High Country Recipes
Fall Squash
The squashes are wonderful in Western Colorado and can be cooked easily and in a hurry. Simply wash and slice them (seed when necessary) and lay in a buttered glass pan and top with sliced tomatoes, onion if desired and coat all lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with basil, oregano and parsley or any other herbs you are a mind to. Cover with Italian bread crumbs and dot with butter. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Done deal!
Another fantastic squash recipe…
Cut an acorn squash in half and seed. Bake cut side down on a cookie sheet for about 30 minutes.
Turn them over and fill the cavities with apple sauce, a tsp. of brown sugar and season with cinnamon. Top with walnut halves and bake until really hot.
Each half serves one to two people depending on how big the squash.
Easy Broccoli Casserole
Thaw two packages of frozen broccoli or chop fresh. Mix with one cup mayonnaise and one can cream of mushroom soup. Salt and pepper to taste and place in a buttered deep casserole dish. Top with cheddar cheese then cover with croutons and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Uncover the last 15 minutes so the croutons brown. Green beans work too! Great for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Yams and Fruit
Even if you dislike sweet potatoes you will like this fall recipe!
Cut up two sweet potatoes or yams into long wedges and boil in water and Tbls. of olive oil until almost tender. Cool under cold water bath, Drain and lay out wedges in flat glass baking pan. Sprinkle whole pecans, raisins and one sliced apple or 1 small can of pineapple chunks or both over the sweet potatoes.
Melt 1/2 stick butter and add 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tsps. cinnamon. Mix and pour over the yams and fruit and sprinkle all with a little more cinnamon to taste. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Dang good!
BBQ Turkey
Place the turkey in a large pan, preferably on a shallow rack. Rub inside and out with garlic or garlic salt. Put inside of bird: 1 cube of butter, thyme, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, course ground pepper, paprika and sage (all to your liking, about 1 tsp. each). Next: melt another cube butter for your baste, add all the above spices and 1/2 cup lemon juice or vinegar. Baste first with lemon juice (1 cup or so) and start the turkey fairly hot for a few minutes, then turn it down and baste it every hour with your pre-made baste or lemon juice. It will take around 6 hours start to finish depending on the size of the bird.
* I have never had better turkey than this, and it is great for chicken too! The basis for this recipe came to me from my friends “Lizard” and Maggie.
Dutch Oven Chicken
This is a great way to “season” your newer Dutch Oven.
Chicken Breasts or cut up fryer; Melt 1 stick of butter (1/2 will do if it is a small chicken); add: 1/2 cup lemon juice; 1 Tbls. Paprika; 1 Tbls. Oregano; 1 tsp. Garlic Salt. Heat mixture, then pour over chicken and let stand for 2 hours, or put chicken in a freezer bag, add mixture and freeze for a camping trip. It will marinate as it thaws. Place in cold Dutch Oven or baking pan and bake at 350 for approx. 1 hour. * This recipe can be found in the Colorado Cache cookbook put out by The Junior League of Denver. This is one of the BEST cookbooks I have ever used!
**Hints for the Dutch Oven Cook: If you can hold your hand over the fire coals to the slow count of 4, it is approx. a 350 degree fire. When it is time to clean up, wipe all the left over “gunk” out of the oven with a paper towel. Place the oven back on the fire with the lid on tight and heat the oven for about an hour, or until all the contents are charred. Crack the lid to let all the steam out, and continue to heat for a while longer, then cool the oven. Scrape all the char out, and wipe with a paper towel or newspaper (best). Put some oil in the oven and wipe all surfaces of it inside and out with the oil. Heat the oven again for a few minutes; wipe off the excess oil, and heat a few minutes. Cool it and put it away. As I have now learned: NEVER wash a cast iron pot; treat them all as with the Dutch Oven.
BBQ Ham
(uncooked ham)
The day before you are ready to BBQ make this baste: dice one bell pepper, 1/3 onion, and 4 cloves garlic. 1 stalk celery; add to a mixture of: 12 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 can of tomato soup, 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 tsp. of red pepper, course ground pepper as desired, 1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 Tbls. prepared horseradish. Cook this for 3-6 hours on low, cool and refrigerate.
After placing the ham on a rack in a large roasting pan, baste it with this mixture and cook VERY slowly (continuing to add the baste periodically) for around 5 hours or until you have an internal temp. of 160-170 degrees. Slice and dine!
* This recipe is great for that big summer gathering, and you too can play horseshoes or volleyball while this is cooking! Just don’t forget to keep adding your baste.
Gene’s Baked Beans
* Size of this recipe depends on how many you are feeding. The ingredients below will feed about 8-12 people which is fine for a potluck. For spicier beans add Rotel brand diced tomatoes (drained).
Mix together: 2 12 oz. cans chili beans; 1 12 oz. can pork and beans; small can of diced green chili’s, or whole ones if you know who you are feeding; 1/2 cup of brown sugar; 1/2 onion diced; 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce; 3 slices of bacon cut up; 1/2 cup of ketchup; garlic powder; S&P and a little vinegar. Put in a large baking dish; top with cheese; cover and bake about 1 hour. Let it stand for a bit. This is a hit!
Simple Potatoes
Busy? These are SO easy!
Wash up 6-8 small red potatoes, Cut in half or about 1-2″ chunks. Toss with oregano, salt, pepper, thyme and paprika. Also add garlic powder or garlic cloves if desired in a flat glass baking dish, then coat with olive oil. (red pepper flakes or cayenne are great with these too)
Let them stand for as long as you can to absorb the flavors then add a bit of water and roast them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 30 minutes.
So easy and so good!
