Sort of Swedish Meatballs

This is my take on Swedish Meatballs.  I love fresh Dill so I added it to this recipe. I also added about a quarter of a pound of minced fresh button mushrooms.  I hope you enjoy the recipe.  Feel free to change it for your own tastes. This makes about 2 ½ dozen delicious meatballs with gravy. Serve with cooked egg noodles. Yummy!

Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

You are probably wondering why there is no photograph of this recipe, right?  Well, it is because we ate it! Seriously. The bratwurst and sauerkraut, not the photo, he-he. I thought that I had a picture that could be used but I did not, so it is time to use your imagination. Yea!

This is very easy but it does take a little while to cook.  The bratwurst needs to be boiled in beer first and then baked.  Once the links are boiled, you can put everything in the oven to finish cooking.  Throw some frozen biscuits in the oven, (cook in a separate pan) at the last minute and your family will be amazed.  This works well for any type of sausage.  Boiling reduces the amount of fat left in the meat, however, if you use the same beer to bake with, then that does not apply.  I use fresh beer hoping to reduce the amount of fat clogging my arteries.  You can substitute chicken broth for the beer if you are opposed to using alcohol.

1 package of Bratwurst
12 to 24 ounces of beer or chicken broth, divided
1 32-ounce jar of Sauerkraut, I use Libby's
Caraway Seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan, place bratwurst and pour in enough beer or broth to just cover.  Bring to boil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.  The sausage will appear gray.

Wash and drain sauerkraut, place in an 8" X 8" oven proof baking dish.  Toss with caraway seeds, if using.  Place boiled bratwurst on top of sauerkraut.  Add 6 ounces of beer or broth.  Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes.  When the tops side of the sausages are crispy, turn over and brown the other side, about 20 minutes, more.  Remove from oven, and adjust the heat to accomodate the frozen biscuits.  Tent the bratwurst to keep warm.  Cook the frozen biscuits as directed.

Enjoy!

Deloris

Pot Stickers with Chris' Homemade Dipping Sauce

We have been craving oriental food, so you are getting several recipes that have that influence.  This particular recipe reminded me a lot of making tamales. Why, you ask?  Because it is easier, and definitely more fun to assemble, if you have help.Chris and I made these while watching Star Wars, episode 3.  (My kitchen counter faces the TV.) So we made our little  pot stickers, each with our own design. Chris made the dumpling shape and I made triangles, which were not pretty so I did not photograph them.
When I bought the Won Ton wrappers, rectangles were to only ones available.  If I had thought of it, we could have used a cookie cutter to make the wrappers round, but it just dawned on me, now.  I think these would be much nicer made with round wrappers.  Oh well, I will just have to make these again.  That will be great because these were very, very, very YUMMY!

Egg Casserole with Sausage and Vegetables

Happy Father's Day!  This is a hearty egg casserole that will satisfy everyone in the family.  It has layers of vegetables, sausage and eggs.  And it makes a beautiful presentation on a buffet. This takes a little more work than a classic egg casserole because the sausage is rendered and the onion is caramelized but the flavor makes the extra time worth the effort.

Barbacoa

Barbacoa is usually slow cooked on a pit for for several hours.  Once it is done, then the meat is put in a paper bag to cool..  The paper bag creates steam and tenderizes the meat. This sounds a little odd, but it is the same concept as grilling peppers for salsa. 
Because I wanted to visit with my Memorial Day guests, my Barbacoa is cooked in a slow cooker. I was able to throw everything in the pot, then participate in the festivities.  My thanks to Nancy and Karen, who were so much fun this weekend.  Love ya, both!

