Beef Jerky!

When all the grandchildren showed up for a date with grandma and grandpa this past weekend, my mom had made some beef jerky for snack. It was a huge hit, especially with one of my daughters who we believe is a bit sensitive to gluten. This can make snacking hard, since it's difficult sometimes to get her interested in protein or fruits/veggies for snacks. My parents follow a Paleo-type diet to manage diabetes, so this was a good snack choice for them, too.

My mom used Raising 5 Cattle Company's stir-fry beef for her jerky, and she made a pound. Knowing my family, I used 2 packages of Raising 5's grass fed stir fry beef. I am quite sure that using grass fed beef, in addition to the improved nutrients, made the jerky more tender than most I've had!

On a side note, Janie and I have long been fans of beef jerky, and I like venison jerky, too. Lots of folks in WV make their own, and our cousin used to let his air dry by stringing it on line in his ultra-warm basement close to the wood stove. We used to play and steal so much jerky that we couldn't get enough water! I was also fond of the shredded jerky sold in a "snuff" can back in the day, kind of like Big League Chew. Jerky and roller skating to Michael Jackson's Thriller album, now those were some good times...

2 lbs stir-fry beef or other lean cut, thinly sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce (you may want to chose one that is gluten-free, use Bragg's amino acids, or wheat-free tamari)
2 tsp garlic powder
black pepper to taste (go light for kids)
1 tsp sugar

Other marinade/flavor ideas: Tabasco, Liquid Smoke, Sriachi, ginger, lime juice

Combine beef and additional ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Cover with foil and marinate for 12-24 hours.


Lay beef flat on trays (next time I'll use parchment).


Set oven to 170/175 degrees, and allow jerky to slow-roast for 5-6 hours, or until desired doneness. I set my electric oven to six hours and went to bed...we awoke to a delicious garlicy smell! The kids ate several pieces before breakfast (I told you they liked it)!
Remove from trays and store in an airtight container.

~Leslie

Chicken Fried Steak

I don't fix chicken fried steak often. Actually, I've only made this dish about 3 times in my entire life. Let me tell you--it's worth the work that goes into it! It's one of my husband's all time favorites and I venture to say that I have perfected the dish! No need to order this one out, y'all!
You have to start with the best beef available. For me, that's tenderized steak from Raising Five Cattle Company. Their grass fed beef is to die for. The cubed steak is so tender you can cut it with a spoon.

You'll notice in the pictures that I'm about to post that the meat is not a bright cherry red as seen in grocery stores. Wanna know why? Because theses delicious cuts of meat haven't been injected with red food dye to make them look more appealing. Yes--you read that right. Food dye. It's in everything including the meat you buy at the grocery store. Ick. Enough on that subject. On to the real prize.....CHICKEN FRIED STEAK!


I don't follow a recipe per se but if you're one that needs some direction, try Homesick Texan's recipe--it's no fail! It's my guide but now I fly solo when preparing. I do make my own cream gravy but Homesick Texan's is about as good as you get!

This recipe is for you, my dear sweet friend, Leslie Rosier Mitchell! I'm sure you can whip this up in Boston!

Pat steaks dry using paper towels.

Place one steak at a time in the egg mixture and coat well. Be sure to let any excess drip off as you don't want too much!

Dredge steak in well seasoned flour [I use salt, pepper and garlic powder].

Dip in egg mixture a second time.

Back to the flour for a second coating! Be sure to shake off any excess.

Into a hot cast iron skillet. An important note--oil must be very hot and a cast iron skillet is a MUST! I used peanut oil for an extra crispy outside on my steaks. Olive oil won't work for this as it has a low smoke point.

Flip after a three to four minutes. Be sure each side is a deep golden brown.

I place my steaks on a cookie sheet with a metal rack to drain. As I continue cooking steaks, the finished ones go into a warm oven to stay warm while I fininsh preparing dinner.

Cream gravy....yum! Start off with a fat [I used butter but you can use pan drippings for added flavor] and flour. Whisk until it bubbles and begins to turn a nice golden color. I typically don't like dark cream gravy, so I leave mine a little pale. You can certainly cook your rue as long as you wish.

Add seasonings--salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic or you can use season salt.

Whisk in milk. Be sure to turn the heat down as it will start to thicken and will burn. I used skim milk.

Whisk until mixture is nice and smooth.

Fresh ground black pepper and hot sauce [I prefer Cholula] rounds out the seasonings for the gravy!

Assemble plate and add gravy......

Ready to eat!

Buttermilk Pancakes

I am not a pancake lover--I prefer a savory breakfast and kids that aren't sticky. I also don't like to smell syrup in a moving car or other close quarters, thanks to 13 years of riding a school bus with some p-cake lovin' neighbors. IHOP commericals can bring me to my knees. My kids do like pancakes, though, so a couple times a month we indulge them. My husband is a better pancake maker than me with a modified Martha Stewart recipe (much to his chagrin), and it provides consistent results.

Why do we make pancakes from scratch? Well, most pancake mixes have a host of weird ingredients, and most boxed baking mixes contain trans fats. Also, this gives the kids a chance to measure, crack eggs, and mix more ingredients together.

Syrup? Again, lots of weird ingredients in pancake syrups. We use "tree juice", or maple syrup. Getting back to nature for my kids and my husband has taken a while, but now they seem to like the "tree juice" just fine.

Oh, and please add some protein to this meal (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, peanut butter, hard boiled eggs) lest your family slump over in a complete carb stooper, only to rattle the cages hungry in about an hour!

~Leslie

Buttermilk Pancakes
2 cups all-purpose flour (I like to mix 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour with 1 cup whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups buttermilk OR 2 1/2 cups milk + the juice of 1/2 lemon (we rarely have buttermilk around!)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
oil for pan or griddle

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add beaten eggs, milk or milk/lemon juice, butter, and vanilla. Mix until just combined. Mixing too long will cause pancakes to be tough. Lightly oil a paper towel or coffee filter and rub in pan over medium heat. Place 1/2 cup batter in pan, and flip cake when the surface of the cake is covered with bubbles. Place finished cake on a platter. Oil the pan again, and add batter again. Continue until desired number of cakes are baked. Enjoy!

Modifications: Sprinkle blueberries on the top of the cake once batter is poured. Flip when bubbles cover the surface of the cake and blueberries begin to emit juices.

Busy Mom Tip: Save any extra pancakes or make a double batch for a quick reheat later in the week. Extra batter can be stored up to two days in the fridge.

Tomatillo Chicken--You've Gotta Make This!!

My husband made a new chicken recipe tonight after seeing it on PBS a couple of days ago. It was superb! The sauce is a little spicy for children, so you could keep their portion of chicken plain or omit jalapenos in a portion of the sauce. Next time, we agreed we'll serve "tomatillo chicken" after this beautiful salad!http://dosflamingavocadoes.blogspot.com/2009/09/try-this-salad.html

Enjoy!

~Leslie

Tomatillo Chicken (with black beans, brown rice, and a bit of avocado! We skipped the hominy.)

http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/tomatillo_chicken.html

Chipotle Macaroni & Cheese

I love homemade macaroni & cheese. It's true comfort food. I only make it for special occassions and Christmas dinner is one such occassion.

This year I made two dishes--a kid friendly version and a kicked-up adult version. It's the first time I've made chipotle mac & cheese and I must say, it was divine! Worthy of Noel Divine....if you're a WVU fan. I hope you take the time to make some homemade mac & cheese for your family. It's a gift of love all wrapped up in cheese!

Enjoy!
Janie

Homemade Chipotle Four Cheese Macaroni & Cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus 1 Tbsp. more for dish
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
5 1/2 cups heavy cream [may substitute 2% or 1% milk]
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
2 cups extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese
2 cups extra sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 whole Chipotles in adobo sauce
Smoked Paprika
1 pound elbow macaroni

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place Panko breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with breadcrumbs, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.


2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat heavy cream. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

3. While whisking, slowly pour in hot whipping cream. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

4. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, black pepper and 1 cup extra sharp yellow cheddar, 1 cup extra sharp white cheddar, 1 cup swiss and 1 cup Pecorino Romano cheeses. Stir until smooth. Pour approxiamtely 1 cup of cheese sauce into a food processor. Remove 2 chipotle in adobe sauce from can and place in food processor. Process until the chipotles are mixed throughout cheese sauce. Place cheese sauce back in pan with remaining sauce and stir until completely incorporated. [You may add more if you like your food very spicy. I found that 2 whole chipotles gave enough kick to the dish without drowning out the other flavors]

5. Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

6. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese, 1 cup of extra sharp white cheddar and breadcrumbs over top. Lightly sprinkle top with smoked paprika. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Hash Browns!

Maybe you'll have a bunch of guests in town over the next couple of weeks, or perhaps you will have more time on your hands to make a big breakfast for your family. Here is a great way to make the morning easy by starting the night before!

Hash Browns

The Night Before . . .

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash as many potatoes as you wish. Place on a sheet pan or in a 9 x 13 pan that contains 1/2-1 inch of water. Adding water to the pan allows the potato skins to stay soft. Cover pan with foil. Place potatoes into oven to roast. Set oven timer for 1 hour, 15 minutes. (My oven shuts off at the end of the cooking time). Go to bed . . . potatoes will stay warm all night. Extra potatoes can be refrigerated and used up to 2 days later.

The Next Morning . . .

Remove potatoes from oven. Dice into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside--no need to remove the skin.

Dice one medium onion. Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a couple tablespoons of butter. When oil/butter melts, add onion and cook until slightly browned and softened. Salt onion to taste. Stir onions periodically in the pan.

Add diced potatoes to the pan with the onions. Salt generously. Cook approximately 7-10 minutes over medium heat. Flip over with a spatula from time to time, and you may see a nice crust form on the potatoes.

Serving Ideas: serve with over easy eggs and toast; make a breakfast taco with corn/flour tortillas, bacon, scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese, and salsa; use in an omelet or fritatta

Parent Modifications: add any of the following (diced) to the onion while it is cooking: jalapenos, poblanos, green pepper, red pepper, chorizo, a bit of bulk sausage, garlic

~Leslie

Tuscany Bread

One of the most popular appetizers at Uno's Pizzeria on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, the summer of 1995 was "Tuscany Bread". Folks ordered this, then I usually dropped their 20 lb Chicago style deep dish pizza in the kitchen, or had burn marks on my face from their sizzling plate of fajitas . . . but I do have good memories of the Tuscany Bread.


Take a baguette, slice into 1/4 inch slices, and lay flat on a baking tray. Baste with garlic butter (1/4 cup butter, 2-3 cloves garlic mashed into a paste with a little salt, heat, brush on bread). Bake bread at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until the bread is crisped.

Remove the bread from the oven and place a few leaves of baby spinach on each slice of bread, then a scoop of tomatoes (2-3 large tomatoes, remove seeds and juice, dice). Top with shredded cheese--Uno's used a blend of mozzarella and Muenster, but my family uses an Italian blend. Bake until the cheese is golden and bubbly. To serve, squeeze a bit of lemon on each slice of bread and enjoy with a glass of wine. The kids enjoyed theirs with a glass of sparkling grape juice. And, sometimes we just make garlic cheese bread for them . . .

~Leslie

Stromboli

We grew up in an area where delicious subs, pepperoni rolls, pizza, and calzones were readily available and out of this world thanks to Italian-American families that immigrated to our neck of the woods for jobs in steel mills and coal mines. Another favorite to make at home is a stromboli--food for a crowd or a bunch of hungry kids! This was a hit today at school, and Janie convinced some skeptical kids to try it by calling it "inside out pizza". She's the queen of stromboli in our family. You can fill it with all sorts of things!

~Leslie

Ingredients:
1 roll Pillsbury pizza dough or one loaf frozen bread dough, thawed--we used a couple batches of our homemade bread dough today at school
8 oz pepperoni--we used nitrate/nitrite free
8 oz ham--we used nitrate/nitrite free
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
garlic powder
coarse or kosher salt
extra virgin olive oil
Optional: sides of your favorite warmed marinara sauce

Roll dough out very thin on a floured surface with a rolling pin, in a rectangular shape. The thinner the dough, the more layers in the slice of stromboli once baked. Top with pepperoni, ham, and mozzarella, leaving a 1/2 edge all around the perimeter of the dough.

Fold in about 1 1/2 inches of dough on each side of the rectangle.

Begin rolling the stromboli on the long edge jelly roll fashion.

Press gently, all along the roll, into the counter to seal the dough.

Place on a foil-lined pan that has been lightly oiled, and brush with olive oil on all sides, the top, and the ends. Sprinkle top with garlic powder and salt.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until browned. Allow to rest on pan 5 minutes, then slice into 1 inch slices and enjoy. Delicious with a side of your favorite warmed marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.

Modifications: Endless! Try adding drained banana peppers or fresh/pickled jalapenos. Cappicola or browned Italian sausage would be nice. Mushrooms or any other favorite pizza topping would work--just saute any veggies first to reduce the amount of moisture during baking. How about Swiss cheese, ham, and spreading the inside with a little Dijon mustard--Cordon Bleu? Janie used to work in a little gourmet market that did deli roast beef, green peppers, onions, and Provolone or American cheese--Philly cheesesteak? Meatballs (halved if large) and mozzarella would work.

Busy Mom Tip: Add a salad and make two or three of these for a party.

Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Spinach-Tomato Sauce . . .

This sort of started with creamed spinach in mind, then evolved into something tomatoey and lemony, too. It was good, and everything could easily be done in 20-30 minutes, especially if you use some leftover grilled or rotisserie chicken!

~Leslie

Ingredients:

1 T butter

1 T extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz washed baby spinach

2 large tomatoes, diced

the juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup half and half

salt/pepper to taste

3-4 grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 lb cooked pasta of choice--I used thin spaghetti

Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.Add garlic and saute to flavor oil--do not brown the garlic.

When you smell the garlic, begin to add all of the spinach.

Cover the spinach and let it wilt for 1-2 minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes (dicing is a good job for the kids!) and the lemon juice.

Stop to take picture of assistant, at his request.

Add half and half and Parmesan cheese, then stir. Allow sauce to reduce for a minute or so, until the sauce thickens. Make sure you get all of the cheese distributed by stirring. Taste, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, slice grilled chicken into strips.

Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss with tongs. Plate pasta, then top with grilled chicken.

Modifications: I generally try to eat few carbohydrates, so I enjoyed the sauce over grilled chicken breasts, sans pasta. Parents may want to add red chili flakes to their portion, and households without children might try spicing it up with one or two pureed chipotles in adobo, or even saute some poblano or jalapeno with the garlic before adding the spinach.

Busy Mom Tip: Boil twice as much pasta and grill twice as much chicken. When the pasta is done, toss half with Stonewall Kitchen Sesamee Ginger Teriyaki Sauce (or another favorite Asian sauce) and half of the sliced chicken. Add some frozen green peas, and package for lunch later in the week.

Roasted Carrots

Children enjoy roasted vegetables a lot, most likely because they are sweet and tender. Roasted carrots are pretty popular here at school.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel 1-2 pounds of organic carrots (they are affordable!), and cut into 1/2-1 inch chunks. Throw on a sheet pan, and toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and either fresh garlic (2-3 cloves) or dried garlic.

Roast carrots for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. You might like to toss them with a pat of butter or a little maple syrup before serving. Great accompanying a beef roast or pork!