millenialpeasant

[millenialpeasant]

The Finest of Mall Cuisine; Homemade Soft Pretzels

Step 1

1 1/2 C warm water (not too hot, think bath water) 2 1/4 Active Dry Yeast 1 tsp salt 1 Tbs Brown Sugar 2 TBS butter, melted but not hot 4 C Flour

preheat over to 400F.  whisk yeast into warm water and let it sit until frothy.  Whisk in salt, sugar and butter.  Slowly add flour one cup at a time until dough is no longer sticky.  Knead for 5-6 minutes, or beat with a bread hook in a stand mixer for 3 minutes.  Allow to rise in the bowl for 20 minutes

Step 2

seperate dough into 8 parts, rolling each into a long snake.  twist into desired shape and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  allow to raise another 10 minutes while you set up the water bath

Step 3 

1/2 C Baking Soda 9C Water

in a pasta pot bring water and baking soda to a boil.  float each pretzel in the boiling water 20-30 seconds, one at a time.  this is what will give them the brown crust and the “pretzel” flavor.

place pretzels back on the baking sheet when finished and bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt or cinnamon sugar.

[millenialpeasant]

Comfort Food; Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Tools Needed: Crock Pot, cutting board, knife

Step 1

1 Lg Onion, Diced 10.5 oz Can of Cream of Celery soup 10.5 oz Can of Cream of Chicken soup 1 tsp Parsley (dried) 2 tsp poultry seasoning 1/2 tsp celery salt 1 Tbs minced garlic 2 dried Bay Leaves 4 Boneless Skinless chicken breasts 2 C chicken broth

Mix ingredients in a crock pot, cook on high for 4 hours.

Step 2 1 can of grands biscuits 2 C frozen Peas and Carrots mix defrosted (i usually just use the whole bag, it ends up being closer to 3 cups, but then again I like veggies)

open the can and seperate the biscuits.  Gently roll or stretch each biscuit until it is flat and roughly double its size.  using a sharp knife, cut each biscuit into 1/2″ strips.

stir in the peas and carrots mix and add the “dumplings” on top.  cover and let cook for another hour on high.

Step 3

Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and shred with a fork.  Return to the pot and cook a final 15-20 minutes, until the dumplings are firm.

[millenialpeasant]

Bruschetta; Fancy food for broke people

Ahh bruschetta, tasty, suprisingly healthy, and very simple to make.

Step 1

3 Large Roma Tomatoes, diced and placed on paper towel to drian some of the juice off. 5-6 large fresh basil leaves, stacked and sliced into strips. (this is one of hte few recipes that I think fresh herbs are a nesesity.  If you must use dried, let the finished bruschetta marinade overnight before serving, so the dried basil has a chance to rehydrate.  I’d use about a tablespoon) 1 Tbs minced garlic 3-4 Tbs Olive Oil (just enough to coat all of hte tomatoes, but you dont want them to be swimming in it) 1-3 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar (I would start with 1 and taste it, adding more until you can JUST taste the vinegar) salt and pepper to staste throw all of this into a bowl and mix until tomoatos are fully coated in oil and vinegar.

Step 2

1 Loaf of french bread

take your bread and cut it into 1″ thick pieces.  Lightly brush each pice in olive oil on both sides.  Heat a skillet on the stove to medium heat and toast the bread pieces until both sides are golden (it usually takes about 3 batches, but the bread will be served room temp, so dont worry about ti getting cold)

spoon the tomato mix onto the bread slices and enjoy!

[millenialpeasant]

Cranberry sauce; how to feel like a grown up at Thanksgiving

I like many of you grew up with the good old can o cranberry, served on a plate, still in can shape.  For something infinatly better, make your own.  It is the easiest thing you can bring for your Family/Friendsgiving but tastes like you slaved away for hours.

Step 1 and only

12oz fresh cranberries 1 C white sugar 1 C Orange Juice ground cinamon and clove to state (i start with a tsp of each and then add little by little until it tastes right.  you can also cheat and just use pumpkin pie seasoning if you have that on hand and dont want to buy ground clove.)

put everything in a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently.  once the cranberries all “pop” (youll see what i mean) then your sauce is ready.  cool and serve chilled.

