hey everybody, let's welcome Old Broad and give her some easy

[NMDemDist2]

recipes. She claims she can't (doesn't/hates) cooking so can we help her out?

here's my easy yummy dinner

Yankee Pot Roast (use either a crock pot, electric skillet or a covered oven dish/roaster)

Seven blade chuck roast 2" thick (about 2-3 pounds)
3-4 Large or 5-6 medium potatoes cut into quarters or sixths
3-4 carrots sliced into rounds (or just use baby carrots)
1 onion (i prefer red, but it doesn't matter) cropped coarsely
1/2 pound whole mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
bay leaf
1 tsp each dried basil and thyme
can of tomato sauce (optional)
2 tbls oil/shortening
2 tbsp flour

dredge the roast in flour and quickly brown both sides in the oil over med high heat in skillet or fry pan on the stove

put in crock pot, add the rest of ingredients on top, set on low for 6-8 hours OR

if you are using an electric skillet, decrease temp to 350 degrees and pile all the other stuff in and cook approximately 60-90 minutes OR

put all the stuff in the covered roaster or corning ware that has been sprayed with Pam or one of those roasting bags into a 350 oven for 60-90 minutes.

It's done when the the veggies are soft and ready to eat. if you're feeling really ambitious throw some Pillsbury rolls in the oven to serve with (or some of your home baked bread)

Welcome Old Broad :hi:

[wryter2000]

1. Welcome, Old Broad

Spaghetti sauce

chop an onion
chop a few garlic cloves
cook them in a pan with olive oil until translucent
add some hunks of Italian sausage and cook until browned
add a large can of pureed tomatoes
add some herbs
add some red wine

Cook until it's nice and thick

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Old Broad ... I love the name! Welcome!

We have fun here, in spite of ourselves! Well .... because of ourselves ....... or because of each other ...... oh hell .... just because! :)

[NMDemDist2]

3. yeah, that name......

I so shoulda snapped that up when they had the nick grace period....

[Justpat]

4. Thanks everybody. I really do need help.

I'm going to try these. I'll let you know how these turn out.

OB

[NMDemDist2]

5. courage and faith my dear!

all it takes is practice :bounce: and if you screw up.... that's why god made take out windows :rofl:

[Justpat]

6. LOL.

I am driving back to NY from Fl in a few days, so I'll try these
when I get back up the road. Until then, I'll be doing the
breakfast thing at Cracker Barrel and dinner at Pollo Tropical.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Pollo Tropical .........

Ain't that the BEST fast food chicken?

That's an interesting chain. They're owned by Latinos and have, as I recall, more units in Latin America than here in the US. Its nice to see a successful business 'invade' America rather than the other way around.

And again ... that is some GREAT chicken!

[Wordie]

8. I haven't heard of Pollo Tropical...

but is that one of the Mexican grill-type (ok, it's really not always a grill, technically) restaurants where they cook the chickens sort of all splayed out on a very hot flat metal cooking surface? And then when the chicken is done the cooks take them and very dramatically chop them in pieces with huge cleavers? And then pull pieces of the chicken off the bone and roll it up in tortillas with lots of salsa fresca? And they often do corn on the cob on the same grill?

Because if it is, I LOVE that chicken too, and I think I have a recipe someplace...

(...to be continued as soon as I find it.)

[Justpat]

9. Pollo Tropical is the staple of my diet here in FL.

They do great grilled chicken. They actually have what I consider healthy recipies.
It isn't fried. But the best thing is the black beans and rice.

So, to answer your above question: Yes, it is a Mexican grill type joint minus the drama of flinging the
chickens around and whacking them up before you with scary looking knives. It just a grill, some great
spices and a good price. It might even be Cuban chicken - what do I know.

[Wordie]

10. Would you like the recipe I have?

I strongly suspect it's the same, if not similar. It's not too difficult. You make a marinade and marinate the chicken overnight, and then grill it. That's all there is to it. You probably could broil the marinated chicken instead.

Of course, if you really don't like to cook and you've got the restaurant right there, I suppose there may be little sense in trying to learn to do it yourself.

[Justpat]

11. Yes, I'd like to try it.

I have to learn to make some things to do at home.

[Wordie]

12. Pollo a las Brasas, Estilo Sinaloense

(Chicken over the coals, Sinaloa-style)

I looked for the recipe I have, which I thought was on my computer, but realized I hadn't typed it in yet. I did find a similar recipe online though, which I'll post in the interest of saving time. It seems to me the recipe I use for this dish is a combination of this one (which comes from Rick Bayless, btw) and another that I haven't managed to locate. This recipe is probably far more complicated than what you are looking for as a new cook, with the spatchcocking of the chickens and the outdoor grilling and all. But what you could easily do is prepare a half or quarter recipe of the marinade and use it for broiled or pan-grilled chicken pieces, instead of grilling it on an outdoor barbeque, as this one does. So here is an original recipe (note that the 2 medium chickens would probably come to about 7 pounds total):

Charcoal-Grilled Chicken, Sinaloa-Style
Ingredients:
2 medium -- whole chickens
1 small onion -- roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic -- peeled and chopped
1-1/3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme -- marjoram and
-- oregano
4 bay leaves -- broken
a generous teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. Splitting the chicken for grilling: Using a large Knife or Kitchen shears, cut down both sides of backbone of 1 chicken, through the joints where the legs attach, then on through the ribs; remove the backbone. Open the chicken out flat on your cutting board, skin-side up, press on the breastbone to loosen it so the chicken will lie flat. For the nicest presentation, make a small incision through the skin toward the bottom of each thigh and press end of the nearest drumstick through it; this will hold the leg in place as the chicken is grilled. Repeat with the second chicken, then lay them in a non-corrosive bowl.

2. Marinating the chickens. Puree the last 7 ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pour the mixture over the chickens and rub them to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or, preferably, overnight), turning the chickens several times.

3. Grilling and serving the chickens. About 1-1/4 hours before serving, light your charcoal fire, let it burn until coals are only medium-hot, then position the grill about 8 inches above the coals and lightly oil it. Lay the chickens on the grill, skin side up, and grill for 35 to 45 minutes, turning every 10 minutes and basting with any leftover marinade. They are ready when tender, and when a fork pricked deep into the thigh brings up clear (not pink) juices.

(During the final 10 minutes of cooking, grill the onions, as described on page 277-charcoal-Grilled Baby Onions if you are using them.) Cut the chickens into quarters, lay them on a warm platter and serve.

Timing and Advance Preparation: Spend 1/2 hour preparing the chicken and marinade at least 4 hours ahead; it will take 1-1/4 hours to finish the dish, a good part of it spent waiting on the fire and the chicken. The chicken may marinate for a couple of days, but its texture will be best when grilled just before serving.

Traditional Variations Grilled Chicken with Another Flavor: Prepare the recipe as directed, using the following marinade: pulverize 1/4 teaspoons coriander seeds, 1/4 teaspoons black peppercorns, 1/2-inch cinnamon stick, 1/8 teaspoon whole cloves and 1 bay leaf, then mix with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon mixed herbs, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1/2 cup vinegar and 4 roasted cloves of garlic (peeled and mashed to a paste).

http://www.grilling-recipes.com/chicken/r198.htm

[Justpat]

13. Thanks, Wordie

I printed it out. I'll try this one when I get back home.

I'm starting with the spaghetti sauce recipe above.
I like whole wheat spaghetti.

[Wordie]

15. Darn...looks like I just missed you with the revised and easier version.

But spagetti is probably a good place to start for a beginning cook.

Here's a recipe I posted in an earlier thread that's REALLY easy, and uses spagetti:
Lebanese Yogurt Spagetti (it's a bit reminiscent of beef stroganoff, but much easier)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=16289&mesg_id=16348

(You can adjust the garlic according to your own taste.)

[Wordie]

14. To make it easier, and broiled, not grilled outdoors, I'd do this:

The amount of this marinade is probably really enough to do up to 1 3/4 pounds of chicken. Also, the recipe leaves the skin on. You could remove it, I suppose, if you want, but it really will come out better if you leave it on. You could use a combination of dark and light meat chicken pieces if you would prefer.

Easy Pollo a las Brasas, Estilo Wordie
4 chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
MARINADE:
1/4 small onion -- roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic -- peeled and chopped
1/3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1/8 teaspoon each dried thyme, marjoram, and oregano
1 bay leaf -- broken
a generous teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Put all the marinade ingredients in a blender or spice mill and run the blender until all is well-pureed (there may be a few small chunks of bay leaf floating around...don't worry about it).

Put the chicken breasts into a large nonreactive bowl (nonreactive = glass, stainless steel, ceramic or heavy-duty plastic), OR you could use a large heavy-duty zipper-type plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the chickens and rub it into them, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap (if you're using the plastic bags, pour the marinade in with the chicken breasts, seal the bag, and slosh everything around for a while). Then refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. Every so often during the marinating time, move everything around so all sides of the chickens get covered with the marinade (if you're using a plastic bag, slosh everything around again every so often).

