Author: admin

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Simple Bread

Ingredients

  • 5 1/4 cups of bread flour
  • 2 – 4 Tablespoons Sugar – adjust to taste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons oil
  • 2 cups of warm water (100 – 115 degrees)

Directions

Makes 2 loaves. This bread is a more dense bread.

Dissolve the yeast (1 1/2 Tbsp) and sugar (2 -4 Tbsp) in the warm water (2 cups). Wait for about 5 minutes to make sure the yeast blooms (you will start to see bubbles). Mix in the rest of the ingredients: Flour (5 1/4 cups), oil (1 1/2 Tbsp) and salt (1 1/2 tsp).

Mix this for about a minute. The dough should be sticky. If the dough is dry, add a little more water and continue to mix. Mix for 5 minutes.

After mixing, add a little flour to the surface where you will quickly knead the bread. Pull the dough out onto the surface and separate into two loaves (I use scales to make sure they cook evenly). Knead the loaves until they are smooth. Place the loaves in greased loaf pans. Cover with a towel for 25 minutes so that the top doesn’t dry out.

While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After 25 minutes, take a sharp knife and score the bread down the middle to allow for expansion.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

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Lamb Kebabs

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion quartered
  • 10 sprigs of parsley
  • ½ tsp lemon zest
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 Tbsp Kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Lamb, cubed

Directions

In a blender add the onion, garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest, lemon juice, allspice and salt and blend until pureed.
Place the cubed lamb in a Ziploc bag and add the marinade. Refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.

Oil the grill and preheat.
Shake off the excess marinade and put the lamb on skewers. Use red peppers and onions between the pieces of meat.
Cook, rotating occasionally for approximately 5 minutes for medium rare meat
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Jambalaya

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon of oil (for chicken)
  • 1 teaspoon of oil (for sausage)
  • 14 oz andouille (or beef Kielbasa for milder flavor)
  • 1/2 boneless chicken breast (double if not using shrimp)
  • 8 oz ham, diced
  • 8 oz cooked shrimp (optional)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 3 celery ribs, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups of rice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning (I use McCormick)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Slap ya Mama (Walmart has this)
  • 1 can petite diced tomatoes (14 oz)
  • 1 3/4 Cups chicken broth

Directions

Make sure to add the ingredients as stated as some people have gotten a Burn error on their instant pot.

Chop the onion, red pepper, celery and garlic. Set the instant pot to Saute and add the oil (1 Tbsp) to the pot. Cut up the chicken in small bite sized pieces. Add the onion, red pepper, celery, garlic and chicken to the instant pot and stir occasionally for about 3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth (1 3/4 cups) to the chicken mixture and make sure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the rice (1 1/2 cups), salt (1/2 tsp), cajun seasoning (1/2 tsp), thyme (1/2 tsp), Slap ya Mama (1/2 tsp) and stir well. Once everything is stirred well, add the can of tomatoes to the top (Do not stir) and close the lid.

Set the Instant pot for Manual, High pressure for 8 minutes.

Once the instant pot starts, cut the sausage in small bite sized pieces and fry them in a bit of oil (1 tsp). If using shrimp, cook it at this time, too. They will be added to the jambalaya after it is finished cooking.

When the Instant Pot finishes, let it natural release for 5 minutes. Release the pressure, add the sausage / shrimp to the pot, stir it in and close the lid for another 5 minutes.

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Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 pint of heavy cream
  • 1/4 pound of butter (one stick)
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese **optional, and not pictured in the video
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese **do not use cheese that has been pre-shredded or pre-grated
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

In a saucepan, combine butter, and heavy cream. Simmer until all is melted and mixed well.
Add the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes on low.
You may wish to add a little salt and pepper. I have made this with half and half, but we prefer the heavy cream.
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Smoked Mac n Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 (16-ounce) package elbow macaroni
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into large chunks
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) Colby Jack cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

Load the wood tray with one small handful of wood chips (or whatever you need to do for your smoker) and preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F.

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium saucepan, melt butter, and whisk flour into the butter. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and thick. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes until thickened. Stir in cream cheese until mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine 1 cup Cheddar, 1 cup Colby Jack cheese, Parmesan cheese, pasta, and cream sauce. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 9-1/2-inch aluminum roasting pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese and Colby Jack cheese.
Place in smoker and cook 1 hours at 225 degrees F, until brown, bubbly and delicious.

