Twice Cooked Pork

2-3 lbs pork steak
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup broth
2 T soy sauce
2 T Salsa
1/4 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T oil
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green pepper, sliced thin
1-2 lbs cabbage, sliced
2 T cornstarch
2 T cold water

Put pork in a baking pan covered with onion, garlic, celery and water. Cover with foil and bake at 300º for 1 hour. Strain broth. Cut pork in small pieces. In a bowl mix broth, soy sauce, salsa, ginger, salt, and brown sugar. Set aside. Heat oil in large skillet. Saute onions, garlic and green peppers. Add broth mixture. Bring to boil, reduce heat and add cabbage.  In small bowl mix cornstarch and water. After cabbage is wilted stir in cornstarch mixture. Stir until thickened.

Oat Brownies

2 T brown sugar

1 t cocoa powder

1 t butter

¼ c hot water
½ c oats
¼ c pumpkin

1 egg

¼ c vanilla rice milk

¼ t soda

¼ t vanilla

½ c nuts

½ c chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 350º. Mix the first four ingredients until sugar and cocoa are dissolved. Stir in the next ingredients one at a time.  Pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake 20 minutes. Top will look glossy. You can melt more chocolate chips or dark chocolate on the hot brownie to create an icing and to hide the strange appearance. Spread the melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Magic Carpet Cookies

•1 cup soft butter
•½ cup sugar
•1 egg
•3 tsp. almond or vanilla flavoring
•2 ½ cups flour
•½ tsp. baking powder
•½ tsp. salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream well – butter, sugar, egg, flavoring. Stir dry ingredients together; blend in. Reserve half of dough. Roll rest into two rectangles, 12” x 6”, on heavily floured board. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into three strips. With spatula, carefully lift each strip onto ungreased baking sheet, placing about 1” apart.

With reserved dough, divide into 18 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and place one rope down the center of one rectangle; another on each side of that rectangle. Repeat for all rectangles. Press rope down with your fingers or a fork so that they are adhered to the rectangle.

Bake for ten minutes, or until edges are light brown.  Cool on baking sheets.  Fill in between rows with sugar icing, jelly, or Nutella.  Carefully cut 1” diagonal pieces with sharp knife.  Yield 60-70 cookies

Tomato Goulash

 8 ounces elbow macaroni
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2  garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 t parsley
1 T butter
salt and pepper

Prepare elbow macaroni according to directions on package. Brown meat in a large skillet, drain the fat and add the onion and garlic half way through cooking. Drain any remaining fat. Add the meat mixture to the cooked macaroni, add the stewed tomatoes, parsley, butter and seasoning. Mix all this together and simmer 30 minutes.

Carrot and Potato Goulash

1 T oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1  clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 cube Maggi chicken boulin
2 cups potatoes, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 T butter
1 t parsley
salt and pepper

In big pot, saute onions and garlic. Add meat and saute until lightly brown. Season meat with salt and pepper. Add potatoes, carrots and boulin. Add enough water to barely cover vegetables and simmer for 45 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add butter and season to taste.

*Potatoes and carrots can be microwaved before adding to the meat for a quicker meal.

Peanut Butter Sauce

2 Tb cold water
2 Tb corn starch
1 Tb butter
1 clove garlic
½ tsp ginger
1 ½ c broth
2 Tb salsa
2 Tb soy sauce
2 Tb peanut butter
1/3 c. brown sugar

Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and set aside. Sauté garlic in butter. Add the remaining ingredients to the garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and slowly stir in the cornstarch until the sauce thickens.

Marinara sauce

2 T oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup onion, chopped
16 oz stewed tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
1 T sugar or maple syrup
1 t basil
½ t oregano
1 t parsley
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Sauté onion and garlic. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

Sloppy Joes

2 T oil
1 med onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 T green pepper, chopped finely
1 lb ground beef or turkey, crumbled
1 t salsa or 1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t horseradish mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
8 oz tomato sauce

Saute onions, garlic, and green peppers. Brown beef and drain fat or brown turkey and cook until juices are absorbed. Add salsa for turkey or Worcestershire for beef, mustard and sugar, stir until well incorporated. Add tomato sauce and simmer on low 30 minutes.

Grilled Sandwiches:
On a hot grill place buttered bread. Add slice of American cheese and scoop of sloppy joe. Cover with buttered bread and grill until brown on both sides and cheese is melted.

Chicken and Dumplings

4-5 lb chicken
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 cube Maggi chicken boulin
1/2 t pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
2 cups carrots
2 T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups Jiffy Baking Mix
2 t parsley
2/3 cup milk

Place chicken, onion, garlic, celery, boulin, pepper, bay leaf and water  in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 2 hours. Strain broth. Remove chicken from bones and return to pot with strained broth. Microwave carrots, butter and a little broth until carrots are tender. Add garlic and microwave another minute. Add carrots, garlic, and peas to pot. Bring to boil. Combine baking mix, parsley and milk. Drop dough into boiling broth. Cover, cook 10 minutes; uncover, cook 10 minutes more.

