The Cookbook

[George K]

@brenda that's not my photo, but it came close to looking like that!

[xenon]

Anyone maintain sourdough starter?

I'm on day 3 of starting a new culture (just flour and water). The thing has already risen and bubbled - but it smells like baby vomit as of a few hours ago.

Some folks say this is normal and keep at it, other recommend starting over.

Thoughts?

[George K]

It's spring, so perhaps not a time for "comfort food."

But, what the hell....

Tonight's dinner: Slow Cooker Stroganoff.

Ingredients:

1 lb cubed beef stew meat
2 can golden mushroom soup
½ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
¼ cup water
boullion cube
½ packet onion soup mix
sautéed mushrooms
4 oz cream cheese

Directions:

1. In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.

2. Cook on Low setting for 5-6 hours, or on High setting for about 4 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

3. Add a "dollup" of sour cream when you add the cream cheese to get an extra "tang",

4. Add sauteed mushrooms about 1/2 an hour before serving.

5. Serve over cooked wide butter noodles.

Note: I sautéed the beef in butter(!) before putting it into the cooker. Yeah, it's pretty damn good!

[xenon]

How do you control the salt in that?

I've cooked with mushroom soup and soup mix. I love the flavor - but for me it's over-seasoned.

Ratchet up the amount of beef maybe?

[George K]

@xenon no question, it's salty. But with the proper dose of antihypertensive meds, it's not a concern.

[George K]

A Skyline knock-off. I'm making it now.

Instant Pot Cincinnati Chili

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. canola oil
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion diced fine
3 cloves of garlic minced
6 ounces of tomato paste
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups of beef stock
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Turn your Instant Pot to saute. Once it reads HOT, add oil and then ground beef and onion. Cook beef until browned, and use a potato mashed or wooden spoon to break the meat up into very fine pieces. Once brown add garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Turn the saute function off. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Put lid on the Instant Pot and turn to Manual or High Pressure and set timer to 25 minutes. Let cook and when the timer beeps, let the pressure out with a quick release.
Serve over spaghetti and top with desired toppings. I recommend onions and cheddar cheese.

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

I'm going to cook some spaghetti and freeze that and the spaghetti together. Report to come later today.

[George K]

Well, it sure looks like Skyline. I had to thicken it up a bit with some cornstarch slurry.

The taste is just a bit "off." I added a little extra salt and pepper. Seems to help a bit.

[Mik]

Oh that looks so good. Haven't had Cincy chili for a couple months.

[George K]

@Mik it has a bit of a "chalky" taste. I wonder if it's the cornstarch.

Anyhow, I cooked some spaghetti, broken into smaller pieces and put it into ziploc containers. One will go in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch, and the other three into the freezer.

[Mik]

@George-K Got shredded cheddar?

[George K]

@Mik said in The Cookbook:

@George-K Got shredded cheddar?

Sure do. I'll put that on when I warm it up. Maybe chop up a little onion too.

[George K]

Tonight's dinner: LEMON GARLIC PARMESAN SHRIMP PASTA

I'm not a fan of shrimp, so I used some cut-up boneless skinless chicken breasts as a substitute. Also, Mrs. George didn't like the crushed red pepper last time I made it, so I omitted it today:

Ingredients

8 ounces Linguine Pasta
2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 Tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/4 pound large shrimp
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons parsley chopped
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

In a large pot cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Using the same pan, heat olive oil and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant.

Add the shrimp and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the shrimp start to turn pink. Add italian seasoning and spinach and cook until wilted.

Add the pasta back to the pot with the remaining butter, parmesan, and parsley. Still until mixed and butter is melted.

Add the lemon juice before serving and serve while hot.

[Mik]

I had a heaping helping of red beans and rice with andouille at lunch, so all I had tonight was a little green salad with EVOO and lemon.

That looks swell.

[George K]

Hey, Mik!

What do you think - is this worth an experiment?

https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Cincinnati-Chili-Mix-Packets/dp/B000B6O4LO/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=skyline+chili&qid=1588857313&sr=8-5

[George K]

Tonight's Dinner: Chicken

Ingredients:

8 boneless chicken breasts
1⁄2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley, dried
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic salt
1⁄2 teaspoon sweet basil
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine all spices. (all ingredients except first two-chicken and butter.).
Arrange chicken in shallow baking dish.
Melt butter and pour over chicken.
Turn chicken pieces over so both sides are coated with butter. (I use a tongs for this.).
Sprinkle chicken with about 1/4 of the spices.
Every 10-15 minutes, sprinkle another 1/4 of the spices on the chicken pieces.
Bake at 375 for 55 minutes.

+++++++

I only used 2 chicken breasts, but being the adventurous sort, I used the spices and herbs as in the recipe, in other words, 4 times the amount.

Came out damn good, and Mrs. George approves (that's the most important thing).

[Mik]

@George-K said in The Cookbook:

Hey, Mik!

What do you think - is this worth an experiment?

https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Cincinnati-Chili-Mix-Packets/dp/B000B6O4LO/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=skyline+chili&qid=1588857313&sr=8-5

Absolutely. My suspicion is that stuff is Skyline under a different label. It’s fine.

[George K]

@Mik said in The Cookbook:

Absolutely. My suspicion is that stuff is Skyline under a different label. It’s fine.

I just ordered a four (or was it six?) pack of genuine Skyline chili in cans. Should be here on Thursday.

My plan is to split each can in half, add cooked spaghetti and freeze for my lunches. This will be a lot, a lot, easier than making it in my slow cooker/instant pot. With 6 cans, I should get 12 lunches out of it.

Lazy, I am.

[Mik]

Yeah, it’s really not worth making it from scratch when you can get the packets and cans.

[George K]

Tonight's Dinner: Juicy Milk Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce.

Yum! This was good!

https://bestrecipebox.com/milk-braised-pork-chops-with-mustard-sauce/

2 pounds pork chops , bone-in or boneless
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
kosher salt or sea salt , to taste
fresh ground black pepper , to taste
2 Tablespoons butter divided
4 cloves garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or fresh thyme
1/4 cup dijon mustard
zest of 1 lemon
additional fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste

Optional For Thicker Sauce:

Additional 1-2 Tablespoons butter , to thicken sauce
1-2 Tablespoons flour , to thicken sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Season both sides of pork chops with ground cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.

Heat large oven-proof skillet on medium-high heat and then melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Sear both sides of the pork chops until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove pork chops from pan and set aside.

In same skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bay leaf, milk, thyme, dijon mustard, and lemon zest. Stir and reduce heat to bring liquid to a low simmer. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add pork chops back into the skillet and cover with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake the pork chops for about 15-30 minutes or until fully cooked and to your desired tenderness. (Different thickness of pork chops will change cooking times).

Serve the pork chops with the milk-mustard sauce. Add thyme garnish as an option.

(optional) For a thicker sauce (gravy), remove the pork chops from the pan. Heat up the pan of milk sauce again to a low simmer. Whisk in a tablespoon or two butter and flour until all flour clumps are removed. Sauce will get thicker as it cooks. Once gravy is thick and creamy, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Link to video

[Mik]

Yum. Chops looks fantastic.

We had bunless bacon cheeseburgers and Golden Lamb Signature Salad (greens, smoked cheddar, granny smith apple matchsticks, candied pecans and their fantastic balsamic dressing).

Waiting for biscuits to cool now for strawberry shortcake.

Smoking a brisket tomorrow for Father's Day (hey! why am I doing the work?)