Getting Hot In Here- What's spicing up your Mid-At Kitchen?

Hey, ALL!

In this past Sunday's "Parade" newspaper insert Emerill Lagasse (he's on the cover) has a killer recipe for
Oriental Chicken Wings--based on 5lbs. of wings. Gumbo as well....It is all about Superbowl food.
If you haven't tossed it yet--cut these recipes out. I will.

Next time my Safeway clearance meat section has 4.5lb. trays of chicken wings for $3 plus or minus--
I a am getting two of them and cooking these up.
Stopped in yesterday--and there were piles of steaks. 2 packs of boneless, 1" thick steaks for $5-$6.
I did not buy any this time..Have NO room in my freezers!!!!
Love my Safeway--but I have to stop buying steaks--I now have enough in my freezer to feed an army.
And--I don't even grill.......Always take them to my daughter's. Her hubby lives to grill.
Of course--they have to first invite me to dinner....come warmer weather....and there i will come with all the steaks,
the Shrimp (also plenty in my freezer) and a bottle of wine.

Not sure id all Safeways are so good at clearancing their almost "sell-by-date" meats. Always something great at mine.

Gita

Hmmm, I think I'll pack up my barbecue and head over to Gita's to raid her freezer. =) Heck, I've been known to shovel a path through the snow to my barbecue out on the deck, I'll cook out in ANY weather, don't matter to me. :) (the fire still gets just as hot if the lid is closed, right?) heeheeheee

At this ol' house tonight, there'll be some white chilli spicin' up the kitchen, with corn bread muffins on the side. A couple cans of Great Northern beans will be thrown into the pot, along with those chicken thighs.. Mmmmm, my tummy is rumbling just thinking about it. =)

Sautéed up some veggies, cut up some leftover chicken, mixed in some spag. Sauce served over pasta.

Turkey tenderloins (similar to how you've seen the small pork tenderloins in shrink wrap) baked, stove top stuffing, cauliflower, coleslaw, applesauce. Work next two nights so I don't cook.

Well--I can, actually, say I grubbed something up and had dinner.

Small potato thinly diced, fried up with some onion in some bacon fat.
Added to same pan 2 Natty Boh sausages (sale at Safeway clearance --69 cents a pack)-
and pickled beets on the side.

Well--I like this kind of food!!!! Gita

Question- when I make bacon, can I save the bacon fat drippings in a container in the refrigerator, INDEFINITELY like lard, or does it go bad ?

If I skim off extra chicken fat from making broth- same question. Does it last? And what would you use it on?

Sally--

I can tell you that bacon fat lasts "forever" in the fridge. So does rendered marrow.

Funny--we think alike-----I also skimmed the congealed fat off the top of my Chicken broth I made--
BUT--I have it in my freezer....Just being safe! Being that broth is seasoned with veggies and herbs--
this kind of Chicken fat adds flavor to many things.

I have also rendered beef marrow and have that in my fridge as well--lasts just like bacon fat.
Also---I have rendered all the lumps of Chicken fat you find near the rear end...ahem...and keep that in my freezer,
even though it is pure fat and will hold up just in your fridge.

Great to fry taters, Lima beans, fried eggs (bacon)...beef strips or cubes (marrow)....Veggies, pasta,green beans...(chicken).
Whatever floats your boat.

There is NO limit to us frugal folks. Gita

thanks Gita!

There's a Penzey's near me if anyone wants me to pick up fresh spices for them before a swap....

Reminds me of a childhood memory. My grandparents (FOB from Germany) used to leave a cup of lard or bacon grease on the range top. They spread it on toast and added it to their coffee!

I keep a small tub of bacon grease around & use it occasionally for some Mexican dishes that don't require high frying temps. It keeps indefinitely.

Al

Al,

I too have a similar memory.
We used to dice up pork fat/bacon/pork belly (whatever) and fry it up.
Then let the whole thing cool--and spread it on rye bread. Delish!

Of course--times were tough--and everyone made the best of anything they had.
Gita

Dinner for me tonight? 6 rice cakes and 2 bananas. Our fridge is pretty bare. There are salad makings but I have a lot of office work to do, and don't have time (but note how I am stalling by writing these words!)

It's funny how things change. My mother had a fridge, but nonetheless there were lots of things she didn't refrigerate. Roasted meat was seldom put in the fridge overnight, for example. In hindsight, it makes me cringe a bit to think of it.

I didn't know that bacon grease would keep a long time. Uncooked bacon doesn't, so I always tossed the bacon grease after a week or so....

I try to remember to freeze it, but don't always.

We don't cook bacon as much any more because of the nitrates.

Happy--

I like the 'dry", bulk bacon much better. You can buy it by the pound at your deli counter (where all the lunch meats are)
It is out in the open--bulk. The places that carry "Applewood Bacon"-----I like that the best.
I know Safeway does.

SO? Is the bulk bacon also preserved--or is it "natural"...It does not have that slimy fluid on it.
I always think of that stuff as proof of nitrates..silly, maybe. Anyone know?

And--YES! bacon fat will keep in the fridge forever. No need to freeze it. Keep it covered, of course.

G.

I'd think bacon is bacon, the flavor comes from salt and nitrates.

My mom had a penchant/ fixation for keeping things cool on the screened porch, even after the kids moved out and she had plenty of room in the fridge, Not meat or anything perishable, but cans of juice or soda.

I have teen boy and a young man- Bacon is a food group and must be honored as such.

..... and smoke - don't forget the smoke.

We have a meat processing facility/butcher shop near us that makes their own hams and bacon - dozens of awards and prizes for both hanging on the walls. The bacon is nothing like store-bought, even the bulk stuff you get from the butcher shop. It's an entirely different product - and naturally smoked. They make a 'cottage bacon', too, that comes in strips about 3-4" wide and about 8" long. It's made from the same cut as pork steak, and mostly lean - puts any BLT it's on in an entirely different class.

They make a baby ham from the eye of the ham, too. It's almost like Canadian bacon, but more tender and moist. Oink!

Al

You're making me hungry! Our fridge is so boring!

Ya know, one of these days I'm going to HAVE to visit one of the numerous Amish places right up the street from me... talk about fresh meats!! Fresh chickens, eggs, pork of any kind, butter... Hmmm, not sure about beef. I guess this year I will make it my goal: move past the street-side produce stands and onto the FARMS for more goodies!

My favorite show on TV is Andrew Zimmern's "Bizaare Foods".
Talk about fresh of everything! Even all the weird foods he eats look good to me.
Sometimes I wish I could be right there and see if I will survive sucking an eyeball out...
or eating a plate-full of BQ intestines, or fried up "mountain oysters"....

I bring this up because of the talk about fresh pork. I have not had a farm fresh, recently butchered,
cut of pork since i was about 11. All the hype on these shows about Pork belly....It is like a 3"
thick piece of pure fat with the skin on it. Probably 3000 CALORIES a bite!

Last week, because of curiosity, I bought a small package of "bacon" made from the jowls of a pig at Target.
It is mostly all fat--not much lean to it. I have had it a couple times for breakfast--and the taste is really different.
I keep thinking--is this what fresh bacon would taste like??? Or--does the jowl taste different anyway?
Not much left after I fry it--as all the fat melts away. Hey! brainstorm!!! I need to add this fat to my bowl of
bacon grease I keep in the fridge!!!! Better flavor!

I have an Amish Market just 6 miles from my house. need to go there sometimes......

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/images/20090129sandwich_ingredients.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/01/eat-for-eight-bucks-chinese-pork-belly-sandwiches-recipe.html&h=462&w=500&sz=201&tbnid=dflkBVm59EG9BM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=109&zoom=1&usg=__YEWATJPBJN5qed7lOqCcU0yt7Tw=&docid=UNi_tBb1GKjgMM&sa=X&ei=EHwKUa2bKsSt0AHRh4CQBw&ved=0CDwQ9QEwAA&dur=130

Gita
I

I have eaten plenty of bacon from the grocery store.. the "slimy" stuff that's cut really thin, packaged in all that liquid. Different flavours from hickory to maple. I'm real familiar with those. But I have NEVER had farm-fresh pork. Well... maybe once, when my Aunt Connie used to have a farm, but that was so long ago I'm not sure I remember it clearly. Anyway, I WILL get some this year; ham, chops, and bacon. I will let ya know what I think when I get it.

