#19: Make Your Own Frozen Burritos!

Hi Tiff!


So what do you do with all that leftover chili?  You make your own burritos!  These are really easy to make, and then you have an easy go-to meal for when you don't want to spend a lot of time or effort cooking.


There are 2 ways to do this.  First, my mom's method to cook for a group, and second, my method for individual servings (that you could microwave in a rush or take in your lunch).  I'll list both here.


The Basics:
Prep time: About a minute per burrito, plus cook time (see below as the 2 methods have different cook times)
Good for leftovers: hmm. haha. they ARE leftovers. so yes.
servings:  however many you have extra beans for.
cost: about 25-50 cents per burrito or less.


Ingredients:
"large" burrito size tortillas.  You can also use extra large but this size burrito is easier to store I think.
leftover chili or pinto beans, even black beans
grated cheese (optional)
salsa or your favorite hot sauce or taco sauce (optional)
nonstick spray



The Process:
Place 1-2 scoop of beans on your tortilla, closer to one side rather than in the middle.  Add salsa and cheese if desired.  Roll your burrito- if you have trouble with this like I do, check out this video I found which was really helpful.  I'm no expert burrito-roller, so it took me a few tries to get the right amount of beans so it wouldn't explode, and to get the folding process down right.  Thus, my first few are a little sloppy-looking, but once I got it figured out they worked out fine.  Repeat to make as many burritos as you want.


Mom's multiple serving method:

you can fit more burritos in a larger
casserole dish...but I can't, since it
wouldn't fit in my toaster oven! 

Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray, line up those babies, even 2 deep (I spray the top line of burritos with the nonstick spray too).  Cover tight with aluminum foil, and put in a plastic bag, and freeze it.   The next time you need a carefree hot meal that stays hot for a really long time, cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour or more depending on how many and if they are still frozen.  You can wrap the casserole dish with a thick towel, place it in a cardboard box, and 1/2 hour from then they are still too hot to eat.  Serve plain, or with salsa and tomatoes, sour cream.  They are complete hand warmers for an out door event.


I have a mini fridge (not much freezer space!) and no oven (just my toaster oven).  Plus, I like to have some burritos wrapped in smaller portions to microwave instead. So here's the way I do them:


My individual serving method: 
Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray, line up your burritos, and cook them at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Let them cool a bit, then place in freezer bags.  I found 3 burritos to fit one quart size bag just perfectly if they were rolled will; for my ones that didn't roll so perfectly I fit 2 burritos to a bag.  Freeze them, and next time you need a meal, pop one of those in the microwave for 3 minutes or so.  OR if you have a toaster oven, defrost in the microwave for about 2 minutes, and then cook in the toaster oven for another 2-3 minutes so it comes out crispy :).






Enjoy!


-joy

#18: Mom's Chili

Dear Tiffany,
Whenever there's something I've eaten at home but don't remember how to make (or what combination of spices, or how much space a cup of beans will take up when cooked...), I ask my mom.  As much as I love to find recipes online, I trust Mom's first because I know they are solid.  They're usually healthier too.


Such was the case when I wanted to make chili: first, email mom.  She's the one who tells me that "6 cups of dry beans make 5 1/2 quarts of cooked beans.   that is a full  (6 qt) crock pot with no room for meat or onions.  (I have to leave a little room so it doesn't boil over.)" 
My rule of thumb: a cup for every quart, minus 1 so you have room for the goodies.  So, for my 6 quart pot I used 5 cups of beans.  If you want your chili a little more beany and a little less soupy, add an extra half cup or so.


This is Mom's recipe: the chili we had at church this week.


