Polish Burgers

 Polish Burgers

1-1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground beef

1 sleeve crushed saltines

2/3 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 green bell pepper, minced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon dried parsley

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp butter

Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. 

Combine ground meats in a large bowl with crushed saltines, milk, eggs, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined.

Form mixture into 10 patties. At this point you can freeze half, with wax paper in between the patties. Arrange patties on prepared baking sheet and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat the 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer 2-3 patties to the skillet and brown well on the first side before turning, about 5-7 minutes. Repeat with the second side.

Set aside on a plate to rest while you finish with the remaining patties.

For the Sauce:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

2 C. mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 C. all-purpose flour

4 C. beef stock

2 Tbsp. sour cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Add 1/4 C. butter to the skillet, melt and add mushrooms. Add Worcestershire sauce and garlic and cook, stirring often and scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.

Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually stir in beef stock until smooth, then bring mixture to a simmer.

Add patties back to the pan, then cover with a lid, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Great served with buttered noodles or rice!

Creamy Sundried Tomato Chicken Thighs (Instant pot)

 4 boneless chicken thighs, cut in bite sized pieces

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp each dried basil and oregano, or equivalent fresh

3 cloves garlic, minced

* Brown the chicken on saute mode

* add remaining ingredients and saute for about 5 more minutes

*add 1 cup chicken stock

Seal in Instant pot and cook on high for 15 minutes.

Quick release.

Remove chicken and set aside. Set pot on saute, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until liquid is reduced by half.

Add 1 cup heavy cream and return chicken to the pot; stir to reheat

Serve with pasta or rice, sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Optional:

* stir in a can of artichoke hearts (drained) during the final saute.

*stir in a handful of fresh spinach just before serving

Hot Fudge Sauce

Recipe first, story below 💖

Hot Fudge Sauce

Credit: The Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition

(Please see notes below before making!)

Melt in a double boiler (or microwave) (see note below)

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1Tbsp Butter

Stir well and add: 

1/3 cup boiling water

Stir well and add: 

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp corn syrup

Let the sauce boil readily, but not too furiously, over direct heat (not in double boiler). DO NOT STIR.

For regular sauce: Boil, covered for 3 minutes and then 2 minutes uncovered, without stirring.

For sauce that will harden over ice cream (I HIGHLY recommend this option!): boil uncovered for 3 minutes more than for regular sauce - 5 minutes total after uncovering.

Remove from heat. It can be served immediately if you like. Just before serving,  stir in 1 tsp vanilla or 2 tsp rum (I admit I have never tried the rum version, nor do I recall seeing this, so I'll have to try it sometime!).

Store in refrigerator. It will get very thick when cold. Feel free, as I do, to grab a spoonful whenever you feel the craving for something decadent. Or warm it gently in the microwave (probably 10-20 seconds - start low to see how long it takes).

NOTES

* I almost never have unsweetened chocolate on hand, so I looked up a substitution (there's a section in the cookbook - page 594!): 3 Tbsp cocoa or carob powder plus 1 Tbsp butter or shortening (I use butter) OR 2 Tbsp water. I always use the cocoa/butter combo and you don't need to melt it first; just slap it in a pot and start with step 2.

* if using the chocolate squares there is really no need to use a double boiler, if you even have one. 1975 was either before or very early days of microwaves - melt it for 20 seconds or so at a time.

**Now for the personal backstory that I'm sure everyone wants to read!**

Back in the day, the Bible of Cookbooks was "The Joy of Cooking". Mom had a tattered copy (that I may actually have somewhere) and my own copy is one of the first wedding shower gifts I opened! I rarely use it anymore, because I just look recipes online and then post the ones I like when I get around to it. But I used to use it a lot! It's all marked up with spills and such, mark of a great recipe!

I got it down off the high shelf and dusted it off so I could make some Hot Fudge Sauce today. That's always been one of my favorites and I was craving something rich and decadent. It popped into my mind and we have ice cream to go with it.

We had this a lot when I was a child, and it was one of the first things I made all by myself!

Roasted Garlic Cloves

I bought a big bag of peeled garlic cloves at Sam's and wanted to try roasting it this way (I've only ever roasted whole heads). This recipe is very general and can be easily adjusted to whatever amount you need.

* You should try to be sure the cloves you choose are somewhat similar in size, for consistency in cooking.

Take the amount of peeled garlic cloves you want to roast, and toss them in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat (around a tablespoon for a cup of cloves). Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt  - optional!

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes - stir and flip over (they will be brown on the bottom).

Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 5-10 more minutes. If the cloves are very large, you may need additional time - watch carefully.

Let cool and enjoy! 

I used some of mine to make roasted garlic aioli - recipe to come!

Fresh Mint Sauce

This is so delicious and needs NO sweetener at all in my opinion. If you'd like it sweet, feel free to add sugar or whatever sweetener you like.

It reminds me of what my Mom used to make before mint jelly was really a thing and we started buying it instead. I don't know that I'll ever buy mint jelly again! 

