The Milton Community Shares Favorite Recipes

When Milton Magazine put out a request to faculty and staff to share some of their favorite recipes, it soon became clear that Milton has a wealth of food enthusiasts among its ranks. Their submissions are below.

Chicken Enchilada
Rebecca Veira, Middle School faculty

Here is my chicken enchilada recipe! My family is from Las Cruces, NM and we make these often! It is a great dish to prepare together with family members. Whenever I make these with my family we always find ourselves laughing, sharing stories, and making so many new memories. I added a photo just in case!

Rebecca

 

Chicken Enchiladas

Feeds 5-8 people

1 ½ pounds of Roasted Chicken breast 

Chicken Broth (2 cups)

Large packet of Corn Tortillas at least 3 dozen 

2-3 cups of Grated Cheese (I use cheddar/colby-jack)

Sour cream (small container)

Cream of chicken soup (2 small cans)

5 whole green chiles (I like to roast fresh but if you cannot you can used canned)

Onion (1 small diced)

Garlic cloves (about 2 large diced)

Small can of black olives sliced (optional)

1 Small jalepeño (optional)

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Canola oil- to soften tortillas

Cumin powder 

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

 

Shred Chicken & set aside.

Stir-fry chopped onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot then add green chilies and jalapeños .

Mix in cream of chicken soup, sour cream and a cup of chicken broth. Add more broth as needed. Mixture needs to be slightly thick. Add salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and onion powder (to taste). If you have a hand held blender you can mix the mixture well before you add the shredded chicken. Add in shredded chicken and keep warm on the stove. You can also add more green chilies if you would like to add some more texture to the sauce.

Dip corn tortillas in hot canola oil (heated to 350 degrees) oil for one minute to soften tortillas. 

Pat excess oil off with paper towels.

To start layering –put a little bit of creamy chicken mixture on bottom of casserole dish (spray the dish with oil before layering).

-put a layer of tortillas on top of mixture

-add more mixture

-add cheese

-repeat sames steps

Make sure last layer is just cheese then top with sliced black olives

Bake at 350-375 degrees for 20 min or until all cheese is melted and slightly browned on top.

 

Apple Chocolate Chip Cake
Kim Wheeler, Senior Manager of Donor Relations 

My mom made this apple chocolate chip cake when I was a kid and it was one that I happily made into my own tradition with my family and friends. Each year my husband, kids, and I go apple picking and from our harvest, we make this recipe. You’re actually supposed to bake it in a bundt pan, but I simply pour them into muffin tins (the recipe makes about 2 dozen)- I find them easier to share this way! In college, I remember setting them out for my suitemates (they didn’t last long) and now as a professional, I share them with my coworkers.

 

Best,

Kim

 

 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups peeled and diced apples

1/2 cup nuts (optional- I’ve never used nuts in this recipe)

1 small package chocolate chips

 

Instructions

Grease and flour tube pan.

Preheat oven to 350.

 

Mix sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Mix in apples, nuts (optional), and chocolate chips. Pour into 10″ tube pans (remember to grease and flour first!).

 

Bake cake for about 1 hour at 350.

 

Swiss Fondue
Brenda Fuller, Academy Technology Services

My family always had Swiss Fondue on New Year’s Eve when I was growing up, and it is a tradition that Shane and I kept with our boys. Admittedly, it doesn’t always happen on New Year’s eve – sometimes it shifts around to a different day during our holiday schedules.  

Traditionally we would have a simple cheese fondue (dipping bread and veggies in cheese), and a meat fondue (dipping thin or small-cut raw meats into hot oil for them to cook through), but when our boys were young, we began to skip the raw-meat-in-hot-oil one for safety reasons.  Instead, I just cut up chicken into small pieces and sauteed them ahead of time, and served that on the side. We also simplified our cheese fondue over the years, and used a microwave rather than a double boiler to get things started before moving over to the fondue pot.  The recipe works for either traditional fondue pots with a fuel and flame source, or a modern non-stick electric fondue pot.  

Anyway, here’s my recipe for cheese fondue!

Ingredients:

• Swiss cheese – 1 lb  (cut into small pieces or shredded)
• Flour – 1 Tbls. (traditionally white flour, but 1/2 tsp xantham gum can be a successful replacement)
• Salt & Pepper (1 dash each, or to taste)
• Nutmeg (2 dashes, or to taste) 
• Garlic (1/4 tsp powdered, or if you have a fresh clove, smash it and swipe it around your fondue pot before you add the cheese)
• White wine (you can use cooking wine, or something dry.  I’ve used chardonnay and pinot grigio successfully)

To Dip:

• Bread, cut up (usually a French bread, but we like to get creative with artisan loaves.  Fresh is wonderful, and pieces with a bit of crust work best, so its nice to get a slender loaf or smaller buns with more edges than insides)
• Vegetables, cut up (broccoli and cauliflower are staples, but we also like to try new ideas.  Mushrooms and peppers are nice, but the cheese tends to slide off them more easily)
• Apples, cut up (optional, and varieties that don’t brown to easily work best) 
• Chicken (cut up, sauteed, spiced mildly – I usually add a little salt, pepper, and garlic seasoning during cooking)
• All these are options, and our favorites, but don’t limit yourself.  So many things are wonderful with melted cheese!

Directions:

• pre-cut the cheese, vegetables, and meat as early as a day ahead.  Don’t cut the bread until you’re starting to prep for the meal.
• put the cheese in a large microwavable bowl and cover with the flour.  Add the seasonings and wine.  Melt in the microwave in 5 minute increments, stirring in between as needed.  (A double boiler can be used for this step if desired).
• Gather your cut up dipping items into bowls for serving
• Prepare your fondue pot(s) (if using fuel, get them placed lit.  If using electric, get power cords long enough to reach the center of the table).  Place the pot in the center of the table, or 2 pots on either end of a long table.
• Pour the melted cheese into the fondue pots and serve with bread and vegetables.

Other items of note:

• Our family has settled on using the fondue forks for dipping into the pots, and table forks for eating so as not to “double-dip”. 
• A fun tradition is that if someone loses a piece of something in the cheese, they have to kiss the person on their left.  
• If you’re using a traditional fondue pot, it’s considered “lucky” to be the person to scrape off and eat the burned layer at the bottom of the pot–but using a non-stick pot and skipping that cleaning seems luckier to me. 
• I’ve found that the best way to clean the microwavable bowl of cheese is to wait for it to cool and wipe it with a paper towel to get off all the cheese bits before getting it all sudsy. That way the hot water doesn’t keep the cheese melty and gum up your scrub brush.

 

Grilled Chicken with Chermoula
Pamela Pleasants, Associate Dean of Admission

1 lb chicken tenders

2T. Olive oil 

11/2 T.  chermoula

1T. of fresh lime of lemon juice

1/2 t. of kosher salt

Pinch of cayenne 

Fresh ground pepper to taste

 

Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least one hour.

Grill chicken 7-10 minutes until done. Served either over salad or with rice pilaf and asparagus. 

 

Stuffed Tomatoes
Darlene Anastas, Performing Arts Faculty 

(6 servings)

Ingredients:

6 firm ripe tomatoes

Salt

¼ cup olive oil

5 Green onions, coarsely chopped

10 ounces fresh spinach, coarsely chopped, or 1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed

Freshly ground pepper

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Slice ½ inch from top of each tomato.  Scoop out pulp and seed; chop pulp and reserve.  Lightly salt tomato cavities and let drain on paper towels.

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add onion and sauté until tender.  Add tomato pulp, spinach, parsley, dill and pepper.  Cook uncovered over high heat until most of liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in all but 2 tablespoons cheese.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Lightly oil large baking dish.  Divide stuffing among tomato shells, filling lightly.  Sprinkle with remaining feta.  Place in dish and bake until tomatoes are cooked through but not splitting, about 20 minutes.

The stuffing can have rice and chopped onions added for additional filling.  Bell Peppers can use this stuffing.

 

Chicken with Black Olives
Darlene Anastas, Performing Arts Faculty

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 Chicken (3 to 4 Pounds)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 ½ cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ pound black olives (without pits)

5 or 6 sprigs of Italian parsley

 

Cut the chicken into 16 pieces.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large seasoned cast iron pan. When they are hot, put in the chicken pieces and saute gently, turning them, until they are golden brown all over (about 15 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper.

While chicken is browning, heat the broth to the boiling point in a separate saucepan.

Once chicken is brown, sprinkle the chicken with the flour and stir it thoroughly with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.  Immediately, and slowly, pour in the hot broth, stirring thoroughly to prevent lumps from forming, then add the bay leaf and the thyme to the pan and simmer slowly for 20 minutes, stirring every so often.  Remove the bay leaf from the pan and add the olives.  Taste for salt and pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the heat and transfer its contents to a serving dish.  Sprinkle over the parsley, coarsely chopped, and serve hot.

 

Rouille
Kristan Burke, Lower School Faculty 

Rouille is a Provençal sauce made from pounded red chilies, garlic, breadcrumbs, and other ingredients and is typically added to bouillabaisse. My family’s favorite uses are as a base on flatbread pizzas, in dips, and in pasta. 

I change it slightly each time I make it and always make four or five times the original recipe because it’s so versatile! 

Rouille 

1 cup basil, packed

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I sometimes make my own but any Italian breadcrumbs or even panko works)

5 large garlic cloves (I definitely take liberties here – we love garlic!)

2 hot peppers (chilis, jalapeños, habaneros- my favorite due to it’s tropical, aromatic heat)

1 tsp. salt  (or more if you wish)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 small tomato

Blend all together in a processor. Refrigerate. It can last up to 3 weeks. Sometimes I add more oil and stir if needed.

 

Broccoli Parmesan Almond “Meatballs”
Courtney HawkesGaidos, Campus Services and Events

Makes 12 large

1 cup almonds

2 large heads broccoli, cut into florets and steamed

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic, minced and cooked 

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Half a can of any type of beans, smooshed with fork – recommend cannellini 

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Process almonds in food processor until coarsely ground. Take out and put in a bowl. Shred cheese using your food processor to save some time, take out and add to almond bowl. Process broccoli in processor until chopped. Mix together almonds, cheese, broccoli, garlic, eggs, beans, salt and pepper with your hands or a strong spoon. 

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Form 12 “meatballs” with your hands, squeezing together to hold shape, one in each muffin tin space. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove tin from oven, run a butter knife along the edges of each muffin cup to loosen “meatballs” before popping them out.

If you need a side, this is a good one:

 

Marinated broccoli salad

Dressing

1/3 cup vinegar (sherry, rice, red wine, balsamic all recommended)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp. fresh herbs that you like or 1 tsp dried herbs that you like (dill, parsley, basil recommended)

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 -3 cloves garlic, minced 

1-2 tsp. salt

 

Mix dressing together, pour over 3 heads of broccoli, let marinate at room temperature or in the fridge for at least one hour. Can marinate for many hours.

 

Spinach and Strawberry Salad
Nancy McCuen, Lower School Faculty

My family loves this all year round if we can find strawberries. We like to cut all ingredients into bite sized pieces. 

Prep:

20 mins

Total:

10 mins

Servings:

8

Yield:

8 servings

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

 

2 bunches spinach, rinsed and cut into bite-size pieces

4 cups sliced strawberries 

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup white sugar

¼ teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 package slivered almonds

Directions

 

Step 1

In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.

Step 2

Use ½ tbl spoon of butter and brown almonds. Watch carefully as they burn easily. 

Step 3

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 235 calories; protein 3.6g; carbohydrates 22.8g; fat 15.9g; sodium 69.3mg.

 

Texas Grapefruit Pie
Rod Skinner, Dean of College Counseling

 

 

• Prep Time: 30 minutes plus chilling time

•  Cook Time: 45 minutes

•  Serving Size: 1 9-inch pie

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 egg yolks
• 4-5 red medium grapefruits
• 1 (16-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 9-inch pre-made pie crust
•  fresh whipped cream, for garnish

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the sugar and the flour; set aside.
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks; set aside at room temperature.
3. Cut the grapefruit into quarters and remove the fruit from each section of rind, discarding any big pieces of white pith in the center (use clean hands or a paring knife, as you prefer). Place the chunks of peeled fruit in a medium saucepan and add 2 cups water. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Once the water is boiling, blend in the remaining ½ cup sugar. Boil, stirring frequently, until the fruit is well broken down and the mixture is thick and pulpy, 10–15 minutes.
4. Whisk in the sugar-flour mixture until everything is well blended. Slowly stir in the condensed milk until the mixture is smooth. Pour ½ cup of the hot fruit mixture into the egg yolks and whisk to combine. Pour the tempered egg yolks into the saucepan and blend thoroughly. Stir in the lemon juice. Boil until the mixture is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
5. Pour the filling into the baked pie shell and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Top with freshly whipped cream for a grand balance of flavor and texture.