From Facebook, so no source.

Loaded Smashed Potatoes - extremely easy to make. Takes less than an hour and it worked on my first attempt. Some changes I made (not always because I wanted to) include: • I used my own blend of seasoning, • No green onions, • Cooked ham crumbled and baked openly alongside the potato until crispy instead of bacon, • Mexican blend cheese because I had no cheddar.

Sour cream as per the recipe was very good, but I think onion dip or apple sauce would work too.

I mixed steak seasoning and Buttery Sriracha since that's what was in the cupboard. It was good, but the consensus is that I put on too much. Go light on the seasoning next time - more can always be added after cooking.

Loaded Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients: 15 petite gold potatoes (each looks like it has a 1.5� diameter), chicken broth, sharp cheddar cheese, olive oil, seasoning as described below, crispy bacon, sour cream, green onions

Need to get a round “meat masher tool�. (It resembles a meat thermometer but is bigger, heavier, and made to be gripped in your fist.)

Boil 15 petite gold potatoes in chicken broth for 20 mins.

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, smash 15 petite potatoes to flatten them so they resemble cookies. Use parchment paper between the masher and each potato so they won’t stick to the tool.

Squirt a little olive oil onto each and wipe it around with a silicon brush.

Season lightly with “Potato Slayer� from “Fire & Smoke Society� brand seasoning (it contains salt, pepper, dill, garlic, onion and “a little kick.�

Preheat oven to 450°. Cook for 20 – 25 mins until golden brown and crisp.

Remove and sprinkle liberally with chopped sharp cheddar cheese.

Sprinkle lightly with crispy bacon.

Bake for 3 – 5 mins.

Add a dollop of sour cream.

Sprinkle with a few chopped green onions for garnish.

Scoop four onto a plate and enjoy

I found this recipe on TheBlaze - where it is pretty well locked down behind a "Members Only" wall. I was able to get it, though.

I haven't tried it, but it does look good. And the ingredients are common. I'll try this soon.
http://www.theblaze.com/align/greek-lemon-chicken-is-a-dog-days-delight

Greek lemon chicken is a dog-days delight

Try it with a cold cucumber salad — and pray for sweater season.

Where I am, the heat still hasn’t tapered off: The dog days of summer are clinging to our forecasts like stubborn residue on your favorite steel pan.

It feels like it’s going to take a miracle for the dog days to leave. Until then, this recipe for Greek lemon chicken will have to do. It's a very nice bridge from summer to fall and reheats well for leftovers. It pairs beautifully with a cold cucumber salad (or squash, if it ever starts feeling autumnal around here).

Get our your favorite family casserole dish and prepare for a healthy meal to share. Note: Marinate the chicken overnight for best results.

Also: I've recently developed a fondness for finishing salts. Lately, I've been enjoying the many varieties Jacobsen Salt Co. makes from salt it harvests from Netarts Bay in Oregon. This Infused Black Garlic Salt would make a great topping for this particular dish; it could also make a nice housewarming or Christmas gift. Too soon to be thinking about that? Not if you’re a homemaker!

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 5 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons rosemary
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the marinade: In a small bowl, stir together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme, mustard, salt, and pepper.
2. Marinate the chicken: Add the chicken thighs to a large bowl and pour the marinade on top. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours (and up to 8 hours) in the fridge.
3. Transfer to baking dish: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour the remaining marinade on top.
4. Bake the chicken: Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and registers 175°F on an instant-read thermometer. Optionally, you can baste the chicken a few times while it cooks. And for extra crispy skin, turn on the top oven broiler in the last 2 to 3 minutes. If you're serving this dish up for a dinner party, garnish with lemon slices and fresh rosemary or thyme.

Per the video, these foods can still be eaten twenty years after purchase or more. Most have to be stored in a cool, dry place. Others require mylar bags and oxygen absorbers.

1) Canned Meat.
2) Canned Vegetables
3) Canned Fruits
4) White Rice (While Brown Rice has a healthier profile because of its oils, those very oils shorten its shelf life.)
5) Dried Beans
6) Powdered Milk
7) Pasta (But if stored in the original containers, it will only last two years. Because of pests, check it regularly and rotate the stock. )
8 ) Rolled Oats (more commonly called Oatmeal.)
9) Salt
10) Honey
11) Sugar
12) Instant Coffee (because it is freeze dried it will last for decades.)
13) White Vinegar
14) Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
15) Alcohol. This means HARD alcohol: Vodka, Gin, etc, but not Creme de menthe, Kahlúa or wine.

I found a video about rice on Youtube and tried its rice pilaf tonight. It was a disaster, and I don't think I did anything wrong. I followed the instructions to the letter.

The two chief problems were that the rice didn't absorb all the chicken stock... so I cooked it more and waited another ten minutes. Even that didn't do it and I had to boil off the excess, which made the included pasta soggy. And for a dish intended for two, this recipe called for two teaspoons of salt. Just think about how much sodium that is! I couldn't even finish my plate. Waaaaay too salty.

If interested, but I don't know why you would be, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN2AxBto5fU

I haven't yet tried this but plan to. For now, I just don't want to lose the recipe.


Mar. 21, 2024

This Copycat McDonald’s Egg McMuffin Recipe Tastes Just Like the Real Thing

by Nancy Mock
TasteOfHome.com

McDonald’s Egg McMuffin is the original on-the-go breakfast. It’s such an icon of the brand, that it’s easy to forget that the Egg McMuffin almost didn’t make it onto the menu—but lucky for us, it did, and it’s become one of bestselling items at McDonald’s.

But what about the days when you don’t want to wait in line for yours? Luckily, we’ve got a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin recipe you can make at home and you can make it ahead for the week.

What’s in a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin?

The breakfast sandwich consists of an English muffin, American cheese, eggs and Canadian bacon. It made its first appearance in 1971 when franchise owner Herb Peterson was looking for a way to attract morning customers to his restaurant. Peterson convinced skeptical McDonald’s owner Ray Kroc to add the McMuffin to the breakfast menu nationwide, and the rest is breakfast history. Here’s another secret: It’s also the only McDonald’s breakfast item that uses real eggs.

How Does McDonald’s Make That Round Egg?

The secret is to cook the eggs in a round egg ring. Set the ring on a hot pan, crack in an egg and let it cook. The finished egg is the perfect size and shape to fit on an English muffin.

How to Make a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin

This recipe makes one perfect breakfast sandwich. You need just a few basic ingredients as well as some tools: your three-inch egg ring and a nonstick skillet.

Editor’s Tip: If you want to make it super easy to put your McMuffin together, you can also get this handy breakfast sandwich maker.

• 1 English muffin, split open
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1slice American cheese
• 1 large egg
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 slice Canadian bacon

Step 1: Toast and butter the muffin

Toast both halves of the English muffin until they’re golden brown. Spread the butter over the insides.

Step 2: Add the cheese

Place the bottom of the English muffin on a plate and lay the slice of cheese over it.

Step 3: Cook the egg

Our plants are nourished in healthy soil, without the use of tillage, fertilizers, or seed treatments, producing superior grains with rich nutritional components.

http://www.guardiangrains.com/shopfornutrition

In the end, I added 10 jalapeno peppers to my salsa when the recipe called for one. It was still almost undetectably hot.

In the future, I would recommend going with a hotter form of pepper. Perhaps habaneros. They are reportedly 33 times hotter than jalapenos.

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

After buying Sam's fresh salsa last week, I figured that I could make something just as good. Overall, I was right.

I made a double batch last night, following the instructions below (but double, of course). I used ten Roma tomatoes, two bell peppers, one large onion and one large, solid green jalapeno pepper. I let the salsa sit in the refrigerator overnight. In my experience, salsa that sits becomes hotter.

This morning, I found to my chagrin that the salsa had no heat whatsoever. I could taste the bell pepper and onion, but not the jalapeno. I added another chopped jalapeno and let it sit 8 more hours. I still couldn't taste it. I added two more (so four in total) and will see tomorrow if that makes the salsa somewhat hot.

I sampled one of the peppers directly and found that it wasn't very hot. (And I'm not one of those people who munches on hot peppers for the fun of it.) Maybe it's just a weak batch of jalapenos. Or, in the future, I might want to avoid jalapenos that are solid green. Maybe I should go with something hotter... like habanero peppers. Or just up the amount, as I'm doing now.

My only other comment is that I can't make this salsa in 20 minutes. 45 is more like it. But it is GOOD salsa and well worth the time if your family enjoys salsa.

Ingredients
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes (chopped large. One website recommends Roma tomatoes for salsa since Romas aren't juicy.)
• 1 cup onion, diced
• ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
• ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (including seeds) (I HAD TO USE 4X THIS CONCENTRATION.)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions (I recommend visiting the website to see the videos.)
1. Stir together tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

My wife made this previously. This time, I did. It's the world's easiest recipe. There's nothing to screw up.

The salad came from a store, btw. I only made the sauce. The results are delicious.

Ingredients:

½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp white sugar
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vinegar
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt

Whisk it all up thoroughly and it's done.

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

Interesting! I just watched the video. I'll come back to this and try it when I'm in the new house. My current place is just too small and cluttered for any of the things on hold. You may have noticed that the only recipes I'm posting these days are crock-pot recipes. I don't have the counter space to do much more than that.

One thing I do wonder is whether there's any cost savings to making one's own bread. I imagine not... that people do it because it tastes better than what can be bought. But is that the case?

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

YouTube
http://youtu.be/Dv-z95pn4XY

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Buttermilk
1 tbsp Salt
â…“ cups Molasses
¼ oz Yeast (dry)
1 cups Rye Flower
1 cups Spelt Flour
2 cups Whole Wehat Flour
¾ cups Walnuts
¾ cups Figs dried
some Butter or Oil for the jars
INSTRUCTIONS

Mix the buttermilk, salt and molasses in a saucepan and warm it up slightly, like babybath temperature.
In a bow, mix the flours.
Sprinkle the yeast onto the buttermilk and let sit for a couple of minutes.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and mix for 10 minutes to create a dough.
In the meantime, chop the nuts if they are too large but don't chop them too small. Also, cut the figs (removing any stems) into smaller pieces.
At the end of the mixing time, add the walnuts and figs and mix them in.
If you bake this bread in jars:
Grease the jars, then add a little flour and let it cover the inside of the jars.
Fill the jars with dough to about half.
If you bake in a loaf pan, just fill it in.
Cover and let ferment for about 1 hour.
If you bake in jars: Make sure the rim of each jar is clean.
Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
Bake the bread until the center of the bread has reached a temperature of 200°F / 95°C!
With my jars, it took about 1 hour.
With a loaf pan it will take about 1 hour 45 minutes.
If you are baking in a loaf pan, let the bread cool, then it's ready.
If you are baking in jars, continue:
Open the oven door a bit to let the steam get out but leave the jars in the oven.
Test: Put a lid on one jar, wait a moment and check if water collects on the inside of the lid. If yes, wait longer. If no, continue …
Screw the lids on the jars, make sure the rims of the jars are clean and the lid sits tight. Careful, the jars are very hot!
Use a large cook pot (or several), Place a towel on the bottom and fill about 2 inches / 3 cm with water.
Put the jars into the pot and bring it to a boil. Let simmer for 30 minutes (for larger jars, simmer longer!).
After the cooking time, leave the jars in the pot while cooling. You are done.
If you want to be extra careful, repeat the cooking step after 24 to 48 hours.

I made several substitutions and they were significant enough that I will say I didn't really make Pork Roast Landaise. But what I made is quite good.

I didn't have pears or prunes. I substituted a can of sliced peaches. Next time, I may instead use a couple cans of mandarin oranges. I think they'd be good.

I didn't have parsnips. I substituted a full package of baby carrots.

In addition to salt and pepper, I also seasoned the pork lightly with crushed red pepper. I wish I'd sprinkled substantially more because when I taste the red pepper, which isn't often enough, it really makes the meal. I like a little heat. In the future, I recommend applying crushed red pepper MODERATELY.

I chopped six large potatoes into eighths and added them at the very start. I chopped up two broccoli heads and added them in the final hour. Neither the potatoes nor the broccoli changes the taste of the meal, but they went well with it.

Finally, I cooked a 3.4 lb pork shoulder, bone-in instead of the recommended 2.5 lb boneless center-cut pork loin roast. To compensate for the additional meat, I used 1.5x the recipe's amount of everything. But is there really that much additional meat if the bone in the roast I cooked is taken into account? Probably not.

The recipe below came from SLOW COOKER BIBLE, by Crock-Pot and published in 2010. I'd give it **** (out of 5) and will definitely make it again even though it took an hour or so of my time (Seasoning the meat, browning the meat, chopping the potatoes, onions and broccoli, mincing the garlic.) That's a lot of time compared to the meals I usually make.

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

(Another very easy crock-pot recipe we made for the first time a few days ago. The sauce is delicious.

I'm not going to type this recipe in since - with the notes - it's long, but if it ever disappears from the image hosting site, I should be able to post it again. Someone just needs to tell me.

My wife made no changes to the recipe. It took about 10 minutes of her time - mostly due to having to find the ingredients. She served it with rice. - De)

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

1 lbs Kielbasa sliced 1/4 inch
6 slices Bacon sliced 1/2 inch
1 head Cabbage sliced 1/2 inch
1 large Yellow Onion sliced 1/4 inch
Can Rotel diced chilies

In an iron fry pan
Fry bacon
Fry kielbasa
Add cabbage
Add onion
Add 1/2 to 1 can of Rotel red chilies
Cover and cook on medium 1 hrs.
Salt & Pepper to taste

This crock-pot meal is really easy... and good! I'll be making it often from now on during my gardens' upcoming tomato seasons. Just follow the directions below if you have the ingredients and want that amount. BUT, I made some changes:

First, because whole chickens were stupidly expensive this week, I substituted chicken breasts and thighs, bone-in, both of which were on sale. I think that's pretty small as far as changes go.

Then, I wanted to make double the amount. I've got a big crock-pot, so it was no problem. I just doubled the ingredients, doing about 6.5 lbs of chicken, 4 large tomatoes, one cup of wine, 2 packages of spaghetti seasoning and 8 oz of mushrooms... which I halved since they were big. I went with Pinot Grigio wine and packages of McCormick Thick & Zesty Spaghetti seasoning, each 1.37 oz.

I cooked on low for 7 hours to give the meat all the time it might need, then did the tomatoes and mushrooms for a final hour on high.

The results were excellent... chicken and stewed tomatoes with a mild sauce that my wife and I served over pasta.

**** (out of 5)

Pluses: Delicious and super quick. I spent no more than 15 minutes on it and we'll get two or three meals from the result.

I like the fact there's none of this "Remove the skin from the chicken" nonsense.

Minuses? I can't think of any.

In case the image gets deleted:

2.5 to 3 lbs frying chicken, cut up.
1 (1.5 oz) spaghetti sauce mix
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 fresh tomatoes, quartered
1/4 lb fresh mushrooms

Place chicken parts in bottom of slow-cooking pot. Combine dry spaghetti sauce mix with wine; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours. Turn control to high. Add tomatoes and mushrooms. Cover and cook on high for 30 to 40 minutes or until tomatoes are done. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months