I Don't Want to Lose These

I have recipes floating around in various places. I have them bookmarked online (the most organized place), in my email, on scraps of paper, in Word documents, on full size sheets of paper, cookbooks (a given), etc. There are some that are handwritten and others have been printed or copied. One of the oh so many reasons I wanted to start a blog was to help me gain control over all of these recipes. Another reason was to have an easy place to refer friends and family to when they requested a recipe.

As part of getting those recipes under control I am going to post a few recipes just so they are no longer floating around. The first recipe is for Easy Jerky and it is a marinade that PE uses to make jerky at home. While there are measurements, all of the ingredients can be modified to suit your tastes. The second recipe is a Pesto Cheese Dip that comes from someone at work. She has brought it to work a couple times and each time it has been devoured. Not just eaten but seriously devoured. It is great with a crusty artisan bread or some delicious crackers. Third is Cream Cheese-Bacon Crescents. Oh how I love these. I have not made them for years though because I have one problem with them. . .the crescent rolls. They are so buttery and delicious; however, I feel I could make them at home for MUCH less than the cost in the store. I haven't found a roll recipe yet that gives me a similar taste so I haven't made these but at the same time I do not want to lose the recipe and I think you should try it. Just because I am cheap frugal doesn't mean you have to be. Go buy them and try them--you won't regret it.

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Easy Jerky
from PE
Print Recipe

2 lbs meat (elk, beef, deer, etc.), thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp liquid smoke
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Marinate overnight. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet. Place sliced meat on racks. Bake in oven on lowest setting for 4-6 hours.

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Pesto Cheese Dip
from Sparky via coworker
Print Recipe

8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup feta
2 Tbsp pesto
pureed red peppers

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Also delicious served cold.

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Cream Cheese-Bacon Crescents
from Kraft Foods
Print Recipe

1 (8 oz) tub chive & onion cream cheese spread or this substitute
3 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
2 cans (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Heat oven to 375. Mix cream cheese spread and bacon until well blended. Separate each can of dough into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise in half. Spread each dough triangle with 1 generous tsp. cream cheese mixture. Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle; place, point-sides down, on baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. (They are still delicious at room temperature too.)

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My Favorite Season of the Year

Grilling Season!!!! I really enjoy when the weather becomes acceptable for PE to fire up the grill. As soon as the snow has melted and there are a couple hours of no precipitation or wind in the evening, we are looking for things to grill. Bratwursts, hamburgers, ribs, chops, chicken breasts . . . are you drooling yet? Last year we purchased a charcoal grill and if you don't have one you really should get one. Everything tastes SO much better!

The other night we had grilled marinated chicken, grilled yellow squash (drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with season salt), and Fluffy Couscous. I made the marinade several days before and threw in frozen chicken breasts. As the chicken breasts thaw they marinate (sort of killing two birds with one stone. . . sort of). The chicken was wonderful. It had a tang to it and it paired perfectly with the couscous.

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Chicken Marinade
adapted from AllRecipes
Print Recipe

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 Tbsp dried parsley

In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have.

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Fluffy Couscous
from My Kitchen Cafe
Print Recipe

4 Tbsp butter
2 cups couscous
1 small onion, minced
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups water
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the couscous and cook, stirring often, until some of the grains are just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the couscous to a large bowl. Melt the remaining two tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the water and broth and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling liquid over the toasted couscous and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit until the couscous is tender, about 12 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and fluff the couscous with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

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