Sunday Dinner

This is from one of those old cookbooks I wrote about before. The first time I had it was at grandma's while visiting. Even my picky husband loved it and I've been making it ever since. The gravy option is mine since he doesn't like cream soups.

Poor Man's Steak

2lbs. ground beef (round, sirloin or 90% lean)
2c. crushed saltines
2c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
chopped onion optional
1 can cream of mushroom soup
or
1 can beef gravy

Mix beef, saltines, seasonings, milk and onions well.
Press into a 9x13 pan.
Refrigerate overnight or for 4-6 hours.
Cut into squares-roll each in flour and brown in oil.
Replace in pan and pour soup and 1 can water or gravy
and 1 can water over all.

Bake 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs.

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Perfectly Boiled Potatoes
From: Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
If you can find this book it's worth the read. Quirky little thing, really cute and different.

The most important thing about making perfectly boiled
potatoes is to start with a dozen uniform red potatoes.
So go to your greengrocer or wherever you get your
potatoes and don't buy a bag of them, hunt through the
loose, piled-up potatoes until you find a dozen that are
medium-sized and all almost exactly alike. Don't get any
with scabs or strange growths or that look like they have
a nose. Take them home and peel them. Put enough water
in a large pot to cover your potatoes. Cook for forty
minutes, putting in more water if it boils out. Drain
the potatoes and put them back in the pot. Put the pot
back on the burner and shake it a bit so the potatoes
dry over the heat. Then they are done. Now what you do
with them is a matter of taste. Some people like sour
cream, some like butter and parsley. Some people like
ketchup or cheese. I like mustard. But Miss Bowzer says
it is nobody's business but your own what you do with
your potatoes.

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Garlic Snap Peas

1/2 pound sugar snap peas
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Bring a medium-size pan of water to the boil. Snap the ends from the peas and pull the strings.

When the water comes to a boil, add the peas and time 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender. Drain in a colander and run cold water over the peas until cooled.

Heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute, until soft and fragrant. Put the peas into the pan and heat through, stirring often. Stir in the coarse salt, heating for 30 seconds. Season with pepper and serve.

Serves 4.
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This was one of those terrific experiments turned family favorite. Like peaches and cream, only better!

Georgia Cheesecake Pie
Printable Recipe

1 single crust pie crust-unbaked
2c. peeled and thinly sliced peaches
1-8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2c. sugar
1 egg
1t. vanilla
2T. flour

Flour bottom of unbaked pie crust with 2T. flour.
Add peaches to crust.
Mix remaining ingredients and pour over peaches.
Bake 375 until top is set and partially browned~ about
35 min.

R,S, C #11 Recipes

Submissions for yesterday's game left me pleasantly surprised. I honestly had it in my head that there was no way to make those 3 ingredients anything but bland.

Here they are:

From Ian over at Gallumphing Gourmand,
the yummiest take on risotto I've seen in a long time!

Piggies Are The Blanket
Serves lots

1 C arborio rice
4 C chicken stock
½ lb. thinly sliced ham
½ lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
¾ C parmigiano reggiano cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
breadcrumbs
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Bring chicken to a simmer in a saucepan.
In a deep, heavy, medium sized saucepan, heat oil and remaining butter. Add
onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
Add rice and stir to coat with butter and oil. Let cook for about 3-5
minutes.
Add simmering stock, ½ C at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from
sticking to the edges of the pan. Wait until the stock is almost completely
absorbed before adding the next ½ C. This process will take about 20
minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy. Stir in the
parmigiano, and the crumbled bacon. Remove from heat.

Now comes the fun part.

Preheat the oven to 400F.
Lay out some slices of ham on a baking sheet. Spoon a couple of heaping
tablespoons of the rice mixture on to each slice, and roll them up into
tubes. The tubes should be completely filled with rice.
Place the tubes into a lightly greased casserole dish side by side.
Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese over the top of the ham rolls, and cover
that with some breadcrumbs. Add more fresh ground pepper if desired.
Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Dalene at From the mixed-up files of a middle-aged mind one of her mother's dishes:

Cheesy Ham Bake

My mom--who, with six kids to feed as well was the queen of making a
lot out of a little--used to make something like this, although I'm
going to kick it up a notch. (only one notch, however)

Steam a pot of a nice Calrose rice.

In the meantime chop a bunch of green onions, grate the cheddar cheese
and chop some slices of pre-baked ham. Still it all together with
grated carrots, one half-pint of cream and a generous cup or two of
fresh peas, lightly steamed. Season with sea salt and dashes of garlic
powder and paprika.

