Happy New Year!

How is 2018 starting for you?  Things are fairly quiet around here.  Ella caught her tradition ‘I’ve been to Toronto’ cold and has had a miserable few days.  I really should buy stock in Royale.   We have basically been house-bound since we came home from Toronto and I’m starting to go stir-crazy.  I think today is the worst yet.  It’s 2pm and it’s -20C and -40C /F with the windchill and the wind is blowing like crazy!  I love winter but weeks of -20/-40 get tiring.  I need to get out to get January groceries but I’m certainly not going out in this weather.

I’ve tried a few new recipes lately that I thought I’d share with you.  I’ll share the links, if they stop working let me know.  I’ve got the recipes written in my cookbook too.  The first is a delicious way to use up the last of the turkey, turkey and biscuit casserole.  Found Colin’s new favourite pizza crust, pizza crust.

OK, apparently I’ve lost the link for the next recipe.  We had steak the other day and ended up with some leftover (they were huge).  Pinterest to the rescue again and I found Steak Soup.   It was good with fresh garlic buns.

Steak Soup

serves 6

2 Tbsp oil                               4 cloves garlic, minced                                  1 onion, minced

5 small potatoes, diced       2 large carrots, diced                                     2 cups steak, diced

1 tsp salt                                 1 tsp pepper                                                     1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup tomato sauce          4 cups beef broth

Saute onions and garlic.  Add the rest of the veg. for a couple of minutes.  Add everything else.  Boil, then simmer (covered) for an hour.

 

I used some home canned tomato sauce in the soup so I had to find something else to do with the leftover tomato sauce.  Enter home-made ‘condensed tomato soup‘ and chili mac.  I really liked the chili mac recipe because it only made 4 servings, we won’t have to eat leftover pasta for days.

So that’s how I’ve been spending my days, what have you been doing to stay warm?

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Recipes

Here’s a few new recipes to share.  I’m sorry I forgot to take pictures.  I’ll try to remember the next time I make these.

First recipe is a link.  I know I’ve mentioned this recipe before, but the loin roast recipe over at Like Mother, Like Daughter is absolutely delicious.  It’s the recipe I used this year for Daddy’s birthday.

Have you seen the new flavoured Philly Cream Cheese tubs?  I picked up the herb and garlic one last grocery day and came up with these potatoes.  They are like my Company Potato recipe.

Easy, Fancy Mashed Potatoes

12 large potatoes, peeled and cooked

1 c lite sour cream (5%)

1 pkg (270g) flavoured cream cheese

3 T butter, softened

1/2 c mozzarella cheese (to make it stringy)

sprinkle of cheddar (for topping)

Cook and rice potatoes.  Have all other ingredients at room temperature for easy mixing.  Combine everything (except cheddar) and mix well.  Spoon into a greased casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cheddar.  Bake 350F for 30 minutes or until hot.

I had some boneless chicken breasts the other day and nothing to do with them.  So this is what I tried and it was yummy.

Parmesan Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves

1 c mayonnaise

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1/2 t pepper

1 t garlic powder

Mix everything together and spoon over top the chicken breasts.  Bake 375F for 45 minutes.

 

Here’s another yummy soup.  It works with canned tomatoes or fresh.

Tomato Potato Soup

1 T butter

2 T oil

2 large onions, chopped

4 c peeled and cubed potatoes

1 c each celery and carrots, chopped

2 garlic, minced

1/2 t thyme

1 (14.5oz) can tomatoes

1 c chicken broth

2 c milk

1 1/2 T cornstarch (dissolve in a little water)

Cook onions in butter/oil until nice and golden brown.  Add vegetables, thyme and stock.  Simmer until vegetables are tender.  Add milk  and cornstarch.  Stir over low heat until soup thickens.

