A week in PREview

Since groceries will be delivered tomorrow by Peapod.com, I went through my cookbooks (old and new) and recipes I've seen during the week to see what sounds good (and easy) since I'm trying to get more work done for my new "job" at www.redstitchniche.com.  Tomorrow (Monday) is still undecided but Tuesday will be (to take inspiration from a site I found while looking for a recipe today) Crockpot Tuesday with Italian Herb Chicken and Potatoes ....since no days start with C I'll have to come up with something clever.  Wednesday and Friday will be recipes I saw on Rachael Ray's show last week.  Wednesday will be Rachael's Grandpa's Braised Beef.  Thursday will be well...I'm not sure yet, but it will probably involve my leftover chicken from Tuesday.  Friday will be Josh Capon's Risotto with Braised Beef using leftovers from the Braised Beef on Wednesday.

At some point this week I will be making a Apple and Pear Cobbler - Gluten-free version by using  gluten-free oats and a cobbler "flour" mix I put together last year for the Nectarine-Blueberry cobbler.

Mushroom and Burgundy Stew - Hearty and Tasty

Another tasty meal from Rachael Ray's "Week in a Day" show.  I bookmarked this a WHILE ago and just got around to making it.  It was cold this week, so I decided to give it a shot.  The original recipe
Mushroom and Burgundy Stew, didn't have any protein in it, so I decided to try it with beef tenderloin tips - they were on sale this week - YEAH!  Don't get me wrong, the ratio of mushrooms to beef cubes was 2 mushroom : 1 beef cube, plus I used baby bellas (aka cremini), so the mushroom mouth-feel was a bit meatier.

My start time: 4pm; My end time 7:30pm

Rachael Ray's Prep Time: 20-30 mins; Cook time: 45 mins

1.  I started by cutting 4 oz pancetta slices into pieces appx 3/4 inch squares - hrmmm wonder where I can get the pancetta in chunks like I see on Giada's show - it was a little difficult to separate the pieces after I had stacked and sliced them.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil to your dutch oven and warm to medium-high heat and add the pancetta pieces.
2.  After the pancetta was browned and had rendered some fat into my Lodge Color 3-Quart Dutch Oven, I added appx 8 oz beef tips and browned them on all sides.
3.  While the beef tips were browning, I wiped 16 oz baby bellas, and then halved them. Some of the beef tips were a little larger than "bite size", so I pulled them out after they were par-cooked and cut them into 2-3 pieces.
Switch cutting boards.
4.  Add the mushrooms to the pot and let cook until until brown and tender - about 15 minutes or so.
5.  Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, marjoram, and thyme.

The mushroom-beef stew players

6. Cover and cook/simmer until vegetables are tender - about 10 minutes
7. Stir in 3 tbsp flour for 1 minute to incorporate.
8.  Add 2 tbsp tomato paste and 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
9.  Add 2 1/2 cups dry red wine (always use wine you would drink - none of that "cooking wine" you buy in the grocery store) and reduce by half - this took me maybe 20 minutes
10.  Add 4 cups beef stock.  BGS purchased Mushroom Base for me to use with this recipe, so I added 4 tsp of the base to the beef stock and dissolved it the best I could before adding it to the pot.  Simmer to thicken.
11.  Cool completely on the stove and then store in the fridge for your make ahead-meal.

As you can see by my start and end times, I was in the kitchen longer than my tv counterpart.  I chock that up to me not chopping often and not having a great deal of counter space.  *shakes fist at the horrible kitchen arrangement*

12.  On the day you want to serve your stew, take it out of the fridge and bring it to a simmer in the dutch oven while you boil water for your noodles.  I chose whole wheat egg noodles.  Cook your chosen noodles according to the directions on the package and then drain.  Put the noodles back in the pot; add 2 tbsp butter and a handful of fresh parsley, chopped.

To serve, dish noodles into a soup plate or shallow dish and then ladle stew over the noodles.

All in all I LOVE this meal!  BGS said it was too rich, so he only ate it twice.  That's fine.  More for me :)
We got four servings from this meal - so he ate it once and I ate it 3 times.  YUM!!  BGS also said it was "ruined" by the whole wheat noodles hehe - I wasn't phased by them.

Quinoa Plus Carrot-Apple-Pear Juice

I used the same basic recipe for the quinoa as yesterday, but today, I added 1 tbsp of Brewer's Yeast for the extra energy and complex B-vitamins.(nutritional info).  Diabetics or people with Hypoglycemia should consult their doctors before using brewer's yeast, because the yeast contains chromium, which may enhance sensitivity to insulin and affect glucose levels.


Turns out I really should have purchased Nutritional Yeast Powder to avoid tipping BGS' sugars.  He isn't diabetic, but we are trying to stave it off.  I prepared it the same as I did previously, but sprinkled the yeast on with the brown sugar.  He didn't taste the difference :)

Today's juice, however, was a different story.  even though he "approved" the recipe from Spark People, he was http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=514217 very outspoken about the fact that he didn't like it.  Oh well, I got some good pulp from it and plan on making carrot "cake" muffins this weekend.

WW - Roast Chicken Breast with Potatoes and Asparagus - Tasty New Chicken Dish

You guessed it...another weight watchers dinner - again with chicken breasts from our freezer (who knows how many I have bought since then not realizing there were chicken breasts trapped in the freezer crying to be released).  I forgot photos..yeah, I'm slacking, I know...Today's Recipe is based on Roast Chicken Breast with Potatoes and Asparagus from  Dining For Two, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group.

Today's players:
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, whole-grain
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced - I used jarred minced garlic (in oil)
1 tsp olive oil, or extra-virgin
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp table salt
1 1/4 pound(s) Chicken, breast, raw, without skin & bone, or with bone
4 small uncooked potato(es), (about 1/2 pound) white, purple, or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium carrot(s), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/2 pound(s) asparagus, fresh
1/8 medium lemon(s), or 2 wedges

To start off, I remembered the wrong recipe and defrosted twice as much chicken as I was I needed...then we didn't have whole-grain dijon....

1.  Preheat the oven to 400º and spray a 9"x13" with cooking spray.  Since I doubled, I had to spray a 7"x9" as well....

1a. Chop the potatoes into 1" cubes and the carrots into 1/2 slices.

2.  Mix the mustard, tarragon, garlic, oil, honey, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the chicken; toss to coat.

3.  Arrange the chicken, breast-side up, in the baking dish.  Put the potatoes and carrots in the remaining "sauce" and toss to coat.  Arrange the potatoes and carrots around the chicken breasts.  Roast for 25 minutes

4.  While that is roasting, trim and discard the tough ends of the sparrow's grass (aka asparagus) and then cut into appx 2" lengths.  When the 25 minutes is up, add the sparrow's grass to the dish and stir to coat it in the "marinade".

5.  Cook another 12 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 170º and the vegetables are tender.

Ok, here's where the tricky part comes in with my oven.  The chicken was at 170 and the vegetables were "tender"....but the potatoes weren't cooked all the way.  The carrots and sparrow's grass were fine, but the potatoes....not so much.

BGS liked it and I suppose that's all that really matters.  It was very tasty.  All in all a good recipe, but I think next time I might cook the potatoes separate and add more carrots.  Oh....and I won't double the chicken the next time.....it got chewy when re-heated in the microwave.

Apples and Oranges and Pork....Oh My!

$200 and an admonition from my plumber later,  I'm back to cooking :)

My husband requested a break from chicken after last week's two chicken trials so I'm tackling a pork roast today. I started with the Orange-Apple Pork Roast recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipes  and improvised :)

The ingredients

Today's players:
1 2-2.5 lb pork loin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil - I used veg oil
1 16 oz bag baby carrots
1/2 of medium white onion - diced
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate- thawed
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme - crushed

1.  Trim fat (if any) from meat.  If necessary the meat to fit into 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker base.  Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper on all sides (I had originally planned on using McCormick®'s Roasting Rub - Savory Herb, but I got a late start and forgot). In a large skillet , sear the meat on all sides then transfer to crock.  Add the carrots (and onion) on top.

Before turning the crockpot on

2.  In a bowl combine applesauce (I used chunky), orange juice concentrate, tapioca, thyme, and water.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

4.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and carrots to a serving dish.  Spoon some of the juice over the the pork and carrots.

The final tasty product

The pork was a touch dry and my husband complained that the carrots were not cooked long enough, but I like them with a little crunch to them.  All in all a good dish :)

I put the remaining orange juice concentrate in an ice cube tray and put it back in the freezer for future use :)

Beef, Bean, and Pasta Soup

I just recently found Rachael Ray's show Week in a Day and this recipe looked fantastic...Hearty and Healthy 3 Bean Minestrone but my husband requested I add some meat to the soup.   So decided to add 1 lb of 92% lean ground beef to the recipe which made me think of Olive Garden's® Paste E Fagioli (which I absolutely LOVE.  quite remarkable since I'm not a big soup person).

Wow, what a big cooking day for me!!  3 out of 4 burners were used as was the oven!!

Since I (somehow) only have one sheet pan - a situation that I plan to remedy very soon - I started roasting the 24 tomatoes at 10 am on my one pan.

I set the oven to 500 and had my coffee while I waited for it to pre-heat and drained 2 15oz-can each red kidney, garbanzo and cannelini beans and put them in a bowl.  I then arranged 24 the tomatoes and 24-odd cloves of garlic on the pan and drizzled the whole thing with extra virgin olive oil.

I roasted the tomatoes for 40 minutes (my oven is a little off with the temperature, so I always add time to recipes).  While they were roasting I emptied 8 cups (2 boxes) of chicken stock into a stock pot on my front right burner (1).  I tied together a couple sprigs of thyme, rosemary, and parsely and tossed them into the pot. I followed that with 1 onion, peeled and quartered, 2 stalks of celery (halved), and 2 carrots (halved), two dried bay leaves, and the rinds of two chunks of parmesan cheese; I simmered the stock for 1 hour.

I added some extra virgin olive oil to a skillet on my front right burner (2)  and then added 6 slices of prosciutto and 1/2 of a medium-large onion and cooked it until the onion was just translucent.
I moved the onion-prosciutto mixture to my crockpot base and put my 1 lb of 92% lean ground beef to the skillet; cooking it until it was just brown and turned the burner off.

I decided to use Barilla's® Ditalini pasta for the soup, so I boiled 4 qts of water on my back left burner (3) and cooked the little tubes for 10 minutes. While the pasta was cooking I poured the beans on top of the prosciutto-onion mixture. Next I added 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery, cut into slices diagonally to the crock.  I turned the pasta off and drizzled some extra virgin olive oil over the top and stirred...to keep the pasta separated.  By this point the aroma from the stock is amazing.

At this point I realized that my 4 qt crockpot wouldn't hold the recipe which I foolishly decided to to double on my first try.  So I rescue the stock pot from the sink and do my best to split the broth, vegetables, and beans between the crock pot and the stockpot.  I remove the now roasted tomatoes from the oven - noting that next time I don't need as much olive oil. I split the pasta, beef, and roasted tomato/garlic between the two pots.  Then I realized I was supposed to remove the skins from the tomatoes before adding them to the pot....lucky for me all the tomatoes are still on top :)

After removing the skins I stir both pots, making sure to bring the beans up from the bottom and set them to simmer for 1 hour. (Turned the crock pot onto it's "Low/8 hr" setting.)

Looking back at the original recipe, I wasn't supposed to add the pasta to the soup pot and then cook...I was supposed to add the pasta to the soup when I serve it.  So it was ok for tonight's meal, but will probably be beyond mushy tomorrow.

Disappointing result: the soup, while filling, had little to no flavor :(  Maybe I should have sprinkled salt and pepper on the tomatoes before roasting.

So my lesson from this meal is whenever trying something new, don't double it :)  And I discovered that I need a REAL roasting pan and a 8+ quart stockpot.