Meat Pies and Onion Gravy

When I think of the old King Arthur or any medieval movie, it seems they talk a lot about eating meat pies. For years I thought these babies sounded so good!  I love the idea of having a cute little pie in your hand to eat like a snack.  A savory pie is more appealing to me than a sweet pie.  I did not grow up eating pie.

While living in Utah we received a ton of snow.I mean a ton!  Some days we would get 1-2 feet in a 24 hour period.  The first few years we loved shoveling, hey, it was a workout.  But then it got old and we hired this service out!  LOL

With the winters being so cold and long I had a lot of time in the home to cook and sew.  I watched another old movie and once again meat pies were discussed.  It was so snowy and cold outside it seemed to me to be the perfect dinner to tackle.  I like a challenge and knew these would take some time to make, but, after all,  where do you go when it's a blizzard outside...NO WHERE!

The first time I made them, I clearly did not understand the "we need more" factor that was at stake. My family devoured them in a very short time.  I have to say they were a hit!  The only problem I had with them is they needed a sauce.  I am a dipper at heart and will always want my food to be dipped into something.

One month later I made them again for a family event.  We had lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles over for a party.  I knew this would be a hit and the kids could easily take a meat pie and go back to playing.  I decided to make a quick gravy.  I will say that the adults loved this too.  The kids were in too big of a hurry to dip or dunk anything...LOL  Although, when I make this for my family like I did last night, the kids enjoyed the gravy.

Are they time consuming?  A little bit.  Are they worth the effort?  ABSOLUTELY!   ENOY

Recipe:  Meat Pies and Onion Gravy

Creamy Sauce: (This will make enough gravy for 30-35 meat pies.  Last night, I made half and it was perfect for the 16 meat pies I made.)

1 cup butter

1 can chicken broth

½ cup flour ( to make GF, I substituted a GF baking flour blend)

pepper

1 packet of Lipton Onion mix

2 cups of heavy cream

Melt butter in a pan. Stir in flour. Cook for 3 minutes and continue to stir. Add broth, cream and onion packet. Bring to a boil.  Set aside and serve warm.

Will burn easily if not stirred frequently and watched.

Meat Pie Filling: (This will make 14-18 meat pies, depending on how much filling you add to your pies.)

1 tsp oil

1 pound ground burger

1 ½ cup chopped fresh mushrooms

2-3 cloves minced garlic

4 stalks of celery, diced

1 cup of shredded carrots

1 medium onion, diced

salt to taste

lots of black pepper….I put about ½-1 tsp in.

1 T. flour.

Heat oil.  Add all of the vegetables, salt, pepper, and garlic; cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is soft and clear. Add the hamburger and cook until meat is not pink.  Add flour and brown for a few more minutes.  Combine veggies and meat together and set aside.

Meat Pie Crust: (This will make enough dough for 30-35 meat pies.  I used a 5 1/2 inch salad plate to cut my circles.) This is not gluten-free.  You will need to use your favorite GF pie crust.

4 cups  flour

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup shortening+2 Tablespoons.

¾ milk or more depends on dough

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Beat egg and add to milk.  Combine the two and mix until it forms a proper consistency of rolling without sticking to the rolling pin.  Take the ball and break into smaller pieces.  

Use a rolling pin and flour, roll into a thin circle. Take a salad plate and use it as a guide, with a knife cut around the plate. 

Put meat mixture into the center.  Fold in half.  Use a fork to seal the edges and cut slits on the top (for the hot air to release). 

Put on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 400 or until golden brown.

Serve hot with creamy sauce or you can use plain beef broth to dip them into.

Written by Sherron Watson

Skirt Steak and Bell Peppers

Recipe: Beef and Bell Peppers

1 lb of the skirt or flank steak, cut very thin

2 large bell peppers washed and cut into strips

2 tsp sugar

2 T red wine

2 T corn starch or arrowroot starch

4 T soy sauce (make sure it's gluten-free if this is an issue for you)

salt and pepper to taste

2 T cooking oil. ( I find that I need to add a little bit of oil each time..you may need more than this)

If you can find a butcher that will cut your meat thin for you, this is the way to go.  It will save you time.  I cannot always find this, so I cut my own.  I take my skirt steak of flank steak and cut it about a 1/8th of an inch thick across the grain.  I will also find the meat at Asian markets already sliced and ready to go.  It's oftentimes the meat used for Sukiyaki or Korean BBQ.  

1. Mix sugar, wine, corn starch, soy sauce, and seasonings.  Marinade meat for 15 minutes.

2.  Heat 1 T oil in a heavy skillet, brown meat quickly (1 min each side)

3.  Mix peppers with other 1 T oil and dash of salt; add to meat; stir well and heat through but do not wilt peppers.

4.  Serve piping hot over rice.

We love this meal.  It's quick and so yummy!  

Written by Sherron Watson

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Yesterday was our first day of being "back to normal" after the excitement of the earthquake and hurricane.  I use this term loosely because I don't really believe in "normal".  I grew up different, but I was in some ways always seeking the normal life, the normal family and I would have loved to have had a normal look.

My parents were divorced, which was not normal 35 years ago.

 I lived with my grandparents for a while, again, not normal.

 I felt different because I was overly OCD about things, a perfectionist and an overachiever.  I oftentimes was told, "that is not normal".

 Lastly, I had red hair and a ton of freckles...this was looked at as different and a little bit strange and definitely not the "normal" compared to all of the California blondes with gorgeous brown skin.

I come from a generation that no longer had both parents living together, that the Mom's usually worked outside the home, times were changing and our "normal" was changing.

My husband and I decided a long time ago that we were not going to strive for this "normal life" that so many seek after.  We wanted life to be interesting, exciting, adventurous, challenging, fun and memorable.  This choice was made because we believe that life is not about a constant state of being in one place, but a chain of events and decisions that YOU make to LIVE.  I believe living comes from many events and many changes. I believe we grow from the good and the bad.  I agree, this is not for everyone and I respect that.  I actually envy those that are content with very little change in their lives.  For me, it's in my blood to be "gypsy" like.

So, again, I use this word "normal" loosely because for a few days we had no power (YAHOO...we could unplug for a few days), we spent more time together (YAHOO...I miss my kids every day) and we learned to cope in a very stressful situation (YAHOO...life skills at there best with Mother Nature as our instructor).

I was amazed at how my little community had several families that were struggling to survive without power for a few days (even with all of the warnings and the need to prepare, many did not) because their lives were disrupted for a few days.  We choose to live daily, we choose to be happy, we choose to not get our knickers in a bind if life deals us a change.  It's what we wanted and what we hope for...adventure, memories and happiness.

I struggle to live this "normal" life sometimes and I know that change will always be who I am.  I know that for my kids, they need this time of "normal" to finish school so they can start their lives the way they want to lead them.  I must be patient, content and function for a few years with this in mind.  It's hard.

 I understand that this is not about me, but them.  So for now, I will do my best to provide this "normal" that allows them safety, comfort and a sure knowledge that we are not moving for a while.

Yesterday, I decided that I needed something warm, cheesy and casserole-ish (another made-up word..LOL).  Somedays it just sounds good to me.  I love enchilada's and decided that this would be the perfect solution to my cravings.  Unfortunately, we did not have any enchilada sauce and I was not in the mood for a store run...the stores are still in chaos because of the food that was lost and some people and places still do not have power.

 DING DING...I am a cook, I can make some...YES, I can.  That is me talking to myself and so I set off to find a recipe that I thought would produce a yummy sauce.  When I try to make something new I have a system I follow.

1. I google similar recipes.
2. I read the reviews.
3. I print off several I like.
4. I eventually end up making my own.

I follow very few recipes to a tee.  I am not sure why I just love to do things my own way.  This is the process I did yesterday.  As I read each recipe, I felt they were too easy ( I wanted a rich flavor), too few ingredients ( I love spices and texture) and the reviews did not convince me that the recipe I was reading was the "one".

I pulled everything from the cupboards that I wanted to include in my recipe.  After reading several other recipes, I basically knew what I needed to achieve the flavor of an "enchilada sauce" and I came up with my own.  Is this traditional or "normal" to a Mexican Enchilada Sauce?  I have no idea, other than this is what I like, these ingredients taste great together and my family loved it.

In cooking, sometimes we get hung up on the "normal" of a recipe: spaghetti sauce, pizza, mashed potatoes...they all have a "normal" flavor and presentation to them...BUT, it's okay to be different once in a while.  What is normal for me is not for you.  I love this about cooking, life and myself.  I finally have accepted me and all of the aspects of my life that make me unique, different and, at times, not normal.  LOL (in a good way...wink, wink).  Have a great day!

Recipe:  Homemade Enchilada Sauce

This recipe does make a lot.  I will use a third today(actually yesterday), freeze a third for later and put the last third in the fridge for next week and make more enchilada's for my family (we don't mind eating things twice in one month).  You can halve this if you don't want this much at one time.  I like to make extra so I have meals started for the future.

4 cups of chicken broth, low sodium
2 cups of water
2 cans (15oz) tomato sauce
3 T. flour  (GF version: use Arrowroot Starch)
1 tsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
6 dashes of Tabasco (optional)

In a large pot, add the chicken broth, water and 1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce.  Have your heat set to medium-high.

While this is starting to get warm, take the remaining tomato sauce and add this to a small bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend well.  Slowly add this to your pot.

Once your pot reaches a boiling point, it should start to thicken slightly.  It will not be too thick.  I noticed that as I would stir the pot, my wooden spoon would have some resistance...I could feel it. Turn your heat down to medium-low and let simmer.

I let my sauce simmer for about an hour.  You need to stir it about once every 15 minutes.  I noticed that I did lose about 1 inch of sauce during this process.  You can see this in the picture below.  I like this because it pulls the flavors together.

I used minced garlic instead of powder...this is what you are seeing in the pot.  I just love fresh garlic more than the powder, but you can use the powder if you like.

NOTE:  This sauce is one that you can add more or less of the ingredients above based on what you taste buds tell you.  I will say, that with the chicken broth, be very careful with your salt.  Taste, season and taste again.  The longer it sits on the stove, the richer the taste.

To make the enchilada's:

Heat oven to 350.  Bake enchilada's for 25-30 minutes.  Everything is precooked, you just want enough time to melt the cheese and warm the enchiladas if they cooled during preparation.

Brown together:
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 onion, diced

Add:
1 can of black beans, drained

Prepare the tortilla's by cooking them slightly in oil until soft.  Stack the tortilla's between napkins to absorb the extra oil.

Grate about 4 cups of cheese.  This is a personal choice as to how much cheese you and your family like.

I used two small rectangle pans that each held 10 enchiladas.

 I took a soup ladle of enchilada sauce and put this in the bottom of each pan.

 I added the meat/bean mix  and some cheese to each of the tortilla's and lined them up side by side in the pan.

When the pan is full I cover the whole top with more enchilada sauce and then top with cheese.  The tortilla's soak up the sauce as it bakes.

Fresh out of the oven.

Written by Sherron Watson

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GLUTEN FREE OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES and Hurricane Irene

We had an earthquake and then we had a hurricane, the first month of living in Maryland. It was quite an adventure. 

I would be so ungrateful if I did not say "Thank You" to everyone that wished us well while dealing with Hurricane Irene.  I cannot tell you how much your comments, well wishes and words of concern reached into our hearts.  We truly felt your concern and love towards us.  I spent several days cooking before the storm actually hit us.  One of the things I made twice was the GF Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe below).  They were so yummy and hit the spot for a quick snack or pick me up.  I have shared links to some of those wonderful pages that kept my family in their thoughts last week.  I went to each site and pulled a recipe that had chocolate, chocolate chips or oatmeal in them.  There are a few pages that I could not find recipes on their sites but I need to mention them here:  

Fresh Plate, Recipes for my Boys, Lifestyles of the not so rich and famous, Cupcakesluv for Food an Cakes, The Culinary Lens, The Chop Shop Butchers, Art and Jewelry Designs by Audrey, The Unseasoned Wok, Easy Skinny Life...THANK YOU!

