Table of Contents

Description————2

Breakfast————–3

Lunch——————-11

Appetizers————-19

Dinner——————27

Dessert—————–35

              Description

Hello, I wanted to take the time to share these recipes with you. These are all special to my family because most of them are recipes that have been passed down through our family.

Om my moms side most of the food that was cooked was German because most of that part of the family was German.

However on my dads side of the family the recipes are southern because his family is from Kentucky.

So in this book I wanted to share some of my personal favorite family recipes a lot of these will be recipes that MY family make at home and personally and enjoy and a lot of these will be recipes from my grandma and grandpa and so on.

                Breakfast dishes

Latkes

Biscuits and Gravy

Santa Fe French Toast

Latkes

My family loves Latkes. My grandparents would also make Latkes there a very tasty treat!

Ingredients

-1 pound of russet potatoes

-1 large yellow onion

-2 large eggs

-1/2 cup all purpose flour

-2 teaspoons Kosher salt

-1 teaspoon of baking powder

-1/2 ground black pepper

Directions

1)Grate the potatoes & onions, transfer to cheesecloth and squeeze out excess moisture 

2) Place potato & onion mix in mixing bowl and add eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, and pepper and mix until flour is absorbed

3)Add oil into a large skillet and heat to medium high heat. When hot, add a heaping tablespoon at mix and flatten with a spatula cook until edges are golden brown , flip and cook until reverse side is golden brown.

4)Place cooked latkes on a paper towel to absorb excess oil & sprinkle on a small amount of salt

Serve with sour cream & applesauce

Biscuits and Gravy

This is a classic southern recipe and my dad grew up in Kentucky so he had them quite a bit.

Biscuits
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 11 minutes | Servings: Servings 7 servings

Ingredients
Biscuits
1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 Tablespoon baking powder
3. 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter very cold
6. 3/4 cup whole milk cold Gravy

7. 1 lb sage flavored pork breakfast sausage
8. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
9. 2 1/2 cups whole milk
10 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper optional

Directions:

Biscuits

1. For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. 2.It’s ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits. 

3.Preheat your oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with nonstick parchment paper.

4.Set aside.
5.Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
6.Remove your butter from the freezer and cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
7.Add the cold milk to the flour mixture and use a spoon to stir until just combined (don’t over-mix, you don’t want to overwork the dough)
8.Transfer the biscuit dough to a clean, well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together.

9.If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.
10.Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten.

11.Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough (this will help give your biscuits flaky layers).
12.Use your hands to gently flatten the dough to 1″ thick.
13.Press a 2 3/4″ wide biscuit cutter straight down into the dough (making close cuts) and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.
14.Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less than 1/2″ apart on baking sheet.
15.Once you have cut as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough to cut out another biscuit or two until you have at least 7 biscuits.
16.Transfer to the oven and bake on 425F for 10-12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
17.Prepare your gravy while the biscuits are baking
Gravy
1.Place sausage in a saucepan and turn heat to medium-high

2.Cook, crumbling the sausage as it cooks, until no pink remains

3.Do not drain the skillet
Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of flour evenly over the sausage crumbles and cook a minute longer until the flour is absorbed
4.Slowly pour the milk into your skillet, stirring as you pour

5.Add crushed red pepper, if using
Cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened.
Once biscuits are finished baking, slice in half, pour gravy over biscuits, and serve!

Santa Fe French Toast

This recipe is special to our family because my great grandfather, Hans Mayr, was the chef who made the recipe.  This recipe was featured with my great grandfather in a Chicago newspaper in 1963.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of light cream (1/2 and 1/2)
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 3 slices of 3 day old bread cut 3/4 inch thick
• confectioner’s sugar

Directions

1. Cut homemade unsliced bread into 3/4″ slices.  Trim crusts and cut into triangles.
2. Combine beaten eggs, cream, and salt
3. Dip the bread into the mixture to allow them to absorb as much custard as possible.
4. Fry in about 1/2″ vegetable oil pre-heated to 325 degrees.  When one side is brown, turn and brown on the second side.
5. Place on a shallow baking pan (like a jelly roll pan) and allow to puff in a 400 degree oven for 3-5 minutes.
6. Drain on paper toweling to absorb excess fat.
7. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately with applesauce, honey, currant jelly, or maple syrup.
8. Add pork sausage, bacon strips, Canadian bacon or ham.
9. Makes 3 servings, 2 triangles each

               Lunch Dishes

Tuna Salad Sandwich

Creamy tomato soup

German potato salad

   Tuna Salad Sandwich

Everybody makes tuna salad in different ways this is just how my family makes it.

