Blue Cheese Burgers

Prep Time:30 min
Start to Finish:30 min
makes:12 burgers

1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1/4cup water
3 lb extra-lean (at least 93%) ground beef
1 cup crumbled reduced-fat blue cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 whole wheat burger buns
12 leaf lettuce leaves
12 tomato slices
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1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. In large bowl, mix oats and water. Stir in beef, blue cheese, chives, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper sauce, pepper, mustard and salt until well mixed. Shape mixture into 12 patties, about 3/4 inch thick.

2. Place patties on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill over medium coals. Cover grill; cook 11 to 13 minutes, turning once, until thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160°F.

3. For each burger, layer lettuce, tomato and patty in bun.

Contact Grill Directions: Heat closed contact grill 5 minutes. Place patties on bottom grill surface. Close grill; cook 6 to 7 minutes or until thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160°F.

Greek Tacos

Makes: 12 tacos
Total Time: 30 min

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons Greek seasoning*
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can (2-1/4 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 package (4-1/2 oz.) taco shells
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped red onion
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In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat; drain. Stir in tomatoes, Greek seasoning, garlic and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened. Add spinach and olives; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, place taco shells on a baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of beef mixture into each shell. Top with feta cheese and onion.

*For a substitute for Greek seasoning, use 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, dried marjoram, garlic powder, lemon-pepper seasoning, ground mustard and salt. Makes 1 T.

Boston Baked Beans

Hillbilly Housewife

2 pounds white beans (northern or navy beans)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 onion, peeled and chopped
4 to 6 oz of raw bacon, chopped
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Soak the beans overnight in plenty of tap water. Or, you can bring them to a boil on the stove and then turn them off, cover them and let them sit for an hour or two. The point of this is to reconstitute them some, making them easier to cook.

After the initial preparation boil your beans on the back of the stove for about half an hour. They won’t be perfectly soft, but they will be almost soft. Drain off the cooking water. In a very large casserole (4-quart) combine the semi-cooked beans, salt, dry mustard, molasses, sugar and chopped bacon. Add enough hot water to barely come to the top of the beans. Put a lid on the casserole, or tin foil. Bake the beans at 300° for about 5 to 7 hours. They will be tender, fragrant and delicious. My kids love this stuff. The cooked beans may be frozen in two cup portions to substitute for canned baked beans or canned pork’n’beans in any recipe. They make a good main dish, or a side dish for a large crowd. This recipe serves about 16. I make such a large amount so I can have plenty of leftovers to freeze.

Another way to cook this, good in the summertime, is to use a crock pot. Boil the soaked beans for half an hour, as directed above. Then, instead of combining everything in a casserole, combine them in the crock pot instead. Put the lid on the Crock Pot after you’ve mixed everything up in it, and cook it on High for about 3 or 4 hours, or on low for 6 or 8 hours. You can put a folded dish towel on top of the lid if your crock pot doesn’t get quite hot enough to cook beans normally. The dish towel helps maintain a temperature hot enough to just barely simmer the beans.

Russian Quiche

1 9″ baked deep dish pie crust
1 T butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 t thyme leaves
1 C shredded Swiss
3 eggs
1 C plain yogurt
2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t prepared horseradish
1/4 t salt
1/4 t dry mustard
Paprika
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Melt butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until onion is soft. Stir in thyme and let cool.

Sprinkle cheese evenly into pastry shell. Spoon onion mixture into shell. Beat eggs slightly, the stir in yogurt, flour, horseradish, salt and mustard until well blended. Pour over mushroom layer. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until filling is puffed and browned and a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Cheddar Cheese-Buttermilk Scones

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes 12 scones

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 T dry mustard
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 t sugar
3/4 t salt
1/8 t nutmeg
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 1/4 C shredded sharp cheddar
2 eggs
2/3 C buttermilk
3 T chives, sliced thin
Cooking spray
Milk
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1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, dry mustard, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg.

3. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in butter to form a coarse meal.

4. Add cheese; mix together.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and chives.

6. Create a well in center of dry ingredients; add egg mixture. Using fork, mix to form a moist dough.

7. Divide dough into 2 equal size pieces. Wrap 1 piece with plastic wrap; set aside.

8. Light flour work area. Roll unwrapped piece of dough into 3/4″ thick triangle. Cut dough into 6 equal size triangle pieces.

9. Generously spray a baking sheet with baking spray. Place scones on baking sheet; brush with milk.

10. Bake scones 9-12 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cool on wire rack. Repeat steps 8-10 with remaining dough. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cashew Green Beans

Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:20 min
makes:8 servings

3 cups water
1 1/2 lb green beans
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 cup drained roasted red bell peppers, cut into strips
1/2 cup cashew pieces
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1. In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat water to boiling. Add beans. Heat to boiling. Boil uncovered 5 minutes. Cover and boil 3 to 5 minutes longer or until crisp-tender. Drain beans; return to Dutch oven.

2. In small bowl, mix teriyaki sauce, margarine, honey and mustard until well blended. Pour over beans; toss until evenly coated. Stir in bell peppers. Sprinkle with cashews.

Sauteed Beets with Mustard Seeds

beets
Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

2 lb gold and red beets (about 8 medium or 16 baby beets), scrubbed and rinsed
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 small green serrano chile peppers, sliced into 1/4″ rounds
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 – 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Cover beets with water in medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain, cool, peel and chop beets into 1/2″ cubes (quarter baby beets, if using).

2. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. When it begins to smoke, add mustard seeds and cover pan with lid or splatter screen. When they have stopped sputtering, stir in peppers. Add beets and salt. Toss, cover and cook another 6 to 8 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

3. Toss with cilantro and lemon juice (to taste).

Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Makes 2 one-quart jars.

2 pounds pickling cucumbers (about 16), sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 cups cider vinegar (5-percent acidity)
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons dill seed
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 teaspoons mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

____________________

Make the pickles: Toss the cucumbers and salt together in a colander and let drain for 90 minutes. Rinse cucumbers thoroughly in cold water, drain, transfer to 2 clean one-quart jars, and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients with 3/4 cup water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat until sugar dissolves and mixture just comes to a boil–about 10 minutes. Pour hot liquid over the cucumbers until completely covered. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

24-Hour Pickles

kirby cukes
Don’t be alarmed at the quantity this recipe makes; these crisp, fresh-tasting slices will keep in the refrigerator three to four weeks.

7 medium Kirby pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/8″ thick rounds
2 t salt, divided
1 C white or rice wine vinegar
1 C water
1/2 C sugar
1 t mustard seeds
1/2 t celery seeds
1/2 t turmeric
Pinch ground cloves
1 t dried dill weed

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Place cucumber slices in a large colander; sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Set colander in sink to allow cucumbers to drain, about 1 hour.

In a large non-reactive pan (stainless steel, glass or enamel-coated metal), combine vinegar, water, sugar, remaining salt, mustard and celery seeds, turmeric and cloves. Bring to a simmer. Taste liquid to ensure balance of sweet to sour flavors, adding more sugar or vinegar, if necessary. Remove from heat. Add cucumbers and dill; stir well. Transfer mixture to a large gallon-sized glass or plastic jar with a tight-fitting lid. Allow mixture to cool, uncovered, to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap; screw on top cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Makes 2 to 3 quarts.

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