Goetta

Goetta

Many of you may not have heard of this. It is from Germany and means the same, generally, as grits, thought not to be confused with hominy grits which are popular in the southeast US. This is served for breakfast, normally, but can be used as a side dish any time. It has been popular in the German communities of Cincinnati for many years.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 8 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups steel cut or pinhead oats
• 1 large onion, chopped thin
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 tsps. sea salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 2 tsps. thyme
• 2 tsps. sage
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. paprika

Directions:

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil, add oats, salt and pepper
2. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours
3. Add meat and rest of ingredients.
4. Cook 1 more hour
5. Pour into a large flat dish with 1/2 inch rim
6. Let it cool
7. Refrigerate
8. When ready to serve, slice into thin patties and fry until brown on each side in butter or olive oil

Turkey sausage can be used if you don't want to add all of your own sausage type seasonings.

This recipe makes 10 servings at a minimum. That is abnormal for this blog, but I wanted a lot of leftovers.

Hope you enjoy it, Diane.

Experiment

Experiment

If you are able, with the right mindset, I recommend you experiment. I recognize there are many who cannot do so and must follow a recipe to the letter. I am not one of those people.

Yesterday, I was going through the refrigerator trying to find what to fix for dinner. When that drew a blank, I went to the freezer and pulled out 1/2 pound of ground beef. With very little seasoning (sea salt and black pepper), I thawed and browned it in a cast iron skillet. When Nita got home, she asked what the ground beef was for and I told her I didn't know yet. Later, I asked her to chop about 1/2 cup of onion and I mixed it in with the beef. Around 5:00, I went to the cupboard and found several different types of canned beans. I chose the mild Chili Beans and added the can of beans (juice and all) to the beef and onion. At about 5:30 or so, I asked if she would like some rice or pasta - she chose rice, but either would have been good.

The concoction poured over the rice came out quite good. But I don't have a recipe. One of Nita's favorite phrases seems to be "I won't ask for the recipe because I know you don't have one". And most of those experiments don't make it to this blog site.

Garlic Bread Croissants

Garlic Bread Croissants

Ingredients:

• 1 head garlic
• extra-virgin olive oil
• croissants
• sea salt
• grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. Peel garlic cloves and place in oven proof pan (I have a garlic roaster which works wonderfully)
3. Cover garlic with olive oil completely
4. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours
5. 
   
6. (If you don't have fresh garlic, simply use garlic salt and/or garlic powder - not as good, but still very good)
7. 
   
8. Split open croissants lengthwise
9. Toast for a few minutes
10. Cover croissants with garlic and/or the powder
11. Sprinkle with olive oil
12. Top with cheese
13. Heat in the oven another 5-10 minutes

Kentucky Hot Brown

For those NOT from Kentucky (from AllRecipes.com - modified to use beef bacon instead of pork):

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 pounds sliced roasted turkey
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 8 slices white bread, toasted
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 slices crispy beef bacon

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour with a whisk or fork, and continue to cook and stir until it begins to brown slightly. Gradually whisk in the milk so that no lumps form, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Mix in 6 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and then stir in the beaten egg to thicken. Do not allow the sauce to boil once the egg has been mixed in. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.
2. Preheat the oven's broiler. For each hot brown, place two slices of toast into the bottom of an individual sized casserole dish. Cover with a liberal amount of roasted turkey and tomato slices. Spoon sauce over the top of each one and sprinkle with some of the remaining Parmesan cheese.
3. Place the dishes under the broiler and cook until the top is speckled brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the broiler and arrange two slices of bacon in a cross shape on top of each sandwich. Serve immediately.

Huevos Rancheros - Simple

Huevos Rancheros - Simple

Nita liked this one better than I did, but it does give an alternative to my other recipe for huevos rancheros.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. Hatch or Ro*tel tomatoes and green chilies - mild or hot to your taste
• 4 tortillas
• 1/2 white onion - diced
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 eggs
• dash of oregano
• canola oil
• pepper to taste
• sea salt if you like - not needed

Directions:

1. Saute onion and garlic until lucent and soft
2. Add tomatoes and green chilies, oregano and pepper
3. Simmer about 15 minutes
4. Dip tortillas in hot canola oil for about a minute on each side, drain
5. Fry eggs and place 1 on top of each tortilla
6. Spoon sauce over each egg
7. Cover each egg with another tortilla
8. Top each with remaining sauce.

Serves 2.

Saucy Garlic Chicken for Two

Saucy Garlic Chicken for Two

Ingredients:

• minced garlic to taste - I used 3 tsp.
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts - if too large, pound out a bit
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
• pasta of your choice - cooked according to instructions

Directions:

1. Slowly sautee the garlic until soft
2. Brown chicken on both sides
3. In a large saucepan, melt butter
4. Stir in flour until smooth
5. Gradually add milk
6. Bring sauce to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened
7. Add 1 cup cheese, salt and continue to cook until all is smooth and thickened
8. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
9. Place chicken in a glass oven dish sprayed with nonstick spray
10. Pour sauce over the chicken
11. Bake 30 minutes - covered
12. Sprinkle remaining cheese over dish and bake 5 more minutes - uncovered
13. Serve chicken over pasta

Skillet Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce

Skillet Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 large or 2 small salmon filets
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 2 tbsp. dill flakes

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat
2. Add salmon and cook 5 minutes per side (depending on your taste)
3. Remove from skillet and place on a dish in a warm place, like your oven or microwave (turned off!)
4. Add milk and cream cheese to skillet
5. Whisk until thoroughly mixed and smooth
6. Add dill (more or less depending on your taste - we used a lot)
7. Heat until sauce is heated.
8. Serve salmon topped with sauce

We were pleasantly surprised. Much better than expected.

Veal Scallopini with Brown Butter and Capers

Veal Scallopini with Brown Butter and Capers

As much as I liked the Wiener Schnitzel recipe, I have to agree with Nita that this was even better.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 scallopini sliced pieces of veal 
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. capers
• sea salt and black (or white) pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat heavy nonstick skillet over high heat to get it hot
2. Add the oil and heat
3. Mix the flour, salt and pepper in shallow pan/plate
4. Pat veal dry, dredge in the flour, and fry until barely brown
5. Place veal on a plate
6. Remove excess oil if you prefer (I did not) from the skillet
7. Melt the butter then add capers and vinegar
8. Cook until butter is browned
9. Add veal back to the skillet
10. Heat throughout and serve

I served this with Gnocchi for the 2 of us.

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener Schnitzel

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, plain/dry
• 4 thin veal cutlets
• sea salt
• canola oil
• pepper

Directions:

1. Put eggs, flour and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls
2. Season cutlets with salt and pepper to taste
3. Heat oil until simmering
4. Dredge cutlets, first in the flour, then the egg followed by the breadcrumbs - make sure they are covered with the egg and press the breadcrumbs to help them adhere
5. Place cutlets in skillet and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes or until crispy
6. Drain and serve

Make a side dish of German Potato Salad if you like (mine did not turn out too well, so that recipe will have to wait)