Ed's Baked Chili (Work in Progress)

 Folks-

I was struck with the idea of making a fairly different chili at work a few days ago, so I started with my dad's chili recipe, and just went to town with it. I know my dad will look at this and say "It's too complicated," and I don't care.

What makes it especially different is instead of simmering on the stovetop for hours, I decided to bake it in a Dutch Oven for even longer than his recipe. In addition, this one is more of a stew, with beef chunks and stewed vegetables.

This is very much a work in progress, but I didn't want to lose my place, so here's the current status.

Ingredients:

1 lb dry pinto or black beans

1 bay leaf

1 lb stew meat, or chopped up chuck roast or similar, fat left on

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 fresh Jalapeno pepper 

2 fresh chili peppers 

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

3 cloves garlic, crushed, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 strips bacon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons Chili powder 

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce

Up to 8 cups water

1 cup diced yellow squash

1 cup chopped broccoli 

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

The night before: rinse and clean the beans, picking out any pebbles, then soak them for an hour with at least 2 inches of water covering them. Drain the beans, rinse them, then soak them overnight with at least an inch of water covered them.

The next day: drain and rinse the beans again, and soak them again for at least an hour. After the final soaking, drain and rinse the beans, then put them in a big pot covered with at least an inch of water, throw in the bay leaf, and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and stir them every 15 minutes while doing all of the prep work for the rest of the recipe.

Set the broiler to 450-500 degrees and set the rack to the top position. Place the Chili peppers and jalapeno on a baking sheet and roast them just until black blisters from, about 5 minutes. Move the rack down low in the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees in a baking mode to preheat the oven.

While the peppers are cooling, pat the stew meat dry and season it with the salt and pepper, then set aside. Chop the onion and crush the garlic and set aside. Measure out the seasonings and set aside. Chop the carrots and set aside. Chop the other vegetables and set aside. Chop the parsley and cilantro and set aside. Chop the peppers and set aside (remove seeds for a milder chili.)

Bring out the Dutch Oven, set it over a medium heat, and heat the vegetable oil. Just before it smokes, stir-fry the carrots until they just start to get a bit tender, then add the onion and stir-fry until it starts to turn glassy, and add the garlic until it becomes fragrant. Remove the stur-fried vegetables and set aside. Bring the heat under the Dutch oven to high, then when it just hits the smoke point, fry the bacon until crispy and the fat renders. Remove from the pot and immediately add the stew meat and brown it. 

By this time, drain the beans but save about 2 cups of the water.

Stir the seasonings into the stew meat, and add the reserved water from the beans, stirring to form a roux. Add the beans, two cans of tomato sauce, stir-fried vegetables, crumbled bacon, and just enough water to make it a little bit soupy. Cover the pot, and move it to the oven.

Check it at least every hour. At the 2 hour point, add the remaining vegetables and peppers, and return to the oven, baking for another hour before removing the cover of the Dutch Oven, and baking for another hour uncovered. Stir in half the fresh herbs and bake for another 30 minutes before removing from the oven.

Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, and the remaining fresh herbs.

Same-day Sourdough Foccacia

Folks-

I've been planning to make an overnight sourdough Foccacia recently, but haven't had the time to spare. Today I adapted a regular Foccacia recipe from Allrecipes to include sourdough starter discard to add flavor, and the family loved it!

I decorated the top using fresh Italian Parsley, Kalamata Olive slices, sliced grape tomatoes, and sliced garlic cloves to make flowers and a sprig of garlic wheat in the middle, which got a lot of attention from the family. I used the Parsley stems as the stems of the flowers, and chopped the unused leaves to make grass for them to root in.

The original recipe called for Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese to cover it. I chose Parmesan and Romano for the lower half, and sprinkled Nutritional Yeast on the upper half so my lactose intolerant middle child could enjoy it, and she really did (especially the garlic wheat sprig)!

