Crab Rangoon Dip

This nifty little recipe is one I found online and being #1- a lover of dips, and #2- a lover of crab Rangoon, I knew I’d be making this. This recipe is so easy and so, SO incredibly good, I could eat the entire batch myself. It’s one of my downfalls, like Rice Crispy Treats…if I make them I can’t seem to stop myself from eating them all. I think you’ll love this too. And this is one recipe I didn’t vary from one little iota, too.

So, let’s get cooking!

Set a skillet of oil on the stove to start heating. You want about 2-3 inches of oil to fry the wonton wrappers.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…oh wait, this isn’t a western novel, it’s a recipe! Okay then, in the meantime, chop the scallions and crabmeat.

Place the softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl along with the sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, confectioner’s sugar, and garlic powder.

Cream with a mixer until smooth.

Mix in the crab meat and scallions using a wooden spoon.

Place in a greased 9 X 13” baking dish. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes.





While the dip is baking, make the fried wontons. Test the oil to see if it’s hot enough by dropping in a tiny piece of something…I usually find a tiny piece of chopped vegetable on the table where I chopped everything and just drop it in. If it sizzles frantically right away, the oil should be ready.

The wonton wrappers should be cut in half on the diagonal so they are triangles. Just drop a few in the hot oil and in a few seconds flip with tongs. Cook just until lightly browned on both sides.

These things cook VERY quickly. Do not walk away from them; you won’t even have time to scratch an itch when you cook these. Place the cooked ones on paper towels or a paper bag to drain and absorb the grease.




Serve the dip with the fried wontons. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Crab Rangoon Dip

16 oz cream cheese
2 c crab meat
1/2 c sour cream
4 scallions
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbl confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 package wonton wrappers
oil for frying

Grilled Pineapple Jerk Thighs

This recipe is one that I found online and thought, what an interesting combination! I’ve never had much food with the “Island“ flavor,  but this sounded pretty good and I thought I’d give it a whirl. The cool thing about these is, once again, you can grill them or you can use your oven and/or broiler if you need to, and they come out great. For this I did indeed use my oven. And I used my wonderful cousin David’s (and his wife’s!) PepperMary Island Jerk Seasoning for it. Yum!

So, let’s get cooking!

I used thighs for this, as the recipe had called for, but you can use any old chicken pieces you want. I buy my chicken in 10 lb. bags for .69 a pound, chicken leg quarters. So that means if I want just thighs or just legs, I have to separate them myself, which is easy. I also like to remove as much fat (sometimes skin too) as I can. So if that’s the route you chose, go ahead and do that. Otherwise, just have the chicken pieces ready.

Now for the marinade: In a blender blend the pineapple chunks with the Island Jerk seasoning. I used my handy dandy hand-held blender my father gave me. I love that thing!

Place the chicken thighs in a plastic freezer bag and add the pineapple-Jerk marinade. Put in the fridge and marinate at least two hours, or overnight. I prefer the longer time, and it splits up the work--you get it ready one day and the next day just take it out and cook.

Place the chicken on foil on the grill, or, as the original recipe said, you can line muffin tins with foil and place one thigh in each well. Or, as I did, line a sheet pan with foil and arrange the pieces on it. Baste with extra sauce from the marinade bag.



Cook for about 30-40 minutes, until no longer pink inside.

Enjoy! ~TMMF

                   

                    Grilled Pineapple Jerk Chicken Thighs

                    8 chicken thighs
                    1 c pineapple chunks with juice
                    ¼ c Island Jerk seasoning

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

This recipe is one I found online and it sounded so delicious, I just had to give it a shot. It’s very easy, very scrumptious, and this is just the first day of September--plenty of time left to still do something on the grill! I’ve grilled even in the winter, if we can get to the grill, but if you can’t, this can be done under the broiler in the oven. Give it a try and see how you like it.

So, let’s get cooking!

Cut the chicken breasts into cubes about 1” in size.

Peel and mince the garlic, chop the cilantro, and mix the marinade, which is the garlic and cilantro plus all the other ingredients.

Place the cubed chicken and the marinade in a bag and marinate all day or better yet, overnight. The original recipe says for at least an hour, but in all my marinating experience, all day long or overnight (24 hours) makes such a difference in the taste.

Just before you’re ready to cook, soak wooden skewers in water for about five minutes. Or use metal skewers. ;) Push the cubes of marinated chicken onto the skewers.

Grill (or use the broiler) until chicken is cooked through.

