STUFFED ROAST

I was thinking, "What shall I cook today?" We have had some good delicious meals lately, and I wanted to keep up the pace; I wanted another delicious meal. A stuffed roast came to mind. So I went to my favorite cookbook, the internet. Several good sounding recipes came up….. I got the general idea of how I wanted to make my roast .... Then I asked my husband to grab a roast out of the freezer. What do you think he brought in? A four inch thick arm roast! Now what am I going to do with that; I wanted to stuff it-I thought out loud. I partially thawed it, and then I sawed three equal distant slots down into the partially frozen meat. Now instead of one pocket to fill, I had three that I could fill with delicious surprises. I sent my husband to the store, with a written list, to buy onions, celery, basil, parsley, mushrooms, bacon, olive oil, and red peppers… And, he came home without the mushrooms-forgot them. (Oh well…)…



INGREDIENTS:

3-5 pound arm roast (you can use a thinner tenderloin roast) slit into 1+ inch thick slots, almost completely to the other side. Stay at least ½ inch from the outside walls. (Try not to poke through, or your stuffing and flavoring will seep out.)

1 very large onion (or several small ones), chopped
2- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed (or 1-2 teaspoons of jarred chopped garlic)
1 large red pepper chopped
(You can add fresh or canned sliced mushrooms- approximately ¼ pound)
1 large stalk of chopped celery
1/4- 1/2 loose cup of fresh Parsley (2 Tablespoons of dried)
1/4 loose cup of fresh Basil (½ - 1 Tablespoon of dried)
1/4- 1/2 stick butter (I later added more)
2- 3 Tablespoon Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to your taste
1/2 cup Pepperidge Farm herbal stuffing
1/2- 1 pound bacon
2 packages of brown gravy mix cooked to package directions
Baking potatoes to put in the oven in the latter end of your roast cooking time

INSTRUCTIONS:

STUFFING: (can be made ahead of time)

Sauté onions, garlic, red pepper and celery, in half of the olive oil and butter (Add more oil and butter as needed to keep from sticking)
Add salt and pepper –to your taste
When the vegetables are tender, add parsley and basil (Here is where you may need more butter and/or oil) –cook a few more minutes
Now add your Pepperidge farm stuffing- you may prefer to add more butter or oil (your discretion) Mix thoroughly


ROAST:
Let the roast sit at room temperature for ½ - 1 hour,
Pat it dry, rub it with olive oil and message salt and pepper into the sides
Quickly Sear/Brown the outside of your roast, on all sides, in a hot oiled/buttered pan
Stuff the pocket(s) of your roast with the stuffing mixture.
Squeeze the roast shut, and wrap bacon around the side with the open slots,
Place in a roasting pan (if you can, place the slots facing up)
Place a cup of water in the bottom of the pan
Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 - 2+ hours. (Depends on your “Done” preference)

Mix the brown gravy packages with a little of the roast juice for added flavor to serve over your meat, or on your oven baked potatoes

OPTION: You can fill one pocket with chopped broccoli, if you like. You can add Dijon mustard, or grated parmesian

Water Chestnut Hors D’oerves

I got this recipe from a dear friend; it's another party/picnic favorite

Ingredients
1 pound Kunzler Bacon — 2 (8 oz.) cans of whole Water Chestnuts 1/3 cup brown sugar — 1 teaspoon mustard 2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce — 2 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Instructions
1. Wrap each chestnut in 1/2 strip bacon and secure with a toothpick.
2. Bake for 40 minutes at 375° or until bacon is done
3. Remove to hot plate or platter which you will be using to serve
4. Mix remaining ingredients: brown sugar, mustard, worchestshire sauce, butter & soy sauce together in a sauce pan over low heat.
5. Pour over Chestnuts and SERVE WARM

Spinach Balls

People who hate spinach even like this one . I get calls for this recipes more than any other
recipe. It’s a real favorite

Ingredients
2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach
6 beaten eggs
3/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups Pepperidge Farm herbal stuffing
1 large onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teas. Garlic (powder)


Instructions

1. Cook and drain well the spinach.
2. Mix all ingredients together
3. Form into two inch balls and place in a baking dish.
4. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees

These are very moist and tasty, if you don’t overcook

Burrito Bake

This recipe is hit at parties. You can cut them into hors d'oeuvre size servings, as well as serve as a meal


Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 45 min
Makes: 6 servings

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) Taco Seasoning Mix
3/4 cup water
12 Flour Tortillas
1 can (16 oz.) Refried Beans
1 cup Mexican Style Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add seasoning mix and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 min., stirring occasionally.
PLACE 4 of the tortillas on bottom of greased 9-inch pie plate. Cover with half each of the refried beans, meat mixture and cheese. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 4 tortillas.
BAKE 30 min. or until heated through and cheese is melted. Cut into wedges to serve

Colossal Cookie

This recipe came from a Woman's Day magazine 10-2-84.

