Your Spice Rack

Not everyone, especially not those people with small babies to care for, can have their own herb garden, and so most of us rely on cans of dried spices. I thought that while the baby is taking another one of her dead-to-the-world overtired naps, I'd share with you the secrets to a well-stocked spice rack.
If you are not used to cooking, or feel that you are a bad cook, spices can be a life saver. If you are still learning how to cook, a good plan is to always use a recipe, especially when cooking something you've never made before. Once you get good enough to eyeball measurements on certain dishes, however, there are some spices you will find that you probably cannot do without. Always check your recipe first to see if there is some new spice you don't have stocked that you'll need to run to the grocery store for. Remember most, if not all of these, are dried and ground.

My basic spices are: Lawry's seasoned salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley flakes.

I also like to keep on hand: basil, bay leaves, oregano, cinnamon, ground cloves, rosemary, garlic pepper, garlic salt, nutmeg, ginger, sea salt, sage and thyme.

Of course there are others, and I keep specific spices for making certain dishes, such as cayenne pepper for making chili and ground mustard for putting in my meatloaf. But to each person his own tastes, and you will soon figure out which spices you need and use most.
Also remember to check the expiration dates on your spice jars at least every two years. Yes, these things do actually expire, and they taste dry and crappy when they do.
Note from the photograph that I also own a mortar and pestle, so in case I run out of ground something (like cloves) and I still have a jar of the whole spice, I can just grind the kernels up myself.

Today's Cupboard Tips

Since my family and I are going out to eat at Olive Garden with friends this evening, I thought I would take today's post to just share a few tips on stocking your food cabinets. Keeping a well-stocked cupboard will make things much simpler when you are trying to throw a meal together during the twenty minutes of calm your baby gives you a day.

Foods to always keep on hand:

bulb of garlic
onions (at least one or two of whichever kind suit your personal tastes)
red or yellow potatoes
sweet potatoes/yams (at least 2)
frozen peas
frozen corn
canned or boxed beef and chicken broth, or bouillon cubes
A well-stocked spice rack (including most, if not all, of the spice jars that you can find at your nearest Wal-Mart. I say this for people who may be afraid to spend too much on spices)
carrots: a bag of baby or a package of regular ones
eggs
milk
cornstarch or flour
white and brown sugar

It may seem like a lot, but this stuff will probably only take up one shelf in your cupboard, and combined with just about ANY meat you can easily use these to make a delicious dinner any night of the week!

Pork Tenderloin with Plum Jam and Sweet Apples

Tonight I'm trying to repeat an amazing recipe I came up with a few weeks ago, only this time with an even bigger pork tenderloin (a little over two pounds) that actually turned out (once I opened the packaging) to be two long, thin tenderloins. Oh well; more leftovers! Yet again I lucked out as I only had to go back to the baby from the kitchen once, when she fell asleep in her chair while watching the fish tank, so I could put her down for a nap. Of course she'll be awake when we try to eat...
The catch to this recipe is the Plum Jam, which is pretty thin and more like a plum butter. I made this myself in August when the plum tree in our back yard was bearing gobs of damson plums and I couldn't resist using as many as possible. If you are therefore unable to find a plum jam, I am positive this recipe would turn out just as tasty using apple butter, which you can buy at most grocery stores or also make yourself.

Ingredients for the Pork Roast:

Pork Tenderloin
Plum or Apple Jam/Butter
Seasoned salt
pepper
2 yams/ sweet potatoes
olive oil in sprayer
butter
brown sugar

Sweet Apples:

2 apples (the kind good for baking are good, like Macintosh or Jonagold)
ground cinnamon
ground cloves
brown sugar
1/4 stick butter

Preheat oven to 400F. Remove pork tenderloin(s) from package and rinse thoroughly. Place in roasting pan that has been greased with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper, then use a spatula or thick butter knife to apply a thick coating of the jam all over the top of the meat. Peel and cut up the sweet potatoes into large chunks and place around the meat. Apply a small amount of butter to each potato and sprinkle with some brown sugar. Roast approximately 25-35 minutes per pound of meat; the potatoes will roast quickly if they are cut up.

To make the sweet apples, peel and core the two apples and cut into 1/4 inch thick slivers. Melt 1/4 stick of butter in a pot and add two tablespoons of brown sugar along with 1/8 tsp Cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves. Add the apples and stir to coat well. Cook on low heat, mixing occasionally, about a half hour or as long as the meat cooks, until the apples are soft and easily poked with a fork.

Serve the meat sliced into 1-inch thick portions and topped with the apples, using the sweet potatoes and a vegetable of your choice as the sides.

Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb with Roasted Vegetables

Lamb again! I know, I know, but that's what my husband pulled out of the freezer last night to thaw for today. It was still a bit frozen in the middle but I can just cook it a little longer. We allow ourselves the luxury of lamb a few times a month if we can find a good cut, and a pre-frozen, vacuum-packed boneless leg of lamb is usually easy to come by, for around $12.
Tonight's vegetables were a motley of what I had available between the potato cupboard and the crisper drawer in the fridge. For example, the only reason there is any green in the dish is the fact that I had some scallions and half a green pepper hanging around since last week and I wanted to get rid of them. The others are a normal staple of what I put into the roasting pan: carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic. Zucchini or yellow squash makes a tasty addition as well. Use whatever vegetables and legumes you have available, but these worked out great for us this time around.
Incidentally, I feel like I'm cheating you again, because my daughter decided to nap just in time for me to put dinner together. This takes about 20 minutes or so to prep, and you should thaw the lamb at least the night before in the refrigerator.



Ingredients:

Boneless leg of lamb
2 sweet potatoes/yams, peeled and cubed (this is the hardest part)
4-5 red potatoes, washed and cut into quarters
1 lb. bag of baby carrots
1 sweet onion
4 fat cloves of garlic (or smaller ones to equal that amount), chopped
Other/optional veggies such as bell pepper, zucchini, squash, scallions
Balsamic vinegar
Lawry's seasoned salt
Black pepper, ground
Rosemary
Cinnamon
Parsley flakes
Olive oil (This Sprayer works great)

Preheat oven to 425F and make sure the top rack is near the middle of the oven. Spray or drizzle olive oil on bottom of roasting pan. Rinse lamb leg under warm water, then place in center of pan. Arrange/scatter the chopped vegetables and carrots around the lamb, mixing them together. Spray/drizzle all over with olive oil. Shake seasoned salt and pepper over all, to whatever amount is your liking. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the lamb, then top with rosemary. Sprinkle cinnamon on the bits of sweet potato that you can see (don't go digging for them, but this is my secret to sweetness) and sprinkle about a tablespoon of parsley over the vegetables (this counteracts the gassiness of the onions and garlic).
Place pan into oven for 15 minutes, enough to brown the lamb, then turn down to 325F for another 50-65 minutes. Cut into lamb to check for doneness; using a meat thermometer almost always makes you overcook it and lamb is best when it's pinkish red in the middle.

And just for the record, I can't even remember how I managed to cook without a good roasting pan. I'm in love with this Roasting Pan I got as a wedding gift last year.

Rack of Lamb

Last night's rack of lamb ribs was soft and succulent. It was a little raw in the middle, since my husband prefers his meat rare, but lamb is very tasty rare so I enjoyed it as well. We had both snacked earlier and were feeling lazy so the only side dish was a pack of Green Giant buttered sweet peas, but we each got four lamb ribs and were sufficiently satisfied with those two and the addition of a piece of Nutella-covered toast for dessert. My measurements are approximate, mind you, as it's usually a dash here or a shake there. Thankfully, this time he was home early enough to watch the baby for me while I cooked dinner; she is notorious for waking up from her nap just in time to keep us from eating. Sorry for the image; I had to draw it since I forgot to take a photo of the lamb.



Anyway, here's what I did for the lamb:

Ingredients:

Rack of lamb (thawed if previously frozen)
balsamic vinegar
Lawry's seasoned salt
pepper
rosemary (dry or fresh, either works)
roasting pan with drip rack


Turn your broiler on high. Pull the lamb out of the package and rinse it off under warm water. Make sure the drip rack is in the bottom of your roasting pan and spray it down with cooking spray (I use canola oil spray). Lay the rack of lamb on top of the drip rack meatiest side up and sprinkle balsamic vinegar over the meat, about 2-3 tablespoons full. Then shake enough seasoned salt to cover the meat with a light dusting, and do the same with the pepper. Sprinkle a tablespoon of rosemary over the lamb, spreading it out, then rub all the spices into the meat gently. Broiling time will vary on the thickness of the meat on the bones and how you'd like your meat cooked, but for medium-rare it's about 7 minutes on the top (meatier side) and 4 minutes on the bottom.
Cook up whatever you want for side dishes and enjoy!

Introduction... a.k.a. The Beginning

My friends and family all tell me I'm a great cook, and the fact that my husband has gained about 40 pounds since we've been together only supports that assumption. I have my mother to thank for most of it, but I've gotten cooking hints from my father and both grandmothers as well over the years.
Now that I've had my baby and am home most of the time, making dinner for myself and mu husband is hectic enough. Heaven forbid anyone decides to join us! It is especially difficult to cook with a three month old girl in the house, as her attention span for watching me cook dinner from a bouncer seat is limited and she is very demanding of your attention. I once had to chop vegetables for a beef stew while trying to see around her as I wore her on my chest in the baby carrier.

At any rate, I decided that during her naptime and around my other writing projects, I would share some of my recipes. I do work out of several cookbooks, which I will credit if need be, but most of the time I make the recipes my own by removing or adding ingredients, and sometimes I just make up the recipe as I go with whatever substitutes I have in the house. My not working has put us on a budget where our only real luxury is a decent meal in the evening.
We have a rack of lamb ribs in the fridge right now that Jason (my husband) got as a birthday gift two days ago, which is probably going to be our dinner tonight. I'll share whatever recipe I come up with tomorrow, so each day's blog will be about dinner the night before. Until then, I'll leave you with the recipe for Bourbon Balls I made this past weekend and my helpful hint for trussing a turkey that I came up with at this year's Thanksgiving.

Bourbon Balls

Trussing a Turkey with Needle and Thread

P.S. Go ahead and skim through my eHow profile to see a few other choice recipes in articles I've written