kathleen and steve

I made Georgia’s delicious apple cinnamon muffins a couple of weeks ago for a girls’ brunch and they blew my once tried and true Jiffy mix out of the water! Next time I may add an extra cup of chopped apples to kick up the tart notch but even without this change they are definitely breakfast worthy!

Here is my gravy recipe (adapted from Mom) that I make about once a month or so. I freeze meal-size portions and then defrost the day before for a quick and easy pasta dinner during the work week. The gravy is also good as pizza sauce as well. Note that this gravy is very lightly seasoned, as the majority of the flavor comes from the sausage and meatballs that finish coking in the gravy as it simmers. So if you prefer a “meatless” gravy, you might find a better recipe elsewhere.

Ingredients

1 egg
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb italian sausage
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
3-28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Let’s make the meatballs!  First preheat your oven to 375. Beat your egg in a medium sized bowl, then add the garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, shredded parmesan, and breadcrumbs. Add in the groundbeef and bring all of the ingredients together, similar to how you prepare a meatloaf. My measurements for the breadcrumbs are very loose and I tend to keep adding them to the mixture so long as it all holds togrether.

2. Your meatballs should be approximately 1 1/2″ in diameter. I lay them on a grated broiler pan, so the excess fat drips off and away from the meat. I then lay the italian sausage in between the gaps in the meatballs. You should get approximately 8 meatballs from this amount of beef. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.

3. While the meat is cooking away, you can start making the actual gravy. Sautee the onions in a large dutch oven (or stock pot) on medium heat until translucent. Then add in your garlic cloves and cook for an additional minute.

4. While the onions are cooking, open up your cans of whole tomatoes. The brand of tomatoes you use is completely up to you. I think wars have been fought over which brand is the “best.” I usually use Pastene because I think they taste good and they also sell a very large 108oz can which is just about the perfect size for gravies.

5. Once the onions and garlic are done, I simply dump the entire can of whole tomatoes into the pot. I then use an immersion blender to make everything smooth. Yes, that’s right, I don’t strain the tomatoes or remove the seeds or anything else. I realize that this part of the recipe probably makes Italian grandmothers cry but, to be honest, I don’t find that running the tomatoes through a food mill noticeably changes the flavor of the gravy. And doing it this way is so much more convenient.

6. By this point, the meat should be ready to come out of the oven. When it’s out, let it rest for five minutes and then add it to the gravy pot.

7. At this point, all that’s left is to let the pot simmer away so the meat can flavor the sauce. I like to simmer until the sauce is reduced by about an inch, which typically takes about 5-6 hours. However, if you don’t have that much time, 2-3 hours should be OK too.

I put the leftover gravy in tupperware containers and freeze for use later.

I hope everyone had a really nice Christmas!  Now that the holidays are over, I hope to have some time to post a whole slew of different recipes that I’ve been accumulating over the past month. In the meantime, though, I’d like to share a simple meal that was supposed to be just a quick and easy dinner but actually turned out surprisingly tasty.

I’m somewhat recalcitrant to post this recipe because I promised myself that I would only post those that we thought were special or unique.  Truth be told, on an average weeknight, we typically eat things like pasta, tacos, omelettes, etc. Oftentimes, we simply throw some ingredients together and hope that they turn out somewhat edible. While these types of dinners make up a significant part of our weekly menu, I never post them because, well, who really wants to see pictures of me cooking tacos? So you’ll have to trust me that this recipe, while not looking pretty or requiring any sophisticated ingredients, actually turned out well enough to share. In fact, Kathleen said it was one of her favorite dinners. Since it doesn’t have a formal name, we’ll call it, “Winter Chicken Crock.”

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups oven-top stuffing
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp italian seasoning

1. Combine your dry ingredients together in a shallow boil.  Then coat each of the chicken breasts liberally in the mixture. Note that you could also do this “shake and bake style” by placing the dry ingredients in a ziplock bag, inserting the chicken breasts and then giving a good shake.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet on medium heat. When it has completely liquefied, add the chicken breasts. Cook for approximately 4 minutes each side, flipping only once. It should develop a nice golden-brown crust. Don’t worry if the chicken is not cooked completely through, as you’ll be finishing it in the crock pot.

While your chicken is cooking, prepare the stuffing mix using about half the water required in the package directions.

3. After the chicken has finished cooking, place a thin layer of the cream of mushroom soup concentrate at the bottom of the crock pot. Then place the chicken breasts on top. Cover with the remainder of the soup mixture and, finally, with the stuffing. Pour any remaining butter from the pan over the top.

4. I cooked this meal in the crock pot on high for one hour and then finished on low for another five hours. Feel free to increase the “high” cooking time if you’re short on time. I would give it at least a few hours, though, for the best results. Also, you want to resist the temptation to add more liquid to the pot. The chicken will release plenty of juice as it cooks, which will mix with the soup concentrate in order to make a nice gravy. Adding more liquid will result in something rather soupy!

We served with mashed potatoes and jellied cranberry sauce. The recipe serves two with very generous portions, but you could easily double or triple it if you wanted to serve more. Granted, this may look downright awful when plated, but it was darn good – what can I say? Considering it only takes about 20 minutes of prep, it might be worth a shot on one of those lazy Sundays when you don’t feel like slaving away in the kitchen.

Enjoy!

Now that the weather is starting to get cold in New England (9 degrees in Boston on Thursday night!) it’s time to start thinking about warm winter recipes. This is an old classic, Shepard’s Pie.

Ingredients:

1 tbps olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 cup of frozen corn
1 lb ground lamb or beef
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp rosemary
4 medium yukon gold potatoes
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

1.First pre-heat your oven to 375. Now, you’re going to be making mashed potatoes for this recipe, so you also want to get a pot of water boiling on the stove. While the water is getting up to temperature, heat the olive oil in a large skillet and then add the onion, carrots, and ground beef. Cook until the meat is browned. While this is happening, you can peel and chop your potatoes into quarters. When the water comes to a boil, drop in your potatoes. They will take about 20 minutes to cook.

2. Once the beef is browned, add in the tomato paste and the beef stock. Simmer for another 10 minutes and the mixture will thicken up nicely. Remove from the heat and then add the corn and rosemary (frozen peas are more traditional, but I like corn better.)

When the mixture has cooled a bit, place it into a casserole dish.

3. The potatoes should be done by now. Strain them, return them to the pot, then add the butter and milk. I hand mash first and then finish up using an immersion blender with the beater attachment. They should be silky smooth.

4. You know the next step, right? Layer the mashed potatoes on top of the beef mixture in the casserole dish. Place in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes.

5. It should rest for fifteen minutes before serving. Don’t worry – it will still be piping hot!

A few weeks ago, Kathleen and I went to visit the farm that we buy meat from. We were able to see a lot of the animals and take a bunch of good pictures. Here are some of them:

At the farm, they’ve converted a number of old school buses into chicken coops. The buses can then be driven to different parts of the farm when the chickens need a new area to graze in.

Here are the turkeys, getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner! Kathleen said she wouldn’t feel bad eating them because they are kind of ugly. That is her barometer for when eating meat is morally acceptable apparently.

Pigs are smelly.

Cattle out to pasture.