A savory bread saver

I went to a homeschool convention earlier this month and stayed at a hotel where I could take advantage of the in-suite mini-kitchen to prepare my solo meals.  I brought some favorite homemade foods like thick yogurt, nutty granola cereal and nectarine kombucha along in a cooler but stopped at the C'ville Great Harvest Bread Co. on my way over the mountain to pick up a loaf of their sliced honey-whole wheat bread since I didn't have enough time to make bread before I left.  Of course, as soon as you enter the bakery, someone offers a slice of just-baked bread -- this time it was a crusty slice of  a savory spinach feta bread.  Since it was a little heartier than plain, I picked up a round loaf to take with me for my dinner.

When I got back home a few days later, I still had about half a loaf of the spinach feta bread.  Cubed and dried in the dehydrator for several hours, it went into a jar on the pantry shelf.  Then yesterday, I had a package of pork chops and a can of apple pie filling (recently found at the back of a pantry shelf...) which I wanted to turn into several freezer meals DH could take to work, the dried bread cubes became the basis for homemade stovetop stuffing that was out of this world!

I used a very simple recipe from Kraft which called for browning chops in a little oil and then putting apple pie filling in an ovenproof casserole, topped with the pork chops and prepared stuffing.  The spinach feta bread made this recipe.  I'm going to have to remember to make savory breads like that just for the purpose of using as a base in the stuffing!

Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing

• 4 pork chops
• tablespoon or so of vegetable oil for browning the chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (20-oz.) can apple pie filling
• 3 cups dried, cubed bread (I used the spinach feta bread from Great Harvest)
• pinch each of sage, thyme and celery salt
• 2 tablespoons minced onion or 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 3/4 cup chicken broth or water
• 2 tablespoons butter

Brown pork chops in a little oil in a heavy skillet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread apple pie filling in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole dish which is large enough to hold the four chops in a single layer. 

Bring broth, butter, and onions to a boil in a saucepan.  Pour in seasonings and bread cubes and toss to moisten.  Put the lid on the pan and let it stand for a few minutes till bread's completely absorbed the liquid.

Put chops on top of apples and mound stuffing evenly on each chop.  Cover casserole with a lid or aluminum foil and bake at 350ºF. for 45 minutes.  If desired, remove lid for last 5 minutes of baking time to allow stuffing to dry slightly.

Note:  I'm unlikely to have a can of apple pie filling the next time I want to make this so I plan to either substitute fresh apples or canned tart cherries packed in water which I'll quickly stew with a little sugar and maybe a dash of cinnamon before spreading in the bottom of the baking dish.

Cleaning out the freezer. . . again.

I love the way food keeps without developing freezer burn in our manual-defrost freezers.  But I'm not too fond of the day, and it always comes, when they must be defrosted.

This weekend it was the big chest freezer that had to be turned off, then quickly unloaded, blow-dried out and re-packed.  We're getting better, though, as I only found two fruit juice popsicles and a lone mini-muffin (where did its packaging get to I wonder?) which had to be discarded.  But there were a couple packages of chicken, a package of pork chops and one chuck roast which needed to be used soon so I cooked a pot roast with vegetables for Sunday's dinner and thawed the chicken and chops in the refrigerator in covered containers of buttermilk.

Buttermilk seems to refresh even the oldest frozen chicken.  (And it's not too bad as a marinade for frozen pork either.)  One package of chicken was boneless, skinless chicken breasts and those went straight on the grill when they'd thawed.  I'll use them sliced on a garden salad and in quesadillas for lunches later this week.  The other package was bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts which I turned into seven pints of spicy pineapple chicken.  (The recipe, found on the Canning2 list a couple of years ago, is supposed to be a PF Chang copycat but I've never tried the original so can't vouch for that -- just that it's easy to make and tastes good when we need a meal in a hurry.)  I cut the meat from the bone and used the bones and skin to make the quart of broth called for in the recipe.  (Because I thawed the meat in buttermilk, I rinsed it before throwing the scraps in the pot for the broth.)

The photo below shows the jars right before I added the liquid to fill.  Pints like this are perfect for two but don't quite stretch when we're all three home.  But since I had the canner out I did a fast soak of 5 pounds of pinto beans and put up 7 quarts of beans when I'd finished the chicken.  (Sort beans and add to enough boiling water to cover by several inches, boil for 2 minutes, cover and let soak for 2 hours.  Drain and reserve soaking liquid, fill jars half-full with soaked beans.  Top with reserved soaking liquid, brought back to a boil, and process for 75 minutes at 10-lbs pressure. Altitude adjustment, if necessary)

The last couple of years I've made more meal-in-a-jar batches than my old freezer-style oamc.  There are still things I make ahead and freeze, of course, but for space-savings and ease of use, a meal-in-a-jar can rarely be beat.


PF Chang Spicy Pineapple Chicken

• Chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces (I started with 3-lbs of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts)
• 2 (20-oz.) cans crushed pineapple
• 1 (8-oz.) can pineapple tidbits, drained and juice reserved (optional)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion per jar
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce per jar
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic per jar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce per jar
• 1 teaspoon sugar per jar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar per jar (I used apple cider vinegar)

Stir fry the chicken.  Meanwhile, divide the crushed pineapple and pineapple tidbits among the jars.  Add seasonings. 

Divide cooked chicken pieces among jars.  Combine chicken broth and reserved pineapple juice, use to fill jars.  Leave 1" headspace.  Process for 75 minutes at 10 lb pressure. Adjust pressure for altitude if necessary.  (Refer to NCHFP website for directions.)

To serve: Add thickener such as cornstarch or arrowroot to sauce while heating and serve over rice.

Bierrocks for now and for the freezer or another idea for an extra head of cabbage...

DH brought in a couple of heads of savoy cabbage from the garden when I'd asked for one.  He does that a lot.  Sometimes it's a push to use up what's ready in the garden.  One extra head doesn't seem like enough to run through the dehydrator and what with all the other garden produce flowing through the kitchen, it can get lost in the chaos.

So I decided to make a batch of bierrocks for the freezer.  Sort of kills two birds with one stone as we always need quick meals when the garden's growing and the outdoors is calling.

I took three pounds of ground beef from the freezer and a couple of red onions from the garden, and started them to cooking in a big skillet.  I never bother thawing the ground beef first.  Just put a teaspoon or so of oil (our beef is really lean) in the pan, add the frozen meat and put a lid on the pan over low heat.  I check it every few minutes and break off the cooked meat, stirring everything together.  Then put the lid on and let it cook a few more minutes.  In a half hour or less, the meat's cooked and broken apart, while I've been able to work on the rest of the dish.

Homemade dough came together pretty fast, though I use the sponge method to get it off to a good start.  And one could always use frozen bread or pizza dough if need be.  The fresh-ground whole wheat dough I used this time is pretty light and the same one I use to make sandwich buns but a good pizza dough would make a great bierrocks' bread, too.

Once the meat and onions were done, I added the whole head of cabbage, shredded, to the pan and let it cook for another 8-10 minutes or so, until the cabbage was tender but still slightly crisp.  Rolling out a piece of dough, a little smaller than a tennis ball, into an oval was the next step.  I mounded a tablespoon or two of shredded cheese on each oval of dough and topped that with 2-3 tablespoons of the meat-cabbage mixture.

I like to fold half the oval over and leave enough of an edge on the bottom section of dough that I can overlap the bottom over the top edge and crimp them together with a fork.  That's the best method I've found to contain the filling so little to none will leak out while baking.  I do have a neat little plastic pocket-looking thing that supposedly lets you prepare the works in one step, then folds over to crimp the edges together.  It works about half the time.  Doing it by hand works all the time plus I don't have to worry about extra filling poking out the open hinge area of the plastic thing when folded.  Overall, that kitchen tool is a good idea but not truly effective.  Still can't bring myself to toss it, though.

So one extra head of savoy cabbage, three pounds of lean ground beef, two red onions and a batch of fresh ground whole wheat bread dough yielded three dozen small-hand-sized bierrocks or 33 for the freezer.  (After all the hard work, we each had to have one for supper...)

Bierrocks for now or for the freezer

3 pounds ground beef
1  head cabbage, chopped or shredded
2 onions, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 ounces shredded cheese or sliced American cheese
1 batch of  Wholegrain Hamburger Bun dough
   OR 3 pounds frozen bread dough
1 egg, beaten (optional)
                  
Brown ground beef in a large skillet with the onion.  Drain grease, if necessary.  Add cabbage and continue cooking 5-8 minutes or until onion is soft and cabbage is tender but still slightly crisp.  Season with salt and pepper.  Let cool while preparing dough.

After dough has risen the first time, roll out balls of dough into thin ovals about the size of your hand.  Place a couple tablespoons of shredded cheese or half a slice of American cheese on one end of dough oval and top with meat-cabbage filling.  Fold over and seal like a turnover.  I like to use a large meat fork to press the edges together and fold the bottom edge over the top edge, then crimp to make a good seal.

Place on a baking sheet and brush with egg.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve immediately or cool and freeze.  To reheat frozen, simply bake until hot.  May also be frozen before baking and baked from frozen state.  Will require longer baking time.  Plan on at least 30 minutes.

Yield: about 30

Hamburger bun heaven

Nothing beats a good hamburger.  But the bun can make a good thing even better.  I've been on a quest for a good wholegrain hamburger bun for a couple of years now and think I've finally found it using a variation on a recipe from a Bosch mixer cookbook, Healthy Recipes from the Heart of Our Homes by Phyllis Stanley and Shirley Heinmets.  The buns even keep well in the freezer -- for the short-term, at least, and the prepared dough, shaped into rolls, then frozen before baking was a success, too.  I haven't had time to test it for more than a few weeks on either method, tho.  We keep wanting to thaw and eat them -- with a hamburger or just on their own.  They're good!

Wholegrain Hamburger Buns

4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
7 cups fresh ground hard white wheat flour
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons wheat gluten
2 tablespoons powdered milk
4 tablespoons Saf yeast
1 tablespoon salt
additional water, 2-3 tablespoons
additional fresh ground hard white wheat flour as needed

Using the dough hook, mix water, sugar, 7 cups flour, vinegar, oil, gluten, powdered milk and yeast together in the Bosch bowl until moistened.  Let rise until it doubles.

