Before we go any further, I’d like to address the title of this recipe which I found in my Colorado Classique cookbook. It appeared without a hint of why it bears the namesake of this ranch.

Turning to Google I found that Silver Spur Ranch is a huge cattle operation with ranches in New Mexico, Wyoming, Northern Colorado and Central Colorado (Douglas and Elbert Counties). Which by the way we live in Douglas County, so it’s not far from us. The majority of the herd is comprised of Angus x Continental females which are bred to survive the Wyoming/Colorado environmental challenges, altitude and sage brush country. The site includes a bunch of technical cow talk and ranching standards. Not one peep about food.

So I have no story, no history or inspiration  for the recipe. I leave you with only your imagination of cowboys sitting around a campfire after a long cattle drive with their tin cups in hand, inventing non-traditional ingredients to throw into their hamburger meat.

These burgers were SO good that about two bites in I asked Hubs, “Am I just starving or are these things delicious?”  Hubs answered, “These things are delicious!”

Let’s talk about blue cheese burgers. I’ve had a couple here and there, and just wasn’t crazy about them. Until now.  Past experience has left such a strong blue cheese flavor that I should have paired them with a stick of celery or a slice of pear rather than a hamburger bun.

I’m wondering if I had Gorgonzola burgers. I used milder Maytag for these, and this burger was so incredibly and perfectly flavored that I can’t wait to make them again.

They were sided with Alexia Spicy Chipotle Sweet Potato fries (we’re their newest fans) with a simple Meyer lemon and Cholula Aoili and sprinkled with lemon zest and Aleppo pepper.  It was something I made up on the fly as I needed to use up some Meyer lemons. It was a really good flavor combination with the fries.

Our back yard still resembles the Arctic Circle, so I pan fried these in my cast iron.  Let’s take a look.

•  One Year Ago:  Chevre Stuffed Mushrooms Balsamico
• Two Years Ago:  Hoosier Sandwich Sliders

I had a clam shell of an arugula and spinach mix that needed to be used, penne in the pantry and this recipe bookmarked for months, so no time better than the present to have it for dinner.

We thought this was a delicious pasta dish. A dressing mixture of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, basil and cilantro was an incredibly exciting flavor combination. The al dente pasta soaked up that bold flavor so it didn’t overwhelm the rest of the dish. The greens and grape tomatoes  brought a party of color to the dish. And the steak? Well, the bites of steaks bathed in that balsamic dressing were delicious. I wouldn’t leave them out next time, as steak is always a treat, however, they seemed to be there just to round out the food groups.

Let’s take a look:

Rocky Mountain Steak Salad…It’s What’s for Dinner.

• One Year Ago:  Italian Sausage Soup
• Two Years Ago:  Chipotle Buffalo Chili with Lime Crema

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at GirliChef.

No, you’re not hallucinating, I have indeed agreed to be a part of my first group cooking project which happens to involve nothing but baking.

Me, who won’t, can’t and does not like to bake.

Me, who ruined the Rhoades frozen rolls at Thanksgiving.

Me, who recently ran to the store and bought a box of Jiffy rather than make something as easy as cornbread my scratch.

This project is also a vehicle to promote a new cookbook by “Joy the Baker“.  Always great news to see one of our fellow bloggers publish a cookbook.

For our first project, we were given the option of preparing Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Butter-cream Frosting, or Flax Seed and Cracked Pepper Crackers.  Being the savory type, and obviously “crazy in the head”, I chose those crackers over chocolate fudge and butter-cream.

After reading the recipe, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find some of the ingredients. Sounding completely foreign to me were things like golden flax seed…ground flax seed meal…flour…OK so I’m exaggerating on flour, everyone knows I’ve used it to bread meat.  But thanks to my local health food store, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, I was delighted to come out with every single item I needed.  The flax products were in the back corner in the vitamin section???  Took me a while to find them.

Let’s get started.

The instructions appeared to be simple and straight forward and warned that the dough would be “shaggy” before turning it out on my lightly floured surface. Going to work with my shaggy dough and lightly floured rolling pin, I realized something was obviously wrong.  This stuff was absolutely not going to roll into anything.  Being doughaphobic and not familiar with how it should look and feel, I made an executive decision to  correct the problem by adding another teaspoon of buttermilk…

Seemed like things were rolling along much smoother.

I got the dough rolled out to 1/8 inch thick.  Instructions then said to use a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter or a pizza cutter to cut into squares.  I did the latter since I don’t own a cookie cutter.  At this point, I was extremely proud of my perfect little square crackers.  Just bake the them for about 18 minutes until golden and you’re done.  Easy.

Result:

Texture:  A little chewy.  I’m not sure if that’s how they’re supposed to be?  I’ll be anxious to read other posts.

Flavor:  Love the nutty accent that the  flax brings to this cracker. And the pepper? I’m a big fan so added even more than I thought would be socially acceptable. And after a smear of goat cheese, as Joy suggests in her book, I was smitten.

Process:  After the inauspicious beginning, these were a breeze to make.  A fun project for a snowy day.

Flax Seed and Cracked Pepper Crackers…They’re what’s for a Healthy Snack.

• One Year Ago:  Larry’s Smoked Salmon Spread
• Two Years Ago:  Louisiana Sunburst Salad

.  http://www.girlichef.com/2012/02/cookbook-spotlight-cook-off-joy-baker.html

Weber Gas Grill

February 4, 2012, 7:46 a.m.

Highlands Ranch, CO

26 inches and still snowing

I think we’ll cook indoors today…soup anyone?

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I’m crazy about food that’s Southwestern, Tex-Mex, or Mexican. As long as there’s a flour or corn tortilla, fresh ingredients and those happy spices involved, I’m eating it. However, one thing I don’t usually like are fried Mexican things. Chimichangas come to mind…flour tortilla that’s been filled with everything wonderful and then deep fat fried, then smothered in melted cheese and green chili. Most of the time they end up, well…can you spell g-r-e-a-s-y? Taquitos are not so bad as it seems that corn tortillas don’t sop us the grease like flour, and if either flour or corn tortillas are used, I think they’re mostly skillet fried as opposed to deep fried. Not quite as g-r-e-a-s-y.

My point? When I saw this baked Taquitos recipe over at Care’s Kitchen, I couldn’t get to my kitchen fast enough, especially since I had every single item I needed on hand. Only thing different, I used chopped chicken as opposed to ground. What I like most about this recipe, first of all, is that these are brushed with oil and then baked. They’re easy, and the possibilities for fillings are endless. Light and crispy-crunchy on the outside and hot, cheesy and flavor-packed on the inside…the makings of a wonderful treat.

And by the way,  if you’ve never visited Care’s Kitchen, you’re missing out. Crazy good food paired with professional photography = watering mouth. You should pop over and take a look at her end result.  That’s how they should look, baked a bit longer and skinnier. Mine are just flat out too fat. All I had on hand were very large tortillas. There was no way to put a small amount of filling in the tortilla without it wrapping five times.  Next time…and there will be a next time…very soon.

Let’s take a look.

Baked Chicken and Cheese Taquitos…They’re What’s for the Superbowl, Snacking, or even Dinner.

• One Year Ago:  Chipotle Chicken Soup
• Two Years Ago: Muffaletta Sliders

Under the weather?  Feeling puny?  Chicken soup…a cure for the common cold?  Probably not, but it sure defines a comforting meal for any Winter evening. The aromas alone are enough to soothe the soul and the hot broth make any scratchy throat feel better.

A steamy bowl  of vitamin-packed vegetables swimming in a savory broth alongside chunks of chicken and floating herbs and spices and you’ve got a classic easy homemade soup.

Years ago, I learned to add small chunks of sweet potato to make the combination even more interesting.  Let’s take a look.

Chicken Soup…It’s what’s for Dinner.

This week Google will be inundated with recipe searches for every kind of snack food imaginable, dips, salsas, wings, sliders…all of those delicious foods that will fill our party tables and define watching the Superbowl.

This probably isn’t one of those. I wouldn’t take this to friends house next Sunday and set it between that big plate of cheesy nachos and the platter of sliders and wings. You’d probably end up taking the whole untouched bowl home with you after the game.

But, I wouldn’t hesitate to serve this next time you’re having friends over for dinner. It worked very nicely last night sitting between a bowl of assorted olives and a plate of mild cheeses and crackers. Creamy Amadeus and Lemon Stilton to be more specific.

My friend Kathy served this years ago when we were invited to their house for dinner. I’m just now giving it a try and will add it to my database as a fresh and delicious addition to my appetizer collection. The recipe calls for small mushrooms and a marinade time of at least one hour. I used baby bellas because the selection of white mushrooms were quite large in size. I also let it marinade in the refrigerator about eight hours. Citrusy and savory, let’s take a look.

Marinated Mushrooms…It’s what’s for a Tasty Appetizer.

Creamy Great Northern Beans, smoky salty chunks of ham, sweet and spicy corn bread and you’ve got a winning comfort food combination.

Disclaimer:  This photo was taken the day after when I reheated this dish as leftovers. Overnight the beans had soaked up a lot of the broth. I realized this while taking the photo.  I added more water, reheated for  a soupier meal and was too lazy hungry to retake photos. Long story short, ham and beans should be soupier than this.

First Stephanie over at Plain Chicken made it, then Larry over at Big Dude’s made it…I knew it would be on our table within days. This is definitely a meal that my mom served a lot when I was growing up. It wasn’t something that just appeared after Christmas to use up that holiday ham bone. She made it often, made it year round, and used ham hocks or chopped  ham. It wasn’t always accompanied with corn bread, but as with every single meal she served, you can rest assured there was bread on the table.  “Eat your bread, you have to support the Wheat Farmers,” she’d order.

When Larry featured his ham and beans, I found it interesting that he put the corn bread directly in the bowl and poured the beans over it.  Everyone knows you’re suppose to teeter the bread on the rim of the bowl like Stephanie did. But that darn Larry is so reliable, I had to give it a try. I must say, with your soup spoon filled with a chunk of that sweet bread and a scoop of beans, it’s a wonderful flavor combination.  Much better than eating them separately. My ham and beans and my corn bread will never suffer alone again.

Do you bathe or teeter your corn bread?

Here’s how I make my Ham and Beans:

• 1 pound dried Great Northern White Beans, sorted for misfits and rinsed
• In a sauce pan on the stove, cover beans with water and bring to a rolling boil
• Pour into crock pot, add one meaty ham hock and 2 T. of my soup seasoning mix (which is just a blend of herbs)
• Let cook on low all day, checking to see if more water is needed
• Remove ham hock and when it’s cool enough to handle, shred meat and return it to the crock of beans
• Season with salt

For the corn bread:

• Take one box of Jiffy Corn Bread Muffin Mix (No surprise here, I’m not a baker)
• Add 2 finely chopped, seeded and deveined Jalapenos
• 1/4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 C. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• Bake according to package directions.

To serve, place one corn muffin in soup bowl, pour ham and beans over the muffin, sprinkle with some finely chopped raw onions and enjoy.

Ham and Beans…It’s what’s for Dinner.

• One Year Ago: Pita Roll-up Sandwiches
• Two Years Ago:  Slow Roasted Pork Achiote

Paella. I’ve never ordered it in a restaurant and I’ve only prepared it twice…and used the same recipe both times.  In other words, I’m far from an expert. Actually I know hardly anything about the dish except that it’s Spanish and that you’re supposed to have a paella pan…which I don’t. About ten years ago, I saw this recipe in Cooking Light and made it and we loved it. It’s been sitting around in my recipe database all this time.   I just served it for the second time last night and we still love it.

Anyone got any good paella recipes? I’d like to try another version.

This recipe is bursting with flavor. How can you go wrong with andouille sausage, shrimp, hot chiles, cumin, cilantro and lime….and that’s only a partial line up.   There’s so much going on in this recipe that one might think the flavors would compete, but it all comes together nicely with an incredible end result. It makes enough to feed an army and it takes a bit of doing to get it to the table. Let’s take a look.

Paella…It’s What’s for Dinner.

• One Year Ago:  Chocolate Chile Cupcakes
• Two Years Ago:  Baked Ziti with Fire Roasted Tomatoes

My baking guru friend Kirsten over at My German Kitchen In The Rockies made these savory cookies awhile back and brought them to a pot luck food blogger meet-up. Everyone carried on and on about how good they were and we all asked for the recipe.

Some of the Wine Time carrying-on-ers and Z

I made them this last week for our January Wine Time gathering and everyone carried on and on about how good they were and they all asked for the recipe.

As you know, once a month, we gather the usual suspects (Dan, Teri, Kathy and Tom) for a get together at our house to enjoy a special bottle of wine and lots of good appetizers and friendship.

Here’s the January appetizer spread.  Kathy brought cheese fondue complete with apples, broccoli, mushrooms and chunks of sourdough and rye bread for dipping.  DEElicious. I put out chunks of jalapeno, cheddar, buffalo bratwurst sausages and Little Smokies. Bowls of BBQ sauce and mustard sauce were alongside for dipping.  And of course some of my pickled beets.

A Wine Time tradition is Cheetos in a crystal bowl.  Dan and Teri brought the Cheetos and a chaser bottle of wine.

I also served Kristin’s cookies. Savory, buttery and Parmesan-y these really are wonderful. Kirsten suggested to serve them with some salty olives and  and a good red wine. She was spot on. A taste of the buttery cookies alongside those olives was sensational and they paired wonderfully with our good red wine. I made mine with Rosemary rather than sage.

Let’s take a look.

Savory Sage-Parmesan Sables … They’re what’s for an Appetizer.

• One Year Ago:  Cajun Meatloaf Sliders
• Two Years Ago:  Sticky Lips Chicken