Okie Ranch Wife’s Bowl of Venison Red Chile

Posted on September 25, 2013 by okieranchwife

my vension chile
I have been experimenting with different styles of chiles for some time. I like great depth and many layers flavors instead of a one note tomato taste. I believe I have achieved what I was looking for in the recipe. I made this for lunch today and I really like it. There are a couple of surprising ingredients in the sauce such as coffee and maple syrup. But they pair oh so good. And I do put beans in mine, I am originally from the Northeast. I’m sorry, deal with it. Don’t put them in if you are chile purist. 🙂

Chile Sauce:
1 cup Ketchup (I use the no High Fructose Corn Syrup kind)
2 tablespoons Black Strap Molasses
1/3 cup Maple Syrup, Grade B
1 tablespoon Sriracha Hot Sauce
½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 teaspoon Ground Mustard
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
1 teaspoon Red Cayenne Pepper flakes
1 tablespoon granulated Onion Powder
2 teaspoon Pasilla Chili Powder (If you don’t have pasilla powder you can substitute Smoked Hungarian Paprika. You need the smoke)
2 tablespoons fine ground Coffee. ( I used Highlander Grog that has a butterscotch taste but you can use a robust French Roast)
1 bottle (12 oz) bock style beer like Shiner Bock (It needs to be malty)
Sea Salt or Kosher to taste

Mix all ingredients and set aside.

4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 pounds ground Venison (You can use lean Beef or Bison also)
1 large Sweet Onion, chopped
1 cup Beef Broth, homemade, store bought or low sodium
2 cans (10 ozs each) Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
¼ cup Tomato Paste
3 small Pablanos, roasted, skinned and chopped
1 can (15 ozs) Dark Red Kidney Beans, un-drained (optional)

For garnish use Sharp Cheddar, Pepper Jack or Colby Jack.

In a large soup pot, heat the EVOO. Working batches if needed brown the venison. Don’t crowd the pot because the meat will not brown if there is too much in the pot at one time. When you are finished browning the meat add the onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, pablanos and kidney beans. Then add the chile sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes and stir occasionally. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese of your choice.

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Cream of Peanut Butter Soup

Posted on September 24, 2013 by okieranchwife

The peanut, goober peas, salted roasted and butter. Good stuff. Packed with protein. But the peanut is really not a nut. It is a legume in a shell that grows in the dirt. Originally from South America the lowly peanut made its way to Spain via Spanish explorers then went to Africa. From Africa it was sent to America as food on the slave ships. Not much was done with peanuts until the Civil War. Oil and food shortages meant a new appreciation for the little legume. Around the same time, the people of the Five Civilized Tribes brought the peanut into Oklahoma. The property that I own was planted with a peanut crop before the Great Depression. The food that we know and love as peanut butter made its debute at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. A doctor formulated it for elderly and infirm patients who could not chew other proteins. Now one half of the peanuts grown in the US, goes to peanut butter. Normally a soup would not be the first dish you think of made from PB but most cookbooks from the 19th century has a soup recipe in it. I made this soup last week for dinner and I love the savory aspect of a commonly thought of sweet food. I researched some peanut soup recipes and found them full of fat and very rich. This recipe is my version of one I found in a Frugal Gourmet book. The onion and carrot puree provides the thickening agent.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
8 cups Chicken Broth, homemade, canned or low sodium (with more as needed)
1 medium Sweet Onion, chopped
2 medium Carrots, peeled and grated
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt and White Ground Pepper to taste
½ to ¾ teaspoon ground Red Cayenne
½ cup cooked Brown or White Rice
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
Fine chopped salted or dry roasted Peanuts to garnish

In a medium soup pot, heat EVOO over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and sauté about 5 minutes. Stir often so they don’t brown. Pour in chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Using a blender, food processor or immersion blender puree the onions and carrots. Return puree to soup pot and add cooked rice, seasonings to taste and the cayenne powder. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in peanut butter. Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped nuts. Serve with hearty country style bread.

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Red Dirt Squash Casserole

Posted on September 14, 2013 by okieranchwife

More squash madness. Don’t worry folks, it will end soon with the first frost!

2 pounds Yellow Summer Squash or Zucchini, unpeeled and sliced in 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 medium Sweet Onion, chopped
1 can (4 oz) Green Chilies, chopped, undrained
2 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and chopped
8 ozs Pepper Jack Cheese, grated (or cheese of your choice)
1 cup Sour Cream
2 cups Tortilla Chips, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degress F.
Spray a 13×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. I use EVOO style. In a large saute pan heat some EVOO over medium heat and saute the squash, onions and jalapeno peppers until tender about 5 minutes. Stir in green chilies, cheese and sour cream. Layer 1/2 crushed chips in the baking dish. Top with 1/2 squash mixture. Add the remaining chips and then top that with the remaining squash mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with salsa or other toppings of your choice.

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Zucchini Potato Pancakes

Posted on September 14, 2013 by okieranchwife

I like these for breakfast but they are delicious at any meal. This makes 6 nice sized pancakes. I use my cast iron skillet and they are so crispy!

1 medium Zucchini, unpeeled and grated
2 medium Potatoes, unpeeled and grated
1 small Onion, grated
3 whole Eggs
Sea Salt, Black Pepper and powdered Garlic to taste

Optional Toppings:
Sour Cream
Apple Butter
Cottage Cheese

In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add seasonings to taste. Mix in onion, zucchini and potatoes. Using a conventional skillet or cast iron, grease with Extra Virigin Olive Oil or non stick spray. Use a 1/3 measuring cup of batter for each pancake. Flatten the batter with a spatula. Cook over medium heat for 7 minutes or less until the pancakes are brown and crispy. Place on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings.

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Crispy Parmesan Zucchini

Posted on September 12, 2013 by okieranchwife

I only have one zucchini vine this summer and it is the prefect amount of squash for two people. Fotunately, my brother loves veggies. Well, he loves almost anything except maybe fresh beets. I’m working on that. With one zucchini vine I can keep an eye on how large the squash is. I have not had to deal with a zucchini the size of a Louisville Slugger! This is an excellent side to serve with something that needs to be baked or roasted. You have the oven hot already and both dishes will be ready at the same time. Enjoy!

1 pound Zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup plain Panko Bread Crumbs
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
Black Pepper to taste
Creole, Cajun or Blackened Seasoning to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 defrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, mix EVOO with zucchini rounds. Coat well. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Working in batches, dredge the zucchini rounds in the cheese mixture. Coat well. Place on the baking sheet in one layer. Place sheet on lower rack of oven. Bake until brown and crisp about 25 minutes. Serve immediately. Pairs well with Ranch Dressing! Yum.

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King Ranch Casserole – Red Dirt Style

Posted on September 12, 2013 by okieranchwife

King Ranch Casserole smallGrowing up in that unnamed Northeast State, I never experienced King Ranch Casserole. In fact, yesterday was the first time I made it. I needed a one dish wonder because I was processing and canning the pears from my tree by the old farmhouse. They are wonderful this year. The cool rainy weather was great for their growing season. But more about them in my next post. Anyway, it is not a pretty, sexy dish as you can see from the photo but it is filling with ooey, gooey cheesey goodness. This recipe does use the condensed canned soups instead of scratch but I did need the time saving aspect yesterday. Some people think that this dish came from the King Ranch but a well known Texas magazine suspects that it was a Junior League attempt at Chicken A La King. I don’t watch the tv show “Madmen” but I can imagine a version of KRC being served at a buffet. LOL!

2 tablespoons unsalted Butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/2 Sweet Red Pepper, chopped
1/2 Sweet Orange Pepper, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
1 small Pablano Pepper, chopped
1 Anahiem Pepper, chopped
2 small Jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground Red Cayenne Pepper
Ground Black Pepper to taste
1 can (10 oz) condensed Cream of Chicken soup
1 can (10 oz) condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained, (Ro-Tel style)
2 cups cooked Chicken, diced
12 corn Tortillas (6 inch) torn into bite size pieces
2 handfulls of corn Tortillas chips, crushed
1 cup (4 ozs) Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Spray a 13 x 9 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. I use the EVOO style. Set aside.
Over medium heat melt the butter in a large saute pan. Saute, all peppers, onion, cayenne powder and black pepper for about 5 minutes or until peppers are tender. Add the soups and undrained tomatoes. Mix well. Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes.
Layer half of the torn corn tortillas and half of the corn chips in the baking dish. Top with half of the chicken mixture. Mix cheeses and top with half of it. Layer the remaining tortillas and chips. Top with chicken mixture and finish with the cheese. Bake uncovered on the lower oven rack for 40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let the casserole to set for about 10 minutes.

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Spiced Tomato Chutney

Posted on September 7, 2013 by okieranchwife

Chutney’s origin is found in India where it is served with every meal. The British took it back to Great Britian during the Colonial Era and made it their own. Now chutneys are found everywhere. This is a southern US recipe for tomatoes.

2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
6 Green Onions, white and green parts, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
2 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and minced
4 cups Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Sea Salt or Kosher
1/2 teaspoon ground Red Pepper

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add green onion, garlic and jalapeno peppers and cook for about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently until tomatoes are tender. Add sugar, vinegar, salt and red pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 mionutes , uncovered. Stir occasionally. Cool and refrigerate. Will stay for about a week. Great with meat.

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Garlic, The Stinking Rose

Posted on September 7, 2013 by okieranchwife

garlic book

DISCLAIMER – yada, yada. Nothing in this post should be used to treat a medical condition.
Allium sativum, garlic. Garlic has been used for centuries as a medicine, a cooking herb, a seasoning, an amulet in medieval times to ward the plague and vampires. It has been used to fight infections. In WWI garlic juice was used to stop bacteria growing in wounds. It has been used to treat high cholesterol, athletes foot, high blood pressure, blood clots and some cancers. Gilroy, CA is famous for its garlic festival.

Garlic is divided into two subspecies, hardneck and softneck. Hardneck garlic evolved from the wild varieties of garlic while softneck evolved from the domesticated hardneck kind. Some people believe that the hardneck hasmore flavor but the softneck is more popular since it is easier to grow commercially. The braided garlic strands you see in shops are the softneck kind. There are many types of garlic but unfortunately most stores only have the Silverskin type and most of that is grown in China. I have great luck growing garlic here in Oklahoma using Red Toch, Mild French, Silver White and Ajo Rojo. I love Ajo Rojo! It is a very hot but sweet tasting Creole cultivar, somewhat hard to kfind. Definately good eating!
A short word about “Elephant Garlic”. It is not a true garlic. It is actually a leek.

Here is one of my favorite garlic recipes.

Garlic Mayonnaise

3 large cloves fresh Garlic, peeled and minced
6 tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 whole Eggs, beaten (Be certain to use eggs from a clean source you trust since they will be raw)
1/2 teaspoons ground White Pepper
1 1/2 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

In a blender, mix garlic and lemon juice. Add eggs and pepper and mix at high speed. Scrap down the sidess of blender frequently. Add oil, a drop at a time while blender is going. Once you have a nice emulsion, add EVOO in a stream. The emulsion should be smooth and not broken. Refrigerate until well chilled. Stir before using.

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Grilled Okra

Posted on September 4, 2013 by okieranchwife

During my quest for the Holy Grail this summer, well okay, it was really okra. But it felt like the neverending quest. Good okra is scarce this year due to cooler temps in Oklahoma. I did find pods that were a little too big to can and pickle. I would have had to process them in half gallon jars! Anyway they were still tender enough to eat. Older pods get that unappealing woody fiberous quality to them. Yuck. Grilling does break down the older pods enough to eat. And the charred outside makes them taste like a crunchy snack. I grilled these on my George Foreman grill in my kitchen. No need to fire up the BBQ.
okra small

10 pods Okra, less than 6 inches long
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Cajun or other seasonings (optional)

Preheat the George Foreman grill, BBQ or stove top grilling pan. Wash, trim cap off the okra pods and slice in half lengthwise. Place the pods cut side on a baking sheet. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle seasonings. Place cut side down on the George Foreman grill. Close top and and ensure that the okra is touching both top and bottom grill surfaces. If they do grill for 10 minutes total. If only the bottom surface touches the okra, grill cut side down for 5 minutes then turn the pods over and grill an additional 5 minutes. These make a great side for the slow cooker beef brisket

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Beef Brisket in a Slow Cooker

Posted on September 4, 2013 by okieranchwife

I made this brisket over the Labor Day weekend and OMG it is good! The meat was so tender that I pulled it like my slow cooker pork. The recipe is from Foodnetwork mag for September 2013. Give credit where credit is due, they have a whole brigade of cooks in their test kitchen to research recipes. And this one is a home run!
Brisket small

3 tablespoons packed Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Chipotle Chilie powder (I used Pasilla Chilie powder)
2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Celery Salt
2 teaspoons Powdered Garlic
Sea Salt and Fresh ground Black Pepper to taste
5 pound Beef Brisket ( Fat Cap intact)
1 1/4 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Combine brown sugar,chilie powder, cumin, celery salt, garlic, sea salt and pepper. Rub all over the brisket and palce in a 6 quart slow cooker. Combine 3/4 cup ketchup, worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Pour the vinegar mix over the brisket. Add 1 cup water over the brisket. Cover with lid and cook on low for 10 hours.
Remove brisket from slow cooker and let rest for 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat from liquid and add remaining 3/4 cup of ketchup. Mix and use as sauce for brisket. Slice, pull or chop brisket and serve with sauce. Yummy! You can use the leftover brisket for any number of dishes. I think it would be excellent in my Farmer and Rancher Breakfast recipe ( http://wp.me/p1qGwH-h )that uses whatever you have in the fridge.

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