Recipe Party Recipes

World War II "Secret" Spaghetti Sauce

and All Day Spaghetti
(Taught to Derek's Grandfather by another comrade)
Stephanie Fay

Meatballs:

½ lb hamburger

2 sm grated onions
1 cup soda crackers

1 egg
salt and pepper

Fry 3 cloves of garlic in up to ¾ cup shortening. Discard garlic.

Cook meatballs in shortening until cooked, but don’t overcook (you can also bake them at 400 degrees for 25 min. ahead of time).

Sauce

3-14 oz cans tomato sauce + 1 tomato paste & water (OR: 8-8 oz cans of tomato sauce)
8 oz Parmesan cheese
c tsp. Salt and pepper
¼ Tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours, reserve one can of tomato sauce to put in one hour before eating. Can freeze leftovers.

Falafel

Christine Gilbert

One of the most popular foods from the Middle East. It is nutritious, simple to prepare and very flavorful! Small falafel patties are served inside Pita bread with fresh greens topped with delicious sesame tahini dressing.


Pita bread
Falafel balls: I buy the "Casbah" mix (at Winco by the rice section) and follow the easy instructions. I like to bake them instead of frying.
sliced tomato
chopped cucumber
feta cheese
kalamata olives
mint
parsley
Tahini sauce OR Yogurt sauce (recipes follow)

Tahini sauce:
1 c tahini
2/3 c water
1/2 t salt
2 lemons, juiced
1 garlic clove crushed
1 T parsley, chopped

Yogurt sauce:
2 c plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 c cucumber
2 T Onion (thinly chopped)
1 t Mint
1 Garlic clove crushed

Tabouli

Christine Gilbert

A refreshing salad made with pre-cooked wheat, parsley, lemon juice, onion and fresh mint. Can be served over crisp romaine lettuce or used as a stuffing for tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini or grape leaves

I use the "Casbah" mix following the package instructions then add 2 diced tomatoes. Allow to stand for 1 hour in refrigerator. Very easy and so yummy!!

Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo

by Kelly Eyring

1 regular-size foil oven bag (I couldn’t find one so I just made my own with foil)

Cooking spray

1 cup uncooked 0rzo(rice-shaped pasta)

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2 cup diced tomato

1 1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

dash pepper

1 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Pre-heat oven to 450

2. Coat inside of oven bag with cooking spray. Place in a large shallow baking pan.

3. Cook pasta in boiling water for 5 minutes, omitting salt and fat, and drain. Place cooked pasta inn a large bowl. Stir in 2 tsp olive oil and next 7 ingredients (oil through pepper). Place the mixture in prepared bag. Combine shrimp and basil. Arrange shrimp over orzo mixture. Seal bag

4. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes until shrimp are done. Open bag and drizzle with olive oil. 6 servings

Easy Bistro Chicken

by Kelly Eyring

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 chicken breast halves, skinned

4 chicken thighs skinned (I just used breasts)

4 chicken drumsticks skinned

2 cups chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped fresh basil

½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

½ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup sliced green olives

¼ cup capers

1 tablespoon sugar

dash of ground red pepper

2 bay leaves

1 28oz can Italian-style tomatoes, undrained and chopped

8 cups hot cooked macaroni or cavatappi (my favorite curly noodles)

1.Heat 1 ½ teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté 2 min on each side until lightly browned. Remove from pan.

2.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in pan. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add celery, sauté 5 minutes. Add basil and next 8 ingredients. Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Uncover and simmer 25 minutes or until chicken is tender. Discard bay leaves. Serve with pasta. Garnish with parsley sprigs if desired. 8 servings.

Chicken Ratatouille
Sarah d’Evegnee

This French dish uses loads of Mediterranean vegetables and is a perfect way to use up the zucchini flooding your garden! We like to add chicken to ours to make it a whole meal and we usually serve it over rice. This is our family’s version, so it doesn’t have the eggplant or the fresh tomatoes that you see in most traditional ratatouille recipes (maybe when the kids grow up a little?). . . but this recipe did get the kids to start eating zucchini and mushrooms, which we never thought would happen!

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed (we usually do half a breast per person)
¼ cup red onion, cut in thin slices (about half an onion) (You can mince it if you have picky eaters who would be suspicious of the strips)
1 red pepper, sliced in quarter inch strips and then halved
1-2 green zucchini, sliced in thin half rounds
1-2 yellow zucchini squash, cut the same way
6-8 brown mushrooms, cut in half slices
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can tomato paste (you may need to add 2 t sugar to this if your paste is too acidic)
8 ounces water or chicken stock (or broth)
1 T herbes de provences (or you can substitute 1 T Italian seasoning or 2-3 T of fresh herbs on hand—parsley and/or rosemary and basil are good.)
2 t cumin (this gives it an “earthy” taste)

2 t celery salt (or seasoning salt or season all)

