Smoked kraut stuffed pork loin

I butterflied the loin open...


Soaked in a mixture of Shiner Bock beer and applejuice...overnight.



I sauted a mixture of apples, onions and kraut in a bit of butter...then cooled in the fridge.



I sprinkled the loin with brown sugar...layed the kraut mixture on the butterflied loin, rolled up and tied and onto the smoker.

I used apple wood.



The loin came out moist and tender.

The spring calves are arriving. :)

From my front porch

This was from March 07
It's kind of blurry.....





Same tornado going across pasture...

The middle of nowhere

Down my road.



Up my road.

The sunset.

Sure is peaceful out here. :)

Cajun Shrimp and Cabbage casserole

My mom taught me how to make this dish. She was a true southern belle and a great cook!



First, make three cups of cooked white rice in an oven proof dish.

Place 1lb of shrimp (with shells) into a small pan, add enough water just to cover.
Add 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper.
Bring to a simmer, cook just until pink.

Remove the shrimp, saving the seasoned water.

Chop 2 cups of cabbage.

Simmer the cabbage in the seasoned shrimp broth until tender.

Mince 1 jalapeno (seeded)
6 cloves of garlic
1 TBs of parsley

Melt 1 cup of butter in a skillet
Saute 1 medium onion (chopped)
Add the minced garlic, jalapeno and parsley.
Saute until tender.

Peel the cooled shrimp.

Combine the sauted veggies with the cooked rice in the oven proof dish.
Remove the cabbage from the shrimp broth with a slotted spoon.
Add to sauted veggie/rice mixture.

Add the peeled shrimp and enough of the shrimp broth to make the mixture moist.

The shrimp broth will keep the dish from becoming too dry while baking, so add a bit more than you think you will need. :)
Add more salt and cayenne if needed. You can also add more butter if you like.

Bake at 350 degrees until heated through...about 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve with a hot crusty bread and tossed green salad.

My tractor rim fire ring

My favorite fire ring....
It's made from a tractor tire rim.

At first, I painted it with high heat paint... didn't last long. lol
I have an expanded metal grate cut to fit and a larger grate made from 1" tubing and expanded metal...

It really comes in handy when I camp in remote areas that have no camp sites...

Eggs benedict on the tractor rim...

Fatty Benedict...

Venison shoulder fajitas...

Spareribs, corn and beans...

I love the ring...it's light enough for me to roll around and carry with me in the back of my pickup. :)

Chorizo, fried potato, onion, egg, tortilla breakfast...

Surf and turf at the lake. Ribeyes, asparagus, mushrooms, fried tatoes, crab legs with lots of garlic butter, napkins and cold beer..

Chickenfried cold smoked Canadian bacon, hash browns, butter fried eggs, biscuits and skillet gravy..

A bacon, leek, wild rice stuffed salmon...

Makes a nice fire ring for cool evenings too..

Simple but useful! :)

Grilled fish tacos with chipotle slaw

I love fish tacos. :) There are so many ways to make them, this is one of my favorites.



I sprinkle the fish (cod) with some of my home-smoked, homemade seasoned salt.

Then I make the chipotle slaw...
Mix 1/2 cup of mayo
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped (you can use more)
some chopped onion
salt to taste
a squeeze of lime juice
and 1 bag of pre-shredded cabbage
chill while grilling the fish.

Onto the hot grill....smoked fish would be great too.

The hot tortillas and grilled fish.

I made some fresh pico de gallo too. (onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice and salt)

The finished taco....I made too many, but what the heck. They are good for breakfast too. lol