I made it to go with our lamb for Easter dinner!

Ingredients:

A handful of fresh mint leaves - about a cup - washed and stems removed

1/4 cup boiling water

1/4 cup white vinegar  *

Finely chop the mint leaves by hand or in a food processor. Pour the boiling water over the chopped leaves and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir.

Serve with lamb.

Notes:

* I usually use raw apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar gives it a purer mint flavor. 

* I'm not sure how well this would keep. I did have some with the leftover lamb the next day, and it was still excellent. I did make half a recipe for this reason. I think it would be very easy to just make the amount you need when you need it.

Alton Brown's Tart Cranberry Dipping Sauce

 

I made this for Thanksgiving and I thought it was AWESOME! I think I'm one of the few in the family who loves cranberries in all their variations, but others enjoyed it too. I will definitely make it again!

Click the link below for the recipe!

Tart Cranberry Dipping Sauce

Mardi Gras Toffee Crackers

1 sleeve saltine crackers (about 40)

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla 

12 oz white melts, I like Ghirardelli 

Purple, green, and gold sprinkles 

 1. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Place crackers in a single layer. DO THIS FIRST!

 2. Over medium heat, melt the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, let boil for exactly 3 minutes.

 3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Immediately pour this over the crackers. Spread evenly, then bake at 400°F for 4-5 minutes until bubbly.

 4. Microwave the vanilla melts for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until smooth. Pour over the toffee layer and spread evenly.

 5. Sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sprinkles. Make swirl designs if you like!

 6. Let it cool completely, then break into pieces. Once cool, can be placed in the refrigerator to help it set faster.

Lambert's Cafe Macaroni and Tomatoes

I love the macaroni and tomatoes at Lambert's Cafe! It's one of the pass-arounds and it's one of my favorites. Once, after a visit, I wrote to them asking for the recipe. They responded right away!

Thanks for writing to us!! We're so glad to hear you enjoy eating with us. Now, we make our macaroni and tomatoes in a very large quantity, but I have tried to break it down for you, and it should be similar tasting to ours, hope it works for ya!! Come back soon!!

Macaroni and Tomatoes 

1 16oz bag macaroni 
1 8 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato juice
2 tsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar(depending on your preference)
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow onion

Boil noodles till tender, drain and set aside. Melt the butter in pan and saute the peppers and onions till tender. Mix everything together in larger pot and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!!

Lentil and Quinoa Salad

I made this on a Sunday and loved having it for lunch all week. Very refreshing! Add protein by adding chicken, cheese or boiled eggs. Mix it up by adding a different ingredient each day!

2 cups uncooked lentils

1/2 cup quinoa

Chop vegetables:

1 bell pepper, or equivalent multicolor small ones (really pretty!)

1/2 red onion

1 large cucumber, seeded

2 medium tomatoes, seeded

2 cups fresh kale or spinach

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced fine or pressed

1/4 cup tahini

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Cook lentils as directed on the package, until tender. Drain and cool completely.

Rinse quinoa and cook as directed on the package. Cool.

In a large bowl, add the cooked lentils and quinoa, chopped veggies, and parsley. Mix to combine.

Add dressing ingredients to a jar; Shake to mix thoroughly. Pour over salad, toss to combine.

Serve immediately.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Really Good Instant Pot Pot Roast

I highly prefer oven pot roast, but sometimes I just don't have time to think that far ahead. Enter the Instant Pot.

I don't care for just any pot roast from the instant pot. I like a rich gravy, and that doesn't come naturally if it's not low and slow. I've tried many recipes, and finally found one I really like. This is one I found online, heavily tweaked of course!

Seasonings I used, to taste, mixed with 1/2 cup flour:

Garlic Powder

Onion powder

Rosemary-garlic seasoning

Oregano

Salt and pepper

2 pound beef chuck pot roast, cut into large chunks

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

6 garlic cloves, rough chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup beef broth

3 Tbsp, balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

8 new potatoes, whole

1/2 pound baby carrots, or regular carrots sliced in 1 inch lengths

2 Tbsp beef broth

2 Tbsp corn starch

In a bowl, combine seasonings with flour. Dredge meat chunks until thoroughly coated.

Turn Instant Pot to saute. When hot, add the oil and sear roast on all sides. Remove the meat and set aside

Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until softened (adding more oil if necessary). Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.

Deglaze pot with wine, scraping up the bits that are stuck to the pot.

Combine broth, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and onion soup mix. Add to pot and stir to combine.

Add the meat back into the pot, along with remaining vegetables. Put the lid on and turn the valve to sealing. Set the cook time for 60 minutes on high .

Release naturally for 15 minutes, then vent the remaining pressure before opening the lid.

Whisk together corn starch and 2 Tbsp. broth and stir into gravy.

Turn Instant Pot to saute and cook, stirring often, until gravy has thickened.

Serve and enjoy!