December 22, 2024

Pease Porridge

September 18, 2015 by

Pease Porridge

“Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot, nine days old!”

 Yes, it’s a real dish; and, yes, it’s delicious hot (but I would recommend skipping it cold – and DEFINITELY don’t eat anything left out for a week!)  With fall coming next week, I thought I’d beat the rush and share my recipe for Pease Porridge.

Okay, I’ll be honest…this is just Split Pea Soup with less liquid added.  It comes out more like a stew—or even a pudding—when I make it like this.  Same ingredients though — if you want soup, just add 2 more cups of water or broth.  Easy!   You can add other ingredients to it as well – maybe a diced potato along with the veggies, or a smoked turkey leg as well as the ham.  Warm up your belly with this old favorite!

Pease Porridge

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces of ham, diced (use Soyrizo for a vegetarian version)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 pound bag of split peas
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, saute the ham for a few minutes.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and stir over medium heat until the onion is translucent.
  2. Add the peas, broth, water, and bay leaf.  Cover and simmer until thickened, 30 – 45 minutes.  Add more water if you like a thinner consistency (or add up to a full two or more cups of water or broth to make split pea soup.)  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

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Beef Stroganoff

October 31, 2014 by

Beef Stroganoff GCH resizeThis recipe is one of my favorites in the “Comfort Food” category.  Beef Stroganoff is easy and filling, especially if you serve it over rice or noodles.  We just eat it straight from the bowl, paired with a salad or roasted vegetables.

Now before you think I’m crazy for using so much wine in a stew, remember that all the alcohol cooks off. You will not get tipsy from your entree, I promise!  Make sure you use a wine that you will want to drink, because this recipe leaves you enough for a glass or two with dinner.  You can use red – like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, or pinot noir – or white – like pinot grigio or chardonnay.  Don’t use anything sweet, though.  Nice and dry is the secret.  And if you are really, really opposed to wine…you can use beef broth instead.

This recipe also calls for dried mushrooms.  I get big bags of dried, sliced shiitake mushrooms at the Korean supermarket.  Any Asian grocery store should carry dried mushrooms for cheap.  If you can’t find them, you can use fresh button or cremini mushrooms.  The difference will be the cooking time – you’ll need to sauté them for longer so that you can cook most of the water out of them.  Just experiment until it looks right – it’s not rocket science.

Ready for a fall stew that will warm your belly and delight your tastebuds?  Let’s go!

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 cup dried, sliced mushrooms (or use one pound fresh mushrooms, sliced)
  • 2 cups dry red or white wine
  • 1 tablespoon fresh snipped dill (or use 1/2 teaspoon dried dill)
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, but nice)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup whole milk yogurt (or use sour cream or creme fraiche)

Directions:

  1. If using dried mushrooms:  In a bowl, pour in one cup of the wine.  Microwave for about a minute so it’s hot, or at least very warm.  Add the dried mushrooms to the hot wine to rehydrate them.  Place another bowl on top so the mushrooms stay submerged in the wine.  Let steep until Step 3.
  2. In a large pot, brown the ground beef.  You don’t need to add any extra fat, since the fat will melt out of the meat.  When brown, remove beef with a slotted spoon to a bowl.  Leave the fat and juices in the pot.
  3. Add the sliced onion to the pot and sauté over medium.  If using fresh mushrooms, add them together with the onion.  If using dried mushrooms, add the mushrooms AND the wine they were soaking in when the onion starts to turn golden, about 8 minutes.
  4. When the mushrooms and onion are soft and golden, add the beef back to the pot, along with the other cup of wine, the dill, paprika, and mustard.  Cover with a lid and turn the heat to low.  Simmer for 5 minutes to combine.
  5. Turn off the heat, stir in the yogurt, and serve hot.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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Crockpot Curry Chicken and Curry Chicken Stew

June 6, 2014 by

Curry Chicken Stew resize

Two for the price of one!  That’s what you get when you start this recipe in the crockpot.  It’s not very glamorous, but oh boy! does it smell and taste divine!  A simple list of ingredients  and a crockpot are all you need to make two delicious meals: Crockpot Curry Chicken and Curry Chicken Stew!

First you need a can of coconut milk or coconut cream.  It needs to be a can, because the coconut milk “beverage” they put in cartons is all watery, and you need the high fat content of the canned stuff.  Trader Joe’s has both canned coconut milk and coconut cream, or you can try an Asian market or online.  Next thing you need is curry.  You can use curry paste; I just used curry powder and it was lovely.  You’ll need an 8-ounce package of mushrooms, any kind – I used regular button mushrooms, but shiitakes or creminis would be nice too, and give it a stronger flavor.  And last is this beauty:

Chinese Broccoli resize

I buy it at the farmer’s market from a Vietnamese lady who tells me it’s called “Chinese broccoli”.  A little online research shows its real name is kai lan.  Its leaves are like spinach, and its cooked stems have the consistency of asparagus.  If you can’t find it, use spinach instead…although the Chinese broccoli has a stronger, more bitter flavor.

I made this with whole chicken legs – skin, bones and all – but I think next time I’ll try it with just boneless, skinless thighs.  Chicken skin in the crockpot is not a nice thing – we actually peeled it off before we ate the Curry Chicken the first night because it just seemed kind of rubbery.  But I think the skin and bones do add to the stock for the stew the next day, so it’s up to you.  Either way, you get two healthy, delicious meals out of one crockpot – you can’t beat that!

Crockpot Curry Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds whole chicken legs
  • 1 can of coconut cream, or use coconut milk (not low-fat)
  • 3 tablespoons curry powder or curry paste of your choice
  • juice of 1 lemon or lime
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Directions:

  1. In a large crockpot, set the time for 8 hours on low or 4-6 on high.  Put the chicken legs on the bottom.
  2. Mix together the coconut cream, curry, lemon juice and salt.  Pour over the chicken and stir to combine.
  3. Cook until a thermometer reads 180*F.  Remove chicken legs from the pot and cover them with foil.  Pour the coconut broth into a large pan and simmer for about 15 minutes.  It will reduce a little.  Serve chicken legs with coconut broth.

Now, at this point, I had 2 very large legs leftover and about a cup of coconut broth.  I put them together in a Tupperware container.  Then the next day, I made…

Curry Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon butter, coconut oil or olive oil
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
  • 1 pound Chinese broccoli, cut into 2-inch pieces  (or use fresh spinach)
  • 2 large cooked chicken legs (or use 1 pound of chicken thighs)
  • leftover coconut broth – as much as you have
  • optional chicken broth
  • optional jasmine rice to serve

Directions:

  1. In a large pan, saute the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter, coconut oil, or olive oil.  Stir, and after five minutes, add the Chinese broccoli and cover.
  2. While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the chicken:  peel off the skin and any subcutaneous fat you find from the cooked chicken legs.  Remove the meat from the bones and roughly chop.
  3. Add the chopped chicken and remaining coconut broth to the mushrooms and Chinese broccoli.  If you want it to be soupier, add some chicken broth.  Cook until the chicken is hot, about ten minutes.

This would be lovely with some steamed jasmine rice!  I ate this for lunch, and liked it so much I ate it again for breakfast.

 

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipes, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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