Mia's Domain- Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Rich and Sweet- Chocolate and Pecan Cookies

Cooking with Mel-Peanut Butter Chip Chewy Chocolate Cookies

What's for Dinner? Ally's Kitchen- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Basilmomma, a busy Mom who likes to cook- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Chef in Disguise- Oatmeal Date Biscotti

Dishing the Divine-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Simple Fare, Fairly Simple-Mama B's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Farmgirl Gourmet- Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just One Cookbook-Steamed Cake (Chocolate included)

The Southern Lady Cooks-Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies

Running with the Devil(ed) Eggs-Chewy Oatmeal Apple Cookies

Hugs & Cookies xoxox- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Sumptuous Spoonfuls- Decadent Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Lark's Country Heart- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones

I try to post a gluten-free recipe as well as a "regular" recipe for the things I cook.  After all, I did cook for 25+ years before going gluten-free and have some amazing recipes to share.  Unfortunately, this is not one of those times.  I cannot find the recipe that I used to make.  I hope that you enjoy the recipes that I have found on these pages that I follow.  All of these sites that I have shared above are foodies that have become my friends.   

GLUTEN-FREE OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon arrowroot or corn starch

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth.

2.  Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.

3.  Combine the dry ingredients, except for the oats and slowly mix into the wet ingredients.

4.  Mix in the quick oats and chocolate chips.

5. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Use a cookie scoop, with the dough tightly scooped to create a softer and thicker cookie. If the cookie scoop is loosely scooped the cookie will bake and go flat.  It still tastes good just slightly crispier on the edges.

6.  Bake for 12 minutes in a preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on sheet before transferring over to a wire rack to cool.

I will share some pictures with you from our week with the hurricane.

When they said that we were in the path of Irene, I honestly believe that most people where I live did not believe them.  My family took the warnings seriously and immediately started planning and preparing for the worst.  We did not know what to expect.  We gathered our 72 hours kits and had them ready so if the call came that we had to leave, we would.  We are not superheroes and we did not want to take any chances with our lives or those of the many people that may have to rescue us if we chose to stay against the council to leave.  We bought food, gas, water, propane.  We filled our bathtubs, checked our generator, tied down our stuff outside and watched with anticipation.

This is my handsome husband that did so much!  When we lost power for 3 days he spent some of his time reading. 

We played our favorite game during those days without power.  Settlers of Catan is an awesome family game. Drake won three games in a row!

Even with a hurricane, Isabella was dressed like a princess.  She is so cute!

After two days of not having a shower, I could not stand it and had to do the ol' "boil water and use bucket" set up.  It worked and it felt great to have clean hair again!

I prepared meals that we could use on our outside gas grill.  BBQ chicken legs were a huge hit and super easy.

I cannot tell you how happy I was to have our NUWAVE .  It allowed us to have homemade fries. I had an oven if we needed it.  I love this thing.

I should have made more, the kids devoured them!

The damage was not as bad as some places that we have seen.  We were lucky that we did not have any flooding like some areas.  Our neighbors dealt with wind damage and trees.  This one lost his fence.

Trees in power lines were everywhere, hence our not having any power for a few days.

Branches and limbs were everywhere.

Even a few trees landed on several homes.  I felt bad for these people.  I can only imagine the scare they got when they heard the tree land on their roof.

This is a picture of how one tree knocked another tree and another over.  It was like dominoes.

Written by Sherron Watson

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Recipe at the end. Below is a short story about our adventure with an earthquake in Maryland.

