English Pea Salad and Early Easter

A wonderful Good Friday to everyone today.  I hope this day and Easter weekend finds you full of Blessings.

As our girls are out of town this week, we celebrated Easter early and had our traditional dinner last weekend together.  I actually started celebrating about a month ago.  As soon as February was over, I began the Spring table decorating.   I love the thought of Spring and bringing in something old (a family decoration) and purchasing something new for the table to mix the two.

This year I decided we needed new Spring placemats and napkins (on sale of course).  I mixed them with the turquoise chargers I purchased for our Thanksgiving table and brought out my favorite bunny plates.  When I was expecting our girls 17 years ago, I took a ceramic painting class and made two of these bunny plates...where has the time gone?  I made one for each girl, so they could carry on the family special plates and have their own heirloom.

Our finished table with other heirlooms included candy dishes from my mother-in-law and feathered wreath as a centerpiece along with bunny and duck taper candle holders from my mom.

We use to hide these plastic eggs for the girls during their morning Easter egg hunt when they were toddlers. Now they fill my new hurricanes on the dining table...such special memories of those Easter mornings.

Our dinner also included some old and new recipes.  I made my stand by Corn Souffle along with the favorite Sweet Dreams Jello and Pretzel salad.  I also tried a new side dish...English Pea Salad.  It went together so quickly and had incredible flavor for something so simple.

English Pea Salad

1 (20 or 24 ounce) package frozen baby peas
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Best Foods Olive Oil Mayonnaise
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. Lawry's Season Salt

Thaw bag of peas in refrigerator.

In a medium bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sugar, ground mustard and salt.  Add peas, celery, eggs, green onions and cheese.  Stir well to incorporate.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

One Year Ago: Pear Salad
Two Years Ago: Spaghetti Squash

May you have a Happy and Blessed Easter!

American Chop Suey and Traditions

Any family can attest that 16 hours on a road trip can be trying and exhausting.  We broke up our drive in 2 days, both ways to help our trek to and from Oregon, via Wyoming, Utah and Idaho.  There was beautiful scenery, but for teenagers there are only so many trees, mountains and lakes sometimes.

Every traveling family car must be loaded with two things:  Snacks and Games!!  I taught my girls how to play Blackjack a few years ago...any good parent should!  It teaches them fast math and how to think quickly on their feet (or while sitting in the backseat, in this case).  

A hot "Backseat Blackjack" tournament going through Wyoming.
High Stakes:  Starburst

In preparation for our visit with my Grandma, I also taught the girls how to play Gin Rummy.  My grandma taught me the card game when I was little and I have great memories of that tradition with her.  I figured the girls better be prepared to play her...at 88 years old, she's really good!!

Playing Gin Rummy while making breakfast,
gives new meaning to "Hunger Games".

When I was growing up in the 70's, budgets were tight and meal planning needed to go far.  Another tradition I fondly remember, was my mom had a specialty dinner she called "Slumgullion", not sure on the spelling, but you get the picture.  It was simple...cooked elbow macaroni, tomato sauce and ground beef.  She cooked up a huge pot, it filled our stomachs and made great leftovers.  We always had it with a green salad and stack of white bread on a small plate.

As I was addicted to my Wahlburgers television series last year (and when I say addicted, I mean addicted), I ended up watching an episode that featured Alma's famous "American Chop Suey", a long standing family tradition.  This essentially was a tricked out version of my mom's Slumgullion...who knew a 70's dinner would be a famous restaurant favorite today!!

American Chop Suey
Courtesy of Alma Wahlberg

1 lb. bacon, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 large bell pepper (optional), diced
3 cans (regular sized) whole tomatoes
1 lb. elbow macaroni noodles
salt 
pepper
1 Tbl. garlic powder

In a large pot cook the bacon until half-way cooked.  Add the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook stirring occasionally until meat is thoroughly cooked. Next, add in the canned tomatoes and crush them with potato smasher in the pot.  Let simmer on low while macaroni cooks.

Boil macaroni according to package directions.  Once macaroni has cooked, drain it well, add it to the meat mixture and stir.

**Paired this with a blue cheese wedge salad and garlic cheese toast points.
(Also a tricked out version of my mom's dinner salad and bread).

Rouladen and Relatives

So, we have these special little greeters at our front door...Santa Clause that used to sing and dance and get his groove on at our entrance and two little ice skating children.  Now, please understand that when I found the ice skaters, the girls were about their size, and they thought then that the dolls were adorable.  In these times when I put them out this year, I believe the phrase I heard was, "those creepy little ice skating dolls".  I think they have been watching too many SciFi Channel movies.  Yet, when I said, "Okay, I will throw them away"....the response was, "NOOOO", don't throw them way!!".   I rest my case.  Tradition always wins!!

Santa and his little friends.

Well, our greeters happily welcomed our niece Heather and her husband Matt this weekend.  They live three minutes from us down the street and are the most adorable couple.  When we moved here a little over a year ago, they were our angels.  Met with realtors, scoped out houses for us and had the most beautiful house warming basket ready for us on our move-in day (complete with toilet paper, now that is true friendship).

Heather and our youngest at the Sun River Family Reunion 13 years ago - so precious!

Heather and Matt (photo bombed by Theo)

Heather and I discussed our family holiday dinner and she had the most incredible idea for a traditional German dinner.

If you’re German, you’ve probably heard of rouladen, a very traditional dish in German cooking. If you haven’t, rouladen (roo-la-din) is a pickle wrapped in a thin piece of steak and then wrapped in bacon. Sounds strange, but it is delicious!  Tonight though, we opted out of the bacon.

This family recipe is slightly different, and slightly easier to make than what you might find elsewhere. Rouladen is something a little different if you’re looking to make a traditional meal from another country.

Traditionally, rouladen is served with spätzle or dumplings and red cabbage. Spätzle is a type of homemade dumpling in Germany which my kids absolutely love, but you can just use regular store bought egg noodles or dumplings as a substitute.  I also served it with a side of sour cream and it made the sauce so creamy along with the dish.

Rouladen
Courtesy of Heather

1 (1 1/2-pound) piece of flatiron or sirloin steak, butterflied open (by you or your butcher), cut into 4   equal pieces and pounded 1/4-inch thin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons country-style or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter

1 large carrot, thinly shaved slices

2 dill picles, thinklly shaved slices

1 carton of beef broth/stock

3 juniper berries
4 slices of bacon, cut in half horizontally (optional)

1 large carrot, rough chopped
1 celery stalk,rough chopped

1 large yellow onions diced large pieces

Special equipment: toothpicks

Slice the beef about 1/4 inch thick across the large surface. This can be done with a slicing machine or by the butcher, or by hand with a very sharp knife. This works best when the meat is partially frozen. Lay beef out flat.

Spread each slice with mustard, fill one end with 1 - 2 carrot shavings and 2 slices of pickle. Roll up from the filled end (like a jelly roll) and secure with 2 toothpicks. (This is where you would wrap it in the half slice of bacon if you are so inclined).

Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven and brown the outside of the roulade in it.  Meanwhile, dice the carrot, onion and celery.

Remove the roulades to a plate, add the "Suppengrün" or mirepoix and sauté for a few minutes, until soft. Place the beef rolls back on top of the vegetables, add enough of the beef broth, to make about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pan.  Add the juniper berries.  Cover, turn temperature low and simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove beef roulades and keep warm. Puree sauce and thicken (optional) with a little cream, sour cream or "Wondra" (like Sossenbinder") flour. Season to taste with more salt and pepper as needed. Place roulades back in sauce until serving time.

Tamale Casserole

"A rite of passage" a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life.  Yep, that is exactly what has happened this year to our girls.

After 14 years of tirelessly looking for the perfect costume, dressing up, trick-or-treating, it is finally over.    They are now in high school and it has all disappeared, just like that.  As the past few years have gone by, their costumes have become much more simple, yet home made and really putting their creative minds at work and the groups of teens have dwindled down for the race to each house in search of the best candy.

The first years.....

This year, we still carved the best ever pumpkins, decorated the inside and outside of the house, and purchased candy for the little children.  This year is different though...for the first time, there will not be any dressing up or racing to houses.  Instead my young adults have decided they want to be the ones to hand out candy to the cute up and coming trick-or-treaters.

....I really miss these days.

I don't know who is more sad and disappointed, me or them.  I used to have fun dressing up with them whenever I could.  I even had the same 50's poodle skirt ensemble as they did, complete with a bleach blonde beehive wig - it was the best!!

Last year's final costume appearance.

So there you have it, we are one step closer to seeing our kids, not be kids anymore and yet we have so much to look forward to as we watch them grow into the adults that they will soon become.

Another Halloween tradition that has followed us, since the day I met my husband is Tamale Casserole.  It comes from the family cookbook and we have either made it (or been served it) every year for the past 20 Halloweens. This is not the usual casserole that you would expect to see, it's like a homemade chili on steroids (as my husband so creatively describes it). It's a crock pot creation that is perfect to come home to on a cold fall night after trick-or-treating.

Tamale Casserole
Courtesy of JoAnne and Dick

(3) extra large or (6) regular size tamales (beef or pork), cut into large chunks
(2) cans Hormel chili (without beans)
(1) large can sliced black olives, drained
(1) 15 ounce can corn, drained
2/3 pound cheddar cheese, grated
(1) 15 ounce can tomato sauce

Mix together all ingredients.  Heat in a slow cooker on low heat setting for 8 hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Taco Tuesdays

I know the title of this post reads "Taco Tuesdays", and yet today is Wednesday.  As hard as I tried yesterday, I just couldn't get the post finished when it should have.  You see, Tuesdays are by far my least favorite day of the week.  I know everyone else seems to dread Mondays, but for me it is without a doubt...Tuesdays that I really don't look forward to.

