Cheesy Jalapeño Poppers

Well, the holidays and horrible weather means I have not had time to take any pictures, so I thought I’d share a recipe today.  Since I had an extra day home from work, I decided to play.

Instead of stuffing Jalapeño peppers, I decided to chop the peppers up and then bread the whole thing with crackers.

It was really easy to do. I was impressed with myself because I remembered to wear gloves while handling the peppers.  It did make them a bit messy when I was shaping the balls.

It important to make sure you double coat the balls in the egg/milk mixture and then the crackers.  It’s also important to remember to freeze them so that they can be deep fried.

Like my mozzarella sticks, I just flash fry them and then put them back in the freezer.  They are ready to throw in the oven to bake to serve.  It makes it really easy to prepare them ahead of time.

I can honestly say that I didn’t have a single one left when I baked them for my family on Christmas Eve.

Recipe

Mix together:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped Jalapeño (2 big ones)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cheddar cheese
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1 Tbsp bacon bits
• 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese

Form into balls.  I got 20 from the batch I made.  Roll them in flour to coat the ball.  Then dip them in a mix of egg and milk (1 egg and 1 Tbsp. of milk).  Then roll them into crushed crackers.  I used roasted veggie Ritz crackers.  Place them back into the egg and milk mixture and then re-coat them with the cracker crumbs.  you want to make sure that the balls are completely coated.  Place them on a tray and freeze them for at least an hour.  After they have frozen, you can deep fry them quickly to seal the coating.  Once they are gently browned, lay them back on a tray to freeze them again.  Store them in an airtight container.  You can bake however many you want at a time.  Bake them on a tray in a 375°F oven for about 20 minutes.

Seitan and Goats

I have several seitan recipes I’m using, but the first thing I did was come up with a good powdered vegetable bouillon.  If you want, you can check out the reicpes:

• Bouillon Powder
• Chicken Seitan
• Turkey Seitan
• Roast Seitan
• Ham Seitan
• Bacon Seitan

And here’s some goats,

Moose (Casey behind him)

Coral

Caroline

Haley

just because.

Creamy Mushroom and Rice Soup

I do not have room for any more milk out in the garage freezer, but I’m still milking Zinnia (and Joy once a day, but she’s not giving me much).

Zinnia

I am trying to find creative ways to use the milk other than just a cup of hot chocolate in the evening. I decided to try a creamy mushroom and rice soup.

I was pleasantly surprised with the results!

In a large stock pot melt 6 Tbsp of margarine and sauté:

• 1/2 cup carrot finely diced
• 1/2 cup onion finely diced
• 1/2 cup celery finely diced
• 1 pound washed sliced portobello mushroom
• 1 clove minced garlic

After the veggies are soft and the mushrooms are cooked add:

• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. ground marjoram
• 1 tsp. lemon pepper

Let it simmer a couple of minutes and then sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of flour over it.  Once it is stirred and all the flour is incorporated, add:

• 1 quart of vegetable stock
• 1 cup whole grain rice (would probably be better with a long grain)

Simmer for about 20  minutes, until the rice is fully cooked and it is getting thick.  Then add:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Cook until it is hot and bubbly.  Make sure to stir it so that it doesn’t stick to the saucepan.