Chocolate Popcorn

This is my all time favorite quick treat.  If I have to make something up fast this is my "go to" recipe...if you can call it a recipe.  I've used  it so often I need to come up another quick treat or people will start thinking it's the only thing I make.

Ingredients

 I use microwave popcorn  rather than air popped because the salt clings to it better and makes a wonderful "Sweet & Salty" flavor blend.

 I have a chocolate melter...that I love because I can throw my almond bark  in  and neglect it...it melts it at just the right temperature. ( It was a happy find while on a "Goodwill" hunt with Rachel)

But if you don't have a chocolate melter  a heat proof dish in a crockpot or just warm (<200°)  oven works great.(with this method you  can neglect it while doing other things)  Or in the microwave...you just have to buzz it 20 to 30 seconds and stir.   Then repeat until melted.  

Usually I melt about 4 squares of almond bark

While the chocolate is melting I pop the popcorn (usually 4 bags)...transferring it from one bowl to another...so all the "grannies"  fall the the bottom.  I don't want any broken teeth from chocolate covered grannies.

 I get the bowl warm and keep the popcorn warm so the almond bark coats it easily and evenly.  200° just till the bowl is warm or until my almond bark is melted and smooth.

 Coat the popcorn and toss.

 Immediately add peanuts if desired and toss.  Sometime "tossing" uses the spoon and a hand.

 Pour out onto cookies sheets and let cool and the almond bark set.

The towel in crockpot helps prevent the squeeze bottles from melting.  I think I've melted more squeeze bottles than chocolate. 

 Meantime be melting  the desired drizzling chocolate.   A crock pot on low or warm works well.  With careful attention the micowave works good.  Even setting the chocolate outside on the patio cement on a hot Vegas day work great.  

  I always use chocolate and then candy melts in colors that coordinate with the season or holiday.  I like to use squeeze bottles because they are easy to drizzle with, less messy and then I just store the chocolate/melts in the bottles until the next time...then re-melt.

When the chocolate is nice and warm....drizzle quickly.

 If you don't have squeeze bottles zip-lock bags work well.

 Knead the bag to get the chocolate evenly melted and smooth.  Then work the chocolate down to a corner of the bag.

 Snip off a "tiny" corner.

 ...and drizzle.
Let the chocolate set.

Remove from pan into a serving bowl (presentation!)  or bag it up to give to the Home Teaching families (Karl's home teaching families have probably figured out...we don't think ahead enough to make cookies!)

Yummy!

Karl's 1st place Chili

He  started out using an award winning recipe from an old cookbook I brought at a yard-sale.  Then he   proceeded to change every ingredient or amount...and then he added beans!

Here the final recipe.
1 lb. sausage with bacon
2 lbs. Hamburger
1 1/2 onions chopped
Saute together and drain of fat
Add:
1 can beef broth (less sodium)
1 quart vegetable juice (mostly tomato)
2 cans chili beans (Not drained)
2 can red beans (drained)
2 can kidney beans (drained)
8 Tablespoons Chili powder
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp Louisiana hot sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. hickory smoke

Simmer for a couple hours.  Add if too thick more tomato juice .
Flavors improve with a day or two in the refrigerator.
Makes a BIG pot!

Beef Stroganoff (my version)

This is a throw together recipe...meaning don't measure.
So here's how I make it.

In a large frying pan drizzle approx. 1-2 Tbs. olive oil
Saute':
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 -1 1/2 lbs of Beef Sirloin steak or round Steak
when the onions are golden and the steak is almost brown
reduce the heat and add about a Tbs. minced garlic (garlic browns/burns so easily)

Add:
season salt (a few generous shakes)
ground pepper (be generous here also)
Worcestershire sauce ( a couple splashes.)

This is a good point to cover it and reduce the temperature to lowest setting and just let the meat simmer in juices that are in the pan while you fix the salad, set the table or even start cooking the pasta, so the meat can tenderize and absorb the flavors of the seasonings.
(if there are no juices, add the beef broth, but not the flour paste, at this point)

In a separate small saute' pan:
Saute' mushrooms in a chunk of butter (1-2 Tbs.)
Sprinkle with a little garlic salt or powder
As the juices cook out of the mushroom, pour it (the juices) over the meat.
When mushrooms are done... Set them aside.

To the meat add :
2 1/2 cups beef broth or re-constituted beef bullion.
1 Tbs. flour made into a paste with 1/2 cup water
turn up the heat to medium, cook and stir until the broth is thickened.
Taste the gravy at this point and add salt if desired. (the bullion usually makes it salty enough)

Add the saute' mushroom to the meat at this point
or serve them separately is somebody has mushroom issues.

Add about 3/4 cup sour cream (a couple big scoops) to the gravy
Stir until smooth and gravy is reheated (But don't let it boil).

Serve immediately over hot buttered egg noodles and top with sauteed mushrooms (if they aren't in the stroganoff already.

Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle soup

I love making homemade Chicken soup. It's fast (almost as fast as opening a can of Campbells) to make, especially if you have leftover chicken. It's a throw together dish..I don't measure. It's wonderful ( so much better than Campbell's that it's not even comparable). It's guilt free...eat as much as you want and you won't blow your diet. And it's scientifically proven to cure whatever ails you.

(these measurements are just approximate...for those that feel more secure with measurements.)

8 cups water (or homemade broth*)
3 Tbsp. Chicken base/bouillon (1 tbs. if using homemade chicken broth)
Cooked chicken ( whatever you have leftover)
1/4 onion finely chopped (optional)
1 small garlic clove (optional.. I don't like the onion and garlic to overpower the other flavors)
3 carrots, sliced (not the ones used to make broth...flavor is out of those)
2 celery, chopped
1/4 tsp. Thyme
1/8 tsp. ground sage ...just sprinkle it until you feel good in your heart.
1/8 tsp. white pepper ...a few shakes
fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste...it usually has enough salt from the bouillon for my tastes.

Egg noodles - a couple big handfuls

Simmer until noodles and carrots are tender.

Sometimes I add broccoli after the noodles are cooked. Broccoli cooks enough just from the heat of the broth after the heat is turned off and the soup is waiting to be served.

*Homemade Chicken Broth:
Boil chicken with onion, celery,carrot, garlic until chicken is cooked. run broth through a fine sieve for a clear broth. Chop chicken for soup or other dishes and toss the veggies away...but I alway eat the carrots while I'm cooking:)

My favorite egg noodles are homemade but these are a close second:
I find them at Walmart with the dry pasta, usually on the bottom shelf.

This is my favorite bouillon!I use it when a recipe calls for canned broth, bouillon or I use it undiluted to just add more favor to gravies and sauces.
Walmart here (Las Vegas) carries small jars of it. Or I can find large jars at Smart and Final (here) or Costco in St. George, UT. I try to keep several jars ahead for food storage.

Taco bowls for the taco bar.

Whenever I do a taco bar I like to add these tortilla bowls to the buffet linefor those that prefer their taco makin's salad style...so they can eat it with a fork. And I love these little bowls because they are baked...not fried!

To make these bowls just press a flour tortilla into theses handy forms Using fresh or warmed tortillas makes it easier to shape them to the form without any cracking or splitting. I also use one form to press the tortilla into the other form. Bake at 350° for about ten minutes. I do spray to forms with Vegelene or Pam, not to keep the tortilla from sticking , but to help the bowls brown nicely.

I only have three of these handy little shell bakers...so one day when I was making about 50 of these little guy, I tried to improvise to speed up the process. This worked fine. But of course the finished product wasn't as uniform...and that day I was being a bit of a perfectionist. So I went back to just using the forms.

But this time I would just bake the tortillas just long enough in the forms for them to hold their shape (about 4-5 minutes), take them out of the forms and just set them on the oven rack to finish baking and start browning. Then I could start the next batch of shells in the forms. This really sped up the process. But with some country western music playing and chopping other items for the buffet at the same time...making 4 or 5 dozen shells goes pretty fast.


Oh yes... I discovered these taco bowl forms at the Bosch Store when I worked there. But they are available on Amazon.com.

Pork Barbacoa

1 2-pound pork roast (or larger)( This is 12 lbs. of pork in a 2 gal. zip-lock bag)

Cover with enough Coca-cola (not diet) to almost cover it.

Marinate in Refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.(I had no room in my refrigerator and the roasts were still frosty from being frozen so I let them marinate in a cooler)

In a slow cooker combine:
2 cups chicken broth or 1 14oz. can chicken broth
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons butter
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, undrained
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 cup ketchip
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Add the marinated pork roast (discard soda marinade)

(Note I use Oven bags in my Crock-pot for easier clean-up)

Simmer in slow cooker until meat is tender enough for shred.
Remove roast and shred. Strain juices.

Pour enough of the juices back over the shredded meat to keep it moist and juicy.

A 2 lb roast will serve approx. 10-12 .

This is my favorite bouillon!I use it when a recipe calls for canned broth, bouillon or I use it undiluted to just add more favor to gravies and sauces.
Walmart here (Las Vegas) carries small jars of it. Or I can find large jars at Smart and Final (here) or Costco in St. George, UT. I try to keep several jars ahead for food storage.

Lime Rice

In a sauce pan, saute:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 yellow onion , chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot bring 5 cups water to a boil
Add:
the sauteed onions & garlic
4 tsp chicken bouillon
2 tsp cumin
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 small cans diced green chilies
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
(depending on the saltiness of your bouillon and your taste, you may not want to add any salt)

3 cups long grain rice

If you are using a rice dooker or pressure cooker decrease water to 3 cups.



Note I have found buying Cumin and other spices in the Mexican food section is alot cheaper.I found this 16oz. bag at Smart and Final for a fraction of the per oz. cost of it in jars in the regular spice section. I refill my Cumin spice jar and keep the extra in the freezer. I go through alot of cumin in Mexican cooking and chili.