Becky's  "Cowgirl" recipes
...and other concoctions

Table of Contents: Braised Pork Butt Collards Peach pie Burrito fix'ns Homemade Fruit Cake Becky's Mint Julep

Orange/Pineapple sherbet Tea Cookies Becky's Pickled Okra Simple Stuffed Mushrooms Terry's Simple Salsa Mexican Cornbread Becky's Chili

Here's the family favorite:  Braised Pork butt w/12 spice dry rub.

Go to your favorite meat counter and buy a 6-7 pound pork butt. This is the upper part (or butt end) of the shoulder.

The dry rub:  take 1 teaspoon of each item below and put into a shaker can, so that the rub can be sprinkled evenly over the meat.

Salt (I use the lite salt with Sodium Chloride AND Potassium Chloride. Lowers sodium content in food)
Black pepper  (fresh ground if you can)
Garlic Powder (not salt)
Onion Powder (again not salt)
Cumin
Chili powder
Poblano chili powder (since I grow these,  I dry and grind them up in a coffee grinder)
Cayenne pepper powder (same as Poblano)
Dry Mustard
Paprika
Sweet n Low (yes, I'm counting a few calories here.  You can use 1 cup of sugar or brown sugar instead)
Coriander (grind seeds fresh)

Other spices to add if you desire:

Allspice (grind fresh, will sweeten the meat up)
Curry powder (for an India/Asian flavor)

After you rub down your butt with the mixture above, chop up some fresh Rosemary and Thyme and cover the butt on all sides. Don't be shy with the herbs. Place in a 10 inch 6 qt dutch oven, an 8" meat trivet (see photo at right), so that the meat won't burn to the bottom.  Add to the dutch oven, your butt and 1 can of classic Coca Cola or (my favorite) Diet Ginger ale.  Put on the lid and cook slowly over a campfire, or on the stove, on low to medium low, for 4-5 hours. Must be at a slow simmer!!! Once tender, you can slice and eat as is,.... OR you can carefully remove it from the dutch oven, place on the swing-out grill, and smoke over a very low wood fire, for at least 1 hour, turning every 30 minutes. You will get a nice "bark" on the butt and even more layers of outdoor flavor!!!  [back to top]

As a side dish:  Collards with onions and Poblano peppers.

Okay,...when cooking your butt (see above) you will notice lots of great juices in the dutch oven. Ladle out this fabulous  liquid to cook your collards in.  It's already seasoned, except I add Cayenne pepper for MORE heat. My personal preference, you don't have to add it. Simply add your favorite type of onions, cut up into chunks, and whatever peppers you have.  I love the poblanos. Cook (simmer) on low heat, either on stove or over the campfire, until tender. Takes about 45 minutes for a good mess, in a 10 inch dutch. Taste and season more, if need be.    [back to top]

Out of my freezer, I get a quart zip lock bag full of peaches. Previously, I picked, peeled and sliced them, then froze  with a tad of lemon juice and Splenda mixed in.

First, I thaw the peaches slowly in the microwave, or you can thaw overnite in the refrigerator.

Next,  I use the cooked method of preparing the peaches for  the pie. I saw this method used on the Food Channel's special program: "Chuckwagon cookoff."  There is an annual competition in New Mexico, that judges Chuckwagons and chuckwagon cooking, which included preparing a dessert with dried apricots. Pretty fascinating to me, but I digress. We're baking a peach pie today, but I will use the method the cooks used on the apricots.

Take your thawed peaches and put into a pot on the stove, over medium heat. In a 2 cup measuring cup or bowl,  I add 1 cup Splenda, 1-2 Tablespoons of flour, and 1/2 teaspoon each of freshly ground Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Add more if  you want, but fresh ground or grated REALLY beats out the stuff that's been sitting in the can at the grocery store. To these dry ingredients, add a pinch or two of salt and mix. Add to your heating peaches and bring to a simmer. Taste!!  If you like your pie really sweet, add more sweetener.  What you taste now, will be what the pie tastes like later.  Once the mixture meets your liking, set aside and let cool,....or if you are like  me,...in a hurry,...I put ice in the sink with water, and quick chill the peaches to room temperature.

Now, for the crust!!  I cheat, and use store bought!  Sorry,....I can't make pie crust as good as that in the frozen dessert section at the store. Anyway, take your pie crust and fill with the peaches.  I add about 4 pads of real unsalted butter on top, and THEN take another pie crust and put on top of that. Crimp the edges, and put a couple of slits in the top to vent steam.  Last thing I do is brush on some water (or egg), to the top of the crust, and sprinkle on some sugar to make a slight glaze.  Either put your pie into a 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes, OR you can cook at the campfire using the 12 inch Dutch oven. To load up your pie, put in the bottom of the oven, the 8" meat trivet (see photo above). Then take enough heavy duty aluminum foil and fold into a long strip. Place in the  middle of the dutch oven where the ends go up the sides. This is your pie removing system. Once the pie is done, all you have to do is remove the lid, grab both ends of the Al foil, and pick up the pie. As for the cooking part, use wood coals or charcoal to place under the oven and on top of the lid. This is an art, so it will take some practice to see how much heat to apply. I usually put 5 charcoal briquettes on the ground, then put the oven (with the legs) on top of the briquettes, then put 15 to 20 briquettes on the lid. Every 10 minutes, turn the oven 90 degrees to the right and the lid 90 degrees to the left, to keep the pie away from hot spots and thus prevent burning!!  This is important!!  Once brown,  remove, cool and enjoy!!    [back to top]

Becky's Burrito mixture. (make in advance and store in sealed containers. Freezes well!) 
Another versatile item I put together, is this simple mixture.  I submitted it to the Quarter Horse Journal a few years ago, for their "Show Food" page. This is an excellent thing to have at horse and/or dog shows, where you can grab a hearty meal or snack. All you need is a microwave to heat it up.

Take 1 pound of ground chuck or cubed raw chicken meat, brown in a skillet, ADD, any or all of the following:

1 onion, chopped up
3 minced garlic cloves
2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped up
1 poblano chili pepper, chopped up
1 tablespoon of Cumin
1 tablespoon of Chili powder
half jar of pecante sauce, add more if you like more liquid
Salt and pepper to taste.

optional items:
small can of kidney beans
leftover rice
small can of corn
The great thing about this mixture is that it's so easy to make different Southwestern entrees out of it. Here is how I use it:

Burritos:
microwave, steam or quick fry in oil or Pam, your corn or flour tortillas.
place some of the mixture in middle of tortilla, and add any or all of the following:
chopped Jalapeno peppers
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
grated extra sharp cheddar cheese  (this is my favorite, use what you like)

Roll up tortilla and eat,.....OR
place in a baking dish, several burritos side by side, cover with pecante sauce and grated extra sharp cheddar cheese,
then bake at 350° until bubbly. Makes good enchiladas.

You can also fry the rolled up tortilla (use large flour for this, and tuck the ends inside)  to make a chimichanga OR fold
it over in half, grill and make a quesadilla with it.
However, my favorite dish, using this mixture, is for my infamous Super Nachos!!! 

Take tortilla chips and spread out on a foil covered cookie sheet. Add small amounts of the mixture to the chips, getting  some on all, along with chopped up Jalapeno peppers, green onions, kidney beans, and cilantro. Pile on the grated extra sharp cheddar cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese is melting and starting to bubble. Remove from broiler and add dollops of sour cream, and enjoy!! [back to top]

Homemade "Really Good"  Fruit cake!!

A Holiday treat with a bad reputation is the "FRUIT CAKE".  Yes, I know, there are veryfew folks out there, that actually like the usual "store bought" fruit cake you get as presents, from distant family members, and next door neighbors during the month of December. HOWEVER, I have found a great recipe for really GOOD  fruit cake. This recipe comes from the Food Channel's Peabody award winning program "Good  Eats" with University of Georgia Alum; Alton Brown. From his Christmas program, "It's a Wonderful Cake," he has developed a terrific fruit cake to be enjoyed anytime of the year. Here's the recipe, and how "I" make it!   (this is also a great healthy snack at horse shows)

Take the following dried fruits and place in a large sealable container:
8 oz bag of dried berry assortment (cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries)
4-6 oz of cut up dried apricots
8 oz of golden raisins
8 oz of currants
Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Mix the fruits in the container and add 1-1¹/2  cups of Bacardi Gold Rum, enough to cover fruit. (use apple juice as an alternative)  Stir, seal on top, and let set overnight so that the fruit rehydrates.

In a 2 qt sauce pan, melt 1 stick (8 Tbs) of Butter, add your Fruit (including liquid) from above, and add 1 cup of Apple juice. (you can use other juices also, like Cranberry) While that's starting to heat up: Gather up the following dry ingredients:

6 Allspice berries
4 Cloves
1 tsp Cinnimon
¹/2 tsp Nutmeg
¹/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup Splenda or sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 ¹/2 tsp salt
1 ³/4 cup All Purpose flour  (I mix half and half AP flour and whole wheat flour for this)
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1-1¹/4 cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts and/or pecans)

To your sauce pan with the fruit, add:
 6 Allspice berries and 4 Cloves: (grind up fresh in a coffee grinder.)
1 teaspoon of Cinnimon (grind up fresh, buy the sticks)
1/2 teaspoon of Nutmeg (grate up: buy the nuts).
Ginger
Splenda

Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 mintues to get everything hot and dissolved.

Put some ice in the sink with some cold water and cool the sauce pan to room temperature.

Add your flour, salt, soda and baking powder to cooled mixture and stir to combine. Then add 2 eggs, chopped nuts  and stir again.  Batter should be thick.

Have one large or three small non stick loaf pans ready, sprayed with Pam. You can even use cupcake tins with papers for extra small cakes.

Have your oven set to 325°F and a tray of hot water on the bottom  rack. Your loaf pans will set on the top oven rack, over the water. This moisture helps the cakes from cracking wide open. There will be some cracking though. Bake until toothpick comes out dry, approx 45 mins to an hour depending on the size of your loaf pans.

Remove from oven and spray with more Rum or apple juice to moisten the  top. Do this several times while cooling.

This cake is actually better the next day and freezes well. You can even toast a slice in a toaster oven, and put a dab of butter on it for breakfast!!   [back to top]

This is one of the common recipes for this great drink.  Take a Highball or Old-fashion 8 oz glass, and put 1heaping teaspoon of powdered sugar (or Splenda) in the bottom and toss in 4-6 medium mint leaves. (I have peppermint plants outside in my herb garden, they are easy to grow.)  Take a spoon or a pestle (from a mortar and pestle to grind stuff)  and grind up the mint with the sugar. Add 1 jigger of water and 1 jigger of your favorite whiskey / bourbon (Makers Mark is the best) /scotch etc. and then add lots of  high quality ice with a sprig of mint to garnish. Perfect for sipp'n and watching the sun set, with friends and family.    [back to top]
 

Summertime Orange/Pineapple sherbet 
This is a great treat/dessert for the longer summers here in Georgia.  I saw this recipe in a magazine 20 years ago, and it's soooo simple,  I couldn't believe it.

For a large hand cranked or electric ice cream churn:

2 liter Orange Crush soda
1  6-8 oz can of crushed Pineapple
1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

That's it!!!  Mix in a large bowl, add to your large electric ice cream churn and voila', a half gallon of good  eat'n.

