Warm Brussels Sprout Slaw With Bacon

3/4 lb thick sliced bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 lbs. Brussels Sprouts, thinly sliced in a food processor
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of garlic powder

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook cut bacon over high heat.Stirring until crisp, roughly 6 minutes. Drain bacon on paper towel and save bacon grease.

2. Melt butter into bacon grease

3. Add Brussels in batches if skillet not large enough to cook all of them at once. Add powders to Brussels sprouts. Cook for 8 minutes or until soft, but still maintaining the bright green color.

4. Place cooked Brussels sprouts in a bowl and sprinkle cooked bacon over sprouts and serve warm.




Photo: http://pinchmysalt.com/

Chicken & Dumplings

This is one of my go to meals. Colorado's weather in March bounces back and forth, one day 70 degrees out and the next day, snowing with the high of 20. Very hard to plan meals with this going on and I swear my teenager has a tape worm because he's always hungry and lately have not been making enough to fill his tummy. This is one of those meals that will leave the hungriest guy completely full.

Soup:

3 lbs of chicken thighs ( seems much but remember, you have bones)

4 cloves of garlic, just smashed enough to smell them

1 medium yellow or sweet onion

3 ribs of celery

4 carrots

1 tbsp of onion powder

1 tbsp. Garlic powder

1 tbsp. Salt

1 tsp. Dried basil

5 tbsp. Chicken bouillon, if using the cubes, only 3 of them, but I use better than bouillon's brand.

Dumplings:

1 ½ cup cake flour/ can us all purpose, but the cake flour makes the dumplings more "airy"

1 ½ tsp. Baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp of fresh herbs of your choice ( I like chives)

5 tbsp unsalted butter

¾ tsp sugar

2/3 cup milk

Instructions:

In a dutch oven boil water and place chicken in the boiling water for an hour to 2 hours, depending the thickness of the chicken. Trust me, boiling the chicken will give you the starter broth , and the most moist chicken you will ever taste.

While that is boiling, smash your garlic, dice the onion, slice the carrots and celery into bite size pieces.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, set aside until cool enough to handle and strain the “chicken water” with a fine mesh strainer and save the water, and put back into the pot. Bring back to a boil. You can use 2 forks to tear the chicken apart but I use my hands. Throw away chicken bones and skin. While destroying your chicken, place remaining ingredients for the soup into the dutch oven, return chicken meat into the same pot and cover. Boil until veggies are firm to add the dumplings.

Dumplings:

Sift all dry ingredients, finely chop your choice of herb/s, add the flour mixture. Melt butter and add to milk and mix with the dry. Mixture will thick like paste. I use a cookie scoop to add the dumplings to the soup, or a soup spoon will work fine. Don't make them too big or they will not steam correctly.

Bring the soup to a rolling boil, quickly add the wet dumplings to the soup and cover with lid. Takes 10-15 minutes for the dumplings to steam in the soup. DO NOT lift the lid while cooking, we want the dumplings to steam not boil, boiling them will make them dense and mushy instead airy.

The flour from dumplings should thicken the soup but for some reason it doesn't or you want it thicker, follow the directions for making gravy with corn starch and add until desired thickness.

Enjoy, and if any is left... wait for the soup to cool and refrigerate. Seems even better the second day but we never have leftovers. 

photo:modernskillet.com

Pepper Jelly

Makes 6- ,1 cup jars

2 Cups of each, red & green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

8 of your choice of hot peppers such as ghost peppers/jalapeños, seeded. (if you like it hotter, leave in some seeds)

½ tbsp. Unsalted butter ( this will reduce the foamy stuff that forms at the top when everything is said and done )

1 cup Apple cider vinegar

1 pkg. Fruit pectin

5 cups sugar

PLACE peppers in 6 qt. Sauce pot. Add vinegar. Stir in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE immediately into prepared jars. Keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks but if you're not going to eat that much jelly in that time frame, here is a great video on how to give your jellies a water bath to keep them fresh and sealed. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1jpyXPdCRE

Photo: Allrecipes.com

Caribou Lou

Now that halloween has gone and past and putting away the decorations, I see the "fall" decor and just sigh. The holidays are here. Between the holidays and football season, Food and drinks with friends are in our future. Every year other than the turkey for Thanksgiving and a prime rib for Christmas, I try to do something different or perfecting my dishes, but the one thing that I honestly don't think about is mixed drinks. Sure, wine and imported beer are great to drink with our dinners but I'm starting to get bored and want to step out of my comfort zone. My son is starting to listen to various types of music and rap (hip hop) has been one of them. I was searching for drinks when I heard Tech N9ne singing his song Caribou Lou and remember having it once at a comedy club a couple years ago and was mouth watering and strong, with that I decided that I was going to master this drink. After several attempts and a drunk husband, I got the ratio down.  1 oz equals one standard shot glass.


