Carne Guisada

3# beef chuck roast

15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 can Rotel

2 onions, chopped

3 bell peppers, chopped

1.5 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

4 tsp Adobo

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp Mexican oregano

1.5 tsp paprika

Add all ingredients to crock pot (or roasting pan). Cook until meat is shreddable-tender. Shred beef and remove fat. Return meet to seasoning mixture. 

Serve with tortillas.

Mixed Olive Crostini – Makes 2 dozen  (Taste of Home Magazine)

1 can (4 ½ ounces) chopped ripe olives

½ cup pimiento-stuffed olives, finely chopped

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup butter, softened (or melted)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

1 French bread baguette (10 ½ ounces)

1.       In a medium small bowl, combine the first six ingredients; stir

In mozzarella cheese and parsley.  Cut baguette into 24 slices;

Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Spread with olive mixture.

2.       Broil 3-4 in. from heat for 2-3 minutes or until edges are lightly

Browned and cheese is lightly melted.

We bought a long 15 0z. baguette from Schnucks to get about 48 -  3/8 to ½  inch slices.  We adjusted the recipe by ½ to make enough for 36 slices (kept the rest of the baguette at home).  We used a 6 oz. can of whole ripe olives and 5.75 oz. jar of green olives.  Each jar yielded about 1 ¼ cup of finely chopped olives. 

Ready to Serve Cream Cheese Filling

Great for mini cheesecakes, stuffing into a crescent roll or a section of puff pastry - or topping a brownie!

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar

Mix together ingredients above. Microwave on high 30 seconds. Mix. Repeat microwave / mix steps another 2-4 times.

Stir in 1 tsp vanilla.

Voila!

Quick and easy awesomeness. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Haven't tried it yet but I suspect mixing in some cocoa to start with would also be awesome - maybe 1T to 1/4c?

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed mile
3 cups sugar

Mix the above ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 7 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in 1 T vanilla.
Mix in blender 2-4 minutes.

Store in fridge.

Bierrocks

These pastry pockets filled with beef, cabbage, onions and cheese can go straight from the freezer to the oven.

 

2 cups skim milk, lukewarm

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 packages  yeast

1/2 cup  sugar

2 teaspoons  salt

6 cups flour

2 pounds  ground beef, lean

1/2 head  cabbage -- chopped
1 large onion, chopped

18 slices  American cheese

1 egg, beaten

 

Mix milk and oil. Add eggs, yeast, sugar, salt and 5 cups of flour. Add remaining flour as necessary to form a kneadable dough. Knead a few minutes. Cover bowl and let dough rise one hour in a warm place.

Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet. Do not drain. Add onion and cabbage and continue cooking until onion is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

After dough has risen, roll out hunks of dough (about the size of a tennis ball) as thin as possible. Place 1/2 slice cheese on dough, top with some filling, then the other half slice of cheese. Fold over and seal like a turnover (moistening the edges with water may help seal them).

Place on a baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately or cool and freeze. To reheat frozen, simply bake until hot. Yield: about 18 Bierrocks.

Cajun Meat Loaf - Large batch to freeze

                                    Cajun Meat Loaf - Large batch to freeze

Recipe By     :  Cook Now, Serve Later by the editors of Reader's Digest
  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  20                    onion -- chopped
  20                    celery ribs -- chopped
  20                    green pepper -- chopped
  40                    green onions -- minced
  20      cloves        garlic clove -- minced
  4-5                    bay leaves
     1/3  cup           salt
   3 1/3  tablespoons   cayenne pepper
   3 1/3  tablespoons   black pepper
   1 2/3  tablespoons   cumin
   1 2/3  tablespoons   nutmeg
   1 1/4  cups          Worcestershire sauce
   1 2/3  tablespoons   Tabasco sauce
     1 1/4  quarts        milk, skim (I leave this out in the big batch - enough juice from the veggies)
   1 1/4  quarts        ketchup
   1 2/3  quarts        dry bread crumbs
  20      pounds        ground beef, lean
  10      pounds        ground pork
  40                    eggs -- slightly beaten

                        GRAVY
                         onion powder
                        cayenne pepper
                        water
                        flour, all-purpose

1.  Mix the onion, celery, bell pepper, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumin, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, and tabasco sauce in a medium bowl.

2. Cook the vegetable/spice mixture, stirring constantly, until the onions and peppers are soft. Remove from the heat & let cool until warm to the touch. Discard the bay leaves. Stir in the milk, catsup, & bread crumbs.

3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, eggs, and the bread crumb mixture. Line meat loaf pans with aluminum foil, leaving enough extra to cover the top. Grease the aluminum foil. Pack the meat mixture into each pan and cover with aluminum foil, keeping package as airtight as possible.

Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw meat loaf if frozen. Place meat loaf in an oven pan. Bake in a preheated 325F. oven for 35 minutes. Remove the foil & bake 40 - 50 minutes longer or until the loaf pull away from the sides of the pan and serve.

Mix drippings with water, spices. Add flour and cook until thickened.

Maggie Steffan Pan Rolls

Maggie Steffan Pan Rolls

 

1 pkg dry yeast + 1 tsp sugar + 1/4 cup warm water (not hot)

Mix together and set aside until foamy

 

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups water

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup butter, melted

1-1/2 tsp salt

7 cups flour

 

Add egg, butter, sugar and water to the foamy yeast mixture. Add 2 cups flour. Beat with electric mixer 2 minutes.

 

Add the rest of the flour, a bit at a time, by hand, mixing to make a soft dough.

Place dough in a buttered dish, turning to coat all sides with butter. Cover with lid or clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

 

Knead dough until it is elastic. Roll into balls and place in a buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

 

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake until done.

Mouth-watering toffee

1 lb butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 cups chocolate chips (milk or semisweet)

candy molds

In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Boil to brittle stage, 300 degrees F without stirring. Remove from heat.

Pour candy into candy molds. Spread chocolate chips over candy and let melt.

After candy cools, break into bite-size pieces.

For molds, use break-apart hard candy high temperature molds like these:
http://www.confectioneryhouse.com/break-apart-bar-hard-candy-mold (the ones I have)

or these
http://www.stuff4crafts.com/hexagon-break-up-sweet-shoppe-candy-molds-l55-42.html?CAWELAID=600719459&gclid=CLucs8vZ-7gCFWJlMgodaHkAXg

Grandma Shore’s Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

½ cup water

Combine sugar, syrup and water in heavy saucepan.  Cook to 240 degrees.  (If using pecans, cook to ~ 265F)

2 cups raw peanuts

Add nuts and cook to 300 to 310 degrees. While cooking, stir periodically to keep mixture from scorching. 

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

Add butter, salt and soda and stir quickly to mix.  Mixture will foam. 

While still foaming, pour onto pan or board that has been covered with buttered aluminum foil.  (Works best if you pour candy as thin as possible onto a large area)   Allow to cool very slightly.  While warm and pliable, stretch it.  The secret is to stretch the candy THIN.

Kathleen’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Kathleen’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

2-3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups butter (or margarine)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F (175C). 

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into balls about 1-1/4” diameter. Roll the balls in the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Place cookies on greased baking sheets and flatten slightly with a glass that has been dipped in granulated sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely.

**If you want to have cookies for later, or to give away, hide some, or bake them when no one is home. I usually can’t bake them fast enough to accumulate any cookies – the kids eat them as fast as they come out of the oven!