Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples and Cranberries

I think I've mentioned this before, but in case I haven't or you missed it, we have a fabulous meat market near our house.  We buy all our meat there! It's reasonably priced, humanely raised and we know we're supporting a small business.  All of their meat has such a great flavor to it! I've never had anything from there that I didn't enjoy.  Perhaps one of my favorite things they have is their stuffed pork chops and I really can't tell if its because they're stuffed.....or if its just their pork chops are that dang good!

Most times I'll cook my pork chops on an electric skillet.  The chops are pretty big and I don't have to worry about uneven cooking or fitting them all into my largest skillet on the stovetop.

Drizzle some EVOO on the skillet, sprinkle some garlic powder, pepper, salt and paprika over the tops of the chops.  Toss them in the skillet, turning once after about five minutes on one side.  Then put a lid on it.  Let them cook on their own on medium/high heat.

Chop up some tart apples--today I used Gala apples.  Depending on how many people you're serving will depend on how many apples you'll need, obviously.  Cut up four tablespoons of butter.  Place butter and apples in large sauce pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and about a tablespoon of brown sugar.  Cook on mediume heat for about 10-12 minutes, then add some cranberries.  Let the cranberries cook down;stirring every once in a while. 

The Ultimate Cookie Tray

Cookies, candies, oh my! If I could, I would open up a restaurant and specialize in baked goods.  Its really what I love (God help me!), pastries, pies, you name it! I have a few favorites I make every year for the cookie trays that I take to the holiday family functions.  I'll also link a few of the other blogs I've written in the past on fudge and various cookies.  Hopefully this will be your one stop shop in the holiday baking department!

Lets start with.....

Divinity. These lovely feather light candies are rarely seen, but they're quite phenomenal.  Hints of vanilla with a crunch of nut...to die for.  Here's what you'll need.

2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup of water
2 Large Egg Whites
1 tsp of vanilla
2/3 cups of chopped pecans

Cook sugar, syrup and water over lowheat.  Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved.  Continue cooking without stirring until 260* is reached on a candy themometer.

In separate bowl, beat egg whites to hard peaks, then beat in syrup mixture into egg whites.  Beat approximately 10 minutes.  Add vanilla.  Beat until it holds shapes.  Fold in nuts.

Drop from buttered spoon onto wax paper, let stand 5 hours. 



Cookies:

This whole section is dedicated to the cookie.  I've linked in the chocolate chip, egg free chocolate drop cookies, russian tea cakes and PB cookies for convience as well.  But here are two of my favorites!

Double Chocolate Dreams:
5 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
1/2lb of semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into four pieces
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups plus two tblsps flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Melt the unsweetened chocolate and 4 oz of the semisweet chocolate and butter in saucepan.

Using a whisk, beat eggs and sugar for 10 minutes.  Add vanilla and melted chocolate; mix until well blended.

Fold in remaining ingredients and remaining chopped chocolate.  Refridgerate 1.5hours.  By spoonfuls, drop cookies onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350* for 15minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet for five minutes before moving to wire rack.

Cut outs:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tarter

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and almond extract and egg in large bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and refridgerate for at least two hours.

Lightly grease cookie sheets.  Preheat oven to 375*.

Divide dough in half.  Roll 1/4 inch thickness on well floured surface.  Cut and bake 7-8 minutes.  Remove cookies immediately and let cool before frosting.

Sugar Cookie Frosting:
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 tsps milk
2 tsps corn syrup
1/4 tsp almond extract ( I also know folks that use vanilla, or lemon extract)

In small bowl, stir together sugar and milk.  Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing smooth and glossy.  If you want a thicker frosting....add more sugar.  Want a thinner one? Use 1 tsp milk and 1 tsp corn syrup until you get to your desired consistency.

Peanut Butter Bars:
1 1/2 cups of crushed graham crackers
1 stick of butter
1 lb of powdered sugar
1 cup of peanut butter

1 stick of butter
12oz chocolate chips

Mix PB, 1 stick of butter, graham crackers and powdered sugar.  Press firmly into a 13x9 pan.

Melt 1 stick of butter with the chocolate chips.  Pour over top.  Refridgerate until firm.  Cut into bars.

Gingerbread Men:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup of shortening
1 1/2 cups dark molasses
2/3 cup cold water
7 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water in large bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  If your batter looks too crumbly, try adding some water and beat with a mixer.  It should be somewhat stiff, but not crumbly. 

Cover and chill for 1.5 hours.  Roll 1/4 inch thick, cut, place about two inches apart from each other on the cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  A good rule of thumb with these, is if you can touch them and there isn't an indentation left, then they're done.  They need to have just enough give to them as they seem to keep baking even after they come out of the oven.  Cool on a wire rack. 

A little note with this recipe, you will have PLENTY of dough for a few dozen gingerbread men and even a small house.  So don't double it unless you've got a lot of gingerbread lovers in your home.

 Snickerdoodles:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tblsps sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a medium mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda and cream of tarter.  Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour as you with the mixer.  Grab the heavy duty mixing spoon....stir in the remaining flour.  Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Combine the 2 Tblsps sugar and the cinnamon.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat.  Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375* for about 10 minutes until they're lightly golden on the edges.  Remove from sheet and let cool on wire rack.

Clothes pin cookies/Mini Cream Horns (My Favorite!)
These are a slight pain to make, but well worth the effort.  If you have no self discipline, click that tiny X at the upper right hand corner and don't ever come back to this post ;) But if you're like me and have no shame....here you go...

About 100 wooden clothes pins, the old school ones, without the metal springs.

