thenotchef-blog

[thenotchef-blog]

Applesauce (again)

I have decided in 2019 to start this back up again...blogging. 2018 was not my greatest year, which pulled me away from things I love doing, like cooking, and taking pictures while I cook. So I have declared this to be the year of me, and getting back to things that bring me joy and happiness.

One thing that stayed consistent during my hiatus was my applesauce making.  And since I did not have the time to go apple picking this past fall, I decided to start my new take on my blog by revisiting an original recipe with a grocery (real life) approach to it. Making applesauce at home is extremely easy, and you have the ease of mind knowing exactly what is inside your food.  You are making it yourself, and it tastes amazing.

I have tweaked the recipe enough that the only thing you should be buying is the apples.  Meaning, I only use ingredients that I already have in my tiny city apartment.

Applesauce:

6 apples* 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp cinnamon  1/4 cup water 1 tbsp lemon juice *Switch up your variety of apples, I use a 3 and 3 ratio of apples. **for this recipe I used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Fiji Apples to balance the sweet with the tart, and it makes for a great texture. Prep time: 10 minutes (depending on your apple cutting skills) Cook time: 2 1/2 hours 1) Peel apples 

2) Cut off tops and bottoms of the apples. Cut the apple around the core, trying to keep the hard bits of the core out of the apple sauce.  3) Cut apple pieces into...I don’t know...1 inch cubes? **notachef tip: I vary the size of my apple pieces because I like to have chunky applesauce.  Nothing is better than eating applesauce and getting bits of apples in it.

4) Put all the apple pieces in the Instant Pot, and combine water, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon.

I know you are supposed to use real lemons, but I do not have them lying around.  The lemon juice from the bottle and the juice from a lemon did not make a big enough difference to taste (for me) to have me buy lemons for this recipe.

**Also you can tweak the amount of sugar and cinnamon to taste.

5) Set your Instant Pot to ‘Slow Cook’ for 2 1/2 hours, and let it be for about an hour.

6) At about an hour, I like to check to see how it’s going, and to stir the contents. *I do this to check the consistency of the applesauce, and to break up bits that already broke down.

See how its already kind of mushy but a lot of chunks are still there? 

7) Done?

Below is the picture of my finished applesauce. As you can kind of tell, it looks a little different than my first post.  But it still packs in a lot of flavor. 

When I started making applesauce I used to smash down the big bits to make it more consistent. Now I’ve embraced the big chunks and look forward to them in my servings.

I hope that you give this recipe a try, and it is really easy to make.  If you have any suggestions for the next post, let me know!

Cheers to 2019

[thenotchef-blog]

Instant Pot Rice

Instant Pots have taken kitchens by storm, and my kitchen was not immune from its influence. After watching all of the things my friend did with hers, I had to buy myself one.  And I have not stopped talking about it since.  “I’m making cookies for the meeting!” I say, and my coworker answers “In your Instant Pot?” Its just known that I love it. And post pictures about the amazing things it does.

So I spent hours looking up recipes to do in my Instant Pot, and I kept coming across Rice recipes, hell it has a Rice button on it. This thing is made to make rice.

I grew up in a household that only did Instant-Rice-Bag-O-Fun since rice takes forever to make, and we didn’t have that time.  So when I first made my Instant Pot Rice, it was like a whole new world for me.  I actually texted people and was like my rice making powers are untouchable! With how easy Instant Pot makes cooking rice, it just makes sense to skip the bags and the microwave and make fresh rice!

Above is pictured the little cup that comes with your Instant Pot, and a soup container that has been on my counter for weeks and none of my roommates are fessing up to who’s it is.

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked Rice 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of water, and then some 1/2 tbsp of butter

Cooking time, about 15-20 minutes. It is important to note that the cooking time includes the time that it takes to get the Instant Pot up to Pressure, and release the pressure. 

Step 1: Measure out 1 cup of rice into a bowl, add in the “then some” amount of water into the bowl to cover the rice.  I use my hand to swirl the rice around in the bowl and water.  This helps pull out some of he starch that’s in the rice. Drain the now white water from the bowl.  I do this one time, but I guess you can do this more than once...I don’t know what would happen...try it and let me know

Step 2: Pour wet rice into Instant Pot, and measure out 1 1/4- 1 1/2 water.  Swirl the water around a little so that all of the rice is under the water.

*The Instant Pot little cup of fun only measures up to 3/4 of a cup. So I usually measure 1 cup of water, and then a little bit more. 

**Different recipes will use ratios like 1:1.5, or 1:1, but I missed that day in 4th grade so I don’t understand ratios.  I’ve done 1 cup of rice to 1 cup of water, and it was fine.  I’ve also done 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cup of water. It’s fine. It’s ok...don’t stress this step out.  Just make sure that there 1 cup - 1 1/2 cup of water in the rice...anything below or above that water amount will mess everything up.

