What did you cook today?

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I took out my crockpot this morning for the first time in years. I simmered ribs in a jar of bbq sauce and some Fresca (any flavor pop adds sweetness). When I came back from work they were all cooked and delicious! I'm going to look online for crockpot recipes. This is stew season!

Yum!

I have a recipe for Ancho Beef Chili that calls for Coke - a similar idea.

Ann

Outdoor eating:

My daughter-in-law gave me this cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, for Christmas.  It was written by a city girl, Ree Drummond, who married an Oklahoma rancher and horse breeder and had to learn to cook cowboy style.  There are not only recipes, but tons of photos of cowboys, cattle, and mustangs, so she thought it would be a good inspiration for my new novel.

She also asked if I would give her some cooking lessons.  Dave has been the primary cook of the family, but now that she is a mother, she is more into domestication.  So while we were snowed in, we made this recipe for "Chicken-fried Steak".  Even her New York State father liked it.

Ann

Same cookbook has a recipe for "Rib-eye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce." I think I will fix it for our family dinner this Thursday. (We've switched from Sundays because son-in-law has to work Sundays for a while.) This is a meat-and-potatoes cookbook, so there aren't many veggie recipes. I'm thinking roasted mixed vegetables, using broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, spread on a baking sheet and drizzled with olive oil and a few herbs.

Ann

So, our first Thursday dinner seemed to go well. I used the menu above, plus some roasted potatoes. I finally managed to get some pictures.

Table set for dinner


Getting ready to cook. The rib-eyes were too pricy, so I got some prepared poblano chili/cheddar burgers to go with the veggies and potatoes


Better pic of potaotes. Bought the prepared, with seasonings and butter, in a plastic bag. Could have just nuked them, but my microwave isn't working.


Appetizer was hot cherry peppers with herbed goat cheese and rice chips (Lynn in eating gluten-free these days)

A bottle of son-in-law's favorite Louis Martini cab (he has been a super family member this week, during a family crisis we've been dealing with)

Dinner was served...note the bowl of whiskey cream sauce.

And very well eaten

Clean-up will be a breeze.
The whiskey cream sauce was to die for.

(Saute chopped onions in butter, add bourbon or other whiskey and cook down so no alcohol is left, add some beef stock, simmer, then add cream and let thicken. Season with salt and pepper.)

Yum.

Ann

I hate to admit it, but I cooked a plain old meatloaf. I seem to make it quite often lately and try to health it up with the best 97% lean ground beef, fresh red onions, steel cut oats, high quality eggs, fresh and stewed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, Italian seasonings and added zest from a variety of fresh peppers and/or mushrooms. It's tasty, attractive and versatile. Nothing like an old fashioned meal of mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, steamed veggies, crisp garden greens salad and a nice slice of colorful meatloaf. Sometimes, I substitute ground turkey for beef and lean toward the sausage type seasonings. I wonder if the vegetarians could make a tasty meatloaf? Sort of like veggie burgers, I guess.

Ann, your family dinner looks grand. I hope that when my kids are grown with their own families we'll have such dinners. My own parents are so unpleasant, difficult, and draining to be around (even worse than me, lol), that stuff like that is never done. In fact, I've been estranged from my dad for a year; I made an overture recently and was met with the usual nastiness. So hey, FOAD. I'm done. Oh, this thread is about cooking isn't it?

DK -I've been making a lot of meatloaf lately, too! Ground beef, dried Lipton onion soup, an egg, brown sugar, yellow mustard, 2/3 cup milk, and some ketchup. What else do you need? Oh yeah, white rice and soy sauce as a side dish. Delicious!

"A Mess of Pottage"

A very long time ago, my dad gave my mother and me each a cool Christmas present, a full set of The Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cooking. He had been surreptitiously buying them a volume or two at a time, from the special program at the local supermarket, every time he did the grocery shopping for Mom (which was 99% of the time), so that, by the holidays, he had two complete sets.

I remember an article in one of them; I don't remember the author, that described the probable dish that Esau sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for in the Biblical Old Testament. The author had researched, and decided that the dish must have been lentils cooked with brown rice and onions cooked in olive oil, and concluded that it must have been the smell of those onions cooking in that oil that drove Esau over the edge. She then gave a recipe, which I've been using for years, and may even have helped me get an A+ in my Ancient Civ class when I went back to school, since I gave my professor a copy of the recipe.



I'm serving it today with some roasted veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, and garlic. In warmer weather, it is really good piled on top of a garden veggie salad seasoned with a good Italian dressing - the suggestion in the article; as the writer said, the combination of cold, crisp salad and warm beans and rice makes a great light meal. Today, it's too cold here for that.

Ann

2/16/2011

I have a great meat loaf recipe, I have to download it,
It's by Betty Crocker, Awesome !


Cheers..Joe

Oh, please do. I've been thinking meatloaf for tomorrow night's family dinner.

Ann

Dear Ann,
I had meatloaf last night. I added a bit of chorizo to the mix. It was very good.

When I make meatloaf, I mix a double batch and freeze half of the mix. The next time I want mmeatloaf, it is just a matter of thawing and cooking.

Love,
Betty

Great ideas, Betty.

Ann

2/16/2011

Ann:

Here's the meatloaf recipe, I use 85% lean, not 90%


Meat Loaf by Betty Crocker

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic chopped

1 large egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup ketchup

1 small onion chopped

Mix all ingredients together put in loaf pan bake at 350 degrees,
cook for one hour.....DELICIOUS ! I always use this recipe, my
sister-in-law went nuts for it..


Cheers..Joe

Thanks for the meatloaf suggestions.

Joe's meatloaf, smashed new potatoes, stir-fried green beans w. onions and canned tomatoes; Casillero del Diablo Cab from Chile.

Big hit. Thanks, Joe.

Ann

3/15/2011


Today I'm making New Orleans " Jambalaya ," I have to add
Chicken, Shrimp, Sausage, Ham....Never had it before, let
you know how it comes out...


Cheers..Joe

This is cheating. I didn't cook this week's family dinner (which is usually at my house of Thursdays. The Jordan's (Chris's parents) are away visiting his brother, so Lynn and Chris too me out to dinner. We ate at Roaring Fork:

http://www.eddiev.com/

I

Quote :

n the Old West, the best food was prepared on a simple wood fire. This same spirit, freshness and flavor are at the heart of every dish we serve. Select from lamb, chicken, beef, pork and fresh fish entrees all perfectly prepared by wood fire rotisserie, open flame grill or wood oven roasting.

There are three Eddie V's restaurants here, so you will might have to click again on "Roaring Fork."

The meal was fabulous. We ate outside, and didn't even order dinner. We arrived in time for "Happy Hour" and got our drinks and appetizers at reduced prices. The appetizers were more than enough food.

I ordered their specialty, Green Chili Pulled Pork. My appetizer serving was so large, that even after we all shared, I brought home enough for at least one more meal (And they expect you to take leftovers home, and package them in the cutest little boxes). Lynn had Chipotle Crab Cakes - the kind that are just seasoned crab - no breading, and Chris had Rotisserie Chicken Flatbread. We all shared.

They had frozen margaritas, I had a gin (I am finally learning that one must specify gin these days, or get vodka) dry martini.

The weather was perfect for eating outdoors. We had a superb evening - light breeze, good drinks, good food.

I am lightly buzzed from the martini, so will close.


Ann

3/17/2011

What are you cooking for St. Patrick's Day ?

Me: My favorite " Corn Beef "



Cheers..Joe

An old recipe of my mom's, Chicken la'Orange:



Cut up a chicken and brown it in a little oil. Remove from pan while you saute rings of green pepper and red onion (I add several whole garlic cloves, peeled. Return the chicken to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Ad one whole can of undiluted frozen orange juice and simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over rice (we like brown).

Ann

Here's a cool little synchronicity.

You might remember that my kids, for my birthday, replaced my little electric roaster that died last month. Last week I promised that we would christen it tonight, and asked what meat I should use, and everybody said pork tenderloin.

So, yesterday aftermoon, as I was busy typing away, a stray thought ran through my head: What should I cook to go with the pork tenderloin?

Immediately, my iphone went "da-da-dip" (which meant that it was 2:38, which is the precise time that Martha Stewart bounces me a nightly dinner suggestion.) Normally, I pay it little attention, but since the phone was nearby, I picked it up and glanced at the title: Black-eyed pea tacos..

Well, just the title sounded like it might be a unique but appropriate combo for my pork, so I looked it up.

And here it is, folks:

http://everydayfoodblog.marthastewart.com/2010/07/todays-recipe-black-eyed-pea-tacos.html



Well, Jungian that I am, I could not ignore this clear sign, especially since I had most of the ingredients already on hand (staples in my larder); I went for it.

It was quite well received. I bought the pork tenderloins pre-marinated in roasted salsa, so the flavor blend was close to perfect.

I recommend the recipe.

Ann

We never have just a simple little dinner. I sometimes wish that the McDonalds was just a block away. Alas, the nearest place to "go out' to eat is 20 miles.

After we both have worked all day, the last thing on my mind is to drive to eat, so I try to make it special every night. It is hard to come up with new stuff. I am lucky that the old stuff is appreciated.



Tonight we are having New York Strip on the gas grill. To go with it, Baked Sweet Potatoes with butter, Zucchini cut long ways and dipped in egg and then the seasoned flour, fried to brown, layered with onion, thin sliced tomatoes, mozarella cheese, italian seasonings and baked till it all melts together, black-eyed peas with crumpled bacon and sauted onion, broccoli with butter, and toast.



What I am proud of is that, except for the steak, everything was grown by me, here on this farm. Well, the flour wasn't and the oil wasn't, the cheese wasn't, but the eggs and everything else, including the garlic and herbs were.



My David and I talked about it the other night. We do eat high on the old hog. (No offense to Ho Chi )



Love,

Betty

This was fantabulous!

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1480510

Shopped at Sam's this week and picked up this special pork loin roast with an Applewood Bacon crust.

Popped it in my new (replacing the old one that died) George foreman Roaster, set it for an hour, and that was it.

Along with, country smashed red-gold potatoes and roasted mixed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (all from a bag), red onion wedges, whole garlic cloves, drizzled with herbs and olive oil, and cream gravy made from real cream, cauliflower (Lynn can't do wheat - it cooks down and thickens the gravy), and the juices from the meat.

Sorry I don't have pictures. If you have a Sam's nearby - try the pork.

Ann

Dear Ann,

You always knock yourself out with delicious recipes. I will tell Ho Chi about how high on the Hog you eat, too.

When I told her about 'high on the hog' she looked at me a little bewildered. She says she has never seen a hog in her life!

Someone told her she was a 'pig' and she said she would have to see a picture of one to tell if she was or not.

I told her she was really a princess and nothing like a pig at all. Otherwise, why would she have those lovely long eyelashes and that nice curly tail?

I think I will put a mirror out there for her to look and admire her beauty. Not every princess has a curly tail!

Love,

Betty