The Basics:
Prep time: About 10 minutes prep time and then in the slow cooker all day...or longer.
Good for leftovers: yes!  You can even freeze them, or make your own frozen burritos!
servings:  24 (for a 6 qt pot)
cost: about $10


Ingredients:
5-5 1/2 cups dry pinto beans
2-3 lbs of whatever beef or pork is the best price (I used ground beef) Ground turkey is good too but not as cheap. If its not ground, cut into small chunks.
1 onion, chopped
fresh garlic (I used 2 tablespoons minced) (If you use garlic powder, make sure it doesn't have salt!)
1 tsp New Mexico chili powder
1 tsp california chili powder (If you can't find these chili powders, your basic chili powder will do fine)
lots of cumin, 3 or 4 tablespoons, Cumin is that bold spice without the 'heat'. the chili powders give the burn...
1/2 tsp black pepper
3-4 tbsp Italian seasoning. crumble it with your fingers.
salt to taste


The Process:
Soak the beans overnight in a large (very large!) bowl or tupperware of water.  They will expand as they absorb the water, so you may need to add more water partway through.  While you can technically cook them without soaking, they're better this way and it reduces the "gas factor."


Drain the bean water, rinse, and quickly pick through to make sure there are no rocks or icky pieces (don't spend too much time on this).  Add the beans to the crockpot, along with your garlic, onion, meat, and spices...but do NOT add the salt.  If you add the salt, the beans won't soften.  Trust me.
  Fill to near the top with water- make sure to cover your beans completely with an extra 2-3 inches of water.  Cook on low all day (at least 8-10 hours), or longer- the chili we had at church had cooked for about 24 hours, believe it or not!  With beans, as long as you make sure its covered with water, you're safe for quite awhile.  If you're going to cook for more than 8-10 hours, you might want to stir every once in awhile and just check that there's still enough water.  (If the water is absorbed while its cooking, the beans on top get dry and burn)  A longer cook time means softer beans and more thoroughly absorbed flavors.


Once the beans are cooked, and about an hour before serving, add salt and extra chili powder (if needed) to taste, depending on how spicy you like your chili.  You may wish to add some more cumin as well.  Stir well and serve as a soup or with tacos or nachos.


Notes
Worried about your electric bill? Don't be.  The crockpot lady found this nifty chart from First Energy Corp. Ohio, which states that a crock pot costs about 2 cents per hour to run.
Spice it Up! The best place to get your spices is at a Mexican market, or in the little plastic bags they have in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store.  These are much cheaper than the little glass containers in the spice aisle.  If you can't find "New Mexico" or "California" chili powders, just go with regular chili powder; this is what I used.
Leftovers are great to freeze, but I used mine to make my own frozen burritos!
Where's the Beef?! If you're using ground beef, you may want to cook it on the stove top separately and add to your crockpot at any point in the cooking process.  Why?  Well, when you cook ground beef, you know all that fat that cooks out of it and ends up in the pan?  Do you really want all of that in your soup?
Vegetarians can eat great chili too!  Just leave out the meat in this recipe.


Enjoy!
<3 joy

#17: Stir-Fry is crock-pot-able!

Sorry, this picture is kind of dark!

Dear Tiffany,


Stir-fry is one of the first things I learned how to make as a kid, other than macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs.  My mom grew up in Japan, so a lot of what we ate was Japanese (or other Asian)- influenced.  This week I wanted to make stir fry, but I was going to be where there wasn't a stove to use, so...yay for the crock pot!  I will list both methods below.  This kind of thing is so easy, its pretty tough to ruin!  The nice thing about using your crockpot (other than the convenience factor) is that the meat absorbs all the sauce flavors...yum!  You can also do without the oil (though I used a little) when you use your slow cooker.


I used yakisoba noodles (Japanese style "fried noodles") this time, but you can also use rice, or another asian frying-type noodle (such as chow mein or lo mein noodles- cooked soft, not crunchy).  In a pinch, angel hair spaghetti is an ok substitute as well.


The Basics:
Prep time: About 10 minutes to chop your meat and veggies, then about 10-15 minutes laboring over the stove or all day in the crockpot
Good for leftovers: yes.
servings:  8-10
cost: $10-$15


Ingredients:
1 package Yakisoba noodles (sometimes available at Safeway, but Berkeley Bowl Marketplace always carries them, as well as Koreana Plaza and other Asian markets).  Or you can substitute rice or another noodle (see above).
1-2 lbs chicken, beef, or pork, cut into small strips or chunks
tofu, cut into small 1-2 inch chunks (optional)
splash of vegetable oil
soy sauce
4-6 carrots, cut longways into 3 inch strips
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic (optional)
1 teaspoon minced ginger (optional)
stir-fry sauce, teriyaki sauce, or other asian sauce such as Yoshida's - they carry it at Costco
1 can baby corn (available at Safeway or asian markets)
1 can water chestnuts (available at Safeway or asian markets)
12 oz bag of broccoli (or just chop it yourself)
handful of chinese peas
OR you can just get a bag of the frozen stir fry mix in place of the veggies above, and add your own onions and whatever else the bag is missing


The Process: 
Stovetop method:
Saute meat, onions, garlic and oil in a wok or large (Very large!) skillet until the meat is mostly done.  If you have them, use a long pair of cooking chopsticks to stir.  It makes you feel special.  Remove the meat, and add the rest of the veggies, tofu, and sauce, and saute until veggies are almost crisp-tender, then add back the meat, add soy sauce to taste and cook a few more minutes.  Prepare noodles according to package directions, and enjoy!


Slow-cooker method:
Place meat, onion, garlic, ginger, and carrot in slow cooker; cover with stir-fry sauce.  Cook on low for about 6-7 hours, or on high for 3.  Add other veggies, and more stir-fry sauce or soy sauce if you need more liquid. Stir together and cook for another hour or 2. Prepare noodles according to package directions, and serve.  Add soy sauce as needed to taste.


Noodle notes: You can stir your noodles into your meat and veggies before serving, but my family has always found it easier to divide portions if you serve the noodles separately (this way, one person doesn't take all the noodles!  Or end up with only veggies.) and then each person stirs their own noodles into their stir-fry.


Make it Vegetarian: just use tofu instead of meat!  If you do this, make sure you get a "harder" variety of Japanese-style tofu, the softer ones will fall apart on you.

#16: Buttermilk Cornbread with a Twist

Dear Tiffany,
In Sunday School this week we made those buttermilk pancakes that I posted last week, and so I had some extra buttermilk that I wanted to use up, so I decided to make cornbread!  Now, the cornbread recipe on the back of the box is not too bad, I used it last week and it turned out ok.  But just like with the pancakes, buttermilk makes your cornbread come out light and fluffy.  (I didn't use all of mine still, though, so look out for more recipes using buttermilk in the next week!)  Cornbread without the buttermilk can easily turn out dense and dry, but mine was moist and fluffy.  
The recipe below is adapted from one I found at smittenkitchen.com, and there are a few variations at the bottom; some are mine, some are borrowed.  For our Children's Ministry meeting last night I made this cornbread with goat cheese, fresh basil, and a caramelized onion topping.  There weren't leftovers.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures before it was devoured, so the picture below is of the same recipe but with no onion topping, and its a lot "flatter" than the original because this one used less batter.  The original was about twice as thick.

Basil & Goat Cheese Cornbread

The Basics:
Prep time: About 5-10 minutes to make the batter, then about 30 minutes in the oven.
Good for leftovers: yes.  Cover it with foil to keep it moist, and you may want to reheat in the microwave (without the foil!) to serve, but it was good cold too.
servings: 10-20 depending on how small you cut them
cost: less than $5 for basic cornbread; variations should still be under $10


Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons (.75 ounce) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (.05 ounce) baking soda
1 teaspoon (.25 ounce) salt
3 large (5 ounces) eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) bacon fat, vegetable oil or butter


The Process:
If you are using coarse/polenta-style cornmeal, you may want to stir your cornmeal and buttermilk together, cover, and let the mixture soak overnight to soften your cornmeal a bit.  (I used regular cornmeal so I skipped this step)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs.  Add the buttermilk and cornmeal, melted butter, and any extras you're including (see below for variations) and stir until blended.


