Poor Man's Minestrone

Poor Man's Minestrone or, as my Mom always called it, Hamburger Soup... Whatever you want to call it, it made a yummy dinner on this chilly gloomy day for me and the boys!  It was the third workout in as many weeks for my 38 cent crockpot and it did its job like a rockstar!

This is a clean out the little bits left in the fridge, freezer, and pantry kind of dish...

Next time it might be a little different depending on what veggies I have that need to be used but to make the soup today, I broke up and fried 1 lb of hamburger.  When that was nearly done, I added about 1 cup of sliced baby carrots I'd forgot about getting for snacks, 4 sliced up ribs of celery that were right on the edge of turning wimpy, and the half an onion rattling around the bottom of the vegetable crisper, roughly diced.  I let this cook until the vegetables were starting to soften.

Meanwhile, into the crockpot went the end of a bag of frozen corn, the end of a bag of frozen peas, a big handful of frozen green beans, 2 packets of dry onion soup mix, and a can of diced tomatoes.  I added the burger mixture and a couple of tomato cans of water (gotta get all that tomatoey goodness!), set the crockpot on high, and gave it a good stir.

Now, this is the really important step in making this soup so pay attention!

I went to the laundromat and did my laundry (yay for clean clothes!) while the soup simmered away and the flavors blended just like magic.  Yup, I just walked away and forgot about it for a couple of hours.

When I got home, I added a little more water, the end of a box of shell macaroni, approximately 2 tsp Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning, and walked away again for about 30 minutes.  Then it was time to dip it up and enjoy with a couple of crackers...

Love in a bowl!!  Or, if you're like me, in a big coffee cup!

Meatless Taco Casserole

My plan for today was meatloaf and a sweet potato casserole... but when I got home from PT, I was hurting and hungry and I had the ingredients to make something simpler and faster so I tried out this Pinterest-inspired dish instead.

My Pinterest-inspired casserole made with taco
seasonings and couscous in place of meat.

Off and on for the past year or so, I've been studying scripture known in my Church as the Word of Wisdom.  It's a kind of dietary law for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm not alone in wanting to truly understand not just what the Lord has commanded us to avoid (verses 1-9), but what He has provided for our nourishment (verses 10-17).  We are His design so it seems reasonable that He would know how to keep us in our best working condition...  And we are blessed for keeping this commandment in very specific ways (verses 18-21).

Some people who are on this path of study have taken the Word of Wisdom to the extreme of veganism.  And that's ok if it's what they feel called to do.  I have no criticism for their viewpoint.  But I don't share it.  That's another thing I really appreciate about the gospel:  we are asked to study all available information, ponder and pray to discern what's right, and then use our agency to decide for ourselves just how to implement a precept.

I don't believe we should live in a spiritual vacuum so there were some other scriptures that influenced how I'm implementing this.

Genesis 1:29 - dominion over earth (care for and manage its resources wisely)
Genesis 9:3 - every living thing is meat, even as the green herb
Leviticus 11:1-8 - these are the beasts which ye shall eat...
Romans 14:22 - don't condemn yourself for what you eat
Proverbs 3:8 - honor the Lord with what and how you eat
1 Corinthians 6:12  - all is lawful so long as it doesn't cause you to stumble
1 Timothy 4:3 - every creature is good; don't forbid but receive with thanksgiving

There were also some points made by wise and famous men that I admire and I considered them strongly.  A couple of examples:

"There is no question that the health of the body affects the spirit, or the Lord would never have revealed the Word of Wisdom… To a great extent we are physically what we eat. Most of us are acquainted with some of the prohibitions, such as no tea, coffee, tobacco, or alcohol. What needs additional emphasis are the positive aspects-the need for vegetables, fruits, and grains, particularly wheat. In most cases, the closer these can be, when eaten, to their natural state-without over refinement and processing-the healthier we will be. To a significant degree, we are an overfed and undernourished nation digging an early grave with our teeth, and lacking the energy that could be ours because we overindulge in junk foods…"  Ezra Taft Benson

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed."  Mahatma Gandhi

But I bet you're not here to learn the gospel according to Kathy...

My final words about it are that my choice is to focus my eating on fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains while making animal-based products take more of a condiment role.  So yes, I will still be eating a bit of bacon in my spinach salad and making scrambled eggs for breakfast and drizzling my toast with honey... I'm just focusing on making plant-based foods the star of the show.

And that was the point of making this recipe.  I was asking not just is it tasty enough for today's main course, but could it be a satisfying basis for tacos tomorrow?  I think, yes.  I had some today with a big green salad on the side.  Tomorrow I will use the leftover in a soft taco/burrito with some shredded lettuce, a slice of avocado, and a bit of shredded cheese all topped off with a drizzle of ranch dressing.  The couscous does not have quite the same texture as ground beef, but I found it perfectly acceptable for a taco filling.

Meatless Taco Casserole

Prepare 2 cups of whole wheat couscous as directed on package.  When cooked, transfer to a casserole dish, add 1 8 oz jar of mild or medium salsa, 1 packet of taco seasoning (or equivalent if you make your own - I will be when I get better situated!), 1 can black beans, drained (I forgot to add them this time... oops!), 1/4 cup Mrs. Dash, and 2 tsp cumin (optional).  Stir all together, top with about 1/2 cup shredded cheese.  Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.  Serve hot, either as a main dish casserole or with all the assorted ingredients that make a taco (or burrito) uniquely yours.

Happy eating!!

Couscous

It was new and unfamiliar.  Both as a food and as a word.  Couscous sounds suspiciously foreign...  That's my only excuse for letting that bag of couscous sit on the counter and stare at me for 2 weeks.  I let it intimidate me.

Until today...

Cooking it can't be easier!  You just bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add a cup of couscous and turn down the heat, cover, and let simmer until all of the water is absorbed.  Seriously.  That's it.

