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!!!

Pancakes

I was recently asked to share my pancake recipe.  It's not really mine, of course.  It's from Cook's Illustrated.

I keep thinking I'll tinker with it and make a mix out of it to make it easier to make pancakes on a moment's notice, but it really doesn't take that long to pull out the ingredients.

Enjoy!

This is a very large batch, because I make enough for six of us, plus extras to freeze.  That amount lasts us about a week.  Scary how much these kiddos eat!

4 Tbsp lemon juice
8 cups milk
(you can substitute 8 cups buttermilk for these first two ingredients)
8 cups flour
8 Tbsp sugar
8 tsp baking powder
8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Whisk lemon juice and milk together, let sit while you get everything else together.  Whisk all dry ingredients into a bowl to combine.

Whisk egg and melted butter until combine.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in milk mixture and whisk gently til combined (a few lumps is fine).  Don't overmix.

Enjoy!

We add blueberries sometimes. If you use frozen, rinse well and pat dry so they don't turn everything blue.  :-)

Fantastic Rolls

Thanksgiving is coming!  It's the time of year that everyone is thankful for everything they have, even if they were just crabbing about those very things the day before.  Family comes....and we'll just leave it at that.  And everyone pulls out all the stops for a delicious meal.

Our favorite part of Thanksgiving food is the leftovers.  I have sweet potato casserole for breakfast for a week.  It's wonderful!  But even better is homemade rolls with leftover turkey and some mayo.  Delish.

I got this recipe from UrbanHomemaker.com, a wonderful website.  The recipe calls for all whole wheat flour, but my family finds that just a little too much for them.  These are so easy to make, cook partially, then thaw and finish baking on Thanksgiving day at the last minute.

Enjoy!

1 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 dry powdered milk
1 Tbsp yeast
1 egg
3-4 cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half all-purpose)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil (I use butter sometimes)
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (optional if you're not doing all whole wheat flour)

Combine warm water, honey, powdered milk, and yeast in mixing bowl.  Allow yeast to activate.  Add eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour.  Stir until thoroughly mixed; dough will resemble cake batter.  Let rest until bubbly, about 30 minutes.  Add salt, oil, and remaining flour.  Knead for 6-10 minutes or until until gluten is developed and dough is soft and pliable (I use my Kitchenaid mixer for this part - it should probably be punishment for some disobedient child...but I digress...).  Pour out onto a lightly greased surface.  Grease baking sheets.  Pinch off 2" round portions, and roll out to an 8" rope.  Tie rope in a single knot.  Place in rows on baking sheets, cover, and let rise until double.  Bake in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes (if you're doing these ahead, don't cook them all the way!).  Brush with melted butter if desired (I don't), and remove to a cooling rack.  Makes about 24.

New Twist on Cookies

One night for our homegroup, I was looking for a snack to make.  I always like to do something a little different if I have time.  After all, you can only have chocolate chip cookies so many times.

All right, that's not true.  I just like to have something different.

I searched through my binder, where I keep every recipe that I think I might make.  As an aside, my dessert notebook is the fattest one.  No surprise there!

I found a recipe from King Arthur Flour called Dutch Chews.  They looked interesting and I finally had all the ingredients.  Cornflakes, coconut, oatmeal, and chocolate chips.  Sounds yummy, right?  They were!

Oh, and be sure to use a mixer - or be in really good shape.  These are pretty tough to stir by hand.

Dutch Chews
2 sticks butter (I use salted even when it calls for unsalted - I just like the salt in with all that sweet!)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp molasses (I know it seems like too much to bother, but if you have it, it does make it taste good)
3 large eggs
1 cup (4 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz) whole wheat flour (let's pretend this ingredient makes them healthy, shall we??)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups (3 oz) cornflakes
2 cups (7 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats
2 2/3 cups (7 oz) sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F.  Use parchment paper, silicon sheets, or grease your pans.

Cream butter, sugars, and molasses together.  Add the eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Mix in flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add cornflakes, oatmeal, coconut, and chocolate chips, stirring until evenly blended.

Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons (I used a scoop a bit smaller than a tablespoon and found they were a good size) onto prepared baking sheets and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes for softer cookies, or up to 16 minutes for crisper cookies.

Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.  Makes about 4 1/2 dozen 4" cookies (since mine were smaller, it was probably about 72).  As a bonus, the smaller cookies I made worked out to only about 100 calories each.

Rib Rub

For those of you who don't know my family very well, I have one picky eater.  I figure that's pretty good out of four.  And he's really not even THAT picky, compared to other kids.  He eats split pea soup, sloppy Joes, and tacos.  He loves pulled pork, too....but not if it has sauce.  I was stumped for awhile as to what to do with that, but I have been won over to the dry rub side of life.  It's nowhere near as messy and you really get to taste the pork.

Oh....did I not mention we're talking pork??  Sorry, Texans.

I often use "country style" pork ribs when they're on sale, but pork butt can also be used.  If it's ribs, then rub each individual rib.  If it's pork butt, then you have to cut them into steak-sized pieces, otherwise the cooking time is changed, and so is the flavor (not as good).

And the rub is from.....you guessed it....Cooks Illustrated.  I can't tell you enough how much I love their recipes.  I almost always tweak them just a TINY bit, but I can safely make any of their recipes for the first time and KNOW it's going to turn out right. Each batch is enough for about 7 pounds of pork.

Here's my ever so simple method:

Rub ribs (with rib rub - and the longer you can let them sit, the better - 8-12 hours ahead is great)
Wrap ribs (in foil)
Roast ribs (300F for at least 3 hours)

And the spice rub.  Make lots, because it'll go fast.  All these spices should be ground, obviously.

4 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp table salt
1 Tbsp white pepper
1 Tbsp oregano (well, THIS one shouldn't be ground!)
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (obviously this one can be scaled up or down to your taste)

After the meat cooks and cools a little, I pull it apart with forks or fingers.  You might like to grill it afterwards.  I serve it with homemade rolls, coleslaw, and cowboy beans.  Those are other recipes I'll put up later!

Enjoy!