Once a month cooking / bulk cooking

yhwhsesther

learn how to cook once a month or cook for a crowd. also post recipes for 25+ servings.

yhwhsesther

OAMC - Chicken Plan
Article by: Kim Tilley
Dated: May 28, 2006

Here is the first plan I wrote, out of necessity! I couldn't figure out how to deal with so many different parts of the chickens I was doing unless I had everything written down and the recipes gathered together. This plan is constantly being revised as I find better ways to do things and more recipes. Stay tuned for a turkey plan, which will be even easier than chicken!

My "chicken plan": (I broke it down to 6 at a time)

Out of 18 whole chickens, I used:
6 whole roasted chickens: Roast Sticky Chicken, 2 Rosemary Lemon Chicken

With the 12 other chickens:
cut breasts for Chicken Strips, Fajitas, and Forbidden City Chicken
cut legs and thighs for Simmering Chinese Chicken
cut wings for Teriyaki Chicken wings and Hot wings
save backs for All Purpose Chicken
save breastbones (after deboning breasts) for chicken soup
save giblets for who knows what!

My Strategy - When dealing with meats that have different parts, you need to think about how you will use each to get the maximum amount of food for your dollar. Here is how I handled chicken (the same approach can be used for turkey and many of these recipes will work for turkey)

First, I marinated 4 Roast Sticky chickens and put them back in the fridge, stuck two Rosemary Lemon Chickens with potatoes and green beans in the oven for three hours. Then I prepared all of the other marinades and mixes in advance (the recipes follow) before cutting up chicken. My five year old enjoyed helping with this part. I saved the messy stuff - the cutting until after my kids were asleep and dh was home and could answer the phone. I prepared the work space the best I could, making sure all of the knives were really sharp, had lots of Ziploc bags and bowls on hand, and my "chicken plan" in front of me and turned up the rock 'n roll! Yeah!

I put 6 chickens at a time in my sink, then opened all the wrappers and used an "assembly-line approach." I washed the first one, scooped out the giblets into a nearby bowl, cut the wings off and put in a wing bowl, cut the whole legs off (easier that way) and put in the leg bowl, and then cut off the back. I put the backs in a bowl, and the breasts in another. With 12 chickens, this didn't take but a half hour. On my second "cutting" I took all of the legs and cut between the drum and thigh and put them back in packages of 8 to a Ziploc, counted wings and put them in two Ziplocs, and put the chicken backs in Ziplocs. I also put giblets in Ziplocs. The giblets and backs went right to the freezer. At this point I felt like falling over, but the smell of a bargain (and all of those chickens!) kept me going.

I poured the marinades for "Simmering Chinese Chicken," "Teriyaki Wings" and "Hot Wings," then froze all of them. By this time, I was late for chat! Oh no! So I cleaned everything up, reserving the chicken breasts for the next night. I disinfected everything too, which took a while!

The next night, I suited up to do battle again! Donning my rubber gloves and sharpening my knives, I prepared for the biggest pain, de-boning all of the chicken breasts! I cut them from the bone on the first pass then cut them all into strips. I put the breast bones into a soup pot with water, some garlic powder, onion powder and seasoning salt. The broth was excellent and I got about two cups of additional white meat! I prepared the Oven Fried Chicken Strips and Fajitas, saving the rest of the strips for the next night.

The next night was pretty easy. I prepared all of the Deep Fried Chicken Strips and some chicken noodle soup which I need today because we are all sick! It took three or four days, but I found that if you do one motion repeatedly, you get really good at it and kick some serious chicken butt! I felt like "Jackie Chan" in the kitchen! I just followed the butcher cuts I see in the store. By mass producing, I saved money and time (I used rubber gloves to save my hands too!)

Here are the meals I got out of my 18 chickens:
4 Roasted Sticky Chickens with potatoes
2 Rosemary Lemon Chickens with potatoes and green beans
2 Simmering Chinese Chicken
4 bags of chicken legs/thighs for Shake and Bake chicken
1 Teriyaki Wings
1 Hot Wings
2 Forbidden City Chicken
2 Fajitas
1 gallon bag of Oven Fried Chicken strips (cooked)
2 gallon bags of Deep Fried Chicken Strips (raw)
2 gallon bags of chicken backs for All purpose Chicken
1 gallon bag of giblets (ideas wanted!)
1 big pot of chicken Noodle Soup (from breast bones)
more stock and soup from leftover whole roasted chickens after they are eaten

I only spent about 36 bucks! This is a really economical way to do chicken, and I think with practice, it won't be so daunting (remember, we all had a first oamc! THAT seemed daunting too!) Do you think I am crazy yet? I am just preparing for gardening season, when I will want to be outdoors rather than cooking.

Here's how I would've handled 18 more if I had the room:
freeze 6 whole

cut up 6 and freeze by type of piece: breasts, legs/thighs, wings, etc.

cut up the rest and freeze each as cut up chicken packs (each having two wings, drums, thighs and breasts)

The only reason I did them in sixes was because that was the store limit and a good size to work with. Nothing strange going on here, folks! No satanic chickens here! I kept going back for the chicken and people started to recognize me. They kept saying "Back again?" I thought about going undercover but the baby and the five year old would give me away. Oh well, I guess I'll have to save the "Mission Impossible" theme for the next adventure! Here are the recipes:

Roast Sticky Chicken (from busycooks)
4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large roasting chicken - as big as you can find
1 cup chopped onion

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.

Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in a shallow baking pan. Roast, uncovered, at 250 degrees for 5 hours (yes, 250 degrees for 5 hours).

After the first hour, baste chicken occasionally (every half hour or so) with pan juices. The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. If the chicken contains a pop-up thermometer, ignore it. Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before carving.

Notes: This recipe is a great way to roast a large chicken for planned leftovers. It is reminiscent of those rotisserie-style chickens that are so popular now, and it is very easy to make. The meat comes out very moist and flavorful, so it is as good leftover as freshly cooked. Please try it and you will never roast chicken any other way. You need to start this the night before serving.

Update: This one freezes well; take care because the chicken does start to fall apart, especially the legs and wings. It still tastes fantastic! I froze these in Ziplocs, next time I may freeze in a box type container so it doesn't fall apart. The leftovers were great as soup and chicken salad.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken (Good!)
1 5-6 pound roasting chicken
2 large lemons
1 bunch fresh rosemary (or use dried leaves)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds small red potatoes
2 packages 9 oz frozen green beans, thawed and drained (I use fresh, sometimes canned)

Prep time: start 3 hours before you want to serve this.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from chicken, reserve for something else. Rinse chicken, drain and pat dry. Working with chicken breast side up, fold wings toward neck, then fold up and under back of chicken so they stay in place.

Cut lemon in half, squeeze enough juice from one half of lemon to make one tablespoon, cut remaining lemons into large chunks (I have used reconstituted lemon juice and substituted limes for the chunks of lemon with no problem)

Place lemon chunks and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried) inside body cavity of chicken. With string, tie legs and tail together. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of meat between breast and thigh (I don't do this) being careful not to touch thermometer to bone. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack just large enough to hold chicken in large open roasting pan (I just put it in a bigger, metal roasting pan! Metal seems to work better than glass, more juices)

In a cup, mix 2 tbsp fresh minced rosemary (or 2 tsp dried), 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. With a pastry brush, brush chicken with mixture.

Cut each potato in half. Place potatoes around rack in roasting pan, drizzle with the 1 tbsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with 3/4 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper. Toss to coat well.

Roast chicken in 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting chicken and potatoes with pan drippings occasionally. When chicken turns golden, cover loosely with a tent of foil.

Add green beans to roasting pan, toss with potatoes. Roast 1 hour longer, basting chicken and veggies occasionally with pan drippings, or until meat thermometer reaches 175 to 180 degrees (I find the times to be pretty reliable; add 15 more minutes if you want to be extra sure). Remove foil during last of roasting and brush chicken again with pan drippings for attractive sheen (this chicken is GORGEOUS!)

To serve, place chicken on large platter, remove string. Arrange potatoes and green beans around chicken. Garnish with rosemary before serving. Makes about 8 servings. 465 calories per serving. From Good Housekeeping Magazine, Sept 1988.

Notes: This chicken is beautiful, easy, and also easy to cook in quantity. If you are going to make one for a special dinner, why not make a bunch? I have not frozen and then thawed this one yet, but I'm guessing it will still be good. Don't know how the potaoes will turn out - we'll see!

Update: they were fine!


Simmering CHinese Chicken - (from the Online CookBook, by Dawn Wise)
1 (4 lb) chicken, cut apart (I used thighs and drums)
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. catsup
1/4 cup sherry, apple juice or orange juice
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, sliced
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Place the chicken in a 1 gallon freezer bag. In a bowl mix together the oil, water, soy sauce, sugar, catsup, sherry or juice, red peppers, garlic and onions.

Add the sauce to the chicken and seal the bag. Freeze.

To prepare, thaw the chicken overnight in the refrigerator. Place the chicken in a 3 qt. casserole and cover. Microwave on high for 5 minutes then, for 15 minutes on medium high.

Turn the chicken pieces and return to the microwave for 15 to 20 minutes on medium high. Remove the chicken to a platter.

Blend the cornstarch and the water and add to the remaining sauce. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the chicken and serve the sauce on the side. Serve with hot cooked rice and steamed broccoli.

Note: This dish may be baked at 350°F for 1 hour, stirring once.

Kim's note: the marinade smelled INCREDIBLE when I made it, I think this one will be a winner.

Update: This was excellent! We decided that next time we make it we would debone the chicken and then throw it in. The marinade would be awesome in stir fries too. I cooked the chicken on a bed of uncooked rice in the oven and covered with foil for an hour. It was wonderful, the rice absorbed the sauce, which was too spicy for the kids but great for me and dh. Mmmmmmm


Teriyaki Chicken Wings - (also from the Online CookBook by Dawn Wise)
1 bag of frozen chicken wings (I did 12 wings from my chickens)
1 cup of soy sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. ginger

Divide chicken wings between 2 or 3 one-gallon bags. In a 4 cup measuring cup assemble remaining ingredients and stir.

Divide teriyaki sauce between the 2 or 3 bags of chicken wings, and Freeze.

To prepare chicken wings, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Place wings in a large baking pan along with teriyaki sauce.

Heat oven to 400° and bake for 30 minutes turning once. Serve with rice and steamed broccoli.

NOTE: I add the chicken wings from the chickens which I have cut up to this dish.

Homemade Shake and Bake - (from the Tightwad Gazette)
4 cups flour
4 cups ground crackers (I get a box of saltines at Aldi's for 39 cents) or cracker meal
4 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp paprika
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix well and store indefinitely in the refrigerator in a covered container (I use an old ice cream bucket or coffee can). You can change the spices according to what you like, ie. Italian seasonings, Cajun, Mexican, Asian, etc.

To cook: Dip meat in any liquid (egg, buttermilk, milk, salad dressing) then in the shake and bake. Put on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 for boneless chicken or fish strips, an hour for chicken pieces with bones (i.e., drums and thighs, as long as possible for bone-in breasts).

Update: The oven fried chicken strips froze very well. We cooked ours first and then froze so we could microwave them. They were not as crunchy, but still delicious. They could also be frozen without cooking and then baked after freezing.

Kim's Hot Wings
chicken wings
mild pepper sauce like red devil (not tabasco unless diluted!)

Put raw wings in bags, put a few tsp of pepper sauce in and freeze.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (?). This was an improvised recipe! Don't know how it will turn out, you may want to dilute the pepper sauce with ketchup or barbecue sauce.

Forbidden City Chicken - This one was given to me by my mom recently; I have never tried it but she says it is easy and delicious. It is from a cookbook featuring the best of Junior League cookbooks. Mom is a romance writer and has little time for making dinner, but is a great cook when she finds time, so if she says it is good, I know it is good! (Will let you know how it turns out!)
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 small broiler chickens, split (I use 2 whole boneless skinless breasts)
sesame seeds

Arrange chicken halves skin side up in one layer in a baking pan. In a bowl, mix together everything but the sesame seeds. Spread the mixture over the chicken and chill for one hour (I froze it at this point. Remember, if you are freezing this raw, you must use FRESH chicken, not frozen, defrosted chicken!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the chicken and bake uncovered for one hour until chicken is golden (I would say less time for chicken breasts, may have to cover loosely to avoid drying out. This sounds like it would be good grilled too!)

Update: We tried this and liked it very much, but the sauce is a bit strong if you let it marinate too long. You can reduce the sauce, dilute or freeze it separately and marinate for 5-10 minutes right before cooking.

FAJITAS - (also from the Online CookBook by Dawn Wise)
5 tbsp. oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips or 1 lb flank steak, cut diagonally across the grain, into thin strips
1 large red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 large yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
1 large green pepper, cut into thin strips
1 onion, sliced thin or 1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Guacamole

In a bowl, mix together 2 tbsp. oil, lime juice, cumin and cayenne. Add the meat and stir to coat. Place the meat with the marinade in a freezer bag.

Slice all the peppers, onions and mince the garlic and place in a large freezer bag. Freeze both bags.

To prepare, thaw the marinated meat and the vegetables.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil until very hot. Add the meat, with the marinade and stir-fry over high heat until the meat is cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tbsp. oil to the skillet and heat until very hot. Add the peppers, onion and garlic and stir-fry till tender crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.

Return the meat to the skillet and heat through. Serve with warm tortillas and assorted extras.

Kim's note: I get a multicolored bell pepper 4 pack at Aldi for 1.19. I get several at a time, chop them and freeze each according to color, that way, I always have enough colorful peppers at a very cheap price!

Update: These were excellent! I will use a little less lime juice next time and less bell peppers.

Skewered Chicken: Here is another great recipe from my mom. I didn't have enough chicken to make this one, but it is so easy, it hardly seems worth the effort to fix ahead and freeze. This could be a "Quick and Easy" entree, when you want something fresh!
1 pound or more boneless skinless chicken breasts
soy sauce
bamboo/wooden skewers

Cut chicken into long strips and marinate for 15 minutes in soy sauce.

Put chicken strips on skewers, piercing in several places so they will stay on well (like sewing it on!)

Grill it! Great with grilled veggies and corn on the cob, or with an oriental style dinner, great for summertime!

Kim's Oven Fried Chicken Strips
Shake and Bake (homemade recipe above)
boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips
buttermilk

Soak cut up chicken in buttermilk for 15 minutes or longer (can be overnight if you like).

Dip each strip into shake and bake, coating well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Freeze on a cookie sheet, then put into Ziploc when frozen.

To serve, use directly from freezer. You can microwave these (not crispy but good) or reheat in an oven. Very convenient! Note: you can freeze these before cooking as long as you are using chicken that has not been frozen before.

Kim's Deep Fried Chicken Strips - This is not a low fat recipe! We do this one for special occasions. If you still want the taste and less fat (or want to stretch these farther), put them in a salad like the restaurants do! MMMM
1 pound boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips/pieces
1 cup of buttermilk
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tsp pepper
other seasonings of your choice
oil for deep frying

Soak chicken in buttermilk for 15 minutes or longer (use watered-down sour cream if you don't have buttermilk - just water down to buttermilk consistency).

Mix together flour, salt pepper and seasonings of your choice (I add red pepper for spicy ones)

Dip soaked chicken in flour mixture, coating well. (To freeze, put on cookie sheet and place in freezer. When frozen, put into Ziploc.)

Deep fry in hot oil until golden. The best chicken strips we've ever had, and the cheapest too! (messy though!)

Update: This recipe has become a favorite in our house. I now only do the fried chicken strips this way. It is far less messy and they come out great. The secret is to get the oil REALLY hot. We make extras for fried chicken salad, which is sliced up chicken strips on a bed of lettuces and tomatoes, topped with some insanity sauce (shown below). It's a lot like Steak and Shake's fried chicken salad.

Kim's Insanity Sauce - I serve this with my chicken strips. I also use it in place of mayo in chicken or tuna salad, and as a dip for chips or sauce for pitas and burritos.
1 cup of ranch dressing (we get the gallon size at Sam's)
one or two drops (yes, DROPS) of "Dave's Insanity Sauce," an explosively hot sauce (I found it at Kitchens store in the mall, the web site is called Dave's Gourmet)

Mix ingredients well. If the sauce is at all slightly pink, it will probably blow your mouth off! The pepper sauce is advertised as being "the hottest sauce in the world" and let me tell you, it is one of the hottest I've tried, but excellent if mixed with a lot of a "cooling" agent like sour cream, yogurt or ranch. I keep a container mixed up in the fridge at all times. It is truly wonderful and our friends love it too (we entertain a lot!)

By the way, my husband's name is Dave and I KNOW he is insane! We tease him a lot about the sauce!

Kim's fried chicken salad - I make this with leftovers of my homemade chicken strips. We eat those one night, cook extra and make the salads during the week, this is one of our favorites! Inspired by Steak and Shake, but now after a taste comparison, it is better!

Per person (big portions) you will need:
2-3 fried chicken strips
2 cups lettuce (use a combination,romaine and spinach are good, don't use iceberg, yuck!)
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
additional salad topping: shredded carrot, alfalfa sprouts, sliced onion, steamed veggies, whatever you like
insanity sauce for the dressing

Assemble by putting lettuces on plate, followed by tomatoes and optional other toppings. Top with cut up fried chicken strips (I cut them pretty small- bite size) and top with dressing. Yummy!

All Purpose Chicken & Broth (crockpot) from the Busy cooks website
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery rib, sliced
1 large Chicken, 5 lbs or more
1/2 c chicken broth or water

Place sliced vegetables in the bottom of the crockpot. Sit cleaned chicken on top, neck up. If you wish you may season with herbs, pepper, etc, but this is not necessary. Pour broth over, cover and cook on low 8 or 9 hours.

Remove chicken from pot and let cool until easy to handle. Meanwhile, strain stock and defat. This stock is double strength, so mix with equal parts water for use. Remove chicken from bones and cut into pieces sized appropriately for your recipe.

Yield: about 4 - 6 cups of chicken and 3+ cups double strength chicken stock.

Notes: This is not really a main dish, but a painless way to obtain cooked chicken for salads, casseroles, etc. An added bonus is the several cups of double strength chicken broth. Juicy, tender, flavorful chicken and a very rich broth for very little of your time.

Kim's note: I have been using chicken backs for this recipe, seems fine. Why not get every penny out of those birds?!

Well, I hope I haven't bored you all to tears or scared you off! Happy cooking!

yhwhsesther

Article by: Kim Tilley
Dated: May 28, 2006

Turkey is a far more versatile meat than most of us think. Many people relegate it to holidays and "leftovers," but why not make it part of your everyday fare? Turkey is delicious, low in fat (unless drowned in gravy!) and can be substituted for chicken in most dishes. It is a little bit coarser in texture than chicken, but this can be overcome by boiling turkey, which I accidentally discovered after boiling a very meaty carcass and then using the meat for sandwiches. You really can't tell the difference!

Turkey is also extremely economical if bought in bulk when the prices are the lowest, usually around the end of the fall and in the spring (Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter). It is also much faster to debone than chickens and you get so much more meat! I have definitely turned into a turkey convert- I prefer it to chicken anyday!

I have divided the turkey plan into two plans because they illustrate two very different ways to approach cooking such a large bird. Many of the recipes in this plan I have used, the second plan will be more experimental. Perhaps I need a third plan to demonstrate boiled turkey! Enjoy, and please let me know how these recipes turn out for you.

Strategy #1: Traditional Method - Roast a large whole turkey and serve for dinner. I have provided recipes for stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy too. All should freeze well, and you'll be eating like kings long after Turkey Day!

Divide leftovers into the following:
Sliced breast meat for dinner slices and diced white meat for meals where turkey is the "star" of the meal: stir fries, turkey ala king, curries, etc.

Dark meat, chopped for dishes where the meat is not necessarily the focus: casseroles, one dish meals, stews, potpies, soups, etc.

Bones, skin, gizzards - used for turkey stock and broth

Master Recipes:
Roasted Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Stuffing

Secondary Recipes:
Turkey ala King
Turkey Pot Pie
Curry Turkey
Turkey Enchiladas with Homemade Red Chili Sauce
Mexican Turkey Lasagna
Turkey Lasagna Roll Ups
Turkey Divan

How to make turkey stock (and pressure can it too!)
Turkey Soup
Turkey Stew
Dinner Slices
Turkey Fried Rice
Turkey Turnovers
Turkey Tetrazzini

Quick and Easy (make these on the fly with frozen diced turkey):
Turkey Salad in Pitas
Turkey Stir Fry
Turkey Club Sandwich
Main dish salad with roasted turkey
Turkey quesadillas
Turkey tacos/burritos
Other Ideas

Roasted Turkey: Roasting a turkey is pretty easy. I have provided some basic instructions here, you can find more detailed info on the Butterball recipe site.
1 turkey
1 roasting pan
oil
pastry brush
meat thermometer (optional)
aluminum foil

Wash turkey, cleaning out cavities and reserving "gizzard" (heart, liver, neck etc) for another use. Pat dry. Preheat oven to 325.

Put turkey into roasting pan and brush skin with vegetable oil (use a pastry brush). Put turkey, uncovered, into oven and roast for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until skin is browned. Cover with foil or top of roasting pan and cook for another 3-4 hours, depending on size of turkey.

Check meat for doneness by inserting a large two-pronged fork into the thigh. If it is done, the juices should run clear. They will be pink if not done.

Carve the turkey however you like and serve. Enjoy!

Note: when everyone is sitting around holding their bellies, I sneak back into the kitchen and cut what is left of the turkey off of the bone. I separate the meat into breast slices for dinners, white meat that is too small for dinner slices, and dark meat. You can throw all of the bones and other turkey leftover into a stock pot or crock pot, cover with water, add some salt, pepper and thyme and let it simmer for 3-4 hours on the stove, or longer in a crockpot. When done, strain and reserve the stock, and cut remaining meat from bones. It is AMAZING how much meat you can get even from a well-picked turkey. You can pressure can the stock, or you can freeze it or just refrigerate and make some more delicious meals with it. See below for more ideas.

Easy Pan Gravy: (from Better Homes and Gardens Step by Step Cookbook)
Hot drippings from a roast or turkey
1/4 cup all purpose flour
milk OR water OR broth
salt and pepper
dash of dried thyme, crushed
Few drops of Kitchen Bouquet (optional)

After removing roast/turkey to a platter, pour the meat juices and fat into a two-cup measure.

Skim off the fat, reserving three to four tablespoons. Return fat to the pan (I use a large saucepan).

Stir in flour. Cook and stir over low heat until bubbly. Remove pan from heat.

Add enough milk, broth, or water to reserved meat juices to make 2 cups. Add liquid all at once to the fat-flour mixture (called a roux); blend well. Add some salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add thyme and Kitchen Bouquet.

Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook two minutes more. Makes two cups.

Kim's note: When I make this, I strain the meat juices so the gravy is not lumpy. You need to double this recipe if you make a 15 pound turkey; I wound up with 3 cups of meat juices so I added milk to make it four and doubled the whole thing. The thyme is a wonderful touch! It tasted sooo good! Rosemary would be great too, but you would have to remove the leaves before serving (use a fresh sprig - yum!) This gravy freezes well, too. I freeze it in two-cup portions and always have leftovers - there are 5 of us. If your gravy separates when reheating, just mix well and heat thoroughly, it will look and taste fine.

Mashed Potatoes: - Mashed potatoes freeze very well, so make a bunch! Cook once, eat several times! There is nothing like home-cooked food waiting to be eaten in the freezer!
10-20 medium sized russet potatoes (depends on how much you want to make and how big your stock pot is)
one very large stock pot
water to cover potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
milk or broth to flavor

Peel and cube potatoes. Put into a large stock pot and cover with water. If you like, you can also add peeled garlic for a different taste.

Boil potatoes for 20-30 minutes, strain, reserving water and a few potatoes for potato soup, or as a sourdough starter (or the base for a vegetable broth).

Mash potatoes with egg beater or masher, add salt and pepper, butter and milk (if desired). For low fat potatoes, add chicken or turkey broth that has been defatted. Mix until the consistency is fluffy but not soupy.

To freeze: Pack potatoes into 2 cup freezer containers and freeze. 2 cups seems to be about right for our family of five, you may need to adjust this according to the number of people you will be serving.

To serve: Thaw potatoes overnight in refrigerator or in microwave (this is my method! I always forget!). Put them in the oven, in a covered casserole and cook at 350 for 30-40 minutes. I usually put in turkey dinner slices and gravy and the same time for an easy, delicious meal.

Note: You can do a lot of things with leftover mashed potatoes. They are great for thickening soups and sauces, as well as adding moistness to bread dough (they are a main ingredient in potato refrigerator dough, an old Betty Crocker recipe), even cake! They are also great as pancakes and mixed with flour for dumplings. Let your imagination run wild!

Homemade Stuffing: Here are methods and recipes for two kinds of stuffing - dry and moist, from the Time-life Cookbook Series, "The Good Cook." You can freeze stuffing- it will come out very moist, but still taste wonderfu. Enjoy!

Method 1 - Dry Stuffing (bread is cut in cubes, made into croutons and seasoned) make croutons from firm, unsliced bread that is about two days old (or use el cheapo bread and leave it out). Choose ingredients that will complement poultry: chopped celery, onion and mixed herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme - just like the song!). Use what you like!

Browning the croutons - Cut the bread in to chunks and fry in butter over low heat, adding more butter as it is absorbed, until the bread is browned. Or spread the chunks in a buttered pan and bake, turning occassionally, for half an hour in a moderate oven (low heat).

Mix stuffing - Place the croutons with the other ingredients in a bowl. The best way to mix this kind of stuffing is with your (clean!) hands: this method combines all of the elements while producing a light, airy mixture.

Basic Stuffing
2 tbsp. butter
2-3 slices of bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cups small cubes of trimmed firm-textured bread
3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley (or half of that amount using dried parsley)
crumbled dried thyme and rosemary (or fresh if you can get it!)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk or chicken/turkey stock
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, fry the bacon in half of the butter until bacon is crisp. Remove bacon, add the chopped onion to the pan, and saute or moderate heat until the pieces of the onion turn soft and golden. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Add the remaining butter to the skillet. When it melts, add the bread cubes and toss over moderate heat until they have taken up the fat and turned a light golden color.

Crumble the bacon into a mixing bowl. Add the sauteed onion, bread cubes, parsley, and a generous pinch each of thyme and rosemary. Toss with fork or hands until well mixed.

In another bowl, beat the egg with the milk or stock. Pour this over the bread mixture, tossing with a fork to distribute evenly. Season with salt and pepper.

You can now use the stuffing to fill the turkey cavity. If you do not wish to cook it in the bird (some food safety organizations warn about samonella problems), you can cook in a covered casserole in the oven or microwave, to make sure the flavors blend and the egg cooks fully.

Method 2:
Wet Stuffing - You make this from fresh bread crumbs, seasonings, butter and onion. There are so many flavor combinations!

Preparing ingredients - Parboil onion for about ten minutes. Chop it coarsely. Finely chop fresh sage leaves or if not available, crumble 1/2 teaspoon of dried sage.

Moistening and mixing - In a bowl, combine the onion and sage with fresh, coarse bread crumbs, chopped parsley and chopped, cooked giblets (if you want), salt, pepper, butter and an egg yolk. Add liquid- stock, water, etc, to moisten. Mix all ingredients together gently but thoroughly.

Sage and Onion stuffing
4 large onions
10 fresh sage leaves or 1/2 tsp dried sage
2 cups of fresh bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp butter
1 egg yolk

Peel onions and out them in the boiling water. Let simmer for 5 minutes or longer. Just before they are taken out, put in the sage leaves and boil for a minute or two.

Drain, then chop the onions and sage very finely, add the bread crumbs, seasoning and butter, and work the whole together with the yolk of an egg.

You can now use the stuffing to fill the turkey cavity. If you do not wish to cook it in the bird (some food safety organizations warn about samonella problems), you can cook in a covered casserole in the oven or microwave, to make sure the flavors blend and the egg cooks fully.

Crock Pot Stuffing - from "ThanksgivingRecipes.com" - a very nice web site; check it out!

This is an easy way to make "extra" stuffing for a large crowd, saving stove space because it cooks in a crock pot. Very tasty and moist!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup parsley sprigs
1 (12 ounce) package mushrooms, sliced
12 - 13 cups slightly dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon ground poultry seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups chicken broth or turkey broth
2 eggs, well beaten

Melt butter or margarine in a skillet. Saute onion, celery, mushroom, and parsley.

Pour sauted vegetables over bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Add all seasonings and toss together. Pour in enough broth to moisten. Add beaten eggs, and mix together well.

Pack stuffing lightly into crock pot, and cover. Set to high for 45 minutes; then reduce to low to cook for 4 to 8 hours.

Makes 8 servings

Turkey ala King
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained and liquid reserved or 1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken or turkey
1 jar (2 oz) diced pimientos drained (optional)
Noodles, hot cooked rice or toasted bread triangles to serve it on

Heat margarine in 3 quart saucepan over medium high heat. Cook bell pepper and mushrooms in the margarine 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until bubbly; remove from heat.

Stir in milk, broth, and reserved mushroom liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and pimientos. Heat until hot. Serve over rice, noodles, biscuits, potatoes, whatever you like.

Kim's note: We love this dish and it freezes well. Just be sure to reheat it thoroughly in an oven before serving - the white sauce tends to separate, just stir it and it will be fine. We love fresh mushrooms in this. And you can omit the pimiento, we don't use it.

Turkey Pot Pie
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas and carrots
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken/ turkey broth
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups cut up chicken or turkey
pastry of your choice - homemade, frozen, or you can use biscuit dough (I do not put crust on the bottom, only the top)

Preheat oven to 425.

Rinse frozen peas and carrots in cold water to separate; drain.

Heat margarine in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until melted. Stir in flour, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute. Stir in chicken and vegetables.

Prepare pastry (I freeze this ahead and then thaw ahead when I make this or make a big batch the same day and freeze.) Roll two thirds of pastry into a 13-inch square. Ease into an ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Pour chicken mixture into pastry lined pan. Roll remaining pastry into an 11-inch square. Cut out designs with a cookie cutter. Place square over filling. Turn edges under and flute. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden. 6 servings

Kim's adaptations: If I am serving this in a large pan, I omit the bottom layer. I put the filling in the pan then the crust and freeze it. When I want to serve it, I thaw it out and cook for 35 minutes or more. It turns out great. You can also make individual pot pies in those extra large muffin tins- they are the perfect size (be sure to have a top and bottom crust and line the muffin tin with foil so it is easier to get the pot pies out). The best way to freeze individial pot pies is to freeze the entire muffin tin and then take out the pies, it is so much easier! Less mess! You can also use this recipe to make beef pot pies, just use shredded beef and beef stock in place of the chicken or turkey.

Turkey Curry: I adapted this easy recipe from my mother. She always made this for me and it is one of my favorites. I hope you like it too! Don't let the ingredient list scare you- the beauty of this dish is that it is made entirely in the microwave! Easy!

Sauce:
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
paprika to taste
1 cup canned evaporated milk

The rest:
4 cups cooked chicken or turkey
1 egg well beaten
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
cooked hot rice (or reheated from freezer)
optional: chutney and "side boys:" raisins, chapatis and other traditional Indian side dishes

Melt butter in casserole dish in your microwave. Add onion, flour, curry, salt, ginger, and paprika. Cook for 4 minutes on high, stirring occassionally.

Gradually blend in milk, cook 3 minutes to thicken, stirring occassionally.

Add chicken or turkey, blend a little sauce into the egg (so it does not cook) and add the egg into the curry sauce. Mix well. Heat but do not boil or the sauce will curdle. Stir in worcestershire sauce.

Serve over rice with "side boys"/side dishes. We like coconut, peanuts and raisins.

Note: This should freeze fine. If sauce separates after reheating, just stir and make sure it is heated all of the way through. If you do not want to use the egg since it is not fully cooked, you can use egg white or those egg beaters at the store to avoid any samonella problems. I have never had a problem with this recipe. I have not tried to eliminate the egg, but you could do that if you wanted to. Don't forget - rice freezes beautifully! Make a big batch and freeze in meal portions.

Turkey Enchiladas with Homemade Red Chili Sauce - My recipe is a bit of departure from the traditional corn enchiladas. I wanted something that was easy to make, freezes very well (keep the sauce in separate container), and absolutely delicious! Here was what I came up with:
2 cups of chopped turkey
1 package of flour tortillas
2 cups of homemade red chili sauce (recipe follows)
cheddar cheese
optional toppings:
diced fresh tomatoes
shredded lettuce
sliced olives

I do not use a tradional method for making enchiladas, but the effect is the same and we all love this dish. Here goes:

Put two cups of chopped turkey, shredded beef or pork in a mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup red chili sauce and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. (You can freeze the filling and tortillas separately and assemble later or you can assemble and freeze.)

Place 1/4 cup of this mixture on to a tortilla and roll up, placing seam side down in a pyrex dish. Do this until all of the mixture is used up, this should yield 8 enchiladas. (I use a Pyrex casserole dish with a plastic cover that can go from freezer to oven by just taking off the lid and adding foil.) Freeze enchiladas and sauce separately so that the enchiladas do not get soggy. Freeze extra cheese (about 1/2-1 cup) in a small Ziploc bag (you can tape this onto the Pyrex dish).

To serve: Preheat oven to 350. Defrost red chili sauce. Using a pastry brush, "paint" the enchiladas, completely covering them with all of the sauce. Top with cheese and bake until thoroughly heated, about 30 minutes. When done, top with tomatoes, lettuce and olives.

Note: I serve this with refried beans, homemade or store bought. I put them in a casserole and put a little of the red chili sauce and cheddar cheese on them. This dish winds up tasting like the authentic Mexican restaurants that I grew up around! Que magnifico!

Homemade Red Chili Sauce: (from Recipes for Life from the Fitonics Kitchen, by Marilyn Diamond)
2/3 cup flour
2/3 up olive oil (or vegetable oil)
4 tsp cumin
1/2-2/3 cup chili powder (I use 2/3 and it's great, if too spicy, reduce. I buy big canisters of chili powder at Sam's, you want the regular red chili powder, not the hot stuff!)
8 cups of water or beef broth
4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp or less of sea salt or regular salt
2 tsp oregano

Mix flour and oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until smooth

Add cumin and chili powder, stir, add water or beef broth

Add remaining ingredients

Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your mixing spoon.

Kim's note: Original recipe served 8-10, this is quadrupled. It makes about 8 cups, I freeze it in 2 cup portions. This is an extremely versatile sauce. You can change spices and spiciness to your taste. It can be used in many recipes. I made enchiladas, Mexican lasagna and a Mexican "spaghetti sauce" by mixing it half and half with my no-cook spaghetti sauce (tomato sauce plan) - delicious! Eventually I will write a Mexican plan, figured no one would want to wait that long for the recipe! LOL I would like to try this in the crockpot. If any one does, let me know how it turns out!

Mexican Turkey Lasagna: This recipe has a few "non-scratch" ingredients, but it is so delicious that I had to include it! You can substitute your own homemade salsa if you make it. I am looking for a good salsa recipe to can next year, will post what I find!
1 (16-ounce) jar mild salsa
1 (16-ounce) jar medium salsa
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-ounce)package dry lasagne noodles (6 noodles)
2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
4 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Pour both jars of salsa into a large non-aluminum saucepan. Add pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is reduced to 4 cups, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions and drain well. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine noodles, the cottage cheese, eggs, parsley, and chiles; mix well and set aside.

Arrange half the cooled lasagna noodles in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread half the cottage cheese mixture over the pasta then half the cooked chicken, then half the salsa mixture

Sprinkle half the shredded cheeses on top. Repeat the layering steps, ending with the shredded cheeses. Bake, covered, until bubbly and heated through, about 45-50 minutes. Let stand uncovered for 10 minutes before cutting.

You can freeze this fully assembled and reheat by cooking for 1 hour at 350 (thaw it in the microwave or overnight first). This is magnificent!

Serves 8-12 from "Making Waves in the Kitchen" Indian River, FL

Turkey Lasagna Rolls
11 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 pound ground turkey (why not try cooked, chopped?)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1(26-ounce) jar commercial spaghetti sauce with mushrooms and ripe olives
1/4 cup Chablis or other dry white wine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain. Cut in half crosswise, and set aside.

Cook turkey, onion, and garlic in a large skillet until turkev is browned, stirring to crumble meat. Drain. Add spaghetti sauce, wine, parsley, and salt, stirring well.

Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine ricotta cheese and next 5 ingredients, stirring well. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over lasagna noodles. Roll up jellyroll fashion, starting at narrow end. Place lasagna rolls, seam side down, in lightly greased 13-x9-x2-inch baking dish. Pour meat sauce over rolls, and sprink1e with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

TO STORE: Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Cover tightly, and freeze up to 2 weeks.

TO SERVE: Thaw in refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Turkey Divan
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. dry white wine
1/2/ cup whipping (heavy) cream
1 1/2 pounds broccoli or 2 packages (10 oz each) frozen broccoli spears, cooked and drained
6 large slices of turkey breast (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat margarine in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until melted. Stir in flour and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.

Stir in broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese and the wine.

Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl until stiff. Fold cheese mixture into whipped cream.

Place hot broccoli in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 12x 7 1/2x2 inches. Top with turkey. Pour cheese sauce over turkey. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Set oven control to broil. Broil with top 3 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is bubbly and light brown.

Dinner Slices - This is so easy that I almost did not put it in the plan! Just slice the leftover turkey breast into serving-sized pieces, lay on a cookie sheet, and freeze. When frozen, put into a ziploc baggie in meal sized amounts. Freeze leftover gravy and mashed potatoes separately and you have an instant Thanksgiving style dinner without the work!

To serve: Thaw in fridge or microwave. Heat over to 350 and put slices in a casserole with lid. Pour gravy over top and reheat for 30 minutes or so. I have even put the mashed potatoes in with the turkey and gravy. Serve with steamed veggies and salad. Yum!

Turkey Fried Rice
3/4 cup diced cooked turkey
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 cups cooked rice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped green onion (with tops)
Dash of white pepper

Mix turkey, cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Heat wok until hot (or use large, deep fry pan). Add 1 tbsp. oil; rotate wok to coat sides. Add eggs; cook and stir until eggs are thickened throughout but still moist. Remove eggs from wok.

Add 2 tbsp. oil, rotate wok again. Add turkey, water chestnuts, mushrooms and 1/2 tsp. salt; stir fry one minute. Stir in soy sauce. Add chicken mixture, eggs, green onion, and white pepper, stir-fry 30 seconds.

Kim's note: This should freeze fine, though I have not tried it. Rice does very well in the freezer, eggs tend to get tough unless mixed like this. Let me know how it turns out for you!

Turkey Turnovers
1/2 cups leftover cooked turkey meat (white and/or dark), chopped
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp. finely cut fresh chives
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 tbsp. chopped green pepper
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy
2 tbsp. dry sherry
salt and pepper
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For the pastry:
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water

Mix the turkey, parsley, chives, onion and green pepper with the turkey gravy. Add the sherry and season well to taste. Preheat the oven to 375.

For the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour and rub the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Add just enough ice water (the least possible amount) to work the ingredients quickly into a firm dough.

On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough very thin, about 1/8 inch thick, and cut it into 4-inch squares. Put 1 tablespoon of the turkey filling on each square. Fold the dough over the filling into a triangle. Brush the edges with a little water and seal them securely.

Beat the egg yolk with the cream and use it to brush the tops of the turnovers. Bake them on an ungreased baking sheet for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

To serve, pile the freshly baked turnovers on a hot folded napkin on a warmed serving plate and serve immediately.

Turkey Tetrazzini-Style
1 cup thin strips of leftover cooked turkey
1/2 cup chopped, cooked spaghetti
1/2 cup sliced, sauteed fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp. bread crumbs, mixed with softened butter
4 to 5 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Cream sauce
1 cup heavy cream
2 or 3 thin onion slices
3 sprigs parsley
1/2 bay leaf
1 whole clove
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg

Make cream sauce by first scalding the cream containing the onion, parsley, bay leaf and clove and then straining it.

Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the flour and let this roux cook briefly before, stirring in the flavored cream.

Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, then season the sauce to taste with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Stir in the turkey, spaghetti and mushrooms.

Mix well and turn the mixture into a buttered baking dish or six individual baking dishes. Sprinkle with the buttered bread crumbs mixed with the Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated moderate oven at 375 degrees 10 to 15 minutes or until the crumbs are brown. Serve at once, while still bubbling.

Quick and Easy: (make these on the fly with frozen diced turkey):

There are hundreds of ways to use turkey, here are just a few ideas. I have included some links to more ideas and recipes on the internet. When doing research for this plan, I found enough recipes to fill an entire cookbook! I decided to stay with recipes I have tried or know how to do, but there are so many other options! Be creative!

Turkey Salad in Pitas - Defrost turkey (I freeze chopped turkey in 2 cup portions) and mix with mayonaisse or ranch (we like to use insanity sauce-see the chicken plan). Line pitas with lettuce and tomato, then add turkey salad. Add bacon if desired. Yum!

Turkey Stir Fry - Chop up turkey and stir-fry in peanut oil with your favorite chopped vegetables. Try some Chinese veggies, such as bok choy or bamboo shoots, or use some old favorites, such as carrots, broccoli, onion, and celery.

Turkey Club Sandwich - Defrost some dinner slices or shredded turkey. Put turkey on toasted bread with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and bacon. Add sprouts or cheese if desired.

Main dish salad with roasted turkey - Easy and good! Make a nice salad with different kinds of lettuces, some chopped broccoli and cauliflower, if desired. Top with tomatoes, turkey and cheese. I like to put ranch dressing or insanity sauce on top, you can use whatever dressing you like. Add bacon bits if you like.

Turkey Quesadillas - Put diced turkey and cheese into a tortilla and fold. You can freeze them, fry them or bake them. You can add green chiles or jalapenos, they are good just about any which way!

Turkey tacos/burritos - Chop and use in place of ground beef on tostadas, in tacos, and burritos.

Other Ideas:
Use in empanadas, hot pockets, chili, as a pizza topping, on top of baked potatoes, on nachos, as a barbecue, in casseroles, quiche crepes with white sauce, with pasta, in pilaf, etc. The possibilities are endless!

HAPPY EATING TO ALL, PASS THE CRANBERRIES PLEASE!

About the Author
Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart, is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at home with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing!

yhwhsesther

This Veggie Plan was put together by Stephanie and posted to the Friendly Freezer list, a very active, very friendly once-a-month cooking list. The plan originally appeared on Robbyn Snider's website. She is the "list mom" for Friendly Freezer. Check out her site for more great oamc plans.

Vegetarian Meal Plan and recipes
1. Meatless Tamale Pie
2. Popeye Pie
3. Lentil Stew
4. Scalloped Potatoes (served with Mixed veggie dish, no recipe)
5. Crockpot mac and cheese
6. Lentil Rice Casserole
7. Split Pea Soup
8. Lentil Soup
9. Black Bean Quesadillas
10. Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
11. Eggplant Parmesan
12. BBQ Eggplant with Couscous
13. Brown Lentil Bake with Pineapple
14. Vegetable Barbecue Couscous
15. Nutty Pasta Twists
16. Broccoli and Chickpeas with Rice
17. Chile Relleno Puff
18. Spaghetti
19. Chicken TVP potpie
20. Potato Cheese Soup
21. Baked Potatoes with Chili and Cheese
22. Black Bean Soup
23. Biscuit Taco Casserole
24. Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust
25. Risotto Primavera
26. Sweet and Sour Tofu
27. Stir Fry with Rice
28. Homemade Garden Burgers (top-secret Lite recipe), baked fries, coleslaw
29. Beans and Rice, broccoli cornbread
30. Polenta Pizza Casserole

Recipes

Whole Wheat Crust
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Run on dough cycle. When done, fix as desired and bake 18 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Biscuit Taco Casserole - (Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe, originally called for 1/2 lb ground beef, but I substitute beans)
16 oz jar medium taco sauce
12 oz can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (2.25 oz) can sliced, black olives
8 oz beans (refried, pinto, black, etc.; doesn't matter)
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

Heat oven to 400. Lightly grease 13x9 inch pan. Spread taco sauce on bottom of dish. Separate dough into 10 biscuits; cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Place biscuit pieces in taco sauce; turn to coat. Sprinkle biscuits with 1/2 to 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the olives; mix gently. Bake at 400 F for 15 to 18 minutes or until bubbly. Meanwhile, in large skillet saute beans, peppers, and mushrooms until veggies are done. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over mixture in casserole. Top with bean mixture. Bake an additional 6 minutes.

Freeze before baking and then bake when serving.

Popeye Pie - (can't remember where I got this, sorry; probably F-F)
12 oz frozen, chopped spinach
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 eggs, well beaten
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup celery, chopped

Thaw and press our liquid from spinach. Mix remaining together and fold in spinach. Pour into greased 9 inch pie plate. Freeze. To serve: Thaw. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Cut in 6 wedges and serve.

Lentil Stew - (I think I got this from Dollar Stretcher)
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, chopped
7 cups water
2 tsp. vegetable or chicken broth granules
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup small macaroni
2 carrots, sliced
16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon thyme

In large soup pot, saute onions in oil over medium high heat until tender. Add water, broth, and lentils. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until lentils and carrots are tender.

Scalloped Potatoes - (Mom's recipe)
8 potatoes, peeled and sliced
layered in casserole dish with
1 onion, sliced into rings and separated

In bowl, mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and 1 can milk. Blend. Pour over onions and potatoes. Stir. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

Crockpot Mac and Cheese
8 oz box macaroni, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons oil
13 oz can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup milk
3 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup melted butter.

Mix all. Put in Ziploc. When time to serve, thaw and put in crockpot for 3-4 hours on low.

Lentil Rice Casserole
3 cups chicken broth, or use water and 1 tb vegetable seasoning
3/4 cups lentils, uncooked
1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Blend all together in a casserole dish. Bake covered, for 1 1/2 hours at 300. Cool then freeze. When serving, thaw and reheat. During the last few minutes of cooking, you may top with shredded cheese, I don't.

Black Bean Quesadillas - (Woman's Day or Family Circle)
8 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1 cup medium salsa
15 oz can black beans, drained, rinsed, and lightly mashed
1 cup shredded cheese (they use Muenster, I use cheddar or Monterey)
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
Enchilada sauce

Lay 4 tortillas in greased baking dish. Add salsa, beans, cheese, onions, and salt. Put 4 tortillas on top of those. Add enchilada sauce on top. Freeze.

To serve: bake at 350 until cheese is melted and heated through.

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie - (vegetarian resource group)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup potato water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
8 oz steamed tempeh OR 1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans, cooked
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vegetable seasoning
paprika

Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and add just enough water to cover. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain potatoes, reserving liquid. Mash cooked potatoes with hot water, salt, and onion powder. Add additional liquid if desired. Set aside. Combine tempeh OR beans, corn, and peas in a 9 in pie pan. In a separate bowl, whisk together peanut butter, water, and seasoning until smooth. Pour sauce evenly over vegetables. Top with mounds of mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika. Freeze.

To serve: Thaw. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes start to brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Easy Curried Lentil or Pea Soup - (McDougall Cookbook)
10 cups water
2 cups lentils or green split peas
1 chopped onion
2 tsp. curry powder
2 cups cooked rice

Start by cooking the lentils and onion OR split peas and onion in the water over low heat for about 30 minutes. Add curry powder and the rice and cook for 30 minutes longer.

Barbecue Eggplant with Couscous - Serves 2-3.
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2" rounds.

Place in broiling pan. Brush each slice liberally with barbecue sauce. Cover every exposed area. Broil for approximately 5 minutes, then flip, brush other side with BBQ sauce; then broil another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, boil water for couscous (need box of couscous, make all). Add couscous. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with salad. This is one of those quick meals. I eat this the night I cook.

Meatless Tamale Pie - Fry 3 large onions with 4 peeled, diced carrots. Add 3 cans beans and 1 lb frozen corn kernels. Throw in 1 - 8oz can tomato sauce and 1 TB each cumin and chili powder. Put everything in big casserole dish and top with corn bread batter. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Split Pea Soup - (Ecological Cooking)
1 lb green split peas
2 quarts water
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
salt, to taste

Place all ingredients in a lg. pot and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, on high heat for 20 minutes. Lower heat and simmer, covered, approximately 1 hr or until peas are soft. Remove bay leaf and beat with a wire whisk or process in blender until smooth. Freeze. Thaw and heat through.

Eggplant Parmesan
2 cups water
1 cup bulgur
3/4 cup egg substitute or 3 eggs
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. basil
1 tablespoon oil
1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
1 - 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat water to boiling in large saucepan; remove from heat and stir in bulgur. Let stand uncovered 30-60 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Mix bulgur, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese, and basil. Heat oil in skillet over low heat. Place half of the eggplant slices in skillet; top with bulgur mixture. Arrange remaining eggplant slices over bulgur, top with tomato sauce. Cover and cook 30-35 minutes or until eggplant is tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Serves 6.

Brown Lentil Bake with Pineapple - (Vegsource - Deborah)
(missing the amount of lentils... sorry...working on this problem!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1 tsp. Italian herbs
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1-8 oz can pineapple rings

Heat oven to 350. Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion. Add garlic, lentils, parsley, herbs, and soy sauce. Mash. Mix in 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Put in baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover. Top with pineapple and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

Vegetable Barbecue Couscous - (My own creation - I don't freeze this; but keep it in refrigerator for the week)
1 bag frozen black bean, broccoli, corn, and red pepper mix
1/2 bottle barbecue sauce
cooked couscous

Cook vegetables in water for about 7 minutes, or until tender. Add barbecue sauce. Heat through. Add cooked couscous.

Nutty Pasta Twists
1/4 cup drained, rinsed canned kidney beans
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. onion; minced fine
1 garlic clove, minced fine
2 tablespoons water

Cook pasta until tender. Drain and rinse in colander and let cool to room temp. Mash beans with spoon until smooth. Stir in peanut butter, water, honey, soy sauce, onion, and garlic. Add pasta and toss to coat evenly.

Broccoli and Chickpeas with Rice - Serves 2-3
Saute 1/2 a chopped onion. Add 1 cup of broccoli florets and 1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas. Season with tamari or soy sauce and lemon to taste. Thicken liquid with flour and cold water. Serve with rice.

Chile Relleno Puff - (Miserly Moms)
1-7 0z can whole green chilies
8 oz Monterey jack cheese
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Grease a small baking pan. Lay down the chilies and cover with half of the cheese. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Pour over chilies. Top with rest of cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Spaghetti with Zucchini Sauce - (Miserly Moms - I love this book)
1 (28-32 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb zucchini, sliced and cut in half
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 lb spaghetti noodles

Cook noodles and set aside. Combine zucchini and sauce in a saucepan and heat until zucchini are cooked. Toss with noodles and cheese.

Chicken TVP Potpie
prepared pie crust in pie pan
1 cup vegetable chicken broth
1 onion, diced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
3 stalks celery, cubed
1 cup chicken TVP, cubed
2 tablespoons roux (1 tablespoon butter plus 1 Tablespoon flour, melted together)
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. oregano
1/s tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all in a pan (besides crust, of course) and stir over medium heat. Put in pie crust and put crust on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Potato Cheese Soup - (Miserly Moms)
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheese
1 onion, diced
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoons butter

In a saucepan, melt butter and fry onion until light brown. Stir in the flour and salt and pepper. Stir forming a roux paste. Add water, stirring constantly. When mixed, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir while it thickens and the cheese melts.

Baked potatoes with chili and cheese - For this I cheat. I open and freeze 1 can vegetarian chili and freeze separately 1 cup grated cheese for topping.

Black Bean Soup - (Miserly Moms, again)
2-15 oz cans black beans
1-15 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 can vegetable broth plus 1 vegetable. chicken bouillon cube
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper
1 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons lime juice

Combine in a large pan and simmer until cooked through. Add lime juice after cooked. Serve with rolls or rice.

Risotto Primavera
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 cup uncooked arborio or regular medium grain white rice
2-15 oz cans chicken broth or use vegetable broth plus chicken bullion powder
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup frozen peas
1 zucchini, cut into julienne strips
8 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a 3 qt saucepan over medium high heat. Cook onion and carrot in oil, stirring frequently, until crisp tender. Stir in rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until rice begins to brown. Pour 1/2 cup of the broth over rice mixture. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed. Continue cooking 15 to 20 minutes, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and creamy; add broccoli, peas, and zucchini with the last addition of the broth. Sprinkle with cheese.

Sweet and Sour Tofu - (Michelle from Vegsource)
1 lb tofu, water packed

Deep fry in oil until golden brown or 4 minutes, then drain. Heat 2 tablespoons oil and stir fry 1 cup EACH green and red peppers, onions, and pineapple chunks. Mix together, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/3 cup each vinegar and ketchup and 1/2 cup water. Then add to veggies; cook until mixture thickens and then add to tofu. Serve over rice.

Stir Fry with Rice (Deborah from Vegsource)
1 bag frozen stir fry veggies
1 tablespoon smoked sesame oil
1 cup broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tb soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
meat substitutes, shredded (amt. and type your choice, I use chicken TVP)

Heat sesame oil over medium heat in large pan. Add veggies and stir fry until they begin to soften. Add meat subs and continue to stir fry. Add soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger. Continue to cook mixture to desired amount of doneness. Mix cornstarch with broth and add to pan. Stir constantly until thickened. Serve over rice or noodles.

Garden Burgers - (Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur, makes 6 patties)
2 tablespoons bulgur
1 lb mushrooms, quartered (4 cups steamed)
1 cup diced onion (1/2 cup steamed)
1/2 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup brown rice
1/2 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons shredded low fat cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons low fat cottage cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
dash pepper
2 tb cornstarch
olive oil cooking spray

Add 1/4 cup boiling water to the bulgur in a small bowl and let sit for about 1 hr. Steam the mushrooms for 10 minutes or until tender; then remove them from steamer; and replace with onion. Steam onions for 10 minutes or until pieces are translucent. Keep these separate and set aside.

Add 1/2 cup of water to the oats and let them soak for 10 minutes, until soft. Drain any excess water from bulgur and oats, the combine grains with mushrooms, rice, cheeses, and spices in blender or food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times until ingredients are chopped fine, but not pureed.

Pour mixture into a bowl with the onion and cornstarch, and mix well. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and set a large skillet over medium/low heat. Spray the skillet with spray. Measure 1/2 cup at a time of the mixture into the pan and shape with a spoon into a 3 3/4 inch patty that is approximately 1/2 inch thick.

Cook the patties in batches for 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until light brown on the surface. When all of the patties have been cooked in skillet, arrange them on a lightly sprayed cooking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the oven. Be sure to turn them over halfway through the cooking time. Freeze when they have cooled.

To serve: Can be reheated in pan; grilled or microwaved for 30 to 35 seconds and then toasted.

Beans and Rice - Serves 4-6 (Ecological Cooking)
3/4 cup red beans, rinsed well
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

Place beans and water in large pot. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in rice and tamari. Bring back up to boil. Reduce heat to low again, cover and simmer for 1 hr. Fluff with a fork. Serve hot.

Broccoli Cornbread
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
3/4 cup cottage cheese
4 eggs
1 package cornbread mix

Mix margarine, onions, salt, cheese, broccoli, and beaten eggs. Stir in muffin mix. Pour in a 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes; or until brown.

Polenta Pizza Casserole - Prepared polenta, broiled in baking dish until browned. Add pizza sauce, and whatever topping you want. Freeze. Thaw. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake 18-20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve.

About the Author:
Stephanie is a stay at home mom and a vegetarian. She has been happily married for 6 1/2 years to her highschool sweetheart, Siddhartha. They have a beautiful 2 year old boy, Austen, and live in a small town in Oregon.

yhwhsesther

OAMC - Ham Plan
Article by: Kim Tilley
Dated: May 28, 2006

Here is my "Ham Plan." I am finding it easier and more economical to have bulk cooking plans for when meats and veggies are on sale or in season. I do a big cooking that lasts a few months (Hopefully! I am still new at this) so I don't have to cook that particular meat again for a while. I am hoping my chicken will last a while so I can focus on other meats. Here are some of the recipes I made around Easter (next time I will make a big ham or a few medium ones, last time the 20 pound ham was a bit hard to turn every half hour!)

If you try these recipes, please let me know how they turn out! I don't cook ham as often as I cook chicken and hamburger, so this plan isn't as "polished" as the other ones. Feel free to send your recipes, comments and suggestions; I will be happy to post them in the readers' hints and tips section! Happy cooking!

Day one

Cook the " Master Recipe," which in this case would be Honey Baked Ham or your favorite baked ham recipe. While the ham is cooking (this one takes a few hours!) chop the veggies and prepare doughs for tomorrow's assembly. Or, clean the house!

The master recipe:

Andie's Original Recipe for WPOPFHBH* Ham (Why Pay Outrageous Prices For Honey Baked Ham) by Andie Paysinger asenji@themall.net (I found this on the KitchenLink)

"Following is the ham recipe I developed originally for cooking "dry-cured" hams from my family's farm in Kentucky. These are usually quite salty as they are pre-cured in a barrel of salt before being hung in the smoke house. People in the south like saltier ham than folks out here so I experimented until I discovered this way of cooking them which actually extracts a lot of the salt. Then I discovered that very cheap store hams also come out nicely flavored when cooked this way. I always warn people to keep the heat low and the time long - as one doesn't get the same results with more heat and less time. I have cooked this for a lot of people and told quite a few people who have used this method and have yet to find anyone who has not found this to be just about the best ham ever."

This recipe (or cooking method) works really well with the absolute cheapest bone-in ham, the holiday "Loss Leaders" at 49, 59, cents a pound, sometimes less. DON'T GET THE SHANK END. For a 12 to 15 pound ham you will NEED the following:

(Kim's note: I bought a "country ham" which is more like a roast, and it was wonderful. Cub Foods had them on sale for 99 cents a pound; we got more than 20 meals out of 20 pounds.)

A deep roasting pan, dutch oven or deep baking dish just big enough for the ham to fit into with enough room to let you turn it over.
An Ice Pick! This is very important!


Maple syrup - I find it at Trader Joe's, a specialty discout grocery chain here in California or at Price/Costco and at Smart & Final. I am sure there is a similar source in your area. I usually buy a quart and use most of it.

Dry mustard, (Colemans) about 2 tablespoons.

Optional - Whole cloves to stick in the ham, but not necessary.

1. Trim any skin off the ham but leave some of the fat - less than 1/4 inch thickness. Score the fat down to the meat in a diamond or tic-tac-toe pattern, your choice.

2. Take the ice pick and stab the ham all over, and I mean many, many stabs. Use up some of your latent agression.

3. Take the dry mustard and massage it into the ham. If you must, stick whole cloves into the ham, as many as you want.

4. Put the ham in the pot. Pour in the maple syrup until it comes up at least 1/2 way on the ham, a little more won't hurt, it won't be going to waste.

5. Place the ham in a COLD oven and turn the temp control to 300 degrees F. Set timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes reduce heat to 250. and turn the ham over in the syrup.

6. Continue cooking for 3 hours for a 12 pound ham, add 30 minutes for each 2 pounds over that, turning the ham every 30 minutes. This is a long, slow method that will have remarkable results.

7. At the end of the baking time, remove ham from pot, allow to drain on a rack for 20 minutes, then slice.

Most of the salt in the ham will have been extracted through the stab wounds and the meat will have absorbed some of the maple flavor from the syrup. When the liquid left in the pot has cooled, strain it through a coffee filter and freeze it, you can use it two more times. After that it loses a bit of flavor or becomes too salty."

Kim's notes: This recipe is incredible! The ham just falls apart, appears more like a roast than those water-added hams at the store. Even the pickiest eaters in my family eat this and beg for more! They ask for it just about every night! There was a ton left over (I baked a 20 pounder! A little hard to turn every half hour, but well worth it!) This is better made on a day when you are not once a month cooking but are around the house, perhaps on a cleaning day or a once a month baking day.

When the ham cools, you need to divide it into the following:
slices (cut the biggest parts into this)

shredded (the outer part is best for this, whatever is falling apart)

cubed (chop up the small and weird shaped pieces)

ham bone for soup

I throw out the fat, can't think of a way to use it yet, any suggestions are welcome (see reader hint at bottom)! Package everything in Ziploc bags (double bag it!) or big containers with lids, put in fridge (or freezer if you can't get to it right away) and GO TO BED! You will be tired! (I got several Ziploc gallon bags FULL of meat!)


Day 2

Assembly day! Depending on how much you have, you can use the honey baked ham in any of the following. To reduce the workload, double or triple the recipes. If you run out of ham, try the others next time! If you run out of time, freeze the ham and assemble on the day you plan to cook it. (I keep an eye out for "quick and easy" dishes that are made with cooked meat and I try to always keep a few containers of cooked meat in the freezer for this purpose. I try to write the results on the recipe and whether it would be worth cooking on oamc day. Some recipes are so easy and good, they are better left as "emergency" recipes, when you have to get something on the table fast and want it fresh-cooked.)

Honey Baked Ham, to use in:
1) BBQ Pork
2) Baked Eggs
3) Ham and Cheese "Hot Pockets"
4) Split Pea Soup (haven't tried yet)
5) Creamed Ham on Cornbread Cakes (haven't tried but sounds good)
6) Sliced ham for sandwiches/dinner
7) Ham and Bean soup (haven't tried yet)
8) Scalloped Ham and Potatoes
9) Crustless Ham Quiche(haven't tried yet, picture looks delish!)
10) Impossible Ham Pie (all the impossible pies are great)
11) Linguine ala Anne
12) Mac-n-Cheese with Ham (looks good, haven't tried)
13) Hoppin' John Soup(haven't tried yet)
14) Radiatore Carbonara (haven't tried)
15) Grits Souffle' (haven't tried)
16. Healthy ways to use honey baked ham
17. Hints and tips from readers (you!)

Yes, there are quite few new recipes here; thought I would try a bunch this time, I will let you know how they turn out!

BBQ Pork (adapted from busycooks)
4-5 cups shredded honey baked ham
1-2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce or ketchup

1. Put ham in crockpot, pour barbecue sauce or ketchup over it (I include ketchup because the ham already has a sweet, smoky flavor, it doesn't need a lot of barbecue seasoning to be good).

2. Cook on low for a few hours, until flavors blend, checking to make sure it doesn't burn (if the edges burn, it still tastes great!)

3. Serve open faced on bread or in a hamburger bun or kaiser roll. Very good, very easy, freezes well!


Baked Eggs (my adaptation from the Once a Month Cookbook)
This is huge, you can divide it in half if you have a smaller family

6 bread slices, cut in cubes
2 cups of Velveeta, melted in microwave or cubed
2 cups cubed honey baked ham
1 cup steamed broccoli (or cook it in microwave)
6 eggs
3 cups milk

1. Mix bread, ham, and broccoli, spread in a 13x9x2 baking dish coated with non stick cooking spray. Whisk eggs and milk together, pour in melted Velveeta (not too hot or it will cook the eggs!). Cover dish with foil (or lid) and freeze. (If using unmelted Velveeeta just add to ham mixture before milk and eggs, the cheese will be concentrated instead of throughout.)

2. To prepare for serving, thaw dish and bake uncovered in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.

Kim's note: Also great mixed up the night before and refrigerated, then baked in the morning for Sunday breakfast!

Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets
I am guessing on quantities because I eyeball this one!

1-2 cups chopped ham
1 cup cheddar cheese, or use American cheese slices, they are moister
steamed broccoli (optional)
pizza dough

1. Prepare pizza dough. Use a turnover maker or just roll out the dough into squares, fill each with a little ham and cheese and another desired vegetable, don't overfill, as they will leak!

2. Seal edges with water, bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet (those air bake ones are great for this!)

3. Eat, or freeze, then nuke 'em for convenience! Look in the freezer section of the grocery store for more hot pockets to clone at home!


Split Pea Soup with Ham (from busycooks)

1 lb split peas
8 cups ham stock
8 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 tsp thyme
1 onion - chopped
2 carrots - diced
2 ribs celery - diced
2 cups diced ham or smoked sausage
soy sauce
tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse split peas and soak in water for 1 - 2 hours. Place in a large pot with the ham stock and chicken broth. Add bay leaf, thyme, and onion. Simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Add ham, carrots, celery and simmer for an additional 1 - 2 hours, or until the peas have cooked into a smooth soup. Season with soy sauce, tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Yield: about 12 servings

NOTES: Don't toss out that ham bone. Use it to make stock for this soup. The two kinds of stock really makes this soup exceptional.

Kim's note: I haven't tried it yet, but it looks good, and just about everything I have tried on Lynn's site has been excellent! I would use bouillon cubes if you don't have chicken stock on hand (I have LOTS of chicken stock! LOL)


Creamed Ham on Cornbread Cakes (from Do Ahead Cooking, by Southern Living)

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced cooked carrot
1/2 cup frozen English peas, thawed
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Cornbread cakes (recipe follows)
garnish: fresh parsley sprigs

1. Saute celery and onion in butter in a large skillet over medium heat until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly.

2. Gradually add milk and Worcestershire sauce, cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in ham and next three ingredients. Cool slightly.

To store: Refrigerate in tightly covered container for up to 2 days or freeze for a month (their estimates are VERY conservative, should keep fine for a few months).

To serve: Cook over medium heat until hot (or nuke it!) stirring often. Serve over cornbread cakes. Serves 4-6 (I would definitely triple this if you like it)

Cornbread Cakes
1 3/4 cups self rising cornmeal mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup veg oil, divided

1. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl, stirring just until moistened.

2. Heat one tbsp oil in a large non stick skillet over med-high heat. Pour 1/3 cup batter into skillet for each corncake, cooking 3 at a time.

3. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Drain cakes on paper towels.

4. Repeat with remaining 3 tbsp oil and remaining batter. Cool completely.

To store: refrigerate cakes up to 2 days or freeze for one month in tightly covered container.

To serve: Place cakes on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (Or nuke 'em!) Makes 12 cakes.

Sliced ham for sandwiches/dinner: Pretty self-explanatory, we also microwave or bake slices (in Corningware dish, covered) until nice and hot, serving with mashed potatoes and green beans. This is a perfect quick and easy dinner and doesn't need a fancy sauce on top; it's great by itself!

Ham and Bean Soup (Do Ahead Cookbook)
1 pound dried Great Northern beans (navy beans)
6 cups of water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium-size hot red pepper
1 bay leaf
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried whole thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 cups chopped cooked ham

Sort and wash beans, place in a dutch oven. Cover with water 2 inches above the beans, let soak 8 hours.

Drain beans and return to dutch oven. Add 4 cups water and next 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occassionally.

Add remaining two cups of water, potato, carrot and ham. Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove hot red pepper and bay leaf before serving. Yield:10 cups

Scalloped Ham and Potatoes (Do Ahead Cookbook)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups chopped cooked ham
2 small onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 cloves minced garlic

1. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat, add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly.

2. Gradually add half and half, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt and white pepper.

3. Spoon 1/4 cup sauce mixure into greased 10 inch oven proof skillet. Combine potato and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stir well.

4. Layer half of potato mixture over sauce, top with half of remaining sauce. Repeat layers.

5. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until potatoes are tender. Makes 8 servings.

Crustless Ham Quiche (Do Ahead Cookbook)
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp butter, melted
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp dried whole dillweed
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Cook ham in skillet over medium heat until lightly browned; set aside.

2. Saute' mushrooms in butter in skillet over medium heat until tender. Sprinkle mushroom and ham evenly into a greased 10 inch quiche dish.

3. Combine eggs and next 8 ingredients in container of a blender, process until smooth. Stir cheese and parsley into egg mixture, pour over ham and mushrooms.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Yield: One quiche.

Kim's note: I would freeze this in a Pyrex casserole dish before cooking it, as cooked eggs sometimes have a weird texture after freezing. Thaw, and then cook.


HAM AND SCALLOPED POTATOES (from Betty Crocker's Cookbook)
4 cups peeled and sliced potatoes
3 Tbsp. margarine
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. onion - finely chopped
2 c. chopped ham

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt margarine and add flour, salt and pepper all at once. Stirring to make base for white sauce, blend and stir until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Heat to boiling. Stir constantly and boil 1 minute.

In casserole dish, arrange 1/2 of potatoes in layer. Cover with chopped ham and onion. Top with remaining potatoes. Cover with white sauce. Cover.

Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake60 minutes or longer until potatoes are tender. Cool and Freeze. (I tripled this recipe and divided it into 4 8x8 pans)

Impossible Ham & Broccoli Pie
2 cans ham - drained
10 oz frozen broccoli - rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese - grated
1 c milk
3 lg eggs
1/2 c Bisquick (r) baking mix
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp thyme

SAVORY TOPPING:
1/2 c Bisquick (r) baking mix
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp margarine

Heat oven to 400 F. Grease 10 x 1 1/2 inch fluted pie plate. Mix ham, broccoli and cheese in plate. Beat remaining ingredients, except Savory Topping, until smooth (15 seconds in blender or 1 minute with beater).

Pour into plate. Bake 20 minutes.

For topping, mix Bisquick, almonds, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Cut in margarine. Sprinkle pie with topping. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

Kim's note: change the cans of ham to a couple cups of cubed honey baked ham.

I don't know how this will freeze, but it could also be a quick and easy dinner, whipped together with ham from the freezer.


Linguine a la Anne (from Once a Month Cookbook)
1 12-oz package linguine
2 tbsp butter/margarine
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 12-oz can evaporated skim milk (you could use regular)
1 4-oz can mushroom stems and pieces, save liquid (I like fresh better!)
1 1/3 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
4 cups cooked, cubed ham
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (imported is THE BEST!)
1 sliced red bell pepper
1 sliced green bell pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup seasoned croutons (I make my own)

1. Cook linguine in a large pot according to the directions, drain and return to the pot.

2. While the linguine cooks, melt butter or margarine in saucepan. Stir in flour and salt, adding evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one more minute.

3. Add liquid from the mushrooms, water and bouillon cube. Cook over medium heat, stirring cinstantly until slighly thickened and bubbly.

4. Add 2 cups of sauce and drained mushrooms to linguine, toss until well mixed. Spoon linguine mixture in to a 13x9x2 inch baking dish (may want to grease it), pressing it up to the sides and leaving a slight hollow in the center of the dish.

5. Toss ham into remaining sauce, spread it in the center of the linguine. Sprinkle with Romano cheese, cover with foil, and freeze dish.

6. Saute red and green bell peppers in vegetable oil until soft, allow to cool. Place in a 1 quart freezer bag, attach this bag and croutons (also in a 1 quart freezer bag) to dish.

To serve: thaw dish, peppers and croutons. Bake dish uncovered in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle croutons around edge of casserole. Reheat red and green peppers and mound them in the center. Makes 8 servings.

(I tried this one years ago and didn't have half of the ingredients and it still came out good! Can't wait to try it the right way!)

Ham and Macaroni and Cheese (from the oamc digest)
8 oz. elbow macaroni
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups shredded cheese
2 cups cubed ham
2 cups thin white suace (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook macaroni and drain. Place half of the macaroni in and 2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Add all of ham. Top with remaining macaroni and cheese. Pour white sauce over casserole. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

THIN WHITE SAUCE (for macaroni and cheese)
1 Tbsp. margarine
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk

Melt butter. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Use as directed in recipe for macaroni and cheese.

Notes from a tired oamc cook (don't know who this was!): I was tired and worn out at this point. I decided that the Ham and Macaroni and cheese would have to be a SAR (Some Assembly Required) meal. I placed three cups of cheese in a qt. size freezer -- then I placed 2 cup bag another qt size freezer bag. I placed a rubber band around these and froze them. At meal time - I will use this recipe. I will stir in the ham before baking.

The following recipes are from "Dinner's Ready" by Andrew Schloss and Ken Bookman, a "chain cooking" cookbook, where you make completely different meals out of leftovers from previous meals. These look good. Where there is a leftover used, I posted that recipe too, in case you wanted to do it their way or adapt these recipes.

Hoppin' John Soup (Dinner's Ready)
3 slices reserved honey baked ham
2 tsp corn oil
1 med onion, finely chopped
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup long grain rice
6 cups chicken broth, canned or homemade
2 cups reserved Spicy Corn and Black-eyed Pea Succotash (recipe follows)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp chopped parsley

1. Dice the reserved ham. Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan. Add the ham, onion, and pepper flakes, and cook over medium heat until the onion has softened, about 2 minutes.

2. Add the rice and toss to coat with oil. Add the chicken broth and simmer 12 minutes until the rice is barely tender.

Add the succotash, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Stir in the vinegar and parsley and serve. 4 servings

Spicy Corn and Black-eyed Pea Succotash
1 cup dried black-eyed peas
4 cups of cold water
1/2 med onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 tsp corn oil
2 tsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans (7 oz each) corn kernels, drained

1. Combine the black-eyed peas with the water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 1 hour.

2. Drain well and wash out the saucepan. Rinse the peas and return to the pan and cover with 4 more cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour more or until peas are soft. Drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, cook the onion and bell pepper in the corn oil in a large skillet over medium heat until softened. Add the chili powder, cumin, pepper flakes, and sugar.

