Why am I doing this?

Several people have been asking me to give them copies of my recipes for certain dishes and asking me to make them other dishes, so I decided to create a blog with my recipes. Feel free to use any of these and edit them to your taste.

Disclaimer

I am now back in TEXAS so some recipes will be updated to show local ingredients. However, the below disclaimer is still true...I have created all these through trial and error.

All of these recipes have been made by me (or my family and revised by me) prior to me moving to Hawaii. However, since I have been in this beautiful state I have been able to buy fresher and more varied ingredients to revise these recipes to allow for a new twist on old favorites. If you do not have fresh ingredients available please use what you do have, or in most cases I have listed options, to create your own special everyday meal.







Tuesday, November 27, 2012

AWESOME Meat rub-slightly spicy and sweet

This rub works great on Ribs, chops, steaks, and anything you want to grill or bake (yes even fish)

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cayenne pepper (chili powder can be used but use less)
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon salt (or use 1 1/2 tablespoon Natures Seasoning instead of salt/pepper)
1 tablespoon paprika (I like smoked paprika but any will work)
dash cumin

mix all ingredients together and rub on all sides of meat. Refrigerate for minimum of 30 minutes. Grill/bake/cook as desired.

As the meat is cooking you can make a nice sauce to top it with the below ingredients:

Brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, dash of salt, and dash of cayenne or chili powder. Mix to taste and simmer on stove until reduced to a thick sauce. Top your meat with it upon serving.

Leftover Turkey Enchiladas

Everyone has leftover turkey from Thanksgiving (if you make turkey) so here is a good recipe to use for hte leftovers.

8 servings
Leftover Turkey
Red Enchilada Sauce-large can or use sauce recipe on this blog.
Chopped onion
Cheese to taste
Taco seasoning
8 medium sized tortillas- I prefer flour but corn can be used also


Pull all turkey off carcass, dark and white meat. Chop all meat finely and add about 1/2 cup pan drippings to keep moist. Place in hot pan, stirring frequently. Add onion and taco seasoning. Stir frequently until browned. Remove from heat.

Fill tortillas with meat mixture and cheese (if desired) and roll. Place in baking pan. Once all enchiladas are in the pan cover lightly with red sauce (Do not soak enchiladas with the sauce or they will come out soggy) and more cheese (if desired). Sprinkle hot sauce over enchiladas (if desired) and bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with rice and beans or just sour cream on top.

Latkes- Potato Pancakes made my way :-)

Latkes are a traditional German side dish served with applesauce or sour cream and served with Pork (usually). There are several other countries in Europe that have their own variations of Latkes, so please don't be offended if I use my German roots (and what I remember of my Great Grandma's recipe)

For 4 servings (adjust to your needs)

5-6 medium potatoes (russet makes the best ones) peeled and washed
1 medium onion
 2-3 eggs (medium eggs use 3, large or extra large use 2)
1/2 cup or so or flour (you may use only 2 tablespoons of this, it depends on your taste)
salt/pepper to taste or Natures Seasoning
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (only is served with applesauce)

Shred potatoes -soak each batch in water while you are shredding the remaining potatoes, when all potatoes are shredded store in water until onion is ready.
Shred onion (tip-use chilled onion to avoid tears)
Remove shredded potatoes from water and mix with shredded onion, please mixture on tea towel (or cheesecloth) and roll up and twist out all remaining water/moisture. The more moisture the more flour you will need and the faster the Latkes will brown on outside but remain uncooked on inside)

Beat eggs and seasonings in medium bowl. Add potato/onion mixture and mix well. Add flour a teaspoon at a time until you have a good mixture to make pancakes. The mixture should  be similar to a meatball mixture, not too thick but lumpy and should easily form a ball. Add flour as necessary to make this.

Form balls of about 1.5 inches round and flatten to a thick pancake. Place in hot pan coated with cooking spray or canola oil. The pan MUST be hot before you place the Latkes in or they will not brown properly.

Cook on each side about 5 minutes each- until brown and crispy - they should not be soggy in the middle. Cooked on medium high heat at 5 minutes each side they should come out brown and crispy but firm in the middle, Drain on rack and keep warm in 300 degree oven until ready to served.

These can be served with a variety of toppings including BBQ Kailua pork, veges, turkey, ham, or anything you desire for a great appetizer.

NOTE: you can use leftover mashed potatoes (leave out the wringing out moisture) but use less eggs and finely diced onions, and more flour. Experiment with leftover hash browns or any type of leftover potatoes.