Failed Dinners

Okay, so I think I used the wrong cut of beef last night on my brisket because although it looked and smelled JUST LIKE every other time I have made it-- it tasted exceedingly bland! I just used the roast I had on hand and did not go and get a brisket, so I have only myself to blame. But here's the thing; I can eat a mediocre meal one night, but then I have the leftovers to deal with and you have to figure out what went wrong and fix it.

But first you have to start cooing the item that takes the longest to make. There was a leftover bag of collard greens from my husband's lonely little New Year's Day feast (the kids and I were out of town) so I fixed those in my pressure cooker. To the bottom of the pressure cooker I added 1 chopped onion, 1/2 C of vegetable broth, 3 cloves of garlic minced, 2 TB of ketchup, 1 TB of balsamic vinegar. I rinsed and picked over the pre-chopped bag of greens and removed any large stems or blemished leaves. I tossed the leaves with 2 TB of salt and 1 TB of sugar. Then I packed them down in the pressure cooker and cooked them on high for 20 minutes.

So last night's "meh" brisket got thrown into a sauce pan and covered in BBQ spice rub, then I added some BBQ sauce and heated the whole thing up. Instant pulled beef sandwiches, just add buns!

I just took some frozen corn niblets and microwaved them with salt, butter and 1 TB of water, just like you do. They were fine.

I threw the buns on the plates, added the BBQ, side of corn, side of greens. My baby wanted cheese on her sandwich, my 8 year old requested some pickled okra on the side and we were ready to eat.

The greens were so dang good I think I might make them that way from now on. The kids loved the sandwiches. My husband loved ALL of it and no one had to eat any under-spiced brisket for dinner! YAY!

Crockpot Mexican Brisket and No-Fail Beans and Rice

Crock pot beef is my favorite food to eat at Christmas, well, maybe tied for first with tamales. My Mom's crock pot beef, oh dear Lord, the smell of it is filling the house right now and causing my mouth to water in an alarming way. Anyhow, here is how you make it. Trust me, you're going to love this.

Buy a piece of beef labelled as a "brisket", if you do not see one ask the butcher what you can use. The genius part is that an expensive cut of beef will not work, it has to be a tougher and cheaper piece of beef to withstand the crock pot and break down into yummy delicious pieces.

Place your brisket into a proper sized crock pot, (not too small). Then season it all over with the Adobo "con pimienta" and then get to adding cut up red, yellow or green peppers (as you like, or mix them up), at least one good sized onion, 2 fresh cloves of garlic, smashed, and enough water to cover the brisket. Set that sucker on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours and when it is done cooking it will fall apart into flavorful shreds, much like a pulled pork. Honestly though, you can't really overcook this, it just gets more and more tender and the flavor gets more and more concentrated. You serve this on tortillas with your favorite taco fixings.

I usually serve black beans with this as well and I always make my beans from scratch. Here is my basic method.

Sort your beans and discard shriveled, busted or discolored beans, rocks and other foreign objects. Rinse the beans in a colander and place into a stock pot. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let beans sit, covered for one hour. This is the "short soak method." Alternatively you could soak them overnight without boiling at all. Just discard the soaking water whatever you do and cook the beans in fresh water. To the beans I add a smashed garlic cloves, onion, and carrot at a bare minimum. DO NOT ADD SALT until the beans are nearly done. Added too early this can make your beans quite tough!

I always make my beans and rice vegetarian for 2 reasons. 1) You never know who might come to dinner and it is always a good thing to have options for your guests. 2) I never really notice the meat being gone on black beans, so why bother?

Yellow rice is my go-to for Mexican food as well. I buy the yellow plastic tubes of Mahatma rice from Costco in a 6 pack I use it so much. Here's how I make it. I chop up fine some carrot and onion. I open a can of tomatoes and drain them into a measuring cup, reserving the juice. To the juice I add enough water and salt to make the recipe and I microwave it all together to get it hot. I lightly toast the rice in an oiled wrought iron skillet. Then when it is sizzling I add the liquid to the rice as well as the chopped carrot and onion and the tomatoes from the can. I stir it all together and let it boil for one minute and then cover and reduce the temperature to low for 20-25 minutes. Depending on what I am making I have also added frozen green peas to the pan in the last 4-5 minutes of cooking time. The kids eat it up and ask for more. The tiny cubes of carrot and the round green peas are are lovely pops of color in the cheery yellow rice and the tomatoes pretty much cook down to nothing and help flavor the rice really well.

If I am making a vegetarian meal, I let the beans and rice take center stage and make a side dish of sliced sauteed zucchini and yellow (crook-neck or summer) squash, mixed with chopped onion and tomato and seasoned with salt, pepper and cumin. It is all sauteed together in a hot pan with olive oil and then deglazed with a bit of vegetable broth and allowed to steam for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft and the flavors have melded. You can serve that just as is for a vegan meal or add a bit of queso blanco (a soft white cheese) to the top for added flavor. Really let the veggies get some good brown sear before you deglaze to get the best flavor! It is sort of a Mexican ratatouille if you can imagine. :)

That's about it for me today. I need to go dive head first into some other project so that I am not tempted to lift the lid on the crock pot and start "tasting" the brisket. Happy Sunday everyone!

Every day is a celebration.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured today in the terrible shooting in Arizona. I cannot imagine how harrowing and devastating this has been for all involved. The title to my post pre-dates this tragedy, but I find it more important now than ever.

Today we were reunited with the our closest friends here in the Keys. Due to all of the holiday busyness and our travel schedule it has been over 2 weeks since we last saw them. They have lovely twin daughters the same age as our older daughter and the wife of the couple is Godmother to our younger daughter. Our husbands get along "like a house a'fire" as we say down South. It's just really, really cool when you are friends with the parents of your child's friends.

Anyhow, our daughters had their first day of Municipal Basketball practice today, a skills test/lesson and a chance for the coaches to see the kids and assess their skill levels so they can be placed on teams. We saw a lot of parents we know this morning, out supporting their kids, enjoying the gorgeous weather, chatting and catching up. The park where we were at is beautiful and tree lined and shady. At times the atmosphere seemed almost like a convivial cocktail party with people laughing and talking and mingling. Some of us decided to go get lunch all together at a seaside burger joint with gorgeous unimpeded views and an ocean breeze.

At lunch I decided to invite the whole clan to dinner at our house on the spur of the moment, since our husbands would be at softball practice together that afternoon, anyhow. After softball I came home and made spaghetti and red sauce, steamed green beans, some frozen heat and serve french bread. I am sure you all have your own favorite spaghetti recipe, but I encourage you to bring it out when you are feeding a big crowd. One box of spaghetti, a can of sauce, a can of tomatoes, some chopped onion and garlic is a pretty economical (and kid pleasing) way to feed a crowd. We asked out friends to stop by the store on the way over and pick up ANYTHING they liked dipped in chocolate for a surprise dessert!

For Christmas we received a small Chocolate Fountain (cue choir of angels: ahhhh!). Let me tell you, if you have ever harbored Augustus Gloop levels of fantasy about chocolate, as I have, you can well appreciate the awesomeness of the aforementioned Chocolate Fountain (ahhhhhhh!) It is simply the most fun you can have fully clothed and in the company of minors. (Ahhhhh... hem.)

Our friends brought bananas, blueberries, strawberries, dried mango, marshmallows, pretzel sticks and apple slices. These were all lovingly bathed in glorious chocolate and consumed with much "mming" and "ahhing" and some more unintelligible grunts of pleasure. The kids all took turns, the big kids helped the little kid spear her blueberries, there wasn't much spilled on the tablecloth; and then after we were fully sated on fruit and endorphins the grown-ups played MarioKart and the kids played dress-up.

All in all a pretty normal day, laid back, nobody did anything crazy or remarkable, but I promise you I will always remember it. One of the few things I know for sure is it doesn't much matter WHAT you do as much as it matters who you are with when it happens. Few things in life are as pleasurable as sharing a meal with folks that really get you, your husband, your sense of humor and your love of oregano. Few things in life are amazing as being around other adults who think you have really awesome kids and you love their kids in return. Few things are as precious as the time we spend with those we love. Friends are the family you make and that should be celebrated; on birthdays, holidays and even random Saturdays.

Beef Stew and Beer Bread!

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!

Back up and punt

I had my week planned. Cooking at my MIL's house and cooking at the rental house until I left Sunday morning and returned home to make a triumphant Sunday dinner at home with my husband. And then... yeah. That didn't happen. My poor MIL's cold turned into something much worse. She couldn't sleep for the terrible coughing and breathlessness and of course I couldn't ask her to watch my energetic children when she clearly needed to rest. So I skipped out on my conference and headed home. I got a late start and so we didn't get home until 10 p.m.

I made cereal for dinner.

At first I felt defeated and sad but then I thought about it. There was cereal in the house, and milk and bread to make sandwiches for my daughter's lunch. There were vegetables in the crisper, potatoes in the bin, and fresh meat in the meat drawer and in the freezer. There was a new case of juice boxes and lunch snacks in the storage over the cabinets.

Who caused this joyous accumulation of well-planned and nutritious foods? My husband. While I was gone he had done our quarterly trek to Costco and bought all of the supplies we were running low on; a chore we normally do together. When I came home the dishes were washed and the kids drawers were stuffed with clean folded laundry.

So even though my plans fell through, I have a partner who keeps things going for me and thinks ahead about my needs and the needs of our family. That is pretty sweet and makes even cereal for dinner feel like a feast.

