Categories
Dinner Sides

Veggie Roasting

Notes

  • Temperature is 425 for each time listed.
  • Root vegetables (beets, potatoes, carrots): 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how small you cut them
  • Winter squash (butternut squash, acorn squash): 20 to 60 minutes, depending on how small you cut them
  • Crucifers (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts): 15 to 25 minutes
  • Soft vegetables (zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers): 10 to 20 minutes
  • Thin vegetables (asparagus, green beans): 10 to 20 minutes
  • Onions: 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them
  • Tomatoes: 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients (Other than veggies)

  • Avocado Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Kosher Salt – 1 tsp
  • Black pepper – 1/4 tsp

Steps

  1. Preheat to 425
  2. Chop the veggies to all one general size, peel if required.
  3. Toss in avocado oil, salt, pepper, and any other seasoning.
  4. Spread on to baking sheet, don’t over crowd.
  5. Bake for the necessary time from the chart above. If you have different roasting times, you can add them when the time calls.
  6. Stir every 15 minutes.
Categories
Dinner

Shepherd’s Pie

Notes

  • 1.5 hours from start to finish.
  • Original recipe calls for ground lamb.
  • Replace with your favorite mashed potato recipe, add egg yolk for texture in the oven.

Ingredients

Mashed Potatos
  • Russet Potatoes – 1.5 Lbs
  • Half and Half – 1/4 cup
  • Butter – 2 oz
  • Kosher salt – 3/4 tsp
  • Black pepper – 1/4 tsp
  • Egg yolk – 1
Pie Filling
  • Canola oil – 2 tbs
  • Onion – 1 cup chopped
  • Carrots – 2 peeled and diced
  • Garlic – 2 cloves minced
  • Ground meat (your choice) – 1.5 lbs
  • Kosher Salt – 1 tsp
  • Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
  • All purpose flour – 2 tbsp
  • Tomato paste – 2 tsp
  • Chicken broth – 1 cup
  • Worcestershire sauce – 1 tsp
  • Fresh rosemary – 2 tsp
  • Fresh thyme – 1 tsp
  • Corn – 1/2 cup kernels
  • Peas – 1/2 cup

Steps

  • Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the meat, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
  • Add the corn and peas to the meat mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Categories
Dinner

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp
  • White onion diced – 1
  • Cream of mushroom – 1 Can
  • Cream of Chicken – 1 Can
  • Rotel – 1 Can
  • Chicken Broth – 1 Cup
  • Sour Cream – 2 Tbsp
  • Cumin – 2 tsp
  • Chili powder – 1 tsp
  • Oregano – 1/2 tsp
  • Shredded cheese – 8 oz
  • Corn tortillas – 10 small

Steps

  1. Preheat to 350
  2. Saute onion in a large skillet over high heat.
  3. Combine onion, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken soup, rotel, chicken broth, sour cream, cumin, chile powder, oregano, and chipotle chile powder together in a large bowl and stir until sauce is well-combined.
  4. Spread a few tablespoons of the sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Spread 1/2 the chicken over the sauce. Spread about half the sauce over the chicken and top with 1/3 the cheese. Spread a layer of tortillas over the cheese. Spread remaining 1/2 the chicken over the tortillas, and top with almost all of the remaining sauce, reserving 1/2 cup sauce. Top with 1/3 the cheese, remaining tortillas, the reserved 1/2 cup sauce, and remaining 1/3 cheese.
  5. Bake casserole in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to broil. Broil the casserole until top is golden, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Categories
Sides

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

  • Sweet Potatoes – 3
  • Avocado Oil – 1 Tbsp
  • Salt – a few pinches

Steps

  • Preheat Oven to 400.
  • Cut sweet potatoes in half long ways (like a hotdog bun).
  • Drizzle oil on the cut sides of the sweet potatoes.
  • Sprinkle salt on the oiled potatoes.
  • Flip the potatoes over to have the cut exposed side on the baking sheet.
  • Bake for 30 minutes.
  • The potatoes will be completely soft when done, and when pulled off the sheet, the flesh should be browned/caramelized.

Source

https://livesimply.me/the-best-and-quickest-baked-sweet-potatoes/

Categories
Breakfast

PBJ Oatmeal

Notes

  • Extremely filling

Ingredients

  • Peanut butter – 1 to 2 tbsp
  • Jelly or Preserves – 1 to 2 tbsp
  • Old Fashion Oats – 1/4 cup
  • Water – 1/4 cup

Steps

  1. Put oats and water in microwavable bowl.
  2. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.
    1. Oatmeal will look drier than normal, this will be remedied with peanut butter.
  3. Put jelly into hot oatmeal.
  4. Put peanut butter into hot oatmeal and mix all together.
  5. Eat, but don’t burn your mouth.
Categories
Baking Dessert

Sourdough Banana Bread

Notes:

  • If you let the batter sit for a while before baking, it will come out lighter/fluffier.

Ingredients:

  • Sourdough Starter – 1 cup mature
  • Butter – ½ cup
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Egg – 1
  • Mashed banana – 1 cup
  • Flour – 2 cups
  • Salt – 1 teaspoon
  • Baking Powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Baking Soda – ½ teaspoon
  • Vanilla Extract – 1 teaspoon

Steps:

  1. Cream together the butter and sugar, add egg and mix until blended.
  2. Stir in bananas and sourdough starter.
  3. Add vanilla.
  4. Stir flour, salt, baking powder and soda.
  5. Pour into greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
  6. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Cool to cold before slicing.
Categories
Baking Breakfast

Sourdough Pancakes

Notes:

  • I usually halve the recipe

Ingredients:

  • Sourdough Starter – 1 cup mature
  • Milk – 1 cup
  • Sugar – 2 tablespoons
  • Vegetable oil – 2 tablespoons
  • Egg – 1
  • Flour – 2 cups
  • Baking Powder – 2 teaspoons
  • Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt – 1 teaspoon

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, sugar and salt.
  2. Add the sourdough starter, milk, egg and oil. Mix well just until combined.
  3. Spray a pancake griddle with cooking spray or grease well with butter. Heat to about 300-350 degrees.
  4. Cook like normal pancakes or follow the next 2 steps.
  5. Pour 1/4 cup pancake batter on the hot griddle. Cook until the pancake starts bubbling on top, then flip the
    pancake.
  6. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the pancake is cooked through.
Categories
Baking Fermented

Sourdough Bread

Notes:

  • This recipe takes a total of 2 days to complete and requires plenty of fridge space overnight. 
  • It is best to go based on weight as the amount of flour and starter can vary per-cup measurement. 
  • It is very very very sticky and messy. 
  • It is best to use the sourdough starter about 4-5 hours after last feeding it. 
  • I recommend watching a video to get the basic steps visualized before trying it. 

Ingredients:

  • Sourdough Starter – 225 grams (1 cup mature) 
  • Flour Mixture – 950 grams (About 5-6 cups depending on humidity) 
    • I use a mix of mostly all-purpose flour mixed with Bread flour and whole wheat flour.  I slightly change the ratio of types with each bake. 
    • Example: 3 cups all-purpose, 1 cup bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. 
  • Warm Water – 660 grams (2 and ¾ cups) 
  • Salt – 18 grams (1 Tablespoon) 
  • Rice flour – enough to dust the bowls 

Steps:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the raw flour in with the water until a well-mixed dough forms. Let sit covered for an hour before adding the mature sourdough starter. Letting the flour sit allows the dough to relax and form gluten.
  2. After letting the dough sit for at least an hour, sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough. 
  3. Pour the sourdough starter over the salt and dough and poke and pinch it in to the dough. Fold the dough together to thoroughly combine the salt, dough, and sourdough starter. 
  4. Cover the mixture and let sit for 15 minutes. 
    1. If cold day let sit 30 minutes between each of the next steps. 
  5. Open the cover and use a wet hand to pull the dough up from each side and stretch it in to the center of the dough ball until all sides have been pulled. 
  6. Cover the mixture and let sit for 15 minutes.
  7. Repeat the dough pulling process. 
  8. Cover the mixture and let sit for 15 minutes.
  9. Repeat the dough pulling process. 
  10. Cover the mixture and let sit for 30 minutes.
  11. Repeat the dough pulling process. 
  12. Cover the mixture and let sit for 30 minutes.
  13. Repeat the dough pulling process. 
  14. Cover the mixture and let sit for 30 minutes.
  15. Repeat the dough pulling process. 
  16. Cover the mixture and let sit for the final 30 minutes.
  17. The dough should now have some bubbles formed, carefully pour it out on to an unfloured, non-oiled surface. You can use a scraper to gently release the dough from the sides of the bowl. 
  18. Take some flour and create a line down the center of the dough mass to approximately split in to two separate dough masses. 
  19. Use a bench scraper to twist the under-side of the dough slightly in to tighter dough masses. (Without video this is difficult to explain). Repeat for each of the 2 dough balls. 
  20. Let the dough sit out in the open air and rest for 15-30 minutes. This will slightly dry out the sticky surface and will relax the dough. 
  21. Dust the top side of the dough with all-purpose flour. Flip the dough over so the flour side is down. The exposed part should still be wet and sticky. Pull each of the four side up and to the center and put the wet sides of the dough together. This happens in 4 parts and is easier to see in videos. When complete all exposed parts of flour should have a slight dusting, and all wet sticky parts of dough should have been folded-in on each other. 
  22. Flip the dough over so that the seams that were just created are down toward the work surface. 
  23. Use the Bench scraper or your hands to again pull and twist the bottom of the dough to a tighter seam, pulling the dough in to a tight ball. 
  24. Dust a bowl or banneton with rice flour. 
  25. Flip the dough top side down in to a bowl and cover it. If airtight, you can place in the fridge. If not, cover with plastic wrap or a zip lock so the dough does not dry out, then place them in the fridge. 
  26. Repeat for the second dough mass. 
  27. Leave both in fridge overnight to slowly ferment and develop flavor.
  28. After about 13 hours in the fridge, preheat the oven. Place the dutch-oven in the oven with its lid and preheat to 500 degrees for an hour. You want the dutch-oven thoroughly hot when the bread in placed in it. 
  29. Once pre-heated, take the dough from the fridge and flip it out of the bowl on to a floured surface. At this time, you can score the dough up to ¼ inch deep in whatever pattern you wish. 
  30. Sprinkle a little flour in to the bottom of the dutch-oven and place the dough in. Put the lid on and place in to the oven. 
  31. Bake at 500 for 20 minutes. 
  32. After 20 minutes remove lid, and lower temperature to 475 for an additional 25-30 minutes. 
  33. Remove the bread when golden-brown. 
  34. Repeat for the other dough mass. 
Categories
Smoking

Smoked Turkey


Source:

YouTube Video

Blog Post

Notes:

Thaw the turkey before submerging in brine.

Purchase XL Ziplock bags from Amazon.

Ingredients:

  • 2 gallons of tap water
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 cup Molasses
  • 1 cup Honey
  • 1 ½ cup Salt
  • ¼ cup BBQ Rub
  • 3-4 Bay Leaves
  • Fresh Thyme Bundle
  • 1Tbsp Whole Peppercorns
  • 1 Turkey
  • 1-2 Onions
  • 1-2 Apples (Granny Smith)
  • 1 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 Stick Butter
  • Butchers twine

Steps:

  1. 24 hours before cooking, in a large stock pot bring 1 gallon of water to a boil and add the brown sugar, molasses, honey, bbq rub, and bay leaves. Once the ingredients have dissolved turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Let the turkey soak for 24 hours before cooking begins.
  2. On the day of Cooking, lightly rinse the brine from the turkey and gently dry the outside. Cut the apple into halves or quarters and stuff inside of the turkey. Do the same with the onions until cavity is full.
  3. Season the skin. Rub the skin with some type of fat to make the rub stay and prevent the skin from drying out completely. Oil, butter, or cooking spray will all work.
  4. Create your injection with butter, broth, and seasoning. I use creole seasoning dissolved in butter and a cup of chicken broth for the injection. Inject the legs and thighs with the mixture, and then a little in the breast.
  5. Tie the turkey to keep in as close to one mass as possible.
  6. Smoke the turkey for 2 hours before checking internal temperatures.
  7. Never flip the turkey, only rotate to maintain even heat.
  8. If the skin is getting too dry, cover with aluminum foil to prevent excess crisping.

Categories
Dinner

Baked Ziti

Notes:

Half the recipe to have plenty of food and left overs for 2.

Double the cheese

Add bread crumbs to the top when baking

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced 
  • 1 large onion, diced 
  • 1 pound ground beef 
  • Two 14.5-ounce cans tomato sauce or marinara sauce 
  • One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice 
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound ziti
  • 1 1/2 pounds mozzarella, grated 
  • One 15-ounce tub whole-milk ricotta
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for sprinkling
  • 2 eggs

Steps:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and cook until browned. Drain off almost all of the fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove 3 to 4 cups of the cooked sauce to a bowl to cool down.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add some salt. Cook the ziti until not quite al dente.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  4. In a bowl, mix 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, eggs and some salt and pepper. Stir together just a couple of times (do not mix completely).
  5. Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps). Add the cooled reserved meat sauce and toss to combine.
  6. Add half the coated pasta to a large casserole dish or lasagna dish. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta and the remaining sauce and mozzarella.
  7. Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before sprinkling with chopped parsley to serve.