Last week`s dinners
The chicken paprikash (yum)
The chocolate and sea salt cookies (which Stephen wants me to make really soon)
The pulled pork. I added a bit of BBQ sauce just to make this a bit moister just before I put it on the bread.
This week`s dinners
I expect with the start of school for this week to be crazy. To avoid eating poorly and being stressed I have made the majority of our meals today. I also want to have some nice lunches so I made some choices that can fit all our needs.
This week we`ll have;
1) Beef Carbonnade (NB I had stewing beef and wasn`t going to waste a briskett on this meal so that is what is simmering away and initial tastes say that this hasn`t harmed the flavour)
http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/beef/r/carbonade.htm
•2 lb. beef brisket, trimmed of external fat
•Salt and pepper to taste
•3 strips bacon
•1 lg. onions, chopped
•1/2 bottle beer or ale (something dark and full-flavored such as a stout)
•1/2 c beef stock (approximate*)
•2 – 3 boiling potatoes (2″ diameter), quartered
•1 – 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4″ lengths
•2 tsp. juniper berries**, crushed (or 2 tsp. dried rosemary)
•2 tsp. tomato paste
•1 bay leaf
Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 300F.
2. Liberally season brisket with salt and pepper.
3. Cook bacon in a small dutch oven (compare prices)over medium-low heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel, chop, and reserve.
4. Brown brisket on all sides in bacon fat, then reserve on a plate.
5. Sauté onions over medium heat until lightly browned. Add beer and deglaze pot by scraping up browned bits.
6. Return brisket to pot along with beef stock, juniper berries (or rosemary), bacon, bay leaf, and tomato paste. Bring to a good simmer.
7. Place lid on oven and set on a rack in the middle of the oven. Cook one hour, then turn over brisket. Cook for another hour.
8. Turn brisket over once last time. Add carrots and potatoes, and and more stock if needed (the vegetables should be submerged).
9. Cook 45 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.
*Note: The liquid in the dutch oven should reach 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up the roast leaving the top exposed.
2) Homemade mac and cheese
I`ve given you the recipe for this before but I had a chunk of prosciutto leftover from a gorgeous big piece given to us by our friend Sue and I just chopped it up into the white sauce. A topping of panko and a good bake in thoven and this is a memorable mac and cheese.
3) Chicken stew with dumplings
I cooked a chicken yesterday and pulled all of the meat off of it this morning. I put in my slowcooker; the meat, two chopped carrots, two ribs of celery, a handful of dried mushrooms, a handful of green beans, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a bunch of kale chopped and I let this all heat up for a few minutes. Add half a cup of flour and stir through. Add enough stock to half fill your crockpot and let it cook for the day. An hour before we are going to eat this I`m going to take my frozen stash of herb biscuits out of the freezer and put them on the top to become dumplings.
4) Zucchinni lasagne (see previous recipe)
5) A BIG banana bread for breakfasts with some cut-up, dried pineapple in it (see previous banana bread recipe).
We should be good.
{Adventuresindinner} 