God is Good!

My new goal during this time of unemployment is to create meals for $10 or less. On occasion, I might set a budget of $15 (especially on Friday nights). So I will think about what I can make that my husband will like, that we haven't had, and/or that will be cheap. Every time I think about a dish to make, I get to the grocery store and the meat needed for the dish is on sale! Gotta love it. I made tacos the other night. Well for me, it was a taco salad, but surprisingly my husband liked the tacos.

When I make the ground beef for the taco meat I add tomato sauce (just a small 8 oz can), water and sometimes the frozen potatoes diced into small pieces (obrien hash browns). I let it reduce with the seasonings and it really makes it tasty! Adding a little chorizo makes it yummy too!

I don't usually buy the taco shells that are pre-made but the other day they were on sale and it was $1.25 at Vons for 12 and the corn tortillas (which are hard to find in a package less than 3 dozen) were more expensive. Hmm. they weren't bad either.

You may be asking what does this post have to do with God being good? Well, I think He gives me the ideas for the food to make and prompts me on which local market to shop at. But that's just my thinking...

What, No Rice? Potatoes Instead?

Americans reach for the potatoes when they imagine the perfect side dish; Italians reach for the pasta, and Cubans reach for the white rice. My husband as I have mentioned before is Cuban. So sometimes when I cook something that he ate in Cuba, he will expect that I serve it with rice. Like last night. I was just going to fry some eggs for him but I was going to serve them with a potato dish instead of rice. A country style potato with sauteed onions and green peppers and seasoned with cumin, garlic powder, and salt.

He tasted it, and loved it.

I sauteed the vegies first and then I added the potatoes (the frozen cubed o'brian potatoes) and pan fried them for a few minutes. I wanted the potatoes to get a little crispy so I put the mixture in the oven to finish by roasting them. I put the eggs on the top and he loved it!! Score 2 for potatoes...

Cheesy Potatoes

Potatoes (white or red, not russet)

Cream Cheese

Butter

Garlic

Onion Powder

Parsley Flakes

Paprika

Milk

Worcestershire sauce

Sharp Cheddar Cheese (grated)

Cut potatoes in slices and boil in salt water

Don't let them cook too much because you don't want them to turn into mashed potatoes. Drain the potatoes and put them back in the pot.

Melt the cream cheese and butter in sauce pan with garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Take off the heat and add seasonings. Add the cheese, stir until it all melts and pour over the potatoes. . Put the mixture in a baking dish and add additional cheese sprinkled over the top, and parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

So this feels like a duh... but I am trying to remember the things that I make because I get myself in a rut that I can never think of new things to make. Writing down what I cook, the new things I create, and the old things I haven't done in awhile will help me to widen my repertoire.

I bought some country style ribs at the market in a gigantic pack and needed to split them up into different types of dishes so we wouldn't get tired of eating the same thing over and over.

I coked the ribs in the crockpot with:

my favorite (dry) bbq seasoning,

garlic powder,

bay leaf,

chicken broth,

onion powder,

a little Worcestershire sauce.

It cooked on high until it was falling apart.

I shredded it, added more of the bbq seasoning and a little of my favorite sauce.

Then, we had it on rolls as a sandwich.

We ate it with cheesy potatoes.

Curry Ground Beef

Tonight was the night for Asian cuisine. I decided to provide take out flavors without the take out. I made the Ginger Ground Pork and this dish. Both dishes were being created as I went along so I am hoping that I haven't forgotten anything.
When I was a teenager, my brother and I used to make a ground beef with curry and peas. We would eat it over mashed potatoes and I would mix in a little cheese- it was surprisingly yummy. Who would have thought. I know it doesn't sound very good, but it is. I was thinking about it the other day so when the ground beef was on sale at the grocery store, I was ready to make it.
1 lb ground beef
curry powder
salt
ground cinnamon (just a pinch)
ground turmeric
ground ginger
dried basil
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
soy sauce
1 cup water
peas and or pea pods
season beef in the pan. Brown ground beef over medium high heat. Once it is fully cooked, add soy sauce and water. Simmer to reduce the sauce. Add peas before fully reduced. Again, my husband had it over brown rice. I ate it over broccoli slaw or you could eat it wrapped in lettuce.
This dish was way better than the version I used to make as a kid. Then it was just curry powder and soy sauce. This was a rich and delicious combination of flavors. I didn't expect my husband to like it, but he loved it!

Ginger Ground Pork

I love to experiment with flavors and make new things. But sometimes I am afraid they won't work. My friend made a lettuce wrap with ground pork and she told me about how she made it. As I thought about what she was saying, I was sure that I could make it my way. As I went shopping, I thought about the sauce she used and as I went to buy it, it was more than I wanted to spend. So I decided to make the dish my way. This is what I did- big surprise I have no measurements but I will try to make it again and measure the next time.

1 lb ground pork
soy sauce
1 cup water
ground ginger
chili powder
garlic powder
onion powder
cumin
salt
green onions
1 can water chestnuts
1 medium sized carrot
season the meat in the pan and brown over medium high heat. Once the meat is fully cooked, add soy sauce, water chestnuts, carrots, and simmer down. Add green onion just a few minutes before you are ready to take off the heat.
My husband had it over brown rice. I ate it over a broccoli slaw with just a little bit of brown rice mixed in. It was delicious.

Better than Diner Burger!

I was recently laid off. Because of this, we are trying to eat out less... to make this less painful, I try to recreate the "restaurant" experience at home. Last week it was a Mexican Cantina on the back patio with homemade enchiladas, salsa, guacamole and chips. This week, it was the local 50's diner. I wanted to try to buy the groceries for less than the dinner out would cost which isn't always easy to do- I bought the ingredients for bacon burgers, fries, and chocolate malts for under $15. I was pretty blessed.
I must say, I thought the burgers were super yummy, but when my husband's eyes roll back in his head, then I know he is enjoying what he is eating, and I know... it is good!
1lb hamburger meat. I bought what was on sale, which was 80/20.
Hamburger buns
Cheese (I like mild to medium he likes sharp cheddar)
1 tsp Cumin
3 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Onion powder
1/4 tsp Salt
touch of Pepper
1/2 tsp Chili powder
bacon
butter (optional)

I cooked the bacon first and dumped the grease, but used the same pan to cook the bacon.
How many times will I tell you, I never measure so I am guessing (when will I learn to measure so I can write it down?) When I season the meat, I always try to make sure that I sprinkle it around and I try not to "dump" it into the middle. So once you season the meat, mix it up without over mixing. Shape into patties and cook to your liking. Grill, fry, broil... whatever works for you. I was going for the diner experience, so I fried the burgers in a pan.
I toasted my bun and grilled my husband's with butter and a little garlic powder. Add cheese and slightly broil to melt.
I like mine with bbq sauce. He likes his with mayo.
The end result... delicious!
We ended up not having the french fries, but we had chocolate malts and we were very happy campers.

Black Beans

Staples to the Cuban diet are rice and beans. They especially like black beans, but those are expensive so they aren't consumed at every meal (which is another myth). Now that I have revealed the secret to Cuban cooking (remember the Sofrito?) I am going to share my recipe for black beans. I have a secret ingredient you can't tell anyone about... If my mother-in-law gets wind of it, she will disown me.
True Cuban Black Beans are a little soupy. It is a fine line between too much liquid and not enough. The first time I made beans, my husband said they were good. The next time, he said not enough salt. Then, they were too dry. The 4th time- perfection! Be prepared to experiment!

1 lb package of dry black beans
3 cans chicken stock
Cumin (about a 1/2 palmful)
Salt (I use my hand- use a palmful)
Water (if needed to increase cooking liquid)
2-3 bay leaves
*8 oz can of the secret ingredient
Sofrito-- or
1 Green bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 Red bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 Large onion (finely chopped)
5-6 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
ham bone or a few slices of ham (optional)
(*the secret ingredient is tomato sauce-- Cuban women don't put tomato sauce in their beans, and that is putting it lightly)
Taste the beans and add more cumin or salt if needed. Also, if you want a stronger garlic or onion taste, add garlic and/or onion powders.
I cook my beans in the crock pot so they don't burn and they always turn out just right. So add all the ingredients to the crockpot, remember they should be a little soupy and the beans will absorb the cooking liquid so you want to make sure to have a little more than 2x as much liquid than beans. Turn on high for about 8 hours. If you want to cook on the stove, you can, but be careful not to let them burn.
Check the liquid if possible throughout the cooking process. If it gets too low, add water.
You can increase the cooking liquid, then drain some of it out before serving and use it as a cooking liquid for pork or chicken. It makes a rich and delicious sauce.

The Secret to Cuban Cooking

Here is a secret most people don't know. Cuban food isn't spicy. Many people, especially here in California, expect Cuban food to be like Mexican food- picante (spicy). But the little island country doesn't have access to many ingredients, including spices so they don't use many. My husband tells me that his mother is always conserving spices so her food tends to be too bland, and that is often the case in the average Cuban cocina (kitchen). They use bell pepper, onion, cumin, tomato, garlic, and lots of salt- that's pretty much it. Cubans cook a lot of dishes in tomato sauce and if it isn't boiled in tomato sauce it is fried.
So, what "the" secret? ... it's something Cubans use in most dishes- it's a mixture called sofrito.
My husband tells me that my sofrito isn't "traditional." So here is my Secret Sofrtito recipe...
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion
5-6 garlic cloves
1 8 oz Tomato sauce
I just mix all these things into a food processor and make a sauce. It can be put into freezer bags and frozen until you are ready to use it. When I freeze it, I don't add the tomato, I wait to add the tomato sauce when I actually use it. if you are wondering how mine is different from the traditional, it is because they finely chop the ingredients and I blend them. I don't like chunks of onion or bell pepper in my food, so that is one reason I put it in the food processor, but also because it keeps better this way.

Cuban Chicken Soup

My husband is Cuban and when he first came to this country he missed the food of his culture. He would tell me about a dish, tell me the ingredients and then wanted me to recreate it (sometimes without ever tasting it). This is one of those dishes.

