PC Cookbook
polycounter lvl 11
I don't know what most of you guys do to eat, but as a starving artist I enjoy learning how to make delicious food for cheap. So, let's share recipes and techniques. Anything from muffin baking to sandwich making, cheese fondue to BBQ is go.
submit by jouste
~
Tofu Stir Fry. submit by oXYnary
(not yet pictured)
For the non-meat-eaters out there.
1 Package of Thick Tofu
Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Egg Plant
1 Pepper
Jalapeno (3)
5 Mushrooms
Fresh Spinach (handful)
Ume Plum Vinegar
Start the frying pan on medium low heat with the olive oil. Cut the Tofu into bite size blocks and douse in the Plum Vinegar.
Throw into the Pan and let fry alone for about 4 minutes. Stir constantly. You can tell when its they are good when they have a yellow discolorization happening.
(Before this while these were frying, cut up all the veggies into "forkable" pieces.)
Throw on the Veggies, and add a dash more of Vinegar, and some more Olive Oil. If you want some extra flavor, add a dash of Cumine or such.
Stir the tofu so its on the top while the veggies are underneath. Cover the frying pan and turn down temperature. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Remove the cover and start stirring the veggies/tofu again (turn heat back up). Cook until you deem is appropriate. For more texture, longer. For more vegetable freshness, shorter.
For some crunchiness, add oat or rice cereal crushed when you originally were frying tofu alone to pan.
Remove from pan to dish. Let sit for 5 minutes. Ready to serve.
~
Great bacon in the microwave. submit by divi
(not yet pictured)
divi says: "in theory it sounds terribly gross, but in reality you end up with something thats just as crispy as it is when you make it in the oven or pan."
sir-knight says: "I've done bacon in the microwave before... it's quite good.. a lot less fat."
just put two paper towels on a plate, place your bacon strips onto those, another paper towel on top. microwave on high for about 3:30. might take less or more depending on your micro.
gives great and crispy bacon!
~
Simple dessert/fruit thing sir-knight picked up at a brazilian restaurant.
(not yet pictured)
fire or gas powered oven... elemental oven is livable but not as delicious... so bbq lovers, this one is for you.
ripe pinapple... (turning golden is ripe for you non vegetable/fruit eaters.)
cinnamon... I've only ever used preground... but if you got a grinder and sticks, go nuts, I'm sure it will be much tastier.
Take a fresh pinapple... skin it... slice it into slabs, I halve it longitudinally and slice slabs off the halves... you can decide if you want to keep the core or not... The core of a perfectly ripe pineapple is completely edible and soft, very high in fibre (as is the rest of the fruit).
shake cinnamon onto the pineapple pieces and put on the grill on medium heat. Turn and sprinkle more cinnamon occasionally. Once the edges start to blacken, it's pretty much done.
You will not believe how sweet the pinapple will be when you eat it like this. It's like CRACK. If you caramellize it properly, the juice will be like syrup.
~
Spicy Ass Chicken in Wraps. submit by metalliandy
(not yet pictured)
3 or 4 Chicken Breasts,
1 Iceberg Lettuce,
1 Cucumber,
1 tin of Sweetcorn,
1 Jar of Mayonnaise,
1 Red Onion
1 Lemon
Some tortilla wraps
A Large re-sealable sandwich bag
Some tinfoil
A large Baking tray
Some Jalape
submit by jouste
~
Tofu Stir Fry. submit by oXYnary
(not yet pictured)
For the non-meat-eaters out there.
1 Package of Thick Tofu
Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Egg Plant
1 Pepper
Jalapeno (3)
5 Mushrooms
Fresh Spinach (handful)
Ume Plum Vinegar
Start the frying pan on medium low heat with the olive oil. Cut the Tofu into bite size blocks and douse in the Plum Vinegar.
Throw into the Pan and let fry alone for about 4 minutes. Stir constantly. You can tell when its they are good when they have a yellow discolorization happening.
(Before this while these were frying, cut up all the veggies into "forkable" pieces.)
Throw on the Veggies, and add a dash more of Vinegar, and some more Olive Oil. If you want some extra flavor, add a dash of Cumine or such.
Stir the tofu so its on the top while the veggies are underneath. Cover the frying pan and turn down temperature. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Remove the cover and start stirring the veggies/tofu again (turn heat back up). Cook until you deem is appropriate. For more texture, longer. For more vegetable freshness, shorter.
For some crunchiness, add oat or rice cereal crushed when you originally were frying tofu alone to pan.
Remove from pan to dish. Let sit for 5 minutes. Ready to serve.
~
Great bacon in the microwave. submit by divi
(not yet pictured)
divi says: "in theory it sounds terribly gross, but in reality you end up with something thats just as crispy as it is when you make it in the oven or pan."
sir-knight says: "I've done bacon in the microwave before... it's quite good.. a lot less fat."
just put two paper towels on a plate, place your bacon strips onto those, another paper towel on top. microwave on high for about 3:30. might take less or more depending on your micro.
gives great and crispy bacon!
~
Simple dessert/fruit thing sir-knight picked up at a brazilian restaurant.
(not yet pictured)
fire or gas powered oven... elemental oven is livable but not as delicious... so bbq lovers, this one is for you.
ripe pinapple... (turning golden is ripe for you non vegetable/fruit eaters.)
cinnamon... I've only ever used preground... but if you got a grinder and sticks, go nuts, I'm sure it will be much tastier.
Take a fresh pinapple... skin it... slice it into slabs, I halve it longitudinally and slice slabs off the halves... you can decide if you want to keep the core or not... The core of a perfectly ripe pineapple is completely edible and soft, very high in fibre (as is the rest of the fruit).
shake cinnamon onto the pineapple pieces and put on the grill on medium heat. Turn and sprinkle more cinnamon occasionally. Once the edges start to blacken, it's pretty much done.
You will not believe how sweet the pinapple will be when you eat it like this. It's like CRACK. If you caramellize it properly, the juice will be like syrup.
~
Spicy Ass Chicken in Wraps. submit by metalliandy
(not yet pictured)
3 or 4 Chicken Breasts,
1 Iceberg Lettuce,
1 Cucumber,
1 tin of Sweetcorn,
1 Jar of Mayonnaise,
1 Red Onion
1 Lemon
Some tortilla wraps
A Large re-sealable sandwich bag
Some tinfoil
A large Baking tray
Some Jalape
Replies
Ill write some stuff down when i get home
Chorizo Pilaf:
Ingredients (serves 4)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 6 chorizo sausages, sliced
* 2 brown onions, halved, thinly sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 1 red chilli, deseeded, sliced
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 2 cups basmati rice
* 4 cups Maggi Real Chicken Stock
* 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Method
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook chorizo for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels.
2. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add garlic, chilli, paprika and cumin. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring, or until soft.
3. Stir in rice. Add stock and chorizo. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir through parsley, and salt and pepper. Serve.
The tech/business equivalent to a starving artist is a founder of a startup. This is one of their recipes.
One thing stood out though:
If you were meaning to say "Thaw the chicken. Microwave defrost or set it in a bowl of hot water", I'd recommend against using hot water. Use a bowl of cold water instead. Defrosting in hot water can lead to unwanted bacteria growth on the raw chicken, whereas defrosting in cold water will keep that risk to a minimum.
Yeah, rice and beans are great, and those rice cookers are nice. Otherwise, boil then simmer on low covered for 20 minutes to make perfect rice. Might depend on the stove though? And I assume one could just toss the beans in at the same time; a roommate used to do that in his rice cooker. Good times. For a chef, he was really lazy at home.
Grilled Cheese Manwich.
What you'll need:
- 1 frying pan
- butter
- cheddar cheese (cheddar or jack)
- loaf of bread (you choose)
- bacon (real bacon. If you do turkey bacon you're not a man. And dammit this is the grilled cheese manwich).
What you'll do:- Fry up the bacon in the frying pan. Do up as much as you'll need. Roughly 3 strips per manwich. Soft or cripsy, take your pick.
- While its frying, start buttering your bread and cutting your cheese. Do this before Step 1 if you think it'll take some time.
- When the bacons done, cover it with a napkin and set it aside.
- Place the bread on the frying pan while the pan is still on the stove , the stove is still burning and all that bacon grease is still sizzling. Butter side down.
- Add the cheese.
- Add 3 strips of bacon.
- Add the top slice of bread, butter side up.
- Cook all your sandwiches as fast as possible.
- Eat.
Get 911 on speed-dial, you're likely going to have a heartattack.Slice an eggplant into layers of at most half inch thickness (leaving the skin), perforate them with a fork a few times. Roll them in bread crumbs, then in well scrambled egg. Put 1/4 inch of oil in a pot, heat it up till it sizzles when you drop some egg into it, and then place the eggplant slices in, turning them over when brown. Unhealthy but cheap, filling and delicious food in around 10 minutes.
2 cans of Whole Peeled Tomatoes (or one of the big cans)
1 bunch of Green Onions/Scallion/Spring Onion
2-3 Jalepeno Peppers
1 tsp Garlic Powder/Granulated Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Oregano
1-2 tsp Sugar
2 tbs Lime Juice (~1 Lime)
Preheat oven to 350°F
Wrap Jalepeno Peppers in Aluminum Foil (lined up with some room between each)
Roast Jelepeno Peppers on top shelf of oven for 20-30 minutes, turning them half-way. When you can smell the peppers from the oven, it's done. Remove from oven and let cool.
Rinse Green Onions in clear, cold water; trim off roots and very tops of greens. Then give them a good chop.
Remove stem and seeds from Jalepeno Peppers then give them a good chop(It would be a good idea to wear disposable latex gloves when doing this)
Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until you think it's blended.
There are many things you can alter with this recipe. This is just the backbone for some of the key flavor elements.
You can use fresh tomatoes, you can also char them up real good along with white onions instead of green onions. White/Yellow/Red Onions can be used instead of Green ones.
Different/multiple peppers can be used, or a can of chile sauce can be substituted. If you've got El Pato, use it mang!
You can use a Lemon instead of Lime for the acid to add a nice punch to the flavor.
recipe: http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/
(yes, I made it. mmmmmmm good.)
*heartattack*
cheapass tuna salad:
2-3 cans of chunk or flake white tuna... drain it well
half an onion
2-3 stalks of celery
1/3 of a green pepper
1/2 a carrot
miracle whip or mayo, your choice (I like miracle whip)
teaspoon of salt
pepper
chilipowder
basil/oregeno (standard italian spices)
finely mince the vegetables I cut longitudinally into several strips and then slice to make tiny bits...
take your drained tuna in a bowl, toss veggies in, add your spices to taste and enough mayo to make it stick together but not so much that you're eating straight mayo.
Should make about 8-10 happily portioned sandwiches... works nicely on bagels, pitas, rye bread etc.
somewhat cheap and tasty.
If you're stuck with just rice for a while, here's something you can do:
chinese ginger/garlic salsa... usually great with blanched chicken or other meats.
2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (you can probably use olive oil but it might not taste the same)
sesame oil for flavor if you have it a tiny bit adds a huge amount of flavor... think drops, no pouring!
soy sauce optional
salt
garlic - a few large cloves will do
ginger root (this stuff is cheap cheap cheap)
green onions (chives)
finely mince garlic, ginger and green onions... put in a small ceramic bowl.
You can either salt with a light soy sauce (not dark... dark is for cooking/color) or you can add normal salt.
You should be able to get away with a pinch, less is usually more with this condiment.
heat the oil in a pan till it's just about to smoke.
Stand back now... here's a potentially splattery hot part.
pour the hot oil onto the minced mixture in the bowl.
Scoop onto plain white rice or blanched chicken or whatever you desire... enjoy.
