Category Archives: Recipes

FAMILY, Recipes

Mixed Grain Bread – Scottish

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I have discovered my favourite bread to make!

MIXED GRAIN BREAD – SCOTLAND

Modified from Scottish Cookery Cookbook, 2010

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 oz (about 3 cups) strong white flour
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 oz (about 2 cups) whole wheat flour
  • 8 oz (about 2 cups) Einkorn flour
  • 1 oz butter, diced
  • 2 teaspoon yeast
  • 1 oz (1/3 cup) rolled oats
  • 2 tablespoon sunflower seeds
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • ¾ pint warm water
  • 1 medium egg

DIRECTIONS:

Sift white flour and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in the wheat and Einkorn flours then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the yeast, oats, and seeds then make a well in the centre.

Stir the molasses into the warm water until dissolved.  Add the molasses water to the dry ingredients.  Mix to a soft dough. (I used paddle hook on KitchenAid mixer)

Using a dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Put in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 ½ hours, or until double in size.

Preheat the oven to 425°F, 15 minutes before baking.  (I start the oven now, then do the below and leave the loaf and pan on top the stove – the warmth from the oven helps with rising, especially in winter.)

Using dough hook, knead again for a minute or two to knock out the air.  Shape into an oval loaf about 12 inches long and place on a well-oiled baking sheet.  Cover with oiled (important) plastic wrap and leave to rise for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Brush the loaf with beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven 35-45 minutes (mine was 35 minutes) or until the bread is well risen, browned, and sounds hollow when the base is tapped.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe - Mixed Grain Bread

FAMILY, Recipes

Beef Enchiladas – Recipe

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Recipe – Beef Enchiladas

Beef Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 flour tortillas (whole wheat is best)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds grass-finished ground beef
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
  • 3/4 cup dairy sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons snipped dried parsley
  • 24 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/3 cup sliced pitted ripe olives (optional)

 

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 inch pan with olive oil.  Soften chopped onions in olive oil, then add ground beef and brown ground beef.  Drain if necessary.  Return to pan and warm through, remove from heat.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, the sour cream, and parsley.  Cover and reserve.  Heat remaining ingredients except olives to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer uncovered five minutes.  Whilst beef mixture simmers, prepare enchiladas by placing about 3/4 cup of meat/cheese mixture in each tortilla, roll and place in pan.  Pour tomato mixture over the top.  Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.  Bake for 25-27 minutes.  Serve with olives, sour cream, and additional salsa if desired.
Serves 6
FAMILY, Recipes

Flour Tortilla – Mexican Style

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Oi!  Finally found a flat tortilla recipe that works for me!  I use freshly ground red wheat berries.  Granted, the experts recommend white wheat, but i just grabbed the red and proceeded.  Figured if it would work with that, it’ll work with any.

Recipe – Mexican Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortillas – Mexican Style

Takes about 25 minutes to mix all together and allow dough to rest.  Cooking is about 20 minutes.  This recipe yields 15 tortillas rolled to about 10 inch diameter, but I halved it and it worked great.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (white wheat is better for tortillas, but this even works pretty good using red)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 to 6 tablespoons butter

1 ¼ cups warm water (approximately but you may need more if using whole wheat flours)

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients; then drop in the butter.  I squish it round in the dry ingredients with my fingers until the mix resembles coarse crumbles.  Add the warm water and mix.  I prefer using my Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer with the dough hook and let it do the work.  Cover the dough and let rest for about 10 minutes.  Knead a time or two, then tear off about 15 pieces of dough and roll into balls.  I throw the balls back into the mixer bowl, but just put them somewhere and cover – let rest for 10 minutes more.  Now they are ready to roll out.  Dust a bit of flour on your surface.

Cook in a dry heavy flat bottom skillet like a cast iron one for about 30 seconds each side on medium heat or less.

Keep warm or use them immediately for enchiladas or another favorite Mexican dish.

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Cattle, FAMILY, Recipes

Beef Sausage Lasagne

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Recipe – Beef Sausage Lasagne    (Click on the link for a printable version of my personal recipe.)

I’ve been using this recipe for over 30 years and it never fails to please!  Since i don’t eat pork, i use our home raised ground beef which i’ve turned into beef sausage and using these same spices, it turns out awesome.  Make your own egg noodles and simple cut them about 1 1/2 inches wide and whatever length you like (they’ll get wider and longer when you boil them).  I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta and i often buy full fat mozzarella and shred it myself.  Usually have my own tomatoes to chop and cook down.

Here’s the original recipe printed in Betty Crocker’s International Cookbook circa 1980.  Great cookbook and you can see that page 159 has been open quite a lot! The cookbook must be out of print, but there are several vendors offering it at deep discount, but i’m not parting with my copy!!

Recipe - Lasagne beef

 

 

FAMILY, Recipes

French Fried Onions Recipe

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Lots of home grown green beans in the freezer.  Jessica picked up some onions from the store.  Had some canned mushroom soup on hand.  Never had made fried onions for classic green bean casserole before, but this works great!  I added some tips which will improve my next batch.  Made a big batch to go along with an 8# corned beef roast cooking along, smashed potatoes, and blackberry cobbler.  My mother-in-law has a wonderful patch of thorny blackberries.

