Shorebird & Goat

Cream of Mushroom Chicken & Noodles

By goat March 24, 2022 Chicken, Depression-Era Farm Cooking No Comments

This is a recipe in Shorebird’s family. I don’t know where it came from or what sort of cuisine it really is. It sort of seems Midwestern or Pennsylvania Dutch or something with its casserole like approach of using cream of mushroom soup and egg noodles. But this recipe comes from the Chesapeake side of the family. Either way, it’s always been a popular option in our household and it’s very easy and incredibly delicious. The recipe takes about 5 minutes of work, 2 hours before you want to eat it and then you have to do very little until eating. I don’t see any recipes quite like it online, so thought I ought to share it here. For years, we have used a version of this recipe with atrocious misspellings because Shorebird once transcribed the recipe on her phone. These misspellings, and a few other observations, in parantheses.

Ingredients

  • 4 bone-in chicken breasts (I feel that boneless breasts work just as well but this is a Shorebird family recipe and she says it is more flavorful with the bone-in)
  • 2 cans cream of chicken (despite being called “cream of mushroom”  the recipe actually uses “cream of chicken”… what can I say?)
  • 2 small cans of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 pint sour cream
  • 1 quarter cup of sherry (the typo version of the recipe says to use an “avatar up of sherry”)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 quarter cup of melted butter (a typo calls for nutted butter, which sounds delicious)
  • 2 teaspoons of salt (the typo calls for using “scitt”)
  • Dash of garlic powder (type calls for using garlic poudi… collectively the typos make the dish feel exotic and surreal – avatars up of sherry, nutted butter, scitt and garlic poudi – what cuisine is that?)
  • Egg noodles (For years we have jokingly called this recipe “chicken eyeballs” because the autocorrect error changed the egg noodles to eyeballs. Despite that unappetizing association, this remains a great dish.)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350
  2. Place chicken in baking dish
  3. Combine all remaining ingredients (except the egg noodles) in bowl, stir until combined, and pour over chicken
  4. Bake covered for 1 hour and 30 minutes, uncover and bake another 30 minutes
  5. After uncovering, boil water for the egg noodles.
  6. Remove from oven, serve chicken breasts over noodles with heaping spoonfuls of the mushroom gravy.

Mommom’s Super Secret Baby Back Pork Ribs

By goat January 31, 2022 Pigs No Comments

This is a faithful transcription of a recipe called “Super Secret Baby Back Pork Ribs.” They are very good. Some of the instructions are a bit inscrutable, but I’ve recorded them anyways.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp grated onion
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1.5 tsp minced garlic
  • 3 tsp ground red pepper (the recipe says 3 tsp which = 1 tbsp)
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • Few grains of allspice
  • baby back pork ribs in 2 racks, cracked between the bones (not sure what this means – when I did the recipe I did not attempt to crack the rack of ribs)

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients except ribs in a 2-quart stainless saucepan.
  2. Simmer 20 minutes over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1 and 2/3 cups.
  3. Brush ribs generously with some of the sauce. At this point they may be marinated for up to 2 hours at room temperature or 6 hours in the fridge.
  4. Heat oven to 375. Put ribs on racks set into 2 roasting pans. Pour 1/2 inch of water into each pan.
  5. Bake until ribs are no longer pink in the center, basting every 15 minutes with sauce.  (I found it worked better to have the heat at 325 and do this for 3 hours… Even at the lower heat I had to re-add water every other basting to keep it from drying out.)
  6. For a true bbq look, broil ribs 4-6 inches from heat source for 3-5 minutes until lightly charred.
  7. Makes 5 servings.
  8. Any leftover sauce may be used w/ the ribs for drippings but be sure to boil it 5 minutes first.

Spicy Roast Beef

By goat January 31, 2022 Cows, Depression-Era Farm Cooking No Comments

We make this for dinner once or twice a month and then have it cold the next day or two for roast beef sandwiches. The first night we’ll often have it with potatoes and gravy or similar.

Ingredients

  • Boneless eye of round (these typically weigh 2-3 lbs)
  • Use about 1/2 tbsp per pound of beef for each of the following seasonings:
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • Thyme
    • Oregano
    • Basil
    • Allspice
    • (the original recipe calls for marjoram, but I never have that and have never used it. The original recipe also says to avoid sage.)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 500. Give it enough time to really get up to 500.
  2. Mix seasonings in a bowl, rub all over eye round. It should form a fairly complete layer of crust.
  3. Place in a shallow pan (I always put the fatty side up, although I’m not sure if it matters)
  4. Cook 5 minutes per pound (2 lbs = 10 minutes; 2.2 lbs = 11 minutes; 2.4 lbs = 12 minutes etc.)
  5. After the time is up, turn the oven off and leave the roast beef in the over for 2 hours. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR EVEN ONCE, NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND.
  6. We like it the best when you slice it as thin as you can.
  7. For sandwiches the next day, all you need: white bread, mayo, lettuce, fresh tomatoes and salt & pepper.

