Homemade Home Fries

I love home fries. I grew up going to a dinner that had them as a side option with every breakfast dish and my family would order some every time. When you make them heed my advice, use a bigger pot. Mine was too small to stir them and they didn’t cook well stacked. They were delicious, but stirring them while crowded broke them, and the oil wasn’t hot enough to add any color. Use cast iron if you can! I’ve adjusted my recipe with these in mind. This is enough for a side dish for 2 adults.

Set a large pan over medium-high heat, and heat 3 Tbsp of oil.
Wash, cube, and pat dry 3 medium potatoes.
Once the oil is hot, carefully add potatoes and 1 Tbsp butter. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stiring occasional, cook for another 10 minutes until golden and tender.

February 20, 2020 0

Easy and Quick Applesauce

I doubled this recipe because I had a ton of apples I needed to get rid of. Josh and I live near a family friend that has lots of produce, so I’ve been up to my eyes in apples and potatoes for a few weeks now. After hoping my apple pies last week would have put a bigger dent in my apple supply, I have resorted to making the quickest and easiest apple recipe I can muster: apple sauce.

Peel, slice, and core 7 medium apples (6 cups)
Place into a large microwavable bowl. Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover and microwave for 10 minutes. Then, microwave another 4 minutes uncovered.
Smash using a fork or potato masher, once roughly mashed, you can use an electric/hand mixer till there are no large chunks left. Use a large strainer and use a rubber spatula to pass the applesauce through.
Once strained, add 6 Tbsp of sugar and 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon. Mix.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

February 19, 2020 1

Frozen Fish and Pierogies

Frozen fish and pierogies are one of my favorite meals. It’s fast and requires little effort, it’s also delicious. I like Gorton’s brand frozen fish. It has a nice crisp batter that fully covers the fish, and it also have some texture left to the fish unlike some fish sticks that are ground up fish. I bake them as instructed. I also just get a box of store-brand frozen pierogies. I’ve tried Mrs. T’s, Aldis brand, and Weis brand pierogies and they all taste comparably good, so I never feel the need to splurge on name-brands. I boil the pierogies until they all float and are soft. In a large frying pan, I slice half an onion and saute the onion. Then I add 1/2 a stick of butter, melt it over medium-low heat, and add the pierogies with about 1 cup of pasta water. I just let that simmer on low. I don’t cook pierogies to add color, because I like the soft texture, and I also like the sauteed with butter and onion flavor.

Here are some photos of my easy meal. Next time, probably later this week, I will make homemade pierogies so wish me luck, and see you then!

February 18, 2020 1

Meatball Stroganoff

If you don’t get steak very often, or can’t afford steak, this is a great alternative to the standard Beef Stroganoff. I made this similarly to how I made my previous stroganoff recipe, without sour cream. Josh grew up with this version of stroganoff just because ground beef is more versatile than steak is, also steaks were a meal when you get a deer and not an everyday luxury.

Preheat oven to 400F. First, make meatballs and cook your meatballs: in a casserole dish, mix together 1/2 lb of ground burger, 1 egg, and 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce. Mix together and form into meatballs. Space out and bake for 30 minutes.
In a dutch oven, add 6 cups of water and 5 beef bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and dissolve cubes. Add 4 Tbsp worcestershire sauce to the broth and 1 can of strained chopped mushrooms. bring to a boil. Add 3/4 a bag of egg noodles (12 oz), lower the heat to low, and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Once the meatballs are done, transfer into your pasta mixture. Add 1 cup of milk and add 6 Tbsp flour slowly to your mixture to limit clumping. Add 3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce. Bring back to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, then let cool for 5 minutes before eating.

February 17, 2020 1

French Toast

French Toast can be an easy to make breakfast. You can make it plain, or add fresh fruits or other sugary toppings like caramel or powdered sugar. I’ve been making french toast for several years, and I find that adding sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract bring a whole new level of flavor to this bread based breakfast. Today I used Homemade syrup for our french toast since we were out of our usual Mrs. Buttersworth. Homemade Syrup is a treat for us since we don’t have much of it, since it’s been gifted to us by my In-laws who make it from trees on their property. I top my toast with a pad of butter, because who can have too much butter? I have also never tried this recipe with any other bread than standard white sandwich bread. If you try with something else, let me know if it works!

Heat a large frying pan over Medium heat. In a wide mouthed dish, whisk together 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp sugar.
Melt 1 Tbsp of butter into pan. Dip white sandwich bread and flip in wide mouthed dish before transferring to frying pan. Cook 2 minutes per side, or until you see color. This should make 4 slices of french toast.