Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Posts Tagged ‘hamburgers’

What To Do With CousCous

Posted by terrepruitt on August 26, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitWhat do you do with couscous?  I like couscous.  One time when I made it, both my husband and I decided that we really like it.  I usually buy Near East brand.  I usually by flavored kind.  Our favorite is a Garlic and Olive Oil.  We also eat a Parmesan flavor.  But the boxes are very small and they really, when I think about it, are kind of expensive. I usually pay over three dollars for a box.  It really only works for one meal.  So to me that is expensive.  So I went to where I always go to when I am shopping for less expensive stuff – Amazon.  I ended up buying a lot of couscous.  I got FOUR bags, that can serve as FOUR meal sides EACH, for $16!  But now what do I do with all that couscous?

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

 

 

 

 

One thing I LOVE about it, is that cooks so fast.  It is so easy.  So really adding too much to it, just takes away from that.  But when you have as much as I do ya look for different things to do with it.

One thing I did that was awesome and easy was just chop us some kale and throw it in.  I chopped up the kale and two minutes into the last five minutes of the couscous cooking I put it in the pot and stirred it.  Then let the couscous continue to cook.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitBut that to me is still more of a side dish.  I wanted something to eat as a main dish.  So what do I do when I am trying to add some “weight” to a meal?  AND I happen to have made hamburgers a couple of days before?  Well, I throw in beef, of course.  It was very good!  So I thought I would share what I did.

 

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Beef, Kale, and Couscous

1/4 teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon red onion

a little less than 1/4 pound ground beef

2 kale leaves

1 1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 teaspoon powdered garlic

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitHeat the oil in a pan.  Once it is heated add the onions.  Cook the onions a bit.  Then add the meat.  As the meat is cooking, begin to boil the water.  Add the salt and butter to the water.

Fine chop the kale.  After the water has boiled, add the couscous to the water.  Set a timer for 2 minutes.  When the timer goes off sprinkle the garlic and turmeric on the couscous and add the kale, then sprinkle the garlic salt on top of the kale.  Stir everything together.  Then set the timer for 2 minutes and let it all finish cooking.

Once the couscous is done add the meat.  Then stir it all together, mixing it well.  Then serve.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitAs you can see from my pictures I used too small of a sauce pan to mix it all in it.  So I did the final mixing in the pan I used to cook the meat.

The beef adds a richness and not a lot is needed.  The beef also helps it be satisfying as an entrée.I added more garlic salt while it was on my plate.  I added pepper to my husband’s plate.  My hubby and I really enjoyed this so I will probably be doing it again.

So, as I said – what do you do with couscous?

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PS  While I was looking for my kale and couscous pictures a search reveal this post Couscous, Fennel, and Garbanzo Beans.  I forgot about this.

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Bake Polenta “Fries”

Posted by terrepruitt on June 17, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitWhen I make burgers I want fries.  Potato “fries”.  Even though, I don’t fry things . . . I bake ’em, I love fries with my burgers.  I do love baked “fries”.  But I also don’t always like to have potatoes because we are having buns.  I don’t do my burgers protein style.  Half the fun of a burger (to me) is the bun.  Often times I will make other types of fries, like Baked Golden Beet “Fries” or Squash Sticks (even though I breaded these).  Now, I don’t really think of corn as a vegetable, I mean, I know it is a vegetable, but I think of it as a starch.  I think of potatoes and corn in the same kinda category.  So, this isn’t really a great replacement for potatoes fries . . . if I am thinking starch, but they were good.  My husband really liked them.  I made polenta fries.

I had purchased a tube of polenta a week or maybe more ago.  The idea for which I bought the polenta changed.  Do you ever do that?  Buy an ingredient for one thing but then change your mind.  Then you are stuck with that ingredient wondering what to do with it.  I turned to Google  looking up how to cook tube polenta.  If you look up polenta it has ideas on how to cook the porridge style polenta.  Usually polenta is corn meal mush.  But if you buy it in a tube it is a solid.  My search led me to Our Everyday Life that gave three different ways to cook polenta from a tube, oven fries was one of them.  I didn’t even read the full recipe because I figured I could do it.

Here is what I did, next time I will use less oil . . . and now that I look at the recipe on the website it calls for no oil, but I want crispy fries so I will continue to use oil, just less.

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Oven Polenta FriesDance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit

1 tube of polenta
olive oil
garlic salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 450° F.  After cutting the polenta out of the tube cut the tube in half, then cut the polenta into 1/4 of an inch strips.  Try to cut the whole tube into equal sized strips.

Then spread the strips out on the pan.  Sprinkle with a little oil.  Sprinkle with the garlic salt.  Place pan in the oven.  Let the fries bake for 15 minutes.  Then take the pan out of the oven and turn the fries.  Then put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  Then check the fries.  If they are done to your liking, take them out and serve.  If you want them cooked more, flip ’em or toss them on the pan, then put it in for 10 (or whatever) minutes.

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Of course ovens vary and people desires of doneness varies so keep an eye on them and cook them to your liking.  Also, try your favorite seasoning.  Mine is garlic salt.  Presently I have garlic salt with parsley in it, so that was good.  Also . . . I used garlic basil polenta.  Again, I didn’t buy the tube for the fries so it was not a plain flavor.  But I might try that next time.

As with many of my food posts, I didn’t plan on blogging about this.  I did snap a few pictures after they had already been baking, but I didn’t document it from the beginning, but really that would have just been the tube of polenta.  I did take a few shots of them on my plate, but I really like my husband’s shots, so I am using his, too!

What do you do with a tube of polenta?  Share, please, I need some ideas!

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Stuffed Zucchini

Posted by terrepruitt on May 18, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitSo, do you know that we have gone in with a friend to by a cow?  We get a small portion of a grass-fed cow.  If you have read any of my post regarding food you have probably heard that we do this.  You might also know that our favorite type of meat is the ground beef.  My hubby and I love hamburgers.  We usually have two “regular-sized” burgers and then some.  By “regular-sized” I mean big enough to fit a bun but not really thick.  I am still working on trying to get the burger to actually fit the bun.  It doesn’t have to be perfect but I would like it just a little closer to the edges of the bun. Anyway . . . I end up with a little meat leftover.  I could just make two burgers out of it, but I really don’t want to have 1/2 pound burgers.  We ALMOST have them that big, but not quite.  Without using the entire package to make two burgers I have a little left over.  The challenge is always, what to do with that little bit left over.  I often throw it over pasta.  Yum!  Always a quick, easy dinner.  The other day, though, I looked in my fridge and saw two zucchinis I need to use up.  And you know, if you have read some of my other recipes, how much I love stuff pumpkin.  So I decided to stuff the zucchini.

I didn’t get all fancy with the ingredients.  I just basically used the meat, the zucchinis, onions, and cheese.

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Stuffed Zucchini

coconut oil
2 zucchini
1/2 of a large onion (I prefer white)
1/4 lb of ground beef
garlic salt
salt
pepper
3/4 cups shredded cheese (your favorite)

Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Wash the zucchini.  Slice them in half length-wise.  Use a spoon and drag it down the inside of the zucchini.  Only remove a little bit.  Just enough to make a little shallow “gully” down the middle of the zucchini.  Spread a little bit of coconut oil on both sides of each half.  Then place all four halves face down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Let them bake for 10 minutes.  Then take them out of the oven and salt all eight sides.  Then put them back in the oven for 10 minutes.

While they are baking, heat up a tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan.  Chop up two thirds of the onion then heat them in the pan.  Once they are starting to get translucent add the meat.  Let the meat begin to cook then start adding the garlic salt and pepper if you would like.  Since the meat is going to be baked in the oven you might want to be certain not to cook it TOO much.

If you have to grate your cheese do that while everything is cooking.  Also finely chop/mince the rest of the onion.

Check on the zucchini, I like the “inside” to start browning.  Then once it is the color I like it, I flip them over and bake them some more.  I would say I roast/bake the zucchini 20 to 30 minutes before I stuff them.  So keep an eye on them so they are cooked to your liking.

Then once your zucchini are roasted to the way you like and the meat is cooked and drained, if need be.  You can “stuff” the zucchini.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitI always add more garlic salt.  And a little pepper for my hubby.  Then “sprinkle” the minced onion . . . some on each half of zucchini.  I don’t necessarily measure here because I like less onion than my hubby.  So just put the amount on that you want.  Then put the meat on top.  Distributing it as you see fit.  Then top with cheese.  You might want to press down on top of each half to ensure (for the most part) that everything stays on while you are baking.

Then put the pan with the stuffed zucchini back in the oven until the cheese is browned.

Then you can serve it.

We usually eat it as an entrée, but you can serve it however you would like.

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Dang, as usually when I type up the recipes I end up wanting to have it for dinner.  Also, as usually I hadn’t planned to post about this, but then I thought, why not?

Do you like zucchini?

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Can’t Judge A Cow By It’s Color

Posted by terrepruitt on December 16, 2014

Did you know that beef from a grass-fed cow has to be cooked differently than meat from a cow that is not grass-fed? It is an interesting challenge. Last year we went in on the purchase of a grass-fed cow. When cooking it, you have to really watch it and learn the timing of how to cook it because it doesn’t LOOK the way beef from corn-fed cows look. It always looks raw . . . .at least the ground beef. Pictured here is an absolutely fully cooked burger. See how red it is? Why does it look like that?

The meat cooks faster, plus it never LOOKS cooked. So, as I said, it has to be watched and it is cooked by time not looks.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex City of San Jose, San Jose Group Ex classes, YMCAThe flavor is so much nicer than the corn-fed meat. I am not really a beef lover. That is why we buy meat then marinade it right away when we get home. I like the meat to have soaked for a long time. I think the time it takes to freeze can be considered marinating time. Then as it is defrosting it is marinating. But with this meat I don’t feel the need to marinade it, or at least not marinate it for so long.

Same goes with hamburgers.  When we make hamburgers from corn-fed beef, I like to put chopped onions in them. I like to sauce them up. They need the flavor of sauces – at least worcestershire . Well, not these babies. A little garlic salt and garlic powder and it was good to go. It was soooo good.

Since we enjoy the flavor of the meat so much and we think a grass-fed cow is healthier and therefore healthier for us to eat, we went in on the purchase of another cow.

And, my tired ole refrain. I was not planning on posting about it, so I only have this picture – but after dinner I couldn’t come up with anything to post and I am wondering about the way this beef cooks so I thought I would put it out there.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex City of San Jose, San Jose Group Ex classes, YMCAThis one picture I took to send to the person who researched and organizes the whole cow purchasing thing. I sent it to her asking the same question. Why does the perfectly cooked meat look raw?

I also took the freezer picture because we were not certain the meat would fit in our freeze, but we took, everything out that we could live with out in the freezer. Then my hubby packed it all back.  We were able to put back everything that NEEDS to be frozen.  I was relieved and happy at my hubby’s tetris job.  I took that shot to show the same person because the first cow was our cooler full, this one was the cooler and a box.  As we were driving home my husband said, “Looking at that amount of meat . . . I don’t think it would fit in our freezer even if there was nothing in it.”  Ha.  We under estimated the capacity of our freezer.  I am so glad we bought the big frigerator so many years ago.  Whew.

So, do you buy grass-fed beef?  Does it cook up like corn-fed beef (the color)?  If not, do you know why?  Does it taste so much more yummy to you?

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Brisket In A CrockPot

Posted by terrepruitt on October 29, 2013

I have a friend who buys a grass-fed cow for beef by offering portions to her friends.  So my husband and I purchased a portion.  The meat is really amazing.  If you have read any of my meat posts you know that I prefer to douse my meat in marinades and seasonings.  Well, with this beef I don’t do that normally because the grass-fed flavor of the meat is good.  When I picked up my meat my friend gave me a few choices about some of the cuts.  I know nothing about cuts of meat.  I based my selection on this cut being one or two servings and that cut being three to four.  Of course I chose the value.  Plus a couple of the selections were new-to-me cuts.  So I was excited at the prospect of learning how to cook different cuts of meat.  Well, as I said, I was excited at the prospect.  I haven’t had as much time since I picked up the meat.  I have not spent time learning how to cook both the different cuts AND the way this meat cooks. So I have been cooking the ground beef — A LOT.  I make burgers often.  Used to be I couldn’t get my hubby to want to eat a burger that I handmade, now he LOVES them.  The beef is spectacular!  Anyway . . . I finally have to get to cooking the meat in my freezer so my first attempt — BRISKET.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaOn Facebook I asked my friend what to do and she said, “Brisket: crockpot, red wine, bay leaves, onions. Can add bell pepper, tomato sauce too. Cook. FYI: I say crockpot because I’m guessing you have one. I don’t use them, so I couldn’t fathom how much time. Brisket is one of my faves. Remember what I said: look up how to cook grass fed. Because this cow was so lean, look up veal. Not the same product, but the cooking is the same.”

I am really not a fan of brisket, unless my friend cooks it.  I had one she made once and I was so amazed.  But as she said, she doesn’t use a crock pot, but I did.

I don’t like cooked bell pepper that much so I nixed that idea and I am also not a fan of tomato sauce so I decided against that.  What I did was I looked up crockpot brisket and found a bunch of recipes.  I looked at the ingredients I liked from each one and decided I would put them together and see what I get.

Here is what I used.  I actually thought to write it down BEFORE I prepared it.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaCrockpot Brisket

About 3 pounds of brisket
-4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp pepper   (1/4 tsp)
-1/2 tsp dry (powdered) mustard   (3/4 tsp)
-1/2 tsp cumin    (3/4 tsp)
-1/2 tsp thyme
-1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce  (1 1/2 tbsp)

-3/4 of an onion, chopped
-1 tbsp of sherry
-1 bottle of beer
-1 cup water
-1 tsp Better than Bouillon

Mix all the dry ingredients including the Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl, then rub it on the meat.  Cover all of the meat.  Put some of the onions on the bottom of the pot.  Place the meat in the pot on top of the onions.  Put the rest of the onions on top of the meat.  Then pour in the sherry, beer, and broth (I had mixed the water with the Better than Bouillon).

Sprinkle more cumin on top.

Set it on low and cook it for 5 hours.  (I will cook it for less next time.)

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaWhen I looked up brisket I saw times from 6 to 9 hours.  So I had been planning on cooking it for 5 hours.  But then I looked up veal and it said 7 to 9 hours.  So I set one timer for 7 hours and another for 5.  At 5 hours I checked on it and it seemed done so I turned off the crockpot.  I will cook if for less next time because, as you know, it keeps cooking even after you turn off the heat.  I will also remove the crock pot from the heat next time.

The meat actually came out moist and fine.  But I would like it a little less cooked.

My husband loves meat, especially beef, so he loved it.  He kept making yummy noises.  And I actually observed him eat the meat except for one piece. Then he eat everything else then the last piece of his meat.  He saved it for last.  He wanted to savor the last bits.  As I have said before, I am blessed because he likes pretty much anything, but he loved this.

The amounts in parenthesis are the amounts that I am going to use next time.  I want a little more flavor.  But I am happy with my first cooking of brisket.  And now you know what?  Yup, my favorite . . . . leftovers!

Are you a brisket fan?  Do you have a brisket recipe?  How do you cook brisket?

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