Archive for the Recipes Category

Is it a great Idea?

By on November 13, 2019

Christmas before last, my youngest brother drew my name for our gift exchange.   As in many families, we draw at Thanksgiving and then only buy a gift for one other adult.   Many families do this for cost, but for us it is a matter of ambush.   All year long, my brothers and I think of something and we buy it.  We don’t put it on a list or drop hints for potential presents.   So as a result we are forced to become creative, speculating what might be useful or cool to our drawn target.   My sister-in-laws are not much better at dropping hints and may be worse at picking up on them.   Mom, she reads minds.

So when I opened my gift I had no idea what to expect; Kinda exciting eh?

There was a really nice stainless steel growler.   What . . .  as many of you know until last summer I worked at a brewery.   I have more shapes and sizes of growlers than you can shake a stick at; furthermore I hardly drink beer at home or anywhere but at the brewery.   So why did I need another growler?   I held a straight face, and said nothing and kept digging, but my brother was beaming.  He was proud of himself, so there had to be more to it.

Next in the box were big packages of instant soup mix.  Just add water.   At that point he couldn’t stand it any longer and had to explain, it was for ice fishing.   Pour the mix in the growler, fill it with boiling water, seal it up and take it fishing.

How many times have you gone out on the lake, sometimes a considerable walk out from the truck, and gotten a bit hungry.  I will admit my simple hookups are granola or protein bars. Chad, loves donuts.  Steph typically has some jerky and a gatorade.   But HOT SOUP!   Wow, this could be huge.

I spent a number of long days out scouting on various lakes over the winter and several times I took a growler of soup.  I have some stainless cups, cowboy cups if you will.   They worked perfect.   I got some hot lunch without having to leave the lake, pack all the gear, and find a restaurant or worse yet fast food.    I have had the sandwiches that you stash inside your coat that get smashed and soggy, or even frozen if you leave them in the sled – but this was HOT!

The problem came when I went to find the mixes again, the place he bought them did not carry them any more.   So I bought some instant soup mixes at the grocery, they were not as good.   So now I have started to experiment with making my own.

Pasta is easy, you might think.   I found that larger or thick pasta noodles would not cook completely with just boiling water.  Long noodles are hard to deal with from a cup.  Crushed instant noodles are the ticket.  Vegetables, I have been working with dried mixes I can get on Amazon.  If I had my own garden I would make use of my dehydrators.  Spices are probably the easiest since most of what you have in your collection are dried anyway.   The real issue I encountered protein.   Dried chicken or beef is quite costly.  But then it dawned on me.   I am preparing this at home, not to be thrown in my bomb shelter or backpack for a two week stint on Isle Royale.   So I went to grilling some extra chicken, pork or venison, when the opportunity came about, leave it a little extra rare dice it up and package up in small portions.   I have even froze some in the small zip top bags to use weeks later.

Add the protein (thawed), then the dried goods to the growler and fill with boiling water.   My preference is to let it steep in the jug for several hours.   If you have one of these awesome vacuum bottle growlers, you know they will keep it hot (or Cold) for over a day if you don’t open them.  Turns out 64 ounces of soup is enough for two guys lunch or more if your just having a chill buster.

 

Since I started doing this the lessons I have learned may lead me to publishing some of my recipes here on MiIceGuys.com.   I am working on one using fish I caught, vegetables I dried and spices that I have blended.  In the meanwhile I have discovered there are many websites that boast recipes that others have constructed for camping, backpacking and even apocalyptic disaster bunker preparations.   Feel free to check some out I have listed below, or do like my brother and get a really cool package for one of your fishing buddies.    Christmas is coming and some of us are a bit tough to shop for . . .

This entry is filed under Recipes, SiteNews.

Ginger Gill Stew

By on November 17, 2017

Cold rainy fall days prompted me to use the last of the frozen fillets before we get back on ice this winter.

A hearty stew came to mind.   So I started out building one.   I grabbed my big white dutch oven and softened some onions and garlic in oil over pretty high heat.

