Pork chops in wine mushroom sauce and zucchini corn casserole

My husband eats pork, I do not. So I rarely fix pork, but I wanted a special treat. We're also working on having left overs for lunch the following day, so I hoped I could safely make pork chops without waste.

I got four pork chops at the grocery. I looked for a smaller pack but the only one with three in it had three HUGE ones, so I decided on the smaller ones hoping they would cook through better.

Baked pork chops in mushroom wine sauce

The recipe I used I modified some, because I didn't have all the ingredients on hand:

Pork chops
Bread crumbs
One egg
Seasonings to taste
Olive oil
One can cream of mushroom soup (10.75 oz)
2/3 cup white wine

The original recipe called for less wine and some milk.

Preheat oven to 350 f.
I rinsed the chops and patted them dry, then dredged through the egg and covered in bread crumbs. I was supposed to season them before doing this, but I was running slightly behind schedule and forgot.
In a skillet with a few tablespoons of oil quickly fry the chops until the bread crumbs are browned. (About one minute each side or less.) Put into a dish, cover, and put into the oven for half an hour.
Take the chops out and pour cream of mushroom and wine over chops. Replace in oven for another half hour.
Eat.

Zucchini Corn Casserole

Four cups grated zucchini (I guessed)
Two eggs, beaten
One package Jiffy corn muffin mix
One onion, chopped (I had a giant onion so I used 2/3 onion)
Salt and pepper
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

Preheat oven to 350 f.
Beat eggs, combine onion, shredded zucchini, corn muffin mix, and salt. Stir in 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese. Put into greased casserole pan (I used my smaller pan but it would have been thinner in a larger pan, in the smaller pan it was nearly to the top). Top with remaining cheese.
Bake 60 minutes.

The picky eater liked the pork chops, he said they were moist and that the pork wasn't over powered by the wine.
He loved the zucchini corn casserole. I even liked it. It was sweet and moist and kind of like cake. Good ole comfort food. With vegetables!

Meatloaf and Corn Chowder

Meatloaf is one of those things people look down on. I don't know why -- I love meatloaf! Elvo loves my meatloaf too, because it's pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb ground beef
1 egg
Brown sugar
BBQ sauce
3/4 cup breadcrumbs or crushed crackers
3/4 cup milk

Get a loaf pan and put some brown sugar in the bottom, crush it down so it makes a crust. Put a liberal amount of BBQ sauce on top of the brown sugar.

In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs, milk, and egg. Put in the beef and mix with your hands. (You could mix it with something else, I guess, but I use my hands.) Shape into a loaf and place in the loaf pan.

Put BBQ sauce on top of the meat loaf, and place in preheated oven at 350 Fahrenheit for one hour, or until cooked through.

Delicious!

I made this along with corn chowder and they went well together.

Corn chowder:
Ingredients:
Can of sweet corn
Can of white corn
1 cup chicken broth
Can of creamed corn, if you want
Bacon, ham, chicken, whatever

Throw it all in the crock pot and cook on low for the day.

Mmmm, a hearty meal.

A Terrible Trifecta

If bad things come in threes, then that last one was a doozy.

Tonight is beef stew over noodles -- pure comfort food, which is good because I had a bad day.

But we will begin with the beginning:
Bad Thing One: Elvo loses his job. I
I don't have to tell you why this is a bad thing, it's pretty obvious.
Bad Thing Two: The oven breaks.
I was removing our bacon wrapped chicken from the over on Monday when suddenly the whole front door fell off! Once I got over my shock I regrouped my nerves and called my landlord. Since we rent, we don't technically own the oven or have to pay for the repairs, which is a good thing. But it's also a bad thing, since other than our whining there's no motivation for our landlord to repair the oven. So I can't bake anything and that's driving me crazy!
Bad Thing Three: I had a car accident this morning.
It was a normal morning, I had my breakfast, drove to the fuel station, filled my fuel tank with gasoline, and was headed to work. I was driving into the sun, which is always bothersome. To combat the pain of the bright light, I was focused on following the car in front of me when BOOM. Another car hit my passenger side, and then again, BOOM. A second car! So the three of us got out and waited for tow trucks and cops. As near as I can tell the fellow I was following ran the light/sqeaked through on yellow and I followed him into the intersection when the other side got a green light. So. My car isn't driveable. :( I am very sad, as I rather liked my little VW.

That last step is a long drop!

Tonight is sweet potato soup and glazed salmon. I've covered the soup before in this post. Today ended up being a great day for soup and indoor grilling because it's raining insane amounts of water.

As to the salmon... well, that didn't quite turn out to be salmon. Elvo got tuna instead, because he couldn't find fresh wild-caught salmon. (He found frozen, but he made a judgement call and got the fresh wild-caught tuna instead.) I think it'll be delicious anyway. I had made up this marinade beforehand so he could slip the salmon tuna in once he purchased it from the grocery store and throw it into the fridge to take on the flavor.

To make the marinade:
In a one cup measure, combine:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup oil (any kind will do)
1/3 cup brown sugar
spices to taste (I used pepper, cinnamon, and just a touch of garlic.)

On second thought some lemon thyme might have been a good choice to throw in as well, but ah well.
Mix it all up, put it in a plastic bag, and put your salmon tuna inside. Make sure the marinade is allllll over the fish, and leave in the fridge for at least two hours.

Once you've let the salmon tuna marinate for a sufficient time (over night is best -- the longer the better) break out the grill. We have a tiny electric grill we can use in doors, thankfully, so the rain isn't going to ruin our dinner!

Mm, delicious. I was worried at first about the marinade since, you know, soy sauce is salty and brown sugar is sweet, but the complex flavor really brings out the flavor in the fish. I should mention that Elvo bought some really nice (sushi grade) cuts of fish, but this marinade would be good on just about anything. Mixed with the delicate sweetness of the soup it really made for a nice, cozy meal on a rainy day.

A quick review of the bacon-wrapped chicken and lemon orzo soup: the chicken did not disappoint. Elvo ate two pieces (isn't that like eating a whole chicken?) and I finished off my own piece. As for the orzo soup: it was exactly what I had been craving, though Elvo claimed it was too lemon-y. It's still going in the book though, because I absolutely loved it!

Now for tonight:
Apricot chicken served with rice

This is a simple dish I've made several times. In fact, it's so simple I made it a few too many times last year and Elvo complained. But never fear, memory does not always serve, and he was happy to eat this tonight over some rice.

Ingredients:
Chicken, small pieces (I use sliced up chicken breast, this might also work with beef or turkey)
1 cup apricots (or more!)
1 cup chicken broth
Onion, 1 chopped (I buy mine pre-cut because me and knives don't mix)
Cinnamon
Allspice

Basically throw it all in the crock on low for 6 to 7 hours, or high for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. It makes a delicious, easy, ready-to-eat meal. I make mine up in the morning, but if you're lucky enough to mix it all up around lunch it's easily ready in time for dinner. Throw some rice, especially if you have wild rice, in the rice cooker and enjoy!

Despite his previous complaints, Elvo was really thrilled with this dish and threatened to steal my portion!

Wow it's been a long time.

I stopped cooking for a while due to a thing called "Depression". I've had no energy, no creativity, just a hallow void of despair. However I'm feeling a little better now so back to meal planning!

Here's this week:
Monday: Bacon wrapped chicken with lemon orzo soup
Tuesday: Apricot chicken with rice
Wednesday: Salmon with sweet potato soup
Thursday: Beef onion stew over noodles
Friday: "Hardee's" brown sugar chicken with rice and beans
Saturday: Meatloaf with corn chowder
Sunday: Left overs!

I've made bacon wrapped chicken before, and frequently use it when having guests because it's easy yet impressive. I've never made the lemon orzo soup before, but I had it at a friend's and LOVED it.

Bacon wrapped chicken:
Ingredients:
Chicken
Bacon
Chopped chives or other fun filling
Cream cheese
Condensed soup: cream of chicken
Milk, 1/2 cup
Lemon juice, 1 tsp
Pepper, salt, etc

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts like you would open a book. Put a slice of cream cheese and 1 teaspoon chopped chives in the middle of each breast and roll up, loosely. Wrap each rolled breast with 1 slice (or more, if you like bacon!) of bacon and secure with toothpicks (or pray it stays rolled, whatever). Place in a baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, combine condensed soup, milk, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Mix until smooth, then pour over chicken. (You can add mayo to this, like 1/4 cup, but I do not.)
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Lemon Orzo Soup

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cups lemon juice
Spinach, rosemary,  thyme, other fun things
Orzo pasta (my recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but you can use more)

1. Cook orzo according to directions
2. Combine all ingredients over low heat, stir until warmed through and thoroughly combined

Beef Stroganoff

Wow, married life has really thrown me for a loop. In addition to the bliss of the honeymoon year, we're also astoundingly short on money. Luckily, I have a recipe from a friend that doesn't call for much and makes pure comfort food:

Stroganoff (it actually isn't real stroganoff but i call it that)

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef but i like turkey better)

garlic powder

onion salt

lemon pepper (or any pepper you like really)

2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

brown the ground meat, seasoning with garlic powder, onion salt, and pepper

drain and return to skillet

add cans of soup, milk, soy sauce, and worcestershire sauce. mix well, simmer for about 5 mins, then serve.

i serve mine over egg noodles with peas and pearl onions, but you could serve it over mashed potatoes too

 

As a side note: I make this a little differently using the crock pot!

 

Ingredients:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet dry onion soup mix

1 lb stew beef

some water

 

Brown the meat in a skillet and transfer to crock pot. This step is not necessary but enhances the look of the stew, so don't hesitate to try it.

Add other ingredients, turn crock pot on Low for 8-9 hours.

Serve over noodles or rice and enjoy!

Cranberry Chicken, Lemon Honey Chicken

I found two new recipes to try. Of course, it's Thanksgiving week, so I probably won't try these until the weekend or beyond. Luckily I do not have to host or cook a full T-day meal, so I won't end up with a lot of left-overs. (Elvo does not eat left overs and I do not like turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, or most of the other traditional dishes. I make the cornbread, haha.)
First is something I would only make for Elvo, because I despise the key ingredients:
Cranberry Chicken
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 (1 ounce) packages dry onion soup mix
1 (16 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
1 cup French dressing
Place the chicken breasts in a glass or non-reactive baking dish.
Stir the onion soup mix, cranberry sauce, and French dressing together in a bowl until well blended. Pour over the chicken breasts. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Remove plastic wrap from the baking dish, and cover loosely with aluminum foil.
Bake chicken in preheated oven until top is bubbly and slightly browned, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Or place in slow cooker for 6 hours on low.

And the next is a bit of imagination:
Lemon Honey Chicken
Take some chicken (any amount will do) and put it in a bag with some lemon juice. Place in refrigerator overnight.
Upon waking, grease crockpot. Put chicken in crockpot on low, throw away extra juice. Drizzle honey over chicken. Throw in a handful of onions, some salt and pepper, a bit of parsley and oil. Cook low 8-9 hours or high 4-5 hours. Serve with rice or something else delicious like squash.

Also, a little squash recipe:
Yellow squash, sliced into coins. (I call them coins... what do you call them?) Cook in chicken broth on the stove top for 4-5 minutes on high. Honey butter in the centers really completes this delicate, healthy side.

Also, Elvo got some instant mashed potatoes. While I'm loathe to instant things, it's nice not having to break out the mixer!

Seared Mahi Mahi with Mango and Rice

Ah, the first day of spring break! Finally, a Monday where I can cook!

I have two mahi mahi filets left in the fridge. They aren't the usual mahi mahi filets I get from bilo, so I am a little concerned about how long they have been there and where exactly they came from. But as I have exactly one dollar in my wallet otherwise, they are for dinner.


Using this recipe as inspiration, I made a few small modifications:

First, I have a jar of mango salsa in the fridge from a few weeks ago when salsa was buy one get one free. I prefer my salsa tongue-melting spicy, but Elvo does not like spicy food so I got some mango to try out.

Second, I don't have any jasmine rice, or scallions, or cilantro. So I will be making my rice with white sushi rice, some other seasonings from the spice rack, and maybe walnuts tossed in.

Should be a delicious adventure!

A little story

So, in my previous post, I was making Elvo's favourite soup and I had decided to make biscuits.

But no, wait, I decided to make bread. Elvo loves bread. And since I have gluten free bread flour (I stopped making my own and just buy Pamela's now, I know I know, sell out, but it's easier) I figured I'd just concoct a delicious, coarse bread good for soup dipping.

I threw together some ingredients. To the best of my knowledge my recipe included an egg, a cup of milk, 3 cups of gf flour, some salt, a handful of brown sugar, a bit of oil, and a spoonful of butter, plus some yeast.

