Week 34 - Salami-Cheese Pie

 Salami-Cheese Pie

Week 34 of 52

Meat/Fish Entree #5

    Well, this was something I never thought of making. I've never even made anything with salami. This recipe comes from the 1979 seventh printing of Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Casserole Recipes published in 1977. The recipe is on page 12, in the "home-style casseroles" chapter. I don't understand how it qualifies as a casserole and a number of recipes in this section are not casseroles. But, one of my goals of this year's Fifty-Two In Twenty-Two project, was to use recipes from cookbooks in my collection, which I haven't used. The other goal was to try things I've never had before. I couldn't remember if I had used any recipe from this cookbook, but I didn't think I had, so I kept it in the mix of books to choose this week's recipe from. And like I said, I've never made anything with salami. I am really glad I tried this and I'm very, pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. 

    Would I make this recipe again? Yes. Is it partly also because I bought the biggest sized package of salami at the store yesterday? Also, yes. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of chopped salami and 1 cub cooked & cubed potatoes. You could probably do a 1/2 cup less of the salami and add a 1/2 cup more of potato.  I used fresh basil as a garnish, which isn't called for in the recipe, but I wanted a garnish, Fresh parsley would be lovely also. Serve with a side salad or vegetable and hot bread or rolls. My notes in italics. 

Ingredients:

Plain Pastry (below)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup shredded American cheese (I used my standard Colby-Jack)

1/2 pound salami, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup cubed cooked potato

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped pimiento (I drained juice before measuring)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (You will turn the oven down to 350 degrees when you take the pie shell and cutouts out). In a saucepan combine flour and pepper. Blend in milk. Cook, stirring continuously until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted, then salami, potato onion and pimiento. Turn into pie shell and decorate the top with the baked cutouts. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes (I did 40 minutes). You want the center to be nearly set. Cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve with a garden salad or side of vegetables (I had cauliflower), with hot french bread or rolls and butter. It's a pie, so you could get six nice servings.

Plain Pastry

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

3 to 4 tablespoons cold water (I used 4 tablespoons)

Directions:

Stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water at a time over the mixture and toss with a fork. You want it all moistened. Form a ball and roll out on a lightly floured baking mat, until you have a 9-inch round or if you are like me and your pastry rolling skills are sub-par, you have a large enough piece to entirely cover your pie pan). Gently lay your pastry in your 9-inch pie pan. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork (I forgot to do this before baking the pie shell by itself, but did when it came out of the oven before adding the filling, and it turned out fine). Mash the trimmings together into a ball, roll out and use mini or regular size cookie cutters (I used a mini heart cookie cutter from Pampered Chef) and set aside on a small baking sheet. Bake the pie shell for 10 minutes and the cutouts for 5 minutes. Remove the pie shell and cutouts, setting aside while you finish making the filling.

Salami-Cheese Pie

Salami-Cheese Pie - Take Two

Salami-Cheese Pie w/Fresh Basil Garnish and Cauliflower

Week 33 - Baked Beans

 Baked Beans

Week 33 of 52

Side Dish #5

    When I thought about finding a recipe for Week 33 (before I looked up which category it was), I had decided I wanted to try a recipe in my late mother's recipe box (photo below). The very, first recipe I pulled out, was this one. It was a folded piece of lined paper, with no author name or date or anything, besides the recipe. I shared the picture below with my sister, my cousin (maternal) and two of my aunts (one maternal and one paternal) and nobody recognizes the handwriting. I thought it reminded me of my maternal grandmother (whose recipe for Crazy Cake {it wasn't crazy}, was the second recipe I made for this blog). I guess it the name of the author will have to remain a mystery. Neither my sister nor my cousin ever remembered having beans this way and although I thought I'd maybe heard of beans like this, I don't think I'd ever had them. I really liked this recipe. It made a good sized amount. Perfect for toting to a picnic or pot-luck.  Note: I'm going to write it out exactly how it is written, because it is kind of charming, with it's spelling mistakes; I'll use italics to write the correct word/spelling and to add direction.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb hamburg (ground hamburger)

1/2 lb bacon (chopped before cooking)

1/2 of a large onion (diced)

1/2 cup catsup (ketchup)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon vinigar (vinegar)

1 large can or 3 small cans pork & beans (Drain two of the cans if using small or half if using the large can)

1 small can kidney beans

1 small can butter beans (I substituted Great Northern Beans)

Directions:

Combine bacon and hamburger in a large pot (I used a cast iron dutch oven), and begin browning. Add onion after just a few minutes and continue cooking until hamburger and bacon are thoroughly cooked/browned. You do not want any pink showing. Drain grease and return meat & onion mixture to pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low-medium heat, until hot. 

