Cookie Sheet Cherry Platz

My friend shared this recipe with me, once I tasted it I knew it was a keeper. It is a large recipe. Great to bring to gatherings or potlucks.

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 can cherry pie filling (I used 1 1/2 cans..I like more filling but 1 can works fine too)

Glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Enough hot water for drizzle consistency.

1. Cream together butter and sugar, add eggs and beat well. Add flavorings.
2. Stir in flour and baking powder and mix well.
3. Spread half of the batter into a greased 12" by 17" pan. (approximately) 
4. Put pie filling over the base and then with a spoon drop the other half of the batter over the filling. 
5. This dough is fairly thick so it doesn't really spread well over the top, if you drop it by spoonfuls you get a pretty effect with the cherry pie filling peeking through.
6. Bake at 350º for 30 to 35 minutes. Top should be slightly golden in color.
7. Drizzle with glaze while still warm.

Savoury Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables

This roast's flavour comes from the delicious, full flavoured gravy. You could also make it in a slowcooker and have a great meal ready at the end of the day.

• 1 3-4 pound pot roast
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4-1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water (second amount)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (second amount)

1. In Dutch oven, on top of stove, brown meat slowly on both sides in hot oil. Remove from heat. Drain off fat and sprinkle roast with a little salt.
2. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over roast. Return to heat.
3. Cover tightly and simmer 1 3/4 -2  hours or until meat is tender.
4. Transfer meat to serving platter, loosely cover with foil and let stand while you make the gravy.
5. Skim off excess fat and heat pan juices to a slow simmer, scraping down all the brown bits with a spatula.
6. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and 1 tablespoon brown sugar until blended.
7. Pour slowly, a little at a time into pan juices stirring constantly, adding only as much as needed to make a nice smooth gravy. Bring to a slow boil.
8. Remove from heat and serve with sliced roast and roasted vegetables.

Roasted Vegetables

• Potatoes peeled and quartered
• Carrots  peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths
• onions peeled and quartered
• 2 tablespoons oil,
• Kosher salt as desired,
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• freshly ground pepper

1. About 1/2 hour before the meat is done, turn oven on to 425 degrees F.
2. Cover a large baking pan with parchment paper, if desired.
3. Pprepare potatoes, carrots and onions. Try to keep the pieces of somewhat uniform size.
4. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl with the vegetables.  
5. Toss vegetables in oil mixture and lay out on prepared pan.
6. Roast in prepared oven for 15- 20 minutes or until vegetables are browned and tender.

Crab Cakes 2

This is a dish you can make when you don't have any meat out for supper.

Serve them with a salad or as a first course at a dinner party.

I have doubled and tripled the recipe and it always turns out great.

I clipped the recipe from a magazine years ago and have tweaked it a bit over the years.

• 1 6 ounce can of crabmeat, drained and flaked, or 1 6 ounce package fresh or frozen lump crabmeat, thawed and drained
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 6 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs, divided (regular or Panko crumbs)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped red pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion (green part only)
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon. bottled hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Drain crabmeat.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine egg, 4 tablespoons of bread crumbs, carrot celery, onion, mayonnaise, dry mustard, salt and hot pepper sauce.
3. Gently stir in crabmeat just until combined.
4. With wet hands, gently shape mixture into four ½ inch thick patties . Or you can make them smaller if serving as an appetizer. Mixture will be a bit crumbly.
5. Pace remaining bread crumbs in a shallow bowl and gently coat both sides of each crab cake.
6. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
7. Add crab cakes.
8. Cook about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and heated through.
9. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, if desired and Tartar Sauce.

Tartar Sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise,
• 1 tablespoon chopped celery leaves,
• 1 tablespoon sweet or dill pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion
• 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt.

1.  In a small bowl, stir all ingredients together.
2. Refrigerate until serving.

Eesy-Cheesy Buns - Gluten-free

These buns are a quick and easy one-bowl prep.

They taste great fresh or toasted the next day.

Ingredients :

1 egg

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp salt ( or leave out)

3/4 cup gluten-free Bread/Bun Mix (my favorite is Kinnikinnick's Kinni-Kwick Bread/Bun mix)

Method:

In small mixing bowl, melt the butter in the milk in the microwave - cool to lukewarm.

Wisk in the egg..

Stir in the grated cheese

With spoon beat in the flour until batter is perfectly smooth

Divide batter into 6 muffin tins.... and bake in 375' oven for about 20 minutes or until the buns are golden brown.

Note - if substituting your own flour mix for a commercial bread/bun mix that has leavening already in it ... add 2 tsp of baking powder

Salmon Cakes

This recipe comes to me from my friend Bruni who have received many great recipe from. She serves them with a curry mango dip, but they are great on their own as well. You can add so many things to change up the flavors, like finely chopped red pepper, chopped parsley, thyme, etc. With your imagination it can keep the flavours interesting.

• 2- 7 oz cans of Salmon or Tuna drained, remove bones
• 1/3 c. bread crumbs (she uses about a cup or so of mashed potatoes since they follow a gluten free diet) I have even used left over stuffing if I have it
• 2 chopped green onions
• 1 t. dill weed or 1 T. fresh dill
• 1  T. lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 T. mayonnaise
• salt and pepper to taste.
• 1 c. grated cheese (optional)

1. Mix together well and form into little patties. 
2. Brown in a Teflon frying pan with about one tablespoon olive oil. About 3-4 minutes per side. If you make them burger size they make a good patty on a bun. A very nice change from a regular hamburger. My family really enjoys them. 

Riverwalk Guacamole

One of the most famous attractions of Texas is the Riverwalk in San Antonio. It's a great place to stroll or take a riverboat cruise...and there are restaurants galore to pick from. We just returned from a visit to Texas and a wonderful time on the Riverwalk. Memories of the guacamole will live on!

We walked by a Bistro where they were making fresh guacamole at the table and before long we found ourselves sitting at one of their tables. Who can resist? We ordered a 'guacamole-for-two' salad, prepared right at the table. It was good to the last lick and I would have liked to order another...and another! But instead I had the server explain exactly what she was doing and have already enjoyed my copycat guacamole at home.

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1/2 of an orange
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 avocado, pitted and scooped out of skin
• 1 small Roma tomato, diced
• 2 tablespoon diced red onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, or to taste
• 1/2  teaspoon coarsely ground sea salt

Directions:

1. Squeeze juices into bowl.
2. Add avocado and coarsely chop.
3. Add onions, chopped tomato,and cilantro...fold into avocado mixture.
4. Add salt.
5. Result should be crudely chopped not mashed.

That’s it. I think the key is to getting avocado that is at it's peak; it should be a little dark-skinned and somewhat soft when squeezed.

I posted a few photos of the 'real thing' over at My Front Porch today, if you want to take a peek. A cast iron bowl for presentation would be nice, but the taste is the same. Enjoy!

Kartoffelpuffer----Potato Pancakes

We used to have a little neighbourhood restaurant that served very good Ukrainian food. My friend and I used to go there on occasion and she ALWAYS had Potato Pancakes. Sadly the restaurant has moved.
It was her birthday and I invited her for breakfast. I offered to make her anything her heart desired, she ask for her favorite Potatoes Pancakes. I want to share the recipe with you.

• 5 medium potatoes peeled and grated
• 1 small onion finely chopped or grated
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• a squeeze of fresh lemon

1. Put all the shredded potatoes in a cheese cloth or dish towel and squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible.
2. Mix together with the remaining ingredients.
3. Use a Teflon pan so that you don't need as much oil. Take about a 1/4 c. of the potato mixture and brown about 3-4 minutes on each side over medium heat.
4. Serve with sour cream, ketchup or applesauce. Good on its on or as a side dish.

You can see in the pan you really don't need much oil, just make sure your pan is hot enough.

Banana Bread

I found this recipe (submitted by Mary Braun) in the Mennonite Treasury, listed under Banana Cake, when I was still closer to being a newly wed. Over the years I have tried different recipes, all good, but somehow always come back to this very simple loaf, a favorite of one of my daughter’s. So I guess it deserves a spot on this blog. If you compare the recipes, you will notice that I have reduced the sugar and added orange juice, but it is great the original way too.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 med)
• 2-3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream

Method:

1. Grease and flour 2 small loaf pans. 
2. Mash bananas and mix with orange concentrate. Set aside. 
3. Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Add eggs, banana pulp and vanilla. 
4. Stir in combined dry ingredients, alternately with buttermilk. 
5. Pour into prepared pans and bake at 350° F about 40 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. The original suggestion is to serve it with whipped cream, but you don’t need a thing on it when it’s fresh. Freezes well.

Streusel Apple Pie

This recipe comes from our Douglas Church cookbook  submitted by Marlene Epp. It is a delicious treat, especially slightly warm served with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Line a 9 or 10" pie pan with you favorite pastry, plenty to choose from this site but this is my go to pastry recipe. 

FILLING:

• 5 1/2 cups peeled and sliced apples,
• I used what ever happens to be in the freezer that I have gotten from peoples trees like crab apples or others. When that is gone I use Granny Smith, or what ever happens to be on sale. You see this recipe is very flexible.
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 t.cinnamon
• 1/4 t. nutmeg

1. Combine all ingredients and place into a pastry lined pie pan.

TOPPING:

• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. cold butter

1. Grate the cold butter into flour mixture to make coarse crumbs. 
2. Sprinkle over fruit. (This time I added just a little bit of oats but it is not in the recipe.)
3. Bake @ 375 for 50 minutes.
4. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

French Toast

Making French Toast is a simple way to add protein and calcium to bread .. and if you go easy on the syrup. .and use healthy bread. . .it could be considered a good breakfast choice. For the French Toast that I made while camping .. .I used cinnamon bread that we had picked up at a lovely little village bakery. This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled depending on how many are coming to sit at your breakfast table.

Ingredients

• 1 egg for each person
• 1/4 cup milk for each person
• a quick dash salt
• 2 slices of bread for each person

Method

1. In a medium sized flat bottomed bowl, whisk the egg and milk together.
2. Add the dash of salt and combine.
3. Heat a non stick fry pan to medium and melt a teaspoon of butter, spreading around the pan.
4. Soak each slice of bread and lay into the fry pan .. turn once when bottom has browned. Keep french toast warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Toffee Dip with Apples

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If you are asked to bring a fruit platter to a function and the fruit is insanely expensive, this is a sweet solution and very good. It disappears very quickly.

Dip the apples in lemon juice or pineapple juice to keep them from going brown, or just keep cutting as they get eaten. I usually count on at least 1/2 an apple per person, but often it works out to 1 apple per person.

• 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese 
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 3 skor bars crushed

1.  Combine the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. 
2. Add crushed skor bars.
3. Serve with apple wedges.

Paska Gluten-free

NOTE - I have reworked this recipe and like the new one better .. it is here

You can't be a Mennonite and not have Paska for Easter.
Here is my gluten-free recipe that smells great baking and really tastes like the real thing.... My husband says so!

I brought a loaf over to my daughter.. leaving it with my granddaughter at the door. My daughter called our cell in a panic a few minutes later... "Are you sure its gluten-free?? It doesn't taste gluten-free!" I love it when people can't tell !!

Gluten-free Paska

1 tbsp. yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup milk heated to lukewarm
Proof the yeast in lukewarm milk and sugar until doubled in size.

In mixer...

Beat 2 large eggs, add
1/2 cup white sugar, beat until light and fluffy
then beat in 1/4 cup butter/oil (you could use either, I just use a combination)

add
1 tsp of finely grated lemon peel
juice of 1/2 lemon

When yeast is proofed, add to other liquids.

In ziplock bag mix well the following dry ingredients :
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch (NOT flour)
1/4 cup almond flour (make your own by grinding fresh almonds in your coffee grinder)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to liquids and beat on high for about a minute.

Spoon into desired greased baking pans --- a mid sized loaf pan, muffin tins, or other desired shaped tins or pans.

Let rise until doubled in bulk. (takes about an hour)

Bake at 375' for about 30 minutes ( baking time will vary on size of baking pans- bake until nicely browned - do not underbake)

Let cool and ice with icing ( butter, vanilla, milk, powdered sugar) and decorate with sprinkles -- coloured or chocolate)

** because gluten-free baking is soo much better fresh, I tend to bake smaller quantities .. I have not tried doubling this recipe but see no reason why it shouldn't work.