Ohhhh, it is a windy, blustery day here in East Central Oklahoma. In this state the wind is a physical entity! This morning one of my cats was playing with a page I tore out of a magazine. It was from Southern Living magazine from November 2015 and featured King Ranch Chicken Soup. It is a rift on the tasty Tex-Mex casserole. Bingo, I know what will be today’s main meal. I made a couple of changes to the Southern Living recipe. I didn’t have a deli roasted chicken. With a town run being a 40 mile round trip event, I used three 12.5 ounce cans of chicken. Their recipe called for a green pepper. I substituted two pablano peppers. I believe they have a more interesting flavor for a Tex-Mex dish. And instead of just putting the tortilla strips in the soup to thicken it, I reduced the amount of chicken broth and toasted the tortilla strips to use as a crispy garnish at serving. Several years ago I posted my Red Dirt Cooking version of that famous casserole. It was messy but good. I hope you like this soup and of course make it your own.
2 Tbsp Butter
1 cup chopped Yellow Onion
2 Pablano Peppers chopped
1 Garlic Clove minced
2 (10.5 oz) cans diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles
1 (10.5 oz) can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 (10.5 oz) can Cream of Chicken Soup
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 whole deli roasted Chicken, skin removed, de-boned and shredded (or 3 (12.5 oz) canned Chicken don’t drain)
2 Tsp dried Oregano
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Chili Powder (I used Spice Hunter New Mexico Red Chili Pepper Powder)
8 ozs Shredded Cheese of your choice
8 six inch Tortillas (corn or flour), cut into ½ inch strips cut in half (use soft or toast in oven until crispy)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes Sour Cream, Cilantro Leaves, Green Onions
Melt butter in a large Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add onions and peppers. Sauté for 6 or 7 minutes. Add garlic. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes and both soups. Mix completely. Add chicken and spices. Mix until thoroughly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. If you are using the soft tortilla strips, add them now with the shredded cheese. Season to taste and simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat, serve into bowls and add your garnishes. If using crispy tortilla strips garnish on top.
This dish started with a 2.5 pound package of Earl Campbells smoked kielbasa I found at the local grocery store. Normally $8.75, I bought it for $3.00 as a quick sale. I love these great buys. And the meal prep can’t be any easier. Everything else was in my pantry. I do apologize for the messy bowl. I wanted to get the photo and eat quick!
2 lbs Smoked Polish Kielbasa, sliced in ½ inch rounds or you can quarter the slices to stretch the bits of meat (Think peasant cooking)
½ cup Dark Brown Sugar (I used Goya Mexican Piloncillo Sugar)
¼ cup Spicy Brown Mustard
¼ cup Koops Arizona Heat Mustard
1 medium Onion, small dice
2 Tbsp Hot Sauce
1 TBsp Liquid Smoke (I like mesquite or hickory)
Your choice of cooked rice for serving
Mix all ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir to coat kielbasa. Cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours. Can be served over rice as a meal or a party snack.
As usual in Oklahoma the weather has been changeable. Right now it is seasonally cold and windy. It’s a great day for a big pot of yummy soup. I had some quick sale cauliflower, potatoes and a package of bacon. They were my starting point. I decided to go all in with the bacon. Most soup recipes use 6 slices of bacon used as garnish. Not me! I had a 12 ounce package. That is one serving in my book. LOL.
I have seen several recipes where the vegetables were roasted. That’s what I did with the cauliflower and carrots. That step added a wonderful and rich flavor to the finished soup. Also I have started to use Redmond Real Salt mined in Utah. The Redmond Salt adds a distinct flavor to dishes. The salt comes from an ancient sea salt deposit and has a great taste. This soup would pair well with sour dough bread. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
1 pound (approx.) Cauliflower broken into florets
3 small Carrots, peeled and sliced into 1 inch rounds
1 Tbsp Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1 cup Milk
12 ozs Smoked Bacon
1 cup chopped Yellow Onion
6 Green Onions, sliced
4 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
1 pound Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces
1 pound Gold Yukon or Red Potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces
4 cups Chicken Broth or Stock, homemade or store bought
6 sprigs fresh Thyme or 1 Tbsp dried
2 Bay Leaves
Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper to taste
8 ozs softened Cream Cheese
Optional toppings – Green Onions, Chives or grated Cheese of your choice
Preheat oven to 400F. In a mixing bowl toss cauliflower and carrots in the oil and scoop into a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle cauliflower with salt. Roast for 40 minutes. Let cool, place into a blender and puree with the milk. Set aside.
Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces. Over medium low heat cook the bacon in a large Dutch Oven until crispy. Leave the bacon in the Dutch Oven. Remove some of the bacon grease or leave the entire amount in the pot. Add the yellow and green onions to the Dutch Oven. Sauté for 5 minutes and add the garlic. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, thyme and bay leaves to the Dutch Oven. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Reduce heat to low. Add the cream cheese to the Dutch Oven. Mix in to mix and melt. Add the cauliflower/carrot puree to the Dutch Oven. Stir until the soup is mixed and warm. Serve in bowls with your choice of toppings and bread.
I really love Greek Yogurt. I regularly substitute Greek Yogurt in place of sour cream in recipes and people do not notice. Even the ones who say they HATE Greek yogurt. I recently bought an instant pot and I will be making yogurt in it. Just this morning as I was eating my Dave’s Killer 21 Whole Grains and Seed Bread with peanut butter (I know, I should be eating my own multi-seed bread) I noticed my peanut butter next to the Greek Yogurt container. I immediately thought yogurt and peanut butter. Don’t know why I never thought about that combination before. I did a quick recipe search and found many recipes using peanut butter powder. I am not a big fan of the powder just because it is expensive and just one extra thing to buy. Also I am not concerned about the fat content in regular peanut butter. Sooo I moved ahead using the peanut butter I had. This is a starter recipe that can have many variations. Use your imagination. I try to use products featuring the “non-GMO project” label.
1 cup unflavored Greek Yogurt I prefer full fat yogurt but I had nonfat in my fridge
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter, creamy or crunchy
1 Tsp Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ Tsp ground Cardamom
Mix all ingredients together. Use a hand mixer if the peanut butter is a little difficult to whip into the yogurt. To serve, spoon into bowls, sprinkle a little pink Himalayan Salt and add any toppings such as berries, bananas, chocolate bits or nuts. Enjoy!
No joke. The grocery prices are in the stratosphere. So I went shopping in my deep freezer for lunch again. I adapted this recipe from the book, “A New Way to Bake” by Martha Stewart. I didn’t have a loaf of artisan bread but I did have 10 ounces of croutons I made from quick sale everything bagels. I found a pound of home style sausage in the deep freeze and a hunk of manchego cheese I bought in June 2020. It is still wonderful. I added 2 teaspoons of rubbed sage to the sausage as I browned it. I do love sage sausage. The onions and the greens are the first harvest from my garden. Yes!!! Eggs are from my hens. The yolks are so orange. I thought about adding mushrooms but didn’t. Maybe next time. You can use ham instead of sausage. Then skip the browning process. Make this strata your own!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Select a 13 X 9 baking dish.
In a heavy skillet (I use cast iron) brown the sausage over medium heat. Season with sage, salt and pepper. Cook time will vary from 5 to 10 minutes. Remove sausage from skillet and place into the baking dish. Add onions and stems to the skillet. Cook until the onions are translucent about 3 minutes. Add the greens to the skillet and allow them to wilt, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. Add a small amount of water and scrape the bottom of skillet. Stir and season to taste. Place the onion mixture into the baking dish and mix with the sausage. Spread this mixture out and top with the croutons or bread.
In a large bowl mix beaten eggs and milk. Pour evenly across the top of croutons or bread. Top with grated cheese. Cover and chill in fridge for 10 minutes to allow the bread to absorb some milk. At this point it can be refrigerated overnight to bake for a breakfast meal. Just allow the dish to come to room temp before you put it in the hot oven.
Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, checking to make sure the strata is set in the middle.
This recipe started with my quick sale purchases, as most of my recent recipes do. I found the base recipe over at Epicurious but I made it my way.
2 ½ pounds medium size Red Potatoes
5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 oz Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 Red or Sweet Onion, very thinly sliced
24 Black Olives, halved
¼ cup chiffonade Basil
2 Tbsp drained Capers
3 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
½ Tsp dried Oregano
3 hard boiled Eggs, diced
Cook whole potatoes in boiling salted water for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Peel (or not) and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place in a large mixing bowl. Add oil and toss to coat potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill for 30 minutes and serve.
Right after I graduated from college, I made this salad quite often because it is very economical. Also I was a terrible cook then. I have redeemed myself on that score. Now I make this dish because it is something quick to eat if I am spending a lot of time in my garden. And it’s economical. I used to make the salad with Newman’s Own Italian. Now I make my own dressings. The store bought ones, even the more expensive ones, are filled with soybean oil, vegetable or canola. All of those oils are terrible for your health. I don’t even buy the individual packets to which you add oil, water and vinegar. The ingredient list on those packets is like reading a chemistry lesson. Citric Acid, xanthan gum, guar gum, maltodextrin, sugar. I don’t want those things in my salad dressing. Naturally occurring citric acid does come from the peel of citrus fruits, but more commonly it is produced from black mold or corn. This type is cheaper to manufacture. Most companies will use the cheapest ingredients. The store bought salad dressings also may contain GMO or bio engineered ingredients. I don’t want to consume those either.
This is my mix recipe. Feel free to tweak it to your taste. You can also use more black pepper or cayenne for a zesty version.
Italian Dressing Mix
2 tsps Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Onion Powder
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp dried Parsley
2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Black Pepper
½ tsp dehydrated Red Bell Pepper powder or flakes
¼ tsp Thyme
½ tsp dried Celery Flakes or Celery Seeds
Mix together and store in a jar. To make the dressing put .7 ounce of the dry mix into a jar. Add ¼ white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons water and ½ cup oil. I use extra light olive oil. St aside to allow the flavors to meld.
Tuna Salad
1 12 oz can Tuna packed in water, drained
1 15 oz can Chickpeas, drained (I freeze the bean liquid to use in my vegetable soups)
1 15 oz can Dark Red Kidney beans, drained
2 Carrots, peeled and shredded
1 medium Red Onion small dice
2 Celery ribs, small dice
Mix together in a large bowl. Add the Italian dressing. Place in a storage container and chill for at least an hour. Make a double batch. This is devoured quickly.
This soup came about, as usual, from my quick sale produce. I bought two 10 pound bags of russet potatoes for $1.00 each and a head of cauliflower for $2.00. The cauliflower was a bit more expensive than usual but I bought it anyway. I cooked and mashed the cauliflower as a side for some mini meatloaves several days ago. I used the leftover mash in the soup. I had a gallon bag of chicken bones and skin in my freezer that I would simmer to make a chicken stock as the soup base. Yesterday was a little cool. A perfect day for a big pot of soup.
6 cups Chicken Stock, store bought or homemade
6 ozs Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large Onion, chopped
3 ribs Celery, diced
5 cups peeled, cubed Potatoes
½ head Cauliflower broken into bite size florets
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 ozs softened Cream Cheese
1 cup Whole Milk, Half and Half or Heavy Cream
¼ cup All Purpose Flour
Shredded Cheese, chives or sliced Green Onions to garnish
In a Dutch Oven or heavy bottom soup pot cook the bacon until well crisped. Remove from pot and crumble. Set aside in a large bowl. In the same pot add onions and celery and sauté over medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Allow the mix to slightly brown. Remove from pot and add to the bowl with the bacon.
Add the chicken stock to the pot. Leave any fond in the pot. It will dissolve in the chicken stock and add more flavor. Season with salt and add potatoes and cauliflower. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. When the potatoes are fork tender add the onion celery and bacon mixture, cream cheese and milk. Stir to melt the cream cheese.
Put the AP flour into a soup bowl and add ½ cup soup liquid to the bowl. Whisk the flour into the soup liquid. Set aside. When the cream cheese is melted add the flour mixture to the soup pot. Simmer for 10 minutes to cook the flour and thicken soup. Season to taste.
Serve and garnish with cheese, chives or green onions.
This recipe came about because I harvested asparagus from my neglected asparagus patch. I had a quick sale crumbled Chevre goat cheese in the fridge. I had a package of bacon in the deep freezer and today I scored a small package of quick sale button mushrooms. Yup, today was the day to go into town. To date I only spent $30 in diesel for the month. I am driving a one ton dually diesel. I try to only go into town once a week since it is a 44 mile round trip. I would try to go into bi-weekly but I do have to pick up mail at the post office. The pie edge is not perfect but it will eat good! Anyway….I hope you enjoy the recipe. It is yummbly.
