Christmas Dinner menu

   I didn't take pictures of dinner but this is the menu.

Country Cured Ham with apricot glaze

Pearl onions and peas in cream sauce

Green bean casserole
stuffing with dried cherries and or cranberries

whipped yams with Irish cream liqueur

Georgia Biscuits 

pears in raspberry sauce over ice cream

  Ham Glaze

    1 jar Dijon mustard with whole seeds 

    2 cups apricot jam 

    1/2 cup dry sherry 

    Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Put the ham on the foil, fat side

    up.Wrap well with another piece of foil.  Heat through, brush on glaze and allow to cook on.

    

Pearl onions and Peas

1 1/2 C.. Pearl onions

1 3/4 C. peas

1 C. milk

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1 Tbs. butte

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Prepare vegetables: shell and wash peas, pearl onions, combine  in large sauce pan and cover with water, boil 10 minutes. Drain, add milk, cornstarch, butter, salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Add peas and onions, toss to coat. Serve.

Baileys Yams 

4 lbs Yams

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup honey

1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

Tbs ground nutmeg

Tbs ground cinnamon

1/8 c brown sugar

cup of mini marshmallows

Peel and dice yams and place in boiling water until yams are soft. Strian yams (remove excess water) and place in mixing bowl. Whip yams, adding Bailey's, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and honey. When yams mixture is light and fluffy, add contents into shallow 13 x 9 pan. Spread marshmallow aroundand broil in the oven for a few minutes until marshmallows start to turn brown.

stuffing,,, use stuffing mix

saute onion, celery, mushrooms in butter until soft.  Add liquid (chicken stock) in amount called for with stuffing mix, add dried cherries and craisins.  Cook to reconstitued, add stuffing mix. Add more liquid if needed. set aside to absorb liquid, fluff and serve.

Georgia Touch of Grace biscuits. 10 biscuits light and fluffy

Cream is the KEY to flaky biscuits. This recipe makes a feather light biscuit.

Non-stick cooking spray

2 C. Southern self-rising flour (Or 1 1/2 C national self rising flour plus 1/2 C Wondra

-or 1/2 C. cake flour- plus 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4C. sugar

4 Tbs. shortening

2/3 C. heavy cream or whipping cream

approximately 1 C. buttermilk, or until dough resembles cottage cheese

1 C. bleached all purpose flour for shaping

2 Tbs. melted butter

1. pre heat oven to 425ºF. and spray 8 or 9-inch round cake pan with non stick spray

2. Combine the self rising flour, salt and sugar in a small mixing bowl. With fingers or pastry cutter, work shortening into flour until there are no lumps larger than a large pea.

3. Stir in the cream and buttermilk and let stand 2 or 3 minutes. This dough is so wet that you can not shape it in the usual manner. It will look like cottage cheese. (YOU do NOT want it to be stiff enough to shape)

4. Pour the cup of all purpose flour onto a plate or pie tin. flour your hands OR spray a 2-inch ice cream scoop with non stick spray and gather a biscuit sized lump of dough and place it the flour. Roll to coat. shake off excess flour. The dough is so soft it will not hold it's shape so place them tightly side by side so they will rise up, not out as they bake. Continue until all dough is used up. 

5. Bake just above the center of the oven until lightly browned. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes, then brush with melted butter. Cool 1 or 2 minutes in the pan, then dump them out, cut them apart, split and butter while hot. Eat!

Note: you do not want to make a biscuit with self rising flour that you can shape because the outside of the biscuit will likely be bitter from the leavening used.

Pears and ice cream

4 ripe pears, cut bite size peices

Large ziploc bag

1C. honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

4 tbsp. seedless raspberry preserves, heated

Vanilla ice cream

MIx honey, vanilla extract and cinnamon with peaches in plastic bag

and  refrigerate overnight. Serve over vanilla ice cream.

Waldorf Macaroon

Dinner tonight was burger and fries to go from Freddies Steak burger joint.  I made my mom's cookie bar instead.  The recipe must be at least 6o years old and I highly doubt it is actually from the Waldorf, but it is one of my favorite treats at Christmas time.

WALDORF MACAROON

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Pour 

1 1/2 C. HOT WATER over 

1 C. QUICK OATS, set aside.

Cream together: 

1/2 C. SHORTENING, 

1 C. SUGAR, 

1 C. BROWN SUGAR-add 

2 EGGS, 

1 T. CINNAMON, 

1 T. NUTMEG, 

1/2 T. SALT,

 1 T.. VANILLA. 

Add OAT MIX, 

1 1/3 C. FLOUR and 

1 t. BAKING SODA. 

Mix well and bake in a shallow 18x 12  pan lined with non stick foil for 30-35 minutes. 

Have topping ready:

6 T. BUTTER, melted

2/3 C. BROWN SUGAR

1 C. COCONUT

1 C. NUTS

1/2 C. CREAM

1 t. VANILLA

Mix well and put on cake. Put it under the broiler until lightly browned, approximately 2 minutes. Watch closely!  


UPDATE: DEC. 26, 2010

I tried a variation that turned out pretty good, in case someone does not like coconut.  I made the same topping using chocolate instead of coconut.  We all liked it that way too.  It would not be a macaroon anymore though.

Penne Pasta with Roasted Vegetabales

Dinner tonight was either a vegetarian main dish or a side dish.  We had outs with a store bought sub sandwich.




Giada De Laurentis Penne Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cremini mushrooms, halved
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix or herbs de Provence
1 pound penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander.

In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.

Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

Tonight's dinner is Ham shanks, collard greens, navy beans and corn muffins.


The corn bread recipe is from the back of Quaker corn meal box.

This is how the beans and pork shanks were cooked

Wash and sort Navy beans, put in a pot big enough to cover with 3 times as much water, bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, cover; remove from heat and let sit for an hour.  Drain add one small onion chopped, 1/2 Cup brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste a couple pinches cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon dried or 3 Tbs. fresh parsley and 5 or 6 meaty ham shanks. cover with water and simmer about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.

For this meal I used canned collard greens but I usually cook them from fresh with this recipe.  I usually cook these greens with black eyed peas but the family really enjoyed the navy beans.

    Collard Greens

5 bundles collard greens

4 cups salted water

3 large smoked ham shanks

1 cup sugar

Salt

 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Thoroughly wash collard greens. Be sure to pull leaves apart and remove any sand. Chop collard greens.

In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of salted water to a simmer. Place smoked ham hocks in salted water and cover for about 90 minutes. Cook ham hocks until slightly tender. In the same saucepan, add remaining ingredients and collard greens.

Cover and cook greens for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

*Cook's Note: Make sure at least half of ham hocks are covered with water. If not, add additional water.

Pork loin chops with Asian sauce, Latin style salad, stuffing, rice and

For dinner tonight I proposed cutting a pork loin roast into chops with pockets cut in for stuffing but Sons SO wanted stuffing separate. I used the last of some Shake N Bake on the chops, brushed with mustard first then baked according to package instructions.  I also use up the last of some stuffing mix adding onions, celery, green pepper and some sausage and chicken stock instead of water.  To round out the meal I added a salad with red beans and steamed rice.

This photo was taken 2018 to replace images stolen by Photobucket

Salad with Pork loin chop dinner: In this salad,  made 2018, I substituted tomatoes and chopped black olives for the avocado because since Cassie left, he told me he does not like them.

Salad dressing

1/4 C. fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4C. fresh squeezed lime juice

1/3 C. olive oil

1/4 C. red wine vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp. sugar

1/3 C finely chopped fresh oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Salad

2 ears corn, or equal frozen, thawed

2 avocados peeled, pitted and dice large

8 or 9 cherry tomatoes

1 red onion, large dice

1 C. cooked, drained red beans

handful mixed herbs greens

Japanese pork cutlet sauce

The cutlet sauce:

1/2 C Worcestershire sauce

1/4 C. sugar

1/4 C soy sauce

1/4C. Tomato ketchup

1 Tbs. Yellow mustard

1/4 tsp allspice

In a small sauce pan, combine first four ingredient, heat on low, stirring often until reduced by a quarter, stir in mustard and allspice. Cool.  Will keep one week in clean jar in refrigerator. 

Sauce and be used for pork cutlets, chicken filets, beef, fried oysters or shrimp.

Tonights dinner was Swedish Meatballs.





SWEDISH MEATBALLS

1 pound ground chuck

2 links uncooked bratwurst, skinned broken up.

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, coarse

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon flour

1 can beef bouillon.10 oz can

1 beef bouillon cube

1 cup sour cream

 Combine chuck and pork in a large bowl.  Add enough bread crumbs to absorb the milk. Add to meat mixture with pepper seasoned salt, nutmeg and onion. shape into one inch balls and cook in hot oil until done. Remove and drain.  aoace 1-2 T. leftover cooking fat in skillet, stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly until flour is cooked.. Add Bouillon and continue cooking, stirring constantly until thickened into a thin gravy. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream. Reheat, do not boil.  Serve over meatballs.  Serve with noodles 

Stroganoff dinner made with hamburger. I won't make this recipe again.

My dinner tonight was so so. I made a hamburger stroganoff dinner. It was basically onions, garlic and mushrooms sauteed in butter, add and brown ground beef, add a can of cream of chicken, simmer for about ten minutes, stir in a cup of sour cream and add the cooked pasta. it was kind of bland, needed extra salt and pepper. I also made a salad with mixed baby greens, cherry tomatoes and croutons and roasted some Carnival squash dressed with salt and pepper and then I heated about two tablespoons of maple syrup, two tablespoons of butter and a half a teaspoon of peanut butter until melted together and spooned it over the squash.  Squash dressing was my own concoction and we liked it a lot. I'll do that again for sure. 

Dinner tonight was pork bulgogi, stir fried vegetables and steamed rice. I forgot to sprinkle finished bulgogi with toasted sesame seeds.

PORK BULGOGE

Recipe By: Norm Matthews

1 Boston butt pork roast, sliced wafer thin

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry

2 tablespoons red pepper flakes or to taste

2 white onions, quartered into 8ths

toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle over the meat for garnish

peanut oil-for frying

Mix all ingredients except peanut oil and toasted sesame seeds. Set aside for a few minutes to marinate. Heat oil in wok or large skillet. Heat oil, add pork and marinade mixture and stir fry until the meat is no longer pink. I usually do it in three batches and it takes about 7-8 minute per batch. When it is all cooked, return all of it to the skillet or wok, cover and let steam for a few more minutes. Serve with steamed medium grain rice or fried rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Note: In warm weather and with a small mesh grill, they can be grilled. A little more work but even better. Keep turning and do not allow them to brown on the grill.

STIR Fried Vegetables was broccoli, mushrooms, squash, onions, green pepper stir fried in peanut oil with garlic and dressed with soy sauce, ginger and hoisin sauce, garlic chili paste mixed to taste

Dinner tonight was a grilled flat iron steak, home made french fries and a salad with green onion, celery, romaine and an avacado with balsamic vinegar, basically the same salad as in the previous post. This avacado was really ripe on the outside but hard as a rock around the pit. The pit would not come out and I had to cut up the avacado to get some of it out to eat. I made a compound butter with garlic, salt and stilton cheese for the steak. It didn't really add much flavor though.

Today's dinner was very spur of the moment. Meat loaf with russet potatoes that were spritzed with olive oil and salt and baked beside the meat loaf and a salad made with chopped romaine lettuce, green onions, celery and bacon crumbled into the salad.  The bacon crisped on top of the meat loaf while it baked then an avocado topped the salad and it was drizzled with balsamic vinegar as the only ingredient in the dressing.

MEATLOAF

3 slices white bread, crusts removed cut into crumbs plus a half cup of panko bread crumbs

2-3 Tablespoons milk 

1/4 C. ketchup

2 tblsp. olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled & minced

1 lb. ground hamburger

1 lb. ground ( 4 or 5) bratwurst skinned, mixed in with hamburger

3 large eggs

1/4 c. roughly chopped parsley ( or celery leaves)

2 tblsp. honey dijon mustard

1 tblsp. coarse salt & more to taste

1/2 tblsp. freshly ground pepper & more to taste

4-5 slices smoked bacon

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1 tblsp. Coleman's yellow ground mustard

1 tsp. tomato paste 

Heat the oven to 375F. Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and place in a small

bowl. Pour milk over it & set aside for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery & garlic; cook until

soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes.

Place carrots in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk-bread mixture, meat, eggs,

parsley, Dijon, salt, & pepper. Add onion mixture. Combine well using your

hands or a rubber scraper.

Place mixture in a large ungreased baking dish or roasting pan. Shape into a 5

X 12 inch loaf. mix brown sugar, mustard and tomato paste then brush on top of meat loaf. Overlap bacon across the top, covering meat. 

Bake until the bacon is crisp,  and juices in meat loaf run clear, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let

cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Optional, place small potatoes or cut potatoes tossed with  oil and salted around the meat loaf and cook together.

Pork chops, roasted new potatoes, decorated mushrooms, deviled eggs and a tossed salad.  I had some green beans that I forgot to serve with a previous meal so I planned a whole new meal around those green beans.  Then I had to wait a few days because the kids schedule at college kept making it difficult for us to all get together at the same time. As it was, we got to eat this dish around 9 pm on that particular night.

capon pot pie

Made with left over capon meat and left over gravy extended with some cream and Wondra flour.  I used Pillsbury pie crust for this two crust pie. I added sauteed onions, peas, and carrots to the gravy, then added the meat, warmed through, baked until the crust was golden. Crush had an egg wash added before baking

 

Ok so I went tot he store and got some more peas and roasted a capon.  It was just me and my son on this occasion so I didn't bother with a salad.



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Chuck Roast that is sooo easy

So easy. This recipe was given me by a friend and I served it with mashed potatoes, made a gravy with the juices from the roast and also did some garlic toast.  Garlic was cooked in butter, then bread was added to the pan to soak up and brown in the garlic butter.  I though I had more peas but that was all there was. I guess you could call it a pea garnish. LOL

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Italian Beef Pot Roast (Crock Pot)

1 - Chuck Roast

1 pkg. Brown Gravy Mix (dry)

1 pkg. Ranch Dressing Mix (dry)

1 pkg. Italian Dressing Mix (dry)

Open and mix all the packages of dry mixes. Put chuck roast into the crock pot (no need to sear or brown), sprinkle all the dry mix on top, pour 1/2 c. water around edges, cover and cook on low for 8 - 12 hours (or high for 4 - 6 hours). 

I asked son and his GF what they'd like for dinner for the next few days.

Son's GF went on line and found some steak recipes for us to look at. This is one we tried and really liked. I didn't take a picture of the steak but did take a picture of the slaw. I also decided to add a salad with tomatillos. Here are the recipes.

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Sweet Slaw

1/4 cup soy sauce

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger, divided

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 1 1/2-pound flank steak

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 red jalapeños, thinly sliced into rounds

5 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (about 9 ounces)

3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Mix soy sauce, oil, 3 teaspoons ginger, and garlic in resealable plastic bag. Add flank steak and seal bag; turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Stir sugar and vinegar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Add jalapeños and remaining 2 teaspoons ginger. Place cabbage and 1/2 cup green onions in medium bowl.

Pour vinegar mixture over and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand while grilling steak, tossing occasionally.

Grill steak until cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to work surface. Let rest 10 minutes. Slice steak thinly against grain. Sprinkle 1/4 cup green onions over slaw.

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tomatillo salad:

1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 pound fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1 cup cilantro leaves

2 teaspoons finely chopped shallot

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Make salad 

Thinly slice tomatillos and toss with cilantro, shallot, lime juice, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cut steaks into serving pieces and top with salsa and salad.

Cooks’ notes: •Steaks can be cooked in a hot oiled 2-burner grill pan over medium-high heat, 4 to 10 minutes for medium-rare.
•Salsa (not salad) can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Rewarm before serving.

Living around 1500 miles from any ocean, sea or gulf, seafood is not something I deal with very often. If it wasn't for son's GF, I doubt I'd try very much at all.  Anyway the only sea food I see is in the frozen food section.  Speaking of frozen food, they had some dim sum that looked interesting so I got some different kinds of dim sum and some beer battered fish filets and made them according to package directions. I made some egg drop soup with chicken stock, grilled some flat iron steak, made some ginger soy sauce, had some prepared horseradish sauce and made my famous nottatar sauce. It is made with mayo, horseradish, steak sauce and chopped pickles.  Someone at a cooking site asked for people's tartar sauce recipe so I gave this one. A chef who has studied French cooking informed me that what I made was NOT Tartar sauce,  so I renamed mine to nottatar sauce.


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I was craving some French Onion Soup but I knew my son and his SO would want something more so I made a small serving, added Caesar salad with homemade dressing, some breaded pork chops corn bread stuffing and French Cut green beans.


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I made the soup from scratch including the broth made with roasted vegetables and ox tail. I made the salad dressing so I was not in the mood to do much more work for this dinner. The pork loin was cut into chops, breaded with Shake and Bake, the stuffing was "enhanced" Stove Top and the green beans were hand cut, boiled then sauteed with garlic and bacon fat.  Buying a pork loin and cutting your own chops from it is much cheaper than paying the butcher or meat cutter to cut them for you.   You can control the thickness too. Thick pork chops are easier to cook and keep juicy than those thin slivers you see so often.

Cuban style chuck eye steak, salad and soup

Son was tired of same old chuck roast and asked me to try something different. He even looked up a recipe which follows. It turned out really well. One of our keepers. I also made a salad with mixed baby greens, fresh mozzarella and an Asian flavored dressing and a chicken broth soup with green onions and bean sprouts.  We loved the chimichurri sauce too. It is a wonderful alternative to pesto.
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4 lbs chuck eye steak, 1-inch thick, beef 

2 tablespoons garlic-flavored olive oil ( or mix some olive oil with garlic powder or fresh minced garlic) 

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning 

2 tablespoons adobo seasoning ( with or without pepper) 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

Directions

Preheat broiler (or grill). 

Place in oven safe baking dish (I have a special glass one). Pour garlic oil over top of steak, coating the top. Sprinkle on the spices, any order. 

Broil about 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your steak. I start mine at the same time as my Spicy Cuban Yellow rice and when the rice cooker is done, so is the steak, about 25 minutes.

Chimichurri sauce

1. 1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley
2. 1/2 cup olive oil
3. 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
4. 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
5. 2 garlic cloves, peeled
6. 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
7. 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Puree all ingredients in processor. Transfer to bowl. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

Fish Grilled in a cedar wrap.

Onions, tomatoes, lemons, eggplant, fish filets and an Asian Seasoning blend wrapped in soaked cedar sheets and grilled

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