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Albondigas Soup, Simplified for Weeknight Ease

April 22, 2013 By 3 Comments

Heather says:

I absolutely love albondigas soup, it’s a family favorite, but sometimes I just don’t have the energy to mess with rolling the meatballs. Sometimes I just can’t bring myself to care that much.

So on a whim one evening, when I had planned on making the original albondigas, I looked at it and said Fuhgeddaboudit, we’re doing a deconstructed or simplified version of the recipe. Deconstructed is a fancy term for breaking a complicated dish down into its elements or ingredients and changing the presentation.

This has all of the same ingredients, but without the work of the meatballs. Score.

If you were intimidated by the original soup recipe, give this version  a try. I wouldn’t dissuade you from trying it with a margarita, either.

Enjoy!
Ground Beef Soup

: Simplified Albondigas

: This is a weeknight version of the classic Albondigas or Mexican Meatball Soup

  • 2lbs lean ground beef
  • 2 small cans diced green chilies
  • 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes or use an equivalent amount of fresh, diced tomatoes about 2.5 cups
  • 1 bunch green onions – chopped, include the bulb, but set aside and chop that separately
  • 3 cloves garlic – minced or pressed -divided use half in the beef half in the broth
  • 1 bunch cilantro – chopped
  • 1/2 cup rice
  • 2 qts beef broth or stock (low sodium if possible, if not, I recommend using Better Than Bouillon
  • salt, pepper, and Tabasco or Chalula to taste

Directions:

  • In a large, heavy pot brown the ground beef with the bulb portion of the green onions and about half of the garlic.
  • Drain any fat.
  • Add the 2 qts of stock or broth and increase the heat of the burner.
  • Add the green chilies, diced tomatoes, the rest of the garlic, 1/2 cup of rice, and about half of cilantro and green onions.
  • Bring to a simmer and cook until the rice is done. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning as desired.
  • Add the last of the cilantro and green onions just before serving -this adds a bright, fresh taste.
  • Serve with warm, flour tortillas

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

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Pork and Miso Ramen

April 18, 2013 By 3 Comments

retrochick.JPGMichele says:

Ramen. It’s a single word that conjures images of students and young newlyweds alike, united by their grumbling bellies and meager budgets.  Most of us have been there, done that—myself included—and if you’re anything like me, you may have also done a happy dance when you finally said sayonara to your noodle heavy twenty dollar a week food budget.  Despite my longstanding eagerness to eat something (anything!) other than what the Japanese refer to as gakusei ryori, or “student food”, years later I still find myself craving the salty, slurpy soup that got me through the leanest times in my life.

Fortunately for those of us nostalgic for ramen, it’s pretty hip these days!  Made with fresh noodles, the giant bowls come garnished with everything from pork belly to pickled vegetables to quail eggs to kombu (AKA seaweed).  Though delicious, these gourmet bowls can leave one asking, where has all of the cheap ramen gone?  It turns out that the answer is closer than most of us would have ever guessed: it’s hiding in our own home kitchens!

With a few ingredients that you can buy at any well stocked grocery store (check Amazon if you can’t find miso), you can throw together a restaurant-worthy bowl in under an hour.  Best of all, once you’ve made the broth, you can customize the bowls individually to make each one as healthy or as unhealthy as you’d like.  That’s right.  This homemade, veggie filled ramen can actually count as healthy…ish (those pesky fried noodles are the “ish”).  For once, you’ll be able to have your cake ramen and eat it, too!  If only those poor college students should be so lucky.

porkandmisoramen

Pork and Miso Ramen

Pork Marinade:
  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice wine (or apple cider) vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Everything Else:
  • 1 pound boneless pork chops
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 4 cups fish broth (I used a 32 ounce carton of store-bought)
  • 4 cups chicken broth (homemade or a 32 ounce carton of store-bought)
  • 2 tablespoons shiro (white) miso paste (you can find it on Amazon if your store doesn’t carry it)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ½ pound (8 ounces) mung bean sprouts
  • 1 pound (16 ounces) bok choy
  • 1 bunch (approximately 10) scallions
  • 3-3 ounce packages dried ramen, seasoning packets discarded
  • 4 eggs, hard boiled or poached
  • Sriracha for serving (optional)

 

Step 1: Make the marinade by combining ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and black pepper in a gallon sized zip top bag.  Use a fork to poke holes in the pork chops.  Add the holey pork to the bag with the marinade and allow the meat to marinate for 30 minutes.

