A pressure cooker is a cook's best friend. Sunday I totally forgot to take the roast out of the freezer to put into the crockpot on Monday. I realized my mistake Monday morning. To the rescue - my trusty pressure cooker - able to do a frozen roast in 45 minutes to perfect tenderness. Its one of the awesome things about pressure cookers is that you can put a slab of frozen meat in and it will be cooked and tender in under and hour.
I added a quartered onion and carrots along with a jar of au ju gravy, a packet of au ju gravy mix (didn't have brown gravy), 2 cups of water, 1/3 cup of Italian dressing (or you could use a packet of dry), and a can of cream of mushroom soup to the roast. I would have typically have added mushrooms to the roast also but Matt doesn't like mushrooms so I'm preparing them less and I didn't have any in the house anyway. The gravy mix on top of the roast and the side of mashed potatoes that Matt whipped up to perfection were delicious after I got home from yoga last night.
For those that fear pressure cookers because of stories they've heard I can assure you the new ones have tons of safety features built in and I maintain are a cook's best friend. The new digital pressure cookers are fool proof and absolutely safe. There are several good yahoo groups for recipes. My first pressure cooker was a stovetop version that I still use. My digital lasted about a year and then died - buy a known brand would be my word of caution when getting a digital. I really miss my digital as I could set it to start later or turn to warm when finished.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
LEFTOVERS
Use of leftovers is an extremely helpful way of helping with the food budget. Last week I picked up a package of chicken tenders on manager's special for a little over $5 for a large package. My first thought was to make satay chicken with peanut sauce as I've been wanting to try that recipe. I fixed the satay chicken on Thursday night with great results but with a fair amount of leftover chicken. Friday night Matt made me grilled lamb chops with several pieces left over from that. Neither was really enough for an entire meal for us but by using them in another way we were able to pull 2 lunches out of them.
Saturday for lunch we took and chopped up the chicken and lamb to make pitas with. We also make a homemade cucumber sauce with greek yogurt (yum) - also another first time recipe for us. We heated the pitas up and then heated the chicken and lamb up together. On the pitas we spread the cucumber sauce, added the meat mixture, and then added lettuce, banana pepper slices, and I added pickles and then rolled them up. We actually had enough of the meat mixture left over that I was able to make these pitas again Sunday for lunch we liked them so much.
Another option would have been to use them in a chicken ceaser salad, crunchy asian salad with chicken, chicken salad, etc.... Don't limit yourself to only using your leftovers in the way they were originally cooked. Sometimes they can be stretched much further by being used in a totally different recipe.
Saturday for lunch we took and chopped up the chicken and lamb to make pitas with. We also make a homemade cucumber sauce with greek yogurt (yum) - also another first time recipe for us. We heated the pitas up and then heated the chicken and lamb up together. On the pitas we spread the cucumber sauce, added the meat mixture, and then added lettuce, banana pepper slices, and I added pickles and then rolled them up. We actually had enough of the meat mixture left over that I was able to make these pitas again Sunday for lunch we liked them so much.
Another option would have been to use them in a chicken ceaser salad, crunchy asian salad with chicken, chicken salad, etc.... Don't limit yourself to only using your leftovers in the way they were originally cooked. Sometimes they can be stretched much further by being used in a totally different recipe.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
With the temps soaring here the last thing I want to do is cook most days. On days like these I try to utilize kitchen appliances that do the work for me. For my BBQ chicken I put 4 split chicken breasts with a bunch of freshly chopped thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano into the crockpot and let it cook on high all afternoon. After about 6 or so hours I took the chicken out and put it on the chopping board to cool. After it cooled but was still warm I pulled the chicken off the bones and then added a bottle of BBQ sauce. Served these on some nice buns with sesame seeds on top along with some fresh salsa and chips.
I also served limeade with this that was extremely tasty. I used a can of frozen limeade and added 4 cans of water (they call for 3 cans). I used part of a leftover lime from my salsa making and slided it up and up that into the pitcher along with a lemon and some fresh cut peppermint stalks. Yummy and refreshing.
I also served limeade with this that was extremely tasty. I used a can of frozen limeade and added 4 cans of water (they call for 3 cans). I used part of a leftover lime from my salsa making and slided it up and up that into the pitcher along with a lemon and some fresh cut peppermint stalks. Yummy and refreshing.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
MOMMY LAMENT
Today is my son's first official lacrosse game and I have to work so I won't be able to see it. Most would consider it no big deal, but I do. See my son has never played lacrosse until last week when he joined the high school team. He's played soccer and roller hockey since he was probably 5, but none of my kids have ever played lacrosse. Having been a stay at home mom and then a work from home mom for most of my kids lives, its very difficult to not share these moments with my children like I use to. I feel robbed of these first moments. The first time he goes on the field. The first time he gets the ball. The first time he scores. Now that he's 18 the chances of seeing or experiencing firsts with him are not going to happen to often and it truly saddens me that I've lost one of them.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
COOKING WEEKEND
With spring in the air the weekend ended up being the perfect weekend to do some massive cooking. The funny thing was my ds informed me that I was cooking too much food.
Friday Matt and I always have date night. We went to Joe's Crab Shack this week for our date. We've both been in a seafood craving so this was hitting the spot.
Saturday morning I made fresh salsa. I used a recipe off The Pioneer Woman's website and modified it as I mixed it to our tastes. I'll make a couple more changes to kick up the heat the next time. As we've already eaten half of it I'd say its a winner. For lunch I fixed a homemade chicken salad with red grapes and almonds on croissants. Supper was grilled terriyaki salmon and fried potatoes with a delicious moscato wine. We're definitely going to be ordering several more bottles of the wine it was so good. Nice fruity taste. If you don't like white wines you might want to give this one a try. The salmon I picked up Friday after leaving work. I found a 4# family package marked down to just under $15 - the package was initially marked at $25. After I broke the package up it gave us 3 meals so 3 salmon dinners for approximately $5 each meal - that's a pretty sweet deal. At Joe's Crab Shack the salmon dinner was almost $20 a plate so a significant savings.
Sunday night we made pizzas. I got the idea off of The Pioneer Woman's blog earlier this week. She posted about making a caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza that made me crave one. I put the ingredients in the breadmaker to have ready for supper and Matt finished up the pizzas while I did some legal work.
Friday Matt and I always have date night. We went to Joe's Crab Shack this week for our date. We've both been in a seafood craving so this was hitting the spot.
Saturday morning I made fresh salsa. I used a recipe off The Pioneer Woman's website and modified it as I mixed it to our tastes. I'll make a couple more changes to kick up the heat the next time. As we've already eaten half of it I'd say its a winner. For lunch I fixed a homemade chicken salad with red grapes and almonds on croissants. Supper was grilled terriyaki salmon and fried potatoes with a delicious moscato wine. We're definitely going to be ordering several more bottles of the wine it was so good. Nice fruity taste. If you don't like white wines you might want to give this one a try. The salmon I picked up Friday after leaving work. I found a 4# family package marked down to just under $15 - the package was initially marked at $25. After I broke the package up it gave us 3 meals so 3 salmon dinners for approximately $5 each meal - that's a pretty sweet deal. At Joe's Crab Shack the salmon dinner was almost $20 a plate so a significant savings.
Sunday night we made pizzas. I got the idea off of The Pioneer Woman's blog earlier this week. She posted about making a caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza that made me crave one. I put the ingredients in the breadmaker to have ready for supper and Matt finished up the pizzas while I did some legal work.
Monday, March 15, 2010
LIFE
Unfortunately life has kept me from my blogging. I had oral surgery to extract an infected tooth a couple weeks ago. Prior to finally getting the surgery done, my energy level and overall well feeling totally hit bottom. Even my beloved Matt was concerned over the obvious change in my health. I was pretty certain it was the tooth but could only wait and see. I had the surgery on Saturday morning and spent most of the day in a Vicodin haze. The next day I just had minimal discomfort which ice helped alleviate so I didn't take any pain meds. That Monday night I remember feeling like my jaw was sore, sort of like I'd been punched but tossed it up to the surgery. By Tuesday I started to wonder as the pain increased to the point I had to start taking Motrins. Thursday night was so bad I had to break out the Vicodins and take one after I got home and another before bed. Got an appt. for that Saturday morning to have it checked out. I'd apparently developed dry socket and had to have a medicated cotton coil packed into the socket. The surgeon was talking at least 5 straight days of having this treatment done. Unfortunately 6 hours after I left the office the coil fell out while I was eating. I was rather surprised and happy when I went back the next Monday and they said since the pain had reduced so much they weren't going to put any more in unless the pain started back up again. The 6 hours of medication was all it needed. Thankfully no problems since. Finally this past weekend I finally started to feel like my normal self and had some energy.
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