I woke up and thought about breakfast. That's what food addicts do--we think about food first thing and last thing (I was reading a recipe book before bed, too). Wanting something out of the ordinary, but still along the line of ordinary, I thought about an oven pancake. I was thinking Pannekoeken, and I thought about a recipe called Flying Flapjacks that I've had in my binder for several years now. However, it never turns out! Why I thought this morning would be any different, I don't know; I guess I was feeling optimistic. As you can guess, it didn't turn out. It burned, and it wasn't cooked through, and I honestly didn't even sample it. The dogs enjoyed it. I gave up and ate some fresh fruit and some of last night's beer bread.
As dinner time approached (for those of you who are not from SD, dinner is the noon meal), I knew I could do better and went with an old faithful of pork loin and Very Yummy Rice. Today's inspiration turned into a fall themed meal day as I spent the afternoon making apple bars and a tiramisu cheese cake I saw in my latest issue of Taste of Home magazine.
Pork loin is a great way to stock up on a choicer cut of meat for a reasonable price, especially for a small family. Typically it's just my husband and I for all our meals. Large pork loins will often go on sale at the grocery store for $3/lb, give or take. I pick them up for under $20 and that will make probably 6-10 meals for us. I slice the loin into individual pork chops and larger 1 lb mini-loins. I throw them in freezer safe bags and label with the date, and into the freezer they go!
Here's how I do my mini-loins. I should say, I'm not a huge pork fan. So this pork loin has a beef twist which I think makes it better. You can do this with a fresh hunk of pork or a frozen chunk, as well as beef roast. I simple place the meat in a glass baking dish, usually my 8x8 Pyrex, and sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of onion soup mix in, and about a teaspoon or two of beef bouillon (1-2 cube crumbled), a sprinkle of black pepper, and I grab some fresh garlic and smear about a cloves' worth over the meat. You won't need much salt, if any, because the soup mix and bouillon are both loaded with salt. I also like a sprinkle of dried thyme and rosemary for a little extra punch. Pour in about a cup of water, more or less to taste and depending on how much gravy you might want, and how long the meat will be in the oven (some water will evaporate as it cooks). I put it in the oven, preheated or not, to 375 degrees, and bake at least an hour, preferably 1 1/2-2 hrs to get the meat nice and tender. I like to make sure my meat hits an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees, especially if it started out frozen. You can easily do this same process in a crock pot.
I like gravy, and this combo makes the best gravy!!! In a medium sized frying pan, melt 2 T. butter and whisk in 2 T. flour. To make a bigger batch, you can increase the amounts of butter and flour at a 1:1 ratio. Let the butter and flour bubble up a bit. This will help cook out the pasty flour taste This is called making a roux. There's your fancy French vocab word of the day! (Thanks Grandpa Schoen for showing me how to make a roux with your creamed cauliflower. My gravy has been has never been the same--in a good way!) Slowly add your liquid to the bubbly roux, stirring constantly, until desired thickness. Yum! I smother this gravy on everything that happens upon my plate!
Here's the recipe for Very Yummy Rice. I think of this dish as purely Midwestern with its meaty, cheesy flavor and it's pretty affordable to make. It's versatile, as well. You can easily half the recipe for 2-4, or leave it as is for a larger family or potluck. You can use brown rice or a mixture with some wild rice, just cook longer. To quickly toast almonds, simply warm a frying pan and toss almonds around in pan until lightly golden brown. Remove from pan to cool until needed.
Very Yummy Rice
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups regular long grain white rice
2 cans beef consomme
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cans mushrooms, undrained
1 cup toasted, slivered almonds
Saute onion in butter. Add uncooked rice and simmer 5 minutes. Pour mixture into greased 2 qt casserole. Add consumme, mushrooms with liquid, and cheese. Give it a stir and bake at 325 for about 1 hour. I cover mine for first half the cooking time to ensure the rice cooks through. Remove from oven and stir in toasted almonds.
And for dessert, my favorite part of any day, Apple Bars. This recipe comes from a friend, Susan, who is a fabulous cook. She passed this along to me one day while we were baking apple pies at her house. (That's a story, and a couple recipes, for a different day). She got this recipe from her mother-in-law.
Apple Bars
Mix as for pie crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 T. sugar
1 cup shortening
Add: 1 egg yolk, beaten (save the white for later!) with enough milk to equal 2/3 cup. Roll out 1/2 of dough to fit 11x13 pan (Susan uses 13x18 pan, which gives you a thinner crust).
Slice enough apples to fill pan: 4-6 cups for 11x13 pan and 10-12 cups for 13x18 pan. Place on crust. Sprinkle with:
Smaller pan: 1 cup sugar, 3 T. flour, sprinkle of cinnamon and dot with 1 T. butter
Larger pan: 2 cup sugar, 6 T. flour, sprinkle of cinnamon and dot with 2 T. butter.
Roll out second half of dough and place over top. Turn edges under and seal edges. Beat egg white until frothy and brush over crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Poke holes for venting and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Drizzle with powdered sugar glaze while still warm.
Powdered Sugar Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. milk or water
1/4 tsp. flavor (vanilla or almond or both)
1 tsp. butter melted
Mix all until smooth and drizzle over top of bars, breads, muffins, cookies...
Uffda. Busy day, but nice to have a good Sunday dinner. Tonight for supper... leftover Hamburger Wild Rice soup and beer bread!