Apparently baking is not like cooking.

You can't just make things up, and you definitely can't say "a handful of" or "just a pinch". I've made bread before, and apparently done so only with extreme luck. Though in my defense I've made bread three times and only twice had it come out tasty.

Back to the budding failure:
I tossed all these ingredients in the machine and turned it on. I can't remember which setting I used. My beloved machine got to work.
I recommend a bread machine to everyone. I got mine second hand for just $18, and it came with two cookbooks as well. It's fun, it makes the house smell amazing, and it's healthier.

Anyway. Fast forward time. Ding! Bread it done. I pop it out on a plate and Elvo slices it up.
Hm, what's wrong with this? It's really dense, and it seems under baked in the center.
Elvo: Did you follow the recipe?
Me: Well, I just kind of made it up.
Elvo: ...What did you put in it?
Me: I'm not exactly sure... some sugar and flour and..."
Elvo: Did you measure?
Me: (sensing danger) N-nnnooo?
Elvo: Ok, try a recipe from the book and measure everything.

Round two: I chose a simple white bread recipe and measured the ingredients out mostly-carefully. Put it all in the machine and press fast forward on time. Ding! Bread's done.

And it was even worse!

Elvo: Did you substitute anything?
Me: Well, brown sugar for white, gluten free mix for regular flour, oil for margarine, soy for milk power and water...
Elvo: ....~facepalm~


Lesson to the wise.

Things that go well with soup

It's been cold and rainy lately. Elvo requested his favourite soup, which is carrot sweet potato soup. This is a thick, creamy sort of soup, good served with some dipping bread:

In the slow cooker, it requires a long cook time so do this in the morning, combine:

1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced to equal about 2-3 cups
1 cup baby carots
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth, or two cubes and 2 cups water
a little onion if you have it (I used flakes, for lack of fresh on hand)
a little curry powder if you have it (I didn't)

Stir to combine and cook it on low for 8 hours or so. Then dump it in the blender and blend it smooth. Put it back in the slow cooker and add:
1/2 cup milk or cream (I used soy)
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey (I also love to garnish his dish with a little maple syrup swirl in the center once I've ladeled out the soup)

Cook it on high for 15 to 30 minutes more, to let it thicken.

Serve it with bread for a soothing, rainy day meal.

But as I was making the soup this morning I started thinking. What goes well with soup? Salad of course. But Elvo hates salad, hence the addition of biscuits. (I just make some drop biscuits, you could also get the kind that come in a tube but since we're gluten free that's not an option available to me. Besides free range eggs and soy milk are better ingredients.)

I'm also contemplating making some bread. I dunno. I am in a baking mood I guess.

BBQ Grilled Chicken and Jacket Sweet Potato

The weather has been warming up and I am dying to use our grill again. We'll be eating with Elvo's parents on Friday and likely having pineapple mahi mahi on Saturday if I can find some spare change to buy a can of pineapple.

(Normally when I have a short week Elvo picks up the grocery tab but since he's between jobs it's just lil' o meeeee. So I'm digging through ingredients and trying to skimp where I can.)

So! You'll need two chicken breasts, thawed, and you'll want to pepper them 30 minutes before grilling. Put a little BBQ sauce on them too.

Have a recipe: Baked Sweet Potato
It calls for yams, but you can use either yam or sweet potato. Remember US friends that yams are often labeled "sweet potatoes" but never the other way around.
Cook it according to the directions, 400 Fahrenheit 45-75 minutes or until it begins to carmelize. When it's 10-15 minutes from done heat the grill. When it's 5 minutes 'till done put your chicken on the grill with some more BBQ sauce. (It's ok, you can clean it later!)

Mix a little nutmeg with some cinnamon with a handful of brown sugar. Slice the jacket potato open and put a spoonful of butter in, followed by the brown sugar mixture.

Enjoy! Maybe add corn as a side.

Walnut encrusted salmon?

I'm not at home this weekend, which means no cooking. :( Instead, I'm visiting a friend in TN, and the distance from the kitchen is killing me. So I am planning to cook Sunday after returning home.

Will I actually have that kind of energy? Hard to say....

I think I'll take two salmon filets and some pecans (like 1/3 cup?) and try to make a pecan encrusted something.

No, no, walnuts! I like walnuts better. Actually I love almonds best, but it's time to stop being so dependent on almonds. And I think I have some chopped walnuts somewhere anyway, left over from something else.

Anyway:
Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit.
Mix 1/3 cup finely chopped nuts (almonds/pecans/I still can't decide) or whatever amount of finely chopped nuts you have on hand, with a handful of brown sugar and a tiny amount of.... What shall we add?
Soy sauce.
Yeah so mix brown sugar with soy sauce and toss the nuts in it.
Break an egg open and put it in a bowl. Dip the salmon filets in the egg and then press into the nut-sugar mixture. Place in foil or a baking dish or your favourite way to bake fish and bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes. Keeping it covered will make it moist and delicious-er.

While waiting on that I think I'll make some zucchini noodles to go with it. I call them noodles because I can use them in place of pasta in the meal, and it's healthier and gets some vitamins in Elvo.
Get three or four zucchinis, more if you're making for more than two people, and cut the ends off. Cut the zucchini's long wise so they make long, flat cross sections of the zucchini. Take 2 cups of chicken broth and put it in a pan, like a skillet pan but with straight sides or just whatever you have on hand, and bring it to a boil. Put in your zucchni slices, cover and keep over med-high heat for ten minutes or so. It makes the zucchini soft but flavorful and easily replaces pasta as a side for your salmon.

I'll let you know how we end up liking this. I'm excited just thinking about it, especially since I won't have to purchase any ingredients, haha.

I also wanted to point out that my lack-a-dasical style of cooking isn't how some people do it, and if you're a serious by-the-book detail person then I really apologize for not giving you measurements and such. However, there are plenty of books and recipes out there that will give you exacting instructions, and if that is daunting to you then hear me out: you can fudge, you can leave out ingredients, you can substitute random things for others called for in the recipe. Some things do not work, but a lot of things do work and some things are simply brilliant. Don't be afraid to get a little crazy, silly, or sloppy with your cooking.

Lemon Pepper Chicken and Rosemary Pasta

I like lemon pepper chicken but I don't like fried things or chicken skin. Chicken skin tastes like feathers. Don't ask how I know what feathers taste like, ok?

Elvo does not like lemon pepper chicken. However, I determined that if I made changes to the recipe it might be passable for him and satisfy my craving for lemon-y something. (Still in pursuit of the soup recipe, you see, and that means I think about lemon a lot.)

A meal of my own invention follows. You can invent things too. Just do something without following any particular instruction or direction and if you like the end result, bam! You are now an inventor.

Lemon Pepper Chicken:
Start off the night before you are going to cook. Take boneless skinless chicken breast out of the freezer, one for one person, two for two people, three for... I hope you're seeing a pattern here. Place x-number of chicken breasts in a zip-closure bag and put it in the fridge to thaw overnight.
Go to sleep. Wake up. Now it is morning.
Rub some black pepper on either side of the chicken. Be generous but don't go crazy. Put the chicken back in the zip-closure bag and add some lemon juice. How much lemon juice is up to you but I used like maybe half a soda-can amount. (Again, measuring just isn't my style.) Then add a little water as well, enough to make it so the bag is half full. Close and put in fridge to marinate alllllllll day.
Go to work. Come home. Now it is getting close to dinner time.
Get an oven-tolerant-thing. I use the cookie sheet a lot, but a casserole dish or even a muffin tray (hey, I've done it!) will work. Get some tin foil. Make sure you purchases tinfoil made from recycled tin and, if you didn't, feel appropriately guilty for squandering resources. Take the chicken out of the bag, throw bag and lemon stuff away. Place chicken in the center of the tin foil and sprinkle with some more black pepper. Wrap the toil foil up like a little packet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes. (Always bake for less time then cut one in half to see if it's done. Over-done chicken is chewy and ewwww.)
As soon as you've put the chicken in to bake, start water boiling for the pasta. Add salt! Remember, a pinch of salt can make all the difference! I promise! Make your pasta or rice pasta according to directions or whimsy or whatever, and strain it.
Take a little butter. Like a spoonful. Put it in a bowl that can go in the microwave. Or a cup. Something. Microwave it for ten seconds to meltify the butter. Then add LOTS of rosemary. Rosemary is really bright tasting. ("Bright" is the only word I can think of?) Then pour the pasta in the bowl or cup, and shake it around to get all the buttery rosemary stuck to it.
Serve together.

I really really enjoyed this and Elvo even *ate the left overs*! So much for not liking lemon pepper chicken!

I suck as a person and you can make your own nutty rice

What do you mean where have I been? What do you mean it's been a month and a half since my last post? I don't have to take this kind of attitude, young'in.

Ahem, right, so sorry. Btw HI HANNAH!

Since the semester's beginning dinner has been cut to just five nights a week: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Also I've been going through "The Book" (insert trumpet music?) and repeating recipes from previous pandemonium meals. This was partly because I wanted to make sure the first success wasn't just a fluke. The good news is that only one of them was less spectacular the second time around, and that might have been an error on my part.

I should make a cookbook one day. I could call it cookbook for adults who need to feed their family now! Or something witty like that. (That's witty, right?) Of course, regularly updating this would be an extremely convenient way to put together the material for said book.

Anyway. I don't have the meal plan yet this week. I had some soup at a friend's house that was delicious and I really really want the recipe, but I don't know what's it's called. It's like a lemon-y milk-y chicken-containing couscous soup thing.

But! I won't abandon you again and leave you with nothing:

You know how Elvo loves pecan rice? It smells good while it's cooking and it's got a nutty, crunchy hint to it that's really special. Well. You can duplicate this even if you can't find pecan rice near you.

Get some white rice and a small amount (like a table spoon per cup of white) of wild rice. It's long a black.

Get some slivered almonds. They are like little barbie-sized plates but they are made of nuts. They sell them in packages or maybe you can sliver your own, I'm not sure. I got a package of them. Like 1/3 of the total amount of rice you are making.

Get some salt. I didn't think putting salt in things was important because you can always add salt to taste, right? No no no grasshopper. Salt is very important when you are cooking. (It's true!) Maybe if I had been a normal child and studied chemistry like everyone else I would know this, but oh well. Take a dash, like less than would make a dime in the palm of your hand but not much less (I don't use measures very often, can you tell?) and throw it in the rice cooker with the white rice, wild rice, and slivered almonds. (You can use pecans or walnuts too, I just like almonds way better.) And cook it! It's delicious! And protein-y! Not to mention fancy-smanshy with no real effort!

Once I find that lemon-milk-chicken soup recipe I will post it as well. These two items and cordon bleu were served at a celebratory dinner complete with candles and let me tell you, it was high class! If you *really* need to impress the inlaws, never fear, this meal combination will not let you down.

Zuchini Chicken

Zucchini Chicken did not go over as well as I had hoped. Though the zucchini was very good and served with corn I really liked it, the chicken was bland. The sauce that the recipe called for was gross. I didn't even bother to serve it after tasting since it tasted like sour milk. Needless to say I'll make zucchini the same again in the future, but leave the rest!

Basic Pantry

Here's a list of things I keep around the house that I frequently use in recipes (and sometimes against the recipe throw it in anyway):

In the cupboard:
Brown sugar
Natural sugar
Gluten free flour mix
Soy milk (this stuff stays good forever until you open it, then you have like 4 days to use it)
Canned corn (good side, pretty much the only vegetable Elvo will eat)
Cream of something soup, usually both chicken and celery are in the cupboard
Almonds, because I love them
Vinegar
Vegetable oil
Saltine crackers
White rice
Brown rice
Pecan rice (this is very good, go find it)
Rice pastas, usually angel hair and penne
Soy sauce

In the fridge:
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Frozen fish, usually salmon because we really like salmon, in case I need a last minute dinner
Onion, the kind that comes already chopped because I can't stand chopping onions
Butter/Margarine
Eggs (I get fresh eggs from my mother, they stay fresh for weeks and are healthier than commercially farmed)
Chicken broth, in the box

I also keep basic spices, such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and black pepper around. For christmas I got a spice rack so everything stays orderly.
Things that don't expire, or don't expire quickly, I keep around in excess. It's cheaper to buy in bulk, but only if you'll use it up in time. So vegetable oil, margarine, lemon juice, crackers, canned vegetables, rice, and almonds I buy in bulk packages from our local members-only-bulk store, to which Elvo has a membership thankfully. I haven't bought vinegar in bulk simply because I don't use it much, and I don't buy my sugars in bulk because I don't have an air tight container for them so it's easier to buy fresh, not-hardened-to-boulder-consistency packages of sugar and use them up.

Obviously, I've only been at this cooking business for a month or so, and your pantry probably has items in it that are a reflection of your personal taste. Elvo likes sweet, sugary things so I have a lot of brown sugar where you might have spicy things like jars of salsa or peppers. There's also detrius that accumulates. I've got a package of bacon in the fridge from my bacon-wrapped-foods-craze and some non-gluten-free flour from before we knew about Elvo's intolerance. Someday I'll find a way to use up the cake mix that we've had for way too long.

Pork in Pear Sauce

The pork in pear sauce is not in the book. Yet.

I had several problems with the recipe, the first being that one step: Poach for 20 to 25 minutes, wasn't readily apparent to me. What's poaching? Elvo googled it on his phone and came back with the reply "to cook in liquid". Hm. Wow. Thanks a lot, Google.

I muddled through and it was edible. Elvo really liked the warm pears. I should experiment with halved pears and brown sugar in the slow cooker. I'm always worried to use the slow cooker when I'm not home, though. I'm paranoid the house will catch fire and the cats will be trapped inside.

Speaking of cats, Pollo loves steak, Ane thinks it's ok, and Emily does not care for it. So if you're curious if your cat likes steak, I cannot help you, but I can reasonably guarantee that they will like salsa and cream of mushroom soup.

Right, I promised not to be random. My second problem with the recipe was that the pork really didn't take on much flavor. I want to experiment more with marinades.

I actually have a third misgiving: I don't like pork. I don't like turkey either, and I don't really love beef but I will eat it readily enough. So I made two pork tenderloins but one of them is still in the fridge, covered in foil. I just ate the pears. So I don't think this recipe will go in the book, but it's an interesting experiment with canned fruit that I will have to pursue later on. Maybe put some canned peaches and brown sugar in the slow cooker with chicken?

Since this week's meal plan was shorted I'll be making Monday-Thursday's dishes later, probably next week. The great thing about those is that they don't require anything I don't already have on hand. I should make a list of things I keep in the pantry to give you some ideas.

Tonight's dish will be cucumber chicken. But cucumber chicken was struck from the plan by Elvo, who claims cucumbers are gross. So I am substituting zucchini, which is seriously the only green thing he will eat! Shouldn't make much difference... I sure miss cucumbers though.

Week Two

The coconut beef wasn't bad, but I didn't keep the recipe, either. It wasn't as flavorful as I had hoped.

You see all my "successful" recipes are going into a personal anthology for future weeks, so if it "goes in the book" it was a success.



This week:

Friday: pork with ginger pear sauce

Saturday: cucumber chicken with corn

Sunday: filet mignon with white rice for him and brussel sprouts for me

Monday: asian grilled chicken – marinate in 1/3cup soy sauce, salad

Tuesday: saltine fried chicken with corn

Wednesday: tuna in cream sauce over pasta

Thursday: chicken in ginger sauce – could sub fish, salad

This got muddled a bit. I made filet mignon and the brussels sprouts yesterday -- both were good. I personally don't like steak so that's why our meal was split. Friday & Saturday have been moved because of new year's holiday, so they will be tonight and tomorrow instead.

Yay for flexibility!

Meal Plan 12/24 through 12/30

My first meal plan post:

Friday – Christmas eve

Saturday – Christmas day

I didn't cook these days because we would be with family and eat with them.

Sunday – Brown sugar meatloaf

Recipe from: http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/easy-dinner-recipes.html
I did make one substitution: I subbed honey BBQ sauce for the katsup. This was amazing! We both ate two pieces and I polished it off the next day for lunch.

Monday – rice penne with four cheese sauce and steamed salad shrimp
An old favourite I made once before. We use rice pasta because I removed gluten from Elvo's diet. It seems to have cut down significantly on his illness. Rice pasta tastes identical and can be purchased from your local hippie store. Four cheese sauce is white in color and it's right next to the spaghetti sauce and such. Salad shrimp are a cheap way to make something "fancy" and can easily be steamed in the rice cooker.

Tuesday – honey glazed ham
I didn't make this. I can't remember why, but I didn't even buy the ingredients.

Wednesday – grilled mahi mahi marinated in Italian dressing, pasta in butter sauce
Simply delicious. Recipe from: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,157184-241194,00.html

Thursday – coconut beef over rice
This is tomorrow's dish. I'll let you know!