I am lone on the range today. Don and my son Ryan are helping friends work cows again all day. So the day stretches before me, and I can do with it as I will!
We had pasta for supper last night, with a bolognese sauce. It made a lot of leftovers, so I needed a way to use up that sauce. I could have just made ziti bake for the freezer, but then I still have to come up with something for dinner today, that will yield lunches for the week.
I am going to make a leftover soup. I just cleaned out my fridge, but there is a lot of food to use still in the fresh food bins. A bag of small multicolored sweet peppers, a head of cabbage, some turnip.
I have big amounts of carrots, celery on hand always. I keep them in long green tupperware containers, stacked. They last and last like that. That along with my stash of potatoes, onions, and garlic in the pantry are the foundation of my meals.
I was wanting some version of hamburger soup. The pasta sauce we made has lots of crushed tomatoes, hamburger and onions. It's seasoned with garlic, basil and marjoram. I can go so many directions with it. I could add the peppers, and v-8 juice, some rice and make stuffed pepper soup. I can add cabbage and rice or barley, a little cayenne pepper, and make stuffed cabbage soup. I could add taco seasoning, corn, kidney beans and v-8 for taco soup.
I think I'll go for a beef vegetable soup.
Leftover meat sauce (there is about two quarts left)
1 quart beef stock
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 huge turnip peeled and diced
1/2 head chopped cabbage
2 C diced sweet peppers
2 carrots peeled and diced
3 potatoes scrubbed and diced
1 pint/can green beans and their liquid
1 pint/can calico corn (corn with peppers and onions)
Bring it all to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook long and slow on the simmer burner, in a slow cooker, or in a 250*F oven. Several hours. When I cook soup with cabbage, I like to add a pinch of caraway seeds. It's optional if you don't like the flavor. We have some beautiful black rye bread that we will butter and enjoy with the soup.
I don't know when the guys will get done working cows, so this can be hot and waiting for them when they get home.
Showing posts with label Homemade Soups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homemade Soups. Show all posts
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Sunday Sunday Sunday...
Weekend breakfast rocks! Sourdough waffles with hot syrup, black forest uncured bacon, and a fruit salad made from pummelo, oranges and pink lady apples. Strong coffee chilled with chocolate milk in it. I found a low sugar high protein chocolate milk, and oh my! It's wonderful in iced coffee.
Sourdough Waffles
2 C baking mix
2 eggs
1 C sourdough starter
1 1/2 C buttermilk
1 T oil
Mix all ingredients and let sit fifteen minutes. I mix it then plug in the waffle iron. When it's finally hot and ready to start using it, the batter will be actively bubbling from the sourdough, and light and lovely. You may need to thin the batter a little if it seems heavy. I just use regular milk to do that. When we are done, we'll freeze the leftover waffles for use later this week.
I cooked my bacon on a foil lined sheet pan this morning. When it was crispy and done, I filled the sheet pan with slices of trimmed cauliflower and crimini mushrooms I seasoned with Mrs. Dash and drizzled with olive oil. It will get used to make a creamy oven roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup for lunches this week.
Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup
1 onion diced
2 T olive oil
In a large skillet, saute' the onion in oil. Add:
1 C bell pepper strips
1 C diced celery
2 diced peeled carrots
1 minced clove garlic
pinch of red pepper flake
tsp dried parsley
1 quart turkey or chicken stock
Add the roasted vegetables (see above) to the soup, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer twenty minutes. In a large measuring cup, mix 2 C milk with 4 T cornstarch to make a slurry. Add to simmering soup, and stir until thickened. Finish with a pat of butter, and adjust seasoning. Once this is cooled, I'll fill quart jars and store in the fridge.
We went to the grocery store early today, so I took the opportunity to prep that cauliflower and mushroom soup before putting all the produce away. I also prepped the half boneless ham for sandwiches by slicing it thin, and used the end to dice for the freezer. I'll use it for split pea soup, or to cook with black eyed peas one day.
I purchased a half turkey breast. All the skin and bones go into my stockpot filled with water, along with some black peppercorns and a couple fresh bay leaves. I'll have about seven or eight quarts of turkey stock to can when it's done. I'll divide the breast, and slice thinly half of it for sandwiches. The rest gets diced for turkey pot pie, or turkey tettrazini.
Sourdough Waffles
2 C baking mix
2 eggs
1 C sourdough starter
1 1/2 C buttermilk
1 T oil
Mix all ingredients and let sit fifteen minutes. I mix it then plug in the waffle iron. When it's finally hot and ready to start using it, the batter will be actively bubbling from the sourdough, and light and lovely. You may need to thin the batter a little if it seems heavy. I just use regular milk to do that. When we are done, we'll freeze the leftover waffles for use later this week.
I cooked my bacon on a foil lined sheet pan this morning. When it was crispy and done, I filled the sheet pan with slices of trimmed cauliflower and crimini mushrooms I seasoned with Mrs. Dash and drizzled with olive oil. It will get used to make a creamy oven roasted cauliflower and mushroom soup for lunches this week.
Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup
1 onion diced
2 T olive oil
In a large skillet, saute' the onion in oil. Add:
1 C bell pepper strips
1 C diced celery
2 diced peeled carrots
1 minced clove garlic
pinch of red pepper flake
tsp dried parsley
1 quart turkey or chicken stock
Add the roasted vegetables (see above) to the soup, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer twenty minutes. In a large measuring cup, mix 2 C milk with 4 T cornstarch to make a slurry. Add to simmering soup, and stir until thickened. Finish with a pat of butter, and adjust seasoning. Once this is cooled, I'll fill quart jars and store in the fridge.
We went to the grocery store early today, so I took the opportunity to prep that cauliflower and mushroom soup before putting all the produce away. I also prepped the half boneless ham for sandwiches by slicing it thin, and used the end to dice for the freezer. I'll use it for split pea soup, or to cook with black eyed peas one day.
I purchased a half turkey breast. All the skin and bones go into my stockpot filled with water, along with some black peppercorns and a couple fresh bay leaves. I'll have about seven or eight quarts of turkey stock to can when it's done. I'll divide the breast, and slice thinly half of it for sandwiches. The rest gets diced for turkey pot pie, or turkey tettrazini.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Making Chicken Stock Second Method
If you've read my blog before, you know that I use rotisserie chicken from the store often. I figure if they can roast it for me for the same price as a raw chicken, I will let them. I will let you in on another little secret: I have an aversion to raw poultry. It grosses me out! I hate the smell, and the feel of it. I really hate it when it's not cleaned good, and you have to pull the pin feathers, or clean leftover guts out of the body cavity. I have a hard time eating chicken after handling it raw, it just bothers me. So, I buy it warm and roasted and smelling delicious from the store. There, I've admitted it!
After I pick all the meat off of the chicken, I put the skin and bones in a zip lock bag, and it goes in my freezer. That way, when it is a cold day, or I am bored, I can pull it out and make stock. I had three bags full of chicken bones, and I put them in my big 15 quart stock pot. I filled it up to about two thirds, and added a handful of black peppercorns, and about 5 small bay leaves. Because the chicken was seasoned before being roasted, this will have a slightly different flavor than the stock I made in the previous post. It is made from roasted meat, so it will have a darker color than stock made from poached chicken.
I clamp a lid on the pot, and put it on my simmer burner to cook there all day. It takes all day to get it to that fall apart stage, where the meat and gelatin have all been gleaned from the bones and skin. After it is done to that stage, I pour it through a colander into another huge stock pot. All of the bones and skin and little bits of meat have given their all to the stock, and along with the peppercorns and bay leaves, it goes in the trash. Now I have a huge pot of stock at my disposal. I usually put it into canning jars, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inch headspace, and just freeze it using a plastic lid made to fit canning jars. I am at a limit to my freezer space, so this time I will can it.
When canning any low acid food, such as meat stock, you need to use a pressure canner. Be sure to follow the directions from the manufacturer of your canner, and use the recipe guidelines from a reliable source, such as Ball Blue Book, or Kerr Canning Guides. You can get recipes online, but be aware that not all sources are reliable.
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So, I used the parts that would have gotten thrown away normally, and made seven glorious jars of stock. It is more flavorful than the stock in a box, and if you figure in the cost of the seasoning, and the jar lid, it still costs only pennies to make!
After I pick all the meat off of the chicken, I put the skin and bones in a zip lock bag, and it goes in my freezer. That way, when it is a cold day, or I am bored, I can pull it out and make stock. I had three bags full of chicken bones, and I put them in my big 15 quart stock pot. I filled it up to about two thirds, and added a handful of black peppercorns, and about 5 small bay leaves. Because the chicken was seasoned before being roasted, this will have a slightly different flavor than the stock I made in the previous post. It is made from roasted meat, so it will have a darker color than stock made from poached chicken.
I clamp a lid on the pot, and put it on my simmer burner to cook there all day. It takes all day to get it to that fall apart stage, where the meat and gelatin have all been gleaned from the bones and skin. After it is done to that stage, I pour it through a colander into another huge stock pot. All of the bones and skin and little bits of meat have given their all to the stock, and along with the peppercorns and bay leaves, it goes in the trash. Now I have a huge pot of stock at my disposal. I usually put it into canning jars, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inch headspace, and just freeze it using a plastic lid made to fit canning jars. I am at a limit to my freezer space, so this time I will can it.
When canning any low acid food, such as meat stock, you need to use a pressure canner. Be sure to follow the directions from the manufacturer of your canner, and use the recipe guidelines from a reliable source, such as Ball Blue Book, or Kerr Canning Guides. You can get recipes online, but be aware that not all sources are reliable.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Canning Chicken, Making Chicken Stock I
Chicken has been an incredible value this week. I found chicken breast for $.99 and I stocked up on leg quarters for $.89 a month or so ago. In the next few posts, I will show three different methods for making chicken stock, and soup. I am making a chicken soup base today, but I will also be making a Chicken Cacciatore, and possibly a White Chicken Chili if I have enough chicken and stock.
Now, I know that chicken stock is readily available, and of high quality, but it is extremely easy to make your own, and costs just pennies a jar. Once you start making your own, you'll never go back to store bought. There is a depth of flavor, that you just can't buy in a box.
I recently got a new 8 quart pressure canner/cooker, and the method I'm showing you today is made easier by using my pressure cooker to make the stock. I could most certainly make it by simmering it slowly all day in a stock pot, and I'll show you that method next time, but it took less than an hour to get the chicken to that fall apart state needed for stock making. I'll be using this method far more often than the cooking all day one to be sure.
I make my stock using no added salt, but you could certainly use salt in yours. Just be sure if you plan on canning the stock instead of freezing it that you use canning and pickling salt, not table salt. Iodized salt and canning don't mix.
So I started this batch of Chicken Soup Base with a package of leg quarters. The dark meat in legs and thighs makes a superior stock in my opinion, but I also make stock from breasts. The color will be a lighter lemon yellow versus a more orange brown that you get from the dark meat.
This package of meat was 5 pounds, and it was $.89/pound. I had purchased it a while back, and stored it in the freezer for stock making day.
After browning the leg quarters well in a couple T of olive oil, I removed the chicken and placed the jar rack back in the cooker with the chicken on top of it. This elevates the meat, while still circulating the liquid, and keeps the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Then I added 6 quarts of water, a handful of peppercorns, and about four small bay leaves. That is all. You will be amazed at the flavor this will render. This processed for 35 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. I let the cooker sit for five minutes off of the heat, and then ran cold water over it in the sink, and removed the weighted gauge before opening it. Note that this method is only used when cooking in the pressure cooker, and never when it is being used as a canner.
Now it is just a matter of picking the meat off of the chicken, and straining the stock. To the hot clean jars, I added carrots onions and celery, along with the meat from the leg quarters. I don't fill the jars more than half way, so that there is plenty of stock to cook homemade noodles, or spaetzle, or dumplings in when I heat it up to serve it.
While I was filling the jars, I have a stockpot full of the chicken stock on to boil, and I've added the proper amount of water to my pressure canner, and the jar rack, and have that on the stove also. I have put my lids and rings together, and they are waiting in hot water for when I need them. If the lids are kept hot, the rubber will have a better chance to seal. I'll drain off the water at the last minute, and have them handy.
Now the chicken stock is boiling, I take great care to ladle the hot broth into the jars, leaving a 1 inch headspace. After the jars sit for a couple minutes, I will skim off the fat at the top, and add enough broth to come up to the 1 inch headspace amount again. With a clean towel that has been soaked in hot water and a little vinegar and rung out, I carefully wipe the rims of the jars, and place the lids and rings on. Working with a towel over my hand, because the jars are extremely hot, I screw the lids down tight and carefully place them down in the pressure canner. The canner lid goes on and the weight, and they process for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure. After processing, I will let the canner come back to normal pressure before I remove the weight, and set them on a towel to cool. I like to remove the rings and wash the jars after pressure processing. They leak a small amount of liquid, and should be cleaned before storage.
I prefer to store the rings back on the jar. I am careful to place them on loosely, so I don't disturb the seal of the jar. I don't like to have to keep all those rings elsewhere, and I feel it helps protect the jar rim if it should get bumped around. Once they are chipped, they are no good for canning.
So, here is the finished product. The package of three leg quarters made 8 quarts of chicken soup base. Figuring in the vegetables and the herbs and spices, and also the lids, it still only comes to $.89 cents a quart jar. It is so worth the time and effort!
Now, I know that chicken stock is readily available, and of high quality, but it is extremely easy to make your own, and costs just pennies a jar. Once you start making your own, you'll never go back to store bought. There is a depth of flavor, that you just can't buy in a box.
I recently got a new 8 quart pressure canner/cooker, and the method I'm showing you today is made easier by using my pressure cooker to make the stock. I could most certainly make it by simmering it slowly all day in a stock pot, and I'll show you that method next time, but it took less than an hour to get the chicken to that fall apart state needed for stock making. I'll be using this method far more often than the cooking all day one to be sure.
I make my stock using no added salt, but you could certainly use salt in yours. Just be sure if you plan on canning the stock instead of freezing it that you use canning and pickling salt, not table salt. Iodized salt and canning don't mix.
So I started this batch of Chicken Soup Base with a package of leg quarters. The dark meat in legs and thighs makes a superior stock in my opinion, but I also make stock from breasts. The color will be a lighter lemon yellow versus a more orange brown that you get from the dark meat.
After browning the leg quarters well in a couple T of olive oil, I removed the chicken and placed the jar rack back in the cooker with the chicken on top of it. This elevates the meat, while still circulating the liquid, and keeps the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Then I added 6 quarts of water, a handful of peppercorns, and about four small bay leaves. That is all. You will be amazed at the flavor this will render. This processed for 35 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. I let the cooker sit for five minutes off of the heat, and then ran cold water over it in the sink, and removed the weighted gauge before opening it. Note that this method is only used when cooking in the pressure cooker, and never when it is being used as a canner.
Now the chicken stock is boiling, I take great care to ladle the hot broth into the jars, leaving a 1 inch headspace. After the jars sit for a couple minutes, I will skim off the fat at the top, and add enough broth to come up to the 1 inch headspace amount again. With a clean towel that has been soaked in hot water and a little vinegar and rung out, I carefully wipe the rims of the jars, and place the lids and rings on. Working with a towel over my hand, because the jars are extremely hot, I screw the lids down tight and carefully place them down in the pressure canner. The canner lid goes on and the weight, and they process for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure. After processing, I will let the canner come back to normal pressure before I remove the weight, and set them on a towel to cool. I like to remove the rings and wash the jars after pressure processing. They leak a small amount of liquid, and should be cleaned before storage.
I prefer to store the rings back on the jar. I am careful to place them on loosely, so I don't disturb the seal of the jar. I don't like to have to keep all those rings elsewhere, and I feel it helps protect the jar rim if it should get bumped around. Once they are chipped, they are no good for canning.
So, here is the finished product. The package of three leg quarters made 8 quarts of chicken soup base. Figuring in the vegetables and the herbs and spices, and also the lids, it still only comes to $.89 cents a quart jar. It is so worth the time and effort!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Turbo Cooking: Hamburger Stack Casserole, Split Pea Soup with Potatoes
My little girls were very tired this morning, and so I had a reprieve while they took a morning nap. It allowed me to get soup on in the crockpot for supper, and and got a roaster full of casserole in the oven to slow cook for lunch.
Turbo cooking is putting together several dishes at the same time. It is multitasking at it's finest in the kitchen. I got all the dishes done, made oatmeal for tomorrows breakfast, and got lunch and dinner ready.
I personally don't eat oatmeal, but my little kids, and my son Joel really like it. I can go ahead and cook the old fashioned, or Scottish oats and put them in a container to cool and store for tomorrow. When I go to make breakfast tomorrow, I'll peel and chop an apple, and add some dried fruit: cherries, prunes, apricots or raisins. I'll saute them in a little butter, and add milk or water just to cover to stew them. I'll add a spoon of sugar and some cinnamon to the stewed fruit, and bring it to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer. When it looks like the fruit is tender, I'll add in the cooked oatmeal. It gets topped with a pat of butter, and another sprinkle of sugar, or a drizzle of maple syrup. This is very filling and much tastier than those little packets of mush.
While I am waiting for the water to boil to make oatmeal, I can put together lunch and dinner. The ingredients are similar, so I save time doing it all at once.
I am also washing dishes as I go along, so that they are all done when I finish making meals!
Split Pea with Potato Soup
1 pkg dried split green peas that have been washed and picked through for stones
1 onion chopped
3 carrots peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery
4 potatoes peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves diced
1 quart water
1 T ham soup base
1 T chicken and tomato soup base
1/2 tsp thyme
1 quart/box beef stock
Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Right before serving, blend a couple cups of the soup in a blender or food processor. Add this back to the soup to thicken it. Adjust salt and pepper to taste at this time. Soup base, especially ham is very salty, so you don't want to add salt at the beginning of cooking.
Hamburger Stack Casserole
1 onion sliced in 1/4 inch slices
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch slices
2 carrots peeled and sliced
6 frozen hamburger patties
1 quart/box of chicken stock
2 C water
3 T cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
2 fresh bay leaves
sprig of fresh rosemary
Grease casserole pan with butter, and add each vegetable in layers. Tuck the herbs down in the pan, and top with chicken stock and water with cornstarch. Salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, and bake at 325*F for two and a half hours, or until potatoes test done. Serve hamburgers open faced on a piece of garlic toast, with vegetables on the side, and gravy over the top.
Turbo cooking is putting together several dishes at the same time. It is multitasking at it's finest in the kitchen. I got all the dishes done, made oatmeal for tomorrows breakfast, and got lunch and dinner ready.
I personally don't eat oatmeal, but my little kids, and my son Joel really like it. I can go ahead and cook the old fashioned, or Scottish oats and put them in a container to cool and store for tomorrow. When I go to make breakfast tomorrow, I'll peel and chop an apple, and add some dried fruit: cherries, prunes, apricots or raisins. I'll saute them in a little butter, and add milk or water just to cover to stew them. I'll add a spoon of sugar and some cinnamon to the stewed fruit, and bring it to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer. When it looks like the fruit is tender, I'll add in the cooked oatmeal. It gets topped with a pat of butter, and another sprinkle of sugar, or a drizzle of maple syrup. This is very filling and much tastier than those little packets of mush.
While I am waiting for the water to boil to make oatmeal, I can put together lunch and dinner. The ingredients are similar, so I save time doing it all at once.
I am also washing dishes as I go along, so that they are all done when I finish making meals!
Split Pea with Potato Soup
1 pkg dried split green peas that have been washed and picked through for stones
1 onion chopped
3 carrots peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery
4 potatoes peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves diced
1 quart water
1 T ham soup base
1 T chicken and tomato soup base
1/2 tsp thyme
1 quart/box beef stock
Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Right before serving, blend a couple cups of the soup in a blender or food processor. Add this back to the soup to thicken it. Adjust salt and pepper to taste at this time. Soup base, especially ham is very salty, so you don't want to add salt at the beginning of cooking.
Hamburger Stack Casserole
1 onion sliced in 1/4 inch slices
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch slices
2 carrots peeled and sliced
6 frozen hamburger patties
1 quart/box of chicken stock
2 C water
3 T cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
2 fresh bay leaves
sprig of fresh rosemary
Grease casserole pan with butter, and add each vegetable in layers. Tuck the herbs down in the pan, and top with chicken stock and water with cornstarch. Salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, and bake at 325*F for two and a half hours, or until potatoes test done. Serve hamburgers open faced on a piece of garlic toast, with vegetables on the side, and gravy over the top.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Canadian Cheese Soup and Ham Rolls
This was one of those weekends that you hate to have end. We had a great time this weekend.
Saturday, we went to get case goods and hay in town. It was one of those beautiful blue sky days, and we enjoyed the fact that Riverton has no snow pack like we do. It is still very snowy at our farm lease, and since we had some Chinook winds, the snow melted and is pretty much just a skating pond in the lane and in the corrals. It is so slick that when I went to back the trailer up after unloading the hay, I backed into the fence and popped off the staples in one section. It's not that I didn't stop, I just kept sliding backwards even though the brakes were on.
In our local market, they have a case lot sale every January. We stock up on vegetables and all kinds of canned beans. I have to admit, I love case lot sales. When we get home, I can arrange it all, and have full shelves for the next year. It's a great feeling to know we are provided for. I always loved playing store when I was little, I guess it is like that for me now, too!
Sunday, we went to Pavillion to the Philleos house. Don had a colt that he needed to put a first ride on, and there were several other people there to get help with their cutting. It was sunny but cold, and we had a wonderful time. Our horses got exposed to a little cutting practice, and Don got a great first ride on his little colt, with the help of JD Philleo.
My friend Sammi served up some yummy beef stew for lunch with homemade fry bread, and I brought a roaster full of ham rolls.
It was dinner time when we got home, and so I made a quick pot of cheese soup. It is a fifteen minute meal, and I have two quarts left over for lunches this week.
Ham Rolls
Ham rolls are not really what I'd call a recipe. You get one of those half a boneless ham packages in the grocery, and put it through the meat grinder on the larger grind setting. Then you grind about two and a half pounds of cheese, a whole peeled onion, and 1 cup of pickles (I used bread and butters). To this mixture, you add 1/2 C grainy mustard, and 2 C mayonnaise. This is great filling, and also great served at parties on crackers, or as lunch meat in sandwiches.
I grew up on this recipe, only we used roast beef, ground bologna or wild game in place of the ham. We called it "lunch meat", and it was what our sandwiches were made of.
To make ham rolls, I purchase hard rolls from my local bakery, and with my index fingers, open up a pocket in the end of the roll so I can spoon in the ham lunch meat filling. It's like making a jelly doughnut. Then they get wrapped in foil, and put in the roaster or oven at 350*F for half an hour, or just until the filling gets hot enough to melt the cheese and crisp the bread. This makes enough filling for about three dozen hamburger bun size hard rolls, so it is great at family gatherings, or for branding crews. You can make the rolls hours ahead of time, and just turn on the roaster at the last minute. I make them when Don teaches a clinic for the participants.
Canadian Cheese Soup
1pkg Canadian bacon diced (about 4-5 pieces)
1 bag frozen potatoes O'Brien
1 onion sliced
4 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
2 tsp chicken and tomato bullion
1 large package Velveeta cheese cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, saute onions, bacon and jalapenos in oil. Add frozen potatoes and enough water to cover, about 4 cups. Add bullion and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and add cubed cheese, stirring until the cheese is all melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Saturday, we went to get case goods and hay in town. It was one of those beautiful blue sky days, and we enjoyed the fact that Riverton has no snow pack like we do. It is still very snowy at our farm lease, and since we had some Chinook winds, the snow melted and is pretty much just a skating pond in the lane and in the corrals. It is so slick that when I went to back the trailer up after unloading the hay, I backed into the fence and popped off the staples in one section. It's not that I didn't stop, I just kept sliding backwards even though the brakes were on.
In our local market, they have a case lot sale every January. We stock up on vegetables and all kinds of canned beans. I have to admit, I love case lot sales. When we get home, I can arrange it all, and have full shelves for the next year. It's a great feeling to know we are provided for. I always loved playing store when I was little, I guess it is like that for me now, too!
Sunday, we went to Pavillion to the Philleos house. Don had a colt that he needed to put a first ride on, and there were several other people there to get help with their cutting. It was sunny but cold, and we had a wonderful time. Our horses got exposed to a little cutting practice, and Don got a great first ride on his little colt, with the help of JD Philleo.
My friend Sammi served up some yummy beef stew for lunch with homemade fry bread, and I brought a roaster full of ham rolls.
It was dinner time when we got home, and so I made a quick pot of cheese soup. It is a fifteen minute meal, and I have two quarts left over for lunches this week.
Ham Rolls
Ham rolls are not really what I'd call a recipe. You get one of those half a boneless ham packages in the grocery, and put it through the meat grinder on the larger grind setting. Then you grind about two and a half pounds of cheese, a whole peeled onion, and 1 cup of pickles (I used bread and butters). To this mixture, you add 1/2 C grainy mustard, and 2 C mayonnaise. This is great filling, and also great served at parties on crackers, or as lunch meat in sandwiches.
I grew up on this recipe, only we used roast beef, ground bologna or wild game in place of the ham. We called it "lunch meat", and it was what our sandwiches were made of.
To make ham rolls, I purchase hard rolls from my local bakery, and with my index fingers, open up a pocket in the end of the roll so I can spoon in the ham lunch meat filling. It's like making a jelly doughnut. Then they get wrapped in foil, and put in the roaster or oven at 350*F for half an hour, or just until the filling gets hot enough to melt the cheese and crisp the bread. This makes enough filling for about three dozen hamburger bun size hard rolls, so it is great at family gatherings, or for branding crews. You can make the rolls hours ahead of time, and just turn on the roaster at the last minute. I make them when Don teaches a clinic for the participants.
Canadian Cheese Soup
1pkg Canadian bacon diced (about 4-5 pieces)
1 bag frozen potatoes O'Brien
1 onion sliced
4 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
2 tsp chicken and tomato bullion
1 large package Velveeta cheese cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, saute onions, bacon and jalapenos in oil. Add frozen potatoes and enough water to cover, about 4 cups. Add bullion and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and add cubed cheese, stirring until the cheese is all melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Stretching a Buck: Pork and Chard Stirfry, Chunky Pork and Vegetable Chili
We had a serious reduction in salary this last month. That made for a hard Christmas season, but also hard on my household budget. That's the bad part about working for yourself; if you don't work you don't get paid. My little daycare kids got Mono, and not at the same time, so they didn't come for most of the month.
I don't mind being short occasionally, I actually see it as a challenge. So, I put my thinking cap on and figure out ways to stretch whatever I have to buy in the store. We drink less orange juice, buy less fresh produce, and use less of the protien we buy at the store in each meal. It is amazing how much you can really shave off the total cost of groceries if you really need to, without compromising nutrition.
I have a freezer full of lamb (that we raise) and various cuts of meat that I've bought when it's on sale. When I do buy protien in a budget crunch situation, it has to meet two criteria: cost less than $2 a pound, and can be used to make two meals per pound.
Boneless pork ribs are what fit in my budget this time. Boneless pork ribs are my meat of choice for stir fry. If they are chilled, you can slice them very thin, which works well for marinating, and produce a juicy, tender meat in these types of quick cooking dishes. So, half of my one pound package of meat goes towards the stir fry dish, and the other half gets cut into half inch cubes for my chunky pork and vegetable chili. If your source of protien is limited, then it needs to be either cut thinly, or in small pieces so it doesn't look skimpy on the plate.
We eat lots of fresh greens, and I will not skimp on that part of our grocery budget. We have swiss chard often, along with spinach and collards. Swiss chard is easy to prepare, and such a vitamin powerhouse of a vegetable. It is delicious prepared with plain boiled potatoes, or quickly stir fried with some mustard seed and vinegar and oil, It is delicious paired with eggs for a weekend frittata, or added to minestrone soup in place of spinach.
When you cook with swiss chard, you must treat it as two vegetables: the fibrous stalks, and the tender quicker cooking leaves. When I stir fry chard, I pull all the leaves from the stems and dice the stem to cook the same amount of time as onions, only adding in the leaves the last bit just long enough to wilt them. The same is true for boiling them with potatoes. The stems go in with the cold potatoes and water, and then the leaves just get added right before draining the water off.
Whenever the meat is limited, I can bump up the amount of vegetable or starch to make it seem filling. I made a sweeter version of pork chili, and added what's on hand, mainly celery, carrot and onion. These are vegetables that have a constant place in my pantry of goods. They last well in long storage, and provide good nutrition and value for my dollar.
I have an aresenal of dried beans and peas that can provide good protien and take up the slack for more costly vegetables and meats in my recipes. I also have cans of beans on hand at all times. I buy them when there are case lot sales, and they are 50-60 cents a can.
These two recipes have jalapenos in them. With the seeds removed, they are mild and tasty. For some reason, the cost of green peppers has skyrocketed in the last few years. I just buy whatever pepper or chile is cheapest, and in the best condition. In the middle of Wyoming where everything this time of year is trucked in, you take what you can get. Sometimes I buy anahiems, or serrano, and jalapeno. If they all are wrinkled up with age, I will use canned chopped green chiles in their place.
Pork and Chard Stirfry
1/2 pound boneless pork ribs chilled and sliced in thin slices
1/4 C low sodium soy
1 T grated fresh ginger
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp sriracha hot sauce
2 garlic cloves minced
2 bunches red swiss chard stems diced and leaves chopped and divided
1 bunch green onions diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery diced
1 onion diced
canola oil
In a medium sized bowl, mix sliced meat with soy, ginger, lemon zest and juice, and sriracha hot sauce. Set aside.
In a hot wok, stir fry onions and swiss chard stems with green onions, celery, jalapenos and garlic in oil. Remove to the serving platter. Remove meat from marinade with tongs, and stir fry. While the meat is removed from the marinade, add two heaping T of corn starch to marinade liquid and stir to combine. When meat is browned and still tender, add vegetables back in, and add swiss chard leaves. sprinkle with extra soy sauce to start to steam the chard. As the chard wilts, add in marinade and corn starch mixture. Cook until juices thicken and are clear. Pour back into serving dish, and serve over the top of hot cooked rice. This made a meal for three, plus breakfast for me the next day. Yes, I eat Chinese take out for breakfast!
Chunky Pork and Vegetable Chili
1/2 pound boneless pork ribs cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion diced
4 stalks celery diced
4 carrots peeled and diced
4 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 T olive oil
1 can/pint diced tomatoes
1 pint/ small jar salsa with corn and chipotle
2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
2 C V-8 or tomato juice
3 Tchili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp adobo seasoning
2 T sugar or stevia
In a large stockpot, brown pork in oil. Remove and reserve. Brown onion, celery, carrot and jalapenos. When the onion is translucent, add garlic, and remaining ingredients. Return browned pork to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover the pot to simmer for 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. If chili is too thick, add water to get it to desired consistency.
This made a meal for three, plus two and a half quarts for other meals. Due to it's mild flavor, the day care babies ate it for lunch one day and loved it.
I don't mind being short occasionally, I actually see it as a challenge. So, I put my thinking cap on and figure out ways to stretch whatever I have to buy in the store. We drink less orange juice, buy less fresh produce, and use less of the protien we buy at the store in each meal. It is amazing how much you can really shave off the total cost of groceries if you really need to, without compromising nutrition.
I have a freezer full of lamb (that we raise) and various cuts of meat that I've bought when it's on sale. When I do buy protien in a budget crunch situation, it has to meet two criteria: cost less than $2 a pound, and can be used to make two meals per pound.
Boneless pork ribs are what fit in my budget this time. Boneless pork ribs are my meat of choice for stir fry. If they are chilled, you can slice them very thin, which works well for marinating, and produce a juicy, tender meat in these types of quick cooking dishes. So, half of my one pound package of meat goes towards the stir fry dish, and the other half gets cut into half inch cubes for my chunky pork and vegetable chili. If your source of protien is limited, then it needs to be either cut thinly, or in small pieces so it doesn't look skimpy on the plate.
We eat lots of fresh greens, and I will not skimp on that part of our grocery budget. We have swiss chard often, along with spinach and collards. Swiss chard is easy to prepare, and such a vitamin powerhouse of a vegetable. It is delicious prepared with plain boiled potatoes, or quickly stir fried with some mustard seed and vinegar and oil, It is delicious paired with eggs for a weekend frittata, or added to minestrone soup in place of spinach.
When you cook with swiss chard, you must treat it as two vegetables: the fibrous stalks, and the tender quicker cooking leaves. When I stir fry chard, I pull all the leaves from the stems and dice the stem to cook the same amount of time as onions, only adding in the leaves the last bit just long enough to wilt them. The same is true for boiling them with potatoes. The stems go in with the cold potatoes and water, and then the leaves just get added right before draining the water off.
Whenever the meat is limited, I can bump up the amount of vegetable or starch to make it seem filling. I made a sweeter version of pork chili, and added what's on hand, mainly celery, carrot and onion. These are vegetables that have a constant place in my pantry of goods. They last well in long storage, and provide good nutrition and value for my dollar.
I have an aresenal of dried beans and peas that can provide good protien and take up the slack for more costly vegetables and meats in my recipes. I also have cans of beans on hand at all times. I buy them when there are case lot sales, and they are 50-60 cents a can.
These two recipes have jalapenos in them. With the seeds removed, they are mild and tasty. For some reason, the cost of green peppers has skyrocketed in the last few years. I just buy whatever pepper or chile is cheapest, and in the best condition. In the middle of Wyoming where everything this time of year is trucked in, you take what you can get. Sometimes I buy anahiems, or serrano, and jalapeno. If they all are wrinkled up with age, I will use canned chopped green chiles in their place.
Pork and Chard Stirfry
1/2 pound boneless pork ribs chilled and sliced in thin slices
1/4 C low sodium soy
1 T grated fresh ginger
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp sriracha hot sauce
2 garlic cloves minced
2 bunches red swiss chard stems diced and leaves chopped and divided
1 bunch green onions diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery diced
1 onion diced
canola oil
In a medium sized bowl, mix sliced meat with soy, ginger, lemon zest and juice, and sriracha hot sauce. Set aside.
In a hot wok, stir fry onions and swiss chard stems with green onions, celery, jalapenos and garlic in oil. Remove to the serving platter. Remove meat from marinade with tongs, and stir fry. While the meat is removed from the marinade, add two heaping T of corn starch to marinade liquid and stir to combine. When meat is browned and still tender, add vegetables back in, and add swiss chard leaves. sprinkle with extra soy sauce to start to steam the chard. As the chard wilts, add in marinade and corn starch mixture. Cook until juices thicken and are clear. Pour back into serving dish, and serve over the top of hot cooked rice. This made a meal for three, plus breakfast for me the next day. Yes, I eat Chinese take out for breakfast!
Chunky Pork and Vegetable Chili
1/2 pound boneless pork ribs cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion diced
4 stalks celery diced
4 carrots peeled and diced
4 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 T olive oil
1 can/pint diced tomatoes
1 pint/ small jar salsa with corn and chipotle
2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
2 C V-8 or tomato juice
3 Tchili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp adobo seasoning
2 T sugar or stevia
In a large stockpot, brown pork in oil. Remove and reserve. Brown onion, celery, carrot and jalapenos. When the onion is translucent, add garlic, and remaining ingredients. Return browned pork to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover the pot to simmer for 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. If chili is too thick, add water to get it to desired consistency.
This made a meal for three, plus two and a half quarts for other meals. Due to it's mild flavor, the day care babies ate it for lunch one day and loved it.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Chicken and Artichoke Soup
It's a chinook wind here today. It is blowing straight from the mountians, making it so warm out that it is melting. The below zero cold air inversion that we've been living in is blown clean away. The warm air can now get across the mountain and down into our valley. Although we are grateful for the reprieve from the cold, we know this warm wind will drag with it a storm front, so we are getting prepared for that. We are bringing in extra wood for the stove, and going to do chores early before it hits.
On days like these, I like to have something warm for supper. Tonight it will be Chicken and Artichoke Soup. This is a version of my mother in law's soup. She knows we like it, so she always makes it when we visit. I usually make it with chicken, but since we had turkey left over from the holidays, I'll be using that today.
My pantry "star" in this recipe is canned artichokes. I like to keep them on hand in my pantry for just such occasions. I do enjoy the frozen artichokes, but for some reason, we have a hard time getting them here in Wyoming. I like to buy the cans of quarters, just because I don't use them for any recipes that require them to be whole, and whenever the pieces of food are small, you get more of them. It is a little cheaper to buy quarters. I use artichokes in dips for quick entertaining of unexpected company, and also in pasta sauces, but the best way is in this soup.
Besides the fresh onion, carrot celery, the rest of the ingredients are things I always have in the pantry, so this is an easy go to for lunch or dinner at our house. I don't like the salty slimy liquid that comes in cans of chickpeas, so I pour them out into a sieve, and rinse them well before adding them to this soup.
Chicken and Artichoke Soup
2 T olive oil
1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
2 carrots chopped and diced
1 small can/pint of diced tomatoes and their juice
1 can artichoke quarters chopped and their juice
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 box/quart chicken stock
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
pinch red pepper flake
salt and pepper to taste
In a stockpot, brown off chicken pieces in oil. Remove chicken to a plate to add in later. Add onion celery and diced carrots and cook until onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients, and scrape off browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add chicken back in an bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for twenty minutes.
On days like these, I like to have something warm for supper. Tonight it will be Chicken and Artichoke Soup. This is a version of my mother in law's soup. She knows we like it, so she always makes it when we visit. I usually make it with chicken, but since we had turkey left over from the holidays, I'll be using that today.
My pantry "star" in this recipe is canned artichokes. I like to keep them on hand in my pantry for just such occasions. I do enjoy the frozen artichokes, but for some reason, we have a hard time getting them here in Wyoming. I like to buy the cans of quarters, just because I don't use them for any recipes that require them to be whole, and whenever the pieces of food are small, you get more of them. It is a little cheaper to buy quarters. I use artichokes in dips for quick entertaining of unexpected company, and also in pasta sauces, but the best way is in this soup.
Besides the fresh onion, carrot celery, the rest of the ingredients are things I always have in the pantry, so this is an easy go to for lunch or dinner at our house. I don't like the salty slimy liquid that comes in cans of chickpeas, so I pour them out into a sieve, and rinse them well before adding them to this soup.
Chicken and Artichoke Soup
2 T olive oil
1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
2 carrots chopped and diced
1 small can/pint of diced tomatoes and their juice
1 can artichoke quarters chopped and their juice
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 box/quart chicken stock
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
pinch red pepper flake
salt and pepper to taste
In a stockpot, brown off chicken pieces in oil. Remove chicken to a plate to add in later. Add onion celery and diced carrots and cook until onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients, and scrape off browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add chicken back in an bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for twenty minutes.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Pasta with Clam Sauce and Baked Acorn Squash, Lentil Soup with Ham Hock and Leftover Squash
My husband loves red clam sauce. I love it too in that I don't have to remember to get the hamburg out of the freezer, and it is easy to get supper on the table in the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta.
We took the kids to the Son Harvest Pumpkin Patch, my cousin's farm outside of Riverton. The kids all picked out a pumpkin, and we got several kinds of squash. Among them were two huge white acorn squash. We all love acorn squash, so we took it home and cooked it for supper.
Acorn or any other squash is super easy to cook. I just wash the outside with warm soapy water, and cut it open lengthwise. I have an old silver serving spoon that is very sturdy, and I use either that, or the icecream scoop to remove the seeds and strings. I then place the squash halves in a glass baking dish, cut side up, and season with salt and pepper, and a T of butter in the cavity. I put that in the oven, and fill the glass dish with water at least 1/4 of the way up the sides of the squash. Bake for at least 1 hour at 350*F. To serve it, just scoop it out and top with a little butter and pepper, or even some grated cheese. It is sweet and delicious!
We only cooked one acorn, but had half of it left over, so I used it in the Lentil and Ham Hock Soup. It adds lots of vitamin A, but also makes a great thickener. I have also used it in my cheese sauce for Mac and Cheese. It is a great vegetable for that, because kids eat it without ever knowing it is in there.
Below are two great examples of easy meals that rely on pantry staples. I could cook either one anytime, as I always have dried pasta, canned clams, tomatoes, dried beans, and frozen ham hocks on hand.
Even if you think you don't like seafood, try this sauce. It is delicious!
Red Clam Sauce
2 T oil
1 white onion peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp old bay seasoning for seafood
1 small can tomato paste
1 T minced garlic
1 5 oz can of chopped clams and their juice
1 quart diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, brown onions in oil. Add paste and let it brown a bit. This carmelizes the sugars and makes a deeper taste to the sauce. Add minced garlic, and juice from the clams. Scrape the pan to loosen browned bits, and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer until pasta tests done. I always serve this with Linguini, and fresh grated parmesan to top it.
I use my crock pot a couple times a week. It really saves me, because in a quiet moment when the girls are taking their morning nap, I can get supper going. Then at the end of the day, when I am pooped from chasing toddlers, and doing chores, I can just open the lid, and serve up the meal.
Lentil and Ham Hock Soup
In a large sized crock pot, place:
1 pound lentils that have been washed in a strainer and picked over (sometimes there are stones)
1 white onion chopped
3 large carrots peeled and diced
1 green pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1 C celery diced (including leaves)
1 large ham hocks
2 quarts V-8 or tomato juice
2 quarts water
flesh from 1/2 cooked acorn squash
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp Adobo Seasoning (a blend of salt, garlic, and spices found in the spice section of the grocery)
Ground pepper
Cook on high for 8-10 hours. Before serving, taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Remove ham hocks, and cool. Using a fork, remove meat from the knuckle, and return it to the soup.
