Saturday, April 28, 2012

Menu 4/28 - 5/9

Here is our menu for the next week or so.

Sat 4/28 - OUT
Sun 4/29 - Pulled Pork Quesadillas and Slaw
Mon 4/30 - Chicken Tacos, Bean Tacos
Tue 5/1 -  Black Eyed Peas and Turkey Kielbasa in slow cooker and Slaw
Wed 5/2 - 2 for $20
Thu 5/3 - OUT for 10th Anniversary
Fri 5/4 - Wings, Celery, Carrots
Sat 5/5 - OUT
Sun 5/6 - Bourbon BBQ Ribs (Kentucky Derby), Black Bean, Corn and Pepper Salad (Cinco de Mayo)
Mon 5/7 - Chicken Fajita Wraps
Tue 5/8  - Roast Chicken, Smashed Garlic Potatoes, Broccoli
Wed 5/9 - Chicken a la King with Peas over Brown Rice in Rice Cooker

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Buckwheat surprises me

I was reading up on buckwheat when getting ready to post the kielbasa recipe and found out some incredible information.

Buckwheat has NO relation to wheat, in spite of the name. That means people with wheat allergies can eat it. It grows in places where nothing else seems to grow and thrives on cooler temperatures. It isn't even a grain, in the botanical sense.

You can read more about this marvelous plant here

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Another Bottom of the Jar Day


For those who follow my blog, you are aware that I love to cook from the bottom of jars.  For those who are first time readers, that means that when I have the end of some product that often won't come out of the bottom of a jar, such as jelly, mustard, chutney etc, I like to use the jar as a vessel to create a marinade or sauce or dressing thereby "washing" the remaining tasty bits off the jar walls.  After all, I paid for the entire contents of the jar, not just the product that comes out of it easily.


Today, I wanted to put some pork ribs in the slow cooker for the day.  I had no barbecue sauce and since I am trying to cut the sugar in what we eat, commercial barbecue sauces are not on my shopping list any longer.  I did have a jar of sugar free apricot preserves in the fridge though.  Well, it wasn't actually a usable jar, since there was barely a few tablespoons left and they were stuck to the bottom and sides of the jar.  I looked at the jar and had an instant "bottom of the jar idea".  

I took the jar and added a few tablespoons each  of soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, garlic, dehydrated onions, a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I closed the lid and shook vigorously to dislodge the sticky bits stuck to the jar.  I then placed the country style pork ribs in one layer at the bottom of my slow cooker and poured this sweet and spicy goodness over the ribs.  They are now cooking at medium heat.  I will turn it down to low in a few hours and let it go all day.  I can't wait to eat them.  The fragrance of spices and pork running through the house is intoxicating.