Place the bacon fat, vegetable oil, or butter in a 10inch square or round baking dish and place it in the oven.


In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Gradually pour your dry ingredients into the wet mixture, 1/3 at a time.  Mix well  until the lumps are gone but stop there.


Carefully remove the pan from the oven with a potholder, and swirl the hot butter around until the bottom of the pan is coated.  Pour your batter into the pan, place in the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes in the pan before cutting or removing the bread.  Serve hot.


Variations on a Theme:
Simplest: you can skip the hot-grease-in-the-pan thing by just spraying your pan with non-stick spray, but you won't get the crispy outer edge or the buttery (or bacon-y) flavor that goes with it.
Sweet Thang! Make your cornbread just a bit sweeter by adding 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons honey to your wet mixture.
Basilicious: For a delicious accent to both flavor and color, add 1/3-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil to the wet mixture.
So Corny! add 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels to your wet mixture.
Say Cheese! Goat Cheese brings a nice subtle tang to your cornbread.  Let a 6 oz log of goat cheese sit on the counter for awhile so its nice and soft, then, before putting together your wet mixture, whisk your goat cheese in your large mixing bowl until fluffy.  Then add your eggs one at a time, whisking and scraping the sides after adding each egg.  Then continue adding your wet mixture per the recipe above.
Top it Off: Before you start mixing, saute 1 onion, chopped, in 2 tablespoons of butter, bacon fat, or vegetable oil, until they are well caramelized and brown on the edges.  Once you've made your batter and poured it into the pan, pour the onions evenly over the top to create the topping, and bake as usual.


Don't feel limited to one of these variations; mine last night was sweetened, flavored with basil and goat cheese, and topped with onions. (the picture above is the same but without the toppings)

#15 Tomato Basil Bisque

Tomato Basil Bisque!

Dear Tiffany,
You know those premade soups they have at Safeway?  You know, in the little tupperware, or you can serve it yourself hot?  Someone brought a few of them to Phyllis's birthday dinner the other night, and the tomato basil bisque was amazing.  Everyone kept commenting on it, until there wasn't any left, and I went home determined to find out how to make it myself.  After scouring google, I found this recipe for a lightened up version.  The surprise ingredient?  Butternut squash.




Wait! Don't run away.  Or switch over to facebook and ignore this post.  Butternut squash is actually very simple to work with.  It doesn't have the super tough skin like other winter squashes, and it was easier than I expected to include in this soup.


What is a "bisque?"  (Or "beeeeesk" as someone called it the other night)  A bisque is simply a soup with milk or cream.  Not nearly so complicated as it sounds.  I mostly followed Carol's recipe, but I adapted it for my slow cooker, and went the less healthy route since I had cream from a previous adventure that I needed to use up.  I'll list both the high fat and low fat versions below.


The Basics: 
Prep time: About 30 minutes, plus several hours in the crock pot, OR a little over an hour (stove method)
Good for leftovers: yes.  If there is any left.
servings: 12 1-cup servings
cost: under $10


Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (1.5 tsp)
2 (24.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with liquid
1 can (6 oz) roasted garlic tomato paste
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2-2 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 to 1 1/4 cups cream OR nonfat half-and-half or nonfat yogurt OR milk
Several dashes of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce

Several shakes of red pepper flakes

The Process (Slow-cooker version)

Saute butter or oil, onions, and garlic until the onions and garlic are golden.  Add the butter first and let it warm up while you chop the onions, then add the onions and garlic (if you add the garlic without the onions, its really easy to burn your garlic! yikes!  For some reason the garlic does better at not burning when its not lonely).  Make sure to stir once in awhile!

While the onions and garlic are cooking, prepare your butternut squash.  Cut off the ends, slice it down the middle (if its really long you may want to cut it in half short-ways before slicing down the middle).  Remove the peel with a vegetable peeler, and dice the squash as you would any other veggie.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, basil, thyme, butternut squash, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the crock pot, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4-6.

Puree the soup in a blender (or use an immersion blender).  Return soup to the crock pot, stir in cream or milk, and add Tabasco sauce to taste.  Cover and let it cook until soup is hot.  Serve with Parmesan or fresh basil or parsley as a garnish.

Stove-top Version

Same as above, but saute the garlic and onions in a large saucepan instead of a skillet, and just add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan once the onions are done.  Cover partly and cook for 30-35 minutes until the squash is fork-tender. Puree the soup, add cream or milk and hot sauce, and return to heat and bring just to a boil before serving.

Notes

In the Crock When I doubled this recipe, it filled my 6 quart crock pot.  Make sure your crock is big enough to fit the amount you want to make, before you start!

Freeze! If you made your own chicken broth and froze it, don't worry about thawing it before adding it to the slow cooker.  Just run the bag under warm water to loosen it up a bit, cut it open with scissors or a knife, and drop the entire ice cube in the crock.  It'll be ok, I promise.

To make it vegetarian: just use veggie broth instead of chicken broth.
Don't want to get a skillet dirty? Its probably ok to just dump your butter, onions, and garlic in the pot.  It won't taste quite as good (though still pretty yummy!), and you have to take the time to cut the squash anyways so to me it made more sense to get the skillet dirty.  But that's just me.

You might think this recipe has a lot of prep time, but think about how much you would spend for one of those little containers at Safeway.  You can make a whole bunch, and freeze or refrigerate the containers.

-joy

#14: BBQ Ribs (slow cooker)

Dear Tiffany,
In case you didn't know, barbecue still tastes good in January.  Its just...its cold outside.  And me, I'd rather come home to my house smelling wonderful and barbecuey and dinner ready to eat, than coming home and having to babysit the barbecue in the cold.
I put these ribs in the crock pot before work today, and then I was thinking about them all afternoon.  Mouthwatering.  Imagining the smell that would fill up my nose as I walked in the door.  Ahhh...
Of course, then I got home and reality hit, right after that smell.  See, my newest attempt at creating a good habit is "no Bible, no dinner."  You know, "man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 8:3).  Spiritual food is more important than physical food, right?  The idea is that if I do my Bible reading earlier in the day, I'll be more alert for it and actually be able to absorb what I'm reading.  So today I got home, realized I hadn't done my Bible reading, and spent my time in God's word with my tummy rumbling.  And then, thanked God for providing me with some great food, and sat down to eat my ribs.

I got this idea from Stephanie O'Dea's blog, and I made it her way the first few times, but I like mine with a little more zip so I added more pepper and the chipotle chili pepper to spice it up.  Of course, she has kids so that wouldn't work so well for her!  (when you have a bunch of little Sams and Tiffanys someday you may want to set the pepper to the side and have 
Sam add his own).  The chipotle pepper really gives it a flavor boost, not just a spicy boost.


The Basics: 
Prep time: About 5 minutes, then several hours in the crock pot.
Good for leftovers: yes
servings: 4-6
cost: under $10


Ingredients:
1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
2 lbs beef or pork ribs
1 tsp chipotle chili pepper (or more if you like it spicier!)
1 medium-small onion
2 heaping spoonfuls minced garlic
dash of black pepper (I actually use more like a 1/8 of a teaspoon or something, but I didn't measure it)


The Process:

Arrange your ribs in the crock pot.  Its ok if you haven't thawed them yet.  Chop your onion and add it, along with the garlic, pepper, and chipotle pepper.  Drown everything in Barbecue sauce.  Put the lid on and cook for 5-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.  Mix it up really well so all the ribs are coated with sauce before serving- you may want to mix in some salt as well, or just let each person add salt to taste.   It will need it, but I'm kind of a salt-it-yourself person.  Your ribs will be falling off the bone; unless, like mine, they were boneless, in which case they'll just be falling apart.  This goes really great with corn on the cob, baked potatoes, or a yummy bread.  


