SHORTY'S INCREDIBLY AWESOME STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Ingredients:

2 - 12 0z. pkgs. white button mushrooms (break off the stems)

1 pkg.(6-8 oz.) cream cheese

2 tbsp. sour cream

8 slices of bacon, cooked then chopped (I use a food processor to chop the bacon into really small pieces)

1/2 of a small sweet onion (3 tbsp.) diced into very small pieces (fry in a little bit of the bacon grease)

1 cup shredded mild cheddar

1 tsp. garlic salt

Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Mix cream cheese, s.cream, cheddar, bacon, onion , and garlic salt all together. Stuff the caps of the mushrooms as generously as you like. Place the stuffed mushrooms in a greased baking dish or pan, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of the mushrooms. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. When done baking, set your oven to broil. Cover each mushroom with mozzarella, and broil for 3 or 4 minutes, just long enough to brown the cheese on top. DELICIOUS!

SAUSAGE DRESSING

2lbs Country Style Sausage (not Sage)
1 1/2 sticks (12 T) Butter
1 lg Spanish Onion, chopped fine
2 ribs Celery, chopped fine
2 tsp. Poultry Seasoning
2 - 14oz packages Pepperidge Farms Herbed Stuffing mix, regular, cubed, or both
5 or 6 cups Chicken Broth

In a large skillet, crumble and brown sausage. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel.

Melt butter in skillet, add onions, celery and poultry seasoning. Saute until onions and celery are clear and soft.

In a very large bowl or pan (I use Tupperware bread dough bowl) toss sausage, stuffing mix, and sauteed onions/celery/butter together until thoroughly combined. Stir in 5 cps chicken broth. Let stand 10 minutes.

Grab a small handful of stuffing and gently squeeze it in your hand. if it holds together easily, it is ready. If it falls apart or crumbles, add a bit more stock or water. Stuffing should be moist, but not soggy.

Spoon dressing into a greased 13"x18" roasting pan and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until top is nicely browned.

Family Favorite Meatloaf

One more meatloaf recipe, as requested by the former Mrs. Spurrier...

1 cup Whole Milk
2 lg Eggs
2 cps. crushed Ritz or Townhouse Crackers
3 lbs Ground Beef (I usually use a 3lb tube from Kroger)
1 rounded tsp Roast Meat Seasoning
1 rounded tsp Salt
3 rounded Tbls Catsup
1 med. Onion (chopped fine)


Warning: Prepare to get your hands yucky!

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together Milk and Eggs. Stir in crushed crackers, and let sit a few minutes to soften. In the meantime...

Place Ground Beef in a very large mixing bowl (I usually use a Tupperware bread dough bowl). Sprinkle seasonings evenly over the top. Distribute Catsup over the top of that. Sprinkle chopped Onion over that.

Spoon cracker crumb mixture over the top. Roll up your sleeves, and dig those hands in. Mix and knead by hand until thoroughly combined, with all ingredients evenly distributed.

Form into large loaf and place in greased 13 x 18 Pyrex baking dish or jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 about two hours.

OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN POT PIE

I adapted this recipe from one I found a while ago. It came from the Chicago Culinary Institute, circa 1956.

1/2 lb. mushrooms (sliced)
1/3 cp butter
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cp flour
1 t salt
1/2 t monosodium glutamate
Black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cp cream
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 cp boiling water
1 simmered chicken, cooled & deboned (see previous recipe)
3/4 cp frozen whole kernel corn
3/4 cp diced carrots
1/4 cp canned pimiento, cut into strips

In a small sauce pan, cover carrots with water, and simmer until soft. Add corn, cook about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Dice the chicken. Set side.

In a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter. Add the mushrooms and green peppers, saute until soft. Remove the peppers and mushrooms with slotted spoon, allowing the butter to drip back into the pan.

Stir flour, salt, msg, and pepper into the butter. Cook about five minutes, or until mixture begins to take on the color of peanut butter. Remove from heat, whisk in cream.

Dissolve bouillon cubes in 1 1/2 cp boiling water. Stirring constantly, gradually add to flour/cream mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring, until thickened. Stir in chicken, mushrooms, vegetables, and pimento.

At this point you can either:

Divide mixture into six cassolettes, top with your favorite pie crust, and bake at 425 until crust is golden brown, or (and this is my favorite way):

Prepare either Jiffy or Bisquick Drop Biscuits as per package directions. Pour chicken mixture into a 3 qt casserole and drop biscuit dough by tablespoon onto top of mixture. Bake at 375 until biscuits are golden brown.

SIMMERED CHICKEN

Simmering chicken is the perfect way to cook chicken for use on sandwiches, in chicken salad, or anytime you need cooked chicken for a recipe. The breast stays wonderfully moist and flavorful when prepared this way.

You'll need:
One large stockpot with tight fitting, heavy lid.
One large (about 4lb) fryer

Fill the stockpot with enough water to completely cover the chicken. Bring water to a full rolling boil. Holding chicken by the ends of the drumsticks, plunge it into the water. Count to 20 (one mississippi, two mississippi). Pull bird out of water. Wait until water resumes full boil. Plunge chicken back into water, put lid on the pot, and reduce heat as low as you can without the flame going out. Cook for one hour. DO NOT PEEK! Remove from pot, drain and cool. Pull meat from the bones and you have the perfect chicken for sandwiches or salads.

note: Meat around the bones may have a red tinge. This is not blood, nor does it mean the bird isn't cooked enough. The simmering process may leach a bit of color out of the bone. It is harmless.

BLACKJACK CHICKEN

This is an outstanding recipe that will thoroughly impress your cook out guests. I love these!

marinade
2 cps Apple Cider
1/2 cp Cider Vinegar
1Tbl minced Shallots
1 Tbl micned Garlic
1 tsp Salt
!/2 tsp Black Pepper

Sauce
2T Peanut Oil
1 Yellow Onion, diced small
2T minced Garlic
1/4 cp Chili powder
I T finely minced Jalepeno (or a few dashes Tabasco)
1 cp Tomato Paste
1 cp bold Coffee (like Starbucks)
1 cp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cp Cider Vinegar
1/2 cp firmly packed Brown Sugar

Over medium flame, heat oil in heavy sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Add chili powder and jalepenos and saute about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook about 1 minute , stirring constantly, before adding remaining ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 20 min. Left over sauce will store in refrigerator about a month.

THE CHICKEN!
Marinade 6 chicken quarters about 12 hours. In your Weber Kettle, seperate your coals and place a drip pan in between (about 28 coals on each side). Brown chicken pieces directly over coals, about three minutes per side, then place over drip pan. Cover, and bake about 40 min, basting every 5 min for the last 20.

CANOE CAMP CHOWDER

I created this recipe in an effort to get rid of food on the last day of a canoeing vacation. It turned out to be magnificent!

1/2 lb Smoked Sausage, diced
2 large boneless, skinless Chicken Breast halves, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 med Onion, chopped
4 cps Water
1 cp Beer
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
2 boxes AuGratin Potatoes
1 package (1/2 box) Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes
4 cps Milk
1 can Corn, drained

In a dutch oven coated with non-stick spray, saute sausage, chicken, and onions until onions are clear. Add water, beer, salt, and paprika. Bring to boil.

Reserving cheese packets, add AuGratin potatoes to pot, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are cooked, about 1/2 hour. Remove from heat.

Reserving season packet, stir in mashed potatoes until just moistened. Stir in contents of seasoning and cheese packets. Stir in milk and return to stove. Add corn and heat until chowder just begins to bubble.

This is a meal in a bowl!

PITA BREAD

Not sure where Mom found this recipe. I really like these though. And the kids always got a kick out of making them. They are really good filled with BBQ, or Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, etc.

4 1/2 to 4 3/4 cp Flour
1 pkg Dry Yeast
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 3/4 cup Water
2 Tbls Oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cps flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix well. In a sauce pan heat water and oil until warm (120 to 130 degrees). Add to flour mixture and beat on low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes on medium. By hand, gradually stir in enough flour to make a firm dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap, then a towel. Let rest on board for 20 min. Remove towel and wrap and punch down dough. Divide into 12 equal parts. Shape each part into a smooth ball. Cover and let rise 30 minutes, allowing enough space between each ball to rise. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6" circle. Place three circles at a time directly onto oven rack. Bake until puffed up and top just begins to brown. Cool on racks.

Cut in half and fill with your favorite fillings.

JAMAICAN BANANA-RUM BREAD

This is another recipe I long ago fattened up from Cooking Light. This is really good for breakfast with a cup of good strong coffee. And try spreading a slice with honey/pecan butter sometime!

BREAD
2 Tbls Butter
2 Tbls tub Cream Cheese
1 cp Sugar
1 large Egg
2 cp Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Salt
1 cp ripe Banana, mashed
4 oz Evaporated Milk
2 Tbls Dark Rum or 1/4 tsp Rum Extract plus 2 Tbls Water
1/2 tsp grated Lime Rind
1 Tbls Lime Juice
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cp chopped Pecans, toasted

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, sugar and egg on medium speed until fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a third bowl, combine banana, milk, rum, lime rind, lime juice and vanilla. With mixer on medium, alternately add flour mix, then banana mix to butter mix. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 4x8 loaf pan and bake at 375 for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes clean. Cool in pan for 10 min, than turn onto rack to cool.

TOPPING
1/4 cp packed Brown Sugar
2 tsp Butter
2 tsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Dark Rum or 1/8 tsp Rum Extract and 2 tsp Water
2 Tbls chopped Pecans, toasted
2 Tbls Baker's Coconut

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, lime juice, and rum. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and coconut. Spoon over bread.

BANANA CAKE w/ Rum Glaze

This is one of my favorite recipes. I adapted it from a recipe in Cooking Light about 10 years ago. I'll leave a link to the original recipe, which is also excellent.

1 3/4 cp Brown Sugar, packed
2/3 cp Butter or Margarine, softened
2 lg Eggs
1 cp ripe Banana, mashed
1/2 cp Sour Cream
1 Tbls Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 1/2 cps All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda

Place Brown Sugar and Butter in a large bowl. Beat at med speed until light and fluffy. Add Eggs, beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine Banana, Sour Cream, Vanilla, and Cinnamon. Set aside.

Sift together Flour, Baking Powder, and Baking Soda. Set aside.

With mixer on low speed, alternately add Flour mixture and Banana mixture to Sugar mixture. Pour batter into a greased 10" Tube pan. Bake at 375F for about an hour, or until toothpick comes clean. Cool in pan for 10 min, then turn out on to rack and cool completely.

GLAZE
3/4 cp Powdered Sugar
1 Tbls melted Butter
2 Tbls Dark Rum (or 1/4 tsp Rum extract plus 2 Tbls Milk)

Stir together and drizzle over cake.

This cake is just killer served with a good premium coffee! I particularly like Sumatra Mandahling or Columbia Supremo.

Original Cooking Light recipe from 1997 HERE

HOME MADE BEEF JERKY

Okay, admittedly, this is definitely a guy recipe. But my kids have always loved this recipe, and I think the men in your family will too!

