Fruit Crisp

This year our family has an abundance of frozen apples, rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries and mixed fruit. I thought one of the best and easiest ways for our family to consume all this frozen fruit was to make desserts. I don't have a lot of time, so was looking for fast and easy recipes.  I have a Lazy Day Cobbler recipe (which will hopefully make it onto this site eventually). The other fruit dessert I thought would be easy are crisps, but I couldn't find a good "crisp" topping. I have been experimenting and think I have finally come up with something we all enjoy, so I am putting it here for the next time.

Enough fruit to cover the bottom of a 9" x 12" baking pan (can use frozen fruit, but do not use canned fruit)
corn starch (optional)
Topping
1 cup (cold) margarine
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups quick oats
approx. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
*I added ground cloves when I used strawberries and blueberries. You could also use ground allspice or nutmeg, if you like.  Add as much or as little as you like.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Place fruit on bottom of pan.* If using frozen fruit, sprinkle corn starch over the fruit if you do not want a runny crisp.

In separate bowl cut together margarine, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon until it looks crumbly. Evenly spread topping over fruit. Bake approximately 40 minutes or until done.

*If you want a sweeter dessert, you could sprinkle sugar over the fruit. You could also sprinkle cinnamon on the apples.

This crisp was approximately ¾ strawberry/blueberry and ¼ apple. Our kids both asked for 3 helpings after they already ate their supper. I didn't think it was too unhealthy, so I let them. 

Soft Tacos

Our family enjoys eating these as we can each make a custom taco by filling our shell with what we like best. I don't remember when I first thought of doing these. I don't think I ever saw it in a recipe book. I probably got the idea after eating at Taco Time.

Quick Tip: Grate cheese in advance and store in Ziplock bags. To keep from sticking, add corn starch or flour
Quick Tip 2: You can cut your lettuce so that it is shredded and keep it in a Ziplock bag for ease of use. Mine will keep for about a week in the fridge. I find our family will eat more lettuce if it is pre-cut.



1 pound Ground beef
½ Onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons Mexican Spice
*Note: the above amounts are only approximate. You will need to adjust amounts to your taste.

Tomato (chopped)
Green Pepper (sliced or chopped)
Lettuce (shredded)
Cheese (grated)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Tortilla shells

Brown ground beef with chopped onion and Mexican Spice. Place cooked ground beef with remaining ingredients on counter or table. Place tortilla shell on plate. Fill in layers across the widest part of the shell with desired ingredients. (Example: ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, salsa, sour cream) Fold in both sides then roll.

You can adjust the fillings to whatever you would like. We often use other coloured peppers than just green. My kids don't put much veggies in their tacos, but I put a lot. You can also make these ahead without lettuce or sour cream and then re-heat in the microwave.

Mexican Spice

Our family enjoys Mexican foods like Soft Tacos and Nachos. I used to buy the packages of spice mix from the store, but one day I thought it would probably be better if I made my own mix so that there wasn't so much sodium as three of us in our family have PKD (polycystic kidney disease). So now I have this recipe which tells me which spices to mix. Since we use it a lot, I buy the spice refill bags. Each spice is one bag (or jar, if it doesn't come in a refill bag). The amounts are what the container from the store says. I guess you could adjust it to your family's taste.

100 g Onion Powder/Salt
100 g Garlic Powder/Salt
85 g Chili Powder
80 g Paprika
50 g Cumin
20 g Oregano Leaves (can use ground oregano)
32 g Red Chili Peppers
approx 1-2 tablespoon(s) Salt (if using onion/garlic powders. Omit if using onion/garlic salt)

Mix all spices well in bowl. Store in airtight container.

These are the packages I used the last time I made this batch of spice. And the bowl I mixed them in.

I store my spice in a Tupperware Modular Mate. It is a long oval 1, which is the perfect size.

Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake

This recipe is from a Philadelphia Cream Cheese box. I think it must be a Kraft idea, because it is actually one of those kind of recipes that is basic with different sets of ingredients for you to make your favourite kind of cheesecake. They call this one Chocolate Lover’s Cheesecake, but I always think of it as Chocolate Amaretto or Chocolate Almond.

Base
1¼ cups chocolate crumbs
¼ cup melted butter

Filling
3 pkgs (250 g each) softened cream cheese
¾ cup sugar until smooth
3 eggs
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate (melted and cooled)*
¼ cup Amaretto liqueur

Topping
Enough melted chocolate to drizzle over top
Toasted almonds

Combine chocolate crumbs with melted butter. Press on bottom of 9 in. springform pan.

Beat softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until just blended. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate (melted and cooled) and Amaretto liqueur.

Bake at 350°F for 45-50 min. or until centre is almost set. Cool completely, then refrigerate 3 hr or overnight.

Add the finishing touch – drizzle melted chocolate and top with toasted almonds.

*Note: I usually use about 6 oz melted semisweet chocolate chips because that is what we usually have in the house at all times rather than buying the squares of chocolate. It still turns out nice.

My cake always cracks, but after I drizzle chocolate and add the almonds (and sometimes I drizzle more chocolate on top of the almonds) you can’t really tell until you are cutting into it.

