The first time I heard about dump chicken, my reaction was an understandable "ew!" because the name is so very unattractive. Then I started checking into the concept, and a lightbulb lit up in my head. This was brilliant! Dump chicken is when you place (dump) chicken into a freezer bag, then add (dump) the ingredients for a sauce, glaze, or marinade in, seal it, freeze it, then thaw in the fridge when you want to cook it, pour (dump) it into a baking dish, skillet, crockpot, or other cooking vessel/method, cook, and voila you have a great chicken dish. That's a bit simplified, but the variations are incredible - there must be 100 or more variations. This concept can actually be applied to any meat, although we do it most often with chicken, usually boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs. This last weekend we went to Sam's Club and bought a big tray of boneless skinless chicken breasts at a good price ($1.77/lb if I remember correctly). When we got home, we divided the breasts into quart bags that were labeled with three different recipes: fajitas, garlic lime chicken, and pepper lime chicken. The breasts were huge so we only put one breast per bag, figuring if more than two people will eat the chicken, we'll get out more than one bag. The marinade can be stretched, so each of these recipes can make 4-8 normal sized pieces of chicken in a gallon freezer bag. We'll grill or broil these particular recipes, but other recipes we've tried have done well in the crockpot or the oven. Think how great this is - you add whatever marinade you want to whatever meat you want, freeze it, then a day or so before you want to make it for dinner, you pull it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw and to marinate simultaneously. Brilliant!
Pepper Lime Chicken
1/2 teaspoon lime peel
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-8 pieces of chicken
Place all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag, and freeze. To make, thaw in the fridge, then grill or broil until done, bake in a bakind dish at 350 for 25-35 minutes, or cook in a crockpot on low for 4 hours.
And check out dump chicken collections on websites like Recipezaar (http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbooks.php?s_type=%2Fcookbooks.php&q=dump+chicken&Search=Search)! The possibilities are incredible!
Showing posts with label freezer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freezer. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Cherry Oatmeal in the Crockpot
I had made oatmeal in the crockpot once before, and while I love the convenience of wake up and breakfast is hot and ready (and I'm a wake up hungry kind of girl), I didn't love the crust around the edge of the crockpot and it was a bit creamy for my liking. So here was my try number two. The first time I used steel cut oats, didn't spray the crock with cooking spray, and used a newer crockpot (they run hotter than the older ones). This time I used old fashioned oats, sprayed the crock, and used my older one. No crust, no sticking at all, but still pretty creamy. I'm seriously considering getting a light timer to plug my crockpot into and setting it to start cooking only a few hours before breakfast since I like my oatmeal more firm. In the meantime, this recipe yielded 9 cups of oatmeal (not the 7 it said it would), so I have quite a few baggies in my freezer of 1 cup portions of cherry oatmeal, just waiting for me to heat and eat. I don't see why this oatmeal couldn't also use other fruit pie filling varieties such as mixed berry, strawberry, or apple. Warning, though: this was obviously pink oatmeal studded with red cherries. Not for people who don't like eating pink food.
Cherry Oatmeal
6 cups water
1/4 tsp salt, optional (I didn't use it)
3 c. old fashioned oats, dry
1 tsp almond extract (alas, wasn't a noticeable flavor)
21 oz can light cherry pie filling (used regular)
3/4 c. strawberry flavored or regular powdered sugar (now why would you need the extra sweetness, and why use powdered sugar when you just used light pie filling? Obviously, I didn't use this ingredient.)
1. Spray a slow cooker (I had to use my round 4 qt crockpot) with cooking spray.
2. Mix the ingredients in the slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. (Yeah, well, if you don't have a timer, and you sleep longer than 5.5 hours.... I cooked mine for 8.5 hours out of basic necessity.)
Recipe from *Busy People's Slow Cooker* by Dawn Hall.
Cherry Oatmeal
6 cups water
1/4 tsp salt, optional (I didn't use it)
3 c. old fashioned oats, dry
1 tsp almond extract (alas, wasn't a noticeable flavor)
21 oz can light cherry pie filling (used regular)
3/4 c. strawberry flavored or regular powdered sugar (now why would you need the extra sweetness, and why use powdered sugar when you just used light pie filling? Obviously, I didn't use this ingredient.)
1. Spray a slow cooker (I had to use my round 4 qt crockpot) with cooking spray.
2. Mix the ingredients in the slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. (Yeah, well, if you don't have a timer, and you sleep longer than 5.5 hours.... I cooked mine for 8.5 hours out of basic necessity.)
Recipe from *Busy People's Slow Cooker* by Dawn Hall.
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Reminder to Love Your Freezer
Yesterday was Thursday, which meant that it was my normal Thursday (read: mild chaos). Honestly, I cooked nothing fresh yesterday. Breakfast was pancakes and bacon from the freezer. Lunch was tater tots and bananas for C and leftover macaroni and cheese for me. Then work with a snack of cranberry pumpkin bread baked on Tuesday, and when I got home late and my tummy was growling, I pulled an already grilled small burger and a bun from the freezer, microwaved for a minute and a half, and had myself a snack that was faster (and cheaper) than drive-through. I love my freezer!
I've also been feeding my freezer. Bags of cubed ham and mashed sweet potatoes from Monday, pureed pumpkin from a pumpkin I baked on Tuesday, macaroni and cheese on Wednesday, another ham (this one 8 pounds) in there too yesterday. For as much as I pull out, I put in too, and my freezers are always full.
Tonight is pizza night, and I even remembered to get a bag of baby spinach and some other fresh veggies at the store, so we can have salads with our pizza, completely justifying the pizza. Sort of. I pulled a couple of pizza kits minus the dough from the freezer this morning, and they will be thawed by this evening and ready for the fresh dough I'll have ready and waiting. Tonight I'm also experimenting more with oatmeal in the crockpot, using a new recipe for cherry oatmeal. I really didn't care for the crust that formed the last time I used the crockpot, and the fact that my 2 quart crockpot doesn't have a removable crock made clean up a pain in the rear. This time I'll be trying out the more old fashioned method of hot water bath in the crockpot and see how that turns out. I'll post the results tomorrow! And as a side note, the recipe makes 7 cups of oatmeal, and since A doesn't like to eat much breakfast and S and C are suspicious of oatmeal, I'll be freezing my leftovers, ready to microwave for a snack or breakfast anytime!
I've also been feeding my freezer. Bags of cubed ham and mashed sweet potatoes from Monday, pureed pumpkin from a pumpkin I baked on Tuesday, macaroni and cheese on Wednesday, another ham (this one 8 pounds) in there too yesterday. For as much as I pull out, I put in too, and my freezers are always full.
Tonight is pizza night, and I even remembered to get a bag of baby spinach and some other fresh veggies at the store, so we can have salads with our pizza, completely justifying the pizza. Sort of. I pulled a couple of pizza kits minus the dough from the freezer this morning, and they will be thawed by this evening and ready for the fresh dough I'll have ready and waiting. Tonight I'm also experimenting more with oatmeal in the crockpot, using a new recipe for cherry oatmeal. I really didn't care for the crust that formed the last time I used the crockpot, and the fact that my 2 quart crockpot doesn't have a removable crock made clean up a pain in the rear. This time I'll be trying out the more old fashioned method of hot water bath in the crockpot and see how that turns out. I'll post the results tomorrow! And as a side note, the recipe makes 7 cups of oatmeal, and since A doesn't like to eat much breakfast and S and C are suspicious of oatmeal, I'll be freezing my leftovers, ready to microwave for a snack or breakfast anytime!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Wait, Make That Spicy Baked Macaroni and Rice Cheese!
Yesterday I was in the mood for comfort food, and all my comfort food cravings involved cheese. That can be a little tricky since I have a dairy allergy! I was out of "cheese" slices so no grilled cheese sandwich, out of my mozarella so no lasagna or pizza or any of that, out of my cheddar so no macaroni and cheese or scalloped potatoes. Wait a second! I had pepper jack style rice cheese already shredded in the freezer! And so a dish was born. I took a recipe I printed off 8 years ago (yes, 8!) from http://www.cooking.com/ and had never tried, then elminated or substituted almost all the ingredients and messed around with the directions. How's that for following a recipe? I'm really going to have to say that I was inspired by the recipe. Regardless, I prepared it in the afternoon, getting 5 mini loaf pans and one regular bread pan of baked macaroni and cheese (this recipe will make one 9x13 pan of baked macaroni and cheese). The regular loaf pan I made for dinner that evening, and I put the 5 mini loaf pans on a cutting board and sat them in the freezer (I'll double wrap them in foil and label them today) so that I can semi-thaw, bake, and have homemade baked macaroni and cheese 5 more times! Bliss. I can even take some of that chopped ham from Monday night and stir that in later for baked ham and macaroni and cheese. I'm drooling already.
The recipe turned out very good. It was slightly creamy but thick, just like baked macaroni and cheese should be. The flavor was excellent. Most homemade macaroni and cheese recipes call for good quality sharp cheddar cheese for good reason - use a bland cheese and end up with super bland macaroni and cheese (face it, the milk, flour, butter, and pasta aren't really the stars tap dancing on the taste buds for this). This is a problem I sometimes face with using cheese alternatives, as none of them ever really have that sharp bite. Still, if that's all you have.... The peppers in the cheese gave it some zing without overwhelming the tastebuds, and I really love how rice cheese melts so smoothly (really, far superior to soy cheeses many times). I baked the macaroni and cheese at 375 for 40 minutes, so that's what I did for our Italian sausages too - pull from the freezer, thaw, place 4 in an 8x8 baking dish, and bake them uncovered right next to the macaroni and cheese. Serve with some steamed whole green beans and some piping hot stewed tomatoes, and it was comfort on a plate.
(I messed with this so much that I'm writing this exactly as I did it - if you want to use dairy, just substitute in the appropriate items.)
1 lb elbow macaroni
12 T Blue Bonnet margarine (that's a stick and a half)
6 T flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 T dried parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups Silk plain soy milk warmed to gently steaming (a few minutes in the microwave)
6 c. shredded pepper jack style Rice Cheeze
1 1/4 c. coarse bread crumbs (I used flax and fiber bread crumbs - I make bread crumbs with whatever stale bread we have and then freeze, and this was in the freezer.)
3 T. cold Blue Bonnet margarine
1/2 c. Parma Zaan sprinkles by The Vegetarian Express (usually, these don't really have much flavor, but added to the topping was a nice touch)
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 baking dishes (or other chosen baking dishes).
2. Cook the macaroni according to package directions until just done (should be 9 minutes). Drain well.
3. Melt the margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4. When completely melted, add the flour mixture and gently whisk it in. Continue to gently whisk and to cook over medium heat (medium-low if you feel that medium is too high) for 2-3 minutes until your mixture goes from golden brown to a more light brown color. This is important! This is the roux, and if the flour in the roux is not cooked, you will get a paste flavor until of the spices.
5. When your roux is done, start slowly adding the warm soy milk. I add 1/2 cup, whisk it in thoroughly, add 1/2 cup, whisk it in thoroughly, then 1 cup, whisk, 1 cup, whisk, last 1 1/2 cups and whisk.
6. When all the soy milk is incorporated, turn the heat to medium-high and cook at a simmer or just below for a few minutes until the mixture starts to feel slightly thicker when you stir it gently with the whisk (it's as if the whisk has just a tiny bit more resistance on it as you stir with it, not actually whipping with it). At this point, add all of the cheese and switch to a spoon (the cheese shreds will get caught up in the whisk!).
7. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to stir occasionally and heat the mixture to melt the cheese. It's okay if there are bits that aren't melted, but it should be definitely more of a cheese sauce on the thin side Remember that the pasta will soak up the extra liquid and some will evaporate during baking.
8. Put the macaroni in its cooking pot, then pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and stir to combine. Pour it into the prepared pan(s).
9. In a medium bowl, cut the cold margarine into the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese substitute until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. This can be done using the back of a fork, a pair of knives, or alternatively a food processor on pulse. It helps if the margarine is cut into bits or tsp sized slices before starting. This can be done while the sauce is being made; it doesn't have to be done at the end.
10. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the macaroni and cheese. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven (everything is cooked, so this is just a browning on top, absorbing liquid, heating through kind of thing), covering with foil if the bread crumbs start to get too brown. Let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the liquid to absorb into the pasta.
The recipe turned out very good. It was slightly creamy but thick, just like baked macaroni and cheese should be. The flavor was excellent. Most homemade macaroni and cheese recipes call for good quality sharp cheddar cheese for good reason - use a bland cheese and end up with super bland macaroni and cheese (face it, the milk, flour, butter, and pasta aren't really the stars tap dancing on the taste buds for this). This is a problem I sometimes face with using cheese alternatives, as none of them ever really have that sharp bite. Still, if that's all you have.... The peppers in the cheese gave it some zing without overwhelming the tastebuds, and I really love how rice cheese melts so smoothly (really, far superior to soy cheeses many times). I baked the macaroni and cheese at 375 for 40 minutes, so that's what I did for our Italian sausages too - pull from the freezer, thaw, place 4 in an 8x8 baking dish, and bake them uncovered right next to the macaroni and cheese. Serve with some steamed whole green beans and some piping hot stewed tomatoes, and it was comfort on a plate.
