German Sausage Chowder

Quick post to add to your Open A Bar 2 Ranch recipes.  I think I should start a little cookbook... in my spare time.  Those who know me know that will not happen any time soon!

Delicious Zuppa Toscana

I know I have not been a faithful blogger for quite some time now, but I would really like to change that.

If I set goals, maybe I can rectify my lack of posts.

So, the first goal that I am setting is to post a recipe once a week that will highlight one of Open A Bar 2 Ranch's premium all-natural beef.

This week I would like to feature our all new Italian Sausage.  It is yummy and so versatile.  Not only is it delicious any most any pasta recipe, but it can stand alone as the star topping on a pizza!  Italian Sausage is also awesome for soups.

I will be sampling this soup, made with Open A Bar 2 Ranch Italian Sausage at the Scottsbluff Winter Farmers' Market this Saturday from 11am-2pm.  The market is held in the greenhouses at Aulick's TLC on 3109 Avenue B in Scottsbluff.  You can pick up a package of sausage at the market on Saturday OR we also have our all-natural beef at Hometown Harvest Cooperative at 1214 Center Avenue in Mitchell.

If you think this blog post is a big fat plug for Open A Bar 2 Ranch, you would be correct!

But I promise I will try to post more things about the goings on around the ranch.  I know some of you like those stories better than the recipes.

Enjoy!

Spinach, Ham and Cheese Quiche - Recipe

I made the most delicious quiche yesterday morning, I thought I should share the recipe. Besides, I haven't shared a recipe in a long time it seems... So here you go.

Let me first start by saying that if you don't know, I am a huge advocate for local food.  This was made with some of our farm fresh eggs, compliments of our beautiful egg layers here at the Open A Bar 2 Ranch, LLC, white cheddar dill cheese from the Cozy Cow Dairy in Windsor, CO and fresh spinach grown by Dan Weitzel of the Mitchell Valley Farm.  Dan grew the spinach in his high tunnel in Western Nebraska, in the months of January and February!  Can you believe it??  It is so tender and yummy.  Dan is a vendor, along with us at the Scottsbluff Winter Farmers' Market.  I often wonder how many people actually are aware of the fact that we are extremely blessed to have a winter market here.

If you are on Facebook... like the Open A Bar 2 Ranch, Cozy Cow Dairy, Mitchell Valley Farm and the ScottsbluffWinter FarmersMarket!


Here is the recipe.

I started with a basic recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens red-checked cookbook, one of my favorite all time go-tos, and tweaked it to my needs.

The Ingredients...


1 already made pie crust (because I stink at making pie crusts)
1/2 cup or so of chopped onion
2 Tbs. butter
8 farm fresh Open A Bar 2 Ranch eggs! (WARNING:  if you use store bought eggs you will probably get food poisoning or something of the sort...)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I used raw milk, straight from the cow, because that's how we roll...  take that USDA police)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sliced ham 
3 cups lightly packed fresh spinach from Mitchell Valley Farm
1 cup Rocky Mountain cheddar dill cheese from Cozy Cow Dairy


(This recipe is very versatile, so use what ever ingredients you want to... just stay with the basic ingredients of the eggs, sour cream and milk.)


1.  Bake the pie crust according to the directions on the package.
2.  Meanwhile, saute the onions in the butter until translucent.
3.  Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl.  Stir in sour cream, milk, salt and pepper.  Stir in onion, ham, spinach (I left mine whole leaf, but you can chop it up if you want to) and cheese.
4.  Pour mixture into hot, baked pie crust.  Bake in 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes.  I covered the edge of the pie crust with foil so it would not burn.  It is done when you can insert a knife in the middle of the quiche and it comes out clean.
5.  Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.
6.  Eat and enjoy!  Yum.


The remaining dates for the Scottsbluff Winter Farmers' Market are February 25th, March 10th & 24th and April 7th & 21st.  It is held at Aulick's TLC in the greenhouse from 1-4pm.  You should come.  Seriously, you will be surprised at what all it has to offer.

AND if you want farm fresh eggs but can't make it to the farmers' market... let me know.  I sometimes deliver...  Call us at 787-1111.  Now all you smarty pants who live many miles away... don't bother asking... the answer is no.

Ooo La, La... Cream Puffs

I can not believe cream puffs, such a decadent looking and scrumptious dessert are so easy to make!  I just have to share with everyone!

On Sunday, Skyler asked me if I could make dessert for a luncheon at school.  He is usually assigned to bring the dessert because I actually like to make desserts and usually don't buy the kiddie cupcakes at Wal-mart!  He needed the dessert on Tuesday, so I had several days to think about what I was going to do but I didn't need to think long about it, I already knew what I wanted to do...  a Cream Puff Tower!

I saw the idea some where... now where was it???  I started combing through all my recent issues of various magazines that I subscribe to.  I look and look... and look and look... and look some more.  I start to panic, because I am so obsessed with the idea of the cream puff tower that nothing else will suffice!  After I had combed through about 12 magazines, I needed to take a break.

I picked up my Kindle, my new play toy that I absolutely love.  Love, love, love!  I love my Kindle!  I am scanning through the carousel, which is kind of like your book shelf.  It shows all that you have on your Kindle when all of the sudden I spy a Country Woman magazine that I had downloaded.  "That's it!" I scream!  Gleefully I start flipping through the pages of the magazine.  I know it has to be in here some where.  And it was.  Oh happy day!

They sounded almost too easy to make.  I posted on Facebook that I was going to try my first attempt at making cream puffs.  One friend had commented that the only kind she has ever seen were the frozen ones from the grocery store.  I was in this same category and I love those little balls of fluff and often buy them.  A few other friends, including my mother-in-law assured me they were easy and a few offered to be taste-testers.

Well, I sure hoped they were easy and turned out, because I did not have a back-up plan and the dessert needed to be delivered to the school in less than 3 hours.  I actually used two recipes... the original one I am posting below and the one from my vintage Better Homes & Gardens (red checked) cookbook.  I was just using the BH&G cookbook as a reference.  I trust the BH&G cookbook and wanted to make sure I was doing it the way they said to.  The BH&G cookbook also has pictures.  I like pictures!

So with both cookbooks, I felt prepared.  I followed the ingredients from the Country Woman recipe, but tried to follow the mixing technique from the BH&G recipe.  The BH&G recipe told me to stir the batter with a wooden spoon, but let me tell you...  that wasn't going to happen!  After stirring the first egg in with a wooden spoon, the batter was a globby, stiff mess and I was running out of breath with 4 more eggs to go.  I abandoned this idea and threw the batter in my Kitchenaid mixer and let it do the work.  Don't try to stir with the wooden spoon...

I got the batter done, it was so easy once I switched to the mixer, and dropped the batter onto the greased baking sheet just as the recipe said.  Oh, and I also tasted the batter and it tasted like ...flour and eggs, not very pleasurable on the palate.  I was thinking...  shouldn't there be sugar or something in this batter to make it taste good?  Oh well, into the over my little puffs went and the timer was sent for 20 minutes.

I looked after about 5 minutes and my little puffs still looked like dumpy little blobs of batter.  I was a little concerned, but had faith that they would "puff."  After 25 minutes they were golden brown little puffs!!  I removed them and cut the small slit in them for the steam to escape.  I needed about 60 puffs, so I had to make two batches of them which made about 80 puffs.

The Country Woman magazine said to fill them with creme de menthe flavored whipped cream.  I didn't really think I needed to serve creme de menthe whipped cream at school, so I decided to fill half of them with white chocolate pudding (just the box kind) and the other half with caramel flavored whipped cream.  For the caramel flavored whipped cream I just added a little caramel flavored syrup (the kind you put in coffee drinks) to the whipped cream.  Easy peesy!

I assembled the tower as per the recipe and drizzled it with chocolate glaze!  I must say it was a success!  You should try it if you ever need a fancy-smacy dessert sometime!

Cream Puff Tree

1-1/4 cups water
2/3 cup butter, cubed
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
5 eggs

FILLING:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup green creme de menthe

GLAZE:
1/3 cup butter, cubed
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 to 6 Tbsp. hot water
Additional confectioners' sugar, optional

1.  In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil.  Add flour all at once and stir until smooth ball forms.  Remove from the heat, let stand for 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to wire racks.  Cut a small slit in the side of each puff to allow steam to escape.  Cool puffs.

3. For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form.  Fold in creme de menthe.  Pipe about 1 Tbsp. into each puff.  Refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

4.  For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine butter and chocolate.  Cook and stir over low heat until melted.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to make desired consistency for dipping.

5. To assemble tree:  Separate puffs according to size and shape, choosing the flattest ones for the bottom layer and the smallest ones for the top.  For bottom layer, dip the bottoms of the 21 flattest puffs into glaze.  Place on a 10-in. round serving platter, forming a solid circle.

6.  For the second layer, dip glaze on the bottoms of 15 puffs, them position on base layer.  Continue building the tree, using about 11 puffs in third layer, about six puffs in fourth layer, about four puffs in the fifth layer and one puff on top.

7.  Drizzle remaining glaze over tree, thinning with hot water if necessary.

8.  Loosely cover tree with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.  Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.


And last but not least...  ENJOY!

Recipe: Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

I know it has been forever since I last posted a recipe, well, besides for Dan the Man's grilling, so I thought it was high time I spread a little love with these scrumptious and cute cupcakes.

I made these for Skyler to take to school for a lunch that the student council prepared for the teachers. I must say that in my opinion, they were quite tasty. I hope the teachers liked them! I also made some chocolate cupcakes and used the frosting I had left over for them.

I used a different frosting recipe than what is listed on the cupcake recipe. I used a standard cream cheese frosting flavored with vanilla and almond extract, half of which I tinted pink with food coloring.


