Stuffed Peppers

Started out with an assortment of peppers, from BJ's. We know we wanted stuffed peppers, but we decided to make it our own.
Stared out with some left over pulled pork and added some left over, cooked, white rice. A little bit of our own barbecue sauce and some shredded Mexican four cheese blend. Mixed it all together and stated to cut the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds.
Stuffed the peppers and topped with more shredded Mozzarella cheese. Into a 350 degree oven, for one hour.
This is what you get, a delicious and savory stuffed pepper, that pleased the fussiest of eaters.

Making Homemade BuckBoard Bacon

Started out with an 8# butt, and Western Legends BuckBoard Bacon Cure. BuckBoard Bacon is the old style way of curing and preserving the meat, back in the days of the cowboys. I followed the suggested manufacturer's instructions and stared the curing process on Day 1. Once the cure was applied, the pork was placed into zip-lock bags and into the refrigerator, for at least 10 days. Always turning the bags to ensure proper curing.
On day 12, rinsed and soak the pork for approximately 8 hours, changing the water frequently to removed the excess salt from the cure. The pork was rubbed with black pepper and brown sugar mixture to give it a nice coating. It was then smoked for 4.5 hours with hickory wood, till it reached an internal temperature, of 130 degrees. It was then sliced thinly by knife, leaving us with a thicker cut, than commercially packaged bacon.
The slices were placed on wax paper and then vacuumed sealed for future use. Put a couple of pieces in the non stick skillet and made sure they were nice and crunchy. My family loved it, and didn't mind the wait, after they tasted it. I enjoyed making it for them and seeing their big smiles.
Less fat, more meat, no artificial preservatives, just good old fashion treats! Next time, you have a carving for some great bacon, give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

Brie en Croute with Raspberry

This is an easy and very tasty treat! It is Brie en croute with raspberry. The idea was given to me, by a friend, who mentioned she might be making this, for her Thanksgiving outing. Thanks Meagan! I researched the recipe and came up with this, from Paula Deen's recipe bank. It starts out with a puff pastry sheet and a wheel of brie. Most brie have a rind, check to see if it is edible or if not, remove the rind, first. Roll out the pastry sheet and place the brie in the center, of the dough. Spread the top of the brie with the raspberry preserves(or your choice of favorite preserves). Brush the corners, with an egg wash (beaten eggs and water), and pick up the ends and close it up. Give it a little twist, to keep the dough together. Tie the dough, with butcher's twine or kitchen string and give it a light brushing, with the remaining egg wash. This helps add a nice color to your pastry. In the oven, at 375 degrees, for about 25 minutes or till golden brown. We served it with whole wheat table crackers, as a dip. Everyone loved this appetizer. Enjoy!

Scotch Eggs

These are scotch eggs, sometimes also referred to as "armadillo eggs". You start out by hard boiling a few eggs, usually two pound package of sausage or grounded up pork for 6 large size eggs. You peel the eggs and cover it up in sausage and roll into a ball, completely covering the egg. Then using an egg wash ( 2 eggs beaten with a 1/4 cup of water), dip it in the mixture and then roll in your favorite bread combs. You can put them in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes, smoked on a smoker or, if you perfer, you can deep fry them. These particular ones were done in the oven. Quick and simple and taste great!

Quick and Easy Empanadas

Ever felt like you aren't sure what to eat, nothing seems to appeal to you? Well, that happened today and we found the empanada discs but didn't feel like prepping a filling. Came across the cold cut drawer and found Swiss cheese, low sodium ham, provolone cheese and Genoa Salami.
Gave the cold cuts a rough chop and started assembling the empanadas (actually the wife did the assembling). Once, the 22 empanadas were done, in the oven they went for 12 minutes, at 350 degrees. The fold over crimped ones, have the Salami and provolone, while the fork crimped have the ham and Swiss. Quick, easy and very tasty! The family loved them. Make great snacks, enjoy!

LLAPINGACHOS (a Native Dish from Ecuador)

Llapingachos is one of the native dishes of Ecuador. There are many variations of this recipe which varies the different regions of the country. This particular recipe calls for forked soft cooked potatoes mashed, with a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil infused, with Annatto seeds, to make what is known as"Achiote", which gives them the yellow color. Patties are formed and these were filled with fresh mozzarella cheese, any soft of farmers cheese could also be used. The patties are brushed with an egg white wash, to help giving it it's crispy brown crust. Cook time is usually about3 to 4 minutes on med to low heat, basically, you want the cheese to melt. The llapingachos are served with a fried egg on top and usually mixed thoroughly with the potatoes and melted cheese. In this preparation, we served it along side a chicken cordon bleu. Hope, I have perked your interests of native foods. Enjoy.

First Brisket since Hospital stay!

This is my first brisket since my heart surgery. No, I didn't have any, just wanted to cook something and let everyone else enjoy. It really felt good. Got great reviews.

Homemade Chili

I wanted to try my hand at making my own recipe for chili. I started out with beef and pork cubed and browned, chopped up my veggies and used "Rioja" wine from Spain, to cook down the meat and veggies. Diced tomatoes, ketchup, pinto and northern beans and my spices and into the dutch oven, for 45 minutes, in the oven. Served with sour cream and Mexican blend shredded cheese. Very flavorful and tasty. Thanks for looking.

Veal Parm Sandwich

Finally, we decided to make a homemade veal parm sandwich. It was so good!

Pork Bracciole

Threw on some pork bracciole on the kettle last night. These were made in our local butcher shop and were very good. It has been awhile, since we had some.

Dry Aged Porterhouse Steaks

These were two nicely dry aged porterhouse steaks, done on the kettle, with regular Kingsford charcoal briquettes. The steaks were seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
Seared over direct heat, to seal in the juices and then put them on the cooler side of the grill, to reach a med. doneness.

Boneless Turkey Breast wrapped in Bacon and MOINK.

Smoked a 2.2# boneless turkey breast and some MOINK balls to keep it company, on the drum smoker. Turkey breast was brined overnight and then pat dry with paper towels, before being seasoned and covered in maple bacon. In the smoker with Reg. Kingsford Charcoal and apple wood chips. Once the breast hit an internal temp. of 178 degrees, pulled it off the smoker and let it rest. Came out extremely tasty, juicy and moist.

The begginings of Burnt ends....

Took the point of the brisket that was previously shown in the earlier post and cubed it, throw in the tray with our BBQ suace and back on the grill for "Burnt Ends". This is a must try, if you haven't already.

A look at Brisket ready to eat....

Brisket is done. Very moist and juicy, not much bark, but the flavor makes up for the bark. Served with baked Idaho potato and Vidallia onions cooked with butter and garlic, all done on the grill.