Dear TEAM: I was wondering if you have a recipe for homemade chop suey with ground beef or beef strips. – R.F., Glenavon, Sask.
Dear R.F.: This is a recipe I have made for our family. It is from the cookbook From Prairie Kitchens, recipes by Saskatchewan Women’s Institutes compiled by Emmie Oddie in 1980, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, Sask.
Chop suey
North American in origin but with a satisfying oriental taste.
1-2 pounds ground beef 500 g-1 kg
1 can (10 oz.) consommé 284 mL
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
1 cup onion, chopped 250 mL
4 cups celery, chopped 1 L
1 cup cabbage, chopped 250 mL
(optional)
1 can (10 oz.) mushrooms 284 mL
1 can (14 oz.) bean sprouts 398 mL
or
1 can (19 oz.) Chinese 540 mL
vegetables, or the equivalent
fresh or frozen
3 tablespoons soy sauce 45 mL
1 tablespoon cornstarch 15 mL
Brown beef in large heavy skillet. Pour consommé over the meat, simmer five minutes. Add onion, celery, cabbage, mushrooms, bean sprouts (or Chinese vegetables) and one tablespoon (15 mL) soy sauce. Cook until the vegetables are tender crisp, then add the cornstarch mixed with remaining soy sauce. Simmer until sauce is thick. Serve over rice, topped with noodles. Yield: Six servings.
A comfort food
Dear TEAM: I am on the search for a recipe I only partially remember from childhood, under the heading comfort food, I suppose. The name of the dish is Ham and Egg Pie, made in a casserole dish with a heavy biscuit-type crust. Family lore had it coming from the Prairies. Can anyone out there help? – M.D., Anakim Lake, B.C.
Dear M.D.: BettyAnn found this recipe in a small paperback cookbook The Heritage Collection of Home Tested Recipes compiled by Chatelaine Institute, published in 1968 by Maclean-Hunter Ltd., in Toronto. I hope this is what you are looking for. I used baked ham rather than canned and served it for brunch. We really enjoyed it.
Economical ham and egg pie
1 can (12 oz.) luncheon meat 336 mL
or ham
1 cup sliced wieners 250 mL
2 tablespoons chopped 30 mL
onions
1/4 cup chopped celery 50 mL
3 tablespoons butter or 45 mL
margarine
6 tablespoons flour 90 mL
2 cups milk 500 mL
salt to taste
2 hard-cooked eggs
Brown onions and celery in butter; add flour. Stir in milk. Cook until thick. Season. Add quartered eggs and cubed meat. Put mixture into a casserole. Make half a recipe of regular, biscuit dough. Pat dough into a circle and cut into pie-shaped wedges. Put on top of casserole. Bake 30 minutes at 400 F (200 C). Serves four to six.
Submitted to this cookbook by N.G., Masset, B.C.
Food guide reviewed
Health Canada conducted a review of Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. The review confirmed that the food guide continues to provide dietary guidance that is scientifically sound. The strengths of the food guide are its consistency with science, flexibility, simplicity, visual appeal and wide recognition. The challenges included how individuals can apply it, understand the terms and use it. To deal with the latter issues health minister Pierre Pettigrew announced that Health Canada will undertake a revision to Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating with the expected date of completion in the spring of 2006.
Reader request
Dear TEAM: I would like a recipe for pickled smokies. I have seen some in the stores, and am wondering if you could find a recipe for these. – L.S., Shell Lake, Sask.
Dear readers: Can anyone help out?
Pulses as part of diet
Canada’s Food Guide calls for eating pulses more often. Pulses, which include beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils, are high fibre, low fat and cholesterol-free foods that may help reduce the risk of heart disease, a leading cause of premature death.
