What Ya' Got Cookin' 2015

Oh me oh my Ric, thank you a million tons for that recipe, I'm DEFINITELY gonna do mine that way next time I make it. Gosh that looks so darned yummy, and I just got a fresh bottle of Marsala this past weekend, wheee!!
Heeheeheee, I can just see her "politely" cutting in, such a cute little visual! :)

Heehehe there would be no POLITE cutting in from Miss Maggie. It was fun. She wanted to waltz with him, but no appropriate music. Instead, it was the chicken dance and the hokey pokey before it was our turn to go in to dinner.

No Macarena?

Hehehe, Nope.

Took out pork for dinner

Sweet red peppers were on sale -- $1.99/pound, not great but better price than I've found for months. I'll be doing a batch of spaghetti sauce in the NESCO roaster this week (we like spaghetti sauce LOL).

Last night I used 3 of the peppers, a sweet onion, and a pack of chicken tenders for stir fry -- nothing exciting, just basic garlic, ginger, 5-spice, with chicken stock and a little soy sauce. Jim took Joyanna to swim class, and it was ready when they walked through the door.

Oh, and I made "fresh pickles" to go with it, which were a huge hit: thin-sliced cucumbers (love my mandolin!), about equal parts sugar and vinegar, and just a little hot-pepper vinegar (from a jar stuffed with little hot peppers, pinch of salt, then filled with vinegar).

Yum!

Pork loin au jus, oven fries, apple sauce and those pickled carrots I brought to swap but heated up. Good flavor and texture combo.

coleup. that does sound like a great combination. I've got to pick up some of those pork loins/tenderloins. Tenderloins are pretty quick and easy. Mark likes to see applesauce when pork's on the table.

Made my mouth water, and I haven't even had breakfast yet! Those pickled carrots were wonderful.

When I get the big pork loins, I cut them into dinner portions and freeze what I'm not cooking right away... thick chops for the grill, some sliced for stir-fry, and the less choice trimmings get cubed for curry. Those trimmings are that darker meat that generally comes along with the loin, sort of a strip down one side... and if you're slicing into chops, by the time you get to the skinny end, the darker meat is often all that's left.

Both whole pork loins and tenderloins are usually a good deal at Costco/Sam's or Wegman's -- $2/pound and $3/pound respectively.

I got mine at Sams, $1.78/lb. I roasted the whole thing, cut in half in a roast in bag with a packet of Lipton's Onion Soup mix for 'seasoning'. Very little fat! We get 16 or so meals out of one. Currently Wayne turns a good chunk into 'pulled pork' for BBQ sands.

Evidently the size of the slice or shred of whatever is determinative of how well pickling works Didn't know that.

What are some summertime hoi or cold make aheads like pork loin ? Jill, you gave quite a list. What do you serve with your pork curry?

I am only into cooking about once a week...and the rest is grab and assemble! Also on tight budget.

Mint goes pretty well with tenderloin, too

Lately I've been liking Thai curry (red curry with coconut milk) with stir-fry pork slices. I usually put sweet red peppers and onions into it, peas or pea pods if I have them, and just serve it over rice. It's a treat with tenderloin, but add the meat at the end -- it cooks quickly!

Those "trimmings" I mentioned are great in Indian curries... a nice side for a hot curry is shredded cucumber in yogurt, with a bit of cumin or masala.

Any kind of curry freezes well, so I make big batches. Then all I have to do is make rice or toast some nan.

Quick, easy side dish if you are grilling chicken or pork...

Browned Butter Noodles with Fresh Sage

Pick a generous handful of fresh sage leaves. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add the sage leaves. Stir occasionally. The sage leaves will crisp up, and the butter will get lightly browned. You can pull out the sage leaves when they darken and get crisp, so they'll stay whole and so they don't burn.

Meanwhile, cook egg noodles or linguini, farfalle, whatever you have handy. Drain, and toss with the butter. Make sure everybody gets some of the sage leaves... nobody would eat sage right off the plant, it's so strong, but those crispy leaves are delicious!

Hm, I may need to try this. I'm not a fan of fresh sage (too strong), but fried sage sounds good!

Does this mean I gotta bring home a sage plant from work? **sigh** ;) heeheeheee
Speaking of fresh herbs; I was out a little bit ago peeking around at the babies out on the deck (ya know, the tomato plant, the dill, rosemary, cilantro, etc.), and pinched off some dill to keep it from bolting, and started wondering what I can do with it. I mean, I've only been growing it for the flutterbies, not to eat. So, I chopped it up, mixed it with sour cream, onion powder and some other herbs, a pinch of salt, and now I have a yummy dip! First thing I've ever done with fresh dill, I'm quite pleased.

Oh yeah, and dinner tonight will be little baby chicken pot pies... guess I should start thinking about making up that pie crust, huh? < =/

Best culinary sage I've found is Berggarten. :-)

I am relaxing while Ds cooks. He's brought the rice cooker onto the deck so as to not steam up the kitchen. Smart!

Oh! My! Goodness!!! Thank you Ric; I made your stuffed chicken marsala night before last for dinner and YUUUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh boy oh boy, this stuff was marvelous!!!!!!!!! On the side was garlic and parsley mashed taters and corn. We were two fat-and-happy campers after that dinner! =D
You guys, if you have not tried Ric's recipe, TRY IT!!!!!

Tonight, boring simple pork chops, rice, and broccoli.

pork loin
applesauce
cole slaw
buttered red potatoes

thanks heavens for boxed couscous, leftover pork roast and fresh garden greens.

Chicken and cheese quesadillas and red-beans-&-rice for tonight. (thank Heaven for tortillas!!) < =D

Mark has added angel food cake to his repertoire. From scratch! With sliced strawberries and whipped cream (from a can). It is so good, I couldn't sleep and had to have another piece. For his angel, our daughter, who turned 22 yesterday.

A belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ♥

Oh boy, that is a delicious addition to his repertoire Sally!!

Nothing special really for dinner tonight; bbq pulled pork subs and tater salad. I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies today.. do they still count as "homemade" if the dough was made last week and rolled it into a log and frozen? :)

DS filled up the grill with slices of zucchini, eggplant, polenta, and some chicken sausages. What a great idea! All the traditional food groups

A local treat from the Mid Atlantic, just down the street fro Sallyg in Severna Park MD comes a new tasty, prize winning seasoning mix or marinade called

Todd's DIRT
http://www.toddsdirt.com/products.htm

The Dirt Man himself .Todd, was at local market doing a food tasting demo last week. Nice stuff.
What I liked best is that each variety I tasted made the electric fry pan chicken chunks taste just like they had been open grilled over searing hot charcoal. along with the other tastes. I asked him how it did that, but he wouldn't tell! I'll bring some to Fall Swap if you all aren't intrigued enough to find some first. The Bayou Dirt is terrific!
Look for it at Whole Foods and Giant in our area.

Fresh Garlic (Chesnok, Music and Georgian Fire) available from Garlic Man's harvest
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1317821/

Judy, that looks like a really yummy line of Dirt, thank you for sharing that! I found a few stores in my area that carry it, so looks like I'm gonna be making a side trip sometime soon! I tell ya, what we gardeners do for some good Dirt! =)

Sounds tasty! I'm guessing the "grilled" flavor comes from the chipotle in the ingredient list... that's smoked ripe jalopenos. I've got some smoked paprika from Penzey's that I use (sparingly) for the same effect when I don't want to add heat.

I use Chipotle (finely ground and coarsely ground) for different dishes, for when I want a certain, distinctly "smokey"-ish sort of flavor, but mostly, when I'm looking for a smokey-grilled sort of flavor I love Stubb's "Liquid Smoke". I use that stuff in a LOT of different things, including meats that I fry or bake, and also my marinara and beef stew. "A little dab'll do ya!" :)

Tonight's dinner will be chicken marsala (not stuffing it this evening), mashed taters, and salad. I am REALLY looking forward to those salads 'cause I got a big fat handful of cherry tomatoes off the deck plant today and Goodness those little guys really have some heft to 'em!! And they're a nice size, too. :)

Speedie---
Have you tried the packages of the NEW "instant" mashed potatoes?
Forget the old kind of "instant"--these are SOOOO good you will swear
they are made from scratch. I am 100% converted.

They come in many different "flavors". All you do is boil 2cups of water and
then dump the packaged stuff in it. Stir with a fork to fluff it up--and let "rest" for a bit.
I like to sub some milk for the water as it tastes a bit richer.

It is TOTALLY like it was made from scratch!
Mars has them all--$1 per package. Try the "Loaded" or the "4 cheese" ones.
I also like the "Butter and Herb" ones. I think there are about a dozen flavors.....

Good bye peeling and dicing and boiling and mashing your taters.
Just get a package of one of these and tell everyone you slaved for hours to do it.

My lips are sealed! Gita

Ya know, it's funny you should say that 'cause I have a box of Hungry Man instant potatoes in my pantry.. but they are NOT for eating like mashed potatoes, they are only for baking; kind of funny, huh? So, I guess to answer your question, nope, I've not tried "the new" ones... which ones are those, by the way? I mean, which brand? I don't have a "Mars" store down here, so I'd not be able to find them that way. I am still addicted to peeling and slicing (yeah, I don't dice my taters, I slice 'em before cooking them; it's a bit quicker and they cook a little faster 'cause there's more surface area exposed) a little pile of spuds, PLUS, I just recently got a really cool hand-masher, and I'd hate to think I wasted that money, I love that thing!! =)

We like those instant potatos and the bag makes it easy for my 'sous chefs' to make the right amount- heck, make mashed potatoes at all.

I love Tuesday, it is pizza night here. I don't love the pizza, but the easy clean up!