NOW,......  if you don't have one of those large old fashion ice cream churns,....which I don't, use a nice electric countertop 1.5  quart Ice cream machine, which can be found at many mega marts. I got mine from a good cooking web site: www.Cooking.com

I modified the above recipe to not only make it in smaller amounts,  but also less caloric. Mix the following items in a bowl and freeze as per the machine's directions:

³/4  qt of Diet Orange soda
¹/2 of a small can of crushed Pineapple (unsweetened and  pulverized in a food processer)
2 Tablespoons of Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
¹/4  cup Splenda

The Splenda "fluffs" up the sherbet more and it actually tastes great!!     [back to top]

My Favorite Tea Cookies

This is a recipe originally found in my Aunt Bonnie's Church cookbook. Specifically, the 1978 edition of Alice Saunders Christian Society family recipes. This following recipe (Honey Pecan Balls) is from Mrs. Granville Trimble:

2 C finely chopped pecans
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 C honey
2 C sifted AP flour
1 C shortening
1/2 tsp salt

Cream shortening and add honey. Add flour, salt and vanilla. Mix well and add nuts. Form into small (1 inch) balls and place on a greased or non stick baking sheet. Bake at 400° F for 10 minutes or until starting to brown. Roll in powder sugar while hot and once more when almost cool.

NOW!!  I have altered the above recipe to make it a tad more healthy. I personally use butter instead of shortening,  I like the flavor of butter. Next, I substitute for the honey, 2/3 C of Splenda and cream that with the butter.  I also use half AP flour and half whole wheat flour.  Otherwise, the recipe is the same.  These cookies also freeze well. Make great holiday gifts when mixed with the fruit cake above.      [back to top]

Becky's Pickled Okra

This canning method for Okra is so simple and so great, you won't believe it.

To pickle, use 2-3 inch long okra. Wash okra, cut off the stem to 1/2 inch, and place in a wide mouth ¹/2  pint clean Mason jar.  I first load the okra in the bottom of the jar, stem end first, on the bottom, and then finish loading the jar with the pointed ends between the first loaded okra. Keep pushing the okra into the jar until completely full, leaving a half inch space at top. Next, add to the jar, 1 fresh clove of garlic, half a Habanaro chili pepper and 1 small sprig of Dill. In a 16 oz measuring cup, take 1/2 C of water and 1/2 cup of white vinegar (you can use cider or  rice if you want) and heat in a MICROWAVE until boiling.  Remove, and while over the sink, slowly pour the hot liquid into your okra packed jar, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch head space at the top of the jar. Put the whole jar back into the microwave and continue to heat until the liquid starts to boil again.  Remove with oven mitt, and seal the jar opening with a new lid. I place the jar upside down on a wooden cutting board for a couple of minutes to get the lid hot, and then flip upright until the lid seals.  I then date the jar and let sit on a shelf for a couple of weeks until opening. The okra stores well for, at least, a couple of years, and with it being so easy to can, you only have to grow okra every other  year! This method also works for pickled wax and green beans. [back to top]

Here's a yummy simple receipe for appetizers, or a side dish for dinner.

Take several (8) button type of mushrooms and select the ones that have  2-3 inch wide caps.  Remove the stems with a spoon (I use a grapefruit  spoon) and chop them up on a cutting board.  Mince up a couple of slices of onion and 2 cloves of garlic.  To a small skillet, add 2 tbsp of butter, melt and sauté the stems, onions and garlic for a couple of minutes over medium heat.  Next add a couple of tbsps of Stovetop Cornbread stuffing, that has been crushed up into small bits.  Add enough stuffing to absorb all the butter, and then remove from heat. (Notice there is no salt and pepper added to the sauté pan. The cornbread stuffing has lots of seasoning already, but if you want to add more salt and pepper, go ahead) Add to the mixture 2 tbsp of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  Don't use the pre-grated stuff in the green can from the store. Buy the good cheese at fine Deli departments!!! (yes, it's worth it!!) Take your 2-3 inch caps and place on a baking sheet, open side up.  Take a small dab of butter and place into the caps. Then spoon in the stuffing mixture on top, and bake for 10-15 minutes in a 400°F oven, until the mushrooms are cooked, but still firm. You can add any type of cheese, I prefer using Parmigiano Reggiano, even though it's usually $15/lb. You could even add a sauce and some Mozzarella cheese on top.  [back to top]

You will need to mix in a large sealable bowl:
1 large can of whole tomatoes,  coarsely chopped
1 large Vidalia or Red onion,  coarsely chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 Jalapeno pepper,   finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped Cilantro,  add more if you like
Salt and pepper to taste

For dipping chips,  chop up everything and put in the bowl. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, to let flavors meld.  This will be good and chunky.  If you want smoother salsa, put all the ingredients into a blender or food processer. Pulse until you get the consistancy you want.  This keeps well in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving for dip.

Salsa options to add to the above recipe:
-You can use fresh tomatoes if you have them.  Beefsteaks and Big Boys are good
-Add 2 tomatillos, husked, washed and coarsely chopped
-2 tsps of lime juice
-1 Tbsp of Mexican oregano
-1 tsp of ancho chile powder
-1 Tbsp Canola oil                                                                                                            [back to top]

First take some good stone ground cornmeal.  You can get this over the internet.  As a second option, the standard corn meal from your local grocery store.  Third option, you can use self rising cornmeal, and omit the baking powder above.  If you don't use buttermilk and just whole milk, then you can cut out the soda also.

Dry ingredients:  Measure up the desired amount of cornmeal depending on the size of your baking pan.  (2 cups is a good start)  If not using self rising, add 1/2 tsp of soda and 1/2 tsp of baking powder.  Add a Tablespoon of sugar or Splenda, 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.  Stir to mix all the dry stuff.  Then add your milk and eggs, and stir until the mixture is thick.  Let set for 15 minutes to let the cornmeal hydrate, and if the mixture gets dry, add more milk to thin, until it is a tad stiffer than cake batter.  Add your onions, garlic, peppers, corn and cheese, mix to incorporate and put into a greased baking dish and bake at 350F, until a toothpick come out clean.  Cool, cut and enjoy!        [back to top]

You will need:

3 lbs of beef chuck cut up into 1 inch cubes  (you can also mix in pork and lamb!)
2 Tbs of olive or peanut oil
2 onions chopped
6 cloves of garlic
   Put these spices into a grinder and pulverize:
     1 Tbs dried oregano
     1 Tbs paprika (sweet if you got it)
     1 Tbs whole coriander
     1 Tbs cumin seed
     1 Tbs chili powder
     1 Tbs cinnamon (use the stick)  If I think of it, I might add a tad of nutmeg also
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 chipotle chile, chopped
2 poblano peppers or Anihiems, chopped up
2 jalapeno peppers chopped up  (yes, I like it hotter than normal) 
2 large cans tomatoes, chopped, OR you can add a can of salsa and 1 Tbs of tomato paste
1 bottle of your favorite beer  (I like a nice wheat ale)
1 tsp sugar or Splenda
2 Tbs masa harina, OR a large handful of corn tortilla chips (Doritoes) coarsely broken up.
     AS you can see,  there are NO BEANS in competition chili!!

Cilantro leaves and lime wedges to garnish.  Maybe even some sharp cheddar cheese, or a teaspoon of sour cream.

Take the olive oil, place in a large Dutch oven or stew pot, heat up on med high and add onions and garlic until both are soft and beginning to caramelize.  Remove from heat and put onions and garlic in a bowl.  Put Dutch or pot on heat and brown your inch cubed beef, a small handful at a time, removing to cool with the onions.  After all beef is browned,  deglaze Dutch or stew pot with the beer and add back, the meat and aromatics.  Add the peppers, tomatoes, sugar, spices and black pepper.  Stir and let cook for one hour.  Add the tortilla chips and cook for another hour.  Taste and add salt if needed, along with more spices to suit you taste.  Stir enough to break up the meat until it is shredded well.  Serve with cilantro, lime and/or cheese or sour cream.

    Cowgirl life:  It's the simple things that count!