What, it tastes awesome!

Warning: Everything in this is to taste. You can add or take away whatever you like. The below amounts made approx. 6 Qts. 

List of Ingredients:

1/2 lb of bacon

2 large onions (I used a red and a white, but use whatever)

2 tblspns Garlic in oil

6 bell peppers (I used 2 each of yellow, orange and red, you can use whatever)

3 lbs ground beef (I actually used leftover meatloaf, and it came out good)

1 can of baked beans

1 can of red beans

1 can of white beans

1 can of tomato paste

bbq sauce (I used approx 2 cups, but I wasn’t measuring, so)

cajun seasoning

louisiana hot sauce

kosher salt

I began by frying the bacon in the bottom of an 8qt pot, then added the onions and peppers to sweat. I added the garlic, and let all the water from the veggies cook down.

I added some cajun seasoning at that point, and let it marry. 

Add in the ground beef, and half of the bbq sauce, stirring. 

Add in the canned goods, mix thoroughly, add the rest of the bbq sauce, some more cajun spice, a good few dashes of hot sauce and some kosher salt. 

Let it cook down at a simmer, covered.

Enjoy it with some cheese and crackers. 

1 Large Eggplant, peeled, sliced THIN and breaded/fried
4 pkgs shredded mozarella cheese
2 jars of marinara sauce


in a metal baking pan, spread a tablespoon of sauce evenly over the bottom. Layer slices of eggplant over the sauce, covering all holes. Spread about two more tablespoons of sauce over the eggplant layer, then layer cheese. Repeat until the pan is piled to the top, then put in a 350 degree oven for 10-20 minutes, depending on how many layers. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO REALLY PACK THIS BABY…PUSH THE LAYERS DOWN! GO AHEAD, YOU KNOW YOU WANNA!

cheese should be ooey gooey and browning on the top…

feeds anywhere from 5-10 people depending on appetites…

marinade will make enough for the bean salad, OR one lb of pasta, if you want to mix the two(which is really yummy, make twice the amount)

dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced fine
1/4 cup of olive oil(vegetable oil works fine too, but add another tsp)
about 1 tblspn garlic powder(by eye)

combine in jar or container and mix well.

For Bean Salad:

Diced Celery(1 or 2 stalks)
1 green pepper minced
1 bunch minced scallions
3 raw shredded carrots
1 lb can green beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can mushrooms
1 can string beans
1 can chick peas(garbanzo beans)

Mix veggies, add dressing and toss


Pasta Salad:

1 lb cooked pasta, drained and cool
1 can black olives
one small red onion diced
4 or five sweet gherkin pickles, chopped large
other raw veggies as desired

mix veggies and pasta, add dressing and toss

NOTE: My grandmother used to use a really big jar, like from a warehouse size jar of relish or mayo…dump everything in, add the dressing and shake - this way it keeps very well, and it tastes EVEN BETTER the second and third day.

FUN VARIATION - Antipasto

1/2 lb cooked pasta, drained and cool
all veggies from above recipes
2 inch chunk of hard or genoa salami, chopped large
mozerella cheese, cubed
4 tblspns parmesean, grated

add dressing, toss, and serve with toasted italian bread or garlic bread

A bonifide cure-all, and tasty!

you’ll need:

an 8 quart pot
1 or 2 chickens
6 quarts cold water
1/2 bunch of celery
1 lb carrots
large onion
parsnip and parsley root if available
salt to taste

Directions:

Bring water to boil. Add 1 chicken. When pot reboils, time approx. 1 hour. Remove and repeat if using a second chicken. Can also add giblets and chicken feet if available.

Add vegetables and slowly boil until celery is soft. Can strain vegetables into soup, or serve vegetables whole. Serve with cooked noodles, matzo balls or rice.

Variation:
This is my paternal grandmother’s recipe, my maternal grandmother also puts some dill weed in, and it tastes yummy. I personally like the veggies whole.

I made some awesome turkey cutlets the other night, with a tiny bit of an ethnic flavor…I got the idea from some of my scottish culture books, and decided to try it when I realized I had no breadcrumbs left.

I took some oatmeal(I used the instant packets, believe it or not, but you can use regular too, just add a tsp or so of sugar or brown sugar to the mix :)

I added the following spices into a dish:

3 packets of Sazon
Adobo
Onion powder
Garlic and Parsley(regular garlic powder will work)
dill
salt and pepper

You can add any spices you like, I prefer herbs that go with turkey, like dill, rosemary or thyme(i didn’t have rosemary or thyme, or they’d have gone into it:) but I stronly recommend at least the sazon, as it has cumen and paprika in it, which upped the flavor of the oatmeal, but you can add those things seperately too.

I coated the turkey cutlets with mayonaise, actually, but you can use an egg wash, or any other method you use to bread things.

after coating, I rolled the pieces in the oatmeal mixture, and heated a pan, pouring 2 tblspns of peanut oil in it. 

I fried them in it for about 1 minute and a half on each side, but obviously if the pieces are thicker it will take longer. it’s the best when it’s hot, but it can be left to cool as well…it’ll be awesome in a mandarin salad(which I think I may try tonight), or cut up into a turkey salad with some mayo and celery…

Shred potatoes, squeeze out moisture, 1-2 eggs mixed in, 2 tbsp flour & 1/4 tsp salt, fresh pepper & 1/4 baking powder

mix all dry ingredients, beat eggs, add eggs to potatoes & then mix dry ingredients. Deep fry batter in canola by tablespoon

Oil should bubble, not splatter. When they brown flip them. When cooked, place on paper towel to remove excess oil

This recipe’s basic, you can add anything you’d like into them, change spices around, etc.

For 3-5(or 2-3 depending on appetites)

1 large each of red, yellow and green peppers seeded and chopped

2 large onions minced

2 cans of whole or sliced new white potatoes(slices, cubes, whatever works)

6 cloves of garlic or 2 large tblspns of chopped garlic in oil
half a stick of butter
salt and pepper
adobo seasoning
sazon seasoning
parsley
oregano
hotter spices if desired(red peppers, chilli, etc)


Begin by heating the butter. Add in the onions first, followed quickly by the garlic. Add a tiny pinch of kosher salt, to reduce onions faster. When onions reduce, add peppers. sprinkle a pinch of adobo over this mixture.

When peppers are tender, add potatoes, and liberally shake adobo over mixture. mix well, stirring and tossing constantly, making sure everything is coated evenly with spices. Add other spices, except sazon now, to suit your taste.

lower heat and continue tossing, until potatoes are done(soft, or browned and crunchy, depending on how you like it)then sprinkle one regular sized packet of sazon over mixture, tossing again to evenly coat everything.


some derivations can include: adding sausage, bacon, beef or chicken, adding shredded cheeses like cheddar or mozerella,(cheese like parmesean or romano isn’t recommended due to it’s saltyness), or one I made last night:

Po’ Boys: mix pre-cooked chicken cut into cubes into above mixture, before sazon, so it’s coated as well, and pile on top of toasted hoagie rolls.

You begin with about a half-cup of rice, with the appropriate amount of water, in a large pot on the stove.

As it’s coming up to the boil, add:

one small can of tomato paste
3 tablespoons of Sofrito
approx. 2 teaspoons adobo
2 packets of Sazon
half a ham steak, cubed
half a can each of whatever beans you like
and anything else you’d like to put in(a friend puts capers, I don’t like them…whatever)


stir it until everything’s mixed, and the tomato paste/sofrito has been dispersed.

let cook until done, then let stand for about 3-4 minutes, no more, stirring.




Veggies can do without the ham, carnivores can add more, like chorizo, or other sausage, ground beef, whatever. this recipe’s so flexible, it makes gymnasts look uptight.

I had leftover chicken from lunch, with the marinade and all, so I grilled it, and roasted some green pepper.

On a bun, a bit of mayo, the chicken, avocado, some Parmesan, the peppers…

and I made some homemade honey mustard with some spicy brown mustard and a teeny drizzle of maple syrup.

Delicious, and so much healthier than a similar sandwich from Subway or Wendy’s