Quick and Easy Deep Fried Chicken Livers

These make a great main dish or snack. Very easy!

Flour
Onion powder
Salt
Brown sugar (about a handful)

Preheat deep fryer to 375. Place all the ingredients in a large ziplock baggie and mix up. Toss in chicken livers a few at a time, shaking to coat. Place in a single layer in deep fryer. Fry for five minutes. Toss in a paper towel-lined bowl. May require more than one batch.

Please read more about the Health Benefits of Chicken Liver and Myths about Cholesterol.

Balsamic Glazed Beets and Greens with Feta

This is really great with baby beets, but still very good with full grown beets. You will rarely find beets with their greens still attached at the grocery store.

Beets
Preheat oven to 375. Cut green off beets and save. Rinse beets. Roast, covered, for about one hour (should pierce easily with a knife). Allow to cool. Remove skins.

Glaze
2 tablespoons butter
3 to 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
Salt and pepper

Simmer all ingredients together for a few minutes stirring occasionally.

Cut up beets into bite-sized pieces. Simmer in the glaze for about 10 minutes, tossing and stirring occasionally to coat.

Greens
Cut up greens and stems. Slice up about 4 cloves garlic. Cook in about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease, covered, stirring occasionally.

Putting it all together
Pour glazed beets over the greens and top with a bit of crumbled feta cheese. Keep covered on warm until ready to serve.

I served these with deep fried chicken livers.

Cook Book Wishlist - Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link's Louisiana

I must have this book! Here is an excerpt from a review of Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link's Louisiana.

"If bacon does not immediately come to mind as an essential ingredient of Cajun cooking, then clearly you have been missing Link, the chef-owner of two New Orleans restaurants, Herbsaint and Cochon. He not only begins his premiere cookbook with instructions on making four pounds of homemade bacon, he includes such tempting items as a fried oyster and bacon sandwich, tomato and bacon pie, and catfish fried in bacon fat. Even in his vegetarian twice-baked potatoes, he cannot help mentioning, Normally I like crisp bits of bacon in stuffed potatoes."

I think I'm in love!

Greens and Leftovers

Well, I was going to make mackerel croquettes when I realized I had some leftover chicken breast and leftover roast that really need to be used up. I also have some fresh spinach I need to cook before it goes bad.

I am making my basic greens cooked in bacon grease with garlic slices. I will cut up the roast and chicken and toss that in on top to heat near the end of cooking. Just to change things up a bit I may sprinkle some shredded parmesan on top.

I will serve this with steamed red potatoes (not really new potatoes, but close). It sounds so good, it seems a shame to call it leftovers.

Ribs Tonight

Tonight I am making ribs. They take forever to cook and it's driving me crazy! We will have Kale and probably Mac & Cheese with them.

Good Cooking Weather!

Right now I'm in Heaven. It's been cool and cloudy and foggy for two days and now we're getting a snowstorm. The air yesterday had that quality that made everything smell good and really enhanced the smell of food. This weather makes me want to cook!

We have been using a lot of bread lately so I am going to start making it again. I don't like to make it when we're not eating much because it takes me a few batches to get it to come out really well. It always tastes good, but sometimes it's too crumbly and not so good for sandwiches.

I also plan to make whole wheat tortillas, and start a pot of beans for burritos, bean dip, beans and rice, and whatever else sounds good with bean in the next few days.

I am making chicken soup from homemade stock and leftover chicken bits from a whole chicken I cooked a while back, and lots of parsley. We are going to have chard w/bacon and black-eyed peas with the soup tonight.

I am making veggie burger patties from black-eyed peas that I will freeze and then we can just pop them in the deep fryer, and I am going to start some sprouts. The sprouts will go well on the veggie burgers. We put humus on them too. Sometimes I make it, but our grocery store carries some that we like a lot.

That should take care of my cooking for a while and save me some time.

Green Chili Enchiladas

1 lb Pork sausage
Onion
Garlic
1 small can Green chilies
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Salt
Flour
Crushed Tomatoes

Corn tortillas
Cheddar
Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese

Brown pork sausage and remove from pan into slow-cooker. Drain most of the grease from pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Add garlic and onion to grease and cook until onions are translucent. Add green chilies, stir, add flour, stir cook for 2 or three minutes. Place in slow-cooker. Add onion and garlic powder, and tomatoes. Fill tomato can with water – add 2 cans of water. Cook for several hours in slow cooker. Warm corn tortillas in iron skillet with butter, fill with grated cheddar, place in glass pan, cover with green chili, top with grated muenster or Monterey jack, bake in over on 325 for 30 minutes or until all cheese is thoroughly melted.

Sandi's Zuppa Toscona

2 large baking potatoes
2 cups homemade turkey broth
1 lb Hot Pork sausage
¾ - 1 lb bacon
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 tablespoons minced garlic
½-3/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cups half and half
4- 5 cups water
5 tablespoons Onion powder
5 tablespoons Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
½ teaspoon Sage
¼-1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt


Brown sausage in oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Cook bacon in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Peel potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and slice. Place all ingredients EXCEPT sausage, bacon, half and half, and parsley, in a sauce pan. Cook on Med-high until potatoes are done. Add sausage and bacon, simmer 15-20 minutes, add half and half and parsley stir and bring back up to temperature, reduce to low for up to ½ hour.


I have made up this cheat sheet to print out and keep on hand while you are making the soup. It is a little easier than reading the recipe while you work.

Zuppa Toscana Cheat Sheet

2 large baking potatoes
2 cups broth
1 yellow onion
3 tablespoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons Onion powder
5 tablespoons Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
½ teaspoon Sage
¼-1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt
4- 5 cups water
Medium – until potatoes are done

1 lb Hot Pork sausage
¾ - 1 lb bacon
Simmer 15-20 minutes

½-3/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cups half and half
Low ½ hour

Fajitas Teriyaki

Beef cut into strips or bite-sized pieces
Salt
Lemon juice
Teriyaki sauce
Minced garlic
Cayenne pepper
Coconut oil
Grated cheese
Tortillas


I normally start out with a frozen, grass-fed sirloin steak which I thaw in milk (discard the milk). Cut the steak into strips or bite- sized pieces. Place in a ziplock baggie. Add salt liberally and shake. Add lemon juice, teriyaki sauce, minced garlic, and sprinkle with cayenne. Seal baggie and marinate from one hour to overnight, turning over occasionally to soak all of the meat. Heat coconut oil in iron skillet. Remove meat and pat dry with a paper towel, saving marinade for later. Cook meat in skillet one layer at a time, browning outside. As each batch of meat is done, set aside. When all meat has been browned on the outside return meat to skillet, pour in marinade and reduce to medium heat. Cook until meat is thoroughly done and marinade has cooked down considerably. Wrap meat and cheese in a warmed tortilla and eat!

Sandi's Finger Salad

Spinach leaves
Baby carrots
Tomatoes
Green onions
Mushrooms

Rinse all ingredients well. Cut tomatoes into wedges. Cut roots and excess tops off green onions. Place spinach leaves in individual bowls. Place baby carrots in together in each bowl to one side. Repeat with green onions and mushrooms. Lay tomato wedges in the center. Top with your favorite dressing and eat with your fingers, dipping carrots, onions, and mushrooms in the dressing that goes to the bottom of the bowl.

This is a great way to get kids to eat salad, and makes a great snack for sitting around watching movies!

Easy Whole Wheat Garlic Cheese Biscuits

2 cup whole wheat flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
¼ cup Parmesan
1 to 2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup milk

Topping:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
Salt

Preheat oven to 450.
Combine dry ingredients, grate in butter, and stir with fork, add syrup and milk and stir with fork until well mixed. Knead a few times (5 to 10). Form into 1 ½ to 2 inch balls and flatten them to about ½ to ¾ inch. Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes.

While biscuits are baking. Melt butter in sauce pan. Add garlic and salt. Keep on low until time to use. Brush with garlic butter topping. Bake until done.

Orange Roast

Beef roast
2 cups orange juice
1 cup soy sauce
¼- ½ cup maple syrup

Place roast in slow cooker and pour in remaining ingredients. Cook on high for one hour. Cook on low several hours or until done.

Sweet Potato Pasta

Filling:
Cooked sweet potatoes mashed with milk and butter
Minced garlic
Onion powder
Chives
Parmesan (about ½ cup)
Salt
Sugar (to taste)

Sauce:
Butter
Cream
Garlic
Sour cream

Toppings:
Cooked bacon
Sharp cheddar

Mix filling ingredients until well blended. Use for filling in your own homemade ravioli dough or fill pre-cooked jumbo shells. Set aside. Sauté garlic in butter. Whisk in milk and sour cream. Place one layer of stuffed pasta in a casserole dish or glass baking pan. Top with cooked bacon and slices of cheddar. Repeat pasta, bacon, and cheddar. Pour sauce over layers. Cover. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Bacon, Eggs, and Strawberries Tonight

I did not have the time or, more importantly, the inspiration to really cook tonight (yes, even I sometimes feel uninspired about food). Rather than resort to thawing out leftovers that sound less than appetizing at the moment, I decided that we would have bacon, fried eggs, and fresh strawberries.

It feels decadent, fulfilling, and almost exotic. Yet, it is so easy and requires no forethought. The eggs are very nice locally raised eggs, and the strawberries are frighteningly flavorful for this time of year.

It has that special occasion meal kind of feeling about it. Just more proof that no time of day is the wrong time of day for breakfast food. Give it a try!

Leftover Tortellini and Beef Stew

Here is another variation on left-over soup. It does not require flour or broth. Any left-over cooked beef will work. Hamburger is the easiest. If you are using steaks or roast cut into bite size pieces.

Beef (cooked)
Tortellini (cooked)
Onion
garlic
butter
corn (1 can)
green beans (1 can)
diced tomatoes (1 can)
salt
water

Sauté onion and garlic in butter for 5 minutes. Add meat and any juices from meat. Continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Add tomatoes, green beans, corn, salt, and about 2 cups water. Stir. Simmer for 2 or 3 hours, longer if possible. Stir occasionally. Add water as needed until the last hour. Simmer for 30 mins to 1 hour after the last water is added for fullest flavor.