On Wednesday nights, I usually go out to supper with my father and a few of his friends. Sometimes my sister joins us. We just go to a local eatery down the road from where I live. The food is hit and miss, but I don't go for the food, I go for the company.
Its just nice to be able to spend this time with my dad and sister, if she has joined us. Family times are the best of times.
Because of this I didn't cook myself a main meal today (as I write this, it is Wednesday). I did make myself a delicious salad for my lunch however.
Several weeks ago I had been watching Martha Stewart on YouTube and she was making Salad Dressings. She made a lovely wedge salad with a beautiful Blue Cheese Dressing. You can see the video here.
It looked so delicious. My favorite salad of all is a Caesar Salad, but Blue Cheese Dressing is my second all time favorite! Hers looked so delicious, I bookmarked it in my brain to try. Today was the day!
I love, Love, LOVE Blue Cheese. That is kind of strange I know, considering that I grew up only eating processed cheese slices and being afraid to try anything else.
I did start using cheddar cheese for cooking when I got married and had a family of my own, but I was still not fond of strong cheeses as far as just eating the went.
I don't know why. I never actually ever really ate them. I was always too afraid to try. In my mind any kind of cheese stronger than a processed cheese was not something I thought I would like.
That all changed when I moved to the UK however. How could you live in the birthplace of cheddar and not end up liking at the very least cheddar? Its impossible!! And then when I trained as a Chef, I also had to start trying things I had never thought I would like, one of which was cheese.
You cannot be squeamish about things like this if you are going to cook for a living.
That reminds me of when I was a very young woman and had my very first cooking job. I say cooking rather loosely because I didn't really have to cook much of anything. I was hired as the Pastry Chef at a big Hotel here in the valley that was quite prestigious at the time.
I was responsible for the appetizers and desserts. I baked cakes and put together simple desserts such as parfaits, etc. I also made the Shrimp cocktails, escargots and all of the salads.
That was the very first time I learned about recycled salad. Yes. Recycled salad. Their policy was that you scooped off the manky salad on the top of the salad in the refrigerator and then added fresh to freshen it up. I know. Appalling. And this was a very supposedly high class place.
I won't name the place because I don't want to ruin their reputation. I am sure this was probably a practice in many restaurants. You just couldn't get rid of all the salad every day I suppose. It would have been a great waste. Hence salad recycling.
Anyways back to this delicious dressing. I decided to have a nice mixed salad for my lunch today, using what I had in the refrigerator and to make myself Martha's Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing to drizzle over top. A real treat indeed!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MARTHA'S CREAMY BLUE CHEESE DRESSING
Aside from the blue cheese and perhaps the buttermilk, really simple ingredients. If you don't have buttermilk you can use whole milk, but the dressing won't have quite the same tang!
- 1/4 cup (30g) sour cream
- 1/4 cup (55g) mayonnaise
- 2 ounces (57g) crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or thyme leave
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, optional
- Pinch fine sea salt
- Pinch fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
If you want to cut back on the calories a bit you can use yogurt instead of the sour cream. Martha used both low fat Greek yogurt and low fat mayonnaise, also low fat buttermilk.
She used minced fresh thyme leaves. I didn't have any fresh thyme, so I used fresh chopped parsley leaves.
Do use fresh lemon juice. Reconstituted lemon juice just is not the same and you don't get the same clean taste ad you do with fresh. There is a HUGE difference between the two and in something fresh like this simple salad dressing it really DOES matter!
HOW TO MAKE MARTHA'S CREAMY BLUE CHEESE DRESSING
If you can whisk a few things together then you can make this. It really isn't that hard at all.
Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, blue cheese, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir until well blended and creamy. Use the back of the spoon to press some of the cheese into a paste in the dressing, leaving some chunky.
Whisk in the buttermilk. If you like a thicker dressing, you can cut down the amount that you use, but I find the amount called for just right for use as a salad dressing. Leave it out altogether if you are wanting more of a dip consistency.
This will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to one week.
This was really, really nice. Rich and creamy. I served it on a bed of mixed salad greens, along with some sliced cucumber, radish roses and fresh tomatoes.
I added a sprinkle of additional blue cheese, crumbled to the top of the dressed salad and some crispy french fried onion bits for salads. This made for a delicious light lunch that I quite enjoyed!!
