Apple Pie

My Gma B made the best pies! EVER! I think it was the pie crust but now that I remember all the ones were good even the ones with cookie crusts. So I never liked apple pie. but I made her show me what she did because for some reason I loved that her apple filling melted in my mouth.  So It is written Grandma Bostron's Apple Pie

Ingredients
Pie Crust

5 Apples peeled cored and sliced
8c water
2tbsp brown sugar
1/3c sugar
1tsp cinnamon

Pie filling
Blanched Apples
1/2tsp cinnamon
5tbsp brown sugar
1/4c butter
1/3c sugar

Method
Prepare the pie crust first. 

Wash, Peel core and slice apples.

 Then cook apples in sugars and cinnamon until they just start to boil

Mix the apples and sugars and cinnamon in a bowl and  put into pie crust.

 Then cut butter into cubes and top the pie. Cover with other crust pinch edges together and cut vent in to p of pie to let out steam, sprinkle raw sugar on top and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until nicely golden.

And make sure you eat it with Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

Chicken and Dumplings

So the feeling of warm and fuzzy happens when you eat this, It is truly a favorite in our home. Of course thats what happens with good ole southern cookin!
 It is gobbled down leaving no left overs... I promise if you make this you will love it FOREVER

Ingredients  
1 large fryer chicken (4-5 lbs.), neck and gizzards removed  
1 large onion, peeled and cut in half  
3 carrots, cut into large pieces  
3 stalks of celery, cut into large pieces  
Kosher salt, to taste  
Pepper, to taste

Dumplings  
3 cups cake flour  
3/4 tsp. baking soda  
3/4 tsp. salt  
4 1/2 tbsp. shortening
1 cup milk

Method
Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water simmers. Cook chicken for 1 hour or until cooked through. About 30 minutes after you start cooking the chicken you can start making the dumplings or you can wait until the chicken is fully cooked.

Once chicken is done, remove from the broth and let cool. Remove chicken from the bone it should be falling off pretty easily.  Shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.

Pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth discarding vegetables. Reserve 6 cups of the broth for the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use in for another recipe. It’s great to have homemade broth on hand!
Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small peas.
Add milk 1/4 cup at a time, you may not need a full cup and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over-mix.

Roll out the dough onto floured surface that you don’t mind cutting on. Roll about ¼ inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. Place strips on wax paper and allow to harden up a bit, about 30 minutes.

 

In a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat, bring broth to a gentle simmer and drop in dumplings. Cover and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add chicken. Allow to cook until thickened, approximately 15-20 minutes, or longer. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Hungarian Paprikash

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Paprika is my new favorite spice, but smoked paprika really its the cats meow of the spice world. So I am so into Hungarian food I made a real paprikash and it was simply delicious. Make sure when you cook the chicken you use a whole chicken cut up bones and all. It really makes the chicken moist. 

Ingredients
1 (3 1/2 to 4 lb.) whole chicken, cut in pieces 
1 1/4tsp. kosher salt 
1/2tsp. pepper 
1tbsp. olive oil 
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced into rings 
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 
1c low-sodium chicken broth 
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained* 
1 tbsp. paprika SMOKED

Method
Heat oven to 400°. Season chicken with 3/4 tsp. of the salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a dutch oven or large pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the chicken, skin-side down. Cook without turning, until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook for 3 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate. Spoon off and discard all but 1 tbsp. of the fat from the pan. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the paprika, and the remaining salt. Bring to simmer.  Return the chicken to pot if using dutch oven. If you don’t have a dutch oven pour the onion-tomato mixture into a dish and place chicken on top. Place in oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve on top of rice or egg noodles.

Puttenesca

So I watched this movie "A Series of Unfortunate events" the children cooked a pasta called Puttenesca, It looked great so I did some looking around and came up with my own put together pasta.  I omitted anchovies because well because. The dish turned out great and pretty simple.

Ingredients
8 ounces Spaghetti 
2Tbsp Olive Oil 
1/2  Red Onion, Sliced 
1-1/2c Grape Tomatoes, Halved 
3/4c  White Wine 
2 cloves Garlic 
1/2c Assorted Pitted Olives 
Red  Pepper
Flat leaf Parsley
1/2c chicken stock
1tbsp tomato paste
dash of sugar
2 stems of whole basil leaves 
Parmesan Cheese

Method
Cook pasta until al dente.
Mash garlic,  and olives using a mortar or chop them finely together. Set aside.
.Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced red onions and cook until slightly caramelized. Add halved tomatoes and red pepper and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in broth tomato paste sugar and wine  and cook for another two minutes, then pour in garlic/olive mixture. Stir and continue cooking for several minutes, or until sauce is nice and reduced and wonderful. Add Garlic salt and pepper to taste.
Drain pasta and add to the skillet. Add  shaved Parmesan and toss to coat pasta in the sauce.

