Semmelknödel

Stuffing, Semmelknödel, bread-pudding, Paninis anything with bread must be good.
If you are bread lovers like we are, you must try this recipe.
I like to fix Semmelknödel when I make Rouladen, a Roast  or even Sauerbraten, in short anything with nice brown gravy.

Semmelknödel:

about 7 rolls or the equivalent of french bread, cut up in small pieces
2/3 cups milk, warm
2 eggs
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 tbs. parsley, dry ( if you have fresh parsley, use about a half a bundle and chop it fine)
1/2 tsp. marjoram, dry
3-4 tbs. butter
a pinch of nutmeg
salt
pepper

Pour the warm milk over the cut up rolls and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile melt the butter and saute the onions and the marjoram then let it all cool off. Knead the eggs and nutmeg into the soaked rolls. Stir in the cooled off onion mix and let it rest again for about 10 minutes. Knead through with the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Form 7-8 dumplings with wet hands and cook them in simmering salted water for about 20 minutes. ( Do not let the water boil!!) Make sure the pot you use is big enough for the dumplings to swim.

Granatsplitter

Granatsplitter is translated into grenade splinter. Maybe the pastry is called that, because it's made with "splinters or pieces" of cake combined with other ingredients, and turned into something delicious.

I forgot all about Granatsplitter, we had them as kids and they were fantastic, or so I thought.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, when I made this marble-cake, it just would not budge out of the pan. I ended up cutting all around the top to get it out. Very frustrating!
The cake still tasted great and did not look too bad, (one could still recognize that it as a marble cake), but now I had all those cake pieces what I had to cut off the edges of my cake. First I thought a dessert with layers of cake and pudding, but in my frustration I remembered the Granatsplitter.
So, that weekend we had not only marble cake, but I also tried myself on a Granatsplitter. I ended up using the cake pieces, I also had to cut off the ends to have enough crumbs for my trial.
The pastry turned out great. If you have left over pound cake, marble cake or something similar, you should try it.
I will definitely make them again and next time hopefully without having to butcher a marble cake.
It was only half of the recipe and it made about 6 of them. I used a German pudding package, and the whole package called for 500 ml of milk, however I used only about 3/4 of the suggested amount.

Granatsplitter:

750 ml. milk           ( 375 ml.)
2 pkg. chocolate pudding, not instant  ( 1 pkg )
2 tsp. sugar    (1 tsp.)
300 g cake rests, coarse crumbs   ( 150g )
dash of rum
round cookies ( I used Butterkekse I know they are square, but it was the only cookie I had at hand. Remember, this was not planned at all. )
Chocolate to cover the Granatsplitter


Cook the pudding with the sugar according to the package directions ( with only 3/4 of the suggested milk ). Let it cool a bit and mix in the cake crumbs and the rum. Mound the " dough "on the cookies and let them rest for a while to set. Then cover the mounds in chocolate. Let the chocolate harden and enjoy.

  

Leek salad

Everyone should eat salad, it's so healthy in so many way's.
There are so many different types and kinds of salad, you could try a different one each day and still have recipes left over for the following years.
Of course one always goes back to the same recipes that the family likes. Here is one, we have always liked and it's super fast and easy.

Leek salad:

1/2 leek, washed and sliced
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of kidney beans, drained
cheese, cubed ( optional )

dressing:
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. vinegar
salt, pepper, to taste
1 tsp. mustard
about 1 tsp. sugar

Put all the ingredients in a salad bowl, mix the dressing together and pour over the salad.

Quick and easy, enjoy!!!!

Super salad

Sometimes it just has to be salad.
With that said, I will just give you the recipe and you judge for your self.

Super salad:

1 pkg. Ramen noodles ( without the seasoning )
peanuts, optional
4 tbs. butter

1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 head romaine lettuce
4 green onions, sliced

1 cup sweet and sour sauce

dressing:

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 tbs. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper



Melt the butter in a pan and break the Ramen noodles ( peanuts ) into small pieces. Brown them in the butter and drain on a paper towel.

Tear and wash the romaine lettuce, add the broccoli and the green onions and set aside.

For the dressing, mix all dressing ingredients well.

When you get ready to serve, add the sweet and sour sauce, the dressing and the browned noodles
 ( peanuts ) to the greens. Enjoy!

Crocker - Pulled pork

This recipe came about with a BBQ and so many left overs. I just put all the barbecued pork, in the crock-pot and let it cook until it all fell apart. Everyone loved it. The flavor was great.
The next time I fixed pulled pork, I got me a regular raw pork roast ( no BBQ, that time :( ), cut it in pieces and cooked it in my crock-pot for about 8 hours. Yummy!

Pulled pork:

about 1 pound of pork
2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 cup of onions, chopped
1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
4 tbs. vinegar
2 tbs. brown sugar
2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp. mustard
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. paprika
hot sauce to taste

Cut up the pork and mix all the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for about 4 hours, then turn it down to medium and cook for another 4 hours. The pork must be soft enough to pull apart and to shred with a fork. I serve it on Hamburger buns with pickles.

