Recipes

Fish in a Pouch

Kathleen McKee Recipes

In Poustinia: A Novel, Amanda and Joe prepare Fish in a Pouch for a special dinner with Father Jim. Amanda notes how easy it is to prepare, and she wasn’t wrong. You really don’t even need to measure anything. Select the veggies and type of fish you like, season all to taste, wrap in aluminum foil or parchment, and bake.

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Fish in a Pouch

Delicious, nutritious, and easy to make with any type of fish or veggies.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword Baked Fish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. Cod Any type of fish can be used.
  • 1/4 yellow onion
  • 4 oz. frozen green beans
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp. parsley
  • 1 tsp. butter

Instructions

  1. Layer vegetables on a sheet of tin foil or parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper.

    Place fish on top. Season with salt, poultry seasoning, and parsley.

    Wrap and seal the tin foil to create a packet of the fish and veggies. Place the packet on a baking sheet or pie plate.

    Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cut small slit in packet to release steam.

    Open packet and serve.


Recipe Notes

Use any type of fish. I like flounder, cod, or tilapia. A thicker fish may need additional cooking time.

Use your favorite vegetables. I used frozen green and yellow beans. You can use fresh beans as well. I also like onions, but they can be omitted.

I vary the seasonings. You could use Old Bay seasoning or paprika on top to add color. The poultry seasoning gave the fish an interesting and tasty flavor.

Be careful opening the pouch. Steam can cause a bad burn.

Easy Deviled Eggs

Kathleen McKee Recipes

In Poustinia: A Novel, Vicki offered to make deviled eggs for Amanda’s 4th of July barbecue. I, too, used to make deviled eggs as a picnic side dish. I now make them every week to keep in the refrigerator. They make a great high protein snack and are more filling than just a plain hard-boiled egg.

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Easy Deviled Eggs

Low in calories, High in protein.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Deviled Eggs
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 6 Eggs
  • 1/4 cup Mayonnaise I use low-fat mayo
  • 1 teaspoon Sweet gherkin pickle juice I use no sugar pickle juice
  • 1 teaspoon Spicy brown mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground black pepper
  • Paprika (optional) for garnish

Instructions

  1. Place eggs in a saucepan. Heat on medium high until water begins to boil. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, then turn off burner and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 minutes.. 

    Remove from heat and drain. Add cold water to the eggs in the pot to stop the cooking process.  Drain again and add more cold water. Crack the eggs and let sit in the cold water for a few minutes. This helps with peeling.

  2. Peel eggs. Rinse with cold water. Drain on a paper towel. 

    Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, removing yolks to a medium bowl, and placing the whites on a plate. 

    Mash the yolks into a fine crumble using a fork. Add salt and pepper while crumbling.

    Add mayonnaise and mustard, stirring with a spoon to mix well. This will be a thick ball stage.  Add sweet pickle juice to thin to a softer consistency. Not too much or it will get "goopy."

  3. Evenly disperse teaspoons of the yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Refrigerate in a covered container. Before serving, you can sprinkle with paprika for color, but it's not necessary.

Recipe Notes

I use low-fat mayonnaise and no-sugar-added sweet gherkins to make my deviled eggs so that they are zero Weight Watchers points.

The finer your egg yolk crumble, the less lumpy your mixture will be. But you don't have to go crazy with the mixing. It will smooth out somewhat as you add the pickle juice.

I like the spicy mustard and lots of pepper in my deviled eggs. But you can substitute plain yellow mustard and any kind of mayo. You can also use vinegar for the pickle juice if you like a more tart deviled egg.

I keep my deviled eggs in a covered container in the refrigerator. They keep well for several days.

Apple Crisp

Kathleen McKee Recipes

In Poustinia: A Novel, Amanda and Kate make a special supper for Vicki and Myra. Both girls like to cook and plan to attend culinary school together. For dessert, they offered a delicious warm apple crisp, like the recipe below. It’s so easy to make, and is festive for any occasion.

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Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Apple Crisp
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 4 cups medium tart cooking apples 4 apples, cored and sliced
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup softened butter or margarine
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

  1. 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray.

  2. 2. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until well-mixed; sprinkle over apples.

  3. 3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork.

Mom’s Best Barbecue Sauce

Kathleen McKee Recipes

In Specter of Truth, Lizzie and her sister made barbecue sauce for a holiday pig roast. This wasn’t an easy feat back in 1818, the time of my story. In fact, some of the ingredients in mom’s recipe weren’t available. Still, we’ve become accustomed to purchasing barbecue sauce when, in fact, it’s so easy to make.

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Mom's Best Barbecue Sauce

Easy and affordable.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Barbecue Sauce
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Ketchup
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup onion
  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients and simmer for one half hour.

Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup

Kathleen McKee Recipes

The main character in No Gifts to Bring suggested this hearty vegetable beef soup to feed a group of cold travelers. The neat thing about the recipe is that it’s so easy to make and it’s an affordable way to feed a crowd. You really don’t even need to measure anything. And it’s so healthy, particularly if you limit the amount of salt.


Recipes
 
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Easy to Make, healthy to eat.
Author:
Recipe type: Lunch or Dinner
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6-8 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 3 small potatoes
  • 32 oz. beef broth
  • 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
Instructions
  1. Brown the ground beef in a large pot. Let cooked meat drain on paper towels while washing the pot to remove excess fat.
  2. Dice onion and celery and saute for a few minutes on low heat in the clean pot.
  3. Add carton of beef broth and can of tomatoes. Using the empty can, add water as needed. Cook on medium heat.
  4. Dice potatoes and add to pot. Add salt and pepper as needed.
  5. Add frozen vegetables. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
Notes
You can substitute any type of leftover beef, cut into cubes, for the hamburger.