Posted in Recipes
|
Boys' Breakfast and Lunch Recipes for Four Fall 2009 Over the past thirteen months, three of our children have left home for college and marriage. It has been difficult for me to let them go—but another difficulty that I had never even thought of was that of food. Grocery shopping, cooking, menu planning—all of that has changed. When there were nine of us here, I always revised recipes to feed twelve or so. That gave us one evening meal and a leftover lunch meal for some. After throwing away vats of beef stew and stock pots of chili this past winter, I have been revising my recipes to feed eight instead. This is an ongoing process. Additionally, I have been trying to encourage our sons to eat more protein and veggies—and less cold cereal and frozen pizzas! Thus, I have assembled some breakfast and lunch recipes for them to make for the three of them. Most of these feed four—and are marked otherwise if they feed a different number. Cheesy Bacon Frittata 12 eggs 4 TBSP 1/2 & 1/2 8 slices bacon, cut 1/4" pieces 2 potatoes, peeled/cut into 1/2" pcs 2 TBSP green onions 3 ounces (2/3 c) shredded cheese 1. Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler. Heat broiler. 2. Wisk eggs, 1/2 and 1/2, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper 30 sec; set aside. 3. Pour 1 tsp olive oil in skillet, then add potato, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. 4. Cook potato on medium heat, stirring until browned and almost tender. 5. Add green onion and continue cooking until onion is tender, potatoes done 5-8 m more. 6. Stir bacon and cheese into eggs and add this mixture to the skillet and cook, using a rubber spatula to stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet, until large curds form and the spatula bgins to leave a wake, but the eggs are still very wet, about 1 minute. 7. Shake skillet to distribute eggs evenly and continue to cook without stirring to let set about 30 more seconds. 8. Slide the skillet under the broiler and cook until the surface is puffed and spotty brown, yet the center remains slightly wet and runny when cut into with paring knife (about 2-3 mins.) 9. Remove from oven with potholders. Let sit for 3-5 mins until eggs are set. 10. Slice into wedges and serve. 11. If this is too much for one skillet, make it in two skillets, dividing ingredients evenly.
Taco Casserole 1 lb ground chuck 1 sm onion 1 tsp minced garlic 1/4 tsp pepper 8 oz ranch style beans 1 can crm chicken soup 4 low carb torts 4 oz shredded cheese 1. Cook onion, garlic, and pepper until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. 2. Drain and pat skillet dry with paper towel. 3. Return meat mixture to pan and stir in beans & soup. 4. Cut torts into quarters and lay half of them in an 8 x 8 baking dish. 5. Top with half of meat mixture and half of cheese. 6. Repeat layers with remaining torts, meat, and cheese. 7. Bake in preheated 350' oven until bubbly--convection around 20-30; regular around 30-40 minutes. 8. Let stand ten minutes before serving. Cheesy "Quiche" SERVES 6 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, drained 8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheese (cheddar) 4 oz (1 cup) Monterey Pepper Jack cheese 2 cups 2% milk 3/4 cup Light Bisquick 1/4 c almond flour or crushed almonds 1/2 tsp baking powder 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese 1. Preheat oven to 350'. 2. Sprinkle green chiles, and both cheeses evenly into a 9 x 11 baking dish sprayed with PAM. 3. Beat milk, baking mix, almond flour, baking powder, and eggs on low speed until mixed. 4. Stir in cottage cheese by hand. 5. Pour mixture evenly over chiles and cheeses. 6. Bake, uncovered, at 350' for 30-35 mins in convection oven or 45 mins regular until knife in center comes out clean. 7. Let stand ten minutes before serving.
Mock Pizza Casserole 1 (16 oz) pkg ground sausage 1 medium onion 1/2 green pepper, chopped/divided 2 tsp dried basil, divided 1/8 cup almond flour 1 (14 oz) jar pizza or pasta sauce 4 oz shredded mozzarella, divided (1 cup) 4-6 slices low carb bread, wraps, buns, or torts 1 TBSP olive oil 2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese 1. Preheat oven to 425'. 2. Cook sausage, onions, pepper, 1 tsp basil in large skillet over med high heat, 10 mins, stirring, until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. 3. Drain well. Return to pan. Add almond flour. 4.Stir in pasta sauce. Bring to boil over med high heat, stirring constantly. 5. Spoon mixture in 8 x 8 baking dish sprayed with PAM. 6. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella & basil over. 7. Break bread or torts into 3 or 4" squares and place over all. Brush with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. 8. Bake at 425' for 12-16 mins convection or 18-20 regular until bubbly. Tuna Melts 2 small cans tuna, drained 1 sm onion, minced 3 TBSP Miracle Whip 1/2 c to 1 cup shred chs 4 low carb flat breads 1. Mix all but flat breads. 2. Spread mixture over the 8 flat bread halves. 3. Bake at 400" untik golden brown.
Pizza Muffins--12 muffins butter/broth (3 T) 1 med onion, finely chopped 1 cup light Bisquick &n |
Posted in Recipes
|
LILLI'S BRUNCH SHOWER
Egg and Sausage Casserole
French Toast Casserole 1 loaf french or italian bread 1 1/2 cups half and half 1 1/2 cups milk 6 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. cinnamon Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla together and pour over the bread that has been broken up in a 9x13 pan. Refigerate overnight and in the morning pour topping over Topping 1 stick melted butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup pecans Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until done.
Egg Casserole 9 eggs 2 1/2 cups milk 1 tsp salt 1 tsp dried mustard 6 slices white bread 3 cups meat-can use sausage, smoky links, ham, or bacon 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese Break up bread and put meat on top, mix eggs and milk pour on and top with cheese bake at 350 for 45 minutes
Delicious Breakfast Casserole 8 slices Sandwich bread no crust 1 1/4 lb. shaved ham american chees slices 8 slices sandwich bread not crust Layer this in a buttered 9 x 13 pan Beat 6 eggs 1/4 tsp salt dash of pepper 1 tsp onion 1 tsp dry mustard 2 1/2 cups milk few drops of worcestershire sauce Pour this over the layers. Cover and let set overnight. Before baking, top with 2 cups crusehd potato chips and 1 stick melted butter.
Breakfast Casserole 6 eggs 3/4 cups half and half 3/4 cups milk 1/2 tsp lawry salt 32 oz Mr. Dells shredded potatoes 2/3 cup melted margarine 2 c. Cheddar cheese 2 c. Mozzarella cheese 1 lb smokies cut up Grease 9 x 13 pan. Press forzen potatoe in pan. Brush with margarine. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Put chopped meat and cheese on top. Mix eggs, mild, and salt. Pour over top. Bake 350 for 50 minutes.
Fruit Dip 1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme 1 8 oz package of cream cheese softened Mix together and serve Fruity Fruit Dip Recipe
2 packs (8 oz) fruit flavored cream cheese 2 jars (7 oz) marshmallow cream 1 small (8 oz) container Cool Whip Directions: Let cream cheese soften. Then mix with marshmallow cream. Fold in Cool Whip. Chill
Elizabeth's No Need to Knead Cinnamon Rolls
Dough: 1 yellow cake mix 2 ½ c warm water 3 packages of yeast 1 tsp salt 5 c flour (give or take a little) Filling: ½ cup butter ¾ cup sugar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. First, put the cake mix in a large bowl and add salt. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Alternate mixing the flour and water into the cake mix. Kneading is not necessary. Place in oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for approximately one hour or until dough is doubled in size. After rising, punch down and shape into desired form. For cinnamon rolls, divide dough in half (it may be a little sticky) and roll out one half on a floured surface into a 15 by 10-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough (keep butter one inch from the edge). Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 15 slices and place in greased 9 x13 baking pan. Cover and let rise until the dough is doubled in size. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Yield: 30 cinnamon rolls (two 9x13 baking pans full). Caramel Icing (enough for two 9 X 13 pans): 1 ½ c butter 1 ½ c brown sugar 3 T vanilla ½ tsp salt Powdered sugar Melt butter, add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Take off the stove and add enough powdered sugar to bring it to the consistency that you wish. Beat with electric mixer. Pour over warm rolls. Glaze for cinnamon rolls: Mix 2T butter with a little milk, add powdered sugar to the right consistency and add vanilla. Topping for pecan rolls: ½ c brown sugar ¼ c butter 1 T corn syrup Heat, slowly, until blended. Remove from heat. Pour into baking pan and sprinkle with pecans. Then place cinnamon rolls on top of pecan mixture and bake.
Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls
1 pkgs (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix 2 pkgs (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast ½ cup warm water (110-115) ½ cup plus 2 tbsp butter, melted, divided 2 eggs 1 tsp salt 6 cups all purpose flour ½ packed brown sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Frosting: 1 cup packed brown sugar ½ cup heavy whipping cream ½ cup butter, cubed 2 cups powdered sugar
|
Posted in Recipes
|
Wedding Recipes—Dessert Reception In November we had our first “girl” wedding—the first of our three daughters (Cami, now 21) married Joseph Gross. Some day when I have time and the emotional energy to write about the entire process, I will do so. J Until then, I will share some of the recipes that we used for the wedding. We had the wedding at our large church in We also wanted to keep costs down as much as possible, and the reception (especially when you anticipate five hundred attendees) was a good place to cut costs (but still keep it nice). Thus, we chose a dessert reception. That is, a reception that is not held at a meal time and primarily consists of desserts (though we did have fresh fruit bowls, cheese balls, and snack mix for those who did not want “dessert” on top of cake). Our church has a cook on staff, so the “kitchen” parts of the reception—the perishable foods, serving, punch, etc. had to be taken care of by her. We added the non-perishables. Thus, she did things like chocolate bowls with mousse, miniature cheese cakes, punch, etc. And we did the cookies and bars. I say we, but as I pointed out in last month’s newsletter, we had friends and family who definitely went above the call and duty in this “mega cooking” adventure. I will put our bar and cookies recipes below. Basically, I took the number of people we thought would be attending, multiplied that number by five (the number of items the cook thought each person would take on a small plate), and chose the number of each item we would need to reach that 2,500 item mark (i.e. X number of cheese cakes, x number of raspberry bars, etc. all adding up to 2,500). Then, because we were so worried about running out, we added to that number—a big mistake. J We also had cake, of which we ordered three times too much. Yes, you read that right—three times too much. (I’ve never been the greatest at figuring these things up—always afraid I would run out.) I should have believed the cake lady when she said that many would not take cake at all since we were having desserts. We had way more than we needed—of everything. But thankfully, everything froze nicely, so we had goodies for Christmas trays, cake for desserts, cheese balls for dances and parties, etc. etc. All of the recipes listed below are multiplied many times. They can be reduced to fit your group however needed. Some of these recipes are ones I use at Christmas time and for graduations, showers, etc. as well. They are versatile! The wedding was beautiful. It was extremely moving with all of the siblings lined up around the front and the beautiful vows the Cami and Joseph wrote themselves. They had a footwashing for the two of them, and this was incredibly meaningful. And, just like Joshua and Lisa’s wedding, they included the song we had sung at our wedding: “How Can I Say Thanks?” by Andre Crouch (also called “To God Be the Glory”). Head on over to my blog to find some of the recipes from the wedding. (See sidebar for links.) Mexican Wedding Cakes—12-16 dozen 6 cups butter 3 cup powdered sugar 12 cups sifted flour 6 tsp. vanilla 3 cup finely chopped pecans extra powdered sugar for rolling after baking 1. Whip butter with mixer; add sugar. 2. Next, add flour and vanilla. 3. Add nuts. 4. Roll in balls the size of walnuts. 5. Bake about 10-12 minutes regular oven; 7-10 minutes convection. 6. Roll in powdered sugar as soon as possible after baking. 7. Re-roll in powdered sugar before serving. 8. Yield: 12-16 dozen, depending on size. Sour Cream Cookies—12 dozen 8 c flour 2 ½ tsp baking powder 1 ½ tsp soda 1 ½ tsp salt 2 ½ c. butter, softened 6 eggs 2 cups sugar 3 tsp vanilla 2 ½ cup sour cream Colored sprinkles/sugar according to occasion 1. Sift soda, flour, salt, and baking powder together; set aside. 2. Beat butter, sugar, and eggs together. 3. Beat sour cream and vanilla into the butter mixture. 4. Gradually beat dry ingredients into the wet mixture. 5. Refrigerate for one hour or longer. (We shape and freeze, freeze in one quarter containers (chunks of dough); etc. too.) 6. Drop and sprinkle with colored sugars (or sprinkle half way through baking time. (If sprinkled before baking it's not as distributed but it stays on better.) 7. Bake at 350' for 6-8 minutes for convection; 8-11 minutes regular oven. 8. Yield: 12 dozen Peanut Blossom (“Kiss”) Cookies—12 dozen 4 cups flour 1 ¼ cups peanut butter 2 ¼ tsp soda 2 eggs 1 tsp salt 4 TBSP milk 1 ¼ cups sugar 2 ½ tsp vanilla 1 ¼ cups brown sugar, packed 3 pkgs Hershey’s kisses or stars 1 ¼ cups shortening/butter (we use ½ Crisco and half real butter) 1. Cream butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar. 2. Whisk eggs. 3. Mix milk, eggs, and vanilla in separate bowl. 4. Pour milk mixture into creamed mixture, and mix. 5. Combine remaining ingredients (except kisses) in another mixing bowl. 6. Add to mixing ingredients until well blended. 7. Shape dough into balls, using a rounded teaspoon for each. 8. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets. 9. Bake for 8-11 minutes convection; 10-13 regular. 10. Top each cookie immediately with a kiss, pressing down firmly so cookie cracks around the edge. 11. Yield: 12-14 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies—12 dozen 5 ½-5 ¾ cup flour 1 ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 ½ tsp baking soda 5 eggs 2 ½ tsp salt 2 ½ cups butter and Crisco combined (half of each) 3 (12 oz) chocolate chips 2 cups sugar 1. Preheat oven to 375’. 2. In bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. 3. In mixing bowl, cream butter, Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla thoroughly. 4. Beat in eggs. 5. Gradually add flour mixture. 6. Stir in chocolate chips by hand until thoroughly mixed. 7. Bake in convection at 375’ for 6-9 minutes; 9-11 minutes regular. 8. Makes 12 dozen 2 ½ inch cookies. Gooey Snickers Brownies—140 small bars A different kind of brownie, but a yummy one! 2 (18.25 oz each) box German chocolate cake mix 1 ½ cups butter, melted 1 cup evaporated milk 8 reg. Snickers bars 1. Preheat oven to 350’. 2. Slice Snickers bars in 1/8 “ slices. 3. In large bowl, combine cake mixes, butter, and evaporated milk. 4. Beat on low speed until well blended. 5. Spread half of batter into the bottom of two greased 9 x 13” baking pans. 6. Bake for ten minutes. 7. Remove from oven, and place candy bar slices evenly over surface. 8. Drop remaining half of batter by spoonfuls over candy bars, as evenly as possible. 9. Place back in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes more convection; 20 minutes regular. (Brownies will jiggle slightly on top when you remove them.) 10. Yield: 2 9 x 13 pans Pecan Tassies—12 dozen
Crust: 4 ¼ (8 oz) bars cream cheese (softened) 3 Cups butter 6 Cups flour Filling: 6 eggs 4 ½ cups packed brown sugar 2/3 cup butter, soft 1/8 cup vanilla ½ TBSP salt 1 ½ cups chopped pecans 150 pecan halves 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together the margarine and cream cheese until well blended. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Chill for one hour. Roll into small balls, and press into the bottoms and sides of tart pans or mini muffin pans. 3. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pecans halves. 4. Sprinkle chopped pecans in the bottom of each tart. 5. Use a spoon to fill each of the crusts 2/3 full with the filling mixture. 6. Place half pecan on top of each. 7. Bake at 325’ for 22-26 mins until filling is set. (Bake at 15-18 mins for convection.) 8. Cool before removing from tins. 9. Yield: 12 dozen
Party Cookies—12 doz 4 cup butter Frosting: 12 TBSP butter, softened 14 cups powdered sugar 1 cup milk 4 tsp vanilla
2. Beat egg yolks and add to the creamed mixture. 3. Combine flour and salt. 4. Mix flour/salt mixture into creamed mixture. 5. Chill dough for at least two hours (at this amount). 6. Roll dough into balls and dip into 8 beaten egg whites, then roll in 2 cups finely chopped pecans. 7. Place on cookie sheet and press finger in center. 8. Bake at 350 regular for 10-12 mins or convection for 7-9 minutes. 9. Mix frosting ingredients. 10. When cooled, frost cookies and let dry. 11. Place in sealed container with waxed paper between layers.
| |
Posted in Recipes
|
Apple Recipes November 2004 Donna Reish Fall means apples, and apples mean yummy treats. Of course, we love apple slices drizzled with melted caramels, dipped in apple dip, with popcorn and cheese, and out of hand, but two of our favorite apple recipes just must be shared! Apple Crisp This wonderful apple recipe is the best apple crisp recipe I have ever had. It was given to me from a German Baptist friend back home (Union City, Indiana many, many years ago) and is especially yummy because it adds another step that most apple crisp recipes omit—that of a syrup over the apples before the topping is added. It takes extra time, but it is SO worth it! 6 cups finely diced apples Syrup: ¾ cup sugar 1 cup water 2 TBSP corn starch or quick tapioca ½ tsp vanilla Topping: 1 cup flour ¾ cup quick oatmeal 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon ½ cup melted butter 1. Place apples in greased 9x12 baking dish. 2. Combine syrup ingredients (except vanilla) in sauce pan, and cook on medium heat, stirring often, until thick and clear. Remove syrup from heat and stir in vanilla. (I prefer the tapioca for thickening this sauce.) 3. Pour syrup over the apples in the baking dish. 4. Combine all topping ingredients in bowl, cutting in melted butter with fork or pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. 5. Sprinkle topping over apples and syrup until evenly distributed. (Note: You may also use 1/3 of the topping in the bottom of the baking dish, beneath the apples, if desired.) 6. Bake at 350’ preheated oven for 45-60 minutes until apples are cooked and the crisp is bubbly and browned. (Convection oven: 30-45 minutes.) 7. Serves 8-10. Apple Dumplings This recipe was given to me by Ray’s Grandma Rager. She always made these in a little toaster oven (so she didn’t heat up her kitchen with her big oven!) when we went to visit her in Crust mix: 2 cups flour 2 tsp salt 1 ½ cups plus 1 TBSP shortening 1/3 cup plus up to 1 TBSP more cold water 8 large baking apples, cored and cut in half cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on apple halves when wrapping crust Syrup: ½ cup margarine 4 cups water 3 cups sugar ¼ tsp cinnamon Crust instructions: 1. Combine flour and salt. 2. With pastry blender or mixer/processor, cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal in texture. 3. Add the 1/3 cup cold water all at once and mix lightly with a fork until water is absorbed and mixture forms a ball. Add extra water as needed. Prepare apples: 1. Peel, core, and half large apples. 2. Make a cinnamon/sugar mixture to suit (around a cup or two). Syrup instructions: 1. Bring all syrup ingredients to a boil in saucepan. 2. Let boil for three minutes, stirring often. 3. Allow syrup to cool while wrapping apples and placing them in baking dish. Final instructions: 1. Roll out pie dough into two separate pieces (for easier handling). 2. Cut all pie dough into sixteen separate squares that are large enough to wrap an apple half and seal completely. 3. Place each apple half in center of a dough piece, sprinkle apple with cinnamon-sugar mixture, pull dough up around apple half and seal at top by pinching dough together with fingers. 4. Place dumplings in two oiled 9 x 13 pan. 5. Pour syrup over apples. 6. Bake in preheated 375’ oven for 35-45 minutes until crust is golden and apples are cooked. (Convection oven: 25-30 minutes.) |
Posted in Recipes
|
Cooking for Two Families One of the neatest things about mega cooking over the past nearly twenty years has definitely been the ability to bless others. Through the years, we have cooked for those having a baby, moving (and their movers), suffering illness, losing a loved one, and more—several times over. We have organized cooking co-ops in which teen girls learned to mega cook together. We have held “cooking bees” in which our field trip cooked for the mom having a new baby (multiple times). We have helped with weddings, receptions, showers, and graduation parties. All because of, with, and through mega cooking. And we have been blessed in reverse. We recently had occasion to cook for us and another family in need. I purposely chose some “hearty” meals since both families were feeding eight people at least during that time. I also purposely chose meals that are “normal”—things that most people are familiar with and enjoy. Lastly, I chose those entrees that come together quickly, but produce a nice, final entrée. These included the following recipes: Grandma’s Meatloaf (from Ray’s grandma when I was a young bride); Swiss Steak (also from Grandma Rager); Lasagna; and Pizza Burgers. To go with the meats (I don’t like to give meats only—either combination entrees like lasagna or a meat and rice or meat and potato), we made Freezer Mashed Potatoes (not like fresh, but definitely better than instant) and Creamy Potato Casserole (our most-used freezer recipe by far). Try our recipes. Get some simple entrees in your freezer. And they each yield plenty to share—so spread the love of Christ through mega cooking! J Note: Over the past year or so, I have been…sniff-sniff…revising my recipes to feed less people. Anyway, you will notice that many of my new recipe entrees yield four or five servings—and they can easily be combined to feed eight or ten (i.e. each meatloaf feeds four to six). GRANDMA’S MEATLOAF ½ cup beef base 3/4 cup+ minced onion ½ tsp pepper 10 lbs ground beef 4 tsp salt 3/4 cups ketchup 8-12 c. oats 8 eggs milk, as needed 4 (9x13) foil pans 1. Mix all ingredients. 2. Shape into 12 loaves of 1 lb each. 3. Place two in each 9 x 13 foil pan (6 total pans) 4. Cover tightly. Label. Freeze with nothing on top of them. 5. Make labels for them as follows (6 labels needed) GRANDMA’S MEATLOAF Serves 4-5 per loaf (Uncooked) Thaw. Bake at 300’ for 1 ½ to 2 hours w/ sauce over them (just over an hour for one loaf),if desired. Sauce per two meatloaves: 6 TBSP brown sugar, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ cup ketchup, and 2 tsp dry mustard. (May reduce sauce if less is desired.) 6. Yield: 12 loaves of 1 pound+ each; each one serves 4-5. Thus, six pans of two loaves each, serving 8-10 for a “panful.” Swiss Steak 10 lbs round steak 1 cup flour 1 ½ tbsp salt ½ TBSP pepper 2/3 cups celery, sliced thinly 5 onions, sliced in rings 5 green peppers (optional) 5 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce 3 cups water 4 TBSP worcestershire sauce 4 TBS beef base diluted in ½ cup hot water 1. Trim fat from meat. Tenderize with meat mallet, and cut into serving pieces. 2. Mix flour, salt, and pepper. 3. Coat meat pieces and brown lightly in oil in electric skillet. 4. Saute or micro vegetables. 5. Mix vegetables with rest of ingredients. 6. Pour meat and veggie mix into 8 one-quart bags (approximately 1-1 ½ lbs meat w/ sauce per bag). 7. Label with info below and freeze: Swiss Steak for 4-5 Use 2 quarts, at least Partially cooked DATE Thaw. Cook in cooking bag at 250’ for 1 ½ to 2 hours or on low in crock pot for 4-6 hours. Optional: Make gravy out of tomato-based juices. Lasagna We have been making our lasagnas without precooking our noodles for years now. It is SIMPLE You’ll make lasagna more often once you try this method! This recipe yields six deep lasagnas (be sure to use lasagna or roasting pans). 12 lbs. ground meat 12 quarts spaghetti sauce 8 (12 oz) pkgs lasagna 240 oz cottage cheese 24 eggs, beaten 6 tsp pepper 24 TBSP parsley 6 cups parmesan cheese 8 lbs mozarella cheese 1. Brown meat and drain. (If browning large amounts of meat together for several dishes, remember that 2 ½ cups fried and drained meat is equivalent to 1 lb of raw.) 2. If using uncooked noodles, place them in large roaster filled with water to soften (or squirt each layer of noodles with a squirt bottle filled with water as you layer the lasagna). 3. Add sauce to meat. 4. Combine cottage cheese, parmesan, eggs, pepper, and parsley. 5. Grease 6 9 x 13 baking dishes or foil pans. 6. Place small amount of meat sauce in bottom of dish. 7. Place one layer of noodles (if desired, cook noodles before this step). 8. Place ½ the cottage cheese mixture over all pans evenly. 9. Place ½ the mozzarella over all pans evenly. 10. Place ½ the remaining meat sauce over all pans evenly. 11. Repeat. 12. End with sauce. 13. Label and freeze: Lasagna Partially cooked DATE Serves 6-8 To use: Thaw. Bake at 375’ convection for 30-40 mins (40-50 regular)—Covered. Pizza Burgers 24 (1/4 lb) hamburger patties Optional: canned mushrooms 8 cups pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce Optional veggies: green peppers and onions 36 1 oz slices of mozzarella cheese 1. Grill hamburgers on grill until medium rare. 2. Stir fry or micro veggies until tender (optional). 3. Place 6 patties in each of 4 foil pans. 4. Top each patty with veggies and mushrooms. 5. Pour 2-3 TBSP of sauce over the veggies. 6. Place 1 ½ slice of cheese on each patty. 7. Freeze unlayered. 8. Label: Pizza Burgers DATE Serves 4 Fully Cooked Thaw. Reheat in micro of oven until bubbly and hot all through. 9. Total yield of this recipe: Four pans of six patties each; four pans serving four people each. Mashed Potatoes 20 lbs russet or 4 sticks butter 4 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 1. Boil peeled potatoes until tender. 2. Mash potatoes in big mixer with white beater in 5 lb increments(4 “loads”)—first add butter, salt, and pepper to each load, then gradually add in warm cream or ½ and ½. 3. Freeze in 5 lb increments in foil pans or large freezer bags. 4. Label: Mashed Potatoes Serves 8-10 Fully Cooked Thaw. Reheat in micro or carefully on stove top, using wire whisk and warm cream or milk to soften and cream. 5. Total yield of this recipe: Four “loads” feeding 8-10 people each. Creamy Potato Casserole Creamy Potato Casserole--- Uncooked Serves 8-10 Thaw. Bake uncovered for one to one Let sit before serving for ten minutes. 9. Yields six pans that serve 8-10 each. . |
Posted in Recipes
|
Cooking for Two--Using a Saucepan! Cami (twenty, third child, engaged to Joseph) wanted to cook food for a new mom, so she and I set out to cook for two adults—and one two year old. We had a blast! It was especially good for Cami to see how fast you can cook for two (since she has never cooked for less than six, and usually closer to ten!). We were both amazed how quickly it went—twelve entrees and/or sides made, froze, and cleaned up in a little over two hours. (We had never used the “sauce pans” in our pots and pans set to speak of except for a couple of boiled eggs for salad, etc. a time or two—and we were both in awe at how quickly water begins to boil in a little pan! One of my friends called when we were cooking, and I exclaimed, “I’m cooking in a saucepan!” over and over again—then my sauce pan promptly boiled over. I mean, those babies are fast! Someday when it’s just me and Ray, I’ll pull those sauce pans back out and have fun boiling something fast again! Check out our "menu" and "recipes" below!
|
Posted in Recipes
|
Dori's Wedding Reception
Cami and her fiancé Joseph blessed Joseph’s sister and her new husband by doing the food for their wedding reception. Joseph and his sister chose the menu, and I helped Cami and Joseph figure up the amounts, etc. They had a few glitches along the way---needing to make the punch at the last minute when they weren’t prepared to do so and dropping a glass bowl filled with several pounds of cheese ball (and the bowl shattering, resulting in starting over on the cheese balls), but overall they did an awesome job—and Cami, once again, saw the benefits of all of her early mega-cooking training days! The wrap recipe is Joseph’s own recipe—and he has gotten quite famous for it at his other sister’s wedding a few years ago and his brother’s graduation party a couple of years ago. (He has been a bachelor living alone or with his younger siblings for six years, so he’s had lots of cooking experience!) The other recipes were ours—mostly simple concoctions of cream cheese and something else—sure to please most guests with all that creaminess! J
Dori’s Wedding Reception With Recipes—to feed 300 Vegetables and Dip—6 trays of 8-10 lbs of veggies (48-60 lbs total) on each tray; 6 (16 oz) containers of dip Fruit and Dip—12 trays of 6 lbs of fruit each (approx 72 lbs total) and 8 “containers” of dip (recipe below, divided up) Dip—3 lbs marshmallow cream; 3 lbs cream cheese; vanilla 1. Cream the cream cheese with a beater/mixer. 2. Fold in and cream the marshmallow cream. Do not overmix. 3. Pour in vanilla as desired and stir. Cheese balls and Crackers—4 cheese balls of 4 lbs each; 8 boxes of crackers Recipe: 6 lbs cream cheese; 12 pkgs dried beef (6 oz packs); 3 bottles Italian dressing (16 oz each) 1. Cream the cream cheese with a beater/mixer. 2. Continue creaming while adding dressing. 3. Fold in dried beef that you have snipped into small pieces. 4. Mold and chill. Joseph’s Wraps—ingredients to feed 300: 15 lbs thinly sliced ham 15 lbs thinly sliced turkey 15 lbs sliced cheese (swiss and provolone for this; they like pepper jack too!) 6 lbs cream cheese 156 (12 inch) soft, four tortillas 1 large mustard 3 bottles ranch dip (not dressing) 3-5 lbs baby spinach Instructions:
(1) cream cheese (2) cheese slices (3) both meats (4) spinach (5) squirt of mustard (6) thin spread of ranch dip 2. Start at thick side of wrap and roll up loosely, keeping the meat in place as you roll. 3. End with the thin edge. 4. Wrap individual wraps in plastic wrap tightly and refrigerate. 5. Remove from fridge, cut off ends (and feed to helpers!), and cut in half, then cut those halves in half again.
|
Posted in Recipes
|
Mashed Potatoes--freezer side dish 20 lbs russet or 4 sticks butter 4 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 1. Boil peeled potatoes until tender. 2. Mash potatoes in big mixer with white beater in 5 lb increments—first add butter, salt, and pepper to each load, then gradually add in warm cream or ½ and ½. 3. Freeze in 5 lb increments. 4. Label: Thaw. Reheat in micro or carefully on stove top, using wire whisk and warm cream or milk to soften and cream. Serves 8-12 people. |
Posted in Recipes
|
SLOPPY JOES--freezer entrees 8 lbs ground beef 2 tsp chili powder 3 onions or 6 TBSP minced 32 oz tomato sauce 8 TBSP vinegar 8 TBSP brown sugar 8 TBSP mustard 8 TBSP lemon juice 5 TBSP sugar 8 TBSP worc sauce 4 tsp salt ¾ cup water 3 one-gallon size Ziploc brand freezer bags (no storage; no generic; no zippers) 1. Brown meat. 2. Combine all ingredients and simmer until right consistency. 3. May add more sweeteners to suit. Be sure to simmer for hour or so on medium so that it becomes dried out---not liquidy. 4. Cool. Freeze in one gallon bags as follows flat. 5. Label bags as follows (Label 3 one-gallon sized bags as indicated above): SLOPPY JOES Serves 10 6/12/04 (Fully cooked) Thaw bag in bowl or sink . Transfer to micro dish and heat through. 6. Yield: 3 one-gallon sized bags to feed at least ten each. May divide into 6 half-gallon bags or 12 quart sized bags for smaller crowds. |
Posted in Recipes
|
Creamy Potato Casserole 9. Yields six pans that serve 8-10 each. |
Posted in Recipes
|
The post below is from four years ago (from our e newsletter at www.tfths.com). However, we have been using this method more and more to insure that we have ready foods available to cut down on "take out" and more expensive but quick foods--with the rising grocery prices. I thought maybe others could benefit from this approach as well.
*Children Help in “Cooking Ahead” (Summer 2004) This summer I really got serious and began typing up simple recipes and steps for even my third grade son to be able to follow directions to “take a cooking night.” We have done “mega cooking” around here for fourteen years now, but in the past few years, my freezers have gone from always having between one hundred and two hundred entrees in them to being filled with frozen pizzas and pot pies! Thus, it was time to get serious about teaching the younger children to cook. One of the first things I did to “take back my kitchen”—which is still somewhat surrendered to Sam’s Club freezer section---is to teach everyone to at least get three basic meats into a useable form. This meant cooking large quantities of meat and freezing it to be ready to use in entrees. Anyone (even a third grader!) can do this, and it makes a big difference in mealtime preparation. The remainder of this section will detail how we do that.
Ground Beef
Beef Roasts
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Pieces
Uses for Pre-Cooked Meats
The uses for these meats are endless. I will enumerate a few below, but I’m sure you have ideas of your own! *Ground beef ideas:
*Beef Roast ideas (some use juices; some separate juices and do not use them): 1. Beef and noodles or dumplings with beef 2. Vegetable beef soup 3. Beef stew 4. Mexican dishes like shredded beef tacos, Mexican beef casseroles, shredded beef burritos, etc. 5. Beef pot pies 6. BBQ beef 7. Serve as is with gravy, rice, noodles, etc. 8. Beef stroganoff *Chicken ideas:
|
Posted in Recipes
|
Note: I try to put all of my recipes into the format given below, so my children can cook independent of me. Don't be offended that I give "step by step" instructions!
12 pieces of toast, broken into bite-sized pieces 12 eggs 6 to 8 cups of concentrated broth (make it stronger by adding base or bouilion) 2 TBSP poultry seasoning 1 TBSP pepper 1 TBSP parsley flakes 1. Cook thighs and breasts until fully cooked (in crock pot or microwave). 2. Shred thighs and breasts into bite sized pieces. 3. Whisk eggs until well whisked. 4. Stir all ingredients together; should have a soupy, gloppy mixture. 5. Put in hot oven, uncovered, at 300’ for one to two hours, stirring every fifteen to thirty minutes until liquid is all evaporated and mixture is sandwich ready (flavorful, but not too wet and liquidy). 6. Use as sandwich filling. 7. Makes at least fifty large sandwiches. 8. Recipe may be reduced as needed or leftovers may be stored in fridge and reheated in micro. |