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Welcome to my Blog 'In The Kitchen With Don'! Thank you for your visit and come back soon!


Sunday, February 7, 2010

A quick fruit pie

When you have unexpected guests and want something tasty to give them with coffee or tea,  or you just get a craving for something sweet that is fast and easy to make, this pie is perfect!  It uses stuff from the pantry and goes together fast and is also quite tasty.   I got the recipe from a woman I used to work with.

1 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick softened butter
1 can pie filling, any flavor
spices to taste (cinnamon and a bit of clove for apple; cinnamon, clove and nutmeg for peach or apricot)

Mix together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and spices if using.   Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly mixture.   Press about 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom and sides of an 8-inch pie plate.   Add the pie filling and then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top.   Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.   Cool before cutting.    Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread is something that I love, although I don't bake it all that often.   It is easy to make and so good spread with some butter and jam or butter and honey.   Here's my recipe:

6 cups white flour (or use 3 cups white flour and 3 cups whole wheat flour or 3 cups white flour and 3 cups oatmeal)
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.   Grease and preheat a 10 inch cast iron skillet, with lid if possible.  (preheat by placing in the heated oven while mixing the dough)    Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.   Quickly stir in the buttermilk to make a soft and sticky dough.   With floured hands, form into a round cake a little smaller than the size of the skillet.   Place in the preheated skillet, pat it smooth and then cut a cross in the top of the dough.   Cover with the heated lid and place in the preheated oven.   Bake about 40 minutes, until brown and crusty.    When done, remove from the pan and wrap in a clean cloth towel.   Allow to cool in the towel for about 2-3 hours.    Slice with a sharp, serrated bread knife in fairly thick slices.   Enjoy!

For a slightly fancier loaf, you can add a couple tbsps. of sugar to the dry ingredients or honey with the butter milk.   You can also add chopped dried fruit or raisins to the dry ingredients as well.    Some grated lemon or orange rind is tasty too.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Swiss Steak

While growing up my family didn't have a lot of money, so we ate lots of whatever Mama found on sale or cheap or we could grow ourselves.   We ate lots of hamburger and cheap cuts of meat, including chuck steaks and roasts.   Luckily, for all of it's toughness, chuck has a really good beefy flavor.   In fact, along with brisket, it is one of the tastier pieces of a cow.    But it does require proper cooking, usually a long, slow, moist braise...pot roast, smothered steak, stew or one of my especial favorites, Swiss steak.   What's not to love...tender meat, flavorful gravy, lots of tomatoes, onions and peppers.   The measurements given below tend to be approximate only, and feel free to vary as your taste or cupboard demand.   This will make enough to feed about 4 people.

2 pounds of chuck steak, cut into serving size pieces or, if you prefer bite sized pieces, trimmed of as much fat as possible
about 3/4 cup flour
seasoning to taste (I use garlic powder, celery salt, Mrs. Dash and paprika)
3 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 large green pepper, cored and cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Mix the seasonings with the flour and dredge the pieces of meat.   Place in the bottom of a deep roaster and place in the oven for about an hour, or until the top pieces have begun to brown a bit.   Stir the meat, then scatter the onion and pepper on top, finally pour the tomatoes and water over the vegetables and return to the oven.   Continue baking another hour and a half to two hours, until the meat is tender and almost falling apart, stirring every 30 minutes or so.   The gravy should be thick and lightly brown.   If it looks like the meat is getting too dry, add water as needed.  It should never cook dry.   Eat with mashed potatoes or roasted potato wedges.    It is also good served with rice or noodles.   Enjoy!

For smothered steak, add sliced mushrooms when adding the vegetables, omit the tomatoes and use 4 cups chicken broth instead of water.   Wine or beer is nice for the liquid too.

A camping recipe from my sister Susan

My sister Susan is one of the readers of my blog.   She and her husband live in the wilds of Idaho and love camping.   Susan sent me this recipe and said I could share with you folks.   I don't camp, but this still sounds like something I would make at home.

"
Food for two (with good appetites from hiking and setting up camp)

4 thin pork chops (1/2 inch is good, bone-in has better flavor, but is
messier to eat)
1 large Burbank potato, skin on (can use red-skinned but they take longer
to cook) cut into bite size pieces
1 medium onion, bite size pieces
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery sliced
1 small can mushrooms (or fresh if you like, but they don't keep well on a
camping trip)
Some kind for summer squash- yellow or zuccini (sp?)
1 medium tomato or a hand full of grape tomatoes, cut up

Wash all vegetables. Prepare as directed. (I may even do this at home, put
in ziplocks in the cooler).

In a cast iron dutch oven (4 quart is good size or any kind of skillet
with a lid) brown the pork chops in a tiny amount of oil. Don't over cook
or they will be tough.  Add all vegetables (except squash) and a cup of
water. Cook on high until boiling, then reduce to simmer.  Cook until
veggies are getting soft, then split the squash and lay over the top. Be
sure there is enough moisture so it doesn't burn, but not too much or you
will get watery gravy.
As the vegetables cook, the potatoes and carrots should add just enough
starch to the cooking fluid to make a slightly thickened sauce for your
vegetables.

Serve with salt/pepper to taste.  An absolutely delicious one pot meal. I
don't take a lot of spices with me camping, they get old in the camp box
and it's too much work to replace them each time, so I try to add plenty
of savory veggies so spices seem less needed. When camping out, tired and
hungry, you won't miss a lot of fancy dressing up!"

Enjoy!