Holiday Stuffing

Is that time of the year... The holiday's. I made up my own recipe for stuffing this year. Some people call it dressing. I thought I'd share.

1 Cup - Onion, chopped.
1 Cup - Celery, sliced.
1 Cup - Apple, chopped.
5 oz. - Dried cranberries (sweetened)
1/2 Cup - butter
2 1/2 cups - white wine
2-3 cloves - garlic minced.
1 Tbsp- fresh sage chopped.
2 Tbsps- Basil
1 Tsp - Rosemary.
1/4 tsp - Sea Salt.
1/2 tsp - pepper.
1 16 oz bag - dried bread cubes

Pour bread in to a very large bowl. Melt butter in a saucepan add onion, celery, garlic, and apple. Saute for about 10 minutes until onions and celery are firm but softening. Add the wine and mix. Add cranberries, sage, and other spices to the bread. Pour a little of the liquid mixture over and stir to moisten adding a little at a time until everything is thoroughly mixed. Bake on 325 for an hour or use stuff turkey.

Enjoy.

Lazy Day - Build a Sandwich

Yes, it's football Sunday and you do not want to be away from the action. It's a day to just build a sandwich. But you don't want to just throw a piece of meat in between two pieces of bread.

What you need - use whatever type of meat you'd like: Deli Turkey, Beef, Ham, or all of the above.
Bacon
Cheese
Hoagie bun
Lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno's (optional)
Mayo or Miracle Whip and mustard.
Cook the bacon until it's to your likely and put aside. Toast the bun, add cheese and melt the cheese. Then add whatever fixing you want. Starting with bacon, meats, lettuce, tomato, onions, etc. And you have a sandwich. As you can see, basically this is something you can build to your specification. Enjoy!

Chili Verde

Crock Pot Chili Verde

1 lb - Pork roast cubed
9 - Pealed and chopped Anaheim peppers.
2 - Habeneros (optional - use Jalapeno's instead if you want a milder chili)
2 - Cans chicken broth
1 cup - chopped onion
2 cloves - chopped garlic
1 tsp - Cilantro
1 tsp - Cumin
1/2 tsp - chili powder - less or more depending on how spicy you want it.
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup - flour

Brown pork. Put in Crock Pot, add peppers, onions, spices and broth. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours in crock pot. Stir off and on during the day. One hour before serving put flour in the bowl, stir in liquid from the Verde into the bowl, mix until it's a smooth paste. Stir it into the chili and cook until thickened. Serve with rice and tortillas.
Enjoy!

Spicy Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs

Spicy Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs
The amount of ingredients depend on how many people. It's easy to adjust. Just add a few more things or take away.

Olive Oil - around 1 tbsp.
Tomatoes - 4 to 6 chopped
Onion - 1/8 to 1/4 chopped
Jalapeno or Anaheim pepper - 1/2 chopped
Garlic - 2 large cloves
Fresh basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste.

Meatballs
Shallot - one clove chopped
Pepper - small hot pepper chopped
Hot ground sausage - 1/2 to 1 lb

Put the oil and tomatoes in pan, bring to boil. Let boil a few minutes. You can leave it chunky or mash with a potato masher to make it a smooth sauce. Then add onion, pepper, garlic, and seasoning. Let simmer for as long as you'd like. But at least 30 minutes.

Mix the meat, pper and shallot's together and roll into balls. Slow cook on low until cooked through and brown. Add to sauce. Serve over thin spaghetti. Side dish bread and/or salad.

Roasted Chili Peppers

There really isn't a recipe for roasting chili peppers. Just instructions. You can roast them several different ways. Use a grill or a big roasting drum or you can do what I do, I broil them.

You start with a bunch, usually a bushel of peppers, I use Anaheim. Rinse and dry them and arrange them on a pan. Broil them for 4 to 5 minutes until they blister, do not let it char. Turn them over and broil another 4 to 5 minutes. Place them in a large bowl and cover the bowl with a towel. This will steam them and loosen the skins. Let them sit in the bowl for 10 to 15 minutes.

Take the stems out, there should be a good amount of seeds that come out also, but don't worry if it doesn't. You can skin them at this time, or freeze and remove the skin once thawed. This is what I do. You place three to four in a Ziploc bag, let cool before sealing the bag. Then let cool another hour before you put in the freezer. You can leave in the freezer for up to a year.

These chili's are good in almost anything, but one of my favorite's is Chili Verde.

I will see you in two weeks!

Chicken Pie

Chicken Pie

2 lbs Chicken cubed
6 potatoes cubed
2 carrots sliced thin
1 stalk celery sliced thin
2 cloves garlic minced
½ onion chopped
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup frozen corn
1 tsp sage
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil (1 tbsp dried)
2/3 cup half and half
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes and put them on to boil.

Clean and trim chicken then cube and place in pan with a little olive oil and brown. When there is enough broth from the chicken, add all the vegetables except the corn and peas. Cook until the carrots are tender. Add 1/3 cup half and half, bring to a boil. The other 1/3 mix with the flour until it’s a smooth paste then stir into the pan until it is thickened. Add the corn and peas and stir.

Scoop into the individual baking dishes. Mash the potatoes using the butter some half and half until creamy. Spread over the top of the dishes over the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, brown the top on broil for 5. Take out cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Coming end of September 2015!

Announcing the After Work Cook
Virtual Cook Book

Beginning the end of September 2015 on YouTube I will be posting mini video recipes once or twice a month. You can watch at:

The After Work Cook