Slow Cooker Cranberry Stuffing

Slow Cooker Cranberry Stuffing

1 cup butter

2 cups chopped onion

2 cups celery
1/4 cup parsley
12 1/2 cups dry breadcubes
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 1/2 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper
4 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 large apple, cut in bite-size pieces

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and parsley in butter, stirring frequently.

Spoon cooked veggies over breadcubes in large bowl. Add seasoning. Pour enough broth to moisten and mix in eggs. Add dried fruit. Transfer mix in slow cooker.

Cook on high for 45 minutes, reduce heat to low and cook 4 to 6 hours. Mixture will be thoroughly browned and have hard crust on sides.

*Note: To make in oven, prepare as directed using full amount of broth. Transfer to 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Sweet Corn Tomalito

Sweet Corn Tomalito - adapted by Chevy's Fresh Mex

5 tablespoons margarine, softened
1/4 cup masa harina
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons milk

In a medium bowl, mix together the margarine, masa flour, and sugar until light and fluffy. In a food processor or blender, blend one cup of the corn kernels with the water and cornmeal just until smooth. Stir into the masa mixture. Mix in the remaining corn, baking powder, salt, and milk until the batter is smooth. Pour into a microwave-safe dish with cover.

Cook in microwave covered for 7 minutes at 30% power and then 4 minutes at full power. Stir pudding before serving to give it a consistent texture. Serve in small scoops.

Funeral Potatoes

Funeral Potatoes

2 lbs frozen hashbrowns, thawed

2 cups sour cream

2 cups cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup green onion (optional)

1 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup corn flakes, crushed

Combine all ingredients except butter and corn flakes in a 9x13 pan. Pour melted butter on top and sprinkle corn flakes on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serves 12. Add ham chunks for main dish.

Chevy's Famous Flour Tortillas

Famous Flour Tortillas - Chevy's Fresh Mex Restraunt

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
2 ½ cups warm water

Place the flour in the bowl of a mixer and add the baking powder and salt, stirring to mix well. Add the shortening. Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour in the water. Mix on low for 90 seconds or until well mixed.

Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Divide each half into 8 equal portions. You will now have 16 dough balls. Lightly flour your work surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll each ball into an 8-inch round. Stack the rounds on a baking sheet with plastic wrap between each tortilla. Let the tortillas rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, and lightly coat with vegetable oil cooking spray. Cook the tortillas on the griddle or in the skillet for 1 minute each side, or until light brown spots form on the surface.

Refried Beans

Frijoles Refritos - by simplyrecipes.com

Pinto beans, prepared Mexican style, are such a staple in our house a week rarely goes by without my mother making up a batch. Although beans have a relatively long shelf life, the older they are the longer you'll have to cook them to get them to soften. Find a source that supplies fresh beans. If you have some that have been sitting around for more than a year, they'll be tough and not as good, you'll need to cook them longer.

"Refried" is actually a misnomer. In this instance, refritos means "well fried", not "refried", though you can certainly reheat the beans as you go through a batch. Before frying them though you'll need to cook them, in water, to soften them. There are basically two ways to initially cook the beans - with a pressure cooker and without. Since we make beans so often, we use a pressure cooker. It greatly cuts down on the cooking time. Here are directions for both methods.
2 1/2 cups of dry pinto beans (about 1 lb or 450gm)
3 quarts of water
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
2 Tbsp pork lard, bacon fat, or olive oil (for vegetarian option)
1/4 cup water
Salt to taste
Cheddar cheese (optional)

Rinse the beans in water and remove any small stones, pieces of dirt, or bad beans.

Cook the beans in water.

Pressure Cooker method Put beans into a 4 quart pressure cooker with a 15 lb weight. Fill up the pressure cooker with water, up to the line that indicates the capacity for the pot. Cook for 30-35 minutes - until the beans are soft and the skins are barely breaking open.
Regular method Put beans into a pot and cover beans with at least 3 inches of water - about 3 quarts for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the batch of beans you have. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just beginning to break open.

Strain the beans from the cooking water.

Add the onions and lard/fat/oil to a wide, sturdy (not with a flimsy stick-free lining) frying pan on medium high heat. Cook onions until translucent. (Note the onions are optional, you can skip them if you want.) Add the strained beans and about a 1/4 cup of water to the pan. Using a potato masher, mash the beans in the pan, while you are cooking them, until they are a rough purée. Add more water if necessary to keep the fried beans from getting too dried out. Add salt to taste. Add a few slices of cheddar cheese, or some (1/2 cup) grated cheddar cheese if you want. When beans are heated through (and optional cheese melted) the beans are ready to serve.

Note that many recipes call for soaking the beans overnight and discarding the soaking liquid. We don't. We discard the cooking liquid and just add some water back into the frying pan when we are frying the beans.