The Official Chazhound Recipe Thread

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Easy burritos

1 can of green chili sauce
1 can of refried beans
shredded cojack cheese

Assemble to taste (some people like more beans, some more cheese), roll up and top with sauce and more cheese, zap in microwave for a minute or more, until cheese is melted. Quick, easy and a good source of protein. Just watch the sodium levels. You could always toss in some shredded beef or chicken as well.

 

[Gempress]

This is my recipe for burgandy beef. While not difficult to make, it is time-consuming. But the results are amazing. This is a great dish to make on a cold winter's day.

Burgandy Beef

5 pounds of beef, cut into 1-inch cubes. Expensive cuts not required...I like to use a 7-bone roast. You can also use that precut stew meat, but I'm too cheap to spend that much.

3 ounces of salt pork (doesn't have to be exact). You can find this at any grocery store, in the meat section. It will look almost entirely made of fat...that's what you want
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 large yellow or white onion, diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced.
3 cloves garlic, minced.
1-2 pounds of white button mushrooms, depending on how "shroomy" your tastes are.
red wine
brandy
2 teaspoons of thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons of flour
3 tablespoons of cooking oil (anything but olive oil)

First, you want to finely dice the salt pork. Put it in a large frying pan or saute pan, add about 1/4 cup of water, and put it over medium/low heat. It will soon start bubbling and smelling heavenly. Cook, stirring occassionally, until the water is evaporated away and the fat is rendered from the salt pork. This takes about 15-30 minutes. You should have a few tablespoons of fat in the pan with random shrunken bits in it. You want just enough to coat the pan well. That's what you'll cook in. I know this seems like a semi-pointless step, but it adds a TON of flavor.

Take the bits out and toss them. If you have more fat than you need, use a spoon and remove some of it. Turn the heat up to high (not the very hottest setting but close to it). Season the beef with salt and pepper and put the chunks into the pan, turning to sear them brown on all sides. Don't put all the meat in at once! If you over-crowd the pan, the meat will just boil and not brown well. You want to be able to have a little clear space around each piece. It usually takes about 3-4 batches. The searing goes very fast, it only takes 5 minutes per batch. The goal is to just brown the meat on the outside, not fully cook it. Put all the meat into a crock pot when done. There may be bits of browned toasted stuff stuck to the bottom of your pan. LEAVE IT! That stuff will add flavor later!

Turn the heat down to medium-high. Add all the chopped veggies, including the garlic, to the same pan and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Sautee until the onions are translucent, and the veggies are semi-tender. Dump the mixture into the pot along with the beef.

Your average button mushroom can be left whole. If you have some big ones, cut them into quarters or halves. Add them to the pan and sautee until they are dark brown and tender. When done, add them to the pot with the rest.

Now, add about 2 cups of red wine to your cooking pan. Use your spatula or spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan well. You want to dissolve all those little toasted bits stuck to the pan---they give awesome flavor! Add the wine to the crock pot. You'll probably have to add more wine: the goal is to add enough to *barely* cover all the ingredients. Then put in a shot of brandy, the thyme and bay leaves.

Put your crock pot on low heat and let it simmer for 4-5 hours. This isn't an exact science....you basically want to simmer until the beef is fork-tender. You can also make this on the stovetop in a soup or stewpot, just keep the heat low.

When the beef is done, taste and check for seasoning. Now it's time to thicken! *note: if you're already happy with the thickness of the broth, you can omit this step.* Take a small frying pan or saucepan and put it over low heat. Put in the 3 tablespoons of oil and the flour. Stir and toast until the flour is a light golden-brown (you now have a roux!) Add it to the crock pot and stir immediately. The sauce in the pot should thicken to a nice, smooth consistency. Turn off the crock pot and serve.

In my house, we eat it either over steamed rice or noodles. But it also goes well with a good crusty bread. Enjoy!

 

[bubbatd]

Yummmmmm !!!! Haven't made it in years , and I agree with the salt pork !

