I'm going to get right down to it. Are you ready? Okay, here's how you make the perfect baked potato.
You get some nice fat russet potatoes or whatever. Only the good ones - no green spots or sprouts or anything like that. Now, scrub them well in COLD water, and pat them dry, dry with a dish cloth. Look all around the potato for spots and eyes and whatnot, and snip those bits out with a knife. Help the potato be its best.
Line a baking sheet with foil (or don't; I just always do), and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. HOT. Lay the clean and dry potatoes on the baking sheet, and drizzle them with olive oil. Roll them around in the oil and cover the whole potato evenly. It puts the lotion on its skin.
STAB THEM WITH A FORK. Three or four times on each side. Then sprinkle sea salt aaaalll over them. Roll the potatoes around in the salt to get even coverage.
When the oven is hot, stick 'em in. It depends on the size of your potatoes how long you leave them in there. Start with 30 minutes, then check them. Bigger potatoes may go 45 minutes, or even an hour.
Take the potatoes out ONLY when you can spear a fork all the way through the middle and it feels soft and fluffy inside all the way through. You will learn to understand this part.
Basically, you have just roasted a potato instead of steaming it in foil or another type of wrapping. And it is perfect. The skin is crisp and golden with just the right saltiness, and the inside is waiting for butter. The butter will melt into the potato and you will eat the potato.
My favorite thing to do with baked potatoes is to make a POTATO BAR. Like a salad bar or a taco bar, but with potato toppings. Duh. I like to put chili and cheese on one side of my potato, and sour cream, green onion, and bacon bits on the other side.
Do you like baked potatoes? How. Discuss your answer in the space provided below.
PS. THIS TAG
Showing posts with label taters precious. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taters precious. Show all posts
Creamed Spinach Casserole, Corn Pudding, Cherry Cream Crumble Pie
Holy shit, you guys.
Holy shit.
Kendra, I bet when you signed in to write your own last couple blog posts you noticed I had this draft up. I was totally preparing to write this big spectacular post about what I make at Christmas time - and then I was going to post a recipe for every day leading up to Christmas.
Awesome, right?
Yeah, well. The internet was down at work ALLLLL WEEEEEEKKKKKK and when I get home I am too busy actually cooking these things to write about them, or stirring Hamburger Helper, or trying to take the frozen pizza out without putting down my Jack-and-Coke.
So I'm going to cram it all into two posts - one dedicated to our Christmas supper at Christy and Jay's, and one for the desserts I brought to my in-laws' house this past weekend.
Christy is not a cook. Seriously. She will straight up tell you, let me clean up your mess, but you do the cooking. So, alright. We sat down the Wednesday before our Saturday night dinner to plan what we were going to cook. A lot of our menu came from my cookbooks - including The Book, which if anyone asks, I'll let Kendra handle that particular question. The Book is overwhelming, to say the least.
Here is our menu:
Garlic Studded Pot Roast (only difference here is we do ours on the stove-top)
Creamed Spinach Casserole (pg 83 of the birthday edition of The Book)
Corn Pudding
Mashed Potatoes
Cherry Cream Crumble Pie (pg 266)
We also had rolls and old fashioned sweet potato casserole, which Christy did make. Good job, Christy!
Creamed Spinach Casserole
2 boxes or bags frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup crumbled bacon bits
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup, plus 2 tbsp fresh shredded Parmesan
Mix all ingredients (except 2 tbsp cheese) in a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the reserved cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until bubbly.
(this was really, really good - but is GREASY. like when we took it out of the oven i was dubious. reheated, it smells really bad...but i'm not the biggest fan of cream cheese outside of desserts, or when i can straight up smell it. also: you had better like spinach)
Corn Pudding
30 oz frozen corn (changed from two 15 oz cans)
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c. egg substitute (this was initially a low fat/low cholesterol recipe that I revised - this is the only part I wasn't sure about. We ended up using like 4 eggs)
1 1/2 c. milk
Combine corn, flour, sugar, and salt. Pour into greased baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix egg and milk. Pour over corn but do not stir. Bake 45-50 min, stirring gently a few times during baking.
(This is really good, but VERY BLAND. Add salt and pepper and Tony's. Add some more.)
Cherry Cream Crumble Pie
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 15 oz. cans pitted tart cherries, drained
1 cup sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 unbaked pie crust
Topping:
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 400.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cherries, sour cream, egg, and extract. Spoon into the pie crust, and bake for 20 minutes.
While pie is cooking, assemble ingredients for topping. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar,and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is coarse and crumbly. Fold in chopped pecans.
After the pie has baked 20 minutes, remove from foil and crumble the mixture on top. Cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning, and return to oven. Bake another 25-30 minutes, or until the topping has slightly browned.
Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.
(ok - this is awesome. it's ugly at first because it's PINK but it comes out great. bring ice cream.)
Holy shit.
Kendra, I bet when you signed in to write your own last couple blog posts you noticed I had this draft up. I was totally preparing to write this big spectacular post about what I make at Christmas time - and then I was going to post a recipe for every day leading up to Christmas.
Awesome, right?
Yeah, well. The internet was down at work ALLLLL WEEEEEEKKKKKK and when I get home I am too busy actually cooking these things to write about them, or stirring Hamburger Helper, or trying to take the frozen pizza out without putting down my Jack-and-Coke.
So I'm going to cram it all into two posts - one dedicated to our Christmas supper at Christy and Jay's, and one for the desserts I brought to my in-laws' house this past weekend.
Christy is not a cook. Seriously. She will straight up tell you, let me clean up your mess, but you do the cooking. So, alright. We sat down the Wednesday before our Saturday night dinner to plan what we were going to cook. A lot of our menu came from my cookbooks - including The Book, which if anyone asks, I'll let Kendra handle that particular question. The Book is overwhelming, to say the least.
Here is our menu:
Garlic Studded Pot Roast (only difference here is we do ours on the stove-top)
Creamed Spinach Casserole (pg 83 of the birthday edition of The Book)
Corn Pudding
Mashed Potatoes
Cherry Cream Crumble Pie (pg 266)
We also had rolls and old fashioned sweet potato casserole, which Christy did make. Good job, Christy!
Creamed Spinach Casserole
2 boxes or bags frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup crumbled bacon bits
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup, plus 2 tbsp fresh shredded Parmesan
Mix all ingredients (except 2 tbsp cheese) in a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the reserved cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until bubbly.
(this was really, really good - but is GREASY. like when we took it out of the oven i was dubious. reheated, it smells really bad...but i'm not the biggest fan of cream cheese outside of desserts, or when i can straight up smell it. also: you had better like spinach)
Corn Pudding
30 oz frozen corn (changed from two 15 oz cans)
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c. egg substitute (this was initially a low fat/low cholesterol recipe that I revised - this is the only part I wasn't sure about. We ended up using like 4 eggs)
1 1/2 c. milk
Combine corn, flour, sugar, and salt. Pour into greased baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix egg and milk. Pour over corn but do not stir. Bake 45-50 min, stirring gently a few times during baking.
(This is really good, but VERY BLAND. Add salt and pepper and Tony's. Add some more.)
Cherry Cream Crumble Pie
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 15 oz. cans pitted tart cherries, drained
1 cup sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 unbaked pie crust
Topping:
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 400.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cherries, sour cream, egg, and extract. Spoon into the pie crust, and bake for 20 minutes.
While pie is cooking, assemble ingredients for topping. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar,and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is coarse and crumbly. Fold in chopped pecans.
After the pie has baked 20 minutes, remove from foil and crumble the mixture on top. Cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning, and return to oven. Bake another 25-30 minutes, or until the topping has slightly browned.
Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.
(ok - this is awesome. it's ugly at first because it's PINK but it comes out great. bring ice cream.)
MERRY CHRISTMAS from some people who don't know how to use a self timer!
mom food
This isn't a recipe at all, more of a "hey, remember eating this?"
Do you remember when mom used to make that stuff with the ground meat (and onion soup!) and then she would slice potatoes and put them on top with a ton of pepper and bake it? And then she would put cheese on the top of the potatoes and get it all good and gooey and melty between the potatoes?
That is what we had last night. And it was perfect. Thanks, mom, for making that so much when we were kids. If I recall, I may have asked for it as my "special meal" on birthdays, yeah?
(I was kind of ashamed as Will watched me unwrap Kraft single after Kraft single and place it over our supper. Especially after I kind of maybe threw a tiny fit that he even brought that filthy processed junk into our home but...well, now we can make grilled cheese sandwiches! And cheese grits like Britney's daddy instead of my super confusing way! Thanks, Kraft!)
Do you remember when mom used to make that stuff with the ground meat (and onion soup!) and then she would slice potatoes and put them on top with a ton of pepper and bake it? And then she would put cheese on the top of the potatoes and get it all good and gooey and melty between the potatoes?
That is what we had last night. And it was perfect. Thanks, mom, for making that so much when we were kids. If I recall, I may have asked for it as my "special meal" on birthdays, yeah?
(I was kind of ashamed as Will watched me unwrap Kraft single after Kraft single and place it over our supper. Especially after I kind of maybe threw a tiny fit that he even brought that filthy processed junk into our home but...well, now we can make grilled cheese sandwiches! And cheese grits like Britney's daddy instead of my super confusing way! Thanks, Kraft!)
Bacon Potato Chowder
We make a lot of bacon at our house because it’s the only thing Will knows how to cook. And because we really, really, really love it. But while two people can indeed polish off an entire pack of bacon in one sitting, we don’t recommend it. Here’s a great recipe to keep you from guilt-eating all of that yummy crispy bacon. Man, I love bacon.
Bacon Potato Chowder
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large onion, chopped
4 cans condensed cream of potato soup
4 soup cans milk
3 large potatoes cut into ½ inch pieces
½ cup chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper
Stir bacon, onion, soup, milk, salt and pepper, potatoes and ¼ chives in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Serve with remaining chives.
The original recipe had different quantities of ingredients that I disagreed with (HA) and also added cheddar cheese at the end. I really didn’t see the need for the cheese, this soup was pretty perfect as is, and super, super simple to make, which I’m always looking for. I added the salt and pepper last, because I had no idea how much it would need, so use to taste. This soup has been potato-soup-fanatic (Danielle!) approved!
Oh, and as soon I smelled it I made the decision to serve with crusty bread and lots of butter, all warm and toasty from the oven. Now we know!
Shepherd's Pie (Remix)
You are right about your recollection of the Shepherd’s Pie history. It was Pam’s mom who used to make it and I could eat it by the BUCKET.
I thought it would be cool if now I posted my own Shepherd’s Pie recipe which seems a bit lazier than yours (all of my cooking is lazy compared to yours), except for the potatoes…of course!
Shepherd’s Pie
1 lb ground beef
1 packet dry onion soup mix
Frozen peas (eyeball this - you know how big your casserole dish is, I do not)
Butter
salt, pepper, Tony’s
A generous heap of these potatoes
Some real, bonafide cheddar cheese that you just grated. Watch your knuckles, dumbass.
Preheat your oven to 350.
Cook your peas! Add butter and salt and pepper. If you don’t know how to cook a frozen bag of peas and then make it taste good, I can’t help you with that.
Brown the ground beef and drain. Add the onion soup mix to the meat with a little water and mix it all up. Put that on the bottom of a casserole dish. Then put your peas on top of that (I have a thing for layers). Spread the potato goodness all over the peas (If you haven’t tried my potatoes, shame on you!). Sprinkle with cheese. Lots and lots of cheese (add blood and knuckle shavings, if you’re me and you think that packaged, shredded cheese tastes squicky and you have to grate your own). I bake it for around 30 minutes. Slap your husband’s hands when he goes to peek in the oven. It will make you feel domestic.
Indeed! Supreme comfort food! And it’s even better leftover!
I thought it would be cool if now I posted my own Shepherd’s Pie recipe which seems a bit lazier than yours (all of my cooking is lazy compared to yours), except for the potatoes…of course!
Shepherd’s Pie
1 lb ground beef
1 packet dry onion soup mix
Frozen peas (eyeball this - you know how big your casserole dish is, I do not)
Butter
salt, pepper, Tony’s
A generous heap of these potatoes
Some real, bonafide cheddar cheese that you just grated. Watch your knuckles, dumbass.
Preheat your oven to 350.
Cook your peas! Add butter and salt and pepper. If you don’t know how to cook a frozen bag of peas and then make it taste good, I can’t help you with that.
Brown the ground beef and drain. Add the onion soup mix to the meat with a little water and mix it all up. Put that on the bottom of a casserole dish. Then put your peas on top of that (I have a thing for layers). Spread the potato goodness all over the peas (If you haven’t tried my potatoes, shame on you!). Sprinkle with cheese. Lots and lots of cheese (add blood and knuckle shavings, if you’re me and you think that packaged, shredded cheese tastes squicky and you have to grate your own). I bake it for around 30 minutes. Slap your husband’s hands when he goes to peek in the oven. It will make you feel domestic.
Indeed! Supreme comfort food! And it’s even better leftover!
Shepherd's Pie
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. :)
I made shepherd's pie last night. You are the reason I learned how to make it. Do you remember calling me one time (or maybe you emailed?) asking if I knew how to make shepherd's pie? And I did not. And you were sad, because you were craving it. A friend's mom used to make it for y'all, and it was delicious and you hadn't had it in years and years. So (I think, if I remember) we both went hunting for recipes and this is what we came up with. Did you ever make some?
I did. And I've made it several times since. And I will make you some any time you want!
_______________________________________
Shepherd’s Pie
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small can sliced mushroom (optional)
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can sweet peas, drained
• 1 packet French onion dip mix (dry)
• Salt, Tony’s, black pepper, and white pepper, to taste
• Brown gravy (from jar or mix)
• Mashed potatoes (either instant or homemade)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
Brown the ground beef over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper and a packet of French onion soup mix - just dump the whole packet in dry and stir it around. Drain the can of mushrooms (or you can wash some fresh ones and slice them up, whatever), and add mushrooms, garlic, and onion to the beef. Cook until onion is translucent, then drain the pan.
Drain the corn and peas. Or you can use frozen! I use cans for this, because it's easier for me. (And I only ever buy the "No Salt Added" canned veggies, don't worry!) Anyway, add corn and peas to the meat and keep on stirring it around until it's all warmed through.
WHILE you are doing all that to the meat, you can also juggle the potatoes and gravy. I had three burners going on the stove at the same time, and this was a quick meal to make that way.
In separate pots, whip up some instant mashed potatoes and some brown gravy, according to package directions. See, you can totally zone out here. I say go ahead and use instant mashed potatoes, because hello. You are hungry. You're in a hurry. It's been a long day. But if you want to make it homemade, that's noble and sporting of you! Krista has a great recipe for that!
I don't really know what to tell you for the gravy. Unless you have some leftover beef tips or something, you're going to want a gravy mix. There are all kinds, but I use Tony's roux mix. It's very easy to make - just whisk 2 tablespoons of roux mix with 1 cup cool water over medium heat in a saucepan. I made 2 servings of it, so...4 tablespoons of mix, 2 cups of water. Oh, and for the potatoes, I used the directions for 8 servings. There were some potatoes left over, but it's okay, Curt ate them.
Anyway, however you choose to make potatoes and gravy happen, please do so now. I always hit the gravy with a little white pepper, and the potatoes with some Tony's (or seasoned salt of choice). Taste and see for yourself what you want to season with, or if you even do. It's all going to come together in one baking dish here soon anyway.
Enjoy this dark and unfocused picture
SPREAD THE MEAT MIXTURE INTO A BAKING DISH. (See?) Pour the gravy in and carefully mix it all around. You'll have to eyeball the amounts here. Sometimes I make too much gravy and it won't all fit in the dish without slopping over. And you don't want the meat/gravy mixture to fill the dish all the way to the brim, because you still need room up top for the potatoes. One time I made so much of everything I had to use 2 casserole dishes. You can do that, too! If you want to double this recipe, go for it. Get one of those aluminum casserole pans and freeze one of them for later, even.
Spread mashed potatoes over the top of the meat mixture. This is going to be kind of messy. It will not look beautiful. Who cares? Top the whole mess with cheese! Put the casserole dish on a sturdy baking sheet to catch drips (mine ALWAYS drips, ugh). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and it’s bubbling around the edges.
Supreme. Comfort. Food.
I made shepherd's pie last night. You are the reason I learned how to make it. Do you remember calling me one time (or maybe you emailed?) asking if I knew how to make shepherd's pie? And I did not. And you were sad, because you were craving it. A friend's mom used to make it for y'all, and it was delicious and you hadn't had it in years and years. So (I think, if I remember) we both went hunting for recipes and this is what we came up with. Did you ever make some?
I did. And I've made it several times since. And I will make you some any time you want!
_______________________________________
Shepherd’s Pie
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small can sliced mushroom (optional)
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can sweet peas, drained
• 1 packet French onion dip mix (dry)
• Salt, Tony’s, black pepper, and white pepper, to taste
• Brown gravy (from jar or mix)
• Mashed potatoes (either instant or homemade)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
Brown the ground beef over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper and a packet of French onion soup mix - just dump the whole packet in dry and stir it around. Drain the can of mushrooms (or you can wash some fresh ones and slice them up, whatever), and add mushrooms, garlic, and onion to the beef. Cook until onion is translucent, then drain the pan.
Drain the corn and peas. Or you can use frozen! I use cans for this, because it's easier for me. (And I only ever buy the "No Salt Added" canned veggies, don't worry!) Anyway, add corn and peas to the meat and keep on stirring it around until it's all warmed through.
WHILE you are doing all that to the meat, you can also juggle the potatoes and gravy. I had three burners going on the stove at the same time, and this was a quick meal to make that way.
In separate pots, whip up some instant mashed potatoes and some brown gravy, according to package directions. See, you can totally zone out here. I say go ahead and use instant mashed potatoes, because hello. You are hungry. You're in a hurry. It's been a long day. But if you want to make it homemade, that's noble and sporting of you! Krista has a great recipe for that!
I don't really know what to tell you for the gravy. Unless you have some leftover beef tips or something, you're going to want a gravy mix. There are all kinds, but I use Tony's roux mix. It's very easy to make - just whisk 2 tablespoons of roux mix with 1 cup cool water over medium heat in a saucepan. I made 2 servings of it, so...4 tablespoons of mix, 2 cups of water. Oh, and for the potatoes, I used the directions for 8 servings. There were some potatoes left over, but it's okay, Curt ate them.
Anyway, however you choose to make potatoes and gravy happen, please do so now. I always hit the gravy with a little white pepper, and the potatoes with some Tony's (or seasoned salt of choice). Taste and see for yourself what you want to season with, or if you even do. It's all going to come together in one baking dish here soon anyway.
Enjoy this dark and unfocused picture
SPREAD THE MEAT MIXTURE INTO A BAKING DISH. (See?) Pour the gravy in and carefully mix it all around. You'll have to eyeball the amounts here. Sometimes I make too much gravy and it won't all fit in the dish without slopping over. And you don't want the meat/gravy mixture to fill the dish all the way to the brim, because you still need room up top for the potatoes. One time I made so much of everything I had to use 2 casserole dishes. You can do that, too! If you want to double this recipe, go for it. Get one of those aluminum casserole pans and freeze one of them for later, even.
Spread mashed potatoes over the top of the meat mixture. This is going to be kind of messy. It will not look beautiful. Who cares? Top the whole mess with cheese! Put the casserole dish on a sturdy baking sheet to catch drips (mine ALWAYS drips, ugh). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and it’s bubbling around the edges.
Supreme. Comfort. Food.
Easy Boneless Pork Chop With An Amazing Flavour.
So, last night was kind of a bust. Which wholeheartedly sucks because I finally got a chance to cook and it wasn’t even worth half the effort I put forth (not too much).
Let me just throw this out there: the internet is a scary place. I bet you already knew that. The internet is especially scary for a naïve and innocent girl who just wants to find a yummy way to cook pork chops. Seriously. (that is not to say this recipe is bad – it’s not entirely…what went wrong was something I bet I could easily fix. I just am in awe of how many recipes I trip across that sound HORRIBLE. Or how many I’ve tried that have gotten rave reviews that taste like something I dug out between Battlecat’s back teeth. Not that I’ve ever eaten anything from my cat’s teeth. Jesus!)
I found a recipe on a site full of user-submitted recipes and I have to admit I chose it because a. it didn’t involve making a gravy and I did NOT want to make rice last night and b. it had the Best Title Ever.
It was called “Easy Boneless Pork Chop With an Amazing Flavour.”
With the period on the end! And just the one chop!
So, without further ado, Easy Boneless Pork Chop With an Amazing Flavour:
EASY BONELESS PORK CHOP WITH AN AMAZING FLAVOUR.
4 boneless pork chop(s) (HAHA)
3 tbsp applesauce
¼ cup butter (This recipe was written by someone from England, and the original recipe called for 100 g of butter, so I just read the comments and did what those fools said.)
1 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 apple, chopped (I used a Braeburn, because it was all I had left)
salt and pepper
(In my own words, because the original recipe kind of rambled on and on about “flavours.”)
Mix butter, apple sauce, and oil together. (I melted my butter…not all the way, actually, because this needs to be kind of stiff) Add rosemary, sage and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. If it’s not stiff enough to coat the meat (ew?), add more butter.
Score the pork chops with lines on both sides. Place each chop on it’s own piece of foil, just enough to tightly wrap. Smear the coating on both sides of meat, massaging it in generously. (EW!)
Wrap the foil tightly around the chops and put in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and unwrap just enough to fit apple wedges on top of each chop. Wrap that shit back up.
It says to cook it for 30 more minutes but to check it often to make sure it’s not overcooked or dry.
Here’s the problem with this – it’s SWIMMING in juice, so you can’t tell it’s overcooked or too dry. Mine was.
It smelled AWESOME as it was cooking, even Will commented on it. When we got down to eating it – not so much. It just tasted like a bland, overcooked pork chop. Obviously, the overcooked part was my problem. This morning I talked to Squirrel about it (we both talk about food a loootttt) and he said you pretty much have to marinate pork overnight for it to soak up any flavor. SO, I will definitely give this one more chance, but I will marinate it to see if that helps.
Also, next time, I will leave the rosemary off of Will’s pork chops. I always forget that he HATES rosemary. I make fun of him and just tell him to brush the grass off, but it kind of sucks when someone who loves you a whole lot can’t remember what you hate hate hate and you have to pick your food apart. I’m sorry to my husband, who has very definite tastes, if not at all varied or interesting.
So what did we have with these pork chops? Well, parsley potatoes, which you don’t need a recipe for (but, hey, how do you cook yours? Mine are never as good as mom’s!) and green beans.
Oh, green beans.
I love green beans. Well, no, that’s not entirely true. I love green beans in their fresh, unadulterated form. I love them just a little bit crunchy with just some olive oil and salt or hey! some lightly toasted sesame seeds. Mmmm.
I live with a man who wants them canned with bacon and a stick of butter and an entire salt mine thrown in for good measure. Actually, no, I live with a man who has NO IDEA how he wants them, just “not like that” and I know what he means, but I am not going to spend 30 minutes chopping up raw bacon to appease his steadily widening ass. NO NO NO. (sorry for the rant there!) I just don’t believe green beans need bacon and canned soup and fried onions and what other abominations people come up with to serve at family get-togethers. (that is not to say I don’t eat those things with delight – but on a run-of-the-mill Thursday night?)
Especially this time of year when I’ve got veggies ready to go in the ground for the first time ever and all I can think about is FRESH! And SIMPLE! And WHOLESOME!
So I just steamed my green beans for a bit until they were just tender and then I sautéed them with a little butter and garlic and I seasoned them with a little ground pepper and kosher salt.
Ok, too much butter. And not fresh garlic, just minced garlic from a jar and too much of it, at that. I was in a hurry, ok?
So green beans? Not very good. My fault. Not wholesome or fresh or any of the above. Just garlicy and slick with butter and sad. Wasted potential.
I just felt like last night could have been a lot better. It gets me down, you know?
BUT! We went grocery shopping last night for and I got all the stuff for some planned meals (do you plan four or five meals in advance so you know what to buy/what’s in your house that needs to be used?). Hopefully not too far in the future, I can post about your breakfast quiche (hoping to try that tomorrow…can I make it ahead and keep it in the fridge overnight?), my beef tips (oh dear), a creamy shrimp and pasta DO OVER! (with plain tomatoes, maybe served cold?) and a spinach, provolone and sausage pizza.
Speaking of that pizza, I got the recipe from a blog friend so I’m a little more trusting than just pulling it from the deep blue sea. However, it calls for 2 links of Italian sausage. And then it goes on to tell you to break up the sausage while you’re browning it, which leads me to believe it’s ground? In the grocery store yesterday I wasn’t sure where to look. Meat department? Deli? Do you know? I feel like an idiot.
Let me just throw this out there: the internet is a scary place. I bet you already knew that. The internet is especially scary for a naïve and innocent girl who just wants to find a yummy way to cook pork chops. Seriously. (that is not to say this recipe is bad – it’s not entirely…what went wrong was something I bet I could easily fix. I just am in awe of how many recipes I trip across that sound HORRIBLE. Or how many I’ve tried that have gotten rave reviews that taste like something I dug out between Battlecat’s back teeth. Not that I’ve ever eaten anything from my cat’s teeth. Jesus!)
I found a recipe on a site full of user-submitted recipes and I have to admit I chose it because a. it didn’t involve making a gravy and I did NOT want to make rice last night and b. it had the Best Title Ever.
It was called “Easy Boneless Pork Chop With an Amazing Flavour.”
With the period on the end! And just the one chop!
So, without further ado, Easy Boneless Pork Chop With an Amazing Flavour:
EASY BONELESS PORK CHOP WITH AN AMAZING FLAVOUR.
4 boneless pork chop(s) (HAHA)
3 tbsp applesauce
¼ cup butter (This recipe was written by someone from England, and the original recipe called for 100 g of butter, so I just read the comments and did what those fools said.)
1 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 apple, chopped (I used a Braeburn, because it was all I had left)
salt and pepper
(In my own words, because the original recipe kind of rambled on and on about “flavours.”)
Mix butter, apple sauce, and oil together. (I melted my butter…not all the way, actually, because this needs to be kind of stiff) Add rosemary, sage and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. If it’s not stiff enough to coat the meat (ew?), add more butter.
Score the pork chops with lines on both sides. Place each chop on it’s own piece of foil, just enough to tightly wrap. Smear the coating on both sides of meat, massaging it in generously. (EW!)
Wrap the foil tightly around the chops and put in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and unwrap just enough to fit apple wedges on top of each chop. Wrap that shit back up.
It says to cook it for 30 more minutes but to check it often to make sure it’s not overcooked or dry.
Here’s the problem with this – it’s SWIMMING in juice, so you can’t tell it’s overcooked or too dry. Mine was.
It smelled AWESOME as it was cooking, even Will commented on it. When we got down to eating it – not so much. It just tasted like a bland, overcooked pork chop. Obviously, the overcooked part was my problem. This morning I talked to Squirrel about it (we both talk about food a loootttt) and he said you pretty much have to marinate pork overnight for it to soak up any flavor. SO, I will definitely give this one more chance, but I will marinate it to see if that helps.
Also, next time, I will leave the rosemary off of Will’s pork chops. I always forget that he HATES rosemary. I make fun of him and just tell him to brush the grass off, but it kind of sucks when someone who loves you a whole lot can’t remember what you hate hate hate and you have to pick your food apart. I’m sorry to my husband, who has very definite tastes, if not at all varied or interesting.
So what did we have with these pork chops? Well, parsley potatoes, which you don’t need a recipe for (but, hey, how do you cook yours? Mine are never as good as mom’s!) and green beans.
Oh, green beans.
I love green beans. Well, no, that’s not entirely true. I love green beans in their fresh, unadulterated form. I love them just a little bit crunchy with just some olive oil and salt or hey! some lightly toasted sesame seeds. Mmmm.
I live with a man who wants them canned with bacon and a stick of butter and an entire salt mine thrown in for good measure. Actually, no, I live with a man who has NO IDEA how he wants them, just “not like that” and I know what he means, but I am not going to spend 30 minutes chopping up raw bacon to appease his steadily widening ass. NO NO NO. (sorry for the rant there!) I just don’t believe green beans need bacon and canned soup and fried onions and what other abominations people come up with to serve at family get-togethers. (that is not to say I don’t eat those things with delight – but on a run-of-the-mill Thursday night?)
Especially this time of year when I’ve got veggies ready to go in the ground for the first time ever and all I can think about is FRESH! And SIMPLE! And WHOLESOME!
So I just steamed my green beans for a bit until they were just tender and then I sautéed them with a little butter and garlic and I seasoned them with a little ground pepper and kosher salt.
Ok, too much butter. And not fresh garlic, just minced garlic from a jar and too much of it, at that. I was in a hurry, ok?
So green beans? Not very good. My fault. Not wholesome or fresh or any of the above. Just garlicy and slick with butter and sad. Wasted potential.
I just felt like last night could have been a lot better. It gets me down, you know?
BUT! We went grocery shopping last night for and I got all the stuff for some planned meals (do you plan four or five meals in advance so you know what to buy/what’s in your house that needs to be used?). Hopefully not too far in the future, I can post about your breakfast quiche (hoping to try that tomorrow…can I make it ahead and keep it in the fridge overnight?), my beef tips (oh dear), a creamy shrimp and pasta DO OVER! (with plain tomatoes, maybe served cold?) and a spinach, provolone and sausage pizza.
Speaking of that pizza, I got the recipe from a blog friend so I’m a little more trusting than just pulling it from the deep blue sea. However, it calls for 2 links of Italian sausage. And then it goes on to tell you to break up the sausage while you’re browning it, which leads me to believe it’s ground? In the grocery store yesterday I wasn’t sure where to look. Meat department? Deli? Do you know? I feel like an idiot.
Potatoes & Green Beans
You said you don't mind using bacon in your green beans. Okay. Here's the least healthy way to eat green beans I can think of. The only way to make it less healthy would maybe be to add whole sticks of fried cheese in with the butter. I haven't made this in a long time. I don't know why (other than I don't want to die), because it really is very good, and is probably not all that bad when eaten responsibly. I don't know if it's meant to be a side dish or what, but I think of it as a meal on it's own. But trust me when I say it's freaking delicious and you need to have it at least once. It would be badass with cornbread.
Potatoes & Green Beans
1 can French-cut green beans
6 slices of bacon
2 cups new potatoes, diced coarsely
1 medium chopped onion
1 tbsp garlic
4 tbsp butter (aww yeah)
In a stew pot, boil potatoes til they are just soft; drain and move them to a separate bowl. Fry bacon in the pot you boiled potatoes in; remove the bacon and drain on paper towel. Leaving the bacon grease in the pot (haha! weee!), add potatoes, crumbled bacon, green beans, onion, garlic and butter. Toss everything around together, then turn the heat up and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Let sit 20 minutes covered before serving (to let the flavors meld as it cools).
Nothing fancy, just old fashioned awesome.
