delicious pretzel time recipe!

we had a visit from hercules here on long island.  i still want to know who the hell decided we had to name winter storms? 

it snowed thursday night into friday morning.  awesome husband's job wanted him to come in, but for like five hours.  and it would have taken him two to get there and back.  and he already made his money for the week.  so he stayed home.

he was home A LOT this week.  he was off last weekend.  he worked monday.  he was off tuesday because he made the most hours for the company last week so he won a contest for a paid day off.  he was off wednesday for new year's day.  he worked thursday.  he didn't go in yesterday because of the storm.  and he's off today and tomorrow.  

huh.

which mean i have to entertain him.  well, not so much 'entertain' him, but he hates sitting around watching television and doing nothing (i.e.: what i do all the time when i'm not working or interning).    we ended up playing some video games together and baking.  it was a good day to bake.  what did we make?

AWWW HELL YEAH!

yup.  awesome husband @_antgas and i made pretzel bites.  they were fucking delicious.  we ate all of them.  ALL OF THEM.  i then ate a small salad for dinner because pretzels are not calorie-free, regardless of what i'd like to think.  even if they're not freshly made soft pretzels, i really love pretzels.  they are definitely my go-to snack.

my traditional american family holiday (christmas) gift from my dad made this all possible.  revdadbob came through with a 6 quart kitchen aid stand mixer.  i've been wanting to bake more but my hands hurt too much.  even mixing chocolate chips in cookie mix is very hard for me.  now?  not so much.

thanks, dad!

so we broke that shit out and got to baking.  

delicious fucking pretzel bites*

*you can rename this recipe if necessary.

ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cups of water, heated to appropriate temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 quarts water to boil
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• some butter and coarse salt 

be sure to check your yeast for the best temperature to bloom.  baking with yeast can seem daunting but it's not that hard if you follow the directions.  i followed some instructions i found online stating the water should be between 70º and 80º, but my yeast wasn't blooming.  i read the packet and it had a different temperature.  so my yeast took a long time to bloom, and it didn't get as frothy as i would have liked.  the taste was still good.  so, you know.  your mileage may vary.

1.  get your water and get it to the right temperature.  if you're using a metal bowl like me, prewarm it by running hot water in it so the bowl isn't so cold.  if it's cold, it lowers the temperature of the water.  yeast are super particular about crap like that.  i used filtered tap water and a digital food thermometer to get to 78º (which was too freaking cool but whatever.  don't make the same mistakes i do).  

2.  add in the brown sugar.  yeast likes to eat sugar.  this should help the proofing and it also makes the pretzels yummy yummy yummy.

me adding active dry yeast to my warm water

3.  after adding in your active dry yeast, mix it up until you can't really see the yeast granules any longer.  don't use a high speed - just mix.  i think i used like 1 or 2.  i didn't want to hurt the yeast.  i also covered it with a dish cloth and left it for a bit.  your yeast should start to bloom in about 5 minutes.  i like to watch it bloom because i'm a damn nerd.

take this time to marvel at the idea of yeast.  you purchased this little packet or jar in the dairy section and it was just a packet or jar.  you've added it to sugar and warm water and it's coming ALIVE.  yeast is ALIVE.  it is in there EATING THE SUGAR and being awesome.  life.  LIFE, MAN.

4.  i forgot to take some photos.  but after your yeast is all bloomy, dump in the 3 cups of flour.  i used whole wheat organic all purpose flour by king arthur.  they aren't paying me or anything, but i wouldn't mind being paid in flour or other awesome products :D  i have used it for pretzels, dredging, cookies - and we love it.

5.  if you are using a stand mixer, you do not want to mix it faster/higher than 2 with the dough hook.  four minutes should be perfect.  if you're doing this shit by hand, knead for about 8 minutes.

6.  oil a bowl and put the dough ball in it, turning to coat.  cover with a towel and put it somewhere to rise.  i put it in my cold oven - THE OVEN WAS OFF DON'T TURN IT ON.  you can put it anywhere cool and dry and dark.  leave it alone for an hour.

