Month: January 2025

Oxtail Soup with Vegetables
This oxtail soup simmers for a long time to produce tender meat, okra, corn, and roasted garlic in a hearty broth. It is rich and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Place oxtails and garlic cloves in a large roasting pan.

Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Transfer oxtails to a large soup pot.

Peel the roasted garlic and place in a food processor with celery carrots and onion.

Process until finely chopped; transfer to the soup pot with the oxtails.

Add water to cover the bones.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer on low for 2 hours.

Remove oxtails and set aside to cool.

Add broth to the soup pot.

Add turnips.

Simmer until just barely tender about 10 minutes.

Add okra and corn.

Simmer until cooked about 10 minutes more.

Extreme Banana Nut Bread ‘EBNB’
This banana nut bread is extra moist, dense, and delicious. The recipe makes generous loaves packed with banana flavor and studded with walnuts.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease and flour two 9×5-inch loaf pans.

Sift flour baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Cream sugar and butter together in a separate bowl.

Stir in bananas eggs and walnuts until well blended.

Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.

Bake in the preheated oven until a paring knife inserted into the crown of each loaf comes out clean 60 to 70 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let loaves cool in the pans for at least 5 minutes.

Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely about 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Spelt Muffins
These pumpkin muffins have a maple syrup-sweetened maple flour base that gives them a very light texture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line cups with paper liners.

Combine flour pumpkin pie spice baking soda salt and baking powder in a bowl; mix well.

Add maple syrup melted butter and eggs; mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Add pumpkin puree and stir briefly; do not overmix.

Fold in raisins.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Churros II
These fried crullers are rolled in cinnamon sugar while still hot. A wonderful treat!

Heat the oil to 360 degrees F in a large, deep skillet or deep fryer (180 degrees C).

Ideally, the oil will be 1 1/2 inches deep.

Bring water and margarine to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan.

Salt and flour should be combined, then added to the boiling mixture.

Stir constantly until the mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute, on low heat.

After taking it off the heat, beat in each egg one at a time.

Fill a pastry bag with the mixture and a large star tip.

Instant Pot Cheesecake
So you bought an Instant Pot and you love cheesecake? This recipe creates a no-fuss, decadently delicious, perfectly steamed 6-inch cake.

In a food processor, blend graham crackers with two teaspoons of white sugar and cinnamon.

Melted butter is added; pulse just until crumbly fine.

A 6-inch springform pan should have the crust pressed into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides.

The pan should be frozen for 20 minutes.

For about 4 minutes, on medium-low speed, whip cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until whipped and creamy.

Salt and 2/3 cup sugar should be added, and mixing should continue for 4 more minutes.

Add lemon zest and vanilla extract; continue mixing the batter for one minute.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
A fancy sandwich for a quick lunch. Cream cheese is blended with mayonnaise and shredded cheese, then grilled between slices of French bread.

In a medium bowl combine cream cheese mayonnaise shredded cheese and garlic salt.

Beat until smooth.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.

Spread cheese mixture on 4 slices of bread then top with the other 4 bread slices.

Lightly butter both sides of each sandwich.

Place sandwiches in skillet and grill until golden brown on both sides about 4 minutes per side.

Mississippi Slugburger
Fresh bread crumbs, straightforward seasonings, and the traditional mustard and pickle garnish are all components of Chef John’s pan-fried Mississippi Slugburger.

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the crusts off the bread slices.

Place slices on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven until dry and toasted about 45 minutes.

Transfer toasted bread to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you reach coarse crumbs.

Place ground chuck salt pepper garlic powder and onion powder into a bowl.

Add bread crumbs.

Combine with your fingers breaking apart the meat.

Dampen your fingers with water and form mixture into hamburger patties.

Healthier Oatmeal Cookies
This healthy spin on oatmeal cookies uses whole wheat flour in place of white flour and coconut oil instead of butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Sift whole wheat flour baking soda baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Set aside.

Combine coconut oil sugars and molasses in a medium bowl.

Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

Beat in eggs one at a time.

Gradually stir in the sifted flour mixture until well blended.

Mix in oats chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden 8 to 9 minutes.

Let stand on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Portokalopita (Greek Orange Phyllo Cake)
Portokalopita is a moist, delicious Greek cake made with shredded phyllo dough, oranges, and Greek yogurt that is soaked with a homemade orange syrup after baking.

Combine 2 cups sugar water and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Squeeze in orange juice and add juiced halves.

Bring to a boil and boil vigorously for 8 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool while you prepare the cake.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with some olive oil.

Remove phyllo sheets from the package.

Tear each sheet roughly into shreds and pile up in the baking pan.

Let shredded phyllo dry out a little while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Cut 1 orange in half and slice 1 half into very thin half-moons to garnish the cake.

Zest and juice the remaining 2 1/2 oranges.

Watermelon Fish Snack for Kids
This is an adorable and fun snack that your kids will love. It takes only a few minutes to make and your kids will gobble up their little fish in no time.

The pointed side of the watermelon triangle should be facing left as it is placed on the plate.

Put one blueberry in the triangle that will serve as the fish eye.

Place the remaining 4 blueberries so that they appear to be bubbles rising from the fish’s mouth.

For the mouth, slice a tiny, curved piece of papaya.

Place the papaya triangle upside-down as the fish’s tail fin at the end of the animal.