Sriracha Snack Mix

Updated December 2023:

I've made it with salt in past years and it was good, but added none this year and it was fine! Plenty salty because I used mostly pre-mixed snacks. 

If using the oven instead of the microwave, it's 30 minutes at 300, stirring every 10 minutes.

12 cups of cereal possibly including but not limited to Chex, Cheerios, Shreddies, Corn Pops, crunchy cheese sticks (like Cheetos)

1/2 cup of salted butter, melted

1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1 Tbsp Sriracha

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp garlic powder

Combine cereals in a very large bowl.

Melt butter, mix in remaining ingredients. Pour half of the butter mixture over the cereal mix, stir or toss, add remaining butter, stir again.

Microwave for 5 minutes, stirring every minute. 

Spread onto large baking sheet to cool.

Notes:

Options for snack mix ingredients:
Honeycomb cereal

pretzels

pre-mixed snack mix (Munchies, etc)

Cheezies crackers

corn nuts

peanuts

Goldfish crackers

bagel chips

Cooking Beans Without Soaking

Beans do not need to be soaked! I got permission here: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/soaking-salting-dried-bean-myths-article

I find it much easier to throw everything in the pot and just let it simmer.

Grab a bag of beans and dump them in a large pot.

Add enough broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable) to cover the beans by about an inch. I generally do a box of stock and the same amount of water.

Add a chopped onion. 

This is also when you could add a little salt, but I'd advise against it as store-bought broth is loaded with salt. You could get creative and add taco seasoning or other herbs and spices.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer until tender.

Crack Slaw

I mean, it's good, but I wouldn't say it's that incredible-and-therefore-addictive... Johan and I enjoy this recipe that I heard about from my sister. Here's the link to the original on TheKitchenMagpie.com The original poster likes long posts before recipes, I don't. Here's my version of this recipe:

1 lb meat (Italian sausage, beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, etc)

4 cloves garlic, minced

(add onions here if you aren't going to use green onion as a garnish)

6-7 cups slaw mix (the basic variety and/or the kale version)

1 Tbsp sriracha

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 tsp rice vinegar

3/4 tsp white sugar (or substitute)

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp sesame oil

garnish: sesame seeds, green onions, almonds

Fry the meat of your choice in a large pot. Once it's browned, drain excess oil. You don't want a greasy mess at the end. Keep a little meat juice to gently cook the garlic for a few minutes. Mix it all together.

Throw in the coleslaw mix(es) and add the next 6 ingredients. It only takes a few more minutes for this all to wilt. 

Toss it on a plate, add garnishes as suits you, and a little more sesame oil and/or sriracha, if you prefer.

Cheeseburger Chili Mac and Cheese

This is a keeper by Rachael Ray, as recommended by my sister. It's like Hamburger Helper, except with real ingredients! I'll add my own recipe alterations at the end.

2 tablespoons EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 to 2 cups beef stock (depending on how liquid-y you want it)
1 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar (the sharper the better!)

Preheat broiler. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.

Place a medium pot over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the meat to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes.

Add the onion and chili powder to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the ketchup, mustard and beef stock to the pot, bring up to a bubble and simmer until slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.

While the chili is working, salt the boiling water and drop the pasta in. Cook to al dente according to package directions then drain thoroughly and return it to the pot.

Add the chili to the pot with the pasta and give everything a good toss. Transfer to a casserole dish and top with the shredded cheese. Place the casserole under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese. Serve with a simple salad alongside.

Notes:
I reduced:
- chili powder to 1 Tbsp
- mustard to 1/8 cup

I increased:
- beef stock to four cups plus one cup water
- macaroni to 2 full cups

7 Layer Salad

And, once again, here's another favourite from the white recipe book. Looks like I was the contributor of this recipe originally but I have no idea where I got it from! What I do know, Auntie Alvina used to bring this salad to gatherings and I have always loved it! 

12 slices bacon, fried and drained

1 large head of crisp lettuce, cleaned and torn* to small pieces

1 x 10 oz package of frozen peas

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups small cauliflower florets

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup Ranch dressing

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp dried dill

3 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

in a 9 x 13 pan, layer the lettuce followed by the peas, green pepper, bacon, cauliflower, and celery.

In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Spread mixture over salad.

Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and chill at least 8 to 12 hours before serving.

Notes:

Start with these two tasks:

1) Rinse lettuce and put into Tupperware bowl for several hours to allow it to get cold and crispy.

2) Fry the bacon (cut it up with kitchen scissors when putting it into the pan), drain, and cool.

* I cut the lettuce with a sharp knife. It turned out fine.

Add or swap toppings! Hard boiled eggs are delicious in this salad. Try adding red peppers, broccoli, or shredded carrots.

Mango Kombucha

My sister has been making fermented foods in the last couple of years so I thought I'd give it a try as well. Please note that you do not use metal at any step in the process. Here's my first attempt:

1 cup sugar

4 Tbsp loose tea (in tea bag)

1 quart boiled, distilled water (not tap water)

Combine the first three ingredients in a glass jar and allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove tea bag(s).

Once cooled, add:

1 cup mango kombucha (store-bought or saved from previous batch)

SCOBY (see notes)

Cover jar with coffee filter. Let sit for 7 days in a warm spot. (On the counter or on top of the fridge.) It does not need to be stirred during that week.

After the fermentation period is over, remove the scoby with plastic (not metal) utensils. Basic kombucha is ready to drink at this point.

If planning for a second ferment, add chopped fruit of choice, seal in glass containers and allow to sit for 7 more days.

Notes:
I found I had to vent the jars for the second ferment every day or two. The fermentation builds up carbonation and creates pressure. If you don't vent it, you might have an exploding jar!

SCOBY: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It's like a mushroom. You can order them online, possibly purchase them in a health food store, make your own, or get one from a kombucha-making friend. I'll let you research each of those options.

Pete's Recado Chicken

My brother-in-law Pete loves to cook and he's very skilled at it! His Mom, my mother-in-law, recently brought recado home after a trip to Belize. If you're not familiar with this ingredient, I am going to borrow heavily from Wikipedia. And by "borrow" I mean copy and paste:

Recado rojo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Recado rojo (achiote paste) ingredients

Recado rojo or achiote paste is a popular blend of spices. It is now strongly associated with the Mexican and Belizean cuisines, especially of Yucatán and Oaxaca. The spice mixture usually includes annatto, oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, garlic, and salt.^[1][2] The annatto seeds dye the mixture red, and impart a distinctive red-orange color to the food.

The paste is dissolved in either lemon juice, water, oil, or vinegar, used as a marinade for meat, or rubbed directly upon it. The meat is then grilled, baked, barbecued, or broiled. Sometimes, it is added to corn dough to create a zesty flavor and color in empanadas and red tamales.

So, that's what it is. That's what it looks like. Pete is great at experimental cooking, we both had recado to play with, here's what he came up with, and what I made for supper tonight:

2 Tbsp recado rojo

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

1 tsp cumin*

10 chicken thighs with drumsticks attached

I combined the first four ingredients in a large Corning Ware dish, mashing the recado with a fork until it dissolved in the liquids. I added the chicken into the marinade. It probably would have been a better idea to mix it all in a bowl and pour it over the meat.

I covered the dish with foil, popped it into the oven for over an hour. The meat was very flavourful and tender! 

Notes:

Pete says he likes a bold hit of cumin, so he would have used 2 tsp for this recipe. We prefer it as a milder flavour, and I only used 1 tsp.