Oklahoma Onion Burger

Posted on September 1, 2011 by okieranchwife

An Oklahoma favorite is the onion burger. It was featured on Man vs Food on the Travel Channel and has been featured in “foodie” magazines. There is the famous Sid’s Burger in El Reno, a well known restaurant in Oklahoma City and even a little place, Al’s Onion Burgers in Holdenville. They all have their versions. This is mine.

  • 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 1 pound lean ground Beef or Bison
  • 1 large clove Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 medium Onions, thin sliced (I use a mandolin to get them sliced thin)
  • Sliced or shredded Cheese of your choice (I like to use Jarlsberg or Gruyère)
  • 4 Hamburger Buns, toasted

Mix together the meat, garlic, salt and pepper. Divide the mix into 4 patties. Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a cast iron skillet and saute onions until golden brown and slightly crispy. In another cast iron skillet heat the remaining EVOO over medium high heat, place 2 patties  in the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Top the burgers with onions and press them into the meat with a heavy spatula. (Sid’s uses custom made cement trowels as theirs.) Cook an additional 1 minute. Flip burgers, top with cheese and let it melt. Serve on toasted hamburger buns.  So goooood.

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Roasted Red Pepper Ranch Dressing

Posted on August 31, 2011 by okieranchwife

A nice little snack as a veggie dip or even a great salad dressing.

  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil Mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup Sour Cream
  • 1/2 cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Green Onions, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh Parsley, fine chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
  • 1 small clove Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt or Kosher
  • 1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds

Mix all ingredients except poppy seeds in a food processor with a blade. Blitz until smooth. Place in a small mix bowl and add poppy seeds. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Serve over a salad or as a dipping sauce.

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Stub-Gruber House Potato Corn Soup

Posted on August 31, 2011 by okieranchwife

Waaaaaaaaay back in my younger days I visited an 18th century German House Museum in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the guide gave our tour group this recipe. I have added some modern seasonings to it, but I could just imagine an 18th century German farm family sitting down to this evening dinner with stone oven baked bread.

  • 1/4 pound Bacon (sugar cured works best from original recipe)
  • 1 large Onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 4 large Potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 8 cups Water
  • 1 teaspoon Salt (I use Celtic Sea Salt)
  • Dash of Pepper
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 2 cups Corn, fresh cut from the cobs (Cooked dried corn will work well if you don’t have fresh)
  • Sprigs of fresh Parsley for garnish

Slice the bacon in 1 inch pieces. Cook until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet and place on paper towel to drain off. Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon drippings until the onion is golden brown. Set skillet with onion aside. In a medium soup pot cook the potatoes in  the water with salt and pepper until the potatoes are tender. Reserve 3 cups of the potato water and drain off the rest. Put the reserved potato water and potatoes back in the soup pot. Add the milk and corn. Simmer for 5 minutes but don’t bring to a boil. Add in the bacon. Garnish with parsley. Serve with bread and butter.

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Creamy Potato Soup

Posted on August 30, 2011 by okieranchwife

Woo hoo! Our high temp today was 96 F. And we’re supposed to get some cool weather this weekend. So in celebration here’s another soup recipe!

  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 4 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Home made
  • 1/4 cup fresh Parsley, destemmed and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried Thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried Dill Weed
  • 1 1/2 cups of Whole Milk
  • 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour or Wondra
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter in a medium soup pot. Add onions and cook until tender. Add potatoes, chicken broth, parsley, thyme and dill. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook potatoes until tender about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Blend the flour and milk together until smooth. Add a little of the warm broth to the milk mix. Stir this mix into the soup pot and blend in until smooth. Puree half of the soup in a blender, food processor or use an immersion stick blender. Return puree to the soup pot and simmer until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste

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Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Posted on August 30, 2011 by okieranchwife

Need to get more Vitamin C? Try eating more peppers. It’s been said that peppers have more vitamin C than oranges. There is even a hot pepper diet. Vitamin C and bacon, count me in!!!

  • 1 dozen large Jalapeno Peppers
  • 6 strips Bacon sliced in half lengthwise
  • 1 package (8 ozs) softened Neufchatel Cheese (can use regular Cream Cheese also)
  • Wooden Toothpicks

Cut the stems off the peppers and deseed and core them. Using a paring knife push the softened cheese into the peppers. Wrap a slice a bacon around the outside of the peppers and secure with a toothpick.  If you are grilling you can grill these on the BBQ using a vegetable screen so the peppers don’t fall between the grills.  Grill until the bacon is crispy and the peppers have a nice brown to them.  I also broil these in my oven. Put the stuffed bacon wrapped peppers on a cookie sheet. Set the oven to broil and place the peppers under the broiler until the bacon is crispy and the peppers are browned. These are a big hit for sports fans!

 

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Aunt Dot’s Saurbraten

Posted on August 29, 2011 by okieranchwife

This recipe comes from an old friend who told me that it was in his family for years. This is not a fast technique but well worth the effort for a special family dinner. I love sauerbraten enough to make this at home. It is wonderful when paired with German Red Cabbage and German Potato Salad.

  • 4 pounds Beef (chuck, rump or round)
  • Sea Salt and pepper
  • 1 Sweet Onion, sliced
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 1 teaspoon whole Black Peppercorns
  • 3 whole Garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole Cloves
  • Vinegar
  • Hot Water
  • Sugar to taste

Coat the meat well with salt and pepper. Throughly rub it in. Place meat, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic and cloves in a deep ceramic or glass bowl. Add enough hot water and vinegar to cover meat. Use a 1 to 1 ratio. Add sugar to taste. It should have a sweet sour taste.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 7 days. Turn the meat once a day.  

Sauerbraten mix:

  • 1 Sweet Onion, sliced
  • 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Preheat oven to 300 F. At the end of 7 days, remove the meat from the brining liquid and place meat in a glass roasting pan. Add onion and vinegar and cover with a tight lid. Place in oven and cook slowly for 3 hours until the meat is browned all over. Add vinegar and some water if needed to keep meat moist.

  • Sauerbraten Sauce:
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Raisins
  • 6 Gingersnap Cookies, Crushed
  • Cooking liquid from roasting pan

When meat is cooked, strain out the cooking liquid and discard any grease. Melt sugar in a skillet with a little of cooking liquid. Add raisins and more cooking liquid. Stir in the crushed cookies and cook over medium low to medium heat until the sauce is thick and smooth. Slice the sauerbraten and drizzle over the slices.

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Country Potato and Kale Soup

Posted on August 29, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is a great tasting and quick cooking soup you can make for a work day dinner. Easily made into a vegetarian dish by using vegetable broth and substituting smoked Tofu or TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) for the kielbasa.

  • 6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Home made
  • 2 pounds of New Red Potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
  • 1 pound Polish Kielbasa, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 large Leeks, cleaned well and sliced thin
  • 1 clove Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 1/2 bunch of Kale, destemmed and leaves cut in thin slices
  • Pepper to taste

Over medium high heat bring the broth to a boil in a large soup pot. Add potatoes and bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. When tender, remove bay leaf and discard. Using a potato masher rough mash the potatoes in the broth but leave some large pieces. Set pot aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet and saute kielbasa for about 4 minutes until it is nicely browned. Add leeks and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until leeks are tender and translucent. Add kielbasa mixture to the soup pot. Add the kale and simmer or medium heat until kale is tender about 5 minutes. Season to taste with pepper.

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Cabbage and Noodles

Posted on August 29, 2011 by okieranchwife

I grew up on buttered cabbage and noodles. My Eastern European family called this dish Haluski. 

  • 6 tablespoons Butter
  • 1 pound Green Cabbage, chopped
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
  • 2 cups Half & Half or Whole Milk
  • 1 tablespoon All Purpose Flour or Wondra
  • 1 package (12 ozs) Egg Noodles (cooked according to the package directions)
  • 4 ozs Jarlsberg Cheese or Gruyère Cheese
  • 1/2 cup crumbled cooked Bacon
  • Fresh Parsley, destemmed.

In a cast iron Dutch Oven melt the butter or medium heat. Add the cabbage, onion, salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are crisp tender. Combine the half & half with the flour. Add to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in noodles and cheese. Mix well. Place in serving dish and sprinkle with bacon and parsley. Serve immediately.

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Pico de Gallo

Posted on August 28, 2011 by okieranchwife

Nice dish for snacking with tortilla chips. Sometimes we like this on tacos rather than salsa or picante.

  • 2 pounds Tomatoes, diced
  • 1 pound Sweet Onion, diced
  • 15 Serrano Pepper, minced
  • 1 bunch Cilantro, destemmed and minced
  • 3 tablespoons fresh Lime Juice
  • Chili Powder and Sea Salt to taste

Combine the first 5 ingredients and stir until well blended. Add chili powder and salt to your taste.  Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

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Scotch Barley Broth

Posted on August 28, 2011 by okieranchwife

On a Scotland trip I had a version of this soup sitting in a pub by a fire in the Highlands with a cold rain beating on the windows. This does take more time to cook than most of my recipes but it is worth it. This dish will warm your soul!

Lamb Broth:

  • 2 1/4 pounds Lamb Shank
  • 8 cups Water
  • 3 Sweet Onions, large chopped
  • 3 Turnips, large chopped
  • 2 Carrots, large chopped
  • 1 tablespoon whole Black Peppercorns

Soup Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup Barley
  • 1 large Carrot, shredded
  • 2 Sweet Onions, minced
  • 1 Leek, Sliced (white and pale green parts only)
  • 2 ribs Celery diced
  • 2 Turnips, diced
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Fresh Parsley, chopped to garnish

To make the lamb broth, bring the 8 cups water in to boil in a large Stock pot. Add all ingredients for the broth. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 3 hours. Skim any foam that collects on the surface. Remove all meat and bones from the broth. Cool the meat slightly and chop fine, discard bones and put chopped meat in a storage container and refrigerate over night. Strain the broth and discard all vegetables. Refrigerate overnight and skim the fat off.

To start the soup, cover the barley with water and soak for 1 hour. Drain the water off.

Put the stock in a large pot and reheat over medium low heat. Add barley, carrot, onion, leek, celery and turnip.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add lamb meat and simmer for 5 minutes or until meat is warmed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread and creamy butter.

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