The deadline for the first pass edits of Emerald Blaze is Monday. I still have a lot to go. We edit separately, because while we write together, editing at the same time is too fiddly. The matter is a little bit complicated by the fact that I am exhausted. I lock my private Facebook, otherwise all of you would be subjected to incredible freakouts regrading this and other things. We had to cut 3,000 words, then put them in in a new way. Bunny has a cameo in this book and every time I try to edit that part, I cry.
Don’t worry, Bunny doesn’t die.
Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it or the book. Too hard. You get cooking talk instead.
I’ve cooked something every day this week and most of the last week. Somehow cooking has fallen by the wayside in the last year. We’ve been ordering takeout way too much. The weird thing is, I like cooking. I’ve been thinking about it and realized something odd: it’s not because I am too busy or too tired. It’s because I stopped doing the prep.
For years, we would go to the store and I would buy roughly two weeks worth of meat in bulk. Large trays of cut up chicken, two or three shoulder roasts, skirt steak, ground beef, etc. Then we’d get home and I’d break out plastic wrap and ziploc bags. In thirty minutes all of our purchases would be broken down into dinner portions, wrapped, ziplocked, labeled, and stored. At any given time, I knew exactly what I had in our freezer.
Knowing what was in the freezer opened a variety of options for me. If yesterday was stew day, than today could be a chicken day. I could marinade chicken in Italian dressing. (Most people over-marinade. Really for chicken, an hour or 2 and you’re good, so for me it was a same day decision.) I could do the mayo/Miracle Whip coat. I could do teriyaki. I could do honey mustard. Then, once the recipe for the chicken was determined, I would look at my sides. Miracle Whip chicken goes well with everything, so my options could be rice, potatoes, corn, or salad. If it’s teriyaki chicken, I could take it off the bone and turn it into chicken fried rice. Italian dressing chicken goes best with salad. Southwestern rub with lime would give me meat for fajitas.
By not buying for two weeks, I broke this process. I stopped repackaging and sorting, since I only bought for a week or less. I just threw stuff into freezer. I would open the freezer door and hit decision paralysis, because I wasn’t sure what we had and what we did have didn’t go over well, because we had something similar yesterday.
I guess I’ve just trained myself to do this over the last two decades and I can’t undo it now. Looks like the garage freezer is going to stay even after lock down.
Other lessons learned this week: Instant Pot is awesome. It makes amazing pot roast in an hour and fifteen minutes. It makes pantry vegetable soup. It makes great carnitas. I wouldn’t use it for stew, however. Stew needs to naturally thicken, so some of the water would have to cook out of it, and I just don’t see it happening. I mean if you did it in the Instant Pot, you would have to saute it for the last thirty minutes to get the broth to the desired consistency.
Before anyone asks, here are the recipes. It’s nothing Earth-shattering but it might give you some new options on the menu. 🙂
Miracle Whip chicken.
Enough chicken to feed the family.
2-3 tablespoons of mayo/miracle whip.
1 tsp dry dill
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Preheat oven to 375. Mix spices and mayo/whip in a small bowl. Coat the chicken. You don’t want to have blobs of the mix sitting on it. It should be just coated. Pop in the over at 375 for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. This recipe does yummy things to chicken skin, but even on skinless chicken breasts it will add interesting flavor.
I often pair it with yellow rice. Traditional yellow rice uses saffron, which is expensive and quality saffron is kind of difficult to get. You can buy saffron in the States – I did – and despite using the right amount, I couldn’t taste it. Maybe they store it for too long? It’s just not the same. So I went with turmeric and seasoned salt. I put rice into rice cooker, add about 1/2 tsp of turmeric per two cups of rice, sometimes a bit more, add 1/2 tsp of Lawry seasoned salt, mix, then add my water and cook as normal. Once done, I pull the chicken apart into bite sized pieces, skin and all, toss it in there, and mix. I also add a little bit of butter or a little chicken grease to it, to make it extra delicious.
It also pairs very well with baked potato or roasted potatoes.
Pantry soup
Requires Instant Pot
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 largish potato
1 sweet potato
1 small butternut squash
2-3 largish carrots
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cumin
Oil for cooking
1 carton of chicken broth, about 4 cups
Peel everything. Mince onion and garlic. Chop everything else into inch size pieces or so.
Set the Instant Pot on saute, pour some oil in, and toss in onion and garlic. Cook until smells good and stuff is sort of transparent, maybe 4-5 minutes. Pour in broth. Dump all the veggies in. Dump all the spices in. Stir. Cover, press soup. Walk away laughing.
Let the soup cook and let it stand for maybe 15-20 minutes. Then open the pot, ladle the whole kaboodle into the blender and blend on lowest speed for about a minute. Should be the consistency of apple sauce.
You could do this with a slow cooker. I would say high heat, maybe 6 hours.
Homemade Teriyaki sauce.
I found this recipe online. And now I can’t find the original source of it. I’ve seen several people copy it and claim it, but that recipe was from a Japanese chef, who patiently explained that American teriyaki sauce tastes like corn syrup. It does. After making homemade one, it’s night and day. Gordon now turns his nose up at the bottled teriyaki. So this chef came up with a variation on Japanese recipe that would appeal to American palate. Translation: It’s sweet. You can try reducing the sweetener, although I don’t know if it would thicken properly. That’s why I only make it in small quantities. A little goes a long way. .
So not my recipe. I wish I could find the link.
Equal quantities of soy sauce, sweet rice vinegar, sake, and brown sugar. Throw everything into a pan or a pot. Cook until the sauce naturally thickens.
Now, I have messed with this. You can use sweet balsamic vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I’ve also used cherry wine instead of sake with great success for slightly different flavor. I’ve tried honey instead of brown sugar, and I don’t recommend it. It didn’t thicken right.
Cook the meat and the sauce separately, then combine in the last few minutes of cooking. If you’re baking chicken, brush it on and bake for 5 minutes more. If you cut up meat or veggies for stir fry, add the prepared sauce into the pan in the last minute and stir to coat. If you attempt to cook the sauce with the ingredients simultaneously, you will end up with vegetable mush, overcooked beef, and burned chicken.
Well, my break is over. Back to editing and deciding what’s for dinner.
My mother came up with her own version of Miracle Whip chicken. After coating the chicken with Miracle Whip, dip it in crunched up Frosted Flakes, Corn Flakes, or Honey Nut Cheerios, depending on your taste. I personally like the crunch of the flaked cereal combined with the honey of the cheerios. Then, bake in the oven or fry on the stove.
Our variation is mayo and then a good roll in half bread crumbs and half Parmesan cheese. Always good and goes with almost any side dish.
Consider buying a joule?
It will make deals like this much easier.
My take on a 1 pot spaghetti..
1 to 1.5 lbs of ground meat. I have used beef, turkey, buffalo, and sausage.
8 oz of uncooked spaghetti. Elbow macaroni will work as well.
1 cup red bell peppers and 1 cup green bell peppers chopped.
I buy them on sale, chop and freeze in sandwich bags.
2 medium onions chopped. I prefer white onion.
28 oz can crushed tomatoes.
16 oz can diced tomatoes.
1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 3 to 5 tsp chili powder.
3/4 cup of water.
I use the leanest meat I can get, then brown the meat in a gallon pot using olive oil. Since I used lean meat, I do not drain just take off of heat. Then break spaghetti into 4 or 5 inch pieces and put it on top of meat, add spices and put everything else on top, finally putting water over the top. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.
Thanks for sharing. I actually make stew in the Instant Pot all the time. Instead of a water base, I use canned tomatoes. It thickens the stew so it’s not too runny. My preference is to use three cans per batch–two Italian stewed and one regular. Then I add in one packet of stew seasoning and the usual veggies and meat.
Ive used v9 juice instead of water. Sneak all those veges in on the childrens!
Darn it, now I’m hungry and it’s only 11 am!
I’m WFH these days and while I mostly dislike it (miss my work buddies, serious ergo issues with my home office, aka the dining room table) I do like being able to start and stop as I please throughout the day. Yesterday there was a poached pear break!
I have chicken thawing and I do believe I will give the miracle chicken a try, along with cucumber salad and ice cream and poached pears for after. Thanks for the recipes and for all the other things you do!
ICE CREAM!!!!
I’m stuck because theres is no comment yet and I keep thinking about the Bunny part. Which Bunny does the post refer to? I’m drawing a blank at a little over 1 am in the morning 😐
Possibly Bunny the dog, Doberman maybe? That protects Cornelius’ daughter.
Smile Bunny!
Bunny is Cornelius’ doberman who stands guard over Matilda most of the time. When he’s not standing guard over her, he stands guard over the bacon she drops to him at the table during breakfast. I love Bunny. Crying over him in a cameo is a good thing. His steadfast protection of his family is worthy of a few tears, as long as he does die.
Damn it! I was so patiently waiting for this book, and now I am so anxious to see him survive whatever he’s doing that I’m becoming impatient.
ACK!! I meant “as long as he DOESN’T die!”
As I an rereading White Hot I can answer that. Bunny is Matilda Harrison’s Doberman.
Bunny is Matilda’s Doberman. Ilona recently lost her pet Doberman, Del.
I see, thank you all for the confirmation. Another re-read is in order soon near the release date 🙂
They all sound so yummy! ????
Good luck with the edits ????????
Thank you! I have also switched from prepping to weekly buying. We have a smaller than average Fridge and no chest/upright freezer. After this we may re-evaluate both decisions 🙂 When you can only get 1 chicken item for a family of 5 for a week it makes that week very interesting.
Apparently there has been a run on freezers nationwide but you can still get them delivered (at least in Colorado).
Pork is easy to get right now so if you don’t object to it here are 2 pork recipes.
Green chili stew
This is only approximate because I make it up each time but you will get close enough.
2-3 lbs pork.
1 large can tomatoes
1 -2 cans mild green chilies (or hotter chilis if you prefer)
2t -2T cumin (depending on how we feel. Start low and continue adding)
2-3 minced onions sautéed
4 garlic cloves minced and sautéed (add to the onions when they are close to done)
1t oregano
About 1 t salt
Black pepper to taste.
Dump everything in the crockpot and let it cook all day. When pork is tender, get it out and shred it. We prefer to make it in advance so we can chill it overnight and get the hardened fat out in the morning. This is not spicy as written but it is flavorful. To make spicy add hotter peppers
I’ve never met anyone who liked pork who didn’t like this recipe. It has been in the family for generations and makes the pork chops so very tender. While it says gravy there is no extra fat beyond what is needed to brown pork chops and cook onions
PORK CHOPS WITH ONION GRAVY
4-6 pork chops
2 large onions, sliced thinly
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 c flour
2T oil
Gravy
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1T sugar
1/4 C flour
2 C boiling water
Mix 1 t salt, 1/4 t pepper and 1/4 C flour together. Coat pork chops and brown on high temp in 2 T oil. Take pork chops out of skillet (they won’t be done) and put in onions. Cook on med low heat until onions are cooked. Add in the dry ingredients from gravy list and cook for a few minutes until onions have taken on some color (you are trying for a yellowish brown or light brown but no crisping of onions). Add us the hot water and mix until flour lumps are gone. Add back in pork chops and snuggle them under the onions. Cook on low heat covered for 90 min or until pork chops are tender. Stir every once In awhile to make sure nothing is sticking to bottom of pan. If you want thicker gravy, right before serving uncover and cook on high heat for a min or so while stirring.
Serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.
Also try calling your local butcher or meat market. At least here if you call them they will call you back when they have everything and then bring it out to your car. They are local businesses trying to survive and mine has better meat and more competitive prices than the grocery store with no rationing (so far). You might have to wait a day for a complete order but that is it.
Local farms too! I buy 1/4 pig a year (you do need freezer space), chickens, and a turkey. This is an expensive option, but I have been feeling so awful about factory farming, it works for us.
Oh, if you are motivated, coat the pork with flour first and brown before adding to crock pot. Sometimes I am motivated and sometimes I am not.
We’ve taken to separating our chicken into one breast as for the most part it’s just he and me. If the daughter is home, we may add a second. But… so ..
I’m from Hawaii. You need ginger in teriyaki, but that’s just me. Favorite chicken? Huli huli, which literally means turn turn chicken. Use ANY bbq rub you like, add pinch chinese five spice, rub the chicken….even a whole chicken done rotisserie style, but in our case, the recently thawed one breast. Marinate hour or so, cook however. Baked, grilled, however GREAT stuff.
Huli huli chicken used to be cooked in the parking lot as school fund raisers at Star Market. Oh the smell of Saturday morning market days. Mmm.
Ilona, I suggest that you suggest to someone who is in lockdown with you that the freezer needs to be organized for you. I’m sure they all know how it’s supposed to go, and I’m sure they are as stir-crazy as the rest of us who are staying home that they will welcome a job to do. You’re so organized that while I wish I could be that way, I am also glad that disorganization doesn’t cripple me. I buy in bulk, too, but I wrap it and freeze it and stick it in wherever it fits.
I’m waiting here for my pain meds to kick in so I can get out the ladder and clean the gutters while my husband is home for the weekend to hold the ladder for me. He’s too heavy to climb my sissy ladder, and I can’t climb it without him holding it because I have a mental problem about ladders. It’s always something, isn’t it? In addition to the whole locked-in situation, we’re having floods, and while I live on a hill so my area isn’t flooded, it’s very soggy out there and the ladder tends to sink into the soil, so it needs to be held. The gutters overflowing isn’t helping the soggy soil, and erosion is actually happening.
Perhaps you would switch and let Gordon edit Bunny’s cameo?
I was hoping to grill today as we thought it was going to be dry, but it is pretty overcast here. So who knows, it could be leftovers or something else. Maybe takeout, help support the local restaurants.
Right now I am getting ready to go and clean the kitchen again as my husband dropped a glass on the edge of the counter and it shattered over the open dishwasher, sink and floor. We did a good first pass now I want to pull everything off the counter and clean plus do the floor again.
I’ve done stew in the Instant Pot. I don’t put as much liquid in as I would for the stove. Also, finely chopping up some (but not all) of either the potatoes and/or winter squashes seems to make it kind of dissolve into the stock to help thicken it. I know that’s not very technical, but that’s what it seems like. I love my Instant Pot. ???? I have the Instant Pot blender, but don’t use it very often. Your Pantry soup recipe would be a good choice to try in that though. Good luck with the edits! ????
I add add a little mustard to the Mayo/miracle whip and then coat the chix in Italian breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan.
Miracle Whip chicken ??? Oh my! Thank you for sharing your recipes. I’ve been in a rut over the last few weeks, so these will perk up my menu planning!
I adore my InstaPot- I have the slow cooker/instapot/everything combo that could probably launch a satellite or run a small country. Great invention. I also recently procured a Ninja Air Fryer- the only kitchen gadget that trumps my InstaPot. I air fryed bacon wrapped chicken breasts the other day! If you don’t have an air fryer, you deserve to treat yourself.
We love our air fryer! It’s great with Brussel sprouts too. I’ll have to try your recipe out. Sounds delicious
How do you do the Brussel sprouts? I just got an air fryer!
Would love any recipes for it that ya’ll have!!!
Thanks!
I Slice the sprouts in half , then season with olive oil, salt ,and pepper Sometimes I had a little granulated garlic or onion powder. Then turn on the air fryer on 400 for about 10 minutes. They are great! I’d still too hard cook for about 10 minutes more. I love that you don’t have to preheat it!!
How long do you set the timer for the bacon wrapped chicken?
Recipe?
Thanks!
Oh, yeah. Love the Instant Pot too! I’m making Ham and bean soup today. Cool idea for the miracle whip chicken, pat on a coating of parmesan before baking. House Gordon rocks!
We were just at Home Depot and the store was packed. Not with panicking shoppers worried about the Armageddon, but with people now stuck at home, who just cannot look at THAT wall in THAT color one more day. Honey Do lists are getting done right and left. Spring cleaning, home cooking…
Doing a reread of Sapphire Flames and one of the things that struck me was the love out into the cooking and food prep scenes. I identified with this so much. I too love to cook, and the prep is really about the joyful process. When I’m too busy or in my down cycle of depression/anxiety, I find I don’t cook. For me cooking and prep is joyful. Now that I’m in quarantine, I’m making it a point to cook and prep. It’s helping stave off the down cycle for now.
Anyways, thank you for all you guys do. Thank you for helping keep the connections alive.
Just back from our shortened Southwest trip, and will be teaching the daughter to cook, whether she wants to or not. The amount of whining I got after she was laid off from her job over her perceived “lack” of food in the pantry, sheesh, I KNEW what I had left there and in the freezers. She wouldn’t have starved. She will now learn how to deal with it all.
I do the two week prep and menu besides knowing what cooking options we have, Ive noticed it also saves us money so we arent randomly picking up things we wont end up cooking. While I make a menu its just a suggestion because I could decide to make curry instead of fajitas and we would still have all the ingredients without having to get anything extra.
Since hubby and I have to work,(our state has not declared anything yet and the Marine Codps is still business as usual), Dd 13 is home and has simply been following my recipe plans. She loves doing it and I have raised her allowance to reflect all the extra she has been doing to help. She told me she loves having the power to decide what we eat for dinner ????????. She’s a social buttlerfly and I think its helping her to cope with not seeing her friends and being in the house with her deeply introverted big brother all day. Today she baked 3 cakes, and a batch of brownies from scratch. The house smells devine and little brother is in heaven.
You may have sold me on the instapot, Ive been on the fence for about a year. I absolutely love my crokpot and airfryer but I wasnt sure if we needed another device in the kitchen.
I got an instant pot for Christmas. I have not touched it due to a combination of time to learn new gadget and the same menu indecision that Ilona mentioned. I did not realise it until she said it but I have the exact same problem. Now that we are housebound and cooking again, I bought bulk, separated and packaged and magically have a pre -planned menu again. So tonight we tried the instant pot for garlic mashed potatoes to go with supper. It was magical. Super easy prep, fast cook. I am hooked.