Step 2: While the pork marinates, mix 4 cups of fish broth with 4 cups of chicken broth in a stock pot, then add 2 tablespoons miso paste, 1 teaspoon ginger, and ¼ cup soy sauce to the broth.  Cover and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes.  If making hard boiled eggs, cook them now and set aside.

Step 3: While the broth simmers, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Once the pan is warm, remove the pork chops from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.  Cook in the heated pan for 4-5 minutes, then flip; cook an additional 4-5 minutes, then remove the pork chops to a plate or plastic cutting board.  Tent pork chops with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Step 4: While the pork is resting, wash the bean sprouts, bok choy, and scallions.  Discard the roots from the bok choy and scallions.  Slice the bok choy into ribbons; set aside.  Cut the scallions into ¼ inch pieces; set aside.  Thinly slice the pork; set aside.  If you’re a worrywart, throw the pork into the broth to make sure that it’s one hundred percent cooked; there’s no shame in it, but it does change the texture of the pork.  If making poached eggs, cook them now and (you guessed it!) set aside.

Step 5: Five minutes before serving, bring the broth up to the boil.  Add the noodles to the boiling broth, being careful not to break up the ramen; slurping the noodles is half of the fun!  Cook the ramen for 3 minutes or until the noodles are soft.

Step 6: Ladle the broth into soup bowls.  Use chop sticks or a pasta server to add ramen to the bowls with the broth.  Add pork to your bowl of noodles.  Top the noodles with bok choy, bean sprouts, scallions, and egg.  Don’t forget a squirt (or three) of Sriracha!

Serves 4 ramen lovers.

Michele Newell is a housewife turned blogger turned Home Ec 101 contributor.  You can read her near daily ramblings at Dreams Unreal.

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Balsamic Marinated Chicken Thighs

April 9, 2013 By 10 Comments

Heather says:

This recipe for balsamic marinated chicken is sort of a repeat. Why? Because sometimes you don’t want to cook a whole chicken and grab the super-value pack of chicken thighs or leg quarters when they go on sale. Like the garlic and soy chicken thighs, this recipe is simple, the only drawback is it’s much better with a longer marinating period. This is a marinate the night before kind of recipe. Sides can be super simple. I went with baked sweet potatoes and oven roasted okra -I tossed the okra in vinegar and rosemary, with a little olive oil, it was okay, but nothing to write home about. I think lentil pilaf may have been a better choice.

Looking for other chicken recipe ideas: here’s a guide to cooking and using chicken

Balsamic Chicken Thighs

: Chicken Thighs Marinated in Balsamic Vinegar

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar


    •

  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary – or 1 tsp fresh, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 3 – 4 lbs chicken thighs
  • salt / fresh ground pepper

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the first 8 ingredients. In a shallow, non-reactive container (ie glass or plastic, or even zippered plastic bag) pour all of the marinade over the chicken thighs.
  • Cover and place the container in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for several hours or overnight. Turn the pieces once in a while to ensure they all have a reasonably even coating. (This is where the large zippered bag is handy, check the seal and hand it to a minion to shake)
  • Preheat the oven to 425F and make sure one of the racks is in the middle position.
  • Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off any excess. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin side up in a as small a baking dish as possible. The point is to ensure the skin is nicely browned, but the chicken isn’t spread out so far that it will dry out before it reaches a safe temperature.
  • Roast for approximately 35 – 50 minutes -this depends on whether or not you took the chicken out of the fridge as recommended in Cooking for Geeks -the whole don’t skip a temperature stage idea) Use a meat thermometer and remove the chicken from the oven as soon as it hits 165F.

Cooking time: 35 – 50

Number of servings (yield): 6

 

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Easy Italian Bread

April 4, 2013 By 6 Comments


Michele says:

A little over ten years ago today, I enrolled in home economics as a school elective.  To say I was excited would be an understatement, and I showed up for my first day of class eager to learn anything and everything I could about sewing, cooking, cleaning, and—most important to me—baking.  The pace was slow; by the middle of the semester, we had barely made a batch of cookies!  I finally got up the courage to ask the teacher when we’d learn to make, say, a simple loaf of bread.  My courage was rewarded with a “Hah!” worthy of The Simpsons’ Edna Krabapple.  Deflated and embarrassed, I gave up on baking and spent the rest of the course sewing stuffed animals, taking breaks to thread my classmates’ needles.

It wasn’t until my husband and I were poor college students that I even thought about baking my own bread again.  I bought flour in 25 pound sacks and dove in headfirst.  Six months later, I had my own recipes for everything from sandwich bread to challah to naan to the sort of crusty bread that bakeries sell for $5 a loaf.  Today, I’m no longer forced to make all of my own bread, but I still make a majority of it.  But, why?  Isn’t baking bread a tedious, time consuming gamble?

No way!  Don’t believe the evil industrial bread empire’s propaganda!  Not only is it easy, it is also amazingly delicious, more filling than air-puffed store bread, and super frugal; as a bonus, kneading by hand is a great form of stress relief!  (And if you’re not stressed, you can use a stand mixer instead.)  Best of all, you probably already have all five of the ingredients in your cabinets—and you don’t even need a bread machine.

So, what do you say, Home Eccers?  How about we whip up a batch of bread before we continue with our sewing lessons?  (Here’s the part where I assume that you’re all donning your aprons in excitement.)  As long as you give the dough plenty of time to rise, this bread is downright impossible to mess up.  So, even if you’ve had not-so-good luck with bread in the past, just humor me and give this recipe a shot.  Your bellies (and your families) will thank you!

italianbread15

Easy Italian Bread

Notes: this recipe assumes you have a stand mixer.  If you’re baking by hand, do your mixing in a very large bowl using a sturdy wooden spoon until the dough comes together (as seen in step 3 below).  Add flour ½ cup at a time, and when you can no longer stir the dough, turn it out onto a floured counter.  Knead, using the heels of your hands, until it looks and feels like the dough described in step 6, or anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes.  Once the dough is ready to rise (as evidenced by the “poke test” described in step 5) you can continue to follow the recipe below.

  • 1 ½ cups warm water
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (or 1 packet) yeast
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • About 3 cups of good all purpose flour

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 ½ cups of water, 2 teaspoons of yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Allow the yeast to sit until frothy or “proofed” (as shown).

italianbread2

Step 2: Using the dough hook as a spoon, stir 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and 1 cup of flour into the proofed yeast.  Continue to stir until you can no longer see any dry flour.  Attach the dough hook to the mixer’s head.

italianbread3

Step 3: Add 1 cup of flour to the soggy doughy mess.  Lock the mixer head and turn your mixer on to its lowest speed.  Let the dough mix until all of the flour is integrated (you may need to hold your mixer’s head down if it tries to “walk” off the counter).

Step 4: Turn off the mixer and poke the dough.  Chances are it will stick to your finger.  Don’t worry; it’s supposed to do that!  If your dough is very wet, add an additional cup of flour.  If the dough is only slightly sticky, but isn’t wet, add an additional half cup of flour.  Lock the machine, turn it on to the lowest speed, and let it mix in the additional flour until the dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl.

italianbread6

Step 5: Turn off the mixer and poke the dough (again).  Does your finger leave an indentation that slowly goes away?  If it doesn’t, allow the dough to mix for an additional 2 minutes to further develop the gluten; repeat the test.  Once your dough is properly springy, give yourself a pat on the back because the hard part is over.  Congratulations!

italianbread7

Step 6: Oil a large bowl.  Quickly knead your dough into a ball on a very lightly floured countertop.  Place the ball of dough into the bowl and roll it around to coat the surface of the dough with oil.  Top the bowl with a greased lid (if it has one) or plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled.  It took my dough about 90 minutes at a room temperature of 67 degrees

Before the first rise.

Before the first rise.

After the first rise.

After the first rise.

