Bacon, Potato, Corn Chowder

This is THE must try recipe of the season.

IngredientsL

Ilb bacon
2 onions - finely chopped
2-4 jalepeno peppers - finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic - minced
Sage
Thyme
4 tbsp flour
6 Cups chicken broth
3 cups of cream (or half & half or milk-whatever)
*about 8 potatoes
*about 4 carrots
2 bags of corn
Salt
Pepper

*All of my numbers are approximate. I cook for a large family with 3 teenagers. I like to enough so that I can pretend there will be leftovers (there never are). You can't mess this one up. This would also be a great recipe for using up any root vegetables in the fridge.

Cook the bacon them remove (leaving the grease in the pan). In the bacon grease cook the onion, garlic, peppers.

When the onions are clear and soft add the herbs and the flour and cook another minute or two.

To get all of the mix out of the pan, I add some of the liquid and whisk. Then I pour it all into a stock pot. I throw in the rest of the ingredients and cook until the vegetables are tender.

We top ours with a little cheddar and serve with salad and dinner rolls. This chowder makes for a very hearty meal that is easy on the budget.

Out of Doors

Yesterday, we put together hobos and spent the rest of the evening outside.

If you've never made a hobo, here's the basics: meat, veggies (we used red potatoes, yams, carrots, and onions), seasoning, herbs, and a pat of butter all wrapped up in foil. I'm not a fan of foil. If I had a dutch oven, we would have used that instead.

You wrap the foil up tight and put it on the coals to cook. A couple of Boy Scouts made this fire, so it's too big for our little pit. We had to put our hobos right on the flames. This still works as long as you rotate the packages often and don't mind a little charbroil flavor.

While the boys kept an eye on dinner, I caught up on some gardening chores. 

My sweet pepper plants surprised me with a few last minute gifts. Up until now, my sweet peppers have not produced anything at all.

It was also time to finish harvesting the herb bed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my "planter" next year. Maybe I'll just keep using it as an herb bed. It did quite well. It would also be pretty for flowers.

My final bounty.

The kids set the table for us and brewed some iced tea. They worked hard to make this meal come together. They make me so happy.

Dinner was delicious. It was a very peaceful evening..

Chicken Pot Pie and Apothic Red

This is one of my favorite cheat meals. The ingredients are simple. It's my cheat meal because I used canned cream of chicken soup. If I weren't already balancing work, homeschool, and life in general, I'd take the time to make gravy for this dish. It's much better that way. As it is, we cut corners where we can. My family still loves this dish...even when I cheat.

This only takes me about 15 minutes to prepare. While the chicken is boiling I'm mixing the rest of the ingredients up. By using frozen chicken tenders,  I don't even have to cut the chicken into pieces. I just toss them in after they are done. It's also an easy way to pack a bunch of veggies into one meal.

Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients:

Chicken, cooked (I boiled 10 chicken tenders)

1 26oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

4 cups frozen mixed veggies
I season mine with garlic and Mrs. Dash (Certain people in my house are cutting back on sodium.)

Mix ingredients in a large bowl.

Crust: You can use a standard pie crust. Sometimes I cheat and buy frozen. Lately I've been making biscuits and baking them on top.

Biscuit Crust:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients then cut in the butter until it looks like cornmeal.Slowly add in milk.

Roll dough out to 1inch thickness and cut into rounds. The kids like to use the leftover dough to make "baby biscuits". Waste not, want not.

Bake at 350deg until golden and bubbly.

Tonight I served it with Basmati rice and salad. 

The wine you see, Apothic Red, is my absolute favorite so far. My friend, Errin, turned me on to it at a recent book club meeting. The bottle says its a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, and Merlot with hints of vanilla and mocha. It's in the $10 price range that I tend to shop for. The flavor is intense but shockingly smooth.

Apparently this bottle is very popular. My local grocery store was completely sold out. I couldn't find it anywhere else. My dear friend gave me this bottle as a gift. I am really enjoying it tonight.

I know it goes against the adage of "red wine with red meat. White wine with white meat." I read somewhere to forget the "rules" when you are learning about wine. Pick what you like. I like red wine better than white. Anyway, I think I put enough garlic in the casserole to complement the red. It was very delicious.

Enchiladas and Red Wine

Ingredients: 2lbs ground beef, seasonings (whatever you like in your ground beef), cheese (normally I'd use a Mexican cheese like Queso Fresco - I had cheddar on hand), corn tortillas, and enchilada sauce.

Enchiladas are so easy. I brown the ground beef with lots of seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cilantro.

Heat the corn shells in the microwave for about 1 minute so that they are pliable. Then soak them in the sauce one at a time.

Fill the bottom of your baking dish with more sauce. Then fill each shell with a couple of tablespoons of meat and cheese. Roll them up and place them seam side down over the sauce.

Pour the rest of the sauce, cheese, and meat over top and bake at 350deg for about 15 minutes. Another option would be to layer the shells and ingredients like you would a lasagna.

I've been enjoying a glass of wine in the evenings. I've tried several different brands so far. I'm certainly not an expert. Mostly it's all trial and error, but I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

Tonight I finished off this red blend from Marienetta: Old Red Vine, Lot Number 55.

It's mostly a red Zinfandel. This has great flavor. Mmmnnn....it went well with my meal.

Strawberry Time

I love the South. So much green! I also love strawberry fields. They smell so good!

We learned the hard way that the end of the day isn't the best time to pick. Normally we go early-mid morning. The fields had already been mostly picked over. There were still a lot of great berries. It just took a lot longer to fill our baskets.

Strawberries have to be processed right away. Especially if you picked them under the hot southern sun. They retain heat and cook eachother in the basket. If you let them sit, you'll find a whole lot of mushy berries at the bottom.

So right away, as soon as we got home, I started hulling my berries and sorting them. The prettiest berries are going on the cookie sheet. I'll flash freeze them and then fill freezer bags. The not so pretty berries are going in the bowl to be made into jam.

Normally I just make easy freezer jam. This year I wanted to learn how to can preserves. I needed a few supplies. I picked up a canning pot and a utensil kit for around $27. These will come in handy when I tackle pickles and tomatoes this summer.

Confession: This is the first time I've canned preserves. My jam did not set and I had to recook them using these instructions: How to Fix (or Remake) Jam or Jelly. The process worked like a charm and my jam is nice and thick, albeit with less whole berries and a tad more sugar. Ah the joys of the learning process.

Emu Egg

My friend, Stephanie, has a farm. She now has emu and shared an egg with us, so we can give them a try.

The kids didn't believe it was real at first. It does resemble a dinosaur or dragon egg. I was going to make an omelet, but decided to make cheesy scrambled eggs instead.

They cooked up super light and fluffy.

Jeremiah loves emu eggs.

I don't think Joshua even really tasted it. He took his obligatory bites. He couldn't get past this being something new and strange.

Kelsea didn't see what all the hype was about. She came downstairs, got her plate and ate breakfast. She said, "it just tastes like any other kind of egg."

Ishmael didn't like the texture. I admit, I prefer my scrambled eggs to be a little more solid and dense. This egg was definitely light and super fluffy. The flavor was just fine.

Bean with Bacon Soup

Ingredients:
2 lbs dry navy beans (soaked and drained), chicken stock, 1/2 lb bacon, onions, red pepper, salt.

Chop and cook your bacon until the fat is rendered (about 5 minutes). I take the bacon out the pan and replace it with the onions and pepper. I cook the onions until they are translucent but not quite caramelized.

Add all of your ingredients to the crock pot. Fill the pot the rest of the way to the top with water. Cook on highest setting for 3-4 hours.

I remove the lid and keep the crock pot on high to let it condense just a bit for about an hour. My pot needed more salt.

Yummy soup to serve as an appetizer or for lunch on a cold day.

My kids prefer to strain out the beans and serve it over rice.

Either way, this is one of my favorite ways to eat beans.

Bean Pot

A slow-cooker makes the perfect bean pot. It cooks them perfectly through and you don't have to keep an eye on them. Toss them in with enough water in the morning, set them on high, and your beans are ready by dinner.

I have this StayorGo Hamilton Beach slow cooker. It's large enough to hold 2lbs of beans and plenty of water. I like the clips on the side that make it easier to take to a pot luck.

I haven't used it to cook a pot roast in a very long time. Really, aside from cooking my beans, I don't use it for much else. I do want a small one to make yogurt in. Maybe I'll make that a goal for the New Year.