Freezer Cheese Sauce Mix

After lunch, my husband cleaned out the pan that I prepared this cheese sauce in…he liked it that much!  This recipe from “Make a Mix" is really not a mix, but a very tasty cheese sauce that can be frozen to be thawed and heated to use anytime.   I reheated this frozen sauce in the microwave - 2 minutes and then several additional minutes stirring each time until hot.  It came out beautifully and didn't "break" or curdle.  It's not "gloppy" as Myrna would say, but a very nice consistency.  The book recommends reheating in a saucepan as well.  I have made it several times, and have some in the freezer right now.
I was interested because, while we like cheese sauce on poached eggs on English muffins, or on vegetables like broccoli or on "loaded" baked potatoes, I don’t always want to prepare it in addition to the rest of the meal.  This recipe can be made anytime and stashed in the freezer until you’re ready to make it.    Are we thinking “company” meals made a lot easier?

              

Freezer Cheese Sauce Mix

     ¾       cup  Flour, All-purpose

  1 ½       teaspoons  Salt

     ¼       teaspoon  Nutmeg -- ground

     ¾       cup  Butter

  4           cups  Milk

  2           cups  Condensed Chicken Broth

  1           cup  Half and Half

  4           large  Egg Yolks -- beaten

  12         ounces  Cheddar Cheese -- shredded

In small bowl, combine flour, salt and nutmeg; set aside.  In a heavy large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Gradually stir in flour mixture, milk and chicken broth until smooth.  Cook and stir until smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, stir half and half into egg yolks.  Blend in about half of the hot sauce.  Stir egg mixture into remaining sauce.  Cook and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes; do not boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate sauce until cooled.  Pour about 1 1/3 cups sauce into each of 6 freezer containers with tight fitting lids.  Leave 1 inch space at top of each container.  Attach lids.  Label with date and contents. 

Store in freezer.  Use within 6 months.  Makes 6 containers that serve 6 as sauces for side dishes or poached eggs..or freeze in 1 cup portions for 4 servings.  For 2, freeze in 1/2 cup portions.

Reheat in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave.

Yield:  "2 quarts"

Holiday Entertaining...Gravy Making

Gravy making intimidates a lot of cooks; when Myrna and I were teens, it was one of the first things taught in home economics cooking classes and at home.  Gravy isn't difficult, and is so much better than anything you can buy.  It's a perfect way to serve all of the goodness from your meat or poultry.  
I like to save the fat from the meat or poultry to use to make the gravy, it has a lot of the flavor.  I also like to add a tablespoon of sherry to chicken gravies and brandy to beef gravies.  A little white worcestershire sauce for chicken (now called marinade for chicken from Lea and Perrins) and regular worcestershire sauce for beef adds some flavor too, as do seasonings in the broth from the stew or roast. 
For caramelized richness, use carrot liquid in beef gravies whether it's from the carrots cooked with a pot roast or drained from canned or cooked carrots.  Don't pour that liquid down the drain, save it in the freezer for gravy-making.

Myrna's Cornstarch Kettle Gravy

Kettle gravy is made from the liquid in which pot roasts and stew have been simmered. Remember, the less liquid you use, the richer the flavor will be.

For each cup of medium gravy:
1 cup meat or chicken broth
¼ cup cold water
2 tablespoons flour or 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch*
Remove meat to platter. Keep warm. Skim excess fat from the broth. Pour off the broth and measure the amount needed and return to the kettle. Shake the flour together in a covered jar, or whisk it together in a measuring cup. Remember to always put the water in first and the flour on top for a smooth mixture.
Whisk the flour and water slowly into the hot, seasoned broth. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute until thickened.
*Cornstarch makes a clearer, more transparent gravy.

