Quick and Easy - My Granny Rocks!

Granny’s Pork and Beans

My sister, Velma, was the queen of ‘doctoring up’ canned goods. Having eight children, she was an expert at preparing quick and hearty meals to feed everyone. I learned so much from her while hanging out in her kitchen…so many fond memories. Okay, back to the beans.

I start with a can of plain, old, cheap, pork and beans – any brand works. (There’s never any pork in them anymore anyway.) I pour off the liquid on top, then dump in a pan. The measurements are approximate.

Granny's Pork and Beans — Granny’s Pork and Beans

I add the following:

1     teaspoon yellow mustard (or ¼  teaspoon dried mustard)
1    tablespoon catsup or ketchup, depending on where you live
1     tablespoon brown sugar
½   tablespoon dried, minced onions

Mix well, heat and eat. If you feel like beanie wienies, thinly slice a hot dog and toss it in. Be sure to heat long enough to thoroughly cook the hot dog.

Granpa’s Oatmeal

Okay. Let’s face it…it’s hard to make oatmeal photogenic. I did the best I could with it. So here’s my photogenic better half, Granpa Ken.

After several years of buying the instant oatmeal packets, Granpa came up with the following recipe for his morning oatmeal. He prepares jars of the dry ingredients ahead of time, so all he has to do is grab one for a quick hot breakfast.

From time to time, he changes it up with Craisins instead of raisins, all-spice instead of cinnamon, pecans in place of walnuts. You get the idea. Start with ½ cup of oats and add what you like.

½ cup quick oats
½ teaspoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped dates
1 cup water
Splash of milk to taste

He heats the water using a measuring cup in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then, he adds it to the cereal bowl and mixes well. His next step is returning it to the microwave to finish cooking for about 35 seconds. Of course, cooking times depend on the wattage of your microwave.

Sometimes, he also uses old-fashioned oats for a little more chewy texture oatmeal. Actually, it depends on which kind of oats I have in the pantry.

Honey Mustard Sauce

We eat a lot of chicken at my house. This honey mustard sauce compliments fried, baked, and even grilled chicken. The amount I make depends on how many are showing up to eat. I’ve listed several quantity variations below. This also makes a wonderful, light salad dressing for your dinner salad, too. This is an old recipe with only four ingredients. I like recipes that are made with things I normally keep on hand. Can’t get much easier than this for a great tasting dipping sauce. It’s good on chicken sandwiches, on salad, it’s just plain good!

¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon honey
½ tablespoon lemon juice

In a liquid (glass) measuring cup or small bowl, mix the first three ingredients with a fork or small whisk. When thoroughly blended, stir in lemon juice. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. [I believe it will keep a week or two. We always use it up, so I’ve never tested how long it actually lasts.] If you want it a little thinner for salad dressing, add a bit more lemon juice to desired consistency.

Yields <½ cup.

DOUBLED
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Yields ¾ cup.

TRIPLED
¾ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1½ tablespoons lemon juice.

Yields 1 cup.

Sweet Cornbread Muffins

A long time ago, I discovered this recipe on the back of a box of cornmeal. You can get the best recipes from the packaging. I like a sweet cornbread. These are almost a cupcake. When I went to school, the cafeteria often served cornbread and syrup for lunch. Of course, this was back in the day when the food was prepared onsite by real lunchroom ladies in their white uniforms and hairnets.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
½ cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil [I use olive oil]
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease or paper-line 18 to 20 muffin cups. I get all the ingredients out before I start cooking. As I add the ingredient, I put it back away. I do this so I don’t forget anything as I’m easily distracted. On the farm, we always broke our egg in a small bowl before adding it as sometimes they weren’t good. Well, I’m back to doing that again after I’d gotten a bad batch of eggs at a local grocery store. I’ve thought about getting a few chickens, but I’d spend more in chicken scratch than I do for eggs, so it’s not feasible at this time. See? I do get easily distracted…okay back to the recipe.

Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Combine milk, eggs, oil and butter in small bowl. I measure the milk in a two-cup liquid measuring cup; then add the other liquid ingredients as I measure them. Mix well. Add to flour mixture; stir/whisk until blended. I use a ladle to put the batter in the muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Yes, I’m using brand new muffin tins, a wonderful gift I received this last Christmas from my son.) When you put the pans in the oven, be sure to leave spaces around the edges and center to allow the heat to circulate evenly. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; then remove muffins to wire racks to cool slightly. Serve warm or store tightly covered when cool.

Amazon Dash Buttons

I have just discovered the neatest thing – Amazon Dash Buttons. In a nutshell, you buy a dash button, link it to the product you want, press the button and it’s shipped to you. How cool is that? Okay. It does require a little setup. If I can do it, anyone can.

Talk about ultimate convenience. This option is great. You don’t need to fire up the computer or search through apps on your phone. One press and it’s done! You get a confirmation email sent to your phone and by default, it won’t ship another order until the first one’s been shipped (unless you enable multiple shipments.) You can cancel your order from the confirmation email if you change your mind.

It’s available to Amazon Prime Members. For a limited time, buy a button for 4.99 & get 4.99 off your order. Here’s some links to dash buttons:

Continue reading “Amazon Dash Buttons”

Easiest Macaroni Salad Ever

There’s hundreds of macaroni salad recipes out there. This is truly the easiest. It’s something I tried one day and, believe it or not, my family ate it! I started with a few handfuls of pasta. [You can use any kind you have on hand.] Cook as directed on the package. Rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Let drain.

Can't wait to dig in. — Can’t wait to dig in.

Finely chop a little bit of whatever your family likes to eat – carrots, dill pickles, celery, onion, black olives and mix with the pasta. Add enough ranch dressing to coat everything and mix well. [I always make my ranch dressing fresh. I have no use for bottled ranch dressing, regardless of brand; it doesn’t even taste like ranch.]

Chill an hour or so and it’s ready to eat.

The kids love it because of the ranch dressing.

I love it because they eat it.

Crusty Pizza Dough – Thick & Chewy

*Original recipe courtesy of Instructions and Recipes for your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, 9709785 rev.D

1 package active dry yeast
(2 ¼ teaspoons) room temperature
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (105° F to 115° F)
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 ½ to 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let rest 5-10 minutes to allow the yeast bloom. [Bloomed yeast looks frothy.] Add salt, olive oil and 2 ½ cups flour. Mix with dough hook on speed 2 about a minute.

Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with lightweight dish towel. Let rise in warm place free from draft about an hour or until doubled in bulk. (I set the oven on the lowest setting a few minutes to warm up, then turn off & put dough in.) Check after 45 minutes if using rapid rising yeast.

Punch dough down.

Brush large pizza pan with shortening. Press dough across bottom of pan, forming a collar around edge to hold toppings. [Dough can be divided evenly between two smaller pans. Freeze one pan after prebaking for a quick pizza at another time.]

Prebake crust for 3 minutes. Add toppings as desired. Bake at 450° for 15 to 20 minutes. (Check after 12 minutes.)

Granny’s Changes
For stuffed crust, cut cheese sticks in half and place around perimeter, covering with the excess dough around the edges.

Use leftover spaghetti sauce in place of tomato sauce.

Cut ham lunchmeat in half and use as a topping, too.

Italian Flavored Crust
Add with first flour addition,
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic

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Spicy/Sweet Meatballs

This is another quick and easy recipe. When I first looked at it, I saw cranberry jell and went yuck. The chili sauce caught my attention, so I gave it a try. It’s a keeper. I waited until after my grandson said he liked them before I told him what was in it. (He’s not a fan of cranberry jell either.) I put my little scoop to use on these to make mini-meatballs that fit perfectly on a cracker. We like these with garlic Ritz crackers and cheddar slices.

MEATBALLS
2 lbs. lean hamburger
1 cup dried bread crumbs
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup catsup

SAUCE
1 can jellied cranberry sauce (16 oz.)
1 bottle chili sauce (12 oz.)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix together hamburger, bread crumbs, eggs, soy sauce, pepper, garlic powder and catsup. Form into small balls and bake on rack on cookies sheet for 30 minutes.

In saucepan over low heat, combine cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar and lemon juice. Simmer and stir until smooth. Add meatballs and simmer for 1 hour or put meatballs on plate and pour warm sauce over them.

Serve fresh or freeze these on a cookie sheet. When frozen, put in bag for quick meatballs anytime. I’m a huge fan of making your own frozen meals.

HALF RECIPE
1 lb. hamburger
½ cup dried bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon soy sauce
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons catsup

Make all of sauce recipe and freeze half for next time.