Ingredients:
Barefoot Pinot Grigio (2 large bottles)
Blackberries-1 tub, rinsed**
Strawberries-1 tub, rinsed and halved
Sugar-- 1 and 1/3 cups
White-Cran Raspberry Juice
1 can 5-Alive frozen concentrate
Mix all ingredients except the blackberries and reserved strawberries in your largest drink dispenser and refrigerate overnight. This allows the flavors to "bleed" into the wine.
**Blackberries have a tendency to break down more quickly than the other fruit. If your dispenser has a spigot, the small kernels and seeds can get clogged there. This makes it difficult to fill cups and please your friends!
Taste OFTEN the next day prior to your party, in order to verify consistency of flavor......and to calm pre-parrrrty jitterszh. :)
Just prior to serving, rinse blackberries and remaining strawberries; slice the strawberries and place both fruits in the drink mixture. This will freshen up the color, since the other fruit will have broken down somewhat in the alcohol.
Some people like to add something fizzy just before serving. Ginger ale, tonic water, and Sprite are options.
This particular sangria recipe of mine generally goes quickly. Enjoy!!
Monday, December 29, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The BEST Meatballs EVER!!
Meatballs
Ingredients:
*1.5 lbs ground beef
*Marinara sauce-enough to moisten and flavor
*2 eggs
*Seasoned bread crumbs-enough to adhere ingredients together
*Grated Parmesan and/or Romano Cheeses-fresh is best
*Garlic Salt-several dashes
*Beef Granules--a dash or two. Maybe one to two teaspoons for you people who insist on measuring??
*Herbs de Provence--I'd guesstimate that I used about 3 Tbsp
*Truffle Oil Salt--a dash or two. This adds a really delicious depth of flavor to the meatballs.
*Truffle Oil Salt--a dash or two. This adds a really delicious depth of flavor to the meatballs.
Mix, mold into Tbsp sized balls. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then 385 degrees for 15 minutes. Check meatballs to make sure they stay moist.
Prepare to scream YUMMY!!!
Serve with spaghetti and tomato sauce or on sub rolls with sauce and cheese. I like fontina slices or smoked provolone for extra cheesy goodness.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Chicken and Mango Salad
Because I love food and wine so much, I gained a lot of weight last year. Therefore, I am on a regimen of fruits and veggies. Salads can be so lightweight for the summer, as well as rocking some amazing possibilities for food combinations. This one has fabulous color AND flavor!
Ingredients:
•Mango
•Grilled, marinated chicken breast chunks
•Chives
•Small chunks of hatch pepper cheese
•Lettuce
•Olive oil, dash of Srracha sauce, garlic salt, dash of Monterrey Steak season
The only preparation needed for this meal is the marinated chicken, which was left-over from last night's dinner, and the dressing. The chicken marinade consisted of pickle juice, chili powder, garlic salt, and a pinch of turmeric. Then I grilled it in some olive oil. For the salad, I simply cut off chunks of chicken to toss with the rest of the ingredients. The dressing was comprised of the olive oil, Srracha sauce, garlic salt, and Monterrey Steak seasoning.
Toss all items together, and eat immediately.
The mango should be fresh and not too ripe, or the consistency may be globular and less appealing than it should be.
Ingredients:
•Mango
•Grilled, marinated chicken breast chunks
•Chives
•Small chunks of hatch pepper cheese
•Lettuce
•Olive oil, dash of Srracha sauce, garlic salt, dash of Monterrey Steak season
The only preparation needed for this meal is the marinated chicken, which was left-over from last night's dinner, and the dressing. The chicken marinade consisted of pickle juice, chili powder, garlic salt, and a pinch of turmeric. Then I grilled it in some olive oil. For the salad, I simply cut off chunks of chicken to toss with the rest of the ingredients. The dressing was comprised of the olive oil, Srracha sauce, garlic salt, and Monterrey Steak seasoning.
Toss all items together, and eat immediately.
The mango should be fresh and not too ripe, or the consistency may be globular and less appealing than it should be.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Tangy Creamy Potato Salad
Here's a delicious potato salad recipe that was so tasty, my neighbor Susan came over the next day for left-overs!
Ingredients:
*Red Potatoes
*Olive Oil
*Sweet Onion, quarter cup
*Homemade Broth (see ingredients and recipe below)
*Dill
*Sour Cream
*Mayonnaise (I used Duke's)
*Rice Cooker
Rinse and remove any eyes and bruises from the potatoes. Leave some skin on for texture, color, and flavor. Dice potatoes into smallish cubes, then place in a rice cooker with olive oil and finely diced sweet onion. In a separate pan, make the broth, then pour it over the potatoes and onions. Pour in a liberal amount of dill, and mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. Using the steam setting, cook for 35 minutes.
When the potatoes are finished, place in a bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Stir in equal measures of sour cream and mayonnaise to desired taste and creaminess.
Keep chilled and enjoy!
Broth Ingredients and Recipe:
*Creamy Jalapeno Pepper Dip (HEB)
*Chicken Broth Powder-1 TBSP
*Sriracha-2 or 3 dashes
*Garlic Salt
*Beef Broth Powder-1/2 TBSP
*Dash of Olive Oil
*4 Cups of Water
Combine and bring all ingredients to a boil, then remove from heat and follow instructions above.
**All measurements all approximate. I do not measure when I cook, so these are all estimations.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Shrimp and Cheese Grits
Cheese Grits:
*Jim Dandy Instant Grits (it's all they've got at the local store..), serving size for six
*Three ounces of Velveeta, cubed
*Water (according to serving size, minus a half oz)
*Milk
*Seasoning-- A Tablespoon of each: Garlic Salt, Montreal Salt Season, Coarse Sea Salt
*Cheese-any good hard block cheese, grated or cubed-two ounces
*Tablespoon of butter
Cook the grits according the directions. I like to stir mine with a fork after I pour the grits into the rapidly boiling water so they don't clump. I put the seasoning in with the dry grains prior to adding to water so they boil and seep flavor into the grits. I don't know if that's scientifically or culinarily accurate, but it works for me.
When the grits begin to thicken, I add a dash of milk to make them good and creamy. Next, the cheese, Velveeta, and butter go it. Stir quickly and thoroughly, then cover your pot and let the mixture thicken.
Shrimp:
*Deveined/Tails Removed Shrimp, frozen or fresh-one pound
*One jalapeno
*Garlic Salt
*Olive Oil
*Course Season Mixture-Salt/Pepper
*Shallot, finely diced
*Freshly Ground Pepper, coarse
Rinse and drain fresh or thawed shrimp. Dice jalapeno and shallot, then add to shrimp in bowl. Season with spices, then coat with olive oil. Set aside in refrigerator to marinate.
When ready to cook shrimp, drain excess juice, and sautee in large pan. Make sure each shrimp has room to cook. Stir frequently. They are done when they are pink and curled, but not completely touching end to end.
Serve shrimp on a mound of hot, delicious cheesy grits, top with freshly ground course pepper, and enjoy!
Slow-Cooker Lamb
I have two vegetables that I've attempted to master, without success: artichokes and eggplants. Tonight, I achieved my mastery with eggplant. It was an effort based on impulse, much like the rest of my cooking (hence the name, "Scratch and Sniff"), and I'm glad to say, ended in happy tummies.
These are the ingredients I decided to play with:
*Lamb stew meat
*One jalapeno, diced fine
*1/4 sweet onion, diced fine
*Shallot, the butt end left over from another recipe
*Flour, enough to coat the meat prior to browning in oil
*Spices-curry, ground cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic salt
*Butter, one tablespoon
*Sweet diced canned tomatoes
*Eggplant, peeled, diced into apprx one inch cubes, and soaked in salty water for apprx 45 minutes
*Coconut Milk-one can
*Dash of Chicken Broth
*Olive Oil (assume that's in all recipes I cook with, unless it's some sort of baking dish)
Before deciding exactly what I was cooking, I had lamb stew meat. I love lamb, and wanted to do something savory and sweet and delicious with it. I diced the large stew chunks into smaller, bite-sized pieces, then coated them with at least two tablespoons of curry, a tablespoon of ground cloves, about a teaspoon of cinnamon, a DASH of turmeric (I'm still trying to figure that flavor out), and some garlic salt. {Garlic salt has more salt and less of that heavy garlic flavor that stays on your breath for the next three days... It's just a favorite of mine. Salty, but better. I digress.} Flour-about four tablespoons-and some olive oil went into the bowl with the meat. Everything was stirred together and then allowed to sit for a while to meld the flavors.
Having made a quasi-decision about what sounded/smelled good, I first diced the onion, amid some tears, and the medium sized jalapeno. It was not too fiery, based on the amount of oil it released as I cut it up, so I left a lit bit of the veins and seeds in this time for a bit of heat. Into the sautee pan they went with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, until the onions were transparent and the jalapeno was less...raw. This was achieved with medium heat. I dumped these in the slow cooker, already set on low heat for six hours.
