Cooking Creativity-Struggle Meal edition

 One of the things that I had in mind when I started this was not just another recipe/cooking blog but also showing how a lack of adequate supplies can invent some tasty dishes. Nothing fancy, just whatever food we have is what we get.

Two dishes that were riffs on a theme: pasta, rice, meat, frozen veggies. No potatoes, sauces are low, down to bare bones but have at least chicken breasts left.

This one was...I believe chicken and rice dressed up with sauce of some sort. I forgot to take pictures until I was almost done eating. Oh yes, Crispy Cilantro Lime Chicken (and rice). It was rather tasty and straight from Pinterest. It was a tad too spicy for me but filling and easy to fix.

Ingredients"

3 tablespoons olive oil divided

 ¼ cup lime juice fresh squeezed, juice of 2 limes 

 ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped

1 teaspoon red chili flakes or pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or bone-off
1 pinch salt to taste
1 pinch pepper to taste
1 pinch fresh cilantro leaves to serve 

2 lime slices or wedges, to serve

That is the recipe as written, here are my adjustments:

1/4 lime juice from bottled

3 lg garlic cloves minced

2 bone in skin on chicken thighs

 

The directions say to put the marinade in a shallow dish with the chicken making sure it's covered. I used all the measurements given and there was very little to spread around even for two chicken thighs. Maybe not enough lime juice?  It was rather spicy in my opinion so I would probably pare down the cumin and remove the chili flakes entirely.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

In a medium-sized shallow bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil together with the lime juice, chopped cilantro, chili flakes, garlic, sugar and cumin. Add the chicken thighs to the marinade and toss to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate thighs for 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining one tablespoon of oil in a non stick pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the thighs along with any marinade left over in the bowl, and sear chicken -- skin-side down -- for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crispy (chicken will not be fully cooked).

Transfer to preheated oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through (about 15-20 minutes).

Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and lime slices or wedges.

Serve over steamed rice or cauliflower rice, and drizzle with the pan juices.

 

I do not have a cast iron skillet so I transferred them to a glass baking dish and cooked longer than 20 minutes, more like a half hour because I had to cook the rice. I turned the heat off at 20 minutes and used the thermometer to check the thickest thigh. I used the previous recipe for Savory Rice and this time it was much better. 

So we have rice, some pasta, one last pound of hamburger and plenty of chicken breasts. Once can of Rotel, two cans of crushed tomatoes, one can of diced tomatoes and one can of tomato paste. No fresh onion or bell pepper.

Hamburger Rice meal coming up!

Another off the cuff, cooking by the seat of my pants meal.

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice, rinsed optional

1 cup mixed frozen veggies

1 tbl olive oil

1 lb hamburger

1 tbl Taco Seasoning

1 cup Beef bullion + 3/4 cup water

1 lg clove garlic, crushed

1 tbl dried onion flakes, re-hydrated in same amount of water (or 2 tbl finely diced onion)

1 can Rotel tomatoes 

Short list right?

Instructions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(If using fresh onion) Heat saucepan/dutch oven on medium heat with 1 tbl olive oil until shimmer, cook onion very quickly add in crushed garlic, stir until fragrant. Add hamburger and continue to cook until most of the liquid is cooked away add in Taco Seasoning, stir thoroughly until meat is well coated. Add in Rotel, continue to stir to combine then add in veggies. If using bullion cube, use 1 cup of water, cook in microwave for 3 minutes. Stir in bullion plus the extra water, then add rice. Stir to combine well wait for it to start bubbling good, put lid on and turn heat down to low/simmer for 20 minutes.

Lift lid and check for rice being plump, stir with large spoon and serve. Shredded cheese or sour cream makes an excellent topping.

I forgot to rinse the rice so it stuck together a bit more and wasn't fluffy as I hoped. Stick to your ribs and stomach kind of meal with very few ingredients. 

Will have a full larder and fridge in a few days and more repeats of well known favorites are on the menu plus one or two new ideas that are going to be a hit I'm sure! And maybe...even....lasagna!

 

 

 

Something new- Italian Meatloaf!

100% do again. I found a recipe for 'Parmesan Meatloaf' and followed it roughly...like ya do. I didn't have any Mozzarella cheese and improvised with the Colby Jack.

Italian Meatloaf

1-2 lbs ground beef

1/3 c Italian bread crumbs

2 eggs beat well

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic minced/crushed

1/2 small yellow onion (or 1/3 large) diced fine

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbl Parmesan cheese divided

1 c pasta sauce divided in half

1 tbl Italian salad dressing

1/2 tsp parsley

1/2 c Mozzarella cheese shredded (I substituted Colby/Jack)

 

 Instructions:

Prep loaf pan spray/coat inside with oil

Preheat oven to 350-375

Combine hamburger and all ingredients except sauce and 1 tbl Parmesan

Shape into a loaf and place in loaf pan. Sprinkle the other half of Parmesan cheese on loaf, then spread half the sauce on that. Place on baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes. Take out and cover with shredded cheese, cook for another 15-20 minutes. (Recipe was cut off at the bottom but it said to cook for 1 hour then take out and drain the fat off if necessary but that was all I could make out. Another recipe said to add the cheese toward the end of cooking.)

Warm remaining sauce to serve with meatloaf. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to include the parmesan when mixing the meat which is why I added it on top. I spread a little more sauce over the meat before putting it in the oven. Next time, I will make sure to have some shredded Mozzarella for sure. I used leftover sauce from the chicken (cacciatore) pasta we had the other night and there was one slice of loaf left with just enough sauce to cover it.

 

 There is a single chicken thigh under that fettucine and sauce.

I also remembered that we had some food grade nitrile gloves in the drawer and it made mixing the meat soooo much easier and less messy! I forgot why we bought them in the first place but I believe it was to use when making meatballs. Tadaaa! I am so going to use them more often when I have to mix something with my hands. (I actually used another pair in the garden to mix some soil because that was all I had).

Another excellent meal, we both had seconds.

Tasty Chicken Sandwiches again-Not breaded

 This came about from trying the crispy chicken sandwiches and then seeing ads for restaurants selling 'Grilled Chicken Sandwiches'. Well, I don't have a grill that is handy and thought, oven and stove will be just fine. Messy but fine.

Research: Other than actual grilled chicken most of the recipes were 'copycat' Chick-Fil-A or other places. I tried the first one that had most of the ingredients I had at hand.

Chicken Patty Sandwiches:

2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into thin cutlets (yielded about six sandwich size and some smaller pieces

1/2 c whole milk

1 tbl Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning.

3 tsp dill pickle juice

(The recipe called for basically similar seasonings as what I had in a single mix already so there you go)

Oil for frying.

Sesame seed buns

Lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise or dressing of your choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it. Really simple when you have your own seasoning mix.

Whisk together the milk and seasoning, put chicken pieces in large zip plastic bag, add in the milk mix and seal, squeezing out as much air as possible. Massage thoroughly to get all pieces coated, put on a plate and in the fridge for minimum 30 minutes up to a few hours.

I initially wanted to oven broil them but the broiler hasn't been used in decades I suspect so tried to just bake them. It was not very efficient so I pulled out the large frying pan and cooked them all that way. 

They were delicious sandwiches, really. Can't say if they were better than the crispy ones but both version are now on permanent rotation as long as the chicken is in the freezer. The addition of the pickle juice was an interesting choice and did give the chicken a slightly tart flavor. If I had my druthers, next time I will use just rotisserie spices and something else to marinate them. Other than teriyaki sauce which would be amazing of course. Any other sauces would be just as good, that's the wonderful thing about chicken is it accepts so many different flavor profiles and all of them delicious!

 I also did scratch potato salad using the last two potatoes in the cupboard. I honestly can't post the recipe because I was trying to follow from memory what my mom's recipe was and sadly all I had was a list of ingredients, no amounts. The only vegetable I did not have was celery but I put in celery seed, not the same but it was okay. I could not find any recipe that included radish, egg, celery and cucumber. All the 'old fashioned' and 'grandma's' versions had only celery, egg, mustard and variations. I don't know where my mom got her recipe but it's possibly from her mom when she worked at the lunch counter.

I took pictures of the stove while I was boiling the two potatoes and one egg for the salad. To say that the stove was less than efficient, is an understatement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now this may fall into the category of different materials heat at different rates because glass takes longer to heat than a thin aluminum pan. But we do know the small burner in the front doesn't heat as well as the larger one next to it. We rarely use the back ones, sometimes I use them to keep something warm but honestly, why even have four when you can't fit two pans at the same time? Sorry, that was a long rant. 

So, another do again for this meal absolutely but more tweaking definitely.

Red Beans and Rice with Shrimp and seasoning!

 So basically the same as my standard but using shrimp instead. It worked up a lot faster because I only had to flavor the shrimp. My sweetie shelled them in the morning while I was knitting in the bedroom. So much faster, had to chop onion and bell pepper and crush the garlic.

I have realized though, there is a difference between 'Diced Tomatoes with Jalapeño and Diced Tomatoes with Chilis. I mistakenly had picked out one of the former cans when shopping and thought it was the same as Rotel. Not quite. Definitely spicier but it adds a deeper zing to the dish. I used a DIY 'Cajun' spice recipe for the shrimp, not too heavy, just enough for flavoring. 

Only used 2 cups of water instead of three the box called for and didn't drain the tomatoes so it still turned out almost soupy. Still good, but one of these days I'll hit the right ratio. I added about a 1/2 tsp of chicken bullion powder to the 2 cups of water. 2 large cloves of garlic, half a yellow onion and half a bell pepper chopped and about a teaspoon of lime juice. So simple and delicious. 

In regards to the Cajun spice mix, I had to make my own because I was running to the bottom of my bottle. What I also discovered was, the difference between 'Creole' and 'Cajun' spice mixes.The two Ethnic groups co-exist in the American South and mistakenly are interchanged. It is also a lot like 'curry' spice, there are regional differences just like any other cooking.

I found this Creole spice mix and it is really not that far from the Cajun. It called for 2 2/3 tablespoons which is an odd amount, I have never seen 2/3 tablespoon measure in any recipe. A tablespoon is 3 tsp so 2 tbl and 2 tsp is the equivalent. Why? I simplified the ingredients list and measurements

'Creole Spice Mix' (large amount)

Produce

2 tbsp Garlic powder + 2 tsp

2 tbsp Onion powder + 2 tsp

2 tsp dry/crushed Oregano

2 tsp dry/crushed Thyme

2 tbsp Black pepper

2 tbsp Cayenne pepper (gonna leave this without the additional tsps)

3 tbsp Kosher salt

1/2 cup Paprika

2 tbsp White pepper

Now as you can see it called for... l/2 cup Paprika. So this is a recipe for a very large amount! Until recently I have not had that much paprika in my kitchen. I finally decided to stock up and buy a larger container at the store because I realized I was using a lot more for my spice mixes. I have seen other version include basil as well but the ratios and ingredients are essentially the same.

'Cajun' Spice Mix

2 tbsp Paprika

2 tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp Sea Salt

2 tsp Onion powder

2 tsp Oregano

2 tsp Cayenne

2 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

I am not a fan of large chunks of spices in my food. Nothing more annoying that getting a mouthful of food and there's a bit of oregano leaf or rosemary in your mouth.  So, to that end, you can substitute Chili powder for the pepper flakes just fine. Which I did, I sifted all the spices into a bowl then replaced the chili flakes that were removed with a tsp of chili powder.

There is no pepper at all in the Cajun mix, black or white. Something else I should probably invest in is some white pepper.

So there's the rub..spices...mixes.... the shrimp is now gone, will see what I do next month with shrimp.

 

 

And now for something completely different: 'Teriyaki' Shrimp

 Sort of.

I looked at a lot of recipes and they all used from scratch teriyaki sauce and a lot of ingredients I don't have. So, wielding my bottle of Mandarin Teriyaki Sauce I did my best and made some mistakes.

Unfortunately I had only a half or less bottle of the sauce. I don't know how many or what weight of shrimp I used but it was enough for two people.

