Big Oak Farm

Uncured bacon from Big Oak Farm.  Our uncured bacon has nothing  added and there has been no curing time either.  You can cook it  just like you would bacon you have bought in the grocery store.  It will take a little longer to fry it up.  We like to put the strips in the skillet or frying pan, add salt and pepper to taste, turn it frequently.  After it is almost completely cooked you can add some maple syrup, molasses, brown sugar, honey for a little sweeter flavor.  We prefer to sprinkle some brown sugar over ours.  Then there is always someone that will be there eating the first pieces  that come off and that is usually Dawn.

Stuffed Zucchini Boil a large zucchini whole til fork tender. Cut in half. Rake out the seeds. Scoop out the meat of the zucchini. Brown a pound of Big Oak Farm sausage with onions mix that with the zucchini meat. Add ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Put back in zucchini shell and top with more mozzarela and bake for 30 min. On 350° Absolutely delicous…. What a way to keep from throwing out that zucchini you forgot to pick till it was too late. Give it a try!

Big Oak Farm Skirt Steak Fajitas:

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds Big Oak Farm skirt steak, trimmed and cut into large pieces to fit on a grill or in a ridged grill pan (see Notes)
3 assorted colored bell peppers, sliced thin
1 large red onion or sweet onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
12 (7- to 8-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
Guacamole, tomato salsa, and sour cream as sides
Preparation:

In a large, heavy-duty freezer ziptop bag, combine garlic paste, lime juice, cumin, and olive oil. Seal and shake to combine. Place skirt steak, bell peppers, onion, and cilantro sprigs into the bag, squeeze out the air, and turn to coat the meat, distributing vegetables evenly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight to allow marinade to penetrate.

To Cook:
Preheat the gas or charcoal grill to high heat.

While grill is heating, remove skirt steak from marinade to a platter, shaking off liquid and reserving marinade with the vegetables.

Preheat a heavy skillet to the smoking point. Drain vegetables and cilantro, and quickly stir-fry over high heat until slightly charred and softened, but not mushy. Set aside and keep warm.

Grill skirt steak over high heat quickly until medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Slice meat against the grain into strips and serve immediately with warm tortillas, the seared pepper vegetable mix, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

This is one of our FAVORITE pork chop recipes, it is very simple and very yummy!

Ingredients:

8 Big Oak Farm Bone-In pork chops
seasoned salt to taste
3 onions, sliced
1/4 cup of water

Directions:
…
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Season the pork chops with seasoned sale and place in glass baking dish. Arrange onion slices on top of pork chops, then pour the water into the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated over, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inseted into the center reaches about 145 degrees F, about another 30 min.

Enjoy!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 min.
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons butter, or as needed
8 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1 (16 ounce) package bulk spicy breakfast sausage
2 green onions, minced
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Grease an 8 1/2×11-inch baking dish with butter. Place the bread cubes in the baking dish.
Break the sausage into small pieces into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir sausage until completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add green onions; toss once and remove skillet from heat. Drain as much grease as possible from the skillet. Spread sausage and green onion mixture over bread cubes.
Stir cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup milk together in a bowl; pour over the layer of sausage in the baking dish.
Whisk eggs and milk together in a bowl; pour over the sausage. Top with Gruyere and Cheddar cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake uncovered in preheated oven until the middle is set, about 1 hour.

Enjoy!!

We are starting a new thing…. every Tuesday I will post a yummy recipe that you can try out! So remember to check every Tuesday!!!

RECIPE:
*Pork chops with apple and arugula:
Serves 2
2 Pork Chops
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped shallots
1 medium green apple, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup brandy
1 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups arugula, washed and dried

1) Rinse and pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
2) In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oil, heating until it just starts to haze. Add the pork chops and saute until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Closely monitor the heat so the pork chops get a deep golden brown but the bits at the bottom of the pan don’t burn- they are the flavor foundation for your sauce. Remove the pork chops and set aside.
3)Add the shallots, chopped apple, and garlic to the same pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until golden. Use tongs to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the brandy and let boil, reducing the liquid by half. Add the apple juice and rosemary, and boil for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and boil (reduce) until you have a nice saucy consistency. Add the butter. Turn off the heat and stir just until the butter is melted. Add the arugula.
4) Place each pork chop on a plate. Pour the sauce with the arugula on top of each chop.

ENJOY!