Pepper Steak

My Dad has been requesting pepper steak for quite a while now. I finally bought the stuff to make it yesterday and decided it was past time to cook it. The recipe in the family cook book that my mom made was less than helpful in actually recreating it though haha. No times or real instructions on what it was supposed to end up looking like or being. Fortunately dad was home in time to walk me through it since it was his moms recipe.

In hindsight, I think I should have marinated the steaks to make the round cut a little more tender. It was easy to make though and quite tasty to eat!

I'll update this post tomorrow with the recipe. I have to fix it to actually have real directions haha.

Yakitori Chicken Rice Bowl

Yakitori Chicken (or beef)  is one of my favorite appetizers to get at Asian restaurants. It usually comes on a skewer and can be described as sweet and savory, much like teriyaki. When I saw this recipe in Cooking Light magazine this month I knew I had to make it. Part of what is hard, for me at least, about Asian food is the sauces! Well this sauce was delectable. 

The recipe calls for just the snow peas but it didn't really look like it was going to be enough for 4 people so I went ahead and added the green beans I happened to have on hand. It really complimented the dish well but I forgot to account for the extra water it was going to the sauce. Oops! So the sauce was pretty runny but you know what? It still tasted pretty savory. If nothing else, it made the chicken have a sweet and salty flavor that I might try again to marinate the chicken in. 

A picture of the recipe is at the bottom of the page if you want to use it!

Beef Curry

As Dill instructed, I made something he wouldn't like for dinner last night. I made beef curry.

I know what your thinking, curry is a scary spice! Few people are confident enough to use it often. I am also one of those people so don't worry. This recipe is a little reminiscent of a stroganoff. It combines rice, onions, ground beef,mushrooms, and curry and at the end I put a dollop of sour cream in top.

Curry is just another one of those things that is slightly scary if you didn't grow up with it. Since I did not, I have little idea how to use it to my advantage. The same happens at Indian restaurants. I always want to go to them but haven't idea what to order. Help!! Any suggestions? I mean I am sad to admit that I have very low tolerance for spicy foods so that is mainly what holds me back.

Anywho, here is the recipe! I highly recommend you trying it. Although Dill doesn't like it, I have a hunch it's just because he, like many, are just afraid that it has curry in it. See for yourself I suppose.

Makes 4+ servings
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp butter
2 med onions
1 sm can mushrooms WITH the juices
2 tsp yellow curry
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 c uncooked rice
1 1/2 c beef broth or bouillon
1 tbsp worstershire sauce
1 pt sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350.
Cook the onions I the butter until clear. Add the meat and brown.
In a casserole dish, add the rest of the ingredients (except the sour cream) and the meat mixture.
Cook for 1 hour uncovered.
Dish and add a dollop of sour cream!

Chicken Pot Pie... SOUP

Yes, You read correctly! It was chicken pot pie SOUP! It was in the newest issue of Food Network Magazine. I foudn that there are some great morsels of recipes in this month's issue. (Not that there isn't usually). I have been getting the magazine for a little over 2 years now and yes, I am a hoarder of cookbooks and the like so I still have every issue on my shelf! Well, I mean with all the wealth of knowledge and great recipes inside how could I let them go? Maybe that is the first sign of a hoarding problem? We'll visit that later. For now, soup!

I changed a few things, as you know I usually do ;) I made puff pastry instead of pie crust. I topped it with an egg wash, cracked salt, and poultry seasoning. The soup came out a little brothier than I would have preferred. It was a pretty hearty soup so I was expecting it to be thicker. I could have just added more flour but we were out so better luck next time! 

Here it is:
1 refrigerated pie dough I used puff pastry
Poultry seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut to bite size
2 stalks celery
1 medium onion I use sweet onions most often
1/4 c flour
3 c low sodium chicken stock or broth I eliminated the water and just did all 5 cups in stock
2 c water
1 c half and half I had to use condensed milk haha 
3 medium potatoes
1 pkg frozen peas and carrots.

Cook the dough according to the package. 
Melt butter in a large pot over med-high heat. Add chicken and do NOT stir. Let them just cook for 2 minutes undisturbed, then stir and cook 1 more minute. move the chicken to a bowl and set aside. 
Add celery, onion, flour, salt, flour, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Cook 1 minute then add broth, potatoes, half and half, and water. Simmer for 10 minutes partially covered. Add peas and carrots for 6 more minutes. Add chicken for 2 more minutes until cooked through. ENJOY!

The family really loved it. Dill was a little apprehensive about it being a soup as he is not one for soup much but he ate a few helpings! He did however announce, "Dev, if there is anything you ahve been wanting to try that you think I won't like, make it tomorrow." Why Dill? "The boss is taking me out to PF Chang's so I won't be home" (with a large grin on his face) Hahaha. What a little turd. 

I guess I'll make some curry then :)

Well anyway, I think since I felt so inspired by the recipe and the magazine that I am going to try and try a lot of the recipes from the issue. Lets see how it goes! 

Easy Egg Breakfast

First off, I hope everyone had a very wonderful Thanksgiving!

I have to share a funny and reminding story that happened with my gran. She was talking to my uncle who was saying he wouldn't mind having the business open on the holiday for some extra cash to which my gran replied "it's a national holiday, you shouldn't make people work on a holiday. They should be with their families." His response was that it wasn't a religious holiday, but more of a reason eat a lot. That did not fly with the gran so she retorted, "if it's not a religious holiday, then who are you thanking?" Touché gran... Touché. I loved that idea of the holiday that people hardly seem to think about. I personally dislike when people say "happy turkey day" because I, like gran, think the holiday is about giving thanks for the many blessings in your life.... Not about the turkey, delicious as it may be.

Next, a report on the food! I made the egg cups for breakfast/brunch with lil smokies, hashbrowns,and bacon. They were actually quite fun to make! I couldn't really find a recipe that sounded like what I wanted so really I just kinda winged it the morning of haha.

In 6 of them I did strictly bacon, cheese, and eggs. In 3 more I did the same plus onions and green peppers. Then the last 3 in the dozen I did spinach, Parmesan, and mushrooms.
*tip*- for really fluffy and savory eggs add milk, salt, pepper, and some flour.

Then 6 more I put cooked hashbrowns in the bottom and then of course the cheese, eggs, bacon, and veggies. PLUS I added chopped fresh jalapeños for a little kick.

Bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes. Wait until the eggs look fully cooked on top. They will puff up like a soufflé so be sure not to over fill the muffin tin.

What a hit!!! They were fabulous and all eaten!! The family loved them and I'm sure would love if these were available every morning.

They would work with any thing you want to add into them really.

Back to the normal menu items... Tonight will be chicken pot pie...SOUP!! Thanks to my latest copy of the Food Network magazine, I have what I hope will be a delicious recipe and the source of more inspiration for the month!

Pre Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving Eve! I have been so busy making pies, stuffing, and cutting veggies for various dishes! The menu for tomorrow is as follows:

Brunch at 10:30 that will have Quiche, hash brown eggs, yogurt parfaits, sausage, and bacon. For refreshing drinks we will be serving the traditional mimosa as well as a cherry/cranberry punch! 

Snacking items: complete veggie tray with homemade ranch dip and spinach dupe with rye bread. (In my opinion, the perfect snacks to have while watching the Texans and the Cowboys both play on this blessed day! I guess you could say that is one thing I am thankful for tomorrow: football teams I like to be playing!) 

Early thanksgiving dinner: (all items listed are hand made by scratch) Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, garlic carrots, fresh green beans steamed, Brussels sprouts, Betty Salad, creamed corn soufflé, and cranberry relish. YUM! 

Dessert: Homemade Apple Pie, Homemade Pear Cheddar Pie, Homemade Chocolate Pie, Sam's club Pumpkin Pie, and Homemade Texas Pecan Pie. delish. 

I will be posting a whole slew of pictures and recipes to follow after the holiday! I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving and are blessed to spend it the way you want... Hopefully not having to be working. I am so thankful for ya'll reading this!!! Bless you all on this lovely holiday. 

