I didn't take a picture of this dinner, but I've made it several times before. In fact, I was surprised to find that I hadn't posted it here before.
Chicken and Onions
Ingredients
two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
one large onion, sliced
olive oil
salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder
Equipment
oven
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a baking dish with foil (this recipe can stick to a pan and hold on for dear life). Put the chicken and the sliced onions in the dish and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice (I like garlic on everything, and paprika gives it a nice color). Bake for about 30 minutes.
Yields
2 servings
Total time
30 minutes
Cleanup rating 3/5 if you use foil
If you don't use foil, have fun scrubbing onion bits off your dish. Been there; done that. Now I only make this dish with foil.
Flavor rating 7/10
Sometimes I overcook this. Sometimes I undercook it. When I get it right, it's a 7/10. When I don't, it's like a 3.
Difficulty rating 2/10
So simple. Surprising, considering I just admitted to screwing it up sometimes.
Adjustability: medium
You can add other veggies, or use different seasonings, but that's about all there is to it.
Make it with...
This time I made it with rice in the rice cooker that I added shredded gouda to (try it, it's great). You can make it with mashed potatoes, or noodles, or any veggie side dish... it's really versatile, because it really just boils down to being chicken, seasoned however you want.
Kitchenventory
Cabinet: nothing
Fridge: chicken breasts
Countertop: onion, olive oil
Spice rack: seasonings
Miscellaneous: foil
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Chicken Noodle Soup
One of my dad's favorite pastimes is to try making dinner without going grocery shopping. He likes the challenge of using what is already in the kitchen to make a meal. I don't have quite the knack for it that he does, but he has several years' worth of experience on me, so I don't mind.
However... I have to admit that I did a pretty amazing job yesterday.
I was cleaning out one of the cabinets (as part of the kitchenventory) and found an old can of chicken noodle soup... old enough that I didn't want to eat it. But it sounded good. So I thought, "Oh, I'll go to Panera on my way to work and get some soup for lunch." But then I thought, "There's chicken in the fridge, and I just pulled half a bag of egg noodles out of this cabinet." Lo and behold, I had the stuff to make an actual chicken noodle soup in the Crockpot.
This is a recipe where I'm listing what I had and used, but it's very versatile, so make substitutes all over the place.
Yields
5-6 servings... I'm working my way through the leftovers now.
Total time
7-8 hours (prep time about 5 minutes)
Cleanup rating 4/5
If you don't use a slow cooker liner, slow cookers can be a pain to clean. But at least it's only one dish. Still, this has lots of little bits of things and if you don't lick the pot clean, you have to clean little bits of things off of it.
Difficulty rating 2/10
Make sure you remember to pull out the chicken and shred it and put in the noodles on time, but otherwise, this is super easy.
Flavor rating 8/10
It might be because this was exactly what I wanted or because I skipped lunch, but this was DELICIOUS.
Adjustability: high
Since this was an on-the-fly recipe, that kind of defines it as an adjustable recipe. Use whatever vegetables and seasonings you have on hand. Have more chicken broth? Use it; I had about three cups, so that's what I used. Have vegetable broth instead? Go for it.
Make it with...
Nothing or anything. This was a hearty meal on its own and didn't need anything to go with it.
However... I have to admit that I did a pretty amazing job yesterday.
I was cleaning out one of the cabinets (as part of the kitchenventory) and found an old can of chicken noodle soup... old enough that I didn't want to eat it. But it sounded good. So I thought, "Oh, I'll go to Panera on my way to work and get some soup for lunch." But then I thought, "There's chicken in the fridge, and I just pulled half a bag of egg noodles out of this cabinet." Lo and behold, I had the stuff to make an actual chicken noodle soup in the Crockpot.
This is a recipe where I'm listing what I had and used, but it's very versatile, so make substitutes all over the place.
Chicken Noodle Soup (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
about 3 cups of chicken broth
about 3 cups of water
half a packet of onion soup mix
half a bag of baby carrots
half a bag of frozen peas
half a bag of frozen green beans
salt, pepper, shallot-pepper seasoning
half a bag of egg noodles
Equipment
slow cooker
Instructions
Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with the veggies and liquids. Cook on low for 6-7 hours (mine went about 8 because of work schedule). Take out the chicken and shred it with a fork (this should be really easy, it'll just fall apart) and put it back in. Add the noodles and let it cook for another 20-30 minutes. Add more liquid if you feel like it needs it.
Yields
5-6 servings... I'm working my way through the leftovers now.
Total time
7-8 hours (prep time about 5 minutes)
Cleanup rating 4/5
If you don't use a slow cooker liner, slow cookers can be a pain to clean. But at least it's only one dish. Still, this has lots of little bits of things and if you don't lick the pot clean, you have to clean little bits of things off of it.
Difficulty rating 2/10
Make sure you remember to pull out the chicken and shred it and put in the noodles on time, but otherwise, this is super easy.
Flavor rating 8/10
It might be because this was exactly what I wanted or because I skipped lunch, but this was DELICIOUS.
Adjustability: high
Since this was an on-the-fly recipe, that kind of defines it as an adjustable recipe. Use whatever vegetables and seasonings you have on hand. Have more chicken broth? Use it; I had about three cups, so that's what I used. Have vegetable broth instead? Go for it.
Make it with...
Nothing or anything. This was a hearty meal on its own and didn't need anything to go with it.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Kitchenventory
Yup, I made up a new word: kitchenventory. This is my list of stuff to keep in the kitchen or at least keep tabs on (for example, we don't need to always have beer brats in the fridge, but I use them pretty often, so I need to know whether we have some in the fridge or if I need to pick some up).
I've broken the list down into where things go in the kitchen: cabinet, fridge, freezer, counter top, and spice rack. There's also the miscellaneous list (for non-food items like foil and paper towels) and the non-kitchen list (for things like cat food and cat litter and toilet paper).
Cabinet
dry pasta, rice, flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, bouillon (chicken, beef, and vegetable), tortillas, hot sauce, vanilla, vinegar, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, bbq sauce, onion soup mix, brown gravy mix, syrup, Pam, sriracha, Bisquick, canned pineapple
Refrigerator
Always: butter, Parmesan, wonton wrappers, wine (white and red)
Sometimes: chicken breasts, ground beef, stew meat, pork tenderloins, bacon, sour cream, bell peppers, carrots, raw spinach, green onions, cheese, zucchini, beer brats, milk, eggs, mushrooms, cucumbers
Freezer
peas, edamame, spinach, corn
Countertop
potatoes, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, avocado, apples, vegetable oil, olive oil, sesame oil
Spice Rack
garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, salt & pepper, cayenne, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes
Miscellaneous
aluminum foil, slow cooker liners, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, paper towels, Ziploc (quart and sandwich sizes)
Non-kitchen
cat food, cat litter, toilet paper, naproxen, Tylenol, cleaning products, toothpaste (and toothbrushes), laundry detergent
I'm sure that changes will be made (additions, removals, replacements) but this looks pretty solid to me so far. If I had enough of these ingredients in the kitchen, I could feed us for at least a month and not get bored with food.
I've broken the list down into where things go in the kitchen: cabinet, fridge, freezer, counter top, and spice rack. There's also the miscellaneous list (for non-food items like foil and paper towels) and the non-kitchen list (for things like cat food and cat litter and toilet paper).
Cabinet
dry pasta, rice, flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, bouillon (chicken, beef, and vegetable), tortillas, hot sauce, vanilla, vinegar, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, bbq sauce, onion soup mix, brown gravy mix, syrup, Pam, sriracha, Bisquick, canned pineapple
Refrigerator
Always: butter, Parmesan, wonton wrappers, wine (white and red)
Sometimes: chicken breasts, ground beef, stew meat, pork tenderloins, bacon, sour cream, bell peppers, carrots, raw spinach, green onions, cheese, zucchini, beer brats, milk, eggs, mushrooms, cucumbers
Freezer
peas, edamame, spinach, corn
Countertop
potatoes, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, avocado, apples, vegetable oil, olive oil, sesame oil
Spice Rack
garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, salt & pepper, cayenne, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes
Miscellaneous
aluminum foil, slow cooker liners, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, paper towels, Ziploc (quart and sandwich sizes)
Non-kitchen
cat food, cat litter, toilet paper, naproxen, Tylenol, cleaning products, toothpaste (and toothbrushes), laundry detergent
I'm sure that changes will be made (additions, removals, replacements) but this looks pretty solid to me so far. If I had enough of these ingredients in the kitchen, I could feed us for at least a month and not get bored with food.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
3 large yellow onions (slice 'em up)
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
42 oz beef broth
Salt and pepper
bread
shredded cheese (I used Gouda)
Equipment
slow-cooker, skillet, stove
Instructions
Melt the butter in the skillet. Add onions and saute until they're soft and a little bit browned. Add the wine. Pour it into the slow-cooker with the beef broth, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Toast the bread lightly. Serve in bowls with bread on top, cheese on top of that, and add a little more soup on top of the cheese to melt it all together.
Yields
4-6 bowls of soup
Total time
4.5 hours: About 15 minutes of prep, 4 hours in the slow-cooker, 10 minutes to finish off
Cleanup rating 4/5
Slow-cooker recipes always have higher cleanup ratings. We didn't like this enough to keep the leftovers, so I strained the liquid out of it with a colander into the sink, and threw out the remaining onion pieces. Plus you have more dishes than you normally get from a slow-cooker recipe: skillet, knife and cutting board, and the five billion tears from cutting up so much onion at once.
Difficulty rating 3/10
There are many steps, but none of them are particularly difficult. You do need to try to get the onion slices approximately the same size for even cooking, but that's probably the trickiest part.
Flavor rating 4/10
Meh. I don't really know what went wrong with it, but it just wasn't very good. The wine flavor was pretty strong, which is not what I want out of a French onion soup. I think that was the biggest problem. I would cut down on the wine.
Adjustability: low
There isn't much to French onion soup. There's onions, liquid, then bread and cheese. It's rare for "peasant food" to not be very adjustable, but this one doesn't have much of anywhere to go. Different onions, different wine, different broth, different bread, different cheese, but they're all the same basic ingredients. For what it's worth, the gouda worked really well, even though the original recipe suggested Swiss.
Make it with...
I made it with beer mushrooms, sauteed beer brats with garlic, and potatoes. It could be its own meal, or go with all sorts of things.
Beer Mushrooms
You know what's awesome? Beer. You know what else is awesome? Mushrooms. But guess what wasn't double-awesome? These beer mushrooms. They were okay.
Ingredients
Total Time
about 30 minutes
Cleanup rating 2/5
The thing about making something with a lot of butter and leaving it in the pan while you eat dinner is that it gets that fatty stuff all over the pan. I think it's kind of gross, but it's easy to clean up.
Difficulty rating 2/10
Patience factors into difficulty, which is the only reason this isn't a 1/10.
Flavor rating 3/10
Meh. I like mushrooms. I like beer. (At least, I like the beer I used for this.) I didn't really like this.
Adjustability: low
Use a different beer (the original recipe recommended a stout, maybe that was part of my problem) or use different mushrooms, maybe add some other herbs/seasonings, but that's about all you can do.
Make it with...
I made this to go along with French onion soup, sauteed beer brats with garlic, and potatoes (they were sliced this time to make them cook a little faster). You could make them with just about anything... chicken, pork, beef, vegetarian meals, whatever.
 |
| Beer + mushrooms = beer mushrooms |
 |
| That's them, on the right, with beer brats and potatoes. |
Ingredients
8 oz mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup beer
salt and pepper
Equipment
skillet, stove
Instructions
Melt butter in a skillet. Add mushrooms. Add beer. Cook for about 30 minutes, letting the mushrooms absorb all the beer. Salt and pepper to taste.
Yields
3-4 servings
Total Time
about 30 minutes
Cleanup rating 2/5
The thing about making something with a lot of butter and leaving it in the pan while you eat dinner is that it gets that fatty stuff all over the pan. I think it's kind of gross, but it's easy to clean up.
Difficulty rating 2/10
Patience factors into difficulty, which is the only reason this isn't a 1/10.
Flavor rating 3/10
Meh. I like mushrooms. I like beer. (At least, I like the beer I used for this.) I didn't really like this.
Adjustability: low
Use a different beer (the original recipe recommended a stout, maybe that was part of my problem) or use different mushrooms, maybe add some other herbs/seasonings, but that's about all you can do.
Make it with...
I made this to go along with French onion soup, sauteed beer brats with garlic, and potatoes (they were sliced this time to make them cook a little faster). You could make them with just about anything... chicken, pork, beef, vegetarian meals, whatever.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Caesar Salad
You may be saying, "Alex, you haven't posted in a couple weeks, and here you bring us a salad? That's not cooking." To that, I say: I can't hear you, and calm your face, because this salad was delicious.
Caesar Salad
Ingredients
romaine lettuce
croutons (ours are Parmesan Caesar)
bacon
chicken (got a rotisserie chicken, rosemary & garlic)
Parmesan cheese
Caesar dressing
Equipment
colander or salad spinner, cutting board and knife, microwave if your bacon isn't cooked, bowls
Instructions
You've made a salad before, right? Wash and pat dry your lettuce (I hate a watery Caesar, and it can make your croutons soggy, which is just the worst) and divide it into bowls. Cut up your chicken into bite-size pieces. Microwave your bacon according to package instructions. Assemble salads. Smile.
Yields
Depends on how much of each ingredient you use, of course.
Total time
10 minutes
Cleanup rating 1/5
You aren't even cooking. Absolute maximum of dishes to clean is your colander or salad spinner, cutting board, knife, maybe a plate you cooked bacon on, and your bowls/forks.
Difficulty rating 1/10
Even with the required skill of knowing how to efficiently dissect a rotisserie chicken (which I left up to Birk while I did the other prep), it doesn't get much easier than this.
Flavor rating 7/10
It's a classic dish. Chicken Caesar salad. Can't go wrong.
Adjustability: high
Use steak, shrimp, turkey, tofu, or nothing instead of chicken and bacon. Use a different type of lettuce. Instead of croutons, use nuts or Parmesan crisps or some other crunchy little thing. Try different dressings (although then I guess it's not so much a Caesar...)
Make it with...
Everything. With the chicken in it, it's a fine entree on its own. If it hadn't been so quick and I hadn't been so hungry, I would have roasted some potatoes and onions with it, or sauteed chicken breasts to go alongside it instead of cutting up rotisserie chicken to put on top of it. Go nuts.
Birk picked up Ken's Steakhouse creamy caesar dressing a while back, and it's now my favorite Caesar dressing in a bottle. (The best Caesar anywhere is the one at The Melting Pot, but I don't dare try to copy it... I just eat it once a year and love it.) It's a pretty big bottle, so you might see Caesar show up again sometime on here.
Caesar Salad
Ingredients
romaine lettuce
croutons (ours are Parmesan Caesar)
bacon
chicken (got a rotisserie chicken, rosemary & garlic)
Parmesan cheese
Caesar dressing
Equipment
colander or salad spinner, cutting board and knife, microwave if your bacon isn't cooked, bowls
Instructions
You've made a salad before, right? Wash and pat dry your lettuce (I hate a watery Caesar, and it can make your croutons soggy, which is just the worst) and divide it into bowls. Cut up your chicken into bite-size pieces. Microwave your bacon according to package instructions. Assemble salads. Smile.
Yields
Depends on how much of each ingredient you use, of course.
Total time
10 minutes
Cleanup rating 1/5
You aren't even cooking. Absolute maximum of dishes to clean is your colander or salad spinner, cutting board, knife, maybe a plate you cooked bacon on, and your bowls/forks.
