Elaine's Kitchen

Elaine's Kitchen Do you like to cook or bake, or want to try some of my recipes? Then this page is for you. I like to cook and bake, and I also like to write.

I am the author of a number of books; the first three are for children ages 7 - 10, and the titles are "Biff and Becka's Springtime Escapades, Biff and Becka's Stupendous Vacation," and "Biff and Becka's Splendiferous Christmas." These are stories of one year in the life of young rabbits and their family. After that, I also wrote a devotional titled "Journal Gems", and later published my collectio

n of poetry and short stories titled "Rhyme and Reason." My cookbook, "Elaine's Kitchen" was published after that, and my latest book was published just last November, and is a memoir titled "When The Wind Blows." My books are all available on Amazon.com.

Before lunch, I made a 13 x 9" pan of Cherry Delight for Dave. The recipe is in my Elaine's Kitchen Made from Amish Stoc...
04/13/2026

Before lunch, I made a 13 x 9" pan of Cherry Delight for Dave. The recipe is in my Elaine's Kitchen Made from Amish Stock cookbook. The bottom layer is 1 1/2 packs graham crackers with 1/3 cup sugar pulsed fine in my food processor, then mixed with 1/2 cup melted butter and baked at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Cooled.

The middle layer is 2 packs cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 regular size Cool Whip.

The top layer is 2 cans cherry pie filling mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring.

Yesterday I made a casserole using the second pack of frozen, cooked and grated potatoes. It is so good! * Place the fro...
04/12/2026

Yesterday I made a casserole using the second pack of frozen, cooked and grated potatoes. It is so good!

* Place the frozen potatoes in a 13 x 9 dish and microwave for a minute to thaw. Separate pieces to evenly cover bottom. (Note: potatoes were not watery.) Sprinkle potatoes with salt.
* Fry a round package of Jimmy Dean sage sausage till well done.
* Layer the sausage on top of the potatoes.
* Cover the sausage with shredded cheddar cheese.
* Beat 10 large eggs with 1/3 cup milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard until well blended.
* Strain mixture to keep icky egg stuff from getting into casserole (LOL) and pour evenly over the top.
* Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note: I made creamed tomatoes to spoon over the top, which is how we like to eat it. It's so good! The creamed tomatoes are an
Amish thing I learned from my mom. I put a 14 oz. can of diced canned tomatoes into blender and blend about 8 seconds and bring it to a boil in a one-quart saucepan. Then, in a bowl, I mix a heaping serving spoon with flour and 2 heaping serving spoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt; mix well. Then add 1/3 cup half & half and mix well until smooth, then add about a cup of milk. Mix thoroughly. Add to boiling tomatoes, lowering heat. Cook until thickened and serve.

Rice and hickory smoked Spam with onions and colored peppers, along with browned butter orange glazed carrots was dinner...
04/08/2026

Rice and hickory smoked Spam with onions and colored peppers, along with browned butter orange glazed carrots was dinner tonight!

I enjoy my chicken salad sandwich lunches. The bread I use is Royo bread at 30 calories per slice, and it is nice and so...
04/08/2026

I enjoy my chicken salad sandwich lunches. The bread I use is Royo bread at 30 calories per slice, and it is nice and soft and tastes good too. You can find them online. It's a family business and they named it ROYO for the first letter of each of their names. It helps digestion too.

For the chicken salad, I debone one Food Lion size rotisserie chicken and put it in the food processor and add 3 diced green onions and a cup of dried cranberries. Pulse it until only small chunks remain. Remove and put into a bowl. Add about1 1/3 cups Miracle Whip and a sq**rt of yellow prepared mustard. Mix well and enjoy! Dave loves it on some crackers for an after-work snack. And it is delicious!

I put chicken salad on one slice of bread and a bit more Miracle Whip on the second slice, then pile on the delicious Romaine lettuce! I usually eat about half a large Honey Crisp apple with my lunch, saving the rest for another day. The photo here shows a whole apple, sliced. Cheers for a good lunch!

I deboned a Food Lion rotisserie chicken to make chicken/cranberry salad for sandwiches. Then I cooked the scraps in 4 1...
04/04/2026

I deboned a Food Lion rotisserie chicken to make chicken/cranberry salad for sandwiches. Then I cooked the scraps in 4 1/3 cups water to make a tasty chicken broth that I will freeze to make soup. It's an easy, useful money-saver!

