Archive for Pat’s Kitchen

Homemade Hamburger Buns

{ September 1, 2018 @ 7:03 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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Homemade Hamburger Buns

I took this recipe from Allrecipes.com. It make 8 buns. (which is 254 calories per bun). The recipe is really good but I prefer to make 12 buns from it. They end up being the same size but lighter which we like better. The good news is, it also decreases the calories to 171. Every cook does things a little different and I adapted this a little.

Mix together and let set until the yeast starts to bubble

  • 1 T. instant active yeast (or one pkg)
  • 1 c. warm water
  • 3 T. sugar
  • 1/2 cup bread flour

Add using my Kitchen Aide mixer with the paddle beater (I prefer the paddle over dough hooks):

  • 1 egg
  • 1-1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 T. melted butter
  • 2 cups bread flour

Beat on high for several minutes. You will see the dough become shiny and elastic.

Gradually add and continue beating until well mixed:

  • 1 more cup bread flour

Dough will be sticky. Empty bowl onto lightly floured surface. Form into smooth, round shape and put in a 3 quart bowl and oil the top with Canola oil. Cover with a cloth and let rise until double in size. (1 to 1-1/2 hours). I divided the dough in half.


Then in half and each quarter into three pieces for a total of 12.

I formed each piece into a ball and flatten onto a greased 11″X15″ baking sheet and flatten.

. Let the buns rise until double in size. (30-45 mins.). Lightly brush the tops with 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 T. milk. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

LBake at 325 degrees for 25 mins or until tops are lightly brown. Let cool before slicing the buns. They freeze well.

Calories: 171 per bun.

 

 

Barbecued Bear

{ December 31, 2017 @ 2:58 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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A friend gave us a bear roast several weeks ago. I decided to freeze it until Christmas and make it a part of our Christmas festivities when the family was here. It would be something different and create conversation. You never know how people, especially young folks, will react to sometime like bear meat so I decided to keep it a secret and announce “after” they had eaten what it was. My plan worked great except the two boys did not take a serving. Ryan announced he doesn’t eat anything he doesn’t know what it is. Poor fellow. He missed out on a real treat.  Emily and Lauren responded with “they love bear meat”. Karla was the funniest. She rolled her eyes and responded with, “Grandma, I think I’m going to be sick”!!!  The food stayed down and she lived to see the light of the next day.  She did admit it was good when she didn’t know what it was.

The barbecue was very tasty.

If you are interested, here is how I fixed it.

I soaked the roast in salt water a few hours to help remove some of the game flavor and then put it in a roasting pan, covered with my brisket sauce, 1 cup chopped onions and baked at 325 for approximately 4 hours until it was fall apart tender. The leg roast weighed approximately 3 lbs.  It can also be done in a crockpot.

Brisket Sauce

Mix all ingredients together and pour over uncooked meat. This is enough to do a 3 lb. roast or brisket.

1 c. Water

3/4 c. Catsup

2 T. Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Chili Powder

1 tsp. Minced Garlic

1/2 tsp. Celery Salt

1/8 tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 c. Worcestershire Sauce

1 T. Vinegar

1/2 tsp. Dry Mustard

1/4 tsp. Red Pepper

1 T. Liquid Smoke (This is a very important ingredient and is found in the grocery store aisle by the Worcestershire Sauce)

1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Salt

Note: the prepared meat with the sauce freezes excellent.

Phoebe Ranck’s Stuffing Recipe

{ November 23, 2017 @ 7:41 am } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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This is Phoebe’s recipe. You can either stuff the turkey or bake in a 2 qt. casserole dish which is my preference. To me, stuffing the bird and then digging the stuffing out is not worth the effort.

Saute together:

1 c. chopped celery

1 chopped onion (I use white onion)

1/2 c. melted butter

Mix together and add:

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups of milk

1/4 tsp. pepper

Cube one small loaf of bread and mix together with above mixture.

Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.  This is my preference of baking-a little lower temperature, a little longer but below is Phoebe’s recommendation.

You can always add mushrooms or chestnuts if so desired.

Serves 8.

The note on my card from Phoebe says, “Stuff the fowl or put in baking dish and bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees (until lightly browned). I usually stuff the bird and wrap the rest in foil, seal edges tightly, and lay in the oven with the turkey.

Smoked Sausage

{ January 8, 2017 @ 6:58 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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The past several years my folks have given us homemade smoked sausage for Christmas. It is a special, unique treat that is a ‘throw back” to my childhood days when we butchered our own hogs. This year I decided to ask mother how she makes it.

Mother sews up tube “socks” from unbleached muslin cloth.  She cuts the material 10 inches wide and then doubles the material to make it 5 inches wide and 18- 24″ long.  They stuff the sausage into the tubes as tight as they can, tie the end shut with twine and coat the outside of the cloth sack with lard. Mother said she drops little balls or hunks of sausage into the tubes and daddy squeezes and stuffs it as tight as he can. She lets them hang 3-4 weeks in a cold room to cure before they are ready to eat.  I cured mine in the refrigerator.  After I opened the sack, I cut the sausage into patties and froze them in ziplock bags in the freezer. The tube below I cut into twelve patties.

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Now that my folks no longer butcher,  they go to their local grocery where they can order “bulk” seasoned sausage. Mother said she adds 3 T. liquid smoke and an additional 1-1/4 tsp. salt to five pounds of sausage. Each sack holds approximately 4 pounds.  She said if you use fresh, unseasoned sausage, add sausage seasoning of your choice.

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I bake the patties in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour and serve with fried eggs, applesauce and toast.  This sausage has its own unique flavor and was a very special treat when we were growing up.

Endive and Dandelion

{ November 8, 2016 @ 4:24 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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These two foods rank extremely high on my list of favorite foods.  I can chow down and make a whole meal of a big bowl of either one. Before you turn up your nose, let me tell you about this delicious, hearty, salad green and I will also share my recipe at the end of this post.

I grew up on both of these salad greens. As a child, we never ate cooked collard, kale, mustard or turnip greens as Mother was more of a “northern” cook! I am finding most people around here have never heard of endive and have no idea they can eat the dandelion weed. Endive salad is a “must have” standard at my (the Heatwole) families Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Dandelion:

This is an early spring delight. You gather the dandelion BEFORE it shoots a bloom or it will be bitter.  With a knife, very carefully dig up the stalk but not the root.  The hardest thing about dandelion is cleaning as it tends to be fragile and dirty.

Endive:

Endive is planted and grown from a seed just like lettuce. It forms a loose, upright head, a lot like Oakleaf lettuce.  I planted it the end of August and we have been eating on it for weeks. It regrows after it is cut and light frost does not hurt it.

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I plant Green Curled Ruffec Endive from Bfg Supply (Wetsels).

Recipe:

Chop the greens into a bowl. (Maybe 4 packed cups worth)

Add:

  • 1/4 c.  chopped onion,
  • 2 slices of crumbled, fried bacon
  • Two hard-boiled eggs chopped

Warm dressing:

Cook together:

  • 1-2 tsp. bacon grease-put in small skillet

Put in sealed container and shake together until mixed.

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 raw egg
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. apple vinegar
  • 2 T. All-Purpose flour

Pour in skillet with bacon grease and cook over medium-high heat until thickened.  This only takes a few minutes. Pour warm dressing over greens. Eat immediately.

I have found that if I have some left over, simply refrigerate. I even like it cold the next day for lunch.

Serves 4 or if at our table, 2 people!!!!

One helpful hint: I buy 3 lb. packages of thick-sliced bacon and fry it all up at once. After it cools slightly, I chop it into small pieces and freeze. I save some of the grease in another container and freeze especially when we are in endive season. It doesn’t seem as big of a job to make the salad if you don’t have to fry the bacon every night. I have found it is also really, really handy to have the bacon on hand to add to snaps, scrambled eggs, salads, etc.

So, how many of you know about the “joy” of endive or dandelion salad? Respond in the comment section. I would love to hear your story!

Stuffed Mushrooms

{ February 28, 2016 @ 5:46 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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  • 2 boxes fresh mushrooms (about 16).
  • 4 slices thick sliced bacon fried and crumbled
  • 1/3 c. onions, chopped fine
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 4 drops red pepper sauce
  • 1 T. flour
  • 1/4 c. half and half cream
  • 3 T. shredded cheddar cheese
  1. Wash mushrooms. I use a melon scoop to remove the stem and slightly hollow out the mushrooms.
  2. Using a knife (pastry blender worked great) chop the stems fine. I throw approx.. 1/4 of stems away. It is just too much to use to refill the mushrooms. Add chopped onions, salt, pepper, and red pepper sauce.  Microwave on high until mushrooms and onions are tender (2-3 mins).  Stir in flour, bacon bits and then cream until well blended, Microwave another 2-3 minutes stirring once or twice. Stir in cheese.
  3. Place the mushrooms on a paper towel on a dinner plate. Microwave 1-1/2 mins.  Fill with stuffing and microwave again 1-2 mins. Serve warm.

I do step one and two 30-45 mins before I am ready to serve them. Then 5 mins. before serving I do step 3 and it is not as big a deal to get ready to serve.

 

 

Cheesy Potato Soup

{ February 21, 2015 @ 4:28 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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If you are looking for a very good potato soup recipe for a cold, snowy day….this is a winner that I got from my friend, Miriam Haarer.

Sauté: 3 strips bacon fried and crumbled. Saute 1/3 c. chopped onions in bacon grease. (Or can just use 2 T. butter & 1/3 cup onions).

Add to sautéed mixture and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

1 T. flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Dice and cook 4 medium potatoes in 2 c. water until tender.

Add cooked potatoes (with the water) to sautéed mixture and add an additional 1-1/2 c. milk and 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese. Heat thoroughly but do not boil.

 

 

 

 

Homemade Doughnuts

{ January 29, 2015 @ 4:10 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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Gladys Harman’s doughnut recipe.

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My mother got this recipe from Gladys years and years ago and our family loved it so much that when I got married, this recipe came with me.  It is a little different as it takes the spice, Mace, which we love.  You can leave it out and you will have regular doughnuts.   This recipe will yield 12 dozen doughnuts and holes. You have to fry the holes-that is the best part!

The best time and our family tradition is to make doughnuts when it snows.  There is something about the lower air pressure, high humidity and a warm cozy house that make it prefect for soft, yummy doughnuts. And what else can you do on a snowy day that is more fun!

Mix together:

  • 6 pkgs or 6 T. dry yeast
  • 4 cups warm water
  • 1 T. sugar-taken from the cup of sugar used later in the next step of the recipe

Let set about 5 mins until it starts to get bubbly.

Add:

  • 1-1/2 cup melted margarine (3 sticks)
  • 3 tsp. salt
  • 6 tsp. mace (mace is a spice-similar to nutmeg but different)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 beaten eggs
  • 14 cups bread flour-add gradually until it forms a soft dough. (I first beat with beaters and then finish kneading by hand)

Cover dough with coating of vegetable oil and a cloth. Let rise until double in size-approximately 1 hour. Pouch down. Roll dough on counter sprinkled with flour to about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut out doughnuts and lay on cloth sprinkled with flour.

Jill rolling out doughnuts

Jill (our daughter) carrying on the family tradition, along with Obe and their friends John and Brenda Hedrick.  It snowed this week and she called me with questions about doughnuts!  I used some of her pictures but she forgot to sprinkle the cloth with flour to help keep the doughnuts from sticking.

Laying doughnuts on table

Let rise until double and deep-fat fry until golden on each side.

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Immediately lay on paper towels to absorb extra fat a few minutes and dip into glaze. Lay on wire racks  or put on a rod to drain off extra glaze.

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Glaze:

You will need to make this glaze about 3 times for this recipe.

