Gourmet Food on a Budget
I was surprised at just how good this came out when I made it. Even Spane liked it once I explained what leeks are.
Leeks, I have told him and others, are a mildly sweet member of the onion family. They look like giant green onions.You don’t have to use a pork loin to make this. Pork chops would be fine. You could even use a rather tough piece of beef that does well with braising.
One of the reasons artichokes are not that popular is they take a long time to cook on the stovetop. Well, there are easier ways. In this recipe, I offer two ways to have artichokes on the table quickly, either microwave artichokes or if you have one use the Instant Pot.
When I was a little girl my mother used to make a beef dish that I loved. I never knew what it was until I became an adult and learned it was called brisket of beef. I liked that the meat was tender, and full of flavor. Finding it in the market, however, was a chore. I would only see Corned Beef, which I like very much, but it’s not the same thing.
While I was thinking about that brisket I had as a little girl growing up in Germany, I realized that my mother never made it after we moved back to the United States. Maybe it wasn’t my mother’s dish after all, maybe it was our German maid, Elfrida’s brisket I remember so fondly.
Either way, when I found brisket at the local butcher shop, I knew I had to try making it. I figured I would do something similar to Oxen Shvantz Suppe – Braised Oxtails, which also takes a long time to cook. It’s hot and I didn’t want to be in a hot kitchen all day, so I used my 4 quart Nesco to slowly braise the brisket. It was delicious!
This cake is made in the microwave with mayonnaise and apples. Sounds strange? It’s easy, quick and really good. Enjoy!
Nesco Baby Back Ribs fall off the bone, and have smoky, tangy flavor. No outdoor grill? These ribs are your answer.
This is a very versatile recipe because you can make it on the stovetop or you can make it in the Instant Pot. It’s also perfect for a Dutch oven, and you can use both methods together depending on how you like to cook. You can also add spice to make it spicier, or delete if you don’t like spicy.
Recipes in this PostA few days ago, someone asked me for a different way to roast a chicken, and I have her this recipe. I haven’t made this in a long time, and it was a welcome change from the ho-hum regular roasted chicken we all know and love.
Spane and I both love grapefruit, and I was lucky to get some beautiful ruby-red grapefruit at my local corner store. Today, I’m going to go to the local farmer’s market and get some more. Did you know that grapefruit is really good for you? As a member of the citrus family, they are packed with vitamin C, have low sodium, low sugar, high lycopene, high potassium, and fat burning enzymes.
Since we didn’t make a big Holy Thursday Seder meal this year, I thought it would be nice to make something memorable for Good Friday. Catholics are bound not to eat meat on Good Friday. I was at the market on Thursday picking up some last-minute things, and the butcher brought out two lovely pieces of Ahi tuna. I already had purchased Blood Oranges at the Farmer’s market earlier in the day. I also wanted something simple for Friday night because we would be spending a good deal of our day in the church for the Stations of the Cross and The Seven Last Words of Christ.
I have to say I was proud of my son. Our church has the kids from the middle school put on a play, complete with Roman soldiers and a real wooden cross. Spane said to me, “Mom, can we leave, it’s really sad.” Later, I saw he had a tear in his eye, and I knew that he had finally GOTTEN it. We will be going to Easter Vigil on Saturday night (Sunday according to the liturgical calendar), so we will once more be joyous again.
After all that, I was kind of tired when we got home. I looked on the Internet for tuna and blood oranges, and everything was pan-seared. I wanted it to be broiled, so I went my own way. It was delicious, and I suggest you try it. You can even do the whole thing on the grill, just make sure you have an oven-safe pan for the sauce.
Today it was clean out the refrigerator day. You know how it is, no matter how careful you are, there is always something that hides in the very back and becomes a science experiment. Yuk! You might want to check out my Organizing the Refrigerator tips on how to avoid finding science experiments.
Then there are the little containers of pickled jalapeño peppers that come with a pizza. I think they jump in the hot pack all by themselves, because I know I never order them. That isn’t to say that I don’t like them, but I do, but I don’t like them on pizza. Still, unbidden, they find their way into my kitchen. They make their way to the refrigerator, to be included in something or eaten out of hand later, and like all small things, seem to happily find their way to the back of the fridge, right next to that awful science experiment. Since they are in brine, they don’t go bad and can stay in the refrigerator indefinitely.
So, when I was cleaning out the refrigerator today, I found day old plain cooked rice, 2 nice red bell peppers, and the small container of jalapeños. Jalapeño Stuffed Peppers it is!