I used that simmering time to cut up a big handful each of carrots, onion, celery, and tomato and tossed them into a waiting bowl.  Then I added a drained can of garbanzo beans and a nice sprinkle of feta cheese.  When the couscous was cooled, I scooped it into the bowl and added a couple of shakes of Mrs. Dash and Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning.  The final ingredient was about 1/2 cup of balsamic vinaigrette.  Then just toss it all together.

Light, fresh, and delicious!

Though I think it could benefit from cucumber and some torn mint leaves...

If you like pasta salad, you'll like this Couscous Salad.  Couscous, from what I can tell, is just a tiny pearl-shaped pasta.  It smells pleasantly wheaty while it cooks.

Still another time I think I'll go a different route with salad and use broccoli florets, dried cranberries, crumbled bacon, sliced almonds, feta, onions, and a raspberry vinaigrette. (Ken's Steak House makes a yummy one!)

Couscous is good for more than just salads, too.  A recipe I will only loosely follow makes a Tex-Mex casserole using black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning.  Top that with some cheese and bake for a hot dish.  That sounds pretty good to me for dinner one day next week!  I wonder if this would make an acceptable filling for vegetarian tacos or burritos?  Add some shredded lettuce and bit of guacamole to the tortilla...

Perhaps couscous will be more than a novelty in my new plant-based kitchen...

The Amish Cook Does Frogmore Stew

That little dish I picked up on yesterday's adventure came wrapped in a section of year-old newspaper.  The only possible name I can find on it, Weekender, seems unlikely especially since it's dated Thursday, January 24, 2019.

There's a regular column called The Amish Cook authored by Gloria Yoder and on this day she's telling the tale of Frogmore Stew.  Her picture and recipe are intriguing... and the story about how she was first introduced to the dish is cute.  The editor notes that it's more commonly known as a Low Country Boil and is an example of how non-traditional foods find their ways into unexpected kitchens and become family favorites.

I can't wait to try this!

FROGMORE STEW

Broth:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup vinegar
3 oz pkg of your favorite crab boil (I like Zatarain's but this is Old Bay country....)
3/4 cup salt
2 tsp black pepper
16 cups of water

Stew:
6 lbs chicken breasts or tenders
5 lbs link sausage (I'd pick Andouille or a smoked sausage ring and cut it into pieces)
2 lbs shrimp
12  unpeeled potato wedges (or as many new potatoes as you want)
1 1/2 lbs baby carrots (or big ones cut into 2-inch pieces)
18 cobbettes of corn
1-2 green peppers, chunked
2 12 oz pkgs of button mushrooms
3 lg onions cut into wedges

Leave burner on high at all times.  Bring broth to a boil and cook for 30 minutes.  Add potatoes and carrots and cook for 10 minutes.  Add sausage and cook for 10 minutes.  Add chicken and cook for 20 minutes.  Add mushrooms, onions, and corn and cook for 10 minutes.  Add shrimp and peppers and cook for 5 more minutes.  Turn burner off and let sit for 5 minutes.  Drain liquid and serve immediately by dumping onto the center of your table (or on a big cookie sheet placed on the table).  Have dipping sauces available.

Ms. Yoder suggests catsup, barbeque sauce, sour cream, and ranch dressing.  I might add cocktail sauce and horseradish infused mayonnaise to her list...

In her story, she tells of being a young woman working at an Amish store and being invited to the boss' house for dinner.  They only told her the meal was Frogmore Stew and she was curious but also a little worried it was made from frogs...  When she arrived, she was shown to their dining room where the table had been expanded to accommodate several guests along with the family and was covered with a plastic cloth.  She noticed that there were no plates set, only napkins and forks... After a prayer of thanks, she watched in wide-eyed fascination as they dumped several piles of drained vegetables, chicken, sausages, and shrimp right onto the table!  Dips were passed around and each person dobbed the ones they wanted on the table in front of them and then used their fork to stab a morsel from the pile, dip it, and enjoy.

The dish made such an impression that she and her parents made it for a visit from her out-of-state boyfriend (and later husband).  Maybe it's the dish that won his heart?

Well, you know... Valentine's Day is coming right up!!

Even Cornbread Has A History

If there were a clear career path that supplied a living wage, I would become a Culinary Historian for the final chapter of my career life.  But there's not so the history and cultural meaning of food will remain a hobby that fascinates me...

A while back there was a 'placed post' (aka advertisement) in my Facebook feed from The New York Times that got my attention.  It was titled, The True Story Behind Your Thanksgiving Cornbread.  Now I don't know about you, but I don't reserve my cornbread eating for just Thanksgiving... I like it.  And I'll eat it anytime I get the chance.  Always have, always will.  And I've heard the whole spiel about adding sugar makes it into corn cake.  Whatever!  I'm Southern by adoption and I like a little bit of sweetness in mine so I'm not even entertaining that argument.

The article, though, captivated me.  It took a page from a newish cookbook by Toni Tipton-Martin, "Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking" about the roots of cornbread.  In it, she shares that cornbread stuffing, a Thanksgiving staple to be sure, is a memory dish; an attempt by West African slaves to recreate a dish from their homeland called Kusha.  And today's recipes are a kind of homage to that heritage.  Ms. Tipton-Martin continues, pointing out that as slaves were freed, they founded communities and opened businesses, including eating establishments where recipes were transformed by the locally available foods and trends of the day.  And that's how humble cornbread was transformed into such dishes as corn pone, griddle cakes, spoonbread, corn muffins, hoecake, and hushpuppies. Today we see the fusion influences of the American Southwest and Tex-Mex foods when we include such ingredients as whole kernel corn, cheddar cheese and green chiles in our cornbread.

I've put in a request with my local library for "Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking" and I can hardly wait to see what else I learn!

Cornbread made up as muffins.

In the meantime, here's my recipe for cornbread that I based on a bread recipe on the wrapper of an old-time hot cereal named Germaid.  (And yes, when I'm going to use it in stuffing I leave out the sugar, well at least most of it, and it is wonderful when made with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese chunks and either green chiles or finely chopped jalapeno!)

