I Can Name That Tuna In Four Ingredients

So while I simmering the chili, I thought I'd multi-task.
This is good on a sandwich or with some Triscuits.

TUNA FISH SANDWICH FILLING
1 can (6 oz) solid tuna fish
2 1/2 tbsp India relish
1 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp Miracle Whip
1/4 cup chopped celery or water chestnuts (optional)

Drain the tuna fish and in a small bowl flake with a fork. Stir in the India relish, lemon juice and Miracle Whip. Add the chopped celery if desired.


I used light mayonnaise and skipped the celery/water chestnuts.

You gotta beef?

The inspiration for making this meal came about based on what we had in the freezer. And right now we have beef.




This recipe for chili calls for ground beef. I chose to use a pound and half of boneless chuck. I just trimmed the fat off and cut it up into pieces about the size of a walnut.

The recipe also calls for a can of Campbell’s chili soup. I don’t think it’s available anymore.

I used fresh tomatoes because our tomato plants are overflowing this time of the year.
I also skipped the cumin and I added a package of brown gravy mix and a chopped green pepper.




CHILI

1 tbsp bacon dripping (Next time you make bacon, put some drippings aside. Or you can do what I did and just fry up two slices. It'll go great on salad this week.)
1 1/4 lb ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cans (14 oz ea) tomatoes, cut up
2 cans (10 oz ea) tomato soup
1 can (10 oz) chili soup
2 cans (15 oz ea) kidney beans in chili gravy
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tbsp sugar
1 envelope McCormick chili seasoning mix
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef in drippings and pour off excess fat. In 8 quart pot add all ingredients, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Do not add salt until tasted. Taste for additional chili powder. Makes 4 1/2 quarts. (Rev 9/1/97)

You’ll probably need to remove the lid after 1 ½ hours. The fresh tomatoes will add a lot of liquid. I continued to let it simmer until it thickened up a bit. I also added a healthy (rounded) ¼ tsp of chili powder.

We served this with cornbread.

You're making what??!!

Sometimes the name of a recipe makes you go, "Huh?"



At least that's what I said when I saw the recipe for Toad in the hole. I had no idea what it was. But, apparently it's quite popular. It's a traditional English dish. I'll trust Wikipedia this one time.

I knew I had some smoked bratwurst in the freezer so I searched Mom and Dad's cookbook for brawts and found this recipe.

What I like most about it is you can serve maple syrup over it and it's an easy breakfast. It would also be a good camping meal.

TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE




2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup all-purpose pre-sifted flour
4 smoked bratwurst sausages, split lengthwise
2 tbsp drippings

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until frothy. Gradually add the flour while continuing to whisk. When the batter is well mixed, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the split sausages in a cast iron skillet with drippings and brown. Arrange sausages in a decorative pattern and pour batter around the sausages.





Place skillet in oven and immediately turn oven down to 375 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes or until top is crisped and brown. Serves 4.



The glass of Merlot was in the picture for scale.

Vacationing your way around a kitchen can be fun.

Cooking for your friends is always fun. Cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen is an adventure.


We were vacationing at the beach this week. Here's where we stayed.


We had just come back from a day and the beach and we all were starving.
This is simple yet delicious recipe. The aroma of the onions, peppers and sausages had all the guests venturing out to the kitchen.

There is some prep time involved with slicing the peppers and onions. I also prefer to take the skins off of the sausage. I also use turkey sausage. Don't be afraid to combine both sweet and hot sausage.

HOT SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS ITALIANO



1 lb hot (or sweet) Italian sausage, cut into 16 pieces
2 tbsp water
2 large green peppers, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch strips and halved
1 large onion (4 inch Vidalia or 3 inch Spanish), cut into 3/8 inch slices, quartered and separated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 lb fresh mushroom slices
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vinegar
1 1/2 cup cooked rice

In a 10 inch covered skillet over medium heat, cook sausage pieces in 2 tbsp water for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until sausage is brown on all sides. Add green peppers, onion and garlic to sausage in skillet. Cover and steam cook stirring frequently, about 10 to 15 minutes or until peppers are tender-crisp. Spoon off any excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce, water, mushroom pieces and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until peppers are at desired tenderness. Serve over cooked rice.
Serves 6.

I recommend that you get some hard rolls to serve with this. That way your guests can choose to have this over rice or make their own sausage sandwichwith peppers and onions.

Here's my first recipe.

QUICHE

Frozen pie shell, 9 inch deep dish
1 tbsp soft butter
8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 cups grated Swiss or Cheddar or mixed (approx 6-8 oz)
1 tbsp flour, tossed into grated cheese
1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces, drained
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely chopped green onions
1/8 tsp white pepper
Dash nutmeg

Thaw deep dish frozen crust for about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line the un-pricked pastry shell with a double layer of aluminum foil (or a spare aluminum pie pan) filled with 2 cups of dried beans and bake on a cookie sheet for 7 minutes. Mix beaten eggs, half and half, cheese, mushrooms and seasonings and set aside. Remove pie shell from oven and wipe with soft butter and spread crumbled bacon over bottom of pie crust. Pour the cheese and egg mixture over the bacon spreading out the cheese evenly. Reduce thermostat to 350 F and continue baking on a cookie sheet for 30 to 35 minutes or until table knife tests clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. (Rev. 10/20/91)

Eggs take longer to cook. I had to add 15 minutes to the cooking time. I also had to put the cookie sheet on the second to lowest level in the oven.


We'll see how it tastes tomorrow morning.

Julie & Julia Inspiration for Ken & Jim and Mary

O.K. I haven't seen the movie. But the concept intrigued me. My Mom and Dad put together a cook book of all their favorite recipes. You know, clippings, recipe books, friends' and relatives' suggestions. I remember Mom typing it up on the old Olympia type writer.


There are 240 recipes; beef, fish, pork, fish, soups, sauces and deserts. So...I'm not setting a time frame. But I am going to do every recipe in that book. Maybe it's a way to spend the next year. Maybe it's a nice way to try out new recipes. I'll find out.