Tuesday, January 31, 2012

MOM?!? What's for Dinner, I am STARVING!

If you haven't heard that before, you don't have kids at home.  If you have a husband or significant other,  it's "Hon?!? What's for dinner, I am STARVING!"

Believe it or not, this is what we are having for dinner tonight.

Bunless turkey burgers,
Stuffing
Corn on the cob
and  Pumpkin pie if there is any left.

One of our local stores had ground turkey on sale.  it was under 2 dollars a pound sold in one pound chubs,  You bet your last dollar I got 20 of them.  Cheaper than ground beef and my kids can't tell the difference.

Bunless?   Yep as in No bun!   There are carbs in the corn, and stuffing, why add more?

  because you come from a carb loving family and yes we are carnivores!

I heard that.  Now is the time to change to lower carbs.

For 2 pounds of ground turkey, I am mixing in

1/4 c of dehydrated onion
2T of granulated garlic
2t of salt
couple shakes of pepper
an egg ( just to bind it)

mix that well and shape into 8 patties.   Since there isn't much fat in the ground turkey, I broil the patties in the oven.  If I pan fry, the stick and fall apart.

The Stuffing

one bag of Pepperidge Farms Stuffing,  I am doing Herb seasoned.

I sautee one med onion and 2 cups of celery in 1/4 cup of butter then I add the dry stuffing mix, and moisten it with chicken stock.

The Corn on the cob is Self explainitory.

Now I am off to help make a dress,  Cut a head of hair and find more costumes for "Into the Woods"   March 23 at Wilson Middle school!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Orange Roughy

Yeah, it's an ugly fish. There for proving my theory that if it's cute, Don't eat it.  It will taste bad.  Really.  The uglier the meat, the better tasting it is.

What the butcher was passing as Orange Roughy wasn't true Roughy. It was an Asian cousin.  Roughy is a bit overfished and it takes a long time for it reproduce. It has a long life and doesn't reproduce until much later.

The fish I got was Sahi. It's a substitute for the Roughy.  it was mild, white fish. It had a sweet taste to it.

How I cooked it the other night was I dredged the fillets in flour, then egg white that was beaten until foamy and seasoned with a pinch or two of salt, some dried dill and a couple of dashes of lemon juice. and then I covered the egg layer in bread crumbs.

I did a pound and half of fish with 2 cups of flour, 4 eggs whites, pinch or two of salt, a pinch or two of dried dill and a couple of splashes of Lemon Juice and 2 cups of bread crumbs.

I baked it at 350* for  15 minutes and I served it with Couscous and steamed carrots.

How do you make Couscous?   I boil 1 1/2c of chicken stock with about a 1T of butter, I add 1T of granulated garlic, dehydrated minced onion, and  1t of pepper.  Remove from heat and add 1 cup of couscous. Cover and let steam for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

I got a Rice cooker/steamer for Christmas and I use it at least 3 times a week to steam or cook anything and everything in it.

To pan steam carrots, I take a pound of carrots and peel them, cut them into 2-3 inch long sticks,  and steam them, to Pan steam,  add 1/2 a cup of water and 1/8t of salt, bring to a boil and add the carrots. let it come to a boil again and cover the pan and let cook,  it takes about 10 minutes depending on how big your carrots are.

I have some other projects in the fire. TTYL

Monday, January 2, 2012

Ham and Bean Soup

Finally, winter has come to Iowa. There is no snow but the wind is blowing off some unseen glacier and if you don't have a good insulated coat, you will freeze.  Just ask the 300 or so people at last night Romney Rally. I was there and I dragged my 16 year old daughter out to it too. I think the significance is lost on her mind right now.

Anyhow...

Ham and bean soup. YUM when it's cold outside.

8 cups of cold water
1 pound of great northern or Navy beans (You would think that Navy beans would be well, Navy instead of white. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?)

Either soak over night or since you are like me, you didn't think about doing this until noon and you want the soup for dinner so quick soak them.  Add the beans to the pot after you  sort them, (Just check for abnormality and rocks) and add the water. Bring to a rolling boil, cover and take off the heat for about an hour or so.  Drain and rinse well.  I even wash the pan but that is me. I have this logical fear of Botulism.

Put the beans back into the pot with 8 more cups of water  left over ham bone, 
2 carrots, peeled and sliced,
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 small onion diced
a bay leaf or two
2 t of dry mustard or more to taste.
  Let it simmer for about and hour and half to 2 hours or until beans are tender.

I am going to serve this with corn muffins.

Edit: I just googled why Navy beans are white,  They are called Navy beans because they were a staple for the US Navy during the wars.  That makes sense to me.