About 20 minutes before you plan to serve, move one of your oven racks to a position so that when you broil, the chicken pieces will be about 4 to 5 inches below the broiler element (this assumes you have an electric oven, but it's much the same for a gas one) and turn on the broiler. Coat a broiler-pan rack with non-stick cooking oil spray. Get out a pretty serving platter.

About 10 minutes before you plan to serve, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade (keep the marinade) and put them on your cutting board. Pour just a little bit of vegetable oil (maybe just one to 1 1/2 tablespoons) into a small bowl or cup and, dipping your fingers into the oil, rub a little of the oil over the chicken. Then arrange them on the broiling rack, skin side down. Drizzle them with a little of the marinade.

Put the broiling pan under the broiler and broil the chicken for about 4 minutes on the first side. Then, pull the rack out and with tongs, turn the pieces over and with a brush, or with a wadded up piece of waxed paper dipped in the bowl of oil, brush or dab more oil on the skin side of the chicken (now up). When you turn them, drizzle on a little more of the marinade (then discard the rest). Broil for another 3 to 4 minutes. Check frequently, ovens and broilers all cook a little differently, so the times are approximate and you want to make sure they don't burn.

You can test for doneness in a couple of ways. Low tech: stick a fork into the chicken and see if the juices that run out are clear or yellow. If there is any pink in the juices, the chicken isn't done yet - put it back in for another couple minutes or so. High tech (and much more reliable method): invest in a meat thermometer and place the probe into the meatiest part of the breast. When done, the temperature should read 170 degrees F. It should read 180 degrees F if you are using dark meat pieces (you can remove the breasts from the broiler sooner if you are doing both white and dark meat pieces).

This probably sounds far more difficult than it really is; I tried to add more instructions for a new cook, so there wouldn't be any confusion about what to do. This would be good served with some rice and a green salad (or green vegetable) and some salsa and warm tortillas. You can cut the chicken into pieces and use a tortilla to roll it up with some salsa. Very tasty.

[Justpat]

16. I'll try this one first!

Thanks.

[Wordie]

17. Great! Here are a few other tips...

1. If you have an electric stove, leave the oven door just a bit ajar while broiling (otherwise the thermostat in the oven may kick the oven off and your chicken won't broil properly). Broiling cooks by heating the food directly, not by the buildup of heat in the oven, so it's not a problem to do this.

2. Before you cook, make sure you use a vegetable spray on the insides of the broiler pan, down under the rack, too. That way it will be lots easier to clean up afterwards. If you don't have the vegetable oil spray, you can try lining the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, to catch the drips and prevent them from burning on.

3. Some people think it's a good idea to let your food come closer to room temperature before cooking, because it helps food cook more evenly and there is less chance you will wind up with an over-done outside but still have an underdone inside. Others think there is a health concern, especially with chicken. I'm just letting you know you have a choice, and could pull the chicken out of the refrigerator a little sooner if you wanted to, say just before you turned the broiler on.

4. Another thing you might want to invest in is an oven thermometer. This is different than a meat thermometer, which measures the internal temperature of the meat with a probe that you stick into the meat. An oven thermometer measures the temperature inside the oven, and either sits on the floor of the oven, or will hang from one of the racks. (There are now high tech digital thermometers that will do both, and even sound an alarm when target temperatures are reached, but these are relatively expensive - $25 to $40, while the other two can probably be picked up for $5 to $8 each.) Since ovens differ greatly, an oven thermometer is a great tool for making sure things come out the way they're supposed to. If your oven isn't true in regards to temperature, you can use the oven thermometer to let you know what the real temperature of your oven is, and adjust the temperature dial on the oven up or down as needed to obtain the temperature called for by your recipe.

5. I used 4 hours as the maximum marinating time in the recipe, just to try to make it faster, but you could marinate longer if you want to. If you work, for instance, you could whip up the marinade first thing in the morning, before you leave, stick the chicken in the refrigerator, and when you come home it would take only a short while to fire up the broiler and cook your dinner.

6. If you use the plastic bag method for marinating, put the bag in a bowl. Just to be safe and eliminate the possibility of drips or leaks.

