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Mushroom and Kale Soup

1/24/2022

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Welcome to this week’s market meal: Mushroom and Kale soup. Our primary vendor is again Produce with Purpose out of the Revolution Market. This will be the case through most of the winter. I haven’t had a chance to make it to any of the other winter markets in the area yet. The only ingredient I did not purchase through this vendor is my dried shiitake mushrooms, which can be ordered through amazon or found at the grocery store.

This is served in the picture with a small piece of Publican Bread Co. 's ciabatta, which I toasted in some garlic and herb butter from Nordic Creamery to dip in the soup. The crust picks up the broth beautifully.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Serves: 6

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 lbs mixed fresh mushrooms
  • 20g dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 250g water
  • 7 Strips of Cherrywood Smoked Bacon
  • 50g butter
  • ½ large onion, diced
  • 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbs AP flour
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 5 large leaves of dinosaur kale, stripped and chopped​

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  1. Start by soaking your dried shiitake mushrooms in 250 grams of boiling water. Allow this to work while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
  2. Preheat a large dutch oven at medium heat and chop your bacon into your preferred bacon bit size. This is going to look like a lot of bacon. It probably will be. If you don’t use it all as garnish, save it for other uses. Render it out as much as you can. If the bottom of your part stars to gather a lot of fond, move your bacon to another pan. The bacon can take as much as twenty minutes to render, stirring frequently. Use the downtime to prep veggies.
  3. Dice your onion, and prep your mushrooms while your bacon renders. To prepare the mushrooms, cut them in half before slicing thinly. The shiitakes should now be rehydrated. These can be chopped up and combined with the other mushrooms. Save the leftover stock.
  4.  Once the bacon is removed,add your diced onion to the pan with 50g butter. Allow to soften for about five minutes before adding your chopped mushrooms to the pan to render and cook.
  5. Cook your mushrooms until they begin to darken and release their water. Add potatoes and 2 tbs flour. Mix and cook for about 3 minutes to allow the raw flour taste to cook out. Season with salt at this step. 
  6. Add your mushroom stock and chicken stock to the pot. Allow to boil for about twenty minutes. Once your potatoes have softened, ladle about 2 to 3 cups of your mixture into a high sided container. Using an immersion blender (or a normal blender), blend the mixture until smooth. This will help thicken the soup.
  7. Return to the pot. At the same time, add your whole milk. Stir to combine. Allow to warm through while you prepare your kale. This is also a good time to adjust the seasoning before adding the kale. Once the kale is chopped, drop it into the soup and allow to simmer for about 3 minutes.
  8. Serve with your bacon bits, mozzarella, and desired crunchy thing to taste.

Tips:
  • You can substitute the chicken stock for a store bought veggie stock to make the recipe fully vegetarian.
  • If you want to bulk it up a little more, we recommend fresh corn kernels added at the same time as the kale, or even beans! Play around and let us know what you come up with on your own.
  • Store in the refrigerator for three days or freeze for as much as six months.
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Wisconsin Apple Cider - Recipe

1/14/2022

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Some of our local markets, such as The Revolution Market in Green Bay, still have local apples available. As the weather grows colder, a delicious way to warm up is a hot glass of cider. If you’re like me, maybe you’ll drink it with a splash of whiskey. This treat will take some time to produce, but you can give it away as a late gift or bring it into the office for your coworkers if you don’t want to fill your fridge up.

The apples are sourced through Produce With Purpose, and the singular orange is through their connection in California. The rest is from the pantry. Sourcing local spices can be hard, but we’re making something tasty with local fruit.

​The cider should hold in the refrigerator for about two weeks.


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Ingredients:
  • 8-10 apples, quartered
  • 2 star anise, whole
  • 4 sticks of cinnamon, whole
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp whole black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 10 cups of water
  • 1 navel orange, quartered
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  1. Quarter your fruits and measure out your ingredients. Add them all to a large pot, mix well, and bring to boil. Lower to a simmer and allow to cook, covered, for two hours.
  2. Remove orange quarters after the first two hours have elapsed. Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, break up the apples. Continue to cook for one more hour, uncovered.
  3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Use your wooden spoon to mash extra liquid out of your apple solids. Do this in batches if you have a smaller strainer. Serve warm. Add 2 oz. whiskey or bourbon for a hot toddy.


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Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

11/10/2021

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It’s almost Thanksgiving! Want to bring something to dinner that’s not another fucking pumpkin pie? Try these Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies bring other great flavors of the winter to the table, perfect with a decaf coffee at the end of the meal-- or with an espresso the next morning.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Bake Time: 8-10 Minutes
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​Ingredients:
  • 2 and ¼ cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup softened unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 11 oz. bag white chocolate chips
  • ½ cup sweetened dried cranberries, separating chunks​


  1. Remove your egg and salted butter from the refrigerator about an hour before you begin making your cookies to allow the egg to come to room temperature and the butter to soften.
  2. Heat your oven to 375 fahrenheit. In a small bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
  3. 3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, or a larger bowl, combine your soften butter and sugars and beat together until creamy. Scrape down the side of the bowl occasionally  to make sure all of the sugars are combined.
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir the flour mixture in slowly until the dough has stiffened. Using a flat spatula, begin to fold in your chocolate chips and fruit.
  5. On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, drop each tablespoon of your dough onto the sheet two inches separate from the next.
  6. Bake between 8-10 minutes, rotating the pan for even doneness about halfway through the bake. Cool on the rack for 2 minutes to form a stiff bottom crust on the cookie and then remove to a cooling tray until cool.
    1. Baking for 8 minutes will produce a lighter colored cookie if that’s your preference
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Midwestern Chili Recipe

5/31/2021

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Chili was one of the first meals that I really took to as a new home cook at the ripe old age of twelve. I had no fucking clue what I was doing. I knew there were beans and tomatoes and some beef and shit, but I figured it out on my own from there with relatively little help from my cooking teacher at the time, Food Network.

This is that chili, just a little grown up. You can mix and match your preferred chili bean into the recipe. I prefer kidney beans. There is also a call for a can of water later in the recipe to add some more liquid to the stewing process. If you have beef stock on hand, you can sub that in as well.


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Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

5/8/2021

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My second big girl job was in Burlington, Iowa where literally everything had a buffalo sauce type spin on it. The iconic dish of the area was Chicken Lips, AKA butterflied chicken breasts fried and covered in buffalo sauce. Pot lucks in the office were spearheaded by our boss’ chicken lip dip recipe, which I inherited and carried on for the office until my own eventual departure. This is that recipe, the buffalo chicken dip that got me through some hard times. I’ll always refer to it as Chicken Lip Dip til the day I die, but no one else in the entire country other than people who once lived in that beautiful town call it that.

Since then, I whip it out for myself when I need comforting food that takes me back to a really nice period of my life. It’s perfect for the modern world where many of us are getting vaccinated and can set up card game nights or backyard BBQs again with our friends. May it serve you well in all the parties to come!
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Ingredients:
  • 1 10oz Can of chicken breast
  • 1 cream cheese block
  • Hidden Valley Ranch
  • Frank’s Red Hot
  • ½ cup Shredded Cheddar

  1. Open and drain your can of chicken. Drop into a nonstick medium saucepan or a nonstick small skillet. Break down the chicken into small shreds with a wooden spatula or a silicone spatula.
  2. Drop in your block of cream cheese and break down with your utensil into smaller, easier to melt pieces. Allow to melt in the pot and incorporate with the chicken.
  3. Begin adding your ranch. I start with about ¼ cup of ranch. It needs to be Hidden Valley for the ideal results, but you can substitute whatever you have. Stir into your cream cheese and chicken mixture. If it appears too thick, add more ranch. Mix to combine as you chase ideal consistency.
  4. Add hot sauce to taste. This is very subjective. Taste frequently to reach your ideal Buffalo Sauce Zone. You want the dip to take on an orange color from the sauce, but if you’re spice sensitive like me, go light. Mix to combine.
  5. Add ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese and mix to combine. Pre Shredded cheese is ideal for this application to stabilize the dip. There’s a can of chicken for god’s sake, you don’t need fancy cheddar.
  6. Serve with your preferred type of tortilla chip and enjoy.

