South African Peanut Stew

                                                                               

Yes, I know this is so NOT a Pa. Dutch dish but if our dutchified neighbors would taste this they would say, "Yup this eats real good!" Oh boy does it ever ! Thick & hearty this just might be your GO TO comfort food on a cold frosty evening. I make this as a stove top dish but you may easily adapt this for the crock-pot! Just stir everything together & let it cook all day just making hot rice to serve it over & you have a very delicious dish indeed!
INGREDIENTS:
1 T. Olive Oil
1 Large Onion chopped
1 Large Green Pepper chopped
2 Carrots peeled & chopped
2 Celery Ribs chopped
3 Garlic Cloves minced
2 tsp. Ginger dry powder or fresh chopped
2 tsp. Curry Powder
1 Large Can Chopped Tomatoes include the juice
1 Bay Leaf
1 Large Yam peeled & chopped
1 LB. Chicken Boneless Skinless cut into bite sized pieces
1 32 OZ. Can Chicken Broth
1 Bag Frozen Edemame ( soy beans shelled)
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter ( I use my own home made but your favorite brand is ok).
1 small box Frozen Spinach

Saute onion, peppers, celery, carrots & garlic in olive oil. Do not let garlic brown. Cook until veggies are soft. Add spices & cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes & chicken Cook & stir about 3 minutes until stew is bubbling. Add broth & yam & cook on medium low until yam is soft , I like to let this stage cook about an hour so flavors blend. Now stir in peanut butter & edemame stirring & cookingon medium heat  until stew thickens & bubbles. Add spinach & cook 10 more minutes. Remove bay leaf. Spoon stew over hot cooked rice & DIG IN ! This is just SO AMAZING you will want to eat the pot empty ( just so it SOUNDS Dutchy)!

Caramel Apple Crisp, Cookie Bars

CRUST
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Cinnamon   
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Mix all dry ingredients together & cut in butter to make fine crumbs. Press firmly into approx. 9x9 inch pan. Bake 350 degrees or 10 minutes remove from oven and add your next 2 layers.

FIRST LAYER
3 Large apples tart cooking apples work best, peeled & diced into small thin dice.
3/4  Cup Smucker Caramel Ice Cream Topping.
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
Stir these together & spread evenly over your baked crust. Now top with your next layer.

SECOND LAYER
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
5 TBS. Softened Butter
1/4 Cup Smuckers Caramel Ice Cream Topping

                                                                             

Mix the dry ingredients together & cut in butter until you have fine crumbs. Sound familiar? Spread evenly over apple layer. Drizzle top with the caramel sauce. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm for dessert or let cool & chill then cut into bars for cookies. SO YUMMY!





Mix all dr                                          

Marzetti a hearty comfort food Casserole

1, lb. Ground Beef ( I use turkey burger)  
1, Large onion peeled & chopped
2, Ribs celery chopped
2, Cloves garlic minced
1, Green pepper chopped
1, 6 oz. Can tomato paste
1, 10.75 oz. can tomato soup
1, 10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1, 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms ( drain)
1, 1 lb. egg noodles cooked ( I used crazy mixed up trio tri-color pasta for this dish)
2, cups shredded cheese blend ( I use Darrenkamps cheese blend)
 Brown ground beef, if using turkey burger brown in 1 tbs. olive oil, drain beef & return to pan. Add celery, onion, green pepper & garlic & cook until all are soft. Add tomato paste & soups cook & stir until blended well& bubbling. Stir in cooked noodles & cheese cook & stir until cheese is melted & blended throughout the dish. This is an old comfort food from the 60's & SO GOOD!



2
                                                                        

Ooey Gooey Shoofly Pie !

