Yorkshire Pudding (Sous Vide Bone-in Rib Roast)

Yorkshire Pudding. I have made these before. I haven't updated though that I love the combination of both ghee and drippings the most in these. They are so flavorful and I wouldn't make them any other way. You can, however, use either or as far as ghee and fat drippings. But both make such a great combination. 

I am also including my sous vide method for a bone-in rib roast (Prime Rib depending on the grade you have purchased.) It really is a foolproof method to cook the roast to get it cooked to your likeness all the way through.

New England Boiled Dinner (Corned Beef)

New England Boiled Dinner

It used to be that I was the only one around here that liked Corned beef, then my oldest liked it. Now There are three of us here who like it. My oldest, my middle, and myself. My youngest likes the veggies and will eat those very happily. I stocked up on Corned beef because it was a great price and I have never made one myself from just a beef brisket. I keep saying I'm going to and I never get around to it. Maybe next year. The best part about a New England Boiled dinner is of course leftovers! It's delicious the night of, with tender veggies nom nom. But sandwiches the next day... or everything chopped up and heated in a skillet and topped with a fried egg. That is why I like to make extra, or have extra on hand!
I discovered that cooking this in and electric pressure cooker is the way to go. It's perfect because I can cook the beef from frozen or thawed in just a little over and hour. After that the vegetables take about 7-10 minutes depending on how big you cut them. I think that's my favorite part. I used to cook everything on the crock pot/ slow cooker. The problem with that is the whole house smells like corned beef. Great for the people who like it, not so much for the people who don't. Then you had to put the vegetables in and time it. There's no need to check the beef an hour out and add vegetables with the pressure cooker.

Sesame Ginger Salad and Kabobs

Whole 30 Sesame Ginger Skewers.

This meal is pretty quick to put together. The marinade doubles as a salad dressing that we just love. Because this is a Whole 30 complaint meal there is no soy, dairy, gluten, grains, or processed sugar. I promise you won't even miss them! My oldest kids and I have this favorite Korean BBQ place that we used to go to before I started Whole 30. They have this salad that is so good, it's light but flavorful. We ask for 3 bowls to share each time we go! Each bowl has a few servings. One day I was making this marinade and my oldest child walked by and goes "Mom, what is that smell! It smells like my favorite salad from the Korean place!" So I asked her to taste it and she said it's even better because the ginger has a kick. The restaurant doesn't use ginger. She asked me to not use all of it for a marinade so she could have it over salad. That is how this Sesame Ginger Salad came about.

BLT Salad With Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

I love when the weather gets warmer, I tend to crave crisp lettuce greens and fresh vegetables more. I call it salad weather. I'll eat salads in the winter, I just crave them less when it's cold out. This BLT salad is simple and the vinaigrette can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator.  The whole salad is a great for meal prep, keep all the vegetables washed and ready, the bacon can be made ahead of time, the steak is optional but it can also be made ahead.

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

Here is a quick Whole30 Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs for you. I find the easiest way to cook the spaghetti squash is in the Instant Pot. It can be cooked ahead of time and heated in the oven while the meatballs cook in the sauce. I prep the meatballs ahead of time also, they can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days or put in the freezer. I have not baked the meatballs from frozen, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You would have to adjust the time and add a little water to the sauce so it doesn't burn or dry out.
This was a big hit with my family. Everyone loved the meatballs. They aren't as tender as meatballs that have a bread crumb in them to me, but no one in my family said a word about it. My youngest isn't the biggest fan of spaghetti squash though. The meatballs would work with zucchini noodles also.

Fusion Seen Dat (Lao BBQ)

This isn't a true Lao Seen Dat, the marinades and sauces I developed from flavors we enjoy. It's more a fusion I guess. But Seen in Lao is "meat", Dat means to sear. This method is used to cook meats to wrap in lettuce or rice paper wraps. It's so yummy.

Spicy Sausage Seasoning

Gluten Free Spicy Sausage Patties

Gearing up for another attempt at Whole30 maybe Paleo for this May. Eek. So that means some meal prep. You may think I am constantly eating three square meals a day, but really I sometimes forget about lunch and breakfast during the week. I don't get around it eating sometimes, and I know that's horrible for me. I usually get tired, or end up eating a billion calories late at night. This time around I am going to try to prep some (more) meals ahead of time and see if it helps me be more successful.

Seafood Stock

Instant Pot seafood stock.

