Game Day Recipe ~ Amish Onion Patties

Amish Onion Patties

Do you need a last-minute game day appetizer but don’t want to run to the store? Here’s a quick and easy recipe that is short on ingredients but HUGE on flavor! You more than likely have everything you need for this in your fridge and pantry. The taste is incredibly hard to describe, but they certainly were not what I expected. Like amped-up onion rings, only better.

I searched high and low on the interwebz for the origin of this recipe, but can only guess it’s from a printed Amish cookbook. I found it initially in my FB feed from a third party advertisement. I followed the recipe except for the amount of salt (I halved the salt, as written below) and the oil called for. When it came to cook the patties, I coated my hot cast iron skillet with a thin layer of oil, then replenished between batches. No need to deep-fry these puppies, they turn out great without all that extra fat!

My husband kept calling them potato patties. No, there are no potatoes in this. Well then they must have eggs in them! No sweetie, no eggs either. Pretty much just flour, milk, and LOTS of sweet onions. Even if you don’t watch the Big Game, you can still enjoy some Amish Onion Patties for any occasion!

Amish Onion Patties
Origins Unknown

3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion (I used Walla Walla)
High heat oil, for cooking (I used grapeseed)

Dry Ingredients ~ I give you a boring flour shot just to prove that I DO cook with flour, on occasion.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk and stir to combine; the batter will be thick. Add the onions and mix thoroughly.

Onion Patty Batter

Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Drop spoonfuls of onion batter into the skillet, then flatten with the back of a spatula.

Patties Ready to Flip

When the bottom is brown and crispy and releases easily from the skillet, flip over and brown the other side. Remove and drain on paper towels. This will take a few batches. Enjoy with your favorite sauce! I thought they were good enough on their own plain. I served these for dinner with my Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders, which were baked while cooking the patties.

Amish Onion Patties

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Holiday Cheese Bites

Holiday Cheese Bites

I saw these fun little crackers posted on Food52, and they seemed easy enough for me to attempt to make. Of course the big warning sign not to make them should have been the words “flour” and “roll the dough.” I can just look at a canister of flour and get it all over my clothes. And with my hand injury? Who was I kidding that I could roll out a hard, frigid piece of clay?

Chilled Cracker Dough

Nonetheless, I attempted to make these little cheese bites, endearingly called “coins” in the recipe. I opted to use some fancy-schmancy mini-cutters, in the hopes that the cute shapes would distract from the final results.

Cheese Bites Ready to Bake

I don’t have a proper food processor, so instead of “slowly adding the milk in a stream with the food processor running,” I kept having to turn off my Ninja, take the top off, add a little milk, whir it again, then repeat. Sketchy at best, huh? Then when it came to rolling the dough out, I found my injured hand and wrist didn’t have enough strength to wrestle the dough into submission, so enlisted the help of my daughter. I ended up with some really uneven thicknesses, which resulted in a: burnt crackers and b: really puffy under-cooked crackers. I had enough of option c: perfectly done crackers to fill a small bowl for your enjoyment.

Holiday Cheese Bites

For those of you who would like the recipe, please head over to Food52 to read it here: Spicy Cheese + Smoked Paprika Coins

p.s. The flavor of these are really good! The dough has smoked paprika, sage, and cayenne pepper along with the cheese. If you are a skilled baker, please try this recipe out and let me know how they turned out!

Spicy Refrigerated Dill Pickles

Spicy Refrigerated Dill Pickles

A big shout out goes to Gail at snapshotsincursive for prompting me to head to my local farmer’s market and pick up some pickling cucumbers. It was a beautiful day to stroll around the market! I also scored some garlic scapes, which I hear are great grilled and will be grilling those up tonight too to go with some BBQ beef.

I pretty much used my Spicy Dilly Pickle recipe for this, but used crushed red pepper flakes instead of dried red chiles as I didn’t have any. I also used fresh dill from my herb garden! I’ll be bringing a jar or two of these to my friends I am visiting on the coast tomorrow for a couple of days as a housewarming gift. (I’m also bringing a beautiful summer squash I also picked up.)

Do like I did and get out to your local farmer’s market now and pick up some great fresh veggies and fruits that are now available!

Spicy Refrigerated Dill Pickles

About 2 pounds fresh pickling cucumbers
1 clove of garlic per jar, peeled
1/8 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes per jar
Small handful of fresh dill, per jar
1/2 teaspoon black or mixed peppercorns per jar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed per jar
5 cups water
5 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup of pickling salt

Wash and dry 4 pint canning jars. Cut the ends of the cucumbers and slice them in half. Drop the garlic cloves, chile flakes, dill, peppercorns, and mustard seed in each jar, then pack the cucumbers lengthwise over them. Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil then pour it over the cucumbers. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight. Keep in refrigerator and use within 2 to 3 weeks. Crunch!

