Back for Breakfast! (Part 2)

Alright, as promised, here is part two of the breakfast bonanza :)

So as I said, it is possible to cook a full breakfast in under 15 minutes.  So get your supplies and start the timer!  To get things rolling, you'll need three pans.  (Or two pans and a toaster).  If you don't have a toaster and can get a cast iron flat pan, that will work just as well.  Three pans (one flat pan, one deeper cast iron skillet, one regular skillet) three burners, all set to #4 (on my electric stove. Cooking times, temperatures and results may vary :P ).  For your hash browns, put a tab of butter in your hash brown pan (the deeper cast iron) and let it melt out.  While that's melting, go on and cut up your bacon into chunks and drop that in the regular skillet.  Next go ahead and put your bread on the flat skillet (or in the toaster...)  Finally drop your hashbrowns from the freezer bag into the skillet with the butter.  I tend to use about a handful and then move them around until all the butter has been soaked up.  Then just spread them out in a fairly even layer.

With all that going, let it do its thing but get your eggs ready.  A quick trick for scrambling eggs is crack them into a twist locking lid container, one of the smaller ones and shake them up.  Keep an eye on your toast as you will need to flip it over within a couple of minutes.  Unless of course you are one of those folks who loves burnt toast.  Keep an eye on your hashbrowns as they will need to be flipped as well.

Alright, once your bacon is getting slightly crispy and cooked, push it to one side of the pan and tilt it the other way.  Then take a paper towel and soak up the grease. Next spread out your bacon in the pan and dump in the eggs.  Once it's all cooked up, viola, you've got breakfast!

Give it a try, it's not that hard to have a great breakfast and get your day rolling :)

Looking to have a non-recipe post coming up next time, going to be talking about those ingredients that every kitchen should have in stock.

As always, May God Bless Your Kitchen!

Back for Breakfast! (Part 1)

Wow, sorry for the hiatus there folks.  Been busy and dealing with life, the universe, and everything else.  Well I am going to knock out two posts here that I had been planning on doing.  First off the value of a good cast iron pan.  Cast iron is easy to take care of, easy to clean, and cooks like a champ.  If you start cooking with cast iron make sure you season your cookware before you use it.  I've heard of people using lard, canola oil, but I prefer EVOO.  I've used seasoned EVOO as well and it seems to work just fine.  Probably one of my favorite things about cast iron and one of the pans I have in particular is that you can turn any stove into a grill.  It's just like a flat grill, but as this pan has a bottom with ridges on it it seems to grill a little better than a smooth pan.  But it has it's other uses too.  Here's a short example:


Pan fried pork cutlets.  I took a bottle of sweet and hot mustard and coated 4 pork cutlets in it, letting that sit in the fridge for a couple of hours.  When I was ready to cook I got everything set up:  pork cutlets, the breading (which I keep a jar of stale bread pulverized in a food chopper with spices handy in the freezer just for this kind of thing), and of course, the all mighty cast iron skillet.  Oh, almost forgot to mention the oil.  Put a small amount of oil in the pan and get it heating up, but not so hot that it's boiling.  I used the #4 setting on my stove.  Then it's simple.  Pork cutlet dipped into breading, flipped, sides covered, then set into pan.  Cooked a little more than 5 minutes per side and viola.  Done!

Set-up and ready to go!

Cooking away...  be mindful that you will have to add more oil on occasion and that the breading does like to fall off as it's not a "proper" breading.  But hey, it works!

Okay, so now that I've covered that aspect of cast iron, let us move on to the other side of this post.  Helloooooo full breakfast in 15 minutes!  (Yes, enough time to make and start drinking that cup of coffee too!)  I'm talking bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast here, good full breakfast that will get you going for the day ahead.  But before you go thinking you can do this tomorrow, there is some prep work that needs to be done the day (or whenever) before...

The part of this that takes the longest to prep is the hashbrowns.  I use small red potatoes for my hashbrowns.  I'll get a 5# bag of them and that will last at least a month of breakfasts.  Preheat your oven to 350* and get out a casserole dish.  Wash as many potatoes as will fit in the dish.

Taters, check.

Alright, now before you put the lid on those potatoes, take a knife (or a fork, or a grapefruit spoon would work too I suppose) and stab each potato.  Don't go overboard, this isn't the Carolina Potato Massacre, but if you don't put a "vent" into each potato that is what you'll end up with.  (Mini Physics lesson here.  Heating up a potato with no vent hole is like filling up a balloon.  The gasses in the potato will continue to expand until Blammo!  Exploded potato all over the inside of your oven.  If you like cleaning up that kind of mess, go ahead and don't prick your potatoes.  If you want hashbrowns with breakfast, then DO prick those potatoes) Ok, back on topic here.  Cook those potatoes for about 90 minutes then pull them out.  Let the dish and potatoes cool down to room temperature and then grab a cheese grater and use the biggest holes on the grater to shred your potatoes. (NOTE!!!  I've done this twice now and have found that slower grating renders nicer shredded potatoes.  Don't rush the process, learn to enjoy time in the kitchen.  Turn up the radio or turn on the television if you get too bored)  I advise doing this over a large bowl as opposed to a cutting board or a plate. The reason for that is once they are all grated you can take an opportunity and season your hashbrowns.  I used some chipotle spices and that added a nice flavor.  If you choose to do this, add some spices, mix the potatoes up then add some more.  Don't add it all at once.