Fiesta Chicken Tortilla Soup

By goat January 31, 2022 Chicken, Mexican No Comments

This delicious and easy soup takes just under an hour and comes out intensely flavorful every time. It’s even better the next day. The secret ingredient is definitely the Fiesta fajita seasoning.

Ingredients

  • 1-2 lb chicken breasts
  • Fiesta fajita seasoning (we have family in Texas and we have them bring this to us from HEB)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper (I prefer red, yellow, or orange), chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Jalapeno, sliced (optional: depending on the jalapeno it can add a lot of heat. It’s good with or without.)
  • 32-oz chicken broth or stock (32 oz is about right for 1 lb of chicken, but with more chicken I’d add a bit more broth too)
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (or you can cut fresh tomatoes if they’re in season)
  • 1 bag frozen corn, asparagus and carrots (we use this)
  • Cumin and oregano
  • Tortilla chips

Directions

  1. Cut chicken into roughly 1-in cubes and season fairly generously with the Fiesta fajita seasoning
  2. I used the Dutch oven but regular stockpot probably works fine. Cook onion and bell pepper in olive oil on medium high heat, until soft and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Then add garlic and jalapeno slices (if using) and cook another 1-2 minutes
  3. Add chicken and lightly brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes
  4. Add broth and the juice of one orange, bring to a boil and then reduce to medium-low simmer, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally
  5. Add tomatoes, simmer another 10-15 minutes
  6. Add frozen vegetables. You could probably add this along with the tomatoes if you want to reduce the recipe time. Simmer another 15 minutes. Add cumin and oregano to taste. The fajita seasoning will have enough salt for the recipe, so you really won’t need to add anything else. It’s very flavorful.
  7. Serve over crushed tortilla chips and garnish as you like (cheese, avocado, sliced radish, sour cream, could all be good)

Mommom’s Potato Salad

By goat August 21, 2020 Fresh Harvest No Comments
  • 3-5 lbs redskin potatoes, cooked approximately 15-20 minutes in salted water.
  • 4 stalks diced celery
  • 1/2 med. green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 medium red onion or 4-5 scallions
  • 4 boiled eggs (this is in the original but Shorebird prefers without)
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • white vinegar
  • seasoned pepper
  • 3 tbsp mustard
  • 1/2 cup mayo

Instructions

  1. Dice potatoes to bite sized pieces while still warm and put in large bowl.
  2. In small bowl, mix 2 tbsp sugar with enough white vinegar to cover and melt sugar
  3. Add 4-5 shakes of seasoned pepper, mustard and mayo to vinegar
  4. Carefully toss potatoes in sauce

Banana Honey Almond Flax Muffins

By goat May 6, 2020 Fresh Fruit No Comments

This is a modification of a family recipe that traditionally used walnuts. We created this recipe because we had no nuts, but did have some honey almond flax cereal. We found that we loved the substitution even more than the original. Nuts can be too crunchy, but this is much less so. It adds a delicious texture and dose of flavor to the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 ripe bananas
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 small eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon
  • 1 cup Kashi honey almond flax cereal (break up any big clumps)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Mash bananas well in a large bowl, stir in sugar and egg. Add vegetable oil and mix well.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix well.
  4. Combine wet ingredients, dry ingredients and about half the cereal Stir until flour just disappears.
  5. Stir together melted butter, cereal, and brown sugar and use it to top the muffins. You could double the topping if you like a lot. It can be good to leave at least one muffin untopped to watch doneness in the oven.
  6. Makes about 12 muffin cups. I start checking the oven after 18 minutes. I like to remove them when the untopped muffin is golden on top but before it start to turn brown.

Stuffed Chicken Quesadillas

By goat April 24, 2020 Uncategorized No Comments

Whenever we make our go-to roast chicken recipe we end up with a lot of leftovers. The leftover white meat is terrific in chicken sandwiches, but we like to pick the chicken over as cleanly as possible and save the rest of the meat for recipes like this. This is a modified version of a family recipe. The original is excellent but wastes a few ingredients and uses extra pots and pans, and so this is a food-waste-zero version with fewer dishes.

Ingredients

  • Cooked chicken, about two or three cups
  • 1 large (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • 1 diced onion
  • Small can of green chiles or about half/cup medium salsa
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • Shredded cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat over to 375
  2. Saute onions until starting to soften and become fragrant, about 3-4 minutes
  3. Add tomatoes (and their juices) and taco seasoning, stir, and reduce to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
  4. While simmering, take tortillas and dip both sides into the tomato mixture, creating a thin tomato coating. Set aside to let them soak a little bit.
  5. After about 10 minutes, add the chicken to the sauce. Continue to let the sauce simmer, and stir occasionally, until it’s no longer watery, about 10 minutes.
  6. While simmering, pour a half cup of the chicken broth in the bottom of a baking dish (I used a 13×9 in)
  7. Once the mixture is no longer watery, fill the tortillas and place them in the baking dish, seam side down.
  8. The sauce can be prepared in the just-emptied tomato skillet. (This adds nice flavor but, to make the recipe faster, the suace can be done at the same time as the previous steps in a separate dish.) For the sauce, combine 1.5 cups chicken broth and 2 tbsp flour. Bring to a boil and stir, until flour has disappeared and the sauce is thicker like a gravy. Add chiles/salsa and sour cream and stir in.
  9. Pour sauce over the enchiladas. It will largely fill the dish. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over the top.
  10. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Loaded Stuffed Peppers

By goat April 20, 2020 Cows, Fresh Harvest No Comments

These loaded stuffed peppers are a recipe we’ve been perfecting over the years and they are so delicious. Hearty protein and tomato-soaked rice, combined with the nutrient-rich sweetness of the peppers make this a filling and healthy meal every time.

Ingredients

  • One lb ground beef
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • Olive oil
  • 29-oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 can of Campbell’s tomato soup
  • 6 bell peppers (we like a mix of red, yellow and orange)
  • 1 cup white rice
  • Shredded Mozzarella

Directions

  1. Heat over to 375
  2. Boil rice (or if you already have precooked rice, skip this step)
  3. Brown ground beef at medium-high heat, once beef is close to brown, add onions until softened.
  4. Add tomato sauce, reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
  5. Prep the peppers by cutting open their tops and pulling out most of the seeds
  6. Add the cooked rice after 20 minutes, and stir into sauce. Season to taste with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper etc. The peppers add a sweetness to the dish, so we find it’s usually not necessary to add sugar.
  7. In the casserole dish, add the tomato sauce and a can of water or milk (per the soup directions) and stir together. It will be a relatively shallow layer of soup. Place the six peppers directly into the soup.
  8. Put a small layer of mozzarella at the bottom of each pepper, fill half way, add another layer of mozzarella, fill to top
  9. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes
  10. Remove tin foil, add another layer of mozzarella, and bake another 10 minutes until cheese is browned.
  11. When serving, be sure to take the tomato soup and spoon it over the peppers. Because there is no food waste at Shorebird and Goat, drain the soup into a bowl and eat it leftover the next day!

Success Cooking Leafy Greens (Spinach Zucchini Gratin Recipe)

By goat April 17, 2020 Fresh Harvest No Comments

The Food and Drug Administration now says it’s completely safe to eat your vegetables like usual, and here at Shorebird and Goat we strongly believe that fresh produce is one of the most important parts of our diet. But over the last few weeks we got a little bit… um… skittish about leafy greens. So we experimented with a couple of recipes that involved cooking them. Even now that our Scientist Friends have told us salads are safe, we will occasionally dust these two off.

  • First we made a variation of this lettuce soup. We used fairly old lettuce for this and it still came out great. It wouldn’t have been good in a salad anymore, but this was a great way to use it. Instead of a head of lettuce we used three romaine lettuce hearts. I strongly recommend having this with croutons in it. The croutons soak up the soup and add a little bit of heft. It’s a very light, but surprisingly flavorful.
  • Then we made this great spinach zucchini gratin, recipe below.

Ingredients

  • One zucchini, finely diced
  • One bag spinach (again this was an older spinach that I don’t think would have been great any more in a salad)
  • One onion, diced
  • One clove garlic, minced
  • One cup breadcrumbs
  • One egg
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Boil a pot of water
  • Lightly salt the diced zucchini to help bring out the water
  • Coarsely chop spinach and once water is at a rolling boil, boil for only about 2 minutes.
  • Strain spinach in colander and immediately run cold water over spinach (aka blanch the spinach)
  • Dry spinach as much as you can with paper towels and leave it in the colander to drip
  • You can use the empty boiling water pot now to saute the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes (no need to use an extra pot. The spinach needs a while to cool and drain)
  • Lightly grease a casserole dish with olive oil and mix together the onions, diced zucchini, dried spinach, bread crumbs and egg
  • Sprinkle a layer of parmesan and bake about 40 minutes

Goat Mom’s Secret Pumpkin Biscuits

By goat April 16, 2020 Depression-Era Farm Cooking No Comments

Several years ago, Goat Mom (aka Pygmy Goat) made some really excellent pumpkin biscuits. We asked for the recipe, but when we tried to make them they didn’t turn out anywhere near as good. We tried several times over the years to make the biscuits, but without success. Then, one time at home, I asked to watch her make them and discovered the secret — she didn’t follow the recipe at all! No wonder ours tasted completely different. Here is the real recipe that she kept secret for years.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour + extra for rolling
  • 2 heaping tsp of baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 can of pumpkin puree (but what do you do with the other 1/4 can?)
  • 4 tbsp shortening
  • 1/3 cup milk

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. Combine sugar, pumpkin and milk in one bowl
  3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl
  4. Cut shortening into flour mixture until the mixture is slightly crumbly
  5. Slowly mix in pumpkin mixture, do not overstir
  6. With a little extra flour on your hands, shape dough gently into a roughly 10-in log. The dough should not be so sticky that it globs all over you hands.
  7. Place biscuits on parchment paper or lightly greased baking dish and bake about 18 minutes