Dirty Dozen: Taco Soup

The most important ingredient in this cold weather staple is a can opener. It's so easy. And delicious.

Taco Soup
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can corn, drained (I use a bag of freezer corn here)
1/4 lb browned hamburger
1 can diced or stewed tomatoes (un-drained)
1 can tomato paste
1/4 of a taco seasoning packet (about a Tablespoon)
1/4 cup water if necessary
Sour cream
Shredded cheese
Fritos

Warm beans, corn, burger, tomatoes, paste and seasoning and water in a pot over medium heat, or if you're pressed for time you can dump it in a crockpot (low-6hrs, high-3hrs) and forget about it. Serve with a dallop of sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a handful of fritos.


My favorite memory of this soup? We took my aging and somewhat dementia plagued grandfather on a disorienting family vacation to the California coast. After a day at the beach we returned to our condo to warm up over a bowl of this stuff. We sprinkled his with the Frito scoops instead of the traditional Frito strips and he refused to eat it. He thought we were trying to feed him seashells. It's a little sad, I know, but I can't eat this without thinking of him and giggling a little bit.

Norwegian Kringle

Every time I am pressed to pull out a heritage-inspired dish, this is the recipe I turn to. My Grandmother was born in Norway, and somehow this is the only piece of Scandinavian cooking our family still has. Even so, it's a favorite.

Kringle is a  kind of a dry sweet bread/scone/cake. I'm not sure how authentic the chocolate chips are, but they're much tastier than raisins, so I'll not debate. The dough is a little sticky to handle and it takes a few tries to get the pretzel shape right, but it is pretty as it is tasty.

When we were kids we called this "Creme-la", but I think the real pronunciation is closer to "Krin-gla". Feel free to correct my Norwegian!

Norwegian Kringle

1 c butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c whipping cream or milk
4 c flour
4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt
chocolate chips or raisins

glaze

1 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tsp milk

2 tsp Karo syrup

Almond flavoring to taste

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix flour baking powder and salt (my grandmother's recipe doesn't call for this, but I find it enhances the flavor). And a little whipping cream or milk, followed by a little flour mixture, alternating until gone. Add chocolate chips or raisins. 

On a floured surface, shape dough into a long log. The dough is sticky, so keep your hands floured as you work. Gently transfer your roll onto a parchment covered jelly roll pan (you can also use a greased one, but I find the parchment cleans up better and looks nicer).

Kringle is traditionally formed in a pretzel. The dough really spreads while baking, so leave plenty of space in your pretzel shape.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Mix glaze while waiting and pour over top while the kringle still warm. Serve with a big glass of ice cold milk.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

This meal is a fun way to send your trick-or-treaters out in to the cold with full tummies. My mom made it for me every Halloween and now I make it for my family. It's a fun, nutritious way to start the festivities. Plus, if the kids get to pick out, gut and decorate the pumpkin, they will be more likely to give it a try.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 small to medium pumpkin

1 onion, chopped

11/2-2 lbs hamburger

2 Tbsp brown sugar

4 oz  can of sliced mushrooms (drained)

1 can cream of chicken soup

11/2 cup cooked rice

18 oz can sliced water chestnuts (drained)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut a hole in the top of pumpkin (do this at a slight angle tilted toward the stem. If you cut straight down, your cap will fall in while baking)  and remove seeds and fibers. If you wish, draw a face on the outside of the pumpkin with a black sharpie (the pumpkin shrivels when it bakes, so scary faces work best). Brown meat and onions, drain off drippings. Mix all ingredients in the pumpkin and cook at 350⁰ until the pumpkin is soft (usually 1 to 2 hours). Make sure when you serve it that you scrape some pumpkin off the sides for each serving. It's yummy!

Taste the '80's

If decades had flavors, the 1980's would taste like these marshmallow brownies. They were at every picnic, party and family gathering of my childhood. I ate (and stole) as many as I could every time Mom made a batch. The flavors are simple and the texture is really really chewy. They are not sophisticated by any means, but I love them none the less. Besides, how often do you get to use a jelly roll pan to bake brownies? Seize the chance!

 

Mom’s Brownies

2 cubes butter (room temperature)

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

11/2 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

Marshmallows (enough to spread on top)

Icing:

¼ cup melted butter

2 Tbsp cocoa

2 Tbsp milk

½ tsp vanilla

11/2 cups powdered sugar

Dash of salt

Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, flour, vanilla and eggs in a bowl until smooth. Pour batter on a greased jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.  Bake at 350⁰ for 25 minutes. Remove brownies from oven and turn off the heat. Immediately layer marshmallows on top and place in the still warm oven until the marshmallows begin to look puffy (watch carefully so as not to overcook). Remove from the oven and spread the marshmallows with a spatula until the brownies are evenly coated. Add icing on top and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Freezer Corn Tutorial

3 for $1 is an average price for sweet corn. 4 for $1 is really good and 5 for $1 is amazing. If you happen to see that kind of deal, you can't pass it up. Free up some space in your freezer if you can, because you will be thanking yourself when you are eating farm fresh corn in January. The taste is amazing and much better than canned corn and even the freezer aisle stuff.

