Recipes!

[lucidmaus]

Apfelkuchen

Ingredients

Streusel
1 C. granulated sugar
¼ tsp. Salt (if using unsalted butter)
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
½ C. butter (1 stick), cold and sliced

Cake
1 ⅓ C. packed brown sugar
½ C. butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
½ tsp. Rum extract
1-2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
2 C. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Baking soda
3 C. finely chopped apples

Process

1. Make streusel: combine all ingredients by hand and squeeze until all butter is incorporated and mixture feels crumbly or grainy. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13” x 9” pan.

3. In a large bowl, beat together: brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, rum, and cinnamon until well-blended.

4. Beat eggs into the sugar mixture.

5. In another bowl, sift together: flour, salt, and baking soda.

6. Gradually beat dry mixture into the wet mixture.

7. Add apples. Note: the batter will be more like a very thick paste; it will loosen up as the apples are added.

8. Transfer to prepared pan and spread out with a scraper. Cover liberally with streusel.

9. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.

[lucidmaus]

Wait! I have more. Like. A lot more. xD I bake a lot, but if you’re looking for savory, substantial stuff:

Potato Soup with Ham and Bacon
Ingredients
4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
½ onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (or 2-3 cloves, minced)
1 Tbsp. flour
8-10 C. chicken stock (or water with bouillon cubes/powder)
Approximately 6-8 potatoes, diced
¼ - ½ C. milk (to your desired level of milkiness)
1-2 tsp. Ground black pepper (or to taste)
1 lb. ham, cubed
½ - 1 C. shredded cheese (pepper jack, monterey jack, etc.)

Process

• Cook bacon in a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat until it’s browned and the fat is rendered off.
• Leave bacon in pan. Add celery, onion, and garlic.
• Cook until vegetables are done and garlic is aromatic.
• Add flour and stir to coat.
• Add potatoes, chicken stock, milk, and pepper. Note: There should be just enough liquid to cover the potatoes, so add the stock carefully!
• Reduce heat to medium low and cook until potatoes are done (approximately 30-45 minutes)
• Add ham and cheese.
• Cook until heated through.
• Serve hot with additional cheese, if desired.

Notes

• Quantities are easily adjusted to taste! Want more bacon? Add more bacon!
• Can easily omit bacon and ham for a potato soup - I’d recommend adding another ½ onion or possibly a chopped leek for added flavor. Heck, add kale, if you want!
• Sub out the potatoes for turnips, rutabagas, and parsnips for a creamy root veggie stew!

Spicy Chicken Chili
Ingredients
1-2 lbs cooked, cooled chicken - shredded or cubed
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small can of green chilis or jalapenos, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Cumin
3 Tbsp. flour
4 cans white beans, drained
3 C. chicken stock

Process

• Heat oil in large pot.
• Add onion. Cook until the onion is translucent.
• Add: chilis, garlic, cayenne pepper, cumin, and flour. Stir thoroughly and cook for approximately 2 minutes.
• Add chicken stock and beans.
• Simmer on medium low for 10 minutes.
• Add chicken.
• Simmer until the chicken is heated through.
• Enjoy with sour cream, cheese, and/or tortilla chips.

Notes

• I usually strip a whole rotisserie chicken for this recipe. It makes a really nice, thick chili!
• Adjust the chilis and cayenne to taste. Typically, if I use jalapenos, I drop the cayenne to 1/4 tsp.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
1 lb andouille (or any kind of smoked) sausage, sliced
1 lb shredded chicken (rotisserie works great!)
½ cup cup flour
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 lb cut okra (frozen is fine!)
1 cup each chopped onion, green bell pepper, and celery (or: 1 bag of frozen Cajun-style mirepoix mix)
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
6-8 cups chicken stock
Cajun-style seasoning (Louisiana is the one I use) to taste (try 1 tablespoon to start, then add as needed!)

