Week Three: Skillets, Taco Twists and your first Dessert

Hey everyone! I wanted to thank everyone for your patience as I finished up my midterms. I really appreciate it. :D It looks like the pattern I’m setting is two bigger recipes and one smaller side or – for today – a dessert. I think that this is a pattern I’m going to be sticking with, since I can do a lot more in one week than just one or two like I originally thought.

Now, a lot of the recipes that I present to you are fast and pretty easy. That’s something that they share in common with Hamburger Helper, but there’s something else that they share in common: Skillets. A lot of these recipes will require use of a 12” skillet, preferably deep. I used to use a 12” sauté pan for a lot of these, and aside from the occasional spilling from the sloped sides, I was able to make these recipes with little trouble.

These recipes will work with just about any 12” skillet, but I highly recommend an extra-deep, and be sure to find one that comes with its own lid, otherwise you’ll have to spend more money to buy them separate than if you buy them together.

Right now, I own a Wearever 12” extra deep skillet that came with a lid (this is important, because not all of them come with lids). I love this skillet. It is my cooking baby. With the extra deep sides, I can fit more food with significantly less spilling. I recommend that if you don’t have a skillet at all, that this be the kind that you get, because it will last forever and make some of the best foods in larger batches. I highly recommend this kind of skillet, but I more highly encourage you to find one that works best for you.

This Week’s Recipes Are: Beefy Asian Rice, Taco Twists, and Bananas Foster

Beefy Asian Rice (pg. 130 of Cheap. Fast. Good!)

Photograph by me.

Serves: 6 Start to Finish: Under 25 minutes

Ingredients:

· 2 cans (14 oz each) fat-free beef broth

· 1 cup long grain rice

· 1 lb. ground beef

· 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

· 1 large onion

· 2 carrots (or ¼ of a bag of baby carrots)

· 8 oz fresh button mushrooms

· 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced, or 1 ½ tablespoons bottled minced garlic

· ¼ cup regular or reduced-sodium soy sauce

· 2 tbsp. ketchup

· 2 tbsp. rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar

· 1 tbsp. finely minced fresh ginger or bottled minced ginger

· ½ cup frozen green peas (optional)

· 2 tbsp. Asian (dark) sesame oil

1. Pour the broth into a covered medium-size saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the rice, stir, and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. (Don’t worry if the rice is very moist)

2. Meanwhile, if the beef is frozen, run it under hot water so you can remove the packaging. Place the beef on a microwave safe plate and microwave, uncovered, on high power for 3 minutes to partially defrost. To skip this step, place the beef in the refrigerator over the previous night to thaw.

3. While the beef defrosts, heat the oil in an extra-deep 12” skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Peel the carrots into ¼ inch thick rounds. Add the carrots to the skillet.

4. Rinse, pat dry, and coarsely chop the mushrooms, removing any rough stems and adding the mushrooms to the skillet as you chop. Add the beef (fresh or partially defrosted) to the skillet and cook, turning and breaking up the meat, until it is crumbled and browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain any accumulated fat from the beef, if necessary.

5. Add the garlic to the skillet, along with the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, and ginger. Stir well and reduce the heat to low. Add the peas (if using) and sesame oil and stir. Add the cooked rice to the skillet and stir until thoroughly combined. Serve at once, passing additional soy sauce at the table, if desired.

Review-

For the note, I cook my rice using my rice cooker, but for recipes like this where you need to cook the rice in broth, I use a saucepan as is recommended. I don’t recommend using a rice cooker to cook rice in broth. Now, this is a favorite of mine because of its bold flavors, but isn’t for everyone. This recipe is one that stands alone, rarely needing a side simply because of how much is prepared, and how flavorful and textured it is. This is another recipe that reheats in the microwave very well, so if you find that you like it, keep the leftovers for lunches or snacks, and you’re set. :)

Taco Twists (pg. 210 of Cheap. Fast. Good!)

Featured picture uses macaroni noodles instead of rotini. Photographed by me.

Serves: 6 Start to Finish: Under 15 minutes

Ingredients:

· Salt for cooking the pasta

· 1 lb. short pasta, such as rotini

· 2 tsp. vegetable oil

· 1 large onion

· 2 cans (14 oz each) Mexican-style or regular stewed tomatoes

· 2 cups of Flexible Mexican Filling, defrosted if frozen

· ¼ cup shredded cheese (such as Cheddar, taco blend, Colby, or Monterey Jack)

1. Bring 3 quarts lightly salted water to a boil in a covered 4 ½-quart or larger pot. When the water reaches a rapid boil, add the pasta and cook, uncovered, until just tender, following the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in an extra-deep 12” skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Cook until the onion is soft, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes with their juice. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the Flexible Mexican Filling and stir until well combined.

4. When the mixture returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.

5. When the pasta is done, drain it well and divide it among six plates. Spoon the sauce over the hot pasta, topping each serving with 1 tbsp. of cheese.

Review-

Be sure that you use stewed tomatoes, and not diced tomatoes. The sauce doesn’t simmer long enough to rid the diced tomatoes of their raw taste. This is another recipe that I love making, because it uses Flexible Mexican Filling, which is absolutely delicious. Whether you have leftover Filling, or you need to make a new batch, this recipe uses it well. If you have children, getting tri-color rotini can make it even more fun for them. :D

Bananas Foster

Serves: 4 Start to Finish: Under 15 minutes

Ingredients:

· 2 ripe bananas

· 2 tbsp. butter

· 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar

· ¼ cup rum, brandy, Cognac, or orange juice for non-alcoholic sauce

· 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

· 4 scoops vanilla ice cream

1. Peel the bananas and cut them in half crosswise. Slice each half lengthwise, and then cut those pieces in half lengthwise again. You will have 16 pieces. Set them aside.

2. Melt the butter in a 10” or larger skillet over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar, run, and cinnamon. Stir to mix well. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil, 2 to 3 minutes. Then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and cook, stirring constantly but gently so as not to break them up, until the bananas are heated through, 1 ½ to 2 minutes.

3. Remove the skillet from the heat. Serve the warm bananas and sauce over scoops of ice cream.

Review-

If you want a dessert that will make your entire household go silent, this is my suggestion. The rum sauce is delicious with or without the bananas, and pouring nice warm rum sauce over cold vanilla ice cream is as nice to look at as it is to eat. The end result is a caramel-like sauce with more bold flavor than any caramel sauce I’ve ever had. I add maybe a hint more cinnamon than suggested, and encourage you to experiment with this and other ingredients as well.

Now, I don’t know much about rum or other cooking alcohols. Luckily for me, my fiancé knows his rum. We use Captain Morgan’s Silver Spiced rum, and I don’t think that I would want to try it with anything else after that. My stove burns hot, so I start on medium heat and reduce the heat just a little bit if at all, with the same results.