The valley still isn't quite ready to have your windows wide open and enjoying the sound of helicopters full of news crews filming the rising river. And I had milk in my refrigerator that needed to be used up before it's expiration date so today it means soup.
Cheesy Ham & Potato Soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk, 2% works fine
4 medium potatoes, diced
2 cups ham, cubed
4 oz Pepper Jack cheese
4 oz Cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat broth and milk. Add in potatoes and cook until almost tender. Add in ham and cook for another 10 minutes. Add in cheese and stir until melted. Add in paprika, salt and pepper.
My dreams of Spring were short lived. Oh well, I should be used to it and the furnace running. I have no doubts that I'll be running the furnace and air conditioning on the same day and it will hopefully happen soon. Luckily these beans are able to be frozen and thawed back out on another grilling weather day. I made them in the crock pot but they could easily be made in the oven too.
Calico Beans
1/2 # ground beef
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 - 16 oz can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
4 slices apple smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
Brown ground beef with the onions. In your crock pot or baking dish, combine beans, dark brown sugar, ketchup, mustard. Add in ground beef, onions and bacon. Cook until heated all the way through.
It finally warmed up somewhat in the valley and that means it's grilling time. Especially when it's just a one day window of warmth so I decided to grill hot dogs and make my own chili for them. This is waaaaaay better than any canned chili without beans.
Hot Dog Chili
1/2# extra lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Add in ketchup, tomato paste, mustard and spices. Pour in water and allow to simmer for 5 minutes before serving.
Tender. That's the results of the buttermilk bath these chicken breasts took for 5 hours. Of course every bath needs a little heat and the hot sauce provided that quite nicely. The skin was crispy and full of flavor. Yes, I'll be making these many times.
Buttermilk n' Corn Flake Chicken
Marinade ~ Place in a gallon zippered plastic bag
1 cup buttermilk
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp Frank's Red Hot Sauce
3 chicken breasts, bone-in
Coating ~
1 cup corn flake crumbs
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp parsley
Place the chicken breasts in the plastic bag and add the garlic, buttermilk and hot sauce. Place into refrigerator and let sit at least 4 hours.
On a dinner plate, place the corn flake crumbs, salt, pepper, paprika and parsley and mix together. Remove the chicken from the bag, shake off most of the buttermilk and roll on the corn flake crumb mixture. Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until the chicken temperature reaches 165°.
I usually don't make two batches of muffins so close together but this one is heading for the freezer (well there was a taste test and I may take one to work for breakfast) but the others are freezer bound. I may have mentioned that there is a flood in our forecast. Yes, we've been to this rodeo before and we have the big belt buckles to prove it. I am preparing as best I can in case of power outages or bad water scenarios. Luckily I'm in an area that is considered as high ground but everyone around me is not that fortunate. Anyhow, back to the muffins. I chose chunky peanut butter just for fun and luckily it works quite nicely.
Chunky Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Muffins
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in peanut butter. Mix in eggs and milk and gradually add in the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Grease muffin tins or use liners and fill 3/4 full. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.
I've been known to bring a hash brown casserole to office potlucks frequently. They are easy to make and can sit in a crock pot for half a day with no problems. I changed up the recipe just a bit for this since I have an overabundance of Greek yogurt in my refrigerator at the moment that I need to use up. The yogurt gave it a nice tang that works well with the green chilies adding a little bite.
Cheesy Potato Casserole
3 cups Southern Style hash browns
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbsp green chilies
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby & Monterey)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt chilies, milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Fold in hash browns and stir until they are all covered. Place in a greased 9 x 9 baking dish and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Weekend breakfasts should always pamper the soul. Weekday breakfasts are usually in a hurry and more focused on what needs to be done to head out the door on the way to work or school. This is what I enjoyed this past weekend and it only took minutes to put together.
Breakfast Sausage Bake
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 apple sausages, diced (mine were precooked)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp water
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Place diced potatoes on top and season. Add in 1 tbsp of water and place another piece of foil on top. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and take off top piece of foil and add in sausage. Put foil back on top and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