Tear basil leaves and parsley and sprinkle over the top. Serve right out of the skillet

Salisbury Steak

  





I think the men and the boys said this was the best thing I ever made, oh or they could eat this every night, oh for today anyway until next time. But really this was AMAZING!!! Seriously though melt in your mouth delicious. Make it its easy too.


Ingredients  

Patties 
1-1/2 pound Lean Ground Beef 
1/2c Seasoned Breadcrumbs 
2tsp Dry Mustard
1 cube Beef Bouillon, Crumbed (or Powdered Beef Base)
4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1Tbsp Ketchup
A dash or so of Liquid smoke
Garlic salt & P

Gravy
1 whole Onion, Halved And Thinly Sliced
2c Beef Broth
4 dashes Worcestershire
1Tbsp Ketchup
1tbsp liquid smoke
1tsp Corn Starch Mixed With A Little Beef Broth To Make A Thin Paste
Garlic Salt & P to taste
1Tbsp Olive Oil
1Tbsp Butter

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the patties and knead until all combined. Form into 4 large or  6 small oval patties. Fork them for grill marks.
Fry in a skillet with oil and butter over medium-high heat on both sides until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from the pan and pour off excess grease.
Reduce the heat to medium and add in the sliced onions. Stir and cook for several minutes, or until golden brown and somewhat soft. Add the beef stock, Worcestershire, liquid smoke and ketchup. Stir and cook to reduce.
Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch/broth mixture to give the gravy a little gloss and to thicken it.
Add  garlic salt and pepper to taste and more broth if needed for thinning.
Return the steaks to the gravy. Spoon gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes and peas!
DELISH!

Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are a great meal for warm nights. They are quite refreshing to eat. Lettuce wraps are low in fat especially since they are made of ground turkey.

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
2tsp vegetable oil
1c white mushrooms, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.  6-ounce can water chestnuts, chopped
1/4c soy sauce
1tbsp brown sugar
1tbsp rice wine vinegar

Drizzling Sauce:
3tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp rice wine vinegar
1tbsp honey
1tbsp Dijon mustard or spicy mustard
1tbsp Sriracha sauce
1/2tsp sesame oil


Dressings
8 to 12 large iceberg lettuce leaves, cleaned and dry
Shredded carrots, for serving
Bean sprouts, for serving
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Method

For the filling: Brown the turkey in the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the mushrooms, scallions, garlic and water chestnuts, and cook until the mushrooms soften. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar, pour over the turkey mixture and cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
For the drizzling sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, mustard, Sriracha, sesame oil and 1/4 cup water.
Serve the turkey mixture with the lettuce leaves, drizzling sauce and vegetables for lettuce wrap assembly.

Tamale Corn Cakes

I must admit, this is a copycat recipe. Its on the menu at the Cheesecake factory. Its my favorite. Its really easy to make if you prepare the sauces in advanced. I make them the day before and let the salsas marinate. This recipe is so great. Try it and you will have explosions in your mouth!
Ingredients

Salsa Verde
2 tomatillos, chopped (remove papery skin)
1 4 oz can mild green chilies
1 green onion
2tbsp fresh cilantro
1 1/4tsp granulated sugar
1/4tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp salt
pinch ground black pepper
Prepare salsa verde by combining all ingredients in a food processor on high speed. Cover and chill.

Southwestern Sauce
1/2c mayonnaise
1tsp white vinegar
1tsp water
 3/4tsp granulated sugar
1/2tsp chili powder
1/4tsp paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch onion powder
dash salt
dash garlic powder
Prepare southwestern sauce by combining all ingredients  in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

Tomato Salsa
1 medium tomato
1tbsp minced Spanish onion
1tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1/4tsp lime juice
1/2 small fresh jalapeno, minced
dash salt
dash ground black pepper
Prepare tomato salsa by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

Corn Cakes
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
1/2c (1 stick) butter, softened
3tbsp granulated sugar
pinch salt
1/2c corn masa (corn flour)
2tbsp all-purpose flour

Garnish
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 avocado, chopped
2tbsp fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Method
Preheat oven to 400°.

Prepare the tamale cakes by chopping 1c of the frozen corn in a food processor until it's coarsely pureed. Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar, and salt. Blend well with electric mixer until smooth. Add masa and flour and blend well. Mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of frozen corn kernels by hand.

Measure 1/2 cup portions of the mixture and form it into 3" wide patties with your hands.
Arrange the patties on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cakes are browned on the bottom.
Carefully flip all cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until other side is browned.
While the cakes are baking, spoon a portion of the salsa verde onto a warm plate or platter You'll need to use enough salsa verde to coat the entire plate. Arrange the tamale cakes side-by-side on the salsa verde. Spoon a dollop of sour cream onto each tamale cake.
Drizzle the southwestern sauce over the cakes in a crisscross patter (use a squirt bottle if you've got one). Spoon some tomato salsa over the cakes, followed by the chopped avocado.
Finish off the plate by sprinkling the coarsely chopped cilantro leaves over the top.