THK Food, Drink & Other Stuff Recipe Thread

[james terrio]

EDIT: I've changed the thread title to include other stuff you can make at home to save money and avoid junk you don't want...
pretty much anything you use around the ol' homestead is fair game for discussion.


By popular demand, let's share some awesome vittles and libations. Miss Angie graciously wrote up her brand-new soon-to-be-world-famous stuffing recipe to start things off...

Everything But The Sink Stuffing

There has been a long standing divide in our family regarding stuffing ... which is better, cornbread or light bread stuffing? My personal favorite is cornbread because of the traditions that came with the making of the stuffing (No! There was not massive amounts of taste testing and drinking involved). But, with all due respect to cornbread stuffing, this new light bread stuffing recipe gives it a run for its money! It gives it the "cooked in the bird" taste without being in the bird.

My family will tell you that I might follow the original recipe the first time I make the dish. This is a prime example of combining two recipes. One from the Joy of Cooking (which my wonderful husband got me for my birthday), the second from an episode of America's Test Kitchen... and then add in a little bit of Angie'ism. For now, it will be called the "Everything but the Sink Stuffing"! In all of this brand names do not matter because it ends up being seasoned to taste at the end.

Ingredients:
3/4 loaf sliced wheat bread (toasted) and torn into bite sized pieces
Left over biscuit or cornbread (which may be stale) torn into bite size pieces
1 bag Stuffing Bread Cubes
1# sausage (I used mild)
2+ cups turkey or chicken broth
1 C. chopped pecans
1 C. dried cranberries
1 well beaten egg
1 C. Diced Celery
1 C. Diced Onions
8 T butter (4T for sautéing and 4T melted)
2 turkey wings sectioned at the joints (I used the "drummies" attached to the wings as well)
Season to taste with Sage, Poultry Seasoning, salt & pepper

Fry the sausage and drain with the exception of 2T rendered fat then set aside to cool
In 4T melted butter, sauté the celery and onions, then set aside to cool
Brown turkey wings and set aside with all rendered juices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix the bite-sized wheat bread and bread cubes in the largest bowl or pot available. I started with 1T salt & pepper and 3T sage and poultry seasoning added into bread mixture. Once thoroughly mixed, add in the sautéed celery and onions, sausage and fat and gradually mix in the 2+ cups of broth. Then add additional salt, pepper, sage and poultry seasoning to a taste that you like. I always add more poultry seasoning than sage because that is the way my family likes it. Be prepared to taste test and add more seasonings a few times. It all depends on your taste buds. Don't forget that the flavors get stronger as cooked so when the flavor starts being familiar ... stop adding!

Side Note: You will also need to rinse your taste buds between testing bites ... needless to say that is where the family memories come from

Once you have the flavor where you want it, mix in the pecans and cranberries, the remaining 4T of melted butter and the well beaten egg. Add to suitable baking pan; I used a 9 x 11 aluminum pan sprayed with Pam to eliminate sticking. Place the turkey wings/drumsticks on top of the stuffing and pierce the turkey skin several times to allow the juices to go into the stuffing giving it the "cooked in the bird" flavor. Any juices rendered while browning the turkey wings can be poured over the top of the stuffing to add flavor.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake on 350 for about 2 hours.


It's awesome!

 

[1066vik]

worlds easiest pumpkin corn muffins:
1 can pumpkin pie filling (not plain canned pumpkin)
1 18 oz box of corn muffin mix (or 2 smaller boxes)

mix both ingredients thoroughly in a bowl
fill muffin cups or greased cornbread pan
bake according to instructions on the box.

take out of oven, let cool a few minutes, eat

 

[1066vik]

goulash

1 pound ground meat
1 chopped onion
1 pouch chili seasoning
1 pound dry pasta
1 can/bottle vegetable juice cocktail (48-52 oz of "V-8")

in 4 quart or larger pot, brown meat.
add chopped onion and chili seasoning - stir and simmer for a couple of minutes
add dry pasta and vegetable juice
simmer 10-12 minutes -- when the majority of the juice has been absorbed, the pasta should be done

eat. (use of bowls and utensils is recommended, but not required)

things you can change -- taco or burrito seasoning instead of chili; spicy or salsa V-8; add chipotle tabasco or sriracha for extra flavor; add shredded cheese and/or sour cream when dishing it out

 

[james terrio]

eat. (use of bowls and utensils is recommended, but not required)

Heh! :thumbup:

 

[Mack]

