Pork Shoulder With Baked Beans

I wish I could give you a regular recipe but this will be a list of ingredients. These beans are so good they may be illegal in some states.

Navy beans clean soak the beans according the package directions.

While the beans are hydrating:

Cube a pork shoulder and brown it with pepper, a chopped onion and 4 sliced carrots. Set the meat/veggie mix aside.


When the beans are almost done add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. The baking soda softens the skin on the beans and lets them absorb more goodness.

Rinse and drain the beans. Add ketchup, mustard, molasses, brown sugar and a little water; simmer with the cooked beans. Taste and keep adjusting the flavor. They should have a fair amount of liquid since it will be absorbed when the meat is added. Add the meat mixture and warm through.

Deviled Ham Spread Recipie

This is not a match for the canned version but its tasty in its own right. I like serving it on crackers or on buttered bread.

Put the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. If the spread is too thick, add more mayonnaise.

3 cups chopped cooked ham
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1/4 cup bold and spicy mustard
1/3 cup onion
3 tablespoons chopped sweet pickles or relish
1 1/2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons Paprika

Sweet Potato Pasta

Put 4 eggs in a bowl
Add 2 mashed sweet potatoes or yams (cooked and cooled)
Mix and add four until the dough becomes very stiff.

Form the noodles with a pasta maker or rolling pin. Let dry and boil in salted water for about 2 minutes. Taste test to ensure they are done the way you like.

Homemade Kettle Corn Recipe

I discovered kettle corn at a flea market many years ago; sweet and salty, is there anything better?

The ingredients:

1/4 cup corn oil

combine the following in a bowl
1/2 cup popcorn
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt

I use a heavy gauge stock pot to make this in.

1. Heat the oil on high with a few kernels of popcorn. When the kernels pop then the oil is ready.

2. Pour the popcorn, sugar and salt into the pot and stir with a long handled spoon. I find the popcorn cooks better if the ingredients are mixed slightly so there isn't a pile of sugar in the center of the pot.

3. Cover and shake until the popping noise starts to slow down. Do not wait until it stops since the sugar will burn.

4. Immediately pour the popcorn into a large bowl. Be careful since melted sugar is extremely hot. I find it better to make 2 batches rather than doubling the recipe. The popcorn burns easily and it's very hard to make a large batch. The old maids tend to stick to the kernels so we eat kettle corn more causiously than regular popcorn but it's so tasty no one minds.

The photo is of an actual batch of kettle corn.

Flaming Bananas Foster Recipe

I love this dessert but it tends to be too sweet for me in restaurants so I make it a little different. This recipe serves four hearty portions.

Have all the ingredients ready since it cooks quickly and you don't want to feel rushed while using flaming liquids.

1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 stick butter
1 cup nuts

1 shot glass of banana liquor

4 sliced bananas

Vanilla ice cream


















Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3/4 of a stick of butter and 1 cup nuts in a shallow skillet with sloped sides. Pecans are best but I used walnuts here.






















Have the Banana liquor ready in a dish. I use about half a shot to a shot (I'm guessing since I don't own a shot glass). Do not pour directly from the bottle since that would be dangerous.



















Heat the nut mixture until the edges start to bubble and the sugar is dissolved.



















Add the sliced bananas and lightly stir them.
















Now is the fun but tricky part. Pour the liquor on the inside edge of the pan that is on the far side away from you. Slowly tilt the pan near the burner flame; the liquor is 99 proof and catches fire easily. Do not tilt the pan so far that the liquor goes into the stove flame and make sure you are tilting the pan away from yourself. Have a pot lid handy if necessary to smother the flame. This can be dangerous so think through the steps and be careful. The flames shoot straight up when it ignites so be prepared for it.






























Spoon the mixture while warm over ice cream.

Egg Foo Young Recipe

Brown Gravy
Stir together the following ingredients over medium heat until they thicken.

3 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

Egg Foo Young Ingredients

12 eggs
cooked pork chopped
chop half a cabbage
small chopped onion
any other vegetable that pleases you















beat a dozen eggs in a bowl and add cooked meat















chop half a cabbage and an onion and saute until slightly crunchy














add the vegetables to the egg mixture and stir














Put a ladle of egg mixture into the hot oil. Flip carefully. I use a spatula on top and bottom to prevent splashing.

























Drain on a wire rack and flip once on the rack so that they can drain on both sides.

Grandma's Buttermilk Donut Doughnut Recipe

Grandma used to make paper bags full of these donuts every fall for the deer hunters and she made them on her cast iron wood stove. I can't image how hot her kitchen became to get the oil hot enough for frying.

Mix together the following ingredients

5 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups buttermilk
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour


















Fill a doughnut maker with batter and drop small rings into hot oil. The doughnut maker does not touch the oil. I use antique donut makers and they can be found on ebay; I don't know if they are still sold in stores. You can make fritters with dropped dough but it's hard to ensure there is not uncooked dough in the center.














Let them cook until the top has bubbles and looks partially cooked. It's similar to how a pancake looks before you flip it. Flip the donuts with a fork or tongs to cook the other side.
















Remove the doughnuts from the oil when both sides are brown.











These are draining on a wire rack over a cookie sheet but you can drain them on paper towels as well.

The recipe makes quite a few so I like cutting it in half and I use 3 eggs. I think baked goods taste best fresh and a half batch makes a more comfortable quantity.

4 Ingredient Buttermilk Ranch Salad Dressing Recipe

I make this creamy salad dressing fresh as needed and it makes a nice veggie dip

Put the following ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1 green onion/scallion
1 clove garlic

You can add salt and pepper if you like. The green portion of the onion gives the dressing a pretty green tint.

Vegetable Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Vegetable Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I had some leftover baked potatoes in the frig so I scooped them out (leave some potato in the potato skin) and put the following in a bowl.

Potato (the part you removed)
Frozen Broccoli, Carrot, Cauliflower Mix

Heat the preceding in the microwave until hot

Add the following and mash with a potato masher

1 Tablespoon Butter
Milk (this amount needs to be gauged by the mixture's moisture level)
Salt and Pepper

Stuff the potato skins with the mashed mixture and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan Cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees until cheese is brown.

Baked Bean Pizza

My husband went to Costco and bought a case of beans. We may eat 2 cans in a year so I made an attempt to come up with something to do with them. My family was leery but the consensus was that it worked and was a surprisingly tasty side dish.

Flour tortillas
Can of Baked Beans — I mashed them with a measuring cup
Chopped sweet onion

Spread the beans on the tortillas. Sprinkle the onion on top and bake at 450 degrees until the tortilla is brown and crispy.

Microwave Brownies in a Coffee Mug

This is a nice treat to make when you want something chocolate.

The recipe serves 4 and is best eaten warm; microwaved baked goods tend to dry out if you let them sit. You combine the following ingredients and microwave them for 3.5 minutes in 4 mugs. There should be a gooey sauce on the bottom. You don't need to spray the cups with Pam.

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
handful of chocolate chips
handful of nuts

Hasselback potatoes

I should know better than to leave food at the table while I get my camera. Zelda, my LhasaPoo, is too smart. She effortlessly jumps on the table and with proper motivation can reach the counter.

These Swedish potatoes are good with thin sliced garlic inserted in the cuts. You can also top them with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I particularly like them cooked in a pan on the grill since they get such nice color.

Ingredients:

Potatoes
Garlic, fresh or powder
Sea Salt
Butter
Olive Oil














Wash baking potatoes and slice the bottom so they lay flat. Lay wood spoons on each side and slice the potato using the spoons as a cutting guide. The slices should not go all the way through and the spoon keeps them even.

Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil and top with butter, garlic and sea salt. Bake flat side down at 400 degrees in a dish until cooked through.

Mock Jack Daniels Sauce

I had the Jack Daniels Burger yesterday at TGIF with sweet potato fries and my DH went crazy over the sauce. This is my version that I created with recipes that I found on the Internet. It's mock Jack Daniels since we don't drink whiskey and didn't want to buy a bottle for sauce.

combine the following ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Tabasco Sauce
1 cup crushed pineapple
2 cups brown sugar
2 beef bullion cubes
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons bold mustard

The rib photo was done by Kakisky

Chili Cheese Hot Dog Hot Dish Casserole with Cheese Biscuits Recipe

Cut Old Fashioned Ambassador Hot Dogs into bite size pieces and saute with chopped onion.

Add and heat until cheese melts
1 teaspoon chili powder
ground pepper
1 can of chili with no beans
2 cans of Mexican corn
6 slices of Velveeta cheese

Make biscuit dough according to the directions on a box of Bisquick. Form biscuits around chunks of cheese; I used Pepper Jack.

Place biscuits on top of chili mixture and bake at 350 degrees until the biscuits are browned.

Freezer Roulette Shepherds Pie Recipe

Every once in a while I like to use up the food in the freezer since it gets pretty scary in there.I don't know why I didn't mark what the meat was in this freezer paper. It turned out to be roast pork.
Chop the cooked pork and sprinkled it with pepper. Pour Trader Joes Sweet Potato Bisque over the top. Trader Joes makes great products but this soup was orphaned in the refrigerator for good reason; it's as bland as baby food but it does make a nice sauce.
Cover the roast pork and sweet potato soup with frozen corn.
Cover the corn with mashed potatoes and the orange colored bit are Trader Joes Sweet Potato Fries
Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and brown

Garlic Mashed Potatoes Pizza with Feta Cheese Recipe

I had a beautifully browned version of this pizza and a marauding teenager grabbed mine when I went for my camera. Next time I make it I'll replace the photograph.

Ingredients
potatoes
garlic
olive oil
butter
sea salt
pepper
cream or milk
Parmesan cheese
onion
green pepper
pizza dough
tomatoes
feta cheese

Garlic mashed potatoes

Potatoes—put the potatoes in a pot with a steamer insert (I use a pasta pot) and cook until fork tender—I like steaming them since sometimes they become too moist when boiled

While the potatoes are cooking, roast the garlic. To roast garlic slice the top portion off a head of garlic and remove some of the outer papery skin (leave the inner segments alone). Drizzle olive oil on top and season with sea salt. Wrap the garlic head in foil and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes. Be careful opening the foil since there is trapped steam. The individual cloves of garlic can be easily removed from the skin for use or eating; I usually just squeeze them out if they don't need to be pretty.

While everything else is cooking saute chopped onion and green pepper (these will be used in the pizza, they don't go in the mashed potatoes).

Put the potatoes and garlic in a large bowl and add the following ingredients to taste. I use a hand masher, not an electric mixer since the mixer tends to make mashed potatoes gummy. It's difficult to say how much liquid to add since some potatoes are drier than others. If you're making the potatoes to eat immediately with a meal; warm your butter and cream so they don't cool the potatoes.

cooked potatoes
roasted garlic - fork mash before adding to prevent having large chunks of garlic
butter
sea salt
pepper
cream or milk
Parmesan cheese

To assemble the pizza

Use your favorite pizza dough or flour tortillas work.
Spread the mashed potatoes like you would sauce.
Add the sauteed onions and green pepper
Tomatoes chopped or sliced, I used sun dried since it was what I had on hand

Sprinkle the pizza with Parmesan cheese and crumbled feta cheese.

Bake at 400 until nicely browned.

Apricot Chicken With Carrots and Walnuts Recipe

I'm a firm believer in easy meals otherwise I end up serving Chinese takeout or pizza. I made this with frozen chicken breasts and simple ingredients.

Start cooking the brown rice

Put a bag of frozen, skinless chicken breasts in a heavy skillet and cover. Cook slowly, you have plenty of time since the brown rice takes awhile. I don't add fat or liquid since the chicken has so much additional moisture; if it's cooked slowly it doesn't need additional fat or liquid.

Peel and slice the carrots on the diagonal. I used about 20 carrots. Add them to the chicken when it's about half done. Cook with the cover on.

When the carrots and chicken is cooked through, add:
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves (dried apricots would be terrific but I'm allergic to the preservatives.)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
pepper to taste

There should be excess liquid. Put a tablespoon of corn starch in a small cup and add a 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Stir them together to and add in to the pot. I like adding the corn starch in increments since it can become thicker than desired. Keep cooking and the corn starch will thicken the sauce. If it seems runny make more of the corn starch mixture.

Stir in 1 cup of walnuts and serve with the rice.

Chili Cheese Wrap with Fritos Recipe

Take a flour tortilla and add a large dollop of canned chili and cheese. Microwave until the cheese is melted. I like fine shredded Mexican Cheese but Pepper Jack or any spicy cheese is very good.














Put on chopped tomatoes, onions, and Frito's for a nice crunch.

Some other tasty additions would be jalapeno slices, shredded lettuce and avocado. You could also replace the chili with refried beans.

Fold over tortilla or fold into a burrito shape. I like putting the tortilla on a griddle to crisp up but then it's very difficult to fold over and it becomes more like a Quesadilla.

Sausage and Asparagus Quiche Recipe

I make these quite often; changing the meat, cheese and vegetables. My favorite uses a frozen combination of broccoli, cauliflower and sliced carrots. The mix doesn't sound like it would work in a quiche but it's excellent.

I'm a pie crust snob but this is the best prepared pie crust that I've ever found. Homemade is better but this is very good and convenient.


Chop your meat and place it on top of the crust. I'm using precooked sausage patties.







Frozen asparagus but if you have fresh all the better.





Chop the vegetables and place them on the meat.







10 eggs beaten. I have a large quiche dish so you might want to put in a smaller number of eggs and add more if needed.





I use whatever cheese I have on hand. This is a very nice Swiss but Cheddar, Jalapeno Jack, or any favorite works well.






Decorate the top with more asparagus. Sliced tomatoes are very pretty.

Bake at 375 until the mixture is cooked through; about 30 minutes.