Pork pie recipe

I tried a new recipe this month and it turned out so great that it is now a family favorite so perfect for this month's post.  One of my favorite shows on Food Network is Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  I love Guy Fieri plus the concept of the show is great.  Over the years, we have visited several places featured on the show plus I have tried some of the recipes at home.  I was watching the show several weeks ago and saw where some place was serving pork pie and it looked good so I wanted to try it for myself.  I don't even remember where the place was but I had ground pork in my freezer and pie crust so looked up the recipe.  I found several recipes online but they all cooked the pork for 3 hours in water and no vegetables were added except mashed potatoes, so I created my own.  I browned the ground pork in a skillet and set the meat aside. In the same skillet with the meat drippings, I sautéed eggplant, sweet peppers, broccoli, kale and caramelized onions with a few seasonings until the veggies were tender.  Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, boiled potatoes with seasoned salt and pepper for mashed potatoes.  I added the cooked pork back in the skillet with the veggies plus added goat cheese to bind everything together.  You could add cream cheese instead but we really like the taste of goat cheese.  I then mashed the potatoes, adding a little butter and milk.  Next I added the mashed potatoes to the pork mixture until they were combined.   It all went into a prepared pie crust, smashing down a little then added top crust, crimping edges, vent top and brushed with egg wash.  The egg wash really made the pie pretty.  You could also substitute beef for the pork and make a beef pie. 

meat and veggie mixture

Here's the recipe:

1 lb. ground pork, browned

2 c. chopped eggplant

1/2 c. chopped sweet peppers

1/2 c. chopped broccoli

1/2 c. chopped onions or caramelized onions

1/2 to 1 c. chopped kale

1/2 to 1 t. each seasoned salt, pepper, parsley, garlic seasoning, sage

2 to 4 T. goat or cream cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 box pie crust with 2 crusts

2 c. mashed potatoes

mashed potatoes

In skillet, brown pork seasoning with salt and pepper and set aside.  Meanwhile cut up 5 to 6 small to medium potatoes and boil in salted water. I used red new potatoes which  don't have to be pealed.  In skillet with meat drippings, saute vegetables with seasonings until tender and add back in meat plus goat or cream cheese and stir until combined.  Drain potatoes and mash adding 1 to 2 T. butter and milk plus salt and pepper.  Potatoes should be fairly thick.  Add to meat mixture and put into pie crust, mash down a little to distribute evenly.  Top with 2nd pie crust, seal edges and vent top.  Brush with beaten egg.  Bake at 375 for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

I cooked my pie on a Saturday, let it cool then covered and put into the refrigerator to be eaten for lunch the following Sunday.  Before serving, I reheated in the microwave for 10 to 12 minutes and it came out great.

Enjoy,

Bamah

combination of meat mixture and mashed potatoes

evenly distributed in pie shell

seal edges and vent, brush with egg wash

Potato Soup, aka Beckman comfort food

As I was trying to decide what to post for my second post this month I realized that I haven't posted my potato soup recipe so here it is.  This is my family's all time favorite comfort food and has been requested many, many times from family and friends.  I make it at least once a month during the winter, typically soup weather but have also made it in the summer, just because. Whenever anyone is sick instead of making chicken soup, this is my go to recipe.  It really is the ultimate comfort food especially when lots of cheese is added. As with all my recipes I add more vegetables than just potatoes.  Turnips, cauliflower, kohlrabi, sweet potatoes especially white sweet potatoes go great with any kind of white potato.  I really like the combination of several kinds of potatoes with the other veggies added.  I also add green onions, sweet peppers and sometimes kale.  Most of the time I don't add meat but at times have added bacon or ham and of course lots and lots of shredded cheese. My secret ingredient to thickening it is adding a few instant mashed potato flakes at a time at the end of cooking to get the desired thickness.  We like our potato soup really thick.
Here's the recipe:
Potato Soup

8 to 10 potatoes, peeled and chopped (don't have to peel new potatoes)
2 sweet potatoes
1 onion chopped
1/2 c chopped sweet peppers
1/2 to 1 c chopped turnips, kohlrabi or cauliflower (or any combination)
water to cover
1 t each seasoned salt and pepper
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 to 1 c milk
1/2 to 1 stick butter
about 1 c instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 to 1 c chopped kale
shredded cheese
cooked bacon, bacon bits or chopped ham if desired
1 T parsley
2 T sofrito
1 T minced garlic


Put chopped potatoes and veggies (except kale) in large pot and cover
with water, add seasoned salt, pepper, sofrito and garlic. Cover and
cook 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add kale and other
seasonings, butter and meat and cook another 10 minutes covered.
Thicken soup with instant mashed potato flakes, adding a little at a
time, add milk and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste, can also add
about 1 t onion powder and/or garlic powder and sour cream if desired.