Click here to the recipe:
Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

Happiness is...

RECIPE: Dan the Man's Vegetable Beef Soup Italiano

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE
Open A Bar 2 Ranch
Lyman, Nebraska

December 7, 2010

Dan the Man makes dinner!


...and it wasn't even Tuna Wiggle, Frozen Pizza
or Heated Refried Beans from a can on Flour Tortillas!


Dan the Man "WOWS" the Country Chicken Girl by actually making dinner on Tuesday night. He made Vegetable Beef Soup Italiano from a recipe he found on-line @ Cooks.com.

Dan the Man said he was tired of his Country Chicken Girl never fixing anything with the meaty beef shanks that they had accumulating in their freezer. His momma fixes them and makes some mighty fine vittles with them. He was out to show his little Country Chicken Girl that the beef shanks were quite tasty and worth her time to start incorporating into their daily meals.

Dan the Man's Vegetable Beef Soup Italiano
(actually maybe it should be called Goulash, not Soup...)

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP ITALIANO

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1618,150164-244192,00.html Content Copyright © 2010 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 1/2 lb. beef cubes 1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes 1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes 1 med. size onion, diced Carrots, diced Celery, diced Potatoes, diced Turnip, diced Cabbage, diced Salt and pepper, pinch Pinch parsley and thyme Pinch pot herb Olive oil Small egg noodles (pastine) 1 soup bone In a large soup pot on medium heat, put in 2 tablespoons olive oil (diced beef cubes and saute along with soup bone. Next fill pot about 1/3 or more with water and add all diced vegetables and simmer for 1/2 hour. A film will appear on the surface. Remove film and add stewed tomatoes and whole tomatoes. Add parsley, salt, pepper, thyme, pot herb. Raise heat to medium and cook 1 1/2 hours. Reduce heat. Add egg noodles (Pastine) and 1 package mixed vegetables. Cook 1 hour longer (total cooking time 3 hours). Makes 12 to 15 servings (Thatsa Niza Soupa!)

Dan the Man made a few changes which included not using any turnip and using thick homemade style egg pasta instead of the small egg noodles (pastine).
How was a rugged ranch man suppose to know that pastine pasta referred to tiny soup pasta? Country Chicken Girl didn't even know that until she wrote this post and googled "pastine." Here is what she found on pastine pasta.
What is Pastine Pasta?
I imagine the soup would have been more "brothy" if the correct noodle would have been used, but everyone agreed it was still delicious.



What was left after Dan the Man, the Country Chicken Girl and Sky-man
filled their tummies!

Here is the link if you would like to print the recipe: Vegetable Beef Soup Italiano

And now a word from our sponsor the
OPEN A BAR 2 RANCH
Wouldn't you like to surprise and amaze your family too with this down home, yummy in your tummy recipe?

Well, you can!

OPEN A BAR 2 RANCH
will be selling these unbelievable meaty beef shanks at the
Scottsbluff Winter Farmers Market
or you can call them direct and come pick some up right at the ranch.
Dan the Man and the Country Chicken Girl always have their door open.
Fix your little buck-a-roos some hearty soup tonight!


Here is a picture of Dan the Man when he won
the 2004 Bobby Crocker Cookoff!!

RECIPE: Mesquite Steak over Pasta

Who remembers the "Decluttering the Pantry" posts from the beginning of this year? If you missed it, don't worry, you didn't miss much, unless you like to see what people have in their pantries. You know some people are like that, they enjoy looking at other people's stuff. I know this for a fact because I happen to be one of those people. I love seeing other people's organizational skills and ideas. I also have a very good friend of mine who loves to see other people's stuff! I won't mention any names, but I can remember on numerous occasions when I have been with this person, she has opened closet doors in other people's house just to see what was in there! Hee, hee. Is that wrong? Please forgive her and me for being snoopy. Inquiring minds just want to know!

Anyway, the only reason I brought this whole thing up was because of something that I have had in my pantry since last summer, as in July of 2009! Here is the post to prove it.

Decluttering the Pantry, Day Three

When you look at it scroll down to the part where you see this:



There's that pasta that I bought at a Farmer's Market in Ft. Collins over a year ago! I explained in my post that these were impulse buys that I thought sounded delicious at the time but haven't figured out what to do with yet.

Well guess what? You'll be so proud of me! I finally used the Black Bean Veracruz Fettuccine! Can you believe it? Who says fresh pasta doesn't last forever! LOL I have also cooked the Four Peppercorn Linguine, used that about a month ago with a chicken dish. It was yummy, but that's not what I'm writing about. I still have to use the Sweet Potato Orzo yet, but that will be some day later. BTW Andrea, if you are reading this lil' Miss Fork Fingers Chopsticks, do you have any wise words of wisdom about Orzo??? And Andrea, have you ever tried any of Pappardelle's Pasta? It is simply divine!

Anyway...

Here's the recipe I made up.

Open A Bar 2 Ranch Mesquite Steak over Pasta

Open A Bar 2 Ranch Mesquite Steak over Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. "Open A Bar 2 Ranch" Mesquite Marinated Round Steak (I'll talk about substitutions for the steak at the end of the recipe since I know not all of you are able to purchase some of our most delightful all-natural beef.)
• medium size onion, sliced and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• olive oil
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter
  
• 16 oz. Pappardelle's Black Bean Veracruz Fettuccine (although plain fettuccine will do.)
• 2 teaspoons (or more if you like) cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• Ground Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper

Directions

1. Pour two tablespoons or so of olive oil into a large dutch oven over medium/high heat.
2. When the oil is hot, brown the steak on both sides until desired doneness. I recommend medium rare. Remove steak to a cutting board and allow to rest.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the dutch oven and saute the onions and garlic in the butter until the onions begin to soften slightly.
4. Add the white wine to the pan with the onions and deglaze the brown bits left from the steak.
5. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and let the wine reduce a bit, say 10 minutes or so.
6. Start the pasta in a separate pot while the wine is reducing.
7. After the wine has reduced add the cream, cumin, paprika, ground pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. Let this cook until thoroughly heated and then simmer to thicken a bit while the pasta is cooking.
8. If you want a thicker sauce, combine 1 teaspoon corn starch with 2 tablespoons of white wine in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Remove the pan from the heat before adding this thickener, stir it in, then put it back on the heat.
   
9. Cut the steak into thin strips.
10. Drain the pasta.
11. To serve, place the pasta on the plate, top the pasta with several strips of steak and pour the sauce over it all.

Oh la, la! This is so good!! The picture does not do this dish justice.

Okay, now for those of you who don't have access to our delicious all-natural beef... First of all, let me say how terribly sorry I am that you aren't able to get it. For those of you who live locally and would like to try this recipe, we will have the marinated mesquite round steak for sale at the Scottsbluff Winter Farmers Markets while supplies last. Let me know if you need the dates and location for the Winter Markets.

But back to those of you who aren't able to get your hands on some of the marinated mesquite round steak... You could use almost any steak for this, say sirloin, ribeye, new york strip, tenderloin... You can pan-fry the steak as I did in the recipe or you can grill it. Also if I were making this with something other than our marinated mesquite steak, I think I would try to find some mesquite flavored rub or marinade and use that on the steak before I cooked it.

ENJOY!

RECIPE: Mini Cheesecakes

The other day I had to make dessert for the football team dinner. This is a tradition at Morrill High School that I really like. The night before each game, the football mothers prepare a meal and serve it to the team. The parents all take turns, for example one week the Senior and Junior mothers will do it and then the next week the Sophomore and Freshman mothers do it. I think it's a great idea and enjoy being a part of it. The team gets to eat together and fellowship while the mothers get to spend some time visiting and getting to know each other.

Mighty Morrill Lions during a timeout with coach Libsack.
Skyler is in there somewhere!

I love making desserts! I also love eating dessert. Do you know the trick that helps you remember how to spell dessert? I use to always have to think twice as to whether dessert had one or two "s". Then one of my teachers explained it to me in my language. She said you can always tell the difference between desert (the dry landscape) and dessert (the last course of a meal, never to be missed) was that dessert (the sweet stuff, my kind of stuff) had two "s" because you always want to have two servings of it! I don't think I have ever misspelled that word since.

Anyway, so for the football dinner dessert I made Mini Cheesecakes and Cheesecake Brownies. Here's the recipes for ya!

Mini Cheesecakes topped with
cherries and chocolate almond cream cheese frosting!

Mini Cheesecakes

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3 (8 oz. pkgs.) cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs (farm fresh, of course)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press equal portions into bottoms of 24 paper-lined muffin cups.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Spoon equal amounts of mixture into prepared cups. Bake 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool.
3. Spoon cherry pie filling on top. Chill.


The day before I made these, I had made my niece a birthday cake in which I frosted with chocolate almond cream cheese frosting. I had some leftover frosting and used that on the cheesecakes along with the cherries, so I had two different kinds.

For the Cheesecake Brownies I made a batch of brownies from a box mix. I think it was Duncan Hines. I had leftover cheesecake filling from the mini cheesecakes so after I mixed up the brownies, as per the instructions on the box, I added spoonfuls of the cheesecake filling on top of the brownies and lightly swirled the filling into the brownie mix with a knife. Then I baked it as the directions instructed on the box. So easy and yummy!! I also made a batch of "plain" brownies which I drizzled cream cheese frosting on.

Treat your family or yourself to some of these goodies this week!
Share some love.

RECIPE: Glazed Peach Habenero Grilled Pork Chops

Last night for dinner we had a meal totally comprised of local food purchased at the Farmers' Market. Wow, that makes me feel so good. Not a single ingredient was purchased at Wal-mart or any other store for that fact except for vinegar, sour cream, butter, salt and pepper.

