Spicy Stir-Fry

For a quick and easy inexpensive meal that tastes great, try this. Skip the hot sausage and you have a vegetarian meal or go with the regular flavor sausage and you avoid the spiciness, but do you really want a bland blah stir fry.

• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 2 links or more of Italian sausage or maybe kielbasa, cut into small pieces
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large spoon of chopped garlic or more or 2 - 3 cloves of garlic chopped
  
• 1/2 cup or so of sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 green pepper chopped

Dig out your large cast iron skillet, you need a cover for this one, so if you must, any type of covered fry pan. You ever notice how recipees always call for 2 TBS of oil for frying. I always guestimate the amount of oil to use, but you be the judge and use what you think is best. We are going to be frying sausage with the veggies, so we may not need the oil, but just in case, I am adding the oil.

After the oil goes in the frypan, add the rest of the above ingredients. You may want to fry these uncovered until the onions are translucent. You may think, I'm using a lot of garlic, well yes, and the the strong flavor will cook away, but remember garlic is good for the heart. Did you say, that was raw garlic. Well have a heaping spoonful each morning when you get up.

• 1 large potatoe or more chopped
• 2 carrots chopped or you can use shredded carrots
• 1 head broccoli chopped, I discard the stem, but you can chop it, if you like

Now that the onions are done, we add the rest of the ingredients. Stir them in, set the burner to simmer and cover. You may want to add some salt and pepper at this point and/or herbs if you so desire, but they won't be needed. Simmer for about 20 minutes, giving a stir once in awhile if you remember. We did not add any liquid to this, as all the necessary liquid will come out of the viggies. Actually, the veggies will be steamed, but won't taste like steamed stuff.

While this is cooking, make some rice or maybe rice pilaf. I don't think it's on the blog yet, but rice pilaf will soon be up on the blog. If you increase the quantitties that you are using, you could feed a whole bunkhouse of hungry workers.

Enjoy.

Before I leave, anyone could have thought this up, but I did, so it is here. It is an example of making something that is quick, inexpensive and can be done in one pan. The most expensive item is the sausage and we used about 1/2 package, so I figure the cost of this meal to be somewhere between $2 to $3 US dollars. I'd say not to bad for another great meal.

I'm a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle, here is my spout
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout
Just tip me over and pour me out!

I picked up this little gem at Marshals. Marshals is one of these stores that buy items from other stores that didn't sell as expected. So they generally have expensive items at real good prices.

This is a cast iron teapot, enamal coated to resist rust. It has a screen pocket for you to put your tea into. So it is a great item for making chinese tea or your herbal brews. I believe the origin on the teapot is chinese.

Vegetable Medley

Do you get tired of boiled or steamed veggies. I know, they said, "The best way to preserve the vitamins and minerals in the veggies was to steam them", and oh, of course it is easy to do. But, I don't think these gurus ever tasted what they preach.

There might even be a better way. The Orient has been doing it for 5,000 years. Lightly cooking the veggies in a wok, but what we are doing is going to be a bit different. It's the same idea, but since we are going to use potaoes and they have to be fully cooked, so that changes things a bit.

We are going to use a covered frying pan and yes, we are going to be frying and steaming at the same time. So, we may have the best of both worlds. You may want to use a stick proof frying pan, but I don't own one, so it's back to the sturdy dependable cast iron frying pan.

Remember that the oil is not an optional item, but an essential ingredient.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• medium onion chopped
• large tablespoon of chopped garlic or 3-4 cloves fresh garlic
• 4 ounces mushrooms sliced
  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped potatoes, leave the skin on
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots or carrot matchsticks
• 1/2 cup broccoli, cut in small pieces, I use the flower heads only

I have listed the ingredients in the proper order to add to frying pan. Of course we start with oil, add onions and garlic. When the onions look translucent add the mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes and then add rest of the ingreients, cover and set on lowest setting. Cook until potatoes are done, stirring every so often, to prevent sticking.

When all is done, you may want to add salt and pepper and any other seasonings that you might desire. Parsley is an almost definite addition, for italian version, add basil, oregano and

Cast Iron Ware

I use iron ware extensively in my cooking and with good reason. Here is a list of my reasons for using iron ware.

