Mangoes with Sour Cream

My new favorite "potluck " dish.

1 - 3 lb bag of frozen mango chunks

1 - cup of sour cream
1/2 to 1 cup cane sugar
1-2 tsp salt to taste

1 - 2 TBS of unflavored gelatin (optional)
1 tsp - 1 TBS cream of tartar (optional)
1 cup of milk (only needed if using gelatin)

I have decided that sour cream makes the best dressing for just about anything.  Fruit salads, instead of mayonnaise for tuna fish, dips, whatever.  The sour complements the mangoes so well and it's so  to just defrost the fruit in the fridge, then apply sour cream sauce.  If you leave the fruit slightly frozen, it will be its own chilling mechanism if its not going to be eaten immediately.

The first time I made this, I was in a hurry and just threw it together and was thankful that it turned out ok.  The second time I made it, I wanted to sneak a little protein in there....mostly so when I ate the leftovers as a snack, it would be a wee bit more balanced.

If you want to add the gelatin, dissolved it in the milk first.   Then add everything else except the mangoes.  Stir well until declumped.  Heat to dissolve the gelatin, then pour over the mangoes, stirring or folding over quickly.  It will usually last the day, but overnight, the mangoes get a little soggy.

Cottage Cheese with Fresh Cherries

A fabulous summer meal or snack!  This mornings breakfast was a handful of fresh cherries cut in halves, sprinkled with a little sugar and salt and topped with 4% cottage cheese with no gums, stabilizers or fillers.


This also makes a wonderfully easy to go meal if made with frozen fruit.  I can pack a wide mouth, pint size mason jar with frozen fruit and cottage cheese with a single ice pack in a cooler bag and have it just right for eating 8 hours later.


Hearth and Soul Hop
See Ya In The Gumbo

Strawberry Crisp - GF

I took the recipe for the peach crisp and switched the peaches with strawberries. Oh, and I accidentally used the whole stick of butter.  Tasty mistake, that one. ;)

The only thing I would change is the addition of a little tart, like lemon zest and/or juice....or rhubarb, perhaps.

Gorgeous, yeah? 

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup white rice flour 
• 2 TBS gelatin
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened + extra to butter crock (or coconut oil)
• 4-6 cups fresh or frozen strawberries.....honestly, I forgot to measure

Blend everything together except the peaches strawberries. Mix half of the dry ingredients to the peaches strawberries and put in buttered baking dish or crock.  Sprinkle crumble over top of strawberries. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, no preheating required for a toaster oven.

Serve warm with ice cream or whip cream for dessert or with milk for a snack.

Hearth and Soul Hop 
Simple Lives Thursday

Easy Peach Crisp - GF

I prefer fresh peaches off the tree, but the late snow may have put a damper on this year's peaches.
Too soon to tell......
This takes 30 minutes in a toaster oven or 3-4 hours in a slow cooker.  Which would you choose? 
I found the original recipe here: Peach Crisp in the Slow Cooker   I modified it to suit my tastes/needs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup white rice flour 
• 2 TBS gelatin
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened + extra to butter crock (or coconut oil)
• 2 large (20 oz) cans peaches, drained well. I prefer the juice sweetened over corn syrup.

Blend everything together except the peaches. Mix half of the dry ingredients to the peaches and put in buttered baking dish or crock.  Sprinkle crumble over top of peaches. For the quick version, bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, no preheating required for a toaster oven.

Serve warm with ice cream or whip cream for dessert or with milk for a snack.

See ya in the Gumbo 
Gluten Free Wednesday

Sweet Potato Cranberry Cheese Melt

I intended to contribute some sweet potato pie for a Thanksgiving Get Together in addition to the cranberry sauce. So much for intentions....

I had a lot of precooked sweet potatoes that desperately needed eating.  I had a lot of cranberry sauce leftover too.  (I made enough, we could of eaten it as the main course.)

I was worn out from eating and visiting the day before. Necessity is the mother of invention, so......


Sweet Potato Cranberry Cheese Melt

1. Mash cool to touch sweet potato in bottom of baking dish.  
2. Layer spoonfuls of cranberry sauce on top.
3. Dot with butter chunks.
4. Salt generously.
5. Layer white cheese of choice.  I used mozzarella, but a nice Jack or Havarti would work too.
6. Bake @ 300* for 20-30 minutes.

This taste ok cool and I ended up making some again for lunch to go the next day too.

Later incarnations involved coconut oil fried, white corn tortillas...even better!

See Ya In The Gumbo 
Heart and Soul Hop 
Scratch Cookin' Tuesday 
Simple Lives Thursday

Short Rib Curry with Lychees (Slowcooker) - GF

Ingredients
beef short ribs
coconut milk
red curry paste
pickled and sliced banana peppers
jumbo onion, sliced
straw mushrooms
whole lychees (or pineapple)
beef gelatin
cane sugar
sea salt

Ok...so I've never had a lychee before, but it was priced the same as pineapple...so I grabbed a can.  They look like odd shrimp and taste like a bland over sized raspberry without the seeds.  I am sure fresh is better.

Layer in order in the slow cooker, adjust amounts to the size of your cooker.  My oval cooker fit a 6.8 lb frozen block of ribs.  There was a small space on the side for the onions and peppers.  I added the mushrooms, lychees, gelatin, sugar and salt towards the end. This cooked over night and I pulled out loose bones in the morning.  Some of the interior pieces needed more cooking time for bone release.  An extra hour on high did the trick.
Use approximately 1 TBS gelatin per 1/4 of meat and roughly equal parts gelatin and sugar.  Measuring doesn't matter too much, except the salt.   Leave it out until finished cooking, then season to taste. Serve over rice or potatoes.

Hunk of Meat Monday
See Ya In The Gumbo

Unglazed Gelatin Donut Holes - GF, DF

The evolution of leftover onion ring batter.

Mix equal parts beef gelatin and cane sugar with a wee bit of cream of tartar and extra salt, if needed. Mix with leftover egg and rice flour and add extra flour until you can work it like Playdo and not have it stick to your hands.  I like to divided the ball in half and then half again, then half again and so on until I have multiple, roughly equal pieces, that are about the size of my thumb to the first joint.  They expand a little when they fry in the coconut oil.  They are more forgiving of temperature, so I usually stick them in last. You may have to roll them to get them to brown evenly.

I can think of all sorts of ways to doctor these up...cinnamon sugar coatings, dipped in melted chocolate, fruit centers....but I usually am so full on onions rings by the time I get to these, I don't feel like being adventurous anymore.

Orange Whip

Sweet and simple.

Orange Whip (recipe fits a "personal sized" blender)

• 2-3 oz frozen concentrated orange juice (pulp free)

• fresh milk, skimmed or whole (this is a good recipe for hold up queen's milk)

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• ice cubes (optional, but help the whipped cream effect)

• 2 TBS cane sugar (optional, recommended if using vanilla)

• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (extra potassium and makes it fluffy)

• dash of vanilla (optional, make it a really small dash if not using sugar)

I few months back, I got myself a "personal blender" to fit my 60's era blender....you know the kind that's compatible with mason jars. ;)  I didn't want it, but pricing wise, it was almost the same as the replacement parts I needed.  I admit, it's handy and I like the spill resistant personal drinking lid....fits on a regular mouth mason jar just fine.  Great for sipping.

Anyway, this is one of those blended drinks that need to be finished shortly after making, so small batches are good.  (OJ will turn the milk into cheese if left to sit too long, not nearly as appealing. IMO.)  Leave extra room at the top for the whipping, a few inches at least.  The minuscule amount of cream on my current batch of milk is whipped and firm when prepared this way and makes it taste very rich indeed.

See Ya In The Gumbo
Gluten Free Wednesday
Scratch Cookin' Tuesday
Hearth and Soul Hop
Fat Tuesday

Banana Bread & Muffins - GF

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking: 

Banana Bread & Muffins
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup coconut oil  or butter
1-1 1/4 cup bananas mashed

 1 3/4 cup rice flour
2/3 cup cane sugar 
2 TBS unflavored gelatin
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped apricots (optional)



I haven't had any bananas for YEARS. Cooked bananas do not cause discomfort like raw ones do though.  I could not resist the bargain of a huge bag of bananas for $1...and had a get together coming up.  I peeled the bananas and stuck them in the freezer until needed. 

