Stuffing

Now that it is November, my thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving. The single best item from Mom's Thanksgiving is her stuffing. I know someone who is happy just to eat a plate of stuffing all on its own. The batch of stuffing that I made for this post disappeared so quickly that I never got a second serving.

Thanksgiving is a holiday when the food takes center stage. I remember not eating all day on Thanksgiving in anticipation of the feast. The smells of the turkey, stuffing, pies, and other goodies cooking all day made me so hungry, but I would resist the temptation to eat knowing that the dinner would be delicious.

On Thanksgiving morning, the stuffing was the first thing that Mom made so that it could be stuffed into the turkey. Whoever was around would get recruited to help tear up the bread after it was toasted. Mom would toast the bread on cookie sheets in the oven. Each time a pan would come out, we would happily tear the bread into pieces. When there wasn't bread to tear, Mom would put us to work peeling apples for the pie (a post for another day). Mom used a large stock pot to mix up the stuffing because that was the largest container available and it is helpful to have a large container. Mom always managed to get all the stuffing into the bird. I often make a smaller bird, so I end up cooking some of the stuffing separately in a baking dish. Despite the name "stuffing," this recipe easily cooks up in a dish without being stuffed into a bird.

This stuffing recipe is always the best stuffing to me. I have tasted other stuffing recipes, but this one tastes the best to me. Maybe it is because it is the stuffing that I grew up with or maybe the flavors are just right, but to me nothing compares.

Old Fashioned Sage and Celery Stuffing

• 1 bunch of celery, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup margarine
• 3 bullion cubes
• 1 1/2 loaves of bread
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp pepper

Saute the celery and onion in margarine and bullion, until tender. Meanwhile, toast the bread and tear it into small cubes. Add the salt, sage, poultry seasoning and pepper. Add the celery and onion to the bread mixture. Stir to evenly combine and add just enough water to moisten (about 1/2 to 1 cup).

The stuffing can be cooked in the cavity of a turkey. Or, place the stuffing in a baking dish and cook on 375 for 30 minutes.

Taco Dinner

Laura recalls that her first dinner at the Buckley household was taco dinner. What an introduction to the Buckley family! I suppose it could have been worse. In any case, Laura learned of the need to fend for yourself if you wanted the "good" taco toppings, or, for that matter, anything in our household.

When we were kids, Mom always made tacos the same way--ground beef, hard taco shells, and a buffet of toppings. Mom would use a standard taco seasoning packet that you can find at just about any grocery store.  I have recently started using Trader Joe's taco seasoning, and it seems to be the best. Mom did have a secret seasoning--Worcestershire sauce--that she added to the meat with the taco seasoning. Worcestershire sauce has always been a mystery to me. I do not understand its contents, but it always makes dishes tastier.

Mom always used hard taco shells and I usually end up unintentionally breaking the shells and needing a fork to eat the fallout. But there is something satisfying about the crunch of a taco. As for toppings, there was always chopped iceberg lettuce, chopped fresh tomato, cheese and sour cream. The cheese would often be just sliced American cheese, cut up to be like shredded cheese. I don't remember any other toppings as part of the dinner, but I could be wrong.

Taco Dinner

• 1 package hard taco shells
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• iceberg lettuce
• tomato
• shredded cheese
• sour cream

Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Add the taco seasoning and Worcestershire sauce and turn heat to low. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings by chopping the lettuce and tomato. Arrange the ingredients as a buffet for taco assembly. Enjoy!

French Toast

Megan recently reminded us of Mom's french toast. Breakfast was often an on-your-own meal, but sometimes Mom would make french toast. Mom would especially make french toast for Noah. Mom recently said that it was her attempt to diversify Noah's diet, which primarily consisted of mac & cheese and M&Ms. I doubt french toast actually adds much diversity to such a diet. But french toast sure tastes good.

French toast is made from simple ingredients that are probably sitting around your house--bread, eggs, milk, a little sugar. Other ingredients could be used to fancy up the french toast. MDS and I recently had french toast at Mexique in Chicago, which used a tequila and orange mix to make french toast. Next time I make french toast, I think I may try to recreate that tasty blend. For this french toast, I stuck to the basics.

French Toast

• 6 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• maple syrup

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat on medium heat. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and add the milk and sugar. Dredge each piece of bread through the egg mixture and coat each side of the bread. Place the bread on the skillet. Cook each side of the bread until brown, about 5 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!

Sausage & Peppers

Mom always cooked Italian sausage with peppers and nothing else. Then, the cooked sausage and peppers would be served in good French bread. You don't need anything else for this easy and delicious dish.

Mom always used sweet sausage. You can get the Italian sausage anywhere, but my favorite place to get the sausage is Paulina Meat Market. Also, Mom always used green bell peppers, but I suppose any bell pepper would do.

The sausage and peppers can be served without the bread. Occasionally, I add Marsala wine after the sausage is brown and reduce the wine. Sometimes, I will add onions when I add in the peppers. But Mom's version is always just sausage and peppers and always tasty.

Sausage & Peppers

• 5 Italian Sausages
• 3 large bell peppers
• Bread to make sandwiches

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place on stove top on medium heat. Place sausages in the pan and brown each side, about five minutes per side.

While the sausage is browning, wash and slice the peppers in to thin strips about one to two inches long. After the sausage is browned, add the peppers. You may need to add a little water at this point. Cover the skillet and allow to cook until the sausages a cooked through and the peppers are tender, about ten minutes or so. Stir occasionally to be sure there is even cooking.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin

Breaded pork tenderloin makes for a tasty Sunday night dinner when paired with potato pancakes or creamy garlic noodles or both. The creamy garlic noodles are a mix from the pasta aisle. Potato pancakes are a favorite in my house--MDS even ate them as leftovers!

Breaded pork is so easy that it could easily be a weekday meal, but I remember Mom usually making this dish on Sunday. Mom always pounded the pork a bit to make it fairly thin. Depending on how much you want to make, you can buy already sliced pork, or buy a large tenderloin and slice it yourself. Thinly slicing the pork helps it cook quickly, but still have so much flavor.

If you happen to have leftovers, I recommend making up a sandwich. I always like just the pork between two slices of bread, with nothing else added. Of course, you could add any sandwich ingredients, such as mustard or mayo, or veggies. But to me, just the pork on bread makes for a tasty lunch.

Mom uses Italian seasoned bread crumbs. Because I did not have any on hand, I just improvised by adding oregano, garlic, and onion to the regular bread crumbs.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin

• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 thinly sliced boneless pork tenderloin

Prepare the pork by pounding each piece so they are about equally thin. Beat the egg in a bowl and add a dash of salt and pepper. In another bowl, place the seasoned bread crumbs. Dredge each piece of pork through the egg and then the bread crumbs, covering each completely.

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat the skillet over medium heat. Melt a tablespoon of butter or margarine in the skillet. Cook each piece of pork for a few minutes on each side, until completely cooked. Enjoy!

Mom's French Bread

Mom is famous for her bread. She usually makes this easy french bread. And eating the bread fresh out of the oven is hard to resist (this bread quickly disappears shortly after it comes out of the oven). Like the rest of the Buckley family, I probably could eat just this bread for most of my meals and not miss anything. Mom often made this bread on Sundays, especially in the winter. She now often makes it to bring to family parties. It is always a favorite.

When we lived on Lincoln, Mom used to put the bowl with the rising dough on the black easy chair in the living room. It would not take long for the whole house to smell of bread.

When Mom makes bread, she never uses a thermometer to determine the temperature of the water.  She just runs the top on hot for a bit and always seems to know the right temperature. As for me, I need to use a thermometer. If the water is too hot or too cold, the bread will not rise and it will not taste right. I do not know Mom's secret for always getting it right, but when I figure it out, I will let you know. Mom never used a mixer to make bread; instead, she just mix and kneaded by hand. While you could use a mixer with a dough hook to handle the kneading, it is just as easy to use your hands.

Mom's Bread

• about 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tsp. salt
• 1 package yeast
• 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 3/4 cup hot water

In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Heat water to 120 degrees and add the butter to the water.  Add the water and butter to the flour mixture. Mix well with a fork.  At this point the dough should be fairly liquid.  Once the mixture is smooth, add in more flour (usually 2 to 3 more cups) until a soft dough is formed. Then, turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead, incorporating the remaining flour in as you go, for about 8 minutes. The dough should become somewhat elastic. Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel (use a damp towel if the weather is dry) and let the dough rise until it doubles, about 1 to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Let rest about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into two halves. For each half, roll out the dough so it is about 12 inches long. Then, roll the dough to form a loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Form the second half into a loaf. Cover the dough with a towel and let rise again, for about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The bread is done when you knock on the loaf and it sounds or feels hallow. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Pie

What to do with leftover Spaghetti & Gravy? Make Spaghetti Pie, of course.

Now in my house, there is someone who usually does not like leftovers, but loves leftover Spaghetti & Gravy. So making Spaghetti Pie involves a certain amount of negotiation or subterfuge to prevent the leftover Spaghetti & Gravy from being eaten before Spaghetti Pie can be made. But, as it turns out, MDS liked Spaghetti Pie, so maybe we will have it more often (I doubt it).

Mom made Spaghetti Pie only on the rare occurrence of too much leftover Saturday night spaghetti. Spaghetti Pie is a nice and tasty way to heat up leftovers. Another way that Mom heated up leftover spaghetti involved a pan on the stovetop with added Parmesan cheese. But Spaghetti Pie was just a little more special, but still very easy to make. While normally we did not eat much cottage cheese in our house, the addition of cottage cheese to Spaghetti Pie gives it a nice tang. So go ahead and make extra spaghetti & gravy, because you can always make a pie with the leftovers.

Spaghetti Pie

• Leftover Spaghetti & Gravy
• 8 oz. cottage cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Parmesan cheese for topping

Mix leftover spaghetti and gravy with the cottage cheese and the beaten egg.  Place in greased dish (pie dish if you have a smaller amount, or 9X13 pan if you have more). Cover with cheese. Bake covered for about 25 to 30 minutes at 350.