Pastry:
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 cups shortening

Filling:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 tablespoon vanilla

CRUST: Mix flour, salt, powdered sugar, and butter for pie dough; then add beaten egg and water to mixture. Roll on a floured surface and spread 1 cup shortening on top of dough, fold up and place in fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out dough again on floured surface and spread remaining cup of shortening on top, fold and place in fridge for 2 hours. Roll out small batch of dough on floured surface (I divide dough into fourths).Cut into 6 x 1/2-inch strips and spiral wrap around clothes pins (overlap the dough, don't leave spaces).Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 12-15 minutes at 370°. Remove from clothes pin while still warm (about 5 minutes after taking from the oven) to prevent breakage.
FILLING: Place all ingredients in bowl, mix well.Use a piping bag or cookie press to fill each cooled cookie. Dust with powdered sugar.

Links to more holiday baking goodness!

Russian Tea Cakes: http://sixdirtydishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/russian-tea-cakeswedding.html

Chocolate Chip Cookies: http://sixdirtydishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Fudge: http://sixdirtydishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/fudge-chocolate-and-peanut-butter.html

Peanut Butter Cookies: http://sixdirtydishes.blogspot.com/2012/11/peanut-butter-cookies.html

Egg Free Chocolate Drop Cookies: http://sixdirtydishes.blogspot.com/2012/09/egg-free-chocolate-cookies.html

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of my favorite things!  It goes on pretty much everything! Crackers, bagels, sandwiches....and it keeps for about a week in the fridge!  This stuff is packed with protein! It can be scaled to your liking.  Some like a lot of mayo with the chicken salad, others not so much.  So make it how you like it, but this is my basic recipe.

4 chicken breasts, boiled finely shredded
Half jar of sweet or dill pickels...or both!
1/2 cup of mayo
5Tbslps of mustard
6 hard boiled eggs roughly chopped

Boil up your chicken and eggs.  Finely shred and chop the chicken.  I have one of those biscuit cutters with the handles that works really well for this! If not, a pastry blender works great too! Shell the eggs, and chop those up with the chicken.  Add the pickels and chop.  Add mayo and mustard to taste.  This makes a pretty decent sized bowl so its great for lunches for the kids!

Chili

My oh MY do we love us some chili around here! Chili is one of those things that gets better with reheating, am I right? And its a budget friendly meal that can be converted a thousand different ways. 

Chili mac...


Chili dogs.....


Chili cheese burritos.....


Ok enough Bubba Gump.....


You can, as always, take out or add depending on your tastes.  I like it on the spicey side.  I've even tried the Pioneer Woman's version of adding Masa flour to thicken it and give it a sweetness.  You really just can't go wrong with it.  I'll get to the point now.


2lbs of lean ground beef
3cans of kidney beans, strained and rinsed
1 yellow onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 jalepeno peppers, seeded and flesh removed to taste
1 green bell pepper, chopped and seeded
1 tomato chopped
3 tsps of cumin
3tsps cayenne pepper
3Tblsps of chili powder
1 can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups of water

In a large stock pot, combine ground beef, onion, garlic, jalepenos, bell pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder.  Brown and crumble ground beef.  The fat should mostly cook off.  You shouldn't have to do much straining if you're using lean beef.  If you're not, then strain the fat.  Its okay if you have some.  Add water, beans, tomato and tomato paste.  Let it come up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Garnish with sour cream, cheese or whatever you're into!

If you would like to try the Pioneer Woman's version, instead of adding just the water.  Place water and a 1/4 cup of Masa flour in a measuring cup.  Whisk it around to get the lumps out.  Then add it to your beef mixture with the rest of the ingredients.  The Masa will give it a sweet flavor. 

Pico and Tacos

I learned to make Pico a long time ago.  Its the most amazing stuff ever.  I prefer it over salsa any day of the week. I use it in tacos, add on top of chicken, even mix it in with some huevos in the morning.  YUM!  Super easy, makes a good size batch and if stored correctly ( I store mine in a glass mason jar) it stays fresh for a couple weeks.

1 red onion, finely chopped
6 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
4 jalepeno peppers, finely chopped
The juice of one lime

Seed and chop your tomatoes.  Place in a bowl.  Add onion, cilantro and peppers.  Mix with hands to get it all incorporated.  Squeeze out the juice of the lime and mix with hands again.  Flavors always depend on the vegetables you're using, depending on the maturity of the vegetables, their breed, the time of year...etc.  So if you want a little more kick...add more pepper.  Not onion-y enough? You know the drill!

I use Pico to flavor the taco meat instead of seasoning from a package.  I think it tastes so much better and has more of an authentic flavor.  So, if you're making tacos, this time I did chicken tacos.  In a large skillet over medium heat, add two tblsps of EVOO with a few spoonfuls of the pico.  I assure you, its all the flavor you'll need! Occasionally, you'll be able to find enchilada queso or queso blanco.  I like to add that onto the tacos instead of the usual cheddar cheese.  Any kind of white queso is going to improve Mexican night at your house.  Guarnteed. 

Tonight I rolled these up and baked them to get all the cheese melted.  Not exactly a burrito, taco or enchilada....still...amazing.

Lasagne

Call me crazy, but I hate the no boil noodles they have for lasagne.  I just don't think they have enough gusto! So, I do it the old school way.  I boil those bad boys! Naughty noodles! Getting sidetracked....

Let's make lasagne!


1 box of lasagne noodles....I guess if you really wanted to I'll allow no boils
I used some pureed spaghetti sauce I had canned from the summer, but they do sell crushed tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano that works wonderfully here too!
1/2 pound of ground italian sausage
1/2 pound of ground beef
1 container of ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese has worked well too!)
1lb of shredded mozzerella cheese (or if you can find the combo cheese packs-mozz,provalone, romano and parmesean those are handy!)

Boil up those noodles up.  Brown the sausage and ground beef.  Set aside.  Strain the noodles.  In a 13x9 pan, layer the noodles first, ricotta, meat, sauce then cheese.  I like to use a layer of two noodles, but you can do whatever.  When you have it assembled.  Cover with some foil.  Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Remove foil, check progress.  Yours might be done a littler earlier! If not, let it go for another 15.  Always keep an eye on it, as our ovens most likely run at different temps!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Oh do I love mac and cheese! The good kind, not the box kind.  I could seriously eat a whole pan of this stuff.  I made this to keep in the fridge for the week/weekend.  I'll heat some up in the morning and throw it in the thermoses for the kids to take in their lunches.  Its a nice little break from the soup. So here's what you'll need....

1 box of macaroni ( I use whole grain)
1lb of cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of flour
2 tsp of ground mustard or to taste
some ground black pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups of milk
1 egg, beaten
half stick of butter
1/4 cup of your choice of bread crumbs

Cook your macaroni according to the package.  Strain and set aside.  In a large stock pot on medium heat, place butter and flour in.  Whisk together until butter is melted being sure not to burn the flour.  This will be the thickener for the sauce.  Add milk.  Heat to a low boil, whisking occasionally.  Beat the egg in a separate bowl.  Scoop out about a 1/2 cup of the milk mixture.  Slowly add the half cup to the egg and gently stir.  This makes the egg rise to a warmer temperature, so that when you add it to the pot, you won't have a scrambled egg!  When egg has been tempered, add to the pot.  Add seasoning, then cheese.  Stir  until cheese has melted.  Add macaroni and stir to coat.

Transfer mac and cheese to a buttered 13x9 inch pan.  Top with some bread crumbs(panko works great!).  Transfer to a 400* oven for about 20 minutes. 

Garlic and Parsley Seared Sea Scallops

This can be an extremely elegant meal if you want it to be! Its incredibly simple and can be used as a main dish or appetizer, or even to accompany a steak! I like to pair scallops with honey glazed carrots and a romaine salad.  Glass of Chardonnay? Don't mind if I do! See what I was saying about elegant?

Peel and grate 4 cloves of fresh garlic into a large skillet, drizzle a couple tablespoons of EVOO, 1 tablespoon of butter.  Give it a quick stir over medium heat.  We want the garlic to be evenly distributed.  Finely chop some fresh parsley and sprinkle over the top of the pan.  You'll only need a couple tsps.  No need to be exact here.

I have two lbs of sea scallops.  Those are the big fellas.  You may or may not need to remove the muscle.  I didn't have to remove mine.  Bonus!

Add your scallops to the pan.  Cook on each side about ten minutes, maybe a minute longer or so depending on the size of the scallop.  A good way to tell if your scallops are done cooking, is they should give a slight bounce back when you poke them.  If they feel mushy, keep cooking.  These are phenomenal!

Easy Like Sunday Morning Sausage Gravy

I often make biscuits and gravy when the hubby is home.  I have my own biscuit recipe posted in the blog somewhere that is simply fabulous! I was a slave to the package mix for a long time, until I figured out how incredibly easy it was to make gravy on my own.  So this morning....ok 11am...I finally made myself some breakfast and pulled the recipe out the arsenal.  I like my gravy with lots of pepper and sausage.  So the recipe is totally adjustable, but this is the base.

About 1lb or more of sausage
1/3 cup of flour plus a couple tsps if needed
2 cups of milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, crumble and brown the sausage.  Add flour and gently stir in the milk on medium heat.  Salt and pepper.  Let cook until gravy has reached desired thickness. 

 

Enjoy :)

"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"- Jim Brickman

Russian Tea Cakes/Wedding Cakes/Snowballs/Sandies

The many names this cookie takes on is incredible.  Anytime I tell someone what kind of cookie this is I have to go down the list until one of them clicks inside their mind that this is the amazing powdered sugar coated, nut filled delight!! These are excellent for cookie trays AND they're egg free for those of you with egg allergies.  Great for cookie trays!

What you'll need:
1 cup of butter, room temp
1/3 cup of sugar
1tblsp of water
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups of flour
1 cup of chopped pecans (I've used walnuts with similar results)
1 cup of powdered sugar for rolling.

In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth.  Add all other ingredients and mix well.  Preheat oven to 325.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls or 2 inch logs.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.  Cookies should hold their shape for the most part.

After cookies are done baking, let them cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  They should still be a little warm when you roll them in the powdered sugar. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The chocolate chip cookie made its debut in the 1930's ( a little useless trivia for your day!), what people did before chocolate chip cookies I'll never know.  The only conclusion I can draw is that they lived very sad, meaningless lives.  All hail the chocolate chip cookie.  So here's a recipe so that you don't have to suffer like those before us have.

1/2 cup of shortening
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and shortening.  Add sugars, baking soda and vanilla.  Then add the two eggs.  Stir in the flour until well combined.  Then stir in chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 for about ten minutes. 

Cranberry Sauce

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope you all are enjoying spending time with family and are looking forward to turkey! We are having Thanksgiving dinner, so I am able to ease into the meal prep.  I did a lot of it last night, greatest thing I ever did!  But in case you have some cranberries that you're not sure what to do with and are looking through cook books and websites trying to figure out what would taste good here's a quick recipe for awesome cranberry sauce!

2 bags of cranberries
The juice of two oranges or about a 1/4 cup of OJ
2 tsps of sugar

In saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar and juice over medium heat.  Cranberries will begin to pop as they're heated.  Give them a few stirs to make sure the bottom isn't burning.  And there you have it.  Cranberry sauce.

Buttered Herb Swirl Bread

Holy amazing bread batman!! Makes two loaves, bread has a hint of sweetness to it, with all the good things about herbs and garlic involved.  Great for the holidays or to spruce up a weeknight dinner of spaghetti!

