Archive for February, 2008
Today was the grains show, and the slow cooker show. Another long day.
A couple weeks ago, in a panic over the thought of being away from home for dinnertimes on end, I made a few batches of freezable things to stash away for Mike and W. Not that I didn’t think they could survive happily on eggs and toast.
One of those things (as part of an article I was working on for What’s Up Kids magazine in Toronto) was turkey chili with barley. Barley has more fiber than whole wheat bread, brown rice, or oats. It’s great stuff. And Canada is the second largest producer of it. In Alberta, we produce half the Canadian crop.
The trade-off tonight at 9:30 was so fast that I didn’t get a chance to ask Mike what they ate tonight, but the empty container evidence in the sink suggests it was a turkey chili night. This photo was one I did for the magazine – the piece was on edible bowls. (For kids who like to play with their food, and parents who hate doing dishes.)
Turkey Chili with Barley
Canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 lb. lean ground turkey
¼ cup chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper (white pepper, if you have it)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 can chicken stock, undiluted
1 28 oz. (798 mL) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup jarred salsa, hot or mild (optional)
2 19 oz. (598 mL) cans white kidney or navy beans, drained
1/2 cup pot or pearl barley
Low fat sour cream and fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, heavy pot set over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes, until softened. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook for another minute.
Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, salsa, beans and barley and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes. By then the barley should be cooked through.
If you want to serve it right away, let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasonings. Otherwise, let it cool and then refrigerate overnight; reheat on the stovetop over medium heat after a day or two. Add some extra stock or tomatoes if the barley has absorbed too much liquid and it has become too thick.
Serves 8.
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February 29 2008 | beans and chicken & turkey and grains | 2 Comments »
When I was a kid, it was a bad day when my mom made fish for dinner, which was generally accompanied by canned stewed tomatoes (the ones with the little green bits), warmed just enough to accentuate the flavors and served in little glass dishes.
It was a great night when we had sloppy Joes. I’ve been thinking about that cheddar beer bread, and how great a slab of it would be topped with sloppy Joe stuff. I had some extra-lean ground beef in the freezer, and a couple of kaiser buns taking up space, but next time I’m going to use ground bison and make a cheddar-beer loaf. (I should add that we always have a tub of spring green mix in the fridge to dip into whenever dinner is lacking in the greens department. They don’t always make it into the photos!)
Of course, any ground meat would work; if you go the ground chicken/turkey route, keep in mind that supermarkets generally don’t trim the fat from poultry before they grind it, so it’s best to trim the skin and fat from turkey or chicken breasts or thighs yourself, then pulse it in your food processor until it’s as coarsely or finely ground as you like. Dark thigh meat is much more flavorful than white meat because of its slightly higher fat content, but it still contains far less fat than even lean ground beef does.
Sloppy Joes
olive or canola oil, for cooking
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (optional)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, bison, turkey or chicken, or a combination
1 28 oz. (796 mL) can diced, whole, or stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup ketchup or half ketchup, half barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
A few shots of Tabasco (optional)
Salt and pepper
6 plain soft buns, cheese buns, or biscuits
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic for about 10 minutes, until the onions are starting to turn golden. Add the meat and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up as you cook, until the meat is no longer pink.
Add the tomatoes, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Split the buns or biscuits in half and ladle the sloppy Joe mixture on top. Serves 4-6.
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February 28 2008 | beef | 4 Comments »
I swear, if you write out what you make for dinner, it always sounds fancier than it actually is.
We had the day off taping, which isn’t to say it wasn’t a crazy day, but at least I was with W and around home for a lot of it. Since we’ve been making an average of 8 recipes per day (with several takes per recipe) I swore I wasn’t going to cook today. But then trying to decide what sort of take-out to get got to be too much work, and I realized that I had a bunch of asparagus going quickly downhill in the fridge.
I know I’ve said this of many dishes before, but frittata truly is the easiest, fastest meal you can make using whatever there is in the fridge. Provided you have eggs, of course.
I drizzled the asparagus with oil and got it started in a 400 F oven for about 10 minutes while I chopped up a couple of tomatoes and potatoes (unpeeled, of course). Heated up my skillet (are you getting tired of seeing my cast iron skillet yet? it’s the best for frittata) with another slick of oil and quickly tossed the tomatoes about in it. I just like cooking off a bit of the excess juice, so that they don’t make the eggs runny. Some garlic would have been good, but I was too lazy to peel it.
I took out the asparagus and added it to the pan, put the potatoes on the sheet, drizzled with oil and popped it back in the oven. Whisked 3 eggs and 2 whites with a bit of milk (liquid creates some steam, which makes your eggs fluffier) and poured it over the veg in the pan. Once the edges started to set but it was still wet on top and in the middle, I scattered some cheese overtop – any kind would work – some crumbled feta or goat cheese stirred into the eggs would have been fantastic – and popped it into the oven right beside the potatoes.
Everything was done in about 20 minutes, and as a bonus we’re set up for some cold frittata sandwiches on toast for lunch tomorrow.
February 27 2008 | eggs and one dish and vegetarian | No Comments »
Just got home. Taped the Lunchbox Meals and Salads episodes today. Mike and W ate noodles for dinner. Am feeling like a negligent Mum.
Picked through the whole day; not sure what exactly was being consumed at dinnertime. The set is totally devoid of outside light and sound – it’s like a deprivation chamber, where you can’t tell what time of day it is unless you look at the numbers on the microwave, or run across the parking lot to Starbucks.
Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Veggies
Peanut noodles are best eaten cold, which makes leftovers perfect to keep in the fridge and take to work for lunch. You can add all sorts of fresh veggies to this dish – peppers, zucchini, bok choy, bean sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and pea pods are all good choices.
1/2 lb. (250 g) steamed Chinese noodles or spaghetti
1/4 cup (60 mL) chicken or vegetable broth
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) peanut butter
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) soy sauce
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) brown sugar or honey
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp. (5-10 mL) grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. (2.5 mL) curry paste (optional)
2 cups (500 mL) chopped cooked chicken, pork or shrimp, or diced tofu
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 red bell pepper, cut into slices
1-2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped peanuts (optional)
Fresh cilantro for sprinkling (optional)
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse with cold water in a colander and drain well. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and curry paste (if using) until smooth. Or instead of whisking it, shake it all up in a jar.
In a large bowl, toss the noodles, chicken, carrot, pepper, green onions, and peanut sauce. Serve in bowls sprinkled with chopped peanuts and/or cilantro. Serves 4-6.
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February 26 2008 | cheese and chicken & turkey and one dish and pasta and salads | 1 Comment »
(I like this photo because it looks like Ned is being sucked up into the light fixture.)
I was on set all day and evening today too – there before 7:30 am, left at 10 pm. I’m not really sure what Mike and W ate for dinner, but they appear to have survived. Since we shot the Snacks & Finger Foods and Breads episodes today, that’s what I snacked on around dinnertime. Here are some of the things we made (try the beer bread!):
Cheddar Beer Bread
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated old cheddar cheese
1 bottle beer, at room temperature
2-4 Tbsp. melted butter, or canola or olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the cheese and toss to combine. Add the beer all at once, mixing as little as possible just until blended; the batter should be lumpy. Pour the batter into a 4″x8″ or 9″x5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, and brush with the melted butter or oil. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.
Sticky, Sweet & Spicy Chicken Thighs
Instead of making chicken wings, which are mostly skin and fat (the fat resides under the skin), and very little meat, we like to make sticky chicken thighs or drumsticks – remove the skin and you have a much more meaty piece you can still eat off the bone with your fingers.
about 2 lbs. chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skinned
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup maple syrup or honey
1-2 Tbsp. chili sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. grated ginger
Place the chicken in a bowl. Add all the sauce ingredients and toss it all about to blend and coat the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours, or overnight.
When ready to roast, preheat oven to 375F. Spread the chicken pieces onto a rimmed baking sheet or in a large, shallow dish. Bake for an hour or so, turning occasionally and brushing with leftover marinade (making sure that you do this for the last time at least 15 minutes before the chicken comes out of the oven, to give it a chance to cook) until the juices run clear.
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February 25 2008 | bread and cheese and chicken & turkey | 1 Comment »
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