If you are a fan of salads, and we are coming into salad season now, you might enjoy the following recipes from the blog:
HOMEMADE SALAD CREAM - When I first moved over to the UK, generally speaking, this was the only salad dressing offered in most places. Its delicious. This fabulous homemade version is a cut above the stuff that comes in the jar. It tastes just like it, except somehow better, if that makes sense!
HONEY LEMON VINAIGRETTE - Our mother never bought store made salad dressings when I was growing up. We always had a homemade vinaigrette dressing on our salads. This is a particularly delicious version. Honey and Lemon are beautiful taste partners.
Martha's Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
Prep time: 5 MinTotal time: 5 Min
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (30g) sour cream
- 1/4 cup (55g) mayonnaise
- 2 ounces (57g) crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or thyme leave
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, optional
- Pinch fine sea salt
- Pinch fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
Instructions
- Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, blue cheese, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir until well blended and creamy. Use the back of the spoon to press some of the cheese into a paste in the dressing, leaving some chunky.
- Whisk in the buttermilk. If you like a thicker dressing, you can cut down the amount but I find the amount called for just right.
- This will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
This is a lovely rich dressing. I like to serve some additional crumbled blue cheese to sprinkle on top of the salad after it has been dressed, but then, I love blue cheese.
I like to use Danish blue cheese, or Castello Blue Cheese.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
Welcome to day three of my week's store cupboard challenge. I have challenged myself this week to use only what I have in the house, including my refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards.
I have found myself buying loads of things that I don't need and then not getting them used up and in these days where we really need to economize I thought I would work harder at using what I already have rather than buying new things to cook.
This does take a bit of planning on my part. I need to take things out of the freezer to thaw, and I need to use what I already have in the house without picking up additional items, adapting things for purpose as and when!
I love stir fries. They are a great way of using up odds and ends of vegetables and small amounts of meat. They are also very adaptable to what you actually have in the house.
I had a small sirloin steak in the freezer and a quantity of vegetables that needed using and so today I decided to cook them in a tasty stir fry. I created a teriyaki style sauce enhance them.
Teriyaki is one of my favorite flavors. Ginger, garlic, soy, sweet, and a bit spicy.
Because I love oriental flavors so much I always keep a healthy store of the ingredients in my home. Soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic . . . these are all pretty much staples when it comes to stir frying and oriental cooking.
I have a shelf on the door of my refrigerator that is totally dedicated to this type of cooking, as well as Indian cookery. That way I am always ready when I want to cook up a stir fry such as the one I have cooked today.
I don't know how authentic it is, but that doesn't really matter to me. It tasted delicious and that's what matters most!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TERIYAKI BEEF STIR FRY
Simple a quantity of seasonings, some good beef and a mix of fresh or frozen vegetables.
- 1 pound (454g) beef sirloin steak
- 1 TBS low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 TBS light olive oil, divided
- 1 red bell pepper, trimmed, cored and cut into thin strips
- 3 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used carrots, tender-stem cauliflower, cabbage, red onion, snap peas and edamame)
For the teriyaki sauce:
- 1/3 cup (80ml) low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 3 TBS pure maple syrup
- 1 TBS rice vinegar
- 1 TBS minced fresh garlic
- 1 TBS minced fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
You can totally use frozen vegetables to make a stir fry so long as you follow a few rules. Thaw them out first and then drain them really well. Also do not expect them to have the same crispness as fresh vegetables would have. They will still be delicious however.
Today all of my vegetables were fresh except for the snap peas and the edamame. I added them at the very end just to basically heat them through and they were actually fairly crisp.
HOW TO MAKE TERIYAKI BEEF STIR FRY
This is really very quick and easy to make. That's why I love stir fries to much. You can't go wrong. The key to their speed is having everything ready to go before you start cooking!
Cut your meat crosswise into thin strips and place into a bowl. Toss together with the 1 TBS of soy sauce and the 1/2 tsp black pepper. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the vegetables and the sauce. (Make sure you cut it against the grain to maximize tenderness.)
Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a beaker. Set aside.
Cut all of your vegetables into bite sized pieces or strips. I cut my carrots thinly on the diagonal, thinly sliced my cabbage, broke my cauliflower into florets, sliced my onion into half moons, de-stringed my snap peas and thawed my edamame.)
