WWII Shepherd’s Pie

Here is my version of a WWII recipe for shepherd’s pie… I was a bit skeptical because of the condensed soup, but I splurged for Campbell’s vegetable beef soup and it turned out swell! :o)

I also altered the recipe to serve more people…

1 1/2 pounds hamburger

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green and/or red peppers

2 cans condensed vegetable beef soup

2 cups mashed potatoes

Brown hamburger, onion and pepper until beef is thoroughly cooked and veggies are tender. Stir in soup.

Spoon into a greased casserole dish. Scoop potatoes into mounds on the edge of the casserole.

Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes.

Cheesy Ham & Scalloped Potatoes

We usually end up having this every holiday because we usually end up with leftover ham… It’s pretty easy and for me, one of those comfort foods I just love!

First I really thinly slice about 6-8 medium potatoes with my PC slicer. I just slice them right into my greased 9x13 baking pan.

Toss in some cut up ham.

Then mix in about 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese with the potatoes and ham.

Then you need to make your white sauce.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1/4 cup finely chopped onion in the butter for about 1 minute.

Add 1 heaping Tablespoon of flour and salt & pepper to taste. Whisk together and quickly stir in 2 cups of milk. Whisk until smooth.

Heat until thick and bubbly and then continue to cook for 1 minute.

Pour over potatoes.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour.

While potatoes are baking, make breadcrumbs for the top. (You can also use store bought breadcrumbs.)

I just take a cooled piece of toast and run them in my food processor until fine crumbs.

     Mix 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar in with the bread crumbs.

After potatoes have cooked for 1 hour, remove the foil and top with breadcrumbs and sprinkle with paprika.

Place back in oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Hobbit Food

Last week we went to the midnight premier of The Hobbit… and since we are such total Tolkien geeks (and foodies) we went to Denny’s for their new Hobbit inspired menu.

I know you’re probably thinking that if we were really foodies we wouldn’t stoop to eating at Denny’s, but they had HOBBIT food!!!

I don’t know if it was the we’re-on-our-way-to-see-The Hobbit adrenaline rush or if the cooks were really good, but the food was DELICIOUS!!! :o) No, seriously! And I have become uber picky about restaurant food lately…

If you love The Hobbit, you gotta go try it!!!

The Shire Sausage Skillet:

The Ring Burger:

Hobbit Hole Breakfast (this is what I had):

Lonely Mountain Treasure:

Frodo’s Pot Roast Skillet:

They won’t offer these items forever, so I’d better see what I can do about making them at home. We’ll see if I can do it as well as they did???

Chocolate Waffles

This is an easy recipe for a chocolate-y dessert that is best served with ice cream and your choice of toppings. Our favorites are bananas/Nutella/whipped cream, strawberries/ bananas/chocolate syrup, candy cane/whipped cream! But you can choose your favorites…

Make your cake mix according to the directions on the box.

Pour batter into a preheated waffle iron…

You have to do a bit of experimenting to see how much batter works in your waffle iron. It may be a sort of messy experiment…

For my benefit, it use 1/2 cup of batter. Although if you have a Black & Decker Belgian waffle maker, then it’s for your benefit, too. ;o)

    Serve waffles warm or at room temp…

Apple Cider Muffins

These muffins are moist and sweet with the perfect light texture, but are also filling and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea for a quick and easy breakfast. We like ours tossed in sugar but they’d also be good plain…

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 egg

2/3 cup brown sugar (I prefer dark)

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup apple cider

1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

2 Tablespoons oil

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix remaining ingredients (including sugar) in a small bowl until well combined. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t worry about lumps!

Fill greased muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Let cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove and toss in a bag of white sugar.

Bacon N Eggs Griddle Cakes

These are actually the brain-child of my youngest son… These were just one of the many things he attempted to make while we were away in Hawaii. After all, they say “necessity is the mother of invention”.

They were already a pretty good idea but then I added bacon and they are now PERFECT! :o)

Mix up a batch of your favorite pancake batter and toss in some bacon bits.

Pour your cakes onto a well-greased pre-heated griddle.

Flip them as soon as they are set on one side. They will be very light brown.

Use a biscuit cutter to cut the center from each pancake. Set the centers next to the pancakes on the griddle to continue cooking,

Quickly crack an egg into the center of each pancake. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Flip often until the eggs are cooked.

 Serve the way they are or with butter and syrup…

Sausage & Applesauce Bake

This is a recipe that I altered a bit from a WWII cookbook I bought while we were at Pearl Harbor. I decided to try a recipe from it every time I plan a new menu. This was my first one. I was a bit nervous about it, but it turned out just fine!

I liked the introduction in the cookbook, “Cooking on the Home Front” by Hugh and Judy Gowan.