Your own shake n bake.
some all purpose flour (a little bit is enough)
bread crumbs... think a tub of this stuff is a buck and you don't need a lot to do this.
whatever spices you can find
salt
pepper
whatever meat you need shaked 'n baked.
shake 'n bake is a pretty simple concept... and that shit is expensive compared to what you can make and you can control the spice/salt intake by making your own.
Add all the ingredients together in a bag or tupperware container... shake it to mix it... then add your meat... shake again.. bake the meat... et voila... I find with some playing around you can make a superior product to what is available in stores... you can also play with curry and other interesting dry rub/spice mixtures.
OMFG - a rolled, inter-weaved bacon meat log? Im sooooo there!
-N!
Just for reference, that is a fifteen by twelve inch cutting board. The calzone was folded flag style, with a layer of meat, a layer of cheese and vegetables, and a layer of solid bacon. The entire thing was done ad libitum, with no recipe for the dough or filling.
The main thing I went for with the dough, was strength. I made it dry and flowery, strong enough to withstand the stretching and folding. Rolled out fully, it was a good six square feet. I then prepared my fillings, and folded it flag style, with the fillings on different layers. I cooked it for around 25 minutes at some temperature near 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
agreed!
cool idea, dudes. i will be trying these out.
3 or 4 Chicken Breasts,
1 Iceberg Lettuce,
1 Cucumber,
1 tin of Sweetcorn,
1 Jar of Mayonnaise,
1 Red Onion
1 Lemon
Some tortilla wraps
A Large re-sealable sandwich bag
Some tinfoil
A large Baking tray
Some Jalape
simple dessert/fruit thing I picked up at a brazillian restaurant.
fire or gas powered oven... elemental oven is livable but not as delicious... so bbq lovers, this one is for you.
ripe pinapple... (turning golden is ripe for you non vegetable/fruit eaters.)
cinnamon... I've only ever used preground... but if you got a grinder and sticks, go nuts, I'm sure it will be much tastier.
Take a fresh pinapple... skin it... slice it into slabs, I halve it longitudinally and slice slabs off the halves... you can decide if you want to keep the core or not... The core of a perfectly ripe pineapple is completely edible and soft, very high in fibre (as is the rest of the fruit).
shake cinnamon onto the pineapple pieces and put on the grill on medium heat. Turn and sprinkle more cinnamon occasionally. Once the edges start to blacken, it's pretty much done.
You will not believe how sweet the pinapple will be when you eat it like this. It's like CRACK. If you caramellize it properly, the juice will be like syrup.
do you guys (americans) always eat streaky bacon? this is what I think of when I hear bacon:
but when I was over there, its always streaky
What kind of commie pinko bacon is that!? In America we like to make sure we have the highest ratio of fat to meat that we possibly can, so we raise our pigs to grow fat in between their meats. Hence the streaky bacon.
edit: darn! the chicken was faster :-/
you can also make great bacon in the microwave.
just put two paper towels on a plate, place your bacon strips onto those, another paper towel on top. microwave on high for about 3:30. might take less or more depending on your micro.
gives great and crispy bacon!
Divi: You cook the bacon from raw in the microwave? Sounds kinda gross, like that instant reheat-able bacon they sell.
Tofu Stir Fry
1 Package of Thick Tofu
Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Egg Plant
1 Pepper
Jalapeno (3)
5 Mushrooms
Fresh Spinach (handful)
Ume PLum Vinegar
Start the frying pan on medium low heat with the olive oil. Cut the Tofu into bite size blocks and douse in the Plum Vinegar.
Throw into the Pan and let fry alone for about 4 minutes. Stir constantly. You can tell when its they are good when they have a yellow discolorization happening.
(Before this while these were frying, cut up all the veggies into "forkable" pieces.)
Throw on the Veggies, and add a dash more of Vinegar, and some more Olive Oil. If you want some extra flavor, add a dash of Cumine or such.
Stir the tofu so its on the top while the veggies are underneath. Cover the frying pan and turn down temperature. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Remove the cover and start stirring the veggies/tofu again (turn heat back up). Cook until you deem is appropriate. For more texture, longer. For more vegetable freshness, shorter.
