5/20/2014 12:28:33 PM

Tonight's dinner:

Grilled lamb chops with lemon, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, and parsley

Grilled zucchini

Homemade tzatziki

A Pimm's cup

5/21/2014 9:14:20 PM

This looks good

http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/chicken-brussels-sprouts-50400000117840/

5/22/2014 12:59:27 PM

I braised my brussels sprouts with butter and creme fraiche. Husband really like them! Yay! We are going to start getting the produce box so I will be back in here looking for more veggie recipes I'm sure.

5/25/2014 8:43:53 PM

Anybody have a good recipe for pesto that doesn't involve pine nuts (as well as other expensive nuts)? We've got a ton of basil in the garden we're trying to get rid of, plan on making a bunch of pesto and freezing it, and trying to avoid the expensive ingredients that go along with it.

5/29/2014 3:15:53 PM

You can probably just sub in roasted almonds (unsalted). Or really, even leave out nuts altogether.

5/29/2014 3:20:37 PM

My internet search has led me to mostly nut-less recipes. I think that's what we'll go for.

5/29/2014 3:23:44 PM

pine nuts are what make it taste good

enjoy your basil garlic mush

5/29/2014 6:19:40 PM

Walnuts aren't that expensive are they

5/29/2014 7:01:59 PM

I've never had fresh pesto before. Only because am I afraid make/try knowing how strong basil is as an herb. Does it taste "basiley"?

5/29/2014 8:54:09 PM

Fresh basil and tomato may be the most delicious thing ever.

It's doesn't overpower meals at all imo.

5/29/2014 9:01:27 PM

Here is my produce box for next week.

Quote :

"Blueberries, Blackberries, Zucchini or Squash, Greenhouse Cucumber, Greenhouse Tomatoes, Red Potatoes, Organic Kale"

And I added on some organic sugar snap peas.

What should I make TWW? We are heading to BJs probably Sunday so I can get the other things I need there.

5/30/2014 3:05:19 PM

Lean beef burgers with portabella buns. Topping includes grilled zucchini, tomatoes, spicy mayo, bbq sauce, jalapeno cheese.

5/30/2014 6:36:18 PM

The wife and I have been trying to reduce our grocery bills a bit and do better about preparing some meals ahead of time.
So to meet that goal we've been buying large cuts of less expensive meats and slow cooking them while I'm home for a good part of the day, then portioning them out and freezing it for lunches and quick dinners.
2 days ago I started with a HUGE (10+ lbs) inside round roast. Cut it in two and made a pot roast in the crock pot with the larger half and a beer braised roast on the stove (picture below). I also roasted about 15 lbs of chicken (skinless breasts and thighs).



Today is the coup de grâce, a 5 lb texas style oven roasted brisket.
I'm also making big batch of gluten free pancakes for my 11 month old so we can start pumping this kid up with carbs.

With any luck I shouldn't have to cook again for weeks.

6/5/2014 4:29:06 PM

Finished the brisket last night around 9:30. It was awesome.


I'm not putting this one in the freezer though. I think I'll have it finished off by tomorrow night.

6/6/2014 1:31:14 PM

there's nothing texas style about a brisket cooked in an oven

6/6/2014 2:27:10 PM

I am very pleased with my produce box but I haven't cooked anything anything yet. Just had an amazing tomato sandwich and a yummy salad. Gonna try making blueberry muffins from scratch in the morning.

6/6/2014 2:32:53 PM

that looks so good. care to post your instructions?

6/6/2014 2:33:50 PM

^ I got the recipe here
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/texas-oven-roasted-beef-brisket-recipe.html

I did make a few changes to the recipe, mostly the temp and time. After that first hour at 350 I lowered the temp to 250 and left it in for 4 hours instead of 3, plus a 20 minute rest on the cutting board when it came out.

I also placed it on a rack in the roasting pan. This was just to raise it slightly off the pan so that when I added the broth, the liquid get fully under the meat. I dumped a can of beer in with the broth as well.

6/6/2014 2:54:34 PM

Favorite chicken breast marinade recipes?

Also, a good wing recipe would be nice. I have had some that were a combo of baked and fried and the outcome was a phenomenal texture.

6/17/2014 11:02:34 AM

6/17/2014 11:04:38 AM

I like that but I'm looking for stuff to put together and not buy bottled.

6/17/2014 11:10:26 AM

what can i do with garlic scapes?

6/17/2014 4:14:23 PM

I marinated bone in chicken breasts in 2% greek yogurt, minced garlic, sharma seasoning, chopped mint ( from garden), salt, and honey.

IT'S GONNA BE FIYA.

6/22/2014 7:56:05 PM

Daughter and I baked peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies yesterday. Used Smuckers Natural instead of Jif or the like. Half brown, half reg raw sugar. Semi sweet chips.

We cooked half on a stoneware sheet, and half on a metal sheet. The metal sheet is going to goodwill or the trash tomorrow. I bought another stoneware sheet today.


I bought some pulled pork the other day, but it was missing a little something. Since I can't easily buy eastern NC sauce down here, I made my own...apple cider vinegar, black pepper, red pepper, sea salt, brown sugar, stone ground mustard, and garlic. I heated it in a pot for a while. Now I have a quart of it in the refrigerator. I'm gonna need more pig.

[Edited on June 25, 2014 at 1:07 AM. Reason : ]

6/25/2014 1:04:36 AM

pho, lemon blueberry babka, papay salad. #IIFYMgonetoofar

8/18/2014 6:53:00 PM

IIFY???

8/18/2014 7:03:09 PM

lol if it fits your macros

but Im really not counting anything, just joking around

8/18/2014 7:07:14 PM

I don't even know what that means....

Counting calories??

8/18/2014 7:29:35 PM

I've been counting calories a bit recently, for the first time in my life. Kicking 30's door down and want to lean up before the weight gets harder to take off. LeBron and Melo are doing it too.

8/18/2014 9:20:47 PM

^ You're married now, why do you care if you get fat?


JB, he makes fun of IIFYM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd8tZiHexPc

8/18/2014 9:27:48 PM

I'm still mingling, bitch. I just wanted this ring, and this the only finger it fit.

8/18/2014 9:34:46 PM

Anyone have expertise in pressure canning?

I make my own chicken stock and forgot to set a timer today. I made 6 quart jars which calls for 25 minutes at 11 PSI but I probably had them in there for 45. I know the danger of under processing, so I thought I'd just start my clock when I realized my mistake. Is there any danger/loss at processing too long?

8/18/2014 10:02:48 PM

fried yuca and plantains today

also made some eggs the other day with gruyere, cheddar, lots of spinach, mushrooms, a shallot. grated/shredded it all in the food processor, then scrambled the mixture.


oh and I made some chocolate frozen custard the other day that was pretty much like Goodberry's, except richer. it was borderline overkill. I think I'm gonna go with a little less cream and a little more half & half this time...not quite 1:1 like I did last time.

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 10:27 PM. Reason : ]

8/18/2014 10:23:15 PM

So I bought a beef shoulder roast by accident...anything I can do with it besides a pot roast?

10/20/2014 11:23:21 PM

Beef Bourguignon is really good. Its similar to a braised meat, but its more like a stew when finished.

Also, I made a Beef Daube from Julia Child before that was one of the best meals I've ever cooked. It called for juniper berries which was really something I'd never had with beef before. Definitely worth it.

Edit: I've kinda burnt out my recommendations on here for cottage pie, but it is one of the best meals to make in bulk. I just finished about 20 mini pies tonight and stuffed my freezer with 18 of them.
I prefer ground beef with it, but you could always cut it up into small stew sized chunks and use that.

[Edited on October 20, 2014 at 11:39 PM. Reason : Cottage pie]

10/20/2014 11:35:42 PM

Beef Carnitas is also a good choice. You can make the whole thing and eat off the leftovers for lunch all week.

10/21/2014 8:04:36 AM

^^what do you use to make the mini-pies? have you posted a recipe in here?

10/21/2014 8:09:28 AM

I bought a butternut squash because it was on sale, and I had planned on using it for butternut mac and cheese. Now I'm too lazy.

What can can I do with this?

10/21/2014 9:51:10 AM

Slice in half. Scoop out seeds. Brush with olive oil aND fill hole with maple syrup. Bake.

10/21/2014 9:53:21 AM

it's a phallic shaped food... so... you know.

10/21/2014 9:53:27 AM

Quote :

" what do you use to make the mini-pies? have you posted a recipe in here?"

Yah I'd like to see that recipe too

10/21/2014 9:55:52 AM

I originally started with the Joy Of Cooking recipe, but by this point I've kinda created my own based on personal preference and some food allergy considerations.

For the potatoes:
I start with 10lbs, last night was 5 lbs of golden and 5 lbs of red.
Peel & quarter them
Put them all in my stock pot, give it a few shakes to get them to all settle in then cover in my homemade chicken stock, it took just a little over half a gallon.

Once they are finished I drain and save the stock, which you'll need later.

I mashed them, adding a half pound of unsalted butter, probably a cup of coconut milk (i'd use regular whole milk or cream but we can't do much dairy in our house).
Season with salt and pepper and a little bit of garlic powder.

For the meat:
Start by dicing up 5 medium-large onions and toss them in a pan with oil/butter over medium heat. I like to get them past translucent to when they start to brown a little. I also toss in 5 minced cloves of garlic once they're about halfway done.
When finishined pull them off and set aside in a bowl.

Next brown 5 lbs of ground beef. I usually split mine between my large cast iron skillet and the crock pot.

Once all the pink is gone. Drain the meat and add it all back into the stock pot.
I add back in about 3 cups of the chicken/tater stock, a cup of flour and the onions. Stir and let it thicken up really well. The stock and the flour should help get the meat into a thick meaty goo, kinda like a thick hamburger helper.

Then (and this is where I cheat some and use frozen veggies) I add a large bag of corn, a large bag of peas, and a medium bag of chopped green beans. I hate to be some unspecific, but you really need to eyeball it to make sure you've got a good mix of veggies and meat.
Also, I can't eat carrots, so thats why we use corn and green beans instead of just peas and carrots.
To be honest you can use whatever mix of veggies you want. Its supposed to be a farm dish, so traditionally it would have been what was in season at the time.

I then season with freshly cut up rosemary, dried oregano (or thyme if you have it) and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for a while (~20-30 minutes) to soften up the veggies and let everything in the pot get to know each other.

Once thats done, get your taters back out and your pie tins. Spoon the tins 1/2-2/3 full of the meat/veggie mix and then spread a layer of mashed potatoes over the top.

At this point I freeze them. When we're ready to eat, just defrost them and then bake them at 400 for ~30 minutes. You can put a little bit of melted butter on top before putting them in to get a nice browning on the top of the potatoes.
Once the potatoes are starting to brown on top you can pull them out and consume.

I grabbed a couple of shots of one of the frozen pies. We use those mini disposable tins from the grocery store, its like 6 in a pack.

10/21/2014 3:35:06 PM

Just cooked a mess of butternut squash!

YUM

10/26/2014 6:56:34 PM

Decided to do gluttony tonight.

quadruple surf'n'turf on the grill

medium rare filet
garlic butter lemon shrimp
garlic lemon pepper chicken thighs
ginger garlic soysauce marinaded salmon

steamed broccoli
roasted tiny multicolor potatos

bad cell phone pic:

10/26/2014 10:54:43 PM

Made coq au vin for the first time tonight. I had never tried it because I assumed it'd be complicated since its french.

It was a pretty simple and straightforward dish, cooked almost exclusively in my dutch oven.

I'd post a pic but its divided out for meals this week and not exactly picture worthy.

Fun fact: I learned the name translates to "Cock in Wine"

11/10/2014 5:32:09 PM

Meatloaf. Also known as another excuse for bacon.

11/17/2014 1:40:18 AM

Potluck tomorrow.


Pumpkin pie.


Chocolate cream pie. I'll make the whipped cream in the morning.

11/21/2014 1:15:07 AM

Bone marrow curry sounds amzing!

11/29/2014 6:38:19 PM

i took these



and introduced them to some 350 degree peanut oil



twas delicious

11/30/2014 7:41:03 PM