The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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Tortilla Soup

Onion Mixture:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
2 jalapenos (sliced)
1 teaspoon cumin
Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 white corn tortillas (torn into pieces)

4 cups chicken stock

1.5 Lb cooked chicken meat shredded

Juice of ½ lime

Hot sauce to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and begin to sauté until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and jalapenos and sauté for 2-3 more minutes. Add in the cumin, season with salt and pepper and cook for a minute more.

Combine the prepared onion mixture, half of the fire roasted tomatoes, the torn tortillas and a 1 cup of the chicken stock to a blender starting on low and slowly increasing the speed until pureed.

In a Dutch oven over medium high heat the pureed mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then pour in the rest of the chicken stock and tomatoes and stir.

Add in the shredded chicken and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add in the juice of half a lime and some hot sauce to taste.

GARNISH- Fried tortilla strips, cilantro, avocado and queso fresco

For the fried tortilla strips:

5 white corn tortillas (cut into strips)

Heat about 2 inches of oil to 350°F in a shallow heavy bottomed pan. Add in tortilla strips and fry for 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Potato and Ham Soup

7 cups peeled and large diced potatoes

2/3 cup diced celery

2/3 cup finely chopped onion

1.5 cups diced cooked ham

6.5 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken base

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste

10 tablespoons butter

10 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook stirring constantly until thick. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the pot containing the potatoes and ham. Cook until heated through. Serve immediately.

Moroccan Soup

If you’re tired of the same old vegetable beef soup and want something different then give this flavorful Moroccan soup a try…you won’t be disappointed.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 pound beef chuck roast meat, or lamb meat (shoulder or leg), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

6 cups beef broth

2 small turnips, peeled and diced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, leaves included, thinly sliced

Pinch of saffron threads, (Optional)

12 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus more leaves for garnish

8 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish

1 large zucchini, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 ounces angel hair pasta broken into small pieces (about 1/2 cup), or orzo

1-2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and turmeric; stir to coat. Add meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add broth (or water), tomatoes and their juice, turnips, carrots, celery and saffron. Tie parsley and cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the meat is tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Stir in zucchini and cook, covered, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook until soft, 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of pasta. Discard the parsley and cilantro sprigs. Season with salt (start with 1 teaspoon) and pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley and/or cilantro leaves, if desired.

Grinding Your Own Meat for Burgers and Sausage.

Let me first say that I hardly ever buy pre-ground burger meat or
prepackaged Italian or fresh Kielbasa sausage. If you have ever ground your own meats then you will know exactly what I’m talking about and if you have never had fresh kielbasa (not smoked) put it on your bucket list.

About The Beef:

If you think that the ground chuck from your grocery store originated from the scraps of chuck in the butcher shop you’re probably wrong. Most often they get a tube of meat from a meat supplier, regrind and package. So in reality no one in your meat department can certify that all of the meat in your package is all chuck and that’s not a good thing.

After I started grinding my own chuck I found a worthwhile difference in both quality and price. When I say quality I mean taste and tenderness.

It is pretty simple, just buy a chuck roast and grind it, season it with salt and pepper and package it into freezer bags. I find that packaging in 8 oz quantities a good start unless you know ahead of time that you’re going to need a greater quantity for a particular recipe.

My Favorite BBQ Rubs

“This review is not about meat rubs for grilling; it is about rubs for slow smoked BBQ.”

This past weekend I slow smoked 4 slabs of pork ribs and 4 slabs of beef ribs. Each slab was rubbed with a total of 4 different spice blends, 3 that were commercial and one that I have the recipe for. They are:

Bad Byron’s Butt Rub (BB)
Coopers Old Time Pit BBQ Rub
Jake’s Boss BBQ Rub Recipe

PORK RIBS

With a test group and my opinion as well, the ratings were identical. Winning by a landslide margin was Jake’s Boss BBQ Rub. In second place was Bad Byron’s Butt Rub.

BEEF RIBS

With a different test group (but with me as well) the following are the results:

Winning 1st place was Cooper’s Old Time Pit BBQ Rub beating Jake’s Boss BBQ rub by a hair.

Barr’s Texas BBQ Sauce

So here it is.

