Marinated Cucumbers and Onions

                                    

I think I could sometimes just drink this recipe!  As far back as I can remember my mom made this side dish.  It was always just what we all wanted. She probably didn't use as much sugar as I do and you can most certainly adjust any ingredient or spice below to your liking.

My recipe below is my rendition of her cucumber recipe.  It's fun just to experiment and make it your own. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  On a hot summer's day there is nothing more refreshing than this recipe to me. 

So, try this out this week. It's an easy enough dish that even the most inexperienced cook can prepare and wow their families and friends with!  

                                       

                                                    Marinated Cucumbers and Onions

3 - 4 cucumbers (seedless variety are best, but we usually don't use it)

2 onions sliced, white or red

1/2 cup sugar or non calorie sweetener like Splenda

3 cups cold water

2 cups white or apple cider vinegar (I usually use white vinegar)

2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning spice

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Pepper to taste

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (a little - 1 tsp. goes a long way)

Optional additions:

bell peppers, sliced in 1/2 inch strips

sweet banana peppers, chopped in bite sized portions (one inch in size)

tomatoes, cherry or Roma tomato varieties

dill weed, fresh or dried 

Preparation:

Clean and slice cumcumbers and onions in to 1/4 inch wide rounds.  Place in a large container with a lid or a large bowl. Add other vegetables, water, sugar, vinegar, and seasonings. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours or longer. I prefer overnight.  

We enjoy taking these cucumbers out at each night as a side with dinner.  They will keep for one week.

***Throughout the week we add more cucumbers and onions as they are eaten.  

To us this is one of our favorite things to eat out of our garden.  It's light, quick and easy to make!  

Enjoy!

Alise

The Ranch Kitchen's Summer Squash

The Ranch Kitchen's Summer Squash

Finally, finally, back to blogging and sharing my recipes!  Summer has been crazy busy...house flooded, car wrecked, two Hereford shows, braces, oral surgery, my almost broken arm, and then daughter's emergency appendectomy.  Life is good though and my glass is half full and not half empty, because through it all God took good care of us and we are all healthy.  

The above picture is of one dish I make very often in our house from the crazy amount of squash my husband's garden grows each year.  I have never really cared for boiled stove top squash, so this recipe I created is far better and allows this summer veggie to hold on to it's color and nutrients better.  

You can add any type of cheese over this squash recipe at the end right before serving or without it.  Either way, it's always one of my go to dishes when we grill or cook in the house.  It was  a huge hit at our recent Jr. National Hereford show in Kansas City and it helped bring a little bit of our garden to my annual Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd feed that I do for our Texas crowd and other state friends. 

The Ranch Kitchen's Summer Squash

6 - 8 small yellow and/or green zucchini, cut in quarters 1/2 inch thick

1 medium to large yellow or sweet 1015 onion, sliced 

1/4 cup Canola oil or grape seed oil (or vegetable oil)
1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)

1 - 2 teaspoons of Cajun Season, All Seasoning Spice, garlic salt/pepper, lemon pepper or seasonings of your choice.

In Teflon coated pan or wok add oil and heat on low heat.  Add squash and onions cooking on low to medium heat covered, stirring constantly allowing vegetables to 'cook down' or reduce in size.  Covering your dish with a lid will help your squash cook faster.  Also, a lot of oil is not needed due to the water in the squash that will release as you cook.  Add Cajun Seasoning like Tony Chachere's or Zatarain's,  and/or All Season Spice as you cook, tasting to see if you need more or less.  You can also add lemon pepper or any spice you prefer instead.  Cooking time is usually around 20 - 30 minutes depending on the level of your fire or heat on your electric stove top.  I have also prepared this squash in a foil pack  a lot of the time when we are in a hurry by grilling outside or in the stove.  Just place your foil wrapped squash on top of a cookie sheet in case it accidentally breaks or you'll have a mess in your stove.  Also add 4 - 5 ice cubes to help maintain the moisture in your squash as they stove seems to dry it out faster even though it is sealed in a foil pack. Always wrap your foil in an upward curl on the sides so that you do not lose your juice from your squash.

