only in texas...

i feel as though i have been slacking in the cooking department and therefore blogging department. i have an excuse. well, three of them.

excuse #1: i had leftover pork and sauerkraut that i couldnt fathom leaving uneaten on monday.

excuse #2: i worked a 16 hour day on tuesday.

excuse #3: on wednesday, i filled my belly with crispy, drippy, crunchy, soggy, golden brown, sticky, heavy, greasy TEXAS STATE FAIR food! so, in lieu of homemade recipes and pictures, i leave you with carni-made concoctions and pictures:



cornydogs are a MUST at this event.





and so is corn on a stick.

More importanly, you must try some of the odd deep fried dishes that the texas state fair boasts:



fried pb & j with bananas. i liked it, he did not.



deep fried margarita (must be 21 or older)

 he liked it...........


i did not.

i will be cooking tonite. swear.

chow!

posole with recipe

i got a recipe for posole from gerri after she shared hers with me last week. if i would have died after tasting the delicious yumminess that was this bowl of posole, i would have died happy.
(slight exaggeration. i'm a newlywed. i don't want to die after eating posole.)

posole can be made green. or red. with chicken. or pork. the details are up to you.
i edited gerri's recipe a little, so will share with you my version. i really only changed amounts of the ingredients.

POSOLE
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
8 cups (two containers) chicken stock. or broth. whichever.
2 cans green chili, chopped or diced
2 cups tomatillo sauce
italian seasoning
bay leaf
1 large and 1 small can white hominy
3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, sliced in half longways.
garnish

in stock pot, sautee onion and garlic with a little olive oil until soft, about 15 minutes, with a little salt and pepper. add the chicken broth, chili, tomatillo sauce, and seasonings, then simmer for about an hour. or an hour and a half. whatever. take the chicken that has been sliced in half, and season it with cumin, salt, and pepper about 15 minutes before adding to the stock. then add the hominy (drained) and the chicken. poach the chicken in the stock for about 25 minutes. or 35 if you forget about it. take the chicken out and shred it with your fingers or with two forks, then add it back to the pot. warm it all up, and serve.
garnish with chopped cabbage. other garnishes are: chopped turnips, avocado, sour cream, or whatever you want. serve with a flour tortilla.

it is sooo good.

haluski

last night, i made one of my comfort foods.
husband and i both took the day off because we weren't feeling great.
sidenote: i'm still feeling ucky, but have a busy day. phooey.
so i made a really easy meal that makes a TON of food. so if there's some days this week that we don't have enough leftovers for lunch the next day, there's plenty of haluski left.

what's haluski?

lemme tell you something-- don't google it. as much as i heart google (seriously. i'd have google's lovechild in a split second), he's wrong about this. there's apparently 47 different ways to make haluski if you ask him.
there's only one way. mom's way.

so, i made my comfort food. it happens to be one of husband's favorites, too-- which is surprising because it's a fairly bland meal and he doesn't like bland as much.

without making you wait any longer, here's the recipe:
cook bowtie pasta. a whole box. or bag. however you buy it.
chop and cook a whole onion.don't brown it. just soften it.
chop (in big pieces) an entire head of cabbage. it's easy. and it's not science.
add the cabbage to the big pot with onions, and some salt and pepper. put the lid on it so it can sort of steam itself.

cook the cabbage down. it gets down to about half this size.
when the cabbage is cooked down (i dunno, 30 minutes?), add the noodles.
also chop up kielbasa. we used turkey kielbasa. i didn't look at the packaging, but it is bound to be a little healthier, right? plus, it tasted just like regular kielbasa.
stir it all together, and that's it~ no sauce or anything. it's a very light meal, considering. plus with my nice nonstick pan, i didn't use but just a sprinkling of oil with the onions. that's it.

last night, we served it with delicious steamed broccoli. i heart steamed broccoli.

a few recipes to be found on this month's menu....

i have decided to post *three* of the recipes from my menu as a starting point. these happen to be three of our favorite dishes as well. enjoy:)

FRENCH DIP (crock pot style)
this recipe is uber tasty, and is even uber tastier the next day. it freezes very well and is still quite tasty thawed- i stick it back in  the crock pot to warm and add a can of beef broth.

