Category: Holiday Cook-off

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Holiday Cook-off

Classic Shaw Family Green Bean Casserole

A Shaw Family Thanksgiving staple

Hello, VcSocial fans I have for you today the one and only Shaw Family Green Bean Casserole the only cure for picky eaters, and your grandmother who can only consume warm soup as a meal. This traditional recipe has been passed down through my family for 17 years. It has been my constant craving from the start of November to Thanksgiving Day. I even enjoy heating up the leftovers in the microwave for my day after lunch. So without further ado, I bring you the recipe below.

Ingredients (Serves: 12-15) [Preheat oven to 400 degrees]

  • 1 1/2 Containers French’s Original Crispy Fried Onions
  • 2 Lbs. Fresh Green Beans Cut and Trimmed
  • 1 Lbs. Fresh Mushrooms Finely Chopped
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
  • 2 Cups Chicken Broth
  • 1 Cup Cream
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 4 Tbls Flour + 4 Tbls Butter [Rue]

Directions

  • Step 1: Blanche Green Beans in salted water for 7 minutes. [Drain, put aside, let cool]
  • Step 2: Saute mushrooms and garlic until cooked [set aside]
  • Step 3: Add butter and flour make light rue [Cook until it turns white] (DO NOT OVERCOOK!!!!)
  • Step 4: Add Cream, Milk, Stock, Mushroom Mix, salt & pepper
  • Step 5: Cook over low heat and simmer until sauce thickens (About 7 Mins)
  • Step 6: In a large bowl combine 1 container Crispy Onions, green beans, and mushroom soup mix. {Mix thouroughly}
  • Step 7: Pour Mixture into large Cassorole Dish
  • Step 8: Sprinkle remaining onions onto the top of the dish
  • Step 9: Cover, and place in oven for 15 Mins, Uncover and cook for 30 Mins or until bubbly
  • Step 10: Remove from oven and enjoy!

Thats how to make the Classic Shaw Family Green Bean Casserole so you to can enjoy these Good Eats! Because when your here your family.

Categories
Holiday Cook-off

Uncle Lonnie’s Rockin’ Guacamole

A chips and dip recipe that’s “So Good” from the hills of Kentucky to the beaches of Ventucky.

VC Social’s first ever “recipe-off” is on! It’s the final project for my Digital Media Marketing class and my entry is a recipe from my Uncle Lonnie, who is a conga playing hippie from the hills of Harlan County Kentucky. Yep, banjos congas and avocados go really well together!

Uncle Lonnie and I played in a band together once upon a time ago in the Valley of Los Angeles. He was “passsing through” and ended up living with us for a few months. We were glad to have him with us, and his gift in return was homemade trail mix cookies and…you guessed it…homemade Guacamole. He kept the beat as we jammed into the night, and he always had a fresh bowl of chips and guacamole.

“Everytime I make this guacamole I think of my uncle and all the good times we had…”

His recipe is, as you would imagine, an organic process loosely defined. For the sake of the event, I give you the best approximation of how to make Uncle Lonnie’s Rockin’ Guacamole. Feel free to improvise.

Ingredients
3-4 large ripe Avocados
1 lime 
1 large white onion
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 large tablespoon unground Cumin seed
1 jalapeno
1 dozen cherry tomatoes
Salt, pepper and Tajin



Directions
Cut the Avocados in half, take out the seed and spoon the contents into a mixing bowl.  Peel and coursely chop the onion.  Dice the Jalepeno,   Rinse, remove stems and coursely chop Cilantro. Coursely chop cherry tomatoes. Add ingredients to mixing bowl.  
Squeeze a small amount of lime juice on the cutting board and pour the unground cumin in the joice, Mix with knife until Cumin is wet.  Dice Cumin and add mixture to mixing bowl.  Squeeze the remaining lime juice into bowl and cooursely mix until all ingredients are unifom.  Do not over mix.  
Add salt, pepper and Tajin to taste.

Uncle Lonnie’s Rockin’ Guacamole recipe has two secrets…

Every time I make this guacamole I think of my uncle and all the good times we had during his stay with me. My old band mares and friends from that period of my life remember him because of the guacamole and his uplifting spirit. And now I’m sharing that spirit right here in Ventura, aka Ventucky. You gotta try it! Watch the video and just listen to my friends when they take a bite!

With Uncle Lonnie’s Rockin Guacamole, I came here to win. Just kidding, I came here to learn and have fun. And I brought some chips and salsa too.

In closing Uncle Lonnie’s Rockin’ Guacamole recipe has two secrets, one is to cook from the heart, and the other is to use freshly chopped cumin seed soaked in lime juice– And of course fresh ingredients. Now go! Play some music, eat, drink, be merry, and Rock On!

Get my classmate’s recipe entries here!

If you use this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! Share you story in the comments below.

Categories
Holiday Cook-off

Macaroni Surprise

AKA what I bring to family events so no one else has to worry about feeding me

So, imagine this. One day you’re sitting in class, and you’re kind of tired, because you’re always at least a little tired. Why wouldn’t you be? You’re a high school student, your commute is an hour and a half both ways minimum, and you barely have a functioning sleep schedule. It’s a normal day, until suddenly your insides feel like they want to be your outsides. A year of tests later and the doctors have discovered there’s a 95% chance you have celiac disease and 5% chance your body has spontaneously created a brand new illness. All the sudden, no gluten. Your body has determined some agriculture may have been a threat. No stuffing, no gravy, no store bought pie. You get first dibs on mashed potatoes, but that’s probably not the only thing you’re going to want out of Thanksgiving. So what do you do?

Well, you roll up your sleeves, you figure out how a stove works, and you start contributing to the family meals from a kitchen where you can make sure the knives won’t make you horribly sick. Through trial and error you make what I like to call Macaroni Surprise.

Not pictured: Butter. Very important. Pictured: My late start at cooking don’t judge me.

This was the first meal I really figured out how to make entirely on my own. I did not follow a cook book, instead using a bit of the knowledge I had already learned to create something completely original, and I’m still proud of it today. The portions for this recipe are also written to feed quite a bit of people or one person for several days.

The Bits

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 quarter white onion, chopped
  • 2 boxes elbow macaroni, gluten free not required
  • 1/2 can of sweet peas
  • 1 1/2 cups of chopped mushroom
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1 tbsp. salt
  • 1/2 tbsp. lemon pepper
  • 1 tbsp. parsley garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • (seasonings should be adjusted to taste)

The Sauce

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 16 oz. Italian blend cheese
  • 4 oz. butter
  • 2 tbsp. cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped basil
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp. salt
  • 1/2 tbsp. black pepper
  • 1/4 tbsp. parsley garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  1. Battle cry. This is the most important part.
  2. Set your water to boil. This will always take longer than you think it will. Continue with other steps until it boils and then throw in the pasta until al dente.
  3. In a pan, heat up your tbsp. of butter and use it to cover your entire pan.
  4. Throw in your onions. Cook them over medium high heat until they are translucent.
  5. Once your onions are ready, throw your chicken in there. Immediately cover with your seasonings and mix.
  6. Once your chicken has cooked on one side, mix in your chopped mushrooms and lower your heat to medium low, mixing occasionally.
  7. In a small pot, combine heavy cream, 4 oz. of butter, cream cheese, and seasonings. Put heat on low and bring to a simmer, stirring in the ingredients.
  8. Once your mixture has come to a simmer, add your cheese. Your cream cheese may not have melted it yet. That’s fine. It’s taking a gap year and we support it.
  9. Mix until cheese and cream cheese have completely melted in.
  10. Combine ingredients in a bowl with 1/2 can of peas and then stir until completely mix.
  11. Victory cry. This is the second most important part.

Interested in making some recipes of your own but don’t know where to start? Browse the Channel Islands Harbor Famers Market for some ideas! Just don’t go on an empty stomach, or else you’ll come back with an empty wallet.