When It's Cold, Stew Over Chili

Today is a cold winter day, the type were schools declares a snowday. It's also the type in which a slower cooker full of chili just makes you feel better. So today's recipe is my Easy Slow Cooker Chili.

Chili Recipe:
1 Large Can Tomato purée
1 Large Can Diced Tomato
1 Small Can Fire Roasted Tomato
1 Can Corn
1 Bag Kidney Beans
1 lb Ground Beef
1 Chopped Onion
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Salt

I love to season my ground beef and then brown it in the skillet, taking care not to over work the meat. Add all the cans of tomatoes and corn to large crock pot. Add browned beef. Finely chop a onion. I love to season the onion with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. With a little of the Beef grease still in the skillet, brown the onion until they are just turned soft. Add it to crock pot. Add kidney beans, which you should have soaked over night or boiled till soft. Close up the crock and cook on High for 3 hrs or low for 6 hrs.



The heat, peppers and paprika normally found in chili is found in the can of Fire Roasted Tomato. I love this product since it adds depth without me doing a lot of extra work or buying special peppers I only use once on a while. But if you want use the real stuff for a hotter spicer and fresher taste.

To serve my chili I like a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of cheese and a few fishy crackers on the side. Why don't you try it and see what you think.

FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pumpkin Cake

With turkey day coming up I'm starting to crave all things pumpkin. From bread to pie. But in the spirit of experimenting with recipes I'm trying to create a cake recipe. First try is a old fastion base cake.

Recipe:
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix sugar and oil, blend in eggs. Beat on high for 1 minute. Add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin. Blend on high for 3 minutes. In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry. Stoping to mix ever few minutes. Blend on high for 5 minutes. Grease and flour baking pans. (I like to add parchment paper to the bottom of a pan, it helps me remove the cake at the end.) Bake at 350• for 30 minutes. Be sure to insert a toothpick to test that the center is cooked.
Left you can see my batter is nice and thick. I still did the air bubble shake by shaking my pan and dropping it. (When dropping only raise it about 1 inch from surface and letting go. Don't go to high or you'll get cake batter that jumps the pan.)

For icing I decided to go with my cinnamon butter cream.
Cinnamon Icing:
1 package powder sugar
3 tbl milk
3 tbl butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Mix powder sugar, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. While beating add one tbl of milk at a time until a thick creamy constancy is reached. You can add less or more milk to get the constancy you want.

Cool cake, frost and serve. My family enjoyed it with milk and a good movie.

-FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Pork Drank The Coke-A-Cola

While surfing the web I can across a Naked Boneless Pork Chop recipe. The creator recommended marinating the pork in an acid base such as orange juice, wine, beer, or Coke-A-Cola. Now I've tried wine as a marinade on pork and it was surprisingly good. Moist and tender with a great robust flavor. So thinking healthy I looked in my refrigerator for a marinade base. Would you believe all I had was Cola. So throwing cation to the wind I gave it a try.

Recipe:
1 cup coke-a-cola
1 cup water
1 tbs dried herbs (I used Italian Blend)
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
1 gallon ziplock bag
4 boneless pork chops

Marinade 5-8 hours in refrigerator. Pull straight from bag onto a grill. I use my handy Forman Grill for 7 minutes on a thine cut chop and 10 on the thick.

Served with chive mashed potatoes and small dinner rolls and you get a great meal. The pork had a great sweet moist taste that I had never tasted before. But the best seller was watching my picky eater down the meat in less then two minutes. If your like me and your willing to be a dare devil give this a try. Taste Tester Note: The pork was nice and tender with a sweet sausage taste to eat. It's defenitly a new way to serve pork.
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Rolled Sugar Cookies

Experiment cookie day. Today's choice. Alton Browns iced sugar cookie.

Recipe:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbs milk
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder

Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry. Combine. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll. Cut. Cook 375 for 10 minutes. Ice and eat.

My families rating was 4 stars. Lite on sugar taste for me. But overall pretty good.


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Bean & Pork Stew Please

Ok here's a radical stew for an adventure.
Prep time is a little intense but the flavor is nice and mellow. Major hint soak beans over night. The texture will be a little better.

Bean & Pork Stew Recipe:
1 package beans (I love 16 bean melody)
1 pork jowl cubed
1 pound pork stew meat
1 onion cubed
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 clove chopped garlic

Soak beans overnight. Drain, rinse, and add to stock pan. Add water or beef broth for richer taste. Season and Bring to boil. Cube and lightly brown the pork jowl add to boiling beans. Leave grease in pan. Add pork stew meat, onions, and garlic to grease and brown. For added flavor I like to season stew meat with salt and pepper before browning. Add meat, garlic, and even grease to stock pan. Boil stew for 40 minutes. Optional vegetables:
1 cup cubed carrots
1 cup cubed potatoes
1 cup cubed squash
1 cup cubed zucchini

Added vegetables need more beef broth, but overall taste pretty good. But I'd suggest using kidney or lima beans only. Mixed beans just don't taste right. For added spice I love adding paprika and white pepper.

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My Fall Cookie

If you feel like a cookie monster in need of a fix try my Fall Sugar Cookie. Warning this recipe makes 4 dozen irresistible cookies. Don't eat them all in one setting. They will give you a tummy ache.


Fall Sugar Cookies:
1 cup butter flavored shorting
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Decorating sugar
Optional 1 tsp orange zest & 1/2 tsp imitation orange or lemon flavoring

Combine eggs and butter till smooth and creamy. Add sugar, vanilla, and orange flavor. Blend till smooth again. In separate bowl shift flour, salt, and soda. Combine with wet mixture. Blend well. Add orange zest. In a bowl combine decorating sugar and plain sugar. Drop I small spoon fool of dough in sugar. Roll around till all sides are covered. Place on lined baking sheet. Bake at 350• for 13 minutes. Cool and eat.

Submarine Rolls, Anyone

I've been asked by a friend to re-share my wheat/white submarine bread recipe. Start with you bread machine pan and add in order of wet to dry, and salty to sweet.

White/wheat submarines:
1 cup hot milk (I nuke mine for 2 minutes in a big measuring cup since it can bubble over.)
2 tbs butter
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup wheat
2 cups whole grain white flour
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tsp gluten
3 tsp quick rise yeast

Add hot milk, butter, egg to pan. Fold in salt and wheat. Let sit 15 minutes as wheat needs to be moistened or it makes horribly dry bread. You can add honey here if you desire. A few bakers have stated that it helps the wheat taste better. After the rest period gently pour the flour on top insuring all corners of pan are covered. Make a well add gluten and brown sugar. Add yeast to the well. Put bread pan in your machine and select dough cycle. Check your dough in the middle of the mix cycle. It should look like a ball of sticky wet play-dough. If it looks wet add 1tbs of white flour. If to dry add tbs of water. Keep repeating until it looks right. After the machine completes the first rise cycle take the pan out. Invert it over a floured surface. Don't over work it but gently shape it into a 2/3 inch thick log that has a width comparable to the length of the subs you want. With a sharp knife cut of individual loves. Place loves on a bread stone or baking pan with at least an inch between. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise an hour or until double in size. Heat oven to 375• and bake for 17 minutes. If you want soft buttery tops brush with butter.

There you go. My sub recipe. If you bag them in the refrigerator they last for a few days.

- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Harty Hambone

Been feeling under the weather thanks to a radical temperature drop. Normaly when I feel icky my solution is to take it easy since my system can't handle a lot. But with kids home on fall break that's a little hard to do. My kids seam to always be hungry. Since I don't want to be contantly cooking today I need a simple solution. So what's is simpler then soup. Thanks to moms generosity I have a hambone to throw into a pot. So here is my recipe for Hambone soup.

Hambone Soup:
1 Hambone or Hamhock
1/2 cut diced ham
1 bag 16 bean mix
1 can pitete or crushed tomatos
1/2 tsp galic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Start by soaking beans for 8 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse. Dump into stock pot with hambone or hamhock, seasoning, and fill with water. Bring to boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer until beans are nice and tender. Add tomatoes and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Now what's soup without bread. Not just any bread but cornbread.

Cornbread Recipe
1 egg
1 1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 cups cornmeal

Mix wet ingredients. Add cornmeal and mix well. Pour into oiled pan or cast iron skillet. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes.


- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Can It Be Done, Chicken

Ok it's Sunday, and like most Americans it's time for rest, a little TV, and a wholesome amount of food. But how can you have wholesome food for dinner while resting? Hmmm how about something cooked in a crackpot? 10 minutes prep, 8 hrs of slow cooking, another few minutes dishing up.... But what to cook, chicken, pork, Beef, or maybe vegetables.... Or better yet what recipe to use. But it bring Sunday and I haven't made it to the store in a few days i better check my refrigerator. I've got a whole 3 lb chicken, some apples, and a little coke. If I ignore the coke, combine the chicken and apples I can pull something together I think. So here goes!

My Apple Stuffed Fall Chicken:
3 lb chicken
2 small apples
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbs Butter

Rub salt and pepper into the skin. Set in crackpot, legs up. Peel, core and chop apples into cubes. Stuff into cavity and secure legs. Position into crock best side up. Sprinkle brown sugar over, put butter on side, cover and cook for 8 hours. Don't open lid at all during cooking, or pot will lose it's temperature and cause chicken to not cook evenly.


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Stewed But What About Doughed?

After much probing I've been asked via email to release my Honey Wheat Bread Bowl Recipe. After all what is home cooked stew with out good homemade bread.

Base Recipe:
1 cup very hot milk
1 egg
2 tbs butter
3/4 cup stone ground wheat
1tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp wheat gluten
2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast or fast rise yeast

Add eggs & butter to bread machine pan, slowly pour hot milk into pan. Add salt and wheat. Gently stir till wheat is mixed in. Let rest 15 minutes. Add flour, wheat gluten, and brown sugar. Make a well in center and add yeast. Pour honey over top. Select dough cycle. Watch the mixing to insure the dough forms a nice ball shape that's not too liquid or dry. Think sticky but soft play-dough.






Let rise in bread pan. Check it to insure it isn't escaping the pan. Punch down after at least 45 minutes. Take out of pan shape into bowl size balls on tinfoil lined baking pan.






I like to butter the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at least one hour or until double. My rise cycle has gone as long as 90 minutes.

Bake 17 minutes at 350, brush with butter as soon as you pull them from oven. Let cool at least 30 minutes before curing tops off and coring inside for stew.

Diabetic Version:
1 cup skin milk
1 egg
2 tbs butter
1 1/2 cup wheat
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup honey
2 1/2 tsp yeast

This has a slightly different taste, but still good. You can use water instead of milk but that makes a harder bread with a less sweet taste. Im a soft bread fan so most of my recipes have a milk base.

Why don't you try my recipes and let me know what you think!




- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm Stewing Over Dinner

Woke up this morning think man I'm sick of my old stew recipe. It's just so boring with carrots, potato, meat, and a touch on onion. There has to be a way to jazz it up some. But I still want to slow cook it in my crock-pot. Hmmm of I go to the web and my iFood app to find a interesting recipe.

Well after a couple of hours I've decided my tried and true sounds best for today. I've read recipes with barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, whiskey, and bourbon additives. There was one were you cook all the meat in Meade or Red Wine for 2 hrs in a process cooker on slow. Sound so time consuming. Then I found recipes with squash, corn, and even leaks. Then there were egg-noodles and dumplings. It got to a point were I wad questioning my sanity. My family has a simple palliate. So back to my simple recipe.

My Recipe:
One 1lb bag baby carrots
Six-eight med red or golden potatoes (11/2 cup cube cut potato)
1/4 cup diced onions
2lbs stew meat
Salt
Pepper
Flour

My madness in crock-pot:
I'm a layer in the big pot. First my baby carrots. Then a layer of diced potatoes. Then 1/3 of the meat browned in skillet with salt and pepper. I like to shake the meat in a bag of flour and seasoning. Then dump in pan with oil. Lightly brown and dump straight in Crock, juice and all. Then another layer of potatoes. Another of browned meat. Finale I layer the onions. If my onions come from my freezer I lightly sauté them. Next add water to cover the meat and then some. Set on low and cook 4-6 hrs.




- FKB Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's A Cookie Monster Day!

Ok I've been asked about my healthy cookie recipes for a while now. I've created two recipes that use whole grain white wheat flour and natural sugar when I can find the ingredients. My family loves the taste and loves helping me make them. That's so worth the energy.

First off is my modified sniker-doodle. Or as I like to call them smacker-doodle. I make these for my husband specifically. He's a sugar cookie fiend. These always help fix his craving.

Recipe:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, salt, soda and cinnamon then mix well. Scope and flatten spoonfuls on cookie sheet . Bake at 350• for 15 minutes. I like to roll my cookies in cinnamon sugar before flattening them in baking pan. It makes them taste more sinker- doodlie.



My peanut-butter oatmeal cookie are my kids favorite. Greate after school snake.

Recipe:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Dark Chocolate Kiss for decoration

Cream sugars, egg, butter, and peanutbutter. Add in dry ingredients. Spoon on cookie sheet. Thes expand so give room between. Bake for 350• for 13-15 minutes. Pull from oven and garnish with chocolate kiss by gently pressing into center of cookie. Cool before serving.




Give these a try and see what you think! I'd love comments on how they taste.