4 lb rump roast, chuck roast or sirloin roast. ( i used sirloin)
1 can beef broth or consomme (i used consomme)
1 can french onion soup
...1 12oz can/bottle of beer (the darker the better- nothing lite)
Worchestshire sauce to taste*
Minced Garlic to taste*
Garlic powder*
Onion powder*
Sliced white onion (add 1/2 hour before serving. i sauteed quickly before adding, but not all the way)*
*optional- but i used them this time, and it was tastier!

Method:

Trim excess fat off roast, put in crock pot.
Rub with onion/garlic powder
Pour Worchestshire sauce over
Spoon minced garlic over
Add Beef Consomme/Broth
Add French Onion Soup
Add beer
Add Onions (later- see below)

Cook on LOW for 7 hours.

1/2 hour before serving, slice meat on diagonal then add back to cook in broth for 30 more minutes (this is where i added the onions- next time i will do yellow and red pepper too!)

Butter then broil french bread rolls (or whatever rolls you want) until toasted. I turned off broiler then moved pan to lower rack adding Provalone to melt from the heat in the oven for a few minutes.

Remove meat/onions from broth, use left over broth in bowls for dipping!




GREEK PIZZA ON LAVASH
lavash is a thin bread i use for the crust- so you get more topping, less bread. it crisps up nicely too. this pizza is still quite tasty the next day for luch, although the bread doesnt doesnt have the same integrity as it does fresh out of the oven.




before oven



buy lavash at whole foods (bakery section)- i picked the pizza lavash- is a bit heartier. other kinds would work too i think..would be crispier, but integrity may be compromised with so many/such heavy ingredients.

preheat oven to 450 degrees


prep is the most time consuming:

kalamata olives- sliced
tomato- sliced..but only use meaty part- no slimy seeds
lemon zest- mince about 1 tsp or so of the peel
fresh basil- chopped

*chicken- i grilled 3 breasts in a lemon pepper seasoning and sliced.

*red onion- sliced. sautee in a tablespoon or 2 of extra virgin olive oil and as much minced fresh garlic as youd like, some salt, some pepper..until tender. put contents of pan into a bowl.

*fresh spinach- 8-10 cups: wash, de-stem, strain. after onions, add another tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and more minced garlic to same pan; add a bit more salt/pepper.. sautee spinich leaves until just wilted but still bright green(about 1-2 min). remove and place in strainer to cool. mush all moisture out with your hands.. when drained/cool(ish) toss and coarsely chop spinach with the lemon zest. i mixed spinach and the sliced chicken in a bowl.

*garlic oil- i warmed some olive oil and freshly minced garlic in the same pan and poured in a small bowl to use to brush on crust.

place sheets of lavash on lightly greased/oiled cookie sheet, prebake for 2-3 minutes. brush garlic oil on crust, spread onion over crust, then chicken/spinach, sprinkle olives. Top with feta, mozzarella, basil and tomatoes. I like to put coarsly ground black pepper on top.

bake for 8 minutes (or until edges are golden brown) top with a bit of shredded parmesan.

 
 

after oven. yummo!

(CP)PORK AND SAUERKRAUT (over mashed potatoes)
this is my ALL TIME FAVORITE meal. ever. ever ever ever. like, ever. if you have or are an anti sauerkrauter (shame on you), my grandma taught me a couple of tricks to take the edge off of the kraut for the babies. i personally eat the stuff straight out of the jar. with my fingers. what, you didn't know Little was german?! psssht. das ist niche gud. stay tuned, i can count to 10 in four languages.

you'll need:

1 or 2 large jars of sauerkraut (i will let you guess how many i use)
boneless pork roast 2-4 lbs (i use 3.5lbs or so)
3-4 green apples
brown sugar
applesauce!!!! (SO important)

method: (no exact measurments here- to taste, i suppose)

set the roast in the pot

sprinkle some brown sugar over the roast

pour half of the sauerkraut in the crockpot, over the meat

sprinkle brown sugar over kraut (as generously or as little as you like)

slice apples

arrange half of the slices around the perimeter of food

pour the rest of the sauerkraut over, repeat last 2 steps.

