Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

Steam a whole head of cauliflower in the pressure cooker with about 1/2 cup water. Cut off all of the green leaves and much of the stem before cooking. Steam it for about 5 minutes (from the time the pressure cooker starts rocking). While it's cooking, start the cheese sauce.

Melt 3/4 of a square of butter. Take off heat. Add 3 heaping Tbl. flour to make a thick paste. Add milk till it is creamy like gravy (about 1 c.) When your cauliflower has steamed for 5 minutes, run the pressure cooker under cold water, open it up and add water off the cauliflower to the cheese sauce (about 1/4 c.) and put the sauce back on the stove top. Bring it to a boil. As it gets near to boiling it will thicken; add milk as it thickens to keep it the consistency of gravy. As soon as it boils, the consistency will not change, so don't add any more milk. Add grated cheese - about 1-2 c. and salt to taste. Pour over the cauliflower in a serving bowl.

Yuuuuummmmmm.

Broccoli Beef

1. Marinade:

1 Tbl. cornstarch
1 clove garlic - smashed
3-4 slices ginger root (cut up and freeze the slices, then you can just pull out a few slices when you make it)
2 Tbl. oil
1 Tbl soy sauce

Cut 1 flank steak (about 1.25 pounds) in lengthwise strips. Then cut each strip in 1/4" slices at an angle against the grain (this makes the meat very tender). Marinate the cut steak while preparing the rest.

2. Cook broccoli florettes with a little bit of oil until you can poke them with a fork.

3. Gravy: 6-8 times this amount

1 Tbl. cornstarch
2 Tbl. ketchup
1/2 c. water
1 Tbl. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. curry powder
1 Tbl worchestershire sauce

4. Cook the meat in a pan (take out the pieces of ginger root). When it's browned add the gravy and cook together. Add the broccoli right before serving and serve meat, broccoli, and gravy mixture over rice.

Sloppy Joes

My latest experiment: ground turkey in place of ground beef. The turkey sloppy joes on wheat buns were really good. My family all ate them. In fact, I think that's how I'll be making them from now on.

1 lb. ground beef or turkey, browned with 1 chopped onion
1 can chicken gumbo soup
Ketchup - till right consistency, about 1/2 large bottle
2 tsp. mustard

Combine all ingredients and simmer until thick. Serve on buns with a slice of cheese inside if desired.

Stuffed Peppers

My huband loves peppers, so this dinner won me big points the first time I made it for him. I grew up on this dinner.

1 lb. hamburger
3/4 c. Minute Rice
1/2 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
dried onion

Mix together and stuff about 6 green peppers with mixture after cutting off the top and cleaning out the pepper. After they are stuffed put the "lid" back on.

Cook in pressure cooker with water and the rest of the tomato sauce for 15 min. Use juices to make tomato gravy (thicken, add salt and worchestshire sauce to taste) to go over over meat and additional rice.

(We never ate the cooked peppers as kids but it gives it good flavor.)

Mom's Jello

A staple at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and other fancy family dinners.

1 large package raspberry or strawberry jello
1 large can crushed pineapple
3 bananas sliced
1 container frozen sweetened strawberries (in the frozen fruit section)

Make jello with 1/2 the water called for (2 c. instead of 4 c.).

Add pineapple (with juice), bananas, and berries.

Chill. Serve with whipped cream or cool whip.

Indoor S'mores

From the Golden Graham box...a family favorite (especially at Campout).

5 c. miniature marshmellows
1/3 c. light corn syrup
6 Tbl. butter
1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
8 c. Golden Grahams
1 c. miniature marshmellows

Melt 5 c. marshmellows, corn syrup, butter, and chocolate chips over low heat. Stire constantly. Add vanilla. Add cereal. Stir until cereal is coated, then add 1 c. marshmellows. Spoon into 9 x 13 pan.

Bacon Potato Cheese Soup

Cook and drain 1 pound of bacon, cut up into pieces. Place 10 pounds of peeled and cubed potatoes in a pot with a thick bottom (to keep soup from scorching). Barely cover the potatoes with water. Sprinkle 1 minced onion (may add more) over the potatoes. Add 2 Tbl. salt and as much pepper as desired. Cover and cook till tender. Do not drain.

You'll need 3 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk and 8 Tbl. flour. Mix some of the milk and the flour to make a paste. Pour into the potatoes and stir. Add rest of milk. Turn down the heat to low. Keep stirring as it thickens. Watch to keep from scorching. Add a 2 pound block of Velveeta cheese, sliced and cubed. Stir till melts. Stir in the bacon before serving.

Be careful. This can burn easily. Watch it closely.

Salmon Marinade

I posted a chicken marinade a while ago and asked you to send me other marinade recipes. Well, here's another good one. I also found this link to another marinade (which I have NOT tried myself) but I liked it because it explained how to make up your own marinade.

2/3 c. oil
3/4 c. soy sauce
3 Tbl. honey
2 Tbl. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 green onion chopped all the way up
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 cloves fresh garlic minced

Marinate for 6-24 hours in a zip lock bag. Turn bag every few hours while marinating.

Grill carefully for about 5-7 minutes per side.