So, You Like It Hot? White Chicken Chili

2 cups Great Northern dried beans
32 oz. chicken broth
2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
2 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp red cayenne pepper
1 cup water, if needed
¼ cup lime juice
1 13.4 oz can diced jalapeño peppers
½ cup mozzarella cheese
Salt and Pepper

Prepared salsa, guacamole & tortilla chips

Everyone says you should soak your beans overnight, wash your beans, pick over your beans, par-boil your beans, and blah, blah, blah. If I’m using the crock pot, I never do. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable is what you should do. My mother always says she can’t make beans like I do … I tell her over and over again … don’t soak them overnight, but she is old and set in her ways. If you try to make a recipe taste exactly like someone else’s recipe without exactly following their recipe, you are just setting yourself up for failure. Sorry but that’s the way I see it.

Place beans, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and jalapeño peppers (do not drain) in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for four hours. (DO NOT REMOVE COVER DURING THIS TIME).

Before the four hours are up, prepare the chicken. Wash, and pat dry. Cut into one inch cubes. Brown in non-stick lightly greased skillet until juices run clear. Add lime juice and salt and pepper and cook one minute longer.

Remove cover and stir beans, add chicken and more water if needed. Replace cover and cook 2½-3 more hours, until beans are tender.

Serve with homemade guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips. You may want to have a few slices of bread handy also…THIS IS HOT!


© Crackerberries 2009

"It's Not Just A Snack Pita"

Have you ever had leftover Pita Pockets that are a little too stale to make sandwiches out of? When you go to put the ingredients in, they break and fall apart and you end up tossing them out to the birds. This is a real winner … almost as good as a big plate of Nacho’s. I think next time I will add black olives to the recipe.



Not Just a Snack Pita

¼ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
¼ cup ranch dressing
¼ cup bacon bits
½ cup Monterey Jack cheese
3 6-inch round pita pockets

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine EVOO and ranch dressing in small bowl. Split apart the round pita pockets so that you have two rounds for each one. Cut each round into 8 wedges. Spread, rough side up, on greased cookie sheet. Brush each pita with the dressing mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon bits. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Serve with ranch dressing and mustard.


Caper Horseradish Mustard

2 Tbsp Horseradish mustard
2 Tbsp drained capers
2 Tbsp fresh chives
Combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix well.


© Crackerberries 2009

Catfish & Coleslaw On A Roll Not A Bun

You can’t find a frankfurter roll in the south; only hot dog buns; similar to red hot dogs. Oh, you can get a red hot dog, but it’s not like the red hot dogs you get in New England … it’s not a Jordan’s red hot dog. Tall Cool One can make frankfurter rolls out of buns, but they just aren’t the same as a good Nissan’s frankfurter roll. We came across these Pepperidge Farms, soft hoagie rolls.

Tall Cool One says, “These are rolls, not buns”.
I say, “Okay, let’s try them.”

With these rolls you will need a honking big hot dog to go on them or you are eating all bread and no dog! Anyways, I was off on a tangent there for a minute.

For Catfish

1 lb catfish nuggets
1 egg
1 cup flour
¼ cup milk
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
Dash hot sauce
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

For Coleslaw

½ head green cabbage (shredded)
1 large carrot, shredded
¾ cup light mayonnaise
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh snipped dill
1 medium Vidalia onion, finely chopped
½ tsp celery seed
¼ tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Prepare the Coleslaw first as it needs to chill. Combine cabbage, onion and carrot and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir the remaining ingredients together. Pour over cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least two hours to incorporate flavors.

Combine egg, milk, flour, paprika, hot sauce and fresh ground pepper. Dip the catfish nuggets in the egg batter mixture then dredge through the bread crumbs; deep fry in hot oil. Toast the hoagie rolls, if desired, and divide nuggets equally. Top with Coleslaw and serve with pickles and chips.