1 1/2 oz 151 proof rum
1 oz Coconut rum
5 oz pineapple juice

Shake well and serve with ice in a highball glass, add pineapple slice to glass for garnish. 

Pecan Pie Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 container of pre-made raw cinnamon rolls (8 to 12 count)

Filling:


3 eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
 2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray. Take cinnamon rolls and form a rectangle and flatten with rolling pin and cook until done 5 to 10 minutes depending on oven and altitude, so basically saying watch until desired crispness.
2. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, corn syrup, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons margarine, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. Spread the filling evenly over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set.
   
   Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into bars with a sharp knife and enjoy!                  Photo:justataste.com

Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread

I make these for the boys all the time. I prefer to use fresh blueberries but as winter comes along, finding tasty fresh berries are hard to find here in Colorado so I make due with frozen. I rinse them and sprinkle just enough sugar to give them a boost and let them thaw at room temperature. If the loaf actually lasts through the night, pop in the microwave for 10 seconds and it makes a tasty breakfast with coffee. Enjoy!






       For the yummy bread:
          ½ cup Salted Butter

       ½ cup Sugar

       1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

       2 whole Egg Yolks

       1 ¾ cup All-purpose Flour ( I like using King Arthur)

       ½ teaspoon Baking Powder 

           ⅓ cups Milk

       1½ cup Blueberries (If using frozen, make sure that you strained every       ounce of water otherwise it will take longer and meaning a burnt top.)

2 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
2 whole Egg Whites
¼ cup White Sugar
FOR THE FILLING:
8 ounces (1 package) room temperature Cream Cheese
½ cup Sugar
1 ½ Tablespoon Flour
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (optional)
FOR THE GLAZE:
2 Tablespoons Sugar
½ teaspoons Vanilla
1 teaspoon Water

For the bread:
Cream butter and sugar (1/2 cup) until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Add egg yolks (save the egg whites as you’ll need them later) to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine flour (1 1/2 cups) and baking powder. Add this mixture, alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture.
Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add them to the batter.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar small amounts at a time (1/4 cup), and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter.
Pour 1/2 of the batter (or a little less) into a floured and greased bread pan. Layer the filling over the batter and then finish with remainder of batter. This will create a layer of “cheesecake” between the blueberry batter.


For the filling:


In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, egg and lemon zest; beat until smooth. Set aside.


Glaze: 
 
Stir together the glaze ingredients and set aside.
Pour glaze over top of unbaked loaf and bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes.

Photo credit: thekeenancookbook.com

Sunday Football Corn Tempura

I make this about once a month during the year and even more during the winter season for football games. It goes well with a N.Y strip or fried chicken wings.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/3 COLD water or COLD soda water
2 ears of fresh corn kernels 

  1 Tbsp. white Sugar for when sweet corn is not in season. Canned corn can not be substituted. I've tried it, its just down right gross.

peanut oil, for deep-frying

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, egg and 1/2 of the water or soda water

Whisk in remaining water, small amounts at a time , to make thin batter. Stir in corn.

Heat oil to 375 degrees. Gently drop batter 3 Tablespoons or use a cookie scoop , into hot oil. Deep-fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towel-lined rack.