'Teriyaki Shrimp and vegetables'

Shelled and cleaned white shrimp (approx. 1 lb or enough for two people)

Panda Express Mandarin Teriyaki Sauce (half a bottle or 1/2 cup)

Broccoli Stir-Fry Starters  (entire bag)

1 tbl Seasoned Salt

1/8 tsp Asian 5 Spice

Green onions chopped (1/2 of 2 or one whole)

2 lg cloves garlic (separately crushed)

2 servings white rice cooked

 Canola oil for cooking (or other neutral oil)

 

Clean and pat dry shrimp then sprinkle a tablespoon of the spices mixed together on the shrimp and use tongs to mix well. Heat oil in pan or wok until shimmering. Add rice to pan and stir quickly, add one portion of the crushed garlic and continue to stir. Pour a few tablespoons of sauce on shrimp, stir to coat then add in the vegetables and the rest of the sauce. If pan cools down, wait for it to warm up again and continue stirring. 

Turn off heat, add in the green onions and combine. Spoon onto rice and enjoy.

 Having written all that down, here is what I would do differently:

Do not use the seasoned salt. The shrimp is already salty that I use so it did not need that. The 5 spice was an interesting flavor combination which I had never used before and it is also something I had never used before. The garlic and onions added a spicy flavor to it which is okay but definitely needed more teriyaki sauce.

I am not that well versed in cooking shrimp different ways so this was an interesting experiment. I still have some frozen shrimp in the freezer and will likely just use it up on some tacos or something.

Another note; use fresh quality shrimp. I am forced due to budget to use frozen shrimp of dubious sources. They are edible and frozen individually but had my budget allowed I would have gone to a market that had fresh shrimp. It is well worth the extra cost. I am glad I didn't pay the big bucks for this though because it was an experiment that could have gone very wrong.

I have soy sauce, brown sugar and a few other spices so technically could make my own sauce but a really good sauce has several things I do not have in my kitchen as yet. I will get more next month for sure because I like the flavor of this brand.  

In the end, it was tasty and edible and quick, which are all good for having a meal. 

Beefy hamburger and noodles redux

 I posted a recipe of my own concoction on January 17 that was Bow Tie and Burger Skillet. This is essentially the same thing but I used a packet of Brown Gravy mix for the base flavor, a can of beef broth instead of a bullion cube, tossed in the last of the dehydrated bell pepper and used up the last of the wide egg noodles

I repeat a lot of meals simply because they are easy and delicious and rarely make them exactly the same each time. When I researched for something that was even vaguely similar I either got hamburger gravy or hamburger helper copycat recipes. The HH recipes always involve using tomato paste and cheese. Nothing that was straight up hamburger and gravy mix with noodles.

 

Another addition: just a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce after the gravy was added in. Here's the changes in order, all the instructions are basically the same as the bow tie skillet dish so I'm not going to repeat the ingredients and instructions completely.

 

Mix the brown gravy mix in a cup of water and whisk thoroughly, add about another 1/4 of water.

Cook onions in a tablespoon of olive oil add in garlic and cook until fragrant

Add in hamburger and cook until no longer pink, sprinkle in salt and pepper and stir well (drain excess fat if needed). Add in the Italian seasoning, stir well and a dash or two of salt and pepper if you want.

Whisk the gravy mix as you pour it into the pan and stir meat and onions until everything is combined, sprinkle a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce, mix again. Pour in half the can of beef broth, stir and let it simmer a minute, add in the rest of the broth and repeat. When it starts bubbling again add in the noodles and stir until they're coated. Put lid on pan and turn down to low and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

 

That's basically it. Another hearty and simple meal. Dress it up if you want, use fresh bell pepper but you have to add that in at the beginning with the onion and garlic. Want it a little tomatoey, use a can of drained diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes or Italian style diced tomatoes.

All very good mix ins and changes up the flavor a bit.  I added some romano/parmesan cheese on mine, that can be mixed in as well.

 

 

 

Kitchen restocked-New recipe is discovered

 End of the month tends to be very thin and sparse for cooking unusual or involved things. We have restocked the kitchen but not to the fullest it could be due to different choices at the stores. Just a note, I shop at Food 4 Less which is a subdivision/western version of Kroger/Safeway. Their dozen eggs are now $7.50, 18 count is $11 and change. This is not due to politics or governments it is due to an outbreak of the H1N1 Bird Flu. It will get better hopefully.

But on to the new recipe!

I was looking for something different to do with the chicken breasts because that was what we had left in the freezer other than a pound of hamburger. I got the inspiration to see what was involved with making a fried chicken sandwich. Well, there were two choices for the majority of pins I saw. Copycat 'Popeye's' or copycat 'Chik-fil-A'. I went with something in between which is just a simple fried chicken sandwich and let me tell you.... it is delicious!

The recipe calls for 3 chicken breasts pounded thin and cut in half. I have two and nothing to pound them thin so I cut them in half crosswise and then sliced them parallel to the cutting board so they were thin enough for a sandwich. This gave me roughly 8 pieces with four being big enough for sandwiches. The first batch were missing key things, namely, lettuce, tomato and pickles. Still missing the pickles but that will have to wait until next time.

"Crispy Chicken Sandwiches"

(from Natasha's Kitchen)

 

Marinade:

 

2 or 3 skinless boneless chicken breasts. sliced into thin cutlets and/or pounded thin for sandwiches

1 1/2 c low fat buttermilk (I only had half and half on hand and only used 1 c

1 tbsp hot sauce (I didn't use this)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1tsp garlic powder

(In place of those four spices I used 2 tbsp of rotisserie seasoning

 

Coating:

1-1 1/2 cups AP flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp onion powder

 

Other: your preferred oil for deep frying, I use Canola. 

Dutch oven or other deep sturdy soup pot. You'll need about an inch depth of oil.

 

What you do with how you want to make sandwiches is up to you. Suggestions include:

 

Mayonnaise

Ranch Dressing

Guacamole

Lettuce

Tomato

Onions (red or yellow)

Dill pickle slices

Sliced cheese

 

We used brioche buns because that was what looked good. Brioche are softer and a bit sweeter than standard hamburger buns. If I did it again I would use some deli style hamburger buns, something with a bit more texture to them.

 

Instructions/assembly:

 

Pound chicken breasts or slice thinly to about 1/2 inch thickness. The more even the better they will cook. Chicken swells when it cooks so the thinner the better. Mix the marinade in a large ziplock bag and drop in chicken pieces, close tight and massage everything so they get thoroughly coated. Place flat on a plate making sure the cutlets are coated well and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or overnight.

In a bowl or dish whisk together the dry coating ingredients. If you are making a smaller batch I suggest only 1 cup of flour and half of the spices but keep the baking powder the same.

Heat oil in pot to 300-325 (I don't have a thermometer for doing that) or it shimmers. When you dribble flour into the oil and it bubbles immediately, it's ready. 

 

 While oil is heating, pull out the chicken one at a time and using tongs or a fork, dangle it in the bag to let it drain a bit then dredge in the flour mixture, patting to coat well. Place on a rack for them to rest and absorb the flour. When they are all dredged and oil is ready, dredge them again, patting to get them coated well and drop no more than two or three (depending on the size of your pot, I could only do two at a time) in the oil. (Apparently they think an inch of oil is just like frying and tells you to flip them over.) I must have had deeper oil) cook for 3-5 minutes or until they are golden brown on one side, flip them over and cook 2-3 minutes or they are a golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a draining rack over paper towels.

 

 (Picture is leftover pieces from the first meal. We had enough pieces to do two sandwiches each for two different meals.)

 

Assembly:

Toast the buns..either in toaster oven or toaster is ideal, I buttered the first ones and then used mayo. Added some guacamole, ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato and onion. Whatever you do, it's going to be delicious! (Definitely recommend a sturdy bun!)

 

We had potato salad to go with it the second night. I placed the leftover chicken on a baking rack and cooked for about fifteen or twenty minutes on 350 to heat them through and get the coating less soggy.

Definitely a do again for us. It's filling, delicious and a wonderful summer recipe that doesn't heat up the kitchen too badly. 

So amazed at how delicious this was I'm going to do that treatment for my chicken fingers next time.  I don't usually have anything other than whole milk in the fridge so it certainly makes a difference in the flavor!

Enjoy!