BANGERS AND MASH

Posted on by
Reply

8 lg baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tsp butter, divided
1/2 cup milk, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs beef sausage (I’ve always used pork sausage)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (.75 oz)) pkg dry brown gravy mix
1 cup water, or as needed

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. drain; mash with 1 tsp of butter and enough milk to reach your desired creaminess. continue mashing, or beat with an electric mixer until smooth. season with salt and pepper.

in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until heated through. remove from the pan and set aside. add remaining teaspoon of butter to the skillet and fry the onions over medium heat until tender. mix gravy mix and water as directed on the package, and add to the skillet with the onions. simmer, stirring constantly, to form a thick gravy.

pour half of the gravy into a square casserole dish so that it coats the bottom. place sausage(s) in a layer over the gravy (you can butterfly the sausages if you wish). pour remaining gravy over them, then top with mashed potatoes.

bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until potatoes are evenly browned.

8 servings

TRIPLE CHIP COOKIES

Posted on by
1

2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups white chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

in a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk and set aside.

using a mixer, mix butter and both sugars for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

add eggs and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.

add flour in two additions, scraping down the sides in between. mix until thoroughly combined.

mix chips together in a large bowl and stir into the cookie batter.

cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

using a 1.5″ scoop, place cookie batter 2″ apart on the baking sheet.

bake for about 10-12 minutes.

makes 5 dozen cookies

CROCKPOT PIZZA SAUCE

Posted on by
Reply

4 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs italian seasoning
1 tsp sat
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs honey
4 tbs parmesan cheese

combine all ingredients except cheese in a crockpot. cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours. stir every 30 minutes to 1 hour so it doesn’t stick. after four hours, stir in the cheese. cool to room temperature and package for freezing, or use in 1-2 days.

S’MORES COOKIE BARS

Posted on by
Reply

2 cups flour
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
16 tbs (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 lg eggs, beaten
2 cups marshmallow fluff
2 cups milk chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line a 9″x13″ baking pan with foil, leaving a 2″ overhang on 2 sides. mist foil with nonstick cooking spray.

in a bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; mix well.. in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. beat in eggs until well combined. reduce mixer speed to low and slowly beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. divide the dough in half. press half of the dough into the pan until the dough is uniform and flat. spread with marshmallow fluff and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. scatter remaining dough over in clumps. don’t worry about covering the top; marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through.

bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. place pan on a wire rack to cool completely. remove from pan, peel off foil, and cut into bars.

makes 24 bars

PIZZA MEATLOAF

Posted on by
Reply

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs. lightly beaten
1 (8 oz) can pizza sauce, divided
1 cup saltine crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
addtional pizza sauce, warmed, optional

in a bowl, combine beef, eggs, 3/4 cup pizza sauce, cracker crumbs, parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, onion, green pepper, seasoned salt, oregano & pepper; mix well. pat into a greased 8″ square baking dish. bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes; drain. spread remaining pizza sauce over loaf; bake 10 minutes more. sprinkle with remaining mozzarella; return to oven 3-4 minutes or until cheese melts. serve with additional pizza sauce if desired.

BAKED GREEK MEATBALLS

Posted on by
Reply

1 lb ground pork
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 clove garlic, grated
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg

pitas or wraps
feta cheese crumbles
sliced tomato
sliced red onion
sliced cucumber
sliced radishes
lettuce OR spinach
tzatziki sauce (recipe below)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

put ground pork, bread crumbs, oregano, rosemary, mint, lemon zest, garlic, black pepper and egg in a bowl and mix well.

using about a tablespoon of the meat, roll into a ball and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. gently push down on the balls so that they are slightly flat. they sit better in the wrap/pita that way.

bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until they are no longer pink on the inside and golden brown on the outside.

when fully cooked, add to a pita or wrap with the feta and any of he veggies listed above. Or just serve as meatballs with a tzatziki dipping sauce.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

1 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup grated english cucumber (about a 5″ piece)
1 clove garlic, grated
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dill weed

place the yogurt into a small bowl.

coarsely grate the english cucumber onto a plate. with your hands, squeeze out as much cucumber juice as possible and add the grated cucumber to the yogurt.

add the grated garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and dill weed. mix thoroughy and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

TOLL HOUSE PIE

Posted on by
Reply

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 (6 oz) pkg (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (9″) unbaked pie shell

