KILL IT CUT IT UP AND COOK IT: July 2017

Thursday, July 27, 2017

CONDENSED MUSHROOM SOUP

I make a large number of casseroles. They are quick and easy. And they taste good. But almost everyone that I find calls for “Condensed Cream of something Soup.”

I grew up on this stuff, never knowing how much better home made could be.

My wife panics when ever I bring home a can of this “soup”. She hates it and says it tastes like sawdust. So we decided to go searching for something better.

There are many recipes for Condensed Soup available on the web, and this is one that I tried. I have to admit that I enjoy watching the 'Pioneer Woman' on the Food Network. With a ranch, some kids and a hungry husband, this lady HAS to be good.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/homemade-condensed-cream-of-mushroom-soup/?printable_recipe=79484

So lets give it a shot. (I doubled the recipe for a large casserole.)

Ingredients

1/4 cup Butter (I used 'salted butter')

6 ounces, weight Mushrooms, Finely Chopped

1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

Salt And Pepper, to taste (I left out the salt)

1/4 cup All-purpose Flour

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1/2 cup Chicken Broth

In addition to her increments, we ADDED

    1 TBL of fresh TARRAGON
   ¼ TSP Celery seed

     I wonder how a little beer would taste??

Preparation

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.

Add mushrooms and onions and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Quickly whisk in cream and chicken broth until smooth.

Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. (ADD the Tarragon and celery seed) Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed–you want it to be saltier than normal, since this is a condensed soup. (I don't advise any more salt)

Since we used it immediately, I have not tried the following steps.

Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a jar or freezer-safe container. Once soup is completely cool, you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

To reconstitute, add 1 1/2 cups of liquid, such as chicken broth, milk, water, or a combination.

Note: A 10 3/4-ounce can of condensed mushroom soup is about 1 1/4 cups. This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of condensed soup.

Recipe inspired by Ali of Gimme Some Oven.

We mixed our soup with 2 Cups of cooked rice and placed chicken parts on top and baked for about an hour.

It was very good, but I think next time I will leave out the garlic.

YUM YUM !!!!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

HOME MADE KETCHUP

Earlier we talked about making Thousand Island dressing. Our recipe calls for 2 Table spoons of Ketchup. And this is the ONLY ketchup I will use.

So as promised, this is how we make it.

Full disclosure. This is another gem from Penny, who has made this for years.

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I love French Fries and Onion Rings. And ketchup goes so well with either of these wonderful side dishes.

But the ketchup you buy at the store is basically tasteless. And is full of SALT.

Why put salt on your fries then eat them with MORE SALT ????? 160 MG ?? That's 7 % of your salt intake per day !!!!

So let make some Ketchup that is not only better tasting but better for you as well.

INGREDIENTS

8 OZ Tomato SAUCE

6 OZ Tomato PASTE

2 TSP White Vinegar

¼ CUP SUGAR or Sugar like stuff.

¼ CUP Ground CLOVES

¼ TSP Ground ALL SPICE (This adds a TON of flavor)

Now, this is were the recipe gets complicated and may be difficult for you Florida State grads.

Mix all the above INGREDIENTS in a BOWL. And WHISK it all together.

When the mixture is properly mixed, you may put it into a jar and refrigerate.

That's all there is to it. The whole thing takes about ten minutes to put together.

I love the taste. The CLOVES and the addition of the ALL SPICE elevate this to a whole new taste.

I was reminded today of how much I love this recipe. Penny and I ran over to Crystal River, FL so she could get some Crab Meat for a friends dinner she is preparing. We stopped at a great place and I had a burger. (yes, I eat burgers at a Sea Food place. Sue me) Anyway their fries were delicious but the ketchup came out of one of those red bottles.

No wonder I like eating at home more than going out.

SO give this one a try. You won't be sorry.

You can thank me later.

COMING UP NEXT : Home made Cream of Mushroom Soup. It is so good, you're gonna wanna slap your grand ma.

Friday, July 21, 2017

HOME MADE THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

I love a good chopped salad. I try to have one every evening.

And the bigger the salad the better.

Nothing goes better on a salad than good ole Thousand Island dressing.

I no longer go to Ruby Tuesdays because the removed this favorite of mine from their salad bar. They also raised the damn price, but that another story.

One thing that always worried me was the high salt content, not to mention all the preservatives they put into this dressing. Are you kidding me? 250mg of SALT !!!

So we started to make our own.

There are many recipes available for home made Thousand Island Dressing on the web. Ours is one my wife has been making for many years. I love the taste, and I know the salt content is lower.

INGREDIENTS

2 TBL chopped RED Onion

1 Cup Mayonnaise

1 TBL RICE Wine Vinegar (Plain)

2 TBL of Ketchup (prefer Home made)

(I will show you how to prepare it in our next post)

2 TBL Pickle Relish

2 TBL Artificial sweetener

¼ Tsp Salt

Ground Pepper (whatever amount you prefer)

Place all the ingredients into a bowl.

Wisk it until combined.

Put in a jar and refrigerate.

This takes about five minutes to put together. SO why go with the store bought salt laden, bad for you stuff, when you can prepare this yourself?

No, I don't want to hear that you don't have the TIME. Bull s..t, we ALL have five minutes. So put the damn phone down and make something !!!!

Don't like salads ??? Make it anyway. It tastes similar to McDonald's BIG MAC special sauce. So grab some meat, fire up the grill and have a beer,

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

THE BASICS - BEEF BROTH

OK boys and girls, let get some BROTH !!!

Many recipes call for using Beef Broth. And I just want to scream when those TV cooks open a store bought container of broth.

Do they have ANY idea how much salt and preservatives are in that crap? No, of course not. That would require READING the LABEL.

One of the first things we did here was CHICKEN broth. I use it all the time. And if you made that recipe, (You did make it, right?) you know how damn easy it is. It's so easy Tim the Tool Man could make it. Although he would probably burn the crap out of his hand.

Here's how it goes.

Place 5 pounds of BEEF BONES in a roasting pan.

We got 10 pounds of free range beef bones at the farmers market. Pre frozen for us in five pound bags, we threw one bag in the freezer for use later. Yeah at six bucks a pound it was expensive. BUT it makes so much broth, the cost would be comparable to store bought. And home made is better for you.

OK, lecture over.

Add - 4 carrots cut up along with 4 stalks of celery.

Roast in 350 degree oven for about an hour. Have a beer while you wait

Beef Bones should be brown.

Let them cool and have another beer.

Put it all in a STOCK POT. Scrape in all the leavings from the roasting pan as well.

ADD 2 quarts of water. And ¼ cup of Apple Cider Vinegar.

I had help from the boss, thus the other beer.

Cover and bring to boil (about 15 minutes) then turn DOWN to a simmer.

Temperature should be around 208 degrees and you should see an occasional bubble

Cook about 4 hours, then add another QUART of water.

What you do now is up to you. Being summer in Florida, it's too damn hot to work outside. I had a beer and watched CLASSIC Florida football on the SEC network.