Makeshift Chicago Dogs

WARNING: This hot dog is an imposter! It is NOT a true Chicago Dog. You've been warned.

I love, love, loooooooooooooove Chicago Hot Dogs. The ingredients seem so strange together, but something about them just works. Delicious. Problem is, some of the ingredients are hard to come by, especially outside of Chicago. I made what I had work. You can try it too. :)

• Turkey Dog - It's supposed to be all beef :/
• Tomato, sliced
• Pickle Spear
• Pepperocini Pepper, sliced in half- these are supposed to be the very hard to attain sport peppers
• Onions, chopped
• Ground celery mixed with Kosher Salt - supposed to be celery salt
• Poppyseed Bun
• Mustard

Just assemble the dog as shown above. One thing to note is that poppyseed buns can be hard to come by. I just sprinkled some seeds on a plate, brushed the buns with some melted butter and dipped the buns to coat. Worked alright in my opinion!

This is no true Chicago dog, but it definitely works in a pinch when the craving is too much to fight!

5 Star Rouladen

This recipe comes all the way from Germany, literally. It came from Carl's great-grandma, who taught it to her daughter-in-law, Carl's grandma. She then passed the recipe to her daughter-in-law, Carl's mom. So naturally, my mother-in-law followed tradition and honored me with this recipe. And now (with a touch of hesitation as I feel as though this is sacred ground I am treading here), I'm sharing it with you!

The first time I had this meal was just a few short weeks into my relationship with Carl. I'll be honest, it didn't look all that appetizing, but my hesitations quickly fled after my first bite. This dish is so tender, so juicy, basically a festival of flavors in your mouth! So, if you have ALL day to cook, and I'm not exaggerating, and you want a guaranteed to please feast, include this one on your menu. It won't fail you!

Start with this cast of characters:

• 3 lbs sirloin tip- cut as thin as humanly (or bladely...) possible. Call ahead to your butcher. Tell them you need it REALLY thin and mention that freezing it for awhile helps. Trust me on this.
• 6 white onions, diced
• 1 lb bacon, chopped very finely, but not cooked
• Salt
• Pepper
• Mustard
• 1 stick of butter
• Small metal skewers- most commonly used for turkey

Make an assembly line of sorts with 3 pieces of meat laid out flat. If there are holes in it, just adjust the meat so they overlap. Give the meat a nice coating of mustard, a sprinkle of onion and bacon and season with salt and pepper.



Starting on the end closest to you start rolling it up and then pull the sides in- secure with a metal skewer. Hard to explain, but the visual should help. Repeat until the sight of meat, mustard and onion make you want to punch someone. Or until you run out of meat...that works too.



Heat up your skillet and melt the butter in it. If you do a full batch, you will most likely need two skillets, electric skillets work the best! Once the butter has melted, lay each of the meat rolls into the pan and cook them on medium until browned, turning once. This should take approximately 20-30 minutes.



Crank the heat down until the liquid is BARELY bubbling. Let it cook for approximately 4 hours. This could vary though, but when the meat is almost falling apart, it's Rouladen!




With the leftover drippings, make a gravy with water and cornstarch. It is a requirement to serve this with mashed potatoes. Trust me. (I've made you trust me a lot with this haven't I? Don't worry....I'm trustworthy)


We are looking at meat, more meat, mustard and onion. How much more German can you get? I plan to make this dish for many years and hope to pass the tradition on some day!

Weekend Frittata

Saturday morning we wanted something decent for breakfast. We were working on the guest room, and Carl had to make a Home Depot run. So while he did that, I tackled the Internet to see what I could possibly make with the food I already had. I found this one at RecipeZaar rather quickly, and for the most part I had everything. Cheese? Good. Veggies? Good. Eggs? Good. Off I went.

I pretty much cut this in half, and it was plenty for us to have...and then there were still leftovers.

Ingredients

* 8 ounces bulk pork sausage (I just used 3 breakfast maple sausage patties)
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
* 4 ounces medium mushrooms, sliced (I only had canned)
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, if needed
* 6 large eggs
* 2 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (No fresh basil here- I just used a 1/4 tsp of dried)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
* fresh ground black pepper
* 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
* basil leaves, for garnish (again...no fresh basil, so I skipped this. My presentation is lacking)

Directions

1.In a large ovenproof skillet over med-high heat, cook sausage and bell pepper, breaking up sausage with a spoon, for 3 minutes.
2.Add in onion and mushroom; cook until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes; add oil, if needed.
3.Preheat broiler.
4.In a bowl, whisk the eggs, water, basil, salt, and pepper together; pour over sausage mixture in the skillet.
5.Decrease heat to med-low, cover and cook, 10-12 minutes, until eggs are set and top is almost dry. (*Mine took a little less since there was less egg to cook)
6.Sprinkle with cheese; broil until frittata is puffy and cheese melts, about 1 minute.
7.Let stand for 5 minutes; cut into wedges and serve; garnish with basil leaves.

Making Meatballs Part II

Today, we are making meatballs sweet and sour style. So as stated in Making Meatballs Part I, I doubled the recipe and froze half of the cooked meatballs. If you have an interest in both these recipes, I HIGHLY recommend doing this. The meatballs take awhile to make, but freeze very nicely. So...make the meatballs, or if you are a smart cookie...defrost them.

1lb hamburger
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Create balls a little smaller than a golf ball. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Ok, so now let's get to the saucy part.

1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 can pineapple chunks
1/3 c vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce

Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in skillet. Stir in pineapple with syrup, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat, add meatballs, cover and simmer stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Notes: SUPER YUM! Really, these are awesome. That's coming from the girl that doesn't like balls of meat. And the leftovers are just as good. I served this over a bed of rice...mmmm now I want these again.

Making Meatballs Part I

I made these so long ago, I honestly can't remember when it was. I was procrastinating posting it because well honestly, I didn't think they looked very nice. But gosh darnit...they were tasty! So a blog entry they rightfully deserve! This recipe is from my father-in-law, and while I'm not typically a fan of balls of meat, I do enjoy these.

Traditional Meatballs with Gravy

1lb hamburger
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Create balls a little smaller than a golf ball. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add about 1 cup of beef broth and 1 tbsp cornstarch. These amounts are approximate- but it is simply to make gravy- so just add until you get a consistency you like.

Notes: Ok- we doubled the recipe and froze half of the meatballs with our food saver...the next post shows what we did with them.

My Mom's Chili

As a kid, one of my favorite fall/winter dinners was my mom's chili. She uses the seasoning kit pictured, but does it a little different than what the package states. Be warned though: this makes a crap ton of chili! You could easily cut this in half and still feed 6 hungry growing boys. We usually have leftovers for 3 days...(and we usually are sick of chili by day 2). It's alright though...this chili is worth the excess!

Ingredients:
1 Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Brand Chili Kit
1 large can of crushed tomatoes (like the 30 oz size) or two regular cans
1 can of tomato sauce
2 lbs ground beef
1 can of chili beans (size is to your discretion depending on your love of beans-I use one very large or 2 regular)

Instructions:
Brown ground beef in skillet and drain grease. Dump ground beef into stockpot (at medium heat) and add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and 1/2 can (15 oz) of water. Add in the chili seasoning packet (the big packet), the salt packet, and unless you want your tongue to literally fall off, just half of the cayenne powder. Mix all that together.
Next, fill the can 1/2 with water and add the masa packet (the white packet)and blend together. Add to the chili mix. Continue to stir and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. The chili will thicken up quite nicely, that's when you know it's done!

Notes: Can I really consider this homemade? Probably not. Could I create my own chili figuring out exactly which spices to use? Probably. Do I want to? Probably not. Honestly, this is the best hearty chili I've ever had, and you know me, I'm not one to mess with perfection :)

Spicy Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Brought to you right from the kitchen of...Carl. I honestly had full intentions of making dinner, but I wasn't feeling great and he offered, how could I say no? Anyway, it turned out great and I would definitely make it again!

Ingredients:
1/4 c light soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 boneless beef top sirloin steak, trimmed (1 1/4 lb)
3 c broccoli flowerets
1 medium onion
1 medium red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp peeled fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 c beef broth

Instructions:
Whisk soy sauce, cornstarch and 1 tbsp of the oil in a medium mixing bowl. Cut the steak lengthwise in half and then crosswise into 1/4 inch thick strips. Add beef to soy sauce mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes to marinate.
Meanwhile, cut broccoli into flowerets and onion into thin wedges. Cut bell pepper into thin strips, 2 inches long. Set vegetables aside. Press garlic and finely chop the ginger root.
Heat 1 tsp of the remaining oil in a skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add half each of beef, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to skillet. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until outside surface of beef is no longer pink (do not overcook). Remove from skillet; keep warm. Repeat with 1 tsp of oil, remaining beef, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Remove from skillet.
Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in same skillet until hot. Add broccoli, onion and bell pepper; stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Return beef to skillet; add broth. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring gently, until sauce is slightly thickened. Enjoy!

