Cabbage Carrot Casserole

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/228366/cabbage-carrot-casserole/

Cabbage Carrot Casserole

this was great.

Pot Roast

I made pot roast for the first time. I used a 3 lb beef rump roast. I untied it and then realized why it was tied...because it was not all one piece. So it might have been better roasted because of that. But I attempted to sear it anyway and them put some water in with ti until it was about an inch from the top of the meat. Then I put cabbage wedges in the water, and a quartered onion (though I should have used 2 onions and only half a cabbage). Also added carrots, and two potatoes on top. I made sure that the cabbage was submerged, and everything else was not really submerged (except meat). It turned out well. I added herbs de province near the end. I put it in my 8 quart tri-ply steel pot and simmered 4 hours or so.

Roast Pork with apples

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/roast-pork-loin-with-apples-recipe.html

This was amazing. I baked it longer until 160 and used an oven thermometer that was left in the roast. It will need at least another 15 minutes of cooking time for that temp. Make sure to insert thermometer so the tip reaches the bottom half of the roast. THe veggies surrounding it make it slower to cook than the top half.

Double the veg and apples. I didn't have apple juice so used chicken stock, and it was excellent. Apple juice would have made it sweeter than it was. I'll have to experiment and see if David still likes it as much. Served 4 adults with enough leftover for a 5th. I had a 2.5 lb roast.

Piri Piri Chicken / Carrot Tabbouleh

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2013/08/2-golden-rules-for-substituting-meat-fish/#

I made both piri piri chicken and carrot tabbouleh and liked them both.  The chicken was great charred in the pan. I added the reserve sauce to the pan to cook it for a few seconds and it was great. Ila liked it too.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lanas-sweet-and-sour-meatballs/detail.aspx

David and I really enjoyed this. The meatballs are very tasty. I doubled the vegetables in the recipe, and the sauce should be doubled as well. To do so I would just add an extra 1.5 cups of water, and extra cornstarch.

This needs 8 cups of rice to go with it. 6 cups was not quite enough. This dish would serve 6 people generously, or 8 as a main course if there is something on the side or for dessert.

Update:
I added 6 oz of pineapple juice and 6 oz of water, plus 3 more T cornstarch to double sauce. I also doubled veggies and it turned out great. You need the extra juice to maintain flavor.

Pot Roast

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pot_roast/

This did not work well. I followed the directions and cooked it in the oven, at 200 degrees. The meat was cooked. I added potatoes and carrots an hour before I took it out of the oven. They were nearly raw. The recipe said to add carrots only 10 minutes before taking it out of the oven so I thought an hour would be plenty.  I had to dump out all the liquid into a pot and move the carrots/potatoes into it and boil it for a long time for it to be cooked.  Clearly the vegetables should have been put in much earlier. I'll have to look for a better recipe for an oven pot roast. The pressure cooker pot roast worked so well, so I might just do that again. I'd have to cut the meat into sections to make it fit though, if it is a larger roast.

Pot Roast in the pressure cooker

This is based somewhat on this recipe:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/perfect-pressure-cooker-pot-roast/detail.aspx with some modifications from caseykees.


I used a 4 qt cooker for this and a 2 3/4 lb chuck roast. The roast barely fit in the bottom. I put in 1/2 cup red wine (a pinot noir I think) and let it simmer in the pot while I seared the roast on all sides in another pan. I used 2 medium onions and cut them in quarters. I added 1 1/2 cups beef broth and 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce to the pot. I sprinkled seasoned salt, pepper, and onion powder all over the roast after searing. Next I put the roast in the pot and put the onions on the top and sides (wherever it fit).

I put the lid on and cooked it for 30 minutes after pressurizing. After that I did a quick release (cool water over the pot in the sink) and added the contents of a brown gravy packet to the liquid and mixed it in. Then I put in 5 or 6 (peeled) carrots that were cut in thirds as well as 3 large (unpeeled) potatoes cut into 4-6 pieces. The pot was almost totally packed at that point. The meat had shrunk some, and was about 140 F (rare). Then I put locked the lid back on cooked it for 15 more minutes after pressurizing. Then I did another quick release (pulled the cap off and let the steam escape).

Pressurizing takes at least 10 minutes, so doing it twice added at least 20 minutes of additional cooking time. Dinner was really late, but it was SO good. This would feed 5 hungry adults, probably 6 if the roast had been a full 3 lbs. The meat, potatoes and carrots were all perfect and tender.

It probably took 1 3/4 hrs to do the whole thing. It will be faster next time for sure now that I know better what I'm doing.

Honey Carrot Cake

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Carrot-Cake/Detail.aspx

This was a moist and tasty cake. It was less sweet than the average carrot cake and that was nice. I did not put frosting on top, but unsweetened whip cream. It calls for honey and no sugar.

Chicken Pot Pie

I have made this pot pie several times and it is really good.

The original recipe is here: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Delicious-Chicken-Pot-Pie-10744

I use milk instead of half and half.

This made about 3 quarts because I added more vegetables. It barely fed 6 adults (3m/3f). It would have fed 4 more comfortably.

I used:

3 large chicken breasts

1 large onion

4 stalks celery

5 med carrots

4 med potatoes

fresh thyme

And then did what the recipe said. You could decrease the butter to make it lower fat. I usually use just a couple tablespoons of butter, and mostly milk instead of half and half. I do like to put in a bit of half and half or cream though, for the richness.

The crust I use for this comes from a comment by BothFex:

"Sift together 1 C. flour and 1 t. salt. Cut in 1/4 lb. cold butter or marg. till resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk together 1 egg yolk and 2 T. ice water add to flour mixture and mix till it just comes together. Let rest in fridge for 20 minutes then roll out and top pie."

I don't always let it rest, but it comes out flaky and good.

Update:

I always have the problem of the filling spilling out on top of the crust. When this happens, the crust is soggy and nasty. The solution I believe is to use pie dishes and fill them completely. Then put on a top crust only, and there is the rim for the crust to wrap around. When I make a huge pot pie in a 4 or 5 qt pot, the crust often falls too low and gets soggy. It has happened enough times that I need a different method. Alternatively, I could use a 2 or 3 quart glass casserole dish and fill it completely. Then put crust on top so that the edges seal. Sealing the edges is important so liquid can't get on top of the crust. Any leftover filling can be baked separately without crust. The most important things are to completely fill whatever container you use and then make sure the crust is large enough to extend beyond the edges and be sealed.

Another update:

I made this again but did it according to the measurements specified in the original recipe (except used less butter and milk instead of half and half). I used whole wheat flour in the pie, and half wheat half white in the crust recipe. It turned out really well. It was a touch too runny, so maybe a bit more flour would be good for thickening next time. This fit pretty well into a 2 quart glass dish, but was just shy of making it. The crust didn't drown this time, I think rolling it out large enough so it goes over the rim of the dish is key.

Another update- 5/1/2013:
Made again as in the last time, using original recipe in 2 qt glass dish, worked perfectly. Roll out dough large enough to go over the rim and fold under like a top crust on a regular pie. This time I used all white flour. The sauce was not too runny once it had time to cool slightly. I would recommend allowing 20-30 minutes of cooling time on the counter to avoid the initial runny sauce, it will still be really hot. It was a while ago that I made it last time though, and it might just be that white flour does better at thickening than whole wheat flour.

Kale and White Bean Stew

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/lowcholesterolhearthealth/recipes/food/views/Kale-and-White-Bean-Stew-351254

This was pretty good considering how healthy it is. DH lamented the lack of meat (at which point I said I had planned on adding ham but he had eaten it). I swapped chicken broth for the vege broth. The fresh thyme is important for flavor. I put fresh tarragon in at the end and that made for a great flavor as well. Tarragon is awesome, by the way. It is great in yogurt sauce for gyros.

Chicken Noodle Soup

So, I sort of don't have a recipe for chicken noodle soup. This is what I do (approx):

Chicken broth. A quart maybe? Leftover chicken drippings from baked chicken are good to throw in as well.

A few carrots. 2-3.

A few celery stalks. 3-4.

Onion. 1.

Some noodles. I used 4 oz of bowtie pasta. But, whatever. My super fave noodles (hard to find depending on your location) are from the freezer section--Grandmas frozen noodles. They are awesome and swell up really fat.

leftover cooked chicken (a cup or two?)

Boil chopped veges in the broth. Then add pasta. You could put in some thyme or sage or something. If you've got it.

the end.

P.S. Every time I make chicken noodle soup the broth seems to get all absorbed. So, maybe put in extra broth:)
If grandma's noodles are not to be found, Mrs. Weiss' Kluski Enriched egg noodles are fantastic. I just put in the whole 8 oz bag and it works well for ~4 qts (or less) of soup. I like to add a can of cream of chicken soup sometimes too to make it creamy like my turkey noodle soup recipe.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

https://web.archive.org/web/20140721063507/https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Corned-Beef-and-Cabbage/Detail.aspx

This is a yummy dinner. The cabbage is really important. DH likes the cabbage and carrots more than the potatoes and onion.

Hungarian Beef Goulash

This was really good. Very much like beef stew. From my "One Pot Wonders" cookbook.

1/2 cup butter

2 lb rump, cut into cubes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb onions

1/4 cup paprika

1/2 cup flour

1 T tomato paste

2 qts beef stock

1/2 lb carrots

1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

chopped parsley, for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 400F. Heat the butter in a large, heavy casserole dish, season the rump, and add to the dish. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the paprika and flour, mix well, and place in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and mix in the tomato paste. Reduce the oven temperature to 350. Add enough of the stock to cover the meat. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, and season. Cover with a lid and return to the oven for 2 hours.

After 1.5 hours, mix in the chopped carrots and potatoes, and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

Shepherd's Pie

This recipe is based on http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Shepherds-Pie-VI/Detail.aspx, but follows the alterations made by "Erin0220" in the comments.

DH and I both really like this. It is a good meal to take to a neighbor too, since it's a one dish meal.

• 4 large potatoes, peeled (or not peeled) and cut into fourths (i.e. one potato becomes 4 large chunks)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• milk
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or less, or completely omit)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 carrots, chopped (or 3 carrots plus some green beans)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef (works well with 1/2 lb too, even without lamb)
• 1/2 pound ground lamb (optional, but awesome)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ketchup (or 2?)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 packet brown gravy mix
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. Mix in butter, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, and some milk. The amount of milk depends on the consistency you want. I like it creamy so it can be spread easily. As it cools, you'll need to add more milk to maintain the creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
2. Steam carrots and green beans, or saute until cooked. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef/lamb and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, water, and gravy mix. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of carrots/green beans. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.