Tomato Pie

Two Pie Crusts

Ingredients:
 2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
3 tsps powdered sugar
¾ cup cold or frozen butter
½ tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsps white vinegar
¼ cup ice water

Directions: Combine flours, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Grate the butter into the dry ingredients, stopping to coat the shredded butter with the dry ingredients 3-4 times while grating. Combine egg, vinegar, and ice water in a separate bowl and then stir into butter and flour mixing until just combined. Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and place dough in freezer for 10-15 minutes. Divide dough into two equal parts and roll out each piece of dough to desired size, and place in a pie pan. To use a food processor: Pre-chop cold or frozen butter. Combine dry ingredients into food processor with blade attachment. Pulse a few times, add butter and process for 30-40 seconds or until butter is cut into the flour and mixture resembles corn meal. Pour in the wet ingredients and process for 30-40 seconds or until mixture is moist and beginning to come together. Pour out onto plastic wrap and quickly shape into a ball with your hands, cover, and place in freezer for 10 minutes before rolling out and pre-baking. To prebake pie crust: preheat oven to 400, use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust, cover rolled out crust with parchment paper, fill with weights or beans, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper and continue baking an additional 5-10 minutes.

Two Tomato Pies

10-15 tomatoes
1 large bunch fresh basil leaves , chopped
1 1/2 cup green onion, shallots, or red onion, thinly sliced
2 9­inch pre­baked pie crust
 3 8-oz containers pimento cheese
salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350. Lay out paper towels, remove stem from tomatoes  and slice in half  to expose the seeds. With your  fingers remove the watery seed pods from each half of tomato this will remove most of the moisture. Slice tomatoes and lay out onto paper towels. Lightly salt the tomatoes and let rest for 10 minutes. Using fresh paper towels pat dry the tomatoes and place in the bottom of the pre-baked pie crusts generously season with salt and especially pepper. Cover tomatoes with a layer of basil leaves then onions. Spread pimento cheese over the top to make a thin cheese crust going all the way to the edge. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Fritters with Herb Yogurt Dressing

Zucchini Fritters

2 medium zucchini, grated
3 Green Onions
2 Eggs
salt and pepper
6-7 Tbl all purpose flour
½ tsp dried oregano
3 Tbl finely chopped fresh basil
1 tsp baking powder ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
6 oz greek yogurt
2 Tbl fresh chives
1 tsp fresh thyme

Directions: Mix yogurt, chives, and thyme together and let sit in fridge 30 minutes to overnight.  Mix zucchini, onion, eggs, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cheese, and baking powder.  Add 6 Tbl flour and stir and more flour if mixture is still very wet.  Heat a large frying pan sprayed with oil on medium heat.  Once hot, drop heaping tablespoons of the batter into the pan flattening each slightly with back of spoon.  Cook about 2 minutes a side or until golden.  Serve with yogurt.

Green Tomato Salsa

Green Tomato Salsa

3 green tomatoes
1 small onion
1 jalapeno, seeded to desired heat*
1-2 garlic cloves
1 large lime, juiced
2 Tbl fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

For chunky salsa chop tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeno and stir with remaining ingredients. For smooth salsa add all ingredients to food processor and pulse to desired consistency.
*Jalapeno note: the seeds and white membrane in a jalapeno contain most of the heat.  Removing everything creates a mild salsa, leaving some seeds and membrane create a hot salsa.

Veggie Noodles with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Veggie Noodles with Fresh Tomato Sauce

2 zucchini or cucumbers
For Tomato Sauce:  
3 Large ripe tomatoes
1 Garlic Clove
¼ cup fresh herbs
1 cup olive oil
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

Sprialize the cucumber or zucchini. Toss with a little salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze out all excess liquid. Meanwhile, to make the sauce: combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until blended into a sauce. Pour sauce over prepared zucchini or cucumber noodles.

Baked Eggs with Rainbow Chard​​​​​​​

Baked Eggs with Rainbow Chard

1 bunch rainbow chard or any other in-season greens, thinly sliced
Butter to grease ramekins
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsps olive oil
1 small green onion, tomato, or pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350.  Generously butter 4 6oz ramekins. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, add garlic, and stir constantly for 1 minute. Stir in chard, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring a few times and adding a little water if skillet gets dry. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Stir in ½ cup parmesan and ½ of the green onion, tomato, and/or pepper. Divide mixture evenly between ramekins, break an egg into each ramekin and sprinkle with remaining cheese and veggies. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper, place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake until egg whites are almost completely set, about 15-20 minutes.

Using a Whole Chicken

Chicken Finger Salad and Chicken with Rice

1 whole chicken, fresh or thawed most of the way

Chicken and Rice Ingredients:
1 split onion or 2 if small or 1 bunch green onions
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
2 cups rice
3 Tbl butter
Salt and pepper

Chicken Finger Salad Ingredients:
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ tsp each cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp each garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper
¼ cup buttermilk
Lettuce, spinach, carrots, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, other veggies
Cheese in small chunks
green onions, toasted pecans or croutons
Favorite salad dressing or these suggestions: honey with yellow mustard, extra-virgin olive oil and a splash of water or Pepper vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

For whole chicken: Remove breasts from chickens so you have 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Slice breasts into thin strips for chicken fingers. Stir sliced breasts into ¾ cup buttermilk, 1½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp each cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Cover and place in fridge until next day. Place remaining chicken in large stockpot for chicken and rice.

 For Chicken and Rice: Cover 1/3 of chicken in stockpot with water, add onion, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, and 2 tsps salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 1½ hours. Turn off heat and let chicken sit covered for another hour. Remove everything from broth leaving the broth in stockpot. Let chicken cool enough to handle. Bring broth to a simmer, add rice and cook until rice is tender 10-25 minutes depending on rice. Meanwhile remove bite size pieces of the meat from the cooled chicken setting aside the bones, onion, and bay leaf. Add bite size pieces of chicken to rice and broth during last 8 minutes of cooking. Serve in bowls and freeze in meal sized portions. Then make a delicious bone broth to freeze. Cook bones, onion, and bay leaf in water to cover for 18 hours. Discard everything but the liquid and use broth for future meals.

For Chicken Finger Salad: Remove breasts from fridge and buttermilk onto a plate – let them stay drippy wet. Combine flour, 1 tsp baking powder 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp each garlic powder, paprika, pepper. Stir in ¼ cup of buttermilk either from marinade or new. Dredge chicken fingers in flour sticking coating to chicken. Heat 2-3 inches oil in cast iron skillet or wok and heat to 365 degrees. Fry chicken fingers in heated oil for 2-3 minutes a side. Combine salad ingredients in salad bowl and top with chicken fingers and favorite dressing.

Zucchini and Eggs

Zucchini and Eggs

2 tsps olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 medium zucchini, sliced
salt and pepper

Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to beaten eggs. Add oil to skillet along with zucchini and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook zucchini until tender stirring occasionally. Spread zucchini in a single layer in skillet and gently pour egg over zucchini. Cook until egg is firm. 

Jerky

Jerky

2 lbs thinly sliced meat (pork, chicken, or beef)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 TBL Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp black pepper and garlic powder
½-1 tsp smoked salt

Combine all ingredients into a large plastic zipper bag to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Determine amount of salt needed by how long you will marinate. Use less salt for longer marinating times. Remove meat from marinade and drain strips on towels to remove excess marinade. Place cooling racks inside cookie sheets and place strips of marinated meats on cooling racks close together but not touching. Dehydrate in a 140 degree oven until dried completely. Begin checking at 3 hours and cooking time will be based on thinness of meat strips. Alternatively, use a dehydrator by following the manufacturer directions for drying jerky. Jerky is best stored in jars or plastic zipper bags in the freezer but can be stored for about two weeks on the counter.