The Fruits of My Labor...

Need I say More?

Strawberry-licious Jam

Since I could remember, strawberries have been one of my most favorite fruits. Lucky for me, my grandmother grew strawberries every year and made the most wonderful strawberry jam ever! Every time I visited my grandparents, I came home with at least 1 jar of jam. It was so good that I couldn't imagine limiting it to just toast or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That stuff enhanced many a bowl of vanilla ice cream....yum! You see, my grandmother kept the jam in the freezer, and it tasted like fresh strawberries. Nothing like that stuff you buy at the store. What a treat it was!

One of the many recipes I called my grandmother for was this awesome jam. I had finally decided I wanted to make my own. Since she lives on the other side of the country, I felt I wasn't getting enough, as often as I craved. I asked my dad if he thought grandmother would divulge this family recipe to me....as far as I knew, she was the only one that made it and I didn't know if it was a "secret". Well, I called her one day. She gladly handed down the secrets to her wonderful jam. Now...have you ever gotten directions from someone in the south? (drive down the highway until you see the brick church and make a left. Continue up the road and you'll see Ole' Johns cow pasture.....) You get the idea. And thats kinda how it is with recipes too. It was a bit of an adventure.  Anyways, after lots of "repeats" and "questions", I had the ever coveted recipe on paper! Wooo hoooo. Off to the store I went to make my purchases! I felt like I was walking on air and at the same time, so connected to my southern relatives...down home and country, while livin' in the city. What more could I want?

My list included strawberries, sugar, Sure-Jell fruit pectin, and mason jars. (check, check, and check) All in the bag and after a rather large grocery bill that I wasn't quite expecting (the pectin and those jars are pretty darned expensive) I raced home to dive into new endeavor. First thing I did when I got home was read the "before you start" instructions that came with the pectin....quality of fruit, clean jars, etc etc. I noticed that on this little pamphlet are several recipes for jam, both freezer and cooked. And lo and behold, there's my grandmothers secret family recipe for freezer strawberry jam!! OMG!! Did I ever feel stupid, and a bit deflated LOL. For some reasons, all these years I thought it was grandmothers own recipe. Well....since its not a family secret, you wanna know how its done? LMAO!!!

Oooh...and guess what? One of the girls at work has an aunt and uncle who own a strawberry field! Talk about fresh berries! Since I can't grow them at my house (lots of reasons you don't really want to hear about)...and they are rather expensive at the stores....how cool is it that I got a full flat for 1/2 the price of a 1/2 flat of strawberries. Heaven....I'm in heaven...(I forget the rest of the words to that ancient song but for some reason I have the sudden urge to tap dance around the room and I don't even know how!)

Ok ok, lets get this show on the road! This is easy, quick, freeze jam. No cooking (except to dissolve the pectic). Because the berries aren't cooked, you get that awesome fresh fruit flavor. If you wanna read about a really good Balsamic Strawberry Jam thats cooked, check out one of my peeps blog: DDPie's Slice. Sooooo You ready?

Here's what you need:

2 pints of strawberries

4 cups sugar

1 box of Sure Jell Fruit Pectin

3/4 cup of water

5 - 8oz mason jars

See all those jars? Ya...I got tons of strawberries but I'm not even using 1/2 of them today. The rest are in the freezer waiting for another destiny, to be determined at a later date. Ok...about those jars and lids,  make sure they are all clean. I use to boil water and dip them in there for a few seconds. Now I have a handy dandy feature on my dishwasher that stays "Sanitize". mm, ya, works for me.

Remove the stems and crush your berries. You don't want to puree the fruit. You want it to have a few chunks. If I had a food processor, I'd have used it but my piece of crap Black and Decker took a dive on me. Sooo, I pulsed the berries in my blender, then finished it up in a bowl with a potato masher. Works great. The blender gets the process started and the masher finishes it without pureeing the berries. (Is anyone else thinking margaritas here?).

mmmm...berry chunks

Btw...this recipe is not transferable with other berries or fruit. The ratios are different. Also...do not double the recipe. You have to work in batches, otherwise you wont get a good set. Measure all the ingredients exactly. No more, no less. Do not substitute anything. If sugar is an issue, there is a special pectin on the market that caters to those needs, with their own recipes inside. Hmm...I think thats it on the "extras".

Now....measure 2 cups of strawberries and 4 cups of sugar (crazy amount of sugar but you gotta!)

 and mix....

look at that thick strawberry mixture....smells great!

Let mixture stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure you scrape the sides a bit along the way.

In a small saucepan, combine water and pectin packet.

The pectin will start out a little lumpy...don't worry.

Bring pectin water to a boil over high heat while stirring continuously. It becomes a roiling boil...just keep stirring for 1 minute.

Remove from heat (see? it gets all clear when you take it off the heat)

Add the pectin mixture to the strawberry mixture. Stir constantly for about 3 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved and is no longer "grainy".

Now we have a nice syrupy consistency. And we're ready to pour the jam into our jars. I use a ladle and leave about 1/4" to 1/2" at the top. They say it expands when frozen but I have never had an issue.

Cover the jars and place them on the counter top for 24 hours so it sets.

I think I made about 16 jars. By tomorrow I'll be able to place them in the freezer (stores up to a year) except for one that will go in the fridge (for up to 3 weeks).

And....in anticipation of enjoying this strawberry-licious jam, I've also started a loaf of No-Knead Bread....ya baby, I'm having fresh bread with homemade strawberry jam! (heaven...I'm in heaven).

And now for my reward for slaving all day in the kitchen.....I had 1 cup of crushed strawberries left over. I added a few ounces of pink lemonade concentrate (leftover from the lemon icebox pies last weekend) to make 12 oz, mixed in 12 oz of tequila, 12 oz of ginger ale and a 12 oz can of beer. I know, it sounds strange but you can't even taste the beer (trust me! I hate beer).

Good Old Fashioned Lemon Icebox Pie

This seems to be the most googled recipe on my blog so far. If you're looking for the No-Bake, whipped cream based, condensed milk Lemon Icebox Pie...you've found it. Its simple and a summer favorite. Enjoy!

When I was a little girl, some of the highlights of my summers were my visits to my grandparents in Alabama. I loved everything about them...the sights, the scents, the joy, the family. It's a beautiful state....slower, nicer and an awful lot greener than Southern California. My grandmother is a great cook and even though I only saw her for a few weeks every other year, I learned a lot from her. She taught me how to crochet and how to cook. She showed me how good raw peanuts are and how nice it is to sit back on a hot summer night and pop peas with the other women. Its a slower way of life. But I think its richer in an awful lot of ways. Values run deeper and family is everything. Pride is something you value in who you are, not what you are.

Memorial weekend is family reunion time back there. I've never been able to attend because either I was still in school or my kids were. Instead...I make my Memorial Day food theme Southern (in some form, it creates the emotional delusion that I'm closer to them....don't pop my bubble and depress me with any of your analytical theories. I kinda like my momentary happy place). And ooooh is it good! I seriously have to hold myself back from cooking every southern dish I know, or I'd completely wear myself out. One of my favorite desserts from my childhood memories is my grandmothers Lemon Icebox Pie. Good stuff, let me tell you! If you're in the south, from the south or have spent time in the south, you probably know what I'm talking about. (Except for Joy, who happens to be a southern transplant and for some unknown reason, has no idea what I'm talking about LOL). Lemon Icebox pies are sweet, tart and believe it or not... somewhat light and refreshing, despite the ingredients:

2 Graham Cracker pie crusts (take the time to make your own...its worth it!! recipe at the end)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

12 oz of Cool Whip

1 small can of frozen lemonade (I think those are 6 oz?)

Combine the condensed milk, Cool Whip and frozen lemonade and pour into the pie crusts. Refrigerate until set. Serve and enjoy

Now, let me explain something. I got the recipe from my grandmother about 15 - 20 years ago and since then, certain manufactures have changed the container sizes of their products which almost makes it into a guessing game when putting these ingredients together. For instance...Cool Whip use to come in 6 oz containers and 12 oz containers. Now the larger of the two is 16 oz. What am I suppose to do with that extra 4 oz of Cool Whip? Cuz to be honest...I don't like Cool Whip unless its in a recipe and you can't really taste it. The grocery store where I shop decided to stop carrying the small frozen juices so now they only have the larger 12 oz. containers. So I get to guess....4 oz? 6 oz? And then do I make a 1/2 pitcher of lemonade with the leftover juice concentrate?