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. beat in flour, sugar and brown sugar until well blended. blend in melted butter. stir in chocoate chips and walnuts. pour into pie shell. bake for 1 hour. serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

VEGETABLE TOPPING MIX

Posted on by
1

3/4 cup plus 1 tbs grated parmesan cheese*
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 cups savory cornbread stuffing mix
2 tbs dehydrated chopped chives
2 tbs dehydrated chopped parsley

*choose parmesan cheese that doesn’t need refrigeration until after the package is opened

blend cheese, salt and pepper in a small bowl. pour into a 1-pint wide-mouth jar with a tight-fitting lid. layer remaining ingredients attractively. pack down lightly before adding each layer. seal jar.

cover top of jar with fabric. attach gift tag/recipe with raffia or ribbon.

makes 1 (1-pint) jar

ATTACH THE FOLLOWING RECIPE TO THE JAR:

BAKED TOMATOES

1 jar vegetable topping mix, divided
1 tbs butter
1 shallot, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
4 small to medium tomatos, halved widthwise

pour vegetable topping mix into a medium bowl. stir well. set aside 1/4 of the topping (generous 1/2 cup). return remaining topping to jar and seal jar. (remainder is enough to prepare recipe three more times).

preheat oven to 350 degrees. melt butter in a small skillet add shallot and garlic. cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until tender. mix in topping. remove from heat.

arrange tomato halves, cut sides up, in a 9″ round glass pie dish. spoon equal amounts of topping mixture, about 1 heaping tablespoon, over each tomato half. bake 20 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender and topping is golden.

8 servings

FRUITS & VEGGIES

Posted on by
Reply

MAKE SAUTEED ONIONS EVEN SWEETER – For tastier sauteed onions, add a few drops of honey to the pan after heating the oil or butter and before adding the onions . Or if you don’t have any honey, add some sugar on top of the onions once they start to soften. This is especially tasty if you’ll be using the onions on a pizza, steak or hamburger.

FREEZING FORTUNES

Posted on by
Reply

Line casseroles with heavy foil, freeze food in it, then remove from the container, wrap and store in the freezer. When ready to use, peel off the foil, place it in the original casserole dish and heat.

Always wrap anything to be frozen as air tight as you can. Get all the air bubbles out of the package. This can be done by partially submerging the plastic bag in water and sealing close to the article.

Cool cooked food quickly and completely for freezing.

Carefully seal packages and label with date. Use oldest ones first.

When juicing a lemon or orange needed in a recipe, don’t throw away the rind. Peel it with a paring knife (no white membrane) and run in through a grater. Store in plastic containers in the freezer and you will always have freshly grated rind on hand.

To freeze berries, only use firm, ripe berries. Wash thoroughly in cold water and place in freezing containers. Then pour in syrup. Handle them quickly. Make syrup by stirring 1 2/3 cups sugar into 2 cups boiling water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Use more sugar if a sweeter taste is desired. Berries may also be sweetened by tossing washed fruit lightly with about 1/2-1/3 cup sugar per quart. Package and freeze at once; do not wait until you have them all packaged, but freeze a few packages at a time.

Berries may also be frozen whole by placing them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen, store in plastic bags. These will be quite watery when removed from the freezer, so they should be used in sauces, etc. Do not completely defrost before use.

Melons may be easily frozen by cutting into melon balls or small cubes. Place in containers and cover with syrup. Add 1-2 tsp ascorbic-citrus acid powder for each quart of syrup used. Or, use fresh orange juice, pineapple juice or ginger ale for a different flavor in place of the syrup. Crumple a piece of cellophane on top of the fruit before sealing and freezing. Do not defrost; place in the refrigerator and serve still frosty. Great for winter salads or fruit cocktails.

To freeze fresh vegetables, select mature fresh vegetables.  Wash thoroughly and blanch by placing in boiling water and bringing again to a boil. Boil asparagus, green beans, limas, cauliflower and spinach 2 minutes. Boil broccoli 3 minutes; peas 1 minute; corn on the cob 8 minutes; and cut corn 2 1/2 minutes. Submerge vegetables immediately in cold water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and package immediuately for freezing.

Do not freeze salad greens, radishes, tomatoes, celery, cabbage, cucumbers or onions.

Fresh peppers, green or red, and chives are easily frozen by slicing or chopping and storing in plastic bags. When ready to use in casseroles, etc., just take out the number of rings and cut up frozen. Marvelous to have all winter when peppers are expensive when you only need a small amount.