil leaves
3/4 teas. dried oregano leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

If you are adding meat to this sauce, start with the meat first, once it starts to cook follow the rest of th directions below.

Saute onion in oil until soft (don't brown), then add garlic (garlic burns easy so make sure you stir a lot and cook until you can really smell it and it's sort of soft, add crushed red pepper flakes and remaining ingredients. Cook on low about 1 hour, stirring often so it doesn't burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.

Hint- open all the cans while onions are cooking because once the garlic is soft and fragrant you will need to add
the sauce quickly so the garlic doesn't burn.

Good Cook'n

One of my favorite things to do is cook. So, I decided it would be fun to start a recipe blog and include all of my favorite recipe's. In the future I hope my friends and family will also want to contribute their favorite recipes to this blog cook book.