Tamales

I make a couple hundred Tamales every year, well I did not make that many this year but I am thinking about making some more later this month. I always give them away.

I order my masa premade but this year they did not do a good job and I did not make my meat as hot as I always do, one of my daughters were glad because she said she is able to eat them this year. Big baby! LOL This is my I don't use a recipe day for the things I post. I have a lot of recipes I have in my head that I can tell you what I did but cannot tell you how much I put in it.

The Chulpa recipe was one I got from my mother in-law and I just changed a few things because I love lots of flavor and spices. Well my husband had decided to watch a movie on his XBox with Netflix it looks like one of those movies that my boys and husband will enjoy and sends me running into my room to watch cooking or something.LOL Many years ago my husband started something with our boys, every Sunday night is their night, they stay up a little later and all four of them sleep in the front room, I have no idea how long this will last since my oldest son is 17 and he is still doing it. :o) It is something they all look forward to and I get the whole bed to myself, that is unless my youngest son decides it is Mom and Danny's night.

Good night all.

Chalupa.

This is a recipe that comes from my husbands side of the family. I changed it a little because I just can't seem to leave a recipe alone.

1 lb pinto beans (soaked over night and rinsed clean

Small pork butt

8 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

2 t. cumin
1 t. Chili powder
1/2 t. Paprika 

salt and pepper to taste

1 jar medium(I like Pace) salsa

add all ingredients to a crock pot and cover with water. cook on high about 8-10 hours, until the pork falls apart with a fork.

Then you need...

Tortilla Chips

lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, chopped 

shredded cheese (Mexican blend)

sour cream

Salsa 

Lay your chips on your plate, add Chalupa to the top, then your cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa....enjoy!

                                           

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was very peaceful and quiet at my house this year. No fighting or complaining...well almost David started fighting about the Xbox, sometimes I wonder how old he is and then I hear my husband arguing with the boys on the Xbox. I think it is going to go out in the trash if they cannot behave and act right while playing it. So do men ever grow up is the question of the week. lol

So I made homemade crescent rolls, Soaked my Turkey in a brine over night, if you have never made a turkey this way you will have to try it. I made other things I do not have on here but since I am so tired I will only add some of the stuff. I also made three pies, they are all gone so they must have been good. You really need to try this recipe for your turkey. Make sure you store it in the fridge while it is soaking in the brine, cannot remember if I typed that with the instructions or not. Enjoy

Crandberry Salad

1 8oz cool whip

1 bag cranberries

1 can crushed pineapples, drained

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 bag marshmallows

Chop cranberries in blender. Place in a large bowl; cover with sugar. Let stand one hour. Add pineapple, nuts and marshmallows to berries, add cool whip mix well. Chill one hour before serving.
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Brine for Turkey:

1 cup salt

1 cup brown sugar

2 oranges, quartered

2 lemons, quartered

6 sprigs thyme

4 sprigs rosemary
To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary. Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.

Turkey
1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey

4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths

1 large orange, cut into 8ths 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs thyme

1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting Turkey Broth:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 cups turkey stock, chicken stock, or canned low-salt chicken broth 3 cups water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.

Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

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Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups sweet potatoes or yams (I like yams)

1 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 T Vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping

1 Cup brown sugar

1/2 Cup flour

1 Cup chopped pecans

1/3 C butter

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, lightly beaten eggs,vanilla and butter; mix well. Pour into a butter 1 1/2 qt casserole. Combine all topping ingredients and mix with a fork. Sprinkle crumbs on top of sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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Artichoke, Sausage, and Parmesan Cheese Stuffing

15 cups 1-inch cubes crustless sourdough bread (from two 1-pound loaves)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds Italian sweet sausages, casings removed

2 cups chopped onions

3/4 cup chopped celery

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 8-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Divide bread between 2 baking sheets. Bake until cubes are dry but not hard, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté until cooked through, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Sauté until celery is soft, about 10 minutes. Mix in artichokes, thyme, and mint; sauté 2 minutes longer. Transfer sausage mixture to large bowl. (Bread and sausage mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature. Refrigerate sausage mixture and reheat to lukewarm before continuing.)Add bread to sausage mixture; toss to blend well. Mix in cheese, then 1 cup broth. Season with salt and pepper.To bake stuffing in turkey:Loosely fill main cavity and neck cavity of turkey with stuffing. Add enough broth to remaining stuffing to moisten slightly (1/4 cup to 3/4 cup, depending on amount of remaining stuffing). Generously butter baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish — alongside turkey or while turkey is resting — until heated through, about 25 minutes. Uncover stuffing in dish. Bake until top of stuffing is slightly crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.To bake stuffing in dish:Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add enough extra broth to stuffing to moisten (3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups). Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake until heated through, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 20 minutes longer.

