Kielbasa Stir Fry

Here is a real easy and filling recipe that is even better when you just don’t have time.  The leftovers are also good for a second meal or lunch.  Don’t have a Wok?  Not a problem, just use a large pan.

Ingredients:

·   3 Tbl       Butter

·   1/4 cup   chopped onions

·   1             Green pepper

·   2 cups     fresh broccoli

·   Garlic powder to taste

·   Oregano to taste

·   1 lb         Kielbasa

·   ½ cup     Parmesan

Directions:

1.      Chop the onions and put aside in something like a soup bowl

2.      Cut up the pepper and add it to the onions.  Don’t use the seeds or white membrane

3.      Cut the Kielbasa into 1 or 1 ½ inch lengths.  Put this on the side but not in the bowl with the onions

4.      Melt the butter in the Wok

5.      Add the onions and green pepper and let them cook for a couple minutes

6.      Stir in the broccoli and let that cook for a minute or so

7.      Sprinkle in the garlic and oregano and stir

8.      Toss in Kielbasa and heat through (Kielbasa is normally pre-cooked so you are just heating it up.  If it is real fresh you will want to cook it some more.

9.      Add the parmesan cheese, stir and cook for 30 seconds or more depending on how you want the cheese.

You can serve this with rice, potatoes, beans, on a slice of bread or hot dog roll, or as is.  I gave you something real easy so you  have to make this decision.

Veggie Casserole From Leftovers

So, you are looking through the fridge and find all these small containers with remnants of former meals.  You are probably in a hurry, that is why you are scavenging.  Some broccoli, a few peas, quarter cup of carrots, and fresh mushrooms that were on sale but you didn’t need them all.  Tonight’s dinner is almost done, you just don’t realize it yet.  It is even closer if you have some rice so look a little harder.  Rice is usually in two or more containers, from the Chinese dinner you brought home and some from the meal you made last Tuesday.

I’m going to give you the recipe as if it was from scratch because I don’t know what you have left over.  Your job is to make the substitutions.  For instance my recipe calls for a bag of frozen vegetables.  See what you already have and make the adjustment.  Since this is a casserole you can often put in some vegetables that you don’t normally like because they will be covered by the rest of the meal or hidden in someone else’s serving.

As for the rice, depending on how you cook it, 1 cup of uncooked rice will produce about 3 cups of cooked rice.  See what you have and cook up the rest.  I like to use a broth instead of water, or maybe half broth to half water for a little different taste.  I tried beer once but it didn’t do any good.

Ingredients:

·   2 cups           Uncooked rice

·   1 can             Cream of Mushroom soup (don’t make the soup, just use the concentrate)

·   1 small jar    Cheese Wiz

·   1 bag            Vegetables like broccoli or mixed

·   Fresh mushrooms (canned if you have to)

·   Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.            Cook up the rice

2.            About the time the rice is finished preheat the oven to 350

3.            Pour the cooked rice into a casserole

4.            Add the remaining ingredients to the casserole

5.            Stir everything together

6.            Bake for 40 minutes

Nice meal, easy to prepare in a short time, stores well for later, good for Lent.  Cooking is easier than you thought.

Chicken Reuben Casserole

Here is something you can make for tonight if you have about an hour and a quarter before dinner, or you can make early and just reheat when needed.  Using chicken breasts instead of corned beef should make it healthier, I think.  I don’t really know though as determining the healthiness of food is outside my expertise.  Well, to be serious, cooking is outside my expertise, it is more of a hobby usually based on the help of others who do have an expertise.

Anyway, this works and I would expect that it works well with corned beef, ham, or turkey also but I haven’t tried those yet.