Pour into a casserole dish, cover and bake till heated through. Top
with more cheese (why not?) and bake again, uncovered till cheese is
melted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is what I came up with:

Marinated Ham and Rice Salad

3 c cooked long-grain white rice
1 c ham cubes about 1/2" dice
1 c cheddar cheese cubes about 1/2" dice
1/2 black olives-halved
1/4 c small diced carrot
1/4 c small diced green pepper
1/2 c frozen baby peas
1/2 c grape tomatoes-halved
1 bottle (oz) Italian dressing

Combine all ingredients and toss well. Chill for 3-4 hours to allow flavors to blend well.
Serve with a crusty French bread or rolls and fresh butter for a hearty lunch.
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And lastly, one from my recipe files:

Ham and Broccoli Casserole

2 cups chopped, cooked ham
10 oz. frozen broccoli
1 cup cooked rice
10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pkg. prepared stuffing mix
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except stuffing in 9x13 baking dish.
Prepare stuffing mix according to package directions. Spread
stuffing over ham mixture. Bake at 325 F for 1 hour until top
is browned and mixture is bubbly.

Ready, Set, Cook #11

If you have not played Ready, Set, Cook with us yet please go here for the rules of play.

No whining this week~another of my adorable children gave me three ingredients (hey, my brain is not always ON) that are three of their favorites.

Take it up with him, if you dare. He's awful cute and may just give you that pleading cute child look or worse, this look:


and that would end all the argument.

His 3 for today are:

rice
cheddar cheese
ham

Even I will play this week just to see what on earth I could possibly come up with that wouldn't be disgustingly BLAND with these three foods!

All I can say this time is, GOOD LUCK!

Nope-not recipes. Too bad, eh? I think that's closer to the 100+ mark. Maybe someday I will get to 10,000 recipes. That would definitely be a feat.

No, the 10,000 I am referring to is hits (almost!). Not quite the feat that cmhl has achieved but not too bad for a nobody mommy from Bethlehem, huh?

Who'da thunk it? I was only out to (finally) do some food journaling for myself and my kids to have to look back on~and lo and behold a few of you actually READ this!

Thank you much loyal readers :o)

Sunday Dinner

Greek Meat Patties

2 pounds ground or minced Beef or Pork
2 white bread slices (soaked in water for 10 minutes)
1 egg
Lemon (To garnish)
1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced
1 medium Onion, minced or grated
1 tablespoon fresh minced oregano
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh minced thyme

Squeeze excess moisture from the bread and discard
crusts. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients by hand
or with a large wooden spoon. Allow to rest a half an hour
before working with it. Make the mixture into large flat
(thin) burgers and grill about 3 minutes on each side.
grill, approximately 3-5 minutes on each side til done,
but still moist. Don't let them dry out or become dark.
Serve on a platter with wedges of lemon.

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Greek Green Beans Braised With Mint and Potatoes
Serves 4

3 tb Olive oil & margarine, mixed
1 c Tomato juice or sauce
1 lb Fresh green beans- trimmed, cut
1 tb Chopped fresh parsley, opt.
2 md Potatoes; peeled
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh mint

Heat the fat in an enameled pan and mix in the tomato juice or sauce.
Add the green beans and parsley to the pan with enough water to
almost cover. Tuck the potato slices in between, partially cover the
pan, and simmer for 25 minutes, the stir and season with salt,
pepper, and 2 tablespoons chopped mint. Cook uncovered until the
beans and potatoes are fork tender, about 10 more minutes. If the
sauce has not thickened, pour it into a small pan, and boil down to
one cup, then combine with the beans and potatoes in a warm serving
bowl. Sprinkle with a little additional fresh mint and serve warm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cucumber Buns

3-1/4 to 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives or 1 tablespoon dried chives
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut up (1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon snipped fresh dill or 1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl combine 1-1/4 cups of the flour, yeast,
chives, and dill. In a food processor bowl, process cucumber until
smooth (there should be 3/4 cup).
In a saucepan heat and stir cucumber puree, sour cream, water, sugar,
and salt until warm (120 degree F. to 130 degree F--mixture will look curdled.)
Add to flour mixture.
Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds,
scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes more.
Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the
remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and
elastic (6 to 8 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased
bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place
until double (about 45 minutes).

Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Divide into 12 pieces.
Shape each piece into a ball; arrange in a greased 13x9x2-inch
baking pan, allowing space between each ball.
Cover; let rise in a warm place until nearly double (about 30 minutes).
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown.
Serve warm or cool. Makes 12 rolls.

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Snow Dessert

1 (10 inch) angel food cake
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 c milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (21 ounce) can blueberry pie filling or other fruit filling or 2 c pudding-any flavor
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Break angel food cake into small pieces, and
spread into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking
dish. Mix together confectioners' sugar, cream cheese,
vanilla, and milk until smooth. Fold in whipped
topping. Pour over cake pieces.
Pour blueberries, other fruit, or pudding
over all. Chill for 4 hours or overnight.