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Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com

Published - Friday, July 04, 2008

What's Cooking: June’s the time to celebrate dairy goodness

By Marilyn Block

Oh my goodness, the month of June is nearly over and I haven’t even honored the dairy industry and the men and women who provide us with one of the best assortment of healthy products available. To salute these tasty and oh-so-good-for-us products, the following recipes cover a variety of dairy items.

Cranberry Jezebel Sauce is a truly magical sweet, tangy yet spicy sauce that is not only good as a meat accompaniment but teamed up with cream cheese is a super appetizer. And how about a two-ingredient ice cream bread?

Top off lunch with a cottage cheese or strawberry salad, potato chip meatballs or a smothered round steak.

Heaven forbid we forget dessert, so give these buttermilk bars a try.

Here’s dairy goodness at its best — enjoy!

Cranberry Jezebel Sauce

1 cup water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies, drained

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon honey Dijon mustard

Place water and sugars into a saucepan. Heat to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries, chilies and allspice; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mustard. Cool completely. Keep chilled.

Note: After sauce was cooled I put it in a blender and blended until smooth.

Strawberry Salad

3 (3-ounce ) packages strawberry gelatin mix

1 cup boiling water

1 (10-ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries, thawed

1 (15-ounce) can pineapple tidbits

3 bananas, sliced

1 (8-ounce) carton vanilla yogurt

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Cool. Pour half of mixture into 9-by-13-inch flat dish.

Chill gelatin in dish until firm. Add fruit to remaining gelatin mixture and let stand at room temperature until bottom layer in dish is firm. Spread yogurt evenly over firm gelatin layer. Carefully spoon fruit-filled gelatin over yogurt layer. Sprinkle pecans over top and chill until all is firm. Serves 12.

Orange Fluff Salad

1 (12-ounce) carton small-curd cottage cheese

1 (3-ounce) package orange gelatin mix

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (15-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped or 8 ounces whipped topping

In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese and gelatin mix; add fruit, coconut and pecans. Fold in whipped cream or topping. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 8 to 10.

Potato Chip Meatballs With Mushroom Gravy

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup crushed potato chips

2 cloves garlic, crushed fine

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup light cream

1 teaspoon oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1-3/4 cups beef broth

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Combine beef, soup mix, allspice, crushed potato chips, garlic, oregano and 1/2 cup light cream; mix well and form into small meatballs. Add oil to skillet and brown meatballs on all sides. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add butter to same skillet and add mushroom slices, sprinkle with salt and saute until soft and lightly browned. Stir cornstarch into beef broth and add to mushrooms; cook until mixture thickens.

Return meatballs to skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and heat through but do not boil. Serve over mashed potatoes or cooked rice.

Serves 8.

Ice Cream Bread

2 cups your choice ice cream flavor, softened

1-1/2 cups self-rising flour

Stir ice cream and flour together only until all is moist. Spoon into greased and floured 7-by-3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until it tests done.

Yes, it really only uses these 2 ingredients. Try it and believe it.

Sour Cream Round Steak

2 pounds tenderized round steak, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper to suit taste

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic (or more if desired), finely crushed

3/4 cup water

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

Sift together flour, salt, pepper and dry mustard. Coat steak pieces with flour mixture. Brown steak pieces in butter. Remove meat from skillet and add onion and garlic to drippings; saute until tender. Stir water, cornstarch, brown sugar and sour cream in a small bowl until smooth. Place steak into baking dish; add onion mixture and pour sour cream mixture over steak. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.

Serve over buttered noodles, rice or potatoes.

Serves 8.

Black Forest Buttermilk Bars

1 (2-layer) chocolate cake mix

3 eggs

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup melted butter

1 (6-ounce) package mini chocolate chips

1 cup buttermilk

4 ounces cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 (14.5-ounce) can pie cherries, packed in water and drained

Measure out 1 cup heaping dry cake mix and set side. In a large bowl, combine remaining cake mix, 1 egg, 4 ounces cream cheese and butter. Blend well. Spread batter into bottom of foil-lined 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press into batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and set aside.

In medium bowl, cream 2 eggs, buttermilk, cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar and cocoa until well-blended. Slowly add reserved cake mix and beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and thick (about 3 minutes).

Place drained cherries on paper towels and blot dry. Spread cherries evenly over baked crust. Top with batter and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Sprinkle powdered sugar over cooled bars, if desired.

Bread Pudding Coffeecake

18 sweet dinner rolls

4 eggs

1-3/4 cups half-and-half or milk

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 (15.2-ounce) package cinnamon streusel muffin mix

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 cup raisins, cooked in small amount of water until doubled in size

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chopped pecans, optional

Powdered sugar glaze, optional

Slice the rolls in half and set tops aside. Tear bottoms into small chunks and scatter over bottom of buttered, foil-lined 9-by-13-inch pan. In a bowl, whisk together 2 of the eggs, 1 cup of half-and-half or milk, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until well-mixed. Tear the tops of the rolls into bite-size pieces and fold into egg mixture. Set aside to let tops soak up the liquid. Combine the muffin mix (set aside streusel packet) with remaining 3/4 cup half-and-half, oil and remaining 2 eggs; beat until well-mixed.

Spoon half of batter over rolls in pan. Drain raisins and scatter over batter.

Sprinkle streusel packet over raisins. Spoon remaining batter over streusel, spreading carefully to cover. Spoon milk and roll tops mixture over batter. Sprinkle pecans on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly and drizzle thin powdered sugar glaze over top. Serve warm or cold.

Marilyn Block can be reached at news@winonadailynews.com or Winona Daily News, P.O. Box 5147, Winona, MN 55987.