HUNTER’S STEW
This recipe is from Winnie Henderson. She says her second husband was a hunter and she used to make this for him all the time.
2 pounds cubed beef (cut into roughly one-inch cubes)
1 pound other cubed meat (venison, pork, turkey, chicken, more beef, even sausage, as long as it’s not too fatty)
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, cut in ?-inch pieces
2 cups baby carrots (or 1-inch chunks of carrot)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground is best)
? cup brown sugar
one 14-ounce can stewed tomatoes (with peppers, with garlic, plain, any type is fine)
21 ounces canned mushrooms stems and pieces (not drained!)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
2 packets (.88 ounce per packet) beef gravy mix (I used Lawry’s Brown Gravy Mix)
Coat the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
Put the chopped onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Lay the chunks of meat on top of that. (If you plan to use sausage and it’s precooked, don’t add it at this point — wait until an hour or so before serving.)
Put the carrots and celery on top of the meat, and cook on HIGH for 5 hours.
Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and ground pepper. Then add the brown sugar, the tomatoes, and the mushrooms with the mushroom liquid. Stir it all up and add the cubed potatoes.
Pour in enough water to almost cover the meat and vegetables, but not quite. Then add one packet of gravy mix and stir again.
Cover and cook on LOW for an additional 6-7 hours. If you start this late and don’t have the required 10 hours of cooking time, you can leave the Crock-Pot on HIGH for the entire time, and it should be ready in 8-9 hours.
If there’s too much liquid when you’re ready to serve, sprinkle in the second gravy packet and stir it in until it’s thick.
Serve in big bowls with hot crusty bread. It’s a perfect winter’s evening meal. (If you use venison as the second meat, don’t tell Andrea. She has real reservations about eating the star of a classic Disney movie.)
IRISH ROAST BEAST
You can use a 4-quart slow cooker or a 325 degree F. oven, rack in the middle position.
This recipe is from Barbara Donnelly, who got it from her mother.
16-ounce can cranberry sauce (whole berry)
6-ounce can tomato sauce
12-ounce bottle stout beer (Barbara uses Guinness Stout)
2 teaspoons freshly ground rosemary (it’s so much better fresh!)
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon sweet basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (again, freshly ground is much better)
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 pound boneless chuck or rump roast (or any similar cut of boneless beef)
1 packet (.88 ounce) beef gravy mix
Mix all ingredients except the meat and the gravy mix in a bowl. Grease slow cooker. Put a half-cup of the mixture in the bottom of the slow cooker. Set in the meat and pour the rest of the sauce over the top.
Turn the slow cooker to LOW and cook for 8-10 hours. (If you’re late putting this up in the slow cooker, you can cook it at HIGH for the entire time. Using this method, it should take only 6-7 hours.)
When the meat is easily pierced by a fork (Barbara likes hers practically falling apart), remove it from the sauce, cut it in chunks and put it on a platter. Cover the platter with foil so it will stay warm.
Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and sprinkle in the packet of beef gravy mix. Stir until the sauce has thickened. To serve, drizzle some of the sauce over the meat on the platter. Put the rest in a gravy boat or small pitcher for the table.
If you choose to do this in the oven: Grease or coat the inside of a roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Follow the directions above and once your Irish Roast Beast is in the pan, cover it tightly with heavy-duty foil.
Bake at 325 degrees F. for 5-6 hours, or until it’s easily pierced by a fork. Then take off the foil and let it brown in the oven for another 45 minutes. When it’s time to make the gravy, transfer the meat to a platter and pour the liquid into a saucepan over the medium heat. Sprinkle the gravy packet over the sauce and stir until it thickens.
MEATLOAF
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
This recipe is from Esther Gibson, Digger Gibson’s wife.
2/3 cup cracker crumbs (or matzo meal)
1 cup evaporated milk (or light cream)
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
? teaspoon garlic powder
? teaspoon onion powder
? teaspoon paprika
? teaspoon pepper
? teaspoon sage
? teaspoon ground oregano
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ? pounds ground beef (or 1 pound beef, ? pound ground pork)
Grease or coat a bread pan with nonstick cooking spray and have it ready. (The one Esther uses is metal, and the bottom measures 4 x 8 inches.)
In a large bowl, mix the cracker crumbs, evaporated milk, beaten eggs, and seasonings. Add the chopped onion and mix well. Here comes the messy part . . . .
Add the ground meat and mix it all up with your impeccably clean hands. (That’s right, use your hands and smoosh it all up together — this really is worth all the mess.)
With your hands, transfer the meat mixture to the pan you’ve prepared, filling it to within ? inch of the top, except in the middle, where you should mound it like a loaf bread. If you have any meat mixture left over, shape it into patties, separate the patties with wax paper, stick them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. They make wonderful hamburgers.
