Recipe - Chicken Tiki Masala

A little while ago, I enjoyed Chicken Tiki Masala at Pizzeria Uno tremendously.  This was our attempt to imitate that dining experience.  The results were dinner-time nirvana.  We served it with a mixture of brown, mahogany and white rice, and steamed broccoli with sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and grated parmesan. 



It was really an easy recipe, but not fast food.  If you have more time than money, this might be just the recipe for you!  It was a bit warm, but not really hot.  Recipe here:

Gluten Free Lasagne - Haney Style

Now, if you have been following this blog long enough, you know that we give you a method more than an exact recipe.  Cooking isn't an exact science, after all.  So well...it's been a tough couple of weeks.  But today I saw a male cardinal in my feeder, and that means a lot.  Also, the grass needed to be mowed again -- the second time this season.  Thank you Lord!  I think I captured the lilacs in bloom at dusk, along with the good-night song of the birds here.  It might not seem like a big deal to you if you live in the country, but this is really a big deal to me....the good night call of a number of birds -- you can also hear the waterfall in the back if you listen closely:



So, it was dark and dreary and cool enough to run the oven tonight, so dinner was gluten free lasagne, with italian sausage on the side.  And oregano....did  I mention fresh oregano????

Those night-birds were singing to me while I was cutting it.  It was SOOOOOO fragrant!!!

So anyway, cook up some lasagne noodles, or not.  This is pretty simple, actually.  We used gluten free, you could use regular.  Cook them, or not.  You really don't have to pay more for those "no boil" lasagne noodles.  Just use a little more liquid (sauce).

So, oil your pan.  We used a 9 x 13, you could use a broiler pan or whatever you have.  Layer the bottom with sauce, home cooked, or store bought.  Then a layer of noodles, then mix up some ricotta and some eggs - we used 16oz. of ricotta with 2 eggs tonight, then mozzerella.  Now....you could mix in some spinach, garlic, whatever you think might be tasty.  Lots of times we use spinach if we have it...whatever you have.  At any rate, you need to layer this way.....

• Sauce
• noodle
• ricotta (mixed with egg)
• mozzerella
• stuff (spinach, sausage, meatball, whatever you have)
• Sauce
• noodle
• ricotta.....

blah, blah, blah...till your pan is full.  Stop when you have reached Noodle, sauce....and top the whole mess with parmesan.  Bake at 350 till bubbly.  The important thing is to then let it rest until it stops bubbling and you can cut it.  Add some kind of bread to dip into the saucy mess, and voila!!!!

Gastronimical nirvana!!!!!

Asian Inspired Drumsticks and Fried Rice

Wow...a seriously substantial meal.  It was a cooperative effort.  I did the meat, Big Steve did the rice on the side.

So....Good CHEAP eats Haney style...as usual, it's more method than recipe, so here we go!  Take a mess of drumsticks.  If you're frugal, they're way cheap at the market.  If you're whole foods, you don't need drumsticks, just a mess of chicken parts (one cut up chicken will more than do).  Leave the skin on.  Just my opionion.  Then mix up some chili sauce and soy sauce, equal parts.  Add a mess of minced garlic.  Stir it up.  Put your drumsticks (or other parts) into a pan big enough to hold them in a single layer.  Then spread the soy/chili sauce/garlic on top.  Now sprinkle on some sesame seeds - however much makes you happy.  Now, put it in the fridge for 1/2 hour-ish.

Next, throw the whole mess into the oven (uncovered) for about 35-40 mins at 350.

Meantime....chop up some onion and celery and garlic and toss it about in a wok with some extra virgin coconut oil (oh, mamma -- but you could use any oil you have) and toss and toss and toss (with soy sauce and a bit of horseradish) until it's as splendid as you can make it. 

This is GOOD, friends.  I'm just about to go up for seconds.  No kidding, my plate is in my lap and my dogs are wondering why they haven't had a bite yet!

Avocado Salad Dressing - Yummy & Good For You!

Last night Big Steve & I threw together an impromptu salad dressing and it was so yummy!  It was creamy goodness with just a bit of a kick, and it was very satisfying in the tummy.  And it couldn't have been any easier.  You know recipes on this blog are more like methods than anything, so here goes.

We peeled a very ripe avocado and mashed it into a bowl.  To that we added about a cup of good quality yogurt, a generous dash of Goya Salsita and stirred it up.  Finally, some salt and pepper and the juice of a wedge of lemon and stir again.



