Corn Dogs

Last night was the only time my grown kids could get together to hang out for Halloween. The older they get the harder it is to find time to be together. So we decided to have "Fair" food and carve pumpkins for Halloween last night. Of course we did watch some spooky movies but our beloved Rangers were playing game 6 of the World Series and we had to watch that. So I made corn dogs, home made lemonade (recipe here on Tried and True), and  funnel cakes (recipe here on Tried and True.) We couldn't have been happier.
The corn dogs were a recipe that my hero Pioneer Woman posted last week. They were pretty wonderful and everyone agreed rivaled the ones you buy at the fair. Here they are kids. Give them a try. You wont be sorry.

(Getting the batter for the corn dogs right is the real secret. I would say that the batter should be the consistency of cake batter. Too thin and enough batter will not stay on the hot dog. To thick and goopy and your corn dog will be thick and tough. What I did for this and for the funnel cakes is went to Youtube and watched videos. You can see the batter consistency if you watch a few videos of them cooking them. I wasn't looking for a recipe just how thick the batter was. It helped a lot. )

 This batter made almost twice what I needed. But I would rather have too much than not enough.

Corn dogs

• 6 cups Krusteaz Pancake Mix
• 2 cups Yellow Corn Meal
• 2 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
• 6 cups Water, More If Needed To Thin Batter
• Hot Dogs
• Chopsticks, skewers (we found these great thick sticks for corn on the cob that worked great.)
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• Mustand or Ketchup. Whatever your dipping pleasure is.

In a large bowl, combine pancake mix and cornmeal, mix. Add eggs and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 4 cups, then work your way up to 6 cups or more. I ended up having to add extra pancake batter to the mix as I got to much water. It was an easy fix.
Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready: the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.
Insert sticks into hot dogs so that they're 2/3 of the way through. I put the batter into a tall glass that I dip the hot dog all the way into the batter. It worked great.
Dip the hot dogs into the batter and allow excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Hobo Potatoe Dinner

This dinner started out as a side dish of just "Hobo Potatoes" and now I make it in many ways. Our favorite is with pork chops. But as you can see the picture above even meatballs are wonderful.

Here is the basic recipe for the Hobo Potatoes and then with the added meat for a complete meal.

Hobo Potatoes

One baking potato per person, cut into large chunks. Place on one square of foil large enough to enclose potatoes and onions (and meat if using)
Below is per potato packet

1/2 an onion, large chop

2-4 Tbl. butter (we like a little potato with our butter.

salt and pepper

(I have added garlic. I almost like it better without. I love garlic but like the flavor of just onions and butter.)

Oven 425. 

Place chopped potato in middle of foil. Add salt and peppe and top with onion and butter. Fold up securely in foil  so that no steam or juice will escape and place in oven for 30-45 minutes till potatoes are tender. Be careful opening the foil as you will get some steam in the face.

Hobo Meal

Follow the directions above but after topping the potatoes with butter place a seasoned pork chop (or other meat of choice)  on top of butter. Fold up foil tightly so that no steam escapes. Bake 45 minutes or so till meat and potatoes are done.

It's that "Fair" time of year. Its time for Funnel Cakes.

One of the blogs I love to look at has posted a lot of  "State Fair" recipes. Oh how fun. The one that was missing is funnel cake. Now I haven't had a funnel cake purchased out in years. I just bring myself to pay $6 for a funnel cake. Since this blog got me all hungry for the artery clogging yumminess of fair foods I thought I would post this recipe. 

If you have ever watched them make funnel cakes at the fair they use these rings that they pour the funnel cakes into. I just use my 10 1/2" cast iron skillet. I don't use this skillet much because it is generally too small for most things but perfect for funnel cakes. 

Top these lovely babies with powdered sugar and or strawberries, whip cream. YUM! I hope you like them.

Funnel Cake

3 eggs

2 Cups milk ( I actually had to use more to get it thin enough. Maybe a cup or more. It needs to run through the funnel. So the batter needs to be just thin enough to run through the funnel. If it helps watch a youtube video of them being cooked to see the consistency of the batter.)

4 Cups flour

1/4 Cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs, milk and sugar. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet. Beat batter till smooth. Batter should be thin enough to run through a funnel. Now this is where you decide how you want to do it. You can use a funnel or a small measuring cup. If your using a funnel, fill the funnel up and keep your finger on the bottom. Remove your finger from the bottom of the funnel and let the batter drain into the hot grease swirling it as you go. Who cares how your end product looks as long as it tastes good and tastes like funnel cake. Heat oil up to 350- 375 degrees. Pour batter into pan till it is well swirled and full (about 3/4-1 Cup batter. This depends on how big your pan is and how thick you want your funnel cakes to be. After you start you will figure out what works best for you.) cook till golden brown on one side and carefully flip and cook the other side till  golden brown.

drain a second on a paper towel and transfer to a plate and sift powdered sugar on top. We like a little funnel cake with our powdered sugar at my house. The more sugar the better. 

Good luck and enjoy.

Taco Seasoning

I'm trying very hard to quit having to use anything in a packet. Unfortunately when you have the convenience of packets you also have the problem with the ingredients in the packet mix that might not be the best for you. So little by little I am finding home made alternatives to the occasional packet I would buy. Here is the latest. I adapted this from one I found on line. The great thing about taco seasoning is that you can adjust it very easily to suit you tastes. I have mentioned before that I grind my own beef rather than buy hamburger meat. What I do is mix the seasoning in with the ground meat/beef and add some onions and fry it with a little oil in the bottom of the pan (it can be dry because it is super lean being that I grind up lean roasts.) So if you want you might add a little water or beef broth to your meat once it is done and let it simmer till it is absorbed.
I use about 3TBL. per pound of ground meat.

Taco Seasoning
5 Tbl. chili powder
8 tsp. cumin
8 tsp. paprika
5 tsp. oregano
5 tsp. salt
3 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. onion powder
4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix and store in air tight container. Use 3Tbl. per pound of ground meat (or more or less based on your tastes.)

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

I love the taste of breakfast sausage. I don't love the nasty junk in breakfast sausage. So just like grinding my own roasts to make my own hamburger meat. I have set out to make my own breakfast sausage. What I have come up with is pretty good. I'm not saying I wont tweak it more as I think this is a work in progress. This is certainly good enough to blog about. I am going to continue to hunt and try recipes as I know there is an ultimate one out there. Till then this is what we use. I make breakfast sandwiches for all my men using this sausage and of course other yummy stuff. But for now we are talking about breakfast sausage. Feel free to make it your own play with it till it tastes as you like it to. I use a mixture of pork and turkey. You can use whatever meat combo you like. I think it would taste good no matter what meat you use. So here it is.

Breakfast Sausage

2lbs. pork loin (I grind up my own meat. I cut away as much fat as I can and weigh it. The loins are always bigger than two pounds. I freeze the extra till the next time I make sausage.)

1lb. ground turkey breast

2 tsp. salt

3  tsp. sage (if after you have everything in and you cook a small bit you think it needs more sage add more in a 1/2 tsp. at a time amounts tasting after each addition. Just fry small little bites to taste for correct seasoning.)

1 1/2 tsp. savory

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. pepper

4 tsp. brown sugar (this is optional. I don't always add it. Some like a little maple syrup in theirs. What works for you.)

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

After grinding my pork loin I place it in a bowl with the ground turkey breast and all the seasoning. With my hands I blend it till it is all mixed together. I pinch off a piece and fry it to taste for seasoning. If it is good then I make patties and flash freeze them (place on cookie sheet with wax paper on it and put in freezer till frozen. I place them in a large zip lock bags in layers with wax paper in between and keep in the freezer. I take out as many as I need and fry them up. Sometimes I will put just a drop of oil in the pan as these are very lean and have no fat for frying. They are very good. Enjoy.

Double Fudge Irish Cream Cookies

 These are divine. You can't really put your finger on what it is that makes them taste so good. The secret is Baileys Irish Cream. SShh, don't tell anyone.

This recipe is adapted  from How Sweet It Is. 

Double Fudge Irish Cream Cookies

1 Cup butter softened

1 1/2 Cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 2/3 Cup flour

1/2 Cup cocoa

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. instant espresso powder ( or plain instant coffee if that is what you have.)

8 Tbl. Baileys Irish Cream

1 to 1 1/2 Cups white chocolate chips ( I don't like a ton of chips so I use 1 cup. Put the amount that you like in.)

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla  with electric mixer until fluffy. Add in Baileys one tablespoon at a time. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, espresso powder together and add to the creamed butter mixture. Mix till blended. Stir in white chocolate chips. Refrigerate 4 hours and roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Or do what I do don't wait the four hours. Using cookie scoop scoop and place on cookie sheet and bake 350 for 8-10 minutes. In my oven I have found 7 1/2 minutes is perfect. Since I have never done the refrigerate four hour thing I don't know if that is why they are better at the shorter time but I tend to think so.

Holy Cannoli These are Good!

Is there anything better than a yummy Cannoli? I don't think so. Here is my recipe. I buy Cannoli shells cause I'm too lazy to learn to make them. I usually put a spoon of chocolate sauce on the plate and then set the Cannoli in the chocolate sauce. You can put it under it, over it or however you want. It is all good!

Cannoli

1 Box of Cannoli shells. (It has been a while. This may fill more than one box of Cannoli. I usually buy two boxes and double the filling. I have left over filling. Oh whats a girl to do.)

1 (15oz) Ricotta cheese

3oz. cream cheese

1/2 Cup sugar (taste the filling for sugar. You may want to add more depending on how sweet you like your Cannoli filling.)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 Cup mini chocolate chips

1/4 Cup chopped pistachios (optional)

Chocolate sauce (recipe follows)

In large bowl whip sugar, vanilla, ricotta and cream cheese. Stir in chocolate chips and pistachios. Spoon filling into pastry bag or large zip lock bag ( with corner cut off) Pipe filling into shells. You want to make these right before serving as they will become soggy if you make them too early. So make the filling and put it in the fridge. Make the chocolate sauce. Fill the shells after chocolate sauce is ready.

Chocolate sauce

3/4 Cup heavy cream

12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp. instand espresso powder.

In double boiler place cream and chips. Melt chips and stir till cream and chocolate are completely incorporated. Add Espresso powder and stir. Ready to serve.

Plaece some chocolate sauce on dessert plate and place a Cannoli on top of the sauce. Serve.