In our virtual reality Cottage at the Lake, Lindylou and I frequently swim or canoe over to the island to pick blueberries. It is sometimes difficult to resist eating them all, but when we are able to have some willpower we bring some back to the Cottage and make Blueberry Cheesecake. Here is my mother's recipe.
BLUEBERRY STRATA PIE
1 1lb can blueberies or 2 cups fresh or frozen berries 1 8 3/4 oz can crushed pineapple 1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened 3 TB sugar 1 TB milk 1/2 tsp Vanilla 1 baked 9 in pastry shell (you could use graham cracker crust) 1/4 sup sugar 2 TB corn starch 3/4 tsp salt 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 cup shipping cream
Drain Fruits, reserving syrups. Blend cream cheese and next 3 ingredients. Set aside 2 TB pineapple; stir remaining into cheese mixture and spread over bottom of pastry shell; chill. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch (or 3TB tapioca) and salt. Combine reserved syrups; measure 1 1/2 cups, blend into cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice, and cool. Pour over cheese layer. Chill. Top with shipped cream and reserved pineapple.
That is a very creamy texture. For the traditionalists among us, here is a recipe for New York style Cheesecake that comes out perfectly every time I try it. This recipe comes from a friend I met in Officer's Training School in Texas years ago.
NEW YORK STYLE CHEESECAKE
3 - 8 oz cream cheese (softened) 4 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 TB vanilla Graham cracker crust - 2 1/2 cups crumbs, 1/2 cup margarine, melted, 1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cream cheese and sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla and blend until lumpless. Mix graham cracker crust and press into bottom of spring form pan. Pour in cream cheese mixture. Bake in preheated oven for at least 50 min. Cook until it almost cracks. You want it firm and not jello-like.
Ok, this isn't cheesecake but I invented a new recipe tonight and I think it turned out great so if bhv doesn't mind, I'm going to put it up on a thread with the word recipe in it.
Some know that I've been working at figuring out how to live alone afterwards and one of the things I came up with is making chicken soup. For that I need a chicken carcass and that means I need to figure out what to do with all the chicken. My cats help but...
I used to make cold chicken sandwiches the second day - which I love, don't get me wrong, but more options is better and today I invented a simple and quick lightly curried chicken that not only tasted good, but can be modified in lots of ways. I don't like spicy food - at all, for example but some do and can add chili powder or paprika or more pepper or Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Whatever. This took just over 15 minutes to make.
Put on the rice. Then turn on a frying pan under medium heat.
Slice 3 green onions setting the top, green third aside. Slice up 4 decent sized button mushrooms. Once through the middle and then sliced as thick as you want them turned 90 degrees. Slice up one stalk of celery. I sliced it down the middle and then into thin slices Get out a good handful of chicken and either chop it or shred it by hand as I did.
Heat all that up in the frying pan with a teaspoon of vegetable cooking oil stirring sometimes so nothing browns.
Open a can of celery soup. Mix with a can of water or milk or both. I glop in a big tablespoon from the can into the frying pan, then add some water, stir it up and add about half into the frying pan, then I add some more water/milk/cream, mix that and maybe add the first glob back into the can and then blend all that together in the frying pan. Now I turn the heat down to a low simmer and make sure the celery soup is smoothly blended. Now I chop the last third of the green onions and mix that in.
Now I add a small teaspoon of curry powder, a dash of garlic powder, and a sprinkling of coarse pepper and baby that until the rice is done. It was great. A creamy, mushroomy, lightly curried chicken in sauce that took less time than it did to boil the rice.
I often buy chicken thighs on special. I can easily get 8 pieces for five or six bucks. I re wrap the chicken at home into two's which I broil in tin foil plates I make out of aluminum foil (way less mess and cleanup). I now have a new way to prepare that and all I need is a few cans of celery soup around. I could use mushroom soup or cream chicken soup as well. Notice, no salt.
I just ate that and am going down to watch the Tour now. Thought I would share because cooking for one can be a challenge and I could make this hot or spicy or as curried and peppery as I like. What I did establishes the curry taste over the chicken or celery taste, but just. I could also throw some shrimp in there and have chicken & shrimp curry or do the whole thing with shrimp only.
I bought that can of celery soup months ago thinking I'd eventually figure out a way to use it. I'll be making this again soon.
Sounds good except for the mushrooms! I love your very technical cooking terms: glob and small teaspoon - thought they were all one size! forgive me but I just had to give you a hard time. You terminology sounds a lot like when my daughter wanted to know how I made stuff - she stopped asking - cause it was a little of this, little of that, etc. Very technical too.
I'm gonna try that. It is similar to things I do around here a lot. I have eliminated so many foods like onions, but a few.green ones might be ok. I use celery now instead.of onions and frequently add some carrot shavings.for a little sweetness where I used to add a handful of corn. I am adding a few handfuls of frozen peas to things sometimes.
New summer fav: sweet potato.salad. Dice up a yam or sweet potato and steam for 7-10 min. Put in colander and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. I put a couple handfuls frozen peas in the microwave.for 3 min and add to the colander. Chop up some celery put all in a bowl or container. Add a handful of craisins and sprinkle some Mrs Dash. Gently stir in a glob of mayo. Start with only one glob! If not enough add tiny globs til you get it right.
Hb doesnt know how to cut things any more and our old BBQ standby NY Steak doesn't sit well in either of our tummies any more. Last week they had Eye of Round Steaks on sale very cheap. So I tried that. Tonight I did yellow rice (another new fav), BBQ steak, steamed broccoli. I cut up the steak and put all in a bowl with a couple dabs of butter.