Field Meals: Menu 1

So, it’s begun.  Harvest with its early mornings, late starts, country road traffic jams and field meals.  As I shared last year, serving a hot dinner to our harvest crew is one way we (my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and I) can contribute to this challenging yet rewarding season.  You can find my 2013 menu plans on the  Field Meals page, as well as links to this year’s dinner plans, which may or may not be repeats from the last year.  Of course, many of these meals come with a story, so you’ll be reading those too.

Do you have a field worthy recipe?  Please share.  We are always looking for something new!

Meal 1: Ham Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash, Sweet Corn, Cheddar Cheese Biscuits & Pumpkin Pie Cake

Ham Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash (from me! I think this may be one of my first original recipes developed with help from our dear family friend, Donna.)

• 1 lb ham sausage
• 2-3 medium sweet potatoes (peeled, cut in bite size pieces)
• 4 green onions
• ~1 cup chicken broth
• ~1 cup applesauce

Brown the ham sausage.  (What is ham sausage? Sausage, but with ground ham added.  It cooks up a bit drier than sausage and has a meatier taste, if that makes any sense. It doesn’t have the same flavor as “regular” sausage and I’ve struggled to figure out how to use the pounds in my deep freeze.)  Peel and cut sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Combine with ham sausage in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Thinly slice green onions and sprinkle on top of ham and potato mix.  Add about 1 cup of chicken broth or vegetable broth and 1 cup applesauce.  (Why the applesauce? Family friend and self-proclaimed foodie, Donna, said so.  Seemed like a good idea.)

Cook at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are cooked through.

Sweet Corn (from our field, but can come from the freezer section at the grocery store.)

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits  (from American Profile magazine)

This is a repeat from last year and is quickly becoming a favorite around the house and in the fields.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream (I never heavy cream on hand but can make a substitute using 3/4 cup milk mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter. This makes one cup heavy cream.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cheese and toss. Stir in heave cream just until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 6 to 8 times. Roll to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place 1-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Pie Cake (from eatcakefordinner.net)

Last year I offered my mom’s version of this perfect pumpkin treat. See Meal 7.  She has also offered me this version with a tweak – a gluten-free option!  My sister follows a gluten-free diet for health reasons, thus we’ve learned to bake so she can enjoy delectable desserts too!  Follow the recipe as listed but substitute 1 cup gluten-free pancake mix for the 1 cup cake mix, and use 1 box of gluten-free yellow cake mix for the “remaining cake mix” as listed in the recipe.  This will not disappoint!