CooperBowl Chili

Summary :  “6 months I spent trying to get this one right. I did! It’s got all the things I love…..steak, pork, maple syrup and beer!”

‘Serves: up to 10′

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground pork
• 2 pounds top round steak, cubed
• 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 orange pepper, finely diced
• 1 large red onion
• 2 cans (28 oz. cans) crushed tomatoes, San Marzano preferred
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup dark beer
• ½ cup A-1 hickory-flavored steak sauce (or any hickory-flavored steak sauce)
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 3 medium-sized chipotle peppers (from a can), finely diced
• 3 tsps Worcestershire sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cans black beans (15 oz. each)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Fixins:

• Cilantro, chopped
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sour cream
• Capers
• Pretzels
• Gold fish crackers
• Popcorn
• Bacon bits
• Fritos
• You name it!!!

Instructions

1. Cook through and set aside pork, top round steak, peppers and onions.
2. In a separate large soup kettle combine all remaining ingredients EXCEPT black beans on medium heat.
3. Stir in cooked pork, top round, peppers and onions and cook on simmer for 2 hours.
4. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the black beans (you don’t want to put them in too soon or else the beans will break down and become too mushy).
5. Top chili with fixins and serve over white or yellow rice if desired. Make sure you cook your rice with chicken stock instead of water…it makes a

Food for Thought:

-This chili is best made one day prior to serving! It’s not a super hot or spicy chili. –
-This recipe is inspired by my time living in Mexico and my experience touring in Vermont with my band…it’s a little sweet and a little spice! If you wanna spice it up a little…set aside some bowls of medium and hot salsa for people to add.

Rosemary Infused Sweet Potatoes

I am a HUGE fan of Rosemary.  We always have a large Rosemary bush growing at the farm and use it generously.  When I’m short on time I always like to pop a sweet potato into the oven but after a while this gets a little boring.  Sweet Potatoes are delicious and super food nutritious (a 1-cup serving offers 65% of our daily requirement for vitamin C and as much as 700% of the recommended daily requirement for vitamin A), they also have a fairly low glycemic index of 17. Problem solved!  Ok, slice your sweet spuds cross wise, wedge fresh herbs in between each slice (in this case Rosemary), drizzle some olive oil across the spud, allowing it to seep in between. Wrap in tin foil, place on a cookie sheet and roast in pre-heated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.  BAM!

Cooper's Christmas Crack

“I broke a toe one Christmas after eating this stuff….sugar high gone bad”

WARNING: DO NOT DANCE TO JINGLE BELLS AFTER EATING!

Ingredients

2 sticks butter

1 c. brown sugar (packed)

36 saltine crackers

1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. toasted pecans, almonds, peanuts (or whatever nuts you prefer)

Instructions:

1. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and lay out saltine crackers.
2. Spray  surface of tin foil with cooking oil
3. Heat butter and brown sugar to boiling; boil for 4-6 minutes until very creamy and bubbly.
4. Pour butter and brown sugar mixture over crackers, spreading evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.
5. Right after removing from oven, evenly spread chocolate chips over hot crackers with a spatula, creating a chocolate layer.
6. Workly quickly, sprinkle with nuts.
7. Refrigerate until hardened (1 hour) cool then break apart into bit sized pieces

Topping ideas:

Coconut

Pecans

Pretzels

Peppermint candy crushed

M&M’s

Craisins

Raisins

Cashews

Pistachios

AND MORE!

Blue Ribbon Country Stuffing

Summary : “One Sunday at the farm I used what I had in the kitchen and WHAHOOZA! This dandy of a stuffing recipe was born. Hands down, this is one of my best creations.”

Ingredients

• 7 cups bread cubes
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsps olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 2 cups diced apples (I use peeled Granny Smiths)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound spicy Italian ground sausage
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. To make toasted bread cubes, buy a pack of large white bread hamburger buns. (One bun= about 1 cup) Tear apart into approximately one-inch pieces. Place in a large mixing bowl and drizzle 1/3 cup olive oil over bread cubes and toss with hands. Place on a cookie sheet and toast in oven until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. Lower oven temperature to 350F. Heat remaining olive oil in a large pan on medium heat and cook onions, apples, carrots, celery and garlic until just soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. In a separate pan, brown sausage until cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it up into pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Combine vegetable mixture and sausage in bowl with toasted bread cubes. Add chicken stock and mix thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place in a lightly greased baking dish (9×12 works best) and bake for 20 minutes.

Quick notes

Use the leftovers and make what I call Thanksgiving Day Sammy’s: sliced turkey and this stuffing with a little mayo and mustard scrunched between 2 amazing slices of bread!

Number of servings (yield): 8

Hazel’s Famous Turkey and other Turkey Tips!

Hazel’s Herb Bacon Turkey

Ingredients:

10 slices of raw bacon

½ cup unsalted butter

2 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of sage

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Cracked pepper

1 orange (for cavity)

(Use your favorite herbs and be creative!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Food process all ingredients except the orange until smooth. Stuff mixture under the skin of the turkey. Use a knife to cut an opening between the skin and flesh of the turkey, then use a spatula to open up the skin. Stuff orange inside cavity of turkey.Put the turkey, breasts face down, in the roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil and bake. This will keep it moist, as the breasts are the driest part. .

Roast until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees fahrenheit. Broil the turkey skin to make it crisp at the end but don’t overcook it. Once the bird reaches 165F, leave the thermometer inside the bird, remove from oven and leave the foil on. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes then carve.

Click here to print: Hazel’s Bacon Herb Turkey

*If you want to see me do this on TV, check out the show Heirloom Meals with Carole Murko:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh7LnWxbRQU

Turkey Tips

1. How big of a turkey do I buy?  Well, I go by the old rule of one pound of turkey per guest.  However, we are big fans of leftovers so my formula is 1.5 pounds per person.

2.  How do I make a moist turkey?  My trick is to stuff butter, bacon and herbs under the skin.  The herbs infuse from the fat of the butter while ensuring a perfect balance of moisture and flavor.

3. Crispy Skin?  No problem!  You can produce an extra crispy skin by squeezing lemon juice and sprinkling salt all over before roasting!

4.  Let your turkey sit 20 minutes before carving/serving!  This is key, as the flavor will be superior!

5. How long do I cook the bird?  Roast until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit