Spinach Tomato Beef Chili Recipe & How-To Video

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 bag frozen spinach

1 quart tomato soup

2 medium onions

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon each dried oregano and paprika,

1 teaspoon gray coarse Celtic sea salt

1/2 teaspoon each cayenne and chili pepper flakes

Utensils:
2 large cast iron skillets

Large glass pot
2 Spatulas
Knife

Cutting board

Small glass bowl

Measuring spoons

Fork

Directions:

* Melt butter in iron skillets over medium low heat, one for the ground beef and the other for the onions.

* Chop onions and start sautéing adding butter as needed.

* Start browning your ground beef.

* Mix your spices making sure they are well blended with your fork before adding to beef.

* Fold in the spices as you brown the beef.

* As your onions start to turn translucent, add in your tomato soup and frozen spinach and stir.

* Once beef is cooked combine with tomato, onion, and spinach in a large glass pot and simmer for at least 15 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Tip: This dish gets better with marinating, is great to freeze, and once you graduate to advanced foods you can add in nay beans to hearten it up some more! Top with a dollop of French cream and extra salt, or shredded cheese, or guacamole…

Apple Pineapple Pumpkin Bake

Ingredients:

1 medium sugar pie pumpkin

2 Granny Smith apples

1 cup of pineapple

½ cup raisins

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup honey

½ stick butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced

1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Utensils:

Large glass baking dish or bowl

Cutting board, large knife and paring knife

Scrub brush

Apple peeler

Dry measuring cups and spoons

Butter knife

Dinner fork

Spoon

Strainer

Citrus reamer and 2 small glass bowls

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Wash pumpkin with brush, cut off top and set aside, deseed. Place pumpkin in a large glass baking bowl or dish for cooking, just in case in ruptures.

*Peel and cut apples and pineapple into cubes. Cut butter into slices. Mince ginger and mix with spices and salt.

*Fill pumpkin three quarters of the way to the top with fruit, nuts, raisins, sliced butter, spices, lemon juice and honey.

*Replace top on pumpkin and bake for an hour to three, or until you can pierce the top with a fork and spoon out the flesh, or it caves in! It will be a toasty brown on the outside. Cooking time varies depending on the cavity size and wall thickness of your pumpkin.

*Serve in the pumpkin (do not try to transfer from your baking dish) as a table centerpiece. Scoop out pumpkin flesh and fruit filling into bowls.

Tips: Choosing a redder colored pumpkin is best, and sugar pie pumpkins are smaller than the ones you get for carving. Wash and dry your pumpkin seeds overnight to bake tomorrow.

Meatballs with Tomato Sauce Recipe and How-To Video

Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

3 large white onions

head of garlic

fresh parsley

2 tablespoons oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons each thyme, basil, marjoram

1 tablespoon course Celtic sea salt

1 tablespoon fine ground Celtic sea salt

ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

tomato soup (homemade by AD recipe)

4 tablespoons butter

red and green bell peppers, and hot peppers deseeded: cayenne, jalapeño, hot banana suggested for color

Muenster and or Parmesan cheese

Utensils:

Large cast iron pans

2 spatulas

set of 3 mixing bowls

2 small bowls for spices

large and small knife

tablespoon

teaspoon

large and small cutting boards

large covered baking dish
fork

Directions:

* Mix spices for meatballs: 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 tablespoon each ground cumin, fresh parsley, hot peppers, diced garlic and fine ground Celtic sea salt, 1 teaspoon each thyme, basil, marjoram, ground black pepper, oregano. Stir with fork.

* Mix spices for tomato sauce: 1+ tablespoon oregano, 1 tablespoon each fresh parsley, hot peppers, and course Celtic sea salt, 1 teaspoon each thyme, basil, marjoram, ground black pepper. Stir with fork.

* Chop hot peppers after deseeding.
* Dice head of garlic.
* Preheat cast iron pan for sauce with 3 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat.
* Chop onion.
* Sautee onion and garlic until translucent. Remember to stir occasionally.
* Chop red and green bell pepper. Add a handful to beef in large mixing bowl and place the rest in medium mixing bowl for sauce.
* Preheat cast iron pan with one tablespoon of butter for meatballs.
* Add 3 large eggs to meatball mixture after whisking with spices in small mixing bowl.
* Mix meatballs with both hands until well blended and roll into palm sized balls.
* Place meatballs into hot pan covering only half so that you have room to roll them around as they cook.
* Brown the meatballs on all sides before transferring them into the baking pot.
* Add premade tomato soup to onions and garlic. Stir and add in spices, stirring again.
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
* Once all the meatballs are browned, add bell peppers into sauce and stir.
* After the sauce mixture comes to a boil again with peppers, ladle sauce into baking pot.
* Bake for 30-45 minutes. Allow to cool for five minutes before serving.

