12.03.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:57 pm by Administrator
First of all, I’m not quite ‘back’, this is just a single post for now. However, things are starting to settle down and get sorted out. I actually put an offer on a house yesterday so everybody keep your fingers crossed for me! Anyway, I hope to be back to making more regular posts soon. But for now, this single post!
So, when I was living in Charleston and still able to occasionally eat cheese without almost dying, I completely fell in love with T-Bonz’s Tommy’s Texas Cheese Fries. Completely delicious! And completely NOT milk free! Well, it occurred to me the other day that I have a fabulous recipe for ranch dressing and I also finally have a really good cheese substitute so I decided to make my own!
I did search online and find a couple of recipes but to be perfectly honest I didn’t end up really using them at all. It is, after all, relatively simple. But I’ll try to let you know the approximate quantities I used.
First: Cut up your potatoes into chunks. I used russet potatoes but that wasn’t quite right. I think it should probably be yellow or yukon gold. I’m definitely making this recipe again but I will be trying a different type of potato. 
You could peel them if you wanted but you definitely don’t have to. Pot them into a pot on the stove and boil for approximately 10 minutes once they get boiling. I used 4 russet potatoes – but they were small ones (for russets ).
While those are boiling, start cooking the bacon. You’ll want to cut it into small pieces before cooking – it’s much easier than trying to crumble it after its cooked.
While those are both cooking – start making your ranch dressing if you don’t already have some made up – you’ll approximately 3/4 of a cup to a cup of dressing, depending on how many potatoes you make etc.
Once the potatoes are cooked – drain them well. You could also brown them slightly at this point. Which I did think about doing. But – I got home late and it was getting late and I was really hungry so I decided to skip that step. And honestly, it worked just fine without browning them. But if you really want the slightly crispy potatoes go for it! I’m sure they’d be wonderful browned as well.
Grease a baking pan and put the potatoes in (I think a single layer is probably best).
Add your cooked bacon – spread out as evenly as possible.
Add the ranch dressing – try to spread it approximately evenly. I used about 3/4 of a cup.
Sprinkle some cheddar ‘cheese’ (or real cheese if you prefer ) on the top. Here’s the cheese substitute that I love – it’s tapioca based, believe it or not. But it’s great! They’re 8 ounce packages (for reference when I say how much I used ).
I used about 3/4 of the package of cheddar.
Sprinkle on a little mozzarella as well. I had a package open and partly used already so I’m not completely sure how much I used – probably about a 1/4 of a package.
Pop in the oven at 450 degrees (F) for about 10 minutes.
Caveat for this cheese substitute – it does melt some but not quite as much as ‘real’ cheese as you can see here. But it sure does a lot better than anything else I’ve found. And since it also actually tastes really good I’m happy with how much it melts. So – cooked.
Serve up and enjoy!!
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02.26.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:31 am by Administrator
Hi everyone,
I’ve gotten a few inquiries about the lack of new recipes this month. I’ve been dealing with some personal issues (actually I’m going through a divorce and getting ready to move) and have just been so busy I’ve barely been cooking much less have I been taking the time to experiment with new recipes.
I promise – once I get settled in my new location I’ll start posting recipes again!
-Cara
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01.23.11
Posted in Desserts, Salad Dressing, Seasoning Mixtures, Snacks at 7:26 pm by Administrator
It’s been years since I’ve had actual ranch salad dressing. Truly years. I’ll be honest with you – one of the top 2 hardest things for me in having to completely give up all milk products has been the lack of salad dressing. There are very few salad dressings that are milk-free and the few that are fairly easy to find milk-free in the store are kinds that I just don’t like very much (like French). My two favorites were always Ranch and Caesar – both of which are definitely not milk-free.
I actually did find a recipe a few years ago for milk-free Caesar dressing but I’ve never gotten around to making it because it’s really time-consuming. In contrast – this Ranch recipe couldn’t be easier!
Let me just say – this is so so good. It doesn’t taste like Hidden Valley (or at least what I remember Hidden Valley tasting like 
). Think more like – you’ve gone out to eat at a restaurant that makes their own Ranch – that’s what you’ll be getting with this recipe. But it’s REALLY good! Especially for someone who hasn’t had Ranch in years and really likes it!
What You’ll Need:
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice +
Enough Soy Milk to equal 1/4 cup
1 cup mayo
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Making the Dressing:
Pour the lemon juice into a measuring cup.
Add enough soy milk (I actually used rice milk because it’s what I had on hand – I’m sure almond milk would work also. Or if you want to make your own Ranch but don’t care about having it milk-free I bet regular milk works like a charm as well.) to equal 1/4 cup.
Let sit 10 minutes.
While it was sitting I prepared my spices. Mix them all together and then – I thought the chives and parsley were a little large in comparison to the other spices (yes, I’m obsessive ) so I spent a few minutes mashing them all up together in the small bowl.
The recipe I found said “In a large bowl” but I thought that was a bit excessive for the amount of ingredients so used my large measuring cup . Anyway – combine the mayo, the milk and lemon mixture, and the spices.
Whisk until well-combined.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serve.
And can I just repeat – awesome! I get to have ranch dressing again – YAY!! And seriously – could it be any easier?
Also – a random product recommendation. No, I don’t get paid for this or anything.
I found these today at Wal-Mart of all places and they’re pretty tasty! I’m always on the lookout for something chocolately that resembles a cookie or granola bar and is milk-free. These are kindof the best of both worlds – and totally milk free! Back to Nature Dark Chocolate and Oats Granola Cookies. See if you can find them in your Wal-Mart and try them.
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01.04.11
Posted in Duck at 7:31 pm by Administrator
Welcome to 2011 everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year. Hopefully now that the craziness of the holiday time has passed I’ll be back to posting more frequently. I’ve decided to go with twice a month (with an occasional extra post ) for new posts and that way hopefully I won’t miss any!
I’m going to start the year off with a ‘big’ recipe. I don’t know how everyone else feels about it but I’ve always thought of duck as something really hard to cook, therefore something best ordered in a restaurant. However, if I may indulge in a moment of bragging – over the holiday’s “I cooked a duck and it turned out great”!!! 
I was actually quite proud of myself. What you need to know though is that – it was really easy and you can do it too!!
What You’ll Need:
1 5.5 – 6 pound duck
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 pint pineapple orange juice
15 whole black peppercorns
1 bunch fresh thyme (or some dried if you don’t have fresh)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1large bag to brine the duck in
1 large pot
1 steamer basket
1 (or 2) frying pans that are oven safe to 500 degrees F
a good pair of kitchen shears
The Adventure of Cooking the Duck:
First, make sure the duck is unthawed. Remove the pop-up thermometer (if it has one) and take out the liver, gizzards, and heart. (If I may say – I hate this step. )
Cut off the wings.
Locate the spine at the base of the neck. Cut up the spine on both sides and remove the spine. (This is where you need your good kitchen shears. It’s pretty easy up the ribs but the hip joint will be kindof hard to get through.)
Turn the duck over and cut straight down the middle of the breast bone, leaving 2 equal duck halves.
Flip the halves back over so the flesh side is facing up. Using a knife, make a crescent shape cut between the leg and breast. Separate the sections so you are left with 4 duck pieces – 2 legs and 2 breasts.
Lay your knife flat against the skin and make some criss-cross marks – making an x on the skins. Be sure you’re only cutting through the skin – not the meat!! (Remember – duck skin/fat is pretty thick and you want to try to get all the way through the skin/fat if possible but do be careful not to cut into the meat.)
Place the meat in a bag and mix up the brine (all the rest of the ingredients – be sure you mix it up in a bowl or something so that the salt gets dissolved before you pour it over the meat) and pour over the meat.
Seal the bag – getting as much air out as possible and place in the refrigerator for 2 – 2.5 hours. (I did about 2 because I was running late. The legs were really good but the breasts could have brined for a bit longer so I’d suggest doing the full 2.5 if you can.)
Put 1.5 -2 inches of water in a large pot and the colander/steamer in the pot. I put enough water to come just up to the steamer.
Bring the water to a boil. (I did this before adding the duck – the directions were a little unclear but it seemed like a good idea at the time… I took the duck out of the fridge but left it in the brine to let it warm up towards room temperature just a little bit before I started the water boiling.) Add the duck quarters – skin side down.
Cover and turn the hear to medium low. Steam the duck for 45 minutes. You can discard the remainder of the marinade.
If you know how long your oven pre-heats that’ll be handy. Place your frying pan(s) in the oven and start it preheating to 475 degrees F. If you can time this so that it will be finished preheating at the end of the 45 minute steaming period that’s ideal.
When the oven is heated and the steaming time is done, turn off the burner and remove the cover from your steaming pot.
Place the duck legs (skin side down) into the hot skillet. (No – you do not need any oil, butter, non-stick spray etc. It’s a duck, he’s still full of duck fat even after the 45 minute steam – he’ll be just fine. I promise.) Cook 7 minutes. Add the breasts (skin side down) and cook all four pieces for 10 minutes. (The original ‘recipe’ said cook the legs first for 10 and add the breasts and do 7 more. Which is what I did – however, the legs were perfect but I thought the breasts could have handled a bit more crunchiness so I’m recommending switching them. ) The duck will take on a deep mahogany color and the skin will get very crisp.
(As you can see I used separate pans for the legs and breasts – mostly to avoid crowding them and giving them plenty of space for the skin to have contact with the pan – to get as crispy as possible. If you have 2 oven-safe pans that works very nicely.)
Remove duck from skillet and rest under a piece of foil (just loosely placed over the top of the plate). Serve!
It was so easy and really really tasty. I couldn’t believe how easy it was – and everyone (well, all 4 of us ) was impressed. Go ahead – give it a try! I promise it’s so much easier than you think!
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