Eggs to Dye For

My son stopped hunting Easter eggs years ago, but I still dye a dozen every year.  It's a tradition just like the bunny shaped cake I make for dessert.  I've always used an egg dyeing kit, but not anymore.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw something on the Wilton website about using gel icing color to dye eggs.  I thought this was a great idea -- I could create the exact shades I wanted -- so I decided to give it a try.  I'm glad I did because these are the prettiest eggs I've ever dyed!

Gel icing color is a concentrated paste sold in small jars in a variety of colors.  It produces richer, more vibrant colors and, because it's concentrated, a little dab will do!

These are the colors I used

If you've never worked with gel icing color, the most important thing to remember is to use a toothpick to remove the gel from the jar.

If you need more color, use another toothpick and repeat the process. This keeps the gel from getting contaminated which is important when you're dipping the toothpick into frosting.  In this case, it keeps the gel from getting diluted with water.

Unlike kits that use lemon juice or vinegar to dissolve tablets, the gel is dissolved in very hot water.  If you're like me and don't have an instant hot water dispenser, turn the hot water on and let it run until the faucet feels hot to the touch.  Pour 3/4 cup water into a container -- I use clear plastic disposable cups -- and add the desired amount of gel.

Stir until the gel is dissolved.

Stir in one tablespoon of white vinegar and add the boiled egg.

Let the egg sit in the cup until it reaches the desired color.  Remove the egg and let dry.  I put the eggs back in the egg carton to dry and stored them in the refrigerator.

I definitely plan to dye eggs this way again next year.  In the meantime, I need to decide whether to use these for deviled eggs or egg salad sandwiches.

© Margaret's Morsels

Countdown to Easter: Part 3

When I posted my Easter menu, I didn't include a dessert.  For at least the last 12 years, I've made a bunny shaped cake like the one shown above. This year, I was going to make something different, but my plans changed.

A couple of days ago, my husband stopped at the grocery on his way home from work.  He noticed jelly beans were on sale and bought a bag. When he handed me the bag, he said he bought them for the bunny cake. This cake is such a family tradition, there's no way I could make a different dessert for Easter.

The cake is made with two 8-inch round cake pans.  To save time, I use a cake mix and store bought frosting.  Coconut is sprinkled on the frosting to mimic the bunny's fur.  Licorice, tinted coconut, jelly beans or any other small colorful candy is used to decorate the cake.  Click here to find the directions.

© Margaret's Morsels

Countdown to Easter: Part 2

Spring announces its arrival in many ways:  trees start budding; flowers burst into colorful blooms; pollen appears on surfaces; people with allergies start sneezing.  I know spring has sprung when I see asparagus, the quintessential spring vegetable, in the grocery store.

Fresh asparagus is in season from March -- in time for Easter -- until June. When choosing asparagus, look for stems that are crisp with tight tips that are green or purple.  Asparagus is best used within a day or two of purchase.

Just like cranberries, I'm a late in life asparagus lover.  I never liked asparagus but, to prove a point to my son, tried it again when it came with an entree I ordered at a restaurant.  Much to my surprise, I loved it and have started looking for asparagus recipes to add to my recipe box.

The recipes I found using fresh asparagus were either grilled -- like I had in the restaurant -- or cooked with a sauce.  Since I liked the grilled asparagus, I decided to see how I liked asparagus cooked with a sauce.

A lot of the recipes I found called for wrapping bundles of asparagus with bacon.  This reminded me of the recipe I posted for green bean bundles. I decided to adapt that recipe using fresh asparagus.  In order for the recipe to work properly, I had to alter the proportions and technique.

Rinse the asparagus in cold water and pat dry.  Bend the bottom of one piece of asparagus until it breaks.  This break is the dividing point between the tender and tough portion of the stalk.

Use this stalk as a guide to trim all the remaining asparagus to the same length.

The asparagus cooks in half the time of the green beans.  Due to the shorter cooking time, the bacon might not be fully cooked when the asparagus is done.  To solve this potential problem, I cook the bacon strips in the microwave for three minutes.  This doesn't fully cook the bacon -- it's still pliable and easy to wrap around the asparagus -- but it gives it a head start.

Bacon that was cooked for three

minutes in the microwave.

I wrap the bacon around the spears in a spiral so it covers more surface area.  You can wrap the bacon closer together if you prefer.

I had to increase the rest of the ingredients to make enough sauce. Instead of sprinkling the ingredients on the asparagus, I combine everything in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.  That way, the sauce is heated through by the time the asparagus is done.

Pour the sauce over the asparagus bundles and bake 20 to 25 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.  Don't overcook the asparagus or it will be limp. The bundles are best served as soon as they're removed from the oven. The leftovers don't do good reheated so I only prepare as many as I need for each meal.

