AW’s Spicy Pineapple Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

1. Baking ham (bone-in or boneless)
2. purple grape juice – 2 1⁄2 cups
3. cola – 2 1⁄2 cups
4. sliced pineapple – 1 can (20 ounces)
5. brown sugar – 2 cups
6. spicy rub

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250° F.
2. Rinse ham &pat dry. Coat with spicy rub. If ham is not spiral cut, then cut 2 inch deep diagonal cuts on the ham for a more decorative finish when cooked.
3. Place ham in roasting pan (directly on the pan, not on a rack).  In roasting pan, pour 1-1⁄2 cups of coke and 1-1⁄2 cups grape juice. Then add enough water until the liquid reaches 1⁄2-inches deep. Cover ham with foil; crimp tightly around edge of roasting pan to seal in and retain moisture.
4. Place ham in oven and cook according to time specified on package.
5. Prepare the glaze by pouring 1 cup of grape juice, 1 cup of cola, all of the juice from the pineapple can, and brown sugar into a small sauce pan.  Simmer on low for 20 minutes until sauce is thick and shiny. Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature.
6. Check ham and when it reaches 100° F internally remove from oven.
7. Set oven temperature to 425° F.
8. Brush ham with 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 of the glaze mixture.  Place pineapple rings on ham and anchor with toothpicks (best to soak toothpicks beforehand).  When oven reaches new temperature return ham (uncovered) and bake for 15 minutes or until internal temperature is 140° F.
9. Remove ham and transfer to cutting board. Let ham rest for 15 minutes and then carve.
10. While ham is resting, return remaining portion of glaze to the stove. Using medium-low heat, warm glaze and drizzle over carved ham slices.

AW’s Green Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of broccoli
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• milk (one soup can amount); can substitute heavy cream but only use 3⁄4 of soup can amount.
• 1⁄2 pound Velveeta cheese (cut into small cubes)
• 3 cups steamed rice (note: fill water level to “2” on steam pot)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Saute broccoli in butter until thawed (if frozen) until soft.
3. In large mixing bowl add all ingredients and mix well.
4. Put mixture into large casserole dish and bake for 20-30 mins or until cheese has melted.

AW’s Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

• 5 bags cranberries; rinsed with bad berries removed
• dark Caribbean rum – 2 1⁄2 cups
• sweet white wine (moscato) – 2 1⁄2 cups
• zest and juice of one medium-sized orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 12 whole cloves
• 4 dashes ground nutmeg
• brown sugar (to taste)

Directions:

1. Put cloves & cinnamon stick (break up into smaller pieces) onto coffee filter and tie up so that all items are inside filter packet.
2. In tall-sided pot bring rum, wine, orange juice/zest, and brown sugar to a rolling boil. Put in clove/cinnamon stick packet and let boil for 5 minutes. Remove packet and discard.
3. Add berries and stir well. Return to boil then reduce heat to low. This is going to take a while to cook down to the consistency you like. Can use a potato masher to break up any berries that did not pop open. Stir often.
4. Add more brown sugar (to taste) until you get a good zangy hit of tartness followed by a mellowing bit of sweetness. Stir often.
5. Let cool completely.  Will keep for weeks!

AW’s Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

• Fresh green beans; ends cut off and strings removed
• Garlic
• Yellow Onion
• Bacon Grease
• Cream of Mushroom Soup (2)
• French-fried Onions (or use bread crumbs or crumbled Ritz crackers)
• Heavy cream (½ soup can amount)
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

NOTE: All ingredient amounts are “to taste”. This is my favorite style of cooking ’cause you just toss it all together and tweak it until you find the taste you are looking for.

1. Preheat oven to 375° (F).
2. In a deep pot, saute yellow onion and garlic in some extra virgin olive oil until onions are soft and translucent.
3. Add green beans and 1½ teaspoon of bacon grease. Cover beans with water and boil until beans are semi-soft.
4. Drain beans and return to the cooking pot. Add one can of soup and heavy cream. Stir until well blended.
5. Transfer mixture to greased casserole dish. Spread evenly and cover with shredded cheese.
6. Bake until soup is heated through and cheese has melted.
7. Remove from oven and cover casserole with second can of soup. Top with french-fried onions (or other options) and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

AW’s Chewy Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Base recipe source:  Food.com

Ingredients:

• Flour – 1½ cups
• Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• Ground Cinnamon – ½ teaspoon
• Oats – 2½ cups
• Butter – 1 cup
• Brown Sugar – 1 cup
• Granulated Sugar – ½ cup
• Eggs – 2
• Honey – 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla Extract – 2 teaspoons
• Dried Cranberries – 1⅓ cup
• Chopped Pecans – ¾ cup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° (F).
2. Line cookie pan with parchment paper or spray with butter spray.
3. Mix dry ingredients (except the sugars) then add oats and pecans; stir well.
4. In a separate bowl beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and use a spatula to scrap down the edges of the bowl. Add honey and vanilla extract.  Beat mixture until well blended.
5. Add half of the dry mix into the batter and stir well.  Add remaining half of dry mix and stir until well blended.
6. Add cranberries and pecans and stir until well blended.
7. Put mixture onto cookie sheet and press down until mixture is level and touching each edge of the cookie sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 15 mins or until center is soft and no longer looks wet.
9. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to cutting board and cut into bars.  Place bars on rack to cool.

Wild Hog Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• wild hog sausage
• chili powder
• garlic powder
• yellow onion
• jalapeno pepper
• shredded cheese
• eggs
• potatoes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and coat inside of casserole dish with butter or butter spray. Coarsely dice up potatoes, yellow onion and jalapeno.  Saute these in a pan until they begin to get soft. Add wild hog sausage and powders (to taste) and cook until sausage is cooked through completely.

Transfer to casserole dish in layers by putting in a small batch of the sausage mixture into the casserole dish and then top with shredded cheese.  Take 3 or 4 eggs and crack open over mixture. With a spatula, gently break up the egg yolks and then spread eggs over mixture.  Add more sausage mixture and top with shredded cheese and eggs (repeating the process of breaking up the eggs and spreading).

Place casserole dish in oven and cook until mixture is cooked thoroughly (roughly 25 to 30 minutes). Serve and eat as desired!!

TIP: Cut leftovers into serving sizes and place in sealable plastic bags and then freeze.

Steak Fries

Ingredients:

• taters
• olive oil
• parmesan cheese
• shredded cheese
• salt/pepper (to taste)
• Tony’s Creole seasoning (to taste)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and cut potatoes into thick wedges. Drizzle olive oil over taters, enough so that you can lightly coat each wedge.

Take cookie sheet and cover with foil. Lay tater wedges on the cookie sheet and season with salt, pepper, Tony’s to your taste; season both sides of tater wedge.

Put in oven and cook until tater wedge starts to get nice and crispy on the outside.  Turn wedges over and continue cooking until that side is nice and crispy on the outside.

Take cookie sheet out of oven and turn oven to the Hi-Broil setting. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on both sides of tater wedge then top with shredded cheese.  Pop back into the oven just inches from the broiler until the cheeses have melted and started to get crunchy.

Top with your home-made ketchup or that store-bought stuff!

Enjoy!!

AW’s Rum-filled Sunrise

Ingredients:

• crushed ice
• lime wedges
• dark rum
• orange juice
• lemon (or lime) juice

This is an easy drink to make as there are no set amounts of each ingredient.  Just mix it up the way you like it and enjoy a refreshing drink for any time of the day! This drink is especially enjoyable during the heat of summer ’cause it is guaranteed to cool ya down right good!

Drunken Venison Roundsteak

Ingredients:

• venison round steak (thawed and at room temperature)
• mushrooms (pick your favorite style)
• white onion
• salt/pepper (to taste)
• garlic powder
• butter
• dark rum
• light beer

In skillet (preferably cast-iron): saute mushrooms and onions in some butter and a little bit of beer. When softened, add just a touch of rum to color them up and saute until the alcohol smell is gone. Pour off into a bowl and set aside.

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Season venison steaks with salt, pepper and garlic powder to your liking.

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In skillet (preferably cast-iron): melt some butter and place venison steak on skillet over medium-high heat. As butter starts to burn, pour in a little bit of beer; continue until steak is cooked through turn steak occasionally. Once steak is cooked, remove steak and put in a little bit more butter and allow butter to simmer until it starts to brown. Add in some dark rum and then put sauteed mushrooms and onions back into skillet and cook until they are warm again.

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Pour remaining sauce and mushrooms/onions over venison steaks and ENJOY with your favorite sides!!