4. Stir and cook 1 minute. Season with salt and black pepper.

5. When the peas are done, add them to the onion mixture. Stir in the corn and heat through. Reserve 2 cups (for Hoppin John soup) and serve the rest. (The original dinner menu was Honey Baked Ham, the succotash, and Braised Greens, also listed)

Radiatore Carbonara (Dinner's Ready)
1 pound radiatore (I think these are wheel-shaped pasta!)
3 eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk, half and half or sour cream
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (imported is best!)
2 tbsp grated Romano cheese (imported!)
2 slices reserved Honey Baked Ham
2 tsp olive oil
3 tbsp chopped parsley

1.Bring large pot of water to a boil and add radiatore. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, set a large serving bowl in a larger bowl of warm water. Add the eggs ad beat lightly. Beat in the buttermilk, parmesan, and romano cheese. Set aside.

3. Dice the reserved ham and cook in olive oil until lightly crisped and very hot. Keep warm.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and immediately add to the egg mixture. Toss well until pasta is completely coated. Add the meat and parsley and toss. Serve immediately. 4 servings (Note: the hot pasta only partially cooks the egg yolks)

Grits Souffle' (Dinner's Ready)
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup quick cook grits
3/4 cup cheddar cheese (3 oz)
3 tbsp butter
1 slice reserved Honey Baked Ham
1/2 cup Braised Greens (recipe follows)
1 cup diced green bell pepper
3 scallions, sliced
3 egg yolks
dash of hot pepper sauce
2 to 3 tbsp cornmeal
5 egg whites

1. Bring the water to a boil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the grits in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Simmer for 10 minutes until thick and light. Remove from the heat and sitr in the cheddar cheese and 1 tbsp butter.

2. Meanwhile, chop the reserved ham and reserved greens. Set aside. Cook the bell pepper in 1 tbsp butter over medium high heat for 1 minute.

3. Add the scallions and ham and cook another 2 minutes. Beat this mixture into the cooked grits along withthe greens, egg yolks, and hot pepper sauce. Set aside to cool.

4. Grease a 2-quart souffle dish with the remaining butter and dust the dish with the cornmeal. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

5. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Mix a third of the beaten whites into the cooled grits. Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions. Pour the batter gently into the souffle dish.

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until well browned, fully puffy and barely jiggling in the center when moved gently. Serve right away.

(No, this probably WON'T freeze, but sounds good!)

Braised Greens
4 pounds greens, such as chard, escarole, kale, collards, rabe, mustard, dandelions or a combination
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

1. Trim the greens off the thick stems and wilted leaves. Place the greens in a clean sink filled with cold water and swish them back and forth to clean them. Lift the greens from the water and shake off the excess water but do not dry.

2. Cook the onion in the oil until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the pepper flakes and the greens. Toss well to coat the greens with oil. Cover the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring once, until the greens have wilted. Uncover and continue cooking until all the water has evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 10-12 minutes.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve 1/2 cup for grits souffle and serve the rest.

Ok, that's it! I will die if I type any more! Hope these help! I will let you know what I cook and how they came out! Happy Cooking, Kim

Healthy (Or Healthier!) ways to use Honey Baked Ham

Most of the recipes here are not exactly "low fat." Ham is definitely a very fatty and salty meat. If you want the taste but not the fat, here are a few suggestions:

Use as a topping on casseroles and salads - We like to eat "ham and cheese salads" instead of casseroles and other heavy dishes. Using ham as a condiment instead of as the main part of the dish will lighten it up considerably.

Use in a stirfry - Add lots of veggies and rice, or even make fried rice! Use those veggies to really stretch that meat!

In soups - You can even use the ham bone to make a great stock and just a little cut up meat for texture. Think about how little actual chicken you get in those canned chicken noodle soups! Of course, you can have more than that! It just depends on how far you want to stretch it.

Hot pockets - Double the amount of veggies and cheese, halve the amount of ham.

Hints and tips, reader's note:
Hi,
I am Extremely new at this OAMC but I am slowly trying to get going & succeed - I read your ham plan & saw that you don't keep the ham fat: I keep some & add it to my beans & ham recipe:

4 c dry beans( pintos) (I soak them overnight)
2 cups shredded ham
1 cup ham fat(cubed)
2 onions diced
1 tspn chili powder & 1 tspn paprika
2 chicken boulion cubes

I place all in crockpot on high for the day, after I cover it up to 1 inch above mixture with water. I have served this time & time again at my hubby's work group lunches & always receive calls for the recipe. I truly believe the rind & fat adds that extra flavor. I have made it with out the chicken boullion & it works too. It is up to your salt taste.

I have also done the above except decreased the shredded ham by 1/2 and added equal portions of barbecue sauce & brown sugar & 1/2 amount of water & people RAVE about it. (No boullion either)

It ALWAYS amazes me that such a simple recipe so many love. GO FIGURE?!

Have a GREAT DAY!!!!
Stephanie M.

--Thanks Stephanie!

About the Author

Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart, is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at home with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing!

yhwhsesther

OAMC - Hamburger Plan
Article by: Kim Tilley
Dated: May 28, 2006

The Hamburger Plan

By Kim Tilley
Here is my "Hamburger Plan", probably one of my most used so far. I love having all of my favorite recipes in one place, and I find myself referring back to it often.

Game Plan
Since hamburger is loose and you don't have to cut it up into different sections (such as chicken and turkey), it is much easier to handle in large quantities and very versatile. I make master recipes of some things that can be used in many recipes.

Here are many ideas pertaining to hamburger, "master recipes" are on the left, "secondary recipes" are indented - you assemble these from the master recipes. You can also freeze the portion of the master recipe that is required in the secondary recipe and assemble the secondary recipe on the day you want to eat it. I do this a lot when trying and/or learning new recipes.

Hamburger Plan Recipes:
1. Hamburger Patties(use raw hamburger)
2. Perdenales River Chili, (make a BIG batch), also used in:
taco meat
5-way chili
burritos for the freezer
ravioli filling
South of the Border lasagna
Deep Dish Mexican Pizza
chili pot pies
empanadas
3. Freezer Stash Meatballs and
4. Lean Meatballs, used in:
Italian meatball subs
spaghetti and meatballs
easy meatball stew
school night meatball soup
meatball minestrone
baked ziti and meatball casserole
chili meatball supper
Scandinavian meatballs
sweet and sour meatballs
5. Beef Porcupines
6. Italian Meatloaf
7. Italian Meatloaf sandwiches
8. Mexican Meatloaf
9. Bierrocks
10. Cheeseburger turnovers
11. Maid rites (crumbly hamburgers)
12. Simple Salisbury Steak (Campbell's soup recipe)
13. BBQ Beef (Beanless Sloppy Joes)
14. Easy goulash
15. Tortilla mini Burgers

Hamburger Patties
Using raw meat, I added some onion powder, garlic powder and some seasoning salt, or sometimes I put in a half packet of onion soup mix for each pound of hamburger. I use rubber gloves to handle the hamburger (I hate trying to get that stuff off of my hands!) Anyhow, I made about 40 patties from six pounds of hamburger. I stacked them between waxed paper and froze on a cookie sheet. After freezing, put in a Ziploc bag.

Perdenales River Chili
I think this one could be adapted to a crockpot recipe. I am going to tinker with it, let you know how it turns out!

4 pounds coarsely ground chuck (I use lean hamburger)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
2 cups water
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Combine meat, onion, and garlic in a large Dutch oven; cook over medium heat until meat is browned, stirring to crumble.

Drain off pan drippings. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well.

Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Yield: about 12 cups. (May want to double if you want to make all of the following recipes)

Taco meat
Use the chili as is! It makes a great taco meat! I serve it in "soft tacos" (burritos!) with cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa and sour cream. MMM

5-way chili
Serve Perdenales chili over cooked pasta. Top with cooked kidney beans (canned is fine), cheese, and chopped onion. Just like the Hard Times Cafe (a great chili restaurant out East!)

Burritos for the freezer
Perdenales chili
flour tortillas
cheddar cheese
refried beans (optional)

Put about a 1/4 cup of meat (eyeball it) in the center of the tortilla, top with cheese and beans. Roll up tightly and place seam side down on a cookie sheet and freeze.

When frozen, put in Ziploc bag.

To reheat, microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

Ravioli
I have a half-moon shaped press I use to make these called the "Pocket Gourmet." Here is the recipe from the booklet, with my modifications to make if you don't have this press (has three sizes, really neat to do turnovers, pastries, all kinds of stuff!)

for the dough:
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil

Beat eggs. Add flour and salt, mix together. Use hands to press into a firm ball of dough. If too moist, add more flour.

Place ball of dough on a lightly flourd surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Roll dough with the rolling pin on a lightly floured surface until paper thin. Dough should be used immediately to avoid drying out.

How to assemble ravioli:
If you don't have the press, place the filling in small mounds (according to the size you want) about an inch apart from each other on HALF of the dough.

Take a basting brush and lightly brush water between each filling mound but not on it. The water is your "glue" to stick the pasta together.

Fold other half of dough (with no filling) over top the half with filling on it, pressing AROUND each filling mound to seal in the filling. Cut into squares between the sealed filling mounds.

Place on waxed paper or greased cookie sheet and freeze (make sure they don't stick to the cookie sheet and rip!) When frozen, place in ziploc bag.

To serve, bring water to a boil. Put in frozen ravioli and cook 3-5 minutes or until al dente. Top with hot tomato sauce, alfredo sauce, whatever you like! Enjoy! I have also just cooked them in sauce instead of water and they cook up fine.

(If you have the press, cut out the circles of dough with the bottom of the press, place one circle in press, add a little filling and brush water on one half of the dough edges. Press closed, making sure the filling is sealed in. Freeze on cookie sheet)


South-of-the Border Lasagna
1 pound ground beef (or perdenales chili)
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, divided
4 (12-inch) flour tortillas
1 (8-ounce) container refrigerated guacamole dip
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced and seeded (optional)

(Don't have to do this step if you use the Perdenales chili) Brown ground beef in a skillet, stirring until it crumbles; drain.

Bring tomato sauce and taco seasoning mix to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and reserve 1/4 cup mixture.

Add beef and half of green chiles to remaining tomato sauce.

Place 1 flour tortilla on a greased 12-inch pizza pan.(I would use a casserole dish or cake pan, lined with foil so you can lift it out later to freeze) Layer with half of meat sauce, 1 tortilla, guacamole dip, half of Monterey Jack cheese, and remaining green chiles. Top with 1 tortilla, remaining meat sauce, remaining tortilla, and reserved 1/4 cup tomato sauce.

Bake lasagna at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with remaining half of cheese, and bake 5 more minutes. Top with jalapeno slices, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Kim's note: You can skip the guacamole if its presence causes a riot at your house. I love guacamole, but not the mutiny it inspires in the rest of my crew! Mild salsa would be a delicious substitute. I am going to tinker with this recipe, I will post the results.

Deep Dish Mexican Pizza - from "Fresh N' Easy Cookbook" pamphlet from Wyler's Bouillon)

For Crust:
2 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix (use bisquick or following recipe)
1/2 cup cornmeal (any kind, masa harina is best)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl (or food processor) , combine above ingredients, mixing well.

Grease a 15 x 10 inch baking pan/ casserole dish (this recipe makes a lot, you could use two smaller dishes, like pie plates)

Pat dough on bottom and up sides of well greased pan/casserole dish. Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven.

For Pizza:
1 pound ground beef (or Perdenales chili)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (8 oz) your favorite tomato sauce
1 can green chilies (optional)
2 tsp or 1 cube beef bouillon
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
chopped tomatoes
shredded lettuce
slice pitted olives
any other toppings of your choice

Prepare beef filling as follows or use your own (leftover chili works great!): brown onion and beef in large skillet, pour off fat. Add tomato sauce, chilies, bouillon, chili powder and cumin.

Cook and stir until bouillon dissolves.

Spread beans over crust, spread meat mixture evely over beans. Top with cheese. Bake 10 minutes.

Garnish with tomatoes, lettuce and olives (or other toppings). Serves 6-8, refrigerate or freeze leftovers (this recipe is even better after a day or two in the fridge!)

Notes: I use whatever I have on hand for this recipe. I have use the following homemade biscuit mix, but I have even made biscuit diugh and added the cornmeal, and then done the recipe. For the beans, I have used all kinds, they all work good as long as they are kind of thick for spreading. For the meat, I have used leftover chili, goulash, ground turkey, Italian sausage, whatever you have on hand! The cheeses can be any kind, a little cheddar can go a long way if mixed with other cheeses. Do not worry if you are missing a few spices. It tastes great even if you don't have cumin or (heaven forbid!) if you run out of chili powder.

Basic Biscuit Mix
10 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup baking powder
1 tbsp salt
2 cups shortening

Mix dry ingredients in a huge bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender, OR (this is what I do), combine 2 1/2 cups of the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup shortening in the food processor, gradually combining all of dry mix with shortening.

Keep tightly sealed. At room temp, it keeps a few months, longer in the fridge. I usually use all of my mix up in a month so I keep it in my baking supplies.

Use the mix to make the following:
Pancakes: 2 cups mix, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs
Waffles: 2 cups mix, 2 tbsp veg. oil, 1 egg, 1 1/3 cups milk
Dumplings: 2 cups mix, 2/3 cup milk
Other ideas: use in place of Bisquick in recipes

Chili pot pies
Prepare a double recipe for the cornmeal biscuit crust (from Deep Dish Mexican Pizza). You can make one large pot pie or individual ones (those pans to make jumbo-sized muffins are perfect for this).

Grease the muffin pan (or cake pan, whatever you are using), line bottom and sides with half of crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, fill with Perdenales chili, add top crust, bake again another 10 minutes or until top crust is done.

When cool, carefully take out of muffin pan (you can use liners if this is too difficult, or line big pan with foil if you are making one large chili pot pie).

Freeze.

To serve, microwave for a few minutes on medium or reheat in oven for 1/2 hour at 300 (I am guessing here) degrees.

Other suggestions: Fill with ground beef and cheese, shredded barbecued chicken, shredded bbq pork, bbq beef (beanless sloppy joes).

Empanadas (ehm-pah-NYAH-dahs)
This is not the "authentic recipe" but it is good and not too labor intensive.

You need:
One recipe of your favorite pastry dough
Perdenales or other favorite chili

Make up pastry dough. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick. Using a cup or biscuit cutter, cut out small circles.

Place a small teaspoon or less of chili in the middle of each one. Brush one edge with a little water. Fold edges together to seal. Bend to resemble a crescent moon and crimp edges with side of fork.

At this point you could freeze them or you could bake then freeze them. Bake for whatever your pastry recipes indicates, 400 degrees for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Freeze on cookie sheet. Serve as an appetizer or main dish with other Mexican/Spanish accompaniments (ie refried beans, spanish rice, etc)

Freezer Stash Meatballs
(all of the next 7 or 8 recipes came from Busy Cooks and links from there. Please check out Lynn's site, she is a wealth of information!)
Makes 48 meatballs; 8 servings
3 pounds lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
3 eggs
6 tablespoons minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix beef, crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Shape into 11/2-inch meatballs. (A miniature ice cream scoop makes fast work of shaping.)

Arrange in two 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pans. Bake in preheated oven until meat is browned, with no trace of pink and juices run clear, 10 to 13 minutes.

Drain, let cool to room temperature, divide into thirds and freeze each portion in vapor-moisture proof containers or use in one of following.

Lean Meatballs
Work Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 to 45 minutes
3 slices firm white bread, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" jelly-roll pan with foil; spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine diced bread and 1/3 cup water. With hand, mix until bread is evenly moistened. Add ground beef and remaining ingredients. With hand, mix until well combined.

Shape meat mixture into twenty-four 2-inch meatballs. (For easier shaping, use slightly wet hands.) Place meatballs in jelly-roll pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.

Each meatball: About 70 calories, 9 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 3 g total fat (1 g saturated), 24 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium.

Note: To thaw meatballs for use in recipes, place frozen meatballs in refrigerator overnight. Or, unwrap frozen meatballs and place on microwave-safe plate. In microwave oven, cook on Medium (50 percent power) 2 to 4 minutes until just thawed.

Italian Meatball Sandwiches/Subs
Makes 4 servings
1 teaspoon oil
3/4 cup EACH: bell pepper strips, thin onion wedges
1/3 Freezer Stash Meatballs, thawed in refrigerator
1 14-ounce jar prepared spaghetti sauce
4 hoagie rolls, split
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high until very hot. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add thawed, cooked meatballs and spaghetti sauce.

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 5 to 6 minutes. Divide among rolls and, if desired, sprinkle with cheese.

Nutrients each without cheese: 457 calories, 19 grams fat (37.4 percent total calories), 126 milligrams cholesterol, 1,073 milligrams sodium.

Spaghetti and Meatballs - pretty self-explanatory!

Easy Meatball Stew
Makes 4 servings
1 12-ounce jar brown beef gravy (I would use homemade, or thicken some beef bouillon)
1 8-ounce can stewed tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 16-ounce bag frozen vegetables with potatoes
1/3 Freezer Stash Meatballs

In a large saucepan, bring gravy, tomatoes, water, thyme and pepper to a boil. Stir in vegetables. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in thawed, cooked meatballs and heat through, about 5 minutes.

School-Night Meatball Soup
1/2 cup regular long-grain rice
2 cans (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 medium celery stalks, sliced
5 ounces prewashed spinach (half 10-ounce bag)
8 frozen Lean Meatballs, thawed and sliced
shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1 cup water to boiling over high heat. Add rice; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.

Meanwhile, in 4-quart saucepan, heat chicken broth and 2 cups water to boiling over high heat. Add carrots and celery; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Stir in spinach, rice, and sliced meatballs; heat through. Serve soup with Parmesan cheese if you like.

Each serving without Parmesan cheese: About 300 calories, 25 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 7 g total fat (3 g saturated), 51 mg cholesterol, 1010 mg sodium.

Meatball Minestrone
This hearty, flavorful main dish soup is ready in about 20 minutes using freezer meatballs.
24 cooked meatballs
15 oz can navy or other white beans, drained
1 pkt beef bouillon
1 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
1 cup ditali, orzo or other pasta
16 oz tomatoes, cut up (undrained)
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 tsp sugar
grated Parmesan cheese

In a 4 quart saucepan combine meatballs, beans, bouillon, onion, basil, bay leaf and water and bring to a boil.

