Dinner from the Bishops' Storehouse

Although we are no longer receiving blessings from the Bishops' Storehouse, I often find recipes that would work good for what's available there. This is one we tried recently that was really good, and the ingredients are available. It is easily halved if you need to, as this makes a LOT! (In fact, the picture below is indeed half of the recipe!)

We served it with a green salad and garlic bread. Very good! Hope you try it and enjoy it!

HAMBURGER GOULASH

·         2 onions, chopped

·         2 pounds lean ground beef

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         3 cups water

·         1 jar tomato based pasta sauce (approx. 26 oz.)

·         2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

·         2 bay leaves

·         black pepper to taste

·         2 cups macaroni noodles, uncooked

1.      Cook ground beef, onion and garlic over medium high heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.

2.      Add water, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaves and pepper. Allow to come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.

3.      Add in the in the macaroni, cover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender (about 20-25 minutes).

4.      Discard bay leaves and serve.

Irish Soda Bread

I am proud to be Irish and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a happy heart. One of our favorite parts of our celebration is Irish Soda bread. This year, instead of buying it from the grocery store, I made it myself, and it came out fantastic! As my husband said, we've been wasting our money buying those.

This is sooo simple and fantastic. I used raisins instead of currants, and got all the ingredients from the Bishop's storehouse, except for the buttermilk. The recipe is from Ina Garten, a cook on television, and I suggest you try it sometime.

Irish Soda Bread

Ina Garten

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 cup dried currants (I used raisins)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (I used a silicone mat which worked terrific.)

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Dinner from the Bishops' Storehouse

Here’s another terrific meal to make for your family using ingredients from the Bishops’ Storehouse. This is a good meal to make in the fall/winter, and today is cold (15°) and snowing so it’s a good choice. Plus the house smells amazing when these are baking.

I got this recipe from my mother, and for some reason I think it’s an old depression era meal, but I’m not certain.

Applesauce Meatballs are very moist and soft, so you need to be careful as you’re browning them.

To finish the meal, I’m serving it with baked potatoes with sour cream, and cottage cheese/pear salads. For dessert I made homemade peanut butter cookies. Everything from the storehouse! I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the blessing of this food in our lives. With my husband out of work for two years, this has literally saved us.

I hope this helps you if you are looking for a good meal to serve your family. Enjoy!

Applesauce Meatballs

Mix together lightly:

1 lb ground beef

½ cup dry bread crumbs (you could probably use cracker crumbs or crushed cornflakes)

1 egg

2 Tablespoons grated onion

½ cup applesauce (unsweetened)

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Form into 2” balls.  Brown in frying pan with a little shortening.  Place in baking dish. (I use a 13x9 pan as I usually double the recipe.)

Mix together: ¼ cup catsup and ¼ cup water.  Pour over meatballs.  Cover.  Bake at 350º for one hour.  Serve hot.

Yup! It was good!

Hot Artichoke Dip

Is there anything better than dipping a slice of French bread into a bubbling, cheesy, gooey artichoke dip? Probably, but this stuff is pretty doggone good! 

I got this recipe over 20 years ago from a good friend and it's been a staple around the holidays for my family since. Such a simple recipe, but one that makes family and friends come back for more.

HOT ARTICHOKE DIP

3 cans artichokes cut up

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

5 cloves of garlic, crushed

Preheat oven to 350º.

Combine all ingredients and put in 9”x9” casserole.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Serve with cut up French bread.

A Christmas Tradition

We always have a big spread for Christmas morning: gorilla bread, lefse, and smoked salmon with bagels and cream cheese. I always smoke the salmon myself using our stove top smoker. It's so easy, and so stinkin' good!

If you'd like to try it yourself, here's the recipe. Just follow the instructions according to the smoker you are using.

SMOKED SALMON

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup soy sauce

5 1/3 cups water

2 pounds salmon

Mix first four ingredients.  Add salmon; make sure it’s submerged in liquid.

Marinate 6 to 8 hours.  Smoke until dry.

If using stovetop smoker, ½ hour on stove top, then 1 hour in oven at 250º.

Sunday Dinner from the Bishops' Storehouse

I haven’t blogged for a while now, but I have been thinking a lot about it. My husband has been out of work now for 19 months. That’s right. It’s been very difficult, but we have received oh, so many blessings!

We have been richly blessed by our ward and by the help we’ve received from The Bishops’ Storehouse. I’ve tried to post recipes and meal plans using the food received from the storehouse, and this is another one I want to share. I know I’ve searched the web for blogs and websites with recipe ideas for the storehouse, and thought I would add my tries in case anyone out there needs that too.

While we normally fix this meal in the colder weather of winter, today is a stormy August afternoon and my husband and my mother (who lives with us) are under the weather. We were going to barbecue, but I decided to go with this instead.

We take a pork roast from the Bishops’ Storehouse and slice it up, since pork chops are not available. I sliced ours into five pieces since we have five in our family. I served the meal with a lettuce and tomato salad and applesauce. For dessert, chocolate pudding! It’s a good family dinner.

Pork Chops and Potatoes in Tomato Soup

1 pork roast sliced into 5 pieces, or 5 pork chops
5 potatoes, peeled and slice lengthwise into quarters
2 cans tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a covered roaster pan, place pork evenly. Salt and pepper the “chops.”

Place peeled and sliced potatoes on top of pork. Salt and pepper those as well. Pour tomato soup over all.

Cover roaster and place in oven. Bake for about 1 to 1-1/4 hours, or until potatoes are done.

A Bishops' Storehouse Recipe

Here's a wonderful recipe that we made for our Sunday dinner today. It is simple, and good. Beef Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) is a simple stew-like dish served over noodles. It is easily doubled if you need to. Try it, you'll like it!

Beef Bourguignon

1 pound stewing beef

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 cup beef broth

1 cup water

3/4 cup grape juice

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 packet gravy mix

small can tomato paste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon parika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 package noodles

In frying pan, heat some vegetable oil and brown beef, then remove and place in slow cooker. In same pan, sauté onions; place in slow cooker with beef. Cook onions in same pan and remove them to slow cooker as well.

Add mushrooms and liquids to slow cooker, along with seasonings and bay leaves. Turn on low and let cook 2-1/2 hours.

When you get ready to cook the noodles, packet of gravy mix into slow cooker and let it heat up white noodles cook. Remove bay leaves and serve. 

A Bishops' Storehouse Recipe

March is an unpredictable month. It can be bright and sunny with the promise of spring, or it can turn into a blizzard at the drop of a hat. I am constantly scouring the internet and cookbooks looking for recipes that I can make for my family. Soups are one of my favorite things to make. They're warm, comforting and nourishing. Serve with a warm loaf of homemade bread or biscuits, and -- voila! -- dinner is served.

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com. It's a hearty soup, perfect for a cold March evening. Most of the herbs I have in my pantry. I found the chicken soup base at Sam's club for around $4.00 for a fairly large jar. Everything else, including the ingredients for the bread or biscuits, I was able to get from the Bishop's Storehouse. Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Ham and Potato Chowder

3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons chicken soup base
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup cubed ham
1 cup corn kernels
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon celery seed
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Whisk 3 cups warm water and chicken soup base in slow cooker until soup base has dissolved; stir in cream of chicken soup until almost smooth.

Stir potatoes, ham, corn, yellow onion and butter into the soup mixture.

Place flour and 1/2 cup water into a small container with a lid and shake well to combine into a smooth mixture; stir flour mixture into soup Mix in parsley, dill and celery seed. Season soup with salt and black pepper.

Cook chowder on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking.

A Bishops' Storehouse Recipe

This recipe is based on an old Betty Crocker recipe from their cookbook published in 1950. My mother used to make if when I was growing up, and I have tweaked it a bit to make it my own. It is easily doubled if you need to, which we generally do in our home.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 can tomato soup

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans

1-2 Tablespoons chili powder

Brown beef and onion until no pink remains in meat and onions are soft. Place in crock pot along with remaining ingredients. Stir well and let cook on low 4-5 hours.

Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream if you desire. We also like to have cornbread with it. Enjoy!

Weight Watchers Breakfast from the Bishops' Storehouse

Trying follow Weight Watchers is a challenge, but I've found that a good breakfast always gets me off on the right foot. And I'm sharing one of my favorite breakfasts using food we've been blessed with from the Bishop's Storehouse.

Poached eggs on toast is an old-fashioned, traditional breakfast and one I grew up with. Here's how it works out point-wise for the WW program: 1 slice whole wheat toast is 2 points, 1 egg poached is 2 points. That's a 4 point breakfast. I like to add a cup of tomato juice for 1 point. And there you have a 5 point breakfast!

You can gild the lilly if you like and can spare the points. Add a slice of ham for 3 points, or some sliced tomatoes for 0 points! If you like, you can just have poached egg white which is also 0 points. And 1/4 cup shredded cheese is an extra 3 points and oh so nice!

Of course, this is a terrific breakfast even if you're not counting WW points. So go ahead and enjoy and get your morning off to a good -- and yummy -- start!

A Bishops' Storehouse Recipe

There are a lot of wonderful things available from the Bishop's Storehouse, and you can even get some fun items for desserts too: cake mixes, puddings and gelatin. And here is something else.

This recipe comes from the blog Cooking Classy by Jaclyn (http://goo.gl/AZrAqq.) It’s another perfect recipe using ingredients you can get from the Bishop’s Storehouse. You could probably use strawberry jam if you prefer that. A good yummy snack, and perfect for dessert, or as a Family Home Evening treat!

Raspberry Crumb Bars

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned)
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup raspberry jam, seedless if preferred

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang of foil on two sides. Grease foil.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in oats and brown sugar, and use clean fingertips as needed to break up brown sugar clumps. Add butter, and using fingertips, work butter into mixture until evenly moistened.

Add 2 cups of the oat mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer. Spread raspberry jam into an even layer over oat layer, coming within 1/4-inch of all edges. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining oat mixture, then slightly press into jam layer.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 34 - 38 minutes. Remove from oven and allow bars to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.

A Bishops' Storehouse Recipe

This is a wonderful recipe that we made for dinner tonight. I'm sharing it for all of you out there who may be looking for something good to make with ingredients you can get from the Bishop's Storehouse. This is a terrific Sunday dinner, and one you can put in your crockpot before you leave for church and it will be ready and waiting for you when you want it.

It is a fantastic meal. I hope you try it and like it too!

Slow-Cooker Southwestern Pot Roast

5 medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
3-pound beef roast, trimmed of fat
2 tablespoons flour
1 pound carrots peeled and sliced
1 jar salsa

Place potatoes in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Coat beef with flour; place on potatoes. Arrange carrots around beef. Pour salsa over all.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.

Remove beef from cooker; place on cutting board. Pull beef into serving pieces, using 2 forks. To serve, spoon sauce over beef and vegetables.

A Summer Recipe

Three Bean Salad

1 can green beans

1 can wax beans
1 can kidney beans
1 cup diced sweet, white onion
3 or 4 Tablespoons diced green pepper
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar

Combine drained beans, onion and pepper in bowl.

Combine oil, vinegar and sugar in saucepan. Boil ingredients for two minutes. Pour over bean mixture, and combine well.

Chill, covered, overnight. Perfect for summer cookouts and picnics. Keeps well and serves a lot of people!

Recipe dated May 1983



Another Recipe to Try!

I love easy and inexpensive meals to feed my family. I pulled this one out of my recipe box (it's from the early 1980s) and made it for the first time in years. We had a box of taco shells that had gotten broken and I remembered this casserole. I used to make it a lot when my kids were little because it was easy, didn’t cost much and was very tasty. I’m sharing it here in case any of you would like to try it too!

Festive Tostada Bake

1-1/2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
15 oz can hot chili beans
1 cup tortilla chips (or taco shells), slightly crushed
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 350°.

Brown beef with pepper and onion. Drain well, then add seasonings.

Place in shallow casserole dish (13”x 9”). Spoon beans over meat, then spread chips over beans evenly.

Spread sour cream on top, sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

My Never-Ending Quest

I dislike having to come home from church and make dinner. I am constantly on the lookout for meals that I can put together in the morning and cook in the crockpot or in the oven with the timer so that when I come home it takes just a little bit of work to finish up the meal. Now that it's summer and the temperatures are rising, the crock pot is a good way to fix a meal without heating up the kitchen.

I found this recipe online, I don't remember where, and we tried it today. It was easy to do, and I made a couple of adjustments and took a few steps to make Sunday prep smoother. First, I chopped all the veggies on Saturday and put them in a ziplock back. I used a large can of sliced mushrooms rather than fresh ones. Instead of chicken broth, I put in the measured amount of water and added a scoop of chicken base which you can purchase from Sam's Club or Costco. Rather than buy the chicken breasts and slice them up, I used chicken tenderloins (3-4 per person), putting them directly in the crockpot and tossing them with the flour before adding the remaining ingredients.

Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles (more traditional) or rice. We made rice in our rice cooker, again to keep the house from heating up, and it was off the charts amazing. A crisp green salad and you're set!

Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips

• 2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)

• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper

• 1 cup shredded carrot

• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used granulated garlic)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

• 16 oz sour cream

Combine flour and chicken in a medium bowl; toss well. Add chicken mixture, chopped onion, and the next 8 ingredients (through mushrooms) to an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Stir in sour cream.

Bruschetta

Tuesday we had lunch at a sandwich place where they were giving away loaves of their bread. We grabbed a couple and brought them home, wondering what we could do with them. For dinner tonight we're having barbecue pork chops and salad, and we decided to use the bread to make toasts and serve it with bruschetta with our meal.

This is one of AJ's favorite treats and he made the toasts. Thinly slice the bread (or baquette), brush with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and granualted garlic, then bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. We bought the bruschetta this time, which is a sort of Italian "salsa" made with tomatoes, garlic and basil. YUMMO!

AJ wanted me to post this picture, he's so pleased with how it looks, so here you go! Now we're off to enjoy our BBQ. Hope you are having a great night too!

Add Some Irish to Your Dinner Tonight

St. Patrick's Day is finally here! If you haven't planned for something special for your dinner this evening, here is an idea for a dish that's easy to make and very Irish: Colcannon or perhaps even Champ.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish meatless meal, but it may also be used as a side dish with sausages, meat or fish. Potatoes are such a large part of Irish cuisine, as are vegetables in general. I have made this dish with kale and found it to be too bitter for my tastes, but with cabbage it is very nice indeed.

Champ, which is similar to colcannon. is made by combining mashed potatoes and chopped scallions with butter and milk, and optionally, salt and pepper. It is simple and inexpensive to produce. In some areas the dish is also called "poundies."

Ingredients for Irish Colcannon

• 1 ½ lbs potatoes
• 1 ½ cups of milk
• 1 ½ cups of boiled green cabbage or curly kale
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Some folk will also add green onion which is commonly used with the recipe for Champ.

How to Make Colcannon

Boil the potatoes until tender.
Drain well.
Mash the potatoes well.
Toss the cooked cabbage in the melted butter.
Add the cabbage and butter to the potatoes and fold well.
Season with the salt and pepper to taste.

Another Easy Supper

I'm still on this kick about easy recipes for after church. Today I made an oldie but goodie -- Stuffed Manicotti. It's so easy and delicious too. If your family likes pasta dishes such as cheese ravioli or lasagne, they will probably like this. One bowl, one pan, 20 minutes to put together, 1 hour to bake and you're in business!

Back in the 1960s a woman named Peg Bracken wrote a series of cookbooks called "The I Hate to Cook Book." She was sort of a combination between Erma Bombeck and Sandra Lee, a humorist who found easy ways to cook. I've made some changes to her recipe, which I've put in parenthesis. Either way works, it's just up to you which you want to use.

STUFFED MANICOTTI

1 16-oz container of cottage cheese (15-oz container ricotta cheese)

8 oz jack cheese, cubed or shredded (8 oz mozarella, shredded)

1 egg, beaten

1-2 Tablespoons dried Parsley flakes (optional)

1-2 teaspoons granulated garlic (optional)

1 package manicotti, uncooked

2 jars spathetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, combine cheeses, egg, parsley and garlic. Mix well.

Place a small amount of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 13" x 9" pan. Stuff uncooked manicotti with cheese mixture and place in pan. Pour remaining sauce over the stuffed manicotti. (I usually only wind up using 1-1/2 jars total).

Cover with foil. Bake 1 hour; let stand 5 minutes before serving. Yummo!

It's great with green salad and garlic bread. One package of manicotti makes 14. Enjoy!

A Super Easy Sunday Supper!

On Sundays we go to church from 11:00 until 2:00. When I get home I am ready to eat and relax, not cook, eat, and relax, so I'm always looking for easy recipes. This is one I came up with after sampling a bunch of recipes and weeding out what I didn't like. It takes about a minute to throw it together in the morning, and no time at all to finish up in the afternoon.

CROCK POT CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS



2 pounds chicken tenderloins (I've found using a whole cut-up chicken falls apart)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cartons chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook on high. I put it in at 9:00 am and we ate at 5:00 pm. When I got home from church, I put in a small bag of vegetables. I'm partial to peas and carrots, but you can use whatever you like. Today I used mixed veggies and it was great.

Now here is where you can choose how easy you want to make it. You can get a can of biscuits and use those as your dumplings. Separate the biscuits, cut them into fourths and put them into the crock pot (with the lid on) about 1/2 hour before you eat.  OR you can make Bisquick dumplings as follows:

2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

Mix well, and use your cookie scoop to scoop out dumplings and place in crock pot.

Okay, so dumplings are the prettiest looking food in the world, but they are sooo good to eat! I serve them in soup plates because they are very liquidy.

All in all, it's an easy supper and lets mom have it easy too!

Lefse!

We all have special traditions we trot out for the holidays. And, like most families in the United States, our traditions come from our ancestors who immigrated to this country long before us. My background is Irish, Danish, Norwegian and English, and my traditions are a motley collection from all of these cultures. One of my favorite is the Norwegian Lefse, from which we make Lefse Busse.

I know, what is that? Lefse is a Norwegian "flatbread" made from potatoes. My nephews always called it Norwegian tortillas, and it does resemble that. Last Christmas when we were in California my mother (whose father was Norwegian) taught the boys how to make it. To make a lefse busse you put something in the lefse, roll it up and eat it. We always had this at Christmastime and we would butter the lefse, sprinkle it with brown sugar and roll it up and scarf it down. AJ also likes to fill one with meat (preferable Christmas turkey) and eat it like that.

The boys are having an international dining experience in their Japanese class tonight and their teacher asked them each to bring a food from their cultural background to share with the other students, and the boys have spent the afternoon make lefse. This is a recipe that has been handed down through a couple of generations. It's simple, and fun.

First you start with potatoes. Okay, maybe not this big!

You need 5 large potatoes ....



Peel the potatoes and rinse them clean ....

Boil them until they are tender enough to mash.

Actually, you are supposed to use a potato ricer for lefse,

but since we don't have one we did what we could!

We mashed them up!

For 5 large potatoes, we used:

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon of salt

3 Tablespoon of butter

You need to mash them very finely! This is one recipe you want absolutely NO lumps!

Then, you let them cool. When the potatoes are cooled off,

you add flour.

Use 1/2 cup of flour for every cup of potatoes, and mix until you have a soft dough

Flour a board and roll out your dough.

Just like pie dough!

After it's rolled out, you cook it on a griddle.

We used a cast iron griddle ....

Spray the griddle lightly with cooking spray.

Cook until light brown spots appear.

Place between cloths to keep it from getting dry.

Looks so good!

And if you've done it right, you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors!

Now, that's some good eatin'!!!