Meanwhile, I saw a cooking show once about pork belly. In my humble little opinion, it looked disgusting. I'm not anti-pork by any means, but I am not 'into' eating fat like that.

my dilemma with bacon, fat, and grocery store factory farmed/processed meats runs something like this...
Isn't fat where the body of animals store what the body can't use for future use? And doesn't some of the toxins and additives that the liver can't eliminate go there, too? So, when I eat today's modern fat from say a pig, I am getting not only fat, but all the concentrated doses of hormones, antibiotics and who knows what else that the pig was raised on to produce meats as a product , plus any chemicals (remember 'pink slime'?) and presevatives and additives added to keep it fresh and appealing longer.

When I weigh that with the 'taste of childhood bacon or pork chop fat', which I relished, I simply do not want all the extras to chase a taste. It has become for me like the store bought tomato versus home grown, no contest!

I'm no purist just a relatively 'conscious' consumer making do with what is available in my price range until I can create better alternatives (healthier) and grow/ raise/process/prepare/cook/gather/ and eat my own . Wouldn't it be wonderful if everything in our stores and markets and kitchens gave abundant health?

Yep, a dilemma and too many convenient compromises vying for my attention and food dollar. Eeeek

Judy, you really worded that wonderfully:

I love how you express your feelings, which usually expresses mine as well, Judy. Thank you.

Leftovers again. The frig is now empty.

Several times a week I tell myself that I am not the only one that feels or thinks a particular way. It is nice to have that externally confirmed sometimes...that "fellow feeling" is much appreciated, keeps me going in between face to face or heart to hearts!

My Mom and I had a ritual of sorts....the first ripe tomato from our garden became the best ever BLT, on toasted white WonderBread with iceberg lettuce and Miracle Whip mayo. Nothing like it. Here's to you Mom! I think love is a purifying and health promoting 'organ' too.

Heehee. Mine's not THAT empty!!! Hugs sound good!! Good luck finding a new frig.

Well--speedie---come on over! My fridge, just at THIS moment--is also pretty empty.
That statement is relative, though. Sometimes I have NO idea what lurks in the depths of this huge fridge.
It is so deep that my arms cannot reach in there. Of course--not being able to kneel explains this.
Mostly jars of stuff from prehistoric times...BUT--jams and Jellies NEVER go bad. Too high in sugar content...
They may crystallize--but you can always re-heat them.

Anyway--yesterday I had to unload 3/4 of my big freezer to, once again, go through the process of de-icing
the 1/2" little drain hole where all the condensation drips down from the coils into the "pan" underneath.
About twice a year--I have to unload everything in big crates and cover them in heavy towels or rugs.
I also have to drape a heavy plastic around the door so all the stuff there will stay cold.
Then--get my hair dryer, some VERY hot water, some rags, and then----unscrew the back panel that is inside
the back of the freezer and proceed to thaw out the littl, iced up, 1/2' hole. I Have to do this twice a year.
The first time I called out a tech--and it cost me $135. I watched what he did--and now i do it myself...

The only good thing about this procedure is I get to really see what i have in there.
Threw out a bag of pre-made meatballs that were 3 years old. Some old chicken junk and a package of Italian sausage.
BUT--I took out a 4lb. package of a nice chuck roast which I am going to fix today for dinner.
Will share 1/2 of it with my daughter. How old was this roast? 2009. Well wrapped in freezer paper--
good as new--honestly! NO sign of freezer burn! The secret is to wrap well....First in plastic wrap--then tightly in freezer paper.

It is sitting all seasoned awaiting a hot searing on all sides and then about 1hr in the oven.

Sorry this was so long.....again......enough time to sit here and have breakfast while I typed all this. ;o(
Gita

My sympathy Speedie!!!! My previous maun fridge was less than 5 yrs old and had its second major problem--Was a GE.

PLEASE see them in the store and see how the shelves feel. I would have been very unhappy with some of the flimsy shelves I saw/ felt.

Old 20 yr fridge in basement still works fine Kitchenaid. New fridge- Kitchenaid. We only moved the old one down when the nkids started eating more and needed a bigger one- and to get ice thru the door.

lol Gita your description of the meat in your freezer and its age made me think of a report I heard once of people in "siberia" eating frozen Wooly Mammoth meat as the receeding icesheet /glacier exposed it!

Double ham bone broth: half for bean or sour kraut soup and other for split pea. Smells so good.

As I've said before, the first fridge my family bought is still running fine after 60 plus years!

Judy, ya know what Gita's description made me think of? George Carlin! "What's this? Could be meat, could be cake... MeatCake!!" Haahaahahaaa!!!

Well, I've learned something cool today. (combining food and math here).. I learned how to figure out the cubic feet of the inside of my fridge! < =D (yeah, for those of you proficient in math, don't laugh at me, this was a real accomplishment for me here!) So, when DH and I meet up later to shop for that new fridge, I now have an idea of what cubic feet size'ish we should aim for.

For those of you wondering: So, how did you do it!?!? WxDxH divided by 1728. (1728 is 1 cubic foot in inches... 12 x 12 x 12). < =)

When my parents bought their first house in 1963, the family they bought the house from gifted them their old chest type freezer. Dad figured it was probably 20 years old already. It is now 2013, and the freezer is still going. It has been through three moves too. They keep it in the garage. Speedie, do you want to take the math challenge and figure out how old that is, he he he...? My college major was mathematics, but after 30 years I don't remember anything about the complicated stuff LOL.

Do I dare even admit that I bought a small fridge from WalMart a few months ago (one of the square ones about 2' x 2' x 2') and put it in the bedroom by the bed - just so I don't have to get up and go downstairs when I'm thirsty and want a cold drink in the middle of the night. Head hung in shame....

Good idea, Terri. My bedroom is on the first floor and I still consider it an inconvenience to go the kitchen for a cold drink. A frig in the bedroom would also be good to keep a nice cold bottle of Chardonnay since we have a sitting area in the room. How lazy can I get??

There was a problem with our kitchen fridge also. First the freezer became packed solid with ice and then it totally defrosted and would not go back to normal. I felt terrible that I hadn't taken a neighbors advice to pull it out and dust off the coils. The fridge is actually JAMMED into the spot by the people who delivered it while we were not at home. (neighbor let them in while lots of other deliveries going on during our move) When the repair man came, he said that after a while the tubes get clogged and need to be cleaned. I do this with my large downstairs freezer, but this fridge needed to be taken apart. I was also relieved to know that the back is closed with no exposed coils and needed only to be vacuumed at the bottom (which I do). I dread the day when that big fridge needs to come out of that spot!!

Dinner tonight will be boneless chicken thighs stuffed and rolled with one of the stuffings I just saw on TV......spinach and feta cheese. There were so many different fillings shown!!

I hope you have a HHGreg near you speedie, they have good deals and you may take advantage of 12 months no interest credit plan, also consider a bottom freezer, I love mine. I don't lose things to the back and bottom. I also just replaced my old 22cu' freezer with a 12cu', the old one still runs fine but the top leaked so badly, it was as bad as Gitas'. I had to defrost it every year.
I got a couple of good deals at the Karns market, pot roast @ $2.99 and I could not pass on their fresh chicken, feta, and spinach sausage, it's just too yummy. Ric

We inherited a huge old chest freezer too, with this house. We plugged it in a few times and used it but the cost of electricity to run it- I assumed-- was not worth it to me. I am out of the house almost daily, and within five minutes of a half dozen food stores, so keeping huge amounts of frozen food is not my modus operandi.

I am glad for the spare kitchen fridge/ freezer, cuz the side by side freezer, in a 30 inch wide unit, is really tight.
And I can buy ahead a little on cool food like half and half and milk, and not cram the main fridge so much. I don't like a crammed fridge with everything having to be shuffled around all the time.

