Amish Country Cabbage dish

 

When I drove from Minnesota to California I stopped in St. Louis at the arc there is a museum at the bottom. I found these wonderful cookbooks there. One of the few I bought was an Amish cooking cookbook. I have thumbed through many times. But never made anything. Lately I have heard of how great Amish food is so I started to research Amish cooking and dishes. I found many different cabbage and meat recipes. So I decided to make up my own one that fits my family's taste. I came up with one that was very similar to a Jewish dish that I make called Prakas. This meal was so simple but yet so amazing. It's a very hearty meal. My husband had 3 helpings. It's easy to make it vegetarian as well. I'm going to try some recipes in my book. 

I'm glad I was looking the Amish way. 

Ingredients

1lb ground turkey or hamburger

1 onion

1 clove garlic chopped

2tbsp butter 

14oz stewed tomatoes 

8oz tomato sauce

1/2 cabbage chopped

Salt and pepper

1tsp smoked paprika

1tsp brown sugar

1tbsp Worcester sauce

Mashed potatoes

Method

Chop onion and garlic and cabbage

Brown ground meat with salt, pepper paprika and onions, 

Drain grease

Add garlic, butter, cabbage 

Tomatoes, sauce, brown sugar and Worcester sauce 

Stir well, simmer 

and cover turn down heat and cook for about 20 min until cabbage is soft.

Serve over mashed potatoes yum

To make vegetarian omit meat cook same method. Yum!! 

Beef and Broccoli

My love loves Beef and Broccoli. I had some left over steaks frozen so I decided to try to make this Chinese favorite a try in my own test kitchen. Most recipes I looked at were all slow cooked. I really wanted to make a more traditional dish so research away I went and executed this dish I can call my own.

Ingredients
3 sirloin steaks frozen 

3c broccoli

1/2 onion

1/2c soy sauce

1/4c water

1/4c cornstarch

3tbsp sherry

1tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/2tsp chili oil

1tbsp better then beef bullion

2 garlic cloves minced

Pinch ground ginger

3tbsp brown sugar

1tbsp honey

Method
Mix all Ingredients except beef broccoli and onions. Cut frozen steaks thin. In a shallow dish take half of mixture and pour over beef to marinate. Marinate for 2-8 hours

Heat wok pan with oil and cook one layer of the beef on high browning on both sides

After cooking meat let sit on a plate while you cook steamed broccoli.

In pan cook steamed broccoli and onions till tender

Then add in all the meat and remainder of the sauce

Cook till it thickens, serve over rice and enjoy!!

Hot Fudge Sundae Sauce

I really have a thing for fudge. Especially hot fudge. I recently was craving it so bad but couldn't get it. So finally I decided to make it for myself. I tend to love all that I create in my test kitchen. I browsed some recipes and finally put one together with ingredients that I had in the house and Mae what was truly the best hot fudge sauce I ever had. My little one doesn't like hot fudge but loved mine! 

Ingredients

2/3c heavy cream
½c corn syrup
1/3c dark brown sugar
¼c Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼tsp sea salt
4oz bittersweet chocolate
2oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2tbsp butter
1tsp vanilla extract

Method 
In a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and half of the chocolate to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low or low maintain a low simmer, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate, the butter, and the vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. 

Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before using Store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

To reheat, microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it's pourable but still thick.

Baked Mini Donuts

 I love donuts more then anything that you can consume. I love them I love them I love them. Last year I picked up a Sauveur magazine because of the donuts on the cover. I bought some donut pans and pulled out the article. However I did not use the recipe in the article. I changed the whole thing to get my own light version of the baked donut. I feel like the magic of the doughnut is the fried bread. When I read the recipe I thought that it would be heavy and dry, so I changed the typed and quantities of the flours and butter/ shortening. The recipe came out great. Here is my version of the baked donut.

Ingredients
1/2c sugar
1/2c butter
1/4c Crisco
1c flour
1 1/4c cake flour
1/2tbsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp nutmeg
dash of cardamom
1 egg
1/2c milk

Sprinkles

Glaze
1 1/2c confectioners' sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
3 to 4tbsp milk or water
2tsp vanilla extract 
For chocolate (add 4tbsp cocoa powder)

Place the sugar in a medium bowl and slowly stir in the milk and vanilla, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze.  

Method
Heat oven to 400°. Grease donut tins with butter or baking spray; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom in a bowl; set aside.

Using a hand mixer, beat  butter and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add egg, beating well after addition. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk  beat until batter is smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared tins; bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into donuts comes out clean, 15–20 minutes.

 











Invert donuts onto a baking sheet with a wire rack; let cool completely.

Dip in glaze and desired sprinkles

Mexi Black bean and Beef Burger

Holy Burger! This was defiantly one of my greatest creations. Cheddar filled burger topped with sauteed peppers, guacamole, queso cheese, and Frito's oh yes please! This is sublime. Must I say more...

Ingredients for meat version 
1 can black beans smashed up
1lb ground beef
1/2tsp cumin
1/4tsp chili powder
1tsp taco seasoning

Vegetarian burger

1c Breadcrumbs

1/4c Grated White Onion

1 Egg

1/4tsp Chili Powder

Salt And Pepper

1/2tsp cumin

1tsp taco seasoning

Sharp Cheddar cheese cubes

Toasted buns

Queso

8oz velveta cheese

1 14oz can rotel tomatoes

2 tbsp Pace Picante

1/4c milk

Melt cheese in saucepan, add milk, tomatoes and pace mix together until fully melted.

Toppings

Frito's

Tomato

Guacamole

Sauteed Peppers and Onions

Lettuce

Method

Smash up can of black beans, mix with ground beef, add in spices. Form Patties, halt the thickness you would normally, add cheese in the center on the top of a patty, place another patty on top of the patty and cheese, press and pinch sides together. Cook patties on grill, or on grill pan until cooked thoroughly.

Butter and toast buns.

Saute red, orange, yellow peppers with onions.

Top with Guacamole

And QUESO

Chewy Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip cookies are really just not as easy of a task as you think. Sure its a pretty basic cookie, but if you want really good chocolate chip cookies its a little more tricky. I love soft and chewy cookies that are crisp on the outside. I have tried many recipes and the cookies a harden, or are flat. Close to but just not right. I have used a recipe that was close, this last time I decided to change the recipe completely. I actually pioneered the most perfect Chocolate chip recipe I can claim as my own recipe.Please try it. Its the best you will ever know I promise.

I like to double the recipe, I roll and freeze the extra dough so I can bake fresh cookies all the time. The recipe follows as normal not doubled.

Ingredients
3/4C butter softened
3/4C butter flavored Crisco shortening
1 1/4C sugar
1 1/2C brown sugar
1tbsp Vanilla
1tbsp almond extract
2 eggs
2C AP flour
2C Cake Flour
2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1 bag semisweet or milk chocolate chocolate chips

Method
Heat oven to 375. In a large bowl mix butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy, add in vanilla and almond extract. Add eggs until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cake flour, baking soda and salt until well combined.  Stir dry mixture gradually into the butter mixture until combined, add in Chocolate chips.

On an un greased cookie sheet drop 1/4 cupfulls 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake 12-15 min until light brown, the centers will be soft! Cool slightly on sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

BFB Big F Biscuits

The biscuits I have made so many. I really never found a good recipe out there. They all seem dry, flat or maybe it was just me. I don't know but this morning I was really wanting biscuits and gravy. I started prepping and realized I did not have 3 cups of AP flour. Ok but see I really wanted this so being that I would have everything else I scrounged up a cup of the flour and some cake flour and self rising flour and took a bash at it. I altered the shortening as always and I tell you these biscuits are the ones you have been looking for. 

Let me give you a few tips before you start. 

Make sure that your CUBED butter shortening and buttermilk are chilled, COLD. Chilled will make the biscuits fluffier.

Do the least mixing possible 

Try to use a Pastry Cutter if you don't have one use a fork to incorporate butter to dry ingredients. 

Ingredients

1c self rising flour

1c cake flour

1c AP Flour

5tsp baking powder

3tbsp sugar

1 1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp baking soda

1/4c chilled butter cubed

1/4c chilled shortening

1c cold buttermilk or (1c cream or milk plus 1tbsp cider vinegar. let sit to activate.)

Method

Chill butter, shortening and buttermilk. Mix together the dry ingredients.

 Cut in the butter and shortening with a pastry cutter or a fork.

Add in the buttermilk and mix together until it just comes together like peas with your hands. Do not overwork, be gentle, you really want to work it as minimal as possible. The dough should not be wet but slightly sticky. 

  

I just mold it and pat it out or roll out at least 1' thick and cut with 2-3 inch circle cutters or a drinking glass. 

On the stovetop melt a tablespoon of butter, in a cast Iron skillet to arrange your biscuits in.

 

You should have like 8-10 biscuits and they should all be touching this will help them to rise upwards.. 

Brush the tops with butter or cream. Bake at 450 for 12-15 min. Golden brown and Fluffy. 

I love them warm  with honey, jam or sausage gravy. Biscuits and Gravy Recipe link