Process

• Make you a roux! Fastest way: melt the butter in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the flour steadily, stirring constantly. Use a wooden spoon or scraper (ideally). Kick the heat up to medium-high. Now, keep stirring and cooking until you get a nice, dark red to chocolate-brown paste. Take it immediately off the heat (remember a hot pad or glove to move the skillet!) and keep stirring for a little longer until the pan has cooled some and the roux isn’t cooking.
• In a dutch oven or large pot: brown the sausage on medium heat.
• Remove sausage from pot.
• Add the Holy Trinity (the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic) to the big pot. If needed, add a little oil or butter - but you should have plenty of grease from the sausage.
• Cook the vegetables until they’re tender.
• Add the chicken stock. The quantity just depends on how much gumbo you want to make - and how thin it is. Less stock = thicker gumbo.
• Drop the temperature to low and add the okra and seasoning.
• Add the roux, too! Make sure to stir it all in, nice and thoroughly.
• Simmer on low for about a half hour or so.
• Add the sausage and chicken.
• Simmer for another ten minutes. Taste and season as necessary.
• Serve with freshly cooked rice!

Optional Ingredients
Canned, diced tomatoes
Bagged, frozen gumbo vegetables
Seafood instead of chicken and/or sausage (shrimp works really well, but needs to be added toward the end)

Notes

• If you aren’t comfortable cooking the roux on high heat, you can do it on low-medium - but it will take longer. Just keep stirring! It’ll get there, I promise. Sidebar to the sidebar here: the roux isn’t strictly necessary, either. It just adds more flavor. If you really don’t want to bother, that’s okay!
• Okra can be pretty slimy when you’re working with it. When it gets wet, it gets gross in a hurry. I’ve found soaking it (before it’s cut) in a bath of half vinegar and half water for a few minutes helps. Also, work quickly with it. Cut off the cap and slice into ½” pieces - each okra pod should produce about 2-3 pieces. I just cut them all quickly and toss them in a bowl before adding to the soup. Alternatively: frozen okra will work just fine.
• If you prep the okra, sausage, and roux the night before, you can throw it all into a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours!

Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
1 pkg Andouille Sausage (approx. 1 lb, sliced to ½” thick slices) (I use Conecuh brand, but any smoked Cajun-style will do) (optional)
1 pkg. Cajun Mirepoix Frozen Vegetable Mix (Kroger brand - or: 1 C. each: chopped green bell pepper, onion, and celery)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (or more!)
4 cans red beans, drained (I used regular, but kidney beans also work well)
1 Tbsp. Louisiana Cajun Seasoning (approximate; this is always a ‘to taste’ kinda deal)
1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon
3 C. water

Process

• Brown sausage in large pot. There should be a fair bit of fat in the pot when done; if not, add a little oil.
• Add mirepoix mix and garlic to the sausage; cook until thawed (or veggies are tender, if using fresh)
• Add beans, seasoning, powdered bouillon, and water.
• Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook approximately 15 minutes or until fully heated through. Can be cooked longer to reduce liquid further, if desired.
• Serve with fresh rice - or eat the next day, when the flavors have had a chance to meld.

[GF]

@lucidmaus That potato soup looks amazing.

[lucidmaus]

@GF It’s obnoxiously good - and better if you have a ham bone and can make your own stock out of that. Just be cautious of the salt, because it can get really salty in a hurry if you’re not careful - but that’s nothing more potatoes and milk can’t fix!

[mietze]

Quick and easy Roast beef sliders for a crowd:

1-2 packs of hawaiian rolls (or the kind of dinner rolls that are basically in a block stuck together, already baked). Basically whatever fits your baking pan.
2 containers of roast beef au jus (often found in the nuke-and-eat refrigerated section) or 1 lb deli roast beef, chopped
½ to 1 onion, chopped (Depending on how oniony the fam/crowd is)
Pack of provolone cheese
Worcestershire Sauce
4 T butter, divided

Preheat oven to 350

Cut rolls so that you turn them into slider buns.

Layer the bottom of the rolls into your baking dish. If you like, lightly toast in the oven for about 10 minutes.

While toasting buns, start nuking the roast beef au jus if you have that, and/or sautee the onion in a pan with butter until translucent, add Worcestershire sauce to taste. Shred the nuked roast beef after it’s warmed up.

