Main Dish Recipes

Ruthie Smith's Hot Dogs, Sauerkraut, and Potatoes

Stove Top

• 4 potatoes

• 3 cups sauerkraut (or one large can)

• 4 frankfurters or Kielbasa sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces

Boil peeled potatoes (cut in quarters) until tender but not mushy. Drain, and add to the pan the amount of sauerkraut for the number of people you've planned to feed. Also add hot dogs or sausage (sausage may be browned a little ahead of time) cut into 1 inch pieces. Heat everything, but watch carefully to avoid burning. Add butter if desired.

Very good with chunky applesauce or fried apples. Sliced, peeled apples may also be added to the pot with the other ingredients. This can be doubled or tripled depending on the amount of your company.

Sausage & Cream Cheese Crescents

375 F

• 16 oz. sausage cooked and crumbled

• 8 oz cream cheese softened

• 2 cans of crescent rolls, separated into triangles or patched together to make a top and bottom crust

Mix sausage and cream cheese together.

For appetizer crescents: separate rolls into triangles. Cut eat triangle in half lengthwise. Scoop a heaping tablespoon onto each roll and roll up. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

For rectangular pie: lay one can of rolls out and seal the seams. Top with the sausage mix and then top with the second can of rolls. Seal the edges. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Mom’s Meat Loaf

350 F

• 2 pounds lean ground beef (I prefer ground round or sirloin.)

• 1 cup finely chopped onion (or dried onion flakes)

• ½ cup ketchup

• ½ cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs or crushed crackers

• 2 eggs

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (or steak sauce)

• 1½ teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. With hands, thoroughly mix ground beef, onion, ketchup, breadcrumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper in large bowl. Pack mixture into 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake until meat loaf is firm to touch in center, golden brown on top and has pulled away from sides of pan, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pour off excess grease. Transfer to a platter. Cut crosswise into slices. Serve with mashed potatoes and use leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mustard, Garlic and Herbs

350 F

• 1.4 lb. pork tenderloin

• Salt and Pepper

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Herb Mixture

• 1 ½ tbsp olive oil

• 3 large cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning

• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Place the tenderloin in the oven safe dish, such as cast iron or dutch oven. Season the surface of the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Cover the tenderloin with Dijon mustard, using a pastry brush. In a small plate prepare the herb mixture by mixing olive oil, chopped garlic, Italian seasoning and salt. Using a pastry brush cover the tenderloin with the herb mixture on top and all sides, except the bottom.Roast at 350º for approximately 30 minutes, until internal cooking temperature reaches at least 145º (for pink looking tenderloin) or 160º (for white looking tenderloin). Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Pork with Peaches Stir-Fry

Stove Top

• ¼ cup lemon juice

• ¼ cup soy sauce

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 pound sliced pork tenderloin

• 2 teaspoons peanut oil, or sesame oil

• 1 large onion, diced

• 1 large carrot, sliced

• 1 cup broccoli florets

• 1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches, with juice

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or corn starch

In a bowl combine the lemon juice, soy sauce, ground ginger, and garlic powder. Place the pork into the dish, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the pork, marinade and onion, and cook stirring constantly until the meat is cooked through. Throw in the carrot and broccoli, and cook for a few minutes, then add the peaches with the juice, and bring the mixture to a boil. Sprinkle the flour or corn startch over the mixture, and stir in. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Serve over rice or noodles.

Granny Lannum’s Baked Swiss Steak and Milk Gravy

Stove top, 350 F

• 4 pieces cubed round steak or pieces pounded thin to tenderize

• 1½ cups of flour

• salt and pepper to taste or about 1 teaspoon each

• ½ cup milk

• 1 egg lightly beaten

• cooking oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 cup of beef broth

Pound steak to tenderize or have it cubed. If necessary, cut the meat into serving size pieces.

Place enough oil in a pan to just coat the bottom, put that on medium heat while you prepare your steak. In a bowl, place 1 cup of flour and add ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper (more if you prefer). Stir that up. Combine milk and egg. Dip each piece of steak into flour on both sides to get it coated well. Dip into egg mixture and then back into flour. Place each piece of steak in pan and cook until good and browned on both sides. Remove steak to a plate while you make your gravy.

Place about ¼ cup flour into skillet with meat drippings. Add a little more salt and pepper and stir this over medium heat until the flour is slightly browned (just a few minutes). Slowly pour in 1½ cups of milk, stirring constantly. Continue stirring, with a wire whisk to help with lumps, over low heat until thickened and there are no lumps. This will happen rather quickly. Add a little more milk if you prefer thinner gravy. Return steak to the pan and turn to coat with gravy on both sides. Place onion in 9”x13” pan and cover with meat, then gravy. Cover tightly and bake at 350 for 1-1 ½ hours or until meat is extremely tender. Keep checking from time to time for meat tenderness and level of gravy. If gravy begins to cook down, add beef broth or more milk and stir until mixed to desired consistency.

Serve steak and gravy together in a bowl or serve gravy on the side to go with mashed potatoes. Note: steak and gravy can be served without additional baking, but the additional cooking time makes the meat so tender it can be cut with a fork.

Prime Rib

550 F

• 1 prime rib roast with or without bone (any size)

• Garlic powder

• Salt

• Pepper

Preheat oven to 550º. Make a rub of salt, pepper and garlic powder and apply to meat. Place meat in a shallow roasting pan fat side up. Roast at 550º at 5 minutes per pound for RARE, or 6 minutes per pound for MEDIUM and 7 minutes per pound for WELL DONE. Turn off the oven at the end of cooking time and DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR FOR TWO HOURS. At the end of the 2 hours, remove meat from the oven to slice; it comes out perfect every time.

Louisiana Seafood Stuffed Eggplant

Broil, Stove Top, 375 F

• 4 medium eggplants, split lengthwise

• 2 cups water

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

• 2 cups white or yellow onions, chopped

• 1 pound 16-20 count uncooked wild-caught Louisiana shrimp, peeled, deveined, coarsely chopped 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Italian-style breadcrumbs

• 1/2 pound Louisiana lump crabmeat, picked over for shells

• salt and black pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Note: Rouse's salt is a cajun salt with herbs and spices that adds a cajun kick and can be purchased online. You can use Himalayan Pink salt instead.

Preheat broiler. Arrange split eggplants flesh side down on large baking sheet. Pierce with fork. Broil 4 minutes, turn, broil an additional 4 minutes. Scoop out eggplant pulp, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shell intact. Place pulp in heavy medium saucepan, cover with 2 cups water, add 1 teaspoon Rouses salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until eggplant is very tender and liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375°. Brush eggplant shells with 1 tablespoon oil; place, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Do not over-crowd. Bake until shells are tender but still hold their shape, approximately 20 minutes. While shells are baking, heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add boiled eggplant, shrimp and cayenne; sauté until shrimp are cooked through, approximately 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup breadcrumbs and crab meat, and season to taste with Rouses salt and pepper. Fill eggplant shells with shrimp and crabmeat mixture. Sprinkle stuffing with Parmesan cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs. Bake stuffed eggplants until heated through, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Frito Chili Pie

350 degrees

• 2 cans chili (or your own chili recipe which was usually ground beef, onions, chili powder, ranch style beans, small can tomato sauce, salt and pepper)

• 1 large bag of Fritos

• 1 chopped onion, optional

• 2 cups shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350º and lightly grease a 2 quart casserole. Layer ingredients in the casserole in this order: half of the Fritos, then one cup cheese, then all of the chili, then the rest of the Fritos, then the rest of the cheese. Bake until bubbly, 15-20 minutes.