A Jeanne in the Kitchen

It is getting harder and harder to find independent butchers these days because most of us get our meats from our local grocery stores.  But when you do find an independent, locally owned and operated butcher, they are a real treat.  I found such a treasure called Wally’s Quality Meats purely by happenstance.  “Wally’s Quality Meats has been delivering quality service and products to Westminster, CO since 1997.  Wally’s is well known for its reputation for following through when only the finest will do. Whether it’s a holiday, special occasion, a great day to grill, or you simply want to treat yourself to the best,  Wally’s offers a wide selection of the highest quality meats available.  From our USDA choice and prime beef, aged for tenderness and flavor, to our pork, lamb, veal, elk, buffalo, venison, game birds, and Red Bird all natural chicken, to our large assortment of homemade and locally produced sausages. Wally’s also offers a variety of deli meats and cheeses.”  And, it is literally just down the street from where I live.  Bonus!

Larry is known as the “Coupon King”, a title he proudly acknowledges.  He was clipping coupons and came across one for Wally’s Quality Meats.   I wanted to purchase some elk meat (more to come on this in the near future), and that is not something you can usually find at your local grocery store, at least not mine.  So coupon in hand, I went to Wally’s.  I was thoroughly impressed.  The minute I first walked in the door, the aroma of freshly made beef jerky permeated through the store.  It was just calling to me, and I had to have a sample.  It was some of the best beef jerky I’ve ever tasted.  It was so fresh and full of flavor and very tender.  The store was spotlessly clean and well stocked with a wide variety of fresh and frozen meats, seasonings and other goodies.

I love elk, as well as a lot of other game meats, but I do not cook with them all that often.  I asked Dan, the owner, if he could recommend any particular rubs or spices that would really enhance the flavor of the elk, and he pulled out his favorite.  You can tell he really likes this one by the “smile in his eyes”.  So, of course, because this rub came so highly recommended, I bought this too.

I bought way more than I had intended to when I went to Wally’s, but somehow, I get the impression they are used to this.  It’s hard not to want to purchase everything in the store when you see all the great quality of meats there.  This is what I came home with.  You will see them in some great recipes in the very near future.

Wally’s Quality Meats and Delicatessen is located at 11187 N. Sheridan Blvd., Suite #8, Westminster, CO 80020.  You can reach them either by phone at (303) 439-8024 or online at http://www.wallysqualitymeats.com.  They are open Tues-Fri from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturdays from 9:00 Am – 5:30 PM.

Stay safe and stay well everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

We had a quiet walk around our lakes this time.  There were some of our furried, feathered and reptilian neighbors and friends lolligagging about, but not many.  Everything was pretty quiet and calm.  So I captured a variety of things I saw in people’s yards instead.

We saw we everything from rock sculptures to fancy wind movers to a moose in a tree.

This yard had both hanging gardens and a sculpture of rocks.

Then there were the wind movers.

There were also pelicans and turtles.

And a moose in a tree.

With all this craziness going on in the world today, sometimes we all need to just step back a bit, and have a little fun.  SMILE!

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

We have lived in our house for over 13 years, and we are still finding nice little surprises all around.  Last year, we discovered we had a huckleberry bush.  It produced a few small berries, but not that many.  Not really enough to do anything with.  This year, we had quite a few.  Larry picked a whole bunch of our wild huckleberries the other day and today, I turned these mini berries into some mini muffins.

Huckleberries are small berries that resemble tiny blueberries, but they are not as sweet as blueberries are.  They are more bitter.  These tiny little berries are abundant all over North America and are a variation of the English hurtleberry or whortleberry.  The berries are often red, blue or black.  The name ‘huckleberry” applies to a wide variety of plants that bare these tiny fruit that are part of the Gaylussacia species.

Huckleberries were traditionally collected by Native American tribes and were used in a wide variety of Native foods as well as in traditional medicines to treat pain, heart ailments, and infections.  Today, huckleberries are used for many types of foods including candy, pie, ice cream, muffins, pancakes, salads and dressings, tea, jams, syrup, and so much more.  Not only are huckleberries eaten and enjoyed by humans, but they are also loved by the local wildlife such as bears, birds, deer and coyotes as well.  And just think, we have them growing wild in our backyard.

Lemon-Huckleberry Mini Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400* F or 200* C

Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray

 

2 1/2 cups flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon rind

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup huckleberries or blueberries

 

Mix all the dry ingredients, including the berries, together and set aside.

Whisk the egg, milk, butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice together.

Then gently fold in the egg mixture into the flour mixture.  You do not want to crush the huckleberries.  They are fairly delicate.

When everything is thoroughly mixed together, spoon the mixture into the muffin pans.  You can use either mini muffin pans, like I did, or regular muffin pans.  For the mini muffins, I spooned about a heaping tsp of batter into each cup.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly golden.

This little mini muffins are going to be light and airy, like their cousins, the scone.  They just pop right into your mouth like popcorn.  Do you think you can stop at just one?  Go ahead.  I dare you.  🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

The other day when our friends Suzanne and Bill came over, they gave us a big bag of roasted chilies.  We love roasted chilies and use them quite often.  So I created a delicious way to use and to highlight those fabulous, flavorful chilies.  I used the slow cooker and turned them into Southwestern slow-cooked short ribs.  When making small batches, our small rectangular slow cooker is the one we pull out.  I use this one much more than I use our big slow cooker.

 

Southwestern Slow-Cooked Short Ribs

2 lbs short ribs

3 TBSP flour, mixed with salt & pepper to taste

1/2 red onion, diced, medium

2 TBSP garlic

1 can or 2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3 tomatoes, diced medium

1- 1/2 cups, roasted chilies, peeled and seeded, medium dice

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp marjoram

2 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

 

Pat the short ribs dry then coat them with a thin coat of the flour mixture.  Pan-fry in canola oil, or other vegetable oil, for about 4-5 minutes per side to brown.

As the ribs are browning, cut the onions, peppers and tomatoes.

Spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Once the ribs are browned, place them into the slow cooker and add the cut vegetables on top of the ribs.

Mix the chicken broth with the remaining flour mixture, the red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and herbs and combine well.  Then pour on top of the vegetables and ribs.  Cover and cook at a medium-high temperature for about 6 hours.

When done, the rib meat will be so tender, it will literally just fall right off the bone.  I served it over rice with some corn on the cob on the side.  !Desfruitas!

I still have a lot of chilies left over, so there will definitely be more chili dishes coming your way soon.  Thank you Suzanne and Bill.  YUM!

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

 

 

I know 2020 has been one hell of a wild ride so far, but now even Mother Nature has decided to act up a bit too.  According to the calendar, it is the end of July.   For all the countries in the Northern Hemisphere, that means it is summer time, and for a lot of places, like here in Colorado, summer time meats HOT, HOT, HOT!  We have been averaging in the high 90’s F or low 40’s C all summer.  But I am actually starting to see some of our trees and bushes transitioning into their fall colors already.  The first time I saw it, I thought it was a fluke, but then I started to see it more and more.  What’s is going on here?  I love Fall, it’s my favorite season, but we’re not done with summer yet.

There is no doubt about it.  2020 will go down in history as one of the strangest years ever, at least in modern history.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

I gave you a little teaser yesterday when I mentioned we were having friends over for dinner, and that the theme for the evening was Mediterranean.  Mediterranean Spinach and Orzo Salad  It was a simple meal that was simply delicious.  Originally I was going to make something else, but Bill kept teasing how he wanted something with bacon.  So bacon it was.  Bacon wrapped shrimp that is.

The bacon wrapped shrimp was definitely the focal point of the meal.  The surrounding cast were the Mediterranean spinach and orzo salad, along with some pesto focaccia bread (I did not make the focaccia this time, though I easily could have.  Costco had to good of a deal to pass up), and a chocolate cherry coffee cake for dessert.  I could have sworn I had already given you the recipe for this cherry chocolate coffee cake, but I can’t seem to find it.  I guess that means I will just have to make it again so you can have the recipe too.  🙂

I had some leftover tomato-basil vinaigrette that was just perfect as a marinade for my shrimp.  The Chef’s Salad  As I was par cooking my bacon, I marinaded the shrimp in the tomato-basil vinaigrette for about 30 minutes.  If you marinate shrimp or other more delicate seafood in something with an acidic base for to much longer than 30 minutes, it will “cook” the fish, which will make it tough and chewy when you actually do cook the fish.

Par cook the bacon before wrapping it around the shrimp.  You do not want to over cook it.  You want it where it is still pliable with some fat, and not crispy at all.  If the bacon is crispy, you will not be able to wrap it around the shrimp.  So it still has to be pretty soft.   The reason for par cooking the bacon is because the shrimp will not take that long to cook, and the bacon takes longer.  You would either have under cooked bacon when the shrimp is done, or burned, over cooked shrimp when the bacon is done.  Neither of those is a good option. Cook the bacon on a griddle or in the oven so it does not curl up.  You want it to be as straight as possible, again, making it easier to work with when wrapping it around the shrimp.

Once the bacon is semi-cooked, let it cool for a bit and cut it in half.  One of the half pieces is perfect for one piece of shrimp.  Start carefully wrapping it around the shrimp, and then skewer them up.  Grill the bacon wrapped shrimp for about 3-4 minutes per side or until both the shrimp and the bacon are completely cooked.

Once the shrimp and bacon are cooked, slide them off the skewers and enjoy.  If there is a little extra sauce left over, heat it up and top your shrimp with it to add a little extra flavor.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

We have had so many birds in our backyard lately.  I just love it.  We were sitting out on our deck eating lunch, and we had a red headed house finch who was thoroughly enjoying himself in the catnip and in the trees.  We couldn’t help but to take a few pictures of him.  We have gotten to the point where we just bring our camera out to the deck with us because there is always so much going on.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

We are having friends over for dinner later and tonight’s dinner theme is a Mediterranean one.  I am not going to give away the whole meal just yet, but I will share this quick and easy salad I made earlier.  It’s in the fridge just chilling for later.  You will just have to wait to see what the rest of the meal is later.  🙂

This colorful salad is full of fresh ingredients.  It is a cool salad just perfect for those hot days.

 

Mediterranean Spinach and Orzo Salad

1 can or 2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups orzo

4 cups spinach, chopped and stems removed

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2

2 cans either garbanzo beans or cannellini beans, drained

1/4 red onion, diced fine

1/4 green onions, sliced thin

1/2-3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped fine

2 TBSP lemon verbena, chopped fine, optional

1/2 cup olive oil

2 TBSP lemon juice

2 TBSP white wine vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP garlic

1-2 tsp Tabasco, or hot sauce

 

Bring the chicken broth to a boil, then add the orzo and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until the orzo is completely cooked.  Drain completely and cool.

Unless I have a lot of nuts, I usually just toast them in a skillet with no oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Combine the cooled orzo, beans, spinach, tomatoes, nuts and onions.

Whisk the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, Tabasco, garlic and seasonings and herbs together.

Toss the dressing together with the rest of the ingredients, mixing everything thoroughly.  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

I meant to grab garbanzo beans from my basement, but did not realize I accidentally grabbed cannellini beans instead.  Oh well.  I love them both, and both will work just fine.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.

 

 

 

 

Video #2 is now complete.  I just did a video on how to make a steak Caesar salad.  Here are the quick and easy recipes for the croutons and the dressing that I mentioned in the video.

Croutons

stale bread cubed

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP garlic

olive oil

dried parsley, optional

cayenne pepper or Cajun spice to taste, optional.

 

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Any kind of bread will do, and you can cube it any size you like.  Use a serrated knife and cut your bread into bite-sized cubes.

Toss the bread cubes with all the other ingredients and place them in a single layer on a baking pan.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes, then stir the pieces around and continue to bake for another 12-15 minutes, or until the croutons are crispy.  Remove from the oven and enjoy in your favorite salad.  Feel free to play around with different spices and herbs too.  Have fun with them.

 

Easy Caesar Dressing

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

 

And now the video that shows how to put everything together.  I used steak for this particular salad, but you can have the Caesar salad as is, or you can top it with chicken, shrimp or salmon too.

Hail Caesar!  Stay safe and stay well Everyone.  ‘Til next time.