Sauerkraut Casserole

The recipe for this casserole is similar to the casserole Janice Schmidt takes to most (if not all) pot luck meals at church.  Janice prepares/bakes hers and then puts it into a crock pot to keep it warm.  It is always a HIT!

You will need to have some cooked rice on hand, or cook it up before you begin the recipe. (I like doubling this recipe because I LIKE sauerkraut and want left-overs.)

Grease/spray a 9x13-inch baking dish.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 cup raw rice (cooked ahead according to directions).
• 2 lb. lean ground beef, browned and drained.
• 1 packet dry onion soup.
• 2  of 10.75 oz. cans  cream of mushroom soup.
• 1 cup water.
• 1 large can of sauerkraut (up to 1 quart), drained.  IF you decide to also rinse it, run water over it very briefly/quickly.  If you rinse it for too long, you will eliminate too much of the flavor of the sauerkraut.
• A sprinkling of French fried onions for the top, just before baking.  (Optional)

DIRECTIONS:

• Cook the 1 cup of rice and set aside.
• Brown hamburger and add dry onion soup powder-- mix well and set aside. 
• Combine cooked rice, cream of mushroom soup, water.  Add this to the meat/onion mixture.   Add the sauerkraut.  Blend well.
• Spread into greased 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle French fried onions on top, optional.
• Bake in 350-degree oven for about 1 hour.

Egg Yolk Cookies*

A cookie recipe to use the egg yolks left behind 

after making meringue type recipes...

Because of the dark-colored egg YOLKS, the dough 

for these cookies IS much more yellow than most 

cookie dough, BUT,... the night lighting 

in my room made these baked cookies 

look a 'little' more "yellowish/orangeish" than they really are.

Below:   Yesterday, I was making up a double recipe of egg-white-rich Royal Icing for the assembling of gingerbread houses which will be decorated with 'seasonal candy'.  I wasn't excited about the thought of dumping the yolks.  So,... the recipe below was one option for using the yolks.  

The yolks you see below are SO 'orange-ish' because these eggs came from our free-range chickens-- their diet of grasses, seeds and insects makes for beautiful yolks like these...

  

And,................. cookies like these!

INGREDIENTS: 

   This is a "RICH" kind of cookie!

• 1 cup butter (OR, use shortening for cookies that won't spread quite as much).
• 1 and 1/2 cups white granulated sugar.
• 6-7 egg yolks (or 3 whole large eggs).
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract.
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.
• 1 teaspoon baking soda.
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy (I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for this  and let it "cream/fluff" for a minimum of 4 minutes).
2. Separately, beat egg yolks and the three extracts.
3. Add beaten egg yolk mixture to creamed butter and sugar.  Blend well.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and cream of tartar).
5. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter, sugar and egg mixture.  Mix until well blended.
6. Form into balls, about the size of a walnut. (Dough is soft/sticky.)
7. Roll balls in sugar, place on greased cookie sheet OR parchment lined cookie sheet, and slightly flatten.  (I prefer to use parchment paper on cookie sheets.)
8. I had the best results with baking these at 400-degrees for 8-9 minutes, depending on desired softness/crispness.  (Since ovens can vary quite a bit, check the first sheetful to see how YOUR oven is treating these cookies-- maybe, you'll do better with an oven temperature of just 350-degrees like the original recipe suggested.)

 I like the flavor of the three different 
extracts in these cookies!

*There are quite a few recipes on the Internet for these, or something very similar.   This recipe adapted from Hungry Hintons  at:  http://hungryhintons.blogspot.com/2010/03/egg-yolk-cookies.html  (Thank you, Hintons!)

Fresh Tomato Soup

This soup was so-o-o-o good with crunchy  

golden/grilled (pan fried?) cheese sandwiches!

INGREDIENTS* (About 4 servings)

• 4 cups chopped/diced fresh tomatoes (or the equivalent in canned tomatoes?)
• 1 large onion, sliced OR diced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

* Some cooks like to add a little bit of minced garlic to this soup-- some use the canned minced garlic bought in jars; others saute minced fresh garlic in a dab of olive oil, being careful to not burn it.

DIRECTIONS:

• In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the chopped tomatoes, chopped or diced onion and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and gently boil for at least 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors.
• Remove from heat and run the the boiled mixture through a food mill into a large bowl, or pan.  Discard any solids that are left over in the food mill.  (If you do not have a food mill, you could use a stick blender OR regular blender and then strain the mixture afterwards.)
• In an empty kettle, melt the butter over medium heat.  Stir in the flour to make a roux, constantly stirring and cooking until the roux is a very light brown.
• Gradually whisk about a cupful of the hot tomato mixture into the hot and thickened butter/flour roux-- whisk so that no lumps form.
• Add this blended roux into the rest of the hot tomato/onion mixture.  Whisk quickly and thoroughly.
• Season with sugar and salt according to taste.  Serve.