                                                                            

                                                                              


Crust
2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2/3 cup  cold butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 to 5 tbs. cold water
Mix all dry together, cut in butter until you have fine crumbs. Add cold water & stir only until dough holds together. Turn out on flour surface & roll out to fit a nine inch pie pan. Fold dough gently in half & lift into pie pan. Unfold & fit dough into pan. Crimp edges of crust. Line crust with a sheet of foil. Fill with about 2 cups of raw rice. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to blind bake the crust. This allows crust to stay crisp & not get soggy for your finished pie. I do this with all my crusts & it makes a HUGE difference! Once crust is baked for 10 minutes remove from oven & carefully remove foil  & rice. This should easily come out with foil cradling the rice. Now prepare filling & topping. SIDE NOTE : Rice used for blind baking may be saved & used for many blind bakings. Crust trimmings may be used to make Roly Polys found on this Blog & ALWAYS made with crust trimmings if you are a GOOD Pa Dutch Baker !

OOEY GOOEY filling & topping
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs. shortening
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup molasses ( I use Brer Rabbit Mild) but use your favorite.
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup hot water
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix flour, salt, brown sugar & cinnamon together. Cut in shortening to make crumbs. Take out 3/4 cup of crumbs for topping. Now add molasses & vanilla, mix hot water & baking soda together & add all of these wet ingredients to the dry. Best the egg add it to the wet. Now stir well until everything is nicely blended. Pour into your pie crust that you already blind baked & removed foil with rice. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly on top of batter. Now sprinkle the top with more cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let pie cool & serve warm or cold with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you desire! I like it cold just so. THIS PIE HAS A DEEP GOOEY BOTTOM with about 1 inch of crumbs on top. This is for a friends birthday & I will try to get a photo of a slice so you can see but it truly is a " WET BOTTOM" pie just the way we like it in Pa!                                              

                                                                              

Oatmeal Creme Pie Ice Cream

                                                                              
                                                                              

1, 48 oz.  Turkey Hill Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
8, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie, cookies ( Chopped into small pieces).
3, TBS. Smuckers Caramel Ice Cream Topping

Soften the ice cream in a large bowl until you can stir. Add chopped pieces of the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie. Swirl with a heavy spoon or spatula so pieces are distributed throughout the ice cream.  Next squeeze in 3 good squeezes of the caramel topping about 3 TBS or so. Swirl that through using a marbling technique. Spoon mixture back into the ice cream container & refreeze.

                                             

Rustic Caramel Apple Tart

Crust
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp. sugar
2/3 cup butter (cold)
4 to 5 tbs. cold water
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine all dry ingredients blending well. Cut in butter until you have fine crumbs. Next stir in cold water & vanilla just until you have a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface & roll out until you have about a 15 inch circle. Lay parchment paper onto a large flat baking sheet. Fold dough in half & then carefully transfer onto your parchment sheet. Unfold dough but crimp the edges to make a nice high edge for the tart so it will hold your filling. Next prepare your filling.

Filling
5 large apples ( tart baking apples like Granny Smith work best) peeled sliced & coated with lemon juice so they do not brown.
4 heaping tbs. sugar
2 tbs. flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Stir together dry ingredients & then dump into apple slices. Toss apple slices with dry mix until well coated. Arrange this mixture into your crust. Top with following caramel sauce.

Sauce
36 unwrapped caramels
2 tbs. water

2 tbs butter
3 tbs heavy cream
Melt caramels in the water in a deep heavy saucepan. Once melted stir in butter & heavy cream & cook over medium high heat stirring until you get a nice caramel sauce about 6 minutes or so. Pour this over your apples that are already in the crust. Bake the tart at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Check at 20 minutes & if edges of tart are dark brown cover them with foil to prevent them from burning. If not dark brown you do not need to do this step. Position tart in center wrack to help prevent the crust from over browning. Once baked remove from oven & let tart cool. Slide tart onto a dish that you wish to serve from. Slide parchment paper out from under tart after you have tart on the serving platter. Top each serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if you so desire.



                                                                             

Kitchen Tip for Today

TRY USING FRESH BABY SPINACH as an alternative for lettuce! This crisp healthy green not only adds more delicious flavor but more vitamins in every bite! Plus this versatile veggie stores longer and stays crisper than regular head lettuce. Give it a try I think you will LOVE the switch!