Add salt and enough additional flour so the dough pulls away slightly from the sides of the bowl while on setting 1.  Add another 2-3 tablespoons water and knead for 5 minutes.

Cut off dough pieces and shape lightly into rolls.  My baking sheets are not full-size cookie sheets (9x12-inches) and I put 6 rolls on each.  Let dough rise until doubled.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400ºF. until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush with butter while still hot.

One variation I've tried is using real buttermilk (left from churning butter) in lieu of the 4 cups of water.  That made a great dough for bierrocks...

Baked oatmeal made with blackstrap molasses

DS likes to eat breakfast as soon as he gets up.  DH prefers to wait at least an hour or two.  In hot weather he even wants to get in a few hours working outside while it's still cool then sit down to breakfast at 10 or so.  And I'm somewhere in-between.  So we tend to eat breakfast in shifts.

To keep breakfast quick and easy, I try to keep breakfast staples like sausage-egg burritos and blender oatmeal pancakes on-hand in the freezer.  Eggs are always in the refrigerator thanks to the chickens and ham, sausage and bacon are readily available in the freezer or canned on the pantry shelf.  AJ's Pumpkin Bread or something similar will sneak into the breakfast rotation occasionally.  And there's always hot cereal like oatmeal or rice.

Every so often I make baked oatmeal (aka Amish baked oatmeal) which I think of as a cross between plain oatmeal and a sweet quick bread or bar cookie.  What DS calls the mom-friendly version I make these days (less sweetener and oil) means we can have it more often and without guilt.  It's a not-too-sweet dish with an almost cake-like texture which when eaten for breakfast is usually served warm in a bowl with milk but late afternoon is a good time for a piece eaten out-of-hand and accompanied by a cup of tea or hot chocolate.  I prefer to soak grains whenever possible so I mix this up part way the night before and then add the remaining ingredients the next morning and bake.

Baked Oatmeal with Blackstrap Molasses

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups water
1/3 cup kefir, yogurt or whey
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1/2 cup applesauce or pumpkin puree (pumpkin is good but will impart a pumpkin flavor)
1/2 cup blackstrap or regular molasses
8-10 large eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup raisins or other dried diced fruit, optional
1/2 cup nuts, optional

12- to 24-hours before you want to bake this, combine oats, water, kefir, oil, applesauce or pumpkin puree and molasses in a large bowl and stir well to mix.  Let sit on the counter, covered with a tea towel, till you're ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. and grease a 9x13-inch pan or two 8-inch square pans.  Break eggs into a bowl and stir in cinnamon, vanilla, salt and baking soda.  Then pour this mixture into the soaking oatmeal.  Stir well to break up oatmeal and combine ingredients, adding dried fruit and nuts as you're stirring.  Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for 30- to 35-minutes till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The baked oatmeal will keep in the refrigerator for several days or can be frozen in individual portions. If you prefer a sweeter taste, add 1/4- to 1/2-cup honey with the molasses and you can use regular molasses instead of the stronger-flavored blackstrap molasses if you want.  If using pumpkin puree, add 1 teaspoon each nutmeg and ginger for a light pumpkin pie flavor.  Serve warm covered with milk or at room temperature for eating out-of-hand.

Yield: 12 servings

Pizza burgers for the freezer

A couple times each year I make pizza burgers, a DH favorite, for the freezer.  They're quick to put together and I usually double or triple the recipe because they're very handy to have for a quick lunch at home or for DH's lunch bag.  This week I put together 4 dozen pizza burgers but only 45 made it into the freezer. 

We all needed lunch and they were so handy...

I thought I'd posted about these OAMC staples several years ago but when I told a friend the recipe was on my blog, she couldn't find it.  I couldn't either.  So here it is.

Pizza Burgers

1 pound lean ground beef or venison
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 quart spaghetti sauce, or substitute pizza sauce
3 ounces pepperoni sausage, finely chopped (optional)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
18 regular hamburger buns

Brown meat with onion in a large skillet.  Drain, if necessary.  Stir in spaghetti or pizza sauce, chopped pepperoni and cheese.  Fill the buns with meat mixture. 

Wrap each bun for the freezer.  Originally I used aluminum foil but DH has to use a microwave when he takes these to work so I now wrap the burgers in wax paper.  I fold the paper in what's called a drugstore wrap.

To freeze for later: Put the wrapped buns in a plastic bag and freeze. If I'm using store-bought buns, I re-use the plastic bag they come in but any bag that will hold the buns close together so they don't tumble around is good.

If desired, thaw the buns, still wrapped, for no more than 1 hour before re-heating.  Bake foil-wrapped buns at 350ºF. for 15-20 min. or microwave wax paper-wrapped buns for 45 seconds to heat through.

If pumpkin pie is the #1 answer,

Then pumpkin bread is the #2 answer to "What are you going to do with all that pumpkin?" (Hmm, Family Feud flashbacks. Should probably get that checked out.)

While I finished canning the last 20 quarts of pumpkin this afternoon, DS practiced cooking. The good thing about practicing cooking is you usually have something to show for it (and eat!) when you're done. So when my DBIL showed up to get the wood-splitter and drop off a great hay and feed box he salvaged for DH, AJ could share a slice of pumpkin bread and a mug of hot chocolate with his uncle.

The recipe is easy, not too sweet but very tasty and even halfway healthy. DS was especially pleased to learn that it meets required (in other words, Mom's) dietary guidelines for inclusion in breakfast rotation, tho accompanied by a glass of plain milk rather than hot cocoa. The three of us finished a third of the loaf with ease, some will go with DS and me on our field trip tomorrow to the Udvar-Hazy Center and DH will have a few slices to take with his lunch a day or two this week. Then DS can practice making it all over again. I love homeschooling.

AJ's Pumpkin Bread

1-1/4 cup Sucanat or brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree *See Note
3/4 cup milk
1-3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup raisins

Cream together sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Combine pumpkin and milk in a small bowl. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin mixture. Fold in nuts and raisins.

Pour into greased and floured bread loaf pan and bake at 350°F. for 45 to 50 minutes.

*If using homemade pumpkin puree, I like to add 1/2 cup of rolled oats (aka Quaker Oats) with other dry ingredients. It keeps the loaf from being too wet and doesn't make the loaf heavy as adding additional WW flour may.

BTW, the final count was 73 quarts of pumpkin, plus 3 cups of pumpkin puree in the fridge. Glad to have THAT done and on to the next project. Don't tell me what it is, let it be a surprise.

Another grain worth soaking

Brown rice is better for you than white rice. I accept that. My family accepts that. The difficulty has always been, in at least a few recipes, we continued to prefer the light fluffiness of white rice. It was similar to the problem we had when switching to breads made only with fresh ground wheat. It worked for most applications but, in the case of the bread, we had to tweak a few recipes before we had sliced bread we enjoyed for sandwiches such as peanut butter and jelly. I just couldn't seem to cook brown rice where the grains would separate and fluff as white rice did. So I kept a box of white rice at the back of the pantry shelf, just in case.

Well, no more. A couple of years ago I picked up a copy of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions and read it from cover to cover. Previously I'd read good things about the book from a couple of folks on Fractured Frugal Friends, recommendations on various Weston A. Price Foundation-related sites, etc. Even one of my favorite cookbook authors, Sue Gregg, references the book on her site and in her more-recent books.

Fallon's method for preparing brown rice gives me fluffier rice with no real added work and, in most cases, less actual cooking time than for regular brown rice. The trick is the rice is soaked before cooking. I can cook it for use as plain rice or I've found I can add it to many of my recipes by subbing soaked rice for the plain rice and using the soaking liquid as the water the recipe cites. If the recipe calls for some type of broth instead of water, I include a seasoning packet (storebought or homemade) along with the liquid left after soaking. Here's the recipe:

Brown Rice

2 cups brown rice (long- or short-grain)
4 cups water
4 tablespoons yogurt, whey, kefir, buttermilk, lemon juice OR vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Combine water and yogurt (or one of the other subs listed) in a pan and stir to mix. Add rice and leave out on the counter in a warm kitchen for at least 7 hours. Place pan over heat and bring to a boil. Skim, if necessary, and turn heat down to lowest setting. Stir in salt and butter and cover with a tight lid. Without removing lid, cook for about 45 minutes.

I have successfully tripled this recipe, using a large dutch oven, and frozen the extra rice. If I thaw it overnight in the fridge it works well for fried rice or when I want rice with a meal but don't want to prepare it from scratch.

If you have a rice cooker with a delay timer, you can prepare this rice in it. I presently don't have a rice cooker but put this in to soak in the morning when we were visiting friends with one and we had beautiful brown rice at supper.

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

Sausage balls: quick breakfast, tasty snack or soup accompaniment, and, um, spur-of-the-moment chicken treat?

A Christmas gift this year included homemade pork sausage. The presenter gave it already frozen in pint-size glass jars and we knew from past years' batches it would be perfectly seasoned with a good balance between lean and fat. In other words, a perfect sausage for making breakfast patties, sausage brunch casseroles or quiches, combining with ground venison for sloppy joes or meatloaf and for making not-too-greasy sausage balls. Yesterday was the day for sausage balls.

Serve them warm from the oven with a flavorful mustard (we like Nectarine Mustard) for dipping and they can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days -- reheating as needed in oven or microwave. Also great for freezing, either before or after baking. I rarely freeze before baking simply because my sausage is often frozen before preparation but either way works great.

A few sausage balls make a great quick breakfast with a glass of juice or bowl. And always a good choice for a snack -- they often show up at parties because everyone likes them and they're so easy to have on hand in the freezer. They can even serve as a chicken treat as happened today when I was caught outside by our backyard girls without any readily accessible treats.The chickens, particularly Turkey, the large reddish-brown turken gobbling down her snack, are as bad as the dog when it comes to begging for a treat. Heck, Turkey doesn't even beg, she demands. Failure to produce a treat often leads to her jumping up to sit on your arm or shoulder as she squawks her frustration at being denied a treat. So today, in the drizzling icy rain, I didn't want to get into a discussion of poultry nutrition with her so I gave in and shared a bit of sausage ball I was munching on while gathering eggs. Madame President, the silver-laced Wyandotte, was quick to share, too. Dolly and Jabber, the white hen, even managed to get a bite. Seemed to rank right up there as treats go.