I got to thinking while I was at the store the other day. As I was hunting through the freezer section searching for small frozen lemonades...thinking I was just being blind and expecting them to appear right in front of my face at any moment, (which never happened), I started noticing all these other flavors of frozen juice. I'd heard of people using pink lemonade, but what about Pineapple Orange? Or.... Pomegranate Cranberry? Oooooh...this could be fun!! Next thing I knew, I was tossing numerous amounts of various frozen juice flavors into my cart! Now, the recipe only makes 2 pies...so I had to limit my flavors this time, but I have all summer to try the rest out! What I did was mix the sweetened condensed milk and Cool Whip (which by the way, I ended up using the whole 16 oz...seriously, that last 4 oz was really getting on my nerves), then divided it in half. Mixed about 3 or 4 oz of Pink Lemonade in one bowl and the Pineapple Orange in the other. Poof....two different flavors of pie. The flavors are mild but oh so fun!

In case you're interested, the one on the left is the Pineapple Orange one. Oh ya....I know, those are cake pans. I couldn't find my pie plates and decided it didn't really matter what I used. Oh Oh!! That reminds me!!! You can put your graham cracker crust in a casserole dish and make one big casserole sized Lemon Icebox Pie! And that reminds me of something else. I was going to top the pies with fruit....but by the time we ate them, I was well into my cranberry / vodka drinks and totally forgot.

Now for your convenience, here's the recipe for a graham cracker crust. It only takes a minute and puts those store bought ones to shame!!

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers

1/3 cup sugar

8 tablespoons melted butter

Mix the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar, then stir in the melted butter. Press into your 8 or 9" pie pan. Now you can do one of two things: Cook the pie shell in a 375' oven for 8 - 10 minutes and let cool before adding your filling. Or you can chill it in the fridge for about an hour or so. I personally prefer the cooked one....something about that flavor.

You'll have to double this recipe so that you can make both pie shells cuz this recipe only makes one. Sure, I could've saved the explanation and just doubled the recipe ingredients for you, but naaaa....I'll let you do that. But I'll give you a hint....you will need the whole box of graham crackers.

And now I have to go figure out what to do with the partial cans of frozen juice I have in my freezer.

I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie.....

Why didn't anyone tell me?! OMG.....I've been missing out on the most awesome, tender juicy piece of meat EVER!!! I'm talking about that Pork Butt / Boston Butt / Pork Roast / Pork Shoulder....whatever you want to call it....that baby's got back! Hell ya!

I remember my sister mentioning it a couple of years ago...and I've heard some peeps in BakeSpace braggin about it but I had nooooo idea! This shit is good! Can you guess that until today I've been a Pork Butt virgin? And now that I've discovered how wonderful it is, I plan on standing on the highest mountain and proclaiming its praises! How could I have lived all these years without it?

I talked to one of my bestest BakeSpace buds about it yesterday and got an idea of how to handle this nice piece of non-ass. I looked up a few recipes on the internet and kinda came up with something that worked for me.

Preheat your oven to about 425' degrees.

What we have is a 5 - 6 lb Pork Butt

1 tsp creole seasoning

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp paprika

Combine all the seasonings and rub over the whole roast; top, bottom, sides, ends.

Put into a shallow roasting pan and cover. The pan I use is probably about as old as I am so I never cook in it without covering it with tinfoil. I don't know why exactly. But it makes me feel better.

Put into the oven and turn the heat down to 250'. Cook for several hours. I think mine cooked for about 7 hrs. If you want it to cook faster, then turn the heat to 350' instead, and cook for 4 - 5 hrs minimum. No matter what you do, the main objective is to have this meat literally falling apart. I had a hard time finding a piece that would stay on the fork for the picture.

Next stop....Carnitas!!! Ooooooh yaaaaaaaaaa!!

"Oh my god....Becky, look at her butt. Its so big"

You bet your fat ass it's big. Aint no point if it aint got you sprung!!

Mi Cena Mexicana

Don't you just love the fresh flavors of mexican food? The combinations, the textures, the colors? Not to mention the aroma....tangy, fresh, spicy all blended together, making your mouth water just thinking about it all. I think I could stick my face in a bunch of cilantro and just sniff all day long, its that good! Soo...here's what we had for dinner tonight.....

Top of the picture is some grilled chicken from the local mexican market. Going clock wise we have Calabacita, Avocado-Tomato Salad, a grilled tortilla, and in the center a couple of tortilla chips with Guacamole. I am sooo full, that I'm wondering why I'm even blogging about this right now! Thats how much I ate!!! 

Most of the time when we grill mexican food, I make Pico De Gallo, but I felt lazy today and didn't want to do all that chopping. Thats when I make this nice refreshing Avocado-Tomato Salad. It's somewhat similar to Pico De Gallo, but it lacks the jalapeno, lime juice and 3/4 of the salt. It's light and flavorful and the whole family loves it. Sometime last year I threw this salad together because basically I didn't have all the ingredients for Pico De Gallo, and it was a hit. Three months later I saw the same recipe in a food magazine I got in the mail, published by that ex-con / chef / decorator woman. (did I provide you with enough hints?) LOL. Anyways....here's how I make it:

Avocado - Tomato Salad

3 plum tomatoes, diced 

2 avocados, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

handful of chopped cilantro (or to taste)

1 tablespoon olive oil

S&P to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve chilled

I love guacamole. There are a lot of ways to make it and what I usually do is just smash the avocado, add some Pico De Gallo and serve. But since I didn't make Pico De Gallo today I had to come up with another idea. I am really pleased with the outcome:

Creamy Guacamole 

3 avocadoes

2 tablespoons Crema Mexicana (or sour cream)

3 tablespoons of your favorite salsa

Scoop the avocado out of the skin and mash in a bowl with a fork. Add the Crema Mexicana and mix in. Add the salsa and mix well. Serve

What I liked about the Crema was the how it affected the texture of the guacamole without subtracting from the flavor. (I think thats what I ate so much of prior to the rest of dinner being ready.)

As for the vegetable side dish.....well, calabacitas means zucchini in spanish (learned that after I found the recipe). I was looking for a mexican side dish besides the normal rice and beans one day, and I came across several recipes for zucchini. The one I picked out was found on Cooks.com. I don' always follow the recipe to the tee....sometimes I add tomatoes, mushrooms, yellow squash....whatever sounds good at the time. 

Calabacitas

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 med. onion, sliced, diced, chopped, wedged...whatever

4 med. zucchini, sliced

12 oz. corn (canned, fresh, frozen....whatever)

1 4oz can diced green chillies

salt to taste

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

crumbled queso fresco and chopped cilantro for garnishing

Heat oil in a large skillet, saute the onions and zucchini until just tender (about 5 - 10 minutes). During the last minute, add the garlic.

Mix in the corn, chilies and salt:

Cover and heat through. 

Mix in cheese. Garnish with queso fresco and cilantro if desired and serve

And now for the main dish! I wish I could say I had everything to do with this cuz its really good. But all I did was put it in my shopping cart and pay for it. My husband grilled it, then I ate it. It smells like it has been marinating in chili powder, with a little tiny bit of oil. It also had some sliced onions and a few cilantro sprigs thrown in there. I did talk to an old friend from high school today and she gave me some really good inside info on how to make this from home with even better results. I'm anxious to try that out, but it will require another day, another blog. With all that said, here are the before and after pictures:

I warmed a couple of tortillas over an open fire. No...not on the grill, you'd think that would be the best place, but I guess I wasn't thinking. Nope...this white girl tossed them on the gas burner on the stove...then rubbed one side with butter. There's something about that slighty charred flavor of a warm tortilla with melted butter. Holy crap, dont tell me I'm getting hungry again!! No no...I'm not. I swear! Its just a mind game of some sort, I'm sure. 