Anna Baby

Anna Baby is great for breakfast, served with buttered apples. Super easy and fast to make. All you need is a cast iron pan, which you can transfer from the stove top to the oven.
You can eat it with buttered apples or any kind of fruit on the side. 

Anna Baby

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

4 tbs. butter
powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Stir together the flour, milk, sugar, and the eggs with a wire whisk.
Melt the butter in the cast iron skillet, making sure all the sides are coated.
Pour the mix in the pan and cook for about one minute, NO stirring!
Transfer the pan in the oven and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes.
Give it a dusting of powdered sugar and serve immediately.
The pancake will loose it's puff, as soon as it will get out of the oven.
 

Pretzel

Weiss-wurst and Pretzel, a Bavarian tradition. I'm not Bavarian, but I do like pretzels.
Here is my favorite recipe for soft pretzel.
I like to eat them with just plain butter or sometimes with honey - mustard.

We also tried this pretzel dip:

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

Mix all the ingredients together.

soft Pretzel

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tbs. sugar
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg, beaten
coarse salt
1 tbs. butter, melted

Dissolve the yeast and the sugar in the warm water. Let it sit until it foams. Mix the flour and salt together and add it to the yeast. Knead until the dough is nice and soft and not sticky.
Let it rise until double in size.
Punch it down and divide in 5 parts. Take each part and roll it on the counter until every roll is about
as thick as a finger, now form it into a pretzel shape. Really, it can be any shape you like.
Brush the pretzels with egg and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake in a 425 F oven for about 8 - 10 minutes, take them out, brush them with the melted butter and sprinkle more salt, then bake them again until they are golden.

smothered burritos

Years ago, when I lived in Texas, a friend gave me this real easy recipe for smothered burritos.
Even today I still like to make this dish. Now, I like to top it with cheese and homemade salsa. I also like to serve Guacamole on the side.

smothered burritos

1 pound ground beef ( not drained )
2 tbs. flour
1-2 jalapenos ( this depends on how hot you like your food)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can of water
garlic salt, salt and pepper

in addition you will need
flour tortillas
gated cheese
re-fried beans
and any topping you would like on your burritos

Brown the ground beef in a pan. Once the meat is brown, add jalapenos and the flour and stir well. Let it cook for about one minute and then add the tomato sauce and the water. ( use the tomato sauce can also for the water.) Cook it until the sauce is thick then add the spices.

Now you can fill your tortillas with this mix and some re-fried beans, top it off with more beefy sauce and cheese.
Easy, right?

Golden Honey Granola

I have not met a person yet, who did not like this Granola. When I made it for the first time, it was gone faster then what it took to make, and that was quick.
 We like to eat it just in milk or as a yogurt topping. Easy to make and easy to variate. If you prefer to add pecans, walnuts or almonds, it works well. I like to use dried cranberries and raisins. Apricots or maybe chopped up dates can also be substituted.
I have never tried this, but if you like chocolate, I can imagine you can add mini chocolate chips when it's all cooled.

Golden Honey Granola:

3 cups cooking oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4  tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey

In a large bowl, toss all ingredients, except butter and honey.

Melt butter and honey together in a small saucepan. Pour the butter, honey mixture over the oat mixture and toss well until everything is coated.
Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until oats are golden brown. Stirring occasionally.
Cool completely on baking pan before storing in an airtight container. 

Grandma's Streusel Applecake

Nothing like a sweet treat on the weekend, after a full week of hard work.
I love the smell of baked apples and vanilla.
Real vanilla bean is just awesome! I have not bought vanilla extract in years, instead I have been using vanilla sugar or vanilla bean instead. Vanilla sugar is super easy to make, instead of discarding the scraped out beans, I cover them in sugar and store it in a glass jar. The sugar will take the aroma from the vanilla bean. Stir or shake once a week. Try this in your cake recipes or even in your coffee.Yumm!

Grandma's Streusel Apple cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs. vanilla sugar
2 eggs
about 1 tsp. lemon juice
1 pinch salt
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
4 tbs. milk
2 tsp. baking powder

4 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and cut in slices

streusel:
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbs. vanilla sugar
about 6 tbs. butter, cold

 Cream together the sugar, vanilla sugar and the softened butter. Add the eggs, one at the time, stirring until they are all worked in. Add the lemon juice. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder.
Add this and also the milk to the egg, butter mixture and stir until it's a smooth dough.
Grease a Spring form pan and pour the dough in, smoothing it out with the back of a wet spoon.

Place the apples on top of the dough, leaving a small rim on the outside with no apples.( the dough will rise and make a nice crust ).

For the streusel, mix together the flour, sugar and vanilla sugar. Dot with the cold butter and work  it in, either with a fork or use your hands, to make streusel.

Top the apples with the streusel and bake in a 375 - 400 F preheated oven for about 45 minutes. 

Dust with powdered sugar when cooled.