The awesomeness of a bread machine!!

So about a week before Thanksgiving we were flipping through channels looking for one of our crime dramas when QVC flashed up. They were selling my Breadman bread maker that I have been dreaming about. Hubby said to buy it so before he could change his mind I did just that. I am so happy I did. I have made a ton of white bread as that's the usual favorite. Also made some cranberry almond bread that was devine. I used it to make pizza dough that was sinfully awesome. I think that it has to be one of the best kitchen tools ever. Prep time is about 5 minutes and about 3 hours later I have a beutifully golden loaf of awesome bread.

Eating Pantry Staples

My goal this last month of so, has been to eat as much as I can out of my pantry and food storage. I've been stockpiling things on a regular basis, but I've also been forgetting to rotate anything out. One solution for this (although not the best solution granted) is to stop buying groceries for awhile.

Obviously, I have to buy some things, like fresh veggies and dairy here and there, and meat at least once a week. But so far I've been able to pull some decent meals together without having to seriously put myself out on a limb.

Since I'm only feeding 1.5 people, a little can stretch a long way. A pan of cornmeal can be a side at one meal, and be used for a Tex-Mex style casserole the next. We can eat a pound of spaghetti for 3 days straight. And instead of worrying about having to buy expensive fresh red meat every few days, I can supplement it easily with frozen Jimmy Dean Sausage and my leftover Venison from last hunting season.

I'll try to keep you as updated, although I've been pretty bad about keeping up with the blog! Sorry about that!

Flacita Burritos

When my beautiful sister was in college in Chicago, she worked for a time at a Mexican restaurant. The cooks there called her Flaca (meaning skinny) because she is tall, skinny and very blond. For Spring Break, our parents let me fly to Chicago for a visit, and I spent quite a bit of time hanging out around the restaurant while she worked. The cooks quickly dubbed me Flacita (or Little Skinny). I decided to called these treats Flacita Burritos, not because they are skinny or healthy, but because calling them that takes some of the guilt out of eating them. Denial is a powerful thing.

I got the idea of these in my head on Friday, and just couldn’t shake it. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull it off, but by Pete, I was going to figure it out. I ended up spreading out a buffet of warmed corn and flour tortillas, apple butter, peach and apple jam, toothpicks and a pot of hot oil. Okay, really the pot was the end of the buffet line, but I’m guessing you get the idea.

I tried corn tortillas first because I wanted to do a sort of taquito, but since I was using apple butter as opposed to diced apples, they were hard to roll tight enough without ripping them. I tried both rolled and fold ones, and although they fried up well, the crunchy texture and corn taste were a bit more than I wanted.

I tried round 2 with the flour tortillas, which were quite a bit larger. The rolled/taquito style still didn’t work too well, but the burrito-style ones I tried worked perfect! Simply roll them up, and stick a toothpick in somewhere to keep everything nice and compacted once you put it in the fry oil. If you don’t have toothpicks, you can use metal tongs to hold them together for a good 25-35 seconds just to be sure they’ll hold their shape.

Once in the fry oil, the burritos only take about 1 min on each side. or until lightly browned on each side. Remove from the oil, and place on a baking rack to drain. I use a roasting pan with paper towels between the rack and the pan to keep it clean and keep the burritos crispy. As soon as you get them on the cooling rack, sprinkle them generously with a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Serve these immediately, preferably while piping hot. Or if you’re like me, bite them the second they cool enough to be picked up, therefore burning your tongue repeatedly in a wanton fashion.

Flacita Burritos

Flour Tortillas
Apple Butter
Cinnamon and Sugar, blended
Toothpicks (optional)
Oil for frying

Heat tortillas in the microwave, covered with a wet paper towel, for 30 seconds or until pliable. Lay flat, and place 3-4 table spoons of apple butter on bottom 1/3 of the tortilla. Roll up, pin with toothpick, and set aside.

Heat 1″ of oil in a pot (I use a dutch oven) to 350*. Place burritos in the pot, with the ‘tortilla flap’ down so the burrito doesn’t expand. Cook for 1 min on each side. Remove from oil unto cooling rack, quickly sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then allow to sit for 3-5 minutes to drain off excess fat.

Serve immediately.

Fried Green Tomatoes

When I see bright, shiny and oh so lonely vegetables just sitting there I can’t help myself. I have to buy them. It’s like they call to me “please please just take me home… I would go so well with that recipe you’ve been thinking about“. On a trip to the Farmer’s Market with the Boy, my sister and her husband I stopped at a stall I frequent often enough to buy some green onions. Then some cherry tomatoes. Then some carrots (the Boy won’t eat baby carrots anymore, spoiled brat) and then I saw them. The holy grail of my obscure vegetable cravings: the Green Tomato.

I bought the two tomatoes they had left, and scurried home with my spoils. The next day, I found a recipe and went to work. I sliced the tomatoes (the recipe calls for 1/2 an inch thick, I wouldn’t go that thick actually. 1/3 is the biggest I’ll go next time) and slathered them with salt and pepper.

I’m going to be honest. This is about the last step of this recipe I should have followed. I got it from a site I’ve gotten terrific recipes off of before (not Pioneer Women, FYI) , so I had quite a bit of faith in it. Not a good idea. The recipe called for dipping the seasoned tomatoes in milk, then flour, then eggs, then cornmeal and then pan frying them. Don’t get me wrong, they were okay. But they weren’t… right. Fried green tomatoes seem to be a lot like Fried Chicken; in that everyone has a way they like it. Some dredge, then coat. Some just coat. To coat people use cornmeal, bread crumbs, flour or cracker crumbs.

Personally this “double dip” technique I didn’t like. And I also wasn’t a big fan of the cornmeal. Next time I think I’ll go with a more simple recipe. Season with salt and pepper, egg dip, breadcrumbs, fry. In that order. In fact I think I might add some hot sauce to the eggs ala Paula Deen Fried Chicken for some spice. Even with my disappointment on the crust, they were pretty good, and look very pretty. Topped off with some homemade ranch, and they made a good afternoon snack.

Jackpot!

Like Lila, I excited for this hunting season! Not only because it means a plethora of home-soaked and smoked elk jerky (JERKY!) and venison steaks, but because all my little hunters are emptying out their deep freezes to make room for the new! Yesterday, a friend of mine stopped by and dropped off 5 lbs (in 1lb wraps) of ground venison for me to have! Sa-weeet! He's also getting me a couple cords of wood for the winter, but that's a whole 'nother thing.

My own problem is, although I've had enough venison and elk and moose (yum, moose...) to be bursting at the gills, I've yet to really cook it myself. I know venison can be amazing, but I'm worried about the gamey taste a little bit with feeding the Boy. I'm not sure he'll notice, but this meat has been in a deep freeze for almost a year and I'm not sure how that will affect the taste.

Anyone have any wondrous sage advice or forewarning I should know about?

For the Love of Cooking

Everyone views love differently. I like to think I'm a sort of Italian grandmother trapped in a 25 year old body. I love to feed people. If I could spend the rest of my life just cooking for everyone I love, I would. You know I love you if I want to cook for you. To me it's like giving someone a little piece of edible feelings. I cook when I'm happy. I cook when I'm sad. I cook a lot if I'm angry. Trying out a new recipe and seeing peoples reactions is just about the highlight of my day, although having someone say "Oh, will you cook 'this' for me?" might even better.

It's funny though, because I never expect anything to turn out well. Maybe it's a 'hope for the best, prep for the worst' type of attitude, but I'm really not kidding. The other night, I cooked up a meal that I basically made up. I had an idea of what I wanted it to be, but mostly winged it. One friend was in from out of town, and I thought it'd be fun to make something new for him. I had him take a bite, and he with all seriousness looked my in the eye and told me it was horrible. I almost cried, luckily for my sanity he quickly said it was great and he was joking.

Cooking to me is like a scrapbook. Certain flavors and tastes and combinations send me back to wonderful times in my life. The crunch of snap peas takes me to my grandmothers kitchen table in summertime. One slice of apple pie and it's Thanksgiving, no matter what time of year. The smell of Cajun spices and it's like I'm back in New Orleans on a bar terrace cracking crawfish in the summer heat. Tastes and smells combine with places and people in a beautiful ribbon through my life.

Cooking, family, and one busy blogger

My family began to descend this week for my sister's wedding. My favorite uncle in the whole world currently resides in Australia and hasn't been home in over two years. He's a blast, and has pampered my sister and I since we were teeny (he never had any kids himself). The last time he saw the Boy he was barely walking so I'm very happy Jack and I get to spend so much time with him. He also has a homemade smoker (and by homemade, I mean rigged from a 50-gallon drum) that has been languishing at my dad's place and he intends to clean up and show me how to use so I can take it to my house.

I haven't done much cooking since the fourth to be honest. I knew I was going to be busy, so I've made several large batches of things that store and re-heat well. Yesterday we had a sort of family pow-wow and I made a large pot of my Taco Soup. All you require is beans (I used canned chili, pinto, black and kidney in equal portions, liquid included) corn, ground beef and taco seasoning. You cook the meat according to the spice directions, throw all the beans (and corn) and juices on top and simmer for a while. I let it stew at least on hour, but it's fine to let it go most the day and people can dip out of it when they want.

I also finally got around to making tortilla chips. I used flour tortillas because I had them around, but boy do they whip up quick and tasty! I did plain salted and cinnamon and sugar, both. I did have an unfortunate incident where I dropped my very very expensive cell phone into the frying oil, but by some fluke accident it seems to be none the worse for wear.

Tomorrow I've roped a couple of cousins into helping me make and can pie filling (muwahahaha) so hopefully I will have some pictures and fun things to update tomorrow.

Good Intentions Sometimes Go Awry

Yesterday my inital plan was to stay in bed. All day. The Boy didn't like this plan, and literally handed me clothes and told me to get dressed. Plan B was to do some sort of cooking/canning. I wanted to make French Dip Sandwiches, and I've been wanting to make Au Jus for sometime. But for Au Jus you need beef stock. And if I'm going to have beef stock around, I might as well make it myself.

I hit up Stewart's and got a bag of frozen beef bones (swear to goodness, it's huge. Probably 10 lbs.) and also a lb of stew meat (I figured some for the beef stock for flavor, the rest in... stew?) and a butterflied chicken breast (I wanted chicken strips for dinner since the Beef stock was going to take 8 hours or so).

On my way home, I was kindly reminder of a previous engagement I had made. So I was forced to scratch the beef stock until later that night. I figured I wouldn't be able to give it a full 8 hour cook, but at least 6 or so. Instead, I ended up taking the Boy to the hospital (he's fine) and we didn't finish up there until 0500. We finally got home about 0615, and I slept on and off for most of the morning.

Hopefully I will be able to whip something up tonight and pump it out. Not sure if I'll can it tonight, but we'll see.

Food Storage Cooking: Part 1

Wednesday night, I didn't feel well and was in no mood to cook. Or do anything other then lay on my couch and watch sappy romantic comedies under the thickest quilt I could find. Alas, we have to eat. I really was craving French Dip Sandwiches, but that had several roadblocks. The Boy had lost his shoes somewhere so I couldn't really take him to the butcher (I mean, I could have but it was about 45 degrees out and he kept taking his socks off and I refuse to be that mom). I have a roast in the freezer, but it's BIG and there was no way it would de-thaw even part way before the weekend. I had plenty of onions, and I've been dying to try out french onion soup, but as I said before I had no motivation.

So with my first choice out the window I finally decided on making Taco Soup. I usually make this soup with at least a pound of ground beef, but seeing as I had none and the butcher was a no-fly zone I was pretty much SOL on that part. Luckily during Lent I had fooled about with this as veggie recipe so I had a decent idea of what I wanted to do.

I didn't have time to mess around with any of my dried beans, so I wandered out to the food storage and stole a mess of things I had canned. This recipe is great because you can leave out what you don't like/don't want/don't have and it generally doesn't muss things up too much. I grabbed black beans, chili beans, red beans, whole kernel corn, kidney beans, and pinto beans. I grabbed my 5 qt dutch oven and popped open the cans and dumped them (liquid included!) into the pot**. I realized at this point I was out of taco seasoning (wth?) because I've been meaning to make my own dry taco seasoning so I hadn't purchased any pre-made packs (lack of supplies is my best motivator). I did however have a pack of fajita seasoning, so I went ahead and added that. (**If you are adding ground beef to this recipe, cook the meat in the pot and add seasoning as directed before adding beans and simmering)

I let this simmer for about 30 mins, then mixed up some Krustez Honey Corn Bread Mix (my favorite) and put that in the oven according to directions (30 mins at 400). When that had about 5 mins left I checked on the soup and found that it didn't have quite the 'stew' consistency I like. This was easily solved by adding a dab of corn starch to the mix, and I pulled the corn bread out of the oven to cool.

To serve I simply cut a good chunk of the corn bread and placed it in a bowl and topped with the Taco (or I guess Fajita) Soup and a pinch of shredded cheese. This is my personal preference way to serve it, but because it makes it a bit more hearty with the cornbread. The way I originally had this was with crushed up corn chips and a bit of cheese and sour cream. Both ways are excellent, easy and cheap. And the leftovers refrigerate or freeze great, and even taste better then next time around.

Meatloaf by Lila

Since Ms. Maggy did such an awesome side dish I figured I would complete your meal with a main dish. Yup you read right. Meatloaf! That oft dreaded creation people suddenly have to work late to avoid. Happens to be a favorite in my house. It gets devoured. I never have left overs. Now I am currently cooking for about 7 people usually but I'll give the recipe to happily feed 4 here.

Set oven to 350. You want 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, Place in bowl. Add 1 egg, some garlic salt, season salt, Mrs. Dash or what ever favorite seasonings you like. Add 2 pieces toast (Yes actually toast 2 pieces of bread) pulled into small pieces. Mash it all together. I use my hands but I am sure a potato masher would work. Get out a glass baking pan. I use the square for this amount. place meat mixture into the pan and make a loaf shape. I usually make mine about 3-4 inches thick. Coat loaf with ketchup. Stick in heated oven for 45 minutes and then check by cutting into the center. Thicker obviously takes longer, thinner will be shorter so check it sooner if needed. Great with Mag's potatoes and green beans!!

Also the same mixture can be used to make delectable meatballs. Instead of baking simply roll into balls about 2 or 3 inches round. Melt butter in a skillet and brown the balls. Drain grease and add 1 regular can diced tomato, 1 can water, 2 cubes beef bullion, a table spoon sugar, seasonings you like. (I use a regular Italian blend) Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour. Awesome over egg noodles!!