Everyday Systems

Should we start a recipe discussion? Perhaps Reinhard could even make it a "sticky" topic so that it would always be at the top. What do you think? I have a great recipe for beets that I found last week that, surprisingly, called fresh ginger - it was very tasty!

-Justin

I'm for it. Obviously the noSdiet doesn't require any special recipes, but it's not an entirely irrelevent subject. I'll make the thread sticky once we get a few posts (and I figure out how). So give us the beets to get started. Extra credit for coming up with recipes (like this) involving ingredients specifically mentioned on the home page.

Wonderful idea!!! I had posted a recipe for Red Beans and Rice on my daily check-in a few days ago, and was thinking of doing this regularly, just for fun. I would love a permanent place to talk about food!

OK, I'll post my recipe tonight. I have to wait until I get home. But I'll leave this posting as a placeholder for the beets!

2 days later...
I'm a bit late in getting this out, but I'll finally post the beets recipe. By the way, it's from the cookbook Perfect Vegetables. My favorite cookbook is The Best Recipe. I've never had a bad recipe from either of those books. As a note, the urls to amazon are through The NoSDiet site, so any purchases will help keep Reinhard's sites up! Without further delay, the beet recipe:

Roast 4 medium sized beets in oven - I wrapped them in aluminum foil and baked them for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. They'll ooze red juice, so be careful! Once they're roasted, peel and slice them. For the secret sauce:

- melt 4 tablespoons butter until it foams
- add 1 inch of fresh ginger that has been peeled and cut in to "matchsticks"

Cook this for about 4 or 5 minutes and then add a tablespoon of minced fresh chives. I actually didn't have chives on hand, but I had a shallot that I diced up and added in with the ginger.

Then just toss the sliced beets in the sauce mixture and season with salt and pepper. Very tasty! I was really surprised at how good the ginger and beet combination was.

A lot of times, the beets (fresh ones) come with beautiful greens. I ripped the greens up in to manageable pieces and then tossed them in to the ginger butter mixture and cooked them for a few minutes as well.

J

So where's the beets?

RECIPE: CRAB ROLLS

1 can crabmeat (I used tuna), drained
little mayo (I used lowfat)
1 can refrigerator biscuits (about 8 biscuits; I made homemade)

Mix the crabmeat with the mayo to moisten. Roll the entire can of biscuits out to a rectangle. Flatten it well. Spread the crab/mayo mix down the center, lengthwise. Roll up, like a jellyroll. Slice into about 8 pieces. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at about 400 F. (check the biscuit can for temp.) until browned.

Recipe: Southwest Corn

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 can whole kernel corn, drained (I used frozen)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jar (12 oz.) taco sauce

Brown meat and onion; drain. Add corn and taco sauce. Simmer 5 minutes.

From: The Four Ingredient Cookbooks by Linda Coffee and Emily Cale

I finally posted my beet recipe above. I don't have time tonight, but I'm going to also post a recipe for beer-can-chicken (affectionately called beer-butt chicken because of where the beer can goes. ) That's a simple recipe that tastes great and is simple. Basically, the beer steams the chicken from the inside while the grill traps the chicken juice with a high temperature grilling on the outside.

Anyone else ever do that recipe? I've only done it on a grill. I've heard stories of mixed success cooking it in the oven. I think the trick is to have your oven pretty high.

J

Justin's my neighbor, so I can vouch for the beer can chicken. Excellent stuff. My recipes tend to be more like points of inspiration than precise instructions, but I'll post something soon.

Hi Jan.

I got the Cassoulet recipe from my menu mailer (www.savingdinner.com) It is supposed to have ground beef but I substituted TVP. Here is the regular recipe:

3/4 pound extra lean ground beef 1 cup water
1 tps oregano 1/2 tps basil
2 cloves garlic, minced 1 med. celery stalk, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped 1 16 oz. can navy beans, drained
1 14 oz. can low sodium beef broth (or veggie)
1 14.5 can low sodium whole tomatoes, undrained
2 cups whole wheat pancake mix
2/3 cup lowfat milk 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp basil


Cook beef in a deep skillet or dutch oven till browned; drain well. Stir water, t tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. basil, the garlic, celery, onion, beans, broth and tomatoes into beef (or TVP), breaking up the tomatoes. Heat to boiling and reduce the heat. Now make the dumplings in a medium bowl, stiffing together pancake mix, milk and remaining spices until soft dough forms. Gently drop 12 spoonfuls of dough ON TOP of beef mixture (don't drop it directly into the liquid or the cassoulet will dry out). Cook, uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover and cook an additional 10 minutes.

That's it

This sounds wonderful! I suppose instead of beef or TVP, you could use red beans, or any kind of beans. I don't think I can get whole wheat pancake mix around here, but I have my own dumpling recipe that I often use. I really love to put dumplings on top of simmering veggies, beans, and even fruit.

In his daily checkin, Crasch asked for my lentil recipe, which I am posting here as well. This will fill you up incredibly. And it's so cheap, it's practically free.


Lentils -- My main recipe is sort of in my head:

Lentil soup

Saute over low heat in olive oil until translucent and tender, but not browned:
finely chopped celery
finely chopped onion
finely chopped carrots
minced garlic

Prepare red or green/brown lentils according to package, substituting chicken broth for about half of the water. Add a bay leaf and a teaspoon of dried thyme or oregano. When cooking is done, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls with a few drops of balsamic vinegar, or with a drizzle of yogurt thinned with cream or milk (keffir yogurt is the perfect consistency).

It's nice to butter some French bread and put it in the toaster oven to get hot and crusty along with the lentil soup. Save some of the pretty celery leaves to put as a garnish.

Red lentils are quicker-cooking and, to my mind, much more delicious than the green/brown kind.

super-easy chickpea salad

1 can chickpeas - drained
1 or 2 good-sized ripe tomato(es), diced
1/3 or so of a cucumber, diced small
1/3 or so of a red onion, diced small
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon or 1/3 lime
salt, pepper to taste

Mix everything in a small mixing bowl. Voila, you're done!

Serve alone cold as a main dish,
or as a side dish,
or stuff a pita with it and heat in a toaster oven.

Really tasty with a little drizzle of the drinkable type of plain yogurt (keffir).

As a sandwich or pita filling, it's nice to mash the chickpeas slightly so it holds together better; otherwise the chickpeas may tend to roll out of your pita!

A SUMMER TREAT FOR NO-S DAYS

Put a cup of coffee into a blender. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add several ice cubes. Whiz the daylights out of it, until it is frothy and cold.

I did not put any sugar into this and it was still very yummy.

Jan-Tz wrote:A SUMMER TREAT FOR NO-S DAYS

Put a cup of coffee into a blender. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add several ice cubes. Whiz the daylights out of it, until it is frothy and cold.

I did not put any sugar into this and it was still very yummy.

That sounds tasty! I'll try it tomorrow. I may even add a little milk. You could also make coffee ice-cubes so you don't weaken the coffee taste.

J

Coffee ice cubes are a great idea!

A few recipes that I love:

Creamy Asparagus & Broccoli Soup
Serves 2
Per serve:
Ingredients:
•1 tablespoon butter
•50g onion
•100g broccoli, chopped
•100g asparagus, chopped
•2 chicken stock cubes
•1/4 cup cream
•2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
Method:
1.Melt butter in a saucepan, add onion, broccoli and asparagus. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
2.Add crumbled stock cubes and 2 cups of water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3.Add cream and puree until smooth.
4.Serve sprinkled with chives.

Foil-Baked Fish with Lemon & Chilli
Serves 2
•50g baby spinach leaves
•2 x 200g fillets white fish (such as John Dory or snapper)
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•1 tablespoon lemon zest
•1 small red chill, finely sliced
•2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•salt and freshly cracked blacked pepper to taste
Method:
1.Preheat oven to 190°C.
2.Place half the spinach in the centre of a piece of foil.
3.Place a fillet of fish on top.
4.Pour ½ the lemon juice over the fish, top with ½ of the lemon zest and ½ of the chilli slices.
5.Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
6.Repeat for the other fish fillet.
7.Fold the edges of the foil completely around each fillet and place on a baking tray.
8.Bake for 10-12 minutes.
9.Open parcels and serve immediately.

Zucchini Carbonara
Serves 2
Ingredients:
•180g bacon, fat trimmed
•400g zucchini
•2 tablespoons butter
•2 eggs, beaten
•1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
•100g onion, finely diced
•salt & pepper to taste
Method:
1.Dice bacon and cook with the onion in a large frypan.
2.While the bacon and onion is cooking, prepare the zucchini by peeling it with a vegetable peeler to get long fat "fettuccini" strips.
3.Put the zucchini peelings into the pan with the bacon and onions, cook over medium heat until cooked al-dente.
4.Add the butter and toss it with the zucchini until it melts.
5.Take the pan off the stove.
6.Pour the beaten egg over the peelings and toss till coated.
7.Add the parmesan cheese. Toss well.
8.Grind some pepper over the top and serve hot.

Okay - time for another recipe. This one came from a friend of the family. It is unclear whether she invented it herself, or found it somewhere. She took that information to the grave, so it will remain forever in mystery. But anyway, here goes.

Chicken Pockets

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp milk
2 c cooked chicken
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp onions
Some chives
1/4 c celery
1/4 c chopped pecans
8 oz crescent rolls (aka Pillsbury)

Oven: 325 deg F

Steps:
Remove any skin/fat from chicken and chop or shred. Add all other ingredients (except crescent rolls) and mix.

On an ungreased cookie sheet, arrange crescent rolls in sets of two (they will be rectangular this way.) Smush together at the perforations so each pair is one unit. Spoon chicken mixture in the middle of crescent rolls, and pull together corners at the top and pinch together the sides. (They should look kind of like flat pyramids with a small ball on top.) Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Makes: 4 pockets. 1 to 2 pockets make for a decent main course of a meal.

Notes:
Sometimes you can end up with extra stuffing or extra crescent rolls, so adjust the number of rolls as necessary.

This recipe is easily modified. I have often left out the celery and added more onions or green onions. Also cayenne pepper instead of or in addition to the regular pepper spices things up a bit. I've also made these successfully with turkey. There is probably a way to make the dough for the pockets yourself instead of using pre-made crescent rolls, but have never tried this.

These are some GREAT sounding recipes (snazzybabe's weird measuring units notwithstanding ). I think I'll be firing up the printer soon.

SUGAR-FREE SYRUP FOR PANCAKES



1 cup fruit juice
2 tsp. cornstarch

Shake together. Cook and stir until bubbly and thickened. Store in fridge.

"ICE CREAM"

Non-dairy and sugar-free

Frozen ripe bananas (about 80% of the volume
Other frozen fruit, such as various berries, mango, etc.

The additional fruit doesn't have to be frozen, but about 80% of the total volume should be frozen.

Mix it all ina food processor. Serve immediately.

The ice cream is best when served immediately. If you re-freeze the ice cream, ice crystals will form.

Yum! That looks good
Love
Deb

Hello people!
I just bought some pork spare ribs and some bbq sauce.. I have no clue how to cook these! LOL....
My recipe book is not here in our new home... Anyone know the time and temperature necessary for cooking these without winding up getting some hideous food poisoning?
I'm guessing 45 minutes or so at 400 should do it, but I don't want to kill them either...
Okay, who likes to cook ribs?
LOL....
Love,
Deb

I just throw everything into the crockpot. Let 'em cook on low in the sauce all day. Won't heat up your kitchen either. I have BBQ Chicken in the crock for tonight's dinner.

Or, if you want to do them in the oven....

1) Place spareribs on a prepared broiler pan and bake at 350 F for 1.5 hours

2) Baste the spareribs on both sides with the sauce

3) Bake spareribs an additional 1.5 hours or until tender, basting generously every 15 - 20 minutes.

Good eats!

Hey Jan! Thanks so much for the quick reply! Are you serious though?
I have to cook these for three hours???
That seems strange...
I don't have a crock pot...
Hmmm... let me know if it really takes that long or did you mean just bake for 1 and a half hours basting every 15 minutes.. This seems more likely...
Awaiting your reply with eager anticipation!!!
Deb

Okay, seems two hours should do the trick, but some of the recipes I've just looked at say to cook them for up to 4 or 5, just at a lower temp, like 225 deg...
Ooh that bbq smells good already... now I just have to sit here smelling that for the next hour and 45 minutes!!!!
Torture!
Okay, soon I will baste again momentarilly.. Good thing today is an S day... That sauce is pure sugar! Ha ha! I feel my ass expanding just thinking about this meal! LOL...
Have a nice evening yalls!
Love,
Deb

I copied it straight out of a cookbook. Bake 1/5 hours, then continue baking and basting. The recipe called for 3 to 4 pound pork spareribs or country-style pork ribs, trimmed.

Let me know how they turned out, and how long they took to get tender.

The bbq chicken we had tonight was wonderful. I spooned some of the sauce over the nuked potato as well. Yums.

Crockpot Hamburger Stew:

2 pounds lean hamburger (or 1 pound if you want less meat)
8-10 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cans tomatoes, with juice (petite diced)


Crumble raw hamburger into bottom of crockpot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or season of your choice). Layer the rest of the vegetables in the order given. Pour the cans of tomatoes over the vegetables and spread out so they are covered. Place lid on crockpot. Cook on high for about 6 hours or until done. Halfway through cooking time, stir ingredients together, breaking up the hamburger on the bottom.

**Ok, you can customize this recipe to suit your own likes. Hate celery? You can leave it out if you want! The original recipe didn't even have carrots, but i added them because it makes it better. But don't leave out the tomatoes, they really make the dish (but you can pick your own flavor of tomatoes). I also cook mine on High on the crockpot, but the original recipe called for a low setting. I usually thicken it when it's done with a little flour and water paste. It makes it more gravy-like.

Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe, Tricia. On these hot summer days, the crockpot is my best friend! I will definitely make this.

Jan-Tz:
Let me know what you think about it! I also put a whole chicken in the crockpot, (after rubbing it with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning) and add a little water and Presto! It is basically inexpensive, and you can do a lot with the chicken. I cook it until it is falling off the bone (that way i know it is done! ) and then i add it to things like stir fry, make chicken pot pie, or just eat it plain! It is so easy. Sometimes i'll stuff a cut up lemon in the cavity and let it cook. Yummy!

I have never done a chicken like that -- I have always cooked in liquid of some sort -- but I saw that way of cooking a whole chicken in a cookbook I recently bought.

My two new acquisitions are:

Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly by Phyllis Pellman Good

and

Six Ingredients or Less Slow Cooker by Carlean Johnson

My goal is to not turn on the oven even once this summer! I don't even want to stand over the stovetop stirring anything. So the main dish goes into the crockpot, and the potatoes and veggies get nuked.

"Ah, Summertime, and the livin' is easy!"

Oh, I always add some liquid to the chicken, ususally water but you could use broth I guess.
I have been thinking of getting that book "Fix it and forget it", is it any good? I like recipes that are basically simple.

Yes, I like the book. It reminds me of a church fund-raising cookbook, since every recipe has a name and city/state attached to it. Same format as the other two Fix-it and Forget-it books. The recipes are simple to make, tasty, and don't have unaffordable or unobtainable ingredients in them.

Deb, regarding cooking ribs, they really are the best when cooked "low and slow" -- on a low temp for a long time. That will give you the tenderest meat, in my experience. My husband has his own special method that involves starting them in the oven at a "normal" temp (350 or something), then turning down to 225 and letting them go for at least another 2 hrs, and finally grilling them. They always fall off the bone when he makes them, so I trust his method. Just wanted to add my 2 cents.

So, Deb, how did those ribs turn out?

We go through quite a bit of salsa, esp in the summertime. Some with chips, but this is good on so many different things -- wraps, salads, stirfries, etc etc -- that I make it by the gallon. Well, not quite a gallon, but the gallon container is 5/6 full when I'm done.

The key to getting the "heat" of the salsa right is to use a variety of different kinds of peppers. If you, for example, put 6 scotch bonnets in, all the heat goes to the same area of your tongue and utterly scorches it. Better to have that same energy spread to more taste receptors in your mouth.

Ingredients

5 lbs fresh, ripe tomatoes, diced (for fresh salsa)
=or=
3 - 28oz cans diced tomatoes (for quick salsa)
3 onions, pref 1 red, 1 white, 1 yellow, diced
3 bell peppers, diced
1 12oz can tomato paste
2-4 leftover ears of corn, with the corn scraped off the cob

6-10 different kinds of peppers, stemmed
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 c. apple vinegar, red wine vinegar, or the vinegar of your choice
2 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP cumin

Preparation

1. Combine tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, corn, and tomato paste in a large stockpot. Mix well.

2. Add the vinegar to a blender or food processor. Add the chili powder and cumin. Begin to blend, and add each clove of garlic and each pepper individually. Blend until it is liquefied. Then, add the bunch of cilantro, and only run the machine until the cilantro is chopped. Pour the contents of the blender into the stockpot. Mix well.

3. Get a one-gallon container that you will only use for salsa; it will be irrevocably stained and scented for salsa. Put the salsa into the container and refrigerate overnight, allowing the flavors to mix.

4. The next morning, mix well and enjoy. Give lots away to friends. Eat it like cold soup. Whatever.

You can also add ingredients to this; for example, I've made nice pineapple salsas. A dash of liquid smoke makes it interesting. Get the base salsa down, then start experimenting.

Hey James!
Thank you so much for posting your killer recipe for Salsa!
Only a freakywitch could brew up something that looks that good!
I've wanted to know how to make salsa for so long... The only place that makes fresh salsa around here is a wonderful Tex Mex place called Pancho's Border Grill... I love to go there with Richard once in a while and the chips and salsa are the highlight, but the owner is a major Deadhead and always plays Grateful Dead... It's all decorated like New Mexico, and all the waiters are Mexican! LOL...
Anyway...they charge 7 dollars for a quart of fresh salsa... I haven't bought it because I always figured I could find some sort of more economical recipe which would yield more salsa...
One question... How long can the salsa keep? I would make a gallon of it, but I know my body wouldn't want to eat it every day on everything for a week, and it doesn't seem to make sense to only make a few cups if I'm going to all the bother... How do you store it? Can you "Can" it with mason jars???
Okay.. Thanks again.. it looks great! I don't think I'll go with the Habaneros though as I'm afraid after preparing it, I'll be putting in my contact lenses later on in the evening, forget about the peppers, and wind up in the emergency room! LOL I read somewhere that habaneros are about thirty times as hot as jalapenos... I'm sure a little would go a long way!
And Heya mama Jammin Jan! Sorry I took so long to write back... The ribs were really great, but definitely an S since I ate that sauce by the cup full.. Next time I'll find a smaller, covered pan, perhaps one of those medium corningware deals with a top... I baked them in the wrong type of pan (since it was the only one I had!) and since it was too much surface area for only a lb of ribs, the sauce dripped off and burned on the pan, instead of just simmering... I like your Crock pot idea.. I think I'll be buying one of those real soon.. That probably would help me save a lot of money on gas, and food, since I could cook and have leftovers... I was surprised at how filling the ribs were.. I was really full after two of them.. Probably won't make them often though.. Seemed really really fatty!!!

Love and Peace and Spare Rib Grease!
Deb

Hi Deb, the salsa will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, but it definitely will eventually go bad. It ferments, actually. yuck.

I got a plastic, one-gallon container that I use only for salsa. I give away a lot of it, but somehow it always ends up getting eaten within a week or so.... what you may want to do is find a friend who wants some, split the cost of the ingredients, make it together, and each take half of it home. For this recipe you need to make the quantity listed or the ratios of ingredients won't be right. Bottom line, you need 6-10 different peppers, and enough tomatoes to make that right.

I think you probably could can it, but you'd have to heat it at that point, and this salsa is uncooked. It'd be interesting to try it, though...

Thanks man! I think I'll stick with the uncooked version as that is probably more digestable and yummy!
Okay gotta run and salute the Sun!
Seeyalata
Love,
Deb

Well Sibyl's salad post got me thinking of lunch now...
I'm gonna make some verrry weird salad now!
Not as good as Freakwitch's salsa, but okay I have some in the fridge so I'll just witch-doctor it up!
I have a very over ripe peach, and some crushed pineapple... My salad is going to be Salsa with those blended into it, poured over fresh crunchy celery sticks, and maybe a handful of tortilla chips for the heck of it... Just a handful mind you...
This should fit beautifully onto a plate!
For protein, I will have a tablespoon or so of peanut butter on one or two celery sticks! That is really delicious!!!
Ha!
Love and Salsa Salad,
Deb

Another thing you can do to control the heat is to seed the peppers before you dump them into the blender. Be very very careful if you do this though; the hotness can get onto your skin and cling stubbornly. I usually just chop of the stem and toss the whole pepper in.

Ok, here are my 1st prize winning cookie bars! Be sure to make these on a Friday night, cause once you start eating them, you won't stop until they're gone!

Magic Cookie Bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup peanut butter flavored chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass dish). In 13x9 inch pan, melt butter in oven.
2. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter; pour sweetened condensed milk over crumbs. Top with remaining ingredients in order listed, ending with the nuts. Press down firmly with a fork (i just use my palms).
3. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature.


These are really good and can be played with little bit. The original recipe called for butterscotch chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips, but i used peanut butter chips. you can change the flavors around with what you like. Be sure to enjoy these on an S day, as they are addictive!!

My wife makes a variation ofthose. She does the butter scotch and the semis sweet, but substitutes the graham crackers with a brownie layer, and her nuts are walnuts.

Prodigalsun wrote:My wife makes a variation ofthose. She does the butter scotch and the semis sweet, but substitutes the graham crackers with a brownie layer, and her nuts are walnuts.

Mmmm.... almost an S-day! I'll make something 'S'pecial this weekend.

Speaking of food, have any of you made dilly beans before? I made some a few days ago. It was my first canning experience. In two weeks, I should have tasty dilly beans. I can't wait!

J

What are dilly beans? Do you eat them hot for dinner, or as a relish on the side?

Ditto... never heard of them. Do tell!

They're like pickles, except instead of cucumbers they're green beans! Also, okra is tasty this way too. Basically, you just make a brine with water, vinegar and salt then can beans, dill, garlic and a hot pepper if you want. I'll let you know how they turn out.

J