tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37185009757727841312024-03-05T01:46:10.373-08:00Hungry?Answers to those tough questions like "what's for dinner?" or "what is there to eat?" or "oh,my gosh that ---was sooo good, can you make that?"bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-79482491393122589142021-08-04T04:48:00.000-07:002021-08-04T04:48:08.424-07:00Hoisin Shrimp<div class="tasty-recipes-ingredients" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #606060; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.8px; padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 2em;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="0.5" data-unit="cup" style="box-sizing: border-box;">1/2 Cup</span> Hoisin Sauce</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="2" data-unit="tablespoon" style="box-sizing: border-box;">2 Tablespoons</span> Rice Vinegar</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="2" data-unit="tablespoon" style="box-sizing: border-box;">2 Tablespoons</span> Soy Sauce (I use TJ's Coconut Aminos)</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">1 Tablespoon Chili Garlic Sauce</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">2 garlic cloves chopped</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">2 sweet peppers chopped</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">1/2 small onion chopped</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">1/2 container sliced fresh mushrooms</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">1/2 bag cole slaw mix</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span data-amount="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">1</span>lb Shrimp, peeled, deveined, and patted dry</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"> <span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;">Olive Oil</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;">s & p, to taste</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0.625em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;">{optional toppings: sesame seeds, fresh parsley, green onions}</li><li id="instruction-step-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;"><br /></li><li id="instruction-step-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;">Combine hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce into small bowl. Whisk until combined and set aside.</li><li id="instruction-step-2" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;">Season shrimp with s & p (to taste).</li><li id="instruction-step-3" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;">Heat large saute (or cast iron) pan and 2 Tablespoons oil over medium heat until hot. layer. Saute shrimp for 1-2 min. on each side (do NOT cook through- they will finish in the sauce). Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer to plate. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of oil to the pan. Saute garlic, peppers and onions, and mushrooms, then add cole slaw mix. When the cabbage starts to soften it's done. Add sauce mixture to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until sauce is hot.</li><li id="instruction-step-5" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.46; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1.5em; position: relative;">Remove from heat, plate and top with green onions and sesame seeds.</li><li></li></ul></div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-12982124508709964482013-07-13T10:04:00.000-07:002013-07-13T10:32:35.395-07:00What's the Bzz about chicken?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Usually I post my own recipes on this blog or variations of someone else's. For one thing, I love to cook. I cook every day and we rarely eat out. There are some things though, that for various reasons, I don't cook. Fried chicken is one of those. It's a lot of work, it's messy and it never tastes as good as ______'s fried chicken. Fill in the blank.<br />
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Just as a side note.....<br />
Being a Bzz Agent means getting free stuff or coupons for free stuff and then reviewing that stuff. They say word of mouth is the best advertising and I really like being able to try new things and then let friends and neighbors and even my facebook friends know about new products and share coupons with them.<br />
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So recently I got the Kroger campaign....Kroger Fried Chicken, Kroger Kettle Chips and Coca Cola. Well, that was a pleasant surprise! The 4th of July was coming up and we were going camping in our motorhome. What could be better than that? Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner! Not just any chicken dinner, but Kroger Fried Chicken. It's fresh, never frozen, hand breaded in the store and fried in 100% trans-fat free oil. Not only that, but when I went to pick it up the girl said if I would wait 4 minutes a new batch would be ready. Wow! Talk about fresh fried chicken. Luckily, the groceries were way in the back of the suv for the ride home. That chicken smelled so good, my mouth was watering.<br />
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Well, we packed up the motorhome and headed for the Georgia coast. Unfortunately, we didn't outrun the rain. We went thru some gully-washers! Did you know that Atlanta got more rain than Seattle, WA in June?<br />
All I know is that we drove thru "can't see the road" rain for far too long. We drove for 5 1/2 hours, an hour longer than it should have been. The sun came out when we arrived. We got everything set up and let me tell you, cooking dinner was not on my list at this point. We were exhausted! So my husband says, "let's just have cold fried chicken". You didn't have to tell me twice!<br />
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So, we ended up having cold fried chicken, pasta salad and Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips. The chicken was crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside, perfectly cooked! We decided that cold fried chicken was just fine...Kroger cold fried chicken!<br />
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The food was all gone and then I remembered I was supposed to take pictures. Oh well, next time. There will definitely be a next time for Kroger Fried Chicken!!<br />
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<img alt="" src="https://img.bzzagent.com/image/krogerFriedChicken.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=3259567091&Campaign=0019997611&Uid=1346767&token=f13080233b6d48d10df5d719b9a946d4" /><br />
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<br />bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-13466840954908078422013-02-19T08:15:00.000-08:002013-02-19T14:33:05.665-08:00The Tale of the Ox<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f3qD_sXoTrRo1u8UruncyQpVhMLpQkdtYfATABau_vaK1HVNYF_91Rwdxr72nHQUABSKmEA_nqxePITJYsN1dLXWfrXgQKIyqpP3jWUr64zlrqPNSJlNsjOwPwJuFrlX6kPPmGXwulU/s1600/oxtail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f3qD_sXoTrRo1u8UruncyQpVhMLpQkdtYfATABau_vaK1HVNYF_91Rwdxr72nHQUABSKmEA_nqxePITJYsN1dLXWfrXgQKIyqpP3jWUr64zlrqPNSJlNsjOwPwJuFrlX6kPPmGXwulU/s1600/oxtail.jpg" /></a>Blame it on celebrity chefs! That's why they say that oxtails have become so expensive. What used to be one of the least expensive meats has now been elevated to the level of haute cuisine. And yes, I guess if I hadn't heard Gordon Ramsey extolling the virtues of this lowly item I don't think it would ever have graced my table. So, blame it on the celebrity chefs.<br />
The end result of my exploration into oxtails was Oxtail and Chorizo stew, an immensely flavorful bowl of oxtail, chorizo, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, beef broth and Mexican beer. This was definitely worth having again, so I researched other recipes.<br />
Interestingly enough, the first one was from Paula Dean so we have a Southern stew. Following that was the realization that oxtails are found in cuisines around the world. There is Jamaican, Spanish, African, Asian, English and even Hawaiian. How could I have been so unaware of this culinary delight with it's worldwide following?<br />
Not long ago there was an Anthony Bourdain show about offal. It seems there is a resurgence of interest in these meat parts that would not generally be found on the average dinner table. Heads, brains, trotters, tripe...delicacies in many parts of the world. Somewhat strange to those of us who rely on packaged meats from the grocery store, but not at all to people who are used to dealing with real butchers who are accustomed to working with all the animals' parts, not just the fancy steaks and roasts.<br />
And so, the lowly ox (read beef) tail...<br />
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1 pkg. oxtails<br />
1/4 lb chorizo<br />
1/2 red onion chopped coarsely<br />
1/2 yellow onion chopped coarsely<br />
1 c. celery tops chopped<br />
3 carrots chopped<br />
2 large potatoes cut in chunks<br />
2 smashed garlic cloves<br />
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder<br />
thyme<br />
1 bay leaf<br />
1 can low sodium beef broth<br />
1 bottle Modelo<br />
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Heat a couple of swirls of olive oil in a heavy frying pan<br />
(cast iron ). Season the oxtails with salt and pepper.<br />
Brown the oxtails on all sides and then remove them from the pan.<br />
In a separate pan, crumble and cook the chorizo. Take it out of the pan and drain well, Spread it out on a layer of paper towels to remove all the grease.<br />
Add some olive oil to the frying pan, if necessary, and cook the onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic. Cook only until the onions are translucent.<br />
Place oxtails, chorizo and vegetables in a crockpot.<br />
Add a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme or a couple of shakes of powdered thyme and garlic powder. An older lady taught me that whenever you are making soups, stews, etc. that use fresh garlic, you should also add garlic powder. Add beef broth and beer. You could use wine or more broth.<br />
Cook on low for 8 hours.<br />
Cool slightly so that you can handle the meat. Take all the meat off the bones and add back to the pot. Refrigerate the stew overnite. The next day, skim off all the fat. Remove the bay leaf.<br />
You are now ready to reheat and eat.<br />
Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle some chopped green onion on top and serve.<br />
The flavor is intense! Even though there is a minimum of seasoning, there is a richness of the beef and chorizo<br />
that is out of this world.<br />
Have some good crusty bread to sop up all those juices and enjoy!bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-18602675477205279462013-01-30T08:15:00.000-08:002013-01-30T08:18:12.659-08:00Campbell's Not In A Can<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was shopping in Walmart the other day and came across a new item, Campbell's Skillet Sauces. It wasn't on the soup aisle, it wasn't where the sauces are. It caught my eye and I will have to hunt for it the next time I shop because it turned out to be really good.<br />
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It is my usual practice to use a coupon if I'm trying something new. If I don't like it, at least I didn't pay full price! There were several kinds and it was a difficult choice. The Thai Green Curry....well, I threw caution to the wind and, without the aforementioned coupon, dropped it in the cart after checking for sodium (not bad at 450) and reading the ingredients. Note that there are no unpronounceable or questionable additives.<br />
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Ingredients: <span class="ingredients-value" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> WATER, SUGAR, CANOLA OIL, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, DESICCATED COCONUT, JALAPENO PEPPERS, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SKIM MILK, GREEN CHILI PEPPERS, FERMENTED ANCHOVIES (CONTAINS SALT), CILANTRO, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CREAM (MILK), SHALLOTS, GARLIC, SALT, ONIONS, MALTODEXTRIN, GINGER, VINEGAR, TURMERIC, SPICE, DEHYDRATED ONION AND GARLIC, YEAST, FLAVORING, SEA SALT, LEMON GRASS, CANOLA OIL, KAFFIR LIME LEAF EXTRACT, LIME JUICE CONCENTRATE, CITRIC ACID, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, BASIL EXTRACT. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Source: CAMPBELL SOUP CO</span></div>
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The package says dinner for two..or more. So, here we go. First, a freezer bag of about 1 lb. of chicken from trimming out a family pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts.</div>
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Then I checked the sauce package for directions. It was pretty simple...a little oil, cook the chicken, stir in the sauce, simmer for five minutes and serve. </div>
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Chicken, sauce...over rice...needs some veggies. </div>
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Start the rice first. Put 2 cups low sodium chicken broth and 1 cup rice in a covered casserole dish. Cook in the microwave for 5 min. on high and 15 min. on medium (50%).</div>
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Then I sauteed some 3 pepper and onion blend and some fresh mushrooms and some broccoli/cauliflower mix. Remove the vegetables and set aside. </div>
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Brown the chicken, add the vegetables back in, add the sauce. </div>
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So simple and dinner for four! "But wait, there's more." We sat down to eat and were truly surprised. You could taste the chili peppers and the cilantro and the ginger and the kaffir lime and the lemongrass. It really did taste like a trip to the farmer's market and an afternoon slaving over a hot stove.</div>
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This testimonial from a "mostly from scratch" cook. While you would never find a can of condensed soup in my cupboard , you will find Campbell's Skillet Sauces. Off to find a new sauce......</div>
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<br />bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-64499825973114785902013-01-28T08:56:00.000-08:002013-01-28T08:56:31.309-08:00Fantastic Frijoles!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUNKbqJSnDs-nChayBkR_q7eXM_RhkT15xrF52l_hMx0JIY_cQa2VJcRT0sZ2x3oKj_SYdOAa4nW2-Y7C2alSKQjSDJhVJPQBmkDAj1PAkg2L1nedegdsksAXQgcQ2ERwpAHbO56W0kw/s1600/goya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUNKbqJSnDs-nChayBkR_q7eXM_RhkT15xrF52l_hMx0JIY_cQa2VJcRT0sZ2x3oKj_SYdOAa4nW2-Y7C2alSKQjSDJhVJPQBmkDAj1PAkg2L1nedegdsksAXQgcQ2ERwpAHbO56W0kw/s1600/goya.jpg" /></a><br />
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I don't know about you but to me frijoles is definitely a happy word. It always makes me smile.We love beans and with a crockpot you can make a whole pot of really good beans instead of opening a mediocre can.<br />
This is today's recipe...because they're never made the same way twice!<br />
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1 1 lb. bag of dried black beans<br />
4 c. water for soaking<br />
1 celery stalk finely chopped<br />
1 carrot finely chopped<br />
1 onion finely chopped<br />
1 banana pepper (my garden) finely chopped<br />
3 smashed garlic cloves<br />
2 chopped green onions<br />
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilis<br />
2 c. low sodium chicken broth<br />
1 T. chili powder<br />
1 t. cumin<br />
1 t. coriander<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
several twists of cracked black pepper<br />
handful of chopped cilantro<br />
sour cream and salsa and fresh limes<br />
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Put the beans in a colander and check them over for stones, etc. Rinse them with cold water. Put them in the crockpot (no heat) and cover with 4 cups of water. Let soak overnite. Drain the beans and rinse again with cold water until water runs clear.<br />
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Put the beans in the crockpot with celery, carrot, onion, pepper, garlic, green onions,diced tomatoes and green chilis, chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, coriander, bay leaves and cracked black pepper. Now comes the hard part...plug it up (as we say in the South) and let it cook for 8 hours on low. Add a handful of chopped cilantro or not. There are cilantro lovers and cilantro haters. No problem! I like to top them with a dollop of sour cream and some good salsa and lots of lime juice, but again it's your choice.<br />
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Frijoles ole! (free-holays olay, it's gotta make you smile!)<br />
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<br />bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-73167568542792550782013-01-08T09:47:00.000-08:002013-01-08T09:49:34.519-08:00Pretentious Poulet or Austerity Chicken?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qJHlT9I_AOxvtRI37Gl_2vU1Y5txBijuGZfVMBC0QkTKEwxhPQXncrVrKq8mEbFo9h9KuENZf9CExZvwPBSEqDuXj406jf0_w7bcHczDwJXY1RSMgG2i84l2u5HFmBblZS1S4vmm92Q/s1600/mimosa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qJHlT9I_AOxvtRI37Gl_2vU1Y5txBijuGZfVMBC0QkTKEwxhPQXncrVrKq8mEbFo9h9KuENZf9CExZvwPBSEqDuXj406jf0_w7bcHczDwJXY1RSMgG2i84l2u5HFmBblZS1S4vmm92Q/s200/mimosa.JPG" width="200" /></a>We always celebrate New Year's with champagne. In a good year it could be a bubbly Prosecco and in a not so good year Cook's Grande Brut Reserve. Now that's pretentious! It's $5 for Cook's for heaven's sake! The cork pops at midnite, we each drink about half a glass. The dog may or may not imbibe. He is a beer connoisseur and rarely licks (yes, that's licks) other types of alcohol. So we have leftover champagne for Mimosas on New years Day. A glass each and so we have leftover champagne. You can see where this is going, right? We've reached the end of the drinking part but not the end of the champagne. What to do? Cook with it.<br />
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I collect cookbooks. I have a whole cabinet full. Then along came the internet. A never-ending supply of recipes. I am forever telling my husband to "just Google it" as there is an answer for everything. So I just Google the key words and see what happens....I'm thinking Mimosas (leftover champagne and orange juice) and chicken because there are all sorts of chicken and wine recipes. So, after reading most of them, there is a recipe forming. This qualifies for our "pretentious austerity" label as it uses champagne and orange juice but as leftovers along with baby bellas and blsl chicken breasts. No shopping...everything out of the fridge and freezer and a few basics off the shelf.<br />
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Chicken breasts<br />
Flour with pepper and Italian blend seasoning added for dredging<br />
Baby bella mushrooms 8 oz.<br />
Champagne 1/2 c.<br />
Orange juice 1/2 c.<br />
Butter<br />
Olive oil<br />
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Pound chicken breasts flat. I have been known to just slice them in half horizontally. Remember when blsl chicken breasts were about 4 oz.? They were already flat! Dredge them in the flour mixture. Melt 2 tbsp. of butter and 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Stick a fork in and juices should run clear. Take the chicken out and cover to keep warm. Add another tbsp. of oil to the pan if necessary and put in the sliced mushrooms. You can use any kind but I prefer the flavor of the baby bellas. Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes until they start to soften and then take them out and put with the chicken. Using the same pan, as it now has crispy bits from the chicken and juices from the mushrooms, melt one tbsp. of butter and scrape up all the good stuff in the pan. Sprinkle one tbsp. of flour over it and stir. The flour should dissolve and you want to keep scraping and stirring so there are no lumps and the flour gets cooked. While stirring, gradually add the Champagne and then the orange juice. Cook for a minute or so. When the sauce has slightly thickened, add the chicken and mushrooms back in just to warm them up.<br />
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When I served this for dinner, he said "too bad New Year's only comes once a year".<br />
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<br />bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-41061382847630716252013-01-07T07:47:00.000-08:002013-01-07T07:49:42.198-08:00No If's And's or Butt's About It!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My blogger friend Laurrie was writing about austerity meals and everyone was adding in their suggestions. Buying meat in bulk is one of mine. We buy whole pork loin and cut it into chops and there's always those two sort of reject end pieces. When bagged, they always get marked "pieces" and get used for stir fry, fried rice, etc. Well, we wanted some pork bbq and I will only buy pork butt on sale. Of course, butts were not on sale. Then I thought of my reject pork pieces!<br />
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This recipe definitely qualifies for austerity....simple, Southern, "don't mess with my food" BBQ....no if's and's or butts about it!<br />
<br />
Pork loin end pieces<br />
Cajun seasoning<br />
Vidalia onion<br />
4 smashed garlic cloves<br />
BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite)<br />
<br />
I defrosted the pork (about 8 pieces) and rubbed it with homemade Cajun seasoning. One Vidalia onion sliced and 4 garlic cloves smashed and then layered on the bottom of the crockpot. Pork is layered on top. Put the lid on it and cook on low for 8 hours.<br />
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When you take the pork out it practically shreds itself! Pour all the liquid out into a large measuring cup and skim off all the fat. Notice there was no liquid added to this in the beginning as it makes its own as it cooks.<br />
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Put shredded pork and broth in a large skillet and heat. Add your favorite bbq sauce. Serve on slider rolls with homemade cole slaw.<br />
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Since it's just the two of us it is also easy to take the pork and broth and portion it out and put in sandwich bags with 8oz..each, freeze flat on a cookie sheet and then put in a freezer bag. It can be used as a basis for all different dishes using shredded pork.<br />
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<br />bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-23730852753597218082012-10-07T14:35:00.000-07:002012-10-07T14:36:40.809-07:00Not Mittens Burrito Bowl<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdjM27XFZiXffN1Qwy2gFT_fJIbwUSPS9zw6WtPdCJc9v4HeXK0ltdqGKK1lA7w3GHhWV_8N-tlbKwyLhx9X-RP5qEbD4UQNYXEqfkrKTx9z14WHtQ4cXct7lP1m6ckWuHibzQp4kpvM/s1600/vegetables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdjM27XFZiXffN1Qwy2gFT_fJIbwUSPS9zw6WtPdCJc9v4HeXK0ltdqGKK1lA7w3GHhWV_8N-tlbKwyLhx9X-RP5qEbD4UQNYXEqfkrKTx9z14WHtQ4cXct7lP1m6ckWuHibzQp4kpvM/s320/vegetables.jpg" width="170" /></a>Political affiliations aside...the news showed Mitt Romney stopping at a Chipotle for lunch and I got a craving for Chipotle Burrito Bowl. I rummaged thru the freezer and found the last package of copycat Barbacoa beef and a package of my homemade black beans. I also had a package of chorizo in the fridge. So here we go....<br />
<br />
<br />
Cilantro rice<br />
1 c. rice<br />
1 can low sodium chicken broth plus enough water to make 2 c. total liquid<br />
1 lime<br />
cilantro<br />
Cook rice and then add cilantro (a handful of fresh, chopped). Grate the lime peel and squeeze the juice<br />
and add to rice. Mix it altogether.<br />
<br />
8 oz. barbacoa beef<br />
8 oz. chorizo cooked and drained<br />
1 can Casa Mamita chopped tomatoes and green chilis (this is Aldi brand which is exceptionally flavorful)
<br />
<br />
Heat beef, chorizo and tomatoes.<br />
<br />
Heat black beans. You can use a can of black beans but homemade are so much better.<br />
<br />
Now get a bowl and layer cilantro rice, then beans, then beef mixture. Top with diced red onions, chopped<br />
green onions and shredded cheese. You could also add sour cream and guacamole.<br />
<br />
Serve with tortillas cut in triangles and cooked in a little hot oil until golden brown on each side.bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-41452918744136244552012-03-12T06:55:00.010-07:002012-03-12T11:54:16.273-07:00Mc Chicken<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8j_j0TL5SSW9B-V5IB-bU2GlEOQfyG5QXYtlcuLQEPpnCNrZe4czpN4DiEsyL-n8Wh47UNArI5rI7FtmB-tYBv2SGR2KhHIJfXRltbcRhUUa9bKFeTSB-nbsk7I0xaPKJg81AJ3g8Z0Y/s1600/Perfect+Pinch+Salt+Free+Savory+All+Purpose+Seasoning.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8j_j0TL5SSW9B-V5IB-bU2GlEOQfyG5QXYtlcuLQEPpnCNrZe4czpN4DiEsyL-n8Wh47UNArI5rI7FtmB-tYBv2SGR2KhHIJfXRltbcRhUUa9bKFeTSB-nbsk7I0xaPKJg81AJ3g8Z0Y/s320/Perfect+Pinch+Salt+Free+Savory+All+Purpose+Seasoning.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719026173107765282" /></a><br />The last of the kale in the fridge needed to be made into something for dinner. First I got the blsl chicken breasts and seasoned them with salt, pepper and McCormick's new Perfect Pinch Savory All-Purpose seasoning. Cooked them up in some olive oil, added garlic, onion and kale and then some half 'n' half and parmesan/romano and there you have it. Plate the vegetables and set the chicken on top..restaurant worthy if I do say so myself!<br />If you haven't tried Perfect Pinch, you really should. All Purpose contains thyme,oregano,rosemary,paprika,chili pepper,ginger,cinnamon,turmeric,garlic,onion,<br />orange peel,lemon peel and citric acid. No salt. There are some good recipes under the label as well as on McCormick's website.<br /> <br />2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts<br />salt and pepper<br />McCormick Perfect Pinch Savory All- Purpose Salt Free seasoning<br />2 cloves of garlic, smashed<br />1/2 onion sliced thin,lengthwise<br />4 handfuls of torn kale<br />1/4 c. half 'n' half<br />1/4 c. shredded Parmesan/Romano<br /><br />Pound chicken breasts to flatten. Season with salt, pepper and seasoning. Heat 2 swirls of olive oil in the pan and saute chicken. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm. Saute garlic and onion in same pan. You may have to add a little oil. When softened, add kale. Saute until wilted. Add half 'n' half and cheese and stir to combine. Add chicken back in just to warm up. Plate the vegetables and set the chicken on top. Voila!bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-78657916194738075922012-02-27T05:51:00.011-08:002012-02-27T06:41:34.230-08:00Maybe it isn't Cappuccino Chili<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46eLn4tAgz8HJZm3-c1AT6HAie9PDCJUcNWU5GgdiK2iVnDVWNG00Aj_JOIOgXueyJTzCqbo0htNv0FrHqCH-I5yP1WJfBRrp7vc_aCo_QUfrZ2TefmyQWmdOvgLnBCKNfUkG31e8aTw/s1600/stout.