For some crunchiness, add oat or rice cereal crushed when you originally were frying tofu alone to pan.
Remove from pan to dish. Let sit for 5 minutes. Ready to serve.
in theory it sounds terribly gross, but in reality you end up with something thats just as crispy as it is when you make it in the oven or pan. don't ask me why it actually gets crispy and brown, maybe it fries in its own oil... don't know
http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Bacon-in-the-Microwave
My parents' nuker even came with a metal rack that didn't react to the the microwaves... you put the bacon on the rack, run it and it cooks... fat drips down. Honestly it tasted and felt like normal bacon.
I'd have a picture up but have been procrastinating my shopping trip all week.
I will, however, be adding to my list the ingredients of a few things posted here - success!
PS: Microwave bacon reminds me of this little girl. http://www.makinbacon.com/... site cracks me up every time.
Burnt a ton of bacon the morning Starcraft II's website went up. Totally sucked.
Edit:
Alright, updated the first post. The latest recipes get put at the top, as will any newly posted. Bitmap's right about pictures, so I made reminders for everyone in hot, sweaty, fluorescent pink. Feel free to submit hunger-inducing images.
30g butter
60g fennel (this one, not seeds or the herb)
250g of blue mussels (frozen and already out of the shell is my favorite since i'm lazy)
40ml vermouth
pinch of saffron
300ml stock (preferably fish stock, but any stock will work)
100ml cream
fresh lemon
salt
pepper
optional
small pinch of cayenne
starch solved in water
twig of herb fennel
put the butter in a pot and heat until it starts to become slightly frothy. dump the fennel and optional pinch of cayenne in.
sweat until translucent, but not brown. dump in the thawed, washed and squeezed(don't need the liquid) mussels.
throw the stuff around for another minute or less, depending on how high you set your heat and toss in the vermouth,
deglazing everything that might have stuck to the bottom of the pot. give it another minute before adding the stock.
let it simmer for 10 minutes and towards the end of those start fishing the mussels out of the sauce and set aside.
use whatever blending device you have aviable to get the sauce to a smooth consistency and reduce the sauce
until it's somewhat thick depending on how you like it. toss the mussels and the cream into it and thicken it with starch
or reduce a bit more if you aren't happy with the consistency. chop the optional herb fennel and season with lemon juice,
salt, herb fennel and maybe pepper. pour over slightly underdone pasta, toss around and let it sit for another minute or two
so the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce (no additional heat needed). add a small knob of butter aswell as more salt if necessary and enjoy.
Chicken Kiev (1 serving) ~ $6 per serving
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 tsp each dried thyme, tarragon, parsley
- ~1cup panko bread crumbs (regular breadcrumbs can substitute, but are heavier)
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1tsp water
- 1 toothpick
- salt/pepper
- canola/vegetable oil for flying
- In a bowl, mix the butter and herbs together thoroughly. Place mixture in plastic wrap or parchment paper and form into a small log. Place in freezer for at least 1hr
- Place chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound out until ~1/8 thick (not any thinner!)
