Cajun Chicken Sandwiches

I Forgot to put lettuce on this one. oops.

A bit of effort for these sandwiches, but well worth it.

Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts, (enough for everyone), banged- er- tenderized with a meat mallet, or, in my case, a frying pan. I then cut them in half. I used 3 breasts for 5 people.

Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning (I use Old bay, 'cuz that's what I have), and cook in pan over medium heat until juices run clear and they are cooked through.

Swiss cheese slices or cheese of your choice- when chicken is done, leave in the pan. Lay slices of cheese on the chicken, add a little water to the bottom of the pan and cover quickly. Perfectly melted cheese every time.

Sandwich buns, spread with mayo OR Parmesan creamy Italian dressing, which I never have, Parmesan Peppercorn ranch is good too. I never have that one either.

1-2 slices crisp bacon for each sandwich If my bacon is longer I use one and break it in half. If they are shorter pieces, I use 2.

Tomato slices if desired

lettuce

Layer in your choice of fashion.

Eat.

Venison Hash

We get a lot of venison ground. Steaks and roasts are delicious yes, but when it comes to it, you can feed a lot more people on a pound or two of ground venison than you can with unground.

I generally substitute venison for beef, or in this case, beef will be subbed for venison when I make this tonight (because beef was on sale cheep when we were out of venison, and I froze it in flat packs, so a flat of beef thaws a lot quicker than the lump of venison I forgot to thaw this morning)

This ones pretty good, but I suggest taming the peppers if you have kidlets.

1 lb. ground venison

3 Tbsp. oil or bacon fat (I will add that I have thrown some chopped bacon in here, well worth it)

3 large onions, chopped -Yeah that's a little crazy in my opinion, so I just add them until it looks right.

1 can of chopped tomatoes- roughly 2 cups. I use a 14.5 oz can.

2 jalapenos, chopped- Child friendly version: 1 4 oz. can chopped green chili's.

1 tsp. chili powder

2 medium potatoes *very* thinly sliced

1 1/2 c. grated cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

A clove or two of minced garlic, if you feel like it

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Brown meat in oil or fat. Add onions and cook until they are soft.

Stir in tomatoes, peppers, chili powder, salt and pepper, and minced garlic, cook for about 5 minutes. Spread in a flat oven dish, and layer the sliced potatoes on top.

3. Cover and bake 45 min.

4. Remove cover, sprinkle with cheese and bake another 15 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Serves around 6.

Whole Wheat Bread

My kitchen, is at present a shambles. I should be cleaning it up, but, as I have a sweet but sick wee boy to cuddle, the kitchen can wait a few more minutes. Since the sweet, sick, wee boy is nursing at present, I decided to seize the opportunity to update my poor neglected cyber kitchen, which implies that I am a fast typer, and will restock the cyber kitchen shelves with all kinds of goodies, as apposed to the slow typer that I am, who will probably not even have this long intro done before wee boy is finished. Where was I again? Oh yeah, bread.

This is my FAVORITE whole wheat recipe, soft, tasty, cuts nice, and holds up great for sandwiches. I got it off the back of the flour bag (don't ask me what brand, I don't remember), and have it taped up inside my cupboard door over my mixer so I won't lose it.

Make it, you will love it.

2 packages regular active dry yeast OR 2 Tbsp. bulk active dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water (105-115 F. I use hot tap water, never had a problem)

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. butter (I soften it first)

3 tsp. salt

2 1/2 c. hot water ( 120-130-F. again, I use tap)

4 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 3/4- 3 3/4 c. all purpose white flour

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water; set asdie. In a lagre bowl (I use my Bosch), mix honey, butter, salt, and 2 1/2 cups hot water; cool 5 minutes.

2. To cooled honey mixture, beat in 3 cups of the wholewheat flour on low speed, scraping bowl frequently, until moistened. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 cups wheat flour and dissolved yeast. Add 2 1/4- 2 3/4 cups white flour until dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

3. Knead until dough is smooth and springy, adding flour as necessary. Place in a large greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (30-45 minutes)

4. Generously grease 2 (8x4 or 9x5) loaf pans. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll out and form loaves. Place seam side down in pan, cover and let rise until doubled in size (30-45 minutes).

