Showing posts with label carrots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carrots. Show all posts

Monday, February 15, 2016

Pot Roast and Mashed Potatoes

I love the Pioneer Woman. I had no idea I would be using one of Ree's recipes today, but I had thawed out a piece of beef I had in the freezer and really didn't know what to do with it. At first I thought I was going to do a roast in the crock pot, but I didn't have any potatoes and I'm not a fan of the crock pot for that because my veggies always seem to come out like mush. So after some google recon, I saw a link for the "Perfect Pot Roast" on the Pioneer Woman Cooks and gave it a click. Lo and Behold, her recipe went in the oven and called for only beef, carrots, and onion, all of which I had.

I really do like her site, you could say this blog is an homage to her of sorts, the pictures and step by step walk through of the recipes has helped me out tons of times.

The starting line up:


That piece of meat was half of a 3-4 pound hunk which I cut in half and tossed in the freezer, so it's 2 pounds at most. Here's my ingredients list:
  • 1.5 to 2 lb of beef
  • 1 onion
  • 10 small carrots
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 can beef broth
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp rosemary
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • pepper
  • Preheat oven to 275 deg


Chop your veggies, salt and pepper your beef on all sides, and add the olive oil to your pan. You'll want it hot (med-high) so as to sear the outside of the beef and brown the veggies.



Get to searing.


I'm so dedicated to searing I even got the sides. Once you have everything browned, you'll want to clear the pan for deglazing, so you can get all those burned/browned little bits off the bottom. You need to contribute "maximum effort" if you want maximum flavor.


By the way, go see Deadpool, but don't take the kids. Back to the cooking.


Okay, so at this point I added the chopped garlic to the pan right before deglazing. Ree gave it as an optional ingredient but didn't show where she used it in her walk-through. I feel like in most recipes you brown it first off for about a minute or two before adding everything else, so I tossed it in here and cooked for about 30 seconds before I deglazed with the can of beef broth. Now I'm not a garlic fiend by any means, but I had some on the shelf, so by god I am using it. I like to act like I know what I'm doing.


At this point I tossed in another can's worth of water. I'm not sure if I really needed it but whatever. Re-place your meat and veggies in your pan for a pre-roasting photo op.


Oh yeah, you'll want to add the thyme and rosemary before you cover and toss in the oven. I only used 1/4 tsp each because I didn't know how much Ree used and I didn't want to over-do it.

Now, at this point I had three hours to kill (275 degrees) so I followed Ree's link for the perfect mashed potatoes to go with the roast and I made a quick trip to the store. NOTE. This recipe was a little heavy on the butter and cream cheese for my waistline, so I cut those down to a little bit less than half.

The bench warming reserves:
  • 2.5 lb of russet potatoes
  • 3 Tbsp real butter
  • 3 oz philly cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup half-and-half
  • 1/4 tsp season salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper


Preheat a large pot of water. I had 3 large potatoes for this that I peeled and chopped into 1 to 1.5" inch pieces and tossed them in. Don't worry if it's not boiling yet. Set the timer on the microwave for 30 minutes but start checking for done-ness at 25 minutes. Once done, drain and return to the pot. Move to a new burner and set it on low heat. If you have a potato masher great. I used a fork cuz I'm gangsta.
 

Add in the butter, cream cheese, half-and-half, season salt, and pepper. MIX.


Butter a pan that can go in the oven and transfer the mixed fluffy deliciousness into it. Top with a little bit of butter.


Cover that bad boy with foil and transfer into the over. I put it in when the roast still had about 15 minutes left and cranked the temperature up to 350.


Once I pulled the roast out, I left the potatoes in for another 15 minutes.


Upon checking them, they still didn't look like Rees with a nice golden brown crust, so I moved them up a rack in the oven and turned on the broiler to brown the top of them. After 2 or 3 minutes, that did the trick and I pulled them out.


Time to eat!

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Adventures with (don't laugh)... Mixed Vegetables

Ahh root canals. Not exactly the kinda thing that makes you wanna go cook. But all I could think about was food as I was getting out of the torture chair today. That, and Legos. Anyway.... On to today's topic. I f*cking love vegetables. I have always joked that I'd hate to be a vegetarian, but I could totally do it. Totally. When I get old and I'm not allowed to eat $h*tty food anymore, I'm going to live off of the local salad bar.

So lately I've been thinking of ways to save food instead of throwing out the massive amount that gets wasted since I live by myself....

 *ahem* Don't forget about me.

So as I was saying, I try to cut the recipes I find in half and/or I portion the leftovers out small enough that I can freeze them in single serving zip lock bags (basically the ones that are sandwich size). And last week I had the bright idea to do this with fresh mixed vegetables. I could forgo buying them frozen/canned and have them taste better and be healthier. I love mixed vegetables for the same reason I love supreme pizza. Maximum flavor and variety in every single bite. Now granted, I can't find everything 'fresh' at the moment, but this will be clutch when it comes time for the Farmer's Market.

Just look at them. It's veggie perfection.... How can any five year old turn that down?! (IMG SRC)

Anyway, so I get home from the grocery store and I google "homemade mixed vegetables" thinking I would find tons recipes, like from Rachael Ray or that Pioneer Lady just owning it, and I could just steal the basics from that... Let me tell you, mixed vegetables is NOT a sought after recipe apparently. This was the best I found after 30 seconds of effort: How To Make Mixed Vegetables Taste Good. 'N Stuff.

Not a total loss. In the end it gave me the idea to boil the frozen and dense veggies, and steam the broccoli and cauliflower. But how do you steam vegetables without a steamer, google?


The engineer in me is pissed that i didn't think of that on my own.

That came from here. Follow that link too for a pretty good method for steaming fish that I'm sure I'll forgot about by the next time I cook up some sea bass.

The full cast of deadly characters:

Dial Magnetic body wash optional. I didn't use it but if you like the taste of soap, I won't judge.

This is the closest you're going to get to an ingredients list on this post:
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Peas
  • Green Beans
  • Corn
  • Carrots
  • Lima Beans
  • Cabbage
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Me trying to duplicate those perfect little carrot cubes.

Okay, so a half hour into this I suddenly remember how much I hate chopping vegetables because it takes so damn long. Why am I trying to be healthy again? I think my goal for this blog post should be to nab the top spot in a google search for "mixed vegetables" from Steamfresh, cuz honestly... it doesn't look like they paid for it. That'll show 'em.

If your first thought isn't "I bet the dog would love that" then shame on you

Mixed Vegetables. Mixed Vegetables. Do you hear me google? MIXED. F#CK!NG VEGETABLES. On second thought, maybe this shouldn't be a serious cooking blog... I really should probably just go the parody route.


As you can see I'm basically filling this standard cereal sized bowl up. NOT packing it in like you do at Mongolian BBQ, but you get the idea. I would reckon that I'm tossing in around anywhere from 8 to 12 oz's per Veg. That's what the bowl's for, got to have some balance.


Peas, cuz you need 'em. And corn. Okay, I guess you can go full Mongolian on this step if you really want to, cuz we still need them there Lima Beans.


After seeing how much this pot looked like it was right off of a MIXED VEGETABLES label once it was stirred, and taste testing a spoon full (whilst burning my tongue), I got cold feet on adding the cabbage and just left it out. The broccoli and cauliflower were still steaming away in the next pan over while I let some more liquid evaporate off.

How it's done... your steamer can go F*#@ itself.

Add the last two to the mixing bowl, and BAM. MIXED VEGETABLES. I actually probably under-steamed (is that even a word? Oh well, I put a hyphen) the broccoli and cauliflower, I like my veggies to be a bit al dente as opposed to mush.

Behold

One last photo op that's not even good enough to be food porn...

I'm coming for you, Steamfresh

Aaaand into the freezer we go.


Monday, February 1, 2016

Spaghetti and Meatballs from SimplyRecipes

Ingredients
Sauce
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ chopped sweet yellow onion
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 cup very finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped crimini brown mushrooms
• 2 28-oz cans Italian plum tomatoes (get San Marzano brand if possible)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste concentrate in tube
• ¼ cup grated parmesan-romano cheese blend
• Salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
• ¼ cup red wine

Meatballs
• 1 lb ground beef (at least 16% fat)
• ½ lb fresh bulk Italian style pork sausage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• ½ cup finely chopped crimini brown mushrooms
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated parmesan-romano cheese blend
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Red wine

Spaghetti
• 1 1/2 lbs dry 100% semolina spaghetti, thin spaghetti, or bucatini

Method
1 Prepare the sauce. Heat olive oil in 4-5 quart pot on medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add carrots and mushrooms, blend together for 2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, stir together. Add basil and parsley, stir tomatoes with a potato masher until sauce starts to thicken about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add tomato paste concentrate, stir to blend. Reduce heat and simmer while preparing meat balls, stirring occasionally.

2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix by hand in a large bowl beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbed salt, and pepper until well mixed. Use small melon baller, or teaspoons to form 1-inch round meat balls. Roll and compress into tight balls.

3 Heat frying pan on high heat. Add olive oil. Sear and brown meat balls on all sides. About 2-3 minutes. Depending on pan size you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Do not crowd the pan by stacking the meatballs. Cook in a single layer. Do not over-cook. As meatballs are finishing, add a little bit of red wine to de-glaze pan.

4 Add ¼ cup red wine to the sauce. Then stir in ¼ cup cheese. Add salt to taste. Add meatballs, gently stir. Simmer sauce and meatballs for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5 While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot with 4 quarts of water in it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 1 Tbsp of salt. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot. Leave the pot uncovered while you cook the pasta on high heat with a vigorous boil. Put a timer on for 8-10 minutes, or whatever your pasta package directions say is appropriate for al dente (cooked but still a little firm). Drain.

To serve, place thin layer of sauce on plate, add pasta, add sauce and meatballs, sprinkle with grated parmesan-romano cheese.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spaghetti_and_meatballs/

Crock Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

No Link

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 can corn, drained
1 can green beans, drained
Carrots, diced
Celery, diced
Onion, diced
Potatoes, diced
Salt
Pepper,
1/2 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp dill
1 bay leaf
1 lg can V-8 juice

Mix in crock pot and cook on low 8 hours.