What Ya' Got Cookin' 2015

I just got home from picking JR up from computer club (after school activity) and a quick trip to Giant. I got 3#s of Memphis ribs for $6 and already have the crock pot out on the counter to start in the AM. I also got about 4#s of lean ground beef for $2.88/#. I also got a bunch of points and my free turkey receipt. I'm currently at about $.90/gal. off on gas and it's only the 2nd of the month.

I did a fun combo in my rice cooker tonight... brown basmati rice, barley, pearl barley, and red quinoa... threw in a few dried shiitake mushrooms for flavor, plus a little chicken bouillon, garlic, and thyme. Delicious! Jim wouldn't touch it, but Joyanna loved it. :-)

Jill, that sounds delicious! Why did Jim not want to touch it?

"healthy" brown rice, whole grains, and *shudder* mushrooms LOL

Joyanna and I are the "multigrain" fans, Jim not so much

Sounds great to me Jill, but I really enjoy some of the premium rice mixes. We rarely ate rice when I was growing up, if we did it was a scoop of sticky white stuff under something else. Army was the same thing, sticky white stuff. I was probably 24 till a friend at the times wife, she was Hawaiian, served some fantastic Tex-Mex dishes and stir-fry that included this stuff that wasn't sticky and white. I,ve been on a mission since. LOL

Oh right, the arsenic problem!

I've read about this, too. Certain types of rice from certain parts of the world are scarily high in arsenic, to the point that the FDA has recommended limiting rice milk and rice cereal to babies.

My preferred grains these days are quinoa and couscous, but you can't avoid rice if you're making East/South Asian food.

Hmm. I'd better check to see where Wegmans gets their rice... I've been getting it from there lately, as the price is about as good as any.

BTW, did you know that "converted" rice like Uncle Ben's is pretty much the same as brown rice in terms of nutrition (fiber and glycemic index)? The bran is driven into the grain, not polished off like regular white rice.

Costco has a rice/grain mix that cooks up nicely, too.

Sounds great!!

First I heard of arsenic and rice. Hmmmm.....need to check this out.

Jill-- I have to chuckle about your cooking terminology.....
You always say you "threw in" something or other as you were cooking.
It just sounds so "YOU"----I envision you really throwing something in...

I think "adding" sounds a lot more gentle...Cooking IS a labor of love.
Throwing things in or around does not fit in good cooking...

As you were awaiting all the people at the Bulb Pick-Up---you werre going to "throw in"
another can of beans.....Lordy! Did you ever open the can first????

Anyway--just my observations.....just "throwing out" my opinions...all i fun...

Gita

ROFL. Just think of Emeril -- BAM! then my "throwing in" sounds more gentle.

Nice visual image G. I am picturing Jill "throwing" ingredients through the air from one end of her kitchen to the other LOL.

Jill, It's all okay! I throw in things all the time. LOL

I say add instead of throw but the idea is the same. Somebody said Cooking can be that way, it is Baking that must be exact. (Or something along those lines..)

Thinking about starting chili for today.

Agree, except for baking, I just "throw" ingredients together, as opposed to carefully "adding in".

Chili sounds good. I'll have ta' see if I got the goods. I still have beef that needs to be frozen, but may opt for sausage I cooked last night. Now that I've said it, I'm intrigued as to what it would taste like. Of coarse corn bread would be in order.

I've been wanting to try my hand at cornbread with jalapenos. Anybody have a good recipe?

Lots of action and action words in cooking. Anyone catch (hahaha) the British baking competition show on public TV? They really bake up a storm and work up a sweat cranking out oodles of baked goodies, many of which I've never heard of let alone tasted.

Anyone remember the Pillsbury Bake Offs?

Teri, I just dice some up and throw them in.
Started my chili using the sausage. Meanwhile, Holly's %itching, pork,pork,pork, can't we have beef? I tried to tell her beef prices are out of sight unless on sale, and I only buy discounts. "You want beef? Go to Arbys".
Seriously, I have limited beef purchases a lot due to pricing. I'm hoping we reach a point where beef prices come back in line with other meats. I see a trend locally. Most of the beef farmers are moving to grass fed types, Scottish highland, beffalo, and even longhorns. If this is a national effort we should see something, it just may take awhile.

Me too on the beef. Health and environment wise and price wise, I'm seeing seafood as not as hard to 'swallow' (har, pun intended) now that the price of beef is in the same range.

I've lolloygagged and my ground beef is frozen solid; my chili will be Saturday I think. Cornbread a must! Aspen, I've made the regular recipe adding half can of green chilis which are very mild and barely budge the heat meter.

Lightweight Gringo! Add a whole can of green chilis, half a cup of creamed corn, back off some of the liquid. Better yet, finely dice up a whole jalapeno, nuke for a minute to soften, and add instead of the canned green chilis.

I like my chili, we'll see what everyone else says. David I was thinking I should add a habanero. I still have a few fresh ones. LOL I also like corn in my chili and use a mixture of any 6-7 beans. Frijoles Negros being a must have. While I was out I picked up an eye roast for Holly. It was reduced to $4.88/#. Tomorrow I will braise it and make New England pot roast. Since I have a cabbage in the 'fridge I may make some pigs in a blanket while I'm at it. I'm considering using diced potato and Brussels sprouts. Any opinions? and why are they called pigs in a blanket when they're usually beef?

