Say Cheese....

I've decided that any pasta can be greatly improved by the addition of "Baked" at the beginning... which means "smothered with cheese and heat applied until melty".  The other day was "Baked Mostaccioli". Today is "Chicken Tuna Casserole" - err, "BAKED Chicken Tuna Casserole". It's made with chicken... no tuna... but the premise is the same: Cheap. Filling. Miscreants will eat.

Cheese makes everything better. Cheese enhances... many songs were actually written about cheese... producers had them change them because love songs sell better than dairy based. Hmph. I'm sure these are valid examples before the re-writes:

Hit Me With Your Best Cheese
The Woman in Me (Needs the Cheese in You)
Sweet Dreams (are made of cheese)
Pride (in the name of cheese)

The other day, I cooked up extra ingredients to make a few dinners faster/easier. Including pre-cooking some pasta.

I started by pulling the pre-cooked pasta and some chicken quarters from the freezer. Left the pasta to thaw on the counter.

Next, I put 3 chicken quarters (on sale for $1.73) into my pressure cooker. Could do this in crockpot for 3 hours on low, letting it simmer on warm til closer to dinner time. Added 2 C of water and then I set the pressure cooker for 15 minutes, walked away to continue my work from home activities. (Could use crockpot for 3-4 hours, or on the stovetop, 2-3 c of water added for an hour or so).

I left the chicken in the cooker, on warm for a few hours. I gently removed meat from bones with a couple of forks.

Added back into cooker.

Added 1/2 c sour cream, 1 can cream of celery, and partial bag of frozen peas and carrots. 

 Once mixed, I stirred in the now thawed pasta.

 Poured into a baking dish.... wait for it....say it...

CHEESE!!!

That's right... smother that casserole with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 mins- til melty and browned. I'm also baking a loaf of "cheesecake factory-esque brown bread" at the same time. I also cut up a couple bunches of broccoli, microwaved for 6 mins, then added CHEESE.

 Baked Tuna Chicken Casserole... Baked=Cheese

Change it up Before Chicken Turns to Pina Coladas

I was tired of my lady, we'd been together too long.

Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.

So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed.

And in the personals column, there was this letter I read:

So we eat a lot of chicken. I have several "got to" chicken dishes... but sometimes you just get a little bored of the same 'ol same ol'. I had intended to grill something with some Asian flavor, but after supporting a project until 3am and being awakened by the kids before 7:30 to enjoy a migraine, my gusto was gone-o. It was reported that I was kinda cranky. I emphatically deny this allegation.

Comfort food without a lot of effort... which, really, I think many comfort foods are slow cooked and largely unattended. Chicken and dumplings, beef stew, pot roast, a variety of other soups and what not. Maybe that's what makes those dishes seem comforting... it being "cooked all day" makes it a food of love.

I didn't think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean.

But me and my old lady, had fallen into the same old dull routine.

So I wrote to the paper, took out a personal ad.

And though I'm nobody's poet, I thought it wasn't half-bad.

"I'm not much into health food, I am into champagne.

I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon, and cut through all this red tape.

At a bar called O'Malley's, where we'll plan our escape."

Grabbed my list of potential meals, scanned for something different and crockpotable. Is that a word? Probably not... too tired today to either look it up or think of something else. 

Scanned the ingredient list and piled on the counter.

Chopped an onion and a few cloves of garlic - sauteed in pressure cooker. You could do this using a skillet and then a crockpot set for 4 hours on high, leaving it on "warm" setting for another 3-4 hours. 

Browned the chicken and removed from cooker.

Added the rest of the wet ingredients, minus the sour cream, and stirred. 
1 can tomato paste
1 C chicken broth
1/2 C white wine (recipe said dry, I like something a tad sweeter)
1.5 TBSP Paprika 
1/4 tsp pepper

Then added chicken back in, coating the pieces. Set cooker for 22 minutes on High.

Put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles.

Once cooked, removed chicken thighs and set aside.

  Added the 1 C sour cream and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Stirred smooth with a whisk.

Put the chicken back in to stay warm until ready for dinner.

So I waited with high hopes, then she walked in the place.

I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face.

It was my own lovely lady, and she said, "Oh, it's you."

And we laughed for a moment, and I said, "I never knew"

Chicken Paprikash - the best of what's old and what's new. 

Lookin' for some hot stuff baby this evenin'

It's new recipe night...not sure I'm up for it, but I did thaw the meat. Pulling out a cookbook that helped me make my meal plan:

Looks simple enough... and didn't require any "odd" ingredients! Good thing too... it's Friday night, been another Loooong week and I've been up since 5:30 (after going to bed at 2am lol), and I am just beat.

She works hard for the money...
So hard for it honey
She works hard for the money so you'd better treat her right...

I had to convince myself, a little, that this meal was the same amount of as effort vs cost of "out" food. Yes, I am that pathetic on low sleep. I pulled out some stew beef, @3.5lbs.

 Sliced up half an onion and tossed in pressure cooker with the beef.

 Added:
1 C water
1 C apple cider vinegar
1/4 Splenda (or sugar)
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger
1 TBSP Bavarian seasoning

Set pressure cooker for 60 minutes on high. (Could use crockpot, 4 hours on high, few hours on warm).

While meat was cooking, nuked some rice... the usual deal
1.5 C long grain rice
3.5 C water
5 mins on 100% power
15 mins on 50% power

 Got anxious when the timer got to zero, popped the "vent" button... hot stuff! I had to wipe my ceiling!

The house was FILLED with an awesome aroma!! Beefy, tart apple cider vinegar, and the Bavarian spices... kids were gnawing at the bit - WHEN IS DINNER, MOM???

Dinner is now:

Sauerbraten is going to make the dinner rotation list...  oops- did forget to add the sour cream after cooking... didn't miss it! Maybe we'll try that next time!

The Science of Dinner

I can hear machinery

"Blinding me with science - science!"

This meal took a little more effort, but by effort, I mean 10-15 minutes of prep time... so it's not like I was curing the heartbreak of psoriasis or anything...

Pulled a package of cubesteaks from freezer and let thaw:

 To a bowl of flour, I added onion powder and seasonings, then dredged the steaks in the mixture

 And browned in the pressure cooker. (Could do this in skillet and then cook in crockpot for 3 hours on low).

Once all browned, put all steaks in and added 1 C broth and set on high for 20 mins. Think about it... 20 minutes for tender cubesteaks... a rather boring, tough cut of meat. 6 steaks for just over $7. Cheap cuts of meat typically require longer cooking times to "tender them up". Pressure cooking is pure science...

While the meat was cooking, I fixed a couple of side dishes. Green beans, 4 strips bacon cut up, and onion powder:

 Frozen mashed potato mix. Had to use this as I didn't get my potatoes prepped and used before they got icky- I had also stored them in the garage... bad idea this time of year. Oh well, moving on...

Once the meat was done, I removed the steaks.

As deep as any ocean

As sweet as any harmony

Mmm - but she blinded me with science

 There was some drippings in pan, but not enough for gravy. I poured in some pre-made gravy and brought mixture to a boil. It stayed thick and the extra drippings enhanced the store bought gravy a tad.

The elements in harmony

She blinded me with science

"She blinded me with science!"

And hit me with technology