Posted on 05/02/2020 5:37:28 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Someone asked me the other day how I felt about the ‘meat shortage’. I told him that I hadn’t really seen it yet; but that except for hot dogs, hamburgers, bacon, and pedestrian ground-beef tacos, I’m not a big meat fan.
In case we do see a shortage, there are lots of nice things you can make without meat, or to stretch what meat you do have.
One of my favorite recipes for years has been Sarah Moulton’s Black Eye Pea Cakes with Salsa Mayonnaise, a surprising combination of flavors - and the ingredients for which have all been available in the grocery stores here, of late:
http://saramoulton.com/2013/12/black-eyed-pea-cakes-with-salsa-mayonnaise/
Another recipe without meat but incorporating dairy and eggs is the Chile Relleno Casserole. There are many ways to do this, but I found this quick and easy one at Linda’s Low Carb Menus and Recipes - genaw.com - (a really great site for interesting and well-thought-out low-carb recipes) and it’s good for breakfast, lunch or dinner:
https://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/
CHILE RELLENO CASSEROLE
2 7-ounce cans whole green chiles, drained well *
8 ounces pepper-jack cheese, shredded
3 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
Grease an 8x8" baking pan. Slice each chile along one long side and open flat. Arrange half of the chiles in the bottom of the baking pan, skin side down, in a single layer.
Top with the pepper-jack cheese. Arrange the remaining chiles over the cheese, skin side up. Beat the eggs, cream and salt well. Pour evenly over the chiles. Top with the cheddar cheese. Bake at 350º for 35 minutes, until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Makes 6-9 servings
Can be frozen
* You can also use your own home-roasted green chiles. Click here to find out how to roast them. You'll need about 8-10 Anaheim or New Mexico chiles depending on the size.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We slept late today, and when we woke up, still groggy, we heard jets flying over. We had forgotten that the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds were going to honor Washington, DC essential workers today; so we didn’t see them.
But I went to YouTube and found amazing video of their flight over NYC last week. I’ve never been on any kind of plane, but I’m fascinated by them, the people who fly them, and the ground, tower and other people in ATC and airports who help to make sure that everything works out right.
It you haven’t seen Enlightened1’s post of a few days ago, check it out. The video is spectacular:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3840360/posts
I use the Schmidt's low carb bread with a net of 7 grams and it's OK - not bad.
My husband and I enjoy refried bean burritos with a little onion and grated cheddar cheese, for a simple lunch.
Attention Gourmands! Read no further! (Remember, you were warned). About once a year, canned Chef Boyardee pasta appeals to me. Last week, I picked up a can of the Chef’s Cheese ravioli in tomato sauce. Usually, I dump out most of the sauce, because I don’t much care for that part. This was the first time I had tried the cheese ravioli. I was very surprised that it tasted very good! The sauce tasted very close to my homemade sauce (crushed tomatoes, pureed stewed tomatoes, garlic, basil, and a little tomato paste, and a dash of ground red pepper, and salt, if it needs it. A little sugar if needed, but usually the onions and peppers in the stewed tomatoes sweeten it enough). I was very pleasantly surprised, and even my husband thought it tasted good, and he’s not a pasta fan.
My husband and I both like beans and wieners, occasionally. Wieners and sauerkraut, too.
If I used pork and beans, I'd add ketchup and brown sugar if I had it. If I had onions and bacon fat, I'd saute the onions first before adding the seasonings.
Later, I found out that a dash of Worcestershire sauce added a nice kick-especially if I was out of ketchup and waiting on payday. And of course grandma had given me a few cases of baked beans before we moved-so that's what we used.
Thanks for the recipes. I am going to make them.
This site has some really good vegetarian recipes. It was hard to convince my husband to try them, but he did like them. The black bean burgers were good too.
https://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-lentil-nut-meatloaf/
I’ve got milk in the freezer now. Not a problem.
My problem is I have a bunch of premade meals in the freezer but I still want to cook!
Been to a couple of Inde 500s where stealth bombers did the fly over! That’s impressive.
You don’t hear them until they are right over you and then they are loud as hell!
LOL! Last week at the Dollar Store picked up 3 cans of Beefaroni. Loved it.
Hadn’t had it since I was in grade school!
I love butternut squash, so loved this brunch idea. Yasmin Fahr is a great cook, with many recipes at Serious Eats. Her cookbook “Keeping it Simple” is great.
Ellendra: I didn’t check to see if you shared already, but if not, share your experience at our local meat processing place this week.
When Beau is off hunting, I’ll often eat all veggie-based meals, but with him he prefers meat, salad, a side veg and potatoes or rice.
Our freezer is still pretty full of wild game, fish and burger. We can probably weather this. ;)
I made up an odd little recipe when I was in my late teens. My kids love it and call them rice burgers. I’ve used them in patty form and for use in stuffings for vegetables covered in tomato sauce and baked.
For the patties mix together equal parts cooked rice (cooled) and ground beef. To taste add parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley, minced garlic, salt, pepper and just enough dry breadcrumbs and eggs to bind it all together. It’s as if you were going to make a meatball mix with the addition of rice and breadcrumbs. Use a burger press to make the patties and grill on the foreman grill.
I don’t use exact amounts for this since it’s in my head and I go by texture. I usually serve it with garlic mashed potatoes and sometimes a gravy.
Around here, most of the actual grocery stores are selling out of just about every kind of meat. But, I live within easy driving distance of 3 small meat processors, each of which has their own store on-site.
2 days ago I stopped at Hoesly’s Meats in New Glarus. Their parking lot was full, and people were standing in a line that stretched almost to the street. The store building itself was off-limits to customers, but they had converted it so they could do business through the windows. It was hard to tell, but it looked like they had between 5 and 8 people working in the store itself, no idea how many were handling the processing side. But the coolers were fully stocked, in spite of the demand, which confirms my suspicion that some of the farmers who normally sell to the bigger processors are bringing their animals to the smaller ones instead. Hoesly’s had lots of beef and pork, and a little venison, but I didn’t see any other types of meat. I’m pretty sure they’re only set up for big animals.
(When I was looking for a meat processor to handle my chickens, the nearest one equipped for poultry was 4 hours away. But Hoesly’s was at the top of the list for processing steers and hogs.)
Yesterday I swung by another processor, Bavaria Sausage. They were closed at the time, but I wrote down their hours and order procedures. Looks like they’re doing curbside pickups, with orders taken by phone. Their website says they’re experiencing high demand also.
My family tends to eat a lot of meat, so I’m glad the little guys are keeping up with demand. Reports of meat shortages are getting bad enough that my dad is asking for advice on raising meat chickens this year. And crazier still, Mom is letting him!!!
Your recipe reminded me of when my Mom would make us ‘Porcupine Meatballs’ when I was a kid.
Of course, I had my little sister CONVINCED there was Porcupine in them. ;)
https://www.thespruceeats.com/baked-porcupine-meatballs-3058245
A common trait of Peruvian style cooking is the dual use of potatoes and rice. “Aji” is typical of that trait. “Aji” is a simple crowd pleasing dish that can be prepared as spicy or creamy as desired. I good naturedly think of “Aji de Gallina” as “Peruvian Chicken a la King”.
Aji de Gallina
1-2 skinless chicken breast halves
3 cups water
Salt & Pepper
3 slices white bread or day old rolls
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ red onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (or to suit) aji amarillo chili pepper paste (Peruvian yellow banana pepper)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
½ cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
Salt and pepper to suit
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2-3 hard boiled eggs
2-3 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and fork-peeled
3-4 black olives per servings
Parsley sprigs for garnish
2 cups cooked white rice
Boil the chicken uncovered over high heat for about 20 minutes. Season the water with salt and pepper, To suit, further season the water with bay leaf, garlic powder or other seasonings.
When cool enough to handle, fork-shred the chicken and set aside. Strain the stock and reserve.
Tear the bread into pieces and place in a bowl. Add one cup of the stock.
When the bread has absorbed the liquid, process or hand combine to form a paste. Reserve.
In a large fry pan, heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic over medium heat for about 10-minutes or until the onion is translucent.
Stir frequently not allowing onion & garlic to brown.
When cooked, add the aji amarillo. Once combined, add the dried oregano and cook an additional 5-minutes.
Add the bread and one cup of chicken stock to the fry pan for 3 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken.
Stir in the shredded chicken, nuts, and cheese. Carefully season with salt & pepper allowing for the saltiness of the Parmesan cheese.
Stir in evaporated milk or half-and-half and turn off the heat.
Typically Aji de Gallina is a rich yellow color. Color is achieved by adding turmeric powder to the chicken mixture. Add by teaspoon until desired color is achieved. Turmeric is neutral in taste.
The mixture should be creamy. If too thick, stir in a bit of chicken stock or additional milk.
Fork-peel the boiled potatoes, cut in thick slices and place several pieces on each plate. Top with Aji de Gallina and serve with white rice at the side.
Garnish with hard boiled eggs; sliced, quartered or halved and purple Peruvian Botija olives, Kalamata olives or canned black olives.
Note: Jarred aji amarillo and Peruvian Botija olives are commonly stocked at most Latin or international grocery stores.
Yield: 4 servings
Love aji amarillo chili pepper paste!
Thanks!
That sounds very good, and different.
For some reason over the past month, I’ve lost my appetite. I get hungry and think I want something, and usually everything i think of bores me; or if it’s good, I toss it half-eaten. (This is a VERY unusual situation ;-)
I saw these two very similar cucumber recipes today that sort of tempted me - one called ‘German’ and the other ‘Hungarian’. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of difference between them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfwNBp01xwU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvJhJEMZ88
I also like a Korean version of a cucumber salad that my friends taught me:
http://mealsteps.com/recipe/oyi_namul__5bcucumber_salad_5d
My stepmom used to buy 6 or 8 gallons of milk at a time from the BX (base exchange - grocery store on the AF base) and freeze them. Of course it was always whole milk but there wasn’t a problem with thawing them out in the refrigerator afterwards. There might be issues with freezing dairy like half and half or low fat milk. Haven’t tried.
We like these noodles a lot. I sometimes add butternut squash instead of the chicken or pork. There are many great recipes at this site.
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/better-than-takeout-dan-dan-noodles/
I happened to hit on this recipe for shortbread topped with a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate. So little is tempting my appetite these days; but these look wonderful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm6U44w4CAE
Make shortbread (and other cookies) every year at Christmas for neighbors, friend and family.
This a nice twist.
I’ve got shortbread cookies in the freezer. Think I’ll redo them. Thx!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.