Diva's Rhubarb Jam

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

⬗⬗   Rhubarb Jam  ⬖⬖

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Inspiration from: Grandma Margaret always had a bowl of this mixed in the fridge.  Grandad Dale always grew huge rows of rhubarb he perfected over the years from his horticulture knowledge. 

Ingredients
4 cups rhubarb 2 cups white sugar 1 TB water	1/2 tsp lemon juice 1-1 1/2 oz box of strawberry jello

Directions

Cut rhubarb into 1 inch cuts.  Bring water and rhubarb to a boil. Add sugar and let boil til rhubarb is stringy and tender.  (about 15 mins)  Remove from heat and add lemon juice and jello.

Variations

The jello adds color to the rhubarb if it is green and also helps it to gel.

Yields:  2 cups

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

⬗⬗   ButterBalls ⬖⬖

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Inspiration from: This is a Volga German tradition in our family, Both the Rutz and Zemanek families enjoyed this in our soups.  Grandma Margaret always used the fresh cream from the milk cows and fresh eggs from the hen house...YUM! The allspice makes it a wonderful divine taste.  Wonderful for that left over Turkey!

Ingredients
6 cups fine bread crumbs (almost 2-15 oz plain crumb pkg) 2/3 cups sweet cream  (can use cream or half and half + 1/2 c sugar) 3-4 large eggs	1 cup butter, melted 1 tsp salt 1 tb allspice, i like more for taste and usually use 2-3 tablespoons.

Directions

Put bread crumbs, salt and allspice in a large bowl; make a well.  Heat cream in a small saucepan and pour into well of bread crumbs.  Mix well with hands; pour in melted butter and mix again.  Add eggs 1 at a time; if it is dry, add another egg.  (Testing: make a ball and cook 10 minutes in boiling water, if the ball does not separate, it is ok.  If it falls apart, add another egg)  Roll into balls about the size of a walnut.  This is the diva test:  when making the balls, if the butter squishes and the ball is firm; it's perfect!

Variations

boil 10 minutes in Home made Turkey or Chicken and noodles.  You can find my noodle recipe on an earlier post.


The butter balls freeze nicely for later use.  Warning:  the are very rich and most people can only eat a couple at a time.  


Yields: 50 butter balls

Diva's Cabbage Burger's

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

  

Cabbage Burger's

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Inspiration from: This recipe was created by German immigrants. It is one of our favorite family recipes and found in the Nebraska region, where I was born and raised.  My Grandma's taught me how to make these before I could walk. lol The cabbage mixture is encased in a nice little bread package and was easy for the guys to carry them into the sugar beet and corn fields for the day.

	Ingredients
3 lbs of ground beef 1 head of cabbage, cut into bite sizes 1 extra large onions 2 cups of water Bread dough, enough for 2 loaves Cheese slices are optional  Recipe for dough is below	salt to taste pepper (lots of pepper) PEPPER is the key

Directions

Crumble the ground beef into an extra large pot over medium heat. Cook with onion and stir until evenly browned. Drain off grease. Add cabbage and cook over medium-low heat, stirring as needed, until the cabbage is soft and wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste while cooking. I like to use more pepper than salt. Us German/Czech woman love pepper, lots of it. Drain off any excess liquids, and set aside.

While you cook the cabbage mixture, make the bread dough.  Some people thaw 2 frozen loafs of bread dough or Frozen dinner rolls.  I and Grandma always used Potato Bread dough recipe.

For this recipe, you can use leftover mashed potatoes or mix up a cup’s worth of instant mashed potatoes. This easy potato bread recipe makes 2 loaves.  Grandma grew up in the depreciation and nothing went to waste.

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed potatoes

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup butter, soft

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2-1/4 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

5 cups bread flour, about

Preparation:

In large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, eggs, and butter.  Stir in sugar, salt, yeast, and warm water.  Mix in enough flour to make a dough that can be kneaded by hand.  Turn dough out onto floured board and knead it until smooth and elastic.  Put dough in a greased bowl. Flip dough over inside bowl so that the dough top is also lightly greased. Cover and let rise for 1 to 2 hours, until double in bulk. Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board and briefly knead out bubbles. 

Assembly:

Method 1:  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough balls into 5 inch (approximate) squares. Place about 3/4 cup of the cabbage burger into the center, fold the dough over, and pinch to seal. Place on a greased cookie baking sheet with the seam side down. Let rise 1 hour. 

Method 2:  Thaw freezer dinner rolls and let rise for 1 hour.  Roll out 2 on a floured surface to desired shape and size.  Place a heap of filling on bottom roll, then add other rolled out roll on top.  Seal shut and place on greased cookie sheet.  Let rise 1 hour.

*A trick for method 1, when you roll out the dough, put it a cereal bowl.  Add filling and fold.  Can make folding easier.

Variations

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated 375 degrees oven, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.

My kids love them with ketchup...

Yields: apprx 18 cabbage burgers

I also wrap them individually in foil and freeze any left overs to enjoy at a later time.  You can unwrap them from the foil and nuke them for 3 mins.

YUMMY!

Diva's Pork Chili

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

⬗⬗   Pork Chili  ⬖⬖

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Inspiration from:  This was a favorite of my kids.  El Charrito's in Scottsbluff, NE, where we were born, was a popular place we use to eat at.  They had something similar on the menu and this is as close to their pork chili as I could get.  Never as good as the real thing...but divine!

Ingredients
3 lb pork roast 28 oz can of tomatoes with jalepeno's (undrained) 64 oz picante sauce, medium Flour tortilla's 16 oz of Monterey Jack Cheese	salt pepper cumin 2 TB flour + 1/2 water for paste

Directions

Put pork roast and tomatoes in a pressure cooker and cook til tender.  Let cool so you can pull it a part into fine pieces and remove the pork fat.  In a large stock pan, put salsa, pork mixture, salt, pepper and cumin.  Simmer over low heat for a couple hours.  To thicken mixture, add the flour paste.

Variations

Serve Hot in a bowl and sprinkle with Cheese with a tortilla on the side. You can also smother a burrito or enchilada with it.

Will Serve 8 people

Diva's Mexican Casserole

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

 Mexican Casserole 

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Inspiration from:  Made by my mother when I was a kid.  We all have perfected it  and I passed it on to my children.  This is my variation.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of chicken soup 16 oz jar of picante sauce 1/4 cup jalepeno's from a jar, drained 3 cups ground cheddar cheese of your choice	salt pepper 2 pinches of ground cumin small pkg corn tortilla's 8 large flour tortilla's

Directions

Brown ground ground beef in large skillet (salt and pepper to taste). Drain.  On medium heat, add ground beef soups, picante sauce, jalepeno's and cumin and cook to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer 5 mins.  In a 9x13 pan, Layer 6 corn tortilla's, 1/3 rd of meat sauce, and 1 cup cheese.  Make 3 layers of each.  


Bake 350 degrees 45 mins.
Let cool 5 mins and add a scoop to a flour tortillas and roll up.
Enjoy!

Variations

Will Serve 4 people

Diva's Egg Noodles

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

⬗⬗   Egg Noodles  ⬖⬖

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Inspiration from:  My kids love home made noodles in the soups. My Grandma Sarah taught me how to make these.

Directions

Homemade Noodles 3 1/2 cup flour, 6 beaten eggs, 'Stir with fork till doughy, Knead in flour 1 minute.  Cut in 3rd's and make a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 mins.  Cut each ball in half and  roll out till very thin and let air-dry 1/2 hour. Sprinkle a little flour over noodles so they don't stick.  (You can also use the dough hook on a mixer)

 ( Great with German Butterballs.)  

NOTE: you don't want to add salt as it will make the noodles tough and take longer to dry.)

Variations

Once all the noodles are made, Boil in soup for 8 mins.  If you want to make other recipes, you can boil in water for the same amount of time and drain.

Will Serve 6 people

Diva's Football Stew

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Football Stew
Inspiration:  Gotta love a great Stew recipe.  Football tailgater favorite for sure.   Swallow your pride occasionally, it's non-fattening!
Ingredients: 3 lbs lean stew meat or stripped sirloin 6 potatoes, quartered 6 carrots, chunked 1 onion, chopped 4 stalks celery, chopped 2 TB minute tapioca 2 TB sugar 1 large can tomato juice 1 tsp basil 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp parley salt and pepper to taste	Instructions: Season and brown meat in oil.  Place in roaster pan and add other ingredients.  Cover roaster and simmer 5 hours at 325 degrees F.
Variation: You can add other veggies if you like.  But these are my favorite.

Diva's Chili for a crowd of 50

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Chili for a crowd of 50
Inspiration:  I love to cook for a crowd.  This has always been a hit at the holiday's and for Football game tailgating. Being from Nebraska, Cornhusker Football is a huge thing.  Once a husker, always a husker!
Ingredients:  14 lbs Ground beef 2 6lb cans red kidney beans 2 6 lb cans chili or pinto beans 2 6 lb cans crushed tomatoes 1 6lb can tomato paste 30 TB chili powder 2 TB cumin 1 TB pepper 8 onions, cut up 3 green peppers, cut up 1 16 oz jar Jalapeno's, cut up (optional) salt to taste	Instructions: Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet.  In an electric roaster, add remaining ingredients. Add ground beef and cook to simmer; stirring occasionally to blend flavors and bring to serving temp.  I simmer mine most of the day.
Variation: Yields 50 servings This recipe also freezes well in baggies or freezer containers.

Diva's Beer Basting Sauce (BBQ)

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

Beer Basting Sauce  

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Inspiration from:  One of my favorite basting sauces... for big daddy.

Ingredients
1 Cup brown sugar 1 Cup beer of your choice 1 Cup chili sauce 1/4 Cup mustard	1 tsp soy sauce 1/2 Cup finely minced onion additional 1/2 Cup beer

Directions

Combine all ingredients well except the additional 1/2 Cup beer in a sauce pan.  Bring to a  boil and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool and add the other 1/2 Cup beer.  Refrigerate.

Variations

Use to baste hamburgers, chicken, pork, etc on the grill.

Diva's Sausage Gravy

Diva’s Memories of Recipes

⬗⬗   Sausage Gravy  ⬖⬖

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Inspiration from:  Both of my Grandma's made the most awesome Gravy.  They were great teacher's.  This is also how I make my Fried Chicken Gravy too.  My kids and my best friend can't get enough of this:)

Ingredients
1 lb of ground sausage 3 tb flour 3 cups of milk	salt pepper

Directions

Brown ground sausage in large skillet.  Leave drippings in skillet from sausage.  Add flour til paste is made.  Add salt, pepper to taste and milk stirring constantly to a boil as gravy thickens.  Make to desired consistency.

Variations

You may need to add more milk if gravy is too thick.  My daughter adds garlic to her's as the sausage is cooking.

Will Serve 4 people

Diva's crock Pot BBQ beef Sandwiches

Diva’s Memories of Recipes crock Pot BBQ beef Sandwiches
Inspiration: Tender roast beef, YUMMY
Ingredients: 1~1/2 lbs beef boneless round steak salt and pepper to taste 2 cups shredded cabbage 1/2 cup minced onion 1/2 cup BBQ sauce 1 TB parsley 1/2 tsp basil 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp minced garlic 1/2 cup water 8 sandwich buns	Instructions: Trim excess fat off of round steak.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cut into 3" pieces.  Mix the cabbage, onion, BBQ sauce and water together.  Layer beef mixture and cabbage in crock pot. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours.  Beef will fall apart and stir to a shredded consistency with a fork.  Fill buns and enjoy.
Variation: Yields 8 servings I have also made this with ketchup and I have also just cooked it in 1 cup of water and no sauce. 31g carbs

Diva's Tomato Pasta Sauce

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Tomato Pasta Sauce
Inspiration:  This is my basic pasta sauce I use for everything.  I will double or triple the recipe and freeze quart size bags for future use too.  I also use this sauce for my casseroles and chili.
Ingredients: 2 lbs ground beef 1/2 TB basil 1/2 TB oregano 1/2 TB thyme 1/2 TB parsley salt & pepper to taste 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained 1 28oz can tomato sauce 1 6oz can tomato paste 1 TB minced garlic 1/2 cup onion, chopped	Instructions:  Brown ground beef, onions and garlic in large stock pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 2 hours.
Variation:  1 recipe will serve 6 sometimes I add green peppers, black olives, sweet wine or mushrooms as well.  Depends on who I am cooking for.   One 28-ounce can of tomatoes equals about 10 to 12 whole tomatoes, peeled (or about 2 pounds) One 14-1/2-ounce can of tomatoes equals 5 to 6 whole tomatoes, peeled (or about 1 pound) If you want to substitute whole tomatoes for tomato sauce, puree 10 tomatoes, peeled will equal One 28-ounce can.  And for homemade Tomato paste, add an additional 3 tomatoes to the puree.