Rhubarb Vodka

Just bookmarking it here so I can find it again.  Delicious!

3 pounds rhubarb, cut up

Mixed with
1 bottle vodka
1/4 cup grand marnier
Simple syrup (6 tablespoons sugar heated to boiling with 1/4 cup water)


Cool the syrup before mixing into the rest of the ingredients. 
Let stand 1-2 weeks in covered container.

Recipe is flexible - it originally called for 1/2 cup of the Grand Marnier, but my source preferred with less.

It's a lovely pink color and, according to reports, is dangerously good when mixed with 7-Up.

Cherry Jam

After having this unproductive sour cherry tree in our yard for quite a few years, we were pleasantly surprised to see more than a few berries finally this year.  Tony beat the birds to them and I was able to make this recipe.

There was only a pound of usable fruit (pits removed), so I added another 1+ pounds of bing cherries to make the jam-making mess worthwhile.  I may regret that, since I've heard such fantastic things about sour cherry jam, but in the meantime, I'm sure we'll enjoy the few pints of mixed cherry jam I made this afternoon. I'll bookmark the recipe here (and below, in case it drops off the interwebs), just in case next year's yield is closer to the 4 pounds the recipe asks for.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds of pitted and mashed sour cherries, which should yield about six cups of jammable fruit
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 packet liquid pectin (that's half a box)

Instructions

• Put three pint jars or six half pints (or some combination thereof) in your canning pot and bring to a boil.
• Combine fruit and sugar in a heavy, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and let bubble for a good twenty minutes, occasionally skimming the foam from the surface of the fruit as it develops. Add the pectin and boil for another five minutes. You want to cook it until it looks like boiling sugar - thick and viscous.
• Kill the heat, fill your jars, wipe rims, apply the lids and rings and process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and let cool on the countertop. When the jars are cool (I typically wait until overnight), remove the rings and test the seal by picking the jar up by the lid. If it stays put, your jars are good to store indefinitely.
• I love the flavor of sour cherries, so I didn't add a drop of extra flavor to this jam. However, you are welcome to spice things up with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla or orange (or anything else).

Delicious Hot Dish

Brown in 2 tbls of butter:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 3 c celery
• 2 c chopped onions

Mix with:

• 1 c uncooked rice (not minute rice)
• 1 10-ounce can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 10-ounce can of chicken noodle soup
• 2 soup cans of water
• 3 tbls soy sauce

Cover and bake at 350 for one hour or more, until rice is fully cooked.

I've been trying to come up with some different recipes, and lately "different" = "retro."  In short, I pulled a bunch of things from my old recipe box that I haven't made in years.

This one is pure Minnesota comfort food, probably copied from something my Mom used to make.  Everyone was pleased with the "new" recipe and ate a ridiculous amount.  If I had a regular rotation (which I  don't, but probably should), this would be on it.

It's probably worth noting that I only used 1 pound of hamburger, and this would probably be classed up a bit if it used cooked chicken or turkey instead of the beef.

Rhubarb bars

CRUST
1 c flour
5 tbls powdered sugar
1/2 c butter, softened

FILLING
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups rhubarb
1/4 flour

Mix the crust ingredients.  Pat into a 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Mix filling ingredients and pour over the top of the baked crust.  Bake at 350 for an additional 35 minutes.  Cool and cut.

NOTES:

• Delish and easy!
• The crust was buttery and delicious.
• The filling was a little sweet and could have used more rhubarb.  Next time try three cups of rhubarb with this amount of sugar or 1 1/4 cups of sugar with the 2 cups of rhubarb.
• Source: Parish cookbook from Sacred Heart in Norfolk, NE (p. 222)
  
  
  
  

Crockpot Orange Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts3/4 cup orange marmalade3/4 cup barbecue sauce2 tbsp. soy sauce

• Cook the chicken breasts in the crockpot on high for 3 hours.
• Mix the three sauce ingredients together in a bowl
• Drain the chicken and pour the sauce over it.
• Continue cooking on high for an additional 30 minutes.

NOTES:

• Source
• The sauce is pretty outstanding.  I'm actually going to freeze the leftover sauce and try it on grilled chicken or pork.  It would also probably be excellent on baked chicken.
• The original recipe recommended starting with thawed chicken (which I did), but it would also work with frozen.  The chicken was pretty overcooked, almost falling apart, but it was still very moist.
• Everyone liked it :)

Basic Lentils with Carrots

I don't know when we became Lentil People, but they seem to have become a Friday go-to for us. No photo, because they're lentils and not very attractive, but trust me, they're good. This is also a very versatile recipe: add more water/chicken stock for soup, add ham or bacon on a non-Friday, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  1 medium yellow onion, chopped

  1 carrot, chopped

  3 cups water

  1 cup French green lentils, rinsed

  1 bay leaf

  1 teaspoon dried thyme

  Sea salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add carrot, water, lentils, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, adjust seasoning and serve.

Via Whole Foods

 

World's Best Hamburger Buns

• Source: King Arthur Flour's Beautiful Burger Buns.  These were easier to make than going to the store for buns, and infinitely better. 
• 
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• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• *For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

topping

• 3 tablespoons melted butter

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.

2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.

4) Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.

5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.

6) Cool the buns on a rack.

Yield: 8 large buns.