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thought that everyone knew about Zesty Italian Salad dressing as a maranade
but obviously not....put it over chicken breasts or salmon and refrigerate
for an hour or so before you grill. The flavor is quite good and it's so
easy.
***** What's in Gwen's Crock Pot?
1 LB Ground Turkey (or VERY lean ground beef) Place everything but the chili seasoning in a crock pot
or slow cooker early in the day. Take a break and stir it once in a while
if you get the chance (mostly to break up the meat). About 30 minutes
before serving, add thechili seasoning and stir well. Serves 4 For additional interest try adding onions, mushrooms or canned whole kernel corn. Gwen Bortner One Pan Hamburger Stew 1 lb ground beef Beef and Cheese Enchiladas Ok so this isn't quick and easy but they freeze well. I typed this up for a begging friend so I thought I 'd use it here too. You'll probably have to adjust the ingredient amounts but I can give you the general idea of construction . Brown about 2 pounds of lean hamburger (sometimes I throw in breakfast sausage) and a very large onion or two until the onion is clear and the meat is browned. I also like to add a bit of garlic and used to put in a chopped bell pepper before I married the picky eater I live with now. Drain well, allow to cool a bit, and save the drippings. The sauce is a good big heaping tablespoon or two of flour stirred into about 3 tablespoons of the drippings to make a roux, like you would do for gravy. I use a cast iron Dutch oven for this and make a lot of sauce. Add a large can of tomato sauce (not paste) and two or three cans of water (may be 4). Stir with a whisk until it boils and begins to thicken. Add a couple of tablespoons of good chili powder. Spice Islands is the best I've found recently. Don't use Durkee, it's too bitter. Williams is usually good but hard to find and sometimes inconsistent. You will also need to add salt, at least a tablespoon. Taste this and add more salt or chili powder until it's to your liking. I buy mild cheddar that is really firm to the touch. I can't find the cut off the big wheel that I could buy in Texas, it was called Longhorn Cheddar. Anyway, it will take a couple of pounds. I grate it in the food processor until I have about as much cheese as I have cooked meat. Then I mix the meat and cheese and a couple of cans of chopped olives together in a big bowl. Use corn tortillas and dip them in the hot gravy sauce to soften them so they won't crack when you roll them. I put the dripping tortilla in the baking pan I'm going to use (something like an 11x13x2). Put a generous amount of the meat cheese mixture in and roll the tortilla around the meat. Put the rolled tortilla in the baking dish with the edge of the tortilla down so they don't unroll and just line them up. Keep doing this until you run out of tortillas or meat. Pour the remainder of the sauce over the top and cover it with more grated cheese. Bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes until it smells done and is bubbly and beginning to brown. I don't even set the timer anymore so I'm not even sure the time is right. It has a distinctive smell when it's done. I like to make a big batch and freeze some because it's so fast to pull them out when company comes or when I just don't feel like cooking..
Rub
for grilling meat When
Bob was loading the van to bring me to the Northwest, he protested when
I told him to leave room for my gas grill. Said that he didn't have one
and we wouldn't need it. I insisted. After only a few meals, he decided
that it wasn't such a chore to bring it along after all. When it gave
up, we bought a newer, much bigger one. Below is one of my favorite rubs
for pork. Buy loin that is about 1 1/2 inches thick and be very careful
not to overcook. In a
mortar and pestal grind the following and rub into both sides of meat
before grilling: 2 teaspoons
dried basil 1 teaspoon
thyme 2 teaspoons
rosemary 2 teaspoons
oregano 1 teaspoon
fennel seed 1/2 teaspoon
coriander (cumin) 2 teaspoons
of garlic powder 1 tablespoon
salt 1 teaspoon
black pepper *** Lemon
Juice Marinate I love to make things
that Bob notices are different from the usual fare. This marinate was
originally formulated for beef heart but we’ve used it for steaks and
chicken too. 4 tablespoons of lemon
juice, a finely chopped garlic clove, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce,
chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.
*** In the freezer
section……. *** Roast
Beef For a different taste
that makes your kitchen smell wonderful, pour a beer over the roast along
with a package of onion soup mix. Bake covered as usual. *** King
Ranch Chicken – almost Boil a chicken or
buy one of those already roasted ones from the grocery store. Remove the
bones and skin and shred meat. Mix together: 1 can
cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can Rotel tomatoes,
½c chopped onions, ¼ cup chopped bell peppers, 1 ½ teaspoons of good chili
powder. Grate about ¾ pound
of longhorn cheddar cheese. Put a layer of tortilla
chips (something like Doritos) in a caserole dish. Top with about 1/3
of the shreded chicken, 1/3 of the soup mix, and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat
these layers, ending with cheese. Bake 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve
with a bag salad. This is one of those dishes that gets better as leftovers,
but there’s never any left over. *** Shanghai
Beef Adapted
from one of my favorite cookbooks, Calf Fries to Caviar. I love cookbooks
that give me ideas and remind me of basic dishes I've forgotten Brown
about a pound of cube steak that has been cut into strips in a very large
skillet or dutch oven with a couple of tablespoons of oil. Add some of
those frozen chopped onions and a jalapano chopped into very small pieces.
I freeze washed jalapanos right out of the garden and chop them frozen,
but it's easy to get too much so be careful. Put in a can of sliced water
chestnuts, with the water, a generous swig of soy sauce and about 1 1/2
cups of instant rice. Put a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch in a jar
with about half a can of beef broth. Put the lid on and shake until well
blended. Pour this in with the remainder of the can of broth. Go spin
for a few minutes and ask the next person that walks through the kitchen
to give it a stir. When they tell you that the rice tastes done, stir
in a small bag of frozen peas. I've used green beans too, but they need
a little longer to cook and the peas can be served almost immediately. |
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