Muffins made with zucchini, walnuts and raisins sound nutritious

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We have Stuffed Chicken Breast from Mary Demetree that we found in Cooking with Foliage La Sertoma of Apopka published by the ladies of the Sertoma Club, we think, back in the 1980s. By the way, the original recipe calls for “boned” chicken breasts, but we think they mean “deboned.”

Savannah Style has a Shrimp Scampi recipe that looks worthy of trying out. It may just become a favorite for your table.

Spanky’s Chili is a specialty of Spanky’s Restaurant in Savannah. The recipe is published in Savannah Style cookbook.

When I make it, I will remove about nine/tenths of the chili powder and half the black pepper because really, really hot stuff cauterizes my taste buds.

Black Bean Soup: I like to puree at least half the soup. We thank Stan Smith for his recipe and also First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda for sharing their publication, A Taste of Heaven.

From First Presbyterian Church of Apopka’s Treasures and Pleasures cookbook, we have Nana Conley’s Scalloped Eggplant.

To start out the New Year in delicious, fragrant style, we have Crusty White Bread from The New York Times NEW Natural Foods Cookbook, by Jean Hewitt, Yummm.

Zucchini Nut Muffins comes from Cooking with Foliage La Sertoma of Apopka. The recipe calls for “4 eggs, out of shell,” but I can’t imagine anyone using whole eggs without breaking the shells and throwing them away, so I removed those three words from this recipe.

MARY DEMETREE’S STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST

Recipe from Cooking with Foliage La Sertoma of Apopka

12 deboned chicken breasts

2-1/2 cups ready mixed herbed

corn bread stuffing

3/4 pound sausage meat

1 egg

1 onion, chopped finely, sautéed

1 green pepper, chopped finely,

sauteed

Wash, dry, salt and pepper chicken breasts. In bowl, mix sausage meat evenly in corn bread stuffing. Add sautéed onion, green pepper and egg. Take each breast and place 2 or 3 tablespoons stuffing in the hollow of the breast, overlapping a little skin to hold in place. Place in shallow pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until tender and browned.

SAVANNAH STYLE’S

SHRIMP SCAMPI

Recipe from Savannah Style, a Cookbook by The Junior League of Savannah, Inc.

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

24 large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter, garlic and olive oil in a large skillet. Add shrimp and sauté on both sides until done for about five minutes. Pour off pan drippings into a small saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook over high heat for one minute. Pour sauce over shrimp and serve with rice to absorb the juices.

SPANKY’S CHILI (A specialty of Spanky’s Restaurant)

Recipe from Savannah Style,

a Cookbook by The Junior League of Savannah, Inc.

1 pound ground beef

2 small onions, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

16 ounces whole tomatoes

8 ounces tomato sauce

16 ounces kidney beans

Brown ground beef, pour off fat. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for an hour, stirring often. This recipe is VERY HOT.

STAN SMITH’S BLACK BEAN SOUP

Recipe from First Presbyterian Church, Punta Gorda, Florida

A Taste of Heaven

2 cups (1 pound) black turtle beans

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup celery with leaves, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 bay leaf

Pinch of thyme

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

sauce

2-1/2 quarts water

3 smoked ham hocks

1 cup chicken stock OR

a bouillon cube

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup dry sherry

Wash beans. Add onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, water, ham hocks and chicken stock. Simmer at least three hours. Remove ham hocks and bay leaf, then puree soup. Add salt, pepper and sherry. Heat. If thin, add a roux; if thick, add water or stock. At the table, sprinkle on some chopped raw onion and lace with a little more sherry.

NANA CONLEY’S

SCALLOPED EGGPLANT

Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Apopka,

Treasures and Pleasures

1 medium eggplant

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup bell pepper, finely chopped

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 cup cracker crumbs

1/3 cup butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice eggplant. Cook until tender in boiling salted water. Drain and mash eggplant into small pieces. Add chopped onion and green pepper. Beat egg, combine with milk, salt, and pepper to taste. Add cracker crumbs and combine with eggplant. Pour into greased casserole. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

CRUSTY WHITE BREAD

THE NEW YORK TIMES NEW

NATURAL FOODS COOKBOOK

Copyright 1982 by Jean Hewitt

5 cups unbleached white flour or bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry active yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup clarified melted butter (milky solids discarded) or olive oil

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Combine the flour and salt. 2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, add the butter, and 2/3 cup milk and mix very well. 3. Combine the yeast mixture with the flour mixture and mix well. This takes the place of kneading, so mixing should be done vigorously and well. Put in an oiled bowl. 4. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough is doubled in bulk and is very light, about 1-1/2 hours. 5. Punch down, turn onto a board, and pat or roll to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough in half and roll each half like a jelly roll with tapered ends. Place, seam side down, on an oiled baking sheet. 6. Cover and let rise in a warm place until half-risen. 7. When half-risen, slash the tops of the loaves diagonally with a sharp knife. Combine the remaining milk with the egg and brush over the loaves. Set in a warm place to rise until very light, another hour or so. 8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 9. Put a pan of hot water on the bottom of the oven. Bake the loaves in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes longer or until well browned. Yield: Two loaves.

ZUCCHINI NUT MUFFINS

Recipe from Cooking with

Foliage La Sertoma of Apopka

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups honey

3/4 cup salad oil, soybean

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups zucchini, raw, washed

and grated

1 cup walnuts, white, chopped

1/2 cup yellow raisins

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside. In a mixing machine, beat eggs and honey until creamed. Slowly add oil. This should thicken the solution slightly. Add vanilla and zucchini; incorporate well; add walnuts and raisins; mix well. Fold in the dry ingredients. Once the flour goes in the machine, rotate a few turns only, don’t over-mix. Grease muffins pans well with solid shortening. Fill each muffin 2/3 of the way up.

Place in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Do not open oven door while muffins are baking. Makes 24 muffins.