Week 8 - Look Ma! No hands!

I LOVE whoever invented the crock pot. There's nothing like coming home to a warm meal that cooks itself.

I've really been craving a french dip lately and rather than go to Nickelby's (a local place that has excellent french dips), I decided I should learn to make my own because they are yummy.

I went for a crock pot recipe vs. a traditional roasting recipe in the interest of time (I don't always feel like waiting a few hours after work to eat dinner) and someday I'll do the roasting way, but this came out OK. It didn't have the perfectly "classic" taste of a restaurant french dip, but the broth was flavorful and the meat was great. For some reason I liked it even better as left overs than I did the night I cooked it. Not sure why. But it was simple and it made 3 sandwiches for each of us so for about $12 worth of ingredients, I can't really complain.

FRENCH DIP

Source: cooks.com

1 lean beef roast (3-4 lbs) - 1/2 C. soy sauce - 1 beef bouillon cube - 1 bay leaf - 1 tsp. dried rosemary - 1 tsp. dried thyme - 1 tsp. garlic powder - Hard rolls

Place beef in slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, bouillon and spices, pour over roast. Add enough water to almost cover and cook over low heat 10-12 hours or until meat is very tender. Remove meat and reserve broth. Serve on hard rolls. Dip in broth.

What Brian Says:

This was actually very good.  A classic and simple dish done right is always nice to eat.  The soy sauce added the right amount of saltiness and the added flavors made it better than your routine au jus.  I would love to pair this up with a nice coleslaw or potato salad for contrast bye as is it's quite tasty.

Brian's rating: *****

Week 7 - Signs of Progress

I did something wholly unexpected this week - I cooked a dish I don't usually like just because it was something that I feel I should know how to cook. I mean, it doesn't get more classic than Pork Chops and Applesauce. I didn't even know you could make applesauce from scratch. And it's easy!

I loved that this one seems about as healthy as you're going to get with pork chops since they're not breaded, just seasoned, and even the applesauce didn't contain anything worse than butter.

All in all it was surprisingly easy and the only thing I would change is taking the apples off the burner a teensy bit sooner and adding less vinegar (I don't like vinegar so I could REALLY taste it).  Other than that it came out great.

PAN ROASTED PORK CHOPS WITH HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE

Source: Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking

Chops: 1 tsp. garlic powder - 1 tsp onion powder - 1 tsp apple pie spice blend - 1/2 tsp. chili powder - 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes - 4 pork rib chops - 1 T. vegetable oil

Applesauce: 4-5 large tart apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks - 1/4 c. water - 1-2 T. unsalted butter - 1 T. cider vinegar - 1/2 tsp. apple pie sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients and pat into both sides of the chops.

2. Heat oil in large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and sear for 2 minutes. Turn the chops and place the skillet in the oven. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until no longer pink in the center. Serve immediately.

1a. Place apples and water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, partially covered. Cook until tender, 15-20 minutes.

2a. Add the butter. Stir to mash the apples into a chunky sauce. Stir in vinegar and cinnamon. Serve hot, room temperature or cold.

What Peter Brady says: 

Pork chops and applesauce.  These go great together and don't need much to make them taste good.  The pork chops had a nice spice rub on them that wasn't too hot.  It was juicy yet crispy enough to balance the textures.  

The applesauce was a bit tangy with the added apple vinegar, which could be detected quite easily.  It probably would do just fine with half as much.  We decided to go the more chunky route instead of pureeing it and I thought it was a nice alternative to the store bought creamy version.  Overall the dish was really nice.  It would be interesting though to try it cooked on the grill sometime.

Brian's rating: ****

Week 6 - My First Super Soup

I'm really proud of myself this week! I made my first soup ever and, even though I tend to prefer thicker soups, it was very very tasty. And it used ingredients I've never worked with before so I feel like it was a great expansion to my limited flavor horizons.

I picked up this great book at the library and will probably use it for the next few weeks - it has some easy recipes with a really good variety of flavors and ingredients. I can't wait to pick next week's...

