Thanksgiving Leftover Part 2: Turkey Noodle Soup

     So here's the second post about what to do with turkey leftovers, since some of you may have frozen some of that delicious turkey or may be having turkey again at Christmas.

Turkey Noodle Soup

by

The Pirate Chef 

 

Ingredients:

1 Lb of Farfalle pasta

2 - 32oz packages of Chicken Broth

2 C Turkey, chopped

1 C Carrots, chopped

1 C Celery, chopped

Directions:

1) Make pasta according to directions on the box and set aside

2) Bring broth and turkey to a boil over medium-high heat

3) Add carrots and celery to broth and cook for 5 minutes

4) Combine pasta and soup in a boil and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Leftover Part 1: Turkey Dinner Pizza

     So I'm going to do a couple of posts regarding Thanksgiving leftovers. I know it's after the holidays and most of you have eaten through your leftovers but you can save these for next year or bookmark the blog so you can find them again.

The first one I have for you is a Turkey Dinner Pizza, although there's not much pizza-ish about it!

     Here's the thing, there's not much of a recipe but more of a set of vague directions and you can have fun from there!

Turkey Dinner Pizza:

by The Pirate Chef

 

Ingredients:

1 Large burrito tortilla shell

Leftover mashed potatoes

Leftover stuffing

Leftover green beans

Leftover gravy

Directions:

1) Set oven to 350° F

2) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and rub with vegetable oil

3) Place tortilla shell bumpy side down (if you have a bumpy side) on the aluminum foil

4) Spread a thin layer of mashed potatoes on top of the tortilla shell to about 1/4" from the edge

5) Layer with thin layers of stuffing, turkey, and green beans in that order

6) Drizzle gravy all over but do not fully cover it

7) Place in oven when it hits 350° and let cook until the edges of the tortilla shell start to brown.

8) Cut and enjoy!

     The thin layers of the ingredients are key. If you make it too thick, it'll take longer to cook and you risk burning the edges of the tortilla shell.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Happy Thanksgiving to the lot of you! 

May your bellies be full, the company be cheerful, and your cups never empty!

Happy Veteran's Day!

After a long hiatus to take care of some personal issues, I am back!

     So to start, I want to wish a happy Veteran's Day to all the men and women who bravely served our country! May your sacrifices never be in vain and you always get the respect you deserve!

 

     Secondly, I am working on some stuff and while I can't talk about all of it yet, some of it does include new recipes for you all to enjoy so stay tuned!

Talk Like a Pirate Day and Cooking Without Power

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day to you all!

 

     Because of Hurricane Irma, I decided not to have the giveaway this year but I do have a new post that will help you all in the future with hurricanes and power outages.

Here's how to heat up some soup when the power be out for very little money and some patience.

Items Needed:

Cans of soup or vegetables

4 bricks*

Commercial-grade sterno with wicks**

Small set of camping pots***

Directions:

1) Place the sterno on a non-wooden surface such as your porch.

2) Take off the lid of the sterno and fluff the wick.

3) Place 2 bricks on opposite sides of the sterno, flat side down, touching the sterno.

4) Light the sterno.

5) Open the soup and pour it into the smaller of the pots and place it over the sterno, resting on the bricks.

6) Place the lid on the pot and let cook, stirring occasionally.

7) When the soup comes to a slow boil, cook for another 3-4 minutes and you're done.

8) Put the lid on the sterno and let it go out and cool off before putting away.

Notes:

*You can get the bricks for less than $1 a piece at most hardware stores. I believe I paid $0.50 per at the local Home Depot.

**You can buy commercial-grade sterno from restaurant supply stores for less than $5 each and they run for about 4 hours. My local one charges about $2.50 per.

***I used the small pot and the lid from the Ozark Trail Cookware Set, which I bought at Wal-Mart for $9.88.

So all in all, not counting the soup and extra sternos, I paid around $15 for the basic setup and was able to cook up two cans of soup the first night. The sterno wasn't even halfway gone when I was done so I am able to use it at least one more time without worry.

Pork Carnitas

     Today I have a slow cooker recipe for you the lot of ye! It's for a wonderful dish called pork carnitas which can be used for tacos, burritos, salads, rice, or whatever you would like!

     This dish came out so tasty and wonderful that I don't have a picture of the final product, but the one you see is from the internet and it's pretty close. This made enough to feed two of us for a whole week and we never got tired of it! This has to be one of the more versatile dishes I have made as we used it for tacos, burritos, and I even added it to some homemade pasta salad for a delicious bonus to it!

Pork Carnitas

by The Pirate Chef

 

Ingredients:

4 1/2 Lb Boneless Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)

1 Medium Onion, chopped

2 Jalapenos, seeds removed and chopped

2 1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

3/4 C Fresh Orange Juice (or the best quality you can find)

1 Tbsp Dried Oregano

2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

1) Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, trim off any large chunks of fat on the outside (don't try to get all

     the fat off the outside you see, just the largest piece or two).

2) Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and rub all over the pork shoulder.

3) Combine the oregano, cumin, and olive oil in a small bowl (making paste) and then rub all over the

     pork shoulder.

4) Place the pork in a slow cooker (4-6 qt) with the fattier side facing up.

5) Top with the onions, garlic, and jalapenos.

6) Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8-10 hrs on low

7) The meat should be tender and wanting to fall apart, so remove from the slow cooker.

8) Skim off any fat you may see in the slow cooker then put the l back on and turn to high to reduce.

9) While the juices are reducing, shred the pork with two forks and put into a container if not eating

     right away.

10) Once the juices have reduced to about 1 1/2 - 2 cups worth (it's not exact so just guess when it's

     done) put into another container if not using right away.

To Serve:

1) Heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.

2) Place shredded pork in pan and let cook until bottom side is golden brown.

3) Add in a small ladle-full of the juices and stir with a spatula (breaking up the pork and scraping up

     all the delicious bits stuck to the pan)

4) Cook until all the juices are absorbed/evaporated and you can't see any in the bottom of the pan.

5) Enjoy!

Half Moon Bay Trading Company - Garlapeño Sauce

     So this past weekend I tried Half Moon Bay Trading Company's Garlapeño sauce on some chicken tenders. I just heated them up in the oven, put them in a mixing bowl and tossed with some of the sauce.

     It was so good, just the right amount of heat from the jalapeños and I love the cilantro in it as well. The sweet from the cane sugar does a great job of sweetening up the whole thing but you still get a nice acidic flavor from the vinegar and the lime juice. I also truly enjoy the nice strong garlic flavor that you can taste throughout, but also never overpowers the other flavors in the sauce.

     I think cilantro is an underplayed flavor in a lot of cooking today, specifically tex-mex style, and was thrilled to see it in this sauce and to be able to taste it as well!

So far, there has not been a sauce in their Pirates Blend line that I don't like.

I can't wait to try this on some wings this weekend!

Half Moon Bay Trading Company - CocoMango Sauce

This week I will review Half Moon Bay Trading Company's CocoMango sauce.

   Let me start by saying that I do not like mango nor coconut, I know, it's weird but it's the way I am. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this sauce!

   They blended together mango, coconut, cayenne pepper, spices, and orange juice for a fantastic sauce. You can taste the mango and the coconut (as there are pieces of coconut meat in the sauce), but at the same time, you get that nice tang from the orange juice and the little bit of heat from the cayenne pepper.

   Overall, the sauce is quite tasty and hits on a little of every taste bud with everything blended together beautifully.

   Now, how I used it was a marinade for some nice grilled chicken. I put a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a bag and poured the CocoMango sauce into it. I pressed as much air out as I could and kneaded the bag to evenly distribute the sauce and make sure the chicken was fully covered. After letting it sit for a couple of days, I fired up the grill and cooked the chicken until they were done. As there are different types of grills and cooking fuels, grilling times will be different and it would be best to cook the chicken the time and temp you normally do.

   The chicken came out beautifully with wonderful flavors from the sauce and remained juicy inside (a wonderful part of marinating). The coconut developed a more toasted flavor, picking up a strong nutty flavor with some sweetness, but never overpowering the other flavors in the sauce.

   Half Moon Bay Trading Company's CocoMango sauce will definitely become a standard for marinating chicken for the grill for us, it was absolutely delicious.

Happy Independence Day!

A happy Independence Day to all my brethren on this July 4th!

   Today we celebrate not only our freedom from the tyranny of England's reign 241 years ago, but we also celebrate the freedom that our brave men and women in uniform fight everyday to defend for us!

   So to them I say thank you; thank you for all that you have done, thank you for all that you have given, and thank you for all you have sacrificed.

We are truly in your debt and today, we show you just how much it means to us!

 

 

Half Moon Bay Trading Company - Caribbean Condiment

     So this week, I have the first of a 4-part review for a series of products from Half Moon Bay Trading Company. These 4 sauces/marinades come from their "Pirates Blend" line of sauces.

 

 

     This first one is called Caribbean Condiment and is a tico sauce from Costa Rica. A tico sauce is a staple in Costa Rica, kind of like ketchup in the USA, although not sweet. It's a blend of different spices that gives itself a spicy flavor, but there's no heat with it.

     This one from Half Moon Bay Trading Company is a blend of ginger, cumin, mustard, garlic, celery and cayenne sauce. The flavor is reminiscent of a nice yellow curry but slightly different.

     I decided to test out it's adaptability this past week by trying it out as a dipping sauce for some chicken tenders from Publix (some of the best tenders around) and mixed in with some basmati rice I made for my lunch at work.

     I have to say, it did not disappoint at all! The spices added some wonderful flavor to the chicken tenders, making them even tastier than normal. When I mixed it in with the basmati rice I had, holy crap was that good! The cumin, ginger, and garlic made a nice strong presence without being overpowering. The mustard provided a wonderful base that carried all the flavors. While the celery and cayenne made a nice finish to this beautifully crafted sauce.

     This sauce is a perfect blend of spices and will definitely becoming a major part of my kitchen staples! I can't wait to try out of one of the other four sauces or put this on some grilled food next weekend!

     The Caribbean Condiment sauce is available in stores, but if you have trouble finding it, you can always order online from them at http://www.halfmoonbaytrading.com/sauces/pirates-blend-caribbean-condiment

Enjoy and have fun experimenting with this wonderfully tasty sauce!

French Lemon and Roasted Garlic Chicken

     Alright you scallywags, here's a new recipe for the lot of ya. I recently tried my hand at a low-sodium dish (me blood pressure be a bit too high) and it was really good! So let me be sharing it with you all.

French Lemon and Roasted Garlic Chicken

by Ellen Brown

Ingredients:

1 (3.5-4 pound) Frying Chicken, cut into serving pieces with each breast cut lengthwise in half

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/4 Olive Oil

2 Heads Garlic, broken into cloves but not fully peeled (leave the last skin on)

1 C Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

1/4 C Lemon Juice (or lime if you prefer)

2 Tbl Fresh Parsely, chopped (optional in my opinion)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400°, and grease a 10x14-inch baking pan.

2) Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

3) Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and rub with thyme

4) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then place chicken in pan, skin side down.

5) Brown chicken for 2 minutes per side, or until browned, and then transfer chicken to baking dish using tongs

6) Add garlic cloves to the skillet and brown for 2 minutes, then add the chicken broth and juice to the skillet.

7) Bring to a boil and then pour over the chicken

8) Bake chicken for 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165° in the thickest piece (usually the thigh)

9) Season to taste with black pepper and parsely (I didn't add anymore black pepper or parsley and I thought it was very good)

     I looked through several low-sodium cookbooks to find one that made my stomach growl with anticipation and this recipe really got my interest.  You can use lemon juice or lime juice in this and I opted for the lime juice and boy was it good! I thought this was incredibly tasty and it was quite healthy as well, so if any of ye have a bit of high blood pressure, check out this recipe and more in the book $3 Low-Sodium Meals by Ellen Brown.

When Grandma Finds Out You Haven't Eaten

Aye! This be truer than the blue sea! Now can any of you scurvy knaves tell me what kind of pan she's cooking in?

First one to get it right will get 2 extra entries into this year's Pirate Chef Contest coming up in September!

 

You can post your answer here on the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ThePirateChefPage/ 

Sloppy Joe Quesadilla

     Who doesn't enjoy a good Sloppy Joe sandwich? Well next time you're making some and you be feeling like switching it up a bit, try a Sloppy Joe quesadilla! This is not a recipe but more of an idea for you all, you can use any cheese you want, I just prefer Colby Jack for this kind of stuff.

1) Preheat panini maker [check your instruction manual for settings] or pan [if you're doing it on the stovetop]

2) Take a flour tortilla and put about 5 pieces of thinly sliced Colby Jack cheese on half of it.
 
3) Then spoon enough Sloppy Joe mix to cover the cheese, draining as much liquid as you can off.
 
4) Put another 5 pieces of thinly sliced Colby Jack cheese on top.
 
5) Fold over other half of tortilla shell.
 
6) Cook quesadilla until shell starts to brown and cheese is melted.
 
7) Cut into halves or quarters and enjoy!

Grilled Asian Chicken

Summertime be upon us lads and lasses, so fire up them grills and let's get cooking!

     Here's a recipe I found that my mother came up with who knows when, I rescued it from the deep dark recesses of my parents computer and tried it out this past week. It was very good and wonderfully tasty!

Grilled Asian Chicken

by The Pirate Chef's Mom

Ingredients:

3/4 C Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1/2 C No Pulp Orange Juice

1 tsp Fresh Ginger, finely chopped

1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped

2 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts

Directions:

1) Mix soy sauce, orange juice, ginger, and garlic together.

2) Place chicken breasts in a small container suitable to marinade in.

3) Let sit for 3-4 hours or overnight (I prefer overnight), turning over halfway through if the marinade doesn't fully cover the chicken.

4) Preheat grill and wipe down with a little cooking oil (helps to prevent sticking to some degree)

5) Place chicken on a separate plate and pour the marinade in a small pot.

6) Bring remaining marinade to a boil on the stove so that you can use it to baste the chicken as it cooks. **Please Read Safety Precaution at regarding this**

7) Place chicken on grill and brush on marinade whenever you flip it over.

8) When chicken is done, remove from grill and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat so that it doesn't dry out so quickly.

**Safety Precaution: Always bring your marinade to a boil before using as a basting sauce. Not doing so could result in a nice little visit to the ER.

The Shimmery Fin Drink

     Here's something for you lovers of things that shimmer and shine. No, not gold, put away your treasure maps and shovels.

The Shimmery Fin

by The Pirate Chef

 

 

Ingredients:

   3/4 oz Spiced Rum

   3/4 oz White/Silver Rum

   1 1/2 oz Margarita Mix

   1/2 oz Blue Curacao

   1/4 tsp Blue Pearl Dust (used for cake decorating)

Directions:

   1) Place the pearl dust into rocks glass

   2) Combine all the other ingredients

   3) Stir and add a couple of ice cubes

   4) Swirl and enjoy the shimmering show!

   If you don't want the shimmery part of this drink, simply omit the pearl dust and enjoy, it is quite tasty either way!

   Pearl dust is generally available in any specialty craft store that deals in cake decorating products and comes in a variety of colors. The ratio of it that I used for this was 1/4 tsp to roughly 4 oz of liquid and that can be used for any drink you want to add this look to.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to the lot of ye! Today, I have a recipe for Beef and Guinness stew for you, so if you are tired of the traditional corned beef dish, try something a little different!

Beef and Guinness Stew

by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs Stew meat (I like to use a nice beef roast)

3 Tbls Oil

2 Tbls Flour

Salt and black pepper

1/2 Cup Flour

4 oz Butter

1 Large onion, chopped

1 Clove garlic, crushed

2 Tbls Tomato paste, mixed with 4 T water

1 Bottle Guinness Draught

1 lb Baby carrots

1 lb Small red potatoes, halved and then quartered

Sprig of thyme or 1/3 tsp dried

Sprig of rosemary or 1/3 tsp dried

2 Bay leaves

4 Cups Beef broth

Directions:

1) Trim the meat of any fat or gristle, and cut into 2-inch cubes.

2) Toss beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

3) In a small bowl, season the 2 Tbls flour with salt and pepper.

4) Toss meat with seasoned flour.

5) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium-large pot over high heat.

6) Brown the meat on all sides in small batches.

7) Remove the meat and set aside.

8) Add the onion and crushed garlic to the pot and saute until tender.

9) Add the butter and melt.

10) Whisk in the 1/2 cup of flour to make a roux.

11) Turn the heat down to low and cook the roux until it is brown, do not let it get to a brick color, that's too long!

12) Whisk in the beef broth, Guinness, and tomato paste.

13) Bring the stew to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

14) Add the aromatics and beef, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is starting to get tender and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 1/2 hours.

15) Add the carrots and potatoes and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the meat and vegetables are tender, about 1 more hour.

16) Remove the bay leaf and the thyme and rosemary stems before serving.

17) ENJOY!

If the stew gets too thick, you might not have browned the beef enough or cooked the roux long enough. This is a simple fix, just heat up some more beef broth or some water in another pot and mix it in, just a little at a time, to reach the desired consistency. This is not a perfect fix but it keeps the stew from overcooking while not taking much away from the flavor.