Tick Cooks

Vegetable Barley Soup 2 TBS canola oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 celery stalks diced 2 carrots, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup pearl barley 4 cups vegetable broth 2 plum tomatoes, chopped 4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped 2 bay leaves salt and pepper to taste Heat oil on high heat. Sauté onion until transparent. Add celery, carrots and garlic. Cook until vegetables are soft. Add barley, broth, tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until barley is soft. Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Pepper Steak This was one of Mom’s “go to” recipes in her later years. I think she made it once every time we visited. I like to make it because not only is it good, but also because it holds such strong associations with her. Warning: it needs to cook for an hour, so allow plenty of time! It freezes well, too. ¼ cup soy sauce 1 TBS water 1 ½ tsp cornstarch pepper, garlic 1 lb round steak or stew meat 2 TBS oleo 1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks or strips 1 can tomatoes, undrained Blend together soy sauce, water, cornstarch, pepper and garlic. Thinly slice meat into strips. Add to soy mixture. Melt margarine. Add peppers and sauté until almost tender. Add meat and liquid. Cook, stirring, until meat loses its red color. Stir in tomatoes with their sauce. Cover and simmer at least 1 hour. Serve over rice.

Another one that freezes well. 1 lb stew meat, cut in mouth-size pieces 2 TBS flour salt and pepper 3 TBS margarine 500 ml (2 cups) tomato puree/sauce 1 chopped onion 1/2 cup beef broth 1 can beef ravioli in sauce Dredge meat in half of flour, salt and pepper. Brown in shortening. Place in casserole. Combine rest of flour with tomato sauce, and broth in a saucepan. Heat to boiling and pour over meat. Cover and bake at 375°/190° for one hour. Add onion. Cover and bake another 45 minutes. Stir in ravioli and bake another 15 minutes. To freeze: prepare up to the ravioli. Remove from oven and let cool before freezing. To serve, thaw completely. Add ravioli and cook at 375°/190 covered, until heated through, 15-30 minutes.

Crustless Quiche Also known as Quiche in a Bag, the idea being that you can combine everything, put it in a zip-lock bag and freeze it. 1 cup meat, cooked (ham, chicken, bacon, tuna, shrimp, whatever....) ¾ cup chopped cooked vegetable (I usually use broccoli) ¼ cup chopped onion 2 cups milk 4 eggs 1/8 tsp hot sauce (optional) salt, pepper, nutmeg ½ cup flour 2 tsp baking powder To cook now: Combine meat, vegetable and onion in lightly greased pan. With a mixer or blender (or by hand) combine remaining ingredients. Pour into pan. Bake at 350° for at least one hour (that never is long enough, it seems to me). Should be firm to the touch. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. To freeze: Combine meat, veg and onion in labelled 1 gallon/1 liter zip-lock bag. Combine other ingredients as above and pour into bag. Seal and freeze. To serve, that completely. Shake bag well to combine and pour into a greased pan. Bake as above. Muffins: Makes excellent br...

Easy Apple Cake This comes from the American Heart Association. 4 cups diced, peeled apples (@4 apples) 1 ¼ cups sugar 2/3 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla 2 eggs, lightly beaten 3 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp baking soda 3 tsp (or more....) cinnamon Combine apples and sugar in large bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°/175°. Lightly grease a 9x13x2 pan. Add oil, vanilla and eggs to apples. Stir gently to mix. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients and stir well to mix thoroughly. Add to apply mixture and stir gently to blend well. Spread batter in prepared pan and bake 40-50 minutes.

A fairly easy "throw it in the oven and forget about it" dinner. Makes a good rice. 2 pork chops 1 cup long grain rice 1 onion chopped 2 cups chicken broth Season chops as desired and brown. Remove from pan. Add more fat to the pan and cook rice and onion, stirring constantly. Add broth and season as desired. Bring to a boil. Put mixture into casserole and put chops on top. Cook at 350°F/175°C for 50 minutes. Check every 15 minutes or so to see if it needs more liquid. Can also use 4 chops or as many as will fit in the pan.