My hubby's birthday

Today was my husband's 48th birthday. We had all but one of the kids over, our oldest lives in the Chicago area. It is always crazy when we all get together. Pray for my grandson, poor little boy will need therapy being in this family. LOL

Every year I joke around about setting off the smoke alarm, well this year it really did.

Kim made Pot sticker and egg rolls

Buffalo wings

These are wings I fry in batter and we dip in sweet and sour sauce

oil for deep frying
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash garlic powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 chicken wings


Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, an inch or so deep. Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving.
In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes.
Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together. Serve.

Sunday Dinner

Can you believe I took a picture...I forgot until we started eating and then I put a plate together real fast to take a picture of. Later I seen the plate and for a joke my son in-law ate half of the meat on it.

Today we had Chicken Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and a Cesar salad. For dessert I made two different cakes, the coconut one is just too sweet, the other one I just made a chocolate cake, put cheesecake pudding on top, then can cherry pie filling and then cool whip on top, that one was pretty good. So that is the recipe for that one.

Chicken Fried Chicken

30 saltine crackers
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dry potato flakes
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag and crush crackers until they are coarse crumbs. Add flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper to bag and mix well.
Beat egg in a shallow dish or bowl; heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
One by one, dredge chicken pieces in egg beat, then place in bag with crumb mixture, seal bag and shake to coat.
Reduce heat to medium and cook coated chicken in skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown and juices run clear.

Coconut Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package flaked coconut
DIRECTIONS
Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions. Remove cake from oven. While still hot, using a utility fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
Mix cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the still hot cake. Let cake cool completely then frost with the whipped topping and top with the flaked coconut. Keep cake refrigerated.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 pound skinless, boneless
chicken breast halves - cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remo

ve from heat and set aside.
Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Meal for hubby's job

So I figure I would take a picture of most of the meal I made for my hubby's job. I made two of these pans full, plus garlic bread. We thought of making salad but with only $150.00 budget we were not able to. I could had cut back on the cheese and all the meat but these are all men I am cooking for so I knew it needed a lot of meat. There is about 12 pounds of meat, six pounds in each lasagna and about six pounds of cheese in each. I have ground beef and Italian sausage in it and four different types of cheese.

Plus five cases of soda and a case of water. and three loaves of garlic bread plus the cranberry bars. I think they will be set for tonight. I hope they enjoy it.

Well my husband just called and he said it was a hit.

Christmas is coming

Well no matter how much I try to pretend it is not coming it is, I better start getting ready. I did not take pictures of the food I made today because I made so much that by time I was done my legs were killing and all I wanted to do was sit down. I was making food for my husband's job tomorrow. Everyone once in awhile I make meals for about 25 of the workers on the line.

But as I was sitting down and thinking about reading a book I started thinking about Christmas, well I can't help but think about Christmas because every time I sign into my Facebook account some crazy person has a count down to how many day we have until Christmas. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! So I pulled out the stuff that I am going to do for my table settings on the table, I realized I was two short so I will have to get two more tomorrow and hopefully they still have them. I am going to fill them with goodies, I can't say what kind because my daughter might come on here and read it.

I need to make some more cranberry bars for my husband job for tomorrow, they were a huge hit.

My Philly Cheese

Years ago when I was expecting my 5th or 6th child we had gone to Christmas in the Park in San Jose and I had one of the best Philly cheese sandwiches. Well needless to say I have never had one that good again even when we took a trip to PA.

So I decided to make my own but it had to be easy and fast since my life is so busy and crazy. So I decided to just add a little oil to a large pan, slice up onions and cook them a little until golden on one side, then to slice up green bell peppers and cook them with the onions. Well now for my meat, I just go to the deli and get sliced roast beef and slice it into large strips and throw them in with the peppers and onions. After that is all done I throw mozzarella cheese on top and that is all to it. I add it on a roll and dinner is ready. I added pepper jack to this one and did not really like it all that much.

