Tailgate Bonfire with Ranch Hand Chowder

Since moving to our family ranch in 2107, we've tried to do things that we didn't or couldn't do in the city. So when you're blessed with a nice post-Christmas day AND you happen to have a dozen or more people in your house, it's time to take mealtime outdoors and have a little fun.

There's a lake (okay, so it's really a cow pond, but we still call it a lake) about a hundred and fifty yards from our house. In recent months, Big Daddy has spent countless hours on his tractor, clearing brush piles, mowing and, generally, grooming the area around the lake. So when we took a walk down there just before Christmas, I told him it would make a great place for a tailgate party and bonfire. He already had the big brush pile and there was a wide open area for folks to gather. 

So, the Friday after Christmas, that's just what we did.

As sunset approached, we hauled chairs, a work table, a gas burner and food, down to the lake, along with a couple of tailgates.

Of course, it's not a party until somebody gets stuck in the mud.

The younger cousins played at the water's edge.

Until it was finally time to light the bonfire.

Even the smallest members of the family were mesmerized.

While others just wanted to eat.

Since it was cool, soup seemed both easy and logical for this event. So I made up a batch of Taco Soup (you can find that recipe here).

And some Ranch Hand Chowder.

Like Taco Soup, Ranch Hand Chowder is quick and easy to throw together. 

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ cup (one stick) butter (I prefer unsalted)
• 1 10 oz can condensed cream of potato soup (yep, good ol' Campbells or store equivalant)
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chicken flavored stock base (I used Better Than Bouillon)
• 1 lb breakfast sausage, browned
• 2 - 17 oz cans creamed corn
• ½ - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Melt butter in large Dutch oven. Add onion and peppers and sauté over medium-high heat until tender.

Add remaining ingredients, except cheese.

Stir to combine.

Now add your cheese.

Stir and simmer until melted.

That’s it! Hot and ready in no time at all.

Both soups were a hit, even with the hollow-legged teenage grandboys. We ate, we talked, roasted marshmallows for s'mores... Then capped it all off with fireworks over the lake. Sorry, I wasn't able to get a picture of those, but they sure were pretty. 

Now I'm thinking we might need to do it all over again for the Fourth of July. 

So how were your holidays? Calm or chaotic? Bustling or relaxed? And how's the new year treating you so far? Any big goals for 2019?

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Taco Soup and Cornbread Wars

Well, apparently winter has no desire to leave any time soon. Sunday, north Texas was hit with another round of ice and even thunder sleet. You've heard of thunder snow. Well, we had thunder sleet. Considering temps had been 80+ the two days before the storm hit, it's no wonder. Just another phenomena of nature.

This is a video my son made. You can't see the sleet, but you sure can hear it. Along with some weird breathing. That is not me.

This storm was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the ice storm we had back in December. But boy did the temps plummet. We saw a 50+ degree drop in less than 24 hours and bottomed out somewhere in the mid-teens Monday morning. 

I know this is nothing compared to what much of the nation has endured, but weather like this calls for a steaming hot bowl of something. So I'm going to revisit a recipe I shared on Simple Saturdays, long before I was an official member of the cafe. 

Taco Soup is so easy I could make it with my eyes closed. Although, that might make dicing the onion a bit dangerous. Still...even if you can't cook, you can make taco soup.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 lbs. ground beef (I sometimes use ground venison. You could also use ground turkey or bison
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 – 4 oz. cans diced green chilies (I cheat and use 1 – 7 oz. can)
• 3 – 15 oz. cans pinto beans (my personal preference is Ranch Style Beans, but if you can’t find them where you live, plain pintos are fine. If you like variety, add two cans of pintos and one of kidney beans)
• 2 – 14 ½  oz. cans golden hominy
• 3 – 14 ½ oz. cans stewed tomatoes (Since my boys don’t like big chunks of tomato I use the petite-cut diced tomatoes, usually one 29 oz. can plus one 14 ½ oz.)
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 packet Ranch dressing powder mix (If you buy this in the bulk containers like I do, add three tablespoons)
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Brown ground meat and onion in a large Dutch oven or stock pot and drain off fat.

Add remaining ingredients. No draining, just open, dump and stir.

Can it get much easier?

Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.

There are two things that go very well with taco soup. Tortilla chips is one, the other is cornbread. My favorite. And since Jan shared her cornbread recipe yesterday, I thought I'd post my no-sugar-added cornbread recipe. The way cornbread ought to be, IMHO. :)

My daughters' great-grandmother taught me how to make this when I was a young bride, and I will be eternally grateful.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pan in oven while preheating. You can use a cast iron skillet, but I'm making a small batch this time, so I used my ancient blackened metal oblong pan.

In a bowl, mix 1 cup of yellow corn meal (no, I did not grind my own :), ¾ cup of flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder. 

Add 1 egg and 2 cups buttermilk. Stir well. 

If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, don't worry. You can use regular milk and the bread will be just as tasty and fluffy, thanks to the baking powder. Simply start with 1½ cups and add more, if needed, until mixture is just a little thinner than cake batter.

Remove hot pan from preheated oven and IMMEDIATELY pour in batter. This will “fry” the bottom, giving it a nice crispy texture. (the corner pieces are my favorite!) Return pan to oven and bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

I like to flip mine over in the pan as soon as it comes out so the bottom will retain that crispiness I worked so hard to achieve.

On a cold day, this meal is hard to beat. Even if it's a cold day and you're short on time. It's that easy. 

You could even brown your ground beef, mix everything together in the CrockPot and let it go on low all day. Boy would your house smell good.

Now for a couple gratuitous puppy pix.

Maddie wasn't quite sure what to think about the sleet.

She'd paw at it. Dig a little bit, then jump back before pouncing on it again.

Yet for as much as she liked the sleet, she was just as happy to come inside where it was nice and warm.

(especially when there was a bowl of food waiting)

Okay, now that the Polar Vortex is paying us another visit, how cold is it at your house?