Now it’s time to assemble the sliders. Spread mayo over the cut side of the bottom of the buns. Layer roast beef over it (it tastes great spooning the au jus over it too if you have that or you can reserve the liquid–my kiddos prefer the latter so that’s what we do). Layer slice of provolone over the meat. Spread the cut side of the top buns with mayo and put them on. Melt remaining butter, brush over tops of buns (it will be just fine to /not/ do the butter on top, a lot of the time I don’t esp. if I’m rushing)

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes, then remove foil and bake 10 minutes more. Serve while hot! (with the jus if you reserved it!)

Additions: you can add some horseradish to the mayo for extra spice if you like that!

This base concept can be mixed up quite a bit. Some other meat and cheese combos my family likes:

Ham + Havarti or Cheddar or Swiss

Leftover Turkey with mayo on bottom bun and cranberry sauce on top bun

Leftover chopped chicken with cheese (just about anything goes well with it, but we’ve also been known to forgo the mayo for that one and spread alouette cheese spread on top and bottom of buns, and sprinkle chicken with bacon.

[mietze]

Yummy tofu salad (I have to tell my kids to leave some of it for me when I make it, because while it does make a large batch it disappears quickly at my house!)

7 Tbsp toasted sunflower kernels (not with shells)
1/2 cup veganaise
1/4 cup sweet relish
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dijon
2 tsp white miso
2 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lb extra firm tofu
1/4 italian parsley, chopped
1/4 bunch green onions thinly sliced
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced

Whisk together veganaise, relish, vinegar, mustard, miso, yeast, tumeric, dill, salt, and pepper until dressing is well blended.

Drain, rinse, and press tofu–crumble into large bowl. Mix tofu and dressing together with hands (using a processor will overmix/whip it!). Add parsley, onions, carrots, bell pepper, sunflower kernels and celery and toss to combine.

We love this on sandwiches or with crackers.

[Tez]

@mietze said in Recipes!:

Yummy tofu salad (I have to tell my kids to leave some of it for me when I make it, because while it does make a large batch it disappears quickly at my house!)

Any tofu salad that disappears quickly around children is honestly probably touched by magic. I’m gotta try it.

[mietze]

@Tez to be fair the “kids” are now young adults except for one and since they’ve grown up eating tofu (I do a lot of Japanese and Korean cooking!) it isn’t totally foreign.

But! It is really really good. And they liked it as little kids too. I hope you like it!

[Meg]

This recipe is not mine, but I found it while trying to accomplish two things: a. save money for house (and incidentally, a lot of meal prepping to accomplish that) and b. eat vegan vegetarian (jk about vegan, i misremembered which phase i found this in. could be vegan with a few replacements, but it isn’t).

And it was super fucking delicious, filling, cheap. I still make it a lot even though I am not vegan. So I will just present you guys the link:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/roasted-brussels-sprout-bowls/

[mietze]

Easy peasy lamb gyroburgers

For meat patties:
2 lbs ground lamb
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Greek or Mediterranean seasoning

For quickie tzatziki sauce:
2 cups plain greek yogurt
2 tsp minced garlic (or to taste)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dill weed (or to taste)

For marinated cukes:
1 english cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T olive oil

Other fixings:
6 pita flatbreads or 3 pita pockets
1 container feta cheese crumbles
3 cups mixed baby greens
2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Combine all items for the tzatziki well, then refrigerate. It can be last minute but if you have time, at least an hour is nice.

Combine all items for the marinated cukes, add salt and pepper to taste, and let it sit on the counter (or fridge if desired) while preparing the rest.

Combine lamb, seasoning, and garlic into bowl and hand mix well. Shape into 6 patties (I got in the habit of making 12 smaller patties when my big kids were teens so they could make two sandwiches if they wanted). Grill/griddle for 6 minutes per side or until there’s no more pink in the center.

Stuff pita pockets or build flabread sandwich roll with patty/ies, greens, feta, tomatos, marinated cukes and onions, and tzatziki sauce.

Adaptations: Ground beef or chicken works well for these too. For vegan/vegetarian, I roast cauliflower with cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika to use as the filling, or falafel is awesome too.

For a side dish/accent my family loves crunchy chickpeas with this. Which is also easy:

Roasted chickpeas (for my fam of 6 I double this because they don’t last long)
1 15 oz can chickpeas/garbanzos
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Thoroughly rinse, drain, and then dry the chickpeas. You don’t want extra moisture otherwise they won’t crisp up, so I would allow maybe an hour or so while they dry (and I do kind of move the around on paper towels, switching them out when they are wet, and waiting until the paper towels don’t get wet when you put them on it.

