ARMADILLO This is a sample recipe page from Recipe Girl. View ALL RECIPES Spice Up Your Recipes With Uncle Steve's:  Dried Chiles     Chile Powders     Grow Your Own Hot Spice With Uncle Steve's: Hot Chile Pepper Seeds Native to Central and South America, the armadillo is a piglike creature with bony armor. Jointed plates, which cover the back and sides of the animal, look like the armor worn by medieval knights. They protect the armadillo from attacks by enemies and from thorns and cactus. When danger threatens, some species are able to roll up into tight round balls, with nothing showing but the thick, hard plates on their backs. The armadillo is a timid creature with very poor eyesight. It depends almost entirely upon its senses of hearing and smell for guidance. It has short legs, but when alarmed it can run with considerable speed. The animal's digging claws enable it to bury itself in an incredibly short time. It makes its burrow in the dry soil of arid regions. By swallowing air to make itself buoyant in water, the armadillo can be a good swimmer. It feeds at night, largely on insects, worms, roots, fruits, and sometimes carrion. Its flesh is occasionally eaten as a delicacy. Armadillos belong to a group of toothless or nearly toothless animals. They are usually brownish black, marked with yellow above and yellowish white underneath. The female normally bears two to 12 young at a time. They come from a single egg, or ovum, and are all the same sex. The three-, six-, and nine-banded armadillos--belonging to Tolypeutes, Euphractus, and Dasypus genera, respectively--are named for the number of movable bands in their armor. Species may range in length from about 6 inches (15 centimeters) to 5 feet (1.5 meters). From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 1998, The Learning Company, Inc.

============================== Sally's Armadillo Something or Other Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method 1 Armadillo 1/2 c Salad oil 3/4 c Vinegar 2 c Water 1 tb Salt 1 Onion sliced 1/2 c Salad oil 1 lb Smoked pork sausage Cut into bite size pieces 2 lg Onions chopped 4 Stalks celery, chopped 1 lg Bell pepper, chopped 2 Cloves garlic, chopped 1 sm Can mushroom steak sauce 4 tb Worcestershire 1 tb Monosodium glutamate 1 lg Can mushrooms 1 1/2 c Dry red wine 1 bn Parsley, chopped 1 bn Green onions, chopped 1 Lemon Armadillo is cleaned similarly to turtle. Clean and cut into serving pieces. Marinate the meat in a sauce made by combining salad oil, vindgar, water, salt and onion. Marinate for 24 hours. Drain meat and place in a glass container. Pour 1 quart of red wine over meat and let it stand for 6 to 8 hours in refrigerator. Remove meat and let drain for 1 hour. Place oil in black iron pot brown sausage and armadillo. Remove armadillo, but leave sausage in the pot. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and saute with sausage until vegetables are tender. Add the steak sauce, Worcestershire, salt pepper and monosodium glutamate. Stir until well mixed. Put armadillo meat back into pot. Add enough water to cover meat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for one hour. Turn pot by handle back and forth to stir. Add mushrooms and wine, slowly stirring them into pot. Sprinkle parsley and onion tops and lay thin lemon slices on top. Simmer without cover for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve over rice. ============================== Smoked Armadillo Chops Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil 4 slices Bbacon, thick cut in 1/2" pieces 2 medium Onions halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced 2 Garlic cloves minced 8 Juniper berries bruised 3 cups Rinsed, drained sauerkraut 1 large Red apple peeled, quartered, cored and grated 1 Baking potato peeled, grated 1 cup Dry white wine 3/4 cup Apple cider or juice 1/2 cup Chicken broth or water 4 Smoked armadillo chops (10 ounces each, 1-inch thick) 8 small New potatoes 1 teaspoon Minced fresh parsley Coarse-grained mustard Salt to taste Freshly-ground black pepper to taste Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp and golden-brown. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Add onions and cook over medium heat until translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and juniper berries and stir 2 minutes. Mix in sauerkraut, apple and grated potato. Add wine, cider and enough broth just to cover sauerkraut. Bring mixture to boil, stirring frequently. Add garni. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring mixture occasionally. If sauerkraut is too liquid, uncover and stir over medium- high heat to reduce. Remove garni. Season sauerkraut with salt and pepper. Mix in bacon. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spoon 2/3 of sauerkraut into shallow baking dish just large enough to accommodate armadillo chops and new potatoes in single layer. Arrange armadillo over sauerkraut. Spoon remaining sauerkraut over. Cover tightly with foil. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead; chill. Bring to room temperature before baking.) Bake until heated through, 35 minutes. Meanwhile, peel narrow band from center of each new potato. Place potatoes in large saucepan. Cover with cold salted water and bring to boil. Cover and boil until potatoes are just tender, 15 to 20 minutes; drain. Tuck potatoes into sauerkraut. Cover and bake 10 more minutes. Divide sauerkraut, armadillo and potatoes among heated plates. Sprinkle potatoes with parsley. Serve with mustard.