Quarantine Cooking: Recipes & Techniques to Stretch Your Food Budget (1 Viewer)

[cosjobs]

my grandmother (who passed away used to make this recipe called 'beans and potatoes'.....probably not very healthy, but it was a cheap recipe she used to make.

Anyways i found this and wanted to make it, but know it needs water. How much water would you suggest I add?

Basil 

Garlic cloves

1/2 can tomato paste

White beans - great northern beans - 2 cans (15 oz)

Chicken bouillon - 2

Olive oil

Red potatoes - 5 lb      

Red pepper

Black pepper

Did she leave an actual recipe? With sequence, cooking method/time? If noy I could probaby reverse chefineer it for you.  

 

[cosjobs]

my grandmother (who passed away used to make this recipe called 'beans and potatoes'.....probably not very healthy, but it was a cheap recipe she used to make.

Anyways i found this and wanted to make it, but know it needs water. How much water would you suggest I add?

Basil 

Garlic cloves

1/2 can tomato paste

White beans - great northern beans - 2 cans (15 oz)

Chicken bouillon - 2

Olive oil

Red potatoes - 5 lb      

Red pepper

Black pepper

otoh, if you dump all this in  a pot and heat it up/cook it for 60-90 min. wit a couple cups of water, it would probably be pretty good, but wait and add the potatoes  when the liquid is simmering. or boiling   If you cook them from start in cold water. they'll be waxy.

 

[General Malaise]

my grandmother (who passed away used to make this recipe called 'beans and potatoes'.....probably not very healthy, but it was a cheap recipe she used to make.

Anyways i found this and wanted to make it, but know it needs water. How much water would you suggest I add?

Basil 

Garlic cloves

1/2 can tomato paste

White beans - great northern beans - 2 cans (15 oz)

Chicken bouillon - 2

Olive oil

Red potatoes - 5 lb      

Red pepper

Black pepper

I'd always defer to Cos as he's an actual chef, but....

Here's how I'd do it:

- Heat the olive oil over medium high and add minced garlic and some diced onions (feel like the two need to be used together, even though this doesn't call for onion).  Saute for 5 minutes or so until the fragrant (don't burn the garlic).
- Add the tomato paste and stir in well.  Cook for another 2 minutes.  
- Drain your beans well.  You want to limit their liquid.  Stir those in, add your basil, red pepper (assume this is the spice and not a bell pepper; if the latter, dice that up and cook it with the onions/garlic).
- Forget the Chicken Bullion - Use Chicken Broth or Stock or Veggie Broth.  IMO, it's a way better option.  I'd suggest 4 cups.   Make your own if you can; store bought fine.  You can buy them by 32 oz containers.  One of those would work well.  Bring all this to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer.  
- As Cos suggested, add your potatoes at the end and let them simmer for 20-25 minutes.  You can always add water if need be, but ALWAYS err on the side of less liquid first.  Adding water as you go is like salt....always take a wait and see approach.  Salt at the end after you've tasted.   Too much liquid or too much salt will kill an otherwise solid effort in the kitchen.  

 

 

[General Malaise]

My new favorite local grocer now reserves a pack or two of their organic, extra firm tofu which my wife loves, but it is damn near impossible to find in hippie dippie Portland.  Anything less than Xtra Firm breaks apart too easily so this new relationship with Basic's Grocer has been sublime.

Here's the marinade I'm using now to saute or grill her tofu:

- 2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (low sodium if you have it)
- 4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Chili Paste or Siracha
- 1 Tbsp Tamarind Sauce (optional, but it helps add an element of sour to the sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbsp Peanut Oil (optional)
- 1-2 Tbsp Creamy Peanut Butter 

I'll stack this marinade up against anything right now.  My wife loves it.  
 

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Made this yesterday, it was pretty tasty

https://www.purewow.com/recipes/french-onion-brisket

had some of the leftovers on a pretzel roll with cheddar, mayo and some French fried onions on it 

might do a breakfast hash with the remaining leftovers tomorrow, have some early meetings but I think I can make it work

edit: I skipped the refrigerate overnight step.  I just let it rest for like 20 minutes, sliced and returned to the sauce 

 

[General Malaise]

Made this yesterday, it was pretty tasty

https://www.purewow.com/recipes/french-onion-brisket

had some of the leftovers on a pretzel roll with cheddar, mayo and some French fried onions on it 

might do a breakfast hash with the remaining leftovers tomorrow, have some early meetings but I think I can make it work

That looks amazing!

Question:  You refrigerate overnight.  Then the next day, you take the brisket out, slice it up and return it to the Dutch Oven over medium high heat.  Isn't there still a LOT of liquid in that pot?  Does that just add for a really moist finished product?

 

[Dan Lambskin]

That looks amazing!

Question:  You refrigerate overnight.  Then the next day, you take the brisket out, slice it up and return it to the Dutch Oven over medium high heat.  Isn't there still a LOT of liquid in that pot?  Does that just add for a really moist finished product?

Oh I skipped that step.  I should have mentioned that.  No way I’m cooking something that delicious and waiting a day to eat it

After I cooked In the oven for 3 hours I pulled it, let it rest for like 20 minutes, sliced it and put it a back in the sauce for another 10 minutes or so

still came out really moist, but yeah there is a lot of leftover liquid.  I also only had like a 3 lb brisket flat too

sauce is really good though, basically French onion soup.  
 

i think one benefit to letting it sit overnight and then slicing is you probably get more consistency in the brisket, mine mostly fell apart so I ended up with a lot of little chunks and shreds of brisket.  So mine didn’t look quite as presentable as the picture but still tasted amazing 

ive had good luck with recipes on that site too (also did Asian meatballs and a sausage gnocchi)
 

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Loosely followed this tonight but didn’t measure anything, used leftover sweet Italian sausage probably about 12 ounces

https://plowingthroughlife.com/sausage-cream-cheese-stuffed-bell-pepper-keto/#wprm-recipe-container-11504

Used halved poblanos because that’s what I had on hand. Spooned a little tomato sauce over them before serving.  Really good 

Followed this as written 

https://www.food.com/recipe/fabulous-crusty-italian-loaf-131899?ic1=suggestedAsset|fabulous crusty

Recipe makes 2 small loaves, baked one froze the other. Good stuff

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

Made chicken salad yesterday and my recipe calls for grapes. I don't have any grapes but I did get large bag of Craisins (dried cranberries) in case of a long lockdown. I put a large handful in a small pan and simmered in white wine for about 15 minutes, drained, and added them to my mix. It worked.

2 Lg chicken breasts, roasted, chopped

1 Sm onion diced

1/2 c Mayo

2 Tblsp lemon juice

1 Tblsp Dijon mustard

1 Tblsp Dill, fresh, finely chopped

1/4 c Almond slices (optional)

1/2 c dried cranberries simmered in white wine and drained (mandatory)

S & P

 

[ProstheticRGK]

My new favorite local grocer now reserves a pack or two of their organic, extra firm tofu which my wife loves, but it is damn near impossible to find in hippie dippie Portland.  Anything less than Xtra Firm breaks apart too easily so this new relationship with Basic's Grocer has been sublime.

Here's the marinade I'm using now to saute or grill her tofu:

- 2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (low sodium if you have it)
- 4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Chili Paste or Siracha
- 1 Tbsp Tamarind Sauce (optional, but it helps add an element of sour to the sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbsp Peanut Oil (optional)
- 1-2 Tbsp Creamy Peanut Butter 

I'll stack this marinade up against anything right now.  My wife loves it.  
 

This is pretty much exactly my go-to skeleton for Asian marinades. I've never used tamarind sauce, but know we have it around here- I'll definitely pick some up. I use different chile sauces (sambal olek or go ku jong) and sometimes go with a tbsp or two of ketchup/tomato sauce instead of peanut butter.

Usually add lime juice, coriander, a tiny pinch of five spice powder and fresh cilantro, too.

I made some with kiwi and pineapple this past weekend for beef short ribs. Flavor was great, but thinking I might sous vide the ribs next batch.

 

[General Malaise]

This is pretty much exactly my go-to skeleton for Asian marinades. I've never used tamarind sauce, but know we have it around here- I'll definitely pick some up. I use different chile sauces (sambal olek or go ku jong) and sometimes go with a tbsp or two of ketchup/tomato sauce instead of peanut butter.

Usually add lime juice, coriander, a tiny pinch of five spice powder and fresh cilantro, too.

I made some with kiwi and pineapple this past weekend for beef short ribs. Flavor was great, but thinking I might sous vide the ribs next batch.

I never used Tamarind before, but I found it at the Asian grocer (was not easy to locate) and have used it in place of lime, etc. It's a peculiar taste as a stand alone, but it is terrific in sauces/marinades. 

 

[General Malaise]

Made chicken salad yesterday and my recipe calls for grapes. I don't have any grapes but I did get large bag of Craisins (dried cranberries) in case of a long lockdown. I put a large handful in a small pan and simmered in white wine for about 15 minutes, drained, and added them to my mix. It worked.

2 Lg chicken breasts, roasted, chopped

1 Sm onion diced

1/2 c Mayo

2 Tblsp lemon juice

1 Tblsp Dijon mustard

1 Tblsp Dill, fresh, finely chopped

1/4 c Almond slices (optional)

1/2 c dried cranberries simmered in white wine and drained (mandatory)

S & P

Man, I LOVE a good chicken salad.  So much fun to experiment with different ingredients.  

Here's one I've done with avocados - I added bacon when I did it because I CAN!
 

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups cooked shredded chicken breast 

2 perfectly ripe avocados, peeled and pitted

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice (or more to taste)

½ red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced

3 tablespoons finely chopped white onion

3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

½ jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped (or more, to taste)

2 teaspoons finely minced garlic (2 medium cloves)

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large bowl mash the avocado with the lime juice. Add the rest of the ingredients: chicken, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

 

[General Malaise]

I made vegetable broth last night.  Wife's a vegetarian and we use a lot of the store bought stuff.  No need for that!  Been saving up all sorts of veggie scraps - sweet potato peels, carrot peels, cauliflower and broccoli stems, etc.  Those were in the freezer so I ushered half the contents of the ziploc bag into my Dutch oven last night and simmered them in olive oil and white wine with some fresh garlic, onions, parsley, bay leaves, thyme and oregano from our garden, celery, peppercorns and lord knows what else....i finished the rest of the wine so the night's a little fuzzy.  Anyhow, covered it near the top with water, brought it to a boil, threw the lid on and baked it at 350 for 3 hours.  Took it out, let cool down covered overnight, strained it all and will use this for all sorts of veggie lover dishes. 

 

[heckmanm]

I made vegetable broth last night.  Wife's a vegetarian and we use a lot of the store bought stuff.  No need for that!  Been saving up all sorts of veggie scraps - sweet potato peels, carrot peels, cauliflower and broccoli stems, etc.  Those were in the freezer so I ushered half the contents of the ziploc bag into my Dutch oven last night and simmered them in olive oil and white wine with some fresh garlic, onions, parsley, bay leaves, thyme and oregano from our garden, celery, peppercorns and lord knows what else....i finished the rest of the wine so the night's a little fuzzy.  Anyhow, covered it near the top with water, brought it to a boil, threw the lid on and baked it at 350 for 3 hours.  Took it out, let cool down covered overnight, strained it all and will use this for all sorts of veggie lover dishes. 

I do something similar - make a batch when the bag gets full.  I usually avoid using starchy stuff like potato peels because I think you get a cloudy broth that way. But any time I'm chopping onion, carrot, celery, peppers for another dish, the end bits go in the bag.

 

[gianmarco]

I never used Tamarind before, but I found it at the Asian grocer (was not easy to locate) and have used it in place of lime, etc. It's a peculiar taste as a stand alone, but it is terrific in sauces/marinades. 

I use tamarind powder making a filipino soup called sinigang.  There are countless variations and you can make it most any way you want but it's pretty easy to search for.  The packets of tamarind are like 89 cents at most Asian markets.  Essentially saute some pork (country style ribs, neck bones, etc.) and onions.  Add water to start the soup.  Then you add vegetables (pretty much whatever you want).  I put in tomatoes, mushrooms (not common), green onions (sliced long ways), and napa cabbage at the end.  Pretty easy to make and quite flavorful.  The sourness of the tamarind is what makes the dish, though.

Enjoy

Another showing how easy to make using the packet of tamarind

 

[Ron Swanson]

For some extra umami in your asian inspired sauces, try some oyster sauce.  

 

[Drunken knight]

For some extra umami in your asian inspired sauces, try some oyster sauce.  

I started playing with food when I was about 10.  One of my favorites to cook was a burger with oyster sauce.

 

[General Malaise]

Found a little hidden gem of a natural grocer and I'm already in love.  Yesterday, I bought 2 bags of chicken bones/carcass for next to nothing and made stock last night in my Dutch Oven.  Unlike past stock experiences, I baked this one.  Turned out sooooooooooooooo tasty!  

Also bought Ham Hocks and Pork Trotters.  Thinking I can put both the hock and trotter in the Dutch Oven and make broth out of them.  Any other suggestions?

Finally got around to making a pork broth out of these.  I cooked them for about 12 hours and although I had filled my 6qt Dutch Oven to the brim with water and apple cider vinegar, when I woke up in the morning to strain it out, I had about 1/4 of the liquid I was hoping for. 

Mistakes:  I covered the lid and baked this for a few hours so my wife could use our stove top.  That reduced the liquid quite a bit.
Wins:  This was maybe one of the richest, best tasting bone broths I've ever made.  

Tonight I'm taking the broth out, scraping the fat that hardened on top and will bring it back to a simmer with some more water.  It's thick enough and tasteful enough to use dilution.  Will be making Asian Beef Noodle Soup with some leftover steak I grilled up yesterday.  Should be dynamite.  

 

[Mister CIA]

Just finished cooking off a pound of bacon for BLT's/Bacon-Egg sandwiches on lunch break this week.

Now I'm about to fry polenta slices in bacon fat/avocado oil.  Will later top with cheddar and crushed pistachios, and melt in the oven.  Hope it turns out as good as I think it will.  :buzzed cooking:

 

[Mister CIA]

There's been a renaissance in my household lately for the egg sandwich.  

Small, thin toasted white bread, generously buttered.  Whip egg with cream, salt, and pepper.  Fry it up (in butter, of course) in small pan. Assemble and chow down.  It's really good.

 

[Mister CIA]

There's been a renaissance in my household lately for the egg sandwich.  

Small, thin toasted white bread, generously buttered.  Whip egg with cream, salt, and pepper.  Fry it up (in butter, of course) in small pan. Assemble and chow down.  It's really good.

Newsflash!  Polenta slices cooked in bacon fat (and a little bit of avocado oil) is fantastic. My technique sucked, as a lot of crust stuck when going for the flip.  No problemo, I just scraped all the crusty goodness and scattered across the finished slices.  Going to do the bake and melt tomorrow and serve it up with pintos and Carrots Lyonnaise. It will be like dinner and dessert all at the same time.

Carrots Lyonnaise

Slice one onion and toss and saute in butter.  Develop just a little bit of char.  Set onion aside in a dish.

Carrots (a pound or two, not sure yet - probably two), cut into 2" sticks with a diameter of a fat pencil.  Saute in butter over medium heat.  Develop some blackened spots of love on the carrots.

Heat off, combine onions with carrots and toss.  Season well with lemon pepper.

Serve

ETA: Lightly salt onions and carrots during cook.

 

[heckmanm]

In all fairness, pretty much anything cooked in bacon fat is pretty damn good.  Made popcorn the other day with it :chefkiss:

 

[gianmarco]

 :chefkiss:

I can't wait to use that.

I wish we had an emoji for it.

 

[Dickies]

My neighbor gave me some sourdough starter.  It's a bit of a pain in the ### to deal with, and we've never gone through more flour in our lives "feeding" this thing, but damn is the bread good.  I'm transitioning it to 100% whole wheat flour now that I've got the hang of things.

 

[Ron Swanson]

My neighbor gave me some sourdough starter.  It's a bit of a pain in the ### to deal with, and we've never gone through more flour in our lives "feeding" this thing, but damn is the bread good.  I'm transitioning it to 100% whole wheat flour now that I've got the hang of things.

Awesome. That looks just like the bread they serve over on the Wharf. Do you get the same sourdough benefits in the east bay that they talk about in SF? Or is that just tourist tales?

 

[Dickies]

Awesome. That looks just like the bread they serve over on the Wharf. Do you get the same sourdough benefits in the east bay that they talk about in SF? Or is that just tourist tales?

Probably tourist tales.

I doubt the location makes any difference, but I will say that I’ve had sourdough from other places in the country and the sourdough bread here is just better for whatever reason.

Mine tasted just as good as a 90th percentile sourdough loaf, but there are a few local places that make some phenomenal rustic sourdoughs that I would likely need to invest in a wood oven to replicate. That picture was my first effort, and I think there a few things I could do to improve upon it. 

