Linda Mead Writes – Page 4 – Life is a series of stories.

August 2, 2015October 18, 2015

Beef Stir Fry

Looks Like Christmas

Beef Stir Fry – an Americanized Chinese dish, maybe, but it is fairly easy to make and extremely delicious. My least favorite part is making the sauce, which isn’t difficult.

Gather the following ingredients:

Jasmine rice – 2 cups uncooked

Extra virgin olive oil – 2 tbsp.
Minced garlic – 1 tbsp.
Beef – 1 lb.
Chili pepper

Red pepper
Green pepper
Mushrooms sliced – 8 oz.
Black pepper

soy sauce – 1 tbsp.
cornstarch – 1 tbsp.
oyster sauce – 2 tbsp.
MSG – 1 tsp.

Rice cooker
Stir fry pan

Add two plastic cups of Jasmine rice and water into the rice cooker. Set it and forget it.
– you can use other grain rice, but Jasmine is the best for Asian dishes.

Slice the beef into small pieces for stir fry. Cut the peppers into chucks.
– the size of the beef is up to you.
– cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds, cut the halves into thirds and half them again.

Mix the MSG, cornstarch, soy sauce, and oyster sauce in a tall measuring cup. Add half a cup of water and mix completely.

Pour the olive oil into the stir fry pan. Add the garlic, beef, and chili peppers into the pan. Cook on a medium heat for about 3-4 minutes to lightly brown the meat.
– I add enough chili pepper to make it look painful.
– Do not overcook.

Add the peppers and mushrooms. Grind some black pepper for taste. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 3-5 minutes, until the peppers are booked but still slightly crisp. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving over the rice.

July 18, 2015October 18, 2015

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Gather the following ingredients:

Condensed tomato soup

Bread
Butter
Velveeta Cheese

Large pan
Medium pot

Cook the condensed tomato soup in the medium sized pot on low – one can soup to one can of water
– I heard a rumor milk was an option over water, but not for me

Butter the bread on the outside of the sandwich
– soften the butter in the microwave if needed, set it out if you can and wait for it to soften, or use a französische Butterdose – a French better dish or crock (if you do not own one get one they are great).

With the buttered sides together place two slices of Velveeta cheese on the bread.

Turn the heat on low and use the large pan. Place the sandwiches into the pan with the butter side down. Heat the bottom until it is golden brown.

Flip the sandwich. Brown the second side.
– usually the cheese will give just at the moment it is ready, but sometimes the bread burns first.

Grilled cheese sandwiches, ready for soup

Serve with the tomato soup. Dip the sandwich in the soup and enjoy.

July 12, 2015March 6, 2016

Little Smokeys

Little Smokeys in Crock Pot – Takes a few hours, but it isn’t difficult to make.

Gather the following ingredients:

Little Smokey – 2 packets
BBQ sauce

Crescent rolls

Open both packages of Little Smokeys. Place into Crock Pot.

Cover with BBQ sauce.

Cook on low for 2 hours.

Start the oven for the crescent rolls about 20 minutes before the wieners are done.

Eat Little Smokeys and soak up the BBQ sauce with the crescent rolls.

I also like to make macaroni, cheese, and corn casserole with this dish.

July 5, 2015October 18, 2015

Ham and Potato Soup

There are few soups that I love as much as ham and potato soup. It is a great alternative to ham and bean soup for that leftover holiday ham.

Gather the following ingredients:

8 oz. ham
2 1/2 lbs. potatoes
2 cans chicken broth
1 tbls. Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream of celery

1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt

Dutch oven or the biggest pot you can find

Cut the ham into cubes. Dice the potatoes. Add ham, potatoes, Dijon mustard, and chicken broth to the Dutch oven. Boil until the potatoes until they are tender, about 30 minutes once it starts to boil.

Combine the milk and cream of celery, stir into the pan.

Season with garlic powder and salt. Heat the soup through – do not boil.

June 27, 2015November 16, 2025

Beef Stroganoff

Best beef stroganoff ever.

Gather the following ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. of New York strip or other fine cut of beef
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
2 (8-oz.) packages of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can of beef broth, about 2 cups
2 tbls. tomato paste
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 package (16 oz.) egg noodles
1/2 cup sherry
2 tbls. flour
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream

2 large pots

Cut the beef into 1/2 inch cubes. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
– the best this has ever turned out I actually used a beef flank recommended by the butcher who had used the same cut the day before to make his own beef stroganoff.

Add 3 tbls. of olive oil to one of the large pots. Heat over a medium-high heat. Sauté the beef and the mushrooms together for 3 – 5 minutes.

– The meat should be seared, not necessarily cooked through.

Stir in the broth, tomato paste, and mustard.

Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 1 hour.

About half an hour prior to the beef mixture being finished start to boil the water for the egg noodles. – Try to time the noodles to finish shortly after the meat.

Stir the flour and sherry into the beef mixture, cook, stir constantly until it thickens.
– Mine never thickens. I just cook it a few minutes and move on.

Add the sour cream. Stir. Turn off the heat. Add the noodles. Stir. Serve.

June 20, 2015October 18, 2015

Stove Top Chicken Casserole

Stove Top and Chicken Casserole in forty minutes.

Gather the following ingredients:

Stove Top stuffing mix
1/2 stick of butter
Water

Chicken – rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, or another cooked chicken
Cream of chicken soup

Small glass pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stove Top stuffing, cream of chicken, and one cooked chicken

Make the Stove Top stuffing mix according to the directions.

After the necessary 5 minutes transfer the stuffing onto the bottom of the glass pan.

Add the chicken to the top.

Cover with the cream of chicken soup.

Cooked Stove Top and chicken, quick and easy

Cook in oven for 30 minutes.

June 14, 2015November 16, 2025

Chicken Strips in Marinade

Chicken Strips in Marinade is a great topping for rice.

Gather the following ingredients:

Raw chicken cut into long strips
A salad dressing, something with lemon or raspberry

Large storage bag
Small glass pan

Optional:
Rice, Uncle Ben’s Chicken and Wild Rice is a good choice

Marinade and chicken ingredients, yep just two

Place the chicken strips into the storage bag and cover with the salad dressing. Allow this to marinade for 30 minutes.
– If it sits too long the acids in the dressing will breakdown the protein in the chicken and make it mushy. Do not let it sit longer than a few hours. 30 minutes to an hour is optimal.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the chicken for 30 minutes.

Serve over rice if you like.

June 6, 2015October 18, 2015

Cheesy Hash Browns with Ham

A side dish or a main course, cheesy hash browns with ham.

Gather the following ingredients:

1 (32 ounce) package of frozen has brown potatoes
A cooked ham steak or cubed ham or frozen leftovers
2 cans condensed cream of potato soup
1 (16 oz.) container of sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar Chees
Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 large glass pan or 2 smaller glass pans
Huge bowl

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Break the frozen hash browns by dropping it onto cement or a hard floor. Do not body slam the package. It doesn’t end well.

Slice the ham into small cubes.

In an extreme large bowl mix the cream of potato soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and the ham. Mix in the frozen has browns.

Cheesy Ham and Potatoes, ready to be cooked.

Transfer the mixture into the glass pan or pans.

Top with the grated Parmesan cheese.
– Do not use shredded parmesan cheese for this. It will burn.

Bake for a full hour.

May 23, 2015October 18, 2015

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork for sandwiches made in a Crock Pot.

Gather the following ingredients:

Pork shoulder or tenderloin
Rub – Find one you like or combine chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and red pepper
Apple Cider Vinegar
BBQ sauce

Crock Pot

Buns

Optional topping:
Coleslaw

Cover the pork with the rub liberally. Place the pork into the crock pot, fat side down.

Pour 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar onto the bottom of the Crock Pot.
– Dot not pour over the meat.

Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

When the pork is able to be pulled apart with two forks remove it from the Crock Pot. Dump out the vinegar. Replace the pork and shred the meat.

Cover with your favorite BBQ sauce, stir, and cook for another hour.
– Sweet BBQ sauces can burn, and become bitter, if cooked too long in the Crock Pot which is why you wait until the end to add it.

Place the pulled pork between 2 buns and eat.

Add coleslaw on top of the pulled pork if desired.

May 15, 2015October 18, 2015

Coleslaw

A simple salad, coleslaw.

Gather the following ingredients:

Cabbage
Carrots
Miracle Whip
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sugar

Miracle Whip, sugar, vinegar, cabbage, and carrots

Slice or chop the cabbage and carrots in a vegetable slicer.
– I don’t have one either. I chop the cabbage with a knife, bigger ones work best. I slice the carrot with a potato peeler.

Add Miracle Whip to cover the cabbage and carrots. Mix in 1 tbls. vinegar and 1 tbls. sugar to 1 cup of Miracle Whip.
– In my experience increasing the vinegar and sugar when increasing the Miracle Whip is not always a good idea. Especially the vinegar.
– It can take a surprisingly large amount of Miracle Whip to cover the salad depending on how covered you like the vegetables.

Stir and you are finished. Put in the fridge to chill.

Serve as a simple side dish or add to the top of a sandwich.