One of my all time favorite recipes...especially on cool Autumn days is one that I found years ago in a Marlboro cookbook. It's a little spicy, a lot meaty, and loaded with good stuff. I wanted to share it here because it is one of my favorites, and because I took a picture this morning as I was putting it together. :-)

And here it is:

Ingredients:

• 12 oz thick-sliced bacon, chopped (I use 16 oz)shopping list
• 3 lbs lean boneless beef chuck, cut into 2" pieces (I use a London Broil)shopping list
• 3 TBS all-purpose flour shopping list
• 1 TBS each salt and paprika shopping list
• 3 med onions, coarsely chopped shopping list
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed shopping list
• 3 1/2 cups beef broth shopping list
• 28 oz can peeled tomatoes, undrained shopping list(I use 1quart of my tomatoes)
• 4 poblano peppers, seeded, cut into chunks shopping list
• 1/4 cup chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce shopping list
• 3 TBS ground cumin

How to make it:

 

• Cook bacon in a large chili pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to a large bowl; set aside. Pour off and reserve all but 2 TBS bacon drippings from pot.
• Coat beef in combined flour, salt and paprika. Brown 1/3 of beef in drippings in pot; transfer to bowl with reserved bacon. Repeat twice with remaining beef, adding reserved drippings as necessary to brown beef. Add onions and garlic to last batch of beef, cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Return beef and bacon to pot. Add beef broth, tomatoes, peppers and cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Uncover; continue to simmer 30-45 minutes or until beef is tender and chili is thickened.

shopping list

 

 

Home Rendering Lard

Okay, I've got lots of stuff to share as I've not added anything in FOREVER, but I guess what I'll share first is my experience with rendering lard. I scoured the Internet and read up on the subject as much as possible before beginning. I learned that lard is much healthier than shortning and margarin, which wasn't too surprising. I also saw that there are different ways you can render lard, so I tried 3 of them to see which worked best. After cutting the (groung) fat into cubes I placed some with a small amount of water in my crockpot, some in a roasting pan in a 225 degree oven and some in a pot on top of the stove over low heat.

 

 

 

Now I just began to heat them slowly, and watch them very carefully as I didn't want them to get too hot and end up with a piggy smell. When the fat began melting the solid materials would seperate: 

 

 

(it works best if you remove the solids now with slotted spoon) then pour the liquid fat through a double layer of cheesecloth.

 

I stored the lard in jars and allowed it to cool and I was very pleased with the outcome.

 

 

I couldn't beleive it turned out white as snow! I almost hated to use any of it in soap. LOL! Also, I deciced that I liked the oven roasting method better. The crock pot was too slow and the stove top was too fast...but the oven was just right. :-)

 

Making Beef Jerky

There are few foods that you could get everyone to agree on, but jerky is one that everyone in my family enjoys. And it's a GREAT snack food! Jerky is high in protein and low in fat, and when made at home you can enjoy it at a fraction of what it costs in stores. I normally use venison when making jerky, but sometimes you just can't wait till the Fall for a good batch of homemade jerky. I pretty much always use the same basic recipe. I may adjust the "spicyness" sometimes, but this is what I'll use for about 3-4 lbs of meat:

    1 C soy sauce

2 T worcestershire

2 T liquid smoke

1 T canning salt

1/2 T black pepper

1 T crushed red pepper

1/2 T garlic salt

Start out by slicing your meat. Trim away any fat. The thickness is a personal preference thing, I like somewhere between 1/8-1/4 inch. 

* slightly freeze the meat in order to make it easier to slice.

I like to mix my marinate ingredients in a shallow bowl, but a freezer bag works too.

Place one by one in the marinate so as to coat each piece, and refrigerate overnight.

I like to dry my jerky in the oven. So place the meat strips as close as possible without overlapping them on the oven rack and bake at lowest setting (150-175) for 5-6 hours.

That's it! Now get the floss ready and enjoy. :)

Homemade Blackberry Jam

I love, love homemade jams, jellies and preserves. There's just something about that "wholesome goodness" knowing your fruits were picked fresh, and that you didn't add any flavors, colors or preservatives that makes the whole process well worth the time and effort invested. Besides that, they're just plain yummy! :) Jams aren't too difficult to make, and to be honest I usually just follow the directions on the fruit pectin box. So I won't bore you with a lot of details just what I use and the few steps to jelly making.

For a single batch I use:

5 cups crushed fruit

7 cups sugar

1 box fruit pectin

As with any canning procedure I start by sterilizing my jars.

Wash and crush ripe berries.

Measure out the ingredients, and bring the fruit and pectin to a boil. Add sugar.

Stir continually. Return to boil. When you reach a rolling boil that can not be stirred down start timing. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam, and pour into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.

Wipe rims of jars and cap. Invert jars for 5 minutes.

Then store upright in a cool, dark, undisturbed place, and enjoy!

New appetizer recipe Mmmmm!

Probably already mentioned that I have 3 children, one son and two daughters. My oldest daughter shares my passion for crafting, and my youngest shares my passion for cooking. We make a pretty good team, and have lots of fun trying new recipes. She was the one who came across this recipe for "Jalapeno Chicken Fajita Bites". We tweaked the recipe a little, and this is what we came up with.

4 oz cream cheese, room temp
4 T grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 C shredded cheese (mozzarella/Cheddar blend)
1/2 C chicken (we used Sam's canned)
spices (fajita seasoning, cumin, old bay seasoning)
3 T real bacon bits
10 large jalapenos

Slice peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes.
Turn oven to broil, place baking stone in oven to heat.
Drain chicken and add a pinch (to taste) of each of  the seasonings, toss, and set aside.

Mix cheeses well, blend in bacon and chicken. Fill pepper halves with mixture and place on hot baking stone. Place stone on bottom rack of oven and broil for 7-10 minutes, till golden brown.

These were soooooo good, and so easy to do. We'll definitely be making these again!

Making zucchini bread

Two of the things that I really enjoy doing are gardening and cooking, and anytime I can combine the two by cooking something fresh from the garden I'm especially happy. I love zucchini because you can fix it so many ways, and it's so easy to grow. Here's how I use it to make a wonderful, spiced bread.

First I like to gather all my ingredients to be sure I've got everything. I use:

_3 eggs______________________________________

_1 c oil_______________________________________

_1 c sugar____________________________________

_1 c brown sugar_______________________________

_2 tsp vanilla___________________________________

_3 c grated zucchini______________________________

_3 c flour______________________________________

_3 tsp cinnamon_________________________________

_2 tsp nutmeg___________________________________

_1 tsp soda_____________________________________

_1/4 tsp baking powder___________________________

_1 tsp salt______________________________________

_1 c nuts_(optional)______________________________

_1/2 c raisins_(optional)___________________________

_1/2 c chopped dates_(optional)________ ____________

Next I grease and flour my pans, and preheat my oven to 325. Then start by beating the three eggs till sort of fluffy. Then I'll add my sugar, oil and vanilla and continue to beat.

I place all my dry ingredients in a sifter, and add about half of dry ingredients to mix.

Then half the zucchini, alternating and mixing after each addition.

And finally I add the nuts, dates and raisins and stir.

Then pour into pans . I've used mini loaf pans this time to cut down on baking time.

These will need to bake for about 40 minutes. Regular loaf pans would take 60-70 minutes.

Mmmm! They look and smell great!