The Joy of Cooking: Indian Feast!

I figure it's about time for an update on my cooking progress with The Joy of Cooking!  I have made quite a few things using this trusty cookbook - Christmas cookies, baked eggs, cream puffs, eclairs, and a huge Indian meal with some friends and family. I'm working on a list to try and cook from a few more different categories before I move on to the next cookbook on my list - Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast (my choice for spring - seems like there are lots of good recipes for that time when you are coming out of winter hibernation and looking for some fresh, light meals. Well, for everyone except my husband who will always be a meat and potatoes kind of guy no matter the season).

Anyway, here's what I made: Baked Eggs - eggs cracked into little cups and put in a water bath before being placed in the oven. Those were some seriously good, creamy eggs. Yum. I want to try cooking them in a water bath on the stovetop next for a comparison of cooking methods.

I also made a variety of cookies at Christmas and chose a few recipes from The Joy of Cooking to round out what I usually make each year. I used the 14-in-one master recipe to make a few different kinds of cookies - marble cookies (well, I made them into checkerboard cookies) and coconut cookies. Both were very yummy. I love the idea of a master recipe with a few simple swaps in flavorings for different cookies. It worked really well and I'm planning to try more variations on the master recipe.

I also made Viennese Crescents which were pretty good. I love those Keebler Pecan Sandies cookies (sadly, I cannot find them here!) and I'm always looking for a recipe that reminds me of them. These Viennese Crescents came pretty close.

Last but certainly not least, we invited friends and the in-laws over for dinner and served an Indian menu cooked completely from recipes in The Joy of Cooking (except for the butter chicken and rice which friends brought). We had Barbecued Kebabs (well, George Foremaned since it's the middle of winter here and I wasn't going to shovel out the grill) and Tandoori Chicken (so yummy!) served with dal, potato patties and a mint-cilantro chutney. I even made the raita and naan bread (I almost bought them but decided I'd make everything). I'm so glad I made the naan - it was surprisingly easy and lots of fun since we all worked on shaping it and tossing them on the hot stone in the oven. I am going to use the naan recipe again to make grilled pizzas this summer. Everything was a hit and we barely had any leftovers. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the food - we were too busy cooking and eating!

The night was so much fun that we've started having monthly get-togethers where we make all the recipes - our one rule is no take-out! Last month we did a Chinese night and this month we're having smoked meat. Not sure what our upcoming plans will be but I'll let you know!

Ten Dollar Dinners

I know that I am supposed to be focusing on The Joy of Cooking (from my own cookbook collection) right now but I think it's okay to delve into other cookbooks that I don't technically own... like library books. And I always have a few (okay, maybe a big pile) of cookbooks from the library sitting beside the chair in the family room. One of the most recent is Melissa d'Arabian's $10 Dinners and I've been loving everything I've made!

I've been living in Quebec now for more than 10 years (and my French is still not so good!) so we are fairly used to food that is influenced by French cuisine. In other words we eat our fair share of baguettes! You can also sense that influence in Melissa's book, so it's a welcome addition to my kitchen since I love French food.

So far, we've tried the Crispy Kale Chips (yum!), Herb-Roasted Chicken with Potatoes (didn't come out quite right, explained below), Slow Cooker All-Purpose Pork Shoulder (really good, definitely a keeper - especially for freezer cooking), Fried Brown Rice and Eggs with Garlic-Soy Vinaigrette (so yummy! My new favorite way to use up leftover rice), and Double Chocolate Pound Cake (so, so good!).

I had a few problems with the Herb-Roasted Chicken. First off, I used a stoneware pan to bake the chicken not thinking about the fact that stoneware always retains any added liquids instead of "burning off" (evaporation, I guess?) like other pans would do. Also, I didn't read the end of the recipe where you are instructed to put the pan on the stovetop and make a quick pan sauce. Not something I can do with stoneware! Oops! I also had a problem with the oven temp. You're instructed to start the bird at 425F for 15 minutes. Then you turn the oven down to 325F and continue to cook it for about an hour more. My bird did not get nice and brown when the hour was almost up - I had to turn the oven up and cook it longer than an hour. The finished bird was very good - I just think the temps and times need some adjustment. But as far as roasted chicken goes, it's a good combination of herbs and ingredients. I'll certainly make it again, this time using a different pan and a higher oven temperature.

I'm not finished with $10 Dinners yet - I still plan to make a few recipes: Pork Rillets, Crispy Chicken a l'Orange, Easy Coq au Vin, Lemon Thyme Orzo, Black Bean Brownies, Apple-Carrot Mini Muffins, and Potato-Bacon Torte. After I've finished trying all the recipes I'll let you know if this cookbook is a keeper.

Recipe: One Pot Mac & Cheese

Mac & Cheese is one of TJ's favorite foods and, occasionally I'll do the whole baked mac and cheese thing but sometimes it's just too much work. Enter the one pot Mac & Cheese recipe that's been floating around!

The first time I made it I found it to be super rich! Good... just really, really rich. The next time I made the recipe I decided to replace some of the milk with water to see if I could cut back on the richness. It worked really well! It might be possible to reduce the milk even more, I just haven't tried to yet. If you do, let me know!

One note about this recipe - it's great when it's freshly made but can be quite thick when it's reheated as leftovers. I like to warm it in the microwave, add just a touch of milk and give it a good stir and microwave a bit longer.

