People gotta eat!- Share your recipes

[shinyribs]

I love to cook and I experiment with different things sometimes. Tonight's experiment turned out great!

Easiest Meatballs You'll Ever Make.

-1 lb breakfast sausage
-1 box of stuffing mix
-350* for 10 min, shake and cook for another 3-5 min.

Just knead the entire box of stuffing mix in to the pound of sausage. Cook for about 10 minutes until they are kinda firm. Shake the pan to roll them to keep them for burning their bottoms. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until done inside.

Definitely not an Italian/spaghetti type meatball, just a very savory,flavorful meatball. I was curious how greasy they might be, but not at all! The dry bread really counteracts the full pound of raw sausage. No draining was needed. I made mine golf ball size and ended up with 29 in total. So, $4 worth of ingredients should produce 25-30 meatballs.

Try these! I'm still amazed at the flavor. Not what you would expect at all. Goes very well with a very light coat of sweet bbq sauce.




Who else has some recipes to share? Post up ,please!

[shinyribs]

Exquisite Pie

This is probably one of the most horrible things you can force your body to digest, but dang it's tasty! I found this at my gf's family reunion this past spring. I took one bite and instantly asked who made it. So glad I got it this recipe.

Every pie needs a crust,right? Please don't use a frozen pie crust...please?

-Hot water pie crust-
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups flour (plain or self rising, I never can tell a difference with crusts)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon sugar



-Pour boiling water over the shortening,add salt& vanilla and mix until shortening is completely dissolved
-Add flour and mix well
-Work the crust in to the pie plate then sprinkle it (heavily) with the cinnamon sugar.

For a dough it will look kinda crumbly. Don't worry,you didn't mess up. The shortening keeps it greasy enough that you can work it just fine. You can leave out the vanilla and cinnamon sugar. I add it to give the crust flavor. Basically it turns a plain pie crust into a snickerdoodle cookie. You are welcome.



Now that you have your crust let's move on to the filling.

-2 cups sugar ( I know,I know)
-1 cup coconut
-1 stick of melted butter (again, I know)
-1 cup crushed pecans
-1 tblsp vinegar
-1 cup raisins
-6 eggs
-1 tsp salt
-2 tsp vanilla

*note* These portions are for an extra large pie crust. If you MUST use a wimpy store bought pie crust cut these portions in half. Or use two store bought crusts. Cheater...




Mix it all up and pour it in to your pie shell.




Bake at 350*. If you are using the full portions it will take 25-30 minutes to brown the top. A smaller shell may take less, I don't know, so you might wanna check on it earlier.

This puppy needs to sit for quite a while for it to set up. There's aloooot of melted sugar in there. Usually takes a couple hours to fully solidify. Go run a few miles in the meantime to burn off some calories to help justify eating this pie.

Beautiful chewy goodness. Crunch from the pecans and chewyness/gooeyness from the small mountain of sugar and raisins. Enjoy

[TOOLS1]

I could not tell, but did you throw the kitchen sink into that pie to? 
Butter is my friend.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

lol Yeah, that pie isn't cheap to make. And it's kinda labor intensive, but it's so worth it. I think next time, instead of making a whole pie, I'm going to make this in a muffin pan. Travel size, for work.

[Beekeeper]

I've got my Superbowl dip.  Also labor intensive, but delicious.
2 cans black beans
1 onion
1/2 lbs bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheese, sharp cheddar
half cup diced green chiles
crushed red pepper
your favorite salsa
sour cream
Dice the bacon and begin frying it. A good size electric skillet works great.  While it's frying, pour the juice off the beans and save it.  I use a large bowl and wooden spoon to break the skins and partially mash the beans. As the bacon begins to get done,  add the green chiles and diced onion and beans, and mix it up well.  Also while doing this, I use a spatula to further mash the beans.  You don't want soup, but they should be mashed.  keep the heat on, and add the bean juice, crushed red peppers(not to much), and about a cup of salsa, and keep mixing so the beans don't burn.   When well mixed, turn the heat down to simmer to reduce the juices down.  Stir occasionally.  Should thicken up in about a half hour, but stir occasionally.  When the consistency seems about like oatmeal, pour to large bowl, hollow out center and fill with a cup of sour cream, and mix it again.sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Let it cool long enough to be just warm, and grab the tortilla chips.  You can tweak the peppers, salsa for how hot you want it.  Makes a bunch, and just microwave it if it doesn't get used up.  Goes well with all beers and most football.

