A Recipe From Our First Apartment (Asian Pork Steaks)

This is a recipe that Carol and I made when we were living in our first apartment. The gas stove in that apartment must have been 40 years old.
We served this when Mom and Dad were visiting one weekend. They liked it so much that they included it in the "Book".

ASIAN PORK STEAKS


6 Thin boneless pork chops
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 can (8 oz) pineapple Tidbits
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 medium carrots, sliced in coins to make 1 cup
1 small onion, cut in wedges
1 small green pepper, seeded and cut in strips
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

In large skillet (or electric), brown pork on both sides in hot oil. Remove from skillet and set aside. Drain excess fat from skillet. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine juice mixture with soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and ginger. Add liquid to skillet and deglaze. Return pork to skillet along with carrots, onion. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until meat and carrots are tender.
Add the green peppers and simmer for three more minutes.
Remove pork from skillet to a warmed casserole. Mix cornstarch with pineapples and add to the skillet. Cook and stir sauce until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return the meat to the skillet and cover with vegetables. Serve with rice.

Soup's On! (Tomato and Corn Soup)

"So, what do you want to have for supper?" That's what I asked Carol, this morning.
I had gotten Carol a tomato press for her birthday. She used the frozen tomatoes from our garden to make tomato sauce. I searched Mom and Dad's cook book for recipes that call for tomato sauce and found this recipe.





TOMATO AND CORN SOUP

1 large (1 to 1 1/4 lb) smoked ham hock
2 cans (14 oz ea) Swanson's chicken broth
1 can (10 oz) Campbell's chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp basil leaves
2 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1 large onion, diced
2 cups corn kernels
1 can (14 oz) regular stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 can (14 oz) Italian style stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper


In a 4 quart covered pot, simmer the ham hock in the chicken broth along with bay leaf, parsley and basil for 2 hours. Fry bacon and set aside. Sauté the onion in the bacon fat until transparent. Remove bay leaf and ham hock, chop ham hock meat and return to stock. Add onions, corn, tomatoes, bacon, sugar, salt and pepper to stock and simmer for about 20 minutes. Makes about 5 pints of soup.

Catching Up (Seafoam Pecan Cookies)

Business travel is really getting to be a drag. Fortunately, Carol has been helping me out with my endeavor. She's really the baker of the family. These cookies are so light but, so good!!!
SEAFOAM PECAN COOKIES

3 egg whites
1 1/3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pecan meats, ground
1 tsp vanilla

Grind the pecans in a nut grinder. Beat egg whites in a mixer until stiff. Crush any lumps in brown sugar and slowly add to egg whites while constantly beating. Fold in ground pecans and add vanilla.
Drop the batter from a teaspoon, well apart, onto a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake in a 325 F oven for about 15 minutes or until done. Makes about 50 cookies.

Beef Stew for a cold Saturday evening

I've been on the road a lot. But, finally I have a long weekend and a week at home.
This recipe for beef stew looked some what daunting. And it certainly made a lot of dirty dishes. Still, it was nice to come home to after church on Saturday.

BEEF STEW (Mary & Jim)

VEGETABLE PREPARATION
4 large potatoes cut in 1/6ths 1 onion
6 carrots, diagonally cut chunks 1 tsp stew seasoning mix
1 envelope G Washington Brown seasoning

In a 4 quart pot add the above ingredients with water to cover the vegetables; cook 15 minutes. Drain and save liquid.

MEAT PREPARATION
2 1/2 to 3 lb boneless chuck 1 cup red wine
1/3 cup flour 1 10 oz can beef broth
2 tsp salt 1 15 oz can beef broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
2 tbsp margarine 1 bay leaf

Cut beef into 1 inch cubes and pat dry with paper towels. Roll half of meat in mixture of flour and salt in a shallow dish. Heat half of oil and margarine in Dutch oven over medium high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add beef without crowding and turn until dark brown and crusty on all sides. Remove with slotted spoon and repeat with remaining meat. Deglaze with wine, scraping bottom to loosen all browned bits; boil about 3 minutes. Return meat, add broth and sufficient vegetable liquid to cover meat by about an inch. Add thyme and bay leaf; reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until tender.

