Zukes!

This year I did not grow any zucchini.  My neighbors did. They have kept us supplied with zukes, little tomatoes and hot tabasco peppers.  Finding new things to do with the vegetables can be a challenge.

One standby is a stew/casserole of zucchini, tomato, and onion mixed with some meat.  We have done that with Italian sausage, pork sausage, smoked sausage, hamburger, and even chicken.  The zucchini is so heavy with water it is helpful to roast the veggies first.  Spread some on a cookie sheet and roast for an hour at about 400 degrees.

  Add some sausage and cheese to the mix. Or,  add the veggies to soup broth or a casserole.

Use a grater or food processor to shred whole zucchinis. Put the shredded zucchini in a strainer or colander and add some salt.  Let the water drain out for an hour.  Squeeze out remaining water.  In a bowl mix the zucchini, an egg and enough flour to make a thick batter.  Season with minced onion and hot pepper.  Fry until browned.

If you have additional zucchini place it a grocery bag, wait until dark, ...(you know what to do)

Cooking outside

Simple food, nothing fancy, but the nice weather is good reason to fire up the grill.  Being outside and paying attention to life is a good alternative to the news.

First up,  steak on a budget.  The local grocery store had boneless chuck pot roast on "sale" for $2.99 per pound.  I picked one about 1.5 pounds.  Chuck has great flavor, but can be a little tough.

A good technique is to make a dry rub with plenty of kosher salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and a bit of sugar. Rub it in and let it sit for several hours. The salt dissolves and makes a brine which tenderizes the meat as well as adding flavor.  You may want to wipe the surface with a paper towel to remove excess salt before grilling.  (I skip this step) Thin slices across the grain adds to tenderness.

Next Tandoori chicken - Indian style chicken marinated in yogurt and seasoned with a spice mixture. I used one container of plain yogurt. I added spices: 2 teaspoons each of salt, cayenne pepper, ginger, and a packaged garam masala mix.
Mix all together and put the mix in a large plastic bag.  I added a dozen chicken legs.  The package marinated in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

The chicken is typically cooked in a tandoor. A tandoor is a clay oven - charcoal grill. I used a little Weber.

A little chopped salad and a scoop of rice and peas made it a meal.  Note the new blue plates.

Braised Pork Steak

I started my recipes back in January of 2007 with this post: Easy, cheap, and, fast - What a man wants in a good recipe. It's still one of my go-to recipes even though food price inflation has nearly doubled the cost.

My skills have improved thanks to practice, food TV, and a few food blogs. Braising is one of the skills I've developed. It uses time and low heat to turn tough inexpensive cuts into tender meals. Braising is still easy and cheap. It's relatively fast to prepare too. The long slow cooking requires no effort on the cook's part. And one pot meals are easy to clean up.

Recipe #45 - Braised Pork Steak
with Acorn Squash

1 or 2 pork steaks 1-1½ lbs. (blade or shoulder cut)
1 acorn squash* (substitute any winter squash or root vegetables)
1 apple chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 cup braising liquid
salt, pepper, spices (try garam masala for an Indian flavor)

Brown the pork steaks in a large (3 qt) saute pan of dutch oven. When browned remove meat and add chopped onion. Stir to soften, scrape brown bits from the bottom. These add a lot of flavor and color. Finish scraping by adding liquid to the pan. Braising liquid can be bouillon, stock, apple juice, wine, or even water. I used about a half cup of wine and a half cup of water.

Return the meat to the pan. On top of the meat add chunks of peeled squash, sweet potatoes, or any combination of root vegetable you favor. Season with your favorite spice. Cover the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and let the pot cook about an hour, until vegetables are fork tender.

See also: Braised Chicken

Lentil soup

Soup and a sandwich is a classic combination. This lentil soup has a Mideast flavor. Lentils are high in protein, high in fiber, easy to cook. Unlike bigger legumes, lentils do not need soaking and cook in as little as 30 minutes.

Recipe #40 Lentil soup

1 cup lentils
3 cups water or stock
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
additional spices to taste

Add a little oil to the bottom of a sauce pan.  Cook onions until soft, add garlic and cook a few minutes more.  Add lentils and liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-45 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Lentil soup is spiced up with peppers, curry, or garam masala (dry-roasted, ground spices, such as black pepper, cumin, cloves, and cardamom, used in the cooking of northern India.)

Slow BBQ

The spring weather in the Grand Valley is calling for a BBQ. I have a gas grill, but this tear I wanted to add slow cooking to the outdoor mix. That calls for a kettle cooker and indirect heat.


The meat is a piece of chuck roast from the freezer. It is a flavorful and cheap cut of meat. This was on sale for $1.65 a pound. Note the thermometer, it's an important tool to getting it right.

We added a few carrots in a foil pack and a sweet onion in another.

Both vegetables were seasoned with a little butter and salt. The carrots got a splash of balsamic vinegar, too.

Using indirect heat lets the roast cook through. All the coals are on one side, the meat and vegetables are on the other. Using a thermometer makes it easy to cook the meat to the right level of doneness.

Hash

Not long ago I was talking with a friend about hash. He didn’t like it. No wonder, his experience was limited to the stuff in a can. You know the stuff; it has an unpleasant resemblance to dog food.

Home made hash is something else altogether. It is a perfect use for leftover meat and potatoes and it makes a great breakfast.

The basic ingredients are simple. A little cooked meat. It could be a bit of corned beef. It could be a bit of beefsteak, or even prime rib. Add some onion, some leftover baked, boiled, or roasted potatoes and you have hash. It’s good to throw in a few cooked carrots or other veggies if they are left over from a pot roast. Top it with an egg or two. Toast some homemade bread and you have the makings of a good breakfast.

Recipe # 29 Hash

Leftover cooked beef
Leftover cooked potato
Chopped onion
vegetable oil and/or butter
Salt & pepper
**extras
eggs sunny side up or over easy
toast

Start by chopping as much onion as you like. While you are cutting the onion, heat a skillet and add a tablespoon or two of oil. Put the onions in the hot pan to start then cooking. Cut the beef into small pieces. I do not like the minced consistency found in cans. I like a bit of size to the pieces. Next, cut up the leftover potatoes. I like the size to be similar to the beef.

Mix meat and potatoes together. Add them to the cooking onions. Stir occasionally until everything is heated through and the potatoes are browned.

Remove the cooked hash to a warm plate and cook an egg or two in the hot pan. Sunny side up or over easy goes well with the hash. Pop a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster and last night’s leftovers are this morning’s special breakfast.

It’s fast and easy and when you think that you have used up leftovers, it’s cheap too.

Notice that a modest amount of ingredients produced two nice breakfast plates. Chopping or cutting food increases the volume - sort of a loaves and fishes effect.

Red Chili

I like to play in the kitchen. Sometimes, putting together a complicated project is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. But, it doesn't always have to be hard.

I've been cooking this chili for fifty years and I still like it. It is an easy, kid-friendly recipe that my brother and I learned at an early age. It was a way for us to help out and get dinner started.

Recipe #28 Red Chili

1 pound hamburger
1 can chili beans
1 can tomatoes

1 chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 beef bouillon cube
pinch red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Brown the hamburger, adding onions, garlic and about half the seasonings. Dried onion or onion powder and garlic powder can be substituted. This is especially helpful for younger kids who lack knife skills. It's also good for camping when prep space is difficult.

Add 1 can of beans and one can of tomatoes. Kuner's Chili Beans are a Colorado product that uses pinto beans. There are several other brand of chili beans to chose from. I used Mexican style stewed tomatoes, but whole, diced, or crushed are equally good.

Add about 1 cup of water. How much water added will determine the thickness of the final dinner. Add the remaining spices. Bouillon cubes have a lot if salt, so don't add too much additional salt. Simmer for 30-60 minutes.

Serve with a bit of cheese on top. Add a warm tortilla or saltine crackers on the side.

Fast, easy and cheap

First Published in January of 2007-
The prices have gone up a bit, but it is still a inexpensive and tasty meal. Sometimes people look askance at me when I describe this recipe, but it has never failed to please. Give it a try.

I was going to title this post “Simple recipes for simple guys“, but She-who-must-be-obeyed gave me one of those looks. So, I hope she likes this.

Note to my male readers: A man’s ability to cook an edible meal and clean up afterward is an attribute highly valued by women.

There is no shortage of cooking shows, magazines and websites. So I say, “why not me too?” Too often, recipes are unnecessarily complicated. There are too many ingredients and too many pans. So let’s simplify it.

Simple recipe #1 Beef and Beans
1 pound hamburger
1 can pork and beans
1 drizzle of molasses (you can use catsup instead)

Brown the hamburger in a skillet. Pour off the fat. Hold back the hamburger with a spatula while draining the fat. (Try not to lose too much of the meat. Don’t use a strainer - it’s just something else to wash.) Add one can of beans and some molasses (or ketchup). Stir well then heat over medium low heat until it bubbles. If you are feeling fancy you can add some extras - not necessary to the recipe: a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and/or sprinkle some cheese on top. Let it melt. I’ve used grated and sliced cheese. Use what’s on hand. It’s surprisingly good with a slice of bread or a hot buttered tortilla to push it on the fork. It’s dinner for two and maybe some extra. The clean up is a snap. Cost:
hamburger = $.99
beans: = $.50
generous estimate for extras: =$.50.
Grand total= $1.99


Easy, cheap, and fast. It’s what a guy wants in a good recipe.