Counter-clockwise, bottom left:  Beef fat, beef stock, flour - Fat, mushrooms and flour -  Cooking gravy  
 Sue's Ready to serve Beef Mushroom Pan Gravy

 Pan gravy is made from the drippings left from cooking roasts, steaks, chops and roasted or fried chicken or turkey. For improved flavor, cook the meat with or add some of these seasonings: bay leaf, pepper, onion, garlic, celery salt or Worcestershire sauce. 
For each cup of medium gravy:
2 tbsp fat
2 tbsp flour
1 cup liquid (water, meat stock, broth or bouillon)
Remove meat or poultry to warm place. Pour off fat; measure amount needed back into pan.  Keep those rich bits of meat or poultry in the bottom of the pan.
Add level tablespoons of flour. Use equal amounts of fat and flour. Stir fat and flour together until smooth, and then cook over low heat, stirring steadily until it’s bubbly and brown. Take from heat, stir in liquid slowly. A whisk is handy here. Always measure liquid, too much weakens the flavor and makes it too thin. Return the pan to the heat, stirring and scraping the rich drippings. Boil 1 minute, taste, season and serve. Remember that purchased broth, consommé or bouillon add a lot of salt and you may not need any more.
*Brandy or sherry will add richness to gravy, a tablespoon per cup can be added to the drippings left in the pan to deglaze it before adding the flour and fat.  I use brandy for beef gravy and sherry for pork or poultry.

If you want a good, homemade mix try this one from Myrna.  
When Sue wanted to use the Make-a-Mix book, I really thought I wouldn’t find much that I wanted to make. However - I was wrong.

  One of the recipes I tried and that we like and I will now keep on hand was this recipe for Chicken Gravy Mix. I only made ⅔ of the recipe so that we would use it up in the allotted time. If you have a larger family I would make the full recipe. 

  You can use it for gravy or in a casserole or as a cream sauce with perhaps mushrooms and chicken. I am going to give you the directions for the full amount and the instructions to make plain gravy with it. This will be a cream type of gravy as there is powdered milk in the mix. Hope you enjoy it. I just want to add to this post, that both Lyle and Bettie thought it was great and I now use it often.

  Chicken Gravy Mix

1 ⅓ cups instant nonfat milk powder

¾ cup instant flour

3 tablespoons instant chicken bouillon granules

¼ teaspoon ground sage
⅛ teaspoon ground thyme
⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
½ cup butter
  Combine milk powder, flour, bouillon granules, sage, thyme and pepper. Stir with a wire whisk until blended. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut in butter until evenly distributed. Spoon into a 3 cup container with a tight fitting lid. Label with date and contents. Store in refrigerator. Use within 4 to 6 weeks. Makes about 2 ⅔ cups chicken gravy mix.
  I used my blender to make this. Mixed the ingredients (no sage as we don’t like it) and then added the cold butter in small pieces till cut up finely. Worked great. Try different seasonings if you like.
  Chicken Gravy
1 cup cold water
½ cup chicken gravy mix. 

  Pour water into pan. Use a whisk to stir the gravy mix into water. Stir constantly over medium heat until gravy is smooth and slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Makes about 1 cup. 

Homemade Raisin Sauce

We thought we would offer some favorite ways to use Easter ham this week.

I went to high school in a small town in North Texas, and at a community Easter dinner every year; they served this raisin sauce with ham.  Serve it with your baked ham or with ham steak; I browned my Frick's ham steak (from Missouri) in our Mom's cast iron skillet in just a little bacon fat.
I use cook-type clear jel in this recipe if I think I am going to want to reheat it. This is very fast to make, and most cooks will have the basic ingredients in their pantry.  The mustard and vinegar are just enough to keep it from being too sweet.  Quick, tasty, and it makes your meal a little special.

Homemade Raisin Sauce

     ½    cup  Brown Sugar -- Packed - 4 ounces

  2        tablespoons  Cornstarch or Cook-type Clear Jel

  1        teaspoon  Dry Mustard

  1        cup  Water

  ¾-1   cup  Raisins -- 3-4 ounces

  2        tablespoons  Cider Vinegar

  2        tablespoons  Butter

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch and mustard.

Stir in the water and vinegar until blended.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in the raisins.

Stir in butter until melted.  Thickens at room temperature.

Serve slightly warm over sliced ham.

