Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs

1 pound ground beef

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup water

1/3 cup rice, uncooked

1 can tomato soup

½ tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

½ cup water

Combine ground beef, onion, ¼ cup water, and rice.  Shape into balls.  Arrange in greased baking dish.  Combine soup, chili powder, salt, and ½ cup water.  Pour over meatballs.  Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

  


Remove from oven and serve!

*I only made half as much as this recipe says. It was the perfect amount for two people.

If making a freezer meal: Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Place in gallon freezer bag.  Label and freeze.  To serve: Thaw. Heat until hot throughout.

This recipe may be frozen prior to baking.  Freeze in freezer bag.  To serve: Thaw.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

I haven’t had this for a long long time.  My family used to like them and eat them all the time when we were kids, probably more for the name than anything else.  I didn’t remember that it could be a freezer meal.  That’s pretty handy.


AND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Husband's Reaction= Skeptical at first sight, but he finished every bite (and then some...he stole half of one of mine!)

Easy White Rolls (From High School Foods Class)

Roll Recipe (From High School Foods Class)

1 Tb yeast

4 Tb sugar (use 1 Tb in one bowl and 3 in another)

¼ cup warm water

½ cup butter

4 cups flour (+ extra to roll out dough) I usually end up adding another cup or so...add enough so it's doesn't stick to your fingers and is easy to roll out. If making with a mixer, add flour until the mixer cleans the side of the bowl.

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup warm milk

Use four different bowls to prepare ingredients.

In Bowl #1-Add 1 Tb yeast + 1 Tb sugar + ¼ cup warm water (proofing).

Bowl #2-Cut ½ cup butter into 4 cups flour (do in biggest bowl).
      *TIP: "Cutting in" is a technique used to put tiny chunks of butter or other fat       into dry ingredients. This works best when the butter is at room temperature. A       pastry cutter is my favorite way to do this, but two butter knives can be used if         you don't have one. Simply cut across the butter, running the knives against each     other like you are sharpening them. You are trying to cut the butter into tiny             pieces to create pockets of air and make your rolls fluffy. The end result should        be a corn-mealy texture with no big pieces of butter left in the bowl.

Bowl #3-Add 1 tsp salt to 3 well-beaten eggs.

Bowl #4-Add 3 Tb sugar to 1 cup warm milk

Combine wet w/ dry ingredients. Here is where you add the extra flour (usually about a cup or more...don't worry if it seems like you're adding a lot!), to make the dough not stick to your fingers and easy to roll out.

Cover.

Let rise 1-6 hours (I ALWAYS get impatient and let it rise like 15 minutes...but DON'T WORRY! It works out with this recipe.) The more you let it rise, the lighter and less dense your rolls will be. I don't let mine rise much, and they are denser than some other rolls, but still good. 

Shape. My favorite way to shape these rolls is into crescents, like so:

1-Roll HALF of your dough into a large circle. You can use the other half to make another batch of rolls, some breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, or you may save the dough for a few days in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, and make scones or some other good thing later.

2-Use a pizza cutter to make 12 wedges. Try to keep the wedges as even as possible...I'm really bad at that. The best way to do this is to cut the circle in four sections. Then divide each of those sections into three wedges. 

It should look like this when you've got all the wedges cut out.

3- Now brush each piece with melted butter, vegetable oil, or olive oil. This step is not completely necessary, but I always do it. I love using the little brush to paint my rolls. It makes me feel creative. :) Brushing with butter also makes the rolls just a little bit flakier.

4-Roll up each of the wedges, starting with the wide side and rolling toward the narrow point. Place on a baking sheet with the point tucked underneath. When all the rolls are on the baking sheet, brush with butter or oil again.

Let rise 1-6 hours (again). HAHAHAHAHAHA or just pop them in the oven like I do.

Bake at 350 degrees.

Dinner rolls=13-15 minutes or until as brown as you like.

Cinnamon rolls=probably about 20 minutes. I haven't made these since high school.