Photo: yelp.com

Maple Bacon Donuts

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup bacon grease, in solid form

2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (1 packet)

1/4 cup warm water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

12 ounces of all-purpose flour, plus a little extra if needed

vegetable oil for frying

8 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled

Add milk to a saucepan over medium-low heat and heat until just warm enough to melt the bacon fat. Place the bacon fat in a small bowl, the pour the warm milk over top and stir constantly until it’s melted. Set side to let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters), add water and yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes until foamy, then add in milk + bacon fat combo (it must be cooled) and turn the mixer on low speed. Add in the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg and half of the flour mixture, mixing on low speed until combined. Add the remaining flour, mixing on medium speed until combined. Remove the paddle attachment and replace it with the dough hook, then mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until dough pulls away from the bowl. Mine was a bit sticky, so I added in 3-4 tablespoons of extra flour until it became smooth. Remove from the mixer, add to bowl rubbed with vegetable oil, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Once risen, place dough on a floured workspace and roll until about 3/8 inches thick. I also kneaded in another tablespoons of flour or so here, just so the dough was smooth. Using a biscuit cutter (or something else round that works for you), cut out circles of dough, then using a small lid (I used a washed Tabasco lid, ha!) or knife, cut out the center. Place donuts on a baking sheet, cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 more minutes.

Heat oil a large pot, making sure it is 365 degrees. Add donuts 2-3 at a time, frying on each side for about 1 minute, and flipping with a spider or slotted spoon. Remove and let drain on wire rack placed above a paper towel. When finished, dip in maple glaze then roll in bacon. Serve immediately!

Maple Bacon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon bacon fat, melted

1 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well until a glaze forms.

Photo: jocooks.com

Denver Omelet

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped cooked ham 1 medium green pepper
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease round baking dish.
Melt butter in skillet over med-lo heat. Add onion and cook until soft, add ham, cook 2 minutes more.
Beat eggs and milk in bowl. Stir in cheese and add veggies and ham. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to prepared dish.
Bake 20 minutes or until top is puffy and brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Photo:spiritmountain.com

Egg & Cheese Breakfast Burrito

1 flour tortilla (6-in.)
1 egg

1 Tbsp. shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 Tbsp. salsa

Line 2-cup microwave-safe cereal bowl with microwave-safe paper towel. Press tortilla into bowl. Break egg into center of tortilla. Beat egg gently with a fork until blended, being careful not to tear tortilla.
Microwave on HIGH 30 sec.; stir. Microwave until egg is almost set, 15 to 30 sec. longer.
Remove tortilla with paper towel liner from bowl to flat surface. Top egg with cheese and salsa. Fold bottom of tortilla over egg, then fold in sides.

Courtesy of The incredible edible egg™

Bacon-Cheddar Breakfast Muffins

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. quick cooking oats
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 eggs
1/4 c. applesauce
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (2 oz.)

1/4 c. finely-chopped crisp-bacon

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 375°F. Mix flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pepper in large bowl.

Beat eggs and applesauce in medium bowl until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in cheese, bacon and parsley. Spoon evenly into 12 greased 3-in. muffin cups.

Bake in 375°F oven until tops are lightly browned and spring back when tapped with finger, 15 to 20 min. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 min.; remove from pan. Serve warm or cool completely

Courtesy of The incredible edible egg™

Sara Lee's Crumb Cake

2 cups sifted cake flour
2 cups light brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg well beaten
1/2 cup additional flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup milk

Mix sifted flour, sugar and margarine until crumbly. Set aside 1/2 cup.

To the remaining crumb mixture add remaining ingredients as given above. Beat well with mixer on low speed. Spread evenly in a greased 8-inch square pan.

Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top and bake at 350 degrees for
35 to 40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Dust warm cake with powdered sugar before cutting.

Photo: sweetpeabaking.com

Sara Lee's Pound Cake

                                                        

1/2 pound real butter
1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons dry powdered milk
1 2/3 cups cake flour
½ teaspoon lemon extract and vanilla

1 teaspoon corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8 1/2-inch loaf dish with Pam and lightly floured.

Cream butter with sugar on high until light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and powdered milk;set aside. Add 1 egg and then a little flour, beating 2 minutes. Add 2nd egg and half of remaining flour and beat 2 minutes. Add sour cream, rest of flour and extract, beating 2 minutes.

Spread batter evenly in dish. Bake for 65 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Remove from dish. Slice 1/2-inch thick.

Photo: farsnotoria.blogspot.com

McDonald's® Biscuits

makes 8 biscuits

2 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and divided

2 cups bisquick baking mix

2/3 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

preheat oven to 450 degrees

combine all ingredients excepts 1 tablespoon of butter. Mix until well blended.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 30 seconds or until dough becomes elastic.

