Memorial Day

This weekend is the "unofficial" beginning of summer.  The weekend that we pull out our potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans.  The weekend that the local pools open for the season.

I hope you get together with some friends and enjoy the outdoors, laughter, and delicious food....but I hope that you take some time to be thankful for the ultimate sacrifice that the American solder, sailor, airman, and Marine paid so that we could be free.

Tomatillo Pork

I am a big fan of the crockpot, but I have a hard time finding recipes that I like.  I hate using "cream of" soups, as I would much prefer to use real ingredients.

This recipe is SUPER easy and SUPER delicious.  All the kids (even the picky one!) loves it.  There are never leftovers past the first day.  Never.  <sigh>

You may choose to make your own tomatillo salsa, but I don't.  I did it one time and decided the work did NOT outweigh the benefit.  I buy Herdez salsa verde.  It's cheap, it's delicious, and it has five ingredients:  tomatillos, onions, serrano peppers, salt, and cilantro.  Why on earth would I go through the effort when I can get this?!?!

Two ingredients for this "recipe".  Two bottles of this salsa, and a Boston butt (also called pork shoulder), which I can usually buy (on sale) for $1.29/lb.  It's a great cut for long, slow cooking.  I do prefer to make this recipe a day before I need it, as it has a lot of fat that cooks out and I hate trying to skim off fat when it's still warm.  I cook it, drain it, chill it, peel off the hardened fat and then continue the recipe.

I toss a pork shoulder (cut into big pieces) into the crockpot along with a jar of this salsa.  Cook on low all day (or high half the day - come on, this isn't rocket science!).  Take the meat out, pour the liquid into a container, shred the meat, add to container, and chill.  The next day, continue.

About two hours before you're going to eat, "peel off" the fat that has risen to the top.  You won't get it all.  Don't worry about it.  Place your meat on one or two rimmed baking sheets, along with the liquid, and divide most of another jar of salsa between the two.  Stir as well as you can, and place into a 375F oven, stirring occasionally, until the meat is a little bit crispy and most of the liquid has cooked off.  This could take 20 minutes, it could take two hours.  It depends on how you like your meat, how much you have, your oven, etc.  Be flexible!

When it's done (you'll have to taste it....try not to eat it all!), pour into a serving bowl and either pour the rest of the salsa verde over it, or serve that last bit alongside at the table.  I like to serve this meat with soft tortillas, pepper jack cheese, avocadoes, and of course, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and margaritas.

Enjoy!

Popcorn

I don't know about you, but I love popcorn.  Not microwave popcorn, and not that popcorn in the movie theaters now, but that delicious popcorn back when we were younger....made with coconut oil....before some ijits decided it wasn't good for us.  Pffftt.  For the few times that people go to the movies a year, why didn't the CPSI stuff it?1

Anyhow.

I buy five-gallon tubs of coconut oil for my dog and for baking.  My dog's coat is GORGEOUS, by the way.  I usually just use the coconut oil in place of the fat in my breads, but I know some people use it as a replacement for every fat in their lives.  I am much too fond of butter for that!

But popcorn....oh yes, that's something I could enjoy....

Heat three tablespoons of oil (your choice!) and three kernels of popcorn in a large pot over medium-high heat.  When the fat is melted and the kernels pop, move the pot off the heat, pour in one-half cup of popcorn, cover, and wait thirty seconds.  Move the pot back to the medium-high heat, tip the cover so the steam can escape (but not the kernels!) and let pop (you don't have to shake!!!) until popping slows to about two seconds between pops.

Remove from heat, pour into a bowl, add butter and salt and ENJOY.  I actually add the butter and salt in the pot (off the heat), cover, shake and then pour into a bowl, but you do it however you want.

Don't forget to floss afterwards (those darned kernel skin pieces get between my teeth!).

Pizza crust

My family loves pizza.  We have it every Friday and WOE to me if I even suggest that we eat something different (because it's say, 100 degrees in my kitchen).  I have a standard pizza crust recipe, but what I really wanted to share is this technique.  Again, nothing I invented, but I love it!

While reading through a Rachael Ray magazine, I ran across an article on cooking pizza crust in a skillet.  I would have normally skipped right over it, because there are six of us in the family, and my 12" skillet just won't cut it.  HOWEVER, my parents had recently given us a HUGE skillet, approximately 16" wide.  You know that movie Tangled, where Rapunzel keeps hitting people with a frying pan?  My frying pan would kill you...if I could lift it, that is.

ANYHOW.  This method is just to pre-cook the crust.  Our family doesn't particularly care for crusts that are "decorated" and tossed into the oven raw.  

I get my pizza crust all ready to go, stretch it out to about the right size, and heat up my pan - "screamin' hot" as Rachael would say.  Put in the dough, cook until golden brown, then flip.  You can either use tongs or flip it in the air.  That's fun, but you do run the risk of dropping it on the ground...just brush it off and continue cooking!  As I continue cooking the crusts, I do turn down the heat a little, so they don't burn. This method has the added benefit of allowing you to have the oven on (I set it at 550F for pizza) for much less time.  I will really appreciate this come summer!

As for the pizza crust - it's so simple.  I put mine in the food processor, but you could do it by hand, bread machine or stand mixer, I'm sure.

4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups water

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 1/4 tsp yeast

Mix flour and salt in bowl of processor.  Mix the water, oil, and yeast, then add to the flour and salt.  Mix until a good texture - smooth and just slightly sticky.  Put in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until double - about an hour or so.  It makes four crusts.

Decorate your pizza and cook each at 550F for 5-10 minutes, or until it's as brown as you want.  

My favorite toppings?  I do love a veggie pizza, but I also enjoy a BBQ chicken pizza with onions and pickled banana peppers.  What's your favorite? 

Cheeseburger pizza - yes,
that's ketchup and mustard, and yes,
it's delicious!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Whole Wheat Bread

Oh now, don't roll your eyes when you read the title!  I know, I know - most whole wheat bread is heavy and dense and only good as a doorstop.  I am telling you, this recipe is different.  My whole family loves this and eats it all the time - my husband even thought it was half-white, half-wheat.  It's light and fluffy, but still holds its shape.

About ten years ago, I started reading about whole wheat versus white bread, and what I read was enlightening.  I had no idea that when wheat was milled and sifted, most of the nutrition was taken out and certain vitamins put back in to prevent diseases such as beri beri (a deficiency of B1).

I decided that I wanted to grind my own wheat and get all the nutrition that God put in it!  Again, don't roll your eyes!  I researched, saved for, and bought a WhisperMill (now called the WonderMill).  Of course, the real trick is finding a source for wheat berries.  I usually find some sort of Amish store, buy 50 lb bags, and store them in 5-gallon buckets with Gamma lids.

Now, to figure out what kind of wheat berries?  Red?  White?  Hard?  Soft?  Red is more strongly flavored, white less so.  Hard wheat has enough gluten to make bread, while soft is better for pastries.

Anyway, all this to say that this bread recipe works with all types of wheat (except soft!) - red or white, store-bought or home-milled.

This is not my original recipe, this comes from the Bread Beckers.  I use my Zojirushi, but I bet it would work in all sorts of bread machines.  It is a large loaf, so I think you'd need to make it in a 2-lb machine.

1 1/2 cups very warm water
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 cup honey (meh - I just dump it in...you might measure it the first time then eyeball it)
1/3 cup oil (or butter or coconut oil...I've found coconut oil increases the shelf life TREMENDOUSLY)
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp yeast

Add everything to your machine, then I guess you can use your whole-wheat setting.  The "official" recipe says to set one of your "homemade" settings as follows:
Preheat - 18 min
Knead - 20 min
Rise 1 - 45 min
Rise 2 - 20 min
Rise 3 - off
Bake - 45 min
Keep warm - off

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.  If you start making your own bread, keep your eyes open at yard sales and thrift stores for a bread slicer.  They're really expensive when they're brand-new, but I have found three at thrift stores for $3 each.

Lucky Thirteen?

Hmmm....I found my post on Cowboy Beans in the pressure cooker posted by a friend on Facebook that I didn't know read my blog, so I came back and saw that I now have thirteen followers (well...twelve...one of them is me...why is that?).

Anyway.

I guess I should do a better job of posting on here, eh?

April Fool's Day is coming up soon, so I thought I'd share what we did last year for the boys' Youth Group.  I decided to do both a sweet and a savory snack...but April Fool's style.

I made little "hamburgers" out of 'Nilla Wafers, peppermint patties, green-tinted coconut, and red and yellow frosting.  Simple, but very fun!
For the savory snack that looked sweet, I made meatloaf cupcakes with green mashed potatoes that I piped on top.  We've made these before, and they're always a huge hit!

I won't give you recipes, because you probably have your own terrific meatloaf recipe, but just remember to use the cupcake wrappers and it won't take very long to cook!

Have fun!

Cowboy Beans....again...but faster!

No, this picture isn't good.
The beans are. :-)

Oh my goodness....you will never believe this!  I am so excited about this!  You probably know all about this, but I didn't.

I have a pressure cooker and use it for vegetables and roasts and such, but I hadn't used it much for dried beans.  I don't know why, I just didn't.  Yesterday, I wanted to bring baked beans to a friend's house for dinner (she was making pulled pork and I was to bring a side)...but I forgot to get them started and before I knew it, it was 2 o'clock.  <sigh>  Well, I guess I'll have to run to the store and...wait a minute....let's look up how to pressure cook baked beans.  Lo and behold - there were several!  I used my own ingredient list, but their technique.  Perfect.  Seriously awesome.

Most of the recipes suggested to start with beans soaked overnight.  Well, if I could remember to do that, I wouldn't need to use the pressure cooker recipe!  Finally found one that suggested a "quick soak":  rinse and pick over your beans.  For every cup of beans, add four cups of water to the pot and one teaspoon of salt (it's supposed to help keep the skins on...worked for me).  I also added a bit of baking soda because I have hard water and that's the only way my beans will ever soften.

Bring to a boil - UNCOVERED.  Once it's at a boil, put the cover on, bring to pressure over high heat, then keep at pressure two minutes.  Then do a quick cool under cold water, release pressure, rinse beans, then proceed with the recipe.

I used "my" (CI's) cowboy beans recipe, with just a little less liquid.

Put the beans back in the pressure cooker (make sure you have your...thingie...that metal thing that goes in the bottom...what is that?).  Proceed with recipe.

4 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp prepared brown mustard
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp Tabasco
4 cups water (normally the recipe calls for 4 1/2 cups)
1 cup strong coffee
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (plus another 2 Tbsp for the end)
2 tsp salt

Saute the bacon over medium heat until it starts to get crispy, about 6 minutes.  Add onions, cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Dump on top of the beans in the pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients (leave out that last 2 Tbsp of BBQ sauce) to the pot.  Don't worry about stirring.

Close the pot and bring to pressure.  Maintain pressure for 10 minutes, then slowly release pressure (not a quick release).  Add 2 more tablespoons of BBQ sauce.  Mine were done at this point, but I did toss it into a crockpot and let it simmer to keep warm, and it thickened the liquid - a good thing.

The recipe took me about an hour from beginning to end - quicker than the "regular" way.  Hope you're able to use this!

Rye Bread

I have tried several rye bread recipes, but this one is my favorite.  It is, surprise, surprise, from Cook's Illustrated.  I do this bread over two days, so plan ahead.  It's not labor-intensive, but it just takes some planning. You COULD do it all in one day...but what fun would that be??



The first day you do a sponge:

2 3/4 cups water, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 Tbsp honey
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients in the mixing bowl of a standing mixer to form a thick batter.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until bubbles form over the entire surface, at least 2 1/2 hours (you can let this stand at cool room temperature overnight - our house is 64 overnight, so we're good).

Next day:

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups (12 1/4 oz) rye flour
2 Tbsp caraway seeds
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp salt
Cornmeal for sprinkling the baking sheet

Stir the all-purpose flour, 3 1/4 cups of the rye flour, the caraway seeds, oil, and salt into the sponge.  Attach the dough hook and knead the dough at low speed, adding the remaining 1/4 cup rye flour once the dough becomes cohesive; knead until smooth yet sticky, about 5 minutes.  With moistened hands, transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface, knead it into a smooth ball, then place it in a very lightly oiled large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 1/4-2 hours.

Generously sprinkle the cornmeal on a large baking sheet.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and halve the dough, pressing each portion into a 9"x6 1/2" rectangle.  With one of the long sides facing you, roll the dough into 2 9" logs, pinch the seam close, and seal the ends by tucking them into the loaf.  Carefully transfer the loaf onto the prepared baking sheet, cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise until the dough looks bloated and dimply and starts to spread out, 60-75 minutes.  Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425F.

Right before baking, make 6-7 slashes, 1/2" deep, in the top of the dough with a single-edge razor blade or a very sharp knife.  Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 400F and bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf reads 200F, 15-25 minutes depending on your oven.  Cool COMPLETELY before cutting!!!