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Family Heritage through Recipes

Here you can find a historical representation of our family heritage told through recipes and food.  Our family, as represented by the ...

Monday, December 25, 2023

Mustard Pickles


 



Recipe Name: Mustard Pickles

Story: We found this old recipe notebook in an envelope at Dad's place. This appears to be, likely, Grammy Whittier's recipes, though could be even older.

Author / Creator: Grammy Whittier?

Submitted by: Dad / Chuck

Ingredients / Directions: 
  • 1 qt cucumbers
  • 1 qt tomatoes
  • 1 qt onions
  • 1 qt cauliflower
  • 4 peppers cut fine
Soak 24 hrs in a brine made of:
  • 1 pt Salt
  • 4 qts water
Cook in brine until tender, drain and put in the following:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 6 tbls mustard
  • 1 dessert spoon turmeric
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 qts vinegar
Cook till it thickens



Popovers

 


Recipe Name: Popovers

Story: Found among Grandma Bisset recipes

Author / Creator: Mimi

Submitted by: Grandma / Maka / Patricia Bisset

Ingredients: 
  • 3 eggs
  • 1.5 c flour
  • 1.5 c milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbls olive oil
  • 1 tbls sugar

Directions: 
Prep time - 10 - 15 mins
Can be made ahead - no
Makes 6
  1. Preheat oven to 450
  2. Spray pans with pam
  3. Put eggs in blend and stir
  4. Add remaining ingredients and stir on low speed just until blended
  5. Fill popover pans 3/4 full
  6. Bake 15 min at 450 then at 350 for 15-20 min
  7. When finished baking, prick each popover with a fork to release steam (otherwise they'll get soggy)
  8. Serve with real butter

Notes: 
Do not open oven during baking until done and golden brown
Doubles nicely

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

 Stuffed portobello mushrooms recipe | Vegetarian recipes | SBS Food


Recipe Name: Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Story: Today you can Google and find almost anything you want.  I searched to find something different with the Portobello being stuffed with vegetables and cheese. It is a complete meal. The original recipe is for 8. But Forest and I found one mushroom to be enough as a full meal.

Years you've been making it: Since 2023

Author / Creator: Mackenzie Gore (updated 2023)

Submitted by: Suzy / Mom

Ingredients:
  • Cooking Spray
  • 8 Portobello mushrooms, washed and stems and gills removed
  • 2 tsp. extra virgin oil
  • 1 (8oz) block cream cheese softened
  • 1 (10oz) pkg. frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
  • 1 c shredded mozzarella
  • 6 strips of bacon cooked and chopped
  • ½ c cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ c. panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan
  • 4 Tbsp melted butter
  • Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Directions: 
  1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place mushrooms stem side down on pan and brush with oil.
  2. Bake for 10 minutes or until they begin to soften. Soak up any excess water on the pan with paper towels
  3. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, spinach, mozzarella, bacon, tomatoes, garlic and oregano. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes
  4. In a medium bowl combine panko, parmesan, and melted butter
  5. Flip the mushroom caps over and stuff with the cream cheese mixture. Top with panko mixture.
  6. Bake until cheese is melty and tops are golden, 15 minutes.
  7. Garnish with parsley
Notes: 
It is a good meal for company because it can be prepared ahead of time and then put in the oven when ready to serve.  Or downsize as I did with Forest and myself.
I am not sure how well it would be as left overs or frozen for later use. Certainly something for you to explore.

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita

 


Recipe Name: Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita

Story: Kristy sent this to me. I was looking for recipes that could be made ahead of time. I was preparing for a trip to the mountains to meet with Brad, Vilma, and of course Alexander. I did not want to spend a lot of time cooking. It is easy to make and freezes well. Brad made it during Thanksgiving week. Everyone enjoyed it. I think it will become one of our family's favorite.

Years you've been making it: Since 2020

Author / Creator: Alyssa River

Submitted by: Suzy / Mom

Ingredients: 
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 2 10.75 oz cans condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
  • 1 cup shredded cheese

Optional toppings: Sour cream, diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, lettuce, diced avocado, tortilla strips.

Directions: 
  1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Add chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker. In a medium sized mixing bowl mix cream of chicken soup, salsa, corn, black beans, water, cumin, and cilantro. Pour over the top of chicken.

  2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Place back into the slow cooker and add shredded cheese. Continue cooking until cheese has melted about 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings

Tuna Noodle

 

Recipe Name: Tuna Noodle recipe

Story: As I looked over the year, I tried to think of what recipe became a favorite that I had not done before and decided it was my tuna noodle recipe. It looks way more complex than it should for only four ingredients (really the first two are all that is "necessary", but I add the last two to give it more depth).

Years you've been making it: Since 2022

Submitted by: Kristy

Ingredients: 
  • One 6.7 oz jar of tuna in olive oil with oregano or sun dried tomatoes (I use Tonnino brand)
  • 6 oz spaghetti or linguini (probably any pasta would work)
  • Lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (more for serving)

Directions: 
  1. Cook pasta until al denta (according to package). If you have parmeson rind on hand, add it to the water. It makes the pasta a bit "stickier" (I do this for all pasta recipes)
  2. Strain pasta, keeping about 1 cup of pasta water
  3. Put whole jar of tuna and olive oil in bottom of pan, chopping up tuna to bite size
  4. Put pan on low heat, add pasta back in with spritz of lemon juice and about 1/2 cup of parmesan
  5. Stir together adding pasta water 1/4 cup at a time until it all comes together. I usually only use about 1/2 cup of pasta water, then save the rest until after dinner. If there are leftovers, I add the pasta water before storing the pasta - it will help keep the dish from getting too dry.
  6. Enjoy!


Beef Bourguignon

 


Recipe Name: Beef Bourguignon

Story: I've always wanted to make Beef Bourguignon, but to be honest I just figured it was a fancy pot roast. I was wrong, this is sooo good, and yes the whole bottle of wine is needed.

Years you've been making it: Since 2023

Author / Creator: https://kellyscleankitchen.com/2023/06/29/beef-bourguignon-updated/

Submitted by: Dustin

Ingredients: 
  • 3-4 lb boneless beef chuck cut into 1 inch cubes
  • salt and pepper
  • oil
  • 3 strips of bacon, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 leeks, white and pale green only, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 8 garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • 1 bottle of burgundy or pinot noir
  • Beef stock as needed
  • 30 pearl onions
  • 1 box of mushroom caps
  • 4 tbsp butter or ghee
  • Minced parsley

Directions: 
  1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
  2. Cube and season beef, pat dry with a paper towel.In a large dutch oven, add oil over medium high heat and sear beef, working in batches to make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Remove the beef and set aside.
  3. Add bacon to the pot and saute until crispy. Add onions, carrots, and leeks and saute until translucent, salting as you go. Add garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and coat the vegetables all over and saute until a deep rusty color, around 4 minutes. Deglaze with red wine all over, scraping up the brown bits in the pan.
  4. Bring the pot up to a very low bubbling simmer, like very low amount of bubbles, and place a lid on. Add all meat back to the dutch oven. Add bay leaf and thyme, and submerge with red wine and about a cup or two of stock, if you want it to be a little lighter you can use half stock half wine. Traditionally it is all wine but I like to throw some stock in there. Season with salt and pepper if needed, bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours. After two hours check to see if the meat is fork tender, if it is pull it out of the oven and set aside. If it is still tough, keep in the oven for another 30 minutes or until it is no longer tough.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare  your pearl onions and mushrooms. To peel pearl onions, place them in boiling water and turn off the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes, drain, cut off the root end, and the outer layer will easily peel off the outside of the onions. In a large pan over  medium heat, add butter and saute the pearl onions and mushrooms until cooked through, salting as you go. I add the pearl onions first to make sure they are halfway cooked through before adding the mushrooms, because the onions tend to take longer. Once those are done, add them to the finished beef bourguignon.
  6. Mix everything together stovetop over medium heat, top with  minced parsley, and serve.
Notes: 
I pretty much followed this recipe precisely as written with a few minor adjustments. When browning large amounts of meat like this, I find that it is easier / better to season the whole beef chuck with salt and pepper, and then sear whole for about 5-7 mins on each side (getting a nice crust). I will then cut it into 1-2 inch cubes to add back to the stew later.

I bought frozen pearl onions (they are already peeled, much easier), and I sauteed the onions and mushrooms separately (there are too many to really saute all together, you'll just end up steaming them).

Tomato Catsup


 



Recipe Name: Tomato Catsup

Story: We found this old recipe notebook in an envelope at Dad's place. This appear to be, likely, Grammy Whittier's recipes, though could be even older.

Author / Creator: Grammy Whittier?

Submitted by: Dad / Chuck

Ingredients / Directions: 
  • 4 qts tomatoes (raw)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 (or 1.5) cups vinegar