A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Crockpot Chili: It's a Texture Thing

 

This was a learning experiment based on a 30-hour-awake day I'll share with you. 

One day last week I couldn't sleep even though I'd been up since before dawn the day before. I ended up going from 4am one day, up through all of that night, and then finally got sleepy about 11am the next day. I know. Weird. But by 10am I realized that if I was going to save us from eating icky fast food for dinner I needed a plan. I had all the ingredients for chili but by that time of morning my brain was so fried I was probably a danger with a stove.  Sort of like drinking and driving, insomnia and appliances with massive heat do not go together.

My answer:  It's a crockpot, isn't it?  The idea is to dump stuff in and forget it, right? That's what I did. I didn't brown the ground beef or saute the onions. It all went in together and cooked for the six hours I slept. I woke up to great chili.  Here's what I liked most about it:  the texture.  I've talked before about the fact that although I'm not a vegetarian I don't eat a lot of meat. I grew up in a meat-centric house so I like the taste of it but I hate the texture. One of the things I don't like about chili is having the softness of the beans and the relative hardness of the meat. I know. I know. It's strange but it is what it is.  In some dishes I want lots of texture but in foods like chili, I don't. I usually end up picking out the chunks of meat and throwing them back in the pot for Gene.  This method solved that problem.  The long slow cooking time broke down the fibers of the meat to the point that it was all a uniform texture and I liked it. So if you're like me and have a meat/texture or a sleeping/need for quick food problem, this is the chili recipe for you too.

By the way, I froze a container of this to use on coneys or for chili mac later on.  It's PERFECT for both of those dishes.

Kitchen of Light: Vodka-Marinated Pork Roast

 Last weekend I played around with a couple of new cookbooks. This pork roast recipe came from Kitchen of Light by Andreas Viestad of the PBS cooking show of the same name. The cookbook is just as fun to read as it is to cook from so far so I'll be making more dishes from it soon.

One of the things I liked about this recipe is that the vodka based marinade seemed to more effectively carry the herb flavors into the center of the meat than other oil/acid marinade combinations I've used in the past.  There was no taste of vodka or alcohol but the fresh herbs seemed brightened by the alcohol as a base.

There was a cute story attached to the recipe where Andreas said he made it for the show Scandinavian Cooking in Svalbard, an Arctic island north of Norway.  He said that out of all their supplies to prepare the dish, the only thing that didn't freeze was the vodka.  I'm thinking he's lucky he had any left for the recipe. I think in the Arctic I'd be downing the hooch to warm up.

One Roast/Two Meals: Roast with Veggies & Shortcut Beef Stroganoff

 

As much as we all love to cook and as much as we all like to make everything from scratch, let's face it, sometimes life intervenes and we have to settle for using a shortcut or two.

Last week, when I worked several days in a row, I happily chose crockpot and some low maintenance cooking over fast food and/or ordering out.

Take this combo, for example.  One roast equalled two great meals, and great leftovers for my lunchbox.

For years, we've all raved about my cousin Ann's pot roast, so rich and flavorful.  One day she told Aunti Miranda and I her secret weapon:  Heinz Beef Gravy.  A jar. Not kidding.  It's wonderful and so quick.  It's this simple:  throw the roast in an oven safe covered roasting pan with salt and pepper and whatever veggies you want: onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, green peppers, etc.  And top with the jar of Heinz gravy (mushroom works well too).  Bake @ 300 degrees, low and slow, for 45 minutes per lb.  (Most directions say for 25 minutes/lb but we like ours falling apart.)

That's dinner #1.

The next night I took the leftover meat and cut it into bite-sized chunks (about 3 cups) and then whizzed the leftover gravy and vegetables together in the blender.  Placing the meat and gravy/veggie mix into a pot on the stovetop,  I stirred in a 6 oz. container of plain Greek-style yogurt, and reseasoned to taste with a little salt and pepper.  This I served over cooked egg noodles.

Perfect for dinner #2 with plenty of leftovers to take with me to work.

Sometimes it's all about real life.

Good & Good For You: Gluten free Zucchini Crust Pizza

 

This nice little recipe was sent to me yesterday by  my fellow Springfield blogger, Sally, of Aunt Sally's Blog.  Being a friendly bunch of bloggers, she got it from Gluten Free Homemaker. The original recipe along with the original remarks can be found HERE:  Zucchini Crust Pizza 

The zucchini crust intrigued me and since I had all the ingredients on hand...I made it last night.

The original recipe, as I have reprinted it, is wheat free, however, I don't keep rice flour in the house and since we're not celiac or allergic to wheat, I used regular flour.

It does and it doesn't taste like pizza but Gene and I both liked it.  I halved the recipe (since it's just Gene and I) and made mine in an 8"x 8" casserole dish (instead of the jelly roll pan the directions call for) so it was thicker than pizza.  To us, in the pan I put it in, it's more of a zucchini/pizza casserole but we enjoyed it.  What we didn't eat I'm taking to work tonight so this one will probably pop up in my summer menus next year.

A Weekend's Worth of LunchBox Ideas that Equal Good Eatin'

I don't know about you, but one of my biggest problem areas for eating healthily is WORK.  It's just to easy to let the stress and middle-of-the-night caffeine jonesing take over and suddenly I've racked up 500 calories of nothing good.  Not to mention that the hospital crapeteria sucks.  Maybe during the day it's great but all nights gets is the leftovers warmed up, half a salad bar, and sandwiches.

I've recommitted myself to taking lunch and making sure I have plenty of healthy snacks available. Another of my weaknesses is my tummy. I have a really touchy stomach, especially after going eight or nine hours without food between leaving the house for work and lunch time at 2am.  Around 11pm or midnight is when the siren song of the vending machines usually stomp all my good intentions to the ground.

Below is the food from the last of the three nights worked and it is a winning combination.  I had the pasta with broccoli, vegetable juice, and fruit for lunch, but the other three I doled out to myself before and after lunch and , for once, avoided the middle of the night nausea and/or vomitting.  Yeah, I know. Vomitting isn't a pleasant subject on a food blog but it's a problem for me and I have more than a couple of times thrown up from acid stomach in the middle of the night and then gone back to whatever I was doing.  I'd like to stop that little game and this worked for me the other night so I'm going to continue with the good snacks.

 

Niece Jordan's Birthday Party

 

It might seem a little odd that most of the family parties are at my house but I think it's about me being the oldest of our five kids and our mom having passed away 20 years ago. I've become the matriarch of my little family, sort of Grandma by Proxy.  So for many years, the niece and nephews have all expected to have their birthday parties at "Aunt Gonnie's". 

Since I make the cakes and do most of the cooking, it's very convenient for me.  I've always felt a little guilty that I'm the one who learned to cook but, being the oldest, I was the sergeant-at-arms in my mother's kitchen for as long as I can remember, and my little sister, Jordan's mom, being six years younger was mostly kicked out to go play.  Lucky her in ways!  Not that she's a bad cook, she just didn't get the same experience I did in the large family/trial by fire way I did.

  

Jordan requested her menu, which is our tradition, Ziti "with pepperoni" and "strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream and blue roses".  I can dig it.  Ever since Jordan was a toddler her favorite meal has been spaghetti but as she's gotten older she's added the spicy pungency of pepperoni to her favorites and strawberry cake has won her heart since she was a baby.  That I bought strawberry cheesecake ice cream to go with it was like a strawberry sugar nirvana shared by all.

The menu board to the left is a little freebie bank whiteboard give-away we got years ago that's always been my little party cheat sheet. It's on the fridge so that I, and anyone in the kitchen helping me, can consult to avoid the common after dinner "Oh crap! We forgot the ___" moment.

 

I'll give the recipe below. We found the Ziti with Pepperoni to be an excellent choice for a crowd, easy to prepare in advance and a hit with everyone. 

It is also my entry in this week's Presto Pasta Nights, created by wonderful Ruth at Once Upon a Feastand hosted this week by Sara of I'm a Food Blog .  On Friday of this coming week, be sure to stop by to see all the pasta doings going on.

Additionally on the menu:

 

Basic spring salad of leaf lettuces, chunked zucchini, celery, spring onions, tomatoes, shredded carrots, and edible flowers from the garden:  Sweet William and Purslane.

Accompanying the salad was a host of bottled dressings for the timid and a home-made lemon vinaigrette for Auntie Miranda and I, made from lemon balm and parsley fresh from the garden.  The recipe for this also, is below.

Later this week a post a few pics of the "garden", not traditional rows or square foot, my garden is a fairly ambitious collection of pots on the back porch...I'll also write a separate post on the cake with more behind the scenes pics of making the gumpaste flowers.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, vivacious, growing-up-way-too-fast, fabulous niece, Jordan!

