Cowgirls in the Kitchen

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Mary Connealy

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This was always a family favorite.

I’d make it and always imagine it was what cowboys ate sitting around a campfire at the end of a long day of a cattle drive.

I usually called it GRUB

MY ONLY ADVICE on this ten minute recipe…most of that ten minutes is browning the hamburger…is it’s a BIG recipe.

As the children grew up and moved out, I started leaving out the beans one can at a time. In recent years we just use one can of baked beans.

Three Bean Hamburger Casserole

AKA Grub

1 lb. hamburger (browned)

1 can pork & beans

1 can butter beans

1 can kidney beans

I skip the extra beans most of the time and just use pork & beans. Otherwise the recipe is too big. Add:

½ C. brown sugar

½ C. catsup

1 T. mustard

Heat thoroughly, serve.

That’s it. Spend the time while the hamburger is browning opening the cans, then dump it all in and heat it up. DONE!!

Chasing the Horizon

Her only chance at freedom waits across the horizon

Upon uncovering her tyrannical father’s malevolent plot to commit her to an asylum, Beth Rutledge fabricates a plan of her own. She will rescue her mother, who had already been sent to the asylum, and escape together on a wagon train heading west. Posing as sisters, Beth and her mother travel with the pioneers in hopes of making it to Idaho before the others start asking too many questions.Wagon-train scout Jake Holt senses that the mysterious women in his caravan are running from something. When rumors begin to spread of Pinkerton agents searching relentlessly for wanted criminals who match the description of those on his wagon train, including Beth, she begins to open up to him, and he learns something more sinister is at hand.
Can they risk trusting each other with their lives–and their hearts–when danger threatens their every step?

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Jeannie Watt

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Today I’m going to give you a recipe for one of my favorite flour-free, five-ingredient cookies. In the early 1970s my mom, who is a fantastic baker, was diagnosed with a wheat allergy. Ironically, we lived in wheat country—wheat fields to the doorstep. At that time, alternative flours were rare. We had pea flour (makes really bad cookies), corn flour (really grainy cookies) and not much else in the grocery stores in Moscow, Idaho. We focused on candy after her diagnosis, but every now and again we’d find a recipe for cookies that didn’t call for flour. These cookies are delicate, but delicious. Here’s the recipe:

Flour-free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter (you can use chunky if you want)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate chips are optional

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the peanut butter and sugar. Add the egg, salt and vanilla. That’s it. You’re done, unless you want to add chocolate chips. I just wing that.

I put parchment paper on the cookie sheets, then form 1 tablespoon size balls and place them a couple inches apart. Use a fork to crisscross the cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes–no longer. You do not want to overbake. Let them cool completely on a rack before trying to handle them.

If you want, you can melt chocolate chips and frost the cookies, or just eat them as they are.

Pictured below are three varieties: chocolate chip peanut butter, chocolate frosted peanut butter and plain peanut butter.

Again, these are delicate, but delicious. I hope you try them. They’d be perfect to make with kids and grandkids.

Enjoy!

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Jo-Ann Roberts

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As my parents got older, it became more difficult to buy them gifts for holidays and birthdays. My mother always said as she aged, “my needs are few and my wants are fewer.” But when I hit upon an idea to give them homemade candies instead of another tie or a nightgown, their delight was clearly evident…especially my father. He loved candy and popcorn, keeping a stash in an octagonal side table between the easy chairs in the living room. So, when I came across this recipe, I knew it would be a huge hit. For more years than I care to divulge in this post, I’ve made this treat for family and friends. And now, from my kitchen to yours, here’s Butterscotch Popcorn Crunchies.

                                     Butterscotch Popcorn Crunchies

Ingredients:

  • 1 12-ounce package (2 cups) Toll House butterscotch flavored morsels

  • 1 cup light corn syrup

  • 1/4 cup butter

  • 12 cups popped popcorn

  • 1 12-ounce can salted nuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

  2. In a heavy saucepan, combine butterscotch morsels, corn syrup, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture boils.

  3. Place popcorn and nuts in a large greased roasting pan. Pour butterscotch mixture over popcorn, toss to coat well.

  4. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring frequently.

  5. Remove from oven; stir every 10 minutes until slightly cooled. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Kit Morgan

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Ever heard of Corn Flake Chicken? Of course you have. But if you haven’t (and even if you have) this scrumpcious dish is fun to play with because there are so many different variations on a theme.

My sister in law Kathy first introduced me to Corn Flake Chicken with her rendition of the recipe. Of course one needs a box of Corn Flakes, then the rest is up to you. Kathy’s version is made with corn flakes, parmesan cheese and a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and some melted butter. That’s it.

  1. Chicken Tenders or chicken breasts cut into tenders
  2. Corn Flakes (crushed)
  3. Parmesan Cheese
  4. 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
  5. Melted butter

Crush the cornflakes (you can either put them in a large ziplock back and run a rolling pin over them or crush them by hand. You don’t want to crush them into oblivion) then add a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese. You can add more or less depending on how much you want. Then add in a teaspoon or so of the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix.  This is also to taste. If you toss in the whole packet, it might be too salty for some. You can also add some pepper. Mix well.

Dip chicken into melted butter, then coat with corn flake mixture. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. (I always spray with Pam or canola oil. For a different taste, grease the pan with coconut oil. Bake at 400 degrees about 20-25 minutes. Could be longer if you cut your chicken pieces thicker.

Making oven baked corn flake crumbs chicken nuggets. Series.

That’s it… no, wait! That’s not it! You can do more with this recipe. Instead of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, I love to use Capitol Hill. It’s a wonderful blend of sea salt and pepper, shallots, and herbs. It’s great on poultry, seafood, eggs, roasted veggies, potatoes, rice and I could go on, but suffice to say, it’s my go to seasoning. Alter the recipe by coating the chicken pieces in Best Food Mayonnaise. Yep, you read that right. Mayonnaise. Use the Capitol Hill Seasoning (about a teaspoon or so) in the corn flake mix and follow the rest of the recipe above. I like this version best. The mayonnaise makes the chicken turn out really tender.

You can make all sorts of variations of your corn flake mix. It’s fun to experiment with. Other recipes have you coating the chicken in an egg and milk mixture which works as well, but the butter and mayo are my go to.

You can find Capitol Hill Seasoning at Savory Spice

Enjoy!

 

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Cheryl Pierson

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Well, it’s my turn in the kitchen, and my rule is “THE EASIER THE BETTER!” (As long as it’s also delicious, of course!

I think I might have found a perfect recipe for what is sure to become a “Fall Favorite” at my house. I bought all the stuff to make this and I’m going to try it next week.

I found this recipe on a site called MAMA’S COOKING, and I know my mama would have really loved this! It’s called FALL DUMP CAKE–and I don’t think anything could be any easier than this. Take a look…

 

 

FALL DUMP CAKE
Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 12 servings

Here’s what they say about this wonderful dessert:

Ah, fall is in the air… can’t you smell it? Yes, we do mean smell and you’ll understand why here in a
minute! Load up your slow cooker with this Fall Dump Cake for the easiest, sweetest, autumn-flared
scents to circulate your surroundings for hours. Not only does it smell like all your fall fantasies, but
the way the syrupy apple filling blends so nicely with the crumbly, cinnamon-coated cake will have you
dancing around like a leaf on a windy day. Your senses will totally fall for Fall Dump Cake! ‘Tis the
season!

ALL RIGHTY THEN! If it delivers as described, this is one I’ll be making over and over again!

Ingredients
2 (20-ounce) cans apple pie filling
1 (15.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
whipped topping, to taste, for topping

Directions
Step 1
In a slow cooker, add the apple pie filling.
Step 2
Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the filling, then dot it all over with the butter cubes.
Step 3
Sprinkle the cinnamon over the apple mixture.
Step 4
Cover the slow cooker and cook on high heat until the filling is bubbly and the top is golden-brown,
about 2 hours.
Step 5
Serve the dump cake with the whipped topping.

If you do make it, I would love to hear how you and your family enjoyed it. I know my husband Gary will love it because he is an “apple” kind of guy, but I’m wondering if you could use peaches rather than apple if you preferred it? Or maybe even cherry? Lots of room for experimenting, I’m thinking!

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Julie Benson

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I’ve always loved cooking shows. When my oldest was a toddler I’d watch Jacque Peppin on PBS, followed by Great Chefs of the West. My son loved the music show so much, he’d stand in front of the TV and dance. Even now thirty-two years later, I can still close my eyes and see him bouncing to the theme.

As I started writing this, I realized how long the list of series I’ve enjoyed over the years is. Cupcake Wars or any holiday season war. The Next Food Network Star. Top Chef. Chopped. (You know that one. Where they give you a basket of ingredients such as mushrooms, some kind of cheese, sausage, and marshmallow fluff and tell you to make an appetizer. ?) Beat Bobby Flay. (We got our favorite spaghetti and meatballs recipe from an episode of that show.) But I think our favorite has to be Iron Chefs America. My youngest son who often cooked with me, would pretend we were on an episode. He would choose the “secret ingredient” and we would joke about how we were incorporating it into our dish.

When we fillies came up with the idea to do Cowgirls in the Kitchen, sharing recipes with four or less ingredients, I was a bit concerned. It’s not that I don’t have wonderful recipes. I do, but ones with four or less ingredients? Ah, no. So, I did what I always do. I wandered around the house in a panic, talking to any family members who would listen and the dogs who always listen on how I had no idea what to do.

Thankfully my youngest son shared this recipe with me, Cacio e Pepe, which means cheese and pepper. made with ingredients most people have on hand. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

8 oz spaghetti

2 Tbsp butter

½ C grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp cracked pepper

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain pasta, but reserve 2/3 C pasta water.

Return pasta to the pot, add butter and pasta water. Cook over low heat until butter is melted. Add grated cheese and pepper. Toss until cheese melts and a creamy sauce forms.

Top with more grated cheese before serving.

We added grilled chicken, a dark green salad and garlic break to round out the meal.

 

 

 

 

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Kit Morgan

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Okay, so I’m one of those people that never measures, and tosses everything together and it works. So trying to figure out exact measurements isn’t easy. But here goes. This is the dish everyone wants me to bring to potlucks, family dinners, taco Tuesdays and so on. My famous Spanish Rice! I’m going to give the single batch version. Serves 6? I’m used to making double and triple batches so I’m having to pare it down. And that’s not a picture of my rice. I couldn’t find one on my phone (yes, my family is always taking pictures of food)  so had to find something similar. At any rate, it’s a colorful and festive looking dish!

1 cup jasmine or other long grain rice
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 cup Salsa. I use Salsa Suprema, and sometimes a cilantro salsa. For something different, I’ve also used pineapple salsa. Heat level is up to you but I usually stick with medium
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bullion
1/2 medium onion chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
1/2 yellow pepper chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 small or medium sized can of sliced olives (depending on how much you want in there.
2 tablespoons butter

Melt the butter in a frying pan at medium low to medium heat. Add rice and fry, stirring frequently for a few minutes. Add chopped onion (not the green onion) and fry another couple of minutes. Stir in water and salsa. Add chicken bullion and stir. Bring to boil then cover and reduce heat to low. While the rice is steaming, chop up peppers and green onions if you haven’t already, put in a bowl with the olives and mix well. Set aside.
Steam the rice about twenty five minutes and check. If the rice is done, then add the chopped veggie/olive mixture. You can either spread it over the top and re-cover the pan for another ten minutes, or mix the veggie/olive mix into the rice and then recover. I’ve done both. The goal is not to let the veggies cook all the way through. You want them just tender. You can leave the pan on low heat for a few minutes, then shut off your burner. The peppers and green onions will steam fine with the cover on. If you’ve chosen to put the veggie/olive mixture on top to steam, then mix before serving.

That’s it! The famous Spanish Rice recipe!

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Kari Trumbo

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Hey everyone! I’ve got a super easy recipe for you today. In the Trumbo house, we would usually use venison, but we’re almost out for the year, so we used beef this time. This recipe feeds 6 with lots left over.

  • Ingredients:
    • 2 lbs beef or venison
    • 1 lb crinkle sliced carrots
    • 1 lb med potatoes cubed into 1″ pieces
    • 1/2 a large onion, diced
    • 1/2 C peas
    • 3 C water
    • 1 Tbsp celery seed
    • 1 Tbsp Worcester sauce
    • 1 Tbsp flour
    • 2 Tbsp brown gravy mix
    • 1 tsp turmeric

 

In a crock pot, dump 2 lbs cubed beef (or venison) and the flour, stir to coat. Turn on high for 5 hours of cook time or low for 8+ hours. Add carrots, potatoes, onion, water, celery seed, and Worcester sauce. Let that cook for 4 hours until the meat is cooked and the veggies are just tender.

When there’s one hour left of cook time, in a small sauce pot, put 2 C of cold water. Follow the directions on your brown gravy mix to get 2 cups. Add that to crock pot. Just before serving, add peas and turmeric, stir and serve!

My family loves this. I know it’s more than the usual 3-4 ingredient recipes, but this comes together mostly from ready-made ing. (I buy my beef cubed when I don’t have venison and I buy fresh, crinkle cut carrots) I also don’t bother to peel my potatoes, but you certainly could if the peels bother you. Enjoy

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Cathy McDavid

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Good Morning Everyone.

I’m going to let you all in on a well kept secret. I’m not much of a cook. I manage in that you won’t starve. And my homemade soups are actually pretty good. But I just don’t have the touch. Not like my mother did. She was a wonderful cook, which is why I’m amazed and a little shocked I wasn’t born with the good cook gene.

So, both in honor of my mom, and because she left me her collection of recipes, I’m going to share one her hers and a particular favorite of mine: apricot cream pie. This recipe does take a little effort to prepare, but I guarantee you, the results are worth it. So delicious. A real treat for a Sunday dinner or any special occasion.

Ingredients:

2 4-oz packages of Jell-O Vanilla pudding mix

1 pkg (6-oz) dried apricots (more if desired)

1 qt. milk

1/2 pint whipping cream (can used store bought )

1 baked pie crust (store bought or make your own)

 

Directions:

Cook apricots in water until tender – time can vary depending on the apricots and how many

Chop cooled apricots into tiny pieces

Make pudding according to directions on box

Cool slightly, then stir in apricots

Fill pie shell (there may be some filling left over) and chill till firm

Whip the whipping cream with two teaspoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (if desired)

Top pie and continue chilling until set

coconut cream pie

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Karen Kay’s Quick and Simple Recipe

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Howdy!  Howdy!

Welcome, welcome to a marvelous Monday!  Hope this day sees y’all doing well.

The recipe I’m posting here is one very beloved by my grandchildren, as well as my husband (and me, too).

Simple to make.  Delightful to eat.

So, here we go!

Easy, smeesy, Chocolate Truffles!

What you’ll need:

  1. 8 oz. organic semi-sweet chocolate bar
  2.  1/2 to 3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  3.  1 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla

How to make:

  1. Simmer cream — do not boil
  2. Break up chocolate into pieces
  3.  Pour cream over chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes.  Then, combine until smooth.
  4.  Refrigerate until hard
  5.  Roll into balls with your clean hands
  6.  Roll each ball in cocoa powder or broken/crushed candy canes — the candy canes work well for Christmas.

That’s all!  But, there are some substitutions and some simple tricks, also.

  1. Don’t use chocolate chips because they don’t work well for truffles.  They have a different consistency when cooled.
  2.  Your cream must be whipping or heavy cream.  If you try using half and half, the chocolate will not roll into balls.
  3.  If you have only cocoa powder, you can substitute it in a pinch for the organic semi-sweet chocolate bar by doing the following:  substitute 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to every ounce of chocolate; add 1 teaspoon melted butter or coconut oil for every tablespoon of cocoa powder; add 1 tablespoon sugar for each ounce of chocolate.
  4. Follow the rest of the recipe above.

There you go.  A wonderful addition to the holidays or just for fun.  Yum!  Chocolate!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever made your own truffles and if so, how did they turn out?

Petticoats & Pistols