At my MIL's house, steak and asparagus

My in-law's are big on steak, and I love them for it. 1 rib-eye at their house can easily feed me, my husband and one of our kids. They also do an incredibly simple seasoning and marinade routine that I think everyone should know about.

Season steaks all over with Montreal Steak Seasoning Blend, then marinate the steaks in half Worcestershire sauce and half soy sauce. Turn the steaks half way through whatever marinating time you have as little as an hour even, though these are really great the longer you marinate them. I think I accidentally marinated them for 2 days once and they were delectable!

So the steaks were seared in a hot pan and cooked on the stove-top and were great, as usual. The real star of the show was this new asparagus recipe my MIL wanted me to try and make. She got it from Pier 1 and it called for some ingredients that come from the Pier 1 store. Well, we didn't have any of the ingredients, so here is the recipe with notes on what I subbed in for the missing stuff.

Grilled Asparagus

1 bag of Pier 1 Apple Cider (yield 2 cups) -- I used 2 C apple juice
1/3 C Pier 1 Apricots in White Vinegar (use a few pieces of apricot) -- I used my MIL's homemade pickled peaches
1/4 C fresh squeezed orange juice -- I used 2 rounded tablespoons of OJ concentrate
1 TB fresh thyme chopped -- I used 1 tsp of dried ground thyme
3 TB sugar
1 TB salt
1 tsp pepper
32 stalks of asparagus (are you KIDDING me? I used 2 packages that totaled about 2 pounds. Who has time to COUNT asparagus??)
Oil to coat
Garnish with organic baby greens, feta (we used bleu cheese) and orange segments (didn't have any, skipped it.)

Make apple cider with 2 C of water, let steep for 10 minutes. (I put the juice right in the blender.) In blender combine cider, vinegar with apricots (vinegar with peaches), OJ, thyme, salt, sugar, and pepper. Puree and reserve. Grill asparagus for desired amount of tenderness (4-5 minutes). (I cooked my asparagus on the stove top in olive oil and butter with a dash of coarse grained salt.) Place on serving tray and pour vinaigrette over them, garnish with greens cheese and orange.

These were possibly my favorite asparagus of all time and I LOVE asparagus. They are so tasty and awesome it is worth having funny smelling pee later. The lovely little mesclun salad on top with the creamy, dreamy bleu cheese was a wonderful combination of tastes, textures and temperatures. I literally could not get enough of the stuff. I did not pour the dressing over all as I like to let people add their dressing to taste, so I think you could safely halve this recipe and have plenty to put a few tablespoons over each portion. As it is we had lots of leftovers, but we are going to put it in the fridge for a salad tomorrow. What a treat! A great new side-dish for dinner and freshly made salad dressing for the next day! SCORE!

****If I were doing a vegetarian meal with this, I'd pair the asparagus salad with a nice warm rice pilaf and some crusty bread and call it a day!! ****

Amtrak -- what we ate

So the kids had a late lunch/early dinner by having pizza before we got on the train, but I knew they'd be hungry later. Fortunately my Mom and I packed the World's Most Awesome Snack Bag for dinner. I have an insulated tote bag so we froze some water bottles and packed some:

*juice boxes
*yoo-hoo chocolate drinks
*baby bel cheese
*pepperoni slices
*ritz crackers
*small bags of peanuts
*red grapes
*gummi fruit snacks
*Go-gurts (yogurt in a tube)
*toaster pastries
*nutri-grain bars
*cheez-its (individual bags)
and one coca cola for me!!!

The kids ate a good cross-selection of the contents of the bags, especially the grapes which were great. I made sure they had plenty of juice and water as well as their "treat" of Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drinks because I think children can get dehydrated on trips very easily. I know I do anyway, and if I am cold they have to wear a sweater, and if I am thirsty... well, you get the picture. The food lasted us for our "dinner" as well as a decent breakfast which we ate unbelievably early on the train.

Despite not falling asleep until well after 11 p.m. the kids woke up at 6:30 in the morning (!!!) because they were SO EXCITED to be on the train and heading home. They were up almost an hour before the dining car was even open and they woke up hungry! I woke up craving a large coffee and a voluntary coma, but I made do with a toaster pastry like a champ. Like a champ who's right butt cheek had gone numb or possibly had permanent nerve damage from "sleeping" like a pretzel to accommodate a a grouchy toddler. Seriously, if I were not such a CHAMPION butt-sitter I am sure my tailbone would be permanently fused to the metal bar that separates the two Amtrak seats from each other. OY! On the other hand, if Butt-sitting becomes and Olympic sport, then I am going for the GOLD, for my COUNTRY, for my glorious peasant butt, long may she reign.

What are your road-trip staples? Do you get food on the go or do you pack a hamper or some combination of both?