Recipes: iced coffee, squash casserole, easy ham supper
My mother gave me several individually wrapped, frozen ham slices back around Christmas and I’ve been going through them as slowly as possible. Because I love them! They have such a mild flavor, not overly salty like a lot of ham.
The best part is that they thaw out really quickly, so if I find myself without much of a supper plan, I can ready these in about 30 minutes. And it’s easy for a non-griller like myself to cook them on the grill. That’s just what I did on Sunday night after we got home late from running around. After I fired up the grill, I made a glaze as simple as:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. butter
Melt together in a small saucepan (you can add a little dry mustard and salt/pepper too), then take that out to the grill and baste the ham steaks on both sides until you get some nice brown edges. I served mine with squash casserole and turnip greens (from frozen).
The casserole recipe came from the 7-Day Menu Planner a couple of weeks ago. Howard cut it out. It was good, but I think it was missing something. It just wasn’t quite as flavorful as I had hoped. Squash and rice can be pretty bland and it takes more than sour cream and cheese to liven it up. Anybody got a good squash casserole recipe (besides Debbie, who sent me a great one with bacon, which I’ll post below – thanks, Debbie)?
On to the iced coffee: I can’t drink coffee because I prefer to have a regular heart beat. It does gall me, though, because I really love coffee. But I’ll stop whining and share a great summer coffee recipe with those of you who CAN drink coffee. This is a cold brew method.
Photographer Rebecca Barnett directed me to this recipe on the Pioneer Woman blog. It calls for steeping coffee grounds in cold water, then straining them through cheesecloth to create the drink instead of brewing it hot. Rebecca tried it and said it’s GREAT. See the detailed instructions here.
If you make this, be sure to drink one for me, please!
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Debbie Franco of Roanoke saved this recipe, which she cut out of The Roanoke Times several years ago:
Zippy Zucchini Bake
From Mrs Calvin B. Mattox
Glade Hill
6 strips bacon
3 Tbsp bacon drippings
1/2 stick butter
2 medium onions
5 medium zucchini or yellow squash
1 tsp dried basil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups canned or fresh tomatoes
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
In larger skillet. fry bacon strips, drain and crumble. Set aside. In 3 Tbsp bacon drippings and butter, saute chopped onion until slightly browned. Add sliced zucchini and cook 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add basil, sugar, salt and tomatoes, cover and simmer until squash is tender. Pour into greased 2 qt casserole dish and sprinkle with crumbled bacon and grated cheese. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
July 12, 2011 - 7:31 AM
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I highly recommend the Toddy Cold Brew system… I first had iced coffee made this way in New Orleans, and it is awesome. Loved the link to iced Vietnamese coffee too!
I’ve recently become obsessed with iced coffee. A few weeks ago I found the cold brew recipe posted over at Smitten Kitchen and shared it with co-workers here. The day we were talking about making iced coffee the Pioneer Woman blog went up. It seems to be all the rage right now! And it is delicious! I get my coffee fix and have a nice cold refreshing drink on these hot summer mornings!:)
FYI, one of my colleagues said she’s used a paper towel and a mesh strainer to make this iced coffee and it worked just as well as cheesecloth.
I have a white cheddar squash casserole from Southern Living that I’ve adapted and love!
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3 pounds yellow squash, sliced
2 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (10-oz.) block white Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs Garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
1. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add squash, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from heat; drain well.
2. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in cheese and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Gently stir together squash and cheese mixture in a large bowl. Pour into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over top.
3. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.
Note: To make ahead, prepare recipe as directed; do not top with breadcrumbs. Cover and chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator; let stand 45 minutes. Uncover and top with breadcrumbs; bake as directed.
I usually add some shredded carrots and some yellow sharp cheddar, too. The sharp cheese really brings a lot of flavor.
The key is draining the squash really well (I like to be able to let it sit for around 30 minutes) after it’s cooked, or else you’ll end up with a watery casserole.
You’re welcome for the squash recipe. Thank you for the iced coffee info!
Yuuum, that one looks good too, Rebecca! I hope my plants keep producing.
For iced coffee, I just use a regular coffee filter instead of the cheesecloth and it works nicely. I also use flavored coffee creamers to sweeten and flavor the coffee. The new Bailey’s line is particularly good.
I use up my morning leftover coffee when I get home from work by making iced coffee. A little Hersheys in the bottom of the glass, some coffee, a little milk and a bunch of ice. Voila, an iced mocha, free!
I tried the cold brew method a year or two ago, when the By The Way space in the Extra section had the directions one morning. I liked the taste, but hated dealing with the wet grounds. Such a nasty mess. I’m with Kristen on using cold coffee.
To avoid watered down coffee, you could freeze coffee in an ice cube tray. Use those cubes for your iced coffee.