2 t oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Saute chicken and onion in olive oil until chicken is mostly cooked through. Add peppers, green and yellow zucchini, mushrooms and garlic. (You could add 2 cups cubed eggplant and/or two diced tomatoes here—my family will not allow me to do this, but it would be delicieux!) Cook for about 4-5 minutes and then add garlic. Cook for 3-4 more minutes, stir often to avoid burning the garlic. Add tomato paste and liquid of your choice. Add herbs, cumin, celery salt, and oregano and stir well. If the mixture gets too thick, simply add more of the liquid (it really also depends on how “saucy” you like it). When vegetables are just about completely cooked through (about 4-5 more minutes), you’re ready to dig in. (Unless you’re more like Eric and like them to be softer. . . in this case, you can cook for 4-5 more minutes. We try and compromise on this.) Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

We like our ratatouille over rice (brown rice is phenomenal), but you can also serve this over pasta. Some people also like to add a little parmesean cheese, but I really don’t think it’s necessary. I like the vegetables to speak for themselves! Bon appetit!

Tomato, Cucumber, and Feta Greek Salad
Sarah d’Evegnee

We got this recipe from our good friend Demitrios Campbell, who is half Greek (you can see that from the Campbell part. . . just kidding), but served in the Bordeaux mission (go figure!). It is simple, healthy, and out-of-this-world refreshingly delicious!

Tomatoes, sliced in thin rounds
Cucumbers, sliced in thin rounds
Feta cheese
Olive oil
Balsalmic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Layer tomatoes, then cucumbers on a plate or platter. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over the top, then do the same with the balsalmic vinegar. Crumble feta over the top and dive in! Sometimes we serve it over a bed of spinach or with grilled chicken to make it a meal.


Hummus
Rachel Helfrich

This is great as a snack for dipping fresh vegetables. I often make it into a meal by serving it with pitas or tortillas and grilling some seasoned chicken breasts for wraps. I serve it with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta or fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves, lettuce, and shredded carrots. Everyone makes their own at the table so it pleases the whole family. Wendy and Nicole eat the hummus plain, with a spoon.

1 teaspoon garlic
1 can chickpeas, drained, reserve liquid
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Lemon zest
2 tablespoons sesame tahini
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ cup oil (I use half canola, half olive)
Fresh parsley (about 3 sprigs)
Fresh basil (about 6 leaves)
Fresh ground salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth, adding reserved bean liquid if necessary.

Greek Salad
Nicole Burt (from Sandy Spackman)

Dressing
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 C olive oil
1 large garlic clove crushed
1 heaping tsp oregano (rubbed between fingers)
3/4-1 tsp. sea salt (adjust to your taste)
fresh ground pepper to taste

Pour over salad of choice here's mine...
Romaine lettuce
calamata or greek olives (my family prefers regular old black olives)
red onions
cucumbers
tomatoes

Linguine (or Fettuccine) with Tomatoes, Basil and Cream


Karen McMaster

2 TBSP Butter

1-2 garlic sections chopped

4 Cup diced or chopped tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4-1/2 cup shredded fresh basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 lb noodles...cooked drained and set aside in a warm place

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese.



Melt the butter in a large non-reactive sauté pan. Add garlic and salt and
sauté over med-high heat until wilted but not browned, about 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in cream,
bring to a boil simmer briskly until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes
. Stir in basil, salt, pepper. Pour over pasta and serve right away. Top with
 Parmesan cheese, or serve to the side.

Salsa and Cinnamon Chips
Mindy Jensen

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.


Greek Farmer's Market Vegetables
Maija-Liisa Adams

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to the recipe party Thursday, as I ran out of time to make this for you and switched making the soup recipe below and burned myself. So I made this instead for my parents and again for my own family and they enjoyed it.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Ingredients
1 - 1 1/2 Cup olive oil (I bought the good stuff for this.)
1 lb. zucchini squash
1 lb. potatoes
1 lb. eggplant or yellow squash
2 small onions
3 peppers - one green, red, and yellow
3 tomatoes
1 small bunch chopped parsley or rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean and wash your vegetables and cut them into slices. Put all ingredients into a large skillet and stir and coat vegetables with olive oil and cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for approximately 1-1 1/2 hours. Serve with crumbled feta cheese. Serves 4 to 6.

Cream of Zucchini Soup
Maija-Liisa Adams

My Mother asked me to make this recipe for her. She served it the last several years and shared it with several women although I didn't grow up with it. It was served to my parents on their official Ambassadorial visit to Ramstein Germany by Gloria Oaks, then a General's wife, now a General Authority's wife. RS sisters make and swap their recipes wherever they live and serve around the world.

3 lb. zucchini
2 cans chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
½ cup water
1 tsp. onion powder
1½ cups half & half
1 tsp. garlic powder
Seasoned salt & pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Chives for garnish

Slice zucchini into 1" pieces. Put in a large kettle. Add salt, onion &garlic powder, white pepper, chicken broth and water. You may want to increase the spices called for according to your taste. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until tender, about10-15 minutes, stirring now and then. Blend in a blender until smooth, about 1/3 at a time. Place in a clean kettle. Stir in half & half. Season to taste. Heat until heated through. Garnish with chopped chives. May be refrigerated overnight or FROZEN.