Here's a an easy seafood stock to make whenever the stock bags in your freezer get full. You have stock bags right? Labeled seafood, beef, chicken, veggie... pork? If not start some. Put vegetable scraps, stems of cilantro and parsley in them. Chicken bones, beef bones. Once full, pull them out and make a stock.
Things I don't put in there

organ meats

broccoli

cauliflower

potatoes

onion skins

asparagus

peppers

cabbage

There's probably more, but I can't think of any right now.

Lao Bitter Melon Soup

Bitter Melon Soup

 Bitter melon, or bitter gourd. As a child I didn't like eating it at all. So bitter. But there's something about this flavor. It's not just bitter, it's ... complex. A word I'm using because it's just hard to describe. Like I said, as a child I didn't appreciate this at all. My mom would always say "it's medicinal!" She was really ahead of her time, now you can find this stuff in capsules! We were drinking Aloe Vera tea, artichoke tea, choking down two tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar before it was hipster. Sigh. Maybe that's why I'm built like an ox. *snort*

Roasted Stuffed Bell Peppers

Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers

There are some meals around here that I only make once in a blue moon. One of those is stuffed bell peppers. Besides me, there's only one other person here that likes them. How sad is that? They are so yummy. It's just one of those recipes I don't make often because when I do, I make two meals. Which is something I rarely do, who has time for that? The good thing is I can make a double batch
The original recipe I was given for these uses minute rice. I never have this on hand. I usually have to buy rice just for this. Which isn't wise, because this would be the only recipe I use it in. I asked around about using regular white rice. Some people said they used raw rice, some used under cooked, some used cooked that was day old. Because I like to keep the meat raw and not precook it in a skillet, raw or under cooked rice works best. Fully cooked rice gets a bit mushy. I also discovered that we much prefer the peppers roasted first. The flavor reminds me of roasted Hatch Green Chile. So good, and there's no skin on the peppers which I don't really like. It's perfect.

Tacos and Taco Salads

Taco meat from the Instant Pot means less hands on time!!

Sooo. Christmas has come and gone, leftovers are eaten up. How about something simple and easy? Tacos? Taco Salad? How about in the Instant Pot? Taco meat? In the Instant Pot? Yes. I was skeptical but this works. I know that taco meat is so easy to do on the stove. My kids have been doing it since eight years of age. But, why not try something new. I have not let me children use the Instant Pot yet.

This method for making taco meat isn't necessarily a time saver. But it takes less hands on time. While the pressure cooker is doing it's thing vegetables can be prepped, the internet can be surfed. Christmas decorations can be put away. So there's that. 

Freezer Tip: Stock Bag, Schmaltz Bag

Chicken stock bag and schmaltz bags for the freezer..

Hello! Quick Freezer Tip post today on two things. Stock bags and Schmaltz. I make several types of stock: seafood, beef, chicken, pork, vegetables. Often times I'll combine a couple or more. There's always vegetables in the beef, chicken, or pork. Often times I'll make beef stock and add pork. I don't mind adding chicken bones to a beef stock. But because chicken has a more delicate flavor I don't use beef or pork bones in that stock. For seafood I don't add any other bones or meats. 

So what's a stock bag, and what do I put in them? A stock bag is a I keep in the freezer, labeled with whatever the end result should be. The bag above is obvious as those are all chicken bones, but normally I would label the bag "chicken stock". Any bones from chickens, I throw in there. If I roast a chicken I'll break down the carcass and toss the bones in the bag. Kidneys and hearts we actually eat, but if we didn't they would go into the stock bag. Liver I wouldn't put in stock because it gets cloudy and tends to give off a metallic flavor I don't like. 

Frito Pie (Slow Cooker and Pressure Cooker)

Frito Pie topped with cheese and plain yogurt.

I know, I know. Lots of Instant Pot recipes. It just happens to be soup and stew season, and the Instant Pot makes for great soups and stews. So here's an oldie but goodie that's been adapted for Instant Pot cooking, so I'm posting it as a Manic Monday post. If you prefer a slow cooker you can use that also! You can serve this without the Frito chips and put it over baked potatoes, in a steamed winter squash, or with crackers.