• Inexpensive to purchase
• Holds heat well
• Easy cleanup
• Lasts indefinitely

If these pans are taken care of, they can last many lifetimes. The only distracting feature about cast iron pans is the weight of the pans. But that is also why they are such lasting pans.

Buying cast iron, look for a package kit with a covered kettle and several fry pans. Usually the cover will also fit the large fry pan. I bought my pieces separately, but what a delight it was when I discovered that the cover for the kettle also fit my large frypan. You may also find these pans at flea markets, the older ones are nicer than the new ones that are currently being sold at the markets. The new pans don't seem to be as nice as some of the older pans, which I have. The cooking surface is not as smooth as the older pans are and the shapes are more limited than they used to be, modern technology.

I would recommend that you have or purchase the following pans.

• Large covered kettle for making stews, these usually have a large wire bale for lifting the pan.
• Large frying pan, same diameter as the covered kettle, the cover will also fit this pan.
• Medium sided frying pan, use for scrambled eggs or frying small quantities of meats or vegetables.
• Large frying pan without sides, sometimes called a spider, use for frying eggs, hamburgers, etc. (Optional)
• Medium sized omelet pan, this is one with sloping sides, may only be available in specialty stores. Use to make french omelets, the kind that are folded. (Optional)
• Small sized frying pan, good for making fritata or omelets which are not folded, but rather you finish cooking in the oven under the broiler. (Optional)

The pans which I have marked as Optional, are not necessary for basic cooking, but make life much easier, if one has them in their repertoure.

Seasoning new pans involves coating them with oil and baking the pans in the over for 20 minutes at about 350 degrees fahrenheit.

To clean a cast iron pan, put it under hot water and use a wire pad to scrub the excess residue off the pan. I also use detergent to take off any excess grease and oil. The pans need to be immediately dried to prevent the pan from rusting. I sometimes put them in a warm oven or turn the burner on to heat the pan, so that all mosture has been evaporated. Never leave the pan sitting in water, as the water may remove the seasoning and cause the pan to rust. If this should happen, give the pan a good scrubbing to restore the pan to it's former condition. If need be, you may re-oil the pan.

What's all this talk about Oil. Oil is necessary for your body to function properly, so oil is necessary for life. The small quantities of oil which are used in these pans, help to keep you healthy and is not contrary to sound dieting practices. Do not use spay on oil coatings on these pans, but use good quality oil, such as olive oil. Use peanut oil if you are doing high temperature frying. Most of the time I use olive oil or butter for frying.

Enjoy the taste of good food, cooked the way food was meant to be cooked with the use of oil and/or butter, I do not use any margarine in my cooking or eating practices.

My Kasha

There seems to be nothing more Russian than Kasha, maybe except my Kasha. Of course, I would break from the strict list of ingredients that defines Russian Kasha, but I think you will like what I did.

Kasha can and is served at any meal, as a side dish or with the inclusion of meat can be a main dish. Traditionally Kasha used Buckwheat, but can be also made from other grains, such as Millet or Wheat.

So, Give this a try.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic or 2 - 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 medium sized carrots sliced and slices chopped
• 4 oz. mushrooms or about 1 cup mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter

Take out a large cast iron frying pan, use one that can be covered. For kasha, cast iron is a must, you want the pan to hold the heat, so the kasha will cook evenly. This is a one pan dish, and being cast iron, the cleanup is easy.

Melt the butter in your iron skillet and then add the rest of the ingredients. Russian cooking would only lightly cook the veggies, but you can cook them a bit more, if you so desire, I did for my kasha.

• 1 cup buckwheat groats
• 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth or water with 2 bullion cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Add your chicken/vegetable broth, bring to a boil and then rest of ingredients. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Fluff kasha with fork before serving.

Serve as a side dish with your meal or could be your morning breakfast.

Multi-Grain Stew

In my last blog, Roasted Chicken Broth, we made a rich chicken broth, which we will use as a base for this stew. But if you prefer, you could use vegetable broth and it would be Vegetarian Multi-Grain Stew. I call this a stew, because with all the grains we put in it, it will be thick like a stew and possibly a variation of a Hodge Podge. Ok, let's get started.

