It can be a challenge to prepare truly special meals for just two people. Sometimes I cheat and make up enough food for four, then freeze the extras. But sometimes, especially when a special occasion is on its way, I find myself consulting this nifty little book.
An important note: Again, I don't own the rights to these recipes. Visit Amazon.com to order a more up-to-date version. Although no author is given, I'm thinking you could fairly easily contact the Meredith Corporation, owners of Better Homes and Gardens, if you wanted to borrow some of their recipes for commercial use.
Here's the index to the recipes:
Note: A great dish when you don't feel like doing the whole Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas goose thing for just two people.
"Season game hens inside and out with salt and pepper. In small saucepan, cook almonds, onions, and rice in buter for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
"Add water, bouillon cube (or omit these two ingredients and replace with one cup of your homemade chicken stock), lemon juice, and salt. Bring mixture to boiling, stirring to dissolve bouillon cube. Reduce heat; cover and cook slowly about 20 to 25 minutes (I don't know why but sometimes it takes quite a bit longer) or till liquid is absorbed and rice is fluffly. Stir in the drained mushrooms. "Lightly stuff the birds with rice mixture. Place breast up on rack in shallow baking pan. Brush with melted butter. Roast covered in hot oven (400o) for 30 minutes. Uncover and roast 1 hour longer or till drumstick can be twisted easily in socket. Brush birds with melted butter during last 15 minutes of roasting time. Makes 2 servings."
A sweet, gooey dessert inspired by the bright green drink which, sadly, has passed from fashion. Make sure the other person helping you eat this pie has a large sweet tooth!
"Combine wafer crumbs and butter; press into two 5-inch tart pans.
"In a small mixing bowl, combine marshmallow creme and liqueurs. Beat about 1 minute at high speed. Fold in whipped cream. Pile into crumb crust. Freeze about 5 hours or overnight. If desired, garnish with additional whipped cream. (Yes! Do!) Makes 2 servings."
Note: You can also make this as one piece, in a 9 inch diameter pie pan, but plan on getting gooey and sticky when you try to divide the dessert into two.
I hope it doesn't mark me as a hopeless princess-and-the-pea type ninny but, I'm sorry, I cannot endure the taste of frozen hash browns and potatoes. It is risking insult to tongue and palate to order hash browns in a restaurant or cafe. Fortunately, the real thing is easy to whip up at home.
"Melt butter and chocolate over low heat; cool. Blend in sugar, peanut butter, 1/4 tsp. salt, and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in flour. Spread in greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake at 350o about 25 minutes."
Note: We are assured that any extra brownies may be safely frozen, but I don't recall having encountered this phenomenom of "extra brownies" when using this recipe.
Note: a good one for the cobbler and sweet dumpling fans.
"Combine first 4 ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil. In small bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Stir in milk and oil. Drop in 2 portions on boiling hot fruit. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon or nutmeg. Cover. Cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with light cream. Makes 2 servings."
