Yummy meatballs and the next recipe Dopiazah for Wednesday...

Tonight we had Curried Meatballs with Rice.  We've had that for dinner as another of our "go to" recipes for a long, long time.  It was a recipe from early in our marriage.  It never disappoints.  I boxed up 3 dinners for later and we had no leftovers.  Miss M joined us and we talked about how I should sometime make the rice by itself because it's so darn good! Mmm...a hint of ginger just makes it a stand alone with other dinners.

 Wednesday is going to be Dopiazah for dinner.  Dopiazah means double the normal amount of onions.  The recipe I use comes from The Encyclopedia of Asian Cooking, Octopus Books Limited, 59 Grosvenor St., London, WI., 1982.    

Dopiazah
3/4 c. ghee*
2 lbs. onions, peeled and sliced
2 t. cumin powder
1 t. fenugreek powder
1 T. turmeric powder
2 t. Garam Masala (recipe follows)
3 green chilis, chopped
1 lb. boneless lamb shoulder or leg cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/4 c. water

Melt the ghee in a heavy pan, add the onions and fry gently until soft.  Remove half the onions from the pan and set aside.  Add the spices to the onions remaining in the pan and fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the chilis, then the lamb and fry until the lamb is browned on all sides.  Stir in the water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the meat is tender.  Add the reserved onions and cook a further 5 minutes until the curry is fairly dry.  Serve hot with rice.  Serves 4.

 Ghee:  Clarified butter.  Also sold in jars in the Indian section of the supermarket.  You can clarify your own butter to save money by melting over low heat and separating the milk solids from the oil.  Refrigerate the ghee and use within 3 months.  

Garam Masala
1 1/2 t. whole cardamoms
5 t. coriander seeds
1 t. cumin seeds
1 1/2 t. whole cloves
2 T. whole black peppercorns

Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods, then place on a baking sheet with the remaining ingredients.  Bake in a preheated 475 degree oven for 10 minutes, then leave to cool.  Grind to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or food processor.  Store in an airtight container.   

Back to the Plan...and a recipe

     Last week was weird dinnerwise at the end of the week.  I made the dinner swap on Wednesday for Thursday.  That worked well.  Friday was a whole different story.  I had planned on Rogan Josh, but 1, there were leaves to get up before the snow coming on Saturday and 2, there was the concert at school.  DH went for a run and was going to quickly shower and then wanted to go out for dinner after the concert.  He thought it was starting at 6 pm.  I checked, but too late to start Rogan Josh for dinner, to find out that it started at 7.  I needed at least half an hour just to marinate the meat.  Not happening.  I switched gears and thanks to the Saffron Road World Cuisine Company, I was able to make Tikka Masala.  I chopped up fresh chicken, carrots, onions and some bell pepper, sauted the mixture, added the sauce and continued simmering. At the end of prep, I decided it was not enough gravy for DH, so I added 1 cup of plain yogurt to the sauce, being careful not to boil the mixture so it won't separate.  The rice in the rice cooker took longer than making the Tikka, so that was all we had to wait for.  Dinner was done in time and I was able to put away the leftovers (I know...the very thing I'm trying to avoid!) before we left for the concert.

Then last night, there was a basketball game that DH wanted to see, but he also wanted to meet friends for pizza.  So much for the bonus dinners.  Well, that means more lunch.  The snow got in the way of our friends meeting us, but we went anyway, bought a huge pizza so we'd have leftovers (mostly for Miss M) to bring home.

This week will be more normal I hope.

Tomorrow's recipe is a fan favorite, except for Miss K.  Curried Meatballs with rice has to be the most oft requested dinner when I ask.  I can't blame them, the meatballs are awesome and the rice can stand alone.

Curried Meatballs with Rice

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. tomato sauce
1 1/2 t. curry powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. oil
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 c. beef broth
1 c. rice
1/8 t. ginger

Mix well the beef, crumbs, sauce, curry and salt.  Shape heaping Tablespoonfuls into meatballs.  In a skillet, turning occasionally, brown the meatballs in the oil.  Push them to one side; saute the onions about 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in the broth, rice and ginger.  Roll the meatballs on top of the rice mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, stirring occasionally, and simmer 15 minutes or until the rice is fluffy and the meatballs are done.  Serves 4.

Another dinner swap...and a recipe

Last night I did a Dinner Swap for tonight.  I made the Cheesy Ground Beef Casserole and we had dinner with friends tonight. (Which was yummy by the way)  Dinner last night was yummy as well.  I'd tweak it a bit by adding more carrots and I left out the salt and pepper, but it does need the salt.  I boxed up our bonus dinners for later.  Tomorrow we will have our bonus oven fried chicken dinners.  Tonight should have been Turkish pilaf.  Miss M and I will have them for lunch tomorrow.

  Here is the recipe for Friday.  It comes from Indian:  a Collection of Over 100 Essential Recipes, Paragon Books, LTD, 2008.  

Lamb Rogan Josh
1 1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/2 t. asafetida, dissolved in 2 T. water
1 1/2 lb (700 g) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 2" (5 cm) cubes
2 tomatoes, seeded
1 onion, chopped
2 T. ghee or vegetable oil
1 1/2 T garlic and ginger paste
2 T. tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 T. ground coriander
1/4 t.-1 T. chili powder
1/2 t. ground turmeric
1 t. salt
1/2 t. garam masala
     Put the yogurt in a large bowl and stir the dissolved asafetida. Add the lamb and use your hands to rub in all the marinade, then set aside for 30 minutes.
     Meanwhile, put the tomatoes and onion in a food processor and process until blended.  Melt the ghee in a  flameproof casserole dish or large skillet with a tight fitting lid.  Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir until the aromas are released. Stir in the tomato mixture, tomato paste, bay leaves, coriander, chili powder and turmeric, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes.
     Add the lamb and salt with any leftover marinade and stir for 2 minutes.  Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.  The lamb should give off enouigh moisture to prevent it from catching on the bottom of the skillet, but if the sauce looks too dry, stir in a little water.
     Sprinkle with the garam masala, re-cover the skillet, and contiune simmering for 15-20 minutes, until the lamb is tender. Serve immediately. 
Serves 4.

I am going to use beef in this recipe, since it's what I have on hand.  There's a concert at school on Friday, but I'm home early and can get this made so we can eat right away and go to the concert.

Until tomorrow...

Awesome curry and a recipe for tomorrow...

Tonight's dinner was awesome.  I used uncooked chicken so I cut it into 1" cubes and sauted it in a bit of oil before working with the onions and celery.  I packed up 3 bonus dinners for later and served the rest.  It was just the two of us for dinner so I put aside the leftovers for Miss M to have for lunch tomorrow.

I will be doing a cooking swap since we are going to our friend's house for dinner on Wednesday.  Tuesday's dinner will be lunch either Tuesday or Wednesday.  It's the Turkish Pilaf.  I'm inclined to have it for lunch tomorrow as that will make more room in the freezer for my bonus dinners. 

The Recipe for tomorrow comes from the interwebs.  Cheesy Ground Beef Casserole is a recipe that gets made 3 ways:  Quick, Semi Homemade or From Scratch.  I'm going to do from Scratch and will sub celery for the mushrooms since DH doesn't like them. Also for the sliced cheese, I'll use shredded since it's what I have.

Cheesy Ground Beef Casserole
3 T. unsalted butter
1/4 c. minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. minced white button mushrooms celery
3 T. flour
1/2 c. cream
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
2 c. water
1/2 - 1 lb. ground beef
1 c. carrots, sliced
Cheddar or Colby Jack Cheese, sliced-9 slices
1 c. long grain white rice

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray an 8 x 9" baking dish with non stick spray.  In a medium pan over medium heat, add the butter and melt.  Whisk in the onion, garlic and mushrooms celery.  Add the flour, whisking constantly and cook for 30-60 seconds.  Add the cream and broth slowly and cook until thick.  Season and remove from the heat.  Place the cream mixture, rice, water, beef and carrots into the dish and stir to combine.  Bake for 90 minutes, add the cheese and bake for 5 minutes or until melted.  Serves 4-6.