© Crackerberries 2009

It's An Acquired Tasty Turkey Burger

They sure do look like mush going on the grill but once they are ready, yum. You won’t want to make a turkey burger any other way. We were trying to come up with an idea or recipe to use up all those chicken livers that we had leftover from the Spiedini that we made. Tall Cool One came up with this idea. He’s a clever thing sometimes. He said to grind them up and mix them in with the turkey burger. Bear and I boiled up all the leftover livers (they really are nasty little things when they cook) and after he ate a few of them, I ground up what was left to go in with the turkey.

1 lb ground turkey
½ cup chili sauce
½ cup chicken livers, finely chopped
½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp butter
1 Vidalia onion, sliced
Salsa

In medium bowl combine turkey, chili sauce, chicken livers, bread crumbs and egg; mix well. Shape into 4 patties. Grill on medium-high heat about 8 minutes per side or until internal temperature reads 165º. While burgies are grilling, prepare buns. Melt butter or margarine in small microwaveable dish; add poppy and sesame seeds. Spread on top of burgie buns and toast on grill for last 5 minutes of cooking time. Top with Vidalia onion and salsa.

© Crackerberries 2009

Holiday Breakfast Sand-Ridge

Don’t you just love holidays? Who doesn’t like an extra day off where you can spend a leisurely morning lounging around in your jammies? Coffee on the porch, maybe a walk and then make a nice breakfast; this one is good for brunch too … late breakfast, early lunch. We enjoyed it after our 5 mile walk on Memorial Day.




3 eggs
4 slices apple-wood smoked bacon
¼ cup miracle whip
1 tsp dry mustard
¼ cup chopped cucumber (remove seeds)
6 fresh basil leaves
2 whole English muffins
Fresh ground black pepper



Place eggs in saucepan covered with water. Bring to a boil and set timer for 6 minutes. Remove 1 egg after 6 minutes, set timer for 4 more minutes. Drain, cover with cold water, and peel all eggs immediately. Chop the ten minute eggs and combine with the cucumber, miracle whip and dry mustard. Set aside.

Cook bacon slices until crisp, drain on paper towels. Wipe skillet with paper towel and toast both sides of English muffins.

Top two of the English muffin halves with basil leaf; divide egg mixture on each half, top each with two slices of bacon and half of the 6 minute egg and final muffin top. Grind fresh black pepper over top and serve.

© Crackerberries 2009

Cowboy Steak on Texas Toast

Tall Cool One and I went back and forth on what to call this recipe. I wanted it to be the Dallas Cowboy's Steak, but he said that would be "City Slicker Steak". Anyways, this is the name we came up with... okay, I decided to call it. He's a meat and (potatoes? —no thank you, please) kinda guy. So whenever we have steak we have it with salad or salad or salad. How do you make steak and salad different? Here's how. This was a definite keeper and you can just buy any old cheap steak to make it with ... no need for an expensive Porterhouse or Sirloin. Serve with a side of salad if you like. =o)





½ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, half sliced and half chopped
1½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
Fresh ground black pepper or peppercorn medley
1½ lb. tough steak, like rump roast or flank steak
Texas Toast, or thickly sliced French or sourdough bread
1 cup salsa
1 cup guacamole

Combine oil, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, chopped onion, chili powder, pepper and cumin. Mix well. With a meat mallet, beat the living crap out of the steak (or ¼ inch thickness). Stab several times with a fork and place steak in marinade. Turn several times to coat well. Lay sliced onions on top and cover and place in fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is okay too). Discard marinade, keeping onion slices. Grill steak over medium-hot heat for 4-8 minutes per side, depending on how well or how rare you like your steak. Place bread on grill to toast; heat salsa in small pan. Reserve onions and slice steak into ¾ inch diagonal strips and arrange on bread. Top with onions, hot salsa and guacamole.

© Crackerberries 2009

Angry Pasta

Penne Rigate Pork Arrabiata

I know, I know, two pasta recipes in a row...what's going on? Careful not to get pasta poisoning ... ha ha ha. Penne Rigate Pork Arrabiata in Rome “Arrabiata” means that your meal should have a healthy dose of spices…so spice it up. It also means "angry pasta" because of the hot red pepper (that’s funny, the name Penne reminds me of my sister who also seems angry ) Anyways, if you like it hot, this recipe is for you.


8 oz Prince Penne Rigate, cook as package directs
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
½ green bell pepper, cut into strips
½ red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 Tbsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp thyme leaves (because everyone needs more time)
1 lb pork tenderloin (cut into ½ inch slices) or boneless pork chops
26 oz Spicy Red Pepper Pasta Sauce (I made my own but you can buy Classico or Ragu pasta sauce)

In large skillet, cook the peppers and onions in the EVOO until tender (but not too tender); remove and set aside. In same skillet, over high heat, cook pork and garlic until the pork is nicely browned on both sides. Reduce heat; add pasta sauce, thyme and red pepper flakes; cover and simmer ten minutes until pork is tender, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables and simmer a minute or two longer. Serve over Penne Rigate. Sprinkle with fresh grated Asiago cheese and ground black pepper.

© Crackerberries 2009

Breakfast Spaghetti

Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day, yes? Remember the commercials? Well this is a new take on spaghetti. Have you ever wanted to have bacon and eggs for supper, but it just doesn’t seem right? Now you can.

12 oz. thick spaghetti
6 pieces thick sliced bacon, chopped
¼ cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ green pepper, julienned
½ red pepper, julienned
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup half & half
1½ cup fresh baby spinach
1 Tbsp pimentos
¼ cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup Asiago cheese, shredded
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and sliced

Cook pasta al denté, or according to how you like it; drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Set aside. In a very large skillet, cook bacon until crispy fried, remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Reserve 1 TBSP of bacon grease in skillet. Add wine/chicken broth, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for two minutes. Add peppers and pimentos; cook two minutes, stirring occasionally. In medium bowl, combine eggs and half & half; add to skillet, stirring constantly, but careful not to scramble the eggs (cook and thicken about two minutes). Add spaghetti, spinach, bacon and fresh parsley. Toss to combine and heat through, adding reserved cooking liquid from pasta to make creamier if needed. Sprinkle with Asiago cheese and cover for one minute (long enough for cheese to begin to melt). Top with slices of hard cooked egg and fresh ground pepper.

© Crackerberries 2009

Swedish Onion Soup

It doesn't make any sense...you use Swedish onions, yet the "infamous they" call it French Onion Soup. Seeing how my husband is a good middle-aged American Swedish country boy, we call it Swedish Onion Soup.

3 large Swedish onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp butter or margarine
32 oz beef broth
1 cup merlot wine
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded Asiago cheese
2 slices Swiss cheese
2 large slices of French Baguette, cut on an angle and toasted


Peel and thinly slice onions; sauté with garlic in butter or margarine, over medium high heat for about 15 minutes, until they start to brown. Add beef broth, wine, soup mix, Dijon mustard and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into crocks and top with baguette slices. Sprinkle shredded cheese and top with slices of Swiss cheese. Place crocks on baking sheet and broil 1-2 minutes just until cheese has browned. YUM!

© Crackerberries 2009

Hallelujah Muffins

Yesterday brought our evangelism training classes to an end. The big question of the day was, “Do you know what God’s will for your life is?” At first I was putting too much thought into it. Does He want me to write? Does He want me to cook? Does He want me to open a Bed & Breakfast? What does He want me to do? Once I stopped analyzing everything I’ve done in the past, everything I’m doing now, and everything I’d like to do in the future, the answer came to me and it was actually pretty simple. He has the same will for my life that He has for all of our lives. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What we do with our lives isn’t as important as how we do what we do with our lives. Amen?

With that being said, here is the recipe of the day.

Hallelujah Muffins

Preheat oven to 350º

2½ cups all purpose flour
1¼ cups sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
¾ cup applesauce
½ cup vegetable oil
1Tbsp vanilla
2 cups shredded carrot
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped pecans

In large bowl combine the first five ingredients. In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla; mix well and combine with the dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened, (batter will be thick). Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups ¾ full. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes. Cool for five minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Makes 2 dozen.

