We've Gotta Eat

I haven't posted any recipes in a while. I think I'm in a rut. Well, if I'm being more fair to myself, there has been a lot going on. Perhaps I'm allowed to be in a rut... I've made lots of yummy food, but it's pretty pedestrian in nature. Not much to tell.

There are a few things to mention. I want to jot down my split pea soup recipe because it was so deliciously awesome. And tell you about the endless quesadillas that I've made. And gush about the pork sausage that my man brought home (he can bring home the bacon... fry it up in a pan...).

So here goes. The first part of the split pea soup recipe is to have your dad smoke a giant ham. Then everybody has to eat the ham. Then your mom should put the ham bone and some tiny remnant bits of ham into a bag in the freezer. Then she should forget about it until she realizes that it needs to be used before freezer burn sets in. Then she should give it to you so that you can make soup like this:

Split Pea Soup in the Crockpot

1 ham bone (or a package of cooked bacon)
1 bag (16 oz) of dried peas
1 diced onion
2-3 diced carrots
1-2 diced medium potatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

note: if you are using a wonderfully flavorful smoked ham bone, you could just use water instead of broth and still have plenty of flavor OR you can stick with the broth and have really really richly flavored soup :-)

Dump all of the ingredients (except the salt & pepper) into the crockpot, put the lid on, and cook on low for at least 4 hours. Everything will just fall apart and become a tasty, thick delicious soup, so it does not matter how coarsely or finely you chop the veggies. Taste before serving and season if necessary. Done and done.

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The next bit is not so much a recipe as something that happens almost every day around here. Miss Lily Ruth is now a full-blown toddler, and as such, she is pretending to be a picky eater since intake of food is one of the few things that she has control over. One thing that she never turns her nose up at is quesadillas. At home we use multigrain tortillas from Central Market. If we're out, she ADORES hand made flour tortillas from any of our favorite Mexican restaurants ;-)

Lily's Lunch Quesadilla

1 Tbsp refried beans
Shredded or sliced cheese (any flavor)
2 slices Hormel Naturals deli meat - sliced (optional)
1 tortilla

Spread the beans over 1/2 of the tortilla, if using meat, sprinkle it on now. Top with cheese. fold the tortilla in half. Warm in a skillet until golden and toasty. Cut into toddler-sized pieces and watch the Doyen of Nyet become the First Lady of MORE! Then make some for yourself and melt into a pool of mama happiness due to gooey cheese.

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Recently, Daddy Don went on his company's annual hunting expedition. He's not much of a hunter in real life, but he loves that trip. They have a fantastic time at a beautiful ranch. Their every whim is indulged. Food, drink, pool tables, card games, skeet shooting... oh, and at some point they wander out and shoot at animals :-(

This year, he shot a hog. The photo is horrific, yet my husband looks so handsome. I am tempted to crop the pig out and keep his smile. The company that processed the meat made sausage from most of it and chops from the rest. The sausage is unbelievably good! Seasoned beautifully and portioned into 1 1/2 Lb packages. We've made multiple batches of spaghetti sauce, chili and just cooked it up plain... and we still have a metric ton of it in the freezer. Tonight, I'm going to roll it into meatballs to add to pasta and sauce.

I wish that I was more inspired, but I have two lungs full of mucus and a giant headache. Pasta is the best I can do today.

why I have nothing to post...

Today's Recipes: Diane's Pork Tenderloin, 'Mexican' Rice, Sauteed Cabbage

Due to a recent sleep crisis (unfortunately, it's all of my own making), most of my days have been spent like this:



or this:



so I haven't had a lot of productive time...

We DID make it out for a few errands and some WONDERFUL frozen yogurt



this is serious stuff you guys.

Oh, and I wanted to share a few really basic recipes with you. My Dad's birthday was this week, and my Mama is having a birthday dinner party for a few friends this weekend. In an attempt to take a bit of the weekend burden off of her and also share quality time with her best friend in the whole world, I am having everyone over for dinner tomorrow! I love to do this, but was feeling stuck on menu ideas... so my genius husband reminded me that his sister loves her crockpot as much as I love mine! Done and done - dinner solved:

Diane's Foolproof Pork Tenderloin

crockpot
pork tenderloin
beer

place the pork tenderloin in the crockpot. add the beer. cook all day. eat when you get home.

I'm going to use Shiner Bock and a few garlic cloves! When it's ready, I'm going to serve the meat w/ fresh tortillas, cilantro and lime

Rachel's 'Mexican' Rice

Rice
Chicken Broth
Ro-Tel tomatoes w/ Chilis
Cumin

I use my rice cooker, so the proportions are 1 to 1 1/2 (i.e.: 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups broth), but if you are not using a rice cooker, follow the directions on the rice bag, but use broth instead of water. Add in a can of tomatoes w/ chilis (or a can of tomatoes and a can of green chilis), throw in some cumin, and cook away!

Sauteed Red Cabbage

sliced fresh red cabbage
broth
cardamom
ginger

in a large skillet, combine all of the ingredients. the amounts of cardamom and ginger are up to you. start small then go big. I usually steam the cabbage until it is almost done, then sautee until the broth has evaporated - yum!

Well, I told you that these were easy recipes... not even recipes, really - more like guidelines... I am also going to combine a rinsed can of black beans with a can of corn and a can of Hatch green chilis and some butter. Then we are going to gorge ourselves like pig people, drink a lot of wine and laugh until we are tired.

Of course, no matter what recipes I use, I'll have PLENTY of help on the kitchen :-P

gonna make some more stuff!!!

Today's Recipes: Potato Chowder with Corn & Sausage, Grandmother's Chili, Carnitas

So, I went to Michael's again today (this is getting bad, folks)... um, and Target (and you know what that means)... in my defense, the leg warmers are being made as a gift from a co-worker to her bestie's new baby... I'm only going to keep one (or two) pair for Lily Ruth... but here's the best part - I bought puffy paints and polymer clay! That's right, it's time to paint the feet of Lily Ruth's sleepers and socks so that she can get some traction on the hard floors AND I'm a gonna make Sushi Bracelets!!!! Once again, THANK YOU SAMSTER MOMMY for giving me something to do! I'll post pics of the bracelets when I start to work on them because I'm going to do them slightly differently... in part, I'm going to base them on a GENIUS charm bracelet given to me by the amazing Kittyn (you know, the blogger...)

I also wanted to share the 3 recipes that I've made this week - comfort food, because Baby, it's COLD out there!

Potato Chowder with Corn and Sausage - this one I made up myself :-P

1 medium yellow onion - chopped
1 pkg crimini mushrooms - chopped
4 or 5 large garlic cloves - minced
olive oil
5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes - chopped
chicken broth
3 links Opa's Beef Sausage - chopped (you can use any pre-cooked sausage links - I just prefer this one)
1/2 bag of frozen chopped spinach
1/2 bag of frozen corn
Fat-free Half & Half
1 cup shredded cheese (I prefer Sharp Cheddar, but have used lots of others as well)

In a large, heavy pan (I used my pasta pot w/o the strainer), sautee the onion, mushroom and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add the potato and enough chicken broth to cover it all. Cover the pot and simmer until the potatoes are done. Mash it about until the potatoes are sort-of or even mostly mashed. Add the sausage, corn and spinach, and a bit more chicken broth (until it's runny but not quite soupy). Return the mixture to a simmer. Add half and half until it's a nice 'chowder-y' consistency. Stir in the cheese and serve immediately.

My Grandmother's Chili - of course, I've monkeyed with it...

olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - chopped
1/2 of a green bell pepper - chopped
5 or 6 garlic cloves - minced
1 Lb ground meat (turkey or beef)
1 can pinto beans - drained and rinsed
Chili powder - start w/ 1 Tbsp, and add more if you'd like (I use 3 or 4 :-P)
dash of cumin
1 can diced tomatoes - undrained
1 can tomato paste
salt
oregano

In a heavy pot, sautee the onion, bell pepper & garlic in a bit of olive oil. Set aside. Brown the meat - crumbling it as you cook. Add the onion mixture back in. Add the rest of the ingredients - seasoning to your taste - simmer for at least an hour. Note: I puree the beans in the blender first because my husband despises beans, but will happily eat them if they are disguised (even if he knows that they are there) - this also gives the chili a nice thick texture.


Carnitas - now, I got this off the internet a loooong time ago, didn't bookmark it, couldn't print it, and didn't note where I got it from... So if this is your recipe, I'm not claiming it as my own, and I'd be happy to give you credit for it - just let me know!

3 Lbs pork shoulder - cut into 1" chunks
1 Tbsp salt
water
4 large garlic cloves - minced
1 onion - chopped
2 tsp Ancho chili powder
1 tsp chili powder

put the pork chunks into a heavy, wide pan. barely cover the meat with water, and add the salt. leaving the pot uncovered, bring the water to a boil. once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat & continue to cook at a low simmer until the liquid has evaporated - the meat should be cooked but not falling apart (approx 60 min). reduce the heat again and continue cooking until the fat is rendered. keep turning the meat and cooking until it is browned all over (approx 15 min) - you could keep going until it's crispy (traditional method), but I prefer it tender. remove the meat from the pan & set aside. using the rendered fat (or olive oil), sautee the garlic and onion then add the meat back in and stir in the seasonings. yum.

Speaking of food, Lily Ruth continues to do good work in the solid food arena :-) So far, she still adores avocado, tolerates homemade brown rice cereal, loves yogurt, feels pretty good about mango, and despises banana and peas... we'll go back to those at a later date... maybe we'll try meat this weekend!

to continue my constant posting of non-essential-to-the-post photos, here she is - in love with Grandpa Doug



and pissed off about peas



and that will just have to tide you over until I make/do something else!