One Pot Mac & Cheese (adapted from Macaroni & Cheesecake)
serves 4

PRINTABLE RECIPE

2 cups small dried pasta (macaroni or shells)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup water
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, or any other good melting cheese (not the preshredded variety)
1 tsp salt
dijon mustard or nutmeg, to taste

Using a small saucepan over medium heat, add the pasta, milk, and water. Bring to a simmer before reducing the heat to low. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently (keep heat low, you don't want the milk to boil). When the pasta is cooked to your liking, turn off the heat and add cheese and salt, stirring to combine. Add the mustard or nutmeg and taste. Add more, if necessary.

Cover the pot and let it stand off heat for a few minutes. Stir it again and add a bit of milk if it's not creamy enough.

If you'd like baked mac & cheese: pour the pasta into a baking dish and top with toasted bread crumbs, more cheese, crushed crackers, or whatever strikes your fancy. Bake at 375 for about 10-12 minutes - until the top is browned (or melty, if you topped it with more cheese!).

Freezer Cooking: Planning a Cooking Session

The first step in cooking for the freezer is planning. Whether you are bulk cooking for 30 days or doing a small batch session you need to follow a few simple steps:

First, you need to decide what you are going to make - favorite family meals, new recipes, etc. Get all those recipes together in one pile. Are you planning to double or triple any of those recipes? Make note of that too. When I have a recipe that is a winner, I type it up and add it to my freezer binder. Here's the recipe form I use.

Then you'll want to make a shopping list. Write down absolutely everything you need. Don't think to yourself that you probably have a certain ingredient in the cupboard only to discover on cook day that you don't. After you've written down your list of needed supplies, go through your cupboards or pantry and cross off everything you already have. Then go shopping! (Don't forget freezer bags!) I use this shopping list to keep track of what I need.

The next step is to prep your ingredients. Now you could go recipe by recipe completing each one individually. Or, to make things simpler, get everything prepped. If you need a chopped onion for three different recipes, get three chopped all at once and divided up. The easiest way I've found to keep track of what I need to do is to make a prep list for cook day. Here's the chart I use to keep myself organized.

Once your ingredients are all prepped you are all set to get your freezer meals complete and in their bags or containers. Seal, add necessary instructions and freeze. You're done! The best part is, once you have a few cooking sessions under your belt, you'll have a pile of recipes along with their shopping lists and prep lists. You'll be ready for the next cooking session with half the work already completed.

Freezer Cooking: Favorite Resources

When I began making freezer dinners, my first step was checking out a few library books about freezer cooking and a few websites I discovered that focused on freezer cooking. Using those tools, I made my first (and only) foray into once-a-month cooking. After that attempt, I knew I had to find a new method. I loved the idea of having my freezer full of great entrees but, after really discovering the amount of work involved and some of the meals that were really just reheated leftovers, I knew I needed a different way. Enter bulk cooking.

The main difference between once-a-month cooking and bulk cooking: the first uses a variety of recipes and ingredients, the second focuses on one main ingredient. I knew almost immediately that I found a method that would work for me. I was already buying things when they were on sale, and by combining that with the bulk cooking method, I'm saving more money and time. Now I just rotate through the sales, focusing on whichever ingredient is running low in my freezer. While slowly filling my freezer cooking recipe box, I started keeping a list of resources that have helped keep my freezer full. These are my must-haves:

Fix, Freeze, Feast is my favorite go-to resource for new recipes. Each recipe focuses on a club-pack sized package of chicken, pork, or beef (the book also includes veggie dishes, side dishes, soups, and desserts). I've made quite a few recipes from the book and, so far, we've only had one recipe that wasn't a big winner, and even that one was okay. This book is the first one I grab!

Saving Dinner freezer menus. There's lots of great stuff at Saving Dinner - she has Menu-Mailers (great for those who want someone else to plan their weekly menu and shopping lists!) but my favorite resources are the freezer menus. I've bought a few and will probably add more to my shopping list at some point. For those new to freezer cooking, that want the shopping list and prep list all planned for them - this is the way to go! Now that I have some experience, I use some of the recipes, along with some of my own from other resources, to make my own freezer plans.

Menus 4 Moms bulk cooking resources. Similar to Saving Dinner, Menus 4 Moms has a subscription based program that takes care of your weekly menu and shopping plans. They also have a great bulk cooking section and a fabulous Busy Cook's Pyramid. I also appreciate the list of Foods that don't freeze well when I need to check out something that I'm not sure of. The bulk cooking section has some great plans for chicken, hamburger, potatoes, etc. If you need to figure out how to start your own bulk cooking plan, the ideas there are fabulous.

Between the websites above and some web searches for freezer recipes, I don't need much else, but there are a few more resources on my wishlist:

Make-a-Mix - I checked this one out from the library and I really like it. I already use some of the techniques mentioned - like making a master mix of cooked hamburger frozen in meal-sized portions for quick meals.

Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer and  Don't Panic - More Dinner's in the Freezer - I love that they offer recipe options for however many batches you want to make. For example, one recipe will have options for making one meal-sized portion or 2, 3, or more. These books are also at the top of my wishlist.

And, last but not least, a few of my favorite freezer cooking blogs:
The Ease of Freeze
Freezer Meals for Us
The Freezer Chicks