Mama Kay

Chile Relleno Casserole

Another jewel from the St. Andrew’s Cookbook.  This is my godmother, Tia Melody’s, recipe, but Mama Kay submitted it to the cookbook.  Whole green chiles are key — the diced ones will not work.  For non-Texans, this is a problem.  Wal-Mart is (unfortunately) the only place I’ve been able to find them in North Carolina, but the perk is they do come in one pound cans (pictured left).  In Texas I usually buy 5-6 of the tiny Old El Paso cans.  I like the casserole most at room temperature, but it’s also good cold.

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Recipes from Amy’s Fam

I uploaded a bunch of new recipes to my family blog today — Sanford Keehn Family Recipes.

I particularly recomend the Rum Cake;  its incredible.  (Apparently, you can do just about anything with a box of Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake).

Mama Kay’s Chicken Crepes

Posted by Amy

This is a Keehn Family favorite from Mama Kay and also one of my favorite foods.

Chicken Crepes

Boil and debone one chicken.  Tear meat into small pieces. (I buy one of the oven roasted chickens at the store because they taste better and are much faster.) Buy a bag of shredded Swiss cheese, a small thing of heavy cream and jalapeños. 

Batter:

1 c. flour

2 T. butter

1 c. milk

2 eggs

Mix batter in blender.  Using 6 inch Teflon skillet, melt a bit of butter in skillet.  Pour in 1-2 T. of batter into skillet, all spread around so crepe is VERY thin.  Use rubber spatulas to turn once, cooking until done but not brown.  One batch of batter makes about 12 crepes for me.

Mix the chicken and cheese together.  Fill each pancake with diced chicken grated Swiss cheese, minced jalapeno (4 spread out tiny pieces) and 1 T. cream (just pour a little heavy cream on – no need to measure).  Picture below before jalapeno and cream.

  Roll up like an enchilada.  Place in a single layer casserole dish. (They can be stored in the fridge at this point for a day or two if you need).  Mix in a bit of jalapeño juice with the remaining cream and pour over crepes. (it will look like a lot of liquid, but it gets absorbed). Bake at 350 until bubbly and cheese has melted.  If everything is at room temp it should be about 20 minutes.   My work area is pictured below.  You can see the mixture and the finished crepes rolled in the dish.

The leftover chicken/cheese mixture can be frozen to make more crepes later, or it also makes delicious quesadilla filling with mixed with cheddar and some sautéed onion and bell pepper. 

These are amazing tasting and elegant!  They are lovely to serve with roasted asparagus.  

Sanford Keehn Recipes

Posted by Amy

FYI –

Inspired by our work here, my mom and I put together Sanford Keehn Family Recipes which you might also enjoy.

Squash Casserole & Mandarin Orange Salad

Posted by Amy:

Today I’m sharing the recipes for my two contributions to the Thanksgiving feast I’m attending.  Both of these come from my grandmother, Mama Kay’s, kitchen.  I will add pictures when I actually make these things Wednesday/Thursday.

Squash Casserole

Grease or Pam-spray your Pyrex dish. 

Grate 6-8 yellow squashes.

Chop fine a large onion

Mince 2-3 garlic cloves

Grate about a cup of Cheddar cheese

Bread crumbs or cracker crumbs (saltines are best)

Italian spice mix

Grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs 

1.  In 1/2 stick butter, saute onions until clear and softened.

2.  Add minced garlic.  Saute 30 seconds more.

3.  Add grated squash.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian spice.  Stir. Cover with lid to steam all.

4.  When almost cooked, drain the squash-onion mix.

5.  “Temper” beaten eggs by adding just a bit of hot squash mix. 

6.  Then stir in all egg and Cheddar cheese.

7.  Pour into baking dish.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs and plenty of Parmesan. 

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until set and browned on top.

Mandarin Orange Salad

Tia (aunt for those of you who don’t speak “tia”) Nancy says she typically triples it—depends how large amount you need. 

1 small lemon Jello

1 6 oz frozen orange juice, NOT diluted

l can mandarin oranges, drained

10 minced maraschino cherries

1 T. maraschino cherry juice 

Dissolve Jello in a “scant” one cup of boiling water.  Mix in all other ingredients and pour into pan to set. You’ll want to make this the day before and at least refrigerate it over night.  Mama Kay used to pour the mix into cute individual molds, which makes for an excellent presentation, however this 25-year-old is moldless.

Mama Kay’s Waffles and Syrup

Posted By Amy

Mama Kay always made the best waffles with homemade syrup.  Hers were always the perfect texture and expertly cooked — so good!  She also always made homemade syrup that was hot off the stove.  The wheat germ is key.  It’s not always easy to find, but a Whole Foods type place will have it.

Mama Kay’s Waffles