Recipes

bbq sauce for pulled pork

2011-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

I was hungry for pulled pork -- and for pulled pork close to North Carolina style. Here's what I came up with by combining a couple different recipes:

1/3 c vinegar (2/3 c was too much)
1/3 c ketchup
2 T water
1 t Tabasco sauce
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 T ground pepper
1 T salt
1/4 t dry mustard
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t brown sugar

Combine all. Add to cooked shredded pork (had about 1 1/2 pounds left-over cooked pork). Cook in oven over medium heat.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

2011-02-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

Place

1 T butter, and
1/2 c chopped onion

in a 1 to 1 1/2-qt casserole. Microwave on high for 1 min. Add

1 c uncooked rice.

Stir to coat rice. Microwave on high for about 1 min. Add

water (plus, if desired, 1/4 c chicken broth)

to cover. Add (in layers)

1 to 2 c chopped broccoli,
1 c shredded cheese (I used cheddar cheese.), and
1 can cream-of-celery (or cream-of-mushroom) soup.

Do not stir. Cover. Bake at 350F for at least 30 min.

banana bread

2011-02-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

Banana Bread
(one of my favorites -- has almond meal instead of chopped nuts)
(Almond meal replaces part of the flour.)

1/2 c sugar
1/6 c shortening (2 T + 2 t)
1 egg
1 c mashed banana (about 2 bananas)
1 c flour
1/2 c almond meal
1 t soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 c milk

Grease loaf pan. Preheat over to 350F.
Combine flour, almond meal, soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream sugar and shortening. Add egg and beat. Add banana and beat.
Add half of flour mixture. Beat. Add milk. Beat. Add rest of flour mixture. Add more milk if necessary.
Pour into loaf pan and bake 55 - 65 minutes at 350F. (makes 1 loaf)

Herb Rub Paste for Beef

2010-08-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

1 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t cumin
2 T olive oil

Mix all together and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.

Pour over roast and then bake.

egg noodles

2010-02-10T09:17:00.000-08:00

Recently, I wanted to fix some Stroganoff for supper. (It's a long story. But, whenever I hear a mention of food poisoning, I get hungry for Stroganoff. Sometimes, negative reinforcement doesn't work.) I had most of the ingredients, and the rest I could substitute for. But, I didn't have any egg noodles.
I remember that my grandmother used to make egg noodles and dry them over the backs of chairs. So, I decided to try.

Here's a basic recipe:
1 egg, beaten
1 c flour (plus more for kneading and to roll out the noodles)
1 c milk
1 T olive oil (or other cooking oil)
1/4 t salt
Mix all together. Knead on floured surface. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Roll thin.
Cut into strips with pizza cutter.
As the noodles dry, roll individual noodles again to get them thinner.
When dry, cook in boiling water to desired doneness.
(Unused noodles can be frozen.)

Enchiladas

2010-02-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

Two staples for our Super Bowl dinner are a savory cheese rice (aka Weidman rice) and enchiladas. I've already posted a recipe for the rice. Here's a recipe for enchiladas that turned out surprisingly well. (makes 6)

Dice 1/2 onion. Fry in cooking oil until slightly browned.
Add 1/2 pound hamburger (or other meat -- diced or shredded). Cook till brown. Drain off fat.
Add
1/2 t garlic salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t Weber brand seasoning salt
1 c salsa
1/2 c refried beans

Lay out 6 tortillas. Divide the mixture among them.
Top each with a handful of shredded Cheddar cheese.
Roll up the tortillas and place them seam side up in 11 x 8" greased baking dish.
Pour about 1/2 c salsa over the filled tortillas.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 min.
Top with shredded Cheddar cheese. Bake another 10 min.
Serve.

Oven-cooked pork and potatoes

2010-01-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

This is an example of why my recipes never turn out the same.... But, it did turn out pretty well and was a nice way to use leftover pork chops.

I saw an interesting recipe for cooking beef tips and potatoes in the oven. It turned out, after I started, that the only ingredients I had at home were the potatoes, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Here's the recipe:

Peel and cut up potatoes and place in pan. (-- used a 9" x 6" pan.)
Cut leftover pork chops into cubes and add to pan.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. (Recipe called for thyme instead of Italian seasoning.)
Add water and cran-____ juice (Ocean Spray) to cover. (Recipe called for wine.)
Place in refrigerator.

An hour or so before supper, place in 350F oven and bake for at least an hour.

punch

2009-12-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

This is the punch that my Grandma always made at family gatherings:
(It can be made in small or large quantities.)