Bo Kho

Have you had Bo Kho? I grew up having it with French bread to dip in the spicy fragrant broth. Not hot spicy, but aromatic herbs spicy. You can make this as spicy hot as you like by adding more spicy chilies to it. This is a Vietnamese dish. I was very fortunate growing up that my parents had such a wonderful variety of friends. Their children in turn because good friends of mine. We would gather weekly for meals at someones house. Late late nights, as they shared stores. Some of the country they left behind to come America for. Other times to sing Karaoke until early morning. And they were always "Auntie" or "Uncle" if not

Irish Beef Stew and Irish Soda Bread

Irish Beef Stew and Irish Soda bread.

Is it stew weather yet? I dropped my laptop this past summer and I have a whole folder of things and recipes to blog. Lost somewhere. They can be recovered and I suspect will be when there's time. Eek. I'm debating scheduling this for the fall. It's June 16th right now, so.. maybe September/October? Or, whenever I actually finish the post? Gives me time to test the recipe several ways and update right?

Good news, my smart husband recovered my files, fixed the laptop, and all should be well in that area. So let's talk stew.

French Dip, Baby Dip. Pressure Cooker/Slow Cooker

We've had these French Dip sandwiches several times over the course of about two months. They are so easy to make and we all, aside from Pixie, really enjoy them. Pixie prefers to eat every component but the onions separate. I am not even sure if I can call that a win or not. These sandwiches are not medium rare/rare beef sliced and served with Au Jus. That's a whole other post that you can use this here beef for. Making the Au Jus from any pan drippings, but like I said, that's a whole other post. This sandwich has a slow cooked, all day tender, juicy beef. I top the beef with caramelized onions, and gooey cheese after I slather butter and horseradish mayonnaise sauce on the crusty rolls.
DROOOLLL...

The beef for these sandwiches can be made in a pressure cooker, I use an Instant Pot so the directions are for that brand electric pressure cooker. You can also make them in a slow cooker, I have done both. You know, for educational purposes.

Use your favorite beef stock or bone broth for this, I make my own with beef bones, vegetables, 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaf. I cook it on MANUAL, HIGH, 240 minutes. I freeze it in ice cube trays and in 2 cup portions. Find more Freezer Tips here.

Shrimp Fajita Salad

Give Peas A Chance Shrimp Fajita Salad

It's been beautiful lately, the Cherry Blossoms have peaked. People are in shorts. I am excited for spring! I wish it would stick around longer. Shorter summers would suit me well, with longer fall and spring seasons. I know there is still snow in some areas of the US and the world. We've had light dusting that melt away by the afternoon. As much as I love snow, one or two good storms a year suit me fine. I don't need it months on end.

Prime Rib Roast

I made this Prime Rib Roast for my little one's birthday dinner, it was perfect with oven roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli, sliced tomatoes and basil, and Yorkshire Puddings.

Prime Rib Roast. Prime. Rib. Roast. Medium rare. Nom, nom, nom. I've posted prime rib before, it's interesting looking back and seeing how I did things before, how I tweak things here and there. I admittedly rarely make a recipe the same way twice unless I'm testing it post here one Give Peas A Chance. It's not how I normally cook. Baking is different. I tend to stick to recipes for the most part when it comes to baking. What about you? Does you family tease you about never having the same meal twice? I can't help it, it's just how I cook. Prime Rib Roast really is just a method though. It is, then you just season it how you like? Most cooking is just methods also. That's why it's fun.

I really like this method, and I've stated before that you don't NEED a thermometer, it's so handy and will guarantee you a perfectly cooked roast, and let's face it this isn't a cut you want to go to waste because it's over done right? Get a meat thermometer, you'll be glad you did. My new ovens have one built in! I'm so glad too!

Happy Thanksgiving...

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend it the way you wanted. We had a quiet time at home and t was such a blessing. DH was home, we didn't go anywhere, rush anywhere. On Friday we went with DH to his school for about an hour, actually we went to a store while he did some things in the lab. I got a shower curtain liner, I know big spender right? I can't remember the last time where we just didn't feel rushed or feel like there was somewhere we needed to be or DH needed to be. It was a wonderful long weekend. I hope that your time was blessed.
We didn't have turkey. The girls voted for King Crab. Here's our menu

Thai Beef Salad

One of my family's and my very favorite salads is Thai Beef Salad. How can you go wrong? Juicy steak, vegetables, spicy vinaigrette. It's so good. I don't make it too spicy for the kids. It's great because this is one of those meals I can make for dinner and I know that everyone will love it. I use other vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, and such. Just depends on what I have available. 

Here is the link to the recipe/original post.