Mild Rainy Day and Cooking

I love a Saturday with intermittent rain and mild weather. I let the hens out in the backyard and have the backdoor open (screen door only) so I can hear/watch them throughout the morning and early afternoon. The hens are able to meander in and out of the run as the rain stops and starts. While they do this, I focus on various tasks that keep the chickens in the line of sight. It also allows me to cook at a slower pace or try new recipes-something I can't do during the busy work week. 

Today, I adapted a recipe from Delia Smith this particular rainy Saturday. 

I washed, cut, and parboiled potatoes ( used 2.5 pounds from a 5 pound bag at $3.99).

As the potatoes boiled, I baked a pound of uncured bacon ( $5.69).

Once the potatoes were almost completely cooked, I drained and then added to a cast iron skillet with the rendered bacon fat. I added salt, pepper and an Italian seasoning packet ($.60).

I added the bacon to the skillet as the potatoes crisped and here is the result! 

The potatoes were crispy on the outside and a soft interior. The flavor was layered and quite delicious. 

Overall cost: $8.27

4 Ingredients

InstantPot

For Christmas, we bought the InstantPot for a family gift. For my first recipe- I pressure cooked chicken breasts with garlic and soy sauce. I then took the chicken out and used the juices to cook rice. Lastly, I sautéed vegetables and then put it all together. I was able to complete all of these actions in one pot. I was amazed that the chicken cooked in 35 minutes and was so soft that  it was easily shredded. 

Honestly, if I was short on time- I could see myself taking this to work and making my dinner just before coming home or I could use this for a Potluck at work or church.  

Do you have one of these? Do you like it?

Tasteful Tuesdays

 

 

Just a quick but delicious recipe!

 

Mozzarella and tomato slices with just a bit of salt! YUM!

Tasteful Tuesdays: Good Food and Leftovers

Green onions, mushrooms, peas, carrots for the fried rice

Broccoli, carrots, mushrooms,and peppers for the stir fry



Left over chicken thigh meat

Fresh chicken breast lightly dredged in flour and cornstarch

Chicken breast is fried

Sautee the vegetables over high heat

Stir fry the vegetables for the fried rice separately

Add the rice and finally the eggs.

Dinner is served with lots of leftovers!

I make this quite often and it really is a cost friendly dish that will help us with our plan to lower grocery costs. We may need a new car in the near future (hopefully not too soon)and I want to try and save a good amount each month to add to a down payment.

Recipe Project 2016 # 3: Italy

Can we say yum?

This recipe is from the television show Cook's Country and is a take on pasta stuffed with ricotta dish.

Spinach Fusili/Rotini

Ingredients

·         12 oz ricotta cheese

·         3 tbsp olive oil

·         1 box fusilli or rotini pasta (16 oz)

·         1 bag baby spinach (~8 oz)

·         4 garlic cloves, minced

·         1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

·         1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

·         1/4 cup heavy cream

·         zest from 1 lemon

·         juice from 1/2 of the same lemon

·         1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

·         salt and pepper

Directions

1.      Whisk 1 cup ricotta, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until smooth. You may need to add a little more olive oil to get a smooth consistency; set aside.

2.      Cook pasta according to the box (be sure to add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water when it starts boiling) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water. Stir spinach into pot with pasta and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain pasta and spinach and return them to pot.

3.      As the pasta cooks, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, nutmeg, and cayenne in saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and whisk in remaining ricotta, heavy cream, lemon zest and juice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth.

4.      Add ricotta-cream mixture from step 3 and parmesan to pasta and toss to combine. Let pasta rest, tossing frequently, until sauce has thickened slightly and coats pasta, 2 to 4 minutes, adjusting consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Serve the pasta in a wide bowl or plate and add a dollop of the ricotta from step 1. Pass the extra Parmesan separately.

How I changed the recipe and made it easier:
I removed: olive oil, lemon, and nutment.
I increased: spiniach, salt, ricotta cheese, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese.
I mixed all of the ingredients together outside of the pasta, spinach and parmesan in one bowl and then added all of that to the drained pasta/spinach. I waited two minutes and then added the parmesan cheese.

 

My opinion on the dish:
This is a very rich and succulent dish that would probably work better as a side dish than a main meal unless you are planning to lie on the couch in a semi-comatose state while watching reruns of the Love Boat. Also, you might not want to make a whole loaf of French bread on the side.....this can bring about a full coma with drool and everything.

2016 Recipe Project #2: Czech

 

Kolache

Dough:

1  Cup  Whole Milk

10  Tablespoons  Butter, melted

1  large Egg

2  large Egg Yolks, whites reserved

3-1/2  Cups  Flour

1/3  Cup  Sugar

2-1/4  teaspoons  Rapid-Rise Yeast or instant yeast

1-1/2  teaspoons  Salt 

 

Cheese Filling:

6  ounces  Cream Cheese, softened

3  Tablespoons  Sugar

1  Tablespoon  Flour

1/2  teaspoon  Lemon Zest

3/4  Cup  Ricotta Cheese  (whole milk or part-skim;  NOT nonfat)       

 

Streusel:

2  Tablespoons -plus- 2 teaspoons  Flour

2  Tablespoons -plus- 2 teaspoons  Sugar

1  Tablespoon  Butter, chilled and cut into 8 pieces

 

Reserved Egg Whites, beaten with 1 Tablespoon Milk

 

For the Dough:

Grease a large bowl, set aside.  Whisk the Milk, Melted Butter, Egg, and Yolks together in a 2-cup measuring cup (the Butter will form lumps).  Whisk the Flour, Sugar, Yeast, and Salt together in the bowl of stand mixer.  Fit mixer with the dough hook, add Milk mixture to the Flour mixture, and knead on low speed until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes.  Increase speed to medium and knead until dough clears the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom of the bowl, about 8 to 12 minutes.  If the dough hasn't cleared the bowl after 12 minutes, add more Flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, up to 2 Tablespoons.

 

Transfer dough to greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions.  Place dough on the lower-middle rack and place a loaf pan on the upper-middle rack.  Pour 3 cups Boiling Water into loaf pan, close oven door, and let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

 

For the Cheese Filling:

Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat the Cream Cheese, Sugar, Flour, and Lemon Zest on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add Ricotta Cheese and beat until just combined, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

 For the Streusel:

Combine the Flour, Sugar, and Butter in a small bowl and rub between your fingers until mixture resembles wet sand.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

 To Bake the Kolaches: 

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  Punch down Dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Divide Dough into quarters and cut each quarter into 4 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a smooth, tight ball.  Arrange 8 balls on each baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Place the baking sheets in the oven, replace the water in the loaf pan with 3 cup Boiling Water, close oven door and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

 

Remove baking sheets and loaf pan from oven.  Heat oven to 350*.  Grease and flour the bottom of a 1/3-cup measure (or a 2-1/4-inch-diameter drinking glass).  Make a deep indentation in the center of each dough ball by slowly pressing until cup touches sheet.  The perimeter of the dough balls will deflate slightly.

 

Gently brush the Kolaches all over with the Egg-Milk mixture.  Spoon filling into the Kolaches, about 1-1/2 Tablespoons per Kolache.  Sprinkle with Streusel.  Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.  Let cool on pan for 20 minutes.  Serve warm.  Makes 16 Kolache.

 

This recipe was based off of  the television show Cook's Country.

I made this recipe twice and I had problems with the dough rising using the oven and boiling water method mentioned above. The second time, I placed the dough on top of the oven, turned on the oven and opened the door to let the heat rise which seemed to work better.  Did I like them? Yes, but they tasted better to me after the second day but  I am not quite sure why. Would I make these again? I am not sure. I might use the dough for hot dogs/sausage but I would need a day off like I had during this cooking event.  It is a time consuming baking event and you would need to be home and watching the clock/setting timers and such.

This was the first batched that flopped or did something weird.

The dough with beef snuggled inside.

Yes, they were yummy for my tummy!

 

 

 

 



Recipe Project 2016 # 1: Scotland

I decided to try a very easy recipe but one I have never attempted in the past.

 

Scotland was the choice for January and I found this recipe from this link.

 

Ingredients:
Six potatoes, diced
3 leeks, chopped
1¼ pints (750ml or 3 cups) chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ounce (25g or ¼ stick) butter or margarine
2 ounces (50g or half cup) grated cheddar cheese

Method:
Boil the potatoes and leeks in water for about 15 minutes until the potatoes start to disintegrate. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Work in the butter or margarine and serve with a sprinkling of grated cheese.

 

Now, here is where I made changes:

 

I used fingerling potatoes so they were much smaller

I did not use any grated cheddar cheese

I added one white onion sliced very thinly

I added chicken that had been sautéed with some olive oil, pepper, and onion

 

Let me tell you, this soup hit the jackpot with flavor!

I had tested it without the butter and it was delightful as well!

 

If you do anything, try this soup-either the original (especially for Fridays) or with various additional ingredients.

 

 

 

 

I only used some of the dark green part- make sure you clean leeks thoroughly.

Small potatoes work better for me. I might even cut these more the next time I make this.

Everything boiling in the chicken stock.

Without the chicken and butter....

Can you say, "Yum"?

 

I Have The Need to Knead.....

I don't know why I woke up with this desire to bake bread.....

But I did and it was yummy!

The dog was not impressed....

Easy Pasta Dish

I made my version of this recipe.

I used green onions, parmesans, and ricotta.

I brushed the sides with a little egg

Make sure to dust the surface with flour to ensure nothing sticks

press the edges 

I boiled these for 3-5 minutes in batches of 5 or less.

Topped with a meat sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese!