German Dinner

Every year our family honors our German heritage with an authentic German dinner. This year we made Rouladen (rolled beef), Rotkohl (red cabbage), Spaetzle (egg noodles), a green salad, and Apfelkuchen (apple cake).

 

Tamale Pie

 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1-4 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
1-4 oz. can chopped olives, drained
1 c. frozen corn
1 T. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Topping:
1 Jiffy cornbread box, mixed according to package directions
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream, optional
freshly chopped cilantro for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an oven safe baking dish, approximately 9 or 10 inch with cooking spray. 

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown ground beef and onion and cook until no longer pink. Drain excess grease from pan. 

Next add diced tomatoes, green chilies, olives, corn, chili powder, salt and garlic powder and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. 

Top beef mixture with prepared cornbread mix. Sprinkle cheese over the cornbread. Bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes. Take out of oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Serve with sour cream, cilantro or any of your other favorite toppings. 

Ava's Spring Rolls

 

INGREDIENTS
1 pack super thin Spring Roll wrappers from Asian store.
1 egg
oil for deep frying
sauce-Mae Ploy spring roll sauce or panda express sweet and sour sauce
Filling:
1 lb. ground meat (sausage, turkey, beef)
1 c. julienned/minced carrots
handful of mung bean sprouts
1 c. green beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 c. diced onions
1 T. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
*can add other veggies such as cabbage, mushrooms, water chestnuts, etc.

DIRECTIONS

Filling:

Heat large skillet on medium heat. Add about 2-3 T. of oil. Add meat and cook for about 5 minutes. (skip oil if meat is not lean).  Add garlic and onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add carrots and green beans. Mix and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add any other desired veggies along with the carrots and green beans. Add sprouts, salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

Wrapping:

Beat 1 egg in a bowl for sealing wrappers. Lay 1 wrapper flat with a corner facing you. Scoop about 1 T. of filling (do not include any juice) onto the wrapper. Roll bottom corner over the filling. Keep rolling until the mid-part of the wrapper. Fold both sides of wrapper towards middle. The roll should look like an envelope. Continue rolling until only a small corner is left. Brush some egg wash on the top corner and seal the roll.

Deep frying:

Heat oil in a pot

When ready, deep fry spring rolls until light brown. Serve with sauce.

Grandma Maroni's Meatballs (100 Year Old Recipe)

(From The Food Network's ThrowDown with Bobby Flay) 

INGREDIENTS
Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef chuck
1 1/2 c. grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
1 1/4 c. fresh bread crumbs
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. whole milk
1/2 c. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 small onion, grated
3 T. minced garlic
pinch of kosher salt, or to taste

Maroni Sauce:
1/2 c. olive oil
12 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 large onion, finely diced
2 (28 oz.) cans imported crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground white or black pepper
1 large handful fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
red pepper flakes (optional)

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente

DIRECTIONS
To make the meatballs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Mix the beef, cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, herbs, onion, garlic, and salt in a mixing bowl. Roll the meatballs loosely about the size of a large golf ball, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until cooked through and lightly browned. 35-40 minutes. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until soft and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper and stir. Allow the sauce to come to a shimmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the basil. Add the meatballs to the sauce. To serve, divide the spaghetti on plates and top with the meatballs and sauce.

Beef Stew

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg. stew meat (approx. 1 1/2 lbs.)
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 c. diced onion
1 carrot, peeled and diced

1/3 pkg. stew seasoning
1 c. water
1-10 oz. can tomato soup

DIRECTIONS
Cook stew meat on low for 6 1/2 hours with salt and pepper. Turn crockpot to hi and add remaining ingredients. Cook for an additional 1 1/2 hours.

Serves 4. I usually double the recipe.


This is another delicious Beef Stew recipe that I use if I don't have a seasoning packet or tomato soup on hand.

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. stew meat
4 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled
4 c. water
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
4 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. cold water

DIRECTIONS
In a crock pot, add water and crumbled bouillon cubes. Add stew meat, onion, rosemary, parsley and pepper. Cook on high 4 hours or low for 6. Add potatoes, carrots, and celery.  Cook for an additional 1 to 2 hours. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tsp. cold water and stir into stew. Cook until stew has thickened.

Roast Beef BBQ

A recipe passed down from my grandmother Barbara Priest.

INGREDIENTS
20 oz. roast beef, leftovers shredded
1 c. ketchup
1 c. beef broth or leftover gravy
2 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 T. vinegar
2 c. water
1 c. chopped celery
1 small onion, chopped
salt
pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Serve over buttered, toasted hamburger buns.

