Meat Dishes

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

4-6 chicken pieces
1/4 c. olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced into strips
1/4 c. white vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
1 (15-oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 mushrooms, sliced, or 1 small can mushrooms
1/2 tsp. allspice
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion in the olive oil until tender. Add vinegar and let it boil just a minute, then lower the heat and add garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, and seasonings. Add chicken, cover and simmer about 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice or pasta.


CHICKEN COUNTRY CAPTAIN

6 or so pieces chicken
2 T. oil or bacon fat
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3/4 c. chopped celery
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cloves minced garlic
1 c. orange juice
2 T. curry powder (less if your kids don't like too spicy)
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 c. raisins
peanuts

Saute fresh vegetables in oil until tender. Add tomatoes, seasonings and orange juice, bring to a simmer. Add chicken pieces, cover and cook 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Stir in raisins. Serve over rice and top with peanuts.


CHICKEN DIVAN

1 lb. broccoli
1 lb. chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. mayonnaise
1 ½ T. lemon juice
2-3 tsp. curry powder
Cooked rice

Cook broccoli; also cook chicken, and cut into chunks. In a small bowl, combine soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder. Spread rice in bottom of casserole, cover with broccoli and chicken, and spread divan ‘sauce’ over all. Bake at 350º until bubbly and hot through.


CHICKEN-RICE BAKE

1 can green beans, drained (or 1 c. frozen green beans)
2 T. dried chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped (optional)
2 c. water
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 mushrooms, sliced (or 1 small can mushrooms)
1 ¼ c. uncooked rice
4-6 chicken pieces
paprika or Adobo seasoned salt, to taste

Heat oven to 375º. Combine all but chicken in 9x13 pan; arrange chicken on top, sprinkle with seasonings. Cover with foil and bake for at least one hour, check that the rice in the very center of the pan is plump and tender.

You may also substitute pork chops for the chicken.


GERMAN CROCK POT

½ head cabbage, shredded
1 tart apple, cored and sliced thin
1 onion, cut into rings
2 potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thin
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ c. white vinegar
1 lb. kielbasa

Layer in a large crock pot, beginning with cabbage and ending with sausage. Bake on high for 3 hours or so.


GOODWIN GOULASH

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped finely
1 lb. frozen peas
½ lb. dry lentils
1 c. rice, uncooked
2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce
¼ - ½ tsp. garlic powder
5 cups water

Cook hamburger with onions on the stove, drain fat; combine with all the other ingredients in a rice cooker and let the cycle run. We usually serve with ketchup.


MEATLOAF WITH TOMATO RELISH

Tomato Relish:
Olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meatloaf:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 bacon slices

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a skillet with oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes. Add the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften, then add the tomatoes. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish. Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.

Combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise. Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to ensure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.


PASTA PRIMAVERA

1 lb. frozen Italian-mix vegetables
½ lb. rotini
3 T. olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. water
1 tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. pepper
½ lb. ham, diced
toasted almonds
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta. Meanwhile, stir-fry ham and vegetables in oil 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, vinegar, and seasonings, cook an additional minute or two until vegetables are tender. Serve topped with almonds and Parmesan.


SHEPHERD’S PIE

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped finely (optional)
1 can tomato soup
1 can green beans
6 servings instant mashed potatoes, prepared
shredded cheese to taste

Cook hamburger and onions in large skillet, drain grease; add canned soup and beans and stir over low heat until well-incorporated. Spread potatoes in the bottom and up the sides of a casserole dish, fill with the meat mixture and top with cheese. You can bake at 350º for up to half an hour, or just lightly broil to melt the cheese to save time since the other ingredients are all safely cooked and warmed through already.


SLOPPY JOE FILLING

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. prepared mustard

Cook hamburger and onion, drain grease; add remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes or until reduced enough to serve in buns.


TERIYAKI CHICKEN

⅓ c. each sugar, soy sauce, and water
about 6 chicken pieces or a whole chicken, cut up

Combine sugar, soy sauce, and water in a large skillet, and heat until sugar is dissolved. Add chicken, cover, and cook for roughly 20 minutes. Chicken should be tender and sauce should be reduced but not sticky. Serve with rice.


YORKSHIRE PUDDING

4 eggs
2 c. milk
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. ground sausage

Cook sausage, but do not drain. Heat oven to 450º. In a bowl or blender, combine eggs, milk, flour, and salt until well-mixed and almost frothy. Use a tablespoon or so of the sausage drippings to grease a 9x13 pan, pour batter in, and bake for 25 minutes.

While pudding is baking, add 2-3 T. flour to the sausage and remaining drippings, and cook, stirring, until bubbly. Add 2 c. milk and stir, cooking until this mixture is also uniform and bubbly. Serve the sausage gravy over the pudding.