© Crackerberries 2009

Pickled Eggs - Oh Those Chickens are Much Too Much

Our chickens are good little babies ... they give us more eggs than we know what to do with. We thought of putting a sign out to let people know that we sell them, but our luck, those chickens would have a mind of their own and stop laying just to spite us. We do occasionally sell to a few friends of ours, but most of the time I just try to come up with different things to do with them. Tall Cool One thinks these are A-OK!

Pickled Eggs

1 cup sugar
12 eggs boiled and peeled
1½ cups white vinegar
½ cup water
½ tsp salt
6 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp pickling spice or whole peppercorns medley
1 onion, sliced


In medium sauce pan combine vinegar, sugar, water, salt and spices; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pour hot solution over eggs to cover. Place onion slices on top and cover tightly. Place in refrigerator for several days. Mmmm Mmmm good.


To boil: put eggs in large sauce pan and cover with cold water. If the eggs are new add ½ tsp. baking soda to aid in the peeling process.  Bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, set timer for 11 minutes. Remove from heat at once and cover with cold water. It is best to peel the eggs immediately while they are still hot.
© Crackerberries 2009

Good 4 U Treat

I love granola bars. They are so expensive though. So, I decided to try making my own. They came out OK. Next time I would be sure not to use cereal with raisins during the first baking process because some of the raisins seemed to be a little “overcooked”. All in all, this is a good homemade version of a chewy granola bar.


3½ cups of granola cereal, quick cooking oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, wheat germ, (*whatever crunchy ingredients you would like)1 cup coconut
1 cup raisins
½ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 Tbsp margarine

Preheat oven 300º

Combine granola ingredients and coconut and spread on 9x12 baking dish. Do not add raisins at this time. Bake in 300º oven for 20 minutes, stirring once during baking time. (For crunchier granola bake an additional 5-10 minutes.) In the mean time, heat butter, brown sugar and honey in small sauce pan. Once dry ingredients come out of oven add raisins. Add vanilla to melted butter mixture and mix with granola. (I put aluminum foil down and that made it easier to take out of the pan and put on a chopping board for cutting). Press mixture into greased 8x8 pan and bake for another 20 minutes in 300º oven.
*You may add whatever ingredients you like. I contemplated Lucky Charms … do you think they would be magically delicious?
© Crackerberries 2009

Spiedini

Spiedini is an Italian word that means “skewer” or “kebab”. This would make one think of Shi-K-Bobs, right? Add zucchini, cherry tomatoes, baby portabella mushrooms, green pepper, Vidalia onions and beef or shrimp; grill it and serve it with rice. That would be a big YUM, and all good and healthy if you like all those veggies. Tall Cool One likes his meat…and to quote him “Shrimp does not pass as the meat dish.” So I found this interesting combination of Spiedini and thought, wow, let's see if this is a keeper. A little time consuming but it’s a very tasty combination.

6 slices bacon
1 large, whole, boneless, skinless chicken breast (halved lengthwise)
½ cup Dale’s marinade (you can marinate however you like)
2 large sweet Italian sausage links
3 whole large chicken livers
6 fresh basil leaves
6 large mushroom caps
2 Tbsp melted margarine or butter

In a skillet, cook bacon just until it starts to brown but do not let it get crispy; drain well. Rinse chicken breasts and cut each breast in half crosswise into thirds; marinate in ½ cup Dales for about 15 minutes. Cut the sausage into 6 pieces. Cut each chicken liver in half.

Place one of the basil leaves on each liver half. Roll each liver half in a slice of bacon, wrapped snuggly. On each of the 6 - 12 inch skewers, place a sausage, followed by a chicken breast piece, and a bacon wrapped chicken liver. Top each end with a mushroom cap. Brush kabobs with margarine.

Place Kabobs on the cooking grill (we put aluminum foil down so that the fire wouldn’t flair up and crispy fry them). Grill for about 14-22 minutes, turning a few times through the grilling time. Internal temp should be 165º for chicken and 170º for sausage.

Following the Italian tradition, Spiedini should be served with a pasta side dish but we served ours with Cole Slaw.

© Crackerberries 2009