Hot Corned Beef-Potato Hash

Directions:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
1. Cut corned beef slices crosswise into thin strips; set aside.
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes.
3. Add leek; cook an additional 2 minutes. Drain well.
4. Combine potato mixture and slaw in a bowl; toss well. Set aside.
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add corned beef; saute 2 minutes.
6. Add vinegar and next 5 ingredients (vinegar through pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
7. Pour vinaigrette over potato mixture; toss until well-blended and wilted. Serve immediately.

Irish Chicken Dinner

Directions:
Total Time: 1 1/2 hour
1. Cut cabbage and onion each into 5 wedges. Cut carrots into 2 1/2-inch pieces. Peel and cut turnips into 1-inch wedges. Cut spinach leaves into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
2. Remove skin and fat from all chicken pieces except wings; cut each chicken breast in half.
3. In 8-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, in 1 tablespoon hot salad oil, cook cabbage and onion wedges until lightly browned.
4. Add chicken pieces, carrots, turnips, beef bouillon, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf, and 2 cups water; over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 40 minutes, gently stirring occasionally until chicken and vegetables are tender.
5. Divide chicken and vegetables among 5 large soup bowls; top with spinach strips. Into medium bowl, pour cooking broth through sieve to discard spices and bay leaf. Spoon broth over chicken and vegetables in soup bowls. Garnish each serving with a radish if you like.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Cabbage

Directions:
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 55 minutes
1. Scrub potatoes with a brush. Pat dry. Prick skins with a fork. Bake in a 425° F oven for 40 to 60 minutes or till tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook cabbage and onion in hot oil for 5 minutes. Add water, soy sauce, and dillseed; bring to boiling. Simmer, covered, about 10 minutes. Cut a thin lengthwise slice from the top of each potato. Using a spoon, gently scoop out pulp leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell.
3. In a medium bowl mash potato pulp; stir in margarine or butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir in cabbage mixture. Add milk to desired consistency. Spoon mixture into shells. Place potatoes in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 425° F oven for 15 minutes or till heated through. To serve, top with sour cream and snipped dill or chives, if desired.

2004
Lemon Barbeque Meatloaf

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, lemon juice, water, egg, bread, onion and seasoning salt until well blended. Shape into 6 individual loaves. Place them in the prepared baking dish.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven while you prepare the topping, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard powder, allspice and cloves. Spoon the sauce over the loaves, then top each one with a slice of lemon. Return to oven, and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until cooked through.
Makes 6 servings

Awesome Collard Greens

Collard greens are a very nutritious and inexpensive treat. When I was growing up, my grandmother would buy about 50 cents worth of collard seeds and this would grow enough collard greens to feed us for the entire year. That 50 cents worth of seeds would produce hundreds of collard plants in our North Carolina backyard garden.

Directions:
1. My favorite way to cook collard greens is very simple. I take 2-3 smoked ham hocks and put them in a large (6 quart) pot of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and let it boil for about 1 1/2 hours. Add more water as it boils down. The idea is to boil the ham hocks until they begin to fall apart. You should always cook pork very thoroughly and use proper food handling techniques. You want the ham hocks to be falling apart before you add the collard greens.
2. Take the collard greens and separate the leaves (if fresh). Now rinse each leaf individually under cold running water. After you rinse the collard greens thoroughly, stack several leaves on top of each other. Roll these leaves together. Then slice the leaves into thin strips using a cutting board and large knife. Rolling them together speeds up the process as you are slicking through several leaves at once.
3. Next, add your collard greens to the pot. Since this is a lot of collards, you will need to add them until the pot is full. Then allow them to wilt as they cook - then add more. Add you salt, cover and cook for thirty minutes on medium heat. Stir every few minutes to distribute the smoked meat taste evenly. Taste to confirm they are the tenderness you prefer. Serve with your favorite meat dish such as chitterlings. Eat the ham hocks or neck bones right along with the collards.
4. If you used frozen collards, simply pour them - frozen - right from the package to the pot.

Pinto Beans and Ham Hocks

Directions:
1. Boil ham hocks on high heat for 45 minutes. Add all seasonings except hot sauce and onion. Continue boiling for 20 minutes. Add pinto beans, hot sauce, and onion. Boil on medium heat until beans are done to taste.
2. Note: To speed up cooking of beans and reduce the gas beans produce, soak beans in cold water overnight or for three hours during the day.
3. Serve with rice and a meat side dish. You can also use the ham hocks as your meat side dish. However, ham hocks are a high-fat food.

