Weeknight meals

[Diablo de Acero]

Now I'm starving! Nothing like hearty soup. I'll give that a try next week.

[guido]

Pork stew on a rainy night. Made in the IP with country style pork ribs, onion, carrot, celery, parsnip, garlic, gravy master, cornstarch, S&P and a squirt of special Umami paste.

[maunahaole]

Guido, you’re going to have to tell me how you did that.

[guido]

Guido, you’re going to have to tell me how you did that.

Sure.

On the saute setting, brown the pork pieces in some olive oil. Don't crowd the pan, do them in several batches. The pork tends to stick a bit more than beef or lamb, not a bad thing, just use tongs to pull the pieces off the pan surface. The stuck bits will enhance the sauce. While the pork is browning chop the veggies (flexible, use what you have on hand: I used 4 medium carrots, last 3 stalks of celery and the leafy tops to add volume, and 2 huge cored parsnips) into coarse pieces, smash and mince the garlic. Once the pork is finished browning, remove from the pot and set aside. With the pot still on saute, add the chopped veggies to the pan and let them soften slightly, stirring frequently. Add two teaspoons of gravy master for color. Measure out a cup and a half of water. To this add two teaspoons of cornstarch stirring to get out the lumps. Add a generous squirt of umami paste (available at whole foods or trader joes) and about a tablespoon of dried thyme. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, then pour over the now softened veggies. Mix well, then add the pork and whatever juices accumulate back to the pot and push the pieces down into the veggies mix. At this point it is going to look quite dry. Don't be concerned! The veggies will give off a lot of moisture. Turn the IP from saute to manual, put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes. I normally do the quick release of pressure when it is done. If you are fast it is about 15-20 minutes of prep work before you turn it on and walk away while it cooks. Let me know if this isn't clear...

[Shinomaster]

One of my new favorites is stovetop "enchiladas."

1) Put stuff for filling in a hot pan. I like to braise a bunch of chicken thighs on the weekend to use throughout the week, and sometimes a pot of beans. Use only salt, pepper, and garlic so they're adaptable. This is a lot easier if you're veg and/or you're willing to eat canned beans. Other filling stuff includes peppers, tomatoes, or other veggies. Add some stock, tomato paste, and let it reduce for a few minutes, until it's no longer soupy.

2) Fill the tortillas. Lay out the tortillas on the counter. Put cheese on the bottom, then the filling on top. Roll/fold to mostly seal.

3) Toast the filled tortillas. Use the pan you just emptied of filling.

4) Top. Put the toasted tortillas on a plate. Cover in enchilada sauce and cheese. Build a mound of lettuce, tomato, pico, salsa, etcetera on top.

I like it because it's a quick way to get the enchilada flavor while maintaining a variety of textures. Maybe there's a name for this style, but I don't know it.

That sounds really good. Sometimes I buy a big can of green enchilada sauce and braise chicken parts (thighs & breast) with the whole ( or two cans) can for a few hours till the meat falls apart. If I want more depth I'll toss in some onions and some fresh green chilies while it cooks. I'll use this meat for tacos, tostadas or just on a plate with beans and chips and guac. It's so good and easy, plus it's enough for several meals. This would be perfect for a slow cooker but I just use my big , deep saute pan.

[Shinomaster]

Stuff in pot. I also add lime juice ( fresh of course) and chipped cilantro. If you toss in some green chilies it's pretty close to real chili verde.

[maunahaole]

Sure.

On the saute setting, brown the pork pieces in some olive oil. Don't crowd the pan, do them in several batches. The pork tends to stick a bit more than beef or lamb, not a bad thing, just use tongs to pull the pieces off the pan surface. The stuck bits will enhance the sauce. While the pork is browning chop the veggies (flexible, use what you have on hand: I used 4 medium carrots, last 3 stalks of celery and the leafy tops to add volume, and 2 huge cored parsnips) into coarse pieces, smash and mince the garlic. Once the pork is finished browning, remove from the pot and set aside. With the pot still on saute, add the chopped veggies to the pan and let them soften slightly, stirring frequently. Add two teaspoons of gravy master for color. Measure out a cup and a half of water. To this add two teaspoons of cornstarch stirring to get out the lumps. Add a generous squirt of umami paste (available at whole foods or trader joes) and about a tablespoon of dried thyme. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, then pour over the now softened veggies. Mix well, then add the pork and whatever juices accumulate back to the pot and push the pieces down into the veggies mix. At this point it is going to look quite dry. Don't be concerned! The veggies will give off a lot of moisture. Turn the IP from saute to manual, put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes. I normally do the quick release of pressure when it is done. If you are fast it is about 15-20 minutes of prep work before you turn it on and walk away while it cooks. Let me know if this isn't clear...

That’s totally clear. We are going to give this a try.

[dgaddis]

FYI fellow Instant Pot users. We tried sweet potatoes in ours the other day. Directions we found said to 2 cups of water in the pot, place the potatoes on the steam basket (pot-in-pot), and put the InstantPot on the steam setting for 10mins and let it relieve pressure on it's own as it cools down. 10mins wasn't quite enough time. Should have done 15mins I think. And I didn't have giant sweet potatoes either.

[maunahaole]

Here you go. We followed this rule. Seemed to work.

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/...-sweet-potato/

[Shinomaster]

I'm looking at Instapots, any feedback? Are they all the same?

[guido]

The more expensive versions have more programmed features. For all i do with it I just use saute and manual timed. So I went for an earlier 7 mode version that has worked out great. 6 quart version works well for 2 plus a second days left-overs.

[maunahaole]

I started with a cuisinart. Works fine, but had a bad experience dealing with a warranty issue. I’m using an instant pot now and it’s a much nicer thing to use. It has a few bells and whistles that I like a little better. Best difference is the operation of the pressure release. Less chance of getting blasted with the steam. I think the model is the ultra 60. It has the lcd display and the knob and no Bluetooth.

[guido]

I got the Instant Pot Lux 60. $79.00 well spent...

[dgaddis]

Yesterday was a bit unique. Central GA got a massive 1.25" of snow so everything shut down. Some roads had some ice. Over auto 120 accidents in Bibb and Monroe counties yesterday - I've said it before, I'll say it again, middle GA has the absolute worst drivers of anywhere I've ever lived.

Anyhow.

With the potential for ice I drove the wife to work, being a south GA girl she's never driven on ice before or handled a car that was sliding. While pregnant isn't the time to learn. Her office closed at 11:30, so I went to get her and I stayed home yesterday afternoon. So, of course, we picked up a half rack of babybacks and fired up the smoker. Mid-week BBQ is a rarity for us!

Might have been my best ones yet. Ended up with clean bones, but the meat didn't just fall off the bones, still had some bite to it. The last few I cooked were a bit over done - these were perfect.

Yeah - see that snow in the back yard. LOL. Shut the whole county down!

[rwsaunders]

Last evening, we mixed a little leftover pasta with leftover sausage/vegetable soup and christened our first sourdough loaf.

[Octave]

That sourdough looks spectacular - chapeau!

Repurposing leftovers is also a great weeknight meal trick. Tonight we're making curry; in place of some of the curry paste we're using the last bit of our muhamarra that we made over the weekend, and a big batch of chickpeas from Sunday will find their way in there too. Grains are arguably healthier leftover due to the cooling process, and we never make the exact amount of rice/lentils/wheat-berries...etc. for just one meal - economize your time, yo.

[gt6267a]

Our quickest and best weekday meals ... saucy planned overs. We make big batches of xyz and then freeze dinner portions. since its already cooked, we reheat straight from freezer to warming pan and combine with pasta, rice, or cauliflower rice. Its fast and delicious. think braised lamb shanks frozen in braising liquid. carved turkey frozen in pan drippings and maybe a little stock. for example, if you don't spice the turkey heavily for the primary cook, the same pouch of meat and drippings / stock might become turkey and gravy or turkey egg drop soup or turkey with lemon sauce etc etc. With braising liquid and/or pan drippings you have the perfect starter for a quick soup or sauce.

A family favorite ... I'll make a quad batch of this VSalon classic tomato sauce (https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...cca-28803.html) and my wife will make a double batch of Ina G's meatballs. Toss the balls in the sauce for a few minutes to merge flavors. Cool and package left overs with 6-8 balls per container covered in sauce. Last time I think we got 8 portions for 2. Its worth an hour or two on the weekend for 7 quickly re-heatable meals.

[caleb]

Tonight was a pedestrian version of Jaques Pepin's Chicken Jardinere:



Untitled by 1ctg, on Flickr

[Shinomaster]

Tonight was a pedestrian version of Jaques Pepin's Chicken Jardinere:

I love Jacques! I just watched him cook eggs the other day, check out the second dish with the mushrooms---->

[guido]

Instant pot Short Ribs...