Kathy's Cornbread

1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cube margarine, softened

Mix together to form a stiff batter.  This is enough batter for a 9" round cake pan or my favorite 9" cast iron skillet.  It's also just right for 12 muffins.  Bake at 400F until golden brown on top.

The Gawd Awful

My version of The Gawd Awful

On the occasional Saturday morning when I lived in Salt Lake, I'd go out to breakfast at this tiny, quaint... urrrrrrr ok, you got me.  It was a nasty dive bar.  But they served a full breakfast-lunch-dinner menu so it didn't seem quite so bad. Catering to college student's desire for cheap food and beer, Big Ed's was right across from President's Circle at the U of U.  By the time I was frequenting the joint, Ed was long gone having sold it to a very animated and often angry Asian woman and her shy and sullen son. One of their breakfast specials was a dish they named 'The Gawd Awful.' And that's usually what I ordered... a plate of cheesy hashbrowns smothered in a big scoop of chili and topped with 2 eggs, sour cream and (usually) chopped green onion.  And then I settled in to watch the show.

A visit to Big Ed's was always entertaining.  Another friend remembers going there with her class under the auspices that they were "studying,' i.e. talking social theory until the professor was too tipsy to speak coherently.  And that's usually when someone would provoke the Asian lady and she'd start cussing and lapsing in and out of very broken English and what I think might have been Vietnamese.  Soaking wet bar towels would go flying across the room making a loud thwap when they found a target, either intentional or an unfortunate casualty.  At least once, I saw her use one to smack her son side of the head.  And then almost as quickly as it started the whirlwind calmed and she was playing the dysfunctional mom/friend to anyone who looked like they needed a bit of motherly care or bad advice.

I'm not quite sure what brought that memory up but today I made my version of The Gawd Awful for breakfast.  There's a few ingredients and steps but it's really pretty easy.  Start with a large portion of crisply cooked hashbrowns.  They can be shredded or the country-style cubes like I used, whatever you prefer.  When they are ready and all plated up, cover with grated cheese and dip a ladle of chili con carne over the top.  Next, add an egg cooked as you like.  I scrambled mine (and mixed them right into the potatoes at the beginning) this time but in the cafe, I usually asked for them over medium.  Finally, garnish with a dollop of sour cream and, if you like them and have some handy, a sprinkle of chopped green onion.  And there you have it:  The Gawd Awful in all it's dive bar glory!

A Tale of Two Soups

In the past few months I've been introduced to a few Pennsylvania Dutch recipes that have an unfamiliar component called a Rivvel. I haven't quite decided if I like them or not, but I am intrigued enough to want to play with the recipe. A few days ago, Jason's Mom made a big pot of Potato Soup. Potato Soup... with Rivvels.

First appearances were very much like the potato soup I am familiar with and love. But the taste was a bit different. And the texture didn't feel like the thick and silky yumminess I crave on a cold wintery day. I'm not saying it was bad, just different.

I guess this is a good time to stop and explain what a Rivvel is.

It's a kind of free form noodle, or dumpling, depending on who you ask. On their own, they make me think very much of the Spaetzle I always got with my Vienerschnitzel at Seigfried's when I lived in Salt Lake City. But in soup, I'm struggling to love them.  I found this recipe for soup online at cooks.com that explains how to make them.

RIVVEL SOUP  

2 c. unsifted flour
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
4 qt. chicken broth
2 c. corn

Combine flour, salt and egg together and mix with fingers until crumbly. Drop rivvels (little noodles) into broth. Add corn and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. A rivvel is a "little lump" or noodle.

Photo from fotosearch.com

Switch the broth for milk and corn for potatoes and it's pretty much the soup she made. She's also made a version with navy beans and a bit of shaved ham. Searching, I found another site that called the recipe Amish and said it was a Depression-era way to stretch common (read "inexpensive") pantry items into a meal that would satisfy lots of hungry tummies. Add a few crackers and you have starch on starch on starch, so fill tummies it would!

The soup I had in mind when she said Potato Soup takes a bit more prep work to bring it all together...

KATHY'S CREAM OF POTATO SOUP

In a stock pot or Dutch oven, bring 2 +/- pounds of cubed potatoes to a boil in just enough salted water to barely cover. Cook until fork tender.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan, melt 5 Tbl butter and add a chopped onion and an equal amount of thinly sliced celery and cook until translucent.  Add 3 Tbl of white all-purpose flour and stir until well combined. Cook for 2 minutes longer so you don't have a raw flour taste in your finished soup. Scrape into boiling potatoes and stir to combine and work out any lumps from the rue.  Reduce heat and add milk and/or heavy cream. Simmer, stirring often, until thick and creamy - don't let it boil after adding the milk because milk scorches easily. You may need more as it thickens to get the right consistency. When vegetables are tender, add black pepper to taste. Adjust for salt.

To serve, ladle into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream, some crispy crumbled bacon, chopped chives and grated cheddar cheese.

Oh yum!  I'm hungry now...

Sheepherder Potoatoes

Finished dish... see how the water has thickened into a sauce?

Both of my Grandmas were young wives with young families to keep fed during The Depression. They had to get really good at making something out of nothing... My Grandma Clarke made a dish she called Sheepherder Potatoes that fits that description.

By the time I came along, she had a few more luxuries and made them in an electric skillet. That's what I remember and am trying to describe here. Once she had her skillet nicely warmed, she'd thinly slice potatoes and add them to the skillet with enough water to cover about 2/3 of the way and add a pat or two of butter and salt and pepper.  Be generous with the pepper!  Then she'd put the cover on and step away to do whatever else needed doing in her day while the potatoes simmered on low for a couple of hours.  They only need a gentle stir once in awhile when you check to make sure there's still water on them. When the potatoes are soft enough to start breaking apart, the dish is done.  Spoon out a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.  The water will have thickened from the starch cooking out of the potatoes to make a peppery sauce, or gravy.

Everything is in the pan and ready to start simmering away.

