Beef and Pasta Casserole

Beef and pasta casserole is a good recipe to make over the weekend. You can freeze and reheat it during the week. Along with the beef it contains onions, celery, corn and cheese. The ingredients can be as varied as your imagination.

Casseroles and one pot meals remain the foundations of home cooking. In the country or city any place were women were busy with other tasks during the day the one pot meal was relied on to keep their families fed. Casserole recipes are endless in number. From baked beans, tuna and noodles, and concoctions containing darn near everything in the kitchen the variety is amazing.

The recipe will serve 4, more if you serve it with a salad and bread.

Ingredients

• ½ lb. of hamburger
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ¼ cup of chopped onion
• ½ cup of sliced celery
• 1 cup of corn, frozen or canned and drained
• 3 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon or more of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons of beef bouillon
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 8 oz. of dry pasta
• Cheddar cheese

Directions

Heat the butter in a large pan, crumble the hamburger into the hot butter. Stir and brown the meat. Add the chopped onion, the celery and the corn. Stir and continue to cook until the onion and celery is tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the water, beef bouillon and the Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and cover, continue to cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and increase the heat to bring it to a boil. Stir the uncooked pasta into the boiling mixcture. Continue to stir a few minutes to keep the pasta from sticking together and stir once in a while until the pasta is done. Lower the heat to medium low or low and stir in the cheese. Turn off the heat and cover. Stir well before serving. It can be kept warm in a 300 degree F oven.

Pack leftovers into a casserole pan and reheat leftovers in a 350 degree F oven. Cover or cover the top with cheese or buttered bread crumbs, cornbread works well.

Notes

Mushrooms, squash or cooked beans would go well in this recipe.

Pasta can be any type you have on hand including homemade.

Add chopped olives or sliced green onions with the cheese.

If you want a thicker sauce add a couple tablespoons of flour mixed with 1/3 cup of cool water to the simmering mixture. Stir constantly until it is as thick as you would like. Then add the cheese.

Other meats can be used in this, chicken, pork, or fish.

If you use a cheap package of mac and cheese add the imitation cheese sauce mix to the pan after the pasta is done.

Quick Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are wonderful to serve on weekends. Whether for breakfast, brunch, lunch or a late evening snack they will please your family and friends. This recipe is quick and easy. It uses simple ingredients that you usually have on hand.

According to historians sticky buns or cinnamon rolls are ancient and most likely originated in Northern Europe. The history of cinnamon is not clear. We know this highly valued spice was used by ancient Greeks and Romans. Among the early uses was to flavor wine and as an ingredient in incense. Medieval uses include adding the expensive spice to both sweet and savory dishes. One of the goals of the age of exploration was to find a  quicker route to the East and the spices there.

Spicy sticky buns were made near Philadelphia in the 1680’s. The basis was probably the German snail yeast rolls. One of the earliest printed recipes was in a Good Housekeeping cookbook published in 1922. The earliest recipes always used a sweet yeast dough, later ones used baking powder.

The number of rolls this recipe makes depends on how thick they are cut. The recipe can be doubled.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of  lemon rind, grated
• 3 tablespoons of cold butter
• ¾ cup of cold milk
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon or more – for filling
• 1/3 cup of sugar, either white or brown – for filling
• ¼ cup or more of plumped raisins or other dried fruit – for filling
• Butter – for filling

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F, 375 degrees F if using a glass baking dish. The rolls can be baked in either round or rectangular pans.

Mix the filling ingredients except the butter in a small bowl before beginning making the rolls. You can save any you have left for future use. It improves it to add a pinch of salt.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, sugar and lemon rind in a medium bowl. Blend with a fork. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender or two table knifes until the size of peas. Mix in the cold milk using a fork, mix until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and balls up on the fork.

Lightly flour a surface and toss the dough in the flour a few times. Pat or roll the dough out into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Spread the dough with soft butter, sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough. Scatter the raisins over the sugar and cinnamon. Roll over it with a rolling pin to press the mixture into the dough. Beginning at the long side roll the dough into a log, roll tightly. Cut with a sharp knife or by using the string method into 1 inch thick slices. Place the slices cut side down in the pan or pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Prepare an icing, if desired. Blend a tablespoon of butter with a drop or two of vanilla or lemon extract with enough powdered sugar to make a thin glaze or thicker icing. Glaze or ice while the rolls are warm, add more icing when they cool a bit. Or you can spread the rolls with butter, sugar and cinnamon before baking.

Notes

You can add an egg with the milk, use ½ cup of milk.

Almonds, walnuts or other nuts can be added to the filling and sprinkled on top before baking.

Orange rind can be used instead of lemon. Either is good.

The easiest filling is just sugar and cinnamon.

Nutmeg can be left out but I add it because German rolls and breads often add it and I like the flavor.

Some grated apple can be added to the filling.

Homemade Tartar Sauce

Tartar sauce is usually served with sea foods. It can also be used as a sandwich spread and as a vegetable dip. While available commercially it is easy and quick to make at home and far less expensive.

It is one of the mayonnaise based sauces that became very popular after mayonnaise  was first developed in Europe. Sauces that used eggs, oil, lemon juice and seasonings were served in the middle Ages and in the Roman Empire. Recipes for the sauce began appearing in cookbooks for tartar sauce in the 1800’s. It is served now with sea food but in the 1800;s it was served with beef, chicken and other meats.

The recipe will make ½ cup of sauce. Keep the leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• ½ cup of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of pickle relish
• 1/8 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon of onion salt or 2 tablespoons minced onion
• ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder or ½ of a clove of garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon  of paprika

Directions

Put the mayo in a small bowl. Add the pickle relish, onion, garlic and other seasonings. If you did not use onion or garlic salt, add a pinch of salt. Mix well, cover and chill before serving.

Notes

Other ingredients that may be added include dry mustard, capers, lemon juice, tarragon, parsley, and chives.

The recipe is easily doubled.

Add a chopped hard cooked  egg, some ketchup and use as 1000 island dressing.

It is good inside a grilled cheese sandwich or on hamburgers or chicken sandwiches.

Use more seasoning and maybe a few tablespoons of sour cream  if using for a vegetable dip.

One Pot Spaghetti With Options

This recipe for one pot spaghetti is part mistake and part laziness. Yesterday as the result of not wearing my blasted reading glasses  I opened a can of tomatoes instead of a can of kidney beans. They were dumped into a plastic container and put in the refrigerator.

Today I really didn’t feel like cooking. Nothing sounded good to me but I knew I had to use up that can of tomatoes. Spaghetti seemed the best idea.

The recipe will feed 4.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ pound of meat
• ½ large onion, chopped
• 1 14 ½ oz.  can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of water
• 2 or more garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 or more teaspoons of Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup for red wine
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 8 oz. of pasta

Directions

Use what meats you have on hand. Add a couple diced slices of bacon if you have any. You can use beef, pork or even chicken. It can be fresh or frozen. Sausage is good to add if you have some leftover.

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven size pot. Add the meats and the onion. Sauté until the onion is transparent and the meat is cooked. Add the garlic and the can of tomatoes. Stir and simmer then add the can of water, wine and seasonings. Simmer covered over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stare once in a while.

Bring to a boil and add the pasta. Stir until the pasta no longer sticks together. Lower the heat and cover. Cook over medium low heat until the pasta is done.

Notes

Any pasta shape can be used.

Italian sausage is excellent in this and other pasta dishes.

Instead of meat you can use eggplant or mushrooms. Cook in the melted butter with the onions.

Vegetables can be added to the sauce before the pasta. About ½ cup or so of cooked leftovers or frozen. Green onions or other fresh vegetables would be good. Ripe olives, cut in half, is great in pasta.

Almost any type of cooked beans could be added.

Instead of cooking it on the stove after adding the past you could bake it covered in a 350 degree F oven for about 40 minutes or until the pasta is done. Cool about 10 minutes before serving.

 

Meat and Potato Pie

This is a basic recipe for a modern version of cottage pie. Many variations are possible depending on the meat used and what you have leftover and on hand. This version uses frozen beef. It seemed a good choice for dinner yesterday  since winter is still around.

Pies containing meats were well known in Europe during the Middle Ages. A variety of meats were used including mutton, beef, prok, game, fish and poultry. Combinations of meats with game and small birds tucked in around the main meat were common. Hard boiled eggs, and nuts were often added. Fruits such as dates, raisins, and apples were added as well as cloves, cinnamon, ginger and other spices.

During the 18^th Century a meat pie topped with potatoes instead of pastry became popular and was often called cottage pie. It made use of leftover meat, potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Many people call any type of meat pie shepherd’s pie but cottage pie is usually topped with potatoes..

This recipe makes enough to feed four to six. It can be a complete meal or serve it with bread and a salad.

Ingredients

• ½ pound or more ground beef
• ¼ cup of diced onion
• 2 cups of water
• 2 teaspoons of beef bouillon
• 1 cup or more of vegetables, mixed
• 1 can of condensed tomato soup
• 3 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce or more
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Mashed potatoes mixed with 1 egg

Directions

Heat the 2 cups of water in a large pot and add the beef. If frozen cook until thawed enough to cut up. If using leftover hamburgers or other beef chop and add. Ifr using raw hamburger crumble it into the water and boil until it is done. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the beef bouillon, onion and vegetables. Stir in the tomato soup and add more water if needed. Stir in the butter. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or more. You want a thick mixture.