Cheeseburger Roll Up

Love Cheeseburgers?   My kids always said if we were having cheeseburgers it must be Tuesday.  That was the busy evening and, for some reason, every activity

Corn Dogs

When I was a kid, both my Mom and my Aunt Veta, made homemade Corn dogs.  In the past, I have asked both of them for the recipe that they used, but neither one could remember how they prepared the corn dogs other than my Mom told me that she fried them and Aunt Veta told me that she baked hers.  Both recipes were very tasty.  Corn dogs were made at home.
Then something happened. Someone had the bright idea to sell corn dogs, prepared, from the freezer section.  Those were pretty good, until the batter was sweetened.  Let me just say that I am not a fan of sweet corn bread, except for one particular recipe, which is never prepared.  And then to take sweet corn bread and cook it with wieners, well, my mom always said, " If you can't say something nice, ...".
So this is my recipe for homemade and delicious Corn Dogs.  I used Eckermann's Smoked Sausages with Garlic.  This package size is 14 ounces and contains 6 individual sausages.  The batter for this recipe is very light and the left overs make great fried corn bread.

Oil or Shortening for Frying
2  14-ounce packages of Eckermann's Smoked Sausages with Garlic
2 cups of Corn Meal
1 cup of Flour plus additional for dredging
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon of Salt
1 cup of Buttermilk or Sour Milk*
1 cup of water
1 Egg
12 short, wooden skewers

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well.  Add wet ingredients in the well.  Whisk to combine.  In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup of flour.  Push the skewers into the sausages.  Dredge the sausages with flour.  This will help to keep the batter on during frying.  Using a spoon, coat the floured sausages with batter.  The batter will have difficulty adhering at first.  Just keep spinning the skewer and spooning the batter over the sausage. Once the batter adheres, place the corn dog into the bowl of batter and repeat until all of the sausages are coated.
Heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers.  Hold the corn dog by the skewer and let some of the batter drip off of the corn dog.  Place 2 or 3 corn dogs into the hot oil, at a time.  Be careful not to get burned.  Cook corn dogs on both sides until all have been fried.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

*To make sour milk: in a measuring cup place 1 teaspoon of vinegar and finish the measure, with milk,  to 1 cup.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes, to curdle.

Enjoy!

Deloris

Beef Strips with Noodles

This would be called Beef Tips with Noodles, if I had used a Sirloin Tip Roast to make the strips.   But I used a Sirloin Steak.  The Sirloin Tip is just what it sounds like.  It is the tip of the Sirloin where it connects to the the Round.  It has more connective tissue and the grain starts to run differently, so that steaks cut from the point on, are tough.  It is usually sold as a roast, tips (or little chunks of meat), ground, or for stew meat.  It is less expensive than a Sirloin.  In recent years, I have not seen tips sold so I used a Sirloin steak. 

1 1.5-2 pound Sirloin Steak
Flour for dredging plus 3 Tablespoons for gravy
Sepay Groves Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Water
Cooked Egg Noodles

Cut the steak into strips, season liberally with salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour and set aside.  Heat 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low.  Brown steak, a few pieces at a time, removing to a bowl, until all have been browned.  Add more oil, as needed.  Once all of the meat is browned, add enough additional olive oil to equal 3 Tablespoons.  Add 3 Tablespoons of flour, whisk and continue to cook.  Add 1/2 cup of water and continue whisking until gravy is smooth.  Add 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and return the meat to the pan.  Let the gravy coat all sides.  Cook on low to medium-low until the gravy thickens about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Cook Noodles according to the directions.

Serve Beef Strips with the gravy over the noodle.  Include a salad and you have a complete and easy meal.

Enjoy!

Deloris

Printable Recipe: https://sites.google.com/site/basilandrosemarys/beef-strips-with-noodles

Mini Meatloaves

My mom made THE best meatloaf.  It was always my favorite Sunday Lunch.  A cast iron skillet was the only pan that she would consider using to bake it and the that made the outside of the meat form a lovely, little, crispness. She would mix tomato paste, vinegar and brown sugar together for the topping.  The filler was always crushed saltine crackers.  It was a real treat. Knowing that she was making this for lunch, made sitting through church service so difficult.
I have tried many times to copy that recipe and have never gotten it even close to my mother's recipe.  She just mixed it up and baked it.  I have never been able to perfect the tomato paste topping that she made so I gave up and started using ketchup. I switched to dry bread crumbs to cut down on the amount of salt. I have tried using day old bread soaked in milk but it makes the meatloaf too spongy for me. This a recipe that I have developed over the years. It is not my Mama's, but it is pretty darn good.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and liberally grease 12 cups in a large muffin tin.