Piquant Sauce Meatloaf Topping
Esther says this piquant sauce is the reason her family loves having meatloaf. It’s really good!
3 tablespoons brown sugar
? teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
? cup catsup
In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, nutmeg and dry mustard. (Esther uses a fork to do this.) Mix in the catsup and then spoon the sauce over the top of your meatloaf.
Put a drip pan (Esther has an old cookie sheet with raised sides) under the meatloaf pan and bake it at 350 degrees F. for 1 ? hours.
Let cook in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out on a carving board. Let it cool for another 5 minutes, and then slice.
Everyone says no one makes meatloaf better than Esther!
MINNESOAT HOTDISH
Ruel moved to Minnesota from California to teach at a local college. He says that there are more “hotdish” variations n Minnesota than there are mosquitoes at a shore lunch. Essentially, hotdish is comfort food concept, not a hard-and-fast recipe. Feel free to substitute and make your own variations. Some people in other more fancy parts of the country call this dish a “casserole.”
2 large onions, chopped
1 pound of ground beef (or ground pork, or a combination of the two)
? cup butter
1 pound of any cooked, leftover meat (beef, pork, ham, chicken, or sausage)
1/3 cup honey
? cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mrs. Knudson’s Season Salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is best)
hot sauce to taste (optional)
2 pounds cooked medium-size shrimp without tails
2 one-pound packages of mixed frozen vegetables (use your favorites)
8 ounces canned sliced mushrooms, drained
6 cups of cooked rice (white, brown, or a mixture)
In your largest stovetop pan and over medium heat, fry the ground meat and onions together until the meat is crumbly and the onions are translucent. Drain off the fat.
Add the butter and stir it around until it melts. Chop the leftover meat into bite-size pieces and add them. Then add the shrimp, honey and soy sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes to marry the flavors. This should be on the wet side. It it’s not, add a little more soy sauce or your favorite flavored vinegar. (I like raspberry vinegar.)
Season with garlic powder, Season Salt, black pepper, and hot sauce to taste (if you like it on the hot side).
Steam, boil, or microwave the vegetables. Darin them and add them, along with the mushrooms.
Add the cooked rice. If there’s not enough room in the pan, combine the meat mixture with the rice in a large roasting pan you’ve coated with nonstick cooking spray. Mix it well.
If you’re not ready to serve yet, you can keep it warm in a 325 degree F. oven, uncovered for up to 1 ? hours.
Yield: Serves at least 10 hungry eaters, maybe more.
NOT SO SWEDISH MEATBALLS
Edna Ferguson used to make her meatballs by hand, until she came up with this really good mushroom sauce and discovered that no one could really tell the difference. She likes to makes hers in the slow cooker because they’ll hold for a couple of hours that way, and they’re really easy to take to a potluck dinner.
1 five-pound bag cooked, frozen meatballs (about 120 meatballs)
8 50-ounces cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)
1 cup whole milk, half-and-half, or cream (depending on how rich you want it)
1/3 cup dried onions (or one large onion, finely chopped)
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 packet (.88 ounce) brown gravy mix (just in case you need it)
Cooked egg noodles, fettuccine, mashed potatoes, or rice
Coat a 5-quart slow cooker or a large roasting pan with non stick cooking spray. Combine everything except the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the slow cooker or the roasting pan. Mix in the frozen meatballs, making sure the tops are covered with the sauce.
Cook in the slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours, or in a tightly covered roasting pan at 350 degrees F. for 5-6 hours.
Check meatballs a half hour before the end of the cooking time. If there’s too much liquid, sprinkled some brown gravy mix over the top and stir it in. if there’s not enough liquid, add more milk or cream. Check for salt at this time and add it if needed.
Finish cooking and serve over cooked egg noodles, fettuccine, mashed potatoes, or rice.
These can also be served as appetizers if you cut back on the liquid. Present directly from the slow cooker or pan, and provide food picks and small plates for your guests.
ROSE’S RESTAURANT TURKEY
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F., rack in the bottom position.
This is the turkey that Rose uses at the café for her hot turkey sandwiches with the mashed potatoes and gravy on top, and her turkey salad.
One uncooked (doesn’t that sound better than “raw?”) turkey, thawed, rinsed, and patted dry
A roasting pan big enough to hold the turkey
1 meat rack big enough to hold the turkey and small enough to fit in the pan
Spray the rack and pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Spray the turkey with nonstick cooking spray. Salt and pepper the outside of the turkey. Place the turkey, breast down (Rose knows this is unusual, just do it), on the rack in the pan.
Roast turkey at 275 degrees F., uncovered, for 23 minutes per pound.
If you want to roast the gizzard, liver, or nick, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and place them inside the largest cavity of the turkey.
Remove the turkey from the oven. Cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.