1 part Ginger Ale (Canada Dry)
1 part 7-Up or Sprite
1 3/4 parts cranberry juice (Ocean Spray Cran-...)
raspberry sherbet

Combine first 3 ingredients. Add sherbet. Stir gently.
(To serve in glasses, instead of a punch bowl, place a scoop of sherbet in each glass before adding the punch.)

Turkey Tomato Casserole

2009-12-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

a flavorful use for leftover turkey

1/2 c onion, cubed
1/2 c celery, sliced
1/2 c carrots, sliced
1 T butter
Heat above ingredients in microwave oven in 6" x 9" casserole until vegetables are tender.
Add 1 T flour and stir to coat vegetables with the flour.
Add:
1 c cooked turkey, cubed
1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 t ground sage
1 T parsley
(or 1 T Italian seasoning in place of the sage and parsley)
Stir. Then top with:
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake in 350F oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned.

Deviled Ham

2009-12-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

a good way to use leftover ham...

1/2 medium onion, cubed
1/2 c celery, cubed
1/2 c pickles
1 pound ham, cooked, cubed
1 T dried parsley (or 1/4 c fresh parsley)
2 t ground mustard powder
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 T molasses
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t salt
dash pepper

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate.

Bread and Giblet Stuffing

2009-11-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

--- Makes 3 cups stuffing – enough for a 4- to 5-pound chicken. Double the recipe for a 10-pound turkey, etc.

½ medium onion, cut up
1 c chopped celery (including leaves)
¼ t salt
giblets (plus neck and tail)

Cook neck, tail, giblets, onion, celery, and salt in enough water to cover, for at least 2 hours. Remove neck and tail from broth, take meat off bone, and discard bones and skin. Remove the rest from broth. Put all in blender (or chop fine). Keep the broth for later.

4 c bread crumbs (about 7 slices)
¼ t pepper
½ t ground sage
¼ c butter or margarine

Put bread into large bowl. (It's not necessary to dry the bread crumbs or even to break the bread into small pieces.) Add the chopped meat, onion, and celery. Add some of the broth and toss gently. Add more broth and water as necessary.

Use as stuffing. Or place in a buttered casserole dish and bake for at least two hours at 350F.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Place seeds in saucepan. Add water and salt. Let boil for about 15 minutes.
Drain. Toss with vegetable oil and salt (and any other flavorings desired).
Lay out in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300F for about 30 minutes.

complete proteins

2009-09-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

For some general information on proteins (courtesy my DS):

Meat and eggs are good sources of all the proteins the body needs daily. They are called complete proteins. Milk (dairy products including cheese), legumes, grains, and seeds are good sources of all except one or two of the proteins needed daily – and are called incomplete proteins. These incomplete protein sources can be combined, however, to give complete proteins. Any two categories connected by a bar will give a complete protein.

Here are some examples of complete proteins:
Dairy and grains:

Macaroni and cheese
Cereal and milk
Crackers and milk
Spaghetti with Parmesan cheese
Cheese pizza
Ice cream and cookies

Grains and legumes:

Beans plus rice or corn bread
Split pea soup plus crackers
Baked beans plus muffins or bread
Taco with refried beans
Peanut butter sandwich

Legumes and seeds:

Trail mix including peanuts and sunflower seeds

Grains include rice, white or whole-wheat bread, corn bread, macaroni, and spaghetti.
Legumes include garbanzo beans, Great Northern beans, lentils, lima beans, navy beans, peanuts, peas, pinto beans, kidney beans, and soybeans.

Cheddar Cheese Soup

2009-08-23T09:23:00.001-07:00

Sauté chopped onions and peppers in butter.
Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
Add chicken broth and milk. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
Add cubed cheese just before serving.

Easy Salsa

2009-08-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Bake or grill
2 whole tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 jalapeño pepper (or other pepper)
Blend together in blender w
parsley or cilantro

sausage and beef

2009-06-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a great recipe (from WGN - tv). Sausage isn't just for breakfast or meatloaf....

Pound several cuts of beef (even flank steak) until thin. Spread sausage (I like Jimmy Dean sausage with sage.) on top. Roll up as if making rolled cookies. Chill for about 10 minutes (to make slicing easier). Then cut into "patties". Grill (or freeze and grill later).

