Breakfast Bowl

1 pound spicy sausage 2 potatoes peeled and diced 6 eggs Split the sausage in half. Brown half. Set aside. Make patties out of other half of sausage. Cook patties and serve. Add potatoes to grease and cook. Add eggs to browned sausage and scramble. When eggs are cooked, add potatoes and mix well. You could also use burrito shells for breakfast burritos. Cheese or hot sauce is also optional.

Orange Chicken

I stole this recipe from Facebook.
ORANGE CHICKEN

1 cup of BBQ sauce
1 cup of sweet orange marmalade
2 TBSP soy sauce
4 chicken breasts Cube the chicken and saute with the sauce mixture. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Credit: Candace Danko

Grilled Pork Chops

Start with a clean grill. Your porkchops or any meat should be fully thawed and room temperature before starting. Let your grill get hot and place the chops about 2 inches from each other and close lid. After 3-5 minutes, turn them 45° to achieve the nice grill marks. Use tongs, never poke or stab the meat. This let's all the juice drain out. I flip after 7-10 minutes. After flipping you can reduce the heat to about medium. After a few minutes rotate 45°. Should take about 7 minutes on this side. Using a thermometer check the internal temperature is 145°. It is ok for a slightly pink tint. Remove from heat and place on a clean plate. Let rest for about 5 minutes for all the juices to go back to the center of chop and create that perfect juiciness.

Crab Cake Bake

I received a new cook book for Christmas. When I was at work, I got a text asking what I wanted for dinner. I had mentioned crab cakes a couple weeks back and said I couldn't wait to go back to Ocean City and have some real ones, not the cheap kind you get at Red Lobster. So I come home and find 2 dishes in the works. We'll get to the second one later.

The following recipe is from the book Cast Iron Cooking Inside and Out. The book is great because every recipe has directions for cooking at home or over a campfire.

1 C flour ½ C flour ½ tsp salt (2) 2 tsp baking powder 1 C shredded Swiss cheese ¼ C shredded Swiss cheese ½ C butter 2 Tsp butter 1 tsp dry mustard 1 C milk ½ C milk 8 oz crab meat 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ½ C chopped green pepper ½ C chopped onion ½ C chopped Roma tomatoes

Now since I can't stand the texture of cooked onions and peppers, we altered the recipe a little. We used a little finely diced onion and pepper, which basically cooked away as it sautéed. Also, we couldn't find 8 oz of crab meat, so we got 2 6 oz packs (12 total). We also used more butter.

In medium bowl, combine 1 C flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tap baking powder. Stir in ¼ C Swiss cheese. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in 2 Tsp butter until mixture is crumbly. Save for later.

Preheat oven to 400°. Place 10" skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Melt ½ C butter. Add ½ C pepper and ½ C onion; sauté until tender. Gradually blend in ½ C flour, dry mustard 1 C milk and 1 C cheese. reduce heat to low and cook until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Add crabmeat, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until mixture is hot. Spread evenly in skillet and remove from heat. Take mixture in bowl (saved for later) and add ½ C milk and stir until dough forms. I had a partial stick of butter to use up, so we chopped ¼ stick into small pieces and added to dough mixture. Drop dough by small spoonfuls over crab mixture, like a cobbler topping. This reminded me of almost like a biscuit over the crabcake. Transfer skillet to center rack in oven and bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until topping is golden brown and no longer doughy. Let cool slightly before serving.

Here's the end result.

Steak Night

Not much tastes better than a steak grilled at home. Make sure your grates are clean, it will help the steak not stick. To keep your grates clean use some non-stick oil and a grill brush. If your grates are porcelain coated, which most are nowadays, you want to stay away from the metal scraper types. The scraper types can damage the porcelain coating and will eventually cause them to rust.

This is the type of grill brush to get. They're usually about $5 and the bristles are brass.

I deep clean my grates once a year. I take the grates and flare-up covers off and wash with some nice hot soapy water. I let them dry over night. Before placing them back on the grill I coat the grates with either some non-stick cooking oil or some bacon grease. This will help keep them in good shape for the season and makes them easy to clean after each use.

It all starts with the cut you choose. They were seasoned with salt, cracked pepper and Grill Mates steak seasoning. Whatever steak you choose, let it sit out for about an hour or so before grilling to help it not stick to the grate. When you set out the meat, it's a good time to throw the spuds in the oven. Stab them with a fork a couple times on each side and season if desired. We coat the skin with butter or olive oil and sprinkle with salt. This will make them crispy and tasty if you choose to eat the skin. Bake them at 350 for about an hour.

While you are getting your steaks and sides ready, have your grill heating up and crack another beer.

For well done steaks, which I don't like, you cook on medium heat and for medium steaks you cook on high. This might sound odd, but let me explain. Medium heat will cook slower and allow the middle to cook as the outside gets done. High heat will cook the outside faster and allow the middle to stay nice and juicy. Whether you like your steak medium or well, always let the grill get nice and hot to sear in the juices. Also don't move them around a lot. To get some nice grill marks on your steak, place the meat on the grill. After a few minmutes, using tongs, grab the meat and rotate it 90 degrees. A few minutes later, flip your meat and repeat the rotating process on this side as well. You should only flip your meat one time.


While the grill is heating up I prep the asparagus. Using a small metal tray covered in foil, the asparagus is lined up and coated in olive oil and sprinkled with salt. This is placed on the top rack of the grill.

I place her steak on the medium side for about 5-7 minutes before I put mine on. I usually flip her steak right before I put mine on, then let them both cook for about 5-7 more minutes. I flip both and move the asparagus a little to help it cook evenly. About the time I finish my beer the steaks and asparagus are ready. Never use the same plate for raw and cooked meat. It's a good idea to let the steaks sit for a couple minutes before you cut into them. Keep the grill on.

This window of a few minutes is the perfect time to clean your grates as everything is hot and loose. Take your grill brush and scrape off any seasonings or anything that shouldn't be there. Now you can turn off the grill. This will keep your grill in great shape for the next time you use it.

Finished product.

Bacon Bacon

So I finally got around to getting some steel wool and the ambition to start resurrecting some old pans and such. So far the only one I have done is the bacon press.

Here's a picture of what it looked like before.

After a little elbow grease you can really tell a difference.

Done and ready for the oven.

Now it's ready to use! I got the handle wet, but not wet enough and it started to char. So I took it off (which I should have done to begin with) and took some light sandpaper to it. Not only did it take away some of the burn it also made it nice and smooth.

Taco Seasoning

Inspired by Aaron. We bought everything for tacos but forgot the seasoning. After reading Aaron's recipe for it I wanted to try to make our own. I agree with Aaron, we will never buy "the mix" again. I thought about making a bunch of this up sometime to use for dips and such at a later date.

I was so happy with the results. This made my nose run, but didn't make my mouth numb or taste disgusting. This was a really good spicy. This year we are going to try to grow some foods and herbs as fresh is much better than boxed or canned.


Stay tuned for a better recipe after a food dehyrater is purchased and some peppers are grown.


You can either mix this up beforehand or add it while you are cooking, it doesn't really matter. Brown your beef adding a dash of salt and pepper to help season and drain. Add in the seasonings and 3/4 cup water. Simmer and let it thicken.

Measurements are approximate. Can be altered to your taste.
1 Tsp - Paprika
Dash - Cilantro
Dash - Onion powder
Dash - Garlic powder
1 Tsp - Cayenne pepper
1 Tsp Cumin seed
Dash - Salt
Dash - Pepper