How To Freeze Corn

 Shuck the corn by removing the silk.  Trim ends.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  

Fill a large bowl with ice and water, known as an ice bath.

Place 4 corn cobs in the boiling water.  Boil for 4 minutes.  

Remove corn from boiling water with tongs and place in ice bath.  They can stay in for about 4 minutes.  Remove to a towel to dry.

Repeat with remaining cobs.

Remove kernels from cob with sharp knife.

Put 2 cobs worth of kernels in 1 vacuum seal bag.  Process bags with vacuum sealer.  2 cobs is about 1 cups worth of corn.  

Freeze flat.  

Crispy Chicken Tenders

1 cup Canola Oil, may need more
1/2 cup Flour

1 teaspoon Chili Powder
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste

6 Chicken Breasts
2 Eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup Panko

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Season flour with chili powder, salt, and pepper.

Cut chicken breast in half to make tender strips.

Take three dishes that are a little longer than the strips and in one dish put the flour mixture, in another dish put the beaten eggs, and in another dish put the Panko.

Working one at a time, dredge strips in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko, pressing to coat.

Working in batches, add cod to the skillet and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

Duck Carnitas - Slow Cooked

2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoons Cumin
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Mustard
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
~3 lbs duck breasts
2 large Onions, thinly sliced
3 Poblano Peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1 jar (16 oz) Salsa

2-4 Tablespoons Cornstarch
16 flour Tortillas, warmed
3 cups crumbled queso fresco or shredded monterey Jack Cheese

2 Limes, cut into wedges
Avocado, sliced
sour cream
cilantro

Add the first 9 ingredients from kosher salt to cayenne pepper to a mason jar and put lid on.  Shake mason jar to combine ingredients well.  Sprinkle over duck breast and rub in. Store remaining seasoning blend in a cool dry place for up to a year.  

Place onions and peppers in a slow cooker.  

In a large cast iron skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Brown breasts on both sides.  Transfer to slow cooker with drippings from pan.  

Top with salsa and cook covered on high for 2 hours and on low for 3 hours.  

Remove roast and shred with 2 forks.  Remove about 1/4 cup of juice and mix in 2-4 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Slowly pour back into slow cooker while whisking.  Pour desired amount of thickened sauce over meat.  You can use the remaining sauce to pour on tacos later.    

Make tacos with desired toppings.  

Slow Cooked Stew

1/3 cup Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 lb. Boneless Chuck Steak, 1 inch cubes

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 onion, chopped

3 cup Beef Broth

1 Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried Thyme

1 teaspoon Paprika

2 Bay Leaves
1 lb. New Potatoes, halved
1 lb. Carrots, sliced diagonally

1 cup Green Peas

2 ribs Celery, diced

1 cup Sour Cream (if desired)

1 package Wide Egg Noodles, cooked

In a ziplock bag combine flour, salt, and pepper.  Shake beef chunks in bag to coat.  In a caste iron skillet, sauté beef chunks in 2 Tablespoon oil until browned.  Remove beef to slow cooker.

In the same skillet melt butter and sauté onions till softened while scrapping the bits from the pan.  After about 3-5 minutes of sautéing pour a cup of beef broth.  Pour broth mixture into a mixing bowl.   

Combine in the broth mixture the remaining beef broth, Onion Soup Mix, water, Tomato Paste, worcestershire sauce, Garlic, Thyme, Paprika, and Bay Leaves.  

Add the vegetables to the slow cooker on top of the beef.  Pour onion soup mixture over top and toss to coat.  

Cover and cook on high for 2 hour and on low for 3 hours.   Make sure potatoes are cooked through.

If not thick enough, In a small bowl whisk together 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup stew broth.  Stir flour mixture into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 30 min.  

- To make it more like a Hungarian Goulash (if desired) add 1 cup sour cream to stew at the very end and serve over Egg Noodles.

Note: If you have on hand you can add 1 teaspoon of rosemary and caraway seeds if desired to the onion soup mix mixture.

Lemon Cake

1 Homemade Cake Mix mixture

1 teaspoon Lemon zest
1 stick cold Butter, sliced by the Tablespoon
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 cup milk, buttermilk, or sour cream
2 Eggs, beaten
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

In a food processor combine Homemade Cake Mix mixture, lemon zest, and butter slices. Pulse until crumbly. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

In a liquid measuring cup add lemon juice. Then add enough milk to make 1 cup.

Add milk mixture and eggs to the dry ingredients. Stir till combined. Do not over stir.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. I also look to see if cake is jiggly when pulling out of the oven. If it is, it probably still needs more time.

Cool 15 minutes.

Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.

Spread 1/2 of the frosting over tops and sides of cooled cake round cakes, or all the frosting over the 13x9 cake.

Store cake covered on counter.

Note: I zest and juice 1 lemon. I use 1/2 the zest for the cake and 1/2 or the frosting. I use 1/3 of the juice for the cake and 2/3 juice for the frosting. However, if I am doing something with the frosting that will not use up the rest of the zest or lemon juice, then just add it all into the frosting.

Homemade Lemon Cake Mix

2 cups Flour

1.5 cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 box Lemon Pudding mix

Mix all together. Can store in 16oz Mason Jar

Note: Homemade Cake Mix can be used to make a Lemon Cake, Dump Cake, Cobbler (make like dump cake as in sprinkle cake mix over pie filling then lay butter slices on top and bake for 45 minutes), Lemon Party Cake, Strawberry Lemon Cake, etc....

Lemon-Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake - Cheryl Hale

Coffee Cake batter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 Lemons juiced, divided between
       coffee cake, cream cheese layer, and icing
<3/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream
1 cup raspberries, blueberries, or 

           strawberries (cubed), fresh or frozen

Cream Cheese Layer
1 large egg at room temp

8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raspberries, blueberries, or 

           strawberries (cubed), fresh or frozen

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Prepare coffee cake batter. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one a time, scraping down the butter and eggs as need be; add vanilla. Mix in lemon zest. In a liquid measuring cup juice lemons with a strainer to catch the seeds. Using a 1 cup liquid measuring cup add 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and enough buttermilk (or sour cream) to make it 1 cup. Add buttermilk mixture to batter and combine. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in 1 cup of berries.

Prepare Cream Cheese layer. In a stand mixer with the whisk attached add egg add cream cheese; mix until combined. While the mixer is on low, add powdered sugar to cream cheese mixture slowly until fluffy about 2 minutes or so. Add vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice and 1 cup berries.

Spread 1/2 the batter evenly into prepared pan. Add cream cheese layer. Top with the remaining batter.

Prepare crumb topping. In a food processor mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add butter pulse until mixture forms a coarse, pea-like consistency. Sprinkle on top of batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and remove ring.

While cooling make icing by whisking together powdered sugar and remaining lemon juice to create a thin glaze. Drizzle icing on cake that has cooled for 10 minutes.

Note: Try the recipe with one, two, or all three berries.