While in Colorado, I asked for some recipes from relatives. This is a recipe in Grandma Reble’s handwriting with “Mother’s recipe 8/18/76” written on the top. It would be fun if we could learn where Grandma Porter originally found this recipe.
The crackers help to stretch out how much meat you need. Some of the family liked it as is and did not want changes. Others thought to use less crackers or more meat.
We like it best with tomato sauce with sauted onions over the top. Serve with a fresh salad and either garlic bread or your favorite grain.
I don’t remember having these until we lived in Swaziland. We often had them at church potlucks and, while similar, each family had a slightly different recipe. I preferred the ones with peas, but some used raisins instead.
This recipe is a very mild blend of spices. We often double, or triple the spices depending on who is making the. Fill the wontons with a generous helping of stuffing, but be careful not to overstuff.
For an appetizer, plan on two per person. For a main meal with a salad, plan on 4 or 5 per person.
We were given this recipe during the McGuire 2003 family reunion. We have adapted it a little, but tried to keep it very close to the original. Serve with saltines or your favorite corn bread.
For class this week, Andrea learned about goulash and stews. We discovered there are two types of goulash. American goulash uses elbow noodles and hamburger but Hungarian goulash is more like a stew.
We decided to try making Hungarian goulash. It was simple and very good. Our recipe had a lot of liquid. If you prefer less liquid, reduce beef broth or simmer with the lid off. Another good option is to strain some of the liquid before serving and enjoy the broth for another meal.
Miss Jili is a friend of ours from China. We enjoyed having her over and sharing recipes with us before she moved to finish her schooling. This is a favorite recipe of ours.
Once upon a time, before internet and being able to find restaurants easily on a phone, a small family was traveling late at night through a strange city. A pregnant wife told her husband that she REALLY wanted wonton soup.
Sweet husband found hungry wife a Chinese restaurant and came back with a huge container of soup. Wife happily ate most of the soup, remembering to share a little.
Wonton soup has always been a favorite comfort food. I suspect it probably was because my dad would often take us for Chinese food for super special occasions.
Home made noodles are much better than store bought. They take a little extra time but are easy and very good. We always use a noodle maker since we have one, but rolling the dough by hand does not take a lot of time.
While the recipe says to let the noodles dry, you can cook them right away if you want. They are excellent with butter and garlic, with your favorite sauce or in chicken broth.
For colorful variety, add some pumpkin puree or spinach to the dough. You will need to add extra flour, but the different colors and taste is fun.
Pasties are popular in Calument where Daddy spent a lot of time growing up. He said that Petila’s taxi in Calumet would often take his family to McLain park and then come back at a prearranged time to take them home. His grandmother made them also. There are many recipes for pasties, but all are similar.
Feel free to experiment with the basic recipe. We often make the pasties with cubed meat instead of ground. Be careful not to over stuff the crust, it is much better to have leftover filling! If you can find it, replace part–or all– of the carrots with rutabaga for a more traditional taste.
When serving, I like them best with a little extra butter. Some people serve them with gravy. My mom eats them with ketchup.
We usually make a tomato based curry. Our friend, Kristi Sellers, gave us this recipe in 2009 after introducing us to a different type of curry. This is different, but just as good as the curries we are used to.
The recipe originated from a Ywam missionary friend from Thailand.
I asked Mark what he wanted for dinner when he was home for Spring break. He really wanted a good stew. He gets it at school, but it is often salty and served with noodles.
Stew is a very flexible meal. Add more or less vegetables or add other favorites. Serve with a lettuce salad and maybe some bread, and you have an easy meal.
If you have frozen stew meat, you can still cook it in the crock pot. Skip browning the meat. Start cooking the stew on high in the morning and cook for 8 hours. We prefer to cook the frozen meat for 3 or 4 hours with pepper, garlic and onions, then add the remaining vegetables and spices for the last few hours of cooking.
