Culinary Craftiness

Happy St. Paddy's Day! 🍀 Éirinn go Brách! 🇮🇪

Irish Soda Bread is a rustic, hearty yeast-free bread that’s easy to make and heavenly drenched with sweet cream butter and a drizzle of honey. I always have to have a warm slice straight from the oven! 🤗 And it’s the perfect vehicle for sopping up dreamy brown gravies and rich broths in soups and stews.

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups unbleached flour (or all-purpose)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Optional: 2 tbsp. sugar (sweet) OR 2 tsp. garlic rosemary (savory)
14 oz. buttermilk (or make buttermilk*)

*To make buttermilk: Add 1 tbsp. white vinegar to 1 cup of 2% or whole milk. Let sit for 5 minutes or more.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease and flour a cake pan or baking sheet.

Combine dry ingredients. Add milk to make a sticky dough. Place on floured surface to lightly knead and shape into slightly flattened round. Don’t over-knead or all the gases from the soda/buttermilk reaction will escape.

Place in pan and cut an X in the top. Cover with another pan and bake 30 minutes.

Remove cover and bake another 10-15. Bottom should sound hollow when tapped.

Cover with a moist towel. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container or zipper bag.

https://culinarycraftiness.com/2016/12/11/irish-soda-bread/

Authentic Coney Dog Sauce - This recipe makes a large batch. Cut the recipe in half or freeze leftovers in pint or 1/2 pint containers. It makes a perfect topping for wiener roasts. 😃

Authentic Coney Dog Sauce

2 lbs. ground chuck or round
1 large onion, finely diced or grated
9 oz. tomato paste (1-1/2 cans)
9 oz. water (1-1/2 cans)
5 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp. allspice, to taste
1 tbsp. jarred minced garlic
2 tbsp. prepared mustard
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 packages cheap pork with chicken hotdogs, ground in food processor

Put everything except for hotdogs in a large skillet. Do NOT brown and drain ground beef first. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring to break up meat into fine crumbles. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Add ground up hotdogs and cook for another 15 minutes. This sauce shouldn’t be runny.

Serve on your favorite hotdogs and buns.

https://culinarycraftiness.com/2015/10/15/authentic-coney-dog-sauce/

DEAL VALID THROUGH 3/15!

Purchase any 2 of our new menu items and recieve a free Ravioli Frita or Mozzarella Frita!

Copycat Hurriburgers with Cheese ~

There once was a fabulous drive-in restaurant in Shelbyville, Indiana that made the most unique loose meat sandwiches. The recipe creators are long gone and the Bear's Den closed and derelict. It took a bit of sleuthing and a smidgen of cooking know-how to come up with the closest we might ever come to the original. This is for all you hurriburger fans! My husband is the #1! 😁

P.S. This pic shows the slice of American cheese totally melted and oozing out. The hurriburger mixture shouldn't be at all runny.

- 5 lbs. ground beef (at least 80/20)
- 2 1/2 cups oats
- 3 cups water
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. Accent
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. onion salt
- 3 or 4 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet
- Sliced American cheese or Cheese Whiz
- Rye (dark) hamburger buns or dinner rolls (wheat if you can’t find rye)

In a large pot or Dutch oven, place the ground beef, oats, water, Accent, and onion salt. Turn burner to high and begin browning meat, mixing well and breaking up the meat. Once all the meat is browned, use a hand mixer to further break up the meat so there are no clumps. Or use a Mix ‘N Chop from Pampered Chef from the outset. Turn heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or so, stirring occasionally. Scrape up the stuck bits from the bottom of the pot. Adds amazing flavor.

Skim off fat as it settles on top.

Stir in the Kitchen Bouquet and simmer 10 minutes longer. If the meat mixture tastes perfect and has the right consistency at this point, serve as is. If it’s too wet, just take a little more time to cook it down.

Make up several sandwiches and cover with foil or waxed paper for a few minutes to steam the buns and melt the cheese. Best served with big, fat crinkly french fries, and a side of cole slaw (made with mayonnaise dressing). 😊

https://culinarycraftiness.com/2015/09/29/copycat-hurriburgers-with-cheese/

Lacto Vegetarian Green Chile "Chicken" is delicious whether you're an herbivore or omnivore! Lacto means you still consume milk products. An "ovo lacto" vegetarian consumes eggs too. Vegan eaters consume only plants.

- 1-2 bags Gardein Meatless Chick’n Strips (use the teriyaki or orange chick’n without the sauce if out of plain)
- 4 oz light whipped cream cheese
- 4 oz light sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt
- 4 tbsp Imperial bowl butter (for the lowest WW points) or real butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or heavy whipping cream
- 12 oz low fat mozzarella
- 2 cans mild diced green chiles, drained
- Cumin
- Garlic powder
- Salt & pepper

Tear open a corner of the chick’n bag(s) and microwave for 2-3 minutes.

In a glass bowl, add the cream cheese, sour cream, butter, almond milk, mozz cheese, and green chiles. Microwave for 3 minutes. Remove and whisk to blend everything. If the cheese isn’t all the way melted, no worries.

Spray a non-stick skillet with olive oil. Over medium heat, add the bag of chick’n and spread out into a single layer. Sprinkle with cumin and garlic powder. Stir around to coat and sizzle up the pieces a little.

Pour the cheese sauce over the chick’n and let simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with rice, pasta, egg noodles, or riced cauliflower.

https://culinarycraftiness.com/2022/02/13/lacto-vegetarian-green-chile-chicken/