HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

                              HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

                                                           Taps: Meaning and History

Taps first sounded in July of 1862 and many have put words to the music. The first were very simply "Go To Sleep, Go to Sleep." There are no official words but these are some of the popular words put to the beautiful and solemn melody.

Day is done, gone the sun,

From the hills, from the lake,

From the sky.

All is well, safely rest,

God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,

May the soldier or sailor,

God keep.

On the land or the deep,

Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,

When the day, And the night

Need thee so?

All is well. Speedeth all

To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar

Goeth day, And the stars

Shineth bright,

Fare thee well; Day has gone,

Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,

'Neath the sun, Neath the stars,

'Neath the sky,

As we go, This we know,

God is nigh.

Happy Memorial Day, honoring all those who have served and are serving, and especially in memory of my grandfathers, Walter H Loncosky, WWI; Dana Thorp, WWII, My father-Walter B Loncosky, Korean Conflict; my niece who is on the USS San Antonio in the Navy in Norfolk, and to lost friends like Lt. Robert Scheetz, who died in Iraq.

While spending time with your family today, I do have a couple of picnic recipes for you. But today is NOT national BBQ Day as so many seem to have forgotten and I wanted you all to remember that. BTW--I'm mounted on my old guy I lost last fall at 30 yrs of age, Morgan Horse Sebastian Cabbot.

BACON RANCH PASTA SALAD

1 lb pasta small shells, rotini or bowties, colorful is better

1 lb bacon (pepper crusted really rocks it) cooked until crispy

1 can sliced black olives

16 OZ fresh diced tomatoes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

garlic to taste

pepper to taste

salad topping with sesame seeds etc

1 lg bottle of your favorite ranch dressing

Cook pasta as directed, drain, crumble drained bacon into pasta. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Chill. Best if you can let it sit overnight. This is always a hit and so easy.

STRAWBERRY PIE

1 baked graham cracker shell

1 qt sliced strawberries

1 sm box of strawberry jello

2 c water

1 c sugar

3 tbs corn starch

splash lemon juice

1 tub cool whip

In a 2qt pan or larger bring water, corn starch and sugar to low boil, stirring until it thickens. Add jello packet and mix in and cook a little longer until thick, add lemon juice and stir in. Pour over sliced strawberries in the baked shell. Chill until set and then top with cool whip and berries as desired. To make this almost guilt free, replace sugar with splenda, use sugarless jello, and fat free cool whip.

Deviled Eggs---

Folks always love my eggs and I make a few different versions. A favorite though uses spicy mustard, mayo, wasabi horse radish mayo, paprika, and bacon bits. They are gone every time!

Have a safe Holiday weekend and happy cooking!

ODDS & ENDS Like Mayo, Rhubarb Ketchup and Piggy Biscuits etc.

 I come across neat ideas from homesteading sites and other places and would like to share some here. If you look to cook and have ever watched shows that throw chefs into challenges where they must cook on the darnedest stuff, well, you might see where I am going with this. I like to camp and just adored this idea. It goes along with dutch oven cooking which I am working on getting handle on myself as well. 

Cooking on a log. :) Please share. www.homesteadingsurvivalism.com

Cut the log evenly on both sides so it stands up freely. Then cut it into vertical segments


 most of the way down the length of the log. Stuff in some newspaper into the cracks as 


deep as you can get it, leaving a wick at the bottom, and light it up.

That's all there is to it—the log burns from the inside out, and you have a simple, 


handmade stove...


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Then we have the cute stuff. I found this while looking at biscuit recipes, I made dang


 awesome biscuits but these were really cute. While I don't normally like the container


 biscuit dough stuff, this was cute and it could be done with home made pan biscuits as well.

Piggy Biscuits!!

Ingredients list:

1 container of Pillsbury Italian bread dough.

1/2 cup of chopped ham

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1 Teaspoon peppercorns



1 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1 egg

Prep and baking instructions:

Preheat oven for 400

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray

Open Italian bread dough and roll out on counter-top.

Using a "round" cookie cutter or lid from a peanut butter jar, cut out as many circles as you


 can get out of the dough.

