Dirty Rice

     One of my dad's favorite dishes has always been dirty rice with a side of cornbread. After he retired and had time on his hands he would spend days in the kitchen cooking. Though a good bit of what my dad cooked was from scratch he however would buy some items prepackaged and one of those was the little boxes of dirty rice at the store and he would just add the hamburger then top it with some cheese. 
     Since we gave up processed foods in our house and because my hubby is extremely picky, I had not thought of making dirty rice in a long time, that is until recently. My middle son who is in the Army and his family were getting ready to come home on leave which meant 6 extra mouths to feed on a budget! So, I started to try and come up with meals that that fit into our new prepackaged free lifestyle and could be easily doubled to feed a small army without breaking the bank! Because one of my son's favorite meals that his pap used to make for him was dirty rice, it dawned on me, I bet it would be easy to make from scratch! So set out to come up with a recipe that would remind my son of his pap's dirty rice but without the box. It took a few tries but I finally came up with one that even my extremely picky husband loves and I am sure my dad would love too. 

 Keep in mind though when cooking this dish to make sure you keep an eye on it so the rice doesn't stick and burn which can happen quickly if you aren't using a nonstick pan or cast iron.  Also you can make it your taste, if you like a dryer rice use less liquid, if you like moister rice you can use more liquid, which is why I recommend starting with 2 1/2 cups of beef broth instead of the full 3 cups and adding as you go. Also if you want to keep it a little more traditional you can skip the cheese. This recipe serves 4 but can be easily doubled to feed your small army if you have one. I hope you enjoy!


Ingredients 

1lb of ground meat browned and drained
1 medium onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 Tablespoons of  EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup of uncooked white rice
2 1/2 to 3 cups of beef broth
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 teaspoons of  Chili powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of shredded cheese (I used New York Sharp White Cheddar)

First in a large pan on medium heat add your EVOO when hot add your onion, green pepper and garlic; saute till for about 5 min. Meanwhile in a skillet brown your ground meat and drain. Then add to your pan with the onions, peppers and garlic then add the salt, cumin and chili powder. Next add 2 1/2 cups of beef broth bring to a boil then add the rice let boil for about 5 minutes then turn down the heat to low and cover to allow the rice to absorb the liquid; about 20 to 25 minutes, make sure to check occasionally and add a little bit of broth if needed till the rice is fully cooked and all the liquid is absorbed. When done cooking remove pan from heat uncover and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top the rice and beef mixture and allow to melt; then serve.

I promise to put up daddy's cornbread recipe soon but shhhh don't tell him I tweaked it a little with some sugar but that's a story for another time.

Best Ever Bread Recipe

Living on a tight budget one of the best way to save money and still feed your family healthy nutritious foods, is to make it from scratch yourself. Now I love to bake but one of my biggest fears has always been baking bread. I had tried in the past with some not so great results, but recently I was inspired by one of my favorite Blogs Joybileefarm to try again.  I participated in their "30 days of Scratch Cooking" challenge on facebook and that inspired me to break out my old cookbooks and get to baking. One of the best tips I can give anyone new to baking bread is to use bread flour not all-purpose flour and if it doesn't turn out right the first time don't give up! Remember learning to bake bread is an art form and for some "like me" may take some trail and error before you get it right.
So why bread flour? Well, bread flour has a higher protein content in it than all-purpose which helps the bread to rise higher and have that lofty chewiness we associate with bread. All-purpose flour though great for cakes and cookies is not the best choice for bread. Take it from some one who has been there and done that your bread will be heavy like a rock!! Just ask my hubby as he was afraid to try my latest bread venture for that very reason! He has tasted my failures and was leery to try my latest attempt at baking bread, that was till he tasted it and now he is hooked!!! He is very happy to have "real bread" as he calls it instead of  "garbage bread" what he now calls the bread we used to buy at store. In fact I can't seem to keep it in the house for very long before it is time to bake another batch; good thing this recipe makes 3 loaves or I would be baking bread daily! I found this recipe written on a piece of paper in one of my old cook books I got from my mom before she passed away, I am not sure where it came from or from whom but it is one of the best white bread recipes I have found; it is a little work, but so worth it. I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine does.

Ingredients 

8 cups of bread flour (plus 5T for dusting)
1/2 cup white sugar
3 cups of warm water
3 teaspoons of salt
6 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of active dry yeast

In a large bowl add your yeast and warm water then add your sugar and salt mix till dissolved then add your 4 tablespoons of oil and 4 cups of your flour making sure to mix well, then set aside and let rise till double in size. After the mixture has doubled add the other 4 cups of flour incorporating it well into the mixture and start kneading till the dough is smooth; dusting lightly as you go with the extra flour to help with the kneading. Next place 1 tablespoon of oil in another large bowl to grease the bowl; add the dough into the bowl turning it several times to make sure it is thoroughly coated so it wont stick to the bowl then cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise till doubled in size. Once done rising remove the cloth and punch down the dough, then allow it to rest for about 5 min. Take the remaining oil and grease three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 in bread pans. Divide the dough in three equal pieces and shape into loaves, place them into the pans and let time rise till double in size. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, once the bread is done rising place in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 min till nice and golden brown.  Bread should have a hollow sound when you tap on it to show it is done. Next turn it out of the baking pans and allow to cool on a baking rack.

The first loaf never gets to cool in our house as everyone here loves it fresh from the oven slathered in butter or homemade preserves. Now that I have gotten over my fear of baking bread I plan to venture out and try my hand at some artisan favorites. I will have to let you know how that turns out.