GK

Perfect Autumn Olives

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Good as a tapas kind of dish.  Serve with several small plates of nibbles.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (6 oz.) can Lindsay Naturals Green Ripe Olives, drained
  • 1 ½ Tab extra virgin olive oil
  • Three 2-inch strips orange peel, removed with a vegetable peeler
  • 1 ½ tsp freshly grated orange zest
  • 1 tsp coarsely crushed fennel seed

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 375°F.
  2. Toss all of the ingredients together.
  3. Place in a 2-cup decorative table-ready baking dish.
  4. Place in the middle of the oven and bake until the olives are hot, 5 minutes.
  5. Place the baking dish on a larger serving plate or small platter and serve immediately with frilled bamboo toothpicks.

Serves:  The can has about 33 olives.

Source:  Lindsay Olives, Recipe provided by award-winning cookbook author Joanne Weir.

Cream-of-Whatever Soup Substitute

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This is really just a basic White Sauce (thick).  It can be frozen – great for emergencies!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tablespoons butter or oil
  • 3 Tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • dash of pepper
  • 1-1/4 cup liquid, milk or stock

Directions:

  1. Melt butter or oil in saucepan.
  2. Stir in flour and seasonings.
  3. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
  4. Add liquid slowly, stirring with wire whisk to prevent lumps.
  5. Cook until thick.

Serves:  Makes 1 cup or 1 can of condensed soup.

Tomato Soup: Use tomato juice for the liquid. Add dashes of garlic, onion powder, basil and oregano.

Chicken Soup: Use chicken broth for half the liquid. Add 1/4 t. poultry seasoning or sage.

Mushroom/celery/chive soup: Saute 1/4 C chopped mushrooms, celery or chives and 1 T minced onion in butter before adding flour.

Allergy Suggestion: If you use a gluten-free flour (rice, tapioca, etc.) or cornstarch, you can make the soup gluten-free. And if you use a stock rather than milk, you can make it milk-free, too.

Source:  A Frugal Simple Life, September 7, 2011

New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp

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There is no barbecue sauce or grill involved with these outstandingly good shrimp.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium lemon
  • 8 oz (1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 2 Tab Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tab chopped garlic
  • 2 Tab sliced shallots
  • 2 beers (cheap, light)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 oz kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 c chopped scallions
  • 24 shrimp, peeled, no tails

Directions:

  1. Cut the lemon in half crosswise.
  2. Juice it.
  3. Press each half flat on a cutting board, and then cut into 1/2 inch wide strips.
  4. Melt half the butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat.
  5. Add the shrimp and cook 1 minute.
  6. Add the lemon, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, salt, ground pepper.
  7. Reduce.
  8. Add half the beer.
  9. Drink the other half.  It’s ok, you are following a recipe written by a professional chef. Don’t let others judge you,.  Drink the other one if you want.  Who is in charge here anyway, right?
  10. Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors, being careful not to let the garlic brown.
  11. Add the remaining butter.
  12. Stir to create a sauce.
  13. Add the green onions.
  14. Serve with grits or rice.

Serves:  Maybe 4, maybe 6.  It is really tasty!

Source:  Greg Strickland, Executive Chef, Vi at Highlands Ranch, CO

 

Stay-a-bed Stew

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Years ago I had a recipe called Slug-a-bed Stew. I cannot find it anywhere!  Nothing on the internet is close.  The book had a mattress ticking cover and I think it was called “Cooking in Bed”.  Cannot find the book either.  This is what I remember.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds beef-stew meat, cubed
  • 1 pkg onion soup mix
  • 1 can cream of celery or mushroom soup
  • 1 soup can of red wine
  • 1 can pearl onions
  • 1 pt sour cream

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 275°.
  2. Mix all the ingredients, except the onions and sour cream, in an oven-proof casserole that has tight-fitting lid.  (No, you don’t have to brown the meat.)
  3. Cover and cook in a preheated 275-degree oven for 4 1/2 hours.  DO NOT PEEK!
  4. Add onions and sour cream and cook 1/2 hour longer.
  5. Serve over noodles or rice.

Serves:  6

Source: See above.

Note:  Sometime I will add sauted mushrooms too.

 

Donna’s Mushrooms

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Beyond simple!  Try them and you will be a believer!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb mushrooms (smaller is better)
  • 1/4 lb butter
  • 1 pkg ranch dressing dry mix

Directions:

  1. Place in small crock pot and simmer for 4 hours.
  2. Stir when you think about it.
  3. Serve with toothpicks.

Serves: 2 – 6

Source:  Donna Barasch

Note: If you forget to get going 4 hrs early, you can simmer on low (really low) on the stove for about an hour.

