Apple Chop Suey Cake

 This recipe has been passed down from John's Grandmother Muriel Smith 

Apple Chop Suey Cake

4 cups diced Apples

1 1/2 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

2 cups Flour (unsifted

2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Salt

1/2 cup nuts

Mix apples, sugar, and eggs together in a large bowl. Measure dry ingredients in flour sieve and sift into bowl. Stir and add nuts or if you prefer, spread nuts on top. Bake in oiled and floured dripper pan (9"x12"x2") at 350 degrees F for 45 min. 

Serve hot or cold with ot without whipped cream or ice cream. 

We tend to put more apples and nuts in it then called for, but making sure that everything is coated.

Lion House Roasted Cashew Stuffing

 My eyes are getting too old to read the small print of my Lion House Entertaining recipe book, so writing it down here so I can zoom in and actually be able to read the recipe. This is one of our most favorite recipes in the book. We always double it too. Also I hate raisin in... well anything, so I leave them out.

Roasted Cashew Stuffing

    Ingredients:

        8 cups day old bread cubes

        3/4 cup raisins

        1/2 cup apple juice

        4 celery ribs diced

        1 large onion, chopped

        3 cloves garlic, minced

        1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

        1/4 cup olive oil

        1 cup fresh parsley, minced (I always forget to pick this up so I use about 1/3 cup dried)

        1 teaspoon salt

        1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage

        3/4 teaspoon thyme

        1/4 teaspoon black pepper (I'm going to be experimenting with white pepper this year as black is high in oxolates which my body likes turning into kidney stones)

        1 egg

        1 1/2-2 cups chicken broth

        1 1/2 cups salted, roasted cashew pieces (it is important that it is the salted kind, did unsalted once and did not come out tasting the best, even with adding a bit of additional salt to the recipe to make up for it)

Place bread cubes in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 225 degree F for 30-40 minutes, tossing occasionally until partially dried.

Meanwhile, combine the raisins and apple juice in a sauce pan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; let stand for 15 minutes. (You can skip this entirely if not using raisins, just have the measured juice ready to use.) In large skillet saute celery, onion, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil until tender. Add parsley, salt, sage, thyme, and pepper; mix well. Remove from heat. 

Beat egg in broth in a bowl; add to vegetable mixture. Add bread cubes and raisin mixture; mix in cashews last. Toss well. 

Use stuffing to stuff poultry or meat. Or transfer to a greased 9x13" baking dish. Cover and bake at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 10-12 servings.
        

We use glass dishes with much success!

Garlic steak strips

This recipe is a work in progress and is a variation of the garlic chicken.

What I did:

3 round steaks cut into 1/3in strips

1 cup soy sauce (should try reduced salt)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix soy sauce and vinegar together. Spoon mixture over single layer of  beef in glass bakeware.  Spoon small amount of minced garlic on each piece.

Baked @350 for 15 min covered

Baked @350 for 15 min uncovered

Removed the beef from the liquid. Thickened the liquid slightly to make a sauce.

Served with mashed potatoes and peas.

Used a small amount of the sauce over the beef and mashed potatoes.

The flavor of the beef was good; however, it was tough.  (But all beef we've purchased in New York has been tough.)

We think it would be better if the soy sauce was all reduced salt as the sauce was too salty.  Also it would help the toughness if the meat was marinated for at least a day and the slow cooked in the Crock-Pot.  

It might also work to serve it over rice and slightly sauteed broccoli.

Garlic Chicken

So I am a fan of simple dishes that taste good.  This one is one that I tried, modified, and promptly lost the recipe and I tried to recreate it from memory.  This is a work in progress.

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup peanut oil (I don't know if it is necessary)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
minced garlic (I use from a jar)

directions:
preheat oven to 375°F (convection oven) or 400°F (conventional)
Arrange the chicken in an oven-safe baking dish (I use a 9X13 inch glass type), so that the chicken is not touching. Use 2 dishes if needed.
Smear a small (1/4t) amount of minced garlic on the top of each chicken piece
mix the red wine vinegar, peanut oil and garlic powder in a separate bowl,
Continually stir the mixture while spooning it on each piece of chicken, I spoon two or three on each chicken until I run out.
Cover the dish in tinfoil for the first 30min
Cook until the chicken is well cooked - clear liquid when pierced, or use a thermometer.

This time, the chicken wasn't completely thawed, I left it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.  It took over an hour and 10min to cook completely.

Serve with steamed broccoli.

Kielbasa Rice

We lost the original recipe to this, so we are trying to recreate from memory. There WILL be modifications.



1 lb turkey kielbasa, sliced
1 onion, chopped

• brown

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 1/2 dry rice
1 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin

• add and stir

• oregano sprinkled on top

• cover

• let cook on simmer

do not stir oregano in until rice is fully cooked on pain of death

Hamburgers

It seems that everyone has their favorite recipe for hamburgers.  Mine is a variation of my father's.

Ingredients (all amounts are approximate):
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 - 2 large onions  diced small or run through the blender
1 - 2 carrots shredded or run through the blender
2 cups rolled oats
2 large eggs
parsley to taste
cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste (it takes a lot to make it spicy)

We have substituted celery or green peppers for the carrots.

Mix thoroughly together. Form into patties and fry in pan.  makes approx 16.

If there is too much of the oat, onions and carrots, it does not hold together.

Beef Soup in Crockpot

We purchased a half beef a couple of years ago and have several soup bones that have never been used so I decided to try making it into a soup.  I found seeveral recipies for beef soups so here is the resultant soup.

The base:

Soup bones with meat.
3 cups tomatoes - frozen or canned
Seasoning based on rest of soup
Water and maybe tomato juice (I used bottled)
1 onion diced

Place beef bones in crockpot.  Add tomatoes, juice, and onion.  Add water to  cover.

Cook until the meat falls off the bone (about 12 hours on high).

First try:

2 cups dry white beans.
2 large potatoes
Handfull of soybeans
Mixed vegies

Add the beans, cook for 4 hours unitl the beans are tender.
Add potatoes and vegies, cook 2 hours.

Second try:

1 pound spit peas
4 cups cooked rice
Carrots sliced

Add split peas, cook for at least 3  hours.
Add cooked rice and slice carrots.  cook for 1 hour.