Dang it! I did not remember to take pictures, again! Now that I think I've gotten into the swing of blogging, I'm steppin it up. Soon, I promise, pictures are coming soon. Not promising they will be good...
I usually don't like jerk sauces, and I'm not really sure what made me bookmark this page one day. Nothing really stood out about it. But then D said our goal for the summer should be to make something with a habanero. And what do you know? This recipe used a habanero! So I made it. And it...was...so...good! It was sweet, and spicy (with spices), not so hot--I know, I know. You're saying "not so hot?! There was a habanero in there!". Well, maybe this wasn't really a habanero (I blame the grocery stores for poor labeling), but I wasn't about to try some of it to find out. There was also a lot of sugar in this recipe. Maybe it just canceled out the heat. I also ended up having to strain the sauce cause my food processor didn't really puree it and more just left everything in big chunks. So the heat may have just not gotten into the sauce. Either way, I will add more next time.
Jerk Chicken Wings
1 habanero, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice (I used 2 limes)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbls sugar
2 t fennel seed
2 t cayenne pepper
2 t allspice
2 t dried thyme
3 slices fresh ginger
Chicken wings (I don't really know how many the sauce would really cover. I only used 8, but there was sauce left)
Put everything in a food processor except the ginger. Pour the sauce in a pot, add the ginger, and heat on medium heat about 10 minutes. Bake the wings (tossed in a little oil) at 425 degrees on a wire rack on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Flip the wings, bake another 20 minutes. Put the wings in a bowl and strain the sauce onto the wings.
Hot Wings
I really love good hot wings. Just plain buffalo wings. But I can't find a good recipe. The first one I tried used way too much butter and was just greasy with no heat. This one had too much vinegar in it. Without so much vinegar it might be good. I would be willing to give it another shot. It at least had some heat to it.
6 Tbls butter
6 Tbls hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Worcestershire
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbls white wine vinegar
Heat over medium until the butter melts. Toss with the chicken wings.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Vegetable Tian
D and I were watching Iron Chef America one night, and Bobby Flay made a dish that looked so good I decided to try and make it. Ok, it's not that this was the only dish I have seen on Iron Chef that I thought was worth trying. It's the only one that I actually knew what was in the dish, and thought I could make it. I mean, have you seen some of the stuff they make? Sorry, I don't have an immersion circulator. Hell, I don't even have a potato masher!
I had tried to make this dish once before. It did not turn out so well. As in, my potatoes never cooked. Never! And, it was a little bland. So I had some new tactics for this time around! And you know what? It worked! The potatoes cooked and it was mmm mmm gooood.
I don't know where I got the proportions of vegetables that I used though. What I had written down (taken from my first attempt and other similar recipes found online) was 2 potatoes, 2 zucchini, and 2 tomatoes. Well I ended up with about 1 potato and 1 zucchini left, already sliced. So I just sliced the potatoes the other way to make little french fries and baked them with the tian. The zucchinis are going to be battered and fried tomorrow.
Vegetable Tian
1 potato, thinly sliced (1/8 in.)
1 zucchini, thinly sliced (1/8 in.)
2 tomatoes, sliced (1/4 in.)
2 Tbls olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced very thin
koser salt & black pepper
1 1/2 tsp thyme (1/2 tsp for each layer)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (1/3 on each layer)
1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the potato slices with the olive oil. Layer the potatoes on the bottom of an 8x8-in. casserole dish (overlapping a little). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, and parmesan cheese. Next layer the zucchini slices and sprinkle them the same. Then layer the tomato slices, sprinkle them the same, then add the breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
I had tried to make this dish once before. It did not turn out so well. As in, my potatoes never cooked. Never! And, it was a little bland. So I had some new tactics for this time around! And you know what? It worked! The potatoes cooked and it was mmm mmm gooood.
I don't know where I got the proportions of vegetables that I used though. What I had written down (taken from my first attempt and other similar recipes found online) was 2 potatoes, 2 zucchini, and 2 tomatoes. Well I ended up with about 1 potato and 1 zucchini left, already sliced. So I just sliced the potatoes the other way to make little french fries and baked them with the tian. The zucchinis are going to be battered and fried tomorrow.
Vegetable Tian
1 potato, thinly sliced (1/8 in.)
1 zucchini, thinly sliced (1/8 in.)
2 tomatoes, sliced (1/4 in.)
2 Tbls olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced very thin
koser salt & black pepper
1 1/2 tsp thyme (1/2 tsp for each layer)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (1/3 on each layer)
1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the potato slices with the olive oil. Layer the potatoes on the bottom of an 8x8-in. casserole dish (overlapping a little). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, and parmesan cheese. Next layer the zucchini slices and sprinkle them the same. Then layer the tomato slices, sprinkle them the same, then add the breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Roast Beef Sandwiches
To make this, I followed a recipe I found for French Dip sandwiches. I was really excited about it. I'm not a huge roast beef fan, but when the cheese melts to the bread to make it chewy and then the rest of the bread soaks up the au jus, then I'm a roast beef fan! It turned out good, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Our sandwiches turned out to be more like pulled beef sandwiches. I couldn't slice the meat at all. As soon as I touched it, it all just fell apart. It was a task just to get the sucker out of the crock pot. Not that that's a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting.
After last night's battle with the pierogies I was so ready to just throw stuff in the crock pot and let it go. D got the crock pot for Christmas (I think his mom was trying to make cooking as easy as possible for him, haha) but hadn't used it at all. So throughout the day it started to smell like burning rubber/plastic, I started to freak out but luckily we still had the instructions and it said it was normal. Just not appetizing. I thought there was no way I could screw anything up, but then I tried to toast our buns and cheese. I had never used the broiler before. IT IS VERY HOT!!! No joke, within 5 minutes the buns were completely burnt and (if we had fire alarms...) they would have been going off like crazy! It was no biggie since we had more bread and cheese, but D was so paranoid about it burning again he just turned the over on and kept setting the timer for 1 minute over and over and over again. Haha. So the buns ended up barely toasted and the cheese wasn't melted. I think next week our meal plan is just going to say salad, salad, salad. I feel like we have been eating a lot of heavy foods lately. I just never know what light, "summer food" is. Any suggestions?
Roast Beef Sandwiches
3.5 lb beef chuck roast
1 onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
16 oz. beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and black pepper
Wheat rolls
Provolone cheese
Cut any excess fat from the chuck roast. Rub all over with salt and pepper. Pour beef broth and red wine into crock pot. Add garlic, garlic powder, and bay leaf. Now add the roast and place the onion pieces on the sides. Cook on low 6-8 hours (I cooked mine 6). Remove from crock pot and let rest under aluminum foil. Slice (ha!). Strain cooking liquid for au jus and salt it to taste. Place provolone on the rolls and toast them in the oven. Enjoy!
Served with vegetable tian.
After last night's battle with the pierogies I was so ready to just throw stuff in the crock pot and let it go. D got the crock pot for Christmas (I think his mom was trying to make cooking as easy as possible for him, haha) but hadn't used it at all. So throughout the day it started to smell like burning rubber/plastic, I started to freak out but luckily we still had the instructions and it said it was normal. Just not appetizing. I thought there was no way I could screw anything up, but then I tried to toast our buns and cheese. I had never used the broiler before. IT IS VERY HOT!!! No joke, within 5 minutes the buns were completely burnt and (if we had fire alarms...) they would have been going off like crazy! It was no biggie since we had more bread and cheese, but D was so paranoid about it burning again he just turned the over on and kept setting the timer for 1 minute over and over and over again. Haha. So the buns ended up barely toasted and the cheese wasn't melted. I think next week our meal plan is just going to say salad, salad, salad. I feel like we have been eating a lot of heavy foods lately. I just never know what light, "summer food" is. Any suggestions?
Roast Beef Sandwiches
3.5 lb beef chuck roast
1 onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
16 oz. beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and black pepper
Wheat rolls
Provolone cheese
Cut any excess fat from the chuck roast. Rub all over with salt and pepper. Pour beef broth and red wine into crock pot. Add garlic, garlic powder, and bay leaf. Now add the roast and place the onion pieces on the sides. Cook on low 6-8 hours (I cooked mine 6). Remove from crock pot and let rest under aluminum foil. Slice (ha!). Strain cooking liquid for au jus and salt it to taste. Place provolone on the rolls and toast them in the oven. Enjoy!
Served with vegetable tian.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Beer Brats & Pierogies
Every since we went to Cleveland last December and had pierogies there D has been dying for me to make them. There's no where around here, that I know of, that serves them. In fact, we had never even heard of them before. But he really loved them (of course he did, they had potatoes in them!) and since I really love him, I found a recipe online for them. They turned out...alright. I thought they were way more trouble than they were worth and am hoping I can manage to not ever make them again. Honestly, the filling was the best part. And I plan on eating the rest of it just as mashed potatoes. The recipe also called for boiling and pan frying the pierogies. Which just didn't make a lot of sense to me. I mean, the filling is already cooked, so all you have to do is cook the dough. Actually now that I think about it I would probably like them more if they were just baked.
