What You Can Find at Home Soup
That is what my mom always called this hearty soup. It has so many variations and it never disappoints. Basically, you search through your fridge or pantry to see what you have on hand. It is raining, the baby is sleeping and I have zero desire to hit the store! The Cowboss and Top Ranch Hand are also going to have the Wolfpack football practice tonight in the rain. So, I figured, I better make them a good warm meal that can fight off any cold! Important note: Feel free to substitute for the veggies you don't have from my list. Really, any veggies that you like will do.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 stalks of celery chopped
- 4 big carrots chopped
- 1/2 cauliflower small florets
- 1 corn or 1/2 bag of frozen corn
- 4 medium size potatoes cubed
- 1 3T Ranch ham hog
- parsley
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- pepper to taste
- 4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1-2 teaspoons of nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to sauté the veggies
Directions:
Sauté onion, celery, carrots, cauliflower until translucent. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to the veggies. (I usually add just one teaspoon of nutmeg and taste it again before the soup is done, if it needs the additional teaspoon. The nutmeg will bring out the flavor). Add the flour and constantly stir for about a minute until the veggies are all coated. Now it is the time to add the milk. Stir as you are pouring the milk in. The liquid will thicken. Pour in the stock and water, stir to make sure you don't have any lumps. Include potatoes and cauliflower into the liquid. Time for the star of the show the ham hog. It will add so much flavor and some meat will also fall off into the soup. You can peel of the meat from the bone when the soup is done. Cook on low to medium heat for about 45 minutes. Check for seasoning. Depending on the type of your stock, you may need to add more salt. This would be a good time to add the additional teaspoon of nutmeg, if needed. Garnish with parsley. Dobrou chut!
Italian French Toast
Last week was a fall break for our son Luke and as a Ranch Mom I needed some quality morning time with my Top Ranch Hand. We had a plenty of ranch projects lined up for that week and nothing starts a busy day better than a belly filling breakfast.
Italian French Toast
Ingredients:
- Italian Panettone bread (Costco sells this tasty bread during the fall/winter season)
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 milk or heavy cream
- 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons of oil
Directions:
- Mix eggs, milk or heavy cream, cinnamon and salt.
- Turn your cast iron pan on medium and poor in oil.
- Cut 1 inch slices of the Panettone bread and dunk it into the egg mixture.
- Fry for about 3 minutes on each side.
Perfect compliment to this breakfast is 3T Ranch Breakfast Sage Sausage and scrambled eggs. We were ready to tackle our ranch chores.
Next day, I made a delicious Italian French Toast Casserole and used the rest of the Panettone bread! This would be great to make on Christmas Day or for visitors, they would be impressed! Note: I include oats in the topping also! Pioneer Woman French Toast Casserole.
Potato Chips
We have been on a potato roll! The top ranch hand loves helping his dad aka the cowboss rather than hanging out in the kitchen, but this time his tastebuds that love potato chips won! Here we go!
Potato Chips
This requires a little bit a prep, but trust me it is worth it and you will be licking all of your fingers.. twice!
Ingredients:
- 10 medium yukon gold peeled potatoes
- 1 teaspoon of salt for each batch
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper for each batch
- 1 teaspoon of paprika for each batch
- top ranch hand ingredient: blue cheese
- paper towels
Directions:
- First, peel and thinly slice your potatoes. I found the best way is to slice them in your food processor.
- Put the sliced potatoes in a deep pan and cover with water. Let them hang out for about an hour. Don't skip this step, the starch in the potatoes is your enemy, preventing you to have nice crispy chips!
- Heat your deep fryer to 355 degrees.
- Dry the potatoes, dry the potatoes and dry the potatoes. You NEVER want to put wet potatoes into your deep fryer, you don't want to get hurt. The oil would bubble up really quickly. I have used my trusty salad spinner to dry the potatoes and then pat them dry even more with paper towels.
- Separate the chips into individual pieces.
- Fry your potato chips for about 5 minutes. Stir the potatoes a couple of times with metal spoon or fork. You will do about 5 - 6 batches, depending on the size of your deep fryer. Don't overcrowd it!
- Have a cookie sheet ready with more paper towels to pat them dry.
- Immediately sprinkle with dash of salt, pepper and paprika.
- Tip from our top ranch hand: sprinkle your chips with salt and pepper (omit paprika) and this time top with crumbled blue cheese. We didn't believe him, but it was finger licking good!
Cowboys Love Meat and Potatoes! Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
My garden didn't do so well this year, but the one thing that it did produce were potatoes! Plenty of them! I have learned from last year that storing them in our cold dark cellar didn't do the trick and the potatoes didn't last very long. So, we have decided to go the freezer route this year. It took us all afternoon to peel, shred or cut, blanch and then freeze, but it was all worth it to indulge into homegrown/homemade hash browns, chips, salads and our favorite mashed potatoes. I have also learned from my past failures of trying to rush the freezing process, that you DO NEED to blanch your veggies. Otherwise, they will be all soggy and you might as well throw them out.
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad (Can be made with regular potatoes as well. The cowboys prefer the "regular" potatoes, but they try to please the ranch mom and try new recipe creations).
Ingredients:
- 3 big sweet potatoes (peel and cut up into a medium dice)
- 1 can of black beans (rinsed)
- 1 bag of frozen corn (let it defrost)
- 1 red pepper (small dice)
- 1/2 red onion (small dice)
- 1 to 2 avocados (medium dice)
- 2 green onions - chopped
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro - chopped
- Dressing: 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons grain mustard (we like the spicy kind), 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil (try using roasted pepper olive oil from Costco), salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
Directions:
- Peel and cut up your potatoes, toss about 2 tablespoons of olive oil on them and roast at 400 degrees for about 20 - 30 minutes.
- Sauté your pepper, onion and green onions until translucent.
- Time to assemble, put the ingredients into a big bowl and mix your dressing. Once the potatoes are done include them into the bowl and pour over the dressing.
- Your salad can be served warm or cold, but I found that we did like the warm version of the salad much better. We have tried both versions. The dressing does wonders with the warm veggies.
Stay tuned for homemade potato chips recipe and tips on how to grow your best crop of potatoes. There is always the possibility of a great and fruitful garden next year, right? BTW.. 3T Ranch T-Bone steak would be the perfect addition to this salad!
Wonton Shrimp Soup
It is chilly outside and hot steamy soup sounded like a great idea. We are big fans of Costco and their recently added organic products. During our last snack time outing to Costco, we have discovered frozen organic wontons. Not only, are they a delicious snack on its own, but including a few of them into this tasty soup sounded too good not to try it. Here is the recipe:
- 15 wontons
- 20 shrimp
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 Napa cabbage (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 pkg Yakisoba noodles (any Chinese noodles will do) Costco sells ready to serve Yakisoba noodles
- 1 bunch cilantro (chopped)
- 8 cups water
- 1 chicken bullion cube
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Pepper, salt to taste
Saute onion, carrots, Napa cabbage and garlic in canola and sesame oil until translucent. Add crumbled bullion cube and water, cook for about 10 minutes to develop flavors. During this time, pan fry your wontons (per pkg instructions). I find the wontons to hold up better in the soup, if they are pan fried first and then included in the soup. Pan fry your shrimp in butter or oil (your choice). Time to assemble the soup. Put wontons and chopped cilantro into the soup to heat through for about 2 minutes. Pour soup into bowls, shrimp goes right on top along with extra garnish of cilantro. "Dobrou chut!"
Mexican Quiche
This recipe came from my good friend Liz and it will be one of our staples for sure! It makes two 9” pie crusts. Make basic taco meat 1lb. Follow recipe on McCormick’s taco packet. I have added chopped onion, 5 garlic cloves and fresh cilantro. Evenly divide the meat into the pie crusts. Mix together ½ cup of cream or milk, ¾ cup of salsa, salt, pepper, ½ cup of Mexican Four Cheese Blend and 8 large eggs. Evenly distribute over the meat in the pie crusts. Bake in 350 oven for about 40-50 minutes. Serve with a nice side salad. The cowboss said that cowboys don’t eat quiche, but he changed his mind after this recipe. It was a hit!
When the Girls Rule the Ranch!
It doesn't happen very often that the girls would "rule" the ranch, but today is the day when Peanut and I get to run our own show. We do get up early on the ranch, just can't break the habit, but sometimes it certainly has its own benefits. Crisp morning, fall smell in air, pretty colors.. and bunch of hungry animals!
The boys are hunting for pronghorn. What is a pronghorn? Fleet-footed pronghorns are among the speediest animals in North America. They can run at more than 53 miles (86 kilometers) an hour, leaving pursuing coyotes and bobcats in the dust. Well, it took them five trips to Cabela's, weeks of looking and practicing with their new rifles (safety first) and about a month of dreaming about this trip. Which means, the girls get to "man" the ranch for a few days.
Typically, I'm happy with my morning ranch duties of cooking warm and tasty breakfast, while the guys are feeding our animals in the cold, rain and snow. (Just have to do it no matter what). But today, Peanut and I were excited to be the "Cowboss and Ranch Hand" and call the shots. As you can tell, we had some hungry piggies, which Peanut kept entertained, while I got all of their buckets ready.
Most of our cows are still at the summer pastures, but this one girl needed some help as she had badly cut her leg about a month ago. The Cowboss brought her home and nursed her back to health and what do you know..? Now, we have another "dog" that likes to come say "Hi" and gets excited to get some company. I couldn't tell who was more thrilled about the visit, the cow or our little Peanut.
Anyways, we all have our Sunday morning routines, but it is fun to change it up every once in a while. Have a great Sunday!
Perfect Pot Roast by The Pioneer Woman
It is fall and perfect time to get your crockpot out of hibernation to make this wonderful roast with red wine, rosemary, thyme..
INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 whole Onions
- 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
- Salt To Taste
- Pepper To Taste
- 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
- 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
- 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste
INSTRUCTIONS - (3T Ranch Tip - use a crockpot instead)!
First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).
Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.
Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.
When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.
Thai Country Style Pork Ribs
My cowboys discovered Thai cuisine and just can’t get enough. I came up with a simple crockpot recipe that is simple and finger licking tasty!
You will need 2 pounds of country style pork ribs (preferably 3T Ranch pork), 2 cups of regular coke, 3 tbsp of finally chopped fresh ginger, 4 scallions chopped, ¼ soy sauce, 2 tsp of sesame oil, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, ½ to 1 cup of water. Super easy step.. everything goes into the crockpot for 6 hours on low. Right before serving, skim off the fat from the gravy that has been cooking for the past 6 hours. I keep the meat in chunks, but you can certainly shred it as well. Rice noodles are the best with this dish. Cook the noodles according to the box directions. (I found rice noodles that you only have to soak in hot water and serve). Serve the meat on the plate and mix the noodles and gravy together. Garnish with some extra green onion.
Bon Appetite!
Cheeseburger Gnocchi
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 (16 oz) package potato gnocchi
- ½ lb lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder (optional)
- 2 cups diced onion (about 1 whole onion)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
- 1 cup beef broth (or water)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions
- Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi in a single layer and cook on one side for 2-3 minutes until browned and toasted. Shake the pan to toss the gnocchi and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes, tossing occasionally, until both sides are toasted. Remove gnocchi to a plate and set aside.
- Turn the heat to high and return skillet to stove. When the pan is very hot and smoking, add the beef and season with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and mustard powder if desired. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and onions are golden. Drain if necessary.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, and gnocchi back into the skillet. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes until the gnocchi is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed.
- Off heat, then add the cream and ½ cup cheese and stir to combine. Top with remaining cheese and scallions. Place the skillet under the broiler in the oven until cheese is browned and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!! :)
Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/cheeseburger-gnocchi.html#ixzz3mOFPpwD1
Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/cheeseburger-gnocchi.html#lkkJOTaeCw4T7lru.99