Farro Stroganoff

I bought some farro at Trader Joe’s, and thought about what I wanted to do with it. It has a meaty texture, so I wanted something meaty. This stroganoff mash up seemed just right.

The ground pork I buy is leaner than ground beef that is twice the price, so I did not need to drain fat. If you use beef, you may need to drain fat when you remove the meat from the pot. 

Farro stroganoff

2 T oil

1/2 bag chopped onions

1 pkg sliced mushrooms 

1/2 t thyme

Salt and pepper

1/2 c dry sherry

1 lb ground pork (or lean beef)

2 T butter

1 pkg (8.8oz) Trader Joe’s 10min Farro

2 c water

8 oz sour cream

Worcestershire sauce

Heat oil in 6qt instant pot. Add onions and cook onions until soft. And mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until liquid evaporates and veggies brown. Add thyme and sherry, cook until wine evaporates, scraping brown bits up. Remove from pot. 

Add pork to pot and cook with salt and pepper. Remove. 

Melt butter and cook farro for a few minutes to toast. Add water and stir up any brown bits. Add pork and veggies on top, don’t stir. Place lid on pot, seal, and cook on high pressure 5 min, then npr 5 min. Release remaining pressure and open pot.

Stir up pork, veggies, and farro. Stir in sour cream and Worcestershire sauce to taste (7-10 shakes). Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve. 

chicken coconut curry

I made a yummy yellow coconut curry with chicken and potatoes last night. After browsing Pinterest for recipes, I made up my own. 

*****

Yellow Coconut Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1 onion, diced (unused a bag of frozen diced onions)

3 Yukon gold potatoes, skin on, cut in large bite size pieces

2 cans regular coconut milk

2 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces 

2 cups instant rice

Melt oil in large skillet with a lid and add curry powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for a minute, then add onion. Cook until soft. 

Add potatoes and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, or until potatoes are almost tender. Add chicken and simmer another 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thru and potatoes are completely tender. 

Add rice, bring to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit 5-10 minutes, or until rice is cooked thru. 

*****

The only changes we would make would be to only use 2 potatoes and to add 8oz baby carrots, cut in half on a bias, with the potatoes. Also add a cup of hot water with the rice so there is a looser sauce. 

I served this with a chenin blanc/viognier blend, Mbali, from Trader Joe’s. Bon appetit!

Copy cat recipe

Recently, Jack in the Box has had a yummy snack...wakey bakey hash browns. Hash browns topped with a bacony, garlicky, cheese sauce and a fried egg. I decided to try making it for dinner.

I found a super easy cheese sauce recipe that you can make in the microwave (or a double boiler, tho it's intended for the micro). Three simple ingredients: 8oz shredded cheese, 4t corn starch, and a cup of evaporated milk. Mix cheese and starch in a large bowl (I like a glass pie plate), pour milk over, and nuke in 2-3 minute intervals, whisking in between, until melted and thick. Done! The recipe calls for cheddar. The first time I made it for another recipe, I used swiss. This time I used Kraft smoky bacon cheddar shredded cheese. Here's the link for the recipe https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/3-ingredient-cheese-sauce#reviews

The hash brown patties have so much oil in them, I just dry fried them in a non stick skillet. Pushed them to the side when they were about done and fried a couple eggs over medium. Put the hash browns on a plate, top with eggs, then cheese sauce. Yummy!

The picture isn't very colorful, but shows the yumminess. Enjoy!

Some meaningful memes and quotes

I've seen these on Facebook recently, and they struck home. So I thought to gather them all here.

Ripple post 2

I didn't work on the blanket yesterday, as I ran some errands and had dinner out before picking up my daughter at a friends house. 

Today, while she and her BFF play Minecraft at the library, I sat and read and crocheted. Initially I had some difficulty, as I was just starting the second row, and couldn't get the ripples to match. So I reread the pattern, and discovered I hadn't put the last stitch in the first row that I should have. Once that was done, easy peasy. I am now about 2/3 thru the second row. 

The second row is the glittery moonstone. Then I will do two more rows of the silver heather. It is kind of the base color for the blanket. With the second row, the ripples are more noticeable. Cool 😊

Crochet project - ripple blanket

I have decided to bite the bullet. I am starting a crochet project that will look unfinished until it is finished. In the past I have made small/baby size granny square blankets that were finished when I was done making squares. But now I am starting something that is big. I measured me and a similar sized blanket. I crocheted a sample. I measured and multiplied it until I knew what I was making. Start with 227 chains. Double crochet 114 rows. Starting with 5 balls of yarn (or the equivalent...more later), with more to be bought. 

I'm making a blanket that I can snuggle with while reading in the chair in my bedroom. It will be roughly 67 inches long and 56 inches wide. I am using colors that match my duvet cover of greys and taupe. 

The colors I chose are by Lion Brand. From back to front, they are:

Vanna's Choice Charcoal Grey

Vanna's Choice Silver Heather

Vanna's Choice Linen

Vanna's Glamour Moonstone (this is a sport #2 weight yarn, so I am doubling the strands to match the worsted #4 weight of the other yarns)

The pattern I am using is from attic24.typepad.com. Lucy has several lovely ripple designs, and I chose the interlocking ripple. 

So as I sit here at McD's waiting for a call from the mechanic telling me they are on the way to pick me up after doing routing maintenance on my car, I have finally started this epic project. See how far I have gotten?

I am using an app on my phone to help keep track of stitches and rows. We will see how it works, as I haven't used it before!

I will try to post every couple days with my progress. I am hoping this will help with my stick-to-it-iveness, as in the past I have dwindled down and not finished large projects. There are the remains somewhere of a baby blanket (not grannys) for a friend's baby who is now almost 24. I think it measured about 30 inches by....maybe 6 inches. Not even a good scarf. But it was a pretty pattern!

Wish me luck...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I like to go a traditional route for St. Patrick's Day dinner. We usually have Guinness beef stew, soda bread, and I have a Guinness. I modify a couple recipes to make my stew. Here is a rough recipe, as the veggies can vary in quantity and variety. The prunes add a nice sweetness that compliments the bitterness of the Guinness. 

Guinness Beef Stew with Herbed Potatoes 

Stew:

1 onion, chopped

1 large turnip, peeled and chopped

2 medium parsnips, chopped into similar size pieces (narrow end in circles, fat end halved)

6 medium carrots, chopped into circles

2 lb boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks (don't use stew beef unless you like chewing erasers)

1 cup pitted prunes, halved

Salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

1 bottle of Guinness

2 cups water

Potatoes:

2lb small new potatoes, halved if large

4 T unsalted butter

Salt and pepper

1t dried thyme

For stew: place all ingredients in 6 qt crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is tender. I like to thicken mine with a little instant potato flake. Add it by the tablespoon until desisted thickness. 

For potatoes: melt butter in a large heavy pot with lid (I use my enameled cast iron Dutch oven). Add potatoes (wet from rinsing) and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat 30 minutes, until tender. Do not remove lid to stir, but shake the pot, so steam doesn't escape. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes. Add thyme and shake. 

Serve in bowls with stew on potatoes.