[millenialpeasant]

Pepperoni Rolls; Peasant Food from the Appalacian’s

I spent the second half of my childhood living in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.  One of the saddest things about moving back to a big city is that I can not for the life of me find a damn pepperoni roll!  I didnt realize they were regional until I left the region.  Start by making the dough from the previous recipe. Tools Needed: Baking Sheet, Knife, Rolling Pin

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F

seperate the dough into 4 portions.

Roll out the dough into a square, roughly 1/4″ thick (although like most dust bowl recipes, this is pretty forgiving)

Step 2

1 Jar of marinara sauce 1 bag of shredded mozzerella 1 pouch pepperoni slices place the pepperoni in an even layer, completely covering the dough and leaving about 2 inches on one side plain.  Top with an even layer of mozzerella (1 bag should be enough for all 4 rolls) and then begin rolling the dough up, similar to how you would make cinnamon rolls.  You want the plain edge to be the last part rolled, and gently press the dough to seal it.  Lay the pizza log down on a lightly greased baking sheet seam side down, and repeat with the other 3 dough portions. Step 3

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until the dough is golden brown.  Cut in half and serve with marinara for dipping.  They also make great lunches and are just as good cold.

[millenialpeasant]

Pizza Dough; How to Elevate Bachelor Chow

Pizza is probably one of Man’s finest creations, Right up there with Penicillin, space travel, and indoor plumbing.  Store bought, delivery, homemade, I love it all.  There are large chunks of the internet dedicated to homemade pizza and all of the various tricks, tips, and technicques to get a pie exactly how you want it.  I am not even going to begin to tackle the vast knowledge available, but I will at least give you a good, basic Pizza recipe, and a meal to go with it. Tools: A Baking Sheet and either that stand mixer you got as a wedding gift and never use, or a mixing bowl and some patience for kneading dough. Step 1

1 C very warm water (still cool enough to touch/drink though) 1 Tbs Active Dry Yeast (its actually way cheaper to buy the little jars in hte baking section than to buy the single use packets.  you also get more control, and if you keep it refrigerated it will last upwards of a year.) 1/4 C Granulated Sugar (it sounds like a lot but this is what the yeast “eats” to produce bubbles) This recpe might seem off-brand for a “cheap eats” blog, since it requires a stand mixer.  In reality you can knead dough by hand, people have done it for thousands of years.  I will say though that investing in a stand mixer was a game changer right up there with a crock pot or food processor.  Kitchenaide is king, but there are slightly cheaper options, just make sure it comes with a “bread hook” attachment for dough.  You can also find hundreds of youtube videos of tiny itialian grandma’s showing you how to knead dough (maybe in the future I’ll include a link or two, this is after all a “rough draft”)

mix the ingredients in a large bowl/stand mixer and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.  you should notice bubbles forming as the yeast “activates” and starts chomping at that sugar.

Step 2

3 Tbs Olive Oil 1 tsp Salt 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning (or leave it out if you dont want an herb-y crust) 3 C All Purpous Flour

add remaining ingridients, minus flour, and mix.  Gradually add 2.5 C of the flour while mixing.  mis in remaining flour as needed, until the dough feels stretchy and dosnt stick to the bowl.

Step 3

Beat on medium-low with your bread hook attachment for 2-3 minutes OR hand knead for 15 minutes.  Kneading developes the gluten in the dough, which is what makes it nice and soft and chewy. Step 4

Cover Bowl with plastic wrap or a clean damp towel and let it sit for an hour, or until the dough doubles in size.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to your desired thickness.  Pizza dough is springy, so dont be suprised if you have to carefully stretch and pull the dough into shape.  The classic “toss and spin it” method accomplishes this one way, another way is to roll it as much as you can, then let it rest a moment, then repeat until the dough is right. Next recipe I will give you a better idea what to do with this dough, but if you just want a good pizza, add your toppings and bake 350F for about 10-15 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached.

