Mama Toni's Family Recipes

Flaky flix cookie copy

1 package plain wafer cookies either vanilla or chocolate filled (do not get chocolate coated wafer cookies)
1 cup semi sweet-chocolate chips (milk chocolate can be used if you prefer)
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
1/4 tsp salt

Mix crushed cornflakes with melted butter and salt. Sprinkle in sugar if desired.
Preheat oven to 275. Spread cornflakes onto parchment lined baking sheet then toast in oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool.
Melt chocolate chips in microwave (microwave in 50% power for 30 seconds then stir and repeat until all melted). Allow to cool enough to handle.
Roll wafer cookies in melted chocolate then immediately roll in corn flakes.
Let sit on rack until hardened.

So Mother’s Cookies made some of my favorite cookies growing up and into adulthood. The pink and white frosted circus animal cookies. Double Fudge sandwich cookies (ten times better than Oreo!) and Flaky Flix. When Mothers went out of business and took away my three favorite cookies, I despaired. Then thankfully, someone bought the brand and brought back Circus Animals and my beloved Double Fudge cookies, but Flaky Flix was gone forever. Since it was essentially a chocolate wafer cookie covered with chocolate and corn flakes, I figured it wouldn’t be difficult to recreate.

These are easy to recreate and ridiculously delicious.

Spinach (or greens) au Gratin

Two packages of chopped frozen spinach or greens (16 oz) thawed and squeezed of excess water
1 small onion finely diced
1 garlic clove minced
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup French fried onions or breadcrumbs
olive oil, salt and pepper, Tabasco

Preheat oven to 375. In large skillet (I used a large cast iron skillet) heat 1 tbsp oil and add onion. Cook until brown.
Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds
Add flour and brown for 30 seconds
add spinach and break up while mixing well.
Add milk and Parmesan. Stir to combine and Salt and pepper to taste.
Top with French fried onions or breadcrumbs and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
Serve with Tabasco if desired.

I was in the mood for creamed spinach, but I didn’t want a heavy creamy spinach, so I adapted it to this. I sprinkled extra Parmesan on top, but it’s better without the extra cheese.

I used mustard greens and spinach in this because I accidentally bought frozen mustard greens, and I think I like their texture a little better.

Dinner in a hurry

Two boneless skinless chicken breasts
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
One bag precut broccoli (12 oz)
One bag frozen corn (16 oz)
One onion cut in half then cut into large pieces
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan
1/2 cup butter
1 pound pasta any shape you like
1 tbsp olive oil

Bring large pot of salted water to boil (add about 1tbsp of salt to water)
While water comes to boil, dump bag of broccoli into water as you’re heating up the water. Cover. The point of this meal is to get something healthy and kid friendly to the table in half an hour or less. We’re breaking rules here.
Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Season generously with salt and garlic powder (I sprinkle and don’t measure. This is probably 1tbsp over all the chicken).
Hear oil on medium high in large skillet. I use cast iron. Cook onion until soft. Remove from pan and add chicken to hot pan and cook about 5 minutes until done. Remove chicken to plate with onions.
At this point broccoli should be just starting to cook. Using tongs. To remove broccoli and put in the hot pan. The water on the broccoli may cause spatter.
If water is boiling, add pasta. If not cover, wait for boiling and cook pasta as directed.
Add frozen corn to broccoli. Stir up until corn is hot and broccoli is cooked to your liking. Add back in chicken and onions. mix well. Turn off heat.
After pasta is done and drained, return hot posts to hot pot. As butter. Stir to melt. Then add chicken and vegetables to pot. Toss with the Parmesan. Add pepper to taste or not.
Serve with extra Parmesan to taste.

I didn’t take pictures of this tonight because I was in a hurry. I volunteered today and didn’t get home until six. My husband is intermittent fasting and needs to eat by 7, so I needed to throw together something fast and relatively healthy. He was picking our oldest up from her work at 6, and she had been at work all day, so I knew she was coming home hungry, too.

You can cook more chicken or omit chicken entirely to your taste. There is something about corn and pasta and butter that I love, so this comes from that particular combo.

As for pasta shapes, I prefer long pastas with this, but tonight I only had egg noodles, so we used those.

Brambrack or Fruit Tea Bread

350 grams dried fruit snipped into small pieces
225 grams light brown sugar
300 ml hot earl gray tea (made double strength)
275 grams flour
14 grams baking powder
3 grams salt
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
1 egg, beaten

Put mixed fruit, sugar, & tea in a bowl. Cover and put in fridge overnight.

The next day, grease loaf pan and line with parchment (see pic below)

Preheat oven to 300

Mix flour, baking powder, salt in a large mixing bowl. Add zest, beaten egg, fruit mixture and lemon juice with a wooden spoon. The batter is THICK.

Put the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake in the center of the oven for 1 1/4 hour to 1 1/12 hour until the tea bread is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen with butter knife and turn out onto a wire rack. Let cool. Remove parchment, slice and serve.

