Dirty Rice Recipe

Dirty rice , a Cajun favorite, contains white rice is mixed with diced up chicken livers or gizzards, which is the “dirty” part of the  rice, along with sautéed onions, celery and bell peppers and usually sausage.  Its seasoned somewhat spicy depending on the person’s taste and then served as an entire meal.  Below is my recipe for a delicious dirty rice that is made with onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, ground pork, ground beef, chicken livers, rice, chicken broth, vegetable broth, cayenne and other seasonings and herbs.

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups of vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups of long grain rice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound of  ground pork
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup chicken livers (about 4 ounces), diced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 bunch scallions (white and green parts only), chopped
2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped

Instructions

Pour your vegetable broth into a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring your broth to a boil over a medium high heat and then add in your salt and rice to the broth.  Now, give your rice a quick stir, reduce your heat to low and then place your lid on your saucepan and let simmer covered for 18 minutes.  After 18 minutes remove your rice from the burner and let sit for 5 minutes.   After 5 minutes fluff your rice with a fork and set aside for use later.

While your rice is cooking you will want to place your oil in a large skillet and place it over high heat. When the oil is hot, add in your onion, celery, bell peppers and garlic and sauté your vegetables until they begin to soften.  This should take about 5 minutes.

Then add in your ground pork, ground beef and chicken livers and cook until your meat has browned, making certain to stir and break up your ground meat as it cooks.   Now, add in your oregano, salt, black pepper, chili powder and cayenne and stir for another minute.  Then add in  about 1/4 of a cup of your chicken broth and take a wooden spoon and scrape the bottom of your pan to remove all of the brown bits on the bottom.  This will add in some extra flavor to your broth.  Now add in the rest of your chicken broth, your rice, scallions and parsley and stir until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is heated through.

Italian Sausage Chili Recipe

Chili is a great one pot meal that your whole family can and will enjoy.  Below is my recipe for a delicious and spicy chili that is made Italian sausage instead of ground beef, kidney beans, ground beef chuck, garlic, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, chili powder, cumin, paprika and other seasonings.  Normally I would add more garlic but since the Italian sausage already has garlic in them 1 garlic clove is enough.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
4 tablespoons of jalapeño chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 1/4 pound of mild Italian sausage, with casings removed
1 1/4 pounds of hot Italian sausage, with casings removed
3 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes in juice
1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 (14 oz.) can of beef broth
3 (15 oz.) cans of kidney beans, drained

Instructions:

Take a Dutch oven and add your oil into it.  Then place it over a medium high heat.  When it gets  slightly hot add in your onions and bell peppers and sauté your vegetables until they are tender.  This should take 4 or 5 minutes.  At that point add in your jalapeños and garlic and sauté for an additional minute.  Now add and crumble in your Italian sausage and cook it until it has browned.  Make certain your break up your sausage as it cooks.  Continue cooking until your sausage has browned and any liquid has cooked away.  This should take about 5 minutes.

Next, add in your chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, sugar, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and kidney beans and bring it to a boil.  You will want to reduce your heat when it comes to a boil and bring it to a simmer.  Now let your chili cook for 45 to 60 minutes so that your flavors can come together and your chili can thicken.  Make certain that you stir your chili periodically as it cooks, especially during the last 20 minutes.

Whole Wheat Pancakes Recipe

Making pancakes can be a bit difficult if your inexperienced in making them but once you learn how to making them they are actually quite easy to make.   Below is my recipe and my step by step instructions for making some delicious and fluffy whole wheat pancakes that your whole family will love.  They are made with all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and wheat germ in addition to other ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 cup of whole wheat flour
2/3 cups of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of toasted wheat germ
1 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 cups of 2% lowfat milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil for griddle

Instructions:

Take a medium mixing bowl and add in your whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar and whisk your ingredients together.  Now take a large mixing bowl and add in your milk, eggs, vanilla extract and butter and mix your ingredients together until they are fully mixed together.   Now, take your dry ingredients and slowly add them in a little at a time and mix your ingredients together until all of your dry ingredients are mixed in with your wet.  Make certain that you do not over mix or your batter will be tough, so just  mix just until your ingredients have come together and you have a nice batter.

Now preheat your oven to 175 degrees F.  The oven will be used to keep your pancakes warm while you are making different batches.

Then, take a griddle and pour just a bit of vegetable oil on the griddle and use a paper towel to coat the griddle lightly. Now place your griddle over a medium heat. When your surface is hot take a ladle and pour about 1/3 of a cup of your batter onto the griddle and spread your batter into a circle using the back of your ladle.  You will want to spread your pancakes about 3 inches apart. You will have to work in batches.

