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Napa Cabbage meets Soljanka

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Soljanka is one of my go to soups. It is fast and easy to prepare.  At the grocery store I picked up some ground turkey and Napa cabbage. I want make filled cabbage rolls. Time to mix things up a bit 8 leaves of Napa cabbage, chopped into bite size pieces 1 pack of Eckrich Turkey sausage, sliced 1 medium onion, chopped 2 slices of bacon, sliced into small pieces 1 can of dices tomatos 1 can of whole corn kernels 1 can of red kidney bones rinsed tomato juice (1 can use one of the empty cans to measure) V8 hot and spicy tomato juice (1 can) 2 cups of water 1.5 tsp veggie Bouillon paste 2 tbsp of veggie oil 1 cup of chopped Famous Daves pickles 1/2 cup of Famous Daves pickling liquid 1 tsp of Chili from a can In a stock pot add the olive oil and add the bacon. Let the bacon get translucent. Add the onions and let them get translucent. Then add the sausage and let it get some color. Add all the remaining things and bring them to a boil Turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 mi...

Lentil Stew with Wiener (Version 12)

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I love lentils. It is time to have  another variation. We need 2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces (leave out for a vegetarian version) 1 cup of brown lentils, washed and picked through 1 cup of brussel sprouts, cleaned and cut in half 1/2 cup of Celery 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into equal size slices 1 medium onion chopped 2 tbsp of olive oil (use 3 tbsp if no bacon is used) 1 cup of mushrooms sliced 1 pack of Wieners (leave out for the vegetarian version 1 cup of cooked potatoes (left overs from yesterday is just fine) 5 cups of water 4 tsp of Knorr Tomato bullion 1.5 tsp of ground all spice 3/4 tsp of dried thyme 4 bay leaves I get my lentils at Indian grocery stores. They usually cook in 30 minutes without soaking. In a Dutch Oven, render the fat and add the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots and Celery, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the Brussel sprouts, lentils, water, Tomato bullion and the spices. Cover and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it s...

Pork Loin with Parsley, Garlic and Cooked Ham

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I have a box of sliced lunch ham. Other than for sandwiches I decided to come up with a different solution to finish this up. My fridge also had some parsley, that needed to be used.  Here we go:  1lbs of pork loin parsley a generous portion of lunch ham 6 medium garlic cloves sliced Butterfly the loin in the middle. Spice with Allspice, cover the cut with the ham, add the garlic and the parsley. Flip over  one wing and bind it with butcher twine. In a Dutch Oven melt 2 tbsp of margarine, add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Sear the meat from all sides. This is in the middle of the process. When all si seared, add  3-4 bay leaves 1/2 tsp of dried thyme 1 tsp of ground all spice 1/2 cup of dried shitake mushrooms 2 cups of water Cook till done, Done depends on you, A thermometer can determine when you want to turn off the heat. Mine turned out to be to dry.  The taste was still great. - Mahlzeit P.S. I have to review cooking times.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich Cake

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I saw a picture on Facebook with a savory cake. There were eggs, herbs, cream cheese, salmon, cucumbers to see. One just has to have ideas. This is what I came up with: From left to right Top row: Filling 1 (smoked salmon, fresh dill, very little salt, mayo, all mixed), store bought tzaztiki, hard boild eggs, thinly sliced cucumber skin on, in the boal are capers Row 2: fresh fill chopped, Filling 2 = egg salad (hard boilded eggs, salt, pepper, not more than 1tsp of finely chopped white onions, mayo, all mixed), 2 slices of smoked salmon, 2 slices of smoked salmon rolled up Bottom right: 4 slices of toast, the top removed. The curb is hard to deal with. Note, I had plenty of left over of all the fillings and the chopped fresh dill Assembly: 1 slice of toast, covered with the salmon filling 1, spread to the border, It makes the finish easier 1 slice of toast, covered with the egg salad filling 2, spread to the border 1 slice of toast, the 2 slices of smoked salmon, cut to size, left ove...

Beef Layer Cake

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On Facebook I saw a picture that showed layers of beef with filling in between. I was not sure, if that was a joke or not. It intrigued me. I decided to invent something like that. For the beef layers: thinly sliced beef chuck not (not more then 3 mm thick) 1/2 slice of bacon per beef slice sliced onions mustard salt and pepper tooth picks for skewers Lay out the beef slices, salt and pepper them and drizzle some mustard over it on all of them but 2. Those 2 will become the top layer. I used Dion, but any mustard will do. Add the half slice of back on it and sprinkle some beef slices. Add the next layer on top of it.  I had an uneven number of slices, so my layers were 3 and 4. Tuck them together on the long side with the tooth picks for the skewers. In a Dutch Oven melt 2 tbsp of margarine. Add the 2 packets of beef and sear from both sides to get some color. Then add  2 cups of water 1 tsp of ground all spice 2 bay leaves 1 tsp of thyme slices of 1 medium onion 15 slices of ...

Pork Shoulder Roast

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The original recipe is  here  . I changed it a bit.  I used 2 lbs pork shoulder with bone in, in 1 piece 2 big onions, coarsly chopped 1.5 tsp of ground piment 14 cloves  10 bay leaves 1 cup lager or pilsner beer 35 black pepper corns, lightly crushed 2 tbsp margerine 2 clove of garlic, cut in half 1 cup of buttermilk water Wash the meat and pad dry slightly. Generously salt and pepper from all sides and set aside. In a Dutch Oven melt the margarine, add the onions and let them get translucent. Move the onions to the side and add the meat. Sear from all sides. Deglaze with the beer and let it cook for a few minutes. Turn on the oven to 350F. Add 1 cup of water and all the spices to the DO, cover and let it simmer. When the oven is on temperature, uncover the DO, add some more water and put it uncovered into the oven. Let it roast for 1.5h with convection on. Check every 15-20 minutes to make sure that there is enough liquid in the pot. Pour some of the liquid over th...

Pork Loins 2 Ways

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I had a couple of pork loins in the freezer, that I wanted to use. I really only wanted to use 1 of them. They were packed separate, but connected. Unfortunately the seal between them didnt seal properly. So I had to defrost both of them. First I thought, I have not used the smoker in a long time, but it was rain in the forecast for all Friday. Ok, regroup, and I made them on the stove/oven. Friday morning they were defrosted, One of the loins was pretty flat, so I just butterflied it. A have a salt free Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning. This went very generously inside as well as a large clove of garlic slices on both parts of the butterfly with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. After flipping over the other the other side, I used some butcher twine to bind it. Set aside. The second loin was more round. I cut it so it would end up like a flat piece of meat. of course it was not perfect. I will roll it back together at the end. Once laid out flat, some salt and pepper, not to much. ...