Gorp (Trail Mix)

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An essential on all outings with children (or children at heart).

Ingredients:

  • M&Ms
  • peanuts or other nuts
  • small pretzels
  • raisins or other dried fruit
  • sunflower seeds
  • “sweet” cereal (Fruit Loops, etc.)

Directions:

Mix and eat.

Serves:  To make  1/2 c per person – take the number of people, divide by 2 times the number of ingredients.  This will give you the number of cups of each ingredient.  (for 6 people, 5 ingredients —  6 ÷(5×2) = 1/2 cup of each ingredient.
Vary ingredients to taste -or what is left in the cupboard.

Source:  20 years of field research

Cherry-Fudge Cheesecake Dessert

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So- company for dinner, what for dessert??? Only thing in the cupboard is brownie mix.  Not brownies again!  Bless the internet.  This is delish! fast and easy.  I, of course did not have cherry pie filling, but I did have some cream left, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and almond extract.  Vola! Magic topping.  Thank you Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box (1lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker Original Supreme Premium brownie mix (or equivalent weight of Ghirardelli’s brownie mix with chocolate chips)
  • 3/4 c flour
  • 1/3 c butter, melted
  • 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese softened
  • 1 1/2 c whipping cream
  • 1 can cherry pie filling

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350°.
  2. Stir together 3/4 cup brownie mix, flour, and butter.
  3. Press in the bottom of ungreased springform pan (9×3 inches) or a square pan 9×9 inches.
  4. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed about 2 minutes, scraping bowl frequently, until smooth.
  5. Add remaining brown mix and whipping cream.
  6. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl frequently, until smooth. (Ignore chocolate chips)
  7. Pour over crust in pan.
  8. Bake 45-50 minutes for springform pan, 35 – 40 minutes for 9 inch square pan, or until set. (barely set, slight wiggle in the middle)
  9. Run (narrow) metal spatula along side of cheesecake to loosen before and after refrigerating.
  10. Spread pie filling over cheesecake.
  11. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
  12. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecake.

(Topping: Mix 3 Tab cocoa powder, 1 cup powdered sugar, add 2 Tab melted butter, 3 Tab warm water [cream], and 1/2 tsp almond extract.  food.com, Junebug)

Serves: 16

Source:  Mostly Homemade Mom from a Betty Crocker recipe

Candied Bacon

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DO NOT MAKE THIS!!  You will never be left alone.

Ingredients:

1/2 c packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp light chile powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

20 slices thick-cut bacon ( 1 1/2 lbs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.

Lightly spray with pan spray.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, garlic powder, black pepper and chile powder.

Dip the bacon strips in the sugar mixture, coating well.

Arrange the strips on the prepared sheet pan.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until caramelized and almost crisp.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Bacon will crisp further as it sets.

Serves:  ?

Source: American Cruise Lines, Queen of the West

 

 

 

 

Granola

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Good for breakfast, good with yogurt, good for a snack – all round useful!

Ingredients:

  • 4 c rolled oats, uncooked
  • 2 c wheat germ, plain
  • 1 c coconut, unsweetened
  • 1 c sesame seeds
  • 1 c almonds
  • 1 c sunflower seeds
  • 2 Tab vanilla
  • 3/4 c brown sugar
  • 3/4 c oil
  • 1/3 c water

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 300°.
  2. Mix.
  3. Spread in large shallow pan
  4. Bake one hour stirring several times.
  5. Store in tightly covered container.

Serves:  Makes 10 cups

Source:  Arlene Springe

Chocolate French Pastry Cake

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THE Kleerup family birthday cake.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c Dutch cocoa
  • 3/4 c boiling water
  • 2 c sugar
  • 1/2 c butter (1 cube)
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 c sour cream
  • 1/4 tsp instant coffee
  • 2 c sifted cake flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pinch of salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven 375°.
  2. Mix cocoa in boiling water and let cool.
  3. Cream butter and sugar.
  4. Add beaten egg yolks.
  5. Add sour cream in which soda and coffee have been dissolved, cooled cocoa mixture, flour, and salt.
  6. Fold in beaten egg whites and vanilla.
  7. Bake in 3 layers or a 9×12 pan 20 – 25 minutes in a 375° oven.

Frosting

  • 2 1/2 c confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 5 Tab Dutch cocoa
  • 5 Tab butter
  • 5 Tab hot water (or hot coffee)
  • 1 tsp vanilla

(No directions were included for the frosting – everyone knows you cream the sugar, cocoa, vanilla and butter and add enough water/coffee to make it spreadable.)

Serves:  12

Source:  Kenilworth Union Church Cook Book, contributed by Mrs. Bertel J.  Kleerup