2 Cups apple cider vinegar
3 Cups water
2 Cups sugar
1 Cup honey
1/4 Cup mustard such as French’s
2 Tsp black pepper
2 Lemons (juice of) or 6 Tbsp bottled lemon juice
4 Clove garlic minced
1/4 Cup freeze-dried or 1 1/2 cups diced onion
1/2 Stick butter
1/4 Tsp cayenne
1/4 Cup chili powder
2 Tbsp table salt
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp Paprika

5 Cups (40 ounces) of store brand ketchup
3 Tbsp worchestire sauce
1/4 Cup liquid smoke

Combine all of the ingredients in the first group of ingredients a large pot and stir to combine at medium heat to dissolve the sugar and until the onions are tender. About 20 minutes.

Add 5 cups (40 ounces) store brand ketchup, 3 Tbsp Worchestire sauce and 1/4 cup of liquid smoke.

Stir well and bring to a boil and then back off and simmer for about 45 minutes stirring frequently. Let stand to cool.

For best results once at room temp put the pot in the fridge overnight.

If my memory serves me right, this recipe makes about a gallon of sauce and it freezes very well.

No Roux Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Who said that good Gumbo has to be made with a homemade roux. Well I’m here to tell y’all that it isn’t necessary and this alternative actually has zero fat and zero cholesterol with only 30 calories per serving.

So why put yourself through all the fuss and mess when you can have great tasting Gumbo with little work in minutes vs. hours.

1 Lbs Cooked Chicken
1 Packet Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun GUMBO Base
1 Lbs. Andouille Sausage
1 cup diced Onions
1 cup diced Green Bell Pepper
2 Celery stalks diced
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Quarts Chicken Broth
Cajun/Creole Seasoning

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and the sausage into 1/3 inch thick rounds. Fry the sausage to get some nice color.

Place the diced onions, bell peppers and celery and butter into a pot and saute until the veggies are tender and then add 1 1/2 quart of chicken broth and the packet of the Gumbo base and stir to combine.

Add the sausage, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust for flavor and thickness and then add the chicken and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Add in more seasoning if needed based on personal preference.

If you really want the best, let the pot of Gumbo cool and then refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight but if you do this do not add the chicken until after reheating with 10 minutes to go otherwise the chicken will over cook.

Serve over rice in bowls with a ratio of gumbo to rice 2:1

Blackened Chicken or Fish

This is a really tasty, fast and easy blackened chicken or fish recipe.

2 Chicken Breasts
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Olive oil (not Virgin)
Spices (see Note below)

Spice Blend: All amounts are in Teaspoon amounts. (Note: 3 tsps = 1 Tbsp)

2 Salt
3 Oregano
3 Thyme
1 Black Pepper
1 White Pepper
1 Granulated Onion
1 Paprika
1 Cayenne
1 Granulated Garlic

Pound the chicken breasts until 1/2 inches thick. But if nothing else, make sure that both breasts have the same from thickness from stem to stern otherwise one will be finished before the other or one end of the chicken will be done long before the other end.

Pat the chicken dry and on a plate, sprinkle the spice mix on all sides of the chicken and don’t be skimpy. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter.

Remove breasts from the fridge and brush 1 Tbsp of melted butter on the top side.

Add the remaining butter and oil to a metal skillet on your stovetop set at medium high. Flick a little bit of water from your fingers into the pan and when it sizzles add the chicken buttered side up.

One of the things that I found is cooking the meat too quickly which results in a blackened exterior and a raw interior. Adjust the heat accordingly.

Check the bottom the the breasts for that blackened look and when you got it, flip the breasts. If you think that the pan needs more oil remember that you have the melted butter on the other side so no more is needed. If you think that more is needed add more oil or butter but it’s a good indication that the heat is too high.

The chicken is done when it’s internal temp is 160 degrees and the best way to determine that is with a digital temperature probe. Just make sure you insert the tip of the probe in the middle of the meat and not through to the pan.

When done plate and add your side dishes.

Note as Promised: I opine that using a prepared Taco seasoning such as Tones and adding a bit of salt and cayenne based on your preferences is a really good deal and tastes pretty much the same. BUT I haven’t tried it yet but I will and report later.

White Rice With Butter and Soy Sauce

Click on Image to Enlarge

I love white rice but quite frankly I sometimes get bored with it.

Scouring the internet I came upon an “improvement” that I thought I’d try which was simply adding butter and soy sauce to the rice.

I tried it and I simply loved it. In the pic above I could have done a better job of stirring but it tasted really good.

Beside it are grilled chicken parts that I seasoned with Jakes Boss BBQ Rub over some Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. Better than Sweet Baby Rays you might want to try my Texas BBQ sauce recipe.

Stop drowning your chicken in BBQ sauce. Just add some to the plate and then put your chicken on top. This way you can actually taste the spices and enjoy crispy chicken but with some sauce to add another dimension without being overpowering.