Ingredients:

·   Cooking Spray

·   4 boneless     Chicken Breasts (4 half breasts are fine if you would rather and they are large      enough for you

·   1/8 tsp            Black pepper

·   14 oz can        Sauerkraut

·   4 slices          Swiss Cheese

·   1 cup             Thousand Island Dressing

·   2 Tbl             Parsley

·   4 boneless     Chicken Breasts (4 half breasts are fine if you would rather and they are large enough for you

·   Cooking spray

Direction:

1.      Spray a good sized oven proof baking dish.  One large enough for your chicken.  Use two if you want.

2.      Cut the fat and skin off the chicken breasts, then wash them, and place in the baking dish.

3.      Wash your hands thoroughly.  Raw chicken can cause problems.

4.      Look into the oven and make sure nobody is storing anything in there.  I had some starter resting in mine once and forgot about it.  Oh well, it only takes about a week to start a new one.

5.      Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

6.      Place the sauerkraut over the chicken.  Use tongs so you don’t touch the raw chicken

7.      Place one slice of cheese over each chicken breast (or half breast if you are going that way)

8.      Pour the dressing over everything

9.      Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Poke it with a knife and if the juices run clear, it is ready.  If you really want to be safe, cut the largest piece in half and make sure that the inside isn’t red.  If you can save the chicken with a tourniquet then it really has a lot of time to go.  Maybe your oven isn’t working.  By the way, frozen chicken will take about a half hour longer.

Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Chicken is a fantastic summer dish.  It can be made in so many ways, served hot or cold, and the addition of fruit only enhances the flavor.  My friends at Summer Recipes have come up with a nice and easy chicken recipe that incorporates the bird with apples, raisins, pecans, orange juice, apple jelly, and sherry.  Great for your tongue to play with and the leftover can be reserved or chopped up into a chicken salad spread between slices of raisin/cinnamon bread.  WOW.

Ingredients

·         6                boneless and skinless chicken breasts

·         1 ½ cups    Diced apples.  You choose red or green.  They both work

·         ¼ cup        Chopped golden seedless raisins (I like the golden in the Summer and red when it is cold)

·         ¼ cup        Chopped pecans (use walnuts if you prefer)

·         3 Tbl          Minced onion

·         2/3 tsp       Sage (pour it into your hand and rub it around a bit to get the oils working)

·         Some toothpicks

·         ¼ cup        Orange juice concentrate (make orange juice out of the remainder)

·         ¼ cup        Margarine

·         1/3 cup      Apple jelly

·         ¼ cup        Sherry (dry works much better than cream sherry here)

Directions

1.            Prepare the apples, raisins, nuts, onion and sage,  put into a medium bowl, and combine (stir them together).  (Prepare means dice the apples, chop the raisins, etc.)

2.            Take out a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap about 3 times as wide as the largest chicken breast.

3.            Wash the chicken and cut off the fat

4.            Fold the plastic wrap in half and put a chicken breast in the middle.  This will keep everything clean.

5.            Pound the breast with a meat mallet or rolling pin until it is about a quarter of an inch thick.  Don’t go crazy hear thinking about the guy who cut you off on the way to the grocery store.

6.            Place the breast on a plate and do the next one until all are done.

7.            Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

8.            Put about a spoonful of the apple mixture (stuffing) on each chicken breast.

9.            If you have some left either cook it or add it evenly to the chicken breasts.

10.        Roll the breast up, tuck in all sides, and put a wooden toothpick through each to keep them closed.

11.        Place the chicken in a baking pan with sides.

12.        Wash your hands very well.  Raw chicken is not something you want to play with.

13.        Combine the orange juice, margarine, Apple jelly and sherry.  I use the same bowl I had the stuffing in.

14.        Pour the orange juice mixture into a small saucepan and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes.  This will make about 1 cup of glaze.

15.        Put the chicken into the oven, uncovered, for around 45 minutes and brush/baste often with the glaze.

Authentic Italian Meat Balls

“Authentic”, don’t you love that word in a recipe title? As if somebody got everybody in Italy together years ago and said, “here isa da way we goin to makea da meatAball.” It never happened but having grown up in an Italian family I can tell you there are some things that are common and often not copied by cooks in other countries. Probably the biggest thing is bread. Most of us don’t use bread crumbs, we use slices of bread that are pulled apart into small pieces. Another is meat, we include veal when at all possible.

But like I wrote, we didn’t get together and come up with the “authentic” recipe so if you want to add pine nuts, diced prunes, ricotta, pecorino, mint, chives, or tarragon, go ahead.

