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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.

Tuscan Bean Soup

Winter is all about soups and stews for me.  There is nothing like a kitchen filled with the smells of a simmering pot of goodness. Who cares about the gloomy day outside when you can serve a steaming hot bowl of soup or stew with a nice loaf of  bread or biscuits.

Bean soups are high on my list of favorite soups.  And since discovering the joys of cooking with a pressure cooker, using dried beans are snap.  I know many people are purists and say that dried beans are the only way to go, but honestly I have never found canned beans to be lacking.  They are quick and easy and I like the flavor just fine.  So by all means, if you want to make life easier, use canned beans.

And to get us started, here is a nice bean soup.  I’m not a big kale fan, so I only added 2 cups and added spinach as well.  You can easily add as much kale as you like, the original recipe called for 2 whole heads.

Serves 6 easily.  Serve with a nice garlic bread.

Tuscan Bean Soup

  • 14 oz canned kidney beans, or 1/2 cup dried, soaked overnight*
  • 14 oz canned cannellini beans, or 1/2 cup dried, soaked overnight*
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 pound diced pancetta, or bacon
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
  • Salt and pepper
  • 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups chicken stock (low-sodium)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 sprig rosemary (remove before serving)
  • 1 tsp dried basil, or 1 tbsp chopped fresh
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
  • 1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 2 cups kale, chopped
  • 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, for serving

Place the beans in a medium pot, add water to cover by 2-inches and bring to a boil. (If using canned kidney beans, skip this step.) Turn the heat down, let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until just-tender.

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta, rendering the fat and cooking until slightly crispy about 3 minutes. Sauté the onion, celery, carrot and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Add the diced tomatoes, the cooked and drained beans and the chicken stock and water. Add spices, salt and pepper. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, then add the kale and spinach. Continue cooking until the beans are completely tender.

Pressure Cooker instructions:

*At this altitude, soaking does nothing, so I skip that step. I rinse them well and then I pressure cook the beans for 30 minutes before starting the soup. It can be done the night before and refrigerate the drained beans. They will be just tender, drain and add to soup as per directions above.

 

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

I also make a pretty good Tomato-Spinach Soup, here’s nice recipe for Chicken and Spinach Wraps, and JeffreyW has a lovely Stuffed Manicotti that uses spinach.  So now it’s your turn.  What are some of your favorite uses for spinach? Hit the comments and share.

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 

Taco Soup: Slow Cooker and Stove Top Methods

Yesterday 3 inches of snow brought the Front Range to its knees.  Very unusual, we’re deep snow people, but I guess it was because it was so warm before and the temps dropped dramatically, it created a skating rink just as morning rush hour began.  I wouldn’t know because when my alarm went off and the traffic guy on the radio described the doom and gloom on the roads, I decided to work from home. After I slept another hour.

This morning at work we were talking about how much we love soups and taco salad, so Taco Soup didn’t seem that far of a leap. I usually like to do my own seasoning, but let’s consider this a quick and foolproof soup, using some tried and true ingredients: taco seasoning and Ro*tel style tomatoes. I won’t tell. If you’d like to make your own taco seasoning, JeffreyW had a recipe here. You can cook this in a slow-cooker or on the stovetop, the directions for both are below.

Taco Soup

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
  • 4 cups of water or tomato juice
  • 15 1/2-ounce can pinto beans
  • 15 1/2-ounce can red kidney beans
  • 8 oz frozen corn
  • 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans Ro*tel-style tomatoes (use your heat preference)
  • 6 oz diced green chilies
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbsp pickled jalapenos, chopped
  • Corn chips, for serving
  • Sour cream, for garnish
  • Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
  • Pickled jalapenos, for garnish
  • Cilantro for garnish
  • Black olives for garnish

(all garnishes are optional, of course)

Brown the ground beef and onions in a skillet; drain the excess fat, then add 1/2 taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water, stirring well. Transfer mixture to a slow cooker. Stir in the liquid, beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, jalapenos, remaining taco seasoning, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours (alternately you can simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove). To serve, place a few chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with garnishes.

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: