Vegetable Beef Soup

Vegetable Beef Soup  ..................From the recipe earlier of Beef stew

Remove all meat and vegetables with a slotted spoon and place in a colander placed over the pot / container of leftover beef stew so all dripping drain back into the sauce.

Chop the meat and vegetables into small pieces. Measure. I had 2 cups of cut up pieces.

Place a good beef broth (1 qt added for 2 cups of cut up vegetables/meat)) back into the pot and heat the leftover sauce with the broth . Add the meat and vegetables and VOILA a lovely Vegetable Beef Soup is made!  You can add some peas and sliced green beans if you like

Adjust the amount of broth to the amount of vegetable/meat you have.

EASY PEASY!!!

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Beef Stew

BEEF STEW



It has been rainy, cold and damp and I thought it probably would be the last time I might want beef stew as the spring/summer is upon us.  I took out the beef cubes yesterday to thaw and don’t you know today about mid-day the climate changed totally and the sun came out and the temperature went to 84 degrees! Oh well it is out and thawed now, so beef stew it will be.

This is a one pot wonder and it takes no talent to make a good beef stew.

Beef stew usually uses tougher pieces of meat cut in chunks, any vegetable combination again cut in chunks (what you like and or have on hand) and is cooked in water, bouillon or wine for a long time, on low heat so all the flavors mingle with each other. Then it is thickened (by the potatoes inside and the use of flour or corn starch) to make a gravy.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pd Beef stew tenderized cubes

1 large onion cut in 6ths

4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

2 stalks of celery cut in i-1 1/2 pieces

2 handfuls of baby carrots

2 handfuls mushrooms

1 large red potato cut in 6^th (or more)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

10 grinds of fresh pepper

Dash allspice

2 cups beef stock                                                                 

1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce (I used A1 sauce)

1 tablespoon corn starch

Place olive oil in a large soup or stew pot and heat to medium high heat and add beef, onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes to brown/sear the meat. 

 Add the 2 cups broth, celery, carrots, potato, mushrooms, and all the seasoning.

Simmer for 1 ½ hours until the meat is tender. (Stirring every 20 minutes or so)   Remove a cup of the juice/sauce and add the corn starch to it and whisk it well. 

Add it back to the stew and simmer for 15 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.

TIPS:

·        Beef cubes come prepackaged and sometimes already tenderized (pounded with a textured maillot). You can use whatever beef you like as long as you remember the tougher the meat the longer it will take to cook (IE: beef tenderloin will take the least amount of time).  You can use a chunk of meat and cut it up yourself and pound with tenderizing maillot to cut the cost.

·        It is wonderful with a piece of crusty bread to help soak up the gravy at the bottom of the dish.

·        I made homemade French bread yesterday and I am sorry to say, I forgot to take pictures as I made it, so that will be the subject of another blog!

·        I serve it always with a fork, knife and spoon!  You don’t want to leave any little bit behind.

·        Add a cup of red wine to make it a richer sauce

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Scallops and Pasta

Scallops and Pasta

Bay Scallops or Sea Scallops.  Your choice.

Both the Sea and Bay types of scallops are related: I think the Bay scallops are light and sweet and the Sea scallops are more intense in flavor.

I have recently realized that the larger Sea scallop is my scallop of choice. Having recently come to this conclusion, I still had two one pound packages of bay scallops in my freezer and I had to do something with them.  The flavor of the bay variety to me is sweeter and lighter and lacking in the robust flavor of the Sea scallop, so I think I need to infuse taste and not rely on the natural sea taste of the sea scallops to make a dish pop.

I am using red pepper, garlic, crushed dry red pepper for heat and parsley and a good splash of olive oil and lemon. We do not want to over power the scallops but just brighten them up.

So first we need to cook the ingredients --all --but the scallops, as they will take minutes to cook thru only.

Add the Scallops

1 pound bay scallops with its juice
1 red pepper diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion minced finely
1/2 cup minced parsley (fresh only)
½ lemon juiced
Fresh black pepper
½ pound of your choice pasta cooked...come on….. you all know…EL DENTE...only!

Place olive oil in sauce pan and sauté the red pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, onion and parsley for about 3-4 minutes.  Take the scallops from its juice and add to sizzling hot sauce pan and cook 2 minutes per side.  Add juice of the scallops and the lemon and cook 2 minutes more.

Place on cooked pasta of choice. I choose spaghetti.  But most people would suggest an angel hair. 

PLATING: I always go for cheese on top and more red pepper flakes!  A few sprinkles of chopped fresh parsley will look wonderful

Finishing the dish:

Who made the rule that fish and cheese cannot be mixed? 

Not me!  I pretty much think nothing goes poorly with CHEESE, as I really must have been a mouse in some prior life.

So I do, yes... yes I put grated Parmesan on my fish and pasta dishes! 

(So maybe the white gloved server at the best seafood restaurant raises his eye-brow and even have the audacity to say …Mame but you are having fish..,Who cares, I still request a few shavings of that precious cheese! Don’t be intimidated... Who is paying for the meal anyway!)

TIPS:

·        If you use spiral pasta or smaller types of pasta that you place into the sauce rather than top with the sauce, remember the pasta as well as the fish will continue to cook while it is on the heat,so adjust cooking times.

·        White wine is a wonderful addition.

·        Butter would be a good choice to add to smooth the sauce out at the end (meaning add 1-2 teaspoons of butter to the sauce and whisk in). I don’t feel the calories warrant the bit of extra taste (BUT:please note the taste of butter in any sauce is hands  DOWN better)

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

ZUCCHINI FRIES (or are they)

ZUCCHINI FRIES

For fun serve in a paper cup.

Low in cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat, these are a great way to serve zucchini and you can pretend they are FATTY French fries but they are NOT!  I think you will be surprised these may even taste better! Of course the secret is BAKED and not fried.  The true Greek part of me does want me to heat up a pan of olive oil and fry these guys up but the new, more health conscience me knows baking is better.  So let's bake some veggie fries!

(Trust me: they are delicious)

2 medium zucchini

1/2 cup egg beaters (can use one egg white)

¼ cup milk

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Sprinkle of Oregano

Splash hot sauce (brand of choice)

Take both ends off the zucchinis and discard. Slice Zucchini length-wise in French fry size sticks. 

Whisk the milk, and egg beaters and hot sauce.

 Place all zucchini pieces in this mixture and toss to coat well. 

Then toss in bread crumbs/oregano/Parmesan cheese  mixed together and lay on a baking sheet. 

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes until tender and outside is crunchy.

Dust with salt when hot.

TIPS

·        Instead of the egg beaters use one egg white ( I use the beaters as I hate having the yolk left over)

·        Can fry them in oil but do you really want the extra oil, fat and calories etc.?

·        Don’t salt until you taste as Parmesan cheese and the hot sauce are salty and I don’t feel any is needed   (I am one that loves salt! So anytime I get to NOT salt the better!)

·        You can use this method with eggplant, potatoes (sweet and white) and green beans.  Simply try any veggie and see what YOU LIKE!  .(these worked for me).

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Roasted Whole Chicken

Roasted Whole Chicken

It is Sunday and all I can think of are the myriad of family meals taken over the years with family gathered. Most of my life was had dining on spaghetti during the mid-afternoon after church and the rest over big roasts, baked hams and stews; all the kind of meals that fed a large group easily.

My girls are sitting on a beach in Greece now and we are doing house chores in Pennsylvania  (at least it is bright and sunny for the weeding!) and I thought to make a warm and comfort seeking meal that will bring thoughts of a full table of family and friends and evoke good memories.

1 six- seven pound chicken

1 fennel bulb

1 medium onion

4 stalks of celery

2 large garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 lemon sliced in eights

1 lemon juiced

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Rinse well the chicken and make sure to remove any packaged “inners” (neck, liver gizzard) that may be in the cavity.

Cut the vegetables in chunks.  In a large roasting pan place all vegetables and quartered garlic cloves and bay leaf at the bottom and half of the sliced lemons. 

Place fore fingers between the breast of the chicken and the skin and release skin making a pocket to place the ½ of the lemon slices.  Sprinkle salt in the cavity.

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, tucking wings under bird.  (Squeeze the juice of one lemon all over and rub with 2 tablespoon of olive oil all over chicken. Sprinkle with the oregano and generously salt and pepper.

Tent with foil and bake at 425 degrees for 1 3/4-- 2  hours.  (check by piercing a knife between the joint in the leg and make sure juices run clean with no blood color)  Remove foil and place back in the oven and turn the heat up to 500 degrees and bake for 15-20  minutes more until browned and the  skin a bit crispy. Don’t dry out the chicken!

Let rest 15 minutes for juices to settle inside and then carve.

Final roasted chiken with Lemon peeping through the skin.

 TIPS:

·        I am out of FRESH rosemary (My garden has not produced herbs yet) but instead of the bay leaf I would have used rosemary for sure!

·        I love oregano on chicken but Thyme is also very popular.

·        I ran out of carrots and would have placed some under the bird as well.

·        You can stuff the cavity with the vegetables instead of placing them on the bottom of the chicken.

·        Sometimes I place ¼ cup of salt in 2 quarts of water, submerge the bird and place in the refrigerator overnight to “brine” the bird. But really who has the time?

·         Server\ the vegetable at the bottom of the pan. They are sweet and juicey.

Corned Beef Salad

CORNED BEEF SALAD

I just love corned beef made as a  boiled dinner and sandwiches of all kinds.  So of course when Saint Patrick’s Day came around last month I bought three corned beef briskets on sale and froze two of them.

