Good Morning.
With apologies to my vegetarian friends, I offer a few recipes I've acquired from people who do meat and fish. All of these delights are a snap to make, and just because they don't require gourmet ingredients and a degree from culinary school doesn't mean they're not delicious. I am relaying the recipe directions exactly as they were given to me.
We begin with Jamie's Cola Chili. My husband had one of those little tin boxes with recipes handwritten on index cards. It belonged to his mother and after we got married, it arrived at my house along with larger items like Hitchcock chairs, an extensive collection of pots and pans, and the artwork he brought back from southeast Asia after three years in Vietnam.
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Kosher salt to taste
1 can onion soup
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
Dash freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cans kidney beans
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup Coke or Pepsi
Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Add a sprinkle of salt. Drain the beef and cans of kidney beans. Place all the above ingredients in a crock pot, stir well to mix, and simmer on low for
six hours. Serve in great big bowls topped with corn chips or other crunchy material.
Now we have Wendy's Beef Dip for Bagels. Wendy is my daughter.
1 1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/3 cup sour cream
2 tsp. dillweed
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. Accent
2 packages thin-sliced beef, snipped into pieces with a scissors.
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and chill for several hours. Serve with plain bagels, cut into bite-sized pieces.
You can throw the bagel pieces in a bowl or on a platter and supply toothpicks or let your guests
get nice and messy. This will indicate something about how you keep your closets.
Wendy's brother Stephen has a signature dish he prepares on the grill during the warmer months but it can also be done in the oven.
Salmon with Mustard Sauce
2 salmon steaks one inch thick
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tbsp. mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 tsp. dillweed
Mix up the sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, and dill in a saucepan. Keep warm but don't burn it. Brush the salmon with melted butter and grill outside your house or within. Pour the sauce on the salmon and serve to four people, depending on how big the steaks are.
The sauce can be used on several kinds of fish and is also delicious on vegetables like broccoli. I'd serve Steve's salmon with a slightly sweeter white wine like a Riesling, but there are no rules about food and wine anymore so do what you want. Actually there are no rules about anything as far as I can tell.
Steve also makes another salmon and here are the instructions for that one:
On a large piece of tin foil, pour some herb and garlic dressing. Place your salmon on it. Liberally smear some Grey Poupon on top. Tightly seal up and cook at 375 degrees for twenty minutes.
I must confess that salmon is not my fave, but these recipes are easy and delicious. My mixed emotions about salmon date to my childhood when I was served creamed salmon and peas on
toast or a salmon loaf that had stuff in it like pimento. I don't like pimento.
Next up, Shawn's College Meatloaf. Shawn is a friend.
2 pounds hamburger
1-2 envelopes Hot 'n' Spicy Shake 'n'Bake
Applesauce
Apricot marmalade
Mush the hamburger and the Shake 'n'Bake together. Add a couple of spoons of applesauce to keep the loaf moist as it bakes. Form it into a loaf on a cookie sheet. Press your thumbs into the top to make a trough. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove and spread the apricot marmalade all over and around, filling the trough as well. Bake for another ten minutes.
Shawn created this masterpiece almost three decades ago when it was his night for pinochle and all he had in his apartment was some hamburger, Shake 'n' Bake, half a jar of the apricot stuff, and one of the personal-size servings of applesauce. Few people I know would indicate on the recipe directions that you make a trough with your thumbs, but Shawn spent a lot of time on his family's ranch growing up so there you go. Make a trough. I have used these ingredients to make cocktail meatballs and they're yummy and a nice change from the cranberry ones I often fix up for a party.
My son-in-law also has a meatball he makes for gatherings like the Super Bowl. His name is Dan.
A large bag of frozen, prepared Swedish meatballs
2 cans cream of mushroom soup, undiluted with anything
2 small cans of sliced mushrooms
Heat up the meatballs in a skillet, in batches unless the skillet is the size of a flying saucer. Mix in the soup and sliced mushrooms. Throw in your crock pot to keep warm. Serves an unknown number of people.
I made this for a church potluck one Sunday and it went over well as a comfort food that is often desirable in a church setting. I used three bags of meatballs, six cans of soup and six cans of mushrooms. I added a carton of sour cream. I made this thing up at home and it tasted so good that I left a certain amount in my fridge for just my fine self. The rest I took to church but the next day I got up with a terrible attack of arthritis on my right knee for some reason and have been limping around ever since.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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