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Food52 Community Pick: Fire-Roasted Hatch Chile and Serrano Pepper Salsa

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

I’m happy to announce I have made it to the Community Pick level in the Food52 contest again for one of my recipes! No need to vote at this time as that doesn’t happen unless it makes it to the final two.

You can head over there to read it here ———-> Fire-Roasted Hatch Chile and Serrano Pepper Salsa

I have hopes to post a new recipe for you later today before I head out tomorrow to visit some wonderful friends at their new ocean-view house they built on the coast of Yachats, Oregon. But if not, I have not left you high and dry for the week.

 

17 Cinco de Mayo Recipes

Turkey Chipotle Posole

Yeah, yeah, I am always late to the game. I always forget I have a bunch of recipes you can make for Cinco de Mayo. But heck, don’t let that stop you from making any of these recipes on any other day either! UPDATE: I can NOT get some of my links to work, so if you want to look at a recipe here without a link, please try the search box in the upper right corner. Sorry ’bout that!

Turkey Chipotle Posole (lead-in photo)

Marcos Pollo Tacos

Marcos Pollos Tacos

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas with Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas in Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

Mexican-Style Beef and Cabbage Soup

Mexican-Style Beef with Cabbage Soup

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

Chunky Guacamole Grilled Nachos with Chicken

Grilled Nachos with Chicken and Chunky Guacamole plus Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Chile Relleno Chicken Rollups

Chile Relleno Chicken Rollups

Skillet Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Tortilla Strips

Skillet Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Tortilla Strips

 

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Chicken Chile Verde Posole

Chicken Chile Verde Posole

Authentic Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Gravy

Authentic Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Gravy

 

Large Batch Taco Mix

DIY Taco Mix (Large Batch)

Carnitas Tacos with Spicy Pickled Red Onions

Creamy Chicken Chili and Beans

Creamy Chicken Chili and Beans

Chicken Fideo Soup

Chicken Fideo Soup (Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup)

Black Bean, Potato, and Chorizo Soup

Black Bean, Potato, and Chorizo Soup

And last but not least!

Charro, or Borracho Beans

Cinco de Mayo Charro, or Burracho Beans

Happy Eating Y’all!

Wildcard Contest Winner ~ Toasty Roasted Chickpeas, Cajun Style

Wildcard Winner Toasty Roasted Chickpeas, Cajun Style

What better way to lead into the Mardis Gras celebrations than with a surprise Wildcard Contest Winner Cajun recipe over at Food52 website??? I’ve never been a finalist and contest winner with prizes, but at least with a Wildcard Win you get braggin’ rights, yes? I actually got awarded this three days ago, but have been so busy only just found out today. YAY! (With a wildcard win you get a nice note from the editors of the website on the recipe why they picked it.) 🙂

Linky to the recipe here ———–>  Cajun Roasted Chickpeas

We’ll see you again this weekend with a new recipe!

BBQ Shrimp with Fried Polenta Cakes

BBQ Shrimp with Fried Polenta Cakes

I rarely try to do copycat recipes as they never come up to snuff to what you expect, but this one scored in my house. Now, probably 99.9999% of my readers don’t even live in my small town nor either close to it, so we’ll just leave it at that I was able to surpass the taste of this amazing shrimp appetizer dish at a local trendy restaurant.

It probably doesn’t even taste the same, since I never bought their expensive $16 bottle of the sauce to compare it to. (Who buys a $16 bottle of BBQ sauce, what??) All I know is that it exceeded our expectations of how it would turn out. I’m in LOVE! My husband swooned! (OK he didn’t literally, but he loved it too so I had to say it.)

I tried searching for the copycat recipe from our local restaurant (Zydeco Kitchen and Cocktails), but all it ever came up with was a copycat recipe for Zydeco 5, which is apparently in the Midwest or thereabouts. So, I googled for New Orleans BBQ Shrimp. Whoa! Too much information. However, what I gleaned from it all is that there were two camps in how to prepare it. Either marinating for a long time then oven cooking, or cooking quickly in a cast-iron skillet. I chose the former after my research.

I printed out several of the recipes that went in both camps, then combined all the ingredients into one full recipe. I got a little confuzzled at one point when I scratched out on one and then switched to the other then went back to the other. OY!

Instead of making grits or polenta cakes from scratch (for time reasons), I went with an organic refrigerated garlic and basil polenta tube from a local grocery. Trader Joe’s sells a similar tube of this product.

BBQ Shrimp with Fried Polenta Cakes

Note: I’ve offered to bring this to Super Bowl next week as an appetizer, and THEN make it again a few weeks later as the main course for a dinner party. Am I nuts??? LOL. But will be glad to do it.

Second note: I have a high heat/spice tolerance, so adjust seasoning amounts as needed.

This recipe serves two people, adjust amounts if serving more. On to the recipe!

BBQ Shrimp with Fried Polenta Cakes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili sauce (found in the ketchup aisle)
3 tablespoons Worcesterhire sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (I used Stubb’s)
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Cajun (Creole) seasoning
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried spicy oregano
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Generous amounts of ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 pound large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
Prepared refrigerated polenta
1 tablespoon butter
Chopped parsley and green onion, for garnish

Preparing the BBQ Sauce

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add all the ingredients through to the ground pepper. You may want to add the spicy spices a little at a time until the spice level suits your tastes.

Spicy BBQ Sauce

Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until it’s reduced just a tad. Add the shrimp to a casserole dish, then pour the sauce over it, stirring around to coat. Spread the shrimp around so they’re in a single layer.

Marinating the Shrimp

Cover and place in refrigerator for up to 4 hours or overnight.

About a half hour before you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When preheated, place shrimp dish uncovered in oven for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the polenta into 1/2-inch or so cakes (I wasn’t very precise in that case). Add butter to a skillet over medium-high heat, then fry the polenta cakes on each side until slightly browned.

Fried Polenta Cakes

Place two polenta cakes in a bowl, then add desired amount of shrimp over the cakes, pouring generous amounts of the BBQ sauce over it. Garnish with additional chopped parsley and green onion. Serve with a crusty bread, for sopping up all the sauce. Try not to fight over who gets to mop up the last of the sauce out of the casserole dish.

BBQ Shrimp with Fried Polenta Cakes

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Huge Jalapeños

Huge Jalapeños

I’m about to embark on four days of silliness (as well as helping to make money for a charitable foundation that funds nature and wildlife causes) and meeting with some long-time friends as well as making new ones. But before I go, I wanted to share my jalapeño plant that is producing some big-ass peppers! (Oops sorry for the cuss word,). Some of these are over three-inches long! We had to bring the plant in the house the past few nights due to almost freezing temps, and I didn’t want to take the chance. It is “supposedly” supposed to get to almost 80 by Sunday. Are you laughing with me?? Good Bye Summer, Hello Fall!

I’ll be posting a new recipe the weekend after I get back. Thank you all for following me!

p.s. I reminded my daughter last night why I started this blog. She was wondering if she would know how to cook anything when she went to college. HELLO???? 😀

p.p.s. What are some of YOUR great recipes using jalapeños? I’ll be needing some when I get back.

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

We FINALLY got Hatch chiles in my dinky town in Oregon! What took them so long? (Although I hear Whole Foods has brought them here every year for a while but I don’t live on that side of town. It was my LOCAL grocery store that just switched from Alberton’s to Haggen. (Although they are way overpriced IMHO. I’ve started shopping out of my beaten path for budget reasons.)

Anyhoot, I bought several of these to roast and make a Fire-Roasted Hatch Chile Salsa. After I did that, I went back for more and roasted a few more pounds for the freezer, because, why not? I can add them to soups and stews all fall/winter long. Yay!

Veggies Ready to Roast

This wonderful batch of Hatch salsa was served with some of my bestest friends for a BBQ of grilled Texas Slow-Cooked Brisket and Pork Babyback Ribs. My tomato plants didn’t have enough ripe ones for this, but I had an abundance of ripe and almost ripe Serrano peppers in the garden. Sometimes life is so good to you! (Please, adjust amount of Serrano peppers according to taste. Just the Hatch chile’s heat might be enough for you, but I like SPICY!)

Here is what I did:

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

4 Hatch chiles
4 Roma tomatoes
Half a large sweet or white onion
3 to 6 Serrano chile peppers (I ended up using only 3)
3 cloves garlic
1 or 2 squeezed limes (to taste)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Heat your grill to high (rub it with olive oil first), or set your broiler on high. Add the Hatch chiles, tomatoes, onion, Serranos, and garlic to the grill or a baking sheet. Place on grill or in oven on top rack. Cook and turn over several times until blistered all over (about 20 minutes or so).

Roasting the Vegetables ~ My onion and garlic blew out the white settings, couldn’t get it to adjust, darn it!

Remove everything off the heat, then place the peppers in a paper bag for about 10 minutes. Let the tomatoes and garlic sit until cool enough to handle, then peel the skins off all of them and add to a blender. Also add the grilled/broiled onion, lime juice, vinegar, and salt and ground black pepper to the blender.

Salsa Ready to Blend

Blend that deliciousness right up! Taste and season with more lime and salt accordingly. Chill until ready to serve with tortilla chips. Leftovers can be used with eggs, on a salad, or whatever!

Here’s a photo of my friends and family enjoying the salsa and chips (and beer) before the food feast. Of course, I am never in these as the photographer, lol!

p.s I am away for over a week camping, fishing, and crabbing. I hope you hang with me until then!

Pre-BBQ Feast

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Grilled Nachos with Chicken and Chunky Guacamole plus Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Chunky Guacamole Grilled Nachos with Chicken

It’s about time I had a new recipe, yes? Since I’m off camping (once again) this weekend, I’m posting mid-week so as not to leave you empty-handed. This time we are going to Clear Lake for an annual reunion to celebrate my uncle’s (dad’s side) birthday. This will be his 88th! Happy Birthday Uncle Joe!

Although we’ve cooled down the past few days, last week it was sweltering hot after we got back from our river camping trip. And when it’s that hot, I always fire up the grill for dinner. I thought some loaded chicken nachos sounded pretty darn good. I was going to grill the chicken, but decided instead to throw it in the crockpot with the seasonings then plug in the appliance outdoors on the deck. And then I shredded the chicken when it was done, mixed up some chunky guacamole made with a serrano pepper from my garden, assembled the nachos then slapped them on the grill! (OK I slid them, not slapped.) 😀

My Serrano Pepper Plant is Producing Awesomely!

This was a plenty filling dinner out on our deck on the patio table. I had leftover shredded chicken, black beans, and sliced olives so decided to make a Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza the next night. Hey you get several recipes this time! Olé!

Crockpot Taco Chicken

Chunky Guacamole Grilled Nachos with Chicken

For the chicken:

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix (recipe here, or store-bought)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 lime, squeezed

Guacamole Ingredients

For the chunky guacamole:

2 medium avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 medium Roma tomato, deseeded and chopped
1 serrano pepper, stem cut and deseeded and finely minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon cilantro
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

For the nachos:

Tortilla chips
Grated block cheddar cheese (it melts better than pre-shredded)
Shredded chicken
More grated cheese
Canned black beans, rinsed and drained
Sliced black olives, drained
Chunky guacamole (recipe below)
Sour cream
Fire-roasted salsa (recipe here, or store-bought)
Chopped green onion

Shredded Chicken

Add the chicken ingredients to a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred, then set aside.

Guacamole Ready to Smash

Meanwhile, prepare the chunky guacamole. Add all the prepped ingredients to a bowl, then smash up and mix with a fork until desired consistency. Cover with plastic wrap then refrigerate.

Chunky Guacamole

Preheat the grill to high heat on one side. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then layer tortilla chips in one layer on the foil. Spread with grated cheese, then chicken, then more cheese, black beans, and black olives.

Preparing the Nachos

Slide the foil sheet onto the heated side of the grill then cover, grilling for about 10 minutes until the bottoms of the chips are crispy. Move the nachos to the unheated side of the grill then cover again, grilling until the cheese has melted.

Grilling the Nachos

Slide nachos back onto the baking sheet, top with chunky guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and chopped green onion to taste. Enjoy!

Now here is a recipe for what to make with any leftover ingredients you have from the nachos, depending on the size of your family or if your teenage daughter decides she’s going to a friend’s house for dinner instead of eating your excellent nachos. Just a couple of photos with this one and paper plates, it was that kind of night!

Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza

10-inch flour tortillas
Oil spray
Canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons olive oil
Fire-roasted salsa (recipe here, or store-bought)
Cooked shredded chicken (use deli rotisserie chicken or leftovers)
Sliced black olives, drained
Thinly sliced onion
Jarred sliced jalapeños
Grated Colby Jack cheese

First add the black beans to a blender or food processor, then drizzle in olive oil and process until creamy, scraping down the sides and adding oil as needed. Set aside.

Prepping the Mexican Pizza

Preheat the grill to medium to medium-low, and spray the tortilla(s) on one side and grill for about 3 minutes, until crisp and starting to puff up on the top side. Remove to plate, then spray the non-grilled side with oil. Flip over, then spread the creamy beans evenly over the tortilla. Top evenly with salsa, shredded chicken, black olives, onion, jalapeños and cheese.

Grilling the Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Place back on grill, cover, and cook for about 5 more minutes until cheese is melted. You might need to move it to the unheated side if it’s getting too crispy on the bottom and the cheese isn’t melted yet. Add a green salad on the side, and dinner is served!

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