Import 2

International Can-It-Forward Day!

You can watch the live webcast here: (assuming I did that right!) The schedule of events is here! And congrats to commenter #6, Leah of So How's It Taste for winning the Ball prize pack! Leah, just shoot me your address and I'll get your info sent over. Enjoy the day, y'all!

Strawberry vinaigrette, and Ball giveaway

It is no secret to any of you that I adore kitchen classics; cast iron pans and Mason jars are at the top of the list. When Ball contacted me to see if I wanted to do a giveaway with them for the inaugural International Can-It-Forward Day I was ALL OVER THAT. This is stuff I use in my kitchen every single day, and have for years before I even started a blog. The info on Can-It-Forward day:

On Saturday August 16, Jarden Home Brands will host the first annual International Can-It-Forward Day with special guest renowned chef and Bravo’s Top Chef judge, Hugh Acheson!  A day to celebrate home canning, International Can-It-Forward Day allows food enthusiasts to connect via a variety of online and in-person activities. New and experienced canners can participate in a live webcast on www.frespreserving.com, taking place on ground in Brooklyn Borough Hall Farmers Market, filled with canning demos where viewer questions will be answered in real-time by Chef Acheson and other experts while they learn the most popular (and delicious) home canning recipes. Twenty five farmers markets across the country will also be hosting Can-It-Forward Day celebrations! In addition to the canning demos, there will also be segments on crafting, herb gardening and the brand’s new drinkware line! We will also be attempting a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Mason Jar Mosaic!

Here is the ridiculously awesome prize pack for the giveaway:

• The New Limited Edition Spring Green Heritage Collection Jars (I ADORE these)
• Fresh Herb Keeper (this thing is awesome -- no more wilted herbs!)
• Dry Herb Jars (perfect for the Yankee's favorite Miracle Blend, which we buy in bulk)
• Frozen Herb Starters (these are great for basil and the upcoming spaghetti weather!)
• 5 Blade Herb Scissors (also great for basil)
• Ball Blue Book (this is the classic; everyone should own a copy!)

You can see my documented love for Mason jars here, and here's another favorite food-in-a-jar, a recipe that's sort of an amalgam of a few recipes I found online:

Strawberry vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 10 strawberries, hulled
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Process the strawberries in a food processor until they're pureed, then add lemon juice, sugar, and salt; process again until completely blended
2. With the processor still running, add in the vinegar then oil in a steady stream until completely combined and thickened

I'm required at this point to tell you that Ball provided me with all these goodies to review at no charge, but for heaven's sake y'all already know I love the stuff. Opinions are mine, and I'm not paid to say how much I adore them. I just do. Giveaway closed! Thanks, y'all, and CONGRATS LEAH! Want some??? Let's make this easy: just leave a comment below telling me which item in the prize pack you're most excited about, and what you'd use it for (or for what you would use it, in case my Aunt Jane is reading). Want an extra entry? Pin this post and come back and leave an additional comment telling me you did. I'll use random.org to pick a winner after midnight on August 15, central time. And go!

Peanut butter muffins

Kiddo started public school in January so this year I had a whole new adventure: packing lunch. Being seven, he's terribly busy at lunch doing important things like gut laughing at fart jokes discussing global economic issues, so I need to send food that packs a nutritional punch and tastes good. I thought peanut butter muffins might be a good way to get some protein in him while being a little bit of a departure from a plain ol' peanut butter sandwich. When I went looking for a new recipe to try, I literally looked for the recipe with the most amount of peanut butter. Let's not fool around here! Kiddo and I (and Peanut, actually) LOVE peanut butter, and we want to taste it! This recipe started with "no such thing as too much peanut butter." I knew we had a winner! The original recipe was filled with mini Reese's cups and had a sweet topping. While that sounds freaking amazing, I was going for a lunch food here. :)  

Peanut butter muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (that's 169.6 grams*)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line or grease a 12-muffin pan
2. Beat butter, peanut butter, and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer until very well combined.
3. Mix in eggs, one at a time, then milk
4. Stir together dry ingredients, then mix into wet ingredients until JUST combined -- some little lumps are okay, you just don't want any dry flour
5. Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry

Notes

*measuring peanut butter is for the birds -- much easier to set the mixing bowl on a scale and scoop out what you need!

Second grade isn't far off! Would love to hear more suggestions for easy-to-pack lunches! What do y'all make?

Pineapple bacon sandwich rolls

The Yankee went through a period where he was making bacon pretty regularly, which meant I had a fantastic supply of bacon grease to use up. I thought I'd try something new with them, and these turned out great. The bacon grease makes them very hearty, with a hint of sweetness from the pineapple juice -- really great for turkey sandwiches! These are a riff on my earlier blogged yeast rolls. Please to enjoy!

Pineapple bacon sandwich rolls

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 cup lukewarm pineapple juice (heating it for a few seconds in the microwave is fine)
• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons room temperature bacon grease
• 1/4 cup dry milk powder
• 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and knead together in a stand mixer for about six or seven minutes on the second speed; the dough should clean the sides of the bowl
2. Let it rise till doubled, about an hour
3. Separate dough into 16 pieces, roll into balls and place in two greased pie or cake pans
4. Let rise again until rolls are touching and very puffy
5. Bake at 350F for about 20 or 25 minutes until golden brown; cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool

I'm thinking I need to try these for pimento cheese sandwiches, too. What else?

Baguettes

One of my favorite books is Will Clower's The Fat Fallacy. It is smart, and makes sense, and has some really incredible (and incredible easy) recipes. One of my favorites is this super simple recipe for baguettes, which I make a few times a week. Kiddo cannot get enough of them! He likes them plain in his school lunches. I like them hot out of the oven with butter. The Yankee likes them with whatever we're having for supper. Peanut likes to throw them like lawn darts. Three out of four ain't bad. One of my favorite bread tips also came from this book: if the bread is stale or not as soft as you like (Kiddo likes it SUPER soft), just run your hands under water and then over the bread, or spritz the bread with a water-filled spray bottle, then reheat in the oven or toaster oven. Magically you have soft, warm bread, even if it's days old. If it's really past it's prime? Cut into squares and bake into croûtons, or use for French toast. But really, the chances of it hanging around to get past its prime are slim. It's really, really good. I make these often enough that I bought this perforated pan but you certainly don't have to; a regular cookie sheet is fine. [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:132]

Chicken Lazone

This is one of those fabulous recipes that is so simple and easy to make, but tastes like you spent a long time on it. BONUS. It originally comes, I'm told, from Brennan's in New Orleans; I found it here on Food.com. The sauce is rich and creamy without being complicated, and because I used chicken tenders rather than chicken breasts, this cooks up really quickly -- perfect for a weeknight meal.  I used more cream than the original recipe called for because I wanted enough sauce for the pasta too; I also added some olive oil, and some cayenne pepper for a little kick.

Chicken Lazone

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 pounds chicken tenders
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Angel hair pasta

Instructions

1. Get a large pot of water boiling for the pasta
2. Combine spices and sprinkle over both sides of chicken tenders
3. Heat olive oil and 2 Tbsp. butter in heavy pan until sizzling, then cook tenders till the pink is gone, about 4 minutes a side
4. Add remaining butter and cream and simmer till sauce starts to thicken, about 5 minutes or so
5. Cook pasta while sauce thickens, then serve chicken and sauce over pasta

Now here is my question: who is good at reheating cream sauce? Know any tricks? This is amazing the right out of the pan, but I have not yet learned how to reheat cream sauces without them separating and being weird. Who can school me?

Oven roasted cheesy sausage and potatoes

When I came across this recipe from Boy Meets Bowl it seemed simple and looked delicious, and I had kielbasa and potatoes on hand already. I prepped it all and put it in the fridge to make for my friend for supper. I'll spare you the details, but then there was a potato tragedy. Fortunately, said friend had some red potatoes, and I had some bratwurst in the fridge. Supper was saved! V and I have now each made this an embarrassing number of times with varying combinations of kinds of potatoes and sausages and it is SO GOOD. I won't name any names, but one of us might have eaten it cold in the car on the way home one day. Still good. You must try it.

Oven roasted cheesy sausage and potatoes

Ingredients

• 6 medium/large red potatoes, chopped into 1" pieces (or more -- can't have too many potatoes)
• 1 package kielbasa sliced into rounds
• 2 slices yellow onion, diced
• Olive oil or bacon grease
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Stir together potatoes and sausage in a 9x13 baking dish and drizzle with olive oil or melted bacon grease (or both -- live a little)
3. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and paprika -- just use your judgment here, no specific measurements
4. Bake at 400 for about an hour, stirring around every 15 minutes or so, until everything is crispy and sizzling
5. Serve covered in grated cheese

Pepperoni sauce

So when I say pepperoni sauce you either immediately think of Top Chef or you think, "Wait, what?" Michael Isabella made this during the 2011 season of Top Chef and I was fascinated by it.  How had this never been done before? It's brilliant, and certainly never occurred to me to make it. I've made some tweaks to it for us -- we like a little more sweetness in our tomato-based sauces, and I also used bacon grease instead of olive oil -- sticking with the pork theme, right? But I didn't stray too far from the original. This sauce is fantastic on a meatball sandwich, on pasta, or anything you'd use red sauce on. I definitely want to try it with pizza soon. Love it!

Pepperoni sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. or so bacon grease (or olive oil if that sounds better to you)
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 6 ounces pepperoni, cut into thin slices (I used Boar's Head)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 large can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

Instructions

1. Heat the bacon grease in a large, heavy pot till it's nice and hot, then cook the onions over low to medium heat till they're very soft -- a good 15 minutes or so. If you're worried about them burning you can add a few splashes of water to the pan to help with that
2. When the onions are soft, add the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes or so until they're soft -- keep an eye on them because they're easier to burn
3. Add in remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 45 minutes, but longer won't hurt anything
4. Puree with a stick blender or in an actual blender till completely smooth, and enjoy!

I need more ways to incorporate this into my life. What would you use it on?