Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Simple Foods

Going along with the "Simple Life" idea I like to cook but don't have the patience to do things like baking bread where I have to wait for it to rise, etc. For me simple is better.

Outside grilling has not been one of my favorite things to do either so I use my oven a lot. For pork ribs I like to use the large turkey bags placed on a large rectangular metal pan. I salt & pepper the meat and place into the bag. Shake some crushed red pepper over them and add about a quart of apple cider vinegar and seal the end making a small vent hole in the top. Bake them at 300 for about 4 hours. the bones will come out with no resistance and the meat will be fork tender.

We love chicken and I like to place chicken pieces into my oval slow cooker and then cover the chicken with a mixture of cream of celery and cream of chicken soup and cook for 4 to 6 hours. The chicken will be falling apart and the sauce is wonderful. So simple.

Barbeque is a staple in the south and my father used to cook a pig every friday when I was young. He cooked it over an open pit using hickory wood and then would chop it up with two cleavers on a section of a tree trunk into BBQ seasoned with only salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and vinegar. I do the same only I cook a pork loin in my pressure cooker and then do the chopping and seasoning. Comes out the same.

Another simple thing to make is stuffed peppers. I use 3 or 4 large green bell peppers with the top cut off, seeds & membrane removed. I mix ground beef with salt, pepper, finely diced onion and an egg. Then I stuff the peppers with this mixture and place in a pot that accomodates the amount I am using. Any extra meat mixture I just make into balls and place around the peppers. I use chickin broth to almost cover the peppers and then add long grain rice just poured around the peppers into the broth, about 1 1/2 cups. Cooks quickly and the peppers give everything such a good flavor. Hope you like some of these.

9 comments:

  1. Well, you had me at "I like to cook!" I love to cook too. I, like you, don't have the patience for anything like bread. With the little ones keeping me busy, it mostly comes down to not having the time for that sort of thing.

    If you do decide to check out my blog, you can have a look at my Tasty Tuesday tab at the top. Maybe there would be something there you'd like to try.

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.S. I can't seem to see your followers widget. Do you have it installed? Let me know, and I'd be happy to come back and join up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like to cook, but I love to eat. Too much.

    Barbecued pork every Friday? Yum... I call dibs on the skin! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love these "recipes" just the way I like to cook! LOL The ribs especially sound really good!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh YUMMMMMMMM!!! Okay I was just fine til I read this and now I am STARVING!!!!! LOL- your blogpost is NOT helping my diet, Odie!!! LOL!!
    If you like simple things to cook- you might like this site....
    http://www.southernplate.com/
    Christie not only gives us true Southern Recipes (just like mama & grandma used to make!!!) and she ALSO posts step by step photos of the process too! You can't go wrong with her recipes!!!
    Sorry- I'd write more- but I wanna go see if we have the stuff to make that chicken you wrote about!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can't wait to try the stuffed peppers............all the recipe's sound great!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yummy! I love to cook and love to eat. Simple is good and sometimes I like to a little more 'in depth.'

    Everything you talked about sounds delish.

    You should see the Indy airport now. So nice and clean. I loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your recipes sound delicious, especially the ribs... My mother used to make stuffed peppers but she combined the rice and hamburger and stuffed the peppers with this mixture. She then cooked the peppers in tomato sauce. Your recipe sounds interesting too.

    Homemade Bread? Oh... that is simple. You just have to have patience!

    ReplyDelete
  9. mmmmmm. that pepper one and chicken one I might have to try!! I've been wanting to find a stuffed pepper one, thanks!

    ReplyDelete