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46eLn4tAgz8HJZm3-c1AT6HAie9PDCJUcNWU5GgdiK2iVnDVWNG00Aj_JOIOgXueyJTzCqbo0htNv0FrHqCH-I5yP1WJfBRrp7vc_aCo_QUfrZ2TefmyQWmdOvgLnBCKNfUkG31e8aTw/s320/stout.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713824972172676466" /></a><br />The weather was demanding some kind of soup or stew so I decided on Irish Beef Stew. So I asked Bill to get me a bottle of Guinness stout at the liquor store. He came home with a Lagunitas Cappuccino stout from California. What was he thinking??? "But it had a really neat label",he says defensively. I looked it up on the internet and as far as drinking it the reviews were pretty bad but there were several recommendations for chili. So, change in plans...chili it is..<br /><br />1 lb stew meat<br />1 lb sausage<br />1 large onion, chopped<br />4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed<br />2 poblano peppers, chopped (from my garden)<br />4 cajun peppers, chopped (from my garden)<br />2 cans fire roasted tex mex style diced tomatoes<br />1 large can crushed tomatoes<br />2 cans pinto beans rinsed and drained (I used made-from-scratch beans)<br />12 oz stout<br /><br />Cook and drain sausage and set aside. Salt and pepper the stew meat and toss in flour to coat. Swirl olive oil in pan. Brown the meat and then set it aside also. In the same pan cook onion, garlic and peppers until softened. Put everything but stout in the crock pot and stir to combine. Pour in the stout. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.<br />At this point in writing down the recipe I double check the ingredients. Wait a minute...there was no chili powder and no cumin! Thinking back, there was none added. So what did I make? Is it chili if there's no chili powder? But he said it was the best chili ever. Whatever this is,it tastes great even if it isn't technically chili!bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-78206298811675535002012-02-24T12:09:00.008-08:002012-02-24T13:42:48.045-08:00Beans 'n Greens<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6g3Jj3BZC_OjtG52nMxCaFYddva7JC9fTcFeUZR5WdP2aQ6ppxT8lQ58Ug1upgo5X-OY2DsYOYOasfz5A8garmQ8vMnRH8rvIJGLRm-kIeBzFEtuoDBLsRZSwDRWyksbaZQWUFLsNTks/s1600/cutlets.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6g3Jj3BZC_OjtG52nMxCaFYddva7JC9fTcFeUZR5WdP2aQ6ppxT8lQ58Ug1upgo5X-OY2DsYOYOasfz5A8garmQ8vMnRH8rvIJGLRm-kIeBzFEtuoDBLsRZSwDRWyksbaZQWUFLsNTks/s320/cutlets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712818028359128002" /></a><br />I love kale and surprisingly so does Bill. He's not a big fan of turnip greens, etc. but I make him eat some for New Years every year. There was really nice kale for only 99 cents a bunch at the store the other day so I bought some. I intended to make Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana (copycat recipe) but realized when I got home that I forgot the half and half. So I made my other standby which is chicken with canneloni beans and kale. Looking through some similar recipes, I made a few adjustments and came up with this.<br /><br />1/4 c. flour<br />salt and pepper<br />2 chicken breasts (sliced in half lengthwise and pounded flat)<br />1/4 bunch of kale (rinsed and not dried and torn in pieces)<br />1 can cannelini beans (rinsed and drained)<br />1/4 c. flour<br />3 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped<br />1/2 onion, chopped<br />1 teaspoon rosemary crushed<br />2 teaspoons flour<br />1/2-3/4 c. chicken broth<br />1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (rooster sauce)<br /><br />Salt and pepper the chicken. Shake it in a bag to coat. Swirl olive oil in a frying pan and cook chicken till golden brown on both sides. Take chicken out and cover with foil to keep warm.<br />Using the same pan, add a little more olive oil. Cook onion and garlic until translucent. Add 2 teaspoons of flour and stir to make a paste. Add rosemary. Add 1/2 c. broth and stir until thickened. Add kale in a little bigger than bite size pieces and beans. Continue to cook until kale softens. It should still be bright green. You may want to add some more broth at this time. Stir in a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce.<br />Ladle beans and kale onto a plate and top with chicken. Enjoy!bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-21227567894345498272012-02-21T06:24:00.009-08:002012-02-21T09:18:39.822-08:00Bill's Best BBQ Ribs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbbbYdezIylvkG8oyMD_rqIMyIw8hyphenhyphenWU-DrNtbJ_Y2SfAPwJt80yGupHYewf__dLpolLTCl5xl00kcnfUx5q41sZzvnlhUrJ4lELyHmlXZ8uxGrl8WVVCHUnfbMBs5gnxupNHds9sUWY/s1600/Hot_To_Cook_Ribs_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbbbYdezIylvkG8oyMD_rqIMyIw8hyphenhyphenWU-DrNtbJ_Y2SfAPwJt80yGupHYewf__dLpolLTCl5xl00kcnfUx5q41sZzvnlhUrJ4lELyHmlXZ8uxGrl8WVVCHUnfbMBs5gnxupNHds9sUWY/s320/Hot_To_Cook_Ribs_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711604423649550450" /></a><br />When it comes to ribs around here it's a man's world. Every year at the Super Bowl party Rocky brings his ribs. People walk in the door and ask where Rocky's ribs are. It's a source of annoyance to my husband who has been trying to duplicate those ribs forever. Well, last night we had the most incredible ribs ever! <br /><br />I do the prep work and Weber does the rest but who am I to argue with the king of ribs...<br /><br />First prep the ribs..<br /><br />Baby back ribs, 2 slabs to a pkg<br />Dry rub<br /><br />Turn the ribs over (so it looks like a boat). Slide a kitchen knife under the silver skin. Grab hold of it and pull it off in one piece. This takes a bit of work but once you get the hang of it you wonder why you were fumbling around with it at first. Generously cover with rib rub and put in a large baggie. Refrigerate at least overnite.<br /><br />For each slab of ribs take a large sheet of heavy duty foil, lay an ice cube in the center, lay a slab on top with the curve side over the ice cube. Wrap foil tightly around ribs. Cook in your gas grill @ 225 for 3.5 hours on indirect heat.<br /><br />Take ribs off grill and unwrap. Brush with your favorite bbq sauce and grill just long enough to carmelize sauce. Enjoy!<br /><br />Recipe for dry rub:<br /><br />1/4 c. chili powder, 1/4 c. paprika, 2 T. onion powder, 2 T. garlic powder, 1 t. cumin, 1 T. cayenne, 2 T. thyme, 2 T. basil, 2 T. oregano, 2 T. coriander, 1/2 t. white pepper, 1 T. black pepper. The original recipe calls for 1/2 c. kosher salt but I do not add salt to mine. Put this in a large shaker jar and keep in the refrigerator. It can be used as a rub for beef, pork or chicken and also for seasoning cajun recipes.bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-66138095997823303092011-12-28T06:09:00.000-08:002011-12-28T07:36:46.316-08:00The Feast of the Two Fishes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWw9YFaTECNSjtxvDTX2O9WTbGDcOsW0sHZ2D_khWfP5dPTaKAOfAfGVcc_qrBXoJJHeFuy6PgCBtgTOsSbtscEC3MZwtLUXcBUxXk3_CQHu3zJCP1gZoV4jZncuFW0T-pNEQp9Iw1xso/s1600/cheese.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 149px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWw9YFaTECNSjtxvDTX2O9WTbGDcOsW0sHZ2D_khWfP5dPTaKAOfAfGVcc_qrBXoJJHeFuy6PgCBtgTOsSbtscEC3MZwtLUXcBUxXk3_CQHu3zJCP1gZoV4jZncuFW0T-pNEQp9Iw1xso/s320/cheese.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691201201794916770" /></a><br />For years and years I worked on Christmas Eve and usually got home after 9:00 pm. Sometimes we closed at 6:00 but people just didn't want to leave and then we had to clean up. So now that we can enjoy Christmas Eve I like to cook something special. Bill always cooked Christmas dinner because I was always exhausted and enjoyed being catered to, but Christmas eve I think I just fell asleep. <br />The Italians have the feast of the Seven Fishes but since there are just two of us we had the feast of the Two Fishes! <br />This recipe is the result of watching too many cooking videos on You Tube. It seems as though there are as many recipes for mac 'n cheese as there are cooks. For years I have made mac 'n cheese by making a roux with butter and flour and milk. Several Southern cooks I watched skipped this step entirely and mixed everything in a big bowl and then transferred it to a baking dish. They also used eggs and you can go with half and half, fat free half and half or evaporated milk or 2%. It's Christmas...it's half and half!<br />If we had won the lottery this recipe would be called Lobster Mac 'n Cheese....<br /><br />"Almost Lobster" Mac 'n Cheese<br /><br />1/2 lb elbow macaroni or you could use Campanelle (Italian for "little bells" and they soak up lots of sauce)<br />1/2 stick butter or I can't believe it's not butter<br />1 8oz. pkg Trans Ocean Lobster Classic<br />1/2 lb medium cooked shrimp<br />1 pkg Kraft Italian 5 cheese with added cream cheese (Mozzarella, Provolone, Romano, Asiago and Parmesan)<br />2 cups half and half with 1 egg whisked in<br />1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning<br />Dash of cayenne<br />Salt and pepper<br /><br />Cook macaroni (al dente) and drain. Put in a big mixing bowl and while still hot add the butter cut up in pieces. Stir to melt butter and coat macaroni. Break up lobster into chunks. It will come apart in squares about 1 inch. Add lobster and shrimp to bowl, cheese, half and half, egg and seasonings. Stir all together. Grease a 1.5 quart casserole. Pour in everything. Cover and bake for 30 min. at 325.<br /><br />Prepare topping.<br /><br />2 tablespoons of melted butter combined with 1/4 c. Panko bread crumbs.<br /><br />Uncover and put breadcrumbs on top. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 15 more minutes until lightly browned.bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-14265482494613801602011-12-20T07:09:00.000-08:002011-12-28T07:54:29.219-08:00Rumble, rumble...Woo Hoo!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNutgsSxlspDhGvZ8q7qq3EG3a4wM8Cw2Oe_77aFg8T3A5O-A0fuotGJmYtqdqfysyScZrON5Eqe-idVhmMNFZpTm6tOChyphenhyphenaNeK6D__a6uxSD_WZ8edAsa7Vx28If3dx1uCKbUs62vGBw/s1600/rumble+cakes.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 132px; height: 68px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNutgsSxlspDhGvZ8q7qq3EG3a4wM8Cw2Oe_77aFg8T3A5O-A0fuotGJmYtqdqfysyScZrON5Eqe-idVhmMNFZpTm6tOChyphenhyphenaNeK6D__a6uxSD_WZ8edAsa7Vx28If3dx1uCKbUs62vGBw/s320/rumble+cakes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691205613458883890" /></a><br />"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate & wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out & screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"<br /><br />Yes, I stole that from my famous cooking blogger Laurrie! Words to LIVE by....<br /><br />Intent on living up to the chocolate part, I submit the following recipe...also not mine but worth adding to your recipe box. <br /><br />Trader Joe's Rumble Cakes<br /><br />1 stick TJ's Unsalted Butter<br />2 TJ's Eggs<br />1 box TJ's Truffle Brownie Mix<br />1/4 cup TJ's Dried Tart Montmorency Cherries<br />1/4 cup TJ's Walnut Halves and Pieces<br />1 box TJ's Frozen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 350°. Bring the butter to room temperature and combine the eggs with the butter and whisk/ mix. Slowly add in the brownie mix. Once the mixture is uniform, add in the cherries and walnuts; set aside. Lightly grease a brownie pan and place the chunks of cookie dough sporadically around the bottom of the pan (there may be a few pieces of cookie dough left, do with them what you must). Pour the brownie mix over the top, evenly coating the cookie dough. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Enjoy! Serves: 10<br />Cooking Time: 45 Minutes<br /><br />If you don't have a Trader Joe's, you could make your own brownie mix (but TJ's Truffle Brownie Mix!!!) and you could make your own cookie dough (but TJ's !!!). With or without TJ's you could use dried cranberries and toasted pecans (which I did) and make it all your own. <br /><br />There is some question as to what size pan is a "brownie pan". I used a 9x9 pan which took a really long time to cook. Someone said 45 minutes at 325 but it took mine over an hour. It was looking more like cake since it filled the pan to the top when it cooked. I'm thinking it probably meant a 9x13 pan at 350 for 45 minutes. Just watch it and you can tell when it starts to pull away from the sides and the toothpick comes out clean. I'm rather partial to the big, chunky, chocolatey results.<br /><br />If it gets a little overcooked on the edges there is a remedy. Put chunks in a parfait glass, pour some coffee liqueur over and top with whipped cream!<br /><br />Woo Hoo !!!!bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-21438376722744244822011-04-22T07:09:00.000-07:002011-12-28T07:48:54.947-08:00Sausage and Farfalle<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RkAgReXSDSsxzgAOcNSr1XJEI2ACt9iF_-k4hp5cG7A6f5CpxL_LKkSv3AkdTJUsBE2VSYPbd7qiPOOTL5UJArrukeD4rPPb2emGEhNwNpo4Xs_4hyphenhyphenAyvow76SQ9ysVK3yz36-FNZF0/s1600/sausage.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 307px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RkAgReXSDSsxzgAOcNSr1XJEI2ACt9iF_-k4hp5cG7A6f5CpxL_LKkSv3AkdTJUsBE2VSYPbd7qiPOOTL5UJArrukeD4rPPb2emGEhNwNpo4Xs_4hyphenhyphenAyvow76SQ9ysVK3yz36-FNZF0/s320/sausage.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691206621070878514" /></a><br />I saw this package of Johnsonville smoked chicken sausages with cheese and chipotle peppers and decided it had to go in the shopping cart. So then last night while surveying the contents of the fridge, I pulled out the last 5 stalks of asparagus and the last of the sliced portobella mushrooms and started cooking. Olive oil in the pan with two smashed garlic cloves. Rinse the asparagus well to get rid of any sand. The secret to asparagus is to hold the bottom of the stalk and then gently snap. The break will come so that the woody part is gone and only the tender part remains. Sometimes just a little comes off and sometimes a lot longer piece.<br /><br />Growing up, my mother would make us eat the whole thing and I hated asparagus. A child of the depression, she could not bear to throw any food away...woody broccoli stalks came to the table too!<br /><br />Diagonally cut the asparagus and toss it in the pan. Cook until "crisp tender" (starting to get soft but still bright green). Add the mushrooms. Slice sausages and add to pan. Meanwhile I cooked some mini farfalle. Really cute mini bowties from Barilla. Drain the pasta reserving about 1/4 cup of cooking water. Add pasta to the pan. Then add two tablespoons of homemade pesto which I keep in the freezer. Then add enough of the pasta water to make it "saucy". <br /><br />Serve with grated parmesan.<br />Mmmm...there were even leftovers for lunch the next day!bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-51151254145611236122010-12-30T08:53:00.000-08:002010-12-30T09:31:17.703-08:00Mellody's Black-eyed Peas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwBXOGqaTvoqkGGXPahh61NcH3wAUpwhtZ73QDDJwrO1IzdVD8gLoIx5-de3uQgEnk5mgxiZ42lBZ-jLO0PZafI6wntgLBo0KBgasLF34pR4UvOqIxoEa7NBhtH64G8NMDDO8cxpegoc/s1600/blackeyed+peas.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 94px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 94px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556527562833621170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwBXOGqaTvoqkGGXPahh61NcH3wAUpwhtZ73QDDJwrO1IzdVD8gLoIx5-de3uQgEnk5mgxiZ42lBZ-jLO0PZafI6wntgLBo0KBgasLF34pR4UvOqIxoEa7NBhtH64G8NMDDO8cxpegoc/s320/blackeyed+peas.bmp" /></a><br /><div>Okay, not those Black Eyed Peas!! This is after all a food blog. But I started thinking about Mellody and her black-eyed peas and when I went online there were all these posts and pictures of THE Black Eyed Peas. This recipe is not mine, but Mellody's, and it's been our traditional New Year's recipe since finding it in the AJC many years ago. I always used to use hog jowels or pork neckbones until I discovered this. Smoked turkey wings provide the meat and flavor and are probably much better for you. It uses fresh garlic and garlic powder which she says is important to get the taste right. Where the original recipe calls for cooking this in a large pot, I use my crockpot. Serve with rice and greens and don't forget my cornbread recipe. Needless to say, it's not just for New Year's and you will find that without a doubt these are the best black-eyed peas you will ever have.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>1 lb. dried black-eyed peas</div><br /><div>4 c. low sodium chicken broth</div><br /><div>2 c. water</div><br /><div>2 smoked turkey wings</div><br /><div>4 cloves garlic, diced</div><br /><div>2 ribs celery, diced</div><br /><div>2 carrots, diced</div><br /><div>1 large onion, diced</div><br /><div>1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced</div><br /><div>2 T salt or seasoned salt</div><br /><div>1 T black pepper</div><br /><div>1 t garlic powder</div><br /><div>2 bay leaves</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Rinse and sort peas looking for any tiny stones or bad peas. Put peas in crockpot (not turned on) with 6-8 cups of water and let soak overnite or 6-8 hours. Drain water off and rinse peas.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In crockpot, combine peas, broth, water, wings, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, jalapeno, salt, pepper, garlic powder and bay leaves.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Cook on low for 6-8 hours. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Remove wings ,shred meat and return to pot.</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-32546141406534390982010-12-10T06:26:00.000-08:002010-12-10T07:25:13.412-08:00Fusion Mussells<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fHrhI36y25lVcHVulEVhDFCUdYcPpTvyZTIqUoqdZA_traHDQXEd_cJudnLXZ_vATHjnKGiM7A-5sv_6DE1-iwjPVlWKSDqIZ5-Qit1HWI8hn3JICQdv20BGb7kXEoBeuMMsW0drCIY/s1600/mussells.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 113px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 170px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549070776243702258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fHrhI36y25lVcHVulEVhDFCUdYcPpTvyZTIqUoqdZA_traHDQXEd_cJudnLXZ_vATHjnKGiM7A-5sv_6DE1-iwjPVlWKSDqIZ5-Qit1HWI8hn3JICQdv20BGb7kXEoBeuMMsW0drCIY/s320/mussells.