Items needed:
Bundt pan
electric knife (try to get one with a bottom squeeze trigger if you can. Thumb triggers will tire you faster)
stock pot
Jelly roll pan
Ziplock freezer bags (I use pint sized)
Tongs
1 cup measure 
Big bowl

Ingredients:
Butter (optional)
Salt (optional)
Pepper (optional)
30 ears of summer sweet corn

Directions:

Preparation
Fill stock pot 2/3 full of water and boil on high. It will take twenty minutes or more for this much water to reach a boiling point, so you have plenty of time to husk your corn cobs while you wait. Remove all leaves and as much silk as you can. I like to stack my cobs on a jelly roll sheet so they are easy to move from the prep area to the cooking area.

Boil
My stock pot fit 15 ears of corn in each batch. You may get more or less depending on the size of your pot. Using your tongs (carefully!) place the ears in the pot. Leave a good three inches of headspace between the water level and the top of your pan so you don't over boil. The corn will drop the temperature of the water so you will have to wait a bit before it returns to a rolling boil. As soon as it does, set your timer for 6 minutes.

Blanche
Fill a clean sink with cold water and ice cubes. When the boiling time is up move the corn from the pot to the sink and let soak until they are cool enough to handle. The cold water stops the cooking process and helps seal in the color and nutrients.

Cut
This is the fun part. Place the tip of the corn cob in the center of the bundt pan. Hold the corn vertical with one hand and with the other hand slice down the sides of the corn with your electric knife. Try to stop before you reach the the end, or you will nick your pan and dull your knife (obviously I learned the hard way. Poor little pan!) When your pan fills up, dump it out in your collection bowl. Also, don't cut too deep, or you will get tough chewy stuff in your corn.

Season
I prefer to leave my corn plain and season it when I serve it, but if you know that you will always want butter on your corn, this is the time to do it. Melt your butter in your microwave. I'd do one cube per thirty ears but you can do more or less depending on how buttery you like your corn, and maybe a tablespoon of salt and and a tablespoon of pepper, but it is really up to your discretion. Coat evenly.

Measure
I used three cups per bag, because that's an ideal serving size for my family. 30 ears of corn gave me nine bags, but it will be different every time based on the size of the cobs you find.

Seal
Squeeze out as much air as you can and seal tightly. A food vacuum would be ideal for this, but I've had freezer corn last in regular ziplocks for an entire year without freezer burn.

Freeze
I like to stack my bags flat on a cookie sheet so they freeze in manageable shapes. As soon as they are frozen you can stack them them on their ends to make more space in your freezer.

Pico De Gallo

Pico De Mayo. That's what my Spanish-inhibited better half called this. I think he's confusing his holidays with his food, but at least he's in the right genre. I watched an acquaintance make this at a luncheon last summer. She didn't have a recipe, just fresh ingredients from her garden and a lime juicer. Here's my attempt at recreating her magic.

Pico De Gallo

10-15 roma tomatoes
1 large white onion (must be white. Yellow onions are too pungent to eat raw)
1/2 bunch of cillantro
2-3 limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Prepare romas by washing them, slicing them down the middle and squeezing the seeds out under running water. Once cleaned, cut the ends off and dice. Place in bowl. Next dice your white onion and add to the bowl. Wash your cilantro and cut the stems off before chopping finely and adding to the romas and onions. Slice your limes length wise and squeeze over the other ingredients. Discard lime when finished. Salt and Pepper. (I use sea salt for this, and liberally. It's hard to over salt a raw tomato in my opinion. I probably use two or three teaspoons by the time I'm done.) Refrigerate.

This should be eaten within a few days. The salt draws the juices out of the tomatoes and it can get soggy and limp after a while.

Simple and easy, right? I like to eat it with tortilla chips or use it as a topping for tilapia or burritos. It makes for a fresh summer snack or even a light lunch.

Grandma's Frog Eye Salad

Because it is summer.
Because it is delicious.
Because it's awesome to tell your kids mid bite what it's called.
Because calling it a salad makes it healthier. Psychologically.
Because it tastes good, that's why.
How many reasons do you need?
I don't need anymore. I'm taking this good stuff to an end of summer bash a few hours from now and my only regret is that I'll have to share it.
Love this stuff.

All credit for this recipe goes to my grandma, and my mom who dictated it to me from my grandmother's stained and tattered original recipe card. I love that food can connect people like that, and I want copy of that card, Mom.  

Grandma's Frog Eye Salad

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1tbs flour

1 3/4 cups pineapple juice (drained from the 2 pineapple chunk cans)

2 1/2 tsp salt, divided

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs cooking oil

1 pkg acini di pepe (16oz)

2 cans mandarin. drained

2 cans pineapple chunks. drained

1 can crushed pineapple. drained

9 oz non dairy whipped topping

1 cup colored miniature marshmallows

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions

Combine sugar, flour, 1/2 tsp salt, pineapple juice and eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened. Add lemon juice. Cool mixture to room temperature. Bring water, 2tsp salt and oil to boil. Add acini di pepe. Cook at rolling boil until it is done. Drain. Rinse with water and drain again. Cool to room temperature. Combine egg mixture and acini di pepe. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight in an air tight container. Add remaining ingredients. Makes about 25 servings.