Mannecoti con la Balsamella

For the Christmas party at Steve's office this year, they decided on an Italian theme, and Steve had volunteered us for a main dish and a dessert. With that in mind, I decided to do Manicotti and Pannacotta. They turned out wonderfully, and we will definitely be doing them again! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of them and they are completely gone, so I will have to take pictures of them the next time we make them! I originally got both of these recipes from this site, and was really pleased with all of the very authentic Italian recipes that abounded there. It is well worth the time to check it out!

Balsamella white sauce (makes approx 6 cups sauce):
4 1/2 oz butter
5 1/2 oz flour
5 1/3 cup milk
salt
2 1/2 oz parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated
Pinch of nutmeg

This is just a white sauce, so melt your butter, stir in your flour and then gradually add the milk as it thickens, stirring contantly. Add salt to taste (it will need it, we used between 1/2 and 1 tsp) as well as the parmigiano and the nutmeg once it has thickened up.

Filling:
3 - 4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 lb ground beef, or mix of different ground meats (beef, pork, cold cuts)
salt and pepper
3 oz parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated
pinch of nutmeg

In a frying pan put the butter and olive oil, on medium heat. When the butter starts foaming add the ground meat, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking the meat in small particles, until browned. Place the meat in a food processor and run the blade until the meat is very fine. Add 3 - 4 tablespoons of white sauce, nutmeg, and the parmigiano cheese. Continue running the blade until a soft compound is obtained. Transfer to either a pastry bag or a ziploc, with a corner cut out, to make for easy filling of the pasta.

Cannelloni:
20 dry manicotti, or no-boil cannelloni
3 oz parmigiano reggiano cheese, freshly grated

The original recipe refers to no-boil cannelloni, but that wasn't available in my grocery story so I went with regular manicotti. The instructions on the box say to boil them for 6-8 minutes, but we found that to be much too long; 5 minutes is more than enough, and allows them to maintain enough of their shape to make filling them easy.

So now you need a pan for your manicotti. The instructions say to use an 11x14, but I don't have anything that size. I managed with a 9x13, using some creative placement, but you may have a couple of differently sized pans that will work better than one large. In any case, you need to butter your pan and then put 1/4 to 1/2 a cupe of white sauce in the bottom of the pan; enough so that it is covered. Then, holding pasta in one hand and bag of meat in the other, begin filling your little tubes of pasta goodness. Be careful to avoid over-filling the pasta, as that will make it tear. If necessary, fill half-way from one side and then flip to finish filling from the other side. Place the pasta in the pan and, when full, cover with sauce. Finish with a sprinkle of the parmigiano cheese, cover with foil, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve hot, and I would definitely balance the heaviness of this dish with some veggies or salad to accompany it.

Notes: I don't have a food processor, and the thought of grinding the meat up in small increments in my blender was a bit daunting. I do have a meat grinder attachment for my Bosch, though. So I actually browned my meat, put it through the meat grinder, and added my butter and olive oil afterwards so that I didn't lose any of those oils inside the Bosch (and not have them in my filling for later). I used the smallest sized attachment that I had for the meat grinder and four blades instead of two.

Pannacotta

This is a new dish that we tried just this year for the party at Steve's office and it was just great! You can get a general idea of the dish if you think about it being the Italian version of flan. It's extremely rich; a little bit goes a long way. We really enjoyed this and Steve has specifically requested that we do it again, along with the Manicotti that I made for the main dish.

Caramel:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water, hot

Pudding:
1 cup milk
1 envelope unflavored gelatin powder
2 cups heavy cream
1 slice of lemon peel
1 piece of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup sugar

To prepare the caramel, put the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Mix very well together with a metal spoon, and place over low heat. Stir the sugar-juice once in a while until it becomes dark gold and begins smoking. Add hot water, bring it to a boil, and remove the pan from the heat. Pour the caramel into a round mould approximately 7 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep; bunt pan works great. Swirl the mold in all directions so that the caramel covers bottom and sides. Set aside.

To prepare the pudding, pour the milk into a small bowl and add the gelatin powder. Set aside to soak for about 5 minutes. In a saucepan, put the cream, lemon rind, cinnamon, and sugar. Turn the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and set it aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick and add the milk-gelatin mix; return it to the stove. Stirring, bring to a boil. As soon as the cream starts boiling, remove the pan from heat, pour the mixture into the mould, and let it cool at room temperature. Once at room temperature, place in the fridge to set. Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (better if overnight) before serving. To un-mold it, place the mould for ONLY a few seconds in very hot water. Any longer than that, and your pannacotta will simply begin to melt. If necessary, insert a knife all around between the mold and the cream to detach it from the walls. Invert onto a serving plate. Dress Pannacotta with berries or fresh fruit for additional color and flavor.

Notes: First of all, this recipe originally came from here. Second, I didn't use lemon peel and a cinnamon stick in the pudding. I used just a dash of lemon juice and very small sprinkly of ground cinnamon. It meant that you could actually see the cinnamon in my pannacotta, but it worked to give it that light cinnamon flavor, and I didn't mind that it was visible.

Hot Artichoke and Crab Dip

Allow me to present another member of the Hall of Traditions. We seem to have a lot of those... Anyway, this is a huge favorite of ours during the holiday season, most often used on Christmas Day for general snacking amongst the other horse duvers (welcome to our pronunciation of that fancy word for appetizers!) to avoid making anyone have to actually cook or do anything.

8oz cream cheese, soft
1 cup mayo
1 lg can artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained and chopped
1 small can green chilies
1 cup parmesan cheese
8 oz crab (or to suit personal taste; we like a little more)

Combine cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place in pie plate and bake uncovered 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until heated through and lightly browned. Serve hot with crackers for dipping; we happen to be partial to Club crackers and What Thins.

Judy's Chocolate Cream Pie

This is the chocolate cream pie that Steve grew up on, and he absolutely LOVES chocolate cream pie. He'll take that over a birthday cake any day. I don't have a picture for it yet, but hopefully I will after this evening...

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1 tsp almond extract

Mix together dry ingredients in a medium sauce pan and whisk in milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until it thickens. Remove from heat and add almond extract. Pour into cooked and cooled pie shell.

Merengue:
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp sugar

Beat the whites until they are frothy and then add the other ingredients. Continue beating until stiff snowy peaks form. Top pie with merengue and then, if desired, lightly toast the peaks of the merengue under a broiler (or a kitchen blow-torch, if you're that fancy :) for just a few seconds. Refrigerate pie until ready to use, but keep in mind that merengue will begin 'weeping' within about 24 hours.

Cinnamon Pull-Aparts

This one is DEFINITELY part of the Hall of Traditions!! It is a concrete part of Christmas, to say the least, and we do it periodically at other points during the year as well. This is something that comes from Steve's family, and is much-anticipated thing for our kids now. I will be posting this in two parts: the original recipe from Steve's mom and our modifications.

Judy's recipe:
1 bag of Rhode's frozen rolls
1-2 cubes butter, melted
2 cups sugar mixed with cinnamon to taste
While still frozen, coat rolls in melted butter and then in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place in a buttered bunt pan or angel food cake pan that doesn't have the removable bottom. Layer the rolls up inside the pan until it's about half full. Allow to sit until doubled in size; usually overnight, because of the rolls being frozen. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. After letting sit for several minutes, turn contents of pan out onto a large plate (hold plate on top of pan and flip quickly and carefully); serve immediately while still hot!
My recipe: (uses a feather roll recipe out of one of Mom's cookbooks, the name of which I have forgotten)
9-10 cups flour
2-3 Tbsp yeast
3 cups warm water
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup honey or sugar
1/2 cup powedered milk (optional)
4 large eggs
4 tsp salt
Dipping and Rolling:
1-2 cubes butter, melted
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
cinnamon to taste
Mix 5 cups of the flour with the dry milk and the yeast. Mix in the water, oil, and honey; let sit for 10 minutes. Mix in the eggs and the salt. Add the flour one cup at a time until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and then knead for 5-6 minutes.
This is a highly versatile dough and can be used for everything from pizza crusts, to dinner rolls, to cinnamon rolls; you name it. For the purposes of this recipe, we will be shaping 1" balls out of the dough. Mix the brown and white sugars with the cinnamon. Dip the balls of dough in the butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture before placing in the pan, as stated above. Layer the rolls up inside the pan until it's about half full. Allow to sit until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. After letting sit for several minutes, turn contents of pan out onto a large plate (hold plate on top of pan and flip quickly and carefully); serve immediately while still hot!
Note: the cooking times are different on the two recipes for a reason. Steve's family prefers a slightly doughy center on their pull-aparts, while I prefer my rolls cooked all the way through. Obviously, you can do the Rhode's rolls with a longer cooking time to get an easy pull-apart with fully cooked rolls; I just separated them that way because that's the way the two different households make them :)

Fruit Crepe Strudels

I haven't actually made these yet, but they're high on my list of stuff to try out!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 tsp salt
**********
1 20- to24-oz can fruit pie filling
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted nuts
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
6 tbsp fine dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Crepes: In bowl combine flour, milk, eggs, oil, and salt; beat till blended. Heat a lightly greased 10-inch skillet; remove from heat. Pour in about 1/3 cup batter; lift and tilt skillet to spread batter evenly. Return to heat; brown on one side only. To remove, invert pan over paper toweling; remove crepe. Repeat with remaining batter to make 6 crepes, greasing pan occasionally.
Filling: Combine filling, nuts, lemon peel and vanilla.
Assembly: Brush unbrowned side of each crepe with about 1 tbsp melted butter; sprinkle with 1 tbsp bread crumbs. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup filling at one end of each crepe. Roll up as for a jelly roll, starting with the filling end. Fold sides under. Place crepes seam side down on lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with remaining melted butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle atop. Bake at 400 until crespy, about 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; cut in pieces. Serves 12.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

I just tried this one out today and it's pretty good. I found it on this site, and altered the pan and cooking time because I like my brownies to be thicker and fudgier than the original recipe would have given me :)
2/3 cup butter OR margarine

1 2/3 cups (10-ounce package) HERSHEY'S Mint Chocolate Chips, divided

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)


Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x8-inch baking pan.
Place butter and 1 cup mint chocolate chips in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 20-sec intervals, stirring in between, until chips are melted.
Add sugar, flour, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, salt and eggs; stir with spoon until smooth. Stir in remaining 2/3 cup chips. Spread batter into prepared pan; sprinkle walnuts over top.
Bake 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Cottage Pie

I kind of made this one up based on Steve telling me about meat pies and stuff that he had while he was in Australia, so it's really general, and open to lots of interpretation :)

2 tbsp oil
1 lb stew meat
1/2 cup water
2 beef boullion cubes
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp savory
1/4 tsp garlic powder (or more to taste)
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
frozen peas
mashed potatoes
grated cheddar

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and brown the stew meat. Add in the boullion cubes, water, and seasoning; seal, bring to pressure, and cook for 10 minutes. After the pressure comes down, remove the meat to a small casserole dish (just big enough for the meat to cover the bottom) and leave the drippings in the pan on a medium-high heat. Combine the flour and milk until smooth and add to the drippings, stirring constantly. Since this is a gravy, you may need to add more milk or flour depending on how thick you want it to be. When the gravy is done, pour it over the top of the meat. Cover with the meat and gravy with peas, and cover those with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle a bit of cheese over it all and bake in the oven at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly around the edges.

Note: I love using my pressure cooker, because it cooks the meat up really tender so quickly. If you don't have one you can obviously just allow more time for it to simmer in a skillet on the stove instead. This can be done with any of your favorite meats (Steve really likes it with lamb) and vegetables.

Apple Butterscotch Tart

There's no memories or tradition behind this one yet, because I just made it this evening, but I was so good I just had to add it in here! I found it at the Cook's Recipe Index and was quite pleased, both with the taste and with the simplicity.

1 pie crust, ready and waiting in your dish

5 cups apple, thinly sliced

1 cup butterscotch morsels

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup margarine, chilled

Arrange the apples in the dish, and then sprinkle the butterscotch chips over the top. In a separate bowl combine the flour and brown sugar, cutting in the margarine, and then evenly cover the apples with this mixture. Bake in the oven at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

Cornbread

For most of us, the recipes that we grew up with will always hold a special place, and that is certainly true with this cornbread recipe. This is the recipe that my mother used all my growing up years, and I have never used any other, although I have tasted others! This is just always going to be my favorite cornbread recipe, bar none!

1/2 cup margarine
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 Tbsp vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour

Melt margarine, add sugar, beat in eggs and salt - set aside. Combine buttermilk and soda - add to other ingredients. Combine flour and cornmeal. Add to the rest of the ingredients. Stir just until everything is moistened. Do not stir out your lumps or it will affect the texture of your cornbread. Pour into greased pan (I have a 6x10 glass pan that I like) and bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of the pan (which determines the thickness of your cornbread). You are looking for the cornbread to be golden brown on top and to have pulled away from the sides of the pan. If you are using an 8" square pan, be sure that it's done in the center before you pull it out :)

Steve's Chili

Steve showed me how to make chili this way when we were newlyweds and he was still in college. It's ultra-simple, which makes it great for the crock pot on a chilly day when you don't have a great deal of time.

3 cans beans, undrained (we usually make each can a different variety of bean)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey or stew meat)
2 Tbsp chili seasoning

Combine beans, tomato sauce, and chili seasoning in the crock pot. Brown meat and add to other ingredients. Do not add water or any other liquid, even if it looks a little thick to start with. Cook on low most of the day (or on high for about 4-6 hours) and then taste. You may need to adjust your chili seasoning depending on the kind that you have and how strong you like your chili to be.

Sticky Chicken

When I was seven years old, Dad was transferred from Rantoul, IL to Edwards AFB in California. He was stationed there for the next 12 years. When I was in high school, I remember the Relief Society putting together a ward cookbook. I purchased a copy (or Mom bought it for me??) to put in my hope chest for when I got married. There are specific recipes from it that I use on a regular basis, even now. This one was pointed out to me a couple of years ago, by Mom, and it has since become one of our regulars. It was originally entered into the cookbook as Chicken Wings by Pam Woodburn.



chicken wings
2 beaten eggs with a little milk
1 cup flour
salt and pepper
3 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp accent
1/2 tsp salt


Mix flour, salt and pepper together in one bowl and the eggs and milk in another. Dip wings first in egg mixture and then coat chicken wings with flour mixture. Fry in oil until browned on both sides and put in a 9 x 13 pan (I line mine with foil for easy clean-up). Mix remaining ingredients to make a sauce and pour over thechicken. Bake at 324 for about 1 hr or until sticky, turning the chicken over 3-4 times during baking so that they are well-coated with the sauce.


Notes - Although this calls for wings, I like to use either chicken tenders or boneless skinless breasts cut to a similar size. Also, even though the picture shows it served with mashed potatoes and veggies, we have also really enoyed it as an Asian meal with a side of fried rice :)

There are definitely a few options out there for using your left over roast beef, but this is by far and away our favorite. Based on the concept of corned beef hash, it is a simple and satisfying breakfast item, found in our Cooking with Mickey cookbook.

roast beef, leftovers

2-3 potatoes, sufficient for your family, diced small

1 cup beef stock

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp butter

Pre-heat oven to 350. Melt butter in large frying pan and add diced potatoes. Chop up roast beef (I've been known to use leftover steaks, too) and combine with potatoes and onion powder in the frying pan just long enough to mix well. Spoon into a greased baking dish and bake uncovered for 1 hour. After this, you can go one of two ways. We have certainly served it just like this, topped with a fried or poached egg. The other option is to heat a little more butter in your frying pan and fry the cooked potatoes and meat before actually serving. We happen to like it more when it's been fried in the butter after the baking, but you could save a few calories by not :)

Note: The original recipe uses 1 medium onion finely chopped, instead of onion powder, sauteed in the frying pan before adding the potatoes and meat.

Peanut Butter Balls

Steve's mom makes these for him at Christmas time every year, and he would be quite thrilled if I made them a few times through the year. They are a prime example of the fact that he enjoys almost anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate. For most things I will go cheap on quite a few ingredients, but I wouldn't reccomend it on this one since the quality of the peanut butter and the Rice Krispies actually make a difference in how well the recipe works; I've tried. Also be aware that room temperature is bad for this recipe, since a room temperature dough will lend moisture to your Rice Krispies, depriving them of their crisp.

1 cube margarine, softened
1 cup peanut butter, Jif
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 - 12 oz pkg chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp parafin (you will find it in the canning area of your grocery store)
toothpicks (square is better than round)

Cream margarine and peanut butter. Add powdered sugar and carefully mix in Rice Krispies. Chill immediately in the fridge for 4 hours. Roll into 1/2 - 1" balls, but be careful not to crush the Rice Krispies. Freeze overnight. This is the part where the kids can have fun helping now, so melt your chocolate and paraffin together in a double boiler (or in a metal bowl set on top of a pan of water), being careful not to burn your chocolate. Stab frozen peanut butter balls with toothpicks and dip in melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper on a baking sheet. We usually use 4-6 toothpicks and rotate them as the chocolate cools, since they don't pull cleanly right away and we don't want to use the entire box :) As soon as all the balls have been dipped, place entire baking sheet in the freezer and leave over night. Yeah! You're done. We store ours in a ziploc bag, and they will keep for months.

Sloppy Joses

No, the Jose isn't a mis-spelling. Steve calls it a Sloppy Jose because he adds a dash of Tobasco sauce to make them a little spicy. I was quite stunned when we first made these because I had never had Sloppy Joes on anything but a burger bun, but Steve likes to have his on a single slice of bread and eat it open-faced with a fork. I will still use a burger bun if I have them on hand, but his method is by far the more common method in our house now.

1 lb hamburger
ketchup
Worcetershire sauce
Tobasco sauce
liquid smoke
1 egg

This recipe is almost entirely a 'feel it as you go' kind of thing so sharpen your cooking instincts and enjoy the ride :) Brown and drain the hamburger. Add a few generous shakes of Worcestershire, one to three dashes of Tobasco (depending on how much you want it to bite back), a cap-ful of liquid smoke, and then enough ketchup to bring it to your desired consistency. When all of that is well-mixed and thoroughly heated, push the meat mixture to the outer edges of the pan, leaving an empty space of hot pan in the middle. Crack your egg into this well and immediately begin scrambling it in, allowing it to mix into the meat as it cooks. Once your egg is mixed into the meat (you should just see small flecks through your Joses) it is ready to serve.

Worcestershire and Garlic Burgers

We were quite pleased with the results of this recipe, found on the back of a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, and have done it a few time since. Regretably, we don't often make our burgers from scratch, since it's so much easier to buy the Costco package of patties.

1 lb hamburger
1/4 cup Worcestershire
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine thoroughly, shape into patties and grill.

Bob's Swiss Steaks

We don't do this one as frequently as some others, but it came to us from Steve's dad and is still one that we really enjoy having when we can.

Sufficient portions of cube steak or well-tenderized round steak for your family
flour, salt, pepper mixture to dredge meat in
1/4 cup oil
1 envelope ionion soup mix
Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water

Heat 1/4 cup oil in frying pan. Dredge meat in flour mixture and brown in hot oil, removing to a 9x13 pan as they are browned. Sprinkle meat with the onion soup mix, a generous drizzle of Worcestershire (3-4 tbsp perhaps), and the water. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour.

Lasagna Enchiladas

I have actually adapted this from my crock pot cookbook, and it's an excellent option for really easy enchiladas.

4-6 corn tortillas
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 can refried or whole beans, your choice
1 large can olives, sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese of your choice
1 large can red enchilada sauce

Begin with a greased 6" round casserole dish (fits corn tortillas perfectly) and pour in just enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom. Place first corn tortilla on top of sauce and layer beans, meat, sauce, cheese, and olives; repeat until you reach the top of the casserole dish. Pour any remaining enchilada sauce over the top and around the sides. Bake uncovered at 350 for about a half hour, or until hot and bubbly. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before spooning out to serve.

Note: this can obviously be adapted for chicken enchiladas by using chicken and green enchilada sauce instead of beef and red sauce. And, per the original recipe, it can be made in the crock pot if you cross a couple of long, folded strips of foil in the bottom first, like an X. The strips should then extend up out of the crock pot so that you can hold onto the strips to pull out the enchiladas.

Bill's Biscuits

Originally, this recipe came from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Dad has been making them so long though that, to us, it will always be his recipe. The members of the Edwards Ward even took to calling them Bill's Biscuits, so that's how the recipe is listed.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients in mid-sized mixing bowl; cut in shortening, either with butter knives or with a pastry cutter. Use a fork to mix milk into flour mixture thoroughly but avoid over-mixing as this will make the dough tough. Press out onto lightly floured surface and use either biscuit cutter or a glass to cut biscuits into uniform circles. Place on a cookie sheet beginning with one biscuit at the center and working out, making sure that all biscuits are touching each other. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.

Beef Barley Soup

On one of our trips to Disneyland, we bought a cookbook called Cooking With Mickey. It is a book of the most-requested recipes from Walt Disney World and Disneyland, which means that most of them are fairly fancy, but we've definitely enjoyed them. I altered this one to include the potatoes and a few extra spices, so it's just slightly different from the one in the book.

1 cup carrots, diced small

1 cup celery, diced small

1 large potato, diced

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp beef base (or 4 boullion cubes)

2 tbsp chicken base (or 4 boullion cubes)

6 1/2 oz. pearl barley

3 qts water

1/2 lb ground beef

2 tbsp butter

salt

pepper

1/4 tsp savory

1/4 tsp basil

dash garlic

1/2 tsp parsley

In large pot combine water, onion powder, boullion cubes, barley, potato, and spices; begin heating. In another pan saute other vegetables in butter until tender; add to pot. In same pan brown hamburger and drain; add to pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Silver Dollar Pancakes

Steve and I had only known each other for about three months when he brought me to his parents' house to visit, and these pancakes were made for us for breakfast that first morning by his dad. After we were married, Steve told me that I just had to get the recipe for his mother's pancakes because they were better than anything else out there, and I'm inclined to think he was right. This recipe makes a very thin, light pancake. Steve's favorite topping is cinnamon sugar, as is Kellen's, but I happen to favor powdered sugar, and Madison will take anything sweet!
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp sugar
2 cups milk
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients together in medium bowl. In another, smaller bowl, combine the vinegar and milk; allow to sit for just a couple of minutes to sour. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients gradually, whisking continually to avoid lumps. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Choose either a large kitchen spoon for making 2" silver dollar pancakes, or a ladle for making larger pancakes. Cook on medium to medium-high heat (about 325 on your griddle). The first side should cook just until the bubbles stop and the edges of the pancake are dry, then flip to cook the second side just until golden brown. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Taco Soup

We really enjoy Mexican foods of varying sorts and, although this is certainly an Americanized version of Mexican food, it is one we like to have often. It came from my Edwards Ward Cookbook but, like so many other recipes, it has received some adaptations along the way since Steve prefers his soups to be thick and chunky.

1 lb hamburger
1 can tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 pkg (or 3 tbsp) taco seasoning
1 cup corn
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cans kidney beans
1 tbsp sugar
1 large can olives, sliced
3 cups water
1 cup dry macaroni

Brown and drain hamburger. Combine all ingredients except pasta in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately with a side of corn bread.

Note: this recipe can be done in the crockpot, cooking on high for 4 hours and adding pasta a half hour before serving.

Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs were a completely new concept to me when Steve first made them for me while we were dating. We were having some friends over for dinner and he really wanted to make this for dinner. I had an apartment in Spokane, while he had one just outside of town in Cheney where he was attending Eastern Washington University. He started the meatballs in the crock pot at my apartment, went to get our friends, and then took them home again afterwards. Amazing the memories that can be tied up in one food item.

1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp onion powder
1 cup uncooked rice
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 cans tomato soup
1 can water

Mix raw hamburger, salt, pepper, rice, onion and worcestershire with hands; roll into 1" balls. Place in pressure cooker with about a 1/2" space in between the meatballs, to allow for heat flow. Combine tomato soup and water and pour over meatballs. Cook at pressure for 20 minutes. Allow pressure to come down on its own and serve hot over mashed potatoes.

Note: these can be made in the crock pot, cooking on low for 4 hours, but the meatballs won't hold their shape as well and end up rather on the mushy side.

Lasagna

Everyone has their own favorite lasagna recipe, and we are certainly no different. Steve seldom orders lasagna when we go out to eat because he has decided that this is the best lasagna out there. The sauce recipe was originally given to me by my grandma, but there are a few adaptations I've made along the way.

1/2 lb hamburger
1/2 lb italian sausage
3 - 6oz cans tomato paste
3 cups water
1 tbsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 whole bay leaves
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tbsp parsley

Brown meats and place in crock pot. Add all other ingredients, mixing well. Allow to simmer on low for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally. Boil 9 or 12 lasagna noodles, depending on how many layers you want your lasagna to have; plan on three noodles per layer. When you are ready to assemble your lasagna, have the following ready:

1 lb shredded mozzarella or montery jack cheese
1 pt cottage cheese (I prefer small curd) with a single egg mixed in
parmesan cheese

Begin with a ladle of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, followed by noodles, a thin layer of cottage cheese spread along the noodles, 1-2 ladles sauce spread to all corners, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and a handful of shredded cheese. Repeat these layers until you get to the top of the pan or you run out of ingredients, making sure that you end with a layer of shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for a half hour until the edges are bubbly. Allow to sit for 10-15 min before serving with your choice of vegetable and a slice of garlic bread.

Taco Dip

Meet another member of the Hall of Traditions. We only make this about once or twice a year, usually at Christmas, but it is one of Steve's absolute favorite appetizers. It makes enough to fill a crock pot so we typically end up snacking on it for several days afterwards. And they don't come much easier than this :)

2 lbs hamburger
2 cans green chiles
2 cans pinto or kidney beans
1 jar salsa
1 large can olives, sliced

Brown and drain hamburger. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. Ladle into small bowls and serve with a side of your favorite tortilla chips for dipping.

Waffles

This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that my mom had when I was growing up. That page of the cookbook was so frequently used that eventually part of the page went missing because of ingredients sticking the pages together.

3 1/2 cups flour
6 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
3 1/2 cups milk
1 cup oil

Beat egg whites until stiff; set aside. Sift together dry ingredients; set aside. Mix egg yolks, milk and oil. Add slowly to dry ingredients while whisking quickly. When it's completely combined, gently fold in stiff egg whites. Don't break down the whites any more than necessary because they are providing the air that will keep your waffles light. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings.

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

This is my mom's recipe and is just an all-around good comfort food, excellent for cold evenings.

2 qts water
6 boullion cubs, chicken
1 lb broccoli, frozen or fresh
1 1/2 cubes butter
3/4 cups flour
8 oz Velveeta or Cheese Whiz

Boil water, boullion, and broccoli in large sauce pan until broccoli is tender. In small sauce pan melt butter. Gradually add flour, stirring contantly until bubbly and smooth. Stir into boiling water until thickened. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

Ginger Crinkles

This recipe is from Steve's grandmother. I remember that the very first time I met Gray she had a bag of Ginger Crinkles ready in the freezer that she had made just for him in anticipation of our visit so that he would have some to take home with him. We have modified the recipe slightly because Steve actually prefers his cookies soft and her recipe was for a crispy cookie; if you like your cookies to crunch then you can leave them in the oven longer. As good as these cookies are on their own, I prefer mine with a mug of hot cocoa :)

2/3 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/4 cup sugar for dipping

Stir together oil and sugar. Add egg and molasses; beat well. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and add to previous mixture, combining thoroughly. Roll into 1" balls and place on ungreased cookies sheet about 1" apart. Flatten slightly (about halfway down) with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 for 10 min.

Note: as convenient as a Kitchen Aid or Bosch mixer might be, this recipe actually mixes better by hand with a spoon; you will end up with a less sticky dough.

Pumpkin Bread

This recipe was one of Steve's favorites growing up and he still regularly requests that I make it for him :) When his mother made this recipe, she used small coffee cans instead of loaf pans, giving her pumpkin bread a unique appearance. Steve prefers his pumpkin bread frozen with a swipe of butter on top :)



4 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
5 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
1 large can pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat sugar and eggs until smooth like snow; add pumpkin, oil, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl and add gradually to pumpkin mixture, beating well. Grease loaf pans and fill 1/2 full with batter. Bake at 350 for one hour. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then remove from pans to cooling rack.

Gingerbread Houses

This recipe is a member of our Hall of Traditions. This is the same recipe that my mom used while I was growing up and the gingerbread houses are one of Kellen's favorite Christmas traditions.

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cloves

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 molasses

2 eggs, beaten

Blend dry ingredients; set aside. Melt shortening in a heavy pan; remove from heat and add sugar, molasses, and eggs, mixing well. Allow to cool slightly and then add dry ingredients; mix well again, and chill for in a covered bowl for 1-2 hours. Take 2 large cookie sheets, turn them over, and oil the back of the cookie sheets. Roll out dough on the backs of the cookies sheets to a thickness of 1/8" - 1/4", using a light dusting of flour on the surface of the dough to help prevent sticking to the rolling pin; do not try to turn dough over while rolling out. Place house pattern pieces on the dough and cut with a sharp knife. Remove excess dough and bake at 350. The length of time will vary, depending on the size of the piece, so watch them carefully (anywhere from 7 - 14 minutes) and make sure to bake pieces of a similar size together so that they will bake evenly. After removing the cookie sheet from the oven, while the pieces are still hot, place the pattern back on and re-cut the edges, since they will have 'grown' a bit. Then carefully remove the pieces to a cooling rack and leave them to cool and dry for about 24 hours. This recipe will make two medium-sized houses with some dough left over. The most common way of assembling gingerbread houses is with frosting, but we typically choose to use carmelized sugar, since it cools and hardens almost immediately. If you choose this method, though, only melt a few tablespoons of sugar at a time; a little bit goes a long way :) Then we use a royal frosting for placing all of our candies on the houses.

One of Kellen's favorite parts of this tradition is that he gets to munch on all the 'trimmings' as they come off of the freshly baked pieces.

Rice Custard

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1 tsp butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup cooked rice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1-2 Tbsp butter

Pre-heat oven to 350. Combine eggs, sugar, and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Scald milk in sauce pan and then add slowly to egg mixture. Stir in cooked rice and vanilla. Pour into greased 1 1/2 qt greased baking dish; dot with butter and lightly sprinkle nutmeg on. Put 1" water in bottom of 9x13 pan and set rice custard baking dish in the water. Place entire thing in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Although it can be served warm or cold, we prefer it hot out of the oven.

This recipe is one of my family favorites, since my mom used to make it for us when we were growing up, and now I enjoy making it for my kids.

Chicken and Meatball Stew

1 cup flour, divided

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 lbs chicken (thighs or breasts, 4-6)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 carrots, peeled and cut

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut

1 cup chopped celery

small pinch of cloves

1 bay leaf

1 cup milk

20-25 meatballs, pre-cooked

Combine 3/4 cup flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Heat oil in large skillet. Dredge chicken in flour and brown well on both sides in hot skillet. Remove to plate and set aside. Put chicken stock, onion, garlic, vegetables, cloves and bay leaf in large pot; bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and add the chicken. Cover and simmer for 25-30 min, or until vegetables are tender. Remove chicken once more to individual plates. Combine one cup milk with remaining 1/4 cup flour and add to stew, stirring to thicken. Add heated meatballs and stir in gently. Ladle stew out into bowls and serve immediately.