Cool Spoons & Scale...Who would have thought that?

I came across a couple of posts on these blogs that talked about some cool kitchen gadgets. The first article is about a set of spoons that are actually sized in "cooking terms" such as smidgen a dash, and pinch.

• Smidgen Measuring Spoons
  By Maricar
  The 5-piece Smidgen Measuring Spoon set has spoons for a tad, dash, pinch, smidgen and drop.....

This second article is about a slick looking, and sounding kitchen scale. I have this rickety little scale that I use to measure out chicken...etc and I am always afraid it will tip over. Not this one....check it out.

• Tanita Kitchen Scale: Favorite Things
  By Amy Sherman(Amy Sherman)
  There was no going back. You put up with crappy kitchen equipment and gadgets and you don't even realize how lousy they are until you try something better. Meet my latest kitchen favorite, a digital kitchen scale--the Tanita KD-404. ...

Outfitting your kitchen.

I stumbled on this article in a blog search. The author runs down some of the important things you need to have in a functional kitchen. I am still in the process of getting some of these things. My kitchen is small so I have been putting off getting all decked out with cool tools and gadgets until I have a bit more space. My biggest kitchen desire is counterspace. However a great set of knives would be appreciated as well.

In any case give this article a read if you are thinking about what to get for your kitchen, or are in need of some tools to make your food prep go more smoothly.

What's for Dinner? What's in Your Kitchen?
Over the course of my foodie lifetime, I’ve picked up all sorts of tools and gadgets for my kitchen. Some of them I can’t live without and others I forget I own them until the time comes to pack them up and move them into a new kitchen. ...

Southwestern Omelette

As you can probably tell if you have been following my blog that most of my recipes tend to be on the spicier side. I will admit that I enjoy spicy food, for any meal of the day and breakfast is no different. Here is an easy to cook omelette that will stick with you for the morning, and part of the afternoon.

• 3 large eggs (you may use an egg substitue)
• 1/4 cup of salsa (hotness selected by taste. I use medium)
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
• a few slices of canadian bacon
• tbsp of cooking oil. I use a hot oil called Mongolian Fire Oil since I like spicy stuff
• tbsp or so of parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup of low fat mozzarella
• 1/4 cup of low fat cheddar
  

Begin by beating 3 eggs in a mixing bowl until the yokes are fairly broken up. Then add the cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salsa. I usually use a red salsa , but have substituted salsa verde in the past which is equally as tasty....mix contets.

Next heat up your frying pan. I spray a little Pam on the surface to prevent sticking.


While the pan is heating up sprinkle the parmesan cheese across the pan , and allow it to brown a little before pouring in the contents of your mixing bowl. When your omelette is done the parmesan cheese will add a slightly crunchy texture and an appetizing golden brown color.

Next add the contents of your mixing bowl and wait about 30 seconds for it to begin to solidify. At this point you can sprinkle your cheeses across the top of the omelette. I do it this way so the cheese doesn't sink all the way to the bottom, but rather gets mixed and melted thoroughly in the omelette.



I usually let this cook, all the while checking the underside of the omelette to get golden brown. Here you can see that I added a few bacon bits on top as well for color and added taste.

Once the omelette underside is a nice golden brown I take it off the heat and fold it over on a plate.

Next I drop some of my Mongolian Fire Oil in the same pan and then fry up 5-7 slices of Canadian bacon. You may use more or less or even substitute some scrapple, ham or regular bacon. I go with Canadian bacon since it is lower in fat.

I usually cook the Canadian bacon as seen above (about 5 minutes on medium flame) and then serve with the omelette. Enjoy!

What's next?

I'm thinking about cooking a soup this weekend. I have a Mexican Chicken Soup recipe that may go well for next week. I also have an other pancake recipe that I may try on this weekend as well....look for updates, and feel free to comment.

Spicy Thai Pork Panang

I previously posted about this recipe using chicken. Tonight I used some boneless pork chops. I baked them in the oven for 50 minutes at 375 degrees. Next I cut them into small pieces and stir fried them in a pan with the coconut milk/panang curry paste mixture.

See my Chicken recipe
for this and simply substitute pork chops.

Here you can see what it looks like while reducing in a frying pan. The coconut milk and panang curry paste make a nice deep golden/reddish color.




After the coconut milk/curry paste sauce reduces to a nice pasty consistency you can serve it with rice. Here you see it mixed with brown rice...I like to mix my meats and sauces with my rice. Delicious!

Sunday Morning Pancakes

When I woke up this morning I wasn't sure what to go with for breakfast. Should I have some cold cereal….an omelette perhaps? Aha…what would go better today than some nice multigrain pancakes.
This is an easy one as I just followed the instructions on the package. I did modify it a bit by adding 1 tsp of cinnamon which gives them a nice flavor and an incredible aroma while cooking.

• 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill 7 grain pancake mix
• 3/4 cup of cold water
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Simply mix the ingredients in a large bowl…...

...and then spoon into a frying pan.

I have a good non stick pan, but still spray a little Pam to prevent sticking. You can vary the amount of batter you spoon out depending on how large you like your pancakes. I like mine BIG. I usually spread a little butter, or in this case Olivio between the 2 pancakes that this recipe makes.

Finally I cut the pancakes into small pieces and added syrup. In this case I used a sugar free maple syrup. Granted it isn't quite as rich and tasty as regular syrup, but is a decent alternative if you are diabetic, or are just trying to save a few calories.

Spicy Pot Roast

The thing I like most about a roasts is that they practically cook themselves…after a bit of prep work.

I started with a decent size roast…use any kind. In today's case I used a chuck roast that weighed about 4.3 pounds. I placed the roast on a plate and sprinkled each of the following on the cut of meat:

2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Then I poured approximately 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and rubbed the oil/spice mixture evenly around the meat.



Next I peeled about 2.5 pounds of carrots and cut them into small pieces. Then I peeled and cut up 5 pounds of potatos.

Once done the meat was placed in my handy 6qt roaster by Nesco. You could use the oven as well. I like the Nesco because it doesn't heat up the house too bad. I preheated to 325 degrees and then set the cooking temperature to 350 degrees.

I generally cook for 20 minutes per pound, and will check doneness with a meat thermometer. Beef should go to about 170-180. Always remember to cook your beef thoroughly.

Here is a shot of it while cooking



And here it is served up on a handy dandy paper plate!