Broiled onion slices (Cebollas Asadas) are a good compliment:
If you have room on your broiling pan's rack, you might want to try marinating some thick slices of white or red onions in a little bit of the same marinade (pour off a little of the marinade into a separate bowl for marinating the onions before you put the chicken into the main part of the marinade, and don't mix them though, for health reasons). (Or plain lemon juice is also a great marinade for onions, especially sweet ones.) Then dab the onions with a little bit of oil like you did with the chicken and broil them along with the chicken, placing them directly on the broiling rack, or, better, on a piece of aluminum foil with some vegetable oil sprayed on it, and then placed on the rack (this will prevent sticking and make it easier to transfer them to a serving plate when done). You could put the onions in at about the time you turn the chicken and then turn them after 2 or 3 minutes, or even just leave them to cook on just one side as the final side of the chicken is finishing up. They're really good, and traditional I believe, with this dish. If you are nervous about trying the dish though, you might want to try just the chicken the first time, so you aren't juggling too many new things at once.

I tried to think of things I didn't know at first, that I've learned along the way, that might be helpful to a new cook. There were more things than I thought there would be when I started this post. I hope I didn't overwhelm you.

[mandyky]

18. Chicken or tuna caserole

I oven bake my chicken and dice it up (2 or 3 chicken breats or 1 - 2 large can/s of tuna)
cooked elbow macaroni or choice of pasta (1 pound)
2 cans of cream soup (celery, mushroom or chicken)
1 soup can of milk or water
sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms or other fresh veggies can be added
2 cups thawed (drained) frozen veggies (mixed, peas, green beans, corn, broccoli)
spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, etc)
dried bread crumbs or crackers and grated cheese for top (optional)


Bake at 350 until bubbly and browned.

[NMDemDist2]

20. the canned chicken you can get at Costco works well with this recipe

and makes it SO easy too!

[NMDemDist2]

19. I made a good dinner tonight, simple and tasty

Brown Rice with tarragon and lemon pepper. Make the rice per package instructions, just add a tsp of dried tarragon and sprinkle with lemon pepper and a tsp of olive oil before putting the lid on the pan.

Steamed Baby Carrots (You own a steamer right? they are the handiest gadget in the kitchen for fresh healthy easy veggie preparation-- mine is a lot like this one and that's about what I paid for it. best $20 I've ever spent) http://cgi.ebay.com/WOW-BLACK-DECKER-HANDY-STEAMER-MINT-WOW_W0QQitemZ6251596066QQcategoryZ982QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Chicken Breasts ala AZDD6

2 Chicken Breasts
2-3 TBSP of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/2 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into strips
2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 2" Rosemary sprigs (or dried ground rosemary would work)
8-10 (2 pinches) Red Pepper Flakes (HOT ones)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet with the rosemary and pepper flakes over medium heat, add chicken breasts smooth side down, if you are using fresh rosemary--I bruised it with my spatula then tossed it on top of the chicken (on the "rough" or rib side) and turned it with the chicken so it was nestled up in the rib area the whole time, you won't need to worry about it if it's the ground dried stuff. Pour balsamic vinegar equally over both breasts.

Cook chicken about 10 minutes turning once, the breast should brown up before you turn it, if it doesn't turn up the heat a little. Add bell pepper strips, cook for 5-6 minutes turning Chicken once again. Push chicken and bell pepper to one side of the pan and add the mushrooms and let them cook down, stirring frequently.

Serve Chicken over the bell strips and top with the mushrooms (Discard Fresh rosemary stalks before serving)

It may sound complicated but it was very easy and tasty!

[Justpat]

21. You guys are great.

I will be offline for about five days while I'm driving up to NY
so I'll try these when I get home. I'll keep you posted on
how they turn out.

My skinny husband will be thrilled.

All the best... Old Broad

[NMDemDist2]

22. have a safe trip home!

:hi:

[Justpat]

23. Thank you AZDem

I actually leave early Tuesday, but I will be taking the computer apart
late tomorrow.

I hate the leave the sunshine (it is supposed to be 36 here in Fl tonight)
but I have to go back and wow the hubby with some new moves in the kitchen. :)

[NMDemDist2]

24. who knows, you might even get to enjoy it yourself

I have :bounce:

and my tummy shows it :cry:

[Justpat]

25. OK. I'm back in NY and I think I'll try the tuna casserole

first.

I'm still a little tired from two days of driving. That casserole sounds easy enough for me.

[NMDemDist2]

26. welcome home! hope you had a good trip home and a tuna casserole

is such a nice comfort food recipe. let us know how it turns out, won't ya?

[Justpat]

27. Mr. Broad sends his thanks.

The casserole turned out great and it was easy to make.

Now, on to the next one... OB :)