Simple Barley Casserole

I first published this recipe (with plenty of photos) in June, 2014. My introductory words have changed; the recipe has not. Given the state of the world right now, this economical recipe bears repeating ... but!

Say it isn’t so! Barley has actually fallen out of favor among young cooks? With the stock market up and down like a yo-yo  and interest rates rising and the price of meat and fish so high you’d need a loan from the bank to buy it? Ridiculous!

If I can’t persuade you about the benefits of low-fat, high fiber barley, perhaps its price will: 

 

The cost of the barley in this recipe was only 50 cents! And that, my friends, was for dinner for two, with leftovers!

I used pearl barley in this dish: It’s quicker to cook than pot barley. Pot barley, however, is more nutritious. 

Says Google: “Pot and pearl barley taste pretty much the same and can be used interchangeably in almost any recipe. The only important difference is that pot barley takes longer to cook, so make sure to adjust the cooking time when making a substitution.” 

Barley’s easy to cook. Here’s an excellent “how to” guide:

https://www.mariaushakova.com/2019/09/how-to-cook-barley/ 

Simple Barley Casserole:

2 tbsp. (30 mL) butter or margarine

2 tsp. (10 mL) canola oil

1 10-fl. oz. (284 mL) can sliced mushrooms, drained (see Note), or 5 large fresh mushrooms

1/4 c. (60 mL) chopped onion

1/4 c. (60 mL) chopped red or yellow sweet bell pepper (“capsicum”)

1 c. (250 mL) pot or pearl barley 

1 c. (250 mL) beef stock

1-1/2 c. (375 mL) boiling water

1/4 tsp. (1.2 mL) salt

1/4 tsp. (1.2 mL) coarsely ground pepper

1/4 tsp. (1.2 mL) garlic powder

1/3 c. (80 mL) grated cheese, for topping

1 tsp. (5 mL) fresh parsley, finely minced, if desired

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. In medium skillet on medium-high heat, melt butter together with oil. Add mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper. Sauté until tender but not brown. Rinse barley in a sieve under cold, running water. Add to skillet, stirring until barley starts to brown.

Combine beef stock and boiling water. Add to barley mixture slowly, so hot barley sizzles. Season and add garlic. Transfer to spray-greased 1 qt. (1 L) casserole. 

Bake, covered, 1 hr., until barley is tender and liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork, topping with cheese and a flurry of parsley. Serves 6. 

Note: Save the drained mushroom liquid to add as part of the total liquid in this recipe. 

Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning Mix

It’s not often I go bonkers over the loss of a commercial product. I did last March, when I phoned and later wrote the Consumer Affairs Department of McCormick & Company, a self-described global leader in flavor, seasonings and spice products.

I make many things from scratch, but McCormick makes the best commercial spaghetti sauce I’ve ever tasted.

The problem is, this outstanding product is no longer available in the Time Zone and at the Latitude Where I Live. So I kicked up a (polite) fuss. Did no good. Some smart (not-me) cookie came up with a recipe for the stuff. 

Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning Mix:

1 tbsp. (15 mL)  garlic powder

1 tbsp. (15 mL)  onion powder

2 tbsp. (30 mL) dried oregano
3 tbsp. (45 mL) dried basil 

1 tbsp. (15 mL) dried rosemary
2 tsp. (10 mL) black pepper, freshly ground

Combine ingredients well. Store in an airtight container in a dark space (such as a spice drawer) to use another day. Add according to taste to your homemade or anned tomato sauce. This recipe’s definitely a keeper! This recipe's especially great with Sophia’s Slow-Simmered Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs.

How to use: Just add some of this spaghetti seasoning to your pasta sauce as it cooks, according to taste. Even better: Follow Sophia’s recipe.

Breaded Shrimp with Veggies

Food costs are high, these days … (“How high is high?” asked the customer of the cash cow. “Very high!” said the cash cow, grinning …) 

Let’s start again: With food costs high, many of us have been watching our pennies. But oh-h-h-h, I’m a sneaky one! I’ve had a dozen breaded shrimp in my freezer for weeks. Buying them on sale, I was waiting for the moment when I could showcase them as a lovely (but inexpensive) dinner.  If I remember correctly, the package was $8-to-$10.

I didn’t want to use these as an appetizer. Appys are what you stuff into your face, from the lips to the hips. But Ron ... He’ll eat anything - anything - served with a bit of flair. He didn’t know these breaded shrimp were packaged appys: He thought I’d made them myself.

Which is why I excavated the contents of the fridge to dig up some carrots from 1997, a few Brussels sprouts, and a chunk of squash. A day or two before, with the shrimp on my mind, I made some Tartar Sauce and Seafood Cocktail Sauce. 

So … Toasting a few slivered almonds in the toaster oven, and then baking the shrimp in the same place (follow the directions on the package, dearies), I steamed the squash and slivered the sprouts, lightly salting and sautéing each in a skillet coated with olive oil on medium-high.  

Finding two rectangular serving plates, I arranged a ribbon of each sauce to the left, the shrimp at the center, and the almond-toasted veggies to the right. This produced to meals, with plenty of sauce left over. Everything looked so attractive that Ron stuffed his face, from which the calories will never migrate to his hips. This is the cross we women bear. Such is life.

Grandpa’s Secret Macaroni and Cheese

Be still, my beating heart! Himself has given up the secret recipe he has clutched to his bosom for 28 years, since he first created it for his younger daughter’s first-grade class. It was an instant hit, and has been a family favorite ever since. Friends and family have tried without success to pry this recipe from him, but I’m his wife, and I haf vays!  

Got the recipe! Promised him I wouldn’t tell a soul! Liar, liar, pants on fire, here it is! The secret ingredient is Worcestershire sauce - and plenty of it! The correct way to pronounce that lovely word is “Woos-ter” - but some folks disagree.

Grandpa’s Secret Macaroni and Cheese:

4 c. (1 L) dry macaroni

2 tsp. (10 mL) canola or olive oil

4 c. (1 L) milk

¼ c. (60 mL) butter or margarine

¼ c. (60 mL) all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

7 tbsp.(105 mL) Worcestershire sauce
5 tbsp. (75 mL) ballpark mustard

1 lb. (454 g) pkg. grated aged cheddar

Two pieces dry toast, crumbled 

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water and a little oil to a rolling boil. Add macaroni, stirring well to keep pasta from sticking to bottom of pot.  Cook about 12 minutes. Drain cooked macaroni, returning to pot. Melt butter in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Add flour, stirring about 30 sec. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Remove from heat, adding half the grated cheddar cheese and stirring until melted. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni, combining well. 

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. Transfer cooked, sauced macaroni to large, greased baking dish. Spread half of remaining cheddar evenly over macaroni. Top macaroni and cheese with crumbed toast. Sprinkle remaining cheddar over bread crumbs. Bake 20 min.

Assemble your ingredients - milk
and cheese, too!

Boil salted water. Add macaroni.
Cook al dente - just until tender.

Cheese sauce: Combine melted butter with flour.

Gradually add milk, whisking well.

Whisk! Whisk! Whisk! as the macaroni simmers.

Whoo hoo! Bring on the mustard for some zip!

Add Worcestershire sauce - lots!

Remove from heat: Stir in half of cheese until melted.

Pour sauce over well-drained macaroni: Mix well.

Transfer to greased baking dish.

Sprinkle with half remaining cheese.

Crumble cubed toast (or croutons).

Sprinkle crumbs over entire dish.

Top with remaining cheese. Into the oven this goes!

Potatoes au Gratin

“Au gratin” is a French term meaning “sprinkled with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, or both.” Even if you’re wildly in love with cheese, there’s plenty to be said for “both.”

The first time I made this yummy recipe, I used more cheese than called for - and learned a lesson not to do that again! Lots of cheese means lots of fat: What didn’t settle on my hips puddled at the base of the casserole dish. The lesson? Buy the Arnold Schwarzenegger of cheeses - a robust, muscular Cheddar - and you won’t need to assume “more” is “better.” 

Bread crumbs help sop up the fat, boosting the flavor of this dish, I think. It’s true, crumbs add extra calories, but with a dish already as calorific as Potatoes au Gratin, it’s not a big deal (unless you have issues with gluten). I usually keep a small container of soft bread cubes in the freezer, but dry bread crumbs serve this dish even better. So here we go!

Potatoes au Gratin:

4 Russet potatoes, rinsed, scrubbed, unpeeled, in 1/4-in. (0.6 cm) slices 

1 medium onion, sliced into quartered rings

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (for potatoes)

3 tbsp. (45 mL) butter or margarine

3 tbsp. (45 mL) all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. (1 mL) salt (for sauce)

1-1/2 c. (375 mL) milk 

1-1/2 c. (375 mL) aged Cheddar, grated

1/4 c. (60 mL) dry bread crumbs

Paprika, as garnish

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. Spray-grease a 9x13 in. (23x33 cm) casserole dish. Line base of dish with half potatoes. Season lightly. Cover with onions and remaining potatoes. Season lightly, again. 

In medium skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter or margarine. In small bowl, combine flour and salt before whisking into fat. The French term for this is a roux - the basis of the thickening agent for soups, sauces, gravies, and stews. 

To this roux, slowly add milk, whisking until mixture thickens. 

 

Turn heat under skillet off, adding cheese to hot mixture all at once. Using wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir continuously until cheese is fully melted. 

Pour cheese mixture over and around potatoes, ensuring sides and corners aren’t forgotten. Sprinkle with crumbs. Cover casserole tightly with foil. Bake 90 min. Garnish with a few shakes of paprika. Serves 6.

“Popsicles”

Two young ladies with lemonade-flavored 
Popsicles: What's not to love?

In the immaculate, stainless steel kitchens of Nicole Parton’s Favorite Recipes, we do not pinch registered trademarks. We simply borrow them and hope we aren’t headed for the hoosegow. It behooves me to say that these are not Popsicles™or Popsicles®. They are but pale imitations (See how pale they look in the photo? That’s because they’re made from a simple can of lemon soda! So who’s gonna sue two adorable little girls - huh, huh?) 

Aha … I, too, can make brightly colored Popsicles! Also not ™or ®. Catch me if you can, Copper! Technically, these are “frozen pops” - and man, they’re crazy good! Did you know 11-year-old Frank Epperson accidentally invented the Popsicle in 1905? I didn’t either: I read it on the Internet. 

(If you read it on the Internet, it must be true. For a small search fee, the Internet will probably reveal Frank’s email and home addresses, telephone number, income, number of divorces, monthly alimony payments, mother’s maiden name, and social networking sites).

As the online story goes, young Frank used a stick to stir powdered soda pop with water, and forgot the solution as it froze overnight on the porch of his home in Oakland, California. As the story continues: “Frank pulled out the whole frozen mass and found that he had invented a new treat. He named it the ‘Epperson Icicle.’ ” 

“The following summer, he made his frozen treats in his family’s icebox and sold them around his neighborhood under the shortened name of ‘Epsicle.’ Frank later rechristened his discovery the ‘Popsicle’ to show that they were made from soda pop. Epperson patented [the Popsicle] in 1924, when he was 30 years old.”

Today, Frank is probably on a dating site, trolling for 40-somethings. Which is remarkable, considering Frank shucked this mortal coil when he was a mere child of 99.

So here’s a version of the “Popsicle.” It’s not Frank’s recipe. It’s not mine, either. Too bad. If it were, I might have patented it to become as rich and famous as Frank. And maybe I’d be trolling on dating sites for 40-somethings, too. 

“Popsicles”:

One 3-oz. (85 g) package jelly powder

1-1/4 c. (310 mL) granulated sugar

2 c. (500 mL) boiling water

2 c. (500 mL) cold water

Dissolve drink crystals, jelly powder, and sugar in boiling water. Add cold water, mixing thoroughly. Pour into two-part “pop” molds, topping with covered plastic stick. Freeze several hours until firm. Store extra liquid in fridge or freezer, reheating to melt solution and refreezing as additional “Popsicles.”

Kenneth’s Slam-Bam-Thank-You-Ma’am Blackberry Pie

Back by popular demand (my own) ... With the Barbie movie in theaters today ... And blackberries due soon ... Let’s have a little fun with Ken ... I first published this in 2011.

The July 20, 2023 issue of Time Magazine gives this update: “Ken and Barbie met in 1961 while filming their first commercial together, according to Mattel. It was love at first sight and the two, who both hail from the (fictional) town of Willows, Wisconsin, started going steady. But, in the 2000’s, things got a little more complicated for the couple ...” 

After 40 years of dating, Barbie broke up with the 12-inch Ken on Valentine's Day in 2004. Let me take a moment to fibe a tissue ab bow by nobe. Ib’s so sad ...

*   *   *

YO! GUYS! Come and sit across from me, here at the kitchen table. Coffee? Splash of cream? Sugar? We need to talk. Bare your souls to me, Dollinks (Gasp! I said your souls! Nothing else). Does your back go out more than you do? Do you spend Saturday nights alone, playing tic-tac-toe with the mirror? Do you send yourself text messages and emails? Even worse - do you answer them? If so, allow me these words of advice. 

Learn to bake. Women will compete for your cupcakes! They’ll go ga-ga over your cookies! And yes, they’ll also enjoy your baking. Why spend another Saturday night waxing your chest hair and clipping your toenails when you could be the life of the party? Everyone loves a baker! 

Let me tell you the true, tragic story of a Formerly Lonely Guy named Kenneth. Kenneth isn’t his real name. I’ve changed his real name to protect his privacy. His real name has only three letters. The first starts with K, and the last ends with N. Wild horses will not drag his true identity from me! We are tight-lipped, here in the kitchen headquarters of Nicole Parton’s Favorite Recipes. If you could taste some of my cooking failures, you’d understand why.

But I digress. I was telling you the true, tragic story of a Formerly Lonely Guy named Ken - er, Kenneth! Our candid camera caught him on the way to yet another vacuous, empty dinner date with an obviously unsuitable blond who’s only interested in sex - not in a real relationship with the sensitive, sincere man Kenneth is inside. Men: Don’t let this happen to you!

See the miserable look on Kenneth’s face? See those chest hairs? You’re right - he has none. His toenails are neatly trimmed, too. Quel fromage! (Or is it quel dommage? Whatever!) 

Kenneth used to be One Lonely Guy. How did he change his life? He began baking - slowly at first, a few donut holes here and there. Gradually, as his confidence grew, he began to understand that “Nothin’ spells lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven and Pillsbury does it best!” He learned to smash those danged Pillsbury biscuit cans against the kitchen counter, so he could watch the doughy buns unfurl as they all spilled out. Today, he’s a master chef - no more big-breasted, small-waisted blonds for this guy! Kenneth knows the secret of What Women Want!

Simply put, women want a man who will cook for them. And so I present Kenneth’s Slam-Bam-Thank-You-Ma’am Blackberry Pie! Because he learned to bake, Kenneth now has a real girlfriend who loves him for himself - not just for what he can do with a rolling pin. 

Kenneth’s Slam-Bam-Thank-You-Ma’am Blackberry Pie:

For the Crust, use the usual pie crust ingredients! (See Note)

Note: Kenneth pinched his recipe from the good folks at Tenderflake, a division of Maple Leaf Foods. That’s lard, Dollinks: L-A-R-D. Kenneth doesn’t have arteriosclerosis, and nor will you, if you have treats like this in moderation. Lard makes the best pastry, though you can also use Crisco. You’ll find both recipes online, or varieties of same in many cookbooks. Be sure to make plenty, because Kenneth’s pie is rather large.

For the Filling:

1-⅓ c. (330 mL) sugar

¼ c. (60 mL) tapioca

2 tbsp. (10 mL) flour

½ tsp. (2.5 mL) ground cinnamon

6 c. (1.2 L) fresh blackberries

1 tsp. (5 mL) lemon juice

Egg yolk, milk, for brushing pastry top

Preheat oven to 425 deg, F. Combine sugar, tapioca, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle blackberries with lemon juice, tossing lightly. Add dry ingredients, continuing to toss lightly until well mixed. Gently transfer to 10-inch pie dish lined with pastry. Roll out additional pastry to make top crust. Gently place over berries, trimming edges to fit. 

(Kenneth likes to flute the edges with his tiny little hands. Because his pants were falling down in both photos, he borrowed an elastic band to secure them. Ron says guys’ pants always fall down when they stand near a beautiful lady. Having just given myself a home perm, I wouldn't know. I look like Diana Ross on a bad hair day.)

Make several small slashes in top crust, allowing steam to escape. If desired, you can trim some of the leftover rolled-out pastry to form leaves and vines, laying these over the top crust (Kenneth doesn’t bother. He’s always anxious to get his pie in the oven). 

Brush or dab top crust lightly with egg yolk combined and thinned with a little milk. Bake pie 10 min. Immediately reduce oven heat to 400 deg. F., baking an additional 45 min. When pie browns around the edges, place strips of aluminum foil over the browned parts to prevent them from burning as the center of the pie becomes a pleasing golden brown. Serve chilled, so each slice cuts evenly and looks attractive on the plate.