Tip:
* Serve over spaghetti squash with shredded cheese on top.

Tomato Soup Recipe & How-To Video

Tomato Soup by Arden Durham

 

Ingredients:

12 medium/large ripe tomatoes (my favorite are beefsteak)

1 tablespoon course Celtic sea salt

Season with basil, oregano, thyme, hot peppers, you choose!

 

Utensils:
Large glass pot

Medium glass pot

Masher

Heat resistant spatula

Spoon rest

Electric hand held immersion blender

Mesh strainer

Ladle

Soupspoon

Serrated knife

Cutting board

 

Directions:

* Wash tomatoes and core out where the stem was connected.
* Cut tomatoes in the large glass pot so as not to lose any juices and give them a good squeeze.
* Add course Celtic sea salt.
* Heat on high until they come to a boil, stirring frequently to avoid scorching.
* Reduce heat to a simmer, mash then stir making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom.
* Repeat mashing and stirring every few minutes until you feel there is no longer any resistance left in the tomatoes, about 8-10 minutes.

* Use the electric immersion hand blender to liquefy the remaining pulp.
* Ladle into the mesh strainer in the medium pot.
* Push everything you can through, at first by stirring then by using the back of the spoon- you should only have a spoonful of waste (seeds and skin) left to discard.
* Scrape the outside of the strainer between rounds of ladling to make it easier and keep the soup thick.
* Season to taste.
* You can use this as a base for vegetable soup, the beginnings of ketchup, or reduce it for paste, etc.

Tip: Let the heat do most of the work for you, and if you cover as often as possible this will help.

French Cream (thick yogurt or Creme Bulgare) Recipe & How-To Video

French Cream (Thick Yogurt)by Arden Durham

Ingredients:
2 quarts 1/2 & 1/2
4 packets yogourmet Freeze-dried yogurt starter & Crème Bulgare starter

Utensils:
2 small glass-measuring cups
2 soupspoons
yogourmet multi yogurt maker and insert
Glass pot large enough to hold 1/2 gallon of liquid
Heat safe spatula
Scissors
thermometer
Plastic wrap (optional if your pot has a lid, preferably seal tight)

Directions:
* Repasturize the 1/2 & 1/2 by slowly bringing it up to a simmer (180 degrees Fahrenheit) over medium low heat, stir frequently to prevent scorching. This will take about 35 minutes Do not boil (182 degrees.)
* Remove from heat, cover and let cool to room temperature (80 degrees F or less, you can use the fridge to accelerate the process to about 4-5 hours.)
* Skim the film that has congealed on the surface off with a spoon. Otherwise, your end result will be lumpy.
* Introduce the desired microbes by emptying the 4 packets of starter into the yogourmet insert and add 2 spoonfuls of 1/2 & 1/2.
* Mix slowly and gently into a paste using the spatula, then you may add more liquid liberally using a glass-measuring cup.
* Cover the insert and place in the yogourmet multi with water up to the second or top line on the inside.
* Ferment for 24-30 hours at 100-110 degrees F.
* Refrigerate until well chilled, about 6-8 hours.

Tip: You will need to alter the yogourmet multi to achieve the correct temperature for fermentation. I attached a dimmer switch to mine and ran test batch after test batch until I secured 100-110 degrees F over a long time. This does mean that you need to plan on at least your first batch being inedible. It is worth it to make sure that every batch from there on is perfect!

Peanut Butter Brownies Recipe & How-To Video

Watch my how-to cook this recipe video:

Peanut Butter Brownies by Arden Durham

 

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter with only salt added

1/2 cup honey (you can add more or less to taste)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup of dried fruit (with no additives or preservatives)

1/2 tablespoon butter with only salt added (no flow agent)

 

Utensils:
24x8” baking pan (I prefer glass)
Set of 3 mixing bowls (small, medium, and large)
Spatula
Knife
Fork
Dry measuring cup
Dry measuring half cup
Teaspoon

 

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

* Grease baking dish with butter.

* In a large mixing bowl, empty contents of peanut butter jar and stir in the oils, as they are most likely separated and riding on top of the jar.

* Add honey and stir until mixed.

* In a small bowl, beat eggs until the whites have mixed with the yokes.

* Add eggs to peanut butter and honey and stir well.

* Add baking soda and stir until no white clumps are visible, the batter should be sticking to itself now and turning glossy.

* Add in dried fruit stirring minimally as too much mixing now will result in dry brownies.

* Dump batter into baking dish and gently push it into corners, do not slide it around or you will disturb the butter and they will stick.

* Place in the middle of oven on the rack second from the bottom for about 18 minutes- the edges should be browned slightly and the center should not wiggle.

* Cool for about half and hour, cover to keep moist.

 

Tip: Use the medium size bowl as your tabletop trash bin.