Innie or Outie

Here's another leftover idea for the Couscous Skillet Paella with beans, 3 Sauce Couscous Paella Wraps:

(Click on image to view large size)

The mini-wraps consisted of blanched cabbage leaves or halved tortillas, filled with paella, and topped with one of the three sauces: creamy guacamole, honey-mustard, or creamy lemon with mint and toasted almonds. I served this with bacon-potato soup garnished with freshly snipped parsley.

Crockpot Paella Gone Wrong

We’ve all had an occasion when, even with the best of intentions, the dish just goes horribly wrong. A car breaks down, traffic is outrageous and unrelenting, a late last minute meeting at the office, or whatever – you get stuck far away from the cooking crockpot meal. Well this is one of those dishes when I couldn’t get to it in time and the crockpot just kept steaming the rice until I ended up with a Crockpot Paella Mushy Mess:

(Click on image to view large size)

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be saved, Baked Crockpot Paella:

(Click on image to view large size)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the mushy mess in a small paella pan (or pie dish) and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paella from the oven and using a fork turn the mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with approximately ½ cup crushed tortilla chips for added texture, ½ teaspoon capers, and freshly snipped parsley.

Serve with a salad of fresh crunchy salad greens and veggies (such as radishes) dressed with a vinaigrette.

So, Hubby’s back in the kitchen. This time he decided to go a different direction and looked-up some recipes on a Japanese foodie site. This is what he came up with – Papa's European-Style Dinner:

(Click on image to view large size)

The meal consisted of hamburger steak (ball) with red wine sauce, sautéed mushroom-bacon potatoes, and carrots with creamy cheese dressing.

Here is a simple scratch meal that requires very little preparation time, Portuguese Sausage & Veggie Dinner:

(Click on image to view large size)

For the Portuguese Sausage & Veggie Platter, we chose sausage, potatoes, and cabbage:

(Click on image to view large size)

Using an electric skillet, begin with the potatoes and simply fry in butter. Sprinkle with a little white pepper. Add the sausage and remaining desired vegetables. Once fried, a little whole mustard and/or soy sauce can be added to individual servings for flavor. Also, the raw broccoli and cauliflower can double as pre-entrée appetizers using a dipping sauce. (Hubby and I used Sesame Thousand Island dressing mixed with mayonnaise and horseradish for the dipping sauce.)

(Click on image to view large size)

Here’s a way to have a relaxing fondue meal without worrying about an open flame, Crockette Fondue:

(Click on image to view large size)

Approximately one hour prior to serving, begin preheating by placing 2 cups of water in the Crockette (mini slow cooker) and heating on high. When you are ready to serve the fondue, empty the water from the Crockette and transfer prepared fondue cheese into the mini slow cooker. Place the Crockette on a table and plug into an electric outlet. Serve with a prepared Fondue Platter.

(Click on image to view large size)

For our platter we chose bread pieces, raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, raw carrot, and bratwurst.

(NOTE: Because we could not find Gruyere cheese this time, we used a prepackaged fondue cheese product found in a local supermarket. This was a real time and energy saver because all that was required to prepare the product was to heat it in the microwave for three minutes. The flavor was not that bad at all – which surprised us because we had tried a prepackaged fondue cheese product two years ago without much satisfaction.)

In the early ‘90s I created a St. Patty’s Day appetizer as a joke, Deviled Green Eggs:

(Click on image to view large size)

This year hubby and I decided to use the appetizer as part of a complete St Patrick’s Day meal so this is what we had for the occasion, Green Eggs and Ham Meal:

(Click on image to view large size)

The meal consisted of Green Egg Salad, Stir-Fried Ham and Broccoli, and Herb New Potatoes. (Although it’s difficult to tell from the pictures, the eggs are avocado-colored and the ham and broccoli had a light chicken bouillon and cornstarch green-colored sauce.)

This is a simple meal that can be served almost anytime of the day:

(Click on image to view large size)

Okonomiyaki

Hubby brought this premixed okonomiyaki (Japanese Combination Pancake) set back from his trip to Osaka (a city renown throughout Japan for their particular expertise in the meal).

(Click on image to view large size)

To the premix, we added sliced pork, dried krill, squid-flavored deep-fried tenpura batter droplets, three eggs, 120cc water, grated cabbage and carrot mix, Japanese mayonnaise, and pickled ginger.

(Click on image to view large size)

This is a very simple meal to prepare:

Mix the prepackaged batter powder, eggs, and water until smooth. Then add the krill, tenpura droplets, and veggie mix.

Place the pork on the electric skillet in four sections and brown on one side.

Ladle the batter mixture onto the skillet in four sections (one at a time) and place the pork on top of the sections (uncooked side facing up). Let cook until slightly brown (approximately five minutes), flip and continue to cook for approximately ten minutes (or until pork and batter are thoroughly cooked).

Top with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed flakes, pickled ginger, and shredded dried bonito (fish).

(Click on image to view large size)

There are many different methods used to prepare okonomiyaki. If you prefer to cook from scratch, here is one way.

Here is another versatile option for a relaxing dinner for two:

(Click on image to view large size)

Tabletop Teriyaki Dinner

An electric skillet makes it easy to turn any tabletop into an instant mock izakaya. For our dinner we chose beef (marinated in teriyaki sauce), mushrooms, leek, veggies and cheese rolled in pork, cabbage, and greens accompanied by miso soup and rice topped with grated sesame seeds.

(Click on image to view large size)

Here’s another yummy recipe that will fill you up and warm your tummy during these cold winter months.

Crockpot Sausage and Potato Stew

2 medium potatoes (quartered and thinly sliced)
1/2 medium onion (quartered and thinly sliced)
12 ounces spicy sausage (sliced into bite-size pieces)
1 15 ounce can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup beef bouillon
1/2 cup flour

Layer potatoes, onion, and sausage on bottom of crockpot. Add kidney beans, tomatoes with liquid, oregano, garlic, sugar, pepper, and cumin. Mix flour in bouillon and pour on top of other ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours. Serve with bread or over rice.

This is a chunky and hearty chicken recipe:

Crockpot French-Country Style Chicken Stew

3 medium potatoes (quartered and sliced)
10 slices bacon (julienned)
3 skinless chicken breasts (cut into bit-size pieces)
1 medium onion (quartered and sliced)
1 cup frozen green beans (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 15 ounce can kidney beans (drained)
1 14 1/2 ounce can stewed tomatoes (with juice)
1 tablespoon minced garlic paste
1 tablespoon thyme flakes
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch salt
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup flour
1 10 1/2 ounce can chicken broth

Place potatoes on bottom of crockpot. Add bacon, chicken, onion, green beans, kidney beans, stewed tomatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary, pepper, salt, and wine. Mix flour and chicken broth, then pour mixture on top of other ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 8 – 10 hours. Serve over rice or with bread.