Mikes Pork Loin Au Gratin

Having grown up in the fifties and sixties, I was part of the canned generation. Basically this means a great deal of the food we consumed came in cans, frozen trays or boxes. So bear with me as many of my recipes include a can of this or a box of that.

This particular dish was made with a plain pork loin, however; I normally use and prefer a pork tenderloin.

Ingredients:

@ 1-1 1/2 pound tenderloin sliced

@1 Cup Carrots sliced but about 1 1/2 inch long

@1 Cup Cabbage rough chopped

@1 Cup of Asparagus stalk sections, again about 1 1/2 inch long pieces

@1/2 Cup Chopped Onion

@1/2 Cup Green Pepper cut in squares @ 1/2 x 1/2 inch

@1/2 Cup Mixed Colored Peppers cut the same

2 boxes Au Gratin Potato Mix

To taste:

Salt

Pepper

Mrs. Grass original

Old Bay

Garlic Powder

Ginger

Sage

Add pork and veggies to at least a 5 quart pan.. Then fill pan with water to near top for cooking. Simmer for a few hours until almost tender. Be sure to keep adding water as it evaporates to prevent drying.  

Set aside about 2 cups of water for adding later. Add Au Gratin sauce packets to this. Don't add until near the end of the cooking time.

Add sauce mix and dried potatoes @ 1 hour before you think the pork will be cooked to your satisfaction.

Enjoy

Mikes Shit On A Shingle

So the word shingle for toast dates back to 1935 according to Wikipedia. The phrase Shit On A Shingle was commonly used by US G.Is frequently during WWII to describe Chipped Beef On Toast, a combination of chipped beef along with a white cream sauce served on, u guessed it, toast.

S I figure if you mix some kind of meat with some kind of sauce and serve it on toast, you have your own version. Below is mine.

Ingredients:

-1/2 - 1 pound of ground beef

-1 package Lipton Chicken Flavored Rice Mix & 1 Cup water nuked @ 12 minutes. Please don't ask why I don't use beef mix.

-1 Sm Can Cream of celery Soup

-Same soup can full of milk

-1 Can 15 oz Mixed Veggies

-Salt to taste

-Pepper to taste

Since both the rice mix and soup add flavor, I stick with just salt and pepper for spicing.

Brown ground beef on stove while nuking rice mix.

Nuke soup and milk for about 3-4 minutes to make blending easier. A fork works well.

Add heated soup and veggies to mix. Stir well and nuke about 4 minutes.

Drain grease from meat, Chop ( I use a potato masher in the pan for this)

You could use chicken, turkey, ground pork or any meat cook and chopped. vary the flavor of rice with the type of meat you choose.

Enjoy

Mikes Hot Mashed Potato Salad

I am 61 years old. This is a dish my mother made fairly regularly. In fact I used to beg her to make it, I loved it so much. The ironic thing is that back then, I hated mustard. I couldn't get enough of this and it was full of mustard.

You will likely need to adjust these ingredients to your taste as well as using larger portions based on the amount of potatoes you will be making. The following will feed about 8-10 medium servings.

Boil 2-3 eggs. Be sure to add a goodly amount of Vinegar (I prefer Apple Cider Vinegar) to the water. makes peeling eggs somewhat easier. Although I have found there is at least one stubborn egg in each batch which refuses to be peeled. Set these aside to cool thoroughly.

@7 Medium Idaho Potatoes cut into pieces. Boil like you normally would, then Mash.

So 

@ Yield is 1/2 gallon mashed potatoes

Add:

-1/2 cup milk

-6 shakes of salt

-2 shakes of pepper

-1 shake garlic powder

-2 shakes of Old Bay seasoning (original)

@ 3/4 cup yellow mustard or add until the taste meets your approval. The mix should be yellow, so you will be adding quite a bit of mustard.

Then add diced egg, green pepper and diced onion until well mixed

@ 3/4 cup diced onion

@ 3/4 cup diced boiled egg

@ 1/2 cup Green Pepper

Reheat if needed. Serve hot.

My mother's did not include green pepper but I like the added flavor.  When I think ahead, I like to use red onion for more color.

Enjoy

Mikes 15 Bean and Chicken Soup

I like soups and stews. of course there are a lot of similarities in my recipes. I have a sensitive stomach, so u wont encounter a lot of spicy content and my seasoning is almost identical in everything I cook. Don't be regimented by what I add, experiment and use your favorite ingredients. The will be no test for any of the recipes.

Here goes...

I always use whatever meat I cook with to slowly cook first to create the broth. Of course adding water as u go will prevent the meat from drying out and cooking slowly will prevent sticking to the pan and burning.

Ingredients: This will feed a family or single or couples for a few days.

Beans

You can soak overnight but I don't normally

1 cup dry 15 bean soup mix.

1/2 cup dry navy beans.

Chicken

-2 breasts

-2 Thighs

-2 Legs


Vegetables
1/4 cup of diced green pepper
1/4 cup of mixed diced (orange, yellow and red peppers)
I keep these frozen for easy adding to soups and stews. I like the added color. To keep color more vibrant, add shortly before finished.

Forgive me, but I have always been a Samari chef, so usually I don't actually measure spices.

Spicing

@10 shakes of salt

2 shakes of pepper

2 shakes of Mrs Grass original

1 shake of sage

@ 3 shakes of basil

2 spashes of Teryiaki sauce

Extra

1/2 half box of any type stuffing mix. I place in decent size bowl, mix well and use half for the soup and save half for next time I make chicken soup. It gives the soup that extra holiday flavor and reminds me of Thanksgiving. I add this when beans are almost finished cooking.

Add ur favorites too.

I use either a #10 cast Iron Pan or 5 Quart. Add beans and spices, then add chicken, bring full pot to a boil, watching closely. Turn down to maybe 3 or 4 on electric stove or low to medium low on gas grill. Keep an eye on your temperature and adjust accordingly to prevent boiling. this may over flow and reduce broth substantially. Let simmer/slow cook for about 45 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove the chicken and place it in air tight container, in fridge to cool before tearing. 

Remember to keep adding water so pan is near full. After chicken is cool, tear it up and store in container until beans are tender. Add peppers maybe 10 minutes before adding chicken. Lastly add the chicken back in long enough to heat up. Taste test for spicing to your specs and add any needed before serving.

Mikes French Toast

A number of years back I developed an infatuation with a young lady named Nina. Although I was crushed the relationship didn't go any where, I did get what became my favorite French Toast recipe.

The ingredients are for one person and a modest serving.

2 Eggs-beat up

@ 1 Tbl water-added to egg mix for fluffiness

1/4 teaspoon of each of he following mixed in to egg

-Allspice

-Nutmeg

-Sage

-Poultry Seasoning

Mix well, soak bread well (I prefer bread to be sliced about 3/4 inch thick.

3 slices of Italian bread work well. You will cook this the regular, not the irregular way.

BUT Before you heat your pan to medium high, do the following.

Heat @3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce in a microwave container. Add cinnamon to taste.

You will get the hang of this. I usually heat the applesauce about 1 minute as I am turning the French Toast over.

Top the French Toast with the warm/hot applesauce. It is filling, tastes great but doesn't leave that proverbial lump in your stomach as when you use syrup as a topping.

Enjoy