Turkey and Stuffing Rolls

This is a great way to use the leftovers many of us have after Thanksgiving. Can be made fresh for an easy dinner any other time of the year.

Ingredients:

10-14 Slices Cooked Turkey Breast (want thicker than a normal sandwich slice but not so thick it cannot be rolled)

2 C Leftover (or fresh cooked stuffing)

2 C Gravy (can be leftover or fresh made)

Directions:

-Heat oven to 350 degrees, place 1/3 C gravy in bottom of 13X9 inch baking dish.

-Place some stuffing in middle of turkey slices, roll the slice in to rolls and place seam side down in baking dish. Do this for remaining turkey and stuffing.

-Pour remaining gravy over tops of rolls, cover with foil and bake 15 minutes, remove foil and bake 5 more minutes (everything is cooked, you are just heating everything up and allowing flavors to come together.

Enjoy!

Fried Stuffing Balls

This is a great way to serve stuffing in a new and fun way, or a new way to reuse leftovers from the fall holiday season.

Ingredients:

Oil for frying (I use Crisco)

2 C Cooked or leftover suffing

1 egg, whisked

1/2 C Milk

1/2 C Heavy Cream

Seasoning Salt, Pepper and Creole/Cajun Seasoning to taste

Directions:

-Heat oil in skillet, while oil heats, whisk egg, milk and cream together. Add in Seasonings.

-In separate container add in bread crumbs.

-Roll stuffing into golf sized balls. Place in egg/milk mix then place in bread crumbs.

-Once oil is hot, place stuffing balls in oil and cook 3 minutes per side. Drain well before serving.

I served mine with gravy dipping sauce, but also amazing in leftover cranberry sauce. Enjoy!

Fried Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4 Thin Bone in Pork Chops

1 C Buttermilk

3/4 C Flour

2 T Grits (see note)

2 C Panko Bread Crumbs

1 T Cajun Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Oil for Frying (I use peanut oil)

Directions:

-Place pork in dish, cover in buttermilk.  Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

-Combine flour, Cajun seasoning, grits, panko bread crumbs, and salt and pepper in shallow dish.

-Place a cooling rack over baking sheet (this helps with clean up).

-Shake off excess buttermilk, coat in flour mixture, place on rack and allow to sit 15 minutes.

-Heat 1/2 inch of oil in pan to 350.  Fry each about 8 minutes, flipping half way through cook time (time will depend on thickness of pork).

-Remove from oil and allow to drain. Enjoy!

 

Note-you do not have to use grits, I like the extra crunch that it provides, can use cornmeal if you desire.  Not using will not affect taste.

Smoked Stuffed Flank Steak Pinwheels

This is a twist to my stuffed pork pinwheels, but I will admit that I loved enough that have done twice in less than 6 weeks. A bit of work and time and this may become your new love as well.

Ingredients:

2-5 lb. Flank Steak

Thin Sliced Provolone Cheese Slices

Fresh Spinach, stems removed

Jarred Roasted Red Peppers, drained

Olive Oil

Dry Ingredients: Seasoning Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Paprika

Directions:

-Butterfly steak, do not cut to thin or you won’t be able to roll and seal without rips or tears

-Brush inside of steak with olive oil, I used a cooking brush to evenly coat, dash on dry ingredients, top with cheese, spinach and finally peppers.

-Roll up steak and tied with baking twine.

-Coat outside of steak with olive oil and dry ingredients

-Use wood of choice, heat smoker to 225, add steak with seam side up and cook to 145 degrees. Remove steak and loosly cover with foil for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Creamed Peas

I despise green peas with a passion that is similar to hate. Problem is, my tiny humans absolutely love them, so I am forced to find new ways to use them for recipes and meals. So creamed peas became a thing, and this recipe is now their most current requested way to have peas. I honestly cannot say this recipe is amazing (see above statement), but it is good and a great side to so many meals.

Ingredients:

4 C Frozen Peas, fully thawed and drained well

1/4 C Butter

1/4 C Flour

1 1/2 C Milk

1/2 C Heavy Cream

1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme

Dash Dried Dill (optional)

Dash Cumin (optional)

Seasoning Salt (I used Garlic Salt) and Pepper to taste

Directions:

-Melt butter over medium low heat in pot, whisk in flour and cook about 2 minutes, whisking often.

-Whisk in seasoning and milk, ensure that flour dissolves, whisk in heavy cream and peas. Cook, stirring often until peas are warm and sauce thickens.

Enjoy!

Homemade Smoked Bacon

Who doesn’t love bacon? My family adores it, and with prices going up, I needed to finally breakdown and make my own. I will state this is a meal of love (aka time and patience is needed). The spices used can be substituted for what you have on hand and or what you want to add. I do not add much sugar to my bacon, but you can easily add more to your recipe without any issues.

Ingredients:

5lb. Pork Belly, skin removed (can use larger or smaller, cook times will need to be adjusted)

1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

2tsp Paprika (smoked, hot, sweet)

4T Salt

1T Black Pepper

2T Sugar

Directions:

-Combine all dry ingredients together, once pork belly is prepped, heavy dust all sides with dry mix.

-Place in airtight bag (food savor) or airtight container. Place in fridge for at least 5 days to 7 days. This is known as dry curing/brining.

-You can rinse off seasoning prior to smoking but is not a requirement.

-Heat smoker using apple/cherry and any other wood chips you desire to 225. Place pork belly in smoker and leave alone until reaches 160 degrees.

-Remove bacon and place in fridge, it is easier to cut when cool. Can hand slice or use meat slicer to cut bacon prior to use.

Enjoy!

Mexican Style Rice

Ingredients:

3 T Vegetable Oil

1 C Basmati Rice (or other long grain rice)*

1 tsp. Minced Garlic

1 tsp. Cumin

1 3/4 C Chicken Stock/Broth

1/4 C Tomato Sauce

1 T Dried Cilantro (3T diced if using fresh)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

-* I do not rinse my rice for this recipe to prevent any water logging, you can rinse if you desire

-Heat oil over medium heat in pot, place in rice and cook moving rice around often until rice is a golden brown color

-Add in all other ingredients (If using fresh cilantro, dont add now), bring to boil and cover and reduce to simmer, cook for 18-20 minutes.

-Remove from heat and allow to rest 5 minutes, fluff with fork and stir in fresh Cilantro if using, Enjoy!

Doritos Taco Pie

Ingredients:

Cresent Dough Sheet, can get the rolls and seal edges to cover bottom of pan

1 lb. Ground Chicken

1 Can Chili Beans (https://junecleaver21stcenturystyle.wordpress.com/2022/05/07/homemade-chili-beans/), drained

1 Package Taco Seasoning

1 C Salsa of choice (I prefer a chunky salsa)

1 C Sour Cream

1/8 C Cheddar Cheese

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Dried Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

1C Shredded Taco Blend Cheese

3/4 Bag Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed

Directions:

-Cook ground chicken until done, add in chili beans and taco seasoning (follow water directions on taco seasoning packet, but reduce by some), remove from heat and stir in salsa, set aside.

-In bowl stir together sour cream, cheddar cheese, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.

-Spray bottom of 13X9 inch baking dish, place in crescent dough, top with meat, then sour cream mix, shredded taco cheese and then top with crushed Doritos.

-Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until Doritos are slightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool some before serving, Enjoy!

Homemade Chili Beans

This recipe is to mimic the ones that are found in cans. They are essentially spiced pinto beans, great as a side dish for so many meals

Ingredients:

2 C Dry Pinto Beans

1 Dried Guajillo Pepper

1/4 Onion, diced

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

Scant 1/4 C Brown Sugar

11/2 T Chili Powder

1T Cider Vinegar

2 tsp. Cumin

1tsp. Dried Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 C Beef Broth

1 tsp. Paprika

Directions:

-Soak beans and pepper overnight in by placing in heat safe bowl and pouring boiling water until tops of beans are cover.

-Drain beans and pepper and place in crockpot. Add in remaining ingredients and cook high about 6 hours. Check liquid level occasionally, some beans will absorb more than other, add water if low. Beans are done when they are tender.

-Can also be cooked on stove same way, bring to boil, reduce temperature to low boil (about 1 1/2-2 hours). Enjoy!

Mushroom Catsup

This is a recipe that dates back well into the 1700s, this was the classic sauce served with meat. Many thought that tomatoes were poisonous, this is far exceeding that tomato ketchup we all know and love today. The best thing that I can compare this recipe to is Worcestershire sauce.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Portobello Mushrooms, chopped

2 T Salt

2 Bay Leaves

1/2 C Cider Vinegar

Zest of 1 Lemon

1/2 tsp. Allspice

1/4 tsp. Paprika

1/8tsp. Nutmeg

Directions:

-Place mushrooms in metal or glass bowl, add in salt and massage in some, add in bay leaves. Top with another metal or glass container that will press down mushrooms while keeping dust or other things out of mushrooms. Let sit over night.

-Place mushroom mixture as well as remaining ingredients into pot, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook 45 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, you are going to want cool enough to touch.

-Pour mixture into double layer cheese cloth or flour sack towel over a bowl, bringing ends together wring out as much moisture as possible. The rendered liquid is the catsup. Place in airtight bottle or container in fridge. I do not know live expectancy of this recipe; we use with a week of being made.

You can dehydrate the mushrooms, remove bay leaves, place mushrooms on parchment lined baking sheet, place in oven at temperature below 200 degrees, I did at 170 for about 5 hours, rotating mushrooms every now and then. Once fully dry and hard, place in food processor and grind. This makes an amazing rub for meat or base flavor for other recipes. Enjoy!