Doctor's Kitchen Monday: Glenna's All Day Spaghetti 3-Meat Sauce (Low & Slow w/Lots of Veggies)

 

In keeping with the goals I've mentioned before of dieting and reining things back in my life, I've been thinking I'm going to start posting more of my daily menus, of course hoping it will inspire me more and more to keep fighting the good fight when it comes to food. As in REAL food, not processed crap.  Sure, there will be days when I eat out or drive through a "thru" or screw up (translation: soda!)  but all in all I'm feeling pretty rejuvinated. It's amazing to me how many of our choices in life, bad choices in life, are made because we feel bad.  Do you know what I mean? I'm finally, after months of respiratory infections and fighting my asthma, starting to feel like myself again.  The odd thing to me is how much feeling better has perked me back up in terms of not only my attitude but in my food choices and what I'm physically able to do.  I'm not "living" on sugar and caffeine anymore.  Isn't it the ultimate irony that when the body feels crummy we tend to take the easiest way out and feed it crap from a box or a window when that's the most important time we should be concentrating on healthy, vibrant, nutritious foods?  Crazy but human. It's just too easy these days to grab bad food when we feel bad and save cooking for when we feel better.  Sad, but true.

But hey, I'm back, and today I made my new favorite all day spaghetti sauce that's actually packed with, yes three meats, but also tons of fresh veggies and isn't overloaded with fat.  This sauce is not your average hamburger and tomato sauce sauce. It has three meats:  sirloin (chunks and ground), pork chops, and Italian sausage.  It's finished out with five vegetables and a host of seasonings. Normally, I'm not a huge meat eater, not because I don't like the taste but because I don't like the texture. This one is different.  From being simmered so long, the meat has the softer texture of a really good slow-cooked chili or vegetable beef soup.  With about a 40 minute prep, if you can handle two pots at once, it's a great recipe to throw into the crockpot to finish simmering while you work during the day, or sleep to us nightshifters.

This is my entry for this week's Presto Pasta Nights, created by the very cool Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, and hosted this week by Patsy of Family, Friends, and Food.  Check out both blogs on Friday to see the round-up of great pasta dishes across the blogs this week.

St. Pat's Day (comes a couple of days early at the Muse home)

 

I have to work tonight and will sleep tomorrow so our St. Pat's feast was last night, Sunday night, so that I could really enjoy it. I'll confess for Gene that corned beef is not his all time favorite so I only make it once a year even though I love it.  You know how it is.  When you're the only one in the house that like something, it just usually isn't on the hit parade often.  My brother Kenneth come over and shared dinner with us before he went to work last night so I did have a fellow cb fan with me and he and I fought over split the leftovers for work lunches so it worked out well in the end.  I'll still get to take corned beef and colcannon to work to lunch tonight where it will turn into St. Pat's day in the middle of my shift. I could wonder if our crapeteria will be hip enough to serve corned beef tonight but the thought makes me shudder so I'll take my own.

Myyyyyyyyyyyyyy but I'm a little bit bitchy today. Maybe I need to go back to bed for a nap before work!  Or not. Hehehehe

Back to the good stuff...

Weekend Herb Blogging: Gimme A (vitamin) "C" for Stuffed Red Peppers

Weekend Herb Blogging, created by the wonderful Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, is being hosted this week by the equally wonderful Katie of Thyme for Cooking.  I love this event for reminding us that healthy food doesn't have to taste boring. There's a whole world of flavor out there that's non-fat, non-carb, and non-guilt.

Sweet bell peppes in any color are a powerhouse of vitamin C, providing 240% of the recommended daily  value (based on 2,000 cal diet) in just a 1/2 cup (raw) serving.  That same serving also provides 45% of the daily vitamin A and a significant amount of folic acid, vitamin K (necessary for blood clotting) and vitam B6.  With only 20 calories, 0 fat, 5 complex carbs, 1 protein, and 1 gram of Fiber, peppers are a bargain on anybody's diet.  Plus, they taste GREAT!

Happy (Early) St. Pat's: Corned Beef, Colcannon, & Green Bread

Happy St. Pat's Day  a little early! I'm working most of the weekend including Monday but I wanted to share this meal with you.  Yum! St. Pat's food is one of my favorite go to for celebratory meals. Don't know why I don't prepare it more often.  Actually, the Reuben is my all time favorite sandwich and corned beef hash and eggs is my favorite breakfast. Can't go wrong with corned beef and cabbage in any form!

By the way, the green bread is a joke. It's simply my standard white bread everyday recipe that I added green food paste coloring to for some St. Pat's silliness.

As for the holiday itself, St. Patrick is credited with both driving the snakes and the pagans out of Ireland. As Ireland's patron saint, Patrick is attributed with using the abundant shamrock as a teaching tool to explain the three-in-one nature of the Trinity.

This is my entry for this weeks'  Weekend Herb Blogging, originally created by the lovely Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.  This week, WHB is hosted by Kel of the fabulously photographed Green Olive Tree.  Check out all the other entries after Sunday evening.

Cardamom is a spice, not technically an herb, but Kalyn's focus is on all herbs, spices, or plants.  Cardamom, my favorite spice, is used quite a bit in northern European and Middle Eastern cuisines.