Enchiladas Is There Anything Better To Eat?

Hello to all my foodies friend out there in web land, hope all is well this fine January day.  One of the best comfort foods I can think of is a Enchilada to eat.  I remember in Houston when Monterrey House Mexican Food was still around and we used to go and eat a Hugh plate of Enchiladas rice, beans and Guacamole salad was the thing to eat.  I would have liked a beer with it but I wasn't old enough for that. Instead I settled for tea and the tea comes unsweet in Texas just FYI.  Am the one in the front middle in the white top and Sherrie is holding my son.  We were home in January and my sister-in-law Rhonda and I usually make Enchiladas for one of the dinners and again she didn't save the recipe, however this time I wrote it down and am going to be passing that on to you all.  We made Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas, however I wasn't there would she made her Enchiladas.  The name for my dish is called Enchiladas de Queso and what my sister-in-law made is called Enchilada de Pollo, kind of.  She boiled her chicken in water with onion and celery till it was tender, seasoned with salt and pepper.  She then shredded the chicken and then rolled the chicken in the Flour Tortillas.  Then she mixed Rot-tel tomatoes with green chili's with a can of Cream of Chicken Soup, 1 cup Chicken Broth and Velveeta cheese melted into the mix.  Then she added some sour cream mixed in as well and poured it over the chicken.  It was good.  You could also add some cheese like Monterrey Jack or Cheddar mixed in the chicken before you roll it.  Mexican Cookery is easy to do and not to bad on the pocket book.  Now when I made the Cheese Enchiladas I heated the corn Tortillas in alittle oil lightly on both sides, however you can use the Sauce to dip them in as well but don't leave them in the sauce to long they will fall apart.  We used a whole package of corn tortillas for this recipe but we doubled the recipe.  You can also use different types of cheese, like Monterrey's Jack or Cheddar Cheese.  You also can mix onion diced finely with the cheese or even peppers.  You also always top the Enchiladas with shredded cheese. 

Enchiladas de Queso

3 TBSP Oil
1/2 Onion Diced, optional 1/2 onion finely diced for cheese mix
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Onion and Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste, remember salt brings out the flavor in foods.
2 TBSP Chili Powder
1 TBSP Sweet Paprika
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Powder
3 TBSP Flour
1 can Tomatoes Sauce
3 TBSP Tomatoes Paste
2 Cups Chicken Broth
2 cups shredded Cheese

Heat oil in pan and add the onion and garlic, cook till clear.  Then mix the flour with all the spices, salt, pepper, onion, garlic powders, oregano, paprika, and chipotle powder.  Then toss that into the pan with the onions and garlic.  Then slowly add the chicken broth.  Add the tomato's paste and sauce and blend.  Cook until smooth, like a very thin gravy, pourable.   Heat your corn tortillas in oil lightly and fill with the cheese and onions and roll.  Pour half your mixture into oblong pan and then top the enchiladas with the sauce and top with shredded cheese and bake at about 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until cheese bubbles.  If you use more then 1/2 package of tortillas then double the recipe, or they will be to dry and cover the pan with foil if it looks like its getting to brown.

Enjoy this true Mexican dish with friend.  I will be bringing you more de'lish dishes from the wonderful Southwest.  I will be starting my fourth season of the Cooking With MadJon and Friends TV show next week and I will keep you all posted and go view it at the Aiken Standard web page.  The last one we did was on BBQ with the host from the BBQ Shop Talk chefs.  You can still buy my e-cookbook on Itunes MadJon Holiday.  Happy trails to you until we meet again.

There's Oil in the Fields In Texas With Doves Smoked Mesquite Bacon

Hello to all my food friend out there in Web Land its MadJon again and am going to talking a little bit about ranch life near Three Rivers Texas.  Every year we go visit the Chapman Ranch in Whitsett.  He raises Beef Master cattle and I guess you'd call him a cowman.  However he holds hunts on his ranch for deer and just about every animal known in them parts.  The matto is if you kill it you have to eat it.  That's way I don't go hunting, no telling what I'd end up with.  Any who our nephew took his little girl out to hunt and they came back with a dead Sand Crane and of course he had to dress it out and get it ready to cook.  When they got home with the crane my niece crying, told her granny, I don't want to eat a Sand Crane for supper Granny.  Well, he got it ready and wrapped it in Bacon and smoked it.  He sent over some for us to try and of course I passed and Rhonda tried it and never thought she'd ever get finished crewing.  She said,d it taste like beef but its really hard to crew.  I told him to tenderize the meat before wrapping the bacon on it.  I would have added some seasonings as well.  Any who am going to pass on a recipe that I did try with the Bacon Wrapped Dove smoked over some Mesquite chips.  It was very good and Amy was the chef that night at the ranch.  We attended a Beefmaster Bull sell and say the first prized bull go for around 38,000.00, now that's alot of beef.  We ate rib eye steaks at the auction they held and ate BBQ Brisket, cooked Texas style, the next day and I can say it was all eaten and a fine time had by all.  I hope to go back next year.  As to the Oil fields they are fill and people are buying up land like crazy for that Texas Gold.  Any way give this recipe a try next time you hunters bring home some birds.  Try smoking them over some Mesquite wood.

