The Cookbook Experiment: Beef A Roni

Hello! Another recipe from the church cookbook. This one was submitted by Mary Grode who is the mother of Judy Mastros. Great families, all of them!

I was looking for a fast dinner tonight and as I poured through the cookbook this one jumped out at me.

Beef A Roni by Mary Grode

1 pound ground beef
1 cup Elbow macaroni
1/2  onion, minced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 - 3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook ground beef. Stir in macaroni, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper; cook stirring until macaroni is transparent.  Add tomato sauce, water and Worcestershire sauce and cover. Simmer 20 minutes. Stir then let stand 5 minutes with heat off.

My take-aways from this recipe:

1. I could not wrap my head around adding the macaroni at the stage it said in the recipe so I did not. I boiled my macaroni noodles separately.
2. I increased the amount of sauce and noodles because I have a house full to feed.
3. I also used ground turkey in lieu of hamburger because we have someone in the family who is allergic to red meat.
4. It was really good however I am going to talk to the daughter of the recipe writer and see if the macaroni really goes in before being cooked.
5. I really wanted to add cheese to this...blame the Italian in me.

Until tomorrow!! Take care.

The Cookbook Experiment: Aunt Lorraine's Carrot Soup

Hello all! What do you do when you have too many fresh veggies and are not in the mood for a salad? Don't let them rot! Make a soup! I turned to my trusty church cookbook to decide what direction my soup would take and came across another recipe submitted by the amazing Martha Lee Cash and her Aunt Lorraine! If you stroll through my previous posts you will find an amazing recipe for her lasagna. 

Aunt Lorraine's Carrot Soup

1 lb. carrots
3 medium potatoes
1 large onion
1 Tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Dash of salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups milk

In a soup pot, saute the chopped onion in 1 tablespoon of butter or low fat margarine.  Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth.  Combine with the carrots and potatoes and cook until done about 15 minutes. Put in blender, blending to mush consistency. Return to pot and add a dash of salt and pepper and 1 1/2 cups milk. Store in refrigerator. When ready to serve, heat and garnish with dill (optional).

SO....once again I goofed it up like I did last night. I went a little off the rails as I wanted to use my Instant Pot. This is what I did since I had veggies to use up.

I used a 16 ounce bag of carrot chips and cut them into slices.
I set my Instant Pot on saute and put the onion and butter in to soften up. After the onions were softened I dumped in my carrots. I did not chop my potatoes very small since I was worried they would break down too far. Next I added the chicken broth.  I also had some stir fry vegetables that consisted of chopped fresh brussel sprouts, red onion and cauliflower.  I did not mush any of them in a blender.  Next, because I knew the Instant Pot needed to pressurize I added two more cups of water. I am just a novice with the Instant Pot so don't just do what I say. Read your manual and judge for yourself how much liquid you need with your food items. I set my Instant Pot on Soup/Broth and then fell asleep and took a nap! When I got up about an hour later the soup was done and it had self-released. All the veg was very tender. I did NOT add the dairy. Dairy does not really belong in the Instant Pot and honestly, I liked the lightness without the milk.

So I went pretty far off the recipe on this one. But it was the beginning and a good start. And it is a healthy lunch for all this coming week.

My return to posting and a new recipe: Best Ever Corn Pudding

I'm sorry I fell of the map. Life has a way of knocking you around and I let it get in the way of a lot of things. I fractured my ankle and ended up having surgery. I have also fractured my right wrist and have been in a cast for three months and am hoping it won't mean surgery too.

Additionally my depression has had a strangle hold as well. Changes in life, church, children - I have let it all just run through like a large storm. Time to take back control.

I am continuing going through my church cookbook with the goal of trying every single recipe. Tonight it was "Best Ever Corn Pudding" by the amazing Pat John. She is an incredible woman of faith and I should really be more like her. Here is the recipe:

Best Ever Corn Pudding by Pat John

(1) 16 ounce can cream of corn
(2) eggs, beaten
(1) can evaporated milk
(2) heaping tablespoons of flour
(1)  teaspoon salt
(1/3) cup sugar
(2/3) cup melted margarine

Beat eggs. Add other ingredients. Bake at 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Use an 8 1/2" square dish, sprayed.

There is a VERY important reason I have no picture for you. I got distracted making this and forgot to add the milk. Disaster. It really was not that bad but it was mostly just over-buttered cream corn. I will make it again soon and this time I wont forget the milk. I'm sure its wonderful.

I hope you all are doing well. I'm working on getting back to the normal things of life. Take care!