Mix together and let set 5 mins.

  • 1/c cup cold water
  • 1 pkg unflavored gelation

Put in top of double-boiler pan (a pan set over boiling water)

  • Add a shake or two of salt and 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • Add 1 box or 1 lb. XXX sugar and beat just until mixed.

Dip warm doughnuts.

Homemade doughnuts get stale fast. Even if I want to serve them the next day I will freeze them.

My blog about Glady:  “I’ll Meet You in the Morning”.

Shoo-fly Cupcake Recipe

{ December 11, 2014 @ 10:55 pm } · { Pat's Kitchen }
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I can not take one ounce of credit for this recipe-it came from a friend, Joyce Lehman, who says she got it from Evie Hostetter.  Recipes passed from friend to friend are the best and this is an incredibly delicious cupcake and gets even better after a day or two. So sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Mix together and reserve 1 cup to sprinkle on the top

2-1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup butter, soften

1-1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. baking powder

 

Add remaining ingredients and beat well:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1-1/2 c. boiling water

1 tsp. soda

 

Fill cupcakes 1/2 full and sprinkle top with reserved mixture. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Yield: 22-24 cupcakes.

Cake: 13″x 9″ pan. Bake 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Okra

{ September 1, 2014 @ 7:21 pm } · { Gardening, Pat's Kitchen }
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There are some vegetables people love to hate and okra is one of them.  But, for those of us who love okra, it is simply divine.

 

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According to Wikipedia.org  the word okra is of Nigerian origin and is also referred to as “lady fingers or gumbo” outside of Nigeria. 

“The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins. Supporters of a South Asian origin point to the presence of its proposed parents in that region. Supporters of a West African origin point to the greater diversity of okra in that region.

The Egyptians and Moors of the 12th and 13th centuries used the Arabic word for the plant, bamya, suggesting it had come from the east. The plant may have entered southwest Asia across the Red Sea or the Bab-el-Mandeb strait to the Arabian Peninsula, rather than north across the Sahara, or from India. One of the earliest accounts is by a Spanish Moor who visited Egypt in 1216, who described the plant under cultivation by the locals who ate the tender, young pods with meal.

From Arabia, the plant spread around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and eastward. The plant was introduced to the Americas by ships plying the Atlantic slave trade by 1658, when its presence was recorded in Brazil. It was further documented in Suriname in 1686.” 

The plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world and is among the most heat and drought tolerant vegetable in the world. It will does well in heavy clay soils and intermittent moisture but frost will kill the plant. Thomas Jefferson noted it was well established in Virginia by 1781.Okra is a popular health food due to its high fiber, vitamin C, and folate content. Okra is also known for being high in antioxidants. Okra is also a good source of calcium and potassium.”  

True southerners love it!

The flowers and pods of the vegetable are very pretty.

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This is one vegetable I love and my husbands dislikes. I will fry a bowlful for myself and I do not have to share. He says he was “scarred” in childhood when his mother ruined fried potatoes by adding okra and making him eat it!!!

Fried Okra: Cut the pods into 1/4″ slices, coat it with cornmeal meal and fry it with a little oil, salt, pepper and onions until crispy and golden brown.  Add some salsa or stewed tomatoes on top when you eat them and they are mouth-watering good!

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I also like okra pickles. In fact I can actually crave these slimy things!

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You can use any dill pickle recipe but here is mine.

Stuff quart or pint jars with small whole okra.

In each quart add

2 T. salt (this is correct)

1 large tsp. mustard seed

1/4 tsp. garlic powder or clove of garlic

1 tsp. dill seed (or 1 large fresh head of dill).

Mix together the following brine, heat to boiling and fill the jars.

1 c. water

1 c. vinegar

Immediately put on “hot” lids and they will seal.

Okra freezes well. I cut into 1/4″ slices, coat it with corn meal and freeze it raw in gallon size Ziploc bags.  By adding the cornmeal it will easily break apart when you are ready to use it and you do not have to use the whole bag at once.

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