Hot Pickled Sausage and Eggs

One thing that my youngest son really enjoys are the Tijuana Mamá hot pickled sausages.  They are a little on the pricey side though, with each one costing about $1.60. 

I wanted to send in him back to college next month with a supply so he could have some when he felt like it.  We decided to try making our own version and see if we could get them close to the store bought and for a much cheaper price.  Although our version is not exactly the same as Tijuana Mamá's they are pretty close and whole lot cheaper. 

Here is how we made our version of Tijuana Mamá's hot pickled sausages~

Gather the following ingredients for the brine 4 cups distilled white vinegar

2 cups water

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoons Cayene pepper

10 whole black peppercorns

4-5 cloves of garlic, leave 2 whole and mince the rest

2 tablespoons of salt

1 teaspoon basil

1-2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes

For the sausages we used 3 packages of Bar-S chicken hot dogs which I cut in half.

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In a large saucepan add the vinegar and water.  Add the 2 whole garlic, minced garlic and the spices and bring to a boil and let boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool. Fill prepared canning jars with cut hot dogs and cover with the brine till all hot dogs are covered. Tightly close each jar and set in the fridge for 2 days before enjoying your sausage. I was so tempted and after 2 hours I just had to try them. Oh yeah they where pretty bombing. After 2 days they will even better, trust me y'all. 

This recipe will make enough brine for 3, 1/2 quart jars and one 1/2 quart jar of pickled eggs.

Here is rundown on the cost:

We bought 3 packages of Bar-S chicken hot dogs for $3.00. We cut the franks in half for a total of 48 sausages. The vinegar and spices I already had on hand so I only averaged the cost of the hot dogs. In the end we had a total of 48 sausages about 3" long at a cost of .07 cents each. I think we did pretty good.  The eggs were about ,75 cents for the six eggs. 

Simple Fixins

 

Using up the last of the Christmas goodies sent from a friend made for a simple yet tasty breakfast this morning.  Served it up on my prettiest Cowboy China and it was as pretty to look at as it was easy for clean up.  Hey, when you are enjoying your vacation you want to enjoy every minute of it.  Cleaning a mountain of dishes shouldn't have to happen every day.  Just sayin y'all.

Have a tasty day y'all. 

Messy Happens...

Half the fun of Christmas is all the cooking, baking and goodie making.  I love the way that food brings people together, makes them smile.  All the cooking,  baking, and goodie making gets messy though and makes for a much needed clean up.

Our lives are messy too and we need a clean up.  The good news of Christmas is that the little baby born that day was royalty dressed in human form and He came to be our Savior.  He came to live and ultimately die so that we could take our messy, sinful lives and get the best clean up ever.  A brand new heart.  He loved us so much that He was willing to take on human form and walk among us, to show us how to live.  Heaven's perfect gift sent to us on Christmas day.

This Christmas my prayer is that each of you might know Him.  The savior who came to us as a baby and lived among us to show us the way to live.  The Savior King who sacrificed His own life so that we can take our messy, sinful lives to Him and receive a clean heart in exchange.  How awesome is that.  Best gift ever was God's son Jesus born for us.   Have a blessed Christmas y'all.

Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:11

Christmas Gifting

Friends, here is a quick amd simple Christmas gifting idea that is easy to whip up and is as pretty and festive as can be. Homemade hot cocoa mix. Add a few marshmallows, homemade or store bought and you have a simple yet festive gift that anyone would appreciate. Here is my super easy cocoa recipe.

Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix

2 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup special dark cocoa powder
 2-1/2 cups dry milk powder
 1 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup Nestle's dark chocolate baking chips
 2 tablespoons corn starch

 Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In batches pulse through the food processor until all is incorporated and chocolate chips are fairly ground up. For gifting place hot cocoa mix in festive canning jars.  I found these Quattro Stagioni Italian canning jars at Ross. They are very pretty and were a great find.

Attatch the following instructions to the jar of cocoa mix:

For one cup of hot cocoa mix 1/3 cup of cocoa mix to 1 cup of boiling water. Add 2-3 marshmallows and enjoy!

Here are a couple of flavor variations you might like to try.

*For minty cocoa pull out your official candy candy cane smasher and smash up a few, 2 or 3 should do it. Add them to the cocoa mix.

*For cocoa with a kick add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to the mix.

Improv Cooking Challenge: Marshmallow Mania

For December's Improv Cooking Challenge we were given the colors "Red" and "Green" instead of ingredients. Oh My! What to do? With such a wide open palate the possibilities were numerous. Let's just say I tried quite a few different recipe ideas using Red and Green in a number of different ways. I finally settled on something that brought sweet memories from my childhood. ~Marshmallows! Mom made them every Christmas. They were always a special treat.

Now since my mom did just plain old vanilla marshmallows, I had to get out my old thinking cap and see what I could do to incorporate Red and Green into the challenge in more ways than just food color as mom would do. There were many different color options. My favorite was the edible glitter.

For the colors/flavors I decided on peppermint. Although it is a green leafy herb it is most represented as red. Then I chose coconut for the green. Now I know you're probably thinking, coconut?? Well, it might be a bit of a stretch but young coconuts have a green outer shell. That counts right?

I also dyed some popsicle sticks in of course Red and Green, and added some fun Red and Green straws as holders because I used cookie cutters to make some shaped marshmallow popcicles.

It was a fun time. 

A sweet treat messy time. 

It was a Cammie's Kitchen Adventures Marshmallow Mania Marathon.

So... without further ado, may I present you with~

MARSHMALLOW MANIA 2014

*Gathering all the ingredients.

*Letting the unflavored gelatin bloom.

*Cooking the sugar syrup. 240 degrees is the magic number.

*The syrup it ready and it's HOT. Pouring it into the mixer is a slow and careful job. They make those splash guards for a reason. :)

*Almost there. Whip, whip and whip some more. About 15 minutes should do it! 

*Ready for the pan.

*First batches one pan of coconut marshmallows and one pan of 

peppermint. (pictured are the coconut) Now to let them sit 

uncovered overnight. Waiting is... Oh. So. Hard!

* The official Christmas Candy Cane Smasher for the peppermint marshmallows.

*Cutting the shapes from the peppermint marshmallows.

*What to do with all these scraps??

*I know.  I will use them for Hot chocolate. Yummy!

Basic Marshmallow Recipe

2 cups corn syrup

3 cups pure cane sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

4 tablespoons pure vanilla or I like to use vanilla bean paste

5 tblsp. flavored gelatin

Confectioner's sugar

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Prepare two 9x13 cake pans. Spray each with a little Pam. Measure out 5 tblsp. of unflavored gelatin. Don't go by the packets, as they can vary. Place the gelatin in your mixer bowl and add one cup of water and allow it to "bloom" for thirty minutes. The gelatin will absorb all of the water and look like a blob, but not to worry, that is how it should look. About 20 minutes into the  "blooming time" start the sugar syrup.  Place the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt in a large heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved, turn to high heat and bring to a boil. Place the thermometer on the side of the pan so it is not touching the bottom. Boil the sugar syrup, with out stirring, until it reaches a temperature of 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into your unflavored gelatin while the mixer is slowly mixing. When all of the sugar syrup is incorporated gradually bring the speed up to high and and continue whipping at high speed for 15 minutes. At this time you can add you vanilla or whatever flavorings you have decided to use. Whip an additional minute or two and you can then pour your marshmallow mixture into your prepared pans. Let the marshmallows sit out overnight uncovered. The next day turn them out onto a cutting board that has been liberally dusted with confectioner's sugar. Using a pizza cutter (my preference) or knife sprayed with a smidge of Pam. Now you can cut the marshmallows into strips, then cubes. Or you can try using a cookie cutter of your choosing. The thicker cutters work best. Toss the individual marshmallows in a ziplock bag with the confectioner's sugar to coat all sides. Shake off the excess and store in an airtight container until you are ready to enjoy.

For more fabulous Red and Green recipe creations check out the links below.

Blogger:

An InLinkz Link-up

Thoughts From The Kitchen...

~~Cammie's Kitchen Adventures thought for the day~~
Mary Frances from LOVE-the secret ingredient says~

"Pour love into your cooking and it will always taste better."

That has always been my philosophy. The love you put into your cooking will always shine through in the taste, the appearance, and the presentation.

It doesn't matter if you are having a simple supper or an elegant meal, when you prepare everything with love the meal will be a special treat. I also think meals should be a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach; even when they are served on cowboy china.*  

Make mealtime memorable y'all. Your family will thank you for it.

*my funky term for paper plates

Fabulous Finds and Fresh Tastes...

While out shopping at Ross the other day I came across some Lenox China in the Butterfly Meadow pattern.  I got very excited, because I had been eyeing this china for some time.  I had put it on my "someday and a girl can dream" wish lists, because it was way, way out of my budget.  A three piece setting at one of the finer stores will cost about $72.00 and I needed place settings for four.  At that price it just wasn't going to happen.  Well, you can imagine just how excited I was when I saw them at Ross and at the price they were selling for I knew that I could definitely afford to get the setting pieces for four.  So, for way less than the price of one 3-piece place setting I was able to get service for 4.  I was doing a little happy dance inside of Ross.

Here is what I came away with,  4 cups, 4 pasta bowls and dinner plates.  I will look for the salad plates and soup bowls soon, but for now I am soooo happy with my fabulous find.

                                                 

Excited to try out my new dinnerware,  I planned a lovely dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and a veggie.  I had some brussel sprouts and wanted to try braising them with some of the boiled cider that I had made a few weeks earlier.  Making the boiled cider is super easy. See how I did it  here.  So I added them to the menu. Here is how I put it together.  

Braised Brussels Sprouts with Boiled Cider and Applewood Smoked Bacon

1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed and halved
2 slices of Applewood Smoked Bacon, diced
1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled, cored and cut into medium sized chunks**
1/4 cup boiled cider
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
Salt and pepper to taste