Low country boil

A friend posted pics on Facebook of a giant low country boil she did for friends in Reno. I had seen it mentioned recently, and thought I should make one. Her pics were the motivation I needed!

My girl and I had decided to spend the day at home for Independence Day. So this regional American dish was our dinner. 

I read a couple recipes, and this is what I ended up with, for two people:

8 small red potatoes

2 smoked sausages, cut into 1" pieces

2 ears corn, broken in half

3/4 lb 16/20 shrimp, raw and in the shell

Water and Old Bay seasoning

Fill a large pot with water and add Old Bay to taste. One recipe I read said 2t per quart of water. I just eyeballed it. Bring water to a boil. When boiling, add potatoes and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes. Add sausage and corn, and cook another 5 minutes. Add shrimp and remove from heat. Let sit until shrimp are done. Drain and eat!

We served it with butter and extra Old Bay. You could also serve with a crusty bread.

I was also looking for main dish salad recipes today for a potluck at church. I found a low country boil salad recipe that I think will do. I'll try to remember to post it later this weekend, once I make it. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

So, Cupcake and I have church tomorrow so we are having St. Patrick's Day dinner a day early. I told her the options, and she chose Beef and Guinness Stew and Colcannon. So we ran to the store this morning and got what we needed. And here it is:

Beef and Guinness Stew
1.5 lb beef chuck (I got a steak, as roasts are twice as big, and way more than two if us need), cut into 1 inch chunks
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound baby carrots
Salt, pepper and dry thyme
1 bottle Guinness
2 teaspoons vegetable base (no extra liquid)
Dry instant potatoes

Layer beef, onions and carrots in 2.5qt crock pot, seasoning with salt and pepper after beef layer. Sprinkle thyme over the top, then pour the Guinness in. Then swirl the vegetable base paste into the Guinness. Cover, turn on high and cook 4-6 hours (or low for 8-10).

Turn cooker off, and sprinkle in enough potato flakes to thicken as you desire.


Colcannon
1 bunch kale, pulled off stems and torn into small pieces
1 stick butter (I used Kerrygold garlic and chive butter)
1.5 cups potato flakes
Water and milk

Melt butter in a pot and add kale. Cover and cook until tender.

In a large bowl, mix potato flakes and enough water to make very dry potatoes. Add kale and butter from pot. Stir, then add about 1/2 cup milk (more or less to taste). Then add enough water to make potatoes desired texture. Season with salt and pepper.

It is good and warm on this cold, drizzly St. Patrick's Eve. Enjoy!

Oktoberfest stew

This was dinner tonight. I know it isn't October anymore, but I just found it this week on pinterest. I am still figuring this bloggy thing out, so I don't know how to track back, but here's the link to the original site where the recipe is http://thecozyapron.com/oktoberfest-stew-and-shiny-happy-people/

The only changes I made were I only used a quarter of a small cabbage, and I used while caraway seeds, as I missed that part of the recipe, I doubt I could've found ground caraway at the local store anyway, and my grinder doesn't grind well :P

Also, because it is after thanksgiving, the only seasonal beer I could find were winter ales. So I found a local amber lager to use...Red Hook No Equal lager, made for Seattle Sounders fans. In general, I prefer ale, but it isn't bad, so I am able to finish the bottle after using some in the stew ;)

With the minor changes that I made, it is very yummy. I will probably put the full amount of cabbage next time, but wasn't sure how it would go over with M. But it got a thumbs up from her :) Can't ask for more than that!

First crock pot of the season

I bought a new crock pot. Not because there was anything wrong with the one I already had. It was just too big. For a family of two (me and my girl M), 5.5qts was more food than we needed, or didn't cook properly when not full enough. So when I saw a 2.5qt on sale, it was a go. It is a cute, seasonal one with owls on it :)

So today I cooked my beef and Guinness stew. Since we were home all day, and I didn't get my mojo moving early enough, I cooked it on high for about 3 hours. The recipe is my mental amalgamation of several different recipes I've gotten out of books and online. Here is what it was tonight:

1 3lb boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-2 in cubes
1/2 bottle Guinness (dispose of the other half as you see fit ;) )
Salt, pepper, dry thyme
Chopped onion, celery and carrot (I used half of a carton of pre-prepped mirepoix)
A big handful prunes, cut in half

Put everything in the pot, put on the lid, turn it on, and walk away. As I said, on high it was about 3 hours. Low maybe 6-8.

When it was done, I then added 1/2 to 3/4 cup instant potato flakes to thicken all the yummy stuff up. I was going to put in chopped red potatoes, but one was bad, and there wasn't room in my new little pot. Maybe I should get a smaller roast next time :)

Zuppa Toscana

This is my favorite soup at Olive Garden. And pretty easy to make at home.

I browned a pound of Italian sausage (hot, mild, sweet...whatever your preference). When it was done, I added a chopped onion. After it softened, I added about a pound of diced potatoes (I used frozen diced potatoes cuz I was feeling lazy) and 4 cups of chicken broth. I then simmered it until the potatoes were tender. Then I added about a half pound of torn up kale. After I stirred it in, I let it simmer another 20 minutes, until the kale was tender and some of the potatoes broke down to thicken the soup. If desired, you can add a bit of red pepper flakes.

I made some pilsbury bread sticks to go with the soup ala Olive Garden...when they were almost done I brushed them with melted butter with garlic powder mixed in. Yummy!

Steak, Brussels sprouts and bleu cheese mashed potatoes

Tonight I made steak...a perennial favorite in this family. The steak wasn't prepared any differently than usual...salt, pepper and broiled. But before I cooked the steaks, I put a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet with some pam, salt and pepper. I roasted them at 375* for about 25 minutes. Then I pushed them to the far sides of the pan and put the steaks in the middle. I then switched to broil and cooked the steaks until medium rare.

In the mean time, I made instant mashed potatoes with crumbled bleu cheese in them and a little rosemary. They could've used a tad less cheese and a tad more rosemary, but they were good nonetheless.

Now, it will be more budget friendly meals for a few days :)