Add pasta and cook for 15 minutes. Add undrained tomatoes, vegetables and sugar and heat through. Serve in individual bowls, topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Yield: 6 servings

Sunday Baked Ziti & Meatball Casserole
1 package (16 ounces) ziti or penne pasta
4 cups Big-Batch Tomato Sauce (your favorite sauce is fine)
1 large egg
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
8 Lean Meatballs, thawed and sliced
1 package (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (1 cup)

In saucepot, prepare pasta as label directs in boiling salted water; drain. Return pasta to saucepot.

Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat tomato sauce, covered, until hot over medium-low heat. (If tomato sauce is frozen, add 2 tablespoons water to saucepan to prevent scorching.) Add 3 cups sauce to pasta in saucepot; toss well. Reserve remaining 1 cup sauce.

In medium bowl, stir together egg, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Into 3 1/2- to 4-quart shallow casserole or 13" by 9" glass baking dish, spoon half the pasta mixture; top with all the sliced meatballs. Drop ricotta-cheese mixture by spoonfuls evenly over meatball layer. Spoon remaining pasta mixture over ricotta-cheese layer, then spoon remaining 1 cup sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes or until very hot and cheese browns slightly.

Chili Meatballs Supper - A Tex-Mex flavored dish that goes together fast with meatballs from the freezer.
1 onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
16 oz can tomatoes, cut up
16 oz kidney beans, drained
8 oz can corn
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
24 cooked meatballs (frozen or thawed)
Cheddar cheese, grated
Corn chips

In a saucepan, combine onion, pepper, tomatoes, kidney beans, undrained corn, tomato sauce, salt, chili powder and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil. Add meatballs, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove bay leaf. Serve in individual bowls, topped with cheese and corn chips on the side. Yield: 4 servings.

Scandinavian Meatballs - This rich and creamy dish, seasoned with dill is made in minutes by using cooked meatballs from your freezer. Serve with egg noodles.
1 cup sour cream
1 cup water
3 Tbsp flour
1 pkt beef bouillon granules
1/2 t dried dill weed
24 cooked meatballs (frozen or thawed)

In a medium saucepan blend sour cream, water, flour, bouillon granules, and dill. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally.

Add meatballs to sauce. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until meatballs are hot, stirring occasionally.

Serve over hot egg noodles. Yield: 4 servings.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs - This is not that sticky red sauce, but a sophisticated contrast of sweet and sour flavors and various textures. Serve these Oriental inspired meatballs with white rice.
20 oz can pineapple chunks in juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 small green pepper, cut into 1/2 inch squares
5 oz sliced water chestnuts
20 cooked meatballs

Drain the pineapple chunks, reserving 3/4 cup of juice (if there is not enough, add water to make 3/4 cup).

Combine juice, additional 1/2 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and stir until sugar and cornstarch dissolve.

Cook over low heat until thick and bubbling, stirring constantly.

Add green peppers, meatballs, water chestnuts and 1 cup of pineapple chunks (use the rest elsewhere). Heat until meatballs are hot, stirring frequently. Serve with white rice.

Yield: 4 servings.

Beef Porcupines - This is another great recipe from The Kids Cookbook, by Patricia Barrett and Rosemary Dalton. I got this book for my eighth birthday and still have it! I LOVE it! It is probably not in print anymore, but if you see a copy, pick it up! This was the first dinner I ever cooked (with lots of help from Mom!), and I have loved cooking ever since.
1 pound hamburger
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 8oz can marinara sauce (or 1 cup your favorite tomato sauce)
1/8 cup salad oil
1 can beef consomme' OR 1 cup hot water plus one beef bouillon cube
1 cup water

In a medium bowl, mix ground beef, rice, onion, salt, pepper, egg, and ONLY 1/2 of the marinara sauce. Make into 8 meatballs.

Put oil into the frying pan. Add meatballs. Fry in oil until lightly browned.

Add the rest of the marinara sauce, consomme' and water. Cook until tender, about 40 minutes, with the pan covered. Or bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Serves 4

Italian Meatloaf - (crockpot) This is a wonderful and easy recipe! This keeps well in fridge or freezer. If making a lot, you can cook in the oven at 350 for 1 hour, but I enjoy doing this one in the crockpot. I do this one off of the top of my head, so I hope I get the ingredients right!
2 pounds of ground beef
1 egg
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or sprinkle in some basil and oregano)
salt and pepper to taste (I think I use 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper)
2 tbsp spaghetti sauce
aluminum foil

Mix together first seven ingredients (everything BUT the 2 tbsp spaghetti sauce and the aluminum foil!)

Shape into a round loaf to fit into crockpot (or put in loaf pans if baking in the oven).

Take a long length(2 feet) of aluminum foil, folding in half lengthwise, so it is long and thin. Line the crockpot with the foil, making sure the foil sticks out of the crock pot on both sides (you will use this to lift the meatloaf out).

Place meatloaf in crockpot. Top with the remaining 2 tbsp of spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. You can also bake this for 1 hour at 350 in the oven. (It is best slow cooked, but good any which way!)

Italian Meatloaf Sandwiches - Save leftover meatloaf (or make extra!) and slice and serve on Italian bread, top with some spaghetti sauce .

Mexican Meatloaf - This rich, flavorful meatloaf was another prize winner from the Miami Herald. (I got this from a link on Busycooks)
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 1/2 lb bulk sausage
16 oz can Mexican-Style stewed tomatoes
8 oz canned green chopped chiles
2 eggs
3 tbsp + 2 tsp tapioca
1 1/2 tsp dried minced onions
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 cup shredded jack or Cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients except salsa and cheese in a large bowl until well combined.

Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place each in a 9" x 4" loaf pan. Top each with 3/4 cup salsa.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. If the sausage makes a lot of grease drain it once or twice while cooking.

Top with cheese and return to oven until cheese melts.

Remove to serving platter and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

This one might make a good sandwich too!

Bierrocks - (Another winner from the Busycooks site.) - These pastry pockets filled with beef, cabbage, onions and cheese can go straight from the freezer to the oven. They're great served with a bowl of hot tomato soup. My husband has nicknamed these "Irish Cheeseburgers." We love them!
2 c milk, lukewarm
1/4 c oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 pkg yeast
1/2 c sugar
1 t salt
6 c flour

2 lb ground beef
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
18 slices American cheese
1 egg, beaten (optional)
sesame seeds, to garnish (optional)

Mix together the lukewarm milk and oil in a large bowl. Add the eggs, yeast, sugar, salt and 5 cups of flour. Mix well and add remaining flour as necessary to to form a kneadable dough. Knead a few minutes. Cover bowl and let dough rise one hour in a warm place.

Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet. Do not drain. Add onion and cabbage and continue cooking until onion is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

After dough has risen, roll out hunks of dough (about the size of a tennis ball) as thin as possible. Place 1/2 slice cheese on dough, top with some filling, then the other half slice of cheese. Fold over and seal like a turnover (moistening the edges with water may help seal them).

Place on a baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately or cool and freeze. To reheat frozen, simply bake until hot. Yield: about 18 Bierrocks.

Kim's note: These are delicious, even for non cabbage lovers! The secret is the American cheese; do not substitute other cheeses, they just don't make it taste the same. This dough is rich and wonderful too. It would be great to use for "hot pockets" and calzones.

Cheeseburger Turnovers: The idea here is the same as the empanadas, just bigger. Use chili or browned ground beef and American or cheddar cheese as the filling. You can make half-moon shaped turnovers or square ones, with your favorite pastry or biscuit recipe. They are almost identical to the ham and cheese hot pockets I posted in the ham plan.

Maid Rites - (crumbly hamburgers)
1 pound ground beef
1 onion chopped
seasonings of your choice
toppings of your choice
hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls

Brown the beef and onions, drain off fat. Add the seasonings to taste.( You can freeze this at this point if you like, or use it as a "quick and easy" dinner)

Serve on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls with toppings of your choice (lettuce, tomato, whatever)

Simple Salisbury Steak - (Campbell's soup recipe)
1 can of mushroom soup
1 pound of ground beef
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

In a bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the soup, beef, bread crumbs, egg, and onion. Shape firmly into 6 patties. (If you are using raw meat, you can freeze it now and brown the mushrooms and freeze them too, or you can freeze everything after cooking)

In a skillet over medium heat, cook patties, a few at a time, until browned on both sides, spoon off fat, set aside.

Stir in remaining soup and mushrooms, return the patties to the skillet, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until done, turning patties occassionally.

(You can freeze it cooked. To serve, thaw and put on top of cooked pasta, serve with steamed veggies and salad. MMMM)

BBQ Beef - (beanless sloppy joes) - This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. I have made it and frozen it plenty of times, it always turns out great! I make triple batches (one batch is 2 meals for us) so I always have lots on hand!
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can corned beef
3/4 cup ketchup (try Maul's barbecue sauce, it's wonderful instead of ketchup!)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup beef broth (I use 1 cup water and 1 bouillon cube)
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp white vinegar

Brown beef and onion, drain off fat.

Add remaining ingredients, making sure to break up corned beef. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until thickened.

Serve on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls.

Easy Goulash - Another recipe from the in-laws, very easy and versatile, we use whatever is on hand. I have added TVP to this recipe (and the barbecue beef), substituting up to half of the ground beef, but remember - tvp expands! use a half cup, it will grow to a whole cup (or a little less). I have not frozen this one before, but in the fridge it gets better by the day! By the way, the men in our family love to make this, even dh!
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can V-8 or other tomato juice
1 can kidney beans (if you want)
1 cup pasta (if you want)
your choice of veggies (sometime we put in leftover corn, sometimes nothing)
a few hot peppers (optional)
2 tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
other seasoning to taste-cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.

Brown beef and onion. Drain off fat.

Add remaining ingredients except any pasta, bring to a boil. Simmer for 30-60 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking, add the pasta and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with quesadillas or bread. Leftovers are great!

TORTILLA MINI-BURGERS - This recipe calls for grilling, but you could fry these up easily and freeze. You could also broil them.
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) package Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 24 slices
24 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 (8-ounce) jar picante sauce
1/2 cup ketchup

Combine first 6 ingredients; shape into 24 small patties.

Place in 2 grill baskets coated with vegetable cooking spray.

Grill, without grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Open grill baskets, and top each burger with cheese. (Do not reclose grill baskets.) Cook until cheese melts.

Heat tortillas according to package directions; keep warm. Combine picante sauce and ketchup. Spread 1 tablespoon mixture on 1 side of each tortilla, and place a burger, cheese side up, near top edge. Fold bottom edge up, and fold opposite sides over. Makes 24 mini-burgers.

About the Author

Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart, is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at home with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing!

yhwhsesther

OAMC - Baking Plan
Article by: Kim Tilley
Dated: May 28, 2006

My Strategy: I have been doing "bulk baking" for quite a while, and I really love it! If you're not quite ready to take the big plunge, simply double or triple the recipes you make to go with dinners or for snack (or breakfasts!) and freeze the surplus. Then the next time you have no mess, only the wonderful aroma of baking. I did this a while ago when I had to make cookies for my son's birthday treats at school. I made two different cookies in the evening, chilled them overnight, and froze the excess. This week I have to make cookies for St. Patty's day , so I just took 'em out tonight and out them in the fridge. I will slice and bake them tomorrow morning. (By the way, pick up those red and green cookie decorating sugars and things when they are clearanced out after Christmas - they are perfect for Valentine's Day and St.Patty's Day!)

Some tips:

1. I recycle a lot, so I reuse my juice cans to store my extra doughs in. You can also roll your cookie doughs in logs, wrap in plastic and freeze (I'd put them in Ziploc bags too), then it really is as convenient as store bought, but you know what is in it! Biscuits are great for slice and bake convenience too, and do nicely in the juice cans (kind of like the store cans of biscuits). If you want to reuse the juice cans, line them with plastic wrap so you can pull out the dough, rather than cut away the can from the dough.

2. I do not have a bread machine, but I find a food processor very handy. If you don't have either, all you need is a very big bowl and a lot of energy. I love to beat the heck out of the dough, usually when dh is cranky or the bills come (LOL). In the summer, I pull weeds, but in the winter, I knead dough to relieve stress! I also enjoy making doughs when I know I will be around the house doing other things. It is wonderful to punch down some dough and let it rise and have the washer, dryer and crockpot all humming at the same time. It makes me feel powerful!

3. I make huge batches and freeze.

4. I don't do all of these recipes at the same time. Try one new one at a time, perhaps in conjunction with some of your favorites. If you like the results, make tons next time.

5. Make every cooking count! What I mean is, if you are going to measure for 1 batch, why not make four? If you rotate your baking, stocking up, you will always have great stuff to take out of the freezer, but won't be cooking it all on one day. You'll have bagels leftover from last month, Italian bread from the month before, pastry from Christmas, etc. I have frozen breads and doughs successfully for several months at a time with no problem.

6. The best way to defrost is in the refrigerator, overnight or the day before, the microwave defrost method is ok, but sometimes the dough doesn't turn out as nice.

7. Don't forget: you can also bake a ton of stuff before summer hits so you don't have to get your kitchen hot!

8. Don't forget to have fun and be creative!

Anyhow, on to the recipes! I have tried all of these recipes, and they are great!

Recipes:
Easy Pizza Crust
Avanti's Sweet Italian Bread
Bagels
Pitas
Pastry
Tortillas
Sugar Cookies
Toll House Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Craig Clairborne's Biscuits
Biscuit Mix
Cornmeal Biscuit Crust
Create-a-muffin
Readers' Hints and Tips


Easy Pizza Crust (my favorite - conforms to fit your needs!)
2 tablespoons of baking yeast (or 2 of those expensive little packages!)
2 tsp sugar or honey
4 tablespoons oil
2 cups of warm water
6 to 7 cups of flour

1. Combine first three ingredients in a HUGE bowl. Sprinkle all of the warm water (needs to be a bit hot so yeast will activate, not lukewarm!)

2. Let mixture foam for at least 5 minutes

3. Mix in most of the flour (I mix in the first 5 cups, then add a little at a time until it is the right consistency, not too stiff). Knead for a few minutes until elastic.

4. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. You can use it immediately or let it rise till double (45-60 minutes), punch down, rise again for 30 min, like other yeast dough recipes. I have made this recipe hundreds of times, it rises just fine after the 10 minute rest, but if you can't get to it right away, just treat it like other yeast doughs and let it rise twice.

5. Oil a cookie sheet or pizza pan, roll out dough (I mush it right in the pan!) put in pan, add sauce and toppings.

6. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Kim's note: I use this recipe for calzone dough, hot pockets, pigs in blankets, soft pretzels, cinnamon rolls, you name it!


Avanti's Sweet Italian Bread: This wonderful recipe is very similar to the gondola bread at a local Italian restaurant named Avanti's. I make double batches of this bread (you need a lot of BIG bowls!) and bake 12 loaves at a time, some as sandwich bread, some long like French or Italian bread, some small for hoagies. It is wonderful and freezes superbly! There are four rising times to this bread. It seems like a lot, but it is perfect for oamc day and the results wills astound you (They loaves get HUGE in the oven, so leave lots of room for them to "grow.") I always have homemade bread on hand, and since we entertain a lot, people are amazed when I pull out a few of these homemade loaves and serve them with dinner. They love it, too!

2 tablespoons of yeast (or 2 small envelopes)
3 cups of very warm water
3 tbsp oil
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
10-11 cups of white flour

1. Dissolve the yeast in the very warm water. Add oil, eggs, salt and sugar. Let foam for a few minutes.

2. Add enough flour to make dough smooth. Place in a LARGE greased bowl (I reuse the mixing bowl) and turn the dough to coat it.

3. Cover, let rise for 1 1/2 hours while you do something else!

4. Punch down the dough. Turn over, let rise another 30 minutes.

5. Cut dough into 5 or 6 portions (more if you want a smaller loaf size). Let rise 10 minutes.

6. Flatten dough, pressing out all of the air (yes that's right, flatten it!). Form into loaves and place on a greased floured baking sheet (or in greased floured loaf pans).

7. Cover, let rise 1 more hour.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy! (You can let loaves cool and wrap them, put in Ziploc bags and freeze to thaw, leave at room temperature for an hour or wrap in foil and stick in a 300 degree oven for 1/2 hour or so if serving hot)


Bagels: The homemade version is so good you may never buy them again! They melt in your mouth! (From the Food Processor Bread Book, if you don't have a food processor, just mix in a regular bowl). The directions look intimidating but they really aren't! Just give it a try!

1/2 to 3/4 cup very warm water
1 package (or 1 tbsp) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 quarts of water for boiling
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cold water

1. Combine 1/4 cup of the warm water, yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar, stir to dissolve yeast and let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

2. Fit processor with steel blade. Measure flour, oil and salt into work bowl of processor. Process until mixed, about 5 seconds.

3. Add yeast mixture and 1 of the eggs to flour mixture. Process until blended, about 10 seconds.

4. Turn on processor and very slowly drizzle just enough of the remaining water through the feed tube (at the top of the processor) into the flour mixture so that dough forms a ball that cleans the sides of the bowl. Process until ball turns around bowl about 25 times. Turn off processor and let dough stand for 1-2 minutes.

5. Turn on processor and gradually drizzle enough of the remaining water to make dough soft and satiny, not sticky. Process until dough ball turns around bowl 15 times.

6. Turn out dough onto a lightly greased surface. Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand about 15 minutes.

7. Divide dough into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a strand about 6 inches long. Bring both ends of each strand together to form a doughnut shape. Moisten ends and pinch to seal. Place bagels on a greased cookie sheet and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

8. Combine 2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a dutch oven or stock pot. Bring water to a boil. Gently place bagels in boiling water. Cook 3 or 4 bagels at a time. When they rise to the surface, turn them over and cook until puffy, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Remove bagels from water with a slotted spoon and place on a greased cookie sheet.

9. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Beat remaining egg and 2 tablespoons cold water with a fork. Brush mixture over bagels. Bake until crusts are golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Pitas:

3/4 to 1 cup very warm water
1 package (or 1 tablespoon) of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1. Combine 1/4 cup of the water, yeast, and sugar. Stir to dissolve yeast and let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

2. Fit processor with a steel blade. Measure flour, salt, and oil into work bowl. Process on/off to mix.

3. Add yeast to flour mixture. Process until blended, about 10 seconds.

4. Turn on processor and very slowly drizzle just enough remaining water through the feed tube into flour mixture so dough forms a ball that cleans the sides of the bowl. Process until ball turns around bowl 25 times. Turn off processor and let dough stand for 1-2 minutes.

5. Turn on processor and gradually drizzle enough of the remaining water to make dough soft and satiny, not sticky. Process until dough ball turns around bowl 15 times.

6. Let dough stand, covered, in a bowl (or work bowl of processor if you won't be using it again) at room temperature until almost doubled, 45-60 minutes. Process on/off to punch down dough (or do by hand in separate bowl)

7. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 8 equal parts. shape each part into a ball. Roll out each part into a circle 6 inches in diameter (if you have a small tortilla press, you can use one for this) and place on an ungreased, floured cookie sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until nearly doubled, about 45 minutes.

8. Heat oven to 500 degrees, Bake until lightly browned and puffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

9. Remove from cookie sheet and place on paper toweling. Cool.

Pastry (Double Crust): I make this recipe in the food processor. No messes!

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of shortening or lard
6-7 tablespoons of cold water

1. Fit processor with steel blade. Combine flour, salt and shortening briefly in processor.

2. Add cold water a little at a time through the feed tube just until dough is moistening and forms a ball.

3. Roll out and use or freeze as desired. Martha Stewart suggested a tip I really like: After processing each crust, turn it out onto plastic wrap, fold the wrap over the pastry, and shape it according to the shape of the pan you will be baking it in (round and flat for pie dish, square and flat for cake pan or jelly roll pan). Just freeze them, stacked, in Ziplocs, then when you need one, thaw and roll from center of dough. Voila!


Tortillas: This recipe freezes well cooked or uncooked. (We have a tortilla press and I have used this recipe HUNDREDS of times!) Substitute up to half of the white flour with any other flour of your choice. Keep in mind that whole wheat flour may need a little more water to moisten it enough.

3 cups of flour
1/3 cup of vegetable oil or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of warm water

1. Combine flour and oil in processor until crumbly (1 minute).

2. Dissolve salt in warm water. Pour down feed tube a little at a time until dough forms a smooth ball but is not sticky (add more flour if sticky). Dough should clean sides of bowl. Process dough so ball turns about 25 times.

3. Turn out into bowl or freeze (wrapped in plastic then in Ziploc). If using immediately, dough needs to rest 30 minutes before using or it won't be elastic enough.

4. To use: Roll dough into 16 small (or 8 larger balls) about the size of a golf ball. Roll out on floured surface or use a tortilla press (I have one that presses and cooks at the same time! Very nice, I use it all of the time). One batch of tortillas will take at least 30 minutes to press and cook. So save these for special occasions or when you have the time (oamc day is good because you can keep going back to them while waiting for other stuff, just keep them covered to avoid drying out).

5. Cook on nonstick griddle (no oil) until puffy, turn over and cook 1 minute or so more. Makes 16 awesome small tortillas, 8 big ones!

YUMMY!


Sugar Cookies: These are the first cookies I ever made! They are from The Kids Cookbook, which I received on my 8th birthday. I used to make this and hide it under my bed because the dough was so good! Well, these days I don't hide it under my bed, but I do make it for a lot of different occasions.

3/4 cup of shortening
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or lemon extract (almond or orange are good, too)
2 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix first four ingredients together (I use an egg beater)

2. Mix the last three ingredients together in a separate bowl.

3. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

4. Chill for 1 hour (or freeze).

5. Roll out on floured surface and cut out whatever shapes you like or drop by teaspoons on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Makes 6 dozen (Supposedly! I get about 3 dozen out of this).

Note: I've added 4 oz of chocolate chips or any other kind, they turn out good.

Toll House-Type Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temp
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips, or 1-12 oz package (I use half of this)

1. Cream together the shortening and butter. Add the sugars, eggs and vanilla.

2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, blending well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Wrap dough and chill it thoroughly, preferably for three hours or longer (I make it at night and chill in fridge till morning, freezing the extra). This dough keeps well in fridge for 3 days.

5. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake cookies according to the size you make them: 2-inch cookies for 8-10 minutes, 6-inch cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, 9-inch "monster cookies" for 25 to 30 minutes. you can also make them as bar cookies, bake for about 30 minutes or so, testing center to ensure they are done.

Biscuits: Yes, you can freeze biscuit dough! I have a wonderful reference book called Will it Freeze? An A to Z Guide to Foods that Freeze, by Joan Hood that says any quick bread type dough (cookies, biscuits, etc.) that contains over 1 part fat to 4 parts flour will freeze beautifully. Most biscuit recipes call for 1/3 to 1/2 cup shortening to 2 cups of flour so they are in the general ballpark. I don't usually freeze biscuits just because I make up my own "Bisquick" type mix and make them up fresh. I would use your favorite recipe and see how it freezes. It may need more fat in it (ugh! there goes the diet!) to freeze well. Low-fat biscuits may not turn out as well, but give it a try! I have not had any failures yet while freezing baked and unbaked doughs. Let me know how it goes! Here is a biscuit recipe for freezing (don't over mix this one, it falls!) followed with a repost of the biscuit mix.

Craig Clairborne's Biscuits:

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

1. (If baking immediately) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and shortening. Use a pastry blender to cut in the shortening until it has the consistency of coarse corn meal. Add the milk and toss gently with a two-pronged fork until all particles are moistened (but no more!)

3. Gather the dough in a ball and turn it onto a lightly floured board. Knead the dough gently, about twelve strokes, with the heel of the hand. Gather into a ball once more. Lightly flour the board and roll the dough out with a lightly flourd rolling pin to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the dough into rounds with a floured biscuit cutter (a note from Martha Stewart's show: Don't twist the cutter when cutting out the biscuits! It cuts out the air or something, making the biscuits flat!)

4. Place the rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes at 425 degrees.

Kim's note: I would make a huge batch, or a few regular sized ones. After gently kneading the dough in step three, I would then roll it into a log, wrap with plastic and freeze (or use your juice containers and freeze). Be sure to put these logs in a Ziploc for extra protection. When you want to make them, thaw a little in fridge, slice into 1/2-inch thick circles and bake for the recommended time.

If you don't have a pastry blender, use the side of a fork, a sturdy whisk or two knives (be careful!)


Basic Biscuit Mix:

10 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup baking powder
1 tbsp salt
2 cups shortening

1. Mix dry ingredients in a huge bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender, OR (this is what I do), combine 2 1/2 cups of the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup shortening in the food processor, gradually combining all of dry mix with shortening.

2. Keep tightly sealed. At room temp, it keeps a few months; longer in the fridge. I usually use all of my mix up in a month, so I keep it in my baking supplies.

Use the mix to make the following:
Pancakes: 2 cups mix, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs
Waffles: 2 cups mix, 2 tbsp veg. oil, 1 egg, 1 1/3 cups milk
Dumplings: 2 cups mix, 2/3 cup milk
Other ideas: use in place of Bisquick in recipes
Biscuits: 2 1/4 cup mix, 2/3 cup milk (Bake 8-10 min at 450 degrees)

One of my favorite crusts for Mexican pot pies and pizzas, or as an accompaniment:

Cornmeal Biscuit Crust:

For Crust:
2 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix (use bisquick or following recipe)
1/2 cup cornmeal (any kind, masa harina is best)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

1. In a medium bowl (or food processor), combine above ingredients, mixing well. For Mexican pizzas and pot pies, grease your pan of choice, pat dough on bottom and sides, cook at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Add your filling and or toppings and cook as desired. For biscuits, bake 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees or until they look done.

CREATE-A-MUFFIN

GRAIN: 2 - 2 1/2 cups white flour, may substitute 1 cup with oatmeal, cornmeal, wheat, rye flour, or flake cereal. OR may substitute 1 cup leftover cooked oatmeal, rice or cornmeal for 1/2 of the flour and decrease liquid to 1/2 cup. Use blender to mix wet ingredients.

MILK: 1 cup milk, buttermilk or sour milk, may substitute fruit juice for all or part.

FAT: 1/4 cup vegetable oil OR melted butter, may substitute peanut butter for all or part of fat. Fat may be reduced or omitted if using a "wet addition"

EGG: 1 egg OR 1 tablespoon soy flour & 1 T water

SWEETENER: 2 T. - 1/2 cup sugar OR up to 3/4 cup brown sugar OR up to 1/2 cup honey or molasses and decrease milk to 3/4 cup.

BAKING POWDER: 2 teaspoons. If using whole or cooked grains - 3 teaspoons. If using buttermilk or sour milk - 1 teaspoon baking pwdr. AND 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

SALT: up to 1/2 teaspoon

The following ingredients are optional. Additions can be used in any combination, up to 1 1/2 cups total. If using more than 1 cup wet additions, decrease milk to 1/2 cup.

DRY ADDITIONS: Nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, coconut, etc.

MOIST ADDITIONS: Blueberries, chopped apple, freshly shredded zucchini, shredded carrot, etc.

WET ADDITIONS: Pumpkin puree, applesauce, mashed/cooked sweet potato, mashed banana, mashed/cooked carrot, etc. If using 1/2 cup drained, canned fruit or thawed shredded zucchini, substitute the syrup or zucchini liquid for all or part of the milk.

SPICES: Any that will complement additions; 1 t. cinnamon with 1/4 t. cloves or nutmeg. 2 t. grated orange or lemon peel.

JELLIES OR JAMS: Fill muffin cups halfway with plain batter. Add 1 t. jam and top with 2 T. more batter.

TOPPING: Cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts, oatmeal, crushed cornflakes.

NONSWEET COMBOS: Use only 2 T. sugar and omit fruit.

Add combinations of the following:
1/2 cup shredded cheese
3 strips cooked crumbled bacon
2 T. grated onion
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
2 T. parmesan cheese
1 t. parsley
pinch of marjoram

Directions:
Fill greased or lined muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for approx. 20 min. @ 400.

Well, how is that for starters? Hope you all aren't falling asleep or crouching in a corner in fear! I have more recipes to post, a "Part 2" but my fingers have to recover first from all of this typing! I also want to try a few more things. I haven't done popovers yet. I have been making that "Create-A-Muffin" recipe above. It comes from the Tightwad Gazette. I have found I don't like the results as much as I used to so I am looking for more muffin recipes. I also have pancake, waffle and doughnut recipes. Maybe the next "Once a Month Baking" should be breakfast foods! I certainly need to make some!

Have a great (baking) day!

yhwhsesther

Pancakes for a Crowd

Serve with maple syrup!!
---
Serves 50 - 2 each
---

2 qt. (2 lb.) sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 c. (1 1/2 oz.) baking powder
2 Tbsp. salt
8 eggs, well beaten
2 qt. milk
1 c. shortening or melted butter
---
Sift together sifted flour, the baking powder and salt.
Stir in gradually a mixture of beaten eggs and milk. Do not
beat until smooth as over beating toughens pancakes. Add melted
butter. Bake on hot griddle until bubbles appear and edges are
cooked, then turn and brown on other side.
---
Makes 50 servings of two 4-inch pancakes.

yhwhsesther

Handy Pancake Mix


12 C. sifted flour
4 C. instant dry powdered milk
3/4 C. baking powder
3/4 C. sugar
2 T. salt

Mix all together well and store in air tight container in a dry place.
This is enough mix to make approx. 80 pancakes.

To Make Pancakes:

(makes 8-4 inch size)

1 1/2 C. Pancake Mix
1 C. water
1 egg
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

Mix and pour on greased hot griddle.
When bubbles form on top and bottom is brown flip over
and brown other side.

yhwhsesther

Oven Scrambled Eggs


(FOR A CROWD)

2 1/2 qt. broken eggs, about 50
1 1/4 qt. hot milk
1 1/3 Tbsp. salt
1/2 lb. butter

Beat eggs slightly. Add milk and salt, mix well. Pour
melted butter into 2 baking pans (16 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch)
using 1/2 cup per pan. Add the egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for
40 minutes. Stir after 20 minutes. Be sure to use pan 1 1/2
to 2-inches in depth.


DO NOT USE ALUMINUM PANS WHEN COOKING EGGS...THE ALUMINUM
WILL TURN THE EGGS GREEN!




Green Eggs are not what you want, even with ham!
- How to avoid green eggs.

I know there can be many reasons cooked eggs turn green . . .sitting too long, using foil to hold heat in . .etc. I just want to make sure I've touched on every possibility for the reason behind "green eggs". I welcome other ideas/reasons for "green eggs".

A greenish ring around hard-cooked eggs in the result of sulphur and iron compounds in the egg reacting at the
surface of the yolk. Although the color may be a bit unappealing, the eggs are still wholesome and nutritious and
their flavor is unaffected. Greenish yolks can best be
avoided by using the proper cooking time and temperature and
by rapidly cooling the cooked eggs. Usually, eggs have been
cooked at too high a temperature, for too long a time, or
they have not been rapidly cooled following cooking.


I hope that you are not using shelled eggs. It would be so much easier to use the carton liquid eggs that have the citric acid in them to prevent the "green" . Also, liquid carton eggs are so much safer- especially when you are dealing with that large a batch!
Good luck!!

-I agree on using liquid pasteurized eggs especially for this kind of group.
The boil in a bag scrambled egg mix can be put in a steamer and they hold very soft and moist for over an hour in a hot box still in the bag.

-To avoid Scrambled Eggs turning green on the buffet line:
Cook in small batches only enough that will be used in 30 to 45 minutes.
Cook the eggs slowly over low heat.

Hold them at the lowest heat possible.

Keep them in a chafer at the lowest heat possible.

Add a small amount of white vinegar (not enough to alter the taste) will also help.

yhwhsesther

Frozen Fruit Chunk Cups


---
8-1/3 cups apple sauce, chunky or regular
5-1/4 lbs. frozen strawberries, thawed
5-3/4 lbs. mandarin orange segments, drained
8-1/3 cups grapes (optional)
1 cup orange juice concentrate
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Spoon fruit mixture into muffin cups
lined with muffin papers. Freeze until firm. Remove from
freezer about 30 minutes before serving.
---
This is for 50 people---- there are just so many
ways to go with this. Take paper off plop into individual fancy glasses, Put
on a plate on top of lettuce, etc.
---

yhwhsesther

Great Granola


8 cups rolled oats
4 cups shredded coconut
2 c. chopped almonds
2 c. sesame seeds or flax seeds
2 cups sunflower seed, unsalted
2 cups wheat germ
2 cups Honey
1 cup Canola oil
2 cups chopped dried apricots, chopped
2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 300 deg. Combine honey and oil, set aside.
In a large pan or pot combine oats, coconut, almonds, seeds and wheat germ. pour honey mixuture over oats. Spread in a baking pan(s) bake for 45 min. stirring 3 of 4 times thought the baking time. Stir in the apricots and raisins when removed from the oven.
Cool, store in an airthight container. Serving size 1/2 cup, 50 servings

TIP:
Most of these ingredients are available in bulk at a bulk food store or a healthfood store.

yhwhsesther

Baked Oatmeal


4 c. oil
6 c. sugar
16 eggs, beaten
24 c. oatmeal
5 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
8 tsp. salt
8 c. milk

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and oil. Stir in milk and dry ingredients. Pour into two steam table pans,12 x 20 x 2-inch, lightly greased.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve with hot milk and cinnamon and sugar. Serves 48.

yhwhsesther

Hot Cocoa Mix


---

8 qt. box Carnation powdered milk
32 oz. box Nestle Quik chocolate mix
11 oz. Coffee-mate
1 lb. box powdered sugar (3 cups?)
---
Mix all together in a huge container. Scoop out to
taste into hot water and stir. Makes lots!
---

yhwhsesther

Breakfast Burritos with Salsa




50 Large eggs
10 Ounces OR 2 Cups frozen corn
3/4 Cup low fat milk
3 Pounds, 2 Ounces TURKEY HAM diced into 1/2-inch pieces
12 Ounces fresh green peppers diced
14 Ounces onions diced
1 fresh tomatoes diced
1/4 Cup prepared mustard
2 Teaspoons granulated garlic
1 Tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 Teaspoons salt
50 at least 1.1 ounces flour tortillas
3 Pounds, 2 Ounces mild salsa

In a mixer, using a paddle attachment, blend eggs, corn, milk, turkey
ham, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, prepared mustard, granulated
garlic, hot pepper sauce, and salt.
Pour egg mixture into an oiled 12x20x2-inch steam table pan. Cover
tightly with foil or metal lid. To Bake: Conventional oven: 350 degrees
Fahrenheit for 60 minutes. Convection oven: 325 degrees Fahrenheit for
50 minutes. Compartment Steamer: 30 minutes.

Shingle 25 tortillas in each 12x20x2 inch steam table pan. To Heat:
Compartment Steamer: 2 to 3 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.
Conventional oven: 300 degrees Fahrenheit, 3 minutes, covered with a
clean damp cloth. Convection oven: 300 degrees Fahrenheit, 3 minutes,
covered with a clean damp cloth.