JERKY

3 or 4 lbs Beef or Venison (I prefer Flank or Brisket)
1/2 cp Worcestershire Sauce
2-3 Tbls Water
1 Tbl Vinegar (I like Red Wine, but Cider or White will do)
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
10 dashes Tabasco
1/2 to 1 tsp Liquid Smoke (oven recipe)

Trim meat of all external fat (fat gets rancid over time). Slice meat WITH grain into 1/2 " thick slices. Using fine side of tenderizing mallet, pound to 1/4" thick. Combine remaining ingredients (omit liquid smoke if drying in smoker). Marinate meat in liquid for 24 hrs, turning occasionally. Drain meat, and blot dry.

Move top rack in oven to it's highest point. Using paper clips bent into s-hooks, hand strips from rack, over a drip pan. Set oven between 140 and 150 F. Dry 6 -8 hours. Jerky is done when stiff or slightly pliable.

NOTE: If using an outdoor smoker, omit Liquid Smoke in marinade. Soak 1 cup of hardwood chips over night. Drain, and wrap tightly in HD foil. Poke a couple of holes in foil, and place on top of heat source. Smoker temp should be maintained about 140 to 150 degrees. An old fashioned oven thermometer is very helpful here, but halfway up the low heat section of your smoker's thermometer is usually about right.

Store up to 3 months in glass jars with tight fitting lids. 4-6 weeks in Ziplock bags.

ROAST CHICKEN - Cajun Style

I am not sure where I first came across this recipe. It has been a favorite of my family for many years. It is guaranteed to make a chicken that is moist , sticky, and just will force you to succumb to the temptation to lick your fingers.




ROAST CHICKEN - Cajun style
feeds 2 -4

for each whole broiler/fryer you will need:
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Paprika
3/4 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 lg Yellow Onion (chopped fine)
1 rib Celery (chopped fine)

Combine spices in small bowl. Rub mixture into chicken inside and out, making sure the spices are evenly distributed and rubbed into pores. Seal in a Ziplock bag and refrigerate for 24 hours. Stuff loosely with onion and celery and bake, uncovered, for 4 hours at 250F (three hours unstuffed), basting occasionally.

This recipe also works well with large roasting Chickens. Simply double the ingredients, and bake 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Let sit 10 minutes at room temperature and carve. I like to defat the pan juices, heat them, and pour over the white meat slices.

For Cajun Gravy:
Deglaze the pan with a splash of water. Pour into a large measuring measuring cup. Dissolve 2 tsp of instant Chicken bouillon in the pan water, then add enough whole Milk to equal 2 cups. Over medium heat, melt 2 Tbls Butter or Butter flavored Crisco. Stir in 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (see above spice mixture), and 3 Tbls Flour, and cook until mixture takes on peanut butter consistency. Whisk in milk mixture and heat until thickened.

JAMBALAYA

My kids love this recipe. It took many years to get it just right, but I really think this is as good as any I have ever had.

JAMBALAYA

1 Whole Chicken (3-4 lb.), giblets removed
3 1/2 cps clear Chicken Broth
1/4 cp White Cooking Wine
2 ave. Bay Leaves
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Basil
2 Ham Hocks
3 Tbls Oil
1 lg Green Bell Pepper, diced*
1 lg Yellow Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
4 ribs Celery, sliced
1 bunch Green Onions, sliced, including some of the tops
1/2 lb Smoked Sausage or Polish Sausage, sliced
1/8 cp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp Tabasco (please don't substitute, it's flavor is unique amongst hot sauces)
1 28oz can Whole Tomatoes (juice reserved), chopped
2 1/4 cps Long Grain White Rice, uncooked
4 oz. Tomato Sauce

In a large pot with a tight fitting lid (not cast iron), simmer the first 7 ingredients 1 hour. Remove and cool Chicken and Ham. Debone chicken, discarding skin and bones. Coarsely chop meat. Cut meat from hocks and chop. Strain and reserve stock. Saute vegetables in oil until the onions are clear. Add sausage and tomatoes to the pot. To the stock, add reserved juice, Worcestershire Sauce, and Tabasco, and enough water to equal 4 1/2 cups. Add to pot and bring to boil. Stir in Rice and Chicken, and reduce heat to very slow boil. Cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 20 minutes. Add more water if necessary. When rice is done, stir in Tomato Sauce, cover, remove from heat, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Serve with Cornbread or a nice crusty European bread, a cold salad, and a good Lager Beer or fresh brewed Iced Tea (I prefer Red Rose or Louisianne). A nice cobbler is an excellent choice for dessert!

* I occasionally use a combination of green and red peppers.

CAJUN BEANS AND RICE

This is one of my favorite meals! It is relatively easy to prepare and really tasty. It is especially good on a winters evening after sledding with the kids. It is also a great camping meal!

There are any numbers of variations on this meal. Instead of ham, I will sometimes use 1 1/2 lbs Pork Steak, boned, trimmed, cut into half inch cubes, and browned. I'll add an extra hock when I do this. Sometimes I'll use a pound of ground Pork, browned and crumbled. Sometimes I'll use smoked sausage instead of ham. Any way, this meal is always great.

CAJUN BEANS AND RICE

3 Tbls Oil
1 med Onion, chopped
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped, including tops
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 ribs Celery, sliced
1/2 and average Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Thyme
1 lg Bay Leaf
1 48 oz jar Pinto Beans*
2 14oz cans Chicken Broth
3 cps Ham, diced
1 smoked Pork Hock
4 cups water
1 Tbls Butter
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 cps Long Grain White Rice

In a large heavy pot, saute vegetables in oil until soft. Add all remaining ingredients except water, butter,salt, and rice. Simmer 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. With a fork, smash 20 or so beans against the side of the pot to thicken broth, stir, simmer 10 more minutes. Remove Pork hock and discard.

Meanwhile, about 10 minutes after Beans have started simmering, place water, butter, and salt in a large, heavy sauce pan (one with a tight fitting lid) and bring to a boil. Add rice. Return to boil, stirring. Reduce heat to slow boil, and cover. Cook 15 min. Do not stir. Do not peek! Remove Rice from stove, and let sit 10 minutes. Again, do not stir, do not peek! Fluff rice with a fork.

To serve: Spoon a mound of rice into the middle of a large soup bowl or plate. Ladle beans around the rice. Serves 6 - 8.

* You may use Red Beans instead, but I think this recipe is more flavorfull using Pinto Beans.

CAJUN STUFFED PEPPERS

I came across this recipe many years ago, in the Ft. Wayne Journal/Gazette. It comes from a feature where the recipes are drawn in cartoon form, titled CHEAP THRILLS CUISINE! The recipes come from Windsor/Toronto chef Bill Lombardo. Any how, I really love these. They are pretty low fat and really tasty! I have altered the recipe a bit (I always do), but it is pretty close to the original.


CAJUN STUFFED PEPPERS

1/4 cp Red Onion, finely diced
1/4 cp Red Bell Pepper, finely diced
1 Celery rib, finely diced
1/3 lb Smoked Sausage or Smoked Andoulle Sausage, diced small
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp Fennel Seed, crushed
1 cp cooked Long Grain White Rice
1 lb Ground Round, browned and crumbled
1 Egg
1/4 cp Corn (I use frozen, but canned or left over will do)
1/4 cp unseasoned Bread Crumbs
6 Bell Peppers, tops cut off and seeded (I prefer green)
1 14oz can Diced Tomatoes
3 Tbl Salsa (chose you own heat)

In a heavy skillet, saute first six ingredients in one Tbl of oil for 5 min. Combine with next 5 ingredients. Stuff peppers to overflowing. Combine tomatoes and salsa. Pour over stuffed peppers. Bake, covered,* 1 hour at 350F.

* I use a small porcelain roaster, but a large casserole or small (not cast iron) Dutch Oven will work just fine too!

BRAN MUFFINS

pictured: Refrigerator Bran Muffins

Here are two excellent, but very different recipes. The first batch are light in color with a delicate, nutty flavor. The second are darker, and bolder in taste and texture. They are both delicious, and share one thing in common. The batter will keep for up to a month in the refrigerator. So you can easily and quickly make muffins whenever the urge strikes!



GOLDEN BRAN MUFFINS

2 cps boiling Water
5 tsp Baking Soda
1 cp Butter (I use butter flavor Crisco)
2 cps Sugar
4 Eggs
4 cps All Bran
2 cps Bran Flakes
5 cps Flour
1 qt Buttermilk


Dissolve Soda in boiling Water, set aside to cool. In a very large mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Sugar, and Eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients by hand, adding Soda Water last.

Fill greased muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake at 375F for 25 to 35 minute, depending on size of muffins. Recipe makes 5 - 6 dozen muffins. Unused batter will store in refrigerator for up to a month.
**********************************************************************************
REFRIGERATOR BRAN MUFFINS

2 cps Flaked Bran (not cereal)
1 cp boiling Water
1/2 cup softened Butter (again, I use butter flavored Crisco)
1/2 cp dark Molasses
1/2 cp Sugar
2 Eggs
2 cps Buttermilk
2 cps All Bran
1 1/3 cps Whole Wheat Flour
1 cp unbleached Flour (or regular enriched Flour)
2 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine Flaked Bran and boiling Water in a large bowl, and let sit about 15 min. Meanwhile, cream together Butter, Molasses, and Sugar. Beat in Eggs, and add to Flaked Bran. Add Buttermilk and All Bran, stir to mix well. Sift together Flours, Soda, and Salt and add to mixture; stir until blended. Spoon into well greased muffin tins and bake about 20 min., or store in refrigerator, covered. Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen Muffins.

ROASTED BRISKET OF BEEF

Way back in the day, when Barb and Mark were kids (yeah, WAY back in the day), and Texas style BBQ was popular in, well, Texas, brisket was about the cheapest cut of beef you could buy. My mom found this recipe in the Pontiac Press, and, always looking for an inexpensive way to feed two very large appetites (my dad and me), decided to try it. Not only did it become an immediate family favorite, but for many years, it was the staple of church dinners.

Unfortunately, the growth of Texas BBQ has caused the price of brisket to soar, and it is no longer economical to serve as a church dinner staple. But it is still the single most demanded item for family dinners in my clan. This recipe is tremendously easy, very hard to screw up, and absolutely delicious. It works particularly well in an electric roaster, but does just fine in the oven as well!

ROAST BEEF BRISKET

wide roll Heavy Duty Aluminum foil
1 whole Brisket (NOT corned)
1 box (2 packets) Lipton's Onion Soup Mix

Place brisket fat side down on a double sheet of hd foil large enough to tightly wrap meat in. Spread two packets of onion soup mix across the top of the meat. Wrap tightly and place in roaster. Bake at 350 for 2 hours. Turn heat down to 325 and bake another 2 hours. Turn heat on roaster down to warm.* VERY carefully open foil package. Remove roast to cutting board, and pour liquid from the foil packet into the roaster. With an electric knife, slice meat across the grain in 1/4" slices and add to roaster. Spoon liquid over top of beef.

Any leftovers you might have (and around here that is rare) are wonderful heated and served over toast, or on a good hoagie roll!

* If you are baking in the oven, there are a couple of things you can do to keep the au jus and beef slices warm. If you have an electric griddle, place it on the table, thermostat on warm, and place roaster on top. Or you can transfer the liquid to your electric skillet, set on warm, and add slices to that. I prefer the former because it is one less pan to clean.

posted by mark

BILL KNAPP'S AU GRATIN POTATOES

As I believe I have mentioned before, for 25 years, Bill Knapp's was my family's favorite restaurant. I recently came across a number of recipes online, purporting to be from Knapp's. Quite frankly, I was dubious of a couple of them. So I used my kids as guinea pigs and fixed these for Thanksgiving dinner. I was very pleasantly surprised! They were a big hit! These recipes are in fact the real deal! So I am sharing them with you.

KNAPP'S AU GRATIN POTATOES

1 1/2 lbs Russet Potatoes
2 cps Milk
1/2 cp Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cp Flour
1 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 tsp instant Chicken Bullion granules
6 oz Velveeta Cheese

Night before, boil potatoes until easily pierced with fork, approx. 1/2 hour. Chill thoroughly. Next day, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2" cubes. Set aside. Melt Butter in a large sauce pan, add Salt and Flour and blend. Gradually stir in Milk and cook, stirring, till thickened. Add Paprika, Pepper, Bullion and Cheese. Cook, stirring, till cheese melts. Stir in Potatoes. Pour into greased casserole dish and bake, uncovered at 350 for about 1/2 hour, or until top start to get brown and bubbly.

Note: If you double this recipe, it fits nicely in a greased 9 x 13 pan. You can also divide this into individual cassolettes and bake, which is how Knapp's served it.

posted by Mark

MY NEW FAVORITE BISCUIT RECIPE

BILL KNAPP'S BISCUITS

8 tsp Sugar
3 cups Bisquick
1 cup Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs
2 Tbl Lemon Juice

In a large mixing bowl, stir together Bisquick and Sugar, just to combine. Set aside. Pour remaining ingredients into blender and blend on high about 30 sec, or until smooth and completely combined.* Add blender contents to Bisquick and stir with a heavy spoon until all particles are moistened, and dough begins to pull away from the bowl. Turn out onto a board floured with Bisquick. With floured hands, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 min.

Gently pat dough down to about 3/4 of an inch thickness. Dip a biscuit cutter or juice glass in Bisquick and cut biscuits. Arrange on a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Cover with damp linen or paper towel (never terry cloth, it leaves lint!), and let rise slightly, 30 to 45 min.

Bake at 450 about 15 min, or until tops golden brown. Brush tops with butter. I guarantee these are the lightest, fluffiest Biscuits you will ever find! Makes about 15 biscuits.

* You can also use a hand mixer on high speed for a couple of minutes.

Mom's Meatloaf

1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 lbs ground beef
2 tbls chopped onion
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce

Combine egg and milk; add bread crumbs and soak 10 minutes.

Add beef, onion, salt and pepper; mix lightly. Do not pack.

Place in a loaf pan or shape into a loaf on a shallow baking pan. Spread ketchup or chili sauce on the top.

Bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour.

MEATLOAF (Heavenly Midwestern Comfort Food)

Is there anything more hopelessly midwestern than meatloaf? Or any greater comfort food? Here are a couple of excellent loaves, and Barb is searching for our Mom's, so there may be a third one here soon!

MARK'S MEATLOAF

3 lbs Ground Beef
3 cps Bread Crumbs
2 pkgs Mrs. Grass' Onion Soup Mix
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 cp Milk
your favorite Meatloaf topping ( I use about a 50/50 mix of tomato paste and Heinz 57)

Unless you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, you're gonna have to get your hands messy. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together. Form into a loaf and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 80 min (that's one hour and twenty minutes for those of you in Crawford TX). Remove foil and bake about 25 min. Add topping, bake for 15 min.

BILL KNAPP'S MEATLOAF

4 slices White Bread
2 lbs Ground Round
1 cp Water
2 med Eggs
1 pkg Onion Soup Mix (4 serving size)
1 6oz can V-8 Juice
Catsup

In food processor or blender, process bread into soft crumbs, one slice at a time. Combine crumbs with beef, eggs, water, and soup mix. Beat with an electric mixer till fairly smooth. Drop mixture into a greased 9x5x3 Pyrex loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Carefully pour V-8 Juice around edges of meatloaf and bake 45 min longer. Brush Catsup on top and bake 5 min to glaze!

These are really great with Barb's FAT POTATOES or Jessiccarabbit's CHEESY TATERS

BISCUITS AND GRAVY (by request)

Biscuits and gravy have become a family tradition for Holiday breakfasts at our house. However, my sons are not content to keep this as just a special holiday treat. About once every couple of months I get a phone call requesting this recipe, so I am posting it where everyone can easily find it!

The biscuit recipe was adapted from the late Jeff Smith's book THE FRUGAL GOURMET COOKS AMERICAN. It is my favorite biscuit recipe!


BISCUITS
2 1/4 cp Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cp Shortening
1 cp Buttermilk

Sift together Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt. Cut in Shortening with a pastry blender until the texture of coarse corn meal. Using a fork, stir in Buttermilk. Do not over mix. Turn out onto a floured board and knead 3 or 4 times only. Gently pat out to about 1" thick. Cut into circles with a floured biscuit cutter or glass (I often just dip a chef's knife in flour and cut into 3" squares).

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven and heat about 7 min. Remove to stove top and melt 2 Tbls Shortening in the skillet (I use butter flavored Crisco). Place biscuits in skillet, then quickly turn each biscuit over. Return to oven, and bake until golden brown, around 10 min. You may have to do in two batches.

If you don't have a large cast iron skillet, you can bake these on a greased cookie sheet on 425 for about 15 min. Brush the tops with butter.

OLD FASHIONED SAUSAGE GRAVY
2 lbs good quality Whole Hog Sausage (Purnell or Tennessee Pride work very well)
9 Tbls Flour
6 cps Whole Milk (heated almost to boiling)
Pepper

In a heavy cast roaster or Dutch oven, break up sausage and brown over medium heat until thoroughly cooked. Drain, reserving 6 Tbls of fat*. Heat fat over medium heat, and stir in flour. Cook, stirring, until flour takes on the texture and color of peanut butter. Whisk in milk, and return sausage to pan. Liberally grind pepper over top. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

* If using a premium sausage like Jimmy Deans or Bob Evans, you may have to add some butter or shortening, to make it to 6T of fat.

posted by Mark

BILL KNAPP'S ORANGE NUT BREAD

Before they closed their doors in 2002, Bill Knapp's Restaurants were a 54 year tradition in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. They were famous for their Birthday celebrations (you got 1 % off your bill for every year you lived!), their fabulous cakes, out of this world biscuits, au gratin potatoes, and good honest home cooking. They had the best fried chicken I have ever had anywhere. Mom and Dad loved the steaks. The ex and my daughter always got the Chicken Fricassee or the meatloaf. They had a very loyal clientele, and when they finally closed the doors on their last 26 restaurants in 2002, there were legions of disappointed people. My son and daughter-in -law still talk about how much they miss Knapps.

Awrey Bakery in Detroit still makes the cakes and markets them under the Bill Knapp's name. They are available at Meijer stores.

The following recipe is for my Dad's favorite:

Bill Knapp"s ORANGE NUT BREAD

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Grease an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Melt butter in boiling water. Add orange rind, orange juice, sugar,
vanilla and beaten egg and blend.
Sift dry ingredients over orange mixture. Add nuts.
Stir just until flour is damp. Batter will be lumpy.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

posted by Mark

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK with WOW WOW SAUCE, and it's Irish cousin COLCANNON

Even though my Mom's family was English, I never had this dish until about 25 years ago, when a small tavern specializing in traditional English food opened in Commerce MI. The tavern is appropriately named BUBBLE AND SQUEAK, and it is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere!



BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

2 1/2 cps shredded Cabbage (about 1 lb)
3 Tbl Bacon drippings or Butter
1 med Onion, chopped
2 cps coarsely mashed Potatoes (about 1 lb)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp ground Black Pepper
1 lb thinly sliced cooked Roast Beef or Corned Beef

Plunge Cabbage in a pan of boiling salted water, cook 5 mins,, thoroughly drain in colander.
Heat a heavy 10" skillet over medium heat. Melt drippings, add Onions, and cook till soft. About 5 min. Lightly press on cabbage with the back of your spatula to remove any remaining moisture, and add to the onions. Stir in potatoes, salt and pepper. Press mixture down lightly with spatula. Lower heat to med. low. Top with slices of meat. Cook, covered, about 15 min. Do not stir. Remove cover, and cook 10 - 15 min, till bottom is nicely browned. If you listen, closely, you should hear how the dish got it's name! While dish is cooking, prepare sauce.

WOW WOW SAUCE

2 Tbls Butter
2 Tbls minced Onion
2 Tbls Flour
1 cp Beef stock
1 Tbl White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbl English style Mustard
1/2 tsp prepared Horseradish
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper

In a 1 1/2 qt. sauce pan, melt Butter over med heat. Add onion, stirring constantly, until soft but not brown. Stir in flour and cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add stock all at once and whisk until smooth. Stir in all remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 min.

Invert skillet contents onto plate. Cut Bubble and Squeak into wedges, and serve with sauce. Serves 6

COLCANNON

I like this served with Corned Beef at FIDDLER'S HEARTH here in South Bend.

2 lbs Potatoes, peeled and cut into eights
2 tsp Salt (divided)
4 slices Irish Bacon (if unavailable, use American)
4 cps shredded Cabbage
1 1/2 cp Green Onions or Leeks, finely chopped (if using Leeks, use white part only)
1/3 cp Milk
1/4 cp butter (melted)
1/8 tsp Pepper

In medium sauce pan, bring 1/2" water to boil. Add Potatoes, 1 tsp Salt, cover, and cook 15 - 20 mins, till fork tender. Drain thoroughly.

Meantime, in large, heavy skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove and drain, reserving drippings. In the reserved drippings, saute Cabbage and Onions, with 1/2 tsp salt, until soft and translucent. Covering pan helps vegetables cook faster.

In a large bowl, beat together potatoes , milk, remaining salt, and pepper until light and fluffy. Fold in Cabbage, Onions and crumbled Bacon. Make a well in the middle and pour in melted Butter. This goes really well with Corned Beef and Wow Wow Sauce!

posted by Mark

TARTE AU SUCRE JAUNE

This is an old recipe that has it's origins in French Canada. The Amish call it MILICHE FLITCHE (Poor Man's Pie), and add a bit of cinnamon.. The Cajuns top it with Meringue. Down south, it's just called BROWN SUGAR PIE. I found this recipe in the University of North Carolina's student newspaper, along with a story about a homesick student bringing a bit of grandma's house to campus. I decided to try it, and really liked it.

There are dozens of variations of this on the internet! So you might want to look for one that strikes your fancy! But I thought this was very tasty.

BROWN SUGAR PIE

2 unbaked Pie Shells
1 lb Brown sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cp Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp Vanilla

Whisk together Brown Sugar, Eggs, Condensed Milk and Vanilla. Pour into shells. Bake at 450 for 10 min, then 350 for 20 min. Serve warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.

French Bread

I love homemade bread or rolls with soup or stew when the weather is cool. I usually make this into hard rolls topped with poppy seeds rather than loaves--or sometimes I make it into bread sticks. Bread lovers--enjoy!

7 - 7-1/4 cups flour
2 packages active dry yeast
1 tlbs sugar
1 tbls salt
1 tbls cooking oil
2-1/2 cups warm water
yellow cornmeal
1 egg white

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (follow temperature instructions on yeast package). Add sugar, salt, oil and remaining water. Mix in about 4 cups of the flour, and continue adding flour until dough can be turned out onto floured board or cloth and kneaded. Knead, adding flour as needed, until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes). Let rise until double in size. Punch down and divide into four parts. Cover and let rise 10 minutes. Roll each part in a 12x8 inch rectangle. Roll into loaves and taper ends. Place seam side down on greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Gash tops of loaves 1/2 -- 1/4 inch deep every 2-1/2 inches.

Beat egg white till foamy. Add 1 tbls water. Brush tops and sides of loaves. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush again and bake 20 minutes longer.

Barb

Chocolate Lover's Pizza

This is an absolute favorite among the teens (and adults) of our youth group.

1 Nestle's Toll House chocolate chip refrigerator cookie roll
.5 cup peanut butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
assorted candy bars, chopped; my favorite comination:
2 Butterfingers
2 pkgs Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2 pkgs Reese's Peanut Butter Sticks
2 Kit Kats
1 Milky Way
1 Snickers

Press cookie dough onto an ungreased pizza pan or into a 9x13 inch cake pan. Bake about 14 minutes, or just until set. Remove from oven and drop peanut butter by spoonfuls on cookie. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit 5 minutes, then spread. Top with chopped candy. Let cool. Cut into wedges or squares.

Note: You can use Oatmeal Scotchies dough or any other flavor you like for the crust.

Barb

Barb's Crockpot Chili

This is my adaption of my mom's chili recipe. I still prefer it made on the stove, but this is close.

For a 6-qt crockpot:

1-1/2 lbs ground beef, browned
3 cans dark red kidney beans with liquid
1 large can tomato juice
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
2-3 tbls chili powder (I like McCormick's)

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high 5-6 hours or on low 8 or more hours. I quite often just let it cook overnight.

Barb

Pudding Cake

I finally found it--Mom's Pudding Cake Recipe! This is one of Mark's favorites.

1. In an oblong pan, 13x9x2, mix 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa. Then stir in 2 cups water.

2. Cut 13 marshmallows into quarters and scatter over mixture.

3. Spoon devil's food cake batter over this. Top with 1 cup broken nut meats (Mom would have used walnuts--I prefer pecans). Bake at 350 degrees 45 to 50 minutes. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

If anyone is interested, I have a recipe similar to this for Hot Fudge Cake which is on the 'heart smart' list, with less than 30% of its calories from fat. I also have a pudding cake recipe made in the crockpot. It's actually quite good.

Barb

THREE HEARTY FALL SOUPS FOR CHEDDAR LOVERS

I love Cheddar cheese! The first recipe I have had for years and made often. It makes a great dinner served with a salad and good crusty bread. The second recipe I found just the other day, and tried for the first time Friday night. It was just excellent! The last one I found just this morning, but it sounded so good, I thought I'd include it anyhow! Serve these with a good bread, or better yet, Shuler's Bar Chips!



TILLAMOOK SOUP (from Tabasco's 16 CLASSIC AMERICAN RECIPES)

1 stick unsalted Butter
1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
2 large Russet Potatoes, grated coarsely grated
2 lg. Garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp ground Mace
1/4 tsp Thyme
4 cps. Chicken Broth
2 cps Half and Half
8 oz extra sharp Tillamook Cheddar Cheese (or any high quality extra sharp Cheddar ), coarsely shredded
2 tsp Tabasco
1 cp thinly sliced Black Olives (pitted)

Melt butter in a large saute pan over low heat. Add onions, garlic, and potatoes. Saute, stirring often, for fifteen minutes. Add mace and thyme, continue stirring for three minutes. Add chicken broth, heat until just boiling, then simmer gently for 30 min.

Puree sauce pan contents in food processor or blender. Return to pan, stir in Half and Half, and heat, stirring constantly 2 or 3 mins. Add cheese and Tabasco, and heat over very low heat until cheese is melted. DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL, or soup may curdle. Remove from heat.

Stir in olives. Salt to taste.

Note: I HATE Black Olives. I always omit them. I sometimes add some steamed broccoli instead for my daughter's benefit.
***************************************************************************************
BEER CHEESE SOUP

1/2 cp Butter
4 cp Chicken Broth
16 oz. grated sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cp Flour
1 1/2 cp Cream
6 oz Beer
1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cp Chives
--------------
In heavy pan, melt butter and mix with flour until blended. Heat over low flame for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and cream gradually. Cook, stirring, until smooth and thickened. Add cheese, mix till smooth and melted. Add beer and worcestershire sauce. Mix in chives. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly.

Serves 8

Note: this recipe was posted in comments on a blog (tabasamu.blogspot.com) by this person: http://franklysaurkraut.blogspot.com
*************************************************************************************

BEER CHEESE SOUP #2 (from tillamookcheese.com)

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
3/4 cup dark beer
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon crushed red chilies, chopped
2 cups premium (Black Diamond, Tillamook, Cracker Barrel)extra sharp Cheddar, shredded

1. Heat butter in saute pan. Add flour and cook on low heat. Stir mixture until it starts to bubble. Do not allow to brown.

2. Pull off fire and set aside. Heat milk in sauce pan until it's ready to boil. Add garlic, salt,pepper, and crushed chilies. Stir mixture until just before boiling.

3. Add half of flour/butter mixture (Roux) and stir with wire whisk until at a low simmer. Additional Roux may be added to thicken. Stir constantly to avoid burning.

4. Turn down heat and add cheese and beer. Stir to allow cheese to melt. Texture should be smooth to the touch. May be reheated on low temp. (Do not boil.)

serves 4

posted by Mark

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

One of my favorite cookbooks is one I ordered through the mail from Tabasco many, many years ago. It's called 16 CLASSIC AMERICAN RECIPES (and the stories of how they began). Unfortunately, it is no longer available. In the next few days I am going to be posting some hearty recipes for fall, several of which come from this book. I'll also try to paraphrase the stories of the recipes origin.

Country Captain Chicken is one of my all time favorite recipes! It is a very southern curry dish that has it's origins with the spice traders who sailed into Savannah from the Spice Islands. It was one of Franklin Roosevelt"s favorite dishes, and he always requested it when he was in residence at the resort in Warm Springs, GA. I served this at carry ins a number of times, always with great success. Now, if I could just find Grandma Clarke's recipe for Currant Tarts, which I used to serve along with it!

Ingredients:
2 3lb Chickens (fryers) , quartered (or cut up)
1 cp Flour, seasoned with 2 tsp Salt, 1 tsp. Paprika, 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1/3 cp Peanut Oil (any oil will work, but I prefer peanut because of its higher burning temp)
3 Tbls. Bacon drippings
2 lg. Yellow Onions, chopped
3 lg. Bell Peppers (I usually use 2 green, 1 red)
3 lg. Garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbls. Curry Powder
1 28 oz can tomatoes (reserve liquid and chop tomatoes)
2 tsp. Tabasco
1 cp. Currants
2 cps. Long Grain Rice (cook as directed)

Directions:
Dredge Chicken pieces in seasoned flour and let sit on cooling racks for about ten minutes. In a large dutch oven (NOT cast iron) or high sided skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Brown chicken pieces, remove from pot and drain. Remove all but two Tbls. Oil from the pot. Add Bacon drippings and saute the Onions, Peppers, Garlic and Curry Powder over med. low heat until soft. Add Tomatoes w/juice, and Tabasco. Push Chicken pieces down into sauce and spoon some sauce over top of pieces. Adjust heat so liquid bubbles gently. Cover and cook for thirty minutes. Add Currants,cover, and cook for thirty minutes more or until Chicken is tender. Taste for salt and add as needed. Serve with Rice.

Caramel Dip for Apples

Ahh..another apple recipe for fall. This is every bit as good as it is simple!

Ingredients:
--one can sweetened condensed milk (either Eagle Brand or Carnation--store brands do not work as well)
--a little butter--maybe 1/2 tbls or so (or you can omit this, but the caramel won't be as rich)

Place the unopened can in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring water to boil. Boil for about an hour and a half, turning can over once or twice. Let can sit on the counter for a few minutes and then open and pour into bowl. (If you open too soon the contents will spurt out all over the place--trust me!) Add butter and mix.

Enjoy!

Barb

Apple Torte with Caramel Sauce

Hi! I'm so depressed that fall is creeping in so close. I know it is though, because the mice are moving inside (good thing I have cats!) and I was just attacked by the first Asian Lady Beetle of the year. On the bright side, fall does bring with it fresh apples. This is a very nice recipe that I was first served at a Ladies' Group at a church in Port Huron.

Cream:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar

Add:
1 beaten egg
2 cups diced apples
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Bake in greased 8" square pan 45 min at 350 degrees.

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coffee cream
1 tsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in pan. Boil 1 to 2 minutes. Serve warm over torte.

Barb

Grandma Clarke's Fish 'n Chips

Much as I love beer batter fish, this is still my favorite!

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder (not soda!)
1/2 tsp salt
enough water to make a batter about the consistency of thin pancake batter (probably just a little more than 1 cup)

Dip your fish (or your potato slices--see Mark's recipe) in batter. Deep fry until just golden. Drain on paper towels. Blanch your french fries in the oil and drain them on paper towels, as well. Then fry everything again until nicely browned--frying twice makes your fish 'n chips nice and crisp--never soggy!

Side note: I know this sounds really gross--and I've never tried eating them--but a college roommate of mine loved deep fried dill pickles (said in Ohio, they actually had fast food chains that served them); I fried some pickles in this batter (whole pickles, not sliced) and she loved them.

Barb

FABULOUS FRIED FISH (AND OTHER THINGS)

FRIED FISH
This recipe comes originally from an Ojibwa guide in Minnesota. I got it from a book published by the people who make Rapala and Normark filet knives titled HOW TO CLEAN A MESS OF FISH WITHOUT MAKING A MESS OF THE FISH. It is wonderfully simple!

ingredients:

2 cps Aunt Jemima's Original pancake mix (do NOT use any of the just add water variety)
1/2 tsp Salt
flat beer

combine pancake mix and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in enough beer to make a thin batter. Batter should be just thick enough to cling to fish fillets.

In deep fryer, dutch oven or deep skillet, heat peanut oil to 360 degrees (if using skillet, you need at least 2" of oil). Dip filets in batter then plunge into the oil, a few pieces at a time. When edges start to brown, turn the filets and cook a couple of mins more, until entire filet is nice and golden brown.

This recipe works particularly well with Haddock, Sole, Cod, White Perch, Yellow Perch and Smelt. It may over power Walleye a bit (I prefer my Walleye dredged in Martha Whites Self Rising White Cornmeal (with salt and pepper) and panfried.

This is also a marvelous Onion Ring batter. And try making " Specials", potato slices (about 1/4") dipped in batter and deep fried. My very English grandmother explained the name this way. Potatoes deep fried are just chips, but potatoes battered and deep fried are "special"

My sister has my grandmother Clarke's FISH AND CHIPS recipe. Perhaps she could be coaxed into publishing it!

posted by Mark

SOME BBQ RECIPES FOR LABOR DAY

With Labor Day weekend coming up soon, I thought a few more recipes for the grill might be in order.

Grilled Stuffed Chicken Breast - A few years ago, I had a LTR with a woman with four children ranging from early teen to young adult. Of all the things we did on the grill, this was her kids favorite. For Karen and Daniel:

INGREDIENTS (for each serving you need)
a boneless Chicken Breast fillet (half of a whole boneless breast)
1 slice Muenster Cheese, folded in thirds
1 pc thickly sliced Bacon (or, in the case of WC, SME, and Mr. A, Back Bacon)
a fruity BBQ GLAZE, like Teriyaki, Hawaiian, or Cherry

With a tenderizing mallet, pound breast thin and flat. Place the folded Muenster Cheese in center. Wrap like you would a burrito, ends first, and secure with toothpicks. Secure one end of Bacon slice to end of Chicken with a toothpick, and wrap around to other end securing with toothpick. Place seam side down, directly over coals. Cook about 10 min, or until bacon crisps a bit (you may want to keep spray bottle of water handy to control flare ups). Turn seam side up, spread with glaze, cover grill, and cook about 10 min more, or till bacon crisps.

Alternative recipe - prepare coals as for Pulled Pork BBQ. Flatten Chicken Breast with mallet. In center, place one slice Canadian Bacon (or for SME, WC, and Mr. A, Bacon) and folded Muenster Cheese. Wrap like you would a burrito, securing with toothpicks. When coals and chips are ready, place seam side up over drip pan, cover grill, and cook about 50 min. Pour on glaze, cover grill, and cook about 10 mins, or till sauce starts to carmelize.

Fabulous Country Ribs
I much prefer Country Ribs to their much less meaty cousins, Spare Ribs!

Prepare grill as described for Pulled Pork. Rub down ribs with KC Masterpiece Rub or Lowery's Seasoned Salt. Add a kettle of boiling water to the drip pan, and arrange ribs on grill over pan. Cover grill and cook until easily pierced with a fork, about 75 mins. Remove to plate.

Remove grill and empty the water from the drip pan. Return pan and grill and arrange ribs over pan. Liberally spread ribs with your favorite BBQ Sauce. Cover grill and cook until sauce starts to carmelize, 10-15 min.

Perfect Roasted Corn On the Cob
Soak unshucked ears in bucket of water for at least a half an hour. Place ears on grill directly over coals. Grill, turning frequently till outside leaves are thoroughly charred. Pull leaves off ear (the silk will amazingly come right off with the leaves). Serve with butter, salt and Parmesan Cheese.

Serve with Skillet Beans, Barb's Mexican Salad, and Mom's Strawberry Refrigerator Cake, and you'll have a Labor Day to really celebrate!

Ice Cream Topping

The original recipe for this came from the Detroit Free Press and is supposed to be an imitation of Sanders' Hot Fudge. It is very rich and absolutely delicious--here is my version:

Bring to boil in 2 quart saucepan:

2 sticks butter
1 cup simple syrup (fill a jar a little more than 3/4's full with sugar and then fill to within about an inch of the top with warm water. Shake well and let sit until sugar is dissolved.)
12 oz. Nestle's milk chocolate chips (actually I think they now come in 11 oz bags--still works)

Add one can sweetened condensed milk and return just to boil.

Done! Serve warm:)

Variations: try using semi-sweet chocolate chips (my favorite), Butterscotch chips (best to use Nestle's--they melt the smoothest), or Reese's Peanut Butter chips. Ummm...they're all good!

Makes about 5 cups.

Barb

Mexican Salad

This is a do-it-yourself, layered salad. It's Katie's favorite--she always requests it for her birthday dinner (and so, usually, does Krista)!

Salad Ingredients:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Green Pepper
Onion
Cheese
Ranch Dressing
Fritoes

Meat Mixture:
1 lb ground beef
(1) 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 package taco seasoning mix (I usually use Ortega)

Brown ground beef and add remaining ingredients. Simmer until mixture cooks down and thickens. Serve warm.

Okay, so here's the plan: On your plate layer Fritoes, then lettuce, then meat, then cheese. Top with desired veggies and Ranch dressing. Enjoy!

Barb

GRAHAM CRACKER/BANANA CAKE, and easy Snack Cookies

When I was a kid, this was absolutely my favorite desert! It still ranks pretty high on my list. I'm not sure where my mom got this recipe, but I suspect it might be the Womens Home Companion Cookbook (circa 1941).

This is a terrifically easy no bake recipe that you can expand infinitely depending on the size of the crowd. Each cake serves about 6.

1 stack Graham Crackers (1/4 box)
bananas, sliced 1/4" thick

Buttercream Frosting
1 lb Powdered Sugar
1 stick Butter (softened)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cp milk

place a graham cracker on a plate. Cover with a layer of banana slices. Repeat until you've used up the crackers (ending with a cracker on top).

In a mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter, milk and vanilla till smooth and fluffy. Frost cake.

Let this cake sit a few hours before serving so the crackers soften. Mom always sliced this cake. I prefer to cut it in quarters so everyone gets big pieces and plenty of frosting!

What to do with left over frosting?
mix in some peanut butter and/or cocoa. apply to a graham cracker in a thick layer. top with another graham cracker. duplicate this process until you've run out of frosting. call the kids. serve with milk.

VACATION AT THE LAKE

The Spurrier and Patch families are on VACATION at beautiful Weko Beach on the shores of Lake Michigan. Be back with a recipe or two on Aug. 1

ONE SKILLET MEALS

It's camping season! But much of the upper Midwest and West are suffering severe drought, which means fire restrictions. No roasting wieners over an open fire, no fire roasted chicken or ribs, no flame broiled burgers or NY Strips. When I can't stick something on the end of a stick and cook it over a fire, I like to keep my meals as simple as possible. Which means one pot meals. I take liberal advantage of Vigo one package meals like Red beans and Rice or Santa Fe Rice. Add water and a little ham, smoked sausage and or chicken, and in twenty minutes you have a meal. Fried Spam and egg sandwiches are also a staple in dry weather camping. Add a slice of Muenster cheese and a little spicy brown mustard...mmmmmm, hog heaven!

Here are 3 extremely easy one skillet meals, perfect for camping.

Breakfast Skillet:
1lb breakfast Sausage
1 med Onion, chopped
1 med Bell Pepper, chopped (optional)
1 16 oz pkg Hash Browns, thawed (or if using dried, reconstituted)
1 doz. Eggs, scrambled
8 0z sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (or 8 slices American cheese)

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, break up sausage and brown. Add onions and cook, stirring, until they start to soften. Add Hash Browns, continue cooking, turning occasionally, until potatoes start to brown. Stir in eggs, cover and cook about five minutes or so, until eggs begin to set and just start to brown. Use a spatula and turn eggs over in sections, pressing on whole mess lightly. Cover and cook till eggs are completely set. Top with cheese, cover, and cook till cheese is melted (around 90 secs or so). Serves 6 to 8

Vacation Hash:
2 T Butter
1 small Onion, chopped
2 cans Roast Beef (these are about the size of a large can of tuna)
2 16oz cans diced Irish Potatoes, drained

Melt butter in large skillet. Add onions, saute until just soft. Add roast beef with gravy, and potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, till meat and potatoes start to brown. Serves 3 to 4.

Western Skillet Rice:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 env. Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
1 1/2 cp Water
3/4 cp long grain White Rice or Converted Rice (NO MINUTE RICE!)
1 16oz can stewed Tomatoes
1 6oz can Peas
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

In medium skillet, break up and brown meat, stirring frequently. Stir in onion soup mix, water, rice, tomatoes and peas (with liquid). Simmer, covered, about 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Top with cheese. Makes 4-6 servings.

THREE GRILLED GAME HEN RECIPES

You can fit about 10 22oz hens on your 22" Weber Kettle.

JUICE CAN CORNISH GAME HENS

For each game hen you will need:
1 lunchbox size can of juice, paper removed
1 half gallon ziplock bag
jam (the same flavor as the juice)

Remove paper from juice can. Pop top of juice can, and pour 2/3 of can into a zip lock bag, saving remaining juice in can. Add 1 cleaned Cornish game hen (Parson's Nose removed) to bag, seal and refridgerate 4 to 6 hours, turning every hour. Refridgerate juice cans.

Set up grill for indirect heat, as described HERE. Remove hens from bags, rub with salt and pepper. Discard juice. Carefully slide juice can into the cavity, opening facing up, so that top of can is completely inside cavity, but at least half the can sticks out. Arrange hens over drip pan breast side up, so drumsticks and cans face coals. Cover and grill about 60 min, basting with marmalade/jam 3 or 4 times in the last 20 minutes.

Remove hens to cutting board, and carefully remove cans. Cut in half by inserting a heavy knife into cavity and cutting along backbone. Turn and cut along breastbone. Each hen serves two.

BBQ GAME HENS

Marinade (enough for 4 hens)

1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 minced garlic clove
1 minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 to 4 canned chipotle chilies, chopped

Mix together all ingredients and chill for several hours in a covered jar. Shake well.

Split hens in half, as described above. Place halves in a non metallic dish and pour marinade over. Cover and refridgerate 3 hours, turning pieces at least once.

Grill directly over coals, searing each side for 3 minutes. Place skin side down, cover grill, and cook 15 min. Turn pieces, baste with your favorite BBQ sauce, and cook for 10 min. Baste again and remove to platter. Serves 8.

GRILLED HONEY-LIME GAME HENS (from Weber)

Marinade:
1/2 cp Lime jc.
6 Tbls Oil
4 Tbls Honey
4 tsp chopped, fresh Thyme
4 tsp chopped, fresh Rosemary
2 clove Garlic, minced
**************
4 Cornish Game Hens
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp ground Black Pepper
2 Tbls chopped fresh Cilantro


Halve hens as directed above. Place in large ziplock bag and pour marinade over top. Seal, refridgerate for 2 hours, turning bag frequently.

Set up grill for indirect heat. Remove hens from bag and reserve marinade. Rub pieces with salt, paprika and pepper. Place skin side down over drip pan and cover grill. Cook 25-30 min, or until juice runs clear. Remove hens to platter.

In sauce pan, heat reserved marinade to a boil. Allow to boil for one minute. Pour marinade over hens. Spinkle with Cilantro. Serves 8

This dish goes really well with herbed rice, or black beans and rice.

CROWD PLEASING CHILI

. What is a gathering, especially of guys, without a big pot of chili! This makes 10 to 15 bowls, depending on your generosity! I have a large, heavy aluminum stock pot and usually triple this recipe for a cookout!

2 lbs Ground Chuck
1 large Spanish Onion, chopped
4 Garlic cloves, minced
4 dried Pasidlla Chilies, seeded and chopped fine*
3/4 cup Chili Powder
1 Tbl Oregano
28 oz can Whole Tomatoes, chopped (juice reserved)
1 tsp Tabasco
3 cps Water
6 oz Tomato Paste
48 0z jar Pinto Beans (drained)

Brown ground beef, drain, reserve. Saute onions, garlic, chilies till onions are almost clear. Add chili pwd, oregano, bay leaves, saute 2 min. Add chopped tomato, saute 2 min. Add juice, tabasco, water, tomato paste, and beans. simmer 1 hour

* I use an old coffee mill

BEER BUTT TURKEY

I offer this as a continuing part of our outdoor cooking for a crowd theme:

Since Dad passed away on the last day of 1989, Barb's husband Tim has been the champion turkey griller in the family. I have done some really kick hinder grilled turkeys, but none somehow quite as good as Tim's. Till this year. At least, that's what my son Steven says. The great thing about this method of cooking turkey is that the white meat stays wonderfully moist! And cooking times are reduced about 25%. Try this, I GUARANTEE you'll love it!