We took the kids to the Son Harvest Pumpkin Patch, my cousin's farm outside of Riverton. The kids all picked out a pumpkin, and we got several kinds of squash. Among them were two huge white acorn squash. We all love acorn squash, so we took it home and cooked it for supper.
Acorn or any other squash is super easy to cook. I just wash the outside with warm soapy water, and cut it open lengthwise. I have an old silver serving spoon that is very sturdy, and I use either that, or the icecream scoop to remove the seeds and strings. I then place the squash halves in a glass baking dish, cut side up, and season with salt and pepper, and a T of butter in the cavity. I put that in the oven, and fill the glass dish with water at least 1/4 of the way up the sides of the squash. Bake for at least 1 hour at 350*F. To serve it, just scoop it out and top with a little butter and pepper, or even some grated cheese. It is sweet and delicious!
We only cooked one acorn, but had half of it left over, so I used it in the Lentil and Ham Hock Soup. It adds lots of vitamin A, but also makes a great thickener. I have also used it in my cheese sauce for Mac and Cheese. It is a great vegetable for that, because kids eat it without ever knowing it is in there.
Below are two great examples of easy meals that rely on pantry staples. I could cook either one anytime, as I always have dried pasta, canned clams, tomatoes, dried beans, and frozen ham hocks on hand.
Even if you think you don't like seafood, try this sauce. It is delicious!
Red Clam Sauce
2 T oil
1 white onion peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp old bay seasoning for seafood
1 small can tomato paste
1 T minced garlic
1 5 oz can of chopped clams and their juice
1 quart diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, brown onions in oil. Add paste and let it brown a bit. This carmelizes the sugars and makes a deeper taste to the sauce. Add minced garlic, and juice from the clams. Scrape the pan to loosen browned bits, and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer until pasta tests done. I always serve this with Linguini, and fresh grated parmesan to top it.
I use my crock pot a couple times a week. It really saves me, because in a quiet moment when the girls are taking their morning nap, I can get supper going. Then at the end of the day, when I am pooped from chasing toddlers, and doing chores, I can just open the lid, and serve up the meal.
Lentil and Ham Hock Soup
In a large sized crock pot, place:
1 pound lentils that have been washed in a strainer and picked over (sometimes there are stones)
1 white onion chopped
3 large carrots peeled and diced
1 green pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1 C celery diced (including leaves)
1 large ham hocks
2 quarts V-8 or tomato juice
2 quarts water
flesh from 1/2 cooked acorn squash
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp Adobo Seasoning (a blend of salt, garlic, and spices found in the spice section of the grocery)
Ground pepper
Cook on high for 8-10 hours. Before serving, taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Remove ham hocks, and cool. Using a fork, remove meat from the knuckle, and return it to the soup.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Cinnamon Sugar Scones and Making Dumplings 101
For my friend Sammi: A new scone recipe. If you love snickerdoodles, you'll love this moist light scone. It would be really good with some maple butter, or I liked it warmed up with just a little butter.
Cinnamon Sugar Scones
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 t baking soda
Combine sour cream with the baking soda in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 t salt
1/2 C cold butter
2 t cinnamon
garnish with addition cinnamon sugar before baking
Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine dry ingredients except cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Whisk egg and cinnamon into sour cream mixture, add flour mixture and stir until it just comes together in a ball. On a pizza stone, or baking sheet, pat dough ball out into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into wedges, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
I love chicken and dumplings. We always have stock on hand, and I have cooked chicken or turkey in the fridge at all times, too. I just make a thick chicken gravy and add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, or the leftover cooked potatoes, carrots, and onions from a roast and some peas from the freezer. Then comes the dumplings, which are so easy.
Butter Dumplings
2 eggs
1/2 C all purpose flour
6 T softened butter
1/2 t salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add the flour and mix. Into this mixture, beat the butter, salt and pinch of nutmeg to make a smooth batter. Bring the soup to a boil, Drop half teaspoonfuls of batter into the gently boiling soup. Cook 6 to 7 minutes at least.
Cinnamon Sugar Scones
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 t baking soda
Combine sour cream with the baking soda in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 t salt
1/2 C cold butter
2 t cinnamon
garnish with addition cinnamon sugar before baking
Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine dry ingredients except cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Whisk egg and cinnamon into sour cream mixture, add flour mixture and stir until it just comes together in a ball. On a pizza stone, or baking sheet, pat dough ball out into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into wedges, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
I love chicken and dumplings. We always have stock on hand, and I have cooked chicken or turkey in the fridge at all times, too. I just make a thick chicken gravy and add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, or the leftover cooked potatoes, carrots, and onions from a roast and some peas from the freezer. Then comes the dumplings, which are so easy.
Butter Dumplings
2 eggs
1/2 C all purpose flour
6 T softened butter
1/2 t salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add the flour and mix. Into this mixture, beat the butter, salt and pinch of nutmeg to make a smooth batter. Bring the soup to a boil, Drop half teaspoonfuls of batter into the gently boiling soup. Cook 6 to 7 minutes at least.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Homemade Noodles
I used to make noodles often when we were first married. We lived on 800 bucks a month, so anything I could do to stretch our budget, I did. We bought and stored 50 pounds of flour at a time, and we lived on a ranch where there were chickens, so we had access to eggs. It was a long trip to town, and most of it on unpaved roads, so if I ran out of something, I had to improvise.
Noodles are easy, but require some upper body strength to roll. I think on my next trip to town, I'll have to invest in a pasta roller, so I can get them to come out thin and smooth. Even though my noodles today were not what I used to be able to do, (they were a little lumpy and too thick) they were still delicious. I don't know why I every started using dried!
So here's my noodle recipe. If the dough is too dry, add a little T of water at a time until it feels the right texture.
Egg Noodles
1 1/2 C all purpose flour (I use 1 C white, and a half C wheat to make them more nutritious)
3 large eggs
a scant tsp of salt
fresh pepper to taste
Pour the flour on a clean and dry countertop, in a pile. With the back of the measuring cup, push out the center of the flour to make a well. It will look like a volcano crater. Make sure there is flour surrounding the well on all sides, or your eggs will leak out, and it will be infinitely more messy. Crack the eggs into the well, and season with salt and a grind of fresh pepper. With a fork, start stirring the eggs, incorporating a little flour at a time until a dough ball forms. Knead it gently to clean the board of all remaining flour, and cover with a bowl and let rest ten minutes. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough with a floured rolling pin as thin as humanly possible, (or run it through a pasta roller). With the dough lightly dusted with flour on both sides, fold it over in thirds to make a long rectangle, and slice into thin noodles. Separate, and cook in either boiling salted water, or add to chicken or beef soup. Cook fifteen minutes or until noodles are floating and tender.
You can also put this dough in a colander and pushing it back and forth across the holes to make spaetzle.
Noodles are easy, but require some upper body strength to roll. I think on my next trip to town, I'll have to invest in a pasta roller, so I can get them to come out thin and smooth. Even though my noodles today were not what I used to be able to do, (they were a little lumpy and too thick) they were still delicious. I don't know why I every started using dried!
So here's my noodle recipe. If the dough is too dry, add a little T of water at a time until it feels the right texture.
Egg Noodles
1 1/2 C all purpose flour (I use 1 C white, and a half C wheat to make them more nutritious)
3 large eggs
a scant tsp of salt
fresh pepper to taste
Pour the flour on a clean and dry countertop, in a pile. With the back of the measuring cup, push out the center of the flour to make a well. It will look like a volcano crater. Make sure there is flour surrounding the well on all sides, or your eggs will leak out, and it will be infinitely more messy. Crack the eggs into the well, and season with salt and a grind of fresh pepper. With a fork, start stirring the eggs, incorporating a little flour at a time until a dough ball forms. Knead it gently to clean the board of all remaining flour, and cover with a bowl and let rest ten minutes. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough with a floured rolling pin as thin as humanly possible, (or run it through a pasta roller). With the dough lightly dusted with flour on both sides, fold it over in thirds to make a long rectangle, and slice into thin noodles. Separate, and cook in either boiling salted water, or add to chicken or beef soup. Cook fifteen minutes or until noodles are floating and tender.
You can also put this dough in a colander and pushing it back and forth across the holes to make spaetzle.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Turkey Chili- Comfort Food Quick
I love recipes that use my pantry items and a few fresh items, and come together quick. This is a hearty satisfying thick and slightly sweet chili. It is low in fat, and the addition of canned pumpkin makes it thick and very healthy for your family. A good way to sneak in those important vitamin a veggies, without anyone knowing it. This is a Cincinatti style chili.
It comes together in less than half an hour, even if the ground turkey is frozen! If you are in a bind, you can defrost in the pan by adding about a half cup of water with the frozen ground meat. Using a spatula, scrape off the burger that is thawed until it is all separate, and cook until brown. Then add in vegetables, etc...
Turkey Chili
1 medium onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
2 T olive oil
1 # ground turkey (could substitute 2 C diced cooked turkey breast)
2 cans red kidney beans
1 can/quart diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (make sure it's not pie filling)
2 C chicken stock
2 T brown sugar
3 T chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 T garlic powder
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 tsp Franks hot sauce
In a large dutch oven, brown the turkey, onion and green pepper. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil, stirring regularly. If it is too thick, add more chicken stock to thin. Cover it, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 1/2 hour on low heat, stirring occasionally.
It comes together in less than half an hour, even if the ground turkey is frozen! If you are in a bind, you can defrost in the pan by adding about a half cup of water with the frozen ground meat. Using a spatula, scrape off the burger that is thawed until it is all separate, and cook until brown. Then add in vegetables, etc...
Turkey Chili
1 medium onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
2 T olive oil
1 # ground turkey (could substitute 2 C diced cooked turkey breast)
2 cans red kidney beans
1 can/quart diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (make sure it's not pie filling)
2 C chicken stock
2 T brown sugar
3 T chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 T garlic powder
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 tsp Franks hot sauce
In a large dutch oven, brown the turkey, onion and green pepper. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil, stirring regularly. If it is too thick, add more chicken stock to thin. Cover it, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 1/2 hour on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Oh, Baby! Baby foods that don't break my piggy bank
I am a day nanny. I provide food for the children in my care as part of my service. Excluding formula and breast milk of course! I have found that baby food is an expensive venture. If you increased the portions to adult standards, you would be paying more than dining in a four star restaurant every meal of the day! My make do on less mentality won't allow for that.
I was resistant to the making of baby food. It just seemed like more work than I could handle, on top of meal planning, preparation, baking, and child care. When Joel was a baby, we lived in Big Sandy Montana, and the ranch I was cooking for wouldn't allow me to buy any prepared goods, including baby food. Joel was old enough that he could have whatever we were having, so I ground up (or mashed with a fork) chicken and rice, eggs and bacon, roast and vegetables: whatever I fixed for the ranch hands. It was often disgusting looking, but he loved it.
I am a little better prepared now for making food for babies. I got a little bullet blender for Mother's day last year, with the idea that I would start making smoothies for breakfast. Well, that hasn't happened yet, but I have been able to blend food for 1 year old Shaelyn, and am starting to use it and my immersion blender to prepare ahead foods for new eater Alayna.
Last shopping day, I bought a bag of frozen peas for $1.89 at the store. After thawing, I blended it with the immersion blender, and it has fed Alayna all week. That is a serious savings from the cost of store bought baby food, and it only took a few minutes to prepare. I of course had to taste it for quality control, and found it delicious enough to create a recipe for grown ups from it also:
Fresh Pea Soup
1 bag defrosted frozen peas, blended until smooth
2 cups chicken broth
2 T finely minced fresh mint
1 C plain yogurt
serve cold with cheese and toast. Delicious spring meal at lunch!
I purchased ice cube trays, and spray them with baking spray, and fill them with blended vegetables, if the amount is more than I will use in a few days. Once these little cubes of squash or carrots, etc... are frozen, I pop them out and store them in a zip lock bag. They are great for babies just learning to eat, as they are a perfect serving size, equal to those tiny jars of first foods. My girl Alayna has moved on to eating two at a setting, close to what you'd get in the second stage jars.
1 large sweet potato can provide six meals. I just scrub it clean, and rub the skin with crisco, and wrap it tightly in foil. An hour at 350*F, and it is steamy soft, and can be scraped out of the skin with a metal spoon. It then gets blended with a little water, (or for my 1 year old, a little chicken stock,) and stored in the fridge, or frozen in the ice cube trays.
The best thing about feeding your baby this way, is that you can introduce your child to food not available in the store bought varieties. I have blended spaghetti and sauce, baked potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, swiss chard. My children's palate was developed for more than just bananas and strained peas! They were eaters, from the very start!
We are off to make applesauce today. We like to snack on tart apples, but in our busy lives of late, have waited until they are past the crisp stage. They are still good to eat, just not snapping fresh.
Making of applesauce requires the use of a food mill. The food mill is that contraption that has holes in the bottom, and curved blades that sweep around the inside of the pan to force the ingredients through the holes. It is a real time saver, especially at canning time. I will prepare them this way:
Applesauce
8-10 tart apples cut into wedges
enough water to cover
In a large stock pot, place the apples and water. (Don't bother to remove the skins and core them, as they will be run through the food mill after they are soft.) Cover the pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, until the apples are soft enough to slip off a knife when pierced. In a food mill placed over a large bowl, process the apples through the mill, and either place them in jars for refrigeration, or put them in the freezer. I will reserve part of the applesauce, and season it with cinnamon and a little vanilla for flavor.
You can also make a fresh version by coring and peeling an apple and blending it until smooth, but I would suggest using a sweeter flavored apple for this. It is good to mix tart apple with the flesh and skin of a dark plum, too for the fresh version of plum applesauce.
If you don't have a bullet, you can certainly use a regular blender, or food processor. I find the immersion blender is my favorite tool for blending baby food, IF the food is in a deep sided pan, and I remember not to lift the blender up far enough to splatter myself with hot baby food!
I was resistant to the making of baby food. It just seemed like more work than I could handle, on top of meal planning, preparation, baking, and child care. When Joel was a baby, we lived in Big Sandy Montana, and the ranch I was cooking for wouldn't allow me to buy any prepared goods, including baby food. Joel was old enough that he could have whatever we were having, so I ground up (or mashed with a fork) chicken and rice, eggs and bacon, roast and vegetables: whatever I fixed for the ranch hands. It was often disgusting looking, but he loved it.
I am a little better prepared now for making food for babies. I got a little bullet blender for Mother's day last year, with the idea that I would start making smoothies for breakfast. Well, that hasn't happened yet, but I have been able to blend food for 1 year old Shaelyn, and am starting to use it and my immersion blender to prepare ahead foods for new eater Alayna.
Last shopping day, I bought a bag of frozen peas for $1.89 at the store. After thawing, I blended it with the immersion blender, and it has fed Alayna all week. That is a serious savings from the cost of store bought baby food, and it only took a few minutes to prepare. I of course had to taste it for quality control, and found it delicious enough to create a recipe for grown ups from it also:
Fresh Pea Soup
1 bag defrosted frozen peas, blended until smooth
2 cups chicken broth
2 T finely minced fresh mint
1 C plain yogurt
serve cold with cheese and toast. Delicious spring meal at lunch!
I purchased ice cube trays, and spray them with baking spray, and fill them with blended vegetables, if the amount is more than I will use in a few days. Once these little cubes of squash or carrots, etc... are frozen, I pop them out and store them in a zip lock bag. They are great for babies just learning to eat, as they are a perfect serving size, equal to those tiny jars of first foods. My girl Alayna has moved on to eating two at a setting, close to what you'd get in the second stage jars.
1 large sweet potato can provide six meals. I just scrub it clean, and rub the skin with crisco, and wrap it tightly in foil. An hour at 350*F, and it is steamy soft, and can be scraped out of the skin with a metal spoon. It then gets blended with a little water, (or for my 1 year old, a little chicken stock,) and stored in the fridge, or frozen in the ice cube trays.
The best thing about feeding your baby this way, is that you can introduce your child to food not available in the store bought varieties. I have blended spaghetti and sauce, baked potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, swiss chard. My children's palate was developed for more than just bananas and strained peas! They were eaters, from the very start!
We are off to make applesauce today. We like to snack on tart apples, but in our busy lives of late, have waited until they are past the crisp stage. They are still good to eat, just not snapping fresh.
Making of applesauce requires the use of a food mill. The food mill is that contraption that has holes in the bottom, and curved blades that sweep around the inside of the pan to force the ingredients through the holes. It is a real time saver, especially at canning time. I will prepare them this way:
Applesauce
8-10 tart apples cut into wedges
enough water to cover
In a large stock pot, place the apples and water. (Don't bother to remove the skins and core them, as they will be run through the food mill after they are soft.) Cover the pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, until the apples are soft enough to slip off a knife when pierced. In a food mill placed over a large bowl, process the apples through the mill, and either place them in jars for refrigeration, or put them in the freezer. I will reserve part of the applesauce, and season it with cinnamon and a little vanilla for flavor.
You can also make a fresh version by coring and peeling an apple and blending it until smooth, but I would suggest using a sweeter flavored apple for this. It is good to mix tart apple with the flesh and skin of a dark plum, too for the fresh version of plum applesauce.
If you don't have a bullet, you can certainly use a regular blender, or food processor. I find the immersion blender is my favorite tool for blending baby food, IF the food is in a deep sided pan, and I remember not to lift the blender up far enough to splatter myself with hot baby food!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
More of the Week's Menu at a Glance: Caldo y' Pollo, BBQ Lamb Meatballs, Bisquick Pizza, Lamb Dardanella, Chicken Wings
Here are the rest of this week's recipes. The main lamb dishes, a soup, and my version of chicken wings with less fat, and not fried.
It has been a great week, as we are down to one ewe left to lamb, and she isn't going to do that for a while yet. It has been really warm, so it was a trick to get the hay delivered to the pen, as it was soft and muddy from all the snow melt. I was happy to go get hay, as it meant a rare meal out at the Bull Steakhouse. They have an awesome prime rib sandwich!
As kids, we all loved it when we had pizza. Now, I'm not talking about Pizza Hut, or Dominoes. We didn't have such things here then. I mean thick crusted hamburger pizza made with bisquick. We missed having this for eating out, but here is the recipe:
Bisquick Pizza
2 1/4 C bisquick baking mix
1/4 C cornmeal
2/3 C milk
Mix together, and press into a baking sheet that is coated with oil. Dock, or use your fingers to dent the dough and bake at 450*F for 8 minutes, or until it starts to brown. Take it out of the oven, and top with tomato sauce sprinkled with a tsp of dried basil, a pinch of red pepper, and coarse salt and pepper. Add your favorite toppings. Traditionally, we ate this with browned hamburger, onions and mozzarella cheese. Put it back in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
BBQ Lamb Meatballs
3 pounds ground lamb
1 C buttermilk
1 C dry oatmeal
1 C cracker crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 onion grated
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients lightly. Form into small meatballs, walnut size, and place in a large roaster, or casserole that has been greased. Cover with sauce.
Sauce:
2 C catsup
1/2 C brown sugar, I use splenda brown sugar
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion grated
1 chipotle chili in adobo finely chopped
In a saucepan, combine above ingredients for sauce, and bring to a boil. Pour over lamb, and bake at 350*F for one hour. Great leftover for a meatball sandwich! Yes, you can substitute beef or ground turkey for lamb.
Lamb Dardanella
1 large eggplant peeled, diced, salted, and drained
1 large onion diced
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1 pint/can of stewed tomatoes
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 C feta cheese
Heat oven to 350*F. The original recipe called for American Cheese. If you like it, go ahead and substitute it for the feta. After salting, and draining the eggplant, dry it with a paper towel. This removes any bitter flavor, and keeps it from becoming slimy and too wet in the cooking process. Brown the eggplant and onion in the oil. Remove to a casserole, and drain off the oil. Mix lamb with salt and pepper and rosemary, and form into six patties. Brown in the skillet, and remove to the casserole. Top with tomatoes and parsley, and sprinkle cheese over all. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Serve with flat bread, or potatoes.
My version of Chicken Wings uses boneless breast and thigh meat instead of the wings. It is more of a poaching method, and results in very moist morsels without all that fat from frying!
Chicken Wings
2 pounds boneless, skinless breast or thigh meat from chicken
1 C Frank's hotsauce
2 T butter or chicken broth
In a casserole dish with a lid, place chicken meat that you've cut into bite size pieces. Melt butter in the microwave and mix with hotsauce. Pour over chicken meat, and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400*F for thirty minutes. You can uncover this, and keep them hot on a low burner on the stove, if your casserole dish is safe for that. Otherwise, keep uncovered in the oven on low.
Caldo Y Pollo
This soup can be made quickly from leftover cooked chicken. You could poach the chicken, and shred it to make it from raw chicken also. This is my favorite soup when we go to Sheridan, and eat at Los Agaves. Here is my version:
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 box/quart of chicken stock
1/4 of a yellow onion finely diced
2 tomatoes finely diced
juice of a fresh lime
1 C fresh cilantro leaves
2 Avocados cut in thin wedges
In a stockpot, combine the stock, chicken and vegetables. Simmer, and adjust for seasoning by adding salt and pepper. Just before serving, top soup with cilantro, and squeeze the lime juice. Add Avocado slices to everyone's bowl.
It has been a great week, as we are down to one ewe left to lamb, and she isn't going to do that for a while yet. It has been really warm, so it was a trick to get the hay delivered to the pen, as it was soft and muddy from all the snow melt. I was happy to go get hay, as it meant a rare meal out at the Bull Steakhouse. They have an awesome prime rib sandwich!
As kids, we all loved it when we had pizza. Now, I'm not talking about Pizza Hut, or Dominoes. We didn't have such things here then. I mean thick crusted hamburger pizza made with bisquick. We missed having this for eating out, but here is the recipe:
Bisquick Pizza
2 1/4 C bisquick baking mix
1/4 C cornmeal
2/3 C milk
Mix together, and press into a baking sheet that is coated with oil. Dock, or use your fingers to dent the dough and bake at 450*F for 8 minutes, or until it starts to brown. Take it out of the oven, and top with tomato sauce sprinkled with a tsp of dried basil, a pinch of red pepper, and coarse salt and pepper. Add your favorite toppings. Traditionally, we ate this with browned hamburger, onions and mozzarella cheese. Put it back in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
BBQ Lamb Meatballs
3 pounds ground lamb
1 C buttermilk
1 C dry oatmeal
1 C cracker crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 onion grated
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients lightly. Form into small meatballs, walnut size, and place in a large roaster, or casserole that has been greased. Cover with sauce.
Sauce:
2 C catsup
1/2 C brown sugar, I use splenda brown sugar
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion grated
1 chipotle chili in adobo finely chopped
In a saucepan, combine above ingredients for sauce, and bring to a boil. Pour over lamb, and bake at 350*F for one hour. Great leftover for a meatball sandwich! Yes, you can substitute beef or ground turkey for lamb.
Lamb Dardanella
1 large eggplant peeled, diced, salted, and drained
1 large onion diced
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1 pint/can of stewed tomatoes
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 C feta cheese
Heat oven to 350*F. The original recipe called for American Cheese. If you like it, go ahead and substitute it for the feta. After salting, and draining the eggplant, dry it with a paper towel. This removes any bitter flavor, and keeps it from becoming slimy and too wet in the cooking process. Brown the eggplant and onion in the oil. Remove to a casserole, and drain off the oil. Mix lamb with salt and pepper and rosemary, and form into six patties. Brown in the skillet, and remove to the casserole. Top with tomatoes and parsley, and sprinkle cheese over all. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Serve with flat bread, or potatoes.
My version of Chicken Wings uses boneless breast and thigh meat instead of the wings. It is more of a poaching method, and results in very moist morsels without all that fat from frying!
Chicken Wings
2 pounds boneless, skinless breast or thigh meat from chicken
1 C Frank's hotsauce
2 T butter or chicken broth
In a casserole dish with a lid, place chicken meat that you've cut into bite size pieces. Melt butter in the microwave and mix with hotsauce. Pour over chicken meat, and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400*F for thirty minutes. You can uncover this, and keep them hot on a low burner on the stove, if your casserole dish is safe for that. Otherwise, keep uncovered in the oven on low.
Caldo Y Pollo
This soup can be made quickly from leftover cooked chicken. You could poach the chicken, and shred it to make it from raw chicken also. This is my favorite soup when we go to Sheridan, and eat at Los Agaves. Here is my version:
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 box/quart of chicken stock
1/4 of a yellow onion finely diced
2 tomatoes finely diced
juice of a fresh lime
1 C fresh cilantro leaves
2 Avocados cut in thin wedges
In a stockpot, combine the stock, chicken and vegetables. Simmer, and adjust for seasoning by adding salt and pepper. Just before serving, top soup with cilantro, and squeeze the lime juice. Add Avocado slices to everyone's bowl.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Ballymaloe or Irish Lamb Stew
I never know what to do with lamb blade chops. They have that bone down the middle, and are awkward to eat. So the other day, I roasted six of them in the oven on 350 F for about twenty minutes, flipping them over midway. These chops were heavily seasoned with steak seasoning. I pulled what meat I could off the bones, diced it, and put it and the bones into my big stock pot. I added water to the pan I roasted in, and scraped all the browned bits up to add into the stock pot with the meat and bones. I added a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, and filled the pot two thirds of the way full of water, knowing that I would reduce this volume by at least half before I was done. A big handful of barley went in to help thicken the broth (old Irish trick), and it vigorously boiled for about an hour. I then fished the bones out of the stock with some tongs, and used the lamb stock and meat to make Ballymaloe. Here is the recipe:
Ballymaloe
5-6 red potatoes scrubbed and diced
1 whole onion diced
1 C celery diced
4-5 carrots peeled and diced
1 tsp thyme
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
Add these ingredients to the meat and broth above. Cook on meduim heat uncovered until the carrots and potatoes test done (slip easily from a fork). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
You can also add a small can of tomato paste, or a good cup of red wine if you like, or both.
Ballymaloe
5-6 red potatoes scrubbed and diced
1 whole onion diced
1 C celery diced
4-5 carrots peeled and diced
1 tsp thyme
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
Add these ingredients to the meat and broth above. Cook on meduim heat uncovered until the carrots and potatoes test done (slip easily from a fork). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
You can also add a small can of tomato paste, or a good cup of red wine if you like, or both.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Western Rice and Beans, Soup and Sammich, and Using A Raft to Roast
Rice was my Waterloo as a new bride learning to cook for a family. I usually scorched it, and it came out starchy and clumped together. Then my wonderful friend and neighbor Grace told me the secret of cooking rice. It happily has nothing to do with measuring!
No matter how big the container you are cooking in, nor how much rice you are going to cook, you just need to fill the pot with cold water to cover the rice by 1 inch. Luckily, we have a handy one inch measuring device close at hand. That is to say, our thumb from the tip of the thumb to the first joint is one inch. So, once you pour the water in with the rice, gently shake the pot to level the rice, and measure until you get one inch of water above the rice.
The next tip she gave me was to really wash the rice in cold running water before cooking. With the tap running, you fill the pot with water, and carefully pour off the starchy water until the water is mostly clear. This will ensure your rice cooks up fluffy and not clumpy.
Once you've rinsed and measured the water, put the pot on the stove on high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil. Then add a bit of butter and whatever herbs and seasoning you want at this time. Stir the rice, and cover it with a lid, reducing the heat to a simmer. Now you need to leave it alone. Peek after about ten or fifteen minutes, and start testing for doneness. Once the rice tests done, take it off the heat, and let it sit covered until you are ready to serve. Then fluff with a fork at the last minute. If you stir during the simmering process, you will break the rice, and have a clumpy starchy mess.
