Cheeseburger Soup

At first I thought this would be too many calories but I misread the recipe. I  thought it said 2 to 4 pounds of Velveeta but  but Charlie thought it would be good and when I looked at it  again, it actually said 2 to 4 cups.   I used about 2 cups and if I make this again, I may use even less.

Cheeseburger Soup 

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 45 min. Cook: 10 min.

YIELD: 8 servings (2 quarts).

A local restaurant serves a similar cheeseburger soup but wouldn't share its recipe with me. I developed my own, modifying a recipe I already had for potato soup. I was really pleased with the way this all-American dish turned out. —Joanie Shawhan, Madison, Wisconsin

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1-3/4 pounds (about 4 cups) cubed peeled potatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 to 4 cups shredded Velveeta
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

• 1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and crumble beef until no longer pink, 6-8 minutes; drain and set aside. In same saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, ground beef and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.
• 2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly, 3-5 minutes. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook until cheese melts. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream.

 

Buffalo Wings

Charlie said these were perfect and wants to have them again.  This method makes crispy wings that are not greasy.  I shortened the max cooking time in the recipe by ten minutes.  They would be good with any coating that you like.

Alton Brown’s Buffalo Wings

Ingredients

12 whole chicken wings (about 3 pounds)

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup hot sauce

Kosher salt

Directions

• Place a 6-quart saucepan, with a steamer basket and 1 inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.
• Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Use kitchen shears or a knife to separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings in the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay out the wings on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator to dry, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the paper towels on the pan and replace with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, about 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook 20 to 30 more minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.
• While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl with the garlic. Pour this along with the hot sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine. Remove the wings from the oven, transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

 

Ranch Fried Chicken

RANCH FRIED CHICKEN

 Chicken

8 (5- to 7-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and pepper

2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil

  For the buttermilk coating, I blended in the herbs in with a stick blender and marinated the thighs for about 10 minutes while getting everything else ready.  I found about 6 minutes in the oil was enough time for frying.  Charlie suggested adding some powdered Ranch to the coating but they were already cooking when he did.  Maybe next time. This one is a keeper.

Buttermilk Mixture

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons minced fresh dill

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

Coating

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 C. cornstarch

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¾ teaspoon pepper

Ranch Sauce  (  I used Marzetti bottled Ranch dressing) If the ready made sauce it too thick, to make it thinner sauce, whisk in a little lemon juice or milk. 

1/2 cup mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. reserved buttermilk mixtire

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more for this recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE CHICKEN: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

FOR THE BUTTERMILK MIXTURE: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup buttermilk mixture for ranch sauce.

FOR THE COATING: Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl.

Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Set second wire rack in rimmed baking sheet lined with three layers of paper towels.

Working with 1 piece at a time, dip chicken in remaining buttermilk mixture to coat, letting excess drip back into the bowl , then dredge in coating, pressing to adhere.  Transfer chicken to wire wrack without paper towels. If desired, chicken my be refrigerated up to 2 hours.

Heat 6 qt. Dutch oven with 2 qts. veg or peanut oil to 350º and fry 7 to 9 minutes. (I found 6-6 1/2 minutes to be sufficient) Cook 3 pieces at a time, remove to rack with paper towels to drain while cooking the next batch.

For the Ranch sauce, mix the reserved butter mixture with the mayo. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Transfer to platter and serve with ranch sauce.

 

Beer Braised Brisket with Root Vegetables

Hen House market had whole briskets @ $5.99/ lb.  It was too late in the year to put in the smoker so I cut it up and put 5 smaller roasts in the freezer.  I did this one today but forgot to take a picture before we ate it.  This is what was left over.

Beer-Braised Brisket with Root Vegetables

Choose a light or dark beer of your choice to add flavor and depth to the beef brisket and root  vegetables. 

By Ian Knauer May 2014

Credit: © Ian Knauer

Active:30 minsTotal:6 hrs 30 minsYield:4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 (2 1/2-to 3-pound) piece beef brisket
• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 5 ounces sliced shiitake mushroom caps
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 parsnips, sliced
• 1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 (12 ounce) beer
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon dill fronds

Directions
Step 1 Season the brisket all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. In a 5-to 6-quart crock pot, heat the oil over high heat until hot. Sear the brisket, turning once, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer the brisket to a plate.

Step 2 Stir the onion, mushrooms, and garlic into the crock pot, scraping up any browned bits, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Place the brisket, along with any accumulated juices, back into the pot and stir in the carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, beer, Worcestershire, and stock. Simmer the brisket over low, covered, until the meat is very tender, about 6 hours. Increase the heat to high. Stir the flour together with 2 tablespoons cold water, then whisk into the simmering liquid. Simmer the brisket, uncovered, until the liquid is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve, sprinkled with the dill.

 

Bacon, Potato and Corn Chowder

This recipe uses a can of creamed corn but the last one I got did not have whole kernels so I made creamed corn with frozen whole kernel corn.  I used the included recipe.  I also added cubed ham to make it more of a meal.

Potato, Bacon and Corn Chowder

1/2 lb bacon strips, chopped

1/4 C. chopped onion

1- 1 1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes ( 4 or 5 medium) peeled and cubed

1 can 14 oz can cream style corn

1 can  (12 oz) evaporated milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Crisp bacon, drain. Save 11/2 tsp. drippings.  Add onions to drippings and cook tender.

Place potatoes in saucepan, cover with water, boil, reduce to medium, cook uncovered 10-15 minutes.  Drain, reserve 1C. potato water.

Add corn, milk, salt & pepper and reserved potato water.  Heat though & stir in bacon and onion.

Creamed Corm 

8 servings                         4 servings

2 (10 oz) pkg frozen corn 1 pkg corn

1 C. heavy cream         1/2 C. cream

1 tsp. salt         1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. sugar         1 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp. pepper         1/8 pepper

2 Tbsp. butter         1 T. butter

1 C. whole milk         1/2 C. milk

2 Tbsp flour         1 T. flour

1/4 C.fresh grated Parmesan  1/8 C. 

Combine over medium heat:  corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter.  Whisk together flour and milk. Stir and heat until thickened. Add cheese until melted

 

German Meatballs

German Meatballs

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can (27 ounces) sauerkraut, undrained
1/3 to 1/2 cup water, optional
Additional snipped parsley
Directions

In a bowl, combine first 10 ingredients; shape into 18 meatballs, 2 in. each. Heat the oil in a skillet; brown the meatballs. Remove meatballs and drain fat. Spoon sauerkraut into skillet; top with meatballs. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through, adding water if necessary. Sprinkle with parsley. 

• Freeze option: Freeze cooled meatball mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Microwave, covered, on high in a microwave-safe dish until heated through, stirring gently.

Nutrition Facts

3 each: 376 calories, 22g fat (7g saturated fat), 114mg cholesterol, 1636mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate (3g sugars, 4g fiber), 27g protein

 

Whisky marinated steak and

Several years ago, Charlie, Cassie and I were at a restaurant and she ordered Whisky Marinated Steak.  She gave us each a bite and it was good.  I had never thought it was a good idea to  marinate a good steak before.  A while later, I tried it at home and Cassie said it was very close.  Today I tried it a second time.  I also did Pioneer Woman's twice baked potato.  She kept apologizing for how much butter, sour cream and cheese she added, but I kept thinking it wasn't enough, especially the cheese. The salad dressing was the China Coast recipe

Whisky Marinated Steak

The STEAK was rib eye cut rather thick and marinated for 4 hours in 1/2 C. packed brown sugar, 1/2 C. bourbon, 1/3 C. soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon Tabasco and 1 C. water.

After 4 hours, I dried it, salt and peppered  it and grilled it outside.  

• China Coast Salad Dressing
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 10 tbsp rice vinegar
• 4 tbsp white granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Pioneer Woman Twice baked potatoes recipe was cut down to one potato (2 servings)

8 baking potatoes, washed

3 tablespoons canola oil (enough to coat potato before baking)

2 sticks salted butter

1 cup bacon crisp cooked bacon, chopped.

1 cup sour cream

1 cup Cheddar or Jack cheese (or a mix of both), plus more for topping

1 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

3 green onions, sliced

 Freshlygroundblackpepper

Directions

WATCH

Watch how to make this recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Rub them with the canola oil and bake for 1 hour, making sure they're sufficiently cooked through.
3. Slice the butter into pats. Place in a large mixing bowl and add the bacon bits and sour cream. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F.
4. With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support. Lay the hollowed out potato shells on a baking sheet.
5. Smash the potatoes into the butter, bacon and sour cream. Add the cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and black pepper to taste and mix together well. (IMPORTANT: If you plan to freeze the twice-baked potatoes, do NOT add the green onions.)
6. Fill the potato shells with the filling. I like to fill the shells so they look abundant and heaping. Top each potato with a little more grated cheese and pop 'em in the oven until the potato is warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.