Better Meals for Less Money Part 22

286.--BAKED TOMATOES

Cut four tomatoes in halves crosswise, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover with b.u.t.tered crumbs; bake in a hot oven about twenty minutes, and serve with Mustard Pickle Sauce (see No. 200) or cooked salad dressing.

287.--TOMATO CUSTARD

1 can tomatoes 4 cloves 1 cup water 1/2 bay leaf 1-1/4 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup cracker dust 2 slices onion 2 eggs

Simmer tomatoes, water, and seasonings for fifteen minutes, and press through a sieve; add crumbs and slightly beaten eggs, and bake in greased custard cups about twenty minutes, or until firm; turn out on platter and pour Cheese Sauce (see No. 188) around them.

288.--FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Wipe tomatoes, cut in thick slices, season with salt and pepper, dip first in flour, then in egg, then in crumbs, and fry in deep fat until brown. Or season, dip in flour only, and saute in b.u.t.ter.

289.--STEWED TOMATOES

1 can tomatoes, or 1/4 teaspoon pepper 6 ripe tomatoes 1/4 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 cup bread crust crumbs

Put tomatoes in a stew pan; if fresh tomatoes are used, scald, peel, and cut in pieces. Add seasonings, except pepper, and cook slowly for thirty minutes; add b.u.t.ter and crumbs just before serving.

290.--STUFFED TOMATOES

Select six medium-sized tomatoes; cut a thin slice from the top of each, and remove the pulp; rub slices through a sieve, and add to pulp; add one cup soft stale bread crumbs, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and one tablespoon tomato ketchup; mix well, fill tomatoes, cover with b.u.t.tered Crumbs (see No. 472), and bake in a moderate oven half an hour.

291.--CREAMED WHITE TURNIPS

Cook two cups of half-inch cubes of white turnip in boiling salted water half an hour, or until tender; drain, and mix with one cup of White Sauce (see No. 207).

292.--VEGETABLE HASH

2 cups cooked cabbage 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 cup cooked potatoes 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup cooked turnips 2 tablespoons beef drippings 1 cup cooked beets 1/3 cup stock or water 1 tablespoon grated onion

Mix vegetables and seasonings; melt fat in frying pan, add vegetables and stock; cook slowly half an hour. Fold, and serve on a hot dish. If vegetables are left from a boiled dinner, omit salt.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] For cooking common vegetables for which recipes are not given in this chapter, see Time Table for Cooking (page 240).

CHAPTER XIV

CEREALS, MACARONI, AND RICE

293.--CORN MEAL MUSH

3-1/2 cups boiling water 1 cup fine corn meal 1 teaspoon salt

Add meal to boiling salted water by sifting it slowly through the fingers, while stirring rapidly with the other hand. Boil for ten minutes, and cook over hot water for two hours. Serve hot as a cereal.

Or pour into one-pound baking powder boxes to cool; slice, dip in flour, and saute in b.u.t.ter; or dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat.

Serve either for breakfast, or as an accompaniment to roast pork, or, with sirup, for dessert.

294.--STEAMED HOMINY

4 cups boiling water 1 cup fine hominy 1 teaspoon salt

Put salt and boiling water in top of double boiler, place in direct contact with range, sift in hominy slowly, and boil for ten minutes, stirring often; cover, and cook over hot water two hours.

295.--SCALLOPED MACARONI AND CHEESE

1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni 1/2 cup cheese cut fine 1 onion 1/4 teaspoon mustard 1 cup White Sauce (see No. 207) 1/3 cup b.u.t.tered Crumbs (see No. 472)

Cook macaroni and onion in boiling salted water until tender, and drain; remove onion, add cheese and mustard to sauce and mix with macaroni; turn into a greased baking dish, cover with crumbs, and bake in a moderate oven until crumbs are brown.

296.--NOODLE PASTE

1 egg 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon water Bread flour

Beat egg slightly, add water, salt, and flour enough to make a very stiff dough; knead well for three minutes, adding flour if necessary.

Roll out as thin as possible; cut in fancy shapes with small vegetable cutter; or roll like a jelly roll and cut thin slices from the end. Cook in soup, or in boiling salted water. If served as a vegetable, season with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper, or serve with White Sauce (see No. 207).

297.--NOODLE b.a.l.l.s (for Soup)

Roll Noodle Paste (see No. 296) very thin, fold double, and cut with small round vegetable cutter, or end of pastry tube; fry in deep fat until puffed into b.a.l.l.s. Drain on soft paper.

298.--SCOTCH OATMEAL

4 cups boiling water 1 cup oatmeal 1 teaspoon salt

Put water and salt in top of double boiler, place in direct contact with range, sift in oatmeal slowly, and boil for five minutes, stirring often; cover, and cook over hot water four hours, or cook on back of range over night.

299.--POLENTA WITH CHEESE

2 cups boiling water 1 cup corn meal 2 cups milk 1 cup cheese grated, or soft cheese cut fine 1 teaspoon salt

Heat water and milk to the boiling point, add salt, and sift in corn meal very slowly. Cook over hot water two hours, or put into a fireless cooker for three hours. When cooked, add cheese, pour into a shallow pan until half an inch thick. When cold, cut into two-inch squares, dip in crumbs, then in egg, and then again in crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Or roll in flour and saute in b.u.t.ter. Mustard, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, etc., may be added if desired.