Subj : Re: Tex-Mex To : Ruth Haffly From : Dave Drum Date : Sat Jun 29 2024 06:20:00 -=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=- DD> Most places I'm a member of the "clean plate club". Except Sweet Basil DD> Cafe. I proposed them for lunch one day and my friend, Les, declined. DD> "Too much food." he said. He's right, the portions are huge. I began DD> my Trip Advisor review with "You'd better come hungry." Bv)= RH> Most of the time I automatically split my entree in half when it's RH> served. Used to be, I could eat the whole thing at once but a RH> combination of portions getting bigger and stomach getting smaller, RH> that's not realistic any more. Same place does serve some of their menu RH> as lunch (smaller) portions but that one is not in the lunch listings. Oriental, especially Chinese, venues seem to do gargantuan sized dinner and reasonable sized lunches. Even when I was younger and ate heartily most of the time I could not finish my diner serving at Ti Pan or Golden Dragon. So I soon learned to just go during lunch hours. And now my appetite seems diminished. No more 3 meals a day. I have a decent breakfast - usually eggs, meat, taters and toast/biscuit/pancake. I'm not hungry again until mid-afternoon to early evening. And a light meal usually suffices. I've noticed that my trousers aren't as tight as they used to be. A visit to my cardiologist told me that I've lost 35# in the past couple of moths - according to their scale. If this keeps up it could get expensive. There's a limit to how much pants can be "taken in." DD> I gave my instant pot to my sister-in-law so I fake it using my Mom's DD> old pressure cooker and the usual kitchn stuff. RH> We have 2 non name brand instant pots, one for the camper, one for the RH> house. The pulled pork looks like it would be a good thing to try, RH> maybe make a batch to split between supper one night and freeze for RH> taking camping. We've got a couple more trips planned this year, may RH> try to do another one at some point. DD> Title: Instant Pot Mexican Pulled Pork (Carnitas) DD> Categories: Pork, Herbs, Chilies, Fruits DD> Yield: 9 servings DD> I recently received a triple crock pot as a birthday gift. I DD> appreciated the thought. But it just doesn't fit my tiny kitchen, nor DD> my non-existing dining room. I'm going to ask around to see if I can DD> re-gift it to some feed the hungry program or soup kitchen. RH> I saw those in the big box (Sam's and Costco) stores a few years ago, RH> thought the idea was good for some applications but for my use, a full RH> size crock pot was better. I've got (in addition to the "instant pots") RH> a 6 quart crock pot, a 4 quart pot with a separate base (from my MIL) RH> and a "baby" (1.5 quarts) crock pot. Smallest one gets the most use for RH> just the 2 of us. I, too, have an assortment ... all with removable pots. 6 qt., 5 qt., the casserole CrockPot, and the little guy (1 1/2 qt). The casserole pot and the small one get the most use. DD> Here's one that would work in the triple header. I'd leave off the DD> okra and substitute file' powder as the thickener. DD> Title: Sausage & Chicken Gumbo DD> Categories: Pork, Poultry, Vegetables, Herbs, Chilies DD> Yield: 6 Servings RH> I'd probably cut it into 1/2 or 1/3 recipe and use the baby crock pot. RH> Not sure about the okra; I like it but Steve doesn't. Even though the African word for okra is "gumbo" which gave the dish its name - I still call m'em "snot pods". Even battered and deep fried they give me a slimy mouth feel.. This recipe makes a *LOT*. Fortunately it freezes well. MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Good News Creole Gumbo Categories: Pork, Beef, Seafood, Chilies, Herbs Yield: 20 Servings 1 c All-purpose flour 3/4 c Bacon drippings 1 c Coarse chopped celery 1 lg Onion; coarse chopped 1 lg Bell pepper; cored, coarse - chopped 2 cl Garlic; minced 1 lb Andouille sausage; sliced 3 qt Water 6 ts Beef bouillon granules 1 tb Granulated white sugar Salt; as needed 2 tb Hot pepper sauce; to taste 1/2 ts Tony Chachere's Cajun - seasoning (green can) 4 Bay leaves 1/2 ts Dried thyme leaves 14 1/2 oz Can stewed tomatoes 6 oz Can tomato sauce 2 ts Gumbo file powder 2 tb Bacon drippings 20 oz Frozen, cut green beans; - thawed 1 lb Lump crabmeat 3 lb Uncooked medium shrimp; - peeled, deveined, tails - off 2 tb Worcestershire sauce 2 ts Gumbo file powder Make a roux by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup bacon drippings together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking. Place the celery, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside. Bring the water and beef bouillon cubes to a boil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute mark. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in a skillet, and cook the green beans over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 45 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder. Serve over cooked rice. RECIPE FROM: http://allrecipes.com Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives MMMMM .... Any sandwich can be a breakfast sandwich if you eat it before lunch. --- MultiMail/Win v0.52 * Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12) .