Blog Archives
Gyros
Some of my favorite fast food. I bought a 5 lb brick of the lamb loaf already cooked and sliced, and froze it in meal sized portions. There is enough left for one more meal for the two of us. I like the nan loaves but they are not ideal for gyros, at least these aren’t. They are just a tad thick, and they break rather than fold. Great flavor, though.
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Portuguese Beef and Pasta
Years ago, when I was first learning to ski, I was very frustrated by the amount of time I spent on my ass and not skiing. Someone told me that if I wasn’t spending a lot of time picking myself up, I wasn’t really skiing. I needed to push my limits to get better. In other words, it was all good. I find that information works for a lot of things in life. Cooking is no exception.
This week, I spent a lot of time on my figurative ass, playing with the new crock-pot making various recipes. There were epic failures. The first thing I tried was a slow cooker meatloaf. It called for a basic meatloaf recipe – I have a favorite – and then cook all day on low. The results were not stellar. More like steamed meatloaf. An unappetizing color and texture. Not the nice deep brown of a good baked loaf. I was able to salvage it by cutting it into thin slices and frying it up for sandwiches.
I'll stick to these scalloped potatoes from now on.
The next failure was the scalloped potatoes. This called for a slightly modified recipe, a bit more moisture than in the baked method. The flavor was fine, the texture was horrible. Kind of like if you reheated some that you baked. Rubbery and chewy. I’m not sure how you could modify the recipe to get a creamier texture. I’d love to hear any ideas in the comments.
The rest of the week was spent making traditional slow cooker foods – soups and a lovely pot roast. It wasn’t a total loss. I did learn that for a fool-proof slow cooker recipe it’s best to have a recipe that can cook, unattended, all day without risk of ruin. Both the potatoes and the meatloaf really could not have cooked any longer than they did. They would have turned out even worse.
So that was adventures in cooking this week. What foods do you use your slow cooker for successfully? Anything usual that we’ve never thought of? Hit the comments. Next week I think our theme will be Mardi Gras, and I’m hoping you’ll come prepared to share some favorite drinks as well as Cajun food recipes. Someone should bring the King’s cake recipe, too.
Here’s one of my favorite fool-proof slow cooker recipes:
Portuguese Beef & Pasta
This works best if you cook the pasta separately and either add it to the beef the last 15 minutes or serve the beef over the pasta. This is one of those slow cooker recipes that the longer it cooks, the better it gets, usually 10 hours minimum for best flavor.
- 1 lb round steak, cut into thin strips, remove excess fat
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2-14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- 8 oz dry macaroni**
Slow-Cooker and saucepan
Add beef, salt, pepper, onion, green pepper, garlic, paste, diced tomatoes, water, bay leaf & red pepper to Slow-Cooker. Cook according to manufacturer’s directions (usually 8-10 hours on low) until beef tears easily with a fork. In saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain well (you don’t want any water in your beef mixture) and mix beef and pasta and serve.
**Ditilani works really, or any tiny pasta, like tiny elbow macaroni or tiny bow-ties.
Thursday Night Recipe Exchange: Spinach Recipes
Recipe Exchange cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.
I thought last week went really well. Thanks for playing along. This week we delve into spinach recipes. I used to hate spinach. This is probably because I am a child of the 70′s and the only spinach I ever saw was canned or frozen, with the consistency of slime. As an adult I discovered fresh, baby spinach and I never looked back. One of my favorite spinach recipes is Spinach Lasagna.
JeffreyW's stuffed manicotti with spinach
To get us started:
Spinach Lasagna
This is one of my most requested recipes. Every time I make it, someone wants the recipe. Since the prep time is long, I usually only break it out for special occasions. It freezes well, so you can make a double batch and freeze two 8×8 pans of uncooked lasagna for two more meals. Thaw the night before (in the refrigerator) and cook until heated through, about 45 minutes to an hour. This recipe is great vegetarian, or you can add ground beef and sausage if desired.
This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and another hour to cook. It easily serves 6 – 8
Sauce:
- 3-15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2-6 oz cans tomato paste
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp oregano, crushed
- 3 tsp basil, crushed
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely grated
- pinch of sugar (reduces acidity of the tomatoes)
- Optional: ½ lb ground beef and ½ spicy Italian sausage, browned
Saucepan
Add all ingredients to saucepan on medium-high, stirring constantly until it begins to boil lightly. Turn to low and let simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Lasagna:
- 1 pkg lasagna noodles (16 oz), cooked and placed in cool water until layering*
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz fresh baby spinach, washed and dried and chopped
- 1 egg
- 12 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
13×9 baking dish (I prefer glass), lightly oiled
To prepare: Mix ricotta, spinach and egg until well blended. Ladle a layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover in a single layer of noodles. Ladle sauce over noodles. Spoon ½ of the ricotta mixture evenly (if you place large dollops evenly like putting cookie dough on a baking sheet, fairly close together, it will spread as it cooks, no need to smooth it). Layer 1/3 of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Repeat: noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles, add remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovered – I like to place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills as it bubbles. Place knife through the center, if it comes out heated through, remove and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. If it needs more cooking time, you can cover with foil to keep the cheese from burning and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand uncovered before serving.
