Recipes to try

Capt. Allen “Big Al” Sibert has developed his own recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup. (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)

The following recipes were provided by Capt. Allen “Big Al” Sibert with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.

Sibert’s Best Chicken  Tortilla Soup

16 ounces chicken

broth

3 26.5-ounce cans

black beans, drained

and rinsed

2 cups salsa, mild,

medium, or as hot

as desired

3 14.5-ounce cans

diced tomatoes

1 4.5-ounce can green

chilies

3 15-ounce cans corn

1 6-ounce can tomato

paste

1 medium sweet

onion, diced and

sauteed in butter

4 grilled chicken

breasts, cut

into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes

1 teaspoon garlic

powder

2 teaspoons chili

powder

¹⁄₂ cup Texas Pete

hot sauce

1 teaspoon red pepper

(optional)

In a large pot, mix all ingredients together and cook over medium heat until about to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve with Mexican blend cheese, sour cream, and baked tortilla strips. To make homemade tortilla chips, cut one bag of Chi-chi’s wheat tortilla shells into 2-by-4-inch strips, coated with a light mist of olive oil and sea salt, and bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.

Big Al’s Puttin’ Junk  in Your Trunk Oreo  Cookie Delight

One package Oreos

One stick unsalted

butter, melted

One large box of instant

chocolate pudding

3 cups milk

1 8-ounce block cream

cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 12-ounce container Cool

Whip, thawed, not frozen

Crush two rows of a package of Oreo cookies into semi-fine consistency and the third row to extra fine.

Take the semi-fine Oreo crumbs and put them in the bottom of an 11-by-13-inch pan. (It does not matter what kind as it will not be cooked. Add the melted butter to the cookies in the pan and mix together by hand. Pat the mixture flat on the bottom of the pan to make a crust. Place pan in freezer.

In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix and milk until smooth; refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, mix softened cream cheese with 8 ounces of cool whip and the powdered sugar until very creamy.

Take pan out of freezer and spread entire cream cheese mixture across crushed Oreo crust. Take pudding from refrigerator and spread across cream cheese mixture. Place pan back in freezer to solidify pudding a little, about five minutes will do.

Take pan out, spread the remaining 4 ounces of Cool Whip over pudding, and sprinkle last row of finely crushed cookies across the top.

Big Al’s Steak Pin Wheels

Cut of flank steak

Mostly cooked semi-lean

bacon, (fat is flavor)

2 cans spinach, drained

or equivalent amount

of fresh spinach

16 ounces parmesan

cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Worcestershire sauce

to taste

Score flank steak on both sides by making shallow cuts 1 inch apart diagonally across steak. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce on one side. Coat same side with bacon, spinach and cheese. Roll steak up and place skewers 1 to 1¹⁄₂ inches apart. Cut between skewers and place each one cut side up on broiler pan. Bake for eight minutes on broil, flip and cook for six more minutes. Place more cheese on second cut side for last three minutes of broiling.

Serve with hollandaise sauce, which is equal parts Miracle Whip and sour cream with a shot of lemon juice and red pepper. Bring to simmer before serving.

Sea Captain’s  She Crab Soup

2 large onions

1 cup clarified butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

2¹⁄₂ quarts half and half

1 quart heavy cream

1¹⁄₂ teaspoons mace

1 cup sherry

1 pound good quality

crab meat

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook onions in butter until soft. Add flour; reduce heat to low, stirring constantly for 15 minutes. Add milk products and continue stirring. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. The recipe makes 1 gallon of soup.