Poultry Seasoning Blend

It is easy to make your own poultry seasoning. With just a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard, you can make your own spice blend. Why not save some money over the prepackaged mixes when you can easily make up a batch at home?

Not only can you can use Poultry Seasoning on chicken or turkey, but you can add it to soups, stews, and hamburger meat dishes.

Ingredients

3 Tbs. ground or rubbed sage
2 Tbs. thyme
2 Tbs. rosemary
1 Tbs. marjoram
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. pepper

In a mortar and pestal, or a spice/coffee grinder, combine sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, nutmeg and pepper.

Grind the ingredients until they are finely ground and thoroughly blended. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place to preserve freshness and flavor.  Mark the jar, so you know what spice blend is inside for easy identification.

Oatmeal Batter Bread

A quick and easy batter bread that does not require any kneading.  It has oatmeal, with a hint of cinnamon to make this bread special. This is a tender and soft bread, great for making sandwiches, toast, or just eating a slice of it plain.

Ingredients

1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. rolled oats
3 Tbs. shortening or butter
1/4 c. molasses
3 Tbs. powdered milk
2 Tbs. brown sugar or honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 pkg. yeast
2 3/4 c. flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.

In a mixing bowl, combine rolled oats, shortening, molasses, powdered milk, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour in the boiling water or the warm milk. Stir to combine.  Set aside to cool until lukewarm.

Add egg to the oatmeal mixture. Beat well until thoroughly combined.

In a bowl, combine yeast and flour. Add half of the flour mixture to the oatmeal mixture.  Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour. 

Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan. 

Set in a warm location to rise until doubled in bulk. This takes about 90 minutes or a little longer depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pan and place the loaf on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

For a heartier, healthier bread, replace some of the white flour for whole wheat flour.  

For a decorative touch, sprinkle some oatmeal over the top of the dough before baking.

Beef Birds

This is an old-fashioned recipe using beef round steak and vegetables.  The beef is rolled up jellyroll style, encasing carrots inside. When it is done cooking, the meat and the vegetables will be tender and delicious.

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. round steak, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 c. flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 or 5 small carrots, cut in strips
1/4 c. lard
4 potatoes, peeled
1 onion quartered
1 can condensed mushroom soup

Directions

Cut beef steak into 3 x 5-inch pieces. Pound each piece until it is about 1/4 inch thick. 

Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.

Place 3 or 4 carrot strips on each piece of the meat. Roll the beef meat around the carrots, jellyroll style.  Fasten with a tooth pick to keep the carrots inside and the meat in a roll shape.

Add the flour into a shallow bowl or pan. Dredge the meat rolls in the flour, making sure to cover all sides.

Heat the lard in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Brown the steak rolls on all sides. 

Add the potatoes and onions around the beef birds. Pour the condensed mushroom soup over the top of the meat, potatoes and onions. Cover and lower the heat to low.  

Simmer for 90 minutes or 2 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender.

Serve and enjoy.  Remember to let everyone know to remove the toothpicks before eating.

Notes

Instead of carrots, or even along with carrots, add celery strips and some onion. You can also try cheese, or mushrooms.

Applesauce Cake With Caramel Frosting

 

This Applesauce Cake With Caramel Frosting is an older recipe.  It is a moist and sweet treat that is full of wonderful spices like cinnamon, allspice and cloves. It does not take long to put together, and you probably have everything you need right in your pantry.

Ingredients

1 c. shortening
2 1/2 c. applesauce
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
3 c. flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1/2 c. margarine or butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 c. powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. 

In a large saucepan, melt the shortening.

Stir in applesauce, sugar cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt. Mix well and heat through. Remove from heat.

Stir in flour, and baking soda. Mix thoroughly.

Beat in the egg.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting

In a saucepan, combine margarine or butter and brown sugar.  Cook and stir over low heat until the margarine is melted. 

Pour in milk.  Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool.

Gradually add in the powdered sugar, beating well after each addition.  Beat with a hand held mixer until the frosting is smooth and spreading consistency.  

Frost the cooled cake.

Ham-somes

 

If you have left over ham, this recipe will give you a delicious meal and a pretty presentation. Ground up ham, onions and seasonings spread over biscuit dough which is then rolled up into a pinwheel. It is an old recipe that came from my dad's side of the family.

Ingredients

2 c. flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 tsp. caraway seed
2 eggs
milk
2 1/2 c. ground cooked ham
1 onion, chopped fine
1 Tbs. horseradish
2 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Sauce

3 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
2 c. milk
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.

Cut in shortening until the particles resemble coarse cornmeal.

Stir in caraway seeds.

In a measuring cup, beat 1 egg. Add enough milk to make 2/3 cup mixture. 

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the milk and egg mixture into the well.  Stir until a dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough gently 6 to 8 times. Roll the dough out to a 12 x 10-inch rectangle.

In another bowl, combine ground cooked ham, onion, parsley, horseradish, dry mustard and pepper. Set aside. 

Beat the remaining egg in the same measuring cup that you beat the other egg and milk in. Pour the beaten egg into the ham mixture and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the ham mixture over the top of the dough.  Starting at the long end, begin to roll the biscuit dough as for a jelly roll. Cut into 8 equal slices. Place the slices, cut side down, on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown. 

While the Ham-somes are baking, it is time to make the cheese sauce.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. 

Add the flour. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to remove the flour taste.

Stirring constantly, gradually pour in the milk. Cook and stir until the mixture thickens. 

Add the cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking until cheese melts.

Serve warm over the hot Ham-somes.

Sweet Marinated Green Beans

This is a quick and easy green bean and onion vegetable salad recipe that my aunt used to make. In her recipe, she called them string beans and not green beans. But they are the same. Back in the day, people used to call them string beans. The beans had something that looked like a string running down the length of the pod. So when you broke off the tip end that grew on the plant, you also had to keep pulling the string off as well.

Ingredients

1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar, (use more or less sugar to suit your taste)
1/4 c. cold water
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
16 to 17 oz. or 2 cups green beans
1 onion, sliced thin

Directions

In a bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, cold water, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Mix well until the sugar dissolves. 

In a serving bowl, add a layer of green beans, and then a layer of onion.  Repeat adding the green beans and onion in layers until done.

Pour the marinade over the top of the green beans and onions. 

Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Patio Chicken Skillet

Patio Chicken Skillet is an easy recipe to make when you don't have much time to cook.  It is comfort food.  Tender, juicy, flavorful chicken with egg noodles in a creamy, savory sauce.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1/4 c. butter or margarine
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. thyme
pepper
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 c. chicken broth or stock
1/4 tsp. hot sauce
1 (8 oz.) pkg. egg noodles
1 (101/2 oz.) can cream of celery soup or cream of mushroom soup
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom pieces and stems
1/2 c. olives, sliced

Directions

Season both sides of the chicken breasts with 2 teaspoons seasoned salt, thyme and pepper.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until browned. Then turn the chicken over and brown the other side. Cover the skillet and turn the heat to low.  Cook for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. The internal temperature of the chicken should read 170°.

Remove chicken and place in a dish or plate. Cover the chicken to keep it warm.

In the same skillet that you fried the chicken in, add the bell pepper, and onions. Sauté over medium heat until tender. 

Pour in the chicken broth or stock. Bring the mixture to a boil. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet to get the flavorful bits off.

Stir in the egg noodles and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 20 minutes or until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in the cream of celery soup or cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms and olives. Add more water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Return the chicken to the skillet. Cook until everything is heated through.  Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and or 4 ounces of cream cheese, when you add the soup into the skillet.