Take out, crumble ritz crackers on top with a little more cheese and put under broiler until brown.
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Kofta Kebabs

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 1 lb groud beef
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 8 parsley sprigs
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 slice of toasted bread, slightly wet

Spices

  • 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground sumac (or lemon pepper as a substitute)
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions

Place the onion, garlic and parsley in a food processor and do a few quick pulses. Add the beef, lamb, bread and the spices to the food processor and blend well. The mixture should be pasty.
Place the mixture in a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Start to preheat the grill and oil it well.
Start making the kebabs on skewers (if using wooden skewers make sure to immerse them in water for about 30 minutes prior to use).
Grill 3-4 minutes per side.
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Batter White Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 packages of yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
  • 2 3/4 cups warm water (100 – 115 degrees)
  • 6 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 3 teaspoons Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons soft shortening

Directions

Dissolve the yeast (2 packages or 4 1/2 teaspoons) in the warm water (2 3/4 cups). Add half the flour (3 1/4 cups), sugar (3 Tbsp), salt (3 tsp) and shortening (2 Tbsp). Blend at low speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes at medium speed. Mix in remaining flour. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).

Stir batter, beating hard for approximately 30 seconds. Spread into greased loaf pans. Let rise for 20 minutes or until doubled.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Makes 2 loaves.

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Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients

  • pizza crust – See the recipe here
  • 8-10 Slices of mozzarella cheese
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 lb. sausage
  • Pizza sauce
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Butter

Directions

Make the pizza dough. While it’s rising, start browning and seasoning the ground beef to your liking, brown the sausage and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Coat the entire inside of the cast iron skillet with butter. Place the pizza dough in the pan, making sure to go up the sides of the skillet with the dough. Using a fork, poke holes in the dough to help it not rise when you pre-cook it.

Cook the dough in a 400 degree oven for 5-8 minutes.

Take the dough out of the oven and place the mozzarella cheese slices in the pan completely covering the bottom of the pan. This helps to keep the crust crunchy. Next, spread the hamburger evenly over the cheese. Add some shredded mozzarella cheese next and top it with some pizza sauce. The sausage is spread out next with more mozzarella cheese on top of it. You can add more sauce if you like it saucy. Don’t worry if your ingredients are slightly over the top of the pan, it will reduce in height as it cooks.

Melt some butter and spread it anywhere you can see the dough. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the dough starts to get golden brown. You can turn on the broiler at this point if you want the cheese done more.

This is the hardest part of the recipe. After pulling the pizza from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

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Pizza Dough

Ingredients

  • 2 2/3 cups bread flour
  • 3/4 cup warm water (100 – 115 degrees)
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon yeast (one packet)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Place the yeast (2 1/4 tsp), Sugar (1/2 tsp), and warm water (3/4 cups) in a large bowl. Wait 5 minutes to make sure that the yeast starts to bubble. Once you know that your yeast is working, add the remaining ingredients: Oil (2 Tbs), Salt (1 tsp) and flour (2 cups of bread).

Add the flour slowly until everything is incorporated and you have a nice ball of dough. If the dough is shaggy, add a little extra water slowly until it pulls together into a cohesive ball. Pull the dough out of the bowl and oil the bowl (or use another bowl). Turn your dough ball over so that it gets equally covered with the oil. Cover the bowl with saran wrap for 30 minutes.

After the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until it starts to tighten up. If you are splitting the dough, now is the time to measure it and split it. Once split form nice dough balls and let sit for another 5-10 minutes. It’s ready to roll out, place your toppings and eat.


Note:You made need more flour according to the season and humidity. Add enough flour until your dough is not too sticky.
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Tom’s Not 2 Hawt Taco Sauce 3.0

Ingredients

  • 2 – 28 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes
  • 6 oz. Can of tomato paste
  • 2 Tablespoons of onion powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of garlic powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of smoked paprika (McCormick brand)
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin
  • 1/2 cup finely diced fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 cup finely diced fresh parsley (added for eye appeal, optional)
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 1 cup of finely diced anaheim pepper (green pepper)
  • 10 oz. Sweet chili sauce – Mae Ploy brand (Walmart has this)
  • Sambal Oelek – Huy Fong brand (Walmart has this)
  • Water

Directions

Mix everything thoroughly and slowly add the water last to obtain the consistency you want.

Mild: 12 oz. Sambal Oelek
Medium: 16 oz. Sambal Oelek
Hot: Keep adding until you like it

This recipe will yield approximately a 1/2 gallon. Can be frozen.