enchiladas

Yesterday was a rough day.

And I sat down to start today’s post, which has been brewing for some time now, but I realized it was going to take me somewhere I wasn’t ready to go after a day like today.  So, we’ll save it for Monday.

Instead, we’re going to go with enchiladas.  The best enchiladas you’ve ever had.  Truly.  Go to the store, buy the ingredients- even the weird ones- and make it.  This is the meal that taught me about tomatillos and how to buy hot peppers… neither of which I was ever confident enough to do before. It’s also a Big Girl recipe… with multiple steps and more than 5 ingredients.  This takes me out of 95% of my comfort zone.  Add in things like tomatillos and fresh herbs and this Polish girl is panicking.  I know.  But it will be ok, I promise you.  Let’s grow together, shall we?

My sister-in-law Sarah (also known as the nicest person I’ve ever met) made this for me years ago in Montana and I have never looked back.  Megan asked for it last week saying she couldn’t find it on the blog and I was stunned I’d never put it out there before.  I’ve been holding out on you and I AM SORRY.

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

(from Sarah…out of Texas Monthly)

salsa verde:

2 #s tomatillos, dehusked and washed (Don’t be afraid.  They’re sticky under the husk, but they’ll look just like little green tomatoes after to peel the husk off and rinse them.)

1 medium yellow onion

6 serrano peppers or 3 jalapenos (I use 4 serranos, personally.)

2 T. canola oil

¾ cup fresh cilantro

salt to taste

Place tomatillos, onion, & peppers in a skillet and drizzle with 1 T. of canola oil.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Add skillet mixture to blender with cilantro & salt.  Heat remaining 1 T. of canola oil in the skillet.  Add blender sauce to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes.  Set aside.

chicken enchiladas:

2 ½ #s chicken

¼ cup butter

1/3 cup diced green pepper

1 1/3 cup diced yellow onion

¾ cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

1 ½ t. cumin

¾ t. oregano

¾ cup whole tomatoes, pureed with juice

¾ cup canola oil

16-20 white corn tortillas (6” round)

1 # Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°.  Boil chicken and shred.  In a 2 qt. pot, melt butter.  Add bell pepper, onion, and diced fresh tomatoes.  Cook until soft.

To pot, add shredded chicken, spice mixture (in italics above), and pureed tomatoes.  Cook for 15 minutes.

In a skillet, heat canola oil.  Using tongs, place tortillas in one at a time and cook until soft.  Stack on a plate with a paper towel in between each one.

Assemble enchiladas.  Pour salsa verde and shredded cheese on top.  Bake until cheese melts.

Sure, you can make it with flour tortillas and freeze it- just make the salsa verde the day you’re going to eat it.

Go for it.

Enjoy.

Meet me back here Monday, ok?

Gracias.

resolution and a recipe

Next week, our little family will head to the Detroit area to visit with Nancy Kaufman, an expert in Childhood Apraxia of Speech.  I think of it like this: school speech therapists handle  every problem in the speech disorder spectrum, like a coach that teaches every sport.  Nancy, however, knows apraxia.  She only coaches Rylie’s kind of kids.  We have 4 days of 2-hour therapy with her and are hoping to leave with a better understanding of what Rylie’s future holds. 

Friday, Ry’s school therapists suggested we consider taking Ry to a genetic counselor.  When she was 2 years old, we took her to the children’s hospital to be evaluated, and it was decided that there was nothing ‘deeper’ going on besides idiopathic apraxia and all the motor-planning issues that commonly accompany it.  Now that it’s been 2 years, it may be a good time to have some medical testing done to see if anything shows up.  We’ll ask Nancy if she agrees.

The suggestion did not go over well with me.  It made me tired.  And, truthfully, sad.  I think I’ve been secretly hoping (and expecting) that with much effort would come much progress… and yet, we still find ourselves on the ‘we’re not sure what’s going on’ side of things. 

Some specific prayers, if your gate swings that way:

• that our visit with Nancy would give us some realistic expectations and renewed motivation to press on. This is a marathon, not a sprint. 

• that Rylie and I would find some balance in our daily life.  I have not been handling my role as a parent well lately.  Our last few months have been an incredible battle of (freakishly similar) wills.  I have expected Rylie to grow faster than she can, to understand more than she is able, to be patient even where I am not.  I forget she is four.

• that Winter would not suffocate me.  I have been lazy with my work as a parent and wife as the temperatures drop.  I want to be better with my time.    Plan dinner, be on time to appointments, get dressed before noon.  Hello.  Be an adult

Here’s to a better (and more realistic) tomorrow.  Cheers. 

The recipe below breaks no culinary boundaries, but it’s comforting.  It’s heavy and warm and perfect with bread.  Sometimes at the end of a rough Winter day, that’s exactly what you need.

Baked Potatoes and Stew

• 1 potato for each person, scrubbed clean and rubbed in olive oil and salt AND pricked with a fork 
• 1 pound of stew meat, dredged in flour and browned in a splash of oil 
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 bunch of celery, chopped 
• 1/2 of a Vidalia onion, chopped
• 16 oz. of beef broth
• butter, sour cream and cheese for serving, if desired

Stew usually has pieces of potato in it… but pouring the stew over a baked potato allows you to freeze any leftovers.  Potatoes don’t freeze well.  Meat and broth and vegetables?  They freeze fabulously.

Turn your oven on to 375°.   Put your potatoes in (no need to preheat) and check after 45 minutes.  Extra large ones may take an hour.  The oil and salt on the skins make them nice and crispy.

Once you get your potatoes in: brown your meat, add your vegetables and stir until the onions are translucent.  Now add your broth (and maybe a little leftover beer? hello.) and turn your heat down as low as it will go.  Leave it here to simmer while the potatoes finish cooking.

Break open a potato in each person’s bowl.  Add butter and cheese to melt, and then pour a ladle of stew over the whole deal.  A helping of sour cream on top, a chunk of bread, and you are all set.  Dig in.

Serves 2.5 with leftovers.

a rave, a rant, and a recipe

• rave • We’re in Potty Training Land.  The land where little buns run around in little undies and make the world a cuter place.  It’s our second major ‘go’ at it, and there is no turning back now.  I am under no illusions of speed or genius here.  We are not a ‘trained in 2 days’ kind of team.  But, Ry is getting it.  She is starting to understand the mysterious ‘feeling’ that comes before you have to go.  How the heck do you explain that to a three year-old?  Truthfully, I admit I doubted her abilities.  I thought with all her motor issues that the Potty and Undies were not in our immediate semi-normal future.  I was/am wrong.  Again.  Way to go, Kid.  We are so ridiculously proud of you for starting this step in your life.  We have a long way to go, but Girl, you can make a gray sky blue. [This is our potty.  We love it.]

• rant • I’m mad at Martha Stewart.  I actually feel contempt towards her, which is extremely sad. I know.  It all started when I saw her guest-judge a bunch of Kid Cooks.  One girl made Sloppy Joes and offered Martha a taste. “Oh, I don’t eat that kind of food,” she replied.  Then, on another episode, she took a bowl out of a child’s hand and emptied the contents herself because he was trying to ‘make it pretty’ and she said, “It’s all going to be stirred together.  It doesn’t matter.“  And then, THEN PEOPLE!  She was talking about invitations and how she was going to something special and blah blah blah… and her guest said, “Yes!  Didn’t you see that at the bottom?  You’re supposed to wear blue.” Or something to that effect… and Martha said, “Oh, that.  I don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff. I just write down the event and time.”  Are you freakin’ kidding me?  How rude and snotty can you possibly be? That is absolutely unacceptable behavior.  Time. Out.  I like her ‘stuff’ so much… all her crafty gadgets and dishes and sheets.  I really do.  I suppose that’s a credit to her Craft Team, essentially.  But I don’t like her.  I just needed to get that out there so you know where I stand.  I hope we can still be friends.

• recipe • Oh man, is this gonna rock your socks off.  It’s just stew.  Your basic meat and carrots and broth stew… but there are these potato dumplings.  The dumplings, people… they may change your life.

from: Taste of Home, page 121

[Obviously, you can use your normal stew recipe, but here's the whole deal if you like.]

STEW

Dust 2 pounds of stew meat with salt/pepper and flour (Thank you, Skeeter, for making this meal possible).

Dice 2 medium onions and saute in a dutch oven/heavy pot with 2T of oil.  Add the dredged meat and cook until meat is browned and onions are beginning to soften.

To the meat and onions, add 21ounces (or close) of beef broth, 3/4 cup water (skipped), 1T red wine vinegar (I skipped this.), 6 peeled and chopped carrots, 2 bay leaves (I used one.), 1t. dried thyme, and 1/4t. garlic powder (skipped).

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat.  Simmer covered for 1.5 hours or until meat is almost tender.  Discard the bay leaf.

DUMPLINGS

In a large bowl, beat one egg (thank you, chickens for making this meal possible).  Add 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs, 1T flour, 1T minced parsley, 1T minced onion, 1/2t. dried thyme, 1/2t. salt, 1/2t. pepper.  (I forgot the onion and thyme.  I’m pregnant.) 

Stir in 2.5 cups of finely shredded potatoes.

Turn the heat up on your stew again so it starts boiling.  Flour your hands and make little dumpling balls out of the mixture.  Then roll each ball in a pile of flour and shake off before setting in the stew.  Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.  No peeking!  The dumplings have to cook.

I also added a small can of peas at the very end.  In my house, stew is not stew without carrots and peas. It’s the only time I eat those vegetables, and the meal is incomplete in their absence. 

So say-eth Katie Mulder.  Amen.

Be warm and happy this weekend.  Love to you all!

But, what about…

• Let’s clear a few things off the ‘what about’ list, shall we? •

What about Bonnie, the prize longhorn that didn’t get pregnant this summer?  Well, after returning to the dating pasture for an extra month, she came home last night with a positive pregnancy test.  Releasing her from milking her calf really helped.  All four mammas are now back home and with-calf.  They are starting to get furry-er for Winter.

What about Winter?  Many of you have asked what will happen to our girls when the snow flies.  I love you.  God made longhorns able to survive in some really wicked conditions- low feed, brutal weather, family members with horns.  They take Winter up here in stride, with no barn necessary.  All they need are some tall trees for a break from the wind and food.  We lose our grass up here in Michigan around November, which puts a damper on the whole ‘grazing’ thing.  So, they feed on alfalfa grass that’s been baled into huge rolls.  The rolls are set in the field in a round-bale feeder, like the red one below.  Because of a longhorn’s horns, we had two feeders made special for our cows.  Our version allows the bale to be contained (so they don’t pull it all out and lay in it) while still allowing them to stick their heads and horns inside to eat.  There’s your farming lesson for the day, Folks.  Walk tall and proud.

The feeders also make fantastic playpens.  Rylie and Kendall were smitten for a good half hour,  pretending and running and climbing and laughing.  Perhaps we should have bought an extra. [aside: Is it me, or is Scooter the Kitten always in the 'acidentally' in the shot?]

What’s our next game?  Here are my thoughts.  I am trying to be a better woman.  I have no trouble admitting that I need your help.  Winter is approaching for most of us, and meal planning will be changing.  I’d love to do a re-mix of the Keeper’s Recipe Swap.  Lots of readers have come and gone since November 2007, so I think we’d get a great new mix.  It would go like this:

• Players would comment or email that they’d like to play.
• Players would come up with 5 main entrees they serve regularly. Recipes should be varied, ie: you can’t contribute 5 chicken dishes.  Ideally, I’d like to be able to open this booklet on a Sunday night and say, “Ok.  I’m cooking Becky’s menu this week.  What do I need to buy?”  All planned, all there, low level of brain stress.
• Players would email me those meals and recipes. If you want to include sides and desserts for each entree, that’s your call but PS you’re awesome. 
• I would compile the emails and make another e-booklet of the recipes.
• I would pair up each player with a partner.  Partners would swap a magnet and an oven mitt, just for fun.  Any kind of magnet and oven mitt you want… they’re prolly on the same aisle in the grocery store, and they’ll both easily fit in a small envelope.  Easy, right?
• Once players have received their gifts, I would email the e-booklet with menus galore.  If your partner doesn’t receive the magnet/oven mitt combo, you don’t get your recipes.  Mwa-ha-haaaaa!  [That's evil I-figured-out-a-way-to-make-you-play-nice laughter.]
• For example: If three of us play, our e-booklet would contain three weeks of menus, or 15 recipes.  At noon:  we’re already up to 10 folks playing!  At least weeks of menus coming!

Yes?  Minimal effort, major help in the meal-planning department, and we all become better people.  Yes.  How ’bout, lemme know by November 1st by simply emailing me your recipes.  That’s your EMAIL RECIPES TO ME deadline: November 1st.  I’ll get your swap partner to you November 2nd.  Your MAIL YOUR SWAP GIFT deadline will be December 1st.  Recipes can be tried and true from magazines, websites, etc… just be sure to credit the source.  Gracias!

Help with a name for this round, please and thank you?

homemade chicken pot pies

Oooooooooh, People.  It’s been awhile since we’ve had a recipe here, eh?  Let the wait be over!  I dub today Chicken Pot Pie Day!  Hurray for Fall!  We’re big fans of pot pies, but really… the store-bought are So. Bad. for you.  So much sodium.  So many unknown ingredients.  This recipe will give you a chance to be a bit more in control of your dinner.  There are always a million ways to cheat, which is nice.  I like options.  I’m an option kind of gal.

These can be made ahead of time and frozen.  Hello, blustery winter nights with a fire and movie.

Need:

• 4 foil pie dishes, ramekins, oven-proof mugs -OR- 1 large pie plate
• 2 chicken breastsIhatethatword, cooked and then shredded or cubed
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup, undiluted -OR- make your own
• 1 bunch of celery hearts (or frozen veggies)
• 1 small bunch of carrots (or frozen veggies)
• 1 onion
• 2 medium potatoes (or frozen veggies)
• 3 tablespoons of butter 
• 1 premade pie crust -OR- 1 homemade pie crust -OR- 2 crusts, if you want it to be on the top and bottom of the pie
• 1 egg, slightly beaten, to brush over the crusts
• chicken broth, milk, or water to thin out mixture if you want
• salt & pepper to taste

Make:

Ok.  With the ingredients above, I filled 2 (24oz.) ramekins and 2 (7oz.) ramekins.  Ramkekins are just those fancy little individula serving dishes.  So. Cute.  They were on sale at the store and I thought, “These are so fun.  I need them. Come home with me.”  You can also make one large pot pie… whatever floats your boat.  Sometimes, I need pretty things to motivate me.

Preheat your oven to 400°.  Get your pie crust(s) out of the freezer to thaw -OR- make your  own.  Note: you cannot thaw pie crusts in the microwave.  Trust me.

Grab your potatoes, chop them up small, and throw them into a skillet with the butter.  While they start jammin’, chop up your onion (and throw it in the skillet), chop up your carrots (IN), chop up your celery (IN).  Everything should be in the skillet mingling.  Let everyone hang out until the onions are clear in color and the potatoes are getting soft.  Note: if you’re using a bag of frozen veggies, I’d do the skillet step with them as well.  Let them warm up in a little butter for a bit.  Butter never hurt anyone.

Turn your heat off on the skillet.  Add your can of cream of chicken soup as well as your cooked chicken.  Mix thoroughly.  Now decide it that’s what you want the insides of your pies to look like.  If it’s too thick, add a little bit of broth or milk to thin it out.  A little bit… like a splash.  You can always add more.

Now, taste it.  Add your salt and pepper to even things out.  Pepper makes this dish lovely, so don’t be afraid to be liberal. 

Alright, the insides are all set, so let’s just put it together.  If you want a crust on the bottom, lay that down first.  Add your insides, and then place a top on it.  Cut a couple slits in the top for ventilation and you are good to go!  If you’re using the individual sizes, you can skip the inside crust and just use a topper.  Note: I used a small cookie cutter as my vent.  It may have been on sale right next to the ramekins.  Crimp down the edges of your crust with a fork and then brush your crust with a little egg.  This will turn the crust a nice golden brown while cooking.

Cook for 45 minutes in your oven.  Individual pies can all be placed on a cookie sheet so they can go in and come out together.  If you’re freezing these for later, you do not have to cook them ahead of time.  Just wrap well, label, and stock.

BIG HIT in our house.  Yum.  Simple.  Cute.  Love it.

Curt says to me, “Mmmmm.  These are awesome.”

[pause]

“You know what would make these even better… like perfect?”

“Um, more perfect than the individual cafe servings and an ELEPHANT CUT OUT OF YOUR CRUST OH MY GOSH ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

“Well, I just really like the crust… so maybe one on top AND bottom for me.  That’s all.  But, it’s really awesome.”

Noted.

A is for…

‘a’ is for apple pie… which I always have on-hand.  It fixes anything.  I am obsessed with Jami’s recipe because it is perfection:

insides:  8-10 apples of your choice peeled, sliced and combined with 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbs. flour, and 1 tsp. cinnamon

outsides: mixture of 1 stick softened butter, 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup oats, and 1 tsp. cinnamon

assemble: crust on bottom (if you want), apple mixture, topping mixture

bake: 350° for about 45 minutes or until golden brown

‘a’ is for America… which I love fiercely.

‘a’ is for the grade I received most in high school and least in college.

‘a’ is for A&M… as in Texas A&M, where I graduated with a degree in Kinesiology/Outdoor Education and spent my free time rock climbing and singing and loving every minute of it.

‘a’ is for Anna… one of my oldest and dearest and smartest friends.  I am a better person for knowing you.

bran muffins and the people who love them

When I got married, I was told immediately that I needed to memorize this recipe.  I ignored this advice, which may account for the majority of our first year ‘issues.’  I  learned my lesson well and will now pass this on to you, dear Reader, in the hopes of improving your life.

These freeze amazingly… both the batter and the cooked muffins.  Raw batter will keep in your fridge for up to 6 weeks if you want to make just a few at a time.  This recipe makes A TON.  Like, you-might-have-to-mix-it-in-your-sink A TON.  Shield your eyes from the amount of sugar, lard, and buttermilk.  It masks the cardboard fiber taste.  Counteract the insane-ness by adding some strawberries or blueberries in the mix.  It will make you feel better.

soak together: 2 cups boiling water, 4 cups Bran Buds (cereal aisle, up top… no-man’s land), 2 cups All Bran cereal

mix in a LARGE large bowl: 1 cup shortening, 3 cups sugar, 3 tsp. salt, 4 beaten eggs, 5 cups flour, and 5 tsp baking soda dissolved in a quart of buttermilk .  The buttermilk/baking soda combo makes quite a literal splash… make sure your kids are around to watch the reaction.  I dump the baking soda in the quart, throw the cap back on, and shake like mad.

Now, mix everything together until your arms are about to fall off.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes (or until golden brown) in a greased or lined muffin tin.  Personally, I am a fan of the silicone muffins cups.  Genius. 

If you make these, please hide the results from my 2 bran muffin junkies.  They are a little out of control about these things.

Wrinkly baby feet, anyone?

Camping at Platte River over the long weekend was absolutely perfect. I managed to take only one photo, which is what happens when there are 6 tents and 6 cousins and 4 generations of family all camping together on one site. Also, I may die of West Nile Virus soon, but it was worth it.

I have sorted the resulting laundry into piles based on the colors in a Crayola 24 box. I’m not kidding, people. There’s a lot of laundry. The next load is Cerulean Blue clothes.

Now. Camping (within walking distance of the car). Yes. We love it. Even/especially with an almost-toddler. Let’s talk about some things that make life grand whilst camping for The Mulders of TexasNorth:

our tent: a Springbar… made in the USA, canvas, old-school, sets up in about 10 minutes, LOVE IT. Seriously. It rocks. My biggest requirement was that I be able to stand up while changing. I am not graceful while changing clothes in the wild. I need both feet on the ground.

our baby carrier: after borrowing a few and being sadly disappointed, we invested in a USA-made ToughTraveller. These people know what they’re doing. We could not be more pleased with it. It also has a great backpack under the kiddo seat that holds everything you could need for a day’s adventures. Peeps, if wimpy-ol’-me can carry the child in it while hiking, packing, harvesting the garden… you can bet your bottom dollar it’s a miracle product.

our high chair: I’ve mentioned this before, but the MeToo chair comes with us when we hit the woods. The MeToo chair comes with us basically everywhere. It’s perfect. And, it fits on any table. And, it’s lightweight. And, it’s compact. And, awesome.

our lunches: Breakfasts and dinners are sit-down affairs, but lunches are usually on the go. At the beach. On a mountain. In a boat. (not all at the same time) We always have Pickle Wraps for lunch. Of course, peanut butter is an option, too… but sometimes that just doesn’t cut it. There are always Pickle Wrap ingredients in our cooler.

cream cheese
lunch meat (usually turkey)
pickle slices
tortillas

It goes like this:
take out your tortilla
spread a hefty amount of heaven cream cheese down the center
add 3 slices of lunch meat
and 2 pickle slices
roll and eat

It’s portable. It’s kid-friendly. It’s fast. It is sooooo zippy, creamy good. It’s possible to make these at home, of course, but it’s somehow just not the same as when you’re in the woods. Perhaps it’s the unexpected luxury of cream cheese. Perhaps it’s the tang of the pickles. I dunno. I don’t care. I’m a fan.