You really need to toss this on the salad well to get an even distribution.   It would even be great as a substitute for mayonnaise on a sandwich.

I just can't wait till the fresh spinach and other greens are ready in our garden.  It won't be long now!

Pizza, Can We Talk?

If you're seriously trying to be frugal and wise, pizza might be your best choice.  The only picture I have left of tonight's glutton-fest is the following: 

Yes, yes, yes.  Gluten free, leftover wonderfulness for two nice lunches tomorrow for me and Big Steve.  So let's talk frugal.  And talking frugal must involve the Hillbilly Housewife at some point.  I LOVE her recipe for regular pizza crust.  It can create a whole cookie sheet full of wonderful, hot, doughy, tasty delicious comfort-food type pizza for about $2.  Seriously.  We kid you not.  You can find her recipe here:  http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/pizzacrust.htm  It was a wonderful bubbly goodness when I took it out of the oven.  Eventually it simmered down to a lovely thin crust pepperoni pizza existence.  There were no slices left to photograph.

I also made another pan of pizza with Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour recipe.  It was, hands down, the BEST gluten free pizza I have ever enjoyed!!!  I've eaten gluten free pizza out, but it couldn't hold a candle to this.  You can find the recipe here:  http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=1426

So - Christmas is coming -- money is tight.  Do you need to go hungry?  NO!!!!  Treat your family to some awesome comfort food tonight!!!

Sunday -- November 14, 2010 - Recipe alert - Horseradish

So, ok.  We got yelled at for not blogging enough.  Apparently the day-to-day mundane stuff around here is interesting to some?  That is awesome to us, and at the same time, we just figure that everyone else is doing what we're doing...

At any rate, we had a productive, if non-interesting day here.  Big Steve is bemoaning the fact that we only took "after" type pictures today.  But we dug a ton of horseradish at my mom's yesterday.  Again, no "before" pictures, but we did end up with three really full quarts and one gift-size jar of the good stuff.  And we've still got to dig our own:

And I can assure you -- this stuff is for real.  Here's the method:  Dig your roots, and as quickly as possible (like don't let it sit in the fridge for days) peel these roots, and then cut them up and wash them well.  Then put the chunks into the blender, or you can grind it by hand, but only if you have a death wish.

So Horseradish is like a skunk.  If you threaten it, it will give out noxious and harmful, even sickening fumes.  It is a plant with a protective defense.  One of the few.  It is, however, a very healthy root to consume.  So you will need to decide where your need for heat meets your need for self-preservation.  No, seriously.  If you have never ground your own fresh horseradish roots, you have no idea what I am talking about.  But you soon will. 

Now think about liquid.  Water is a good liquid.  Then there is vinegar, plain white vinegar, which stops the enzymatic sinus killing (brain cell killing) action we mentioned before.  Here at the Haney Place, we add a mixture of 2 parts water, 1 part vinegar to the roots in the blender (in our case, the VitaMix).  We have heard that there are folks who will grind their roots and allow the roots several minutes of killer enzymatic activity before they add the vinegar.  We, however, have no such blind ambition.  (Get it?  BLIND ambition???)???

So....we add the roots to the water/vinegar mixture and grind it all together at the same time, and let me assure you, nobody will have a stuffy nose tonight. 

So everybody happy now that they know how to make their own horseradish?  It's really such a simple thing.  And very fulfilling when you have won out over a root. No seriously, it is a race for preservation with this stuff.

So once you have your freshly ground horseradish safely tucked away in the fridge, you can think about breakfasts for the freezer.  Tonight it was wraps, which seem to be a staple here.  Flour tortillas, filled with corned beef, scrambled eggs w/cheddar, and safely wrapped in waxed paper and then sturdy freezer bags.  Hmmm...I wonder how they would be with horseradish???

Breakfast security-- a very good thing aound here!!!

Mary Walker Made a Peck of Pickled Peppers....

If Mary Walker made a peck of pickled peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Mary Walker made?

Well...let's get a few things straight.  My name is Mary Beth!  :-)  And I did make a batch of pickled peppers tonight.  I'm putting some grey matter toward the little that is left in my produce drawer, so as not to waste any of the garden goodness.  So tonight I took the last of Big Steve's jalapeno's and pickled them.  Refrigerator pickled them, as there is only one big-ass jar of them, and we will use them before they could ever go bad.

