Tinfoil Chef

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Has anyone noticed a jump in comment spam lately? I certainly have. One of the more annoying things about blogging is dealing with spam. There’s the mostly inane, generic comments like “good job”, “nice post”, “great post” and so on that are nothing more than blatant excuses to drop a link in a comment.

They’re something that you get to see quite a bit when blogging, especially if you have more than one blog. Thankfully, the Akismet plugin combined with the Simple trakback validation plugin and the “Bad behavior” plugins weed out most of it.

Worse than that are the ones that look genuine enough to pass the anti-spam tools and have to be dealt with manually. I’d rather fill out retail resumes with a 1/4 inch long piece of pencil lead, or better yet, locating new and interesing recipes to share like this One Dish Wonder Casserole.

In a bowl, combine a pound of browned and drained ground turkey, a cup of diced onion, and a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with the liquid, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of salt.

Use your favorite non-stick cooking spray to coat a 3 quart casserole and then spoon the mixture into it.

On top of it, add 2 cups of diced potatoes, 1/3 cup of flour, 10oz of corn, 10oz of beans (lima or green) and a large green bell pepper cut into strips on top.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle a cup and a half (or more!!) of cheddar cheese and continue baking, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.

1 pound of ground meat that’s been ground and drained
(I prefer ground turkey but you can use ground beef as well)
1 cup chopped onions (about 1 medium-large onion diced up)
1 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of diced potatoes
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
10 oz corn
10 oz frozen lima beans (I’d substitute green beans because I’m not thrilled with limas)
1 large bell pepper cut into strips
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Technorati Tags: one dish wonder, ground beef, ground turkey, cheese, cheddar cheese, casserole, recipe

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There are probably as many variation of chili as there are people who make it. One thing that I’ve seen that’s pretty consistent is that those who make any variety of “Texas Chili” will almost always abide by the unwritten rule that states simply:

Texans do not put beans in chili.

Start by triming the fat from a couple pounds of stew meat. Then cut it into bite sized chunks and brown it.

Next chop up an onion, a jalapeno pepper and a couple cloves of garlic. Put everything into a pot along with two tablespoons of chili powder. Add a can of tomato sauce and then refill the can with water and add that to the pot. Add Salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer until meat is tender. The actual time will vary depending on the amount and size of the pieces of stew meat. Generally this is the kind of dish that needs to simmer for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend properly. You can’t hurry a good chili.

Technorati Tags: chili, no beans, recipe, texas chili, alamo chili

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Because my jaw has been hurting for the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about softer foods such as soups because there’s seldom been a soup that had enough crunch in it to bother sensitive teeth. Not only that, but this one just plain sounds good. It’s also great for the cold weather that I know is coming. Especially since it’s looking like some cold weather might arrive early this year (here’s hoping I’m wrong about that!)

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan, stir in two tablespoons of flour and cook that for about 3 minutes over low a heat while stirring constantly. Then set it aside to cool

Wash and trim off tough parts of a bunch (about 10oz or so) of fresh broccoli (you can also thaw out a bag of frozen broccoli florets and use them.) Cut the broccoli into 1/2 inch pieces.

Fine chop a small onion and then saute it in 2 tablespoons butter until it’s tender. Stir in the broccoli pieces and cook 3 for minutes. Stir in 1 qt. of chicken stock or broth and heat to simmering.

Stir small amount of the liquid into the cooked flour and butter mixture until it’s smooth. When it is, return the flour mixture to the broccoli & onions, stirring until the whole thing is smooth. Cover it and simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 30 minutes or so.

Next remove it from the heat and cool slightly. Puree it in a blender or food processor and return it the pan. Blend a half cup of heavy cream into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste and it’s ready to serve.

Top this off with some oyster crackers and it’s ready to warm you up on a cold day

Technorati Tags: soup, creamed soup, broccoli soup, cream of broccoli, recipe

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Some say that microwave cooking where you do more than just heat some frozen thingy and eat it quickly is more a science than an art. I think that mostly people say things like that because the microwave’s control panel intimidates them just a bit. Things like setting power levels and exact cooking times overwhelm some. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Microwave cooking, like most other kinds, is a lot more forgiving that you might expect. For one thing power levels are subjective. 100% power in your oven might only be about 50% or 75% in somebody else’s. That’s why I seldom bother with changing the power levels. Instead, I’ll tinker with the cooking times until the consistency, texture and overall appearance and smell of the food is what I’m looking for.

For that reason when a recipe calls for a given power level and time, I’ll pass it on that way with the understanding that no two ovens are exactly the same. Even if they’re the same make & model that were bought on the same day from the same store there will be differences. Therefore microwave recipes need to be adapted to your particular oven and taste.

Steam about 2 cups of Broccoli florets for about two minutes, then Moisten 2 cups of Stuffing mix. Combine broccoli & stuffing and set it aside for a moment.

Put four chicken breasts in a baking dish and sprinkle with a bit of black pepper. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of swiss cheese and a slice of ham. Follow that with the stuffing mix.

Cover the baking dish and and microwave on medium-high (70%) for about 15 minutes, rotating dish three times (it’s a lot better if you have one of those units that constantly turns the dish.

When it’s done, uncover it and top it with a can of chicken gravy, microwave on high for another minute or two to heat the gravy and you’re good to go.

Technorati Tags: recipe, chicken, microwave cooking, microwave, casserole, cordon bleu

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I’ve enjoyed seafood as far back as I can remember. Everything from canned tuna and frozen fish sticks to baked Cod, fish & chips to things like lobster and crab. Heck, I’ve even had shark! (hey, on a plate is the only place to encounter one of those without needing to run after fresh term life insurance quotes first.)

This recipe is built around using a marinade to give the fish additional flavor and moisture before it’s cooked. This makes it a good meal to plan ahead for because you’ll want the salmon to soak in the marinade for up to eight hours or so.

The marinade is made up of 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 teaspoon dark sesame oil, Juice of 2 oranges, 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoon ginger that’s been peeled and minced, 1/2 cup of chopped scallions, 2 teaspoon of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds. Mix everything in a large bowl and then refrigerate for at least an hour before using it.

After the marinade has chilled, put a couple of 1/2 inch thick salmon steaks in a large zip lock bag, add the marinade and seal the bag tightly. Put it back in to the refrigerator. Ideally for eight hours but if time is a factor try to let it soak for as long as possible. Certainly no less than 15 minutes.

Preheat your grill and give it a good coating with non stick spray to make sure the fish doesn’t stick to it. Grill the salmon on a medium high heat for three to four minutes and then turn it over and give it four minutes or so on the second side.

When you turn the salmon onto the second side, take half of a pineapple, cut it into spears and add it to the grill. You’ll want to turn it fairly often but not so quickly that grill marks don’t show up. Cook the Pineapple for about two or three minutes or until the grill marks are pretty much on all sides without letting it get dried out.

Technorati Tags: seafood, marinade, recipe, fish, grilled fish, salmon, teryiaki mariniade, grilled salmon, teryiaki

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After spending some time reading through a host of goodies of all kinds I’d have to say that not only does The Pioneer Woman Cook, but she’s also got a way with words that’s really refreshingly “just folks” and often funny to boot.

She also uses a lot of pictures to illustrate every step of a recipe, something I’d like to do but up until recently haven’t had access to a camera with enough system memory to take a decent number of sufficiently high resolution pics that still look good when you crop out everything but the star of the food show.

A great example is a recipe my wife found there for Biscuits and Gravy. This down home favorite is one that has eluded many an otherwise good cook for a long time in spite of the fact that it’s actually pretty simple (sometimes simple isn’t enough is it?).

She takes the whole thing step by step with a picture or two for each one. I honestly believe that most, if not all, of the people who have difficulty with making a basic white gravy would do a lot better after reading that recipe. It’s definitely a site I’ll be revisiting as there’s a bunch of great looking dishes that my wife and I would like to try.

Btw- The only changes I’d make with the Biscuits and Gravy would be to crumble the sausage into the gravy and use good old fashioned homemade cat-head biscuits to host generous ladles of the sausage gravy.

Technorati Tags: easy directions, cooking blogs, recipes, biscuits and gravy, pictures, gravy, biscuits

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I was surfing around looking for interesting recipes when this one showed up on allrecipes.com titled simply “Outer Banks Style Clam Dish”

You start with 1/3 pound of fatback diced (Personally I’d probably use bacon instead) and cook it in a skillet over a medium-high heat until it’s good and crisp. Remove the pieces and keep them to one side for use later.

Cut the heat back to medium and add a large diced onion. Saute the onion in the bacon (or fatback) grease until they’ve turned transparent. Dice up 4 medium red potatoes and stir them into the onions. Be sure that the potatoes are thoroughly coated with the bacon grease.

Season generously with black pepper and pour in an 8oz bottle of clam juice. Cover and simmer at a medium heat for about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are simmering, chop about 24 shucked clams into pieces. Add clams (with their liquid) to the potatoes during the last 3 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with the crispy bits of bacon sprinkled over the top.

Technorati Tags: clam dish, clams, clam recipe, clam chowder, outer banks clams, recipe

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I’ve been away for a while, having been with my wife as she went to the hospital for the second time this month. It was something of a circus this time around. Oh, the people were nice enough and everybody meant well but it’s easy to imagine that some of ‘em weren’t at their best, which explains why they had a sort of chili-Mac memory… The kind that often need to be reminded three or five times that they said an hour ago that they’d get you such and such “in just a minute”.

In any event there’s been a lot going on with the Olympics and all and because of that I looked up this Chinese recipe. One thing I’ve noticed about Oriental cooking in general is that once you’ve got everything available that you need, the cooking itself is pretty fast.

Cut 18 oz of boneless skinless chicken into 1/2 inch pieces and put them in a bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of Soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of dry sherry. Let this stand for 30 minutes to marinate a bit.

Get a cold wok or large skillet ready by spraying with your favorite cooking spray and then preheat it over a medium-high heat. Add onion a medium onion cut into wedges and stir-fry that for 2 minutes.

Add a medium green and a red sweet pepper and stir-fry for another minute. Add a cup and a half of sliced fresh mushrooms and stir-fry for another minute or so more or till veggies are crisp but still tender. Remove the veggies from wok and set them aside.

Drain the chicken and reserve the marinade. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the wok. Then add 1 teaspoon of grated ginger root and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Next Add half of the chicken and stir fry 3-4 minutes or until they’re not pink anymore. Take them out and then repeat this step with the remaining chicken.

When the chicken is all done put all of the chicken and veggies in the wok along with an 8oz can of bamboo shoots. Push everything away from center of wok leaving an open space in the middle.

Stir 1/4 cup of chicken broth, a teaspoon of cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper into the reserved marinade and add it to the wok. Cook and stir till it thickens slightly and the toss gently to coat the chicken mixture.

Technorati Tags: recipe, chicken, wok cooking, stir fry, sweet peppers, oriental cooking, chinese, wok, olympics, oriental food

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Sometimes I just want to sit down to a good hearty bowl of soup. Corn Chowder is one of those that fills the bill just exactly. It’s great all year round but it’s double good on a cold day.

Fry up six slices of bacon until it’s crisp. Then remove the bacon and set it aside. Saute a half cup of finely chopped onion in the bacon drippings until they’re transparent but not quite starting to turn brown.

Cook 2 cups of diced raw potatoes in a cup and a half of water and t teaspoons of salt, the sauted onion and the bacon (crumbled) in a covered pan until tender. Add 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and 2 cup of cream style corn.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and mix it with 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir in 3 cups of milk and cook until slightly thickened. Then add it to the corn mixture.

Garnish with some chopped parsley, shredded cheese or corn chips on top.

Serve piping hot and be prepared for people to ask for seconds
(makes about 6 servings)

Technorati Tags: recipe, potatoes, chowder, bacon, soup, corn chowder

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I like seafood, always have. Though I’m not into fishing, I’d rather get my seafood in the supermarket than to spend who knows how long on the shores of a river or lake with only three fish in it or worse yet using inflatable boats or something like that to go out on the water and get seasick while I’m busy not catching anything.

Much better is the idea of just popping over to a store and buying what I need and getting down to the making (and later eating) of something good. This clam chowder recipe is a good one to start going in the slow cooker in the morning and have it for a hearty meal in the evening.

Start out with either four 6 1/2 oz cans of clams or 3 pounds fresh or frozen. If it’s frozen, thaw it and cut into bite sized pieces.

Saute 1/2 pound of bacon and a large diced onion until golden brown and then drain it and add it to the slow cooker along with the clams.

Add 6 to 8 large cubed potatoes, 3 cups of water, 3 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender.

In the last hour of cooking, combine 2 cups of milk with the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add to slow cooker with another 2 cups of milk and stir well. Serve in large bowls with crusty French bread.

Technorati Tags: seafood, clam chowder, slow cooker, recipe

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