You'll need:

1 Turkey, thawed
commercial Poultry Seasoning
1 Foster' Oil Can (24oz or 32oz)
Squeeze Parkay

24-48 hours before grilling, prepare turkey by removing giblets and washing thoroughly inside and out. Pat dry (inside and out). Cut off "Parson's Nose" (that triangular piece of fatty flesh at the turkey's butt. Rub a generous amount of poultry seasoning into skin and cavity of bird. Cover (I use oven roasting bag). Refrigerate.

Prepare Kettle as described in PULLED PORK BBQ.*

Remove half the contents of the Foster's can (I know how I would go about this, but you use your own judgment). Center turkey over the drip pan. With the keyhole side facing UP, slide the Foster's can into the birds cavity so about half the can is left exposed. Cover grill. After every hour, add 9 coals to each side and brush the bird with Squeeze Parkay. Cooking time is about 12-15 min per pound.

* always use charcoal briquets made from real wood like Kingsford (hickory) or Royal Oak (white oak). Most cheaper brands like Great Lakes or your store brands are made of pressed carbon. The flavor they impart in your food is entirely different than that of the wood based coals.

BBQ BRISKET, Texas Style

BBQ Brisket, Texas Style
Originally uploaded by greatwhitebear70.

It used to take me about 12 hours to make this. Then, at a canoe rally, I ran into a chef from Ft. Wayne who taught me this great shortcut. It works wonderfully, and cuts cooking time to about 4 hours.

1 cup soaked Mesquite Chips
1 or 2 whole Beef Briskets
Sauce

A day or two before you are going to Q, rub down brisket with your favorite rub (I prefer KC Masterpiece).

Step 1: On one side of your kettle, light a small pile of about 15 charcoal briquets. Wrap your wood chips tightly in heavy duty foil and poke a few holes in the top. Place on top of fully lit coals. Place your brisket on grill over a drip pan (I usually use a disposable foil roaster) as far from coals as possible. You can do 2 briskets by overlapping the narrow ends until you have close to uniform thickness. When smoke begins to pour out of the foil packet, place lid on kettle and cook for about one hour.

Step 2: Remove Brisket and wrap tightly in heavy duty foil.* Move drip pan to middle of kettle. On opposite side of burning coals, make a pile of 28 coals and light. Add enough coals to burning side to make a pile roughly even with the other side. When the coals in the new pile are mostly covered with grey ash (about 25 min), place brisket over drip pan, replace lid, and cook about 3 hours (31/2 if doing two), adding 9 briquets to each side every hour.

Step 3: Remove Brisket from grill. On stove top, heat up a pan full of sauce. Remove brisket from foil to a cutting board. Slice thinly across the grain (electric knife works SO well for this). In Texas, they would serve the beef like this on a plate with the sauce on the side. I prefer to slice the beef into the sauce, cook it till the sauce starts to thicken, and serve on good bakery buns. Your option!

* you can cook brisket in your oven on 350 for about 3 hours, or follow instructions for grill.

posted by Mark

Strawberry Dip

This is the easiest recipe ever! It goes great with a barbecue, or any time you want to serve fresh fruit.

8 oz vanilla yogurt
8 oz sour cream
1 small pkg Instant Vanilla Pudding

Blend ingredients and serve with fresh strawberries.

PULLED PORK BBQ

In keeping with today's theme on my blog, I thought I'd post some recipes dealing with outdoor cooking for a crowd. The instructions are for cooking on a 27" Weber Kettle, but these can easily be adapted to use with a smoker. Need help, let me know!

First, a word about the sauce. I have tried a myriad of different sauce recipes, some highly successful, some not so much. But the truth is, there are so many really great sauces on the market, it seems foolish to go to the trouble of making your own. So, my sauce for pork and chicken: 2 bottles Rasta Joe's BBQ sauce (mild) + 1 bottle Hunt's Hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ sauce + 1 bottle Heinz 57 sauce + just enough water to rinse the bottles.

The day before you are going to make your Q, prepare a whole pork shoulder* (uncured picnic ham) by cutting off the rind and excess fat. Rub down with a good BBQ rub (I like KC Masterpiece), place in a plastic bag (I use an oven bag), secure tightly, and refrigerate about 24 hours, or up to three days.

Soak 2 cps wood chips (hickory, white oak, or any fruit wood work well with pork) in water for a couple of hours. Drain. Place 1 cp wood chips on each of 2 squares of foil, and fold into tight packets. Pierce the top of each packet once with a fork.

Place a large drip pan in the middle of the coal grate of your Kettle. I usually use a disposable foil roasting pan with the edges turned up. On each side of the pan, place 28 coals. Light them and let them burn till they are mostly covered with ash, about 30 min. Place a foil packet on each bed of coals.

Place cooking grate on kettle so that handles are centered above the coals (this is important!) Center pork shoulder(s)** over drip pan. Cover and cook about 4 hours (or till internal temp hits 165), adding 9 coals to each side every hour. When done, remove to a rack to cool slightly.

Pour sauces into a large, heavy pot. Using heavy rubber gloves (like Bluettes), shred the meat with the grain and into the sauce. Simmer BBQ on stove top about half our or so, or until sauce starts to thicken. Serve on good bakery buns (I prefer Onion Rolls or Kaisers). A 10lb. pork shoulder makes about 15-20 large sandwiches.

* equal poundage of Boston Butt Roast works just as well.
**with care, you can get as many as three shoulders on at once

Mark

Chocolate Sheet Cake

As requested by Big Brother, this is the sheet cake recipe Mom used. It is similar to 'Texas Sheet Cake', but uses buttermilk instead of sour cream.

CAKE

Mix in large bowl and set aside:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

Combine in saucepan:
1 stick butter
4 tbls cocoa (Mom used 6)
1/2 cup Crisco (Mom would have eliminated the butter and used all Crisco)
1 cup water
Bring to boil, stirring well, and pour over sugar and flour.

Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk with 1 tsp soda
Mix well--it will be thin.

Pour onto large, greased cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

FROSTING:

(Start 5 minutes before cake is done)

In saucepan combine:
1/3 cup milk
1 stick butter
4 tbls cocoa (very generous)
Bring to boil and remove from heat.

Add:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Spread over hot cake as it comes from the oven.

In the eleven years Tim and I have been back in this church, I don't think there's been a single potluck (and we have many!) where this cake has not shown up!

Barb

BUTTERMILK PECAN CHICKEN (from the Patchwork Quilt Restaurant, Middlebury IN

The Patchwork Quilt is one of the most famous, and best, restaurants in northern Indiana. Reservations must be made weeks ahead (months ahead on weekends). It draws regular visitors from Chicago, Ft. Wayne, Cleveland, Detroit. This is one of their more popular dishes.

2 fryers (cut up)
1/2 cp Margarine
1 cp Buttermilk
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 cp all purpose Flour
1 cup ground pecans
1 Tbls Paprika
1 Tbls Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper
1/4 cp Sesame Seeds
1/4 cp Pecan halves

Melt margarine in a 13x9x2 baking dish. In a shallow dish, combine buttermilk and egg. In another shallow dish, combine flour, ground pecans, paprika, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds. Dip each chicken piece in the buttermilk mixture, then the pecan mixture.* Place each chicken piece skin side down in melted margarine, then turn chicken pieces to coat and place skin side up in the baking dish. Place pecan halves on each chicken piece. Bake at 350 about 75 min, or until chicken is golden brown and tender. Serves 8.

* I find this recipe works better if you let the pieces dry on cookie cooling racks for about 10 minutes at this point.

posted by mark

CHICKEN CORN SOUP

I don't remember where I found this recipe, although I believe it may have come from a restaurant that no longer exists in Wakarusa IN named Come and Dine. It was in the heart of Amish country, and they featured real Amish cooking. I love this soup, and it is always a hit at gatherings.

1 roasting Chicken, at least 5 lbs.
4 1/2 qts cold Water
2 lg Yellow Onions, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3 large Celery ribs, diced with tops
20 oz frozen whole kernel Corn
1/4 tsp crushed Saffron (expensive, omit if you must)
2 tsp Tabasco
3/4 cp minced Parsley
1 Tbl Salt
1 1/2 cps wide Egg Noodles
3 hard boiled Eggs. chopped

Simmer chicken in water for 2 hrs. Remove chicken from pot to cool. Strain and skim the stock. Add onions, garlic and celery, simmer for 35 min. Add corn, saffron, Tabasco. simmer covered for 40 min. Meanwhile. debone chicken and and chop meat into half inch pieces. Add meat, parsley and salt to pot, cook, uncovered, for 20 min. Stir in noodles, boil, uncovered, 15 min. Add chopped eggs, let set 5 min. Serves 12-14

CROCK POT FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES

from tshsmom

Here's my family's favorite crock pot recipe.

Cheapest Beef Roast you can find w/o too much fat. (Leftovers freeze well when covered with au jus)

1 envelope French Onion Soup Mix
4 cups water
Hoagie buns or French bread
Stir water and soup mix together in crock pot.
Add roast and cook on high 10-12 hours.
When you're ready to eat, put the roast in a serving bowl and shred it with 2 forks.
Put the shredded meat on your bread, ladle some au jus out of the crock pot and into a cup or bowl, and you're ready to go!

mark' note: I tried this the other night, only I shredded the meat back into the broth and used a slotted spoon to put meat on open face toasted hoagie rolls. Had to use a knife and fork, but it was really good!

note to Laura. I'm working on cutting down your Jambalaya recipe to fit a standard crock pot. As soon as I do I will post it along with the original!

GREEN AND GOLD SALAD

This was easily my ex-wife's best pot luck dish. It's one of those dishes the men fought over at family gatherings. In our family, it is affectionately known as "green junque"

1-#2 can crushed Pineapple
1-3oz pkg Lime Jello
2-3oz pkg Cream Cheese
1 cp Whipped Cream (or Cool Whip, Dream Whip)
3/4 cp grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cp chopped Walnuts

Heat Pineapple to boiling point. Add Jello, stir till dissolved. Chill until partially set. Stir in remaining ingredients. Chill till set.

Crunchy Fudge Sandwiches

Now THIS is comfort food!

Melt 12 oz butterscotch chips (be sure you use Nestle--the others don't melt smoothly) and 1 cup peanut butter together in a large pan. Add 8 cups Rice Krispies.

Press half of this mixture into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Place in refrigerator.

In smaller pan melt 3 tbls butter, 2 tbls water, 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 1 cup powdered sugar. Spread over mixture in pan. Top with remaining Rice Krispies mixture and chill.

Note: you may want to bring them back to room temperature before you try cutting them:)

I found this recipe on the back of a Rice Krispies box back when I was in high school, and I don't think they ever ran it again. These are a real favorite!