Apricots and cranberries soaked in tea and sugar

Ingredients before fruit is added

Fruit tea bread!

This is adapted from an English recipe that uses self raising flour. I won’t buy self raising flour because it’s twice the price of regular flour, so this includes my conversions to use flour, baking powder and salt instead. The math was easier to do in grams vs cups and teaspoons, so I kept it by weight.

You can use any dried fruit combo. Apricots and cranberries are my favorites so I use those, but you can use whatever you want.

Southwest chicken casserole

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs or combination of both *
12 ounces of salsa green or red or both*
1 tbsp olive oil
1 diced yellow onion
1 diced bell pepper
1 large can of red enchilada sauce (Las Palmas has both mild or hot. I use mild. Choose according to your taste)
1 4 ounce can of diced green chiles or jalapeños (not fresh. Used canned)
2 15.5 ounce cans of beans drained and rinsed. I used black beans, pintos, or kidneys.
1 cup frozen corn (or more if you really like corn)
12 corn tortillas
3 cups shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack or “Mexican blend”)
Small can of sliced black olives
Optional: sour cream, chopped cilantro, green onions, tapatío sauce, sliced avocado
* you may substitute 3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded, for these two ingredients.

cook chicken in salsa in one of two ways: simmer in salsa and a cup of water until fork tender (about 40 minutes) OR put chicken and salsa in an Instant Pot and pressure cook in high for 20 minutes with quick release.

Preheat oven to 350

Put olive oil in pan and heat to medium. Cook onions and bell pepper until soft. Add frozen corn. Cook until not frozen. Add chicken, beans, green chile, 2 cups of enchilada sauce, and mix well.

Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce on bottom of pan to coat. Layer 6 tortillas in sauce. Spoon half of chicken mixture over and the half of cheese. Place another layer of tortillas, the rest of chicken mixture. Pour remaining sauce over everything. Top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle olives over all.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20.

If desired, Serve with one or more of the sour cream, Tapatío, cilantro, green onions, and avocado.

Two kinds of beans here: kidney and black

I’ve seen this kind of dish called enchilada casserole, but it’s really just more of a southwestern style dish and not very enchilada like.

You can adjust the heat based on the ingredients you buy. I tend to go mild and use Tapatío on the servings of those who like it spicier.

If you notice, the recipe has no added salt. The ingredients have a lot of sodium, so I left out the salt and just use a light dash on my serving if I feel it needs it. I HATE cilantro, so I prefer some sliced avocado. I have cilantro as an option for those who don’t think it tastes like dawn liquid.

As for cheese, I use sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack because I always have those on hand. If I was buying pre-shredded, I’d use the Mexican blend. You can also omit the cheese or reduce it by half and only use it on the top layer. If I reduce the cheese, I double the corn because that’s just how I like it.

This recipe wants you to experiment with the filling. Don’t be afraid to put more or less of an ingredient.

If you choose to make this a day ahead, increase time baking with cover to 40 minutes.

Not a recipe: key lime cheesecake

A few years ago, I stayed at a hotel in a Monterey for work. There were a few problems with the room for which maintenance had to come in and fix them. I didn’t complain, but they gave me free room service dinner that night, so I ordered their Key Lime cheesecake. This is what I received.

Yes. That’s lime gummies on a plain cheesecake.

Empanada dough (no filling recipe)

4 cups bread flour
3/4 cup lard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup cold water
1 egg well beaten

Place the bread flour, lard, and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Rub the lard and butter into the flour until evenly blended. Easiest to do this by pinching and tossing the fats into the flour.
Add the salt, sugar, and half of the water and mix with your hand (I wear silicon gloves). Gradually add more water by the tablespoon to create a moist, but not sticky, dough. All the flour should be picked up.
Knead the dough about 10 times to finish blending the ingredients together.
Split the dough in half, shape into discs, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Divide each disc of dough into eight pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then roll it into a six-inch circle with a rolling pin.
Place 1/8 cup of savory filling of your choice in the center of the circle. Brush the edge of the dough halfway around with beaten egg, then fold the dough over to create a semicircle. Press the edges firmly to seal.
Crimp the edges with a fork or watch a video on making a repulgue.
Brush with beaten egg & cut two small holes on top to vent.
On a parchment lined cookie sheet, Bake the empanadas in a preheated oven at 375 F for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown. If cooking two trays at once, rotate the trays halfway through for a more even bake.
Let the empanadas cool on wire racks for 20 minutes before serving.

I’m always looking for the right dough recipe and this is the closest I’ve gotten. I also buy pre-made empanada disks, but my family prefers this recipe. Posting just the dough recipe so my daughter can find it easily. I bake my empanadas and this dough is for baking. There are dozens of recipes out there but some only work for frying and some for baking. I found the dough works much better using lard than any other shortening.

I often forget to vent mine and this causes them to look gloriously puffed but there is too much air in the empanada. They still taste fine.

