Comfort Foods

I have been a little behind on posting to this blog. It's that time of year when everyone loves comfort foods. Here is a great recipe that my mother-n-law taught me to make. My dad always loved it when I created this recipe.

Scrumptious Scalloped Potatoes
5-6 medium sized potatoes
¾ stick of butter
¾ can of evaporated milk
salt
pepper (fresh ground pepper is best)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice potatoes “scallop style” and wash thoroughly. Spray 2 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place potatoes in baking dish. Add milk and salt and pepper to taste. Slice butter in several pieces and place on top of potatoes. Bake in oven for approximately 30-40 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes to distribute butter and seasoning. A brown crust will form on potatoes when done. Do not over bake or potatoes will dry out.

In loving memory of our dad who loved this recipe and Dell’s mother-n-law Mildred who was so generous to share it with her. May peace be with both of you!

Mock Pigs In The Blanket

Last night I made Pigs in the Blanket. What's that you ask? Well, traditionally it is a spiced pork meat rolled into cabbage blankets and cooked with a tomato base. It is very delicious served with mashed potatoes. However, I decided to use ground turkey meat instead of pork in mine. Now, I am really not a fan of ground turkey meat. I don't know what it is but it just kind of turns me off in some dishes. I think it is just a mental thing with me. Anyway, I am on a mission to use up all my meats in my two freezers before I purchase anymore. So, I have started with the freezer that is in the kitchen (part of refrigerator). Each day I pull out something in the freezer and see what I can come up with for a recipe. So, yesterday it was ground turkey and I decided on Pigs in the Blanket. They actually turned out pretty good (at least DH loved them) but not sure if I will use turkey meat in them again or not. Just would rather have that ground pork.

Here's the recipe:
1 lb pkg ground turkey or pork
1 cabbage
1 small can tomato paste
1 12 oz can tomato sauce
3/4 cup bread crumbs or rice
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 egg
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp sugar
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Boil several cabbage leaves for 15 minutes. Drain, rinse with cool water and set aside. Combine meat, tomato paste, rice or bread crumbs, garlic (minced), egg, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Mix well. Roll in desired ball shapes and place inside cabbage leaves. I remove the membrame in the middle of the cabbage leaf to make 2 rolls. Lay in baking pan and combine sugar and tomato sauce. Pour over cabbage rolls and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Add remaining cheese on top of rolls and continue baking until brown. Serve.

Winner of Blog Candy

I have really been off to a slow start with this blog. I have had a lot going on so I apologize for not posting more often.

I promised blog candy on my very first post and I have a winner! Katiesniche please contact me via email at dinnerdell@yahoo.com and send me your address so I can get your prize out. Congratulations!

Everyone stay tuned as I have more stuff coming.

My Best Meatloaf

What's under that Deep Covered Baker dish you ask???? It's my famous meatloaf with a bit of altering that I made tonight. It was fantastic!

I am known for my famous meatloaf in my family. My kids say I make the best ever. Okay, I have experimented over the years making my meatloaf something you will always go back for seconds. I have been known to add grated potatoe to my meatloaf as a filler and other things that I have in my cupboard. Tonight however, I ended up altering my recipe a bit and honestly it was the best I have ever made! I added a special sauce layer and french fried onions to the top of it before I baked.

Check out the crust on top of my meatloaf. It made it soooo good.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground chuck

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 egg beaten

1/2 cup organic ketchup

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

1/2 cup Irish oatmeal

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well. If mixing with hands please remove your rings and wash them well. Once your meatloaf is mixed place in a baking dish. I used my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker (If interested, email me for more information). Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sauce:

1/4 cup Gulden's Brown mustard

1/4 cup organic ketchup

Blend well and pour over the meatloaf spreading over entire loaf. Spread 1/2 cup Durkee French Fried Onions over the loaf and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour uncovered.

Fig Preserves

My sister-n-law, Jan who lives in Alabama has been putting up fig preserves most of the weekend. I just love fig preserves! Growing up my Aunt Lois and grandmother always made me several jars so I could eat them all year. They are so yummy on a homemade biscuit! In their memory I am sharing this wonderful recipe (which is a bit old-fashioned) for fig preserves. You can substitute Stevia if you want a sugar substitute version (thanks for tip Jan).

Aunt Lois’ Fig Preserves

This recipe is very old and gives me such fond memories of my favorite Aunt Lois who was married to a farmer. The directions are pretty short and sweet but they actually make a fantastic fig preserve!

Wash a dishpan full of fresh picked figs and layer with four pounds of sugar. Mix and set overnight. Cook real slow, stirring with a wooden spoon. Simmer all day and watch carefully. Mixture is done when foam forms at top. Remove immediately (or will scorch). Pour into canning jars and seal.

Amish Friendship Bread

Did you know that August 1st is National Friendship Day? So, to commemorate the day I thought I would post the following recipe I got from AllRecipes.com. I altered the recipe a bit to use organic and whole wheat products instead of white flour and sugar. This recipe is for Amish Friendship Bread. If you want to read more about the history of this bread check out armchair.com for more information. You have to begin making the bread by making a starter recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose whole wheat bread flour, divided
3 cups organic cane sugar, divided
3 cups milk (I use organic skim milk)

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.
On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.
Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).
FOOTNOTES
Editor's Note
Once you have made the starter, you will consider it Day One, and thus ignore step 1 in this recipe and proceed with step 2. You can also freeze this starter in 1 cup measures for later use. Frozen starter will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using.

Once you have the starter made you can make the bread:

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose whole wheat bread flour
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 (9x5 inch) loaf pans.
In a large bowl, combine the Amish bread starter with oil, eggs, 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well. Pour into prepared loaf pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

Have fun making this recipe and don't forget to share with a few of your friends.

Cake Decorating - My First Clown Cake

I signed up to take a Wilton cake decorating class. My instructor is wonderful and very patient. I have had three classes so far. This week we made flowers and clowns. This is my very first clown cake! He looks quite silly. Actually, the cake was very tasty being it was chocolate. Yummy!

My New Recipe and Kitchen Tips Blog

Hi everyone! I decided to start this blog to share my love of cooking. I just love to see smiles on people's faces when they have a taste of something delightful! I am dedicating this site to share recipes, kitchen tips, baking solutions, or anything else that is going on in the kitchen or at the table.

If you have ideas please send them to me at dinnerdell@yahoo.com I would love to hear from you.

In order to get this blog started what better way than to start off with some blog candy! Yes, you heard right. Being that I am an Independent Consultant for The Pampered Chef I am giving away the goodies posted in the picture below. That's two Season's Best Recipe books, an I-Slice, a Citrus Peeler and a $10.00 gift certificate for your choice of Pampered Chef products ordered from me.

You just have to love this stuff! All you have to do is post a comment at the end of this post and Subscribe to this blog. You must do both requirements to be considered for a chance to win. I will choose a winner on August 31st. Good luck!