Here's my variation of the Allrecipes Foccacia recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour (304g)

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dry oregano leaves

1 tsp dry thyme

1/2 tsp dry basil

A pinch black pepper 

3/4 cup water

3 tbsp olive oil

100 grams sourdough starter discard 

Cheeses to cover if wanted, or nutritional yeast 

Tomatoes/sliced garlic/Kalamata Olive slices/fresh parsley for decorating

Combine dry ingredients. Add water, olive oil, and sourdough starter discard, then mix until dough comes together. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Turn into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel to rise in a warm room until doubled, 20 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Turn the dough onto a greased cooking sheet and press the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Brush top with olive oil, then cover with cheese or nutritional yeast, then decorate. Bake for 12-20 minutes until the edges are just showing color.

Note: You can make this without the sourdough starter discard by using 2 3/4 cup flour and 1 cup water instead. No other changes are necessary to the recipe.

Hush Puppies

Folks-

My southern food kick is continuing today with hush puppies. I have no family links to these, we just all agreed that they're good with fried chicken or southern fried fish. This recipe is a variation of one I found at Small Town Woman, but of course, I modified it.

Enjoy!

ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons cooking oil

3 tablespoons chopped green onions or onion flowers

Whisk together dry ingredients. Beat together buttermilk, egg, and oil, then add the onions. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Heat 1 1/2 inches (3-4 cm) cooking oil in a cast iron Dutch oven or pan to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit and fry tablespoons of the dough in the oil just until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Place on a cooling rack over paper towels or parchment paper to drain. Eat while hot.

Deep Fried Artichoke Batter

Folks-

This is a work in progress, but it shows promise. My go-to deep-fried artichoke batter has been McCormick beer batter with added Italian seasoning, but I figured it was time to move on and make space in the pantry. So here's what I have so far.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning or Herbs de Province

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp white pepper

1/2 Tsp chili powder

1/2 Tsp black pepper

1 cup milk

1 large egg

Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk and egg until combined and no dry flour is seen. Batter will be lumpy. Dip fresh/frozen artichoke hearts into batter and deep fry at 350 degrees, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides.

Onion Flower and Lentil Soup

My dad used to try to grow onions in his garden from seed, but he had a problem: before growing a good bulb, they would flower, and when an onion flowers, the bulb becomes fibrous and inedible.

His solution was to make onion flower salsa.

I'd forgotten about this until recently. My mother-in-law planted some onions that had sprouted, and they were flowering in my backyard. Around this time, someone on Reddit posted a question on a gardening thread about what to do if their onions flowered. I told them to eat them. They asked how they tasted, and, well, I decided to find out that night. I fixed a baked potato with Icelandic yogurt instead of sour cream, and used scissors to sprinkle the top with onion blossoms.

It was freaking fantastic. Best potato ever. I shared with my family and ended up making several more!

Onion flowers taste strongly of onions, but are also sweet. You can sautee them and used them as a garnish on steaks, mix them raw into salads, or dang near anything you would put sliced or green onions into.

I got curious about recipes out there, and didn't find many. I guess not many people know about onion flowers being edible. One I decided to try was an Onion Flower and Lentil Soup. Really, I hated the recipe the minute I read it, so I changed it a lot before even making it. There are elements of it still in here, but this is functionally a new recipe.

Here it is! My Onion Flower and Lentil Soup!

Ingredients

4 Tbsp olive oil

4 tsb minced garlic

1 sausage, sliced, bratwurst, Italian sausage, or similar (optional)

1-2 onion flowers, blossoms sheared off, or about 1/2 cup chopped green onion

4 celery stalks, finely sliced

1 cup sliced carrots

1 bell pepper, cored and chopped, reserve half for serving

4 tsp minced garlic

1/2 Tsp ground paprika

1/2 Tsp ground black pepper

1/4 Tsp ground white pepper

1/4 Tsp turmeric

32 oz broth (any)

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup dry lentils, washed

Drizzle the olive oil into the bottom of a medium sized pot and sautee the sausage until cooked through. Add the onion flower, celery, carrots, garlic, and seasoning and stir-fry until tender. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the lentils and vinegar and simmer for 20 minutes. Good served with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt, avocado chunks, and/or chopped bell peppers.

