Favorite Ingredients Friday for November 21

CLASSIC STEAK & CHEESE SOUP

3 frozen beef sandwich steaks
1 onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup (or more, to taste) diced or sliced green bell pepper
1/4 cup flour
3 cups beef broth
1 cup milk (or more, to taste)
Salt & pepper to taste
8 ounces Velveeta-type cheese, cubed

Cut the steaks in strips. Cook steak strips, stirring, in a Dutch oven
over medium heat until most of the pink is gone. Add onion, mushrooms, and green peppers. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in flour. Remove from heat; gradually add broth and milk. Return to heat; cook, stirring often, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in cheese and continue to cook until cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste; if soup is too thick for your taste, add milk until it is the consistency you like.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

My family loves steak and cheese sub sandwiches, so I invented this
yummy soup full of the same flavors. A bowl full will warm you up on the chilliest winter night!


To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for August 1

Today's theme at Favorite Ingredients Friday is appetizers and snacks. Here's a recipe I've made for years. It's a different and quite inexpensive version of a cheese ball. Hope you all enjoy it!

TUNA CHEESE BALL

1(8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 (6-ounce) cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced celery
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Crackers
Combine cream cheese, tuna, egg, celery, onion, lemon juice,
mustard, salt and pepper sauce; mix well. Chill this mixture for 2
hours.
Shape chilled mixture into a ball. In a shallow bowl,
combine the pecans and parsley to mix thoroughly. Roll cheese ball in
this mixture to coat well. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until serving
time. Unwrap and serve with assorted crackers.


Yield: 1 cheese ball

This festive-looking cheese ball is a different way to serve
tuna. I’ve been making it for years for family and church
get-togethers.


To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for July 25

I had a hard time trying to decide what recipe to share today, but I did want to share something.

With people's gardens producing zucchini and summer squash prolifically, here's a deliciously light main course to try.

GARDEN SQUASH RAVIOLI

1 package (24 ounces) frozen miniature cheese ravioli
1 medium yellow summer squash (or 2 small ones), cut in half-inch chunks
1 medium zucchini (or 2 small ones), cut in half-inch chunks
2 cans (one 15-ounce, one 8-ounce) tomato sauce (or use 3 8-ounce ones)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, cook ravioli according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a 1.5-quart or a 2-quart microwave-safe dish (I used a 2-quart casserole) combine all of the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on High for 7 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Drain ravioli; top with sauce. We also topped ours with grated Romano cheese.

Yield: 6 servings

This recipe produces a very nice, full-flavored sauce for such a quick microwave method of cooking! I was thrilled to find a low fat, whole-grain ravioli (I don’t think it is entirely whole grain, but certainly it contains some, and is a tad healthier than the regular kind) in the frozen food case.


To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for July 11

I haven't been able to take part in any of my favorite Friday activities for a long time, so it's a treat for me to be able to post a recipe for Favorite Ingredients Friday today. I've taken note of the themes for upcoming weeks, and will try and post more often. Here's a favorite recipe for strawberries:


STRAWBERRY LOVERS' PIE

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, divided use (I use chocolate chips)
1 T. butter or margarine
1 pastry shell, baked (9 in.) I haven't ever tried doing this, but I would suppose it could be made in a purchased graham or chocolate crust
6 ounces cream cheese, softened (I use the lower-fat Neufchatel)
1/2 cup sour cream
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
3 to 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup strawberry jam, melted (I do this in the microwave)

In a saucepan or in the microwave, melt 2 oz. chocolate (1/3 cup chocolate chips) and butter over low heat, stirring constantly if using saucepan. Spread melted chocolate over bottom and up sides of pastry shell. Chill.

Meanwhile, in mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over chocolate layer; cover & chill for 2 hours.

Arrange strawberries, tip ends up, over the filling. Brush jam over strawberries. Melt remaining chocolate (you may need to add a bit of shortening or butter to get it to drizzle properly) and drizzle over all.

Makes 1 pie -- 6 to 8 servings.

We served this pie to missionary guests from Spain and the husband took this picture of it:



I love how God allows us to bless others through hospitality!

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for May 2

For Favorite Ingredients Friday today, the theme was “Greatest Hits.” Since I don’t need to come up with a new recipe, I can do this! I just had a hard time deciding which previously posted recipe to use.

I decided it has to be the Blueberry French Toast, because I recently had a dear friend email me from Panama asking for the recipe. I had served it to her and her husband one time when they were visiting here, but the recipe had somehow found its way out of her recipe box -- much to her dismay, since she wanted to make the French toast for company. In Panama, she uses pineapple instead of blueberries. We have found that it is also very delicious using raspberries instead of blueberries. I use the frozen ones. It just seems to me that a recipe so well loved and used, and so well-traveled, deserves the “Greatest Hits” label. So here it is:

BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST

12 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed, cut in 1” cubes
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut in 1/2” cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
SAUCE:
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (raspberries work well, too)
1 Tablespoon butter

Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13X9X2" baking dish. Top
with all of the cream cheese cubes. Top with blueberries and remaining
bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and syrup; mix
well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or
overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover
with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes; then uncover and bake 25 - 30 minutes more or until golden brown and the center is set.
For sauce:
In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil
over medium heat; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in
blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until berries
have burst. Stir in butter until melted. To serve, cut the French
toast into squares; serve with blueberry sauce ladled over each portion.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

This is a wonderful breakfast or brunch dish for company! If you want to make a smaller amount, you can cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9-inch square dish.

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for March 21

With Easter this weekend, my thoughts turn to brunchy foods, and I thought of these wonderful pastries. This recipe is too good not to share, so here it is. This is sort of a long recipe, but you can divide the work over 2 days, since the dough needs to chill 8 hours or overnight. It's much easier than the usual Danish pastry recipe. My family has always loved these pastries, which I sort of invented by combining 2 different recipes. They do freeze well, and I would often keep a bag of them in the freezer to reheat individually on busy school mornings.

CHEESE DANISH

2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar, divided use
1/2 cup warm water
4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter or margarine, cut in small pieces
1 cup milk
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 beaten egg (for glaze)

In small bowl, stir 1 tsp. of sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle yeast over; stir and let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Add the butter; cut into flour mixture with pastry blender until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add milk, eggs, and yeast mixture. Stir with wooden spoon to make a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight.

1 1/2 hours before serving:
Grease 2 baking sheets (or line them with parchment paper or teflon liners). Remove dough from fridge. Punch down; remove 1/4 of the dough and place on a lightly floured surface, turning dough to flour all sides. Return the bowl, covered, to the fridge. Cut removed dough into 6 pieces. With floured hands (you may need to keep flouring them), roll each piece into at least a 12" rope. Coil each rope loosely on the baking sheet, tucking end under. Leave at least 2" between pastries to allow room for rising. Brush with beaten egg. Repeat with remaining dough, using 1/4 of dough each time and returning bowl to fridge each time until all the dough is used.

Let the pastries rise, uncovered, at room temperature 25-30 minutes or until puffy.

Heat oven to 350º. Using floured finger or wooden spoon handle, make deep indentation in center of each pastry. Fill indentations with cheese filling. Brush dough again with beaten egg. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cooling racks.

Cheese Filling:
2 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tblsp. grated lemon rind
1 egg

Blend cheese, sugar, and rind. Gradually add egg, beating until smooth.

If you like, you may make some plain confectioners' sugar icing to drizzle over the finished pastries, but they are wonderful without it.

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for February 29

Here is a favorite chocolate dessert that goes over well at a potluck or when you have guests in.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH FUDGE SAUCE

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) cook & serve chocolate pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 pkg. (18 1/4 oz.) chocolate cake mix

FUDGE SAUCE:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine pudding mix with milk in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cook, uncovered, for 6 to 8 minutes at 70% power, stirring at 2-minute intervals. (If you prefer, you may cook the pudding in a saucepan on the stovetop, but cooking it in a bowl in the microwave saves a step and a saucepan.)

Add the dry cake mix to the pudding and beat until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 13x9-inch baking pan and spread evenly. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched and edges pull away from sides of pan. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack.

For sauce, in a heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate chips over low heat. Stir in evaporated milk and sugar until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 8 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.

Cut cake in squares; serve on dessert plates with warm sauce over cake. Ice cream or whipped cream are completely optional.

This came from a Country Woman magazine -- it was a prize-winner in one of their contests. This recipe is chocolate to the nth degree and is incredibly easy and delicious.

Photo from Taste of Home

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for February 22

Favorite Ingredients Friday today is focusing on Side Dishes. I don't know about others, but for me it is difficult to come up with easy side dishes that are interesting and yet use common ingredients. The recipe I'm sharing today meets that criteria and is super with any Asian-style entree.

CHINA LAKE FRIED RICE

1 cup raw rice
2 cups water
4 to 5 slices of bacon, diced
4 eggs, slightly beaten
4 to 5 green onions, sliced
Soy sauce
Any leftover meat in tiny pieces (optional)

Bring the rice and water to a boil in a heavy saucepan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until rice is cooked. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Add the green onions; cook until tender. Add the eggs to the skillet, stirring, and cook until eggs are scrambled. Add the cooked rice and the optional meat; mix well. Add the soy sauce until the fried rice is as brown as you like it. Cook all together over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Serve piping hot.
Yield: 4-6 servings.

I copied this recipe from a radio cooking show many years ago. The lady who shared the recipe was from China Lake, Maine. This fried rice is really delicious. For years, whenever we ordered Chinese takeout, I would whip this up while we waited for the food to arrive.

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for February 8

For Favorite Ingredients Friday today, the theme is Valentine’s/Chocolate. Right away I thought of this wonderful dessert!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE TORTE

1 package fudge brownie mix (13x9-inch size) plus the eggs, oil and water it calls for
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups whipped topping
Chocolate or heart-shaped sprinkles

Prepare brownie mix as package directs for fudge-like brownies. Spread batter in a greased & floured 9-inch round cake pan. (Or do as I do and don’t bother with greasing & flouring -- just place a 9-inch round of wax paper in the bottom of the cake pan.) Bake at 350º for 38-42 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 10 minutes.

Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely. In a bowl, stir together the chocolate and butter until smooth. Spread over brownie layer; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Just before serving, top with the whipped topping. Decorate with sprinkles.

Yield: 9-12 servings.

This recipe is so easy and takes such ordinary ingredients, yet produces something really special! You might already have all of the ingredients on hand. It is decadent, for sure. I found this recipe in an early Quick Cooking magazine.

If you would like to see more recipes with this theme, check out Favorite Ingredients Friday
and see what others have shared today. Happy baking!

Favorite Ingredients Friday for February 1

For Favorite Ingredients Friday today, I would like to share a favorite biscuit recipe of mine. These are the best baking powder biscuits around, in my humble opinion. Yesterday I made a batch of them and cut them in heart shapes to give to my parents with a jam/jelly assortment for their wedding anniversary.

EGG BISCUITS

3 c. flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tblsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 c. cold butter or margarine
3/4 c. milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400º. Into a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, beat together the milk and egg. Add to flour mixtures and stir until flour is moistened.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Knead dough once or twice and roll out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out biscuits using a 2 -1/2-inch biscuit cutter (or whatever size you have). Place the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Serve hot. Yield: 18 biscuits.

These unusual biscuits are absolutely wonderful! They are good with butter and jam (or just jam -- there’s plenty of butter already in them!) and they make especially good strawberry shortcake biscuits. The recipe is from an old cookbook published by Current®, Inc.

To see some favorite recipes from others, head over to Overwhelmed with Joy and see what’s cooking!

Favorite Ingredients Friday for January 18

I made some homemade granola yesterday -- something I used to do all the time, but had gotten away from. My husband had bought some granola last week and I happened to have some of it for breakfast one day. It was good, but it reminded me that I could easily make my own and save some money. I did, and it turned out so well! Right now I am just going to share the granola as I made it, but later I want to share the formula I use, which is so helpful when making this cereal. There really are endless variations to the basic formula. But here's the recipe for yesterday's

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup dry uncooked hot cereal (I used Hodgson Mill Multigrain Hot Cereal)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to taste
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tblsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla
Chopped dates to taste
Raisins to taste

Preheat oven to 300º. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, cereal, seeds, nuts, dry milk and spices.

In another bowl or a large measuring cup, combine the oil, brown sugar, water, and vanilla and mix well. Pour over the dry mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.

Transfer the mixture to a greased 13x9-inch pan and bake at 300º for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven; stir in dates and raisins, and let cool before storing. I store granola either in a plastic bag inside a recycled oatmeal canister, or in a large plastic container intended for cereal storage.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for January 11

Today’s focus for Favorite Ingredients Friday is on Pies. We love pies! Pies are one of my favorite things to make. For today, I’ve chosen a recipe which I may have shared before, but it bears repeating. I thought it would be a good recipe to share in January, because it calls for simple pantry ingredients, not seasonal fruits.

REESE’S PIE

2 packages cook-and-serve type chocolate pudding
4 cups milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 9-inch baked pie crust, cooled
1 to 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped with 2 Tablespoons confectioners sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large saucepan, combine the pudding mixes and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cut the peanut butter into the confectioners sugar until small crumbs form. Set aside about 2 Tablespoons of the crumbs -- put them in a custard cup or something. (It will be awhile before you use them.) Sprinkle all the rest of the crumbs into the bottom of the pie crust. Pour the pudding over the crumbs. Refrigerate the pie until the pudding is set. It will be cold. Spread the whipped cream over the top and sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

In our family, we call this “Reese’s Pie” because it reminds us of a pie by that name which we used to eat at a Vermont truck stop. I’m not sure, but I think the whipped cream on their pie had some cocoa added. It was chocolate, anyway. If you want to try that, whip in 3 or 4 Tablespoons of baking cocoa along with the sugar and vanilla; add 2 more Tablespoons confectioners sugar too since the cocoa is not sweetened.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for December 28

This week's theme is Side Dishes. Here is one of the side dishes I made for Christmas dinner. It was a new recipe for us, and it is really delicious. It will become a standard menu item for special meals, I think.

GINGER-GLAZED SWEET POTATOES

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tblsp. chopped crystallized ginger
3 Tblsp. apricot jam
1 Tblsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt

Place the cubed sweet potatoes in a gallon-size zip-top bag with the olive oil. Seal bag and shake well to coat potatoes with oil. Empty the bag into a foil or parchment-lined 15x10-inch baking pan. Roast at 450º for 30 minutes, stirring twice during that time.

In a microwave safe bowl or liquid measure, combine remaining ingredients. Cover with wax paper or plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Pour over sweet potatoes; toss to coat with glaze. Bake 10 minutes longer.

Yield: 5 servings. May be easily doubled.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for November 30

Okay, I hope lasagna can be considered a casserole. I think of it as one, anyway. This is one of my very favorite recipes, so I hope others enjoy this too.

CHICKEN CHILI LASAGNA

6 ounces cream cheese (the light kind works fine), softened
6-8 green onions, chopped
2 cups shredded Mexican-cheese blend, divided use
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp. ground cumin, divided
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 4-oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
12 flour tortillas, cut in half

In mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, green onions, 1 1/2 cups Mexican cheese blend, garlic, 1/4 tsp. cumin and parsley. Stir in chicken; set aside.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour until smooth and bubbly; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, chilies, thyme, salt, pepper and remaining cumin. Spread 1/2 cup of this cheese sauce in a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.

Top with 6 tortilla halves. (If need be, cut tortillas smaller to fit.)

Top with a third of the chicken mixture and a fourth of the cheese sauce.

Repeat tortilla, chicken and sauce layers twice.

Top with remaining tortillas, sauce, and remaining Mexican cheese.

Cover and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand 5 min. before cutting.

Yield: 12 servings.

Favorite Ingredients Friday for November 9

For today’s favorite, I decided to share something that is very seasonal -- made with squash and apples. Buttercup squash is my favorite, but any winter squash would work, I’m sure. Just use the same amount.

BUTTERCUP SQUASH AND APPLE BAKE
3 lbs. buttercup squash
3 apples
6 Tblsp. margarine (or use 4 Tblsp. oil)
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 Tblsp. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Cut squash in halves; remove seeds and fibers. Peel and cut in slices 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick. Arrange the slices in a 13 x 9-inch pan.

Core apples but do not peel them. Cut in 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch slices and arrange them on top of squash.

Mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over top of apples and squash. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake at 350º for about 1 hour or until squash is tender. Serves 6 to 8.

I have been making this recipe for over thirty years. It’s nice with any autumn meal and would be a great side dish for Thanksgiving. It would also make a nice contribution to an autumn potluck.