Place one dough cut-out on the cookie sheet. Top with a teaspoon sized portion of ham and


 cheddar cheese. Cover with a second round dough cut-out and crimp the edges together


 tightly.

Cut out small triangles from the left over dough and position on dough circles to form th


e pig ears.

Using a bottle cap, cut out small dough circles and place in center of pig's head to form the


 nose.

Using a knife, press slits in the nose portion to create nostrils. Chop rosemary sprigs into 


short lengths and press into nostril slits to give them more definition.

Use two peppercorns and press into place to create the eyes.

Crack egg into a bowl and mix together briskly to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush,


 coat each piggy face with egg wash.

Repeat so that all the dough is used up.

Place cookie sheet in oven for about 10 minutes or until they start to brown.

Remove cookie sheet and using a spatula transfer each pig biscuit to a plate. Serve 


immediately.


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We also got chatting on a cooking list about  home made mayonnaise.


Here's a good recipe. And this keeps longer because it is a cooked mayo recipe and no fear


 of salmonella.


Cooked Homemade Mayonnaise 

( about 1 1/4 cups )

2 egg yolks 
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice 
2 tablespoons water 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 teaspoon dry mustard 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
Dash pepper 
1 cup cooking oil

In small saucepan, stir together egg yolks, vinegar, water, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper until thoroughly blended. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles in 1 or 2 places. Remove from heat. Let stand 4 minutes. 
Pour into blender container. Cover and blend at high speed. While blending, very slowly add oil. Blend until thick and smooth. Occasionally, turn off blender and scrape down sides of container with rubber spatula, if necessary. Cover and chill if not using immediately. 
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Rhubarb is coming on as well, and I love cooking it down as a sauce over toast or ice cream and making rhubarb pies. But here is another use I found that is awesome. Who'd a thunk it?


Rhubarb Ketchup!

Ingredients

• 4 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pickling spice

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook for 1 hour or until thickened. Cool. Refrigerate in covered containers. Yield: 6-7 cups.
• *************************************************************

With the times what they are, we were also discussing Depression Era foods and stretching your grocery dollar etc. Here's a site that had good recipe's from that time. And BTW-- beef tongue is not gross, it is delicious. Do it in a pressure cooker and it is super tasty. Just peel the skin off first.


http://coveredbaptists.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=recipes&action=print&thread=1426

BEER BREAD

When I posted I had made chili and beer bread, I was asked for the beer bread recipe. Beer bread is very easy. It does call for self rising flour and if you don't have that, you can easily make it and use in the recipe.

Plain Beer Bread is

3 C self rising flour

1/2 C sugar

12  oz beer

3 tbs butter

The kind of beer you use can make a huge difference in taste, I like you lagers.

Mix the flour and sugar and pour into the beer, mix only well enough to get it in a batter, do not overwork it. Put it in a greased loaf pan and melt the 3 tbs butter and pour over the top. Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes.

One of my favorite variations is Salsa Beer Bread--

3 C self rising flour

1/2 C sugar

2 tsp cajun or salsa seasoning

1 C shreeded cheddar cheese

14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 C water

3 tbs butter

Combine first 6 ingredients.

Spread in a 9x13 greased baking pan

drizzle with the leted butter and bake @ 375 for 40-45 min.

SELF RISING FLOUR

3/4 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt.

mix and sift together and use in place of self rising flour. You may need to increase it if you need more of course.

PORN

PORN = Peas + Corn!  (What were you all thinking...this is a clean blog you know!) A little food humor!

Today was a cooking day, made chicken cordon bleu with scalloped potatoes and spring asparagus, and then for tomorrow chili with beer bread. Here's a pic of my scalloped taters.

My recipe for scalloped potatoes is pretty basic.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

2-3 lb red potatoes sliced thin
2 onions chopped
several TBS flour
3-4 C scalded milk
2 C cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
garlic
parsley
italian bread crumbs or panko bread crumbs, roughly 1 C

I spray a 9x11 casserole dish with PAM, then layer potatoes and onion to cover the bottom. Sprinkle layer with bit of flour, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley and thin layer of cheese. Add next layer of sliced potatoes and onions, sprinkle with more flour, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley. Then scald the milk and pour over the potatoes. Then sprinkle the last of the cheese, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hr or until potatoes are done.

HAPPY PASSOVER!

                                    Pesach same'ach" (פסח שמח)!
                               (HAPPY PASSOVER!)

I have the privilege of getting to double dip on the holidays as I am 3/4 Jewish by birth from Swiss, Prussian and German Jews and also believe Christ, which would make me in modern circles considered a completed Jew as they say. The Upshot is that I celebrate both Jewish and Christian Holidays with equal vigor!

Some of the foods I post here are a fusion of recipes that represent that, like my latkes. And to be honest, it is amazing how similar many of the traditional Jewish, Slavic, Polish and German foods all can be with the slightest of variations. I definitely love all the food! 

Passover is a very special time as it represents the freeing of the very oppressed Jewish people at the time with great miracles. It was also a somber time because of how this was accomplished. The Passover Seder, pictured above, is very ceremonial and all the foods listed represent a particular piece from that first Passover. Passover was named so the Angel of death would pass over the Jewish home's door marked with blood at the top so their firstborn children would be spared and not killed. The Egyptians did not know about this so therefore, had no blood marking their doors and the Angel of Death entered and killed their firstborn children. This made them so afraid and heartbroken, they finally freed their Jewish slaves. So it is also a lesson of obedience to God and a fulfillment of promise. This is a nice look at how a Seder is handled in a completed home. 

http://www.chosenpeople.com/main/holidays-and-festivals/190-the-meaning-of-passover and

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/28/1842377/celebrating-passover-as-christians.html

Now to one of the most important aspects--FOOD! The Passover menu is done with great care as it contains no leaven, which is a symbol of sin, and you may not mix dairy with your meat in any way. 

My Menu usually goes like this:

ROAST LAMB--

Roast leg of lamb that I slow roast in the crockpot, seared first with a rub of montreal seasoning and basted with maple syrup, later served with mint jel

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.
2. Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Spring Asparagus

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus spears, and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, or to desired firmness. Drain off excess oil, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

 Creamy Vegetarian Borscht 

Ingredients

• 3 cups Dannon® All Natural Plain Yogurt
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons chopped dill
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives or scallion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 large red pepper, diced
• 10 ounces Yukon gold potato, diced
• 3 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 1/2 pounds beets, peeled and finely chopped in food processor
• 2 small carrots, peeled and finely chopped in food processor
• 1 1/4 cups strained tomatoes
• 6 cups water
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Dill for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Mix together Dannon® All Natural Plain Yogurt, garlic, dill and chives and set aside until ready to serve soup. You can make this ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
2. In a large 4 quart soup pot, heat butter and olive oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and saute for 7 to 10 minutes until vegetables have softened. Add red pepper and continue to saute for another 3 minutes. Add potato, cabbage, beets, carrots, tomato sauce, water, vinegar, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 40 minutes or until vegetables have softened and liquid has reduced.
3. Serve hot or at room temperature with 4 tablespoons yogurt mixture stirred into each 1 cup serving of soup. Garnish with dill (optional).

Matzo Apple Kugel

Ingredients

• 4 matzo crackers, crushed
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 3 Granny Smith apples - cored, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
•  
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the crumbled matzos in a medium bowl, and add enough water to cover. Let stand for 2 minutes, then drain off excess water. Do not squeeze.
2. To the bowl of matzo, add eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, lemon juice and applesauce. Stir to combine. Mix in the apples and dried cranberries. Spread the mixture evenly into a 2 quart casserole dish. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.
3. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden, and the apples are soft.

Raisen Farful Kugel:

Ingredients

• 2 cups farfel
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
2. Soak farfel in water 10 minutes. Drain.
3. Add beaten eggs into the bowl of farfel, and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in raisins, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Transfer mixture to prepared dish.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes.

