Swedish Meat Pies

1 tablespoon butter
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
2 large red potatoes, grated
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup shortening
12 tablespoons sour cream (i needed a little more than this)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the ground beef and add onion, parsley, dill, and grated potatoes. Cook and stir until the meat is browned. Drain any excess grease. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Mix in the shortening with a fork or pastry cutter until only pea sized lumps remain. Stir in sour cream a little bit at a time until the dough holds together. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Divide into eight equal portions, and pat into balls.
Roll out each ball of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place a heaping 1/2 cup of filling onto each one. Fold over into half circles, and seal by moistening the edges with warm water and pressing together. Place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Makes 8 LARGE meat pies.

We made these while studying Sweden during a unit study on Vikings and the areas around where they lived.

Buttermilk Honey Wheat Bread

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Dissolve baking soda in the buttermilk. Put rest of ingredients into bread maker pan in order given. I baked it on the light crust setting and basic bread setting. A very yummy, light and fluffy bread!

Poppy seed Buttermilk Cake

1/2 cup poppy seeds
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar

Soak poppy seed in buttermilk for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), grease a 10 inch bundt pan. Mix together cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar. Sprinkle part of the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over greased pan. This will form a thin crust over the cake. Set aside the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Sift flour, salt and soda together. Add to butter mixture alternately with the poppy seed mixture. Blend well.
Put the batter in the pan in layers, sprinkling the reserved cinnamon sugar mixture between each layer. If you spread your batter thin, you should get three layers of cinnamon sugar. (I only had one layer of cinnamon in the middle and sprinkled the rest at the end so both top and bottom of the cake has cinnamon-sugar)
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set cake on rack to cool for one hour. Goes well with whipping cream or plain by itself!

Sloppy Joe Spice Mix

1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant minced garlic
1 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until well blended.
Spoon mixture into jar or container.
Label as Sloppy Joe Spice Mix.
Store in a cool, dry place and use within 6 months.
Makes 1 package (about 3 T) of mix.
Sloppy Joes: Brown 1 lb lean ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Drain excess grease.
Add seasoning mix, 1/2 cup water, 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve over toasted hamburger buns

Vanilla Ice Cream

2 eggs
scant 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups homogenized milk
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract (I use real Mexican vanilla - fake extract won't taste the same)

In a heavy saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon and reaches at least 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat; cool quickly by setting pan in ice and stirring the mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight or freeze immediately. When ready to freeze, pour custard and vanilla into the cylinder of an ice cream freezer. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

Making a cooked custard really makes better homemade ice cream. I tried the no cook recipes and they freeze quite icy and have lots of ice crystals. You can add extras into this recipe for different flavours or just add your favourite topping when serving this treat!

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2/3 cup olive oil
1 cup honey
4 eggs
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup hot water


Stir together dry ingredients.
Beat oil and honey together; add eggs and beat well.
Add bananas and beat to combine.
Add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with hot water; mix well after each addition.
Spoon batter into 24 greased muffin cups; bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and test done.Remove from oven and cool on rack.