Dot's Scallop Bubbly Bake

The Doyles have been dear friends of our family since the '70s, when we moved to Prince Edward Island. We enjoyed many a delicious meal and holiday with them. Dot's cooking and Clarence's barbecuing skills always had us going back for more. Lovely memories. Here is a recipe that Dot had shared with my Mom. It is so good! I hope you enjoy it, too.


Scallop Bubbly Bake


1 pound scallops
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 and 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup green chopped pepper
1 cup mushrooms


Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour (all purpose)
1 teaspoon salt (I use 1/4 teaspoon)
2 cups milk (any type you normally use)


Topping:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated cheese




Preheat oven to 350 F.


Saute onions, celery, green peppers and mushrooms in a frying pan, in 2 tablespoons of butter, for about 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, prepare the sauce in a saucepan. Melt 1/4 cup butter. Add 1/4 cup flour and stir for a minute or two. Add the salt and milk and stir until thickened.


Pour the sauteed onion mixture into the sauce and add the scallops. Spoon this mixture into a greased 1 and 1/2 quart oven-proof dish. Top with melted butter, breadcrumbs and grated cheese.


Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 F oven .. until bubbly. :)


Serves 4.


Yum Yum !!

Hash Brown Casserole

Our Easter dinner is a little left of normal as, instead of good old scalloped potatoes, I opted to try out my own version of Hash Brown Casserole. Less is more, as far as I'm concerned, as the natural flavours come out in the veggies. I have tried a few recipes like this and decided to make one, which included some of our favourite ingredients. So, here it goes. Enjoy!

Hash Brown Casserole


1 - 567 g (about 1 & 1/4 lb or 4 cups) package shredded hash browns, fresh or frozen (thawed and drained and blotted of moisture)
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 10oz can low-sodium Cream of Mushroom soup
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
Salt and pepper to taste


Topping:
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup bread crumbs or corn flake crumbs


Preheat oven to 350 F.


Mix first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl until blended. Pour mixture into a greased, 9 x 13 oven-proof pan.


Mix the bread crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle over top of potato mixture.


Bake for 1 hour, at 350 F, until potatoes and onions are cooked through. 
Serve warm. 


Serves 4-6

Acadian Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the wonderful soup I put together for lunch, today.  It's very similar to an Acadian Chicken Fricot but it has noodles instead of potatoes.  Simple as that. It is really easy and quick to make and tastes wonderful. I hope you enjoy it as much as Dave and I did. 


Jeanne's Acadian Chicken Noodle Soup


1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 tablespoons margarine
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salted onions (optional, this is an Acadian staple item)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (if not using salted onions)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 skinless chicken thighs 
1 cup uncooked ditali pasta (or other small pasta)


Melt margarine in a large saucepan.  Add diced onions and carrots and saute until onions start to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the water, salted onions (or salt), chicken and thyme to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium and let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. At this point, remove the chicken pieces and set aside to cool a bit. Add pasta to the broth mixture and let cook for 7-9 minutes (7 for al dente and 9 for well done).  At this point, separate the chicken into bite-size pieces and return it to the saucepan. Cook until chicken is heated through. Serve immediately. 


Makes 4 small servings or 2 large servings.

Delicious Oat Pancakes

With tomorrow being Shrove Tuesday, I thought I'd jump back on the blog band wagon and share this most delicious, tried and true recipe with everyone. While visiting my cousin Dorene near Boston one summer, she cooked up these pancakes for us one morning. The memory of that morning will last a lifetime, but the pancakes went pretty fast. :) I have made these pancakes many times, both for just Dave and myself and also for company. This is the original recipe. The only changes I make is that I used whole wheat flour and, instead of sugar, I sometimes use Splenda. Also, I only use about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. They are so good!  They're very easy to make and you'll want to make them often. 


Oat Pancakes


1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt 
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice 


Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.  Combine eggs, milk, oil and lemon juice and pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. At this point, I let it sit for about 5 minutes or so. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased, hot griddle.  Turn when bubbles form on top of the pancakes.  Cook until second side is golden brown. 


Makes 6 servings (2 pancakes per serving). 

Chocolate Drop Cookies

I found this recipe among Mom's old stuff.  It was hand written and very old. There is a bakery in Saulnierville, Nova Scotia, across from where my Mom used to live. They sold the most delicious chocolate cookies, when we were growing up.  We always bought some when we were visiting. Mom said that she was sure that this was the recipe that they used (or at least that they tasted exactly like them).  I can vouch for that. Oh, and Dave says that they're melt-in-your-mouth chocolate delights.  I made a double batch today (65 cookies in total) and they are awesome! I made them exactly as they are here. The recipe only included the ingredients so I added the directions as I make other cookies and they turned out perfect. Enjoy! 


Chocolate Drop Cookies


1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (I used light)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (extract)
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 400 F.


Blend shortening and brown sugar together. Add egg and mix again. Add milk and vanilla and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients and nuts, if using. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. Batter will be a bit stiff. 


Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack. Eat! 


Makes approximately 32 cookies depending on how big you make them.

Brenda's Caesar Salad

When I was living in Nova Scotia, I had many food get-togethers. 

Family and friends would come over for a feed of spaghetti with 

my spaghetti sauce (recipe to come later) and my Godmother Brenda was always gracious in sharing her awesome Caesar salad.  We enjoyed it very much. I just had to share it with you guys. Thank you, Brenda, for sending it to me (and for making it for me, too!). When I make this to bring for potlucks or friends, I make the dressing in a jar and take it along and mix it all when it's time to serve the salad. Enjoy!

Brenda's Caesar Salad

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients: 

2 heads Romaine Lettuce
1/2 lb bacon
1 cup bread croutons
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt (optional )
Pinch each of sugar, pepper, dry mustard and tarragon

Few dashes of Tabasco Sauce ( to your taste )
Few dashes of Worcestershire sauce ( to your taste)
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1  fresh raw egg
3/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese.
1/2 cup fresh parsley

Separate and wash each leaf of the romaine lettuce, then dry both sides with adsorbent paper. In a frying pan, cook diced bacon until crisp . When bacon is cooked, remove and set aside. Fry in bacon juice until golden: one cup bread croutons. Set aside.

In bottom of a large wooden bowl (or into a Mason jar if you need to travel with it to a dinner out) combine:  Vegetable oil, vinegar, olive oil,  lemon juice and salt ( optional ). Season with a pinch each of: sugar, pepper, dry mustard and tarragon. Add: To your taste: Dash of tabasco Sauce, dash of Worcestershire sauce. Add:  finely chopped parsley, finely chopped garlic and fresh raw egg.

Stir with a wooden spoon until blended.  

Break lettuce leaves  into small  pieces and arrange over dressing . Sprinkle with grated fresh Parmesan cheese.
Add bacon, croutons and sprinkle with fresh parsley.  DO NOT MIX. 

Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Toss a few minutes before serving.

Mocha-Chocolate cupcakes

These delicious cupcakes get a 12 out of 10 on the yummy and chocolate scale with my husband, Dave. They are very good and very easy to make. No mixer needed.  You would probably have all the ingredients in your cupboards, too. I like recipes like that. Actually, I prefer recipes like that. So, stock up your larder and let's get baking some cupcakes! Enjoy!

Frosted Mocha-Chocolate cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes


1/2 cup Fry's Cocoa powder (or your favourite brand)
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
3/4 cup boiling water
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
candy sprinkles, optional


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Blend freshly boiled water with the cocoa powder and instant coffee granules. Set aside to cool a little bit.


In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, egg, vanilla and cooled cocoa/coffee mixture.  Blend well. Pour this liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until smooth. 


Pour batter evenly into a prepared muffin tin (either sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with muffin cups). Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffins comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. 


Let muffins cool in pan for about 10 mins and remove onto a 
cooling rack. 


Once the muffins are only a little warm, make the frosting as follows: 


Mix the dark chocolate chips with the vegetable oil and heat in 
the microwave, 15 seconds at a time, until melted and blend well. 
Pour onto the muffins (it will be runny and gooey) and decorate with 
sprinkles, if desired.  At this point, I put the muffins (on the cooling 
rack or back in a muffin tin) into the fridge to set the frosting. Other-
wise, it'll take a couple of hours for it to harden, and I just can't wait 
that long! 


These are very rich and full of chocolate flavour.  Enjoy!!