Beautiful Buffalo Meatloaf

Beautiful Buffalo Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground buffalo*
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 eggs, beaten
1 t parsley
1 t dried garlic
3/4 t seasoned pepper
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t sage
1/2 t thyme


Glaze:
1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T spicy mustard
1 t Tiger sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In a large bowl, combine ingredients with hands until well blended
3. Form meat into a loaf and place on a broiler pan
4. For glaze, combine ingredients. Make sure there are no lumps of brown sugar
5. Pour glaze on top of loaf and evenly spread around (including sides)
6. Bake meatloaf for 1 hour
7. For a crispier glaze, turn on broiler for last 2-3 minutes of cooking
8. Let meatloaf stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting




*Beef can be substituted for buffalo. It is recommended to use 1 lb 85% lean ground beef with 1 lb 93% lean ground beef

Pizza Sticks

Pizza Sticks

Ingredients:

1 batch Basic Pizza Dough or Wheat Pizza Dough
12 mozzarella string cheese sticks
60 pieces pepperoni
Pizza Seasoning
Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll out pizza dough into an oval, approximately 1 foot wide and 20 inches long
3. Using a bench scrape, cut dough in thirds, length wise, then cut strips in fourths (to form 12, rectangular pieces)
4. Place 5 pieces of pepperoni on top of each piece of dough, then top with mozzarella stick (make sure pepperoni is fanned out to length of mozzarella stick)
5. Fold over sides to close up dough around mozzarella and pepperoni. Give sticks a roll to close up seams (seams can be carefully pinched shut, to be sure)
6. Place pizza sticks, seam side down, on a greased cookie sheet
7. Brush pizza sticks with oil then coat sticks with desire amount of pizza seasoning
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until dough is golden
9. Let pizza sticks rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Wheat Pizza Dough

Wheat Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 T honey
1 1/2 T vegetable or walnut oil
1/2 cup water, 105-115F
1 packet dry, active yeast

Directions:

1. Add yeast to warm water (note: water must be between 105-115 to activate yeast) and stir. Let water sit for 5 minutes
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, honey and oil with a fork until few lumps are left
3. Add water and yeast to flour, mix
4. Coat hands with vegetable oil, to prevent sticking
5. Remove dough from bowl and work into a ball, pulling the top of the ball around and under
6. Coat your bowl with vegetable oil and return ball of dough to bowl
7. Tightly cover bowl with plastic wrap
8. Let dough sit in a warm area for 1 hour, to proof
9. Dough is ready when it has doubled in size

Basic Pizza Dough

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

2 c all purpose flour
3 T olive oil
1 packet dry, active yeast
1/2 cup water, 105-115F
1 t sugar

Directions:

1. Add yeast to warm water (note: water must be between 105-115 to activate yeast) and stir. Let water sit for 5 minutes
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and oil with a fork until few lumps are left
3. Add water and yeast to flour, mix
4. Coat hands with olive oil, to prevent sticking
5. Remove dough from bowl and work into a ball, pulling the top of the ball around and under
6. Coat your bowl with olive oil and return ball of dough to bowl
7. Tightly cover bowl with plastic wrap
8. Let dough sit in a warm area for 1 hour, to proof
9. Dough is ready when it has doubled in size

Baked French Fries

Baked French Fries

Ingredients:

2 Idaho potatoes, cleaned (optional: peeled)
3 T vegetable or canola oil
2 t pink sea salt (Australian sea salt)
1 t ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. To cut potatoes by hand: cut potato in fourths, length wise, then slice each fourth to desired width. To cut potatoes with a mandolin: cut potatoes in half before slicing. If using a potato slicer: follow directions of slicer
3. On a large cookie sheet, mix potatoes, oil, salt and pepper
4. Bake fries for 10 minutes, then turn fries
5. Continue baking for another 10 minutes
6. For softer fries, remove from oven
7. For crispier fries, switch oven to broil and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes

Cool Club Sandwich

Cool Club Sandwich

Ingredients:

4 turkey cutlets
1 t ground rosemary
1/2 t lemon pepper
1/2 t pink sea salt (Australian sea salt)
1 T vegetable or canola oil
6 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked
4 slices oat or sourdough bread, toasted

Zippy mayo:
1/2 c mayonaise
1 T lemon or lime juice
1 t ground black pepper
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t paprika

lettuce
tomato

Directions:

1. Preheat a medium sized saute pan over medium heat with vegetable or canola oil
2. Combine ground rosemary, lemon pepper and sea salt. Sprinkle over both sides of turkey
3. Cook turkey in pan until done (about 3-4 minutes per side)
4. For zippy mayo, combine all ingredients
5. Assemble sandwiches- spread mayo on all pieces of toast, place desired amount of lettuce and tomato, place 2 pieces of cutlets per sandwich, and 3 pieces of bacon per sandwich (bacon should be cut in half and laid across turkey)
6. Cut in triangles and serve
7. Leftover Zippy mayo can be stored, covered, in fridge for up to 1 month

Broiled Chicken

Broiled Chicken

2 chicken breasts, with bone and skin
1 T lemon pepper
1/2 T white pepper
1 t garlic salt
vegetable oil or vegetable oil spray

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Coat an 8x8 Pyrex or ceramic dish, and chicken with vegetable oil
3. Combine spices and rub over chicken skins. Place in Pyrex
4. Bake chicken for 30 minutes
5. Switch oven to broil and broil chicken for 5-7 minutes, until skin is crispy and chicken is cooked

Fabulous Fajitas

Fabulous Fajitas

Ingredients:

2 lb flank steak OR/and 2 lb boneless skinless chicken
1, 16 oz bottle Italian dressing
4 oz vinegar
4 oz lemon juice [does not have to be fresh]
1 bag frozen bell peppers
1 medium sized onion, julienned
1 package tortillas

Instructions:

1. Tenderize your meat. To do so, lay on a cutting board. If you have a mallet tenderizer, you will need to mash until the meat is even and slightly pierced. If you have a needle tenderizer, 3-4 passes will suffice
2. In a gallon Ziploc bag, mix dressing, lemon juice and vinegar. Add meat
3. Marinate for at least 3-4 hours (overnight is OK. If you are time crunched, no less than 1 hour)
3. Preheat oven to 425°F
4. Lay meat on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes (or until done)
5. While meat is cooking, start veggies. If you want your vegetables together, cook the onions until translucent, then add frozen peppers. If you want them separate, in another pan, start cooking the peppers right before the onions are done. For both- preheat a saute pan over medium heat with enough vegetable oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan (for a 12 inch saute pan, this will be roughly 2 tablespoons of oil). DO NOT USE OLIVE OIL! Cook until they are done to your liking. For caramelized onions, use butter in the pan instead of vegetable oil.
6. Serve on tortillas with anything else you want (cheese, sour cream, Pico De Gallo, Guacamole, ect.)

Notes from the Pro, first installment

The following is a quick reference/guide in some simple things to help you out. This is the first installment, with more to be passed on later.



-Olive oil burns faster, so unless the recipe says so, use vegetable or canola

-when baking, always use UNsalted butter, unless the recipe says so (using unsalted butter for general cooking is also a good idea)

-your dough didn't rise because you might have done something wrong to the yeast or did not proof the dough properly

-softened means softened, not melted

-margarine can not always be substituted for butter. Sometimes it can, sometimes you need to make other adjustments for the substitution, and sometimes you have to use the butter

-when frying, keep the oil temperature at 350F. Do NOT raise it! If you do, that is why your chicken got dried out or over cooked on the outside. I'm serious!

-braising is a good method for tough cuts of meats. Blanching is a good method for rougher vegetables. Yes, these methods do add a pot or two to your cleaning detail, and do add on a few minutes to your cooking and prep time, but it's worth it

-it is possible to over marinate a piece of meat. Marinating it longer does not always add more flavor. Tenderizing meat first will help add flavor

-always read a recipe, in full, before you make it. Reading it multiple times is good too

-to a certain extent, baking is a science. If you are baking something for the first time, follow the recipe to a T. If you want to make changes to the recipe, be careful and remember that the change could affect the final outcome

-if you are unsure how a new addition to a dish will taste, take out a small portion and add the spice or herb to that portion to try it out. Remember, you can add, but you can't subtract

-when cooking for large crowds, remember that not everyone likes salt and pepper the same way you do. It's better to add less (or no) salt and pepper and let people add on if they want to





-sometimes there are no shortcuts. Good food takes time and patience (and a little bit of a love)

-anyone can cook. You may think you can't, but all it takes is some patience and an open mind

Very Best Baked Chicken

Very Best Baked Chicken

4 chicken breasts, boneless-skinless, trimmed
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 t garlic salt
1 t ground black pepper
3 eggs
1 c milk
2 c vegetable or canola oil