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 large tablespoon chopped garlic, I use the prechopped garlic that you can buy at the store, but you can use fresh
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 - 3 medium potatoes chopped
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil for frying
  

In a frying pan, I prefer cast iron, add the olive oil and then add the rest of ingredients and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes or so. Add this to your Stew pot along with 2 - 3 quarts of your Roasted Chicken Broth or vegetable broth. Heat to Boiling.

• 1/4 cup millet
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/4 cup pearled barley
• 1/4 cup brown rice
• 1/4 cup orzo or other pasta, or maybe bulghur
  

Add these grains to the stew pot, one at a time. Cover and simmer till the grains are done. The resulting stew will be light colored and mild in flavor. Should be appealing to most everyone, including infants. If Roasted Chicken Broth was used, the stew will take on a gravy like texture and should be a nutritious and satisfying meal.

I would add some french bread and a green salad to go with it.

Bon Appetit!!!

Roasted Chicken Broth

Well you remember the Chicken Roast Done Right Blog, that we did the other day. Where you ended with the Roast is where we start today.

When you do the Roast, I save the pan with all the drippings, etc. Wake Up, we don't need the gravy that badly and if you do, then use chicken boullion or purchase some Chicken Broth. Ok, so we got that decided. When your done with your meal of Roasted Chicken, strip all the meat off the chicken, you can use it in sandwiches or whatever you want. I usually just snack on it when no one is watching, especially the dogs. They are always looking for handouts.

We are heading back to the stove with the roasting pan, put a pint or so of water in the pan, and heat it to a boil. We are trying to disolve all the leavings in the roasting pan, so we can use it in our Stew. Using a wooden spoon, we are making sure everything is loosened and part of the liquid. When all is in the liquid, it will be a dark chicken broth by this time, add it to a large Stew Pan along with the chicken carcass.

Add an onion, a couple carrots, a couple stalks of celery and 5 or 6 peppercorns to the pot. Of course, we need to coarsely chop the veggies. You might want to also add a bayleaf, thyme and parsley to the pot also. I generally only add the bay leaf, because the chicken was cooked with thyme and is stuffed with parsley. Add sufficient water to cover everything, I generally use a total volume of 3 quarts of water, plus or minus, depending on your situation. Bring to a boil and simmer for several hours or until you are satisfied that everything is done. The chicken bones should be all separated by now and you have extracted the most flavor, out of the chicken.

Let the pot cool so that you can handle the hot liquid. Strain the the liquid through a strainer, I use a spaghetti strainer, so the herbs and stuff can go through, but not the stuff you don't want. Strain it into another pot. Discard the bones and such, being sure it is discarded where animals will not get at it. Chicken bones tend to splinter, so it is not a good ideas to give this stuff to your dogs and other animals. If you want you can now chill the chicken broth, so that you can remove the excess chicken fat. The chicken broth will be dark and rich looking.

At this point, you can use the broth for anything you like, but I am going to make a multigrain soup out of this.

Mexican Black Beans

You know those awesome black beans you get in the Mexican restaurants, well I do and I always order them, they are so good. I have been looking for a recipe for a long time and finally was gointg to try making them. I got half way through the original recipe, and didn't like adding some Goya packet they were using. I just couldn't bring myself to buy something with monosodium glutamate in it. So I ended up switching to another recipe and the result was outstanding. The smoked jalpeno pepper which I used has a mesquite-smoked flavor and comes from Mexico. So this is what I did.

• 1/2 cup dried black beans
• 1 medium size onion
• 1/2 cup green pepper
• 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic, the kind you buy prechopped or use fresh
• 2 tablespoons of oil, corn or olive oil, corn oil for authentic taste
• 1 10oz can chopped tomatoes & green chilis, available at Walmart & other stores
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of dried cilantro or use 1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 dried chili pepper chopped, I used dried Chipotle Chilis (Smoked Jalapeno Chilis)
• 1 teaspoon of salt if desired
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Start with soaking the black beans in 2 cups of water over night or use the short method, bring to a boil and let sit for 1 hour. Bring the beans to a boil and simmer till almost done. Add water if necessary.

In a separate frypan, be authentic, use castiron, add oil, then onion, pepper and garlic. When they are almost done, add the rest of the ingredients. Continue cooking for more 5 minutes to make sure they are well mixed. Then add mixture to the black beans and continue cooking till the beans are done and are dry, but not too dry.

Serve with the rest of your mexican meal, corn muffins, enchiladas, etc.

Getting Fried

You think you want to make some donuts, well you won't have to get up at 3 AM like the Dunkin Donuts guy and walk into the kitchen half asleep.

I wanted to make my own French Fries, my own Buffalo Wings and my own donuts. So I went down to the local Walmart. You can go to whatever store you choose. I wanted an inexpensive frier that would be convenient to use. Well for the cheap ones Presto has cornered the market. They offer two models, one about the size of a crockpot and you can fry, steam, soup or stew with it. To me, it seemed to need a lot of oil for frying. So I went with the Fry Daddy. It is small, but big enough for 1 or 2 people, holds a minimum of oil, less than one of those large bottles of oil, not the giant size. It also had a cover so you could store the oil right in it and have it always ready for frying. So that's what I got. This is not meant to be an endorsement of Presto, but they offered the right size for the right price for me.

So when I got home, I found a place where it could sit and be relatively safe from being knocked over or some other catastrophe. Everyone hears of frying accidents and how dangerous they are, well with a few precautions I felt that it would be safe for me to use. Just don't decide to fry up some stuff after you have drunk a six-pack of beer. One has to use their common sense here.

Presto made a real neat addition to the fryer, the plug is magnetic, so when you are done cooking, I gently push down on the plug and the connection is broken. I don't have to touch the fryer to turn it off.

So now I have a fryer that I can easily deal with and to me it is safe and easy to use. Just cut your potatoes and put them in the preheated oil. When they are done they will rise to the top of the oil. Take them out with the slotted spoon they provide and drain on paper towels or whatever you want. It is that simple.

Chicken Ceasar Salad Extraordinare'

I hate salads, but I love this one. First I make a salad mix and store it in a big plastic covered bowl, such as the GladWare Family Size Bowl with cover. The base salad contains the following:

• Chopped Celery
• Chopped Green or Red Leaf Lettuce
• Shredded Carrots
• Chopped Red Onion
• Chopped Chinese Cabbage
• Chopped Mushrooms
• Chopped Peppers(optional)
• Chopped Radicchio

I store this mixture in the covered bowl in the refrigerator. When it is time to make the salad. I take a portion of this mix out and place it in a bowl. Add grated Parmesan Cheese and Croutons.

I take a thin sliced piece of chicken breast, salt, pepper and tyme both sides of the meat and fry in an iron skillet. When the meat is done I move the meat from the fry pan to the cutting board and chop the meat into 1/2 inch squares.

Next place this chopped cooked chicken on top of your salad, add salt, pepper and a good quality brand of Creamy Ceasar Dressing, I like the Newman brand and I never use diet dressings.

Sit down and enjoy one delicious salad.

Chicken Roast Done Right

I pick up chickens at Walmart, they are usually $.67 per pound and are generally 3 -5 pounds. To roast them do the following:

Wash the bird inside and out, salt and pepper inside and out. I also sprinkle Tyme on the bird inside and out. Stuff the bird with Parsley and place in an open roasting pan. If you cover the pan, you will steam the bird, which is not what you want.

Mix together 1/4 cup Olive Oil and 1/4 cup Lemon Juice and pour over bird, being sure that the bird is well covered with olive oil and lemon juice. Place in an 350 degree Fahrenheit oven and roast 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. I like to get the bird a bit on the well done side, rather than on the under done side. This way the skin will be dark and crispy and the herbs will have flavored the meat.

Enjoy.

Low Carb Breakfast

This is my version of a low carb Breakfast and is as follows:

8 oz. glass of Orange Juice or Orange/Pineapple Juice

2 Eggs scrambled in butter cooked in a frying pan. I use cast ironware for most all my frying.

1 slice of thin sliced chicken breast, coated with Salt, Pepper and Tyme. Cook in frying pan, should not need any oil for frying.

Plenty of strong coffee with milk and sugar if desired.

Enjoy Low Carb.

Let's Get Cookin'

I have always wanted to collect recipes and write them up in an organized fashion, so I thought I could do it in a blog. I actually have another blog, but that is of a more personal nature, so this one is about Cookin For Fun, hence the name.

I am semi-vegetarian in that most of the time I eat vegetarian, but not always, so you should be able to get some vegetarian or vegan ideas for my blog.

I hope many will visit this blog and help to make it a great success.