Ingredients:
About 3 slices of bread. I like a white bread for this because of the absorption factor.
¾ cup Milk. Whole milk is normal but I use what I have, including non-fat
20 oz Meatloaf mix (lean beef, pork, and veal)
2 Eggs
2 cloves Garlic
¼ cup Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbl Italian parsley

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a large bowl.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread. You wont need it anymore so use it for crotons or at least give it to the birds.
3. Put the bread into the milk and press down with your hands or a large spoon. Don’t use much pressure though, you just want the bread to absorb the milk. Flattened bread won’t be any better than bread crumbs.
4. Put the meat into a bowl. If you had to purchase the beef, pork, and veal separately then mix them together by hand.
5. Squeeze the milk out of the bread, tear it into small pieces (about a half inch wide), and add to the meat.
6. Add the eggs, garlic, Parmesan, and parsley.
7. Mix everything together with your hands. Feel free to add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Pull out small portions of meat and form into balls of about 1 ½ inches thick.
9. You can cook these in several ways but I really like to just drop them into a tomato sauce. It will take about a half to three quarters of an hour and help flavor the sauce at the same time.

Gnocchi with a Parmesan-Beer Sauce

First let me say that most of us with an Italian family history believe “potato gnocchi” is redundant. We never learned to make gnocchi with anything but potatoes, the flour type was always called Cavatelli. But now between “fusion” cooking and the Americanization of ethnic dishes many restaurants and food producers use the words “potato gnocchi”. Funny though, they never make gnocchi with anything else. Oh well like Shakespeare would have said, gnocchi by any other name would still be fantastic.

Second, it isn’t Ga Nochi.

Third, you can make your own or buy it at the store. I’ll show you how to make it from scratch in another post but for now, buy it. I want this to be simple.

Fourth, Parmigiano-Reggiano is the legal name for a specific cheese made in a specific area of Italy by a specific recipe. It is fantastic and has a great melting ability but if you are only using it to lightly cover something, then buy a less expensive parmesan for dishes like this or topping spaghetti.

As for this recipe, it was inspired by one I read on Oklahoma Beer. That is a good site for both recipes and facts about beer. Try it sometime.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbl Butter, divided
• 2 ½ Tbl Flour
• 1 cup Pumpkin ale (a good Lager or Cream ale will also do and produce interesting alternative flavors.
• 1 ¼ cups Half and Half
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and divided
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg, ground
• 1 lb Gnocchi
• 10 oz frozen peas and carrots
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put water into a large pot, add some salt, and heat to a boil at a medium high heat setting.
2. Butter a glass baking dish or casserole about 11x17. Don’t use too much butter, only about ½ to 1 tablespoon.
3. Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. If you used too much butter on the glass dish then make sure you have 2 ½ tablespoons of butter for this stage.
4. Slowly add the flour to the butter and whisk them together.
5. Pour the beer into the butter mixture and continue to whisk.
6. Now add the Half-and-Half to the butter mixture and keep whisking. In fact keep whisking until everything begins to boil. After about 3 minutes this stuff should begin to thicken.
7. Begin to preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
8. Add ¾ cup of the parmesan cheese and all the nutmeg to the butter mixture and cook for another minute. Add salt and pepper if you like and take the saucepan off the heat.
9. The water should begin to boil around now so add the gnocchi and cook according to the package instructions. That normally means about 3 minutes when the pasta begins to float.
10. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. If you would like, take the gnocchi out of the water by using a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Then dump the water and gently return the gnocchi to the pot.
11. Add the butter mixture, which is no a nice cheese sauce, to the pasta.
12. Add the peas and carrots to the pasta.
13. Stir gently to make sure everything is covered.
14. Using one of those big spoons take the pasta and everything out of the large pan and put it into the baking dish/casserole.
15. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.
16. Cook in the oven uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes. It should be bubbling.
17. Let it sit for a minute and serve it hot.

Authentic Italian Meat Balls

“Authentic”, don’t you love that word in a recipe title? As if somebody got everybody in Italy together years ago and said, “here isa da way we goin to makea da meatAball.” It never happened but having grown up in an Italian family I can tell you there are some things that are common and often not copied by cooks in other countries. Probably the biggest thing is bread. Most of us don’t use bread crumbs, we use slices of bread that are pulled apart into small pieces. Another is meat, we include veal when at all possible.

But like I wrote, we didn’t get together and come up with the “authentic” recipe so if you want to add pine nuts, diced prunes, ricotta, pecorino, mint, chives, or tarragon, go ahead.

Ingredients:
About 3 slices of bread. I like a white bread for this because of the absorption factor.
¾ cup Milk. Whole milk is normal but I use what I have, including non-fat
20 oz Meatloaf mix (lean beef, pork, and veal)
2 Eggs
2 cloves Garlic
¼ cup Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbl Italian parsley

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a large bowl.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread. You wont need it anymore so use it for crutons or at least give it to the birds.
3. Put the bread into the milk and press down with your hands or a large spoon. Don’t use much pressure though, you just want the bread to absorb the milk. Flattened bread won’t be any better than bread crumbs.
4. Put the meat into a bowl. If you had to purchase the beef, pork, and veal separately then mix them together by hand.
5. Squeeze the milk out of the bread, tear it into small pieces (about a half inch wide), and add to the meat.
6. Add the eggs, garlic, Parmesan, and parsley.
7. Mix everything together with your hands. Feel free to add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Pull out small portions of meat and form into balls of about 1 ½ inches thick.
9. You can cook these in several ways but I really like to just drop them into a tomato sauce. It will take about a half to three quarters of an hour and help flavor the sauce at the same time.

Beer Ribs

Everybody believes they make the best ribs and the assumption is usually based on their bar-b-q sauce.  The ribs themselves are probably under or over cooked, a little tough.  I wasn’t an exception until I talked to my friend Tim who has won rib cook-offs, been in the restaurant business for years, and truly makes the best ribs I ever ate.  Using some of his secrets I came up with the following idea and, if I must say so myself, has a fantastic deep taste.

Even more important though, it doesn’t take very long and you can buy most of the components if you want so you are not stuck in the kitchen while all your friends are having fun.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 slab of ribs

2 or 3 cans of beer

Some marinade

Some Bar-B-Q sauce

Directions:

First; buy yourself a nice marinade and bar-b-q sauce.  If you don’t want people to know they are from the grocery store just pour them into jars and tell everyone you made them.  If you do want to make them yourself I will try to help you in a separate post.

Second; freeze the ribs.  I know, people say they can taste it if meat has been frozen but the truth is, they can’t.  Pretty much all meat is frozen to transport without spoiling.  Besides, all you are doing here is making it easier to remove the membrane.

Third; remove the membrane.    This is a lot easier if the ribs are frozen and you use a sharp knife.  The membrane is that thin white thing on the back of the ribs.  Start in one corner and carefully run your knife between it and the ribs until it is removed.  Tim can do this in such a way that he can take the entire thing off in one sheet but I can’t.  Just keep working at it and don’t cut yourself.  Nobody wants food that you have been bleeding over and a trip to the hospital can really ruin your timing.

Then run your knife between each rib and over each rib on both sides and cut the entire thing into two or three rib sections.

What you have accomplished is the removal of the one thing that prevents the heat, marinade, and sauce from penetrating the meat.  If you just do this and plop the ribs on a grill it will be better than anything your neighbors cook.  But you want it even better.

Fourth; pre-cook the ribs.  You can steam them but if you don’t have the correct hardware you may want to try this method.  Put the ribs in a large Dutch oven and pour the beer over it.  If that doesn’t cover the ribs then add water.  I usually put the water into the used beer cans, slosh it around, and then pour it in.  Why waste the beer taste?  I usually use a Lager for many reasons, the primary being that I drink Lager and it is handy.  Guinness would be good also since it is one my favorite drinking and cooking beers.  The key here is to add flavor to the liquid or else you are just boiling the meat and that can cost you in flavor.,

Fifth; bring the ribs to boiling, turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook for about an hour.

Sixth; put the cooked ribs into a container and pour the marinade over it.  Stir it around to make sure everything is coated.  Cover this and let it sit for a while.  Look at the directions on the bottle/envelope to get an idea of the timing.  Put it in a cooler or refrigerator for this phase.

Seventh; cook it on the grill.  You can also cook it in your oven at 350 degrees.  Flip the ribs about every 5 minutes or so and baste them with the remaining marinade.  When you have about 10 minutes left then baste with the bar-b-q sauce and throw the remaining marinade away.

Unless the ribs are real thick you should see the meat separate from the bone.  You are probably done at that time unless you want jerky.

Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce

You’re driving home from work and remember that you have not done anything about dinner. Sound familiar? How about a good taste meal that needs 5 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cooking? Well here is something I found at All Recipes.com that will put you in front of the TV screen with a smile.

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
Cooking oil spray
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil
2. While the water is warming prepare the red bell peppers and garlic and put them in a small open container (a bowl will do) and sprinkle the cayenne over them
3. Add the pasta to the water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente
4. While the pasta is cooking spray cooking oil in a large skillet and heat to medium
5. Pour the bowl of peppers, etc. into the skillet and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes
6. Drain the pasta then pour it back into the pan you cooked it in and cover. Do I have to tell you to take this off the heat first?
7. Stir sour cream and broth into the skillet and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes
8. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cheese
9. Pour the peppers and sauce into pan with the pasta, season with salt and pepper, and stir everything until combined. Don’t get carried away stirring

See, 15 minutes and a full meal for 4. Eat what you want and put the rest away for a great leftover meal. Don’t leave it too long though.

Want more than 4 servings? Click on the Recipe title and allrecipes.com will compute what you need.

Caribbean Style Spiced Chicken Thighs

I just found this in an old recipe file Nancy put together some time ago.  As I recall the spice was strong and overpowered the flavor so I made a few alterations and believe it is now quite good.  If you would like a stronger spice flavor just try increasing the Jalapeno, black pepper, and/or red pepper while reducing the sugar to 1 Tablespoon.

Ingredients:

·         1 small       Onion minced (about a ¼ cup)

·         1 1/3 Tbl    Sugar

·         1 Tbl          Jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped

·         2 tsp          Cider Vinegar

·         2 tsp          Soy sauce

·         ½ tsp         Salt

·         ½ tsp         Ground allspice

·         ¼ tsp         Dried tyme

·         ½ tsp         Black pepper

·         ¼ tsp         Ground red pepper

·         4 to 8         Chicken thighs, skinless

·         2 shots       Red wine (see #9)

·         Cooking spray

Directions:

1.      Combine all but the chicken and cooking spray in a bowl and mix together

2.      Cut the fat and skin off the chicken.  Don’t worry if you leave a little.

3.      Wash your hands thoroughly and use tongs for the remainder of the recipe.  Wash the thongs and everything the raw chicken touches (don’t cut it on your counter top) when finished using.

4.      Dredge the chicken through the sauce and place in a container

5.      Scrape the remainder of the sauce over the chicken

6.      Cover the chicken container and place in the refrigerator for a half hour or up to five hours.  I shook the container to make sure everything was mixed well

7.      Heat a skillet at medium heat then coat it with the cooking spray

8.      Add the chicken to the pan and cook thoroughly on both sides.  Since I used bone-in thighs I tried 10 minutes per side then 5 minutes each (see #9)

9.      About midway through the cooking process when the vegetables are beginning to look overcooked, add the wine and deglaze.  Adjust the amount based on how dry everything is getting.  I guess you could use water or stock but I think the wine gives it a nice layer of taste

10.  Poke the chicken with a knife or fork in the center near the bone.  If the juices run clear then the chicken should be done.  If it is red then cook longer.  To make you feel better try cutting into the biggest thigh to make sure.  Don’t ever serve chicken when the juice is not clear or the insides are raw.  This is not a steak.

You can serve this with potatoes, rice, noodles, or whatever and a vegetable. 

Savory Onion Chicken

This is a real tasty chicken recipe that won’t take a lot of time or money but your friends will think they just ate at an expensive restaurant.  Great mix of flavors, sauce that cries for bread to dip into it, and a very tender meat.  I matched it with a green been recipe (that I posted today also) and simple mashed potatoes.  The original recipes for the chicken and the beans came from www.TasteOfHome.com and I made a few changes.

While this recipe includes some beer don’t worry about it.  Personally I hate it when the beer dominates the food rather than act as a component, which it does here.  My personal belief is that if you want onion chicken you should be able to taste the onion, chicken, and assorted seasonings.  If you feel the same you will like this.  Besides, you can use a non-alcoholic or light beer or probably some chicken stock though I didn’t try those.  I used a bottle of Yuengling Lager but believe MGD would do as well.  Of course there is a good beer aroma while cooking but not as much in the finished meal.

You can also use a 3 to 4 pound broiler or fryer if you wish.  Just cut it up and remove the skin.

Ingredients:

·         1/4 cup       all-purpose flour, divided into two steps of 2 Tablespoons (give or take)

·         2 half          chicken breasts each cut in thirds

·         2 Tbl          olive oil

·         1 envelope  onion soup mix (I used Lipton)

·         1 bottle       (12 ounces) beer or nonalcoholic beer (12 oz)

Directions:

1.      Place 2 tablespoons flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat or put the flour on a dish and dredge the chicken.  You may need more flour.

2.      Add the oil to a skillet

3.      Brown the chicken in the skillet

4.      Take the chicken out of the skillet, put it on a plate, and keep it warm with a tent of aluminum foil or stick it in the microwave or oven that you are not using

5.      Add the soup mix and the remaining flour to the skillet to start the rue.  Stir everything up while loosening the browned bits from the pan.  I like to use a spatula for this to capture all the flavors.

6.      Gradually stir in the beer using the spatula, a whisk, or whatever you feel comfortable with.

7.      Bring everything to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until the mixture is thickened.

8.      Put the chicken back into the pan and bring everything to a boil.

9.      Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a low simmer.  Cook for about a half hour or until the chicken juices run clear which is normally how you tell if chicken is done, when the juices run clear.  This made the meat very tender.  You can turn the heat to a higher simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes if you are getting anxious or your side dishes are beginning to cool

Yields around 6 servings.

Meatloaf With Flavor

Meatloaf does not have to rely on Catsup for flavor.  It should be more than an 8x4x4.5 hamburger with a lot of breadcrumbs.  Just give it a little time and a few ingredients and you’ll be looking forward to the meal.  You’ll love it hot, cold, fresh, as a leftover meal or as a sandwich.  Make it once and have it several times.

Feel free to make some changes, especially using those small quantity leftover vegetables while they’re still good.  For instance, you can use cracker crumbs from a box or make your own by crushing crackers you like or use a green pepper instead of a red or yellow.  It’s your meatloaf, make it your way.

Ingredients:

·   3 Tbl       Oil (Peanut will give it a more Southern flavor and different heating temperature but I use Olive or Vegetable most of the time.  They are always around and cheaper)

·   1 small    Onion, chopped

·   2 ribs      Celery (Use less if you want or augment with dried celery leaves or seads)

·   3 cloves  Garlic, minced

·   1 small    Yellow pepper, diced ( I like the yellow or red for taste and color and have used half of each.  Green is fine also, and normally less expensive)

·   ½ cup     Green onions, chopped

·   1 Tbl       Basil, fresh and minced.  You can substituted 1 tsp of dried basil

·   ¼ tsp      Red pepper, crushed

·   1 1/3 lb   Meatloaf mix (that is a combination of ground beef, veal, and pork.  You can also use whatever ground meat you like but I wouldn’t suggest anything with greater than a 20% fat content)

·   1 1/3 tsp Cajun seasoning (you can buy it or make it.  There are several recipe’s  and I will go through some ideas at a later time)

·   ¼ tsp      Tabasco sauce

·   1 Tbl       Worcestershire sauce

·   2 large    Eggs

·   ½ cup     Cornflakes

·   ½ cup     cracker crumbs

·   ¼ cup     Bread crumbs, seasoned

·   ¼ cup     Catsup

·   ¼ cup     Chili sauce

·   2 slices    Bread

Directions:

1.            Prepare the onion, celery, garlic pepper, and green onions and place in a small bowl.

2.            Put the meat in a large bowl and season with the Cajun seasoning, Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce..

3.            Crack the eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl.  This will help you determine if they are still good as well as fish out the errant egg shells.  Then beat them.

4.            Add the eggs, cornflakes, cracker crumbs, bread crumbs, catsup, and chili  sauce to the meat and set aside.

5.            Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat until hot

6.            Add the oil.  If you are using Peanut oil it will start to smoke when ready.  Other oils will take 30 seconds or so

7.            Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

8.            Add the onion mixture from #1 and cook for about 4 minutes

9.            Add the basil and red pepper and cook for another minute

10.        Take the skillet off the heat and set aside for a while, letting it cool just a bit.

11.        Add the cooked vegetables to the meat and have fun mixing everything together with your hands.

12.        Put a slice or two of bread in the bottom of a loaf pan and then form the meat on top of the bread.

13.        Bake for 40 minutes and check.  This should be enough time but I always check.

14.        Put the meatloaf on a plate, leaving the bread slices either in the loaf pan or garbage.  Better yet, give the bread to the birds.

15.        Let the meatloaf cool for a bout 10 minutes and then cut into ½ to 1 inch slices for serving.

Liver and Onions With A Twist

OK, Liver is not for everybody and I’m not trying to convert you to being a liver lover.  But if you do like it you have probably burned your share and eaten it the same way (cooked together with onions and bacon) forever.  Here is a little twist that isn’t complicated and will make you love it even more.  Besides, if you read this over you may find that it doesn’t have to be burned all the time.

Ingredients:

·         1/3 cup      Flour

·         ½ tsp         Paprika

·         ½ tsp         Garlic salt (I often use minced garlic to taste)

·         ½ tsp         Salt

·         1/8 tsp       Black pepper

·         1 lb            Beef or calves liver

·         3 Tbl          Butter or Margarine

·         1 Tbl          Vegetable oil

·         3 cups        White wine (use something you would drink.  Don’t get that wine for cooking stuff since that is often wine that wont sell)

·         2 Tbl          Parsley chopped

·         1 Tbl          Lemon juice

·         ½ tsp         Sage, dried and crushed

·         Parsley sprigs

·         Bacon, optional

Directions:

1.            Combine the flour, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper on a plate

2.            Quarter and thinly slice the onions.  Put them on the side for use later

3.            Measure out the wine.  I normally taste it first but between the two of us I do this because I like the taste.

4.            Pat the liver dry with a new paper towel.  Napkins don’t work very well

5.            Trim the liver of tough membranes and veins

6.            Cut the liver into smaller pieces of about 3 x 1 ½ inches

7.            Dredge the liver in the flour mixture and set aside (when I have to coat a meat like in a schnitzel, I usually dredge it, put it on a plate, and refrigerate for a few minutes.  Nothing to long)

8.            Wash off the first dish and keep it for later

9.            Put the oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter/margarine into a large skillet and heat over medium high heat

10.        Put the liver into the skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.  You don’t want it to be red in the middle but then you don’t want it to be black on the outside either

11.        Take the liver out and put it on the dish you used first and washed off

12.        If I am going to use bacon this is the step where I cook it.  You can cook it in the skillet or microwave it until almost done.  Then take it out and add it back when you put in the liver.

13.        Melt the remaining butter/margarine in the skillet which is still on medium high heat.  If you are adding bacon you can reduce the butter/margarine by the amount of fat from the bacon

14.        Cook the onions for 5 minutes at which time they should be nice and tender

15.        Reduce the heat to low and give it a minute to cool

16.        Put the liver back into the skillet and add the wine, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and sage.

17.        Cook and stir for about 2 minutes so it is heated through.

18.        Serve.