Smoked Sausage and Rice

 Smoked Sausage and Rice

1 Tbls olive oil (I used green chili olive oil)

1   lbs package smoked sausage, cut in 1/4 dice

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp creole seasoning

1/8 tsp cumin

1 1/2 cups white, long grain rice, rinsed and dried

3 cups chicken stock

Add olive oil to a frying pan, add smoked sausage and brown.

Remove sausage to a bowl for later.

To same frying pan add carrots and celery and fry for around 4 mins to soften.

Add garlic and seasonings for a minute.

Add rice and cook for about 3 minutes

Add chicken broth. bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. 

Cover the frying pan with a lid and cook on low for 15 minutes.

Stir in smoked sausage and eat. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

I used this kind of Smoked sausage and used the entire package.

Asian Beef

HOMEMADE ASIAN SAUCE

1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce

4 Tbls brown sugar (recipe called for 5 Tbls but I cut it down and added crushed red peppers)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ginger (I used fresh minced but I think the recipe meant ground ginger)

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp crushed red peppers (my husband likes it spicy) Optional

Put everything in a mason jar, shake to mix.

Put it in the refrigerator until your ready to use.

BEEF

Olive oil for frying

Top sirloin steak (mine was .90 lbs for $8.99), cut in thin strips against the grain

1 basket of sliced mushrooms

3 large bundles of broccoli, cut in small pieced

You can add other veggies cut up.. carrots, onions ext

Stir fry noodles or rice

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add olive oil to a large pan, cook steak don't over crowed the pan. Cook them in batches otherwise you will steam the meat. 

Remove the meat and set aside.

Add more olive oil t the pan, add mushrooms and broccoli. Cook a few minutes until they begin to soften. 

In the meantime cook the noodles for 2 1/2 minutes in boil water, drain water and run cold water over them to stop them from cooking more.  

Add the sauce to the veggies.  Cook for a few minutes for the sauce to thicken. 

Add the beef and noodles. Stir

Transfer to a large bowl and enjoy.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Rice Seasoning Mix

Rice Seasoning Mix

3/4 cup chicken flavored broth base (I used low sodium, BUT it wasn't salty enough so next time I will use the regular, see picture below)

1/2 cup dried parsley

1 tbls dried basil

1 tbls dried dill 

2 tbls dried onions

1 tsp seasoned salt

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 cup unsalted almond, ground in grinder. I ground them up to almost powder/with bits no big chunks.  This is OPTIONAL. I put them in but next time I will try without and see if it is still as good as with them in.  Or i might try salted ones and see it it tastes better. 

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and transfer to a large mason jar. 

 I vacuumed sealed it with my food saver to make sure it didn't get moisture in it also to preserve the almonds and not let the oil in the almonds go rancid.  

I was going to store it in the refrigerator, but I don't know if this would cause moisture.

DIRECTIONS: Boil 2 cups of water, then add 1 cup jasmine rice (not minute) and 3 Tbls of this rice seasoning mix.  Cover and turn heat to simmer for 18 mins. when done fluff and eat.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

 This broth base is a powder form. I didn't want MSG in my spice mix.  Most of the other chicken bouillon graduals have MSG in it.

All seasoned salts are different. So that is why I put a picture of what I used.  I have lawry's seasoned salt too, so next time I will try that and see if it adds more salt since my first batch wasn't that salty but good.

Tater Tot Casserole

Tater Tot Casserole

2 lbs ground beef cooked and drained

1 cup onion, chopped (optional)

2 cans (10 3/4 oz) campbells condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can of green beans, drained

2 Tbls katchup

2 Tbls worcestershire sauce

1 cup shredded cheese (jalapeño or cheddar)

Frozen tater tots (enough to cover the top)

1 cup of shredded cheese on top of tater tots (optional)

Cook the beef and onions, drain the fat.

Add all the ingredients except the tater tots in the pan you cooked the beef and onions, to save on dishes. 

Add that to a large greased baking pan. I have a 10 x 15 pan. 

(if you cut this recipe in half I use a 9 x 11 normal cake pan)

cover it with tater tots

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and the bottom is bubbly. 

Option: you can stir in frozen vegetable mix to make it with more veggies.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Spiced Pecans

Spiced Pecans

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 TBls ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

4 cups (12 ounces) unsalted pecans

1 egg white, whipped

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Add sugars and spiced to a bowl, mix.

In a separate bowl, add pecans and whipped egg whites. Gently toss until all coated. 

Add sugar mixture and toss until combined.

Spread mixture on large sheet pan with parchment paper .  

Bake for 40 mins, stir every 20 mins. 

The sugar will harden more once cooled. 

Let cool and store in sealed container.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Olive oil

1 medium chopped onion

6 ounces diced butternut squash

Chicken broth (I start out with 1 cup and keep adding) (vegetable broth for vegetarians)

salt and pepper

dash of nutmeg

Add olive oil to a pan and sauté onions until tender. 

Add diced butternut, salt, pepper, nutmeg and 1 cup of chicken broth.

Bring to a boil until butternut is soft. Keep adding chicken broth to keep the pan wet. 

When it has cooled, add to a blender and blend.

Strain back into pan and heat and add chicken broth until you like the soup consistency. 

Enjoy, yum.

You can put some in individual containers and freeze for later. 

NOTE: To make this a quick and easy soup, I had peeled and diced a couple of butternut squashes, I roasted them with olive oil, salt and pepper. When they cooled I froze them in a zip lock bag.  So when you go to make the soup, I put in 6 oz of frozen butternut squash cubes and made the soup.  

To save even more time, peel and dice the butternut squash and freeze in a zip lock bag.  Then use the 6 ounces of cubed squash. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Carrot Ginger Soup

Carrot Ginger Soup

Olive oil (maybe 4 Tbls, when the pan got dry i added more)

1 medium onion, diced

6 large pealed carrots, chopped

2 garlic cloves diced

Fresh ginger about 1/2 Tbls chopped

2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarians)

1/4 tsp cumin

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 can coconut milk, unsweetened 13.5 oz can

1 Tbls honey raw best quality

In a large frying pan add olive oil, chopped onion and carrots.  Sauté until onions and carrots are getting tender.

Add chopped garlic and ginger, saute briefly, don't burn the garlic.

Add cumin and red pepper flakes.

Add chicken broth and simmer until carrots are tender.

When the carrots are tender, add half the milk. 

When it has cooled some, add to a blender and add honey at the end.  

Strain the blended carrots back to the frying pan. Add the rest of the coconut milk.

Heat and serve. Yum

You can put them in individual containers and freeze.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

This is the coconut milk I had in my pantry so I used this. It is really good.  First time I tried coconut milk.  I don't know what other brands taste like.