This comes from Grandma Marilyn Mitchell, and Jeff says they had this quite a bit growing up. They mostly just had potatoes with kielbasa, but the recipe says you can add vegetables as desired, so I added green beans for more fiber. FYI, the recipe calls for 1 lb. of kielbasa, but the package I bought was only 12 oz., and it definitely could’ve used more. So next time, I’ll just buy two packages and use it all so it’s extra meaty.
And this one is naturally gluten free as long as your kielbasa is gluten free, which most are.
Heat olive oil in a skillet, add potatoes, and brown slightly. Season with salt and pepper, and add kielbasa (and vegetables as desired), stirring well. Top with sour cream, salsa, or ketchup.
When the pandemic hit and people couldn’t go to Ikea for their Swedish meatball fix, Ikea generously posted their recipe for everyone. Granted, it’s not 100% the same, and the sauce is secret–so they posted a similar sauce. But it’s great. I generally ended up doubling the sauce and making a few other slight adjustments, so here’s the final recipe. Of course you should serve with lingonberries if you can find any (it’s hard unless you buy some at Ikea), but I have served it with cranberry sauce or I think even raspberry jam once.
Every time I make it, I forget the stipulation that you should refrigerate it for 2 hours. I usually just refrigerate it like 20 minutes to an hour. I don’t mind if my meatballs are a little flatter, because they hold together well enough. Last time I made it, I doubled the meatball recipe, which almost filled up a whole cookie sheet. And I made 1 1/2 times the sauce in the recipe below, and it was a good amount of sauce. If I’d doubled the sauce, it would’ve been tons. Also, I’m not sure it needs so much cream. I think next time I might use half cream, half milk. Haha, or just use all half and half. And frankly, one time I made it dairy free with coconut and almond milk, and Jeff didn’t notice.
If you’re making this gluten free, I did try it once using crushed tortilla chips instead of breadcrumbs. Haha, I’ll never do that again. It ended up tasting like oily chips. So you could use gluten free breadcrumbs or ground up Rice Chex, cornstarch instead of flour, and gluten free soy sauce, which is what I did last time (it’s the one in the picture)–and it was delicious.
In a large bowl, combine beef and pork, and break up any lumps with your hands. Add onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, and egg, then mix well. Add milk and season well with salt and pepper. Shape mixture into small balls, and place on a cookie sheet in the fridge for 2 hours (this will help them hold their shape while cooking). In a frying pan, heat oil on medium heat, then add meatballs and brown on all sides. When browned, add back to the cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
For cream sauce: Melt butter and whisk in flour or cornstarch, stirring for 2 minutes. Add stock and continue to stir. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, allowing sauce to thicken. Add meatballs (not with the grease from the pan) and stir. Serve over mashed potatoes with lingonberry (or other berry) sauce.
Haha, I think because of the restaurant Wienerschnitzel, people think schnitzel is going to be some sort of hot dog or sausage. I didn’t know what it was until my mission in Germany and Austria, then I had a lot of great schnitzel. I learned that schnitzel is really a breaded, fried cutlet of meat. “Schnitzel” kind of translates to small cut–like a cutlet. It’s reminiscent of chicken fried steak, made with either pork, chicken, or veal, depending on the geography. It’s not very flavorful, but it’s still a fun meal. This recipe is adapted from daringgourmet.com–she has lots of delicious German recipes.
I remember in Vienna, there was a restaurant that the missionaries called Herb’s–but it was really called Schnitzelwirt. It was like a rite of passage for an elder to finish the giant Wienerschnitzel and all the accompanying fries. I’m pretty sure I also did it–and I went back there with my mom when we went to visit. Traditionally schnitzel is served with fries and a lemon wedge–or maybe with potato salad.
If you’re making this gluten free, I have now made it with corn starch and Corn Chex crumbs–that’s the one in the photo. It turned out great, and I think I’ve heard that corn starch coatings make stuff nice and crisp.
Serve with fries and a lemon wedge, for a wonderful German/Austrian meal.
Ingredients
4 boneless Pork Steaks or Chops (you can also use chicken or veal)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2c. Flour combined with 1 tsp. salt (or gluten free flour or cornstarch)
2large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4cupplain breadcrumbs (or gluten free breadcrumbs or Corn Chex crumbs)
Oil for frying
Lemon wedges (optional)
Directions
Place the chops under plastic wrap and pound until they’re 1/4″ thick. Lightly season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the flour mixture, egg, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dip the chops in the flour, then the egg, and then the breadcrumbs, coating both sides and all edges at each stage. Be careful not to press the breadcrumbs into the meat. Gently shake off the excess crumbs. Don’t let the schnitzel sit in the coating or they will not be as crispy once fried – fry immediately.
Make sure the cooking oil is hot enough at this point (about 330 degrees F) as you don’t want the Schnitzel to sit around in the coating before frying. Use enough oil so that the Schnitzels “swim” in it.
Fry the Schnitzel for about 2-3 minutes on both sides until a deep golden brown. Transfer briefly to a plate lined with paper towels. Optional: Squeeze a lemon wedge all over the schnitzel before eating.
This sweet pork comes from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, and is a lot like Cafe Rio’s. It’s amazing, and we’ve made it for several large group events and birthday parties. Plus, pork shoulder is often on sale for 99 cents, so the meat is surprisingly cheap (although the sauces make it more costly).
It makes a lot, and we usually freeze the leftovers in quart bags to use in the future. You can use the sweet pork to make into sweet pork burritos or salad.
3-5 lbs. Pork Shoulder (or boneless sirloin pork roast, but it’s not as good)
1 c. Root Beer or Cola
1 c. Green Salsa (aka salsa verde. Herdez is great, but use Mild–medium is surprisingly hot)
Sauce
2 c. Red Enchilada Sauce (Rosarita is good)
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
8 oz. Chopped Green Chiles
1 c. Green Salsa
Directions
For seasoning: Combine all the seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl. Measure out 2 Tbsp. of the mixture and save for later. Cut the pork roast into large chunks (4-6 inches) and rub the remaining seasoning mixture (not the reserved 2 Tbsp.) evenly over all sides of the pork.
For pork: Add the soda and green salsa to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add the seasoned pork. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 5-6 hours until tender. Transfer the pork to a cutting board or pan and shred. Discard all but 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker, then add the shredded pork back.
For sauce: To the pork in the slow cooker, add the 2 tablespoons of reserved spices and the rest of the sauce ingredients, then stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
Man, pork ribs are amazing when they’re so tender that they fall off the bone. This recipe is very simple but very delicious–haha, and not very specific in terms of measurements. Of course these can be a little greasy, so you may want to serve it with something light.
And luckily this one is naturally gluten free as long as the rub and BBQ sauce don’t have gluten (which most don’t have gluten anyway). Also, you may want to use a dedicated gluten free brush when you’re brushing on the sauce, since gluten can be trapped in the bristles.
Using a knife or spoon, pull the silver skin off the ribs. Rub a small amount of rib rub all over (not too much or it will be overwhelming), then wrap the ribs in foil and cook at 275° for 4 hours or until tender. Then remove at least the top layer of foil (carefully–there may be lots of hot juice), brush on BBQ sauce, and broil or grill for a few minutes until the sauce caramelizes.
My sister-in-law Stephanie makes a great chili, and she shared the recipe with us. I love hominy and bell peppers, so we add those in. We’ve also made this with a pound of cubed, cooked pork chops for an extra meaty chili–haha, we called it “Meaty Meat Meat Chili”. You can make this in a pot or let it simmer in the crock pot.
It’s got a fair amount of spice, but you can add even more chili powder to up the heat.
Ingredients
1 lb. lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
1 lb. Sausage
1 lb. Pork Chops, cubed (optional)
1 Onion, diced
2-3 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 heaping Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Tbsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. dried Oregano
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
2 tsp. Garlic Powder (or fresh garlic)
2 c. Beef Broth
1 (15 oz.) can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 can Rotel
2 Bell Peppers
1 can Kidney Beans, drained
1 large can (25 oz.) Hominy, drained
Directions
Cook the meat, then add the onion (and fresh garlic if using). Add the spices (chili powder to garlic powder) and stir. Then add remaining ingredients and heat through.
The best part of wonton soup is the pork balls. Even if the wonton falls off while cooking, it’s still delightful to eat the pork balls. This is a fun soup, but we don’t make it very often because it takes a long time to make the wontons. And be careful that you keep the wontons covered with a damp cloth, so that they don’t crack (both the wonton wrappers in the pile and the finished ones with pork inside). The part of wonton making that takes the longest is shaping them–dipping your finger in water and sealing all the edges.
If you’re making this gluten free, make sure to use tamari or gluten free soy sauce (since soy sauce is usually made with wheat). And you’ll have to make your own wonton wrappers. I actually made mine the other day, and they turned out surprisingly well. They were a little thicker than usual, but I was so pleased. And they didn’t fall apart in broth like so many gluten free pastas do. I’m going to try making egg rolls with these wonton wrappers as well.
Wonton Shapes. We made 1.5 pounds of pork the other day, and I tripled the recipe from glutenfreeclub.com. It still wasn’t enough. But I included the recipe below so you don’t have to find it. I tried two different shapes when I made the gluten free wonton wrappers. It doesn’t matter what shape you use, as long as it tastes good. We traditionally made what I think my mom called “little nuns”, where you roll it in a tube, then bring down the two bottom corners of the tube and join them under her “chin”. But I also tried making one that’s more like a fancy ravioli or something. They were both great–I felt like the ravioli one shaped like an X was a little easier to make with the gluten free wonton wrappers. You just bring all the corners of the square to the middle.
