Mid-Week Meal

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Sliced Ham
*Lorraine Potatoes
Fried Okra
Creamy Sautéed Tomatoes
Pickled eggs, cut in half lengthwise
Rolls/Butter
Soft Sugar Cookies
served warm w/ strawberries or blueberries & whip cream
Beverages and coffee or warm tea w/ dessert.

Lorraine Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
5 cups sliced unpeeled potatoes
4 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces, partially cooked
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese, (substitute Emmenthal or Swiss if you can’t get Gruyère).

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9 × 9-inch baking dish.
2. Layer half the potatoes, bacon, green onions, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half the Gruyère on top of the potatoes. Repeat layers.
3. Cover with foil. Bake until potatoes are tender and cheese is melted, about 1 hour.
4. Remove foil. Bake for 10 minutes longer. Cut into squares to serve.

Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson “Ring Out, Wild Bells” 1850

 

Oven Baked Cheese Dream

INGREDIENTS
Butter or margarine (optional)
4 slices pumpernickel bread, toasted
8 slices tomato
8 ounces leftover turkey, ham or both, sliced thin
Cheddar Cheese Sauce (see recipe)
4 slices bacon, cooked
4 spears asparagus or broccoli, precooked
4 slices Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Butter (if desired) the toasted bread slices and arrange them in the bottom of a shallow casserole. Top each bread slice with 2 slices of tomato and two ounces of sliced meat. Cover with the Cheddar Cheese Sauce.
2. Heat casserole in 400-degree oven until the cheese begins to bubble. Add bacon slices, asparagus or broccoli and 1 slice of Swiss cheese  to each meat-topped bread slice. Return to the oven. Heat until the ingredients are melted together. Serve hot.

CHEDDAR CHEESE SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded or coarsely grated white Cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of white pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter in saucepan. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes over low heat. Add the milk and stir until it is well combined and the sauce is thick and smooth.
2. Stir in the shredded or grated cheese, salt and pepper. Continue to stir over low heat until the cheese is melted.
3. Make just before serving. (If allowed to stand, they could become soggy, losing their fresh-cooked taste).

Serves 4.

Serve with chips, bean salad, tangy pickles and fresh fruit. Use green olives as a garnish.

Experiment with spicy or flavored mustard’s, such as Dijon or tarragon. Try such cheeses as Gruyère or farmhouse cheese.

Note: For those of you that know me, you know that I always add a shot of Tabasco or hot sauce to my cheese sauce while the cheese is melting. It just gives it a little kick. And I hate asparagus, so you know I’m go with the broccoli. (sh)

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. ~ Winston Churchill

 

Teriyaki Steak

Time for a mid-week meal update – what are you making for dinner tonight? Do you have a regular Wednesday meal that makes the week’s halfway point easier to handle? Are you making it today, or did you make it earlier in the week?

As you know, I love to eat… and to cook… (cleaning, not so much). You know I love Asian inspired foods (with the exception of sushi). I LOVE Teriyaki… I put it on too many things. Stir-fry’s, sausage stuffed mushrooms, steak, you name it. Rice pudding & custard are my two favorite desserts. Quick & easy.

This is a quick and easy meal.

Teriyaki Steak
Butter Noodles
Boiled Cabbage
Crescent Rolls
Rice Pudding
Beverages

INGREDIENTS
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon minced onion flakes
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lb London broil (flank steak)

Mix together all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, except steak. Mix well with your fingers & place the steak in the bag. Shake bag to cover completely with marinade. Marinate in mixture for 2 hours. Turning bag over, every half hour. Grill, bake or broil (George Foreman – like me) to your liking. Let rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve over a hearty bed of buttered noodles.  Serve cabbage in a soup bowl sprinkled with *cornbread croutons.

*Cornbread croutons: Heat 2 TBSP of bacon grease in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Cube some leftover corn bread into 1 inch squares. Toss into skillet. Stir occasionally, making sure not to break up the bread. About 5 minutes. Toss on top of cabbage just before serving.

There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business from there. ~ Colonel Harlan Sanders

 

Meal Planning

Plan menus at least one week in advance.

Make a 3×5 file card for each menu you now prepare. Add a new card for each new menu your family enjoys. In a short time, a week’s menus and shopping list can be prepared in seconds by simply choosing seven cards.

Proverbs 10:27
Proverbs 16:3

Incorporate small appliances into your plans, like a slow cooker, small broiler, electric skillet, and a microwave oven. (We all know I’ve been a micro-slave for many years)

Try new recipes so your meals will be varied, not predictable. Plan nutritionally-balanced meals and use foods in season. Cut down the necessity of using convenience foods by careful planning. Serve left-over attractively. Buy larger roasts, turkeys, ham and chickens and plan to use slices of meats for sandwiches, pot pies, casseroles, salads and soups. Make your own TV dinners by freezing left-over portions. Remember to remove meat from bones before refrigerating.

It’s a sad day when you find out that it’s not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you. ~ Lillian Hellman