Step 7: Uncover the dough.  Punch the dough down with your fist, folding the sides of the dough over as needed to form another ball.  Recover the bowl and allow the dough to double again.  For me, the second rise took 2 hours at 67 degrees.

Before the second rise.

Before the second rise.

After the second rise.

After the second rise.

Step 8: Uncover the dough and punch it down (last time, I swear).  Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and form it into an elongated ball (think an American football only less pointy).  Transfer the ball to a large parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheet.

Using a paring knife or sharp kitchen shears, cut a quarter inch deep slash down the middle of the dough to give it room to rise.  Dust the dough with flour.  Dampen a large lint free towel or napkin and cover the pan and dough.  Let the dough rest for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 450.

italianbread13

Step 9: Once the oven has heated and the dough has rested, remove the towel from the unbaked loaf.  If the flour has magically disappeared, as it tends to do, sprinkle the loaf with a bit more flour.  Bake your bread on the middle rack of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes (checking through the oven window every minute after 15 minutes) or until the bread is golden brown, sounds hollow when you rap it with your knuckles, and smells like bread.  (Skip that second test if you don’t have fireproof hands like me.)

Using a dry lint free towel or napkin, transfer the bread from the pan to a cooling rack.  Allow the bread to cool to room temperature until slicing—or just tear off hunks like a caveperson and enjoy it warm.  If anyone dares give you guff, tell them that Michele says you deserve to eat because… you just baked bread!

italianbread14

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Thai Inspired Beef and Cabbage Skillet

February 25, 2013 By 6 Comments

Heather says:

I’d like to thank Bobbie for helping out with the name of this quick beef skillet, I was staring at it last night and drawing a blank. This ground beef cabbage skillet recipe will feed six, more if you serve over cooked rice or noodles. Feel free to play with the ingredients as that would be exactly how I came up with this recipe. I found Cooking Light’s Thai Beef Cups. I used it as a framework to build this recipe for the cooking basics series I’ve been slowly building. If you’re looking for a more traditional beef and cabbage skillet, Bobbie and I both have versions: Bobbie’s Beef and Cabbage Skillet and Heather’s Beef and Cabbage Skillet. All three are great, quick meals, that are handy to have in your kitchen arsenal, cabbage stores for-freaking-ever in the bottom drawer of the fridge and if you’re not vegetarian I ask you why you don’t have at least one emergency pound of ground beef in the freezer. That’s pretty much required to stave off an emergency drive-through run.

As far as the cooking basics series goes, I know so far there are a lot of ground beef recipes, but don’t worry, we’ll start adding chicken, pork, and fish soon enough. I’m still sorting out the whole work life balance thing and not doing so hot at either, if you must know.

So, back to the skillet. Feel free to use red or green cabbage, heck you could use broccoli slaw or any cruciferous greens, as long as they are shredded pretty finely. Just remember the goal isn’t to cook this dish until it’s dead, but rather to keep a little crunch in there for texture. AND if you don’t want to use peanut butter, don’t, just use 1/4 cup of salted peanuts like the original recipe described. Someone swiped my peanuts, that’s the only reason I experimented with -and rather liked- the peanut butter in the first place. Skillets are experiments, give yourself permission to try something different once in a while, who knows you may have a new family favorite. (FYI the minions call any version of beef and cabbage skillet, Kung Fu Skillet as I got tired of them asking what’s for dinner and they were on a Kung Fu Panda kick at the time)

Thai Inspired Beef Cabbage Skillet Recipe

: Thai Inspired Beef and Cabbage Skillet

: A simple one dish meal with a ginger, peanut, twist

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced thinly
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp ginger, peeled and minced – substitute 1 tsp ground ginger if you need to
  • 2 TBSP lime juice -I didn’t measure, just a couple of GOOD squeezes, yes I used the store bought kind, this was a clean out the fridge kind of meal, if you have fresh… awesome.
  • 1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce -you can use fish sauce if you have it
  • 1 small head of red or green cabbage, sliced thinly or shredded
  • 1/2 cup or 1/2 a bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 2 TBSP peanut butter or 1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
  • Soy Sauce to taste – when served

  • Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and ginger -fresh or ground. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions begin to soften. Reduce the heat if the garlic starts to turn golden. You don’t want to over cook this.
  • Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until no longer pink. Drain well.
  • Return the skillet to the burner and completely stir in the lime juice and hoisin sauce.
  • Add the cabbage to the skillet and cook until crisp tender.
  • Add the peanut butter -if desired- and cilantro (yes, you can omit this, if you’re one of those).
  • Stir until thoroughly combined.
  • Serve immediately as is or over rice or noodles.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Smoked Sausage Potato Cheese Soup Recipe

February 8, 2013 By 8 Comments

*plus an unrelated note from Heather at the end*
Bobbie says:

“So, is it cold enough for ya?” I don’t think I’ve made it through a winter in my entire life without hearing this lamest of questions at least once. I just smile and nod at the crazy person as I move along.  ”Cold enough” implies that one looks forward to frigid temperatures. Anyone who’s spent more than five minutes with me during the winter knows I detest cold and snow, and probably thinks I’m less than sane for living north of the Mason-Dixon line my entire life, despite the weather. I couldn’t really argue with that.

We’ve actually had a rather mild winter in the Gettysburg area so far, but it’s still been cold enough to warrant some hearty, comforting soup to warm the bones as well as the soul. This simple Smoked Sausage Potato Cheese Soup is perfect  for busy, chilly days. Peel a few potatoes, chop a carrot and toss everything in the slow cooker in the morning and let it cook all day, then finish the last step just before supper time. Pair with a tossed salad and maybe some crusty rolls for an easy-peasy winter meal. Simple, yet satisfying.

Cheesy Smoked Sausage Potato Soup - Easy Comfort Food

My potato preference for this is Yukon Gold, but any kind will do. Any fully cooked sausage can be used, and you can also use a different cheese. I think bratwurst with swiss cheese sounds really good, but I haven’t tried it yet.  Reheats nicely, if you’ve got any left over – keep in the fridge and use within a couple days. Freezing not recommended – texture will be affected.

 

Smoked Sausage Potato Cheese Soup Recipe

makes about 4 quarts

1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage
8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
1 1/2 cups peeled carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of dried thyme
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
4 cups chicken or pork stock, preferably homemade

1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Halve the sausage lengthwise, then slice about 1/4 inch thick.

Combine everything except the evaporated milk and cheese in a 6-quart slow cooker.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, or on LOW for 8 to 9 hours.

Remove the bay leaves. Cheesy Smoked Sausage Potato Soup - gently stir in cheese

Stir in evaporated milk.

Sprinkle cheese over top of the soup. Stir gently until the cheese melts into the soup and mixes well throughout.

Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers promptly.

 

 

 

 

 

Bobbie Laughman is a part-time elder caregiver, part-time administrative assistant and part-time dreamer of warm toes. She cooks and writes and bundles up well in the Gettysburg, PA area. Follow Bobbie on Pinterest,  subscribe to her blog or send a message to Bobbie@Home-Ec101.com.  

Heather says:
I’m very grateful that Bobbie sent this over last night. I didn’t want to not post this week, but the kids and I were rear-ended yesterday afternoon. We were all checked out at the ER and other than being extremely sore and cranky, we’re all okay. I want to thank the extremely nice staff at N&D Wireless, a local business, for letting the kids and me wait in their store while everything was sorted out. The ambulances (not for me or the kids and as far as I know, the other people are okay, too) and police took up most of their parking lot for a good hour. They helped entertain my shaken up kids and were just generally kind. They didn’t have to let my wound up kids go nuts in there for as long as they did, but that kindness meant a lot, I was pretty rattled. I’m going to be a complete slacker this weekend and hopefully attack Monday with all of my usual spite and enthusiasm. Have a good weekend and hug -yes, hug- those you love.

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Italian Sausage Skillet

February 1, 2013 By 1 Comment

Heather says:

I’m not the only one getting into this whole back to cooking basics idea. Over on the Home-Ec 101 Facebook Fanpage, Home Eccer Lindsey decided to play around with this week’s Simple Philly Skillet and used what she had on hand -smarty lady!- and shared the results. She shared the a whole album of step-by-step photos and I’ve selected just a couple for this post.

The photo and recipe credit goes to Lindsey Mccollum and I am so very glad she was willing to share with us.  Please say thank you, it’s a little bit intimidating to put yourself out there where anyone can be a critic.
Easy Sausage Skillet

: Easy Italian Skillet

: by Lindsey Mccollum

  • 1 pk sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 med onion
  • 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans chicken broth
  • 1 box mini farfalle pasta
  • 1 pk shredded pizza cheese (mozzarella)
  • 4 oz Velveeta cheese*
  • Mrs Dash -Garlic & Herb
  • Italian seasoning & dried basil**

 Bell Peppers

  • Take casings off of sausage & brown in a skillet, breaking them up as they brown. Drain & hold in bowl.
  • While sausage is browning, thinly slice onion, and bell peppers. Sweat these until soft.
  • Add rotel, chicken broth and pasta to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 minutes until the pasta is tender.
  • Add sausage back to skillet.
  • Stir in cheeses until melted and creamy. Add a little milk of necessary to make a sauce if cheese seems a bit stringy.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Notes from Heather:
*American or provolone will work well as a substitute
**Lindsey had “Dried basil from my garden” since I doubt she wants us tromping through her yard this summer to stock  our own pantries, dried basil from any garden or the grocery store will do.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Lindsey!

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Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

January 30, 2013 By 9 Comments

Heather's avatarHeather says:
I want to introduce everyone to Michelle. Michelle, this is everyone. Do you remember back around New Years when I mentioned that I might be looking to add to the contributors here on Home-Ec101.com? Well, Michelle took me seriously, much to my delight. And as an added bonus she actually sews -something that in all honesty I haven’t even wanted to dive into here. I’m all thumbs when it comes to anything crafty, so that is a huge relief all in itself. Say hi and welcome her to Home-Ec101.

<threatening look> She’s wonderful and I hope she sticks around for a while, so be nice. </threatening look> You can visit her at DreamsUnreal.

retro avatarMichelle says:

Birthday cake, macaroni and cheese, those little cups of pudding, and nuclear war-proof packets of snack cakes: these are only a few of the foods that never fail to conjure up memories of childhood. No matter your age, no matter how mindfully you eat, I bet that there are days you catch a peek at the snack food aisle and consider, if only for a second, grabbing a box of sandwich cookies and making a run for the nearest express checkout (lest anyone judge your partially hydrogenated cravings). Actually, I take that back—I don’t bet, I know. I know because I have been there, my friends. I have felt the shame of craving not food, but food product.

Unlike the stronger of you out there in Internetland, however, I cannot ignore an urge for a specific treat and expect it to just go away. No, I dwell on it—but refuse to actually go out and buy, say, oatmeal cream pies, because chemicals! Plus, they’re really sweet and I’m not even sure if they actually contain oatmeal, cream, or pie. Plus, there’s that whole awkward grocery store scene I mentioned before… So, I do what any good Home Ecaholic would—nay, should!—do: I made ‘em myself!

P.S. Bring these with you next time you go to a party. You may be surprised how many people share our dirty little snacky secret.

 

Oatmeal Cream Pies

 

: Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

: Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food

Notes: Though I don’t normally condone margarine for cookies, it is absolutely necessary to make the cookie turn out bendy rather than crisp. If the frosting is too cream cheese-y for your liking, add—one tablespoon at a time—up to an additional quarter cup of powdered sugar.

  • For the cookie:
  • 2 sticks margarine, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 cups quick cooking (but not instant) oatmeal
  • For the filling:
  • 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons powdered sugar

