Favorite Family Recipes

pat · Sep 15, 2003

Originally posted by okeefecl
One more recipe...

Texas Hash

Wow, except for the chili powder this sounds like my father's favorite recipe for Spanish Rice!

Spanish Rice

1 lb. cooked rice - not overcooked
1 lb. ground beef
chopped garlic
1 onion - chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 16 oz. can crushed tomatoes
olive oil
cheddar cheese

Cook the meat with a little oil, add garlic and onion and green pepper. Next add seasonings and tomatoes. Stir often. Cook 20 minutes, then place in a casserole dish - putting a layer of cooked rice, then the meat mixture, then sprinkle the meat layer with shredded cheese, repeat until casserole dish is full. Top with cheese and bake in oven at 350 dgrees for 20 minutes.

momofmany · Sep 15, 2003

This is more of a story than a recipe, but my favorite in the whole family cookbook. My brother-in-law had just recently died in a car crash. My husband Steve and I tried to fill in some of the void that Christmas by staying with his wife Jennifer and his 2 year old daughter Jessica.....

Recipe:
Ice cream - we prefer Blue Bell brand. Pick your favorite flavor.

Story:
Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s something about a Christmas tradition started by a 2 year old that, well, you just know it has to be good.

We had all spent Christmas Eve at Jenniferâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house in Rosenberg, Texas. When Jessica woke up Christmas morning, she peeked downstairs, still half asleep (yeah, she has that Cichowski-wake-up-slow-and-groggy gene), saw Steve dressed in red sweats and a red sweater, and
panicked, â€œMommy, Santaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s downstairs. We have to get him ice cream!â€

Jennifer looked downstairs, â€œThatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not Santa. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just Uncle Steveâ€.

â€œOh, okâ€.

A few minutes later, when we were all upstairs in the kitchen, we heard the following, timeless exchange.

â€œJessica, what would you like for breakfast?â€

â€œIce cream!â€ (Jessica had ice cream on the brain. Thanks Santa!)

â€œWell, alright, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Christmas. You can have ice cream for breakfast if you want to.â€

And we have ever since!

pat · Sep 15, 2003

Originally posted by Momofmany
From the family cookbook:

1/2 cup flour
3 eggs
Â¼ tsp. salt
Â½ cup milk
2 Tbsp. melted butter
<snip>

I love that so many recipes reflect the personal touches that a family adds

Here is a recipe similar to yours, that is a favorite for my husband and I (from the cookbook my mom put together for me as a wedding gift).

Dutch Babies (from Steffie B., a family friend)

1/8 lb. butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup skim milk (we use half and half)
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt butter into 2 pie pans. Blend all other ingredients together. Pour into the warm pie pans, and place into the pre-heated 400 degree oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Her serving suggestions were sprinkle with confectionary sugar, and serve with cinnamon, syrup, jelly or what have you.

We serve ours with fruit cream honey (boy can I recommend a great place for this kind of product!) and butter, or sometimes I add cinnamon to the batter and raisins. Frej loves it with lingonberry jam and butter, and my basic favorite is butter and a good maple syrup. These puff up dramatically, and then fall a bit when cooling..each will be dinner plate sized, so you may wish to make just one and split it

momofmany · Sep 15, 2003

Originally posted by Pat & Alix
We serve ours with fruit cream honey (boy can I recommend a great place for this kind of product!)

That sounds intriguing! Where oh where can you get it?

pat · Sep 15, 2003

Originally posted by Momofmany
That sounds intriguing! Where oh where can you get it?

Anna's Gourmet Foods

They had a sale on their creamed fruit honeys - too thick a layer of the cream, great sale, didn't detract from the quality of the product at all. It might even still be on.

So far we've only tried the apricot, and for someone who likes honey but doesn't bother usually, I work this into my allotment of carbs at least twice a week. Truly to die for, *and* after a purchase, they send you with your order a coupon for a free gift with your next order! I like that!

rapunzel47 · Sep 15, 2003

This little creation is a save-the-day special when you want a lovely meal, without a lot of fuss, on short notice. I keep pork tenderloins in my freezer at all times, and I can't count the number of times this has saved my neck.

Pork Tenderloin Medallions -- serves 3 or 4

1 pork tenderloin (3/4 to 1 lb)
meat tenderiser*
freshly ground black pepper
garlic powder
butter
1/4 cup (or so) brandy**
1/4 cup (or so) heavy cream**

Slice tenderloin diagonally in 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle generously on one side with tenderiser, pepper and garlic powder.

Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter over fairly high heat in non-stick skillet. When sizzling, add pork slices and brown both sides. Do not crowd pan; do the job in several installments if necessary, adding a little butter between installments if the pan is drying out. Remove browned slices to a shallow dish and keep warm while completing the rest of the meat.

When all meat is browned, deglaze the pan with brandy, scraping up any bits of meat residue. When brandy is bubbling, add cream and stir. Also, add back any juices from the meat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is well thickened. While this is happening, arrange the medallions on plates. When the sauce is ready, it will be bubbling quite furiously and won't be far from cooking onto the pan, so you need to be ready to spoon it over the meat -- a tablespoon or so per serving is all it delivers and all it needs.

Serve with your choice of hot vegetable (green beans or asparagus are best when they're available fresh) and panfries or buttered noodles.

*Tenderiser: I know -- the meat is tender already, but trust me, if you do this it'll be like butter. If you really don't want to, or if you don't have any on hand, you might want to substitute a tiny sprinkle of salt to compensate for the salt you're not getting in the tenderiser. If salt is an issue, I wouldn't bother.

**Brandy and cream: These are approximate measures -- a place to start. I just splash into the pan.

fluffy'smom · Sep 16, 2003

i'd buy a recipe book if you made one!

pat · Sep 16, 2003

Originally posted by Fluffy'sMom
i'd buy a recipe book if you made one!

I'm sure copying some of these to make...wonderful recipes!

rapunzel47 · Sep 16, 2003

Originally posted by okeefecl
I think the book idea is great, although I don't know how hard it will be....

Not actually hard -- but fussy and time-consuming if you want a half-decent job.

I think it would be a neat idea, though having done one (not in the least fancy!) for my family, I know all too well how much work is involved -- even when you don't have to do all the typing yourself! They're clamouring for volume two and I don't know where I'm going to find the energy. However, if someone feels energetic and creative, I'd be in favour, and would put my money where my mouth is.

valanhb · Sep 17, 2003

Hey Fran, would that recipe work with Beef Tenderloin? It sounds delicious, but we only have Beef Tenderloin in the freezer right now.

Has anyone committed to doing up the cookbook? If not, I'm "cooking" up an idea.

But I don't want to step on anyone's toes who has already taken charge of it.

And I'll dig up some recipes myself this evening.

fluffy'smom · Sep 17, 2003

Bios-You mean on us or..? I could do those but iu'm not sure if my Microsoft Works is working

rapunzel47 · Sep 17, 2003

Originally posted by valanhb
Hey Fran, would that recipe work with Beef Tenderloin? It sounds delicious, but we only have Beef Tenderloin in the freezer right now.

Don't see why not! I've never used beef tenderloin for it, but we're talking about the same muscle from a different animal, equally tender and tasty, so it should be fine. As a matter of fact, I rather like that idea, and will probably give it a run soon. One thing about this recipe is that it's really just a place to start: what meat you use, what booze you use, what garnishes you add, are all fodder for your imagination -- that's my kind of recipe!

Has anyone committed to doing up the cookbook? If not, I'm "cooking" up an idea.

But I don't want to step on anyone's toes who has already taken charge of it.

And I'll dig up some recipes myself this evening.

[/b]

These toes will not be stepped upon! Only too glad to contribute as many recipes as you think you can stand, and whatever insights might be useful in terms of assembly/production.

fluffy'smom · Sep 17, 2003

Originally posted by Momofmany
I was thinking a little information on the folks that contributed the recipes. Something simple - probably not much more than what is posted in here - who you are, where you are from, your human and/or pet families.

That sounds good. I could handle that. I'll contribute recipes as well

LMK when you want to get started.

rapunzel47 · Sep 17, 2003

Originally posted by Momofmany
I volunteered to compile the recipes, but I only have Microsoft Office software to format it in. If folks want it in PDF, I don't have the software to do that.

I hunch that wouldn't be a problem. MS word is perfectly capable of all the formatting necessary, and if I'm not mistaken it's possible to save a MS Word file as .pdf, if that were deemed necessary. It would obviate the need for having MS Word in order to read the file, since Acrobat Reader is readily available, though I really hate Acrobat Reader because it is so s-s-s-s-l-l-l-l-o-o-o-o-o-w-w-w-w-w -- but that's just my opinion, and certainly preferable to not being able to read a file at all

I think this could be a multi-person job:

- Someone to format the information in the book
- Someone to collect pictures to include in the book
- Someone to collect bios to include in the book
- Someone to figure out logistics of getting it out to everyone who wants it (who wants them, how to send to them, where to send it to)
- Someone to look into posting the finished book online for anyone to access
- Someone to coordinate this project and keep it moving forward

I think you're absolutely right about it being a multi-person job, and I think you've broken down the tasks well. However, it seems to me that we have plenty of capable people around here, and it's only a matter of whether said people have the necessary time/energy to step up to the plate.

The whole thing sounds like fun -- says she, who's not volunteering for any of those tasks

momofmany · Sep 17, 2003

I'm going to start a new thread on the creation of the cookbook, so we can leave this one for recipe contributions.

rapunzel47 · Sep 17, 2003

Originally posted by Momofmany
I'm going to start a new thread on the creation of the cookbook, so we can leave this one for recipe contributions.

Good move!

momofmany · Sep 17, 2003

More recipes please! We are all getting hungry in here. :-)

Ideas on the cookbook can be posted in the Creating TCS Cookbook thread.

george'smom · Sep 17, 2003

Here's another contribution . . . .

I got this recipe when I was in 9th grade. . . in a cooking class. . . and it's a big hit at Christmas time . . . the requests for gifts keeps growing!

Peanut Butter Fudge

2 C. White granulated sugar
2/3 C. milk
1 C. Marshmallow Fluff
1 C. Peanutbutter (I prefer Peter Pan)
1 teas. vanilla

Butter sides & bottom of medium size non-stick saucepan and an 8x8 square pan.
Add milk and sugar to saucepan and stir. Cook on medium to medium high heat (stirring occasionally) to soft ball stage (I cook mine to just 2 degrees below softball on my candy thermometer). While sugar & milk are cooking measure out the marshmallow & peanutbutter into a bowl.
As soon as milk & sugar mixture reach softball, immediately remove from heat and add peanutbutter, marshmallow & vanilla. Stir quickly until all peanutbutter & marshmallow are melted and fudge is smooth.

Pour into a lightly buttered 8x8 pan (foil ones work great for gift giving).

Allow to cool. . . . cut into equal squares. Store in airtight container or in plastic bag to prevent from drying out.

*hint - if fudge hardens in pan before you are able to mix/pour you probably cooked it too long. Timing is crucial to be successful with this.

pat · Sep 17, 2003

From a sweet, sweet person I provided home care for years ago, this is a depression era, simple cake and wonderful.

Iva's Never-Fail Molasses Cake

3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
a little cinnamon, cloves, ginger (adjust to your taste)
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup oil
1 egg

Mix all together well, and then add 1 cup boiling water.
Bake for 45 minutes in a small cake pan, at 350.

I've tried topping this with confectioner's sugar applied through a paper doily for a pretty pattern, it would also taste good with a lemon sauce, I think.

fluffy'smom · Sep 17, 2003

Bumping in case anyonme wants to add more

I'll look for some of mine soon.

Favorite Family Recipes

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