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, preheat oil over medium heat (a thermometer should read that the oil has been heated to 350F). Preheat oven to 400F
2. Prepare breading sequence- mix flour with garlic salt and pepper in one bowl. In the next bowl, mix eggs with milk. In the third bowl, place bread crumbs
3. To bread chicken- coat with flour, then egg wash, followed by the flour again, with a second coat of the egg wash, and finished off with the bread crumbs (flour, egg, flour, egg, bread crumbs)
4. Cook chicken, 1 piece at a time, for 2-3 minutes on each side, to brown breading
5. Place pre-cooked chicken in a Pyrex or ceramic dish and continue to cook in oven for 10-15 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked
6. Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Texas Style Creamed Corn

Texas Style Creamed Corn

Ingredients:
2 lbs frozen corn, off the cob
1 stick unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
2 c heavy cream*
1 t ground white pepper
1 t ground black pepper
1 t garlic salt

Directions:
1. Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat
2. Melt butter and add onion
3. Cook onions until they become translucent
4. Add frozen corn and stir
5. Once corn is mostly defrosted, add cream
6. Continue to saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally
7. When cream begins to boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cream begins to thicken
8. Return heat to medium to finish reducing until liquid is a creamy texture


*Evaporated milk can be substituted for heavy cream. For substitution, add 2 T cornstarch to 2 T cold water and add to evaporated milk before adding to corn.

Marvelous Maniccotti

Marvelous Maniccotti

Ingredients:
1 jar tomato sauce
1 lb cottage cheese
15 oz ricotta
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 T Italian dressing
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 c cooked, chopped spinach, drained
1, 4 oz can mushrooms, diced
1 package (14) manicotti shells
1 jar tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Using a large bowl, whisk eggs together
3. Add cheeses, vegetables, herbs, spices and Italian dressing to eggs. Mix until ingredients are evenly blended
4. Stuff shells with cheese mixture (you will have leftovers)
5. Place shells in a 9x13 Pyrex or ceramic baking dish
6. Cover shells with a jar of tomato sauce
7. Cover dish tightly with foil
8. Bake for 1 hour, until shells are soft and cheese is melted
9. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving


Note:
Leftover cheese stuffing can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for 3 months

Roasted Mashed potatoes

Roasted Mashed potatoes

Ingredients:
1 lb red bliss potatoes
1/4 c olive oil
1 t oregano
1 t sea salt
1/2 ground white pepper

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 c heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Wash potatoes, do not peel
3. Cut potatoes into quarters
4. Place cut potatoes on a large baking sheet
5. Drizzle olive oil and spices over potatoes. Mix potatoes to evenly coat
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn potatoes. Continue baking for another 20 minutes, until potatoes begin to brown
7. Remove pan from oven and let potatoes cool for 10 minutes

Stand mixer:
8. Using the paddle attachment, slowly blend potatoes
9. When potatoes have begun to mash, add cream and butter
10. Using medium speed, mix potatoes until fully mashed

By hand:
8. In a large bowl, mash potatoes with potato masher
9. Once potatoes are mashed, add milk and butter

Killer Guacamole

Killer Guacamole

Ingredients:

2-3 avocados
1 Roma tomato
2 T lemon juice
1 t cumin
1 t ground black pepper
1/2 t sea salt


1. Slice avocados. Remove pit and skins
2. Place in a bowl and mash with fork to desired consistency
3. Remove seeds and guts from tomato. Dice into small pieces (1/8 of an inch or less)
4. Mix tomatoes and all ingredients with guacamole. Chill for 1 hour before serving

Heavenly Pie

Heavenly Pie

Crust:
3 egg whites
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
3/4 c chopped pecans

Filling:
4 oz semi sweet chocolate
3 T water
1 c whipping cream
1 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until a stiff peak is formed
3. Add cream of tartar and salt. Slowly add in sugar
4. Once sugar is incorporated, fold in pecans and vanilla extract
5. Grease a 9 inch pie pan
6. Add meringue to pan and spread with a spatula, up to the edges
7. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until meringue has browned
8. When meringue is done, place to the side to cool, for at least 20 minutes
9. In a small pot, melt chocolate with water
10. Once chocolate it melted, place in fridge to cool for 10-15 minutes
11. In a large bowl, beat whipping cream to the consistency of whipped cream
12. Add chocolate and vanilla extract to whipping cream and mix with a spatula
13. Place chocolate whipping cream mixture into meringue crust and spread evenly
14. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Do not freeze pie