Ingredients

•  1 can of tuna fish preferably line caught
• 3 tbsp of olive oil mayonnaise
• hearts of celery cut into 1/4 pieces
• Seasonall seasoning, to taste
• two pieces of rye bread

Directions

1. Open and drain tuna and put in bowl
2. add and mix Mayonnaise until smooth
3. add celery and mix
4. sprinkle Seasonall seasoning to taste
5. toast two pieces of rye bread to desired toast level
6. spoon tuna onto the rye bread

And enjoy with a good dill pickle!

  Creamy tomato soup

this is a recipe that my family tend to eat for lunch and dinner because we always have leftovers!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp good olive oil
• 1 1/2 chopped red onions (2 onions)
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
• 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• croutons, for garnish

Directions

1. heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat
2. add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 mins, until very tender
3. add the garlic and cook for 1 min
4. add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well
5. bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 mins, until the tomatoes are very tender
6. add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that’s left
7. reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and/or croutons

   German potato salad

This is a recipe that my mom loves from her grandmother.

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and cut up into 1/4 inch x 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cucumber chopped or shredded
• 1/2 onion chopped or shredded
• green onions or chives chopped small if desired dressing
• 1/3 cup oils, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup rice vinegar seasonal, and garlic salt with additional salt if desired

Directions

1. After boiling the potatoes, cut into small slices.  Allow to cool.
2. Add the cucumbers and onions.
3. Whisk the liquid ingredients together to make the dressing. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and toss the salad to mix the dressing and the onions evenly.
4. Cool and serve chilled.

             Appetizers

Cheese dip

Smoked salmon dip

Vegetable Potstickers

My Great Grandma’s Cheese Dip Recipe

This is a tasty treat that me and my family love to enjoy with potato chips

Ingredients

• 1- 8 oz block cream cheese (1/3 reduced fat)
• 1/3 of a yellow onion
• non- fat milk
• worchestershires sauce

Directions

1. In a medium bowl place the cream cheese, cut into smaller chunks
2. use a garlic press to squeeze onion juice into a bowl
3. add 10-15 drops of worchestershires sauce
4. add 3 tablespoons of milk and using a whisk or hand mixer, mix the cheese and ingredients until smooth
5. slowly add more milk to achieve a thinner consistency
6. sever with lay’s original potato chips or cut veggies

Smoked Salmon Dip

This is a recipe that we like to make and eat with Ritz crackers while watching movies

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
2. 1/4 cup sour cream
3. 1/4 cup mayonnaise
4. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
5. 2 tablespoons capers, drained
6. 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
7. 4 ounces smoked salmon, roughly chopped
8. 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
9. 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and Tabasco in a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse until blended.

2. Add the salmon, dill and chives and pulse, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the salmon is finely chopped.

3. Taste and add salt, if necessary (I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon, but it depends on the saltiness of the smoked salmon).

4. Serve as a dip with crackers or bagel chips, or as a spread with bagels.
5. Make ahead: This dip can be made a few days ahead of time. However, it gets quite firm in the fridge so let it sit out at room temperature before serving, otherwise it will be hard to scoop.

  Vegetable potstickers

We like to make these because of all the different flavors however we don’t make them often Because there a special treat!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
• 1 cup diced shiitake mushrooms
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup diced water chestnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 large egg
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 32 (3 inch) round wonton papers

Directions

1. heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. add mushrooms and shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 mins stir in cabbage and carrots until tender, about 3-5 mins. let cool completely
2. in a large bowl, combine mushroom mixture, water chestnuts, cilantro, egg, garlic,ginger, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste
3. to assemble the potstickers, place wrappers on a work surface. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mushroom mixture into the center of each wrapper. using your finger, rub the edges of the wrappers with water. food the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal.
4. heat the remaining 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. working in batches, add potstickers in a single layer and cook until beginning to crisp on the bottom, about 2-3 mins. working quickly, add 1/4 cup water; cover and cook until liquid has evaporated and bottoms of potstickers are crisp and golden, about 3-5 mins
5. serve immediately and enjoy!

