Potato Cakes

Potato cakes... this is one of my favorite foods but because they are fried I do not make them too often. But when I do... I am a happy girl. These are one of the foods that Wade was very confused about when we first got married. A couple of others were: Ham and Beans, big pots of fresh green beans w/ ham and potatoes, grits, fried zucchini, meatloaf, sweet tea, wilted lettuce... I could go on and on... You know, all those good dishes from the south! He now loves all of the above but being from the north, they were a little odd to him. The first time I tried to make potato cakes for him he swore he would not try them. Looking back, he said he had envisioned putting syrup on them like you would pancakes. No wonder he thought they would be gross!! Once I explain that you salt them and even put ketchup on them, he was more game to try them. He likes them now!! Potato cakes are also a great way to use up leftovers!!
You need:
2 cups cold leftover mashed potatoes
1 large or 2 med eggs
3/4 c. flour
1 teas garlic salt
1 teas pepper
oil for frying

Mix everything together but the oil. Heat oil about 1/2 inch thick. Make sure your oil is hot but not too hot. If you put a pinch of flour in the oil and it is bubbling, it is ready. If it sinks... your oil is not hot enough. You want to maintain that temp. Smoking oil is not ok and potatoes absorb favors. If the oil gets too hot your cakes will have a burnt taste. I drop the batter by spoon fulls to make smaller cakes. I always use a cookie scoop. The oil should bubble nicely around them. Once you see air bubble pop up in the center of your cakes OR you can see the edges brown, flip them over. They usually cook a couple of min on each side. When done, drain them on a baker's drain rack. Paper towels hold oil in your food. If your oil is the right temp, you drain your food properly, and use the right kind of oil, frying is not always that bad. Salt the cakes and enjoy.

**Note** Good oils can include canola, peanut, and olive oil. Olive oil is very healthy for you but has a low smoke point and a strong flavor. So olive oil is never good to use to fry. Canola has a very light flavor and is cheaper that peanut, so I use it more often. But NOTHING can beat peanut oil in my opinion. So for potato cakes I would use canola or peanut oil.

Swiss Steak

This is one of my mom's fav recipes of mine. I serve it with pasta or usually rice. It is very easy and yummy. You can even start this before you leave for work and let it cook this in a crock pot. It is great to have for company. It is easy to make and cheap. You can make smaller or larger amounts. I will give the recipe to feed four...or so...

3-4 lbs of round steak
1 c. flour
1/2 T. garlic salt
1/4 T. pepper
1 jar of basil tomato spaghetti sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like petite diced), drained
1 yellow pepper, julienne
1 onion, julienne
1 T. Italian seasoning
1/2 - 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
Oil for browning

First mix flour, garlic salt, and pepper. Cut the round steak into steak serving sizes. Coat each piece with flour mixture and drop into a hot pan of oil. Just cook the meat until brown. It does not have to be done. When brown, drop it into a crock pot or large baking pan. In a bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Pour over the meat. Cook in a crock pot for 4 ( but it can cook up to 8) on low or bake covered at 325 for 90 mins or until meat fails apart. The meat will be able to cut with a fork when done. Enjoy.

Poppy Seed Chicken

I laugh every time I say the word chicken. Sarala talks about chickens a lot but she calls them "Kickens." So when I think of kichens... I smile.

This is one of my favorite meal. I have also not found a person who does not love it. This is a great to fix when people come over. It can also be healthy. I use reduced fat or nonfat products for this recipe but my grandma always used dark meat chicken and regular ingredients. I am going to list the recipes for the more healthy one but you can sub in as you would like.

1 Bag of boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cans of cream of chicken soup- reduced fat
1 can of cream of mushroom soup- reduced fat
1 container sour cream -reduced fat
1/2 stick butter-melted
2 rolls reduced fat ritz crackers- crushed
2 T. poppy seeds (and really you do not HAVE to use the poppy seeds.. I have made it w/o)
1/2 T. garlic pepper

I first boil the chicken brst (remember to reserve 1/2 cup of liquid from boiling). Once they are cooked, I cut them into chunks and throw them in a bowl. I mix the chicken with the soups, sour cream, and garlic pepper. You then dump the chicken mixture into a pan (13x9, foil throw away, anything that is big enough). In another bowl you take 1/2 cup of the chicken broth you made when boiling the chicken, the butter, poppy seeds, and crushed ritz crackers. Mix that up and dump it in the chicken. Bake at 350 for about 45 mins. It should brown and be bubbly. I ususally serve this with a simple salad or green beans... It will be a hit. And.. if you know non mushroom lovers... you cannot really tell they are there.