Potato and Leek Soup

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

Soups and stews were favorites of me and my mom on that  1997 trip to Ireland. At another little lunch place we had some of the best potato and leek soup I ever had. This is not that same recipe but it’s pretty darn close.

  • 2 Whole Bay Leaves
  • 5 Sprigs fresh Thyme
  • 4 Springs fresh Parsley
  • 3 tablespoons Extra Virgon Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted Butter
  • 3 Ribs Celery, chopped
  • 6 Leeks, white and pale green parts only. Wash leeks well.
  • 1 small Onion, diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 2 1/2 pounds Potatoes, large diced. Yukon Gold make a very creamy soup.
  • 8 cups low-sodium or Home-made Chicken Broth
  • 1 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Half & Half
  • Sea Salt and White Pepper to taste

Heat EVOO and butter in medium stock pot.  Add celery, leeks, onion and garlic. Cook  on meduim-low heat for about 30 minutes until very soft but not browned. Add potatoes, broth and herbs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer the soup mix for about 40 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Remove the herbs and discard.  Using a food processor or an immersion stick blender puree the soup mix until only small chunks remain. Reheat the soup if needed and stir in milk and half & half.  Serve with crusty Irish Soda Bread and creamy butter.

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Sweet Potato-Pecan Pie

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

This a favorite in our house. I always have to make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This year, I’ll be able to make them from sweet potatoes from our garden and pecans
from a friends tree. The original recipe is from the Backwoods Home website. The only change I made was to double amount of spices.

9 – Inch unbaked Pie shell
1 cup Pecans

First Layer

1 cup mashed Sweet Potatoes
¼ cup brown Sugar
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Second Layer

¾ cup sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
Dash of cinnamon

Toast pecans in microwave for 3 minutes. Stir halfway thru and watch closely because they burn easily.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl of electric mixer, combine ingredients for the First Layer; beat on medium speed for 2 -3 minutes. Spoon into pie shell. Top with pecans.

In a small bowl and using an electric mixer, combine ingredients for Second Layer. Mix on low speed for one minute. Pour over pecans.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the knife inserted in center of pie comes out clean.  This is excellent served with French Vanilla Ice Cream.

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Gluten Free Pancakes

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

Sunday morning on the ranch means buckwheat pancakes. We think they have a better taste than regular pancakes. And they are not as heavy either. Buckwheat is not really a grain and it is gluten-free. We use a store-bought mix, Hodgson Mills, that is gluten-free but this recipe can be mixed at home using corn meal or ground buckwheat.

  • 1 cup Rice or Millet Flour
  • 1/2 cup Soy Flour
  • 1/2 cup ground Corn Meal or ground Buckwheat
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
  • 1 whole Egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 tablespoons unrefined Vegetable Oil (Some mixed oils can contain wheat germ oil. Check the label)

Combine all dry ingredients. Stir together all liquids and add to dry ingredients. Bake on a preheated cast iron griddle or skillet. Turn once.  Serve with you choice of toppings.

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Pumpkin Bread

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

Very soon we’ll start to see all different varieties of pumpkins in the stores. This is recipe works well with the small jack o’ lantern type. I like to use Black Walnuts. We are fortunate to have 3 black walnut trees along our driveway. They are tough nuts to crack but worth the effort.

  • 2 cups Pumpkins, fresh cooked or canned. (Don’t use the pie filling type of canned pumpkin)
  • 1 cup Oil, Canola or other light type oil
  • 3/4 cup Water
  • 4 Whole Eggs, beaten
  • 3 2/3 cups Unbleached Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 1 cup White Raisins
  • 1 cup Walnuts, chopped (Use Black Walnuts for an intense walnut taste)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and lightly flour 2 loaf pans.

Mix oil, eggs, water and pumpkin until smooth. Add flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda and sugar. Mix well. Add raisins and walnuts to the batter. Turn out the batter into the loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Wait until the loaves have cooled to top with the Cream Cheese Icing if desired.

Cream Cheese Icing

  • 1/2 cup Butter softened
  • 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 6 ozs Confectioners Sugar

Combine the first three ingredients and cream well. Gradually add the confectioners sugar. Add just a touch of milk if the icing is too thick.

