The Funky Oven

Black eyed peas

Garden creations, jalapeno, Side dishes, Soup

Being from Missouri, we never…. NEVER ate black eyed peas. Now that I live in Texas they are a staple. It has taken me several years to get a spice variety I like. Now that I have it down, I could easily eat these every day. I based my recipe off the Paula Dean variation. It is warm, comforting, and just a little flavor with still allowing the peas to shine. We even grow the peas, jalapeno, onion, and okra right in our backyard. How easy is that?

This is a true “dump and go’ type recipe. It cooks for 2 hours, which can seem a bit long, but there is little that needs to be done to it once it is in the pot. It just needs a few stirs here and there.

This recipe does not work well using dried black eyed peas because of cooking time. They require much longer cooking, and I personally do not like the way they taste as much. It is a lot better to buy fresh peas or even the frozen type that can be found near frozen vegetables at the grocery store.

These black eyes peas are really a meal in itself. Serve them with cornbread and they are perfect. My husband and I like them with BBQ chicken and cornbread. For extra luck, add a side of cabbage.

2-3 cups black eyes peas – fresh or frozen

6 slices of bacon

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 handful frozen okra slices or 2-3 pods fresh okra sliced

6-8 cups water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder

Cook the bacon in a dutch oven. Drain the grease and replace the bacon in the pan.

Add all of the ingredients. Cover. Simmer on medium or low for 2 hours. Stir every 30-45 minutes. Add more water if needed.

Buckeyes

Dessert

These little gems are pure heaven. Better make 2 batches.

1 cup peanut butter

1.5 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoons room temperature butter

6 ounces 60% cocoa bars

2 teaspoons crisco

Mix the peanut butter, butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer until fully combined. Roll into balls approximately 2 teaspoons in size. Lay the balls out on parchment. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Place the chocolate and crisco into a bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes stirring after every 30 seconds until melted.

Using a kebab or toothpick, dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate. Twirl it until the chocolate’s sheen leaves. Remove it from the toothpick or kebab. You can leave the small hole or pat around it to seal it. Place the finished ball on parchment paper and place them back in the refrigerator.

Keep these refrigerated until needed. One batch makes about 3-4 dozen buckeyes.

Dark chocolate fudge

Dessert

Tis the season to splurge. This recipe is wonderful and is from Ghirardelli. Remember with this recipe to work fast. Be certain to have everything prepared and sitting next to you. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to make.
4 ounces 100% cocoa bar

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare an 8 inch (or similar) pan by lining it with waxed paper.

Melt the chocolates all together in a double boiler over hot but not boiling water. Stir constantly until melted.

**** here is the work fast part as the fudge will begin to set as soon as the heat is off ****

Remove the top pan of the boiler. Add the vanilla and sweet milk. Stir to combine. Using a spatula, transfer all contents to the prepared pan. Press and smooth the top using fingers sprayed with cooking spray or another piece of waxed paper.

Cool in the refrigerator 2 hours. Remove from the pan by lifting the waxed paper and then remove the waxed paper. Don’t worry… it won’t be pretty.

Cut into small pieces using a very large and sharp knife. Cut the bar fully side to side with each cut to prevent crumbling. Keep refrigerated.

Rosemary roasted potatoes and chickpeas

Side dishes

This is a wonderful fall side dish. It bakes in the oven for about an hour and feeds 4-6 servings. It has been a personal favorite of mine for years. Sometimes I also add roughly chopped or pearl onions. Sometimes I also add carrots. What I like most are the tiny crunchy chickpeas that add texture to the dish.

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 large russet potato, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, whole and peeled

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

crushed red pepper – optional

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the potatoes, whole garlic, and chickpeas into a 9×13 baking dish. Mix the olive oil, sugar, and spices in a small bowl. Pour this mixture over the potatoes and stir to mix. Bake for 45-60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.

Pasta con broccoli

Dinner

This is a leaked recipe from one of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis called Pasta house. It is simple and fabulous. Serve it alone or with grilled chicken.

4 ounces uncooked large shell pasta

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli

1/3 cup sliced fresh button mushrooms

1/4 grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook 4 minutes. Drain pasta. Return the pasta to the pot.

Add the cream, butter, garlic, tomato sauce, and broccoli. Bring to a boil. Boil until noodles are fully cooked. Add the mushrooms and parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss and serve.

Pinto bean soup

Dinner, Garden creations, jalapeno, Soup

I think I prefer this pinto bean recipe to taco soup. It is just that good. I made this using dried beans that I had soaked in water for 20 hours. At one point I learned that the longer you soak dried beans, the easier they are on the tummy. It is true. I know that the soaking time could be decreased if you wanted.

The meat I used for this was from a butcher. I purchased the bacon and ham end pieces. You could use any type of ham or bacon for this recipe. You do not have to purchase premium meat as it cooks for a such a long period of time that the meat will tenderize.

This soup cooks for approximately 2-4 hours. It is an all day type meal but most of the work really happens in the first 30 minutes. It is kind of slow and low cook type meal that is very hard to mess up. This recipe makes enough for 6-7 very large bowls of soup.

1.5 pounds of bacon ends and ham ends

1 large yellow onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 large jalapenos, sliced

15 ounces of canned diced tomatoes – undrained

1 pound or 2 cups of dried pinto beans

5 chicken bouillon cubes

10 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon mexican oregano

1 bunch fresh cilantro, cleaned and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon black pepper

In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon and ham over medium heat until done. Remove the cooked meat from the pan and drain any fat.

Add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Replace approximately 2 tablespoons of the fat. Add the meat back as well. Cook on medium to low heat for approximately 20 minutes or until the onions are soft and reduced.

Add the diced tomatoes, water, and all spices (including the cilantro). Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours. Stir the soup every 20-30 minutes and add more water if needed.

Serve this with corn bread or toasted tortillas.

Almond poppyseed muffins

Bread, Dessert

These are not the prettiest muffins I have baked but a total hit with my family. I did not spend a lot of time trying to make them beautiful. I really would not change a thing. They are moist, rich, and refreshing. Keep in mind that they become more moist after 12-24 hours in an airtight container.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix all of the dry ingredients and set them aside. Mix all of the wet ingredients. Combine the dry into the wet until just combined. This is a thick batter. Pour the batter into prepared muffin tins. This will make 6 jumbo muffins or 12 small muffins. Bake at 375 degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted is removed clean.

Grandma’s pie crust

Dessert

The reason I like this crust is because it is easy to make and bake. Butter crusts do have a definite savory flavor, but they also are more likely to burn as they bake. The crisco makes a crust with a rich flavor that is really good. Also, the crisco crust will not stick to the pie pan as many butter crusts do.

1 1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup crisco

3 tablespoons cold water

Mix the flour and salt. Using a fork, cut the crisco into the mix until crumbly as pictured.

Add the cold water. Continue to mix with a fork until it looks like this second photo.

Using clean hands, gently knead until it forms a ball. Do not over work. Roll on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick or until you can see a tea towel through it.

If baking and then filling, use pie weights. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

If filling and then baking, continue with desired recipe.

To place the crust into a pan, roll it into a towel and then flip it into the pan.

Snickerdoodles

Dessert

These are the best snickerdoodles ever. This recipe makes about 12-15 cookies depending on the size balls you make.

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

sugar mixture –

2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar.

Add the egg, salt, baking soda and tartar. Mix fully.

Slowly mix in the flour. Roll into tablespoon size balls.

Roll each ball into the cinnamon and sugar mix. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. All them to cool before removing them from the pan.

Taco seasoning

Dinner

This makes a large batch. I recommend using between 2-4 tablespoons of the mix for each pound of ground meat. The amount varies on the lean percent of ground beef and also if you are using ground turkey. Turkey usually needs more seasoning. I add the seasoning on e the meat is browned. Add the seasoning with 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

1.5 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: