Aunt Shirlee's Collection ~ Celestial Crusts (Csoroge) ~ Dated: 1953

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks slightly beaten
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp rum or brandy
Flour
Shortening for frying

Directions:
Mix egg yolks, salt, sugar, brandy and enough flour to make a stiff dough.  Knead on lightly floured board until smooth; about 10 minutes.  Roll into one or two sheets until quite thin; cut into stris about 2 1/2" by 3"; make about three gashed nearly to the ends; put one end through genter gash to make butterfly effect.  Fry in hot shortening until light brown; drain on absorbent paper and sut with powdered sugar.

Aunt Shirlee's Collection ~ Sponge Cake with Pudding Custard Frosting (Piskota Torta) ~ Dated: 1953

My Great-Aunt, Shirlee (Fees) Clark was a tremendous woman.  She never had children of her own, but she sure loved all of her nieces and nephews and her great-nieces and great-nephews.  So much that when she fell ill and knew she would not be with us much longer she made sure that her recipes fell into good hands.  Originally, they were to be divided up and each of the 4 Horvath Families (my dad & uncles) were to get some of her cookbooks and recipes.  Last year, when I moved to Tennessee, I found the box that contained all of her cookbooks & recipe cards.  They ended up in Tennessee with me, not because I am trying to be selfish with them, but because I was going to make copies of all of them so that everyone could have a piece of Aunt Shirlee.  Well, that's why I started this page, because there is so much that I couldn't possibly copy EVERYTHING for EVERYONE...there's too many of us.  So the easier way was to start this blog and share her recipes - not only with my family, but with the worlds.

So, here we go.....

Sponge Cake (Piskota Torta)

Ingredients:

6 eggs, seperated

1 cup sugar

1 cup cake flour

7 Tbsp cold water

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of Salt

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

Directions: 

Mix egg yolks and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer for about 10 minutes.  Gradually add water and vanilla; mix well.  Sift flour and paking powder 3 or 4 times.  Beat egg whites to which salt has been added.  Mix with egg yolk mixture alternating with flour.  Pour into 2 9-inch pans greasing only the bottoms. 

If you desire, 1/2 square grated chocolate may be added to half of bater before it is poured into pan.  

Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes.  Spread with pudding custard. 

Pudding Custard Frosting

Ingredients: 

1 egge

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1/4 lb butter

Pinch Salt

3 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

Mix flour, sugar and salt.  Add egg and little milk at one time to form smooth mixtue; add all milk.  Cook until thick; keep stirrring constantly because it will be very thick.  Remove from fire (burner); beat until very smooth; allow it to get very cold.  Mix in mixing bowl with butter and powdered sugar until very fluffy; beat at highest point on mixer.  Spread on sponge cake.  

ENJOY!

Beef Stroganoff Casserole ~ from Family Circle - September 2012

One of Jeff's and my favorite dinners is Beef Stroganoff.  It is a special treat for us when I make it.  So here's a little twist on the classic Beef Stroganoff. 

Makes: 6 servings

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 21 minutes

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb sirloin or beef tips, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, diced

1 pkg (10 oz)  cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed & sliced (optional - I am allergic to mushrooms so we do not include them in our stroganoff)

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour (you could probably try it with a rice flour if you are gluten free)

1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth

2 Tbsp Dry Sherry (optional) - we don't include alcohol in our cooking either

1 bag (12 oz) egg noodles

1 cup sour cream

2/3 cup french-fried onions

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling.  Coat a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season steak with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Add steak into skillet in single layer.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes, turning once.  Remove to a plate. 

Reduce heat to medium and add onion.  Cook 3 minutes.  Stir in mushroom and saute 5 minutes.  Add remaining 1/4 tsp of salt & pepper.  Sprinkle with flour.  Cook 1 minute.  Whisk in broth.  Bring to a simmer and add sherry, if using.  Simmer 3 minutes.  

Cook noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Drain.  Remove sauce from heat and slowly stir in meat and sour cream.  Add noodles and spoon into prepared dish.  Cover with foil, bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

Uncover and top with fried onions. 

Smoky Chicken & Potatoes - from Family Circle - September 2012

Makes: 4 servings             

Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 450 for 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Boneless, Skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces (I don't like thigh meat so I subsitute with chicken breast)

1 1/2 lbs baking potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges

1 green pepper, cored, seeded & cut into 1/2 inch strips

4 garlic cloves, sliced

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lemon, cut into wedges, plus more for serving (optional)

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Directions: 

Heat oven to 450. Coat 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. 

Add chicken, potatoes, onion, green pepper and garlic. Toss with olive oil and season with paprika, salt and pepper. 

Squeeze lemon wedge over top and scatter wedges over casserole. 

Bake at 450 for 30 minutes or until chicken reaches 160. Stir once after 20 minutes. 

Scatter parsley over top. Serve with additional lemon if desired. 

Per serving: 

454 cal

16 g fat

37 g protein

43 g carb

5 g fiber

721 mg sodium

166 mg cholesterol

Vegetable Fried Rice ~ from Family Circle - September 2012

Ingredients:

4 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp oil
2 ribs of celery, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup vegetable broth
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Ketchup
2 Scallions, chopped

In a skillet, cook beaten eggs in 1 Tbsp of oil; slice cooked egg and put aside.  Add 1 Tbsp of oil in skillet with celery, onion, green pepper & carrot.  Cook for 6 minutes.  Stir in rice, vegetable broth, soy sauce and ketchup. Heat then stir in egg.  Top with chopped scallions.

Serves 4

Black Beans & Rice ~ from Family Circle Magazine - September 2012

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
1 packet Goya Sazon seasoning
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can black beans

Directions:

Cook rice with Goya Sazon seasoning.  In a skillet, saute the onion & pepper in the olive oil for 3 minutes.  Add the black beans and simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in rice and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Checking In.....

Hello Homemade Hunky Fans!!!!  I just wanted to stop by and check in with you all.  Life has been a little strange for me lately and I haven't been able to get through my family's recipes as fast as I would have liked.  I promise you that I will be adding new recipes soon.  In the meantime, I want to encourage all of you to try the recipes I have already posted both here on the blog and also by visiting my Facebook Recipe Collection and my Pinterest Board.

All of the recipes on my Pinterest Board and Facebook page are recipes that I have gathered from other sources and are not my own, but they are still awesome and one day I will have the chance to try each and every one of them.

I am a "foodie".  I love food - it's just as simple as that, but I also enjoy giving people ideas and inspiration to use in the kitchen.

Please also share with me your final product.  Especially if you have tried one of my family recipes - snap a photo and email it to me at cecenjeff@gmail.com  with the recipe in the subject line. Tell me how you and your family or friends liked it and if you think that are any changes I should make.  I really want to hear from all of you.

I want to make this recipe blog one that EVERYONE enjoys and one that people are willing to follow and share with their friends and family.  I can only do that with YOUR help - your comments & suggestions are always welcome and very much appreciated.

Tracy's Stuffed Meatloaf

1 lb 96% lean ground beef
1 lb Ground Turkey
Italian Bread Crumbs
1lg onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 or 2 eggs
Garlic powder
Paprika
Black Pepper
Cilantro or dried parsley flakes
Mozzarella cheese (string cheese sticks are the easiest
Buffalo Sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a bread loaf pan with cooking spray. In a bowl mix together beef, turkey, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, chopped cilantro (or parsley flakes) about 1/4 to 1/2 cup buffalo sauce, about 1 cup bread crumbs (I eyeball it. I don't want the loaf to be too dry), egg, and seasonings (I eyeball the seasoning according to who is eating and what they like)

Divide the meat mixture in half. Form half of the mixture in the loaf pan. Cover meet with mozzarella cheese sticks. Then form the remaining meat on top. Spread a thin layer of buffalo sauce on top of the loaf and bake in oven for approx 30-45 minutes until loaf is completely brown and temp is at about 180-190 degrees. Serve with mashed taters