On the weekend I made the traditional corned beef, cabbage, potato and carrot boiled dinner (takes some time to cook, but simple to make- a Dump Cook's dream)  and I enjoy it very much.  Then there were the leftovers:
SANDWICHES OF COURSE. .......BUT: I have come to realize I really do not like “my” leftover corned beef sandwiches.   No matter how I dress up the slced meat with coleslaw, dressing and cheese, it just seems they are fatty (even thou I trim it well and slice it across the grain)  and not as tender as one finds in a good Deli. I think it has to do with how the meat it brinned and then sliced.  They slice it so very paper thin  (only achieved by a machine slicer) and pile it a mile high and use  glorious fresh Rye bread.  Firstly, I dont take the time to brine the meat overnight nor do I have a professional slicer.

So I did not want to waste any of the good meat in a not-so-good sandwich but I really wanted to use the meat.  I remembered back to a ham salad sandwich my sister once made for me and thought why not try this with corned beef?

Out came the blender, a jar of pickles , a crusty baguette of bread and some mayonnaise.  Nothing could be easier.  All things were in my pantry and I was ready to go.  The meat was very flavorful by having cooked in all its pickling spices and the juices of the vegetables the night before., so I thought this was gonna be so easy.

Simply process until a smooth spread

I began mixing it and I tasted the mix, I then decided a squeeze of lemon and some mustard would spice it up, so I added them at the last moment. Yup, it was easy and pretty tasty for a quick fix!

Ingredients:

A good pound of cooked Corned beef sliced (from leftovers of your boiled dinner, dont use deli sliced meat as you can go straight to making a good deli sandwich being it has been brined and sliced thinly))

3 spears dill pickles

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Squeezed juice of  a ½  lemon

Half of a baguette of bread sliced in half (open face style) toasted

Mix all but bread in food processor until blended to a creamy texture with slight lumps.  

Spread on toasted bread and serve open face style.

It is not all that pretty and looks a bit sickly by color, but it is just yummy!  After tasting the sandwich I then thought of numerous other ways to add some changes.

TIPS:

Variations :

add chopped ½ onion

add 1 hard boiled egg chopped

Add a splash of hot sauce.

Thousand island or Russian dressing instead of Mayonnaise

Wrap in lettuce leaf instead of on toasted bread

Add Boiled potatoes sliced and plate on lettuce

Capers would be a nice décor added

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

MOUSSAKA

Moussaka

Moussaka

Moussaka originates from the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean but the most famous version is the Greek version.  Recipes differ from country to country but all are based on eggplant, meat and potatoes.

The Greek version uses sauteed eggplants, tomatoes, ground meat and has layers of potatoes and is topped with a rich béchamel sauce and then it is baked. It is perhaps the most widely recognized of all Greek dishes and was made famous by the legendary Greek chef, Nicholas Tselementes.

I use a bit of all the different country’s styles in my version which incorporates  eggplants, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, ground beef and is topped by a cheesy Béchamel sauce. You can place any kind of vegetable inside such as mushrooms to change the recipe to what you like and have at hand.

I ran out of Eggplant while filling the vegetable layer abut a year ago and found some lovely zucchini, so they got roasted and "dumped" in to fill the layer.  I have made it this way ever since that experiment!

Make sure meat sauce is thick and dry.

Meat Sauce

1 ½ pounds ground meat

1 small onion minced

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 can small can chopped tomatoes (If fresh in season then use about 2 cups chopped)

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pepper ground to taste

Sauté meat, onion and garlic in the olive oil.   Stir on low for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and all spices and simmer for 25 minutes, stiring every five minutes.

Vegetable Layer

3 large potatoes

2-large zucchini

1 medium eggplant

While the sauce is simmering let us prepare the vegetables. 

Slice all about the same thickness (between 1/8 and ¼ inches thick) and lay on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray.  Broil for 3-4 minutes, take out, turn over and return for another 3- 4 minutes.  Vegetables should be lightly browned.  As we are not frying them, they will not be greasy but will get a slight crunch on the outside (especially the potatoes).

Make thick like oatmeal

•Béchamel Sauce:

3 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

3 cups milk, warmed

2 eggs beaten

Pinch of ground nutmeg (please use fresh grated)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and keep on low heat. Add the flour and whisk well.  Heat for a few minutes until the sauce turn light off tan (NOT BROWNED) color and flour is cooked. . Mix in warmed milk.. Whisk well.  Simmer to thicken for about 4 minutes (whisking always) .  Remove from heat and cool slightly  (so eggs don't scrambled) and then add the eggs, nutmeg and pinch of salt/pepper.  Rewarm until the sauce thickens.  Whisk again.

Topping

½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup of Parmesan cheese.

Sprinkle of nutmeg

ASSEMBLE:

Spray the bottom of a large baking pan/casserole with non-stick spray.  Layer potatoes first to cover the entire bottom. Then layer the zucchini.  Top with layer of meat sauce. Smooth sauce all across the top.  Add a layer of eggplant.

Top with the Béchamel Sauce and sprinkle with bread crumbs and a hand full of Parmesan cheese and a light dusting of nutmeg.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Serve with just a salad

TIPS:

Please always use fresh nutmeg (once you do you will never purchase pre-grated.

Traditionally: all vegetables are fried (I prefer baked as much healthier!

Let stand a few minutes after baking so it sets before cutting.

Serve warm or at room temperature and great the next day!

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!