Hot Artichoke and Spincah Dip--I LOVE this:

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Passover Chocolate Chip Cocoa Meringues

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift 1/4 cup sugar, cocoa, and salt into a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks begin to form. Mix in remaining 1/4 cup of sugar gradually, and beat until medium-firm peaks form. Sprinkle in cocoa mixture gradually, and continue beating until egg whites are stiff. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop mixture onto baking sheets by rounded teaspoonfuls, spacing about 1 inch apart.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes for crispy cookies. Cool cookies on baking sheets.

Chocolate Chip Cheese ball-- This is so good and easy:

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in confectioners' sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Shape chilled cream cheese mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Roll the cheese ball in finely chopped pecans before serving

Matzo Ball Soup

 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup matzo meal
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash white pepper
• 1 tablespoon water
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium carrot, cut into 2 inch julienne strips

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix eggs with the melted butter or margarine. Stir in matzo meal, parsley, salt, pepper, and water to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Bring chicken broth and carrots to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to a simmer. Shape the matzo dough into 12 balls. (For easier shaping, dip hands in cold water from time to time). Drop the matzo balls into the simmering broth. Cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

Latkes:

 

I am an approximate:

 

I fill up my 11 cup food processor with grated potaoes and about 2 onions also grated in there. I put that in a big bowel, add a couple of beaten eggs, salt, pepper, chive and garlic, and then a few tbs. of flour. You want the mixture just thick enough to not be runny. I then have a heated fry pan with a little olive oil, and i put dollops in the fry pan, flatten them out and fry until it is golden brown on medium heat, flip, finsih frying and then put on plates with paper towels on them. I serve them with a side of sour cream and chives.

 

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Jewish Apple Cake:

 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups matzo meal
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 large apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C and grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish.
2. Combine eggs, oil and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer. Stir in matzo meal, potato starch and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, toss apples with brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Layer half of the dough into the prepared 9x13 inch dish. Pour the apples into the dish then pat remaining dough over the apples. Sprinkle with some brown sugar, if desired.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes.

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

                                                                  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love this holiday, everyone is Irish on St. Patty's Day! There are many Irish folks in our area and we boast of some of the largest St. Patty's Day Parades in the east. In a little coal town called Girardville, is a great parade and fun! And it's a couple hours long, so be ready! http://pahomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=129844

But, if you can't go and still want to join in the fun, a staple here is corned beef and cabbage and is a great easy dish to make if you have company as I do it in the slow cooker.

                                                                Corned Beef and Cabbage
INGREDIENTS

4 Lg carrots peeled and quartered
10 baby red potatoes with skins on
1 onion peeled and 1 inch size
1 4-5lb corned beef brisket with seasoning packet (if no seasoning packet, use 1-2 tb of McCormick's  pickling spice)
1/2 can of Yuengling Lager Beer
1/2 medium size head of cabbage shredded
4-5 C water

DIRECTIONS

Place all the vegetables except cabbage and water in the bottom of the slow cooker.
 Place brisket on top.
Pour beer over top.
Sprinkle spices/pickling mix over top.
Cover and cook on HI 8 hrs. At hour 7, put shredded cabbage in and cook final hour.

Lenten Season--- Tuna Artichoke Casserole

So, Lenten season also usually means no eating meat on Ash Wednesday or Fridays. So seafood and pizzas are very popular here those days!

I am sick to death of the typical tuna noodle casserole, so went looking for ideas on noodleless ones. I found some ideas but none really hit the mark so this is my own concoction. I am pleased to say it turned out pretty darn well!

Tuna artichoke casserole

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup green onions

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic herb seasoning, or similar seasoning

1/8 teaspoon black ground pepper

1 jar or can (12 to 15 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained, sliced or chopped

2 C peas

1 jar (4 to 6 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1 large can (12 to 14 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked (or use 2 standard cans)

2 cups panko bread crumbs

parsley

Heat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 2-quart baking dish.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add green onions and saute for 1 


minute. Stir in flour until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk; cook, stirring, until


 thickened. Add seasonings, artichoke hearts, peas, mushrooms, and 1/2 cup Parmesan 


cheese and cheddar cheese. Cook stirring, until cheese is melted. Add flaked tuna; taste and 


add salt, as needed. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and top with about 1/4 cup of 


Parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs and then parsley sprinkled over top. Bake for 20


 to 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.