(I messed with this so much that I'm writing this exactly as I did it - if you want to use dairy, just substitute in the appropriate items.)
1 lb elbow macaroni
12 T Blue Bonnet margarine (that's a stick and a half)
6 T flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 T dried parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups Silk plain soy milk warmed to gently steaming (a few minutes in the microwave)
6 c. shredded pepper jack style Rice Cheeze
1 1/4 c. coarse bread crumbs (I used flax and fiber bread crumbs - I make bread crumbs with whatever stale bread we have and then freeze, and this was in the freezer.)
3 T. cold Blue Bonnet margarine
1/2 c. Parma Zaan sprinkles by The Vegetarian Express (usually, these don't really have much flavor, but added to the topping was a nice touch)
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 baking dishes (or other chosen baking dishes).
2. Cook the macaroni according to package directions until just done (should be 9 minutes). Drain well.
3. Melt the margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4. When completely melted, add the flour mixture and gently whisk it in. Continue to gently whisk and to cook over medium heat (medium-low if you feel that medium is too high) for 2-3 minutes until your mixture goes from golden brown to a more light brown color. This is important! This is the roux, and if the flour in the roux is not cooked, you will get a paste flavor until of the spices.
5. When your roux is done, start slowly adding the warm soy milk. I add 1/2 cup, whisk it in thoroughly, add 1/2 cup, whisk it in thoroughly, then 1 cup, whisk, 1 cup, whisk, last 1 1/2 cups and whisk.
6. When all the soy milk is incorporated, turn the heat to medium-high and cook at a simmer or just below for a few minutes until the mixture starts to feel slightly thicker when you stir it gently with the whisk (it's as if the whisk has just a tiny bit more resistance on it as you stir with it, not actually whipping with it). At this point, add all of the cheese and switch to a spoon (the cheese shreds will get caught up in the whisk!).
7. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to stir occasionally and heat the mixture to melt the cheese. It's okay if there are bits that aren't melted, but it should be definitely more of a cheese sauce on the thin side Remember that the pasta will soak up the extra liquid and some will evaporate during baking.
8. Put the macaroni in its cooking pot, then pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and stir to combine. Pour it into the prepared pan(s).
9. In a medium bowl, cut the cold margarine into the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese substitute until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. This can be done using the back of a fork, a pair of knives, or alternatively a food processor on pulse. It helps if the margarine is cut into bits or tsp sized slices before starting. This can be done while the sauce is being made; it doesn't have to be done at the end.
10. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the macaroni and cheese. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven (everything is cooked, so this is just a browning on top, absorbing liquid, heating through kind of thing), covering with foil if the bread crumbs start to get too brown. Let it rest for 5 minutes to allow the liquid to absorb into the pasta.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Ham and Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Yes Please!
I managed to get a regular ham for only $1.03/lb, and sweet potatoes were a manageable $0.98/lb, so tonight is ham and mashed sweet potatoes! Going with it will be steamed peas and a warmed loaf of Italian bread, remainder from the bakery bought at 1/3 off the price. Who says I have to bake everything from scratch!
It turns out that 10 pounds of bone-in ham does *not* fit nicely into a 6 qt crockpot no matter which way you lay it, so I cut that big ham in half and put one half into the 6 quart oval crockpot and the other half into my 5 quart round crockpot. I had read up on cooking ham with ginger ale in the crockpot, and several reviews on several recipes said about spreading a paste of brown sugar and dijon/fancy mustard on top after ginger ale is poured over and around, so I gave it a try. The verdict is don't waste your time. The soda was good, as it draws out some of the salt while maintaining or adding a touch of sweetness, but it imparted no flavor and the brown sugar and mustard paste did absolutely nothing, just a waste of ingredients. Also, doing it in the crockpot instead of the oven did absolutely nothing to glaze the ham, just an FYI. I'm really considering getting another ham and trying the soda and baking method (any soda works well with this, and if you bake the ham instead of crockpot cooking it, basting every 30 minutes, it will glaze the ham). As it is, I have ham for dinner, and more than a dozen baggies (each 1 cup of cubed ham) of meat in the freezer to use in omelets, stir fries, hashbrowns, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffed potatoes, baked potatoes, bean soup, and more, plus I have the bones to make either split pea or ham and bean soup later this week.
1 ham (I used a 10 lb ham hacked in half, using two crockpots)
ginger ale - enough to put an inch of soda in the bottom of the crockpot
crockpot
1. Remove as much fat as you can from the ham. Put it in the crockpot.
2. Pour the ginger ale over the ham. Cover, and turn on low and cook for 8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Heck, the ham is already cooked, so 3-4 hours on low should do it. I did mine for 8 hours, and it fell apart as I pulled it out.
Now for the luscious mashed sweet potatoes. I'm sorry to say that I do this to taste every time, and whenever I try to do exact measurements, I end up fussing and fixing it anyway. These are my rough measurements.
9 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. butter/margarine, melted
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1. Bake the sweet potatoes: 400 degrees, 1 hour, don't forget to prick them so they don't explode from steam build up and don't forget to put foil under them to catch the sweet juice drips (which would turn into smelly burnt sugar drips on the oven floor).
2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and just kind of shake the insides into a mixer bowl - the skins slip right off, so I just grab the ends, flip it cut side down over the bowl, jiggle, and watch the meat of the potato fall right away.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Melting the butter not only ensure even dispersal but also means that the butter isn't cooling the sweet potatoes prematurely, changing the starch reactions (this is why you should warm your milk and butter before adding to white potatoes when mashing them too!).
I serve this just the way it is, although diners might want to have a pat of butter, drizzle of maple syrup or honey, or a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. To freeze, I put 1 cup portions in baggies, lay flat on a cutting board, freeze, and bag in a gallon freezer bag. Reheating is simple in the microwave, and they are great paired with grilled venison, ham, herbed pork chops, barbeque chicken, peas, broccoli, aspagaragus, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, almost any vegetable. Try serving with lemon herb chicken and a simple salad of fresh spinach, dried cranberries, candied pecans, thinly sliced red onion rings, crumbled chevre, and a cranberry vinaigrette. Wow!
It turns out that 10 pounds of bone-in ham does *not* fit nicely into a 6 qt crockpot no matter which way you lay it, so I cut that big ham in half and put one half into the 6 quart oval crockpot and the other half into my 5 quart round crockpot. I had read up on cooking ham with ginger ale in the crockpot, and several reviews on several recipes said about spreading a paste of brown sugar and dijon/fancy mustard on top after ginger ale is poured over and around, so I gave it a try. The verdict is don't waste your time. The soda was good, as it draws out some of the salt while maintaining or adding a touch of sweetness, but it imparted no flavor and the brown sugar and mustard paste did absolutely nothing, just a waste of ingredients. Also, doing it in the crockpot instead of the oven did absolutely nothing to glaze the ham, just an FYI. I'm really considering getting another ham and trying the soda and baking method (any soda works well with this, and if you bake the ham instead of crockpot cooking it, basting every 30 minutes, it will glaze the ham). As it is, I have ham for dinner, and more than a dozen baggies (each 1 cup of cubed ham) of meat in the freezer to use in omelets, stir fries, hashbrowns, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffed potatoes, baked potatoes, bean soup, and more, plus I have the bones to make either split pea or ham and bean soup later this week.
1 ham (I used a 10 lb ham hacked in half, using two crockpots)
ginger ale - enough to put an inch of soda in the bottom of the crockpot
crockpot
1. Remove as much fat as you can from the ham. Put it in the crockpot.
2. Pour the ginger ale over the ham. Cover, and turn on low and cook for 8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Heck, the ham is already cooked, so 3-4 hours on low should do it. I did mine for 8 hours, and it fell apart as I pulled it out.
Now for the luscious mashed sweet potatoes. I'm sorry to say that I do this to taste every time, and whenever I try to do exact measurements, I end up fussing and fixing it anyway. These are my rough measurements.
9 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. butter/margarine, melted
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1. Bake the sweet potatoes: 400 degrees, 1 hour, don't forget to prick them so they don't explode from steam build up and don't forget to put foil under them to catch the sweet juice drips (which would turn into smelly burnt sugar drips on the oven floor).
2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and just kind of shake the insides into a mixer bowl - the skins slip right off, so I just grab the ends, flip it cut side down over the bowl, jiggle, and watch the meat of the potato fall right away.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Melting the butter not only ensure even dispersal but also means that the butter isn't cooling the sweet potatoes prematurely, changing the starch reactions (this is why you should warm your milk and butter before adding to white potatoes when mashing them too!).
I serve this just the way it is, although diners might want to have a pat of butter, drizzle of maple syrup or honey, or a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. To freeze, I put 1 cup portions in baggies, lay flat on a cutting board, freeze, and bag in a gallon freezer bag. Reheating is simple in the microwave, and they are great paired with grilled venison, ham, herbed pork chops, barbeque chicken, peas, broccoli, aspagaragus, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, almost any vegetable. Try serving with lemon herb chicken and a simple salad of fresh spinach, dried cranberries, candied pecans, thinly sliced red onion rings, crumbled chevre, and a cranberry vinaigrette. Wow!
Monday, August 31, 2009
McSkillet Burritos
A loves McSkillet burritos but doesn't love that a) he has to go to McDonald's to get one when we live 30 minutes from the closest one and b) they cost $3-$4. Solution: we make our own and have a stash of skillet burritos in the freezer which take only a couple minutes to heat in the microwave and cost less than $1 each. We keep a whole box of breakfast items in one of our freezers (I have 3 freezers plus the one on the fridge), and this is a staple along with waffles, pancakes, and muffins. When I buy the eggs, block cheese, tortillas, and sausage patties at Sam's Club plus the potatoes and enchilada sauce on sale at the grocery store, these cost $0.85 to $0.90 each. Sorry that some of this is a little vague - that's the problem with coming up with something all on your own!
Copy Cat Skillet Burritos
12 eggs
3 regular size cans enchilada sauce
4 medium (fist sized) potatoes, baked and cooled
12 sausage patties
4 cups shredded cojack or cheddar cheese or cheese to taste - make sure you don't put on too much or you won't be able to shut the burrito!
12 burrito size flour tortillas
12 paper towels
2 gallon freezer bags
Thicken the enchilada sauce by simmering gently until it is reduced by 1/3 and is about the consistency of barbeque sauce.
Scramble the eggs.
Dice the potatoes into bite size pieces.
Cut the sausage patties in half.
Lay out a paper towel. Lay a tortilla on the paper towel. In a line down the middle of the tortilla, leaving an inch and a half or so of room on either end, start the layers. Two sausage halves laid end to end, then a single line of potato pieces, 1/4 cup of scambled egg, 2-3 T thickened enchilada sauce and 1/3 cup shredded cheese. Fold one side over the line of filling, then fold in the ends to seal in the line of filling, then roll over to form a burrito. Repeat the wrapping procedure with the paper towel around the burrito.
Continue the process 11 more times to make a total of 12 skillet burritos.
The burritos can be put directly into gallon freezer bags. To reheat, microwave for 2 minutes or so on high straight from the freezer. You'll need to experiment a little with your own microwave to figure out the exact timing.
Have fun and enjoy one of A's absolute favorites!
Copy Cat Skillet Burritos
12 eggs
3 regular size cans enchilada sauce
4 medium (fist sized) potatoes, baked and cooled
12 sausage patties
4 cups shredded cojack or cheddar cheese or cheese to taste - make sure you don't put on too much or you won't be able to shut the burrito!
12 burrito size flour tortillas
12 paper towels
2 gallon freezer bags
Thicken the enchilada sauce by simmering gently until it is reduced by 1/3 and is about the consistency of barbeque sauce.
Scramble the eggs.
Dice the potatoes into bite size pieces.
Cut the sausage patties in half.
Lay out a paper towel. Lay a tortilla on the paper towel. In a line down the middle of the tortilla, leaving an inch and a half or so of room on either end, start the layers. Two sausage halves laid end to end, then a single line of potato pieces, 1/4 cup of scambled egg, 2-3 T thickened enchilada sauce and 1/3 cup shredded cheese. Fold one side over the line of filling, then fold in the ends to seal in the line of filling, then roll over to form a burrito. Repeat the wrapping procedure with the paper towel around the burrito.
Continue the process 11 more times to make a total of 12 skillet burritos.
The burritos can be put directly into gallon freezer bags. To reheat, microwave for 2 minutes or so on high straight from the freezer. You'll need to experiment a little with your own microwave to figure out the exact timing.
Have fun and enjoy one of A's absolute favorites!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Crazy in Love with Pizza Kits and Leftovers
It was a rough few days to wrap up the week last week, but I'm back!
Friday night was family movie night, complete with pizza, french fries, and green bean fries. Yes, green bean fries. We went bold and daring and tried a copy cat recipe for TGI Friday's famous green bean fries. In one word - yum! I waited to post until I had also tried freezing and reheating them. I can now say that they freeze easily (just toss into a bag and freeze, no need to flash freeze, they don't stick together), and while they come out kind of rubbery when reheated in the oven, they turn out quite nicely when deep fried again for a minute or two straight from frozen. I used homegrown green beans and wax beans, water and beef base instead of the chicken broth, soy milk and Eggbeaters for the wash, and whole wheat bread crumbs. Here's the link for the recipe as I found it, but it can also be found in the top secret recipes book by Todd Wilbur, which by the way is generally a very good recipe book: www.recipesecrets.net/forums/recipe-exchange/19114-t-g-i-fridays-crispy-green-bean-fries.html. I will be making plenty of these green bean fries with my fall crop of green beans, wax beans, and burgundy beans, which I can then fry up in a couple minutes and love all winter long!
The other part of dinner was pizza, and I am in love with pizza kits, a true convert. I cook down plain tomato sauce in my 6 qt crockpot until the thickness of pizza sauce, then cool and bag in 1 1/4 c. measures in sandwich zipper bags. Squeeze the air out, seal, lay flat on a cutting board, and freeze. I bag 2 cups of shredded mozarella in another sandwich bag, seal, and freeze. A good handful (about 2-3 oz) of sliced pepperoni goes into a snack bag and then frozen. All of those parts go into a gallon freezer bag. About half of those gallon freezer bags also have added to them a ball of pizza dough tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. When I am planning on pizza, I pull one of the complete kits out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Roll out the dough into an 18" pizza pan, spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, lay out the pepperoni, and bake for 12 minutes at 450 degrees. When I'm not so planning but want pizza, I pull out a kit without dough, thaw the sauce, mix up the dough of choice, the proceed as usual. Doing kits this way and buying the ingredients in bulk at Sam's, the cost of an 18" pepperoni pizza is $2.34. The cheeseless version that I eat costs about $0.75. I love pizza kits!
Now for making leftovers on purpose. Most people run from leftovers like the plague, but I'm embracing them! We're having venison kabobs for dinner tonight, and while the charcoal is hot, we're grilling up 4-5 lb of venison that has been marinated in garlic balsamic vinaigrette. We can freeze this grilled venison, which can be thawed in the fridge and warmed for dinner with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, sliced thinly and placed on top of a bed of salad greens, diced and put into an omelet or fried potatoes, sliced thinly and put on top of pizza with onions and peppers, the list goes on! This will be a big time saver, plus it will maximize the expensive charcoal. Leftovers can be absolutely wonderful!
Friday night was family movie night, complete with pizza, french fries, and green bean fries. Yes, green bean fries. We went bold and daring and tried a copy cat recipe for TGI Friday's famous green bean fries. In one word - yum! I waited to post until I had also tried freezing and reheating them. I can now say that they freeze easily (just toss into a bag and freeze, no need to flash freeze, they don't stick together), and while they come out kind of rubbery when reheated in the oven, they turn out quite nicely when deep fried again for a minute or two straight from frozen. I used homegrown green beans and wax beans, water and beef base instead of the chicken broth, soy milk and Eggbeaters for the wash, and whole wheat bread crumbs. Here's the link for the recipe as I found it, but it can also be found in the top secret recipes book by Todd Wilbur, which by the way is generally a very good recipe book: www.recipesecrets.net/forums/recipe-exchange/19114-t-g-i-fridays-crispy-green-bean-fries.html. I will be making plenty of these green bean fries with my fall crop of green beans, wax beans, and burgundy beans, which I can then fry up in a couple minutes and love all winter long!
The other part of dinner was pizza, and I am in love with pizza kits, a true convert. I cook down plain tomato sauce in my 6 qt crockpot until the thickness of pizza sauce, then cool and bag in 1 1/4 c. measures in sandwich zipper bags. Squeeze the air out, seal, lay flat on a cutting board, and freeze. I bag 2 cups of shredded mozarella in another sandwich bag, seal, and freeze. A good handful (about 2-3 oz) of sliced pepperoni goes into a snack bag and then frozen. All of those parts go into a gallon freezer bag. About half of those gallon freezer bags also have added to them a ball of pizza dough tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. When I am planning on pizza, I pull one of the complete kits out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Roll out the dough into an 18" pizza pan, spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, lay out the pepperoni, and bake for 12 minutes at 450 degrees. When I'm not so planning but want pizza, I pull out a kit without dough, thaw the sauce, mix up the dough of choice, the proceed as usual. Doing kits this way and buying the ingredients in bulk at Sam's, the cost of an 18" pepperoni pizza is $2.34. The cheeseless version that I eat costs about $0.75. I love pizza kits!
Now for making leftovers on purpose. Most people run from leftovers like the plague, but I'm embracing them! We're having venison kabobs for dinner tonight, and while the charcoal is hot, we're grilling up 4-5 lb of venison that has been marinated in garlic balsamic vinaigrette. We can freeze this grilled venison, which can be thawed in the fridge and warmed for dinner with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, sliced thinly and placed on top of a bed of salad greens, diced and put into an omelet or fried potatoes, sliced thinly and put on top of pizza with onions and peppers, the list goes on! This will be a big time saver, plus it will maximize the expensive charcoal. Leftovers can be absolutely wonderful!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Another Split Family Dinner
It's Tuesday again, which means A coming home at 5:30 so I can dart out the door to my part-time job, all resulting in a split family dinner. The crockpot is our solution once again! Two small children isn't going to stop us from having complex grown-up foods, but we do try to integrate something into each meal that everyone will eat, often a bread or a fruit since our kids are iffy on the meats and vegetables. Tonight's dinner: turkey brats with spaghetti sauce, peppers, and onions.
I have loads of turkey sausages and turkey brats in the freezer that need to be used (they are over a year old). Digging through my very cold freezer, I found the bag of brats but the bag of sausages was buried under some chicken pieces, so I'm opting to use the brats. I have fresh peppers in the fridge, but I also have some sliced peppers and onions in the freezer that I'd like to replace with this year's crop, so those are getting used instead. Brown the brats, then put brats, onions, peppers, and jar of spaghetti sauce in a 4 qt crockpot, stir gently to combine, then cook on low for 6 hours. I'll serve with fresh rolls for sandwiches for A and me and the kids can eat with peanut butter and jam for dinner unless they are adventurous enough to try the main course. Round out with applesauce, carrots, and celery sticks, and we'll manage yet another split family dinner!