  • In either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment—or a large bowl and sturdy wooden spoon—cream the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. The dough may look a little bit curdled at this point; this is normal and will resolve itself.
  • Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl.
  • Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients; the dough will be very wet. Stir in the oatmeal, making sure to mix until the dough is well combined and only slightly sticky.
  • Refrigerate the dough for about an hour, or until firm.
  • Preheat the oven to 350. While the oven is heating, scoop the cookie dough into teaspoon sized balls. Place the balls two inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Wet your hands with cold water, then flatten the dough balls with your palms. Return the dough to the refrigerator once your baking sheet is full.
  • Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies’ edges are just beginning to brown.
  • Transfer to cookie racks and repeat the scoop/flatten/bake process described above with the rest of the dough.
  • Once the cookies have cooled, use a hand mixer to whip the softened cream cheese. Mix the powdered sugar into the whipped cream cheese.
  • Spread the cream cheese frosting onto half of the cookies; top with the remaining unfrosted cookies.
  • In either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment—or a large bowl and sturdy wooden spoon—cream the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. The dough may look a little bit curdled at this point; this is normal and will resolve itself.
  • Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl.
  • Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients; the dough will be very wet. Stir in the oatmeal, making sure to mix until the dough is well combined and only slightly sticky.
  • Refrigerate the dough for about an hour, or until firm.
  • Preheat the oven to 350. While the oven is heating, scoop the cookie dough into teaspoon sized balls. Place the balls two inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Wet your hands with cold water, then flatten the dough balls with your palms. Return the dough to the refrigerator once your baking sheet is full.
  • Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies’ edges are just beginning to brown.
  • Transfer to cookie racks and repeat the scoop/flatten/bake process described above with the rest of the dough.
  • Once the cookies have cooled, use a hand mixer to whip the softened cream cheese. Mix the powdered sugar into the whipped cream cheese.
  • Spread the cream cheese frosting onto half of the cookies; top with the remaining unfrosted cookies.
  • Makes 36 oatmeal cream pies.
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Simple Philly Skillet

January 29, 2013 By 5 Comments

Heather says:

This simple Philly skillet is another in my impromptu, unorganized, and johnny-come-lately decision to really dive into cooking basics here on Home-Ec 101.

I try my best to stay out of the center aisles of the grocery store. Yes, there are some pantry basics on some aisles that I must have, but for the most part, if you want to have a healthy diet, stick to the perimeter, that’s where you’ll find largely, fresh ingredients. Shelf-stable items, in general, are the less healthy choice.

Still, there’s that one aisle and we’ve all walked down it. There used to be that this large, cheerful glove with eyeballs large eyeballs that would stare at customers as they figured out what they’d serve for dinner. Over the years the glove has gotten smaller, but the options have grown. I agree on the premise,  everyone needs a handful of meals that come together as quickly as those options, so I thought it might be fun to do a make-it yourself series based on these skillet meals. You see, trademark is a very big thing, so I’m purposely being vague. These skillets in no way represent an actual skillet living or dead any resemblance to a skillet living or dead is purely -ahem- coincidental?

I am not copying their recipes, first of all because I don’t have access to fun things like stabilizers and I’m helping reduce your sodium intake while I’m at it. Additionally, these items are designed to hit the middle of the palate bell curve. If you make it yourself, you can always increase or reduce the spices and have something much more tailored to your own palate. I look at the title and figure out what *I* think it should taste like and get to work.

Last week’s Taco Skillet was the first and this week we’ve got today’s Philly Skillet and guess what? This version does not have cream of something soup, so it’s super easy to make it gluten free, if that fits your family’s dietary needs. Don’t eat beef? No problem, swap in ground turkey, pork, or chicken. HECK, live on the wild side and use seitan if that’s what you prefer. (When substituting out the beef, you’ll probably want to add the optional Worcestershire sauce, which does have some glutamates in it, but you’re in control of how much goes into your food)

Ready? Oh and for what’s it’s worth, this project does not involve photogenic foods, so yay. (Sigh)

Simple Philly Skillet: Simple Philly Skillet

: One dish, Philly skillet, use ground beef, turkey, pork or chicken

  • 1 lb ground beef, turkey, chicken, or pork
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 4 bell peppers, seeded and sliced
  • 1 rounded tsp garlic powder
  • 1 optional tsp salt* only use this if you use homemade beef or chicken stock, otherwise you’ll lose the benefit of reducing your sodium intake
  • 1 optional tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups dried pasta -we used elbows just because.
  • 2 cups beef stock -hot- divided (1/4 cup and 1 & 3/4 cup)
  • 2 cups milk
  • 4 oz provolone cheese**
  • 4 oz American cheese**

    • Brown the ground meat over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Drain off the fat.
    • Add the sliced onions to the pan and 1/4 cup of the beef stock. Use your spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up any bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the onions just start to look translucent -more clear than raw onions, add the garlic powder and optional salt to the pan. Stir.

