Whiskey – Bacon - Onion Jam

Whiskey – Bacon - Onion Jam

Ingredients

• 1 pound of bacon chopped
• 2 Vidalia  onions, diced (no more than 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 small jar (9.5 oz) Pepper Jelly  I use Dickinson’s® Pepper Spreads Mild or Hot
• 1 Cup Whiskey or Bourbon ( you can skip  this the booze if you like)
  Instructions

1.   Fry bacon in an extra large skillet over medium high heat until crispy..careful not to burn. I use a 18” wide dutch oven as my skillet…..lots of room in it.

2.   Remove with a slotted spoon to drain and let bacon drain on paper towels.

3.   Add the onions to the same pan in the bacon grease and sauté until tender but not browned, about 10 minutes if there isn’t a lot of grease you can add a little Olive Oil to avoid browning the onions. Stir often so the onions will cook evenly.

4.   I drain out the fat from the onions and discard any remaining grease.

5.   Add the vinegar and whiskey to deglaze the pan, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan.

6.   Med-High Heat stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn: add the brown sugar, jalapeno pepper jelly, onion and bacon back into the pan and sauté until you can drag a wooden spoon across the bottom of the skillet and it leaves a path.

7.   Remove from heat and allow to cool before putting in container or can be served right away.

• This is great served on a hamburger or toast or heated and thinned with a little maple syrup and poured on waffles or pancakes.

• Day after Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches.

• Take a block of Cream cheese, place on a dinner plate and pour the jam over it and serve with crackers.

Falafel Waffle

Ingredients

·         1 pound (about 2 cups) dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans - you must start with dry, do NOT substitute canned, they will not work!

·         1 small onion, roughly chopped

·         1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

·         1 1/2 tbsp flour

·         1 3/4 tsp salt

·         1/4 tsp black pepper

·         I add in a finely shredded Carrot.

You will also need

• Food processor, skillet
• Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size as they soak – you will have between 4 and 5 cups of beans after soaking.
• Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well. Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, parsley, flour, salt, ground coriander, black pepper, and shredded carrot.

·         Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste.

·         Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed.

·         Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Make into patties ….or waffles.

I do not fry my falafel patties in heavy  oil. I usually make them into patties and fry like a hamburger… with a little EVOO or Coconut Oil.

To make as a waffle, I add one beaten egg for every waffle, using enough batter to make one waffle. About  ¾-1 cup.  Use non-stick spray and use a waffle iron.. cook til golden.

Adapted from http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2011/01/falafel/

Haluski - Cabbage and Noodles

 

Ingredients:

·         1 (16 ounce) package medium-wide egg noodles ·         1 and a ½ sticks of butter. ·         2 large onions, chopped ·         cabbage, cored and cut into 1” pieces like noodle ribbons ·         salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

	·         Place cut cabbage in large pot. Once Noodles are cooked according to package. Strain noodle over the cabbage. Set Noodles aside and allow the cabbage to cook in the noodle water for about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Then Drain Cabbage, set aside.
	·         Melt 1 stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
	·         Cook and stir remaining butter and cabbage into onions until cabbage is softened but not browned, 5 to 8 more minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
	·         Place cooked noodles and cabbage mixture in a large roasting pan and stir gently to combine. ·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit ·         Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Serve with a meat or fish dish and Salad (and or vegetable.

Golumpki ( Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Cabbage head a LARGE head to get nice big leaves from.

• 1 1/2 lb Ground beef ( used 95/5 and added ¼ olive oil if you use a higher fat beef, omit olive oil)

• 1 lb Ground pork

• I envelope onion soup mix. ( or you can use 2 TBLS beef bouillon and small onion grated or chopped)

• 2 egg
• 1 tsp pepper

• 1 ½ cup COOKED rice, (any kind.. white, brown, instant, long cooking. Doesn’t matter as long as it’s cooked)

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs Italian, plain, or panko doesn’t matter)

• 1 Family size can Campbell’s Tomato Soup (I always have extra regular size can of Tomato Soup on hand too in case extra is needed.)
• 2 tsp brown sugar melted in 2 tablespoons of hot water. ( I microwave it)

 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

• Put cabbage head in a large stock pot, add water to cover.

•  Place on stove on high heat and cover, bringing to a boil.  

•  Gently boil cabbage until leaves of cabbage soften and become pliable. I use a cork screw or a big screw, into the core to help lift it in and out of the boiling water, cutting the leaf at the stem, one by one. Returning to the boiling water if the leaves are not coming off easily. 

• Once cabbage leaves are cooled, take a paring knife shave down any real thick veins. DON”T cut them out. Just shave it down so that is pliable. Continue to do this until you remove as many leaves from the cabbage as you can.

• In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, sausage, onion soup, eggs, rice, and bread crumbs. Make certain to thoroughly combine the ingredients together. 
• Add brown sugar to tomato sauce (do not dilute). Mix together.
• Prepare the baking dish. (Roasting pan 9 x 11 or something similar). Place a few tablespoons of sauce to smear on the bottom of the pan. (We always place odds and ends cabbage at the bottom because we fight over the extra cabbage.)

• Lay a cabbage leaf down on a flat surface.  Take some of the meat mixture and form into a large egg shaped meatball.  You may make these as large or as small as you want.  Place the meatball towards the stem of the cabbage leaf.   Roll the leaf away from you, while tucking in the sides like an egg roll. Place in baking dish with the open end down.
• Repeat this process placing the Golumpki next to each other, until all of the meat mixture is used up.
• Once the pan is full of Golumpki, pour the remaining soup over the top of all the cabbage rolls. If it does not cover it all, use the extra can of undiluted soup. (We add a little water (3 tablespoons water to the soup to rinse the can and pour that over the cabbage too. Nothing goes to waste). We also add any odds and end pieces of cabbage on top, covering with soup. I use a spatula to go around the edge of the pan to help the soup ease down the sides and between the cabbage rolls.

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fahrenheit

• Cover the roasting pan with foil or lid and bake for approximately 1 hour covered, and the ½ hour uncovered. 

Served with Mashed Potatoes, a vegetable or salad and bread and butter.

The leftover inner head of the cabbage is used for another meal of Haluski

Haluski - Cabbage and Noodles

 

Ingredients:

·         1 (16 ounce) package medium-wide egg noodles ·         1 and a ½ sticks of butter. ·         2 large onions, chopped ·         cabbage, cored and cut into 1” pieces like noodle ribbons ·         salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

	·         Place cut cabbage in large pot. Once Noodles are cooked according to package. Strain noodle over the cabbage. Set Noodles aside and allow the cabbage to cook in the noodle water for about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Then Drain Cabbage, set aside.
	·         Melt 1 stick of butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
	·         Cook and stir remaining butter and cabbage into onions until cabbage is softened but not browned, 5 to 8 more minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
	·         Place cooked noodles and cabbage mixture in a large roasting pan and stir gently to combine. ·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit ·         Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Serve with a meat or fish dish, salad and or vegetable.

 

 

WhatsForDinner: Moussaka

WhatsForDinner: Moussaka: "When I make this recipe I cut enough vegetables to cover the bottom of a 13' x 9' casserole dish. Take that into account when you are gath..."

Moussaka

When I make this recipe I cut enough vegetables  to cover the bottom of a 13" x 9" casserole dish. Take that into account when you are gathering ingredients.

2 medium eggplant rinsed  & cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices.
salt..((( if eggplant is not your cup of tea, use more zucchini instead)
4 medium new potatoes, rinsed & sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
2 medium zucchini , rinsed & sliced lengthwise into 1/4- 1/2 inch slices
1 pound ground beef or ground lamb ( I prefer grass fed beef)
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/4  cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup dry wine ( red or white )
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground pepper (black or white)
1 cup of Parmesan Cheese divided into 4 portions 1/4 cup each.
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour ( all purpose)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups milk
Salt... ( 1 tsp for the meat mixture, 1/4 tsp for the cream sauce  and a shaker of salt for salting vegetables)

sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant and set into a colander for 1/2 hour to drain.

Heat a frying pan with about a 1/4 cup of olive oil over a medium heat.
Fry the potatoes until lightly brown and tender. Place on paper towels to drain.
Repeat with the zucchini adding more oil if needed. Place on Paper towels to drain.
Repeat with the eggplant adding more oil if needed. Place on Paper towels to drain.

Bring frying pan to a medium high heat, saute onions with ground meat and garlic. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain drippings and return to heat. Add tomatoes, wine, parsley, 1 tsp salt, cinnamon and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is absorbed or evaporates.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Layer the bottom with potatoes, 1/4 cup cheese, zucchini, 1/4 cup cheese, eggplant, 1/4 cup cheese. Top with meat mixture.

In frying pan over a med high heat, melt butter and whisk in flour, 1/2 tsp salt and nutmeg. Cook for 1 minute. Using a whisk very slowly whisk in milk until it is boiling and thickens. ( if too thick add more milk). Pour over meat mixture and top with the last 1/4 cup of cheese.

 Bake for 40 minutes. If the top is not browned , I broiled it on high for 2 minutes until bubbling brown. Makes 9 servings.

WhatsForDinner: Amazing Blueberry Muffins.. Start to finish in 30 ...

WhatsForDinner: Amazing Blueberry Muffins.. Start to finish in 30 ...: "Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup white sugar 1/4 tsp Cinnamon 1/8 tsp clove 1/8 tsp ginger 2 teaspoons baking powder 1..."