Preheat oven to 400.

Cover baking sheet with oil and then spritz lightly with cooking spray.

In a small bowl mix cumin, paprika, garlic, onion, coriander, salt, and pepper together to combine. Set aside.

Bake dried chickpeas in the preheated oven on prepared baking sheet for 15 minutes.

Remove chickpeas from oven and drizzle with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, stirring gently so that all chickpeas are evenly coated. If necessary add more oil but only a drop at a time, you want the bare minimum of oil here, just enough to get the spice blend to stick.

Add spice mix and stir evenly to coat.

Return to oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes until desired crispness is reached. Turn off oven, crack the door open, and then let cool. Remove cooled chickpeas from oven and enjoy!

[sao]

@mietze ugh I want to eat but my dad won’t eat lamb

[Meg]

@sao texture thing? I always have a texture thing with lamb, because I don’t eat it enough.

[sao]

@Meg apparently my grandmother’s terrible cooking ruined it for him as a child and now he won’t eat it, lol

[GF]

@Meg To me, lamb tastes like what I imagine their musk must smell like. I think the word for that is “gamy?” It’s not bad, but is a factor in me not wanting to pay fifteen bucks a pound for it.

[Ashkuri]

@GF The breed of sheep will affect this a lot. For those who don’t care for the gamy taste of lamb, go to a local butcher and see if they have Dorper meat instead of like, the Romney/Merino/Suffolk/Dorset whatever that’s coming in off commercial farms. Dorper is so mild it’s almost like beef.

More than anyone wanted to know about eating lamb, lol. But I do think those commercial breeds do a disservice to how lamb can taste.

[lordbelh]

@sao It’s the opposite with me. My grandma’s leg of lamb is to die for, and I remember every big family gathering it was what she’d make. Those memories meant lamb is my favorite meat.

A leg of lamb with salt, pepper and rosemary, in a pan in the oven with some water at the bottom. She’d slow roast that thing for 4-5 hours, turning it every 30 min and ‘watering’ it with the increasingly greasy and flavored water. She’d start real low on temperature, then incrase it every time she’d water the lamb. Halfway through she’d sliced up carrots, and drop them in the pan water to slow cook with the lamb. God those carrot slices became infused with all kinds fantastic flavors.

In the end, the lamb just falls off the bone, so tender and delicious.

Since then I’ve just been a fan of all kinds of lamb. Though I’m from Western Norway. Not a lot of beef here, traditionally, just tons and tons of sheep. So it became traditionally the standard meat.

[Tez]

@lordbelh said in Recipes!:

@sao It’s the opposite with me. My grandma’s leg of lamb is to die for, and I remember every big family gathering it was what she’d make. Those memories meant lamb is my favorite meat.

You sound like and my grandpa’s ham. Every year for the holidays he would do a big ol’ ham alongside the turkey and whatever else. Slow roasted for hours and hours in his gigantic smoke / roast / bbq pit outside. The flavors were WILD. It was SO SUCCULENT. It was SO JUICY.

Not to be overdramatic, but I’ve spent my WHOLE LIFE chasing that high. Nothing is ever as good. I don’t eat a lot of meat, but you put one of those hams in front of me–

[Meg]

re-bumping this thread. i need your recipes to feed 6 people easily without much mess/trouble. preferably vegetarian or can be made veggie easily!

[mietze]

@Meg do you like bowl type of things? We do a lot of those when everyone is home. Rice/grain is the base (in that case i usually cook with broth/spices), then people can add fixings like they wish. (Canned beans/sautéed veggies/chopped or torn herbs to the theme/crunchy onions or furikake/ect.) Its quick cleanup too. I’m getting ready for work but will pop up some of our favorite combos when I get home. I find vegan/veggie sheet pan cooking for 6 is also less stressful and less cleanup. Do you have a rice cooker?

[Snackness]

@Meg My husband makes Bear Creek ‘Darn Good Chili’ mix (https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Creek-Country-Kitchens-Chili/dp/B000SRJ9YS but he buys it at the grocery store) with vegetarian crumbles and it’s really good, especially with cornbread on the side.