Fire and Ice Tomatoes

Growing up and cooking for my family, I loved to try different recipes. This is one of those recipes that my mother really enjoyed eating, every time I made it. 

My mother always had a garden. So I would go out and pick fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions from her garden to make Fire and Ice Tomatoes. Although you don't have to use garden fresh vegetables to make this, they do give the dish a much better flavor. 

Ingredients

1 to 2 onions, sliced and separated into rings
5 tomatoes, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 sweet pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 c. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. water
2 Tbs. sugar
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. red pepper or cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions

Place the onions, tomatoes and sweet pepper in a heat-safe bowl.

In a saucepan, combine white vinegar, celery seed, mustard seed, salt, water, sugar, red pepper or cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring only until sugar dissolves. Boil for 1 minute.

Pour the hot marinade over the onions, tomatoes and sweet peppers. Cover the dish and place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

This keeps for several days in the refrigerator.

Chicken Sausage Pepper Orzo Dish

Chicken, sausage, sweet bell peppers, onions, and orzo. This is a one pot dish that is simple and easy to make. It is so delicious. It is especially good when you use the peppers, and onions from your garden.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. olive oil
1  lb  boneless chicken thighs, or 2 breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 Italian sausages, spicy or sweet, cut into bite size pieces
1 (29 oz.) can diced tomatoes
2 to 3 sweet bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
3 c. or chicken broth
1 Tbs. tomato paste
2 Tbs. Italian blend seasoning
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 Tbs. parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 c. uncooked orzo
shredded Parmesan cheese
4 Tbs. ricotta cheese (optional)

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot, over medium high heat.   Add chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until chicken begins to turn opaque.  About 1 to 2 minutes.   

Add the Italian sausages.  Cook and stir until the sausages are browned.

Add peppers, onion,  and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion is translucent.

Stir in the tomato paste, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, Italian blend seasoning, red pepper flakes, parsley, and sugar.  Bring the liquid to a simmer.  Stir in the orzo.  

Reduce heat to medium and cook until the orzo is almost tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.  It can take about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the food from sticking on the bottom of the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Remove from heat.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Serve with a dollop of ricotta cheese.

Lemon Red Bell Pepper Blend Seasoning

It is easy to make your own seasoning blends. With a few simple ingredients, you can have your own spice blends in a jar. They will be perfect for seasoning any meal.

It is not really cost-efficient to dry your own lemons unless you have a lot of lemons, or you use them every day. However, it is cost-effective if you are a gardener and have a great harvest of red peppers.  You can dry them easily.

Ingredients

1/2 c. dried lemon peel
2 1/2 Tbs. black pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. salt (optional)
1 Tbs. dried red bell pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

Combine dried lemon peel, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder salt, dried red bell, and cayenne pepper together in a food processor, or spice grinder. You can also use a mortar and pestle, rolling pin or wooden mallet to turn the lemon peels and dried red bell peppers into flakes or powder form.  

Process them to the consistency that you like best.

Pour them into a container that has a tight-fitting lid, or you can use a sealable plastic bag. 

Shake to combine.

Note:

You can dry your own lemon peel and red peppers.  It is not really cost-efficient to dry your own lemons unless you have a lot of lemons that you use every day.  If you are a gardener and have a great harvest of red peppers, you can dry them easily. Here's how!

Wash and dry the lemons and red bell peppers. Make sure they are completely dry before going any further. 

Zest the lemons with a microplane grater.  Do not grate off any of the pith because that is very bitter.  If you don't have a microplane grater, you can peel them. For sweet lemons, peel them like you would an orange. Tear or cut the lemon peel into smaller portions. If your lemons are thick-skinned, use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer part of the rind, leaving the white pith.

Prepare peppers for drying by cutting them in half lengthwise. Remove all the pith, or white stuff, along with the seeds. 

Cut  the peppers into thin slices. If you leave them in thick pieces, the slices will not dry properly.  They will become leathery instead of being crisp.

If baking:

Spread out the lemon zest evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake on the lowest setting that your oven has. Leave in the oven to dry.  The amount of time varies a great deal.  It could take as little as 30 minutes if you used a microplane grater or several hours to a day if drying the skins.

If using a dehydrator:

Line the dehydrator tray with parchment paper if you used a microplane grater for the lemons. Place the lemon peel or red bell peppers on the rack of the dehydrator. Dehydrate them according to manufacture's directions. It can take 12 to 24 hours for the red bells and lemons to become totally dry.  It really depends on how much humidity is in the air and how much juice your peppers and lemons had in them. 

Make sure they are completely dry before you grind them up. You do not want them to have any softness to them.  They are dry when they are crisp and brittle.

**One red pepper can yield about a 1/4 cup when dried.

Crazy Bread

My family loves fresh bread and this bread recipe is so quick and easy!  You simply put  the ingredients into one bowl and mix.  No kneading required.

Some call it Crazy bread, others call it no-knead bread. Call it what you will, for I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we do.

1 c. warm water
2 tsp. sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. dried parsley
2 Tbs. olive oil
2-4 Tbs. butter (softened or melted)
1/2 sp. garlic powder
1 c. grated cheese

Measure the very warm water into a small bowl. Stir in the sugar and yeast until dissolved. While you gather the rest of the ingredients, let the mixture stand for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. It will look foamy. 

In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, garlic, and parsley. Mix the ingredients around to distribute the seasonings throughout the flour. Add olive oil to the yeast mixture and then pour this into the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until most of the flour is incorporated into the liquids. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If the mixture seems overly wet, add more flour. The amount of flour is determined by the humidity in the air. When the humidity is high, the mixture will often need more flour. Cover and set the bowl in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Pour some olive oil onto the bottom of a jellyroll pan. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it the pan. Rub a little olive oil on your fingers, so the dough doesn’t stick to you as you press the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Rub the surface of the dough with softened butter. 

Sprinkle the top with garlic powder and cheese. Sometimes I use garlic salt instead of garlic powder.  I also sprinkle black pepper over the top.

You can preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit, but sometimes I place my bread in a cold oven and then turn on the heat. This helps the bread to rise a bit more. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into pieces and serve warm.

Taco Pasta Casserole

 

If you like tacos and pasta, then this dish is sure to be a winner at your house. It combines the great flavor of tacos, pasta, and ground beef. It is comfort food.   Best of all, you don't have to spend all day in the kitchen cooking.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 hot pepper, chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 c, pasta elbow, shells, or fun shapes
1/4 c. taco seasoning  or see below for notes
2 c. water
2/3 c. tomato sauce
1/3 c. salsa
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

In a large cast iron skillet, brown ground beef, onions, and garlic until the beef is no longer pink and the onions are tender. 

Stir in pasta, taco seasoning, water, and tomato sauce.  

Reduce heat to medium. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook 7 to 10 minutes, or until the pasta is done.  Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

Stir in cheese. Serve. 

If you don't have taco seasoning, you can easily add these ingredients to the dish instead. Mix the ingredients in a bowl and use as much as you need for flavor.

2 Tbs. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbs. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Chocolate Chip Raw Edible Cookie Dough

 

Through the years, we have always loved eating raw cookie dough.   Now days, eating raw cookie dough has many people scared because it has raw eggs.  And now, some people have problems eating things with raw flour as it can make some people sick.  I have included three different ways to cook the flour first before you make these cookies.

Ingredients

1 stick butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbs. milk
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 to 1 c. miniature  chocolate chips or butterscotch chips

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla together. Beat until thoroughly combined.

Add milk. Mix well.

Slowly add the flour, mixing in enough until the mixture is like a regular cookie dough. 

Stir in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. 

Grab some spoons and sit down to enjoy!

Notes:

To eliminate bacteria risks from the flour, you may want to cook the flour first. There are several ways to do this.

Place the flour in a medium-sized frying pan. Over medium high heat, stir the flour for 4 to 6 minutes.

Place the flour in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for about 50 to 60 seconds or until the flour reaches an internal temperature of 166°. 

Place the flour on a baking sheet. Toast the flour in a 350° oven for 5 minutes.

Stir Fried Pork and Corn

This is a quick and easy stir-fry recipe. You can use any kind of vegetables that you like best, like broccoli or carrots. If you don't like pineapple, leave it out. We often double the sauce because we like extra sauce to go with the noodles or rice.  

Also, if you don't have fresh ginger, you can leave this out as well. Fresh ginger root is hard to find where we live.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 lb.  pork tenderloin, cut into thin 1/2-inch strips
salt and pepper
1 Tbs. cornstarch
3 c. corn, fresh, frozen or canned with the liquid drained off
1 1/3 c. green beans, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, chopped or sliced into half circles
1 sweet bell pepper
1 red chili pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ginger, minced
2/3 c. pineapple chunks (optional)

Stir Fry Sauce

1 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 c. chicken stock
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 1/2 to 3 Tbs. soy sauce
1/3 c. beef or chicken broth
1/3 c. pineapple juice (optional) **  or use beef or chicken broth
1 Tbs. corn starch
2 Tbs. cold water
3 Tbs. cilantro, chopped (optional)
egg noodles or rice, cooked

Directions

Season the strips of pork with salt and pepper.  Place the pork in a bowl or a sealable bag. Add cornstarch over the pork.  Stir or shake the bag to coat the pork.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, water, brown sugar, water,  pineapple juice or broth. Set the sauce aside.

In a large cast iron skillet or a wok, heat the vegetable oil over high heat.

Carefully add the strips of pork. Fry quickly until lightly browned. Do this in batches, so you don't overcrowd the pan or skillet. Remove the pork from the skillet and place in a bowl or large dish to keep warm. 

Add corn, green beans, onion, sweet pepper, red chili pepper and garlic into the skillet. Stir-fry until the vegetables are heated through and almost tender. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove vegetables from the skillet and place with the pork strips.

Pour the sauce into the skillet and bring to a bubbly simmer. 

In a small cup, combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves and the mixture is smooth.  Whisking the bubbling sauce continuously, slowly pour this into the sauce.  The sauce will be thickened.

Add the strips of pork, and vegetables back into the pan. Stir to combine.  Simmer this for about 2 minutes or until everything is heated through. 

Sprinkle the cilantro over the top and serve over hot cooked noodles or rice.