Beef Pot Pie

Yesterday I made beef stew from a small London Broil. I pressure cooked the browned beef cubes with some onion powder and finely diced celery and a can of chicken broth for 15 minutes. Then I cooled the pot under cold running water to let down the steam and removed the lid. Next I added fresh carrots diced small, 8 OZ frozen corn, 8 OZ of frozen green beans, 8 OZ of frozen mixed veggies which I cooked for 15 minutes before adding the 4 potatoes, peeled and diced small which I cooked about 15 minutes. The stew was so thick and broth-less that I added water for more gravy and some Oil Rue to thicken it. I would have preferred to add 2 cans of beef broth in the beginning but I had none, so I added water to the broth when I added the veggies.

I had planned on making the beef stew into a beef pot pie yesterday and had made a batch of two crust pie dough (adding an egg since it was savory pie), but that idea got side railed when Mom got company I haven’t seen in a while, so I refrigerated the beef stew and made the beef pot pie as soon as I walked in the kitchen after work today. It is baking right now!

Swedish Pancakes for Breakfast

I was watching DINERS, DRIVE INS and DIVES last night and Guy visits this cool Swedish, Danish, Netherlander restaurant. The first thing the owner made was SWEDISH PANCAKES. I make Swedish pancakes about 4 times a year.. I LOVE them. IN high school we made French Crepes and I thought they were so primo I got one of those Teflon coated crepe pans for Christmas that year. You know the kind where you dip the hot pan in a pie plate full of batter? Needless to say I tired of that cooking method quickly. By the time I was married 3 years later I was using a Teflon coated skillet for crepes. My love for crepes has not lessened at all over the 3 decades.. (I graduated in 1976). Nope I still love crepes but I found a Swedish Pancake recipe about 10 years ago that I love even more, and because they are a thicker pancake they are less likely to rip when flipping! There is more flour in a Swedish pancake recipe, otherwise the two recipes are the same: Milk, eggs, flour and a fat. Except I use canola oil instead of butter in the recipe for health reasons.I add vanilla too once in a while. I got this recipe off the internet last night that’s very similar to the one I have been using even down to the canola oil. Of course I only make half a recipe for myself.

SWEDISH PANCAKES

2 Cups Milk

4 Eggs

2 Tb Canola Oil

1 and 1/2 Cups Flour

3 TB Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Then cook 1/4 Cup in an oil sprayed 8 inch skillet. Spray skillet between each pancake and swirl batter to cover bottom and edge of pan. Turn when lacy brown.

NOTE: I fill with warm strawberry freezer jam.

Cinnamon Buns or Sticky Buns

CINNAMON BUNS

1 and 1/2 pounds of Bread Dough or Sweet Dough

2-3 TB melted Butter

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp to 1 TB Cinnamon.. it's hard to judge.. to your liking.

Roll out dough thinly in a rectangle.

Spread the melted butter even over the dough, leaving 1 inch uncovered along the long sides.

Sprinkle Brown Sugar over the butter layer and rub all over dough to cover evenly.

Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over the sugar layer.

Roll into a log and slice into 1" thick slices. Place in a well greased 9' X 9" baking dish. I prefer glass, but you can use anything.

Let rolls raise until doubled in bulk, at least one hour. Bake in 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Top will be dark brown.

Turn rolls onto a jelly roll pan or large plate then flip onto a oil sprayed piece of aluminum foil to cool. In other words you want the browned side up. Let cool a few minutes before drizzling a good amount of glaze on top, so they look well iced.

GLAZE

1 Cup 10 X sugar

2 TB Milk or 1/2 and 1/2

1 tsp Vanilla optional.

Stir well and drizzle on rolls before serving.


STICKY BUNS

For Sticky Buns use the same recipe except you distribute these ingredients on the bottom of the baking dish:

1/3 Cup brown sugar,

4 TB melted butter/margarine and

2 TB water.

Then lay the sliced rolls on top. Allow to rise and bake the same way, at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, except flip the buns into a well greased piece of tin foil so the sticky side stays up. Use the foil to wrap the buns up in. OMIT THE ICING GLAZE.

Grandma H's Bread Recipe As Given to Me in 1974 (1/2 Recipe)

5 and 1/2 Cups Water

1 Large Cake Yeast or 3 Pkgs Dry Yeast

Small Cup Sugar (About a rounded half cup)

2 and 1/2 Tb Salt (I use 1 and 1/2 Tb salt)

2 Lg Heaping Tb Crisco (or 3 Tb Canola or olive oil.)

5 Pound Bag Bread Flour

Mashed Potatoes (Optional, about 2 cups)

When I add mashed potatoes I get one more loaf of bread out of this recipe. I also cool down the potato water to lukewarm and use it in the recipe.

Proof yeast in 1 Cup Lukewarm Water/potato water with a tsp sugar added. After about 5 minutes it should be bubbled up nice.

In a large bowl add the Crisco, salt, sugar and remaining water and mashed potatoes. Now pour in the yeast water and mix well, then add the flour a cup or 2 at a time until it pulls way from the bowl and forms a ball. I usually don't use a mixer since the dough is so heavy, I do this all with my hands. Now you can knead it on the table or counter until smooth. (About 200 turns).

Place the dough in a large greased or oil sprayed bowl. Spray the dough also and cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap and let raise until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile grease the bread pans and set aside.

Turn the raised dough ball onto a floured counter or table and divide into 5-6 equal balls. I usually use a food scale to make sure they weigh the same, about 1 and 1/2 pounds each. Now at this point you can make some cinnamon buns with one of the balls.

Knead the bubbles out of each ball and form into a loaf and place in the greased bread tins. Take a dinner fork and poke the dough all over about 1/2 inch apart to pop any big bubbles in the dough. Now grease or oil spray the top of the loaves and let them raise until 1 inch above the top of the pans.

Bake in a preheated 350-375 degree oven for 35 minutes at least. Until dark brown on top and medium brown on bottom. Loaf should sound hollow when tapped with finger. I bake at 375 degrees by the way. cool on a baking rack for 2-3 hours before wrapping up.

Grandma H's Original Homemade Bread Recipe

2 and 1/2 Quarts lukewarm Water

1 Large Cup Sugar

1 and 1/2 Tb Crisco

2 Tb Salt

1 Yeast Cake

10 lb. Flour

Mix until real stiff. Round up nice and grease with Crisco. let raise 1 hour. Put in tins and grease tops again. Let raise 1 hour in tins. Make 45 minutes at 350 to 375 degrees.

NOTE: Grandma had 4 sons and one daughter. I imagine the boys especially ate a lot of bread. Can you imagine 10 cups of water in that recipe? I suppose this was also her mother's bread recipe.
I will also give you her revised recipe she gave me when I was 15 years old and just learning how to make bread.