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Eating Normal Clam Chowder

2/6/2021

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My husband and I spent enough time in Delaware that our preferred winter soup for a chilly day is New England Clam Chowder. Over the years, I’ve edited old recipes to get down to one that is uniquely Eating Normal, and today I share it with you. It’s going to be a very cold week in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and I assure you that we already made our chowder to get through the weekend. Enjoy!
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Ingredients:
  • 4 Medium Russet Potatoes
  • ½ medium yellow onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 4 strips of bacon
  • 1 bottle of claim juice
  • 2 cans of baby clams, juice reserved
  • 1 tbs flour
  • 1 tbs butter
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • ¼ cup whole milk

Toppings:
  • Oyster Crackers
  • Hot Sauce
  • Chives/Green onion
  • reserved bacon bits

 
  1. Heat a medium size pot over medium heat. Chop bacon strips into small pieces and add to the top. Allow to render fat and crisp up. While bacon is cooking, skin and chop potatoes into small pieces, dice onion and garlic. Place potatoes in a bowl of water to prevent browning.
  2. Remove bacon bits from the pan and add onion. Allow to sweat out for about two minute before adding garlic. As the garlic becomes aromatic, add butter to the pan. Once melted, add butter to create a roux around the garlic and onion. Cook for about 2 minutes to work out the raw flour taste.
  3. Add potatoes and stir with the roux mixture. Allow a minute for them to cook together before pouring over small bottle of clam juice and the reserved juice from the canned clams. If your potatoes are not submerged, fill the clam juice bottle halfway with water and pour into the pot.
  4. Bring to boil and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, checking potatoes for your preferred doneness. When the potatoes are cooked, reduce heat to low and use a potato masher or silicone spatula to begin breaking up some of the potatoes along the wall of the pot. 
  5. Add 4 oz cream cheese and stir constantly to combine. This will help thicken the chowder. Definitely not traditional, but tasty! After the cream cheese has melted in, add your clams. Add whole milk until your desired consistency is reached.
  6. Serve with oyster crackers and hot sauce, the reserved bacon bits, and your choice of chives or green onion.

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Playoff Perogies: Recipe

1/20/2021

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The perogies we made for the Kansas City Chiefs vs the Cleveland Browns game are an adaptation of the King Arthur Recipe, which can be found here. Below are the ratios and types of ingredients I used for our exact version. Perogies are a very versatile dumpling and with the very basic King Arthur version, you can branch out into whatever you want. There may not be anymore Cleveland Browns football this year, but we’ll be making Playoff Perogies again next year! Go Browns!

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Dough:
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup of sour cream
  • 4 tbs butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons water, just in case

Filling:
  • 1 cup of mashed potatoes, yukon gold prepared to your preference
  • 1 and ½  cup sharp orange cheddar

To cook:
  • Additional butter, remaining 4 tbs, cold
  • Spring of sage
 
  1. Mix the dough ingredients in a stand mixer or by hand until a smooth dough begins to form. Knead it together if it appears a little shaggy at first. It may need a little water to hydrate all of the flour, and thats okay. Use the two tablespoons of water here if you find your dough is too dry. When it comes together, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour, or overnight. Use this time to prepare your mashed potato filling.
  2. Boil your choice of potatoes, in our situation yukon gold potatoes until softened. Mash together with salt, pepper, butter, and sour cream until smooth consistency is achieved. Then add the cheddar required for the filling. Taste for seasoning. Allow to reach a temperature that you can handle with your hands before preparing your perogies.
  3. While your potatoes cool, remove dough from the fridge and split in half. Roll each half out to about 1/8th of an inch if you can. Use a 2 inch cookie cutter to punch out circles for your perogies. If you want larger perogies, feel free to roll out those circles a little thinner before stuffing-- I did.
  4. Use a teaspoon to find the correct amount of filling for your perogies. You want them to be able to seal and then be crimped with a fork without spillage. The two inch rounds will be able to fit about 1 and ½ teaspoons. Depending on the consistency of your potatoes, milage may very.
  5. Seal the perogi shut by pressing the edges of the dough together and then crimp closed with a clean fork. Sit aside.
  6. Start a pot of boiling water while you’re forming your perogies. Salt heavily as if making pasta. When you are done forming your perogies, you should come out with about twenty total. Boil a maximum of 10 at a time until they float. You may then prepare to your liking or eat them as is.
  7. For Playoff Perogies, heat a saute pan with the remaining four tbs of butter and a spring of fresh sage to achieve sage brown butter. When the first batch of perogies are done, add as many as you can to your pan without overcrowding. I could do about six at a time, browning each side. It will only take a few minutes each side, and beware of sticking if you aren’t using a nonstick skillet or saute pan.
  8. Serve with sour cream or ranch, depending on how midwestern your audience is. Enjoy football.


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Chicken and Stuffing Waffles

11/30/2020

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Thanksgiving Leftovers need a makeover every year. There are only so many moistmaker sandwiches the country can take. This is how we do it in the Eating Normal House: Chicken and Stuffing Waffles. At home frying can be intimidating, so if the chicken isn't for you, skip to the bottom for the waffles recipe only.