Hobo Casserole

Ingredients:

• sirloin beef (ground up; enough to make two thick burger patties) [or use hamburger meat, ground venison, or ground wild hog if you prefer]
• finely diced jalapenos (seeds optional; to taste)
• finely diced garlic (or use garlic powder; to taste)
• finely diced red onion (to taste)
• 1 cup of finely shredded cheese
• 1 can pinto beans (drained; or use fresh beans)
• 1 can of black-eyed peas (drained; or use fresh peas)
• tabasco sauce (to taste)
• salt / pepper (to taste)
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup

 

Directions:

1. Mix ground sirloin/beef, jalapenos, red onion, garlic until well-blended and form into two thick hamburger patties. Cook patties over medium heat until cooked thoroughly. Use a spatula to break patties into rough chunks.
2. Add both cans of soup and stir with the meat until well blended.
3. Add drained pinto beans. Stir well.
4. Add drained black-eyed peas. Stir well.
5. Add shredded cheese and stir until melted and well-incorporated.
6. Add tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Simmer for 15 minutes over medium-low heat; stirring occasionally.
8. Serve over steamed rice, buttered noodles, or however you wish and enjoy!

Ho-Dduk (Korean Pancakes)

Ok… first things first…. how to pronounce ‘ho-dduk’…… the first part is easy, “hoe” (like the garden tool), the last part is pronounced like “dock” but with a heavy emphasis on the ‘d’.  These are small Korean-style pancakes that are filled with a sweet concoction of brown sugar, chopped peanuts, and cinnamon.  This is an awesome treat enjoyed during the winter season.

When I was in the military and serving in South Korea, I just couldn’t get enough of these amazing treats.  But I soon found out that one couldn’t eat too many due to that sugar rush!  My wife, who is from South Korea, made some of these delicious treats recently. They were gone just as soon as she would take them out of the skillet!

The brown sugar mixture quickly melts into this ooey-gooey sweet filling inside of that hot chewy pancake (or bun). Each time I have these, wonderful memories of my years spent in South Korea come rolling back!!

There are several varieties of fillings and dough mixtures that are used.  Some folks make these from scratch but we found a much easier method … pre-packaged boxes with all the necessary ingredients inside!!!

These are easy to make and I highly encourage you to try some!  Still skeptical?  Then find a Korean grocery store … most of which will have a cafe or small restaurant inside.  Visit during the winter months and you’re sure to find several ladies all set up with griddles making these pancakes right on the spot!!  Order a couple and enjoy!!

Wine-infused Ribeyes, Baked Taters, Black Bean Sauce & Veggies!!

Yes sir-ree it was time for some wine-infused ribeyes (a special technique of using Merlot to tenderize and flavor the meat) along with baked taters, black bean sauce, tomato/mozzarella mix and a garden salad.

Click here for the “infused” method I like to use.

For the tomato mix just grab a bowl and toss in those cherry tomatoes, pearl-size mozzarella cheese balls, and chop up some leaves off of a celery plant (use the leaves off the smaller stalks as they are more flavorful).  Drizzle with olive oil and then add kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Chill-n-serve!

For the black bean sauce just boil them beans till they are soft. While boiling be sure to add in the finely diced white onions and finely diced garlic.  I’ll also add in Tony’s Creole Seasoning until I get that just-right salty taste I’m looking for.  Once the beans are nice and soft just mash ’em up in the pan while it’s still boiling (turn down the heat a tad).  Serve warm.  This mixture is a dang-good additive for breakfast burritos/tacos.  Heck I even like to just toast up some bread, smear on some black bean sauce and top it off with a fried egg!!

For my baked taters it’s oh so simple… Oven at 400, wash the taters and then pat dry.  Coat skin with olive oil and then roll in kosher salt.  Place on rack (no foil!) and put a cookie sheet underneath the taters.  Bake until soft and load ’em up to your heart’s desire!!

Pork Rack

Ingredients:

• pork rack
• sea salt
• crushed black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
• pork rub

 

Start off by rinsing the pork rack; dry well with paper towels.  Coat pork rack with seasonings listed above.  I generally start with a light sprinkling of the salt and black pepper, followed by garlic powder then cayenne pepper and finally the pork rub.  Rub seasonings well into the pork.

 

Next take some aluminum foil and cover each bone tip individually; this helps to keep those tips from burning while the rack is cooking on the grill.