Serve and enjoy! ~TMMF


Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
juice of one lime
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 teaspoon Sriracha
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms

This recipe is one I found on MyRecipes.com, and looked so stinking good I had to try it. Of course, I tweaked it to make it somewhat simpler, but the taste was still fantastic and everyone here loved it. It was called Slow-braised Beef Stew with Mushrooms, but I skipped the braising and went straight to the Stew. ;)

I put it on mashed potatoes because the photo I saw did that and I thought it looked great. I really think if you’d like it to be a stand alone stew, it would be just as good with some cooked diced potatoes and sliced carrots thrown in and served in a bowl. Yumminy!

So, let’s get cooking!

Slice the beef you’re using into strips about one inch wide.

Place in the crock pot.

If you’re using fresh sliced mushrooms, sauté in a skillet with a little butter. Set aside. I sometimes use mushrooms I’ve frozen in general recipe-sized portions.

Dice the onion finely, peel and mince the garlic, and the fresh ginger if you’re using that. I didn’t happen to have any on hand so I used dry ground ginger for this.

Wash the orange well. Using a potato peeler, peel strips of the orange peel off, then slice them thin and cut the slices to be about ½” lengths. You want about 2 tsp of it.

In a medium saucepan, place the beef broth, wine, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, and orange peel. Bring to a boil and shut off.

Pour mixture over beef in the crock pot and set it to low. Cover and cook for about 5 hours, until meat is tender.

When the meat is done, remove about ¼ c liquid from the crock pot and cool. Stir in the cornstarch.

Pull the meat from the crock pot and place in a container for now. It’s time to make the gravy, and you can either try it in the crock pot (turned up high for a few minutes), stirring the broth-cornstarch mixture in with a whisk and whisking until thickened. Or you can pour the liquid into a medium saucepan on the stove. With the heat on medium under it, whisk in the broth-cornstarch mixture until thickened.

Place the beef back in the crock pot, add the mushrooms, and pour the gravy over all, stirring to mix.

Serve over mashed potatoes, which you’ll have made earlier, towards the end of the cooking of the stew. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms

4 lbs boned beef short ribs or chuck
1 Vidalia onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbl fresh ginger, minced
   (or 1 tsp dry ground)
1 orange
2 c beef broth
½ c dry red wine
¼ c balsamic vinegar
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
2-3 c sliced mushrooms
4-5 Tbl cornstarch

Mexican Mish Mash

This is a recipe I threw together just because I was in the mood for something Mexican-ish, and I didn’t feel like going online to find a specific recipe. And I figured what I put in is probably what many recipes have in them, so it worked for me. ;) The kids loved it and so did I, so there you go. This is a great recipe for leftover rice if you just want something a little spicy. Throw in a Tbl or more of PepperMary’s Cajun Blend to kick it up a notch, too!

So, let’s get cooking!

Dice the Vidalia onion and the green bell pepper.

Brown the hamburg with the onion and pepper. Drain and keep in the skillet.

Add the diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Spray a 9 x13” baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the cooked rice in the bottom.

Layer on the chili beans and spread the hamburg mixture evenly on top.

Finally, sprinkle on the shredded Mexican blend cheese. And bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, until bubbly and smelling so good!

Serve with sour cream and sliced jalapeños. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Mexican Mish Mash

2 c cooked rice
1 lb hamburg
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 pkt taco seasoning
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 15.5 oz cans chili beans
2 c shredded Mexican cheese blend

Slippery Sloppery Joes

Ah, Sloppy Joes, that old standby when you need something quick and easy. And while I usually have a couple cans on hand in my cupboard for those nights when things are hectic, I didn’t realize until now just how quick and easy homemade sloppy joes really are until I made them myself. I grew up on homemade ones; my mom made them all the time. Seriously, this is so easy and tastes so good, I may never buy another can of Manwich again.

So, let’s get cooking!

First dice the Vidalia onion and green pepper. Peel and mince the clove of garlic, or use a garlic press like I do when it’s time to add it.

In a skillet, sauté the hamburg, onion, pepper, and minced garlic, until hamburg is browned. Drain liquid out as much as you can.

Add the ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Extra points if you know how to pronounce that correctly. ;)

Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.






When done, serve on hamburger buns. We love this with a slice of cheese. Word of advice: put the cheese on the bottom bun, then add the Slippery Sloppery Joe mixture. ;)

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Slippery Sloppery Joes

2 lb hamburg
1 med. Vidalia onion
1 med. green pepper
1 huge clove garlic
1 ½ c ketchup
1 Tbl brown sugar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Laundry Soap and Reusable Fabric Softener Sheets

Well, here are two recipes that a lot of people have asked me about over the years, so I thought I’d share them with you. Actually, the Laundry Soap I’ve been using for many years, but the Reusable Fabric Softener Sheets I’ve only been using for a few months.

The reason I started using homemade products like these is because as you must know, the store bought versions get so expensive, even if you buy a generic brand product from wholesale stores. As soon as I started using the laundry soap and saw how great it works, I knew I’d never go back to store bought. The savings are phenomenal, and it cleans the clothes. It also has a light pleasant lemony scent.

Let me say that there are many different recipes out there for both of these, but these are the ones I tried and use, and they work just fine. I’m going to try some of the other recipes then do an updated post on what I’ve discovered, comparing them, so be on the look out for that. But if you’d like to at least get started with making your own, give these a try. I’ve noticed that some of the other recipes do use some or all of the same ingredients, so if you decide further down the line that you’d like to try a different recipe, you won’t be out a bunch of money spent on these ingredients.

So, let’s get…cooking? ;)

For the Laundry Soap, find yourself a container big enough to hold at least 2 gallons of water. I started making mine in double batches, and I had a big very sturdy bucket with handle and cover from my store bought detergent days. I rinsed it out and have been using that all these years. I think my bucket is a 5-gallon, so the double batch holds 4 gallons of soap just fine. I also don’t even measure the water anymore; I know where the top of the finished Laundry Soap comes to in my bucket, and I just make sure that I add enough water to reach that mark.

First, set 6 cups of water on to heat while you grate the Fels Naptha bar soap. Some people like to get a pot, grater, spoon, etc to use solely for these purposes; I just use what I use for cooking and wash them very well afterwards. However, I do have a plastic slotted spoon that I only use for the soap.

The water doesn’t have to boil, but when the water is very hot, add the grated Fels Naptha and stir until it dissolves. Add the washing soda and Borax and stir until they dissolve, which should take less time than the bar soap. Be careful not to have the heat up too high, as it can bubble up and over very quickly when you add the other 2 ingredients. Also, stay with it and stir; it only takes a couple of minutes until it’s ready.

When fully dissolved, pour the mixture into your ready container or bucket. Add 4 cups of hot water from the tap and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups more water (can be cold or room temperature) and stir well. Let the soap sit for 24 hours, stirring every so often.




The soap may have a jelly-ish texture, and that’s the way it is. You can stir it before you use it if you’d like, it does dissolve in the wash, even with cold water, which is all we use with our washer. This Laundry Soap doesn’t clog the washer, nor should it irritate the skin. It doesn’t have a bunch of suds; the ingredients in the soap are what clean, not suds. Use ½ cup for each load of laundry.

Now, on to the Reusable Fabric Softener Sheets. Find a container big enough to hold 3 cups of liquid plus 4 whole sponges. I ended up buying a set of 3 containers with lids at Walmart for under $3.00 and kept the other two for use in the kitchen.




I’ve heard that some people have made this using washcloths; you can get a 12-pack of them at Walmart for about $3.00. I actually had trouble finding a package of plain ordinary sponges without some scrubby material attached to one side, until I happened upon a 4-pack in CVS pharmacy for $1.29. Seriously, I looked at Walmart, Kroger, and several dollar stores without success. Thank you CVS!

So, making the Reusable Fabric Softener Sheets is very difficult, quite complex. Get ready for it…..ready…are you ready?? Measure out 1 ½ c of your favorite fabric softener and pour into the container. Then add 1 ½ c water, and…….STIR!!!!! ;)

Okay, you may need a break right about now, to gather up your strength again for the next step. Do what you need to, but when you feel rested and ready to move on….cut the sponges in half. ;)

Add the sponges (or the uncut washcloths) to the liquid in the container. They’re ready to use as soon as they soak up the liquid.





Now, I have to tell you about these. The original recipe I saw said to use 1 c fabric softener and 2 c water. I did do that for my first batch, but they were very watery and didn’t really make a difference in my laundry. The original recipe also said to squeeze out the excess liquid before tossing one of the half-sponges into the dryer. No, don’t do that. Especially if you want to actually have clothes that are a little softer, static free, and have a bit of a scent. If you use the washcloths, I might give a little squeeze so as not to drip, though.

I found that these worked better when I adjusted the amounts of softener and water, and I’m still saving money. When you take the load out of the dryer, just toss the used sponge back into the container. It’s so easy, and the money I’m saving is a big help to my family. I hope you like these recipes and that they benefit your family as they have mine. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha bar soap
½ c washing soda
½ c Borax
Water

Reusable Fabric Softener Sheets

4 plain sponges
1 ½ c your favorite fabric softener
1 ½ c water