Comfort Food on the Fly

This is the time of year for comfort food... in my book anyway. Everyone has a different definition of comfort food but some pretty common ones include meatloaf, chicken-fried steak, fried chicken, beef stew. A common denominator with all of these is TIME. They all take time to prepare... whether it's actual prep time or just hours to cook.

I'm all about 30-minute (or less) meals. When it's cold outside and I'm a bit winter grumpy, I'm also all about comfort food. But how to accomplish both? Hash with Fried Eggs. Yum. Fast, easy, only a few ingredients and warm, yummy, comforting goodness in a bowl.

Hash with Fried Eggs

Olive oil
1.5 pounds Russett potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, diced in 1/4 inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, diced in 1/4 inch pieces
1 tsp cumin
Kosher salt & pepper to taste
Eggs

 Heat oil in skillet. Add potatoes, onion, bell pepper, cumin, salt & pepper. Cook over medium-high heat 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Once the hash is close to done, fry up your eggs in another skillet. Serve in a bowl with the egg over the hash. Kids like a touch of ketchup and grownups can add some hot sauce if so inclined.

You can easily adjust for family size. I serve 3 adults, 1 9yo (athletic) boy and 1 5yo (athletic) girl with 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes.  And eggs are easy enough to cook however many you need. My daughter eats one. Everyone else two. I served this last night with a bacon spinach salad.... also a supremely fast and easy thing to throw together.

How-to: Chicken Stock

I NEVER buy stock from the store. It's so easy to make at home. It is also a great way to really stretch your food dollar since you make stock from food you'd otherwise throw away. It does take a little work one day every few months and it takes a good bit of freezer space, both for storing the bones and veggie scraps and for storing the finished product. If you don't have an extra freezer, you can still make stock, you'll just want to do it more often.

Save every chicken bone, turkey bone, onion peel, carrot scraping, etc. in your freezer. I reuse ziptop gallon bags and keep one in my small freezer to dump all the scraps into. Once it's full, I have a special spot in my big freezer where all these get stored until stock making time. You can get started with just one bag full of scraps.

Making stock

Throw your bones & veggie scraps into a pot. I have a large stock pot and will make 3 gallons at a time. Aim for the scraps to fill the pot to the top.  Even if you can't get the lid on right away, it'll thaw and cook down quickly enough to get the lid on. If you're feeling adventurous, add some fresh or dried herbs. I don't usually add many herbs because I want to keep it pretty neutral so I can dress it up for different meal purposes. Some salt is also a nice addition though it can be added as you use the stock later. Chicken stock especially needs SOME salt to have any flavor.

Add water to almost but not entirely cover your bones and veggies. Bring to boil and turn down to simmer. Now, go knit a blanket, scrub your baseboards, read War & Peace... twice. Whatever will keep you busy for about 8 hours since that's the MINIMUM you want to cook this. The point is to give the bones plenty of time to give up their yummy collagen. The bones will fall apart with the slightest pressure once it's done.  Its almost impossible to overcook it.  I typically run my 3 gallon pot for 12 hours.

Now you need to strain all this goodness. The veggies and bones have given their all and are ready for the trash heap. I use a colander over a pitcher/bowl and a handled Pyrex measuring cup to scoop the stock into the colander and drain... throwing away the solids bits as you go. Let it cool some.  If it's summer, I set the pot of strained stock down in a cooler with some ice.  If it's winter, I use my "walk-out freezer" to cool it, tying down the lid on the pot and setting it outside for a bit.  I store my stock in plastic baggies. My choice for freezer storage is Ziploc quart-size freezer bags. Use the quart size! I have given up on the gallon-size... too dang hard to thaw a slab that big. Fill your quart bag and make sure it's well sealed then lay flat to freeze. Once it's frozen flat, you can stack them flat, upright, whatever to fit them in your freezer... unless you plan to immediately use the stock then no Ziploc necessary.  You can also use glass quart jars, just be sure to use wide mouth.  Freezing liquids can break the shoulder on regular mouth jars... then you lose a batch of stock AND a canning jar.

When cool, this stock is nearly solid from the collagen and has the BEST flavor.  You'll never go back to thin, boring grocery store stock after you make your own.

Oven-Fried Tofu and Greens

Oven-Fried Tofu & Greens

Two (2) 8-oz packages organic extra firm Tofu (not silken)
1 bunch fresh greens, chopped or 1 pound frozen greens, chopped (I used a mix of collards & kale)
1-2 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled & chopped
Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup bottled Asian orange chicken sauce (I used Panda Express, will just use orange juice concentrate in the future with a touch of chili sauce added)
1 tsp garlic powder
6 drops sesame seed oil
Breading
1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (not entirely necessary but I like to add it where I can)

Slice each block of tofu into 8 equal slices.  Mix sauce ingredients in a measuring cup and whisk together.  Pour a bit in the bottom of a 9x13 pan to coat.  Lay the tofu in the pan in as close to a single layer as you can get.  I wound up with two pieces laying on top.  Pour the remaining sauce over all.  Allow to marinate at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix breading ingredients in a shallow bowl.  Pour 3 Tbl olive oil on a half sheet baking pan.  Use a basting brush to spread the oil evenly around the pan.  Coat each slice of tofu in the breading mix and place on the baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes.  Carefully flip and cook for 10 minutes more.  Reserve the leftover marinade for the greens.

While the tofu is cooking, steam the greens in a covered skillet with just a little water.  For fresh greens, steam for about 10 minutes.  Thaw frozen greens first.  For thawed frozen greens, steam for 5 minutes.  Add the ginger to the leftover marinade and add to the greens.  Steam for another 5 minutes.  Serve with tofu and additional rice wine vinegar.

And yes... I failed at taking a picture again.  (sigh)  Tofu and greens aren't that attractive anyway though... yummy, but not pretty.  I really need to work on REMEMBERING to take pictures and also on improving the quality of the pictures I do remember to take.  Any suggestions for sites that explain how to do that?

Chili-esque Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

How's that for a recipe title?  I have no clever name for this but it was yummy.

1 lb ground chicken (or 2 lb if you don't have any TVP)
2 Tbl chili powder
1 Tbl cumin
1 Tbl grill seasoning
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, shredded
8 oz tomato sauce
1 c TVP

Preheat medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add ground chicken, chili powder, cumin & grill seasoning.  Cook, breaking up with spoon, until chicken is brown.  Add onion, bell pepper, carrot, tomato sauce and TVP.  Add a bit of water if there isn't enough from the tomato sauce to rehydrate the TVP.  Simmer until TVP is rehydrated and most of the liquid from the tomato sauce has cooked off.  Serve over toasted hamburger buns.

A note about TVP:  TVP stands for Texturized Vegetable Protein.  It's just soy processed into crumbles.  It comes in different size crumbles for different uses.  I like Bob's Red Mill TVP.  TVP is a very inexpensive protein source and a great way to stretch your food dollar.  One cup rehydrates to the equivalent of about one pound of meat and costs less than one dollar.  I use it as the sole protein source sometimes and sometimes, like this recipe, I use it to stretch another protein.  My award winning vegetarian chili uses TVP and is hard to tell apart from my non-vegetarian chili.  Don't fear the strange hippy food!  It's a blank canvas that can easily be flavored to fit what you want.  And it's CHEAP!

Turkey & Bacon Shepherd's Pie

I forgot again so no picture.  It's a shame too because this looked beautiful when it came out of the oven.

4 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
4 slices bacon, cut into 1" pieces
1 pound ground turkey
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried thyme
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
1 small bell pepper, any color, diced (I used about a 1/2 c diced out of my freezer)
Additional veggies - whatever you have, about 2 cups.  I used frozen broccoli
2 Tbl flour
1 cup stock, chicken, veggie, whatever you have at the ready
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbl butter or margarine

Bring a medium pot of salted water to boil and cook the potatoes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.

Once the potatoes are on, toss the bacon into a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook until about half way brown and add the turkey.  Break it up and brown the turkey.  Add the paprika, cumin, thyme, salt & pepper. Once the turkey is brown, add the onions, carrots & celery.  Add a splash of liquid, cover and cook about 5 minutes. If the extra veggies you are using are raw (not frozen or canned), add them now too.  If they are frozen/canned, add them and the bell pepper after the 5 minute cooking time and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook for 2 more minutes.  Stir in the stock and simmer until the potatoes are ready.

Preheat the oven broiler with a rack that'll put your casserole dish about 5 inches from the broiler.

Once the potatoes are tender, add a couple spoonfuls of cooking water to your beaten egg to temper it, then drain the potatoes.  Return the pan to the hot, but off burner to help dry the potatoes a smidge.  Mash with butter, salt & pepper then add in the egg.  Add a bit of milk/soymilk if they are too stiff.

Pour the turkey mixture into an oven-safe casserole.  Spoon and spread the mashed potatoes over the casserole.  Cook under the broiler until the mashed potatoes start to turn golden around the edges. Mine took about 8 minutes.  Serve with a side salad and you have an amazingly yummy, very hearty and satisfying winter meal.  YUM!

Oops! I did it again...

