Basic White Sauce for whatever...

This is the one Mom uses that is just inside the cover of her favorite Better Homes & Gardens red gingham notebook cookbook.  It is a good start for cream tuna fish and peas on toast or for chicken and broccoli crepes.

Thin sauce: (1 cup)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
1 cup milk

Medium sauce: (1 cup)  (this is what mom usually uses)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
1 cup milk

In a saucepan melt butter.  Stir in flour, salt, and dash of pepper.  Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.

Turduckendog

Passing the freezer section, my younger son saw a turducken.  We decided to pass it for this year, but we also decided that if we ever do make it, we will put a hot dog in the middle.  Tuducken is such a fun word that we would have to make it even funnier by adding a dog.

Jambalaya, Spicy Swamp Soup Recipe

So I get a text from my daughter. Dad, what can I make with celery and carrots and green bell pepper? 

To a toddler, just add peanut butter and raisins to the celery, or just add ranch dressing for dip to both. 

To an adult daughter, knowing that there are probably other odds and ends in the kitchen, make some Jambalaya.  Ok, she could just make some chicken noodle soup or some kind of gravy base stew or some slaw type salad, but Jambalaya sounded like the best answer last night. So, here's a basic guide of a recipe for Jambalaya. 

There aren't really many rules.  Just mix things from the "swamp" or fridge and freezer,  leftover meats and vegetables, add some spice and tomato liquid, cook up some rice. (I like brown rice for this the best but others like white rice)

Try and remember the last good Jambalaya you had and what made it so good, then take this recipe and adapt it to what you liked the most about the one you loved.  Maybe it was the spicy heat, or tons of shrimp, or the unique road kill meat inside. Anyway, here's a beginning guide......

Chilaquiles Recipe

La Fe Tortillaria makes great Chilaquiles, but I really fell in love with them in La Jolla at a taco shop across the road from where I worked years ago.  The ones from La Fe make a great quick breakfast meal where I know they will make them for me.  The ones in La Jolla didn't even have any meat and were the cheapest thing on the menu but a huge portion and sooooooooo good.  Some friends from Mexico laugh at me when I say these are one of my favorite things and lots of taco dives kind of laugh at me when I ask if they make them because they are what people just make at home usually from leftovers.  This recipe post  is more of a summary of what can go in Chilaquiles that I have enjoyed from many different people and places.

Uncle Jason's Green Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Jason!!!!!!!!

This is the best and awesome to have it be soy free to boot. No more needing to get my fix from Rubio's for the green stuff.  I used to love the Rubio's chopped salad with their green stuff and still like it, but their steak has turned more hot dog processed texture and tasting over the past year and a half so I'd much rather make my own salad at home.

OK I made it at home yesterday and to tone down the spice for those who ate with us, use about 1/4 can of diced jalapeno peppers, and instead of 2 Tablespoons of salt, use 2 teaspoons of salt, and add an extra 1/4 cup of sugar.

Aunt Jane's cheesy bread

This is the make-ahead sandwich loaf bread that we first had at an open house with the Daynes.  Since getting the recipe from Aunt Jane, we've used it for all sorts of people-coming-over events (mission farewells, ordinations, baptisms, birthdays, potlucks, etc).  It is a great complement to a soup and salad dinner.  You can make the loaves ahead of time and put them in the fridge (or freezer!) and then just bake them when you want to use them!

• One unsliced loaf of sourdough french bread  (the "sourdough" is more important than the "french"--it has the heartiness to hold up to the cheese; if it is a smaller loaf, use two loaves; most sourdough bread is soy-free!)
• 6 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 8 oz tub whipped butter (I use about 5-6 oz butter, and I usually use regular softened butter that I whip)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Slice the loaf of bread horizontally as if to make a giant sub sandwich.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together into the whipped butter.   Spread the mixture onto both sides of the bread, put the two sides together, and cut into slices.  Wrap the entire loaf in aluminum foil.  

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes--until the cheese is all melted and the crust is crispy.   If you're putting it in the oven from the fridge, add an extra 10 minutes or so.

Nick's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

A recipe in words of a kindergartner after helping dad make chicken noodle soup.  Yes opening a can is so much easier but then you have that weird artificial aftertaste and also the ever present allergen soy.  The canned chicken we have used is only available at Sam's Club around here but may have soy in the future. If soy is an issue, please always check for the words "broth" and "enhancer" and "flavoring" along with the many other hidden allergen words for soy.

Italian Chicken Pasta Thingy Recipe

 Another chicken scratch note recipe done after making something with what was in the cupboard.  Its approximate to what is a frequent last minute can't think of anything to make so boil some pasta and quickly throw things together thingy.  Add, delete, change as you want.  This is just for ideas, although looking at it, it is probably fine as written too.

Chinese Chicken Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

Ok, so here's one of the chicken scratch notes for one of the soy free chicken stuff with noodles things we would make.  It was from one of the nights Emily liked it so I had written down about what I had done.  Sorry its as messy as it is but its been a good source of how to approximate something Chinese we would make frequently.  Cook and substitute at your own risk.

