English Short Ribs, simplified

Posted on January 31, 2013 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

After a long day, I was shopping, and saw boneless short ribs on sale at Bianchini’s.  I did not want to get too involved, but figured I could compromise, and still make an excellent dinner. I have found that the Knorr Homestyle Stock concentrates are bearable – not as good as homemade by any stretch, but pretty good for how easy they are. So, I picked up three short ribs, weighing 1 1/2 lbs total; carrots, onion, and celery; some fresh time and bay leaves (hate paying for bay leaves, but once in a while…); the work:

I salted and peppered the ribs, and let them rest while I ‘made’ the cheater stock; browned the ribs while I diced two onions; removed the ribs, softened the onions in the same Dutch oven (ten minutes); added some minced garlic; de-glazed with a glass of red wine; added three (small) carrots, chopped; two celery stalks, chopped; and returned the meat; added enough stock to almost cover the ribs; tossed in a grab of fresh thyme and two fresh bay leaves; brought to a boil and simmered for two hours. At the same time, I was dealing with e-mails, and generally still working.

I will now make some pasta; while that cooks, I will remove the ribs and cook the sauce down a bit, which I will pour over the meat/pasta; I also have a two artichokes – so, with a limited amount of effort, and very little expense, we have a fantastic meal.

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Baked Chicken Dijon, Breaded

Posted on January 29, 2013 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

Simple, slow, and good.

Prepare unseasoned bread crumbs (we make our own, painfully easy and much better) with: melted butter, enough to soften the bread crumbs; a couple of cloves of garlic, minced; a handful of fresh parsley (I like flat leaf Italian) chopped; salt and pepper.

Brush a couple of boneless, skinless breasts, rinsed and patted dry – I pull off the tenderloin  while rinsing, to make a couple of small, separate bites, with Dijon mustard, and then coat them in the bread crumb mixture. Place in a 350 f oven, covered for 25 minutes; uncover and continue to cook for aprox 30 minutes- until the internal temp reaches 160° f; finish under a broiler until browned – the broiler will barely change the temp.

Serve with a ramekin of Dijon.

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Chicken Enchiladas

Posted on January 21, 2013 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

Chicken Enchiladas are another of our uses for leftover chicken. When we roast a whole chicken, the last stage is to strip the bird; from there, we tend to make either chicken risotto, or chicken enchiladas. Enchiladas are infinitely variable; you are making a red sauce, combining it with chicken and cilantro, making wraps, covering with the sauce and cheese, and baking. Below is our basic, but feel free to substitute as you go. Also, because for us it is a leftover meal, we are perfectly happy using canned items that can be replaced with fresh when one desires.

Preheat oven to 300°f

Red Sauce and filling:

  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tblspns chili powder
  • 2 tspns each: coriander, cumin, sugar
  • 1/2 tspn salt
  • 1, 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1, 4 oz. can pickled jalapeños, drained and chopped
  • handful of fresh cilantro

Soften the onion in oil over low heat, about 10 minutes (do not brown); add items garlic through salt, and cook about 30 seconds; add the tomato sauce and water, and simmer about ten minutes.

Use about a ladle full of the sauce to coat your chicken pieces; then combine the wet chicken with the sharp cheddar cheese, the jalapeños, and the cilantro. Set aside and prepare the tortillas, as follows (you will be able to make about 2 dozen enchiladas, depending on size – more with corn, fewer with flour):

Brush each tortilla, both sides with melted butter; place the tortillas in a single layer on baking sheets and place in 300°f oven for 4 minutes; remove and fill immediately.

Increase oven temp to 400°f while you make your rectangular Pyrex baking dishes (or whatever you want to use); coat the bottom of the dish with a ladle of the sauce; place a tortilla on a work surface and place a tablespoon of sauce on the tortilla; then about 1/3 cup of the filling in the tortilla, roll, and place in the prepared dish; repeat until the dish is filled quite snugly; once the dish is filled – or more than one dish, pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, cover with grated cheddar cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with fresh sour cream and sliced avocado.2012-05-08_23-12-49_258

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Saturday’s Pot Roast

Posted on January 9, 2013 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

I made the same pot roast recipe as you see on this site, with a couple of changes. First, I used a large piece (2 2/3 lbs) of chuck, instead of Diamond Jim or Kobe. Also, I fell way behind in the day’s plans, and, because of time, ended up using a cheater stock –  a packet of the Knorr Homestyle Starter. Because of the stock short-cut, I added some prosciutto we had left over in the fridge to the end of the browning, to make up for lost richness.

Result: I prefer the Diamond Jim and Kobe roasts, even just for how the shape of the cut works with the fluid in the recipe. That said, and given the stock short-cut, it was damn good.

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