The menu consisted of Glazed Peach Habenero Grilled Pork Chops, Sour Cream Cucumber Salad, Roadside Melon, Corn on the Cob and French Bread (warmed on the grill). I should have taken a picture of the whole meal, but it was late and I was tired.


Here is a list of the Cast of Characters and their producers:

Pork Chops (milk-fed pork) from Victory Hill Farm
Peach Habenero Jam homemade by Nancy Butcher
Fresh Garden Cucumbers from Mitchell Valley Farm
Sweet & Juicy Roadside Melon from Gary's Garden
Tri-colored Sweet Corn from Mitchell Valley Farm
Homemade French Bread from FlowerField Farms



And the recipe for the pork chops:




Glazed Peach Habenero Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 Pork Chops from Victory Hill Farm
1 jar Peach Habenero Jam from Nancy Butcher

Directions

1. Preheat Grill to 350 degrees.
2. Rub grill grate with oil. Use your tongs and dip a wadded-up paper towel in oil. Easy!
3. Grill chops for around 5 minutes per side. Brush a generous amount of jam on both sides of the chops while you are grilling.
4. Heat extra jam in a small sauce pan and serve with the chops for extra sauce!!
   

Try it! You'll like it!!

RECIPE: Lemon White Chocolate Mint French Toast

Oh.... My.... GOODNESS...

I have died and gone to heaven, french toast heaven that is!

I love the Lemon White Chocolate Mint bread from the Styria Bakery. You can buy it at the Scottsbluff Farmers' Market (see my last post). I have been buying it for the past three years and several times when I have bought it, they have told me that it makes excellent french toast. Well, I would have made french toast way before now, if I could have kept from eating the bread one piece after another until it magically disappeared.

A couple of Saturdays ago I saw Jim & Lisa, a couple of friends of mine, at the market and we were talking about the bread. I said my favorite was the Lemon White Chocolate and they said they had tried it as well and made french toast. They convinced me that I really did need to try it. So I bought a loaf and restrained myself from eating it all when I got home, but by the time dinner rolled around, I could not contain myself and I fixed french toast with it. I made a deal with Dan the Man and Skyman (aka Skyler), that if they did my chores for me, I would fix them a "special" dinner. Men are so easy to please, or maybe I should say bribe, that way. They did my chores and I fixed dinner!

Oh my... oh my, my, my!

It was DELICIOUS!!!


Lemon White Chocolate Mint French Toast


Ingredients

Lemon White Chocolate Mint Bread from Styria Bakery
6 farm fresh eggs from the Open A Bar 2 Ranch
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs. butter plus more for serving (real butter, please don't ruin it by using margarine. If you do, I'll never post another recipe again.)
4 Tbs. powdered sugar.

Directions

Heat an electric skillet to 350 degrees.

1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
2. Add milk, vanilla and flour to the eggs. Beat mixture until the flour is well combined.
3. Grease the electric skillet with butter, lots of it!
4. Cut the loaf of bread into approximately 3/4" slices. Generously dip the bread, one slice at a time, into the batter, being sure to coat each side well. Place the bread onto the hot skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until the surface is golden brown.
5. Arrange nicely onto the serving platter, remember presentation is everything, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with REAL butter and REAL maple syrup.
   

Lemon White Chocolate Mint French Toast

Fresh Colorado Peaches
Vermont Maple Breakfast Sausage Links



I think I'll buy another loaf this weekend and do it again!
ENJOY!

Recipe: Blazin' Glory Grilled Chicken

I was so excitied to get a big jar of Christina's Blazin' Glory Beeloved Jam that I could hardly wait to try it on one of my chickens. So I fixed it last night and ooo la, la... Me encanta este!

Blazin' Glory Grilled Chicken

1 jar of Blazin' Glory Beeloved Jam
1 roasting chicken from Open A Bar 2 Ranch

(if you use a chicken from the grocery store I can not guarantee the outcome of the recipe. My guess is that it will taste so awful, that you won't even be able to feed it to the dog. Do not, I repeat DO NOT waste this yummy jam or your time on a store bought chicken. Besides, if you eat store bought chicken you will get warts on your toes and go blind!)

Directions

1. Heat up your grill to 350 degrees or so.

2. Meanwhile, butterfly your chicken. Don't know how?? Go check out this link, it's easy!

How to Butterfly a Chicken

3. Oil the grill grates. I dip a paper towel in oil and use tongs to rub the paper towel on the grates.

4. Place the chicken on the grill and grill until done.




I roasted a 6 lb. chicken at around 350 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes until my meat thermometer read 175 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. I also have a four burner grill and only used the outer two burners and left the middle ones directly under the chicken off. In other words, I used an indirect grilling method.

5. Brush the jam on the chicken a couple of times during the last 15 minutes of grilling.




I also fixed some grilled zucchini from Dan the Mitchell Valley Farm CSA man and grilled rye bread from the breadman to go along with the chicken.

Grilled zucchini couldn't be easier. Slice the zucchini in long strips, brush both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill for about 5 minutes on each side, depending on how hot your grill is. Do the same with the bread, but I used butter instead of olive oil on it.




The only thing that I will do differently next time is that I will heat some of the jam up and serve it on the side to dip the chicken in. That stuff, the jam, is so yummy that having it just on the skin of the chicken is not enough, you need to be able to dip your chicken in it as well!

You can buy Christina's Beeloved Jam at the Scottsbluff Farmers' Market every Saturday morning from 7am-11am downtown at 18th & Broadway or check out her website.

Beeloved Jam

Enjoy!!

RECIPE: Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Chicken

It's been a while since I have posted a chicken recipe, so here is a new one for you.

But first I should tell you this little side story...

I would have posted this sooner but... a couple of nights ago I was going to make this recipe, but, uh... well, let's just say it didn't quite turn out like I had planned it.

I put the chicken in the oven and then went out in the rain to take care of the chickens, all 800 of them mind you. I THOUGHT that Dan the Man was coming out shortly to help me haul the approximate 175 lbs of feed and 30 gallons of water that is now required at each feeding. We feed once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. It generally takes about an hour for one person to do it, that is if the weather is cooperating.

Well, to make a long story short, let's just say that Dan the Man never showed up to help his little Country Chicken girl so by the time she make it back into the house, close to an hour later than she had originally planned, smoke was pouring out of the kitchen and the chicken was closely resembling burnt toast! Meanwhile, Dan the Man was sitting with his feet up on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune and Country Chicken Girl was standing there soaking wet from the rain asking him if he had noticed that tonight's dinner was in the oven burning while he was trying to figure out the latest prize puzzle that Pat and Vanna were showing on the television.

"Burning?" says Dan the Man.

"Yes, BURNING!!" says the Country Chicken Girl. "Didn't you notice? Why didn't you take it out of the oven? This isn't quite what I had planned and now it's ruined."

The Country Chicken Girl took the roasting pan out of the oven, convinced that her favorite roast pan of all time was ruined because all the liquid that was in the pan was now burnt to a crisp, it certainly could have been classified as a bad carcinogen. She actually had never seen chicken that WELL DONE before! So the Country Chicken simply announced that it was "get-your-own-dinner night" and that Dan the Man was in charge of clean up.

Dan the Man tried to make light of the whole horror show as it unfolded my saying, "But that's how I like my chicken, with the skin really crisp and crunchy!"

Well, that's all behind us, thank heavens and I am so happy to announce that Dan the Man cleaned the Country Chicken Girl's favorite roasting pan and it is fine and so is their marriage!

So here's the recipe. Just make sure you don't leave the house to feed the chickens while it is roasting.




Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients

One Whole Chicken
Bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce




Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Butterfly the chicken.

Watch this link of you don't know how to butterfly a chicken. Trust me, this is easy and you will fall in love with this technique. It is great for roasting chickens!!

How to Butterfly a Chicken

3. Place chicken in large roasting pan and fill with 2 cups chicken broth or you can use water if you don't have chicken broth. This will insure that your chicken is juicy and not dry! I hate dry chicken, don't you?
4. Place pan in oven for 45 to 60 minutes depending on how large your chicken is. Mine was 6 lbs, so I roasted it for 60 minutes or a little longer. Sorry, I didn't really time it. Just roast it until it is done, internal temp of 175 degrees and the juices run clear.
5. Brush on the barbecue sauce during the last 15 minutes of roasting.
6. Take out of oven and place the chicken on a cutting board, let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes. This allows the delicious juices to settle back into the meat.
7. Serve with additional barbecue sauce on the side.

Oh my goodness, this is so delicious! Seriously...

Breakfast for Supper!! RECIPE: The BEST Pancakes Ever.

Who doesn't love to eat breakfast for supper?

I absolutely love eating breakfast for supper. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, hands down. I love eating pancakes, waffles, omelets, french toast, eggs, quiche, skillet scrambles, breakfast burritos, biscuits and gravy and even plain old cereal for supper!

Several years ago, probably about 12 years ago, I ran across this recipe for pancakes in an issue of Martha Stewart Living. I do believe, in my own humble opinion, that it is the BEST pancake recipe EVER! Seriously folks, if you try this, you will never, never, never eat Bisquick or Krusteaz pancakes ever again.

When I make these I TRIPLE the recipe, yes, I said TRIPLE. Doesn't matter that I only have to cook for three people now, I still triple it and we have the left overs the next day.

Best Quick Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg (farm fresh of course), lightly beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in bowl. Add egg, milk, and melted butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

2. Heat oven to 175 degrees. Butter griddle. (Take a stick of butter and run it over your griddle so that the pancakes won't stick. You must use butter, trust me!)

3. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

4. Keep finished pancakes in the oven while you cook the remaining ones. Serve with butter and warm maple syrup. Seriously, you have to heat your syrup. Don't be lazy! It only takes a few minutes in the microwave.