THAI CHICKEN SOUP

Source: Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking

4 c. canned unsweetened coconut milk - 3 x 14 1/2-oz. cans chicken broth - 2 x 4-in. pieces fresh ginger, grated (4-5 T.) - 2 x 6-8 oz. chicken breasts, cut into finger-size strips - 1 c. canned sliced bamboo shoots, drained - 1/2 c. fresh lime juice - 5 T. Thai fish sauce - Pinch of red pepper flakes - Chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the coconut milk, broth and ginger to a low simmer; simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not boil.

2. Add the chicken, bamboo shoots, lime juice and fish sauce. Slowly bring just to a low boil and then simmer for 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Do not overcook or the chicken will dry out.

3. Stir in the red pepper flakes. Serve immediately, sprinkled with lots of cilantro.

What Brian says:

My mom used to make this and it's very true to the flavors I remember.  With a balance of ginger, lime and coconut it certainly creates a unique dish.  It's tangy and may be spicy to some.  Although the chicken is simply boiled in the broth and doesn't add any of its own flavors it's a good contrast in textures.  The bamboo shoots however are crunchy and go well with the asian theme.  You'll either like it or not but in any case it should be given a chance.  We served it with Thai spring rolls but it's definitely something you can play around with.

Brian's rating: ****

Week 5 - Bits and Pieces (part 2 of 2)

On Saturday, operating under the "side dish + appetizer = meal" equation, I opted for a simple but delicious little appetizer for a friends appetizer.

These are very flavorful little zucchini sticks but more messy and time consuming to make than I was counting on. Thankfully Brian pitched in with the frying so I could get them done on time and get out the door. 

FRIED ZUCCHINI STICKS

Source: FamilyCircle All-time Favorite Recipes

1/2 c. all-purpose flour - 1/2 tsp. salt - 2 eggs - 1/4 c. milk - 1 1/4 c. dry seasoned bread crumbs - 1 1/2 lbs. zucchini, cut into 2.5 x .5 x .5-inch stick - Vegetable oil - Tomato sauce for serving

1. Combine flour and salt on a sheet of waxed paper. Combine eggs and milk in a small bowl. Place bread crumbs on a second sheet of waxed paper. Coat zucchini with flour mixture; dip in egg mixture; coat with break crumbs; place on a baking sheet. Place sheet in freezer 10 minutes.

2. Pour oil into skillet to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat oil to 350 degrees.

3. Add zucchini to hot oil; fry, turning with a slotted metal spoon, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to paper toweling to drain. Keep hot in a warm oven until all are fried. Serve with tomato sauce if you wish. 

What Brian says:

It's zucchini, but it's fried.  Mmmmm.

Brian's rating:*****

Week 5 - Bits and Pieces (part 1 of 2)

This was a pretty crazy and hectic week so a full 'meal' wasn't really a good option. However, a friend and I just started a monthly "Lunch Club" at work where we're doing themed potlucks every month with about 10-12 people. Also, I'm attending a baby shower this weekend so I figured piecing 2 smaller dishes together will count towards my goal.

This month's theme was 'Southern Comfort' in honor of Mardi Gras. This just screamed Paula Deen (since I wasn't allowed to take jello shots to work) and I picked a recipe that was pretty easy but convenient to make at home the night before and something not a lot of people have had. Hence Sweet Potato Biscuits.

This was a great example of a dish that was super simple but that I managed to screw up. Apparently it works best if you actually measure the potatoes rather than just dumping in everything you mashed. Whoopsy daisy. I don't think I was too far off because the dough still came out a good consistency and I didn't need to add or reduce any ingredients. But they didn't rise very well and I think the potatoes definitely affected it.

Give these a try. They're a nice change from a traditional biscuit and would be perfect with steak and veggies.

SWEET POTATO BISCUITS

Source: PaulaDeen.com

2 T. sugar - 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour - 4 tsp. baking powder - 1/4 c. butter - 2-4 T. milk - 3/4 c. mashed cooked sweet potatoes - 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. Then add milk a tablespoon at a time to mixture and continue to cut in. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased pan and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes.

What Brian says: 

The flavor was pretty good but the texture was a bit on the dense side.  Like Kelly said, the amount of potatoes makes a difference, however I could imagine the taste wouldn't be that different.  Judging the dish as is unfortunately won't help it but I'm sure if all the ingredients were proportioned correctly they would be much more appealing.

Brian's rating: **