Common Cuisine |

• 1 2½ to 3 pound beef roast (round, shoulder or brisket)
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 can beer
• 1 envelope dried onion soup mix

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all the sauce ingredients. Place roast in crock-pot. Pour sauce over roast and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Meat is done when it is so tender it can be pulled apart with a fork into shreds or pieces.

Serve on buns with barbecue sauce. Serves 4 to 6.

• 2 cups quick or old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt (necessary)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to temperature 375°F. Combine all ingredients, except applesauce and nuts, in a bowl. Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of greased 13×9 inch baking pan. Bake 13-15 minutes. Cool. Spread applesauce over partially baked base and sprinkle with nuts. Sprinkle reserved 1 cup oatmeal mixture over filling. Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and cut into 2 inch squares.

Source: Chefs.com

• 1 can drained water-packed artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup mayo
• 4 oz fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.

Stir together all ingredients and place in a shallow baking dish (like a pie plate). Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and light golden brown.

Serve with woven wheat crackers.

Makes about 4 cups.

I grew up calling these Texas Sheet Cake. Last year I moved to Texas and discovered they just call them brownies here. Doesn’t matter what they are called, frosted bars of chocolate cake are divine.

• 2 C flour
• 2 C sugar
• 1 stick (½ C) butter or margarine
• 1 C water
• ¼ C cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ cup buttermilk or sour cream
• 1-2 tsp vanilla, to taste

Frosting:

• 1 stick (½ C) butter or margarine
• 6 Tbsp milk
• ¼ C cocoa powder
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease and flour a 12″ x 18″ (jelly roll) pan, or line with foil and grease foil. Sift together flour and sugar.

In small saucepan, heat ½ cup butter, water and ¼ cup cocoa powder to a boil; add to flour and sugar.

Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk; add to flour mixture. Stir in eggs and vanilla.

Bake 20-30 minutes until done.

Meanwhile, mix frosting: In small saucepan, combine ½ C butter, milk, and ¼ C cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Stir in powdered sugar. Frost cake while still hot.

Makes about 2 dozen 3″ squares.

Even if you are not a vegetarian, you may entertain one sometime. Or you may find you enjoy taking a break from meat one or two nights per week.

You can still get protein from cheese, nuts, eggs, and any two of beans, rice, or corn. Tofu is also a great protein that takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with.

You can sometimes modify a regular dish to be vegetarian by substituting the above choices for the meat part of a dish. Here is an example: Turkey Surprise is made by layering turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes into a casserole. You can turn it into Nutty Surprise by layering stuffing, chopped walnuts, slices of mozzarella cheese, and mashed potatoes.

Pastas and enchiladas are easy to remove meat from, because they usually contain cheese.

Another way to try vegetarian cooking is to feature a special vegetable dish (like artichokes, butternut soup, or a spinach quiche), served with rice and beans, mashed potatoes piled with cheese, or cheesy garlic bread. You could make a vegetable stir-fry with corn and peanuts, served over rice.

I love bleu cheese, but if its strong taste is not something you prefer, you can substitute something like feta. If I were going to use feta, I would add a little red onion and chopped black olives to give it a Greek flair.

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 cups cooked cut up chicken
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced peeled cucumber
• 1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, mix mayo and sour cream. Gently stir in remaining ingredients. Chill before serving.

Serves 6.

Perfect to start on a chilly morning, along with the bread machine, for a hearty late lunch or supper.

• 1 2½ to 3 pound beef roast (round, shoulder or brisket)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp coarsely cracked pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 envelope dried onion soup mix
• ¼ cup water
• 4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups cubed fresh zucchini
• 1 whole onion, cut into wedges
• 1 cup baby carrots (optional)

Season roast with salt, pepper, and garlic. Pour oil into large saucepan, and brown roast on all sides. Place browned roast in crock-pot.

In a small bowl, combine soup mix with water. Pour mixture over the roast and cook on low for 4 to 4½ hours. During last ½ hour of cooking, place vegetables in crock-pot.

At end of cooking time, remove roast to cutting board and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Use sauce in crock-pot to make gravy, if desired.

Serves 4 to 6.