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.

Continue reading →

Sauerkraut w/ Carrot, Dill, & Lemon – No.1

Posted on by March 24, 2020

3/22/2020 – This was based on the recipe development for kraut with dill and lemon that we liked a lot. We added grated, peeled carrot we like in kraut and hope for a winning combination. The carrot and cabbage were prepared in the food processor.

We only had three heads of Early Flat Dutch Cabbage from the 60 ft. of row planted. But, per SESE, it is good for kraut so we made it separately from the Early Jersey Wakefield that produced great.

We knew what the right amount of carrot “looked like” when mixed into the cabbage so Mary put that much (a large handful) and I weighted it. The carrot amount was a little less than 7 parts cabbage to 1 part grated carrot. So, that will be our ratio for this ferment. The recipe is:

  • Cabbage – 2,415 gm from 3 heads of Early Flat Dutch Cabbage
  • Carrot – 358 gms – 1 part carrot to 7 parts cabbage
  • Lemon juice – about 1 tablespoon to 400 gms of cabbage+carrot.
  • Canning salt at 1.7%

Notes:

  1. The cabbage did not include the core and was sliced with the slicer blade in the food processor within 2 hours of harvest.
  2. The carrots had been peeled then grated in the food processor.
  3. The lemon juice was freshly squeezed.
  4. Made 2 half-gallon mason jars filled correctly; i.e. not too high.
  5. Had saved brine from a Daikon Radish spear ferment and added a tablespoon to each jar as a starter.
  6. The next morning the brine had risen to the top of the cabbage/carrot mixture. Topped them off with 1.7% salt water.

Buffalo Sauce ToTry

Posted on by June 7, 2024

Inspired by https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/buffalo-chicken/

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 stick butter 1/2 cup, or 8 tablespoons
  • ½ cup Louisiana style hot sauce – Franks Red Hot
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1 teaspoon paprika, smoked Spanish
  • ½ teaspoon granulated garlic or more to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Adjust heat with Cayenne.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Sauce

From https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/219109/buffalo-chicken-wing-sauce/

Who Invented Buffalo Sauce?

Teressa Bellissimo, owner of Anchor Bar, [in Buffalo NY] invented Buffalo sauce in 1964. At the time, chicken wings were usually thrown out or used to make stock for soup. When Bellissimo’s son asked her to prepare a late-night snack for his friends, she deep-fried the wings and tossed them in a buttery hot sauce. Thus, Buffalo wings (and Buffalo sauce) were born.

Ingredients

? cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot®)
½ cup cold unsalted butter
1 ½ tablespoons white vinegar
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
? teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste

Directions

  1. Combine hot sauce, butter, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, garlic powder, and salt in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer while stirring with a whisk.
  2. As soon as the liquid begins to bubble on the sides of the pot, remove it from heat, stir with the whisk, and set aside for use.

Buffalo Deviled Eggs – https://www.almanac.com/recipe/buffalo-deviled-eggs

50 Foods to Buffalo

Smoked Thighs & Legs

Posted on by March 8, 2020

3/5/2020 – Smoked cleaned pieces from a 10 lb. bag of leg quarters in the MES with Amazen pellets. This is the second smoke at the farm as the new shop provides a good setup and power. They did not have much flavor and we blamed the creole poultry seasoning for being too mild for this dish. Mary made it into chicken salad and that was good.

Continue reading →