Chinese Pot Roast - Roast Beef Sandwiches in the Crock Pot

Family Favorite For Roasty Beastie Sammiches

4 lb Pot Roast (rolled pot roast (rolled means string on, but doesn't have to have string)  - look for less fat, or trim) - Remove String.

Mix in a small bowl then rub over all sides of the roast
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Dry Mustard
1 tsp White Pepper (black is fine if you don't have white)

Brown in Fry Pan
2 T Shortening (Crisco)
1 Large Onion
Brown meat on all sides.

Combine and Mix
11/2 C Water
1/2 C Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 T Honey
2 T White Vinegar

Put meat in crock pot.
Pour combo over meat

Cook on Low 8 hrs. 10-12 hrs to fall apart.
You can toss this in the crock before work and have it after!

Buy some quality Bakery Hard Rolls (not hamburger buns or soft rolls, so the aus jus can be soaked up and they don't turn to mush!)

If you want Aus Jus, then just use as is.

If you want gravy - siphon most of the juice into a small sauce pan.
Add 4 T Cornstarch and 1/2 C Water mixed
Cook, stirring until boiling.
Pour on top of meat 1 hour before serving.

Mom's Goulash

One of the few casserole-type foods my dad liked.

Brown and Drain:
1 lb Ground Beef 
1 Onion Chopped
1/2 Chopped Green Pepper

Add:
2 Cans Tomato Soup (Campbell's low sodium)

Mix and let simmer.

Prepare 1 7 oz package of elbow noodles cooked 4-5minutes.
Drain noodles and rinse with hot water.
Add to meat mixture until cooked through.

Mom's Meat & Gravy aka Meat in the Oven

1 to 2 lbs of Top Round (trimmed)

Mix
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Package Onion Soup Mix
1/2 to 1 soup can of water (less if less meat)

Place meat in small roasting pan, cover and bake at 350º
Check after 1 hour.

1 lb = 1 hour
2 lbs = closer to 2 hours

Mildred's Meatloaf

2 lbs Ground Beef
3 Eggs, beaten
Salt and Pepper (to taste/if you like)
1/2 C Ketchup
1/2 C Chopped Onion - or you can use chopped dried onion 1.5 T
1/4 C Cream of Rice (cereal aisle) - go by feel, start wth the 1/4 cup and add more if needed.

Topping:

Mix 1/2 C Ketchup and 1/2 C Brown Sugar.
After 1st 1/2 hour, add half of the topping.
15 min later, add the rest.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Mom's Oven Baked Pork Steaks or Chops

6 Pack Pork Chops or Lean Pork Steaks

Mix
1/2 C Orange Juice
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp prepared mustard (yellow)
1/3 C Brown Sugar
2 T Melted Butter

Place chops on shallow pan and pour OJ mixture over the meat.
Make sure the chops are covered in the mixture, and then the rest can flow onto the pan.

Bake uncovered about 1 hour - turning over once until meat is 145ºF. Baste occasionally.
Thin chops need less time so they don't dry out.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This is the recipe my mom and I've always made.

1 c white sugar
2/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c peanut butter
3 eggs beaten
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugars, shortening and butter.
Add peanut butter and mix thoroughly.
Add beaten eggs.
Add flour, soda, powder and salt. Mix well.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on sprayed cookie sheets.
Flatten in a crisscross pattern with a fork.
Bake at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes.
Makes 5-6 doz

Orange Quick Bread

My Mom cut this out of some publication - Author not listed.
Last time I visited my parents, my mom sent me home with a few slices of this bread/cake.
It really is like a cake - coffee cake. It's delish! I made this last night to mail to my son for his birthday on Tuesday. Hope he likes it as much as I did!

Glaze and Ganache Optional

Orange Quick Bread
2 c flour
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c milk
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 extra large eggs
1 1/2 T grated orange zest

Ganache (optional)
1/3 c heavy cream
1/2 c bittersweet chocolate chips

Heat cream until small bubbles appear around edge. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips - shake pan to level chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Glaze (optional)
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
2 tsp orange zest - finely grated
2-3 T fresh orange juice, strained.

Mix ingredients in a small bowl. While bread is still warm poke several holes in it with a skewer and slowly pour on glaze.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease two 8-inch loaf pans.

Whisk together flour, salt baking powder and sugar in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together milk, juice, oil, eggs and zest.
Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Divide batter equally into pans. Bake 35 min. until bread is shrinking away from pan.**
Cool bread completely before removing from pan.
Keeps wrapped in the refrigerator one week and freezes well for 2 months. (I kept mine on the counter).

**For ganache:
Bake 15 minutes, then open the oven, pull out rack without jogging too much, and quickly dribble about 1/4 cup ganache over batter in each pan. (If ganache has become too firm to dribble, set in a bowl of warm water for a few seconds to melt. Stir to smooth again.)
Gently slide rack back in and bake 20 minutes, until quickbread is shrinking away from pan.

Optional: serve with chocolate or vanilla ice cream.

Gramma's Split Pea Soup

2lb Smoked Ham Shank or Pork Hock - Look for dark for more flavour.
2 Bags Split Peas - rinsed and sorted
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tbsp dry Minced Onion - or a large onion, finely chopped.
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Put all in soup pot - then fill 2/3 to 3/4 full with water.
High until start to boil, then down to medium heat.
Let cook 1.5 hrs
Remove scum.

Cook until meat falls off the bone - break it down, removing bones and add meat back to soup.

Add:
4 Carrots - large, cut up
2 C Potatoes - cubed

Cook until all cooked down - 2-3 hours total.

Enjoy!

Mom's Meatless Stuffing

Family fave!
Not soggy.
Cooked separately from the bird, not inside - way more delish!
Even cold as leftovers to snack on from the fridge!

Serves 6-8 People

8 c Bread cubes

1/4 c Water (if new bread)

1 1/2 c Thin Sliced Celery

1 c Chopped Onion

1/2 c Unsalted Butter (1 stick)

2 Eggs

3 T Parsley Flakes

1 1/2 t Poultry Seasoning

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Cube bread. Scramble eggs together in a bowl.

Saute/Brown onion and celery in butter. 

Mix with all other ingredients.
Add Eggs to the rest, stirring to be careful so eggs don't immediately cook.

Put in foil lined/cooking-sprayed casserole bowl. Cover and Bake 1 hour 325-350º

Double: 1 1/2 Sticks Butter and 3-4 Eggs (Double everything else)

Triple: 2 Sticks Butter and 4-5 Eggs (Triple everything else)

Enjoy!

Mom's Lemon-Cream Cheese Cake (Lemon Pound Cake)

*You'll need 2 Fresh Lemons* 

Cake
3c sugar 
1 and 1/4 c butter softened 
1 8oz pkg cream cheese softened 
1T lemon juice (from a real lemon) 
1t vanilla 
1t lemon extract 
1/2 t orange extract 
1/2 t salt 
6 eggs 
3 c soft as Soft As Silk cake flour (or cake flour) 

Lemon Glaze 
1c powdered sugar 
1T butter softened 
2t grated lemon peel (real not dry) 
2-3 T lemon juice (1 big lemon) 
Mix all ingred til smooth - drizzle over cake 

Pre-heat oven to 325 

Beat sugar, butter and cream cheese til fluffy. 
Beat in lemon juice, vanilla, lemon and orange extracts, and salt. 
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. 
Add flour and beat until smooth. 

Pour batter in a greased and floured bundt or tube pan (angelfood pan). 

Bake until golden brown and wooden stick (like a kabob/bbq skewer* - tooth pick is too short!) inserted in center comes out clean. 

* This type of skewer - found at the dollar store. 
About 1 and 1/2 hrs* 
(*this took over 2 hours 15min baked in an angel food pan - don't think my oven is off as everything else I bake is done on time - just heavy wet batter and maybe the pan? I don't have a bundt pan, nor have I tried it in smaller loaf pans - but it turned out SO DELICIOUS - so who knows. Give yourself time, and keep checking - be sure the batter is done completely.) 

Cool 10 min. 
Remove from pan turning onto a plate with an edge with a larger diameter than the cake (so the drizzled glaze has room to pool along the bottom edge of the cake). 

Cool cake completely. (Make glaze while cake cools) 

Spread glaze over the cake, letting it drizzle down the sides and down the middle too! 

Makes 12-16 Servings 

OMG OMG OMG if you or someone you knows likes/loves lemon... 
And those browned cake edges...
yeah.

 

To Die For!

Mom's Light Oatmeal Muffins

Light Oatmeal Muffins

3 c uncooked oatmeal
3 c buttermilk
6 egg whites
1/2 c oil (canola, grapeseed or 1/4c oil + 1/4 apple juice)
2 t. baking powder
1/2 c frozen apple juice concentrate (thawed. it's about 1/2 a can
2/3 c brown sugar
3 c unbleached flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t soda
1 t salt

In a large bowl, mix oats and buttermilk and let stand 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400

Mix eggs, oil, apple juice, and brown sugar.
Add to oatmeal mixture

In a med bowl combine flour, powder, soda and salt - stir to mix well.
Add to oatmeal mixture only til flour is wet.

Spray 12 large muffin tins and divide batter evenly.
Bake 20-25 min.

You could add any of the following:
nuts, flax seed, raisins, craisins, chopped dates, 1/2c mini chocolate chips, cinnamon or cocoa powder,
(if using wheat or bran flour - try adding some shredded carrot, raisins and/or crushed pineapple)
or whatever you like.

I usually make one tin of large (regular size) muffins and several of the mini muffins as the kids love the minis.
They're great to take to work/a pot luck too, or to freeze and pull out for a quick breakfast.
They're quite filling too.

The Lodge Corn Bread

My Mom's Best Most Moistestest-Yummiest Corn Bread Ever!

This.is.the.best.corn.bread.
Ever.
I'm eating it right now as I write this.
Be Jealous.
*nods*
Seriously.

It's so moist and not at all like most corn breads you've ever tasted.
It's like cake, not at all dry, or 'meal-like' in texture as some can be.
The outside edges have that corn-bread-crisp to them...mmm
Sooooooo delicious.
Serve it with chili or just as a breakfast bread - you decide.
Just make it!
Enjoy!

As sent by my mom, clipped from the newspaper:

S&T Wed. Nov 23 1994

The Lodge Corn Bread
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 bread pans.
Blend eggs and sugar together in a bowl.
Add salt, oil, milk, and vanilla; mix well.
Add flour, corn meal and baking powder; beat until smooth.
Divide batter into prepared pans.
Bake about 35 minutes or until done.
I check it with a toothpick.
Check 5 minutes before, in case your oven temp is a little off either way.
Serve with honey butter.
Makes 20 servings.

Was served at the Lodge, a restaurant patterned after a hunting lodge in the old downtown Radisson Hotel

Pretzels

Another Big Hit Recipe from my Mom

I've made these for years and they go very fast.
Soft Pretzels
1 package yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
4 c. flour
1 large egg beaten
coarse/kosher salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Add salt and sugar.
Blend in flour (with a fork to start) til all mixed in.
Move dough to counter and knead until smooth.
Cut/break off into small pieces
Roll into ropes
Shape into pretzel shapes, or whatever.
Kids love making their initials or other shapes too

You can spray a cookie sheet or line with foil for easy clean up (as the egg wash sticks)
I've used parchment paper or foil and no spray. Works great!

Beat egg and brush on evenly
Sprinkle on coarse salt.

Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes or til browned.
These don't keep long - best made and devoured the same day or within a day or two.

From this batch I ended up with 26 medium-sized pretzels. Not thick, not thin.
If you make the balls of dough larger, the pretzels can be larger as well.
If you roll them thicker, then the pretzels will be fatter/thicker as well.
These rolls were approx 12 inches long

As you can see they thicken up just right.
The flash made them look less browned then they were as well.
For Hard Pretzels
Decrease water to 1 1/4 c.
Add 1/4 c. melted butter
Make smaller
Bake until well browned.

I personally have never made the hard pretzels as my dad and the kids always wanted the soft.
Maybe next time.

Banana Cake (Bread)

Baking Banana Bread always reminds me of certain people.
One being my mom, whose recipe I use.
Two being my son and daughter who love it.
Three being my bus driver mate who calls it Banana Cake and it makes me smile to think that and hear him saying it in my mind when I am making it.

I got up early and made some this morning - the house filled with the smell of the loaves baking just before my son woke for the day.

My son took both loaves back to school with him for these final 20 days he has of the semester. One double bagged so it could be frozen and pulled out during finals to give him some Mom Love and Power from home for those exams.

Banana Bread/Cake
1 stick butter (8 tbsp)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup bananas
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Optional add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, add sugar and blend thoroughly. Add eggs and bananas.
Mix together milk and lemon juice. Set aside. Mix in flour, soda and salt, alternating with milk/lemon juice mixture until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed and smooth. Divide into pans. Makes one regular sized loaf or two smaller loaves.

Bake @ 350 for 1 hour, then check the center with a toothpick, add time in 10 min increments as needed (I've found one large loaf can go up to an extra 10-30 min more, whereas the smaller loaves are routinely done in 60-70 min.)