- Place the compound butter log and 1tbsp panko in the center of the chicken breast. Fold ends of breast into center and roll the breast to enclose the butter, rolling tightly to seal. Secure with toothpick if making right away, or put in fridge for at least 2hrs, seam-side down
- Heat 1/2 inch oil in a pot/deep pan until 375º
- Dip each breast into the eggwash and coat in the panko
- Place each breast into the 375º oil until golden brown on all sides, around 4-6min or internal temp is at least 160º
- Drain on paper towels, season with salt/pep as soon as you take out of oil
~
Chicken stuffed feta (1 serving) ~ $6 per serving
(not yet pictured)
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1cup all purpose flour
- 3tbsp feta cheese
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1tsp fresh thyme
- 1/2tsp fresh rosemary
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1tsp water
- 1 toothpick
- 1tsp salt
- 1tsp lemon pepper
- 1tsp cayenne pepper
- 1tbsp canola/veg oil
- heat oven to 350º
- Combine 2tbsp feta w/herbs and 1/2 the lemon juice
- Cut a deep 1 1/2-2in "pocket" into the thick side of the chicken breast, being careful not to cut all the way through
- Place feta/herb mixture into the pocket and secure with toothpick
- Mix together the flour, salt, papper and cayenne to season the flour
- Dip the breast into the eggwash to coat, then into the flour mixture. Make sure to shake off excess flour
- Heat the oil in a saute pan on medium-high until shimmering
- Place chicken in pan and brown on both sides, 1-2 minutes at most
- Put pan in the 350º oven for 15-20min, or until internal temp is at least 160º
- Cover with remaining feta and lemon juice
~
Toasted garlic and kale mashed potatoes (4+ servings) ~ $2 per serving
- 4-5 large russet potatoes, diced
- 1 bunch kale, washed, fine chop
- 2-6 cloves garlic, sliced into chips (more or less, depending on your love of garlic)
- 1/2 cup milk (or soymilk) The liquid is an estimate. It's really a "by eye" sort of thing..
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 3tbsp olive oil
- salt/pepper
- Place potatoes in pot of cold water and bring to boil (cook until fork-tender)
- Meanwhile bring a large saute pan to medium high and add olive oil
- add garlic chips and cook until they just start to show brown edges
- add the Kale to the pan, stirring to coat. Cover with lid and cook for ~2minutes until wilted down
- remove lid and stir to ensure garlic is not burning. Continue to cook uncovered for 1 more minute, then turn off heat and set aside
- Add the butter to the potatoes and begin mashing. Add dairy/soy until desired consistency is reached. Add garlic/kale mixture to potatoes and mix to combine. Add salt/pepper to taste
~
Herbed red mash (4+ servings) ~ $2 per serving
- 2lbs red potatoes, diced
- 1tsp fresh thyme (minced)
- 1tsp fresh rosemary (minced)
- 1tbsp fresh dill (minced)
- 1tbsp fresh chives (fine chop)
- ~1cup milk/soymilk (again, this is really by-eye, no real measuring)
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- salt/pepper
- Boil potatoes until fork-tender, drain
- Add butter and mash
- Add milk/soymilk until desired consistency is reached
- Add herbs, stir to incorporate herbs
- Add salt/pepper to taste
~
Herbed New Potato discs (1 serving) ~ $1 per serving
(not yet pictured)
- 4-5 small new potatoes (red, white or purple, doesn't matter)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- sour cream
- fresh chives, fine dice
- dried thyme/rosemary/oregano (italian mix)
- butter or oil
- salt/pepper
- Boil new potatoes until fork tender, drain
- Use a clean dish towel and press down on each potato, flattening to around 1/3in thick. Let potatoes cool down
- Heat some butter/oil in saute` pan over medium high heat
- Sprinkle dried herbs on discs, place in pan and cook until golden brown on each side, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add a little more butter/oil to pan. Saute garlic in pan until slightly golden. Remove from heat and drizzle garlic/oil over the discs
- Mix chives & sour cream together, serve over discs!
