The What's for Dinner Thread - August 2014 (recipe index in OP)

[kimmar067]

Tonight we're having individual sized chicken pot pies. I'm a sucker for ramekins and little casserole dishes.

....they are PERFECT for mini mac'n'cheese!

 

[kimmar067]

Kimmar - I wish I was that lucky too....

....right?

 

[kimmar067]

.....I can't even fathom how cool it would be to just 'hop on over' to a Disney park, on the spur-of-the-moment....

 

[franandaj]

.....I can't even fathom how cool it would be to just 'hop on over' to a Disney park, on the spur-of-the-moment....

That's funny cause I'm not sure how I could live without having that ability! It's one of the many reasons that I will never consider moving from Southern California. That and the lack of snow!

Today is supposed to be a bad day with a high of 65 and rain.

 

[franandaj]

So here’s my attempt at a Pioneer Woman style meal. It's a recipe that I have been cooking for years, but I think it's kinda in the style. Here’s my starting ingredients





Ingredients

2 tbl Salad Oil
1 3-5 pound bone in roast (beef or pork)
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic minced
8-oz canned tomato sauce
6-oz canned tomato paste
2/3 cup packed light brown splenda
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 tbl Worchestershire
2 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp pepper
2 bay leaves

In an 8-quart Dutch oven over medium high heat, in hot salad oil, cook meat until well browned on all sides. Remove to meat platter.



Meanwhile slice onions and chop garlic finely.



In same Dutch oven over medium heat, in drippings, cook onions and garlic until lightly browned, about minutes, stirring occasionally.



Spoon off excess drippings from Dutch oven, leaving about 3 tbl of oil. Stir in tomato sauce and remaining ingredients. Return meat to Dutch oven. Over high heat, bring to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2-3 hours or until meat is fork tender, turning meat once.





Remove bones (from which the meat should be falling off) and place meat on platter. Discard bay leaves, skim fat from liquid and spoon into gravy boat. Well I just took our portions out of this and discarded the bones.



I forgot to take pictures until I had eaten half my meal. Sorry! But you get the idea!

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a great looking meal, Alison. Do you have a name for that recipe??

 

[PrincessInOz]

Pioneer Woman Dinner: Beef Fajitas



This month's weekend cook-off is taken from the Pioneer Woman collection. I found this in her beef recipe section and figured it would be perfect for my family dinner.

My starting ingredients:

• Beef Steak; 300 g
• Olive Oil; 1/2 cup
• Worcestershire Sauce; 3 Tablespoons
• Lime Juice, Fresh Squeezed; I used 2
• Minced Garlic; 1 teaspoon
• Cumin; 1 Tablespoon
• Chili Powder; 1 Tablespoon
• Red Pepper Flakes; 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt; 1 teaspoon
• Black Pepper; 1/2 teaspoon
• Onions; 2, Halved And Sliced
• Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
• Orange Bell Pepper, Sliced
• Green Bell Pepper, Sliced
• Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced
• Oil, For Frying

For the condiments:

• Cheese; grated
• Salsa
• Cilantro Leaves
• Avocado (for making guacamole)

I also had some Flour Tortillas warmed up in the oven to go with the meal.



Mix together olive oil, Worcestershire, lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.....






....until combined. Note - the original recipe did include 1 tablespoon of sugar as well. But I figured we didn't really need the extra sugar so I omitted it from my dinner.






Use half the marinade coat the steak, turning it over to coat both sides.






In the second dish, place all the veggies and the rest of the marinade. Toss well to coat all vegies.






Allow both the steak and veggies to marinade for at least 2 hours.

Heat a flying pan over medium-high heat and drizzle in some oil. Cook the meat for about 3 - 4 minutes per side until medium rare. Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes.






In a separate pan heated on high heat, add some oil and cook the vegetables for a few minutes, until they're cooked but still slightly firm and have nice black/brown pieces. Remove to a plate and set aside.






Prepare tortillas, salsa, guacamole, cheese and cilantro. In my case, all I did was transfer them to appropriate bowls.











Slice the meat right before serving. I was a little concerned when I sliced the first piece. I overcooked this a little.





But the second piece was a bit thicker and it was perfectly pink.






You might be wondering what my pesky vegetarian ate. I cooked some zucchini up for him. They worked just great.






My dinner.






This was a great meal! I hope you all enjoyed Pioneer Woman cook-off as much as I did.

 

[franandaj]

What a great looking meal, Alison. Do you have a name for that recipe??

I call that recipe Barbecue Pot Roast. I found it in a cookbook when Fran brought home a 7 bone roast and I panicked, having no idea how to cook it. I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks and Fran loved it! Now it's one of my favorite recipes. I hadn't made it in a long time. At least a couple years so I went to Ralphs in search of the specific cut. One of the butchers told me they stopped carrying it. Ralphs has recently started advertising that they only carry "choice" meat and this cut of meat is a more peasant style of meat. It's kind of tough and needs braising for a long time to tenderize. So I asked the butcher at Stater Brothers on a Friday and he said that if I came back on Sunday he would have a chunk for me and he cut off two big roasts for me right there while I waited.

I stuck the leftovers in a ziplock bag and froze it. On my birthday weekend, there's only about a dozen folks coming over to my house for the Sunday after party, so I figure with the Friday night leftovers and some chips, these pulled BBQ beef sandwiches served out of the crockpot will make a good centerpiece for the buffet table.

 

[franandaj]

PIO, the fajitas look good, I would leave off the cilantro as you know. What but what cut of meat did you use?

Those are a lot more involved than my version. I just use skirt steak (flap meat) and season it with this:



I saute the meat and peppers in the same pan. But I assume you kept them separate due to the pesky vegetarian. I serve mine with shredded cheddar and sour cream. If I'm going to have them on this new eating plan, I'll need to use corn torillas.

 

[PrincessInOz]

PIO, the fajitas look good, I would leave off the cilantro as you know. What but what cut of meat did you use?

Thanks. It should have been skirt steak. But I only had porterhouse in the freezer and I wasn't running out to get more meat.

Those are a lot more involved than my version. I just use skirt steak (flap meat) and season it with this:



I saute the meat and peppers in the same pan. But I assume you kept them separate due to the pesky vegetarian. I serve mine with shredded cheddar and sour cream. If I'm going to have them on this new eating plan, I'll need to use corn torillas.

I don't know if we have anything like that here.

Yes. I kept them separate for the pesky vegetarian.
We ended up with wholemeal tortillas. I did think about corn; but I figured wholemeal was the next best thing.

 

[dgbg100106]

hi everyone, I think I can come back now...

 

[PrincessInOz]

hi everyone, I think I can come back now...

YAY! WElcome back.

 

[franandaj]

hi everyone, I think I can come back now...

Glad to see you back here again!

 

[franandaj]

So what's the theme for March. Wow! It will have been a whole year now that we've been making these dinners!

 

[PrincessInOz]

So what's the theme for March. Wow! It will have been a whole year now that we've been making these dinners!

I think we decided on Low Carbs dinner for March. I think this one was so Brandi could do something and also because a couple of us are going lo-carb at the moment.

 

[PrincessInOz]

So....it's been busy here and I haven't had time to plan out dinners.

Today, I had to resort to a pasta meal. I think this is about the second pasta dinner I've made this year!!! I had some frozen bolognaise sauce that I used for the quick meal. And for DH, I grated the last zucchini from the garden and fried that with anchovy, garlic, some chili flakes and a bit of stock.
I have to admit...it was nice to have a bit of carbs tonight.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Beer Cheese Soup



Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 8 hours

Total time: 8 hours 10 mins


Serves: 5


Ingredients

• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 16 ounces beer
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup carrot, diced very fine
• 1 cup white onion, diced very fine
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 8 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
• sea salt, about 1 teaspoon
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Add chicken broth and beer to slow cooker, and whisk in cornstarch until smooth. Add melted butter.
• Add carrots and onions to slow cooker, stir.
• Cook on Low for 8 hours.
• Add cream cheese, let the cream cheese melt for 20 minutes before adding the sharp cheddar cheese.
• Stir in cheese, and season with salt, about a teaspoon is what I used, add gradually to your taste. Add pepper to taste.
• Ladle into bowls, and serve immediately.

- See more at: http://www.themagicalslowcooker.com/2013/09/16/beer-cheese-soup/#sthash.Os3hIrER.dpuf




I tried this one yesterday/last night. It was a big hit.

I did modify it some by substituting celery for onions. Also I topped it with crumbled bacon. Served with soft pretzels.

 

[dgbg100106]

YAY! WElcome back.

Glad to see you back here again!

Thank ladies, I have missed you all....

 

[dgbg100106]

So what's the theme for March. Wow! It will have been a whole year now that we've been making these dinners!

March 1st last year, I started the detox, that started the vegan lifestyle. So 1 year already! WOW.

 

[dgbg100106]

also 1 year without caffeine

I think we decided on Low Carbs dinner for March. I think this one was so Brandi could do something and also because a couple of us are going lo-carb at the moment.

Low carb... I really dont mind the carbs, but I can really do Low Carb.

Hmmm....

What oh What shall I make!