 

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Carrot Slaw

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

I like using dark raisins in this dish because they look so nice with the deep orange of the grated carrots. This is a fast and easy side dish for picnic parties, BBQ’s or whatever you have happening on t he weekend.

  • 4 cups Carrots, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup Dark Raisins
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar or Sugar Substitute
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Blend all ingredients and allow to chill in fridge for at least an hour before serving.

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Home-made Cocktail Sauce

Posted on August 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

Another condiment that I prefer to make at home is cocktail sauce. On  the rare occasion when my husband and I treat ourselves with shrimp, I make this sauce. It has a nice kick.

  • 1/2 cup Ketchup
  • 1/2 small Onion, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon Prepared Horseradish
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Lemon, seeded and squeezed. Use the juice.
  • 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Celery Seed
  • Seas Salt or Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Chill in fridge at least 1 hour before serving.

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Duke’s Corn Bread

Posted on August 11, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is supposedly John Wayne’s corn bread recipe. One of the local grocery stores gives out recipes and this was one of them.  It tastes really good. If you are a pepper head, you’ll like the Jalapeno in this.

  • 1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 small Onion, chopped
  • 1 clove Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 1 cup Cream style Corn
  • 1/4 cup Bacon Drippings
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 medium Jalapeno Pepper minced
  • 1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine corn meal,baking soda, salt, onion,garlic, corn, oil, eggs and sour cream. Beat well.

Mix Cheddar cheese and jalapeno pepper together.

Spread half of the mixture in an oiled 10 inch baking pan or cast iron skillet. Spread pepper and cheese mix over batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake for 45 minutes. So good served with creamy butter and pinto beans.

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Cranberry Orange Muffins

Posted on August 11, 2011 by okieranchwife

I will admit it. One of my guilty treats is muffins. Mostly I like Chocolate Chip muffins but this recipe is GREAT!!!!!! Paired with creamy butter! OMG!!!

  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Sugar or Sugar substitute
  • 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 2 1/2 cup Raisin Bran type cereal
  • 1 cup Milk, whole milk or low-fat
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/3 cup Cooking Oil
  • 1 tea-spoon Orange Zest
  • 1 cup Cranberries, dried or frozen

Pre heat oven to 400  F.

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in bowl. Mix cereal and milk in a different bowl and let stand for 3 minutes. Stir well. Mix in egg, oil and peel. Add flour to mixture and mix enough to moisten flour. Fold in cranberries.

Spoon into greased muffin tins and leave 3/4 full.  Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins. Serve with creamy butter.

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German Red Cabbage

Posted on August 11, 2011 by okieranchwife

I have enjoyed this dish with my own home cooked Sauerbraten. Oh my, my!

  • 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Oliver Oil (EVOO)
  • 1 small Red Cabbage, halved, cored and thinly shredded
  • 1 small Red Onion, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
  •  2 teaspoons fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar or Sugar Substitute
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Pepper to taste

Heat EVOO in a saute pan over medium high heat . Add cabbage and onions and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until tender.  Mix in salt, lemon juice, sugar and vinegar. Continue to cook until cabbage is very tender, an additional 10 minutes.  Serve warm.

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Irish Currant Scones

Posted on August 11, 2011 by okieranchwife

Okay, this is a little more detailed than my scone recipe my mom and I got on our trip to Ireland. The original recipe left out some baking tips. This recipe may make it easier for you to enjoy some real Irish scones!  And we had a nice rain storm today so I could easily pretend I was in Ireland or in the highlands of Scotland!

  • 3 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 3 tablespoons Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted Butter
  • 1/3 cup dried Currants
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Lightly flour a cooking sheet. Mix flour, sugar,baking soda and salt. Add butter and mix until the mixture looks like crumbs. Mix in currants, egg and buttermilk to form a soft dough.  On a floured surface turn dough out. Pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Using a 2 1/2 inch doughnut cutter, cut out the scone rounds. Gather the scraps and roll out and cut more rounds.

Place the scone rounds on a floured cooking sheet. Bake for about 18 minutes until golden brown.  Serve warm with creamy butter, jam, Devonshire Cream or whipped cream.  These are so yummy!

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