Recipes

[DDSK]

Items heat in the microwave better if you make a hole in the food in the middle of the plate, basically make a ring with your food around the edge of the plate, leaving the middle empty. Geeezzz...can't even make Chef Boyardee right.

Well actually that was one of my wifes recipes.
I have been the official cook in the family for 34 years.
I still have never followed a recipe in my life.
My wife has bought me some pretty neat cook books and asks how I can memorize the recipes as I never open the book when I'm cooking.
I just use the recipes for ideas I like to do things my way.
I made some awesome venison Tacos with home made tortillas the other night that was fantastic.

 

[ruthcatrin]

"Instant" Broccoli Cheddar Soup


The original version of this recipe comes from a book called Meals In a Jar by Julie Languille. I was given it for this past Christmas. The recipes have required some tweaking. For one thing all of them are set up to produce 8 servings, and there's only two of us in the house. For another we have different tastes in seasonings etc.


So, here's my version of this recipe. It produces 2 servings (or one big serving with 2nds or left overs), and all the ingredients except the liquids will fit into 1 wide mouth pint jar for easy storage.


Into the jar put:
3/4cup of dehydrated broccoli
1/4cup dehydrated onion
1/4cup dehydrated diced potato
3tsp of chicken soup base or bouillion


Give the jar a firm tap to settle it all into the bottom of the jar so that there's plenty of space left on the top.


In a "snack size" ziplock type baggie place:
4tsp of sour cream powder
4tsp of flour
1/8cup of KAF Vermont Chedder Cheese Powder


Squeeze the air out of the baggie as you zip it closed and tuck it into the top of the jar. If you plan to have these jars on the shelf for some time tuck a dehydrator packet in the top as well. Close up the jar.


To make the soup:


In a good sized sauce pan combine 1/4cup of milk with 2 3/4 cup of water with the dehydrated vegis and bouillion (set aside the powder filled baggie for later). Simmer till the broccoli is tender. At that point mix in the powder from the baggie and stir till thickened.


If you're so inclined you can then puree the soup, but we eat it as is, and often add in some pre-cooked (home) canned chicken breast right before the soup is done cooking.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Copycat Red Lobster biscuits

• 2 cups self rising flour
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder - divided
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cold milk
• 3/4 cup butter, melted - divided
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp parsley flakes

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, old bay seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder, sugar and salt. Pour in 1 cup of cold milk and 1/2 cup(1 stick) of melted butter, stir with a sturdy spoon to combine. Add the cheddar cheese and stir to incorporate.
• Scoop with an ice cream scoop or two spoons onto a silicone lined (or parchment lined) baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Combine the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter(4 tbsp), 1/2 tsp garlic powder and parsley in a small bowl. Brush on top of each biscuit when it comes out of the oven. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

These are awesome, I've made two batches so far......

 

[ruthcatrin]

Been a while!

I've been on the search for a bagel recipe that actually produces bagels. I've not had a lot of luck with it. Most of them turn out tasty but they're not bagels. Obviously I'm doing something wrong, but while I keep searching I make do with other things. Like the home-made soft pretzel recipe I posted earlier in this thread.

Last time I made it I substituted half the salt for 1/3rd cup of KAF Vermont Cheese Powder. My goal was a cheesy pretzel. And they didn't turn out quite as cheesy as I'd hoped, but instead the resulting pretzel turned out to make an awesome sandwich bun. The only downside is the standard pretzel shape doesn't do well in the toaster and can be hard to cut in half to make a sandwich.....

And I thought, the only reason they're shaped like pretzels is because the recipe told me too. There's no reason I can't shape them like bagels (shaping them into a roll would drastically change the cook time).....

They just came out of the oven a little while ago, and while they're still not BAGELS, they're really really tasty, and not hard to make.....

 

[AKBull]

I made these last night.
Bacon, eggs, heavy cream, spinach, herbs and cheddar cheese.

 

[ruthcatrin]

oh yum!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Easy Homemade Ice Cream without an Ice Cream maker, in less than 15 minutes

1-quart sized ziplock

In it put:
1 cup of cream (or half and half, or even regular milk)
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (or flavor of your choice)

seal the small ziplock (squeeze the air out best you can) and put it in:

1-gallon sized ziplock bag (I recommend a freezer bag, they're sturdier)with
enough ice to half fill said bag (took about 2.5 trays for me) and
1/2 cup of salt (rock or other “chunky” salt works best, but I understand table salt works too)

Seal the gallon ziplock (you don't actually want to squeeze all the air out, just some of it) and “shake it for 5 minutes”. Since my hands are cold sensitive I basically just kept flipping it over and over and over.

At the end of 5 minutes pull the smaller bag out and rinse off the salt (don't forget inside the lips of the seal! But don't actually open the bag!) with cold tap water. If you want to mix in chocolate chips or fruit or something, pour them into the ice cream bag, seal it back up, and squish it around to mix them in. Put the ice cream bag into the freezer for 5 minutes while you clean up the mess from the ice, and refill the ice trays.

At the end of 5 minutes pull out of the freezer and enjoy!

For decadent chocolate ice cream replace the cream with whole fat chocolate milk but still include the sugar and vanilla.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Home-Made Spicy Brown Mustard

based off of Alton Browns Best Mustard Ever Recipe (but yah, I modified it a bit, cause thats how I work)

1/4 cup dry mustard powder
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup mustard seed

In a small, microwave-proof bowl whisk together the dry mustard, brown sugar, salt, turmeric, paprika and garlic powder.

In a separate container, combine the white wine vinegar, water and red wine vinegar and have standing by.

Place the mustard seed into a spice grinder and grind for a minimum of 1 minute, stopping to pulse occasionally.

Once ground, immediately add the mustard to the bowl with the dry ingredients and add the liquid mixture. Whisk to combine.

Place the bowl into the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and puree with a stick blender for 1 minute.

Microwave for 1 minute intervals till its the consistency you prefer.

Pour into a glass jar or container and allow to cool uncovered. Once cool, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Alternatively it can be canned in a water bath canner (process for 10 minutes for 1/4 pint jars) and stored for much longer periods of time. Doubling the above recipe makes 6 1/4 pint jars if you boil it down to the right consistency.

 

[ripnlee]

Marshmallow Cheesecake

Base- 2 packets scotch finger biscuits (shortbread)
Melted butter

Filling- 2 x packets of Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 x bags of marshmallows
1/2 Cup cream
When set crumble grated chocolate or whatever you desire lol
'
Method- Prepare base, put marshmallows into a microwave safe bowl for 45 sec or until melted and mix well to blend (marshmallows rise & melt quick), fold in 'combined' philadelphia and sugar lastly the cream and pour into base and refrigerate.

Prepare to be sick lol its delightful!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Can you say sugar high lol

 

[QY10]

Chicken pot pie soup is a fall/winter favourite in my house.

The recipe is quite long, so I will just post the link. They offer a from scratch version (which I always use) and an "uber easy" version.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipes - Back to the Cutting Board

 

[QY10]

Maple Brined Apple Smoked Turkey (I have also used this recipe with chicken)

1 (4 pound) turkey breast, bone-in
6 bay leaves, rinsed
6 sprigs thyme, rinsed
6 sage leaves, rinsed and slightly bruised
1 carrot, diced
1 small to medium white onion, diced
1 cup good quality maple syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 head garlic, 1/4 inch cut off from the top
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, slightly crushed
Applewood chips, soaked for at least 30 minutes
Place turkey breast in a large stock pot, and add just enough water to cover. Place all ingredients into the stock pot, and stir until well incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 to 24 hours.
Heat the Big Green Egg (or smoker of your choice) until it reaches a stable temperature of 225 degrees F. Add the wood chips when the coals are hot. Place a disposable drip pan underneath the turkey. Cook the turkey, skin side up, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F (about 1 hour per pound).

http://rx4foodies.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/maple-brined-apple-wood-smoked-turkey-breast-on-the-big-green-egg/

I may have deviated slightly from some of the measurements when I did my own.

 

[voidecho]

BBQ'd some bacon wrapped meatloaf and then made my Mac 'n Cheese (recipe was earlier in this thread), but smoked it a bit this time.

Meatloaf was just ground pork, ground beaf, three eggs, worcecheshire sauce, sauted onions and garlic, bread crumbs and bbq rub mixed together. Then put more rub on exterior after forming. Then put on bacon weave. Smoked it for a few hours until about 160 internal, then put it in 500 degree oven to crisp up bacon. Glazed with bbq sauce and put back in oven for a few more minutes. I should have pulled it off the smoker at 150. Next time.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Yum!

 

[QY10]

That looks delicious!

What type of wood chips did you use for the smoke?

 

[voidecho]

Oak and Apple....I used big chunks on top of charcoal.

 

[QY10]

I made this at work the other weekend. It's a vegetarian cassoulet.

Rather than thyme, I used fresh rosemary from my garden.

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/vegetarian-cassoulet-a-hearty-alternative-to-turkey/

 

[ruthcatrin]

Another Quick and Easy Cinnamon Roll recipe.

From here: Home on the Range: Flash in the Pan - Quick Cinnamon Rolls

Generously grease a 10x10 or similarly sized pan. 8x8 is to small. Or, I have a "big muffin" tin (6 to a pan instead of 12 for the same size pan) that worked very well for this.

Preheat oven to 425

Mix up the filling and set it aside:

3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Penzy's vanilla sugar (or sub regular sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Cardamon (or Nutmeg)

(alternatively use King Arthur Flours Cinnamon Roll Filling mix, which is to DIE for, 3/4cup does it just fine)

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set it aside

Mix together 1 1/4 cups of milk with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or white vinegar) and set aside

mix together:

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking POWDER
1/2 teaspoon of baking SODA
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Spread additional flour onto your flat work surface, so that its ready, and add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stir till its shaggy but still sticky. Dump it out onto the work surface and knead it till its smooth (its sticky! Remove rings etc first!). It should only take about a minute of kneading but you may have to add extra flour. Don't over knead though!

Put a little more flour down under the dough and pat out into an approx 8" by 12" rectangle.

Brush about half the melted butter onto the surface of the dough.

Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on the surface of the dough, leaving about 1/3" around the edges without sugar.

Starting at one of the narrow ends, roll the dough up into a log and slice into no more than 6 slices (these don't rise much, so if you cut them smaller they're going to stay small). Set into pan so that they're barely touching each other, not squished.

Bake for 11 minutes, immeadietly brush with the remaining melted butter, and then put them back into the oven for another 12 to 15 minutes, till golden brown.

Remove from oven and immedietly remove from the pan (I recommend onto a plate rather than a cooling rack though).

While they're cooling mix up the icing as follows (this is NOT the icing recommended in the linked recipe):

1 1/4cups of powdered sugar
1/4teaspoon of vanilla
1/4cup of heavy cream

Put the vanilla into the cream before adding it to the sugar. You may need to add additional cream to the mix to get that soft slightly runny texture thats ideal for cinnamon roll icing. Just keep mixing adding a little at a time till its perfect.

These are best hot, but if you bag them up while cool they're still plenty tasty the next morning.....

 

[ruthcatrin]

30 minute Dinner Rolls

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose is fine)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm water, oil, yeast, and sugar. Allow the mixture to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Mix 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the egg into the yeast mixture using a dough hook. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup at a time. (a bread machine on the dough setting would work too, or just do it by hand)

Shape dough into 8-12 balls and place in a buttered 9x13 pan. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are just golden brown. It might have been the size of my pan (which is a bit smaller than called for), but mine took an extra 10 minutes to cook all the way through.

These make AWESOME sandwich rolls. The olive oil comes through flavor wise, and works very well with every sandwich combination I've tried.