Know Your Ingredients....Sugars

So..we all like sugar. For many of us, naturally sweet foods such as fruits somehow are not sweet enough. It s possible that super sweetened processed foods have become the "norm" for our spoikled taste buds. Here may be a reason why. Be a food detective and scan the list of ingredients on packaged food.....anything from cold cereals to ketchup to bottled salad dressings. It may surprise you to see that besides sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup, many of the listed ingredients end in "ose". Anything ending with the suffix "ose" is a sugar. There is sucrose (table sugar), maltose, dextrose, lactose (milk sugar), glucose, fructose (fruit sugar) and galactose. There is also molasses, dried beet juice (a disingenuous attempt to disguise white sugar made sugar beets), dried cane juice (another disingenuous attempt to disguise cane sugar). It is possible that over 50% of the ingredients in many packaged foods are sugars. You may also find that 'modified corn starch' and high fructose corn syrup' is in just about everything...really. Modified corn starch is not exactly a sugar but is metabolized somewhat similarly. I want to know why I need so much sugar and corn syrup in my ketchup!!!!

Leg of Lamb, etc

 

Another "system cooking" adventure with Laura.  I started out with a leg of lamb on Sunday.  This worked out well since I cooked it for 5 1/2 hours in the oven and basted it every 1/2 hour for the last two hours.  I really didn't need to do that.  But it came out rather lovely, I think.

Anyway.  I combined a couple of recipes from some of my favorite cookbook authors:  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jennifer McLagan, and then added my own twists.  I can't seem to help it most of the time.  I first cut up a bunch of veggies: carrots, onions and potatoes and put them on the bottom of my dutch oven.  I also used turnips, but for some reason, they tasted awful.  I love turnips, but either the ones I had were not good, or they just don't go well with lamb.   So - skip the turnips.  Cut up as many veggies as will cover the bottom of the pan in a double layer, according to your preferences - I tend to use a lot of carrots if I have them - but we run out of them quickly around here.  Then I stuck my knife in the lamb several times, peeled and cut garlic into large slivers, roughly chopped some anchovies and stuck the garlic and anchovies into the lamb.

 

Then I put the lamb in on top of the vegetables, filled the pan with about an inch and a half of water, poured about half a bottle of white wine over everything (I would have used a whole bottle if I had one), and stuck it in the oven at 350 degrees F for two hours. I was going to use lamb stock instead of water, and I had some in my freezer, but it was in a Ziplock and when I opened the fridge door after letting it defrost in there overnight, out came the lamb stock.  Oops.  There was a hole in the bag and I foolishly didn't put the bag in a container.  Messy, messy!  Not very thrifty to waste it, and very time consuming too.  After cleaning my fridge thoroughly, and after the two hours had passed, I took off the cover, basted the leg, and turned the temp down to 300 degrees F.  I basted the leg every half hour for 2 1/2 hours - don't replace the cover.

The meat was really tender and wonderful.  The vegetables were fantastic and it is not a difficult recipe at all.  It is a little time-consuming, but just the cooking part, and it only takes a couple of minutes.  I suppose that if you had a very large crock pot this could work in there too. 

Next night - I made a kind of hash with the leftover potatoes and some of the meat and onions.  I didn't add any kind of oil or fat.  There was enough on the veggies and meat already to cook it nicely.  My husband loved it.  He put sour cream on it and devoured.  The kids weren't quite as sure - even with the sour cream.  I am not sure why - to many vegetables I suppose.  Grin.  I forgot to take a picture of the hash, but it looked like a normal hash, so you aren't missing much.

Last night - Naan and rice and lamb.  Another favorite dish around here.  I love this naan recipe.  I don't tinker much with this one.  I used 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat bread flour and 2 cups of white.  I think that I will increase the wheat flour next time.  I had never made it that way before, and wanted to make sure that it was still going to be as great as usual.  The other change I make is to roll out all the dough inside, and then bring it out to the grill and brush butter on before I put it on the grill rather than after.  I have cooked it inside on a very hot pan before too and it has worked out just fine.  Naan is a little time consuming, but very worth it.  We will have plenty of naan for the next couple of days.  One time saver would be to mix it up in the morning and leave it out all day if you ave a cool kitchen, or stick it in the fridge if you have a warm kitchen.  Or you could mix it the night before too.  Then take it out 1/2 an hour or so before you want to use it.  I would put it on the stove top next to where you are cooking your rice and lamb so it warms up more quickly.  

Rice:  I like parboiled rice myself.  I am trying to accustom myself to brown rice, but so far I just don't like it.  Oh well - win some, lose some.  I usually cook about two cups of rice with four cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  When you can see the little bubble holes in the rice and it looks like the water has been absorbed when you stir it, it is done.  This usually takes around 15-20 minutes.

Lamb:  All I did for this was tear off a bunch of leftover lamb from the leg bone with my fingers.  I kind of shredded it a bit too so that it was in bite-sized pieces.  Then I put it directly into a cast iron skillet (my absolute favorite pan), again there was enough fat on the lamb meat to allow it to crisp up nicely without any additional fat added.  I was going to add some kind of vegetable to this, but I didn't have any peppers and I thought that salsa would make it too fajita-like.  I didn't even have any salad around here, which is unusual.  So, we went vegetable-less for one night and my five year old told me that it was the best supper I had ever made.  Aaargh. 

      

I put teriyaki sauce on my rice, but my husband loves soy sauce.  Now - on to eating.  My favorite way it to tear off a piece of naan and use it to grab some rice and meat, then take a bite.  The ultimate finger food.  It was fantastic, but I have to say, it could have used some vegetables....

Now, three guesses as to what I am making tonight.  SOUP.  Of course!  I haven't made it yet, but I think that I will do a separate post later.  I am thinking about a lamb and white bean soup, but we will see, you never know what I will do - it is a mystery even to me!

Strawberry (or insert fruit of choice here) Syrup

I am always looking for fun alternatives for our weekly pancake/waffle fests around here.  Even though we live in Wisconsin and maple syrup is local, it still isn't exactly cheap.  Don't get me wrong, we love it and use it a lot, I just like something a little different and a little less expensive every once in a while.  I have been meaning to try making strawberry syrup for a while now, but the recipes I have seen always call for corn syrup or waaaaaay more sugar than I am comfortable with.  So, I decided to wing it.  I make a bunch of strawberry juice every summer with my steam juicer.  This is not a cheap kitchen toy, but I make gallons and gallons of juice every summer and we drink it all year.  It is super easy to use and my friends love it too.  In fact, if I had to buy one again - which I won't because it is extremely sturdy, I would split the cost with my friends and we would rotate it.  It already makes the rounds anyway!   The strawberry juice is too concentrated for us to drink straight, but it is wonderful mixed with lemonade.  We also add vodka sometimes for a drink we call a "Bloodshot", but that is a different story.  :o)  Anyway, here is the recipe that I came up with:

1 cup strawberry juice to 1 cup sugar.  Cook at a good simmer until thickened. I think that I cooked mine for 45 minutes or so.  Keep in mind that it will thicken up a good deal when it cools down.  You basically just want it to be noticeably thicker than it was when you first started cooking it.

Pretty difficult huh?  The family gave it a thumbs up - whoo-hoo!

You could use any juice for this - some may require more or less sugar.  I initially used a little more sugar in mine and then had to dilute it with more strawberry juice because it got too thick.  Let it cool in the bottle at room temperature before refrigerating in order to check its viscosity.

The juice is very local, the sugar...not so much.

PS- This is also a great way to spread your wine-making out over the year - if you are into that kind of thing.  I am.  Maybe I will do a post on that sometime.  :o)

Good luck!

Leftover Stuffing and Friends

Apple Pork Chops with Stuffing is a recipe that I have been meaning to try for a while.  I have lots of leftover stuffing from my Christmas turkey, and I looked at a lot of recipes for using up stuffing.  We like it just plain, but that gets old after a little while.

I love pork chops and I am always able to get a couple more meals out of them, so here we go!

First night - Apple Pork Chops with Stuffing.  These were fantastic!  I was a little skeptical about the apple pie filling - I used some that my mother in law had canned last fall- but it was really good.  Also, instead of the stuffing from a box (I avoid boxes if at all possible), I of course used leftover stuffing from the freezer.  If I can get my in-laws to agree, I will post the super-secret stuffing recipe sometime.  Please guys?  Anyway - it turned out wonderfully. 

Second night:  Pork Fried Rice.  This is my go-to recipe for leftover pork.  It is a family favorite.  I usually omit the scallions and use a chopped medium onion and a couple of chopped carrots instead.  I saute the carrots, onions and pork until the vegetables are soft (you probably don't need to add any oil for this - the pork fat just from the pork will be enough), then I remove them and cook the rice and eggs according to the directions.  Remember to heat the oil BEFORE adding your rice.  Otherwise the rice soaks up the oil and tastes greasy. 