 

[Gempress]

By request, I'm also posting my recipe for Italian roasted chicken and veggies. LOL, my recipes are popular today! This dish is soo good. The chicken is roasted right on top of the veggies, and the juices from the bird give the veggies exceptional flavor.

1 whole chicken. It doesn't have to be an expensive roasting bird, just a plain 'ol fryer will do.
olive oil
2 ribs of celery
3 carrots, peeled
3 yellow squash
2-3 red potatoes, depending on size
2 zucchini
1 large sweet onion
2 portabella mushrooms (or 1 lb of crimini "baby bella" mushrooms)
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons dried parmesean cheese
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
small pinch of fennel seed
*you may notice that I recommend dried herbs and cheese. I've found that the fresh herbs and cheese don't stand up well to long roasting.*

Mix all the seasoning together in a small bowl. Cut all the veggies into 2-inch chunks and put in the bottom of a roasting pan. If you're using crimini mushrooms, put them in whole. Lightly drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a few pinches of the seasoning and toss to coat.

Take your chicken and rub the remaining seasoning all over the bird, inside and out. Also, slide your fingers under the skin to get the seasoning right up next to the meat. Let the flavoring soak in for a bit.

In the meantime, Put the veggies in the oven at 350 degrees and cook for one hour. After an hour, take the pan out. Put the chicken right on top of the hot veggies in the roasting pan. There should be enough veggies that the chicken is actually held up off the pan, kind of like a roasting rack would do. Slide it back into the oven.

Baste the chicken and veggies lightly with the juices from the pan (or with a bit of olive oil) every 45 minutes. If you poke the thigh deeply and the juices run clear, it's done. Or for optimum tenderness, you can do the "wiggle test": grab the leg and try to move it up and down. If the meat starts coming apart easily, it's done. Or...you can just be "new-fangled" and use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Check the veggies, too. They should be fork-tender.

I'm serving this with polenta. But it also goes well with pasta or french bread.

 

[bubbatd]

Why are you doing this when I'm hungry ?????!!!!!

 

[Gempress]

LOL, sorry Grammy! I'm getting hungry too. I guess I should get going on dinner!

 

[noludoru]

Why have I never read this thread before?

Gempress, your recipes are mouthwatering... I guess it's a good thing I just ate.

I'll have to get our quiche recipe and put it up here. It's very simple and so delicious that when we make three "pies" of it they're all eaten the next day. And that's with only three people in our house.

 

[bubbatd]

I've got some of my concoction left over from last night ..... need to add something else though .............hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Siberian Mom]

pesto pasta sauce

i just made this up late one night when i was starving for something good and not mcdonalds

one large chicken breast cut into smaller pieces seasoned with lots of seasoning salt then fried
in a seprate pot mix about
3-4 tbs of basil pesto
11/2 c sour cream
1/2 c parmasan cheese(i just use the craft stuff)
one minced roasted garlic clove
pepper
and some lemon pepper
after is all hot and the chicken is done mix it together and put on pasta
it real quik and easy and omg is it good

 

[hanslynch]

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Shredded Beef is so simple to make if you have a crockpot.

I usually use either a brisket or a chuck roast but any roast like cut will do. Pretty much you can put anything in a crock pot and it will taste good.

I add 3-4 cups of water, a small can of tomato sauce from Hunts, salt, pepper to taste, red chili powder to taste and a couple teaspons of cumin. Let the meat cook for 8 or 10 hours and remove and shred.

The enchiladas are pretty easy. I make mine like a lasagna instead of trying to roll them up. It is more traditional doing it in layers anyway. Layer corn tortillas, shredded beef, onions, cheese, enchilada sauce (you are going to need at least 2 16 oz cans to do it this way) and then repeat until the pan is full. Cook on 350 for about 40 minutes, cut and serve. I like to garnish with chopped black olive, chopped tomatoes and cilantro.

I like La Victoria for my enchilada sauce but Old El Paso actually makes pretty decent enchilada sauce and it is available most everywhere.

All the best,