Kitchen Hash

What wonderful things come to mind when scrounging in the kitchen.

My grandmothers and theirs used to make their own hash, rather than
buying it pre-made from the grocery. The potatoes made leftover meat
go farther on a tight budget. I found what I needed in my own kitchen
one morning and whipped this little recipe up for breakfast.

Kitchen Hash

Sausage leftover from brats and saurkraut.

Ingredients:

Tbs minced garlic
1/4 white onion, minced
Leftover sausage or other broken meats
2 medium potatoes, cooked, chopped
1/4 tsp pink sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp parsley
Cheddar Jack cheese to taste

 

Directions:
Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil
Add meat, sauté until hot
Add potato and spices, stir until hot throughout
Serve with cheese

 

Garlic, onion, and sausage.

Directions:
Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil
Add meat, sauté until hot
Add potato and spices, stir until hot throughout
Serve with cheese

Potatoes added

 

I simply served on a plate with shredded cheese. You might toss some
of this hash into a tortilla for breakfast tacos, or pile some on a
split biscuit and serve it with gravy. The potential combinations are
limited only by your imagination, and may be served for breakfast,
lunch or even dinner.

– Chopped jalapenos will give it a bit of bite.
– Diced, pre-cooked carrots, turnips, and/or rutabagas might be used
with or instead of the potatoes.
– Any broken meat will work with this recipe, from chicken and turkey
to pork, beef, venison, goat or mutton.
– Any type of onions, shallots, or even leeks will offer a variety of
textures and flavors.

Give this hash a try at home, seasoned to suit your tastes, an leave
a note about how it turned out.

Enjoy!

— Ann Cathey

What’s Hiding in Your Freezer?

Have you peeked into your freezer or deep freeze, lately? If you are like me, no matter how organized you try to keep it, things will hide away from you. You mgiht be surprised at the wonderful potential that’s hiding in there, too.

Burger patties are good for more than just burgers. Whether they are beef, turkey or veggie, they can always be cooked up and made into wraps for a quick meal. Simply cook the patties in your preferred method, slice them up, and wrap them in tortillas with wil lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo and shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese. With the side of beans and rice, you have a quick and hearty meal.

With the colder weather imminent, soups and stews are always a good meal plan. A variety of meats and veggies that are likely hanging out in your freezer can be utilised towhip up lovely dishes such as chicken noodle soup and beef stew.

Chili if also a great way to warm up your family and meats may be mixed in this dish traditionally made fromt he poorest cuts of beef. Diced or ground venison, lamb, fowl, pork, and beef are all great starts for a big pot of chili. Have onion and chili powder? You’ve got the start to an awesome one pot dinner.

Frozen tortellini, tortelloni, ravioli, and other pasts provide a basis for numerous dishes including traditional pastas with sauce, pasta bakes (layered like lasagne but with different pasts varieties), and even soups. Chicken broth and three cheese tortellini with a bit of garlic and spinach turns into a lovely soup that’s a fun twist on chicken noodle.

Frozen meatballs on hand? Stuff them into bell peppers with a bit of pasta sauce (tomato based or Alfredo), top with cheese and bake. Serve with a small side of pasta and a green salad for a convenient meal.

For a quick side to many of these menu choices, try this:

Romaine Salad with Apples and Walnuts
Prep time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 bag Romaine lettuce
1 apple
3 oz Swiss cheese
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1 tbsp fresh chives, rough chopped
Your favorite vinaigrette, for serving

Wash and core the apple. Cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Dice cheese into 1/4 inch cubes.

Toss the lettuce into a large salad bowl. Add apples, cheese, walnuts and dressing. Toss to distribute dressing.

Sprinkle chives on top and serve.

 

Enjoy!

–Ann Cathey

Slow Cooker Recipes from Crock-Pot #2

I like to use slow cooker liners. Whenever I buy a box of them, there is invariably a little handout inside that includes a few recipes. They are great for folks starting out with slow cookers!

Here’s one to help keep you warm this winter!

Beef Stew
Cook time on Low: 4-6 hours
Cook time on High: 2-3 hours
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 lbs beef chuck, cubed
olive oil
2 onions, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup fresh parsley, minced
6 tsp garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
2 cups red or white wine
1 cup beef broth

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the cubed meat in the flour.
2. Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil, and place over a medium-high heat.
3. Heat oil and sear beef on all sides.
4. Add seared beef and all other ingredients to stoneware.
5. Cover and cook on selected temperature as directed above. Stir occasionally.

Notes:
This recipe also works well with venison or buffalo. Add carrots, wild onion, crimini mushrooms and a little extra garlic to achieve the wilder flavors that make such a wonderful blend with these meats.

It is also tasty with pork, though pork is a much fattier meat. Pork prefers a higher volume of veggies, especially turnips and potatoes.

Additional veggies are always a delight in stews. Add carrots and celery early on so they will have time to soften a bit. Add potatoes or turnips about 1/2 way on Low or 3/4 of the way on High through the cook time.

This is a dish best served with fresh biscuits, over cornbread, or over rice if you have no problems with all the carbs. Serve with a glass of the same wine used in the dish for a lovely accompaniment.