Add bell peppers

  • Add the bell peppers and beef stock and slowly add the milk, while stirring. Add the pasta and stir often until bubbles appear. Reduce the heat until you have a gentle simmer happening -bubbles coming to the surface but not breaking the surface tension. Any hotter and your sauce will look a little grainy, it’ll work just fine, but it won’t be pretty.
  • Cover. Cook for 10 – 12 minutes until the pasta is done.
  • Add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

 

Add the cheese

  • Serve

 

**use 8oz of any cheese that you’d like, you’ll have better results with provolone and American because they melt well. Anything like cheddar *real* cheddar and it’ll “break” and you’ll get a grainy sauce. It’ll taste good, it just won’t be pretty, not that this is a pretty dish to start with.

**If you choose ground turkey or chicken, you may want to substitute chicken stock for the beef.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Culinary tradition: USA (Traditional)

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Pork Chops, Fried

January 28, 2013 By 4 Comments

Heather says:

Fried pork chops are a quintessential Sunday Dinner and depending on the number of minions you are cooking for, they are fairly low effort. They are less touchy than fried chicken and completely company worthy, especially if it’s the kind of company that will hang out in the kitchen and talk while you burn the rice. Oh wait, that’s just me getting distracted by a 9yo making simple sweet cornbread. Multiple cooks in the kitchen = yay, unfortunately to get there we still have to go through multiple novices in the kitchen which is a wee bit distracting.

It’ll be worth the effort. Eventually.

If you’re cooking for more than 4 people, I highly suggest setting your oven to 200°F and holding the finished pork chops on a paper-towel lined plate. Unless of course you’re making roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts, which I strongly suggest as an accompaniment, then just cover the plate to keep them warm.

I had been planning on making onion gravy, like I serve with country-fried steak, but I realized the kids hate gravy of all kinds -weirdos- and I’m the only one I had to please, so I just sauteed the onions in the same pan I cooked the pork chops and well, I was quite happy. If you want to make onion gravy, by all means, be my guest.

*Novice Tip* The exact cook-time is going to be highly dependent on your stove and your cookware. If you have a gas stove and thin cookware, this recipe is going to be extremely touchy and I don’t recommend trying it without a thermometer.

If you have sturdy cookware it’s going to be a lot less touchy.

Fried Pork Chops

: Fried Pork Chops

: Classic Fried Pork Chops

  • 4 – 8 Bone-in Pork Chops, at least 1/2″ thick but not more than 1″ thick
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 rounded TBSP Garlic Powder
  • 1 rounded TBSP Onion Powder
  • 1/2 TBSP Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • 1/2 TBSP Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 cup – 3/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil *This depends on the size of your skillet. . . as in, use more for a 10″ skillet than for an 8.

 Flour and Seasoning

    • Mix the seasoning with the flour.

Floured Pork Chops

  • Dredge the pork chops in the seasoned flour and set aside.
  • Save any remaining seasoned flour to re-dredge the chops just before frying.
  • Heat the oil to 350F on my electric stove this is just below medium, but it takes quite a while to get there. While you’re waiting for the oil to heat, make a couple of side dishes. Do not turn the burner to high and wait for the oil to smoke and turn it back down. We can get into a discussion about that later. Just be patient.

 

One Chop frying in a small pan

  • Cook two or three chops at a time, depending on the size of your pan and the size of the chops. Do not crowd the pan.
  • These chops were 1″ thick and took between 8 – 10 minutes, about 4 minutes a side. If you use thinner chops, it will be less. If you have thicker chops, I recommend cooking three minutes a side and finishing in a 350F oven, covered, to prevent them from drying out.

 

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Don’t forget it you want to print this recipe, use the Print Friendly button up there on the right and you’ll easily be able to strip out extra text and photos.

Enjoy! (The 9yo called these “Heaven.”)

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