Broccoli Cheese Bake

  

My daughter-in-law Brittany makes this delicious Broccoli Cheese Bake which is a Simms family recipe. I love that, over the years, we have been able to incorporate new dishes from our extended family into our holiday celebrations.

This is a great addition to the Thanksgiving dinner table.  Easy to make and so delicious. A must try.

 

Broccoli Cheese Bake

• 3 pkg. (10 oz. each) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained
• 3/4 lb. (12 oz.) VELVEETA, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 36 round buttery crackers, coarsely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups), divided
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix broccoli, VELVEETA and half the cracker crumbs until well blended.

Spoon into 2-qt. baking dish. Mix remaining cracker crumbs and butter; sprinkle over broccoli mixture.

Bake 45 min. or until heated through.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

This tasty treat is inexpensive and delicious. Great for children's parties, holidays or just a delicious dessert for the family. When we lived in Canarsie, Brooklyn, I would surprise my oldest son Marty's friends when they were little. For every one of their birthdays, I would make them a homemade ice cream cake. They got such a kick out of it.  I just had to make them one for this past weekend's reunion.

Ingredients:

• 18 ice cream sandwiches
• 1/2 gallon of ice cream (any flavor)
• 1- 8 ounce container of Cool Whip
• Large baking pan *

* I use an aluminum half pan (10" x 12") 

                                          

1. Place 8 unwrapped ice cream sandwiches on the bottom of the pan.  
2. Cut an additional sandwich in half and fit it along the side so there are no gaps. 
3. Next, cover the ice cream sandwiches with a slightly thawed 1/2 gallon of ice cream of your choice.  I like to use Cookies and Cream.  
4. For the top layer, repeat Step #1 with the remaining ice cream sandwiches.
5. Cover with parchment paper and place in the freezer for a half hour.
6. Remove and spread thawed Cool Whip on top of the cake.
7. Add sprinkles, mini M & M's, fudge etc. to decorate the top of the cake.
8. Put cake back in the freezer until ready to serve.  (I cover mine with a half pan lif lid or parchment paper)

Some of my Canarsie boys...love them 💗                              

                              

Zuppa di Mussels in White Wine (Aunt Joanie's)

My sister-in-law Joanie makes the best Zuppa di Mussels.  I think her secret is a 1/2 cup of white wine in the pot and the other half in a wine glass.  Whatever her secret, they come out delicious. Add a loaf of seeded semolina bread to sop up the juices and you're good to go.  (...and let's not forget to finish up that bottle of wine)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of mussels 
• 2 to 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• Olive oil (2 Tbs)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• fresh parsley (chopped)

Prep for mussels:

Scrub mussels and rinse with cold water. 

Soak in cold water with ice added for 20 minutes. 

Rinse again to dispose of any sand deposits at the bottom of the bowl. 

Again, add ice and mussels to a bowl of cold water and put in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Cooking instructions:

Coat the bottom of pan with olive oil.
Saute garlic until golden. Add wine and mussels.
Cover and simmer for about 6 minutes until all the mussels have opened
Pour into a serving dish or pan.  
Add chopped parsley.  

Stir and enjoy.

Tommy's French Toast

My grandson Tommy came over for a visit. At 10 years old, there are not as many fun things to do at Grammy's house anymore..... so, we decided to make French Toast together. Since Tommy can't have dairy, he added Trader Joe's Oat Milk Creamer instead of half and half. Oh my God...it came out so delicious.

Ingredients:

4 slices of Martin's Potato Bread (or any bread you like)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Oat Milk Creamer with Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Add oat milk creamer to scrambled eggs, add cinnamon.
Soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture.
In a large frying, add butter until melted,
Place the slices of bread in the pan until golden brown at the bottom and then flip to repeat.
Plate up with some butter, powdered sugar and syrup.

Pizza Gaina (Rustica)

Pizza Gaina is a Holy Saturday tradition in our family. My son Marty renamed it Easter Pie Saturday. Every year, my mom would bake Grain Pies on Holy Thursday. She would chop the meats and cheeses to prepare for the Pizza Gaina on Good Friday (making sure not to sample the meats). The Pizza Gaina was baked on Holy Saturday morning along with the Macaroni Pie. Of course, she also made the Easter egg bread and the black pepper taralli. 

My mom visited 3 Churches on Holy Thursday (by bus) and attended the Stations of the Cross at our church on Good Friday. Not to mention, she worked as a seamstress every day going to and from work using public transportation.  I don't know how she did it all. 

 When everything was baked, she would call my sister Annette, my brother Tommy and me to come pick up our Holy Saturday treats. We would arrive to pick up a huge brown paper bag filled with each of the pies and goodies. It was take out only. We took our goody bags home to share with our families. Since she also hosted Easter Sunday, she needed to take a well deserved break.

Pizza Gaina (Rustica) Pie

(Bake for 45 minutes at 350)
Makes 2 Pies

Filling

12 Eggs
3 lb Ricotta Cheese
1/2 lb cubed Swiss or Provolone cheese (my mom used swiss)
4 links Italian sweet sausage links (optional)
1 lb cubed ham
1 lb cubed mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lb cubed pepperoni
1/2 lb cubed soppresatta or salami
1/4 lb cubed prosciutto

In a small pan, saute sausage meat (removed from casing).
Cut meats and cheeses into 1/4" cubes.
In a large mixing bowl. beat eggs, add ricotta and parmesan grated cheese. Mix well.
Add cut up cheeses, ham, pepperoni, soppressata, prosciutto & sauteed sausage meat.

Pie Crust

2 packages of dry yeast diluted in 1 cup warm water
6 cups flour
2 sticks margarine softened
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 eggs
Whisk eggs with yeast water.

Slice up softened margarine into a large bowl
Add flour, and salt and pepper. Mix until crumbly.
Add whisked eggs and yeast water a little at a time.
Mix and knead until a soft dough forms. Add additional flour if necessary.
Form 4 balls. Cover. Knead and let rise. Punch down and let rise again.

Roll out one ball of dough and place in a baking pan greased with olive oil
Prick holes in the bottom crust.
Using half of the cut up meats, cheeses and ricotta mixture, fill pan.
Roll out another ball of dough for top. Place over filling, crimp ends and put several slits on top for steam to escape. Bake until knife come out clean when pierced.

Repeat for second pie.
Brush egg wash on top crust of pies before baking if desired.

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

Each year, we celebrate Mother's Day on the Saturday before so that our three sons can spend the actual day with their mothers-in-law. Plus, it gives our daughter a well-deserved day off as well.  This allows us to spend the day with all of our children and grandchildren without having them sit in traffic. 

Brunch is one of our favorite meals on Mother's Day Saturday and bread pudding always seems to make it to our table.  This recipe is easy to make and so delicious. It's like a French Toast casserole.  Try topping it with a little powdered sugar,  maple syrup and whipped cream.

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 cups of broken bread pieces or cubes. Some ideas to use are: french bread, buns, rolls, challah, toast or another type of bread.)
• 2 Tablespoons of butter 
• 4 Beaten Eggs
• 2 cups Half & Half
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins (if desired)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and butter the inside of a 8 in. square baking dish.
2. Break bread in to the buttered baking dish.
3. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, and drizzle over bread pieces.
4. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients, beating the eggs first, until mixed well.
5. Pour this mixture over the bread, press to coat each piece.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top of the bread pudding springs back after lightly touching it with a fork.

Note:  Makes about 6 servings. Recipe can be doubled.

Grandma's Stuffed Cherry Vinegar Peppers

My mom made these festive red and green cherry peppers peppers on Christmas Eve and everyone just loved them. She would prepare both mild and hot cherry peppers. No one ever knew what they were stuffed with. We just knew that they were delicious.

When Mom was no longer able to host Christmas Eve, I asked for her recipe so that I could continue the tradition with my family. These little morsels were filled with ingredients that did not make any sense.....wine, walnuts, anchovies, raisins. My husband, who would never indulge in any of these ingredients, loved these peppers. All I know is that the end result was an amazing taste treat.

So I have continued making Grandma's stuffed vinegar peppers every Christmas Eve for my family but have always kept the ingredients a bit of a secret. 

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of hot cherry vinegar peppers
• 5 slices of stale bread (crumbled)
• 1/4 cup of red wine
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 walnuts (chopped)
• 2 pieces of flat anchovies
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of finely chopped garlic
• golden raisins (to taste)
• dash of oregano

Mix all ingredients until fully combined.
Remove tops and seeds from peppers.
Stuff each pepper and fry in olive oil, stuffing side down until nicely browned.
Continue to turn peppers until cooked on all sides