Eggplant Bake, A great summertime main dish!

 This recipe is in the Hendricks Family Cookbook page 297, and is perfect for late summer when you have peppers, eggplant and tomatoes in the garden.  It's a great dinner all by itself.

1 large or two small eggplants

salt

1 onion

1 red pepper (I used half red and half yellow here)

olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 c. Panko crumbs

2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

2 fresh tomatoes

1 c. grated Parmesan Cheese

1 c. crumbled Feta cheese

4 slices Muenster cheese, torn into strips

 

 

Peel the eggplant and slice it into half inch thick lengthwise slices.  Place it on a rack over the sink, or on a tray covered with paper towels.  Sprinkle salt on all the pieces.  Wait 15 minutes, turn it over and sprinkle again, give it another 15 minutes.  Rinse off the pieces and pat them dry with clean paper towels.  

 

Peel and thinly slice the onion and core and slice the pepper into strips.  Heat a skillet to medium heat, swirl in a little olive oil and add the onions and peppers.  Sprinkle on a bit of salt.  Cook and stir these until the onions are soft.  

 

Slice the two tomatoes into thin slices.

 

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and turn the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C).

 

Beat the eggs in a flat bowl, and put the Panko crumbs into another bowl.  Stir the Italian seasoning into the crumbs.  Heat another skillet or griddle and drizzle in a little olive oil.  Take the prepared eggplant pieces and dip them first in the egg and then in the crumbs.  Fry them on the griddle until they are brown, turning to cook both sides. 

 

In the prepared baking dish, layer eggplant, onion, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and feta cheese. Top with strips of Muenster.

Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

 

 

Multi-Grain Bread

 This bread is always a hit.  It is soft with a great texture and not crumbly.

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. Salt

2/3 cup powdered milk

5 cups warm water

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs (or substitute the equivalent powdered egg and water)

2 Tbsp. Yeast

¼ cup gluten flour  (see hint below)

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups rolled whole grains (see hint below)

8 - 12 cups bread flour

Mix all ingredients well, adding bread flour last until dough is a good texture and not sticky.   

In the bread mixer, add flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl like this:

 Knead the dough for 10 minutes.  Turn it out of the mixer into a large greased bowl and let it rise in a warm place for one hour.   

Grease five medium sized (about 9 inches long by 4 inches wide) loaf pans.  Divide the dough evenly into five pieces.  I usually weigh it with a kitchen scale.   

 Shape into loaves.  To do this, flatten the dough into a rectangle and roll it up tightly into a log. Pound the log out into a rectangle again and roll up into another log.    Pound it out to get rid of bubbles, tuck in the ends and then put it into the pan.  Spray the tops of the loaves with cooking spray.  Cover the pans with a towel and let the dough rise for another hour or so.  The dough should be doubled in size and the middle should be higher than the edge of the pan. The dough will grow more after it goes into the oven.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  If your oven is small, it’s good to turn the pans about halfway through the baking time to keep the heat evenly distributed.

 

 Hints:
 Here's what we mean by gluten flour. It looks like dark grey flour.  You can buy it in a can in your baking aisle near the yeast and flour.

And by rolled whole grains, we're looking for something like this.  This is a six grain mix.  It looks like oatmeal.  You can buy it in the cereal aisle.

Nell's Chocolate Cake

NELL’S CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 ¾ c. sugar	1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1/3 c. shortening (Or coconut oil)	1 ½ tsp. salt
2 eggs	½ c. cocoa
1  tsp. vanilla 2  ½ c. flour	½ c. boiling water 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift flour, soda, and salt together, adding to creamed mixture alternating with milk.  Add cocoa to boiling water mixing to make a paste. Cool slightly then mix into batter. Spread into greased 9x13 pan. Cook for 35 min.

Frost with Chocolate Butter Frosting.  

 

CHOCOLATE BUTTER FROSTING

1 lb. powdered sugar                     ¹⁄3 c. evaporated milk

½ c. cocoa                                     ½ c. butter, softened

Mix all ingredients in mixing bowl with electric mixer. Makes enough to frost 1 large cake

Cafe Rio Syle Sweet Pork; Santa Fe Lime Rice; Tomatillo Dressing

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

CAFE RIO SWEET PORK
Kim Hendricks

3 lb. pork roast
 2 cup brown sugar
 16 oz. chunky salsa
1 (12 oz) can Dr. Pepper or Coke (not Diet)
Put pork in slow cooker and fill halfway with water. Cook 4 hours on high. Drain water, cut pork in thirds, mix together sauce and pour on top. Cook 4 more hours on low. Drain liquid and shred pork. Save a little liquid and mix it in with the pork so it is really moist.
Note: If you’re making a Cafe Rio Pork salad, this is what makes the entire meal. If you don’t feel like making a salad, this is a great meat for burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, etc. It is super easy to make!

Tomatillo Dressing

TOMATILLO DRESSING
Linda Wayman
3 fresh tomatillos or 1 c. bottled salsa verde
5 stalks green onions
2 cloves crushed garlic juice of one lime
½ tsp. salt
1 c. creamy ranch dressing
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ c. sour cream
1 jalapeño, sliced thin (optional if you like more heat)
 1 c. fresh cilantro
Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until creamy. Refrigerate one hour. Serve with Cafe Rio chicken (in Poultry section), Santa Fe Lime rice (rice and beans section), black beans, and salad fixins for a Cafe Rio style chicken salad.

Santa Fe Lime Rice

 

This meal is a showstopper.  The vibrant flavors marry together perfectly, and is definitely on my top ten most-craved dinners.  By using a Crock-pot and a rice maker, I could prep this whole meal in advance and just assemble right before dinner time.  Along with my rice, pork, dressing, I added a can of black beans that I stewed with a ladle full of the juice from the pork, some chopped romaine lettuce, and sliced avocado.  Mango salsa, pico de gallo, and a host of other toppings would be amazing, but I didn't have all that on hand, so stay tuned for another post in the future.

One great thing about this pork recipe is that it makes a lot--about 3 pounds of shredded pork.  Considering you only put a few ounces on a burrito or a salad, this will feed a small army.  You can either use it for a big Fresh-Mex party (nobody ever says no to that), or it freezes well.  I, for one, am jazzed that I have two full meals worth of pork happily stashed in the freezer for some future date.