Grandma's Swiss Steak

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Grandma Beech's Swiss Steak
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Note from Tamera's mom: "This was one of my all-time favorite meals
that my mother-in-law made. Whenever I tried to make this at our house,
it never tasted the same. Then when we lived with her, she taught me
the secret to great Swiss steak. Don't be in such a hurry! It has to
cook slowly, all afternoon, allowing the rich flavor to soak in!"

1 medium round steak, tenderized (ask them butcher to do it)
2 cans beef broth (or I use 1 large carton)
salt and pepper,to taste
flour
olive oil (grandma used butter)

Take one medium round steak. Have the butcher tenderize it while you
are still at the market. It is free and they can do it while you are
shopping (this is an important step, so don't skip it). Cut into
serving size pieces. Coat the steak with a mixture of flour, salt and
pepper. Brown meat in hot skillet with 1/2 cup olive oil. Brown on both
sides to seal in juices.

Remove meat from skillet. Add flour to oil and drippings in pan to
thicken. Add 2 cans of beef broth. Simmer till thick. Put meat into
casserole dish, cover with gravy, cover and bake in 300 oven for 3-4
hours until very tender. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes and a
green salad.

Tamera's note: I brown my meat and make the gravy in a skillet with a
lid that goes in the oven. That way it is a one dish meal

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Grandma's Long Lost Crazy Cake Recipe
(or "Real Crazy" Cake by Beth Merriman, Parade Food Editor)
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This one is an OLD family favorite.
My grandmother was a "cafeteria lady" back when the cafeteria ladies used to actually cook every day. She was in charge of the kitchen at my elementary school and man could she ever cook! She and the ladies often found excellent recipes and then they more than doubled or quadrupled them....they....thirtied or fortied....no.....they.....altered them to feed 300 people. My mom came across one of Gram's old folders several month's
ago and in it there are quite a few of those recipes in her hand writing. I'll share
them with you sometime, but the one recipe we had been looking for for years wasn't there. No one, it seemed, had Grandma's crazy cake recipe. I asked aunts, uncles and cousins, but to no avail. I called her old coworkers once when I was back home visiting mom, but still, no luck. One day late this last summer, Mom ran into one of the ladies I had missed and she told mom she had the original recipe from the Parade magazine they'd cut it out of. She generously passed it on, yellowed and creased and oh so fragile. I found it interesting that it was so yellowed it is gold, and getting this recipe is like striking gold to me.
This cake is so moist and delicious, I know are just going to love it! Be sure and just use a simple white frosting, as that's all it needs. Although, if you ask my dad, he'll tell you it's best right out of the pan with no frosting at all!

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons breakfast cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 tablespoons salad oil
1 cup water

Sift first five ingredients into a greased 8" square cake pan. Make three depressions in dry ingredients. Pour vinegar into one, vanilla into another, salad oil into the third. Pour water over all. Mix well, until smooth. Bake in moderate over (350 degrees F) 35 minutes. When cool, frost or serve with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Makes nine servings. (Or three if you're my dad!)

Sonora Chicken Enchiladas

I know this isn't a tea recipe, but I do like to add regular recipes here and there, and it doesn't hurt to have a nice pot of tea brewed for consumption while you are cooking.


I felt like having chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight and one of my new favorite things are the Sonora Chicken Rolls at California Pizza Kitchen. They are really tasty little southwestern egg rolls. So, that is what inspired this recipe. This "recipe" is not a measuring type recipe, it is a "throw in a little of this and a little of that" recipe, so please don't ask me for specifics on this one. I didn't measure anything when I made it up.

INGREDIENTS:
3 chicken breasts
1 can of beans (black, pinto, kidney, whatever)
1 can of sliced LINDSAY olives (no other kind will work)
some sliced green onions
some frozen corn (or if you're feeling kind of Bobby Flay you can roast some fresh corn on the cob and cut it off)
some diced bell peppers (or you can get the frozen tri-colored bell peppers to make is easy)
some diced cheese
1 can of cream of something soup (chicken, mushroom, chicken and mushroom)
1 bottle of Thick n Chunky La Victoria Salsa Verde (mild)
1 pkg of 8-10 flour tortillas
olive oil and some spices (I used onion salt, pepper, red chile, and cumin)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: (meaning I didn't use these but you could)
diced tomatoes
diced purple onions
cilantro
a can of green ortega chilies or
diced poblano chilies (again, if you're feeling all Bobby Flay or something)
Toppings: sour cream, more salsa verde, guacamole

DIRECTIONS:
Okay, basically here is how I made mine.

I diced the chicken (raw) and browned it in a little olive oil with some onion salt, cumin, red chile pepper and black pepper. (But, my friend Wendy makes some amazing chicken enchiladas and she grills her chicken first and it is fantastic if you have time) I threw the bell peppers in at the end.

In a bowl I put the frozen corn (just part of the package - like a cup or so) I rinsed and drained the beans and put them in, then the sliced green onions (like 3-5) and the olives (drained). Instead of grating the cheese, I diced it so that you would find little pockets of melted cheese when you cut into the enchilada. That makes me happy. All of this went in to the bowl. (At this point, IF I had used any of the optional ingredients like tomatoes, onions, cilantro, ortega chilies, etc. I would add them here as well. ) Then I threw in the chicken and peppers and mixed it all up.

In a separate bowl, I mixed one can of cream of ? soup and half the bottle of Salsa Verde. I thinned it a little by adding some water to the can and adding it back to the soup mixture.

Pour a little of the soup into the bottom of the pan.

Hold one of the tortillas in your hand and spoon a bunch of the mixture down the middle of the tortilla. Roll it up as best you can and lay it seam side down in the pan. Continue until you are finished. Cover with the rest of the sauce. Cover the entire pan with foil and bake at 350 for like 30ish minutes or until it bubbles all over. Mine made 6 enchiladas, but I had filling left over for at least two more, I just ran out of tortillas.

If you want them to look pretty, then remove the foil, add some cheese and bake uncovered for another 10ish minutes.