Heat 1/2 of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot add the beef. Cook, stirring, until the beef is lightly browned on all sides and cooked through. Scoop out to a plate and set aside.
Heat the remainder of the oil to the skillet. add all of the vegetables, including the bell pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes until slightly softened and crispy tender. Add the beef and any accumulated juices back to the pan.
Stir in the sauce and toss to coat. Cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes to thicken and warm through the meat. Serve hot with some cooked rice if desired.
This was very filling and delicious. Normally I would use spring onions as well, but I didn't have any of those so made do with the red onion that I had.
I confess I did use minute brown rice as the rice I served with it. Again, I am using up what I have in the cupboards. I normally would prefer regular rice, but I do want to get this used up.
Quick, easy, delicious, healthy, high in fiber, low in fat. This was a great meal!
No stranger to the stir fry here are a few other stir fry recipes that I have made in my kitchen. All delicious. All easy.
LEMON CHICKEN STIR FRY - This chicken stir fry has a delicious sauce with lovely lemon flavors. Fresh lemon zest and lemon pepper seasoning are used for a lovely peppery punch. I also added some fresh thyme leaves for a bit of an herby touch. I like to enjoy this with angel hair pasta or spaghettini.
CANTONESE CHICKEN CHOP SUEY - A rainbow of colors, textures and flavors. Chicken, fresh vegetables, cashew nuts, and a delicious mix of saucy ingredients and honey. Serve with crispy chow mien noodles and rice for a real oriental treat!
Yield: 2-3
Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Quick, easy, delicious and healthy with plenty of vegetables and very little fat.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) beef sirloin steak
- 1 TBS low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 TBS light olive oil, divided
- 1 red bell pepper, trimmed, cored and cut into thin strips
- 3 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used carrots, tender-stem cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, red onion, snap peas and edamame)
For the teriyaki sauce:
- 1/3 cup (80ml) low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 3 TBS pure maple syrup
- 1 TBS rice vinegar
- 1 TBS minced fresh garlic
- 1 TBS minced fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 TBS cornstarch (corn flour)
Instructions
- Cut your meat crosswise into thin strips and place into a bowl. Toss together with the 1 TBS of soy sauce and the 1/2 tsp black pepper. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the vegetables and the sauce.
- Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a beaker. Set aside.
- Cut all of your vegetables into bite sized pieces or strips. I cut my carrots thinly on the diagonal, thinly sliced my cabbage, broke my cauliflower into florets, sliced my onion into half moons, de-stringed my snap peas and thawed my edamame.)
- Heat 1/2 of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot add the beef. Cook, stirring, until the beef is lightly browned on all sides and cooked through. Scoop out to a plate and set aside.
- Heat the remainder of the oil to the skillet. add all of the vegetables, including the bell pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes until slightly softened and crispy tender. Add the beef and any accumulated juices back to the pan.
- Stir in the sauce and toss to coat. Cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes to thicken and warm through the meat.
- Serve hot with some cooked rice if desired.
Welcome to day two of my challenge to cook meals for myself only using what I already have in the house. I have challenged myself this week to only cook from my refrigerator, freezer, larder, without having to go to the chops for any ingredients at all.
Maybe you are like me. You buy things and put them into your freezer and cupboards, and then forget to thaw them out and so pick up fresh at the shops, or you just never get around to using what you already have.
I have thrown out too many pieces of freezer-burnt meat to want to continue practicing this bad habit, and so I have challenged myself to use what I already have before buying anything else. My sister is a great example of thrift in this way.
She uses everything. Absolutely everything. Not much goes to waste in her house. I am striving to be more like her in this respect. Only buying what I need, and using what I have.
As you know I cooked a pork roast at the weekend. I found myself with a quantity of leftover cooked roast pork that I wanted to use up. I could have made pork fried rice, but I found myself lacking in some of the ingredients needed.
I found a recipe for what looked to be a tasty rice side dish in a cookbook I have entitled Our Best Quick & Easy Casseroles by Gooseberry Patch.
I decided to adapt it to what I already had in my house, and to turn it into a main dish rather than a side dish by using up some of my cooked roast pork.
The original recipe used instant rice and I didn't want to use that. I used packaged already cooked Uncle Ben's brown rice in its place.
Just a few very simple ingredients plus some seasoning.
- 1 pouch of Uncle Ben's Express already cooked brown rice (2 cups)
- 8 ounces (226g) sour cream
- 4 ounce can (127g) chopped green chilies, undrained
- 1 1/2 cups (181g) grated strong cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cubed cooked roast pork or chicken
As you can see I took advantage of this recipe to use up some small packages of cheese that I had in my refrigerator. I will sometimes buy those little net bags which included a variety of cheeses, or even one variety of cheese in a single sized serving.
I rarely, if ever, enjoy cheese just on its own like that. I don't know why I buy them. Anyways, I grated the equivalent in them for my cheese.
If you are unable to get green chilies, then you can use fresh jalapeno chilies. You may want to cook them first. Just trim, deseed, chop and sauté them in a skillet over medium heat until softened.
When I lived in the UK it was impossible to procure canned green chilies. I used to buy a whack of fresh jalapeno chilies and roast them in the oven. Deseed, remove the skins and then freeze them in ice cube trays to use for my Tex Mex cooking.
I just rolled them up and froze them whole, one per ice cube space. Then once frozen I would pop them out and into an air tight zip lock baggie where I could remove as many or as few as I needed to use at any one time.
If you don't have cooked pork to use, you can also use roasted chicken or even beef. All would work very well.
The original recipe used minute rice, for this recipe you would need 1 cup of minute rice and 1 cup of boiling water. Put the rice in a bowl, add the boiling water, cover and leave to sit for five minutes.
HOW TO MAKE CHEESY CHILI PORK & RICE
Nothing could really be any easier to make than this simple casserole. This goes together in a flash and cooks in half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 1 quart/liter casserole dish. Set aside.
Crumble the rice into a bowl. Stir in the sour cream, green chilies, diced pork and 1 cup (120g) of the cheese. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Spoon into the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted on top and begun to turn a light golden. Serve hot.
This was really quite delicious. I don't think any leftovers would freeze very well however, due to the use of sour cream. If you wanted to you could add other bits to it which would also be delicious, such as chopped olives, or onions.
I served this with some steamed frozen string beans and a sliced tomato. Someone at church had brought in a bunch of hot house cucumbers and tomatoes and told us all to help ourselves. I picked up a cucumber and a few tomatoes.
I didn't think that was cheating on my plan as they were free and did not cost me anything. This was a really great store cupboard meal!
Some other store cupboard meals that you might also enjoy that I have cooked here in my English Kitchen are:
CHEESY TUNA BAKE- This delicious casserole uses a tin of tuna, a packet of pasta, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sour cream, milk and frozen peas. Its simple to make and quite delicious. All you need on the side is possibly a salad and some crusty bread or rolls
OVEN BAKED THAI CHICKEN & RICE - A tasty oven bake using chicken tenders, basmati rice, coconut milk, green Thai curry paste, lime and some peppers and onions. I do so love the flavor of a Thai chicken curry and this delicious casserole certainly embodies those. Again, quick, easy and delicious!
Yield: 2 - 3 as a main
Cheesy Chili Pork & Rice
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Rich and cheesy, nicely spiced. A great way to use up leftover cooked pork, or chicken for that matter. (see notes for ingredient substitutions.)
Ingredients
- 1 pouch of Uncle Ben's Express already cooked brown rice (2 cups)
- 8 ounces (226g) sour cream
- 4 ounce can (127g) chopped green chilies, undrained
- 1 1/2 cups (181g) grated strong cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cubed cooked roast pork or chicken
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 1 quart/liter casserole dish. Set aside.
- Crumble the rice into a bowl. Stir in the sour cream, green chilies, diced pork and 1 cup (120g) of the cheese. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper.
- Spoon into the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted on top and begun to turn a light golden.
- Serve hot.
Notes
If you are in the UK, you may not be able to find the green chilies. You can substitute two to three medium jalapeno chilies in their place. (Depending on how spicy you like things.) Just trim, discarding the ribs and seeds. Chop finely.
If you don't have sour cream you can use Greek Yogurt, creamed cottage cheese, or cream cheese loosened with a bit of milk.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons