Real Meals Please!

I am always upfront about the fact that I have no shame when it comes to stealing whatever great cooking ideas come my way. I also have an opinion about some of the stuff that is out there marketed as "Meal Solutions". Take this article from Better Homes and Gardens posted by the Today Show billed as 30-minute meals for under $5 a serving.

I eagerly clicked on the link excited about what potential new tips and tricks awaited me. And boy was I disappointed! Two of those meals would be great meals for me - the other two I am just not getting the appeal and absolutely none of them would work for my family. Don't get me wrong, I experiment and expose them to new things all the time but if I can't excited for the food, they certainly won't!

Perhaps a better title would have been "Gourmet Meals for under $5 a serving" - at least it would be truth in advertising! I really feel like the food industry is taking advantage of our cost consciousness to get us to click and read and then buy things that just aren't practical to real life. Maybe "Meals for Lunch Time Entertaining" would have even hit the mark better. Just be honest - ask a mom who is trying to stretch the budget and trying to cook healthy satisfying meals for her family if Camembert on flat bread is going to do the trick - I think we all know the answer!

Pork BBQ - The Crock-Pot Scores again!

I love BBQ - pulled pork BBQ that is, shredded in vinegar sauce. I figured I can eat it therefore I can make it. No smoker and no patience for outdoor cooking (that is indeed my hubby's realm) so I thought there must be a way to once again use the ever faithful Crock-Pot.

I found A TON of recipes for pulled BBQ in a slow cooker. Many of them were along the lines of cook pork, add favorite bottled sauce and voila - not really what I was looking for. Then I found this one: Crock Pot Pulled BBQ

Easy enough - I had a 6.5 pound pork shoulder so I increased the liquid to a cup each. Also, culling an idea from several other recipes, after the pork was done cooking, I reserved about a cup of the liquid, being sure to strain it and run it through a coffee filter to remove some of the particles and fat. Once the meat was shredded, I added it back to the crock pot, added the reserved liquid, some red pepper flakes and cooked it on low another hour.

Served on kaiser rolls with "homemade" coleslaw (i.e. bottled coleslaw dressing and the bagged pre-washed coleslaw mix)

We had friends over for this one tonight - there is only enough BBQ left for about 4 more sandwiches!

Tonight's Creation

Tonight was a perfect example of taking something I saw on television and making it into a meal. I had written on the menu "Panko Pork" which meant I knew I had Panko breadcrumbs and boneless pork chops handy. As of yesterday I was still not quite sure what I was going to do with them.

Well, Friday I was watching an episode of the Rachel Ray show and saw her make this recipe. Hmmm, I thought - the herbs in the breadcrumb mix sound like a nice touch and I haven't done a true breading in a while (meaning flour, egg wash and then coat). What if I followed along the same vein for my pork chops? Eliminate the cheese, substitute egg substitute (that's funny), rosemary goes better with pork....oh and I need to deepen the flavor...I know! Marinate the pork chops in Teriyaki sauce!

Results: Panko Pork Chops realized!

4 boneless center cut pork chops
1 cup Teriyaki sauce or marinade
1 1/2 cup flour
2 cups Egg Beaters or 2 beaten eggs
2 cups breadcrumbs (I like the Panko!)
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 Tsp parsley, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Marinate the pork chops with the Teriyaki sauce in a plastic bag for a few hours in the fridge. When ready to cook, remove pork from bag, shake off excess sauce and set aside. Heal oil in a pan on medium-Hi heat.

Combine breadcrumbs, rosemary and parsley in a pie plate and set aside. Coat each chop in flour, then dip into egg mixture, fully coating. Finally, coat pork in breadcrumbs. Place in hot oil and fry 5-7 minutes per side depending on thickness of pork and until coating is golden brown. I prefer (and recommend you only flip the pork once - it keeps the coating crispy and in place!)

How can you modify this to make dinner tonight?

Rediscovering the Crock Pot

There was one point in history that I remember every bride got a Crock-Pot for her wedding. I got this beauty at my first wedding in 1999. While that marriage lasted 2 years, this beauty has been with me for the long haul.

Then the "Crock-Pot" fell out of fashion for a while but with the recent economic climate, slow cooking has made a resurgence as a way to use inexpensive cuts of meat to make hearty meals.

However, I discovered the secret a few years ago, before Crock-Pots were cool again and referred to more often as slow-cookers: almost anything can be made into a meal that you can prep in the morning and have waiting for you when you come home from work that night. For the longest time my slow cooker only made an appearance if I was making cocktail meatballs, needed to keep chili warm or I was making a pot roast. Now, I incorporate more and more slow cooker recipes into my monthly menu (which I will talk about in another post soon).

One key tip culled from hours of scouring websites for Crock-Pot recipes: pre-made soups, broths and sauces are your friend. I always keep cream of celery, cream of chicken and cream of broccoli on hand (the husband has a steadfast aversion to mushrooms) and there are 98% Fat Free versions available which the member of the household with high cholesterol also appreciates. I also always have canned tomato sauce, pasta sauce, beef, vegetable and chicken broth. Keep potatoes, onions, carrots and frozen vegetables on hand and there is no meal that can't be whipped up with the addition of some spices and a protein!

Sound simple? Well it is! See what you have on hand and search for a recipe that has a few of those components. If the recipe calls for something to simmer, roast, or bake - you can easily modify it to your crock-pot. Just be sure you follow the two L's of slow cooking: Liquid and Leave. You always need enough liquid and you must leave it alone and the lid on (which should be easy if you are leaving for the day - but the weekend can bring temptation to peek!).

There are a few websites out there giving more guidance - a simple and easy one to read is : http://www.crockpot-cooking.com/

Now being the Cook Crook I have yet to follow any of these to the letter. Instead I came up with a simple formula:

At least 1 cup and/or 1 can of liquid + 1 pound of meat + seasoning = dinner

The equation can be multiplied as much as needed and also be altered to add in a starch and/or vegetables. The cup and cans vary based on the flavors and quantity you are trying to achieve.

For example, take a recipe for Creamy Dijon Chicken at the website mentioned above. You already know my husband won't have anything to do with that Cream of Mushroom soup - so cream of chicken it is. There is also an equally potent aversion to mustard. So one package of dry onion soup mix goes in. Wait, I seem to be out of chicken...but I do have a pound of boneless pork chops handy...and there you go - a stolen idea equals a dinner I know everyone will eat.

That same recipe becomes a slow-cooked Italian chicken with boneless skinless breasts, a jar and 1/2 of our favorite pasta sauce, some chopped fresh basil and oregano (or dried is of course always fine) and some sauteed green peppers and onions. Serve over pasta or without and sprinkle cheese on top when it is plated.

I recently made marina sauce (first time!) for my out of town family over the weekend:

1 pound cooked ground turkey cooked in olive oil with garlic, green pepper, shredded carrot and onions

1 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce

1 14.5 oz can of "Italian" diced tomatoes

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1/2 jar of pasta sauce (BTW, that 1/2 jar was leftover from that Italian chicken I mentioned!)

Chopped fresh basil and oregano

Cooked on low 6-8 hours

Remember, this is how I have developed my cooking over the years: I look for things that go together and get advice on what can go in and for how long - the rest is up to me (and whatever happens to be in the pantry or fridge)!

Welcome...hungry?

I love cooking. Cooking magazines, cooking shows, cooking stores...when I am stressed, I cook. When I am frustrated, I cook. When I celebrate, I cook. But I have never considered myself a cook because for as long as I can remember I have never stood in a kitchen and whipped up something from my own inspiration. I thumb through a few cookbooks, surf the net, turn on Food Network or stare into the pantry and the refrigerator. Eventually, I find a couple of things that interest me and I start to pick out the portions of the recipes that apply to what I have on hand, what sounds good and/or what I'd like to give a try. The results are almost always good and sometimes I have "stolen" so many things from so many places, I have difficulty recreating the dish!

But a few weeks ago, while shopping in a local gourmet market, a girlfriend remarked to me about what a good cook I was. I laughed and explained that no, I just steal a lot of good cooks' ideas, take a recipe (or two or three) and make it my own. She returned my laugh and said that anyone can follow a recipe - a cook takes that recipe and creates something new or unexpected.

I thought about that over the next few weeks as I jotted down a few seasoning ideas from a Recipe Source link and Googled some ideas for pork. Was I really a cook or a kitchen crook? Could I claim success at a potluck for a pasta dish my mother made for years but that I turned into lower in fat? When I told my sister-in-law the paper towel in the lettuce container trick that I learned from modifying advice from Rachel Ray, should it come with an asterisk? Then again, shouldn't other people be able to benefit from my ability to borrow, copy and sometimes steal some of the best tips, tricks and recipes out in our vast world?

Thus the idea of the Cook Crook was born. I plan to share my Dr. Frankenstein approach to creating dishes, my sources of inspiration, favorite cooking tips, actual recipes (that will have some room for creativity built in) and even ideas for realistic monthly and weekly menu planning. I also welcome your ideas and own experiences being a cook crook!

First up will be what I have learned from reading 1,000 different crock-pot recipes. Stay Tuned!