Memorial Day Barbeque recipes

I didn't think the recipes should be included in the Memorial Day post. It would make my thoughts far too trivial. Instead, I am posting Memorial Day barbeque recipes here:

Satay
We used chicken, although I'm told this can be used with other meats too. It makes quite a bit of sauce, probably enough for 2 pounds of meat.

bamboo skewers
boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
1 medium sized onion
3 cloves garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tb. olive oil
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup brown sugar

Cut up your chicken into strips being about 1" wide.

Now you can either skewer the strips first then marinate, or you can marinate them now and skewer them later. If you choose to marinate first, you will need some gloves because the turmeric will turn your hands yellow and they will stay that way for several days! If you skewer them first, you need to make sure you don't marinate for longer than 2 hours because your skewers will dry out.

Put your skewers into water to soak at least 10 minutes before you skewer the chicken.

Peal onion and cut it into chunks, then put it in a food processor. Peel garlic and smash it with the blade of your knife and add it to the food processor. Add spices and olive oil and blend until a paste consistency is reached, adding more olive oil if needed. Transfer paste to a skillet or sauce pan. Add another tablespoon of oil (peanut, cooking, or olive oil) and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to bubble (about 3 minutes), then add the lemon juice and brown sugar. Cook for another 2 minutes. Cool. OPTION 1: Pour sauce over your chicken and stir so all pieces are covered, then let marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight, then put chicken on skewer. Place on foiled baking sheet. OPTION 2 (my preferred choice): Skewer chicken. Place on foiled pan, with sticks hanging over the side, and pour marinade over the chicken, turning skewers to make sure all chicken is covered. Cover sticks with wet paper towel. Let marinate in fridge for 2 hours.

Grill along side your burgers & hot dogs. Will take 2-3 minutes to cook.

Satay, in Asian countries where it originated, is served with a peanut sauce. I don't have a recipe for it, so you'll have to find that on your own. But I didn't think this Satay needed the sauce. It was scrumptious just the way it was!


Italian Pasta Salad
I meant to make this salad, but ran out of time. It is really good, so I hope you try it.

Salad:
8 oz. tortellini (I like the spinach tortellini, but you choose what you like)
3 oz. other pasta (bows, fettucini, whatever you have on hand)
2 cups broccoli, washed and cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups snow peas
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup green onions, chopped (I use the entire onion - bulb and green end)
1 can olives, drained

Dressing:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil (can use salad oil)
1 Tb. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tb. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. prepared mustard (dijon, if you have it, but regular mustard is fine too)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Bring 2 quarts water to boil. Cook broccoli & snow peas for one minute. Remove them with a slotted spoon & rinse under cold water. Drain and place in bowl. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to directions on the package; rinse under cold water until cool. Add to the vegies. Add the rest of the salad ingredients and toss. Chill for several hours. Whisk together the Dressing ingredients until mixture is well blended. Pour over the salad, add freshly grated parmesan cheese (as much or as little as you like) and serve.


No barbeque is complete without homemade ice cream. My ice cream maker had trouble (the teeth on one of the gears are badly worn - I see a new machine in my future), so the ice cream didn't turn out as well as it could have. But, here are the recipes for some of the best homemade ice cream you will ever eat!

Aunt Veleen's Tutti Fruity Ice Cream

1 lg. package orange Jello
1 can crushed pineapple
2 Tb. lemon juice
4 ripe bananas, mashed
3 cups sugar
1 qt. whipping cream OR 2 cans evaporated milk
milk to the fill line

Place ingredients in the ice cream freezer can and stir well. Freeze as directed, then ripen, serve, and enjoy!*

You can make any variety of fruit ice cream with this recipe by changing out the flavor of Jello and the type of fruit used. For example, this recipe makes killer strawberry or strawberry/banana ice cream by substituting the orange Jello with strawberry Jello and using crushed strawberries or mixture of berries and bananas instead of pineapplie/bananas. Or do black cherry Jello with pitted cherries, or peach Jello with mashed peaches. Oooohhhh.... blueberry or jumbleberry or raspberry or apricot or..... I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Rocky Road Ice Cream
Fabulous recipe, and you can alter this one, too! Leave out the add-ins for plain chocolate, or add Reeses pieces, or crushed Oreo cookies, or... This makes 6 quarts of ice cream.

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 cups sugar
3 cups whole milk
1 Tb. vanilla extract
6 cups whipping cream
Commercially prepared chocolate milk to the fill line
1 large (12 or 16 oz.) Hershey bar, grated (or a package of mini chocolate chips)
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1½ cups chopped almonds

In a large saucepan, mix cocoa powder, salt, sugar, and milk. Stir over low heat until sugar and cocoa dissolve. Cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla, salt, and whipping cream. Pour into ice cream maker and add chocolate milk to the fill line. Freeze as directed.* When freezer stops, stir in chcolate pieces, marshmallows and almonds, then ripen or serve soft.

*NEVER USE THE DIRECTIONS ON THE SALT BOX (I learned the hard way). ALWAYS FOLLOW THE FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS THAT CAME WITH YOUR ICE CREAM MAKER. The directions on my ice cream freezer say to sprinkle 1/4 cup of rock salt over every 2 inch layer of CRUSHED ice (crush ice with a hammer if you can't buy it already crushed). Fill using layer of ice, then salt, then ice, then salt, etc. until you are to the top of the freezer, adding more ice as water escapes through the drain hole. Directors for YOUR ice cream maker may be different. Freezing should take AT LEAST 20 minutes and NO MORE THAN 40 minutes to get a smooth creamy texture. If the motor stops prematurely, check to make sure no ice or salt is caught. If no ice or salt is present, then you've added too much salt and your texture will not be a good quality. The freezing process should only take about 3 cups of rock salt. TO HARDEN (RIPEN) THE ICE CREAM: Remove can from the freezer, being careful not to get salt water in with the ice cream. Remove the dasher, scrape the ice cream off and pack the ice cream firmly into the can. Put the lid back on and a cork in the hole. Remove ice from the ice cream freezer; save ice but drain off water. Place can in the freezer and repack with the saved ice, using 1/3 cup rock salt to each 2-inch layer of ice. Cover lid with ice & salt, then place a heavy towel over the top. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving.

Remembering those who serve our country

I was thinking about Memorial Day and what it means, and wondering just how many of my friends/relatives have served our country and how many of them lost their lives or were wounded. I could not think of anyone on my mother's side of the family who served in the military, other than my uncle who came home with a dishonorable discharge (Vietnam era). There are numerous people who have served on my father's side of the family, including my dad. He served in Korea as the clerk of a POW prisoner exchange camp. He traveled to Korea by ship, and it was while he was one the boat that the treaty was signed. As he put it in a letter to home: "They heard I was coming, so they hurried and signed before I got there." I don't know his exact duties, because he died in a car accident long before I was old enough to ask him about it.

There are many others on my dad's side--cousins, uncles, great uncles--as well as friends and children and spouses of friends who have served. I appreciate all of your service, especially those who were sent to the heart of battle and put at risk to life and limb to preserve freedom throughout the world, and not just "American" freedoms. As far as casualties, there are only two that I know of: The first was a great uncle who died at a very young age (18, I think) on a battle field in World War I. The other is my cousin's son-in-law Travis, who was wounded in Afghanistan and, after many, many surgeries (numbering close to 100), lost a leg. Of course, while not a casualty, one family member is a chaplain and has the difficult duty of reporting deaths of his soldiers to their families. That would be a difficult task!

I admire the courage it takes to go to war. I respect those who choose to serve. I pray for those who are currently off in far lands serving. I honor the families that let their loved ones (spouse, child, parent, or friend) leave, knowing the risks involved. You have my undying gratitude.

On Memorial Day, I did not honor those who served in a manner they deserved. I did not visit any grave sites, nor did I participate in any program, nor did I watch a show on TV giving appreciation to those who serve. I did not even display a flag (except the small flag pin I wore). Instead, I (like the majority of Americans) gathered with my family for a day of pleasure. In our case, it was movie and barbeque. I enjoy being with my family, and we had a great day, but I feel somewhat ashamed of myself. The best I did was think about servicemen that I knew and make a small contribution to the local VA hospital.

In the community where I was raised there was an annual Memorial Day parade. I went every year until they quit doing the parade. Unfortunately, I don't think many cities or towns do parades any more. We have turned Memorial Day (and many other of our "holidays") into a day/weekend of playtime without any thought for those who've made the ultimate sacrifice. But what do we expect in this age of "Me First" where people don't even respect themselves, let alone what others do for them. What is America coming to?

God help us.

Why cutting accurately is essential in quilting

I am in the process of making a quilt for Tajehra, who is graduating from high school this week and picked the colors of the quilt - purple and green. I pondered for a while on what pattern would best work with these colors and I finally settled on the Rebuilt Log Cabin. I made several practice blocks to see how the pattern would go together. Most blocks turned out well.

BUT, the more blocks I sewed, the more they seemed not to come together correctly - and this was before cutting and remodeling. I admit I am not perfect in my seam construction, but even for me these were just turning out bad.

I thought I was just tired when sewing or cutting strips, but it turned out my mat was warped (probably a result of the move and being in hot storage for a while). The strips cut close to the edge of the mat were straight, but the closer to the center, the more curved they became.

It is hard enough to get accurate seams with straight edges. It doesn't work at all with curved edges (unless you're seam is supposed to be curved). So, always strive to cut accurately, and if you're getting "elbows" in the fabric, check the fabric to make sure you folded it straight, and if it is then check the placement of the ruler you are using and if it is slipping while you are cutting. There are several good videos on You-Tube to show you how to get a straight fold and cut. Several ladies on the Quiltvillechat group also suggested using two rulers for cutting (one along the folded edge to but up against the ruler you cut against). If you're doing everything right and your straight line cut still comes out curved, it might be time to replace your cutting mat.
Now that the problem is fixed, I have cut all my strips and am back to sewing. Here are some picks of what my blocks will look like.

If you want to try this pattern, go to http://elaineadairpieces.blogspot.com/p/tutorial-scrappy-rebuilt-log-cabin.html href="http://elaineadairpieces.blogspot.com/p/tutorial-scrappy-rebuilt-log-cabin.html">. Elaine doesn't give exact strip lengths. With 1.5 inch width strips, the lengths for each color used increase by 1 inch (strip lengths are 1.5", 2.5", 3.5", 4.5", 5.5", 6.5", 7.5", 8.5", 9.5", 10.5", 11.5"). If you're using larger strips, increase strip length by the finished width of the strip (i.e. 2.5" width finishes at 2", so increase each strip length by 2 inches).

Have fun!

Chili Blanco

I finally have the computer connected again thanks to my brother, who lives next door, giving me access to his wireless network. Can you hear me singing Oh Happy Day - the version at the end of the film Secretariat? I can't tell you how freeing it is to be able to come to the computer whenever I want and not having to rely on my sister letting me use her computer whenever I visit her.

Since it has been a while since I posted anything, I'm going to start with a recipe for Chili Blanco (white chili), which can be made entirely from scratch or, as I did today, take several short cuts and make it in about 10 minutes. And I apologize in advance for no photos, since I didn't know I was going to have computer access tonight!

Here's the long version. This makes enough to feed a large family.

To start with, you will need some black beans which have previously been cooked until soft. You'll need 3-4 cups of cooked beans, which means about 1 cup of dry beans to start with. Important - always use black beans. Other beans just don't give this chili the right flavor. If you haven't cooked beans before, the best way is to sort them (they sometimes have rocks and other dirt in the package), then rinse in cool water until clean to your satisfaction. Put the clean beans in a large saucepan and fill the pan with water. Soak overnight, then drain the liquid. Add about twice as much water as there are beans. Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour or so until the beans are tender. Once they are tender, turn off the heat and let them cool. Then rinse thoroughly with cool water. Note: You can always make more beans and eat them in another meal (I like them in macaroni salad, made with ditalini, blanched broccoli, halved cherry tomatoes, black beans, and green goddess dressing).

In a large pot, place 1 chicken, 2-3 celery stalks, 1-2 carrots (slice or leave whole, peeled on unpeeled), 1 roughly-chopped onion, just enough water to barely cover the bird, and your favorite spices to make a delicious broth - I always just season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down so it simmers until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone. Remove chicken, then strain broth to remove all vegetable bits. Now remove the bones from the chicken and cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add the meat back into the broth. Add 1 cup instant powdered milk, stir and set aside.

In the pot in which you cooked the chicken (if your broth isn't already in it), saute 1 bunch of finely chopped green onions in a little olive oil. When onions are tender, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup each of butter and flour and make a roux. Then add the broth and chicken, at least two 12-oz. cans of chopped green chiles (or use fresh Anaheim chiles - use 4 or 5 - which have been roasted, peeled and chopped). Green chiles are generally mild, but sometimes can get a little firey if they weren't watered properly. You may want to add more or less of the green chilis, depending on how your tastes are. Add beans and season to taste with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat until thick. Then stir in 3 8-oz. packages of cream cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted, but don't let the mixture boil. Turn off heat and serve. Yummy! We eat this with cornbread, but other breads/tortillas/crackers also work.


Here's the quick version, and this one only makes about 6 cups.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped to bite sized pieces
3-4 green onions, finely chopped
2 Tb. olive oil
1-2 small cans of green chiles
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
garlic powder (about 1/8 tsp. - just a couple of shakes)
salt
pepper
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese

In a medium-large saucepan, saute the onions and chicken in olive oil until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the green chiles and soup, along with 2 soup cans full of water, and the black beans. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, then add the cream cheese, stirring until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and serve.