As soon as the onions were transparent, I added some fish stock, about 5 cups.   If you don’t have any home made fish stock, you can use store bought clam or shrimp stock.   As that heated up I put in a small can of diced tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste.  Shred up about half a cup of fresh leek and add with a dry white wine – a cup or so.

Season up with basil, thyme, black pepper, dash of salt and diced ginger root, then bring to a boil.

Let it boil, while stirring for 3-4 min cover and turn heat down to low for 20 min.   Add 20-25 thawed bluegill fillets and kill the heat.    Let sit for 5-10 min and check it out.

Mine was a hit!

This entry is filed under Recipes.

Beer Batter Fried Fish

By on January 19, 2017

  • 2/3 Cup all purpose flour.
  • 1/3 Cup Corn meal.
  • 1/3 Tsp of Garlic Salt
  • 1 Cup of beer (preferably Schmohz John T Pilsner)
Deep fryer using Peanut oil. Temperature was 380 Degrees.
Cook to a golden brown
. Enjoy with some malt vinegar or just as they are, yummy.
PS let them cool a bit I know it’s tempting to sneak one early.
This entry is filed under Recipes.

Panfish with Herbs

By on December 27, 2016

Ingredients:

1 lb. panfish fillets
1 lemon
1 tsp. each chopped parsley, chives, and rosemary
1 tb. butter

Directions:

Melt the butter and pour into a shallow baking dish. Arrange the fish fillets in the dish. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze about one tablespoon of lemon juice over the fillets. Sprinkle with the herbs. Slice the remaining lemon half into thin slices, and arrange the slices on top of the fish. Bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

This entry is filed under Recipes.

Pan Fish Tacos

By on December 27, 2016

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp lemon pepper
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 6 TBS fresh lime juice, divided
  • 2 sliced white onions
  • 1-1/2 lb bluegill (crappie or perch) fillets, filleted and cut into 1/2″ strips
  • 4 (10″) corn tortillas

Combine lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and 4 TBS of the fresh lime juice in a resealable plastic bag; add fish. Seal and shake; chill 30 minutes.

Grill fish ad onions on cast iron griddle over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork.

TOPPINGS:

  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Fresh Salsa
  • Chunky Guacamole or Avocado
  • Red Onion Slices
  • Tomato Slices
  • Jalapenos, sliced
  • Mango Salsa
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
This entry is filed under Recipes.

Crappie Pasta

By on December 27, 2016

Thaw and drain 1 lb of skinless fillets.   Place in quart bag and cover with Italian dressing.

Boil 1 lb bow tie or rotini pasta and drain.

Heat a non stick skillet to medium heat.   Place dressing covered fillets in pan 1 layer deep.   Soft saute until edges of fillets are cooked.   Flip fillets and add hot pasta.  Saute until all fish is just done.   Plate and garnish with parmesan and red pepper flakes.

 

This entry is filed under Recipes.

Simple Dry Fryer Dredge

By on December 27, 2016

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow corn meal
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 lb skinless fillet of pan fish

Directions

Mix dry ingredients in a gallon zip top bag, seal and shake vigorously. Add 2-3 wet fillets at a time to bag and shake. Use tongs to float fillets in 350deg vegetable oil. Cook until medium brown. Place on paper towel covered plate to drain.

This entry is filed under Recipes.

Slow-Cooker Bluegill Chowder

By on December 27, 2016

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels
  • 2 large potatoes, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 large carrots, diced
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • 1 pound bluegill, fillet and skinned
  • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions

  1. Cook and stir bacon in a skillet over medium heat until browned, 5 to 8 minutes; drain excess grease. Cook and stir onion and garlic into bacon until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a slow cooker.
  2. Pour chicken stock into slow cooker. Mix corn, potatoes, celery, and carrots into the stock. Season with black pepper and red pepper flakes. Set the cooker to High, cover, and cook for 3 hours.
  3. Stir bluegill into the boiling soup. Stir evaporated milk into chowder, heat thoroughly, and serve.
This entry is filed under Recipes.