Get your grill going and coat the grill rack with some olive oil or butter sprays to help keep the pork rack from sticking. Cook over low heat; turning the pork rack occasionally until rack is cooked through.  I like to finish off the pork rack by cutting between each bone tip and cooking the sides of the pork to ensure that they have each been cooked thoroughly.

Serve up with your favorite sides and enjoy!!

Feral Hog Sausage y Huevos

Ingredients:

• feral hog sausage
• eggs
• flour

Start out by pouring vegetable oil into a skillet and heat up for frying the sausage.  Cut/form sausage into patties and dust with flour.  Fry in oil until thoroughly cooked through.  Do NOT eat wild hog that has not been cooked thoroughly!!  Place sausage patties on paper towels to drain.

Now fry up some eggs to your liking.  I prefer mine on the runny side!!  Also fix up some toast or biscuits to go along with your meal.  Serve and enjoy!!

Venison Burgers

Ingredients:

• ground venison
• finely diced jalapeños
• finely diced sweet onions
• shredded cheese
• sea salt
• crushed black pepper

 

Add finely diced jalapeños and sweet onions, along with shredded cheese, in with the ground venison.  Add in sea salt and crushed black pepper (about a teaspoon of each for each 1/2-pound of meat).  Mix well but don’t over-mix.  Form into patties and go get your grill to heating up.  Wipe down the grill grates with olive oil or spray with butter spray to keep the patties from sticking.  Cook over low heat; turning occasionally, until the patties are cooked thoroughly.

 

Fix up the venison burgers with all your favorite condiments and sides!  Enjoy!!!

Spicy Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients:

• tilapia fillets
• crushed red pepper flakes
• parmesan cheese
• mustard
• tobasco sauce
• Zatarain’s Season Fish-Fri (Crispy Southern Style)
• olive oil

First, rinse the tilapia fillets and pat dry.

Next, take a bowl and mix enough of the dry ingredients (fish-fri, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes).  Take another bowl and put in mustard and a few dashes of tobasco sauce (to taste).  Use only enough mustard to lightly coat the tilapia fillets.

Heat olive oil in skillet.  Use enough oil to cover bottom of fish fillets.  Don’t get olive oil too hot too fast or it will burn! Lightly coat fillets with mustard mix.  Then coat with dry season mix.

Place fillets in oil and fry; turning/flipping fillets and ensuring they are cooked thoroughly.  Remove from oil and place on paper towels to absorb any remaining olive oil.

Serve and enjoy!!

AW’s Base Burger Seasoning Mix

Here’s my base burger seasoning mix.  Now this is just the base, you have to mess around with the amounts of each in order to find the blend that you enjoy!!

1. McCormick Grill Masters Montreal Steak Seasoning
2. Ragin Blaze Cajun Seasoning
3. McCormick Garlic Powder
4. Weber N’Orleans Cajun Seasoning
5. McCormick Ground Cumin
6. McCormick Ground Cayenne Red Pepper

 

Tilapia in Scallion and Ginger Sauce

This tilapia was served with a steamed rice/vegetable medley and home-style greens beans with bacon and potatoes. For this recipe you can easily substitute the tilapia with orange roughy, cod, sole, or flounder.
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup dry sherry or vermouth
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• red pepper flakes (optional; to taste)
• 1 pound tilapia fillets

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix the sherry or vermouth, soy sauce, sesame oil, onion, ginger, and garlic in a small bowl.  Place the fish fillets in a casserole dish.  Drizzle the marinade over the fish and bake for 12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.

Garnish as desired… I prefer to take some jalepeños and chop them up for some added “heat”.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 medium zucchini; cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium summer squash; cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium red bell pepper; seeded, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper; seeded, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound fresh asparagus; rough ends cut/discarded; cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 red onion; finely diced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450º.  Place vegetables in coated (spray butter) roasting pan.  Toss with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Spread out in an even layer; roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned and tender.

Cheesy Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-cooked eggs
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons sweet or dill pickles, minced
• 5 tablespoons Hellman’s mayo
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• Paprika and parsley

Cut eggs in half, lengthwise.  Remove yolks and place in mixing bowl.  Add next five ingredients and mix well.  Place mixture back into egg halves and garnish with paprika and parsley.  Keep chilled until ready to serve.