Few things smell worse than a rotten potato hiding away in the bottom of the bag when you haven't gotten to use them up ...
03/31/2026

Few things smell worse than a rotten potato hiding away in the bottom of the bag when you haven't gotten to use them up when you had intended! So. . . I've done something new:

A few weeks ago, I had most of a 5 # bag of red potatoes left in the pantry. I cooked all of them, cooled them, peeled them, then cooled them. I counted them out to divide them and sliced them onto wax paper with a potato grater. Then I slid them into zip loc bags and put them in the freezer. I will use them when I want to make Amish fried potatoes after I thaw a bag. I think I will like the convenience, and it keeps the potatoes from spoiling in the bag.

I save odds and ends of bread from restaurants or bread that I use for sandwiches and make my own breadcrumbs to keep in...
03/31/2026

I save odds and ends of bread from restaurants or bread that I use for sandwiches and make my own breadcrumbs to keep in the freezer to use when I'm making meatloaf or meat patties such as salmon or tuna. I'm so thankful for my food processor!

Hello, everyone! I wanted something to do today that was productive, so I decided to make two batches of Pumpkin Rolls a...
03/31/2026

Hello, everyone! I wanted something to do today that was productive, so I decided to make two batches of Pumpkin Rolls and use up the cream cheese and pumpkin I had on hand. I cut each roll in two, wrapped them in wax paper, put them into zip loc bags and put them in the freezer. I want to surprise Dave! 😋 I know what he'll say: "Yumm!!" LOL

Taco Salad is what was for dinner tonight! We both really enjoyed it. The dressing was made from 1 cup Miracle Whip and ...
03/28/2026

Taco Salad is what was for dinner tonight! We both really enjoyed it. The dressing was made from 1 cup Miracle Whip and an 8 oz. bottle of Ortega Taco Sauce. We have enough for several meals. Making your own food is so much cheaper than eating out!

I made Grape Nuts Pie today for Dave per his request. It's been years since I made it! The recipe is on page 60 of my co...
03/28/2026

I made Grape Nuts Pie today for Dave per his request. It's been years since I made it! The recipe is on page 60 of my cookbook, but I'll also share it here.

Pastry for 9" single crust
3/4 cup grape nuts cereal
3/4 warm water
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons melted butter
4 eggs, beaten only until mixed well
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine cereal and warm water and let stand until water is absorbed. Melt butter in saucepan and set aside. Beat eggs only until well mixed, and add sugar and corn syrup. Add melted butter and softened grape nuts and mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes, until completely puffed across the top.

I made a delicious one-dish meal for dinner that has two vegetables, meat, and a starch. Here's how I made it:1 roll pac...
03/24/2026

I made a delicious one-dish meal for dinner that has two vegetables, meat, and a starch. Here's how I made it:

1 roll package of Jimmy Dean Sage ground sausage
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
Sprinkle of garlic powder
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
2 long carrots, peeled and sliced 1/8" thick
3 cups frozen broccoli florets
8 oz. Pappardelle premium bronze cut pasta made in Italy, cooked
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Fry sausage and onions together, until well crumbled and done. Add mushroom soup and milk; stir well. Cook carrots for about 4 minutes, then add broccoli florets and cook an additional 3 minutes. Drain and add to meat mixture. Add cooked pasta, and top with cheddar cheese. Cover and bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Even my coffee is impressed, LOL!

Yesterday I made a yummy Chicken Divan casserole for dinner. Using rotisserie chicken from the deli is so much easier an...
03/04/2026

Yesterday I made a yummy Chicken Divan casserole for dinner. Using rotisserie chicken from the deli is so much easier and a huge time saver. The recipe is in my cookbook, "Elaine's Kitchen Made from Amish Stock." It's very simple to make, but oh so good! And I had a 3-lb. bag of frozen broccoli florets in the freezer -- another time saver! Here's how I made it:

In a greased 13" x 9" glass dish, spread 4 cups frozen broccoli florets on the bottom, then put the rotisserie chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces) on top of that. Then I mixed 2 cans of undiluted cream of chicken soup (mine happened to be gluten-free) with 2/3 cup Miracle Whip, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 heaping teaspoon curry powder. Mix well and pour evenly over top of chicken. Add a liberal layer of shredded cheddar cheese and then top everything with a layer of toasted breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes; I made mine from scratch, since I had potatoes to use up. I must say I really enjoyed the meal, and another good thing is that we will have enough casserole to last us the rest of the week!

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Manassas, VA
20110

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