~
Prosciutto Asparagus (4 servings) ~ 1$ per serving
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 package prosciutto
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 package whole fresh chives (not really needed, but looks nice)
- salt/pepper
- Heat over to 350º
- Wash asparagus. Take one asparagus and holding each end in different hands, bend the asparagus until it snaps. Cut all other asparagus to match that length and discard the stem bottoms that were cut off
- Wrap each stalk with a thin piece of prosciutto and tie it off with a chive. If the chives are old and dry, it might make it harder as they will break. Like I said not needed, but it looks nice and adds a bit of extra onion flavor
- Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle the garlic on top of the stalks and season with salt/pepper
- Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until the asparagus have started to slightly crisp, as well as the prosciutto
(For extra-tasty, you can grate some parmesan cheese over the stalks before baking)
~
Shepard's Pie (6+ servings) ~$2 per serving
- 2lbs ground beef (80/20 preferably) also good with "meatloaf" mixed meats (beef, pork, lamb)
- 6-7 large russet potatoes, peeled, chopped
- 1 large sweet onion (walla walla, texas sweet, etc)
- 3-4 carrots, peeled, fine chop
- 2-3 celery stalks, fine chop
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or fine dice (more or less for your tastes)
- 1 12oz can plain tomato sauce
- 1 can sweet peas, rinsed, drained
- milk/soymilk for mashed potatoes (by eye)
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 6tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt/pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less for your tastes)
- 1 tsp red pepper flake (more or less for your tastes)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Put potatoes in cold water and bring to a boil
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-low and add 4tbsp olive oil. Heat until it starts to shimmer, but not smoke
- Add onions and sweat them until tender and transparent, about 3-4 minutes
- Add carrots and celery and cook an additional 5-6 minutes, covered if possible
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, ~45sec
- Remove all ingredients from pan and set aside
- Add remaining 2tbsp olive oil and turn heat to medium-high
- Once oil is shimmer and near smoking, add beef. Several small batches might be needed, to ensure you brown the beef and not boil it in it's own liquid
- When meat starts to brown, season with some salt/pepper
- When the last batch is nearly done, reduce heat to medium and add previous batches back into same pan to reheat. Add all veggies to the pan as well
- Stir in tomato sauce and tomato paste as well as the cayenne and pepper flake. Mix to combine
- Add peas to mixed and fold gently to avoid mushing them up
- reduce heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes then turn off and set aside
- Once potatoes are fork-tender, drain and return to pot
- Add butter and begin mashing. Add milk/soymilk as needed to reach desired thickness. Potatoes must be spreadable but NOT too wet!
- Add salt/pepper to taste
- Spray the inside of a 9x13 nonstick baking pan with cooking spray
- Add 1/2 the potato mixture to the pan and spread to cover bottom
- Add all of the meat mixture on top of the potatoes, spread to cover
- Add remaining potato mixture on top and spread to cover the meat mixture. Be sure to seal up to the sides to ensure meat mixture doesn't boil over during cooking
- Sprinkle the paprika on top of the pie
- Bake @ 350º for 35-45minutes until surface is light golden brown.
*This shepards pie really needs to rest for at least 1hr before serving, otherwise it won't come out as a "slice" - more like a meat-potato slop. It's particularly delicious the day after, reheated. Yum*
~
Poached Chicken (1 serving) ~ $4 per serving
(note, vary this recipe to make chicken for tacos, burritos, chili, etc)
(not yet pictured)
- 1x boneless/skinless chicken breast
- 1 box/can chicken broth (about 20oz)
- 2tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Thermometer (crucial!)
- Heat all ingredients in a saucepan or deep saute pan over medium low heat. Use thermometer to make sure temp does not exceed 180ºF ! Any hotter and it will cook too fast on the outside, leaving the inside raw. Or it will cook through, but will be very tough. Low poach temp = juicer chicken.
- Once at temp, place chicken into liquid and cook for 15-20minutes, until internal temp is at least 160ºF
The poach method will ensure a very juicy breast, which partakes the flavors you added to the pot. A lemon-pepper rosemary bird is tasty indeed.
Edit: Crisis averted. I made Chicken Caesar Wraps. I grabbed some tortillas, shredded some lettuce, put down a slice of processed mozza cheese on each wrap, sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top and then spread the chicken and caesar dressing.
I barely had enough ingredients, I really need to go grocery shopping.
going to try the ramlette at some point.. sounds interesting.. for some reason I think it needs cheese in there somewhere..
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or pancake mix)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 eggs (I'm old and use cholesterol free egg produkt)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- Thick cut bread "Texas Toast" is great for this (not the frozen garlic bread) and its in most stores.
You can also use the same flour/pancake mix trick to create some great fluffy scrambled eggs.This looks more like pancetta than what we consider bacon.
What is pancetta?
Huh? You coat the bread in pancake batter? THIS IS MADNESS!?