Roll dough out ¾ inch thick and punch out biscuits using a 3 inch cutter. Arrange biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet, bake for 10-12 minutes or until the biscuits are golden on top and have doubled in height.

Removed biscuits from oven and immediately brush each one with remanding butter, serve warm and enjoy. 

 

Photo:McDonald's® Original recipe: scribd.com

Eggs Benedict

FOR THE HOLLANDAISE:

12 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 egg yolks

2-3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

FOR THE EGGS:

Salt

4 eggs (made over easy, see video below)

2 English muffins, split

3 Tbsp. butter

4 slices Canadian bacon

For the hollandaise: Melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Whisk egg yolks, lemon juice, 1 tbsp. water, and salt and pepper to taste in a heavy, nonreactive saucepan until pale yellow; then cook, whisking constantly over medium-low heat, until whisk leaves a trail in eggs, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add butter 1 tbsp. at a time, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens; gradually pour in remaining butter, whisking constantly, leaving milky solids behind.

Toast English muffins either in oven at 200 degrees /F or in a toaster. Toast to how you prefer, and yes, it has to be English muffins, nothing else seems to absorb the yolk and sauce. Melt remaining butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Fry bacon until browned, about 5 minutes. Place bacon on muffins.

With leftover grease in bacon skillet fry eggs over easy. 

 

Assemble each sandwich like so, muffin,bacon,egg,and then hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle smoked paprika if desired. I always make more muffins to clean my plate with the leftover sauce.

Picture:Saveur magazine, #114

Orange Pecan French Toast

      1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup chopped pecans
12 (3/4 inch thick) slices French bread or Texas Toast Bread
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg whites
6 eggs

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, melted butter, and corn syrup. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish, and spread evenly. Sprinkle pecans over the sugar mixture. Arrange the bread slices in the bottom of the dish so they are in a snug single layer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, egg whites, and eggs. Pour this mixture over the bread, pressing on the bread slices to help absorb the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Remove the cover from the baking dish, and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

Originally created by allrecipes.com

photo: foodnetwork.co.uk

Raspberry Diamonds

For the cookies:

11-1/4 ounces  (2-1/2 cups) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon  cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon  table salt

8 ounces  (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1/2 cup  granulated sugar

2 tablespoons  confectioners' sugar

1 large  egg, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon  pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon  pure almond extract

6 tablespoons  raspberry jam (I prefer seedless)

For the almond glaze:

1 cup  sifted confectioners' sugar

  Pinch table salt

1 tablespoon  plus 1 teaspoon water

1/4 teaspoon  pure almond extract

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cream of tartar and salt until well blended. With a stand mixer (use the paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into six equal pieces. If the dough is very soft, wrap each portion in plastic and refrigerate until firmer, about 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and have ready two large ungreased baking sheets (or line them with nonstick baking liners). If the dough is in the refrigerator, remove it and unwrap it. Using your hands or a rolling pin (or both), shape each piece into a flat 12x1-1/2-inch strip about 1/4 inch thick, dusting with flour if needed. Transfer the strips to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart.

Using the butt end of a knife handle dipped lightly in flour, make an indentation down the middle of each strip (this will widen the strip to about 1-3/4 inches and make a depression about halfway down into the strip). Spread 1 tablespoon of the jam evenly down the indentation of each strip.

Bake until the cookie strips are lightly browned on the bottom and edges, about 20 minutes. Let the strips cool on the sheets on racks for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to racks to cool completely (a long offset metal spatula is good for this). Before glazing, set the rack over a baking sheet or a sheet of waxed paper. If you plan to freeze these cookies, do it before glazing.

In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar with the salt, water, and almond extract. The glaze should be thick enough to hold its shape when drizzled; add more confectioners' sugar or water if needed. Using the tines of a fork, drizzle the glaze over the tops of the cooled cookie strips. (Or transfer the glaze to a sturdy zip-top plastic bag, snip off a tiny bit of one corner of the bag and drizzle.) Leave the cookies on the rack until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes, and transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each bar on the diagonal into 1-inch-thick diamond shapes.

Store at room temperature or freeze (unglazed) in an airtight container, separating the cookie layers with waxed paper.

From: Fine Cooking Magazine