Everything goes wrong and chaotic on Tuesdays. Wake up late, girls wake up cranky, get to school late, cold weather makes an expanded crack all the way through my windshield.  Of course the crack conveniently goes right through my line of sight, so it's bad enough that I am already wearing transitional bi-focals, but now my windshield has it's own bi-focal line now?  Tuesdays are not my favorite!!

The only good thing that came out of this Tuesday was that the girls made these precious Halloween cupcakes, to keep our house in the spirit of the season....because there just isn't enough orange and black all over the place.

Chocolate makes everything better...even Tuesdays.

The best part of all was my husband's annual pumpkin carving event.  Every year the girls pick out their custom designs that they want carved.  As they have gotten older, they tape them up on the pumpkins, do the tooled punching of the design, then the best part comes...Mr. Makita.  Thank goodness my husband has a garage full of custom tools for this one day of the year.  He has really mastered the art of his Makita drill bits and carving of the pumpkins.

The younger's scary creation.

Every year he says, this is the last year he will do this.  Thankfully 360 days later, he has forgotten that and the girls talk him into doing it all over again.  This year though, was his masterpiece.  The oldest girl is on a Monsters Inc movie kick right now and found a Mike Wazowski template for her carving.  Are you kidding me??  I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack.  I was so proud of him though, he stepped it up and nailed the design.

Meet Mr. Wazowski

I have gotten into the routine of making some kind of Mexican food (primarily tacos) on Tuesdays.  It stems from a place in Miltona, Minnesota called "Club Miltona" that we used to visit for a few summers with our dear friends.  "Taco Tuesday" was their big draw for the week and the place was packed.  Darling, small town USA place that we will never forget...and the phrase and meal just stuck with us after all these years.

However, this recipe comes from my sister-in-law's very good friend.  These tacos are not your ordinary ingredients, but they are awesome together!!

Sandy's Tacos

Meat Mixture
(2) pounds ground beef or ground turkey
Lawry's Taco Seasoning Mix
1/2 white onion, diced

Tortillas
flour tortillas
finely grated parmesean cheese
canola oil

Dressing
4 tbl. balsamic vinegar
4 tbl. olive oil
salt
pepper
1 tbl. dijon mustard

Brown the onions and meat together until full cooked through.  Add the taco seasoning mix, according to directions and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Heat the canola oil at medium-high and fry the tortillas on both sides until lightly brown, but are still pliable.
Lightly sprinkle some of the parmesean cheese on top and either fold like a taco shell or let sit if you are going the tostada route.

Mix the dressing ingredients and let sit while you assemble with the following recommended condiments:  cilantro, diced red onion, chopped tomatoes, shredded mexican blend cheese, shredded lettuce, 2 ears of corn (cooked and shaved from husk), 3 chopped jalapenos, avocado and sour cream.

Once you have assembled your taco, drizzle with the dressing.

Sunday Night Pot Roast

Every family has their own Sunday night dinner tradition.  My friend Carole always makes pasta for her family.  When my husband was growing up, his mom always made a roasted chicken (or 2) to feed her large crowd.

My mom faithfully made her wonderful pot roast, potatoes, carrots and homemade gravy with Bisquick drop biscuits.  Sunday night family dinners were always a big deal.  This is when the new boyfriend would come to meet the family for the first time and have dinner...or it would be time for a family discussion meeting....or last minute homework would be completed at the dinner table when all the dishes were cleared.

Me and my mom many years ago.

To this day, I cannot nail down my mom's pot roast.  She would flash sear it in her G.E. electric skillet (which by the way she still has to this day), and weighs more than a small child.  Then, let it simmer for hours, which made the house smell so special and inviting.  She diligently peeled the carrots and potatoes and put them in at just the right time.  When that was all done, then came the gravy.  My mom makes the most amazing gravy...and I haven't been able to duplicate that either.  It has to be the special magic in her electric skillet.

Well fast forward to present day, my family and our traditions.  We still like to do the Sunday night pot roast every now and again.  Since I never got my mom's down, my friend Annie gave me one of her recipes from Kansas.

If you have ever been to Disneyland's Carnation Cafe, I am here to tell you the pot roast on their menu is Annie's.  This pot roast literally melts in your mouth and you can cut it with a spoon.  I love, love, love this recipe, and the best part is it couldn't be easier to make, as it simmers in it's own luscious gravy.

When you mix the ingredients together, you think that this cannot be right.  Trust it though...8 hours later your home will have the same special and inviting smell as my home growing up.  Here's the thing though, I don't recommend putting any vegetables in the crock pot - keep it for the meat only and cook the potatoes and carrots separately.

Sunday Night Pot Roast
Courtesy of Annie

(2) Packages of Brown Gravy Mix
(2) Packages of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix
(2) Packages of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
1 Cup of Water
3-5 Pound Boneless Chuck Roast

Whisk all the packages of mixes into 1 cup of water.  Put roast into a crock pot and set heat to low.  Pour gravy mixture over the roast.  Cover and and enjoy Sunday night pot roast dinner in 8 hours.  The longer you let it simmer in that amazing gravy, the better.

Tonight, we enjoyed Rascal Pinot Noir from Oregon - great pairing!!