Yesterday DS did the mixing by hand but if you don't have a child around who likes to mash things together when cooking, just use an electric mixer on low or a few quick pulses of a food processor to do the messy job. I've also heard of cooks putting the ingredients in a large plastic bag and kneading it thoroughly from the outside of the bag. If you use a cookie scoop to from the sausage balls, you never need get your hands gooey.

Bisquick is a traditional ingredient in the simple sausage ball recipe but we mainly eat fresh ground whole wheat so I tweaked the recipe as usual. Plus, I think the whole wheat flour adds a richer, nutty flavor to the mix. And the butter is optional -- the sausage usually provides plenty of fat without the added shortening. (I didn't use it for this batch and can't tell any difference in texture or taste.) If you do use Bisquick, just substitute 2 cups of the regular or low-fat version for the first four ingredients listed below.

Sausage Balls

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons butter, lard or shortening
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 small onion, diced (optional)
1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
up to 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cut fat into flour with pastry blender as when making biscuits. Add other ingredients except milk and stir to blend. May use mixer or food processor as described above. Sometimes it's easier to add sausage in small bits and then stir in shredded cheese last. YMMV. Add up to 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk slowly to mixture to help bind ingredients.

Form batter into small balls, no larger than 1-inch in diameter. Place on baking sheet with low sides. If you're not sure of the low fat content of your sausage, line baking sheet with aluminum foil and turn up foil edges to help contain grease that may melt from balls while baking.

Bake at 350F. for 15-20 minutes. This makes about 3-4 dozen sausage balls at 1". Mine are soft when I take them out but upon breaking one open, the sausage has changed color and the dough is similar to the inside of a biscuit. If baked too long, they will become hard and almost rock-like after cooling.

For more good ideas (but maybe not chicken snack recipes) check out Kitchen Tip Tuesdays at Tammy's Recipes.

Yamazetti, Yummazetti, Ya-Ma-Zetta or Y________ ?

Anyway you spell it, the dish always seems to come back empty after serving.

I'd never heard of the casserole till about 30 years ago when it showed up on a friend's family supper table. Then I began to spot it at potlucks, church dinners and the like. Finally I found a couple of recipes in a local Amish cookbook, "Dutch Cookbook - Stuarts Draft 1979." So I thought of it as some sort of Pennsylvania Dutch word meaning "darn good hot dish."

When I mentioned it in a recent post, I started hearing from others who either made the dish regularly, were looking for a recipe or had heard of it but wanted to know more such as where it came from originally. The truth is, I'm not sure anyone knows that; kind of like the correct spelling of the name. Or even, what is the correct name?

A 1993 Reiman Pubs cookbook, "Country Ground Beef," gives a recipe that's very similar to others I've come across but it's titled "Marzetti." Other cookbooks refer to a dish called "Johnnie Marzetti" and Wikipedia even has an entry for a similar (the same?) dish giving the origin as an Ohio restaurant.

So what's the recipe? Well, that depends on who you ask. Constants appear to be ground beef, cheese, tomatoes and noodles. Other ingredients come and go depending on your recipe source.

It's a very forgiving recipe. If you have Swiss cheese but not the more commonly listed Cheddar, that's fine. A can of diced tomatoes instead of condensed tomato soup or sauce? That's okay, too. Want to sneak in a few vegetables? Layer in some chopped zucchini or a can of green beans, drained, or a cup or so of corn if you want to make it stretch to another serving, perhaps. If you have some leftover veg from yesterday's dinner consider layering them between the noodles and sauce. Be adventurous but not crazy. I wouldn't recommend sweet and sour cabbage, say, but leftover plain or buttered steamed cabbage or peas and mushrooms wouldn't be amiss.

Below is the recipe I start with. It's the one I was given over 30 years ago when I first came across the dish. Remember there are lots of variations. On occasion I've subbed a couple cups of chopped cold roast beef for the ground beef. Just cook the onion and celery in a bit of butter, oil or broth then mix with the cold beef. According to Wikipedia, the Panama Canal Zone's version of this dish always includes celery and olives. So the sky's the limit.

Yamazetti

8 ounces dry noodles, cooked
1 to 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 (10-3/4 ounces)can condensed cream of _____ soup*
1 (10-3/4 ounces) can condensed tomato soup
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 cups grated cheese

Brown ground beef in skillet, adding onion and celery as beef cooks. Spoon cooked noodles into 9x12-inches baking dish. Combine soups and sour cream or yogurt.

When beef is done, drain if necessary. Spoon beef over noodles. (Add 1 or 2 cups of any desired vegetable as discussed in post above.) Spread soup mixture over top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350F. for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until bubbly and cheese melted.

Casserole reheats well for packed lunches and also freezes well. Make one to serve and one to freeze for another day.