The next time I make them, I’ll write down my filling recipes because I just wing it every time. I make Argentine style empanadas, and I can’t find any good places that make and sell them near me. My Argentinian in laws love the ones at Tito’s market in El Monte, CA, so if you’re near there or traveling in So Cal, I highly recommend you make a trip. I haven’t been able to duplicate their dough or filling. If I travel to So Cal for business, I’ll buy 40 (20 beef and 20 chicken) pack them on ice and drive them all the way home (six hours away) but with a stop in Bakersfield to give some to my in-laws.

Pasta Frola (shortcake with jam)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of butter, frozen
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
Jam. Any flavor.

Preheat oven to 350.

Put in the bowl, flour, sugar, baking powder; and salt. Whisk to combine.

Grate frozen butter into flour mix and use finger tips to toss butter into flour mixture until well combined. Do not mash the butter into the flour.

Mix In beaten egg until dough is fully moistened.

Separate out 1/4 of the dough.

Butter a 9″ square baking dish and press the remaining 3/4 of dough into baking dish. Pat or roll out the reserved dough with some extra flour and place on top in any pattern you want (lattice or cut out shapes and place on jam).

Spoon a layer of jam over the top. Make it as think or as thick as you like. I put about a full 8 oz jar of jam on the dough.

Pat out remaining 1/4 dough and cut into long strips. Cover top of jam in a crossing pattern partly covering the jam. You can also use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and lay across the top.

Bake 25 minutes.

Serve after it cools about 1/2 hour or more.

I make this when my Argentinian father-in-law comes to visit as it’s a traditional cake with coffee there. It’s very similar to our coffee cakes but maybe a little less sweet.

I will often do apricot on one side and raspberry on the other because I think that’s the prettiest. I also like apricot jam. At Thanksgiving, I use homemade cranberry jam (I always make a small batch of cranberry refrigerator jam in the fall). In Argentina, they use quince. This is often eaten with coffee or maté. It’s very fast to make, which is a bonus for me because I’m not a fan of baking.

Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines but any will work)
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter softened
3 teaspoons grated orange peel
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped (do not thaw frozen cranberries)
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour 12-cup bundt pan, or spray with baking spray with flour. I use Baker’s Joy or Pam for baking
Beat all ingredients except for cranberries and powdered sugar with mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Increase speed to medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Fold in cranberries. Scrape into prepared pan.
Bake 57 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes on wire rack in the pan. Then remove from pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I didn’t cook anything this weekend that was worth posting. Just fajitas, so I’m posting this cake. I used to only make cake mix cakes, but now I bake cakes from scratch except for this one. It’s adapted from Betty Crocker and is really good and easy to make.

In the picture, I added fresh cranberries around the cake and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I do not make a glaze for it. The cake plate is my grandmother’s, and I love it.

Spaghetti and Meatballs with simple garlic bread

Meatballs:

4 slices dry bread

3 tbsp milk

1 lb ground beef

2 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated Romano (grate using a blender for best results)

2tbsp chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp crushed oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Tear bread into pieces. Soak in milk and then stir until a paste
Add all ingredients including soaked bread and mix well (use hands) form into small balls (about 20. About 2 inches across)
Brown slowly in 2 tbsp of hot oil. Add to sauce

Sauce

1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove minced garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 1/4 tsp crushed oregano
1 bay leaf
Meatballs
1 lb cooked spaghetti

Heat oil in large pot in medium until shimmering
Cook onion until soft. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
Rub oregano between your palms and brush into pot. Add all ingredients except meatballs.
Stir together.
Using potato masher (beedle), mash tomatoes roughly (you can skip this step. My mom doesn’t do it but I do)
Bring to slight simmer and keep on a low simmer.
Add meatballs when they’re done.
Spoon over spaghetti and divide meatballs among those eating

Garlic bread

One loaf of french or Italian style bread
1 stick of butter softened
Garlic powder
Salt

Cut open bread on one side but leave the two halves attached.
Spread with butter. You’ll probably use about 3/4 of the butter but you can use as much or as little as you like of the stick
Sprinkle with garlic powder to your taste (my kids don’t like a lot)
Sprinkle with a little salt
Cut into 2 inch slices but don’t cut all the way through so the loaf holds together.
Wrap and foil and bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven

Let brown completely on one side before turning.

Don’t cut the slices all the way through.

I do NOT claim this is an authentic Italian recipe. It isn’t. This is a recipe from an old cookbook from the 1960s with one or two tweaks. My mom made these whenever we had company when I was a kid. My dad’s uncle (born around 1920) had never had spaghetti and meatballs before having these, and after that weekend, he asked his wife make them every week for the rest of his life.

My mom swears the key is to use a blender to crumble the Romano, so it’s more like little balls that melt when they’re cooking. Don’t substitute Parmesan. I soak the bread in milk, but the original recipe soaks it in water. Either way, the meatballs are tender and moist.

As for the garlic bread, it’s not fancy but it is delicious. You can fancy it up with mixing minced garlic into the butter and sprinkling with cheese, but we keep it very simple because that’s how the kids like it and really, how I like it.