Thirty Minutes to Mealtime a great old cookbook

I recently bought a few bags full of old cookbooks from our local college library book sale.  I adore older cookbooks and the wonderful old recipes that take me back to my childhood.  While 30 minute meals may not be totally from my childhood, they are great recipes of old standby recipes as well as time savers for our modern lifestyles.  The book is called: 30 Minutes to Mealtime, copyright 1994, by Kraft Foods, INC.  This is one we recently ate and the entire family loved it.  I will post, with pictures, the recipes we try and let you know how delicious they are.  I hope you enjoy them.

Mapley Mustard Chicken

1/4 cup of maple syrup {Log Cabin is a good one}

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of cooking oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix:  syrup, mustard and lemon juice is a small bowl

Heat: oil in a large skillet on medium high heat.  Add chicken; brown on both sides.  Pour syrup mixture over chicken.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Serve:  chicken mixture over hot cooked noodles or rice, if desired.

This recipe is wonderful with a fresh tossed salad.  It's so easy it can be prepared when you get home from work in no time flat.  It's also pretty enough for a dinner party.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Foodie break, meatloaf Wellington

Back to the very old cookbook I found, it resembles my Mom's book I grew up with.  

I love meatloaf, and I know in this modern era, we are not supposed to love red meat.  I confess, I do, and many times I use ground turkey, at least for 50% of it, but then, once in a while I just like the total red meat thing (sorry vegans and vegetarians everywhere), but I grew up in a household where my Dad loved meat for meals.

This recipe for Meatloaf Wellington is delicious and we loved it.  Easy to prepare and very elegant looking for a company dinner, or just a Sunday dinner.  You can impress in-laws with your cooking skills because it looks beautiful on the table.  The recipes from this book don't take a long time to prepare, so they are ideal for working people who want something on the table in no time, especially after a day of work.  

Meatloaf Wellington:

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom or golden mushroom soup

2 pounds of ground beef, or 1 pound beef and 1 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup of fine dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 cup of water

1 teaspoon salt (if desired)

1 package of refrigerated crescent rolls

Mix thoroughly 1/2 cup of soup, beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg and and salt.  Shape firmly into loaf (8 by 4  inches); place in shallow baking pan.  Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees F.  Spoon off fat.  Separate one package of refrigerated crescent rolls; place crosswise over top and down sides of meatloaf, overlapping slightly.  Bake 15 minutes more.  

Great with a tossed salad, green beans or mashed potatoes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Bon Appetite! 

About being self-sufficient

With Earth Day and all, I was browsing Facebook sites like: Mother Earth News and many DIY sites.  It's nice to know I have a good friend, Suzanne, who, like me, loves to garden and is pretty good at it.  I have a husband who loves to garden and is quite good at it.  I once lived in a log home on 4 1/2 acres of land and that is where I learned to garden.

We had all those acres of mostly clay.  But I learned to raise chickens, milk goats and rabbits so I had plenty of organic fertilizer.  I also learned when it comes to compost and animal fertilizer, one can never have enough.  But eventually, with the help of raised beds, I turned that clay into very nice soil that would grow nearly anything from 
scratch.

But I think about the younger generation.  They move to the cities for jobs and if the economy ever gets very bad, well, those super markets will run out of food in probably 24 hours.  They can grow rooftop gardens and patio gardens, but I often wonder how many actually do that.  

Growing up, we lived on five acres and quite a bit of that land was a huge garden.  My dad grew every vegetable we ever needed.  Mom never bought vegetables, she canned and froze everything we needed for winter months too.  That little farm was where I learned to drive a standard shift too.  By the time I was twelve, I was driving that tractor down those rows of food and soaking up sunshine.

My Mom told stories of how she would make 21 loaves of bread a week, to feed a bunch of growing kids.  She said that, in those days, if a bride bought bread the rumors flew about: "Poor thing, she cannot cook."  It was essential to know how to sew on a treadle sewing machine, using nothing more than skill and physical labor.  We also used, every Monday, a wringer washing machine, requiring more labor, filling rinse tubs by hand and filling the washer by hand.  Then we would hang it all outdoors on the line.  I feel sorry for the kids who don't grow up with that wash day smell.  I still recall it, a mixture of bleach, laundry soap and sunshine, glorious sunshine.  Nothing feels, or smells, nicer than snuggling into sheets hung on a line, freshness never smelled so good.

I feel sorry for the kids who have never experienced pickling day.  Walking into the house, smelling dill, vinegar and fresh cucumbers. 

Do I think everyone should live like that?  No, our days are much busier, maybe, although there were the same hours in a day then as there is now.  But I do think everyone should know these skills, just in case.  Some skills are invaluable and might make the difference between going hungry and being able to eat.  There isn't anything quite as satisfying as knowing how to feed yourself if you need to know how.

Well, thanks for stopping in again.  Have another cup of coffee and some homemade muffins. 

Easy and inexpensive chocolate cupcakes

Everyone, or nearly everyone loves cupcakes.  These are great for people on certain diets because there are no eggs or any animal products in these, yet they are moist and so decadent.  These cupcakes were very popular during WWII when things were rationed and eggs and some other products were hard to come by sometimes.  They are delicious with any flavor frosting you want to use.  Sprinkles optional too.


Recipe:

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup of salad dressing (Miracle Whip or any generic will do)

1 cup of water

1 cup of granulated sugar

3 cups of all purpose flour

2 cups baking cocoa or as chocolaty as you like it

Pour flour into large mixing bowl, stir in sugar, baking cocoa, baking soda, vanilla extract, salad dressing and water.  Stir until all ingredients are blended and nice and moist. 


Line cupcake tins with foil or paper cupcake liners.  Fill each one about 3/4 full.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool and frost.

Enjoy!  

Easy and economical dinner recipe

This is a delicious supper we like to have once in a while.  It is easy and so economical to make.  We like to have a baked potato and a small salad or green vegetable with it. 


Recipe:

1 can of flaky biscuits.............bake according to directions on can

1 pound of lean ground beef

2 or more cans of vegetable beef condensed soup

1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.......depending on how many cans of soup you use

Brown the ground beef in a skillet, drain if needed.   Combine two, or more (depending on how many you plan to feed) cans of vegetable beef condensed soups with the browned hamburger, mix, stir in the water and heat until bubbly.

This mixture is delicious poured over the biscuits or even over the baked potatoes.  

We love this dish at least once a month and it never goes to waste, never any left overs. 

Enjoy!


You can make your own biscuits but I like to use canned biscuits.  

Mostly Midwestern Thing

When we lived in Indiana, I always noticed two things on the menus whenever we went out to eat.  One was grits, the waiters and waitresses would always ask: "Would you like fries or grits with that?"  I'm not a big grits fan, even though my grandfather loved them for breakfast, but the other item on almost every menu, I did grow to like quite a bit.  That item was pork tenderloin sandwiches.  This is something Steve grew up with and almost always ordered each time we were out.  I never knew much about pork tenderloin sandwiches, but in Indiana's defense, whenever I'd ask for gravy on my french fries, I got funny looks, must be that one is mostly an Eastern thing.  So I guess we are even.  Here is our recipe for pork tenderloin sandwiches.

Start with however many pork tenderloins you want to make.  Take each one, place it between plastic wrap and pound them until they are about 1/4 inch thick, the thinner the better.  

Place them in a bowl and cover them with buttermilk.  If you cannot get buttermilk you can use one tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of regular milk, that works fine as a substitute.  Let the meat soak overnight, if you can, or all day while you are at work.

For the coating you will need:

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup flour, depending on how many you need to coat

2 beaten eggs

1 cup bread crumbs, either seasoned or plain, your preference, (hint: Panko bread crumbs will make a crunchier end product).


Add all the spices to your flour mixture.  Take the meat, one at a time, from the buttermilk and dip each one in the seasoned flour mixture first, then the beaten eggs, and finally coat with bread crumbs. 

Fry each tenderloin in your deep fryer, electric frying pan or stove top pan until each side is nice and brown.  

Place each tenderloin on toasted french bread, toasted garlic bread or on a hamburger bun.  We like ours topped with ketchup, mustard and dill pickles.  You can also add lettuce and tomato if you like.  We serve them with steak fries on the side and you can use whatever sides you like. 

We usually saw these tenderloins on the breakfast menu with white gravy on the meat and a couple of eggs and toast on the side.  They are wonderful that way too.

It has been our dream for the past ten years to own a nice little diner, serving down home cooking.  In the Midwest I came to appreciate those small diners dotted along the highways and in small towns whenever we traveled.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Meatloaf for two

I buy my hamburger at BJ's Wholesale by the tube.  This way I can come home, slice the tube into 3 or four round chunks, freeze them in foil and use each chunk as I need them during the month.  This is recipe for meatloaf for two, or three, depending how thin you slice it.  It can be hard to know what to fix for only two people.  We like this recipe very much. 

Steve always mixes it up for me because for some reason his meatloaf slices hold together better than mine.  This is a restaurant quality, delicious meatloaf that I can cook in my electric toaster oven.  Cooking time, about one hour on 350 degrees.  We serve it with mashed potatoes, any vegetable or salad, rolls and sometimes I make brown gravy for it.  Enjoy!

Recipe:

1 pound lean hamburger

1 small onion, diced

1 cup of crushed, canned tomatoes

1 egg

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon of mustard

Mix all the ingredients together and shape into a loaf pan.  We use a metal bread pan which seems to work very nicely.  

hamburger, onions, egg and bread crumbs mix

With mustard, ketchup,tomatoes & seasonings.  Mix by hand until all ingredients are well mixed.

Place in loaf pan and glaze top (brushing) with mustard and ketchup.  Bake for about 1 hour.

Finished product, sliced and ready to eat. 

Enjoy!

What does it mean?

I was checking my blog views when I noticed the most viewed blog I have is entitled: Over Stimulated and Blogging.  That one has 79 total views.  My blogs average 8 views.  Now what does it all mean? The title meant I'd had too much coffee and was up late.  It means that 71, possible deviants, must have thought it meant something ominous.  If young girls do not think deviants crawl all over titles insinuating something provocative, well guess again.  I'm sure they (the naughty readers) were sorely disappointed because I talked about trying to decide if I should give myself a perm or not.  Too, too funny!  OK then, on with today's recipe.

Steve's almost famous biscuits and gravy:

You will need one half package (a whole package of you want a large amount) of ground sausage.  Steve gets the tube kind. One tube, more if you need them, of country style biscuits.  We like the big flaky kind.  You can make your own homemade biscuits if you are that ambitious. 

Start baking biscuits while the sausage is frying.

 While frying the sausage, add Italian seasoning, ground black pepper and flakes of red pepper.  Cook sausage until nice and brown. 

Into the sausage, stir four to five tablespoons of margarine and allow to melt.  Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 Cup (depending on the portions you want) of all purpose flour over the sausage and melted margarine.  Stir and allow the flour to coat the sausage and allow the flour to turn a light brown.  (This is the base for the rue or thickening of the gravy.)  Turn the sausage mixture on high and begin whisking in milk slowly and allowing it to become thick.  Continue pouring milk and whisking the mixture until you have the desired amount you will need and continue to stir until mixture becomes thickened.  You may add salt and pepper to taste and your gravy is now ready to pour on to the finished biscuits.  

Add an egg on top and WOW a hungry mans breakfast.

Fried balls

Today's recipe is fried bread balls.  We will begin by using the recipe posted in the previous blog, for the dough using the bread machine.  This time we will roll out our dough to about 1/2" thickness on the cutting board.

Roll out your prepared dough on a floured surface.  Begin by cutting small balls from the rolled dough.  I use an empty spice bottle because it makes just the right size and thickness I desire.

This is how the raw dough balls look.

Heat your oil either in your deep fryer or pan on the stove, to about 375 degrees, nice and hot.    When the oil is ready, I drop them, 12 at a time, into my deep fryer basket.  You need to watch them, turn them once using a large fork and fry until golden brown.  It usually only takes 5 to 8 minutes to fry one dozen balls.  

While hot, I place them in cinnamon and sugar mixture, coating them well and drain them on a platter covered with a paper towel.  If you prefer, they can be rolled in powdered sugar. 

 We love donuts at our house but they can be expensive, so this is the next best thing.  These are wonderful with coffee or milk, either warm or cold.  I hope you enjoy these for breakfast, brunch, snack or anytime you crave donuts.  

This is how the finished product looks. 

Sharing recipes for cooking at home

These blogs are for sharing recipes to make at home.  With the economy in the toilet these days, it makes sense to do more cooking at home.  

Is this fancy cooking?  No, not the fancy recipes you might see on those Food Network shows, not the $200 truffle pizzas you could buy at Chef Ramsey's expensive restaurants but it is fun cooking.  Many of you, whoever you are, may not think of cooking as fun, but it can be.  My second husband and I have been married for 13 years now and we have always loved cooking together.  Cooking as a couple is one of the best ways to curse, laugh and just enjoy each other's company.  

I also have to mention that I see so many bread machines for sale at yard sales.  Many of them brand new and so many people told me they got one as a gift and just don't know how to use it.  I got two brand news ones at yard sales for $5 each.  I kept one and gave the other one to my daughter.  I have been using mine for three years now and it has been the best $5 investment I ever spent. So if you have one, use it, if not, look for them at yard sales and buy one.  They are easy to use and such time savers.  So relax, whoever you are reading this, and try this first recipe.

Easy & quick pizza pockets

Pizza dough:

I cup very warm tap water

1 tsp salt (optional)

1-1/2 tbsp. soft margarine

2 plus 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. dry yeast

Add each ingredient on the list, as listed, into the bread machine.  Look for the dough setting on your machine and turn it on.

When bread dough is done, turn out onto floured surface and break off small (1/2") pieces and roll into balls.  Roll each ball out to a circle with a rolling pin and place 1 tsp of pizza or spaghetti sauce in the center of the circle.  Place 1 slice of pepperoni on the sauce and sprinkle a small amount of shredded Mozzarella cheese and you may sprinkle some Parmesan cheese here too.  Keep all fillings in the center to avoid oozing out the edges during cooking.

Fold circle over, pinch edges with fingers or a fork until sealed and heat your deep fryer to a high temperature( 350 degrees.)  Drop two at a time in fryer basket, cook one side until lightly brown, turn and cook other side.  Pockets will puff up during frying.  

Drain on a platter covered with paper towel and you can sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you like.

These pockets cook in very little time for preparation and total cooking time.  You can make bread dough ahead, freeze it, then thaw some while working and whip these up when you get home from work.  These pockets are not greasy and everyone at my house loves them.  They never go to waste because they are delicious cold too.

Enjoy!