Heart of the Kitchen

Crockpot Pork Chalupa

This is a recipe that has been modified from one in the Fix it and Forget it Cookbook

3 lb. boneless pork roast
2 cloves garlic
1 TBLS. cumin
1 TBLS. oregano
2 TBLS. chili powder
1 TBLS. salt
4 oz. can chopped green chiles
16 oz can pinto beans

Put roast in crockpot with spices and enough water to cover the roast.  Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 6 hours.  (You can cook it longer if you need to.  The longer it cooks, the easier it is to shred.)  Shred, return to slow cooker.  Add beans and their liquid.  Cook on high for 1 hour. 

Serve over shredded lettuce, top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream if you'd like. 

Also good rolled up in tortillas!

Reuben Dip

1 jar sauerkraut, drained but not rinsed
8 oz.  shredded mozarella
8 oz. shredded swiss
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1 lb. corned beef (I shred it or cut it into thin strips)

Mix together, spread in a 9x 13 inch pan, sprinkle a little cheese on the top and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with toasted party rye or pumpernickel slices.

Gingerbread Cake

Oh. My. Goodness.  Mary Ellen's gingerbread cake is fabulous!  The kids and I made it this afternoon.  It is positively yummalicious.  We doubled the recipe and served it just as she suggested, warm with vanilla ice cream.  I had two very big pieces. :) 

Do make some for your family.  You won't regret it.

Butter Top White Oatmeal Bread

We have made this delicious bread so many times that I know the recipe by heart.  It is by far my favorite white bread recipe.

About 6 cups white flour (I use King Arthur Unbleached White)
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 TBS. soft butter
1/2 cup real maple syrup, molasses or honey (I use the maple syrup)
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups boiling water
2 pachages active dry yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water

(optional 1 cup seedless raisins)

Early in the morning, put rolled oats in a large bread bowl and pour the boiling water over it.  Make breakfast and in about half an hour or whenever you are done with breakfast, it will still be warm.  Soak the yeast in the 1/3 cup of lukewarm water in a separate bowl.  Let it stand five minutes or so.  Meanwhile, add to the soaked oats the salt, maple syrup and butter.  Stir it up. 

By now the yeast is ready.  Add it to the above mixture.  Next add and stir in the first two cups of flour, then two more cups.  The second two may be hard to stir but they will merge in time.  The last two cups will need to be kneaded in.  Roll up your sleeves, sprinkle a little flour on the countertop and knead it in.  When all the flour has been added, shape the dough into a mound in a clean bowl.  Cover with a dish towel and leave for several hours.  Get some lessons done, read to the kiddies or take a nap.  It doesn't matter if you leave it an hour too long--this is not a science but an art.  You will know it is ready when it is about twice as high and smells delicious.  I'd say about two hours or so. 

Next, chop it down with a knife (I know it is sad to do this since it worked so hard to rise).  Divide the dough and place into two well greased bread pans.  Cover the entire bottom of the pans.  Cover again with the towel.  This time it will rise more quickly.  When the loaves are round and beautiful above the bread pans, pop them into the oven at 325 degrees on a bottom rack.  Bake them for 50-60 minutes until golden. 

When the timer goes off, take them out and tip them out of their pans onto a cooling rack.  Butter the crusts.  Let cool to room temperature, slice and eat. :)  Delicious with butter, apple butter or jam.  Enjoy!

Friday Quick Biscuits

With the Lenten season fast approaching, I will try to post more of our family's meatless recipes. 

Our family makes biscuits every Friday for lunch. I have made them for years from a recipe that my friend Barb shared with me.  It was originally from Whole Foods for the Whole Family, a La Leche League Cookbook. 

I normally serve these biscuits with tuna salad, cheese slices, honey, jam or butter.  Our family has grown such that I usually double or triple the batch.

2c. flour (any combination of whole wheat, unbleached, oat flour, wheat germ or rolled oats)

1/2 t. salt

2 t. baking powder

1/4-1/2 c. butter ( I use 1/2 c.)

2/3 c. milk

Stir together dry ingredients.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Add milk until dough forms a ball.  Knead gently 5 to 10 times.  Do not overwork or biscuits will be tough.  Roll or pat out dough on a floured surface.  For flaky biscuits, fold dough into thirds toward the center and roll out again, gently.  Repeat two or three times.  Cut into squares or rounds with a floured glass/biscuit cutter or use a cookie cutter for feast days (heart, shamrock, etc.) Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

Optional ingredients:

1/2 c. sesame seeds

1/2-1 c.  grated cheese

2 T. sugar or molasses

Broccolini

1 head broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

2 10 oz. cans chopped clams

1/2-1 cup butter

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. rigatoni or ziti

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2-1 cup grated Romano cheese

Cook and drain broccoli firm.  Drain clams; melt butter in large skillet; add garlic, broccoli and clams.  Simmer 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile cook and drain pasta; return to hot kettle and mix in eggs thoroughly.  Pour in serving dish;add broccoli and clam mixture and mix together.  Sprinkle grated cheese over top and serve HOT.