The point I made to my son that night was to try food you don't like because tastes change over time.  Asparagus will never be my favorite vegetable, but it's definitely one I'll eat again.  Now that I've found an asparagus recipe that uses sauce, I need to find a good recipe for grilled asparagus.

Asparagus Bundles

8 Servings

1 lb. fresh asparagus, rinsed and patted dry

bacon (one slice per bundle), partially cooked

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400°.  Bend the bottom of one piece of asparagus until it breaks.  Use this as a guide to trim all the remaining asparagus to the same length.  Divide the asparagus into equal bundles.  Wrap one partially cooked bacon slice around each asparagus bundle.  Set the bundles into a greased baking dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until well blended.  Pour the mixture over the bundles. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, until done.

© Margaret's Morsels

Countdown to Easter: Part 1

Easter is 11 days away, but I'm already planning my menu.  It's actually easy because my family expects the same thing -- ham, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, homemade rolls and fruit tea -- every year.  The menu might get boring, except I change things up by preparing different side dishes.

A few years ago, I discovered I loved cranberries paired with oranges.  I think the cranberry/orange combination is especially delicious served with ham.

Last Easter, I served a cranberry/orange side dish in the form of Cranberry Orange Relish.  This sweet-tart relish is a combination of fresh cranberries, apple, orange, pineapple and sugar.   If you don't have fresh cranberries on hand, you can still enjoy a cranberry/orange side dish.

Cranberry Orange Casserole uses canned whole berry cranberry sauce and mandarin oranges mixed with lemon juice and sugar.  Unlike the relish, the casserole is heated in the oven and served hot.  The recipe only makes four servings, but it can easily be doubled or tripled.

If you want to serve a cold side dish, try Southern Cranberry Salad.  It also uses whole berry cranberry sauce and mandarin oranges, but is combined with cherry gelatin, water and pineapple for a congealed salad.

If you prefer a seasonal side dish, check back soon for a recipe that uses the quintessential spring vegetable. 

Cranberry Orange Casserole

4 Servings

1 (14 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Combine the ingredients and pour into a greased casserole dish.  Bake 25 minutes until hot and bubbly.

© Margaret's Morsels

Budget Friendly Entree

An easy way to stretch your grocery budget is to prepare one or two meals a week without meat.  Vegetables are a good choice, but so is pasta, especially when the pasta doesn't require a lot of additional ingredients.

Baked Ziti is one of my favorite pasta dishes.  Not only is it easy to prepare, at .67 cents a serving, it's budget friendly.  Unlike ziti recipes that use homemade sauce and several kinds of cheese, this recipe only uses four ingredients:  ziti, Parmesan cheese, pasta sauce and Mozzarella cheese.

For some reason, I have a hard time finding ziti -- a tubular pasta -- in the grocery store.  If you have the same problem, penne, rigatoni or mostaccioli are all good substitutes.  

Ziti is on the left; mostaccioli on the right.

Cook the ziti in a pot of salted water.  Drain the ziti thoroughly and combine it with the pasta sauce and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.  To keep from dirtying another bowl, I combine the ingredients in the pot I used to cook the ziti.

Pour the contents into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Baked for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  For a smoother finish, use finely shredded Mozzarella cheese and put it on top of the Parmesan cheese.

Put the uncovered dish back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.

Add a salad and garlic bread and you've got a filling meal that doesn't break the bank.

Baked Ziti

6 Servings

1 (8 oz.) pkg. ziti

1 (26 1/2 oz.) can spaghetti sauce

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook ziti according to package directions; drain.  Combine ziti with spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.  Pour into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover ziti; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and the remaining Mozzarella. Return to oven until cheese melts.

© Margaret's Morsels

Going Green

The expression "going green" takes on new meaning for St. Patrick's Day. Not only do people like to wear green on March 17, green food and beverages are popular that day too!

Last year for St. Patrick's Day, I shared a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. This year, I thought I'd share a recipe that's not Irish in origin, but it's definitely green!

Pistachio Dream Cake starts with a cake mix and gets its green color from a package of pistachio pudding mix.  The cake and pudding mixes are combined with oil, eggs and, instead of water, lemon lime soda.  I use ginger ale, but Sprite or 7-Up can be used instead.

The cake can be baked in a 9 x 13-inch pan or two layer pans or, what I like to use, a Bundt pan.  The 9 x 13-inch pan only has to be greased, but the layer or Bundt pans need to be greased and floured.

Although a Bundt pan has a beautiful shape, it can be hard to grease and flour all the fluted edges.  The easiest way to grease a Bundt pan is to spread the shortening in the pan with a paper towel.  Make sure to grease the entire surface including the tube in the center.

