Country Fried Swiss Steak

6 (4-oz) minute/Swiss steaks (1 1/2 pounds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 sleeve wheat saltine crackers
vegetable oil

• Crush saltine crackers.  (I use the Pampered Chef food chopper to do this.)
• Sprinkle steaks with seasoning of choice (I use a Cajun seasoning and Paula Deen's House Seasoning).
• Pour enough vegetable oil in bottom of skillet to just cover the bottom (about 1/4 inch deep) and set heat to medium-high.
• Dredge steaks in flour, dip in egg, dredge in crushed crackers.
• Cook steaks in skillet 3-4 minutes on each side until breading is golden - turning twice.
• Transfer steaks to a wire in a jelly-roll pan and keep warm in oven while making your gravy.
• Serve by topping with a cream gravy.

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monteray Jack or Mexican Blend cheese
6-8 flour tortillas
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green onion, chopped

I used a couple of frozen chicken breasts to make this dish.  Simply browned them in a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of bacon grease.

Then, I used the Pampered Chef Salad Choppers to cut the hot chicken breasts into chunks.  It made fast work of the chopping, speeded up my prep time, and prevented my fingers from burning!

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder together in a medium bowl.

• In a large bowl, mix chicken, 1 cup of soup mixture, and cheese together to make filling.

• Divide chicken mixture among tortillas, roll one-by-one, and place seam-side down in a 13x9 baking dish.
• Pour remaining soup mixture over filled tortillas.
• Cover baking dish.
• Bake 40 minutes or till enchiladas are hot and bubbling.  (I baked for about 30 minutes covered and uncovered for the last 8-10 minutes to reach a rich golden brown.
• Top with tomato and onion and serve with Mexican or Spanish rice and pico de gallo.

Company Club Braid

This is one of those recipes that is quick, easy, and looks fabulous.  Pictured here I have laid it out as a rectangle but I have also separated the crescent rolls into triangles and laid them around the bread stone in a circular shape and it comes out looking like a wreath.  Either way, it looks elegant and it is super easy!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 cup mayo
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, snipped
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
4 slices crisply cooked and chopped bacon
1 cup (4-oz) Swiss cheese
2 pkg. crescent rolls
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium-sized sliced red bell pepper
2 cups shredded lettuce

Preparation Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Brown ground beef, onions, and peppers.

• Combine mayo and mustard and add parsley.
• Fold in ground beef.
• Arrange crescent rolls on cookie sheet in a rectangle, mashing edges together.

• Snip outside edges of dough into 1" strips.
• Scoop beef mixture onto center of dough.

• Top with tomatoes and cheese.  (Usually I use grated cheese but this time I had a variety of mild, sharp, and white cheddars in slices on hand.)

• Braid strips over the top.

• Bake 20-25 minutes.
• Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and serve on a leaf of lettuce.

* This is also wonderful using chicken or sausage instead of ground beef.  I have been known to forget to include tomatoes inside and simply placed them decoratively on top and it turned out fine as well.

Sauerkraut and Weiners

4-6 slices smoked, fatty, bacon
1 small onion
1/2 quart sauerkraut
1 cube chicken bullion or 1/2 can chicken broth
2 bottles beer
4 jumbo hot dogs or bratwurst wieners

• Chop bacon and place in a large saucepan over medium heat to fry, stirring occasionally until bacon browns.
• While bacon is cooking, chop or slice onion and add to almost-browned bacon, stirring till onions are soft and translucent.
• Cut wieners into bite-sized pieces and add to bacon/onion mixture to lightly saute.

• Rinse and drain sauerkraut (to cut back on the salt and brine flavor) in a colander before adding to bacon/onion/wiener mixture to heat through.
• Pour in one can of beer, sprinkle with black pepper to taste and bring to a boil.  Then, lower heat and simmer 30-45 minutes or until kraut is tender and most of liquid has evaporated.  (If liquid reduces too much, add more chicken broth.)
• Taste to see if there is too much 'whang' to the kraut.  If so, add a tablespoon of brown sugar.

Serve with mashed potatoes. 

*You may be wondering why the recipe calls for two cans of beer.  The other one is for you to drink while this is cooking to help dull the smell of the kraut!

Let me just say that this is NOT one of my favorite concoctions!  I prepared it for my sweet husband because I love him so much and he has requested it several times.  My nieces prepared and canned the kraut that I used in my dish and advised me on how to make the dish.  (Of course, I had to add my own little flourish!)  Megan said that she likes to eat the kraut on a sandwich prepared like a grilled cheese.  (I'm sure it is something like a Reuben without the corned beef from her description.)  I did enjoy the mashed potatoes - with some left-over roast beef! 

For an additional little story about Kraut and Wieners, click HERE.

Eggplant Parmesan

2-3 eggplant
2 eggs
3 1/2 - 4 cups Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix or Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 1/2 cans or quart jar of spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 (16-ounce) packages mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 1 teaspoon fresh, chopped
1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
garlic, salt, and pepper

• Peel and thinly slice eggplant.

• In a shallow bowl, beat eggs and add a splash of milk
• Dip eggplant slices in egg mix,

• Then dip in crumbs (stuffing or bread). 

• Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. 

• (I cover my baking sheets with foil and give them a light spritzing spray with vegetable oil and this makes for an easier cleanup process.)  I set this up to be sort of an assembly line process like this:

• Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 5 minutes per side, flipping the eggplant with a spatula half-way through.
• In a 2 quart casserole baking dish, spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. 

• Place a layer of baked eggplant slices in the sauce.

• Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  (I usually sprinkle with garlic, salt, and pepper at this stage, too.)  Repeat layers, ending with cheese.
• Sprinkle basil, oregano, and parsley on top.
• Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Bread Sticks

1 pkg yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup oil
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup dry Parmesan cheese

• Dissolve the yeast in the water.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and brown sugar.
• Add the yeast and water and the oil.
• Stir till combined and then knead till soft and pliable.
• Flour the bowl return the dough to it, and cover with a towel to let rise for an hour.
• Butter a large cookie sheet/baking pan (one with sides is best).
• Roll the dough out so that it fills the pan.
• Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half lengthwise once and crosswise about 11 times - this will make about 24 sticks.
• Cover the dough with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes to one hour.
• Bake the breadsticks in a 375 degree F oven for about 12 minutes.
• Combine the melted butter and garlic and pour or brush it over the hot bread.
• Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese

I adapted this recipe from one Sarah over at Clover Lane posted HERE.  They are fabulous and extra wonderful dipped in marinara sauce - even the cheapo, generic, grocery store kind!

Mike and I also enjoyed them on the night I made Eggplant Parmesan.  You can find that recipe HERE.

You could also omit the garlic and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle the breadsticks with some cinnamon-sugar mixture for a sweet treat!

Peach Fried Pie Filling

1 gallon peach peelings
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons vinegar

• Place peelings into food processor and puree till they are about the consistency of runny applesauce.
• Put puree into pot and cook until tender.
• Add other ingredients and bring to a low boil over medium heat.
• Cook until the mixture is thickened and about the consistency of a thick applesauce.
• Freeze (or put into jars) and use for fried pies.

This recipe was offered by my Mama.  She learned this one from a customer at Pratt's Peach Orchard.  The mix is really beautiful and tasty.  Plus, it is using a by-product that you would normally toss in the compost heap!  Daddy says this is like using all of the pig except the squeal!