Culinary efforts and results

Yesterday turned into a leftover day instead of red beans and rice. My red beans and rice keep getting postponed. I meant to do it last week but I didn't realize that we were out of worchestershire sauce and that gives my recipe a distinctive flavor. Definitely wouldn't have tasted the same. I have successfully substituted Country Bob's all-purpose sauce but I was out of that too. Heaven help us! Groceries don't last too long in this house.

So last week, I made chili (replacing the red beans and rice) and Cuban black beans. Both were served with cornbread. I'm getting back to using yogurt in a lot of things. I'm almost through my second batch. Make your cornbread as you normally would but replace the milk with yogurt diluted with water so that it is the consistency of milk. It makes a lighter, moister cornbread. I guess buttermilk would work similarly. My husband noticed the difference right away and complemented the cornbread as he was getting seconds.

I did make the Baked Blooming Apple on Monday. It was delicious. It called for a bit of flour so I used teff. Teff is an awesome flour that gives almost a chocolatey taste. It is used in cookies and desserts and it adds nutrition like protein and iron. As I was whipping up some homemade whipped cream, I thought, "Oh no, dairy!" I hadn't even thought about it. But it didn't bother me. I don't know if it is the amount that is the problem or certain ingredients in some dairy products or what. Food sensitivities are so baffling. But I'm learning the homemade stuff rarely bothers me and the processed and take-out stuff often does.

The biggest success has been the Boston Butt. I had some Weber seasoning Garlic and herb that needed to be used up. I figured that a lot of my spices were in it so I mixed that with some chili seasoning and brown sugar. I dry rubbed the meat the night before. It was so big so I ended up putting it in an ice cream bucket and covering the top with a ziploc bag.

In the morning, I put it in my Bella slow cooker with a couple sliced onions and a cup of chicken stock. I think my slow cooker is one of my best-ever purchases. It is 16 or 18 qt. It was a returned item that has a big dent on the side but it still works. I figured that was a sign that it could take a licking and keep on ticking. It is so versatile. It works while I'm busy with schooling, errands, and such. I can't find it on their website but Rival has a similar one.


It cooked at 275 degrees for about 8 hours. I shredded it and used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce although several of us were eating it plain. John Micah was about having a temper tantrum to have some more so we ended up eating supper at about 4pm. It was a huge bowl of meat. The meat was over 10lbs raw and cost $18. I imagine removing the bone and fatty portion ended up shaving a couple pounds. Let's say that we conservatively have 7 lbs of cooked meat.

Homemade pulled pork - $18 plus maybe a couple dollars for spices and onions

Dickey's pulled pork at $12 lb x 7 lbs - $84

Savings = over $60

Now, we love Dickey's! Especially their kids-eat-free Sundays and free ice cream. We make mini coke or root beer floats in the barbecue sauce bowls. Their brisket is awesome! My son even requested his birthday party to be there. In fact, we may eat there the Sunday before Christmas so that I can keep the fridge clear for a thawing ham and other fixings. But nice to be able to create some of that flavor easily at home! I think I will have to try brisket again. I've made it once. Pretty good but not quite as memorable as the Boston Butt.

Sunday night, I put a whole chicken in the slow cooker with apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. It roasted til the next afternoon. I scooped out some of the bone broth into a smaller crockpot. I worried the carrots and onions wouldn't get soft while we were gone to taekwondo class so I sauteed them. I also added some frozen peas with some of the shredded chicken breast. This was some of the absolute best chicken soup. So flavorful!

I've developed a theory of why we use so much cheese. Slow cooking and using whole pieces of meat lend fat and flavor to our meals. Using boneless, skinless low-fat everything has removed a lot of fat and flavor. So we add fat and flavor back in the form of cheese. I thought I couldn't make it a week without cheese but I'm finding myself craving it less and less.

I'm enjoying cooking a lot more. The baby is getting bigger and more independent. I'm not seeing it as a chore that I would much rather someone else do for me. Now, I will gladly take a dish washer. Monday night, the kitchen was a mess. We had relaxed a lot Sunday and ran errands a lot Monday so the dishes were piled up terribly. But the kitchen can look so much worse in my head than it really is. It was a mess Saturday morning after a busy day Friday. Stuff was all over the floor and the dishes seemed so piled up. I assumed it would take a couple hours to get it done. I put on some peppy music and decided to tackle what I could before taekwondo class. I got the kids to pick up the floor. I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. I washed the stones and sippy cups by hand. I wiped down the counters and swiffered the floor. Guess how long it took! A total of 14 minutes! And it wasn't even a full load in the dishwasher cause I had to add the coffee pot and kettle to make it worth starting. Very motivating because that afternoon, I got a lot of cleaning done in the house. Sometimes, getting started is the biggest part of the battle.