(07-31-2015, 02:41 PM)fredtoast Wrote: That looks delicious, but a little dry for my tastes.  Definitely needs some sort of sauce.  What kind of cilantro sauce were you going to make?  

I bake large amounts of chicken and save the stock.  When it cools all the heavy fat rises to the top and can be removed.  Then I cook down (reduce) the stock and freeze it to use in sauces and/or gravy.  I even use it in my chicken salad.  Since it gels when it cools it keeps the chicken salad from breaking down and getting liquidy in the fridge.  I use fat free or low fat salad dressing and that stuff will break down into water if you refrigerate chicken or tuna salad made out of it.  But if you add some reduced chicken stock it keeps it in a perfect consistency.

(08-04-2015, 12:43 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: There's a place here in Mason called Chef's Cafe (a little deli) that has phenomenal chicken salad. I just want to know how they do it...

(08-04-2015, 12:34 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Tomatoes
corn
black beans or dark kidney beans
salt
black pepper
garlic
chipotle chili powder
green chilis
onion
hamburger
molasses (brown sugar is just regular sugar plus molasses so that will work also)
dash of cinnamon
(jalapenos if I have them)

Serve with shredded cheese



Chili is the one meal I almost never get tired of.  I can eat if a few days in a row or every other day for a week or more.

(08-04-2015, 02:50 PM)Vas Deferens Wrote: Been experimenting with a world chili cookoff winner lately, chili's not bad either.  Been using finely diced tri-tip for it whenever its on sale.  Game changer.

(08-04-2015, 02:50 PM)Vas Deferens Wrote: Been experimenting with a world chili cookoff winner lately, chili's not bad either.  Been using finely diced tri-tip for it whenever its on sale.  Game changer.

(08-04-2015, 12:37 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I have also been hooked on boneless skinless chicken thighs lately. They are cheap, healthy, taste better than chicken breasts, and really easy to cook.

(08-04-2015, 05:17 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Yep, dark meat tastes better than breast meat.  Also not as dry.

Sometimes I find legquarters (leg and thigh) for like $0.59 a lb.in big family packs and stock up on it.  Chicken freezes better than beef.  the only beef that really freezes well is hamburger.  Steaks just loose all their juice if you freeze then thaw them.

(08-04-2015, 09:55 PM)Slappy from New Haven Wrote: Take boneless skinless thighs and take the chili ingredients you listed above, sans burger meat and put them in a crock pot. Lay the thighs flat on top of the mixture. When you get home at the end of the day remove the thighs, shred with a fork and mix in. Return to pot for 30 minutes well mixed.  Far better than ground beef

(08-04-2015, 05:17 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Yep, dark meat tastes better than breast meat.  Also not as dry.

Sometimes I find legquarters (leg and thigh) for like $0.59 a lb.in big family packs and stock up on it.  Chicken freezes better than beef.  the only beef that really freezes well is hamburger.  Steaks just loose all their juice if you freeze then thaw them.

(08-04-2015, 10:29 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: Yeah I never realized the finer points to cooking steak until i started watching grill masters. Cooking a good steak is an art I am trying to master. Freezing them is a non-no. Actually, you want your steak to be as close to room temperature as possible to avoid the heat from sucking as much moisture out of the middle of the steak, thus making it dry. So even refrigerating a steak and cooking it could make it more dry than you would like. 

(08-04-2015, 11:25 PM)fredtoast Wrote: My parents have a beef butchered every year and give me a huge pile of frozen meat.  The roasts and hamburger are fine, but the steaks are not that great.  They are not as good as fresh steaks, but I still prefer free frozen to expensive fresh.  

It is actually possible to cook a frozen steak without thawing it.  You just throw it on a hot pan and flip it once.  That way it sears in the juices.  But I have never had much luck trying it.  It is not easy at all.  The biggest problem is that almost all of the frozen steaks I get have bones in them, and that makes it almost impossible to cook them straight from the freezer.

(08-04-2015, 11:38 PM)Cure4CF Wrote: I have always wanted to split a cow w/ someone (friends/family) but not sure on the quality of the meat after it's been frozen.  I'm more after the steaks/roasts.

(08-03-2015, 11:32 PM)fredtoast Wrote: That is what I used to add when i didn't use the chipotle chili powder.

I also like frsh Jalapenos, but I just use a few.  I like to get the flavor without too much heat.  Fresh Jalapenos are not really that hot when you are adding a few to a big pot of chili.  I used to grow and can my own jalapenos.  when I would open a jar I would dump them in a food processor and turn them into paste.  that way I could easily control how much to add.

But my favorite use of jalapenos is on cheese nachos.  And I like the slices for that.

(08-05-2015, 12:56 PM)BengalHawk62 Wrote: I made french toast this weekend.  I have to admit, it was a pretty tasty breakfast.  Even the fiance was super impressed.  Just added a little cinnamon, sugar and a dash of nutmeg in the egg/milk bowl.  

french toast > pancakes

(08-05-2015, 12:56 PM)BengalHawk62 Wrote: I made french toast this weekend.  I have to admit, it was a pretty tasty breakfast.  Even the fiance was super impressed.  Just added a little cinnamon, sugar and a dash of nutmeg in the egg/milk bowl.  

french toast > pancakes

(08-05-2015, 12:57 PM)Beaker Wrote: Try adding some vanilla extract too.