German Pancake – preferred

Ingredients

• 6 – 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place rack on the lowest shelf as the pancake will rise quite a bit. Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Place butter in a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, and place pan in the oven to melt the butter. Once butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven, and place whisked egg mixture in the hot skillet
3. Carefully transfer the hot skillet back to the 400°F oven, and bake for 20 minutes or until pancake is golden and puffed.
4. Sift powered sugar over the top of the pancake and serve immediately. Don’t worry as it deflates – it’s supposed to do that. Pancake is also good at room temperature.

Could use a larger skillet, turns out a bit thick.

Chicken Fajitas

 Marinate chicken: Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a glass or plastic container. Add the chicken, mix well, cover and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours in the fridge.

Marinade

• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Sear chicken on high heat: Heat a large cast iron frying pan on high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. Sear chicken on both sides, about 3 minutes, then wrap in foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Homemade Country Breakfast Sausage

Ingredients:

2 tsp kosher salt

1 ½ tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp each finely chopped sage and thyme

1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 tbls light brown sugar

½ tsp each red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg

2 lbs ground meat

Mix, wrap in butcher paper and place in meat drawer for 1 hour up to one week, or freeze

To use, make into patties. Place patties in a cold skillet. Cook over MEDIUM heat for 14-16 minutes, turning sausage frequently for even browning, or until center of sausage patty reaches 160°F and is no longer pink.

Nonna’s Biscotti

Yield:  Makes about 42 cookies

Active Time:  20 min

Total Time:  2 1/2 hr (includes cooling)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole almonds with skin, lightly toasted , cooled, and coarsely chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Stir together sugar, butter, brandy, and extracts in a large bowl, then stir in almonds and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.

Chill dough, covered, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Using moistened hands, halve dough and form 2 (16-by 2-inch) loaves on an ungreased large baking sheet.

Bake until pale golden, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer loaves to a rack and cool 15 minutes.

Cut loaves into 3/4-inch slices with a serrated knife.

Arrange biscotti, with a cut side down, on a clean baking sheet and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper in a large saucepan. Cook and stir until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain grease.
2. Stir diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste into the pan. Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer spaghetti sauce for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Chicken soup

Basic chicken soup:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 large carrots, diced
• 2-3 stalks celery
• chicken stock (appx 3 quarts)
• chicken pieces (whatever you have)
• 1 T. poultry seasoning  – or –  2 tsp. ground sage, 1 tsp thyme
• 1 T. parsley flakes (optional)
• 1 tsp Rosemary (crushed)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute onion, celery & carrot until soft, onions translucent.  Add the stock & chicken, then seasonings.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes to integrate the flavors. Taste and evaluate need for more salt.

Variations:

1)  Chicken &  Dumpling Soup – see dumpling recipe….Dumplings are added AFTER the soup is otherwise done.  Continue to simmer until dumplings are done.

2) Chicken Vegetable Soup – add cubed vegetables until soup is the consistency you enjoy. Simmer until vegetables are fully cooked.

3) Chicken & Barley  or Chicken Rice – usually 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups depending on how much other stuff is in there and how thick you want it.  I have used wild rice blend or brown rice.  Simmer until fully cooked.  Another option is making it a “cream of” chicken barley or rice soup… Once its pretty much done, the rice is fully cooked and has added all the thickness its gonna, either just add cream, or if need additional thickening, make a Roux with melted butter and flour (start with about a tablespoon of each) in a separate pan, cook for a minute or two then add milk or cream to that, mix together to form a pudding or thick gravy consistency, then add to the simmering soup, stir in well and simmer another 5 minutes.

Baked Lasagne

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork or italian sausage

1 onion

1 can tomato paste

1 small can tomato sauce

12 wide lasagne noodles

1 large can whole tomatoes

tomato juice to liquefy

1 1/2 tbls oregano

salt, pepper to taste

1 clove garlic

3/4 lb Ricotta cheese

1 lb Mozarella cheese

1 can Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Brown meat with onion.  Add tomato sauce, paste, and whole tomatoes with garlic and seasonings, simmer for 1 hour.

Layer cooked noodles, sauce, and cheeses, add juice to liquefy.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350.

Paleo Zucchini Hash

This is a good breakfast side dish.  Can be made with regular potatoes and more conventional seasonings if desired.  Read more…

Creamy Kale and Eggs

Recipe courtesy of Katie Lee  Read more…

Barley and Lamb Stew

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2006