Enjoy,
Bamah

Black-eyed peas for luck

Black eyed peas with cornbread

Happy 2017. My plan for this year is to post twice a month and will try to share some more craft and farmer's market posts along with recipes. I'm going to share my black-eyed recipe for my first post this year.  Eating black eyed peas for luck on New Year's Day is a Southern thing that dates back to at least the Civil War. It's believed that when General Sherman marched through the South, black eyed pea were ignored being thought as animal food, unfit for human consumption. The people felt lucky having this food source to get them through the winter.
My family love black-eyed peas, well 3 out of 4 of us anyway.  They are one of my oldest daughter's favorite vegetables and my youngest daughter refuses to eat them.  I have found they are one of the few vegetables that I can't hide when cooking.  I did puree some cooked ones that were leftover and added them to garbanzo beans to made hummus once.  No one knew the difference and it tasted really good. We have black-eyed peas every New Year's Day served with either rice or cornbread but most of the time with both. Hoppin John is where cooked rice is added to the peas in the last 30 minutes of cooking.  We have that quite a bit as well since it's my husband's favorite. Years ago, I always used dried black eyed peas, soaking overnight then cooking.  In a pinch, I used canned adding rice and my own seasonings.  Now, I only use fresh or ones I've canned myself.  Fresh is so much better and really easy.  I buy them in the summer when in season at the farmer's market, shell them, put in freezer bags and freeze. When I'm ready to cook them, I empty the whole bag in a big pot, add more veggies, chopped celery, eggplant, sweet peppers, garlic, onion , carrots and corn and cook for 1 to 2 hours until tender. Kale, Swiss chard or some kind of greens is also good added in the last hour of cooking. Chopped ham, bacon, smoked sausage or ham hocks can be added the last hour of cooking.  If I have a ham bone I usually add it at the beginning to flavor the peas while cooking. The recipe in my book calls for salt pork but I don't use that, we love ham so that's my meat of choice for black eyed peas.

Black eyed peas with ham

Here's the recipe
if using dried black eyed peas, rinse and cover with water to soak overnight, pour off water and add clean water to cook

2 to 3 c black eyed peas
1 onion chopped
1/2 to 1 c each chopped celery, eggplant, sweet peppers, carrots and corn
1 to 2 c of Kale, Swiss Chard or some type of greens
1 to 2 cloves minced garlic
1 pkg Sazon seasoning mix
1 to 2 t each seasoned salt, pepper, and parsley
2 T bacon grease
1 to 2 c chopped ham, cooked bacon, can also use ham hocks, salt pork or smoked sausage
1 bay leaf
1/2 to 1 t red pepper flakes

Combine peas, vegetables, seasoning in large pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and cook 1 to 2 hours until tender.  Add greens and meat in last hour.  Can also add 1 c cooked rice in the last 30 minutes of cooking to make Hoppin John. Serve with cornbread.

Good luck in 2017
Enjoy
Bamah

Hoppin John, rice and smoked sausage

Papas Cathedral Candy

Since I accomplished my goal this year of a post a month, I'm going to increase to 2 a month next year so here's a bonus recipe to finish out 2016.  This is Papa's Cathedral candy which is a family favorite and another must have at Christmas in the Beckman house.  My husband's father, Papa, started making this when our girls were little and I have a picture of them in his kitchen helping which I've added to this post.  It's such a simple candy recipe but so very delicious.  I made 2 large pans this year and took to my office party plus gave some away.  I learned a new trick this year which made cutting the candy so much easier.  I put parchment paper in the width of my pan with enough overlapping that made handles so when the candy was cooled I just lifted the paper out and then pulled it away from the candy and cut it into 1 to 2 inch squares. It also made for easy cleanup. I microwave the chocolate and butterscotch morsels in a large plastic bowl for 2 minutes, stir,  then add peanut butter and stick butter and continue microwaving in 2 minute increments, stirring between, until everything is melted and blended together.  Next add a can of mixed nuts, I break mine up some by putting them in a large plastic baggie and breaking them up with my rolling pin before adding them to the candy.  Lastly add colored mini marshmallows and stir until covered in chocolate mixture and put in lined pan and refrigerate overnight. You can use white mini marshmallows but it's not as pretty when cut, with the colored ones the candy looks like little stained glass windows whence the name.  Here's the recipe:
Papa's Cathedral Candy


2 bags chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, can us chunky if desired
1/4 c stick butter (1/2 a stick)
1 can mixed nuts
1 bag of mini colored marshmallows


Melt together chocolate and butterscotch chips, add peanut butter and butter and continue to microwave in 2 minute increments until all melted and blended together.  Add chopped nuts and marshmallows and stir together.  Put in lined pan and refrigerate overnight, remove and cut into 1 to 2 inch squares.  Needs to be stored in refrigerator.  I use a large baggie filled with the cut candy.


Enjoy
Bamah

Granny's cornbread dressing recipe

cornbread dressing

Well here it is the end of December so getting another recipe posted to complete my goal this year of posting each month. For December, I'm posting my grandmother's cornbread dressing recipe plus a few extra ways to make, serve it not just at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  This is one of our favorite things around the holidays.  It's a must have for Thanksgiving and if one of my daughters don't make it home then I have to make it for Christmas as well. As with all my recipes, I've added additional vegetables to the already chopped onions and celery.  I add chopped sweet peppers, minced garlic, shredded carrots, eggplant and even broccoli. It's also good with fresh herbs like sage and parsley. When cooked chicken or turkey is added it makes a great casserole for dinner anytime. This year for Christmas I added 4 chicken breasts which I cooked then shredded to the dressing mixture of cornbread, vegetables and seasonings then baked for 45 minutes and served with gravy, mashed potatoes and fresh cranberry relish.  (My cranberry relish recipe is on an earlier post, Crazy for Cranberries). My family's absolutely favorite thing is to mix the leftovers together of 2 parts dressing, 1 part mashed potatoes, plus chopped chicken or turkey and a little gravy then form into patties and fry in butter like crab cakes.  We call these Thanksgiving patties and are served with either gravy or cranberry relish.  I have to make sure I make enough dressing in order to have leftovers for patties since they are a must have at my house. I always make a double batch of cornbread (I use 4 packages of Martha White cornbread mix, NOT Jiffy because it has added sugar and I don't want my dressing sweet.) 2 days before I make the dressing to let the cornbread dry out some. Leftover dressing can also be frozen to make patties later or is great in hash with scrambled eggs and fried potatoes. Several years ago we had a severe ice storm and lost power for almost a week.  We have a gas stove so I cooked the whole time to keep the house warm and used items in the freezer before they thawed out and ruined.  I had dressing from Thanksgiving and was throwing different vegetables together to make hash so added that as well.  We loved it so much I always add a bag to the freezer after Thanksgiving for future hash.


 Here's the recipe:

2 days before, make double batch of cornbread, I use 4 packages of Martha White yellow cornbread mix

dressing with chicken added

1 c chopped celery, 5 stalks
3 onions, chopped, can add green onions as well
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped sweet peppers
1/2 c chopped eggplant
1/2 c shredded carrots
1/2 c chopped broccoli
3 T butter
cornbread crumbs
2 to 3 pieces white bread, crumbled
2 to 3 eggs, beaten
1/2 to 1 c turkey or chicken broth
1/2 to 1 t sage, fresh or dried, I like a combination
1/2 to 1 t poultry seasoning
1/2 to 1 t chicken seasoning
1 t parsley, fresh or dried
1 t each of seasoned salt and pepper
can also add fresh or dried rosemary and thyme

Cook veggies in butter until tender (this can be done a day ahead).  In large bowl combine cornbread and white bread crumbs, seasonings and cooked vegetables.  I check my seasoning before adding eggs to make sure I have enough sage.  Add 2 beaten eggs and stir.  If making a dinner casserole, add chopped cooked chicken and turkey.  The mixture should be moist and stick together, place in 9x11 baking dish and pack down.  Add chicken or turkey broth, 1/2 c at a time.  The vegetables add a lot of moisture so it doesn't need as much broth if full of veggies.  Bake at 400 for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with gravy or cranberry relish.  Leftovers freeze great and Thanksgiving patties are great as well.
Enjoy
Bamah

Thanksgiving patties with cranberry relish

Thanksgiving dinner

Bacon Broccoli/Veggie Quiche

Bacon veggie quiche #1

Bacon broccoli/veggie quiche was on the menu for September but somehow the month got away from me and I didn't get this posted so getting it out now. I'm not sure where I got the original recipe but have been making it for about 10 years.  I remember a time when I was visiting my oldest daughter, Tabitha, when she was living in Tulsa in 2007 and made this for her and her friends. I've changed it up a little over the years, as with everything else I cook, I've added more fresh vegetables to the broccoli the recipe called for.  Frozen broccoli works great, you just have to let it thaw and drain the liquid out.  I have baggies of fresh broccoli in my freezer that I froze myself so added to that sweet peppers, eggplant, onion, garlic, and yellow squash then steamed them in the microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes to pre cook since I had a combination of fresh and frozen vegetables. I drained off the liquid and added fresh chopped tomatoes and spinach (kale would be great as well)  then put the veggie mixture in the pie crust, added bacon, shredded cheese and then the egg/milk mixture. The original recipe called for mushrooms but my family doesn't care for them so I leave them out.  I mostly put in what I buy at the farmers market including fresh farm eggs which are the best.  This recipe really makes 2 pies/quiches and since I always get carried away chopping veggies I have enough for 1 deep dish pie and 1 regular pie.  I made this for my family last month and 2 pies worked out well, since they heat up great in the microwave for lunches for my daughter and I. I generally cook 2 things on Saturday so we have things to take for lunches to work and have leftovers for dinner. It really works well for us and I don't have to cook dinner each night. Between my cooking this way, freezer leftovers and soups I've canned, I always have something available for a quick dinner or to take for lunch.  I also have a similar recipe that calls for cooked pork sausage that I add veggies to as well so sausage can be substituted for bacon in this recipe and tastes great.  My family are huge bacon fans so I mostly use bacon. Here's the recipe:

Bacon Broccoli/Veggie Quiche

2 T flour

1/2 c mayonnaise

1 t each seasoned salt; pepper, turmeric and parsley

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 c milk

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 c chopped sweet peppers

1/2 to 1 c finely chopped eggplant

1/2 to 1 c yellow squash, chopped

1 to 3 small tomatoes, chopped

1 c spinach, (or kale) chopped

1 to 2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped or 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and patted dry

1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled

2 to 3 c (8 oz) shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese or combination of any kind of cheese 

1 box of pie crusts

In large bowl, combine milk, mayonnaise, eggs, flour and seasonings. Combine veggies except, tomatoes and spinach and microwave for 3 to 5 minutes to pre cook. Drain off liquid then add chopped tomatoes and spinach (or kale).  Line a 9 in deep-dish pie plate plus 1 regular pie plate with pie crusts and flute edges. Pour veggie mixture into crust, add chopped bacon and cheese then pour egg/milk mixture over top and slightly stir if necessary.  Bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.


Optional, fresh chopped mushrooms can be added as well. Cooked pork sausage can be substituted for bacon.

Enjoy,

Bamah

Before baking

Bacon veggie quiche #2

Stuffed crust pizza

baked pizza out of oven

For August post I'm sharing a stuffed crust pizza recipe.  This was my 1st attempt and it turned out perfect and tasted wonderful.  I've made pizzas before but never quite got the crust done, by using my cast iron skillet and heating it first on the stove burner then putting it in the oven, the crust came out crispy and perfect.  I saw the recipe on The Kitchen on Food Network so tried it myself.  I won't make pizza any other way again. I basically followed the technique but didn't put on a sauce and did my own toppings.  That's the beauty of pizza, you can put on whatever you like to eat.  I didn't make my own dough either but used the Pillsbury canned crust and instead of using smoked mozzarella for the crust, used mozzarella string cheese. For toppings I used roasted veggies, chunks of mozzarella then topped with chopped fresh spinach after baking. I've also made with caramelized onions and smoked German sausage which was fantastic.
 Super easy and tasty. Here's the recipe:

slice of yummy pizza

fresh spinach added

Stuffed crust pizza

1 pizza dough crust, homemade or canned

1 pkg mozzarella string cheese

1 mozzarella cheese ball or shredded mozzarella

olive oil

seasoned salt and pepper

toppings 

sauce

cut string cheese

Light sauce recipe, 2 T olive oil, 1 t each chili flakes, basil, salt and pepper, 2 T tomato puree or paste

1 clove minced garlic, mix together and coat lightly on prepared crust. (This is from The Kitchen's website, I didn't use a sauce on mine).

Toppings, The Kitchen recipe used pieces of smoked mozzarella, kalamate olives, thinly sliced red onion and topped with fresh basil after baking.

My toppings were roasted veggies, sweet peppers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini and carrots.  (I make roasted veggies all the time, at least every other week, with my farmers market purchases.  I just cut them up, place on baking pans, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle seasoned salt, steak seasoning and pepper and bake at 350 to 375 for 45 minutes until tender. Each time is a bit different depending on what kind of vegetables I got at the time.  I use them for pizza, add to pasta with a simple sauce, add to rice or couscous or my daughter and I just eat them by themselves for lunch.) I also added mozzarella cheese, and chopped fresh spinach after baking.

Preheat oven at 500, coat bottom of cast iron skillet with olive oil and add pizza dough, cut string cheese into 2 inch pieces and fold into crust edges and tuck into skillet, when complete add sauce if desired or just drizzle with olive oil, can also sprinkle with seasoned salt. Add toppings and cheese. Brush crust with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Put skillet on stove burner on medium heat and cook until bottom of crust begins to brown lightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to oven and bake until crust is golden and center is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add fresh basil or chopped fresh spinach and drizzle with olive oil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then slice and serve.

tuck under

 Enjoy, Bamah

fold cheese into crust

cooking 2 to 3 min on stove top

finished stuffed crust

made with smoked sausage