I agree that meal prep is a huge help. I had quit doing that, too, and meals have become blah. Now that I’m cooking more for my dad cuz he can’t make it into restaurants anymore, I’ve started prepping again, and it’s so helpful!
Good luck with your edits, meal prep, cooking, and quarantine. ????
Thank you for the recipes! We love our instant pot. I use it at least a few times a week. If your looking for more recipes I’ve found a lot of great recipes on pressurecookingtoday.com. My husband loves particularly the Chicken Tacos and the Mongolian Beef recipes we have found on that site.
Thank you for sharing you break with us. Got to try the mayo chicken. It’ll match with the miracle whip chocolate cake
Vegan here, I use my electric pressure cooker almost every day. All three of my daughter’s are vegan, two on special diets due to illness. We share our food pics and talk about food choices a lot. The other day one of them said “it’s not any different than before the virus!”. Because we just can’t eat out. Fortunately I have a great pantry vegan cookbook and “vegan unplugged” two books that help vegans plan when things go bad. Pandemic, tornado, whatever.
I stated stocking up big time in January so I am prepared and have plenty of food even though I have been locked down for almost three weeks. My youngest has a master’s in public health and ordered me to as I have underlying conditions.
I agree with your youngest child. Stay home. You don’t want to compromise your immune system. I, too, have a master’s in public health, and a doctor of public health. ????
Thanks for tip on the books.
I love my instant pot too! My husband especially loves the low country boil, letting the potatoes and corn and sausage high pressure then adding shrimp last, everything turns out perfect! I’ve been having the kids help me bake this week. Zucchini bread and banana bread, cinnamon rolls all in the freezer for later consumption. Miracle whip chicken! I haven’t thought about that since I was a kid. Thanks for the reminder!
I’m more of a baker than a cook, so I have a tasty, easy and quick cinnamon roll recipe to share.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17006/ninety-minute-cinnamon-rolls/
They really do take only 90 minutes! I add a tablespoon of vinegar after all the flour to help it stay fluffy rather than dense, sometimes use 1 cup whole wheat flour in place of some of the white for a nutty taste, only do half the filling (it’s plenty!), and make a cream cheese icing for the top (soften 4 oz cream cheese and beat with 2 oz butter, add a dash of vanilla plus about 2 cups confectioners sugar and enough milk to make it spreadable, 1-2 tablespoons).
Powdered milk works fine if you don’t have fresh. And I just stir until the flour is all combined, don’t worry about kneading the dough. As it sits it will hydrate the flour. There’s also a video how-to.
Thanks for all the recipes over the past week, everyone!
I am self isolating and basically had to learn to cook again. I am by myself so portion control I always left to the restaurant or take out! I am trying to cook for two days and putting one in the fridge, only to find I didn’t want one day old food! I am lucky to have a friend dropping off food at the gate if requested. I really don’t like not being in control of life.
My Husb & I are in our 60’s, I still work (nurse) w/ a autistic son at home. We’ve been doing big batch meals I can take to the hospital w/ me & delivery since they’re both high risk & staying at home. Last week was chicken noodle soup, this w/e is chili & cornbread. Finding stew meat was an adventure!! But it’s on now. Thanks for some good ideas! I will have to try the teriyaki b/c I’ve never liked it, maybe this will solve that b/c they love it!
I just got an instant pot for Christmas and I’m kind of loving it. Especially for dry beans and yogurt.
I have found that I can get good quality saffron in Indian markets for a reasonable price. Your mileage may vary.
I have gotten out of the organized cooking habit, too. I also used to buy a ton and bag/label. This last couple of weeks I have been cooking a bit more. It’s fun.
Not so much cooking as preparing here, we’ve been using up our old bread by making croutons for the freezer. London is on lockdown and I’m at home with my mother, nerves and tensions starting to fray but keeping to the self-isolate rules. However looking out the flat’s windows show not every one is doing the same as they play football and others just gossip. Never thought the time would come where I’d be wishing they bring in martial law to enforce curfews and non-gathering rules! Not to mention rationing might be a smart move. Everyone stay safe, stay separate, keep your spirits high and your hands clean.
Unfortunately, that sort of attitude is why London has such a high infection rate ????
I think (hope) it will come to fines and enforcement by next week, people are beyond listening. I’m staying with my mum on a large housing estate in SW1 and it’s just stupid looking outside. On the other hand you can’t book an online shop, no slots available, but the physical shops are empty. It’s insane! I can’t believe I want my civil rights and liberties infringed upon but dammit this is ridiculous.
So, I’m from holland and am wondeeing what miracle whip is? Is it like whipped cream or whipped mayonaise? Please explaine 🙂 I want to make miracle chicken.
Miracle whip is a brand of sweetened mayonnaise. I think the jar actually says salad dressing. It looks like you could use any mayonnaise or mayonnaise variant to substitute.
I just use mayonnaise with a little Dijon mustard for my “Miracle Chicken”. I also use it on salmon fillets that I bake. I roll both in a mixture of breadcrumbs and crushed almonds.
It is technically a sauce condiment developed in the ‘30s (depression) to replace expensive mayonnaise. As Anne V says it is sweeter – it contains high fructose corn syrup
Miracle Whip is a brand name:
https://www.google.com/search?q=miracle+whip+ingredients&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
Ilona – I was not aware that you recently lost your beloved Doberman. I lost my Dobie back in 2011 and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of him. As a fellow Doberman guardian, I send you all the love.
When I make stew in the instant pot I use red lentils…they break down and chicken the broth just right, good fiber and nutrient content. Helps the dish go farther too
I love my instant pot. It is awesome for making bone broth or vegetable broth or any kind of broth. A picked over rotisserie chicken skeleton covered in water with onions and whatever veggies are around, 20 minutes and you have chicken broth. I will also trim veggies and save the peels and ends, pop into the instant pot, cover with water and 20 minutes later: Ta dah! Veggie Broth !
We’ve had severe hoarding and runs on our grocery stores in our community. Really there are aisles and aisles completely stripped. No produce bread meat milk it is terrible. People just lost their damn minds! I am so grateful thankful blessed for my digital delivery supply chains years in making my 1 1/2 full freezers routines of meal prep practice of buying appliances food storage containers on sale on line. Even with that backup it is so severe i believe it will take weeks and even military support to get even a few stores restocked. We have already started rationing ourselves and I venture out every couple of days looking for tp and dogfood. It has been completely and totally ridiculous.
Toilet paper has bcome like white gold, getting stolen in the UK, both from individuals and in bulk; delivery vans carrying it got an armed escort, shop assistants restocking shelves had to barricade the aisle, police have seized it from thefts and there have been grab and runs.
I don’t understand the tp hoarding. You can substitute for tp but not food, medicine or other essentials. Maybe it’s a psychological thing – everyone is doing it so I should too? ????♀️
I went on the little app someone made and apparently my husband and I need 3 loo rolls for 2 weeks…I have a pack of 9 (which I bought in January) so technically I’m good for 6 weeks, which the rational pre cv brain would have agreed to be about right – I’m trying hard to keep that brain and not let it get swept away in the madness that has hit London.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=825983247914842&set=a.412748305905007
Something to make you smile 😀
I refuse to give up my chest freezer. We’re in the process of moving (90 miles, for work), and one of the main arguments in buying a new house was whether we’d keep the chest freezer. I won when my father gave us half a hog. This was a rather large pig: the half weighed 220 pounds. It’s not possible to put that much bacon, ribs & ground pig in the freezer compartment of a fridge.
Thank you for the post, Ilona Andrews. When I worked retail, I cooked on Sunday for the whole week. I made and took my lunch because I have an onion allergy and I hated ending up in ER and hospital because hello, fast food place fried French fries in same vat with onion rings. Not to mention how expensive epi- pens are. Plus multi person serving cheaper to buy.
Some people can not eat food prepared prior to today. I have one of those in my family so eating out at restaurant 30 minutes away is easiest when eating with that sibling and family.
Good luck. Make sure no one leaves spare freezer open. Someone did that and I lost a whole freshly butchered bovine. Now it is padlocked.
Thanks for teriyaki recipe. About saffron— I used to buy at ethnic Indian or Muslim meat store. They imported from India and taste is better / different. I figure Texas has at least one or both. After all we are the great melting pot country.
Creative cooking at its finest. I went out early this morning to find milk. The store I went to didn’t have any, so I went looking around to see what I could find. I found the brand of all purpose flour I use, so I got a bag of it. Found my favorite pasta sauce in tomato and basil. I also found sweet Italian sausage. I thought pasta bake when I got home. However, my allergies got the best of me, so I’ll be cooking that tomorrow. ????????
They all sound delicious, quick and easy. Thank you for sharing. I’m desperately trying to hold back the panic as well ❤️ Thank you for providing me with a distraction and meal ideas for the next week.
My mom and my grandmothers were all good cooks. Me – not at all. (What is the cooking version of gardening’s “black thumb”??) So the cooking and gardening genes skipped me completely. Luckily, I did get the “reading addiction” gene!!
My only food tip: sandwiches always taste better on toasted bread.
Our house gets a Christmas present every year. This year was the instant pot duo crisp and air fryer. All the neat gadgets in one. I call it The Beast. A week ago my husband started calling the chest freezer The Magic Hat. Our household is huge. It’s just the 2 of us and a multitude of pets. But I shop like we have an army. I’ve always shopped like that. So when people went crazy at the stores, meh I didn’t need anything. Hubby was watching the food channel. “Great! Now I want lamb.” Me ” In the freezer.” He started naming random things. I would say “In the freezer.” I buy family packs break it down vacuum seal, date and freeze. I cook chili,soups, spaghetti sauce it all goes in the freezer. I’m baking bread in The Beast. It’s too early for my gardens so I’ve added leaf lettuces, spinach & chives to some of my planters.
We got one of those for christmas too!! Its amazing!! I haven’t tried bread in it yet, but the roast beef was amazing and done in less than 2 hours
I’m learning to cook for an empty nest now. It’s an adjustment. I’ve basically assigned proteins for each day of the week, and have a rotating lineup of veggies, with lists for legumes, crucifers, greens, carotene, and miscellaneous, and another rotating list of starches. So Tuesday’s going to be chicken, but the vegetable will come from, say, the crucifer list – let’s say broccoli – and then it might be rice for the starch. I figure out cooking method and what kinds of sauces and seasonings to use from there. Then I note the protein, veg, and starch on the calendar for that day in case I need to refer to it later to avoid repetition. This is way more organized than I had time to be when the kids lived here. I divvied up the meats for the freezer back then, but I’d just open the doors and grab whatever was in front. It was all stuff that could be pan-fried or cut up and sautéed in a hurry. Roasts were for special occasions (the kids still request one when they’re coming to visit). I feel so efficient now!
no one has mentioned beans in the instant p0t. We soaked a bag of beans (garbanzo once and then also white) and sauteed onion and the usual flavorings in broth. When beans were cooked used about half the beans in a blender to make hummus (made it w and w/out tahini, I couldn’t really tell difference) and flavored the hummus how we wanted. We used the rest of the beans and flavored broth to make whatever – we did curry and another time pork stew, just what was on hand to put in. I am very low sodium diet and this was so easy and flavorful while allowing me to skip the salt usually in the foods. Adjusting flavorings without salt is challenging. A big flavoring item for me is lemon – everywhere and every way.
There’s a really large FB group called “Instant Pot° Community” (the ° is supposed to be the trademark sign). It has almost 2.7 million members. There’s always lots of recipes and ideas posted. Some of the questions get a bit repetitive, but you’ll have that. It’s a good place to get started for ideas. ????
No one has mentioned beans in the instant pot. We soaked a bag of beans (garbanzo once and then also white) and sauteed onion and the usual flavorings in broth. When beans were cooked used about half the beans in a blender to make hummus (made it w and w/out tahini, I couldn’t really tell difference) and flavored the hummus how we wanted. We used the rest of the beans and flavored broth to make whatever – we did curry and another time pork stew, just what was on hand to put in. I am very low sodium diet and this was so easy and flavorful while allowing me to skip the salt usually in the foods. Adjusting flavorings without salt is challenging. A big flavoring item for me is lemon – everywhere and every way.
We do something similar for any white fish. It’s easy and pretty too:
Combine 1/3 cup of softened butter, 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, and 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Add thinly sliced green onion(white and some of the green) then add two to 6 shakes of Tabasco sauce. Stir well.
Broil Tilapia, Sole, or whatever white fish with a little lemon and seasoning till 2/3rds done.
Spread the butter/mayo/Parmesan on top of each fish filet and pop it back in the broiler.
The mayo and butter will melt away and the parmasean cheese will golden up with those nice green flecks from the green onion.
Love this dish!!!
I made a pork tenderloin today, cut it in half with two different flavors with each section of foil folded into a pocket so they both fit into my crockpot. Worked good so I’m set for the week. Veggie salads will be made tomorrow along with sewing face masks. Back to cleaning on Monday.
Ever try Beijol instead of saffron? Its a Cuban spice we used to use in Miami for yellow rice or fried rice.
The closest thing I have to an Instapot is a Crock pot which I rarely use. I did a Turkey in it during the holidays and it was so easy and tasted delicious. I go to Costco for ground beef and chicken and then divide it but honestly I really like what Trader Joe’s has to offer and I would rather shop daily for fresh stuff. I am missing the Farmers Markets so much!
Here’s my quick tomato sauce: Serves two
One can petite cut tomatoes, can of vegetable stock, some white or rose wine.
Olive oil, one or two crushed garlic cloves, fresh oregano if on hand or just dried, dried fresh basil, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
Oil in skillet heat with garlic stir it around and then add tomatoes, stock and herbs and spices. Simmer about 15 minutes then add a bit of wine. When the pasta is ready I usually scoop it in directly from the pot to get some good pasta water in the sauce. Many things can be added to this basic sauce. Sometimes I do it with Kalamatas and Feta, or ground beef, even plain with good parmesan and fresh basil is good. My kids like the spicy version with pepper flakes and red bells. Good Pasta in 25 minutes is a life saver!
There is a recipe blog which is my favourite called Recipe Tin. The recipes are brilliant, eclectic and easy and she has great dog photos.
My favourite chicken marinade is: Lime juice, salt, honey, olive oil, soy sauce and cilantro.
Pork chops or loin: Olive oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, Worcestershire and brown sugar.
Check out Nagi’s blog Recipe Tin it is really that good.
Stay well everyone!
Quick server french onion soup
Sliced onion, sautéed lightly in butter
2 cups water per 1 beef bouillon cube/packet
Once the onion broth is made
Add Croutons and sprinkle Swiss cheese (or parm, or mozza, whatever floats your boat) And microwave or bake till the cheese is a little crispy
Baked Cheesy Chicken,
Instead of bread crumbs, use crushed Cheeze-it crackers for coating over egg or Mayo, bake as normal.
Thanks for the recipes. I devoted myself to hunting up budget friendly recipes that sound yummy as well as somewhat healthy. It’s important as neither I or my husband will have any income for the duration. The Instant Pot is a dream for the less top shelf meats and died beans, which we both love. There will be a lot of them in the future.
Thanks Ilona, And especially, thanks for the link to the medical masks.
Something we all need to keep in mind every day is that roughly 805 million people go undernourished on a daily basis. We should never allow ourselves to feel bored
about our food choices. If we have any food in our cupboards and are well, are wealthy in the only ways that count. Think of the poor single parents that are scrambling to feed their kids, and or elders in their household, especially with so many out of work. I grew up in a house where if we didn’t like what was being served we could be excused from the table, while being reminded that we were the lucky ones, because
we never went to bed hungry. So, take care and share.
Me too – if we didn’t eat what was served then we had to wait until the next meal. We never had a lot of money but there was food on the table and love in the house ????
For those on a budget check out the Budget Bytes website. They also have a section on 15 pantry recipes https://www.budgetbytes.com/. They have lots of types of recipes, including vegan
Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.
We all need it!
Ilona and Gordon- thank you for your craft as they are a blessing to us. Good luck with your edits and please get some rest. Lastly thank you for the blog as they are such a treat as the topics are great and I love everyone’s input too! Helps me be distracted for a time. Take care and God Bless!
I’m hungry now after reading this and I wasn’t before. Sigh. I guess it’s tome for a second breakfast. Weee!
We’ve been self quarantining (in Chicago) for the last three weeks cause of our age. So what happens..our oven dies just when I want to make comfort food like mac and cheese, casseroles, bread, etc. While waiting for the replacement stove I ordered online to arrive, I made a trip to Costco. What is with everybody?!? They’re acting crazy. Bottled water was sold out (my faucets work just fine), all the paper products were gone, as were canned tomatoes, beans, 50 lbs rice sacks not that I buy that much rice),. I had just used my last can of diced tomatoes and last can of creamed soups–no luck buying them from Costco as usual. I then went to a large grocery store where they had everything I needed and toilet paper but much more expensive than I’d like to pay. I bought some anyway. Now I see empty shelves everywhere when I venture out to re-stock our produce. Folks must have food stored for a MONTH. I worried about folks who couldn’t stock up. So….I just sent a check to our local food depository. I’m not going to restaurants or movies so give someone my disposable income who needs it to eat. I urge all of you to send a check big or small to help feed others laid off with the closings.
Now, I’m worried. If Bunny doesn’t die, who does?
I can understand the grumpiness for having to cut out words. I would take them all and be grateful. Long book = good!
Thank you for sharing Edge Burger recipe. Made it last night as I had left over rice. We now have a new family favourite…
Sharing the link to the following site https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-pizza-crust-recipe/
which has an excellent and easy to make pizza dough. My family prefers it to any restaurant pizza. You can cover it with pizza sauce, tomatoe paste with some herbs and spices added (I like either oregano and pepper, or basil depending on the topings) or pesto. Top with whatever you have on hand (last night I had onion, mushroom, and summer sausage) and add your favourite grated cheese – mexicana mild works well.
The best part is that it’s quick to make. Step 1 iand walk away for 10 to 15 minutes and do whatever you want. Come back and complete step 2 and start step 3 (takes about 5 minutes). walk away for 1.5 to 2 hours. Then punch down the dough and preheat the oven while you finish making the pizza. If you have a small family you may only use half, and the other half freezes well to be pulled out at a later time. You do have to plan the second one a bit as it needs to thaw in the fridge overnight.
Stay safe all.
All that sounds wonderful and I am so hungry right now. I used to cook like that all the time but now that I’m alone, I don’t, it’s too much food. I have relearn to cook for one again. Time for google search. Hope you all are doing ok in this crazy time, just remember to take it easy and breathe, this to shall pass.
Thanks f0r the recipes! I am going to make the chicken and tumeric rice this week – it sounds delicious and I need a new chicken recipe.
Update: I made this and it was delicious!!
Bleh! It’s never somewhere easy, is it? Good luck getting all the shards! I dropped a jar a few weeks ago, scrubbed the whole floor and *still* found a shard of glass yesterday. No idea where it had been hiding…
That was supposed to be for a comment that mentioned dropping a glass….
Thanks for the recipes! I like the mayonnaise chicken (no miracle whip over here) idea, I’ll have to try it.
I do make stew in the instant pot; thickness is an issue, and it isn’t as tasty as stove top, but much faster. I usually use shin of beef, cheap but tough. I flour and brown the meat and onions, and put the meat and liquid (sometimes water and stock cube, sometimes beer), some spices and about 1/2 cup barley on for about 45min hile I prep the veg. Then I steam the veg in the microwave until not quite done, then add just the veg to the meat–adding the liquid too can make it too sweet and hides the beef flavour. Then pressure cook another 15min or so. At that point, if it’s not thick enough I scoop out some of the veg and mash it. If it’s *still* not thick enough I’ll either add some flour an water or serve it with bread or dumplings and call it ‘stewp’. Lol
I also have been cooking or baking every day, trying to do something else besides work, worry, and keep peace in the house! We are not used to have the three of us home 24/7, with no options for getting away for a bit, or doing our normal sports/hobbies/visiting. At least our freezer is now restocked, and I do not have to grocery shop as often. I am also reading much more than usual, going back and revisiting some series from the past. Stay safe everyone!
Bunny reminds you of your fur baby ???? Sending hugs ❤️
Thanks for these, I just bought an instant pot and used for first time…love it and noe I have extra recipies to try x
When we were in college I started a weekly menu using the grocery ads. As time passed and children arrived I started doing 4 week menus. Bought what I needed each week but didn’t have to decide what to cook. Next grocery visit will do for 2 weeks as I don’t want to go out more then necessary. Of course some weeks totally change but at least there is an idea where to start. Perhaps all of us will find new favorite recipes.
With all methods of cooking chicken, adding tarragon gives the bird a flavor kick. A plus to the several suggestions on finding good saffron at an Indian or Middle Eastern store. Just remember a very little saffron goes a long way. When I first tried saffron, the recipe said a couple of strings, mmph I’ll use four. I was overwhelmed with yellow and too much flavor.
I love my Instant Pot. I was a big fan of slow cooker/crockpot cookery for decades, and this just adds a new dimension.
Do take care; blessed be.
I’m in a house with three retire/ex chefs..all the food is good, I;m now turning my tiny front patio into a mini garden just for something to do other than cook/dishes..with everyone home its one or the other constantly.
Cooking has fallen by the wayside for society in general:
I was out at a Walmart yesterday and this is exactly what happened.
I was pushing a cart down a pretty much empty isle, there were two younger women, I guess in their early to mid 20s talking together.
1rst- Don’t cry, if you cry I will. – no cart
2nd woman- hugging a box of cereal to her chest, no cart, looking at the empty shelves with a look of despair.
1rst- It will be fine
2nd- We are going to starve.
Now, while there were no instant meals on the shelves, there was plenty of things left to eat, they just needed to be cooked or prepared. I am a 50yo white male, from the farming country and have been cooking all my life with whatever was handy.
I stopped to talk to them because I thought that it might be a matter of funds, and if so I was in a position to help and would have. It wasn’t. I explained a few meals that could be readily made from what I saw just in that isle, and at a reasonable cost per meal per person{ I was thinking about how much I would have to spend to make sure they could eat for at least a week based upon what I saw was left in Walmart. Not petty, I am not rich but was not going to let people starve if I could help it. I am a good person and citizen of this country and we all need to stick together.}
me: You can grab 3 cans of green beans, some carrots, a couple cans of mushroom soup, and some of that brisket over there and make a casserole. Cut up the brisket in thin slices and it will last a week at least.
2nd woman- Then I just stick it in the microwave?
Me: No, this is generally baked for 45 minutes at 350 degrees in the oven.
1rst woman : Oven I don’t know how to use that.
Me: How long have you had one in your house.
2nd woman: It’s that thing we cook pizza in, but they only need to be in there for 20 minutes. Why is this 45?
1rst woman: Whats a casserole dish?
Me: There are still some frozen pizzas in the next isle, you should buy those.
And I walked away.
This is what I fear is going on across America right now.
I’m smiling and laughing at what you wrote Anton because I’ve come across that a lot over the years. I love to cook when I have the time. I get a lot of looks from people when I shop for groceries because of what I have in my cart.
Since I love to cook, I get really good pots and pans. When a friend of mine and her husband moved to Fort Worth, I invited her to my place. When she saw my kitchen she told me she wanted her kitchen like mine. ????
Some people don’t know how to use a can opener…
https://youtu.be/yQbmjKCbFLE
Just sayin
Chuckling about this! No wonder my son was well liked on his dorm floor!!! He and another guy cooked on the weekends in the kitchen on their floor! They made most things from scratch – including homemade chicken nuggets, chips, etc.! BTW – their floor was coed and none of the girls cooked!
Sounds like the house my oldest son lives in. One of his roommates came in from work while my son was eating dinner…
“What are you eating?”
“Spaghetti”
“Where did you get spaghetti?”
“Uh… I made it…”
“You know how to make SPAGHETTI?”
“Yes. It’s pretty easy. You just brown some hamburger and onions and garlic, add italian seasonings, tomato sauce, and boil up some noodles.”
“Wait, wait… you know how to COOK?”
“Yeah, don’t you?”
“Nope.”
So now, instead of paying rent, he makes dinner 4 days a week. His roommates buy the groceries (whatever he tells them to buy) and he cooks. We bought him an Insty Pot for Christmas.
His little brother is a chef… he knows how to cook “fancy” stuff so gets called for recipes because coming up with something to feed a whole house on a daily basis is “hard” (yeah, kid, I get that) Especially when some of them are fussy.
The youngest is learning to cook because he likes the idea of trading cooking for rent, when he gets that old… (and because he’s fussy and I quit trying to cook for him… I just make stuff I like and he can eat peanut butter if he doesn’t like what I make.)
My first thought was that something happens to Bunny. Thanks for that spoiler so we don’t worry. Bunny is a great character. Memories I’d our pets stay with us always.
This might be the Teriyaki recipe you’re referencing. It’s a Japanese guy who talks about the origin of Teriyaki sauce, then goes through and details why you should not add all those extra ingredients commonly found in teriyaki recipes: https://norecipes.com/best-chicken-teriyaki-recipe/
Regarding saffron, I also wondered why there were differences among brands as well. It turns out that some saffron brands include the yellow portion of the stigma in addition to the red and seems weaker by comparison. Even from the same country there are different “grades” based on this. Removing the yellow portion by hand of course drives the price up. I’ve had to buy online to find the best saffron which I reserve for special occasions. For every day use I head to Trader Joe’s.
I used to do the breaking down thing too and let it fall by the wayside. And, I’ve also been cooking this past week and a half. It’s been good. I don’t know what will happen when this is over (please let it be over), but it’s been nice to get back to the nuts and bolts of a preparing a meal again.
I love reading your blog posts. They’re a spot of happiness in the day. Thanks for sharing!
I was ready this while tired and under-caffeinated, so at first glance, I read “Other lessons learned this week: Instant Pot is awesome” as “Other lessons learned this week: Pot is awesome” and thought “OMG, she is LOSING it! Must call her asap!” 🙂
Ugh, see, I AM tired and under-caffeinated! Meant “I was reading” this above, not “I was ready this”
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate these recipes! My boyfriend is moving into my tiny little 1 bedroom apartment temporarily until the virus passes that way we can “shelter in place” together and I kind of feel like I should do more for dinner than just cottage cheese and a small bowl of rice like I do most nights. Especially since he prefers a more varied diet and doesn’t like cottage cheese. Which reminds me; I should make more rice.
Thank-you for all your hard work and the recipes, recommendations, and crafts you pepper through you blog!
Re: stews — if you’re used to slow cooking stews anyways, the IP still has that ability.
The thing I like about it is if I’ve set the slower cooker setting too late in the day, but it’s been cooking at least 1-2 hours to get that “proper stew flavour”, I just switch to the pressure cook setting for another ~30/45 mins and you totally have the best of both worlds: slow cooked flavour & fast stew! Same kind of applies for any other kind of slow cooked meals I’ve found. It kind of puts it in the category of “fast slow-cooking”?
We use our Instant Pot to do homemade yogurt. It is so much better than what you can buy in the store.
The pork carnitas recipe was fantastic. I used it in soft tacos and enchiladas The hubby said to keep that recipe.
Thanks.
Thank you so much for sharing your chicken ideas. I’ve saved the teriyaki recipe. 🙂
Would you mind sharing some of your go-to recipes for those beef cuts? This feels so dumb, but I didn’t learn how to cook meat until after I moved out of my parent’s house. I could bake anything and chop a mean vegetable, but my Mom did not have us do any stove-top cooking or handle raw meat. I taught myself to cook chicken, ground beef, and NY steak (literally just those) but apparently so did every other clueless person in the world, and now those sections of the grocery store are completely bare and I’m left looking at the “weird stuff” like brisket and skirt steaks. I thought to myself – I have a mixer with a meat grinder attachment, I can make my own ground beef!! Well, 4 hours later I have enough ground beef for now, but I also learned that it would be much faster to just figure out how to work with those cuts the way they came.
I love my Instant Pot too!
Jeffrey @ Pressure Luck has some great recipes. Beef stew: https://pressureluckcooking.com/recipe/instant-pot-beef-bourguignon/
I also enjoy Amy & Jacky (husband & wife cooking team). I discovered umami seasoning from them (Trader Joe’s sells it). Their beef stew:
https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-beef-stew/
You guys (& Jeanine Frost too) are my favorite authors!!! Thank you for wonderful stories.????
Thank you. We have been warned over and over about a huge earthquake that is 300+ years late hitting the Oregon Coast and we must be prepared to survive on our own for 4-6 weeks. So we are. I buy in bulk and do the food saving system of vacuum packing meats (dated for turn over) and preventing freezer burn. We have 3 freezers and 2 generators to insure when the power goes, we won’t lose the foods. We are in a valley, between 2 rivers and far enough inland that the predicted tusnami will stop about a half mile from us. We are prepared, but we are old and have self quarantined before the Governor told us to stay home. Social distancing is not a problem as our closest neighbor is about 500 yards from the house. Local eateries are doing takeout depending on what they have in stock. Everything else is closed. Very scary times right now.
Last night while reading White Hot, I remembered that Bunny was a doberman. I suddenly recalled this post and put some pieces together. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to write or edit anything about dobermans or dogs, in general right now in the wake of your recent loss. I am so sorry for the pain that your family must be going through and as all dog parents, dread this inevitable day. May the passage of time bring you comfort.
My grandpas Macaroni and Swiss cheese
I make small portions with leftovers.
2 cups of macaroni
2 potatoes halved and sliced. (Thicker than a scalloped potato but not too thick).
Butter
Shredded Swiss cheese to taste
Cook macaroni, add sliced potatoes till tender.
Drain, add butter and cheese and mix till it’s melty and stringy.
Sprinkle with maggi