Sounds simple?  It is.  And I think that's part of why it tastes so surprisingly good!  It's totally uncomplicated... just honest, simple, down-home comfort food.

I attempted to make some on top of the little Coleman Camp Stove that serves as my indoor cooking appliance on this mostly off-grid adventure.  I didn't achieve perfection with a dull knife, no cutting surface, imprecise heat, and a foil "lid" but I improvised with what I had and got close to what she made.  And they tasted pretty darned good!!

I can't remember now if there was a meat she served these potatoes alongside or not but while I was eating them I had visions of a green vegetable, maybe like sauteed spinach or chard, and a nice pan roasted trout.

Yup.  I'm STILL jonesing to go fishing...

Green Bean Salad

Over the past few weeks I met Brandon and his partner, Chad, taking the dogs to the dog park.  Their dog, Lucy, plays well with Lightning and Jack and Gizmo so we exchanged phone numbers with the promise to set up future play dates for them.  At the end of our latest play date, they invited me to a BBQ at their house for the 4th of July.  It was a small, but fun, get together with them, Brandon's sister and her husband and daughter and another gentlemen who rents a room in their house.  I haven't laughed so much in a long time!!  It was awesome!

One of the salads was this amazing marinated green bean concoction that made my tastebuds feel like they'd been transported directly to Heaven.  So delicious!

And different.  And refreshing.

I kept going back for just one more little taste so I could figure out how to make it!

This recipe may be just a little frustrating to anyone who's looking for precise measurements and cook times but it's salad and the ingredients are subjective.  For example, I like onions and would add them generously but after bell peppers made their choice to do me bad I don't like them so much and would choose to skimp on them.  You might feel just the opposite so your salad would happily have more peppers and less onion than mine.  And that's perfectly wonderful!

Green Bean Salad

In whatever quantity is pleasing to both your eye and tastebuds toss any (or all) of the following vegetables together in a very large bowl:
Sliced onion
Rough chunks of multi-colored bell peppers
Inch cuts of celery
Thick slices of zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, cucumbers
Small button mushrooms
Match-stick cut carrots
Finely chopped fresh herbs such as dill, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, jalapeno pepper

Add double that amount of fresh green beans snapped into approximate 2-inch long pieces. The green beans are the feature ingredient, the star of the show, so you want lots of them!

You'll need enough marinade/dressing to barely submerge all of the vegetables for several hours, even overnight, prior to serving. Mix apple cider vinegar, white vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and heat until almost ready to begin boiling.  Remove from heat and stir in a bit of turmeric and a few pinches of pickling spice.  It should taste very much like the brine from bread & butter pickles.  Let cool slightly and then pour over your vegetables.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until serving time.  Strain or use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables from marinade and put them into your serving dish.  Splash just a bit of the marinade over the top.  You still want the vegetables to be quite moist, just not drowning while out on your table...

My mouth is watering just telling you about it!  Pretty sure this salad has a destiny as a summer cookout staple in my life...

Refrigerator Pickles

Saturday morning I got up and went to the Farmer's Market.  It's a small town and a small market but there's usually some interesting stuff.

I talked to a lady selling sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls.  Hers isn't sour either... more sweet than anything but dang good homemade bread.  It had a flavor that's slightly different than what I make but mine is also really good and I love the simplicity of it too much to go looking for something different right now.  I also picked up a bottle of raw honey, more herbs for the garden and some fun little cucumbers just right for munching.  They are tiny and striped like a very miniature watermelon and the flavor is slightly lemon-like. It was a fun little snack!

And I got cucumbers to make refrigerator pickles.

3 bottles of Bread & Butter slices and 2 of Dill spears.  And, yes... those
are old spaghetti sauce jars.  Since the pickles aren't processed only a tight-
fitting lid is needed so these are perfect.  And cute with their reproduction
Atlas marks!  Maybe for next year I'll spray paint the lids like I did for
my spice jars and hide the "Classico" on them.

Now comes the hard part: waiting for them to be ready to eat.

I really love how simple refrigerator pickles are to make.  Anything to do with food that doesn't heat the house up in summer is a good thing!  I've made the Dill pickles for years.  It's a recipe handed down from a friend of my Mom's that is easy and delicious.  This is the first time I've made Bread & Butter pickles this way and I'm excited to get a taste and decide if the recipe is a keeper.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Pack whole small cucumbers OR spears OR slices cut from larger cukes into 1-quart jars with dill and sliced garlic according to your taste.

Add to each jar:
2 Tbl salt
1 cup vinegar (white or a half-n-half mix with cider vinegar is good)
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp alum
pinch of pickling spice

Fill each jar with cold water. Put on tight fitting lids (does not need to seal, just be airtight) and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Ready to eat after 3-4 weeks. Can be stored up to a year. I've also made 2 quarts worth directly in my old Tupperware PickleKeeper and put it in the back of the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles

Thinly slice cucumber and sweet onion and layer them into 1-quart canning jar(s).  Be sure to pack the in the jar tightly as they will shrink when the hot brine is added.

For each jar you need to measure into a saucepan and bring to a steaming simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved:
1 1/2 cups vinegar (I used half white and half cider vinegar)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric

Pour hot liquid over cucumbers and onions in jar,wipe rims and put tight fitting lids on.  Store in refrigerator.  Can be eaten after 48 hours.

Cookie Salad

Thursday I made a dessert for a Relief Society activity... and it was so good I made it again Saturday for a potluck dinner!  Though it has the word "salad" in it's name, you'd have to make some creative substitutions to make it Weight Watchers friendly.  It is rich, delicious and just a little bit decadent!

And it's simple to make, doesn't heat up the kitchen and travels well!

That's a winning combination on every front!!

With friends who love to experiment with food as much as I do, we've come up with some yummy combinations of ingredients...

We all start with this basis:

1 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
1/3 cup milk
32 oz of thawed whipped topping (aka CoolWhip)

Whisk the pudding and milk together until smooth, then fold in the whipped topping.  Next you add crumbled up cookies and cut up fruit.