Yield: Enough for the two us to have good sized dinners and me to have a decent sized portion for lunch the next day.

Notes: We served this over a bed of rice and it was really good. It was even better than I thought it would be! My only suggestion is that if you like spicy- at least double the red pepper. It wasn't really spicy at all. If you don't like much spice, leave as is. All in all...it was good and will hold a spot in our rotation!

America's Favorite Pot Roast

So I had that other half of the roast we had last week hanging out in the freezer. I decided to thaw it out and cook the other beef recipe that looked good in my Crock Pot cookbook. They've deemed it "America's Favorite," but I think it needs more seasoning. Both Carl and I agree that next time I will either add a package of onion soup mix (thanks Mon) or coat the top with mustard. But all in all....this was a good, tender pot roast!

3 1/2 to 4 pound boneless pot roast
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 carrots, pared, sliced lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 small onions, sliced
1 stalk celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
10 button mushrooms, sliced

Trim all excess fat from roast; brown and drain if using chuck or
another highly marbled cut. Combine 1/4 cup flour, the salt and pepper.
Coat meat with the flour mixture. Place all vegetables except
mushrooms in Crock-Pot and top with roast (cut roast in half, if
necessary, to fit easily). Spread mushrooms evenly over top
of roast. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours.

Servings 4

Notes: So what did I do different? For starters, my roast was only 2lbs, so I cut the cooking time to about 6.5 hours. It was well done at that point, still very tender, but well. Next time I will start checking it at 5 hours. I dashed the top with thyme and paprika, but again, next time I'll add onion soup mix or coat the top with mustard- I think either will do the trick to give it a little kick! Lastly, don't forget the salt and pepper to taste...it needs a little more oomph.

Quick Kielbasa & Kraut

So tonight had to be quick and simple. I was just planning on having leftovers, but Carl was actually able to stay home longer than expected before leaving for work...so that meant another new meal. This isn't very exciting, but the thing I like about it is that the ingredients will stay good in your pantry/fridge for a long time. So it's a good meal to having "laying around."

Ingredients:
1 package of Polish Kielbasa
1 small can of sauerkraut
1 tsp of chili powder

Instructions:
Slice the kielbasa to 1/4 inch thick pieces and fry in a pan until they start to darken up. (I personally like it more on the burned side, but obviously, however you like it is how you should cook it) Drain about half of the grease and then add the contents of the sauerkraut can and top with the chili powder. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. You'll know its done because the sauerkraut will start to have a cararmel brown color. I served this with my quick loaded baked potatoes (poke holes in the potato and stick in the microwave for 7ish minutes= perfection). If you serve it alone, it will feed about 2 people, give it a side dish and serve more like 4.

My notes: I've decided that sauerkraut is my beer. It's an acquired taste, but after trying it a few times I fell in love. I'm not sure which I like more, the smell or the taste. BUT if you don't like it...clearly you are not going to like this meal. If you do...yum!

I'm a Meat and Potatoes Kind of Girl

Through and through, I will take a good red meat and potato over just about anything else I'm offered. So when I realized I had all day today to make dinner, I opened my slow cooker cook book and landed on "Spicy Beef Roast." I chose mashed potatoes and asparagus as the side dishes and it turned out really well.

The Spicy Beef Roast really wasn't spicy but it definitely had a LOT of flavor. It calls for a 3lb roast, but I bought a 4lb roast, cut it in half, food saved one part and cooked the other. It made enough for 4 people. So the saying is true, about 1/2 lb per person.

Ingredients:
3 lb round tip roast
1 tbs cracked black peppercorns
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dry mustard

Instructions:
Rub the cracked pepper and garlic into the roast. Place the roast in the Crock Pot and make several shallow slits in the top of the roast. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the meat. Cover, cook low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5.

My notes: Like I said, I used a 2 lb roast, but still followed the sauce instructions. 3 hours on high was plenty of time. I also turned the roast about every hour. Then when it was done, I added about half a cup of flour to the leftover sauce and it made a very flavorful gravy for the mashed potatoes and put more juice into the meat. I steamed the asparagus for 11 minutes (perfect) and used my handy Kitchen Aid for the mashed potatoes. Overall, the meal gets a 10!