Mom's Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

1 ½ Pounds ground beef

1 Can (8 ounces) tomato sauce (or ketchup)

1 Medium onion, chopped(about ½ cup)

1/3 Cup oats

1 Large egg

1 Teaspoon salt

¼ Teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Mix thoroughly beef, 1/3 cup of the sauce and the remaining ingredients. Spread in ungreased loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches. Spread remaining tomato sauce over loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees in oven for 1 ½ hours.

Serves: 3-4

Note: You can also use 1/2 C oat bran instead of oats (and add one egg). 

Crustworthy Meat Loaf (Not Gluten-Free)

Additional Ingredients:

1 Loaf Frozen Rhodes bread dough

Additional Instructions:

Thaw bread dough in refrigerator overnight. Cover and let stand on floured surface at room temperature for 1 hour.

Prepare meat loaf as directed above but reduce initial baking time to 45 minutes. Drain meat loaf.

Press dough onto bottom of greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 jelly roll pan. Place meat loaf in center of dough. Cut 6 strips of dough on each side of loaf. Fold dough ends over loaf. Cross strips over the top. 

Continue baking for 30 minutes.

* Adapted from old Betty Crocker recipe

Scalloped Corn

Ingredients:

10 oz. Pkg. Frozen whole kernel corn, cooked and drained (or 1 lb can whole kernel corn, drained)
¼ C Chopped onion
¼ C Chopped green pepper
2 T Butter
2 T Flour
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Paprika
¼ tsp. Dry mustard
Dash pepper
¾ C Milk
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/3 C Cracker (or Corn Flake) Crumbs
1 T butter, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and stir onion and green pepper in 2 tablespoons butter until onion is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in corn and egg. Pour into ungreased 1-quart casserole dish.

Combine cracker crumbs and the 1 tablespoon melted butter; sprinkle evenly over corn mixture. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes.

4 Servings

Note: 3 recipes nicely fills a 9x13 inch casserole dish.

* From an old Betty Crocker recipe

Chili Con Carne with Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 Pound ground beef

1 Green pepper (and/or other colors!)

1 Medium onion, chopped(about 1 cup)

1 Can (1 pound 12 ounces)tomatoes

1 Can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

2 Teaspoons chili powder

1 Teaspoon salt

1/8 Teaspoon cayenne red pepper

1 Can (15 ½ ounces)kidney beans, drained

1 Can (15 ounces) corn,drained

Directions:

Cook and stir ground beef,onion and green pepper in large saucepan until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in remaining ingredients except corn and kidney beans.

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (Or cook uncovered about 45 minutes.) Stir in corn and beans; heat.

4 or 5 servings

To Try: For vegetarian chili, omit ground beef and add in a can of black beans, drained. Other beans may be good as well.


*Adapted from an old Betty Crocker recipe

Cafe Rio Style Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

3 C Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Baking powder
3/4 C Shortening
3/4 - 1 C Very hot water

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Cut in the shortening with your fingers or pastry cutter until the flour is crumbly. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together (add more water if needed). Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl, cover with a slightly damp dishtowel and let sit for an hour. Divide the dough into 5-6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball (if you are making soft taco sized tortillas, divide it into 10-12 pieces).

Preheat a large skillet or pan to medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly, golden, and no appearance of doughy-ness, about 1 minute (be careful not to overcook); flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer or on a large plate, covering with a slightly damp towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

* Recipe adapted from http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2010/04/homemade-flour-tortillas.html?m=1

Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce

This is a time-consuming but great way to use all those tomatoes from the garden!

First, you're going to need quite a few tomatoes. It takes A LOT of tomatoes to turn into very much sauce. I would estimate that you need about 5-7 tomatoes (depending on their size) per person you're going to serve.

Ingredients:

25 Fresh tomatoes
2 Fresh garlic cloves
Your favorite italian seasoning, to taste (I like Sam's Club's Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning)

Directions:

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Fill a second large pot with ice cubes and water. Wash tomatoes and then place as many as will fit into the boiling water. Wait for 45-60 seconds and then transfer them to the ice water. After about 20-30 seconds in the ice water remove the tomatoes and peel the skins off. The skins should come off VERY easily. Repeat until all tomatoes have been skinned.

Next, cut the tomatoes into quarters. Remove seeds, rough parts, and any bruises. Squeeze the excess water out of the tomatoes and place into a colander to drain. Once drained then dice all of the tomatoes.

Place diced tomatoes into a pot, cover, and start cooking them low and slow. They will break down and turn into a sauce after a few hours. Once it's looking more like a sauce add the garlic and seasoning. Keep cooking until at desired consistency! If the sauce is too watery then take the lid off and let some of the water evaporate.

Serves 4

* Adapted from http://www.pickyourown.org/canning_tomatosauce.htm

Parmesan Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 if large, 4 if medium)
1 Tsp. Paprika
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Black pepper
1 Egg, beaten
1 T Butter (I use salted)
1 C All-Purpose flour
2 T Olive Oil
1/2 C Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Trim any fat off chicken breasts and cut into 3-4 strips each. Place wax paper under and over the chicken and pound to tenderize. Be careful not to go overboard or the meat will tear.

In a pie pan combine paprika, salt, pepper, flour, and Parmesan. Place the egg in a shallow bowl. Dip a chicken strip in the egg and coat on both sides. Let the egg run off a little until it stops dripping. Place the chicken into the flour mixture and coat thoroughly. Gently shake off excess coating and set aside. Do this to each chicken strip.

In a medium frying pan melt butter. Once butter is melted add the olive oil. Heat to medium or medium-high and once the oil is hot carefully place as many chicken strips as you can comfortably fit in the pan without touching. Keep an eye on the heat. You want it to fry hot and fast but not so hot it will burn. Turn chicken over when it's a nice golden brown on the first side.

When those are done you could place the first batch in a baking dish in the oven at 175 or 200 degrees to keep warm while you finish the others. Repeat with all the chicken strips.

If you're concerned that the chicken might not be done, cut into the biggest piece at its thickest point and make sure the juices are coming out clear. Enjoy!

Serves 4-5 depending on serving size and breast size.

* My own recipe

Mexican Seasoning

I like to make burritos, tacos, and fajitas and I've always just bought the little seasoning packets at the store each time I needed one but last time I bought one I couldn't believe how expensive they've gotten! I just can't handle the idea of paying so much for something I could do for probably much cheaper myself.

I found this recipe which works for burritos, tacos, or fajitas and tried it today and it was good. Thought I'd share in case anyone else wants to make their own and doesn't already have a recipe!

Mexican Seasoning

Recipe for single batch (good for 1- 1 1/2 lbs. of meat or vegetables):

1 T Chili powder
1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Onion powder
1/4 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. Oregano flakes
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1 1/2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black pepper

Mix with 3/4 cup water for 1- 1 1/2 lb. of meat or vegetables.

Recipe for large batch (to keep some ready for next time):

1/2 C Chili powder
2 tsp. Garlic powder
2 tsp. Onion powder
2 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp. Oregano flakes
4 tsp. Paprika
1/4 C Cumin
8 tsp. Salt
4 tsp. Black Pepper

Use 3 T of mix with 3/4 C water for 1- 1 1/2 lb. of meat or vegetables. Store in an airtight container.

* From unknown Internet recipe