Most everybody loves this cookie! When my son was in military school, he would sale each cookie for $1.00. When he ran out of cookies, he sold the recipe for $30. ..... We won't talk about his ethics

... If you don't like sugar and all the other candy, try my healthy version that's right below. This version is a great healthy breakfast, or any time, cookie....

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (1 pound) peanut butter (You can use some crunchy peanut butter, but watch out for a too dry batter)
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats mixed with
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup M&M's (Multicolored sugar-coated chocolate candies or Reeses Pieces (sugar-coated peanut butter candies (or both mixed)
1 cup raisins
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces or peanut butter chip (or both mixed)

DIRECTIONS
Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electic mixer until pale and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, vanilla and peanut butter until well blended.
Stir in oats (mixed with baking soda) until stiff dough forms
Stir in candies, raisins and chocolate
Scoop by the heaped tablespoons unto an lighty greased cookie sheet
Flatten- cookies will spread out about an inch
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 8-10 minutes (could take 12 minutes- depends on cookie size and oven.) until lighty browned
Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, the remove to racks to continue cooling


HEALTHY COOKIE/BAR

This recipe can be done several ways, and you can use your own combination of fruits and nuts- experiment...
1/4 cup butter softened and
1/4 cup of "Lighter Bake" or applesause ( I skip the butter and use 1/2 cup Lighter Bake or applesauce) *(Ligher Bake is la fruit puree from plums and apples-like apple butter without the spices. )
1 cup honey (you may want a little more)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (1 pound) peanut butter (Natural peanut butter is good for this cookie. Since you are using more wet ingredients, you can easily add some crunchy style peanut butter)
4 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats mixed with
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup wheat germ (honey roasted is good, too)
1 cup raisins
2 cups of your favorite dried fruit and nut mixture. (I like to use chopped dried apples, dates, cranberries, golden raisins, sunflower seeds... (dried blueberries are good, too)

DIRECTIONS
Beat first five ingredients.
Beat inpeanut butter until well blended
Stir in oats (mixed with baking soda) until stiff dough forms Stir in raisins and your favorite fruit nut mixture
Scoop by the heaped tablespoons unto an lighty greased cookie sheet (Or make into bars)
Flatten- cookies will spread out about an inch
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 8-10 minutes (could take 12 minutes- depends on cookie size and oven.) until lighty browned
Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, the remove to racks to continue cooling
Hope you enjoy this favorite!

What - How- Shall We Cook?

My husband and I both like to cook. The only problem is we do things, just about, completely opposite of each other! Mike, my hubby, will get into the kitchen and will have a meal cooked, while I'm still thinking about cooking. He is quick-I'm slow. He cooks fast with high temperature- I cook slowly with low temperatures. He likes to use oil, flour and sugar,- I refrain from oil, flour and sugar.

When Dad's in the kitchen, the smoke flies... Both figuratively and literally! And I dare not say a thing! I can't even sigh or use any body language, or I'll get a quipped comment about telling him how to cook. My daughter and I are always giving each other the eye about Dad's methods. When Dad's not looking, we turn up our noses at the greasy stuff, and cringe over the burnt spots, but we quietly eat what is set before us. We keep paper towels ready to sop up the grease, and catchup ready to cover the burnt spots.

It's common knowledge at our house, if you are famished, have Dad cook; he'll have a meal ready in no time. Nevertheless, if you don't mind waiting, ask Mom...

Don't get me wrong, my husband can come up with some good tasty meals. Also, let me be fair: not all of his meals are greasy or burnt, most of his cooking is quite good. As a matter of fact, I have had quiet a few burnt sacrifices on my own. Especially since I like to cook slowly: I walk away, get distracted, or forget what I'm doing, and then things get overcooked or burnt. Truth be told, I probably lead the tally on burnt food. After all, I do most of the cooking and I've been doing it for over thirty years

TEAM WORK

There are rare occasions when my husband and I cook together, and actually compromise. Usually though, if we are in the kitchen together, we are just peaceably doing what the other demands, and keep our suggestions to ourselves--that's the joy of 30 years of marriage!



That said.... let's get cooking....