Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Reuben Casserole

Last night, I was looking through an old church cookbook for some practical and easy recipes. Church cookbooks are a great way to find new recipes to try. One benefit of these fundraiser type cookbooks is that you know somebody has made the recipe and liked it.

This one caught my eye and since we were headed to the grocery, I decided to pick up the
ingredients and make it as soon as we got home. It was awesome, if you love a Reuben sandwich.

Reuben Casserole

16 oz. sauerkraut, drained
1/4 C. chopped onion
1/4 C. parsley
1 t. caraway seed, we skipped the seeds because our bread was seeded.
1/4 C. melted butter
2 C. shredded swiss cheese
2/3 C. thousand island dressing
1/2 lb. sliced, cooked corned beef (we bought Boars Head from the deli)
3 slices rye bread, cut in cubes

Drain kraut, then combine kraut, onion, parsley and caraway seed in bowl. Mix well. Layer kraut mixture in bottom of 8 inch square baking dish. Top with 1 cup cheese, 1/3 cup dressing. Cover with corned beef. Top with remaining cheese and dressing. Toss bread cubes with 1/4 cup melted butter and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

This recipe came from Ladies Of The Church, Favorite recipes of The Ladies of the First Congregational Church, Mansfield, Ohio. 1984. The recipe was submitted by Missy Bell.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Leek, Celery and Mushroom Pizza

As many of you know, we grow most of our own veggies. This year, we've had a great crop of leeks. Leeks are a wonderful, mild type of onion that will remain long after all of your other crops have all been eaten, canned or frozen.
You must wash leeks carefully because they do tend to collect a lot of dirt in them. I usually cut of the root and the part of the green that I'm going to discard. (of course they go into the compost pile) Cut the leek lengthwise to open it up and rinse all of the dirt from inside. You can then cut them into whatever size you need.

To make this pizza, we mixed the dough for the crust and as it was rising, we sauted the leeks, celery and mushrooms in butter until they were tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the dough has risen, press into an oiled or non-stick pan. Brush a coating of extra-virgin olive oil on the dough and top with your sauted veggies. We then topped with some all-natural mozzerella and sprinkled with italian seasoning. Bake in a 450 degree oven until cheese is melted and crust
begins to brown.

Pizza Crust

1pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 t. sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
about 3 1/4 cups of flour
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the water. Combine 2 3/4 cups flour and the salt. Stir yeast mixture and oil into the flour until a dough forms. On a lightly floured work surface, knead about 10 minutes, working in up to 1/2 cup more flour until the dough is still soft but no longer sticky. Put in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Notes: If you want to skip all of the work, use a rapid rise yeast and mix the dough in a mixer using the dough hook. No kneading required. Also we have made it, using the rapid rise yeast, and didn't even allow it to rise and it came out fine. It puffed up in the oven. I have made a pizza from mixing to table in twenty minutes using this method.
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Saturday, November 1, 2008

Not So Deep Fried Mushrooms

While perusing the produce department of our local Kroger, we noticed that they had marked down the price of organic white mushrooms. With no hesitation, we purchased two packages .

We had planned to watch a movie together so I thought that we might make some snacks to pick at during the show. An idea was forming... we could bread them exactly like we did the zucchini to make the zucchini fries. (see earlier post). The method worked !!! Sweet success!!

They were terrific. Now we know that this method will work for just about anything. Deep fried taste and texture without the mess and the fat. Mike mixed some super horseradish cocktail sauce and we were in business. Can't wait to try this out on other veggies as well as chicken and fish.
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Coping During Trying Times

How is everyone doing out there?  It's been a long time since I have posted but you know how it goes. Life sometimes detours and goe...