[free2ride]

I was going to try to be funny and suggest taking one loaf of bread, one jar of peanut butter, one jar of strawberry jam, slather the bread with the other two ingredients and enjoy . . . but decided not to.

[TOOLS1]

Sounds good to me, but I cannot eat gluten, so
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

WooHoo! Thanks for adding that Beekeeper. Definitely going to try that one soon.

[TOOLS1]

Here is my BBQ Sauce recipe. It is a North Carolina style sauce that can be used on any meat, but is best on roasted pork IMHO.
1 quart vinegar
4 oz Texas Pete
1 Tbs crushed red pepper
1 Tbs Garlic powder
2 Tbs liquid smoke
2 Tbs salt
2 Tbs black pepper
4 oz brown sugar
Optional 1/2 cup honey (Toolbabe likes it with honey)
Mix all ingredients in saucepan over low heat until brown sugar melts. Pour over roasted pork shoulder.
TOOLS

[Beekeeper]

I didn't harvest much honey this year, but I'm going to save enough to mix up a batch of that sauce Tools.  Come on spring time!

What do you recommend to go with the meatballs Shiny?  Looks simple and flavorful.

[Truck]

I'd bet Tools sauce would go good on Shineys meatballs.

[Beekeeper]

That's a good idea, but need something.  Maybe a relish plate with hot cherry peppers .., stuffed jalapenos... and the usual.  

[free2ride]

shinyribs wrote

I love to cook and I experiment with different things sometimes. Tonight's experiment turned out great!

Easiest Meatballs You'll Ever Make.  

if I was a daring person [and knew how to do it] I'd link up to the SNL Schweddy skit.

[LukeM]

A sauce to go with the meatballs.

3-4 lbs of Roma/plum tomatoes (the riper, the better)
1 large white or yellow onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
3-4 ounces of fresh basil
Salt
Pepper
Good olive oil (I use EVOO)
Good balsamic vinegar
1 lb ground beef (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Cut the tomatoes into 8 pieces each.
Peel the onion.  Cut into wedges (like coring an apple pie).
Peel and slice the garlic thinly.
Place above ingredients in a large bowl, add about 2 tbsp of olive oil, and mix until coated.

In 1 or 2 large baking pans, put 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and coat the bottom(s) of each pan.  Divide the above ingredients between the pans, season with salt and pepper, and add 1-2 ounces of balsamic to the top. You can add other spices if you want (italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, oregano, etc).

Place pans in oven.  If you have to put one pan higher than the other, rotate the two pans halfway through the baking cycle.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the tomatoes have softened, and the onion is slightly charred.

While this is cooking, brown the ground beef, and start boiling the water for your pasta.

When ready, remove the trays from the oven, let cool for about 2 minutes, then place in your food processor or blender, add basil, and blend until sauce is chunky (longer if you like your sauce smooth). Combine with your beef, and if the sauce is a bit thick, you can add 8 ounces of tomato sauce.

Best thing: this sauce is Weight Watchers friendly if you leave out the beef.  Zero points: aka, you can eat as much as you want.

Let me know if you try it, and if you like it.
Luke M

[shinyribs]

Im going to try all of these. I typically don't care for vinegar based BBQ sauces, but Tools' sounds like a winner.

I've 10 lbs of potatoes im trying to eat up before the go soft, so last night's variation was chili!

Aunt Mitzi's sweet chili:

These portions are per pound of meat. Produces about 1.5-2 QTS of chili.

1/2 cup of ketchup
2 tbsp of prepared mustard
1 tbsp of chili powder ( heaping ,for me)
3 tbsp brown sugar
 1/4 of a green onion finely chopped
1/4 of an onion finely chopped
1 cup of water

Mix all those in to a pot.

Cook 1 lb of ground beef about half way. Drain the grease off then add the meat to the pot.

If you put the meat in completely raw the chili will be way too greasy, but you need some grease to produce a good rue ,or consistency. Half cooked is the secret.

Boil everything on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Reduce to low simmer until thickened.  

Fantastic on baked potatoes.

Oh, and since this is kind of a regional thing, if you haven't tried this yet ,you need to. Chicken and waffles. No recipe really, just a piece or two of fried chicken on top of a couple waflles. Drizzle syrup over the whole thing and set in. Guess what I ate for breakfast. :D

[shinyribs]

I made a batch of Beekeeper's dip.  Darn good stuff!

I'm going to make that awesome tomato sauce that Luke posted, but it will have to wait until the tomatoes come in this summer.

Another experiment this weekend. Super easy to make.

Ugly Cinnamon Rolls.

1 1/2 cups of self rising flour
1 stick of butter
Cinnamon sugar
Milk
Bake at 350* for 8+ minutes


Soften/melt one stick of butter and blend it with a fork into the flour. It will be crumbly. Add milk. No sure how much, just a small splash until the dough is wet, but dry enough not to stick to your bowl. Maybe a spoonful at a time?

Roll the dough out in to strips about 3/4'' x 8''. Those are 4'' ceramic tiles.



Melt another spoonful of butter and coat the strips. rolling them around to coat them all over. Then smash them flat and sprinkle heavily with cinnamon sugar. Leave a puddle of cinnamon sugar off to the side,too.



Roll the strips up and smash the top and bottom in to the puddle of cinnamon sugar. Hold the tail of the strip when you mash them down and they won't unroll later.



Pop those in the oven and start in on the icing.

5 level table spoons of sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Splashes of milk

Melt the butter and the sugar on medium heat until smooth. Then turn up the heat til you get a very low boil. Once boiling start adding splashes of milk until the mixture loses the yellow look. Let it boil for a few minutes then let it cool to a thick mixture. If too runny, boil some more.



Check on the rolls at about 8 min. You want to centers to still be a touch gooey because...well, it's a cinnamon roll! Outside will have a bit of a crunch from the butter-heavy dough & the sugar crystals in the cinnamon sugar ,but the innards are all gooey goodness. Don't cook them too long ir it will just become a biscuit. Don't brown them. Drizzle the icing over top after everything cools down a bit. Too hot, and it will all just run off. Icing is super buttery.

I know, for a fact, that I will die fat. Don't even care.

[Beekeeper]

Hey Shiny.  If it was too tame, just add a 4 oz can diced jalapenos, more crushed red pepper.

Made some of the meatballs too.  So easy and tasty.  We just used a ranch dressing to dip them.  Also made a jalapeno popper dip that is pretty easy and fairly mild, but can be spiced up pretty easily.

In a bowl, mix 16 oz creme cheese, 4 oz diced jalapenos, 4 oz diced green chillies,1 cup mayo, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of Mexican blend cheese.  Use a mixer.
 Spread into casserole dish.
Then mix 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 stick melted butter.  Sprinkle evenly over casserole dish.  
Preheat oven to 375, and bake for approx 20 minutes, but don't overcook.  Topping should be golden brown and cheeses should be bubbling on edge.  Let cool for about an hour, then pass out the ritz crackers, or any butter cracker.    You can heat it up real quick by dicing fresh jalapeno and leaving the seeds in.

[mikeyboy1]

maple vinigarette dressing- olive oil.balsamic vinegar,maple syrup.  addictive.

[shinyribs]

Winter time...time to get fat and start cooking for the holidays.

I experimented around and found a marinade I like for porkchops. Probably good for chicken,too. Probably not so much for red meat or seafood. I had ten 1/3lb chops i was covering and I think my measurements are pretty close. Sweet and tangy, not salty at all! It only needs to work for a couple hours, so no overnight waiting on this stuff.

- probably 1/3-1/2 cup of ketchup
- about a 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 2 big spoons of honey
- couple spoons of chili powder ( to taste, I reckon)
- 1 big spoon of brown sugar

Experiment No. 2- Mushroom gravy

So stinking easy...mushies, butter, flour, salt&pepper, beef stock. Thats all.

- 1/2 qt mushies
- 13 or so stick of butter
- maybe 4 big spoons of flour
- 1/2 qt or a lil more of beef stock

- Chop up your mushies to the size you want and cook them in the butter until they are fully tender. Usually about 20 min. There should be a lil butter still wet in the pan.
- Give it a little splash of beefstock to keep things just wet
- Then start spooning in the flour a lil at a time giving it plenty of time to brown.

 Mix like you mean it. It'll wanna get real clumpy. Just keep adding flour until there is no available liquid to take more flour. Simmer a bit to make sure all the flour is browned then dump the rest of the beef stock while mixing,mixing,mixing. it's gonna get clumpy, but thats ok. Just keep stirring and it'll smooth out.

- Add salt & pepper to taste. If you use beef broth vs beef stock you probably wont need to add salt.
- Simmer about 20 min for the mushies' taste to seep in to the gravy. Or until desired thickness.

Edit: If you substitute the mushies for onions, and the beef stock for veggie stock you get a really nice, light colored gravy for turkey. Just don't brown the flour as much. The onions and butter will give you a nice,sweet gravy.

[TOOLS1]

That marinade sounds like the start of some baked beans.
TOOLS