Easy cleanup is always good!
A customer called to ask if I could get him an extra set of Sunday's coupons. Seems there were ads for two restaurants he and the missus like to frequent. He told me they don't cook anymore and just dine out at lunch time, eating a soup or salad for din din. They are in their late 70's and still driving so one of their activities is sampling new eateries and entres.
My lil bro and I were the 'cleanup crew' and when we got our store I was also the cook. My Dad rarely cooked as that was 'womens work' apart from making sausage for many extended family weddings and other celebrations and fermenting pickles and sauerkraut each year in big crocks with wooden lids. His specialty was 'soup' which was always being made in the DeepWell cooker part of our stove. When Dad did cook say, the turkey for Thanksgiving, beer batter chicken or Saurbraatten, he managed to use all of the pots, pans and utensils in our modest kitchen, including both bowls of the MixMaster! My Mom was a clean it as you go cook and that is my preferred method. too.

Just for you, Speedie...here is a picture of some of the ones I have on hand.

Most grocery stores carry these now. Like at Safeway--they cost about 15 cents more.
Look for them in the dry mixes aisle...or just ask.
Please try these--one packet makes enough for 2-3 servings--depending
how "piggy" you are....Sometimes they are too dry--so just add a bit of milk
and stir them up again.

G.

Judy, I'm with you; I am also a clean-as-you-go type of cook, it makes final clean-up so much easier. Somehow, however, I still tend to make a huge mess and use up far too many pots/pans/dishes. ;)

Gita, thank you!! Yes, I've seen both of those brands at my store, so, just for you, I will try one of them. ♥ Now that means I should get started on my next menu and shopping list. Bah Humbug! ;)

You gonna try just ONE? NOPE!
After you eat these mashed taters, you gonna want more and more....
Just don't tell hubby they took less than 5 minutes.

Then--when he goes--"WOW! These are great mashed potatoes!"
Your choice what you want to tell him......

Honest--they ARE very good! Gita

Hahahaahaaa, well, to start with on this next shopping trip it will be just one.. then maybe later there will be more. ;) Which one do you recommend to start with?

I can't say there is some distinct flavor to all these--as, for my taste--the taters
are a bit too salty.
What the heck! --Go with the "Loaded" one.

G.

making these bran muffins, remember this buttermilk bran muffin batter that can be stored in fridge a couple weeks?
http://www.cooks.com/recipe/3v9md0fe/refrigerator-bran-muffins.html
>>>
well, poo, they didn't rise much. Taste OK but don't look real nice

This message was edited Jul 14, 2015 8:55 PM

Okey dokey Gita, "Loaded" it will be! =)

Sally, I'm sorry that your muffins didn't rise like you wanted them to, but glad they tasted OK. I have saved the recipe (thank you very much!), I love All Bran cereal!! (I'm not a big raisin fan, so I'd rather have All Bran than Raisin Bran). You say that they tasted just "OK"... what changes would you make to them? I'm thinking I'm going to add vanilla to the batter like the suggested option. Anything else you can think of? I bet finely diced apple would be really yummy in there!

Last night at dinner I learned that I really do have brilliant moments. Hahahaa!! The menu for last night's dinner was simply "beef/tortilla bake something or other" Yeah, I'd run out of creativity at that point when I was making the menu. Well, I defrosted a small pkg. of ground beef, but while in the freezer I found a baggie of shredded roast from... not sure when. I ended up browning the ground beef with some Chorizo and a coarsely chopped onion, then added the shredded roast, a couple tablespoons of coarsely chopped Chipotle pepper, a can of chili beans and minced garlic. I spread enchilada sauce in a baking dish, then lined it with flour tortillas, spread half the meat mixture on that, then topped with a couple handfuls of shredded sharp cheddar and a generous pouring of more enchilada sauce. Repeated the layers, ending with cheese, covered it and baked it for about 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven, uncovering for the last 5 minutes. Served on a bed of lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and (for ME!), half a diced avocado. Yummy!!! Sometimes I really surprise myself. ;)

speedie, A+ for improvisation and using what ya got

I cleaned and de-frosted my freezer bottom again--UGH! another 2 hours,
I swear this is the last time I am doing this!
But the thought of buying a new, upright freezer is a bit intimidating.
I just know it will, probably, be a Kenmore.

In the process--I pulled out 3 packages of Meat Loaf Mix and one of ground Turkey.
They are now in my fridge and I NEED to make meatloaf!!! Lots of it!!!

Do any of you have a simple but good recipe for a Meatloaf???
Nothing spicy! Nothing fancy!

If not--I will be going with the old favorite of Yore---the one we all made in the 60's:

**************************************************************************

"ANN LANDERS FAMOUS MEAT LOAF RECIPE:

Original recipe calls for 8 oz. tomato sauce instead of chili sauce over the top. If you don't like sauce on top of your meatloaf, then leave it off. This is an old recipe, written long before MSG (Accent) was determined to be evil. Use at your own risk.

Ingredients

2 lbs ground round
1 1⁄2 cups breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Accent seasoning
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 slices bacon
2 eggs
3⁄4 cup catchup
chili sauce (or 8 oz. tomato sauce) (optional)

Directions

Mix all ingredients together except bacon and chili sauce.
Put in loaf pan.
Cover with bacon strips.
Pour chili sauce over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.



Gita