Chicken and Noodles

4-5 lb chicken
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 cube maggi chicken boulin
1/2 t pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
12 oz noodles
2 T butter
1 clove garlic
1 T parsley
4 T corn starch
4 T cold water

Place chicken, onion, garlic, celery, boulin, pepper, bay leaf and water  in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 2 hours. In another pot cook noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles, leave in colander. In the same hot pot add butter, saute garlic and parsley. Return noodles to pot and toss with butter mixture. Remove chicken from bones and set aside. Strain broth into cooked noodles. In small bowl mix corn starch and cold water. Add corn starch slurry to noodles and broth, bring to boil and simmer until thickens. Add chicken and re-heat.

Chicken and Broth

4-5 lb chicken
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 cube maggi chicken boulin
1/2 t pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups water

Place all ingredients in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 2 hours. Remove chicken from bones. Strain broth into a large bowl. If broth is to be used later, cool quickly by placing bowl in cold water; stir often, change water if it becomes warm. Cover and refrigerate, use within 3 days or freeze in ice cube trays. Makes about 4 cups chicken and 4 cups broth.

Swiss Steak

1 1/2 lbs round steak or cube steak
2 T flour
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
3 T oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
8 oz tomato sauce
2 T sugar or maple syrup
1 cup water
1 bay leaf

Coat steak with flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet, brown steak on both sides. Remove steak, saute onions. Add sauce, sugar, water, bay leaf. Bring to boil. Return steak, cover tightly reduce heat to low. Simmer 2 hours.

Smothered Steak

4 cubed steaks
4 onion slices, thin
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
salt & pepper

In baking dish spread out the cube steaks, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cover each steak with a onion slice. Mix soup with milk and pour over steaks. Bake at 350º for 1 hour. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Pot Roast

3-5 lb chuck roast (well marbled)
2 T oil
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Potatoes (optional)
Carrots (optional)
pepper
salt


Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Pat off excess moisture from roast with clean paper towels to enhance the browning of the meat. In a dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat,  add the meat and sear it thoroughly, use a pair of tongs to turn it. (Do not poke with fork) When a nice brown crust has developed on all sides of the meat, add vegetables and sprinkle with onion soup, cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer the whole thing to the oven. (Use foil under lid if not tight fitting) Bake 30 minutes, turn heat down to 200° and cook 4-6 hours or until the meat is tender.

Remove roast from the oven and leave the meat and vegetables in the broth while you make the sauce. Ladle out two cups of the broth and pour it through a mesh strainer. Skim off any fat from the top. Heat the butter in a separate saucepan, then gradually stir in the flour until a paste forms. Heat for a few minutes, stirring, until the roux is a rich brown color. Now whisk the hot broth into the roux, a little at a time. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Slice the meat across the grain, arrange slices on warm plates, sauce generously and serve right away.

Tacos

taco shells or tortilla
cheese, shredded
lettuce, shredded
tomatoes, diced
onions, diced
filling

Chicken Filling: Saute 1/2 cup chopped onion and minced garlic in 2 T butter. Add 2 cups sliced chicken, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t cumin, 1/4 t oregano, 1/8 t red pepper, and black pepper.

Beef Filling: Brown 1 lb ground beef , 1/2 cup chopped onion, and minced garlic; drain fat. Add 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t oregano, 1/2 t salt, 1/8 t red pepper, black pepper, and 1T salsa.

Turkey Filling: Brown 1 lb ground turkey, 1/2 cup chopped onion, and minced garlic in 1 T oil; cook until all juices are absorbed. Stir in 1 T salsa. Add 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t oregano, 1/2 t salt, 1/8 t red pepper, black pepper.

Creamed Eggs

3-4 eggs
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 t salt
pepper to taste

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Blend flour into the melted butter. Add  salt. Cook over low heat, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes. Cooking for this length of time will minimize 'flour' taste. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking slowly until smooth and thickened. Stir the pepper and chopped eggs into the sauce; stir until the eggs are heated. Serve over toast or biscuits.

For a thicker white sauce use 4 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons of flour.

Pork Yakitori

1 lb pork
2 T soy sauce
2 T lemon juice
1 clove garlic
2 T oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t ginger

Cut pork into cubes or strips. Blend remaining ingredients. Marinate pork for 4 hours. Thread on skewers. Grill or broil 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally.

Corn Fritters

1 (16 oz) can corn, drained
1 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 T oil

Mix all ingredients. Drop by teaspoon into hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Place on paper towel.

Potato Cakes

1 cup left-over mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 cup flour

Mix all ingredients well. Drop by teaspoon into hot oil. Fry until golden brown.

Broccoli Bake

1 (10 oz) frozen broccoli, thawed
1 egg
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Velveeta cheese
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter, cut in pieces
1/3 cup Ritz crackers, crushed

Beat egg in baking dish. Add soup, cheese, onion and butter. Stir in broccoli. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes.