Garlic steak strips

This recipe is a work in progress and is a variation of the garlic chicken.

What I did:

3 round steaks cut into 1/3in strips

1 cup soy sauce (should try reduced salt)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix soy sauce and vinegar together. Spoon mixture over single layer of  beef in glass bakeware.  Spoon small amount of minced garlic on each piece.

Baked @350 for 15 min covered

Baked @350 for 15 min uncovered

Removed the beef from the liquid. Thickened the liquid slightly to make a sauce.

Served with mashed potatoes and peas.

Used a small amount of the sauce over the beef and mashed potatoes.

The flavor of the beef was good; however, it was tough.  (But all beef we've purchased in New York has been tough.)

We think it would be better if the soy sauce was all reduced salt as the sauce was too salty.  Also it would help the toughness if the meat was marinated for at least a day and the slow cooked in the Crock-Pot.  

It might also work to serve it over rice and slightly sauteed broccoli.

Garlic Chicken

So I am a fan of simple dishes that taste good.  This one is one that I tried, modified, and promptly lost the recipe and I tried to recreate it from memory.  This is a work in progress.

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup peanut oil (I don't know if it is necessary)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
minced garlic (I use from a jar)

directions:
preheat oven to 375°F (convection oven) or 400°F (conventional)
Arrange the chicken in an oven-safe baking dish (I use a 9X13 inch glass type), so that the chicken is not touching. Use 2 dishes if needed.
Smear a small (1/4t) amount of minced garlic on the top of each chicken piece
mix the red wine vinegar, peanut oil and garlic powder in a separate bowl,
Continually stir the mixture while spooning it on each piece of chicken, I spoon two or three on each chicken until I run out.
Cover the dish in tinfoil for the first 30min
Cook until the chicken is well cooked - clear liquid when pierced, or use a thermometer.

This time, the chicken wasn't completely thawed, I left it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.  It took over an hour and 10min to cook completely.

Serve with steamed broccoli.

Kielbasa Rice

We lost the original recipe to this, so we are trying to recreate from memory. There WILL be modifications.



1 lb turkey kielbasa, sliced
1 onion, chopped

• brown

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 1/2 dry rice
1 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin

• add and stir

• oregano sprinkled on top

• cover

• let cook on simmer

do not stir oregano in until rice is fully cooked on pain of death

Hamburgers

It seems that everyone has their favorite recipe for hamburgers.  Mine is a variation of my father's.

Ingredients (all amounts are approximate):
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 - 2 large onions  diced small or run through the blender
1 - 2 carrots shredded or run through the blender
2 cups rolled oats
2 large eggs
parsley to taste
cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste (it takes a lot to make it spicy)

We have substituted celery or green peppers for the carrots.

Mix thoroughly together. Form into patties and fry in pan.  makes approx 16.

If there is too much of the oat, onions and carrots, it does not hold together.

Beef Soup in Crockpot

We purchased a half beef a couple of years ago and have several soup bones that have never been used so I decided to try making it into a soup.  I found seeveral recipies for beef soups so here is the resultant soup.

The base:

Soup bones with meat.
3 cups tomatoes - frozen or canned
Seasoning based on rest of soup
Water and maybe tomato juice (I used bottled)
1 onion diced

Place beef bones in crockpot.  Add tomatoes, juice, and onion.  Add water to  cover.

Cook until the meat falls off the bone (about 12 hours on high).

First try:

2 cups dry white beans.
2 large potatoes
Handfull of soybeans
Mixed vegies

Add the beans, cook for 4 hours unitl the beans are tender.
Add potatoes and vegies, cook 2 hours.

Second try:

1 pound spit peas
4 cups cooked rice
Carrots sliced

Add split peas, cook for at least 3  hours.
Add cooked rice and slice carrots.  cook for 1 hour.

Meatloaf in a Blanket - revisited

Meatloaf in a Blanket

The following recipe is derived from a recipe in the Encyclopedia of Culinary Arts.  This is updated from the previous posting which follows the original recipe.

Ingredients:

leftover Roast  Beef, Pork, etc.
cooked potatoes
cooked carrots
raw eggs
almond milk
Baking powder biscuit dough - The recipe I use comes from the Betty Crocker cookbook:
{
2 cups flour
1/4 t flour
1T baking powder
1/3 cup shortning
3/4 cup almond milk.
}
 I usually end up using a triple recipe.
Gravy - a mushroom gravy gives the best flavor and any basic gravy works.

Dice the roast, potatoes and carrots and combine in sauce pan. At least half of the mixture should be potatoes. Heat until warm, add just enough almond milk to moisten.  Add enough raw eggs so that the mixture is thoroughly coated.  Cook until the eggs are half cooked. I've started using starch (potato/tapioca)  with the eggs to provide the thickening.

Roll out the biscuit dough in an oval shape about 1/4 inch thick.  Spoon the roast and potatoes into the center of the dough.  Fold the dough to the top an join together.  Place on a pizza pan (a cookie sheet works too).  Add diagonal slits for vents.

Bake for 10-15 min at 450.

I know the quantities are not fixed, but usually for us the amount of leftovers are not known until after the first meal with the roast.  Since the potatoes and carrots are cooked with the roast, the meatloaf in a blanket recipe usually has to be adjusted to account for the quantities that we have.  The vegetables are not fixed, if you prefer cooking other vegetables with the roast, they can easily be added, though it may be necessary to change seasoning .  The latest version we had used cabbage and sweet bell peppers along with the potatoes and carrots since it was cooked with corned beef.

I found that a single batch of the biscuits cooks quite nicely so it works better to make multiple meatloaf in a blanket rather than increasing its size.

 One point that I finally figured out, the recipe that this is based off of uses regular milk that thickens when cooked with milk and almond, soy, or other non-animal milk doesn't do, so changing it to use starch is a better replacement which uses less eggs.  

Thanksgiving 2013 Menu

Cashew and Hot Pepper Turkey?grayman's new brain child, we'll see what happens there, or if it happens.

Lion House Cashew Stuffing---Um, is this a theme?

Celery Root Gold Mashed Potatoes and Gravy---Ahh, no theme.

Mashed Pineapple Sweet Potatoes---Lizzyland's brain child, again we'll see what happens. No cashews.

Favorite Fruit Salad--No cashews, walnuts.

Acorn Squash--With walnuts, wait, it's that theme thing coming up again.

Rolls--I think our guests are bringing her pumpkin rolls

Veggie Trio--peas, corn and caramelized onions. 

Caramalized Apple Pecan Cake

Pumpkin Pie

Heaven and Earth Pie --joint brain child, this will need it's own post. But no nuts....I think.


So it looks like a fairly Nutty Thanksgiving. But hey aren't we all a little nutty around the holidays?