Pierogies

We're feeling the pinch these days so we're trying to use up some of the stuff in our freezer. We bought a huge bag of pierogies awhile back and then kind of went off them. I was going to try finding a new recipe but never got around to it, so I went back to the old standby of crispy bacon and slow-cooked onions:


SP said he was tired of broccoli so since we had a whole bag of frozen corn in the freezer (and corn is one of SP's favorite veggies) I decided to doctor some up using fresh thyme and finely chopped scallions. It actually worked out rather well and was quite a tasty meal.

Chicken Riggies

We had chicken, cubanelle peppers and rigatoni on hand so it seemed fortuitous that Rachael Ray was making Chicken Riggies on 30-Minute Meals tonight. I saw her make this recently and immediately thought of it when I saw what we had on hand.


I didn't have roasted red peppers or spicy cherry peppers, but I subbed a sweet red pepper,a jalapeno and some banana peppers and the dish tasted great. The sauce was a little runny but by the time I put the leftovers away the pasta had already absorbed most of the sauce. I loved the crunch of the peppers and onions and the kick from the jalapeno. It's a good dish to have in my repertoire since at this time of year I always have a ton of peppers on hand.

Mock Chile Rellenos

At the farmer's market my coworkers and I go to every week they sell 3 peppers for $1. I've always admired the gorgeous cubanelle peppers but could never think of anything to make with them. Then it came to me - mock chile rellenos made with cubanelles instead of poblanos. This was an experiment that turned out much better then I was expecting.


I roasted the peppers on my stove top until they were blackened all over, then put them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap so the skin would steam off. After they were cool I removed the skin, cut a slit in one side and removed the seeds. I used a combination of Monterery Jack and cheddar cheeses to stuff the peppers and then sealed them with toothpicks:


The batter was made with 2 eggs separated, the whites whipped until they formed stuff peaks and the yolks beaten with 1 tablespoon of flour then mixed together. It puffed slightly as the peppers cooked in some hot canola oil. Once the peppers were golden brown I submerged them in a quick tomato sauce made using canned tomatoes pulsed until chunky and seasoned with oregano, salt, pepper and my secret ingredient, a dash of cinnamon. I wanted to serve this with Mexican rice and refried beans but I didn't plan ahead so I didn't have any on hand. I'll definitely make this recipe again using poblanos for that spicy kick.

Saturday Fry Up

My plan for breakfast on Saturday evolved from scrambled eggs and toast into another fry up:


... when I discovered a few rogue mushrooms and some breakfast sausage in the fridge. I also sliced a tomato and cooked the slices until they started to brown. Another excellent, hearty breakfast to start the weekend.

Pizza Friday

SP was in charge of Pizza Friday tonight and he decided to make bacon and onion pizza:




For the toppings he slow cooked some onions and crisped up some bacon. While we were eating I was thinking it tasted like Spaghetti Amatriciana on a pizza. Quite yummy!

Pasta and Sauce

We needed something easy for dinner tonight so we had pasta and sauce:


SP defrosted some sauce he made last week using a bunch of tomatoes my parents gave us from their co-op box. It tasted fantastic, different from canned tomato sauce but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Maybe less acidic but with a nice kick from some red pepper flakes.

Chicken Fajitas

We enjoyed the last batch of chicken fajitas so much we had them again tonight:




... and they were just as good as last time.

Kung Pao Shrimp

Well, it finally happened. I knew my love affair with Cook's Country would one day come to an end. It just isn't possible for every recipe to be a winner. I just wish it hadn't been a shrimp recipe that let me down. Those things are expensive!

Tonight I made Kung Pao Shrimp:


... and the only thing good about it was the shrimp (and maybe the white rice I served it over). The sauce was bland and while SP and I agreed it needed something, we couldn't put on finger on exactly what that something is.

On a happier note, SP took some pictures of another bunny lounging in our yard today:


Isn't he a cutie? I'll hate to see them go once we put up the wire fencing. I can't have a garden and rabbits - they just don't mix.

Beef Taco Bake

The latest issue of Cook's Country had this recipe for Beef Taco Bake in the quick meals section. As soon as SP saw it he requested that I make it, so we had it for dinner tonight.


I was more than a little skeptical of the recipe but it actually tasted really good. And it was pretty easy to make, although my version took a little longer because I made my own taco seasoning instead of buying a package of the premixed stuff the recipe called for. The assembly is a bit strange, though. As you can kind of see here:


... the bottom of the casserole dish is layered with a mixture of Ro-Tel tomatoes, a can of refried beans, hot sauce and cilantro. The beef mixture is cooked and spooned into the taco shells along with some cheddar cheese. The tacos are then placed in the refried bean mixture, which is supposed to anchor them in the dish while it's baked. The only problem is the recipe doesn't indicate how you're supposed to serve or eat them, so I just spooned them onto the plate and we ate them with a fork and knife. The bottom of the shells disintegrated in the refried bean mixture, but the tops stayed nice and crispy.

Labor Day BBQ

Yesterday we had my parents over for a Labor Day BBQ. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous this weekend (sunny and warm with a cool breeze) so we jumped at the chance to sit outside.


I made that deliciously addictive corn, avocado and tomato salad:


... which was a huge hit. SP picked up some potato salad at the store (it was just OK, I make a much better version):


My burger, looking all pretty with its cheddar cheese, mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato and onion slices:


... and an inside shot (SP cooked the burgers perfectly):


My parents brought dessert:


... which they called everything from Peach Thingamagig to Peach Whatchamacallit (obviously they couldn't remember the name from the recipe). It was sensational, with tons of fresh cut peaches in a light custard (think bread pudding only without the bread) and a crumb topping that was extra sweet. Served with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream it was the perfect summer dessert.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I'm not sure how it happened but we're running dangerously low on staples. As in, we have no bread, only 2 eggs and no breakfast meats (among other, non-breakfast-related things). As we were falling asleep last night I asked SP how he felt about me experimenting with bananas in waffles or pancakes, since we had a few ripe bananas that needed to be used and plenty of pancake mix. He said that sounded good so this morning I made banana-chocolate chip pancakes that were quite delicious:


And just so you don't think everything I make is always fantastic, here's what I initially made:


That's the remnants of the banana waffles I tried to make. I'm not sure what happened, but when I opened the waffle iron the waffles had separated into two layers, one stuck to the top of the iron and the other stuck to the bottom. It smelled so good while it was cooking that I was sad it didn't work out, but it certainly was a funny sight.

Hearty Breakfast

This morning I made us a hearty breakfast:


... of scrambled eggs, sausage and fried potatoes and onions. I went a little crazy with the potatoes after seeing a picture in another food blog of potatoes served with a dollop of sour cream. I cubed the potatoes and cooked them in a little oil with some chopped onion. Once they were cooked through I tossed them with chopped chives and parsley and served mine with a little sour cream. They were absolutely amazing.

Pizza Friday

After a few weeks off we return to Pizza Friday with an excellent rendition:


... using slow-cooked onions and mushrooms (expertly prepared by SP) and pepperoni with a thick tomato sauce and just a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. We both agreed this is one of the best pizzas we've made so far.

Chicken Marsala with Lemon Broccoli

Last night we tried two recipes from the latest issue of Everyday Food, Marsala Chicken with Sage and Cremini Mushrooms and Lemon Broccoli:


We were both wowed by the flavors in these dishes. SP said the marsala sauce was outstanding and I thought it tasted like the dish at my favorite Italian restaurant growing up. Both were really easy to make as well.

Beef Stir Fry

Over the weekend we saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen where they made a Thai Chile Beef recipe that looked sensational. We didn't feel like buying all the necessary ingredients but we still wanted similar flavors, so I decided to wing it and threw this together using ideas from various recipes:


I have to say, I was shocked at how good this was. I've never made a stir fry before so I wasn't expecting to be wowed the first time out of the gate. All the flavors were excellent and it wasn't too salty or too sweet - it was just perfect. A tad on the spicy side, but we like it that way.

