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Try some Pork and Mushrooms

24 February 2010, 5:17 pm

I know, I’m not really a chef, and so finding new recipes here may not be what you expected. Oh, well, I guess it depends on my mood.

Yesterday at lunch, we were looking for something other than sandwiches or leftovers, and I saw the pound of boneless pork-chops left from the night before (un-cooked). Gathering a few other items together, I made a quick and easy, and I think wonderfully tasting, pork dish.  Tell me what you think.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb pork, cut into 1″ squares
  • 1 8-oz can mushrooms (drained), or 1 or 2 1/2 lb boxes of fresh
  • 1/2 an onion, cut the way you like to eat (sliced, diced, or in between)
  • 1 packet mushroom gravy mix
  • 8 oz. of sour cream
  • 1 cup water or chicken stock/broth
  • Base – mashed potatoes, rice, pasta…

Cut everything up before you start. I made this a one-pot meal in my cast iron pan, which is my favorite way to cook. But you can use what you have handy.

Put onions in medium-hot pan. I add bacon grease, but you can use butter if you want. Let the onions soften a bit, then add the mushrooms. After they cook a few minutes, add the pork, and spice with your favorite salt-and-pepper mix (we like Crazy Salt, or one of the Steak blends). Stir it until the meat is done.

Move the meat to the outside edge of the pan, and add the water/broth. Let it heat a little, then add the gravy mix, and stir. With the heat up, it will quickly begin to thicken, and once that happens, mix the gravy with everything else.

Now just let it simmer until you have your base ready. Then add the sour cream, mix well, and ladle over your potatoes, rice, or whatever.

This made enough for the two of us, although it was a little too much ;-)   If you add another gravy mix, and appropriate liquid, it will go a lot further.

Filed under Food, Recipes.
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In Memory of Grandma – a new recipe

16 December 2009, 11:39 am

Chicken in Tomato Paprika

Forget it — I don’t have a good name yet. But I came up with this for dinner the night we heard Grandma Smart had passed away. Perhaps she was putting good ideas in my head for this one… I always loved her cooking.

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (white meat should work as well ;-)
  • ½ an onion, chopped in big chunks
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 pound egg noodles
  • Butter and paprika as we go along
  • 16 oz container sour cream

Marinade:

  • 2-3 Tbl olive oil
  • 1-2 Tbl soy sauce
  • ¼ cup asian sesame salad dressing
  • 1 heaping Tbl steak seasoning (I used the one from the Hungarian Paprika people)

Mix the marinade items in a gallon size zip lock bag, add the chicken, and squish around until well coated.

Put 2 Tbl butter and 2 Tbl olive oil in iron skillet and heat to medium. As it is heating, add the onions for flavor. When the oil is ready, add the chicken. Brown on both sides, and then pour in the marinade left in the bag. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes until the chicken is done, turning a few times to keep it well coated. About half-way through, add the tomato sauce, and move things around to mix it in.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles as directed, adding a tablespoon or so of paprika to the water. When the noodles are done, drain them, and put them back in the pot with a couple Tbl of butter. Mix it around well, on the burner, so the butter is spread around and the noodles don’t stick to the bottom. Then, add the chicken and sauce to the noodles.

Stir together well, and allow to heat together a few minutes. Before serving, add sour cream to taste (1/2 or whole container).

Of course, I add some hot sauce and another tablespoon to my dish when I’m ready to eat. I actually like this without eating the chicken (just the noodles and sauce), but I haven’t tried cooking it without the chicken – not sure the taste would work out as well.

Filed under Food, Recipes, family.
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NanoWrimo 2009 Starts!

3 November 2009, 12:16 pm

Yes, I am doing Nano this year. I did it two years ago for the first time, and “won”. Last year we were playing hide-and-seek with the hospital, so there was little free time. This year, I’m back.

And, I’m writing a memoir, called “Almost 50″. I know, this is a fiction contest, but I’m okay with it, because I am using all the same writing techniques I would for fiction, and trying to make it easy enough to read ;-)

I’ll be checking in here with notes about the process, and at the end of the month, I’ll let you know how you can get a copy to read.

So the first day went well. I was tired by the time I started at 9pm, but excited about “getting started”, so I whipped out my 1700+ words in a little over an hour. I decided to use the first day to write a quick overview of my life’s travels, leaving the good stories for later.

The second night was harder, myself more tired, so I only coerced a little over a thousand words from my fingers. This is day three, so I’m going to the park to write at lunch, and try to make up some time.

I’m not sure of the outline yet, but I know I’ll have some sections on family and friends, some on growing-up stories, and a little dictionary section at the end for loose odds and ends.

Hope you’ll enjoy the show!

Filed under Nano09, writing.
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Enter an editing nightmare…

19 September 2009, 2:03 pm

I got the title for this blog from something I made up for my wife. She was starting an editing business, and needed a byline… so I told her that the effect for her clients would be that they would “enter an editing nightmare, and awaken refreshed.” The business is currently on hold for a while, and I figured I could use the slogan here. I am always editing my life, trying to find the right words, the right actions, the right thoughts. I search a lot of places, and in the recent months things have started to come together. More and more of the things I find, no matter how far away they are from each other, are saying the same things. It’s okay to suck. The first draft is sh*t. What you need is what you already have. You can’t think until you stop trying.

I ordered a writing desk. It will be here in the next few days.

I’m going to be a writer. I hope you’ll follow my journey, through the process that will build not only my writing, but my breath, my spirit, my place in the communities where I belong… come on along. Feel free to leave comments — as long as they are constructive…

I was listening to Mur Lafferty’s I Should be Writing podcast this morning, and one of her guests said that the only way to be a producer is to stop being such a consumer. Turn off the TV. Put away the computer games. Watch your time online.

And write. Like a breath, let the writing flow through you…

Filed under life, writing.
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