Barb Hines Smoked Mac & Cheese

 Barb Hines Smoked Mac & Cheese

This is rich and delicious, it does not need to be smoked. 

2 TBSP Butter

2TBSP Flour

2 Cups Heavy Cream

1 Pound Extra Sharp Cheddar, shredded

1/2 Pound Monterey Jack, shredded

1 - 2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce

2 Teaspoons All Purpose Seasoning

 

1 Cup Hellman’s Mayo

1 Cup Sour Cream

12 oz Elbow Macaroni Noodles

1/2 Cup Panko

12 oz Thin Sliced Bacon

Prepare pasta Al dente, according to package directions, and set aside.

Grate both cheeses and said the side.

Cook bacon until crispy, we suggest placing in a 400° oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Do you want the bacon to be crispy and not limp. Immediately remove bacon from baking sheet. Allowed to drain on a paper towel. Finally chopped bacon with food processor, and set aside.

In a sauce, pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour over medium heat. Cook until the roux starts smelling a little nutty. At that point add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and stir until sauce thickens.

Add additional 1/2 cup of heavy cream and stir for 1 to 2 minutes and then add the final one cup of heavy cream and stir until sauce, smooth and thick.

Add grated cheese to sauce, slowly starting until the cheese is blended, and the sauce is smooth and creamy. At 1 to 2 tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce, depending on the heat level, you desire. I use 1 tablespoon but sometimes skip it completely.

Mixed together, pasta, sauce, mayo, and sour cream, then pour into an oven, safe dish. You can make this using a 13 inch cast iron skillet. If it has been oiled season of sprayed, with a good nonstick spray, be very sure not to overfill.

Mix 1/2 cup of Panko with the chopped bacon and top macaroni and cheese with this mixture.

At this point you can smoke the macaroni and cheese at 350° for one hour or until it becomes hot and bubbly. Make sure to check halfway through the cooking time because smokers and grills vary.  You can also bake it in your oven. If it is getting too dark, cover with foil and continue cooking.

If a darker crust is desired for your mac & cheese, place skillet under the broiler 4 inches from the heat until the top is golden bubbly usually 3 to 4 minutes serve immediately. 

Barb Hine’s Chocolate Pie

 Delicious - had this tonight at a friend’s - can’t taste the tofu- it’s very silky

This pie is so chocolatey that it’s a little too rich for me. Some whipped cream on the side to cut the richness definitely helps.

The tofu you use is important. For this I use silken tofu, the nonrefrigerated kind that can be found on a shelf in the international aisle of grocery stores (Mori-Nu is a common brand). I’m not sure why, but something about the shelf-stability of it makes it taste like nothing at all, making it a perfect vehicle for absorbing chocolatey goodness. The silken tofu you find in the refrigerated section, however, has more of a tofu taste. Maybe it has something to do with freshness? I couldn’t tell you.

But if all you can find is the refrigerated kind, that’s okay. I have used refrigerated silken tofu for this before and it came out fine–I just had to use the original amount of chocolate (13 ounces instead of 12) to make up for it. So keep that in mind as you make this.

Something the recipe doesn’t warn you about is seizing. As we all know, melted chocolate seizes if it even thinks about water. And this recipe has us adding silken tofu–a wet thing–to melted chocolate. I have had this seize up on me before, but don’t worry if it happens. I just kept blending it. After a few minutes the blender sorted it all out and the mixture was back to being smooth and creamy.

CHOCOLATE PIE  - Barb Hines 

10 OUNCES OF GOOD QUALITY CHIPS THAT ARE 60% COCOA

MELTED

Measure the following into a cup, then add to the melted chocolate

1/3 CUP KAHLÚA

12 OUNCES OF SILKEN TOFU LIGHT - in blender

1 tablespoon honey or agave

1 tablespoon Vanilla 

Mix well, and pour into a crumb crust, refrigerate and garnish as you like - a graham cracker or a pecan crust would be good. Original recipe called for an Oreo crust  ~ that’s too much chocolate.