              Dinner dishes

Chuck roast

Manicotti

Peanut butter tofu

 Chuck Roast

This is a dish that my dad would have when he was a kid and its also a dish that we like to eat now

Ingredients

• chuck roast
• 1 medium onion chopped
• baby carrots
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tsp seasoned salt
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 medium potatoes chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 2 bayleefs

Directions

1. Heat a skillet over medium high heat with 2 tbsp of olive oil
2. season the roast with salt and pepper
3. dredge the roast in the flour
4. add the roast to the pot pan and brown on all sides
5. in the bowl of a slow cooker add onions, carrots, potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme
6. after the roast is browned add it to the slow cooker
7. turn slow cooker to low
8. cook for 8 hours or until roast is tender

 Manicotti

This is a recipe that my grandma makes when we go to her house, it’s a delicious dish to eat for dinner

Ingredients

• your choice of marinara sauce, 1 jar
• 1 package (12 oz.) manicotti noodles
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, drained
• 2 packages (3 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 package (9 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. cook manicotti noodles, a few at a time, in a large amount of boiling salted water, following package directions;
2. lift out with slotted spoon;
3. place in bowl of cold water.
4. Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, spinach, eggs, salt and Parmesan cheese; blend well
5. lift manicotti noodles from water; drain on paper towels
6. fill with cottage cheese mixture
7. pour quarter of tomato sauce into buttered 13x9x2 inch baking pan;arrange filled noodles on top; pour remaining sauce over
8. cover with foil
9. bake in preheated 350 degree  F. oven for 40 minutes
10. Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
11. bake an additional five minutes
12. let stand five minutes before serving

Enjoy!

  Peanut butter tofu

This is a recipe that me and my family personally enjoy.

Ingredients    sauce

• 1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 2 1/2 tbsp peanut butter

Tofu

• 1 12 oz. block of extra firm tofu

Directions

1. slice tofu into 1 inch slices and place wrapped in a towel with a heavy pot on top to push out extra water
2. prepare sauce by mixing well with a whisk
3. take the tofu and cut into 1 inch cubes. Toss the cubes in cornstarch to coat
4. fry the tofu cubes in vegetable oil over high heat in a wok until golden brown- you will need to work in batches. Place cooked tofu on paper towels to absorb excess oil
5. put all the fried tofu back in the wok and add peanut sauce
6. toss the tofu in the sauce over high heat until sauce becomes thick and sticky.
7. serve over rice, rice noodles, or whatever you prefer
8. you can also serve with wok fried veggies like red bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, and yellow squash

                Dessert

Skinny Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Bread 

Bavarian Apple cheese cake

   Skinny Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is a recipe that me and my family personally love to enjoy we make them at any chance we can they’re very delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 Cup Cornstarch
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup of honey
• 1/3 cup melted butter, or coconut butter
• 1 cup canned pumpkin 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (or line with muffin liners)
3. Whisk dry ingredients together: flour, cornstarch, pumpkin spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. mix wet ingredients together : eggs, melted butter, honey, and pumpkin puree
5. make a well in the center of the flower mixture and add the pumpkin mixture and chocolate chips. Mix just until combined. (Do not over-mix).
6. spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full (or a little more if you want bigger muffins bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

  Banana Bread

My dad makes banana bread for my family when ever we have ripe bananas its something delicious we all enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• cooking spray

Directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk
3. place sugar and butter into large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute)
4. add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. add banana, yogurt and vanilla; beat until blended . add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist
5. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2- inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray
6. bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean
7. cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack

  Bavarian Apple Cheesecake

My grandma makes this for family sometimes when we see each other at family reunions

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine or butter
• 1 tbsp. shortening
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp. Salt
• 4 cups peeled, colored, and sliced cooking apples( such as golden delicious or granny smith)
• 1 8-oz. pkg. Cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl beat the first 1/3 cup sugar, margarine or butter, shortening, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla on medium speed of an electric mixer till combined.
2. Blend flour and salt until crumbly.
3. pat onto the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. set aside
4. Place apple slices in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. cover with foil
5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 mins
6. Meanwhile, for filling, in a large mixer bowl beat the cream cheese, the 1/2 cup sugar, and the 1/2 tsp. vanilla with an electric mixer till fluffy
7. add the eggs all at once, beating on low speed just till combined. pour into dough lined pan
8. arrange warm apple slices atop filling
9. combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon
10. Sprinkle filling with sugar almonds
11. bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 mins or till golden. cool
12. remove sides and place cake on serving plate. Cover; chill 4 to 24 hours before serving

Enjoy!