Cooking / Recipes

1 cup ketchup
1/4c water
1/4c white wine vinegar (I used red)
1/4c oil
1 pkg onion soup mix (or 3tbsp)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2tsp mustard seed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

for 5 lbs pork loin

Place all of the ingredients in a zip lock freezer bag. You can freeze this to cook later, or can let it marinate overnight and drop it in the slow cooker in the morning.

slow cooker 4-5 high or 6-8 low

I did 8 hours on low and it was great. I wouldn't be worried about going another two hours, though.

This is what I did. It turned out great.

1 Turkey 4kg. Thawed completely. (three or four days in the fridge)

Brine:
1 1/4cup coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 cups water
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons of allspice. (used ground)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
6 bay leaves

brought to a boil for a few minutes.

Added 11 cups of cold water.

Immersed the turkey in this brine in a plastic pail for about 24 hours. (In the fridge)

Smoke:

This was too much work for one person with one wok. But, it tasted great.

Chow Mein Noodles

1 package 397g of Farkay Chow Mein Noodles
4 green onions, chopped.
cooking oil
oyster sauce
soy sauce

Bring 8c (I really didn't measure) of water to a boil in a large pot. Add noodles and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a wok, heat some oil. Add onions and stir fry for a bit.
Add three gobs of oyster sauce, one good glug of soy sauce, and a drizzle of sesame oil. (yeah, I totally didn't measure these either) Cook for a short while. (or time it)

This was pretty good!

Cheesy Baked Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed...
3 T. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. my house seasoning (equal parts garlic powder, onion powder and pepper...combine and store in an airtight container)
1 T. grated parmesan cheese
3/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
italian seasoning

Preheat sous vide cooker to 70C

Combine:
1 tbsp Barbecue Sauce
4 tbsp Mustard
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey

Add to vaccuum bag with a 2lb pork shoulder. Seal.

Cook at 70C for around 36 hours.

Preheat oven to 450F (Yes, my sous vide is metric, my oven imperial.)

Remove bag from sous vide. Empty liquid contents into a saucepan.

Place meat on a rack and place in the oven.

While the meat is browning, cook up the liquid with some flour to make a gravy-type sauce.

APPLE PIE

I made an apple pie today. It was good. I didn't really use a recipe, but sort of combined a few different recipes I had read. Anyways, here's approximately what I did.

2 tbsp butter, melted. (Honestly, I didn't measure this.)
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed.
Apples. Peeled, sliced, cored. How many? no idea. Enough to fill a crust heaping.

Melted the butter. Mix in the flour and cinnamon. Add the brown sugar and mix in well.

Toss that mixture with the apples.
Pour into a pie crust.

I've made this a few times now, so figured it was time to document it.

1 Onion, diced
5 cloves Garlic. Crushed.
1 tsp crushed dried chilies. (or flakes)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
Mix the above in a bowl.

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
(This is what I had... whatever combination you want. About 2lbs.)
Salt and pepper

Sesame Seeds
green onion, thinly sliced
(for garnish)

Salt and pepper the chicken to taste. Place in the bottom of a slow cooker.

1.7 Kg regular ground beef
4 eggs
1 cup chopped leek
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Lawrys seasoning salt
1 tbsp crushed chili flakes
1 tsp cayenne
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix all above ingredients.

Add quick oats until meat firms up. I used 1 3/4 cup.

Form into loaf and place in a loaf pan.

cover top with hickory bbq sauce.

Bake in a 425F oven until an internal temperature of 160F. This took me 2 hours.

Not the singer...

I've made this a few times with a few variations. It's time to write it down.