*if you’d like to make your own noodles, here is the recipe I use:
Lasagna Noodles
When I do make the pasta, I make three, pan-sized noodles, rolled very, very thin. I place them uncooked in the dish, so they absorbed much of the sauce. I usually make a bit extra sauce to serve on the side with the lasagna.
- 3 cups unbleached flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
In a large bowl, add flour. Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, eggs and salt. Mix well with a fork. Mix in water, 1 tbsp at a time until dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a well floured board or pastry sheet. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll one ball out as thin as possible (I use a marble rolling pin, you can also use a pasta machine). Make sure to cover remaining balls with a damp towel until ready to use. Cut to fit pan. Repeat with remaining dough until you have 3 pan sized noodles. DO NOT COOK homemade noodles before putting lasagna together. Follow directions above for putting lasagna together.
Next Week: Favorite Super Bowl Food
Mmm… leftovers
We braised the bone in portion of the left over lamb roast in white wine and chicken stock with onions and fresh rosemary and thyme. That’s the best way to get meat off the bone. I diced the lamb up and added it back to the pot with some tomatoes from a can. That all simmered a good while uncovered and the sauce reduced itself nicely. Roasted some baby carrots and the rest of the frozen pearl onions left from the braised beef we had a few days ago and served everything over some wide egg noodles. Yummy
What’s For Lunch?
I hear this question almost every day. Usually after I’ve heated my soup or leftovers. Especially the soups. Nothing warms an office like the smell of a hot, spicy soup on a cold fall day.
So what is for lunch today? How about a tomato vegetable soup? The key to keeping it fresh is how the pasta is cooked. I boil it separately, draining it when it is on the firm side of al dente. If I’m serving the soup right away, I add it the last 5 minutes and let it soak up the flavors without becoming mushy. If it’s for lunch, I bring the pasta and soup separately and combine before I reheat. You can use any pasta you like, but I think the mini-pastas work well – ditalini, tiny shells or tiny elbows – they hold their firmness the best.
Ditalini Pasta
Spicy Vegetable Soup
- 12 oz pasta, cooked al dente and drained*
- 1 lb lean ground beef or half ground beef, half ground Italian Sausage
- 2-14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 2 cups of water
- 2 cups diced carrots (I use frozen)
- 1 cup green beans (frozen again)
- 6 green onions, chopped (including greens)
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 3 tsp dried basil, crushed
- 2 tsp to 1 tbsp fennel
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper to taste
large saucepan
In saucepan, brown ground beef (and sausage). Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and bring to a low boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add pasta during the last 5 minutes. Serves 4-6 easily. Serve with garlic bread and salad.
*rinse quickly in cold water to stop the cooking process, but don’t over rinse and lose all that nice starch for the soup.
Mmm… Breakfast! (I love my skillet.)
I was browsing around for breakfast ideas and found this recipe. It’s very similar to breakfasts with sausage and hash browns that I’ve done before so there were no surprises. Today I broke up a few slices of the hot salami I bought at that Italian deli and stuck into the freezer for later. It has a wonderful garlic aroma that was a nice addition to the dish. We had a hard freeze last night and my sprig of thyme suffered but it still worked fine.
Mmm… Tacos
Because it’s been a week already!
These have my own chorizo sausage mixed in with some hamburger and the taco seasoning I made up the other day. I gleaned a few red tomatoes from the big garden out back and chopped those along with some onions. I found some queso blanco at that International food store and crumbled some of that over a spoonful of sour cream. I’m using some of the jalapenos I picked the other day and put away fresh rather than can. Finished them off with some chopped green onions and a sprinkle of that Tex-Mex ground chipotle/ancho pepper mix. Awesome!
Mmm… burritos
Last memorial day my pal JJ threw a picnic and bought way too many pork steaks. He offered several unopened packages to me as they were winding it down and cleaning up, and threw in a bunch that were cooked but uneaten. I squirreled away all of it in the freezer after cooking the raw meat in a crockpot. The cooked steaks I boned and chopped. I’ve been trying to reduce the backlog this past week or so and have made a considerable dent in it.
Here are some burritos with pork and eggs:
TaMara
jeffreyww
LFern7
indylib