Teri - Someone (maybe Ric) at one of the swaps told me that you are a fantastic cook and often make elaborate meals for large family gatherings. Everything you post about what you are making sounds fabulous (and time consuming LOL). Do you cook like that every day? I also love hearing about the soups from homemade stock and all the other stuff thrown in that Gita and Judy come up with. Inspiring, and I keep thinking I'll get motivated to do the same - never quite works out... Another quirk is that I am addicted to cook books, and pick them up whenever one catches my eye - great deals at garage sales and Amazon, but I also pick up specialty ones from vacation spots and such. I spend more time reading them, than I ever do actually cooking LOL.

I'm not very hungry tonight, so I'm making a "snack" vs a full dinner. I randomly put this together a few weeks ago, and it was really tasty - crescent rolls with deli ham, provolone cheese, and honeybell marmalade rolled up inside. My friend Cheryl introduced me to honeybells, and the taste is sweeter than the average orange marmalade. Check it out http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-honeybell-oranges.htm

coleup -- we switch over to buying meats pretty much exclusively at Whole Foods to avoid all the hormones, etc.

Al -- back to something you mentioned a while back about good meat-curing stores -- we were visiting Canmore in Alberta, Canada more than a few years back (it's near Lake Louise and Banff) and found a wonderful place that made superb beef jerky -- I never realized how fabulous it can taste -- not like anything I have had before or since (although I've tried making my own) - intensely favorable, chewy without being so tough as to be unpleasant. Everything there was delicious. I haven't found a local substitute.

I love Michigan -- my husband originated in Holly (a small Michigan town). Every now and then we think of retiring there. Beautiful lakes. I love the Upper Peninsula. We are deterred by the distance, though -- not so much the distance but the travel time -- I don't know if we'd see much of our kids -- and the long cold winters and the mosquitoes. (We have retirement on the brain these days; we'd love to decide on a place to retire so we could buy property, but we are indecisive.)

Aspen, is that freezer really 69 years old!?!? (my math: I was born in '64 so I'm 48, plus the one year since they found it in '63, plus the 20 years old it was when they got it = 69) TAH DAH!! =) Hahahaaa!

Ric, you'll be glad to know that HH Gregg is exactly where we went and we hit the jackpot!! They not only have that -% financing for 2 years, but they also do bundle-deals.. so we sorta got ALL the stuff we're gonna need out of the way. Got everything Samsung; side-by-side fridge (with a 6'9" DH, a bottom freezer is out of the question!), flat-top range (ceramic) with matching microwave/convection oven to go above it, dishwasher, and washer & dryer. All stainless steel. Everything will be delivered tomorrow. WOW!!!!!!! I have never owned a fridge with water/ice dispenser in the door before, so I'm sorta excited about that, heeheehee. Heck, I'm excited about ALL of it!! GREAT GOOGLEY MOOGLEY, 1/3 of the kitchen renovation is going on this weekend without even planning for it. 0_o

Sooo many new things to learn about now. Never had a side-by-side before, never used a convection oven, never had a ceramic-top range, the dishwasher is one of the new-fangled ones, and we're told DO NOT rinse your dishes before we put them in it. REALLY?!!? Washing machine; one of the new energy-efficient ones that requires special low-sudsing LIQUID detergent. (I have always been a fan of powdered detergents, in washing machine and dishwasher).

Here's the BIGGIE though. We were sure the little space where the fridge fits in was at least 36" wide. It's only 35. The fridge is 36. We'll be ripping out cabinets today. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway, but... sheeeesh!! Gonna have to get some smaller sized cabinets to replace them soon, and meanwhile do without, or just set them in the dining room in the interim. Got some 'before' pics but they're on DH's iPod, so I'll share later.

