I love my pressure cooker. I think I have mentioned that here before oh, maybe eleventy million times. I did have a big hunk of roast beast to deal with today, a beef round tip roast. It was approximately the size of 2 regulation basketballs put together. We got 2 nice sized roasts out of it and 3 bags (at 1 pound each) of stew meat. We had just under a pound of meat left so that went into tonight's stew.
This is the basic preparation method.
Dredge stew meat pieces in seasoned flour (salt and pepper). Then brown it in 1 TB of oil in your pressure cooker. Let the meat really sit there and sear to get the maximum flavor. Turn and let the other side brown as well. To this add 1 small chopped onion, 2 C of beef broth (or water, or water with a bullion cube in it) 1 TB of Worcestershire sauce, a couple of shakes of liquid smoke (optional), and a tsp of dried marjoram. Put the lid on your pressure cooker and bring it up to high pressure for 15 minutes. Release the pressure and add your choice of stew vegetables. Add any or all of the following, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, garlic, mushrooms, green beans, hunks of zucchini, yellow squash, and 1 can of diced tomatoes (or of course, fresh chopped tomato in season). Put the lid back on and then bring up to high pressure for 5 more minutes. The stew is ready in about 30 minutes total and tastes like it simmered all day!
Easy Peasy Beer Bread:
3 C of flour (can be half and half white and whole wheat)
1 TB of sugar (optional)
1 t salt
1 TB of baking powder
1 12 oz bottle of beer
1 cup of finely grated cheese (I did 4 cheese Mexican blend)
2 tsp of chopped fresh or dried rosemary
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, add the beer, mix together and pour into a greased baking pan and bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. SUPER YUMMY! Bread is done in about an hour counting baking time! Please try it sometime, because it is quick and easy and delicious!
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, February 11, 2010
What we had for dinner, 2/11/10
Homemade Pizza and Green Salad
I get my pizza dough recipe from the AMAZING "A Year in Bread Blog". http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/2007/03/kevin-pizza-dough.html
Three fabulous bakers decided to post a new bread recipe every day for a year. They all three submitted pizza dough recipes but I like Kevin's best. Here it is with notes on prep by me. If you click on this posts title "What we had for dinner" it will take you directly to their wonderful blog. Go for the bread, stay for the awesome writing.
Pizza Dough
Adapted from a recipe by Mitch Mandell of Fabulous Foods.
bread flour 3 1/2 c | 0.8 l | 18 oz | 500 g
warm water (between 95 and 115 F/35 and 46C) 1 c | 240 ml | 8.5 oz | 240 g
instant yeast 2 1/4 tsp (1 US pkg) | 11 ml | 1/4 oz | 8 g
honey 2 tbsp | 30 ml | 1 1/4 oz | 36 g
olive oil 1/4 c | 60 ml | 1 1/2 oz | 48 g
salt 1/2 tsp | 8 ml | 1/8 oz | 4 g
Combine the honey, warm water, and oil, stirring to mix. The water should be about 95 to 115° F. It should feel very warm, but not uncomfortably hot. (I use hot tap water. Also measure the oil in the 1/4 C measure, then measure the honey up to the middle or 1/8 C measure in the same cup. The oil keeps the honey from sticking to the measuring cup.)
Put the 3 cups of flour and yeast in the bowl and, using the paddle attachment, mix on low for about 20 seconds. Add the salt and mix on low for another 20 seconds. Note: salt is poisonous to yeast, so you want the yeast well-distributed before adding the salt. (I do all of this stuff by hand, I mix the flour and yeast with a whisk. And then I whisk in the salt.)
With the motor running on low, pour in the liquids. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough begins to form. Clean off paddle and switch to dough hook. Continue mixing on low until the dough comes together. (I stir with a wooden spoon.)
Increase speed to medium and knead for eight minutes. The dough should completely clear the sides and bottom within 2 minutes if it is too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more flour is needed. If the dough seems too dry, spritz with water from a spray bottle a couple of times, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more water is needed. continue kneading for 6 minutes. You'll find the dough wraps itself around the hook, so every 2 minutes, stop the machine, scrape the dough off the hook, and then continue kneading. (I stir until it the dough comes away from the bowl, then I add a little flour on top of the dough and to my hands and I knead it.)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few more times by hand to be sure it's tight and elastic. Form the dough into a tight ball.
Wash and dry your mixing bowl then mist it with oil. Place the dough, seam-side down, in the bowl and lightly mist top of dough with baking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise (ferment) in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size — 45 minutes to an hour. (I do not wash and dry the mixing bowl, I just put some oil in it and roll the dough around in the oil.)
Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead for about half a minute, then reshape into a ball. Respray bowl lightly, return dough to bowl, spray, recover, and allow to rise again until doubled in bulk — an hour to an hour and a half.
Heat the oven to 450F (230C).
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal portions. Set 1 aside and cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Shape the other portion into a round by hand.
Place the rolling pin in the center of the round and push outward. Rotate the dough 1/4 turn and repeat. Continue until dough is about 12 inches across. Alternatively, you can stretch the dough by hand, which I do. The dough is quite elastic and will want to shrink, so don't rush it. Pause every now and then while shaping (whether by hand or with a rolling pen) to allow the dough to relax. (Yeah, my dough doesn't get to rest much. I'm brutal.)
Coat with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Then, ideally, let the pizzas stand, covered with plastic wrap, for about 30 minutes before baking. This delay highlights the bready character of the dough. Before baking, use a knife to poke holes in any noticable bubbles. (I have never let it rest that long, the crust is delicious nevertheless)
I bake one pizza and wrap the other dough very tightly with plastic wrap and then in a plastic bag, and then freeze it for later. When defrosting, simply lay on a counter for an hour or so till dough is room temperature and ready to be rolled out.
My kids (even the 19 month old) like torn romaine lettuce topped with Ranch dressing. They will pretty much eat anything topped with Ranch dressing. They might even eat rocks as long as it had Ranch dressing on it. I also peeled two apples for them to eat.
Pretty simple diner, the kids played outside with DH as I topped the pizza dough. I called them inside when the pizza was ready. The whole house smelled amazing!
I get my pizza dough recipe from the AMAZING "A Year in Bread Blog". http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/2007/03/kevin-pizza-dough.html
Three fabulous bakers decided to post a new bread recipe every day for a year. They all three submitted pizza dough recipes but I like Kevin's best. Here it is with notes on prep by me. If you click on this posts title "What we had for dinner" it will take you directly to their wonderful blog. Go for the bread, stay for the awesome writing.
Pizza Dough
Adapted from a recipe by Mitch Mandell of Fabulous Foods.
bread flour 3 1/2 c | 0.8 l | 18 oz | 500 g
warm water (between 95 and 115 F/35 and 46C) 1 c | 240 ml | 8.5 oz | 240 g
instant yeast 2 1/4 tsp (1 US pkg) | 11 ml | 1/4 oz | 8 g
honey 2 tbsp | 30 ml | 1 1/4 oz | 36 g
olive oil 1/4 c | 60 ml | 1 1/2 oz | 48 g
salt 1/2 tsp | 8 ml | 1/8 oz | 4 g
Combine the honey, warm water, and oil, stirring to mix. The water should be about 95 to 115° F. It should feel very warm, but not uncomfortably hot. (I use hot tap water. Also measure the oil in the 1/4 C measure, then measure the honey up to the middle or 1/8 C measure in the same cup. The oil keeps the honey from sticking to the measuring cup.)
Put the 3 cups of flour and yeast in the bowl and, using the paddle attachment, mix on low for about 20 seconds. Add the salt and mix on low for another 20 seconds. Note: salt is poisonous to yeast, so you want the yeast well-distributed before adding the salt. (I do all of this stuff by hand, I mix the flour and yeast with a whisk. And then I whisk in the salt.)
With the motor running on low, pour in the liquids. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough begins to form. Clean off paddle and switch to dough hook. Continue mixing on low until the dough comes together. (I stir with a wooden spoon.)
