P'let's Instant Pot and Cooking Adventures

 So, I was in the mood for beer bread, so I made some. My recipe is 3 cups of self rising flour, 3 Tbsp of sugar, 12oz beer, and butter to brush on top.   Mix the flour and sugar, then add the beer.  Pour/plop into pan(s).  Bake at 350 for enough time to get the internal temp to at least 200.  Probably 40-60 minutes, depending on pan(s).  Brush with melted butter. Then, since I had the self rising flour out, I thought, hmmm.  maybe I should try that ice cream bread? 1 1/2 cups self rising flour mixed with 2 cups (1 pint) of ice cream.  Bake until interior temp is 200, again.  40-50ish minutes.  Go by temp, not time.   I have already had a chunk of the beer bread.  Ice cream bread is in the oven.  I used huckleberry ice cream  Because why not? Give quick breads a try.  They are very nice.

 Hi ALL! been a while, I know. I cooked today!  Which is Paulette speak for making something without actually measuring. So for today's fun, I used: approx 1 tsp sesame oil approx 1/4 cup sun butter approx 1-2 tsp soy sauce approx 1 TBS chopped pickled ginger approx 1/2 tsp mince garlic (I used the jar stuff, cuz I like it) A little sugar, since the sunbutter isn't the same kind of sweet as peanunt butter grind of pepper/salt 4 chopped chicken thighs sprinkle of corn starch vegetable oil for frying I started, of course, by looking up a recipe.  Since I've never made peanut chicken.   Found one that looked promising.  Tore apart the pantry looking for hoisin sauce, which I didn't have.  So I said forget that (not really, I was coarser).  And went with just soy sauce.  Since I didn't have teriyaki sauce either.  sigh.   I chopped up the 4 chicken thighs, and set them aside.  I put the sesame oil into a bowl, then added the s...

  I really, really like the air fryer part of the new toaster oven John got. It had a recipe book (of course) and one of the recipes is for 'fry sauce'. It goes with the potato wedges recipe. I modified it a bit, and it's YUMMY! two-ish TBSP of mayo one-ish TBSP of ketchup dash of garlic powder dash of salt and pepper dash of chipotle powder. Theirs had paprika instead of chipotle, pickle juice, and mustard. I don't have those down here, yet. So... I skipped them.

 So, I made this 'sloppy' bread.  Very good.  Excellent with chili. 3 eggs, whisked well. Add 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix. Mix in well. Add one 15oz can of sloppy joe sauce. Mix that in. Pour into a 9x13 pan, and bake for 20-25 minute in a 375 degree oven. Standard test with toothpick.

 So, I made beer bread the other day.   So good. Here's the link to the recipe I used, which I will paraphrase incase the site goes down.  https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a96246/beer-bread/ Basically: Preheat oven to 350 Grease a 9x5 loaf pan 3 cups Self-rising Flour 3 Tbsp sugar 1 12oz room temperature beer 4 Tbsp melted butter Mix the flour and sugar together, then add the beer. It will foam up, just keep mixing until it's all incorporated. Put the batter into the pan, and bake for 50-60 minutes (until an instant read thermometer reads 190 or a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean) Remove the bread from the pan, onto a cooling rack over a pan with a lip. Pour the melted butter over the top and brush the sides. Let rest for 15 minutes and serve.  The Schell's Oatmeal Stout was on the top of the variety pack I bought for the bread.  So, that's why I used that one.  The other options will get used, eventually.

 I discovered this method for Thanksgiving. Dad had two servings, and he's NOTORIOUS for disliking chicken. It's SUPER easy, with an instant pot.   Literally dump a package of frozen chicken thighs into the instant pot.   Add a bottle of marinade/dressing.  I'm currently loving the Caribbean Jerk from Walmart.   Set it to pressure cook for 12 minutes.  That's it.  Seriously.  You can let that sit on 'warm' for hours, or serve after it depressures.   This is melt in your mouth delicious.  

  Honestly, can someone tell me if sleeping heart rate of 80+ is bad? Doctor thinks it's ok-ish. Since I'm not short of breath. Seriously, should this be looked into? It's not an emergency, obviously, since my heart rate has been like this since my accident in '16. John did some quick google-ing. It might be a symptom of my chronic mild dehydration. I HATE water. I also can't stand the flavor of fake sugars. I'm doing better. Looking at my fitindex history, I'm doing better, but should be more, apparently. I've been drinking my water. UGH. Down to 100ish after my exercise, again . On the plus side, I'm down to 173.8 at my last weigh in. The fitindex scale has a lot of information, if you know what you're looking at. I like it. It shows me being at 41.8% "body water". according to the app, 45% is 'normal'. And it also shows that I've consistently been low there. Protein is also low. 13.4%, with a standard from 1...

 So! I made jalapeno poppers about a week ago.  I used a recipe from Betty Crocker.  Well, I based it on the recipe.  It's called "Olive Balls Recipe"  https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/olive-balls/a6358011-ee76-4ac2-a0eb-35ba9f450f60 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces) 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 cup Original Bisquick™ mix I also added two finely diced jalapenos.   Heat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together cheese, butter, and W sauce.  Mix in baking mix (I actually used Jiffy baking mix, not bisquick) Mix in jalapenos. Spoon about a TBS of mix and roll into a ball.   Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, about an inch apart   I used parchment to line, because I like it. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. I also made 'poppers'.  I rolled little balls of cream cheese, and wrapped the dough around them.  This is next level delicious, and I highly suggest doing i...

 Today, pulled pork again. I do seem to have a small issue with flavor.   My seasoning doesn't have much effect on the flavor of the meat. It does flavor the water, but not the meat so much.  John has suggested adding something like an au jus or onion soup packet to the water.  I think that's a good idea.   But since I'm starting with GOOD meat, it's a great blank slate. (Small brag, the grocery store I work at has the BEST meat department - if you happen to be in Pipestone, MN; stop at Hank's)

Got the little pumpkin cut into chunks.  I'll be roasting the chunks, then pureeing it.  

I think I've done the potato wedges here before, but again, just cut one or two potatoes into wedges, toss in oil and seasoning of your choice, and air fry for 20ish minutes. I did the beef in the crock pot, with a good amount of the McCormick "Mesquite" seasoning.  Covered with water,  and cooked on medium for 6 hours.  I think it could have gone longer, but I wanted enough time to have some for lunch, so went with that.  I had about 3lbs beef.  It was on sale at work for 3.99 per pound.  I don't think beef shreds as well as pork.  So that's a thing.   I  put the beef on top of the potatoes, with a bit of shredded cheese on top.  I'm stuffed.  

 So, MANY years ago, when dad was stationed in Misawa Japan, we'd go out to eat sometimes at a restaurant called "Old Miyaki". So many great dishes.  I'm not sure how mom wound up with the recipes, but they gave some of their recipes to her.   I'm going to start with "Corn Soup", which we always called 'chicken corn soup'.  Such a good soup.   I'm super looking forward to making it.   This seems to be the store front, but I don't know for sure.  I was only single digits at the time (6-8).

 I'm gonna try this idea out tomorrow morning.  I'll post pics after I make it. I think I'll make a very small batch.  Probably like a quarter cup of sausage, enough flour to coat properly, and a cup of cream.  It's experimental cooking... no recipe.  Just list of ingredients to try.   We'll see.  :D Chorizo gravy SO... yeah. That's a thing.  I'm putting this bit of delicious on a potato. The cream cuts the heat a HUGE amount.  It bites back, but it's a nibble.  So good.  try this out! Also, tiny pan is small.  Not a huge amount of this in my experiment.

 As promised, here's the 'recipe' for the dish. I say recipe, meh.  More of a directions and a ingredient suggestion. Start with pasta of your choice.  I wanted little shells, so that's what I used. Cook until done to your taste. Add cream.  I used a pint.  You can use more or less.   Add parmesan cheese.  I used one of those little triangle blocks of the cheese.  Again, you do you, and use what makes your heart happy.   Season to taste.  I used a can of chicken, several generous sprinkles of garlic powder, some salt, and some pepper.  I also added some of that diced garlic that comes in the jar.  (I did this in Jordan, so didn't have the equipment, or inclination, to make a garlic paste, but that will happen in the future.   I didn't measure ANYTHING.  (I hope you're proud of me, bro... no measurements or set ingredients)  :)

 So, just realized it had been a bit.  :) I made chocolate frosting roses to go on a cake for a friend's birthday.  Proportions for the frosting are 1 pound sugar, 1/2 cup shortening, 1/4 cup liquid.  On mum's recommendations, I used 1/4 cup cocoa to flavor it.  I did wind up tweaking it a bit for consistency.  But humidity plays a role in that.