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The chicken:

  • 2 Cups AP Flour
  • 1 and ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ¾ tsp garlic powder
  • ¾ tsp ground mustard
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Generous fresh cracked pepper
  • 2 cups buttermilk for marinade
  • Hot sauce for marinade of your choice
  • 3 lbs of your preferred chicken parts
  1. Start preheating your oil before you marinade the chicken. The amount of time it takes to come up to temp around 300 degrees (which is a lot and scary at home, so if you start lower be mindful it will take longer to cook), your chicken will have enough time in the buttermilk/hot sauce marinade.
  2. Mix spices and flour and set aside. When your oil is ready, dredge your chicken in the dry flour mixture and add to oil one or two pieces at a time depending on what you’re cooking. My husband and I are partial to chicken thighs and often have them in the freezer. These take about 10 minutes to become golden brown and mostly cooked. If your internal temp is low and your crust is dark, you can place your chicken in the oven to bring it to 165 internally.

Waffles
  • 1 and ¾ cups chopped stuffing leftovers
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 eggs

  1. Preheat your waffle iron on the 4th setting. Chop up your stuffing into even smaller cubes.
  2. Mix in eggs, flour, and then milk until a thick batter consistency is reached. Spoon in one ladle at a time into the waffle maker. It will be thicker than a traditional waffle.
  3. Serve with chicken and a maple syrup and hot sauce drizzle.
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Eating Normal Dressing

11/28/2020

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This dressing recipe is fairly standard except for the addition of the serrano pepper to add a little bit of kick to the background. Don’t worry about it being too hot! The bread, butter, and other herbs help tone it down, so if you ever pull this one out for another holiday meal, you don’t have to worry about blowing out the taste buds of the kids at the table. I made my own bread because I’m a fancy kid, but you don’t have to do that at all. Going store bought will take some of the pain out.

Ingredients
  • 1 lbs good quality white bread, homemade preferred
  • ¾ cups of butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 celery stocks, finely chopped
  • 1 serrano pepper, finely diced
  • 2 and ½ cups chicken stock
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • Rosemary, sage, thyme, chopped together finely, to equal about ¼ cup
  • 2 and ½ cups of chicken stock
  • Salt, pepper
  • 2 large eggs

  1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit. Tear bread by hand into manageable chunks and spread onto a foil lined baking sheet. Arrange neatly in one layer. Warm in the oven for an hour, removing the pan to stir the bread around occasionally. 
  2. Toward the end of the cooking time, chop your onion, celery, and serrano pepper. Melt your butter into a large saute pan and add your vegetables when it has melted. Cook down for about ten minutes or until the onion is translucent. Chop up your herbs while this process is going on. Stir the veggies when you have the chance.
  3. Add your bread, veggies, and herbs into a large bowl and combine to coat the bread evenly. Then begin to stir in the first 1 and ¼ cups of stock. Allow to cool and for the bread to soak up all that goodness.
  4. When you’re ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 and prepare a 9x13 baking pan with butter or nonstick spray. Set aside.
  5. Whisk together the remaining chicken stock and two eggs. Pour over your bread and herb mixture and stir to combine before adding into the prepared baking pan. Spread evenly inside the pan.
  6. Bake covered in foil for 40 minutes. You can remove from the oven and keep in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead of the meal at this point, or you can remove the foil and continue cooking for another 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. If you’re cooking it from refrigerator temperature, you may need to extend your second cooking time to about an hour.
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Loaded Beefy Nacho Griller Recipe

8/10/2020

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Before I knew that Taco Bell was sacking the Loaded Grillers, I had never bought one. The Loaded Beefy Nacho Griller didn’t appeal to me for a long while because I was so stuck in my ways from when I previously worked at Taco Bell. I wanted my bowls of Cheesy Fiesta potatoes, and maybe a chicken chalupa if I was feeling frisky. We ordered one during the first week of taste testing, and I discovered that I actually liked them. No wonder people were upset about these guys going away too!

This is a very bare bones, simple recipe to get your Taco Bell recreation on the table as fast as possible. There’s no homemade nacho cheese or special spice blend for the taco meat. This is 100% Taco Bell. No one goes to Taco Bell expecting gourmet shit, so you’re not going to get gourmet shit out of me here. No sir. No ma’am.
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Recipe Below.

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