FR Weekly Cooking Thread *Recipes* Sept 24, 2011

FreeRepublic Cooks | Sept 24, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 42nd installment of the FR Weekly Cooking (Recipes) Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or two- or all of them:)! for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' Recipe Stack of Family Favorites!

Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.

[trisham]

I love beans and rice.

[Flamenco Lady]

One of my family’s favorites is to slice the meat thinly and marinate it in our favorite stir fry sauce for an hour or more. Then stir fry it with your favorite vegetables and serve it over rice. (This works well for any meat not just Beef. I use this same method for chicken, pork, and even shrimp Stir Fry’s.)

Since I make a huge amount at at time for a family of 5, I stir fry each veggie separately in a small amount of oil and then set them aside in a large bowl, slightly under cooking them. I then stir fry the meat last in batches and set it aside until I have finished stir frying everything. The trick to a good stir fry is to not overload your wok or frying pan by trying to stir fry too much at once. Then I throw it all back in the wok together and stir fry it for a minute or two more to finish everything off and bring it all up to temp and get the flavor of the stir fry sauce flavoring everything. I serve it with White or Brown Rice.

My family likes things like onions, celery, carrots, musrooms, zucchini and or yellow squash, baby corn, green beans, sugar snap peas,and cabbage for the most part so I use any combination of vegetables I have on hand. Some of us also like broccoli, brussles sprouts, peas, or even cauliflower. With a stir fry you can easily tailor it to your own choice of ingredients depending on what you like, what is in season or looks good at the store, or what you have on hand.

If there are any leftovers I put them in pint freezer containers or zip loc bags and throw them in the freezer or fridge. When my kids or I want to make a quick lunch of ramen noodles, we add a packet of leftover stir fry to the noodles as we are cooking them. We then end up with a really hearty and filling meal. My hubby even eats this once in a while now for lunch too, after tasting our ramen noodles fixed in this manner and as he put it, “Wow this takes ramen noodles to a whole new and wonderful level.”

Other ideas for your meat might be Beef Stroganoff served over egg noodles, a hearty Beef Stew served with Biscuits, a Beef Chili with or without beans served with corn bread, or even a Beef Burgundy with mushrooms and onions served over rice or pasta and a side of your favorite veggie.

[Flamenco Lady]

I was on another thread this week and another Freeper posted their recipe for a Dutch Oven Bread that was even easier than the one posted on last weeks’s thread. I am going to try this recipe soon as this is the easiest bread recipe I have ever seen.

Here is the link to the thread. The recipe is at post #260.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2782149/posts?q=1&;page=251

[Tamar1973]

Here's my husband's "homemade" mocha recipe for a 2 cup travel mug

2 tsp instant coffee (Raley's Brand instant coffee is better than Folgers, Taster's Choice or any named brand in hubby's opinion.)
4 tsp hot chocolate
1 1/2 tsp of Stevia
12 oz boiling hot filtered water
4 oz of room temperature filtered water

Put all the above dry ingredients into a 16 oz. travel mug.
Heat approx. 12 oz of water in microwave.
Pour hot water into the mug, which a friend affectionately nicknamed "Mr. Crusty".
Stir until coffee, hot chocolate and Stevia are dissolved.
Top off with room temperature filtered water.

[Red_Devil 232]

I really like Braised Beef ribs. But I usually use bone in short ribs.

Here is a recipe I like but I do not use wine, I like to use about a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of Jack Daniels along with some added brown sugar and beef stock. I caramelize my onions and carrots in clarified butter Remove from the pan and then brown the ribs in the butter. Then add the Jack to the beef and deglaze the pan then add the beef stock that has the brown sugar dissolved in it. I also add about 1/8 cup of soy sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust to your taste. Add onions and carrots back to pan cover and slow cook for 2 -3 hours. Serve with or over rice and a veggie of your choice.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/braised_beef_short_ribs/

[johniegrad]

Chicken Cacciatore

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 and 1/2 pounds of chicken (more if you like)

3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic minced

2 19 ounce cans of diced tomatoes (imported italian better)
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce

3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp thyme
dash cayenne
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

One pound pasta of your choice

Brown chicken in oil. Add vegetables and lightly brown. Add all remaining ingredients except the pasta and simmer at low heat for about 40 minutes turning the chicken if necessary. Serve over cooked pasta of your choice.

[prisoner6]

Haven't had a chance to try this yet. Maybe tomorrow unless I find something here.

We want some Oktoberfest recipes. I thought I had one like this but used apples too, so I went looking and found this.

6 bacon slices, chopped
1 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red cabbage (1 3/4 lb), halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (1-inch-thick) bone-in rib pork chops (2 1/2 to 3 lb total)

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer print a shopping list for this recipe

preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Cook bacon in a 4- to 5-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, and transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Measure fat and, if less than 2 tablespoons, add enough vegetable oil to bring total to 2 tablespoons. Heat fat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes.

Add cabbage and turn with tongs until coated with fat. Stir in red-wine vinegar, water, sugar, caraway seeds, 3/4teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and braise cabbage over moderately low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 25 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, pat 2 pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total). Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown seasoned chops, turning over once, 5 minutes total, and transfer to a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Season remaining 2 chops and brown in oil remaining in skillet in same manner, transferring to baking pan.

Roast chops in oven until thermometer inserted horizontally 2 inches into center of a chop (do not touch bone) registers 145°F, 5 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, stir half of bacon into cabbage, then finely chop remaining bacon for sprinkling.

Let chops stand in pan, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes. Serve chops over cabbage, with any pan juices spooned over and sprinkled with bacon.

We already have several boneless chops but Mrs p6 is going shopping tonight and can buy more or with the bone in.

It will have to feed at least 8 people so we will increase the recipe.

Read More www.epicurious.com

Really want to make something Oktoberfesty Sunday!

[¢ommon ¢ents]

I know you can make Mac and Cheese from a box, with yellow sawdust you mix with milk, but for some really good macaroni and cheese, try this:

---

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe is so much better than the stuff in the box. It is a bit more work, but the results are orders of magnitude better. However, this is not for those on a low fat diet.

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 quarts water (to boil macaroni)
• salt for water for macaroni (optional)
• 2 tablespons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup hot milk
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper (fresh ground is best)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup grated cheese
• butter or olive oil to grease baking dish
• 2 tablespoons (approximately) bread crumbs (optional)

Bring 2 quarts of salted (optional) water to boil, add macroni, boil according to package instructions (generally 7 to 9 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water.

Heat milk to near boiling while butter is melting. I use the microwave for this. Prepare sauce. Start by melting the butter. Remove from heat and add flour, stir/whisk until you have a smooth mixture. Return to heat, add 2/3rds of the hot milk. Bring to gentle boil and slowly add remaining milk, keep at boiling until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, add 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese to the sauce.

Grease a rectangular or square baking pan with butter or olive oil. I use a mister to apply olive oil. Non-stick spray would also work for this. Mix the sauce with the cooked macaroni, pour the mixture into the greased baking pan. Spread remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese over the top. Dust the top with breadcrumbs. Dot with small bits of unsalted butter, or mist/drizzle with olive oil. I wouldn't use cooking spray for this step, butter or olive oil are best.

Bake in hot oven (400F) for 15 minutes.

Tips: You can save on prep time by preparing sauce in a separate sauce pan while the macaroni cooks.Or, to save on cleanup, prepare sauce in the pan you boil the macaroni in, after draining/rinsing the macaroni. Then you can mix the macaroni and sauce in that pan and limit cleanup to 1 pan, 1 colander/strainer and the baking dish.

This recipe is loosely based on a recipe from the Settlement Cookbook (view page scan). The white sauce recipe referred to is on page 87 (view page scan).

[prisoner6]

So I go to work in a bit and have to wait until then. Basically I LIKE Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee stuff especially the pizza in a box.

Mrs p6 made it last night...It didn't turn out well, LOL

Really it tasted GREAT, but something went wrong.

Without going into details one of the problems was I insisted on using Dollar Store Cheese which is basically plastic.

Then Mrs p6 overcooked it in a pan that needed a lot of oil to release it.

Nasty, but good for me.

We are still trying to clean the pans and our tummies are kinda ...funny.

[GnuHere]

Haha - I grew up with that stuff. We thought Saturday pizza night was a BIG deal! Always the same kind - hamburger.

[prisoner6]

Chef Boy R Dee is a fave around my house.!

What a great American Story.

American immigrant Ettore Boiardi

[bgill]

Made your grandmother’s recipe last night. All I have to say is, I went back for seconds and there was nothing left but some sauce that I scraped out onto some cornbread I’d made for dinner. Thanks.

[illiac]

Thanks for the feedback I know we love this as well....cheers

[cc2k]

wrote:

Thanks, that’s interesting. Maybe I could marinade the strips with the seasoning, sear it, and into the over to cook through.

My recipe was more for steaks than for thicker pieces like I think you had with the boneless ribs.

Now, I'm wishing I had braised ours last night. The steaks we got were tough, with a bit of gristle that wasn't really visible in the package.

I'm filing that recipe for "Beef Braised in Rosemary Wine Sauce," away for another time, though, for the future. I'll probably use beef stock, and I'll probably combine the herbs and spices with the red wine and some of the olive oil and marinate the meet for an hour or more before cooking. That does look delicious, though, and your report is good info.

[Netizen]

I thought of you when I saw this recipe for doing stuffed squash in the crock pot. What made me think of you was that you had mentioned having an oval crock pot and I think the oval would work best.

Crock Pot Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage, Rice and Veggies

1 acorn squash, cut in half, cleaned out.
6 sausage links (little breakfast sausages) or 2 large brat-like sausages
1 cup of rice
1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup of mixed vegetables
1 tablespoon of butter, divided
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cut squash in half, clean out the inside and set aside. Cut sausage up into small pieces, set aside. Mix up all vegetables and rice in a small bowl and set aside. Put a 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each half of squash, then scoop in vegetable-rice mixture and top off with sausage and cover with shredded cheese. Place squash inside a medium-large crock-pot and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. When done, either scoop out filling on a dinner plate or eat right out of squash and add salt and pepper to taste.

[prisoner6]

Yes, Thank you! It sounds wonderful. I’m putting this on the menu for the weekend.

[Netizen]

I just happened to see it while looking for some news article. Makes me wish my crock pot was oval! lol

[libertarian27]

Recap of recipes for this Sept 24th thread

Bread* 23 Dutch oven Bread
Breakfast* 4 Buttermilk Pancakes
Drink* 24 Mocha
Meal* 6 SOUTHERN STYLE SLOPPY JOES
Meal* 8 Spicy-Sweet Steak and Onions
Meal* 9 Beef Tips and gravy
Meal* 13 Beef Braised in Rosemary Wine Sauce
Meal* 15 Asian Style Boneless Ribs
Meal* 25 Braised Beef Short Ribs
Meal* 26 Chicken Cacciatore
Meal* 27 Oktoberfest Pork Chops
Meal* 28 Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Meal* 35 Crock Pot Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage, Rice and Veggies
Side* 10 Spicy Pinto Beans
Soup* 3 2 Noodle Soup

(please don’t add any new recipes on this thread - go to this week’s Oct 1st thread)

[libertarian27]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2786371/posts?page=1
October 1, 2011 thread link