The third night:  Soup.  What else?  It seems to be the inevitable end of most of my meals.  For this one I took all of the leftover bones from the pork chops, placed them in a stockpot and barely covered them with water.  I brought the whole thing to a boil and then reduced the heat to a simmer for a few hours.  This could be done in your crockpot too - just put them in the morning and let them simmer away all day.  I then strained the stock into a bowl, put it back into the stock pot and added all of the leftover stuffing and sauce from night #1.  I then picked all of the meat off of the bones and added it back to the stockpot too.  This was a pretty good soup, but it was a little sweet for me - probably because of the apple pie filling.  I think that next time I will add some extra celery and maybe some bread to damp the sweetness.  Or maybe I will just cook the pork chops over regular sliced apples.  Hmmm.  We'll see.  Sorry I forgot to take a picture!  Maybe next time.  :o)

Happy cooking!

Potatoes, Potatoes and Potatoes!!

Super Simple Basic Recipee #2 Mashed Potatoes, Baked Potatoes and Oven "Fries"

OK, Laura and I seem to be moving forward on a potato thing, but you cannot get much thriftier than basic potatoes. There are a good source of complex carbohydrates and vitamin C (especially if you eat the skins). Here are some super good, super simple ways to make them.

Homemade Mashed Potatoes (makes 2 very large servings)
*1 pound potatoes (any non waxy type such as russets, idaho, yukon gold etc. Not small red potatoes which are better for cold potato salads). Peel skins and cut in quarters. Place in lukewarm water in a medium saucepan with about 1/4 tsp of salt
*Boil on the stovetop about 25 minutes...maybe a bit longer until a fork easily goes through a potato chunk
*While the potatoes are cooking, get the rest of the ingredients together:
1/3 cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter and salt (to taste..add last). Get something to mash the potatoes with initially and your hand held mixer out.
*When the potatoes are done, quickly drain the water (you don't have to be religious about every drop), add the milk and the butter and smash the potatoes a little to break up the big pieces. Then beat them with your hand held mixer until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp salt initially, more later if you want.
*Serve immediately

This is just the super simple basic recipe. You can easily double, triple, quadruple this recipe. You can add a bit more milk or butter. You can replace the butter with a tablespoon or so of cream cheese (this reduces the saturated fats by quite a bit) or you can add several tablespoons of shredded cheddar cheese. You can add a tablespoon of shallots, fresh chives, parsley or green onions at the end.
You can use this basic recipe to refill Laura's hollowed out skins for twice baked potatoes. Carefully remove the insides leaving 1/4 inch of potato and skin and use the mashed potato recipe to refill the skins. Rewarm at 350 F. for 20-30 minutes.


Baked Potatoes
This is why we always eat the skins!!
*Scrub the outsides of a baking type potato (non waxy types) under cool water
*Dry them well, poke several holes in the potatoes with a fork
*Pour a little canola oil into your hand and oil the surfaces of the potato, then roll in salt (I really like coarse or kosher salt)
*Bake for 50-60 minutes in a 350 F oven
(This is also a special way to make twice baked potatoes)

Oven Fries
*Allow a medium sized potato per person, minimum
*Scrub the outsides of your potatoes under cool water
*Cut in half lengthwise, then cut the halves lengthwise. You will now have four pieces which you will slice lengthwise in half again.
*Place in warm water for 10 minutes (this makes the outsides crispy)
*Remove from water and dry with a clean towel
*Toss with 1/2 tablespoon or so of canola oil per potato and lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
*Sprinkle with salt (I really like coarse salt)
*Bake 400 F for about 15-20 minutes

I love these. They have no artificial preservatives, no saturated fat and taste divine. Coarse salt really does taste better on these and can be found in your grocers , usually labeled kosher (least expensive) or specialty (most expensive) Many times, it's the little things that make the difference!!!

Potato Skins

For this I have to thank Simply Recipes.  Without the beautiful photography on that blog, I may not have made these and that would have been a shame.  I, of course, had to put my own spin on these.

Here is what I did:

1.  Bake some potatoes - I usually use Russet potatoes, wash them, dry them and smear them with a tiny bit of butter.  I have found the easiest way to do this is take a baggie on my hand, pinch off a bit of butter and proceed to rub it all over the potato (or pan - if I need to grease a pan).  I know that many people pierce their potatoes with a fork to keep them from exploding, but I come from a potato growing family and we have never had that problem.  I bake them at 400 for about 45-60 minutes, or at 325 for as long as I feel like it.  :o)  It is completely possible to over-bake potatoes, and I have done it a few times, but the insides are fine, it is just the skins that aren't so tasty anymore. 