The one very important tip we got from ATK was to use blade steak, which has excellent marbling that keeps the meat tender and moist even when it's fully cooked. The only thing you have to remember to do when using blade steak is remove the tough tendon that runs down the center of the meat.

I don't really have a recipe because I just eyeballed everything, but here's what I did: With stir fry you have to prep all the ingredients before cooking so I started by thinly slicing the steak, a green pepper and half a large onion. I also minced a bunch of garlic and grated a 1-inch piece of ginger. My mom gave me a hot pepper from her veggie box so I removed the seeds from half of it and finely minced that as well.

For the steak I made a quick marinade using soy sauce, a little chicken broth (I would have used beef broth if I had it but chicken worked just fine), maybe 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and some rice wine vinegar. I also made the sauce for the stir fry using soy, broth, a pinch of red pepper flakes, two finely minced scallions, brown sugar and more rice wine vinegar.

When it was time to start cooking I patted the meat dry and cooked it in batches in a very hot non-stick skillet. The beef let off some moisture as it cooked so I drained the pan in between batches. Once all the beef was cooked I add the onions and both peppers to the pan and cooked until they were soft. Then I added the ginger and garlic and once that was fragrant I added the sauce. Once that started to thicken a bit I put the beef back in and added some torn basil and a handful of cilantro. As soon as the herbs were wilted the dish was done. I served it over basmati rice.

Pork Chops and Corn Fritters

On Monday SP made the Whiskey River Pork Chops and Corn Fritters we enjoyed earlier this month:


While I hate to admit it, his version was better than mine. The sauce had a better consistency and flavor. I was in charge of the corn fritters. I learned my lesson from last time and let them sit undisturbed in the pan so they could get nice and crispy. The sweet corn I've been getting from the farmer's market has been excellent and I love using it for these fritters.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

My mother-in-law's birthday was yesterday and when we invited her over for dinner to celebrate she asked that I make spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. So that's what I did.




I decided we needed a vegetable other than parsley in the meal so I made a grilled vegetable salad:


... using produce from my parent's vegetable box. I marinated green peppers, eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini in a dressing made with shallots, rosemary, red wine vinegar and olive oil and then grilled them. Once they were cooked I cut them into bite-size pieces and tossed them with the remainder of the dressing.

Fry Up

We wanted a hearty breakfast this morning so I did another English fry up:


... with fried eggs, sausage patties, mushrooms and tomato.

Paninis and Melon

For some reason I'd been thinking about prosciutto and melon all week, so when it came time for my weekly trek to the farmer's market with my coworkers I made sure to pick up a cantaloupe. It was perfectly ripe when SP cut it and I wrapped the half-moons in ultra thin slices of salty prosciutto:


... which we ate as an appetizer before embarking on a panini experiment. We wanted to see which would be a better way to cook them - using a waffle iron or a regular skillet. While the waffle iron heated up I prepped the ingredients: tomato, basil mozzarella and the rest of the prosciutto:


... before assembling the sandwiches on thick slices of crusty bread. The batch made in the waffle iron were crispy and tasted good:


... but the huge crevices didn't really work well for us. The second batch made in a nonstick skillet and weighed down with a foil wrapped brick came out much better:

Fettuccine Alfredo with Sausage

Fettuccine Alfredo with Sausage is one of SP's favorite dishes. He made it tonight using hot Italian sausage:


... which was slightly spicy without being overpowering.

While this was very, very tasty, I'm still searching for a creamier fettuccine alfredo. As our friend D told us over dinner last weekend, "saucy" alfredo isn't authentic but I just don't care. I like a thick, creamy sauce with my alfredo; otherwise I feel like I'm eating plain old pasta with butter and cheese. Yes, I know authentic alfredo is just butter and cheese, but if I'm making the caloric commitment I want sauce, damnit!

So the search continues. If anyone out there in blogland has a creamy, saucy fettuccine alfredo recipe please let me know. Thanks!