Dinner Tonight - November 18th

My son will be gone tonight, so I have pulled two bacon wrapped sirloin steaks from the freezer for a special dinner for me and my husband.  I remember when I bought those steaks back in August.  They were reduced for quick sale at the price of only $1.00 per steak - normally they are on sale for $3.00 per steak.  I would usually make a tossed salad but lettuce is rather expensive right now so we will be having coleslaw.  My coleslaw is not finely shredded but more chopped with shredded carrot, some pineapple tidbits and raisins.  I pour Miracle Whip dressing, thinned with milk and some added sugar to taste, over the cabbage mixture.  Sometimes I don't add the pineapple at all or I substitute mandarin oranges.  If you do use canned fruit, be sure to drain it well. I usually pour the fruit into a colander and let it drain for a long time. 

I think frozen mixed vegetables cooked up will go nicely with the steak and I am trying to decide between baked potatoes or a wild rice mixture.  I'll probably go with the potatoes as that would be something  my husband would prefer.  My son loves wild rice so I will save this for when he is home for dinner.

As for the baked potatoes, I microwave them and then I throw them into a hot oven for about 15 minutes to crisp up the skins.  I also have some homemade dinner rolls in the freezer to add to the meal.

After I get some house cleaning done today, I will be baking a fruit dessert.  I'm going to go with a cottage pudding.  I'm not sure why it is called "pudding" as it is a cake, but that is what my mother and grandmother called it.  I have some milk, less than one cup, that is due to expire soon and it is starting to smell a little "old."  It isn't spoiled, but you can tell it needs to be used up.  I will use it in this recipe.

Here is the recipe:

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the milk.  Beat after each addition until smooth.  At this point you can pour the mixture into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan and bake it at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  I do this when I am making strawberry shortcake.  This is what I use for the "cake" and I pour the strawberries over the top.

For tonight's dessert I will take some frozen black raspberries and pour a layer in the bottom of the greased pan and then pour the batter over the top to bake as usual.  You can also use canned fruit on the bottom of the pan instead or I could mix the berries directly into the batter.  I like to pour them on the bottom and then when I serve the cake, I serve it upside down with a little whipped cream.

I have also taken this recipe and poured half in the pan and then spread a layer of apple butter and then poured the rest of the batter on top and baked as usual.

Or - you can make some cinnamon streusel and pour half the batter in the pan, sprinkle with half the streusel and pour the rest of the batter on top of that and finally top off with more streusel topping.  Bake as usual. 

This is a very old recipe that has been handed down from my grandmother and as you can see, it is very versatile.

And --- what would happen if my son's plans change and he shows up for dinner?  That is why I keep a few boneless skinless chicken breasts on hand.  I can thaw one in the microwave and throw it into a skillet and season it and cook it.  Who will get the chicken?  I'll offer to have the chicken as I love chicken and I love steak - makes no difference to me which one I get to eat.  As long as there is plenty of dessert to go around, I am good.