Author: Robert Andrews

Sloppy Joes from Scratch

Ingredients

  • 1 TBL olive oil
  • 1 medium onion – chopped fine
  • 1 medium green bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
  • 2 clove garlic (minced)
  • 2 TBL brown sugar
  • 8 OZ can tomato paste
  • 1 TBL chili powder or 2 TBL cayenne pepper sauce
  • 1 TBL Worcestershire
  • 1 TBL oregano
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
    – then add
  • 1 LB lean 85/15 ground beef – Mix in ONE EGG
  • 8 OZ crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 C pineapple or apple juice
  • 1 small can chopped mild green chilies (drained)
  • ½ CU ketchup (alt: Ms. T’s Bloody Mary Mix)
  • (Roux) Optional: ½ CU flour mixed with ¼ CU water for thickening chili powder (use individually)

LET SIMMER AT LEAST AN HOUR

OPTIONAL: Diced Jalapeno or Serrano chilies

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in skillet
  2. Brown your onion
  3. Add garlic and other items (about 30 seconds between each)
  4. Add the beef
  5. Add all other ingredients (except roux) and simmer for 20 minutes
  6. Mix in roux to thicken
  7. Spoon on top of bun
  8. Top with Chili powder to suit desire for heat

 

Biscuits and Gravy

Drop Biscuits and Gravy
Drop Biscuits and Gravy

Bisquick has the best recipe for drop biscuits. Just buy yourself a box of Bisquick (or use our recipes by CLICKING HERE) and then focus on the gravy.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 onion (minced)
  • Sausage – 2 patties or 3 links
    ROUX – FLOUR BASE
  • 1 TBL butter (softened)
  • 1 TBL EVOO
  • 2 TBL flour
  • 1/4 C stock or broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
    GRAVY
  • 1 CU SKIM milk
  • Add more milk if needed for consistency

STEP BY STEP

  1. Brown 1/2 – 1 C sausage and onion in a skillet, then set aside
  2. Melt butter, EVOO and flour in your skillet
  3. When it starts to brown, add the broth, salt and pepper
  4. Add milk and whisk to incorporate (stirring constantly)
    For a richer gravy, beat 1 egg yolk into your milk
    Drizzle more milk, if needed, and cook until thickened (stirring constantly or it will scorch)

 

Corn Salad

Ingredients

2 tbl crisp bacon pieces
1 cu fresh corn
1 tbl parsley
1 tbl olive oil
1 tbl chopped green olives
2 tbl red onion
1 tbl fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Mix ingredients with, basil, thyme, peppers, whatever

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Gordon Biersch Tableside Cocktail Sauce

The waiter explained it as he prepared it right at our table.  I made a few modifications.  They used ketchup.  I used canned tomatoes and Heintz Chili Sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C Heintz Prepared Chili Sauce
  • 8 oz canned tomatoes (drained)
  • 2 TBL Morehouse prepared horseradish
  • 1 TBL lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Karo syrup
  • Dash of pepper

Step by Step

  1. Stir together ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
  2. Chill if desired and serve with precooked shrimp that is peeled and deveined.
  3. Best if it sits for at least an hour to meld

 

Shredding Chicken

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
1 onion
1 entire hand of garlic
1 carrot
1 stock of celery
3 branches of rosemary
1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. Cut off chicken legs and wings.
2. Half chicken right down the middle of the breast
3. Cut up onion, carrot and celery in big chunks
4. Half garlic
5. Put in bay leaf and rosemary
6. Cover with water, about 1 inch over top
7. Cover and bring to boil
8. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes
9. Remove chicken… leave everything else at a simmer
10. Let chicken cool 15 minutes then take meat off bones
11. Put bones back in stock and let simmer for another hour
12. Meanwhile… Discard chicken skin
13. Pull meat from larger pieces into nice little strips WITH the grain.
14. Put into mixing bowl
15. Add 2 TBL of the hot broth into the mixing bowl and mix to coat
16. Put IMMEDIATELY into container and into the refrigerator. – Do not let it cool on the counter, as bacteria will form

Sesame Spinach

Ingredients

1 LB fresh spinach
1 TBL Tamari soy sauce
1 TBL sesame oil
1 TBL garlic (minced)
1/4 CU rice wine
2 TBL brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients except spinach
2. Wilt spinach in HOT salted water for about 1 minute
3. Remove from heat and plunge into ice water
4. Toss with dressing
5. Plate with slices of oranges

Stovetop Parmesean Chicken

Ingredients for chicken Parmesan

1 large chicken filet
Hard block of Parmesean cheese
Oregano
Basil
1/2 cup of ricotta, cottage cheese, or homemade cheese

Traditionally, Parmesan recipes also use Ricota cheese. Check out GrandpaCooks.com for our recipe on making your own homemade cheese. This does not have the exact taste of Ricotta, but we like it better. The main thing is that it does not melt, and it is fun and real easy to make.

Instructions

1. Get large chicken filet and slice lengthwise making a kind of pita pocket
2. Put strips of parmesan cheese inside the chicken
3. Sprinkle with just a bit of oregano
Season your chicken to taste
Dip in flour
Dip in egg
Dip in bread crumbs
Do not crowd pan or your breading will become soggy
4. Fry in covered pan with very little oil.
5. Flip occasionally.
6. When cheese starts to leak out, internal temp of chicken is hot enough and chicken is cooked

Top with hot marinara and serve or see next line for oven directions

If you have an oven available, sprinkle the Ricotta and greens on top, and broil for about five minutes

Steamed Beef

Ingredients

Nice cut of any type of meat
Seasonings desired
Fresh vegetables to steam and serve as a side dish

Instructions

This is a really easy recipe, but it requires some forethought and planning.

1. Cut any meat into pieces approx the size of a large bar of soap
2. Season as desired: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chile powder, etc.
3. Fill pot with water to a level BELOW your steamer basket
4. Bring water to boil, then reduce heat maintaining simmer
5. Heat over hot water two hours – prepare vegetables for cooking during this time.
6. Remove meat and place vegetables in steamer basket
7. Bring skillet up to a hot temperature
8. Put meat onto hot skillet to sear
9. When vegetables are done put meat and vegetables on a plate and serve

 

Tips: Steak

All Steaks in General

  • Buy in October/November because price drops. They are “out of season” cause Grilling Season is over.
  • You can also buy roast beef and cut your own steaks.
  • Freeze them overnight, then seal them in a vacuum bag and they will be good for another 8 months.

Flank Steak

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Filet Mignon

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Porterhouse Steak

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Sirloin Steak

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Steaks in General

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Disection Charts

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flank-steak

I

Steak Fries

Instructions

Handwritten notes to this recipe are scanned in PDF document at http://www.xml3.com/family/Recipes/02.pdf on page 3
NOTE: This directory has changed. Grandpa… search local hard drive.

(see also recipe for Steak Tips in same PDF)

Steak Fries (Russet Potatoes)

Ingredients

Russet Potatoes
Peanut Oil

Instructions

1. Cut –half/thirds/half, cut in 12th.. Place in cold water with ice. Chill at least 30 min. Towel dry-as dry as possible.
2. Heat peanut oil to 325°. Drop handful into hot oil.
3. Stir-lime blend about 10 minutes (oil will drop to 260°).
4. Drain/cool/dry. 3-5 min in oil

RSUGG-bake @ 350° for 8 min.

 

Squash Soup

Ingredients

Onion
Squash
Brown sugar
Light sour cream

Instructions

1. Append to current recipe.
2. Saute onion to soften, but not caramelize.
3. Saute seeds and fiber, add 6 cu water and heat.
4. Simmer 60 min., steam squash using steam from above.
5. Squash on baking sheet, strain liquid, remove from skin, puree.
6. Add Brown sugar and light sour cream.

Grandpa’s Split Pea Soup

This is based on a Copy Cat recipe for Anderson’s Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 CU fresh split peas (rinsed – no stones)
  • 2 CU chicken stock (see recipe here)
  • 1 C water
  • 2 TBL butter
  • 1 TBL EVOO
  • 1/2 stalk celery  (rough chopped)
  • 1 smallish carrots (rough chopped)
  • 1/2 sweet onion (rough chopped)
  • 3  asparagus spears (not the tips, but not the bottoms either)
  • scant thyme, red pepper, salt and black pepper
  • 1 large pinch fresh cilantro or parsley
  • 1 ham bone (or three chicken bones)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 C cauliflower (optional)
    • Chopped ham (add near the end)

Instructions

  1. Rinse peas.  Remove stones and floaters.
  2. Let soak overnight.
  3. Dump soaking water and rinse peas one last time
  4. Put peas, ham bone, and bay leaf into a pot and add chicken stock
  5. Add water (if necessary) to cover the peas by about 1/4 inch
  6. Bring to a boil, then simmer 45 minutes.
    COOKING THE SOUP
  7. Rough chop all veggies (not peas, ham or bay leaf)
  8. Add veggies and butter and EVOO to a large pot
  9. Saute for 5 minutes
  10. Add peas (removing bones and bay leaf) to the pot
  11. Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 15 minutes
  12. Put all ingredients in blender, being sure to vent blender
    or use immersion blender – and blend until smooth
  13. Ieally, run through a food sieve on smallest grater
  14. Add ham and simmer for another 20 minutes
  15. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream

Special Steps

Cauliflower adds nothing to the taste, but helps make a creamier soup without using something like heavy cream.