Yesterday will be a day that my family won't soon forget.  Our day started out fresh, early and filled with anticipation.  It was the first day of high school for Drake and the first day of college for my daughter in two of her classes...they are both freshmen.  I was impressed at how each of them appeared to be cool, calm and very together, as they headed out on this day to what would prove to be very memorable and a little bit "shaky" or "rattled" or a "moving" experience.

OH DID I HAVE PLANS too!  I made a list of the things I wanted to do, in fact, I even took pictures. I thought this will make the best post tomorrow because I can be creative, thoughtful and have a little time to myself and share my deep and inner thoughts...WELL, we know how that turned out...LOL

I got to spend the whole day with a cute princess!  And oh what a day it was...LOL

Oh, I had thoughts and I had to dig deep to not completely implode with fear.  Silly right? I wanted yesterday to be special for the kids so I made peanut butter cups and had planned on Beef and Peppers...two things we all love.  I thought this day is going to be perfect.

My daughter the day before had asked for Fried Pickles and around 1:30 I decided that I would surprise her and make a batch to have ready.  She would be home in an hour and these would be awaiting her return, with the Wicked Awesome Sauce of course...LOL

Cory was working in the basement, Isabella was playing a game on my computer and I was busily cooking...we were all settled.  Working and playing to our heart's content.  Looking back, it's hard to remember everything that was going on at once.  They say time stops and things move slowly when fear, adrenaline, and chaos take over...and I guess it did.

I felt the very subtle beginnings of a sifting.  Like when you are gently sifting powdered sugar.  It's slow, easy and with a light touch.  I stop.  I think.  You question.   Maybe it is....and then at that moment, you realize that it's not stopping.

I ran to the basement door, yelled for Cory to get out of the basement that we were having an earthquake.  I froze.  Then time started moving so slow.  I yelled (maybe screamed) for Isabella to run to Mommy..faster...faster...our house was rocking, groaning and the floor was like walking on ice.  FEAR!

We ran from the house as fast as we could...not thinking that oil was boiling on my stove, not knowing what was to come and worried.  Two of my kids were gone, at school and no way to reach them.

I immediately tried calling my Mom and my daughter ( Drake would not have a phone in HS) , I was shaking, crying, FEAR had set in.  When it stopped I ran and posted on my page...I thought someone needs to know what just happened.  FB worked...my phone did not.  All lines were down.  At that moment I got a message from my Mom saying she had just seen the news.  I could get messages but not call out. You feel trapped when you cannot reach someone.

We love to skype back and forth and this was our only form of communication for a while on this day.  When I heard their voice, I lost it.  I can't explain it...I just could not stop crying and shaking.  Isabella would not leave my side.  She was worried the house was going to "dance" again.  The mind of a 4-year-old is amazing.  I am feeling fear and anxiety.  I see and hear disaster and through her eyes, she sees dancing.  I love that.  What would I give to be a child again....such innocence?

It took a minute for me to gather my wits.  We talked with the grandparents and things calmed down.  We met our son walking home from school.  Cory went and got Rye from the college.  In the end, we were all safe and together.

I have to say we ate those peanut butter cups and passed on dinner.  Our stomachs were too upset to eat a tasty and delicious meal.  That night we gathered our family and talked.  We each had a different tale to tell.

Drake was in the cafeteria with about 600 freshmen.  He said that everyone thought the initial shaking was from a group of kids running down the stairs, then it HIT and the teachers realized what was going on.  Drake said he remembers the floor being like running with your socks on cardboard.  It was hard to walk.  They had large bleachers and other items stacked very high and as they ran out, everything was swaying.  The kids all made it out...but the freshman class will never forget their first day.  He said that seeing the cafeteria today will be weird because it won't be moving.

Rye was on the third floor of the Fine Arts building sitting in a chair with rollers.  She said they all stopped, it got quiet as everyone tried to process what was happening and then the rolling of tables and chairs started.  She actually was not afraid and the kids were all able to exit the school with very little problems.  Her biggest worry was us.   We could not communicate and so she imagined the worse. She knew I would be cooking and was afraid that maybe I had gotten hurt in the kitchen or her Dad in the basement.  Fortunately, she was able to get our text finally and we arrived at the school. Our 10-minute drive took 45, traffic was terrible as everyone was trying to get kids.

A moment, an unexpected event in time.  A memory we will carry with us forever.  The emotion, the reliving it, the coming together.  As I sat in my living room last night with my family, I was grateful and realized that this day is perfect.   We are together and we are safe!

 Peanut Butter Cups 

The filling will make enough for about 20-24 cups.  This depends on what size of cup you get and how full you make the center in each one.

1 bag of milk chocolate chips
1 cup of crackers, broken into small pieces (not smashed) You can use Saltines or Ritz.
1 cup of peanut butter, smooth
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla

Mini cupcake or candy wrappers

I used a Pyrex 2 cup glass measuring holder to melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  This is a slow process because you do not want to ruin the chocolate.  I started with 1 cup of chips and in increments of 35 seconds (4X's), I heated and stirred the chocolate.  The melted chocolate will help the others to melt when you stir in between each heating.  If you have a double boiler and prefer to warm and melt your chocolate this way, please do so.  I don't own one of those.


I put my crackers (GF Glutino Table Crackers) into a plastic back and broke them into small pieces.  You want pieces and not crumbs.  The crunch adds a lot to the filling.

In a bowl combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and broken crackers.  Mix well.

I lined up my cups on a cookie sheet and fill the bottom of each cup with a little bit of melted chocolate.  I made these a few weeks ago and added too much chocolate on the top and bottom and we did not like this.  We like a little bit of chocolate with our peanut butter.  I put the cups in the fridge for a few minutes, about 5, to get firm.

On top of the chocolate, add your peanut butter filling.  I used my hands and shaped the filling to fit on top of the chocolate.  I would say that the filling was about a 1/2 inch, here or there.

Melt more chocolate as needed to have enough for the top of your peanut butter cup.  Once your cups are made with: chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate return to the fridge to set.  You can leave them in the fridge or take them out.  We like our candy cold, so they are still in the fridge.

I had some leftover filling and this is what I did with it.  I rolled them into balls and dusted them with powdered sugar.  OH MY!  Next time I will make enough of the filling to make more of these babies.  They were so good.  ENJOY!

Written by Sherron Watson

Fried Pickles with Wicked Awesome Sauce

Who eats Fried Pickles you ask?  WE DO and love them!  

On July 24, 2010, we left on our 1-year adventure of living on the road and traveling with our kids.  We hit 15 states in 10 months.  We were shy of our goal by 2 months.  I was bummed but understood the need for a job...LOL  Cory was offered a job in Maryland that we could not pass up.  Plus the kids were a little bit done with the whole traveling and sightseeing thing. I could live this life forever.  I am a gypsy at heart.

I love to travel and try new things.  I enjoy meeting new people and sharing with others.  I crave diversity.   I love cultural traditions, ethnic food and the feeling of being somewhere new and exciting.

We learned so much on our trip.  More than I think we ever thought possible when we set out.  We bonded with our kids, who we learned were awesome teenagers!  They were and still are, very funny.  We laughed so much on our trip.  We fell in love with some areas and disliked a few.  The number one reason that we disliked "a few" was the humidity.  East Texas is freaking hot in August!  The water in the lakes was so warm that you could not even cool off and the nights...UGH!  It was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life.  I kept thinking to myself " why the heck do these people stay here?"  But I soon learned that you stay because that is where your heart is, your family and you do get used to it...eventually.

We spent time at the beach...OUR favorite place!

We loved Austin!  This was the bat kayak tour we went on.

We visited the UT campus where Cory went to college and the surrounding parks.

We lived in heaven.  This was how we spent most of our year, in the woods and living with nature.

I bring up Texas because this is the place that I first had fried pickles.  I will never forget it.  We had gone to The Texas Roadhouse and when we both saw this on the menu we had to give it a try.  We were not disappointed. I craved them from that point on.  I never made them while in the trailer though.  I did not do a lot of deep frying in the kitchen.

It wasn't until I started following food blogs and seeing other bloggers making them that I thought about making them myself.  I surprised the kids last week and yesterday my daughter asked for them again.  I love that!  So today I will make a quick batch, think about our trip and count the calories...LOL

Fried Pickles

Dill Pickles ( I buy the large pickles and slice them or you can buy the pre-sliced version)

Seasoned Fry Mix ( I used the GF  Hodgson Mill brand)

2 eggs

1/4 cup of milk or buttermilk

oil

For a quick treat (4 people) I plan on two large pickles per person.  If you do more pickles you will need to add more eggs and milk to the recipe.

I slice the pickles into 1/4 inch pieces.  I put the eggs and milk in one bowl, whip them together.  I grab a second bowl and add the fry mix.

On the stove, add oil to a large pot. I like to use a pot because when you add the pickles to the oil, it boils up and the sides on the pot allow me to not worry about it bubbling over onto my stove.  I add enough oil to create a 2-inch deep-frying area.

I dip my wet pickle into the fry mix, dip it into the egg/milk, dip it again in the fry mix.  It creates a nice crunchy coating.

Fry the pickles until they are golden to medium brown. I like mine crispy so they tend to be a little bit browner than most.

Remove cooked pickles to a plate with paper towels.  This will soak up the extra oil.

I served my pickles with a sauce I made.  I named it Wicked Awesome Sauce.  LOL

**If you don't have a fry mix on hand, use flour with some salt and pepper.  If making it GF use White Rice flour or Brown Rice flour.

Recipe:  Wicked Awesome Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1T. Sriracha sauce (oh yes,  it's gonna be hot)

1 tsp of horseradish sauce

Mix the three ingredients together.  YUMMY! 

Written by Sherron Watson

Beef Stew

When I think of back to school and all of the running around, late nights, carpooling and daily errands, it makes me overwhelmed on some days to also think about making a meal with lots of steps, instructions, and prep work.

Sometimes I need an easy meal.  A meal that tastes good.  I also love to have leftovers.  This stew recipe is perfect for all of those desires. 

The thing I like about making a stew, are the combinations are endless.  For us, it is based on what we have in the fridge.  What meat I have thawed for the day.  I have called this beef stew, but you could easily change out the beef for chicken or pork.  In fact, you could add no meat or beef broth and use vegetable broth and still have a yummy meal.

Fall is one of my favorite holidays.  I love the leaves and their changing colors, the cooler weather and the holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving..YES, I am a kid at heart).  Although we eat soup all year long, we don't really eat this type of stew until the weather starts changing.  This happened this week.  I was told that the east coast is pretty "by the calendar" with their season's.  I was impressed when spring hit with rain and warmer weather in March and here we are with September a week away and the change is in the air again.  I welcome Fall/Autumn with open arms and a big hug.  LOVE IT!

Beef Stew

1 package of stew meat  (a pound in a half works well).

3 T. flour (Gluten Free-use brown rice flour)

2 T. oil (for browning the meat)

1 whole onion, diced or sliced

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 potatoes, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup of fresh herbs ( I used Thyme, Basil and Oregano...it's in my garden)

1/2 bottle of beer (optional)  I would choose a strong flavor, it adds a wonderful undertone to the stew.

5 cups of beef broth

1 tsp. of salt

pepper to taste

* NOTE:  To make this Gluten-Free, you must use Gluten-Free Beer or omit this step.

1.  In a large bowl add flour and meat.  Toss until well coated.  Heat oil in a large skillet and add floured meat.  Brown each side.

2.  Prepare vegetables.

3.  Plug your crockpot in and add all of the ingredients: meat, veggies, beer, broth, herbs, and spices.  

4.  You can cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.  

5.  Before you serve the stew, check the flavor and adjust the salt and pepper.

You can used dried herbs too.  We just love fresh and this is what I have on hand.

This gives you an idea of what the stew will look like right before it starts to cook.

Written by Sherron Watson