[millenialpeasant]

School Cafeteria Peanut Butter Bars; Sweet Nostalgia

If you, like me, attended a school in teh midwest then you are probably familiar with these.  Tasty little peanut butter and chocolate bars that were usually served on fridays or special occasions. I had the luck a few years ago of getting my hands on an actual recipe for them (scaled down of course, to make only one pan) and they are one of my favorites.  Next time you have a company potluck, or family gatering and need something quick and easy to bring, these are a crowd pleaser.

Tools Needed: 2 Medium sized Microwave safe dish (Large soup/ceral bowl should work) Large Mixing Bowl, Medium-Large cassarole dish, Microwave Step 1

1/2 C Butter or Margarine 1/2 C Packed brown Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (imitation is fine, the real stuff is better) 2 C Creamy Peanut Butter

Place ingrediants in the microwave safe dish and heat untl butters are melted.  I heat it in 30 second chunks so that it dosnt overheat.  you want the peanutbuter soft enough to mix well but not liquid. Step 2

2 1/2 C Powdered Sugar

Transfer the peanut butter mixture into a larger bowl and slowly add the powdered sugar until it forms a smooth even dough.  spread this into the bottom of a cassarole dish.  Any pan will work, you just want to make sure that you have a peanut butter layer at LEAST 1/2″ thick.  A smaller pan just means thicker bars. Step 3

2 C Chocolate Chips

Optional: 1/8 C Parafin Wax

grab another microwave safe bowl and heat the chocolate chips, stirring every 30-45 seconds so that it heats evenly.  As soon as the chocolate is nice and melted spread it on top of the peanut butter dough in an even layer.  Allow the chocolate to cool and set before slicing into bars and serving.

Advanced Technique:  If you add 1/8 C of grated parafin wax to the chocolate, you end up with chocolate that won’t melt as soon as you touch it.  Parafin wax is actually used in a ton of commercial cocolate for this reason.  Yes it’s weird, yes it works, yes it’s edible.

[millenialpeasant]

The Best Banana Bread in the World;  You Are Not Worthy

Tools Needed:  Standard Loaf Pan, large mixing bowl

Another easy but amazing recipe.  This, like some of my favorite recipes is actually one passed down in my family.  My family is VERY small, but some of our recipes are almost 100 years old, and I’m not one to mess with quality.  The only change I made to this recipe is that it originally called for margarine (a change my grandmother made in the 80′s) and I changed it back to butter, both for flavor and texture.

Step 1

preheat oven to 350F

Step 2

using paper towel, coat the inside of the loaf pan with butter.  You want a very thin coat, but no missed spots.

Step 3

1/2 C Butter 1 C Sugar 2 Eggs 2 Large Bananas, peeled and mashed (use bananas that are JUST too ripe for easy eating) 2 C All Purpous Flour 1 tsp Baking Soda Pinch of salt 

optional: 1/4 C of chopped Walnuts

Mix all of the ingrediants in a large bowl until smooth and uniform.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, jiggling the pan lightly so that it levels out.

Step 4

Bake 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Once the pan is cool enough to touch (but still pretty warm) carefully slide a butter knife or thin spatual around the sides on the pan to help the bread release.  alow the bread to finish cooling on a baking rack (if available) or cutting board.  if you leave the bread in the pan too long it can over cook from the residual heat. and that’s it.  One of my easiest and arguably best recipes.

[millenialpeasant]

Cabbage Soup; The Ultimate Peasant Food

If you didn’t grow up eating it, cabbage soup sounds kinda gross.  Broth, a few veggies, and.....chopped cabbage? But there is a reason that this classic food of the poor has lasted the test of time.  It’s suprisingly delicious with our modern spice variety, one of the cheapest things you can make per volume, and it’s actually pretty damn healthy.  There is even a trendy diet where you eat nothing but cabbage soup.  It is also very easy to make vegitarian or vegan with only a few changes. this is also a great recipe to play fast and loose with.  Want to add extra of something? swap something out?  go nuts. This recipe also uses my favorite seasoning combination.  Parsley,, Sage Rosemary and Thyme.  Paul Simmon knew his cooking. Oh, and be prepared to be eating this for the next week, 1 head of cabbage = Gallons of soup 

Tools Needed: Large Stock Pot (you can find them at the grocery store for like $10, and it’s worthwhile for meal prep and bulk cooking) cutting board, knife, vegitable peeler,  Step 1....really the only step

64ish oz Chicken Stock (you want enough to cover the veggies comepletely, but not too much more) 1 small head green cabbage, roughly chopped 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices 6-8 Russet potatos, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces 4 Tbs Butter 2 Tbs minced garlic (I usually add more, but I’m a freak for garlic) 3 Tbs Parsley 2 Tbs dried Thyme 2 Tbs dried Rosemary 1 Tbs Dried Ground Sage ( I personally add a bit more, depending on taste, but I really like sage) Salt and Pepper to Taste

optional: 1 large Summer Sausage or Keilbasa If you are new to cooking, start here my friend.  You litterally just put everything in the pot and let it simmer JUST below a boil for about 30 minutes, or until the veggies are tender and the cabbage is soft and slightly translucent.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and don’t be suprised if you end up using a lot more or less salt than you expected.  Vegitable stocks have varying levels of sodium, which is why it’s a good idea to use unsalted stock for consistency. 

I’m off to eat soup and listen to Scarbourough Faire

[millenialpeasant]

Roast Beef or; Beef That Has Been Roasted

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, feels more grown up that your first Crock Pot.  These things fall solidly on my Required Tools list, and there are litterally THOUSANDS of cookbooks just focusing on recipes for Slow Cookers.  Buuuut I also remember being 19, getting my first one as a gift, and having no idea what to do with it.  Well, to this day one of my favorite things to do with my Crock Pot is an easy Pot Roast.

Tools Required: Crock Pot, Knife, Cutting Board, Vegitable Peeler.

Step 1

2-4lb Chuck Roast 1 packet of onion soup mix 1 packet of brown gravy mix 1 Tbs garlic salt 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 Tbs dried parsley 1 tsp Black Pepper

Trim away any extra fat on the roast (some fat is good, it gives it flavor, but a big piece of fat all along the side will be no good to eat later) and place in your slow cooker.  Sprinkle the soup and gravy mixes, along with the seasonings, all over the roast.  Add enough water to cover 2/3rds of the roast.  close the lid and cook on high for 4 hours.  

Step 2

6 Large Russet Potatos, peeled and cut into 2″ pieces 1lb bag of Carrots peeled and cut into 1/2″ slices

Add the veggies and top off the water if needed.  make sure to spoon liquid over the top if the roast.  Taste the broth and add salt as needed.  Cook an additional 1-2 hours, until the veggies are tender.

Step 3

Taste a bit of the beef and adjust seasonings as needed. Congratulations, you made roast beef like a grownup. 

[millenialpeasant]

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery; Chicken and Gnocchi Soup.

Dining out is great.  There is a reason that even people who love to cook still go out to eat.  In some cases it’s convenience, or atmosphere, or maybe it’s because they have that one amazing thing on the menu that you can only get there.  That last one is why we are here today.  I’ve spent over a decade working in various kitchens and restaurants, and you would be shocked at how simple some of those recipes actually are. Often you can cook the same thing at home relatively easy, and for pennies on the dime, once you factor in just how big of a portion you can make.  The internet is full of lovely people who have painstakingly labored to perfect what are usually called “copycat” recipes.  If you can’t figure out what to cook, try typing your favorite chain restaurtant menu item into google with “copycat recipe” and you’ll be shocked at what you can find.

This is my recipe for Chicken and Gnocchi Soup, a copycat of an Unnamed Italian Family Eatery

Tools Needed: Large pot or dutch oven, whisk, cutting board, knife, vegitable grater, vegitable peeler.

Step 1

4 Tbs Butter 1Tbs Olive Oil 1 C Diced Yellow Onion 1/2 C Diced Celery 1 Tbs minced garlic

In the bottom of a large soup pot, melt oil and butter over medium heat.  Sautee onion and celery until tender, adding the garlic in the last 2 minutes of cooking, so that it doesn’t burn.

