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Unstuffed Cabbage (maybe Super Bowl worthy?)

Ingredients (filling)
2 lbs ground beef/turkey/or your preference (I use 93% turkey)
couple carrots, minced
couple celery stalks, minced
chopped scallion
whatever seasonings you like in meatballs
Panko breadcrumbs optional
couple eggs optional

mix all of the above but don't overmix.
form a bunch of small to medium meatballs
put aside

Ingredients (the base)
1 cabbage (I use green cabbage)
2 medium onions (I use sweet)
1/2 cup water
2 cans tomato soup (concentrate like Campbells)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
juice of two lemons
12 gingersnap cookies crushed (secret ingredient...shhhhh)


Get a large oven proof soup pot
Remove core and coarsely chunk cut cabbage and onions and put in pot
mix tomato soup, water, sugars and lemon juice and pour over cabbage/onion mix
boil for 45 minutes stirring often

add meatballs
simmer 30 minutes...cover optional
(preheat oven to 350)
add crushed gingersnap cookies
remove from heat

put pot in oven for 1 hour...cover optional

check/stir/do not let dry out.
cabbage must be soft before removing from oven
may need water here and there, I never do but ovens vary.

obviously there's room for lots of tweaks.

Enjoy

Do you squeeze your own lemons..??

Pork belly burnt ends:

Get a good sized pork belly (Sam's or Costco usually has them, skin off) cut it into 2" cubes.

Rub the cubes generously with your favorite dry rub.

Smoke it for 2 hours at 250-275 with hickory wood (or your favorite)

Put them in a foil pan and add a stick of butter and your favorite BBQ sauce so they're all coated with it (not swimming in it, just coated) cover with foil and cook for another hour.

After an hour braising... take them out of the pan and put them back on the smoker for 30-60 minutes and let the smoker temp jump up... this is just to crisp them.

Enjoy. It's very rich... I do not recommend eating too many at once, although you will want to.

Potato Latkes:

3 cups large shredded potatoes
2 large eggs
1 medium size pureed onion
2 tbs matzoh meal or unseasoned bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Fry in 3/4" oil and flip when golden brown

Chicken stew

2 leg/thigh quarters
2carrots
2cekery stalk
2pack Goya chicken

Boil chicken till tender remove from water save water

Add the shredded chicken back into pot
Cook veggies at end add everything together. Real good

Another take on Chicken Stew

Ingredients:
6 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1” chunks
1 large onion, diced
4 celery ribs, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 medium turnip, peeled and diced
4 large pods garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, cross cut 1/8” thick
Chicken base (I prefer Better Than Bouillion brand has chicken for 1st ingredient on label)
3/4 C flour
1 1/4 C cooking oil
Quart of water, maybe more
Tony Cachere’s seasoning mix
Salt
Coarse ground black pepper
Long grain rice, cooked

Method:
Throughly coat chicken with Tony’s seasoning and set aside.

Make a medium-dark brown roux with like and flour. Needs to be a dark ruddy brown, but as dark as chocolate.

When roux is dark turn fire to low add chicken and stir

Add onions, celery, bell pepper and turnip. Stir.

Add water a cup at a time. Stir well after each addition.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Skim oil

Add garlic and simmer for 30 minutes.

Skim oil

Add green onions

Add additional Tony’s, salt and black pepper as needed.

Simmer an additional 5 minutes

Serve over rice

Plowboys Gourmet Dinner

2 cans Always Save Vienna Sausages

1 can Showboat Pork and Beans

1 12 pack of Busch Light

Chile Verde Lasagna

Pre-heat oven to 350F


2lbs chile verde....for convenience I use Del Real pre-packaged chile verde, available at most supermarkets, or grab some from the deli at the Mexican supermarket

2 doz corn tortillas (I prefer the thick hand made tortillas, but regular will do)
two 1 lb cans Rosarita refried beans
2 lbs shredded Mexican blend cheese
2 sweet onions, chopped

can of black olives (optional)

pint sour cream
pint green chili salsa
pint molcajete red salsa

In a large 9 x12 lasagna pan, spoon a thin layer of green chili salsa on the bottom, place a layer of tortillas (8) down.
Then a layer for refried beans, a layer of chile verde, chopped onions and a layer of cheese and some more green chili salsa. (Olives optional)
Next, another layer of tortillas (8)
Then the remaining refried beans, chile verde, onions and cheese...(olives)
Top with a layer of tortillas (8) sprinkle some shredded cheese and some molcajete salsa on top

heat in the oven for 30 minutes

top with dollops of sour cream and serve, with remaining salsa on side

I prefer the Amour Vienna Sausages

Need to add Saltine crackers and Crystal Hot Sauce

Throw the beanie weanies in the trash.

Miller High Life for the win!!!