Mom's Spareribs

This recipe is one that I got from my Mother-in-Law. The (almost) first time I had these was before we were dating. His mother was bringing spareribs when she came to visit, and he invited me, not thinking that I had mentioned I didn’t care for pork. Somehow he hadn’t made the connection that spareribs is pig meat. We joke about it now, and I eat these ones. Partly because we have children, so I eat everything, and partly because we use beef sausages, so I have the choice to eat beef instead of pork if I want to.

Sauce:
2 medium onions
3 Tablespoons vinegar
1½ Tablespoon Worchestershire
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
Approximately ¾ cup lemon juice
1 cup + chili sauce/ketchup
Optional: 1 can of tomatoes, 1 can mushrooms with juice, celery

Cook ribs in roaster with water and cover (to steam) approximately 1 hour at 350° (to get rid of fat). Turn over part way through (can put frozen ribs in). Drain fat. Cut into smaller pieces.
Cook sauce approximately 20 minutes until onion is cooked. Use whatever ingredients are on hand and feel free to substitute where necessary. Pour sauce over ribs and bake 350° for an hour or so.
If adding pork sausage, cook with ribs initially to drain fat. If beef sausages, add with sauce and cook.
If thicker sauce is desired, add cornstarch.

We usually use a large family pack of ribs, or a couple of smaller packages as well as a family pack of sausages. I don't think the type matters, although our family prefers the ribs that have bones rather than just the cartilage, and as I mentioned, we usually use beef sausages instead of pork.

Brownies

This has become my ultimate favourite brownie recipe. It is found in a family recipe book that was collected and compiled in 1991 and was submitted by my Auntie Susan. What I especially like is how quickly you can make up the batter, so it is that much sooner to be able to enjoy eating the brownies!

½ cup butter or margarine, melted (1 cup)
1 egg (2)
1 cup brown sugar (2 cups)
3 Tablespoons cocoa (6 Tablespoons)
½ cup nuts or coconut, optional (1 cup)
¾ cup flour (1½ cups)
½ teaspoon baking powder (1 teaspoon)
½ teaspoon vanilla (1 teaspoon)

Mix melted butter and sugar; beat in egg, then remaining ingredients. Pour into pan and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until done.

The recipe doesn’t specify what size pan, but I use a square pan (about 8 x 8 or 9 x 9). The amounts in brackets are doubled, and I bake this in my 9 x 12 pan. If I make this for a church lunch, I double the doubled amounts and bake the brownies in a Costco pizza pan (approximately 12 x 17).

Plumi Moos

(Dried Fruit Soup)
This recipe is from The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes. Since we have joined the Orthodox Church, it has become a Lenten staple in our house. I use mostly prunes, raisins and dried apricots, and add other dried fruits, such as apples, mangos, and berries for variety. This dish has elicited many positive comments when brought for potlucks and can be a main dish or dessert.

4 quarts water
3 cups mixed dried fruit (I use 4 cups)
1 package cherry jello
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1½ cups sugar

Cook fruit in water until very well done. Mix cornstarch and sugar with enough water to make a thin paste. Let it cook a few minutes to take away the starchy taste. Remove from stove and add cherry jello powder.

I have stopped adding sugar as dried fruit bought from the store often already has sugar added to it.

Ruehrei

(Chopped-up Pancakes or Scrambled Eggs)
This is a Mennonite dish that I always loved to eat at Grandma’s place. We called it “Chopped-up Pancakes” but in The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes it is referred to as “Scrambled Eggs.” Grandpa would eat it with white sugar and pancake syrup, but we just use syrup. This particular recipe is what my Grandma told me over the phone. It is my ‘oh-my-goodness-we-have-to-eat-in-twenty-minutes’ supper.

2-4 eggs
1½ cup milk
½ - 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2-4 Tablespoons butter

Mix together all ingredients except butter. Make sure batter is not too thick. Melt butter in bottom of heavy fry pan until just turning brown. Pour batter into pan. Let cook until bottom of batter is turning brown then ‘flip’ and ‘cut’ into smaller pieces. The batter will be quite runny. Keep cooking, flipping and cutting until all the batter is cooked.

I tend to use more eggs than less, and I double the above recipe to serve our family of 4 for supper (therefore using 8 eggs). When I double the recipe, I put only half the batter into the pan. It is much easier to cook that way.
To ease my conscience, I try to serve it with cut up apples and oranges, too.

Lemonade

This drink is really nice on a hot day. I first had lemonade make like this at a friend’s house. She had given me the measurements at that time; however, I failed to write them down. This summer, through trial and error, these are the amounts our family likes. Feel free to adjust to your family’s taste.

1½ cups lemon juice
1½ cups sugar
3 litres cold water

Mix together. Serve well chilled and/or over ice.

Curried Meatloaf

Growing up our family ate a lot of ground beef recipes. I still like hamburger meals, and this version of meat loaf is quite tastey, especially with the curry sauce. I have modified this recipe from Quick & Easy Microwaving Ground Beef. I have never liked to cook meals in the microwave, so any recipes I have used from this book are cooked on the stove or in the oven.

Meatloaf:
1½ pounds ground beef
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple
½ cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
2 large eggs
¼ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped onion
1½ teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Topping:
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
¼ teaspoon curry powder

Combine meatloaf ingredients. Shape into loaf pan. Bake at 350°F until done (if I remember correctly, it takes about 45 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf pan). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Combine topping ingredients and serve with sliced meatloaf.

*Ensure that the meat is cooked thoroughly through the center of the loaf.