I never measure, so these measurements are approximate.

Boneless chicken (I always prefer breasts but thighs will work too)

4 cans Chicken broth and/or Vegetable broth

(this is a good opportunity to use some of your homemade chicken broth)

Large can of pureed or crushed tomatoes

2 Carrots

1 large Potato and/or 1 large Sweet Potato

1 large Onion

2 Bell Peppers (red and or green)

1/2 bag Frozen Corn

1 tablespoon Cumin

2 tablespoons Garlic

2 tablespoons of your favorite taco seasoning

2-3 bay leaves

Salt

Large stock pot

Pour the broth into the pot. How many cans of broth depends upon how big a batch you want. I start with filling the pot half way with liquid.

Cut up vegetables into bite size pieces (for quicker cooking, smaller pieces will cook faster) and add to the broth

Add salt if you desire

Add garlic powder (or crushed), cumin, taco seasoning, and 2-3 bay leaves

You can cut the chicken into bite size pieces or cook it whole and cut later (that's what I do because I hate to cut raw chicken) add chicken to the pot.

Cook on medium high heat for about an hour. If you used the whole chicken pieces, pull the chicken out and cube it and return to the pot.

Add the corn and cook for about 10 more minutes

For quicker cooking, you can saute the vegetables first.

*If you want a larger batch the rule of thumb should be for soups you should have about 2x as much liquid as solid.

White Pizza with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Left Over Cream Sauce, and left over chicken... What do I do with that?

Another surprise. I took a bite of the completed pizza to taste (a good chef never serves without tasting) with no intention of eating the whole thing. But I couldn't stop myself. It was so good!

You will need

Pizza dough

Olive oil may be needed for the crust

Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese and/or Romano cheese are optional

Bleu Cheese Cream Sauce (see recipe below)

Chicken- cut up into bite size pieces

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Spinach, Fresh Tomato, and Fresh Basil leaves are optional

I used pre-made pizza crusts and brushed them with olive oil (as instructed by the pizza crust instructions), but obviously if you have a favorite pizza dough- you can use your own.

Spread the white sauce over the dough generously. By having had it in the refrigerator overnight it was perfectly thickened.

With the following ingredients, use as much as you like

Add Mozzarella cheese

Add bite size pieces of chicken

Add sun dried tomatoes

Add parmesan cheese if desired

Add any other toppings if desired

Bake according to the directions for the crust. Be careful with the sun dried tomatoes, if the oven is to hot they will char on the edge (which I like).

Bleu Cheese Cream Sauce

Oh MAN!!! I don't love cream sauces, but my husband does so I created a sauce for him the other day and I have to say it was delicious. I was inspired by a burger he had eaten a few nights prior. It was a bleu cheese burger so as I was at the grocery store, I saw the bleu cheese and wondered what can I do with that?

The sauce- so I'm not good with measurements so this is just eyeballing. I need to start measuring.

1/2 package of cream cheese

3/4 stick of butter

about 2 tbls of flour

Garlic powder

parsley flakes

1 cup White wine

1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

1 cup heavy cream

Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter and cream cheese in a saucepan on medium to medium high heat stirring constantly so as not to let the butter burn and to break up the cream cheese so there are not lumps. Add about 2 tbls of flour (I like the Wonder flour because it doesn't lump easily). It should create a rue with a paste like consistency. Add garlic powder and stir so it does't burn but you want it to toast in the pan. Add parsley flakes. Add the white wine while stirring so as not to get lumpy. Add cream and continue stirring. Add blue cheese and continue to stir so it can melt. I don't like blue cheese so this amount isn't too strong a blue cheese taste. If you want a stronger bleu cheese taste you can increase the amount of bleu cheese. Add a little parmesan cheese and salt to taste. YUMMY!

Cream Sauce with What?

So when I prepared the cream sauce, I served it with steamed broccoli and poached chicken breast. I served it over rice instead of pasta. My husband loved it.

For the rice I used the rice cooker and added parsley flakes, chicken broth and parmesan cheese and salt. Then when it was ready, I mixed in the chicken, broccoli, and the sauce and then a little more sauce on top with a little more parmesan cheese.

What is Poached Chicken?

Poached chicken is just a fancy way to say boiled.

When I poach chicken I use the same base ingredients.

Garlic cloves- although I buy the chopped garlic and just put in some heaping spoonfuls

Onion

Bay Leaf

Salt

Water

Just put the chicken in a pot (or crockpot). Chop the onion into 4 big pieces. Add 2 or more spoonfuls of garlic (or just smash a few cloves and throw it in). Add a couple of bay leaves. Add water to cover and boil away. Usually takes 20-30 minutes. You can do it in the crockpot. I did 5 chicken breasts 4 hours on high and it was perfect.

The best thing about this chicken is you can use any kind of chicken, but boneless is definitely suggested unless you want to fish out the bones.

When you are done, you can save the liquid and you have homemade broth. I always boil it for about 10-15 minutes after I removed the chicken so I know that I know there is nothing raw in the broth. After the broth cools, you can place it in a freezer bag and freeze it.