 Here's the finished product! I let these rolls rise for 30-45 min at the first rising stage...and this is how they turned out! Perfectly wonderful! My husband has liked these rolls since I made them for him when we were first dating...although probably still not as much as his mom's. I try. :)

Shannan's Potato Soup (from Mom again)

Shannan's Potato Soup

6 medium to large potatoes (or I used 10 small ones), peeled and cubed

1 cube butter (to cut down on fat and save money, I used only about 3/4 of a cube, and it turned out great!)

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 c. flour

2 c. heavy whipping cream or half and half

1 pound bacon, cooked till crisp and then crumbled (I substituted about a fourth a package of pepperoni, cut up and crisped on the stove...worked great!)

1 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

 Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water (have it be about 2 inches over the potatoes). Bring to a boil and cook gently about 15-20 minutes (till tender). Drain a little bit of the water.

Meanwhile, saute onion in butter til onion is tender. Stir flour into butter. Slowly stir in 2 c. heavy whipping cream (of half and half) until smooth and thick. Add to potatoes and cook for a couple of minutes to thicken. (You may need to add a little more water if it is too thick---however you like it).

Then add salt, pepper, bacon, and cheddar cheese. I saved a little cheese to put on top. This way we could add as little or as much as we liked.

Served with a nice hunk of bread, and it's like you're eating at Zupas...or, according to my husband, better!

He gives it 5 stars. :)

Sweet and Sour Chicken from Mom

Sweet and Sour Chicken

4-8 chicken breasts (cut into ¼’s or small pieces)

Roll in corn starch and fry in pan with oil until brown.

Sauce:

1 ½ cups sugar

2 Tb soy sauce

½ cup catsup

¼ tsp garlic powder

2/3 cup vinegar

¼ tsp salt 

Pour sauce over chicken in a glass pan.  Bring to a simmer in a 350 degree oven and cook till chicken is completely done and sauce thickens slightly (about 15 minutes).

A family favorite. The sauce is the best part.  I love it with wantons too.

One Crust Pie Recipe (From High School Foods Class)

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

½ cup shortening*

3-4 Tb water**

*Keep shortening cold.  You don’t want it to melt before baking.

**Use very cold water to keep shortening 
from melting.


Mix flour and salt together. Cut shortening into dry ingredients.


 *TIP: "Cutting in" is a technique used to put tiny chunks of butter or other fat into dry ingredients. A pastry cutter is my favorite way to do this, but two butter knives can be used if you don't have one. Simply cut across the butter, running the knives against each other like you are sharpening them. You are trying to cut the butter into tiny pieces to create pockets of air and make your crust flaky. The end result should be a corn-mealy texture with no big pieces of shortening left in the bowl.


Add cold water to form a dough. Roll out on floured surface and place in pie tin. Be sure to gently sink the crust into the tin. Do not stretch the dough. Poke holes all over the dough with a fork to prevent big air pockets from rising. Do this unless you are putting filling in the pie before baking. Make the edges of your pie look pretty by trimming off excess dough and crimping with your fingers or a fork.


Bake 8 min at 350 degrees or until slightly brown.

Beef & Bean Enchiladas

Tonight I made enchiladas for the first time. I looked up a recipe online and had to subsitute a few ingredients along the way. Luckily, it turned out amazing! I think this is the best meal I have made for my new husband since we have been married.

Beef & Bean Enchilads: (adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 can kidney beans
• Enchilada Sauce (see recipe below)
• 8-10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/4 teaspoon season all

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the ground beef until beef is evenly browned. Add enough kidney beans to make a mixture of half meat and half beans. Season with onion salt and season all, if preferred.
2. Prepare the enchilada sauce according recipe below. Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, so the bottom is covered in a thin layer of sauce.
3. On each flour tortilla, place an equal portion of the ground beef and bean mixture and about 1 ounce of Cheddar cheese, reserving at least 1/2 cup of cheese. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish. You will need at least 8 tortillas to fit this pan, but 10 can be squeezed in.
4. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is thoroughly melted.

Serve enchiladas with lettuce and sour cream, and you have a meal that is easy and tasty too.

Enchilada Sauce: (adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder OR taco seasoning packet (I didn't have chili powder, so I used taco seasoning and it turned out really well!)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and taco seasoning/chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
2. Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, garlic powder, and onion salt into the flour and taco seasoning/chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.