cover and cook on high 4-6 hours, low 10 hours. (i do high for 6 hours, then let sit on low til im ready to eat)




you can see the apples and brown sugar over the final kraut layer- i have a kraut baby here, so i used WAY more than i usually would have.

warning: the aroma of this dish causes uncontrollable drooling and stomach growling. for some its because the aroma is to die for. for others its because the aroma makes them nauseous (wuss). please don't judge the best meal of your life by it's smell. (there is NO bias here at all. none.)


the pork should fall apart easily if it is done thoroughly. i dish this wonderfulness over mashed potatoes (homemade russets for me) and combine with applesauce (SO important).

youre welcome in advance for making your life complete. and, if i didn't- you clearly did something wrong. :)

chow!

grocery-- what?

i went grocery shopping today.
woke up at 7 am (but that's another story... for my other blog), got ready at 8, left the house by 10 til 9.

to

go

to

ALDI

(insert singing angels here)

i heart aldi. but if you haven't been before, you must prepare. bring your own bags. bring a quarter for a cart (you get the quarter back when you return your cart). don't expect to see brand-name groceries. expect to save money. my grocery budget for the month is $350. after a trip to aldi, i'd spent $116.

i'd also purchased 85% of my food for the month.

what??

seriously.

after that, we went to walmart to finish the shopping, and spent an additional $43 on food. so, for about $160, i'm almost done with my grocery shopping for the month.
remember my calendar from last time? i bought something for most every day. which means i have:

and that's not all of it!

• two large beef briskets
• 9 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 24 assorted chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs)
• kielbasa
• pepperoni
• 6 lbs ground turkey
• 6 pork chops
• 4 filet of tilapia
• whole roasting chicken
• plus all the cheese, sides, and veggies (except for fresh veggies for the second half of the month)

so i'll go out again. i still need fresh pizza crusts, and carrots, and another onion... but for the amount i have left to buy, i could spend an additional $20 for the rest of the month.

Drumroll please..............

i did it. i pulled an erin. following is my dinner menu de octobre.

(my printer therefore my scanner decided to malfunc, so you get a screenshot. kinda ghetto, i know. I will repost after fixing, promise. you may have to click on the image, then zoom for noowwww.)

DISCLAIMER: i reserve the right to switch, swap, omit, repeat, negate or ruin any of the listed meals.

i try to incorporate different meat/protein every day. i also try to include a veggie- but this depends on the produce selection at grocery time. or if i get to the farmers market.

i have decided to stick to my weekly grocery shopping for now (to be posted later). Babysteps. also, as i mentioned before- i haven't mastered the art of freezing....yet. most of my leftovers feed two lunches the next day. but, i'm willing to switch it up. not freezing makes for what seems like A LOT of work for dinner. but my meals are always fresh. i can only pull this off because i am unmarried and without child. i consider this my hobby- so if it's a super fancy meal, it consumes dinnertime AND hobby time.

most of these meals seem not super easy and time consuming. 85% of them aren't that bad. i pinky swear. as you can see, i plan on some grilling through the month, but am integrating the crockpot back in. both of which are hardly time consuming and easy clean up, which leads me to my next point:

i leave the clean up for he who gets such fancy meals during the week (you know who you are). if you are going to be making such tasty meals, i recommend you do the same. it's proven to be an excellent agreement, especially since the aforementioned 'he' doesn't really cook, unless you count brats, burgers and grilled chicken. in that order, every week.....yeah, no. but he is a really great cleaner-upper. especially since i am *THEE* messiest human on the face of the planet.

cheers.

oh, oh! OR as my friend jessica says:

chow. (perfect)

october's meal plan

i warned you that i'm the planner. you had no idea what you were getting into, did you?

 

here's my meal plan. for an ENTIRE MONTH (insert scary music here).

it was actually pretty easy. fo' shizz. i just made a list of meals that came to my head, and then plugged them into the calendar. and because i'm the planner, i even list what needs to be done to prep for the following day's meal. see, it's not just for my benefit this way. it's so that husband can prep for me. i'll post this on the fridge-- which means HE can prep for the following day. heck, if i'm busy with school or my second job, he can even cook dinner that night.

(the horror)

but seriously, he's a good cook. i admit, i plan my "easiest" meals on tuesdays and thursdays, but it's because i want to cook the fun stuff myself :-)