Fill each tortilla with No. 10 scoop of cooked egg mixture. Roll tortilla.
Serve each burrito with 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) of salsa.
.Portion: 1 burrito: 3 ounces (#10 scoop) provides 2 ounces meat, 1/4 cup
of vegetables and 1 serving grains/bread.
Makes 50 Burritos. Perfect for children.

yhwhsesther

California Eggs & Sausage Casserole

60 Large eggs
10 cups milk
15 cups biscuit mix
5 lb.. sausage (cooked and crumbled)
20 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, break eggs and add milk. Blend well.
Add remaining ingredients, mix and pour into a greased pan.
Bake about 40 minutes (or until eggs are set). Submitted by Cathy Smith

no serving amount with this, guestimate 80-100 serving.

yhwhsesther

Lemon Raspberry Wedding Cake


---
Wedding Cake, from Gourmet Sept/94.
Serves about 50 (including top tier).
---
One of our food editors has made wedding cakes for family and friends
and, in fact, made her own, based on the following recipe. The techniques
involved are straightforward, although the endeavor takes a bit of
planning, the proper equipment, and sufficient freezer and/or refrigerator space.
---
Once you have all the components ready to go, allow 3 to 4 hours for
assembling the cake, depending on your level of experience.
---
For each batch of batter
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
Note: 2 separate batches of this batter are required in this recipe (do not double)
---
For syrup
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
zest of 1 large lemon removed in strips with a vegetable peeler
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons eau-de-vie de framboise
---
For assembly
two 9-inch cardboard rounds*
two 7-inch cardboard rounds*
two 6-inch cardboard rounds*, trimmed to form 5-inch rounds
---
lemon meringue buttercream (recipe follows)
---
about 5 cups raspberries, picked over
five 8-inch plastic straws
#66 leaf tip*
#70 leaf tip*
#113 leaf tip*
Note: A cake-decorating turntable* is extremely helpful for assembling
and decorating a wedding cake.
Decoration: crystallized edible flowers and mint leaves*
Accompaniments: crème fraîche ice cream (recipe follows)
additional raspberries
*available at specialty baking stores
---
Make first batch of batter:
Preheat oven to 350°F. and line a buttered 10-inch round cake pan (at
least 2 inches deep) with a round of wax paper.
Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.
Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl
with an electric mixer cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy and
beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and vanilla.
Add flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with
flour mixture and beating until just combined after each addition, and beat
in zest (do not overmix).
---
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in middle of oven 35 to 40 minutes,
or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and
invert onto rack. Peel off paper and cool cake completely.
---
Make second batch of batter:
Line a buttered 6-inch round cake pan and a buttered 8-inch round cake pan
(each at least 2 inches deep) with rounds of wax paper. Butter paper and
dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
Make batter in same manner.
Pour 1 3/4 cups batter into prepared 6-inch pan. Pour remaining batter into
prepared 8-inch pan. Bake 6-inch cake in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes and
8-inch cake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cakes
in pans on racks 5 minutes and invert onto racks. Peel off paper and cool
cakes completely.
---
Cake layers may be made 2 weeks ahead, wrapped well in plastic wrap and
foil, and frozen. Defrost cake layers (without unwrapping) at room temperature.
Make syrup:
In a small saucepan combine sugar, water, and zest and bring to a boil,
stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and let syrup cool
completely. Discard zest and stir in lemon juice and framboise.
Syrup may be made 2 weeks ahead and chilled in an airtight container.
---
Assemble cake:
With a long serrated knife halve each layer horizontally. Put each
10-inch layer, cut side up, on a 9-inch cardboard round. Put 8-inch layers
similarly on 7-inch rounds and 6-inch layers on 5-inch rounds. Brush cut
sides of all 6 layers generously with syrup, dividing it evenly among layers,
and let layers stand 15 minutes to absorb syrup.
Spread about 1 1/2 cups buttercream on top half of 10-inch layer, cut side
up, and arrange enough raspberries, side by side and open ends down, in
concentric circles to cover entire layer. Invert bottom half of 10-inch
layer, cut side down, on top of berries and gently press layers together
to form an even tier. (Discard top cardboard round.) Frost top and sides
smoothly with some remaining buttercream and chill while assembling remaining 2 tiers.
---
Assemble and frost 8-inch tier in same manner (use about 1 cup buttercream
between layers) and chill while assembling remaining tier. Assemble and
frost 6-inch tier in same manner (use about 2/3 cup buttercream between
layers) and chill until buttercream is firm.
Cut 3 straws in half and insert 1 straw piece all the way into center of
10-inch bottom tier. Trim straw level with top of tier and insert
remaining
5 straw pieces in same manner in a circle about 1 1/2 inches from center
straw. (Straws serve to support tiers.) Carefully put 8-inch middle tier
(still on cardboard) in center of bottom tier. Cut remaining 2 straws in half and
insert into middle tier in same manner, with 1 straw piece in center and
remaining 3 straw pieces in a circle around it. Carefully put 6-inch top
tier (still on cardboard) in center of middle tier.
Fill in any gaps between tiers with buttercream and transfer remaining
buttercream to a pastry bag filled with a small (#66) leaf tip. Pipe a
decorative border around top edge of top tier. With a medium-sized (#70)
leaf tip pipe border in same manner around bottom edges of top and middle
tiers. With same tip pipe 5 evenly spaced ribbons from top to bottom of
cake. (These ribbons will support cascades of crystallized flowers.)
Transfer cake to a cake stand or other serving plate and with a larger
(#113) leaf tip pipe border around bottom edge of cake. With same tip pipe
mound of buttercream on top of cake. (This mound will support crystallized
flower arrangement.)
Arrange crystallized flowers and mint leaves decoratively on top and sides
of cake. Chill cake at least 6 hours and up to 1 day. Let cake stand at cool
room temperature (buttercream is sensitive to warm temperatures)
2 to 4 hours before serving.
---
Serve cake with crème fraîche ice cream and additional raspberries.
---
LEMON MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
---
For lemon curd
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
---
For buttercream
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
8 large egg whites
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
10 sticks (5 cups) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened to cool
room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons eau-de-vie de framboise
---
Make lemon curd:
In a small heavy saucepan whisk together yolks and sugar and whisk in lemon
juice, butter, and a pinch salt. Cook mixture over moderately low heat,
whisking, until it just reaches boiling point, 5 to 7 minutes (do not let it
boil). Strain curd through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool, its surface
covered with plastic wrap. Chill curd, covered at least 4 hours or overnight.
---
Make buttercream:
In a heavy saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring
until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, undisturbed, until it reaches 248°F.
on a candy thermometer. While syrup is boiling, in a standing electric mixer
beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy and beat in cream of tartar. Beat
whites until they just hold stiff peaks and add hot syrup in a stream,
beating. Beat mixture at medium speed until completely cool, 15 to 20
minutes. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until thick and smooth.
(Buttercream will at first appear very thin but as more butter is beaten in,
it will thicken.) Beat in lemon curd and salt, beating until smooth, and
drizzle in framboise, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating. Buttercream may be
made 4 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container or 2 weeks ahead and
frozen in an airtight container. Let buttercream come completely to room
temperature (this may take several hours if frozen) and beat before using.
Makes about 12 cups.
---
CREME FRAICHE ICE CREAM
1 pound (about 2 cups) crème fraîche*
2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups sugar
*available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets
In a blender blend together all ingredients, scraping down sides, until very
smooth, about 2 minutes. Chill mixture until cold and freeze in an ice-cream
maker. Makes about 1 quart, serving 12 as an accompaniment to cake.

---

yhwhsesther

Christmas or Wedding Fruit Cake



---
A tried & true 3rd generation recipe, makes a dark fruitcake!
---
1 lb. seedless raisins
1 lb. sultana raisins
1 lb. currants
1 1/2 lb. seeded raisins
3/4 lb. cherries (candied- mixed red & green)
3/4 lb. dates - chopped
1/2 lb. candied citron orange peel ( or mixed if need be)
1/3 lb. blanched almonds
2 tsp. ea. cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/3 lb. pecans
3 3/4 c. flour
1 lb. butter
2 cups white sugar
12 eggs
1/2 cup fruit juice (I use grape juice) or rum
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
---
Reserve 1/2 c. flour- use to flour all fruit & nuts except the cherries
Mix basic cake ingredients (except fruit, nuts, citron & cherries) as per normal batter.
Then add batter to the floured fruit, mix well.
---
Using 3 tiered pans (I use square stacking ones with removable bottoms), grease
parchment paper (or in a pinch brown paper -either wrapping or grocery bags),
place in pans- getting corners as straight as possible. Place a layer of batter, then
place the cherries- alternating colors across the pan- add a layer of batter, repeat ending with batter. Fill all pans evenly.
---
Bake @ 275F for 3-4 hours. I place a pan of water in the over to add moisture
while they are baking. The test for doneness is when the top springs back when indented with a light touch. Tops will be browned and some slight cracking may occur.
Let cool- remove from pans still in paper. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then in
plastic bags. Age in refrigerator. They may be brushed with brandy or rum occasionally.
---
The longer they age, the richer they become. Use icing for wedding cakes found in any good
cookbook, or when ready to make the wedding cake, take it to a baker to have them professionally assemble and decorate the cake.
For a large wedding, you can also make more cakes and these can be cut and packaged
ahead of time for the bride and groom to give away.
---
Note: In Canada, this is our version of a Wedding Cake, very traditional, frosted
with a layer of almond paste icing then the hard royal ornamental frosting, usually in white often with colored ornamental frosting roses, with the cake layers supported by columns. Figures of a bride and groom or fresh flowers are on top of the cake. At the wedding the
cake is cut by the Bride and Groom and they feed each other a small piece of cake.
Later the Bride and Groom will wander through the reception with a pretty basket, passing out small pieces of wrapped wedding cake. (a 1 x 1 x 3 in. piece)
The cake is wrapped in colored foil, to match the wedding theme, and usually rolled in a small paper doily and tied with a piece of curling ribbon.
Tradition says that if you take the piece of cake home and sleep with it under your
pillow, you will dream about the one you are to marry.
The top tier of the wedding cake is saved (frozen - fruitcake keeps 'forever') and
it is served at the christening of the first born.
---

yhwhsesther

Coffee Break Cake


---
2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
---
2 1/4 quarts cake flour (9 cups)
3 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup washed and drained raisins
2 cup chopped nuts
1 1/4 cup shortening
3 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup eggs (about 5 medium)
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cup water
---
Lightly grease a 18 x 26 sheet pan or use four 9 x 13 pans
Combine sugar, margarine, 1/2 c. flour, and cinnamon together to form a coarse
crumb, set this topping aside.
---
Place flour, baking powder, dry milk, nutmeg, and salt in mixer bowl, mix well to combine
Add raisins and nuts to flour mixture. Stir in well to coat.
Cream shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat
1 minute at medium speed. Add all of the flour mixture and then all of the
water to the creamed mixture. Mix at low speed only until flour is moistened.
Spread batter in lightly greased pan. Spread crumb topping on batter
pressing lightly into batter.
---
Bake at 375 deg. for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned and the center springs
back when touched. Serve warm with coffee of course! Serves 50
---
(NOTE: if flour mixture is over mixed cake will be tough)
---

yhwhsesther

Brownies

* * *
1 1/2 C. butter
3 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla
5 beaten eggs
1 1/2 C. flour
1 C. cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. chopped nuts
Cream the butter until fluffy. Add sugar and mix well, add vanilla
and beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Combine flour, cocoa and salt together, mixing until they are an even color.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Mix well.
Add nuts and pour into an 11 x 17 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until done.
Cool and frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and sprinkle with additional
nuts if desired. Cut into squares, makes approx. 50 brownies.

yhwhsesther

Lots of Good Carrot Cake

Now THIS is a Cake!
---
6 c. flour, unsifted (can be 4 c. regular flour and 2 c. whole wheat)
5 c. sugar
6 tsp. baking soda
6 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
5 large jars baby food carrots
2 2/3 c. oil
8 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 (1 lb. 4 oz.) cans crushed pineapple, drained
2 2/3 c. coconut or 1 (7 oz.) pkg.
2 c. chopped nuts
---
In large pan (8 quart pan) mix well flour,
sugar, baking soda, spices and salt. Add carrots, oil, eggs
and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Stir in drained pineapple,
coconut and nuts. Pour into greased and floured pans. use 7
(7 3/8 x 3 5/8-inch) loaf pans and 1 (9 5/8 x 5 1/2-inch), but
you can use any assortment you wish or 3 -13 x 9-inch pans. Fill
loaf pans 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees about 35 minutes or until
pick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes a lot of cake
but is easy to mix as it is a soft dough. Cakes keep very well in freezer.
Top with Cream Cheese Frosting.
---
Basic Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. confectioners sugar
Cream together cream cheese and butter, stir in vanilla. Mix in sugar until
smooth and of spreading consistency.
---

yhwhsesther

Pound Cake

(this makes a large sheet cake)
6 c. sugar
3 c. butter
10 1/2 c. cake flour
3 c. milk
18 egg yolks
4 1/2 tsp. double acting
baking powder
6 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour large sheet pan.(18 x 24)
Beat butter and sugar at high speed until until smooth and fluffy.
Add flour and rest of ingredients; at low speed beat
until well mixed. Then beat at high speed for 4 minutes occasionally scraping
bowl. Pour batter in large bakery sized sheet pan or 4 -9 x 13 pans.
Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the type of oven.
Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool cake for 10 minutes then remove from pan.
Serves 40 to 50 people.

yhwhsesther

Peanut Butter Bars



12 Eggs
6 c Sugar
3 c brown sugar
2 c peanut butter
1 c shortening
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
8 c flour
3 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
powdered sugar

Cream the eggs, sugars, peanut butter, shortening and vanilla until
smooth. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed
mixture and mix well. Spread into 3 greased 15"x10"x1" baking pans.
Bake at 350 deg. for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

yhwhsesther

Berry Crisp


BASE:
3 lb. 10½ oz. or 3 qts. 3 cups Flour
1 1/2 Tbsp Salt
3/4 Tbsp. baking soda
9 cups Rolled Oats
3 lbs margarine


LIGHT SUGAR FILLING:
7 qts. + 1 c. Marion Blackberries IQF or fresh
1 1/2 c. Sugar (or more to personal preference)
6 Tbsp. Cornstarch
2 1/2 Tbsp. Water
1 tsp. Salt
2 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

For Topping
1. Combine all ingredients. Mix until crumb-like consistency.
2. Scale approximately 3½ lb. mixture into four steam table pans, 12" x 20" x 2".
Pat mixture firmly into bottom of pan.
3. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over filling.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

For Filling
1. Combine berries and sugar.
2. Heat until well blended.
3. Slowly add cornstarch/water mixture and salt.
4. Cook until thickened, approximately 5 minutes.
5. Add lemon juice. Remove from heat.

Serves 50

yhwhsesther

Cherry Cobbler

This one is from an old cookbook and could be adapated to ready made pie fillings.
Filling:
5 no. 2 can red pie cherries
6 cups sugar
4 Tbsp. marg. or butter
6 Tbsp. cornstarch

Drain the cherries, saving the juice. Mix the above ingredients with the juice and cook together until thick. . When cooled add the cherries. Then pour the cherry mixture into large flat pans.

Topping:
5 c. flour
10 tsp. baking powder
5 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. butter
3 eggs.
2 1/2 c. milk

Mix dry ingreds. and cut in the butter. Beat eggs and add to milk. Mix both together.
Drop by large spoonfuls on top of fruit in flat pans.
Bake 45 min. at 350 deg. Serve with whipped cream. Serves 50

yhwhsesther

Strawberry Shortcake


10 1/2 c. flour
4 1/4 c. sugar, divided
1/2 c. plus 1 Tbsp. baking powdered
4 tsp. salt
1 c. cold butter or margarine
3 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 c. water
8 quarts (32 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced

additional Whipped Cream for topping or ice cream

In a large bowl combine 2 1/4 c. sugar, baking power and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in
whipping cream and water just until moistened. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart onto
a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 deg. for 15 min. until golden brown.
Cool on racks.

Combine berries with remaining sugar. To serve, spit shortcakes lengthwise, spoon about 1/3 cup
berries and whipped cream on bottom halves. Replace tops and top with another 1/3 c. berries and
additional whipped cream. Serves 50.

NOTE: Whipping cream doubles in volume when whipped, so lots of whipped cream would be needed
for the topping. Whipping cream can be sweetened with a little bit of powdered sugar
and some vanilla added for flavoring. Use powdered sugar, granulated sugar in whipping cream, makes it
separate and weep. You can also use 1 tsp. of plain gelatin dissolved in a little bit of hot
water, add this to each 2 cups of whipping cream as it is being whipped. This would allow you
to whip the cream well in advance.

yhwhsesther

Low Fat Zucchini Bread

(no eggs, butter or milk)


5 lbs zucchini, seeded and grated
4 lbs 8 oz Maple syrup
1 1/4 oz Baking Powder
Baking soda 3/4 oz baking soda
Salt 3/4 oz salt
1 oz cinnamon
1/8 oz ground cloves
1/8 oz ground nutmeg
2 lbs unsweetened applesauce
3 lbs 8 oz all purpose flour
4 oz finely chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients with whip or other mixer for 5 minutes. Bake in greased, floured loaf pans at 350 degrees, about one hour or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Let cool, wrap and store overnight before slicing.

(Note: I think 5 min. would be over mixing.)
YIELD: About 50 1-inch slices - 4 14-inch loaves
PER SERVING: 245 calories, 2 grams fat

yhwhsesther

Upside-Down Gingerbread Cake

3 lbs. 6 oz. gingerbread cake mix
1 lb. butter, melted
1 can (#10) apricot halves, well drained
1 lb. 12 oz. light brown sugar, firmly packed
8 oz. walnuts, coarsely chopped



Combine sugar, butter and nuts; spread evenly into two hotel pans (12x20x2-inch).
Arrange apricot halves, skin side down, over butter/nut mixture.
Prepare gingerbread cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter over apricots.
Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen edges and invert cake. Cut into squares.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 64

yhwhsesther

Cherry Ambrosia

2 cans - Cherry pie filling
2 cans - Crushed pineapple
3 sm. cans - Mandarin oranges
1/2 bag - Mini marshmallows
2 cans - Eagle brand CONDENSED milk
2 lg. (16oz) - Cool Whip
Chopped Pecans (optional)

Mix together in large bowl, Refrigerate.

yhwhsesther

Tropical Cake

48 servings

4 packages yellow cake mix
8 packages (3½ oz) instant vanilla pudding
2 qt cold milk
2 lbs softened Cream Cheese
4 (8 oz) containers whipped topping, thawed
4 can crushed pineapple
2 cups maraschino cherries
2 cups macadamia nuts
2 cups shredded coconut

Mix cake batter as directed on package. Pour into 4 greased 10½ x 15½ jellyroll pans.
Bake in 350° oven about 12 minutes or until done. Cool. Combine pudding mix with milk.
Beat softened cream cheese into pudding mix. Then fold in thawed topping.
Spread mixture onto cool cakes. Drain crushed pineapple and spread on each cake.
Drain and chop maraschino cherries. Sprinkle cakes with cherries, followed by nuts
and finally coconut. Keep refrigerated until served.

yhwhsesther

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits


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1 tsp Garlic salt or powder
1 Tbsp Parsley flakes
1 tsp Italian seasonings
5 lb Bisquick
44 oz Water, cold (5 1/2 c.)
1 lb Cheddar, sharp -- grated
1/2 c Butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix Bisquick, water and
cheese. Drop by large spoonfuls onto greased baking
sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. After baking, (while
hot) brush on melted butter or margarine mixed with
garlic powder, parsley flakes and Italian seasoning.
(Amounts will vary by the size batch you make, but a
little goes a long way.) Serve hot. Makes 60.
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The RL manager's recipe is for a large quantity, so you'll have to
reduce the ingredient quantities by the size batch you desire.
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Note: For a smaller batch you can use
2 C. Bisquick
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 c. grated cheddar
which will yield about 12 biscuits.
You may also substitute soda water or gingerale for the water, if desired.
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