7.  after an hour, separate the dough ball into eight equal pieces.  roll each piece out to about a 20" rope.  you can then either twist it into a pretzel shape or cut it up like i did.

my dough rope may not have been 20 inches.  tough shit.

8.  while you are doing this, do something else i didn't take photos of - boil your water.  you want to boil the 2 quarts of water and stir in 1/4 cup of baking soda.  make sure it's mixed in, and try to use about 2 quarts of water.  too much more and the baking soda won't be able to do it's job.  too little water and you may taste the baking soda.  i don't know what job the baking soda does, i'm sorry.  but let it do it's job.

9.  once you have your pretzels/pretzel bites/pretzel rolls set and your water is boiling, you want to boil each pretzel thing for about 10-15 seconds.  use a slotted spoon to remove them and put them on a plate with paper towels to drain.

10.  grease your cookie sheets.  i used butter; you can use something else but i decided i wanted to make sure we had a nice buttery tasting soft pretzel bite.  

11.  put all your naked, boiled pretzel things on your cookie sheets; sprinkle your coarse salt on top at this time.

12.  put your cookie sheets full of naked pretzel things into a 425º oven.  my bites took about 10-11 minutes; i would recommend watching closely after 8 minutes.  ALSO do not put your sheets on the bottom rack - i have read reviews that this can overcook the bottoms of your pretzels.

salted pretzel bites and a couple of small pretzel rolls in the oven.  yum.

13.  like i said, keep an eye on them after about 8 minutes.  most of mine were a light to medium golden on top, and when i touched them they were soft with a defined 'crust', kind of like a bagel maybe?  it's hard to describe.  poke them.  feel them.  love them.

14.  melt a bit of butter (i melted maybe a tablespoon for all of these pretzel bites).  as soon as your pretzels are out of the oven, brush that melted butter over the tops.  

15.  eat the absolute crap out of those pretzels.

this is a plate full of pretzel bites.  they were delicious.

yum.  YUM.

i did not do anything other than salt and butter.  but i was thinking that you could try so many other things.  like skip the salt, brush with butter after baking, and dust with cinnamon sugar; use garlic salt before baking; make small rolls and stuff them with something.  you could even add stuff to the dough i bet - like chopped jalapenos, and then dip in cheese?  maybe?  i read something like that online.

and i think that's the best part about this recipe - it's a great base to try other things.  wrap the dough around hot dogs or veggie dogs.  make sandwich or burger sized rolls.  do whatever your crazy, pretzel loving heart desires.

and tell me if you liked them.  or share your pretzel ideas.  remember, i'm on pinterest, i'm on tumblr, and you can find me on twitter - @stephgas.  my goal is to have people i don't know share my recipes on pinterest, so please feel free to pin and link back to my blog.

cleaner oatmeal

i don't even like oatmeal.  yuck.

awesome husband @_antgas decided that he wanted something else for breakfast.  oatmeal.  and of course i'm not going to shell out money for the man in the hat's tiny instant envelopes of crap.  have you read the ingredients?

so i got on teh interwebz and started my research.  i ended up finding out how one makes oatmeal (because i didn't know how).  i learned the difference between instant and quick cook and steel cut omfg i hate oatmeal.

awesome husband requested cinnamon raisin (holy shit i hate raisins too.  what goes on?).  i trekked to to the store to get the necessary ingredients (for this AND a cold salad that he requested.  expect another fucking post on that.  i promise, i don't intend for this to be a recipe/craft blog.  i just keep doing things.  no photos on this one.  because i'm not making the oatmeal.  because it's disgusting.  (no, really, i'm sure this tastes delicious if you like oatmeal.)

cleaner eatin' sorta-instant cinnamon raisin oatmeal

• 6 cups of quick cooking oats of your choice (check the ingredients to make sure there isn't any added shit.  the entire 18oz canister is 6 cups)
• 6oz raisins (i just bought a 12oz box and used like half)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (break it up, put it through a sifter, whatever you need to do)
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

i put this all in one big glass bowl and mixed it all up.  i had to touch the raisins and break some of them up because they stuck together.  is that a thing?  hmph.  

