Caraway Rye Bread

Rye bread is a great with Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick's Day. Usually, I just buy rye bread. This year, I decided to try Mom's recipe for rye bread. Despite the name of this recipe, Mom does not like caraway seeds, so she left them out. But I included them when I made this recipe. The bread was terrific.

You will need to find rye flour. I happened to find dark rye flour at a grocery store. There are other types of rye flour, such as light rye flour or pumpernickel flour. A lighter rye flour results in a lighter bread. I used dark rye, and along with the molasses, my bread was rather dark (but not as dark as pumpernickel bread). You could also adjust the amounts of all-purpose flour and rye flour to change the resulting bread. This recipe calls for molasses instead of honey or sugar to fuel the yeast. The molasses gave the bread a delicious taste. But, if you don't like molasses, just use another sugar.

Caraway Rye Bread 

• 2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees)
• 2 packages dry years
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. caraway seed, plus some for topping
• 3 cups rye flour
• 3 cups flour
• cornmeal
• 1 egg, beaten

Sprinkle yeast over water in a large bowl, stirring until dissolved. Add salt, molasses, butter, caraway seed, rye flour and half of the all-purpose flour. Beat with wooden spoon until smooth. Gradually add the rest of the flour. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board. Knead until smooth--about 10 minutes. Place in a lightly greased large bowl and turn to coat dough. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about an hour. Punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into an oval loaf. Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on sheet, leaving them at least three inches apart. Using a sharp knife, make five slashes across the top of each loaf. Let rise for an hour. Preheat oven to 375. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes. Brush the top with the beaten egg and sprinkle caraway seed on top. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Chicken Casserole

This casserole recipe is not as famous as Tuna Noodle Casserole, but both are quite similar due to the use of chopped hard-boiled eggs and potato chips. Like many American casserole recipes, these recipes use a can of condensed cream soup. While these casseroles are quite filling, they might not be the most healthy recipes. But I like to think that the inclusion of celery in this Chicken Casserole makes this one slightly healthier.

This casserole gets refrigerated overnight, which makes this a great dish for a busy weekday meal. I used cream of celery soup instead of cream of chicken soup, but either would work fine. I used the entire can of soup, so I reduced the amount of mayonnaise. The quantities below are from Mom's recipe. I also liked the use of sliced almonds in the topping. Perhaps the use of almonds was why Mom did not make this recipe often because us kids likely complained. Like so many casseroles, this one is delicious leftover.

Chicken Casserole 

• 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped 
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. minced onion
• 3/4 cup cream of chicken soup
• 2/3 cup sliced or chopped almonds
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups crushed potato chips

Combine the chicken, celery, eggs, lemon juice, mayonnaise, onion and soup. Place into a 1.5 quart casserole dish. Mix the almonds, Parmesan cheese and chips together. Pour over the top of the casserole. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Simple Cream of Tomato Soup

When I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box, I remembered that we frequently had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches when I was young. While I recall that Mom usually used canned soup, as the recipe title indicates, this soup is very simple. And this soup can easily be customized to meet your preferred tastes. Just don't forget the grilled cheese.

When I made this soup, I adjusted Mom's recipe just a bit. I did not pass the tomato base through a sieve because I wanted some bits of tomato and onion in the final soup. For that reason, rather than using onion slices, I finely chopped the onion. I also used just a little bit less milk than the recipe calls for, but you could easily use more or less milk based on how creamy you like your soup. For this recipe, I followed the basic recipe, but next time I make this soup, I might add a seasoning such as basil or oregano and garlic.

Simple Cream of Tomato Soup 

• One-half small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Dash pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups milk

Add onions, sugar, pepper and tomatoes to a large sauce pan. Heat and simmer for 10 minutes. If you prefer not to have chunks, blend the tomato mixture or pass through a sieve. In another sauce pan, melt the butter, then blend in the flour. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Slowly stir the milk mixture into the tomato mixture. Season if desired, and heat to simmering. Enjoy!