Texas Doves Smoked With Bacon

12 doves
12 slices Bacon
Onion Powder, for dusting
Garlic Powder, for dusting
Salt and Pepper to taste
Smoked Paprika, to dust
Hooters Hot Wing Sauce, 1 cup

Get your fire ready to smoke or just grille it.  You want the wood to be like hot  coals.  Then Dust the birds with the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.  You could throw in some hot sauce if you wish.  Then wrap the dove in bacon and add a tooth pick to hold the bacon on with.  Cook until nice and brown and bast with the hooters Hot Wing Sauce.

Hope you enjoyed the ranch life story and you should go visit one some day.  Nothing like viewing the stars at night from that rance or any ranch.  Please watch my TV show on the Aiken Standard website.  God like my fan page on facebook called Cooking With MadJon and Friends.  Bona Y'all.

Barack Obama Inauguration Victory Blueberry Cake

Hello to all my foodie friends again its MadJon and am writing today to give you all the recipe of the Obama Victory cake I made up during my visit to Washington DC after the election.  Even though I batted for the other team, I am an American above all other things.  While we were in D.C. I talked to friends who batted for President Obama and who were very happy with their victory.  Even though while visiting with them I learned that they two are concerned with the economy and the national debt just like all Americans.  Even though I can disagree with some of their ideas as well as they disagree with me we are still all Americans and want the best for our country.  So I say Mr. President great speech and I hope someday you will get to taste this cake.   From one American to you as an American.  Eileen F. Hutson, MadJon.

Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
For more than two hundred years, we have.
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.
For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.
They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.
You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless this nation.
 

Barack Obama Victory Blueberry Cake

1 stick Butter
2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
2.5 cups all-purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Blueberry's
1 TBSP Flour
1 TBSP Sugar

Icing:

1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 small container of Cool Whip
Blueberry's and Raspberry's for top, optional

Beat the butter and sugar till blended.  Then add the eggs and vanilla.  Then sift the flour with the salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Then add the dry mix with the butter mix slowly and add the yogurt and buttermilk until all blended.  Mix the blueberries with the sugar and flour and toss in the mix lightly.  Then pour into two greased cake pans and bake on 350 degrees until done, about 30 to 35 minutes.   Cool cake on cake racks.  Mix the icing like sour cream, sugar, vanilla and cool whip together and ice the cake when it is completely cooled.

Bona Y'all happy trails until we meet again.  God Bless America.  Eileen F. Hutson, MadJon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking With Madjon: Southern Pecan Caramel Cake Yum Yum

Cooking With Madjon: Southern Pecan Caramel Cake Yum Yum: Hello to all my foodies friends out there in web land and today we are going to be talking Southern Pecan Caramel Cake which is a rec...

Southern Pecan Caramel Cake Yum Yum

Hello to all my foodies friends out there in web land and today we are going to be talking Southern Pecan Caramel Cake which is a recipe I made up after talking to my friend Mark Busbee after we did our New Years Day shoot.  He said that his family always makes a Pecan Cake for the holidays however I decided to make it to use all year long.  We discussed about rather to toast the pecans before you make the cake which I did and it help bring out the nutty taste of the pecans better in the cake.  We are from Texas and Pecans are a staple in baking as well as all across the South.  Do you say pecan or peecan?  I say Pecan.  The Caramel Sauce I used for this cake was sugar free and it was a Ice Cream Sauce.  As to the New Year I have spent most of it in Texas and now am home getting ready for some new catering jobs and hopefully a new fourth season of the "Cooking With MadJon and Friends Show.  Here is a link from an old show called "Figs" that I came across on the net for you to watch, http://blip.tv/aiken-standards-astv/cooking-with-madjon-chef-belinda-figs-3950383 .

Southern Pecan Caramel Cake

3 Cups Shifted All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder

Sift all ingredients together.

Cream:
1.5 stick Butter
2 cups Sugar
3 beaten Eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
1 cup Greek Vanilla Yogurt
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 cups chopped Pecans, toasted

Slowly add the dry ingredients with the wet until all blended with beater.  Add your pecans and beat. Grease three cake pans and pour batter into pans.  Place in a pre-heated oven on 350 degree's until done, about 30 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes or so and turn onto a cooling rack.

Frosting:

Sugar Free Caramel Sauce
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 stick Butter
1 8oz Cream Cheese
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 cups Confectionery Sugar
1 TBSP Milk

Blend the butter and cream cheese together in a bowl.  Then add the vanilla and milk.  Then add the confectionery sugar till well beaten and blended. To frost frost the cake layer with frosting, pour some caramel sauce on top and add some pecans and repeat the process.

I hope you give this cake a try and enjoy.  Email with any recipe questions at madjon51@aol.com, like my fan page on facebook, "Cooking With MadJona nd Friends".  Happy trails to you until we meet again, Eileen Hutson, MadJon.

Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes Mark Busbee & JT Handy

Long, Long Ago
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And long, long ago.
Chorus
And for long, long ago, my dear
For long, long ago,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For long, long ago
And surely youll buy your pint-jug!
And surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For long, long ago.
Chorus
We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine;
But we've wandered manys the weary foot
Since long, long ago.
Chorus
We two have paddled in the stream,
From morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
Since long, long ago.
Chorus
And there's a hand, my trusty friend!
And give us a hand of yours!
And we'll take a deep draught of good-will
For long, long ago.
Chorus
Did you know that Auld Lang Syne literally translates to “Old Long Since” and was Robert Burns and Scotland’s gift to the world. It is a song I never bothered to really study however it’s a song that’s sang all over the world on New Years it connects the world with words. I wish we could make peace all over the world with just a few words. Any who New Year gives us like a fresh start with our lives. Sometimes we start the New year with resolutions that we take with us into the new year. However, am not one to make resolutions, because I don’t want to break one that I make. Any who when I was in the café business everyone had a resolution to lose weight, that lasted all of two weeks. Then I went out and ask a few friends if they made New Year resolutions and a few do like my friend Suzie, who says she needs to learn to say no and put herself first for a while. Then my friend Ginger at the Magnolia Natural Market is thinking about opening three nights a week and juicing more. Then I talked with Marcie and she is going to study the Argentine Tango and in April go to the jungles of Costa Rica and study Shamanism, I think I’d like to go with her,. That sounds really interesting, am with you girl! Any who I wish everyone lots of luck and wealth in the next year. Don’t forget to eat your Greens for wealth and Black Eyed peas for luck. I will be eating them twice because when Chef JT Handy came on the New Years show with me he made some tasty Hopping John with some greens tossed in. I’d never had them served together before. I know his secret ingredient was his famous Bacon Fat that he uses on his smoked meats when he BBQ’s. That’s one of the tricks I learned from that Master Grille Chef. Then from Master Grille Chef Mark Busbee I learned how to make a wonderful Hash Brown Casserole and the best Smokin’ meat loaf, he adds lots of spices just the way I like it. JT as he’s called, says you should mix the woods when smoking your meats it seems to bring on a lighter smoke flavor. He is what you call a pit Master of JT’s BBQ and also co-host of the popular radio talk show BBQ Shop Talk and Mark is the other co-host of the radio talk show. Mark also is Co-owner of “Smokin Cole’s line of sauces and seasoning and my favorite is Buzz’s Butt Dust”. He also is an awarding winning Pit Master of the Q ”Fore” U cook Team, and a Judge as well. These two men I could talk about for days with all their awards and what they do for the Southern BBQ and statewide events. I just want to say buy their products and listen to them on the BBQ Shop Talk radio show to learn a lot more from them if you are interested in learning more about BBQ. I want to wish you all a very Happy, healthy New Year and please try some of these recipes to bring on the New Year. Thanks to all for watching the “Cooking With MadJon and Friends” on ASTV 95, we will be starting our fourth season.  You can also view the videos from this web site.

Rosemary Sweet Potatoes Roasted

4 Sweet Potatoes Diced
1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1.5 tsp. Garlic and Onion Powder 
2 tsp. Rosemary, dried
3 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Onion, Sliced

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Place Sweet potatoes and the six other ingredients in a bowl and mix till well blended.  Pour onto a flat rimmed cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 425 degrees or place on your BBQ grille covered in foil for about 20 minutes. 

Happy New Year and Happy trails to you until we meet again.