I have loads of turkey sausages and turkey brats in the freezer that need to be used (they are over a year old). Digging through my very cold freezer, I found the bag of brats but the bag of sausages was buried under some chicken pieces, so I'm opting to use the brats. I have fresh peppers in the fridge, but I also have some sliced peppers and onions in the freezer that I'd like to replace with this year's crop, so those are getting used instead. Brown the brats, then put brats, onions, peppers, and jar of spaghetti sauce in a 4 qt crockpot, stir gently to combine, then cook on low for 6 hours. I'll serve with fresh rolls for sandwiches for A and me and the kids can eat with peanut butter and jam for dinner unless they are adventurous enough to try the main course. Round out with applesauce, carrots, and celery sticks, and we'll manage yet another split family dinner!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Filling the Freezer
Oh no, my freezer inventory is getting low! This realization struck me this weekend, and now I'm going to have to do something about it, especially with school coming up in 3 weeks. I didn't get to the venison meat pies last week, so that is high priority today. Here's the rest of my game plan, which I'll put into action over the next two weeks.
Bake cookies, probably chocolate chip cookies and molasses sugar cookies, flash freeze, and bag. When I need a few cookies, say for S's school lunch, I just pull them out of the freezer bag, put them into a container and pop into the lunch bag. By lunch time, they will be thawed and just as fresh and soft as when first baked. I'll do this with some brownies too, and maybe rice krispie treats.
Hamburgers, both cooked and raw. I'll form the patties, and 1/4 lb patties will be grilled or baked, then cooled, flash frozen, and bagged, but the bagging is a little different. Put one hamburger in a sandwich bag with one regular size hamburger roll, then put several bags into a gallon freezer bag. When we need a quick burger as we run out the door, it takes 1 - 1 1/2 minutes to heat the burger and about 15 seconds to heat the bun in the microwave. For the raw burgers, I'll make gourmet 1/3 lb burgers, mixing in flavorings. There are hundreds of recipes out there, here's one such website: http://www.cheese-burger.net/tag/gourmet-burger-recipes. These cost a pretty penny at the store when you can find them (really can't here in the Upper Midwest), but they cost very little to make them yourself and really liven up burger night.
Meatloaf, uncooked. I'll just mix, form, and flash freeze a couple of meatloaves, then bag in gallon freezer bags. When we want meatloaf, I'll pull one out of the freezer the night before, put it in a baking dish, and let it thaw in the fridge, then bake as usual.
Scalloped potatoes. I will use 8x8 pans for our scalloped potatoes because that's a good size for our family. Line the pan with plastic wrap or double thickness foil with lots of extra on the ends, then grease the plastic wrap with shortening or spray with nonstick spray. Layer in sliced potatoes, sliced onions, shredded cheese (nondairy cheese for us with my dairy allergy!), medium white sauce, then repeat all the layers one more time. Put in the freezer, and when frozen, pull out of the pan, wrap the long ends of plastic wrap over the top, and put in a gallon freezer bag. To cook, I'll pull this out of the freezer, pull off the wrap, put it back in the pan I originally froze it in, and let it thaw in the fridge, then bake for an hour at 350. Some people have experience with the raw potatoes blackening, but for some crazy reason I have not. One solution is to blanche the potato slices - drop in boiling water for a minute, then drain. Another solution is to par-bake (half bake) or fully bake the dish then freeze it. If you do that, remember to use double thickness foil and not plastic wrap!
We're out of convenience foods like onion petals, boneless buffalo wings, and armadillo eggs, but I'm probably going to have to do some canning this week, so those will have to wait for another day!
Scalloped Potatoes for an 8x8 pan, double recipe for a 9x13 pan
1 lb potatoes (about 3 medium), cleaned, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 recipe medium white sauce, warm (recipe follows)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced or chopped
1 c. shredded Colby cheese (I really like cheddar almond or rice cheese for nondairy)
Layer 1/2 of all the ingredients in a greased or lined 8x8 baking dish - potoates, then onions, then cheese, then white sauce over top, then repeat.
Cover and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and continue baking until nicely browned, about 15 minutes.
Medium White Sauce
2 T all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper or black pepper
2 T butter or margarine
1 c. whole or nondairy creamer (going to be trying this soon with soy creamer!), warmed
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and pepper, then set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Gently whisk in the flour, salt, and pepper until the mixture is perfectly smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the warm milk until smooth, continuing to cook over low heat. Cooking this mixture is what will get rid of any flour or glue-like taste! Continue to slowly whisk in the warm milk until all of the milk has been added, then continue to cook over medium-low heat, whisking slowly/gently but constantly, until the mixture thickens and it is just under boiling, approximately 8 minutes. Especially when using milk and not an alternative, do not let the mixture boil!
Recipe from *The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook* by Diane Roupe.
Bake cookies, probably chocolate chip cookies and molasses sugar cookies, flash freeze, and bag. When I need a few cookies, say for S's school lunch, I just pull them out of the freezer bag, put them into a container and pop into the lunch bag. By lunch time, they will be thawed and just as fresh and soft as when first baked. I'll do this with some brownies too, and maybe rice krispie treats.
Hamburgers, both cooked and raw. I'll form the patties, and 1/4 lb patties will be grilled or baked, then cooled, flash frozen, and bagged, but the bagging is a little different. Put one hamburger in a sandwich bag with one regular size hamburger roll, then put several bags into a gallon freezer bag. When we need a quick burger as we run out the door, it takes 1 - 1 1/2 minutes to heat the burger and about 15 seconds to heat the bun in the microwave. For the raw burgers, I'll make gourmet 1/3 lb burgers, mixing in flavorings. There are hundreds of recipes out there, here's one such website: http://www.cheese-burger.net/tag/gourmet-burger-recipes. These cost a pretty penny at the store when you can find them (really can't here in the Upper Midwest), but they cost very little to make them yourself and really liven up burger night.
Meatloaf, uncooked. I'll just mix, form, and flash freeze a couple of meatloaves, then bag in gallon freezer bags. When we want meatloaf, I'll pull one out of the freezer the night before, put it in a baking dish, and let it thaw in the fridge, then bake as usual.
Scalloped potatoes. I will use 8x8 pans for our scalloped potatoes because that's a good size for our family. Line the pan with plastic wrap or double thickness foil with lots of extra on the ends, then grease the plastic wrap with shortening or spray with nonstick spray. Layer in sliced potatoes, sliced onions, shredded cheese (nondairy cheese for us with my dairy allergy!), medium white sauce, then repeat all the layers one more time. Put in the freezer, and when frozen, pull out of the pan, wrap the long ends of plastic wrap over the top, and put in a gallon freezer bag. To cook, I'll pull this out of the freezer, pull off the wrap, put it back in the pan I originally froze it in, and let it thaw in the fridge, then bake for an hour at 350. Some people have experience with the raw potatoes blackening, but for some crazy reason I have not. One solution is to blanche the potato slices - drop in boiling water for a minute, then drain. Another solution is to par-bake (half bake) or fully bake the dish then freeze it. If you do that, remember to use double thickness foil and not plastic wrap!
We're out of convenience foods like onion petals, boneless buffalo wings, and armadillo eggs, but I'm probably going to have to do some canning this week, so those will have to wait for another day!
Scalloped Potatoes for an 8x8 pan, double recipe for a 9x13 pan
1 lb potatoes (about 3 medium), cleaned, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 recipe medium white sauce, warm (recipe follows)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced or chopped
1 c. shredded Colby cheese (I really like cheddar almond or rice cheese for nondairy)
Layer 1/2 of all the ingredients in a greased or lined 8x8 baking dish - potoates, then onions, then cheese, then white sauce over top, then repeat.
Cover and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and continue baking until nicely browned, about 15 minutes.
Medium White Sauce
2 T all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper or black pepper
2 T butter or margarine
1 c. whole or nondairy creamer (going to be trying this soon with soy creamer!), warmed
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and pepper, then set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Gently whisk in the flour, salt, and pepper until the mixture is perfectly smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the warm milk until smooth, continuing to cook over low heat. Cooking this mixture is what will get rid of any flour or glue-like taste! Continue to slowly whisk in the warm milk until all of the milk has been added, then continue to cook over medium-low heat, whisking slowly/gently but constantly, until the mixture thickens and it is just under boiling, approximately 8 minutes. Especially when using milk and not an alternative, do not let the mixture boil!
Recipe from *The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook* by Diane Roupe.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Friday Night Fajitas!
It's Friday night, and we're going to have a party with our tastebuds! The weather is cool and rainy today, but that is not deterring us at all from having a great summer time Tex-Mex feast worthy of any restaurant but costing less for the whole meal than what we would pay for one person in a restaurant. Plus, maybe I can talk A into making his signature mojito recipe to go with it!
Dinner tonight is chicken fajitas, black bean and corn salad, pico de gallo, and Spanish fried rice. This will be an incredibly sensual experience - the amazing mixture of flavors, colors, textures, and shapes will inevitably seduce all of our senses and make for an intensely satisfying meal. The smooth texture, shape, and taste of the flour tortillas wrapped around the long strips of brightly colored peppers and onions and the tender slices of chicken, along with the mild taste of the tortillas wrapped around the explosive flavors of the fajita mix. The black of the black beans, the bright yellow of the corn, the bright red of the tomato, the flashes of deep green of the cilantro and the jalapeno, the sharp white of the onion are a visual prelude to the symphony once the salad hits the tongue but the lime, pepper, garlic, and cumin are surprising notes that lie in secret only for your mouth to discover them. The red tomato, white onion, green cilantro and jalapeno, and more of that lime, pepper, and garlic in the pico de gallo add an extra crescendo of flavor on top of the fajitas. The dry, warm, slightly rough texture of the Spanish fried rice with its subtle flavors balances the more outrageous flavors of the salad and the pico de gallo. Top with creamy guacamole, cool and smooth sour cream, and the gentle bite of the cheese. Wash it down with mojitos that lull your senses, calm your senses, refresh your palate with its lime and mint. Watch out, because tonight is looking like a night destined to stimulate the senses and lead to some definite overindulgence of dinner!
The fajita meat was in my freezer, and I pulled it out to thaw yesterday. I often keep sliced peppers and onions in the freezer to go with the meat; they aren't as tender crisp but when money is tight and produce prices are high, it's a great substitute. Sadly, I had to purchase tomatoes because mine are not yet ripe, but if you have a garden, many of tonight's ingredients can come straight from your garden no matter what growing zone you're in (I'm a 4, almost a 3!) - tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, corn, black beans, cilantro. As it is, I started soaking the black beans yesterday, I have the peppers and the cilantro, the corn is from the freezer, the rice has been bought bulk, same for the tomato sauce. This is a very inexpensive and pretty easy meal with the barest of planning!
Chili's Fajitas
1/4 cup lime juice
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or skirt steak
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced or wedged
Combine all ingredients except vegetables in a quart or gallon zipper bag (whichever size is appropriate) and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and preferrably for 24 hours, or freeze and thaw in the refrigerator when needed.
Grill meat over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side (can also broil or pan fry but best results are from grilling). Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then slice into thin strips.
Place a little oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute pepper and onion slices until tender crisp and lightly browned. If desired, sprinkle a little lime juice and pepper over them when done cooking.
Toss together the meat and the vegetables. Serve with soft tortillas, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Copy cat recipe for Chili's Fajitas, source misplaced!
Emeril's Pico de Gallo
1 1/2 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/4 c. diced red onion
1 T diced jalapenos
1 T minced garlic
2 limes, juiced
2 T chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve. I like to let this sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. This is one of our all time favorite recipes - I'm thinking of trying to grow a tomato plant inside the house this winter along with my herbs and lettuce just so we can have good pico de gallo when the snow is falling!
Black Bean and Corn Salad
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. freshly cooked corn or frozen corn, thawed
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 c. diced red onion
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
3 T vegetable oil
1/4 c. lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
In a large bowl, mix together the first seven ingredients.
In a small bowl, whisk together the last six ingredients. Pour enough dressing over the salad to coat.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow the flavors to marry. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe is from *The Big Book of Potluck* by Maryana Vollstedt. This is a new, untried recipe for me, so no promises, but it looks good!
The Spanish fried rice recipe is from a great website of Tex-Mex cooking, and it includes step-by-step instructions that I just cannot improve upon! www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com, use the Spanish fried rice link on the left side!
Dinner tonight is chicken fajitas, black bean and corn salad, pico de gallo, and Spanish fried rice. This will be an incredibly sensual experience - the amazing mixture of flavors, colors, textures, and shapes will inevitably seduce all of our senses and make for an intensely satisfying meal. The smooth texture, shape, and taste of the flour tortillas wrapped around the long strips of brightly colored peppers and onions and the tender slices of chicken, along with the mild taste of the tortillas wrapped around the explosive flavors of the fajita mix. The black of the black beans, the bright yellow of the corn, the bright red of the tomato, the flashes of deep green of the cilantro and the jalapeno, the sharp white of the onion are a visual prelude to the symphony once the salad hits the tongue but the lime, pepper, garlic, and cumin are surprising notes that lie in secret only for your mouth to discover them. The red tomato, white onion, green cilantro and jalapeno, and more of that lime, pepper, and garlic in the pico de gallo add an extra crescendo of flavor on top of the fajitas. The dry, warm, slightly rough texture of the Spanish fried rice with its subtle flavors balances the more outrageous flavors of the salad and the pico de gallo. Top with creamy guacamole, cool and smooth sour cream, and the gentle bite of the cheese. Wash it down with mojitos that lull your senses, calm your senses, refresh your palate with its lime and mint. Watch out, because tonight is looking like a night destined to stimulate the senses and lead to some definite overindulgence of dinner!
The fajita meat was in my freezer, and I pulled it out to thaw yesterday. I often keep sliced peppers and onions in the freezer to go with the meat; they aren't as tender crisp but when money is tight and produce prices are high, it's a great substitute. Sadly, I had to purchase tomatoes because mine are not yet ripe, but if you have a garden, many of tonight's ingredients can come straight from your garden no matter what growing zone you're in (I'm a 4, almost a 3!) - tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, corn, black beans, cilantro. As it is, I started soaking the black beans yesterday, I have the peppers and the cilantro, the corn is from the freezer, the rice has been bought bulk, same for the tomato sauce. This is a very inexpensive and pretty easy meal with the barest of planning!
Chili's Fajitas
1/4 cup lime juice
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or skirt steak
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced or wedged
Combine all ingredients except vegetables in a quart or gallon zipper bag (whichever size is appropriate) and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and preferrably for 24 hours, or freeze and thaw in the refrigerator when needed.
Grill meat over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side (can also broil or pan fry but best results are from grilling). Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then slice into thin strips.
Place a little oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute pepper and onion slices until tender crisp and lightly browned. If desired, sprinkle a little lime juice and pepper over them when done cooking.
Toss together the meat and the vegetables. Serve with soft tortillas, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Copy cat recipe for Chili's Fajitas, source misplaced!
Emeril's Pico de Gallo
1 1/2 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/4 c. diced red onion
1 T diced jalapenos
1 T minced garlic
2 limes, juiced
2 T chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve. I like to let this sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. This is one of our all time favorite recipes - I'm thinking of trying to grow a tomato plant inside the house this winter along with my herbs and lettuce just so we can have good pico de gallo when the snow is falling!
Black Bean and Corn Salad
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. freshly cooked corn or frozen corn, thawed
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 c. diced red onion
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
3 T vegetable oil
1/4 c. lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
In a large bowl, mix together the first seven ingredients.
In a small bowl, whisk together the last six ingredients. Pour enough dressing over the salad to coat.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow the flavors to marry. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe is from *The Big Book of Potluck* by Maryana Vollstedt. This is a new, untried recipe for me, so no promises, but it looks good!
The Spanish fried rice recipe is from a great website of Tex-Mex cooking, and it includes step-by-step instructions that I just cannot improve upon! www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com, use the Spanish fried rice link on the left side!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
What do I do with the leftovers?
It's a perfect storm for kitchen trouble right now: pay day which means a trip to the grocery store and a trip to Sam's Club, ripening produce in the garden, and a fridge full of leftovers. There is nothing wrong with leftovers, but I'm going to need that fridge space in a couple days! Hello, freezer!
Tonight's dinner will be omelets using the leftover grilled venison from Monday. There are a few marinated mushrooms floating in the jar in the fridge, and we'll slice them and stuff them in the omelets too, freeing up even more fridge space. Tuesday's chili will be portioned into rectangular 1 cup snack containers and stacked in the freezer; tomorrow I'll pop the chili "bricks" out and put them two to a quart bag and put back in the freezer - I even have toddler shoe boxes that will hold them upright. Last night's venison tips in gravy is going to be a little more work. I have a desire to have meat pies in the freezer again, so I'll thin the gravy slightly with a bit of broth, pull the chunks of meat into bite size pieces, add in sliced carrots, chopped onion, diced baked potato, frozen peas, and heat it all to get the gravy moving. No recipe because it's all tailor made for each cook and done by feel. Roll out pie crusts to fit foil individual pot pie pans (the secrets to the pie crust: use lard, a basic crust recipe, and roll out between sheets of plastic wrap so you aren't incorporating more flour which toughens crusts!). One recipe for a double crust 10" deep dish pie crust will make four pot pies with double crusts (crusts on top and bottom). Assemble, freeze, wrap well in foil, and label. When we want meat pies, we pull out of the freezer, preheat the oven to 350, and bake for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. I know every single thing that went into them, they are homemade, and they are convenience food - fantastic!
On a side note from yesterday's post, the cake was wonderful! Moist, firm, flavorful, and easy. I highly recommend it!
I'm also planning tomorrow's dinner already. We'll have chicken fajitas on a Friday night - perfect! I keep BL/SL (boneless skinless) chicken breasts in Chili's copycat fajita marinade in the freezer. I will pull a bag of this chicken out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw today, and tomorrow evening I will have thawed chicken that has been marinating as it thaws. More to follow tomorrow!
Tonight's dinner will be omelets using the leftover grilled venison from Monday. There are a few marinated mushrooms floating in the jar in the fridge, and we'll slice them and stuff them in the omelets too, freeing up even more fridge space. Tuesday's chili will be portioned into rectangular 1 cup snack containers and stacked in the freezer; tomorrow I'll pop the chili "bricks" out and put them two to a quart bag and put back in the freezer - I even have toddler shoe boxes that will hold them upright. Last night's venison tips in gravy is going to be a little more work. I have a desire to have meat pies in the freezer again, so I'll thin the gravy slightly with a bit of broth, pull the chunks of meat into bite size pieces, add in sliced carrots, chopped onion, diced baked potato, frozen peas, and heat it all to get the gravy moving. No recipe because it's all tailor made for each cook and done by feel. Roll out pie crusts to fit foil individual pot pie pans (the secrets to the pie crust: use lard, a basic crust recipe, and roll out between sheets of plastic wrap so you aren't incorporating more flour which toughens crusts!). One recipe for a double crust 10" deep dish pie crust will make four pot pies with double crusts (crusts on top and bottom). Assemble, freeze, wrap well in foil, and label. When we want meat pies, we pull out of the freezer, preheat the oven to 350, and bake for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. I know every single thing that went into them, they are homemade, and they are convenience food - fantastic!
On a side note from yesterday's post, the cake was wonderful! Moist, firm, flavorful, and easy. I highly recommend it!
I'm also planning tomorrow's dinner already. We'll have chicken fajitas on a Friday night - perfect! I keep BL/SL (boneless skinless) chicken breasts in Chili's copycat fajita marinade in the freezer. I will pull a bag of this chicken out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw today, and tomorrow evening I will have thawed chicken that has been marinating as it thaws. More to follow tomorrow!
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