Tag: Coleens

Coleen’s Recipes: EASY TOMATO VEGGIE SOUP by Gordon Ramsay

This recipe is a wonderful use for all of those extra garden veggies you have this time of year. Tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, onions, celery and anything else you can think of to add to the soup; this recipe is very versatile (and yummy).

1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 cups water
2 large tomatoes (I use roasted cherry tomatoes)
1 (15 ounce) can ro-tel tomatoes with juice (I use mild)
4 cups beef or vegetable broth (not bullion)
1/3 cup uncooked barley
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper (I like 1/2 teaspoon)
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 can rinsed and drained kidney beans (or your favorite bean)
pinch of red pepper flakes if you like heat (optional)

Spray a large soup pot with vegetable spray and sauté the onions, celery and carrots until the onions turn soft and a little sweet.

Put the undrained can of rotel tomatoes

PLUS the two fresh tomatoes into the food processor and blend until smooth, then add to the pot.

Add everything else to the pot and simmer SLOWLY for 45 minutes, that’s it; just stir it once in a while.

I’m SURE this could be easily done in the crockpot as well. This is one of those great recipes that tastes even better on day two.

ENJOY !!

Coleen’s Recipes: CROCKPOT PICNIC BEANS by Gordon Ramsay

I’ve been making these beans for my family for 30+ years and they are always a hit. Now that we are empty nesters, I make a big pot of these and then freeze them in 2 cup containers for a quick and yummy side dish for any meal.

I put the following ingredients (which are always in my pantry) into a large crockpot before I go to bed and let them cook on LOW all night.

2 cups DRY navy beans (do not soak)

6 cups water

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar works well too)

3 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

3/4 cup sweet onion chopped small and sautéed

(1) 8 ounce can tomato sauce

small pinch of cayenne pepper

6 slices crisp cooked and drained bacon

Now, a word about the beans: Over the years, I’ve tried every kind of DRY bean there is and they ALL work, however, the tiny little “navy beans” work the best and tolerate re-heating without going mushy. I highly recommend that you use navy beans. Make sure you rinse and sort the dry beans, but do NOT pre-soak them.

Put everything into a large crockpot and cover with 6 cups of water. Stir well and set on low for 12 hours. The last 3-4 hours, prop the lid of the slow cooker open (just a little) with a spoon, to thicken the sauce.

Note about onions: When I decide to make these beans (and I’m out of fresh onions), I use a scant tablespoon of dehydrated onion flakes, they work well.

ENJOY !!!

Coleen’s Recipes: EASY HOME MADE PEPPERONI by Gordon Ramsay

Have you ever read the ingredient list on a package of commercial pepperoni or looked closely at a slice of it and wondered what all those “bits” were? Exactly!! A pretty gross thought isn’t it??

If you want to know exactly what is in YOUR pepperoni, try this super easy recipe. It’s just high quality pork and seasonings baked in the oven at a super low temperature for 6 hours ….and it is delicious, (even picky-picky husband loves it!!)

First of all, keep in mind that when it’s all cooked, it’s NOT going to be bright red/orange like commercial pepperoni, and it’s NOT going to be shaped perfectly round, but that certainly didn’t bother us.

1 pound of ground pork (not sausage)
1 pound of ground beef (lean)
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons fennel seed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (see notes)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 slightly heaping teaspoons salt (see notes)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup ice water

Grind the dry spices together (I used my mortar and pestle) until they are roughly ground (it doesn’t have to be super fine).

Mix the meat, flavorings, ice water and liquid smoke together just until combined. (I use my stand mixer). Cover it well, and chill it for 48 hours.

After 48 hours, mix again gently and roll the mixture into 2 logs and place them on a foil lined baking sheet (make sure the baking sheet has a lip).

Bake in a pre-heated 200° oven for 8 hours. If you seriously want round pepperoni, turn the logs every 2 hours, but I never do that. Your house is going to smell wonderful!!

After 8 hours, they will look like this:

The “pepperoni” logs will be quite firm to the touch when they come out of the oven. If there is a lot of fat on your baked pepperoni “logs”, just wipe it off before you chill them, but I seldom have that problem.

CHILL PEPPERONI BEFORE
YOU SLICE !!

Let the baked logs cool a little, then wrap them in plastic wrap and chill them until they are very cold before you slice them. Use a sharp knife and slice the sausages very thin.

This treat is VERY easy to make and has a wonderful flavor.

NOTES: I buy pork butt roast when it’s on super sale and just grind it with my stand mixer, but you can also just buy commercially ground pork (UNSEASONED….not sausage!!)

NOTES: Picky-picky husband is very shy when it comes to “heat”, so I make this recipe with 1 + 1/4 teaspoons of red pepper flakes and it’s just right. If you like a spicier pepperoni, just add more flakes.

NOTES: A note about the color of this pepperoni. To get a bright red/orange color in pepperoni, people use Morton’s Tender Quick which has salt, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and propylene glycol in it. Personally, it is not important to us to have that bright red color, so I just use table salt instead of the Tender Quick and it works just fine. I freeze my baked pepperoni.