While the whole wheat pancakes cook you will notice that there are some bubbles in the batter.  You know your pancakes are ready to be flipped when the bubbles begin to pop.  When they are ready to be flipped take a spatula and gently flip them over and then cook your pancakes until they are golden brown on the bottom. This should only take 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Then remove your pancakes and place them on a baking sheet and place your baking sheet in your preheated oven to keep warm.  Now, continue to make your pancakes as shown above, adding more vegetable oil when needed, until you have used up all of your batter.  Then serve your whole wheat pancakes with butter and some maple syrup.

Pot Roast & Vegetables Recipe

There is nothing quite like a Pot Roast with roasted vegetables for Sunday night dinner.  The Pot Roast should be slowly roasted in the oven until its tender and it should be roasted with vegetables that are cooked along side the roast so that the roast is flavored by the vegetables and herbs and the vegetables are flavored by the roast.  Below is my recipe for a wonderful and flavorful Pot Roast with vegetables.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of oil
5 pound boneless beef round rump or chuck roast
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
2 sweet onions, cut into wedges
2 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons of dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon of black ground pepper
3/4 cup of vegetable broth
1/4 cup of red wine
1 1/4 cup of  large carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces and then quartered lengthwise
1 14 cups of fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons of flour
3 tablespoons of water

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Now, season your roast with salt and pepper and then dredge it in flour and pound your flour into the meat.  Now place your oil in a Dutch oven and place your pot on the stove over a medium heat and brown your meat on all sides.

You should now add in your garlic, onions, celery, rosemary, thyme, pepper, vegetable broth and wine to your Dutch oven, cover it tightly and place it in your preheated oven and cook for 3 1/2 hours.  Then add in your carrots and green beans, cover tightly and cook an additional 1 hour until the meat and vegetables are fork tender.

Now remove your roast and vegetables from your Dutch oven and set them aside.  Let them rest about 15 minutes before cutting your roast into bite sized pieces.  Set aside 2 cups of your pan juices.  If you do not have 2 cups worth then add some beef broth until you have 2 cups.  Now Then take your Dutch oven and add in your flour and water and whisk together.    Then whisk in your pan juices and place your Dutch oven over a medium heat, making certain that you stir constantly.   Then continue to cook and stir until your gravy comes to a boil.  This should take 4 to 5 minutes.  Then cook and stir for 1 more minute.  Serve your pot roast and vegetables mixed together and topped with your gravy.

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Recipe

One of my favorite dishes during the fall is stuffed spaghetti squash.  Below is my recipe for making stuffed spaghetti squash.  The squash is first baked until tender and then stuffed with a mixture of onion, bell pepper, garlic, spaghetti squash, ground chuck, Italian sausage, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, oregano, basil and seasonings.  It is then topped with some mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven.

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 sweet onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 pound of ground chuck
1/2 pound of sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1 (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon of dried leaf oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried leaf basil
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
8 ounces of mozzarella, shredded

Instructions:

You will want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Now you should cut your spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise, and then scoop out the seeds.   Then take a shallow roasting pan or baking dish and place your spaghetti squash, cut sized down into the pan and add in one inch of water into the pan.  Now place your roasting pan into your preheated oven and bake until your spaghetti squash is soft when pierced with a fork.  This should take 45 to 55 minutes.  When done, remove your pan from the oven and then place them on a wire rack to cool.

You will want to make your filling while your spaghetti squash is roasting.  To do so take a large skillet and place your olive oil and butter into your skillet and then place it over a medium heat until the skillet is hot.  Once the skillet is hot add in the onion and red bell pepper into your skillet and then sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  You will want to add in your garlic in about the last 1 minute of cooking.  Then add in your ground chuck and Italian sausage and cook until your meat has browned, making certain to break up your Italian sausage as it cooks.  Once your meat is browned you will want to add in your tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.   Bring it to a boil and then reduce your heat and let it come to a simmer.  Then let your sauce simmer until your vegetables are tender and your sauce has thickened nicely.  This should take 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Now take your spaghetti squash and take a fork and shred out the flesh from inside of them but leave about 1/2 of an inch of the flesh inside of the spaghetti squash.  Now take a large mixing bowl and place the flesh of the spaghetti squash into the bowl along with 2 1/2 cups of your meat sauce and your parmesan cheese and then gently mix them together.   Now, stuff each half of the spaghetti squash shells with the meat mixture and then top with your mozzarella cheese.  Then place them in a large shallow roasting pan or baking dish and place them in the preheated oven and bake them until your cheese has melted and has slightly browned on top.  This should only take 8 to 10 minutes.