Miscellania Life’s Miscellania

Chicken in the glaze

The bubbling glaze

The chicken before tossing it in the glaze

One of my most used seasoning blends lately

Will post details later

Thats what I made for dinner tonight but too tired to post details yet. Came out very good considering the ribs and the potatoes were me experimenting. My grandma enjoyed it so much she didn’t gripe about how late it got done.

I bought 2 packs of beef short ribs. Each one had 5-6 ribs. I bought a cast iron dutch oven, heated just enough olive oil to cover the bottom over medium heat. It takes a while. I dredged them in flour seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic & herb no salt seasoning and garlic powder. I shook off the excess flour and browned the ribs on all sides in small batches. After all the ribs were browned and out of the pot  I added 1 large chopped white onion and cooked it till soft. I added the ribs back in and  then I deglazed the pan with 1 box of College Inn Bold Beef Sirloin stock and scraped up all the brown bits in the pot. I turned it up slightly and got it bubbling, then put it back on medium and let it simmer for about 2 hrs. I tasted it and added a little more seasoning to the liquid. KEEP this leftover liquid. It makes an awesome pot of soup.

I poured some maple syrup into a small nonstick skillet and cooked it down till it was slightly thickened. I stirred in some salted butter, tasted it..added a little more butter, some nutmeg, a pinch of salt, some vanilla and some rum flavoring. While I was doing this I also peeled and cubed 2 sweet potatoes, then I steamed them about 15 mins. You have to watch them, you just want them to be soft. It does not take long. Once they were soft I put them in a bowl and used a hand mixer to beat them with the maple-butter as the liquid (Don’t over beat…it will become goop). I didn’t quite concentrate the maple syrup enough so I added some brown sugar, a bit of molasses (not much) and cinnamon to the potatoes as well. I also adjust the salt.

We also had steamed baby veggies. It was a mix of baby corn kernels, green beans and sweet peas.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

This is an "experiment" that worked and everyone liked, so I am going to try to remember how I did it. Measurements are guesstimates because I never measure when I cook, so use your own judgement on the amount of seasonings and taste.

1. Cooking Liquid & Chicken
   • 3 skinnless, boneless chicken breasts, roughly chopped
   • 2 10.5 ounce cans condensed chicken noodle soup
   • 1 soupcan of water
   • 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped (more or less to taste)
   • 1 small onion, chopped
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 1 tsp poultry seasoning OR 1 envelope (.75 oz) "Amazing Taste for Poultry" seasoning
2. Remainder of Ingredients
   • 8oz sour cream
   • 12 oz wide egg noodles
   • 1 bunch broccoli, chopped (including stems—small dice)
   • Salt to taste
3. Topping
   • 3 slices sandwich bread, toasted
   • 1/3 cup parmesean cheese, grated
   • 1/2 tsp caroway seeds (optional)
   • 1/8 tsp celery salt
   • 2 tsp garlic powder (or less to taste)
   • 1.5 tsp onion powder
   • 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) salted butter or margarine

Combine soup, onion, garlic, water, garlic powder, poultry seasoning and chicken in a medium to large pot. Add just under enough water to cover if needed. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook until chicken is done and tender.

Add sour cream and mix well. Add egg noodles and cook till noodles are about 1/2 done and liquid is reduced. Stir in broccoli and add salt to taste. Pour into 9×13 pan. Cover with foil. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 35 minutes.

While casserole is cooking toast 3 slices of white sandwich bread. Let cool. Break into pieces and put in food processor. Add parmesean cheese, carroway seeds, celery salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Run through the food processor till fine crumbs. Dump crumb mixture in a medium sized bowl. Melt the butter and stir into crumb mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Remove casserole from oven. Make sure noodles are tender. If not cook longer. If they are tender sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the top. Do not replace foil over the top. Put casserole under broiler (or for electric oven set to broil). Watch very carefully and remove once crumbs are browned. It does not take long.

Russ actually requested salad the other night, which is rare, so I made a huge salad. I made it also including romaine lettuce, but i think it would be just as good without it. This is what I did:

1 bag of hearts of romaine

3 roma tomatoes (only ones that were decently red), diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 bell pepper, diced

1 English cucumber, diced

1 pkg sweet off the cob corn thawed under cold running water

1/2 pkg shelled Edamame, steamed 2-3 mins, then cooled

1 pkg diced oven roasted chicken breast

real bacon bits to taste

a few handfuls of roasted, salted sunflower kernels

I just threw all of that together in a big bowl and mixed it with my hands. I made homemade buttermilk ranch to go with it. It was good that night, but a lot of the romaine was eaten so the leftovers were mostly the other veggies and stuff. I just dumped a little ranch into the container and stirred it well and ate it and to me it was even better that way.

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Last night I was feeling sort of unmotivated to cook, but we had to eat, so I threw together a chicken and pasta dish rather quickly

1 pkg chicken tenderloins (probably about 10 or so pieces)

cornstarch

salt & pepper

garlic & herb no salt seasoning

olive oil

1 bag frozen broccoli florets

2/3 carton College Inn Chicken stock – wine and herb flavor or regular chicken stock, just use a little less broth and add some white wine and itialian seasoning.

1/2 a pound small pasta like radiatori

I seasoned the cornstarch, dredged the chicken, shook off the excess. Then I started the water for the pasta. I heated some olive oil in my electric skillet and added the chicken. I browned both sides of the chicken, then added the stock and broccoli. I reserved a little of the seasoned cornstarch to thicken the sauce if needed. I cooked the pasta and simmered the chicken and broccoli until they both were done. Drain the pasta, stir it into the chicken. taste and adjust seasonings. Mix a little water with the cornstarch that was reserved and add to the chicken and pasta, stirring well.

I am NOT a big fan of them, at least not the way I have been presented with them most of my life. This consists of either baked (which renders them sort of a cross between mush and slime and I am so bad about food textures) or the quintessential southern souffle topped with a ton of marshmallows. I do like sweet potato fries. I watched good eats and saw where Alton Brown recommended steaming them. I decided to steam them and make my own souffle. Unfortunately I didn’t measure, but here is what I did. This made enough for 2 people to eat as a side with 2 meals and still have a serving to send to Russ’s mom. I also ate 1 serving cold with whipped cream heh.

2 sweet potatoes peeled, cut into cubes
Mascarpone Cheese
1 Egg
Dried Cranberries
Pecans- some toasted, some not
Brown Sugar
Maple Syrup
Cinnamon
Nutmeg (fresh grated)
Coconut
Butter
Molasses
Salt
I would have added vanilla but I was out *sigh*

I couldn’t find my steamer basket so I put a wire mesh strainer over a pot that had a little boiling water in it and lidded it. How long depends on how big your cubes are. You want them soft but not mushy or falling apart.

I put the potatoes in a bowl and added a heaping spoon of mascarpone cheese, a few generous handfuls of dried cranberries, toasted pecans, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and molasses. (I would have also added vanilla at this point) I used the mixer to whip this up. Taste and adjust flavorings. Remember though that once baked it will taste a bit sweeter than raw. Then I added my egg while the mixer was going. Don’t overmix, you just want to make it a bit fluffy. Scrape it into a buttered casserole dish.

Mix butter, coconut (bout 1/2 can), untoasted pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to make a crumb topping. Make a good bit. This was my favorite part hehe. Sprinkle this very liberally (more of a layer than a sprinkle). Bake at 375 F until crumb top is toasty and firms up. Everything else is cooked except the eggs when you put it in. I think I baked it about 45 minutes, but mainly keep an eye on it.

I know I am being vague, I made this as an experiment before Thanksgiving. But it should give a jumping off point at least.