And now its time for this glutton to lie down with a good book and get some sleep. I guess that Ice Cream Sandwich I wanted after dinner is going to have to wait.

Penguins are Priceless

If I haven't stressed this before, let me do so now (stop me if you've heard this one. oh wait...you can't! HAHA) One of the things that makes BakeSpace.com so awesome is the community itself and the interaction in the forums, between the members. We have lots of topics and lots of places to hang out. One of my favorite groups is our virtual Wine Club.

Every month someone gets to chose a wine for all of us to review. Anyone can join in and post a review, along with a picture of your wine bottle. Let me make a quick (or not so quick) statement. We are not...I repeat NOT a bunch of "wine snobs". Some of us (yours truly included) know very little about wine other than it either tastes good or it doesn't. And some of us (I mean the others) know an awful lot about wine. What makes "us" so unique is due to the lack of pretension, it's a great atmosphere to learn and ask questions without the intimidation. We're not drinking $100 bottles of wine. We're just real people, with a common interest. Actually, we all get excited when we find a good bottle of wine for cheap. (Trader Joes has GREAT cheap wine!!) 

So...at the end of the month, we have a pole. Everyone who entered a review is added to the pole and the rest of the participating members vote for the "winner". That winner gets to choose the wine for the following month! :) Believe it or not, I won in April so I got to choose the wine for the month of May. I chose for the  May Wine - Pinot Grigio.   I know the month is almost over, but there's still a few days left. If you want to participate....we'd love to have you. 

Here are two bottles that I was able to review about this month (I had a third but I drank it, and tossed the bottle before I remembered I had meant to review it...common occurrence unfortunately). I you want to read my not-so-sophisticated reviews, you'll just have to visit the forum link above :).

Guess what else? I won my very own Original Penguin Corkscrew! How cool is THAT?!!

Here's a little excerpt from the manufacture about this wonderful, handy dandy, save-my-wrist corkscrew:

"Opening a bottle of wine just got easier with the introduction of the new PENGUIN EZ Pull CORKSCREW from Wine Things Unlimited of Sonoma, CA.
 
The PENGUIN EZ Pull CORKSCREW utilizes patented technology and European styling making it the easiest wine opener ever produced for consumer and restaurant use.

Just place the corkscrew on the neck of the bottle – no handles to squeeze – and pull the lever down to remove the cork in just seconds. The teflon-coated magnesium worm removes even synthetic corks easily.
 
“Best wine opener in 5 years” says local wine writer who recently sampled the Penguin… “I can’t believe it’s so simple!”

Packaged in an upscale gift box with magnetic closure, the PENGUIN EZ Pull CORKSCREW includes a satin chrome and black Foil Cutter and extra corkscrew worm."

Look at how cool this thing is! It even comes with a foil taker-offer! (ya ya, I know...it's called a foil cutter, but thats not as much fun to say)

(and here comes my acceptance speech). I just want to thank my fans! haha. Ok, for reals...you guys are great! Thanks for voting for me. I hope you've enjoyed the wine this month (although we seem to have a more difficult time with white wines than we do red). Our "wine parties" are a total blast! Nothing like drunk posting in a public forum!! LMAO! But hey, its better than drunk texting or drunk dialing, right? But seriously, in the few months that we've been reviewing wines, I've really learned a lot. I think my first pairing included tootsie rolls (hey, it was halloween...whadda ya expect?). And one last thing....

I LOVE YOU MAN!!!! 

P.S. Thanks Babs for making this happen and for the awesome gift. I love this thing. Even my husband, who doesn't drink wine thinks its pretty cool...I could hear it in his voice when he opened a bottle of wine for the first time with it and said, "Oh Wow!" I don't think I've heard that kind of awe in his voice since our first time...LMAO. Just kidding. kinda. aren't I? 

Get Yo Man Chicken!

I love a good recipe thats rather simple. Not a lot of ingredients but when you use the right ones, it doesn't matter. Thats what I found with Get Yo Man Chicken.

