Teriyaki Sauce

Quick, easy and delicious homemade teriyaki sauce!

Mix together in saucepan:
      1 c. V-8 juice
      c. chicken broth (lo- or no-salt okay)
      c. soy sauce (lo- or no-salt okay)
      c. brown sugar
      1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate or freeze. This can also be mixed and immediately used in slowcooker.
Source:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slowcooker/

Standing Rib Roast, Au Jus

My recent battle with the Dreaded Flu of 2008 restricted my culinary efforts to items of the broth nature. To celebrate a return to health, I decided to make a treat from the freezer I had picked up a few weeks ago.

Standing rib roasts are usually in the neighborhood of $10-12 a pound in this area, but if you're lucky you can find them discounted, as I did, to less than $7. (I think a lot of people don't know what to do with them, especially at a premium price, so they languish in the butcher case until the smart shopper gets a deal!) This 2.5# roast was $17-- about what you'd pay for a single steak at the Outback!
I found this site a great source of info on cooking your standing rib roast and highly recommend that you give it a complete read before starting. As instructed, I prepared the roast by first pulling the thawed meat from the fridge 2 hours before roasting, to allow it to adjust to room temperature... (might give it even longer the next time, as the probe read an internal temp of 37F when it went into the oven). In the picture, I've also prepped it with a nice slathering of melted butter and forks in either side for support.

Roasted in preheated 425F oven for 15 minutes, then reduced the temp to 325F. It took another hour for the internal temp to hit 122F, which is when I removed it from the oven. Roast sat for 15 minutes out of oven (important to let juices settle!) This yielded the perfect medium-rare cut you see below:

~= The Finished Goods =~

Served with: Au Jus. Baked potato/sour cream and/or butter. Cauliflower w/cheese. I started the potatoes about an hour before I increased the oven temp to 425F, removed and kept warm for the high temp stage of the rib roast, then returned them to the oven for the 325F stage.
Verdict: A carnivore's delight. Absolutely delicious. And none of those peanut shells on the floor.
Leftovers: Plenty! There was easily enough for 2x2 meals, plus a sandwich!
Sources: See above

Pork Cutlets with Baked Hominy and Cheese

Starting with preparation of the baked hominy, a first-time recipe I read about last week in the J-Walk blog, of all places. Sounded good, as I'm a fan of hominy, and I'm always looking for new ways to get picky eaters to try new things (you know who you are)

Recipe follows, with my modifications from the original and comments [in brackets]

Baked Hominy and Cheese
Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) white or yellow hominy, rinsed and drained
  [I used a can of each]
• 12 ounces process American cheese, cube
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper [omitted]
• Chopped fresh parsley, optional [didn't have]
• [2 dashes Worcestershire sauce]
• [1 tsp. hot chili sauce]

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat egg. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Spoon into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 45 minutes or until bubbly and top begins to brown. Stir once, after 20 minutes, to mix it all up well] Let stand a few minutes before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

Ready for the oven!

Preparation of the cutlets began 2 weeks ago with the purchase of a pork loin on sale. Sliced off 6 1/2" cutlets, smashed thin, breaded and frozen. (Another 3/4 pound was cut up for stir fry and frozen, and then remaining 2 1/2 pounds was frozen for pork roast.)

So, here's the cutlets, all nice and snug in their vacuum-packed goodness. While the bags are pricey, they pay off when freezing items like bulk-packed meats--no freezer burn.

The vacuum-pack process had an added benefit with this meat; the breading "wed" to the cutlets and stayed nicely attached throughout the cooking process.

When the baked hominy was finished, I increased the oven temp to 400°F and placed a foil-covered, lightly-oiled baking pan into the oven for a quick (5 min) warm-up; then added cutlets to pan. These cook quick - about 7-9 minutes per side. Remove, let sit a minute or so on a paper towel and serve!

~= The Finished Goods =~

Served with cornbread muffins, courtesy of Jiffy, and honey.
Verdict: Cutlets were cooked to perfection - tender, juicy, and breading was just the right crispiness. Hominy had mixed results. JLaw ate half a serving and was trying to figure out why "the potatoes" tasted different... so my objective of serving hominy a more palatable way to a picky eater was met. I was too heavy of hand with the hot sauce, we both thought, and next time I'll add half the amount. Would taste better with a mixture of cheeses, which will be a future modification, too. Overall, a keeper.
Leftovers: Can be frozen. Mine will end up dinner this week, however.
Sources: Cutlets, Dad. Hominy: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Baked-Hominy-and-Cheese

Chicken Lasagna Rollups

~= The Finished Goods =~

What you will need:

1. 1 large (2 small) breasts of chicken
2. 1 Tomato
   
3. Mozzarella
4. Spinach Leaves
5. 1 Jar of your favorite tomato sauce.
6. 8 Lasagna Noodles
7. Parmesan Cheese
8. Olive oil
9. 1 cooking pan (9 x 13 Pyrex is what I use)
   

Steps:

Start the chicken in a frying pan on the stove at medium heat (this will take the longest). You can just use a light coating of olive oil (I like to add a some fresh Italian spices and minced garlic). Allow the chicken to cook until its nice and brown on both sides (don't forget to flip it) and around 90% done on the inside.


While the chicken is cooking:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook the lasagna noodles.

Cut the tomato into 8 slices. Cut 8 slices of mozzarella.


Once the chicken is finished, slice it into 8 pieces as well.

Assembly:

Lay 1 noodle down flat, add a leaf or two of spinach, 1 slice of tomato, 1 slice of mozzarella, and 1 slice of chicken.

Now roll the combo, so that the noodle becomes the outer layer. Repeat for the rest of the noodles.

Now generously apply the tomato sauce to the top of the rollups. Finally sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese (and other spices if you like). Make that you cover all of the top of the rollup with sauce to prevent the noodle from drying out.

Bake for 10-15 minutes @ 375 (in which time, you can clean up the kitchen :)).

Served with a nice glass of wine.

Verdict:

My wife likes it :)

Leftovers:

4 rollups, providing a nice lunch for both of us the next day.

Sources:

The round object on the top of my neck, and a Olive Garden commercial.

Sweet & Sour Chicken and Rice

~= The Finished Goods =~

Started with finished goods because this one was so easy there wasn't anything to snap during the preparation! Ready in the 20 minutes! (ok, so it wasn't *all* homemade)

Began with 2 parts water to 1 part basmati rice (added to boiling, salted water, then reduced to a simmer) and the timer set to 20 minutes.

Main meat course courtesy of a hometown favorite. Remember this place?

Too bad Bexley needed another drugstore, eh?

Served with green bean casserole (leftover yanked from the freezer) and rice
Verdict: Well, the Kahiki selection turned out pretty yummy. The sauce provided was a bit off-putting as it started out sweet/sour, then finished with the kind of spicy bite you'd expect more from buffalo wings...but still quite edible! Basmati cooked to perfection!
Leftovers: Rice bagged and frozen.
Sources: None

Pot Roast and Potatoes

Contents - 4 medium potatoes, 1.5" cubes. 1/2 medium onion, large dice. 1 stalk celery, again large chunk slice. No carrots - because I have none and it's too dang nasty to venture out to the store! Layer in bottom of crock pot insert.
2.5 lb beef chuck roast, partially thawed, prior to adding to crock. You can go cheap with the meat cuts when crocking. Long, slow crock cooking breaks down the tough connective fiber you find in the cheaper cuts of meat and turns it into fall-off-the-fork goodness!
The "secret" seasoning blend? You got it - one pack each of brown gravy mix, ranch dressing, and Italian dressing. Blend together dry, then add 3/4 cup water and stir until all mixed into solution. Pour over roast.

Cover and cook on high setting for 2 hours, then lower and cook another 4-6 on low. Slowcooker-y times really are dependent on your individual slow cookers; so adjust times as necessary.

(and yes, I know it's time to get rid of the Christmas tablecloth... soon, I say!)

~= The Finished Goods =~

Served with iceberg lettuce salad and southern-style biscuits (not shown)

Verdict: Tender and tasty. Hearty flavor. Perhaps a bit salty for some; might want to make it with 2/3 of seasoning mixes and store the other third for another day.
Leftovers: Roast beef makes for nice lunch sandwiches; last remainders into a hash or frozen for CatchAll soup. Veggies can be frozen for the same fate.
Sources: This is a TNT staple recipe from the Slowcooker Mail List at Yahoo Groups; my choice of veggies.

Fish & Chips

My First Official Offering - mighty tasty on a cold winter's eve!

Started with the potato wedges about 2 hours beforehand. Not really time-sensitive, but you want the coating to spend at least a half-hour on the taters so it'll hold during the frying process.

Here, wedges rest after coated with flour/salt/pepper/seasoning salt blend. Blend was placed in a gallon-sized plastic bag; potatoes were processed in batches to coat evenly.

The other half of our title makes an appearance. Talapia fillets are sliced as shown and dusted in the same manner as above with a mixture of cornmeal/breadcrumbs/flour/salt/pepper/garlic salt--in descending quantity, ATT (Adjust To Taste). Let these guys rest in fridge for at least 30 minutes, too.

Rounding out the menu, a mixture of carrots and pear. Carrots were cooked until almost fork tender, the pear was cubed and added along with a couple tablespoons of brown sugar and a pinch or two of chopped mint (tonight dried, summer it's fresh!)

6-8 pieces at a time, sizzling away in a large skillet of vegetable oil. These went for 4-5 minutes apiece; you can tell something is done when frying when it floats! Drain on paper towel on paper bag for greatest absorbency.

~= The Finished Goods =~

Served with a dollop of tartar sauce (mayo/relish blend) for the talapia and balsamic vinegar for the fries.

Verdict: I liked it all. JLaw thought the pears were too "smushey". A nice start, I dare say.
Leftovers: Fish and potatoes both can be frozen. Rewarm in 450 F oven for 10 minutes or so.
Sources: You see any measurements here? Years of experimenting, for this one!

And from a different perspective...

Descartes walks into a bar.

The bartender walks up to him and says, “Would you care for a drink?”

Descartes replied, “I think not.” and disappears.

Creation!

"I blog, therefore I am."