Crispy Ground Beef Tacos

 1 pound ground beef 80/20

2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning

Vegetable oil

8  6-inch flour tortillas

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Shredded lettuce

Pico de Gallo

Salsa

Cilantro, optional

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and cook until browned breaking up meat as it cooks. Add in taco seasoning along with 1 tablespoon of water and cook, stirring often until fully combined remove from heat and keep warm. Meanwhile in a medium size skillet add vegetable oil until it’s 1/4 inch deep once it’s glistening, add the tortillas one at a time and cook until golden and crispy about one minute flip and repeat on the other side transfer tortilla to a paper towel lined plate continue with remaining tortillas. 

Serve with toppings of your choice.

Homemade Taco Seasoning: Make it your own way, start with a little black pepper and add equal parts of the following:Chili powder, sea salt, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano.  Suggestion - use 2 TBSP of everything EXCEPT black pepper, store in plastic bag or air tight jar away from heat and light  

Key Lime Dip

 

• 2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Graham crackers

In a bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice until blended; set aside. 

Beat egg whites at high speed until just foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until soft peaks form and sugar is dissolved.

 Fold egg white mixture into lime mixture. Pour into a 9″ pie plate

. Bake at 325° for 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and stir well. Place in a serving bowl and cover; chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Serve with graham crackers.

Grilled Turkey Burgers

 Not your typical dry Turkey burger, thanks to turkey Italian sausage included in the mix! 

Servings: 8 burgers

• 1.25 pounds Italian turkey sausage (I use Shady Brook Farms hot or sweet varieties)
• 1.3 pounds 93/7 lean ground turkey (I use Shady Brook Farms; one package equals 1.3 pounds)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
• 8 hamburger buns 
• 
  

1. Remove the sausage meat from the casings. The best way is to use kitchen shears to cut through the casings and then peel them away from meat. 
2. Place the sausage meat in a large bowl along with the ground turkey, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. 
3. Use your hand to mix together until well combined. The mixture will seem quite wet; that's okay. Form the meat into 8 even patties about ½-inch thick.
4.  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to cook.
5. Clean the grill and preheat to high. To grease the grill, lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over the grates several times until glossy and coated. 
6. Place the turkey burgers on the grill and cook for five minutes, covered, until nice grill marks form. Flip and continue to cook, covered, for 3-5 minutes more, until the burgers are cooked through.
7.  Heat the buns on the grill, assemble the burgers, and serve.
9. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The uncooked burgers can be frozen for up to three months. (Freeze the burgers on a baking sheet or plate so their shape sets, then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag for easy storage.) Defrost the burgers overnight in the refrigerator prior to serving and then cook as directed.

Source: onceuponachef.com

Key Lime Sugar Cookies

 Wonderful citrus flavor! 

For the Cookies:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 195 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 grams
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature) 4 ounces
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50 grams
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar 50 grams
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon key lime zest (or zest of 1 key lime)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons key lime juice
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 90 grams

For the Lime Glaze:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar 86 grams
• 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons key lime juice
• Zest from a lime to sprinkle on top

Instructions

• Line a light colored baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat. (Dark baking sheets make the cookies brown fast on the bottom.)
• In a small bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix together until combined.
• In another bowl, add the butter and sugar and mix until the texture is smooth and creamy. Add in the egg, vanilla, lime juice and zest and mix until combined.
• Slowly add in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Add in the white chocolate chips and fold until mixed in.
• Use a cookie scoop to place the cookie dough in tablespoon (1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons is good for these cookies) scoops on the baking sheet. You should get 20-24 cookies.
• Refrigerate the scooped cookie dough for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF. 
• Once the cookie dough is chilled, roll the scoops into smooth balls. Don't handle the dough too much, just roll for a few seconds to get the ball smooth. 
• Bake for 7-8 minutes (mine were done in 7). Do not overbake! Allow the cookies to cool a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
• Once cooled, mix together the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of lime juice to form a glaze. Add the 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice if needed to get it to a drizzling consistency (I usually use 1 1/2 tablespoons). Drizzle teaspoon amount of glaze on each cookie, sprinkle with zest and allow to set so the icing can harden. Enjoy!
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature.Makes 24 cookiesSource: https://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/key-lime-sugar-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-24314
  
  
  

Key Lime Daiquiri Freeze

• 1½ oz. rum
• 1 oz. Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice
• 4 oz. sour mix

Mix all ingredients in a blender with crushed ice. Blend at a slow speed until smooth and pour into a hurricane glass.