Mack Attack Steelhead filets.
Ingredients:

2 lbs steelhead filets
olive oil
white wine or Scotch (Islay single malt of course)
dill weed
Italian seasoning or Drift Creek Gourmet Alsea Riviera mix
capers
marinated artichoke hearts
sea salt and black pepper (preferably Mesquite smoked)
green onions
cilantro

Directions:
On foil-lined baking sheet place the filets skin side down. Drizzle with olive oil to coat. Drizzle with wine or Scotch to taste. Sprinkle with dill weed, generously, and Italian seasoning, a Tbsp of small capers, drained. Spoon on 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, with a little bit of the liquid. Shake on sea salt to taste and freshly ground (coarse grind) black pepper. Broil until done, 10-20 minutes approx. Turn off broiler. Sprinkle on coarsely chopped green onions and chopped fresh cilantro to taste. Return to oven and let sit for 5 minutes with residual heat. You should be able to lift the filets off of the skin easily and lay on plate. Drizzle pan juices over, if desired. Enjoy!

 

[1066vik]

The Dark & Stormy

1.5 oz GOOD dark Rum (Goslings Black Seal or better)
6 Oz ginger ale or ginger beer, preferably Reeds, Sioux City, or Blenheim's

pour soda in glass, add rum
stir and drink

alternative recipe:
pour rum in glass, add ginger ale
stir and drink

 

[1066vik]

green pasta/enchilada sauce

1 cup sour cream
8 oz mushrooms
1 small to medium sized onion
roasted garlic
4 oz spinach
2 tablespoons butter

other herbs & spices to taste

chop up onion and mushrooms
saute them in butter and garlic
chop spinach and add to pan (or if using chopped frozen spinach, thaw and add to pan)

once veggies are cooked enough, add sour cream and keep on heat until it's well melted -- then pour the mixture into a food processor or blender and puree.

pour sauce over cooked filled pasta (rigatoni, ravioli, tortellini, etc...) -- or over enchiladas before baking.

 

[Mack]

Karen tried a new recipe that she thought you may enjoy. Chicken Cream Cheese Chili.

Chicken Cream Cheese Chili

5 or 6 chicken breast tenders, leftover or sauteed in olive oil & salt, then cooled. Cut into 1/2" cubes.
2 leeks, 1/8" slices in white part.
3 ribs celery w/ leaves, sliced 1/4" thick.
2 large shallots, sliced 1/8" thick.
1 head garlic, peeled and chopped.
4 oz can green chilies, your choice mild or hot.
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice.
1/2 cup corn (try hominy instead? Just a thought.)
2 TBS + 1 tsp Fogbuster Mix
8 oz brick of cream cheese (regular or try lower fat)
2 cups water (more if thinner soup is desired.)
Top with: grated sharp cheddar cheese
chives or green onion
dusting of Drift Creek Gourmet Fogbuster Chili Mix.

Saute leeks and celery in olive oil for 4 minutes. Add shallots and garlic, saute until aromatic and tender. Add tomatoes, green chilies and corn. Stir, then add Fogbuster. Bring to simmer. Add cream cheese and water, stir until incorporated and bring to simmer. Add cooked chicken and gently stir to mix. Remove from heat when simmers.
Pour into bowls, adorn with toppings.

Try crushed corn tortilla chips on top?

 

[james terrio]

Wow, that looks and sounds incredible :thumbup:

 

[Mack]

Wow, that looks and sounds incredible :thumbup:

She's pretty darned talented. She loves making food that tastes good.

 

[james terrio]

OK... DO NOT EAT THIS!

I've changed the thread title to include other stuff you can make at home to save money and avoid junk you don't want... in this case, perfumes and dyes and all the other crap they usually add to laundry soap that doesn't really get your clothes any cleaner. Angie found this on the web somewhere and tweaked it a little... it works really well. :thumbup:

Miss Angie's Laundry Detergent

1 1/2 cups washing soda (Arm & Hammer)
1 1/2 cups borax (20 Mule Team)
2 bars of soap (we used one bar of Fel's Naptha and one bar of Zote... not shown)
Approximately 3 gallons water

You’ll also need a container of some sort to store this in (I use a cleaned kitty-litter bucket with a lid), something to stir it (I used a large wooden spoon), another pot to boil soapy water in, and something to cut up the bar soap.

First, put about four cups of water into the kettle and put it on the stove on high until it’s boiling.

While it’s heating up, take the bars of soap and cut them up into little bits. I found a lot of success using our hand-cranked cheese/vegetable grater, which resulted in a ton of little soap curls. The finer it's cut up, the easier it will dissolve.

When the water is boiling, start adding the soap. I recommend just doing a bit at a time, then stirring it until it’s dissolved.

To the bucket, add a cup and a half of the washing soda and the soap solution you just made, and stir, adding in the rest of your 3 gallons of water. The borax is optional – some people say that it’s too harsh, but I’ve found that it does a good job getting clothes clean and fresh smelling, so I recommend it.

After stirring it all together, you’ll have a bucket full of soapy - and possibly lumpy - water.

The color and scent will vary depending on what kind of bar soap you use.

At this point, let the detergent sit for 24 hours, preferably with a lid on it.

When you take off the lid, you’ll find any number of things, depending on the type of soap you used and the water you used. It might be very watery; it might even be like liquid laundry detergent. Just stir it up a bit and it’s ready to be used. Ours came out roughly the consistency of Jell-O.

Don’t worry too much about the texture. Just use a measuring cup and use 1/4 cup of the detergent per load of laundry. If it’s got “globs” in it, get a mix of the water and of the globs – it’ll break up very quickly in the washing machine and wash your clothes well. If you’re still concerned, you can mash up the globs quite easily, but I saw no reason to do so.

Total cost was under $11 for 3 gallons of concentrated laundry detergent.

 

[1066vik]

I've found that if you start with nearly boiling water, add the washing soda and borax to that and let it simmer for a few minutes before adding the grated soap it doesn't separate out as much.
we also use 1/2 cup white vinegar per load as liquid softener -- the smell disappears in the dryer and the vinegar helps dissolve any leftover soap in your clothes and in your drain pipes -- otherwise they will slowly build up a soap and dirt layer over the years. (does this with store bought detergent, too)

 

[james terrio]

Cool, thanks! I was hoping you'd see that and chime in :thumbup:

 

[1066vik]

you use the pink zote or the white zote?

 

[james terrio]

I'd have to ask Angie to be sure but I think the pink kind, because the Fels is yellowish as I recall. You can sort of see it in the picture.

What's the difference?

 

[1066vik]

up until now, i thought there was a difference - but according to the website nothing but a little pink dye.

 

[james terrio]

I grew up in the frozen tundra, and never heard of this stuff until I met my wife (a southern belle). Turns out, it's pretty freaking amazing... delightful, even.

The first thing you need is fresh snow... preferably light, fluffy snow.

In that pic you can see where I scooped the snow for this batch off the roof of our car.

A bowl of snow... somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 cups...

If you're not careful, a big fuzzy tummy dummy might sneak onto the counter and nose around to see what you're doing...

So here's the recipe... all amounts are very much "to taste". Just add a little and see how it goes.

8 cups fresh snow. NOT yellow.

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

1 pint milk.

Mix lightly and enjoy. A big part of the fun is the fluffy texture, so for Pete's sake, don't beat the heck out of it.

Yum!

 

[1066vik]

summertime "instant ice cream"
1 cup half & half or sweet cream (whichever you prefer)
2 cups frozen fruit (if you don't have frozen fruit, fresh fruit or frozen juice concentrate and ice cubes work pretty well, too)

drop in blender and puree.
pour into glass or bowl and eat.

if you're feeling decadent, frozen peaches, cream, and spiced rum work well together, as do apricot brandy, cream, lemon, and agave nectar.

 

[9blades]

Most people probably already know about this, but it's still my favorite food...breakfast burritos.

Ingrediants
One medium potato
2 or 3 eggs depending on whether they're small or large
Bacon, ham, sausage, Canadian bacon, etc, it all works well here
Handful of grated cheese
Assorted spices (I usually use pepper, cayenne, and salt)
One small can of chopped green chilies
One large tortilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees,

Get your meat of choice cooking, Fry the potatoes, while they're cooking crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk with a fork (or leave them whole and fry/poach) I usually scramble. Grate your cheese and open the can of chopped green chillies, when your meat is nearly cooked and your potatoes are golden brown, cook your eggs.

Now rip off a piece of tin foil a little larger than your tortilla, lay your tortilla on top, then the meat, potatoes, eggs, as much green chilly as you want, and spread the cheese over everything, put it in the oven for five or six minutes or until the cheese has melted. Take it out and roll into burrito...eat.

 

[james terrio]

Mmmmm I love breakfast burritos. Thanks for sharing that!