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Hell's Kitchen had a fusion challenge the other night and it was on my mind as I considered what to do with some leftover rice. Of course, this is not just some ordinary rice but Trader Joe's Basmati rice medley which is a delightful combination of aged Indian Basmati and wild rice with garden vegetables. </div><br /><div>I cooked 4 slices of bacon until crispy, drained them and crunched them up. Then I sauteed a sliced onion and two chopped cloves of garlic until translucent. Add to that a can of diced tomatoes with juice and one of my 8 oz. freezer bags of sliced zucchini. Okay, if you didn't put up veggies you could resort to the Hunt's zucchini and tomatoes in the can. Then I added a handful of cooked, crumbled sausage from the freezer. Then comes the "season to taste". I added fresh ground salt and pepper, garlic powder, oregano, Old Bay, paprika and a couple of shakes of cayenne. Add the cooked rice. </div><br /><div>Next comes one of my favorite things...Kroger Private Selection Mussells. They come in tomato sauce or white wine sauce. You can eat them as is or put them over pasta. They are in the freezer section and are already cooked and then vacuum sealed. Just heat them up. </div><br /><div>Put the rice in individual pasta bowls and top with mussells and the tomato broth. Add some shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese and you have a great Indian/Italian/French/Greek meal. </div><div>Looking for a picture for this I came across Courgettes and Mussels which is a French dish with zucchini, mussels and rice. Then there was a Greek dish with mussels and rice. Changing the herbs and spices results in a dish eaten in many different countries with many different names. </div><div> </div><div>If you came to my house for dinner, it might even be called "leftovers".</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-35018983507777713402010-08-03T08:38:00.000-07:002010-08-03T09:48:27.932-07:00Sunday breakfast anytime!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpytLquw2_YwouFXUGyu__XlGxzj_f2io2bcF0Mz38T26lR-Zz6YkwaZ8CH_b0HHoGrEO5nhotlh6-y1J4nFSOBznoGKzXaEjEWQ0Ga-s_i4j_q2Cn0TP4C8ckRZkkQNdZX31Q3x-Qrw/s1600/scramble-eggs-200X200.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501223519087857170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpytLquw2_YwouFXUGyu__XlGxzj_f2io2bcF0Mz38T26lR-Zz6YkwaZ8CH_b0HHoGrEO5nhotlh6-y1J4nFSOBznoGKzXaEjEWQ0Ga-s_i4j_q2Cn0TP4C8ckRZkkQNdZX31Q3x-Qrw/s320/scramble-eggs-200X200.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>We love Sunday morning breakfast. </div><div>I hate slaving over the stove when I would rather be reading the paper and drinking coffee. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The recipe is easy, and yes, I guess you could just throw a bag of Jimmy Dean in the pan but I like mine better and it doesn't have all those additives (except for what's in the sausage).</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>1 roll Jimmy Dean sausage (or whatever kind you use)</div><br /><div>1 bag frozen chopped peppers and onions</div><br /><div>1 bag frozen shredded potatoes</div><br /><div>sandwich bags</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Some day, when you have the time, do the following...</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Crumble and cook the sausage. Then put it in a colander to drain off all the fat. When it is cool, assemble the bags. I make 2 serving bags since it's usually just the two of us, but you could make single serve. For one serving...Put 2 oz. sausage, 1/4 c. frozen peppers and onions, and 1/2 c. frozen potatoes in a bag. Press out all the air and seal flat. Stack these in a large freezer bag and put in freezer.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>When you want breakfast, heat frying pan and spray with Pam. Dump in however many servings you need. I like to heat it until the potatoes get a little crispy. It just takes a few minutes because you've already done the prep work. Beat eggs in a bowl using 2 per serving. Pour eggs over sausage and vegetables and scramble. You could top with some shredded cheese before serving and/or chopped green onions, chopped tomatoes, salsa. The possibilities are endless.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>There you have it. Sunday breakfast any time, in half the time!</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-23833702417162644692010-07-29T05:40:00.000-07:002010-08-03T08:30:47.409-07:00Recipe for remembering<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rdhv_id4LN3Y4FC3mYmkkvCCMKLNLeM1jrWRuYXjZwnhGv_onywNVwEiBbmMPGlzlDZS9NMc_v2-xjSaQwqK1Fy7bMPxIXDL_3H4kyKtq1xE2VMcfHzj-Pg1Kz9Pw4vWihj2yLsP0Zg/s1600/50's+food.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 256px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501202757733509602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rdhv_id4LN3Y4FC3mYmkkvCCMKLNLeM1jrWRuYXjZwnhGv_onywNVwEiBbmMPGlzlDZS9NMc_v2-xjSaQwqK1Fy7bMPxIXDL_3H4kyKtq1xE2VMcfHzj-Pg1Kz9Pw4vWihj2yLsP0Zg/s320/50's+food.jpg" /></a><br /><div>We were watching the new Hell's Kitchen spinoff the other night and this lady had brussell sprouts with bread crumbs and I started down memory lane again. There are many things that we used to eat when I was young... and some of them I would never eat again.</div><br /><br /><div>The brussell sprout thing...My Mother fancied herself quite a cook, although my brother and I might question that. Anyway, she got this recipe for brussell sprouts and they were cooked and then rolled around in seasoned breadcrumbs. She probably made it first for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. She loved it and made it over and over and over. As far as we were concerned, it smelled awful and tasted worse. When I left home, I left brussell sprouts behind.</div><br /><br /><div>Saturday nights we ate baked beans and brown bread. It was usually B&M. Once in a while my Mother "doctored up" the beans and baked them in the deep well. I'm not sure how it worked but a deep well was a big deep pot that set down inside the stove, where a burner would be, so only the lid was visible. Brown bread came in a can and you cut off both ends and as you pushed it out you sliced it using the can top as a guide. Daddy would fry up leftovers to have with his eggs for Sunday breakfast. </div><br /><br /><div>The exception to this was in the summertime. Our next door neighbor was a lobster fisherman and we had lobster every Saturday in season. Mostly they were chicks which were small but legal to catch and often they had only one claw. I didn't know we got the rejects and certainly never realized that lobster was a luxury to most people. While we would eat, my Father would disect his lobster. Not a scrap would pass his lips until every possible edible piece of lobster was extracted from the shell and placed on his plate. This included spreading the roe and tamale on saltine crackers. I never would eat that but did learn to scavenge every morsel of lobster meat, cleaning out the shells and sucking the meat out of the legs and tail fins. Before we were married, my husband wanted to really impress me with dinner. He ran a New England Oyster House at the time. He cooked lobster for me, but not for him as he wouldn't eat it. Much later, he told me that he almost had second thoughts about our relationship when he saw me savagely attacking dinner.</div><br /><br /><div>When I was little, I was sick a lot. My Mother attributed it to the fact that I got German measles when I was a baby and nearly died. A while later, I had whooping cough for over a year. The deep well got plenty of use then as she would make bread pudding (yuck) all the time. She would put jelly on top to get me to eat it. Bread pudding, tapioca, and I don't remember what else of similar consistency that was supposed to be good for me to eat. Every now and then I see a great recipe for bread pudding but I just can't bring myself to make it because of those memories.</div><br /><br /><div>When I was five I went to a Catholic school. Some students boarded. If my parents went off for a weekend or whatever, they would have me stay at school with the boarders. My only food recollection was that we ate at really long tables and always had cocoa (with scum on the top) in the morning and macaroni and cheese. Surely we didn't eat mac and cheese for lunch and dinner every day, but I don't remember anything else!</div><br /><br /><div>Another dinner staple my Mother served was sausage. It was what we call breakfast sausage links now, but we never ate it for breakfast. We ate it for dinner with applesauce and mashed potatoes. I had no idea where that combination came from but it showed up weekly on the dinner table. Searching the internet, it does come close to an Irish recipe for sausages, applesauce and colcannon (mashed cabbage and potatoes). As my grandparents were from Ireland, it was probably something my parents grew up eating.</div><br /><br /><div>We were a Catholic family and you ate fish on Friday. I hated fish. It smelled bad. It tasted bad. I rebelled and as a teenager would eat a can of tuna for dinner. Tuna, out of the can, as is. Somehow I can't quite get a handle on that. As an adult, I love fish and tuna out of the can smells bad! </div><br /><br /><div>We often stayed at the beach in the summer. My Father would get up early and take a pail down to the boat docks where he would get fresh caught herring, which look kind of like sardines. He would bring them back and put them whole under the broiler and that would be his breakfast. No one else even got near those, let alone eat them!</div><br /><br /><div>We had another neighbor who grew asparagus and rhubarb. There you go again...who knew the luxury status of those two things. Certainly not us. Right up there with lobster. Years later, both those things were too expensive to find their way to the table very often. I do remember though that my Mother would never break off the asparagus properly because, of course, it was so expensive and we would be forced to eat the woody ends. The same held true for broccoli. Heaven forbid you wasted anything, even if it was inedible.</div><br /><br /><div>I ate Ranger Joe's for breakfast. The cereal came in a big plastic bag and was some kind of puffed rice. Tasted like, well... spongy air. When you put milk on it, it would get soggy in no time. Daddy ate shredded wheat. It came in a box with dividers that were Injun Joe cards. The company tried to market it to kids by having these collector cards in the boxes. Never happen! The cereal was this big, fat square thing that tasted like cardboard and looked like something you would feed to farm animals. Sometimes my Father would pour hot water on it first to soften it up and then add milk and sugar. Thank heaven for Sundays when we would drive to the donut shop for crullers and donut holes.</div><br /><br /><div>For a long time we would switch off Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with my Aunt Mary's family. We lived in Massachusetts and they lived in Connecticut. She always served rutabaga. Awful, awful, can't even describe the smell and the taste and you had to eat it. The last time I ate it there was the last time I ate it, period.</div><br /><br /><div>School lunches were the same thing on the same day week after week. One of them was green beans, spaghetti and french bread with peanut butter. Somewhere I'm sure there was a dietician who had figured out the proper ratio of food groups, using the available food, to come up with this combination. To me, it was just plain weird. You didn't eat vegetables with spaghetti and you most certainly didn't put peanut butter on french bread. My Mother was notorious for the same thing on the same day also. She would come up with something new and then it would just fold into the rotation. If it's Tuesday, it must be eggplant parmagianno...until you never wanted to see another eggplant again! But then, I remembered the commercial about "Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day". Maybe everybody ate the same thing on the same day every week! You can see the commercial from the 50's, on You Tube, if you look up "Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day- a classic".</div><br /><div><a href="http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlNAYCcxgUw"></a> </div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-32023408708465251592010-04-19T07:43:00.000-07:002010-04-20T09:08:40.813-07:00Gobble Q<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfIi7sR7bZ17fr_rgtXM2a-gBrps8m7C69FJoyUGOSxuRX2HXCIfrqINXcyNJGnfg8m2M16esMLH4E4eEehh1LAlt0ZI2VI-8OgOrqgf683n0F2WyRZGVu8Xm5wvvE31GRp3vyHxhxsQ/s1600/thanksgiving_turkey_comp.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462250961303202626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 172px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfIi7sR7bZ17fr_rgtXM2a-gBrps8m7C69FJoyUGOSxuRX2HXCIfrqINXcyNJGnfg8m2M16esMLH4E4eEehh1LAlt0ZI2VI-8OgOrqgf683n0F2WyRZGVu8Xm5wvvE31GRp3vyHxhxsQ/s320/thanksgiving_turkey_comp.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>At Thanksgiving I bought two turkeys because they were .39 a pound, limit two. I put one in the freezer. Maybe turkey for Easter....well it was down there in that bottom basket and forgotten and Easter has come and gone. So then I discovered it and I was thinking about smoking it but Bill said it would take too long. What if I cut it up? So we cut it up like it was just a big chicken...</div><div>two thighs, two legs, two wings and the part of the back that wasn't connected to the breast and then left the breast whole.</div><br /><div>So, here comes the recipe...</div><br /><div>Slice up an onion and mash 3 cloves of garlic.</div><div>Put in the bottom of your crock pot.</div><div>Layer turkey pieces.</div><div>Cover with 1 bottle bbq sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Raspberry Chipotle)</div><div>Cook on low for 6-8 hours.</div><div>Shred turkey with two forks just like pulled pork.</div><div>Strain juices, cool, skim off any fat.</div><div>Mix sauce with turkey and add more bbq sauce if needed and some hot sauce .</div><div>Serve on buns with cole slaw.</div><div>Package leftovers of 4 oz. to a sandwich in sandwich bags and put them in a large freezer bag.</div><br /><div>You can cook the turkey breast in the oven at 325 for 25 min. a pound. </div><div>Put a carrot (quartered), an onion (quartered) and some celery tops inside breast.</div><div>Shake garlic powder, onion powder, sage and paprika on turkey breast and spray with Pam.</div><div>Roast till temp reads 185. My 12 lb. turkey then became just 2 hours in the oven for the turkey breast.</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-69276551904906596792010-03-16T08:12:00.001-07:002010-03-17T16:00:34.124-07:00St. Patrick's Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEn7X4q8Y8zFXS80nnRf2ZvOpJThTwFVxrANDt_cMhSDZXY3K17Kk3YpLJpTL-OxyvhZmb9rEzWC8guO0l675gh6AelpsAazV7JDN-BKA2Yb00is1OCZAzHfQKksee6gIRyBciLpv6U1o/s1600-h/cornedbeef590.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 217px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449252479873250674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEn7X4q8Y8zFXS80nnRf2ZvOpJThTwFVxrANDt_cMhSDZXY3K17Kk3YpLJpTL-OxyvhZmb9rEzWC8guO0l675gh6AelpsAazV7JDN-BKA2Yb00is1OCZAzHfQKksee6gIRyBciLpv6U1o/s320/cornedbeef590.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day and dinner would have to be corned beef and cabbage. Surprisingly enough, the Irish ate mutton or lamb because there was an abundance of it in Ireland. When they came to America though, it was beef that was plentiful and thus the tradition was born.<br />The Sullivans (my Mothers family) and the Reardons (my Fathers family) came here from Ireland and so the tradition continues.<br /><br />Corned Beef and Cabbage<br /><br />6 carrots. cut into chunks<br />2 onions, chopped<br />2-3 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet<br />12 oz. can beer (non alcoholic is fine)<br />2 Tbsp. yellow mustard<br />1/4 cup brown sugar<br />1 cup water<br />8 wedges cabbage<br /><br />Preparation:<br /><br />In 4-6 quart crockpot, combine carrots and onions. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Pour beer over brisket and spread mustard on brisket. In small bowl mix brown sugar with water and pour over brisket. Cook on low setting for 11-12 hours. Take corned beef out and wrap in foil to keep warm. Turn to high and add cabbage wedges to vegetables and cook for 30 min. Slice brisket, thinly, across the grain and serve with vegetables.<br /><br />Garlic Smashed Potatoes<br /><br />1 lb red potatoes<br />4 cloves garlic peeled and left whole<br />1/4-1/2 c milk<br />2 T butter<br />salt and pepper<br /><br />Preparation:<br /><br />Scrub potatoes. Cut in quarters but leave skin on. Boil for 20 min. Drain off water and leave in hot pot. Mash potatoes and garlic with potato masher. Mix in milk and butter. Potatoes should be lumpy and slightly drier than mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-13468966792280417492010-02-26T12:14:00.000-08:002010-02-26T13:04:02.106-08:00TGIF Wings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXL4Z9qAUMwNmYIWSacL9gYklUY9DaACxezYWswF496h2P9HNhCgSsQ8IqwHZYFsWhtLDsDND5NSrxNQenzWi6XiNKn5xCiXIN1esffrx0KzSga9KAVAV-BbPVynkthHafe4MDwPoy_84/s1600-h/wings.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 131px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 100px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442659974773608258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXL4Z9qAUMwNmYIWSacL9gYklUY9DaACxezYWswF496h2P9HNhCgSsQ8IqwHZYFsWhtLDsDND5NSrxNQenzWi6XiNKn5xCiXIN1esffrx0KzSga9KAVAV-BbPVynkthHafe4MDwPoy_84/s320/wings.jpg" /></a><br /><div>There's no such thing as healthy junk food, but there can be healthier junk food. These wings are baked, not fried and you can use fat free salad dressing for dipping. Guaranteed to be a favorite and a staple of Friday Happy Hour.<br /><br />20 wings (flats and drummettes)<br />3/4 c. flour<br />3 teaspoons cayenne pepper<br />1 teaspoon garlic powder<br />wing sauce (Kroger brand or Sweet Baby Ray's or whatever your favorite is)<br /><br />Dry wings on paper towels. Shake flour, garlic and cayenne in a ziplock bag. Add wings and shake to cover. Wings should be dry and covered in flour. Keep shaking until they are not stuck to each other in the bag. Spread them out inside the bag as much as possible. Let them sit in the fridge for about 3 hours. Put foil on a cookie sheet and put a rack on it. Spray rack with Pam. Shake off excess flour into the bag as you take wings out and put them in a large bowl. Drizzle with wing sauce. Stir to get a little sauce on all the wings. Put on baking rack. Cook for 30 min. @ 400. Turn wings over and cook for 30 min. more. Serve with celery and carrot sticks and ranch or blue cheese dressing. We use Kraft peppercorn ranch.</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-8169309085062984862009-12-02T12:09:00.000-08:002009-12-02T13:09:12.023-08:00Grown-up mac 'n' cheese<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNY5oWR86vS6fbYrzOM8X3BXz4gNS8-n5YO1BAuT-jjdzhZbEso4fbJ1Avll-YaO4xz4AHGGlNs9T0FovQpKqhyphenhyphenjWeuvD7WgMDAckAkyDXx0ICcFeGRvYiVlVRveauiYnS4ILEgdF4t4/s1600-h/elbow.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410748842284544754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNY5oWR86vS6fbYrzOM8X3BXz4gNS8-n5YO1BAuT-jjdzhZbEso4fbJ1Avll-YaO4xz4AHGGlNs9T0FovQpKqhyphenhyphenjWeuvD7WgMDAckAkyDXx0ICcFeGRvYiVlVRveauiYnS4ILEgdF4t4/s320/elbow.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The other day my husband asked for some plain old mac 'n' cheese. This was not a usual request and I couldn't remember when the last time was that I had made it. I started going thru all my recipes and most of what I had contained spinach or kale or some other vegetables. I finally had the basic idea of what I wanted to do and proceeded to cover the countertop with ingredients , bowls and baking dish. In the midst of all this, he walked in the kitchen and exclaimed "what are you doing?" Making mac "n" cheese, I replied. His response was..."oh, I thought you would just mix up a box of Kraft." There hadn't been a box of Kraft in this house since we were first married and besides, this was going to be grown-up mac 'n' cheese. Nothing against Kraft, but this turned out to be comfort food at its finest.<br /><br />8x8 pyrex baking dish sprayed with Pam<br />8 oz. elbow macaroni<br />2 c. milk (I use Carnation instant)<br />3 tablespoons butter, divided (whatever spread you use)<br />1 egg<br />1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper<br />1 teaspoon dry mustard<br />1 teaspoon hot sauce<br />2 c. shredded fiesta blend cheese<br />3/4 c. seasoned breadcrumbs<br /><br />Preheat oven to 425. Cook elbows according to shortest time on box and drain. Melt 1 1/2 T. of butter in same pot. Stir in elbows. In a bowl, beat the egg and add milk, hot sauce, mustard and cayenne. Stir together and then add to elbows. Stir in cheese. Cook, while stirring until cheese melts. Pour into baking pan. Melt 1 1/2 T. of butter in a small bowl in microwave for about 30 sec. Stir in the breadcrumbs. Spread over top of elbow mixture. Bake for about 15 min. or until top is golden brown. You can double the recipe for a 9x13 baking dish.</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-541936275677755882009-11-30T07:16:00.000-08:002009-11-30T08:30:57.747-08:00Stuff it!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNzzAc8-AEgAykXiO7aAOb146xTw7EUGKXIy7MjK7vSpV9EmD3ssm_1km-joTNVZ2OpGDnr1rxSrh59EoMrKJi80yjFIIytw-fubnGYyR0w_83RD4W7kCGR5Cjs7JsOCKSvGqhcmoFL8/s1600/rice.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409934965270195490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNzzAc8-AEgAykXiO7aAOb146xTw7EUGKXIy7MjK7vSpV9EmD3ssm_1km-joTNVZ2OpGDnr1rxSrh59EoMrKJi80yjFIIytw-fubnGYyR0w_83RD4W7kCGR5Cjs7JsOCKSvGqhcmoFL8/s320/rice.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I am pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. The main course is turkey, period. Each year though, I try to come up with a new version of stuffing (dressing). They say it's stuffing if it goes in the bird and dressing if cooked in a pan. I do both. This year I made stuffing "muffins".<br /><br />1 box Jiffy<br />1c. frozen corn<br />1 teas. sage<br />1 box Rice a Roni<br />1 onion<br />2 stalks celery with leafy tops<br />1 lb. turkey sausage<br />Emeril's seasoning<br />1 can Swanson chicken broth<br />1 egg<br /><br />You need to cook a pan of Jiffy cornbread a few days ahead. Add a cup of frozen corn (just put corn in a colander and pour some hot water over it to thaw) and 1 teaspoon sage to the batter.<br />On the day you are making the stuffing, cut the cornbread into cubes and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 until golden brown.<br />Cook a box of Rice a Roni wild rice.<br />Chop an onion and two celery stalks including leafy tops. Saute in olive oil until onion is translucent. You can use the frozen trinity mix ( about 1 1/2 c.)<br />Remove onion and celery and in the same pan cook 1 lb. crumbled turkey sausage.<br />Drain off any fat.<br />In a large bowl, combine cornbread, rice, onion, celery and sausage.<br />Moiston with chicken broth (1/4-1/2 c.).<br />Season with 2 teaspoons of Emeril's seasoning. I make my own with the recipe from his website.<br />At this point, taste it. If you used unseasoned sausage, you may want to add more seasoning.<br /><br />Stuff turkey, chickens or hens.<br />Whisk an egg and add it to the stuffing that is left. Mix. Put in prepared muffin pan. Mound tops like muffins. Bake at 325 for 30 min.</div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718500975772784131.post-5636629407885273772009-11-24T06:45:00.000-08:002009-11-24T08:40:47.239-08:00Pumpkin Patch Chili<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMXC6JSX077LfgVKCVWuR3RaNi5ftuL9etNaC1YHSvZ3FQWY9L2C-O_E5IUt5v07CWegVEcwed4ftBfiXJvgJISaH4ecE3E4CNclltkYIXr71YWJNfLFgLFif4xI7Q5w9N4pXrM_AIgk/s1600/pumpkin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407708236149131170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMXC6JSX077LfgVKCVWuR3RaNi5ftuL9etNaC1YHSvZ3FQWY9L2C-O_E5IUt5v07CWegVEcwed4ftBfiXJvgJISaH4ecE3E4CNclltkYIXr71YWJNfLFgLFif4xI7Q5w9N4pXrM_AIgk/s320/pumpkin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I was reading an article about what to do with leftover pumpkin and one of the suggestions was chili. It sounded a little strange but I really like pumpkin so I gave it a try. We were having a chili cook-off at work and there were quite a few vegetarians so I created this recipe. Needless to say it was a hit in spite of some people saying "you put what in this chili?" Once they tasted it, they were hooked on pumpkin.</div><div></div><div>The recipe is for vegetarian but you can add your favorite meat to it. I've used turkey sausage, ground beef, "bambi" and for my husband the carnivore added chunks of beef. Just cook the meat and pour off any fat and toss it in. I like to put it in the crockpot and just let it cook on low. </div><br /><div>You can put it in 1 qt. freezer bags. Fill bag with about 2 c. of chili. Stand it up and fold the top down to get the air out. Seal the bag and lay it flat. Bags take up less space in the freezer and will thaw quicker. </div><br /><div>The main ingredient here is Libby canned pumpkin. It has no added sugar, salt or artificial ingredients. You don't want pie filling, just a big can of pureed pumpkin. You can use 3 cans of kidney or pinto beans if you don't want black beans or chickpeas (garbanzos).</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>1 chopped onion or you can use frozen trinity mix (celery, onion and green pepper</div><div>2-3 garlic cloves (smash with the flat side of a knife and you can easily take the skin off and then chop)</div><div>Pam spray</div><div>1 lb. turkey sausage, "bambi", ground beef or beef chunks (optiona</div><div>1 can Libby pumpkin (1 lb. 13 oz.</div><div>1 can Swanson vegetable broth (you can use chicken or beef broth if using meat)</div><div>1 can diced tomatoes with green chili</div><div>1 large can crushed tomatoes</div><div>1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)</div><div>1 can chick peas (rinsed and drained) </div><div>1 can kidney or pinto beans (rinsed and drained)</div><div>1 cup corn (canned or frozen)</div><div>3 tablespoons chili powder</div><div>1 teaspoon cumin</div><div>1 chipotle chili chopped and adobo sauce (only if you like it hot, hot)</div><div>or</div><div>1-2 jalapeno seeded and chopped (only if you like it hot)</div><div>1 teaspoon oregano </div><div><br /> </div><div>Spray skillet with Pam. Cook onion and garlic until the onions "sweat" and are soft. Brown meat in same pan. Drain off any fat. Put everything in the crock pot and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div>bunkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01849579303333172153noreply@blogger.com0