 

 

 

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Mmmmmmmm, Soup

Our church likes to have a soup and sandwich fundraiser every once in a while.  It’s always popular.  I was ordered asked to make Turkey Vegetable Soup.   Luckily Grandma had an extra turkey in the freezer.  Not sure why it couldn’t have been chicken vegetable soup -oh well, that’s Alice  🙂

So here’s the mega soup size Turkey Vegetable Soup recipe:

2 cup finely chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 c diced potatoes

8 cups turkey/chicken broth (homemade makes the difference)

6 T cornstarch, dissolved in 4 c milk (I use 2%)

s & p to taste

a bag mixed frozen vegetables, thawed -feel free to use veg. from garden

most of a turkey, cut/shredded into small pieces

I like to give the onions a good saute before adding anything else.  Add in onions, potatoes and stock.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are done.  (if using fresh vegetables, add them with the potatoes)

Add s & p and milk/cornstarch.  Stir and simmer until rather thick.  This is the beauty of using cornstarch instead of flour.  Cornstarch will thicken without having to boil so there is no chance of curdling the milk.

Add the vegetables and turkey.  Simmer until heated through.

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French Onion Tomato Soup

Temperatures are dipping down today.  It’s only 15C (59F) outside today.  After all the humidity this weekend it feels chilly.  In fact Ella is lying here on the floor snuggled up in Daddy’s flannel shirt/jacket.  I had some tomatoes left over from Market, so I decided to make some soup.  It’s a new variation on tomato soup.

French Onion Tomato Soup

3 large onions (6 cups sliced)               2 cloves garlic, minced

2T butter and oil                                       16-18 tomatoes, rough chop

2 c chicken stock                                      1/2 t oregano

salt & pepper to taste

Put tomatoes into a saucepan and simmer, uncovered for 30-40 minutes.  Meanwhile, slowly saute the onions until golden.  Add the garlic for the last few minutes.

Carefully put the tomatoes (skins and all) in the blender and process until smooth.  Please don’t overload the blender.  Hot stuff in blenders are dangerous.

When all the tomatoes have been processed, add in the onion mixture and simmer for 10 minutes.

This soup can be served as is, with a sprinkle of Parmesan or you can give it the full French onion treatment.  Pour soup over croutons and top with cheese, then broil to melt the cheese.

This recipe is shared over at Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday.

 

Recipe Update:  to enjoy this soup out of season, use a 28oz can of pureed tomatoes.  Tastes just as good and you don’t need to use the blender either.

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Recipes

Autumn Chowder –small recipe, double as needed

2 slices bacon, diced                 1 sm onion, chopped
1 med potato, diced                  1 carrot, sliced
1/2c water                                 3/4t chicken broth powder
1c milk                                      2/3 c corn
pepper to taste                          2 1/2t flour/cornstarch
2T water                                   3/4c shredded cheese

Cook bacon till crisp and set aside.  Saute onions in bacon fat.  Add potatoes, carrots, water and broth powder.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes till cooked.  Stir in corn, milk and pepper.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Mix flour and 2T water.  Stir into soup until thickened.  Remove from heat, add cheese and stir.  Sprinkle with bacon to serve.

Oven Beef Stew

1 lb stew beef                                           1/4 c flour

3 T oil                                                          1 t salt

3 T prepared mustard                          1 sm. can tomato paste

2 1/2 c water                                            1 sm. onion

3 carrots, sliced                                      10 oz frozen vegetables, like corn & peas

Dredge meat in flour.  Brown on all sides in oil.  Remove as browned and brown onions.  In remaining oil add flour, salt and mustard.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the tomato paste mixed with water.  Stir constantly.  Pour over meat in oven-proof casserole.  Bake covered at 350F for 1 hour.   Add carrots and vegetables.  Bake another hour.

Potatoes can be added with the meat, but I prefer to cook them separately.  In fact, I made baked potatoes this time and it was a nice accompaniment.

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This And That

The week has turned out a little busier than expected.  I certainly didn’t expect to spend 2 1/2 hours at the hospital with Ella today.  The doctor says it’s only bronchitis, but I think she’s picked up my chest infection.  Bronchitis doesn’t usually sound like you are coughing up a lung, it’s usually dry and hacky sounding.  I won’t be surprised if we end up at the walk-in clinic Wednesday.

