Tater Tot Casserole

Posted on June 24, 2012 by okieranchwife

Okay. I was introduced to this dish when I moved to Texas. I will not dare to imply that this recipe is haute cuisine, but it is fast and easy for a week night dinner when mom & dad are tired from a long day at work.

  • 1 lb Ground Meat, (beef, bison or venison)
  • 1 small Onion, chopped
  • Sea Salt or Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Dash of Cayenne Powder
  • 1 (16 oz) package of frozen Tater Tots
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
  • 1/2 soup can Milk
  • 4 ozs of Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brown the meat in a large skillet for about 8 minutes or until done. Drain off any fat. Add the onion and season with salt, pepper and cayenne to your taste. Using non-stick spray, ( I like the olive oil type) oil the inside of a 2 quart casserole dish. Place the browned meat in the casserole dish. Top with the tater tots.  Mix the soup and milk in a small bowl and pour over the tater tots. Sprinkle cheese over top.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

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Chicken Quesadillas

Posted on May 20, 2012 by okieranchwife

This recipe is so easy. I used left over chicken breasts that we grilled on our George Foreman grill but you don’t even have to cook the chicken, just pick some pre-cooked chicken from the store and you are set!

  • 14 ozs of cooked Chicken Breasts, shredded
  • 2/3 cup  Cheese of your choice, Mexican Blend, Colby Jack or Monterey Jack, shredded
  • 1/3 cup Green Onion, fine chopped
  • 8 Flour or Whole Grain Tortillas, 8″ diameter
  • Sea Salt and Red Cayenne Pepper to taste
  • 1 cup Salsa
  • 1 cup Sour Cream

Combine chicken, cheese and green onion in a mixing bowl. Season to taste. Divide the mixture evenly on top of 4 tortillas. Cover with the reaming tortillas.  Heat a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium high heat in a large skillet and working in batches cook the tortillas for about 3 on side. Turn the quesadilla over and heat for another 3 minutes. Serve warm and top with salsa and sour cream.

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Wilted Swiss Chard

Posted on May 15, 2012 by okieranchwife

Right now I am having a bumper crop of Swiss chard. Since this is the first year that I have grown it, I was lacking recipes. Now that I have tried it, I don’t know why I never planted it before. In my quest for recipes, I found this in Gordon Ramsey’s book, “Healthy Appetite”. I tried last night and we both really liked it. I hope you too!

  • Splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 2 or 3 Cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, I used Rainbow Chard that has multi-colored stems
  • Splash of Water
  • Splash of fresh Lemon Juice if desired

Heat some EVOO in a large saute pan. Saute the garlic in the pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Rinse the chard. Cut the stems from the leaves and thinly slice. Rough chop the leaves. Add the chard stems to pan with garlic and add a splash of water. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. When the stems are tender, add the leaves and cook an additional 3 minutes until leaves are wilted and tender.  Just before serving add a splash of lemon juice if desired. It adds  a bit of citrus to the chard.

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Keep checking back

Posted on April 25, 2012 by okieranchwife

I have not forgotten about posting more great recipes for everyone. I have been back and forth to the hospital because my husband has been admitted. He is making progress so stay tuned for more RED DIRT COOKING! Thank you, everyone for your continued support and well wishes!

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Dill

Posted on April 15, 2012 by okieranchwife

Dill – Anethum graveolens

This highly aromatic annual is one of my favorite herbs. My mom grew dill and used it in her soups, especially her creamed green bean soup. That soup had a sour cream base which paired so well with dill.  Used mostly as a savory herb, other culinary uses include salmon dishes, fish, pork, cheese plates, dill butter, potatoes, cucumbers, and eggs. Dill is used heavily in Russian, Eastern European and Scandinavian cooking. Fresh, frozen, dried leaves and dried seeds are used in culinary uses. As a medicinal herb, it was considered carminative or calming and aiding in digestion.

Dill is annual in most zones. It grows to a height of 2 to 3 feet with feathery leaves growing from a main center stem. Starting in June, dill will get small yellow flowers. It likes rich soil, slightly acid and well-drained. Sow the seeds in a full sun area in early Spring.  Dill will bolt quickly, go to flower, in dry, poor soil. It will self sow if you allow flowers and seeds to form. I have my dill plants in my lettuce beds. They are supposed to be companion plantings.  Don’t plant  dill close to cilantro, fennel or angelica because they can cross pollinate and can lose their true flavors.

To harvest dill, cut the feathery leaves at the main stem. You can freeze the whole leaf can snip off what is needed for the recipe. It can also be dried on a non-metallic screen. For seeds, collect the flower heads before the pods shatter. The flower head can be stored in paper bags  until the pods burst. Store the dried seeds in an airtight container.  To preserve the flavor of dried leaves, snip with scissors rather than mincing with a knife.  As with most herbs, the flavor of the leaves are better before the plant flowers.  Harvest the leaves in the morning for better flavor.

Check back for dill recipes. Photo credit – Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog

References –

Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening , Herbs

Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs

Encyclopedia of Herbs, Deni Brown

The Illustrated Book of Herbs, Gilda Daisley

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Beef Breakfast Bake

Posted on April 9, 2012 by okieranchwife

My husband saw this dish made on a series that he watches, “Cattleman to Cattleman” on RFD-TV. Of course, they used beef but any ground meat will, even pork I suppose, but it would have a different flavor profile. We made it this morning for breakfast and feel that it would be a great dish for weekend company. You can assemble it the night before, refrigerate it and finish baking in the morning. Good eating!

  • 4 New Potatoes, quartered with skins on
  • 1 pound ground Beef, Bison or Veniosn
  • 1 Zucchini, sliced
  • 1/2 Sweet Onion, diced
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 6 Large whole Eggs, beaten
  • Hand full of fresh Basil, chiffinade or 2 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning
  • 1/3 cup Grated Cheese (of your preference)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a large skillet, brown the ground meat over medium heat. Cook until there is no visible pink meat about 10 minutes. Add onions, season with salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the potatoes are parboiled.   In a medium sauce pot, parboil the potatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and add to the meat mixture. Add zucchini and Italian seasoning. Mix until meat and potatoes are covered with seasoning. Add a dash of garlic powder if desired.

Lightly grease a 13 X 9 baking dish. Scoop the meat and potato mixture into the baking dish. Pour the eggs over the meat and potato. Top with the grated cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

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Mike’s Red Beans and Rice

Posted on March 31, 2012 by okieranchwife

I have had 2 packages of Beef Chorizo sausage in my freezer for about 10 months. I was hesitant to use it because I cooked some pork Chorizo and really didn’t like it. Well, a couple of days ago Mike, my husband, was hungry for Red Beans and Rice. He usually uses hot pork sausage, ground beef and smoked Polish sausage in his recipe.  unfortunately, I only had one ingredient in my freezer, ground beef and venison. So he improvised. And we think it was even better than his original.

  • 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 1 pound ground Beef, Bison, or Venison
  • 2 packages (10 ozs each) Beef Chorizo Sausage
  • 1 tablespoon Cajun style seasoning (Check out my recipe for Fuzz’s No Salt Cajun Blend)
  • 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Onion Powder
  • 3 cups cooked Rice, White or Brown
  • 4 cans (15 ozs each) Dark Red Kidney Beans, undrained

Heat the EVOO in a medium size soup pot. Don’t use too much EVOO because the Chorizo sausage tends to be oily and it will release enough oil to brown the ground meat even if you are using lean beef, bison or venison.  Add chorizo sausage to the EVOO, heat through and add the ground meat. Brown meat. Add the seasonings. Add the kidney beans. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes.  I serve the rice separate so each person can add as much or as little rice as they want. Ladle the meat-bean mixture over the rice. Can be served with cornbread.

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Apple Quinoa Pudding

Posted on March 29, 2012 by okieranchwife

I found this recipe in a little magazine in one of the doctor’s office that we visited recently. I’m making it as I type. I’m posting it now but will update after we eat! LOL. It can be eaten at any time of day.  For us, it is nice because it has a relatively low GI scale and is gluten free. I’m using Truvia as a sugar substitute but you can use real sugar or even Agave Nectar.                 Update-  I liked this pudding as made from the recipe. My husbnad liked it with some sugar-free Maple Sryup drizzled over it!

  • 1/2 cup rinsed Quinoa, white or red
  • 1 cup 2% Milk, divided
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt or Kosher
  • 1 large Granny Smith Apple, cored, diced, peeled or unpeeled as you like
  • 1/2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tablespoon blanched Sliced Almonds (I had no almonds so I used 2 teaspoons Pine Nuts)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute, Truvia, Agave Nectar

In a small saucepan, mix quinoa, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water and salt and bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered for 10 minutes.  Melt butter in a small skillet add apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and cook apples until tender. Remove apples from pan and add to quinoa, wipe pan and toast nuts.  When the nuts are toasted remove them from the pan to stop the cooking. Add to the apple quinoa mix. Stir in the 1/2 cup milk and sweetener.

Pudding can be made ahead and reheated but wait to add the remaining 1/2 cup milk until the pudding is reheated.  Makes 2 large portions or 4 medium size.

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Chile Rellenos Bake

Posted on March 25, 2012 by okieranchwife

This is so easy and tastes so good. It is a one dish meal!

  • 1 pound lean Ground Meat, Beef, Bison, Venison, Lamb
  • 1 small Onion, chopped
  • Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
  • 1 pack Taco Seasoning
  • 2 cans (4 ozs each) Chopped Green Chilies
  • 2 ozs Grated Cheese of your choice, Colby Jack, Mozzarella, Mexican Blend
  • 4 large Pablano Peppers, stem curt off and deseeded
  • 1 package (8 0zs) Grated Cheese of your choice
  • 1 2/3 cups Milk
  • 1/4 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 teaspoon All Purpose Flour or Wondra
  • 4 whole Eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a 9 X 9 baking dish.

In a large skillet, brown the meat and onions. Drain any fat and add the green chilies, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the 2 ozs cheese and cook just until it melts. Take the skillet off the heat and using a large spoon stuff meat inside the pablano peppers. Place each stuffed pepper in the baking dish. Fill all peppers. If any meat is left, you can use it to make my Farmer’s Breakfast the next morning!

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Add the flour, 8 ozs cheese, milk, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the egg mixture over the stuffed peppers. Baked for 45 to 55 minutes. Peppers should be tender.

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More recipes

Posted on March 22, 2012 by okieranchwife

Hello everyone,

I’m sorry I have not posted new recipes but we have had some health issues with my husband.

I do have a great recipe for Chile Rellnos that I will post soon. I made that for a good friend who visited last weekend.

Thank you for reading my blog and check back.

OkieRanchWife

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