Recipe Patch by Geri TO OUR MANY VALUED CUSTOMERS

Quick and Easy Pancit

This quick pancit recipe with chicken, vegetables, and rice noodles is easy and delicious. It will remind you of island fiestas!

1 (12 ounce) package dried rice noodles

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat

1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced

4 carrot, thinly sliced

¼ cup soy sauce

2 lemons - cut into wedges, for garnish

Place rice noodles in a large bowl; cover with warm water and let soften for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a wok or large skillet over mediumlow heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in chicken, cabbage, carrots, and soy sauce. Cook until cabbage begins to soften. Toss in noodles and cook, stirring constantly, until heated through. Transfer pancit to a serving dish and garnish with lemon wedges.

Farmer Cheese Dumplings

I’m going to show you the simplest, easiest dumpling recipe I know. Just so everyone is clear — I’m talking about American-style dumplings. This technique will work no matter what liquid you’re going to simmer the dumplings on top of — gravy, soup, stew, whatever you like.

Gravy:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cubed

1 yellow onion, diced

⅓ cup flour salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 pinch cayenne pepper

6 cups chicken broth

2 celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (Optional)

2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Dumplings:

½ cup farmer’s cheese

1 large egg

1 ¼ teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup self-rising flour

1 pinch cayenne pepper

Melt butter in a high saucepan with a lid over mediumhigh heat. Add chicken thighs and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix in flour and stir until flour is well mixed in, making a roux, 2 to 3 minutes. You can add more flour if you want a thicker stew.

Pour in chicken broth and scrape up browned bits from the bottom. Add carrots and celery and bring gravy to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and maintain a steady simmer. Add thyme leaves and simmer until gravy is slightly reduced and has thickened, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings: Combine farmer’s cheese, egg, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix with a spoon until smooth. Add self-rising flour and mix until a very stiff batter forms.

Raise heat to medium and bring gravy back to a steady simmer. Add green onions.

Remove 1 heaping tablespoon dumpling batter at a time. Shape with the use of a second tablespoon into oval dumplings and carefully drop into the simmering liquid. You should get a total of 6 dumplings out of this recipe. Dust with cayenne pepper, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer and steam dumplings until they are puffed up and cooked through without stirring or peaking, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if necessary.

Cook’s Notes:

An arrogant golfer and his caddie were about to tee off on a long par 3. The player looked at the caddie and said, “This should be as simple as a five wood and a putt.” The caddie then suggested a more conservative route and recommended a four iron and a wedge. The irate golfer chastised his caddie and said, “How dare you underestimate me. You should have figured out by now that I’m as excellent player.” The caddie reluctantly gave the man his five wood and watched as he proceeded to top the tee shot and contined to gaze as it rolled about 20 yards down the fairway. Without missing a beat, the caddie then handed him his putter and said, “I can’t wait to see this incredible putt.” #####

You can use any soft cheese instead of farmer’s cheese for the dumplings.

To be called a “heavy rainfall,” it must be raining at least 1/6 of an inch per hour.

National Cheddar Day

Produced in a wide range of varieties, whether matured and aged for a long time or short, with a mild or sharp taste, cheddar is a fairly affordable, versatile and ubiquitous friend of cheese lovers.

When is it? Every February 13th

According to the US Department of Agriculture, cheddar is the world’s most popular cheese, consumed more than any other. And it’s obvious why. With a range of maturities and flavors, cheddar is extremely versatile and widely enjoyed by people with a variety of tastes.

So go on and get cheesy because National Cheddar Day is here!

History of National Cheddar Day

Cheddar cheese has a history that dates back several hundred years, to the twelfth century. The legend goes that in the village of Cheddar, in Somerset, England, a young woman placed a pail of milk in a cave to keep it cool on a hot day, as was the practice at the time. She forgot about the pail of milk and when she returned, it had turned into this delicious hardened cheese that everyone loves today.

As monarchs and royals began to enjoy the flavors and tastes that cheddar cheese brought, it became popular around England and then moved over to Europe. Kings and queens alike would enjoy the round wheels of orange-colored cheese that eventually became famous the world over.

Cheddar made its way into the New World with the settlers who started making cheddar in the United States. Eventually, by the year 1790, the colonists were making their own cheddar cheese and exporting it back to their home country of England. By 1851, the world’s first cheese factory was opened in upstate New York where the largest production of cheese was focused on cheddar, of course.

Today, the influence of cheddar cheese reaches far and wide, but the US holds the title as the world’s largest cheddar producer, with Germany coming in second. In fact, in 2020 more than 3.8 billion pounds of cheddar cheese were produced by cheese makers in the United States.

The state of Wisconsin produces the most cheddar cheese in the United States and cheddar is the most commonly used choice for cheeseburgers.

So it stands to reason that National Cheddar Day would be established to pay honor and respect to this incredible and delightful cheese!

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A cowboy is a hired hand on the middle of a horse contemplating the hind end of a cow. –

Edward Abbey

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One good thing about being a cowboy is that you just don’t have time for golf.

– Texas Bix Bender

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I won’t be wronged. I won’t be insulted. I won’t be laid a-hand on. I don’t do things to other people, and I require the same from them.

– John Wayne

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A cowboy without a hat is like a horse with wooden legs. – Kamagurka

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