Scotch Shortbread Pictures

The last recipe posted, Ruth's Scotch Shortbread, turned out delicious as always.  Ruth Haag, wife of Clyde Haag, thus your Grandma Redo's first cousin by marriage provided this recipe.  Ruth now lives in an assisted living community in Antioch and must be 94 years old.  Charlie Haag, her daughter,  lives in Olympia, Washington.  Ruth's parents lived in Antioch and maybe she got this recipe from her mother.  Ruth lead a Girl Scout Troop, taught school, produced art, plus mother and wife.

Look at these delicious cookies, they just melt in your mouth.

The recipe actually makes two pans of cookies like the above.

Ruth's Scotch Shortbread

Ruth Haag developed this Scotch Shortbread recipe and it gets rave reviews from people who like shortbread cookies.  A batch just went into the oven. Rice flour and butter make these especially good.

RUTH'S SCOTCH SHORTBREAD

1 1/2 C     Regular flour

1/2 C       Rice flour

1 C           Butter

1/2 C       Sugar

Cream butter and sugar, then work in flours.  Put in 2 waxed paper line cake pans.  Prick and score like a pie shell.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cut while hot.

Easy Boeuf Bourguignon

This recipe makes delicious cooking available for everyone.  Never tell anyone what ingredients you put into this as they might not like the source, but they love the results.  Test this against "MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING" recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon and post the results.

1 Can "Campbell's" Golden Mushroom Soup
1 Can "Campbell's" French Onion Soup
1 pkg of Petite Whole Frozen Onions
3 lbs of Beef stew meet
1 Can red wine
12 Mushrooms cut in quarters

Mix all of the above in an oven proof baking pan and place in a 325 degree oven for two hours.

Serve this with French bread and a salad. Yummy, yummy.

I had to try...

Look what we had for dinner. Chulupas con Crema. Yum. I love the onion flavor in this dish. We also had grilled chicken and salad.

Failure

Well, Chinese Hot Towel is (according to Michael) the second worst meal I have ever made. The first was this cold cucumber soup with too much garlic. I believe the cucumber soup still has potential.

Granted I did change the recipe a tad. I used low sodium cans of food. I (thankfully) could not find a can of mushrooms at the Estes Park Safeway. But I still think that even if I used full sodium pantry items it would have been just as evil. Here are the pictures.
I am back in the box looking for something better. Michael is hoping, wishing for good stuff. There is a recipe for rug cleaner. That has got to be better.
He is lucky. I made a coconut cream pie for desert. Yum~

Last Night's Dinner

If one says erase all pictures from camera and in the meantime highlighted only one picture on the camera all the rest disappear.  Last night's dinner looks like this at least from the only picture left.

Chimichangas

This great dish just needs Pork Deshebrada or Pollo Deshebrada each made the same way. Then a tortilla rollup to make delicious chimichangas without the deep-fat frying.  Leftover meet chopped-up works, too.

Easy Deshebrada (shredded) Pork or Pollo

1 lb     Boneless meat cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 C     Water
1         Clove garlic minced or pressed
1/4 t    Ground oregano
1/4 t    Ground cumin

Place the above in a 5-quart pan with cover and bring to a boil.  Immediately reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender, ~ one hour.  Uncover, increase heat to high, and boil until liquid has evaporated.  Reduce heat to low.

Stir in:
2 T     White vinegar
3 T     Canned diced green chilies

Mix thoroughly and turn off heat.  Cool slightly then shred meat with two forks.  Meat may be stored for two days in refrigerator, frozen, or used immediately.

CHIMICHANGAS

4 T     Butter
4        Medium flour tortillas
1 to 1 1/2 C Shredded Jack cheese
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Melt putter.  Brush butter on both sides of each tortilla, then spoon about 1/4th of the meat filling into each.  Fold sides of tortilla toward center, covering about one inch of filling on each side.  Then fold lower edge of tortilla over filling and roll over once to enclose.  Place bundles, seam side down, in a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  Drizzle any remaining butter over bundles.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Line four plates with shredded lettuce.  Set chimichangas atop lettuce and sprinkle with cheese.  Serve with salsa and sour cream.

TOMATO SALSA

2      Medium tomatoes quartered
1/2   Small onion
3 T   Canned diced green chilies
4 t    White vinegar
1 T   Chopped fresh cilantro

In blender or food processor, combine tomatoes, onion, chilies, vinegar, and cilantro.  Puree.  Season with salt to taste.

Sounds good, let's see.

Chinese Hot Towel

I was at Mom and Dad's house and had fun making sour cream brownies. We went through her box looking at recipes and I realized that I had my own box of grandma's recipes. My favorite looking recipe is Chinese Hot Towel. What kind of name it that for a recipe? Mom says we used to have it for dinner. Here is the recipe.