Barb

Crock-Pot Spaghetti

Brown together:
2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped or minced
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
2 small or 1 large clove garlic
2 tsp chili powder

Drain fat and put the meat in the crockpot. Add:
(2) 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can (about six cups) tomato juice
2-4 tbls brown sugar

Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. Turn to high for last half-hour of cooking and add 16 oz spaghetti noodles, broken in half.

Barb

EASY CHICKEN AND RICE

I found this recipe (and a couple of others) the other day while blog surfing, and asked Nic if she would mind posting them to our comment section. The other rrecipes sound yummy and will soon make it to the main page too!

9x13 pyrex or corningware baking dish
6 thawed boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1½ cups of long grain rice (NON-INSTANT) if you use the instant it will get mushy.
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can french onion soup
1 can water
salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 390F/198.9C
Spray the baking dish with a non-stick spray
Sprinkle rice evenly along the bottom of the dish
Lay the chicken breasts down side-by-side in the dish on top of the rice
Take the cream of mushroom, french onion soup and water and blend them together
Pour the soup mixture on top of the chicken, lifting the chicken slightly so that all the rice underneath is covered with the soup mixture
Cover with foil and put in oven for 1 hour
Take foil off and bake for another 20 minutes
Take out and ENJOY!

Yield: 6 servings

FROM THE NEXT GENERATION

My son Steven started working in local restaurants at age 16, and spent the next seven years in kitchens. In spite of that, he's become a pretty good cook! He posted a couple of recipes in comments yesterday. Thought I'd promote them to the main page! These are not only tasty, but easy on the budget!

CHILI CHEESE DIP
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 or 2 cans Hormel chili (no beans)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a glass baking dish spread softened cream cheese evenly over the bottom. Pour chili over cream cheese spread evenly. Pour cheddar cheese over the top and spread evenly. Microwave for 5-8 min or until cheese is completely melted.
Let stand for 5 min. and serve with tortilla chips.

This easy and delicious appetizer is cheap and only takes 10 minutes to make.
**********************************************************************************
This following recipe, while perhaps a bit unwieldy for a church potluck, would be great for a Sunday School party, or having the guys over to watch the game!

BEEF CHILI 'N CHEDDAR POTATOES

4 medium potatoes
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 Tbls. chili powder
1 can (15 oz. ) hot chili beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions

Pierce potatoes with fork. Microwave on high 11 to 13 minutes or until tender, rotating 1/4 turn after 6 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in large skillet, brown gr. beef over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain grease. Stir in chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, beans and 1 cup cheese; cook and stir until heated through.

Cut a slit lengthwise in potatoes; fluff pulp with fork. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Spoon equal amounts of beef mixture over each potato. Top with remaining cheese and green onions. Makes 4 servings.

posted by mark

SKILLET BEANS

I don't know where our mom first found this recipe. If memory serves me, she started making them when I was in elementary school. After that, seldom was there a family get together, potluck, or picnic that didn't include these. My boys still insist that this is the one indispensable dish at any holiday dinner. Because they are good cold, they are also great for picnics! These work great in an electric skillet.

3/4 lb. ground round
1 med Onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 16oz cans Campbell's Pork and Beans*
3 tsp prepared yellow Mustard
3-4 Tbls Brown Sugar

Spray a large skillet with no stick spray. Break up gr. round and add to skillet with onions, salt and pepper. Brown on med till onions begin to clarify. Add beans, mustard and brown sugar. Reduce heat and simmer until onions are completely clear and sauce has thickened, around 40 mins or so.

* In later years, Mom used Bush's Original Beans and omitted the Br. Sugar. I slightly prefer the original recipe, the boys slightly prefer the other. Either way, they're very good!

posted by Mark

HOPELESSLY MIDWESTERN CUISINE

When I was thinking about starting this blog, I told someone it was about cuisine for the hopelessly midwestern. So how do you know if you're hopelessly midwestern?

Hopelessly Midwestern
By Joel Mabus


If you live life in the middle and not on the edge -
You're hopelessly midwestern.
If a big Saturday means clipping the hedge -
You're hopelessly midwestern.
If you shop at Sears, drink a lot of iced tea,
You like to dance the polka and watch TV,
Then the jury is in and the critics agree -
You're hopelessly midwestern.

[Chorus] Hopelessly Midwestern - cornfed boys and girls
Hopelessly Midwestern - square pegs in this
big round world.
Now, you can go from sea to shining sea,
But right in the middle - that's the place to be,
And if you like it like that, you're a lot like me -
You're hopelessly midwestern.

If you wish every highway could be flat and straight -
You're hopelessly midwestern.
If you still think sushi looks a lot like bait -
You're hopelessly midwestern.
You like your potatoes mashed, your chicken fried,
Your green beans boiled and your apples pied,
And you ain't trusted nothing since Rock Hudson died,
You're hopelessly midwestern.
[Chorus:]

If annual rainfall is a real hot topic -
You're hopelessly midwestern.
And if the Pocono Mountains sound kind of exotic -
You're hopelessly midwestern.
If you like Gerald Ford almost as much as you like Betty,
And a big corn field looks mighty pretty,
And you'd rather go to hell than to New York City,
You're hopelessly midwestern.

[Chorus]

Hopelessly... Impossibly... Irreparably Midwestern.

Dirt Cake

Okay, it looks like it's time for more desserts! This one, besides being 'to die for', is lots of fun. If you need an attractive dessert, make it up in a large, fancy glass bowl. Or use a flower pot and top with artificial flowers and gummy worms. For a men's Wild Game Banquet, I made it in a silver bucket and topped it with the gummy worms and a 'gone fishing' sign.
Once, when I was working in a veterinarian's office, we had a doctor who was leaving. She was one of those women who hated men, but loved cats--she had seventeen of them. Anyhow, we made one of these cakes, only with vanilla cookies, and rolled tootsie rolls in the cookie crumbs and made her a litterbox cake. I thought it was rather disgusting, but she loved it!

Ingredients:
.5 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese (Philly brand)
.5 to 1 cup powdered sugar
(2) small packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
12 oz Cool Whip
20 oz Oreos, crushed very fine (I use the food processor)

In medium bowl mix butter, cream cheese and sugar with a mixer. In a second bowl mix the milk and pudding. Add the whipped topping to the pudding mixture; combine the two mixtures. In a glass bowl or flower pot, layer crumbs and filling, ending with crumbs on top. Garnish with silk flowers and gummy worms, if you like.

Barb

One Pot Spaghetti

This is one of my family's favorites. I also have a crockpot version, if anyone is interested:)

In 3 quart pot on stove, or in electric frying pan, mix together and brown:
1-1.5 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped or 2 tbls instant minced onion
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, pressed
1.5 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder

Add:
(1) 6 oz can tomato paste
2.5 cups tomato juice
3.5 cups water
2 tbls or so brown sugar

Bring to boil and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add 8 oz spaghetti and cook until spaghetti is tender and sauce is thick (about 20 minutes).

Barb

RECIPES FROM THE READERSHIP

These recipes were posted by visitors in our comment section:

Jessicarabbit is one of my favorite people in the blogesphere! She is smart, funny, irreverent, has a boyfriend who bears a remarkable resemblance to “The Count” on Sesame Street, and tends to post photos that prove she retired from stripping on her own terms. She posted this recipe in comments on our very first post. It has been tested, met with great approval, so I now offer it to you!

from JR:

CHEESY TATERS

I have a super easy dish, lots of people know it, I'm sure, but I always get asked to make it to bring to family events and people really like it,

1 bag frozen hashbrown potatoes, cubes
2 cups shredded cheese, a mix of white and yellow works well but it can be any kind you really like
1 can cream of potato soup
1 medium sized container sour cream
A few tablespoons of parmesan

Mix everything except the parmesan up in a bowl, spray some non stick spray into a baking dish, toss the whole mixed up mess in, sprinkle the parmesan on top and bake at about 450 until the top is nice and golden bubbly.

Its really yummy and really simple, but takes about an hour to an hour and a half depending on how big a pan you use and how thick you spread the potatoes out. Yes I know, I'm not very specific and half my words are spelled wrong, its late. But it really is quite tasty and so simple that exact measurements aren't really needed.

Marks note: My son and his girlfriend tried this one the other day and REALLY liked it!


Tshsmom is a Minnesotan, and if there are two things Minnesotans know, it's potlucks and hotdish!

TATER TOT HOTDISH

2 lb pkg tater tots
1 can cr of mushroom soup
1 can cr of celery soup
1 lb ground beef or turkey
Press burger in bottom of 9x13 cake pan.
Sprinkle with onion salt
Lay tater tots side by side and end to end on top of burger.
Mix soups together and spread on top of tater tots.
Bake@375 for 45-60 minutes or until top is glazed and golden brown.
You can also put a layer of Velveeta or American cheese between the burger and tater tot layers.


Wandering Coyote is a Pastry Chef from Vancouver BC. She assures me the following recipe is a staple of United Church carry ins, although she apparently hasn't had the courage to try it!

TOMATO ASPIC

4 cups tomato juice
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon lemon rind
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
3 envelops unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup water
1 cup diced celery
In a large saucepan, heat tomato juice and chicken stock until hot. Stir in lemon rind, Worcestershire sauce and salt.
In a small bowl, combine gelatin with water. Set for 5 minutes. Stir in hot tomato mixture. Add celery.
Pour into ring mold or individual decorative molds.
Refrigerate to set. Dip mold in hot water for a few seconds. Unmold on platter or plates.

You can add other veggies aside from celery. Apparently this is great diet food, but quite frankly the whole thing sounds gross. United Church ladies love it, though!

PARTY HAMBALLS IN BROWN SAUCE

Waterford MI, where my parents lived, has a wonderful senior citizens program. My mom used to make these a lot for their potlucks. They were very popular. Dad loved it when she made these. Not because he liked the meatballs. Because it meant they would have a picnic ham for dinner one evening that week!

1 lb Ham (mom preferred picnics, more flavorful), ground
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Pork
2 cps fine dry Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs, well beaten
1 cp Milk
1 cp Brown Sugar, well packed
1 tsp Dry mustard
1/2 cp Cider Vinegar
1/2 cp Water

Combine first five ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape into 1" balls and arrange in a large baking or roasting pan. Combine remaining ingredients, stirring until dissolved. Pour over meatballs. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour, basting frequently. Makes about 75.

posted by Mark

Hamburger/Potato Casserole

Okay, here's one that's unbelievably easy--and yet has lots of flavor!

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs Ground Chuck
Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 small onion, minced
salt
pepper
butter

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the bottom of a 2 quart (or so) casserole dish, and then press in the Ground Chuck, patting down well into the bottom of the dish. Salt and pepper again, and sprinkle with minced onion. Add a layer of potatoes, a little salt/pepper, a layer of potatoes...until dish is full. Dot with butter, cover, and bake at 350 degrees about 1.5 hours.