I usually make cake brownies, as I prefer them, and they are healthier and quicker to make. But every now and then one wants a good gooey fudge brownie..... Fudge Brownies 1 cup margarine or butter 4 oz bittersweet chocolate 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 ½ cups flour Melt margarine and chocolate together. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat lightly by hand. Stir in flour. Spread batter in a 13x9 pan. Bake at 350°F/175°C for 30-35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

My only problem with this recipe is that it takes forever to make the white sauce. Oh well, patience is a virtue, isn't it? Amish Chicken Casserole Found this one in Southern Living magazine many years ago. 8 oz band noodles ½ cup butter or margarine 1/3 cup flour 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup milk 2 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper 2 cups chopped cooked chicken 2 cup peas Cook noodles, drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 350!F/175°C. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat; gradually add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add chicken broth and milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt and pepper, set aside. Combine noodles, chicken, and peas. Stir in sauce. (Alternatively: add noodles, chicken and peas to sauce in pan). Spoon into a lightly greased 13x9 casserole. Bake uncovered at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. ...

This rapidly became a family favourite. It is nice and moist. It allegedly freezes well, but it has never lasted long enough here for me to try that. 3 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 2 cups sugar 1 cup butter 3 tsp vanilla 4 eggs ¾ cups milks 12 oz miniature chocolate chips ( or more.....) Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10” fluted tube pan. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Beat sugar, butter and vanilla until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually beat in flour mixture, alternately with milk. By hand stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan and bake 70-80 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

We try to eat meatless at least once a week. We like this one, not only delicious but also very easy to make. 2/3 cup (125 g) uncooked barley (not quick cooking) ¼ cup (75 ml) vegetable broth 4 cups (@400 g) mixed frozen vegetables ½ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp black pepper 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable broth ½ tsp butter ½ tsp salt Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Lightly grease a 1.5 quart (1.5 liter) casserole. Place barley and the ¼ cup (75 ml) vegetable broth in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Heat for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Transfer to prepared casserole. Put vegetables, garlic, pepper, and 2 cups (500 ml) broth into casserole. Mix well. Cover and bake 50 minutes, or until barley is tender and most of liquid is absorbed. Stir several times during baking. If needed, leave uncovered the last 10 minutes so that the liquid is absorbed. Stir in butter and salt. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. NOTE...

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 3 celery stalks, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ small green chili, finely chopped 2 large tomaotes, chopped 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon dried oregano salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ¾ cup (150) gram long grain rice 750 ml (3 cups) vegetable broth Heat oil in a large high-sided pan over medium-hight heat. Saute onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery until onion is translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes Add rest of ingredients except rice and broth. Stir well and let cook about 1 minute. Add rice. Slowly pour in broth. (Note: At this point I add about ½ to 2/3 of the broth, and add the rest later as needed.) Reduce heat to medium and let the dish cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice absorbs all the liquid, 20-25 minutes. Serve with gree...

Cornbread 1 1/4 cups flour 3/4 cups cornmeal 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup skim milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 egg Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Grease an 8-inch pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes Also makes 6 muffins, and lots of mini muffins (corn gems). I also use this as a topping for chicken pot pie (I can't make a pie crust to save my life, and they can't be found here in Germany.) This is enough for an 9x12 pan of pot pie, as you don't want it to be thick or the cornbread won't bake through. This can also easily be doubled for a 9x12 pan. You can also easily make a mix out of this, by combining the dry ingredients in a zipper bag.

There is nothing like this available in Germany, so I had to find a way to make my own. 2/3 cup rice (not instant) 2/3 cup vermicelli, orzo or other fine noodles 2 TBS butter 2 cups water 2 cubes/TBS chicken broth powder 1/2 TBS seasoned salt 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 TBS dried parsley Melt butter in a large skillet with a lid. Brown rice and pasta. Add water and seasonings. Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer until all water is absorbed, 15-20 minutes. This is easy to make a mix out of, so that you can just grab one and make the dish. I combine the rice and noodles in a 1 liter/1 quart zipper bag. I combine the seasonings in a snack-size bag, and put that in the larger bag. Finished! To cook, see above. All you need to add is the butter and water.