5. Heat oven to 375F. Uncover dough and bake 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Immediately remove from pans and cool on a wire rack. At this point, I rub soft butter on mine to help keep the crust soft.

makes 2 loaves approximately 16 slices each.

Crabapplehouse Sloppy Joes

I never refuse a good Sloppy Joe....

Brown together 1 pound ground beef and 1 chopped onion. Add 3/4 cup ketchup, 2 Tbsp. chili sauce, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp. prepared mustard, 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Mix well, and simmer over medium-low heat 15-20 minutes.

Serves 4-6

Slow Cooker Herbed Beef Stew

I LOVE a good beef stew. B. not so much, but even HE didn't mind this one, and so I post the recipe here, for all to enjoy, because this ones great!

1 lb. beef round, cubed ( I used beef stew meat- reduced for quick sale!)

4 Tbsp. seasoned flour*

1 1/2 c. beef broth

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

4 carrots sliced

3 potatoes, cubed

2 onions, diced

Put meat in slow cooker, add seasoned flour and toss to coat. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook on high 4-6 hours or low 10-12 hours.

During last hour, add:

1 rounded tsp. fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried

1 rounded tsp. fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried

1 Tbsp. fresh or parsley or 1 tsp. dried

1 rounded tsp. fresh marjoram, or 1 tsp. dried

(If you add the herbs at the beginning, the flavor cooks off)

*For the seasoned flour.mix together 1/4 c. flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. paprika, and a pinch of pepper.

Serves 6-8

Cheese Fondu Revisited

Some time ago, I posted this recipe. But. I have since improved it, and now make it without the can of plastic-y looking orange soup. So much better.

Melt 2-3 Tbsp. butter of butter over medium heat. Once it starts melting add about 1 clove minced garlic. Watch carefully so the garlic doesn't burn.

Meanwhile mix together 2-3 Tbsp. flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, and 1/4 tsp. dry mustard. Whisk into the melted butter and garlic, and let bubble for a minute or so.

Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, and allow to thicken. Remove from heat and stir at least one cup of shredded cheese, depending on your cheese love. Mine is deep. I usually use up odds and ends, but a bit of Swiss makes it spectacular, and Asiago? *Swoon*. Serve with your favorite cubed bread. Or mix it with hot noodles for mac and cheese, OR add some bacon, slice up some hard boiled eggs, lay them over toast and smother in sauce. Mmmm-mmmm.

Catsup

1 c. white vinegar

1 1/2 inch cinnamon stick, broken

1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 teaspoon celery seed

8 ponds tomatoes (about 24 medium)

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. lemon juice

2 teaspoons salt

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and celery seed (or just tie them in a spice bag or coffee filter to save straining later). Bring to boiling, remove from heat and set aside.

Wash tomatoes, remove stem ends and cores; cut into quarters. Place tomatoes in colander to drain.

In a 8-10 quart Dutch oven or kettle, combine tomatoes, onions and ground red pepper.

Bring to boiling; cook uncovered 15 minutes stirring often.

Press tomato mixture through a food mill or sieve, discarding seeds and skins.

Return puree to kettle, stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently , uncovered for 1 1/2- 2 hours or till reduced by half. (measure depth with ruler at start and finish)

Strain vinegar mixture (or remove spice bag) into tomato mixture (discard spices). Add lemon juice and salt, simmer uncovered , about 30 minutes or to desired consistency, stirring often.

Ladle catsup into hot, clean half pints, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims, adjust caps, and process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

Yield: 4 half pints

This is *much* sweeter and spicier than store bought. I wasn't a big fan of it for just catsup, but it is BAR NONE THE BEST for sloppy-joes, or baked beans. I make it just for any recipe that calls for catsup.