Grilled Chicken Green Salad Recipe

Just a basic Grilled Chicken with other stuff in a salad.  Add and delete as you want.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

This is the culinary arts project from years ago that Cameron worked on and tweaked for a final or midterm I think.  We have made it for years.  Be sparing with the balsamic at first in case your balsamic is too strong from being older or just a stronger brand.  We have used the Costco brand and it has consistently worked for us as measured in this recipe. Sometimes we double the sauce amount.  Please make sure the pork is thawed if its coming from your freezer or the pork will be dry and tough.

Boiled Rice Recipe

Yes this is kind of like "how to boil water".  BUT have you tried the awful rice some people make?  A rice cooker is the easiest option but when you don't have one, here's the basic recipe.  If you double or triple it, then cut back some on the water because it won't need as much to cook.

1.  Pour 1 3/4 cups of water in a pot that has a lid.  Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Add 1 Tablespoon of butter. 
2. Bring to a rolling boil. I sometimes cheat, don't wait long enough, and people can always tell.
3. Add 1 cup of rice slowly.
4. Cover and cook over low heat.  Set a timer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat to another burner and let sit for 5 minutes more.
5. Fluff with a fork, serve, and eat.

Aunt Janice's Chili Relleno Recipe

Another Aunt Janice recipe.  These Chili Rellenos are great and my wife loves them and orders Chili Rellenos at restaurants regularly so if she likes this recipe then they are at least as good as or better than a good restaurant one.  She is known to not finish ones that are bad.

Cheese Strata Recipe

This is the in-laws Christmas Day and New Years Day and special day recipe that most of the married into the family and almost all of the born into the family love.  It can be made ahead of time and frozen to bake later or baked and frozen to reheat later.  Butter amounts can be increased or decreased and the corner pieces are always the best.

Crepe Recipe

A blender and a pan and just a few ingredients make a crepe that can be filled with anything main dish or dessert.  This is moms recipe that we've used forever.

Chili's knockoff Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe

OK, this is one of my wife's favorite soups on the soup and salad menu so a couple of years ago we went through trial and error of many recipes and adjustments to come up with this recipe that the family likes.  Soy free can be an issue with changing ingredients in the items listed so if soy free is your goal, then check all labels as always, and adapt as needed.  Velveeta surprised me as an ingredient that works the best.  We tried all real cheeses and it just didn't work the same so this is one instance of using an ingredient I never would otherwise.

April, 2015 Update: We just tried the Chicken Enchilada Soup at Claim Jumper last week and was it so awful, neither of us could stomach or handle more than two bites each. It was gritty and tasted like half cooded dry black beans with hard old carrots that were probably some sort of dried out corn or stale corn tortillas thrown in a food processor with enough spices to color it a dark brown.  The fried tortilla strips and few strands of chicken let me know it was indeed what I had ordered instead of a strange chili. The waiter looked at the unfinished soup and looked at us like he knew what was up. I quietly asked and he said with a knowing expression, "Yea, it's supposed to taste like that." He was a great guy and offered another bowl of a different soup to go but I didn't take him up on the offer.  I was full from lots of salad from their salad bar with lots of their hot sweet bacon dressing.  Lesson learned.

Aunt Janice's Enchilada Recipes

Aunt Janice was Mormor's friend from way before California happened and then in later years changed my and some of my siblings diapers.  Years ago, I was at her home for dinner when Cameron was a baby and she made the most wonderful Enchiladas and was kind enough to share the recipes with us.  This is what we have used for years.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas are great but the cans of cream of mystery soup used in them kind of gross me out.  They are basically soy and other hydrogenated cheap filler thickener of the moment ingredient substances that slurp out of the can.  Yes they are the staple of many a Midwesterner or Baptist or Mormon or Catholic or other casserole and jello making baking home cook, but replacing with extra sour cream and seasoning can make recipes healthier and less artificial tasting and soy free.

For the Sour Cream Enchilada Recipe posted here, just substitute the soup can amount of more sour cream and a can of soy free canned chicken or other cooked chopped chicken to the mixture.  A little dehydrated onion can also help boost the flavor if needed.

For the Regular Red Enchiladas, the shredded lettuce sounded kind of gross when I saw it in the recipe but when you finely shred it, it great and authentic.

Pineapple Salsa Recipe

Costco or Smart and Final sell great Pineapple and also mango peach salsa. 

The problem is needing it for a chip when we are out of it or the ever changing presence or absence of soy. This recipe can be adjusted as you like but is a basic quick salsa from what is usually in the pantry if you just can't get to the store.  Substitution happens all the time with this recipe.

Waffles Recipe - a big batch

Waffles are great!  So many years soy free has made a necessity of making a big batch for freezing.  Waffles at stores and even at restaurants usually have at least the soy lecithin from the nonstick spray they use on the waffle iron. Here's the recipe we've used for years.  It makes a lot.

Fish Tacos

My favorite fish tacos are at Cessy's in Carlsbad, California.  Rubios is pretty good too but I like Rubio's most for the chopped salad with about 1 cup of their green salsa on top.  When its just too much effort to drive over to Cessy's or even down the road to Rubio's and we have some decent frozen breaded fish in the freezer, this is great!!!