Dinner – Page 4 – The Funky Oven

Mississippi roast

I have been drawn to the photos of Mississippi roast on Pinterest for years. Sometimes I like classic roast with potatoes/carrots/gravy and sometimes sliced thin for sandwiches. Mississippi roast has the vinegar tastes that is perfect for a sandwich. The only problem with the recipes I found was that the roast cooked in 8 tablespoons of butter and ranch salad dressing in a crock pot. I wanted it a bit leaner and also I do not enjoy the texture crock pots create in the meat. I created my own version.

Bottom round roast – 2.5-3 pounds

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper – generous amounts

4-6 pepperoncini and 1/2 cup of the juice

2-3 cups water

2 cubes of beef boullion

Bring the roast to room temperature by leaving it on the counter for 4-6 hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Rub the roast with oil. Sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper. I use a lot… about 1/8 cup of each. Place the roast fat side up in a dutch oven or french cooker. Pour enough water on the side of the roast to cover the bottom 1/4. Add beef cubes to the water as well as the peppers and pepper juice. Cover. Cook for 2-2.5 hours. Let rest 10 minutes after removing this from the oven before slicing. Slice thin and against the grain. An electric knife makes it very simple to get thin slices.

Chicken noodle casserole

Dinner, Uncategorized

2 cups shredded/diced rotisserie chicken

8 ounces dried egg noodles

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 yellow onion diced

1 red bell pepper diced

2 large carrots diced

2 stalks celery diced

1 cup fresh white mushrooms sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup half and half

1-2 cups water

1 cup panko unseasoned

2 tablespoons butter melted

1/4 cup fresh parsley

Cook the egg noodles as directed by package to al dente. Drain and let them sit.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add onions, carrots, celery, and the red bell pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes – the vegetables should still be semi firm because they will bake in the oven later.

Add flour and seasonings. Slowly stir in the half and half. Continue to add up to 2 cups of water until it a thicker consistency. Go slow because you do not want the sauce too runny. Add in chicken and mushrooms. Cook 1-2 more minutes. You can add more water if it continues to thicken. Remove from heat. Mix with noodles. Pour into a prepared 9×14 or 8×12 pan.

Mix the panko crumbs with the additional 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Top the casserole with the panko mix and then chopped fresh parsley. This can remain refrigerated for 24 hours. Bake covered with foil at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake about 10 minutes or until panko crumbs have browned.

Country style pork ribs

Dinner

I like that these are boneless. They reheat very well for rib sandwhiches. The cook easily on the charcoal grill and are very forgiving because of the large marbeling on this cut of meat.

Let the rubs come to room temperature. I sprinkle them with my rib rub before they sit out.

Preheat the charcoal grill to 250-300. Cook the ribs until there in an internal temperature of 160.

When I eat ribs, I prefer that the fat is more caramelized and less greasy. This can occur at 190-200 degree internal temperature. At 160 degrees, I brush the ribs with bbq sauce and then continue to cook until done.

These ribs were finished in about 1.5-2 hours. They cook much faster than a bone-in rack of ribs but still have very good flavor and texture.

Salmon croquettes

Dinner, seafood

Now THIS is an old recipe. Some of the best recipes are the simple old ones. It reminds me of my childhood.

1 large baked russet potato

20 ounces canned salmon drained with bones removed – I used red salmon

1 egg

chopped fresh chives – 1/8 cup

1 tablespoon lemon zest

sat and pepper

3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt

crushed saltine crackers to coat – 3/4 sleeve

Mix everything except the saltine crackers together.

Roll into large balls using an ice cream scoop. Roll in cracker crumbs.

Heat crisco in a pan to 350 degrees. Fry the croquettes until golden brown while maintaining an oil temperature of 325-350 degrees. Drain on wire rack on baking sheet.

This makes about 12 croquettes and a serving size is 3-4. They freeze well both before frying and after. If you freeze before frying, you should fully thaw prior to cooking.

1 used 2 cans of salmon – the 14 ounce can as well as a 6 ounce. I know the red salmon is more expensive than the pink but it’s worth it.

Ground turkey stir fry

Dinner

AKA my version of the “egg roll in a bowl”. It is really just cabbage stir fry but I guess that does not sound like as much fun.

I am not sure there are many filling meals that are also this healthy. You can easily leave out the rice, or use brown rice, or even quinoa.

2 pounds ground turkey 93% lean

1 package 8-10 ounces shredded cabbage

2 large carrots julienned

1 orange bell pepper thinly sliced

1/2 cup broccoli cut small

5 green onions sliced

2 hot thai peppers chopped

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon sriracha

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon chinese 5 spice

Lime wedges to garnish

cooked white rice

roasted cashews to garnish

soy sauce to garnish

Prep all the veggies first.

Mix the soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, brown sugar, sesame oil, sriracha, garlic powder and 5 spice.

Sauté the turkey until done.

Add in veggies. Cook about 3-5 minutes. Add in the sauce. Stir and done. Garnish with fresh lime juice, cashews, green onions, sriracha.

Jalapeño popper chicken bombs

Dinner, Garden creations

These were AMAZING! I am not sure they are healthy but nevertheless.