STEW PREPARATION
2/3 jar pearl onions, drained 1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
1 can (10 oz) mushrooms, drained Salt to taste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2 tsp McCormick stew seasoning mix
2 envelopes McCormick brown gravy mix

Remove meat with slotted spoon to vegetable pot. Dissolve and mix 2 packages of gravy mix with 1/2 cup of vegetable liquid, add to Dutch oven and bring to boil. Add mixture of flour and vegetable liquid to make enough gravy to cover meat and vegetables when returned to Dutch oven. Add pepper, garlic, Stew Seasoning and salt to taste. Return meat and vegetables, add onions and mushrooms and simmer covered for 1/2 hour.

Chop Suey and Chocolate Bars

I couldn't find the Sun-Bird chop suey mix. I used some ginger, garlic, onion powder and corn starch.

My nephew, Steve was over for dinner.
We watched the Steelers and Eagles. They both lost.


CHOP SUEY

1/2 lb pork cubes (cut from pork blade or butt steak)
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced 1/4 inch bias
1 pkg Sun-Bird chop suey mix
1 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cans (14 oz ea) chop suey vegetables, drained
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, save liquid
Cooked rice
Chow mein noodles

In a 10 inch frying pan add pork cubes to peanut oil and brown for about 3 minutes. Add onions and sauté with pork for another 3 minutes. Combine water, soy sauce, mushroom liquid and stir in chop suey mix. Add to pork and simmer till it thickens (if too thick add liquid). Add drained vegetables and mushrooms and simmer for about 5minutes or until heated through. Serve over rice and top with crisp noodles. Serves 4.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BARS

1 pkg fudge cake mix
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

FROSTING
1 cup sugar
5 tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk
6 oz pkg (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13 x 9 inch pan. In large bowl combine first 5 ingredients and hand stir until well mixed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.
For the frosting: In small pan combine sugar, butter and milk. Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Pour over bars. Makes about 3 dozen bars.

Como estas su rellenos?

What a great way to get your omega 3s. O.K., scrambled eggs would probably be easier but, this sure tasted great.
CHILIES RELLENOS

4 eggs, separated
2 tsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 scant tsp white pepper
1 can (4 oz) whole green chilies, halved lengthwise, seeded, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 lb Monterey jack cheese, sliced
6 oz mild taco or picante sauce

Beat egg whites until stiff. Wisk egg yolks in a large bowl and add flour, salt and pepper. Fold in beaten egg whites and pour half into a greased 6 x 10 x 2 inch baking dish. Lay chilies flat over mixture then cover with cheese slices. Pour remaining egg mixture over cheese. Bake in a 325 F oven for 25 minutes. Cut in 4 pieces and serve with warmed taco or picante sauce. Serves 2.


Carol was big help on this one. The recipe said beat egg whites until stiff. She told me that meant the eggs and not me. She also showed me how to fold in the eggs whites.

Happy Veterans Day!

The prep time on this took a little longer. Removing the skin from the chicken took a little longer than I anticipated.
The next time I make this, I'll add more rosemary and before I bake it, I think I'll even sprinkle some on.

BROILED CHICKEN LEG QUARTERS

2 chicken leg quarters
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp rosemary, crushed
Salt and pepper


Combine and mix olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic and rosemary. Place chicken legs and marinade in a sealed plastic bag. Coat chicken and marinate for about 4 hours in refrigerator.
Heat oven to 350 F, salt and pepper chicken, and bake on a broiling pan for 35 minutes. (Reserve marinade and baste when turning and broiling chicken.) Turn chicken and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and adjust for broiling about 6 or 7 inches from heating element. Broil for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. (Rev. 10/4/93)

Variation: Use Sara Lee's marinade and follow above cooking instructions except, do not salt and pepper.

Carol made the salad and I made the scalloped potatoes.