Step 2

1/4 C Flour 28oz Chicken Broth  1/2 tsp Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg (yes it sounds weird, but most authentic italian cooking uses nutmeg) 1 C Peeled and Grated Carrot 1C Frozen Chopped Spinache, thawed and drained Salt and Pepper to taste

Slowly add flour, using a whisk to break up any clump and help scrape the bottom of the pan. Once all of the flour is incorporated, add the broth and remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 3

Rotisserie Chicken, cooked The Blood Thirst of Your Caveman Ancestors

For this step we are going to start with a grocery store rotisseri chicken.  I know spending $6-8 on a pre-cooked chicken seems weird if you are going to be, you know, COOKING DINNER.  I assure you that this step is a game changer.  Wash your hands and roll up your sleeves, it’s time to shred every bit of meat off that chicken.  Once you’ve picked the bird clean, add that nice, pre-cooked meat to the pot, and allow the soup to cook on medium/medium-high another 20 minutes.  By using a rotisserie chicken you save yourself litteral hours in the kitchen, the meat is nicely seasoned already, and usually it costs about the same as buying raw chicken.

Step 4

16oz Potato Gnocchi (fresh, frozen, or dried) 2 1/2 C Heavy Cream

last but not least we add the gnocchi. Toss it in the pot, regardless of what type.  Keep a close eye on your soup, especially if using fresh gnocchi, as fresh pasta cooks suprisingly fast.  As a rule, when the gnocchi float and feel nice and firm they are cooked, but go ahead and bite into one if you are not sure.  They should be nice and chewy.  Once the gnocchi are cooked add the heavy cream and adjust your salt and pepper as needed.  Congrats, you never need to go to Unamed Italian Family Eatery again!

[millenialpeasant]

Meatballs, and an Introduction

INTRODUCTION:

The year is 2020, and we are Millenials.  This is a term bandied about by Boomers and Gen X’rs to infantalise us, but it is also OUR Generation and OUR term.  The economy is dying, we all work 3 jobs, none of us have time to cook, but also can’t afford to eat out all the time.  And to top it off half of us dont even know how to cook, and using services like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron to help us learn skills we should have learned in Home Economics leads to derision and snark about how we can’t even be bothered to do our own grocery shopping. 

I love to cook.  I was a latchkey kid who was cooking dinner about twice a week since high school.  I also had a grandmother who loved to bake and valued a nice meal presentation, a trait which passed on to me.  I’m one of the lucky ones, and I’m grateful for that. there were times in my 20′s where my entire grocery budget was about $20 to feed myself for a week.  You learn about 30 different ways to prepare eggs and about 10 ways to doctor up Ramen Noodles or you go mad with food boredom.  

I love to cook but so many websites with amazing recipes assume you have access to fresh herbs, uncommon ingredients, and have 8 hours to let homemade stock simmer (I can’t even remember the last time I was home, in the day, for 8 hours straight)  So you find shortcuts, cost hacks, and rework recipes to work with the tools you have at hand.  you learn which tools are a godsend (food procesor) and which tools are basically fancy garbage (looking at you quesidilla maker).  This Blog will be a collection of the various recipes I’ve tweaked over the years, as well as cooking tips and tricks to get the most bang for your buck, or how to make food prep actually work around a busy schedule.  My hope is that someone, somewhere finds this blog and gets inspired to give real cooking another shot.  It’s cheaper, healthier, and a skill we should all have, so grab a mixing bowl, we are gonna make some meatballs.

ABOUT THE RECIPE:

so I wanted to start with this recipe for a couple of reasons.  1) It’s stupid easy, just put it all in the bowl and mix.  2)It makes a masssive amount of meatballs, especially if you live alone or only have 1-2 other people eating.   And 3) it’s cheeeeeap.  You can feed up to 10 people on $20 with this recipe if you do your shopping at Aldi or similar cheaper stores.  There are also no fancy techniques to worry about (although I will include Advanced Technique tips where applicable, all of my recipes will taste fine without the extra steps)

Every recipe generally wants you to pull out and pre measure all of your ingredients before you start cooking.  You should do this if posible, but when you are working in a tiny galley kitchen, or only own 2 bowls and 1 cutting board, you have to cut some corners.  To make life easier, I will seperate the ingredients into steps, in case you need to be able to measure things and put them straight into the bowl.

THE RECIPE:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350*F

Step 2

Put all of the following into a large mixing bowl:

~3lb ground beef ( I use the super cheap “meat log” 3 lb packs at the grocery store, but better beef means better meatballs.  you can also use ground turkey, ground sausage, anything you like in any combination, but for the sake of cost cutting, I will be sticking with the meat log for now) ~2 large eggs ~3/4 C Italian Bread Crumbs  ~1 TBS Garlic Powder ~1 tsp Garlic Salt (this might seem redundant but I’ve tried different combinations of salt and garlic and this was universally the best way to get the right ratio)  ~1 tsp Onion Powder ~1 1/2 TBS Italian Seasoning ~1 TBS Red Pepper Flakes (these make mild-to-medium spicy meatballs.  use spicy sausage, or add more red pepper flake for spicier meatballs, or omit red pepper for very mild, kid friendly meatballs) ~1/2 tsp Salt ~1 tsp Pepper

Step 3

Wash your hands and start mixing all that goodness together.  Use your hands, not a spoon, as a wooden spoon is more likely to overwork the meatballs, making them tough and weird.  Just hand mix like you are mixing together playdough, and wash your hands both before and after.  If you are squeamish, then you can always wear latex gloves if you prefer.

Step 4

Once the mixture looks uniform, begin making walnut sized balls by pinching off a bit and rolling between your palms.  For consistency, I like to make 1 ball and set it aside as a “template” to follow, otherwise I find my meatballs keep slowly getting larger and larger as I get impatient and just want to get these in the oven.  

Arrage your meatballs on a broiler pan with drainage, close to each other but not touching.  If you dont have one of those, then grab the aluminum foil and line a baking pan and use that instead.  You will have to manually drain off the grease at the end, but at least the foil makes cleanup way easier.

Advanced Tip: For better flavor, you can brown the outside of your meatballs in a frying pan for a few minutes per side before putting in the oven to finish cooking.  the browing give them a richer taste.  

Step 5

Bake at 350*F for 12-15 minutes.  To confirm doneness, you can insert a meat thermometer into the largest meatball (aim for a temp around 155-160*) or cut one in half with a fork and check.  you want meatballs that are ALMOST done, with just a tiny hint of pink in the middle.  Drain off any grease needed and remove meatballs from the pan.

Step 6

This step is where you start asking yourself “Well, I’ve got meatballs, now what?”

I’m a big fan of Spaghetti with my balls, so at this point I’d be opening 2 jars (trust me, 1 will not be enough) of your favorite grocery store red sauce, and pouring them into a large sauce pan, or even a pasta pot if you have an extra.  Add a bit of extra salt and pepper to taste, as well as a bit of garlic and maybe some more Italian Seasoning.  It really depends on personal taste and what your base sauce starts as, so add small amounts until it tastes right to you.  Remember that you can always add more, but you can’t remove it once it’s in there.  once your  sauce is right,  add your meatballs and cover.  Let the sauce/balls mixture simmer on medium-low heat while you make your pasta.  Give it a stir every few minutes to make sure nothing is sticking and that the flavors distribute properly

Advanced Tip:  you can always make Meatballs ahead of time and freeze them once they are out of the oven.  To reheat just put them into the sauce and let them simmer until the internal temp of the meatballs is around 165* F.  You can also thrown them into a slow cooker with the sauce and let the flavors build all day while you are at work. Step 7

Boil your pasta according to box directions and serve the meatballs on a bed of that beautiful spaghetti.  Alternativly you can instead make meatball sandwhiches by spooning some sauce and balls onto a nice deli roll of your choice, maybe topping with some parmesean or mozzerella if you have it handy.