Tasty Tips from Across the Atlantic

The Bookworm has a new cooking blog sure to delight your palate!  Do stop by and have a look at all she has put together.  I am anxious to try that Yorkshire pudding!

Stir Up Sunday White Fruitcake Recipe

This is a simple fruitcake to make and has a mild flavor.  It is a great fruitcake for people who do not like fruitcake! :)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 c. butter, softened

1 T. vanilla extract

1 T. lemon extract

5 eggs

7 1/2 cups (total) dried fruits and nuts (I use 3 cups pecan pieces, 2 cups apricots, 2 cups dried glace cherries, 1/2 cup white raisins but you can use any combination including dark raisins, walnuts, dried glace pineapple, dried glace cranberries, etc.)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Grease well and lightly flour either 2 eight inch cake pans or one jelly roll pan. 

Cream butter and sugar briefly.  Add flour, salt, baking powder and extracts.  Add eggs one at a time.  Then add all of dried glace fruits and nuts.  Mix all together and place in pan(s).  Bake until done 30-60 minutes on two eight inch pans, 20 minutes on the jellyroll pan.  Done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cut into rectangular/square pieces the size of an average brownie.

Serves 16.  I make a double batch and store in tins until Christmas.

Ok, who am I kidding.  About half of it makes it until Christmas and the rest is eaten throughout Advent. :)

Advent Sugar Cookies for Week 2

I usually make a couple batches of this dough so that each person in the family can have one cookie per night during the second week of Advent devotions.  This dough does not need chilled before cutting out.

3c. sifted flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp.  baking soda

1 c. butter or butter flavored shortening

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Cut in shortening as for pie crust.  Beat eggs, add sugar and beat well.  Blend egg mixture into flour mixture.  Roll out to 1/8 " thickness on floured board or counter.  Cut and lift with spatula to ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 6-8 minutes.  When done, remove very carefully and cool on a wire rack.  Be especially careful with the key and scepter cookies as they break very easily.  Store in a tin for use during the week.

Here are the patterns for the cookies to be cut into freehand with a knife (make at least one per family member) or use cutters if you have these shapes. 

Sunday (Day 8): Crown

Monday (Day 9): Rose

Tuesday (Day 10): Scepter

Wednesday (Day 11):Rising Sun

Thursday (Day 12): Key

Friday (Day 13):  Star

Saturday (Day 14): Lamb

Grandma Fitch’s Kolachi

Also called Kolachki, Kolacky, Kolachy, Kolace, Kolache, Kolachke

4-5 cups flour

1 lb. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

4 egg yolks

2 TBS lemon juice

1 yeast cake

1 cup warm milk

Fruit Fillings (Grandma usually used Solo Brand): Prune, Apricot, Strawberry, Pineapple, but you will still have to make your own poppy seed and walnut (see below)

Make your own fillings as follows:

Apricot-1 1/2 cups dried apricots, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Cover with water and simmer for about 1/2 hr. Mash and cool for filling.

Nuts- 1/2 lb. finely chopped walnuts plus honey to bind

Pineapple-1 can crushed pineapple, 1 1/2 TBLS. cornstarch, Combine, cook until thick and cool.

Poppy Seed-1 lb. Poppy Seed, 2 cups scalded milk, 1 1/4 c. sugar.  Mix together, allow milk to be absorbed, ready when cool.

Prune (Lekvar)-1 1/2 cups prunes, pitted, 2/3 cup water, 1 tsp. lemon zest, 3 TBLS lemon juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar. Simmer all ingredients except sugar until soft (about half an hour).  Mash, stir in brown sugar.  Cool.

Dissolve yeast cake in warm milk.

Beat egg yolks, add to milk and yeast once bubbly.  Add lemon juice.  Combine flour and salt.  Blend liquid milk/yeast/lemon juice mixture with flour mixture.  Work until dough is smooth.  Put in refrigerator for two hours.  Sprinkle sugar on board.  Roll out dough like pie crust thickness.  Cut into approximately 2-2 1/2 inch squares with wet knife or pizza cutter.  Add small spoonful of filling and fold opposite corners.  It is important not to add too much filling or it will overflow and burn.   Bake in 350 degree oven until ever so lightly golden brown (I don't remember the amount of cooking time, probably about 15 minutes-just watch the color)  Cool on sheet for a minute or two, then on rack.

Makes about twelve dozen.  Enjoy!

I will post photos as soon as I make these again this season.