The brats, on the other hand, were delicious. They were very moist and the casing was all crispy and oh...just amazing. But let me tell you, it was a hard thing to give up 6 (six!) beers and 2 sticks of butter to the cooking liquid. Luckily both the beer and brats were on sale, so it was still a pretty cheap meal. Especially since it made so much. We both agreed that we didn't really get the beer taste from the brats. So I'd be interested to see if I could just use water. I have just grilled brats before, but was always worried about them being done all the way through, and the boiling makes sure they're done and still moist.
Beer Brats
2 lbs bratwurst sausages
1 onion, sliced
2 sticks butter
6 beers (72 oz. total)
Put everything together in a big pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then move the brats to the grill and brown on all sides. Easy!
Potato & Cheese Pierogies
For the dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 stick butter, softened
For the filling:
5 large red potatoes
1 onion, diced, divided
2 Tbls butter
6 oz. cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
extra butter for sauteing
Mix together the flour and salt. Add the egg, then add the sour cream and butter. Work until the dough loses most of its stickiness. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Quarter the potatoes and boil until easily pierced with a fork (15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, saute half of the onion with the 2 Tbls butter until they are very soft. Drain the potatoes and mash with the sauteed onion and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface until 1/8-in. thick. Cut circles 2-3 in. in diameter. Place a small amount of filling in the middle of the dough. Fold the dough over and seal the edge with the tines of a fork (may need to use a little water too). Boil the pierogies a few at a time until they float to the top (8-10 minutes). Let dry, then sauté them with the other half of the onion and butter. Lots of butter.
Like I said, the filling was very good, but my problems with the dough were that it was very sticky to begin with. I probably should have added some more flour. By the time I rolled out the last bit of dough it had incorporated enough flour that it actually felt like a real dough (for the last 2 pierogies, go figure). I also didn't get the dough thin enough. Maybe without those issues it would be a good recipe.
The brats, on the other hand, were delicious. They were very moist and the casing was all crispy and oh...just amazing. But let me tell you, it was a hard thing to give up 6 (six!) beers and 2 sticks of butter to the cooking liquid. Luckily both the beer and brats were on sale, so it was still a pretty cheap meal. Especially since it made so much. We both agreed that we didn't really get the beer taste from the brats. So I'd be interested to see if I could just use water. I have just grilled brats before, but was always worried about them being done all the way through, and the boiling makes sure they're done and still moist.
Beer Brats
2 lbs bratwurst sausages
1 onion, sliced
2 sticks butter
6 beers (72 oz. total)
Put everything together in a big pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then move the brats to the grill and brown on all sides. Easy!
Potato & Cheese Pierogies
For the dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 stick butter, softened
For the filling:
5 large red potatoes
1 onion, diced, divided
2 Tbls butter
6 oz. cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
extra butter for sauteing
Mix together the flour and salt. Add the egg, then add the sour cream and butter. Work until the dough loses most of its stickiness. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Quarter the potatoes and boil until easily pierced with a fork (15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, saute half of the onion with the 2 Tbls butter until they are very soft. Drain the potatoes and mash with the sauteed onion and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface until 1/8-in. thick. Cut circles 2-3 in. in diameter. Place a small amount of filling in the middle of the dough. Fold the dough over and seal the edge with the tines of a fork (may need to use a little water too). Boil the pierogies a few at a time until they float to the top (8-10 minutes). Let dry, then sauté them with the other half of the onion and butter. Lots of butter.
Like I said, the filling was very good, but my problems with the dough were that it was very sticky to begin with. I probably should have added some more flour. By the time I rolled out the last bit of dough it had incorporated enough flour that it actually felt like a real dough (for the last 2 pierogies, go figure). I also didn't get the dough thin enough. Maybe without those issues it would be a good recipe.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Pizza Dough
I loooooooove pizza. It's probably one of my favorite things ever. But I'm kinda picky about it. I like a thin crust on the bottom that's bigger and chewy on the outside. And since I just moved away from my favorite pizza place ever (sad!) I have to make my own until I can find a replacement. Unfortunately, without a mixer, I have to hand knead my dough. Which can take a while. So I don't do it often. This recipe is Alton Brown's, and the first time I made it I thought I was in heaven. I have tried to find easier recipes, but nothing has been as good as his (with all the kneading...). There are certainly simpler recipes out there, but this one's worth it to me. The recipe makes 2 pizzas, and I have tried to make that 2 meals, but it's just not. One pizza is for one person.
Pizza
2 Tbls sugar
1 Tbls kosher salt
1 Tbls, plus 2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast (it doesn't need to proof)
Toppings
Pour (in this order) sugar, salt, 1 Tbls olive oil, water, 1 cup flour, yeast, 1 cup flour into a mixing bowl. Mix it (I started with a spoon then moved to my hands) until the dough forms a ball. Flour a work surface and knead the dough until you can pull off a little piece and stretch it thin without any holes (called a baker's windowpane). It will take about 20-30 minutes. Roll the pizza into a smooth ball on the counter. Place in a large bowl with 2 tsp olive oil and shake to coat the whole dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or until the ball doubles in size). Let the dough come to room temperature and then separate the dough ball into 2 balls. Flatten them and then roll them back into balls. Preheat oven, with pizza stone in it, to 500 degrees. Let them sit under a kitchen towel for about 30 minutes. Then flatten them out with your hands. Once it's big enough to get both your hands under it, use your knuckles to stretch the dough to 12 inches in diameter. I just try to get it as thin as I can, but if you have holes be careful cause they're hard to repair if they get big. Make sure your dough isn't sticking before you decorate it (I go ahead and put an extra sprinkle of flour down anyways). I just went with sauce, mozzarella and red peppers, D went a little crazy (but then again he is). He had sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, red peppers, jalapenos, and cantaloupe. Yes, cantaloupe! He wanted to counter the heat of the jalapenos. He said it was good. I didn't try it though.
Pizza
2 Tbls sugar
1 Tbls kosher salt
1 Tbls, plus 2 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast (it doesn't need to proof)
Toppings
Pour (in this order) sugar, salt, 1 Tbls olive oil, water, 1 cup flour, yeast, 1 cup flour into a mixing bowl. Mix it (I started with a spoon then moved to my hands) until the dough forms a ball. Flour a work surface and knead the dough until you can pull off a little piece and stretch it thin without any holes (called a baker's windowpane). It will take about 20-30 minutes. Roll the pizza into a smooth ball on the counter. Place in a large bowl with 2 tsp olive oil and shake to coat the whole dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or until the ball doubles in size). Let the dough come to room temperature and then separate the dough ball into 2 balls. Flatten them and then roll them back into balls. Preheat oven, with pizza stone in it, to 500 degrees. Let them sit under a kitchen towel for about 30 minutes. Then flatten them out with your hands. Once it's big enough to get both your hands under it, use your knuckles to stretch the dough to 12 inches in diameter. I just try to get it as thin as I can, but if you have holes be careful cause they're hard to repair if they get big. Make sure your dough isn't sticking before you decorate it (I go ahead and put an extra sprinkle of flour down anyways). I just went with sauce, mozzarella and red peppers, D went a little crazy (but then again he is). He had sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, red peppers, jalapenos, and cantaloupe. Yes, cantaloupe! He wanted to counter the heat of the jalapenos. He said it was good. I didn't try it though.
Stove-Top Macaroni & Cheese
Yay! I finally got to make my mac n' cheese! I usually make a baked macaroni & cheese using cheddar and pepperjack that is (not to brag but...) amazing! But I wanted to get a stove-top recipe that would hopefully be faster to make. All we had was penne pasta but I would have preferred elbows. I used some smoked cheddar that we had gotten at the farmer's market. It didn't really do anything for me, and D said he would rather have it on something that needs smokiness (I'm guessing hamburgers?). So I would just stick to all regular cheddar next time. I also didn't cook the pasta long enough so it was kind of hard. Not my best showing :-/. But I think the recipe is good. The first time I had it was I imagining Kraft...don't. It isn't like that. It tastes more real. I must admit that I am used to (and in love with) that processed cheese flavor. I guess that's what you get for growing up in the 90s. But somehow D didn't get hooked on that neon orange goodness when he was growing up. So I thought he would like this better. I didn't get much feedback, I think between the smoky cheddar and the hard macaroni it was tough to get a real feel for it. I will make it again though.
Stove-Top Macaroni & Cheese
8 oz. elbow pasta (you can use pretty much any type of pasta, but ones that have holes the cheese sauce can hide in is best)
1 Tbls butter
6 oz. evaporated milk
6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp hot sauce
Salt & pepper
Cook the pasta until it's al dente. Meanwhile whisk together the egg, evaporated milk, and spices. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Turn the heat down to medium-low and melt the butter with the pasta. Pour the milk mixture over the pasta and stir until it begins to thicken (3-5 minutes). Remove the pot from the heat and mix the cheese into the pasta in 4 installments. Make sure the first installment is completely mixed in before adding the next. You may need to return the pot to the heat every so often to help melt the cheese.
Next time I might leave the pot over low heat while adding the cheese and just add some milk if the sauce gets too thick.
Served with sliced beets. <-- As a child my parents always served canned sliced beets with our Kraft mac n' cheese dinners. It's strange, I know, but I can't have mac n' cheese without beets now.
Stove-Top Macaroni & Cheese
8 oz. elbow pasta (you can use pretty much any type of pasta, but ones that have holes the cheese sauce can hide in is best)
1 Tbls butter
6 oz. evaporated milk
6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp hot sauce
Salt & pepper
Cook the pasta until it's al dente. Meanwhile whisk together the egg, evaporated milk, and spices. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Turn the heat down to medium-low and melt the butter with the pasta. Pour the milk mixture over the pasta and stir until it begins to thicken (3-5 minutes). Remove the pot from the heat and mix the cheese into the pasta in 4 installments. Make sure the first installment is completely mixed in before adding the next. You may need to return the pot to the heat every so often to help melt the cheese.
Next time I might leave the pot over low heat while adding the cheese and just add some milk if the sauce gets too thick.
Served with sliced beets. <-- As a child my parents always served canned sliced beets with our Kraft mac n' cheese dinners. It's strange, I know, but I can't have mac n' cheese without beets now.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Deep Fried Jalapenos
This obviously wasn't an entire dinner. Can you imagine? HOT!! But we had a cookout and this was one of the things we made. We just sliced the jalapenos and used the seeds and all. It was a bit powerful. My favorite ones were the little tips that didn't have any membrane or seeds in it. D loved them and even put them on his burger. They were especially good smothered in Ranch. Mmm...
Deep Fried Jalapenos
5-6 jalapenos, sliced thin (1/4 in. or so)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup beer
1 egg
Oil
Mix all the batter ingredients together. Throw the jalapeno slices in the batter. Heat up your oil in a medium sized pot. Heat until a drop of the batter sizzles up and browns quickly (or 350 degrees). Drop the slices in the oil a few at a time. Flip them and pull them out when they get golden brown.
Deep Fried Jalapenos
5-6 jalapenos, sliced thin (1/4 in. or so)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup beer
1 egg
Oil
Mix all the batter ingredients together. Throw the jalapeno slices in the batter. Heat up your oil in a medium sized pot. Heat until a drop of the batter sizzles up and browns quickly (or 350 degrees). Drop the slices in the oil a few at a time. Flip them and pull them out when they get golden brown.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Garlic Bread
I served this with my lasagna below. I love having garlic bread ready for me in the freezer whenever I want. I'm actually not sure if this is cheaper than just buying frozen garlic bread, cause I've never bought it. I would imagine it is. But I like this better anyways because I know exactly what's in it, and I'm sure it tastes better. I was a little disappointed in this batch just because the bread I got was not that good. The bread is really the key. I usually go with an Italian loaf because French bread is sometimes a little too hard on the crust.
Garlic Bread
1 loaf Italian bread
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
parsley
Parmesan cheese
Slice the bread down the middle like you're gonna make a giant sandwich. Then slice into half moon slices. Mix everything else together in a small bowl. Spread some of the butter mixture on each slice. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. If you're going to freeze some of it, put some wax paper or aluminum foil over the buttered part, then put all the slices in a freezer bag. It takes about the same time whether they're frozen or not to cook.
As a side note, I am going to try to get better about posting these meals when they happen. Maybe you've noticed I've only blogged on 2 days. The first one I wrote about 4 meals, this day I've written about 2.
Garlic Bread
1 loaf Italian bread
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
parsley
Parmesan cheese
Slice the bread down the middle like you're gonna make a giant sandwich. Then slice into half moon slices. Mix everything else together in a small bowl. Spread some of the butter mixture on each slice. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. If you're going to freeze some of it, put some wax paper or aluminum foil over the buttered part, then put all the slices in a freezer bag. It takes about the same time whether they're frozen or not to cook.
As a side note, I am going to try to get better about posting these meals when they happen. Maybe you've noticed I've only blogged on 2 days. The first one I wrote about 4 meals, this day I've written about 2.
Simple Lasagna
No, it's not a misnomer. It is however, one of D's favorite things. I like the taste of lasagna, which is weird since it's practically the same ingredients as spaghetti, but it is so heavy I can't eat that much of it. Which is why I don't make it very often. I have pretty much put D in charge of eating all of the leftovers. And he's pretty happy with that. (It has been 2 days since I made this. D has only been home for 1 breakfast and 1 lunch, of the other 4 servings that were left there's only 1 remaining. I guess he really liked it.) I don't really have much to say about this one. I thought it was good, D thought it was great. He debated about having a second serving with dinner even though he was stuffed (thankfully I talked him out of it).
Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
6 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 jar spaghetti sauce
10 oz ricotta cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese
Cook the ground beef, drain excess fat. Add the spaghetti sauce to the meat (save just a little sauce in the jar for the top). In a 9x9 in. baking dish, start with lasagna noodles. Each layer takes 2 noodles. You will have to rip each noodle at about 2/3 it's length, then use the other third of each noodle to make another noodle. Make sense? Probably not. I'm better with pictures. Then do a layer of ricotta cheese. It's a little hard to spread it on the noodles. But I have faith in you. Then pour half of the meat sauce in and spread it evenly. Top with about a cup of mozzarella. Next layer! Noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella. Then another layer of noodles with the extra sauce you saved in the jar. It's not even a layer of sauce, it's just noodles painted with sauce so they don't dry out and get hard. Then why not some more mozzarella? Cause I looooove cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is melted and possibly bubbly and browning a bit...mmmm.
Served with steamed broccoli and garlic bread.
Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
6 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 jar spaghetti sauce
10 oz ricotta cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese
Cook the ground beef, drain excess fat. Add the spaghetti sauce to the meat (save just a little sauce in the jar for the top). In a 9x9 in. baking dish, start with lasagna noodles. Each layer takes 2 noodles. You will have to rip each noodle at about 2/3 it's length, then use the other third of each noodle to make another noodle. Make sense? Probably not. I'm better with pictures. Then do a layer of ricotta cheese. It's a little hard to spread it on the noodles. But I have faith in you. Then pour half of the meat sauce in and spread it evenly. Top with about a cup of mozzarella. Next layer! Noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella. Then another layer of noodles with the extra sauce you saved in the jar. It's not even a layer of sauce, it's just noodles painted with sauce so they don't dry out and get hard. Then why not some more mozzarella? Cause I looooove cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is melted and possibly bubbly and browning a bit...mmmm.
Served with steamed broccoli and garlic bread.
Beef Stir-Fry
Ok, so obviously macaroni & cheese didn't work out. It's hard to boil macaroni when you don't have any water though. So the next meal that I ended up making was stir-fry. D and I went to the farmer's market yesterday and got as much as we could there. I was really impressed with the market. I thought it was good last summer and they had even more stuff this summer. Now there are a couple vendors selling dairy products and one was even selling meats. Unfortunately we didn't really need any of that stuff, so we didn't get to try any. Actually, I take that back, D did get some smoked cheddar. We haven't tried it yet though. We spent $11 on the veggies, and I think if we had gone to the store it would have been more around $16. I was also super excited because they had red bell peppers for $1! D likes the red ones better but they are just so expensive in the stores! I just think that they add great color to dishes. And the stir-fry did look beautiful with all of the fresh veggies in it. Especially the red. I used way too much onion though! I meant to only use half of one, but I chopped the whole thing before I realized it. D just took most of the onions out anyways because he doesn't like the texture of them. I even had to take some out too. I mean, way too much. Also, I was planning on using the carrots we bought, but they were really soft. I have never felt carrots like that before. Is that normal? They still looked good, but we opted out of using them just in case. We had a steak left over from our peppercorn steaks. So I scraped as much of the peppercorns off as I could and used that. It could have used some more meat, but oh well. I used this spicy stir-fry sauce that D had, but usually I just throw in a mix of (a lot) of teryaki sauce, (few splashes) soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. And then sriracha.
Beef Stir-Fry
1/2 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 carrots, sliced into moons
1 zucchini, sliced into moons
handful of snow peas
1 steak, sliced thin
2-3 Tbls stir-fry sauce
couple splashes soy sauce
1-2 Tbls oil (vegetable or something with a high smoke point)
sriracha to taste
Have everything chopped and ready to go before you start. Heat a wok (or big pan) to medium high heat with oil. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and carrot and...stir fry? I'm not sure what the proper technique is called. Just don't let it stop moving for too long at a time. I add these all at once because they take longer to cook and I hate hard carrots. After a few minutes add the zucchini, snow peas, and stir fry sauce, etc. (all the flavorings). I use this time to get the flavor right before I add the meat because since it's already cooked I don't want it to cook any more. I just want it to heat up a little. I also hate overcooked meat. Once the flavors are right and everything is almost as cooked as I want it, then I throw the meat in. The meat will only take a minute to heat up.
Serve with rice or noodles, if you want. It was 10:00 pm and we weren't that hungry. So we just stuck to the stir-fry.
Beef Stir-Fry
1/2 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 carrots, sliced into moons
1 zucchini, sliced into moons
handful of snow peas
1 steak, sliced thin
2-3 Tbls stir-fry sauce
couple splashes soy sauce
1-2 Tbls oil (vegetable or something with a high smoke point)
sriracha to taste
Have everything chopped and ready to go before you start. Heat a wok (or big pan) to medium high heat with oil. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, and carrot and...stir fry? I'm not sure what the proper technique is called. Just don't let it stop moving for too long at a time. I add these all at once because they take longer to cook and I hate hard carrots. After a few minutes add the zucchini, snow peas, and stir fry sauce, etc. (all the flavorings). I use this time to get the flavor right before I add the meat because since it's already cooked I don't want it to cook any more. I just want it to heat up a little. I also hate overcooked meat. Once the flavors are right and everything is almost as cooked as I want it, then I throw the meat in. The meat will only take a minute to heat up.
Serve with rice or noodles, if you want. It was 10:00 pm and we weren't that hungry. So we just stuck to the stir-fry.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sloppy Joe Beans
Tonight D had to work, so I took the opportunity to make something he wouldn't like. I could live off of beans, D hates them. I made this dish back when I was a vegetarian cause I was craving some sloppy joes. All I did was replace the ground beef with pinto beans. Yum! Tonight I just used the can of sloppy joe mix. Usually I make it more from scratch, and I think I'll continue to do so. It was a lot more liquidy with the canned stuff. Still delicious though. I could probably just drink straight sloppy joe mix. I feel like I've been cooking really simple things lately. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If D were more open to beans in his diet I would probably just keep a can of beans and a can of joe mix on hand for fast dinners. But I really enjoy cooking. So I like to make things from scratch. It's fun. And I'm excited cause tomorrow...I'm making macaroni and cheese!
Sloppy Joe Beans
1 can pinto beans (or 1 lb cooked beans)
1 can sloppy joe mix
oil
wheat bread
Drain the can of beans, then add the beans and joe mix to a pan with a little oil in it. Simmer it for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced a little. Spoon the beans and sauce over slices of bread.
Served with steamed broccoli. <-- I'm hoping sharing the sides I served will keep me more accountable to serving a veggie.
Sloppy Joe Beans
1 can pinto beans (or 1 lb cooked beans)
1 can sloppy joe mix
oil
wheat bread
Drain the can of beans, then add the beans and joe mix to a pan with a little oil in it. Simmer it for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced a little. Spoon the beans and sauce over slices of bread.
Served with steamed broccoli. <-- I'm hoping sharing the sides I served will keep me more accountable to serving a veggie.
Peppercorn Steak
We had some steaks that D's mom had given us, and he really likes pepper. So I decided to just do a simple peppercorn steak. I had high hopes. Oh, did I have high hopes. I decided to put the peppercorns in a bag and coarsely crush them with my rolling pin. Problem #1, peppercorns don't crush easily. D had to come put some muscle into it, I guess he didn't appreciate my loud banging on the counter. Finally they were mostly all crushed. I swore there were only like 3 whole ones left. And I figured that would be ok...wrong. I salted the steaks and then poured the pepper on. The first thing that came out was probably 8 whole peppercorns. Oh geez. I tried to pick the whole ones off. I was getting frustrated and just decided to push on. I had my hot pan going with a little oil in it and I threw in the first steak (our pan was only big enough to do one at a time). It sounded like it was cooking well. I was starting to get my hopes up again that this was going to be the best steak ever. Then, it started. The fumes began to circulate. I started to feel the sting in my throat. The windows were already open and the fan was running. But it was no use. All that pepper was just too much. Remember the Seinfeld episode where Frank returns to cooking? Everything in slow motion. That's how I remember this dinner. The kitchen was hazy and smoke-filled. I managed to finish the first steak. I called out to D for help. I knew I was going down. He came in with a ski mask covering his face. Rocky (our black lab) began barking at the burglar-looking man in our kitchen. I handed off the spatula and managed to crawl outside to the fresh air. I watched from outside as he bravely finished off the other two steaks. After the fumes had thinned a little I managed to steam some broccoli before the steaks were ready. Ok, maybe I exaggerated a little. But it was bad. I've decided anything spicy will from now on be cooked outside. In hindsight, I should have just gone to the store and bought some charcoal. It wasn't too terrible in the end. The steaks were a little well done, and it just wasn't flavorful enough. We ended up just using some A1. At least the broccoli was good.
I would write the recipe, but I've really already told you everything. Just read through the drama.
I would write the recipe, but I've really already told you everything. Just read through the drama.
Buffalo Chicken Balls
I made these for D last summer when I was staying with him and he absolutely loved them. But I had refused to make them since then for certain spiteful reasons that I won't mention. But to his delight I finally pulled the ban on chicken balls! This time I decided to go for a buffalo version since we both like spicy stuff. It was pretty much the same recipe I use for buffalo chicken dip...inside dough. Delish! Although not at all healthy and I was really wishing that we'd had a veggie to go with it. I blame it on my poor planning. I gotta get my act together!