Is it deep-fried, too? ;D
I use the same recipe (sans batter & sugar) for my french toast. I use either brioche or challah bread. When I can afford it, I also use a real vanilla bean instead of the extract, it's sooo much better.
Ooo gotta try that bread and actual vanilla bean too.
I made a slightly different version with chopped up frankfurters in cheese.
to be honest it was just like a furter cheese omelette's with ramen interfering..
the recipe says 2 packets.. thats way too much ramen I had to ditch a good quarter of it..
it would have been ramen mattress if I used it all
my wife said it looked interesting.. in a lying wtf are you cooking kinda way...
Just kidding looks tasty.
for this you will need :
at least 6 slices of genuine parma ham. For the britishers, M&S currently has 3 packets for a fiver, fantastic value, get it bought
one bottle of Old Pulteney whisky. 12 years will do you fine. This recipe might work with different whiskies, but if it does, invent your own damn name for it.
put the ham on a plate.
put the whisky in a glass.
scoff it all right down. Preferably while watching a block of a Rick Stein series.
woah
WOAH
what you have there, with beef, is COTTAGE PIE. Shepherds pie is made with lamb. You bloody psychopath.
You should stick it all in a blender, along with a porkpie for added effect, and make a smoothie.
but i am going to do it
No no no...you have got it all wrong!
Shepherds pie is made by Dio and is 100% pure METAL \m/
[ame]
Take yesterdays spaghetti with sauce and plap it into a pizza pan and flatten... NO HOLES kind OK!
Add cheese such as provolone or mozzarella some kind of olives and other pizza-like stuff then burn it in the oven till nice and brown and crispy. mmmmm
This recipe is great for just random left over bits in the fridge.
Chicken Yum Yums.
ingredients: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Procuitto, Mozzarella
Cut Chicken into finger sized pieces do the same for the cheese accept thinner.
wrap the cheese and chicken with procuitto completely and hold with toothpicks
Lay 'em out in a baking pan bake them till they are cooked and BAM! you have something yummy.
It's a retarded recipe. Kessler's right, just combining cheap random things or leftovers in an unusual way. Man, I gotta update the first post with all these new recipes and additions. Or do I? Is that form of organization of any use to anyone? Sweet stuff anyway. I have a cookie bar recipe to post, but there are a couple variations of it to be experimented with...
Made Adam's grilled manwich. Heh, it wasn't pretty.
And shouldnt your wife be cooking anyways? :P
so mostly alot of pork marinated different ways
I got a good recipe for pork shoulder called "pernel" I'll toss it up later when I write it up proper
MOFONGO.
Muzz - she does cook but I love cooking too !
seforin - dont be holding out on us like that...
Stilton steak
nice slab of beef (my favourites are rump or fillet)
kikkomna soy sauce
white pepper
Stilton cheese cut into slices
egg
butter
crushed garlic puree
quantities depends on the size of the steak and also to taste.. I never measure anything.
preforate the meat with a fork and
add soy sauce and sprinkle on the white pepper
flip it over and repeat and leave it to seak for a couple of hours
Heat a frying pan melt the butter and fry the crshed garlic puree till brown
slide in the steak and fry (I like mine really rare or what the french call blue)
crack the egg into the pan and fry that sunny side up
once the steak looks like its almost done place the cheese on top
and cover with the egg.
I have a picture of it someplace will upload later.. it doesnt look pretty but damn does it taste good.
If that dont give you a heart attack nothing will.
It seems passable for a one off, but you couldn't live on that stuff. Theres no contrast in flavours and not much in texture. Everything becomes a kind of neutral salty, buttery flavour and glugs together. There's also the fact that while it's all vegetable matter, I can't image it's terribly nutritious. Nothing much to stave off scurvy in your startup studio.
It's significantly improved by a liberal application of tabasco which isn't the sort of exhorbitant luxury that would need to be discounted from such a budget concsious meal, but I think it can be developed further into a far better staple for the poverty stricken artist or penniless startup.
I shall keep you posted on any exciting developments.