Frog Tales

Egg Pasta 4 cups of flour  1/4 cup (or more) milk 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon italian seasoning In a very large bowl, mix 3 cups flour, milk, oil, eggs, salt and seasonings.  Mix to make a soft dough.  Add more milk or flour if necessary.  Cover and refrigerate.   Set up the pasta machine with its rollers, and sprinkle some flour on your work surface where the roll of pasta will come out.  Take a ball of dough about the size of a lemon, and then roll first through the thickest setting, and then progressively through the thinner settings until you are at the second thinnest setting.  Cut pasta into 6” lengths.  Start with the next ball of dough.  It should make approximately 30 6” lengths of pasta.  Meat and Spinach Filling  Four cups of fresh ground meat (beef/pork/veal/italian sausage).   1 cup panko breadcrumbs 1 cup of cooked spinach  (A package of fresh spinach will cook down to a cup) 2

I found a great garden center this week (Steve thinks "uh oh") and they had some beautiful basil plants. And, at only $10 EC a piece, it's cheaper to buy the plants than to buy the little fresh herb packages at the store.  So I bought 6 plants and with that much fresh basil, pesto had to be on the menu.  The addition of mint to the recipe adds an amazing aromatic component and also makes it very refreshing during the hot days of summer. Pork: Mint Basil Pesto Pasta 4 to 6 pork chops, 3/4 inch thick Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped 1 tablespoon garlic, minced  3 tablespoons olive oil  1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Pesto: 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 cup olive oil Pasta: 1 lb dry pasta (I used rotini) 2 peppers, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 4 roma tomatoes, diced 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

Ingredients : Banana Bread Bars: 1-1/2 cup sugar 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 eggs 1-3/4 cups (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed 2 tsp spiced rum 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup chocolate chips Brown Butter Frosting: 1/2 cup butter 4 cup powdered sugar 1-1/2 tsp spiced rum 3 tbsp milk Directions : 1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease a 10x13-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas and spiced rum.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on the surface. 2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. 3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately. 4.  Add powdered sugar, spiced rum and milk (1 tbsp at a time).  Whisk

Ingredients 2 cups watermelon flesh 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 10 mint leaves, plus more for garnish 4 oz white rum 1 tsp agave syrup Directions In a blender, puree watermelon, fresh lime juice and mint until smooth. Strain into a measuring cup. Into two tipsy glasses (highball), add 2 oz rum and 1/2 tsp syrup into each glass, add ice and watermelon blend. Serve garnished with mint leaves.

This was going to be a twice cooked mashed potato recipe, but my potato masher and I were having a disagreement ... I wanted to mash potatoes, it wanted to collapse.  We haven’t come to an agreement yet and rumor has it that there’s a replacement being recruited.  So, as with most recipes, I modified it to suit my needs and with yummy results.   Ingredients: 10 medium sized red potatoes - quartered 1/2 lb bacon, chopped 1/4 cup butter 2 cloves fresh garlic - minced 1 tsp fresh dill - chopped 1 tsp montreal steak spice 1 cup shredded cheddar/mozza blend Directions: Put two inches of salted water in the bottom of a large pot and add quartered potatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce to medium and cook for 20 minutes or till soft. Meanwhile, sauté bacon till crispy and set on paper towel to remove fat.   When potatoes are cooked, drain and place in a large casserole dish.  Place the butter in the pot used to cook the potatoes and over medium heat, melt th

I can’t believe this recipe hasn’t made it onto the blog yet ... Jamaican Pulled Pork Ingredients: 2 lb pork loin, cut to fit into your slow cooker 1 large red onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbs fresh ginger, minced 1 (4.5 oz) can of chopped green chilies 4 tbs tamarind concentrate 2/3 cup molasses 4 tbs brown sugar 2 1/2 tbs ground allspice 4 tsp pepper 2 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp dried thyme 3 tsp salt 2 tbs soy sauce 2 tbs apple cider vinegar 1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely 1/2 poblano pepper, chopped finely 1 bottle dark beer (I use Guinness) 1 cup chicken broth 1 can tomato paste Directions:   Combine all ingredients, except tomato paste in slow cooker, mixing until well combined. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, then remove the meat to a plate and pull the pork with two forks until it is well shredded.  Add tomato paste to the sauce in the slow cooker, stirring well.  Place the pulled pork back into the slow cooker and con

Another great idea from The Boiled Frog Kitchen - Take our Frog Burger recipe and convert it into cute bite sized portions.  They take 1/3 the time to cook and can be served as sliders or subs, with gravy on mashed potatoes or as appetizers.  Ingredients 1 lb ground pork (or turkey or beef) 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs 1/2 red onion 2 cloves garlic Rosemary - leaves of 3 stems Thyme - leaves of 4 stems Sage - leaves of 2 stems Cider Vinegar - 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Directions Preheat oven to 400 F.  In a food processor combine sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic, 1/2 onion, 1 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil.  Puree and add to ground pork and panko.  Mix gently.  Roll into about 1" diameter balls. Arrange on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked.

So ... I seem to be on kind of a meatball kick lately.  Perhaps, it's because it so hot right now and meatballs only take 20 minutes to cook.  But, more likely it's because meatballs just look so cute and they're bite sized! We've had Crack Meatballs (swedish) and now an Asian variation with peanut sauce.  Next .... Frog Balls (sage & rosemary)! Meatballs: 1 pound fresh lean ground turkey 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef 1 small red onion, chopped 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs 1 large egg 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced Handful fresh parsley, chopped 1 teaspoon red chili flakes 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce 1 teaspoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and black pepper to taste Pre heat oven to 400 F Combine all the ingredients together and mix well to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Roll into about 1" diameter balls. Arrange