Not'Cha Mama's Chop Suey

Remember your mama’s chop suey? It had a little hint of pink color to it and maybe a scant tomato chunk here and there with a few green peppers and onions – if you were lucky. Well this ain’t like that.


3 cups uncooked elbows macaroni
16 oz pasta sauce with diced tomatoes (we used homemade)
1 lb ground beef
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 can tomato soup

Cook macaroni in 4 quarts water and 1 Tbsp salt until al dante; drain and set aside.

In large skillet, cook ground beef, until it is no longer pink. Drain any grease from burger; add onion, green pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning and pepper and cook until vegetables are tender.

Add tomatoes, pasta sauce and tomato soup and cook on medium low heat for about ten minutes. Combine with elbows and mix well. When serving, sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.


© Crackerberries 2009

Pork Pumpernickel Sandwiches

So I told my mother we were having pork sandwiches for supper last night and her comment was, “YUCK”. I said, “What do you mean yuck?” She said, “Penny makes pulled pork sandwiches and I don’t like them.” I said, “Mom, by all means, this is not the pulled pork Penny makes.”


1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced thin
Pumpernickel sandwich rolls
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Dash cayenne pepper
1 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
American cheese


In non-stick skillet, cook pork with garlic, coriander, cumin oregano and cayenne pepper until golden brown and juices run clear.

In small bowl, combine ketchup, lemon juice, brown sugar, onion, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon Mustard and mix well.

Once pork is cooked, drain any grease from skillet and add ketchup mixture. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; reduce heat and cook on low for about 15 minutes.

Slice Pumpernickel rolls through the center and toast, if desired, in toaster oven. Place one slice of American cheese on the bottom of the roll. Slop pork mixture on cheese slice and top with more Dijon mustard, if desired and plop top slice of roll on and yum.

© Crackerberries 2009

Banana Nut French Toast

Okay, so I have to share this funny story of how this recipe came to be. We have a Seal a Meal machine that we use for all of our meats. We go to Reid’s (where they can save you money) once a month and buy our meat and then bring it home and Seal a Meal it in portions for two.

Me being the genius I sometimes think I am decided that I was

going to make two loaves of Banana Nut Bread and seal one loaf in the bag for later use. Well, well, well … lesson learned, bread doesn’t take too kindly to having the air sucked out of it. I wasn’t going to waste the bread so…viola Banana Nut French Toast.



¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 cup (2 medium, overly ripened) mashed bananas
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven 350°

Grease bottom only of 9x5 or 8x4 loaf pan. In large bowl cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy; beat in eggs. Blend bananas, milk and vanilla into sugar mixture. In separate bowl combine all dry ingredients (including option choices). Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Pour into baking pan and bake at 350° 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely…Seal a Meal for about a month in the freezer. That will be sure to give it that mushed squished effect.

2 Eggs, well beaten
½ cup milk
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in medium bowl. Dip sliced banana bread in mixture and place on greased medium high heated grill for about two minutes per side. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar or pour syrup over and enjoy.


© Crackerberries 2009

Stuffed Peppers with Honey Mustard Sauce

When one has an over abundance of something, one must find the best way to use it.

Pepper Filling

1¼ lb ground turkey
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
½ tsp celery salt

½ tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
¼ tsp rubbed sage
¼ tsp cumin
1 Tbsp hot mustard
1 Egg, slightly beaten
10 small-medium green peppers

Honey Mustard Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp dry mustard
½ cup honey
¼ cup Dijon mustard

Combine crushed saltine crackers with spices in a large bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over ground turkey meat. Mix mustard with egg and pour over cracker and turkey mixture. Mix well. Set aside, preferably in the fridge if you are in hot weather. Wash peppers under cold water. Carefully cut off tops and pull out seeds and white flesh. Stuff each pepper with turkey mixture, pressing into pepper to fill.

In a small bowl, combine honey, mustard, dry mustard and olive oil and mix well. Top each pepper with some of the mixture and cover with pepper top. Save some of the mustard sauce for topping after they have cooked.

Preheat oven to 350º. Place aluminum foil over peppers loosely. Cook for 40 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven for another 20-30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

© Crackerberries 2009

Guaca-Mole-Mole-Moleeé

2 Avocados
One lime
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried cilantro
¼ tsp Texas Pete hot sauce

To determine the freshness of an avocado, gently squeeze in the palm of your hand. Ripe fruit will yield to the pressure of your hand. Using a knife, cut around the fruit, then twist and pull apart; pierce pit with edge of knife and slip it out. Scoop out flesh into bowl and mash with a fork leaving chunks.

Cut lime in half and squeeze 2 Tbsp. juice over avocado. Stir in onion, garlic and tomato. Sprinkle with spices and add hot sauce to your liking.


© Crackerberries 2009

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Both Tall Cool One and I dislike white potatoes. I guess because we had mashed potatoes every day of our lives growing up. Yes, we sure got sick of hearing “Jeffrey likes them” or “Penny likes them”. Good, feed them to Jeffrey and Penny… ha ha ha.

We love candied sweet potatoes so when I found this recipe in a cookbook, I had to try it. It is ‘wicked’ good. A nice change for a summertime potato salad!

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup honey
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

Coat a cookie sheet or roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray. Toss potatoes and one tablespoon of olive oil together to coat well. Spread in pan and bake uncovered at 450º for 45 minutes, stirring once after the first 20 minutes.

Whisk together the remaining olive oil, honey, vinegar, rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic. Transfer potatoes to serving bowl and pour dressing over top; toss gently to combine. Garnish with fresh sprigs of rosemary if desired.

Now, the recipe says to serve it warm, however, we found that if you let it set in the fridge overnight, the flavors incorporate and it’s much tastier in the summertime as a cold salad.

© Crackerberries 2009

Fig Pseudonymous Cookies

Okay, so presentation wise they would have came out better had I not sliced my two end fingers on my left hand while preparing cucumbers for today’s batch of sweet gherkin pickles. But they still taste just as good as the real thing… thicker, but that’s only because I didn’t roll the dough out thin enough.

1 cup sugar
½ cup Crisco shortening
2 large brown eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2½ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups fig preserves

Combine sugar and shortening in large bowl and beat with electric mixer for 30 seconds to combine. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. In small bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda and mix well. Blend into sugar mixture and blend well, scraping sides of bowl. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.

Preheat oven to 375º

Separate mixture into two batches. Roll out the first batch about 1/16th inch thickness. Using parchment paper makes moving dough to cookie sheet easier. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Spread with fig preserves.

Roll out second batch of dough to the same thickness. Place on top of preserves. If you really want to make them like the real thing, cut 3-4 strips and press sides together to seal. Otherwise, press sides all around to seal. Bake in 375º oven 15-20 minutes until light golden brown. Remove and cool completely before cutting into squares.



© Crackerberries 2009

Italian Garden Omelet

Not enough leftover spaghetti sauce from the night before to make a lunch out of? Here’s what you can do with it. YUM!!

3 large brown eggs, beaten
1 large green pepper
½ tsp celery salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 cup meat pasta sauce
¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium onion, diced

Heat non-stick fry pan to over medium high heat. Core green pepper and slice off two or three pieces for presentation. Dice the remaining green pepper and combine with onion and celery salt. Cook over medium heat just until crisp tender (about 2 minutes). Remove from pan, set aside; wipe the pan clean with paper towel. Spray with non cooking oil and heat over medium high heat. Add fresh ground pepper to egg mixture and pour into pan. Using spatula, pull egg mixture carefully toward you to let uncooked portion drain off cooked portion. Once you have all of the egg cooked, pour ¾ cup pasta sauce, ½ cup cheese, onion and green pepper mixture onto the highest side of the egg mixture. Carefully fold the egg over with spatula and top with remaining sauce, cheese and sliced green peppers.




© Crackerberries 2009

Peach Ice Cream

{Served here with Peach Crisp}

I remember hot summer days at my grand-parents house. There was nothing like a trip down to the lake for a swim to cool off or the stop on the way back at the local dairy joy for an ice cream. This is an easy way to make ice cream … and you don’t need an ice cream maker!

1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
½ cup peach (or other fruit) preserves~or cold milk if you want to make vanilla ice cream.

Combine condensed milk, salt, peaches and vanilla in medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In large bowl (use a large metal bowl that you have chilled in the freezer with the beaters for about 20 minutes) beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted out of mixture (about 5 minutes). Gently fold in peach mixture. Pour into a shallow 1½ quart metal pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze. After two hours or when edges start to harden, gently stir ice cream; spoon into air tight container and freeze for two – three more hours before serving. Keep in freezer for up to one week.


© Crackerberries 2009

Inside Out Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies

Okay, so there are no Reese’s peanut butter cups in this recipe at all. But that’s what the cookies remind me of and they are inside out. If you can think of a better name, by all means let me know.
Cookie

½ cup butter flavored Crisco (add 3 tsp water)
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ tsp baking powder
½ baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1¼ cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375º

Beat the peanut butter and Crisco together on high speed for 30 seconds or long enough to combine. Add sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder and mix until combined, being sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add flour.

Drop by tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop (my favorite cookie tool), onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375º for 7-9 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool completely on wire racks.

Chocolate Frosting

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
½ cup margarine
½ cup cream cheese
1-2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Combine cocoa and confectioner’s sugar together and mix well. In large bowl beat margarine and cream cheese and vanilla together until well combined. Gradually add cocoa sugar mixture until frosting consistency, adding heavy cream as needed to make smooth.

Frost cookies and store in refrigerator.


© Crackerberries 2009

Asian Steak Oriental

You know when it’s really hot (like this weekend is going to be 100º) and you don’t feel like having a big meal but you need to have some meat and veggies. This is a salad that is light and easy to throw together too. Yes, I know that the steak is a little rarer than it should be, but let me just say, the raw cabbage will help off-set that … ha ha ha.


1 lb steak (¾”-1” thick) — you could use chicken breasts or pork tenderloins
1 package Oriental-flavored ramen noodles (add a bottle of ketchup and you’ve got spaghetti ~ just kidding)
1 carrot, finely diced
½ cabbage, shredded
½ cup honey roasted peanuts
½-¾ cup Asian style dressing

Rub seasoning from ramen noodles on both sides of steak. Sear steaks and cook to your liking ~ for searing, allow 2 minutes for 1-inch thick steaks and 4 minutes for 1½-2-inch thick steaks. To sear steak: preheat grill to 500º-550º with the cover on. Place the meat on the cooking grill. Close lid and sear the first side of the steak over high heat. Flip the steak and reduce heat to medium and finish grilling indirect over medium heat turning once halfway through the remaining grilling time (about 9 minutes total for ¾-inch steak).

Break block of ramen noodles into small pieces; combine with cabbage, carrots, Asian dressing and mix well. Slice steak and arrange on top of cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts and voila…instant cool summer din-din!



© Crackerberries 2009

Fresh Tomato Bruschetta

Oooh, it makes me want to run out to the garden and pick some fresh tomatoes and whip it up right now…it’s so good and tasty. We buy the day old bread on sale from Wallyworld and use that. I just love summer and fresh veggies from the garden.


3 tsp olive oil (not Popeye’s wife)
6 slices French bread (sliced ½” thick)
1 garlic clove, cut in half lengthwise
¾ cup chopped tomato, seeds removed
1 Tbsp fresh basil, minced
1 tsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp red wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1-2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Brush two tsp oil over one side of each slice of bread. Place bread on baking sheet (you can also place on grill if you don’t want to use the oven). Rub cut side of garlic over bread. Bake (or grill) at 350º for 5-7 minutes until the bread is lightly browned. In the meantime, mince the garlic cloves and combine with tomato, basil, parsley, vinegar, salt, pepper and remaining oil in a small bowl. Spoon mixture over bread; sprinkle with parmesan cheese, return to grill or oven for 1-2 minutes longer. Makes a great snack or lunch or din-din … or I’m even considering breakfast.

© Crackerberries 2009

Zucchini & Carrot Bars

These are good for breakfast as well as a healthy snack. All the food groups are included. A nutritious and delicious way to get your kids to eat their vegetables!

1½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup shredded zucchini
1½ cups shredded carrot
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
½ cup raisins
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and nutmeg in large bowl. In separate bowl, combine eggs, carrot, zucchini, brown sugar, raisins, walnuts, honey, vegetable oil and vanilla. Mix well and then add to flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Spread into ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake in 350º oven 25-30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan completely on wire rack. Frost with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting.

Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Add lemon peel and frost. Cut into 36 bars.


© Crackerberries 2009