— Ann Cathey

Stock vs. Broth?

Stock, broth and bullion are very closely related in the culinary world. They are often confused with one another, one term being inappropriately used for another by many people. They all may be made from vegetables, beef, chicken, other meats, and combinations of these materials. Hopefully some of the material below will help with removing any confusion.

Traditionally stock is made by simmering various ingredients in water. This is an excellent use for tops, peels, stems and ends that will be strained out of the stock before it is used. Meat stocks are common and include the bones and attached bits, and require a longer simmering time than vegetables alone. The gelatin released by long-simmering bones gives stock a heavier or fuller mouth feel than broth.

Broth is the term for the liquid strained off a stock. It is also defined as a basic soup where the solid pieces of flavoring meat or fish, along with some vegetables, are left as part of the dish. It is often made more substantial by adding starches such as rice, barley, or potatoes, thereby becoming a soup by definition.

Bullion is dehydrated stock available in cube or granulated form. It normally has a great deal of salt in it both for flavor and as a preservative.

Personally I like to keep commercial bullion in the spice cabinet and commercial broth in the big cabinet. One never knows when it will come in handy. When I have the material available, I make my own stock.When we cook or buy a roast chicken and have stripped the carcass, I will boil the bones, then simmer with vegetable bits like carrot tips and potato peels. The resulting strained broth is then put to good use immediately as a soup base or the beginnings of a pot of chicken and dumplings. I do the same with pork, beef, or venison bones, either using the strained broth for something immediately or freezing it. Home made stock or broth is much lower in salt than the commercially available products. It is also not always relegate to a single meat products. It is not unusual in my kitchen for a stock to contain bones form a couple of different animals, and the broth works out really well.

Home made stock, once strained into broth, can be used as a replacement for water in lots of recipies from simple rice to biscuits to whatever your imagination desires. The broth adds distinctive flavors to whatever it is used in. White rice cooked with a broth instantly becomes a poor man’s pilaf to be eaten alone with a bit of butter or as a side to any dish that calls for rice.

This is something to keep in mind this holiday season when you are slaving away in the kitchen. Don’t waste all that flavor when you could be simmering it into stock!

–Ann Cathey

The Beef Jerky Outlet – Galveston

It seems like there is always something new to discover in Galveston, Texas, and my two most recent discoveries are well worth talking about. The first, I’ll address in this post. The second…well, you’ll have to come back and read all about it!

The first of my two newest discoveries in Galveston is the Beef Jerky Outlet. There are franchises of this store scattered across the country, but I’d never heard of the place until I stumbled upon the one on the Strand in Galveston.

I’d been toying with the idea of going inside for a while, but every time I happened to be in the Strand area, the shop had either closed up for the night or I was running low on funds. Finally, though, I had money and time, and I went inside.

The Outlet in Galveston is a small shop, but it isn’t like Jerky requires a lot of space. The walls are neatly lines with packet after packet of jerky of every type imaginable (and some I never would have imagined). There are also “barrels” set up around the room that hide open packets of jerky and tongs that the staff is not only willing but eager to let you sample. Not all of the types or jerky are available for sample, but many (15 or so) are.

Now, the jerky itself. This place has a wide, wide variety. There were all sorts of beef varieties, including Blazin’ Cajun, 3 Beer BBQ Rub, Cherry Maple, and Peppercorn. There were also quite a few turkey jerky varieties. But they don’t stop there; the Beef Jerky Outlet offers some interest types of jerky: chicken, crawfish, bacon, venison, duck, buffalo, elk, salmon, alligator, and even kangaroo!

My partner-in-crime and I opted to try the Slap Ya Mama crawfish jerky (which mostly tasted like the Slap Ya Mama Cajun seasoning –hot!) and then the maple-glazed bacon jerky (which tasted exactly like you’d think it would…heavenly). We also tried the PB Crave products that they carry. Erin opted to try the chocolate and peanut butter version, which she really liked, and I tried the kind with banana, which I found disappointing (the banana part tasting like banana flavoring rather than actual banana).

After much, much perusing and discussing, Erin and I made our selections and took them home. Erin bought a 4oz bag of the maple-glazed bacon jerky and I bought three jerky sticks (venison, buffalo, and elk).

We had a little taste-testing party later, and our opinions of the three flavors actually lined up (a rarity).

• The venison did not win any points with us. It had a decent flavor, but the texture was dry and crumbly. It made me feel almost like I had a mouth full of tobacco or tea leaves. Not something we will purchase again (though we might try the actual jerky instead of the jerky stick).
• The elk had a much better texture, and a wonderful flavor. It was juicy—unusual for jerky of any kind—and absolutely delicious. It’s a type I definitely will buy again and will share with my foodie friends.
• The buffalo had an even better flavor than the elk, though it lacked the juiciness. It also had a very nice texture. Again, I will buy it again and share with friends.

Overall, although the products are a little pricey (as all jerky is), I’m very glad we stumbled into the Beef Jerky Outlet. I love that you can try many of the products and that the staff is friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful. Whether, like me, you just like to try new things or you’re a die-hard jerky enthusiast, this place needs to be on your “to visit” list when you’re in Galveston.

— L.B. Clark