Beef Tips with Noodles

So the plan was to make stir-fried rice last night with the left over rice from the Chicken Adobo but as it happens, I was out of rice! Fortunately, I had bought the stuff to make Beef Tips with Noodles also so that is what we had. I thought it sounded like a deconstructed stroganoff and we love stroganoff so it couldn't go too horribly wrong. 

I used this recipe for guidance : Beef Tips with Noodles

I changed quite a few things though so this is what I did: 

2 lbs of beef- I used stewing beef, since we are on a budget and it was on sale. Cooking it longer helps to make it taste still quite tender but there is more fatty content
1 can mushroom soup I like to use the can, I know many people have objections to the salt content and the preservatives but really, it just makes my life easier and I happen to like it
2 c broth- any kind will do really, I use beef since it was beef I was using
1 pkg beef onion soup- again, this has high salt but Lipton makes a great one
2 c fresh mushrooms diced- now you can use canned if you prefer or it is what you have on hand, or non at all if you don't like them. They don't contribute a lot of flavor because you already have the mushroom soup but I love mushrooms so the more and the fresher the better
1/2-1 c red wine- This was not in the recipe but in a comment below and it just reminded me of boeuf bourguignon and I thought the flavor would be right so I added a little over a half cup of a full bodied red. 
1 Medium Onion Chopped- I use sweet onions mostly because I like the flavor better but whatever you prefer would work here. Just a coarse chop will be fine, nothing too fancy needed. 
1-2 tbsp Garlic minced- I love garlic and put it in most everything so it should come as no surprise that I added it to this. Add as much or little as you like, or none at all if you prefer! 
1 16oz pkg Wide Egg Noodles
  
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients save for the noodles in a casserole dish- 9x13 is what I used. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 1 hour. Stir contents and replace back in the oven for 30-45 more minutes.

Cook Noodles according to directions at the end of baking. 

DONE! 

A few tips though, when mine was done, the sauce was still quite watery because I added the fresh mushrooms and onion (high water content in both) so I strained it out, put it on a burner on simmer, added some starch and thickened that baby up.  Also, the water diluted the salt content so I added about 1-2 tbsp of garlic salt and it really put it over the top with tastyness! 

How was it you ask? FABULOUS! It was reminiscent of the boeuf bourguignon as predicted because of the wine and other seasonings but the cream of mushroom gave it a nice creamy texture and flavor that I very much enjoyed! The fam? Devoured it. Dill inhaled 2 servings and Dana said it was one of her new favorites! Kudos to the chef? Yes please!!!

Chicken Adobo

I can't be certain, but I believe I have always had an affection for Asian cuisine. I love the spices that are present, the noodles or rice, the vegetables, and of course the sauces! Plus, I think that eating with chopsticks is a small pleasure in life that I try to do as often as possible. 

Well, one of the best places in Corpus Christi to get Filipino is the Lumpia House in the Bluff! Oh. My. Gosh. I mean it is fabulous! I ate there last week and had a mixture of all my favorites: Lumpia, Chicken Adobo, and Pancit Bihon. Now of course I could not eat it all because I have, for some reason, the worlds smallest stomach. But it was amazing none the less. 

I decided I would try to recreate the Chicken Adobo because my family all loves it and I wasn't really feeling brave enough to conquer the pancit. Looked up a few recipes, got the jist of the ingredients and their relative importance to the dish and created a recipe from about 5. I took a whole chicken (about 5 lbs) cut in half and 2 extra chicken breasts and plopped them into the crock pot. 

Oh did I mention I was going to make it in a crock pot? Some how Lumpia House gets their chicken to just fall right off the bone and the best way that I know how to do that is with the crock pot. Plus it requires me to little as possible and reap the rewards. 

Any how, I like my Chicken Adobo with a lot of sauce so I made enough broth/sauce to cover the chicken. 

The recipe for it will also be available in the new recipe section I added. I just ask that if you post the recipe elsewhere that you do tell where you got it as I create most of them myself, using a master recipe as a guideline. 

So the sauce is:
1 c soy sauce (regular or less sodium)
1 c vinegar (I used rice vinegar because it tends to be sweeter)
2 c chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (I used beef... it was all I had on hand)
2 c water (only if you need more to cover the chicken)
4-6 bay leaves
1 whole medium onion cut (I used sweet because I like the sweetness and want that to come across in the dish)
1 tbsp whole peppercorns (one recipe suggested tying them in a cheese cloth like you would a sauce so as not to crunch into one when eating but I didn't and had no problems)
4-6 cloves garlic minced 

Let the whole thing cook on High for 3 hours, then turn to low for 3-4 more... until the chicken is so tender and juicy it is just easy to pull right off. 

YUMMMM!!!!

I served it with rice and a salad but you could do cooked peas or stir fry vegetables if you want more cooked food. It would be delicious to take some of the adobo to cook the veggies in!!! YUM!! 


Be sure to check out the new Facebook page too! Hope ya'll are all ready for thanksgiving!

Bacon Wrapped Pork

Well, since the budget was running dry and we have a lot of pork loin (who knows why), that's what I made. I used up the rest of the carrots and threw in some onions. I first seared the loin to help hold in the juices. Bacon makes everything better so I also wrapped it in bacon.

I was feeling very under inspired. Ever feel that way? This was just the well-I-don't-have-anything-else dinner. Don't get me wrong, it tasted good and everything, the bacon gave it a nice flavor, but not really what anyone was really in the mood for. 

I broiled the last 5 minutes to crisp up the bacon but I don't think I did it long enough. It could have rendered a bit more and been a little crispier. On the other hand, I LOVE zucchini! sauteed it up with some mushrooms and yum!!!. It's very easy. Just saute in the pan with a little olive oil and garlic salt until soft. No measuring or freaking out required! 

That's what I love about cooking rather than baking. Baking is like chemistry. You need to measure everything and go by recipe to make sure it's going to do what you want it to. Cooking on the other hand you get to change whatever you want and make it exactly the way you like it! Like squash better than zucchini? Switch it out! Like basil better than rosemary... go ahead and throw it in there. You can taste and change as you go and I love that! You get to be the artist. Change it how you like it. Some times it won't turn out the way you want it to. Some times you will get a good one and think "OMG! That was so delicious!" And then you will have a new master piece. Amazing when it happens!

MOM! The MEAT LOAF!

At our house, "MOM! THE MEAT LOAF!!!! WE WANT IT!!" is a staple quote. (from Wedding Crashers). My dad is known for yelling that at any random time he feels like it. ESPECIALLY when we make meat loaf obviously. Just one of those little quirks of the family you know?

Meat Loaf is a staple dish in any kitchen. It's one of the first things people learn to make at home. And who better to learn from than Betty Crocker in 1978? 

I personally love meat loaf! I think people say they don't like it because it's an old recipe and the media always makes it the food kids don't like just like Brussels sprouts (which happen to be amazing). How someone can not like the mixture of ground beef, onions, crackers, and spices is beyond me. Look at the delicious ingredients. 

I know it's weird but I love the smell of freshly ground beef. It smells like salty butter and who doesn't love butter? 

Some recipes now say not to make the meat loaf in a loaf pan because the fat can't drain. Well I say don't do that! You end up with a loaf that is lacking the depth of flavor and juiciness. If you get a 96/4 or even 90/10 you will already have a low fat cut, don't worry about the 4%. The juice makes it have a full flavor and stay moist. 

On the side, I was making yeast rolls from the freezer section. You are supposed to proof them in the oven and then cook them obviously. It did NOT work! They didn't thaw or proof or something and were terrible. I always know this though, when things go wrong, make green bean casserole! Always a favorite around here and I try to always keep the ingredients on hand. 

Tonight it's going to be pantry scraping for dinner. Let's see how inventive I can be?

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes and definitely my go to dish when deciding if I like a Thai restaurant. I figured I should know how to make a pretty decent version since my funding has been diminishing. 

I checked out like 15 recipes and found the commonalities. Tamarind paste, soy sauce, broth, and chilli paste. I don't know whether soaking noodles for a long time or putting them in boiling water for under ten minutes is better but I tried the later and it was perfectly easy. 

Apparently there are no places in Corpus that sell fresh bean sprouts. I tried 3 grocery stores! Then when I went to the Asian market for tamarind paste, there they were!!! They are so fun to eat! 

Well the end result was too spicy for me...  :(

Then again I can hardly stand pepper as far as spicy goes. Next time I personally would not use chillis anymore but that's because I'm a total wuss! 

Dill even tried it! My eyes totally bugged out of my head! I expected him to say no way but he tried it! Wasn't his thing but I was totally impressed! Mission of getting him to try everything= accomplished another day!

Didn't remember to take many pictures this time... but here it is! Other than the spicy, it was perfect! absolutely Thai worthy. 

Ratatouille anyone?

Well, I was inspired by the Disney movie, Ratatouille, to make just that! I also had an eggplant that needed used. It was quite delicious if I do say so myself. All layered horizontally, I didn't have the patience to try and make them all stand sideways to look pretty. Still tasted good so I think it's all ok haha. 

While it was cooking it smelled like pizza so everyone was pretty excited about tasting it! This is the recipe I used: Ratatouille. I love using allrecipes.com because they have Great reviews! 

I precooked the onions and the eggplant because the comments on the recipe suggested it. Good suggestion!!! 

I did some chicken baked in the oven with white wine, salt, and herbs de Provence. The family eats a lot so I always have to make sure they have some protein in all their meals. If it was just me... probably meat only once a day. 

Alright, well tonight I'm trying Asian!!! Let's see how that goes..

Conquering Hollandaise

Conquering Hollandaise this past weekend was a frazzle for my nerves up until the actual moment of doing it!

I did use the cheater (and fool proof) version suggested by Julia Child and I can happily say that I have mastered the art of the Hollandaise sauce! I blended those eggs and added the butter so that sauce heaven was created. 

I feel like sauce is really the main point of a dish if it's full of butter. Look at beurre blanc! Another sauce I happily lap up in any dish. All the food you have with the Hollandaise, in my own personal opinion, is just a vessel to get the sauce into your mouth.  If it didn't make my stomach hurt from how absolutely rich it was, and didn't mind doubling my size in weight, I would eat it everyday... possibly as soup.

I didn't put it into anything fancy, although, I realize that the Pirex really doesn't show it off very well, if you had tasted it, you wouldn't care either. I'm fairly certain if any had been split, someone would have licked it up.

I was totally freaking out about the sauce so my mom made the poached eggs. They are kind of freaky too. I mean you crack an egg into simmering water and wait for it to cook? I was sure this was just going to turn into egg drop soup. But it didn't! However, dropping them in is the easy part, getting them back out and onto the toast is the hard part. Plus, we sat them onto a napkin while waiting for the toast, (we weren't really on top of our time management skills) and then lifting them off of that was ridiculous. What a dumb idea! DON'T put your eggs on a napkin! Haha.

Asparagus was also sauteed with oil and garlic to go with the sauce. Need to have some greens to balance out that 2 sticks of butter.

Look at this fabulously delicious brunch!!!! Almost too pretty to eat!.... almost

Finally, another new attempt. I cooked whole artichokes!

Turns out you just boil them for like 45 minutes and they are like to die for! (that might be in part because we dipped them in Hollandaise ... hmm... )The leaves just pull off and you scrape them against your teeth to get the "meat".

 
When I got to the middle I thought the purple  leaves looked like a flower so I had to show it off. Life's little happinesses you know?

Anyway, who knew the hearts were so big! You get them in a can and they are pretty small but I guess they use baby artichokes for that. These 2 artichokes made about a cup of hearts!

PERFECT! Why you ask? Because it's game day! And artichoke dip is a perfect game day treat! (go buckeyes!)

I like to add crab to the recipe so you get chunks of extra deliciousness on the chip. I used the imitation krab because that is was was brought home for me but usually, had I gone to the store myself, I would have gotten real chunks. YUM!

Fresh artichoke hearts give it a lot of flavor! I suppose I should have guessed that but whatever. Don't judge me for usually using canned.

Italian Beef Kabobs

Last night I made Beef Kabobs in Italian dressing. Italian dressing is the best marinade for kabobs! It's tangy and salty and breaks into the beef. (also works well on shrimp and chicken!) We always use Italian dressing and it doesn't really matter which brand. The zesty Italian gives a nice little jolt too. 

Cut all the pieces into about the same size, put in a large bowl, and pour on the Italian! I let it marinate for only a couple of hours this time but usually I let it go as long as I can so the veggies have a chance to soak it up.... especially the mushrooms! 

I used sweet onions, sirloin beef, green bells, mushrooms, and zucchini. Other variations we use is cherry tomatoes, other colors of bell peppers, and one of the best... pineapple! Something about grilled pineapple is just hard to resist. It is already sweet and sour but the heat caramelizes the outside and marinating it in Italian dressing really transforms the flavors to more full bodied and that irresistible combination of salty and sweet!

So when it's done... here it is all browned and Delicious!

YUM!! Serve with some buttered rice and no need to worry about other sides, you already have mixed veggies and meat! Keeping some extra Italian dressing reserved is another suggestion, then you can dip the pieces in it for more flavor.

In light of the Halloween and Dia de los Muertos holidays, I have decided to attack the Hollandaise sauce Julia Child style and put it with poached eggs, artichoke, and asparagus! Wish me luck :/...

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite holidays!! (WARNING: I probably say that about half of the holidays) 

I absolutely love the sugar skulls all decorated and really like making my own designs on plates and stuff like that but I've never made the real sugar skulls. 

While I was born in up north and seem to give northern accents when I speak quickly, I was really raised in south Texas. Mexican culture is so strong here and really influences everything around it. I grew up celebrating all the Mexican holidays and adopting some of the practices. 

(Cinco de Mayo is also one the holidays I love to celebrate but I'll get more into that in May Hahaha.)

Our trips to Mexico when I was a kid are some of my fondest memories. We have many pieces of the beautiful pottery that decorate our pool decking. If you have been down here, you know that you can't drive 1/2 a mile without a Mexican food place being there. It's AMAZING!!!! 

Here is the plate I recently made one of my best friends for her wedding! I have a plate that had "La Calavera" on it from the Mexican BINGO game: Loteria and she always tried to steal it so I made her a cooler one. See? 

If you like what you see, I am happy to make you one! I sell them on Etsy.com at my shop: devonwhitney

Happy Day of the Dead everyone!

Classy Wine Drinking

I hope every one had a spooky Halloween yesterday! I contemplated making something that scared me to make such as Hollandaise sauce or French macaroons to get into the spirit. Conquer fears you know? But Dill still has my car because his is in the shop so going to the store was not an option. Plus, the idea of trying Hollandaise again still really scares me! 

I first attempted the delicious egg and butter sauce in culinary school. I curdled the eggs 3 times! it was ever so frustrating! I have more confidence this time with the instructions from Julia Child. She makes it sound so simple and really helps you understand what the process is all about (as well as gives you a cheater and supposedly fool proof way to make it in the blender!). School was hardly as helpful. 

I really love reading Julia Child's recipes because of the way she wrote them! She makes you feel like you can attempt any of them! Gives you suggestions for wine pairings and side dishes. I mean really, she was one of a kind in teaching how to cook. I've made it a personal goal to start watching more of her videos. In school, we learned a few things by watching her videos because she really had a way of making it seem so simple to bone a chicken! 

So, last night I made honey mustard chicken and a Parmesan garlic rice pilaf. The honey mustard I used was from my parent's home town, Maumee, Ohio! It was Hickory Farms' Hot N Sweet Mustard. Look at that!!!

With all of the juice that those breasts gave I should have made a gravy or sauce to go on them but I just didn't think about it in time. 

The pilaf was from a box and not nearly as tasty as home made! Not enough seasoning, it had to be doctored. Kind of a boring looking plate and would have been spruced up with some crispy and al-dent-ly cooked fresh green beans. See what I mean? 

Well, after dinner we all went and sat outside to watch and greet the trick-or-treaters with a glass of wine. I wanted white wine with dinner but again the no car got in the way so when someone finally brought some home we had already eaten Hahaha. So we decided to be REALLY classy and drink it on the front lawn, in red wine glasses, waiting for the kids in costumes. OH! And it was warm so we remedied that pretty easily... BAHAHA

Just keepin it reaaal classy ya'll! Happy Halloween!