Difficulty rating 1/10
Even with the required skill of knowing how to efficiently dissect a rotisserie chicken (which I left up to Birk while I did the other prep), it doesn't get much easier than this.
Flavor rating 7/10
It's a classic dish. Chicken Caesar salad. Can't go wrong.
Adjustability: high
Use steak, shrimp, turkey, tofu, or nothing instead of chicken and bacon. Use a different type of lettuce. Instead of croutons, use nuts or Parmesan crisps or some other crunchy little thing. Try different dressings (although then I guess it's not so much a Caesar...)
Make it with...
Everything. With the chicken in it, it's a fine entree on its own. If it hadn't been so quick and I hadn't been so hungry, I would have roasted some potatoes and onions with it, or sauteed chicken breasts to go alongside it instead of cutting up rotisserie chicken to put on top of it. Go nuts.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Game of Thrones Dinner: Honeyed Chicken and Spiced Squash
I know, I disappeared from this blog for a while... Sorry! But I haven't been cooking as much because I've been doing... everything else.
Last Saturday, Beth and Chris and I entered a cosplay contest at Tidewater Comicon... and we won best group! In celebration of our cosplay (Melisandre, Margaery, and Oberyn) I wanted to make an easy dinner for everyone from the Inn at the Crossroads. I wanted to make olive bread but the timing didn't work out very well, so this is what we wound up with:
Ingredients
a squash (I used butternut)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice (I skipped this because we didn't have any)
Equipment
sauce pan, stove, baking sheet, oven
Instructions
Cut up the squash into approximately 1" pieces. Preheat the oven to 375F. Heat the maple syrup in a pan with the spices for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly (do not let it boil). Remove it from the heat. Arrange your squash pieces on a baking sheet (I highly recommend lining it with foil first). Pour the sauce over the squash, coating the pieces as evenly as possible. Bake until tender, about 20 minutes. If you managed to reserve any sauce, heat it in the last few minutes and pour it over the squash when you take it out of the oven.
Yields
Two fairly big butternut squashes fed me and five friends, and the sauce was just the right amount.
Total time
This only took about half an hour, with Birk cutting up the squash while I worked on the sauce for the chicken.
Cleanup rating 2/5
Not bad, but you are heating maple syrup in a pan. I'd recommend using all the sauce on the squash to begin with, and cleaning the pan immediately, while the squash is in the oven. And if you follow my advice about lining the baking sheet with foil, it'll make it 10x better.
Difficulty rating 3/10
I learned that butternut squash is pretty tough to cut; it's kind of like a sweet potato. Beyond that, this is a very simple recipe... it's like a sweet version of my potatoes!
Flavor rating 7/10
I don't eat a lot of squash, but maybe I should start. This was really good. It's excellent for fall weather! I think I might mount an effort to get squash everywhere instead of pumpkin. (Nothing against pumpkin, I'm just not a big fan of it in everything... just pie, really.)
Adjustability: low
There are only so many spices that would go well on a squash, and there are only so many types of squash, and that's all you could really change, because that's all you're using.
Make it with...
Of course, I made it with the honeyed chicken, which was an amazing combination. But I think you could make it with anything that you consider a fall or winter meal. It's a side dish that plays well with others. And it's an excellent and easy vegan dish if you have guests with dietary considerations at the holidays. (It's also gluten-free unless you have a really weird maple syrup.)
Last Saturday, Beth and Chris and I entered a cosplay contest at Tidewater Comicon... and we won best group! In celebration of our cosplay (Melisandre, Margaery, and Oberyn) I wanted to make an easy dinner for everyone from the Inn at the Crossroads. I wanted to make olive bread but the timing didn't work out very well, so this is what we wound up with:
I made a pressed-for-time (some might call it "lazy") version of Honeyed Chicken. I cheated and used pre-made rotisserie chickens, but I made the sauce. I also made Spiced Squash with it (I used the modern recipe, but used butternut squash that was growing in the yard so I wouldn't have to buy acorn squash). And to pull it all together, I threw together a green salad out of what the in-laws had growing outside: a couple different types of lettuce, spinach, tomato, and some red onion Birk chopped up while I was out picking everything else.
