9 Nov 2010

Male Chauvinist Chili (That's really the name of it)

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I’m not making it up. I pulled out the Rival Crock-Pot Cooking old cookbook that I think we had when we got our first crock pot while I was growing up. COpyright date is 1975. Older than me. Maybe my folks got it when they got married that same year? Anyway, still have it. Still bringing good recipes. I made some changes to this recipe as I was going along, and I would still make it spicier. But, it was good. Yummy dinner to come home to on a cold day.

3 strips bacon, chopped, cooked, and drained
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 lb groun chuck or beef (angus 90/10 was on sale this week, so I got that)
6 oz of cajun smoked sausage (love!)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans italian-style diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chili beans, medium sauce
3/4 T worcestershire sauce
2 T chili powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp pepper

Cook bacon, drain. Cook onion and rest of meat, drain. Throw all in a crock pot and cook for 8-10 hours on low. I served mine with sour cream and red-fat wheat thins. Yum. Would also be good with cheese and angel hair as well.

11 Apr 2010

Taste of Morrisville: Smokey's BBQ Shack

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Just off of the beaten path… (I’m singing an Alabama song as I write that) – in Morrisville is a little trailer type restaurant on the side of the ride, picnic table outside, gravel parking lots, red front door.
Smokey’s BBQ Shack just started opening on the weekends and by the time we left it was definitely pretty full by the locals. It was NC bbq – smoked meat (I tried the pork and chicken, taking most of the chicken as leftovers) with a vinegar based sauce. The pork was good – wasn’t dry and tasted good with the sauce. The sides I ordered: green beans and french fries – neither were as good as Sonny’s. But…the pork and the little hushpuppies made up for it.
What was the two best things about this restaurant: the atmosphere (roll of paper towels on each table, laid back, unpretentious in every way) and the company. This is a place my friend would always go to when she lived there. Janel moved to the Windy City but got her sweet tea fix just minutes after the airport yesterday.
5 Mar 2010

Foodie Night with Brandi

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I love my foodie friends!
Brandi and I worked together at SBTS before she went and had a baby. Last night was our last time to get together and hang out before I move on as well. Such is the life of seminary workers!

We had so much fun and I personally ate too much!
I made a huge salad: green leaf lettuce, roma tomato, cuk, feta cheese, pecans, dried cherries. YUM
Brandi made chuck bbq with Sweet Baby Rays sauce that she had slow cooked and then shredded. We ate it the only way you can: on a yellow bread roll that was garlic-ized in the oven on broil.
We also had baked doritos and baked ruffles.
For dessert: an eggo waffle topped with fruit, cinnamon, and maple syrup.

End the night with a Diet Doctor Pepper and my fave dude on TV solving a food-related murder – could it get any better?
I’ll definitely miss Brandi – and am thankful for social media and email!
1 Mar 2010

Lemon and Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

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This might be the best turkey I’ve ever cooked – Thanksgiving or not! 🙂

Ina Garten comes through again as her little Barefoot Contessa. So thankful she did. I am trying to use things in my freezer so they won’t get to waste when I move at the end of March, and I found this turkey in the back of it. Don’t even remember why I bought it – maybe just b/c it was on sale. So, I looked on line. This morning I had plenty of time on my hands (after my 12 hours of sleep, 745-745, I was so tired and it was needed, some AWESOME sleep) so I just let it cook in the oven.
It was SO MOIST and flavorful! Loved it. I’m going to be using it on salads, maybe for a sandwich, mostly for turkey tetrazzini I am making for a family with a new baby on Tuesday.
Yum!

(slightly changed from original recipe because size of my turkey)

1 8 lb turkey breast
2 mega garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp italian seasonings
2 tsp kosher salt
1 lemon – juiced
2 1/2 T olive oil – very good, fruity olive oil works best
1 cup blush or white wine

Dry turkey breast with a paper towel. Mix garlic through oil into a paste – smear on and under the turkey (under the skin). Place skin side up in a roasting pan (or on a rack). Pour wine in the bottom of the dish. Bake for about 2.15 hours at 325 covering about halfway through because the skin will get too dark.
This is so moist, and the wine and lemon and olive oil are very good things!
25 Jan 2010

Red Wine Beef Stew

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I made some yummy and healthy beef stew this weekend. Its good when you are sick, having company over, need something to last you all week, and to use up some yummy Sweet Red wine that is in the fridge. I picked up some good stuff at Trader Joes last weekend and this was a good use for it.

1.5 lbs lean beef chopped for stew
evoo
8 cups broth and wine combined (I used 7 cups chicken stock and 1 cup red wine)
1 onion, chopped
3 lbs red potatoes, chopped left skin on
2 carrots, chopped
5 celery stalks, chopped, plus leaves
2 T dried italian herbs
2 T worcestershire sauce
s/p to taste
Sear meat on both sides. Simmer in 4 cups of stock for 1 hour. Add all veggies, herbs, and rest of stock and wine. Let simmer for another 1 hr to 90 minutes. Eat with some bread.
We had 5 grain bread from Plehns (nearby bakery), a strawberry, walnut, feta, salad, and oreo cheesecake (bday celebration) for dessert. Then I went out and walked 2.5 miles!