then i portioned out 1/2 cup of the oat mixture into a baggie.  it made 15 baggies.  i wrote the instructions on each one.  for 1/2 cup of oatmeal mixture, add 1 cup of water or milk.  microwave for 2 minutes (maybe try 1.5 minutes first?  it might vary depending on your microwave).

conversely, you could boil said milk or water and then mix in the oatmeal.  cook for one minute.

i hope it's good.  i'm told it's good.  so, you know.  enjoy it.

super easy stir fried vegetables

i know, i know.  too many recipe posts.  but i keep making things and dug out my old olympus that i love taking photos with.  so here we go.

i make it really easy by using a bag of frozen vegetables.  i know, right?  i use this birds eye green been stir fry blend to be ultra lazy - it even has some noodles in it.  you could really use any frozen veggie stir fry blend and some noodles.  if you use pasta or noodles that need to be boiled, i'd cook them to al dente and then mix them in at the end.  check the directions on your chosen noodles - some noodles like rice noodles only need to be steeped in hot water, not boiled.  and i guess you could serve this over rice if you prefer.  remember, i'm not a big measurer, but i try.  it's so important to measure when your'e baking because that's all chemical reactions, but i cook by smell and taste usually.

super easy stir fried vegetables

it tastes pretty damn good, and even better because it's so simple to make.  i assemble all my spices and what not first, and then get to cooking.  i serve the entire bag for awesome husband @_antgas and me.  it's a decent sized, not too heavy dinner. 

• coconut or olive oil (like a tablespoon)
• 16oz bag of frozen veggie stir fry blend (or approximately 16oz of your chosen frozen veggies.  think carrots, broccoli, peppers, onions, asparagus, water chestnuts)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 4 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4-1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• grated fresh ginger (like, 1/8tsp?)
• sesame oil and sesame seeds for finishing

a bunch of the ingredients are really for the sauce.  i use better than bouillon organic veggie base.  i take my pyrex measuring cup and heat up 1/4c water in the microwave, then add 1/3tsp of the veggie base to combine.  then i can use that measuring cup for all the liquid stuff.

1. put the coconut or olive oil in your pan over medium heat.
2. add in your veggies - i toss them all in at once.  cook over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  since the veggies are frozen, it should take 5 or 6 minutes.  BUT halfway through this, i add in the garlic.  i don't like to add it at the beginning because i'm afraid it will overcook.
3. while your veg are cooking, take your 1/4c of broth in a small bowl (or pyrex measuring cup) and add in the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes.  mix that up.
4. once your vegetables are cooked (i usually want them just not frozen and warm through) add in the liquid.
5. keep simmering - probably medium/medium-low heat - for a couple of minutes.  the liquid should reduce by about half, maybe a little more depending on your preference.
6. grate on some fresh ginger.  or add a bit of dried, powdered stuff.
7. remove from heat and splash about 1/2tsp of sesame oil on top.  mix in and plate.
8. once your veggies are plated, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top - just a bit.  i use both white and black sesame seeds because i love the look of black sesame seeds.

yum.  just enough heat in the sauce coating the crisp veggies.

yummy and pretty darn easy.  the hardest part for me was getting the damn jar of better than bouillon open.  i have a big jar and it's hard for me to open.  luckily awesome husband @_antgas is stronger than i am.  you can play with the sauce recipe too.  don't like ginger?  don't add it.  like it hotter?  add some sweet chili sauce.  want more protein?  marinate cubes of chicken or firm tofu in a mixture of hoisin sauce and brown sugar.  then dredge in flour and fry.  play with it and make it your own.

vegetarian potato soup

today i'm making potato soup.  it's a recipe that i modified from cara at pearls, handcuffs, and happy hour to make vegetarian so my brother could eat it too.  to give many of my vegetarian dishes that meaty, umami flavor, i add better than bouillon vegetable base.  it is the 'meatiest' flavored vegetable base/broth that i've found.  they also make a no-beef beef flavored base and a no-chicken chicken flavored base.  i prefer to use the vegetable base.  i use it anytime chicken or beef broth is called for in a recipe.  i've had great success using it in risottos, with portobello mushrooms to make cheesesteaks, and in stir fried meals.  (i have not received any special stuff for mentioning better than bouillon... but would love free samples if they want to share!)

i used 42oz of filtered water and about 4 teaspoons of vegetable base... give or take.  it smelled meaty and good.

i've tried to find a balance between cost, organic ingredients, and accessible ingredients.  i don't always have time to order shit online or drive all over the place to get good stuff.  ore ida is a brand i trust, and they add minimal ingredients for preservation.  i'm using an organic cream of mushroom soup for the first time (i tried making this once with an organic cream of cheddar and broccoli - everyone else liked it, i didn't love it).  as for cheese... well, the amount of cheese awesome husband @_antgas and i eat makes it very cost prohibitive to shop all organic and whatnot.  we usually use stop & shop brand cheeses but really... cheese is pasteurized milk, enzymes, salt, and sometimes color.  i'm comfortable enough with their ingredients, even though they are not organic.  and for this recipe, i purchased the onion down the road at a local farmstand.  i've been trying to get as much produce as i can there.  but i have actually used frozen diced onions before with excellent results - and they're very convenient because you can just grab a handful and add them to whatever.

Vegetarian Potato Soup

delicious.  and it reheats rather well - we reheat it in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring regularly.

ingredients:

• one bag of frozen shredded hash browns (30oz bag)
• 42oz of vegetable broth (or 3 14oz cans of your chosen broth)
• 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (or other cream based soup - cream of chicken, cream of cheddar)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 8oz package cream cheese - use a full fat brick (low fat or whipped seem to melt funny for me)
• 1/2tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese (a small handful/big pinch to top each bowl)
• a handful of scallions/green onions, chopped (appx. 1tbsp per bowl)
• bacon bits to your heart's content (seriously, check the ingredients of most bacon bits - there is NO BACON, NO MEAT in most of them)

BOOM - you're ready to go.  get your shit together and clear a spot on your counter top - remember, most slow cookers get pretty darn hot on the sides, so you want a few inches of space on all sides.  plug it in and set it to low!

1. dump in your frozen shredded hash browns.
2. pour in your 42oz of broth.
3. pour in your condensed cream soup (do not add extra liquid).
4. dump in that chopped onion.
5. crack some pepper.
6. put the top on and leave it the hell alone for 6-7 hours.

   

   mix it all up good.  cover and leave it alone.  if you're like me, you can peek/sniff/stir a couple of time.

7. at hour 7, add in the cream cheese.  some people leave it out to get to room temperature before adding.  i cut it into little hunks and drop them in, stirring to combine.  
8. cook on low for 1 more hour. 
9. if your cream cheese is not completely combined, taking a whisk to the soup should help combine it.  you want it all mixed in to achieve a nice, smooth, creamy consistency.
   
   

   

   add in the cubed cream cheese.  whisk it up if needed.

10. put in huge ass bowls; sprinkle with a bit more fresh cracked pepper, some cheddar cheese, scallions, and bacon bits like woah.  some people report adding a dollop of sour cream too.  i hate sour cream, so fuck that.
11. eat the hell out of the soup because it's really good.

    
    

    a bowl full of deliciousness.  that's a bit of extra sharp new york cheddar cheese, scallions, and mccormick bacon bits - vegetarian friendly!

pop any leftovers in a plastic storage thingy and stick it in the fridge.  leftovers are just as yummy.  

you want yummy? you want black beans & rice.

i've had all these great plans for blogs.  blogging about food.  blogging about things i'm making.  sharing recipes for things.  i even took a fuckton of pictures for one of the blogs.  and of course, the thing i made didn't come out right *YET* so i can't do that blog until i get an acceptable finished photo.

so instead, i thought i'd share my recipe for black beans & rice.  i have a crock pot full simmering right now, and it's easy enough that it doesn't need a ton of photos.  and it's really hard to screw up.  but it's yummy as all hell.

i use a 3.5 quart programmable cuisinart slow cooker, which is perfect for most meals i make.  slow cookers work best when 1/2-3/4 full.  my black bean recipe fills my crock up about 5/6 of the way, but i cook so long and low that it's still fine.  every crock pot cooks a little differently, so it can take a while for you to get the hang of your particular model.  i also have a 6 quart that i keep stowed away for larger things.  i think the 3.5 quart (or a 4 quart) is perfect for families of 2-4.  i prefer a programmable slow cooker because i can set it and walk away.  when i worked outside of the home, i could set it for 6 hours and, after cooking at the selected setting for 6 hours, the unit automatically switches to 'warm'.  it will keep the food warm without continuing to cook!  perfect.  this slow cooker also has a simmer setting, which i haven't used yet.  i'm sure i'll tell you when i have.

this will make your mouth happy.  it's easy to make it spicier with a bit more red pepper or hot sauce.  i make a big batch of this and it lasts awesome husband @_antgas and i for the week.  

ingredients:

• 3 huge ass cans of black beans (29oz) or 6 cans of black beans (15.5oz)
• 1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes with jalepeno OR green chiles (i prefer petite diced)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• crushed red pepper
• ground cumin
• cayenne pepper
• black pepper
• hot sauce

get all your shit together and clear a spot on your countertop.  slow cookers get hot on the sides, so you want to ensure nothing is up against it.  plug in your crock and get ready to go!

1. open up each can of black beans and rinse the hell out of them.  i dump each can in a mesh sieve and rinse well under cool water, until the bubbles disappear.  this not only cleans off the bean gunk that settles in the can, but according to an article i read in cooking light magazine, can cut up to 40% of the sodium.
2. open up the can of diced tomatoes.  dump the whole thing in there, juice and all.
3. add the two cloves of chopped garlic.
4. put in about 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper.
5. sprinkle on cayenne and black pepper to your liking (i probably add about 1/4tsp of each).
6. add 1/2tsp of ground cumin.
7. shake on that hot sauce to your liking.  i probably put in a little under a teaspoon.  if you're not sure how hot you'll like it, leave the hot sauce out - you can always add it later!
8. stir those beans up like mad.
9. set your timer - i cook on low for 5+ hours.  i think five hours is the minimum to get smushy beans - i don't like them too firm.  i've left them on low for 8 hours without problems.

um, yummmmmm.

so now, you can either eat the hell out of those black beans, or you can make some rice.  i have used brown minute rice before, but i fell in love with the yummy texture and slightly nutty taste of trader joe's quick cook organic brown basmati rice.  i usually make eight 1/4 cup servings of rice.  i store the rice in one container, the beans in another, and pop both in the fridge when they cool.  then, each day, @_antgas and i can dole out some rice and some beans into our own lunch container.  i shake on a bit more hot sauce at this point; @_antgas has been known to sprinkle on some extra garlic powder.  about 1 minute, 45 seconds in the microwave is enough for me to have a nice, hot, delicious, filling lunch.

perhaps the best part about black beans and rice - for us, at least - is that it offers a complete protein panel.  what's that, you say?  protein?  we (try to) eat a mainly plant-based diet.  we eat meat approximately twice a week (once is usually fish) and drink almond milk.  we still enjoy the occasional cow's milk yogurt and, of course, a fuckton of cheese.  when you stop eating meat, protein can be harder to come by.  a 4oz serving of white meat chicken has, like, 30 grams of protein.  veggies?  not quite so much.  but eating rice and beans together can get you all the essential proteins you need... check it out here.  by our calculations, a 1/4 cup serving of brown rice and a 4oz serving of my black beans has 11 grams of protein.  it's recommended that about 10-30% of your daily calories come from protein.  if you're trying to gain mass or muscle, like @_antgas is, he'd tell you to eat one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.  or something like that.  i think a general rule of thumb is 50 grams per day for moderately healthy adults.  if you eat a well balanced, colorful diet, that shouldn't be too hard to come by.  

if you're not sure about your protein intake, adding a protein supplement might be an idea.  all those 'weight loss' or 'weight maintenance' shakes out there (please do not bother with them, ask me why) tell you they're chock full of protein to help keep you full.  that's true, protein does help you feel fuller.  i no longer recommend or condone fitness apps that help you track your food, but if you use one FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, like a couple of days, to track your food, you can get an idea of your protein intake.  then you can try to make adjustments, if necessary.