Savory Cheese Rice

2009-06-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

aka Weidman Rice (after a friend of ours)

1/3 c finely chopped green pepper
1-1/2 t. salt
1/2 c sliced green onions
3/4 c. white rice
3 T. butter (or oleo)
1 c. cubed Cheddar cheese (1/3lb)
2 c canned tomatoes (1 lb can)
1/2 c white dinner wine (sauterne)

Sauté green pepper, onion & rice in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, salt, and wine. Cover & cook over low heat for 25 min. or until rice is tender (or in microwave set on high for about 8-10 minutes). Just before serving, add cheese. Heat briefly .

OK to substitute: Port Salut cheese & water (or juice) for cheddar cheese and wine; tomato sauce or can of crushed tomatoes for canned tomatoes

Mediterranean chicken

2009-02-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

Mediterranean chicken as adopted from a local newscast
Chop onion and place in casserole along w 1 T butter. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
Add 1 can chopped tomatoes, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t Italian seasoning, 6 olives (cut up). Stir and then add chicken pieces. Bake.

Alternatively, after microwaving the onion, add about 2 c chopped apples and 1/2 c raisins. Then add a whole chicken (cut in half and spread out, skin side up) seasoned with barbecue seasoning.
Bake.

It just dawned on me. ..... Both recipes are akin to "stuffed chicken" recipes. The "stuffing" is placed on the bottom of a casserole. Then the chicken is placed on top.

Creamy Scrambled Eggs

2009-02-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

Even though I have a dishwasher, I don't like to get bowls dirty. The trick is to add the eggs last. Here's a way to make scrambled eggs in the skillet:

Melt butter (about 1/2 T) in small skillet over low to medium heat.
If adding chopped green onions and/or Canadian bacon, add now, increasing butter to 1 T. Heat/fry till hot.
Add 1/4 c milk, 1/4 t salt, dash pepper, and then a handful of grated cheese, if desired.
When milk is hot, add 2 eggs.
Scramble.

beans

2008-12-25T22:50:00.000-08:00

just a note on how to prepare dried beans for cooking....

I used to soak them overnight to get them softened up for cooking. I accidentally discovered an easier and faster way a few years ago.

Pour boiling water over the beans (or else cover the beans with water and heat in the microwave oven for a couple of minutes). Let the beans soak for an hour. Then they're ready to cook.

Fudge

2007-12-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

This is the recipe I (and probably many others) use for fudge. Here are my adventures the last time I tried this recipe.

3 c sugar
3 1-oz squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate
2 T Karo syrup (It doesn't matter if it's dark or light syrup.)
1 c evaporated milk (I usually substitute regular milk.)
2 T butter
1 t vanilla (not necessary)
1/2 c chopped nuts (not necessary, but I usually use pecans)
Cut chocolate over sugar in large pan. Add syrup and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to boil. Cover and wait for 2 minutes. Remove cover and stir occasionally until mixture is at the soft ball stage. Remove from heat. Add butter. Let cool. When still warm, beat mixture until smooth. Add nuts and vanilla. Pour into greased 9" x 13" pan. Let sit for a while and then cut into squares.

Tags: fudge, candy

Swedish Pancakes

2006-12-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

This is a traditional Swedish recipe to be served especially on Thursdays. The thin pancakes can be eaten with jam (as a lot of Swedes do) or with lemon juice and powdered sugar (as a lot of English people do) or by themselves.

1 egg
1 c milk
½ c flour
½ t salt
1 T melted butter
1 T butter for skillet

Beat egg. Add flour, salt, and half of milk. Beat until there are no lumps. Add butter and rest of milk. Let sit 10 min. Melt butter in skillet. For each pancake, add ½c of mixture to skillet. Fry until browned on one side. Flip andbrown the other side. Makes 6.

Pumpkin Cake

2006-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

1 16oz can pumpkin

1 package spice cake mix

3 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

3/4 C. chopped pecans

Pour pumpkin into greased 9x13

Mix eggs and milk and lightly stir dry cake mix into milk mixture.

Pour over pumpkin and sprinkle with nuts.

Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 mins or until done with toothpick as usual

from Suzie
(haven't tried this yet)

Chocolate chip custard pie

2006-01-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

I needed to get rid of some milk (since the boys have left to go back to university), and I didn't want the milk to spoil. Also, I had some chocolate chips that were in bad shape after being exposed to heat from the oven, and I felt like something chocolate. So, here's what's in the oven right now. It's supposed to make its own crust. I thought I'd write it down in this journal so I would remember it. So, here goes:

Combine 2 eggs, 1/2 c sugar, 1/4 c flour, 1 t vanilla. Beat well. Add 2 c milk. Put 1 c chocolate chips in bottom of pie plate. Pour mixture on top. Bake 1 hour at 350F.

The pie turned out ok. The chips made a nice surprise at the bottom of the pie. And the flour did form a crust at the bottom. Next time I'll grease the pie plate and add 1 or 2 more eggs.

baking powder

2005-12-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

Since I don't like the taste of baking powder, I've been trying to substitute baking soda where possible. However, the last time I tried to bake a cake from scratch, the results were much less than perfect. In fact, the cake didn't rise at all. Though, I'm not completely positive that I added any baking soda at all.

This led to a discussion with one of my sons about why cakes rise. Since baking soda is a base, he decided that there must be some acid in the ingredients to react with the baking soda to produce bubbles and to make the cake rise and be "light".

After researching the subject on line, I found out that beating the shortening is the first step in adding air bubbles to a cake. (That's why one should beat the shortening and then gradually add the sugar.) Beating the egg(s) also produces small air bubbles. However, the main ingredients to produce the bubbles are the acid and base. Baking powder can be made by combining baking soda and cream of tartar and corn starch. Cream of tartar when dissolved in water produces an acid. When baking soda is added to this weak acid, bubbles of hydrogen are produced. The corn starch seems unecessary except for storage purposes.

So, if there is something acidic like sour milk, orange juice, or lemon juice in the recipe, one can substitue 1/4 t baking soda for 1 t baking powder -- though the recipe probably already calls for baking soda instead of baking powder. Otherwise, one can substitute 1/4 t baking soda plus 1/2 t cream of tartar for 1 t baking powder.

Coconut Cookies

2005-09-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

These cookies taste and look almost like store-bought cookies.

½ c butter, softened
1 c sugar (or ½ c brown sugar plus ½ c white sugar)
½ t salt
½ t baking soda
½ t vanilla extract, optional
1 egg
1 ¼ c flour
1 ½ c shredded coconut

Combine ingredients in order given. Form into round loafs, 2-3" in diameter. Chill (or freeze as for icebox cookies). Slice roll. Bake 375° F for 8-10 min.

Chicken Soup

2005-05-31T07:13:00.000-07:00

I'd forgotten how good homemade soup is and how easy it is to fix. Here's an easy way to fix it:

Put the bones, skin, and leftover chicken into a pot filled with water. Let it cook without boiling for a couple of hours. There's no need to season it because it probably already was when it was cooked before, but it wouldn't hurt to add a bit of celery.
Drain and save the broth. Take the chicken off the bone and add to the broth. Throw away the rest. (This can be refrigerated for a short time or frozen until needed.)
Add water to make 2 pints of broth and chicken. Add 1-2 cups of vegetables -- (frozen) carrots, peas, etc, or leftover vegetables -- and 1/4 - 1/2 cup of uncooked rice or uncooked thin egg noodles. Cook for 5-10 minutes and then serve.

Corn Bread

2005-05-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe for corn bread that I used at Thanksgiving. The butter makes it moist but not oily. The use of a hot pan helps it not to have cracks on top.

½ c yellow cornmeal
½ c all-purpose flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1 slightly beaten egg
¼ c softened butter
1 to 2 T sugar
½ milk
1 to 2 T butter
Place small pan in heated oven. In small bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together egg and butter and then milk. Add dry ingredients. Mix until just moistened. Place 1 to 2 T butter in hot pan and then batter. Bake in a 375° F oven about 25 minutes

Turkey Pot Pie

2005-05-15T02:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a good recipe (my recipe) for using leftover turkey or other meat.

My Favorite Pot Pie

1 c diced leftover turkey or other meat
1 can condensed cream of mushroom (or celery or chicken) soup
½ c chopped onion
1 c mixed vegetables
1 T butter
salt and pepper to taste
½ t ground sage, optional
1 egg, well beaten (plus 1 egg yolk, if using rice pie shell, recipe below)
1 T flour
1 T parsley
2 T Parmesan cheese
1 to 1 ½ c cream or milk
1 baked pie shell (8 or 9")

Cook vegetables and onion in butter until tender, using as little water as possible. Combine with cooked meat, soup, and seasonings. Spoon into baked pie shell.

Combine egg, flour, parsley, and cheese. Add cream (or milk). Pour on top. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 min or until top is slightly browned.

For pie shell, combine 1 c cooked rice, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 c Parmesan cheese, and 1 beaten egg white. Press into buttered 8" or 9" pie plate and bake 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes.