Author: Bob

Spanish Rice

Almost good enough to eat by itself.

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 Spanish Rice
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Fry bacon and break each piece in half.
  2. Saute rice and onions in bacon grease until brown.
  3. Place rice and onions in a casserole dish.
  4. Add all other ingredients.
  5. Cook for 10 minutes in microwave.
  6. Stir and test if rice is fully cooked.
  7. If needed, add more water and cook 10 minutes longer.
Recipe Notes

Cooking the rice in the microwave could take longer than 10 minutes depending on the power output of the microwave.

Alternatively, you can put the rice in a pot or large, deep sided, pan and cook on the stove top, covered, on high.  Not sure how long that will take (30-40 minutes?), but you should check it every few minutes.

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Tiger Butter

One of my favorite Auntie recipes.

Print Recipe
 Tiger Butter
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert
Servings
pounds
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert
Servings
pounds
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Line a 15½ x 10½ inch jelly-roll pan with wax paper.
  2. Break white chocolate into 1-inch pieces in a 1 ½ quart microwave-safe bowl.
  3. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted. Stir until smooth.
  4. Add peanut butter and microwave on high for 2 minutes until melted; stir until smooth. (Microwave an additional 30 seconds, if needed.)
  5. Spread mixture into prepared pan.
  6. In a 2 cup microwave measuring cup, melt chocolate on high for 1-2 minutes.
  7. Pour melted chocolate over peanut butter mixture; swirl through with a knife; refrigerate.
  8. When firm, cut or break into pieces. Makes about 2 pounds. (about 32 servings)
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German Potato Salad

This is a staple of our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  I’m fairly certain if Dad had his way, Mom would make it at least once a month.

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 German Potato Salad
Course Side Dish
Servings
Ingredients
Course Side Dish
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. After the potatoes have been boiled and skinned, cut into about 1" cubes and place in a large pot.
  2. In a deep pan, fry bacon until almost done; pour off half of the grease.
  3. Add onions to the pan and saute in the remaining bacon grease.
  4. Add vinegar with a "big drop" of water or the onions; Add Tabasco to taste.
  5. Simmer mixture in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Pour mixture from the pan into the pot with the potatoes and fold well.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes

Serve hot.  Can be refrigerated and reheated.

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Shrimp Etoufee

One of my favorite creole dishes.  A lot of places serve crawfish etoufee, but its hard to beat shrimp.

Print Recipe
 Shrimp Etoufee
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Cajun/Creole
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Cajun/Creole
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Melt 1 stick of butter in a skillet on low-medium heat.
  2. Add garlic and onions to the butter and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until soft.
  3. Add the bay leaves, white wine, squeeze from the lemon, salt, pepper and spices.
  4. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove bay leaves.
  5. Add shrimp and cook for 20 minutes, covered.
  6. Serve over white rice. Add cajun/creole seasoning or Tabasco to taste.
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Hump Day 2018

Happy Hump Day for the Year.  We have reached the mid-point of 2018, its all down hill from here.  Woohoo!!!

In all honesty, this year has been kinda so-so for me.  On the up side, my job has been going well.  I’ve been alternating between busy-as-all-get-out, to everything coming to a screeching halt, and back.  I’ve been traveling (for work) more in the last few months than I have in the last several years.  As busy and as frustrating as it has been, I’ve really been enjoying myself in my job.

On the down side, Dad has been dealing with cancer treatments, and I’ve been worried about both him and Mom.  He’s doing well and the treatments appear to be very effective.  He’s got a couple of chemo treatments left to go and then surgery to remove the tumor.  If things go as well as the doctors are expecting, he’ll be done with treatments by Thanksgiving (how very fitting).

Everything else in my life has been firmly in the middle, neither good nor bad (this is going to be a progress report of my last post):

  • Work on the trailer has been slow; I’ve managed to get the lights working and have started demoing the interior.  But I still need to get it to pass state inspection before I can transfer the title to my name or get insurance for it.
  • I’m doing pretty well regarding saving money (I automate my savings), but I’m not getting any better about spending money (shocker!).  I’m going to need to re-evaluate my finances.
  • I haven’t lost any weight.  Well, I was down a few pounds, then I was up about 15 pounds, now I’m back to about 5 pounds up from what I was at the beginning of the year.
  • I signed up for a co-ed bocce league.  It gives me a reason to leave the office be a certain time at least once a week.  I’ve met a few people, but so far, no one I’ve hung out with outside of bocce events.  This will just take time.

So there’s a quick update on my life.  Work is about to head into overdrive again, and I wanted to leave a quick note on how I am doing before I go back to practically living in the office for the next two or three months.  Take care everybody!

Sweet Cream Pie

This is one of Grandma’s (Mabel Eggen Melby) recipes passed down from Auntie (Claire Arlene Melby) to Mom (Margaret Melby Lee).

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 Sweet Cream Pie
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
pie
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
pie
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Mix sugar, corn starch, and cream. Let stand while beating whites.
  2. Beat egg whites until frothy and fold into cream mixture.
  3. Pour into 9" pie pan, sprinkle nutmeg on top and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (375 for glass pan).
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Margaritas

This is my dad’s recipe.  Its very popular at parties and, if you’re not careful, it’ll knock you on your butt.

Print Recipe
 Margaritas
Course Adult Beverages
Servings
pitcher
Ingredients
Course Adult Beverages
Servings
pitcher
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Combine in a blender. Serve over ice, with or without salt.
Recipe Notes

For frozen margaritas, replace the can of water with a handful or two of ice.

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Cajun Burgers

This recipe has become the main burger recipe I use for cook-outs; everyone seems to like them.  I also make a version with ground turkey and chicken andouille that tends to disappear faster than the regular version.

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 Cajun Burgers
Course Main Dish
Servings
1/2 lb. patties
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Servings
1/2 lb. patties
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Remove the sausage casings from the andouille sausage.
  2. Mix the sausage, ground beef, and seasoning together. Add Worchestershire sauce to taste.
  3. Form mixture into patties and cook on the grill.
Recipe Notes

Will make about eight 1/2 lb. or twelve 1/3 lb. patties.

For a Turkey-version of this recipe, substitute:

  • Ground turkey for the ground beef
  • Chicken andouille for the pork andouille
  • Add 1 egg white into the mixture as a binder to allow the patty to form.
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Jalapeño Cheese

This is originally one of Auntie’s (Claire Melby) recipes, but Mom and I make it so often, people credit us for it now.

Print Recipe
 Jalapeño Cheese
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cook Time 30-40 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cook Time 30-40 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Spray a square glass pan (i.e. 2 quart Pyrex dish) with Pam (or thin layer of butter).
  2. Spread the chopped jalapeños evenly to cover the bottom of the pan.
  3. Layer the shredded cheese evenly over the jalapeños.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until frothly, then pour over the cheese.
  5. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown. Longer if it's not solid (Make sure the cheese doesn’t make waves when you move the pan).
  6. Let cool and cut into squares.
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Salsa

This salsa recipe is our attempt at recreating the salsa from Lala’s Cafe in Mirando City, one of our family’s all-time favorite restaurants.  It makes a big batch. I usually half this recipe for myself. You can make the salsa milder by removing the pepper seeds. Likewise, to add heat, leave the seeds in. Either way, it’ll taste great!

Print Recipe
 Salsa
Course Sauces & Gravies
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Course Sauces & Gravies
Cuisine Mexican
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Put the cut jalapeños and just the tops of the cilantro bunch into a blender (throw away the bottom half of the cilantro bunch here it is tied).
  2. Add the Rotel, tomatoes, boullion, vinegar, and onion into the blender and blend until it becomes a liquid consistency.
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