The Cookbook

[George K]

@Mik that looks doable. I think I'd cut the beef into smaller pieces, but that's just me.

What would be a good substitute for cornmeal? I don't want to buy a bunch and never use it again.

[Mik]

I used masa flour, which is a corn flour. that's what I always use in chili. These might give you some ideas, although I wonder if you have them.

https://bakeitwithlove.com/cornmeal-substitute/

[Mik]

I had to add some more beef, so I got out a pound of hamburger patties. I think the extra fat will be good too. Per your comment, I went through with kitchen shears and cut all the pieces in half or quarters. It's tasting pretty good at 6 hours simmering.

[Mik]

Highly recommend this recipe. Delicious. MFR put cheese and sour cream in it (ugh). I added fresh jalapeños.

[George K]

@Mik did you seed the chilies and jalapeños?

And did you really simmer it for that long?

[Mik]

Longer, 7 hours, but only because of the ~~shoe leather ~~ flank steak.

I used ground chiles, so no seeding. I did not sees the fresh jalapeños, but I added them to my bowl at serving.

I would guess I used 2t ground ancho, 2 t ground chipotle, 2 T smoked paprika and 1T Chile powder. You could use more, but start small. The cumin, etc, I just followed the recipe.

[Mik]

Beef Stroganoff with ground beef. It turned out great. Even MFR who seldom says anything more than “it’s ok.” Said it was really good and had seconds. Our guest took some home for tomorrow.

The recipe is:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16433/stroganoff/

I added a little Worcestershire sauce, 2 cloves of garlic and more smoked paprika than it called for. It was a big hit. Do use egg noodles, not pasta.

[Mik]

OK, I'm going all Minnesooota tonight with....

HOTDISH! Will update. It's essentially ground meat and onions topped with mushroom soup mix, then cheese, then tater tots.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-hotdish/

[Mik]

[George K]

Looks good. Did you use golden mushroom....

[Mik]

No, all I had was cream of. Don’t think it would have mattered much. Came out kind of soupy and uninteresting.

[George K]

@Mik thanks for the heads-up. I'll pass.

Mrs. George is not a fan of cheesy stuff, so this is a non-starter for us. FFS, she won't even eat a freaking cheeseburger. I'm shocked we're still married.

[Mik]

It wasn’t bad, just kind of dull. Maybe it needed some flour.

[George K]

Smothered Pork Chops

6 boneless thick cut loin pork chops
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon adobo
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbs butter
4 cups potatoes, sliced very thin (mandoline is recommended)
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup

Take your pork chops and season them with salt, pepper & all other seasoning until evenly coated. (you can mix all seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl prior to coating chops) , set aside.

Butter a 2-quart baking dish

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat & melt 2 tbs of the butter in the pan, add in your minced garlic, then add in your seasoned pork chops.

Cook them until browned on both sides, remove and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tbs butter to the skillet and add the chopped onion, cook until soft.

Add the condensed soup to the cooked onions and gradually stir in the milk, set aside.

Slice potatoes and place in an even layer in the prepared baking dish.

Place cooked pork chops on top of potatoes, then pour soup mixture over the chops.

Make sure everything is even in the baking dish.

Cover and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

Remove the cover and bake for an additional 40 minutes.

Sprinkle lightly with parsley if desired.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I only made two chops and ended up wasting most of the seasonings.

The pork chops were WAY overcooked.

See where it says "add milk?" Yeah, it's not in the ingredients, so I just threw in some milk.

Yeah, golden mushroom, of course.

Potatoes were OK, but had a bit of a boiled texture to them.

The liquid turned out kind of watery.

Won't do again.

[Jolly]

@Mik said in The Cookbook:

Anybody like cole slaw? This is an excellent easy dressing recipe. Takes like two minutes and the lemon juice makes it really fresh. I used cider vinegar.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240784/easy-coleslaw-dressing/

Can't have fried catfish without coleslaw...

[Mik]

This was good tonight. I had a bag of small sea scallops in the freezer that looked a bit the worse for wear, so I defrosted them. They were fine. I added the scallop water to the pasta after it was cooked and drained. Very tasty.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/216757/savory-sea-scallops-and-angel-hair-pasta/

[Mik]

Making pork chops in golden mushroom soup tonight. Just pork chops, soup, 1 c water, garlic and Italian seasoning. Threw in just a touch of liquid smoke for interest.

MFR is delighted. Are all redheads like this?

[Mik]

Oops. Too much water. Oh well. Flavor is really good.

[Mik]

It's a gray, chilly day, so a big pot of Midwestern chili is in order. I chopped up rib steak instead of ground beef and used much more spices than this recipe called for, but it uses a quart of tomato juice, which is how my mom and MFR's used to make chili. I usually make more of a Texas style, no beans, and she's been requesting this.

Pretty basic, and I only marginally followed it, but it tastes pretty good. Might put some cooked pasta in it later since her mom made it that way.

Serve it with some hard rolls and butter, a big cold glass of milk. A favorite dinner.

https://www.restlesschipotle.com/midwestern-style-chili/

[Mik]

We had this Sunday morning. Easy, impressive and delicious.

https://breakfastwithnick.com/2016/01/14/best-dutch-baby-pancake-recipe/