Several months ago, I was watching Down Home with The Neelys. I love southern food and I think thats what attracted me to the Neelys to begin with. The two of them are so cute in the kitchen together. (I wish my husband would cook with me) The only thing that bugs me about the show is her voice. It gets real squeaky! I don't know why she does it cuz when she's being interviewed, she sounds fine. Anyways....my point is....I saw the Neelys make this very tasty dish. They had a cute little story behind the recipe about the 2 of them. I don't have a cute story but I have to agree...if you want to "get yo man"...what better way than with thighs! Succulent, tender, juicy! Oh come on....we're talking about CHICKEN here (aren't we? LOL)

I only made 1 minor change in the original recipe (which can be found on The Food Network website). The Neelys put thyme in the sauce. I don't like thyme. I think its very over powering. But thats me...soooo instead of thyme, I used Italian seasoning. I know it looks like your typical chicken marinara sauce recipe...but there's one ingredient that makes the difference....makes it refreshing. Stay tuned to find out what it is.....

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 chicken thighs, skinless
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in thick puree
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon lemon-pepper
• Hot buttered rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

First off, you need a large skillet. Heat the oil in the skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on both sides

Remove the chicken and drain all but 1 tablespoon of grease from the pan. Add onions and saute until tender. See all that brown crispy crunchiness on the bottom of the pan? Mmm...thats gonna add some good flavor to the dish in a couple of minutes.

Add the chicken stock and wine to the pan, and scrape up all those chrunchies. Look at the color of that liquid....proof that the crunchies are doing their job...enhancing flavor! mmm

Turn the heat on high and reduce by half:

Add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, rosemary and lemon pepper. Return chicken to pan. Reduce heat to medium low then cover and cook for about 40 minutes.

Once done....the chicken is so nice and tender. You don't even really need a knife. Serve over hot, buttered rice and garnish with chopped fresh Italian parsley. 

Oh...and the ingredient that makes the difference? Yep...lemon pepper!

Another thing...if my husband wasn't such a white rice whore...I might've served this with some pasta.

Amish Turkey Sausage

The other day one of my bestest buds in BakeSpace mentioned these Amish Sausages that she made from a recipe that was posted by another dear sweet "bakespacer". It had all begun with a healthy recipe quest.....sausage? healthy? Isn't that an oxymoron? hmmmm....make my own sausage? I was immediately intrigued.

Before I go much further into this post, I want to give props to Pettit and her wonderful Amish Sausage Recipe. YUM!!! These were fun, easy and really tasty. Pattit used hers for breakfast....but with the seasonings that I added to mine, it was more of a dinner sausage. I'm gonna seriously think twice before buying Italian Turkey Sausage at the store next time. 

As many of you may know, my youngest daughter is way more conscientious about what she eats than I am. She won't eat pork, which is fine....and she likes turkey sausage. However...even turkey sausage has pork casings (at least the ones at my local market do). What I usually end up doing is cutting the casings open and browning the meat like I would ground beef. Thats what I use now when I make any of the marinara sauces with meat. Plus....sometimes these sausages have quite a bit of sugar, or maybe a spice that we don't care for. Now...here's where Amish Sausage comes into play. You can play around with the seasonings and get any flavor you want! woooohooo...nothing like playing with your food flavors!

Ingredients for my version of Amish Turkey Sausage:

2 lbs ground turkey

1/3 cup finely chopped onions

2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried margoram

1 teaspoon creole seasoning 

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 - 2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

FYI -My photos will reflect this recipe halved (I only had a little more than a pound of turkey on hand)

Are you ready for some really complex directions? :P Actually, the most difficult part was having to wait at the end before cooking....ooooh, and did I mention the aroma? HEAVEN!!!

Combine all your ingredients....get your hands in there and squish away!!

Scoop out onto a piece of wax paper. Divide in half and shape into 2 sausages, about 6" in length (visualize those Jimmy Dean Sausage Rolls). 

Wrap each sausage in some plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. Or...if they're for dinner, you could probably make it in the morning and use it that night. You just want to make sure those seasonings get all incorporated into your meat.

The next day, slice each roll into 1/2" segments and fry them in a greased pan until thoroughly cooked. 

You know....if you want, you can just break up the rolls and fry them like ground beef and serve over pasta....or shape into balls.