We all had a goal; to win the war as soon as possible and put the world, our country and our lives back into order. There was only one way to do it and that was pulling together with limited resources. From our brave armed forces all over the world, to the defense plant worker and the home maker, we all had a job to do and we did just that.

1 pound sausage links

1 pound egg noodles, cooked

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2-3 Tablespoons butter (more than you need but you want some extra to toss with the noodles)

1 cup applesauce

1 Tablespoon stone ground mustard

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 425. Bake sausages on a shallow baking pan for 25-30 minutes or until browned and thoroughly cooked. Drain and slice. Turn oven down to 350.

Sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir into cooked egg noodles.

Mix applesauce, mustard, lemon juice and nutmeg in a small bowl.

Place half the noodles into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Pour applesauce mixture over noodles. Cover with remaining noodles. Top with sliced sausage links. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Pesto Pasta with Veggies & Sausage

This isn’t really as recipe as much as it is a suggestion…

It’s a quick and easy supper and the perfect way to use up those veggies from your garden or the farmer’s market!

Wash and cut up and fresh veggies you have and/or like. (green beans, mushrooms, squash, peppers, onions, garlic, asparagus, tomatoes, peas…)

Cook up some pasta (any shape will do). I threw my green beans in with the pasta to cook together.

Slice your favorite Italian sausage links. Brown them in a skillet until heated through. Throw in your veggies to sauté with the sausage links.

Drain your pasta, mix in sausage and veggies. Toss with your favorite pesto (store-bought or homemade).

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Garlic Parmesan Butter

This savory butter is good on steaks, sautéed veggies or bread. Make it as garlic-y as you like…

1 stick butter, softened

3-5 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese

cracked black pepper, to taste

Mix together well and store in fridge.

Canning Applesauce

I think I have perfected my method of making applesauce! It is so quick and easy to make LOADS of it with hardly any effort! All you need is a roaster oven and a food mill. If only canning it were as simple… :o)

First get apples!

This has been a very good year for apples for the first time in a couple of years!

Then wash, quarter and core them. That’s all… you don’t have to peel them.

Place them into a roaster oven pan that you have filled halfway with cold water and added lemon juice (like 1/4 cup maybe??? I didn’t measure).

When the pan is full, pour off the water into the sink. Be very careful! Well,  you’re probably gonna get wet… ;o)

Put the pan back in the roaster oven and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (give or take). Give them a stir occasionally to keep the edges from burning.

When the apples are soft, turn off the oven and remove lid.

   They don’t look very appetizing at this point.

Place your food mill over a large bowl and fill only about halfway with the apples. Run them through the food mill until you only have peels left in the mill. You don’t want to run more than two batches through before you clean it out.

Fill as many bowls as necessary.  My three boxes did 3 ovens full and lots of bowls of applesauce!

At this point you can freeze or can your applesauce.

If you are going to can it, you have to heat the applesauce to 212!

The easiest way to do it is to pour it back into your roaster oven, turn it to 400 and cook until 212 and ready to can. Be sure to stir it often to make sure it is all hot!

Add sugar to hot applesauce and stir well before canning. You can add as little or as much as you want.

Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/2'” headspace. Top with a prepared canning lid and put on the rings to only finger tight. Place in boiling water, return to a boil and process for 20 minutes for both pints and quarts. Turn off heat, remove lid and let rest for 5 minutes before removing jars to cool.

Check jars after 12 to 24 hours to see if they have sealed. If not, place in fridge or freeze. Place the rest on the shelf and enjoy them all year long!

Oven Baked Chili Dogs

These chili dogs were pretty darn tasty! I think they’d be even better with my homemade chili, but I was in a hurry…

I took some extra steps that added some time to this speedy easy recipe, but I think they were totally worth it!

Preheat oven to 375.

First grill your hot dogs.

Heat chili.

Butter the hot dog buns and then broil or grill them until toasted.

Place buns with hot dogs in them in a 9x13 (or larger) pan.

Top dogs with chili.

Then sprinkle with shredded cheese and chopped onions.

Bake until cheese is melted and chili is bubbly.

For some reason they just taste better after baking! ;o)

Buttery Blueberry Nectarine Cobbler

This is a variation on my blackberry cobbler and it’s possible I like it even more than the original! The blueberries and nectarines make for a very lovely combination in this buttery cobbler!

Eat it warm and store the leftovers in the fridge.

1/2 cup butter

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

4 cups (total) of  fresh sliced nectarines and blueberries (blueberries may be frozen)

Preheat oven to 350. Once oven temp is reached, melt butter in 9x13 pan.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, vanilla and cardamom; batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour half of batter on top of melted butter in pan. Spread fruit over lubatter and pour remaining batter over the fruit.

Bake in preheated oven for one hour or until golden brown.