Showing posts with label freezer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freezer. Show all posts

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Amazing Beef Barbacoa

A-brisket a-tasket
A green and yellow basket…

Isn't that how it goes?

We know the Superbowl can make us do crazy things. People splurge on ginormous TVs. Companies pay $4 million for a 30-second commercial. Americans eat 10 million pounds of guacamole. Danielle buys a brisket (gasp!).

It was my very first brisket. I saw a recipe for barbacoa nachos, which I decided must be our Superbowl grub. The nachos were complete with tender, tangy brisket, homemade cheese sauce, pickled red onions, and more. And even after the nachos we had several pounds of barbacoa leftover to make dinners throughout the week. You can use the meat in quesadillas, wraps, tacos, over polenta, etc.  Or you can eat it cold with a fork like my husband!

A before shot of my $20 slab of brisket bathing in its marinade:


An after shot, ready to be pulled:


Cooking meat like this (low and slow) is as easy as it can get — and you can eat for a week off of it! A little work goes a long way on this one...


Beef Barbacoa (makes a LOT — how's that for exact?!)
Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed of fat and shiny silver sinew
16 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. ancho chile powder
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 whole chipotle chile en adobo
1 tbsp. adobo sauce
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 bay leaves

Directions:
The night before: Place brisket in a large resealable bag. In a blender, combine tomatoes with juice, cumin, chile powder, cocoa powder, oregano, vinegar, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth. Pour marinade into the bag over brisket, making sure that all sides are coated. Seal bag tightly, removing as much air as possible, and place it in a baking dish (in case anything leaks). Place in the refrigerator overnight, turning at least once.

The next day: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place brisket and marinade in a Dutch oven. Add bay leaves. On the stove, bring just to a simmer over high heat. Then cover and place in the oven. Cook for about 4 hours, until meat is fork tender and shreds easily.

Remove meat from the cooking liquid (reserve), discard bay leaves, and allow meat to cool for about 15 minutes. Shred the brisket with two forks, and transfer to a bowl. Skim any fat off of the top of the cooking liquid and then pour about 1 cup of the cooking liquid over the meat to keep it moist.


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Chicken Tikka Masala


I absolutely love Indian food. I love fancy Indian restaurants. I love Philadelphia's self-serve Indian buffets. I loved when my college roommate used to come back from holiday breaks with homemade roti and curry from her Guyanese grandmother. I loved the Indian food from the hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Madras, India that our auto-rickshaw driver took us to for lunch.


I still love to look at my photos from that amazing trip — wish I blogged then so I would have thought to photograph the grub!


Back to the food! Indian food has such depth of flavor between all of the spices, chutneys, and sauces. And I also find the variety of vegetarian options quite appealing.

And naan. Oh, the naan!

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Perfect Pulled Pork

These days, I'm all for making food on the weekend that will feed us during the week. It's just smart! It's also cost-effective, efficient, and gives us back time otherwise spent making dinner and cleaning it up. Pulled pork is a great for this purpose.

Here's the thing about pulled pork. It's completely low-maintenance. But yet it tastes like you spent hours caressing it, massaging it, and willing it to be tender.


Before trying this recipe, you should ask yourself a few questions:
  • Can you order a Boston/pork butt from your butcher? I'll be honest, it feels a little silly to say to a grown man, but it pays off. Note that while it's called "pork butt", it's really a shoulder cut of meat.
  • Can you mix spices and brown sugar together and rub them into the meat? 
  • Can you place the pork in a low temp oven and not touch it for 8 hours? 
  • Can you take a fork and shred the meat in a totally imperfect, and even haphazard, way?  

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Tasty Turkey Chili

In honor of the first day of fall, I decided to make a pot of turkey chili. It has a slightly different flavor than traditional chili and is a nice, healthy option for lunch or dinner! Like most soups and chili, it's actually tastier after being in the fridge overnight.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but I acquired it about 5 years ago when I was counting Points (it's 4 points for a cup, by the way!).


When possible, I try to buy "no salt added" products so I can season everything on my own. I used no salt tomatoes and corn in this recipe.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Old School Meatloaf

A few years ago, a very hungry (and handsome!) man came into my life...and he loved to eat. And while he loves to dine on fine foods and ethnic delights, there is also a special place in his heart for hearty meals of meat and potatoes.

Thus, I set out to find a delicious meatloaf recipe — one that even I could enjoy despite the fact that I've never craved meat in loaf form. It just doesn't sound tasty to me. I promise, however, that this recipe will not disappoint! And better yet, the recipe makes about 6 servings, so I split it into two loaves and pop one or both in the freezer...which means easy and delicious weeknight dinner!


This recipe is from Sara Moulten (she used to be on the Food Network) — I tried to find the recipe online but couldn't find the same one. I made some adjustments to the original recipe and included them in my version below.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I have to be honest. Homemade chicken pot pie is really the driving force that made me want to start blogging. You tell people that you're having delicious chicken pot pie for dinner, and they "ooh" and "aah" and say you're fab and very Martha-like.

But really, what's so incredible about going home, pulling a pot pie out of the freezer, and popping it in the oven for an hour? One hour, and you've got this waiting for you.


And this. Oh baby.


If you have a couple of hours one weekend to make these, you're in for about 10 scrumptious, individually-packaged servings of chicken pot pie. Just a few simple ingredients will get you there. I got the original recipe from my parents, but I'm not sure where it originated. 

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