Meanwhile, just sneaking in this post real quick while he's still asleep, heehee. Need to head out grocery shopping, 7-11 for coffee, and the bank for tip $$ (can't let the delivery guys go empty-handed!!), then it is time for señor Manuel Labor. =) I'll try to get back in here this weekend, but if not, say prayers for our backs and knees please!? < =D

Speedie, your math and logic are perfect - you get an A+++, and yes, the freezer really is that old. Exciting about all the new appliances. First the bathroom reno and now the kitchen reno - you go girl... You and senor Manuel Labor sound very motivated to get in there, tackle the job, and get it done. My senor Miguel is hard to motivate these days, and my kitchen reno just keeps dragging on and on and on - at least it is functional for the most part, just a lot of cosmetic stuff to finish.

Funny how people prefer one kind of fridge to another. For years, my preference has just been the basic freezer over fridge. My sister has a side by side with the water dispenser and loves it, but I've never been a fan about how skinny and deep each of the sides are - I know they come in different widths, maybe hers is one of the narrower ones. My mother replaced her fridge with the fridge over freezer when they came out - at first I thought it was weird, but then the more I used it, the more I liked it. For my kitchen reno, I went with a french door fridge over bottom freezer, and am really liking it.

speedie--

When you two are done renovating your kitchen--come over here...Pleeeese!

I hate my aging kitchen--I hate that i don't wash and clean any of the cabinets---I hate
my floor which is pitted and cracking and perennially dirty...I still have Formica counter tops....old walnut cabinets...
You get the idea.
However--looking at some 15-20K for a makeover--not in my lifetime...No handy DH here..
he went somewhere else to work his magic.

I have started a savings acct. at my Bank and put in it extra money that can accumulate in my Ch. Acct.
I call it my "Home Improvement Fund". It will be a long time when there is enough $$ in it to do anything.
My home, and everything that came with it, is now 44 years old.

Your DH is 6'9'!!!!!!! Wow--you do not need any stepping stools--do you?
He can wipe clean the ceiling standing flat-footed--right? Assuming your ceilings are the common 8' high.
If you have the high ceilings (now so common)--he may have to stand on his tippy-toes....:o)

We sell all kinds of fridges at the HD. I think I could easily live with a freezer on the bottom and the 2-door top.
I would be able to see much better what I have in the fridge.
Right now--I cannot see what is in the depths of my bottom 2 shelves. Honest! I go by feel...
Because both my knees are replaced--I cannot kneel (not allowed) and have never gone into a full squat.
It kind of hurts.....IF I sat down on the floor--it would take me 5 minutes to get up..... Just my reality!

How do I garden--you may wonder? The "old lady way", a-- in the air.....Haaaa....Haaaa.....Gita

wow speedie, thay musta all quit and gone to lunch by the time you got done buying at hhgregg!!!

the wide side by side should be great.

You will really have fun using all the new stuff. The Appliances or Home Reno forum here in DG has some great threads about appliances. "Cathy' really knows her stuff. Example: do NOT fill the soap cup all the way on dishwasher.

Gita if you can get to 15K you can do it. Use Lowes or HD, do not do granite..it could be done. THe design guys are probably getting busy about now as people seem to like their renovation in the spring. It takes a good hour or more to sit with them for a design so you don't want to spend they time right now knowing you won't be buying. Yeah, it $ucks that you lost your help on this...

Terri, I get sleep over guests very often. We also have Thanksgiving and Easter and a huge family and friends celebration (usually the weekend before the Labor Day weekend.
I have extended invitations to my DG friends every year. My family is comprised of "Foodies" of all ages, who visit often are expecting to see their favorites on the table. I try to cook something every other day with enough leftovers for the next day. We dine out with friends locally at least twice a week. There are some really good little restaurants here that have fantastic prices.

Speaking of old refrigerators, I remember that when the little "Norge" went (it finally stopped its humming and shaking), the guys who delivered the new fridge put it in the kitchen, and the one that was in the kitchen would go in the basement to replace the "Norge". They whipped those 2 large newer refrigerators around and thought they were superman UNTIL they tried to get the LITTLE "Norge" out of the basement. Lots of sweating, grunting and mumbling went along with the move.

Just made a meatloaf for the freezer, cooked a pot of chicken soup with savoy cabbage chopped in it. Lots of celery, carrots, onion, parmagiano cheese and egg drop at the end.