So we did this:  We had fewer than 5 lbs. jalapenos.  We left them whole, packed them (loosely) into a clean 1/2 gallon jar we got from the Deli Madhouse...it has previously held 5-bean salad.  It was awesome, but I am so glad it was gone.  Beans are healthy, but the sugar in this salad was not.  And it was so enticing!!!  But I digress...

We packed the whole peppers into the jar, after we poked each one several times with a sharp knife.

Then we poured the hot liquid over the whole mess.  In a week or two, they will be ready for use to eat alone (if you have a bloody death wish) or in recipes.

God bless you all tonight, and we're thankful that we used, and didn't lose, the last of our jalapenos!  (Thank you so much, dearest of Stiva's, for growing these peppers with such loving care).

It's a Very Busy Time of Year!

Seriously, it really is.  From now till, well probably, mid-October, it will be a frenzy of activity around here.  Bringing it in.  Bringing it all in.  I have a table full of green tomatoes tonight, a field full of jalapenos, green beans needing to be spoken for, and the tomatoes and bell peppers haven't even started.  Then there is that tree full of peaches...  I'll stop now because there isn't time.  Suffice it to say we had a wondrous meal last night...steak on the grill, monstrous baked potatoes, and best of all, fresh tomato salad.  Fresh red tomatoes from the garden. Yummy!!!!

Tonight, it was a cooked meal with the fresh stuff....bracciole cooked in a fresh tomato marinara in the slow cooker, and a wonderful tray of eggplant parmagania with the eggplant and tomatoes (and herbs) from the garden.

I haven't put down the recipes because I don't have time unless I know someone wants them.  You know how to get me for the recipes.  If all else fails, leave a comment!!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Green Tomatoes & Such

It really is the most wonderful time of the year.  Time for fresh stuff to come from the garden to the table within an hour or less.  And time for canning, freezing, drying, you name it.

Tonight it was green tomato rice (recipe following), broiled bay scallops, and freshly picked green beans.  I meant (I really did!) to take a picture of a plate of it all, but I was really hungry, got really excited, and well, you know the rest.

So anyway, Big Steve was out doing some thinning and pruning out in the garden and we ended up with a mess of green tomatoes.  What to do?  It's tough to preserve on a moment's notice after a full day at work, especially when you have dinner to prepare ahead of you.  So we did what anyone would have done...we made green tomato rice as a side dish tonight.  Now...green tomato rice would be fine and dandy on it's own if you didn't have any meat.  You could just stir in some cheese near the end and it would be a meal in itself.  As it was, we had broiled bay scallops with garlic, parsley and oregano, along with some green beans freshly picked from the garden.

So anyway, whilst Big Steve was snapping away at the green beans, the green tomato rice was being prepared.  So here's how you do it:

Just take some bacon (we used "about" four slices)and fry it up in a nice saucepan till it's brown.  Then take out the bacon and set it aside to drain.  Then, to the bacon fat, add about one chopped onion, and cook it up for just a minute or so, until it's just getting soft.  Then throw in some finely chopped green tomatoes (2 or so) and cook for another minute or so.  Then you finely mince a nice jalapeno (we had a ton in the garden - just see it minced in the top photo) and a chopped clove of garlic (or whatever you have).  Bring it all around to a nice soft sizzle.

Now, add 2 cups of chicken stock, one cup of white rice, and a dash of tabasco sauce...a little freshly ground salt and pepper, a bit of thyme...and set the timer for 20-25 minutes.  When it's ready to serve, crumble in the reserved bacon and sprinkle the whole mess with the parmesan.  It's deep of the summer nirvana, friends.  A really nice kick, and yet, it's real comfort food.  And gluten free, to boot!

Happy eating!!!

 

Sunny Sunday

It wasn't supposed to be sunny today.  In fact, the weatherman promised us thunderstorms for most of the night and lots of rain today.  Yesterday, the heat index was around 100.  The humidity is stifling.  It only cooled down to 76-77 last night, and the humidity just kept hanging around almost 80%.  Thankfully, the weatherman was wrong.  I say thankfully because our dryer went kaput yesterday.  Big Steve has it in several pieces in the laundry room, and the parts store won't be open until tomorrow. 

So....I'm truly thankful for our big generous clothesline to help us get our laundry all clean and ready for the workweek ahead. 

In the meantime, we had sausage, eggs and grits for breakfast this morning.  Yummy!!!  And I believe I'll make up a batch of sausage/egg/cheese breakfast sammiches for the freezer.  I had a thought about a loaf of grits/meat/eggs that could be sliced up and frozen for individual servings.  I might just have to try that.  Wouldn't it be good heated up on a skillet with a little bacon grease?  Oh boy....

