Beef EnchiladasINGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS |
Category Archives: Recipes
Flour Tortilla – Mexican Style
Oi! Finally found a flat tortilla recipe that works for me! I use freshly ground red wheat berries. Granted, the experts recommend white wheat, but i just grabbed the red and proceeded. Figured if it would work with that, it’ll work with any.
Recipe – Mexican Flour Tortillas
Flour Tortillas – Mexican Style
Takes about 25 minutes to mix all together and allow dough to rest. Cooking is about 20 minutes. This recipe yields 15 tortillas rolled to about 10 inch diameter, but I halved it and it worked great.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour (white wheat is better for tortillas, but this even works pretty good using red)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons butter
1 ¼ cups warm water (approximately but you may need more if using whole wheat flours)
Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients; then drop in the butter. I squish it round in the dry ingredients with my fingers until the mix resembles coarse crumbles. Add the warm water and mix. I prefer using my Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer with the dough hook and let it do the work. Cover the dough and let rest for about 10 minutes. Knead a time or two, then tear off about 15 pieces of dough and roll into balls. I throw the balls back into the mixer bowl, but just put them somewhere and cover – let rest for 10 minutes more. Now they are ready to roll out. Dust a bit of flour on your surface.
Cook in a dry heavy flat bottom skillet like a cast iron one for about 30 seconds each side on medium heat or less.
Keep warm or use them immediately for enchiladas or another favorite Mexican dish.
Beef Sausage Lasagne
Recipe – Beef Sausage Lasagne (Click on the link for a printable version of my personal recipe.)
I’ve been using this recipe for over 30 years and it never fails to please! Since i don’t eat pork, i use our home raised ground beef which i’ve turned into beef sausage and using these same spices, it turns out awesome. Make your own egg noodles and simple cut them about 1 1/2 inches wide and whatever length you like (they’ll get wider and longer when you boil them). I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta and i often buy full fat mozzarella and shred it myself. Usually have my own tomatoes to chop and cook down.
Here’s the original recipe printed in Betty Crocker’s International Cookbook circa 1980. Great cookbook and you can see that page 159 has been open quite a lot! The cookbook must be out of print, but there are several vendors offering it at deep discount, but i’m not parting with my copy!!
French Fried Onions Recipe
Lots of home grown green beans in the freezer. Jessica picked up some onions from the store. Had some canned mushroom soup on hand. Never had made fried onions for classic green bean casserole before, but this works great! I added some tips which will improve my next batch. Made a big batch to go along with an 8# corned beef roast cooking along, smashed potatoes, and blackberry cobbler. My mother-in-law has a wonderful patch of thorny blackberries.
Ingredients:
3 large onions sliced into thin rings
2 cups milk
2-3 cups flour (I used freshly ground white wheat berries)
Oil for frying
Salt or other seasonings as desired
Directions:
Place part of the onion slices in the milk, then let soak for 5 minutes whilst oil is heating in a fryer or skillet. Take some of the onions out of the milk and dredge through 1 cup of the flour. Use a fork if you like to turn the onion slices to coat well. Fry in batches in the oil, stirring to lightly browned. Drain on paper towels, season to taste.
When the flour you are using starts to form clumps, start with new flour. Trying to use it with clumps results in poor coverage on the onions. I don’t know why – it just does or at least that is my experience.
I use these for making green bean casserole or whatever recipe you have calling for French fried onions.
Lumpia (Filipino Eggroll)
This is my go to version of my own making. However, be encouraged to try new and different flavors and ingredients. Having an abundance of squash and cauliflower leaves/stalks, i decided to substitute. To my pleasant surprise, substituting squash for carrots and cauliflower stalks and leaves for celery and onion is a hit and will be come a regular recipe for us.
Recipe Lumpia -Filipino Egg Roll
Lumpia (Filipino Eggroll)
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb beef sausage
2 eggs
1 cup onions chopped
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos or
Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Thoroughly mix all ingredients, then place about ¼ to ½ cup of mix in a log shape on a prepared egg roll shell. Roll up properly and tightly, then fry in ½ inch of olive oil heated to a tick less than medium. For best browning do not overcrowd them. I cook 6 at a time in 12 inch skillet. Once lightly browned, turn over. Keep an eye on these, they need to be cooked through, but careful not to burn the shells. Drain on paper towels.
An example of a departure from my standard recipe is using this gorgeous Squash Zucchino Rampicante. I’ve grown a barrel of these and they are huge, so gotta start getting creative.
Mom’s Goulash
September’s meal for Refuge Ministries, Mexico, Missouri was an old favorite of ours which was published in the Centennial Baptist Church cookbook shared by Frankie Levingston, the mom of my dear high school chum, Sharie Levingston.
Mom’s Goulash
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef (i use our home raised fully grass-finished beef)
2 cups pasta
3 cups chopped tomatoes or 1-15 oz can sauce
1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped peppers (we prefer green beans, okra, or such)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup cubed cheese (use your favorite)
DIRECTIONS:
Prepare pasta as per package instructions, drain, set aside. While pasta is boiling, brown ground beef in a large skillet with chopped onions, add tomatoes or sauce, with optional vegetables. Stir to just mixed, then add pasta. Mix carefully then sprinkle about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over top along with the cubed cheese. Replace lid and put on low heat until cheese starts to melt. Serve over bed of lettuce if desired.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Frankie Levingston, Centennial Baptist Church (Mexico, MO) cookbook.
My photos show this recipe multiplied by 10 to prepare enough for the Refuge plus have some meals to deliver to friends and neighbors who are recovering from surgeries.
Hope you enjoy preparing and serving this easy, inexpensive, and tasty dish.
Cheers!
tauna
Grinding Fresh Berries
As i grind pound after pound of hard red winter and white winter wheat, i wanted to know the best use for the various varieties. I also have some Einkorn berries, an ancient grain with original DNA, which i’m finding difficult succeed with using it by itself. But i keep trying. It’s a lovely nutty flavour.
What a fabulously helpful article written by Julia Debes and provided by the Kansas Wheat Cooperative
Posted December 2, 2014
Six classes of U.S. wheat
You stuffed yourself with Thanksgiving pie and warm rolls in November. And the smell of Christmas cookies baking fills the air in December. You know you can count on your family’s special baked good, shared year after year, during the holiday season. But, you might not realize that each product may require a different type of flour, maybe even a different class of wheat.
American wheat farmers grow six classes of wheat. Each wheat variety fits into one of these six categories based on the growing season (winter or spring), hardness (hard or soft) and color (red or white). While munching on holiday treats this year, stump your relatives with these class differences.
Hard Red Winter (HRW)
Ninety five percent of the wheat grown in Kansas is hard red winter (HRW). In fact, Kansas farmers grow more HRW wheat than any other state.
With high protein and strong gluten, HRW wheat is ideal for yeast bread and rolls. But, this versatile class is also used in flat breads, tortillas, cereal, general purpose flour and Asian-style noodles.
Hard White (HW)
About three percent of wheat grown by Kansas farmers is hard white (HW) wheat. This class is grown primarily under contract.
HW wheat is used for whole wheat white flour, due to its naturally milder, sweeter flavor. Bakers also use HW wheat in pan breads, tortillas, flat breads and Asian-style noodles.
Soft Red Winter (SRW)
Less than 1 percent of the wheat planted by Kansas wheat farmers is soft red winter (SRW). Farmers east of the Mississippi River often double crop SRW wheat with soybeans.
Soft wheats have lower protein and less gluten strength. This makes SRW ideally suited for cookies, crackers, pastries, flat breads and pretzels. SRW wheat is even used in Maker’s Mark and Twizzlers.
Soft White (SW)
Pacific Northwest farmers grow primarily soft white (SW) wheat – both winter and spring varieties. SW wheat has two sub-classes. Club wheat has very weak gluten and western white is a blend of club and SW.
SW wheat has low moisture, but high extraction rates. With a naturally whiter color, SW wheat is used for Asian-style bakery products, cakes and pastries. Fun fact, Triscuits refer to SW as the “cashmere” of wheats.
Hard Red Spring (HRS)
Northern plains farmers require a shorter season crop wheat crop. Hard red spring (HRS) wheat is planted in early spring, rather than the fall, and does not vernalize or go dormant over the winter.
HRS wheat has high protein and strong gluten, perfect for artisan breads and rolls, croissants, bagels and pizza crust. Internationally, HRS is often blended with domestic wheats supplies to improve the strength of a flour blend.
Durum
Durum is the hardest of all six wheat classes, produced in two areas of the United States. The northern plains grows hard amber durum, while the desert southwest (Arizona, California) grows Desert Durum® under irrigation.
With a rich amber color and high gluten content, durum wheat is used primarily for pasta, couscous and some Mediterranean breads.
By Julia Debes
