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!

French Toast with Blackberry-Orange Reduction

This is a great way to start a long weekend with a wonderful brunch that includes a Mimosa or a Peach Bellini. This French Toast uses regular thin sliced sandwich bread. When you run it through the egg mixture, leave it in just long enough to coat the bread.  Do not let it sit and soak up the egg mixture like you would if you were using thick sliced, coarse bread.

Pork Chops Cooked in Gravy with Noodles

This is very easy.  While the pork chops simmer, cook the noodles.  It makes a lovely dinner on a rainy, Texas evening!  You can also bake this recipe in the oven, if you do not have time to stand over it.  Just remember that it will take about 30 to 45 minutes to thicken the gravy.

1 pound of Breakfast Cut Pork Chops, (very thin)
3 Tablespoons of Sepay Groves Olive Oil
1/4 cup of flour
2 cups of water
Salt and pepper

Season pork chops with salt and pepper then dredge in flour.  Reserve the flour.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Working in batches, if necessary, brown pork chops.  Remove pork chops from skillet and reduce heat to very low. Add reserved flour.  Allow flour to combine with oil and cook.  This browns the flour and makes a roux.  Stir constantly. Cook flour and oil for 5 minutes. Do not let the flour burn.  Add water, return heat to low, and allow to return to a simmer. Arrange pork chops so that all are at least partially submerged in the the gravy.  (This the point where you can place in a 350 degree oven and cook.Make sure that your pan is oven proof.) Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the gravy thickens.  Taste the gravy and adjust seasoning, if needed. If the gravy gets too thick, too soon, add additional water.  You do not want the gravy to scorch.  Serve with boiled noodles and southern style greens.

Enjoy!

Deloris

Printable Recipe: https://sites.google.com/site/basilandrosemarys/pork-chops-cooked-in-gravy-with-noodles

Southern Style Eggs

This is a breakfast that my Grandmother would make for us, when we visited her and my Grandfather, in the summer.  It brings back wonderful memories.  Grandmother was legally blind but continued to take care of her home for many years.  She would always have homemade strawberry jam waiting for me, just because I loved it so much.  When I was around 10, she was no longer able to cook. I remember that summer. It was very sad for both of us. But she did leave me with lovely memories, of family, home and delicious food. I once asked my mother to make this and she told me it is called Southern Style Eggs.  So for my wonderful Grandparents and Mom, I am sharing this with you.

Biscuits

5 minute Coddled Eggs

Crispy Bacon

Gravy

To assemble, place a biscuit on a plate and the break a piece of crispy bacon in half and place on top.  Top with a coddled egg sliced in half and then gravy.  Recipes for Biscuits, Eggs and Gravy are below.

These biscuits would be made with self rising flour but I did not have any, so I made it.  This recipe makes more than you will need for the biscuits, so store it in the freezer for later and remember to label the container.

Self Rising Flour

3 cups of Flour

4 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of Salt

Sift together.

Sour Milk

In an empty measuring cup, pour 1 teaspoon of vinegar and the complete the measure with milk. In the case, to 1 1/4 cup.

Biscuits

2 1/4 cups of Self Rising Flour

1 stick of Margarine

1 1/4 cups of Buttermilk or Sour Milk

1/4 cup of flour for kneading and rolling

2 Tablespoons of margarine, melted in 13" x 9"  baking pan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons of margarine in baking pan, in oven while preheating.

In a large bowl, cut margarine into flour.  Make a well and add milk.  Mix lightly with a fork until all of the flour is moist.  Place 1/4 cup of flour onto a pastry sheet or a large sheet of wax paper.  Turn dough onto flour and knead 3 or 4 times.  With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 3 inch circles. Swirl the melted margarine in the baking pan to coat the bottom.  Place the biscuit dough in the pan and the flip it so that both sides of the dough are coated with  melted margarine.  Repeat until all the dough has been used.  You will need the form the dough scraps into a second ball and roll out to make all of the biscuits. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until the tops brown.  Makes 1 dozen.

5 Minute Coddled Eggs

Bring a pan of salted water to boil.  Once the water boils, add whole "in the shell" eggs with a spoon, one at a time.  When the water returns to a boil, set the timer for 5 minutes.  Once the eggs have boiled 5 minutes, remove from heat, pour off the water and run cold water over the eggs to stop the cooking process.  Repeat with cold water twice.  Peel eggs and set aside. 

Gravy

1 Tablespoon of Margarine

1 Tablespoon of Flour

2 cups of Milk

1 teaspoon of Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

In a small saucepan on low, melt margarine and then add flour.  Stir until the margarine and flour are combined.  Add milk and salt then whisk. Increase temperature to low-medium and continue to whisk.  Allow to simmer, adjusting temperature as needed. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the flour no longer has a sweet doughy taste and the gravy has thickened.  Add cracked pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Deloris

Printable Recipe: https://sites.google.com/site/basilandrosemarys/southern-styleeggs

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

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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