Recipes: Jack Chili

Sep7

Garrett’s Jack Superbowl Chili

On one particularly cold Superbowl day, Gary told me this would be a perfect time for some hot chili. It didn’t take long for him to off to the grocery store for a few items.

One thing this chili variation reminds me of, is my Dad. Gary likes beans in his chili too. Thankfully our son follows the taste buds of the paternal side of our family. This is one of his favorites as well. But I still don’t get the bean thing. It’s not for me.

This special Jack Chili is sure to fire up any Superbowl party. Pick your desired ‘hotness’ and serve.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
– You’ll put it in the fridge overnight
– Than heat it up 2 hours before serving. Preferably in the smoker part of a grill.
Serves: 6 to 8 Continue reading →

Recipes: Bacon Ranch Salmon

Sep7

Vickie’s Bacon Ranch Salmon

I’ve never been one for fish as a kid. But your taste buds change as you get older. Sometime in my late 30s, a friend of mine invited me to a special dinner on the lake.

From their party boat, her husband was going to grill salmon steaks on a little portable grill. He used traditional butter and lemon to saute the salmon. I’m not a fan of lemon either. So I’m pushing my foodie adventures here. Give me a little credit 😉 . It was ok, for my first test taste.

During dinner I dropped a piece of salmon in my salad, which was lightly draped in Ranch dressing. Oh man, did it greatly improve the fish! The following week I tried the new concoction on my husband. Ranch salmon isn’t an original idea of course. But it was new to me and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over in our house. Thankfully he liked it. Even our 8 year old at the time liked it. Now that the boy is a teenager, he can’t stand Salmon. But taste buds change as you get older.

Over the past 2 decades, we’ve tried variations on the ranch recipe. We’ve added various topings, such as diced onion, diced tomatoes, various types of herbs. But Bacon Ranch has become one of our favorite salmon dishes.  Continue reading →

Recipes: Corned Beef & Gravy

Sep7

Vickie’s Corned Beef & Gravy

A quick and easy meal that pleases the pallet and sticks to the ribs. My boys love this dish and it’s always a fall and winter time favorite. It’s especially good after a cold day of sledding!

I like it because it’s quick and easy to make. Not to mention, it’s one of the cheapest meals to make when you’re weekly budget is already a little stretched.

Preparation & Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 Continue reading →

Recipes: Stove Top Chili

Sep7

Papaw’s Stove Top Chili

When I was young, my Dad would make chili on a cold fall weekend. I wasn’t real fond of his chili, because he liked beans. He would add as many variety of beans in his mix that we had on-hand in the pantry. Then he let it cook all day on top of the stove.

It smelled great, as it wafted through the house. But I don’t like beans. My recipe is much like his, with a few tweaks. Like, I don’t add beans. You certainly can add your favorites to this mix. But no thanks. 😉

The trick to good chili is the meat. You can use chicken or beef with this recipe. But if you use beef, make it a good quality ground beef. Back in the early 2000s, we tried Bison with this recipe and it was extraordinarily fabulous. I highly suggest using it for any of your home cooked beef ground meals!

Also: You might like to try the Slow Cooked Chili recipe as well. It’s different from this one.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 Hours
Serves: 9 to 12 Continue reading →

Recipes: Slow Cooked Chili

Sep7

Vickie’s Slow Cooked Chili

This recipe is much like my Dad’s Stove Top Chili, with a few tweaks, we add Jack Daniels Honey to ours. And I don’t add beans to this recipe. You certainly can add your favorites to this mix. But no thanks. 😉

As with the Stove Top Chili, the trick to good chili is the meat. You can use chicken or beef with this recipe. But if you use beef, make it a good quality ground beef.

Back in the early 2000s, Gary and I tried Bison with this recipe and it was extraordinarily fabulous. I highly suggest using it for any of your home cooked beef ground meals!

Also: You might like to try the Stove Top Chili recipe as well. It’s different from this one.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 6.5 hours – Crock pot Recipe
Serves: 12+ Continue reading →

Recipes: Southern Glazed Carrots

Sep2

Mamaw’s Southern Glazed Carrots

I can’t remember a single dinner with my Grandmothers, Uncles and Cousins that didn’t have a large serving of Glazed Carrots on the table. I love the way they smell while they’re cooking. And they certainly add a lovely flair of color to any dinner spread.

My Mom often made Glazed Carrots from a can in the winter. But when it came to those special dinners, for holidays or special guests, she always made them from scratch. She would enlist me to peel and cut the carrots. As I got older, she set me to mixing all the ingredients and watching this special dish as they cooked on the stove.  I always loved cooking with my Mom. Continue reading →

Recipes: Beef Stroganoff

Sep2

Vickie’s Beef Stroganoff

This is not your traditional stroganoff… it’s better!

I’m not sure where I got this recipe. But I’ve had it since the 1980s. Everyone has their favorite dinner, and traditional Beef Stroganoff has always been mine.

It’s simple and easy to fix. It doesn’t take a long time to prepare and there’s not really a lot to it. If you can dice an onion, you can make this dish.

Fair warning however,  traditional Stroganoff includes sliced mushrooms. I’ve never been a fan of fungus. So this recipe does not include that ingredient. If you like mushrooms, more power to you. Look for white button mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and sliced.

This recipe is dependent on the quality of beef you use. It’s more expensive, but I like using good quality Filets. It really does make a big difference. The more tender the beef, the better the Stroganoff sauce. Continue reading →

Recipes: Basil Beef Bites

Aug23

Vickie’s Basil Beef Bites #2

We’re still playing with the Bite Size Beef Bite recipe and decided to create an alternative version to the original Bite Size Beef Bites. These are the things we do on cold winter days when you can’t go anywhere in the snow.

Where the other version has a slight Italian flare with sage and oregano, this one uses some of our favorite spices with basil and parsley. So we decided to call this the French flare.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour in the fridge
Cooking time: Approx. 20 – 40 minutes Continue reading →

Recipes: Bite Size Beef Bites

Aug23

Vickie’s Bite Size Beef Bites

We came up with this recipe for a cold February Super Bowl game. It’s quick and simple to fix. And they adds a whole a lot of Italian flavor at the table.

Beef Bites are my version of Gary’s Speedies, which can be a little spicy for me. I call these the plain version for beef. But you can make this with any meat. Chicken, pork, or even venison.

They can be served as a main dish or as a warm appetizer for that fall football game. They’re even good for that summer tailgating at the races too.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour in the fridge
Cooking time: Approx. 20 – 40 minutes Continue reading →

Recipes: Jack Daniels BBQ

Aug23

Kevin’s Jack Daniels BBQ

Gary’s cousin Kevin, makes some of the best bbq I’ve ever had! He mostly uses beef, but you can use this recipe with pork or chicken as well. It tastes best with beef though.

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes
Cooking time: 4 to 5 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 Beef Roast
    3lbs will serve 5 *
  • 1 tspn Celery Salt
  • 1 cup BBQ Sauce **
  • 1 shot Jack Daniels Whiskey ***
  • 1 large stew pot

* You can use pork or chicken for this recipe as well, just make sure it’s at least 3 pounds of meat.
** Kevin uses Stubs BBQ Sauce. We use Masterpiece Original. You can use your favorite brand.
*** Gary adds 1 additional shot of Jack to spike the flavor. So that would be 2 total. Continue reading →