Research studies show that pulses may also help lower blood cholesterol levels due to their high content of soluble fibre and vegetable protein. Pulses are certified under the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s Health Check program. The American Heart Association is another health agency that recommends pulses as a part of a heart healthy diet. Foods bearing a red heart with a red check mark are those approved by the AHA’s Food Certification Program as being low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Pulses are also healthy for diabetics. Since my husband, Don, has Type 2 diabetes, I am particularly interested in cooking with pulses. I often make soups using pulses, and sometimes use pulses in salads and casseroles, but not so often in baking or desserts. Pulses may help people with diabetes control their blood glucose level.
Pulses have a low glycemic index. The GI is a method of ranking carbohydrate foods by their ability to raise blood glucose after a meal. The lower the food’s GI, the better the blood glucose control.
We grow pulses on our farm, so are always looking for new recipes. Don has been known to promote lentils by giving away little bags of them to friends and neighbours who come through our door.
We often hear people say they don’t know how to cook them, or don’t have recipes for them.
If you check out the new Pulse Canada website at www.pulsecanada.com and follow the health and nutrition link at the top of the home page, you will find information on pulses in a healthy diet, preparing pulses, types of pulses, links and recipes. The recipe section features a searchable data base for the kind of pulse you want to use.
I find it easiest to cook up a quantity of lentils on the stove, then freeze the cooked lentils in little packets to add to foods. You can add the lentils whole or puree them for different recipes, such as the one below.
Lentil oatmeal chocolate chippers
This is a high fibre chocolate chip cookie that is a healthy treat for lunches or snacks.
1 cup brown sugar 250 mL
3/4 cup margarine 175 mL
1 egg
11/2 teaspoons vanilla 7 mL
3/4 cup large green lentils, 175 mL
pureed
11/2 cups all-purpose flour 375 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1 teaspoon baking soda 5 mL
2 cups quick cooking rolled 500 mL
oats
11/2 cups chocolate chips 375 mL
3/4 cup chopped pecans 175 mL
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). In a bowl, cream together sugar and margarine. Add egg and mix just until blended. Add vanilla and lentil puree and mix until blended. Sift flour, salt and soda together. Add flour mixture one-third at a time to creamed mixture. Mix on low until just blended. Add oats, chips and pecans and lightly blend. Scoop one teaspoon (five mL) of dough onto a greased cookie sheet one inch (2.5 cm) apart and flatten with a fork. Bake 12-15 minutes. Do not overbake. Yield: 36 cookies. Source: Discover the Pulse Potential.
Diabetic dinners
Jean Pare, whose husband also has Type 2 diabetes, has written a sequel to Diabetic Cooking released in 2001. She writes that these 160 new recipes are “dishes that everyone in the family, with or without diabetes, would enjoy eating.” Diabetic Dinners is a meal planning cookbook with common, affordable ingredients, nutritious information, quick and easy recipes and kid-friendly suggestions.
This beef and mandarin salad featured on the front page of the book is a tasty and healthy addition to any meal. We used leftover roast beef and it worked out well.
Beef and mandarin salad
12 oz. lean inside round steak, 340 g
trimmed of fat
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 2 mL
1 can (10 oz.) of unsweetened 284 mL
mandarin orange segments,
drained
1 bag (6 oz.) mixed salad greens 170 g
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion 125 mL
1/2 cup thinly sliced red pepper 125 mL
Parmesan dressing:
2 tablespoons finely grated 30 mL
fresh parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil 30 mL
2 tablespoons lemon juice 30 mL
2 teaspoons liquid honey 10 mL
1 garlic clove, minced (or 1/4 teaspoon/1 mL powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional) 1 mL
1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 mL
Sprinkle steak with garlic salt. Preheat electric grill for five minutes or gas barbecue to medium-high. Cook steak on greased grill for about five minutes per side until desired doneness. Removed from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Slice into 1/4 inch (six mm) thick strips. Combine next four ingredients in large bowl. Add beef. Toss.
Dressing: Combine all seven ingredients in jar with tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Makes 1/3 cup (75 mL) dressing. Drizzle over salad. Toss gently. Serves four.
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
