I wanted to make something easy and fast tonight; some nights we're a little more tired, right? So, tonight, it's Pork chops with rice.
Ingredients:
Pork chops, thin or thick cut, one per person you plan to feed
1 cup rice
1 qt tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbs basil
1 tsp rosemary
salt & pepper
one onion, chopped
Heat your skillet, and rub the fatty edge of the pork chop on the heated surface to grease it. Brown both sides of your chops (while browning, chop your onion). When your pork chops are browned on both sides, place, still quite raw, on a plate to the side. Turn heat to low, and put rice, tomatoes, water, basil, salt, pepper and onion in pan, then carefully lay your browned pork chops on top. Put a lid on it and let it just barely simmer for 30 minutes, turn the heat off, let rest for ten. I discovered that it's really delicious with soy sauce drizzled over it when you're ready to eat it, but that's optional. Makes great leftovers, too!
Enjoy!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Breakfast Hash Browns with Egg
A classic that you can make for two people for under $2 in less time than it takes to drive to McDonald's.
Ingredients:
butter or lard
three potatoes
onion
salt & pepper
egg
optional: garnish (I used a piece of basil for the photo)
Put a large cast iron skillet on the stove and turn the heat on medium. Now get your ingredients ready:
Rinse three potatoes, and cut them in half, lay the cut sides down. Cut each half into thin slices and hold each slice in place as you go, don't let it fall apart into pieces, (like when you cut an onion so you don't cry from the exposed flesh giving off fumes that make your eyes tear up). Now turn the halves 90º and repeat the slicing. You'll wind up with nice matchstick pieces in just a few minutes. Do the same to your onion.
Put two tablespoons of butter or lard (not the kind with preservatives, get it from a local farmer) in your skillet and put the potatoes and onion in. Stir it like a stir fry for half a minute, then go make your coffee or tea. Read the news for five minutes, stir it again.
It'll cook fast because you sliced everything thin and small, it's all about surface area (chemistry class, woo!): the more surface area, the faster things cook. :)
When your potatoes are soft enough to eat, take them from the pan and put them on a plate. Now crack an egg in your pan, and cook it how you like it, scrambled or fried. When it's done, put it on top or to the side of your potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.
Enjoy!
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Salsa
I admit it, I'm lazy. If technology can make it faster, I'm all for it. With that said, I use my blender to make my salsa.
Ingredients:
•1 qt of tomatoes •1 large onion (I prefer vidalias for this, but any kind will do)
•1 clove of garlic
•1/4 tsp cumin
•1 jalepeno (seed it if you want it less hot)
•1 whole dried chipotle or 1/4 tsp dried
•1/2 tsp salt
I find that cutting the onion into quarters before putting it in the blender helps.
Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour into a bowl and eat with your favorite chips. I prefer organic blue chips.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
•1 qt of tomatoes •1 large onion (I prefer vidalias for this, but any kind will do)
•1 clove of garlic
•1/4 tsp cumin
•1 jalepeno (seed it if you want it less hot)
•1 whole dried chipotle or 1/4 tsp dried
•1/2 tsp salt
I find that cutting the onion into quarters before putting it in the blender helps.
Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour into a bowl and eat with your favorite chips. I prefer organic blue chips.
Enjoy!
Chili
Chili is great on those winter days when you're snowed in and you didn't have time to go to the grocery store to stock up ahead of time.
Ok, yes, it's true: it takes hours to simmer, but you can do all sorts of stuff while it sits there doing its thing, the actual time you're involved in making it isn't that much, really.
One should always have dried goods around, and I keep mine in mason jars; they're airtight and store foods perfectly. I keep on hand a variety of legumes, like pinto beans, kidney beans and black beans to name a few. Those are what goes in chili most of the time.
Ingredients:
•One onion, any kind, chopped.
•two cloves garlic, minced •Dried beans (see above), how much is up to you, I used four cups to make a big pot for leftovers.
•bay leaf
•red pepper flakes, cayenne, chipotle powder (or whole dried), jalepenos, whatever you've got laying around or want to buy, don't be shy with the heat, it's chili, it's supposed to be spicy hot!
•tomatoes (I used two quarts of the tomatoes I'd canned in the fall, but you can use any kind, whole, canned, whatever).
•cumin (I used 1tsp)
•salt (1 tsp)
•1 tsp chili powder (less if you're not cooking this much, but leftovers can be frozen, too!)
First, get a large pot, and put your beans and water to more than cover them in it. Either soak overnight, or do a quick soak: bring to a boil and let sit for an hour. Drain and Rinse. Put the beans and enough water to more than cover them back in the pan, and bring to a boil, cook for an hour, use a lid if you like, it uses less energy that way, but make sure to turn the heat down so it doesn't boil over! Drain them and rinse them again. Now they're ready to cook. (yes, you can use the canned ones, but they're more money, and have preservatives most of the time).
Put the drained and rinsed and cooked beans in your pot again, add the tomatoes, and cook it on a low to medium heat, enough to make it just barely simmer. (again, a lid will keep the heat in, and you can turn your burner down and use less energy, saving money for other things).
Meanwhile, cut the ends off your onion. Make a shallow slice down the outside, and peel off the dried skin. Cut it in half, lay the open cut sides down on your cutting board. Make long slices and hold them next to eachother so the onion's oils don't make your eyes water. Now cut at a parellel to your first cuts and you have perfect cubes of onions without crying. so easy. Put the onion in the pan with the beans and tomatoes. Mince your garlic, add that to the pan. Add the bay leaf, whatever peppers you want (start with 1/4 tsp of each and taste, work your way up to your individual spicy heat tolerance). Add the cumin, chili powder and salt. Set a timer for a half hour and go do something else with your time. When it goes off, stir it up so it isnt' sticking to the bottom (it shouldn't be), set another timer, another half hour, go back to what you were doing. The idea is, give it a minimum of attention (stir it, check on it, add water if it boils off too much, etc), and watch a movie, do laundry, whatever while it cooks for the next two hours or so. Taste it once in a while, add what you think it needs (remember a little bit at a time, you can always add more, but you can't take it out!). When the beans are nice and soft, serve some up and eat it. I like to put cheddar cheese in mine, or vinegar and crackers.
Enjoy!
Ok, yes, it's true: it takes hours to simmer, but you can do all sorts of stuff while it sits there doing its thing, the actual time you're involved in making it isn't that much, really.
One should always have dried goods around, and I keep mine in mason jars; they're airtight and store foods perfectly. I keep on hand a variety of legumes, like pinto beans, kidney beans and black beans to name a few. Those are what goes in chili most of the time.
Ingredients:
•One onion, any kind, chopped.
•two cloves garlic, minced •Dried beans (see above), how much is up to you, I used four cups to make a big pot for leftovers.
•bay leaf
•red pepper flakes, cayenne, chipotle powder (or whole dried), jalepenos, whatever you've got laying around or want to buy, don't be shy with the heat, it's chili, it's supposed to be spicy hot!
•tomatoes (I used two quarts of the tomatoes I'd canned in the fall, but you can use any kind, whole, canned, whatever).
•cumin (I used 1tsp)
•salt (1 tsp)
•1 tsp chili powder (less if you're not cooking this much, but leftovers can be frozen, too!)
First, get a large pot, and put your beans and water to more than cover them in it. Either soak overnight, or do a quick soak: bring to a boil and let sit for an hour. Drain and Rinse. Put the beans and enough water to more than cover them back in the pan, and bring to a boil, cook for an hour, use a lid if you like, it uses less energy that way, but make sure to turn the heat down so it doesn't boil over! Drain them and rinse them again. Now they're ready to cook. (yes, you can use the canned ones, but they're more money, and have preservatives most of the time).
Put the drained and rinsed and cooked beans in your pot again, add the tomatoes, and cook it on a low to medium heat, enough to make it just barely simmer. (again, a lid will keep the heat in, and you can turn your burner down and use less energy, saving money for other things).
Meanwhile, cut the ends off your onion. Make a shallow slice down the outside, and peel off the dried skin. Cut it in half, lay the open cut sides down on your cutting board. Make long slices and hold them next to eachother so the onion's oils don't make your eyes water. Now cut at a parellel to your first cuts and you have perfect cubes of onions without crying. so easy. Put the onion in the pan with the beans and tomatoes. Mince your garlic, add that to the pan. Add the bay leaf, whatever peppers you want (start with 1/4 tsp of each and taste, work your way up to your individual spicy heat tolerance). Add the cumin, chili powder and salt. Set a timer for a half hour and go do something else with your time. When it goes off, stir it up so it isnt' sticking to the bottom (it shouldn't be), set another timer, another half hour, go back to what you were doing. The idea is, give it a minimum of attention (stir it, check on it, add water if it boils off too much, etc), and watch a movie, do laundry, whatever while it cooks for the next two hours or so. Taste it once in a while, add what you think it needs (remember a little bit at a time, you can always add more, but you can't take it out!). When the beans are nice and soft, serve some up and eat it. I like to put cheddar cheese in mine, or vinegar and crackers.
Enjoy!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Chile Rellenos
I'm a big fan of stuffed peppers, and these are delicious and easy to make. Total cost: $5 Time: 1 hr & five minutes, 40 of which you can do something else while it's cooking.
Three pablano peppers.
one cup uncooked rice
six tomatoes or one 16oz can tomatoes/tomato sauce
three minced cloves garlic
one whole onion, chopped
one portabella mushroom cap, chopped
one tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
two cups water
Put the rice, tomatoes, garlic, onions, mushroom, salt, pepper, and water in a medium saucepan, cover and put on high. Bring to boil (about five minutes on a gas stove, longer on electric). Turn heat down to it's lowest setting and leave it there for ten minutes. Meanwhile: Put your pablano peppers on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler. Stand there and watch them, you want them to blacken and blister so the skin comes off later when you take them out of the oven, but you have to turn them over and 180º so they blister all over. Don't walk away, and try a nice pair of tongs to turn them with, like when you barbeque. While you're doing this, the timer for your rice will probably go off, just turn off the burner and let the rice sit there. Ignore it. Go back to your blistered pablano peppers: After they're blistered and or blackened (it's just the blisters you're after, but the blackening just happens, it's no big deal, trust me if you're turning them every minute or so) remove from the oven and, using a sharp paring knife (the only other knife you really need besides the chef knife), remove the skins. This part is not crazy easy, but it's doable and well worth the effort. Have a glass of wine while you do it. Once the skins are off, cut off the tops and remove the seeds from the inside. Right about now the rice should be done, too, it takes about ten minutes to "rest" after the burner is turned off to fully cook, but even if it's not cooked all the way, it will finish inside the peppers after you stuff them with the rice mixture. So, stuff your peppers. Just use a big spoon to put the rice mixture into the peppers, feel free to gently push it down into the pepper, hence the "stuffing" part. Place them upright, rice sticking out and upwards, in an oven proof bowl so they don't topple over. I just use one of my fiesta ware bowls; a pyrex bowl or any baking dish would work, too. Bake them at 350º for 40 minutes. Grate up some mozzarella or parmesan cheese if you like and sprinkle the cheese over your peppers before you eat them - they heat of the pepper will melt the cheese. Enjoy!
Three pablano peppers.
one cup uncooked rice
six tomatoes or one 16oz can tomatoes/tomato sauce
three minced cloves garlic
one whole onion, chopped
one portabella mushroom cap, chopped
one tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
two cups water
Put the rice, tomatoes, garlic, onions, mushroom, salt, pepper, and water in a medium saucepan, cover and put on high. Bring to boil (about five minutes on a gas stove, longer on electric). Turn heat down to it's lowest setting and leave it there for ten minutes. Meanwhile: Put your pablano peppers on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler. Stand there and watch them, you want them to blacken and blister so the skin comes off later when you take them out of the oven, but you have to turn them over and 180º so they blister all over. Don't walk away, and try a nice pair of tongs to turn them with, like when you barbeque. While you're doing this, the timer for your rice will probably go off, just turn off the burner and let the rice sit there. Ignore it. Go back to your blistered pablano peppers: After they're blistered and or blackened (it's just the blisters you're after, but the blackening just happens, it's no big deal, trust me if you're turning them every minute or so) remove from the oven and, using a sharp paring knife (the only other knife you really need besides the chef knife), remove the skins. This part is not crazy easy, but it's doable and well worth the effort. Have a glass of wine while you do it. Once the skins are off, cut off the tops and remove the seeds from the inside. Right about now the rice should be done, too, it takes about ten minutes to "rest" after the burner is turned off to fully cook, but even if it's not cooked all the way, it will finish inside the peppers after you stuff them with the rice mixture. So, stuff your peppers. Just use a big spoon to put the rice mixture into the peppers, feel free to gently push it down into the pepper, hence the "stuffing" part. Place them upright, rice sticking out and upwards, in an oven proof bowl so they don't topple over. I just use one of my fiesta ware bowls; a pyrex bowl or any baking dish would work, too. Bake them at 350º for 40 minutes. Grate up some mozzarella or parmesan cheese if you like and sprinkle the cheese over your peppers before you eat them - they heat of the pepper will melt the cheese. Enjoy!
Guacamole
It's so easy to make your own, why would you ever buy this? Total cost: $4.50
ok, here's how to make your own, fresh Guacamole:
Four ripe avacadoes (you don't have to squeeze them! they turn dark when they're ripe!)
one small tomato or 1/4 of a regular one, about two Tablespoons worth, fresh
1 lemon, juiced
one tablespoon minced onion, fresh
1/2 tsp cumin
If you don't own a decent chef knife, buy one, it'll be one of the best purchases you ever make.
Use your knife to cut each avacado all the way around, the pit will act as a sort of "stop" for the knife to guide against. Twist the cut avacado halves in opposite directions, and they'll separate easily with the pit remaining in one half. Use your knife and with a quick axe like motion, strike the pit with the sharp edge of your knife, it should stick in the pit. A gentle twist will release the pit from the flesh of the avacado's flesh. Now get a big spoon, and literally scoop out the flesh from the skin. So easy and fast! Repeat with your remaining avacadoes and put the green flesh in a medium to large sized bowl, you're going to mash it up in a minute like mashed potatoes after you do these next steps:
pour into the bowl with the avacado flesh the juice of one lemon. add the cumin, minced onion, and diced tomato. Now mash it up with a fork.
If you want, you can add salt, pepper, or whatever else you like to taste. Have fun with it!
Takes about five minutes if you take your sweet time. :) Enjoy!
ok, here's how to make your own, fresh Guacamole:
Four ripe avacadoes (you don't have to squeeze them! they turn dark when they're ripe!)
one small tomato or 1/4 of a regular one, about two Tablespoons worth, fresh
1 lemon, juiced
one tablespoon minced onion, fresh
1/2 tsp cumin
If you don't own a decent chef knife, buy one, it'll be one of the best purchases you ever make.
Use your knife to cut each avacado all the way around, the pit will act as a sort of "stop" for the knife to guide against. Twist the cut avacado halves in opposite directions, and they'll separate easily with the pit remaining in one half. Use your knife and with a quick axe like motion, strike the pit with the sharp edge of your knife, it should stick in the pit. A gentle twist will release the pit from the flesh of the avacado's flesh. Now get a big spoon, and literally scoop out the flesh from the skin. So easy and fast! Repeat with your remaining avacadoes and put the green flesh in a medium to large sized bowl, you're going to mash it up in a minute like mashed potatoes after you do these next steps:
pour into the bowl with the avacado flesh the juice of one lemon. add the cumin, minced onion, and diced tomato. Now mash it up with a fork.
If you want, you can add salt, pepper, or whatever else you like to taste. Have fun with it!
Takes about five minutes if you take your sweet time. :) Enjoy!
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