Buffalo Chicken Balls (makes 8)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 fat but DO NOT use fat free, it gets way too liquidy)
4 oz sour cream (you can use fat free here)
3-4 oz hot sauce (like Texas Pete)
couple handfuls sharp cheddar cheese
garlic powder (just a couple shakes, 1/2 teaspoon maybe?)
1 package crescent rolls
Mix everything together except the crescent rolls. Now you want to make 8 squares with the crescent roll dough. You can either pull the rolls apart at their perforations, then rip the tip off and reattach it in a more square/rectangle look. Or you can push all perforations together and then just cut the big rectangle of dough into 8 pieces. You can mash the dough a little thinner so that you get bigger balls. Then just add some filling to the middle and pull the dough up around the sides and close it up. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake for 11-15 minutes.
This recipe is really great cause you can add anything you want to it. You could even put your veggies right inside the balls.
Buffalo Chicken Balls (makes 8)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 fat but DO NOT use fat free, it gets way too liquidy)
4 oz sour cream (you can use fat free here)
3-4 oz hot sauce (like Texas Pete)
couple handfuls sharp cheddar cheese
garlic powder (just a couple shakes, 1/2 teaspoon maybe?)
1 package crescent rolls
Mix everything together except the crescent rolls. Now you want to make 8 squares with the crescent roll dough. You can either pull the rolls apart at their perforations, then rip the tip off and reattach it in a more square/rectangle look. Or you can push all perforations together and then just cut the big rectangle of dough into 8 pieces. You can mash the dough a little thinner so that you get bigger balls. Then just add some filling to the middle and pull the dough up around the sides and close it up. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake for 11-15 minutes.
This recipe is really great cause you can add anything you want to it. You could even put your veggies right inside the balls.
Spaghetti & Meatballs
I thought for my first meal I would go with something easy that I knew D loved. So what's simpler than spaghetti and meatballs? And it worked, he liked it. I won't say he loved it cause he did add some more oregano to his. But I don't take offense to that because the boy likes more oregano than I can handle. He'll just have to deal with adding more. On the other hand, I really don't like spaghetti. I know, I know. Who doesn't like spaghetti? And it's not that I don't like pasta, or tomato sauce, I like both of them! It's just something about the combination I guess. I thought I could get over it, but I just ended up smothering mine in a gallon of hot sauce. I usually make baked spaghetti cause I like it better, but I just didn't feel like going through the trouble. There's not much of a recipe to give here, but I feel whenever blogging about food there should be a recipe (and ideally pictures. But gimmie a break, I'm new at this)
Spaghetti & Meatballs
1 lb spaghetti
1 lb ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
egg
olive oil/vegetable oil
oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
basil
cayenne pepper
parsley
salt & pepper
I don't really remember all the spices I used. I pretty much just raided the spice cabinet and threw in "Italian" stuff.
Mix ground beef with spices and egg. Roll into balls. Add oil (I used vegetable oil here) to pan. Brown the meatballs and add the spaghetti sauce. Cook pasta. Drain. Drizzle with oil (I used extra virgin olive oil). Put spaghetti on your plate. Put sauce and meatballs on top. Pretty simple.
Next time I would maybe just use the egg white, or make them earlier and set them in the fridge for a while. Or not use egg at all. At first I started making the meatballs without the egg, and they were fine, but after a couple I was like "oh, no, these will fall apart in the pan. I'll add an egg" for some reason. And then they were falling apart when I made them. They actually did stay together in the pan, but I had to be very delicate.
Spaghetti & Meatballs
1 lb spaghetti
1 lb ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
egg
olive oil/vegetable oil
oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
basil
cayenne pepper
parsley
salt & pepper
I don't really remember all the spices I used. I pretty much just raided the spice cabinet and threw in "Italian" stuff.
Mix ground beef with spices and egg. Roll into balls. Add oil (I used vegetable oil here) to pan. Brown the meatballs and add the spaghetti sauce. Cook pasta. Drain. Drizzle with oil (I used extra virgin olive oil). Put spaghetti on your plate. Put sauce and meatballs on top. Pretty simple.
Next time I would maybe just use the egg white, or make them earlier and set them in the fridge for a while. Or not use egg at all. At first I started making the meatballs without the egg, and they were fine, but after a couple I was like "oh, no, these will fall apart in the pan. I'll add an egg" for some reason. And then they were falling apart when I made them. They actually did stay together in the pan, but I had to be very delicate.
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