Chuckwagon Hash - The Easy Version

Chuckwagon Hash

What’s that, something anyone can make, and quick!

By

Neil Waring

Revered Wyoming Chef, outdoor cooking expert, admired woodsmen and honored citizen.

This time of year I sometime like to make my own version of hash – not sure what it is really, but it tastes great, and I call it hash, so we will stick to that.

*The Old Guys Chuckwagon Hash*

1.  Get out your biggest skillet and fry a pound or so of hamburger, break it up as it cooks, after it is going good toss in chopped onions and chopped green bell peppers. Drain

2.  Cover the bottom of your other skillet, hey we have at least three, with olive oil or your choice of oil.  Add as many cubed up potatoes at four or so people might like to eat.

Let them brown nicely.

3.  Find something you will not get in trouble if used as a baking dish and pour in the potatoes, then the hamburger on top.

4.  Dump a can or two of black or red beans over the two layers and sprinkle with cheddar or Colby jack cheese or layer it on Note - Velveeta is really tasty here.

5.   Stick the pan in the oven, heat until the cheese is melted nicely and eat. (500 degrees or so will do it)

6.  This stuff is great with some good scooping’ up bread like French, or go cornbread or baking powder biscuits. This stuff is great.

7.  Want something else in it – well pour it in. ( I have added sausage, little smokies, bacon, rice and even once added, GULP, another vegetable, it all works)

This is one of my, true easy living recipe’s, why? Because nothing is measured, just pour in what looks or feels right and it really is very good, and all in about 30 minutes. YUM!!

My 2015 resolution - to travel the road less traveled
Happy New Year!

Beans-Taters & a Boiled Egg

 Beans-Taters & a Boiled Egg

This is fun and tasty dish, works great with BBQ or when camping, we like it anytime and can be used for breakfast, lunch or supper. I say that about most all of my dishes because I am lazy and if I make too much – hey, eat some more for the next meal!

 Boil two potatoes and two eggs. The potatoes should be baseball size or a tad more, leave the skins on. I leave the skins on for two reasons.

First – I tell people it is healthy that way.

Second –I hate peeling potatoes it takes me away from the TV for way too long.

Drain the water from the potatoes and pour in a can of red beans. Peel the eggs and set aside

Add salt, pepper, paprika, sage, and a touch of sugar. (Some like a touch of BBQ sauce)

Continue to stir and let the entire concoction heat through.

Serve on a plate with a boiled egg sliced in half.

This makes a serving for two – one potato and half a can of beans and one boiled egg per plate.

Sounds funny tastes great – try it, best side dish ever with pulled pork or brisket, beats the heck out of those canned baked beans.

Pile it on the plate knock back a couple of Iced Teas or diet sodas and enjoy, YUM!

Bit of Winter in the Air Here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yum - Jam Cake

What’s that? A cake with Jam in it you say!

 

By

Neil Waring

Revered Wyoming Chef, outdoor cooking expert, admired woodsmen and honored citizen.

I do not often post recipes for baked goods, I am a BBQ and smoker type of guy, but today am making an exception. This one is old school, really old school, could have been made by my great-grandmother back in the 1870s. A Jam Cake and you saw it here first, well maybe not, since it has been around forever. Wow a cake made with Jam, bet you can hardly wait for this one. Lots of calories, but great taste, so many calories maybe the previous sentence should have said, “Bet you can hardly weight for this one. Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

It’s not even hard to make, letting this old cowboy cooker make it in only about, well forget that, it is easy to make, but not quick, no sir, not quick at all.

 Here is what you need

Ø  1 1/2 cup butter  (You can use margarine but they didn’t have it in the old days)

Ø  2 cups sugar

Ø  6 eggs

Ø  3 1/2 cups flour – double sifted (Today you can use cake flour if you have it)

Ø  2 teaspoons baking soda (Baking soda, not drinking soda, no Pepsi in this cake)

Ø  2 teaspoons ground allspice

Ø  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Ø  6 tablespoons buttermilk (Or make your own with milk and a bit of vinegar)

Ø  2 cups raspberry or strawberry jam (I used raspberries as we have a great and productive patch out back, hey we also have strawberries out back, still producing. Trouble is I eat them as I pick, they never)

Put It Together

Ø  Stir-up soft butter. Add sugar, not too fast, I like to pour it in all at the same time but it doesn’t work to well here. Keep stirring and beating until creamy. Toss in the eggs. Then add, slowly stirring the already mixed up dry stuff. Forgot to tell you to mix up dry stuff up above. As you are doing this keep adding the buttermilk. Do this all very slowly, it took me 15 minutes to get it right. When you have it all mixed add the jam, I used frozen berries instead. Thaw them in fridge overnight then add. I chop them up soom first so the pieces will not be too large.

Ø 
  Pour into paper cupcake holders
 

Ø  Bake at 350-375 about 15 min – or until they look done to you.

Ø  These are great with your favorite muffin or cupcake frosting

Note to You Bakers

There is a secret to these little cakes. Age them some – don’t eat it until tomorrow or the next day. I did eat one as soon as it was cool. Okay two – three.

Gratuitous sunset photo from my favorite place, Guernsey State Park, Guernsey, Wyoming.

My Kitchen Disaster

Kitchen disaster, I completely ruined an apple crisp yesterday, I really miss that crisp. I was so hungry for apple crisp topped with vanilla ice cream. The problem? It was too sweet, I put the sugar in twice, at least. My wife, who is a wonderful baker, saved the day. She made coffee cake with my crisp-like-stuff in the middle. It was terrific!

Think I will stick to cooking and forget the baking!

Well, as we used to say - A good baker will rise to the occasion, it's the yeast he can do.

Chuck Wagon Hash

By Neil Waring

Revered Wyoming Chef, outdoor cooking expert, admired woodsmen and honored citizen.

I have posted a couple of cowboy hash recipes in the past but this one is really good, give it a try. For this one get out your biggest cast iron skillet – the big black one in the back of the bottom shelf.

And here is what you will need and all the how to do it stuff!

3 large potatoes - I prefer nice red potatoes, but any type will work. Cut out the bad spots, if any, do not peel, cut into smallish, about 1/4 inch chunks. If you notice red speckles, check your fingers, that’s why I use dull knives (can’t be too careful)

1/3 green bell pepper, cut into tiny pieces, we are looking for flavor here not the big crunch

1/2 large onion, diced – You ever notice how bad/strong onions are this time of year? Cannot wait for my first garden onions, sometime in late June.

Random sunset photo I took last week to make the blog more lively.

1 lb. Hamburger, you could use sausage here but do not substitute some newfangled meat or fake meat, that is not hash, it is modern something, not hash

Fry up the potatoes, pepper, and onion in one big ol’ tablespoon of bacon grease, if you have it, olive oil if you do not.

As soon as the potatoes start to soften (only a minute or so) toss in the hamburger in small pieces and fry it up on medium heat. I turn it up on high myself, super high if I have it. Maybe that is why the smoke alarm chased the dog out of the kitchen.

When it looks about right pour in a ½ cup of frozen corn, keep stirring and cooking/frying

Now it is time for the spices, add pepper, sage, a dash of cumin and a bit of thyme. (A tad more sage than cumin or thyme)The bacon fat should take care of the salt – but being a well seniored citizen I try to avoid adding salt.

Sprinkle the top with your choice of shredded cheese (not mozzarella, hey, this is not a pizza)

Put the skillet into a warm oven, only about 200

Fry up a half dozen eggs, pull out the skillet and toss them on top (keep the eggs runny, over easy or over medium is great)

Serve with Catsup, sour cream and salsa

This goes great with a couple of glazed donuts and juice of your choice

Serves 3-6 depending on how hungry everyone is and whether or not Uncle Earl is visiting – - - AGAIN!

*Just noticed I used two exclamation marks, or is it exclamation points in this post, doesn’t matter, anyway, two in one post was my record, guess this post ties a record. Hey, a record setting post.  All Right! That’s three, new record! (4)

Puff Pancake, Fun and Tasty Too

The Puff Pancake

 

 Puff Pancakes, also called Dutch Baby Pancakes. I will not call it baby anything on this ol’ Wyoming boy blog. Except to say, wow, these babies are good. These are sometimes referred to as a German Pancake and may very well have been the first puff pastry. They have been around for about a century and evidently some pancake places either feature them or used to feature them. I have never noticed them on a breakfast menu, but then we like to cook and go out to eat when forced.

These are normally listed as breakfast fare but we like breakfast for supper at our house, cook these up with a side of sausage or bacon, and you have it.

 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup milk (or 1/3c of milk, 1/3c half & half)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Teaspoon of vanilla
• Teaspoon of cinnamon
   
  Preheat to 475
   
  Beat the eggs
   
   Pour in liquid, sugar, salt and vanilla - keep mixing until sugar is dissolved.
  (I use the blender, forget the mixer, actually my wife doesn’t trust me with the mixer, or maybe I don’t know which bowls to use or how to attach whatever attachments are needed).
   
  Dump in flour and mix it all smooth.
  Let batter sit 10 min or so, you really don’t need to time this step
     
  Get out your big old cast iron skillet, the ten inch one, if you have it.
  Coat it with melted butter; make sure to get it up the sides all the way. (I was going to say slather it up with butter but wasn’t sure what slather meant so I will stick with coat it, even if slather sounds better).
  Pour the batter in and bake 15 min or a little less- when it is golden brown (or whatever you interpret golden brown to be) it is ready to take out of the heat.
  The pancake will puff up when baking, remove and let sit for a minute or so and it will collapse, don’t worry it’s supposed to.
   *Spread on strawberry or raspberry jelly and lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.
  Loosen around edges and slide onto plate
  Serve with butter and syrup
  *This step can also be done a few minutes before taking pancake out of the oven
   
  This can also be a great campfire dish, baked in a Dutch oven. I have not tried it but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. That may be the reason I occasionally have my cooking and baking disasters, but believe I will try it some time.
   

French Fries - The Healthy Cowboy Way

 

          Can an old retired school teacher make

                  New Fangled French Fries

                         YEP!

                                   By

                            Neil Waring

Revered Wyoming Chef, outdoor cooking expert, admired woodsmen, award winning author, retired politician and honored citizen.

 

Tired of fast food French Fries? They are full of calories, greasy, and not that tasty.  But we all remember how great they were when we were kids and wish they were that good today.

Here is an at home alterative, and they taste great and without fast food guilt.

ü One medium potato – cleaned, peeled and cut into eight wedges

ü Spray pizza pan or cookie sheet with Pam or similar product

ü Place Potatoes on pan and spray with the Vegetable oil

ü Preheat broiler and put the potatoes, I put it on the highest setting so it will both cook and crisp the potatoes

ü Broil for three minutes then sprinkle with parmesan or cheddar and broil another three minutes (I usually leave out the cheese but they are delicious either way)

ü Remove salt and pepper to taste and enjoy

Each potato is about 200 calories (as long as you are light on the cheese)

We use this to serve two, enough, but not too much.

Oregon Trail Johnnycakes

Travelers on the Oregon Trail were sometime treated to Johnnycakes. Today we think of these tasty cakes as breakfast fare, but for weary travelers they were a treat, after a long day, topped with their favorite homemade jams and jellies, assuming they hadn’t eaten all the sweets the first few miles out of town. Today we more often top them with melted butter and syrup. I am not sure who Johnny was or why they named a cake (griddle cake) after him, but they taste as good today as they did back in Trail days.

-Johnnycakes-

1 beaten egg (some travelers took chickens along)
3/8 cup milk (and some brought along Ol’ Bessy, the milk cow)
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon melted lard (today we use vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I sometimes skimp this down to a ¼)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (cornmeal and flour amounts can be switched
1 cup flour                      depending on how corny your taste)               

1 Tablespoon sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix really smooth. Drop by tablespoon onto hot greased griddle or skillet. Fry on each side until browned, only a minute or two. This recipe makes about a dozen 4 inch cakes.
These are fun, quite a bit different from a regular pancake (we added cornmeal and took out the baking powder) but the taste is special. The taste is kind of flat, with the first chew, then the taste of cornbread a few moments later. Very cool!

 

Snow Ice Cream

This was so much fun when we were kids. Remember the time when everyone thought snow was actually clean. Well kids still eat snow, so if you are not afraid, try it. This is a lot of fun with the grand kids.

If you don't want to try snow, shaved ice will work fine. We bought one of those little shaved ice machines for around 20 bucks and it works great. 

All you need is-

*10 cups snow

*1 can (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

*1 teaspoon vanilla

-Directions-

Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and pour in the vanilla. Mix it up and serve.

No Foolin', Baked Potato Candy

Baked Potato Candy

This one is from the old days, fun to make with the kids or grandkids at Christmas time.

½ pound semi-sweet chocolate chopped – in the old days they used the powdered chocolate, if you know how you can substitute it for the pieces

½ Cup potatoes (bake and peel, then mash up nicely)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup shredded coconut

1 lb confectioners/powdered sugar

Directions

1. In the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring some as you go, get the chocolate  melted nice and smooth. (now remember this is an, old time, recipe, but if you are more into modern livin’ melt in the microwave, just check it a lot as you go, won’t take but a couple of minutes.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the potato, (this is a baked, not boiled or fried potato, and no ground up potato chips, they will not work, tried it) salt and vanilla. Sift the confectioners sugar over potato, stirring and adding about a 1/3 at a time. Then another 1/3, save the last bit. Mixture will liquefy when first sugar is added then gradually begin to thicken. (Not sure why all these candy recipes call for confectioners sugar, haven’t used that term much in my 65 years. By the way a confection is defined as a very sweet food, must be all that powdered sugar.
3. When it reaches the consistency of stiff dough, knead it until it evens out; remember not all the sugar has been added yet. Add the rest of the sugar and kneed again. This might sound a little too needy, but it only takes a few minutes.
4. After kneading, cover with a damp cloth and chill until a small spoonful can be rolled into a ball. Shape in small 1/2 inch balls. Dip balls in melted chocolate then roll in coconut.

*Note- when writing this recipe up for your friends, make sure you spell kneading with a K, not, needing with an N and definitely not kneeling, I did see that once, nice laugh, that’s for church.

 

** Note #2 this is the place where the word yield is used to let everyone know how many pieces of candy this will make. Well not here, yield, depends on how big you make them, but should be about a dozen (12), if you make them my size.

Thanksgiving Leftover Pie-What to do!

By revered Wyoming chief, outdoorsman, historian, writer and all-around good guy.
Neil Waring

We have a, good ol’ traditional Thanksgiving, at our house, kids, grandkids and maybe a few others.  Seems like every year we have too many leftovers, at least for too many for a senior citizen couple like us.

Trying to make every kid and grandkids favorite desert has proved to cause a giant left-over delectable desert dilemma. (Alliteration makes every recipe sound better). The pies, cookies, puddings and cakes of Thanksgiving, are all excellent but way too much. So here is a way to get rid of the extra filling from your pumpkin, apple, mincemeat or cherry pie.

Friday Morning Pie Pancakes

Ingredients:
4 cups of your favorite pancake mix
1 cup pie fillings from the left-over’s Sorry you will have to toss the crust, or do like I do and eat it after heating it in the oven with a little cinnamon sugar sprinkled on, one of my favorite cookies
1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
2 tbsp. soft butter
4 tbsp. milk – add a little touch more if the mix is too dry
½-1 tsp. ground cinnamon

This should feed um all, so use it on Friday, or Saturday morning, just before the guests hit the road.


In a big ol’ bowl combine the pie filling and the pancake mix, with water or milk – the side of the box will let you know how much. Stir it up pretty good but not too smooth. Cook like normal pancakes, if you have never fried up pancakes before - ask one of your guests to do it. No need for them to still be lying about all day, doing nothing.

Combine the sugar, butter, cinnamon and last pour in the milk in a small bowl with a fork or whisk until fluffy. I stick with the fork, to Wisk sounds a bit sissy for this old cook, set it aside. But I do like the word fluffy.

Serve with a chunk of left over cake or a dollop of pudding on top.  I love using the word dollop; there I used it twice, in recipes.

Pour your normal favorite syrup over the top and chow down.

Serve with, juice, coffee, eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns and a spoonful of cranberries.

Enjoy, and happy eatin’ - and Happy Thanksgiving

Bad Week for the Old Guy

Started off the week with a sprained ankle, guess maybe guys my age should quit playing basketball, even if I do still have considerable game. OK, actually I did it stepping off a two inch step in Jackson Hole last weekend. By Tuesday I added a nose running, sneezing, itching eyes, cold. Thursday the flu set in. Today I am about as miserable as anyone can be.

I will attempt to remedy my maladies by watching dozens of football games in the next 48 hours, I believe it will work. And I have all the channels to give it a tremendous effort.

Wish me luck, I know it will be tough, but I have pillows properly arranged on the couch, assorted drinks, heating pads, throws, lap top, kindle reader and other goodies to get me through my time of need. And, of course, my wife is tending to me quite well. She went down to one of the local stop and rob’s and picked up a 7UP for me. When I finish it, I believe that will make, exactly one 7UP in the past several decades. Hey, tastes pretty good.