*Note: Almost any condensed cream soup will work. The lady who gave me the recipe always used cream of chicken but I use whatever's on hand so cream of mushroom and cream of celery are often subbed. Recently I came across cream of squash blossom soup and it works great, too. If you like the cream soup, it will probably sub with no problem in this recipe.

For cooking tips, check out Kitchen Tip Tuesdays at Tammy's Recipes.

Make-ahead Summer Salads

I think it's a big help to have something prepared ahead in the fridge and with our summer garden vegetables it's easy. A jar of cucumbers in vinegar or sweet-and-sour cucumbers and onions help make a sandwich into a meal. DS even likes to put the cucumbers ON his sandwich in lieu of a regular pickle. Fire-and-Ice Salad, the Hot Shoppes' Marinated Tomato and Green Pepper Salad, or Bean Zucchini Salad all can be prepared ahead of time and brought out to serve alongside a quick meal comprised of other garden produce or something from the grill.

Harvey House slaw and pickled beets are two other side dishes we always have on hand in the fridge over the summer. Even better than just being able to make these dishes in advance of a meal is that they will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and, in the case of the cucumbers a minimum of a week and the Harvey House slaw for at least a month tho ours is always long gone before that.

Cucumbers in Vinegar

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced
water to cover
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

Place cucumbers in medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt and then pour over enough water to cover cucumbers, then lightly stir to disperse salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain and place cucumbers in bowl or jar for refrigerator storage. Pour vinegar and water over cucumbers. If necessary, add additional liquid at the same 1-to-1 ratio to completely cover cucumbers. Store in fridge till ready to serve.

Sweet-and-Sour Cucumbers and Onions

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and cubed, seeded if necessary
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Mix togther. Store in covered container in refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving.

Fire-and-Ice Salad

4 tomatoes, cut into eight wedges each
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 small jalapeno, minced
1 onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1-1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1-1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish, optional
1 teaspoon salt
7 drops hot pepper sauce, optional
2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

Combine tomatoes, peppers, and onion in a large bowl; set aside. Combine the next seven ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour over vegetables. Let stand until mixture returns to room temperature. Stir in cucumbers. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Drain before serving.

Marinated Tomato and Green Pepper Salad
(from Marriot Hot Shoppes Cookbook: Sixty years of American cookery)

4 medium tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, sliced into 1/4"-thick rings
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup salad oil

Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Remove core and cut each tomato half into three wedges. Cut green pepper rings in half. Mix tomatoes and green peppers together. Combine remaining ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Pour liquid over vegetables. Cover, refrigerate and allow to marinate for two hours or overnight before serving.

Bean Zucchini Salad

1-1/2 cups small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, cut in strips
1 cup cooked green beans, canned or fresh
15-ounce can red kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
3 green onions or 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use sunflower)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Combine vegetables. Combine other ingredients in small bowl and pour over vegetables. Stir well. Refrigerate in covered bowl for several hours, stirring occasionally. Toss lightly before serving. A small jalapeno pepper, minced, will add a nice touch of heat, too.

Check out Kitchen Tip Tuesdays at Tammysrecipes.com for lots more how-to information.

Summer supper

Lots of activities this week along with the usual gardening and general chores meant not much time for cooking. But when it's hot we tend to prefer lighter meals anyway. Last night's meal fit that profile with a combination of garden vegetables and a bit of local cheese.

Yesterday morning I prepared Harvey House Slaw (recipe below) using a head of cabbage and several Egyptian onions from our garden. It's best when made at least 4 hours ahead of serving and any leftovers will keep for several weeks in the fridge. I think it gets better the longer the vegetables marinate and have seen similar recipes with names such as '6-weeks Slaw.' The onions lose quite a bit of their edge in the slaw so don't feel like you have to start with a sweet onion.

Earlier in the week I cut the crust from the last of a loaf of wholegrain bread (from local wheat) I'd baked in my pullman pan. Then thinly sliced it and baked the slices in a very low oven till dried and crispy -- making homemade melba toast. I do this regularly with extra bread so I almost always have a tin of crisp melba toast sitting on the shelf. We use it in place of crackers much of the time and since I planned to serve a cheese spread for last night's meal, the melba toast was a perfect accompaniment.

A friend and I had been talking about cheese spreads lately and when I went to town in the middle of the week I couldn't resist picking up a small tub of a locally-produced goat cheese and dried tomato spread. I love this spread and hope one of these days we can make our own version -- DH is slowly coming 'round to the idea of a couple of dairy goats and this cheese on a crisp toast makes a great selling point.

To go with the slaw, cheese, and toasts, DH picked a mess of green beans (third one this week from the garden!) which I lightly steamed and then sprinkled with coarse salt. Sometimes I'll dribble a little olive oil over the beans but since the Harvey House has a vinegar and oil dressing another oil didn't seem necessary.

We're still eating sweet cherries my sister picked and tho we've added cherries to a few yogurt smoothies and canned or frozen most of them, we enjoy them best by the handful. Yes, spitting out cherry pits as we go. That's how we ate them last night sitting on the back deck watching a faraway neighbor's fireworks. Relaxing end to a busy week.

Harvey House Slaw

1 head of cabbage, cored
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1-1/3 cup sugar or 2/3 cup honey
1 cup vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup salad oil (I use sunflower oil)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons salt

Cut cabbage into wedges and then thinly slice. (Alternatively, may use food processor to slice.) Put cabbage in a large bowl and scatter onion slices on top. If using sugar, pour over onion.

Put remaining ingredients (and honey if using rather than sugar) in medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Stir to dissolve honey and pour over cabbage immediately. Cover with lid or plastic wrap to hold in steam. Do not stir cabbage mixture at this time. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Stir prior to serving.

Making applesauce

Had a few apples (Romes, Fuji, and who knows what) that wouldn't keep much longer so cut them up this morning and made a batch of applesauce. Some will go into the freezer for later but we'll eat a good bit of it this week.

It's easy to do. Wash the apples and slice into quarters or smaller. Remove core in the process. If you don't want to be bothered pushing them thru a sieve or ricer later, peel the apples, too. For my part, I like to get all the nutrients and hate to peel more than I mind using the ricer. YMMV

Using a large pan, add 1/2" of water and then the apples. Place over low-to-medium heat. I use a simmer pad on my gas stove burner as it helps keep the apples in the bottom from sticking before the ones on top are soft. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until apples are soft and begin turning to sauce when you stir. You can can applesauce but unless I'm making a lot (like when our apple tree exploded one year and I canned 150 pints) I pour the sieved applesauce into recycled freezer bowls such as cottage cheese or yogurt containers. Leave a 1/2-inch headspace, put the lid on tightly and freeze till you want some fresh-tasting applesauce. Yum!

No need to add sugar. If the apples were sweet-tasting when eaten out of hand, they'll make sweet applesauce. You can always sprinkle on a little cinnamon-sugar when serving if you must.

The chickens were happy to take care of the apple cores and what remained after ricing. DS and I took a bowl of applesauce out to my mom's for dinner tonight, too. Everyone's happy with fresh applesauce and I'm happy not to waste those apples!

How to use up a bunch of fresh eggs without really trying

Even tho we don't really notice the lengthening days, the hens sure do! The backyard girls are all finished molting and back online and the pullets, who have yet to go thru a molt, are picking up production, too.

We don't use artificial lighting so this winter we've been averaging around 50% on egg production -- out of 20 layers, we would collect between 9 and 11 eggs each day. (Production did drop during two spells of bad weather but only for a day or so each time.) This week tho we've collected 2 dozen over our previous average. We sell extra eggs but it's too cold to set a cooler out with an on-your-honor money jar and we're hardly home long enough to put the 'eggs for sale' sign up at the end of the road so I've been pulling out all the recipes we like which use 6 or more eggs.

That means we have a few jars of lemon curd in the refrigerator and a plain old-fashioned pound cake sitting on the counter to spread it on. I made a pan of Chile Cheese Squares with some of the inexpensive cheese I've been able to pick up at a nearby grocery outlet Sharp Shopper. (Boy, I like that store!) Those squares are good warm or at room temperature and they freeze great, too.

And for lunch (our main meal), we like an herb and cheese soufflé or a frittata with a loaf of homemade bread and either a side salad or some steamed fresh spinach from those cold frames DH has going now. There was a time I hesitated to tackle a soufflé but I discovered it's more the idea of the thing than the actual process that scared me and once I made one I lost my fear.

My Baked Southern Grits recipe only uses 4 eggs but I consider that a lot for a side dish and when I have extra zucchini and eggs both on hand, I make Zucchini Cheese Squares. Since I freeze shredded zucchini, I don't have to wait till summer to make it.

Angel Food Cake is another favorite sweet tho we're beginning to prefer a Daffodil Sponge Cake as it lets me use up the whites AND the yolks, plus makes a pretty, tasty cake to boot. It's part angel food and part yellow sponge cake so it's a marbled yellow-and-white. I'm planning to make several for different events this spring as it looks sensational on a plate with a few fresh blossoms for decoration. And it's low fat with not that much sugar compared to other cakes the same size.

Zucchini Cheese Squares

3 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup Bisquick or other biscuit mix
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp celery salt or other seasoned salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4 eggs, beaten

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into well-greased glass baking dish. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes.

6 servings.

Leftovers freeze well for lunches, etc. Serve topped with salsa. Can add a 1/2 cup chopped ham or cooked sausage to make it more of a main dish. If using frozen shredded zucchini, squeeze the thawed squash to remove most of the water or the batter will be too wet. Can also substitute yellow squash for zucchini.

Baked Southern Grits

1 tsp. salt
4 cups water
1 cup quick grits
6 tbs butter
1 cup milk
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, American, etc.)

Add salt to water, bring to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in grits slowly, keeping water at a brisk boil.

Remove from heat, stir in butter and milk. Cool to lukewarm. Beat in eggs and pour into 2 quart greased casserole.

Bake at 350 F. for 1 hour or so. Sprinkle cheese on top, cook ten minutes more until golden brown.

Variation: Cheese Grits - stir in additional 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese before baking. Top with other 1/2 cup cheese towards end of baking time as directed above.

I've used mild/medium/sharp/extra sharp cheddars, American, Monterey jack, jalapeno cheese(excellent!), or blends of these and other cheeses that I had on hand. They all tasted great!

Individual portions freeze well. I can't say how the whole casserole would fair as I've never tried freezing it.

Anything Goes Frittata

6 eggs, beaten (may use 8-10 eggs for more servings or planned leftovers)
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
up to 1-1/2 cups cooked vegetables, diced or chopped (this is where the leftovers come in)
1/2 cup or more shredded cheese, your choice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Melt butter and add oil in a large heavy ovenproof skillet. I use a cast iron skillet. Toss in potatoes and onion and stir occasionally as they cook over medium heat. Stir in garlic. Prepare other vegetables, if using -- they should be in bite-sized pieces. Add when the potatoes are almost done and stir to heat. Add salt and pepper to beaten eggs in separate bowl.

Sprinkle cheese over top and pour eggs over everything, still cooking over medium heat. Stir through once to blend then let cook as is. Cook over medium heat till eggs begin to look set along edges, at least a couple of minutes. Then place skillet in oven and let bake at preheated 350F. for 15-20 minutes. The more eggs used the longer it will take. You may sprinkle with additional cheese anytime during the baking process if desired.

The frittata can be eaten warm or at room temperature. It's good for lunch the next day, too, and will freeze well. It's a very forgiving recipe -- use the vegetables you like and toss the others. Use what you have on hand fresh or use up cooked leftovers. Add that last bit of cooked ham or crumble those two strips of bacon or even a few bits of chopped steamed spiced shrimp or crab.

Lemon Curd

This is the recipe I use most often as it uses quite a few eggs (a good thing around here!) and makes enough to share.

2½ cups superfine sugar*
½ cup lemon zest (freshly zested)
1 cup lemon juice (note that bottled juice may contain sulfites)
¾ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into approximately ¾" pieces
7 large egg yolks
4 large whole eggs

* If superfine sugar is not available, run granulated sugar through a grinder or food processor for 1 minute, let settle, and use in place of superfine sugar.

Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl, stir to mix, and set aside about 30 minutes.

Heat water in the bottom pan of a double boiler or medium-sized metal bowl, until it boils gently. The water should not boil vigorously nor touch the bottom of the top double-boiler pan or bowl in which the curd is to be cooked.

In the top section of the double boiler, beat the egg yolks and whole eggs thoroughly but lightly with the whisk. Slowly whisk in the sugar and zest, blending until well mixed so that the mixture is not lumpy. Blend in the lemon juice and then add
the butter pieces to the mixture.

Place the pan over the boiling water in the bottom pan. Stir gently but continuously with a silicone spatula to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens and will coat a metal spoon (about 8 minutes) or till the mixture reaches a temperature of 170°F.

Remove the double boiler pan from the heat. Continue to stir gently until the curd thickens (about 5 minutes). Strain curd through a mesh strainer if desired to remove zest. (I usually leave it in. This step will also remove any cooked egg bits that show up.)

Allow the curd to cool to room temperature. To prevent a ‘surface skin’
from forming while it cools, place a clean piece of plastic food wrap down onto the surface of the curd or cover the bowl. (I store mine in glass jars with a glass lid and wire bail.)

Refrigerate up to 4 weeks or fill freezer container(s), leaving ½-inch headspace, and freeze up to 1 year. To thaw, place freezer container in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Taunton Press, publishers of one of my favorite magazines -- Threads, gives a recipe it calls foolproof that sounds pretty good, too. I have to admit, the first time I made lemon curd, I had to strain it tho now I don't have that problem. Same recipe so I think it was my technique that needed work but if you have any fears about ending up with bits of cooked egg in your curd, try this recipe from "Fine Cooking."

Plain Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6-8 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract or lemon extract

In a large electric mixer bowl, cream butter. Add sugar and blend till no longer grainy. Add eggs, one at a time, blending at medium speed after each addition. Add flour and beat for 3-5 minutes. Add extract(s) during the last bit of blending.

Pour into a 10" greased and floured tube pan or Bundt pan and bake in preheated 350F. oven for 60-75 minutes. Test with a toothpick inserted in the middle after 1 hour. Remove from oven when done and cool in pan for 5 to 15 minutes. Turn out onto cake plate. Let cool completely before covering.

Note: This recipe is just fine with 6 eggs but if you have a lot on hand you can use up to 8 eggs without altering the other ingredient amounts. Pastured eggs will give a beautiful bright yellow color to the cake.



This cake freezes well: sliced, whole or in sections.

Chile Cheese Squares

12 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon adobo seasoning
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
12 ounces cheese, grated
1/2 cup green chiles, diced

Combine eggs, flour, baking powder and salt, mixing thoroughly. Stir in cottage cheese, grated cheese and chiles. Pour batter into well greased 9x12-inch baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into 2" squares and serve either warm or at room temperature. To freeze, cut and cool then package for freezer.

Makes 12 main course servings or cut in smaller pieces for an appetizer topped with a spoon of thick salsa.

Note: Use any preferred cheese or combination of cheese -- jalapeno cheese is good as is cheddar, monterey jack or colby. Swiss works well but parmesan might be too salty/strong, probably be better to combine it with another cheese.