I've been doing more cooking lately than I usually do. I don't mean that I never make dinner but usually it's something like Hamburger Helper. I've been doing REAL cooking lately. When Corry's sister Joelle was over her and I made some pot pies. One was chicken, sweet corn, carrots and peas with a rue and bouillon gravy. The best part was a crisp potato topping. The other was a red wine and rue gravy over beef, tomatoes, red peppers and mashed with cheese and a biscuit topping. Both I think could have been better, I have ideas to improve them next time I make them. The other thing Corry and I made that was REALLY good is tacos. Corry's brother Chad gave us a TON of spare ribs and we didn't really know what to do with them. We tried barbecuing them but there was so much fat and gristle on them it wasn't really enjoyable like that. So Corry had the idea to cook them in the crock pot, then clean all the fat and gristle, shred the meat and turn it into tacos!!! It was a GREAT success. I haven't had tacos that good in a long while. But next time you're at the store and you're considering buying a packet of taco seasoning for $3.....do it for WAY cheaper at home. We found a recipe for taco seasoning online today that was even better than the store bought stuff, in my opinion and it is made with stuff that I know almost everyone has in their spice cupboard.
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
This made about an average packet full of taco seasoning mix. We also put a fresh jalapeno and about a 1/4 cup of salsa in our meat, (we cooked 3 packages of spare ribs and after it was all cooked it was about a pound of meat, roughly,) and it was really REALLY good. I love to cook, and when things go as nicely as they did today and your plans turn out great, it makes me more excited to make great meals. It's really satisfying to go into your cupboard and think, what can I make with what I have? Tomorrow, we're going to make a pork roast with sauerkraut and dumplings, and I think I might make some candied carrots to have along with that. Maybe I'll even make snicker doodles for dessert, who knows?!
