This blog is now sugar FREE, fat FREE, gluten FREE, all ORGANIC and all NATURAL!!
(Stolen borrowed from Joeh at crankyoldman.blogspot.com)
I’m sitting here very
hungry & I can’t get food off my mind so I’ve decided to give you some
tried & true recipes. At least my
family & my guests love them. The
first recipe comes from Bud’s family. They've been making it for about 100 years—it should be ready any minute
now!!
TURKEY (OR CHICKEN)
DRESSING:
(This is enough for a large company turkey dinner.)
(This is enough for a large company turkey dinner.)
2--1 1/2# loaves of
bread (we have used white, french or sourdough--all good)
4 medium onions
2 bunches parsley
2 cups nuts (walnuts or
pecans)
1/2# butter, melted
Salt & pepper
1 cup turkey broth (Bud usually boils the neck with the heart & the giblets, onions, celery,
salt & pepper to make soup, which I use as the liquid for the gravy.
I assume you could use canned chicken broth, but we've never tried it.)
Put bread
in food processor (metal chopping blade) a handful at a time & pulse until
you have fluffy crumbs. Before processors, we used to grate it through a
vegetable colander; processors are much easier
& they stop blood from scraped fingers from getting in the dressing.
Remove to a large bowl--we use the bottom of a roasting pan. Chop
onions & parsley together in the processor until fine & add to bread.
Chop nuts (NOT in processor--they become dust) & add, along with
melted butter, salt & pepper (to taste) & mix to moisten evenly.
It's good raw & should taste slightly salty. If you prepare it the
day before, wait to put in the butter. When you're ready to cook it, put
it in a large greased casserole dish, add 1/3 of the broth (just pour it evenly
across the top & do not stir), cover & place in 350 oven. After
15 minutes add another 1/3 of the broth. Add the last 1/3 after another
15 minutes & cook 15 minutes longer. Total cooking time is 45
minutes. If you don’t like it, mail it
to me—I love it!!
The next
three recipes are easy-peasy.
BRISKET:
This
tastes like barbecued beef. I usually
serve it with mashed potatoes. I had a friend
who’s now passed away (not from
eating the brisket) who had a very large Catholic family. When they came over for lunch she would set
up a buffet & they would make “barbecued beef” sandwiches on french rolls,
along with cole slaw & potato salad. Since it's just Bud & me in the house now, I freeze the leftovers in individual containers & nuke them to serve.
4-5# beef brisket (not corned beef)
4-5# beef brisket (not corned beef)
3 onions,
chopped
¾ c. red
wine
1½ c.
catsup
3 shakes
Worcestershire sauce
It is not
necessary to brown the brisket. Mix
together all ingredients (except brisket) & put in covered roasting
pan. Put brisket on the mixture &
put several spoonfuls on top of the meat.
Cover & cook in 325 oven until very
tender; about 3-4 hours, occasionally spooning sauce over the meat. This is best if cooked the day before &
refrigerated with the meat & sauce separated for 24 hours. It’s easier to slice cold & you can
remove any fat from on top of the sauce.
Slice brisket very thin
diagonally & reheat in the sauce.
SCALLOPED
POTATOES WITH CHEESE:
Potatoes
& cheese—what’s not to like? Serves
2 fishduckies or 6 normal people.
3-4 large
potatoes
1 can
cream of mushroom soup
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Salt
& pepper to taste
Grease (I use spray) the bottom & sides of a low flat baking
dish. Peel the potatoes & slice them thin; about 1/8 to 1/4
inch. Put them in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients & mix
thoroughly. Put them in the casserole dish, keeping the mix not over 2
inches high. Bake uncovered in 350 oven until potatoes are fork-soft, about 60-75 minutes.
ONION CHICKEN:
This is a very loose recipe—play
with it!!
6 chicken
thighs, with skin (I guess you could use other pieces.)
2
envelopes dry onion soup mix
1/3 to ½
c. dry bread crumbs
Melted
butter or margarine to moisten
Mix soup
& bread crumbs together.
Moisten
chicken in water; dip in dry mixture to coat.
Place
skin side up on ungreased baking sheet.
Drizzle lightly with
butter. Too much makes them greasy!!
Bake in
325 oven for 45 minutes.
Drain on
rack. I use a cake rack over a baking sheet.
Have fun scraping the pan. If you
freeze them, microwave 1 thigh for 3 minutes to reheat. I apologize for
the post, but not the
chicken. I am never without some in my freezer!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have changed my system for labeling homemade freezer meals. I used to carefully note in large clear letters, "Meatloaf" or "Pot Roast" or "Steak and Vegetables" or "Chicken and Dumplings" or "Beef Pot Pie."
However, I used to get frustrated when I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner because he never asked for any of those things. So, I decided to stock the freezer with what he really likes.
If you look in my freezer now you'll see a whole new set of labels. You'll find dinners with neat little tags that say: "Whatever," "Anything," "I Don't Know," "I Don't Care," "Something Good," or "Food." My frustration is now reduced because no matter what my husband replies when I ask him what he wants for dinner, I know that it is there waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Becky prepared a pasta dish for a dinner party she was giving. In her haste, however, she forgot to refrigerate the spaghetti sauce, and it sat on the counter all day. She was worried about spoilage, but it was too late to cook up another batch.
She called the local Poison Control Center and voiced her concern. They advised Becky to boil the sauce again.
That night, the phone rang during dinner, and one of the guests volunteered to answer it. Becky's face dropped as the guest called out, "It's the Poison Control Center. They want to know how the spaghetti sauce turned out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have changed my system for labeling homemade freezer meals. I used to carefully note in large clear letters, "Meatloaf" or "Pot Roast" or "Steak and Vegetables" or "Chicken and Dumplings" or "Beef Pot Pie."
However, I used to get frustrated when I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner because he never asked for any of those things. So, I decided to stock the freezer with what he really likes.
If you look in my freezer now you'll see a whole new set of labels. You'll find dinners with neat little tags that say: "Whatever," "Anything," "I Don't Know," "I Don't Care," "Something Good," or "Food." My frustration is now reduced because no matter what my husband replies when I ask him what he wants for dinner, I know that it is there waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Becky prepared a pasta dish for a dinner party she was giving. In her haste, however, she forgot to refrigerate the spaghetti sauce, and it sat on the counter all day. She was worried about spoilage, but it was too late to cook up another batch.
She called the local Poison Control Center and voiced her concern. They advised Becky to boil the sauce again.
That night, the phone rang during dinner, and one of the guests volunteered to answer it. Becky's face dropped as the guest called out, "It's the Poison Control Center. They want to know how the spaghetti sauce turned out."
My son sent me this.
If you're a Jim Gaffigan fan you'll enjoy it.
An old family recipe from my grandmother's cookbook:
It's important that you keep your appliances up to date:
Since I didn't really write a post today, you're getting extra cartoons.
Think of them as dessert!!
I was
going to give you some important reasons not to procrastinate, but I’ll do it
later----fishducky