Pickled Pigs' Feet

An item available in about every corner grocery store when I was growing up was pickled pigs feet. Some places you could only buy a jar, other places you could buy them individually. They go great with a cold beer. Here is a quick and easy recipe for you to fix your own:

Directions:
1. Wash the pigs feet thoroughly. Place in a pot with cold water along with the vinegar. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam. Add other ingredients and cook over medium heat until thoroughly done (approximately 2 1/2 hours).
2. Store in a container along with the liquid. If you have too much liquid, remove the cooked pigs feet and boil it down a little. Refrigerate. Serve cold.

Albert’s Chicken

Directions:
1. Mix all the above ingredients in a large bowl.. Place the chicken in the mixture.
2. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat your grill for high heat.
4. Lightly oil your grill grate, discard marinate and place chicken on the grill.
5. Cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear.
Hope You Enjoy It...
Albert

Directions:
1. Pick over beans and discard any debris wash and drain. Put beans in a large pot and cover with water. Let stand 8 hours or overnight.
2. Next day chop celery and onions, carrots into ¼ inch pieces. (you can also use a food processor)
3. Drain beans add vegetables, 5 cups of water, ham hocks or ham bone, and pepper to taste, add salt if you wish.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 3 hours or until beans are tender. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Remove meat from bones and cut meat into half-inch pieces.
5. Put 2 cups of the soup in a blender along with margarine and flour: Puree. Pour this puree back into the pan, puree more of the soup if you prefer a smoother texture.
6. Add the chopped ham pieces back into the soup. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until soup is slightly thickened..
7. This is a excellent recipe..

Minced Beef

Directions:
1. Cook Beef with onion in its fat until beef turns a pink color, stirring to break apart, drain or skim off excess fat.
2. Sprinkle four over beef: Continue cooking until flour Is absorbed.
3. Crush tomatoes by hand or blender. Add tomatoes, salt & pepper to crush tomatoes by hand or blender taste, you may want to add a small amount of mace or nutmeg (optional to taste).
Note: If you desire more of a beef taste add some beef bullion (granules). In the past I have been asked what spice was used in the minced beef to give it the distinctive taste. It was either the nutmeg or mace.
Minced beef can be served over toast, biscuits, rice, or fried potatoes.
Some call minced beef (SOS), but creamed chipped beef is actually (SOS).
Yields 10 Servings

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Directions:
1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender, and drain.
2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row a cross the center, place two shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly wrap roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
4. In another small bowl mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish or soy sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures
Note: The fish sauce , rice vermicelli , chili garlic sauce, hoisin sauce and rice wrappers can be found at Asian food markets..
Yields 8 spring rolls

Creamed Chipped Beef (S.O.S.)

Directions:
1. Shred beef into smaller pieces.
2. Soak meat in hot water for a few minutes and drain if you think it's too salty.
3. Melt butter in fry pan and add meat to this, stirring for a couple of minutes.
4. Sprinkle flour over this and mix well. Slowly add milk, continue to stir and cook over low heat until thickened.
5. Season with pepper. Salt if desired.
Great with potatoes or on buttered toast. Serves 2-3.

Mexican Rice III

Directions:
1. In a medium sauce pan, cook rice in oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
2. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in onion, green pepper, jalapeno and diced tomato.
4. Season with bullion cube, salt and pepper, cumin, cilantro and garlic.
5. Bring to a boil, cover , and reduce heat to low.
6. Cook for 20 minutes.
Makes 6 servings
Note: Cilantro is also referred to as Chinese Parsley. It is actually the leaves and stems of the Coriander plant. Cilantro is widely used in Mexican, Caribbean and Asian cooking. It can be found in most produce markets.
Don’t confuse the Mexican rice with Spanish rice
Albert

Sweet Potato Casserole

Directions:
1. Rub a little vegetable oil on the skin of each sweet potato and bake them in a preheated 400 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until they are tender. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scrape out the insides and use an electric mixer on high speed to beat the potatoes until they are mashed and smooth. Measure exactly 6 cups of the mashed sweet potato into a large bowl.
2. Add 3/4 cup brown sugar, heavy cream, melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt into the sweet potatoes and mix well with the beater until all the ingredients are incorporated. Pour this mixture into an 8x8-inch baking dish.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Make the oatmeal streusel by grinding the rolled oats to a fine flour using a food processor. A blender will also work.
5. Combine the oat flour with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut the cold butter into the dry mixture using a pastry knife or a fork. You should have a crumbly mixture with pea-size bits. Sprinkle this oatmeal streusel over the sweet potato mixture and pop it into the oven for 70 to 80 minutes or until the top begins to brown slightly.
6. When you remove the casserole from the oven immediately spread the marshmallows over the top. Let this sit for about 10 minutes. The heat from the casserole will melt the marshmallows, and then it's ready to serve. www.topsecretrecipes.com
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Albert's Firecracker Burgers

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to high heat
2. In medium bowl, mix the beef, diced green chilies and bullion. Shape into paddies.
3. Lightly oil grill. Grill patties 4 minutes per side, or until well done. Top each patty with cheese about 2 minutes prior to removing from grill.
Serves 6

Albert's Banana Cake

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10" Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in sliced bananas, sour cream and baking soda. Beat in flour. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out on a wire rack and cool completely.
4. If desired, frost with your favorite frosting.
This is a very moist cake and tastes great plain or Cream Cheese frosting. Makes 16 servings.
Hope you enjoy...
Albert

Herb, Garlic, and Bacon Pork Loin

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. rub the pork loin with olive oil and place in a roasting pan. Drape bacon slices over the top. Combine the chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and garlic. Pour over the roast. Place onions around the sides. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the lid of foil, and continue to bake for 30 minutes or until the bacon is browned. Cool slice and serve.
Good with a side dish spiced cinnamon apple sauce, or apple pie ala mode

2006
Fire Station Meat Loaf

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until bacon is crisp and onions are transparent. Drain off excess grease, and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, pork sausage, bacon and onions, spinach, olives, pistachio nuts, 1 cup of ketchup, eggs, and meatloaf seasoning until well blended. Pat meat into a loaf shape, and place in a large baking pan. A roasting pan will work well. Poke cheese cubes into the top of the loaf so they are completely covered. Brush remaining ketchup generously over the top.
4. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven.
16 Servings

Holiday Roast Beef

Directions:
1. Place meat in a large roasting pan; sprinkle evenly with pepper.
2. Pour Italian dressing over meat .
3. Cover and marinate for 1 hour in refrigerator .
4. Preheat oven to 325.
5. Remove from marinate; discard marinate. Place meat fat side up, in shallow roasting pan.
6. Roast for to 2 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 130 F to 135 F for medium rare doneness.
7. Remove from oven. Cover and let stand for 20 min. before carving.
8. Mix 1 cup of the mayo and horseradish in a small serving bowl.
9. Mix remaining 1/2 cup of mayo, honey mustard dressing in a separate small serving bowl.
Serve both sauces with the meat.
Serves 15

Mapled Ham

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees)
2. Prick the ham with a fork. Place the pineapple slices on the ham, securing with toothpicks. Press the cloves into the ham. Place the ham in a baking dish with the water.
3. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, and mix in the syrup, brown sugar, and honey until heated through. Pour 1/2 the mixture over the ham.
4. Bake the ham 1 hour and 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Baste frequently with the remaining butter and syrup mixture.
5. Remove the ham from heat, and drain pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until thickened, and serve with the ham.
Yields 12 Servings

Sausage Gravy

Directions:
1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown.
2. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. Stir in the butter until melted.
3. Add flour, and stir until smooth.
4. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until light brown.
5. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook until thickened.
6. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in cooked sausage.
7. Reduce heat, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. If gravy becomes too thick, stir in a little more milk.

Honey Mustard Mozzarella Chicken

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Place the chicken breast halves in a baking dish, and drizzle evenly with honey and mustard. Sprinkle with lemon pepper.
3. Bake chicken 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Top each breast half with 2 bacon slice halves, and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Continue baking 10 minutes or until chicken juices run clear, bacon is crisp, and cheese is bubbly
Makes 4 servings and taste good as well.

Merlot Peppercorn Steak Sauce

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir in the mushrooms, garlic, and peppercorns, and sauté until the mushrooms are tender.
3. Pour in the wine, balsamic, and Worcestershire sauce, increase the heat to medium-high, and reduce by 1/3.
4. Stir in the rosemary and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.