Step 3: Close lid, push the “Manual” button, 3 minutes on “High” and walk away. Step 4: after the beeps happen that it is done cooking, let it naturally release.  This means don’t touch it until you hear the pin dropping, which indicates that the pot is de-pressurized. This takes anywhere between 7-10 minutes depending on what is going on inside of the pot

Step 5: Stir in 1/2 tbsp of butter.  Rice will be sticky, and HOT. I know this seems kind of silly to point out, but there will be steam hitting your face. Add more butter in if this is the final step of your rice, or add another liquid sauce.

That’s it. So super simple, it seems like a fluke. However, I’ve done this a couple of times now, and it has come out consistently amazing. Whenever I cooked rice on the stove top, I had to worry about too much, did I put in enough water? Is it going to boil over? When do I know the rice is actually cooked...*stares at pot on the stove questioningly*. Instant pot takes that guessing game out of it.  I have yet to use the Rice button to make rice, but I’m going to assume that it was utilized for larger rice recipes. 

Still, I feel like a rice making master! It really is way better than Instant Rice, and far more flavorful.  

Instant pot with water and rice in it.  See how the water is still cloudy from the starch being pulled out of it? 

It is rare that you see someone tell you which pressure to use in their recipes, they usually say “set to 20 minutes on manual and walk away”. Ok which one? There are two options....starts panicking. For this recipe use the High Pressure option (keep pushing the “pressure” button as it switches back and forth between low and high, until you stop on high, and stop pushing the button)

This is what the rice looks like after you take the lid off. It’ll look like someone squished it all down.  

After getting some air into the rice, and adding the butter, the rice is still sticky and sticks to itself.  I was using this rice to make stir-fry (which I have not perfected at all, which is why I didn’t post it on here), that’s why it is on the rice paddle, that also comes with the Instant Pot.

Notachef tip:  When you are reheating rice in the microwave, put a wet paper towel or napkin over the rice.  This helps keep the rice from drying out in the microwave.

[thenotchef-blog]

Asian Inspired Pork

I have spent years developing a good marinade/sauce to pair well with pork, steak, and chicken.  I have found one that I like, but I decided to try a different version of it.

Marinade Ingredients:

1 tsp Ground Ginger (you can use fresh ginger too) 1 tsp Ground Pepper 1 tsp Paprika 1 pinch of Onion Powder 2 cloves of garlic 1 tbsp shallots 1 tbsp Sriracha 1/4 cup Soy Sauce 1/2 cup of Honey

Step 1: Chop up garlic and shallots in to small pieces Step 2: Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.  Taste marinade and decide if I needs more or less of the spices, soy sauce or honey.

I used 1/4 inch thick Pork Chops, since I only have to feed myself. 

Step 3: Add marinade to pork chops, store in fridge over night

Doesn’t look pretty, but the pork will soak up a lot of the marinade

Next day:

Step 1: Take pork chops out and let sit for 10 minutes (my roommates like to push my food to the back of the fridge where things freeze, so I have to let my food defrosts a little)

Step 2: Add about 1 tbsp of oil to a frying pan.

Step 3: On medium to low heat, add pork chops

For my small pork chops, I did 4 minutes on one side, and about 2-3 on the other.  The thicker the pork chops, the longer it will take.  After reading a number of different articles, you can always sear the pork chops in the pan then oven roast them to bring them to temp.

End result.  The pork chops had a nice subtle spice to it, but the honey balances it all out. Watch the temperature on the pork so that you don’t over cook it.  This marinade can be used up to 30 minutes before having to cook the pork.  I just had plans that popped up making my marinade an overnight one.

In another post, I will share how to make the Instant Pot Fingerling Potatoes, which has to be one of my favorite things to make in my Instant Pot.

[thenotchef-blog]

Applesauce

 Rejoice! It is apple picking season! Go out and get some apples, run through to orchards (try not to get stung by the bees), and come home with all the apples your little bag could handle.

It is actually a really fun time, and beautiful.  There is something special about picking your own food straight from the tree.  Getting to drink while doing it adds some extra levels of fun.

So now you are home with a bag of apples.  Under no other circumstances would you ever possess this many apples at once. Now what?

Seriously...what the hell are we going to do with all of these effing apples?

Make applesauce of course.

*disclaimer, I found out how we got that cup...one of my roommates came home with a Rum and Coke....don’t ask.

Anyways....I based my recipe on Yummy Healthy Easy (yummyhealthyeasy.com) Homemade Crock Pot Applesauce, and put my own spin on it, as you will see below.

Prep time: 30 minutes...peeling and coring apples takes a while.

Ingredients: 12 Apples** 1 tbsp lemon juice 1tsp-ish cinnamon 1/2 cup-ish of water 1/2 cup-ish of sugar

**When I went to the orchards and we had signs as to what apples were on the trees, but none of them sounded familiar to me.  As you can see above, none of the apples were the same, using different types worked out really well.