Recipe French Fried Onions

Ingredients:

3 large onions sliced into thin rings

2 cups milk

2-3 cups flour (I used freshly ground white wheat berries)

Oil for frying

Salt or other seasonings as desired

Directions:

Place part of the onion slices in the milk, then let soak for 5 minutes whilst oil is heating in a fryer or skillet.  Take some of the onions out of the milk and dredge through 1 cup of the flour.  Use a fork if you like to turn the onion slices to coat well.  Fry in batches in the oil, stirring to lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels, season to taste.

When the flour you are using starts to form clumps, start with new flour.  Trying to use it with clumps results in poor coverage on the onions.  I don’t know why – it just does or at least that is my experience.

I use these for making green bean casserole or whatever recipe you have calling for French fried onions.

 

 

FAMILY, Recipes

Lumpia (Filipino Eggroll)

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This is my go to version of my own making.  However, be encouraged to try new and different flavors and ingredients.  Having an abundance of squash and cauliflower leaves/stalks, i decided to substitute.  To my pleasant surprise, substituting squash for carrots and cauliflower stalks and leaves for celery and onion is a hit and will be come a regular recipe for us.

Recipe Lumpia -Filipino Egg Roll

Lumpia (Filipino Eggroll)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb beef sausage
2 eggs
1 cup onions chopped
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos or
Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Thoroughly mix all ingredients, then place about ¼ to ½ cup of mix in a log shape on a prepared egg roll shell. Roll up properly and tightly, then fry in ½ inch of olive oil heated to a tick less than medium. For best browning do not overcrowd them. I cook 6 at a time in 12 inch skillet. Once lightly browned, turn over. Keep an eye on these, they need to be cooked through, but careful not to burn the shells. Drain on paper towels.

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An example of a departure from my standard recipe is using this gorgeous Squash Zucchino Rampicante.  I’ve grown a barrel of these and they are huge, so gotta start getting creative.

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Chopped up with an old cheapo food processor – look at the beautiful color of this winter squash.
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Had the leaves and stalk left over from eating cauliflower florets on salads.  I just save all this in a zippered plastic bag then use as soon as possible.
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I didn’t have any onions, but given that the leaves and stalk of a cauliflower has a slightly peppery taste i just added more of this to replace the onions.
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I use my Artisan Kitchenaid Mixer (5 quart) practically everyday.  Here mixing the 1 lb ground beef, 1 lbs home mad beef sausage, eggs, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, veggies, and pepper well.  These mixers have come down in price substantially these past couple years.  
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Wei-Chuan is the brand of spring roll shells i use.  There may be others, but these have never disappointed.  I buy mine in bulk at a Chinese specialty store 1 1/2 hours away.  They freeze fine and last well over a year in deep freeze.
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1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture on the shell.  

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Dab i bit of water on the tip and continue rolling up.  The water will help that loose end stick to the roll and stay together.
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Completed eggroll ready to cook.
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Here’s a pan of cooked on one side with half the rolls flipped to show difference.
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Ready to remove, drain, and let cool before biting in.
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Best served immediately and warm,  but these can be eaten cold too and are delicious for any meal.  We like LaChoy sweet and sour sauce as a condiment.
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Invariably there will be a bit of the lumpia meat/veggie mixture left over after i run out of the package of 25 eggroll shells.  Fry up as delicious healthy burgers.

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FAMILY, Recipes

Mom’s Goulash

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September’s meal for Refuge Ministries, Mexico, Missouri was an old favorite of ours which was published in the Centennial Baptist Church cookbook shared by Frankie Levingston, the mom of my dear high school chum, Sharie Levingston.

Mom’s Goulash 

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef (i use our home raised fully grass-finished beef)
2 cups pasta
3 cups chopped tomatoes or 1-15 oz can sauce
1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped peppers (we prefer green beans, okra, or such)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup cubed cheese (use your favorite)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare pasta as per package instructions, drain, set aside.  While pasta is boiling, brown ground beef in a large skillet with chopped onions, add tomatoes or sauce, with optional vegetables.  Stir to just mixed, then add pasta.  Mix carefully then sprinkle about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over top along with the cubed cheese.  Replace lid and put on low heat until cheese starts to melt.  Serve over bed of lettuce if desired.

Prep time:  25 minutes

Servings: 6

Author:  Frankie Levingston, Centennial Baptist Church (Mexico, MO) cookbook.

My photos show this recipe multiplied by 10 to prepare enough for the Refuge plus have some meals to deliver to friends and neighbors who are recovering from surgeries.

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Brown the ground beef along with the chopped onions.  Oh, if you forget to put the onions until after the beef is browned, it’s okay, just go ahead and add them.
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My garden produced bunches and gobs of Asian Long Pole Beans, so i chose them for my recipe.  Fresh beans need to be precooked before adding to Mom’s Goulash.  Mine are cut into 1/2 inch length pieces and I added 1 gallon of them.
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Pasta, pasta – Here i’ve placed 14 cups dried pasta to boil, still had to add water and as you can see just BARELY had enough room in this huge pot.  Be careful, pasta really expands.
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Thankfully, a friend had given me a 33 quart canning pot a few years ago.  Always enough room to stir together all the ingredients.  I did soften and melt the cheese before adding it.
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Filled my roaster with Mom’s Goulash to take to Refuge Ministries and prepared the rest for delivery to neighbors.

Hope you enjoy preparing and serving this easy, inexpensive, and tasty dish.

Cheers!

tauna

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