Tag: "Tasty Tuesdays"

In honor of today being “National Cherry Popsicle Day” and tomorrow being “National Peach Day), this “Tasty Tuesdays” post is going to be another “twofer” — with not one, but TWO featured recipes! The first of these will be “Homemade Cherry Ice Pops With Only 3 Ingredients”, and the second one will be a recipe for peach cobbler. Both of these recipes are definitely going to be TASTY ways to celebrate these two “national days” — whether you celebrate them on the actual day or at some point this month! Without further ado, here are this week’s featured recipes:

Had I noticed that August 23rd was “National Cuban Sandwich Day” last year, I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought. However, that changed when I took a ROAD TRIP down to “Flordida” to attend my daughter’s college graduation! During the time we spent in the Clearwater/Tampa area of the state, we tried to avoid “national chain restaurants” as much as we could, and in doing so, we found a restaurant called “The Cuban Sandwich Restaurant”. Since I’d never had a “Cuban sandwich” before, I decided to order the restaurant’s namesake, and I was VERY pleasantly surprised! While there, I learned quite a bit about this kind of sandwich, and by the time I returned home, I knew I wanted to feature this YUMMY sandwich in a “Tasty Tuesdays” post!

Because this is one of those months that has FIVE Tuesdays in it, I’m going to be sharing a FIFTH recipe with you. I figured since I started the month by celebrating “National Grilling Month”, ending it with another grillin’ recipe would be appropriate, AND since I’ve been really into kabobs, I am going to be sharing with you yet another tasty kabobs recipe. So… Without further ado, here it is:

Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

(from: houseofnasheats.com)

These Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers are a delicious, easy, healthy summer dinner that is as flavorful as it is colorful! Made with a simple homemade teriyaki sauce recipe, red, green and yellow peppers, red onions, sweet grilled pineapple, and tender, juicy chicken, everybody will be happy to have these kabobs for dinner!

Ingredients

Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2 Tablespoons water

Skewers

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch cubes

Metal or wooden skewers (soak wooden skewers in water for 1 hour)

Directions

1. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, salt, pepper and sesame oil and seeds, if using. Whisk well, then transfer 1/2 cup to a large Ziploc bag to use as a marinade.
2. Pour the remaining sauce into a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl, mixing with a fork to create a slurry, then pour into the boiling sauce, stirring and cooking for about 1 minute until thickened. Set aside to cool until ready to use.
3. Add chicken to the bag containing the reserved marinade and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Thread chicken, peppers, onion, and pineapple onto metal or soaked skewers, the grill over direct heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning partway through to grill evenly on both sides, until chicken is cooked through and reaches 165 degrees F when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
5. Brush with the thickened teriyaki sauce and serve with any remaining sauce for dipping.

So, there you have it: The recipe for Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, which according to another recipe article from houseofnasheats.com, is one part of a traditional “Hawaiian plate lunch, a cheap and filling dish that originated back in the 1880s as a midday meal for workers at Hawaii’s sugar and pineapple plantations.” In addition to the protein (the chicken skewers), a traditional Hawaiian plate is always served with a mayonnaise-based macaroni salad and two scoops of sticky rice. If you’d like the recipe for Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, please let me a comment below, and I’ll share it with you in a follow-up post! Looking forward to hearing from you! Take care.

As the title of this post suggests, I am featuring not one, but TWO recipes in honor of July being “National Peach Month”. I don’t know about you but I’ve got to have something to much on when I’m cooking, so I’m not tempted to “sample” whatever it is that I’m cooking. So… I figured that you can make the first recipe I’m about to share with you to sip on while you make the second recipe. Without further ado, here are this week’s featured recipes:

• Peach Smoothie
• Peach Pie

Peach Smoothie

(Unknown source)

Ingredients

1 large ripe peach (fresh or frozen)

1 banana

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon honey ((optional)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Place the peach, banana, almond milk, Greek yogurt, and honey in a blender.
2. Add a dash of cinnamon for extra flavor.
3. Blend until smooth. Adjust the sweetness as needed by adding more honey or adjusting the amount of fruit used to accommodate your preferences.
4. Serve chilled and enjoy!

Peach Pie

(from: Betty Crocker’s Cookbook)

Fresh Peach Pie

Ingredients:

8-inch

Pastry for 8-inch Two-Crust Pie

4 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 7 medium)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoon margarine or butter

9-inch

Pastry for 9-inch Two-Crust Pie

5 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 9 medium)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons margarine or butter

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Prepare pastry.
3. Mix peaches and lemon juice.
4. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon; stir into peaches.
5. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate; dot with margarine or butter.
6. Cover with top crust that has slits cut in it; seal and flute.
7. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.
8. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 35 to 45 minutes.
9. Serve with ice cream if desired.

Variations

Brown Sugar Peach Pie: Prepare 9-inch pie as directed except — substitute 3/4 cup packed brown sugar for the granulated sugar.

Canned Peach Pie: Prepare 9-inch pie as directed except — substitute 2 cans (29 ounces each) sliced peaches, drained, for the fresh peaches and decrease sugar to 1/2 cup.

Frozen Peach Pie: Prepare 9-inch pie as directed except — substitute 3 packages (12 ounces each) frozen sliced peaches, partially thawed and drained, for the fresh; decrease sugar to 1/2 cup.

Peach-Apricot Pie. Substitute 1/4 cup apricot jam or preserves and 3/4 cup packed brown sugar for the granulated sugar; stir jam into peaches and lemon juice before mixing in flour and cinnamon.

So, there you have ’em! Not one, but TWO recipes to help you celebrate “National Peach Month”! Given the variations, though, you certainly don’t have to limit yourself to July for enjoying a yummy peach pie! If you’re like me and LOVE anything with PEACHES, I’m sure you’ll be using either the canned or frozen peach pie variations to enjoy peach pie all year long! Here’s to a happy “National Peach Month” celebration and a “peachy-keen” year!

In addition the “National Months” that have been featured earlier this month, July also happens to be “National Ice Cream Month”! (Didn’t I tell you it was going to be a tasty “National Month”?!) So… The recipes (Yep! Another “twofer”!) featured in this week’s “Tasty Tuesdays” post are for ICE CREAM! (I scream! You scream! We all scream for ice cream! Oops! I’m getting carried away!) The first “twofer” recipe is “Homemade Ice Cream”, and without further ado, here it is…

Homemade Ice Cream

(from “The Essential Amish Cookbook” by Lovina Eicher)

Ingredients

7 eggs

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 (5.1-ounce) package vanilla instant pudding

1 teaspoon salt

10 cups milk

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Beat eggs, then add remaining ingredients. Mix together. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

“When we make ice cream, we use a hand-cranked ice cream freezer. We use ice and salt to harden it in the ice cream freezer, and in the winter we even use snow!”

Although this is seemingly such a simple recipe for making ice cream, I discovered that my beloved Betty Crocker Cookbook has a much more in-depth recipe for making ice cream as well as LOTS of variations! So, I thought I’d share Betty’s recipe with you as well as Lovina’s recipe. And now, without further ado, here’s the second featured ICE CREAM recipe!

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 cups chilled whipping cream

For crank-type freezer: Mix milk, sugar, salt and egg yolks in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until bubbles appear around edge. Cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla and whipping cream.

Pour into freezer can; put dasher in place. Cover and adjust crank. Place can in freezer tub. Fill freezer tub 1/2 full of ice; add remaining ice alternating with layers of rock salt (6 parts ice to 1 part rock salt). Turn crank until it turns with difficulty. Drain water from freezer tub. Remove lid; take out dasher. Pack mixture down; replace lid. Repack in ice and rock salt. Let stand to ripen several hours

1 quart ice cream

For refrigerator: Mix milk, sugar, salt and egg yolks in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until bubbles appear around edge. Cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla.

Pour into ice cube tray. Freeze until mixture is mushy and partially frozen, 30 to 60 minutes. Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon partially frozen mixture into another chilled bowl; beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into 2 ice cub trays; cover to prevent crystals from forming. Freeze, stirring frequently during first hours, until firm, 3 to 4 hours.

1 quart ice cream

Now that you know how to make ice cream according to Betty Crocker’s recipe, I’m going to share with you her long list of variations. Here goes…

Chocolate Ice Cream: Increase sugar to 1 cup and decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir 2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, melted (Do not use premelted chocolate.), into hot milk mixture in saucepan.

Frozen Custard Ice Cream: Decrease salt to 1/8 teaspoon and cream to 1 cup.

Frozen Strawberry Ice Cream: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir in 1 package (16 ounces) frozen strawberry halves (thawed) after adding cream. Stir in a few drops of red food color if desired.

Nut Brittle Ice Cream: Stir in 1 cup crushed almond, pecan, or peanut brittle after adding cream.

Peach Ice Cream: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Mash 4 or 5 peaches to yield 2 cups. Stir 1/2 cup sugar into peaches. Stir in peaches after adding cream.

Pistachio Ice Cream: Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts or almonds, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and few drops green food color after adding cream.

Strawberry Ice Cream: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Mash 1 pint strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar; stir into milk mixture after adding cream. Stir in few drops red food color if desired.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: Omit vanilla. Add one 3-inch piece of vanilla bean to milk mixture before cooking. Before cooling, remove bean and split lengthwise into halves. Scrape the seeds into cooked mixture with tip of small knife; discard bean.

