My Wonderful World.....

My Favorite Place on this planet! God has given me 

everything I can pray for.....times ten million.

 

 My only hope is that your Family

can be blessed with everything I have been given.  

My bounty is unsurpassed only by my Friends and Family 

which I can  never replace.  

Bless You and I Wish You the Best in the Coming Years.  

Pot Roast Supper

As we enter the last week of August, there is a slight nip in the air of fall approaching.  Summer was fun....we grilled everything imaginable but sometimes, I crave a different menu.  It is still very warm outside and I didn't want to heat up the kitchen.   The Crock Pot is so handy to use out on the veranda for a comforting oven styled dinner.   Don't forget to take this handy item camping...if you have electricity.  You can make so many things in a crock pot, including desserts! 

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Pot Roast à la Crock Pot

Beef, Crockpot

4 lb chuck roast; well marbled
2 md onions; chopped
3  garlic cloves; minced
1 can pale ale
6 md red potatoes; quartered
6 md carrots; halved & quartered
6  celery ribs; sliced
  salt & pepper; to taste

Some stove top preparation is required before adding to crock pot.

Heat heavy skillet (I use 12" Lodge Cast Iron) until VERY HOT.  Do not add any oil...just leave the pan dry.  Add dried chuck roast to pan and sear for four to five minutes each side.  Do not disturb while searing.  It will not stick if properly seared.

Remove roast to platter to rest.   Add chopped onions and garlic.  Stir fry until golden.  Add the can of pale ale to deglaze pan.

Add roast to crock pot;  add skillet contents to crock pot.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

During last hour of cooking, add potatoes, carrots and celery.  Continue cooking for one hour of until potatoes are tender.

Remove roast to serving platter and surround with vegetables.    Strain crock pot juices and serve  with roast.  Reduce stock on stove top, if desired.     Add salt & pepper, to taste.

Notes:  ©WHStoneman


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Ready to enjoy....I cooked the peas separately in the microwave oven. 

A perfect meal.....including a nice glass of Woodbridge  Malbec Wine. 

Bon Appétit and Enjoy 
YOUR Wonderful World!

Scrambled Egg and Bacon Salad

Time for a Lo-Carb Lunch!

 

 

Today's Lunch was a given with the fresh tomatoes and leafy greens from the garden.   I always 

enjoy this time of year with all the bounty just outside my kitchen door. 

Nothing complicated about this lunch....soft scrambled eggs and crumbled bacon,

Leafy Greens and fresh tomatoes.   Just like a BLT but no bread for this meal.    

And a nice crisp glass of Moscato just leads to a lingering

afternoon on the porch glider.  Enjoy!!

Bon Appétit and Enjoy 
YOUR Wonderful World!

Cheeseburger Pizza Night

Everyone was asking for pizza and I didn't have that planned for the supper meal.   I was going to make hamburgers on the grill.  OK...time to get a little inventive.    I substituted some whole wheat flour in my usual pizza dough recipe.  And then  the dough was ready for something different.  

Rolled and ready for toppings

 I browned up the ground beef, added onions and some chopped tomato from the garden.  Oregano, salt and pepper and a bit of garlic powder to taste.    The assembled pizza was ready for a preheated convection oven at 425F. for 12 minutes. 

Scattered toppings on dough

Spread the shredded cheddar cheese

Just had to add ketchup and mustard

A good sprinkle of Olive Oil and Ready to Enjoy!

Bon Appétit and Enjoy 

YOUR Wonderful World!

Saturday Steak Night

During the summer, Saturday night always is Steak Night.   Rib eyes, Strip, or maybe just a nice Sirloin Steak.   I prefer Rib Eye Steaks, but my old standby meat case was featuring Strips on sale.  They looked very good, nice marbling.  Looks like that will be the feature this evening.  

After getting home and looking through the refrigerator, I found them!  That lost box of remaining mushrooms pushed way to the back of the produce drawer.  They really weren't white and pretty any longer but they certainly weren't compost material just yet! 

While cleaning salad greens, I also rinsed the darkened mushrooms off and sliced them.   Into a butter sizzling skillet with a chopped onion, salt, pepper and some oregano.   As they were cooking, I had to put a big splash of Cabernet Sauvignon and cooked the entire mixture until the wine had reduced to a thick sauce.   Tasted the pan and knew that they would be perfect on top of the Saturday Steak Night entreé.

Ready to enjoy atop a flavorful Sweet Potato Mash

Field Green Salad with home made French Dressing

And a Great Bordeaux....highly recommended for any Beef Feast

Bon Appétit and Enjoy 

YOUR Wonderful World!

Pork Stir Fry with Panko Crust

I just love Stir Fry!   Once you get your 

ingredients prepared, the entire meal can 

come together in just minutes.  

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Pork Stir Fry w/ Panko Coating

Oriental, Stir Fry

1 1/2 lb pork sirloin; cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
  Brine:
2 c cold water
1 tb salt
2 tb Worcestershire sauce
   Panko coating:
1 c panko crumbs
1 c flour
1 ts garlic powder
1 ts onion powder
1/2 ts salt
1 ts pepper
1/2 ts baking soda
3  egg whiles
  Stir Fry ingredients:
1 lg garlic clove; minced
1 tb ginger; grated
6  Tien Tsin peppers; whole or more to taste
1  onion; sliced 1/2-inch thick
1  red bell pepper; sliced
1  green bell pepper; sliced
1  celery rib; fine dice

Slice the pork sirloin into 1 1/2" cubes.   Mix water, salt and Worcestershire sauce until salt is dissolved.  Add pork and brine for 30 minutes up to an hour.

Whisk Panko ingredients together and set aside.

Whisk egg whites together.   Drain and pat dry pork cubes.   Be sure they are very dry before adding to the egg whites.

In small batches, add pork cubes into the Panko coating.  Repeat with remaining pork cubes until all are coated.   Let set for 10 minutes to dry.    Recoat just before frying in oil. 

Pork Cubes drying before Deep Fry.  Coating sticks...doesn't come off in the fryer. 

Preheat cooking oil to 350F.     Fry pork cubes in batches until golden brown.  Keep warm in oven while preparing the rest of the stir fry ingredients.

In large skillet or wok, quickly sauté garlic and ginger.   Add Tien Tsin peppers (Available in Asian and Mexican shops) and sauté  but do not burn.  Add onion, peppers and celery rib and stir fry until slightly limp but not over cooked.     Add cooked pork to pan and immediately coat with Sweet Sour Sauce.

Serve over white or brown rice.

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My Vegetable Medley for the Stir Fry

This is my Sweet Sour Sauce recipe...but you could use any that you like.  

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Sweet And Sour Sauce

Sauces

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water or reserved pineapple juice
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in
4 tablespoon water

To prepare the sauce, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, dark soy sauce, salt, water or juice and vinegar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Add together and whisk to eliminate any lumps.

Bring to a boil for a dipping sauce or add directly to stir fry for a cooking/finishing sauce.

New find!! I replaced the 1/2 cup water or reserved pineapple juice with Rose's Mango Twist Cocktail mix. Also added a 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Works great with shrimp stir fry.

Notes:  ©WHStoneman

Yield: 4 servings


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Ready to Enjoy!

Bon Appétit and Enjoy 

YOUR Wonderful World!

A Hot Summer that demands Banana Ice Cream

So, so hot here and I really have a craving for some home made ice cream.  I really enjoy making my own ice cream since I can control exactly what goes into the mix.  Most ice creams today are loaded with sugar and other ingredients I can't enjoy.

A few weeks ago, I was watching Cook' Country and enjoyed their version of Banana Pudding.   This is exactly what I wanted to make but instead of the cookie wafers and sliced bananas, I just wanted Banana Ice Cream.

This is the original recipe from Cook's Country and one of their tips was to roast the whole unpeeled bananas at 325F for twenty minutes.  The bananas turn completely black and the roasting really enhances the banana flavor.