Yield:  "1 3/4 cups"

8 Servings

Divine Caramel Sauce

This caramel sauce is thick and delicious, and, you know what is in it.  You can get two nice half-pint jars from the recipe with a little left for you.  No need to can it – it keeps in the refrigerator quite a while, so you can use some pretty jars and caps from purchased items like jelly or salsa to save some money.  It's perfect on plain cake or ice cream or bread pudding or rice pudding...or anything else that needs some decadence.

We tried it over homemade ice cream, and as I always have home-canned, toasted pecans on hand, I tossed a couple on top.

Divine Caramel Sauce

  1                Cup  Light Corn Syrup

  1 ¼            Cups  Brown Sugar – packed (5 ounces)

     ¼            Cup  Butter

  1                Cup  Heavy Cream

In a 2 quart saucepan, heat corn syrup, brown sugar and butter to boiling over low heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in whipping cream, heat to boiling.  Remove from heat.  Cool about 30 minutes.  Serve warm.

Store covered in refrigerator up to 2 months.  Reheat slightly before serving if desired.

40 Servings   Yield:   2 ½  Cups

2013 Cost:  $2.37 per recipe

"Betty Crocker Gifts from the Kitchen"

Per Serving (1 tablespoon): 71 Calories; 3g Fat (40.7% calories from fat); trace Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 11mg Cholesterol; 26mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Terrific Tartar Sauce

 The recipe from Cheap, Fast, Good for Tartar Sauce is like many tartar sauce recipes except that it calls for lemon. As we are having fish for supper tonight, this was a good day to try it out.

  If you have lemon juice in your freezer, use it for this recipe. Otherwise, when you squeeze that fresh lemon, save the rest of the juice in your freezer for later.

  Sue and I decided the recipe had a typo in it as it calls for a lemon slice from a half a lemon. Really didn’t make sense to me. I measured the lemon juice when I put it in and used 1 ½ teaspoons. I would suggest you taste it as you add the lemon so it is to your taste. 

  It gives it a fresh flavor that you don’t get in purchased tartar sauce and you can make just the amount you need. I am going to give you the recipe as I made it. 

Terrific Tartar Sauce

½ cup regular or reduced fat mayonnaise 

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish*

1 ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice (or to taste)

  Place the mayonnaise in a small mixing bowl. Drain the pickle relish discarding the juice and add to the mayonnaise. Stir in the lemon juice a half teaspoon at a time till it suits your families taste. Serve at once or refrigerate. Will keep refrigerated for up to one week.

*If you don’t have sweet pickle relish, substitute sweet gherkins, drained and chopped.

** A opened jar of pickle relish will keep for up to 6 months in the refrigerator.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

We like making ice cream and I’m usually the only one who would like a little chocolate syrup on mine.  When I saw this really fast recipe in "Taste of Home Budget Suppers” I thought “Why not?”

It was so fast and simple to make I will be adding this to my “use all the time” cookbook.  Measure a few ingredients, microwave 4 minutes – done!  Be sure you use a 1 quart bowl (I use a Pyrex measuring cup) so it doesn’t boil over.  And it truly is “budget” – it cost 69¢ for 16 ounces at the same time Hershey's syrup was on sale for $1.59 for 16 ounces for a 56% savings.  Best of all, it uses ingredients I always keep on hand.  If you are making it for adults, try adding a ½-1 teaspoon of instant coffee to the dry ingredients, or add Kahlua when you add the butter and vanilla.            

Homemade Chocolate Syrup                      

     ½     Cup  Sugar

  1         Tablespoon  Hershey's® Cocoa

  2 ½     Teaspoons  Cornstarch

     ½     Cup  Water

  2         Teaspoons  Butter

     ½     Teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

  1         Quart  Vanilla Ice Cream

In a 1 quart microwave-safe dish, combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and add water until smooth.  Cover; microwave on high 4 minutes or until mixture boils, stirring twice.  Stir in butter and vanilla until blended.  Serve over ice cream.

6 Servings

2013 Cost:  26¢ for 6 ounces or 5¢ per serving

Per Serving: 85 Calories; 1g Fat (14.2% calories from fat); trace Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 14mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Beans with Parsley Sauce

This is a real budget recipe if you have a garden or a good source of garden beans and fresh parsley.  The sauce seems to be stabilized by the egg yolk for freezing, and I made a larger recipe of sauce and stashed some in my freezer for quick veggie fix-ups another day.   We thought this would also be good on asparagus or broccoli.                

Beans with Parsley Sauce

  2          Pounds  Fresh Green Beans -- trimmed

  2          Tablespoons  Butter

  2          Tablespoons  Flour, All-purpose

  1          Teaspoon  Salt

     1/8   Teaspoon  Pepper

  1 1/2   Cups  Chicken Broth

  2          Large  Egg Yolks

     1/2   Cup  Whole Milk

  1          Cup  Fresh Parsley -- minced

Cover beans with water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil.  Cook, uncovered for 8-10 minutes until crisp tender.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth.  Gradually whisk in broth.  Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1-2 minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine egg yolks and milk.  Stir in a small amount of hot broth mixture into egg mixture.  Return all to the pan; stirring constantly.  Bring to a gentle boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in parsley.  Drain beans; top with the sauce.

8 Servings

"Taste of Home Budget Suppers"

Per Serving: 67 Calories; 5g Fat (67.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 63mg Cholesterol; 452mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat.

Mushroom Sauce

This is the kind of recipe that looks harder than it is.  But it’s a good one to have in your repertoire, because, like other Velouté or sauces made from broth or stock with an egg yolk added, it also freezes and reheats well.  I made this, used part of it, and froze the rest in several quart freezer bags.  I simply reheated it in a covered measuring cup in the microwave, and poured them on our meat or vegetables.  

It’s not a “gloppy” sauce, as Myrna would say, but it’s full of flavor.  I added a tablespoon of sherry to deglaze the pan and to add a little something extra.  I like a recipe I can use to perk up a meal at the last minute without having to make it every time.
Here's another version of  Velouté sauce to try:  Freezer Cheese Sauce

Mushroom Sauce

  3        Tablespoons  Butter

  1 ½    Cups  Fresh Mushrooms -- sliced

  2        Tablespoons  Flour, All-purpose

  1        Cup  Chicken Broth

  1        Tablespoon  Parsley -- snipped

  1        Teaspoon  Lemon Juice

  1        Large  Egg Yolk -- slightly beaten

  2        Tablespoons Milk

In a saucepan, melt butter, add mushrooms; cook over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or till tender.  Blend in flour.  Add chicken broth.

Cook, stirring constantly, till thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Add parsley and lemon juice.

Combine egg yolk and milk; stir egg yolk mixture into sauce.  Cook and stir over low heat 2 minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with meat; garnish with snipped parsley, if desired.

Serve on broiled steak or chicken, or steamed vegetables like green beans.

  "1 1/2 Cups"

  "Better Homes and Gardens Complete Step by Step Cook Book p114"

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 508 Calories; 43g Fat (74.3% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 310mg Cholesterol; 1143mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 8 Fat.

Pesto

I grow basil in pots or window boxes just for pesto.   It’s very, very easy to grow from seed, and doesn’t really have any pests.  You can harvest leaves all summer.  I keep it shaded to keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate for best results, and it’s definitely a warm weather crop.  Don’t start it until any chance of frost is well past.

 "The Ultimate Southern Living Cook Book" has the recipe I use for pesto…this is simply a classic.  Use it on ravioli, spaghetti, potato salad, in soups and as a sauce for fish, pork, and any other recipe you would buy pesto for.  I freeze it before the end of the season so we can enjoy that great flavor all winter.

I often use both basil and parsley half and half for a milder pesto.  I don't add the cheese if I freeze it, but when I use it.    Use good olive oil and good block cheeses and grate them yourself…they are very important to the good flavor; and when you grow your own basil you can afford good cheese.                

                                  Pesto

  2          Cups  Fresh Basil Leaves   (about 3 ½ ounces)

     ¼      Cup  Walnuts -- or pine nuts

     ¼ to ½  Cup  Olive Oil

  2         Teaspoons  Lemon Juice

  2         Cloves  Garlic

  1         Teaspoon  Salt

     ¼     Cup  Parmesan Cheese -- freshly grated

  2        Tablespoons  Romano Cheese -- freshly grated

Process first 6 ingredients in a food processor or blender 2 minutes or until smooth, stopping twice to scrape down sides.  Stir in cheeses.

Toss desired amount of pesto with hot cooked pasta or spoon 2 tablespoons pesto into 6 sections of an ice cube tray; cover and freeze up to 3 months.

Thaw and reheat slowly before serving. 

Yield:  "2/3 Cup"

Southern BBQ Sauce

We had some very good smoked pulled pork to use for sandwiches for supper tonight. 
The pork came from Costco, their brand, and I highly recommend it. Lots of nice crunchy pieces, my favorite part. Sue had given us some homemade hamburger buns, yum, and I felt that I wanted to make a small amount of BBQ sauce to dip the sandwiches in. 

  The Ultimate Southern Living cookbook had three BBQ sauces listed in their sauces and gravies and I tried this one, mainly because it had chili sauce and
celery seed in the recipe. It was a good sauce. I made half of the recipe which was a great plenty for four sandwiches. I am giving you the recipe for the full amount. Southerners really do know how to do BBQ. 

  The sauce was easy and fast to make and I am not left with a large amount of sauce that will be in the refrigerator forever. If you like a good all around sauce, this will do nicely. Use for chicken, pork or beef. Not too sweet or too vinegary. Good balance of flavors.  I believe this could be canned as I have seen similar recipes to it in the canning books. 20 minutes in a hot water bath is the timing for BBQ sauce.

Southern BBQ Sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons butter melted

1 cup ketchup

1 cup water

¾ cup chili sauce

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoons celery seeds

½ teaspoons salt

2 dashes of hot sauce

  Saute garlic in butter 4 to 5 minutes in a saucepan. Add ketchup and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. If you are going to use it as a dipping sauce, simmer it for a few minutes to bring out the flavor. Use to baste pork or chicken or beef. 

Yield 3 ½ cups. 

Per Tablespoon Calories 18  Fat 0.5 g  Cholesterol 1 mg  Sodium 138 mg

Freezer Cheese Sauce Mix

  After lunch, my husband cleaned out the pan that I prepared this cheese sauce in…he liked it that much!  This recipe from “Make a Mix" is really not a mix, but a very tasty cheese sauce that can be frozen to be thawed and heated to use anytime.   I reheated this frozen sauce in the microwave - 2 minutes and then several additional minutes stirring each time until hot.  It came out beautifully and didn't "break" or curdle.  It's not "gloppy" as Myrna would say, but a very nice consistency.  The book recommends reheating in a saucepan as well.  I have made it several times, and have some in the freezer right now.
I was interested because, while we like cheese sauce on poached eggs on English muffins, or on vegetables like broccoli or on "loaded" baked potatoes, I don’t always want to prepare it in addition to the rest of the meal.  This recipe can be made anytime and stashed in the freezer until you’re ready to make it.    Are we thinking “company” meals made a lot easier?

              

Freezer Cheese Sauce Mix

     ¾       cup  Flour, All-purpose

  1 ½       teaspoons  Salt

     ¼       teaspoon  Nutmeg -- ground

     ¾       cup  Butter

  4           cups  Milk

  2           cups  Condensed Chicken Broth

  1           cup  Half and Half

  4           large  Egg Yolks -- beaten

  12         ounces  Cheddar Cheese -- shredded

In small bowl, combine flour, salt and nutmeg; set aside.  In a heavy large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Gradually stir in flour mixture, milk and chicken broth until smooth.  Cook and stir until smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, stir half and half into egg yolks.  Blend in about half of the hot sauce.  Stir egg mixture into remaining sauce.  Cook and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes; do not boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate sauce until cooled.  Pour about 1 1/3 cups sauce into each of 6 freezer containers with tight fitting lids.  Leave 1 inch space at top of each container.  Attach lids.  Label with date and contents. 

Store in freezer.  Use within 6 months.  Makes 6 containers that serve 6 as sauces for side dishes or poached eggs..or freeze in 1 cup portions for 4 servings.  For 2, freeze in 1/2 cup portions.

Reheat in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave.

Yield:  "2 quarts"

Chicken Gravy Mix

  When Sue wanted to use the Make-a-Mix book, I really thought I wouldn’t find much that I wanted to make. However - I was wrong.

  One of the recipes I tried and that we like and I will now keep on hand was this recipe for Chicken Gravy Mix. I only made ⅔ of the recipe so that we would use it up in the allotted time. If you have a larger family I would make the full recipe. 

  You can use it for gravy or in a casserole or as a cream sauce with perhaps mushrooms and chicken. I am going to give you the directions for the full amount and the instructions to make plain gravy with it. This will be a cream type of gravy as there is powdered milk in the mix. Hope you enjoy it. I just want to add to this post, that both Lyle and Bettie thought it was great and I now use it often.

  Chicken Gravy Mix

1 ⅓ cups instant nonfat milk powder

¾ cup instant flour

3 tablespoons instant chicken bouillon granules

¼ teaspoon ground sage

⅛ teaspoon ground thyme

⅛ teaspoon ground pepper

½ cup butter

  Combine milk powder, flour, bouillon granules, sage, thyme and pepper. Stir with a wire whisk until blended. Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut in butter until evenly distributed. Spoon into a 3 cup container with a tight fitting lid. Label with date and contents. Store in refrigerator. Use within 4 to 6 weeks. Makes about 2 ⅔ cups chicken gravy mix.

  I used my blender to make this. Mixed the ingredients (no sage as we don’t like it) and then added the cold butter in small pieces till cut up finely. Worked great. Try different seasonings if you like.

  Chicken Gravy

1 cup cold water

½ cup chicken gravy mix. 

  Pour water into pan. Use a whisk to stir the gravy mix into water. Stir constantly over medium heat until gravy is smooth and slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Makes about 1 cup. 

Toasted Pecan Ice Cream Sauce

My husband thought this pecan sauce could become additive.  It certainly is good, and not as sweet as store-purchased ice cream sauces.  We used it on John’s favorite Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream – and you can see we don't go overboard on serving size.  They suggest also serving over cake, pancakes or waffles.  

It was easy to make, but when they say stir constantly, they mean it – you don’t want scrambled eggs.  It thickens as it cools.  I toasted my pecans in my toaster oven on a small baking sheet for 3-4 minutes – watch carefully so you don’t burn them.  We didn’t have any left over, but I would store leftovers in the refrigerator for a day or two                   

                      Toasted Pecan Ice Cream Sauce

     1/2      Cup  Sugar

     1/3      Cup  Butter

  1             Cup  Light Corn Syrup

  1             Large  Egg -- slightly beaten

  1             Tablespoon  Vanilla

  1             Cup  Pecans -- halves, toasted

In 2 quart saucepan combine all ingredients except pecans.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil (6-8 minutes).

Just before serving, stir in pecans.  Serve warm or cool over ice cream, cake, pancakes or waffles.

"Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Heritage Meals & Menus "

Yield:  "2 Cups"

Cognac Mustard Sauce

This is a wonderful, simple sauce for steak that takes it out of the ordinary.  Certainly special enough for Christmas or New Year's Dinner.   Use it on any steak you like, or sliced roast beef, or even minute steaks or beef patties for something special.
             

Cognac Mustard Sauce on Sirloin

  4        teaspoons  Butter

  2        tablespoons  Heavy Cream

  2        tablespoons  Cognac

  2        teaspoons  Grainy Mustard

  4        teaspoons  Worcestershire Sauce

  1 - 1 1/2 pound Sirloin Steak

Melt butter in measuring cup in microwave, combine remaining ingredients.  Pour over cooked meat in skillet and cook 3 minutes, stirring up any drippings.  Pour over meat to serve.
4 servings

Per Serving: 311 Calories; 22g Fat (69.0% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 92mg Cholesterol; 180mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 3 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.