 

Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1 roasted pepper
4 artichoke hearts
10 black olives (calamata)
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tbl mustard
1 tbl grape seed oil

Instructions

1. Roast pepper over flame till black, peel back black (discard). Julienne strips.
2. Quarter artichoke hearts and toss all w/ dressing.

Dressing

1 tbl each, balsamic vinegar, mustard, grapeseed oil.

 

Spinach Pasta from Scratch

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of flour
2 large eggs
1/2 of a 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, or use equivalent of fresh spinach a bit of olive oil or water if mixture is too dry or stiff
Some semolina to keep the pasta separated once it has been cut

Instructions

1. Cook the spinach according to package directions, drain well, and cool.
2. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can, then squeeze again.
3. Chop the spinach finely. If you make a ball of the spinach at this point, it will be about the size of a large egg.
4. Put the flour on your working surface or in a large mixing bowl.
5. Make a well in the center of the flour large enough to hold the eggs and the spinach.
6. Add the eggs, then the spinach (in bits).
7. With a fork, mix the egg and spinach mixture, then slowly gather the flour into the egg with a fork.
8. If the pasta is too sticky to work with, add flour, one T at a time, but make sure that you are mixing well after each addition.
9. If the pasta is too stiff or dry, you can add a T or water or olive oil.
10. Knead the dough by hand for 8 to 10 minutes.
11. Add additional flour as needed, 1 T at a time.
12. Roll out the pasta with a rolling pin in a round sheet as thin as you can, or divide it into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball and run it through decreasing settings on your pasta machine, folding it over to maintain the width, until you are at the next to last or last (thinnest) setting.
13. Let the sheets dry for about half an hour – it should be dry to the touch but still flexible. If it sticks to your pasta machine, it is not dry enough.
14. Cut to desired width. You really need three hands for this – one to hold the pasta sheet, one to feed the pasta into the machine, and one to turn the handle…
15. If a ‘pass’ doesn’t work, re-form the pasta into a ball and roll it out in a sheet again.
16. Once you have cut your pasta, a bit of semolina helps to keep the pasta separated until you are ready to cook it.
17. You can also store the pasta loosely packed in an open ziploc bag in the refrigerator for one or two days.

ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE AT  http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/basics/

NOTES:

Making pasta with spinach is much the same as basic pasta – you want to make sure that the spinach is as well drained, as dry as possible. Even so, you will probably have to add more flour to compensate for the additional moisture in the spinach.

Fresh pasta cooks in about 3/4 the time as dried pasta.

 

Spinach Dip

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 8 oz mayo
  • 1 pkg Knorr veg soup (or similar)
  • 1 can water chestnuts – chopped
  • 2 TBL chopped onion
  • 2 TBL chopped chives
  • 1 TBL chopped or grated carrot
  • 1 lemon – lemon zest and juice
  • 1 pkg (previously) frozen chopped spinach (wring out)

STEP BY STEP

  1. Mix all ingredients together
  2. OPTIONAL:  Serve in hollowed out loaf of bread or a “red cabbage bowl”

 

Spiedie Sauce – Meat Marinate (Speedie or Spedie)

1 CU Olive Oil
3/4 CU Wine Vinegar
1/4 CU balsamic vinigar
1/8 CU Sugar
1 TBL Lemon Juice
1 med Onion – chopped
4 Cloves Garlic – chopped
1/2 tsp Salt & Pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp Thyme
1 1/2 tsp Marjoram
1 1/2 tsp Basil
1 1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Parsley
1 tsp spearmint or peppermint
1 TBL Rosemary ‘needles’
2 bay leaves
1 TBL cayenne pepper OR
1 tsp Tabasco

CopyCat recipe, compiled and adapted by Robert.

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a large covered bowl.
2. Place 1 inch cubed meat to marinate (plastic bag) for 24-72 hours
3. Shaking or turning over at least twice each day.
4. Place on skewers to cook on grill for 12-15 minutes (do not overcook)
5. Use Italian bread to serve. Most people request ‘no ketchup, etc’

Originally from Italy, Spiedie Sauce is available through Lupo’s at www.spiedies.com
The product is reasonably priced, but shipping is in the dozens of dollars.

 

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