These won't last long.
I think Chris once ate 12 pancakes.

Oh my, I am in heaven!

RECIPE: Fried Tacos!!

The other night I made my standard tacos for dinner. I love making them because they are quick and easy. They are also comfort food for me because they are just like the tacos that are served at one of my favorite childhood (and adulthood) restaurants, TACO TOWN! Everyone who lives around here knows Taco Town and most everyone I know loves it. It has been a family owned restaurant in Scottsbluff for many, many years. I don't know when they first opened, but when we were kids living in Scottsbluff, my mother use to take us there every Friday night as a treat. That was some 36 years ago when Taco Town was located on Avenue I in an old gas station. It has since moved to a larger building which they built on 27th Street. Taco Town was also the last place I spent time with my mother before she passed away. I had been back home for something and we ate there for lunch before I had to head back to Rapid City. A few months later she suffered a massive heart attack and passed away at the age of 46.

Taco Town is one of those establishments that everyone misses when they move away from the area. I missed it dearly when I moved away and it was one of the first places I ate when we moved back to the area. I have also taken enchiladas from Taco Town to friends many miles away from Scottsbluff. Generally if you are visiting someone who grew up around here, they ask you to bring enchiladas from Taco Town! When we first moved back here I couldn't wait to introduce Dan the Man to Taco Town. At first he wasn't that impressed and I thought he was crazy. But now he likes it and his favorite is the combination plate. Personally I like to get a taco and an enchilada. I don't get beans or rice, because Dan the Man usually gets full and I help him eat his beans and rice!

So, back to the tacos. I never really thought about posting my taco recipe because I didn't think that they were all that special. But the more I thought about the people who have never experienced Taco Town and their tacos the more I felt so sorry for these lost souls! To have lived without eating these tacos would be a tragedy! So without further ado, there is the recipe!

FRIED TACOS (my take on Taco Town tacos)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (preferably Open A Bar 2 Ranch beef!)
1 chopped onion
2 teaspoons cumin (more if you like, and I like lots so I just pour some in there)
1 teaspoon salt
Flour tortillas
Oil for frying
Shredded Lettuce
Shredded Cheese
Chopped Tomatoes
Salsa
Sour Cream

Directions

1. Brown your ground beef with the onions and season with the cumin and salt. Drain beef. Note: If you use Open A Bar 2 Ranch Beef, which is wonderfully lean you don't need to drain it. But if you use that stuff from the grocery store, you'd better drain that artery clogging fat.
2. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in an electric skillet. Sometimes I use Crisco shortening, sometimes I use canola oil. I set the skillet on 350 degrees.
3. When oil is hot, take your tortilla and add about 1/4 cup of beef. Don't fill it too full, or you'll have a mess. Trust me! Fold the tortilla in half and hold at the top. (I think that Taco Town places toothpicks in the top of the tortilla to keep the taco closed while frying, but I don't.) Carefully place the taco in the oil for a few seconds until the fold starts to take shape. Then carefully place the taco on it's side in the oil. Be careful not to burn your fingers. You know what? You can use tongs if you want, then you won't burn your fingers. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes you have to hold the taco closed so the side doesn't flip open. When the tortilla is light golden brown on that side, flip it over to brown the other side.
4. When the taco is light golden brown, remove it with tongs. Drain the oil from the taco and then place it on a cookie sheet that is lined with paper towels. Make sure to place one end of the taco on the rim of the cookie sheet so that it sits at an angel allowing more oil to drain. Keep tacos warm in a 200 degree oven while you are frying the rest of the tacos.
5. Put what ever you want on your taco and ENJOY!!

You can also make these tacos with corn tortillas, but this is a whole different story for another time.

Hope you like them as well as we do and if you have Taco Town memories or whatever, share them with us!! Does Taco Town have a fan page on Facebook? They should, that's for sure!

RECIPE: Mushroom Beef over Noodles

Here is an easy-peasy dish for you that you can throw together in no time! I love making dinner in the crock pot when I know I'm going to have a very busy day. I use my crock pot several times during the week and also year round. It's not just for cold weather cooking. One thing that is great about using it in the summer time is that it doesn't heat up your whole kitchen like the oven does.

MUSHROOM BEEF OVER NOODLES

Ingredients

2 lbs. stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 or 2 cans slices mushrooms (depends on how many you like!)
1 cup water
2 rounded teaspoons beef bouillon (or 2 cubes)
2 tablespoons dried chopped onions
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 package wide noodles

Directions

Place the stew meat in the crock pot. The meat can be frozen or not. Mix the rest of the ingredients, except for the noodles, in a bowl. Pour over the meat and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Stir a few times during the last hours. When it is ready, cook your noodles according to the instructions on the package. While the noodles are cooking turn the crock pot to high. Mix together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water. Pour into crock pot and stir. This should thicken it. Drain noodles when done and serve beef and sauce over noodles.




Feel free to experiment with this recipe. You can use different soups and different spices. I always mix things up and end up using what I have in the pantry.

Oh, and if you haven't discovered crock pot lines... Saddle up your pony and git right to town and buy some. They are wonderful!! Praise to the intelligent woman who invented these babies! You can find them in the plastic wrap isle. I love these things more than chocolate! Well... maybe.

RECIPE: Chicken Tamale Casserole

A while ago a friend of mine emailed me this recipe. Actually the recipe she sent was a little different so I modified it a little and tried it tonight. Dan the Man really liked it so I thought I'd go ahead and post it here. The original recipe came from Cooking Light, therefore it had fat-free milk, egg substitute and fat-free sour cream. None of those characters reside in my refrigerator, so I had to change things up a bit.

Seriously, can you imagine the Country Chicken Girl buying egg substitute? Let's get real, only the real thing here baby! What is egg substitute anyway? I know what it is, but I mean... what is it, really? What is it made out of?

Anyway, I think my substitutions worked out okay. Thanks for the recipe Linda! Sorry I had to change it, but you know... only real eggs here!




Chicken Tamale Casserole

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like)
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken 1/2 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheeses. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Top each serving with sour cream.


I also served mine with shredded lettuce and salsa.

Here, have a bite! Yum, yum!

RECIPE: Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting!! Yum!

This morning I made these fabulous Carrot Cupcakes. Skyler "volunteered" me for dessert for the National Honor Society's lunch meeting at school tomorrow. Don't take me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy making dessert for the kids and Skyler is really good at letting me know well in advance, he even writes it down on the calendar for me! I think being the youngest of four boys surely has it's advantages when it comes to knowing things like this. He has witnessed the kitchen "mom-ster" come out when given 2 hours notice of needing a treat for some school function and Skyler has learned that this is a person he does not want to mess with! Living out here in the middle of no-where we country moms don't have the convenience of running to the store to pick something up last minute! Anybody else out there have this problem of "Mom I forgot to tell you, but I need ____________ today for school!"

Anyway, always looking for an excuse to try out new recipes, I ran across this recipe in the April 17, 2010 issue of the Family Circle magazine. The recipe especially caught my eye when I saw Cream Cheese Frosting. One can not, I repeat, can NOT eat carrot cake properly without the Cream Cheese Frosting. Carrot Cake without the Cream Cheese Frosting is like a Cheeseburger without the cheese, a salad without the dressing or even a french fry without the ketchup! Seriously!

(Nice picture if I do say so myself!)

Here's the link to the recipe (click on CARROT CUPCAKES below). You do have to sign-in to get to the site. It's no big deal, but if you don't want to go to the link, I included the recipe below. I like going to the links because they have options for you to print out the recipe if you want to. Read the recipe below to see alternations that I made. You know me, can't leave well enough alone!

CARROT CUPCAKES

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 1 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and grated on medium holes of box grater (about 3-1/2 cups)
• NOTE: I misread the recipe and used 1-1/2 cups and that was plenty!! I think 3-1/2 cups would have been a disaster!
• 1/2 cup chopped raisins
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cupcakes: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in 24 indents of muffin pans; set aside.

2. In large bowl, stir together butter, sugars and eggs until well blended. Stir in flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, carrots and raisins.

3. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cupcake liner. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on rack.

4. Frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners sugar together on medium-high until blended. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat on medium-high until no lumps remain. Divide frosting among cupcakes.

Can I share a couple of secrets with you?

People always seem to go ga-ga over my desserts. I try to tell them that one of my secrets to success is PRESENTATION. Yes, that's it. Let me repeat that. PRESENTATION is very important.

Let's take these cupcakes for example. I could have just spread the frosting on with a knife, but instead I took them up a level just by using this little do-hicky. I don't even know what it is called, but I got mine from a Pampered Chef party years ago. I've seen them everywhere and they are not that expensive. I've even seen them at Wal-Mart. But if at all possible, please get one from you local Pampered Chef girl or your local kitchen store! (Buy Local!!)



Next, let us consider this little cake plate thing and cover. I spent a whole $10 on it and use it ALL the time. Beats putting these little gems in a plastic container where no one can see them. Place it in the center of your table and voila! you have an instant center piece and your table looks like a magazine cover!



Thought I'd give the Morrill High School National Honor Society some press time (especially for the grandparents who read this blog.) What a great group of kids, excuse me, young adults!

2009-2010 MHS National Honor Society

2009-2010 New Inductees

Kathi, Skyler and Dan the Man
(Lori please don't say anything about my hair!)

I have an exciting announcement coming concerning my blog, but can't go into details right now because there are still a few loose ends that need to be tied up before I can make an official announcement so you'll just have to stay tuned!

PS, Does this sound like a teaser?

PSS, It is!!

PSSS, but seriously, I can't wait to tell you. It's something that should be really fun!!