4 large jalapeños

2 chicken breasts

1/2 pound bacon thin sliced and not maple flavored

1 8 ounce container plain cream cheese

2 green onions sliced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons bbq sauce. I used Stubbs

Using a jalapeño coring tool or a knife, remove the center of the jalapeño.

Mix together the cream cheese, bbq sauce, garlic and green onions. Stuff each jalapeño.

Butterfly each chicken breast and then pound very thin. Add salt and pepper. Wrap ine jalapeño inside of each prepared chicken breast. Cover each with bacon. Secure in place using toothpicks. Grill at 250-300 for about 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is at 165 degrees.

These are really better for a charcoal grill than a propane unless you like fires. We used our green egg.

I expected them to be pretty spicy. Jalapenos are all different. These were pretty hot to start but the spicy really dissipated when cooked this way. It ended up pretty sweet and I was a little disappointed. We love our poppers!

Dirty rice

Dinner, Side dishes

I will never alter this recipe. It is just perfect as it was written. I found it on Genius kitchen by Folkdiva as a true cajun dirty rice. We eat a LOT of this.

2 pounds ground beef

2 cups onion, chopped

1 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dark roux – bacon grease/flour

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups beef stock

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons worcestershire

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper

15 cups cooked white rice

Garnish: green onion, fresh parsley, hot sauce

In a skillet, brown the beef. Do not drain. Add all the veggies. Cook on low for 10-20 minutes or until very cooked. Add roux. Continue to stir. Add the remaining ingredients except rice and garnishes. Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours. Stir every 30 minutes.

The roux! Mmmmmm…… slow and low.

After each 40 minutes of cooking:

Rib rub

Dinner

This is the perfect dry rub for ribs. You can sauce the ribs and they are not overseasoned or leave them plain. It is a flavor that most people enjoy. Trust me… we eat a LOT of ribs. Actually, it is perfect on chicken too. I found it on Allrecipes.

As far as cooking these…. whelp. That will be a long detailed post someday. Essentially it requires removal of the skin on the rib side of the meat. Rib rub placed on both sides of the meat. The green egg is heated with or without smoking wood to 225-250 degrees. They cook for 3-4 hours. The ribs are sprayed every 30 minutes with a mix of 2/3 water and 1/3 apple cidar vinegar.

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

Gai pad krapow – thai basil chicken

Dinner

What happens when you get tired of Mexican food and you love spice? Thai food! So much flavor. Thai food is complex and flavorful AND healthy.

I cannot take credit for this recipe. Its all over in internet. I did add lime and peanuts. And I left out the sugar.

3 shallots thinly sliced

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 large garlic cloves minced

4-5 hot peppers like thai peppers or seranno

1.5 pounds ground chicken turkey or mixed

2 tablespoons low sodium soy

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/3 cup water with 1/2 teaspoom chicken bouillon granules

2 bunches fresh thai basil

lime wedges

roasted low salt peanuts

cooked white rice

In a wok on medium heat, cook the shallots, garlic, and peppers in oil. Cook until just browned which takes 3-5 minutes.

Add the chicken or turkey. Cook until fully cooked. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, and chicken broth. Add the fresh chopped basil. Cook until liquid is absorbed.

Serve over rice with lime wedges and peanuts…. and Sriracha.

Carne guisada

Dinner, jalapeno

What is this? Great question. It is like nothing else. Basically super spicy tex mex stew. It is almost like a beef chili….. served in a flour tortilla. Super juicy and saucy. There is a flavor explosion from slow cooking everything for hours. This is NOT a fast dinner. I will make a big batch on a Sunday. I usually use leftover steak that we didnt eat or stew meat. Today I used leftover steak and some frozen leftover smoked pork.

I hate soggy previously prepared and frozen casseroles. Before my second daughter, I filled my freezer with nothing else and it was a horrid experience. Non of the recipes froze well. I have found a few exceptions that do well in the freezer and this is one. It keeps wonderfully in a ziploc bag to reheat later.

3 roma tomatoes

8 ounces tomato sauce

2 pound beef – steak, stew meat, smoked brisket, whatever you have or a combination but not ground beef. Trim fat. You do not want a fatty piece of meat for this.

1 yellow onion chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 jalepeno seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 or more fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper or peppercorns

2 teaspoons cumin

2 cups beef broth

1/2 teaspoon mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powdered

1/2 teaspoon salt

If using pre-cooked meat then just combine all into a cast iron dutch oven with lid. Cook on stovetop on low for 2-3 hours. Stir every 20-30 minutes. Add water if it becomes too thick. I leave mine until there are no recognizable veggies left. I want them all cooked down into gravy. The finer you chop the veggies the faster this process happens.

From the beginning and then 30 minutes in:

1 hour:

2 hours:

And the final. See how the veggies vanish? Then it is done. Remember, it will look slightly different. Remember I said I had leftover pulled pork from last week. This photo is using a combination of leftover grilled steak and leftover pulled pork.

Don’t forget this freezes well! It is work (if by that I mean watching it cook for 3 hours), but you can easily get about 2-3 meals for 2 people out of this and maybe more!

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