Some combinations we've tried and really like:

• Carmello cookies (or Twix or Snickers) with a tangy apple like Fuji or Granny Smith
• Pecan shortbread cookies with fresh peaches
• Vanilla sandwich Cookies (aka White Oreos) with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
• Fudge stripe cookies with mandarin oranges
• Chocolate animal crackers and mini marshmallows and tangy apples
• Ginger snaps with peaches, pineapple and halved grapes

We've all eaten them so quickly that no one has got a picture so here's one I stole off Pinterest of the Snickers/Apple combination.

Photo from dailyleisure.com

Taco Seasoning Mix

You knew sooner or later I'd jump on the bandwagon and make up my own mixture to season taco meat, right?

Well, I did it.

After a great amount of research (aka reading everyone else's recipes and the reviews of them that I could find - there must be at least 100 variations!) and taste testing the powder against my favorite chemical-laden store-bought packet here is the recipe I've decided on:

Taco Seasoning

Very scant 1/3 cup chili powder
2 Tbl Tony Chachere's Bold Creole Seasoning*
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp dried oregano
Scant 1/4 cup cumin
Very scant 1/4 cup paprika
2 Tbl cornstarch
1 Tbl minced dehydrated onion
2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl brown sugar

Mix together and store in tightly capped jar.  Makes approximately 1 1/4 cups.  Use 2-3 Tbl per pound of taco meat according to your tastes.  Simply brown and crumble the meat then add the seasoning with about 1/2 cup water and simmer for a few minutes.  Then you're ready to make some yummy yummy tacos or burritos or nachos or taco salads or...

Isn't it pretty?  I like it A LOT!  I like that there's no weird preservatives that I can't pronounce (unless there's some in the Tony's and I didn't look... I like that stuff too much and don't want to risk that there is something there that will make me want to kick that can to the curb).  And I like that this one is pretty straight-forward in the spices.  Some of the other folks out there in blog land use interesting stuff like cocoa powder and smoked paprika and I guess that's fine if  you want to incorporate those flavors.  I was seeking a really tasty, basic, use it in the weekly dinner rotation kind of taste and that's what I've got.  I also like that it's cheap!  I am estimating (because I used spices I already had on hand) that the total cost would work out to about $2 for the entire batch.  And I estimate it will make tacos 12-13 times.

The recipe above (minus the onions because I didn't have any) filled one of these cute little Classico jars that originally came home filled with pesto to the rim with enough left over to make tacos today.  I've kept the jars all along because I plan on spray painting the lids with brushed nickel paint and labeling with a cute round chalkboard label for the contents inside to store all my spices and mixtures like this.


Note:  Tony Chachere's Bold Creole Seasoning is a spicy seasoning salt.  If you don't have it, substitute your favorite seasoned salt or use 2 1/2 Tbl salt and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or use 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1/4 tsp ground black pepper).

Orange Syrup

I really dislike the fake maple taste of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup.  It's the only thing Derek will eat on pancakes and waffles.  So... I was the one to compromise and that trash is the only syrup that's been in the house for the past 2 years or so.

Until today!

Now I care less and less every day what he wants and do the things that make me happy and feed my spirit.  Today it was Orange Syrup that put a smile on my face.

Oh boy is this stuff YUMMY!!

My inspiration came from 3 things.  First, the bag of oranges in my fridge that needed to be used.   It's true:  necessity is the mother of invention! Second, the blueberry sauce I made recently to accompany a baked french toast dish for a Church potluck Christmas breakfast was my how-to basis.  But really I was thinking about the pancakes and syrup I had for breakfast on a trip to Boise when I was barely out of high school in the mid-1980's.  That was the only time I got to know my cousin, Dale Clarke, and his sweet wife, Cindy at all.  I remember that she was expecting their first baby, Stephanie.  I don't think they knew she was a girl yet...  And I remember their dogs.  They had two Pit Bulls who were the most gentle playful dogs.  I always wanted to go back and spend more time in Boise and get to know these cousins but, like many things, life happened and I didn't get back until many many years later on short business trips.  Dale and Cindy had divorced and he didn't live there any longer and I didn't know how to get ahold of her or if she would even be willing to see me.  Just a few weeks ago, though, Stephanie and I made a connection via the magic of Facebook.  It's going to be fun getting to know her a bit and sharing memories and old family pictures that were taken or collected by my Mother.

I can't remember the name of the restaurant we ate at to even search and see, if by some miracle, it's still there or not but the image I have in my mind is that it was across a very busy multi-lane street from Boise State University.  It was in the parking lot of a hotel.  And late one afternoon there was a storm rolled in and according to the marquis at BSU the temperature dropped nearly 20 degrees in 5 minutes time. Aren't the goofy details that stick with you funny?  That's about all I remember about the place. That and the house-specialty syrup.  It was a pineapple coconut concoction that just blew my young mind.  And now that I've got the how-to part figured out with the blueberries and the oranges, one of these days I'm going to make some of that and call it Pina Colada Syrup.  Pineapple, coconut milk, a hint of lime and just a touch of rum flavoring... and serve it over pecan encrusted french toast.

Ok, so that's my backstory.  And I know you're here for the recipe, so without further digression...

Orange Syrup

Grate the rind (just the orange part, not the bitter white pith) from 4 oranges into a saute pan.  Add the juice of all four oranges and sugar to taste.  I think I used about 1 1/4 cups but that could vary slightly depending on the sweetness of the oranges.  Add 2/3 cup water, a pinch of salt and 3 tsp of cornstarch and bring to a boil.  Whisk constantly until it thickens then remove from heat and stir in 3 Tbl butter.  Let cool.  You can use immediately but it's best to let it sit in the fridge for 48 hours to get all the orangey goodness incorporated well in the syrup and then warm slightly before serving over pancakes, waffles or french toast.  Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.  Or just drizzle the syrup over ice cream...  This recipe filled a pint canning jar about 2/3 of the way.

Yum!!

Beef Barbacoa

August 2, 2014

Yesterday I tried something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and made Beef Barbacoa in my slow cooker.  It tasted perfect!  The only way it could have been better is if I could have started with the right cut of meat and been able to actually shred it.  But with stew meat in the freezer, and not a nice roast, I used what I had available.

Beef Barbacoa is a very simple dish to prepare.  Measurements are approximate because I eyeball stuff instead of dragging the proper tools out and assume about 6-8 pounds of meat are being used.  Simply brown your meat (cut the roast into manageable pieces) in a frying pan and then place in your slow cooker or crockpot.  Add a small jar of your favorite salsa and enough beef broth (or water and bullion or beef base) to submerge meat.  You don’t want it fully covered just submerged because you are going to, over the course of the day, cook off 90% of the liquid.  Heat on high until it is bubbling consistently then turn to low and let simmer for 6-8 hours.  A couple of hours before you are ready to serve, pull the meat out and shred it.  Return to the cooker with just enough brown sugar to cut the acid from the salsa and give a mildly sweet flavor to the remaining liquid.  Stir occasionally until dinner time.

I imagine a couple of you are mentally raising your hands with questions already… Yes, 6-8 pounds of roast is a lot of meat.  This is what I call a ‘Planned-Over’ kind of recipe.  What you don’t use right away can be frozen for quick meals later on.  And, yes, you can use pork roast if you prefer and it comes out just as perfectly delightful!

5 ways to serve Beef Barbacoa…

In a Mexican Style Salad
Place a big flour tortilla in the bottom of a large shallow bowl.  Add in this order:
Scoop of Green Rice (recipe at end of post)
Scoop of black beans
Scoop of Beef Barbacoa
A big handful of lettuce or mixed salad greens
Tomato and avocado wedges
Squeeze juice of ¼ lime over the top
A sprinkling of queso fresco
A few fried tortilla strips
Dress with ranch (or Google “Café Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing” for something absolutely drool inducing!)

In a Burrito
Place a scoop of Beef Barbacoa and a bit of shredded cheese on a large flour tortilla.  Roll up like a burrito.   Serve as is or top with Salsa Verde and grated cheese and place under the broiler until heated.  Serve with Green Rice, black beans, and salad greens on the side.

On an American Style Salad
Place a healthy serving of shredded lettuce or mixed salad greens on your dish.  Top with tomato wedges, grated cheese, thinly sliced red onion, a scoop of Beef Barbacoa and a handful of onion straws.  Dress with your favorite salad dressing and a drizzle of barbeque sauce.

On Southern BBQ Joint Mac ‘n Cheese
Go all out and make homemade Macaroni & Cheese with your favorite recipe.  Place a dinner-sized serving in a shallow bowl and top with a scoop of Beef Barbacoa, a drizzle of barbeque sauce, thinly sliced red onion, grated cheddar cheese, and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

In a Sandwich
Place a scoop of Beef Barbacoa in a toasted hamburger bun.  Top the meat with a bit of shredded green cabbage (or coleslaw if you like it) or a thin slice of cheddar cheese and onion straws.  Especially good served with potato salad and pickle wedges.

To make Green Rice, I put a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and add long cooking white rice.  Toast it over medium high until the kernels of rice become mostly opaque (the heat turns them from translucent to a creamy solid white and acts to set the starch so that the rice doesn't come out sticky).  Add chicken broth (or water and bullion or chicken base) to cover.  Don’t worry about having enough water to fully cook it at this point, you will add more later.  When it comes to a boil, add half a jar of Salsa Verde, a small can of mild diced green chiles and 6-8 roughly chopped tomatillos.  Cook until rice is nearly tender adding water as needed.  When it’s almost done, add the rest of the Salsa Verde, a handful of chopped cilantro, appx. 1 tsp cumin, and some chopped green onion or chives.  Test for salt.  Let sit covered until the last of the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender and fluffy.

Happy eating!

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Crispy Treats

Since the advent of Facebook and blogs and, especially, Pinterest... I've seen this same basic recipe in many dozens of places with about the same number of people taking credit for inventing the yummy bars.  I first learned to make them in High School, probably 1981.  It was a recipe shared by the new Home Ec teacher that year...   Her name was Cindy James. She was young, and cute and before we realized she was a teacher (barely 4 years older than most of us) all us girls were walking the halls trying to size up the new competition.  And, until the administration cracked down, she let us call her Cindy and not the more formal Miss James.

I've heard they don't teach Home Ec in school anymore... and, should that rumor be true, it's sad.  It was a great class to learn needed life skills and how to run a home and manage a family.

Cindy James' Scotcheroos
 Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly:
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Pour over 6 cups of crispy rice cereal.  Press evenly into a greased 9 X 13 cake pan.

Melt together 1 cup chocolate chips (milk or semisweet depending on your preference - mine is and probably always will be milk chocolate) and 1 cup butterscotch chips.  Spread over cereal mixture in pan.  Cool until chocolate is set then cut into bars.  Store airtight.

Inspiration picture from cookingclassy.com.

I've also pressed this into a loaf pan and cut as slices.  That is a pretty presentation on cookie plates at Christmas-time or for a party!

I wrote about them here not long after making them for Derek the first time.

But, you know, at my house these things must be tinkered with...  and tinker we have!

My first alteration to the recipe...
The first time I wanted to make them, Derek pulled faces and informed me that he doesn't like butterscotch.  So I started making them with just plain milk chocolate chips, using closer to 1 1/2 cups.  I still like the hint of butterscotch in them, but they are very good with just plain chocolate on top.

My second alteration to the recipe...
I started adding about 1/2 cup more peanut butter trying to get a slightly softer texture to the finished bars.  And I eyeball it since peanut butter is so icky to get out of the measuring cup and I'm 100% of always stuck with clean-up duty.

My third alteration to the recipe...
Cut 12-15 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into fourths and sprinkle over the top of the cereal mixture.  Melt 2/3 cup chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of the peanut butter cups.  (They look very much like the picture which was what inspired the addition of the peanut butter cups.  Proudly, mine didn't last long enough to get their portrait taken!)

The next requested alteration...
He wants more chocolate!  So we're going back to the melt 1 1/3 cups of chocolate chips and spread over cereal mixture.  Cut 12-15 miniature peanut butter cups into fourths and sprinkle over the top of the melted chocolate layer.

The Crawfish Boil

Do you call them Crawfish, Mud Bugs, or Crayfish?  All the same thing just depends, I guess, on where you are from.

Raw (live) crawfish pre-boil.
Photo courtesy of Deni Lynn Hall.

I remember my Dad pulling a few Crayfish out of Wolverine Creek when we'd go camping up there when I was a kid.  They were considerably bigger, at least in my memory, than those we had last night but they weren't something we ever ate.  I think I was aware that you could eat them, but we didn't.  I just played with them and brought a few home in a bucket of water to try to make into pets.  Poor tortured creatures...

This is how we spent Easter this year!!  Last night was my first boil.  Hard to believe I made it so far through life with virgin taste buds, huh?  It was really quite yummy!!  And I'm excited to do it again!

Photo courtesy of Deni Lynn Hall.

Using big pots that sit over a propane-fueled flame (think turkey fryer only twice as big - at least twice the size of ours) you mix up some peppery crab boil with water, beer or some combination of those liquids.  The brand name on the boil was Zatarain's.  Old Bay is another.  (And if I understand it all, Old Bay is more what you'd find in Maryland and Virginia and the more northern part of the coastal region while Zatarain's is a spicier New Orleans style boil.  Both are good, in my estimation, but the spices are a little bit different.)

Ready to peel and eat!
Photo courtesy of Dana Reynolds.

To your boiling liquid you add a few pounds of Crawfish, stir them around with a long wooden paddle, and let them cook.  Then they are skimmed out and left to cool until you can handle them.  You eat them by twisting the head off, and sucking the juice out of it, and then you peel back the first ring on the tail and devein it and using your lips and teeth pull the meat out.  They are delicious!!  But it's a lot of work for only a little reward...

Once the Crawfish are cooked, you do the vegetables, sausages and hot dogs.  We had a combination of whole red potatoes, corn cobettes, artichokes, carrot chunks, brussel sprouts, cabbage wedges, giant button mushrooms, and whole pineapples.  The pineapples were the biggest surprise to me!  And an insanely yummy item to include!!  They came out soft, sweet and tangy with just the occasional hint of saltiness and spice.  It was so unusual and unexpected and acted almost as a palate cleanser when the spice overwhelmed you from the other foods and you needed to cool your mouth down enough to feel your lips again.

Getting the veggies ready to cook.
Photo courtesy of Deni Lynn Hall.

We also had some raw veggies and bread and things like that to nibble and several different cakes and cookies for dessert.  And there was dancing and singing along to the music and games to be played and lots of talk around the firepit once it started to get dark.

Our host's backyard firepit... The big metal bowl
features fleur de lis cut outs.  This family are all BIG Saints fans!
One made this way is on my wish list for our someday backyard!
Photo courtesy of Deni Lynn Hall.

It was really a wonderful evening!

Cinnamon Rolls (no yeast dough!)

I tried a new recipe this morning.  The no yeast, and therefore no rising time, for the dough was intriguing when I came across it.  The bread part is a little different.  Not better or worse, really... just different than what you typically expect when you bite into a cinnamon roll.  (If I was really pressed to describe it, I guess I'd say it's somewhere between a baking powder biscuit and the more typical yeast bread in consistency... maybe leaning just a little more toward the biscuit side of things.)  But it is a lot less work to make them this way!  And it's good enough that I'll be using the recipe again!

Ingredients for Rolls:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus extra to roll out dough)
6 Tbl white granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or add 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to milk)
5 Tbl melted butter (divided)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for Cinnamon Filling:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
4 Tbl butter, softened

Ingredients for Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbl butter, softened
2 Tbl cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp milk

How to make the rolls: 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take a round or square 9 inch pan and either spray and butter generously.  Depending on how thick you cut the rolls, you might need a second pan.  I did.

In a small bowl mix all the filling ingredients and set aside for later.

Now, to make the dough: mix the flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Next slowly whisk in the buttermilk and 2 Tbl of the melted butter. Once it is mixed – the dough will look a bit sticky.

Take the dough and put it on a counter with some flour sprinkled out. Knead until it is smooth and then press dough out into a 9 by 12 inch rectangle. This doesn't have to be exact; just do it so that you have a good size piece of dough to work with.

Spread the cinnamon/sugar/butter mixture over the dough.  Be sure to get it clear to the edges.

Then take one end of the dough and start rolling it tightly. Once you have the dough rolled, cut the dough into evenly-sized pieces. Place them in the greased pan(s). Take the remaining melted butter (3 Tbl) and brush each roll with it. This will help make them look pretty.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.

How to Make the Icing:
Mix all ingredients except milk together in a small bowl until smooth.  Use the milk to thin to a pourable consistency.  This is a thicker icing and it will harden pretty quick. Let the rolls cool for a couple minutes then pour the icing evenly over the rolls.


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Note:  I originally found the recipe on the Facebook page Canning and Cooking at Home and made some modifications to make it both easier for me and a little more defined to my specific tastes. Above is the modified recipe.

Tater Skins

Not long after Derek and I first got together, he came home with 'snacks' one night that included a couple of boxes of TGI Friday's Potato Skins.  I was flabbergasted!  They're almost $5 a box and you get like 6 or 8 skimpy little pieces with hardly any toppings.

Flabbergasted, I tell you!

And so I set out to remedy his spendthrift ways...  well, that's another post entirely but I did manage to convert him to my home-made Tater Skins.  Which is very cool because he didn't even know you could make them yourself.  So he was very very surprised at just how much better they taste, too!

In case you didn't know how easy this little treat is to make, here's my step-by-step instructions.

First, you need to bake some potatoes and let them cool.  I just wash them, wrap in foil, pierce with a fork and bake at 350F until they feel 'done.'  Then I set them aside until cool.  (In all honesty, you can go ahead and make Tater Skins while they're still hot.  It will work.  But you'll burn your fingers and they tend to fall apart more.)  Next you want to cut them into pieces.

The beginning cuts are just to make wide slices.  These are Idaho Russet #1s.  I guess they're supposed to be what passes as a baker these days.  That's the hazard of growing up in Idaho's Potato Capitol... you know how big spuds can really get and that the puny little things in the grocery store are a far cry from it!  Anyway, I cut these average-ish sized potatoes into fourths crosswise.

Then I cut each piece in half so I got 8 Tater Skins from each potato.  Yes, they are sticky.  And yes, your fingers will be a nasty feeling mess after just a few.

I used a teaspoon from my silverware drawer to hollow out each piece.  Leave about 1/8" of flesh attached to the skin so you get pieces that look something like this.

The flesh you are scooping out of the middle... is great for potato salad, baked potato soup or to chill overnight and cut up a bit more to make hashbrowns for tomorrow morning's breakfast.  Hashbrowns are the destiny of these beauties!

Arrange in a baking dish.  These are going in the freezer for later so I've set them on foil inside a plastic freezer dish to make it easy to lift out later and set on a baking pan.

I sprinkled with a bit of Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning (use your favorite seasoned salt), a little sprinkle of grated cheese, some bacon bits and more cheese.  I'll fold the foil all in on itself, snap the lid on and freeze.  When Derek is ready to cook them for his snack, he'll just need to pull the foil out and open it up on top of a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350F until heated through and the cheese has just barely started to brown.

Here's the haul I made tonight with approximately $5 worth of ingredients... one heck of a lot more than the 6-8 little chunks from the TGI Friday's box!!

There's a pan for us to munch on tonight and 4 snack boxes for later on.

And here's how they look after baking and right before you pop one in your mouth.  (I ran out of bacon bits... so these just have cheese but you get the idea, I'm sure.)

Mmmm... happy mouth!

Gooey Cake

I love chocolate!

Really I do.  Except for those times that come up now and then when the mere thought of chocolate makes me want to gag.  That was tonight.  So for dessert I made a Gooey Cake.

Gooey Cake is also known as Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake (surprising since in her heyday she was the queen of butter and this recipe calls for only a modest single cube) and Chess Squares (no clue where that name comes from) and Texas Gold (maybe because most recipes start with a yellow cake mix?) and maybe a few dozen other things.  My point is that there are already dozens of posts on blogs and cooking websites about making this cake and so I'm not going to do step by step instructions.

Just show you a couple of pictures.  After all, I do want you to be tempted...  And I'm going to tell you that it is delicious!  And very gooey.

Perfect for a cold autumn evening!

And I'll give you the very very simple recipe.

Before we get started, you can choose any flavor of cake mix you want to use.  Yellow seems to be pretty traditional, but white works.  So does vanilla, lemon, strawberry, orange or even chocolate.  I used a white cake mix this time.

So... here we go.  Let's make some cake!

Gooey Cake

1 Cake mix
1 cube of melted butter (not margarine)
1 egg

Mix together to form a soft dough and press into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.  Fingers work great to press it into place.

Beat together until well blended:
8 oz cream cheese, softened and broken into small pieces
2 eggs
4 cups of powdered sugar
(add up to 2Tbl of cocoa powder if you are making a chocolate cake)

Pour over the top of the cake mix dough and bake at 300F for 45-50 minutes or until just set in the middle.  I tend to over bake... and it's still tastey, just not so gooey.  Let cool before cutting.  Enjoy!

Like I said, I used a white cake mix.  And while it is yummy all on its own, it would be even better with some sweetened sliced strawberries over the top or even drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Chicken Noodle... Chicken Noodle... Chicken Noodle Soup

Now sing it like this...

I've been craving Chicken Noodle Soup for months.  Even through the hot part of summer I wanted some.  But I just couldn't bring myself to pop open a can of Campbells...  I don't know why I put off making soup.  For some silly reason, I kept telling myself homemade soup was too much work.  But really it's pretty easy and fast to put together and doesn't require a whole lot of ingredients.   Yesterday, I finally gave in to the crave and made a big pot of soup.

And it is divine!!

One of the chief foods of the Gods I tell you!

And this is how I make my super simple Chicken Noodle Soup...

Start by dicing up your vegetables in same-sized pieces for even cooking.  You can use pretty much whatever vegetables you have and like - I had (and like to use) onion, celery and carrots.  I used a whole large onion, 4 ribs of celery and 3 carrots.

Then, because carrots are the hardest and therefore need the most cooking time of all my vegetables, I started to saute them in a couple of Tablespoons of butter.  When they were pretty well heated through, I added the celery, stirred it up and let that cook for about 5 minutes and then added the onion.  Stirring occasionally, I let that cook until the onions started to soften.

Next add water.  I'm gonna guess at around 8 cups to start.  And then I add one of my favorite kitchen staples:  Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base.  You can find it in most grocery stores, Amazon.com and directly from the manufacturer.  Just add it by generous teaspoonsful until the beginnings of the soup tastes good.  Soup will get saltier if you have leftovers in the fridge overnight, so show a little restraint and don't overdo it.  (If you do get carried away, you can add more water to bring that balance back.)

Bring the vegetable and broth mixture to a low boil, add 1 can of chicken (or about 2 cups shredded breast and/or thigh meat) and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add 3-4 cups water and about 1 pound of egg noodles.  You can use the dry pasta that's widely available or a freshly made, refrigerated or frozen egg noodle of your choice.  If you live in a market where it's available Grandma's Egg Noodles is an awesome choice!

Cook until pasta is tender.  And the soup's all done and ready to eat.

So... dip yourself up a bowl and enjoy!

Leftovers, first cooled to room temperature, can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.  It can also be frozen for later use.

See?  Not hard or really time consuming at all.