FYI

I just made some smoked chicken for lunch and it took about 25 minutes for all the meat to be heated through...not 15 minutes that I originally posted.

Lion House Clam Chowder

1 c onion finely chopped
1 c celery finely chopped
2 c potatoes finely chopped
2 cans 6 ½ oz. each, minced clams with juices
¾ c butter (can use only ½ cup)
¾ c flour
1 qrt half and half
(I have used the fat free half and half, and really is ok, but nothing replaces the real stuff!)
1 ½ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
Drain clam juice and pour over veggies in pot. Add enough water to barely cover and simmer over medium heat until tender. In the meantime, melt butter, add flour. Blend. Cook, stirring constantly. Add cream, cook and stir with wire whip until smooth & thick. Very important it gets thick. Add undrained veggies and clams. Heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

From Frozen: Thaw in fridge (it takes a while- I did mine overnight) then re-heat on stove. You may have to add a little more milk or 1/2 and 1/2 before you serve it to thin it out a bit. I added just a little.

***also, just a sidenote. When I make this for myself I don't add all the clams. I don't like the texture of them. I actually buy the bottles of just clam juice and only add one can of the actual clams and then just a little jar of the juice. Just make it as clammy as you want it. :)

Mexican Dinner

1 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 c rice, cooked
Grated cheddar cheese

Brown beef and onion. Drain and add taco seasoning and water according to package directions. Simmer 5 min. Add corn, black beans, and tomatoes and stir till heated through. Add rice and mix. Top with cheese. Can eat by itself, with tortilla chips or be made into tacos.

Sweet Sausage Pot Pie

2 pie shells
3 sweet sausage links
1 medium onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1 T Salmon seasoning

Slice up sausage links and onion and saute until brown. Add chopped carrots until soft. Then stir in soup,milk and peas and seasoning until heated through. Pour into 1st pie shell. Then top with 2nd pie shell. Use knife to slit the top of the pie for breathing purposes and push together pie edges and cover edges with foil. Cook at 400 for 45 minutes or until brown. Remove foil and cook for 5 more minutes.


From Freezer: Thaw over night in fridge or put out on counter in the morning. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes with foil on edges. Remove and cook for 5 more minutes.

Smoked Chicken w/Carmelized Onion Sauce

I promise this is the last smoked thing I'll do for a long time!  Jay smoked some chicken this weekend so I figured this would be a good time to do it for our freezer swap while it is fresh.

The carmelized onion sauce is very rich and it is a strong flavor....a little goes a long way.  Kids would like it if they are adventurous eaters.  There are several ways to go about this dish:

1.  Serve the chicken over rice with or without the sauce.
2.  My favorite way:  Make an open faced sandwich with the chicken and top with melted cheese (under the broiler)
3.  Reserve the sauce for another time and serve it over pork chops or cooked chicken breast.
4.  Eat the chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce.

To heat the chicken:  place it in a pot of simmering water for 15 minutes.

To heat the sauce:  place it in a sauce pan on medium until it is melted and then heated through.  If it is too thick you can thin it with chicken stock.

Carmelized Onion Sauce

• Chop 4 medium onions into half circles
• Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a large saute pan
• Sweat the onions on medium heat for 10 minutes then season with a pinch of salt and about 1tsp. sugar
• Carmelize the onions by cooking on medium heat for about 30 minutes or until browned
• Remove onions and add 2 T flour to drippings in the pan to make a roux.  (If there are no drippings add 2 T butter.)
• Add 2 cups of chicken broth and half a can of evaporated milk and bring to a simmer to thicken.
  

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Robyn posted a bunch of Cafe Rio recipes on this blog and having had Cafe Rio's pork, I knew I had to try it. Well I did and it is pretty close to the real deal, so yummy!!! You can serve this in a tortilla with other burrito toppings, or by itself over rice. My kids ate this like candy (something to do with the brown sugar and coke?)

2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!