1. 1 large can of chinese noodles placed on the bottom of greased baking dish.
2. 2 cans of crab meat
3. 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
4. 1 can mushrooms with liquide
5. 1 cup chopped celery
6. 1/4 cup cashew nuts
7. 1 cup grated sharp cheese
8. add crushed potato chips on top
   
9. Bake 45 min in 350 degree oven

Can't wait to try. Seems like it might be salty.

The Best Chalupas Con Crema

Grandma Redo's Chalupas Con Crema always turn out yummy.  Consider this a vegetarian dish.

CHALUPAS CON CREMA

12       Corn tortillas

1/2 C  Vegetable oil

Soften tortillas very quickly in hot (400 deg) oil

(Or just place the tortillas between two plates and heat in the microwave for a minute this softens them without the oil)

2 C     Shredded Jack cheese

3/4 C  Chopped white onion

Place 2 Tbsp. cheese and 1 Tbsp. onion on each tortilla and roll up.  Place rolls in a single layer in a greased casserole.     

Sauce:

1/4 C  Butter

1/4 C  Flour

2 C     Broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 C     Sour cream

1 small can Ortega green chile salsa (Blue Label):  never find this ingredient at store and used 3/4 C salsa.

In a sauce pan melt butter, blend in flour, add broth and cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens.  Stir in sour cream and salsa and cook until heated.  Do not boil.

Pour sauce over rolled tortillas.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and return to oven for 5  minutes or until cheese melts.

Chalupas Con Crema just out of the oven

This dish tastes good served with naked salad and guacamole, sour cream, and salsa as condiments.  Naked salad consists of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced radishes, and sliced cucumbers served without dressing.

Enjoy!!

Lemon-Light Chicken Results

This picture shows two portions of Lemon-Light Chicken prior to baking.

Lemon-Light Chicken

This dish tastes just like it looks before cooking, rather bland.  Now a picture of the cooked dish served with brown rice and vegetables.

Some work needs to be done on the photography of the food.  You notice the Lemon-Light Chicken with two big yellow eyes and a smile served with rice and vegetables.  The brown rice gets cooked at the same time as the chicken:

OVEN BROWN RICE

1 C            Brown rice

1 1/2 C      Boiling water

Place rice in casserole, pour in boiling water, and cover with lid.  Put in a 325 degree oven and cook for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes still covered. 

SAUTEED VEGETABLES

2 T           Olive oil

1/2           Sliced onion

1/2           Sliced red pepper

2              Sliced small zucchini squash
4              Sliced mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a frying pan until hot and add all ingredients and stir until all sides brown.  Season and serve immediately.

Enjoy these dishes.

Now our next adventure into The Box  --  Chalupas Con Crema.

Lemon-Light Chicken

This recipe appears in the "The Box".  If you remember eating this chicken dish, ok, but questionable if ever made.  Tonight this recipe gets cooked with the results to follow tomorrow.

LEMON-LIGHT CHICKEN

4       chicken breasts

1       bay leaf

1 T   vegetable oil

1 T   white vinegar

1 T   lemon juice

1 t    dried thyme

1/4 t ground coriander

Fresh-ground black pepper to taste

1      lemon cut into thin rounds

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Place the chicken breasts and the bay leaf in a casserole dish.  Pour the vegetable oil, vinegar, and lemon juice over the top.
• Sprinkle with the seasonings, cover, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and arrange the lemon slices on top of the chicken. Return the chicken to the oven and bake uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.  

Sour Cream Brownies from Start to Finish

Kirsten shows the process of making Sour Cream Brownies.

Sour Cream Brownies

This recipe appears in the recipe box and Grandma Redo signed the card, "June Redo 1981".   Kirsten came to visit and made these on August 14, 2010.

SOUR CREAM BROWNIES

In a large bowl mix:

     2 C Sifted flour (did not sift)

     2 C Sifted sugar (did not sift)

    1/4 tsp Salt

Bring to a boil and pour over above (just melted all together in microwave):

     2 Sticks margarine (used butter)

     1 C water

     3 Tbsp Cocoa

Add:

     2 Unbeaten eggs

Add:

     1/2 C Sour cream

     3/4 tsp Baking soda

     1 tsp Vanilla

Put into a 17"x12"x2" baking pan and bake at 325 deg for about 40 minutes.

Icing

Bring to a boil (melted in microwave):

     1 Stick margarine (used butter)

     5 Tbsp Milk

     3 Tbsp Cocoa

Remove from heat and add 1 lb powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Beat smooth.  Spread on hot cake.  Cool, cut into bars.  A zillion calories each.

Pictures of First Two Contributors

Just thought you might enjoy seeing a picture of Great-grandma Florence. The recipes for One Egg Cake and Maple Frosting she published when a teenager.  As one can tell this picture comes from a time much later in her life.









The contributor for Monterey Sunday Supper, Aunt Anne.

Monterey Sunday Supper Results

Everyone enjoyed the Monterey Sunday Supper on August 8, 2010, a Sunday. This picture shows the casserole prior to being baked and it already looks good.

The next picture contains two portions of Monterey Sunday Supper when cooked and ready to serve.

This turned out to be very delicious. Many thanks to Aunt Anne for sharing her great vegetarian recipe.

Finally a Recipe from The Box

As mentioned before this blog contains recipes my children liked when growing up. Let's consider the previously posted items as a preface.

When recently in Atlanta, Georgia, Ralph made "Monterey Sunday Supper" a recipe from Aunt Anne Redo. He used fresh green chiles, roasted under the broiler then removed the skin. One does not need to parboil the zucchini.

MONTEREY SUNDAY SUPPER

1 C Rice

1 7-0z Can fire-roasted whole green chiles

3 med Zucchini

1 large Tomato

1 lb Monterey Jack cheese

2 C Sour cream

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Garlic salt

2 T Chopped green onion

2 T Chopped green pepper

1 T Parsley

Salt and pepper

Cook rice until tender. Slice zucchini thinly and parboil. Slit chiles and remove seeds. Cut half of the cheese in narrow strips and insert in chiles. Place rice in a well-buttered casserole or baking disk, cover with a layer of chiles and cheese, then with zucchini and top with the sliced tomato. Mix the sour cream with the spices, green pepper, onion and salt and pepper and pour over all. Grate the remaining cheese over the mixture. Sprinkle with parsley and bake in a 350-degree over for 30 minutes.

Servers 8.

Tried Great Grandma Florence's One Egg Cake

Yesterday Great Grandma Florence Bussey's (married name Carson) recipes for "One Egg Cake" and "Maple Frosting" appeared in this blog. Well, if you write a recipe for people to try, it should be tested. The test occurred today with good results. It turned out to be fun to figure out what to do with such vague instructions.

First you need to find maple sugar. This year the maple sugar industry didn't produce a crop due to the warm winter in Vermont and on the east coast. At least in San Francisco stores that carried maple sugar in the past do not handle it this year. Finally, Whole Foods on 24th Street in San Francisco suggested the only place as Rainbow Grocery the coop at 1745 Folsom Street in San Francisco (www.rainbow.coop). Sure enough they sell bulk maple sugar at $17.93 / lb. Let's start on our dessert.

The cake challenges -- solutions:

• Size of pan -- two eight inch round cake pans -- buttered pan and lined with wax paper.
• "Mix as directed" but no direction -- creamed butter and sugar, beat in egg, added flour and baking powder, stir, add milk, mix until smooth.
• Cook in hot oven -- set oven at 350 degrees and cooked for 18 minutes.

The frosting challenges -- solutions:

• Used the mixer to beat the egg white. Question the number of egg whites, but used one.
• To know if sugar threads -- drop hot sugar solution in water to see if strings.

The frosting covered only one layer. An organic strawberry filling from a local company fills the center of the cake with the maple frosting on top.

This box contains all the wonderful recipes that you loved as a kid growing up in the Rinehart house. No doubt some were not favorites, but each of you enjoyed at least one. Now you will have them documented.

Everyone in the family cooks. This all started when you grew tall enough to stand on the stool and worked in the kitchen. Dad started cooking when he attended college and mom learned to cook from her mother as a child.

Mom's third cousin Carolyn received a copy of "The Key to Good Cooking" compiled by The Ladies Aid of Black Diamond, Washington from the Black Diamond Historical Society published in early 1900. So before we get to the recipes we love let's start out with the recipes by your great-grandmother as they appeared in "The Key to Good Cooking".

ONE EGG CAKE

1/2 cup butter; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg; 2 cups flour; 1 cup sweet milk; 3 teaspoons baking powder. Mix as directed and bake in hot oven.

MAPLE FROSTING

1 cup maple sugar; 1 cup boiling water; 1 egg white; 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar. Boil sugar, water, and cream of tartar until thread formed. Pour onto the beaten whites and continue beating until of consistency to spread.

Florence Bussey, your great-grandmother (Florence Bussey Carson) published these two recipes as written in "The Key to Good Cooking". The recipes look interesting, but do not conform to today's cooking. Let's give it a try and see if we can add to the recipes to make delicious food.