please notice my squirrel cookie jar peeking out behind the paper towels.  he holds mini kit kats on most days.

there you have it.  a staple of the gas household since meat went out the window.  except for one day when @_antgas was craving hot dogs (and, being a good wife and partner, i purchased kosher hot dogs and potato rolls), we have not purchased and brought raw meat into the house since january of 2013.  i have purchased, like, prepared meat (a sandwich from panera or something like that) but i don't cook it. ew.

having said that, i ate a beautiful filet mignon while out to dinner with family yesterday.  and had two baked clams.  which i will count as one meat-meal for the week.

i think the best thing about keeping black beans on hand is the versatility: add some to a quesadilla; make black bean enchiladas; dump some on nachos.  even if we don't finish the entire batch for lunch, these beans get used.

i'm considering purchasing my first stand mixer because i think i want to start baking A LOT more.  if that happens, expect way too many blog posts like this.

crockpot crazy

i have a handful of go-to recipes i make in my crock pot.  moroccon beef stew.  chili.  black beans.  occasional soups.  but i've never really ROCKED my crock.

until now.  thanks to @misstattootara, who has a pinning obsession (as do i, find me on pinterest @stephgas.  same for instagram) and pins a lot of slow cooker meals, i've started compiling a bucket of new slow cooker recipes for awesome husband and i to enjoy (since i'm plugging everyone's fucking twitter and pinterest, you can find awesome husband @_antgas on both twitter and instagram). 

i tried a sesame chicken the other day which turned out less than awesome (leftovers were tossed.  that kind of 'less than awesome').  but i found a lot of great blogs with photos and recipes of slow cooker meals.

while reading them, i realized something: both of my crocks are timer-free.  i have a 4 quart and a 6 quart, one for meat and one for veg.  it turns out i cook vegetarian crock pot meals for my brother about once a year, so a separate one is not necessary.  ONCE i made chili for the family, and one crock was meat, one crock was faux meat.  ONCE.  in an entire year.

so i'm donating my gently used 4 quart (hanging onto the 6 quart in case i need to make 'fill in the blank' for a crowd) and purchased a shiny new cuisinart 3.5 quart slow cooker with a timer function.  i set the timer for however many hours, set it to high, low, or simmer, and walk away.  after the time is up, it automatically switches to the warm setting for up to eight hours. 

last week with my sesame chicken debacle, i set it for 6.5 hours, went to work, came home 8 hours later and it was perfect - cooked through and still hot (it was the sauce that ruined the meal, not the cooking).

today i'm trying another recipe - orange beef.  i've never even ordered orange beef from a chinese restaurant, so we'll see how this goes.  credit where credit is due, i snatched this recipe from stephanie o'dea who challenged herself to make something DIFFERENT in her crock EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR.  and she has a fuckton of awesome recipes on her blog, including slow cooker orange beef.

i have to modify each recipe a bit as i go because i'm cooking for 2 (usually get three servings) but like, in this recipe, she uses 1.5 pounds of beef... i'm using 3/4 of a pound.  so i cut everything in half.  i also may end up reducing the time a bit here and there as i get used to how my new crock works.  since it's a bit smaller (she uses a 4 quart for many of her meals) and i'm filling it a bit less, it *should* even out, right?

RIGHT??

anyway.  so last night i sliced up my eye round (on sale at stop & shop, i hate paying full price for meat) and popped it in a reuseable, resealable container (not a tupperware, since that's a brand name and i own, like, two things from tupperware) along with the ingredients called for.

i gently threw it in the fridge and have given it a toss each time i'm in the fridge.  now i'll be dumping it in the crock, along with a bunch of frozen veg.  that's right, fuck fresh.

no, not fuck fresh.  it's just, frozen veg are just as good for you and hold longer and are less expensive when i buy them on sale (yes, i also fucking detest paying full price for frozen vegetables.  there are few things i enjoy paying full price for...).  one medium pepper, sliced, should yield roughly a cup.  and i'm halving this recipe... but i love me some veggies.  so i'm going to add a cup and a half of mixed peppers to my crock.  i'm also going to toss in a scant 1/2 cup of chopped onion too, because i'm too lazy to buy green onions and i love nice, smushy onions cooked in the crock pot.  like stephanie o'dea's daughters, i don't eat bok choy and saw no reason to waste money on something i don't like to eat.  so i left that out too.

then i set my crock for 6 hours (i'm erring on the low side of the time because it's a smaller portion), set it for low, and go to work! 

we'll see how it comes out when i come home tonight...