Sprinkle some flour in the pan.

Rotate the pan until the surface -- including the tube -- is coated with flour. If there's excess flour, remove it by turning the pan upside down and tapping the bottom.  The flour will fall right out.

Bake the cake for the time listed on the box for the size pan you're using. If you're using a 9 x 13-inch pan, let the cake cool completely in the pan. Otherwise, let the cake cool 10 minutes before removing it from the pan to cool on a wire rack.

When the cake is completely cool, frost it with pistachio frosting.  The original recipe called for the frosting to be made with Cool Whip, but I prefer to use Dream Whip, a powdered nondairy dessert topping.

Combine both pouches of Dream Whip with milk and a package of pistachio pudding mix.  If you prefer a smoother frosting, sift the pudding mix into the bowl with the Dream Whip to remove any nuts.

The pudding mix gives the frosting a beautiful green color.  I like the pale shade of green, but you can add green food coloring if you prefer a brighter color.  Frost the cake and keep it stored in a covered container in the refrigerator.

The cake is green on the inside and outside making it a suitable dessert when you're "going green."

Pistachio Dream Cake

12 Servings

1 (18 1/4 oz.) pkg. yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. instant pistachio pudding

1 cup oil

3 eggs

1 cup lemon lime soda (I use ginger ale)

Blend ingredients together in a bowl; beat 4 minutes with an electric mixer. Pour batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan.  Bake according to the time listed on the cake mix box.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Remove cake from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Pistachio Frosting

1 (2.6 oz.) box Dream Whip

1 (3.4 oz.) box instant pistachio pudding*

1 1/4 cups cold milk

Blend together and beat 4 minutes on high until light and fluffy.  Spread frosting on cake.  Store cake in a covered container in the refrigerator.

*For a smoother frosting, sift the pudding mix to remove any nuts.  Proceed as directed.

© Margaret's Morsels

  

Crock-Pot Cooking

If I had to choose my favorite kitchen appliance, it would be a close call between a microwave and crock-pot.  A microwave is wonderful for cooking bacon, baked potatoes, fresh corn-on-the-cob and popcorn.  It also does a great job melting butter and chocolate and, its most popular function, heating leftovers.

A crock-pot can be used to reheat soups, stews, chili and spaghetti sauce, plus an entire dish can be cooked in it with little or no additional work required.  It's a tough choice, but for the last reason alone, I'd choose a crock-pot over a microwave.

Although I love crock-pot cooking, I haven't posted many crock-pot recipes. Today, I want to rectify that and share one of my all time favorite crock-pot recipes.

The crock-pot version of Chicken a la King isn't that much different from the version cooked on the stove.  Both recipes contain diced chicken with vegetables in a cream sauce.  The most obvious difference is the crock-pot version takes eight hours to cook.  However, there are several advantages to this long cooking time.

First, unlike the version cooked on the stove, the crock-pot recipe doesn't require the chicken or green peas to be cooked ahead of time.  Second, the vegetables -- onion, green pepper and celery -- don't need to be sauteed. Third, you don't have to make and thicken the cream sauce.

To save time,  assemble the ingredients the night before.  Start by combining the flour, pepper, cayenne pepper and -- what makes the cream sauce -- cream of chicken soup.  I use 98% fat-free soup which has less sodium than regular soup.  For that reason, I also add a teaspoon of salt to the mixture.

Add cubed chicken breasts and diced onion, celery and green bell pepper.

Thoroughly combine the ingredients and store the mixture in a covered container in the refrigerator.

The next morning, put the ingredients in the crock-pot and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours.  You may be wondering why the green peas aren't in the crock-pot.  The peas and pimentos are added at the end of the cooking time and everything is cooked an additional 30 minutes.

The peas need to be thawed before being added to the mixture.  I find it helpful to put the package in the refrigerator to thaw when I put the chicken mixture in the crock-pot.

Chicken a la King is usually served with toast points or pasta, but I like to serve it with rice.  Shortly after I add the peas and pimentos, I start cooking the rice.  By the time the rice is ready, so is the Chicken a la King.  Add a salad and you've got a meal that doesn't require a lot of work or a lot of cleanup!

Crock-Pot Chicken a la King

6 Servings

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup (undiluted)*

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. pepper

dash of cayenne pepper

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 celery rib, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I use frozen)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed

2 Tbsp. diced pimentos, drained

hot cooked rice

Combine the first four ingredients in a crock-pot until smooth.  Stir in the chicken, celery, green pepper and onion.  Cover and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours.  Stir in peas and pimentos.  Cook 30 minutes longer until heated through.  Serve over rice.

*If using 98% fat-free soup, add one teaspoon of salt to the mixture.

© Margaret's Morsels