Bierock Crescent Casserole

Do you say "Brook" or Brock" or even Runza? My origins must have some southern influence, I've learned it 'bur-ock', dragging it out to two syllables. But however you say it, this savory pastry baked with a stuffing of ground or shredded meat, onions, and shredded cabbage is a good winter supper. The traditional food was brought to Kansas and Nebraska (thats the 'runza') in the 19th century by German-Russian immigrants. They were the same ones that brought us Turkey Red Winter Wheat, making Kansas the breadbasket of the world. They were originally served as a pocket sort of sandwich, so it was easy to take to the field for workers. 

This recipe is from our Greenwood County Cattlewomen's cookbook and combines beef and bread - two great Kansas products. It made a good supper for the week of Kansas Day. We liked it as a casserole, easy to fix and servings sizes can vary. Serve with a cold Jello salad or applesauce. I made one-half the recipe in a 8x8-inch baking dish. 

Bierock Crescent Casserole

2 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 head cabbage, shredded (or buy slaw mix)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 packages crescent rolls

salt & pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375 degrees (or directions on crescent roll package). Brown ground beef with onion and garlic, drain. Salt and pepper to taste. Add shredded cabbage. Turn heat down and cover skillet. Allow cabbage to wilt. Add shredded cheese and allow to melt. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray. Place one roll of crescent rolls on bottom of pan. Pinch perforations together. Add beef/cabbalge/cheese mixture to pan. Cover with remaining crescent rolls. Bake according to directions on crescent roll package. Cut and serve. 

Hot Tea Month

January is National Hot Tea Month, and I've been to two programs this month to celebrate that. Both were fun and informative, but different. On these cold evenings a hot cup of tea is soothing and relaxing. I'm enjoying hot tea even more thinking about what I've learned recently and the new teas I'm trying.

The first TeaTime was in honor of a new fabric line at the local fabric store, inspired by Downton Abby. I've recently gotten hooked on the show and spend the fall catching up on the first 3 seasons with DVDs; besides the fabrics are beautiful. The shop owner had prepared a traditional English tea for us, serving scones with Devonshire cream, tea sandwiches, macaroons and 3 kinds of tea. She explained that 'low tea' or afternoon tea was actually the tea that the well-to-do folks had as they visited in their formal parlors. It was served in low tables, thus the name low tea. High tea was a more substantial meal served to workers at dining tables with high back chairs. Both were to fill the long gap between lunch and dinner as dinner was served around 8:00 p.m.

There are several recipes for a 'mock' Devonshire cream on the web which use cream cheese, powdered sugar and heavy cream. Another resource for Downton Abby inspired food is the Jan.5 post by King Arthur Flour, a good discussion and recipe for English Muffins there.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2014/01/05/dining-with-the-dowager/

The next Tea Time in our community was by the City Library. In celebration of the Library's 100th year, several activities are planned each month this year. For a January program, the shop-keeper from a tea shop in Wichita came to speak. She brought several types of loose tea and explained a bit of the history and lore of tea. She also discussed health benefits of tea (natural antioxidants). She explained that cold water should be brought to a boil and poured over loose tea leaves (1 teaspoon per 6 oz of water). Cover and let steep for 3 to 5 minutes. For green or white teas, the water should be heated to just under boiling so the tea leaves won't scorch. She recommended loose tea for the most flavor, telling us that the tea bags we find so convenient are actually filled with 'tea dust' left from processing. She used a French press pitcher that you might use for coffee to steep and strain the tea. When I got home I found that my milk frother (glass beaker with a plunger sort of lid) worked great for steeping my tea.

teas to sample from Chelmsford Tea Shop

"Easy as Cake" Cake

The post on Facebook said "Easy as Pie Cake". Who are they fooling? A cake is much easier and quicker to make than a pie any day! So I've renamed this recipe. It also claimed to be a good, quick solution to what to take to the next covered dish dinner. That is was. I mixed this up (even had the ingredients all on hand) first thing after my morning coffee and it baked while I did my treadmill duty. While I dressed, it cooled and off we went. Between the morning meeting and the lunch meeting it was headed to, it got the topping of Cool Whip to complete its easy claim.

The original recipe calls for chocolate cake mix and a can of cherry pie filling, but suggests other combinations. I used a spice cake mix and apple pie filling, I rough-chopped the apples in the pie filling.

'Easy as Cake' Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray or grease a 9 x 13-inch cake pan.
4 cups mini marshmallows - spread these over the bottom of a cake pan (I may not have used the whole 4 cups - didn't want it to be too 'gummy')
Prep the cake mix as directed on the package and pour over the marshmallows.
Spoon 1 can of pie filling over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool, and frost with Cool Whip.

See, wasn't that easy?

Light and Lemony

After a couple of weeks of holiday dinners and extra treats, when asked what I would bring to a post-Christmas gathering, I replied "not chocolate!" So I begin to look for something lighter and my tastes seemed to call for lemon. My plans were for a lemon angel food cake, but I also found this recipe of Lemon Dream Cake that I couldn't pass on. So I made both (so much for eating lighter!).
For the Angel Food cake, I used Duncan Hines' recipe. How can something so involved and costly to make from scratch (breaking and whipping all those eggs, etc) be so simple with a mix (just add water)?  There probably are those who swear a home-made-from-scratch angel food cake is the best, but I'm happy with the box. I added 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract to the water for a lemon taste and served it with warm lemon curd (it wasn't homemade either!)
The Lemon Dream Cake is yummy, and I think it would be fun to try it with other flavors of cake mix and pie filling - lime? strawberry? pumpkin?

Lemon Dream Cake

Ingredients:
French vanilla cake mix
ingredients for cake mix
1 can lemon pie filling

Frosting: 1 tub lemon flavored frosting and 8-oz tub of Cool Whip. (I used 1/2 of each and there was plenty to cover the cake.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13-inch cake pan with baking spray.
Prepare the cake mix as directed. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Place spoonfuls of lemon pie filling over the batter and swirl. (I did find that it works best if you don't use the whole can of pie filling, use all but about 1/2 cup)
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes. Cool.
Combine lemon frosting and Cool Whip and spread over cake. (Cake will need to be refrigerated)

Cake mix with spoonfuls of pie filling

Swirled

Baked

Frosted

Almost gone!