At any rate, it's sill morning, and already Big Steve has deposited some monster blueberries and lovely purple
eggplants in the kitchen for me to figure out what to do with.  Oh boy -- it's really going to be a great day!!!

Now, to figure out what to do with the eggplant now that it's coming in  hot an heavy...

Real Men Don't Eat Quiche???

Yes they do!  Especially if they grew the broccoli themselves.  It's official.  The summer vegetable eating season has begun.  Yesterday it was some fine peas in a salad.  Today it's freshly cut broccoli in our gluten free quiche.  If you want the recipe -- just leave a comment.

Hoppin' John

I started with the Goya recipe on the bag of black eyed peas, but mightily modified it as follows:

Take a pound of black eyed peas.  Put them in a big pot with about 4 cups of water, and bring to a boil.  Shut it off, and put it on the back of the stove.  Meanwhile...

Fry up some sausage.  Tonight we used about 1/2 lb. of chorizo and 1/2 lb of smoked sausage.  Use whatever you have.  Fry it up, take it out of the pan, leave the fat in the pan, and then...

Chop up the following:

• at least one large onion
• at least two stalks of celery
• about one pepper, green, red, whatever you have.

Throw the vegetables into the pot with the fat (and some olive oil, if needed) till somewhat tender.

Throw everything into the pot with the beans and water.  Also, grind in some sea salt or kosher salt, and some freshly ground pepper.  A splash of green picante sause gives it just a little kick.

Cook it all up till the beans are almost tender.  Then throw in a cup of uncooked white rice, and simmer slowly for 15 more minutes

It's healthy, tasty, warm, filling, CHEAP, oh, excuse me, frugal, gluten-free, and best of all, AWESOME!!!

It's Called Hoppin' John

Dinner wasn't till 8 tonight (not horribly bad when you work till 5:30 and don't appreciate fast food).  It was something called Hoppin' John, and we will DEFINITELY be having it again.  I can't even imagine anything better than black eyed peas.  They are God's gift to a hungry, broke, world.  It's two kinds of sausage (in my recipe) black eyed peas, rice, three kinds of vegetables.  It's scrumptious.

The recipe is here: 

Mediterranean Chicken & Polenta

Tonight we had Mediterranean chicken & polenta.  I got an email during the day today from bhg.com, and for the second time in a week, I didn't care what was on the menu.  I HAD to have it.

Not only is this delicious, it has minimal ingredients and takes under 45 minutes from walking through the door after work to a fabulous, healthy, and best of all GLUTEN FREE dinner on the table.

You can find the recipe here at the bhg.com website:

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/chicken/mediterranean-chicken-and-polenta/

They actually have a TON of wonderful recipes.  Tomorrow night we're having French Chicken Stew in the Slow Cooker...yummmmmmmmmmm!!!!

Cooking Class at the Haney Place

We took a somewhat drippy, soggy walk after dinner tonight.  It's not horribly cold out, but we all got wet and a tiny bit chilled.  We returned home to a warm and inviting kitchen, smelling wonderfully of oregano, among other things.  After a thorough toweling by big Steve (Elsa loved it but HAD to behave as if it really freaked her out) we are settled in for the evening.  And it's not quite 8 pm!!!

Tonight's evening meal was gluten free pizza, Stiva and I being all alone in the place and all.  I was surprised at not having any pizza sauce in the pantry, once having made and instilled in the pan the (Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour) gluten-free crust.  Once I started making the light marinara, can I tell you that there was immediately a classroom in the kitchen.

Sooooooooooooooooo....if you would like our recipe for gluten free pizza, you are welcome to consult my students:

Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya

This recipe needs to be memorialized here.  It is AWESOME!!!  It was worth changing the menu, shopping after work, and waiting 2 hours for dinner to be served.  So worth it!!!  I only wish we had smell-o-vision.  At any rate, I bring you the Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya:

Here's the recipe:  there are obvious omissions/corrections needed.  I'll be working on that.  I'm not at all sure where this recipe came from.  If you know, please share.  If you have corrections (like where you add the smoked sausage, etc.) please share that as well.

Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya

Ingredients

* 4 ounces tasso sausage, diced into small pieces

* 1/4 pound chorizo sausage, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into1/4-inch pieces

* 1/4 pound smoked sausage, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

* 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 medium onion)

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

* 4 cloves garlic

* 4 bay leaves

* 5 sprigs fresh thyme

* 3 teaspoons finely chopped parsley

* 12 cups chicken stock

* 1 pound black-eyed peas

* 1 tablespoon minced garlic

* 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped

* Essence to season

* 1/2 pound long grain rice

* 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Instructions

In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the tasso, chorizo and sausage, render for 5 minutes. Stir in the onions, salt, cayenne, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions are wilted. Stir in the chicken stock, peas and garlic. Bring the liquid up to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Sprinkle the shrimp with Essence to season. Add the shrimp and rice to the mixture. Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the peas and rice are tender. Stir in the green onions. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Your Mom -- Brisket

Haha - If you're in my family, you will know how awesome it is that I said "YourMom".  At any rate, we're having brisket today.  Not fast food, for sure, but gluten free and awesome!!! 

Just take a nice brisket - at least four pounds.  Then make a mess of this:

• 2 T chili powder
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T onion powder
• 1 T kosher salt
• 1 T ground black pepper
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T McCormack's Season All (because it doesn't have MSG)

Rub it onto the brisket in the pan.  Leave the top off and bake at 350 for one hour.

Then, you put some beef stock in the bottom of the pan (at least 1 1/2 cup) and put the whole mess back into the oven at 300 for another 3 hours.  Shut the oven off and in 1/2 hour, you've got  yourself some serious comfort food!!!  And gluten free-to boot.

Right now, we can smell the brisket in the first stages of cooking.  I'll try and take a picture and post it when the table is set.

Now, back to set the rest of the house straight!!!  (And peel potatoes, and other really important stuff).

Gluten Free Lasagne ... and Noodle Kugel

It has been a long, wearying week.  And a long weekend day.  And I am weary.  And yet -- there is something about fixing a meal that energizes me.  I'm not sure about anyone else.

So -- tonight we're having a recipe that I could not resist...gluten free lasagne.  You will find it here.  We haven't tried it yet, but it smells SCRUMPTIOUS!!!

http://glutenfreemommy.com/lasagna/

Her entire website is enticing, and we went to multiple stores tonight to find the anchovy paste.

That is the present -- now to the past.  I remember making lasagne for years for my family.  And always having noodles left over.  And so, we made noodle kugel.  It's not rocket science, it's actually no more than bread pudding.  But it's sooooooooooooooooooooooooo good, if you can eat the noodles.

So here's something like:

leftover lasagne (or other noodles) at least half a pound

Combine in greased pot: 1 c. sugar 1/2 c. raisins 1/2 c. cinnamon (or, to taste) 1/2 to 1 cube butter

Mix gently, but thoroughly. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve hot.

Comfort food to the ultimate degree!!!  Not diet friendly, not celiac friendly, but if you don't care, neither do I!!!  God bless us everyone!!!

Kyle's Favorite Breakfast

There exists the ubiquitous breakfast casserole.  This one happens to be gluten free.  I made my own hash browns during the last OAMC session.  If you don't have them, just line your casserole with pre-made hash browns.  Whatever you choose to do, this is scrumptious, and this is Kyle's Favorite Breakfast.  James told Kyle that he really likes it, too!

Take a 9 x 13" pan and grease it, one way or the other.  Bacon grease, PAM, butter, whatever you like.  Then line the bottom with either your home cut and pre-cooked potatoes (as I have done this time), or those nice little hash brown patties you can buy anywhere.

Now...on top of that you need some meat.  Bacon, ham, sausage -- whatever you have.  Tonight we have leftover ham from dinner the other night.  Oy, do we have leftover ham!!!  So we cut up about 3 cups of leftover ham and sprinkled it over the potatoes.  You could do sausage, bacon, whatever you like.  3 cups is a guide -- you could use more or less.

Now -- sprinkle about 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top of that.  Don't skimp on the cheese -- I have tried to in the past, and it's not worth the result.  So really lay that cheese on top!!

Finally, take a bowl and break 8 or 10 or 12 eggs into it -- depending on how many you're feeding.  Add 1 cup of milk, some salt and some pepper.  And then the mustard.  I use dry, powdered mustard, but you could use prepared mustard.  Whatever you have.  Whisk it all together in the bowl, and then pour over everything else in the pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees until done and slightly brown.  About an hour, I have found.

And friends, is this wonderful!!!  You need an extra walk around the block after this breakfast, unless you have a field to plow or animals to feed.  It's not low fat, not low calorie.  But it is gluten free!  And  yummy!  And of course, Kyle's favorite!