American

American, baked goods, bread, dessert, zucchini

Zucchini Bread

How can we have so many recipes, and yet not have a family zucchini bread recipe? Part of the reason may be that it’s a fairly modern phenomenon–I can’t find a recipe for it in any of our older cookbooks. Another possibility is that the version in The Melting Pot is made entirely with whole […]

American, BBQ, beef, meat

Man Meat

I call this man meat because it uses ingredients that even the most consummate bachelor would have. Also, I think my step-dad John, who recently passed away, used to make it a lot, and he was truly a man’s man. I hope you’re taking notes, because it’s pretty complex: 1 tri-tip steak1 bottle or can […]

American, baked goods, chocolate, dessert

Crazy Easy Fudgey Brownies

Made these for cards night and covered them in melted chocolate. The melted chocolate part didn’t go 100% right so I won’t post that part. The brownies themselves are delish, though. This is the Hershey’s fudgey brownie recipe. 1 4 oz. bar unsweetened baking chocolate3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter2 c. sugar3 eggs1 1/2 tsp. […]

American, beef, dairy, pasta, sauces

Beef in Cream Sauce with Leeks and Shallots

Alternate name: Alex’s not-quite-beef-stroganoff. This dish started out as a creative way to use up some leeks that were on sale, and evolved into something more complicated since I wanted to make something fancy. It’s very similar in some ways to beef stroganoff, but more subtly flavored and not quite as heavy. Ingredients:1 pound steak […]

American, baked entrees, DIY, hot dish, leftovers, pie

Hot Water Pastry Recipe

Yeah, my pie pretty much owns. Hot water pastry was mentioned in this Leftover Pot-Pie recipe. Inspired by a discussion about baking ratios and receiving some leftover turkey and stock from Thanksgiving, I decided to refine the crust recipe and write it out more explicitly. This crust is more suited to hot savory pies than […]

American, bread, dumplings, soup

Baking Powder Dumplings

This is Mom’s standard dumpling recipe, excellent with chicken soup. Drop them in, put the lid on, and enjoy. Ingredients:2 cups flour4 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1 scant cup milk or water Preparation:Mix the dry ingredients, stir in the milk or water gradually to make a soft dough. Drop by spoonful into boiling salted water […]

American, entree, Latin, stew

Harried Mom Style Chili

I recall making this very simple recipe many times as a young’un, when Mom was really busy working and herding us kids around. It was a bit of a standard, along with noodle kugel, that was easy enough for kids to make (and explains why it is not quite as complicated most of the recipes […]

American, baked entrees, braising, chicken, wild rice

Wild Rice-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe is for 6 chicken breast halves, which will make good planned-overs, but you can scale it back for 2-4 breasts. 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves Stuffing:1 large onion, minced2 ribs celery, minced2 medium carrots, minced3 c. cooked wild rice10 mushrooms, chopped (optional)1/4 c. roasted sunflower seeds (optional)4 Tbsp. butter1 Tbsp. salt1 tsp. […]

American, sausage, stir-fry, vegetables

Kielbasa and Peppers Skillet

I always keep a turkey kielbasa on hand for weeknight desperation dinners. The turkey kielbasa aren’t as greasy as the regular ones, and they keep forever in the fridge or freezer. This recipe is more to serve as inspiration than as something to follow in great detail. You can add the noodles to the pan […]