3 c. Gluten Free Flour (with xanthan gum), plus extra for rolling
3 Eggs
3/4 tsp. Salt
About 3/4 c. Water (adding a Tbsp. at a time)
Directions
In a small pot, combine broth, green onions, and salt to taste. Heat until steaming but not boiling. In a medium bowl, mix the pork, 1 tsp. salt, ginger, and soy sauce together. Place a small ball in the middle of a wonton wrapper and fold the wrapper into wonton shape, using water to seal edges (you can dip your finger in a small bowl of water to do this). Keep finished wontons under damp paper towel to prevent drying/cracking. When a large pot of water is barely boiling, place wontons in water and cook until they float and the pork is no longer pink in the middle (generally a few minutes). Don’t let them stay in the water too long or they’ll start to fall apart. Scoop out finished wontons with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl, then cover with broth and serve.
For gluten free wonton wrappers: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the flour, eggs, and salt. Add the water 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough is the consistency of Play Doh. Generously flour your work surface and place a small ball in the middle. Flour your rolling pin and roll out the dough as thin as you can without cracking. Cut off the rough edges so you have a square, then use a pizza cutter or bench scraper to cut into squares about 2″ x 2″. Brush any extra flour from the wontons and place in a pile, then cover with a damp paper towel to prevent cracking. (Refer to glutenfreeclub.com for more pictures if needed.)
Of course the real answer when cooking steaks is to cook them until their internal temperature reaches your target temperature (like 135 for medium rare because the temperature will raise another 5-10 degrees as it sits). We’ve tried marinating steaks, but really when you have good beef, you don’t want the amazing beef flavor being overwhelmed by marinade. Save the marinade for a cheap cut of beef, and just stick with Canadian steak seasoning.
Preheat the grill on medium high. For diamond pattern, grill 2 minutes, then turn 45 degrees. Then grill 2 more minutes and flip over. Do the same thing on the other side–grill 2 minutes, then turn 45 degrees and grill 2 more minutes. The target temperature for medium rare for beef is 135, and pork should reach 145. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
These pork chops are amazing for Sunday dinner or a special occasion. They’re probably more appropriately called “Smothered Pork Chops”, but whenever my family referred to pork chops, we always knew this is what we meant. I think these may have been Grandma’s delicious oven pork chops. The absolute star of this dish is the gravy, sweet and savory. It’s like no other gravy I’ve ever had. I can’t get enough, spooned over mashed potatoes. I have altered the recipe a little, with the change over the years in the size of cream of mushroom cans.
The longer you can let the pork go in the oven, the more tender it will be. I’ve used regular pork chops, bone in or boneless, and even pork sirloin chops. They all turn out quite delicious. I’ve also tried these pork chops without the flour on the outside, or just flouring and not browning. If you’re going to flour them, make sure to brown them–otherwise, the flavor is a little off. Without the flour is also delicious, but the most delicious is flouring and then browning. Just make sure to fish out the cloves before serving if you can–it’s always a little hard since they kind of blend in with the mushrooms from the cream of mushroom soup.
If you’re making this gluten free, you’ll either want to leave off the flour entirely or coat with gluten free flour or corn starch before browning. I find that it tastes better if I do actually coat it and brown it. And make sure to use the gluten free cream of mushroom soup because cream soups usually have wheat in them.
Smothered in a sweet and savory gravy, and amazing for special occasions.
Ingredients
6-8 Pork Chops with fat trimmed away
Salt and Pepper to taste
Flour (or gluten free flour)
Paprika
2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
1 large can Cream of Mushroom Soup (or 3 small cans) (or gluten free cream of mushroom soup)
1/3 can Water (or 1/3 can from each small can)
3-4 shakes Worcestershire Sauce
4 whole Cloves
4 heaping Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
Directions
Salt and pepper the chops, then place in a gallon bag with flour and shake until coated. Heat a small amount of oil in a thick-bottomed pan and brown the chops on each side. Place chops in a large greased glass pan. Sprinkle paprika and onion flakes over chops. Then mix together remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour over chops. Cover and bake for 1 ½ – 2 hours at 325° until chops reach desired tenderness. Remove cloves before serving (if you can find them).
Pea soup always makes the house smell so amazing, with the warm aromas of ham, onion, and peas. But we usually only make it once a year or once every few years, with the leftover ham from New Year’s. Haha, mostly it turns into Ham Soup (with some peas) because the ham is what makes it so delicious. It’s best if you can find Hurst’s Ham Peas (like at Walmart) because it comes with an enclosed flavoring packet. I have made it with just straight up split peas because I couldn’t find one with a flavor packet at a different grocery store, but the flavors of course need more tinkering.
Also, I generally wait until the end to add the ham cubes. I’ve had the ham boil with the rest of the soup before, and the ham often kind of shrivels up and loses its flavor. So I prefer to wait to add the ham cubes until the end, just to warm them up in the soup before serving.
Rinse peas. Combine peas, water, onion, carrot, butter. Cover loosely, boil rapidly 30 minutes. Add ham flavoring, salt, pepper, and ham bone. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Then stir ham cubes in soup, to warm up before serving.
Mitchell Meals 