Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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KitchenKatalog: Blog 309
Thursday, June 21, 2012, 08:47 AM
I made lentils again similar to a few othertimes. I sautéed a half of an onion, well copped mushrooms, lots of carrots and lots of celery (including leaves). After they were cooked down a bit, I added chopped garlic. I then added 1 cup of lentils and about 2.25 cups of water/broth. That is higher than the normal 1:2 ratio, but I had a lot of veggies in it. I then added garlic powder, onion powder, 21 seasoning salute and some sriracha. I let it simmer in the dutch oven uncovered. Actually, as I saw that it was going to have absorbed/cooked off all of the water before my beet chips were done, I covered it for a bit.
The lentils were so good. I think the trick is the mushrooms but I do not know for sure. All I know is they every time I made this, it tastes great. And it is all of 12 points for the ENTIRE thing. Lots of flavor and protein, for low points!
I also made beet chips. I am not going to bother copying the recipe since all I did was slice the beets on the finest setting and then bake them for about 20 minutes at 350. I used parchment paper under them but I do not know if that made a difference. They were okay. Not incredible. Some burned and some were still soft which is strange since they were all fairly uniformly cut. The recipe called for using the thinnest setting, but I think I would use a slightly thicker one next time since they shrink so much while cooking.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2046, 2012-06-21_084748
Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 12:38 PM
I didn't feel like doing a lot of cooking so I took some frozen tilapia, put leftover magic dust form the other day on it and baked it in the toaster oven. I also made butternut squash fries. The mandolin had some trouble getting through the squash but it wasn't too bad in the end. They didn't come out very crispy but I still liked them.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2042, 2012-06-20_123833
Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 02:39 PM
I basically used the same idea for "cupcakes" as I have use many times before. This time, I made them buffalo chicken style. I sautéd onions and a green pepper, then I added the shredded chicken. I followed with a bunch of Franks Red Hot and then two laughing cow wedges. It probably could have used more Franks but I was weary of the saltiness.
As always, they were good. I like doing things cupcake style. It is easy and fun to eat.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2036, 2012-06-19_143905
Monday, June 18, 2012, 02:38 PM
I described theMoussaka yesterday. I had a portion of that and I tried to "fry "zucchini. I basically just sliced it thin (made easy with the new mandoline) and then I dipped it in egg beaters then Panko bread crumbs. The bread crumbs did not stay on very well. I guess I really should just use regular italian bread crumbs. Or, I may have been trying to skimp. Either way, I think it was better than the fiber-one kind. The zucchini kind of just tasted like baked zucchini. Not really a bad thing, but not as good as I was going for.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2033, 2012-06-18_143854
Monday, June 18, 2012, 11:36 AM
I made Mousakka though I accidentally deleted the picture. This was supposed to be dinner last night, lunch today and then two freezer portions. However, two things happened. The first is that it took WAY TOO LONG to make. I forgot how time and work intensive this meal is. Second, I misread the recipe and did too much onion, then I added a bit more beef than usual (I usually do 4/3 of a pound, but did a bit extra). I knew right away it was making a lot when it filled my pan and I had to move it to my new dutch oven. I also used the mandolin to slide the eggplant and potatoes. I had way too much eggplant and I misjudged the potatoes. So, I made two dishes worth (about 7 servings). I decided to 1.5 the seasonings given the extra size of it all. I was not able to do a very thick second beef layer, but that is fine.
It came out pretty good as usual. Such a good, and low point meal!
Oh, I also cut the eggplant length wise which made for an easier time lining the pan. And I gave them a really good broiling!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2027, 2012-06-18_113659
Sunday, June 17, 2012, 10:06 PM
I was making Moussaka but it took way too long and I didn't want to wait. So I am having that tomorrow (see that post). So, then I wanted to go to a meal I planned later in the week from Serious Eats (I will come back and link to my own page of it later), but I apparently didn't have tuna. So, here is what I did: I took pasta (the Plus kind that is multi-grain and extra protein). While it was cooking, I took some olive oil and a heaping scoop of whole grain mustard and put it in the pan. I then added some fire roasted green peppers and then a scoop of hoagie spread. Finally, I added a wedge of laughing cow cheese. I added the pasta to the pan (a trick to get better flavor). Then, I added a bit of the pasta water I reserved (another trick to coat it). Finally some black pepper!
It was actually pretty good. Had a nice bit of spice. I do not know if it was from the hoagie spread or what, but it was good. I would definitely make it again. It would have been even better with the tuna.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2024, 2012-06-17_220655
Friday, June 15, 2012, 09:48 PM
I made zucchini fritters at least starting out with the original recipe. It was actually a bit thick before I added anything else, but then I remembered the baking powder. Except, I accidentally added corn starch. That made it even thicker! I think I may have used a bit too much flour. It was a little bit more like pancake batter. As I said, it was thick before but it made very few despite using two whole zucchinis.
I also made a small side of pasta (using the "plus" kind that is whole grain and more protein). I added some cheese, butter spray and lots of Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle. It was also pretty good!
I could have stretched it to two meals but since I didn't need lunch the next day and since the fritters are low, I just did it as one.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2014, 2012-06-15_214832
Friday, June 15, 2012, 09:48 PM
The main part of this meal was the chicken which I used with magic rub (recipe below). I tried to follow the recipe pretty closely but I had to make some changes. I didn't have kosher salt so I used half as much and just used regular. I also ran out of chili powder so I improvised. Also, I used mostly hot (but not smoked) paprika. The recipe called for doing it with pork but I used pounded out chicken.
On the note of pounded chicken, I found the easiest way to do it. I vacuum sealed the chicken and did it in there. No mess and it worked really well. Plus, I was able to reuse the bag to freeze the other pieces I wasn't using.
The chicken was pretty good. Nothing amazing, Despite cooking it on the hot pan, it didn't quite caramelize as much as I had hoped. I used the thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken, and I think I took it off at the exact right time. It wasn't overcooked or anything. The spices were a bit too heavy on cumin but not all together bad.
I also heated a pre-made peas and lentil thing as a side dish.
Magic Dust (From Serious Eats)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2017, 2012-06-15_214848