Increase speed to medium and knead for eight minutes. The dough should completely clear the sides and bottom within 2 minutes if it is too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more flour is needed. If the dough seems too dry, spritz with water from a spray bottle a couple of times, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more water is needed. continue kneading for 6 minutes. You'll find the dough wraps itself around the hook, so every 2 minutes, stop the machine, scrape the dough off the hook, and then continue kneading. (I stir until it the dough comes away from the bowl, then I add a little flour on top of the dough and to my hands and I knead it.)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few more times by hand to be sure it's tight and elastic. Form the dough into a tight ball.
Wash and dry your mixing bowl then mist it with oil. Place the dough, seam-side down, in the bowl and lightly mist top of dough with baking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise (ferment) in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size — 45 minutes to an hour. (I do not wash and dry the mixing bowl, I just put some oil in it and roll the dough around in the oil.)
Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead for about half a minute, then reshape into a ball. Respray bowl lightly, return dough to bowl, spray, recover, and allow to rise again until doubled in bulk — an hour to an hour and a half.
Heat the oven to 450F (230C).
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal portions. Set 1 aside and cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Shape the other portion into a round by hand.
Place the rolling pin in the center of the round and push outward. Rotate the dough 1/4 turn and repeat. Continue until dough is about 12 inches across. Alternatively, you can stretch the dough by hand, which I do. The dough is quite elastic and will want to shrink, so don't rush it. Pause every now and then while shaping (whether by hand or with a rolling pen) to allow the dough to relax. (Yeah, my dough doesn't get to rest much. I'm brutal.)
Coat with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Then, ideally, let the pizzas stand, covered with plastic wrap, for about 30 minutes before baking. This delay highlights the bready character of the dough. Before baking, use a knife to poke holes in any noticable bubbles. (I have never let it rest that long, the crust is delicious nevertheless)
I bake one pizza and wrap the other dough very tightly with plastic wrap and then in a plastic bag, and then freeze it for later. When defrosting, simply lay on a counter for an hour or so till dough is room temperature and ready to be rolled out.
My kids (even the 19 month old) like torn romaine lettuce topped with Ranch dressing. They will pretty much eat anything topped with Ranch dressing. They might even eat rocks as long as it had Ranch dressing on it. I also peeled two apples for them to eat.
Pretty simple diner, the kids played outside with DH as I topped the pizza dough. I called them inside when the pizza was ready. The whole house smelled amazing!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Blueberry Oatbran Muffins
Ingredients:
1 2/3 C. fresh blueberries
2/3 C. of sugar
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. oat bran
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Use muffin cups or grease muffin tin well. Mix berries with sugar, oil and eggs until mixed. Stir in dry ingredients just until moist. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes on rack, loosen sides of muffins and take them out of the pan. Makes 6-8 muffins.
Now for the alternatives. If you do not have oat bran, use 1/2 C. of whole wheat flour or oat flour. Oat flour can be made by buzzing some whole oat meal in the food processor for a few seconds. I have also used strawberries in this recipe. Canola oil can be substituted for the vegetable oil. Also I use a scant 2/3 C. of sugar in the mix and add a dusting of sanding or sparkling white sugar (a coarse grained sugar) on the tops of the muffins before baking. It adds a lovely crunchy, shiny top.
1 2/3 C. fresh blueberries
2/3 C. of sugar
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. oat bran
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Use muffin cups or grease muffin tin well. Mix berries with sugar, oil and eggs until mixed. Stir in dry ingredients just until moist. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes on rack, loosen sides of muffins and take them out of the pan. Makes 6-8 muffins.
Now for the alternatives. If you do not have oat bran, use 1/2 C. of whole wheat flour or oat flour. Oat flour can be made by buzzing some whole oat meal in the food processor for a few seconds. I have also used strawberries in this recipe. Canola oil can be substituted for the vegetable oil. Also I use a scant 2/3 C. of sugar in the mix and add a dusting of sanding or sparkling white sugar (a coarse grained sugar) on the tops of the muffins before baking. It adds a lovely crunchy, shiny top.
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