Cookin' Country Style

[Sharikee]

[Sharikee]

Mom's Potato Salad

Original recipe makes 8 servings

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped

10 eggs

1 large onion, chopped

1 (24 ounce) jar sweet pickles, drained and chopped

2 cups mayonnaise

Place the potatoes in a large pan of water and boil over medium-low heat until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes, and place in the refrigerator to cool.
Place the eggs in a saucepan of cold water over medium heat, and bring to a full boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for about 15 minutes. Cool the eggs thoroughly under cold running water and shell them. Chop the cooled eggs and place them in a large salad bowl.
Stir the onion, sweet pickles, and mayonnaise into the eggs, and let the mixture chill in the refrigerator at least l/2 hour to blend the flavors. Mix in the chilled chopped potatoes, and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. Serve cold.

[Sharikee]

Red Skinned Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Original recipe makes 4 servings

8 medium red potatoes, cubed

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup half-and-half cream

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 teaspoon steak seasoning

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Place the potatoes into a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon of the crushed garlic to the water for flavor. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.
Drain the potatoes, and add the butter. Mash until the butter is melted. Mix in the half-and-half, sugar, steak seasoning, garlic powder and remaining garlic. Mix potatoes with an electric mixer until smooth.

[Sharikee]

Grandma's Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy

Original recipe makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, pressed

6 pork chops

salt and pepper to taste

1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms, drained

1 cup dry sherry

1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and saute until fragrant. Season pork chops with salt and pepper, then fry them in the skillet just until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the pork chops to a baking pan or Dutch oven.
Pour the mushrooms into the skillet with the pork drippings and garlic, and stir in the sherry and beef broth, scraping any bits of pork that are stuck to the pan. Bring to a boil, then pour over the pork chops in the baking pan. Cover with a lid, or aluminum foil.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove the lid or foil, and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the chops from the pan to a serving platter, and place the dish on the stove over medium heat. Stir together the cornstarch and water. When the juices in the pan come to a boil, slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Spoon sauce over the chops, and serve.

[Sharikee]

Mom's Apple Pie

Original recipe makes 1 - 9 inch pie

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

[Sharikee]

Banana Bread

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Yield: Makes one loaf.

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

[Sharikee]

Honey-Mustard Glazed Ham

1 (10-pound) smoked, bone-in ham
1 cup honey
1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the lower third.
Remove any plastic packaging or netting from the ham. Trim away any excess fat, leaving about a 1/4-inch layer all over. Set the ham aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with several sheets of aluminum foil (it will make cleanup a lot easier). Place the ham, cut side down, on the baking sheet and cover it with a piece of parchment paper. Tightly cover the ham and parchment paper with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the brown sugar has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool to lukewarm (the glaze should be the consistency of room-temperature honey).
When the ham is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Discard the foil and parchment paper and, using a sharp knife, score a 1-inch-wide diamond pattern (don’t cut more than 1/4 inch deep) over the entire ham.
Brush the ham with a quarter of the glaze (about a generous 1/3 cup), return it to the oven, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush with another quarter of the glaze, and repeat every 15 minutes until all of the glaze has been used and a dark golden-brown crust has formed, about 55 to 60 minutes total. Let the ham rest 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

[Sharikee]

Date and Nut Bars

Original recipe makes 2 dozen

1/3 cup boiling water

2 cups dates, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over dates, and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 10x10 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the dates, including any water; mix well. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda; stir into the date mixture. Then stir in the nuts.
Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared 10x10 inch pan, and bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, cut into bars, and roll each bar in confectioners' sugar.

[Sharikee]

Chicken and Drop Dumplings

Makes 8 (1-cup) servings

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups baby carrots

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups fat-free chicken broth, divided

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

2 cups chopped skinless rotisserie chicken breast

2 cups biscuit baking mix

2/3 cup skim milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In large nonstick pot coated with nonstick cooking spray, sauté onion, carrots, and garlic over medium heat until tender.

2. In small cup, stir flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth, mixing until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture and remaining broth to pot; bring to boil. Add thyme and chicken.

3. In bowl, stir together biscuit baking mix and milk. Drop the mixture by spoonfuls into boiling broth.

4. Return to boil, reduce heat, and cook, covered, carefully stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes or until dumplings are done. Season to taste. If soup is too thick, add more chicken broth.

[Sharikee]

Peas and Dumplings

3 cups fresh shelled green peas (3 pounds whole) or 2 10-oz pkgs frozen peas

4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces (half a stick, 4 tablespoons)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup broth from cooking the peas

In a medium saucepan, combine the peas, water, salt, and butter, and stir well. Bring to a lively boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the peas are tender. Remove from heat and scoop out 1/3 cup of broth from the pot.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour with the broth and stir well. You will have a raggedy bowlful of dough. Using your hands, press and push and scoop it into a lump and then knead it a few dozen times, until you have a fairly smooth, springy dough. stir broth into flour to make dough.. raggedy, knead it a little bit.

Using a roling pin, roll the dough out into a thin round. Cut it into long slender strips, and then cut each strip into lengths, about 1-inch wide and 2 inches long, or smaller. To cook, the pot of peas to the heat and bring to a rolling boil once again. Drop in the dough pieces, one by one, until all these dumplings have been added. Stir as you go to mix everything in well. Add water if needed, and simmer about 10 minutes more. When dumplings are tender and chewy like good pasta, and peas are sweet and tender, taste for salt and adjust if need be. Serve hot in bowl, with spoons for the broth.

[Sharikee]

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

[Sharikee]

Homemade Brownies

Original recipe makes 1 9x9 inch pan

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

[Sharikee]

Country Potato Soup

Servings: 6

3 cups diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 1/2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk

1
Combine potatoes,carrots,onions,water,bo(· cubes, and salt in a large sauce pan.
2
Cover and cook for about 20 mins or till potatoes are tender not mushy.
3
Add 1 c milk,heat.
4
Mix sour cream,flour,chives, and remaining of milk in a medium bowl.
5
Stir mixture into soup base gradually.
6
Cook over low heat stirring constantly until thickened.
7
You can add ham,bacon,or alittle velveeta cheese for extra flavor.