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup

extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion medium diced
6 cloves garlic pressed (or finely minced)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 heaping tsp sweet paprika
1 (14.5 oz) can chopped tomatoes
3 (15 oz cans) chickpeas drained and rinsed well
1 quart vegetable broth or reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp sugar
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 (5 oz) package prewashed baby spinach

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat
Add onion and garlic and saute until onions begin to turn translucent (lower heat if onions start to brown)
Add spices and saute a minute or so
Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and sugar, season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds of fresh pepper
Stir well
Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid, add a little water if needed to cover
Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and gently simmer for 45 minutes

Remove soup from heat
Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas
Stir in the spinach and let heat until wilted, just a couple of minutes
season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed.

I prefer more cumin, you can futz around with proportions to taste.
I like to mash about 3/4 of the chickpeas to thicken the soup, but some may prefer more whole chickpeas

would blueberries compromise the flavor?

Nope. Nor would strawberries, raspberries, or dried cranberries. I'm not a huge fan of raisins but they would probably work if it works for you.

^All of which you're not sposta eat... cuz of the sugar... jackwagon.

Ya just pick out the sugar and put it to the side, problem solved. Similar to what I do with mushrooms.

Handful of crock pot recipes I cook use mushrooms or cream of mushroom soup. It adds an earthy flavor in the background which I like but I don't like to eat mushrooms themselves as a main ingredient so I just pick them out and push them aside while I eat.

On another note, I sure could go for some hot and sour soup right about now (which contains mushrooms). Getting hungry just thinking about it.

Bucky, if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have a little spice bottle of umami seasoning that is basically just mushroom flavor. As JJ would say, "it's dy-no-mite!"

boneless/skinless chicken?
ever use chicken breasts?

Just made soup for my daughter, her request.


Crisped up a 1/2lbs bacon chopped.
Added 3 carrots, 5 stalks celery,a large onion and a pound of leeks, seasoned salt n pepper cooked for 5 mins.
Deglazed with 1/3 bottle nice Chardonnay, blasted to burn off alcohol.
Added a box of chicken stock, a bottle of clam juice and a can of evaporated milk. Then added 2lbs diced Yukon gold taters, and fresh parsley. Oh and a tablespoon of fish sauce.
Cooked for 10 mins.
Added a pint of heavy cream, bring back up to temp.
Add a can of clams.
Add 2lbs Argentinian shrimp, pound fresh rock rish chopped, pound bay scallops and turned the heat off. I washed the seafood and seasoned with old bay before adding btw.

If you add a second box of chicken stock you’ll need to thicken this soup, but it’s some out very rich so I’m glad I did it this way.

Heathen...

I am sure it would be great, but the thighs self marinade in their fat and the spices as they cook and then when you chop and toss it, it's like seeing the baby Jesus appear on a piece of toast.

I’m a tìt man….

Butt with chicken I always go for the thighs. Mmmmmm that dark meat.

I like them thick thighs


What we talking about again?

Thighs are a transition from white to dark meat. Rather inexpensive and have enough fat to give it good flavor and moisture. I'm a fan of chicken thighs.

I'll prolly do some pork chops in the crock pot tomorrow. They have been in my freezer for a couple months so I should cook them up. Try out a different recipe.

Pork chops with bone or no bone (the chops I have are boneless... "that's what she said")
Envelope Ranch Dressing
Can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (yep there's that mushroom thing again)
Beef broth
Diced onion
Diced garlic
Salt & pepper
Some paprika

Season the pork with salt and pepper, sear it. Mix the other stuff together. Dump the chops and the sauce into a slow cooker and let it go. 3-4 hrs on high or 6-7 hrs on low. Take a nap.

To thicken the sauce, take the pork out and whisk in some cornstarch into the "gravy" and let it do it's thing.

Serve with mashed potatoes, baked potato, pasta or rice (your preference). I'll prolly go for wild rice or jasmine rice. Although a baked potato sounds good. A decision for a latter time.

For veggie I would go with green beans, peas, or steamed broccoli. If it was summer I would go for corn on the cob but it's not summer so I'll settle with frozen beans, peas, or broccoli.

Could prolly do the same with chicken just change the pork with chicken and beef broth with chicken broth.

we share the love for white teet, Stogie...to overcome dryness, I drench the meat in gravy and toss in some cranberry sauce...yummm....but that is by default because nearly all of my family prefer the dark meat...

It's gotten to the point that I prepare a smaller bird and get a bunch of extra legs and thighs so there is enough dark meat to go around and still have some left over. This past year, it seems everybody in our area had the same idea...turkey thighs were not to be found and I could get the legs only at a distant grocer...gonna have to plan to pick up some thighs earlier this year and freeze them for Thanksgiving.

The chicken sandwich is special ^

perv!

That's a great idea Al, not sure why I didn't think of it. I am the only one who covets the light meat with turkey so I always feel like i am shorting the dark meat crew.