January 28 - National Blueberry Pancake Day
January 29 - National Corn Chip Day
January 30 - National Croissant Day
January 31 - National Brandy Alexander Day
February 1 - Baked Alaska
February 2 - Heavenly Hash
February 3 - Carrot Cake Day
~Ping List~
(to be added/deleted - please contact me on thread or PM)
Last week’s recipes (1/21/12)
Beef _ Post#` 10 _ BBQ Beef Patties
Beef _ Post#` 18 _ Easy Pot Roast
Bread _ Post#` 07 _ Homemade Bread
Brownies _ Post#` 24 _ Nutella & Peanut Butter Brownies
Brownies _ Post#` 29 _ Chocolate Truffle Brownie Bites
Cake _ Post#` 04 _ Nancy Kelly’s 2-Day Memphis Coconut Cake
Cookies _ Post#` 02 _ Oreo Truffles
Cookies _ Post#` 11 _ Miracle Peanut Butter Cookies
Cookies _ Post#` 25 _ Kahlua & Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Drink _ Post#` 22 _ Liz’s Ginger Mango Quencher
Rice _ Post#` 23 _ Lemon Rice
Salad _ Post#` 27 _ Country Potato Salad
Soup _ Post#` 12 _ Taco Soup
Link
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2835880/posts?page=32#32
If you’ve ever eaten at an Olive Garden and enjoyed their Toscana Soup, you will love this recipe. It’s a great way to get some kale into your diet. It’s a very satisfying soup and it’s great for a rainy day.
Toscana Soup
Ingredients: 2 and 3/4 cups chicken stock or broth, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 medium russet potato (scrubbed clean), 2 cups chopped kale, 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.
Procedure: Combine stock and cream in a large pot over medium heat. Slice unpeeled potato into quarter-inch slices, then cut slices into quarters and add to soup. Add kale to soup. Grill or saute sausages. When cooked and cooled, cut at an angle into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Add sausage to soup. Add salt and red pepper flakes and simmer 2-4 hours until potato and kale are cooked. Stir occasionally.
This is an old recipe given to us by a friend years ago. It is really delicious, great for company & versatile for any season. I’ve used it when having friends at the Lake in the summer & we used it for a family buffet when my niece got married in November. I do use two cans of tuna when I make it. The flavor combinations are wonderful. Enjoy!
SEA ISLAND SALAD
1 (8 oz.) box macaroni (creamettes or shells - small shells work well)
1 (7oz.) can tuna - drain well (use 2 cans if desired)
1 (17 oz.) can of small green peas (drained)
3/4 cup diced cheddar cheese (mild)
1 Tablespoon diced pimentos
8 oz. package cooked shrimp (frozen, thaw as directed & drain well)
1/2 cup diced celery
2 Tablespoons minced green peppers
*1/2 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
*1/2 cup sour cream
*2 - 3 tsp. sugar (use more if needed)
*1/2 tsp celery salt
*black pepper if desired
Cook maccaroni.
Stir in all ingredients except *items (seasonings, sour cream & mayonnaise) which are to be mixed & poured over salad last.
Mix by folding lightly.
Chill before serving (needs some time for the flavors to really blend - good recipe for making a day ahead).
Keeps 2-3 days.
(Note: the recipe is so old that the actual ounces of the can sizes might not be exactly the same as what is on the shelves today.)
Although I do love stuffed blueberry pancakes, I’m focused this weekend on paella. I’m going to do two batches but not do the shrimp since it would put the cost over the top. I’m having my entire extended family tomorrow for the 100th anniversary of my dad’s birth. So it will involve short grain rice, onions, garlic, olive oil, calamari, choroza sausage, and I’ll probably do a bag of mussels for the brave and put them in a side bowl. Mr. Mercat has already done a batch of his amazing chili which is more of a vegetable soup with beans, corn, butternut squash, leeks, tomatoes and turkey sausage. Being brought - cornbread, salad and, of course, birthday cake.
Although I do love stuffed blueberry pancakes, I’m focused this weekend on paella. I’m going to do two batches but not do the shrimp since it would put the cost over the top. I’m having my entire extended family tomorrow for the 100th anniversary of my dad’s birth. So it will involve short grain rice, onions, garlic, olive oil, calamari, choroza sausage, and I’ll probably do a bag of mussels for the brave and put them in a side bowl. Mr. Mercat has already done a batch of his amazing chili which is more of a vegetable soup with beans, corn, butternut squash, leeks, tomatoes and turkey sausage. Being brought - cornbread, salad and, of course, birthday cake.
THEMOM’S KICKASS ENCHILADA’S
Ingredients needed:
Corn tortillas
Hamburger meat
Cooking oil
Enchilada Sauce (pick your spice level)
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Lettuce, chopped
Tomato, chopped
Eggs
Fry hamburger meat, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion power. Drain.
Fry corn tortillas in oil until crisp.
Place tortillas in an oven safe dish (I use glass pie plates), cover with hamburger meat. Pour enchilada sauce over hamburger meat (one enchilada uses about ½ to ¾ can). Cover with cheese.
Cook at 350 until cheese is melted.
Here is the secret – right before you take the enchiladas out of the oven, fry an egg. Take enchiladas out of oven, add lettuce and tomato, then place the egg on top.
To start with use one corn tortilla per person – that normally is enough.
PINTO BEANS .
Keep in mind that the garlic powder, onion powder, and jalapeño measurements can be changed to adjust to your taste. I have always eyeballed the measurements, so what you have below is not an exact science.
1 lbs Pinto Beans
12 oz pack of Salt Pork cut into cubes (Do Not buy the pre sliced)
2 Tbls Onion Powder
2 Tbls Garlic Powder
1 Tbls Pepper
1/2 Cup Jalapeños & juice
Remove rocks and imperfect beans, wash well and drain.
Place beans in water about 2” above beans.
Put all other ingredients in crock pot.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Then turn to low for 8 hours.
Watch the water level, if it gets to low add more water.
I serve this with rice and corn bread.
BUTTERMILK PIE
2 Sticks melted butter (do not use margarine)
3 ¾ cups sugar
½ flour
6 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350
Mix flour and sugar real well (use a sifter is possible)
In a separate bowl mix together other ingredients
Add to flour/sugar mixture
Pour into two 9” pie crust
Bake on bottom rack of oven for 45 minutes
cpdiii’s Shrimp Creole:
Someone wanted the recipe for the Creole. The following is what I would use for a pot of Creole i.e. about 4 quarts. Adjust the quantities to you desired amount of finished creole. I like left overs for work. I freeze what is left in portion sized containers.
1. About 2 lbs of cleaned shrimp
2. Two large bell peppers or 3 or 4 small ones chopped
3. Two large onions chopped
4. Italian Seasoning 1-2 tablespoons to your taste
5. 1 to 2 tablespoons of Chili powder to your taste
6. 2 cups of water
7. 3 large green chili peppers or a can of them (Moutainpass or Hatch is the best brand.) I put mine in a blender with about 1/2 cup of water and it turns them into a paste. This enhances the flavor.
8. Tomato Sauce that would equal about two quarts which is two of those large cans I think they are 32 ounce cans.
9. Salt and pepper about a 1/2 teaspoon of each and a tablespoon of garlic powder. The Tomato sauce will have quite a bit of salt in it also so you may want to omit the salt depending on your taste
10. 2 cups of water.
Saute bell peppers lightly and then saute the onions and set both aside. Bring the water to a boil and add all the spices and turn off the burner for about 15 minutes. The boiling water will pull the flavor out of the spices and into the water.
Add all the ingredients together except the shrimp. Bring to a low boil actually a low simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add water as necessary to make it the right consistency. Taste the sauce and if it needs something according to your tastes, add it.
Add the shrimp to the mix and once it is starts to simmer shut off the fire and let it sit there for about 15 minutes.
Serve over rice or without. It is good either way. Some people like it hot so have cajun seasoning available to add to your bowl or the chili of your choice. The above can also be used as a recipe for chicken, sausage, or crab creole. I did put some chicken in the one that I made.
Also from cpdiii:
Uncle Julio’s fajita marinade.
Ingredients for approximately 2 pounds of skirt steak.
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of lime juice, freshly squeezed... basically two whole limes.
6-8 garlic cloves, minced through a garlic press
5 green onions including the green part, cut into thirds to fit in the Cuisinart
3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper
In a Cuisinart or blender blend and purée entire contents well so the green onion is chopped as finely as possible. Skirt steak should have as much fat removed as possible, especially on the top and bottom. Cut into 8 to 10 inch pieces and split down the middle. Marinate in a large plastic baggie for 2 to 4 hours, I like three hours the best. Massage bag periodically. Drain off excess marinade before cooking to prevent flareups, try not to burn. High heat works the best but you must babysit so they don’t burn up.
Checking in! Been too busy to post since the holidays but mrs p6 and have been playng with a new pressure cooker and a couple of other thngs.
Now we have more weight to loose!
I never cared much about French Toast. The wife makes it once in a while, but this morning I had a hankering and found this technique which turned out well.
Preheat oven to 375
2 eggs
1/2 C milk
cinnamon
allspice
salt
Blend ingredients and soak bread. I used 4 slices of French bread. Melt some butter in skillet and lightly brown bread on both sides - 2-3 minutes. Transfer to baking sheets and 15 minutes in the oven.
I’m also baking a loaf of cheese bread from a recipe I found on the bag of King Arthur flour. If it turns out, will share that later.