Here's what you'll need:
4-5 cups of bread flour
2 1/4 tsp of dry yeast
1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/4 cups of milk
1/3 cup of butter, cut up
2 eggs
1 tsp of salt

For the gooey part:
A few tsps of dried oregano (and you're free to use whatever other herb you'd like, or add to this)
a few tblsps of softened butter
some garlic powder

*I'm really lax about the filling, as you can swap it out, amp up the flavors by adding more of the garlic, but you get the basic idea, right?*

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt.  In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to about 120 degrees.  Add the milk to the dry ingredients, add eggs and beat by hand until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Knead by hand for about 10 minutes to get all the flour incorporated.  Let rise in a warm place for about an hour.  When doubled, punch down and divide into two portions.

In a small bowl, combine the filling.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle.  Spread butter and herbs.  Then starting at the shortest side, furthest away from you, roll up.  Pinch the seams close, place in a heavily buttered loaf pan, seam side down.  Let rise for about an hour.  These loaves will most likely NOT rise up above the top of the loaf pans. 

Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes.  Let cool completely before slicing!

Lemon Squares

I love lemon.  Lemon cake, squares, candy...whatever.  Its the most amazing thing ever! These are a brighter dessert that you can make or take to your Thanksgiving get together.  Really easy to make too!

Here's what you'll need:
1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 stick of butter, slightly softened
1 cup of brown sugar, light packed
1 cup of oats
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cups of lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.  Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.  Add oats and flour to butter mixture and mix to combine.

Press most of crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice and zest.  Spread on top of the oat mixture.  Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture. 

Bake 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool for at least a half hour before cutting into squares.  Serve cool

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

I grew up on a broccoli cheese casserole that was to die for.  It was made at every holiday and there was rarely any left.  And because this isn't made all the time...its ok that some of the recipe is processed.  Instead of rice, we're using crackers.  Oh my!

You'll need:
3 lbs of broccoli (or a mixture of broccoli and cauliflower) cut into florets
2 lbs of velveeta
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
3 sleeves of ritz crackers (I've used club crackers and it turns out great too!)

Preheat oven 350.

Place all the crackers in a ziploc bag and crush.  You want a few bigger pieces. Set those aside.

Add broccoli to boiling water for about one minute just to get to a flemsy consistency.  Strain and set aside. 

Cut the cheese (ha!) into chunks, add to large pot with milk, cream, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Melt, stirring occassionally, until melted through.

Add broccoli to cheese, then add half the cracker crumbs.  Sitr to combine, then pour mix into a buttered 9x13 pan.  Top with remaining cracker crumbs, then sprinkle the top with some pepper. 

Bake for 15-20. Eat and enjoy and try not to go hide in shame!

Clover Rolls

My Grandma Isom used to make these around the holidays and occassionally for Sunday dinner.  They're easy to make, minimal kneading and they look cute! You'll probably get about two dozen (give or take) out of this recipe. 

Here we go....

4 cups of milk
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil
9 cups of flour
2 packages (4 1/2 tsp) of active dry yeast
1 heaping tsp of baking powder
1 scant tsp baking soda
2 Tblsp salt

Pour 4 cups of milk into a stock pot.  Add one cup of sugar and 1 cup of vegetable oil.  Stir to combine.  On medium heat bring the mixture just below a boil.

Before the mixture boils, turn off the heat. Let it rest and cool for about 20 minutes. When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add in 4 cups of flour and the yeast.  After the yeast and flour are well incorporated, add another 4 cups of flour.  Stir together and allow to sit, covered with a towel for an hour.  After about an hour it should have almost doubled.  If it hasn't changed much, put it in the oven on WARM for about 45 minutes.  When the dough has doubled, add another cup of flour, the baking powder, basking soda and the salt.  Knead into the dough until well combined.

Butter 1 or 2 muffing tins.  Taking small piece of dough, roll them into balls about the size of walnuts, add three of these walnut sized dough balls into the muffin cup so that they resemeble a clover leaf.  When all your muffin cups are full, cover with a towel and allow to rise for 1-2 hours, or again, you can add these into your warmed oven if you want to expedite the rising time. 

Bake at 400 until golden on top, for about 20 minutes. 

 

 

Fudge-(Chocolate and Peanut Butter)

Fudge is one of those things that I really had to perfect.  My mom and grandma always made it around the holidays, then when I got older I attempted and failed too many times!! And then, I perfected it.  This is a curse and a blessing, as sometimes I really get a craving for fudge.  Knowing how to make it, is that much more dangerous.  Its very important that you follow this recipe to a T as candy making is an art form all in its own. 

Here's what you'll need:
Large stock pot
candy themometer
1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
4 cups of sugar
1 can of marshmallow cream
1 stick of butter
1 can of evaporated milk
lined (either with aluminum foil or wax paper) 13x9 pan

To make things easier, if you don't have an extra set of hands, I always scoop out my marshmallow cream and add the chocolate chips to a bowl so that I'm not having to work as hard to get the cream out of the jar.  You need to be quick as sometimes the fudge can start setting up quickly.

In the large stock pot on medium heat (not too hot, you don't want to scald your sugar), melt the butter.  Add in the evaporated milk and sugar.  Stir gently.  Place your candy themometer in the pot.  Bring to a boil of 260 for 10 minutes.  Its important to maintain that temperature.  If it looks like its getting higher, give it a quick stir to get the temp back down.  Once you've reached 10 minutes, remove heat and quickly add the chocolate chips and marshmallow cream.  Once the heat is removed, the formation will start to take place.  Vigorously stir in the cream and chips until all of the cream has melted.  Pour this mixture into your lined pan.  Let stand for 1-2 hours. 

After the fudge has set up, you can remove it with the foil or paper, flip it upside down and cut into squares. 