 Last night I started a new to me adventure.   I'm making 'fermented' foods.  :)  Started with sauerkraut.   That's the product, maturing in a dark place.   Started with cabbage and salt. Slice it finely.  And tossed salt in after every quarter of the cabbage.  Then squished it with a mallet to 'make it juicy'.   I got a fermentation kit at Bomgaars the other day.  It had the squisher "pickle press", glass weights "pickle pebbles", and silicone vents to release carbon dioxide "pickle pipes".  This is the lid to the box I got.  It has a couple super simple recipes in the book that comes along.   I'm kinda impatient, so I already want to see how it's doing, BUT... time is important.  It takes time to ferment.   I'll do "Sauerkraut - the unboxing" when it's ready.  :D

 So, I've mentioned making scones several times on my facebook page.   Unless I feel like doing all the work that traditional scones take, I make this recipe: _________________________________________________________________________ Cream Scones Oven at 450°F Ungreased cookie sheet 1 ¾ cups      All purpose flour 2 ¼ tsp         baking powder 1 TBSP         sugar ½ tsp            salt 1 ¼ cups      heavy cream Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add any mix-ins now. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour in the heavy cream. Combine with a few swift strokes. Handle the dough as little as possible. Turn on to a lightly floured board. Pat to ¾ inch thick. To make the classic wedge shape, pat into 8” round shape and then cut into 8 – 12 wedges. Place on a cookie sheet, brush with heavy cream or egg, and sprinkle with salt or sugar. Bake until golden b...

 So. Grilling. I love doing it.   I want to get a new grill for the house here.   I just don't know which kind I want. I do know I don't want a pellet grill.  I see no reason to have to plug my grill in.  I do eventually want to get a smoker, and I think I want a pellet one of those.  But that will be a separate machine.   Pros for pure charcoal/propane: I don't have to decide which fuel I am going to use.  It would be just the one option. Cooking surface is/can be larger than the combo.   Pros for propane: Very easy to use Fast to heat leaves no/little flavor in the food Pros for charcoal: Fuel is relatively cheap Food flavor is nice, if you like the smoke flavor Pros for combo grill: Can choose which fuel source Cons are basically the flip John is suggesting adding a 'box' with wood pellets in a propane grill.  So I could get some flavor from that.   I really like charcoal, but I don't know why.  Just...

 Yum. So, I made onion gravy.  I did it like a cook, not a baker, though... Diced half an onion, sauteed them in butter.  Then added more butter.  Maybe 2-3 TBSP. I then added enough flour to make a nice roux.  Maybe a quarter cup-ish. I used beef broth as my liquid for the gravy.  Again, just until I got the texture I wanted.  I used most of the box, but didn't measure.  I also used a dash of a mix of onion/garlic/salt/pepper that I like to keep on hand.  Basically equal parts of the four: granulated garlic, minced onion, freshly ground pepper, and Himalayan sea salt.   Cook until it's gravy.  Sorry... I didn't measure ANYTHING. I also cut into small bits 3 hamburgers, and cooked those.   I air fried tater tots and french fries.  Tots for John, fries for me. Then, I spread the potatoes out on the plate, added the hamburger bits (roughly 3/4" squares) then covered in the gravy.  (Oh, so good is that gravy) T...

I got some plain greek yogurt.  Looks like it's the same as regular yogurt, but with more whey squeezed out of it.  So it should work.  It's incubating right now.   Dinner, though.  That's done and delicious.   I browned up some ground beef, added a diced up tomato, and sauteed onions and diced those and add them.  Then used some of this odd looking, but delicious, tomato bouillon.  Salt and pepper.  If I make it again, and I think I shall, I'll leave THAT salt out.  I also made my normal potato wedges with the Fleet Farm rotisserie chicken seasoning and olive oil.  John suggested that I write the recipe down.  Um... no measurements used.  I cooked.  ;)