Well, almost anyway.  I nearly forgot to take a picture of dinner.  What I wound up with is a picture of the last little bit left in the skillet.  I almost got there.  Better than when I usually remember... when all of it is long since nommed.

Turkey & Stuffing Pot Pie

1 Tbl cooking oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup, bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups cooked turkey
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup soymilk
3 Tbl flour
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 Tbl nutritional yeast, optional
4 cups stuffing mix, such as Stove Top or Pepperidge Farms
1 cup chicken stock

Pre-heat oven to 425.  Heat oil in an oven-safe skillet. Add veggies and cook on medium to medium-high heat until veggies are about halfway tender/cooked.  Add turkey to skillet.  In a jar with a lid, add water, milk, flour, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast.  Put lid on and shake to stir.  Add to skillet.  Pour chicken stock into a glass container (microwave-safe) and microwave for a minute or two to warm.  Add to stuffing and mix with a fork.  Layer stuffing over the top of the skillet.  Cook in the oven until hot and bubbly, 20-30 minutes.

NOTE ONE:  I used a little less liquid than this and it wasn't enough.  It was good but a smidge too dry for a pot pie-type casserole.  This amount may still not be enough.  It is a 1/2 cup total more than I used (I used 1 cup total).  It may very well need to go up to a full 2 cups of liquid.

NOTE TWO: This is a good place to stash those little dredges of freezer veggies or leftover veggies that add up.  I added some sugar snap peas to mine that fell into the former category... why does anyone leave 10 peas in a bag in the freezer?  Were those extra 10 just TOO MUCH to go ahead and throw in the pot the last time they were out to be cooked?

Teriyaki Tofu & Butternut Squash over Quinoa

I have GOT to start remembering to take pictures.  ARGH!  Sorry.  Still no pics tonight and all of the food is warming my family's bellies.

This is a FAST dinner.  I had it on the table well under 30 minutes.

Teriyaki Tofu & Butternut Squash over Quinoa

Cooking oil (I used canola)
8 oz. pkg. extra firm tofu (non-silken preferrably), cubed
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 Tbs flour or cornstarch
1 medium butternut squash, peeled & cubed
1 Tbl dried thyme
3 Tbl walnuts, chopped
2 Tbl fresh ginger, peeled & chopped
Quinoa, cooked

Combine the tofu, teriyaki and flour/cornstarch in a dish.  Heat 2 Tbs oil over medium-high heat in a 10" skillet.  Once hot, add the tofu, stirring occasionally.  While the tofu is browning, put the butternut squash in a covered glass dish with 3 Tbs water and microwave for 3-5 minutes, depending on your microwave.  You just want to soften up the squash so it will cook faster.

Once the tofu is mostly browned, remove from skillet.  I removed most of the fond left in the pan.  You may choose to leave it.  Add 2 Tbs oil to skillet and butternut squash.  Cook until butternut squash is mostly browned.  Add thyme, walnuts & ginger.  Cook 1 minute.  Return the tofu to the pan and cook another 1-2 minutes.  Serve over cooked quinoa.

Quinoa


1 cup quinoa
2 cup water

Put quinoa and water in a saucepan together.  Cover.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 12-15 minutes.  It's that easy.

This was yum!  I think I might use a little more teriyaki sauce next time, maybe at the end so the whole thing was a little saucy.  As it is, there isn't really any sauce leftover.  Still... a winner!  And FAST!

Wilted Cabbage with Bacon

Certain family members (cough, Jason, cough) don't like cooked cabbage.  (He claims it's a texture thing).  So I'm always trying to come up with new ways to make, essentially, cole slaw with all the cabbage I get from either my own garden or my farmer friend. Tonight, I came up with a slightly cooked, but still crunchy dish that satisfied both the picky cabbage eater AND my desire for something WARM.

Wilted Cabbage with Bacon

4 slices Bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 medium Onion, diced
3 large cloves Garlic, diced
1 medium Cabbage, sliced/chopped
1/2 cup Vinegar, herbed if you have it

Cook the bacon in a 10" or larger skillet over medium heat.  I used my trusty cast iron.  Remove bacon when it's done but not too crispy.  Leave the bacon dripping in the pan and add the onions.  Once the onions are starting to become translucent, add the garlic.  Cook 1 minute longer than add the cabbage, stirring everything together.  Cover and let cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cabbage is warm and starting to wilt. Add the bacon back to the skillet, cook for another 2 minutes to reheat the bacon.  Drizzle the vinegar over the cabbage and serve.

YUM!  Tonight as I was serving dinner, and I served Jason a large helping of cabbage, my mother-in-law suggested maybe I'd given him too much cabbage.  I responded "He's going to eat that cabbage and he's going to like it."  And he did.