Tip: I drained one of the cans of pork & beans, the kidney beans and the great northern beans, because I didn't want the finished product to be "soupy", so do the same thing if you don't want "soupy" baked beans. 

Baked Beans

My Late Mother's Recipe Box (One of my treasures)

The Original Hand-Written Recipe

Week 32 - Vee's Homemade Bread

 Vee's Homemade Bread

Week 32 of 52

Bread #5

    So I was a big fan of the show "Orange Is The New Black" and when I saw a copy of the Orange Is The New Black cookbook, published in 2014, at Half Price Books a couple years ago, I had to get it. In the show, the character Vee, was not a pleasant person, but I think the thing about that show, was no matter how bad a character was, you pretty much saw at least some shred of humanity/decency in them. I can't remember what that was about Vee, but there was something there to you remind, you that she was a person.

    I want to say that this bead smelled good while it was baking. It took a long time to make (over 3 hrs), but it was worth it. It's made from a mixture of whole-wheat flour and flour, with flax seeds (I used ground flax seeds) and honey, so it felt healthy-ish.  I'm planning to make some grilled cheese sandwiches with it this week.  Can't wait. So, let me know how you like this.  Modifications/Notes in italics.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons, olive oil, plus a little more for oiling the bowl and pan (Honestly, I just used cooking spray for oiling the pan, the bowl, the parchment and the foil I used)

1/4 cup honey

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup flax seeds (I used ground flax seeds)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

You can use an electric mixer or mix with a spoon (like I did). If using an electric mixer, use the dough hook. Combine all of the dry ingredients with the water, to form a "rough" dough. Rest the dough for 20 minutes, then knead by machine or by hand for 10 minutes, until it is smooth. It will stay a bit sticky-ish. 

Grease a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Grease a loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch). Shape the dough into a log shape, place in the loaf pan and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap (I used parchment paper, because I didn't have plastic; you could use parchment also as it worked just fine) lightly greased and let the dough rise for another hour. It could rise about 1 inch above the rim of the loaf pan. Mine didn't seem like it was an inch above the rim of the pan, but I think it turned out fine). Towards the end of this "rising", pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Remove the plastic wrap/parchment paper and place your pan in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and then "tent" a piece of lightly oiled foil over your loaf and continue baking for another 25 minutes, or until firm and browned on top. Remove from oven, remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack, to cool completely (or at least 15-20 minutes, because you don't want to burn yourself) before slicing.

Vee's Homemade Bread

Week 31 - Macaroni Salad

 Macaroni Salad

Week 31 of 52

Salad #5

This macaroni salad recipe comes from "Cheese and Ways to Serve It". Published in 1931 by the Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation of Chicago. The copy I have belonged to a lady named Thelma Clark. This cute, tiny cookbook has a number of things I like. One, it is really old, literally. It is 89 years old. It's artwork reflects the dress of the early 1930s. It has pictures of products from the Kraft-Phenix Cheese line. And I also like the font it is printed in.  I liked this macaroni salad and even better, after it had chilled overnight. It's pretty perfect for a hot Summer day. There is no added salt or seasoning, so season to taste with your favorite seasoning, if you like. I thought it was nice though without any added seasoning. Use less or more of the celery or green pepper if you like. Make this and enjoy! 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked macaroni

1 cup chopped celery (I used two stalks)

1 green pepper, chopped

2 pimentos, choppped (I used 1 tablespoon from a jar of diced pimentoes)

6 sweet pickles, chopped (I used 1 tablespoon of sweet relish)

1 cup grated Kraft cheese (The original says you could use Velveeta and I'm sure you could, but that's not for me. I used 1 cup finely shredded Monterrey-Jack cheese)

Kraft Kitchen Fresh Mayonnaise or French Dressing (I used 1 cup mayonnaise)

Directions:

Boil macaroni to desired 'doneness'. While your macaroni is cooking, wash and chop your veggies.  Add each veggie ingredient to a large bowl. Add in your mayonnaise. Stir completely, so that all ingredients are coated with mayonnaise. Drain and rinse your cooked macaroni with cold water. Drain again, making sure to completely drain excess water.  Serve immediately, or chill for two or more hours.  The original recipe says you can serve this salad over lettuce, so feel free to do that. 

Green Pepper, Celery, Pimento, Sweet Pickle Relish

Celery, Green Pepper, Pimento, Sweet Pickle Relish, Cheese

Macaroni Salad

Two Year Blog Anniversary and 30 Weeks Into Fifty Two In Twenty Two

 Two Year Blog Anniversary

and 30 Weeks Into Fifty Two In Twenty Two

    I've made a lot of recipes this past year, since July 2021. My first post was July 13, 2020 and I've really enjoyed trying out new recipes and making some familiar meals this past two years. I look forward to continuing on with this blog and I hope you are also.  My Favorite Recipes for 07/2021 to 07/2022 are: Lemonchick's Leek, Bacon and Quinoa Dish, Golden Cheese Soup with Parsley Dumplings, 3-Minute Salad (Jello Dessert), Johnny Marzetti, Corn Fritters, Gado Gado, Chicken Salad, Apple Fritter Bread, Big Bertha, Josefinas, Slush, "French" Salad Dressing, Cranberry Walnut Cream Cheese, Malabar Fish Curry and No-Bake Cake Balls.

    My top five recipes are: 

1) Malabar Fish Curry (Week 27 Entree Meat/Fish #4) - I loved everything about this dish. The taste, texture and appearance. This tasted like something you'd get from a restaurant. I will definitely make this again and I will try other curries. 

2) French Dressing/Sauce Vinaigrette - A light, fresh dressing, I've made it a number of times. So good!

3) Lemonchick's Leek, Bacon and Quinoa Dish (09/05/2021) - This was an original recipe of mine. I'd tried leeks for the first time, not long before making this dish. I liked the combination of ingredients and am pretty proud of myself for creating this. 

4) No-Bake Cake Balls (Week 28 Dessert #4) - I have made this recipe a number of times already. I've made white cake with white chocolate bark and I've made chocolate cake with chocolate bark. With pretty sprinkles, they were also pretty. Taste, texture and appearance, all top notch. 

5) Apple Fritter Bread (A Bonus Recipe from 03/26/2022) - I'd made this dessert bread once before, but I don't remember turning it out as well as it did this time. So moist and delicious. Perfect with coffee or tea. 

Honorable Mentions: Gado-Gado (Week 1 Salad #1), Corn Fritters (Week 3 Appetizer #1) 

#1 - Malabar Fish Curry

#2 - French Dressing/Sauce Vinaigrette

#3 - Lemonchick's Leek, Bacon & Quinoa Dish

#4 - No-Bake Cake Balls

#5 - Apple Fritter Bread

Honorable Mention - Gado Gado

Honorable Mention - Corn Fritters

Week 30 - Hint of Mint Yogurty Cucumber Dip

 Hint of Mint Yogurty Cucmber Dip

Week 30 of 52

Appetizer #4

    This week's recipe comes from Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 - 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories. This dip was tasty, but the texture was not what I was expecting. It was kind of watery and not creamy like I'd hoped. I followed the directions, so I'm not sure what happened. That said, I did enjoy it, but more as a topping on crackers, instead as a dip for veggies.  Give it a shot and see if it turns out better for you.

Ingredients:

4 oz plain fat-free Greek yogurt

1 medium English cucumber, chopped (I used half a regular cucumber; I wonder if I should have patted the slices dry, before chopping)

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup fresh mint leaves (I didn't have fresh mint and the only mint I found was $2.08 for 5oz. I used a total of 10oz)

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp sugar

1 to 3 cloves garlic, to taste (I used 5 cloves!)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in either a food processor or a blender. Blend to your desired consistency. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. 

Hint of Mint Yogurty Cucumber Dip