Habenero Jalapeno Vodka

I would like to state first and foremost, I do not recommend this for those who can't take a lot of heat!  I, myself, eat challenge wings are restaurants for fun and one shot of this put me down (not my finest moment).

However that was a straight shot and this vodka is PERFECT for very spicy Bloody Mary's.  I always ask for spicy Bloody Mary's and never feel like they quite cut it.  With this, they are perfect!




What You Need:

• 1 Mason Jar
• 4 Jalapenos (I get mine from the Farmer's Market because I find them spicier)
• 4 Habaneros
• Vodka

Cut up the peppers and add to a clean Mason jar.  Fill the mason jar with vodka to about the top.  Secure the lid tightly and store in a cool dry area for three days.  After three days, strain out the vodka into a new mason jar or bowl.  If you are using a bowl, once you discard the peppers, you can transfer the vodka back into the original mason jar.  Store the jar in your freezer or make yourself a Bloody Mary and enjoy!

Homemade Beef Broth

3 celery stalks chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
beef soup bones


Add beef bones on top of veggies, sprinkle bones with 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar and a little bit of salt. Fill water til just covered and add 2 bay leaves. Leave on low 8-10 hours in slow cooker. Strain broth and discard solids.

Eye of Round Roast

The eye of round roast was a bit harder for me to come up with a recipe. I'm not a fan or crock pot vegetables, or a typical "Sunday Roast" type of recipe. After doing research on the internet for recipes - including best way to cook the meat - I ended up using bits and pieces of multiple ones. While this meat was not my favorite so far, it was still pretty tasty. I also got to use my homemade beef broth (see other post)

4 lb. Eye of Round Roast
1/4 c. flour
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium sliced onion
3 stalks chopped celery
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
10 oz. beef broth
3 cloves minced garlic
3 - 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tsp onion powder


In a small bowl combine the flour and black pepper. In another bowl, mix together can of mushroom soup, beef broth, and minced garlic. Coat the roast with the flour/pepper mix and lightly brown on all sides in hot oil in a pan. Layer the bottom of a crock pot with sliced onion and celery. Transfer the browned meat into the crock pot and dash a few drops of Worcestershire sauce on the meat. Cover meat with soup/broth mixture. Add cayenne pepper, onion powder and bay leaf. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

The leftover juice we made into a gravy by tranfering into a pan cooking with water/cornstarch mixture and served over the meat.

Spicy Curry Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 onion, sliced and quartered
2 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf


Directions

1. Heat the 2 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the beef stew meat on all sides. Remove from skillet, reserving juices, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir 3 cloves minced garlic and 2 chopped jalapenos in the skillet for 2 minutes, until tender.

2. Place 1 chopped onion in the bottom of a slow cooker, and layer with the browned beef. Mix in the skillet mixture, 2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice, and 2 c. beef broth. Add 2 tbsp. curry powder, 2 tsp ground ginger and 1 bay leaf.

3. Cover, and cook 6 to 8 hours on Low.

4. Serve over cooked egg noodles or rice

HOT AND SPICY!!! :-)

Ok so I have a friend who I love to cook with. I love it because he pushes me. The one person who will be honest and say "ya know, this doesn't have enough..." or "I'm not a fan or this because..."

It's hard when you are a cook, because most either a) don't know how to cook so no matter what you make is amazing b) don't ever help in the kitchen which can be a positive AND a negative and c) never give constructive criticism (at least in a good way)

So this weekend I went on a cooking spree... first of Pork Chops, my family Broccoli Cheese (also known as "Susan Broccoli" in my family) and garlic mashed potatoes

Of that, I'll only give you the pork chops because Broccoli Cheese is a family secret and mashed potatoes I hope you can make on your own

Pork Chops:

Mix together the rub:

2 tbsp. olive oil
dash of pepper
1 tbsp of basil
1 tbsp of oregano
4 tbsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of salt
a dash of crushed red pepper

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Wet boneless pork chops, lay in dry mix (both sides), place in broiler pan lined with aluminum foil. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour

So second meal and tied or even better....

My family chili altered (cuz other than my late father and some guy cousin no one can take heat!!)

1 lb ground turkey
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (preferably with basil and oregano)
2 chopped jalapenos
2 chopped serreno peppers
2 chopped orange habenero peppers
2 tbsp hot sauce
1 can of pinto beans
1 can small baked beans with brown sugar

1) Brown ground turkey in big pan

2) Add onion and minced garlic until onion is tender and meat is brown

3) Add stewed tomatoes, hot sauce and peppers and spices

4) Cover pot and let stew for 45 minutes - 1 hour

5) Add beans

6) Heat and stew for another 10-15 minutes

Serve with cheese, crackers, hot sauce and cornbread


The chili was a HIT!!! :-)

WARNING: these are for only those who can hang with hot, spicy goodness :)

Happy Birthday to all Spring Babies! :)

March through May are soooo many birthdays for family and close friends to me, including my own. April alone has 17 birthdays on my calendar in a month of 30 days! So two of my beautiful friends had a bbq to celebrate their birthdays and friendships and I felt it was a perfect opportunity to make a cake. My awesome neighbor Lisa came up and helped me bake it for a great Saturday experiment. I found this recipe on Rachel Ray and I knowing that I have only made meringue once and it was in a freshman high school cooking class, I thought it would be fun. It so yummy and fun to make that I actually did it again on Sunday - just so Lisa could actually try it. :-)

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Finely grated peel of 2 lemons, plus 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 large eggs plus 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
One 11-ounce jar lemon curd
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, then butter the paper.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk, lemon peel and lemon juice.

• Using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with 2 cups confectioners' sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the whole eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture.

• Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake until springy to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely.

• Clean the mixer. Beat the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and the egg whites. Place over a saucepan of barely simmering water and cook, whisking, until the confectioners' sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and the mixture is cool, 7 to 10 minutes.

• Peel the paper off 1 cake layer and place bottom side down on a cake plate. Spread one-third of the lemon curd on the cake and arrange the berries on top. Drizzle the remaining curd evenly over the berries. Peel the paper off the remaining cake layer and place upside down on the filling. Top the cake with the meringue.

Preheat the broiler to high. Broil the cake just until the meringue peaks are golden, about 2 minutes.

Teamwork makes the best Jambalaya

Last Saturday, I visited a friend and we decided we would make dinner. After much debating (lasagna, casserole, something "interesting") we ended up choosing jambalaya - which neither one of us have ever made or knew how to make. I've never made it because I always thought it came with shrimp and I'm allergic. This might be where an iPhone would come in handy but neither one of us having one we stopped at the store and just started grabbing things that we thought would go into jambalaya; tomatoes, chilis.. we then ran back to the house to google a couple of recipes and ideas on what would go in. After just glancing at a couple, we went back to the store and grabbed the rest of the ingredients. We went back to the house and I started cutting up veggies and throwing things in a pan. It turned out amazing and always seem the best meals come from not following a recipe (ironic I have a food blog) but here is what we did.

1/2 diced onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. vegetable oil
cubed chicken breasts
Italian sausage (we used turkey sausage)
1 diced green bell pepper
1 chopped carrot
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
sliced jalepenos
hot sauce
cooked rice
*can add shrimp if not allergic like me :)


Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add diced onions and minced garlic. Add chicken breasts and cook fully. In another smaller pan cook the sausage at the same time until they are fully cooked. Meanwhile, heat green bell pepper and carrots until tender. Cut cooked sausage into pieces and add to the large saucepan. Add the tomatoes, jalepenos, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and jalepenos. Cook on medium low heat for 15 minutes or until hot. Serve over rice.


So easy and tasty and I've realized that experimenting in the kitchen with a partner is much more fun than doing it by yourself. It also makes for an entertaining Saturday night, especially combined with many hours of Guitar Hero. ;-)