Barb

THE CLASSIC! TUNA HOTDISH

Whether you're from the northern Great Lakes and call this TUNA HOTDISH, or from the south and call it TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE, no genuine church potluck is complete without this dish. There are regional differences besides the name however! Minnesotans, Cheeseheads and Yoopers tend to top this dish with Durkee's French Fried Onions. Lopers, Hoosiers, and Buckeyes are more likely to leave out the corn and top with crushed potato chips. I have heard rumors that in the far east (Pennsylvania), and far west (Illinois), people actually top this dish with *gasp* buttered, seasoned bread crumbs! Here is the classic Minnesotan version:

CLASSIC TUNA HOTDISH

1 can corn
1 can your favorite tuna (drained)
1 bag egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can french-fried onions
1/2 cup milk
Pepper

Boil the egg noodles until done. Strain. Open the can of tuna, cream of mushroom soup and corn. Mix all ingredients in same pot the egg noodles were cooked in. Slowly stir in the milk and pepper. Once the ingredients have been thoroughly cooked, scoop into a 9"x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle with french-fried onions and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

note to Isabella: let's see you make an effite gourmet dish out of THIS one!

posted by Mark

SIMPLY ELEGANT STEAK

This recipe is great served with Barb's FAT POTATOES, rice, or noodles

2 Tbl Oil
2 lb Round Steak, sliced across grain into 1/4" strips
1 lg Onion, sliced and separated into 1/4" rings
4 oz jar sliced Mushrooms, drained, reserve liquid
1/2 cp Red Wine (you may use red cooking wine, but omit salt)
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Over med. high heat (350), brown meat in oil. Add onions and saute till tender crisp. Blend soup, wine, liquid from mushrooms, garlic and salt. Pour over steak. Reduce heat to simmer. Add mushroom, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until meat is tender. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

posted by Mark

HONEY PORK ORIENTAL/SWEET n SOUR PORK STIR FRY (for Steven)

This is a really easy dish (it works wonderfully in an electric skillet)

HONEY PORK ORIENTAL

1 1/2 cps Water
1 envelope French's Brown Gravy Mix
1/4 cup Honey
3 Tbl Soy Sauce
2 Tbl Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp minced Garlic
2 Tbl Oil (I prefer peanut oil)
2 to 3 lbs Pork Steak (boned, trimmed, and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 med Onion (chopped)
1 sm Bell Pepper (any color), chopped
4 Carrots, thinly sliced

In a mixing bowl, whisk the gravy mix into the water. Stir in the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic. Set aside.

In large skillet (NOT cast iron), heat oil on med high (350 on elec. skillet) till you see a wisp of smoke. Add the pork, and brown about 10 min. Add onion and bell pepper, cook, stirring, until onion just begins to clarify. Stir sauce and pour over meat, reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered about 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Add carrots, cook 20 min covered, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Like my sister, I can almost never resist the temptation to experiment with recipes. Over the years, this recipe has morphed into:

SWEET N SOUR PORK STIR FRY
Sauce:
1 1/2 cp Water
1/4 cp & 1 Tbl Brown Sugar, firmly packed
3 Tbl Soy Sauce
2 Tbl Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp ground Ginger
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 tsp Cornstarch

Whisk together and set aside.
**********************************************
2 Tbl Peanut Oil
2 to 3 lbs Pork Steak (boned, trimmed, and sliced against the grain into 1/4" strips
2 ribs Celery, sliced thin
4 Carrots, sliced thin
1 bunch Green Onions (including greens) , sliced diagonally into 3/8" pieces
1 med Bell Pepper (sliced into thin strips)
8 oz Sugar Snap Peas, fresh or frozen

Heat Wok over med high heat. It is is ready when it is uncomfortable to hold your hand 1" above the surface. Add the oil. When the first wisp of smoke appears, add the pork. Stir fry until juice cooks off and pork just starts to brown. Add celery and carrots, stir fry 6 min. Add remaining vegetables, stir fry 3 min. Stir sauce and pour over wok contents. Cook, stirring, until sauce starts to thicken. Remove from heat, serve over rice, chinese noodles, or chow mein noodles.

Best song to cook this dish by: RUNNING ON EMPTY by Jackson Browne

posted by Mark

Better Than Sex Cake

In the church cookbook it is simply labeled 'Chocolate or Lemon Dessert', but half the fun's in the name!

I very seldom leave a recipe entirely alone, so I'll give you the original version, and then tell you how I make it:)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (plus some extra)
1 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz tub Cool Whip
2 small boxes of pudding (Cook 'n Serve chocolate, or instant lemon)
[Instant chocolate works, but it isn't nearly as good]

Layer 1:
Combine flour, nuts, and butter. Mix and press into ungreased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees 15 minutes. Cool.

Layer 2:
Cream together powdered sugar and cream cheese. Fold in (actually I just use the mixer) 1 cup Cool Whip. Spread over cooled crust.

Layer 3:
Prepare pudding, using 3 cups of milk. Pour over 2nd layer (chocolate pudding will need to be cooled first--you might want to make it ahead witht the crust).

Layer 4:
Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top and sprinkle with nuts. Regrigerate.

This makes a very nice dessert, however, I find the crust a little bland. So I substitute an Oreo Cookie crust (recipe to follow) and sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top instead of the nuts. The chocolate crust gives the dessert a little pizzaz! (Note: Oreo crust would probably
notgo well with the lemon, but why would I choose lemon over chocolate?!?)

Oreo Cookie Crust:
2 cups Oreo Cookie crumbs
6 tbls sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

Mix ingredients with a fork and press into the bottom of the pan. Chill.

Actually, a graham cracker crust works well, too. I use 2-1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar, 2/3 cup butter.

This is one of my absolute favorite desserts!

Barb

CRUSTLESS QUICHE

This is a recipe I adapted from one of Jeff Smith's (The Frugal Gourmet) books. Basically, I use small curd instead of large curd cottage cheese (I like the texture better), and changed the cheeses. I used to make it for Easter Sunrise breakfasts, and carry in brunches. Along with biscuits and gravy, it is now part of my families Christmas breakfast tradition!

This is a wonderfully versatile dish. You can add almost any ingredients to it your heart desires. I like it with sausage, sauteed onions and bell peppers. My son likes it with bacon. Fish, shrimp, scallops, mixed veggies, all are excellent ingredients. At one of Jeff Smith's restaurants, they used to make this quiche every Friday and add the weeks leftovers to it. They called it a Synopsis Quiche, because it was a brief synopsis of what had been on the menu during the week. The leftovers are great because this dish microwaves wonderfully!

BASIC CRUSTLESS QUICHE

10 Eggs
1/4 lb Butter (melted)
1/2 cp Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 lb Cottage Cheese (small curd)*
1/2 lb aged Swiss Cheese (shredded)
1/2 lb Monterey Jack Cheese (shredded)

Whip eggs until fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, melted butter, swiss cheese.** Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with Jack cheese. Bake 400 deg. for 15 min, reduce to 350 for 35 to 40 min, or until top is lightly brown.

* Always use 100% dairy Cottage Cheese (like Michigan Brand). If ingredient list says much beyond milk, cream, rennet, salt...avoid it!

** Add any other cooked ingredients you desire at this point!

posted by Mark

Lime Jello Salad

Aha! Success!!

Mark asked me to look for this recipe, and I was unable to find it--until I started looking for something else, that is. And after all, what is a potluck without jello salad?

This is as easy as it gets. It is traditionally made with lime jello, but any flavor you like will do. I sometimes use strawberry or cherry.

Ingredients:
2 small or 1 large package jello
1-1/2 cups boiling water
1 can ginger ale (and, of course, around here's it's Vernor's)
2 cups applesauce

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add ginger ale and applesauce and refrigerate until set.

Posted by Barb

Mark's note: The original reecipe calls for this salad to be topped with coarsly ground peanuts!

p.s. At family dinners, my niece Krista and I always fight over this dish!

Fat Potatoes

This is my family's absolute favorite potluck dish--and if you want something that'll stick to your ribs and clog your arteries, this is it!! I make these for my family at the holidays because all the prep work can be done a day or two in advance, and then they can be popped in the oven or crockpot the day of dinner. And when I make them for potluck, there are never any leftovers.

These instructions are for a small batch. I usually make a double, or for my six-quart crockpot, 2-1/2 batches.

Ingredients:
9 medium white potatoes
1 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream

Peel and boil potatoes with a little salt in the water until potatoes are tender (just like you're making mashed potatoes).

Drain potatoes and add butter, cream cheese, and sour cream and beat with electric mixer until smooth.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees (45 minutes if they have been made ahead and refrigerated), or cook in crockpot on high about 4 hours or on low for 6-8.

I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't love these!

Barb

Strawberry Refrigerator Cake

This is a favorite (and easy to make). It can also be made as a reduced sugar dessert for diabetics--just substitute sugar-free jello, and buy unsweetened strawberries and sweeten to taste with Splenda or NutriSweet.

You will need:

(2) commercial (not made from package mix) angel food cakes.
(2) packages strawberry jello
(2) 10 oz packages frozen strawberries
(1) 8 oz tub Cool Whip (or one package Dream Whip, prepared as directed)
(1) tbls cornstarch
(1) tlbs butter

Directions:

Dissolve 2 packages of strawberry jello in one cup of boiling water. Drain 1 cup of juice for the strawberries and reserve. Add berries and remaining juice to jello mixture. Refrigerate jello mixture until it begins to thicken. Break cakes into walnut-size chunks and fold cake pieces and Cool Whip into jello mixture. Place in large, well-buttered angel food cake pan. Refrigerate until set.

Unmold cake onto large platter. Mix 1 tbls cornstarch with 1 cup of strawberry juice. Cook until mixture boils and thickens. Add butter. When cool, pour over unmolded cake.

posted by Barb

Mark's note: This is my daughter's absolute favorite cake. She ALWAYS requests it for her birthday. It is one of the few things we agree on, it's my favorite too!

WILD RICE SOUP

My ex wife used to teach kindergarten at a parochial school here in South Bend. The principal there used to make this soup for school "carry ins" (apparently the Catholic term for potluck). This is a terrific soup for a cold winters day (like we are currently experiencing here)!

WILD RICE SOUP

3/4 cp wild rice, cooked according to package directions, rinsed, drained well
4 Tbls butter or margarine
1 sm. onion, minced
1/4 cp flour
4 cp chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1 cp half and half
2 Tbls dry sherry
1 cp ham cubes

Saute onions in butter until clear. Blend in flour, then gradually add broth. cook stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in rice, salt, and ham. Cook 5 min. Blend in half and half and sherry. Heat to serving temperature!

posted by Mark

OUR FIRST POST

Here it is, our first post! This is one of my all time favorite church potluck desserts. My mom used to make this often for church potlucks and Sunday School class parties.

FRENCH CHERRY TORTE

Crust:
2 cps Flour
1/2 cp Brown Sugar
1 cp finely chopped Nutmeats
1 cp Butter

Mix like pie crust. Spread in 9x13x2 pan. Bake 15 min at 400 degrees. When cool, crumble into fine pieces and press firmly on bottom of pan.

Filling:
1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese
1 cp Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 pkgs. Dream Whip
1 1/2 cp. (1 can) Cherry Pie Filling

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together. Beat Dream Whip as directed on package, then add cheese mixture. Pour onto crust and top with pie filling. Chill 12 hours.

This goes really well with a good cup of coffee! Enjoy!

Mark

Barb's note: Mom always used pecans in the crust. I usually use a graham cracker crust because my husband doesn't like the original one (as Mom would have said, "There's no accounting for taste.") He also doesn't like cherry pie filling, so I often use strawberry (usually homemade--there's just something weird about the consistency of canned strawberry pie filling!). Blueberry's pretty good, too!