1 pound of Ground Beef
1/2 cup of Ketchup
1/2 cup of Dry Bread Crumbs
1/2 of an Onion, minced
1/2 of a Bell Pepper, minced
2 Tablespoons of Prepared Horseradish
1 Egg
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 teaspoon of Ground Pepper
extra Ketchup for the tops

Mix together all of the ingredients, except for the extra Ketchup.  Divide the mixture into 8 equal parts, about 1/2 cup of beef mixture for each mini meatloaf. Roll the beef in a ball and place each ball into a muffin cup that has been greased.  Repeat until all 8 balls have been used.  Pour a 1/4 of water into each of the remaining greased cups. This keeps the empty cups from burning. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven and coat the top of each meatloaf with ketchup.  Return to the oven and bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and serving.

Enjoy!

Deloris

printable recipe: https://sites.google.com/site/basilandrosemarys/mini-meatloves

Homemade Sloppy Joes

All of the delicious flavors that make us think of comfort food are in this recipe. So you must be wondering why sloppy joes should be homemade when you can buy a can of Manwich. 
The first reason is that this recipe makes a much better meal than a can of pre-made sauce. The second reason is that extra time to make this from scratch is minimal. The third reason is you control the ingredients and can sneak some real vegetables into the mix. No one will ever guess. 

1 pound of Lean Ground Beef
2 slices of Bacon, finely chopped
1/2 medium Onion, finely chopped
1 medium Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
3 ribs of Celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
6 ounce can of Tomato Paste
1/4 cup of Ketchup
1 Tablespoon of Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Sugar, more or less to taste
Salt and Pepper
3/4 cup of Water, plus more if needed

In a large skillet, cook bacon over low heat.  When the fat starts to render, add onion, green bell pepper, and celery.  Cook until the onion starts to caramelize.  Add ground beef and garlic. Cook until the beef is done.  Strain the fat off of the meat mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.  Stir often so that the tomato paste does not scorch. Adjust salt and pepper at the end.  Most of the moisture should evaporate before serving.  Serve on hamburger buns with pickles and homemade fries.  Makes 8 3inch sandwiches. (standard size hamburger buns).

Enjoy!

Deloris

Printable Recipe: https://sites.google.com/site/basilandrosemarys/homemadesloppyjoes

Valentine's Day-Individual Beef Wellingtons

These little Beef Wellingtons look like you worked really hard.  Let your honey think that you did! While these are baking you can cook the vegetables.
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

2 3-ounce Fillet Mignon
2 individual Puff Pastry Shells, thawed. These come 6 to a package so freeze the rest for later
Cracked Pepper
Salt

In a skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium heat, I used Sepay Groves because it is sooo goood. Using a pepper mill, crack fresh pepper over fillets and sprinkle with salt. Sear the fillets lightly on all sides.  Set aside to cool.
Oil 2 pieces of wax paper and place 1 thawed puff pastry shell between the wax paper and roll out very thin, about 8 inches.  Place a cooled fillet in the middle of the pastry. Wrap the pastry around the fillet and seal. Place sealed side down in an oiled oven proof dish.  Repeat.  Prick the dough and place in the pre heated oven. Bake until pastry is browned, 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy this beautiful meal with your Honey!

Deloris

Printable Recipe: https://sites.google.com/site/basilandrosemarys/individual-beef-wellingtons

Homemade Flatbread Rollup

This is a delicious, simple, and filling meal.  It is more of a Mediterranean influenced Sloppy Joe. You could use any type of ground meat that you have available.  I used beef for this meal but I have used ground chicken and lamb, on occasion.
The longest part of the preparation is making the flatbread.  You could use purchased pita if you have it.  I really like the flavor of the bread that I make so I no longer purchase pita bread.

For Flatbread
3 cups of Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of Sugar
1 Egg
3/4 cup of Warm Water
Olive Oil
Place the pan or ceramic pizza cooker in the oven and then heat the oven to 500 degrees.  In a large bowl, sift together 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Stir lightly and then make a well in the middle.  Add 1 egg and combine with the flour, using a large spoon.  Heat 3/4 cup of water and pour over the flour and egg.  Mix thoroughly.  Divide into 6 even balls.
Pour  a small amount of oil in the center of a pastry sheet or large piece of wax paper. Take the first ball and roll it in the oil and then using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick.  Place it on the heated pan or pizza cooker that is heated in the oven.  Close the door of the oven and let it cook 5 to 7 minutes. It should start to bubble. Flip the bread before the piece starts to brown.  Close the oven door and let it finish cooking.  The bread will take on an opaque appearance.  Try to keep it from browning too much.  That will make the bread crispy and it will not fold up well.  Continue to cook the bread until you have used all 6 balls of dough.

For the meat,
1 pound of Ground Meat
1/2 of a medium Onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of Garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
1/2 to 1 cup of Dry White Wine
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add onion, garlic and ground meat.  Once the meat starts to loose the pink color, add Cinnamon and Tomato Paste.  Let that cook until the pan turns dry.  Do not let the pan scorch! Start adding the wine about 1/4 cup at a time.  Let the wine reduce and then add more.  Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.  Reduce the heat to low and let the meat mixture simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed or evaporated. 

For the Rollup toppings:
1/2 Cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup of Cilantro Leaves, washed and stems removed
Plain Yogurt
Crumbled Feta
2 Limes

While the meat is simmering, wash and  remove stems of cilantro.  Peel 1/2 of a cucumber and slice very thin.  Wash the outside of a lime and then zest it.  Slice the lime into wedges.
Once the liquid in the meat is gone, it is time to assemble!
On a serving plate, place one piece of flatbread, spread with yogurt, top in the following order: cucumber, meat, feta cheese, cilantro, squeeze of lime and lime zest. Fold over or roll up.
This makes 6 delicious servings!

Enjoy!

Deloris

Poached Egg on Chopped Steak with Bacon and Hollandaise



Poached Egg on Chopped Steak with
Bacon and Hollandaise

 This is for my friend, Shari Jo, who was put on a carb restricted diet by her nutritionist. Because this has so much animal protein, I tried to reduce part of the amount of animal fat.  I used extral lean ground beef, poached the egg and cooked the bacon in the microwave.  I cheated on the Hollandaise Sauce and used McCormick's Hollandaise Sauce mix.  If you want a "made from scatch" sauce, go to my Sauces and Gravies page and there is a recipe for real Hollandaise.

Microwave the bacon and set it aside.  By microwaving the bacon you reduce the amount of fat that the meat sits in while cooking.

Using the McCormick's Hollandasie Sauce, you will need 1/2 stick of butter and 1 cup of water.  Follow the instructions included on the package.  This mix makes quite a bit of sauce, so if you are not serving a crowd, plan to use it over vegetables later or dicard the unused portion.  It does not hold over well.

To make the chopped steak, I used a 95/5 ground beef.  That means that it is 95 percent meat to 5 percent fat.  I seasoned the patties with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder, but use the seasonings that you prefer.  Cook the patties to the desired doneness.  I cook mine to well done, because it is ground beef and I did not grind it so I do not know the cuts or quality of the meat used.

Poaching the egg

Using Crisco, grease the inside of a saucepan and then fill it half full of water.  Over low heat, bring the water to an almost simmer. Do Not let the water boil.  Crack an egg into a small dish. Carefully, slide the egg into the hot water. Leave it alone.  Let the egg cook in the hot water until the white has completely set and the yolk is to the desired doneness.  I cook mine to soft yolk but it really depends what you like. 

To assemble

Place the chopped steak on a warm plate.  Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and drain off the excess water. Place on top of the steak. Top with Hollandaise and serve with bacon.

Enjoy!

Deloris

PS: Our facebook page is mailto:rosemary.kitchen1@facebook.com. Be sure to stop in and find out what is happening!.com

Tony's Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

This recipe comes from a friend in Austin.  It is very simple and since the weather is finally starting to cool down, it just seemed like the right time.  I needed to use up the sauerkraut, anyway.  I buy sauerkraut in glass jars so there is always more than one meal out of the purchase. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1 package of Bratwurst links
2 to 3 cups of Sauerkraut
1 can of Beer or 3/4 cup of Chicken Broth
1 package of Hoagie Rolls
Brown mustard

In an ovenproof skillet, lightly brown the brats.  Cover with sauerkraut and pour beer or broth over it.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Serve with Hoagie rolls and brown mustard.

Enjoy!

Deloris

A new "Reuben" Sandwich

This started with a craving for reubens with lots of sauerkraut.  But it turned out that there was no corned beef or rye bread.  So this was the results. Roasted Beef on Pumpernickel with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and brown mustard. You need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.



12 slices of Pumpernickel Bread
6 slices of Swiss Cheese
12 slices of Roast Beef
Sauerkraut
Brown Mustard

I place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and then covered the cooling rack with slices of Pumpernickel Bread and spread brown mustard on each side.  Then I cut the slices of cheese in half, diagonally and covered one side with sauerkraut and the other with sliced roast beef.  Then I toasted the sandwiches in the oven until the bread was crispy and the cheese melted.
Cut them in half and Enjoy!

Deloris

Mediterreanan Casserole

This is a great casserole for the upcoming holiday season.  It makes a very large pan and it skips the pasta.  It serves 10 to 12 as it is but add a side of pasta and salad and it can easily serve 18.  It is a little time consuming but it freezes well, just wait to add the bread crumb mixture until you are ready to bake.  If you freeze it, be sure to thaw it prior to cooking.



Meat Mixture
3 Tablespoons Butter
2 large Onions, grated
1 1/2 pounds of Ground Beef
4 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
1 cup of Red Wine plus extra for deglazing
1 teaspoon of Nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Cream Mixture
6 cups Milk
1 cup or 2 sticks of Butter
1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Cornstarch

Zucchini Mixture
1 1/2 pounds of zucchini, thinly slice, but not paper thin
1 cup of Unseasoned Bread Crumbs
3 Cups of grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 large Eggs at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter for meat mixture over low heat in a large skillet.  Saute onions until soft.  Add beef slowly, and cook over high heat, crumbling meat with a spatula, until brown.  In a 2 cup Measuring cup,  measure 1 cup of wine and add tomato paste.  Whisk until smooth, then add to meat.  Reduce heat to low, add nutmeg, pepper, salt, and cinnamon and mix.  Cover and reduce heat, let simmer for about 30 minutes, remove lid and let cook until dry but not scorched, stirring frequently.  Add remaining wine, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup and remove from heat.
While beef mixture is simmering, in another large container, scald milk and set aside.  Melt butter in a 4 quart saucepan over low heat.  Slowly sift in flour and cornstarch, whisking constantly so that the mixture does not become lumpy.  Add a dash of nutmeg.  Slowly add milk, whisking constantly and add another dash of nutmeg.  Cook until thick as the consistency of heavy cream, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat and cool.
To assemble the casserole, add 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan Cheese and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs into the the meat mixture.
Grease sides and bottom of a 16" X 10" X 2" oven proof dish. Sprinkle with enough bread crumbs to cover the bottom and sides.  Spread half of the slices of zucchini over the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Spread meat mixture on top.  Beat eggs, well.  Mix the other half of the zucchini with the beaten eggs and spread over the top of the meat mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Pour cream sauce over all.  Mix 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle over Cream Sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Sit back and wait for the applause.

Enjoy!

Deloris

Easy Goulash

This is very easy and takes only about 40 minutes from start to finish. Serve with a salad and buttered bread. It makes everybody happy.

2 cups of uncooked macaroni
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Fill a large pasta cooker half full of water and bring to a boil. 
In a skillet brown ground beef, onion and bell pepper.  While that is browning, add macaroni to boiling water.  Only let the macaroni until it is half cooked.  Drain macaroni and reserve some of the pasta water.
When the meat has finished browning, add the pasta and the can of diced tomatoes and let it simmer until the macaroni is tender.  You may need to add some of the pasta water to keep it from sticking.  Once the macaroni is tender, it is ready. Check to seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Let it cool some before serving.

Enjoy!

Deloris