Mix ingredients in order.  I use a potato masher or ricer for the banana and leave it on the chunky side.  I used Sucanat for the sugar, the caramel ish flavor goes well.  1 loaf recipe makes about a dozen muffins using an ice cream scoop for measuring.  Bake at 350*  for about 25-30 minutes for muffins, 1 hour for a loaf.  I used my toaster oven, so no preheating necessary.  Use a greased pan or tin or use liners.

The muffins were a huge hit and we actually had leftovers too. They freeze well and make a nice snack on the go....or a light meal with a glass of milk.

See Ya In The Gumbo
Melt in your Mouth Monday
Hearth and Soul Hop
Fat Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Gluten Free Wednesday

Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

I make a mean fruit dip.  I love it for dipping strawberries and it goes great as a brownie topping too.  I got my recipes confused the other day and put WAY too much gelatin in the dip.  Seriously, dip should not be slice-able.


Directions:
I added 2 slices too firm cheesecake dip to 2 eggs in the blender and whipped. Much to my delight, the gelatin dip actually did blend in. I was concerned I would get a chunky smoothie....like adding coconut oil that turns gritty in the cold, ewwww.  I added OJ for liquid as needed and a large handful of frozen strawberries. "Seasoning" was some salt, cream of tartar, cane sugar and homemade vanilla extract.

Pineapple Clam Chowder - GF

Enjoy this light, yet hearty meal anytime of year by changing the ratios of the ingredients.

Ingredients:
Homemade Smoked Turkey Broth
Sierra Mist (optional)
Sea Salt
Potatoes, peeled and diced
Cream of tartar
Coconut Oil
Beef gelatin
Baby Clams (with Juice)
Pineapple (with Juice)
Hot Pepper Oil (optional)

Bring about 6 cups liquid (broth, juice from clams and pineapple and soda or water as needed) to boil and add peeled, diced potatoes and salt.  I used 4-5 large russets.  Turn heat down and simmer 40 minutes.

Add as much gelatin and cream of tartar as desired. Cream of tartar = potassium.  Clams are the "whole" animal so don't need gelatin, but I always sneak in extra where I can and find the gelatin adds richness and balances the sweet/tart of the pineapple well.  I used a little over half a cup.

I added about a cup or so of Sierra Mist because it had been sitting in the fridge a while, flat.  I don't know that it necessarily added anything "special."  A little cane sugar would work just fine too. Add the clams and the pineapple at the end. Correct seasoning (add more salt, of course) and serve.
I like a dash of hot pepper oil too.

Friday Food

Piggy Spanish Rice

A yummy twist on Rice Cooker Spanish Rice....

BACON! 
Well, actually, cured jowls...you know....pig cheeks. ;)
Pork jowl is shorter than bacon anyway, but I still cut them up smaller before cooking.  I pan fried the bite sized pieces in their own fat at about "egg" temperature for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. We like our bacon with most of the fat rendered out but still meaty, on the chewy side, not crumbly.

I left out the additional fat and backed off the salt...the milk fed, homegrown, sugar cured jowls provide plenty of both.  Everything else is the same.  I did use a fruit based salsa instead of a cilantro based salsa, just for fun.  A huge hit!


Ingredients: Makes about 8 servings
2 cups Broth
4 TBS Beef gelatin
1 tsp Cream of tartar
.5 tsp Salt
a few dashes liquid minerals (optional)
1 cup Salsa
4 scoops Rice (rice cooker scoop is about 3/4 of a cup of actual rice)
Water to 4 cup fill line
.5-1 lb cooked bacon or jowl with grease

1. Put broth in pot of rice cooker and sprinkle with powdered ingredients, so gelatin can soak up some liquid.
2. When soaked, put rice and salsa into pot and stir.
3. Fill to 4 cup line marked on pot with water (or add extra broth).  
4. Add cooked jowl and corresponding grease.
5. Set to Cook.
6. When rice switches to "keep warm" setting, fluff and serve.

Friday Potluck

Fight Back Friday
Hunk of Meat Monday
See Ya In The Gumbo
Barn Hop
Melt in Your Mouth Monday 
Full Plate Thursday 
Simple Lives Thursday 
Your Recipe, My Kitchen
Ingredient Spotlight :Bacon
Ingredient Spotlight : Tomatoes

Ahhh....Breakfast!

Home Smoked Turkey Drumstick with Warmed Orange Cranberry Sauce

The leftover cranberry sauce was already in pyrex, so I took the legs sent home with me in a doggy bag and put them in a small pyrex tray and put everything in the toaster oven.  The default setting on my oven is 30 minutes at 300*, perfect for reheating just about anything.