Sauce for Honeyed Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
dash of mint (I had to use dried)
handful of raisins
1 Tbsp butter
Equipment
saucepan, spoon, measuring cup, stove
Instructions
Combine everything in a pan and cook until the raisins start to plump. Pour it over the chicken when it's done. (Yes, it's that simple!)
Yields
I actually doubled the recipe since, as you can see in the photo, I had two chickens. (I was channeling the Hound, I guess.) But the recipe makes plenty for one full chicken.
Total time
For the sauce, maybe 10 minutes total. I was reheating the chickens so that took about 30 minutes.
Cleanup rating 2/5
I expected something with this much honey to be a huge mess, but it wasn't bad. I recommend cleaning out your pan pretty quickly though, because it does that thing where the fat floats on the top if you don't use all the sauce, and I think that's kinda gross. And rinse out your measuring cup with really hot water right after you measure the honey, and that'll be less of an issue later.
Difficulty rating 2/10
It's a really simple recipe. Even if you had to roast a chicken from scratch, I wouldn't put this over a 5/10. The timing is easy, the cooking is easy... you do need to be able to keep an eye on it, but I had Birk around for that.
Flavor rating 6/10
I thought it was a little heavy on the apple cider vinegar, but everyone else said it was good. I think it went really well with the already-seasoned rotisserie chicken, so the flavor plays well with others. And I'm pretty sure some of the vinegariness went away as the sauce cooled.
Adjustability: low
Other than adding herbs, I don't know how I could change this, but I also don't know why I would. It's basic and yummy.
Make it with...
Obviously, chicken. I don't see any reason you couldn't make it with turkey instead. I wouldn't use it with other meats, or with anything other than poultry.
Spiced Squash
Ingredients
a squash (I used butternut)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice (I skipped this because we didn't have any)
Equipment
sauce pan, stove, baking sheet, oven
Instructions
Cut up the squash into approximately 1" pieces. Preheat the oven to 375F. Heat the maple syrup in a pan with the spices for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly (do not let it boil). Remove it from the heat. Arrange your squash pieces on a baking sheet (I highly recommend lining it with foil first). Pour the sauce over the squash, coating the pieces as evenly as possible. Bake until tender, about 20 minutes. If you managed to reserve any sauce, heat it in the last few minutes and pour it over the squash when you take it out of the oven.
Yields
Two fairly big butternut squashes fed me and five friends, and the sauce was just the right amount.
Total time
This only took about half an hour, with Birk cutting up the squash while I worked on the sauce for the chicken.
Cleanup rating 2/5
Not bad, but you are heating maple syrup in a pan. I'd recommend using all the sauce on the squash to begin with, and cleaning the pan immediately, while the squash is in the oven. And if you follow my advice about lining the baking sheet with foil, it'll make it 10x better.
Difficulty rating 3/10
I learned that butternut squash is pretty tough to cut; it's kind of like a sweet potato. Beyond that, this is a very simple recipe... it's like a sweet version of my potatoes!
Flavor rating 7/10
I don't eat a lot of squash, but maybe I should start. This was really good. It's excellent for fall weather! I think I might mount an effort to get squash everywhere instead of pumpkin. (Nothing against pumpkin, I'm just not a big fan of it in everything... just pie, really.)
Adjustability: low
There are only so many spices that would go well on a squash, and there are only so many types of squash, and that's all you could really change, because that's all you're using.
Make it with...
Of course, I made it with the honeyed chicken, which was an amazing combination. But I think you could make it with anything that you consider a fall or winter meal. It's a side dish that plays well with others. And it's an excellent and easy vegan dish if you have guests with dietary considerations at the holidays. (It's also gluten-free unless you have a really weird maple syrup.)
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