Dinner and a recipe for next week

     The Turkey a la King was awesome.  I boxed up a container of rice and a container of the a la King.  I also had an extra portion from dinner and since Miss M did not join us, I put that in the fridge for her for lunch tomorrow or Monday.  The only glitch tonight was that I had no Cream of Chicken Soup.  I winged it (get it, a bit of poultry humor here) and used 1 can each of cream of celery soup and cream of onion soup.  Having done this, I have figured out that if I add 1 teaspoon of Chicken Bouillon granules, I can probably get a similar taste, just using one can of soup and achieve similar results.  This will cut the recipe in half, but at dinner tonight I realized it would feed 4 easily.  That would make a great dinner that is so quick to make, it is finished by the time the rice goes off.  I will do some tweaking of the recipe and adjust it accordingly.  

     My cream of onion soup search does continue though.  I have only found it at Strack & VanTil near JoAnn’s Fabrics here in Chicago.  That is a “field trip” store that requires more time.  We tend to go there on school breaks or in the summer, about once a month or so.  I am all out of cream of “whatever” soup now, so I can’t work with this recipe until winter break when field trips occur more often.  I will check Mariano’s next week maybe. It’s not a regular store for me, but it is on my way to stores that are.  I like to go there on Wednesdays when they’ll double 5 of my coupons.  I have some for cream soup, so that will work.  I also love their pick and mix sodas.  They have so many cool root beers to try!

     Monday's dinner is Curried Chicken with Rice.  This has been around our entire time together...since Summer of 82 at least! That's a lifetime to some people!

Curried Chicken with Rice

1 T. butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 small green or red bell pepper, chopped

1 c. rice

1 c. diced cooked chicken (see note)

2 c. water

2 t. chicken bouillon granules

1 1/2t. curry powder

     Melt the butter in a skillet.  Saute the onion until transparent.  Add the celery; saute until bright green. Add the bell pepper.  Stir in the rice and chicken.  Stir in the water slowly.  Add the bouillon and curry powder. Stir.  Bring to a boil, reducing heat to a simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.  Serves 4.

Note:  If using fresh chicken, dice and saute first. Incorporate the freshly cooked chicken in the recipe accordingly.  Also, canned chicken may be used as well. 

Dinner Swap

So after a long process of vacuuming leaves and finding muscles I didn't know I had, I decided to swap our Friday and Saturday meals.  We had our bonus Kofta Kari meals (totally yummy by the way) tonight and will have the Turkey a la King tomorrow night.  This will also allow room in the freezer for those bonus dinners.

Not an exciting night...just prepping for grocery shopping tomorrow.  More coupons than usual.  That's good because I'll save even more. :)

Until tomorrow.  Well  I guess really it's until later.

It was sooo yucky!

I have just one thing to say about tonight's bonus dinner.  Ok, two.  Yuck and never again.  I will not have previously cooked pork chops prepared this way again.

Suffice it to say fully cooked pork chops that are frozen and then reheated from frozen in the microwave are leathery and disgusting.  The cats ate it, but my human teeth are still yelling at me.  And then there's my Dear Hubby!  He really tried.  And then I asked him if he'd rather go out.  He just said, "Ok".  No critique, no eye rolling, no funny faces, just "Ok".

We went to one of our favorite places, Charcoal Delights.  They have lots of great non-gross food.  I thanked the awesome girl behind the counter for saving dinner for us.  I explained how my dinner was so yucky and she really bailed me out!  :)

If there is a next time for this recipe, I will make this in two separate baking dishes, but only parbake one of the casseroles.  I'll cool that one in the fridge and then freeze the dish for later, baking it (No more nuking pork chops) in the oven.  If it is another epic fail, I'll abandon the pork chops for chicken which I know will work in the oven.

I also thought about marinating the chicken in lemon juice and thyme for a bit first.  I don't know.  I'm still kinda traumatized...

Tomorrow is Turkey a la King.  That will be an awesome, predictable meal! :)  Literally can't wait.  Oh and you can add mushrooms to the recipe if you want.  DH won't eat 'em...they squeak. :P