Chow time

Jacob loves his picture taken. LOL

Sweet Danny

Orange Spice Madeleines

I have not made these yet but want to. Maybe today. I figure if I post them here I would not lose the recipe. Once I post a picture of them I will make a remark on how they taste.

If you like, while they're still warm, dust the cookies with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Although best fresh, they can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week.

2 ounces almond paste, cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. In a large bowl, with your fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut almond paste into sugar until well blended. With a mixer on medium speed, beat in butter until smooth. Beat in egg, orange peel, and vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Stir in milk.
2. In another bowl, mix flour with baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Stir into butter mixture until well blended. Spoon batter into buttered and floured 2-inch-long madeleine molds (fill each hollow about 3/4 full).
3. Bake in a 350° oven until tops of madeleines are lightly browned and spring back when gently pressed, 12 to 15 minutes. Invert the pan over a rack to release madeleines. Serve warm, or cool completely and store airtight.

Apple Pie

Well this morning at 8:45 am I decided to make an Apple pie, I had to be in Church by ten so it was going to have to be a fast easy recipe. Now it helps I happen to live on the church grounds so I could pop it in the oven and then run back over and check it since it had to be turned down in 15 minutes. This was a really quick and easy pie to make and it was really good.

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch
double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - (I used 4 Granny Smith and 4 Pippin)
peeled, cored and sliced
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. ( I did not have the time to make the lattice so I just poured most of the liquid over the apples and covered with another top crust and brushed the rest of the liquid over the top crust.)
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Brownies

I am making pulled beef for lunch tomorrow and I did something not too smart, I used bottle BBQ sauce and it does not taste good at all. I should had just made my own, will I ever learn. Well I hope these brownies make up for it. I am not a huge brownie fan but I love nuts and caramel, and I don't mind cake. So I made my caramel nut brownies with a cake mix. I have to say I think they are pretty good.

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk, divided
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
35 caramels, unwrapped
2 cups NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture.
Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 24 squares.

Playing around with pumpkin bread

I make this bread with a starter I keep on hand, I take a couple of cups out to make these and I just add a cup of flour, sugar and milk to keep it in supply so when I need it. I think I might make some French Bread with it once this starter is ready to use. I have been using this starter for a few months now and hope to keep it going for years. I really like this bread, I make it without as many nuts for two reason, the main reason is because they cost so much anymore but the other reason is not everyone likes nuts in my family. I added a little too much cloves for my taste this time, I have to be careful with the nutmeg because I love nutmeg, I put it in all my baked goods and some of the winter squashes I make. As I am writing this I am wondering what I am going to make for Sunday's dinner...I think about Sunday's dinner all week. I think I will make pulled beef sandwiches. I will post Sunday's meal if I remember. :o)

Baking.

From my garden

Well I have not posted everyday but trust me I am baking still. I made more Cranberries for my husband's job and today I made pumpkin bread. I will be making a lasagna dinner for 25 of them next Friday. It is funny because this is what I would love to do for a living and the funny thing is I never change for it I do it all for free. I am thinking about taking orders for pies for the holidays and making them to earn some extra money.

Well I guess I could post a picture of the Omelet I made because the chicken was still frozen and I need to feed my husband before he went to work. :o)

I like lots of veggies in my Omelet and my family likes meat in everything, I added a little ham to theirs with tomatoes, green onions, asparagus and cheese.

Cranberry Bars

I have been making these bars for years. I have made these for years. Sometimes I make them with the dates but most times without. I will leave the dates in the recipe that I post but don't feel you have to use them. These are really easy bars to make, they are a little tangy but good. I made a pan today and just between four people half the pan was gone. These would make wonderful bars to make for Christmas.

1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed 9I only use fresh)
1 package (8 ounces) chopped dates
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
GLAZE:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
In a covered saucepan over low heat, simmer cranberries, dates and water for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cranberries have popped. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in butter until well blended. Pat half into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Spoon cranberry mixture over crust. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture. Pat gently. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Cool.

Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Yum, Yum. Looks like everyone loved them. ;o)