Hello My Friends,

Here's a little something slightly different my Friends. Traditional Greek New Year's Day bread, served as a coffe cake for breakfast. Each person in the family gets a slice starting with the youngest and progressing to the oldest. The person who recieves the slice with the quarter in it will have good luck for the whole year.

Vaselopita

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk, lukewarm
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a round 10 inch cake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and 2 cups sugar until light; add flour and stir until mixture is mealy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.
3. Stir baking powder into milk then stir into flour mixture. Mix soda and lemon juice; stir into batter. Pour batter into greased pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts and 1 tablespoon white sugar, then return to oven for 20 to 30 minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven and gently cut a small hole in the cake. Place a quarter in the hole, then sprinkle confectioners' sugar over cake, making sure to cover the hole. Cool cake on a rack for about 10 minutes, then place a dish over the top of the pan and turn over. Serve warm.

Hope Your New Year The Best Ever,

Phil

Hello My Friends,

Rich and comforting, this savory spinach casserole will be a welcome addition to any table. You'll will love the short prep time and delicious taste.

Creamy Spinach Casserole

Ingredients

• (2) 10-3/4 oz cans reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 cups herb seasoned stuffing cubes
• (2) 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the soup, cream cheese, milk and
• Parmesan cheese until blended. Stir in stuffing cubes and spinach.
• Spoon into a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

Have A Blessed Sunday My Friends,

Phil

Phil, that sounds like a nice tradition on the Greek NY cake.

The Creamy Spinach Casserole sounds really good also.

Hope your New Year is getting off to a good start. I would like to post a few more dishes we had during the holidays, if you don't mind.

This was after a few servings were taken!! Turkey & Dressing. The taste was really good and the vegetables were still a little crisp.

Asparagus with Mushrooms

Veggies cooked in Ham drippings.

The old standby Greenbean Casserole

A special treat - Cheese-stuffed Jalapenos - best cooked in oven but it was full!!

Peach Pie

Choices of Peace Pie, Banana Cream Pie and Chocolate Swirl cake.

That about wraps it up for our Christmas Day food. Not, showing dishes from all the days before Christmas! I believe everyone might have gained a pound or 2. Yesterday were had our traditional Black-eyed Peas with a pasta salad - after the NY Eve's Chili.

Thank you for this forum, Phil.

Sara

Hi Sara,

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the pictures. Everything looks good, but you had me at the Asparagus with Mushrooms and the Peach Pie.

There's nothing quite as special as the Holidays, when you are blessed to have all of the Family gathered around. Sounds wonderful.

Here's one that even busy cooks can use to put dinner on the table in just over half an hour. Combining Chicken, Broccoli and Rice make this a convenient, as well as a colorful, meal-in-one.

Skillet Chicken Divan

Ingredients

1	tablespoon butter or margarine
4	boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
	Water called for on brown rice package for 1 cup uncooked rice
2	tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon pepper
1	cup uncooked quick-cooking brown rice
3	cups Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1/2	cup shredded Cheddar or American cheese (2 oz)

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1. Melt butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until browned.
2. Remove chicken from skillet. Add water, mustard, salt and pepper to skillet; stirring with wire whisk until blended. Heat to boiling. Stir in rice; return to boiling. Place chicken pieces and broccoli over rice. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed and juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).
3. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Have A Great Week My Friend,

Phil

Hello My Friends,

Having spent the last week of 2010 and the first few days of 2011 going back and forth to Doctors for various and assorted tests, I'm going to make a concerted effort to eat healthier this year. I have been told to eat more Fish, so lets start off with some Salmon. Here, a large salmon filet is steamed in foil and then seasoned with minced garlic, fresh baby dill, lemon slices, fresh ground pepper and green onions.

Garlic Salmon

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sprig fresh dill, chopped
• 5 slices lemon
• 5 sprigs fresh dill weed
• 2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spray two large pieces of aluminum foil with cooking spray.
2. Place salmon fillet on top of one piece of foil. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, garlic and chopped dill. Arrange lemon slices on top of fillet and place a sprig of dill on top of each lemon slice. Sprinkle fillet with chopped scallions.
3. Cover salmon with second piece of foil and pinch together foil to tightly seal. Place on a baking sheet or in a large baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until salmon flakes easily.

This pairs well with this Squash medley, steamed with sun-dried tomatoes and sweet onions, and lightly tossed with butter.

Steamed Squash With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 6 dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cups boiling water
• 6 small zucchini, sliced
• 6 small yellow squash, sliced
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl with the boiling water, and allow to sit 10 minutes. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon, and coarsely chop. Reserve the water.
2. Transfer the reserved sun-dried tomato water to a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Place the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and onion in a steamer basket, and set over the boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Discard water.
3. Transfer the steamed vegetables to a bowl, and mix with butter, sugar, pepper, and salt to serve.

We'll finish off with some simple Roasted Potatoes, of course, this simple recipe is anything but plain. The flavors of garlic and herbs combine to add extra zip to tender new potatoes. This side dish goes hand in hand with the delicate taste of the fish.

Roasted New Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag; toss to coat. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees F for 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm while baking the fish.

Have A Wonderful Week,

Phil