Spicy Pepperoni...you really can make it at home!

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:(This is for a whole 2 pound batch.  I made a half)
2Lbs 85% or leaner Ground Beef
2t Liquid Smoke
2t Ground Black Pepper
2t Mustard Seed
1 1/2t Crushed Fennel Seed
1-2t Crushed Red Pepper
1/2t Garlic Powder
1t Paprika
1/2t Sugar
2t (heaping) Tender Quick Curing Salt

Dump your meat in a bowl and throw spices on top.*

See the spice mix at 11 o' clock? That's my fennel and

red pepper.  I put it in my coffee grinder because I found

it really hard to crush.  I sold my mortar and pestle at a garage 

sale a few years ago.  Who knew it'd finally come in handy!?

With very clean hands (and NO rings on**), mix the meat and 

spices very well, kinda like making meat loaf.

Slap a lid on and put it in the fridge for 48 to 72 hours, remixing once per day..  

I'm assuming this allows the flavors to meld and the curing salt to do its magic.

On the day you will be cooking them (start early...it takes 8 hours!),

wrap a small pan with foil and use a rack to cover it.  I originally used

the contraption below, then figured out...duh!  I can use the pan and rack

in my trusty little toaster oven!  That way, my big oven is free for dinner!

After 48 hours (I cheated and it was only about 36 hours), I took out my

pepperoni mix and shaped it into really gross turd looking things, uh logs.

Pop in the (toaster) oven at 200 degrees and bake for 8 hours.

You need to take them out every two hours and turn them a 1/4 turn.

After 8 hours, remove from oven and you have two little pepperonis!

They don't so much as cook down as they seem to be dessicated.

I wrapped one up in foil to throw in the freezer right away.  The other,

I cut open the end to see if it looked red like pepperoni does.  It does!

I decided to pop this one in the fridge for a bit, 

then slice it up and freeze it! Sorry for the bad pix.

Notes:

*You will note that the Tender Quick is not in this picture.  When I first mixed it, I did not have any as of yet.  Earlier in the day, I had gone to the store and looked at the ingredients on the package...salt, sugar, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. All for about $4.00 yikes!  I then thought....mehhhh, I can make that!  Yeahhhh, righhhhtttt!  Read on.  You see, I (stupidly) thought I could just use some sea salt, some sugar and some msg or meat tenderizer, LOL! (There may be a fine line between arrogance and frugality, lol!)  JUST AS I was going to plop these on top of the meat, a moment of rationality hit me...hmmmmm, what if this was dangerous somehow?  I stopped what I was doing and headed to the trusty internet.  I figure it's always good to trust your gut...never steered me wrong yet!  

Well, my oh my, did I find some stuff!  You cannot, I repeat CANNOT make your own salt cure safely.  Key word here, people like me who think they can do it all themselves, SAFELY!  Turns out the average home cook/non-scientist type person cannot possibly measure out the miniscule amounts of the nitrate/nitrite mixture.  And even if you could, you couldn't get it to mix properly where the ratios would stay suspended properly in the mixture.  

It also turns out that the nitrates form some kind of gas (Nitris oxide?  Maybe I should have sniffed my meat mixture for a good night's sleep, ha ha ha...just kidding...really.) and that gas turns into nitrites or some silly thing like that, making the meat appear nice and pink like we're used to in cured meats.  There's your fancy, most likely incorrect science lesson, because I'm going off of memory from 2 days ago's internet search.  Turns out, if you don't do things correctly, and I'm assuming this means for people who are doing a dry cure over weeks/months, not the cooked kind like we're doing, you can actually get botulism!  I wasn't taking any chances, even if I was cooking the darn thing!  I ran right to the store and happily paid $3.98 for a bag of Tender Quick.  I did find some people online talking about how they just use their own mix of stuff, but invariably they were barraged with "What?! Are you crazy?  Do you  have a death wish?!" kinds of feedback.  I don't want to be one of those people...or a dead one.  Moving on...

**Okay, I gotta say it!  Everyone who knows me knows I'm a major germaphobe!  No, not the kind who washes their hands 837 times a day....just particular in some ways.  For example, I'll eat something I've dropped on my (usually clean) floor, depending on what it is, but I WILL NOT touch a bathroom door handle with my bare hands to if my life depended on it!  Speaking of creepy things...people with rings on, plunging their germ-infested jewelry into food products.  Not to mention, say the person makes this (pepperoni) product...gets meat lodged in their rings in tiny places you cannot see, it sours, goes rancid, produces toxic little germy things.  Then the person makes something else they plunge their hands into, essentially contaminating the next thing they're making!  Ughhhhh!  {{{Shivers}}} It's just gross.  People, I promise you, if you knew what kinda crud is trapped in your jewelry, you really wouldn't do this.  (Unless you have your rings professionally cleaned each time you make a meal, then forgive my rant.  You're rich, smart and very attractive!)  Save yourself and your family from getting sick.  Take your lovely jewelry off and set it aside (somewhere far away from the sink, lol!)  Your food will be relatively contaminant-free and your family will be alive.  It really is a win-win situation.  Thank you.  I'm done now.

Back to the pepperoni...while the texture was a little drier than I am used to, this is really pretty good.  The pepperoni from the store is just slick with fat.  Mine is not.  I kinda like that slick fat.  It's funny.  When it was in the bowl raw, I thought it smelled just like pepperoni.  After I tasted the cooked product, it was just a little different than I imagined.  Still quite good, still pepperoni-like, but just different. I used a little more red pepper than I probably should have.  It is pretty spicy...hence the name...spicy pepperoni.  If you are not a fan of spice, add just a little, or omit altogether.  I haven't tried it on pizza yet, but I'll let you know what we think of it.

The good news about this is that I made one pound of pepperoni for about $2.50 (15.6 cents per ounce)!  (Had I used the beef I just got at Aldi for $1.39/Lb, it would have come in at about $1.50!!!  But I had to use up some old stuff first.)  I looked online at 5 different places for Hormel (7oz) Pepperoni to compare prices.  The average comes to $3.29 for 7oz (47 cents per ounce...yikes!).  I made over twice that for less money!  I'd say that's a pretty good savings, 66%!

This really was simple to make, so don't let the several day recipe fool you.  Just do it on a day when you'll be home all day and be sure to set your timer for every two hours to turn it.  That's it!  Easy peasy!  If you give it a try, let me know what you think!  Recipe courtesy of Tammy's Recipes.

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Mmmmmm, Pot Roast!

I bought this big package of Arm Roast because it was almost as cheap as hamburger.  That's been my goal lately, to have all meat purchased cost about what hamburger does (or less).  Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
{Part One}
2t Dried Thyme
2t Salt
1t Pepper
1t Garlic Powder
1t Onion Powder
Olive Oil
Roast (Mine is just under 4 Lbs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{Part Two}
2C Beef Broth
15oz Can Diced Tomatoes (or 2 fresh)
One Onion, roughly chopped
10 Mushrooms, diced (I didn't have any)
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
1 Bay Leaf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{Part Three}
Carrots
Potatoes

Okay, this recipe kinda goes in three stages.

We'll start with part one, naturally.

Mix thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder and

onion powder together in a small bowl.

Sprinkle over your roast on all sides.  I do this in the sink to save cleanup.

Then I give it a good rub-in.  See my nails?  I had to cut them all

off.  They do this.  They get nice and long and finally look pretty,

then they crack and peel and I have to cut them, boo hoo.  Like

you really care about my nails.  We're talking pot roast here...

Drizzle some oil in a large pan.  Or in my case, glug, glug some oil

while you're trying to take a picture, then end up having to pour some out.

When oil is hot, slap your roast in the pan to sear it.

You may have to add a little more oil when you turn it over 

as the spices give it a tendency to stick a bit.  I make sure to 

sear the sides a bit, too.

Look at those babies sizzle!  Yummo!

When done searing, transfer them to a roasting pan. 

Okay, on to part two.

If you didn't chop your veggies while your roast was searing, 

do that now.  I didn't want to walk away and end up with burned roast!

Chop your onion into large chunks.

Mince your garlic cloves finely.  Not finally, finely.  Har de har.

If you have a can of tomatoes, pour that over the roast.  If not,

you can cut up and de-seed two tomatoes like I did.  No, I

do not normally put my hand on the blade of the knife, but I 

didn't have my little helper today, so I had to hold the knife

in order to take a picture.  The selfless things I do for you readers!

(All three of you)

Before I chop my celery, I like to take a knife and peel back some

of the stringy outer portion.  I don't like string.  Buh-bye!

Chop into larger-than-you'd-normally-like chunks.

Make sure they're very uneven like mine.

Gordon Ramsey would be calling me a stupid cow right now, lol.

 Throw it all in a bowl and give it a stir.  Or maybe you were smart

and just poured all the stuff in the roaster as you were cutting them.

Before you forget, take your waste parts of your veggies

and throw into your freezer bag for future stock-making.

Add your beef broth.  To your veggies, not the stock bag.

Dump it all in the roasting pan, then push it off the meat into

the little crevices.  If it stays on top of the meat, the covered

portion will not brown well.  It's true.  I've tried that.

Then tuck your bay leaf in there.  Or in my case,  10-year-old

crumpled partial parts of leaves that I'm wondering if I'll be

able to find to fish out later.  Don't worry, someone will find it.

Pop the lid on and throw in a preheated 275 oven for 5 or 6 hours.

1 Hour before you plan on eating, cut your potatoes in half and

peel/trim your carrots.  I'm using baby carrots, so I skipped that part.

I like to do like my grandpa did and put some salt on the bottom,

but then it occurred to me that that isn't a dry pan with just a bunch

of fat in the bottom to caramelize them, so this was stupid.  Ignore that.

Add your potatoes to the pan.  I usually put them all around the beef,

tucking them in little crevices. Not today, people.  NOT today!  

Read on as to why, then wonder 

why you ever came here in the first place.

Okay, brace yourself because the next part is really weird because,

well, I'm weird I suppose.  I have always hated carrots cooked in

with my roast.  I usually prepare them separately because everything
ends up tasting like carrots to me.  Because this

recipe said to put them in one hour before the roast was done, I 

thought maybe I'd have a chance at a NON carrot-infused roast.

I built a dam with my potatoes, then added my carrots, hoping

it will keep them far enough away to not contaminate  flavor

my roast with their carroty grossness  goodness.
Get out while you can, people.  Do not look back!

After an hour, I took out the meat and veggies and put them on a platter.

I then took my roaster pan and put it on a burner on the stove.
I turned it to medium high and brought the veggies/drippings to a boil.

I then mixed 2 heaping tablespoons of starch and
about 1/2C cold water together.

Dumped it in...

I was mixing it together and found my bay leaf.  Throw that out.

Bring back up to a boil and voila!  You have gravy, people!!

Slather that on top of a big hunk 'o roast and you have yourself
what we like to call supper in these parts!

 The next day, you can have this for lunch!  A roast beef gravy burger!

Notes:

This was so yummy!  I really like the sauce it made, even though I was a little trepidatious about adding

tomatoes.  I was picturing something like the gross canned vegetable stock taste.  Not at all!  It was rich and not overly salty at all, with a really good flavor.  I am definitely making this again!  My husband ate so much that we only have enough left for a couple days' lunches max!!  

I know some of you may be saying....but it's summer...why heat up the house?  Wellllll, it was only at 275F and I didn't notice any difference in the house, but I have a confession while we're talking brass tacks.  I really do not like a lot of crock pot food.  There, I said it, she said, cringing.  I sometimes feel that it all turns to one big mushy mess.  Don't get me wrong.  I do occasionally use my crockpot and have had some wonderful meals out of it.  But roast is not my fave in there.  I really like a nice, brown crusty texture that you just can't get with a crock.  Please don't send me hate mail.  I really like you.  Going to stick my head in the toilet now....

Hey!  Guess what?!  The carrots did not cross their potato border, invading the precious land of roast beef!  Hallelujah!  I eat the roasted carrots, I do.  I just don't want my roast tasting like them.  'Nuff said.  Moving on...

Maybe you'll try this yourself and let me know what you think.  I love to hear your comments.  Unless they're nasty.  Then, go away.  (juusssst kiddding!)

Because I would need to add 4 more potatoes and 1/2 bag of carrots to make this into 8 servings, that would bring the grand total up to $14.40 for this whole huge meal, which is 1.80 per healthy HUGE plate full!
And here's what you get for that ONE serving...Each person gets almost a HALF POUND of meat (precooked weight), one potato, 12 baby carrots, and a boatload of gravy all for $1.80 a serving! (I mean, really!  That's more like two servings!) That is insanely cheap.  Unless you're my husband who ate three servings worth, then it came to $5.40 for him.  But even so, that's a heckuva lot cheaper than you can get dining out!  And he had a LOT more than they'd serve.  I'm wondering if he'll be alive in the morning.  Going to see if his health insurance policy is up to date...

Recipe courtesy of For the Love of Cooking

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My favorite food of all time....Tacos!

I LOVE tacos.  They're the food of the gods as far as I'm concerned.  So, when I stumbled upon this recipe for tacos on The Secret Life of a Baseball Players Wife  ,  I thought...darn, those sound good!  So I made them for dinner last night.  Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
1 Lb Ground Beef
16 Corn Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese (or American...it was actually really good!)
1/4C Cooking Oil
El Pato Salsa (found mine at a Mexican Grocery store...Jacobo's)
Black Pepper
Lawrys (just a preference of mine)
Garlic Powder

First, cut your beef into 16 equal pieces.  Season the top with

 pepper, Lawrys and garlic powder.  May as well get it outta the way.

Put about 3T cooking oil in your pan.  Put heat on med low.

I originally added a 1/4C, but it was a little too much.  My pan is kinda small.

Take a portion of the beef and smash it onto one side of the tortilla

with a fork.  Stay about 1/2 - 3/4" away from the rounded edge.  

Found that out the hard way.

Because my tortillas came from the Mexican grocery store, they 

were super fresh.  (Still warm!)  I was able to fold the tortillas

over without them cracking.  See notes below if yours aren't as fresh.
Press down to make them nice and flat.

Place them in the oil a couple at a time.  I later did four and they were fine.

Flip over and do the other side.  I didn't really time them.  I

just watched to see if each side was golden and crispy.  Because

you have such a minimal amount of beef in there, it cooks quickly.

Remove from oil.  I highly suggest draining like this first to get out

any oil that is trapped inside the taco.

Then lay them down to drain on a paper towel. Flip over to get

the other side, or blot with more paper towels.  This is a messy affair.

Give them a minute to cool and you can put your cheese in.
Looks kinda like half a McDonalds hamburger patty in there!

And then douse it in El Pato.  I LOVE this sauce!  I don't know 

how I ever lived without it.  My life had no meaning...

Of course, I figured Tommy would like his better with
American Cheese, which made me cringe...

Until I tried it.  It was really good!  I was shocked because I don't

care for American cheese on much of anything.  It reminded me of 

the tacos at Jack In The Box.  And that's a compliment, really.

I LOVE Jack In The Box tacos!  I would have added shredded

lettuce, but I was too lazy to cut it up and clean it while doing all of this.

Now, here's what NOT to do.  I learned the hard way. You don't have to.

Do NOT put too much beef on your taco. 

I originally started with 1/8 of a pound.  Too much beef.  I had no

clue.  I thought it would shrink up and everything would be fine. 

Mistake number two was pushing the beef all the way to the

edge of the tortilla where it stuck out.  Big mistake!  That beef

has moisture in it.  Oil does not like moisture!

Here's what they looked like when they hit the hot oil.  I thought they

looked a little over-active!  I'm surprised I could get a picture in because
my hands and arms kept getting spit at!  Singey, singey!  Ouch!

And here's what happened when the oil realized there was some

nice, moist beef to interact with.  That baby started popping 

everywhere!  I had to throw a lid on it before it attacked me!

See those angry beef splatters of death!?!

And lastly, I learned that you shouldn't make too many up ahead

of time because the beef tends to bleed into the tortilla, turning it

red and soggy and split at the bottom.  Not very visually appealing. It also starts to curl
your tortilla at the edges.  They still cooked up okay though. You've
got plenty of time to assemble more as the ones in the pan are cooking.

Notes:

These tacos were really good!  My son ate FOUR of them!  I (shamefully) at FIVE!  Yes, I know I'm fat.  This could be why.  Now, to clarify, these are really small, flat tacos.  It takes two of these to make one (Americanized) regular taco.  Four of them only gives you 1/4 pound of meat (prior to cooking).  Gosh that sounds horrible now that I've typed it, LOL!  I never said it was a calorie friendly meal!

If your tortillas aren't fresh from the press like mine were, you'll need to place the taco, open faced in the oil.  Let the tortilla soften a bit and get pliable, then fold over.

What I loved the best was the El Pato sauce.  That sauce has forever changed my life.  It reminds me of the salsa they put on the table at Maria's Mexican Restaurant.  I just LOVE that salsa and have always wondered what was in it.  Now, I'm wondering if it's El Pato!  It's a little bitey, but not too terribly hot.  Note:  I love hot things, so if you're squeamish, just start with a teaspoon.  I'll continue to douse the whole taco, then dip it in the sauce that drips out, then lick the plate, thank you.

These were very easy to make, but horribly messy as far as grease goes.  That could be because of my mishap of putting too much beef in.  Next time, I'll try to have my lettuce done ahead of time so maybe I won't eat so many.  My son took one to lunch the next day and  I had another one that night, and three the next day for lunch.  I'm so ashamed.  I couldn't stop myself.  They're so good!  Here's what 3 of them look like on a small salad plate.  Does that redeem me?

I took the rest and put them in the freezer in a baggie.  When I went to make some for lunch today, I just put them frozen, in a clean (non stick) pan, cheese side down.  I had this moment of logical thinking that led me to believe it would be best if I did that because that side would get crunchy, I'd flip it over to the beef side down, then the melted cheese wouldn't go all over.  It didn't.  Worked great, didn't need any oil (because they're so fatty) and they actually got crispy!  Tasted just like fresh!

If I was to say anything was lacking from this, I'd say that I wished I had seasoned the beef a little more liberally, or perhaps even added some chili powder or a pinch of cumin.  Man, it was so good the way it was though!  

One pound of beef will make 16 tacos.  Who knows.  Maybe you could put more beef in, but just keep it away from the edge???  One small can of El Pato will give you about 1T to put on each taco.

These came in fairly cheap at 25 cents apiece, including the oil it was fried in.  That's 4 bucks for a family of four!  Since I'm the only one who eats the salsa, I did not add that in to the price.  Add 5c per T if you're doing the salsa, too.

Ahhhh, I'm still dreaming of them....
(Insert Homer Simpson voice) Mmmmmmm, taaaaaaaaaaaacccccccooooss!

Update:  We made these again tonight and this time, I bought the BIG can of El Pato.  Not really much cheaper ounce for ounce, but now I can have more on hand!

Because I didn't want it to go bad, I decided I'd freeze it

in (14) one quarter cup portions.  Now I can have it whenever I want!
Ha ha ha ha!

 

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