Recipes for Busy Cooks

 I've posted versions of the poem below before, but the problem - and shaking of heads that goes with it - never goes away. So when this popped up on Facebook this week, it seemed like a good time to give space  again to the peculiarities of the English language. Amusement for English-speakers, agony for those to whom English is a second language.

  

From Facebook - "I think I'll take another cart."

Grace note: No source given, but definitely not one of our much smaller Florida geckos.

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Many, many years ago, when I lived in a shoreline suburb of New Haven called Pine Orchard, our small local market sold sausage-stuffed bread but, alas, they stopped making it long before I moved to Florida. But I have never forgotten how fascinated I was by the idea - and the taste. So all these many years later, I tried to find an easy way to duplicate that bread. The BEST way, of course, is to make the bread from scratch, but there's no way I'm going to take the time to do that, so here is my substitute, poor as it is.

 

EASY STUFFED BREAD

1 loaf of frozen white bread*

½ lb. sausage**

2 green onions, sliced

Fennel seed, to taste (1 tspn - 1 TBspn)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ - 3/4 cup Cheese of your choice - 

            cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella

 

WARNING:  Allow enough time for the "rising" in Step 3.

 

1.  Unfreeze loaf by putting it in the refrigerator overnight. 

 

2.  Shred cheese. Sauté sausage until browned; add green onion, garlic, and fennel seeds. Continue cooking until heated through. Remove from heat; add cheese, stir.

 

Roll out bread - or spread out by hand - until wide enough to accept stuffing. Spread the stuffing down the middle; close the roll, overlapping the edge. (Brush edge with water for easier closure.)

3.  Spray standard loaf pan. Fit bread inside, overlapped side down. Let dough rise until c. ½-inch above pan (3-6 hours).

 

4.  Bake in preheated 375° oven for 25-30 minutes. Turn loaf out of pan immediately to cool.

 

Grace note: Refrigerate leftovers. Reheat in microwave. 

*I used Jimmy Dean.

**I used Ready-Dough by Bridgford

 TACO CRESCENT RING

 

 This is a classic recipe that has been around for years. Eye-catching, easy to make, and exceptionally tasty.

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. Old El Paso taco seasoning mix

½ cup water

1 cup shredded cheddar (4 oz.)

2 cans (8 oz.)refrigerated Pillsbury Original Crescent rolls (8 count)

Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, sliced ripe olives, taco sauce, or salsa, as desired.

1.  Heat oven to 375°. Spray 10-12" skillet; cook beef until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning mix and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened. In medium bowl, mix beef mixture and cheese.

2.  Unroll both cans of dough; separate into 16 triangles. On ungreased large cookie sheet, sheet pan, or baking stone, arrange triangles in a ring so short sides of triangles form a 5-inch circle in the center. Dough will overlap. Dough ring, with tips pointing out, should look like a the sun or a starburst.

3.  Spoon beef mixture onto the broad half of the triangles (the part nearest the center).

4.  Bring the tip of each triangle up over filling, tucking the dough under the bottom layer to secure it. (A table knife helps.) Repeat around ring until filling is enclosed (a small amount of filling will show in gaps between the triangles.) 

5.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until dough is golden brown and thoroughly baked. Cool 5-10 minutes before cutting into serving slices. Serve with lettuce, tomato, etc., on the side.

Special note:  This recipe has the same versatility as Muffin Meals. The stuffing can be varied by using ham & cheese or other cold meats in place of the taco ingredients. Or consider sausage & onion, bacon & cheese. The use of crescent rolls as sandwiches is limited only by your imagination.

 

Below, another "oldie" - I'd forgotten how tasty this one is.

 

GREEN GRAPE SALAD

Grace note:  the recipes I found were for a crowd (what you'd take to a potluck supper), but you can make a lesser amount by cutting up fewer of grapes (color of your choice) & using smaller amounts of the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, & nuts. In fact, some of the re-sealable organic salad toppings available in grocery stores work very well as garnish for grapes.

 

 Original recipe:

4 lbs. seedless grapes (green, red, or mixed)

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 8 oz. container sour cream

¼ - ½ cup white sugar

1 tspn. vanilla

4 oz. chopped pecans (or walnuts)

2 TBspn. brown sugar (optional)**

 

1. Wash grapes, allow to dry. Cut in half lengthwise.* 

 

2.  In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, sugar & vanilla. Add grapes & mix until well blended. 

 

3.  Sprinkle with half the chopped nuts; mix. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

 

4.  Just before serving, sprinkle with brown sugar (optional); top with remaining nuts.

*Original recipe does not call for cutting the grapes in half (a tedious chore), but this is how my mother always made grape salad, and I personally find the halves much easier to eat, as well as the fact that the cut grapes better absorb the flavorings.

**Original recipe does not list the brown sugar as optional, but I felt it wasn't needed.

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Coming soon:  Regency Gothic 10 - The Secrets of Stonebridge Castle

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace/Blair Bancroft