So... here's a recipe that is worth playing around with.
When I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner I looked in my freezer and found a package of ground beef. I did some searching around on the Taste of Home website (another favorite of mine) for some ideas. http://www.tasteofhome.com Why is it when looking to make something with ground beef the only ideas anyone (me and the website) seem to have are tacos, hamburgers, some sort of hotdish/casserole, meatballs, or meatloaf. I was looking for more of an inspiration. However, I did stumble across an Apple Meatloaf recipe that I figured I'd try out. I made it... and there are some adjustments I'd made to the recipe, so I'll post my "adjusted" recipe.. but it's worth a try for the different flavor. I'm not sure if I'm sold on it, but it was good for something different.
Apple Meatloaf
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tsp butter
3/4 c shredded peeled apple
3/4 c bread or cracker crumbs
1 egg
4 tsp ketchup
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
dash of nutmeg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp allspice
1 pound ground beef.
Saute onion in butter until soft. In a separate bowl mix apple, cracker crumbs, ketchup, mustard, egg, and spices. Stir in onion. Crumble in beef. Shape into loaf. Place in a greased bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes
However... I did make one of my favorite side dishes. I love Stove Top stuffing. I don't care what anyone says. I love it. Make a package of Stove Top stuffing according to the directions. Heat up a can of cream corn. When the stuffing is done and the corn has boiled, mix them together. It is awesome.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Pork Chop Failure
I'm not really a big pork person. Living in Germany this is hard thing. Germans eat a lot of pork, and pork is much cheaper than beef. We do have a fair amount of pork in our freezer for this reason. I, reluctantly, took some boneless pork chops out of the freezer last night to make for dinner.
I will confess, I have no idea how to cook a pork chop. Usually my parents would grill them. At the moment we don't have a BBQ, so grilling isn't really an option. I thought of baking them, but I wasn't sure how to do it, what temperature, ect. My internet searching didn't really give me any answers. So I decided to go with a tried and true attempt and fry them the way my grandma would have. I'm not quite sure where I went wrong. I got the egg/flour coating thing down pat. I used cajun seasoning, which is always good. But somehow, I didn't find the pork chops to be appetizing. Nothing was wrong with them... they were cooked all the way and not burned. But... they just weren't very good. Fail.
My husband disagrees with this and claims they taste good. However, he will eat anything, and he ate the pork chops with a load of ketchup.
I will confess, I have no idea how to cook a pork chop. Usually my parents would grill them. At the moment we don't have a BBQ, so grilling isn't really an option. I thought of baking them, but I wasn't sure how to do it, what temperature, ect. My internet searching didn't really give me any answers. So I decided to go with a tried and true attempt and fry them the way my grandma would have. I'm not quite sure where I went wrong. I got the egg/flour coating thing down pat. I used cajun seasoning, which is always good. But somehow, I didn't find the pork chops to be appetizing. Nothing was wrong with them... they were cooked all the way and not burned. But... they just weren't very good. Fail.
My husband disagrees with this and claims they taste good. However, he will eat anything, and he ate the pork chops with a load of ketchup.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Lemon Ricotta Muffins
This is a recipe I have wanted to try for a long time. It is by Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network Favorites cookbook. She calls them biscuits, I call them muffins as they are more muffin-like. They. Are. Amazing.
Lemon Ricotta Muffins
2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sguar
1/2 c unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Tblsp grated lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/3 c sliced almonds
Wisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. In a large bowl beat sugar, butter, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta cheese. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Batter will be thick and fluffy. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Sprinkle tops of muffins with almonds and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (in my crazy oven it was more like 28 minutes). The tops of the muffins will be golden on top.
Lemon Ricotta Muffins
2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sguar
1/2 c unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Tblsp grated lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/3 c sliced almonds
Wisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. In a large bowl beat sugar, butter, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta cheese. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Batter will be thick and fluffy. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Sprinkle tops of muffins with almonds and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (in my crazy oven it was more like 28 minutes). The tops of the muffins will be golden on top.
Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Pasta
One of my greatest influences is Rachael Ray - hence all the Rachael Ray cookbooks. I know she may not be some people's favorite, and you can think what you want about her. I personally love her and love her style of cooking. I read this recipe in her cookbook Yum-O and I wasn't sure if it sounded good or gross. However, I decided to give it a shot. It was a success.
Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Pasta
1 pound penne pasta
2 Tblsp olive oil
3 shallots finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 c chicken stock
1 15 oz can of pumpkin pie mix
1/2 c cream
hot sauce
nutmeg
cinnamon
black pepper
2 tsp sage
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and pasta, cook.
In a large saucepan heat olive oil. Add shallots and garlic to pan and saute for 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and cream. Add pumpkin (RR's recipe calls for pumpkin puree, but all I could find on base was pumpkin pie mix. I also could only find a large can so I used half the can and froze the rest of the pumpkin) and spices (since I had pumpkin pie mix I did add cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was more based on the smell. RR says to use fresh sage leaves, but I only had dried, so I eyeballed it). Add hot sauce to taste (RR's recipe says 1 tsp of hot sauce... I probably added more like 3 Tblsp). Simmer sauce for 5 minutes, longer to thicken. Stir in pasta. Top with parmesan cheese if you want.
My pasta.. and a side of sauteed zucchini with parmesan cheese. I was surprised... the sauce definitely has a sweet pumpkin pie-esk smell to it. I was thinking the sauce may be a gross sweet taste. The sauce is not as sweet as it smells, and the hot sauce gives it a surprising kick which balances out the sweet.
Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Pasta
1 pound penne pasta
2 Tblsp olive oil
3 shallots finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 c chicken stock
1 15 oz can of pumpkin pie mix
1/2 c cream
hot sauce
nutmeg
cinnamon
black pepper
2 tsp sage
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and pasta, cook.
In a large saucepan heat olive oil. Add shallots and garlic to pan and saute for 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and cream. Add pumpkin (RR's recipe calls for pumpkin puree, but all I could find on base was pumpkin pie mix. I also could only find a large can so I used half the can and froze the rest of the pumpkin) and spices (since I had pumpkin pie mix I did add cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was more based on the smell. RR says to use fresh sage leaves, but I only had dried, so I eyeballed it). Add hot sauce to taste (RR's recipe says 1 tsp of hot sauce... I probably added more like 3 Tblsp). Simmer sauce for 5 minutes, longer to thicken. Stir in pasta. Top with parmesan cheese if you want.
The Purpose
I like to cook. I didn't always like to cook. I didn't always have the confidence to cook for others or share something I made. I also wasn't sure how to "create" a recipe... or what to do to change a recipe.
I, like most girls, learned most of what I know about cooking from my mom and grandmother. They were great teachers. But the greatest teacher I have had is simple trial and error.
My plan is to share those with you... both the the success and the failure.
I also want to share the challenges of trying to cook on a small German stove with an oven that displays temperature in Celsius as well as the frustration of trying to find certain items in an overseas military base grocery store.
I, like most girls, learned most of what I know about cooking from my mom and grandmother. They were great teachers. But the greatest teacher I have had is simple trial and error.
My plan is to share those with you... both the the success and the failure.
I also want to share the challenges of trying to cook on a small German stove with an oven that displays temperature in Celsius as well as the frustration of trying to find certain items in an overseas military base grocery store.
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