 

[Galileo]

Made chicken salad yesterday and my recipe calls for grapes. I don't have any grapes but I did get large bag of Craisins (dried cranberries) in case of a long lockdown. I put a large handful in a small pan and simmered in white wine for about 15 minutes, drained, and added them to my mix. It worked.

2 Lg chicken breasts, roasted, chopped

1 Sm onion diced

1/2 c Mayo

2 Tblsp lemon juice

1 Tblsp Dijon mustard

1 Tblsp Dill, fresh, finely chopped

1/4 c Almond slices (optional)

1/2 c dried cranberries simmered in white wine and drained (mandatory)

S & P

This is very similar to my go to.  I have made it with all kinds of chicken...usually leftovers, but roasted, grilled, poached...I've even used canned chicken it it still works well.  I have never simmered the craisins/cranberries.  I just use them out of the bag.  May need to try the simmer, but I usually do not have white wine on hand.  A few differences for me...I'll add some diced celery which adds a nice crunch.  I use pecans instead of almonds.  And I will also use Old Bay seasoning and a dash of cayenne to kick it up a little.

 

[Mister CIA]

Vegetarian Spice Blend "Hidden Salami Spice," from the Vegetables for Carnivores - A Cookbook for the Reluctant Vegetarian* (author's spice blend title, not mine). This blend is meant for vegan/vegetarian dishes and it will suggest smells of smoked sausage.

• 1.5 tsp - Pimentón (smoked paprika)
  
• 1.5 tsp - Fennel Seeds, whole
  
• 1 tsp - Black Pepper Corns
  
• 1 tsp - Sage, dried
  
• 1 tsp - Cumin Seeds, whole
  
• 1 tsp - Course Salt
  
• 1 tsp - Dark Brown Sugar, preferably Muscovado
  
• 0.5 tsp - Garlic Powder
  
• 0.5 tsp - Instant Coffee
  
• 0.5 tsp - Cayenne
  

Blend well in your spice mill.

I tried this for the first time on roasted zuchinni (ON TOPIC - REAL CHEAP).  My vegetable roasting game is about a B-minus, tops, so if you have a better technique, by all means.

Sliced zuchinni into 1/2" wheels,and then halved the wheels.  Spread out on foil-lined tray; coated w/ olive oil; seasoned well with salt, pepper, and the "hidden salami"; baked well at 400 degrees. I let mine go for about 35 minutes, flipped the veggies and put back in the oven with the heat off and continued to roast for another 20 minutes.  425 or 450 would probably be better, but I'm a scatterbrain so I stick with lower temps and a slower pace.

Was going to use as a rice subsititute w/ red beans, but I smashed all three zuchinni's before the beans were done.

*  Amazon link. Clicking it might affect your google suggestions.

 

[Ron Swanson]

I've been buying whole ducks recently at a good price and have found that I can use every part of them for several delicious meals.

I start by separating the legs and wings.  These get a sprinkle of S&P, a garlic rub, and a couple thyme sprigs and I seal them in a vacuum bag at sous vide at 150 for 36 hours. I then refrigerate them and when ready to eat, bake them in the oven at 450 for about 7-10 minutes to heat them up and crisp the skin. Excellent and easy duck confit.

Then I remove and skin the breasts. The skin and nice fat layer underneath gets cut into 1 inch pieces which I throw into a saucepan along with all of the other skin and fat I trim off the carcass. I add about 1/2 cup of water and very slowly simmer until the water is all evaporated and the fat is rendered.  The fat gets strained off for later frying use (duck fat fries, anyone?) I yield about 4-6 oz of fat per bird. Then I take the remaining skin/meat pieces and lay them on a baking sheet on parchment paper in the oven with the convection fan on for 15-20 minutes until they get golden brown and crispy. A little sprinkling of finishing salt and duck cracklins are ready to enjoy.

The breasts are then sliced into 1/2" strips across the grain.  Dust with flour and then a beaten egg and finally a mix of panko, cornstarch, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Fry at 360 for exactly 3 minutes.  Bonus if your carcass had liver(s) stuffed inside.  If so, bread them up and fry as well. I like to serve these with a side of asian stir fried vegetables.

Finally , save up the carcasses and make stock out of them.  Sometimes I make pure duck stock, other times a mixed foul stock with pheasant, chicken , etc.

I hadn't eaten duck in years or even really thought about it before this pandemic but now it's in regular rotation.  Delicious!

 

[Guest]

https://shrinke.me/zBLPTlan