Preparing for the holidays

I'm having my family over for Thanksgiving, close to 20 people, so I have a lot of food to prepare. I love to cook (the reason most of my posts are cooking related) and love cooking for others, so my Thanksgiving day menu is an extensive one. Everything from drinks, several appetizers, main course and lots of sides and a few desserts. So to keep me from going insane on Thanksgiving I am preparing some of the food in advance.

On my menu I have three cranberry sauces planned (seems a little excessive I know, but like I said I love to cook). I like to make homemade cranberry sauce instead of buying canned. Cranberry sauce is easy to make and has a better flavor when made at home.  I have a plain cranberry sauce, better than canned but a simple taste for those in my family that like a bare bones flavor.

Cranberry Sauce

 Ingredients:
4 cups or 1 12oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp of cornstarch

Directions:
In a medium size sauce pot bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the cranberries burst open and the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes.  Combine the cornstarch and some of the cranberry sauce together in a small bowl, add the cornstarch mixture into the cranberry sauce, stir and cook for an additional 3 minutes to thicken the sauce even more. Remove from heat allow to cool and serve.

Like I said this is a simple recipe and the flavor is great, just enough sweetness to take away some of the tang of the cranberry but still keeps the cranberry flavor.





My next cranberry sauce recipe is Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Sauce, it's very flavorful and hearty.

Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 12oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 cup sugar
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 teaspoons corn starch

Directions :
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add cranberries, cinnamon and sugar, it may seem dry at first but the cranberries will release their juices so don't fret. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have softened and apples are tender, about 5 minutes.
Remove 8 ounces of the liquid to a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch. Slowly add the cornstarch-juice mixture to the cranberry sauce, stirring constantly. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl. Refrigerate until thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and serve.

*if you feel the sauce is too thick you can add a cup of orange juice or water.

I modified this recipe, at the time I did not have the cranberry juice and dried sweetened cranberries it called for so I worked with what I had. The sauce came out fantastic! It's definitely going to be the hit out of the three. It has a great bouquet of flavors, not a traditional cranberry sauce, but brings some fall flavors I love together (cranberries, apples and cinnamon).

The final sauce I made was Tequila Lime Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce, this recipe is not the traditional cranberry sauce you'd expect on Thanksgiving. It has some kick to it and is a great deviation from the norm.

Tequila Lime Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

4 cups (1 12 ounce bag) cranberries

1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons tequila

Directions:

Bring the cranberries, water, sugar and jalapeno to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the the sauce starts to thicken, about 10-15 minutes.Mix in the lime juice and tequila and remove from heat.

The cranberry sauce has lots of flavor you get the kick from the tequila and lime and at the end you get the heat from the jalapeno. My husband and I enjoyed this one, not a traditional sauce at all but a tasty addition to our Thanksgiving menu.

With all the sauce I allowed them to cool and sealed them in zip-lock bags and put the in the freezer (cranberry sauce can be frozen for up to one month).  These are easy to make and take up hardly any space in the freezer, so they are great make ahead dishes.

Here is a helpful chart on thawing your turkey, to make sure you are prepared ahead of time and to ensure its defrosted in time for Thanksgiving, thanks to Jennie-O.

If you plan to brine your turkey add an additional day or you can also use the brine as a way to "cold water" defrost it. However, only brine the turkey for 1-2 days, any longer and you could end up with a very salty bird. I also like to have my turkey rest for a day out of the brine, it helps to makes it moist and tasty by allowing the turkey to distribute and lock in the flavor.

My Husband's Special Birthday Meal

My husband just celebrated his birthday, it's a tradition that we make each other a meal for our birthdays. I gave my husband some options and he decided on Rustic French Onion Soup for his dinner and for dessert Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

This french onion soup is a very simple (there was some tears shed but only from slicing the onion :)) and very tasty recipe. I was a little worried it wouldn't come out good because I'm use to making french onion soups with more herbs. This one used simple ingredients and still turned out fantastic, even the next day!

Rustic French Onion Soup:


Ingredients:
Serves 8
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 lbs medium yellow onions (about 5), thinly sliced
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
8 cups Beef Stock
2 cups local dry red wine
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups cubed baguette, toasted
41/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (about 1 lb)
2 tsp minced fresh thyme

Directions:
In a large, heavy pot, heat butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add sugar and salt; sauté, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot, until onions are softened and a deep, rich brown, about 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in 2 cups of the stock, then add the remaining stock and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes to blend the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Divide baguette cubes among 8 individual ovenproof bowls. Fill bowls with onion soup and sprinkle each with a thick layer of cheese. Set bowls on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheese is browned, about 8 minutes. Garnish with thyme.

We left out the thyme, only because we forgot and were so hungry from smelling the wonderful aroma all afternoon, we couldn't wait to eat. We also used red cooking wine since it was all we had, it tasted great. My 7 year old daughter even enjoyed the soup both days with us she really loved the broth from it.




 My Husband is not a big fan of cakes so when I told him about the Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies he was all for it. These cookies take a bit longer to make then the traditional chocolate chip cookies, but are a great spin on the traditional.

Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 pound center cut thick bacon, 1/2-inch diced
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup reserved bacon fat, chilled
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey's dark chocolate bars)

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until the bacon pieces are golden brown and crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan. You'll need 1/2 cup of the bacon fat- spoon it into a 1/2 cup measuring cup and refrigerate it until it has solidified.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, bacon fat, sugars, bourbon and vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in the flour mixture. Then stir in the bacon and chocolate (hint: if you want your cookies to look really pretty, save a few bacon and chocolate pieces to add to the top of each cookie dough blob before baking). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment or silpat-lined baking sheets- about 2 inches apart.
Bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Let stand on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or store in a covered container or zip bag in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

The bacon fat gives the cookie a bacony flavor throughout however, if you don't want all the bacon flavor just the bacon bits in it, omit the bacon fat and replace with another 1/2 cup of butter (making it a full cup/one stick in the recipe instead). We found that if the bacon isn't crispy enough it turns out to be chewy, chewy wasn't bad but I feel it would of been better crispy, so make sure that you get your bacon nice and crispy. My husband, kids and I all enjoyed this cookie, it was a good change from the normal.

On my next post: Getting ready for the holidays, I'll have three different cranberry sauce recipes. Why buy the canned stuff when these recipes are easy and much tastier!

Fiery Football Feast!

Being a wife of an avid football fan (go Cowboys!), we like having what we call football food, good food easy to eat while watching the game. Our favorite appetizer is  Jalapeno poppers. The poppers recipe is an easy one to make and isn't deep fried its baked which makes it a bit healthier.

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature      

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar

6 large jalapenos, halved and seeded      

Coarse salt and ground pepper

      

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and cheddar. Season with salt and pepper. With a small spoon, fill each jalapeno half with about 1 tablespoon cheese mixture. Place peppers on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until cheese is browned and bubbling, about 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.

They come out delicious every time I make them and are always a huge hit with everyone and go fast so make plenty!



Our favorite football Sunday dinner is Chili and you cant have chili without cornbread, bacon cornbread that is! My husband and I have searched and made many recipes, we like having chunks of meat in our chili not ground beef and have tried to find recipes with lots of flavors and not too basic. After searching the recipes we have created our own, what I think is one of the best, Chili recipe.

 

Fry up the bacon

Make the spice paste

season the chuck roast

 

brown the roast

sauté the onions

 

add garlic and peppers

add paste tomatoes water lime juice and sugar

add Louisiana hot sauce like franks

 

 

 

Monday's Chili

 

 Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. red chili powder
1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground oregano
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground coriander seeds
3-4 tbsp. of water
4 strips of bacon
2 tbsp. of butter
2 1/2 lb. chuck roast
salt, pepper and paprika
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, stems removed seeded and ribs removed, minced
2 chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped, plus a tbsp. of adobo sauce
1 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 28 oz. can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp. of hot sauce, like Franks
1 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in a couple tbsp. water
 cheddar cheese, grated for a garnish

Directions:
In a small bowl mix the chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, oregano, thyme, and ground coriander seeds. Mix in water to form a paste, set aside. In a Dutch oven or large pot fry up the bacon on medium heat, until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside to cool on a paper towel when cool crumble. Reserve bacon fat for later. Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt, pepper and paprika. Increase the heat to the pot and add the butter. When butter has melted brown the chuck roast on all sides 5-10 min, it does not have to cook through. When done browning remove from pan and set aside to cool, when cool cut into bite size chunks. Add a tbsp. of reserved bacon fat to the pot, add chopped onions and sauté till soft, about 5 min. Add garlic and jalapenos, cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Add roughly chopped chipotles and the tbsp. of adobo sauce, cook another minute. Add the spice paste and cook for another 2-3 mins. Add beef, bacon, both cans of tomatoes, water, lime juice and sugar. Cook on medium heat until it simmers, then reduce to low. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for another 30 min, maintain a simmer. Mix corn starch into water, then add to chili to thicken it. Gently add the kidney beans and the hot sauce, cook for another 15 min, then serve. Adding cheese is optional its great either way!

Makes about 12 servings.



We have tried several different ways of making chili this is our final product, we feel its the best. Its hearty and not too spicy, the perfect chili (if I do say so myself)! We also like to make regular and sweet potato fries they both taste fantastic with chili on top.

And what is chili with out some yummy bacon cornbread in a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients:

4 strips of bacon

1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup whole milk

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter. Fry up the bacon until crispy, set aside to cool the crumble. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on. Whisk in crumbled bacon. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. I like my corn bread on the sweeter side so I sprinkled the top with some sugar and a tbsp. of melted butter and cooked another 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve

I hope you get to try these recipes and enjoy them. Let me know how they turn out, or if you have any questions.

Oktoberfest!

Its October, time to celebrate hoodies, football and hearty foods! To kick off October I made a great Oktoberfest Lager Stew, for my family and brother-in-law. My husband and his brother both aren't fans of cabbage however, they did enjoy this stew. Its hearty and delicious and goes great with a crusty bread and for those of you who enjoy it a cold beer. My kids weren't fans of it but the recipe made enough for 4 so it was the perfect amount for the adults to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

(the finished product sorry it was too good to wait to take a pic)

Oktoberfest Lager Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Caramelized Onions and Golden Cabbage(Serves about 4)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (14 ounce) package beef smoked sausage, cut into bite-size slices
1 ½ onion, sliced into thin semi-circles
½ head small cabbage, halved again, cored and thinly sliced
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground caraway seeds
• Pinch salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1cup German-style lager beer (Oktoberfest variety)
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed to bite-size pieces
2 ½ cups hot chicken stock
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped

           

Directions:

Place a medium-large pot over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil; once the oil is hot, add in the sliced beef smoked sausage, and allow the slices to caramelize and brown in the oil, for about 4-5 minutes; once the sausage is browned, add in the sliced onions, stir, and allow the onions to caramelize with the sausage for another few minutes, until golden-brown and softened; once onions are caramelized, add in the sliced cabbage, stir to combine, and allow the cabbage to soften and take on the flavors of the sausage and onions for  few minutes; once the cabbage is softened and golden, add in the black pepper, ground caraway seeds and the pinch of salt, and stir to combine; next, stir in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the cup of lager, and stir the mixture to combine; allow the beer to slightly reduce for about 3 minutes or so; next, add in the cubed potatoes and the hot chicken stock, stir, and allow the mixture to come to the boil; once it comes to the boil, place a lid on (slightly askew to allow just a little steam to escape), and reduce the heat to low to gently simmer the stew for about 40 minutes; after the 40 minutes, turn the heat off, and finish the stew by stirring in the apple cider vinegar and the chopped parsley (add more salt if necessary, too).Serve in large bowls with some hearty, rye bread or rustic rolls with butter or cream cheese.

 

Very easy to make, and great eats for watching some football!

 

 

 

An Apple a Day...

A favorite activity for my family to do during the fall months is apple picking! It's a great way to spend some time outdoors, my kids love that they can pick something that they can eat as well as pull a cute wagon to carry all the apples in.

(my cute family apple picking)

 

We don't usually go so early in the season but that particular Saturday was suppose to be a nice cool day, perfect for apple picking. We tried to go apple picking at the farm we like to visit however, they were not ready for anyone to pick apples yet. Luckily up the street from them there was a farm all ready for us called Strawberry Hill Farm. The owner let my kids feed their chickens and let us know where all the apples were and which were ready for picking, we had a nice time.

Since we picked so many apples I searched Pinterest to see if I could find any good sounding apple recipes, I came across two. The first one was Crock Pot Apple Butter, I wasn't feeling well but still wanted to make something with the apples and I figured something using a crock pot would make things easier! The recipe is simple and the finished product is great.

Ingredients:

12  apples
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Directions:

Core, peel and cut apples into small chunks. (They break down faster the smaller you cut the chunks.) Mix in all the spices, sugar and water. Cook on low in your crock pot, I checked on mine and stirred it a few times throughout the day. Once it's broken down and pretty mushy I broke out my immersion blender and blended it till it was smooth. Place into jars for storage and let cool.

The apple butter was tasty, I could eat it on its own. I did put it on a bagel with cream cheese as well as warm biscuits. My family loves it as well, my daughter wanted to eat it on its own too!

The second recipe I found was Caramel Apple Crisps for Two. My husband and I wanted a nice quick treat after dinner and this was perfect. It was super easy to make and man was it good!

Ingredients: 2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 to 2 heaping tablespoons Caramel Topping
Cream or Ice Cream (optional)

Directions:

Place apple slices in two small, greased ramekins.  Spoon Butterscotch Caramel topping over the apples.  In a bowl, combine flour and brown sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oats and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over apple slices and caramel.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until tender. Serve with cream or ice cream if desired.

I definitely recommend this for a nice treat, it was easy to make, didn't take a lot of dishes, took no time to cook and was delicious. I do want to try this again with vanilla ice cream, I'm sure it will taste fantastic.