Oh-Well, I Will Try Again

Always save- just lost a very nice post on smoked chicken. Will try to re-write, I know better too. Power went out, lost router, I shut down my laptop to restart and lost the unsaved word document, I know better.

Veggies, Jelly and Football

Love this time of year, fresh veggies from the garden and some fresh fruits also. We already made jelly, with more to come, and are really enjoying fresh roasted vegetables on the grill, with some good meat on the side. I will be posting one of my favorite summer time grilling recipes, right here, next week—stay tuned.

Can you, football on television in August, this is great.

Burn That Hot Dog - or Not

 

Ever heard someone say, “come on over we’ll burn some dogs on the grill and crack open a few beers”?

Well maybe not. But I do like my hotdogs on the grill, very well done, OK, burned. I like the crunch and I like them after they split and some of the juice escapes. Made me think about other foods I like burned-not many.

The top of a Pizza is nice burned as is the top of Lasagna and baked Mac and cheese. When we were kids we loved starting marshmallows on fire, blowing out the flame then eating the black charred mess. Grand kids love them still.

Don’t have anything else today-too hot, but I wanted to touch base with my readers. Can you think of any foods you like burned?

Ice Cream Bread

The web, mostly Facebook, has been full of this recipe the past week or two, thought I would give it a try.

-Here’s Your 2 ingredients- 

*2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened, I let it set out until I could work it easily.

* 1-1/2 cups self rising flour (or 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt, which makes self rising flour, or pretty darn close)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Use an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan and spray  ‘ er up with baking spray.

2. In a big ol’ bowl, stir ice cream until smooth; mix in flour, not too much, just a little stir. Ladle into the sprayed up pan.  Bake 45minutes, check with the old toothpick trick, stick it in the middle and when it comes out clean-wala- cake is done, could take a minute or two or three more.

3. Cool a little while, I don’t know how long, just some, dump cake out, might take a bit of knife work around the edges. Eat is right away, it is really good warm.

4. You can add in fruit or even vegetables, if you are nuts, or add nuts, might take a might longer to bake depending on how much you put in.

My observations, this is a very palatable cake, moist with good flavor, not one of my all time favorites, but pretty good, fun and easy. Good one to make with the grand kids. Now if someone could just come up with a delicious, two ingredient apple pie.

The Old Cook is Down But Not Out - Not Yet

I am starting to feel better, finally, after a month of the worst sinus problems in all my 65 years. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t hear (my wife says it was even worse than my normal selective hearing), tough time sleeping and got little or no work done. Hope to be back blogging in a few days, the nice weather here in eastern Wyoming is helping. See you in a week or so.

Neil

Oh- I did make some donuts today - think I must be feeling better!

Cowboys, Chocolate and Corn on the Cob

Two old Wyoming Cowboys were sitting around the bunkhouse on a lazy Sunday afternoon. After a couple of hours they tired of talking about the weather, politics and sports and the conversation drifted to cooking.

   The first guy said, "I bought a cookbook once but I could never

do anything with it."

 

  "Too much fancy stuff in it, eh?” asked the other.

 

  "You said it", the first guy replied.  "Every one of the

recipes began the same way, 'take a clean dish'..."

  

A  Sunday food riddle - What food do you, Peal off the outside, Cook the inside, eat the outside, And throw away the inside? Answer below:

 

 Corn on the cob

Did You Know? Chocolate has always been included on every American and Russian space flights

Crockpot Corn Chowder

By

 

Neil Waring Revered Wyoming Chef, outdoor cooking expert, admired woodsmen, award winning author, retired politician and honored citizen.

 

Make it in five or ten minutes and let it cook from Morning until Supper Time.

 

 The two types of corn add depth and great texture of this one

Ingredients:

·         3 cups frozen corn

·         14 oz. can creamed corn

·         1 onion, chopped

·         2 (14 oz.) cans ready to serve chicken broth

·         1/8 tsp. pepper

·         1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

·         2 Tbsp. cornstarch

·         3 Tbsp. water

Putting it together

 Mix everything but the cornstarch and water in 3-4 quart Crockpot and stir it up good.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until corn is tender. In small bowl, combine cornstarch and water and mix it in; stir into the Crockpot.

Cover and cook on high for 10-15 minutes until it thickens.

 Top with crackers and its ready to go

Makes enough for four (it is really clever using two 4s in a row)