Okay for the next step, grab a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer.  (Pizza pan works too)  You will also need some wax paper or parchment paper.  Now, make sure there is ROOM in the freezer to fit the cookie sheet.  Put the wax/parchment paper onto the cookie sheet and sprinkle out the potatoes.  Don't layer them too thick, a thin layer I have found freezes better.  Now while the first tray is freezing, just set the bowl into your fridge.  When a tray is done freezing, take the frozen hash browns off and store them in a gallon sized freezer bag.  When you put them into the bag, don't be afraid to crush them a little, it'll make them easier to grab out on an early morning.

Like I said, thin layer.  This process takes a number of freezer trips to do all the hash browns.

Now I am a big believer in giving credit where credit is due, so here's the credit for the hashbrown prep.  I want to thank the Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers for putting up her recipe to give me a basis to go on.  (  http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/make-your-own-frozen-hashbrowns )

Okay well that's the prep work for an awesome breakfast.  I realize this post is getting a little long winded so I'm going to cut this into two parts.  Be on the look out for Part 2 coming very soon!  (Probably the next few days actually!)

As always, May God Bless Your Kitchen!

Not Your Mother's Chicken Salad

I have found that most times you order chicken salad, it all tastes about the same.  Not a lot of different flavors mixed in, just chicken, mayo, celery, and onion.  Occasionally you'll find one with something different.  The one thing that bugs me most about the typical chicken salad is how it almost always has chicken that is super shredded (You know what I'm talking about, that pulverized, ground up kind of chicken...)  Well all credit goes to my mom on this one.  She figured out a better way to make chicken salad.  Hence why I say it's not your mother's chicken salad, it's my mothers :P

So here's the trick.  Go down to your local grocery store, even your local Super Wal-Mart, and grab one of those precooked rotisserie chickens in the plastic box.  (And yeah, if it's winter we all like to stand by those stands in line with the radiating heat).  When you get it home, go on and peel the skin off while it's still warm.  Then let it cool off in the refrigerator for a few hours.  I've found that makes this next step a little easier.  Once the chicken has cooled down, Get a big bowl and start picking.  

I find that the perfect sized pieces are about 1 1/2 inches long at the longest and no bigger around than a pencil.

 You will find that the fibers of the muscle naturally want to separate to a certain extent.  The dark meat seems to separate easier than the white meat into good sized pieces (as can be seen above).  The white meat seems to be much stringier.  So once you've picked all the chicken you'll have a bowl like this:

You'll want a pretty decent sized bowl to accommodate everything that goes into this salad.

Here is where the recipe gets fun.  You can add just about anything to the salad from this point on.  Some things are basic, onions and celery.  I tend to use red onions in everything because I like their flavor better.  Another basic item I tend to include is corn.  When I can get it, I use fresh corn on the cob, Unfortunately this time of year I'm not seeing any corn in the produce other than the cobs that come in a plastic wrapped package.  Using fresh corn is the best option as it adds some crispness.

 

So after you add the basics, you add the not-so-basic.  I tend to add just about anything.  I find fruit and nuts to be a great addition.  If I had thought to get some, I would have added chopped up walnuts.  However I have an abundance of almonds, so I chopped some up (using an apple slicer works really well if you don't have a super sharp knife).  I also like to add fruit for a bit of juice and of course, more flavors.  Raisins are always a good addition.  I also gave something new a try and added some Granny Smith apples for the tartness.

I used fairly large chunks this time, next time I plan on using smaller chunks just to make them easier to eat.

Now for the easy part.  Put all of your "stuff" into the big bowl and grab a spatula or a wooden spoon (Plastic works just as well too).  Grab a jar of mayonnaise. Slowly add mayo to your mixture and stir it all up.  I find that the key to making this salad good is only adding enough mayo to keep stuff together, as if you were going to put the salad onto a sandwich.  That's the consistency you're looking for.

Voila, chicken salad!

Now that you've made the salad, pop that into the refrigerator for at least a few hours to have everything chilled.  When you're ready to serve it, serve on a bed of lettuce (or spinach or whatever greenery you prefer), and some chopped or sliced up tomatoes.  (Use the freshest ones you can.

Bam!

That's the great thing about the way we make chicken salad in our family.  It's never the same twice!  Don't hesitate to experiment, be daring.  That is the biggest secret to my cooking.  I experiment and try new things.  It has taken years, but I've learned what flavors go well together without writing a thing down.

Enjoy and as always, may God bless your kitchen!!

Small Kitchen, No Problem!

So my tagline of "Small kitchen - Big expectations" seems fairly obvious.  But I figure I should fill you in on how small of a kitchen I'm talking about.  My apartment is only 620sqft; and the kitchen is a small fraction of that.  The dishwasher and stove can hardly be open at the same time.  The refrigerator and the drawer opposite can't open all the way at the same time.  So yeah, we're talking tiny here.  (Though not as tiny as the "kitchen" in the RV I lived in one summer).

Sink side with minimal counter space, half of which has been taken up by the microwave.

...and some almost as small counter space on the right.

Stove Side with very tiny counter on the left, my three staples of the stovetop...

Lack of storage space in the open leads to filling the hall closet/heat pump/water heater space with your dry goods, etc.

 
 Alright, so now you have a basic idea of the lack of space I deal with on a three-meal-a-day basis.  But rest assured I am NOT writing this post to gripe about it!  I am writing instead to share some of the innovations I have come up with.  One of the problems I face is the lack of storage space in drawers to keep things for quick access without having to dig for particular items.  Especially things like measuring spoons and cups...  Hence the >$5 solution:

Take a strip of trim wood and framing nails, pop in the nails and label the spaces.  Secure to wherever with those double sided sticky foam strips and you're done!  Oh, by the way if you are going to put this on the back of a cabinet door, switch the nails out with cuphooks.  Otherwise you'll have spoons flying across the kitchen whenever you open the door.  That's why my cabinet door stays open all the time.

For the second space saver I'll be brief.  I love having fast access to spices.  But I had nowhere to keep them.  I have seen ideas about making magnetic spice jars to put on the sides of refrigerators, on top of stove backs, I'd even go so far as to saying on the top of the vent hood.  Well I had a blank wall and figured I'd find something to work there.  Lowe's had this nifty shelf for around $30 I think.  Hangs with 2 (or 4) screws.  Works out great!

The left and rightmost shelf spots get skinny as the whole shelving system is bowed almost like a cross hatched bubble on the wall.

For my last space saver, I present the problem of counter space, or the lack of it.  Anyone who cooks in a small kitchen will know this pain.  There is never enough counter space to  do what you want.  Well back when I was face with the kitchen in the RV, my dad gave me a slab of granite cut to fit over top of the sink.  That created the one counter in the whole kitchen.  As for now, it works over the sink in my current kitchen, but when the sink is full of dishes waiting to be washed, it needs somewhere else to go.  So when I was preparing the mini-lasagnas from my last post, I desperately needed some more counter space.  Putting that granite slab onto the ironing board was the perfect fix.  (Common Sense Alert:  If you're going to be messy with this extra counter, put something on top of your ironing board to avoid staining it.)

Instant Spare Counter!

Other space savers I have found useful is putting wine bottles on top of the cabinets,  storing bread on top of the fridge, even putting less frequently used items (like wine glasses and the fancier dinner ware) in another room where you have a little extra space.

If you have any of your own space-savers, especially those out of the ordinary ones, I'd love to hear about them!

Take care and may God always bless your kitchen!

Mini Lasagna

Okay, so this all started a few months back when I was walking through Ross.  I came across a four set of ramekins and they were only a few bucks so I had to get them.  Now the question because, what do I cook in them?  First thing I decided to try was lasagna.  I mean come on, how perfect is that, single serve lasagna?  This also works out well because of my work schedule; I don't have time to cook on the days I work, so I'm cooking for 3 or 4 nights worth of dinners.  Anyway, I searched online and found a recipe on FoodNetwork.com (thanks to Giada) which I tweaked a bit.  You can find that recipe at the end of this post, following after the photos.

A few notes from my experience though.  Don’t over butter the ramekins.  A light coating should do you fine.  Remember, that when the cheese cooks, it’s going to release some oils.  If you use too much butter in the ramekins, you’ll end up with a bit of a grease pool at the bottom.  Also, don’t put so much filling on top that when it cooks the filling slides over the edge of the ramekin; doesn’t make for a very good presentation.  Though if you don’t care about presentation top that sucker off J. One way you can still cover the top of the noodles with the filling and not overflow is to trim down your noodle flaps so that they just cover the inner filing.  I didn’t do this as I’m not going to waste that extra noodle bit.  But if you are going for a better presentation that should work out alright.

Okay, now for a technique tip.  If you don’t own a zester, don’t fret because I don’t either.   I still managed to get the zest into the recipe.  Take a vegetable peeler and peel the yellow layer of the lemon skin off.  Don’t get too much of the white sub-layer when you are peeling though.  That sub-layer is not going to add that great lemon flavor into your recipe.  Once you get the yellow layer off, take a sharp large knife and drag it across the inside of the peel on a cutting board.  Your goal here is to be dragging the sharp edge of the knife and scraping any of the white sub-layer off.  Next you can either cut the peel into very tiny bits or use a food chopper (it’s like a mini food processor) to obliterate the peel into tiny pieces.

As far as storing the lasagnas you don’t eat on the first meal, leave them in the ramekins and cover the entire ramekin in Saran-wrap and store it in the refrigerator.  I don’t’ know how long they will last as I ate one every night for 4 days, but as always, don’t let them store too long lest it go bad and you end up with a case of food poisoning (not fun at all).

To reheat, unwrap the ramekin and put it on a small plate.  Pop it in the microwave on high for 1:30 to 2:00.  (That’s minutes, not hours :P)  Again, you can serve in the ramekin or on a plate.  Here are a couple of final product photos:

Fresh out of the oven.  As you can see, haivng the cooking sheet is vital to help catch any overflow.

Not exactly pretty when you dump it out on a plate, but it is a little easier to eat.

I found that pairing the lasagna with a large side salad was a good balance.  Really simple salad:  Baby spinach leaves, mushrooms, stir-fry beef strips sauteed in a pan with black cherry cider, almond slices, and raspberry vinagrette salad dressing.

Here is the recipe:

Single Serving Ramekin Lasagna

Ingredients:

Butter, for ramekins
8 lasagna noodles
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 Tablespoon garlic, minced (I use the garlic that comes in the small jar)
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
About 3 cups grated Very Sharp Aged White Cheddar
1 large lemon, zested
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
Special equipment: 4 ramekins and a large cooking sheet

Directions:

Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter the ramekins then set them aside.  (DO NOT over butter the ramekins, a light coating will do just fine.)

To make the filling:  Mix the whipping cream and mascarpone first.  Then mix in the corn and garlic.  Follow this with 1 cup of the shredded cheddar, the lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Then mix in the basil.

Get a large pot of lightly salted water with a light drizzle of EVOO boiling over high heat.

Add the pasta and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Now to put everything together, take one of your ramekins and two of the lasagna noodles.  Make an “X” out of the noodles and then gently press the center of the x into the bottom of the ramekin, letting the ends hang over.  Put ¼ cup of the filling into the bottom of the ramekin and add a large pinch (probably about 1 TBSP) of the shredded cheddar on top of this filling.  Now fold over the tails of the noodles.  On top of this, add a little more filling, another smaller pinch of the shredded cheese on top of this.  Drizzle with a little EVOO.  Repeat for each of the ramekins.

To cook, put all of your ramekins evenly spaced out on the cooking sheet.  Slide that into the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.  You want the tops to turn golden brown for the most part, but don’t let it burn black.  A darker brown color on the edges is going to be normal.  Pull the cooking sheet with ramekins out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

To serve, either serve the whole ramekin on a small plate or you can run a knife around the inner edge of the ramekin to loosen the noodles.  Flip the ramekin over and serve the upside-down lasagna on a plate.

That's all for today!

As always, may God grace your kitchen!

Starting Off

Alright, well I guess I should lay the groundwork out here.  I have always loved cooking.  I grew up in a household where my parents both cooked (mostly my Dad when he wasn't out of town on business).  But more importantly to me, BOTH of my parents encouraged me to help out in the kitchen.  And I don't mean by just doing the dishes.  I remember spending time with my mom making salads, leaving out the stuff I thought was gross at the time from mine.  Which of course left me with a bowl of lettuce, carrots, bell peppers and onions.  With a LOT of salad dressing to cover up the fact that I was eating lettuce to begin with.  I also remember spending time helping my dad cook a variety of things, but the thing I helped the most with was probably the home made pizza.  And no we did not just do plain old pepperoni and cheese pizza.  The crust was made from scratch and we put just about anything on it.

With that being said, I now live on my own, in a new city, and have to do all of my own cooking.  (Okay, so I did visit this city a few times in college and I have been known to cook my own meals before, even while living at home with Mom & Dad).  But all that aside, it's been a learning experience.  Just recently I learned a valuable lesson in food freshness...  Ended up getting food poisoning.  Take it from me, avoid getting that at all costs.

But I seem to be rambling here, so let me cut to the chase.  I am going to give this blog thing a try because I'm making some pretty interesting discoveries with cooking techniques, recipes, and even management skills in a very small apartment kitchen.  I never write down recipes, so I figure if I started a blog I might be more inclined to write down at least how I got to the final product.  I will share the successes and the failures, with photos when I remember to take them.  Tonight's dinner was an adventure, and it turned out pretty well.  however I do have to go to work in the morning and need all the sleep I can get.  So stay tuned, I'll have my next post turning out in the next couple of days!

May God grace your kitchen and the nourishment you gain from it!