The Cookbook Experiment: Amish Layered Dinner

Tonight's cookbook experiment also included this dish by Dick John. Mr. John is very important to me. He was a good friend of my father's and he is married to a very sweet lady, Pat John (one of her recipes is posted previously and it is to die for!).

Amish Layered Dinner by Dick John

(2) cups hamburger (uncooked)
(2) cups sliced raw potatoes
(2) cups chopped celery
(1/2) cup diced onions
(2) teaspoons of salt
(1/4) teaspoon of pepper
(1) cup diced green peppers
(2) cups canned tomatoes
(1) onion, thinly sliced (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper before adding the next layer. Place potatoes in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add a layer of celery. Add layer of hamburger. Add the layer of onions. Add the green pepper. Pour the tomatoes over the mixture. Lay onion slices on top, if desired. Bake for 2 hours, covering with foil after about one hour.

My take-a-ways for this recipe:

• I should have used very low fat hamburger. I did not think about it and it made the casserole a little bit greasy (okay, a lot greasy)
• I peeled and sliced about five potatoes to equal the 2 cups
• I did not measure the salt and pepper...I confess. I just liberally used them both (the pepper more than the salt actually)
• At the store today I did not pick up any canned tomatoes because I thought I had some at home. Nope! I used some canned whole Roma tomatoes that I roughly tore apart over the top of the casserole.
• I was really, really not sure how this was going to turn out, especially when what seemed like backward to me to put the aluminum foil on AFTER it had baked an hour. I did it, but I thought that was definitely different.
• This was tasty. I loved the way the celery just seemed to melt away and you would have never known they were in there if you did not see it being fixed.
• The onions were as equally amazing, of course I am an onion fan. They were so tasty.
• Thanks Mr. John. This was a hearty meal for my boys!! I love you! 

Oven Fries

I needed a new way to fix potatoes. I was not in the mood for mashed potatoes. Scalloped potatoes take to long and my new way of living definitely did not support frying them. I figured that baking would be the way to go.  As the main course is big juicy Bacon and Cheddar Hamburger Steaks, oven fries seemed to be a good fit.  Here are the ingredients that I used:

7 russet potatoes, peeled and cut length-wise
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Dump the seasonings into a large ziploc bag along with the oil.  Add the potato slices and close the bag.  Make sure you have it sealed.  Vigorously shake the bag until the potatoes are well coated with the olive oil and seasonings.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for at least 30 minutes or until potatoes are done. Transfer to a bowl and toss in some shredded Parmesan and parsley if desired. I forgot the parsley at the store but I did add the Parmesan.

It made for a lovely side dish to our hamburger steaks!

Long potatoes, cheddar and ham

I had a lot of potatoes to use up from Thanksgiving. I think I kept forgetting how many I had and kept buying them. With how chilly it is outside plus needing to use leftover ham, it seemed like a good night to make a nice potato dish.

I peeled approximately three pounds of russet potatoes and cut them long-ways.  They were placed in a 9" x 13" dish, dotted with chunks of smoked ham and hunks of extra sharp cheddar cheese.  I combined one large can of cream of mushroom soup with almost 2 cans of  evaporated milk and poured over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for one hour.  That's it!  It is super easy!

It was a big hit with the family tonight! A very good belly warmer!

Smoked Ham and Potato Soup

The weather has begun to change. Its time to roll out the soup recipes. What better time for a hearty soup when my two favorite men at home are sick?  I think a good strong soup always makes a body feel better!

The main ingredients in this soup are as follows:

Back to my favorite Cumberland Gap smoked ham, cut into small to medium dice
(1) 3 pound bag of golden potatoes, cut into even small chunks - try to keep as close to the same size as possible so the cooking time will be the same
(2) medium onions, diced
(6) cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
olive oil
butter
(3) cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup
(4) soup cans full of water
(1) cup of heavy cream

Chop your onions and put in the bottom of your soup pot with a turn or two of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter on medium low heat.  Dice the ham and add in.  Next add your smashed garlic.

While your ham and onions sizzle and marry, dice potatoes.  It is not necessary to peel the potatoes when using golden potatoes. The peel adds a nice texture.  Dicing them to even slices allows for even cooking time.  When they are all sliced, dump them all on top of the ham with the garlic and onions.  Next add the three cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup and the (4) soup cans full of water.  Allow this to come to a boil and then reduce heat and cover and let simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Check the potatoes to see if they are done.  When the potatoes are tender, add (1) tablespoon of butter and (1) cup of heavy cream.  Allow the butter to melt and stir in the heavy cream.  Allow to heat through for about 10 minutes and then serve.

This was a thick, hearty soup that was warm and comforting. It was very easy to make and made my two men feel better. I hope you try it!

Potato and Ham Hash

Tonight easy was on the menu for dinner! I did not feel like going for an all out "mess the entire kitchen up" meal.  I looked around and realized I still had not used the big chunk of chopped ham that I had purchased at the beginning of the week.  It needed to be used before it went bad.

My large skillet came out and I put a generous amount of canola oil (don't hate....I am out of olive oil and I have not made it to the store yet! Normally I would have busted out the EVOO).  I chopped two medium size yellow onions and tossed into the pan.

Next I peeled and chopped a 3 pound bag of russet potatoes.  Okay....hang on a minute. I have a confession to make. I did not actually peel those potatoes. My son did. THANKS NICK!
On top of the onions they landed!

Next I chopped my block of chopped ham up. Kind of funny, huh? I had to chop chopped ham? Oh well! That is what I bought from the deli....one large hunk of chopped ham. They looked at me kind of weird when I said I did not want it sliced but wanted one huge chunk of ham. Into the pan it went!

I fried/steamed this for about 35 minutes or so until the potatoes were tender, the onions and ham were crispy.  It was very, very good.  I served it up in a bowl with some shredded sharp cheddar cheese. It was a delicious dinner.

Dinner in the real world....

I don't know about you, but I don't always believe the TV chefs understand the realities of families on a budget. They often assume we automatically keep certain ingredients at the ready all the time.  The truth is, we don't have room for all of that in our budgets.

Tonight was a prime example of "what in the world do I do for dinner?" without having to go to the grocery store and spend more money. I am making chicken more often as I am trying to trim down the amount of red meat my family consumes.  Poking around my kitchen and I decided I had just about everything I needed to make Chicken with gravy over biscuits.

I put my frozen chicken breasts on to boil but I knew that without their skin the broth would not be quite flavorful enough.  I did not get any more chicken broth when I went shopping.  It is a little bit of a luxury item as it can be costly (and I really don't like to use any brand other than Swanson).  It was time to improvise.  I had a large can of Campbell's chicken and noodle soup.  Instead of opening it the normal way, I poked two holes in the top of the can and drained the liquid into a pot.  I put it on the stove with a stick of butter (you are not really surprised, are you?).  I let that come to a boil while boiling my chicken breasts in a different pot.  I added about a cup of milk to the gravy pot. Next I put about 1/4 cup of cornstarch in the bottom of a coffee cup and added about a half cup of hot chicken broth to it and stirred it up until smooth.  I added this to my gravy pot to thicken.  Various spices were sprinkled in, including garlic powder, onion powder, Mrs. Dash table blend and salt and pepper.  I added about a cup of the chicken broth from the chicken boiling on the stove as well.

I put some biscuits in the oven (yes, from a can, I really do not have time to make them from scratch unless I have a whole lot of time or it is a really special occasion).  After they came out, onto a plate, shredded some of the boiled chicken over it and then poured the chicken gravy over it.  The result was a very happy husband and son.  That's my boys! They love their meat and gravy.

No, I did not fix an veggies tonight. This was a mad dash dinner and it is what it is.  Dog-gone gravy goodness!

As for staples in my kitchen? Here is a list of things that I cannot do without:
1. frozen chicken in the bag as I don't always have money during the week to go buy it fresh
2. butter - plain and simple, can't do without it
3. fresh garlic cloves
4. russet potatoes
5. rice ( I prefer white but I am slowly working my way into using brown)
6. eggs ( a must in my house, trying to get my sweet husband to gain weight)
7. cheese (the type varies as my family goes through stages of what they prefer, currently we are on a provolone run)
8. milk - we use 2%
9. wheat bread
10.  ice cream.....another must have for the husband :o)

What do you keep in your kitchen as must haves?

Basics

It was a get back to the basics kind of dinner tonight.  Nothing heavy, hard or fancy. I have been sick a lot this week so I needed something that did not require a lot of standing in the kitchen.  The ticket seemed to be  my husband's favorite:  meatloaf.

My meatloaf was bare.  The only thing that I included this time was the following:

(1) pound of ground chuck (poor chuck)
(1) large yellow onion, chopped
(4) cloves of garlic, minced
(1) sleeve of saltine crackers, crushed
(1) good shake of Soul Seasoning
(1) egg

All the above mixed well and put into a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.

While the meatloaf baked, I peeled potatoes and put some corn on.  Yep, it was a basic dinner.  My family really likes their meat and mashed potatoes.  The best part is that we got to sit at our table and all have dinner together. It doesn't happen as often as it should now that everyone is getting older but I am trying as hard as I can to hold onto it as long as I can.

Now, I am sitting in my kitchen making Italian wedding cookies and playing on my laptop.  I hate that I have to "sit" to do it but I am not back up to strength yet.  But soon - I will be adventurous again and trying something new.

Hurricane Sandy and Monday's dinner

Today is Monday, August 29th.  Hurricane Sandy has been blustering and showing off since yesterday.  She has been a naughty girl, that Sandy!  We are safe and dry here in Virginia.  We have not yet lost power (thank you God) and so far even though our canal has turned into a river, we have not had a flooded house or vehicles.

Instead of the usual three teenagers tonight, I had four.  I needed a way to make dinner stretch.  My initial thought was to make scallopped potatoes and fried chicken.  I decided against it as I just did not feel like standing at the stove for a long time.  I had already sliced the potatoes thin.  That is when it came to me to do a variation of the Hobo dinner I made a few weeks ago.

Step one:  slice potatoes thin and put in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Step two:  rough chop an onion and put it on top of the taters.

Step three:  layer chicken breast on top

Step four:  sprinkle liberally with Soul Seasoning and a little bit of Chipoltle chili powder.

Step five:  Add one can of chicken broth

Step six:  Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.

It was very good.  The only problems I encountered with this were the following:

1.  I used very thin cut chicken breasts and an hour in the oven is a little too long for them.  The got a little tough.  I might should have put them under the potatoes?

2.  It was kind of bland.  It needed a little more "oomph".  I wanted to put carrots in it but I did not have any and because of the storm, I could not go to the store.

3.  I think next time I will use regular chicken breasts and not the thin ones.  I might even add some cream of chicken soup or whip up a bechemel cheese sauce for it.

If you have any suggestions, let me know.  I would love some help! 

I pray you are all safe and dry! Take care in this storm and in the everyday of things.
In all things give thanks!!

The Hobo Dinner

In the midst of my cleaning spree today, I plopped down at the computer to find inspiration for tonight's dinner.  I wanted something quick and easy or at least easy!  I went to one of my favorite recipe sites, allrecipes.com and typed in easy dinner.  This is one of the first recipes that popped up:

The Hobo Dinner

I had most of the ingredients.  The only thing I lacked was the ground chuck (poor Chuck).  I ran down the street (okay...I did not run, I jumped in my Mustang and sped...ummm...I mean slowly drove) to my closest grocery store.  I decided to use the leanest beef I could find since it called for it to NOT be pre-cooked before adding everything else.  I did not follow the recipe exactly.  You know me! I have to put my "Crystal" twist on everything I do. 

(2) pounds of lean ground chuck (poor Chuck)
(2) packets of Lipton Beefy Onion dry soup mix
(5) or (6) medium to large russet potatoes
(1) bag of baby carrotts, peeled and ready to eat
(1) egg
(1) large sweet onion, cut into rings

Mix the ground chuck (poor Chuck) in a bowl with both packets of dry soup mix and the one egg until mixed well.  Form thick, medium size patties and place in the bottom of a roasting pan.  Peel the potatoes and slice like steak fries.  Layer the potatoes on first.  Then add the whole bag of carrots. Next place the onion rings on top.  Cover with aluminum foil and put in a pre-heated 400 degree oven and bake for one hour.

That was perfect for me.  I put it into the oven and went back on my cleaning spree!  After about 45 minutes the house was smelling like Sunday afternoon pot roast!  When the hour was up I carefully removed the roasting pan from the oven and peeled back the foil.  I served it in bowls and fed all my hungry crew.  It was quite tasty.  Even though the dry soup mix added a lot of salt content, it still needed some more.  I think next time I make it, I will probably add some cream of mushroom soup in to flavor it up some more.  It definately would have been great with some fresh sliced mushrooms added to the mix!  I can tell you I will definately be making this again!  I can take no credit for the recipe but I am sure thankful that it was posted on allrecipes.com!

yummy mushrooms and Texas Pete

I went to the grocery store to get some more Texas Pete (I swear it is what keeps my darling hubby all spicy and sexy!).  As I wandered into the store I went straight to the fresh veggies.  In the mushroom section was an interesting package from Modern Farms Mushroom.  It was a mushroom blend of sliced baby bellas, shitake and oyster mushrooms.

 http://www.modernmush.com/products.html

Honestly I have never had anything except the small white button mushrooms! Who knew the complex and earthy flavors I had been missing out on? They were woody and wonderful.  I was surprised at the aroma of the oyster mushrooms.  I put them in a small saute pan with a stick of REAL butter and got them all warm and yummy.  I used them to pour over my roast I made for dinner tonight.  I had made a quick run to the butcher and picked up a new cut of beef I had never tried.  It was called a beef tip roast.  It was already trussed up by the butcher.  I wasen't sure what to do so I just threw it the oven for a couple of hours.  It was pretty good but it was even better with the mushroom sauce.

I also bought a 3 pound bag of red potatoes and made mash-a-taters with some real butter and milk. I meant to fix some brussel sprouts but got distracted and forgot.  It was definately a meat and potatoes night.