Crab Rolls

Folks-

I've been watching too many eating/travel shows lately. Specifically Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix.

As a result, I created a completely experimental dinner tonight. I fixed my own Crab Rolls with chips (as in fries) and homemade blueberry soda. The fries were experimental in that I cut the potatoes into chunks and boiled them, drained them, let them cool, then fried them.

The Crab Rolls in this case are sandwiches with warm crab and Cole slaw.

I'm going to post the Blueberry Soda recipe next. Here's my homemade Crab Rolls!

Ingredients:

4-6 sandwich rolls or 8 hot dog rolls

16-24 oz cooked crab meat

14 oz thin sliced cabbage or a package of angel hair Cole slaw 

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1-1/2 tablespoons vinegar (white or apple cider)

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut a flat side on the top and bottom of the sandwich rolls, slather them outside and in with mayonnaise, and grill them inside and out. Mix the mayo, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, black pepper and salt together and reserve 1/4 cup. Mix the cabbage into the rest of the dressing. Stir-fry the crab meat in butter just until hot. Drain off the juices,then add the reserved dressing to the warm crab. Serve a roll by covering half of a sandwich roll with Cole slaw, and the other with chunks of crab.

Chef John's Black Lentil Soup-Vegan Style

I ended up in possession of a bunch of black lentils a few months back, and had no idea what they were or what to do with them.

Being me, I pulled up Google and got about looking for a recipe. I modified it for my sister, who is vegan, to serve at our Christmas dinner.

If you want the original, check here at Allrecipes, because this is my vegan version that my sister asked me to post here, and the original recipe is decidedly not vegan.

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 cups chopped yellow onion

• 2 cups diced carrots

• 2 cups diced celery

• 2-1/2 cups black lentils

• 10 cups vegetable broth

• 1 Teaspoon cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 Teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

In a large pot, sautee onions, carrots, and celery in the olive oil just until onions are softened and translucent. Season with thyme, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and stir in. Add lentils and stir to coat thoroughly in oil and seasonings at the bottom of the pot. Add vegetable stock and bring to a simmer, then add the liquid smoke and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Stir in half of the parsley and serve in bowls with a dash of the parsley on top.

Creole Red Beans and Rice

 I took my oldest on a "food trip" last Friday, and after stopping at Gizdich Ranch, Corralitos Market and Sausage Co, and Gayle's Bakery, we had a terrific spaghetti dinner.

Today I found i still had a couple of links of Corralitos Andoulle sausage, and figured I needed to do something with it. Luckily I found a recipe for Cajun Red Beans and Rice at Damn Delicious that I was able to twist to my needs.

Heres my Creole version of the recipe!

Ingredients:

    1 cup rice

    1 tablespoon vegetable oil

    1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced or ham, diced

    1 medium sweet onion, diced

    1 bell pepper, any color, diced

    2 celery ribs, diced

    2 tablespoons lemon juice

    2 tablespoons tomato paste

    3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

    1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

    3 (15-ounce) cans red beans, drained and rinsed

    3 cups chicken stock

    1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

    2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

    In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.

    Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes; set aside.

    Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Use the lemon juice to deglaze the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

    Stir in tomato paste, garlic and Cajun seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.

    Stir in red beans, chicken stock, hot sauce, and sausage; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover; continue to simmer until reduced, an additional 15 minutes.

    Using a wooden spoon, mash beans until slightly thickened, if desired; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    Serve immediately, topped with rice and garnished with parsley, if desired.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

 I’ve been searching for a good recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers, and finally had to wave the white flag. Nobody has a good recipe. Until I created one today.

I feel like everyone else’s recipe are too bland. Hamburger? Nah. We’re not making cheeseburgers here! We’re stuffing bell peppers!

Yep, this is my recipe, tested on my family. At least one of my kids was upset that it didn’t make more.

So here’s my recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients 

4 large bell peppers, any color

1 lb ground mild Italian sausage

1-1/2 cups chopped Roma tomatoes 

3/4 cups peeled and chopped summer squash or zucchini 

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup onion, chopped 

1 tbsp Italian seasonings 

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

2-4 tbsp olive oil 

1 cup grated cheddar jack

1 cup white rice, cooked

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 

8 slices fresh mozzarella 

Brown and crumble the Italian sausage. While it’s cooking, cut the bell peppers in half and remove the ribs and seeds. Finely chop the Roma tomatoes, squash, onion, and peel the garlic. Once the sausage is browned and crumbled, transfer to a bowl, and caramelize the onion in the same pan that the you cooked the sausage in. Add the tomatoes and squash. Allow to simmer and add the garlic and Italian seasonings, adding olive oil if the sausage fat is absorbed quickly. Reduce the temperature and allow to thicken and reduce. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer for another minute. Turn off the heat and add the rice, sausage, cheddar jack, and Parmesan cheeses and mix thoroughly. Place the peppers into a casserole dish just big enough to hold them, and fill each half with the mixture. Add up to 1-1/2 cups of water to the dish around the peppers, then cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Uncover, place a slice of mozzarella on each, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Garlic Butter

 Time for another quick recipe, this one adapted from AllRecipes.

I recently decided to fix grilled burgers for dinner (I know, in summer?!? What am I thinking? The shame!) and I decided to try something decidedly different. I smeared the buns with garlic butter and grilled them in the last 5-10 minutes on the same grill I used to fix the burgers. I left the meat unseasoned, because it probably would have been too much.

But, damn, those were good! Very possibly the best I have ever made.

For the garlic butter, I used a recipe I found at All Recipes and I (wait for it!) modified it. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter (1 cube)

1-1/2 Tsp minced garlic

3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (shelf stable powder works, but fresh is better)

1-1/2 Tsp garlic salt

1/2 Tsp Italian seasoning or French Herb de Provence

1/4 Tsp ground black pepper

1/4 Tsp ground paprika

Just mix it all together. Easily doubled.

For garlic bread, cut a loaf of French bread lengthwise and smear with the butter, and toast open face up under a broiler. Or smear on hamburger buns or sandwich rolls and grill or griddle over medium heat for a wonderful addition to your hamburger or salmon patty sandwich!

Pork Chop Rub

It was hot yesterday, in the 100 degree range. Weather like that demands grilling outside, if for no other reason than to keep the house a bit cooler. I knew I didn't have anything to grill, and as I started to think about what I was going to buy, I felt that I needed to fix something I usually don't. Pork chops spring to mind, and when I got to the store, I found they were less than $1.30/lb. That was less than half of the price for any kind of beef.

I didn't want to just grill them plain, so I started to look up recipes online. I found this rub at heygrillhey.com, and tried it. Here's my modification.

Ingredients

3 Tbs brown sugar

3 Tsp kosher salt

1-1/2 Tsp cracked pepper

1-1/2 Tsp paprika

3/4 Tsp ground mustard

1/2 Tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients. Prepare a grill for cooking and allow to heat to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the rub into 4 pork chops and rub into the meat. Sear on each side 2-3 minutes, then move to indirect heat for 5-8 minutes until an internal temperature of 145 degrees is reached. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving to preserve internal moisture.

Crumpets

 I’ve been experimenting with a new electric griddle my wife had me buy recently, and I was inspired to try to make traditional English Crumpets. I found a recipe at The Spruce Eats that works well, and then (here it comes!) modified it. I’m going to post the less modified version, and then my modifications to make it a shelf-stable mix for the pantry!

You will want a set of at least 4 stainless steel crumpet or English muffin rings to make this. Don’t get cheap aluminum ones. Stainless isn’t that much more, and won’t deform in your cabinets or drawers.

Crumpets

3-½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1-1/2 cups warm milk

1-¼ tsp active dry yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix together flour, sugar, powdered milk, and yeast. Mix in warm (not boiling) water and milk until batter is thick and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles-1 to 2 hours. Wisk the baking powder and salt into the batter. Heat a griddle to 350-400 degrees, or a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Brush oil onto the griddle or pan bottom, and the inside of your crumpet rings. Fill crumpet rings about half to three-quarters full of the batter and cook for 5 minutes until there are many tiny holes on the surface. Flip crumpet and ring over and continue to cook 2-3 minutes.

To make as a mix, replace the milk with 6 tablespoons of powdered milk and add it to the flour, sugar, and yeast, and increase the water to 2-1/2 cups. I store the baking powder and salt together in a small ziploc bag, and the other ingredients in a large ziploc bag (throwing the small one inside it.)

Updated Quiche Recipe

I've been making this recipe since my kids were still little, as you can see from reading my old posts, since after our trip to Disney World in Florida.
I never leave a recipe alone, and I figured it was time to update it. I found that the old recipe made too much for one quiche, not quite enough for two. So this is just a modified version of my old recipe.
Enjoy!

Quiche

2 prepared 9" deep-dish pie crusts or 3 regular 9" pie crusts
6 strips of cooked crispy bacon, coarsely chopped, or 2 cups chopped ham, or 1 cup cooked and thinly sliced bratwurst, or 1 cup cooked and crumbled breakfast sausage, or 1 cup diced cooked chicken or turkey breast, or 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts (or any combination. Just go nuts.)
2/3 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons diced green onions (optional)
3 cups shredded Swiss/mozzarella/Jack cheese (any works)
1/4 Cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups milk or half-and-half (anything from skim milk to half-and-half, you can combine milk and sour cream or plain yogurt for additional flavor)
9 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide the  meat/artichokes, minced onions, optional green onions, and Swiss cheese amongst the pie crusts. Whisk together the other ingredients and pour into the pie crusts, and top with the parmesan cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 300 degrees and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Allow to cool for ten minutes before cutting into eight slices and enjoy while still warm.

Chicken or Turkey Alfredo Lasagna

After Thanksgiving this year, I wanted something different to do with all of the leftover turkey. After a suggestion from a coworker, I looked up a Chicken Alfredo Lasagna recipe, and found a simple one on the Pilsbury website.
Repeat after me: “I modified it...” tested it on my family, and this is the result. It works just fine with either turkey or chicken, and in fact, might be the recipe most forgiving of changes or substitutions that I have on this site.

Chicken or Turkey Alfredo Lasagna

1 container (16 oz) ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheese blend (3 oz)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt with parsley

1 cup chopped or thinly sliced onion

1/2 package (4 oz) sliced fresh baby portabella mushrooms or 1/2 7oz can mushroom stems and parts, drained

3 cups shredded deli rotisserie chicken (from 2-lb chicken) or Turkey breast meat, cooked and shredded

1/2 cups roasted red bell peppers (from a 12-oz jar), drained, cut into 1/2-inch strips

2-1/2 jars (15 oz each) four-cheese Alfredo pasta sauce

9 sheets rectangular instant lasagna noodles (7 1/8 x 3 1/2 inches)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9- inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix ricotta or cottage cheese, cheese blend and garlic salt; set aside. 

• In a large bowl, combine Alfredo Sauce, chicken, onions, muchrooms, and roasted peppers. Spoon about 2 1/3 cups chicken mixture in baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles, half of cottage cheese or Ricotta mixture and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 3 noodles, 2 1/3 cups chicken mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. 

• Bake uncovered 50 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Modified From: https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/chicken-alfredo-lasagna/41f5c4fc-9779-4c36-a1f9-d01406c6183e

New Fried Chicken Recipe

Folks-
A few months ago, a newspaper published what they believed to be the original recipe for "Colonel" Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken. I tried it, and, you guessed it, changed it. In some ways, this is just a tad easier.
I guess I'll call it "Edly Fried Chicken."

Edly Fried Chicken

2-Cups Flour
2/3-Tsp Salt
1-1/2-Tsp Italian Seasonings
1-Tsp Celery Salt
1-Tsp Black Pepper
1-Tsp Dried Mustard
4-Tsp Paprika
2-Tsp Garlic Salt
1-Tsp Ground Ginger
3-Tsp White Pepper
1-Tsp Turmeric
1/2-Tsp Chili Powder
1/2-Tsp Garlic Powder
1-Tsp Chicken Bouillon
3-Eggs
2-Tbsp Milk
Chicken cut into parts
Enough cooking oil to fill a large frying pan 1/2" deep

Beat the eggs and milk together. Throw all of the dry ingredients into a gallon-sized plastic bag and shake them together until they are thoroughly mixed. Rinse and pat dry the chicken parts. Throw the chicken parts a couple at a time into the bag, and shake it to coat them. After coating the chicken parts in the dry ingredients, dredge them through the egg mixture, recoat them in the dry mixture, and set them aside for at least a half-hour in the refrigerator. Once the chicken parts look like they are coated in batter instead of powder, fry them at medium heat in a large skillet with at least a half-inch of oil in the bottom. Turn them over after at least twenty minutes and continue to fry until all pieces reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Note: Omit the chili powder, garlic powder, turmeric, and powdered chicken bouillon to essentially copy the KFC recipe. For an even more faithful version, use 1/2 Tsp Thyme, 1/2 Tsp Basil, and 1/3 Tsp Oregano instead of Italian Seasonings, and add about 1 Tsp MSG for the modern version.

Simple Savory Pork Loin Roast

Here it is, time for my annual update. Costco had a sale on pork tenderloin roasts recently, and after fixing a couple in the slow-cooker covered in barbecue sauce for sandwiches, I decided to look for a different recipe to mix things up.
I found one over at AllRecipes.com that we all liked, and of course I modified it. Here's my version of the Simple Savory Pork Loin Roast from AllRecipes.com:

1-1/2 Tbsp Fresh snipped Rosemary
2 Tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 Tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 Tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
1 3 lb Pork Tenderloin Roast

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all seasonings into a large zippered plastic bag, a gallon-sized freezer bag works well. Throw in the thawed roast and shake the bag thoroughly to coat. Transfer the roast to a medium baking dish, cover, and bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes to an internal temperature of 145.

If you find that the seasoning runs out without thoroughly covering the roast, don't be afraid to shake some garlic salt and pepper on the uncoated parts.

Quiche Lorraine

Folks-
We just got home a couple of weeks ago from our family vacation in Florida (it was a blast!) While visiting Epcot at Disney World, my daughter had a Quiche Lorraine for lunch at the France Exhibit at World Showcase. She enjoyed it so much that I decided to make one tonight for dinner. I started with this recipe at allrecipes and modified it from the suggestions in the comments. I actually made two at once due to the amount of ingredients I had, with the intent to freeze one. We'll see if that plan lasts through tomorrow!
In any case, here's my recipe:

Quiche Lorraine

1 prepared 9" deep-dish pie crust, or 2 regular 9" pie crusts
12 strips of cooked crispy bacon, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup minced onion
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1-1/3 cup half-and-half
6 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the bacon, minced onions, and Swiss cheese in the pie crust. Whisk together the other ingredients and pour into the pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 300 degrees and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Allow to cool for ten minutes before cutting into eight slices and enjoy while still warm.
Tip: This recipe works well with ham instead of bacon. Deli ham is acceptable. Cooked spinach is also good in it. You can change out the Swiss cheese, substituting in mozzarella or Monterey Jack in its place.

Ham and Cheese Soup

Folks-
I decided late last year that I needed a new ham soup recipe. I found a good one online at "A Taste of Home," and as usual, spent time modifying it until it was perfect from my families perspective.
By 2017, my daughter had convinced me to try chopped broccoli instead of the shredded carrots. She's right, it's better. I'm including that variation here.
Pro tip: make this using two pots that are much larger than you expect you'll need. It seems to somehow end up being a much larger recipe than you'll think it will.

Here's my version:

Ham and Cheese Soup

2 Cups peeled diced potatoes

2 Cups water

3/4 Cup shredded carrots or 3/4 to 1 cup chopped broccoli, frozen or fresh

1/3 Cup chopped onion

1/4 Cup cubed butter

1/4 Cup flour

2 Cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Cups shredded cheese (cheddar, sharp cheddar, jack, or a blend)

2 Cups cubed fully cooked ham

In a pot, combine water, potatoes, carrots and/or broccoli, and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. After covering the potato mixture, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the milk, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and stir for two minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Add cheese mixture to undrained potato mixture. Add ham and heat through.

Modified from a recipe at:http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cheddar-Ham-Soup

Chicken Soup

Folks-
I finally sat down and wrote out my chicken soup recipe, the one I first mentioned when I posted my moms egg noodle recipe. There are a bunch of variations that I have come up with that I'll mention after the main recipe.
Here it is! Enjoy!

Chicken soup

1 lb raw skinned chicken, diced

1 batch noodles (or 1 package egg noodles)

3 carrots, sliced

3 celery stalks, sliced

2 T olive oil

1/4 onion, diced

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

8 cups water and 8 teaspoons (or 8 cubes) chicken bouillon, or 8 cups chicken stock

In a large pot, sauté the chicken and garlic in the olive oil until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until tender. Throw in the Italian seasoning, then add the water and bouillon and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium, add noodles and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Variations: You can use commercial dry egg noodles instead of the homemade noodles if time is an issue, but you run the risk of the soup tasting a lot like a commercial soup. I recommend frozen noodles over dry. Frozen noodles can be found in many supermarket frozen food sections by the frozen breads or pastas. Look for frozen ravioli, it'll probably be on the bottom shelf if they carry them. You may need two bags. Experiment and have fun!

You can use already cooked chicken, such as rotisserie chicken (yay Costco!), leftover fried chicken, or canned chunk chicken breast, or leftover turkey. Simply skip the step of browning the chicken and stir-fry the veggies instead.

I usually don't make a single batch of this soup. Usually I buy enough eggs, chicken, celery, and carrots for at least two batches, cut it up, and freeze the veggies in a ziplock bag, freeze the chicken in another (smaller) bag, and the noodles in another bag, and put the seasonings in a sandwich bag. I end up putting the various bags together in the freezer and then up to a month later, stir-fry the chicken and veggies, add the water and seasonings, bring to a boil and add the noodles and boil 10 minutes for a quick dinner.

Dublin Coddle

Folks-
I guess it's time for my annual post!

I discovered recently that the link I had to Meemo's Kitchen for the Mrs. Knott's Biscuits has gone dark. As a result, you may see me converting some of my bookmarks into posts here. After all, there's little chance that Google will dump Blogger since they still have their RSS reader (right?) ;)

Well, all kidding aside, with St. Patrick's day so recently passed, I figured I'd post the recipe I make annually this time of year. Not Corned Beef and Cabbage, I don't do that. I make a nice, hearty soup popular in pubs around Dublin. I first had it there over 20 years ago. It's called Dublin Coddle, and here's my variation:

Dublin Coddle

1 lb Breakfast Sausage, Sliced

1-1/2 lb Sliced Bacon, Cut into pieces

2 lbs Potatoes, Peeled and Diced

1-1/2 Large Onion, Diced

4 C water

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

Chopped Parsley

Place all ingredients except parsley into a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Serve in a bowl garnished with the parsley.