Wintergreen or Peppermint Ice Cream: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Stir in 1/2 cup crushed wintergreen or peppermint candy sticks after adding cream. Stir in few drops green or red food color.

So, there you have it: Not one, but TWO tasty recipes in honor of July also being “National Ice Cream Month”! Hope you take some time this month to make — and enjoy — a batch of homemade ice cream this month, but definitely by the end of summer! Please take a moment during your “fun in the sun” this summer to let me know how your batch of homemade ice cream turned out and/or which of Betty’s variations you liked the best. As for me, I’ve got some fresh peaches, so I think I’m going to make myself a batch of peach ice cream. Enjoy and take care!

Last month, I featured Mrs. Beeton’s “Bill of Fare for a Picnic for 40 Persons” in honor of “National Picnic Month”, and a couple of recipes for “National Grilling Month. Since July was both “National Hot Dog Month” AND “National Beans-N-Franks Month”, I thought “Beans-N-Franks” would be an appropriate recipe for this week’s “Tasty Tuesdays” post. So.. without further ado, here’s the first recipe!

Beans ‘n Franks

(from: nationaldaycalendar.com)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter

1 small onion, chopped

3 slices bacon

16-ounce can of pork and beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1 Tablespoon of Louisiana hot sauce (optional)

16-ounce package frankfurters

Directions

1. Cut bacon into squares and fry in a large skillet.
2. Add onion and saute until translucent.
3. Remove from heat. Drain excess fat.
4. Mix beans, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and hot sauce in a 2-quart casserole dish.
5. Add bacon and mix well.
6. Slice frankfurters and stir into beans
7. Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

So, there you have it: a recipe for Beans ‘n Franks. As I was typing this recipe, I started wondering about the difference between frankfurters (called for in this recipe) and hot dogs since I’m more familiar with the latter. So, I did a quick online search, and hear’s what my Web browser’s AI had to say in answer to my question of “Is there a difference between frankfurters and hot dogs?”

“Hot Dogs vs Frankfurters

Yes, there is a difference between frankfurters and hot dogs, although the terms are often used interchangeably.

The primary distinction lies in their ingredients and origins. A frankfurter, also known as a frank, is a German-style sausage that originated in the city of Frankfurt and is traditionally made exclusively with pork, often seasoned with specific spices like salt, pepper, ginger, mace, and nutmeg. They are typically smaller, have a smoother texture, and are often served with dipping sauces as an appetizer…

In contrast, a hot do is an American invention inspired by the frankfurter but is not limited to pork. Hot dogs can be made from a variety of meats, including beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, and are often a blend of different meat trimmings. They are generally served in a bread bun with various condiments and are commonly associated with American cuisine, such as at baseball games and barbecues…

The terms are sometimes confused, with “frankfurter” being used in American culture for hot dogs, particularly in punny names like “Franks A Lot”. However, technically, all hot dogs are a type of frankfurter, but not all frankfurters are considered hot dogs. The flavor profile of a frankfurter is often described as more robust and distinct due to its specific German-style spices and pure pork composition.”

Now that we both know the differences between a frankfurter and a hot dog, I think you could probably get away with using hot dogs in this “Beans’n Franks” recipe if you can’t get your hands on any frankfurters. Just remember that if you do make such a switch, then the name of the recipe should probably be called something like “Beanie Weenies”, which are just as easily made from scratch, using Great Northern beans and molasses.

In case you’re interested, the Web site called savoryexperiments.com has a recipe for “Beanie Weenies” (Homemade Franks and Beans) that’s so simple, I just had to share it with you, making this week’s”Tasty Tuesdays” post a “twofer” — two recipes in a single post! Without further ado, here is Savory Experiment’s recipe for “Beanie Weenies (Homemade Franks and Beans)”

“Beanie Weenies” or Homemade Franks and Beans

Franks and beans, beanie weenies, hot dog beans… No matter what you call this dish, it brings back fond memories of childhood for almost all of us.

This recipe is made with real beef hot dogs and less sugar than the canned version. Perfect as a quick and easy lunch or a classic camping food!

Ingredients

4 hot dogs, sliced

30 ounces Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 Tablespoon spicy (or regular yellow) mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

3 Tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon salt

4 bacon strips, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat.
2. Add the hot dogs, stirring until browned. (They should have enough fat to not stick in cast iron.)
3. Stir in the beans, spicy mustard, ketchup, molasses, salt, bacon and brown sugar. Continue to heat and stir until all of the ingredients have combined and sugar has fully dissolved.
4. Serve hot!

So, there you have it: the second recipe in this “twofer” post. If you try either of these recipes, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear you thoughts on one — or both — of these recipes.