If you have no leftover mashed potatoes, mix a 2 or 3 serving portion of instant mashed potatoes as directed on the package, use less water than called for. Add no milk. When the potatoes are cool mix in 1 or 2 beaten eggs.  If using leftover mashed potatoes mix the eggs into them.

If the meat mixture seems too thin thicken it with a few tablespoons of flour in a small amount of cool water. Stir into the meat and vegetable mixture and cook until as thick as you want.

Pour or spoon the meat and vegetable mixture into a casserole dish or rectangular baking pan. Top evenly with the potatoes. Drop the potatoes by spoonfuls or spread over the top of the mixture.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes or until hot and the potatoes are lightly browned. Cool a few minutes before serving.

Notes

The amounts can be doubled.

Use leftover cooked vegetables or frozen. Carrots, celery, peas, corn, green beans, or almost any type of vegetable is good in this recipe.

If the meat is pork, tuna or chicken use a can of cream of mushroom soup instead of the tomato soup. Use chicken bouillon.

Left over boiled potatoes can be used. Peel, slice and layer them on top of the meat mixture. Dot with butter. Add cheese the last few minutes and bake until it melts.

Experiment with ingredients and seasonings. I thought about adding some cloves and nutmeg to this but thought my better half might not feel like his dinner being a lab experient.

Another Chicken Soup

This is a recipe for a savory chicken soup loaded with vegetables and pasta. Ham or veal can be added for extra flavor. When you don’t feel like eating a heavy meal soup is perfect.

Soups have sustained mankind from the beginning of history. At one time people ate soup at least twice a day. The Celts boiled their meats and soup was made from the water the meat was cooked in.

Serve with salad and homemade bread or with sandwiches. Soup can be lunch. dinner or a midnight meal.

This recipe makes over 4 cups of soup.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs
• 1/3 cup of diced onion
• 1/3 cup of sliced celery
• 1/3 cup of frozen, fresh or canned peas. draubed
• 1/3 cup sliced carrots
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 4 cups of water
• 3 teaspoons of chicken boullion
• ½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
• ½ teaspoon of tarragon
• ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning or sage
• ½ cup or more  of pasta

Directions

Prepare the vegetables. Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the vegetables and sweat them for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the water and the full chicken breast; I used a skinless frozen one. If you use cooked chicken dice it and add at this point. Cover and cook until the chicken breast is cooked and can be removed and diced. Add the diced chicken back to the pot. Add the seasonings and heat to boiling. Add the raw pasta and stir a few times before coving the pot and lowing the heat. Simmer the soup until the pasta is well done. Keep over low heat until ready to serve.

Notes

Adding a couple tablespoons of finely chopped cooked ham or veal with the vegetables and butter improves the flavor. You could use lunch meat.

Green onions can be used instead of larger onions.

Corn can be added instead of carrots.

If you have homemade chicken or veal broth uses it as part of the water.

Snipped chives would be a nice garnish.

Banana Pudding

This recipe for banana pudding uses no eggs and may not be to everyone liking. It is not the traditional custard based type of American pudding many of us grew up enjoying. The pudding does not contain a lot of sugar because it takes advantage of the natural sweetness of the bananas.

Pudding is a good desert  to serve following a simple meal. It can be served in bowls or spooned over cake, flaky pastry or cookies  for a fancier desert. Kids really enjoy this pudding.

This recipe will make slightly over 2 cups of pudding or 4 half cup servings.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, heaping
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 bananas, sliced

Directions

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the flour. It will ball up around the whisk. Knock the bits off the whisk. Mix the sugar, vanilla, salt and milk together in a bowl. Slowely pour the liquids into the butter and flour in the sauce pan. Mix with a whisk until smooth. Sit the pan back on the stove and heat to boiling over medium high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Allow to boil a few minutes, still stirring. Remove  the pan from the heat and slice two bananas into the pudding. Stir to combine. Allow the pudding to cool to room temperature. Pour into desert bowls or into a large bowl that has a cover and refrigerate.

Notes

You can use more sugar is you want.

Place some sugar or sugar cinnamon cookies on a desert plate. Spoon some pudding over them and add some whipped cream. Top with a drizzle of chocolate syrup or shaved chocolate.

Spoon over ginger bread, spice cake or pound cake.

Use to fill éclairs.

Make layers of vanilla wafers and pudding in a glass bowl. Top with whipped topping. Refrigerate over might.

It is vanilla pudding if you leave out the bananas.

Well drained canned peaches are good in the pudding instead of bananas. Almost any canned fruit could be used.