THE Red Barn Special

When we bought our restaurant in Goehner, Nebraska, we also got rights to one of the best sandwiches you will ever eat. The Red Barn Special. So aptly named by one of the restaurant's previous owners, specifically, Vic Bartlett.
Ingredients:

Ground beef or ground chuck whatever is your preference
Shaved ham 3 ozs. for each burger
Lettuce leaves
Mayo
Slice of swiss cheese for each sandwich
Hamburger buns (For whatever size burger you are planning to grill or fry; 4oz., 5oz., or
8oz.
Patty's Prime Seasoning to sprinkle on each burger while grilling or frying

Grill or fry the burgers. When they are cooked to your preference heat the shaved ham on the griddle or skillet and place a 3 oz. portion on each burger. Place a slice of swiss cheese on top of the ham and next the top bun. On the bottom bun spread mayo and add a lettuce leaf. When the cheese has melted place the masterpiece on top of the bottom bun with the mayo and lettuce. Now savor the moment and enjoy your first Red Barn Special and many more to come.

One Pot Dinner

This is another cold weather favorite. But, take my word for it, you'll want to make this no matter what the temperature outside.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
3/4 lb. bacon cut in small strips
1 onion diced
2 cans (15oz.) bush's pork and beans
1 can (15oz.) kidney beans
1 can (15oz.) butter lima beans (drained)
1 can (15oz.) garbonza beans (drained)
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T. liquid smoke
3 T. white vinegar
1 tsp. Patty's Prime Seasoning

Brown ground beef, bacon strips and onion. Drain off the grease. Put all ingredients in crock pot. Stir well combining all ingredients. Cover and cook on low at least 4 hours and up to nine.

Seasoning Pattern

By now, you are probably seeing a pattern for a couple of the recipes as far as using PPS (Patty's Prime Seasoning). You can check out our website www.pattysprimeseasonings.com and see a little bit of the history behind it. We had a restaurant, The Red Barn, in Goehner, Nebraska for 14 years. Originally my idea was to have a seasoning to use on our prime rib to make it extra special. It took about a year with a little of this and that and the other thing to come up with what is now PPS. But, we don't just use it on prime rib. It's great on all meats; pork, steak, burgers, chicken and fish. We grill a lot and not just meat. Try it on grilled vegetables either skewered such as with onions, peppers, and tomatoes or portabella mushrooms and eggplant. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle on seasoning and grill. If you are not in to grilling try the seasoning on steamed vegis. It really does make a difference. There will be more forthcoming about recipes with the seasoning and also about our demos of the product. Pictures, hopefully.

Chicken Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Let's follow-up on those tortillas filled with leftover chicken, rice and broccoli. Take out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator over night to thaw. You will need 2 cups of water, 1 Tablespoon of chicken base and 1 can of cream of chicken soup. Bring these ingredients to a boil. In a small bowl put 2 heaping Tablespoons of corn starch and add water (approx. 3/4cup) in order to stir the corn starch to make a runny paste. Stir the corn starch mixture slowly into the boiling liquid to form a gravy. Set aside and add 1 tsp. chili powder and 1 tsp. Patty's Prime Seasoning. Place tortillas in a greased 9 x 13 cake pan (4 should fit nicely) then pour gravy over tortillas and cover. Place in preheated oven for 45 minutes at 350*. Remove the foil and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top of the tortillas and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes. Enjoy your yummy leftovers.

Managing Leftovers

Do you have trouble dealing with leftovers? Many people do. I keep a package of the large flour tortillas on hand for just that purpose. Say we plan to have a dinner of grilled chicken breast, rice (any kind), and steamed broccoli. We have leftovers. I dice the chicken, add the rice and cut up portions of broccoli in a bowl. Now it is time for the tortillas to save the day. Lay out a tortilla and scoop out a portion of the chicken, rice, vegetable mixture (approx. a cupful) and place in the center of the tortilla. Fold in the sides and roll up to form a burrito. Repeat this process until your mixture of leftovers is used up. Place the burritos in a freezer ziploc bag and freeze until you are ready for a meal of chicken enchiladas. More to follow on a recipe for the sauce for your enchiladas.

Patty's Chili Recipe

Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs. hamburger
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
2 cans chili beans
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 quart tomato juice
1 onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Patty's Prime Seasoning

Brown hamburger and drain. Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low over night or all day.
Garnishes: Diced green chilies, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese or diced onions.

Planning A Monthly Celebration

January is a hard month to celebrate. Either you are knee deep in snow or you may just have enough cold weather to make everything go dormant. At any rate, be creative. Since the temperature is dipping down a bit this month plan your menu around soups and things that bring a warm feeling to you and your family. Chili soup immediately comes to my mind. Growing up we never had chili without cinnamon rolls. Some people may think that sounds like a strange combination, but just try it and then let me know what you think. Another consideration for the month of January is that it is play-off time for Pro-football and the bowl games for college football. Nothing better than making a big crock pot of soup that simmers all day and is available for snacking at any time along with a platter of cheese, crackers, hard salami and summer sausage.

Mom's Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. shortening
• 3 eggs
• 3 T. cocoa
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. buttermilk or sour milk (if you don't have any buttermilk just use milk and add about a tsp. of vinegar to make it curdle. Will need to let it sit for a couple of hours before using.)
• 2 c. flour

Mix ingredients and pour into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350* until center springs back or toothpick inserted comes out clean. Approx. 30 minutes. This is the moistest cake I have ever eaten. It is great plain or with a hot fudge sauce poured over top as you serve it, or with a cream cheese frosting after it has cooled, or just sprinkle some powdered sugar on top before it has cooled completely.

Reminiscing

We all, meaning my extended family, lived on farms back then in the 50's, 60's and 70's so we had our own meat, vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs, cream, butter, lye soap and of course LARD. So, many of the recipes I have from the past call for lard however, I will be substituting shortening or margarine. One of the first cakes that I learned to do on my own, about age 8, was my mom's Chocolate Cake recipe. It is so easy and you simply add the ingredients as listed, no sifting, no separating, just do it. Who sifts anymore anyway? If you do, let me know.

Walk Down Memory Lane

At the suggestion of my step-son, Jeff, I am entering the world of BLOG. I have never been one to really follow a recipe, but would rather take off on my own and create something rather than just cook it. But, dragging out my old recipes from my mom, and both grandmothers, 0000000000000hhhhhhhh my the memories are flowing. (I may have to rethink this recipe thing.) They were all great cooks, but they definitely had their signature dishes which made not only the holidays special but just the day to day meals a treat. My plan is to share some of these recipes with you along with the memories I hold dear about what makes each one so special.