The turkey was purchased from a local grower who raises them on pasture with non GMO feed.   This was a "runt" at 11 lbs.  My friend likes to brine her birds and her husband smokes them using a blend of real woods.  I think hickory and pecan were part of this years batch.  Good stuff...especially the dark meat!


Friday Potluck
Friday Food

Orange Cranberry Gelatin (updated)

This is what I intended to make: No Stir Cranberry Sauce

• At about 6 PM last night, I discovered that my apple juice concentrate was from 2007 and it smelled/tasted horrible.
• I substituted frozen grape juice, mixed all the ingredients together (including adding a stick of cinnamon and star anise, in addition to cloves) and waited for the cooker to come up to pressure.  It smelled SOOOO good putting it in the pot, I was really looking forward to it.
• About 15 minutes later, I SMELLED the steam releasing from the pressure cooker.  Not good, it was burnt! It's been so long since I used the cooker, I think the burner was too high AND the gelatin was too sticky.
• After waiting for the cooker to cool, we cleaned and scrubbed (baking soda works GREAT, BTW!) and started over.
• Second can of grape juice concentrate was stinky too, cardboard container instead of plastic like the first.
• The chickens ate well last night........

This is what I actually made:  Orange Cranberry Gelatin

Looks more like strawberries than cranberries, doesn't it?

It tastes wonderful.  The only thing I don't like about it is the muddy red color it has compared to the vibrant, bright red I get with apple juice concentrate.  The star anise and cloves didn't smell right with the OJ, so I left them out.

Ingredients:
2 - 10 oz bags cranberries
1 can OJ frozen concentrate
1 cinnamon stick

1.5 cups beef gelatin
1 cup cane sugar
1 TBS COT
2 large pinches of salt
1 cup Apple Cider
or
1/2 -1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar####

Heat first 2 ingredients on medium heat in a pressure cooker until OJ is melted.  Blend remaining dry ingredients together, then sprinkle on top of wet ingredients.  I added some apple cider to the top because it didn't seem "wet" enough. DON'T MIX.  Put lid of cooker and bring up to 15 lbs pressure, then remove from heat. Let cool naturally.

When safe to open, remove lid and much cranberries with a ricer/potato masher (circular press with small square holes).***  Remove cinnamon stick and chill until set.  Can be made ahead and served at room temperature or gently warmed.  Serve with Turkey or Ham!


#### This year I didn't have any apple juice/cider, so I experimented. I LOVED the ACV in the cranberries, perked it right up, gave it some personality, like a chutney. I may have added a little extra sugar, I don't remember.


***If you have issues that make small seeds a problem, go ahead and strain out the berries instead of crushing them.  You will get all of the flavor without the future discomfort.

Simple Lives Thursday
Full Plate Thursday 
Ingredient Spotlight: Cranberries

Quick and Easy (No stir, almost) Cranberry Sauce or Jelly

Ingredients:
1 bag cranberries (OG generally require less sugar)
1 can frozen apple juice concentrate
10-16 whole cloves OR a few dashes powdered clove
Pinch of salt
Cane Sugar/Cream of tartar to taste

For jelly, add a little beef gelatin in there too.

Using a stainless steel pressure cooker, add all ingredients to the cooker, mix and seal the lid.
Bring to 15 lbs of pressure and  turn off.  Wait until the pressure is naturally released and remove lid (this is about 10-15 minutes in total.)  Stir to break any whole berries, correct for seasoning (I like tart, some like syrup sweet) and serve at room temperature.  Can be made ahead, keeps for weeks.

P.S. Don't forget to fish out those whole cloves, if using.

Simply Delish

Hot Spiced Apple Cider

Nothing says fall to me, like apple cider...and nothing warms the bones on a crisp day like Hot Spiced Apple Cider.

Here's my version:

3 parts Apple Cider
1 part Mango Juice (Cranberry, Grape, Orange work too)
1 TBS gelatin per serving
Mulling Spice-cinnamon chips, orange rind, whole allspice, whole cloves, cinnamon oil, orange oil
Large pinch of Salt
Sugar/Cream of tartar to taste
Dash of vanilla
A small dollop of coconut oil

This maybe heated in a glass or stainless steel pot on the stove, wood stove or in a slow cooker.

1. Add the ingredients in order
2. When the gelatin is completely soaked, turn on heat.
3. Use low heat with a lid and forget about it for awhile OR
4. Use high heat and stir slowly, but consistently.
5. Gelatin is dissolved when coconut oil is completely melted.
6. Simmer for at least 15 minutes, strain and serve.

Friday Food

Apple Beef Stew - GF

Ingredients: (Fits a 4 quart crock pot)
Coconut oil
2 lbs frozen grass fed beef, homegrown and cubed
Salt
8 TBS-16 TBS Unflavored beef gelatin (I just eyeballed a cups worth)
RIPE Apples, peeled, cored and sliced (enough to fill pot)
Dash of allspice or cinnamon (Optional)
ACV

Fill the crock pot in order (leave out the vinegar) and cook on high for a few hours, then turn down when it starts bubbling, if you are home. If you are gone for the day, turn in low and forget about it.  This took about 4 hours of cooking on high plus 1 hour at low while we finished processing wood.  The vinegar was added to the individual bowls and added a nice balance of flavor.
Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, if desired.

Pennywise Platter Thursday 
Simply Delish

Cranberry Coconut Stew with Beef

Cranberry Coconut Stew with Beef  (8+ servings)
(fits a 4 quart slow cooker)

2 lbs Homegrown, grass fed beef, cubed 
1 package OG frozen Cranberries 
1 can Pineapple with juice
1 can Golden Star Coconut milk (no stabilizers or fillers)
8-10 TBS Beef Gelatin
8-10 TBS Cane sugar with Cream of tartar
Salt to taste 
1-2 TBS Green Thai Curry paste (optional)
1 Onion, sliced (optional)

I had asked for some GOAT stew meat to be brought up from the freezer...I guess the lighting was poor or something.  I prefer to use organic cranberries because the non organic I can get locally have all had an unpleasant bitterness I don't care for.  The price isn't much different because I buy them AFTER season and hoard.

I layered the beef on the bottom of the slow cooker, with the cranberries filling in around the still frozen blocks.  I mixed the dry ingredients together first, then sprinkled over the top.  The canned items were added next, with the curry paste and onion being an after thought.  I like the balance of sweet and tart and found that the salt counter balanced the sour as well.

There's enough acid in the broth that the gelatin stays fairly liquid even in the fridge.  Leftovers pour out of the jar instead of having to be carved out.

Food and Health Carnival 
Alimentary Tuesdays Carnival

Brats with Fried Apples GF

A friend of mine and I went Orchard hopping the other day.  I picked up some Jonathan's, Golden Delicious and fresh cider at one place, some wonderful Suncrisps at another and really liked the Braeburns at another, but forgot to actually buy some.

Brats and Fried Apples
Brats (defrosted in a bowl of cool water)
Suncrisp Apples
Coconut Oil
Gelatin
Sugar/Cream of tartar mix
Salt
Apple Cider

The apples were peeled, cored and sliced on the apple peeler, then cut in half to make them bit sized.  They were cooked in some coconut oil until tender, then I mixed the dry ingredient together and sprinkled over cooked apples.  The apples weren't very juicy, so I added some apple cider to thin.  When the gelatin mix was thoroughly blended, I turned the burner off and started on the brats.

In a separate pan with a generous portion of coconut oil for frying, I cooked the brats until golden brown on both sides...about 15 minutes.

See ya in the Gumbo!
Hunk of Meat Monday
Simply Delish
Your Recipe, My Kitchen
Barn Hop
Grain Free Real Food Carnival 
Heart and Soul Hop
Made from Scratch Tuesday

Sauted Brats and Peach Stew

The problem:

SOMEONE picked all the meat and most of the peaches out of the Goat and Coconut Peach Stew so went I went to reheat some, it was basically rice and broth. 

The solution:

I grabbed a package of brats out of the freezer and soaked them in a large bowl of cold water in the sink.  Meanwhile, I started to heat some coconut oil in a large fry pan and sliced some onion in for sautéing.  Adding salt and stirring occasionally, I got the soup reheating with some extra peaches, coconut milk and gelatin.  I added the brats, cut up into bites sized pieces.  When the brats were cooked, the "broth"  was done too and the brats and onions went in with the broth and Brats and Peach stew was born.