-------------------------------

so i came home about a quarter after 8.  i opened the crock and found this....

i guess that sheen is a bit of fat from the meat floating on top.  no biggie, right?

it was a bit liquidy, probably because i used frozen vegetables so they release a bit of liquid.  i reheated some brown rice i had left over from the sesame chicken debacle and awesome husband and i sat down to this....

pretty much yum.  the flavor was delicious.  i can see it might be a bit better with fresh veg, but i'm a busy fucking woman.  but it was very good.  i'll just cut back on the liquid next time.

so there you have it.  i'm going to post stuff about my crock adventures as well as the normal other shit.

i got a call back on the job interview i went on last week, which is a great sign.  i can't wait until thursday to see what happens!

have a safe and happy fourth of july everyone!

fish are friends, not food

i love to eat. not really like just eat (although i do partake of emotional eating :/) but i wholeheartedly enjoy food. i love to cook most nights, unless i have a really bad day. and i'm guilty of spending money on shitty food but i do love food. like, okay, i'll spend $10 on the 'steak' at outback, but i know that's not really steak. i go to outback to get the salad and a sweet potato and sidney's sinful sundae. outback 'steak' is a means to an end. i will go to chili's and eat the fuck out of quesadillas and black beans and rice, but i know it's not mexican really. it's like sort of tex-mex-inspired.

not that i'm the best cook in the world. or some kind of food connoisseur, but i know what i like. and if i can't find it, i try to make it. like colombian empanadas. we used to get these killer empanadas when we lived in new york. there was a shitty colombian restaurant that served lunch for $5 that was a plate of beans, rice, and chicken - enough to fill awesome husband for the day. and they had these empanadas that he used to buy and bring home for me. delicious. but they don't have empanadas like that here in the FLA. i guess there's too much of a cuban influence in florida? maybe. but i had to take matters into my own hands and MAKE my own recipe by searching online, remembering what i ate, and trial/error. and it took some time, but i finally got a decent colombian-inspired empanada that i'm super happy with.

and my arroz con pollo... that was harder. back in the days that i worked at boston market, i worked with a bunch of puerto rican guys and gals who taught me some super rudimentary spanish and shared some good food with me. i remember one day, one of the girls took some pulled chicken in a bowl, and topped it with the rice pilaf and marinara sauce that we had. i was like, really? that's an interesting combination. (mind you, at this point the closest i'd gotten to any latin food was taco bell.) she told me it was kind of like a quick arroz con pollo, and my interest was piqued. yummy chicken? starchy rice? red sauce? i love these things: tell me more! she did one better: she brought in her mom's arroz con pollo one day, and i was smitten.

i was also a kid and not paying attention. life went on, and ten years later i realized i had never had arroz con pollo like that. so i set off to create my own version. the problems mounted quickly: i am not spanish, puerto rican, colombian, mexican, or any other latinish that would make someone in my family have a great hand me down recipe for arroz con pollo (or even rice and beans.. grr). we have things like 'stay in bed stew' that my drunk irish great aunt concocted, and boiled meats and potatoes, since we're mostly irish. so i set off to the interwebs. i found lots of recipes, none of which were right. so i tried, and tried, and tried again.

and finally i was able to figure out something close to what i was fed all those years ago. is it authentic? i would say 'no fucking way'. are my empanadas authentic? probably not. but they remind me of these delicous things i was fed all those years ago that make my mouth water and my tummy happy. and i really think that ultimately, that's what matters. now if only i could master souvlaki. no matter what recipe i've tried, or what combination i've come up with, it's never as good as from a decent greek place. i'm going to try avgolemono soup next. i am determined but not confident that i will be successful. but at least i'll always have my empanadas and arroz con pollo. and real steak from pace's when i visit new york.