Bacon Tomato Pasta

We were getting low on items in the refrigerator...

Bacon Tomato Sauce Pasta

1/2 lb bacon (the thicker the better)
1 onion (white or red)
red pepper
dash vodka
1/2 jar tomato sauce
Parmesan cheese

Chop up the bacon (would love to try this with pancetta) and saute.  Drain.  Add back to the pan with the onion and red pepper, cooking until the onion is yellow.  Add some vodka (about 1/3 cup).  Add the tomatoes (a can of diced tomatoes would also be great, we had left over sauce).  Simmer a few minutes.  Serve over mostaccioli or spaghetti with plenty of Parmesan cheese.

Sausage, Potato, Kale Soup

Deviating a bit from traditional recipes here, I'm just going to note, for future reference, a few recipes that have gone over well lately.

First up, since it's so cold and definitely soup weather, the Pioneer Woman's Sausage, Potato, and Kale soup.  (with modifications, as usual)

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

1 bunch kale
6 red potatoes
1 onion
1 package Italian sausage (mild)
red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 can chicken broth (about 2 cups)
2 cups whole milk
2 cups cream
black pepper
oregano

Boil the potatoes, drain and cool, and slice.  I left the skins on, though I'm sure you could remove them.

Brown the sausage.  Drain, put back in the pan with the chopped onion.  Cook until the onion turns yellow.  Add the red pepper (careful about adding too much - gets quite spicy), then the cream, milk, and chicken broth, and pepper and oregano.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Note: original recipe calls for 4 cups half and half instead of the cream - I didn't have any, and prefer a thicker soup/stew as it is.

Wash and drain the kale, tear into bite-sized pieces, while soup is simmering.  After 30 minutes, or when a bit thickened, add the kale and sliced potatoes and simmer for another 15 minutes or so, or until the kale is cooked.  Serve with thick bread and butter.

Gingerbread

Not the gingerbread of Christmas houses, this quick molasses bread makes for a very healthy breakfast.

Gingerbread

2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c molasses (the darker the better)
3/4 c melted butter (or oil)
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 t ginger
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup boiling water

Mix the wet ingredients with the brown sugar, add in the dry ingredients.  Mix in the boiling water last.  Pour into a 9x9 greased baking pan.  Bake 350 F, for 30-40 minutes.  A toothpick should come out clean.

Cinnamon Scones

Cinnamon Scones

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon (heaping)
8 tbsp butter (I used salted.  If unsalted, add a little salt.)
3/4 cup + heavy cream
1 egg (optional)
2 tsp vanilla (I added a little anise)

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter.  Add wet ingredients and mix just until a dough has formed.  Form into a patty about a foot across, 1/2 inch tall.  Cut into wedges and arrange on a greased baking sheet.  Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 F, or until top is firm.

Clutjens

Pronounced "klijens", these appear to be similar to anise drop cookies, and are a tradition in the Kieffer household.  No one can make them quite like Grandma Helen Meier, however, and her recipe does not appear to be recorded anywhere with absolute precision.  Keith developed the version below after many conversations and several trials.

Clutjens

Makes a zillion cookies, so a half recipe is recommended.

3 cups sugar
1 cup crisco (or: 1 cup lard; or: 1 cup Promise brand margarine) (note: if using lard, must eat all cookies within 1 month)
2 eggs
1 tsp soda dissolved in 1 cup cold coffee (or: 1 cup hot water)
4 tsp anise seed (or: 1 Tbsp anise oil; or: 2 tsp anise seed and 1/2 Tbsp anise extract)
1 cup molasses (or: 1 cup dark Karo syrup)
1 tsp cinnamon
3-6 cups flour

Combine sugar and shortening, mix well.  Mix in eggs; add the soda and coffee, anise flavoring, molasses, and cinnamon, mixing well.  Add flour until batter reaches an almost-dough-like consistency.  Using more flour, roll into many thin snakes, about a nickel in diameter.

Set the snakes to chill/freeze overnight in a floured pan.  Cut the snakes into pieces about two nickels thick.  Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 13 minutes at 350 F.

The center four small ones are the ideal.  The outside corners are what we get when we try.

 

Alternatives:
- Use butter instead of crisco.  If lard is used, as was typical for Grandma Meier, cookies were only good for a week-month.  Crisco can last more than a month.
- Add enough flour so it rolls out easily.
- The more flour that is added, the harder the cookies end up - jawbreakers.  Could also use less flour and, while runny, drop by spoon-fulls or with a pastry bag onto a greased cookie sheet.  Should still chill overnight (drying out is desired) and then bake.  Frozen cuts easier, uses less flour. 
- In 2014, we used 6 cups flour and then used spoons to form the long snakes on cookie sheets.  The rows were wider than a nickel but were formed quickly.
- Instead of baking all at once, can freeze half for later.
- Cookies and dough freeze nicely. 

Molasses Cookies

Delicious and nutritious - lots of iron.  Dmitri likes to make them, too.

Spicy Molasses Cookies 

(from Pioneer Woman)

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup molasses (blackstrap preferred)
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (heaping)
1 tsp ginger (heaping)
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt (pinch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugar, butter, molasses and eggs.  Add dry ingredients.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, roll each in sugar.  Bake for 9-11 minutes, baking for about a minute after the cookies begin to crack (I baked them until slightly browner).

Can also add some mace or allspice for even more flavor.

Grandma's Monday Night Meal

Grandma used to serve this to us nearly every Monday night when we were there for orchestra.

Italian Noodle Casserole

(for lack of a better name)

1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage
1 can mushrooms (stems and pieces)
2 cans tomato sauce (12 oz?)
1/3 large pack of wide egg noodles
1/2 brick of sharp cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef (can also saute onions or garlic to taste), drain the grease.  For more flavor use Italian sausage.  Add red pepper flakes, if desired.  Add mushrooms, then tomato sauce.  Add egg noodles (additional water may be needed to cook the noodles) about 15 minutes before serving.  Shred and mix in the cheese just before serving.