Posted on 02/12/2011 5:29:09 AM PST by libertarian27
Welcome to the 10th 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.
February 9 - Milton Hershey created the Hershey Chocolate Company :)
Seriously, I read in a description in a book about how Dominicans from the Dominican Republic prepare goat. I have a couple of lamb shanks in the freezer and thought I would try this (I made it up but it’s as close to the description as I can come):
Rub the shanks liberally with oregano.
Put in a crockpot with chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and a cup or so of white wine. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
I hope this is good.
Have used a pressure-cooker for many years.
Great for doing “cooked all day” stew dishes for my family...in about 30 minutes — perfect for working mother/father.
Will post a couple of favorite beef stew recipies later when I get home.
Generally speaking, take your favorite “cooked all day” stew recipe and do the following alterations:
1. Cut the meat up into bite-sized pieces
2. Saute the vegetables (especially onion, garlic)
3. Reduce the liquid/water by about half (that’s the half that would have steamed away cooking all day).
4. Cook at high pressure about 20 minutes.
I approach cooking as an experiment, rather than rules. Adjust recipies (ie add wine, add spice) to suit yourself.
Bon Eating!
I tried that recipe after you posted it elsewhere last week and it is a very good pie! Thanks again.
For Valentines I am making these.............
Strawberry Cake Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 Strawberry Cake Mix (18.5 oz)
1 egg
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
Directions: Mix ingredients together with spoon or electric mixer. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or so to keep dough from sticking to your hands. (If dough is still sticky, refrigerate a few minutes more.) Roll into one inch balls and place on a non stick cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Edges should be lightly browned.
Decorating/Toppings:
Ingredients:
Candy/Sugar Sprinkles
Almond Bark, Chocolate Chips, or a Chocolate Bar
To decorate the cookies, I immediately poured just a small amount of red candy sprinkles on them right after I took them out of the oven.
Usually I mix a spoon full sprinkles in with the actually dough before making
For the topping, I just took a couple of squares of almond bark and heated in the microwave for about a minute and half. Don’t forget to take the chocolate out every 15 seconds to stir, in order to prevent scorching. Then just drizzle the chocolate on.
I *love* this thread! Thank you.
BTTT
“... about the cheaper cuts”
My kids like a recipe that I make with hamburger. It is a heavier, Winter meal. Simply fry the hamburgers with whatever you like (like onions, mushrooms or plain) and then simmer the patties with canned/jarred beef gravy. The gravy makes the hamburgers softer. I serve them with noodles or mashed potatoes. I like to put in a lot of gravy since the kids pour it over the carb side dish. It is a bit “fancier” than hamburgers on a bun and really sticks to your ribs. Mom
Pressure Cooker Chicken
Ingredients
6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 potatoes peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
4 long strips lemon zest
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 2 tablespoons chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed (2 1/2 to 3 pounds)
2 cups chicken broth
Directions
Put the carrots, onions, potatoes, lemon zest, rosemary sprigs, and olive oil in a 7-liter pressure cooker. Season the vegetables with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and the chicken with salt, to taste. Pour the broth in the pot, then nestle the chicken meat side down on top of the vegetables.
Close the pressure cooker lid, bring the pressure up to high (this can take up to 10 minutes). Adjust the heat, if necessary, to maintain an even high pressure for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and use the quick-release method to bring down the pressure.
Stir the chopped rosemary into the chicken stew. Put 1 chicken breast in each of 4 large soup bowls and ladle some carrots, potato, and broth over each one.
We've had 2 weekly sales circulars out already this month and no special canned food specials, yet. I've noticed more and more these days that the annuals sales events are being done away with. With food prices on the rise, I wonder if there will be real sales or fake sales after a jump in price.
I'll jump in here:)
A cheap cut of beef, salt it, use balsalmic vinegar, to cover it, then a cheap beer.
The beer and the salt push the vinegar in, after 20 minutes the vinegar cures the meat from the inside out, cook to medium.......the steak is great!
Go to your pressure cooker's website for recipes. Check out it's competition's site's as well.
The Kerr and Ball sites have canning recipes and those are definitely tried and tested.
Another great source is your local County Agent/Home Extension Agent. Look in the yellow pages under county/local government offices for their address or phone number, or ask a friend who's kids are in 4H because that's who is in charge of 4H. Stop by their office and they'll load you up with free recipes and tips. They will also safety test your pressure cooker for free (not that a new one would need testing but older ones do).
Use your own tried and tested recipes. The main thing is to get the timing right.
Garlic Ginger Barbequed Baby Back Ribs
This is an old Emeril recipe that I have made many times - it is very good
Ingredients
2 pounds baby back ribs, cut into individual ribs
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves
2 cups canned low-sodium beef broth
Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
Directions
Place the ribs in a bowl or resealable plastic bag and toss with the Essence. Place the ribs in a pressure cooker and add the onions, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, hot sauce, and bay leaves. Sear meat over high heat until browned. Add broth, lock lid in place and place over high heat. Once a steady stream of steam is emitted from the release valve, turn heat down to medium. Cook for 40 minutes, opening twice, following method in manufacturers’ instructions, and stir to prevent sticking. Remove the ribs from the pot. Using a spoon, carefully skim any fat from the top of the cooking liquid that remains in the pot. Add the sauce ingredients to the pressure cooker and cook on low heat, stirring for 5 minutes. Return the ribs to the pot and gently stir to coat.
Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly
“... about the cheaper cuts”
We do the same.....we also go to Costco (if you have access to one) and buy pork loin and cut it up into pork chops, or cook it whole in a crock pot - shred it, pour over your favorite BBQ sauce and have pulled pork sandwiches.
We also, when we can afford it, buy whole beef tenderloin roasts and cut them into filets.
We also buy their bulk hamburger.
Anything not used for a meal can be frozen and used later.
Costco usually has prices 30% less than out supermarkets, and their meat is usually far better.
My kids don’t normally like gravy so they call this “Meat with the Good Gravy”:
2 lbs cheap cut of beef, cut into bite chunks
enough oil to brown beef
1 onion, chopped and/or a large handful of chopped mushrooms
thickener of your choice - flour, cornstarch, or xanthan gum
1/2 C cream or half/half
1 T+ balsamic vinegar, to taste
1 T soy sauce
a couple squirts of mustard
salt and pepper, to taste (you probably won’t need salt because of the soy sauce and mustard).
Brown and cook the beef in enough oil so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Remove meat from pan and saute the onion and/or mushrooms in the meat drippings. Make a thin gravy/roux with the remaining ingredients. Return the meat to the pan and heat through.
The gravy should be thin so you can either serve this over mashed potatoes or rice, or by itself in a bowl.
I use a pinch of xanthan gum as the thickener at the end. For those who haven’t heard of xanthan gum, it’s a great thickener when low carbing. One brand is Bob’s Red Mill which can be found in larger grocery stores. At first glance the $10 price for 1/2 lb. is ridiculous, but considering you only use a pinch per dish it’s cost is nominal and a bag lasts for yearssss (stored in the freezer).
Something strange I learned - A major grocery chain in Texas is HEB. It sometimes has their already seasoned fajita meats (beef, pork, and chicken) on sale. Think outside the box because it doesn’t have to to used just for fajitas. It’s strange, but you can use it for chinese dishes and other spicy recipes. Just adjust the spices and watch the salt. Or rinse the outside to remove some of the flavor. Hey, my freezer doesn’t pass up boneless skinless meat when there’s a great sale.
I do the same with the pork fajita meat I mentioned in #39. The pork is always the cheapest.
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