2.  Serve as baked potatoes.  My family doesn't usually eat the skins of their baked potatoes anyway, so this doesn't matter.  You could also cut them in half and scoop out the flesh for mashed potatoes, or hash, or a number of things.

3.  Scoop out any remaining flesh, and save for another purpose.  I scoop almost all of it out instead of leaving a 1/4 inch or so like most people because I like the skins to be crunchy.  My skins also don't look nice and neat like Simply Recipe's, but they are still very tasty! 

4.  Heat up the oven to 450 degrees.  Place skins on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Brush or spray with olive oil - or whatever oil suits you - on both sides. 

5.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crunchy, flipping halfway through.

6.  Take out of oven and top grated cheese and if you want, some crumbled ham, bacon, chicken, whatever you like.  Put back into oven until cheese is bubbly - a couple of minutes.

7.  Remove and serve with sour cream and BBQ sauce.  At least, that is what I like to have it with!

8.  Enjoy the oohs and ahhs from your family and friends.

Super Simple Recipe #1 ..Medium White Sauce for Mac N Cheese and More

White Sauce for Mac n Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie and More


Medium White Sauce
2 Tbsp butter …….Melted in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just bubbly
2 Tbsp flour ……… Add and stir quickly to blend…Cook one minute
¼ tsp salt
1 cup milk………….Whisk in with a wire whisk or a fork ¼ cup at a time
Cook until thickened….about 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally

This is a very easy basic recipe that can be altered easily as long as you keep the ratio of flour and fat the same. To reduce saturated fats you can successfully replace the butter in a white sauce with 50% olive oil/50% butter. You can use skim milk, 1%, 2% or whole milk. You can also replace up to half of the milk with half and half or cream but do NOT boil it after as the cream will curdle. Warm the half and half/cream on the stove top or in the microwave (carefully!) then add to the rest of the sauce after it is thickened. I often use the cream variation of this sauce in making creamed soups. So with this basic recipe, you can make super simple Mac N cheese( see below), the inside of a Chicken Pot Pie(see below), or with some minor variations, creamed soups, gravies, Alfredo sauce and other delectable goodies. You can even make your own cream of mushroom soup to replace the stuff you by in cans!! Although, honestly, it probably won’t get as far as the casserole…it’s just that good. Creamed soups in a later post, Mac N Cheese for now!


For Homemade Mac N Cheese:
*To the medium white sauce recipe, stir in ½ to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or cut up into thin pieces if you don’t have a shredder) until it is melted and the sauce is smooth. Then add…….*8 ounces of cooked and drained macaroni noodles (either whole wheat or regular. Any noodle that has some body; shells, spirals, wagon wheels etc). You can begin boiling the noodles right before you make the white sauce and they will cook for 5 minutes while the white sauce is cooking. It’s better if you don’t overcook the noodles

THAT”S IT, that’s all. My kids always called this Mac A Cheese……. It was a favorite for lunch or a super fast easy supper. Your kids will love it, especially if they are not used to the highly salted, over processed stuff AND...you can actually pronounce all of the ingredients in it. You can add a bit more salt if you think you need to, some course ground pepper , a little onion (like a tablespoon or so) or some leftover cut up ham, but you don’t have to. You can vary the cheeses in it. ( If you use strongly flavored cheeses like Parmesan or Romano, use less than a cup.) You may also put this in a casserole and bake it topped with crumbled crackers and a little cut up butter over the top, but again, you really don’t have to.


For Chicken Pot Pie (Chicken A La King as my mother called it)
To the white sauce, add 1 cup cut up leftover chicken, a chicken bouillon cube (I use a package of George Washington Seasoning..it boosts the flavor), 2 -3 Tbsp chopped onion cooked in a little oil for 2-3 minutes with one peeled and chopped carrot and ½ cup frozen peas (add them last because they cook really fast)

TA DA!!! THAT’S IT, that’s all. Serve over toast (easiest) or mashed potatoes (next easiest) OR if you want a real treat, divide into four oven proof bowls and place a square of puff pastry over the top. (super easy, but not super thrifty) Bake in your oven according to the puff pastry directions. If you are ambitious, place inside a pie crust. Now we are not talking easy, but we are talking good.