Sun-dried Tomatoes ToTry

Posted on by June 3, 2020

From IFAS Here.

Sun-dried tomatoes can add a deep, tangy flavor to your cooking. You can buy them at the grocery store, but it’s more fun to grow your own. Plant plum or pear-shaped tomatoes since they’re best for drying.

Once they’re ripe, wash and dry the fruits and cut them lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds but leave the pulp. You can dry the tomatoes outdoors on racks in just a few days. Tent them with cheesecloth and be sure to bring them in each night. Another option is to sprinkle them with salt and put them in a 140 degree oven for six hours, leaving the door cracked so air can circulate.

Once fully dry, store your tomatoes in an air-tight bag in a cool, dark place. Putting them in the refrigerator or freezer can help them stay red.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-sun-dried-tomatoes-1808065

Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich ToTry

Posted on by June 3, 2020

Chicken Banh Mi

To make this Vietnamese-style sandwich, we quickly pickle carrots and cucumber in lime juice and fish sauce and season a rotisserie chicken with the same flavors. Sriracha mayonnaise gives the sandwich a spicy kick.

INGREDIENTS

2 carrots, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a box grater
½ cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin
1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 5 tablespoons juice (3 limes)
¼ cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 (2 1/2-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
½ cup mayonnaise
5 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
4 (8-inch) sub rolls, split lengthwise and toasted
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Combine:
    • carrots,
    • cucumber,
    • 2 tablespoons lime juice, and
    • 1 tablespoon fish sauce in bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
  • Combine:
    • sugar,
    • remaining 3 tablespoons lime juice, and
    • remaining 3 tablespoons fish sauce in large bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved.
    • Add chicken and toss to coat.
  • Whisk mayonnaise, Sriracha, and lime zest together in separate bowl.

Assembly

  1. Spread mayonnaise mixture on roll bottoms.
  2. Divide chicken mixture among rolls and top with:
    1. pickled vegetables (leaving liquid in bowl),
    2. cilantro

Paella in a Skillet ToTry

Posted on by June 3, 2020

Inspired by The Mediterranean Dish.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1.5 to 3 lbs seafood or sausage
  • Water
  • 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cups medium-grain rice, soaked in water for 15 to 20 minutes and then drained
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 large pinches of Spanish saffron threads soaked in ½ cup water
  • 1 tsp sweet Spanish paprika
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp aleppo pepper flakes – Substitute is Ancho Pepper or Chipotle Pepper
  • Salt
  • 2 large Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 6 oz. French green beans, trimmed
  • 1 lb prawns or large shrimp or your choice, peeled and deveined
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large pot, bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add the shrimp and let boil very briefly (1-2 minutes) until pink. Turn the heat off. Remove them, cool and shell.
  2. In a large deep pan or cast-iron skillet, heat 3 tbsp olive oil. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the chopped onions. Saute the onions for 2 minutes then add the rice, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring regularly. Now add the chopped garlic and the shrimp cooking water. Stir in the saffron and it’s soaking liquid, paprika, cayenne pepper, Aleppo pepper, and salt. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and green beans. Bring to a boil and let the liquid slightly reduce, then cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
  3. Uncover and spread the shrimp over the rice, pushing it into the rice slightly. Add a little water if needed. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until the shrimp turns pink.

My Thoughts: The shrimp will be bland with no seasoning and sitting on top of the rice. Need to boil them with salt and cook the rice with salt.

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken & the Meal

Posted on by June 1, 2020

5/28/2020 – The chicken in this great meal was inspired by TheMediterraneanDish.com. Mary made the marinaded chicken breasts and veggies and we grilled them on the Weber Kettle. The chicken was very flavorful and the grilled fresh zucchini, pattypan squash, and corn on the cobb from our garden were fantastic. Served it with our version of Ina’s Tazaki Sauce.

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Skillet Corn Bread & Ground Beef

Posted on by May 27, 2020

INGREDIENTS 9 Servings

This recipe was inspired by one at Zatarian’s web site here. This is close to that one but we made a lot of changes. It turned out good and resulted in a lot of leftover meals.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onion with extra greens from the garden
1 Tbsp of 6 POGS [should have been 2]
2 cans of Rotel. One was the original and one was Mild.
1-1/2 cup fresh corn from the garden
1 box Zatarain’s® Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread Mix
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup Half & Half milk
2 extra-large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown ground beef in large skillet on medium-high heat. Drain fat. Add onion; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until translucent.

Stir in 6POGS, Rotel, corn and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir Cornbread Mix, 1 cup of the cheese, milk and egg in large bowl just until moistened. Drop spoonfuls of batter over meat mixture. Cover. Cook on medium-low heat 15 minutes or until cornbread is cooked through.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and green onions. Cover. Cook on low heat until cheese is melted.

Next Time

  • Add jalapenos and/or more 6POGS
  • Try Creole Seasoning pus Cayenne instead of 6POGS

Bacon/Bread Wrapped Pork Willington ToTry

Posted on by May 21, 2020

This was inspired by the video and recipe by Rouse’s Chef Nino we watched May 20, 2020.

INGREDIENTS

  • Pork tenderloins, 2 lbs
  • Creole Seasoning
  • French Bread
  • fresh rosemary, finely cut
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 pounds bacon, thinly sliced
  • 1 whole garlic bulb, cloves peeled and finely chopped
  • 10 sage leaves, finely chopped
  • Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Season tenderloins with Creole Seasoning. Cut the bread loaves to the length of each tenderloin. Remove some of the soft interior of the bread, leaving a shell of crust.
  3. Place each tenderloin inside a hollowed-out loaf. Distribute rosemary and sage under and on top of each tenderloin.
  4. Spread half of the chopped garlic on top of each tenderloin. Wrap the loaves with bacon slices. Place the loaves in a roasting pan.
  5. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake the tenderloin loaves for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Take out of oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut each loaf into individual slices to serve.

Alabama Fire Cracker ToTry

Posted on by May 17, 2020

Here’s the story behind this Southern snack.

Ingredients

16 oz. package of saltine crackers
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. (about 2 packages) ranch dressing mix
3 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 cups olive oil

Instructions

1. Using a large gallon Ziploc bag, pour in the olive oil, seasonings, and spices. Close the bag and knead to thoroughly mix the ingredients together.

2. Place all 4 sleeves of crackers in the bag, re-seal, and gently turn the bag over several times to coat the crackers with the spice mixture. The more times you do, this the better the coating.

3. Let the bag sit overnight.

4. Remove crackers and lay out on a baking sheet. Bake at 250°F for about 15 minutes.

From a different chef:

RANCH DRESSING MIX INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Measure ingredients into a blender or mini food processor. Blend/pulse a few times until slightly broken down and well combined. Transfer the mixture to a small jar or other airtight container. Shake the seasoning mix well before measuring it out.

Use 1 1/2 tablespoons Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix as a substitute for a 1-ounce store-bought packet in recipes calling for dry ranch seasoning.

Cabbage Chicken Medley

Posted on by July 26, 2021

4/6/2020 – This dish is truly our creation and not inspired by anything other than we still have half a refrigerator of cabbage and some chicken legs that need to be cooked. Mary liked the idea of chicken cooked with the cabbage and proceeded to create a great dish in her large blue enameled dutch oven.

Ingredients & Process:

  1. 10 large chicken legs, skinless & seasoned with 6POGS & our Creole Poultry Seasoning.
  2. Bacon pieces sauteed with a large onion, chopped coarsely, and red pepper flakes.
  3. Brown chicken legs in the saute pan then remove.
  4. Add:
    1. bacon grease as needed to saute 3 carrots and 2 stalks of celery cut into 1/2″ pieces.
    2. about 1-1/2 C leftover precooked rice that needs to be used.
    3. 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs
    4. Ina’s chicken stock as needed
    5. 2 average heads of our homegrown cabbage chopped
  5. Let it “cook down a little bit” then return the chicken.
  6. Salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Served topped with fresh green onions from the Yard Garden.
  8. Added our corn from the freezer and served as a leftover.

Next Time:

  • Add corn to the original mix
  • Add cabbage closer to the end of the cooking time so it maintains its firmness; i.e. does not become mushy.

German Kraut in a Bucket Twice

Posted on by April 24, 2020

4/5/2020 – Today we bottled the first kraut we made in the briner bucket and, with a refrigerator full of cabbage, we decided to make a German-style ferment the same way. The ingredients are based on ferments we did while in Houston with a few tweaks and refinements.

We targeted having about 5,000 gm of cabbage to yield three 1/2-gallon jars of fermented kraut. Developed a worksheet in a spreadsheet file using the ratios cited below. Weighted out and mixed in the following.

GERMAN STYLE – OUR RECIPEgms
Cabbage5,422
Caraway Seed – 2 gm per 1,000 gm cabbage10.8
Juniper berries 2 gm per 1,000 gm cabbage10.8
Mustard Seed – 6 gm per 1,000 gm cabbage32.5
Canning Salt – 1.6% of the cabbage86.8

The briner bucket was about 75% full when first assembled but wilted down a lot. The mix had a salty taste but not as much as seawater.

Filled the 1-gallon zip-locks with water, weighted them, and added salt to make a 1.6% brine in case they leaked.

4/23/2020 – Tried it out of the bucket and it is great. Bottled it into three 1/2-gallon jars and a quart jar. When that was done we made another batch with the same cabbage that has been in the outside refrigerator. We cleaned, weighted, and cut up 12 heads.

Second batch in a bucket, 4/23/2020gms
Cabbage5,732
Caraway Seed – 2 gm per 1000 gm cabbage12
Juniper berries 2 gm per 1000 gm cabbage12
Mustard Seed – 6 gm per 1000 gm cabbage34
Canning Salt – 1.6% of the cabbage92

Daikon Radish Fermented Coins

Posted on by July 17, 2020

3/23/2020 – Used large daikon radishes from the garden pulled 2 weeks ago to empty the row. They have been in the veggie drawers in the outside refrigerator. We fixed them two ways in two 1/2 gallon jars. On 7/16/2020 we found the 1/2 gallon with the red peppers had a white mold layer on top of the ferment and weight. Threw it out. See the earlier evaluation below.

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