*If starting from scratch with uncooked roast beef, cook beef in crock pot on low for 8 hours with salt, pepper, beef broth, onion and celery. Add remaining ingredients the last hour.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

My MIL makes a dish similar to this but instead of bugging her for the recipe AGAIN, I decided to try and recreate it from what I could remember. I love the tang i-ness the mustard brings to the dish and the sour cream really completes the recipe . A great comfort meal!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 T. butter

1 onion, diced

2 tsp. minced garlic

           

3 T. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups beef broth

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1/4 cup light sour cream

1- 16 oz. bag of noodles (any kind would be good, even egg noodles)

DIRECTIONS

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble ground beef into the hot skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir beef until completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes.  Transfer beef to a separate dish.

Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in butter until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir flour into onion mixture; cook and stir until flour is browned, about 1 minute. Return beef to the skillet; stir. Pour beef broth over the mixture in the skillet; bring to a boil. Stir Worcestershire sauce and mustard through the mixture.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a simmer until the consistency is gravy-like.

Stir sour cream through the beef mixture and heat until warmed.  Boil noodles in a large pot of water until al dente. Serve stroganoff over noodles.

The Ultimate Sunday Dinner of Meat and Potatoes

My sister in law Angela shared this recipe with me. She says its her absolute favorite dish. It was awesome! I love a good roast and this one is simple, easy to prepare and absolutely delicious!

INGREDIENTS
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 lbs. top round, in one big hunk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, sliced
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 bottle dry red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a 2-count of olive oil in an oven proof braising pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Season the meat well with salt and pepper, put in the pan, and brown for 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure it's really well seared on all sides-this is where the flavor comes from. Take the meat out of the pan and put it on a plate.

Add the onion, rosemary, and thyme to the pan and stir and cook for about 5 minutes to give the onion a good sear. Now add the wine, broth, and bay leaves and bring the whole thing to a simmer. Return the meat to the pan. Cover, put the pan in the oven, and cook until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 1/2 hrs.

Remove the meat to a platter. Taste the braising liquid for salt and pepper and discard the bay leaves. Slice the meat and serve in shallow bowls atop a big spoonful of mashed potatoes. Top with some of the sauce and garnish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil to finish.

Sloppy Joes

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. hamburger
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery

2 10 3/4 ounce cans tomato soup
2 T. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine hamburger, green pepper, onion and celery in dutch oven or skillet. Cook over medium heat until hamburger is browned. Drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over toasted hamburger buns.

Indian Tacos and Scones

INGREDIENTS
2 cups warm water
2 T. yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour

DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and egg. Cut shortening into flour and salt mixture. Pour flour mixture over yeast and mix. Let batter rise for 1/2 hour. Heat 1" of oil in skillet to approximately 375 degrees. Pinch off a ball of dough and gently flatten and fry to a medium brown on each side.

Let each one rest on a plate lined with paper towels to dry up excess oil. Serve with chili, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, chopped onion, olives, salsa and sour cream.

Scones can also be served with butter and honey for dessert.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Another successful recipe from mom! It's so good I could eat it weekly WITH leftovers! By far my new favorite :)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup pineapple juice
3 Tbs. cornstarch
3 Tbs. vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 T. soy sauce
1/3 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Bring the above ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly. Once sauce thickens, add 1 green (or red) bell pepper thinly sliced and 1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained.(You can use this juice as part of your pineapple juice). Pour sauce over meatballs and stir until well combined. At this point, the meatballs & sauce can be transferred into a crock-pot and left on low for 2 - 4 hours. This helps to incorporate the flavors and soften the green pepper. Serve over rice.

*This sauce is enough for 12 meatballs. I usually double the sauce recipe and add 24 meatballs. I don't necessarily increase the amount of pineapple or peppers in it though. One whole large pepper thinly sliced and one large can pineapple tidbits seems to be plenty. I also like to add sliced onion sometimes with the pepper.

French Dip Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
2 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1 three pound Tri-tip Roast (Costco)
5 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 tsp. browning sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
sliced Swiss cheese
6 French dip hoagie sandwich buns

DIRECTIONS
In skillet, saute onions in butter. (I usually skip this step and just put the raw sliced onions directly into the slow cooker.)Put onions in slow cooker. Place roast over onions. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. In a saucepan, combine water, soy sauce, soup mix, browning sauce and garlic. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low 7-8 hours.

Remove roast from slow cooker and allow to sit 15 minutes. Thinly slice roast and place on lightly buttered and toasted buns. Layer with cheese slices and broil in oven for 3-4 minutes. Serve with onions and sauce. Serves approximately 6.

Stroganoff Casserole

Another favorite recipe from an amazing cook; my mom!

INGREDIENTS
1-2 lb. stew meat
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1 T. lemon juice
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 12 oz. package egg noodles

DIRECTIONS
Place stew meat and chopped onion in a crock pot and cook on HIGH approx 3-4 hrs or LOW 5-6 hours. Season stew meat with salt and pepper.

In a bowl combine soup, milk, sour cream and lemon juice. Pour over stew meat and continue to cook on LOW for 2 hrs or until thoroughly heated through.

Boil noodles until tender. Drain.

Serve Stroganoff over noodles and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Baked Spaghetti

My sister in law Stephanie makes this awesome spaghetti dish for her family and now we make it quite often in our house. I like how mild the flavors are, especially for my 3 picky eaters, but they are definitely not picky about this meal!

INGREDIENTS
12-oz. pkg. spaghetti
1 T. sugar
3 cups grated cheese
1 lb. cooked hamburger
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup milk
1 lb. 10 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 1/2 -3 qt. casserole dish with cooking spray. Cook spaghetti in lightly salted water according to package directions. While spaghetti is cooking, combine tomato soup, milk, and spaghetti sauce in a bowl and set aside. Put half cooked spaghetti in bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with half of sugar. Then sprinkle with half of the cheese. Next add half the hamburger and then half of the sauce. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Bake 1 hour until bubbly.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

I had a friend in college who was always super good at cooking up meatloaf. I always tried to copy her meatloaf and it never quite came out right. When I asked her for the recipe she would just tell me she never measured anything and just threw whatever ingredients into the bowl that sounded good at the time. ARgghhhh! So finally I fished around on Allrecipes.com and found a meatloaf recipe that Jason and I both loved.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan (I usually just use an 8x8).

Press brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.

In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices run clear.

Sloppy Joes

This is my mom's Sloppy Joe recipe; it's the best! I love to chop the veggies a little on the chunky side and sometimes saute them aside from the ground beef so they don't become overcooked. I like that little extra crunch in my sandwich.

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 bottle (12 oz.) chili sauce
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
Hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, cook ground beef, onions, celery and bell pepper over medium heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.

In 3 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine ground beef mixture and all remaining ingredients except buns. Mix well.

Cover; cook on low setting 4 to 6 hours.

Stir; spoon beef mixture into buns.

(If I'm in a hurry I just skip the slow cooker section and after browning my beef and veggies in a skillet, add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and simmer on low until thoroughly heated.)

Rouladen

This is a German dish that my husbands family makes. We have a tradition of celebrating our German heritage at Christmas, making recipes that have been passed down from his mothers family.

INGREDIENTS
12 pieces top round beef, pounded thin (1/4 inch thick)
Salt
Pepper
Mustard

6 slices of precooked bacon
1/2-3/4 c. onions, sliced
12 thin sliced pickles
Nonstick cooking spray
¼ cup butter
5 T. flour
2 cans beef broth

DIRECTIONS
Season beef with salt and pepper. Spread each piece with approximately 1 tsp. mustard. Top with a couple slices of onion, 1 sliced pickle, and 1/2 a slice of bacon. Starting at one short side of each beef piece, fold long edges over, then roll beef tightly. Secure with a toothpick.

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Brown beef rolls in batches over medium-high heat. Remove from skillet.

In same skillet, melt butter. Add flour. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add beef broth, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture thickens.

Place beef rolls into a crock pot and poor broth mixture over top into slow cooker. 

Cover and cook on LOW 4-6 hours. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: a 2nd gravy option that we use is...

GRAVY:

1/2 c. pickle juice

1/4-1/2 c. mustard

2 packets of brown gravy mix

2-3 c. water

pepper to taste

Linda’s Lasagna

I was never really a fan of red sauces until I married my husband. His all time favorite meal is spaghetti so I decided I better change my ways fast. Now I love lasagna, especially this recipe. I found it on Allrecipes and I really like it because it's fairly simple to make and doesn't include a lot of crazy ingredients that my picky eaters won't touch. Thank you Linda!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon white sugar

12 ounces ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
9 lasagna noodles
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef until brown. Drain. In another skillet over medium heat, cook onion until translucent. Combine beef and onion in a large saucepan with tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, water, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.

While sauce is simmering, blend cottage cheese, Parmesan and egg until smooth. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover sauce with 3 noodles. Cover noodles with one-third of remaining sauce. Top with half the mozzarella. Place another layer of noodles and one of sauce over the mozzarella; top that with the cottage cheese mixture. Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce.

Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top and bake 15 minutes more, until golden and bubbly.