Basic Chicken soup

No photos with this one I'm afraid (forgot to grab the camera). The wife wanted some soup today cause she has a cold, so I decided to make the best thing for a cold, chicken soup (nice aren't I).
It all started with 1 chicken roasted and picked. Then I added whatever frozen veggies I could find (corn and green beans) 3 carrots sliced, 1/8th cup dehydrated onion, and 3 Tbs of dehydrated celery, 1 jar of canned taters and 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock. Seasoning was simple salt to taste and pepper and just cause I could some smokey chipotle Tabasco sauce and some poultry seasoning. Now if this was June or later in the summer I would have it in the dutch oven on my gas stove, but it is cold out here so I threw it all in the 6 quart slow cooker and let it simmer all day threw in some egg noodles about 10 minutes before serving and there you have it chicken soup Ala lazy cook.

Expiriment Day

While the wife is busy making yogurt I decided to play in the kitchen. As I wandered through looking for something to catch my eye, what should I see first but the Vita Mix, so I decided to see what would happen when I put a 1/4 cup of dehydrated onions in it and turn it on high. It turns out a very nice onion powder. then I saw the stand mixer. HMMMM, I need to make more mayo so here goes. I started with 2 egg yolks in the bowl and then added the dry ingredients; 2 tsp fine grain salt, 2 or 3 pinches of sugar, and because I had just made the onion powder 1/2 tsp of onion powder and a 1/2 tsp of dried mustard.

I then whisked those together to form a paste. I had previously mixed 2 Tbs white wine vinegar with 4 tsp lime juice. I added half of the liquid mixture.

Then to the mixer.

I then added 2 and 1/2 cups of oil slowly drizzling it in and in the end it came out like this.

I then put it in a jar and let it set on the counter at room temp "gasp" for 3-4 hour "double gasp". The reason I do this is mayo is a very acidic environment and the acid will kill the nasty little critters that can be there like salmonella, but for some strange reason that the big brains in chemistry haven't figured out yet, it works best when at room temp. Cold stops its killing power. So 3-4 hrs at room temp will kill the little critters or you can just buy pasteurized eggs.

This makes a 1/2 quart. Three eggs and triple the recipe and add 3 1/2 cups oil to make 1 quart.

Biscuits and sausage gravy

Wow I guess it takes being somewhat sidelined to get me to post a new recipe a lot of things have happened since my last post not the least of which was the purchase of a new house, which of course means a new and bigger kitchen to work in when my back is healed up. Now the recipe is one that I love and make many variations on. Now there are some purists out there that will take exception to what I am about to say and that is when making biscuits it is OK to use a mix. Just remember technique will make any biscuits good. Sorry but this recipe you have to wing most of the measurements just like I do that is half the fun of cooking. :)

Now for the recipe,
 the biscuits
take your favorite mix (my wife makes one that I love but the store bought will work too)
mix according to instructions then when you are ready to knead it this is where I break from the instructions
I always knead it by hand and then roll it out once and fold it with butter in between the folds and then roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness cut the rolls with your favorite cutter (mine is a mason jar lid the wide mouth kind)
bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, Each oven is different so know your oven.

Now the gravy is easy enough just cook up one pound of bulk sausage retaining three tablespoons of the grease then add flour till you get a good paste then let it cook for a bit to remove the raw taste of the flour.
Add milk until you have a smooth gravy and heat to desired thickness(we like it real thick) add sausage to gravy and serve.

Idaho omlette

Good for breakfast or any meal this is the most versatile dish I make. You can use anything in it:).
start with hash browns and go from there, This is my basic version.
4 cups hash brown potatoes (I use freeze dried shreds rehydrated)
1/2 cup freeze dried pepper mix
1/4 cup freeze dried onions
rehydrate in enough water to cover them

fry up 1 package bacon (or any other meat you want)
add potato mix cook till spuds are crisp
add 4 scrambled eggs cook till set
add 1/2 cup cheese
eat like there's no tomorrow:)

Shepards pie Idaho style

I would first like to note that i now have 4 followers on this blog and I want to thank them for the support. Second I noticed that one of the followers in a professional writer so I apologize now for all the grammatical and punctuation errors that my writing is riddled with those were never my strong suit. I am trying to post more often but as I just started a new job the training for it has wiped me out but when it all settles down then I hope to post 2 to 3 times per week. Now on to the recipe.

2 Tbs butter (real butter please its better for you)
salt to taste
1 pound of ground meat ( hamburger elk goat it matters not :D)
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies any kind 12- 16 oz
2 cans tomato soup 10.5 oz each
1 can tomato sauce 8 oz
1 large onion chopped coarsely
1 bell pepper chopped fine
2 cups mashed potatoes (if i am in a hurry I use potato flakes)
2 or more cups shredded cheese depending on how much cheese your family likes (mine would use 2 pounds on this if I let them)





in a heavy cast iron pan melt butter then drop in onion cook till caramelized set aside. brown ground meat with bell pepper salt to taste I have grown to love kosher salt for these uses, drain then mix tomato soup and tomato sauce and add veggies combine with meat and onion heat to veggies are no longer frozen place in casserole dish and cover with mashed potatoes and top with cheese. bake in 350 degree oven till cheese is melted and just starts to get a crust on it.

this is a great dinner for a cold winter evening serve while cheese is still gooey.

Chiken alfredo

My son is a very picky eater and in trying to get him to eat new things I try many different recipes most of which I just make up off the cuff. I made this one night and it was such a hit that he asks for it all the time now. My son now asks for new foods as he has learned that almost any food can taste good if it is tried in many different forms.

2 Lbs chicken cut into bite size pieces (I use boneless skinless breast a lot)
kosher salt to taste
one clove garlic minced
1 T. butter
1 batch of alfredo sauce(recipe to follow)
1 pound pasta

melt butter in large cast iron skillet add chicken and garlic and salt cook till chicken is browned (I like to have a bit of carmelization on my chicken for taste and texture.) drain, leave in pan mix in alfredo sauce.
cook pasta of your choice till tender.
at this point you can either serve the pasta with sauce on top or you can mix the whole thing up my family flip flops on how they like it but generally we mix it.

Now the sauce i like sauces simple and easy like me.
1/2 cup water (can use chicken stock)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup parmesan cheese
garlic powder, to taste
kosher salt to taste
Melt butter over low heat in saucepan, Gradually, stir in flour, Continue stirring and gradually add half-and-half, add water, Increase heat to medium and continue stirring till thickened, Stir in parmesan cheese and garlic powder.

serve with bread sticks and salad a great meal that will satisfy the picky eater in your family.

Re-fried Beans

Wow it has been a while since I posted anything so lets get going with a recipe that works as a side and as an ingredient. Now this will work in any pan but if you have read anything here you know that I think it tastes better when made in cast iron. In my house re-fried beans don't last very long and are used as dip and taco ingredients.

The recipe

1 pound pinto beans rinsed and soaked (black beans also work and you can use canned)

1 large onion diced

1-2 jalapeno peppers minced

2-3 Tbs lard(can use vegetable oil if you are scared of lard)

salt to taste

First saute onion and jalapeno in lard till onion is translucent, pour beans into pan and heat through. take a standard issue potato masher and work beans till they are mostly mashed but with big lumps throughout. salt to taste serve as side with shredded cheese or with tortilla chips.