It’s time for the red-violet load to go in the washer now. Gotta run.
Blessings to you and yours this weekend!

funnies

*I posted a letter to Rylie (that I did actually mail) yesterday about the results of her evaluation. I did this because so many of you were kind enough to ask and because I am terrified of having this conversation 84 ba-jillion times in person where I will cry and stutter and generally make a fool of myself. Words are so much easier here. Thank you… for every bit of everything that you are. A silly, but sincere, little flower for you.*

On to our regularly scheduled program…
some random photos, some hilarity, some conversation, and some cookin’

Saturday evening, before the hurricane hit West Michigan, the TexasNorth Mulders attended Abbi’s ballet recital. Curt watched from the seats while Rylie (aka: Crazy Horse that evening) and I quickly found ourselves banished to the hallway watching through the rectangular glass on the doors. She simply could not contain herself amongst the costumes, the music, the dancing. Peanut worked her way onto my shoulders and began a game of peek-a-boo… leaning way over and looking into my eyes upside down. With lightening speed, she then stuck her finger so far up my nose that it started to bleed. And that’s why we missed Abbi’s scene. Thank you for understanding.

And now, a conversation…

Boy says: Ya know, Girl, I saw this goo in the skillet tonight and pasta in the pot and I was all like, Eh… boooooring. But, man… this is GOOD!

Girl gives Boy a sideways glance and wonders how in the world she ever fell in love with someone who doesn’t dig pasta or dream about stroganoff… I’m sorry, goo.

Girl studies Boy a moment and remembers that he is extrememly hot.

Venison Stroganoff
1# ground venison or beef
salt
pepper
garlic
2 white onions, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms (if it won’t cause an extra session of marital counseling)
3-5 T butter
2 cups of beef broth
3 T tomato paste
2/3 sour cream
pasta of choice

Start your pasta water. Salt and pepper your meat. In a large skillet, saute mushrooms and onions in the garlic and butter until tender. Add meat and continue until meat is browned. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add beef broth and tomato paste to skillet. Stir to make gravy, adding a little flour if necessary to thicken. Add meat mixture back to skillet and simmer until your pasta in finished. Add sour cream in just before serving… or heavy cream if, like me, you happened to be out.

Happy weekend, Friends. We love you here at TexasNorth! We reeeeeeeally do.

*photo above of Ry fending off the Reds. They are crazy friendly. I am not even kidding. I fully expect one of them to invite to tea soon.*

*PS! I totally forgot to tell you, but the smocks/aprons got some love over at Sew, Mama, Sew [click]!!! How fun is that!?*

recipe for the Paper Chef #26

Hey! Head over to Ilva’s to vote for our recipe! http://lucullian.blogspot.com/2008/02/paper-chef-26-roundup.html
And be sure to give some of the recipes a try… Cort, this will be right up your alley.

I see lots of you are popping in from the Paper Chef page…Welcome! I am sorry to say we have no pictures of our little pies. But it looks like, well… a little pastry pie. Jim, do you have any photos of your creation?

Thanks to Ilva for a great challenge!
Our ‘team’ chose Jim’s recipe… as he is our resident master chef:

Pasties from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan USA and served at the turn of the last century and before to the copper miners for lunch. Pasties are still a very common, traditional meal to this day. They’re like little meat pies…

Pastry:
1.5 Cups Flour
2 Strips Bacon that has just started cooking and cut into bits
3 tablespoons Crisco
1/2 Tsp Salt
Very Cold Water to make mixture resemble meal (about 4-5 tablespoons)

Mix together; form into ball knead it lightly against a smooth service; reform into ball; dust with flour cover with wrap and Chill for about 1 hr.

Filling:
2 Bacon strips that have just started cooking and cut into bits
1.5 Lbs Sirloin steak
2 Medium Potatoes
1 Medium onion
2 Medium carrots
2 Plum tomatoes open squeezed to remove seeds etc leaving only the firm flesh
then cut into 1/2 bits
About 1/2 cup Rutabaga
Salt and Pepper to taste

Chop meat and potatoes etc to about 1in others medium dice; combine with remaining ingredients, salt and pepper. Roll pastry into circles about 8-9 ins. Place ingredients in centers; dot with very small amount of butter; moisten edge of pastry and fold over. Seal with fork or fingers. Prick top; put on baking sheet covered with parchment paper and with sides or use foil to make sides as juice will run out.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce temp to 350 and bake 45 minutes.
Makes about 4 depending on how full.