Tuesday's Blue Plate Specials

Breakfast: Quiche
Slices of sweet apples

Quiche: Cook 1 cup minced onions in 2 Tblsp butter. Remove onions from skillet and add 2 sliced mild Italian sausages and brown them slightly. In a mixing bowl, combine 3 large eggs, ¾ cup milk, ¾ tsp dried sage and salt & pepper to taste. Place the cooked onions in an 8-inch baked pie shell. Pour egg mixture over onions. Sprinkle with ¼ cup Swiss cheese and arrange sausage slices on top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Core and quarter the apples.

Dinner: White Chili
Tortilla chips & guacamole

White Chili: In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, saute together 1 each chopped onion, green pepper, red pepper, 2 jalopenos, 2 cloves garlic in ½ stick butter. Add 1 Tblsp cumin, 2-4 cups cubed cooked chicken, 1 can diced green chilies, 8 cups chicken stock or broth. Add any combination of the following: 1 can each navy beans, garbanzo beans, cannelloni beans, butter beans, lima beans and white kidney beans. Simmer 1 hour. Ladle into bowls and garnish with shredded Monterey jack cheese and sour cream.

Guacamole: Mash together (Nelli uses the electric mixer) 4 ripe avocados and 2 cloves roasted garlic. Stir in 1 Tblsp lime juice, a few drops Louisiana Hot Sauce and 1 finely chopped Roma tomato.

Lunch: Aunt Margie’s Cinnamon Rolls
Dissolve 2 Tblsp yeast and 2 tsp sugar in 1 cup warm water. Let stand 10-15 minutes.
Make a cinnamon-sugar mixture of 1 cup sugar mixed with 1 Tblsp cinnamon. Set aside. Sift 5-7 cups flour. Thoroughly stir together: ¼ cup scalded milk, 1 cup water, ½ stick butter, ½ Tblsp salt, 2 eggs and ¾ cup sugar. Stir yeast mixture into liquids. Add 3 cup sifted flour and stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Let rise until double – about 1 hour. Punch down and divide in two. Roll each half into a 9 x 13 rectangle. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up and slice into rolls. Place in 9 x 13 pan (this recipe makes two pans. It can be doubled.) and let rise until double. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. While still warm, frost with 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tblsp softened butter and enough milk to make a thin frosting.

Supper: Smothered Chicken Breast
Stuffed Acorn Squash

Smothered Chicken Breast: Brown 4-6 boneless breasts in oil or bacon fat, OR grill over hot coals until juices run clear. Chop 4 slices bacon, ½ medium onion, 2 Tblsp green and/or red pepper and sauté all together until bacon is crisp. Place chicken breasts in casserole. Spread some of the bacon mixture over each one. Top with 3-4 slices mushrooms and sprinkle with shredded Monterey or Swiss cheese. Broil until cheese melts. Top with a thin slice of tomato.

Squash: Cut 2 Acorn squash in half and discard seeds. Cook 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced with 1 small diced onion, ¼ cup brown sugar, packed, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/9 tsp nutmeg in 2 Tblsp butter about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups cooked rice and mix well. Stuff mixture into squash halves and bake at 350 45 minutes to 1 hour until squash is tender. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.