Thanksgiving w/ the Boyers

For years I have battled with trying to cook pies, rolls, ham, etc in one oven and failing miserably. Because, I have yet to own an Ultimate Dutch Oven and my deep 14 D/O out of commission. I remembered, years back when we cooked a turkey on a neighbors Weber grill, and how good it turned out. I searched out how we did it.

http://www.smoker-cooking.com/grilling-turkey-weber-kettle.html

This website is how I remember we did it – So Rod and I went to Home Depot and purchased a Weber One-touch Gold Grill, and the charcoal baskets.

I have friends who are in to BBQ competitions and smoking meats, I have heard them talk a lot about brining poultry before they cook it, so I soaked my turkey 20# in 6 quarts of 2-1/2 C salt water along with some onion (about 1 medium onion) and 1 head of garlic cloves, over night.

BBQ Turkey

At 9:30 in the morning, in 20° temperatures, I rubbed the turkey with olive oil and I sprinkled it with Mrs. Dash (Onion& Herb flavor) then I put the bird the grill, with 12 coals in each side, in the baskets. Each hour I checked the coals adding equally 6-10 coals as needed.  During the last hour I checked the temperature, when the thickest part of the breast read 165°, the turkey was done.

While carving it, it had the beautiful pink smoke ring, and outrageous flavor. This, is now our preferred way of cooking a turkey. It also freed up my oven so I could make my pies, rolls, and ham.

I was also grateful to spend the day with Rod’s parents, Traci and her family and Lee and his, as well as my dad. I am very thankful to have such a great family and friends.

As a side note, I have heard many times this holiday what is my favorite side dish on Thanksgiving. Mine has to be Onion Bombs, Green onions cleaned and trimmed to 4-5 inches, with a ball of cream cheese wrapped around the white end then rolled in shredded Colby Jack (or cheddar)cheese. To eat bite the cheesy end of the onion. It’s kinda like your own personal cheese ball.   

I would love to hear what your favorite side is.

Dutch Oven Coal Chart

Here is one way to get the temperature you want from your Dutch oven.

Heating Chart from Lodge

Oven Size	325	350	375	400	425	450
8”	15	16	17	18	19	20
	10/5	11/5	11/6	12/6	13/6	14/6
10”	19	21	23	25	27	29
	13/6	14/7	16/7	17/8	18/9	19/10
12”	23	25	27	29	31	33
	16/7	17/8	18/9	19/10	21/10	22/11
14”	30	32	34	36	38	40
	20/10	21/11	22/12	24/12	25/13	26/14

In this chart, the total number of coals you need are in bold. The pairs of numbers are there as a convenience to use when you’re baking. The first number is the number of coals on the lid, and the second is the number of coals below the oven. If you’re boiling or simmering, either put all the coals on the bottom, or a third above and two thirds below. If you’re baking, put two thirds above and a third below. If you’re roasting, then split it evenly top and bottom.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/

Evening of Excellence

This past Tuesday was our Evening of Excellence for our Young Women’s group – our theme was an awards show. We had an MC who announced the program and as the leaders we were the presenters. Each girl got an award (a gold spray painted Kool-Aid Kool Burst) and Swag bag (with Shower Gel, Hand soap, and nail polish) as we read a short Bio about each of them. At the end we had desserts – finger food sized desserts – And my love of cooking earned me the honor of preparing them, and I am sharing them with you. These were fun and super simple and looked totally fitting for the occasion. These would be great for a Christmas Eve Party, or a New Years Eve party. I apologize I did not take pictures. If I find someone who did I will post them later.

Our menu:

Cinnamon Almonds, Apple pie bites, Peanut butter bars, Savory Parmesan bites, Cream Cheese tarts.

Savory Parmesan Bites

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 (8-ounce) cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Stir together softened cream cheese, 3/4 cup cheese, bell pepper, and parsley. Unroll crescent rolls, and separate each can into 4 rectangles, pressing perforations to seal. Spread 3 tablespoons cream cheese mixture on each rectangle. Roll up, starting at 1 short side, jelly-roll fashion. Cut each roll into 4 equal pieces, using a serrated knife. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle bites with remaining ¼ cup cheese.

Bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 32 pieces

Apple Pie Bites

1 Pkg. Refrigerated Biscuits (I like the flakey kind)

1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and finely chopped

2 Tbsp sugar                                                     1 tsp cinnamon

½  tsp nutmeg                                                  4 ½ Tbsp butter melted

Preheat oven to 375°

Line your muffin tin with paper or foil liners and spray them with non stick spray. Flatten out each biscuit with a rolling pin into a 3” circle brush with melted butter avoiding the edges.  Mix apples with spices and place a small spoonful on to each biscuit. Bring the sides of the biscuit up to enclose the filling, pinch and twist to seal the top (or just gather and as they bake they open to look flower like). Place in liners brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown.

Cream Cheese Bites

1 Pkg. Fillo Dough shells (found in the freezer section)

½  pkg. Cream Cheese

2 Tbsp Butter

2-3 C Powdered Sugar

Mix, Cream Cheese, Butter and Sugar until frosting like consistency. Thaw shells, put filling into a gallon bag, and make a small cut in the corner of the bag, pipe filling into the shells. Refrigerate. Top with a berry or your choice.

Peanut Butter Cups

1 ½ C Peanut butter

1 C Butter / margarine

1 pkg Graham Crackers

1 lb. Powdered sugar

1 (1 lb Size) Hershey’s Bar

Cream butter and peanut butter; blend graham crackers to fine crumbs. Mix with powdered sugar. Mix crumb mixture with peanut butter mixture. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. Melt Chocolate in microwave 1 minute at a time stirring after each minute till melted, pour over peanut butter and let sit to cool. Cut into cubes to serve.

Cinnamon Almonds

2 C Raw Almonds

1 C Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Cinnamon extract (not oil)

2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

¼ C Water

In a Cast Iron skillet, place Almonds, sugar, cinnamon, extracts and water. Stir over a medium heat until moisture has evaporated and nuts look dry. Remove from heat and let cool.

These can be made with other nuts.

Enjoy.  

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Humble Beginnings....Part 2

I like to think of Dutch Oven cooking in two different categories, now, they all produce excellent food, one is just a simpler version “Scouting Style” vs. a more gourmet version, which I will refer to as “Competition Style”.  The cooking methods are the same, same briquettes, same equipment; the only difference is the food. Unless you have tons of money to burn, I doubt you will be serving Scouts, Beef Wellington, and Filet Mignon. Most people when they think of Dutch Oven they think about BBQ Ribs or Chicken and Dutch oven potatoes (usually a cheesy, oniony, bacony, ooey gooey goodness). Here are a couple of basic Dutch Oven recipes- When people ask me if have any easy Dutch Oven Recipes, I start with this cobbler, this recipe was shared by one of my neighbors (Kevin Hansen) - I made this at girls camp and it was a huge hit and was super easy because the girls could help, no matter their cooking skills.    Super Simple Apple Cobbler 3 Cans Apple Pie filling 3 Cans Refrigerated cinnamon rolls (like Pillsbury®) In a 12” Dutch oven dump all 3 cans of pie filling. Open cinnamon roll and separate them into the cinnamon rolls, then quarter them and sprinkle over the apples. Bake at 350° (17 coals on top 8 on bottom) till cinnamon rolls are golden brown, drizzle icing on top. A variation of this that we have tried is with Berry pie filling and Orange Rolls - also very good. Another easy recipe is Dutch Oven Potatoes.    Dutch Oven Potatoes 1 lb. bacon, diced                         1 onion, diced Salt and pepper                             12 med potatoes, peeled and sliced dollar size or cubed 1 lb. Colby Jack Shredded         Fry bacon in 12” Dutch Oven. Add onions, and sauté. Pour part of the bacon grease off and add potatoes. Add salt, pepper and seasoning to taste. Mix together, but don't stir while cooking. Put 8 briquettes under the oven and 14 on the lid (350°). This will allow all the potatoes to cook uniformly without stirring. Cook approx. 45 minutes. Check with fork - when done,  sprinkle Cheese  evenly over the top of the potatoes and replace the hot lid. The cheese will melt down through the potatoes and they are ready to eat.  These are dishes that I would consider as "Scouting Style" dishes, simple and low cost. The things I look for when I am cooking for large groups, such as Scouts. Give 'em a try and let me know what you think. Now if you don't own a Dutch Oven and want to try these recipes - anything you see that is prepared in a 12" Dutch Oven can be prepared in a 9 X 13 pan and cooked in the oven at the temperature listed.

Humble Beginnings.... Part 1

I have had a few people ask me about Dutch Oven Cooking.  So I am going to start at the beginning. I received my first Dutch Ovens from my Aunt Peggy & Uncle Lynn. They were moving overseas and did not have a use for them, knowing that Rod and I like the great outdoors they figured we’d use them. Well, they sat in our basement for a couple of years, getting rather rusty and dusty.

 Rod and I were called to various scouting positions over the next year or so and we were introduced to Dutch Oven cooking “Scouting Style”. We have a very good friend who took the time to teach us how to re-season them from their battered and abused state in to what I cook in today. (more to come on this topic)

We used our Dutch Ovens every now and then after learning about them. Rod was asked about that same time by a former school mate to help judge the Dutch Oven cook off at the Utah State fair. He did this for a few years until someone else took charge of the competition and brought in their own judges. It has always been a favorite of ours to go see when we attended the fair and in 2007 when we were visiting the competition I ran into a very good friend of mine from high school who was competing, he told me how much fun it was and I got to thinking, for years I have had people tell me what a great cook I am, so I though “ok why not” I called the fair office the next day to see what I could still enter. I entered the Salsa, Chili, and the Great American cook off that year. Well, that year I took home my 1^st blue ribbon for my Salsa. I found out that the Chili competition is a whole different world from Dutch oven cooking. And the Great American Cook off – well that’s what bit me. Everyone treated everyone like family and being the new comer they really opened up the big book of knowledge for us. Rod cooked with me that year and the following year before he decided to let the kids experience cooking and competing with me.  In 2009 I decided to see what the Davis County fair had to offer, my daughter Melissa and I took 3^rd place. And at the 2009 “Mystery Bag Cook off” Melissa and I took 3^rd place again. Let me back up with that a little – the Mystery Bag is where you can only bring your pots, stove and cookbooks, you have no advance notice of what you are cooking you get bags of groceries and you have to make 3 dishes, a main, bread and dessert. That year we had hamburger as our meat and to mix it up they threw in a mystery ingredient of peanut butter. We make meatballs and a peanut butter dipping sauce, our bread was a blueberry cream cheese ring, and stuffed butternut squash. That year (2009) my youngest daughter Becka helped me with the Salsa and Chili, and Andrew helped me with the Great American Cook off. With each cook off we gleaned more and more knowledge from these cooks.

This past February I was asked if I would compete in the Yukon Rush Cook off at Cabela’s down in Lehi. I figured sure, since I had just been laid off and it sounded like fun, something to take my mind off of work, I asked who wanted to cook with me and Melissa was the 1^st to answer. In the wind which made the 27° temperatures feel like we were cooking in the arctic we set up our stuff  in front of Cabela’s. We had carefully planned our menu and were hoping to WOW the judges, well I guess we did – we took 1^st place. That was an awesome day! I remember when they announced who won 1^st overall the tears of happiness just started flowing. I don’t think reality hit until I got home and was praised for winning and beating out some of the Dutch Oven Greats, those who had mentored me. That is when the hook really sunk in.  I love Dutch Oven cooking.

Happy Halloween

We have a tradition every Halloween, we make chili, it seems like a perfect time, with the cool weather it just taste so good. This year I made a rather large batch and intend on sharing with the parents of the little trick or treaters  and anyone brave enough to trudge through the rain to bring their little ones over. Hope to see ya'll. Have a Happy Halloween!!

Mom’s Old Fashion Chili

1 1/2 lb Pinto beans

32oz Can V8 – (store brand works fine)

1 qt. Stewed Tomatoes

1 pt salsa

1 1/2 lb hamburger

½ lb sausage

2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 onion

1 bell pepper
Wash the pinto beans look for small rocks and dried pieces of mud. Put beans into a bowl and cover with water 1 –2 inches above the beans and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of baking soda – this will help with the “gas” problem. Soak the pinto beans all day and night. Pour off any excess water and rinse the beans. Put the beans in a pot cover with water – about an inch above the beans and place on medium/low heat when the water is looking like you need to add more – instead of adding water pour in the V8 and stewed tomatoes.   Chop the onion and green pepper and place in a separate pan with the burger and sausage cook till meat is browned and veggies are tender.  Drain any excess grease – Add to the beans and tomatoes – Add bottle of salsa (hot, medium, or mild whatever you like)– let simmer for a few hours -  season with Salt, Pepper and Chili powder

Tip: The chili powder you buy in the bag is much better and has better flavor that the kind you buy in the bottle.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 Spice cake mix
1 C canned pumpkin

Follow directions on the cake mix and add a cup of pumpkin. Mix and fill cupcake papers 3/4's full and bake according to the cake mix. (if you are doing the mini cupcakes bake for 10 minutes) Cool and top with cream cheese frosting.

Becka made these for our Super Saturday yesterday and they were a hit.

Day Old Bath Water

In the spirit of Halloween this is an awesome drink for your Halloween party.

Day Old Bath Water

12 ounce can frozen lemonade
2 liters 7-Up, Sprite, Sierra Mist
1/2 gallon Rainbow sherbet

Thaw sherbet for approximately 15 minutes and place in a plastic tub. Add lemonade (prepared according to directions) and 7-up. Sherbet will melt and turn mixture day old bathwater grayish-brown. Float a handful of green, yellow and white tiny after dinner mints (tiny bars of soap) on top of the scummy punch.

Weekend Rituals

So is it unusual to spend half the day Saturday and all day Sunday watching nothing but Baseball and football on TV? And when there's not a game on, watching the highlight reels? Oh and lets not mention the "Fantasy Football"?

Ok now don't get me wrong - I don't mind watching the occasional game now and then but really enough is enough! Yes I could go in the other room and watch something else but were is the Family in that? So here I sit hating my TV.

I would just love to have a quiet night with no TV. Is that weird? Maybe my thoughts are more entertaining?

Well I think I will go start on the fleece blankets for the NICU at the U of U hospital. Anything but FOOTBALL!!!!!!!

Christmas Pepper Jelly

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped jalapeno pepper

5 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin

Remove stems, veins and most of the seeds of the bell and jalapeno peppers. Mince peppers in a food processor. In a 5-quart pot over high heat, combine bell peppers, jalapenos, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Stirring constantly, add the pectin and let mixture cool for 2 minutes more. Now stir for 1 minute. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and top with sterilized lids. Secure lids with bands and turn jars upside down , and allow jars to cool slowly, creating a vacuum seal.

This recipe is great over cream cheese served with crackers, it is also great on chicken.

Christmas Pepper Jelly

First Time Blogger

Ok everyone - here it is - My Blog... I've decided that because I have so many people ask me for recipes and ideas and such I thought hmmmm..... if I put together a Blog then I'd have a place to organize it for everyone. So let me know if you see something you like or if you'd like to see something, just know this will be a work in progress for a while.
Cyndi