Month: November 2010

Super Easy Sloppy Joes

I was browsing through my collection of favorite recipes and came across my sloppy joe recipes. Does anyone make these anymore? I haven’t for years, but I am going to soon. They are so easy and good. It’s the perfect sandwich for a crowd or drop-ins. I am going to give you 2 recipes, these are the ones I like. The instructions are the same for each recipe.

Recipe #1 Ingredients

  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 12 ounce bottle chili sauce.

Recipe #2 Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 10 1/2 ounce can chicken gumbo soup
  • 3 Tablespoons ketchup, add more if needed
  • 1-2 Tablespoons mustard

Directions
Brown hamburger and onion. Add remaining ingredients and heat through. Serve on hamburger buns. Delicious!

The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Turkey
Turkey
My daughter’s friend, Phil, prides himself on cooking the perfect Thanksgiving turkey and he has kindly shared his recipe with us. He has combined several recipes and techniques to create this favorite and perfect recipe. I have made it the last 2 Thanksgivings and it is indeed perfect.

Brine

  • 2 gallons water
  • 2 cups kosher salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup dried tarragon
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper

Injection Solution

  • turkey neck/wings
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 cube butter
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 stalks celery leaves

Stuffing

  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 medium apple
  • 1 medium orange
  • 1 medium lemon
  • fresh poultry seasoning (rosemary, sage, & thyme)

Brine the turkey
Boil water then add all other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and let cool completely. Pour brine into large tub or cooler. Gently add the turkey. Let the turkey bask in refridgerator for 24 hours or overnight. Remove turkey from brine, rinse and gingerly pat dry.

Inject the turkey
Simmer turkey neck/wings, water, butter, garlic power and celery for a few hours. Strain. Allow to cool before injecting. Using a kitchen syringe, inject the living daylights out of the turkey making sure to adequately inject the meaty areas of the turkey.

Stuff the turkey
Stuff turkey with quartered onion, apple, orange and lemon and poultry seasonings. You may not have enough room for all the ingredients. Just wing it!

Roasting Instructions
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush turkey breast with butter then set turkey breast side down on greased foil lined V rack. Brush back of turkey with butter. Roast 45 minutes. Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven: brush back with butter, rotate turkey leg-wing-side up. Roast 15 min. longer.

Remove roasting pan with turkey from oven, brush exposed surfaces with butter and rotate turkey breast side up. Reduce oven temp. to 325. Roast until thickest part of breast registers at 165 and the thickest part of thigh registers 175. Baste periodically with butter and/or drippings.

Remove turkey from oven. Let rest 20 minutes before carving.

Nani Tip

The only thing that I do differently is that I make my favorite stuffing and stuff my turkey with it.

Country Pasta with Mozzarella

This is a simple recipe that was a family favorite of my youngest daughter. She would frequently request this dish and I was glad to comply since it was so easy and she would happily eat the broccoli.
Try it… it is kid tested and family approved!

Be sure and buy your spices at [ad#Myspice Hyperlink]. Always a free spice and free shipping over $40.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces rigatoni, cooked
  • 8 slices bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
  • 2 cups brocolli flowerets
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions
Cook bacon in a 10″ skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until bacon is browned. Reduce heat to medium and add broccoli and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until broccoli is crisply tender. Add rigatoni and remaining ingredients, except parsley. Stir and cook until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley. I like to serve this right in the pan. It is colorful and makes a nice presentation.

Nani Tip
Substitute a can of beans (black, pinto, garbanzo, etc) for the bacon and make this a vegetarian dish.

Categories
Bread Machine

Soutine’s Rosemary Whole Wheat Bread

This is my all time favorite bread machine recipe. I got this recipe from the first bread machine cookbook that I bought at least 15 years ago and it is still my favorite bread machine cookbook. It is nice little book called “The Best Bread Machine Cookbook Ever” by Madge Rosenberg. I love the rosemary flavoring with the whole wheat.
I have made this bread more times than I could possibly ever count. It always turns out perfect.

Ingredients for 1 1/2 lb loaf

  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup bread flour
  • 2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 Tablespoons wheat bran
  • 1 Tablespoon dried rosemary
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons water

Directions
Add all ingredients in the order suggested by your bread machine manual and process on the basic bread cycle according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Nani Tip
I always watch my dough as it starts mixing and add water or more flour as needed to form a nice soft dough that is not sticky and just slightly pulls away from the pan.

No Bake Pioneer Bars

Here is another favorite recipe from my Mom. After you read the ingredients you will see where it got it’s name. These are good and hearty and maybe somewhat healthy.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups peanut butter
  • 1 cup nuts, chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 2 Tablespoon butter

Directions
Mix the peanut butter, nuts, powdered sugar, rolled oats, vanilla, and 4 Tablespoon melted butter. Press into a 9×13 inch pan and chill. Melt the chocolate chips and the 2 Tablespoon butter over a double boiler (or use microwave). Spread on top of first layer. Chill and cut into squares.

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Bread
This is a favorite recipe for pumpkin bread that was from my Mom’s collection of recipes. It always turns out moist and yummy.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup oil (my Mom always used corn oil)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of each: cloves, allspice, cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup raisins or dates
  • 1/2 cup nuts

Directions
Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together. Stir in the pumpkin and then the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour @ 350 degrees.

Frijoles Charros

Frijoles Charro

I found this recipe in the Penzey spice magazine and have made it several times and shared it with others. It has become a favorite recipe for Mexican flavored beans. I really love this recipe. The credit for it goes to Chris Kraft of Tucson, AZ. It is a delicious combination of flavors that really works. This recipe introduced me to epazote, a Mexican herb. Apparently it has been used in Mexican cuisine for thousands of years and dates back to the Aztecs. It is said to relieve the gassiness that can be created from eating beans. Not sure if it works, but I have been adding it to some of my Mexican dishes and soups and do enjoy the flavor it adds. Also I have made this without the bacon, creating a vegetarian version of these frjioles.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pinto beans, dry
  • 14 cups water, divided
  • 1 Tablespoon dry epazote
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 fresh chili peppers, roasted and chopped (like Anaheim, pablano,red chili, jalapeno)
  • 4 strips thick bacon
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
Place the beans in a large pot with 7 cups of the water. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered for 1 to 3 hours. Pour off the cooking water, rinse the beans and add 7 cups of fresh water, epazote, garlic and half of the chopped onion. Simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hour.
Add the salt for the last 30 minutes.
Roast the chili peppers in a 400 degree oven until the skin browns and bubbles. Let cool, peel off the skin, discard the skin and seeds, and chop the peppers. Set aside. While the beans are simmering, fly the bacon until almost crisp. Remove the bacon from the frying pan and drain the fat from the pan. Add the olive oil and when the oil is hot, add the remaining 1/2 of onion, tomato, garlic, and roasted pepper. Cook for 1 minutes. Now add to the beans along with the bacon and cilantro. Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Categories
Cookies

Magic 6-in-1 Cookies

Baking Supplies
Baking Supplies
I ran across this old favorite recipe recently and thought I would share it. It is a good recipe to have on hand during the Holidays. Also it is a great recipe for using up those little dabs of ingredients that aren’t enough to do much with.
Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup butter, slightly melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cup (14 ounce can) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all of the above ingredients and blend thoroughly.
Now for the fun part, choose 1 1/2 cups of an item or combination of items from the list below or anything of your choosing. Also you can divide the batter and add different ingredients to each portion.

  • any flavor baking chips (chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, etc)
  • nuts
  • raisins
  • cornflakes or other cereal
  • dates
  • coconut
  • dried fruits
  • M&M’s
  • sunflower seeds

Drop cookies by level tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Remove from baking sheet immediately.

Old Fashioned Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is another of those oldie but goodie favorite recipes. It was given to me by my son’s best friend’s mother. Easy to understand why they spent so much time at his house.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 can (15-16 ounces) sliced pineapple, drained
  • maraschino cherries
  • pecan halves
  • 1 yellow cake mix, prepared per package directions (can use drained pineapple juice for liquid)


Directions
Melt butter in a 13×9 inch pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Next arrange pineapple slices over that. Place one cherry in center of each pineapple ring. Arrange pecans around pineapple. Carefully pour cake batter evenly over fruit. Bake as directed on cake mix or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in middle. Invert pan onto plate, let pan set for a few minutes before removing. Serve warm with whipped cream.