More Recipes and Posts from the Chili Pepper Madness Site
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Here are the posts since the last newsletter.
Italian Style Ground Turkey Meatloaf
When Patty and I first got married, neither of us was much of a cook. I had started to learn some things while living on my own in college, but hadn't gotten very far by the time we married. Patty actually does not cook, but when she did, her go-to meal was meatloaf. I don't remember the recipe she used, but one thing I DO remember is that she used tomato sauce in the mix. It always came out moist and tasty. Over the years I've played around with the recipe and made it my own, bringing in a lot more flavor and, of course, chili peppers. I never lost the tomato sauce, though, which is pretty key in making the meatloaf so moist. Of course this new sauce does a bit of simmering with plenty of fresh ingredients. Flavor, baby!
Turkey-Chorizo Burgers with Creamy Guacamole
Who is grilling this weekend? With the holiday here, and summer of course, we're already grilling like crazy. Living in the Midwest means a shorter grilling season for us, so when we have it, we like to take advantage. When it comes to grilling, burgers are always at the top of the list. You already know we make a lot of turkey burgers - see our Burgers Recipes and you'll see - but how about something a little different? Turkey-Chorizo Burgers. No, not turkey made into chorizo. I mean a combination of ground turkey and spicy Mexican chorizo. You'll get a full on blast of that awesome chorizo flavor, accompanied by our favorite ground turkey and plenty of seasonings mixed in, including jalapeno peppers, of course, which I am obviously MAD for. Jalapeno Madness, baby!
Easy BBQ Sauce
This super-duper easy homemade bbq sauce is a simple way to elevate your condiments. The story goes like this --- Patty and I were in the kitchen, readying up some spicy Italian sausages for the grill. We weren't doing a recipe. It was a day off of our Madness duties, and I didn't think anyone would be interested in a couple of basic grilled Italians. I didn't have sauce prepared other than the homemade honey-beer mustard that I hope to post soon. We were just going to go with the standard ketchup and mustard, and for me, a bit of sriracha. I like my Italians with mustard and a splash of sriracha or some other hot sauce. So! Patty, as she likes to do, tosses out a challenge.
Barbecue Sauce Recipes
The Fourth of July is just around the corner! People all over the U.S. will be firing up their grills and cooking up all sorts of goodness, from burgers and brats to hot dogs, chicken, ribs, and so much more. No matter what you're cooking on the barbecue, there is one thing in particular that ties it all together - Barbecue Sauce!
Cajun Candied Bacon
Patty recently made some candied bacon to go with her Thirsty Thirteenth drink recipe, the Smoky Whiskey Mule. She used candied bacon to infuse whiskey and also garnished with a big slice of candied bacon. Wow! As we were making it, we of course had to sample the bacon and it was so good. Beyond good. Good enough to turn it into its own post. We've made this in the past for different reasons, though I never thought to call it "candied bacon". The name makes sense, of course. "Candying" refers to preserving something with a sugar syrup, and that is essentially what candied bacon, or "bacon candy" is.
Massaman Chicken
Not long ago I prepared a Thai dish called Massaman Shrimp and since then have made it a few times. OK, maybe a few dozen times. It is one of those dishes that cooks up quickly but majorly delivers in the flavor department. But as with all recipes, it is up for interpretation. And alteration. This version isn't a huge departure from the original. We have seasoned and seared chicken instead of shrimp, dropped the potatoes, played with the ratios a bit, but you still get that excellent flavor. I've also made this with homemade harissa instead of the Thai chili paste, though you can certainly use Thai chili paste, which is more traditional.
Huevos con Chorizo - Mexican Breakfast Tacos
You can give me Huevos con Chorizo any day of the week. I will eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night snack...anytime! This very simple Mexican breafast recipe needs no complication because, like most Mexican food, the simple combination is perfect on its own. It takes very little time to prepare - heck, it took me longer to roast the jalapenos and chop the ingredients - so if you're in a hurry or just plain starving, this might be your new go-to dish.
Homemade Italian Sausage-Goat Cheese Lasagna Rolls
Patty requests these all the time. They are definitely being filed under "Patty's Favorites". There is something fun and satisfying about a good Italian sausage pasta, especially in the form of homemade lasagna. Lasagna is one of the few dishes my mother used to make. She would cook up some ground beef, pour in a jar of Ragu, then dump it over lasagna noodles with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. It was pretty good, actually, one of my fonder memories, but now that I've learned to cook, I like to make mine a bit more homemade. It helps to have an herb garden that is exploding with goods, like fresh basil. Oh yes! I love basil.
Juicy Ground Turkey Burgers
I want to show you how to make moist, juicy turkey burgers. Yes, once again I am going to extoll the virtues of awesome turkey burgers. Flipping through our burger recipes section, you'll find a number of turkey burger recipes, and that is because we flat out love turkey burgers. Don't get me wrong. We also LOVE a good beef burger, but beef had an unfair advantage over turkey because of the fat content. This means it is much easier to get a juicy beef burger, but it also means you'll have a lot more calories. With turkey burgers, you need to figure how to get the moisture in the burgers, but also some flavor, as the ground turkey alone is much milder that beef. To me, that's a welcoming blank canvas.
Habanero Pepper Jam
Habanero pepper jam coming your way! I used to shy away from making jams and jellies. I'm not sure why. Growing up, I was pretty boring, actually. All I ever ate was grape jelly. Peanut butter and jelly was a daily thing, and if you served me grape jelly with seeds in it, forget about it! And don't even get me started on strawberry jam. Fast forward a few years - fine, MANY years - and here I am, making habanero jam. I mean, just look at it! Isn't it beautiful? I'm so happy my tastebuds have evolved.
Butter Poached Salmon Over Cheesy Grits with Poached Egg and Bacon Gravy
The title of this recipe is a mouthful. It isn't your typical sort of recipe, more of a collection of highly flavorful components that come together into one heck of a late breakfast or a brunch, which is exactly how it was created. I'm tempted to give it some funky name like "Mike's Mad Salmon Brunch" or "Patty's Salmon-Bacon Gravy Breakfast" or something along those lines, but in the end, I'll just call it what it is - "Butter Poached Salmon Over Cheesy Grits with Poached Egg and Bacon Gravy". What a combination!
Zesty Sauces: Homemade Sauces with a Bold and Spicy Spin
Here is a new collection of 40 homemade sauces that are bold, zesty, and sometimes spicy that you can make at home, perfect for spicing up any meal. This is the ideal collection for chili pepper lovers who want great spicy sauces for their dishes, each with photo and cooking directions so you can get cooking immediately.
Smoky Whiskey Mule
Patty here again with another "Thirsty Thirteenth". Whoop whoop! Since Father’s day is approaching, I decided to make a drink dedicated to and inspired by my Dad. This year is extra special for him because his birthday is just a couple days before Father’s day and he is turning the big 7-0. My Dad switched over from a beer drinker to Jack Daniel’s many years ago. He was trying all sorts of crazy things because he didn’t like the Jack and Coke route at all. For a while he was drinking Jack and Gatorade. All different flavors of Gatorade. Everyone thought he was crazy.
Grilled Turkey and Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers
More stuffed peppers coming your way. Why? We love chili peppers! The "LOL" is assumed there, except now I just wrote it, so it is no longer assumed. I'm sure you've figured out how much we love chili peppers around here, chili peppers of all types. Chili peppers are ideal for stuffing, especially the thicker walled bell peppers. They stand up to the heat and you can fit a lot into them, making them perfect for dinner sized portions. These made for a big meal in our home.
Harissa Rubbed Grilled Chicken Wings
Are you a fan of grilled chicken wings? I sure am. As much as I love an elevated meal, I can't stop loving the awesome chicken wing, arguable the king of uber bar food. There are so many ways to prepare them and I love them all, though I have to admit some wing joints are better than others. I'm sure you would agree. It's gotten to the point where I flat out will not order wings from some places. Forget about most restaurants who don't specialize in wings. Their take is typically a boring flash fry, maybe some salt, and some generic wing sauce. Umm, no thanks. I like my hot wings with some flavor and some character. Hence! Harissa Rubbed Grilled Chicken Wings.
Harissa Rubbed Baked Chicken Breast
I'm totally hooked on harissa lately. I made a large batch of homemade harissa and have been incorporating it into a number of recipes, and it has been, quite frankly, fabulous. As a couple of chili pepper and zesty food lovers, it is smart and convenient to have something like a homemade harissa on hand in the refrigerator for when you want big flavor fast. It is something you can swirl into soups or stews, rub into chicken wings, or in this case, season some healthy chicken breasts for baking. It isn't the quickest meal in the world because of the potato puree - I oven baked the potato along with the garlic - but if you skip the puree, you can have this done fast. Or, master the potato setting on your microwave and cook the garlic in a pan with some oil for about a minute. I prefer oven baked, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do when you're in a hurry.
Check out more at our Chili Pepper Madness Web Site.
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