6 years ago 1
In Dinner, Grilling

Short Rib experiments

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I have been trying to figure out a good way to make my short ribs so every couple weeks I buy a couple short ribs to play with.  I have been trying to work out a good timing method to try and get the short ribs tender and tasty at the same time.  The first couple of tries ended up to be dried out and shriveled junk that went into the trash, the past couple of times though, I feel that I have found the timing that works the best and has created probably the two best short rib dishes I have ever made.

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7 years ago 1
In Uncategorized

Brisket

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Brisket has become a never ending endeavor that sometimes ends in glorious victory and other times in complete frustration.  I have tried several different variations to varying levels of success.   I will go with my last variation and wish you good luck.  Just remember when your making brisket you cant be rushed, at minimum you will have your grill going for at least 6 hours and more likely closer to 8.  Whenever I am in the grocery store I always end up at the butcher section, if I see a brisket on sale or if it just looks good I will always grab it just so I have brisket around, because it is always good to be prepared and have brisket on hand.  I will usually get a brisket around 2 pounds, this is usually good to feed around four adults and have some left over.  I do like to have some fat left on the meat so I will look for pieces of brisket that have a little more fat on them and will usually cook that side down.

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7 years ago 0
In Dinner

Shredded Chicken, rice and veggies

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This meal came together basically by looking around my fridge and wanting to make something healthy and easy.  This is a pretty quick meal to make and only uses one pan and a rice maker so clean up is pretty quick and easy.  First I will get the rice going, I could do the rice and try to make this dish like a paella but, during the week when I am looking for a quick and easy meal I am going to take short cuts if possible.  I get the oven heated up to 415 while I start to get everything else going.  I use my cast iron skillet since it is going to go into the oven and one of the joys of the cast iron is that you only have to clean one pan.  I use a bone in chicken breast to cook since I still hold to the belief that it just has a better taste then plain old chicken breast.  

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7 years ago 2
In Dinner, Soup

Potato and Leek Soup

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So winter in Arizona is much different then the winter’s in Michigan I had growing up,there is no snow and now when it is under 50 degree’s it is considered a freezing day and winter gear is needed.  I love this time of year because it means soups and stews are acceptable meals and comfort food to warm the soul is great.  I have tried several variations of this soup adding different types of meat or veggies and each one has been great and so filling.  Now I am always trying to add in more veggies into my meals so you can adjust your ingredients as needed aside from the leeks and potato’s.

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7 years ago 0
In Dinner, Grilling, Recipes

Burgers on the Grill

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There is a never a bad time or day to enjoy burgers from the grill.  It doesn’t need to be a holiday or weekend to make a good burger.  Lately I have steered away from ground beef and have been using ground lamb for more and more meals that used to be ground beef, I just think that it is a better tasting meat and easier to use, I also use ground pork in combination with the lamb to add a little bit more fat and it cooks better.  This recipe will make around six good sized burgers, it is pretty easy and quick meal and like I said there is no bad time for a good burger.

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7 years ago 0
In Dinner, Recipes, Summer

Scallops with corn and heirloom tomatoes

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It is still in the hundreds in Arizona so trying to find cool and refreshing meals is still a priority.  Seafood in general seems to always be a lighter and more refreshing meal so this is a great summer time meal I think.  This meal is also very quick and easy to make and does not require to much prep work or time to make.  First I get the ingredients together, I was cooking for four so I just got one pound of scallops, four stalks of corn, a handful of heirloom grape tomatoes and one regular sized heirloom tomato.  For the seasoning I used salt, lemon pepper, garlic, cilantro, fresh lemon, olive oil  and bread crumbs.

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7 years ago 0
In Dinner, Grilling

Short Ribs

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A couple months ago I decided that I needed and new grill, since we are probably moving again soon  I wanted a smaller grill but one that can do slow and low cooking.  Thankfully Traeger Grills are perfect, easy to move can maintain temperature and will be easy to move.  I  usually would get smaller short ribs then these, but Costco had a big sale and these short ribs looked great so basically each rib here is two pounds.  They are big but so good and perfect for grilling like this.  So to start get the grill set at 250 degrees,  I used the Traeger maple pellets for this the big thing with the Traeger is you have to make sure that there are pellets aside from that the best thing is that you set the temp and leave it.

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7 years ago 0
In Breakfast, cooking basics, Recipes

poaching eggs

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So sometimes the most basic thing can be the hardest one to do.  A long time ago in high school my teacher gave me some of the best advice ever.  “Keep it simple stupid” this advice holds true with everything especially cooking.  I have tried to do this in the kitchen, the more complicated the dish the more chances to screwing it up are.  Poaching eggs should be fast and easy, and when done right a poached egg is a great addition to most meals.  You start with a flat pan add in around an inch of water and bring it to a boil, keep the heat high and crack the egg into the water.  I keep the water boiling at a high temp as the egg turns white I take a spoon and put the hot water on top of the yolk.  After around 90 seconds I take the egg out of the water and that is it.

8 years ago 0
In Dessert, Holidays, Recipes

Pumpkin Pie

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So I have never been a baker, I usually cook without recipes and never measure things so me and baking don’t mix.  This past week I was asked to do a friendsgiving dinner that included dessert so of course I went with pumpkin pie.  I decided to go for a pumpkin pie cheesecake, I will admit I was more nervous about this part of the meal then any other.

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8 years ago 0
In Dinner, Recipes

Chili time

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Fall might be my favorite time of the year, thankfully I live in out in Arizona so fall lasts usually from mid September to March.  Part of why I love fall so much is because it now becomes stew, soup and chili time.  I am a big fan of chili and will probably post several different types of chili just because it is so good to eat.  This chili is one of my more basic ones but so good.

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