Occasionally, I add grated cheddar like Parmesan, and/or Colby Jack cheese to the top of the squash as my daughters like it that way.  

I hope you enjoy this summer squash recipe as much as we do.  When I say we eat this squash a lot...that is an understatement.  My middle daughter says no more squash when she returns to college, but my oldest one requested this for dinner tonight as part of her recovery meal from her appendectomy surgery and healthy eating plan!  Promise it's good, healthy and great warmed up the next night in the microwave.  For that reason alone, I always cook it in abundance so I have some with my next meal!

Enjoy!

Alise

Virginia's Mexican Cornbread & Slap Your Momma Pinto Beans

My mom might be surprised that one of my favorite recipes she made while I was growing up was her version of Mexican Cornbread.  She probably hasn't made it in years, but when she did it could certainly feed a crowd.  Her house was always filled with a half a dozen boys made up of my brother's friends and our boy cousins.  Dinner was always a big deal and no one ever walked away hungry. 

Her version of Mexican Cornbread has ground hamburger meat and some of you might liken it to 'Taco Pie'.  This was one of the very first recipes I made when Scott and I got married and when we want comfort food this is my go to recipe.  It's a good potluck dish to take to anywhere and although I haven't tried it in a jumbo version in my roaster for a huge crowd of 50 or more, I can't see why it wouldn't be a huge hit.  Along with my spiced up version of beans from a can.....yes...I cook from a can occasionally and make people believe I cooked them from scratch - they are that darn good.  With my Cheesy Baked Tomatoes that I have posted on my blog before, it's a great meal.  Left overs are even better the next day!  Sometimes I'll serve it with my Nolana's Family Hot sauce and some tortilla chips.

Virginia's Mexican Cornbread

2 lbs of ground hamburger meat, browned and drained with
1 onion, chopped fine
1 large can green chili's
1 can Rotel Tomatoes
2 packages of cornbread, prepared according to directions uncooked (not baked yet)0 or homemade cornbread uncooked
1/2 cup milk (for cornbread)
2 eggs, beaten (for cornbread)
1 can cream of corn (for cornbread)
2 - 4 cups Mexican Blend grated cheese or mild or sharp cheddar cheese

On your stove, brown hamburger meat and chopped onion until it is no longer pink and browned. Drain excess fat and add 1 can green chili's and 1 can of Rotel Tomatoes (I prefer the can with lime and cilantro).  In a separate bowl prepare cornbread to package directions, reducing milk to 1 cup milk for both packages and add creamed corn to mixture. Set cornbread mixture aside.  Do not cook cornbread yet. 

In a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex or casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam cooking oil or greased, add hamburger mixture.  Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese on top of hamburger mixture.  Pour cornbread mixture on top of meat.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the top of your cornbread is slightly browned.  The last five minutes add 2 cups of grated cheese on top of cornbread.  Allow to cool for ten minutes and cut in to squares.  Serve with my Slap Your Momma Pinto Beans below and Cheesy Baked Tomatoes from my blog!  Along with sweet iced tea or your favorite margarita, dinner is served!

 

                                              Slap Your Momma Pinto Beans

1 - 16 ounce can of Pinto Beans (I prefer Bush's Pinto Beans)
3 - 4 cups water
1 large onion chopped
1 stick margarine or butter
1 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning (like an All Spice Seasoning)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped fine (optional)

Open can and place in a large dutch oven or pot.  Add 3 - 4 cups water as you do not want the beans with too much water.  Add onion, margarine/butter and spices.  Stir well.  Bring heat slowly up to a boil on the beans and turn down to a low simmer (low fire).  Cook for 20 - 30 minutes.  Add cilantro the last 5 minutes.  Spoon into bowls with the juice from the beans.  The bean broth is what will make you want to 'slap your momma' as we say in the south!  You can also drain the juice and serve on the side of you main dish.  These beans are absolutely amazing the next day.   Also, if you are a tomato lover, you can add canned tomatoes to the beans as well for an added flavor combination!  Enjoy!

Alise

Persian Yogurt and Cucumbers - Maast-o Khiar

One of our favorite side dishes when I cook Persian food, especially hamburger or as it's called Koobideh, is to serve Maast-o Khiar or Persian Yogurt and Cucumbers.  It's a simple and healthy dish that does not take a ton of preparation.  As a child it was always one of my favorite things to eat and now as a mother it's something that's expected on those special nights when I cook Persian food.

My father came from Iran to study in the United States at the now Texas A&M at Commerce, or what it was then called ETSU, East Texas State University.  Both he and my mother received their bachelors and masters from there back in the 1960's and 1970's.  As the story goes he met my mother, married her, and together they had my two brothers and I.  People always wonder why I have such an olive skin...now you know!

When I was in the 3rd grade we moved from Texas so that we could meet our family and live in Tehran, Iran.  At that time there were hundreds of thousands of Americans there working for oil companies and such.  I attended Tehran American School and a Canadian/American School while at the Caspian Sea and enjoyed our time there so much! Little did we know during our years there that a revolution would make us move home earlier than expected.  

We lived there in Iran for a total of 2 and 1/2 years, from the fall of 1976 to two weeks before all Americans were evacuated in late January of 1979.  Thankfully, being the age I was, proved critical in the many wonderful memories I still have of our time there.  In all these years since then have I ever witnessed more beautiful gardens than there, eaten food more fragrant or rustic, or grown from any experience as I did from those life changing moments in my life.  My parents allowed us to witness the country first hand in our many excursions while we lived not only in Tehran, but by the Caspian Sea.  My mother was one of few women who drove there and she was fearless driving the long drives from the Caspian Sea to Tehran.  The bazaars and it's smells, the mountains in the distance topped with snow still have a place in my heart. I'll forever be thankful for our time there.  

As my girls, nieces and nephews grow older our favorite bedtime stories are of mine and my brother's adventures there.  They learn of our Christmas parade at school when Santa came in on a camel, to when we sat in the top of a cherry tree eating and spitting out seeds much to the dismay of my aunts and their gardener!  I tell them of our trips to the bazaars where you went from one shop to the next to purchase each food item, and how special it was to get care packages from my grandparents and uncles from the states!  With these stories, I want them to have a piece of our past that they can link to a country and kinship that I remember as beautiful inside and out.  

Now as a mother who is proud of her heritage from both countries, I've tried to instill a 'taste' of it in our families lives.  Someday it will be my pleasure to teach my girls how to cook our favorite meals.  Even at my age I'm still learning from my mother who is a fantastic Persian cook and from my growing number of Persian cookbooks.  My totally American husband loves the food as much as we do and to our surprise will eat the most authentic of Persian foods.

Some of my favorite food shopping trips are to middle eastern groceries when in Houston or Dallas to find our beloved Persian garlic pickles for Scott and Ilissa, or long grain Basmati rice. They will never compare to the bazaars I remember, but they at least allow me to enjoy the taste and partial smells once again.  

On each visit from my dad we are treated to our favorite Persian pistachios and fresh bread that we now use to make our homemade pizzas.  Thank goodness our country is a melting pot of cultures!

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Persian Yogurt and Cucumber or properly said Maast-o Khiar is a traditional dish that you will find across the middle east and southern Europe like Greece in many different forms.  I like ours best and am very partial to it.  It's fantastic alone or served on top of white rice or served on top of chicken, steak, or hamburger kabobs.  If you serve it outside in the heat, make sure you place an ice bowl beneath it to keep it cool.  You can also place several ice cubes in the yogurt to substitute for the water, as it will allow it to melt and cool the yogurt at the same time. And just a note to ponder...think about all that pro-biotic yogurt in stores now.  For years middle easterners have known how to rid themselves of stomach bugs and the like by eating, yes, you guessed it yogurt!  When I was sick as a child or my kids are sick now, it's plain yogurt that we eat.  

I hope you'll try this dish below.  As we all try to watch our figures and want something light and refreshing, this recipe is a perfect one to try.  The mint gives it a truly fresh taste that I think you'll really enjoy.  

Persian Yogurt and Cucumbers - Maast-o Khiar

1 tub of Plain Yogurt - not flavored or vanilla (I love Chobani Greek Blended Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt in the 32 ounce container)

1 - 2 cucumbers, skin off and cut into small cubes with seeds in

1 - 2 teaspoons of dried mint, ground even finer in the palm of your hand

1/2 to 1 cup cold water, less is more and makes it thicker

add salt and pepper to your taste

In a medium sized bowl place yogurt, add water to desired thickness.  Add cucumbers that have been skinned and cubed.  If you prefer you can take the seeds out of your cucumbers. Grind the dried mint in the palm of your hand by taking your other hand and pushing into it.  Add the dried mint to your taste one teaspoon at a time.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Serve cold along side or on top of white rice, chicken, hamburger or steak kabobs.  Instead of the water you can add ice and allow it to melt to make the yogurt not quite as thick. And enjoy!  

This recipe is great the next day as well.  And always refrigerate as this will keep up to about 3 days.

Click here to get the printable recipe for Maast o Khiar on my site.

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen

Sausage, Onion and Pepper Spaghetti

As a young cook I tried to experiment when I could.  As I have said before, I could not have lived without my mom's home written cookbook those first years, but I also think you have to step out on a limb from time to time.  Thank goodness my husband has always been daring with my creations and always honest.  

I think spaghetti sauce is under utilized in many kitchens.  You don't have to just use it for standard meat (beef) spaghetti.  I use several different varieties in my Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd, and routinely serve it with the quick and easy dish I'm sharing with you today.  

My Sausage, Onion and Pepper Spaghetti is one of those dishes where you look in your refrigerator and realize the  bell peppers need to be cooked, the onions in your bin would be a nice addition, and that turkey or beef link Kielbasa sausage would be really tasty along with it!  Then with a can of 4 Cheese Spaghetti Sauce that most companies such as Hunt's or our local Brookshires grocery store brand Food Club carry, dinner is served in literally under thirty minutes.  Served with a green salad and some garlic toast, you have a dinner even the pickiest eaters like my youngest daughter love.  

If your a young cook or an experienced one, you can be creative with this recipe adding fresh zucchini, yellow squash, or even fresh cherry tomatoes to spice up this dish.  Also, if you prefer white or brown rice over noodles, this is fantastic over that as well.  

I hope you'll try it soon.  It's husband and kid approved around our ranch!  

Sausage, Onion and Pepper Spaghetti

1 package of Kielbasa Sausage, pork or turkey, cut in to 1/2 inch wide rounds
1 onion, quartered and sliced 
1 green bell pepper, cleaned of membrane and sliced
1 red bell pepper, cleaned of membrane and sliced
3 cups spaghetti or egg noodles, prepared according to package directions

Cook sausage in 1/2 cup of water over medium heat.  Water will cook out and sausage will brown evenly after about ten minutes.  ***Make sure you stir and turn sausage frequently until the rounds are browned on both sides.  Take out your sausage and drain on paper towels to reduce excess oil.  Saute onion, green bell peppers in the pan you cooked the sausage in along with one to two teaspoons of Canola, vegetable, or Grapeseed oil.  Cook vegetables until they are slightly limp, but still crisp.  Add back into the pan the cooked/drained sausage.  Add one can of spaghetti sauce on top of sausage/vegetable mixture.  Cook on low until mixture is bubbling.  Turn off and serve over prepared spaghetti  or egg noodles.  

Alise