Sunday, May 13, 2012

Cooking for carnivores

Day before yesterday, I had no appointments, no errands to run, no family obligations. Just one load of laundry to do and lots of recipes to try out. Loved it!



POUND OF BACON

First thing in the morning, while doing my strengthening exercises, I cooked bacon. Yes, there’s only me, but I cooked the entire package.



The cooled grease went into a jar I’m keeping in the frig for the day I make another batch of dog biscuits. That’s my grandson testing the product the first time we made it!


I ate two slices of well-done, crispy bacon with my breakfast, and the rest I bunched in twos (as in 2 slices) and wrapped in wax paper; then placed in a freezer bag. Whenever I want bacon, out come two slices from the freezer. They thaw quickly and since I’m most likely to have them with eggs, I give them a quick warming in the pan before (or while) cooking the eggs.

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Are you using Pinterest yet?
I am and have so-o many recipes pinned. They’re just begging for me to test them. That’s what I've been doing... make the food, photograph it, taste it, decide if I like it.

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CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE ENLARGED VERSIONS.

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CHICKEN KIEV



I made Chicken Kiev for supper that evening and I’m so glad I did. It was amazingly delicious rolled-up-, stuffed (with cheese)- and breaded- chicken breasts and is guaranteed a permanent place in my favorite recipes. I’m not including the recipe here (you can click on the link to find it, with a few possible variations), but will tell you about my experience.

*Because I had cheddar in the frig, I substituted it for the butter. That meant I was supposed to substitute thyme for the parsley. I forgot and ended up using both parsley and thyme.

*My kitchen counter is small, so I prepped all the ingredients then moved to a table to assemble these chicken roll-ups.

*At first, the recipe seemed long and complicated, but turned out it’s just a matter of creating an assembly line.

Not only did I get yummy results, but also I was pleased at how well written out this Chicken Kiev recipe is.


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GREENS


Lest you think I only crave meat, here’s a glance at my field greens (aka mesclun, aka baby greens). I grow them every year. Last week I planted some directly in the ground.

With the exceptionally warm weather in late March, early April, I decided to drop some seeds in a planter box back then. Greens love cooler weather, but in case it got really cold, I wanted to be able to pick up the planter and move them into a more sheltered location.



I plant thickly and use the thinned out plants for salads. When the rows are thinned enough, I only take a leaf here and there instead of whole plants.

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I’ll be trying out more of my Pinterest pins in the coming days. Stay tuned.

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LAZY PELMENYS

After posting my directions on making Veggie Cheese Roll-ups on April 2, I had a comment from Selena at the Food Carving Studio who said it reminded her of a similar recipe with minced (ground) meat that they make in Russia.

Selena promised to make the Lazy Pelmenys and include the recipe on her blog, which she did on May 1. You can see photos and find her recipe here.

While you’re there, check out her entire blog where you’ll find her favorite recipes and some lovely ways to create garnishes out of fruits and vegetables.

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I hope you’ll LIKE Step by Step in the Kitchen on Facebook.

14 comments:

  1. I love those days where you do not have to do anything but cook :D
    My brother is the biggest carnivore ever and he just about fell out of his chair when he saw this post, claiming he could smell everything :)
    Hope you had a wonderful mothers day my friend!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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    1. Now that the warmer weather is coming, CCU, I'll probably cut back a bit on the cooking--as least anything that requires turning on the oven. Luckily I have a stockpile of foods (and photos) I've already tried out, so I'm prepping them for future posts. Glad your brother enjoyed himself. That'll have to last him a month or so while I cruise through the sweets and veggies.

      It's been a lovely mother's day. Daughter and grands took me out to lunch at Applebee's (http://applebees.com/) then shopping at Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/) for something for the garden; then off to their country home for a short visit before her hubby arrived home from work and they took off for his mother's house.

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  2. You had me at bacon ... I think everything is better with bacon! Thank you for the Chicken Kiev recipe and review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's like baiting a mousetrap, only I used bacon instead of cheese, he-he. And you're welcome. Hope the job and your husband's recovery are both on a positive path. Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Kathleen, The Chicken Kiev looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the photos of the dinner. I have the salad seeds to plant in the garden but it's stiil cold out here.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you like the Chicken Kiev idea. Hope you get to plant your seeds soon. Nothing tastes quite so good as homegrown salad ingredients. Your Lazy Pelmenys and all the little accompaniments look and sound so yummy.

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  4. wow..I am in awe of you dear..:) lovely post..!
    Tasty Appetite

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    1. Thanks, Jay, nice to see you here. Love all your recipes, too--especially your up-close photos.

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  5. I love mornings when my house smells like bacon. Cooking up the whole pound at once is a good idea. I cook mine in the oven now, less mess!

    I'm going to give chicken kiev a shot this week I think!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never tried the oven, MamaMash. Does it splatter? Do you line the pan with foil? I'd prefer the oven, that is as long as I can still collect the grease for making dog biscuits. Enjoy the Chicken Kiev and thanks for commenting.

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  6. Replies
    1. Truly yummy, Akila, at least for carnivores! Glad to have you stopping by.

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  7. I love the idea of freezing cooked bacon! I hate cooking bacon so I always cook a whole package when I start - the trick would be getting it to the freezer before my husband wandered in :)

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    Replies
    1. Anna, so many celebrations in your life this past week. Thanks for taking time to comment. Another way to freeze, if you can keep from your husband, is to line a pan with wax paper, lay the cooked/cooled bacon on it, pop it into the freezer for a while, then place them loose in a container or freezer bag. They shouldn't stick together if you do it that way. Thanks for stopping by.

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