Are you tired of Turkey??

Picadillo
Recipes for picadillo vary with each country and or region in Latin America.
This one is from my mother Anna Henderson and was her favorite.
I have made some changes and so can you, add more hot or less- add more spices if you like. You can use this in tacos, burritos, or chilaquiles.
We like to make it and serve it with rice, black beans and corn or flour tortillas.

2 pounds of good ground beef- we use our locally raised grass fed beef- or you can use ground turkey or 1/2 pork
2 onions chopped 1-2 cloves garlic
1-2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 yellow bell pepper sliced
1 pound (about 3 medium) tomatoes- or canned- or homegrown frozen.
1-3 jalapenos
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup pimiento olives, cut in half
1/8 tsp. cinnamon and cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

Saute onions, peppers and garlic in 2 tbs. oil.
cook and drain meat and add to saute
add all the rest and simmer 20-30 minutes.
enjoy!

Smoked turkey and Apple Pie!

What more could you want -- turkey and pie!
It was all we could do not to eat it tonight!

Base for Cookies and two cookie recipes

Basic Cookie Mix

4 cups sifted flour (I used cake flour) you can find at any store.
4 cups sugar
1 ½ cups nonfat dry milk powder
1 ½ TBS. baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon salt (use less if your butter is salted)

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well.
Store in a tightly covered container.
This will keep for about 1 month at room temperature.

Lemon Cookies: Preheat oven to 325-350 use your judgement here you know your oven.
2 cups of your base
½ cup butter, melted
1 egg beaten
1 tsp lemon extract
1 TBS. lemon juice
About 1 TBS. grated lemon rind, yellow only

Just mix all together.
Make and then shape into a log.
Use extra flour or mix to help make it stiff.
Roll in wax paper or plastic wrap.
Place in the refrigerator until very chilled.
Cut a small piece and with floured hands roll 1 “ balls.
Place 2 inches apart. ( I use parchment paper to bake on, it does not stick)
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Should be golden.
Cool a minute before removing.
Notes:
Cookie batter does best chilled.
Don’t put too many on pans.
Try not to burn.
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Oatmeal Bars:
2 cups base
1 ½ cup oats
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup butter, melted
¼ cup cold water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raisins
Spoon into a 13x9x2’ pan bake 30-35 minutes
Cool in pan 10 minutes then cut in bars.

I thought these should bake longer.
I ended up cutting and putting them back in the oven and baking another 10 minutes.

More on smoked meats

Well it is long after tomorrow and the meeting at Starworks.
How did the smoked meats turn out?
I was talking to my son and he reminded me I never did a follow up.
After marinading the meats for 24 hours, I took them out and place them all on my broiler pan and tented them over with foil.
I placed them in the Beer refrigerator - we live in the county 25 minutes from a grocery store- and let them rest for another day.
Then brought them up to room temperature and handed them over to Mark.
He started the smoke at about 4 pm. He keeps the temperature between 185 and 200- but mostly around 185-
He used charcoal for heat and hardwood for smoke.
In this case oak, a bit of mesquite and apple.
He keep them on until about 11 pm- we took them off and they were a nice rare to med rare.
The next day I sliced them thin and put the meat out on one of Mark's platters.
Sorry no picture-
It took about 15 minutes for the crowd to empty the platter.
They took a bee line over to the smoked beef and it was gone.
Here is what I found of the cuts we used.
The brisket was by far the best.
The shoulder roast a good second.
The chuck roast- fair.
Although I took trimming and bones and made soup stock and the best soup-
I took Tom Gray's advice and used nothing but bones- adding no extra seasonings.
I did add onion, carrots and celery.
I let the stock simmer in the oven for several hours.
It was great and has a nice smoke flavor.