Hehehe! I'm a lightweight, too, heat wise.
Cornbread goes great with chili.

I like to watch the food shows with kids competing. They are amazing!!! I don't know some of the things they do.

I was out and about today in Delaware so I called Jeff cuz I knew he was finished with his classes. We met for lunch then he went back to school to grade papers, etc and I went to BJs and Shoprite. I am not hungry for dinner.

We are hosting our Sunday school classes and their families on Saturday for a leaf tag and hot dog roast. Should be loads of fun. Paths will be raked through the leaves. Those playing MUST stay on the paths.

We had a Trunk or Treat at church on Halloween from 5-7. There were about 20 cars that were decorated. Served about 320 hot dogs. lots of kids and their families came through. It gets bigger each year.

We rarely eat beef. Need to look up pigs in a blanket. I am picturing those little hot dogs in a crescent roll.

Here's one Jan, but I don't remember my mom or grand using sausage.
http://www.food.com/recipe/pigs-in-the-blanket-aka-stuffed-cabbage-305204

YUM! Sounds great.

The roast is braised and in the crock pot. I'll add my 'taters and carrots later on.

Holly was thoroughly pleased with her beef !:-}

This message was edited Nov 7, 2015 11:46 AM

Mike's uncle and cousin's kid are here from upstate NY to hunt. Uncle Tony is going to cook up the tenderloin tonight from the deer he got late yesterday afternoon. I've got a lemon white chocolate cheesecake in the oven and it should be cooled and set enough to have for desert. I need to think of some kind of side to go with the tenderloin though - maybe potatoes and a salad.

Ohh! Venison tenderloin, getting a Pavlovian response here. Teri. IMO a nice mixed wild rice dish would be perfect, and with today's cool a roasted veggie. Of coarse that's just my humble opinion. LOL

YUM!!!!

terri--
Rise to the occasion---make twice baked potatoes--and brown them
in the oven.

BTW--if you have not yet tried those packages, of all kinds of flavors,
of mashed potatoes ($1 a bag) DO!!! They turn out better than home made.
They also come in many flavors. Just boil 2c of water--dump the dry contents in
and stir to mix and fluff. Serve!
NOTHING even vaguely related to the old instant mashed taters!!!

Could not find a link--so i will take a picture of these baggies. TRY IT!!!! You'll like it!

G,
I've tried that brand for scalloped potatoes - very good. I've not tried their mashed before though, so will give it a try one of these days.

The Millers gobble up boxed scalloped potatoes, four cheese, etc... and its easier than peeling and slicing.

Made a boxed 'cheesecake' last night- again, for the ease it is worth it. Mark had made grilled cheese sandwiches and instant minestrone from Aldi. I wasn't crazy about the minestrone, but it would make a fair starter for a bigger pot with diced tomatoes and more veggies added.

I finally got around to preparing that ground beef last night. I made a large meatloaf, that came out great, with garlic mashed potatoes, and baby limas. I also made a chili starter (just add beans and more tomatoes) and taco meat for the freezer. After I got done chopping my celery and onion for the meatloaf I saw a package of matchstick carrots in the fridge. On a whim I added a handful of those also, the taste of the sweet carrots is what made it special, I think.

Good idea. On using the carrots. Will have leftovers today. Jeff gets to have clear liquids tomorrow in prep for Wednesday.

Doesn't sound like an appointment I'd like to keep.

oh, THAT appointment, it's not so bad, really. Tho I am going to wait the full ten years before doing it again, lol.
I did make a meatloaf recipe that included shredded carrots, once. And have a Bolognese meat sauce recipe that has finely diced carrots in it among more usual items. I am hungry for meatloaf now.

Me too. The power of suggestion lol. The meatloaf recipe that I always use came from a little 1960s era Betty Crocker "Cooking for Two" cookbook that I received as a bridal shower gift from a good friend of the family. My parents and her and her husband were great friends and me and my sibs grew up with her kids - always went on vacations together too. I don't know how or where she found it, but it is a copy of the cookbook she used when she was a new bride back in the day. She had no idea how to cook at the time, and she said that this little cookbook was her bible. I love vintage stuff, and so the cookbook is a cherished item - so funny that it includes all kinds of money saving tips, a section for when company comes, and the salad recipe is just iceberg lettuce with French dressing lol

Actually found one just now on an ebay search.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Betty-Crockers-Dinner-For-Two-Cook-Book-1958-First-Edition-2nd-Printing-/272034842874?hash=item3f568a48fa:g:vQ0AAOSwhcJWN9E5

I have been totally ravenous for m e a t. A slice of meatloaf or a chicken breast or a pork chop (my usual portion) has become tripple that a sitting and double the sides, too. Guess my body knows winter approacheth. I've become a meat and potatoes girl and one who loves pork fat!

Roasted a whole pork tenderloin on Sat, Affordable at Sam's Club $1.98/lb. Was going to make some into pulled pork BBQ, but we've eaten it all!

Heard that turkey supply is imited because of bird flu losses and more expensive. Will order my 'herutage' Red Bourbon bird this weekend. Any of you all doing heritage for TDay?

I love that goofy old cookbook! Also like the dishes on the dustcover of that edition. At flea markets and boot sales, I've picked up saucers, small plates, other pieces with that pattern.