For the Peanut Butter fudge, you'll follow the same directions as above, only instead of a whole stick of PB you're going to need just a half stick.  Compensate the other half with a half cup of PB.  The PB fudge is usually softer.

Baked Potato Soup

This is the perfect time of the year for soups. They warm the soul and are easy on the budget.  I've made this a few times now and it always turns out so wonderfully.  I like to leave the potatoes a little chunky so it has more texture to it.  But, as always, you can do it your way and make it as creamy or as thick as you'd like.

Here's what you'll need:
about 6-8 medium sized potatoes
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
8 slices of thick bacon, chopped
2 tblsps of butter
5tbslsps of sour cream
1/4-1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the potatoes and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake until potatoes are cooked all the way through.  Your cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes.  Usually it takes about a half hour for me.  When potatoes are done, let them cool for about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooling, in a large stock pot over medium heat, add butter and chopped bacon.  Cook bacon to tender crisp.  Remove from pot and leave the drippings in the pot, reduce to low heat.

After the potatoes are cooled enough for you to handle, cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides with a a spoon.  Discard skins.  Over low heat, add the potato into the pot.  Give it a quick stir to get all the potatoes lightly coated in the drippings.  Gently mash the potatoes, add milk, stock, sour cream and salt and pepper at this time.  Turn heat to medium, cover and let cook for 10 minutes.  Add bacon and cheese into the pot and stir gently. 

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

One of my favorite parts about holiday meals is the stuffing!  There are so many different kinds, for instance, my husband's mom's side of the family makes a TO DIE FOR stuffing that includes ground beef.  Its amazing. 

This is one I started doing a couple years ago.  Its pretty simple and goes well with poultry and pork.  Here's what you'll need!

half loaf of wheat and a half loaf of white bread, let it sit on the counter overnight to get stale
1/2 cups of dried or fresh cranberries
3 granny smith apples, cored and chopped-you can sub your apple here, just be sure its a sturdy, tart apple (honeycrisp, gala...)
4 tablespoons of butter, divided
1/2 cup of stock(chicken, turkey, veggie...)
2 tsps of dried sage
1 tsp of dried thyme
2 cups of water

Between your butter and stock, you don't need to add any extra salt. 

With a sharp knife, cube your bread (and really you want it to be pretty stale so its able to soak up those juices without turning to mush.

In a small saucepan, add one tablespoon of butter.  Add apples and cranberries.  If you're using fresh cranberries, be sure to keep an eye on this as when the cranberries heat, they pop and then you'll end up with something looking like a cranberry sauce.  And we'll get to that another day ;) You want your apples to soften slightly.  Stir the cranberries and apples as they cook, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit.

In a larger saucepan, add the water, stock, butter and herbs.  Bring to a boil.  Add your cubed bread and stir until all liquid is absorbed.  Then add cranberry and apple mixture.  The green apple and red cranberries give it a nice festive look!

 

Enjoy:)

FOB Frahlich

"La vie en rose" Edith Piaf

Fall off the Bone Roast Chicken

Roast chicken is a staple meal in our house. I usually buy a few fryer chickens when we make our monthly trip to the meat market.  I make my turkey's about the same way I do my chickens.  Poultry can dry out real easily if you're not careful.  I don't like to use flavor injectors, so I have had to find other ways to get flavor into the chicken.  Because we are a family of six, I will make at least two of these at a time.

Here's what you'll need:
fryer chicken (whole)
1 tablespoon of butter, softened
1 medium sized yellow onion, cut into 1/8ths
1 garlic clove (one for each bird)
season salt
ground black pepper
a drizzling of EVOO

On the bottom of the pan, drizzle EVOO.  Arrange the onion on the bottom of the pan.  Lay the birds down on top of the onions.  Rub the bird's skin with the butter, season with season salt and black pepper.  Place on clove of garlic on top of the bird.

Cover the pan in aluminum foil, tightly!!! This is essential in locking in all that flavor and steam.  The birds are going to put off some juices, so there's no need to add stock or water to keep them from drying out.  You don't need to bast them, just let them do their magic.  Let them cook at 350 for about two hours.  Check in on them and when you notice the skin and meat breaking away from the bone, remove the foil and let them cook another half hour or so.  This will ensure they get a browning on their skin.

Sugared Acorn Squash and Sweet Potatoes

I love acorn squash.  I can usually find it at my farmer's market for around 50 cents! It has about a 3-4 month shelf life if stored properly.  The only downside is the peeling, seeding and all that goes into actually enjoying the squash.  If you're looking to get more squash (which is really good for you!) into your diet, this is one of the ways to do it.  This recipe is slightly time consuming, but if you're making for a holiday meal, it could certainly be arranged the night before you need to have it on the table. 

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 acorn squash, seeded, peeled, then cut into pieces.
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 tablespoons of butter
1 tsp cinnamon

The best way that I can tell you to peel an Acorn Squash is this:
Cut it in half, horizontally
seed it
quarter it
then slice it like you would to get watermelon triangles, in this case they will most likely look more like a horseshoe!
cut the skin off
then cube the flesh.

Like I said....time consuming.

Mingle your cubed potatoes and squash, cut up the butter so that its evenly distributed all over the squash and potatoes.  Sprinkle of the top your brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cover and bake at 350 for about an hour. 

 

Enjoy :)

FOB Frahlich

"Check yo'self" Ice Cube

Holiday Cheeseball

These next few weeks I'll be posting some of our holiday favorites.  I'll have everything from appetizers to main dishes.  I've been slowly working on some things, blending some ideas with family recipes.  Hope you all enjoy!

This recipe is a long time family recipe from my mom.  She used to make it from about Thanksgiving all the way through New Years.  It wasn't uncommon for us to go through several of these a month! The great thing about this is, you can spread it on crackers, bagels and veggies! Its incredibly simple and so good!

2 packages of cream cheese at room temp
5 or 6 shakes of the worcestershire bottle!
1 jar of dried beef, finely chopped
1 small jar of diced pimentos, juice drained
about a cup, a handful? of shredded cheddar cheese
1 green bell pepper finely chopped

In a mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, mix all ingredients until well incorporated.  At this time, you can shape the cheese mixture into a ball, or just leave it in the bowl.  I'm lazy, and its going to get messy anyway...so I usually just leave it be! If you choose to make it into a ball, you can coat it in the left over mixture of beef and cheese. 

Enjoy :)

FOB Frahlich

Written to the musical likings of "Going up the Country" by Canned Heat and "Forever" by Chris Brown

Peanut Butter Cookies

Every now and then, I get a huge craving for anything peanut butter!  The other night, was one of those nights....plus I usually pack a cookie in their lunches for school, so that gave me another excuse ;)

1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of flour
1 tsp of baking soda

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add peanut butter (I used a little more pb since I like my cookies to have a big pb taste), mix well.  Add rest of ingredients.  Drop onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool for two minutes on the cookie sheet before transfering to a cooling rack. 

Pizza Crusts

We have pizza here at least once a week.  I have several different recipes, but these two are my favorite.  I've experimented with the whole wheat one a lot and have found that a true, through and through whole wheat crust is just too heavy for my liking. 

Another thing to note here is, these recipes do not double well.  So, even though I know its a pain, its best to do these in batches.  As a true Illinois girl, I'm picky about my pies!

I made the whole wheat one the most recently, so that's the picture you get!

Whole Wheat Crust:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2c-3/4c whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tblsp evoo
1 tsp sugar

Mix water and yeast first.  Let sit for a minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well.  Dough will be slightly sticky, don't worry.  With floured hands, plop the dough in a bowl and let rise for about an hour.  Roll or stretch by hand (which is preferred, pizza dough is never to be rolled!), transfer to greased pan or pizza stone, add toppings and bake for about 20 minutes at 375. 

 

 

 

Regular pizza crust:

4 cups of flour

1 tsp of dry yeast

1 1/2 cups of warm water

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup of EVOO

 

Follow directions above.

 

Enjoy :)

FOB Frahlich

 

Written to the music:

"Poison and Wine"- The Civil Wars

Apple Bundt Cake

This is a perfect fall dessert, or if you're looking for something to take to a brunch.  Its not overly sweet like your typical desserts.  I sprinkled a little powdered sugar through a sifter just for SnG's.  You can totally use your own applesauce (which is what I did here).  It gave it some texture since I have chunky applesauce.

Here's what you'll need:
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of applesauce
1/2 cup of oil
3/4 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of water
*you can add in some raisins, dried cranberries, nuts or not!

Preheat oven to 350. Spray grease your pan well!

In large bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and whisk together.  In a medium bowl, mix eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla.  Then combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture. Add water.  Stir in your *extras* here.  Pour mixture into the bundt pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and cool on wire rack.  Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar if desired.

 

 

Enjoy :)

FOB Frahlich

 

Written while listening to: "Tones of Home"- Blind Melon and "Chain of Fools"- Aretha Franklin

Candy Corn ala Alton Brown

I really wish I could take credit for this....but I must give all the credit to Alton Brown (love that guy!).

Candy corn is terrible for you, but its so good.  So, I was totally thrilled to find Alton's recipe in the Food Network Magazine this month! I gave it a shot, I'm somewhat experience in candy making and figured if it didn't work out, no loss.  But this was a huge win!  The kids love it and were thoroughly impressed with my skills. 

So if you're feeling adventerous or want something to do with the kids, and I love getting the kids in the kitchen learning how to cook, measure and experiment with food.

Here you go!

What you'll need:
Candy themometer
orange and yellow food coloring
parchment paper (or something similar)
food scraper or a sharp non serrated knife
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
6 1/2 tsps nonfat dry milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup of corn syrup
2 1/2 tblsp water
2 tblsp butter at room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (little note here: if your corn syrup already has vanilla in it, you can skip this part, unless you want a strong vanilla flavor)

Stir together powdered sugar, dry milk and salt. 

Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in a 2 quart pot.  Place over medium heat, cover and cook for 4 minutes.  Add the butter, clip on the candy thermometer and bring the sugar syrup to 230, 1-2min.  Remove from the heat and remove the thermometer.

Add the vanilla (or don't) and the dry mixture and sitr continuously with a silcone spatual until well combined.  Pour onto a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  Cool for 10-15 mixture is cool enough to handle (little note here: make sure your thermometer is accurate, otherwise 10-15 minutes will be too long and your "dough" will be too hard to work with, you want just below and soft ball form).

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.  Add 2 or 3 drops of yellow coloring and do the same with orange.  Divide these 3 balls into 2's.  Roll into a snake shape, then press, each "snake" into each other.  Take your food scraper or knife and cut horizontally about 1/8 inch pieces.  Form into the shape of the candy corn, or you can do what I did...and I just cut them up. Repeat.

As these set, they'll become more like the actual candy corn you get at the store and the flavor intensifies.  Fantastic!

 

Happy Halloween!!

 

FOB Frahlich

 

Written to "Eyes on Fire"-Blue Foundation and "Sweet Sacrifice"-Evanescense

Whole Wheat Potato Dinner Rolls

These are great to make with a pot roast or a stew for Sunday dinner! Simple and hearty!

1 package of dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
2 cups of warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup of canola oil
2 eggs
1/3 cups mashed potato flakes
1 1/2tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour
4-4 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour(you probably won't need it all)
2 Tblsp melted butter

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, potato flakes, salt, all purpose flour and 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining whole wheat flour to for a soft dough.  On a floured surface, knead the rest of the way until smooth and elastic.

In a greased bowl, toss the ball of dough around.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours), punch down, roll into equal sized rolls and place on greased baking sheet.  Let rise another half hour.  Brush tops with melted butter, bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes.

 

Enjoy :)

 

FOB Frahlich

 

Written while listening to "Manic Monday"- The Bangles

Way to a Man's Heart Pasta

Red hates Italian food.

Its a wonder he and I are still married.  How many times I've had to drag him to get Italian food and how many times he's dragged me away from restaurants with Italian food.

But then one night, I had a ton of various ingredients and this is what happened.  A magical sauce that went over a bed of fettacini.  Its very similar to a carbonara sauce.  I'm sure I really didn't discover this little wonder, but I was quite proud of myself after I just whipped it up like I owned the rights.

Red ended up getting some bread and soaking up the rest of the sauce.  Something about it being a federal offense to waste the sauce.  I don't really know.  I couldn't make out what he was saying with his mouth full.

Anyway, I can eat and make Italian food anytime now....as long as its this sauce.

So here's what you do:

Get a big skillet.  Really big.  And these ingredients

4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1 jar of roasted red bell peppers
2 tblsps of fresh or dried parsley
half of a large white onion, minced
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1/8 cup of flour
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of half and half
4 tblsps of butter
About 8 or 9 baby portabella mushrooms (or about a half cup roughly chopped portabella)
5 strips of thick sliced cooked bacon, chopped or you can use some browed pancetta or proscuitto here

In your really large skillet, over medium heat; saute your garlic and onion for about 3 minutes.  Add in your mushrooms and parsley.  Cook for additional 5 minutes.  Add the peppers.  Let cook another couple of minutes.  Add chicken stock and flour and whisk until the flour is well incorpororated into the stock.  Add bacon/pancetta/proscuitto, whipping cream and half and half.  Cover and let simmer until thickened.

 

Your sauce should just stick to the sides of the skillet.

 

At this point you can pour it over whatever pasta you have laying around.  Recently when I made this, I used Penne pasta.  I also added a couple grilled chicken breasts over the top. 

 

 

Enjoy :)

 

FOB Frahlich

 

Basic Cake Donuts

Red LOVES cake donuts.  I like all the wiz-bang gadgets on mine!  So...doing what any good wife would do....I made cake donuts!

I've made bagels before, they're slightly different and of course the consistency is quite drastic from the other.

These are fantastic, so simple and so good!

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tblsps melted butter
1/2 cup of milk
1 beaten egg
1 quart of oil for frying

In a mixing bowl, sift sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg, baking powder together.  Add melted butter and stir until just combined.  Beat egg into the milk and mix.  Dough will be slightly sticky.

Heat oil to 350 degrees.

On a well floured surface, roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with round biscuit cutter and make small hole in the center of circle.  Drop donuts two at a time into the oil.  Fry for 2 minutes and let dry on paper towel lined plate.


Enjoy! :)
FOB Frahlich

Cinnamon Bread

Bread is so expensive!  I've been slacking a little on the bread making, and every time I make a fresh loaf I find myself asking why I even bother with the store bought stuff?  Cinnamon bread is one of those things that our family loves, but we go through it so quickly that I don't usually buy it!  Otherwise, I would find myself buying out the cinnamon bread every week at the store.  So instead, like a lot of things we keep around the house, I made a mass amount of it and froze it. 


I'm one of those odd ball people who own 5 loaf pans, so making bread is pretty simple for us.  With their being six of us though, its not really a lot. 

Especially when school is in session. 


Now I'm rambling....onto bread making!

1 cup of milk
1 stick of butter
2 1/2 tsps of active dry yeast
2 eggs
1/3 cup of sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

For the nice cinnamon swirl in the middle you'll need:
1/3 cup of sugar
4 tblsps of cinnamon

Melt butter with milk in a sauce pan over medium heat, make sure you don't boil! Cool milk and butter to where its warm enough to touch but not "I just burnt the Sh*t out of my finger!" hot.  Sprinkle the yeast of the top of the liquid and give it a gentle stir.  Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.

Combine salt and flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs until combined.  Pour in milk mixture and stir to combine.  Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined.  Add the other half and beat until combined. 

Now, depending on atmospheric conditions, yes its true, your dough may be more sticky than needed.  You can mix in 1/4 cup of flour at a time on low.  You never want to over mix dough.  Dough should be sticky, but not to the point of scraping it off your fingers. 

In a buttered bowl, toss the dough ball around to grease all sides and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.  Be patient with the dough.

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter.  Turn the risen dough out onto the work surface.  Roll into a rectangle and spread melted butter over the dough and generously coat the dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Starting at the end furthest from you, roll the dough toward you, horizontally, tightly. 

Place loaf in a heavily greased loaf pan, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise another two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 40 minutes. 

Savor the way your house smells......

And try not to eat the whole thing......

Pear Frangipane

I bought a cookbook for my 25th birthday. Its about 600 pages and has all sorts of amazing pastries, tarts, custards and cakes that you won't find in your typical cookbook.  Last night was the last Sunday Red will have off for awhile, so I decided to roast a couple of chickens, make a potato casserole and this little custardy piece of heaven for dessert!  This is one of those desserts that will wow the inlaws and trick everyone into thinking you slaved to make something this awesome!

Here's what you'll need:

A food processor
tart pan with removeable bottom or a pie plate will do

For the pastry:
1 Cup of all purpose flour
1/4 tsp of salt
6 tblsp cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2 tblsps (or a little more) of ice cold water

Frangipane:
6 Tblsp butter
2/3 Cup granulated sugar
3/4 Cup of ground almonds
2 tsps all purpose flour
1 tsp corn starch
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 soft, ripe pears(I used bartlett) peeled, cut in half lengthwise, cored then thinly sliced

For the pastry, place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse to blend.  Add butter and pulse util  mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add ice water; pulse until ball barely forms.  Father into a ball; wrap with plastic wrap and refridgerate for 1 hour.

Preheat over to 375.

Roll out dough and place in tart or pie pan.  Bake crust for 20 minutes.  Let cool.

In food processor, place whole almonds and pulse until finely ground.  If you have more left over, store them in a container to put on ice cream later ;)

For Frangipane, place butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth.  Add almonds and blend.  Add flour, cornstarch, egg and egg white.  Process until smooth.  Add vanilla and almond extracts; blend well.

Spread frangipane in pastry.  Arrange pears in any design on the frangipane, lightly press pears into mixture.

 

 

Here it is right before going into the oven!  Your pears are going to "sink" a little, don't worry!  I also sprinkled some extra ground almonds on top before it went in!

 

 

Bake about 40 minutes, until frangipane is puffy and golden.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy! :)

 

FOB Frahlich

Sweet Garlic Glazed Chicken

Story of my life:  I was short on time the other night.  I didn't thaw anything out and our leftovers were all gone (and THAT is NOT the story of my life!).  So, I broke out my electric skillet.  If you don't have an electric skillet, your life isn't complete.  Its just that simple. 

So, I threw six frozen chicken breasts into the electric skillet, cranked it up to 400 and let them cook/thaw.  Then I did this......

 

 

Oh yes. 

 

Right before the chicken was cooked all the way through, I put a small saucepan on the stove with about 7 tablespoons of EVOO, 5 tablespoons of brown sugar and 5 cloves of fresh minced garlic.  I cooked this on medium heat until it got to a boil, whisking continuously, then glazed the chicken!  I put the lid back on the skillet for a few more minutes and this is what happened!

 

About to run out the door for our date night, I opted to throw some rice and broccoli in the steamer to serve with it!  Ahhhh-maaazzzziiinnnngggg!!!

 

The glaze would probably be pretty bombtastic if you put some freshly grated ginger in as well!  Maybe next time?

 

Enjoy :)

 

FOB Frahlich

Creamy Parsley Potatoes

This is a fantastic side dish, beats the dirt off of any boxed potato mix!  I have a big bottle or dried organic parsley that I keep on hand, but you're welcome to use fresh parsley as well!

7 medium russet potatoes
2 tblsp of butter, softened
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of half and half--you could also use milk here
3 tblsps of dried parsley or finely chopped fresh
salt, to taste

Wash potatoes well, peel and slice into half dollar sized portions.  Add parsley, butter, sour cream, half and half and salt.  Stir until potatoes are coated well.  Place in a casserole dish with lid.  Cover and bake 375 for one hour or until potatoes are tender.

Banana Bread

This is such a great way to use up some bananas or when you find a bundle on major discount at the market! Make several loaves for the freezer!

2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup of melted butter
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 ripe mashed bananas

Mix all ingredients except bananas. Stir in mashed bananas. Add 1/2 cup if nuts and/or raisins if desired. Grease 2 loaf pans or one bundt pan. Bake until it passes the toothpick test at 350! Enjoy!!

Red's Favorite BBQ

This will be the shortest blog and quite possibly the easiest meal ever.

Pulled pork.

6lb pork shoulder
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce



In the crock pot, place fresh or frozen shoulder in crock, cover the top of the crock with foil, place lid on the crock and cook on high (if frozen) or low (if thawed) until bone separates from meat. Remove bone and shred pork. Add sauce! Devour.

Tortilla Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes! Its great in all seasons too!  Using mostly fresh ingredients its easy on the waistline as well.  I've been known to use chicken and steak in the soup too.  But you're always welcome to tweak it to your needs and desires!

Here's what you'll need:
4 poblano peppers
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 jalepenos diced
1 yellow or red onion, finely chopped
2 cups chicken, vegetable or beef stock
3 ears of corn
2 tblsps of EVOO
1 package of corn tortillas

 If you're able to fire your grill up, its actually better to use the grill.  If you're using the grill, leave the husks on the ears of corn, soak corn for 30 minutes and grill corn-in the husk-for about 25 minutes.  After they're cooked, remove husks and kernels.

Slice poblanos in half, cut off the tops and seed.  Place cut side down on the grill or broiler.  Cook until blackened and remove from broiler to cool.

In stock pot, heat oil on medium heat.  Add cilantro, jalepenos, onion and corn.  Cook until corn is slightly browned. Roughly chop poblano peppers and add to the pot.  Add tomatoes.  Cook for five minutes.  Add stock.  Cook on medium for 10 minutes then reduce to simmer.

Preheat oven to 400.  Stack tortillas, then with a pizza cutter, cut vertically making strips of the tortillas.  Place tortilla strips onto a cookie sheet and toss with some EVOO.  Bake for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Serve tortilla strips in the soup, with shredded cheese and sour cream for garnish!

The soup freezes nicely, just remember to leave the tortilla strips out of the soup until you're ready to serve!

 

This was right before it went into the freezer!

 

Enjoy! :)

 

FOB Frahlich

Brownies

I've made brownies several different ways.  Sometimes with honey, coconut oil and whole wheat flour, sometimes with milk, sometimes with white sugar, sometimes with brown....it just really depends on the mood.  Each time it changes the texture and just slightly on the taste.  No matter what, they always turn out beatifully.

4 unsweetened squares of chocolate
3 eggs
1 cup of flour
2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 tsp of vanilla


Melt butter and chocolate together on the stove or microwave.  Add all other ingredients;mix well.  In an 8x8 greased pan, add batter and bake to desired consistency. 

If you're like Red, you like the edges of your brownies well done!