Tuesday we were so busy weighing and labeling pork and getting it all bagged up and ready for OVFC delivery day today.  Things were slow at delivery day, so that took a good chunk of this morning.

I made two pots of soup for the church sale today (made the soup yesterday).  Actually I made THREE pots of soup, but I burnt the first one and had to start over.  Luckily I hadn’t put in the turkey yet and so only wasted potatoes, stock and milk.

I did get a chance to make some delicious applesauce cake.  It comes from my Amish Cook’s Baking book.  But you can find the recipe over at Amish Cook Online.  It’s super easy to make, takes a pint jar of applesauce (the size I can).  It uses salad dressing (I use Hellmans) so there are no extra eggs or oil.  I made a fancy loaf pan and a 9 inch cake out of the recipe, or it makes a 9×13.  It is very yummy and ‘easy to eat’ according to Colin.  I don’t even bother icing it, we eat it like a snack cake or brownie.

This afternoon I helped Colin get the bottle gourds and the bushel gourds out of the garden.  We’re hoping they are ripe enough and will dry nicely over the winter.

Here’s a soup recipe to try, it’s a good use for Thanksgiving leftovers:

Turkey Chowder

1 onion, chopped fine                      1 c diced carrots

2 c diced potatoes                              1/2 c diced celery

6 c turkey or chicken broth, preferable homemade

5 c or more of chopped turkey, watch for bones and such

4 T butter                                             6T cornstarch

2 c milk, any kind                             2 c mozzarella

Simmer vegetables and broth for 20 minutes until potatoes are soft.  Add the chicken.  In another saucepan, melt butter and stir in cornstarch.  Slowly add milk and stir until very thick.  Add to soup and stir to combine.   Remove from heat and add cheese.  Stir till melted and serve.

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Recipes

Now that the nice weather is back (i.e., cool) it’s time to start making cozy food.  Today I made some French onion soup and macaroni and cheese.  Both are easy and I thought I’d share the recipes.

French Onion Soup

5 cups thinly sliced onions                  1t salt

3T butter                                                      1/4 t sugar

1T oil                                                             3T corn starch

2qt chicken broth, I make my own in the crockpot after roasting a chicken -easy

Cook onions slowly with butter and oil.  Cover for 15 minutes on low.  Remove lid and turn up to medium.  Add sugar and salt.  Cook and stir until onions are golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.  Time spent here will improve the flavour.  Sprinkle on cornstarch and cook a couple of minutes.  Add onions to hot stock.  Simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes.

In oven-proof bowl, add some croutons or toast and pour in soup.  Top with nice layer of mozzarella or Parmesan or Swiss.  Broil until cheese is melted.

I usually baggie up the leftover soup (minus croutons and cheese) and keep it in the freezer, it reheats well.

Macaroni and Cheese

1c macaroni, cooked till tender

3T butter                                   3/4 t salt

3T cornstarch                          2 c milk, any kind we usually use 2%

1/4 t dry mustard                  2 c grated cheese, we use cheddar

Melt butter and cornstarch and mustard for a few minutes.  Pour in milk and stir until fairly thick.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Drain macaroni and pour into cheese sauce.  Pour everything into a greased 1 1/2 qt casserole.

Bake 400F for 20 minutes.  You can top with buttered crumbs but I don’t usually.

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Disappointment

We were supposed to have company this weekend.  Daddy’s best friend Keith, from Centralia College, and family were supposed to be up from London.  Their little girl is 2 and they have a little guy turning 1 this month.  Ella was so looking forward to playing with Rachel.  She even went through her toys and put away all the little stuff that Brandon couldn’t have.  But poor Rachel has been fighting off a cold for a week or so and now it’s turned to pneumonia.

It’s turned out to be a much quieter weekend than expected.  I’m actually home alone tonight.  Ella and I went over to Grandma’s to cut grass this afternoon.  When it was time to come home she asked to stay.  So I said yes.  Colin and Dad are going to the tractor pull over in Beachburg tonight.  I was invited, but a tractor pull is about the last place you’d find me -too loud for starters.  I forget how much admission is, but I’d be better to save my admission money and buy wool  🙂

I had a cauliflower that I was going to gratin to have with the roast chicken but since there’s no company I won’t.  So I turned the cauliflower into soup for Grandma.  I know this is an odd time of year to be thinking about soup, but I like to make soup when the vegetables are fresh and then pop them into the freezer for winter enjoying.  Here’s a couple of our favourites.

Cream of Cauliflower or Broccoli

2T butter                                            3 c cauliflower/broccoli, chopped fairly small

1 onion, sliced                                 1 c beef broth

1 c potato, sliced                            2 c milk, any kind we usually have 2%

2 T butter                                          2 T cornstarch

salt & pepper

Saute onions in butter until soft.  Add in potatoes and broth.  Simmer, covered, until soft.  Add vegetables and simmer 5 minutes.  Blend carefully -the blender will try to spit.  Separately, melt butter and add cornstarch.  Carefully add milk, salt and pepper.  Stir till fairly thick.  Add pureed vegetables.  Do not boil.

Tomato Soup

3 T butter or bacon fat                        3 onions, chopped

2 lbs ripe tomatoes, chopped but not peeled

1 t sugar                                                   1/2 t salt, to taste

1 c chicken stock

Saute onions until golden.  Add tomatoes, sugar, salt and stock.  Simmer, covered, until soft; about 30 minutes.  Blend in the blender, again be careful.  It’s best to cover the blender lid with a tea towel and hold on tight.  Also, don’t over fill the blender jar.

Kartoffel Suppe (potato soup)

2 c potatoes, sliced -about 6 medium

1 garlic                                          1 onion, chopped fine           2T butter

3 c salted water                        3 c milk, again whatever is in the house

3 T cornstarch                          3 T butter or bacon fat

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in butter until soft and golden.

In another pot, boil potatoes and garlic in the water until tender.  Remove garlic and put the potatoes through a ricer (save water).  Add potatoes and onions back to cooking water.   In another pot, melt butter/fat.  Add in cornstarch and carefully blend in milk.  Stir till fairly thick.  Add to potato mixture and simmer.  Do not boil.  This soup is very good with homemade garlic croutons.

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Recipes

Here’s a couple of my new favourite recipes.  And, other than the puff paste, I have all the ingredients in my house at any given time.  They are easy to make too.

Corn Chowder

makes about 8 cups
2 T butter or bacon fat
1 c chopped onion
1/2 t salt and pepper
1/4 t paprika
11/4 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced fairly small and cooked
2 c milk
2 14oz cans cream-style corn
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded -or to taste

Melt butter or bacon fat, add onion and cook until starting to caramelize but not too brown.  Add seasonings.  Add potatoes, milk and corn.  Stir until heated through.  But don’t boil.  Stir in cheese until melted.

If you have leftover potatoes this goes together really quickly.  It’s very yummy and freezes well.

I’ll mention one of my favourite kitchen ‘gadgets’.  It’s called the Simmer Mat and it’s from Lehman’s.  It allows me to simmer things, like cream soups, without having to worry about it sticking and burning.  My gas stove only goes down so low before it goes out, so the mat is heaven-sent.  I actually have 2  🙂

Bavarian Beef Pie

pastry for a 2 crust, 7-8 inch pie pan (I used a French tart shaped pan)

1 lb stew beef, cut into 1/2 inch cube
2 t oil and 1 T butter
1 small potato, cut into 1/2 inch cube
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 c shredded apple
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t flour
1 1/2 t beef bouillon granules
1 t parsley
1/8 t celery seed, dill weed, thyme, and pepper
1/2 c water

Brown beef in oil.  Remove.  Melt butter and saute onions, potatoes and apple for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in garlic and flour.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add seasoning, beef broth, beef, and water.  Cook and stir until thickened.

Pour into a pastry lined pie pan.  Cover with pastry.  Cut slits to let out steam.  Bake 375F for 30-35 min.

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