1 store bought or homemade Pie Shell
4 slices Bacon, sliced into one inch pieces
8 ozs Asparagus sliced on a diagonal into one inch pieces
4 ozs Mushrooms, quartered
8 Eggs, beaten
2 ozs crumbled Chevre Cheese
2 ozs your choice Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the pie shell in a deep dish 9” pie dish. Set aside. Cook sliced bacon in a heavy bottom skillet for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and asparagus. Cook until the bacon is browned and crumbly. Salt and pepper to taste, but remember if you are using Chevere cheese it is salty. As is the bacon. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the pie shell. In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs. Add the Chevre cheese to the beaten eggs. Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the pie shell. Top with grated cheese. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Wow, have you seen the headlines regarding food scarcity, food production facility accidents, lack of fertilizer? Not only have they been in the alternative media, but also they have gone mainstream. Tucker Carlson and Dan Bongino have talked about it. Azure Standard HQ, one of the largest organic food distributors was destroyed by a fire. The Honeyville Company has more out of stock than in stock items. Now just this weekend Indonesia has banned the sale of edible oils i.e., palm oil and probably coconut oils to foreign countries. It is concerning. Not in a hair on fire, what am I going to do fear filled way? But in a calm quiet I am going to get even more self reliant way. OHH and bonus I have little tender lambsquarters coming up. More foraged salads!
Now that I am retired and I have loads of time to work my garden I have decided to expand my garden. Right now it measures 20 feet by 50 feet. It will be 50 feet by 50 feet when I have enclosed the additional ground. As usual, I went shopping in my outbuildings. I found a roll of four foot high wire fence. It must have been leftover from the first garden fence 12 years ago. Thankfully, it was out of weather and is in great shape. Other than dirt dabber nests which are easily washed off when I unroll the wire, it is in perfect condition. I also found several T posts to support the new length of fence that will run east/west. I will reuse the existing fence and T posts that currently run north/south. I found wire clips from our barb wire fence fixing activities. I’ll use them to attach the wire to the T post.
We had rain all day yesterday so the next couple of days will be the best time to get the T posts out of the soft ground. That is on my To Do list for this week. I am also able to use rainy days more efficiently since I know I will be at home on the sunny week days to get outdoor chores complete. Just yesterday when it was rainy and cold, I sewed new curtains for my living room. I had that fabric for about six months. The new curtains are hanging and the old curtains are on the west window in my bedroom. Yea! I finally have curtains on that window. It wasn’t a real concern. The closest neighbor is a mile away.
Onion and garlic rows one month ago
I have been working the existing part of my garden for about a month already. I am trying to push the season. A 10 foot row of garlic plants are about 7 inches tall. Twenty feet of sweet onions are taller since I bought onion starts instead of just bulbs. The onions are planted four across. Fingers crossed, I will have a lot of onions in the fall. Currently I am hardening off my seed starts on my back porch. It faces south and it is warm for the starts snuggled up against the house. Last Saturday I weeded 32 feet of welded wire cattle panels I use for pole beans. The yard long green beans and yard long Chinese red noodle do really well on the panels. I top dressed that row with donkey poop (Gomez makes a lot for me), crushed egg shells and Epsom salts. The rain on Sunday did a nice job of watering the additions into the soil. I don’t till the soil. Rather I loosen the ground with a pitch fork and pull the weeds. I haven’t committed to no till yet. I am reading up on that technique. I have 10 feet weeded for my okra plants but I won’t put them in the ground until the end of May or mid June. I need to weed 10 more feet for the okra. Gumbo, fried okra and pickled will be in my future. Okra like very warm soil to flourish. White and blue potatoes are pushing a lot of leaves. I have three 20” pots three fifty pound horse feed sacks with white and blue potatoes. I add more soil to the pots and sacks as the leaves grow up. Some sweet potato slips are on the kitchen window sill growing roots. I should have enough in a couple weeks to get them in the ground.
The asparagus patch needs some of my love. I harvested enough to make a quiche. That is an accomplishment because I have neglect that patch for the past two years. Now I have to put on overalls and denim jacket to cut down the dewberry vines. Ohhhh, I hate those sticker vines. I let a mound of them grow along my driveway. I do like the berries in pies. Unfortunately, they will take over wherever they can.
Two books I have been reading are “Gaia’s Garden, 2nd edition” by Toby Hemenway dealing with permaculture and “Biodynamic Gardening” by Monty Waldin. I also blew the dust off “The Edible Flower Garden” by Rosalind Creasy. I have no connections to any of these authors and I do not have any affiliate links on my blog.
My front porch where I relax and read gardening books. My late husband’s cow dog keeps me company
I will keep you updated on my progress. My gardening activities has had a negative influence on my cooking and posting recipes but it will work out in the end.
reddirtcooking 