Managing My Meat Freezer
We just butchered, so I have put the older meat at the top, and am using it up first. I have to pay attention to my inventory of meat, and do this rotation, or we will end up throwing out freezer burnt items. I had some bulk turkey sausage packages, so I came up with this Wyoming style version of New Orleans Red Beans and Rice. All of the ingredients came from either the pantry or freezer, so I will be looking to use this often in my menu planning.
Western Beans and Rice
1 pkg bulk turkey sausage (you could certainly use pork sausage)
1/2 onion
1/2 C finely chopped celery
1 can Pinto Beans with Jalapenos, or you could use pork & beans and a couple pickled jalapenos
2 C V-8 or tomato juice
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chicken and tomato soup base
Cooked Rice (see above for directions) I started the rice at the same time as the sausage bean mixture, and they were done about the same time. I added in 2 T chicken and tomato soup base to the rice, and it came out a rosy color, with really good flavor.
In a large skillet, brown onion and celery in 2 T oil. Add turkey sausage, and break it up. When turkey is browned, add tomato juice and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until rice tests done, and liquid has been reduced by 1/3. To serve ladle hot rice into bowls, and top with meat and bean mixture. Serve with corn muffins and honey buttah!
Today is soup and sammich day. I usually have fresh vine ripe tomatoes in a bowl on my counter, and I make this Tomato Bisque when the fresh tomatoes start to get a little soft. I cut them in half and place them on a baking sheet cut side up, and season with dried basil and salt and pepper. I drizzle them with olive oil, or spray them with pam, and bake them at 400 F for about fifteen minutes. They are delicious and once chopped, and added to the tomato juice, make an awesome deep flavored tomato soup.
The fresh tomatoes have been crap lately, so I will have to use canned diced tomatoes in their place.
Tomato Soup
4 T olive oil
2 T minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp basil
5 whole cloves
1 jug of v-8 or tomato juice
1 large can/quart of diced tomatoes
1/4 C sugar or splenda
salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan on medium heat, bring the olive oil and minced garlic up to temperature until the garlic just starts to get golden. add other spices, and juice and tomatoes. Add sugar or splenda, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for fifteen minutes.
The Best Ever Tuna Sammich Filling
2 cans tuna in water drained
1/3 onion grated into the tuna
1 pickle grated, or 2 T pickle relish
1 whole tart apple grated
1/3 C mayonnaise
2 heaping T mustard
handful of caper berries drained
1/2 tsp white pepper
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. This is better if made ahead. Today, I will make the sandwiches with spinach wraps, and add thinly sliced red onions, fresh spinach leaves, and some havarti cheese to the filling. It is really good on dark rye bread with slices of apple, and cream cheese on the bread.
I buy bologna in bulk. It seems to have a better flavor, lasts a long time, and is so much better sliced fresh. It is awesome sliced thick and grilled on the grill, but I also like to grind it to make sandwich filling, or for snacking with crackers as an appetizer. I have a meat grinder attachment to my mixer, but you can certainly use a food processor to make it.
I also use this recipe to use up left over roast or chicken, or salmon. I just grind the meat the same, and add in the remaining ingredients.
Cowboy Caviar, or chopped Bologna Sammich Filling
2 C ground bologna
1/2 C shredded or ground cheddar cheese
1/2 onion ground
1 large dill pickle ground
1/2 C mayonaise
3 T stone ground mustard
Store in an airtight container, and use as a sandwich spread, or as a topper for crackers.
Roasting on a Raft
Tonight we are having beef loin. I had originally thawed out lamb chops to grill, but the weather is nasty, so we will eat this beef loin instead.
On a shopping day last month, I happened on to a buy one get one free sale of both marinated pork and beef loin wet packs. I bought several. With the sale price, I paid only about two dollars for each one. Since it is wet pack, I will need to drain off the liquid, and pat it dry before browning it. I will certainly save the liquid to add to the pan later.
To cook it, I will brown it in oil on all sides in my large cast iron skillet. I will remove it and add in thick slices of onion and the reserved meat marinade juices to the skillet. This will be the "raft" the meat sits on to roast in the oven. I will then add the browned loin on top, and season with grill seasoning. This will go in the oven on 450 F for twenty minutes. I will let it rest for ten minutes before slicing it, and serving it with salad and baked potatoes.
I could also use other vegetables to make a raft like sliced potatoes, carrots cut in half or celery sticks. These vegetables will get bathed in meat drippings, and be delicious, and will keep the meat elevated off the surface of the skillet, allowing for more even roasting.
When I roast a whole chicken, I make it in the skillet on a raft of onions just like this. I stuff the inside of the chicken with sliced lemons, and season it with thyme, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper. It makes a lovely Sunday dinner!
No matter how big the container you are cooking in, nor how much rice you are going to cook, you just need to fill the pot with cold water to cover the rice by 1 inch. Luckily, we have a handy one inch measuring device close at hand. That is to say, our thumb from the tip of the thumb to the first joint is one inch. So, once you pour the water in with the rice, gently shake the pot to level the rice, and measure until you get one inch of water above the rice.
The next tip she gave me was to really wash the rice in cold running water before cooking. With the tap running, you fill the pot with water, and carefully pour off the starchy water until the water is mostly clear. This will ensure your rice cooks up fluffy and not clumpy.
Once you've rinsed and measured the water, put the pot on the stove on high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil. Then add a bit of butter and whatever herbs and seasoning you want at this time. Stir the rice, and cover it with a lid, reducing the heat to a simmer. Now you need to leave it alone. Peek after about ten or fifteen minutes, and start testing for doneness. Once the rice tests done, take it off the heat, and let it sit covered until you are ready to serve. Then fluff with a fork at the last minute. If you stir during the simmering process, you will break the rice, and have a clumpy starchy mess.
Managing My Meat Freezer
We just butchered, so I have put the older meat at the top, and am using it up first. I have to pay attention to my inventory of meat, and do this rotation, or we will end up throwing out freezer burnt items. I had some bulk turkey sausage packages, so I came up with this Wyoming style version of New Orleans Red Beans and Rice. All of the ingredients came from either the pantry or freezer, so I will be looking to use this often in my menu planning.
Western Beans and Rice
1 pkg bulk turkey sausage (you could certainly use pork sausage)
1/2 onion
1/2 C finely chopped celery
1 can Pinto Beans with Jalapenos, or you could use pork & beans and a couple pickled jalapenos
2 C V-8 or tomato juice
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chicken and tomato soup base
Cooked Rice (see above for directions) I started the rice at the same time as the sausage bean mixture, and they were done about the same time. I added in 2 T chicken and tomato soup base to the rice, and it came out a rosy color, with really good flavor.
In a large skillet, brown onion and celery in 2 T oil. Add turkey sausage, and break it up. When turkey is browned, add tomato juice and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until rice tests done, and liquid has been reduced by 1/3. To serve ladle hot rice into bowls, and top with meat and bean mixture. Serve with corn muffins and honey buttah!
Today is soup and sammich day. I usually have fresh vine ripe tomatoes in a bowl on my counter, and I make this Tomato Bisque when the fresh tomatoes start to get a little soft. I cut them in half and place them on a baking sheet cut side up, and season with dried basil and salt and pepper. I drizzle them with olive oil, or spray them with pam, and bake them at 400 F for about fifteen minutes. They are delicious and once chopped, and added to the tomato juice, make an awesome deep flavored tomato soup.
The fresh tomatoes have been crap lately, so I will have to use canned diced tomatoes in their place.
Tomato Soup
4 T olive oil
2 T minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp basil
5 whole cloves
1 jug of v-8 or tomato juice
1 large can/quart of diced tomatoes
1/4 C sugar or splenda
salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan on medium heat, bring the olive oil and minced garlic up to temperature until the garlic just starts to get golden. add other spices, and juice and tomatoes. Add sugar or splenda, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for fifteen minutes.
The Best Ever Tuna Sammich Filling
2 cans tuna in water drained
1/3 onion grated into the tuna
1 pickle grated, or 2 T pickle relish
1 whole tart apple grated
1/3 C mayonnaise
2 heaping T mustard
handful of caper berries drained
1/2 tsp white pepper
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. This is better if made ahead. Today, I will make the sandwiches with spinach wraps, and add thinly sliced red onions, fresh spinach leaves, and some havarti cheese to the filling. It is really good on dark rye bread with slices of apple, and cream cheese on the bread.
I buy bologna in bulk. It seems to have a better flavor, lasts a long time, and is so much better sliced fresh. It is awesome sliced thick and grilled on the grill, but I also like to grind it to make sandwich filling, or for snacking with crackers as an appetizer. I have a meat grinder attachment to my mixer, but you can certainly use a food processor to make it.
I also use this recipe to use up left over roast or chicken, or salmon. I just grind the meat the same, and add in the remaining ingredients.
Cowboy Caviar, or chopped Bologna Sammich Filling
2 C ground bologna
1/2 C shredded or ground cheddar cheese
1/2 onion ground
1 large dill pickle ground
1/2 C mayonaise
3 T stone ground mustard
Store in an airtight container, and use as a sandwich spread, or as a topper for crackers.
Roasting on a Raft
Tonight we are having beef loin. I had originally thawed out lamb chops to grill, but the weather is nasty, so we will eat this beef loin instead.
On a shopping day last month, I happened on to a buy one get one free sale of both marinated pork and beef loin wet packs. I bought several. With the sale price, I paid only about two dollars for each one. Since it is wet pack, I will need to drain off the liquid, and pat it dry before browning it. I will certainly save the liquid to add to the pan later.
To cook it, I will brown it in oil on all sides in my large cast iron skillet. I will remove it and add in thick slices of onion and the reserved meat marinade juices to the skillet. This will be the "raft" the meat sits on to roast in the oven. I will then add the browned loin on top, and season with grill seasoning. This will go in the oven on 450 F for twenty minutes. I will let it rest for ten minutes before slicing it, and serving it with salad and baked potatoes.
I could also use other vegetables to make a raft like sliced potatoes, carrots cut in half or celery sticks. These vegetables will get bathed in meat drippings, and be delicious, and will keep the meat elevated off the surface of the skillet, allowing for more even roasting.
When I roast a whole chicken, I make it in the skillet on a raft of onions just like this. I stuff the inside of the chicken with sliced lemons, and season it with thyme, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper. It makes a lovely Sunday dinner!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
and my husband says, "Chicken...again!"
Some people say they eat seasonally, and to some extent we do that. We eat fruits and vegetables in season for the most part, but since we are such a global marketplace any more, we do eat fruit out of season as long as it is cheap.
Actually, the cost of things is my great motivator. I love to try to get by on the smallest food budget I can. I am very competitive by nature, and am always thinking how to do it cheaper and better than I did it before.
When there is a sale on items like meats and fish, I buy in bulk, repackage and freeze, or turbo cook many meals at once to use it up.
I got a great sale on boneless, skinless chicken on my last shopping trip. A huge package of ten oversized breasts. Normally, I would have repackaged most of them for the freezer, but we just butchered, so freezer space for meat is limited.
Chicken Tenders
I took all the breasts and removed the tenderloin strips from the backside of the breasts. These will get dipped in buttermilk, an egg and Frank's hot sauce; rolled in breadcrumbs and baked in the oven for another day's lunch of chicken tenders.
Chicken breast is not my husband's favorite, but he really liked this dish. It is my version of Tortilla Soup, and afforded me an opportunity to use up my homemade chips!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 chipotle pepper diced finely
2 quarts/boxes chicken stock
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 C uncooked rice
fresh cilantro
2 avocados diced
lime wedges
In a large stock pot, brown onion in 2 T olive oil. Add chicken, carrots, and the chipotle pepper, and brown. Deglaze pan with stock, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and add cumin, salt and pepper. When the soup comes to a boil, add rice, and bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for thirty minutes.(At this point, I could freeze this, or cool it and save in the refrigerator for later in the week.) When rice is done, ladle into bowls and top with cilantro, avocado and lime juice. Serve with tortilla chips on top.
I love the peppery sharp taste of lemongrass and fresh ginger. I often can't find fresh lemongrass, but I can always get a tube of prepared lemongrass in the produce section of my grocery store. It saves a lot of pounding and chopping, too!
Asian Chicken and Lemongrass Soup with Udon
3 Chicken Breasts diced in 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion
1 C diced celery
2 quarts/boxes chicken stock
1 C Napa Cabbage
1 carrot peeled and sliced thinly
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
2 heaping T lemongrass in a tube
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp thyme
2 T Nam Pla or fish sauce
1 pkg Udon Noodles, or you can substitute with pasta
Cilantro for garnish
Brown onion and celery in oil until translucent. Add chicken and carrot and brown. Deglaze with stock, and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for one hour. (I could freeze the soup at this point.) Bring back to a boil, and add three portions of Udon Noodles. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Chicken Enchiladas
4 chicken breasts poached:
In 1 quart of water, place chicken with a handful of peppercorns and two bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and cover and simmer. Discard bay leaves and pepper, and save broth for another use. Shred chicken with two forks for this recipe. You could also use roasted chicken shredded.
1 pkg cream cheese softened
1 can store bought cream of chicken soup (the exception to the rule that homemade soup is better. The canned works best in this recipe)
1 small can of diced green chiles
1 pkg corn or flour tortillas
4 C red enchilada sauce
4 scallions chopped
Queso Blanco crumbled
Add softened cream cheese, condensed soup and green chiles and their juice to the shredded chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Fill tortillas with mixture, and place seam side down in a greased jelly roll pan. Top with enchilada sauce, green onions and queso. Cover with foil, and bake at 375 F for forty five minutes, or until filling is hot, and cheese is melty. Serve over rice.
Actually, the cost of things is my great motivator. I love to try to get by on the smallest food budget I can. I am very competitive by nature, and am always thinking how to do it cheaper and better than I did it before.
When there is a sale on items like meats and fish, I buy in bulk, repackage and freeze, or turbo cook many meals at once to use it up.
I got a great sale on boneless, skinless chicken on my last shopping trip. A huge package of ten oversized breasts. Normally, I would have repackaged most of them for the freezer, but we just butchered, so freezer space for meat is limited.
Chicken Tenders
I took all the breasts and removed the tenderloin strips from the backside of the breasts. These will get dipped in buttermilk, an egg and Frank's hot sauce; rolled in breadcrumbs and baked in the oven for another day's lunch of chicken tenders.
Chicken breast is not my husband's favorite, but he really liked this dish. It is my version of Tortilla Soup, and afforded me an opportunity to use up my homemade chips!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 chipotle pepper diced finely
2 quarts/boxes chicken stock
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 C uncooked rice
fresh cilantro
2 avocados diced
lime wedges
In a large stock pot, brown onion in 2 T olive oil. Add chicken, carrots, and the chipotle pepper, and brown. Deglaze pan with stock, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and add cumin, salt and pepper. When the soup comes to a boil, add rice, and bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for thirty minutes.(At this point, I could freeze this, or cool it and save in the refrigerator for later in the week.) When rice is done, ladle into bowls and top with cilantro, avocado and lime juice. Serve with tortilla chips on top.
I love the peppery sharp taste of lemongrass and fresh ginger. I often can't find fresh lemongrass, but I can always get a tube of prepared lemongrass in the produce section of my grocery store. It saves a lot of pounding and chopping, too!
Asian Chicken and Lemongrass Soup with Udon
3 Chicken Breasts diced in 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion
1 C diced celery
2 quarts/boxes chicken stock
1 C Napa Cabbage
1 carrot peeled and sliced thinly
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
2 heaping T lemongrass in a tube
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp thyme
2 T Nam Pla or fish sauce
1 pkg Udon Noodles, or you can substitute with pasta
Cilantro for garnish
Brown onion and celery in oil until translucent. Add chicken and carrot and brown. Deglaze with stock, and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for one hour. (I could freeze the soup at this point.) Bring back to a boil, and add three portions of Udon Noodles. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Chicken Enchiladas
4 chicken breasts poached:
In 1 quart of water, place chicken with a handful of peppercorns and two bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and cover and simmer. Discard bay leaves and pepper, and save broth for another use. Shred chicken with two forks for this recipe. You could also use roasted chicken shredded.
1 pkg cream cheese softened
1 can store bought cream of chicken soup (the exception to the rule that homemade soup is better. The canned works best in this recipe)
1 small can of diced green chiles
1 pkg corn or flour tortillas
4 C red enchilada sauce
4 scallions chopped
Queso Blanco crumbled
Add softened cream cheese, condensed soup and green chiles and their juice to the shredded chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Fill tortillas with mixture, and place seam side down in a greased jelly roll pan. Top with enchilada sauce, green onions and queso. Cover with foil, and bake at 375 F for forty five minutes, or until filling is hot, and cheese is melty. Serve over rice.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Spend Time to Make Time
Life is a little more hectic at our house than usual. I have a new three month old baby, which has totally changed the dynamic of life with the almost three year old, and the ten month old that I am day nanny for. They are having a hard time with the sharing of attention with the new little one. She is a little blessing, and such a mellow, easy going baby, so that has helped me.
Also, I am backlogged on my bookkeeping, and housekeeping after being punky before and after surgery in November. I am glad to report, I feel SO much better, and am getting stronger every day. It's been a long hard haul, though.
We are just on the cusp of our lambing, so we've started checking ewes. That is logistically challenging, as they are in the sheep pasture five miles from our home. As things start to heat up in the lambing corrals, my life will be "foot feeder to the floor" so to speak. I have to plan a little to make it manageable. Turbo cooking can really save me at this time of the year.
I am a huge fan of rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. I discovered at a local grocery store, that once the chickens are pulled from the heated case, they are drastically discounted, and in the cold case. For less than the price per pound for raw chicken, I can get tender and moist roasted chicken already cooled and ready for meal preparation. Now, I am not big on already prepared foods, but I love this one.
So, on Thursday, my son Joel and I turbo cooked several meals from the two roast chickens we bought on our last shopping day. We produced food for three lunches and a dinner, and put away two more meals in the freezer.
Chicken Stock
is freezer and refrigerator star. It can easily be made from the carcass left from harvesting the chicken meat. Bones that have been roasted with the meat on are the best for stock, so don't throw that chicken carcass away! I cover the carcasses with water an inch above them, and add a half an onion, some celery chopped, and a couple chunked up carrots. The only seasoning for me at this point is a hand full of peppercorns, three bay leaves, and a tsp of thyme or poultry seasoning. I cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. It then goes covered on the simmer burner on low for several hours, until the carcass falls apart and gives up the last of it's meaty bits. I then pour the contents into another large pot that has a colander in it. After it cools a bit, I sift through the contents of the colander, removing the last of the meat, and throw the rest away. The vegetables used to flavor the stock have given their all, and are too soft to use. I now have several quarts of stock to store in my fridge or put in the freezer.
Cream of _?__ Soup
I am not a big fan of canned soup. I know most people use it for casseroles, but I don't like the flavor, the salt content, or the price of it. I can make a cream soup in about ten minutes on my stove, so I choose to do that instead. If you can make gravy, you can make cream soup. The only difference in the two is that you don't add as much liquid to gravy.
For instance, I made cream of chicken soup from chicken stock (see above) and milk- no cream for the chicken pot pie. It is silky and lovely, and if I wished could be lunch on it's own. I start with a half a stick of butter melted in my skillet cooked with a couple heaping tablespoons of flour, and cooked until it is foamy, turns golden brown and smells nutty. With a wire whisk, I start adding chicken stock, adding small additions, and smoothing out the gravy/soup before adding more. After a quart has been added, I'll add in 2 cups of milk, and stir on the heat until it bubbles. I will season to taste with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning, and adjust the consistency at this point by adding more stock as necessary. For pot pie I stop at a medium bodied gravy. I have potatoes in this dish, and they will tighten up the liquid during cooking. If you wish to use canned soups for my recipes, just substitute one can of soup, and a half a can of water or milk.
MEAL NUMBER ONE-
Chicken Pot Pie
1 1/2 C pulled chicken
3 Carrots diced in one inch chunks
2 Potatoes diced in one inch chunks
1/2 yellow onion diced
1/2 bag frozen green beans
1 C diced celery
salt and pepper to taste, or I use Mrs. Dash regular
Homemade cream of chicken soup (see above)
In a greased 9x13 pan, put all the ingredients above, and pour over the chicken soup. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 F for one hour. At this point, you can cool the pan, and freeze it for later use. On the day you use it, place it in the oven until it is hot and bubbly at 350 F, and then top with your favorite biscuits. Return to the oven and cook until biscuits are golden brown, about ten minutes.
We ate ours the same day, so I just took off the foil and added buttermilk biscuits to the top after the one hour cooking time. This made awesome lunch for two more days, and was even better reheated.
MEAL NUMBER TWO-
Chicken Noodle Soup
2 quarts/boxes chicken stock
1 quart water
2 T chicken soup base, or two bullion cubes
2 carrots diced
1/2 yellow onion
2 T oil
2 stalks of celery diced
1 bay leaf
1 C pulled chicken meat
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 bag whole wheat egg noodles
In a large pot, brown onions in oil. Add in remaining ingredients except noodles. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer until vegetables are tender. Bring back to a boil, and add noodles.
This made a great lunch, and also put two quarts of soup in the freezer.
Cream Soup Cont...
For meal number three, I made cream of mushroom soup. I browned two packages of sliced button mushrooms in 2 T butter. I removed them from the pan, started my rue of butter and flour, and then added mushroom stock. (This was made from soaking dried mushrooms in boiling water. I reserved the mushrooms for another meal, and carefully poured off the broth, leaving the gritty bits in the bowl.) I add two cups of milk, and adjust with more broth or water to get the desired medium bodied gravy thickness, and season with salt and pepper. You can certainly substitute with canned soup and a half a can of water for this recipe.
MEAL NUMBER THREE-
Chicken Casserole with Mushrooms, Artichokes and Asparagus
1 pkg whole wheat pasta shells, cooked and drained
1 pkg frozen artichoke hearts
2 bunches of asparagus, with bottom ends removed (DON'T throw these away, I boiled them in 1 1/2 quarts water and blended them with my hand blender to make broth for cream of asparagus soup we'll eat later in the week)
2 pkgs sliced button mushrooms
2 C pulled cooked chicken
homemade mushroom soup (see above)
Cook pasta and drain into a colander in which you have placed the frozen artichokes to defrost them quickly. Fill the same pot with water again, and bring to a boil. Salt water and blanch asparagus until it turns bright green. Drain into the colander with pasta and artichokes.
In a greased roaster pan, add chicken, pasta and vegetables, and pour over mushroom gravy. At this point, I cooled it, and it went into the refrigerator for Sunday dinner. I could also freeze it. On the day I serve it, I'll top it with 1 C seasoned breadcrumbs mixed with 1/3 C Parmesan cheese and cook it uncovered in a 350F oven until it is bubbly, about twenty minutes. The vegetables are all cooked, so it is just a matter of heating it through and browning the top.
Also, I am backlogged on my bookkeeping, and housekeeping after being punky before and after surgery in November. I am glad to report, I feel SO much better, and am getting stronger every day. It's been a long hard haul, though.
We are just on the cusp of our lambing, so we've started checking ewes. That is logistically challenging, as they are in the sheep pasture five miles from our home. As things start to heat up in the lambing corrals, my life will be "foot feeder to the floor" so to speak. I have to plan a little to make it manageable. Turbo cooking can really save me at this time of the year.
I am a huge fan of rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. I discovered at a local grocery store, that once the chickens are pulled from the heated case, they are drastically discounted, and in the cold case. For less than the price per pound for raw chicken, I can get tender and moist roasted chicken already cooled and ready for meal preparation. Now, I am not big on already prepared foods, but I love this one.
So, on Thursday, my son Joel and I turbo cooked several meals from the two roast chickens we bought on our last shopping day. We produced food for three lunches and a dinner, and put away two more meals in the freezer.
Chicken Stock
is freezer and refrigerator star. It can easily be made from the carcass left from harvesting the chicken meat. Bones that have been roasted with the meat on are the best for stock, so don't throw that chicken carcass away! I cover the carcasses with water an inch above them, and add a half an onion, some celery chopped, and a couple chunked up carrots. The only seasoning for me at this point is a hand full of peppercorns, three bay leaves, and a tsp of thyme or poultry seasoning. I cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. It then goes covered on the simmer burner on low for several hours, until the carcass falls apart and gives up the last of it's meaty bits. I then pour the contents into another large pot that has a colander in it. After it cools a bit, I sift through the contents of the colander, removing the last of the meat, and throw the rest away. The vegetables used to flavor the stock have given their all, and are too soft to use. I now have several quarts of stock to store in my fridge or put in the freezer.
Cream of _?__ Soup
I am not a big fan of canned soup. I know most people use it for casseroles, but I don't like the flavor, the salt content, or the price of it. I can make a cream soup in about ten minutes on my stove, so I choose to do that instead. If you can make gravy, you can make cream soup. The only difference in the two is that you don't add as much liquid to gravy.
For instance, I made cream of chicken soup from chicken stock (see above) and milk- no cream for the chicken pot pie. It is silky and lovely, and if I wished could be lunch on it's own. I start with a half a stick of butter melted in my skillet cooked with a couple heaping tablespoons of flour, and cooked until it is foamy, turns golden brown and smells nutty. With a wire whisk, I start adding chicken stock, adding small additions, and smoothing out the gravy/soup before adding more. After a quart has been added, I'll add in 2 cups of milk, and stir on the heat until it bubbles. I will season to taste with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning, and adjust the consistency at this point by adding more stock as necessary. For pot pie I stop at a medium bodied gravy. I have potatoes in this dish, and they will tighten up the liquid during cooking. If you wish to use canned soups for my recipes, just substitute one can of soup, and a half a can of water or milk.
MEAL NUMBER ONE-
Chicken Pot Pie
1 1/2 C pulled chicken
3 Carrots diced in one inch chunks
2 Potatoes diced in one inch chunks
1/2 yellow onion diced
1/2 bag frozen green beans
1 C diced celery
salt and pepper to taste, or I use Mrs. Dash regular
Homemade cream of chicken soup (see above)
In a greased 9x13 pan, put all the ingredients above, and pour over the chicken soup. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 F for one hour. At this point, you can cool the pan, and freeze it for later use. On the day you use it, place it in the oven until it is hot and bubbly at 350 F, and then top with your favorite biscuits. Return to the oven and cook until biscuits are golden brown, about ten minutes.
We ate ours the same day, so I just took off the foil and added buttermilk biscuits to the top after the one hour cooking time. This made awesome lunch for two more days, and was even better reheated.
MEAL NUMBER TWO-
Chicken Noodle Soup
2 quarts/boxes chicken stock
1 quart water
2 T chicken soup base, or two bullion cubes
2 carrots diced
1/2 yellow onion
2 T oil
2 stalks of celery diced
1 bay leaf
1 C pulled chicken meat
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 bag whole wheat egg noodles
In a large pot, brown onions in oil. Add in remaining ingredients except noodles. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer until vegetables are tender. Bring back to a boil, and add noodles.
This made a great lunch, and also put two quarts of soup in the freezer.
Cream Soup Cont...
For meal number three, I made cream of mushroom soup. I browned two packages of sliced button mushrooms in 2 T butter. I removed them from the pan, started my rue of butter and flour, and then added mushroom stock. (This was made from soaking dried mushrooms in boiling water. I reserved the mushrooms for another meal, and carefully poured off the broth, leaving the gritty bits in the bowl.) I add two cups of milk, and adjust with more broth or water to get the desired medium bodied gravy thickness, and season with salt and pepper. You can certainly substitute with canned soup and a half a can of water for this recipe.
MEAL NUMBER THREE-
Chicken Casserole with Mushrooms, Artichokes and Asparagus
1 pkg whole wheat pasta shells, cooked and drained
1 pkg frozen artichoke hearts
2 bunches of asparagus, with bottom ends removed (DON'T throw these away, I boiled them in 1 1/2 quarts water and blended them with my hand blender to make broth for cream of asparagus soup we'll eat later in the week)
2 pkgs sliced button mushrooms
2 C pulled cooked chicken
homemade mushroom soup (see above)
Cook pasta and drain into a colander in which you have placed the frozen artichokes to defrost them quickly. Fill the same pot with water again, and bring to a boil. Salt water and blanch asparagus until it turns bright green. Drain into the colander with pasta and artichokes.
In a greased roaster pan, add chicken, pasta and vegetables, and pour over mushroom gravy. At this point, I cooled it, and it went into the refrigerator for Sunday dinner. I could also freeze it. On the day I serve it, I'll top it with 1 C seasoned breadcrumbs mixed with 1/3 C Parmesan cheese and cook it uncovered in a 350F oven until it is bubbly, about twenty minutes. The vegetables are all cooked, so it is just a matter of heating it through and browning the top.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Japanese Style Noodle Bowl - Reprint for a friend
My sure fire feel good food for the cold and flu season is Japanese style noodle bowl. Very easy and fast to make, and there's nothing like the vapor powers of ginger and garlic steaming you as you slurp the noodles. Yes, it is a cultural requirement to slurp (I love that part best!!!)
Here is my version. It contains Miso paste, which I find at my local health food store. To use miso, mix it with a small amount of hot liquid, and mash it with the back of a spoon to get it to dissolve.
If I have time, I will steep some Kombu in the broth and remove it before making the soup. This is a fragrant edible sea kelp that has a lovely flavor and taste, but you can make it without. Kombu is found at my local health food store.
1 1/2 quart/box of chicken stock (unsalted is best as miso is salty)1 heaping T miso paste
1 tsp minced garlic
3 T fish sauce
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 C T low sodium soy sauce
Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer the above ingredients in a saucepan. In a large pot, boil 1 pkg. of udon noodles in salted water. (If you can't find or don't have udon, you can substitute any long style pasta like linguini or spaghetti.) Drain and reserve.
The last minute of cooking the broth, I stir up three raw eggs in a small bowl, and stream in to the simmering soup.
To serve, use a deep sided bowl, and layer in noodles, fresh spinach if you like, and the hot broth. Serve with chopsticks, and slurp, slurp!!!
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Day Before Shopping Day Turbo Cook
They say that life is what happens when you are making other plans. This is so true of our busy hectic life. I don't always get to stay true to my menu plans, and often improvise and make a quicker, simpler meal than the one I planned for.
If items are on sale, I will stock up on them, and that changes my menu dynamic also. For instance, ground chuck was on sale the last time I shopped as a buy one package, get one free. That made it cost about a dollar and change per pound, so I bought two of the largest packages. One whole package got divided, and placed in plastic, and wrapped for the freezer. Half of the other package went into the making of the Beef Ancho Chili for Joel's birthday party. (See recipe on Spaghetti Western post) That leaves me with a pound of beef that needs used up.
I overestimated amounts for fresh vegetables like celery and zucchini. They need to be used or figured into the plan for this next week to come. I have sweet onions that are starting to soften a bit, and they need to be used up also. I had planned on using leftover meat from the taco bar to make a stir fry of broccoli and cauliflower, but there was none left over, so I will need to use those up also. I prep the broccoli and cauliflower for quick cooking by cutting it up and putting it into tupperware containers. The head of red cabbage left in the crisper also gets shredded for use as either coleslaw, or cooked sweet and sour cabbage for this next week. I have found that if I ready these things, I am more apt to use them at the end of a long busy day than if I have to prep them at meal time.
So yesterday, we spent the day making room for fresh by using up the produce from our last shopping trip.
I often do what I call turbo cooking. I plan one large span of time, a whole morning, or sometimes most of one day, to make ahead and use up what I have. It seems like a big commitment when you first start doing so, but the savings in time and money more than make up for it in the long run.
Here is the products of our morning of turbo cooking:
French Onion Soup
4 large sweet onions sliced thinly
2 T butter
6 C beef stock
pinch of red pepper flake
In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute the onions and butter over medium heat until they are brown and carmelized in flavor. Add beef stock and red pepper, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
At this point, I cool this and pack it into canning jars leaving 1 inch headspace. I use plastic lids you can buy for canning jar storage, and either store it in the refrigerator for use in the next week, or freeze it.
To serve, heat the onion soup to a boil. Pour into large ramekins, or soup bowls and top with a crusty piece of sliced bread, and some sliced swiss cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet, and put under the broiler until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Hamburg Stew - A family favorite using up my leftover hamburger, zucchini, and celery. This can be made with any kind of vegetable, and I have made it often using up leftover spaghetti sauce in place of the hamburger and canned tomatoes. Most of the time the vegetables consist of carrots, onions and potatoes, but we have vegetables that need used this time.
Hamburg Stew
1 pound browned burger
1/2 onion diced
4 small zucchinis diced
4 carrots peeled and diced
1 C celery
1 can low salt corn and it's liquid
1 small can fire roasted tomatoes
1 large can/quart of tomatoes
1 C red wine (party leftovers)
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tsp italian herb seasoning
2 C v-8 or tomato juice
In a skillet, brown meat and remove to stock pot. Add in onion, carrot and celery in the skillet, and cook until they are translucent. Add wine and scrape up bits from the pan. Add to stockpot along with all the other ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for two hours or longer to develop a rich flavor.
I have about a cup and a half of Pico de Gallo left from Joel's birthday party, so I used it to make a spicy, creamy dressing for this cold pasta salad. We are going out of town tomorrow, to rope in Thermopolis, so I will take this along in the cooler for our lunch.
When I use canned chipotle peppers in a recipe, I never use more than ONE pepper. They are fiery hot, so I usually have them on hand in a glass refrigerator container. If they start to get a little dry, I add some vinegar to keep them moist. The liquid they are packed in is very good for seasoning things you wouldn't want pieces of pepper in, and it gives a smoky heat to the dressing for this salad.
Southwestern Pasta Salad
1C pico de gallo, or jarred salsa
1 C buttermilk ranch dressing
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 tsp sauce from canned chipotle peppers
1 can whole corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 container of cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 C sliced black olives
1/2 red onion sliced thinly
1 C shredded mexican blend cheese (leftover from Joel's party)
1/2 tsp tajin seasoning, or a pinch of chili powder, and some lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 box short cut whole grain pasta cooked and drained
In the bottom of a large tupperware, mix the buttermilk ranch, pico de gallo, mayo and chipotle sauce until well blended. Add the remaining ingredients, and keep cool until serving.
I have two quarts of enchilada sauce left from my party last weekend, so I soaked a pound of dry beans overnight and made this dish in the slow cooker. The pork is a lean pork loin that I had in the freezer, and I will pull it out when it tests done, to cool and slice thinly for sandwiches this weekend. It will give pork flavor to my beans, and since it is still frozen, will be moist and flavored by the enchilada sauce also. I could also cook the meat longer, and shred it for chalupas or a big pan of enchiladas for the coming week if I liked. The idea is that I am getting double duty from my one use of the slow cooker. I will have Chili Beans for a side dish for several meals, or as a base for a chili, and also get the meat cooked at the same time. It saves on dishes, which tickles me to no end!
Pork and Beans (kind of) or Chili Beans and Braised Pork Loin
1 pound of white or pinto beans, soaked overnight in double the amount of cold water, and rinsed
2 diced carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 diced onion
1 chipotle pepper diced
6 C red enchilada sauce
2 C tomato juice or V-8
3 stalks of fresh thyme (leftover from making pickles) I just put these in whole, and retrieve the stems after cooking. The little leaves fall off in the liquid.
2 bay leaves
1 pound pork loin seasoned with salt and pepper
In a large slow cooker, place all ingredients, making sure the pork loin is on top. I didn't brown this loin, nor did I even defrost it, I just put it in frozen. It will absorb the liquid and be moist and flavored. Cook on high heat until the pork tests done (165 F) with probe, and then continue cooking the beans on low heat for 10-12 hours.
These freeze well, and are good as a side dish for grilled meat, or as a meal with boiled rice.
If items are on sale, I will stock up on them, and that changes my menu dynamic also. For instance, ground chuck was on sale the last time I shopped as a buy one package, get one free. That made it cost about a dollar and change per pound, so I bought two of the largest packages. One whole package got divided, and placed in plastic, and wrapped for the freezer. Half of the other package went into the making of the Beef Ancho Chili for Joel's birthday party. (See recipe on Spaghetti Western post) That leaves me with a pound of beef that needs used up.
I overestimated amounts for fresh vegetables like celery and zucchini. They need to be used or figured into the plan for this next week to come. I have sweet onions that are starting to soften a bit, and they need to be used up also. I had planned on using leftover meat from the taco bar to make a stir fry of broccoli and cauliflower, but there was none left over, so I will need to use those up also. I prep the broccoli and cauliflower for quick cooking by cutting it up and putting it into tupperware containers. The head of red cabbage left in the crisper also gets shredded for use as either coleslaw, or cooked sweet and sour cabbage for this next week. I have found that if I ready these things, I am more apt to use them at the end of a long busy day than if I have to prep them at meal time.
So yesterday, we spent the day making room for fresh by using up the produce from our last shopping trip.
I often do what I call turbo cooking. I plan one large span of time, a whole morning, or sometimes most of one day, to make ahead and use up what I have. It seems like a big commitment when you first start doing so, but the savings in time and money more than make up for it in the long run.
Here is the products of our morning of turbo cooking:
French Onion Soup
4 large sweet onions sliced thinly
2 T butter
6 C beef stock
pinch of red pepper flake
In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute the onions and butter over medium heat until they are brown and carmelized in flavor. Add beef stock and red pepper, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
At this point, I cool this and pack it into canning jars leaving 1 inch headspace. I use plastic lids you can buy for canning jar storage, and either store it in the refrigerator for use in the next week, or freeze it.
To serve, heat the onion soup to a boil. Pour into large ramekins, or soup bowls and top with a crusty piece of sliced bread, and some sliced swiss cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet, and put under the broiler until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Hamburg Stew - A family favorite using up my leftover hamburger, zucchini, and celery. This can be made with any kind of vegetable, and I have made it often using up leftover spaghetti sauce in place of the hamburger and canned tomatoes. Most of the time the vegetables consist of carrots, onions and potatoes, but we have vegetables that need used this time.
Hamburg Stew
1 pound browned burger
1/2 onion diced
4 small zucchinis diced
4 carrots peeled and diced
1 C celery
1 can low salt corn and it's liquid
1 small can fire roasted tomatoes
1 large can/quart of tomatoes
1 C red wine (party leftovers)
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tsp italian herb seasoning
2 C v-8 or tomato juice
In a skillet, brown meat and remove to stock pot. Add in onion, carrot and celery in the skillet, and cook until they are translucent. Add wine and scrape up bits from the pan. Add to stockpot along with all the other ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for two hours or longer to develop a rich flavor.
I have about a cup and a half of Pico de Gallo left from Joel's birthday party, so I used it to make a spicy, creamy dressing for this cold pasta salad. We are going out of town tomorrow, to rope in Thermopolis, so I will take this along in the cooler for our lunch.
When I use canned chipotle peppers in a recipe, I never use more than ONE pepper. They are fiery hot, so I usually have them on hand in a glass refrigerator container. If they start to get a little dry, I add some vinegar to keep them moist. The liquid they are packed in is very good for seasoning things you wouldn't want pieces of pepper in, and it gives a smoky heat to the dressing for this salad.
Southwestern Pasta Salad
1C pico de gallo, or jarred salsa
1 C buttermilk ranch dressing
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 tsp sauce from canned chipotle peppers
1 can whole corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 container of cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 C sliced black olives
1/2 red onion sliced thinly
1 C shredded mexican blend cheese (leftover from Joel's party)
1/2 tsp tajin seasoning, or a pinch of chili powder, and some lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 box short cut whole grain pasta cooked and drained
In the bottom of a large tupperware, mix the buttermilk ranch, pico de gallo, mayo and chipotle sauce until well blended. Add the remaining ingredients, and keep cool until serving.
I have two quarts of enchilada sauce left from my party last weekend, so I soaked a pound of dry beans overnight and made this dish in the slow cooker. The pork is a lean pork loin that I had in the freezer, and I will pull it out when it tests done, to cool and slice thinly for sandwiches this weekend. It will give pork flavor to my beans, and since it is still frozen, will be moist and flavored by the enchilada sauce also. I could also cook the meat longer, and shred it for chalupas or a big pan of enchiladas for the coming week if I liked. The idea is that I am getting double duty from my one use of the slow cooker. I will have Chili Beans for a side dish for several meals, or as a base for a chili, and also get the meat cooked at the same time. It saves on dishes, which tickles me to no end!
Pork and Beans (kind of) or Chili Beans and Braised Pork Loin
1 pound of white or pinto beans, soaked overnight in double the amount of cold water, and rinsed
2 diced carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 diced onion
1 chipotle pepper diced
6 C red enchilada sauce
2 C tomato juice or V-8
3 stalks of fresh thyme (leftover from making pickles) I just put these in whole, and retrieve the stems after cooking. The little leaves fall off in the liquid.
2 bay leaves
1 pound pork loin seasoned with salt and pepper
In a large slow cooker, place all ingredients, making sure the pork loin is on top. I didn't brown this loin, nor did I even defrost it, I just put it in frozen. It will absorb the liquid and be moist and flavored. Cook on high heat until the pork tests done (165 F) with probe, and then continue cooking the beans on low heat for 10-12 hours.
These freeze well, and are good as a side dish for grilled meat, or as a meal with boiled rice.
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