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Saturday, August 17, 2013

How to Cook Bacon for a Crowd

How to Cook Bacon for a Crowd


 

No need to slave over a skillet. Instead, heat oven to 425° F. Set a cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet (to let the fat drip off), spread out the bacon, and cook until crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.

 Fat can drip off

Place on rack evenly


Cook until crispy


Place on paper towels


Creamy Spinach & Sausage pasta




green onions 


When the cheese is melted and gooey, sprinkle the sliced green onion on top. Enjoy!


Ingredients
  • 6 oz. smoked sausage
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/chiles
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 8 oz. pasta
  • 3 cups fresh spinach
  • 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded monterrey jack
  • 1 whole green onion
Instructions
  1. Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.
  2. Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
  3. Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.
  4. Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.
  5. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!


Step By Step Photos

 

I like to use these chicken sausage sparingly they have lots of favor, like past and vegetables. So, I only used half of this 13 oz. link and froze the rest. There was still plenty of meat in each serving! 

cook sausage 


Slice the sausage thinly (so you get more medallions and more in every bite), then cook in the skillet with olive oil over medium heat until browned. Drain off the excess fat after it has browned.
diced onion 


Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute.


cooked onionsCook until the onion has softened. As you can see, the moisture from the onion has dissolved most of the browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet. That’s a good thing. If not all of it comes off, that’s okay because it will dissolve in after we add the liquids.
tomatoes with chiles 


Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles (this is the same as Rotel tomatoes). If you can’t find these in the grocery store, you can use regular diced tomatoes and a separate 4 oz. can of diced green chiles.


chicken broth 


Also add the two cups of chicken broth. That is the chicken “base” that I use to make broth for recipes. It’s usually between $4-$5 for one of those little jars, which makes 32 cups and stays good in the refrigerator for a LONG time. It also comes in many different flavors (beef, mushroom, vegetable, low sodium, organic, etc.).


pasta 


Once you’ve added the tomatoes and liquid, add the dry pasta.


submerged pasta 


Make sure the pasta is mostly under the liquid so that it will cook. Put a lid on top and let the skillet come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let it continue to simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir it once or twice while it’s cooking to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick.


cooked pasta 


And then like magic it looks like this!


spinach 


I bought this HUGE bag of spinach, which, believe it or not, was only 50 cents more than one of those small bags of salad spinach. It’s the exact same thing, just marketed as “spinach for cooking”. Psh. They can’t fool me.


wilt spinach 

Stir in one cup at a time until it is wilted. Let the skillet keep simmering away as you do this so that the liquid will thicken up a bit.

cheese 


Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top, put the lid on the skillet, and let it melt. Monterrey jack cheese is especially creamy and helps make the whole dish creamy despite not having any cream in it. Mozzarella will not have this same effect.


green onions 


When the cheese is melted and gooey, sprinkle the sliced green onion on top. Enjoy!
So creeeeaaaamy.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Classic Southern Caramel Cake

Caramel Cake: Adapted from Cook’s Country's Illustrated....Good People!
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I have no recipe for this cake. I tried this recipe and it is one tasty cake. The caramel frosting has a crystallized, almost maple candy-like outer shell and a creamy, caramel-flavored interior. The yellow cake is moist and delicious. The combination is a perfect bite. 
caramel

 This is a hard cake to make. Caramel frosting is tricky stuff and you need to make a sturdy cake to handle such a heavy frosting.
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 I suggest that if you make this cake you stick with the recipe (at least the first time you bake it).
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We adapted the recipe (barely) from a Cook’s Country recipe. Cook’s Country is Cook’s 
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The key technique is to beat extra butter into the frosting just before you apply it to the cake. Butter does make everything better, and if it makes the frosting easier to work with, then we are all for it. The bigger challenge will be keeping your fingers out of the frosting. It tastes so good, you can lose quite a bit as it makes its way to the cake. But we do encourage a little patience. When you combine the frosting with the cake, it is even better.
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Caramel Cake:
(Adapted from Cook’s Country)

Ingredients:
(Makes 1, 2-layer cake)
Cake:
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened
Frosting:
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
  • 2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Assemble:
  1. For the cake, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2, 9-inch cake pans and then line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl or measuring cup.
  3. In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then, with you mixer on slow speed, beat in the butter one piece at a time until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Pour in half of the liquid mixture an and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about a minute. Then slowly add the rest of the liquid to the bowl and beat until incorporated, about 15-20 seconds.
  4. Scrape the batter into the pans, smooth the tops and lightly tap to release any air bubbles. Place the cakes into the oven and cook until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutres. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn out the cakes onto a wire rack. Let the cakes cool completely, at least 2 hours, before frosting.
  5. For the frosting, heat 8 tablespoons of the butter, brown sugar and salt together in a large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan, 4-8 minutes. Whisk in the cream and cook until the bubbles reappear, 1-2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the vanilla.
  6. Transfer the hot frosting mixture to the bowl of your mixer. Then, at low speed, slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is pale brown and just warm, 4-5 minutes. Then add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, one piece at a time, and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  7. Line the edges of a cake stand (if you have one, otherwise use a plate) with strips of parchment. Place one of the cake layers on the stand. Spread 3/4 cup of the frosting on top of the cake and spread to the edges. Place the second cake on top and press lightly. Then frost the sides and top of the cake. Remove the parchment paper from under the cake. Slice and serve.

I Have Another Classic Southern Caramel Cake That Maybe A Little Easy
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 1 cup butter 2 sticks
 2 cups sugar
 4 eggs
 3 cups flour, self-rising
1 cup buttermilk
 2 teaspoons vanilla

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans by greasing them and adding optional parchment paper. Beat butter until light and fluffy and then add sugar and beat for about 5 more minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well after each. Add flour and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with flour and mix well after each. Add vanilla and beat well. Divide among pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until set. Turn out of pans onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Prepare Southern Caramel Icing as cakes are cooling then frost the cake.

 Southern Caramel Frosting
 2 cups sugar
 1 cup buttermilk
 ½ cup Crisco
 ½ cup butter
 1 teaspoon baking soda

 Mix all ingredients in a 3-4 quart cast iron dutch oven. Swirl pan to keep ingredients moving in the pan. Cook to softball stage 235º – 245º on a candy thermometer or when tested in a cup of cold water. Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy and ready to spread. No thermometer? Do the cold water test: Take a some of the caramel and drop it into a bowl or cup of cold water. Give it a few seconds to cool. Fish around in the bowl or cup of cold water and try to retrieve the caramel and make a little ball with it. If you stick your fingers into the bowl, pull out a gooey mess and you can't do anything but smear the caramel, you need to boil the caramel some more. There is still too much water in your caramel and the concentration of sugar is too low. The caramel may even form little threads in the water, but if you cannot get the threads to form into a ball, you have some more boiling to do.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Pumpkin Pudding

Why wait on Thanksgiving season if you love the taste of Pumpkin? I love this pudding it is light and very easy to get ready for those hot summer days.It's cool and not the same old pudding. This pudding is spicy and rich and you serve it cold in the summer and hot in the winter.

15-oz. can pumpkin
1 cup condensed milk
4 t.light brown sugar
1/2 c. biscuit baking mix
2 eggs, beaten
4 T. butter, melted
2-1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. lemon extract

Garnish: whipped cream and chopped pecans

In a bowl, mix together all ingredients whipped cream and pecans . Transfer to a slow cooker that has been sprayed with non-stick vegetable spray. Cover and cook on low setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Pudding will start to pull away from sides of slow cooker; test for doneness with a toothpick inserted in center. Serve cold or warm.Garnish with whipped cream and chopped pecans Makes 4 to 6 serving

Friday, August 2, 2013

Italian Creme Cake





I had my first piece Italian Creme Cake bought at a supermarket. When a co-worker had it at work for potluck.I did not like it at first so I never try it again for many years... until a friend of my made the cake  homemade. WOW!!! The fresh taste and the moist of it all just made me fell in love. It's that taste! the creamy buttermilk and walnuts >>> should I go on?

Being the person that I am...I got my own recipe for this Wonderful Cake." I like a tall cake so" I like using two 10 inch by 3' tall cake pans.

INGREDIENTS:
2 stick Butter (real Butter) no margarine
3 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cup buttermilk
2 small can flaked coconut one can for frosting
10 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 cup butter crisco
10 egg yolks
2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup chopped  walnuts (only) 1/2 cup for frosting
.
Frosting:
1 package (8oz) cream cheese softened
1 box confectioners sugar
1/2 stick butter softened 
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 small can coconut
Mix butter and cream cheese together add coconuts and vanilla blend together until smooth. start adding
powder sugar blending until very smooth. Than add chop walnuts.


Cake:
Cream butter and shortening; add sugar. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine soda and flour; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and nuts. Fold in egg whites.

Pour into 2 greased 10 inch and floured cake pans; bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Frosting: Beat cream cheese until smooth; stir in sugar. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread on cake layers; sprinkle top with chopped nuts.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Turkey Necks And Dumpling Gravy

Turkey neck stew or Turkey neck gumbo is often served at large gatherings such as Mardi Gras parties in Louisiana and serve with a lot hot sauce. One Good reason turkey necks are serve because the meat is inexpensive and very flavorful and  guess what???,there’s a lot of meat on those turkey necks, not like > "chicken necks" Not knocking chicken neck because the chicken necks make a rich broth for chicken and dumplings.

I came up with this recipe Turkey Necks and Dumpling Gravy....because sometime you don't want to get too full on dumplings < > just the taste of those season meaty turkey necks with a little flour season gravy.

When buying turkey necks they normally available in packs of 6 in the poultry section of your supermarket. The necks are usually cut into 2 (6-inch) sections but if they are packaged whole, cut them in half for easier handling.

Recipe

8 or 12 turkey necks

2 cups onions, sliced

1 cup diced

1/4 cup garlic, minced
Place turkey necks in pot filling all way with water covering the turkey necks.
Adding onion, celery ,garlic and black pepper and salt to your taste.and other ingredients you like.
Cover and cook on low med heat for 2 hours or until water is half gone
Adding ¼ cup parsley, chopped

and 1 cup green onion

salt and black pepper to taste cover and cook until green onions are tender

Then mix ¼ cup flour

1 cup chicken stock mix well add salt and pepper to taste.
 Pour over Turkey Necks and stirring lightly and in two seconds it will look like this.simmer for few mins.