Creamed Ham on Biscuits

This meal brings back memories of Saturday night suppers when I was

 growing up.  Mom would always have a can of ham in the cupboard 

so this was something she could whip up in a few minutes.  

I don't buy canned ham very often so I use leftover ham cubes or cooked chicken.  Add a salad and you have supper ready.

Ingredients for the Creamed Ham

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup cubed ham
• 2 tablespoons butter (second amount)
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Biscuits

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Method for the Creamed Ham:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Place 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. Add chopped vegetables and saute' until softened.
4. Add ham and frozen peas, stir and heat for another minute or so and set aside.
5. In a small saucepan or microwavable bowl, melt 2 tablespoons butter.
6. Stir in flour until combined.
7. Add milk and continue to cook and stir until sauce is thickened.  
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Stir in ham and vegetables and place in casserole dish.

Method for the Biscuits:

1. Place all dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Cut in butter to form pea sized crumbs
3. Using a fork, stir in Buttermilk just until all is moistened.
4. Drop by large spoonfuls over creamed ham mixture.
5. Place casserole in 375 degree oven and bake for 10- 15 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned.
6. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Texan Chili Cheese Bake

 

This is a great way to use up leftover chili or sloppy joe sauce. I have used a square pan, doing only one layer or used a loaf pan, doing two layers. I prefer the single layer. Add a salad and it's a quick and easy dinner.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices Texas Style (thick slice) white or whole wheat toast
• 3 cups chili or sloppy joe sauce (approx)
• 1 - 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cups milk

Method:

1. Toast bread and butter lightly, then line square greased pan with all four slices or greased loaf pan with two slices.
2. Top with meat and cheese. Repeat layer if using loaf pan.
3. Beat egg and milk and pour over top.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350° F, for 30 - 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 4 -5

Garlic Chicken

If you are like me, you like to serve your family meals that are quick and easy to make, but with no compromise of taste.  If you are a working parent or have a very busy schedule you will like this recipe, and if you like "garlic" you will love this recipe. In about half an hour this meal is on the table.  It goes good with fried rice and fresh salad. This recipe is for 8 chicken breasts, but you can easily adapt it for more or less depending on what you need.  Use about 1 clove of garlic, 1 scant teaspoon oil and 1 tablespoon brown sugar (not packed down) per chicken breast piece. Who wants to spend hours in the kitchen, not me.

• 8 chicken breast halves
• 8  cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons oil (scant)
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar (lightly packed)
• lots of freshly ground pepper 

1. Saute the minced garlic in the oil until softened.
2. Take off the heat and mix in the brown sugar and pepper.
3. Spoon the brown sugar mixture evenly over each chicken breast.
4. Place into a greased dish that holds the chicken without crowding.
5. Bake at 475 for 25 minutes or is no longer pink inside.

Cauliflower and Cheese Sauce

A cauli 'flower'. 

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• paprika for garnish

Method:

1. Remove leaves from cauliflower. Cut away centre core leaving cauliflower in tact. Wash cauliflower head.
2. Place clean cauliflower in a shallow pan. Add water to to cover 1/3 of cauliflower. Add the 1/2 tsp salt to water. Cover with lid or foil.
3. Bring water to boil and then turn down to medium low to steam cauliflower for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender when you poke a sharp knife deep into the centre. 
4. Carefully remove steamed cauliflower from water and place on serving dish.

Cheese sauce method:

1. In a glass bowl melt butter in microwave.
2. Stir in flour until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add milk and pepper. 
4. Stir well then microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring between to keep sauce smooth.
5. Once sauce has bubbled, remove and add grated cheddar cheese. Stir well and cook for one more minute.
6. Remove and stir until cheese is completely melted and sauce is smooth.
7. Pour over steamed head of cauliflower. 
8. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Place other vegetables around cauliflower is desired.

Thank you everyone for entering our contest....and thank you so much for all the encouragement and for the kind words.  We truly are grateful for each of you!  Blessings!

Winners...

We picked two...  winners of a Celebration Cookbook....coming May 2013  

I enjoyed the first cookbook very much and look forward to your new one this Spring! Thank you for showing pictures of the greenhouse. This web site has such wonderful recipes and photos. Please know that all your efforts in what you are doing is an inspiration to many.

If you should ever venture back to Pennsylvania for another book signing I hope to be able to attend.
Barb Schmidt

Happy Thanksgiving,, I love to bake and cook and since i found this blog, i have to say i'm adiccted to it. I have the first book and love the form you MGCC put up the recipes. Thank you all, and Gods blessing in your efforts.
Adelheid Hildebrand

Pear Tart

We have a pear tree and it seems all the pears like to ripen in the same week. I've been trying to come up with pear recipes and this one was deemed a keeper by my family.

Crust:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed lightly
3/4 cup unsalted butter-cut into small cubes
1 egg yolk

6-7 fresh pears
juice from half a lemon
2 tablespoons sugar

Cut the pears lengthwise into quarters, core the pear, and slice into smaller sections, about 8 slices per pear.You'll need 6-7 pears for this recipe. After the pears are sliced put them into a bowl and add the lemon juice and sugar and toss lightly. This will allow them to juice slightly.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, oatmeal, walnuts, and sugar, butter and egg yolk in bowl. Mix ingredients until they are a crumb size. You can use a mixer.

Pour the mixture into a 10 inch tart pan and press to an even layer coming up the sides of the pan, also.

Arrange the pear slices starting on the outside edge going around in a circle and then start the center circle with the remaining pear slices. Save the pear juice left in the bowl to brush the pears when the tart is fully cooked and out of the oven. This will add a nice sheen to the tart. If you don't have enough juice for this step add a little water and sugar to the pear juice you have and cook it on the stove top till it thickens slightly.

Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes or until it's lightly browned. Remove from oven, cool slightly and enjoy warm or after it has cooled completely. It would be nice with a dollop of whip cream or a la mode.

Note: I reserved a tablespoon of the crumb crust to add on top of the pears in the center of the pan before baking the tart. That is an optional step.

Mennonite Girls Can Cook ~ Celebrations

Happy Thanksgiving Monday to you our dear readers.

Two years ago on Thanksgiving Monday we announced that we had signed a contract with MennoMedia to publish a cookbook. 

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to put together a book that you could purchase for yourself and give as gifts.  You not only gave it once but your giving was stretched when you joined with us in our dream to feed hungry children. 

We selected a project that our royalties would be designated to.  The funds have been directed to MCC to  build this greenhouse. As we see the updates that they send us in photos we realize how blessed it is to give. The book which we gave back to the Lord is now providing nourishment for the body and soul for children in the Ukraine.

While we worked on the book that would preserve our heritage recipes we debated about what to put in and what to leave out. We had no idea if the book would be a seller or if another opportunity to publish a book would arise but one thing was certain...

a second book kept wanting to emerge.

This summer we signed a contract with Mennomedia to publish a book called Celebrations.

We have been hard at work, selecting recipes, thinking of categories, working double time in our kitchens and doing our best to keep our camera lenses free of smudges.

We are working on the stories about life events have made us who we are and are digging deep in thinking about what we will share in regards to what God continues to teach us in the celebrations we observe.

Again we see that this book is another opportunity to bless those who have less than us and so as we spent time thinking about the food which the pages would hold...

we also spent time in prayer deciding where the royalties will go.

Celebrations will be on bookshelves May 2013.

The book cover and further details about the content of the cookbook will be announced in the upcoming days.

To celebrate this announcement we would like to give away several books of our book in progress.

Leave a comment on this post between now and Tuesday afternoon 6PM PST and we'll enter your name to win a Celebrations book.

1. Please enter only once.
2. Leave a name that we can use to declare the winner.
3. Winner will be declared by random number generator and announced Wednesday morning.

Bread for the Journey

Celebrating Thanksgiving

This weekend we are joining Canadians nationwide in celebrating Thanksgiving. I grew up in a home where "Thanksgiving" turkey did not make an appearance on our table. Thanksgiving Sunday after the service, hospitality was offered as we joined together with our church family in the church basement and enjoyed the bounty that arrived in different forms from each kitchen.  Fresh baked buns, salads, sweets and cold ham never tasted as good as when we ate with friends, filling every Sunday School room, eating at long tables.

On Thanksgiving Monday, my parents loaded up firewood, the fixings for a wiener roast and we all piled in the blue chevy and headed up to the mountain to crunch in the leaves. This was my mom's idea and it had nothing at all to do with avoiding the kitchen.   She delighted in being together as a family, crunching through the autumn leaves and relaxing in the slight chill of the autumn air. 

Rather than working days in advance for the meal, on Thanksgiving Monday ....we lived in the moment, celebrating life as it was unfolding and the abundance around us. Remembering her expression of thankfulness for the beauty of her surroundings has never left me. I can still see her smile as she inhaled the scent of autumn.  

What then is the right way to celebrate Thanksgiving?  It is more than a holiday on the calendar and time spent with family and certainly more than the delicious food we look forward to. It is an outpouring of gratitude to God for his love. During lean years and years of bounty, the gratitude remains the same because we have all we need in Christ Jesus. 

We are thankful for  . . 
  new birth, the children that God entrusts to us, our families, upcoming marriages, the communities we are part, the beautiful creation around us, the milestones throughout the year, the Holidays we look forward to, the gift of friendships, and even though our hearts are saddened, some of us will be celebrating a life well lived. We are called to give thanks to God in all things.  

From all of us at Mennonite Girls Can Cook, we wish you and your family a memorable Thanksgiving. 

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 107:8-9

Swiss Eggs

 

A nice easy weekend morning breakfast idea from my daughter. The hardest part of preparing this was taking the picture! This recipe is for two, so you can double or triple it easily.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated cheese (approx)
• 4 eggs
• salt, pepper
• two slices crumbled, cooked bacon or real bacon bits
• 1/3 cup milk (approx)

Method:

1. Slightly grease a small baking dish.
2. Sprinkle bottom of dish with half of the cheese.
3. Crack  eggs on top of cheese. Break the yolks and do a light sprinkle of salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle with bacon
5. Top with more cheese
6. Gently pour milk around the edges, just until the dish is framed with milk.
7. Bake at 375° F for about 20 minutes or until eggs are solid. Let sit 5 minutes. A larger amount may need 30 minutes.


Apple/Raisin Cream Cheese Puffs

A delicious treat during apple season. I used a biscuit recipe for the dough and am happy with the results. Best served warm.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• Buttermilk
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup shredded apple, approx 1 large
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

Method:

1. Pulse dry ingredients in food processor.
2. Add butter and pulse a few more times till butter is pea size.
3. Crack eggs into a measuring cup and add buttermilk to fill 1 cup. 
4. Add to processor and pulse a few times till dough comes together.
5. Dump dough onto a well floured surface and gather into a ball.
6. On a floured surface, roll out large enough to cut 22 rounds, using a 3" round cutter.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth.
8. In a another bowl, mix shredded apple, and raisins.
9. Place 11 biscuit rounds on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
10. Spread cream cheese mixture on each biscuit, leaving space at the edges.
11. Top each one with apple mixture and place another round on each one, pressing down the edges to seal.
12. Bake in a 350º oven for 22 minutes.
13. Drizzle with glaze while still warm

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup icing sugar
• 3 teaspoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Whisk together until smooth and of drizzling consistency. 

Blackberry Pear Struesel Pie

Once you have frozen your blackberries it is time to start dreaming up ideas of how to bless others with them.  Since you can't surely eat a whole pie by yourself I always think of pies as sharing food.

When you are invited out to dinner.... and you ask what you can bring...

do you always hope it is the dessert?  That is what I always hope.

This pie crust was taken out of the freezer and left to thaw for an hour on the counter before rolling out. The "putting together" of the pie took only minutes,

and then all that was left was the peeking in the oven window.

• 1 pie crust  frozen from the story of you can use my favorite Dorothy's Pie Crust
• 1 1/2 cup frozen or fresh blackberries, enough to cover the bottom of your pie pan
• 3 fresh pears, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. F. 
2.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry,  trim edges. 
3. Arrange blackberries on the crust and cover with the sliced pears.  
4. Combine the white sugar and tapioca and sprinkle over the fruit, tapping the pan a bit to help the mixture filter down.
5. To make streusel crumbs, melt the butter, and stir in the remaining ingredients.
6. Sprinkle crumbs over the fruit.
7. Bake for approximately one hour (if using frozen berries) or until the juices are bubbling and the crust is beautifully browned.
8. If the crust browns too quickly, place a large aluminum pie plate over top with the center cut out..leaving a rim to protect the crust.