Step 1: Peel and core the apples, cut into small pieces....I would say 1 inch cubes. As I cut them, I put them into my Instant Pot (aka, what my boyfriend calls the Perfect Pot). Step 2: Freshly squeeze a half a lemon, more if you need to, but enough to get 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Mix in with apples. Step 3: Mix in 1 tsp...and a dash more of cinnamon, 1/2 cup and a little more of sugar, and 1/2 cup and maybe a little more of water.  I was worried that using a mix of apples, it would not be sweet enough, so I used a little more than asked for.  Step 4: Stir all the ingredients together to coat apples.  There will be a layer of water at the bottom, it’s ok, leave it there. Step 5: Set Instant Pot to “Slowcook” feature, set for 5 hours.

Apples before the lid went on  Step 6: Stir contents...once every hour and a half. I am impatient, and I kept checking the apples....and stirring....and used a whisk towards the end to mash the apples that were cut into bigger pieces. However, letting it sit and do its thing is the best. Step 7: If after 5 hours of slow cooking there are big pieces of apples, smash with a whisk to make smaller pieces. 

And there you go! Applesauce! 

Side note, I used my Instant Pot on Slowcook...you could use your actual slow cooker and I would assume the results will be the same.

And holy crap...I spelled applesauce wrong in my SnapChat.

[thenotchef-blog]

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe comes from “Everyday Cook. This time, it’s personal” by Alton Brown.  I want to start by saying how much a adore this man, his style, his cooking, and his techniques.  

After getting way too excited to get his cookbook, I of course started with one of the cookie recipes which also so happened to be gluten free, an added bonus.

So my first picture...is the entire recipe...I’m really good at this blogging thing.

Anyways...

Prep time: I don’t know...10 minutes?

*Disclaimer, where cookbooks and cooking shows have everything prepped in front of them....I spend time looking for the ingredients, and deciding if I want to really trek to the grocery store for the ingredients I don’t have, or can I improvise? I also spend time running around doing other things, so please forgive me that I did not start the timer when I pulled out the sugar.  

**PPS, I also don’t have a lot of room to work with...so I also may have added minutes to the back and forth to where the cookbook was, and where I had room to mix.

Ingredients:

1 cup smooth peanut butter 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp kosher salt

I....did not have some of those things, so I improvised.  Regular brown sugar for the light brown sugar....and looking back on it, I did not pack my brown sugar.  And I do not know the difference between salts...so I used regular table salt and kinda hoped that it would work out. I also don’t know if the sugar I have is considered granulated or not...but I’m figuring because it is not shaped like a cube, it’s granulated.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cooking sheets with parchment paper.

Yeah, don’t have that, so I used aluminum foil. 

Step 2: Beat together peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a wooden spoon (which I do have).

Step 3: when sugars and peanut butter is mixed, add all the other stuff until smooth.

Step 4: roll into 1 inch balls, place 8 per cooking sheet. The flatten down.

As you can see...I put more than 8 per cooking sheet, and I’m not sure if my ball size was an inch....but I did do the fork thing.

Step 5: Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies look dry and are lightly brown.

I actually took mine out around 8-9 minutes and sprinkled some sugar on top of the cookies and put them back in. 

And to my surprise...they turned out wonderful!  The recipe was really easy to follow, and not complicated at all. I was really happy that I was able to make a cookie recipe from scratch that did not turn out horrible.  

If I ever have a reason to bring a cookie to an outing I will use this recipe.

As stated above, this is one of Alton Brown’s creations, just with a notachef spin on it.

To end this post, here is a picture to emphasize my lack of counter space:

But look how great they look! And they taste really good too!

[thenotchef-blog]

The Beginning

Growing up, I was always fascinated with the kitchen.  I wanted to cook and bake and be the best chef there ever was.  I was addicted to cooking shows, mostly cake-related shows, and cooking competitions.  I always told myself that I could do what they were doing, and that because I helped cook in the kitchen all the time, I must good at cooking.  

Yeah...not so much.

Ends up, I’m pretty mediocre at it. I can cook, don’t get me wrong. But I can cook because I’m hungry....and quickly too. I never learned ‘all day’ or ‘over night’ recipes. Not even complicated ones. Simple and quick. And clean (as in whatever makes the least amount of mess) (not ‘eat clean’).

Growing up we stuck with the main food groups: pasta, pizza, meat, potato, and a vegetable.  My entire family was always on the move, going from here to there, so we rarely had time to enjoy a day-long food cooking event outside of the major holidays.  

So here I am, young, living in the big city, and still cooking the basics, and I want you to join me on my journey as I cook my way through other people’s recipes, teaching myself to spend more time in my kitchen (and how to fight my roommate who likes to make family-sized meals for herself, huge casserole dishes make frequent appearances in my small fridge. It also took her 20 minutes to make a sandwich one time....it was only turkey and cheese...).

So join me as I credit those that created these recipes, and see how I can mess them up or triumph!