Weekly Cooking Thread - Jan 15, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks | January 15, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 6th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great?

Would you like to share a tried and true recipe for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' recipe stack of Family favorites?

Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.

[mschalock]

Soak your beans overnight (or bring to a boil and let sit for an hour. Then cook until done. Check them after around 40 minutes. Different beans take different amounts of time to cook and it depends on the age of the bean too. When done, cool and then put 2 cups beans per Ziplock freezer bag and freeze. Each packet will equal one can of store-bought beans.

Red Beans and Rice

1-1/2 cups uncooked long grain brown rice
one 16 oz can diced tomatoes, including juice
2 cups (one can) kidney beans(or red, pinto, black...)
1-2 bell peppers, any color
1 large onion, chopped
1 to 2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp basil
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
3 cups vegetable broth (or water if that’s all you have)
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Put everything into a large sauce pan, cover, and cook until rice it tender, about 40-45 minutes. Leftovers are great rolled up in a tortilla. This freezes very well.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Preserved Lemons

What are they good for? Any meat or veggie dish where you would use fresh lemons. They have an intense lemon flavor and best of all you can buy lemons when they are cheap and preserve them for when you want to use them.

What you will need.

Lemons
Kosher salt.
Oil (Olive works nicely but any oil will do)
A wide mouth jar

Put salt in the bottom of the jar.
Cut the stem end off the lemons, quarter and cover with salt.
Stuff lemons in the jar.
Put in a layer of salt.
Keep doing this until the jar is stuffed full.
Add the juice of one lemon to get the process going.
Gently add oil to the top of jar until you have a thin layer.
Close the jar and store in the fridge.
Turn the jar every 12 hours or so for a week.
Presto preserved lemons!

To use remove lemon, rinse, scrap the fruit and pith off and use the skin.

Add to rice pudding along with bay leaves and cinnamon for a bright taste of summer in the middle of winter.

[Silentgypsy]

I think “Babootie” is also a Tagalog (Filipino) word (not sure of spelling) meaning wonderful!

[Silentgypsy]

Have you preserved oranges and limes? Do you have to use the entire fruit or can you just use the skins? What a great idea to always have lemon zest flavor around! Yesterday, I made an orange-scented apple raisin crisp, and the fragrance was divine!

[earglasses]

The Tagalog word is an accurate descriptor. Some recipes for the dish online even cite an origin in the Barbados. In South Africa, the dish is also spelled “bobotie” according to Wikipedia, and can be traced back to the 17th Century there.

[Silentgypsy]

I had the opportunity to work w/a lot of wonderful cooks from the Phillippines (sp?), and learned a tad of the language. It was a great gift and blessing!
Did you know that people from Barbados really spaz out if you mispronounce “Barbados?” They don’t get upset about anything else. LOL!

[Netizen]

Beef Stew
2 pounds boneless beef top round roast, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes  or stew meat 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes* 2 medium onions, cut into eighths  2 cups sliced celery 2 cups slicedcarrots 2 can (11-1/2 ounces) tomato juice **	1/3 cup dry sherry or water or beef broth 1/3 cup quick-cooking tapioca  2 tsp sugar  1 teaspoon salt  (optional) 1/2 teaspoon dried basil  1/2 teaspoon pepper*** 2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
* I use small red potatoes and leave the skin on. ** I use low sodium V-8. *** I use 1 T Mrs Dash instead In a Dutch oven or large soup kettle, combine the beef, potatoes, onions, celery and carrots; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the tomato juice, sherry, beef broth or water, tapioca, sugar, salt, basil and pepper. Let stand for 15 minutes.  Pour over beef mixture. Cover and bake at 325° for 3 hours or until meat is almost tender.   Add the beans; cook 30 minutes longer or until beans and meat are tender.  Yield: 8 servings.  Serving size: (1 cup)  Per serving: Calories: 268, Fat: 7, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 519mg, Carbohydrates: 25g, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Protein: 25 Diabetic Exchange: 3 lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1 starch.

I usually use beef broth or add a boullion cube to the water, which means the sodium content will change depending on what you use.  I never add extra salt and have found that using just water was kind of lacking.  I sometimes use frozen vegetables instead of fresh green beans.  If I use frozen, I use 3 cups mixed and I put them on top of the other veggies, then add the sauce.  I also add  1 1/2 tsp of ground flax meal.

[libertarian27]

I use V-8 in beef stew too - a great addition to nutrition and taste....not only a great drink but a great ingredient.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I have never done oranges. Limes yes, you can do them the same way. I use the entire fruit as part of the lemon flavor comes from the juice. You could use a few juiced lemons skins after you have enough liquid in the jar.

BTW very important to wash the fruit, the jar and your hands before beginning. Otherwise you can end up with mold.

[Netizen]

Isn’t there a spicy version of V-8? If so, have you tried it?

[libertarian27]

Yes, I’ve seen the ‘spicy hot’ version - I’m not a spicy or hot food eater so I steer away from that stuff - but I bet it would be a good base for chili, wings, etc.

[patlin]

Yes, I’ve seen the ‘spicy hot’ version - I’m not a spicy or hot food eater so I steer away from that stuff - but I bet it would be a good base for chili, wings, etc.

The ‘spicy’ V-8 works great as a substitute for tomato juice in your fav chili recipe. Another great substitute for the “hot & spicy” lovers is “Bold & Spicy” Bloody Mary Mix. In my neck of the woods, Mrs T's is usually a staple in most grocery stores that also carry beer.

[patlin]

Mmmm, that recipe sounds yummy. The family blessed me with pasta attachments for the kitchenaid stand mixer. This week while the grandchildren were here, we made ravioli. I couldn't find a filling recipe I liked, so we made our own:

saute 1/4 lb gr. round with 1 green onion & one small garlic clove(both chopped extra fine), pinch salt & dash pepper then rinse & let cool. Add 1/4 c. feta ch(we used tomato & basil feta), 1/8 c. finely shredded mozzarella, 1/8 c finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese & one egg to bind it all together (makes for gooey finger cooking fun for kids).

For the topping sauce we used one med can crushed tomatoes, 1 Tbsp butter & our fav Italian spices and let that simmer while making the ravioli.

Cook ravioli on boiling salted water until ravioli floats, remove from water and drizzle with the sauce

[ChocChipCookie]

I’ve never made homemade ravioli, but that filling sounds wonderful!

On the recommendation of a friend, I bought Not Your Mother’s Slow-Cooker Cookbook (I think that’s the title) and am so disappointed. Out of the three recipes I’ve tried so far, two have been just awful. A Swiss steak recipe resulted in decimated meat and last night’s Hoisin Chicken was all dried out, and I only cooked it for the minimum amount of time mentioned in the recipe. grrrr

So, all that to say I don’t have any great recipes to share today. :o)

[bgill]

Haven’t had time to make your chicken recipes yet and haven’t even had time to get on FR all week but have yours bookmarked to do so asap. Reading over the General Tso’s Chicken and saw you discarded the skin. Nooo! I’ve just been introduced to the wonderful world of cracklings. Ok, so they might not be healthy but they’re sooo good that I really don’t care.

CHICKEN CRACKLINGS

When you’re putting up chicken pieces for the freezer, don’t throw out the skins. Save them for cracklings.

Sprinkle on any seasoning combination you’d like - plain salt and pepper, or lemon pepper, or old bay or whatever. Fry the skins in oil or bake them on a cookie sheet until crispy. Enjoy!

[libertarian27]

January 15th ReCap List:

Dessert* 36 White Chip Orange Divine Cookies
Meal* 6 Lemon Sauce’: Northern Italian
Meal* 9 GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN PENG TENG
Meal* 11 Wheat Free and Gluten Free Pizza Crust
Meal* 20 Scampi Time
Meal* 21 Scrunchy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Meal* 24 BABOOTIE - South African delight...
Meal* 31 Ham and Asparagus Bake
Meal* 39 Chicken Lasagna
Meal* 41 Better Than Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
Meal* 44 Aromatic Chicken & Lentils
Meal* 44 Herbs de Provence
Meal* 45 Beef Stroganoff
Meal* 63 Homemade Ravioli
Side* 23 Corny Corn Bread
Side* 24 butternut squash coleslaw:
Side* 43 Calico Baked Beans
Side* 51 Red Beans and Rice
Side* 52 Preserved Lemons
Side* 65 CHICKEN CRACKLINGS
Soup* 15 Shrimp Chowder
Soup* 37 Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup
Soup* 47 Hamburger Lentil Soup - My Moms Great Recipe
Soup* 57 Beef Stew

(Please don’t post anymore recipes on this string - place them on the current week thread :)

All Weekly ReCap links can be found on my profile page

[libertarian27]

January 22nd Weekly Cooking Thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2661466/posts

[rightly_dividing]

I made your soup today. It reminded me of the Cabbage Beef soup at Shoneys when I read it, so I used kidney beans in place of lentils, and chicken broth in place of water. It came out great!

[illiac]

Always good to have feedback on these....thanks!