Fondue for Love!

Although I feel like Hallmark AND Pinterest
go a bit overboard with most holidays
throughout the year, I WILL say that
Valentine's Day is quite special to us.
Not that Flag Day or Labor Day

aren't special in their own way.
There's just something about the
'love holiday' that we take a likin' to.

It's actually an anniversary of sorts for us - 

of the day my hubs made his first move

towards dating me.  Whoa.

Sooo, we pretty much hold this occasion
up about as high as our wedding anniversary. 

This doesn't mean we always do grand things,

but they are always special.

Most years, we actually look forward to

planning and celebrating Valentine's 

AT HOME.
Candles, the real china, homemade menus,
making our children be our waitresses...
you know, the works.

Yes, I know, it's fun not to HAVE to cook a meal

but, in my book, we can eat out any time.
Save the dinner dates for a less crowded,
less stressful night to go out on - 

and celebrate this year at HOME.

If your spouse is the one that usually
prepares the meals, then I can almost guarantee you
that getting dressed up and cooking for them
AT HOME is the sweetest most romantic thing.
And if you are the one that usually prepares the meals,
take the stress off your mate by requesting
to stay home.  Cook some fondue together
or just order a pizza.  

Love AND less stress is the way to go.

When I think of something that would be
romantic, yet easy on the preparer -
I think FONDUE.

Whether you do a cheese fondue and/or chocolate -

what could be easier and less stressful to prepare?!?

No, seriously it is.
We have made this several times
and is such a perfect, relaxing meal.
It is so interactive - you really don't even need plates!

Check out a recent article I did
in The Wedded Bliss on just that!

Fabulous Fondue.

We make the Simpler Fondue recipe found there

and you'll find step by step

 instructions for three fondue recipes.

Take a night off from the stress of going out
on Valentine's and take your sweetie out to dinner
another time!!!  After all, it's easier to gaze into
each other's eyes at home than in a
baby screaming restaurant, yes?!

ENJOY!

Supah Dupah Chalupa. . . . .Beans!

Have you ever attempted cooking a pot of pinto beans?
It's a great southern tradition.
A big pot of beans can feed a herd, it's cheap,
and it can go alongside bbq, enchiladas and more.
Pintos can also be a stand alone meal all by itself.
Well, maybe with some cornbread.

This week at Free Recipe Friday

it's all about this tried and true one pot meal.

But this isn't your everyday standard pot of pinto beans.
Oh no.
This is "Aunt Kim's Chalupa Beans."

My memory may have failed me a bit
and swayed from her exact recipe,
but this is how we make them.
I am pretty sure this is how she does it.
Not only will your friends and family love you for it,
they will love Aunt Kim too :)

As with most any dried bean,
you basically pour a bag of them
onto a clean counter top, spread them out
and check for any "foreign debris."  Yes, foreign debris.
So take a few minutes to check for small rocks,
mystery beans/objects, etc.
Sorry if this is your first time at this
and that whole explanation was a bit disturbing.
The fact of the matter is no brand is exempt from this.

Our beans just happened to have been from Colorado,
delivered to us from a sweet sweet man
in our church.  They were, I must say
fairly void of debris.  Use whatever brand
you can get your hands on - just check for. . .
'which of these things is not like the other'
and remove those things :)

After the beans have been looked over,
scoop them up and dump them into your large pot.
Now fill the pot with water and put a lid on it
and set aside.  Back in the day
I would let them soak overnight -
those days are gone.  These days
I soak them in the morning
and begin cooking about lunchtime. 
They are ready to go by dinner!

**An important side note, after the beans have soaked
for several hours (or even overnight),
drain off the water and rinse several times.
Pour in fresh water, covering the beans
several inches above the beans.
I am convinced this helps remove the
excess 'gaseous-ness.' :)

That's it. That's the basics to
getting a pot of beans ready for cooking.

You should give them a try...
say, THIS WEEKEND!?

WHAT YOU NEED:

Any Pork Roast - preferably with the bone in
(I never buy a certain weight - just one that looks good)

Pinto Beans
(we used a 2 lb. pkg - you can certainly reduce)

Water - lots of water

Diced Onion, optional

Chopped Garlic, not optional :)

1 heaping Tablespoon Garlic Powder - seriously

appx 1 Tablespoon Salt/Pepper, or more
(I promise, the beans need this -
plus you have to remember
the meat will need it as well)

Aunt Kim's Spices
a bit of Oregano, Thyme, Red Pepper,
Chili Powder and Tabasco

WHAT TO DO:
After you have followed the soaking
instructions above, and have your
soaked beans rinsed and refilled -
place the stockpot on the stove
and add in the roast - right in the pot.
Turn heat on high and as it is coming
up to a boil, add your seasonings.

Make sure everything is covered in water
several inches above the beans/roast.
Once it all comes to a good boil,
reduce heat to low/medium and put a lid on
but leave it tilted to allow moisture to escape.
If you cook with no lid at all, the beans
will be more apt to lose their moisture too fast
and boil dry.  You do not want them to boil dry.
If the water gets low, and it often will,
add a cup or two more.
Towards the end of the cooking process
you will notice a change in the broth.
It will become a bit thicker and the beans
will be tender.  Check for seasoning at this time.

The pork roast should be falling off the bone
at this point.  Gently remove it and set on a plate
or cutting board.  Remove bone and excess fat.
Using two forks, shred the meat and place
back into bean pot.  You are ready to eat!

You can lay down a flour tortilla
and cover with beans and your choice
of other toppings such as CHEESE,
lettuce, sour cream, salsa, etc., etc.

You could also pour 'em up in a bowl
on top of cornbread or serve 'em up along side
some fried taters my precious.

Give 'em a try now, ya hear.

ENJOY!

Dough-rrific

Things to ponder…
if you were ever in a quandary
about what to cook for dinner
or needed a side dish to go along with your meal…
and it just so happened that your pantry
was not stocked to its fullest…
I mean, theoretically...
surely this would never happen,
but MAYBE, just maybe it did one time.

And after much deep thought,
you realize that you might
could make up a complete meal….
if only you had some pasta.

SO, would you rather:
A: Get in the car,
drive five or ten minutes to a store
and pay five dollars for 'homemade' pasta,
then drive five to ten more minutes
back home and spend fifteen more minutes cooking it?
OR
B: Stay in your pajamas (that you’ve had on all day)
and make your own pasta,
basically for free in fifteen minutes or less?
Messier?  Maybe. 
More delicious-er?  Most definitely.

You can decide.
Really, there’s no pressure.
Please don’t hate.

I may have a sickness.

Okay, so maybe I've done this recently.
It was seriously not worth the makeup to go out
and it was seriously worth it when we tasted the pasta.

I hope you'll stay in your pajamas one day
and make some pasta.

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
Yep, we just chat it up all the time! ;)

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 eggs for every cup of flour

That's it.  That's all you need.
The Pioneer Woman says to figure
1 egg for each person you'll be feeding.
We found that we fed a little more than that.

My first go round, I used 3 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of flour.
Cut the pasta into skinny spaghetti shapes
and it made enough for a 9x13 pan of
chicken spaghetti.

The next go round, I made the basic recipe
and it fed 4 for dinner as a side dish.

WHAT TO DO:

Measure flour into medium size bowl 

and make a well in the middle of it.

Crack both eggs into the 'well'
and with one hand, begin to work in

the flour a bit at a time -

squeezing the eggs to break the yolks

as you go.  Nice and messy.

This is why you just want to use one hand.

Continue mixing the goo together until it is
completely combined.  Mix and knead

until it is nice and smooth -

adding a bit of flour in as needed
to keep from sticking.

Let the dough rest for 10 or 15 minutes.

Using a good heavy rolling pin,

begin to roll dough as thin as you possibly can.

(If you have a pasta machine, even better)
But this is not hard to do.  At. All.

Roll dough and rotate as you go,

adding a little flour here and there

to keep from sticking to the counter.

Using a very long knife, a pizza roller or a pizza cutter

cut the dough into the shapes you would like.

You could even make ravioli!

As the dough pieces sit and rest,

fill a large stock pot with a couple of quarts

of water and a few tablespoons of salt.

Place on high heat and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, slowly add pasta and begin to stir.

When water comes back up to a boil,

lower heat to medium.

Homemade pasta only needs to cook a couple of minutes.

For spaghetti, approximately 2 minutes!

 Drain pasta and eat to your hearts desire.

I really feared this pasta would be too delicate

for something such as chicken spaghetti

but it held up extremely well and was

most excellent I must say.

We also like it with just some butter
and olive oil - it's really great

served up with Baked Italian Salad

shown in the pic below! Yumm.

You could get so creative with this

and your kids would absolutely shout

if they got to participate!

ENJOY!!!

Bacon-aisse!

HE DID IT!
Oh yes he did. 
Your eyes are not deceiving you.  
 My mountain man searched and researched
and tweaked and measured
(well, maybe not so much measuring)
but he made homemade mayo out of bacon grease
instead of another oil, such as olive or veggie.

Make it if you dare – keep it in your man cave –
spread it on toast, biscuits, a spoon,
whatever men like with bacon…or mayonnaise. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 egg yolk per half cup of bacon grease

¾ teaspoon or so Dijon mustard

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon lemon juice

(He tripled these ingredients
which made about a pint jar
of bacon-naise goodness)

WHAT TO DO:

In the small bowl of a food processor, 

process egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice 

and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.   

Have the bacon fat warm enough to be liquid, but not hot.   

With the machine running, gradually and slowly, 

drizzle in the fat into the processor.   

Emulsify for about 2 minutes.  

 Once it starts to emulsify

you can begin pouring the bacon fat more quickly.  

 If the ‘mayonnaise’ is too thick, 

just blend in 1 teaspoon of boiling water to thin it.  

 Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.   

Refrigerate in a good sealed container or Mason jar. 

By the way, if you want to make mayonnaise,

minus the bacon grease part -
just swap out the grease for a good oil
such as canola or olive oil.

ENJOY!

Stick Food Friday

Welcome back to Free Recipe Friday.
So sorry for the missing post last week,
we were off with a bunch of college kids
in Atlanta, Georgia for the Passion Conference.
A week long conference with so much worship,
so much Jesus, and so much to process.
There are really no words to describe it.

This week, as we approach another
nationally celebrated time to gather with friends
and eat - i.e., SUPER BOWL, we thought we would offer
an oh so easy and make ahead snack.
Antipasto Kabobs.
If you make these, you'll have more time
to enjoy the big game.

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 - 9 oz pkg Cheese Tortellini - cooked to al dente
40 large Black Olives
40 large Stuffed Green Olives
20 slices of Hard Salami - sliced in half
40 slices of Pepperoni
Flat Leaf Parsley
Appx. 3/4 cup of Italian Dressing, or
even better, a copycat Olive Garden Dressing

(found all over Pinterest)
40 small Skewers

WHAT TO DO:
Cook tortellini to al dente in a pot of salted water
according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.
In a large resealable plastic bag,
combine the tortellini, olives and dressing.
Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for several hours
or overnight.
When ready to prepare these little yummies,
remove from fridge, drain and discard marinade.
For each appetizer, thread a stuffed olive,
folded pepperoni slice, tortellini,
folded piece of salami, a ripe olive and parsley sprig.
Now chow down!

These are so great and easy, 
great for any gathering
whether it be as an appetizer or
alongside a salad and good crusty bread for a meal.
I hope you can make these very soon!

ENJOY!