cooking Archives - Page 6 of 24

Bacon, Asparagus and Cheese Sandwiches

February 24, 2011 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty, Sandwiches and Wraps

I like funerals.

I was thinking last week that I know more people who have passed away in the past six months than I know people who’ve had a baby in the same six months. Is that a function of my age, or are a lot of people dying?

I don’t like people dying, but I do like funerals. I have never been sorry to have attended one, and I’ve always learned something inspiring. I also like all the stories and memories that surround them. I was reminded of this at the viewing for my Dad’s cousin on Monday night. You learn so many things about people and make so many connections when you attend events of this kind. As sad as they are, they’re uppers in their own strange way. They remind you what really matters in life.

When I was at my Aunt’s funeral at the end of January, I learned something about my Dad that I’d never heard before. He started telling her four sons about how, when their mother died while they were still kids, Aunt Laurie was the one who went to the kitchen and prepared some of the meals that their recently deceased Mom had made for the family. He spoke of how comforting it was to him, how it made home feel more like home, how much it meant to him and to their Dad.

Then my cousin asked, “What did she make?”

His reply: “Bacon, Asparagus and Cheese sandwiches.”

And they all smiled. They said it was her favorite food all her life, that she would make dinner for the family and then make one of these sandwiches for herself.

My sister and I looked at each other and said, “We’ve never heard that before!”

So I made some for my family and told them, “This is something that your Grandpa Sheffield ate when he was growing up.”

Ingredients:

1 lb. asparagus (I went for super thin so they would be easy for my children to bite) 1 lb. bacon shredded cheese hamburger buns I steamed the asparagus and cooked the bacon. Then I sprinkled cheese on the insides of the hamburger buns and broiled them until the cheese was bubbly.

Then I cut the bacon strips in half, placed two on the bun and put a bunch of asparagus on top. Add the top of the bun and you’re done.

And guess what? My family LOVED them. A few of them aren’t partial to the asparagus, but that’s no surprise. In general they were a big hit. Even my husband was impressed.

Who knew that a long forgotten story of comfort food could turn out to be a new favorite?

As I said, you learn some great things at funerals. And occasionally you get a new recipe.

Hopeful Homemaker

One comment cooking

Dinner in a Pumpkin

November 9, 2010 jennifer All Things Pumpkin, Main Dishes

This dish isn’t sweet, but it certainly spotlights pumpkin!

My Mom made this dinner for us when I was growing up, and I make it every fall for my own family. Traditionally, we eat it around Halloween, but it’s a lot of fun to make it during November as well.

Dinner in a Pumpkin 1 small to medium pumpkin 1 onion, chopped 1 Tb. oil 1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground beef 4 Tb. soy sauce 4 Tb. brown sugar 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained 2 cans cream of mushroom soup 1 1/2 cups cooked rice 1 ( 8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained.

Cut off top of pumpkin and thoroughly clean out seeds and pulp. Preheat oven to 350.

Note: The recipe says that the pumpkin cooks in about an hour, but my experience has been that it always takes about twice as long as that for the pumpkin meat to be tender. Therefore, when I clean out my pumpkin I lightly salt the inside, replace the lid, place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake it by itself while I prepare the meal. This gives the squash a head start on cooking.

In a large skillet, saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat and brown. Drain drippings. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts.

Remove pumpkin from oven. Spoon mixture into pumpkin and replace pumpkin top. Bake 1 hour or until inside meat of the pumpkin is tender. Remove from oven and serve. For a vegetable, scoop out pumpkin flesh and serve with salt and pepper.

I always enjoy seeing my children taste the pumpkin meat. Several of them are usually wary of it, but I scoop them all a small spoonful of it, and almost invariably they request more. It’s a fun way to help them try new things.

Enjoy! And thanks, Mom, for making this all those years ago, and for passing it on.
Jennifer

One comment cooking, pumpkin

Veggie Quesadillas

November 4, 2010 jennifer Snacks and Appetizers

Every once in a while I pause and make these quesadillas as a snack, side dish, or for lunch. Each time I do, I wonder why I don’t think to make them more often.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
4 flour tortillas, 8 or 10 inches in diameter
1 cup monterey jack cheese

Instructions:

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add pepper, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until onions begin to brown and veggies are crisp-tender. (You can also add fresh mushrooms to the pan if you like them.) Add spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes or until spinach is just beginning to wilt.

Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray. Place one tortilla in pan. Spread half of the veggie mixture onto the tortilla, then sprinkle with half of the cheese. Place a second tortilla on top. Cook on each side until tortilla is golden brown. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Cut into wedges, and serve with salsa. Makes 4 appetizer servings.

I should note that these are thick, filling quesadillas. They’re also very tasty! Enjoy.

Hopeful Homemaker