Wednesday, May 9, 2012

in my kitchen

One of my goals over the next couple years is to document more of my recipes.  Many of the meals that I prepare on a regular basis are my own creations or heavily modified recipes.  I want to be able to pass these on to others someday.  I also simply enjoying sharing them.

HubPages is having a recipe contest next month so I'm saving up a couple new ideas to turn into great articles.  For now, I'm sharing a few of my older standards.  Enjoy!

What's In the Fridge Cobb Salad

I make salads for lunch on a fairly regular basis.  Most of them are a variation of a Cobb salad with what we have on hand and whatever dressing I'm currently loving.  This is what I included in the pictured salad above.
Handful of lettuce, torn (spinach leaves work well, too)
3-4 slices cucumber, diced
3-4 cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
1/2 avocado, diced (or if you're like me and don't live with anyone who enjoys avocados, the whole avocado)
2 slices deli meat, shredded (I used sliced ham and chicken)
small handful of shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)
small handful of croutons (we bought these, but you can make them)

I did not include hard boiled eggs, but this is another great option that I sometimes use.

Sloppy Joes

This is a modified Rachael Ray recipe.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2-2.5 tablespoons steak seasoning (I use McCormicks)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Pour the olive oil in a large frying pan.  Brown the ground beef.  About halfway through cooking, mix the brown sugar and steak seasoning.  Add the mixture to the beef.  Finish cooking the beef.  Drain the grease.  Add the red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce.  Mix well.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  I like to serve it on toasted buns with cheese.

I chose to pair my sandwich with some simple raw veggies and Ranch dressing and chips.  There are many great side options for sloppy joes.

Pork Chops
I did document this recipe on HubPages a while back.  You can check it out here.

Cheesy Orzo
This is another recipe from Rachael Ray.  I don't use a lot of her recipes, but this pasta and the sloppy joes are two of her best.  I cut this recipe in half, but otherwise I didn't make any modifications.  If you're cooking for a larger group, you can easily make a double batch.
1 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 14-16 oz. can chicken broth
3/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I usually use a mix of Colby Jack and Parmesan)

Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with the olive oil.  Cook the garlic and onion for 4-5 minutes or until the garlic has browned slightly.  Add the chicken broth.  Cover the pan and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta.  Turn the heat to low and cover.  Stir the mixture every 3-4 minutes until the pasta has absorbed all of the chicken broth.  Add the cheese and stir until it's melted.  Serve.

The broccoli that we ate with this meal is simple steamed broccoli.  Delicious and healthy but nothing too exciting.

What are some of your standard recipes?  Feel free to share recipe links!

I included this post in Michelle's Delicately Constructed Friday 5/11/12.

13 comments:

  1. Wonderful recipes. I make my sloppy joes using Rachael Ray's recipe, too. She also has a good recipe for risotto that I used when I first learned to make it. The pork chop looks tasty; I'll check out the HubPage.

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    1. Just wanted to let you know that I tried the pork chops last night -- quite a hit. Thanks!

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  2. Thank you for sharing. I will have to try the sloppy joes. I think my kids would like those. The orzo sounds delicious too.

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  3. The pork chop recipe looks great!
    And salads are always great when you need something quick to toss together for lunch!

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  4. Hmmm, I've always used the canned sloppy joe sauce -- I'll have to try your recipe -- I've got everything on hand except the meat!!
    The orzo sounds really good too!

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  5. Aww man, I really wish I had some of that cheesy orzo right now!

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  6. Your recipes all look scrumptious, especially the cheesy orzo! I rarely ever cook - my Ogre is the chef of the house. ;D

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  7. That's a great idea to document your recipes! I eat salads for lunch a lot.

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  8. I've already had dinner but you made me hungry all over again. I used to follow recipes exactly when I first started cooking. Now it's whatever I throw in the pot :)

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  9. looks like some tasty meals. I'm the one who makes the salads in this house, usually regular veges with maybe chicken, for a meal. Great idea to write them all down. {:-D

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  10. We haven't had sloppy joes in a long time but I've got a hankering for them now! I love salads but we don't have as many as we should. We have such a mixture of recipes that I can't think of a go to one - maybe because I don't cook them either!

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  11. We eat a lot of salads, when the weather warms up!
    I cook a lot of stir-fry meals because they are quick and easy :)

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  12. I wish I lived at your house! I love salad, but for some reason I don't prepare it enough. Some folks just have the talent to make great salads and it looks like you're a natural. I'm going to try the pork chops - those look yummy.

    I love when people share family recipes. I've never understood those that want to keep them a secret.

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