Private Mars Rocket II

When the pandemic started, and there were great concerns that our food supply chain would collapse, I bought some canned meats. First was canned salmon, for which I had recipes. Then I decided to get some canned chicken, for which I did not have a recipe. (I figured I’d find something if needed.) After a year of moving said cans around in my cupboard, I decided to use one of the cans. Herewith is the recipe I used which I invented myself. (To be fair, I’m sure I saw something similar online.)

1 12oz can of chicken, drained
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup. (Can use plain cream of mushroom soup)
½ bag frozen broccoli, thawed
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup instant rice

Prepare rice per package directions. While that’s cooking, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Once the rice is done combine all ingredients in a 1.5 quart casserole dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

Makes two hearty servings. Double everything except the soup to feed four.

I had a surplus of onions (the 2 pound bag was the same price as 1 pound of loose onions) so I decided to make French Onion Soup. Herewith is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
3 baseball-sized onions
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup wine
2 cups prepared beef broth
2 cups water

Melt butter and heat olive oil in your electric skillet (thanks Mom!). While doing that, chop up the onions. Once butter is melted, add onions and cook @ 300 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add sugar and garlic, reduce to 250 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes. While doing this, prepare your broth. Your onions should be very brown and soft by this point.

Next, add the wine and stir, getting all the onions unstuck from the bottom of the skillet. Add the broth and water, stir, and let simmer for another 30 minutes at 200 degrees. Then serve!

A word on liquid - even with 4 cups added liquid, I had a very thick soup, almost an onion stew. You could easily add 2 or even 4 cups additional liquid. If you're using prepared broth, follow the 1 to 1 ratio, as prepared broth has a lot of salt. If you have a low-salt broth, you might get away with a richer broth mixture.

Via that scientific method of dinking around on Facebook, I found a recipe for low-carb garlic butter meatballs. Herewith is my slight variation on that recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
5 cloves garlic
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 12 ounce packages frozen "zoodles" AKA veggie noodle spirals. I used one carrot and one zucchini

Prepare the zoodles as per the package directions, drain and set aside. While you're doing that, combine the chicken, 2 cloves garlic, the egg and the cheese in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper if desired (I did not so desire). Make into meatballs or if you want hamburger-sized patties. In large skillet, heat the oil and cook the meat for 10 minutes on medium heat, flipping as needed. Transfer meat to a plate.

Melt the butter and the remaining garlic in the skillet, then add zoodles and lemon juice. Toss and cook for a minute to get them back up to temperature. Then put the meat back in and get everything hot (1-2 minutes). Serve, garnished with more Parmesan.

Try not to eat the whole recipe in one sitting.

A few years ago, I bought a cookbook entitled "A Working Stiff's Cookbook." The gimmick of the book was the reader had a job and hence money to buy nicer foodstuffs but no time to prepare same. The book offered quick and simple but nicer meals.

One of the recipes I quite liked was pork chops with orange glaze. It was simple, quick and delicious. However, since I don't drink orange juice (I'm allergic) finding and retaining the half-cup of OJ the recipe called for was a challenge.

The other night, I found myself looking at two uncooked pork chops (the exact amount called for in the recipe) and no OJ. Then I had a thought - what if I substituted red wine (which I usually have in abundance) for OJ? I did, and I can report that the results were tasty. The glaze was more tart than with OJ, but still quite good.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Yes, I am finally done with my Christmas shopping! What's that, you say? Christmas was last week!?!?

Well, yes, I actually knew that. The Christmas shopping I'm talking about is my shopping for me. As a grown adult, it's much easier for my parents to give me cash and let me shop then to buy stuff for me. So, the week after Christmas, during the week and after the maddening rush, I go out and buy what I need. Two of the items on my list were pans.

I have one good set of pans, including a 1 and a 2 quart sauce pan. I rarely need more than two pans, but "rarely" is not "never." So I have a second set, given to me years ago and which I think were hand-me-downs from my paternal grandmother. There are several problems with this set, most notably that the bottom of the pans aren't level, which is irritating if you have a glass-top stove like I do. So, I decided to pick up a cheap pair as spares.

I first went to Target, then Bed Bath and Beyond. Sorry, folks, I am not paying $30 (!!!) for a pan to heat up a can of beans, and I don't care which celebrity chef's picture is on the package! Defeated in that quest, I ended up doing some online research. As a result, I very nearly ordered this enameled granite ware set from Amazon. Then I discovered that the enamel on these pans can melt and fuse to a glass-topped stove. As Rick Perry would say, oops. Talk about a mess!

Further research led me to this product at IKEA. Success! Right price and good on my stove (two pots with lids for $20 tax title and license). Not only that, it gave me an excuse to go have Swedish meatballs for lunch in IKEA's cafeteria. Now I'm back, and to writing I will go.

At this time of day, my mind turns to food. So, let me tell you what I had for dinner last night. Having dealt with my pizza surplus, I decided to make Hamburger Pie.

This dish comes from my mom, who got it from Betty Crocker, and is a variant on the old British classic Shepherds Pie. The recipe is:

Brown 1 pound ground beef in a skillet. While this is browning, make 4 servings of instant mashed potatoes as per directions except omit the milk (or mash your own potatoes). When the potatoes are done, beat in one egg (optional).

Once the ground beef is browned, drain off the grease and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Add one regular can (drained) of cut green beans (not french-style) and one regular can tomato soup. Add a quarter teaspoon pepper, and an equal amount cajun seasoning. Stir, top with mashed potatoes. Top the potatoes with 3 slices American cheese or 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes in 300 degree oven.

This serves 4, and is great for leftovers.

The weather in Chicago has turned cool, so the other night I decided to make chili. I'm reasonably sure this is an original recipe, based on an adaptation of my Dad's chili recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 regular can condensed tomato soup
1 regular can chopped tomatoes
1 regular can chili bean (may substitute kidney beans)
1 regular can pork-and-beans
1 small onion, chopped
Chili power and cajun seasoning

Directions:

Brown ground beef and onion in large soup pot, drain grease. Add all four canned ingredients WITH liquid from the cans. While simmering on medium heat, add your spices. I usually add 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning and 1 teaspoon chili powder. Then I stir and simmer for a bit,and do a taste test. I'll usually toss in a second teaspoon of chili powder, and, depending on how spicy the canned chili beans are (I've gotten some real firecrackers in the past) go for a third teaspoon of chili powder. At any rate, add spices to taste. Continue simmering until the chili is warm enough to eat.

I serve my chili with peanut butter and bread, which I recommend highly. This recipe easily serves four, and gets better with re-heating.