The meat/spices/flour mixture went into the same non-stick pan, and I browned the meat on medium-high heat in a few more tablespoons of olive oil. The dash of chicken broth and tablespoon of butter helped keep the floury meat from becoming a muddled, burnt mess in the bottom of the pan once the oil dispersed. When the meat had browned up nicely, I added it and the can of sweet diced tomatoes to the onion/jalapeno mixture in the slow cooker.
The peeled, cubed eggplant, which had been soaking in salty water to remove the bitter taste, was drained and tossed in the now empty pan to crisp for a few minutes. Since the stove had been on for quite a while at this point, I turned the heat down to a little below medium heat. Once the pieces had a slight browned appearance, I added them to the slow-cooker mixture.
The final addition to the slow-cooking concoction was a can of coconut milk. This was for thickness, creaminess, and the marrying of flavors. I cooked this wonderful group of ingredients on low for six hours. Even my daughter, who literally turns her nose up at EVERYthing unless it's stuff-crust cheese pizza, tater tots, or macaroni and cheese, ate a bowl of this. I served it with smoky basmati rice.
The flavors that stood out most--the stars of this performance--were definitely the semi-hot jalapeno, the ground cloves, and the coconut milk. I need an inspirational name to highlight this happy Scratch and Sniff success!
These are the ingredients I decided to play with:
*Lamb stew meat
*One jalapeno, diced fine
*1/4 sweet onion, diced fine
*Shallot, the butt end left over from another recipe
*Flour, enough to coat the meat prior to browning in oil
*Spices-curry, ground cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic salt
*Butter, one tablespoon
*Sweet diced canned tomatoes
*Eggplant, peeled, diced into apprx one inch cubes, and soaked in salty water for apprx 45 minutes
*Coconut Milk-one can
*Dash of Chicken Broth
*Olive Oil (assume that's in all recipes I cook with, unless it's some sort of baking dish)
Before deciding exactly what I was cooking, I had lamb stew meat. I love lamb, and wanted to do something savory and sweet and delicious with it. I diced the large stew chunks into smaller, bite-sized pieces, then coated them with at least two tablespoons of curry, a tablespoon of ground cloves, about a teaspoon of cinnamon, a DASH of turmeric (I'm still trying to figure that flavor out), and some garlic salt. {Garlic salt has more salt and less of that heavy garlic flavor that stays on your breath for the next three days... It's just a favorite of mine. Salty, but better. I digress.} Flour-about four tablespoons-and some olive oil went into the bowl with the meat. Everything was stirred together and then allowed to sit for a while to meld the flavors.
Having made a quasi-decision about what sounded/smelled good, I first diced the onion, amid some tears, and the medium sized jalapeno. It was not too fiery, based on the amount of oil it released as I cut it up, so I left a lit bit of the veins and seeds in this time for a bit of heat. Into the sautee pan they went with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, until the onions were transparent and the jalapeno was less...raw. This was achieved with medium heat. I dumped these in the slow cooker, already set on low heat for six hours.
The meat/spices/flour mixture went into the same non-stick pan, and I browned the meat on medium-high heat in a few more tablespoons of olive oil. The dash of chicken broth and tablespoon of butter helped keep the floury meat from becoming a muddled, burnt mess in the bottom of the pan once the oil dispersed. When the meat had browned up nicely, I added it and the can of sweet diced tomatoes to the onion/jalapeno mixture in the slow cooker.
The peeled, cubed eggplant, which had been soaking in salty water to remove the bitter taste, was drained and tossed in the now empty pan to crisp for a few minutes. Since the stove had been on for quite a while at this point, I turned the heat down to a little below medium heat. Once the pieces had a slight browned appearance, I added them to the slow-cooker mixture.
The final addition to the slow-cooking concoction was a can of coconut milk. This was for thickness, creaminess, and the marrying of flavors. I cooked this wonderful group of ingredients on low for six hours. Even my daughter, who literally turns her nose up at EVERYthing unless it's stuff-crust cheese pizza, tater tots, or macaroni and cheese, ate a bowl of this. I served it with smoky basmati rice.
The flavors that stood out most--the stars of this performance--were definitely the semi-hot jalapeno, the ground cloves, and the coconut milk. I need an inspirational name to highlight this happy Scratch and Sniff success!
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