Potatoes & Green Beans
1 can French-cut green beans
6 slices of bacon
2 cups new potatoes, diced coarsely
1 medium chopped onion
1 tbsp garlic
4 tbsp butter (aww yeah)
In a stew pot, boil potatoes til they are just soft; drain and move them to a separate bowl. Fry bacon in the pot you boiled potatoes in; remove the bacon and drain on paper towel. Leaving the bacon grease in the pot (haha! weee!), add potatoes, crumbled bacon, green beans, onion, garlic and butter. Toss everything around together, then turn the heat up and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Let sit 20 minutes covered before serving (to let the flavors meld as it cools).
Nothing fancy, just old fashioned awesome.
A Case of the Mondays
I have a confession: I don't enjoy cooking supper during the week. As much as I love food, and making food, and eating the food I just made, I hate it Monday-Friday 4:30-5:30 pm. I feel immense pressure to hurry, because everyone is hungry and cranky. I walk in the door, put down my purse, and immediately start manning the stove. I'm tired. I want to sit down. I want to take a bath. Here. Here is your lean protein with a side of vegetables and a sensible starch. I rushed as fast as I could, but it still took me an hour to make it. My feet hurt. What do you mean you don't like it? You just want to eat applesauce? ONLY applesauce?
So during the week, in service to my sanity, I try to come up with at least two major meal ideas. I decide on what we'll be eating, and prep as much as I can beforehand. That way, when I come home after a long day, I don't waste valuable time wondering what's for supper, or chopping vegetables when I could already be cooking them.
Last night, I threw some Omaha frozen foods in the oven - we had the pre-made beef tips in mushroom gravy, with stuffed potatoes. Not bad! While that was baking (40 minutes for the whole meal, from frozen), I chopped up an onion, rinsed some black beans, and drained some corn. I made black bean soup:
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Black Bean Soup
2 16oz. cans black beans
10oz. corn
1 onion
1 tbs. oil
2 cloves garlic
2 ¾ cups chicken broth
1 tbs. chili powder
1 ½ tsp. oregano
Pinch of cayenne
1 bay leaf
¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)
½ cup sour cream (optional)
Rinse and drain beans well. Drain corn. Coarsely chop onion. In large saucepan, warm oil and add onion, garlic. Cook 5 min. til onion just browns. Add beans and corn, broth, chili powder, oregano, cayenne and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Take out 1 ½ cups of solids with slotted spoon. Puree in blender and return to mix.
Serve with cilantro and sour cream on top.
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I halved that recipe, because I only wanted a small pot. I let it simmer while we ate our frozen dinner, and then I cooled it down and put it in the fridge. Like many soups, I think it's just as good or better the next day! Oh, and I had some leftover corn from the can I opened (no sodium can!)...I served that with the beef tips. Curt ate almost all of the bowl by himself.
This morning, I took about five chicken breasts and threw them in the Crock Pot with 1/2 cup water. I'm going to slow cook them all day, so when I get home, they will be hot and juicy and shred like a dream. The plan for tonight is to shred some of the chicken, season it with taco seasoning and make quesadillas, served with black bean soup. The rest of the chicken, I'll cool down, separate into servings, and freeze for later. Shredded chicken is useful!
I also went ahead this morning and took out some beef tips to thaw. Yes, more beef tips, but these are the raw kind I can season myself, and we LOVE BEEF TIPS at my house. I'll slow-cook them probably Wednesday or Thursday. It's a Crock Pot kind of week.
So during the week, in service to my sanity, I try to come up with at least two major meal ideas. I decide on what we'll be eating, and prep as much as I can beforehand. That way, when I come home after a long day, I don't waste valuable time wondering what's for supper, or chopping vegetables when I could already be cooking them.
Last night, I threw some Omaha frozen foods in the oven - we had the pre-made beef tips in mushroom gravy, with stuffed potatoes. Not bad! While that was baking (40 minutes for the whole meal, from frozen), I chopped up an onion, rinsed some black beans, and drained some corn. I made black bean soup:
_________________________________________________
Black Bean Soup
2 16oz. cans black beans
10oz. corn
1 onion
1 tbs. oil
2 cloves garlic
2 ¾ cups chicken broth
1 tbs. chili powder
1 ½ tsp. oregano
Pinch of cayenne
1 bay leaf
¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)
½ cup sour cream (optional)
Rinse and drain beans well. Drain corn. Coarsely chop onion. In large saucepan, warm oil and add onion, garlic. Cook 5 min. til onion just browns. Add beans and corn, broth, chili powder, oregano, cayenne and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Take out 1 ½ cups of solids with slotted spoon. Puree in blender and return to mix.
Serve with cilantro and sour cream on top.
_________________________________________________
I halved that recipe, because I only wanted a small pot. I let it simmer while we ate our frozen dinner, and then I cooled it down and put it in the fridge. Like many soups, I think it's just as good or better the next day! Oh, and I had some leftover corn from the can I opened (no sodium can!)...I served that with the beef tips. Curt ate almost all of the bowl by himself.
This morning, I took about five chicken breasts and threw them in the Crock Pot with 1/2 cup water. I'm going to slow cook them all day, so when I get home, they will be hot and juicy and shred like a dream. The plan for tonight is to shred some of the chicken, season it with taco seasoning and make quesadillas, served with black bean soup. The rest of the chicken, I'll cool down, separate into servings, and freeze for later. Shredded chicken is useful!
I also went ahead this morning and took out some beef tips to thaw. Yes, more beef tips, but these are the raw kind I can season myself, and we LOVE BEEF TIPS at my house. I'll slow-cook them probably Wednesday or Thursday. It's a Crock Pot kind of week.
I made the sweet potato fries
I made the sweet potato fries! I lined my pan with tin foil, and I think mine cooked faster than yours. At 425, it only took them 25 minutes or so to get nice and...well, as crispy as I think you can get them. Which is not crispy, but definitely not soggy! Nice. Very nice. I experimented with the broiler, but pulled them out after a few minutes because they started to burn. Oops! So no broiler for me, the tin foil apparently takes care of that.
Now what I'm doing is looking online for:
1. Tips to make them crispier. I don't necessarily need them crispier, but Shayne would like them better that way. I wish you could hear the sound he made when he tried one the first time. "EUGHhhh! Uh...I mean, that is not what I was expecting." But he put some on his plate, so it wasn't THAT bad, come on now.
2. A perfect dipping sauce. Again, not for me. For Shayne. Because natural vegetable flavor is for girls.
Curt might like them, if he would try one. But he was busy ramming hamburger bun into his face as fast as he could. I think he accidentally got a little bit of veggies and sauce mixed in (I made his sloppy joe with 1/2 sloppy joe meat and 1/2 mixed veggies - surprise, kid!), so I'll accept that as a win.
Overall review: will make again. And again and again and again. And if the boys don't want them, yay more for me.
I served them with sloppy-joes-from-a-can, so that was nothing special. I mean, they were very satisfying, definitely what I was hungry for, but I'll make my own next time. I was reading the ingredients on the can, and not feeling super happy about it. Can anyone even tell me what the hell "Natural Flavor" is? If it's natural, why do you have to add it in? Also, it's heavy on corn syrup. Not great. Can do better. Have been shown the way.
_______________________________________________
I believe tonight's lineup will be fish, veggies and potatoes. We love baked tilapia, and it's fast, fast, fast. I rub a little oil in a baking dish, add the fillets in, and hose them down with lemon juice. Then I sprinkle on some dill and a little lemon pepper, and bake it at 375 for 15 minutes. THE END.
I think it goes really well with garlic and herb mashed potatoes (FROM A BOX MIX), but Shayne thinks the potatoes are too dry/plain and need a gravy. There is no gravy that says to me, "serve with fish." No. So tonight I'm going to try a different approach and go with cheesy mashed potatoes (potatoes from a box, but I will mix in sharp cheddar and some seasoning).
Have you ever tried those veggie steamers, that you steam right in the bag in the microwave? They are brilliant. The Wal-Mart brand is just as good as the Green Giant or other brands. They take, like, six minutes to cook, and the vegetables are PERFECT. They are sweet and light and good. We're also going to have some of that, I think.
Saturday morning breakfast, I'm in a quiche kind of mood. Will report back on that, but I'm not sure how I'll be with weekend updating!
Now what I'm doing is looking online for:
1. Tips to make them crispier. I don't necessarily need them crispier, but Shayne would like them better that way. I wish you could hear the sound he made when he tried one the first time. "EUGHhhh! Uh...I mean, that is not what I was expecting." But he put some on his plate, so it wasn't THAT bad, come on now.
2. A perfect dipping sauce. Again, not for me. For Shayne. Because natural vegetable flavor is for girls.
Curt might like them, if he would try one. But he was busy ramming hamburger bun into his face as fast as he could. I think he accidentally got a little bit of veggies and sauce mixed in (I made his sloppy joe with 1/2 sloppy joe meat and 1/2 mixed veggies - surprise, kid!), so I'll accept that as a win.
Overall review: will make again. And again and again and again. And if the boys don't want them, yay more for me.
I served them with sloppy-joes-from-a-can, so that was nothing special. I mean, they were very satisfying, definitely what I was hungry for, but I'll make my own next time. I was reading the ingredients on the can, and not feeling super happy about it. Can anyone even tell me what the hell "Natural Flavor" is? If it's natural, why do you have to add it in? Also, it's heavy on corn syrup. Not great. Can do better. Have been shown the way.
_______________________________________________
I believe tonight's lineup will be fish, veggies and potatoes. We love baked tilapia, and it's fast, fast, fast. I rub a little oil in a baking dish, add the fillets in, and hose them down with lemon juice. Then I sprinkle on some dill and a little lemon pepper, and bake it at 375 for 15 minutes. THE END.
I think it goes really well with garlic and herb mashed potatoes (FROM A BOX MIX), but Shayne thinks the potatoes are too dry/plain and need a gravy. There is no gravy that says to me, "serve with fish." No. So tonight I'm going to try a different approach and go with cheesy mashed potatoes (potatoes from a box, but I will mix in sharp cheddar and some seasoning).
Have you ever tried those veggie steamers, that you steam right in the bag in the microwave? They are brilliant. The Wal-Mart brand is just as good as the Green Giant or other brands. They take, like, six minutes to cook, and the vegetables are PERFECT. They are sweet and light and good. We're also going to have some of that, I think.
Saturday morning breakfast, I'm in a quiche kind of mood. Will report back on that, but I'm not sure how I'll be with weekend updating!
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