These are so good, its just kind of ridiculous how easy they are.  You can do the same thing with barbecue chicken; it just absorbs the sauce so well after cooking all day.


Enjoy!
-Joy

#13: Buttermilk Pancakes!

Dear Tiffany,


I'm back from vacation! (Well you already know this, I saw you at church Sunday.  But I'm now back to the blogging world too!)  I figured since this blog is titled "Breakfast at Tiffany's" I should probably eventually post a breakfast recipe, so here you are!  Except, I've rarely made this for actual breakfast time, because I'm kind of silly about breakfast foods.  I don't believe they should be restricted to the AM hours, so these were lunch for Stephanie and I on Monday!

There's nothing wrong with pancakes from a mix...but the thing is, the mix actually doesn't really save you any time, since you still have to mix everything up.  And these just taste better. I borrowed this recipe from somewhere on the web a few years ago...and scribbled it onto a piece of paper that's been stuck to my fridge since then.  But unfortunately, I can't remember where I found it.  So if the owner of this recipe ever reads this blog, please let me know so I can give you credit!


The Basics:
Prep time: About 5-10 minutes to make the batter, then about 5 minutes-ish for each batch you cook.
Good for leftovers: of course!  This recipe makes a LOT, so I'll list some suggestions for how to use the extra at the end of this post.
servings: supposedly 12
cost: less than $5.

Ingredients:
5 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 cups milk
5 eggs
6 TBL butter or margarine (one stick)
5 cups flour
5 tsp sugar
5 tsp baking soda
5 tsp baking powder
pinch salt


The Process:
Melt the butter.  For me, the easiest way to do this is to unwrap the stick of butter and put in a bowl in the microwave for a minute or so.  Two warnings:  make sure to cover the bowl with plastic wrap so you don't get butter splatters all over your microwave, and be CAREFUL taking that bowl out of the microwave.  It will be very hot.


While the butter is melting, crack your eggs and dump them into a very large mixing bowl, and whisk until lightly beaten.  Add milk, buttermilk, and butter and stir.


Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder) in a separate mixing bowl.  Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients in thirds (by pouring in one third at a time and mixing before adding the next third).  I learned this tip from my friend Jennifer when she was at culinary school, and it makes it much easier to get everything mixed well, without clumps or dry spots. Stir until just blended, but no more- over-stirring will make your pancakes come out flat instead of fluffy.

Can you see the bubbles?

Spray a griddle or flat skillet with non-stick spray and heat it up (If you're using a griddle, set it for about 350 degrees).  Ladle your pancake batter onto the hot surface, each pancake a few inches apart because they will expand. You can make them as big or as small as you want.  In a few minutes, you'll notice the top of each pancake getting bubbly- this means its about time to flip them over.  Cook on the other side until it turns a nice golden-brown color, then remove to a separate plate.  (If it looks like you turned it over too soon, you can flip it back at the end to brown the other side)


Top it off with your favorite syrup, or go IHOP style: whipped cream, fresh fruit, and maybe chocolate syrup!


Leftover Notes:
This recipe serves 12! That's a lot, and if you noticed, its not in measurements that are easy to cut in half.  If you're not feeding an army (or the whole worship team), you have 3 choices.  
1. If you're going to have a chance to make pancakes again in the next few days, just refridgerate your extra batter.  It will keep for 2-3 days at least; when you pull it out you'll need to stir it again.

My cooking buddy, Stephanie T.

2. You can freeze your batter until your next pancake venture, and it will keep for a few months.
3. (My favorite) Go ahead and make the rest of the pancakes, and freeze them in ziplock bags.  Then, next time you need an easy breakfast, pop a few pancakes in the toaster!  My aunt likes to put hers in the microwave.


Variations on a Theme:
Blueberries, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, or chocolate chips go great mixed in with this pancake batter.  Since the recipe makes so much, separate a smaller bowl full to add extras to, so you have some of the plain stuff just in case.


Enjoy!  (we did.)
-Joy